The road stretched endlessly ahead of them.
Cracked asphalt wound through miles of open land, cutting across fields where grass swayed under the wind. The forest they had escaped days ago was now far behind them.
For three straight days, Bat and Nick had walked without stopping for long.
No houses.
No towns.
Just empty land.
Until now.
The road curved slightly around a hill.
And when they reached the top—
Nick froze.
In the distance, a massive city rose into the sky.
Glass towers shimmered under the afternoon sun. Huge bridges connected buildings dozens of stories high. Streams of vehicles moved along elevated highways like glowing veins of light.
Even from miles away, holographic advertisements floated above buildings, flickering softly in the air.
The city looked alive.
Perfect.
Nick's eyes widened.
Nick: Bat! Look! Look! Look!
Bat didn't react.
He was already staring at it.
Bat: I saw it before you did, dude.
Nick stared at the skyline like he couldn't believe it was real.
Nick: Oh my god…
Nick stepped forward, still staring.
Nick: A real city.
Bat crossed his arms.
Bat: Calm down.
Nick turned toward him.
Nick: Calm down?!
Nick pointed at the skyline.
Nick: We've been walking for three days, man. Three days!
Nick: No beds. No food. No people.
Nick: And now there's an actual city right there!
Bat stayed quiet for a moment.
Even he couldn't deny it.
The sight of civilization again felt… strange.
Nick grinned.
Nick: Imagine the food.
Bat glanced toward the city again.
Restaurants.
Shops.
People.
Bat: Maybe.
Nick clapped his hands together.
Nick: Finally!
Bat raised his hand slightly.
Bat: Wait.
Nick blinked.
Nick: What?
Bat slowly reached up to his shoulder.
A small black bat sat there quietly, its wings folded.
Bat lifted his hand.
The creature crawled onto his fingers.
Nick frowned.
Nick: What are you doing?
Bat looked toward the distant city.
Bat: Go.
The bat launched into the air.
Its wings cut through the wind as it flew toward the city skyline.
Nick watched it disappear into the distance.
Nick: …Why?
Bat sat down on the side of the road.
Bat: We wait.
Nick stared at him.
Nick: For what?
Bat: For it to come back.
Nick blinked slowly.
Nick: You're serious.
Bat nodded.
Bat: If something's wrong in that city, it'll notice before we do.
Nick sighed loudly and dropped onto the ground beside him.
Nick: Great.
Nick leaned back on his hands.
Nick: So are we just going to wait here?
Bat: Pretty much.
Wind passed quietly through the tall grass.
Nick glanced sideways at him.
Nick: Hey.
Bat didn't look at him.
Bat: What?
Nick scratched the back of his head.
Nick: How do you actually do all this stuff?
Bat frowned slightly.
Bat: What stuff?
Nick gestured vaguely.
Nick: The bats. The sensing things. All of it.
Nick: I read the files about the virus stuff and whatever they did to us… but I don't actually know how to use any of it.
Bat leaned back slightly.
Bat: You don't know how to use yours?
Nick shook his head.
Nick: Not even a little.
Bat shrugged.
Bat: Same.
Nick sat up.
Nick: Wait… what?
Bat scratched the back of his neck.
Bat: I figured things out by accident.
Nick pointed toward the sky where the bat had disappeared.
Nick: That was an accident?!
Bat: No. Not exactly.
Nick frowned.
Nick: Then how did you do it?
Bat thought for a moment.
Bat: I gave some of my blood to a bat once.
Nick blinked.
Nick: And that worked?
Bat nodded.
Bat: Yeah. After that, I could sense through it. I could hear what it heard… see what it saw. It was like I was there with it.
Nick stared at him.
Nick: No, I definitely don't know how to do that.
Nick leaned forward slightly.
Nick: Come on, man. Teach me something. Do I need to give my blood to animals too?
Bat shook his head.
Bat: Unfortunately, no.
Nick blinked.
Nick: What do you mean?
Bat hesitated slightly.
Bat: I already tried using your blood.
Nick slowly turned toward him.
Nick: …You what?
Bat scratched his neck again.
Bat: Sometimes when you were sleeping at night… I took a little blood.
Nick's eyes widened.
Nick: You took my blood?!
Bat nodded calmly.
