.The Next Day – 5:42 PM – New Arcadia High Campus.
The clouds broke open without warning Thunder rolled across the city Rain poured in sheets, soaking the sidewalk The last few students hurried for cover, clutching backpacks over their heads.
Jay didn't move.
He stood outside alone beneath a broken lamppost, hoodie drenched and sagging He had been standing there since class ended — frozen, like a glitch in the system.
The voice had been quiet all day But now It was humming A low vibration in his bones A resonance in his veins.
"You're leaking."
The whisper came from inside him Jay looked down.
Red.
His veins glowed beneath the skin faint at first, like embers under flesh Then brighter Pulsing in rhythm with the rain.
Drip.
Drip.
Thump.
He gasped.
The air around him grew heavy electric The puddle at his feet began to ripple, reacting to his heartbeat.
His hands trembled.
His fingernails darkened slightly, as if iron were seeping into them His chest burned where the spiral mark lay hidden beneath the fabric.
Somewhere Nearby – Hiding Behind a Wall
Zeke peeked around the corner, phone camera recording He zoomed in on Jay's back.
"What the hell…?"
He had always thought Jay was just some weirdo Quiet. Standoffish. Maybe depressed But this?
His lens caught the red light crawling up Jay's neck, spiderwebbing under his skin like living wires.
"Yo… this is next-level freakshow."
He smirked, tapping RECORD This Video's gonna blow up."
Back to Jay – 5:44 PM
His eyes snapped open Something snapped inside him His knees buckled He dropped to the ground, palms flat on the pavement, and screamed.
But the scream was wrong.
It was distorted Metallic Inhuman.
Lightning cracked the sky.
Rain hissed around him.
From his fingertips, the concrete began to sizzle The red veins spread down his wrists and into the ground as if the earth itself were reacting.
His spine arched His jaw clenched until blood dripped from his gums He could feel it The mutation was waking Something that had always been there… just waiting.
You are not becoming.
You are returning.
Zeke's POV – 5:45 PM
The camera shook in his hands.
"What the f—"
The footage glitched Jay's outline flickered, distorted like a corrupted signal in reality.
Then suddenly—
Jay's head turned He looked straight at the camera.
Through the rain.
Through the corner.
Through Zeke.
Zeke's breath caught The lens fogged up He blinked Jay was gone.
Just… gone.
Jay – 6:03 PM – Somewhere in the City
He didn't remember how he got there One moment he was at school the next, in a downtown back alley Soaked to the bone Coughing up something dark and metallic He staggered forward, leaving steaming footprints behind him on the wet concrete.
He leaned against a wall, body still twitching, blood dripping from his nose His reflection shimmered in a puddle.
It smiled.
He didn't.
"Who… am I becoming?" he whispered.
The puddle rippled.
No reply.
Only the rain.
Later That Night – Zeke's Room
The video file was corrupted Static.Glitches.
Bursts of red light But the frame that froze at the end?
Jay's face.
Eyes glowing.
Veins lit up.
A flicker of something non-human behind them Zeke sat in silence, staring at the paused screen.
Then he clicked: Upload.
Title:
"Arcadia High Mutant? REAL Footage!"
He smiled.
"Let the world see what I saw."
– To Be Continue...