Bat: Then I gave it to animals.
Nick stared at him.
Nick: What kind of animals?
Bat counted on his fingers.
Bat: Bats.
Bat: Snakes.
Bat: Deer.
Bat: Rats.
Bat: A few birds.
Nick stared in disbelief.
Nick: You fed my blood to random animals?!
Bat shrugged.
Bat: I was experimenting.
Nick rubbed his face.
Nick: Dude…
Nick paused.
Nick: What the hell?
Bat looked slightly embarrassed.
Bat: I thought maybe your ability worked like mine.
Nick suddenly looked up.
Nick: Wait.
Nick pointed at him.
Nick: Those nights when I kept getting bitten?
Bat froze slightly.
Nick narrowed his eyes.
Nick: I thought those were mosquitoes.
Bat sighed.
Bat: Yeah… that was me.
Nick dropped back onto the grass.
Nick: Oh my god.
Nick covered his face.
Nick: I thought the forest was eating me alive.
Bat chuckled quietly.
Nick peeked at him.
Nick: You're seriously weird, you know that?
Bat shrugged.
Bat: It worked.
Nick sighed.
Nick: Yeah… I guess it did.
They both sat there quietly for a moment.
Nick finally spoke again.
Nick: So basically…
Nick looked at his hands.
Nick: We have powers.
Nick looked at Bat.
Nick: And we have absolutely no idea how they work.
Bat nodded.
Bat: Pretty much.
Nick groaned.
Nick: Great.
Bat smirked slightly.
Bat: That's why we train tomorrow.
Nick instantly sat up.
Nick: YES.
The Next Morning
The sun had barely risen.
Nick stood in a small clearing beside the road.
Bat stood across from him holding several stones.
Nick frowned.
Nick: Why do you have rocks?
Bat threw one.
THUD.
The rock hit Nick directly in the shoulder.
Nick jumped.
Nick: HEY!
Bat picked up another stone.
Bat: Dodge.
Nick squinted.
Nick: You could've warned me!
Another rock flew.
THUNK.
Nick stumbled backward.
Nick: Okay, okay! Time out!
Bat crossed his arms.
Bat: You're slow.
Nick glared at him.
Nick: You're throwing rocks at my face!
Bat tossed another.
Nick barely moved before it smacked into his arm.
Nick groaned.
Nick: Seriously?!
Bat threw two this time.
Nick tried to dodge.
One missed.
The other hit his side.
After hours of this—
Nick collapsed onto the grass.
Nick: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!
Bat stopped.
Nick looked up at him.
Nick: Can I ask you something?
Bat: Sure.
Nick rubbed the back of his neck.
Nick: When we first met… you said my body was acting weird.
Bat nodded slowly.
Nick: What did you mean by that?
Bat thought for a moment.
Bat: Remember when you got injured?
Nick nodded.
Nick: My leg.
Bat's expression became serious.
Bat: Your bones snapped back together.
Nick blinked.
Nick: …What?
Bat continued.
Bat: Your blood vessels, your bones… everything moved back into place.
Nick stared.
Nick: You mean when I broke my leg?
Bat nodded.
Bat: It just snapped back.
Nick sat there quietly.
Nick: That's insane.
Bat shrugged.
Bat: Yeah.
Nick looked down at his hands.
Nick: That shouldn't be possible.
Bat nodded slowly.
Bat: No.
Bat: It shouldn't.
Scene Shift — Void
Morning sunlight filled the room.
Void lay half asleep on a large bed.
A girl rested beside him.
Suddenly—
His phone rang.
Void groaned and grabbed it.
Void: Yeah?
The voice on the other end was calm.
Halden Krowe: We found them.
Void rubbed his eyes.
Void: Already?
Halden Krowe: They're heading toward the city.
Void sighed.
Void: Alright. I'll go check it out.
He ended the call.
The girl beside him stirred slightly.
Girl: You're leaving again?
Void leaned down and kissed her gently.
Void: Yeah. Sorry.
She frowned slightly.
Girl: Be careful.
Void smirked.
Void: Come on.
Void: I'm always careful.
He stood up.
And in the next second—
He was gone.
The window rattled violently from the burst of wind.
Far away…
Two hybrids were walking toward a city.
Completely unaware someone was already coming for them.