San Diego Beach – 5:00 PM
10 HOURS BEFORE THE SUNDERING:
The dying sun stretched their shadows across the wet sand . Jacob smirked as he watched Trevor's latest attempt at flirting with some girls, expecting the end he long ago predicted - with his little brother ass-first in the shallow waters, slipping with his own crocs in front of the girls he called "huzz" , the girl he'd been chatting with, bursted up laughing so hard she nearly died.
"Nice try g," Jacob called from his perch on the lifeguard stand. "Solid 9.5 for the splash."
Trevor flipped him off with one hand while using the other to wipe saltwater from his eyes. The girl, some vacationing college freshman if her UCSD sweatshirt was any clue , offered Trevor a hand up. Bad move. With a yank that was absolutely intentional, Trevor pulled her into the water with him.
Their twin laughter cut through the beach noise, and despite himself, Jacob felt that old familiar warmth in his chest. Two years apart, but sometimes it felt like he'd raised Trevor himself. Taught him to throw a punch when the rich kids at their private academy got too mouthy about their "absent scientist parents."
"Hey Romeo!" Jacob lobbed a half-empty soda can that plinked off Trevor's shoulder. "Reyes texted, we're on lockdown if we're not back by six."
Trevor waded out, dripping and grinning. "Listen to Steve Rogers over here." He shook his head like a dog, spraying Jacob with saltwater. "You're just salty 'cause Emily ghosted your ass last night."
Jacob's smile went tight. He'd forgotten Trevor was old enough to talk back to him like that. "Who?"
"The huzz YOU blew off because of our family night! " Trevor's smirk faded as soon as he said it. They both knew which "family" nights their parents had actually attended this year.
The UCSD girl waved awkwardly from the shallows. "So... you guys leaving?"
Jacob watched Trevor hesitate , that microsecond where he weighed chasing normalcy against their screwed-up reality. Saw the exact moment he remembered the armed guards waiting at home, the biometric locks, the way their lives were never really theirs.
"Curfew" Trevor told her, already grabbing his towel. But the way his fingers lingered on the UCSD logo told Jacob everything.
As they walked out of the beach, Trevor's phone buzzed. Another EvoGeneX automated alert: "REMINDER: Mandatory curfew at 6 pm for JULIAN JACOBS AND TREVOR ELIJAH RODRIGO SMITH."
Jacob knocked their shoulders together. "Next time,I'm gonna cut this fucking chip from my damn nape man."
Trevor laughed and signed.
Jacob forced a smile. That grin was getting rarer these days. At thirteen, Trevor was starting to notice how other kids had parents who actually came to school events, who didn't disappear for months at a time chasing some scientific holy grail.
"Congrats," Jacob said, rubbing Trevor's hair until he squirmed away. "Now let's go before Reyes-"
"Decided to leave your asses here?" came the familiar growl from the boardwalk. Reyes leaned against the jeep, arms crossed over his tactical vest. "Clock's ticking, princes."
As they trudged up the beach, Trevor's voice dropped low. "You think they'll call tonight?"
Jacob knew exactly who "they" were. His fingers twitched toward the neural implant in his nape, the one EvoGeneX had "gifted" them both at birth. The company's tech pulsed faintly against his skin, a constant reminder of where his parents' loyalties lay.
"Doubt it," Jacob lied. "They are probably in some new genome project." He tried to keep the bitterness from his voice, but it leaked through like poison. Six months. Six goddamn months since they'd last visited. Not that he was counting shit anyway.
Oakland Hills Safehouse – 6:30 PM
8 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES BEFORE THE SUNDERING:
The house security system activated as they entered, scanning their retinas with cold efficiency. Jacob hated that sound, it reminded him of the labs at EvoGeneX headquarters, where he and Trevor had to undergo "routine assessments" whenever their parents remembered they existed.
"Nutrition packs are in the fridge," Reyes said, already heading to the security station. "Eat quick. Curfew at eight."
Trevor made a face. "What a fun way to say dinner, anyways , what happened to the actual food?"
"Your parents didn't approve the grocery budget this month," Garrett muttered from the couch, not looking up from his rifle maintenance. "Again."
Jacob's hands clenched. Another "oversight." Another reminder that to their parents, dinner was just another variable in whatever grand experiment they were running. He stormed to the fridge and yanked out two silver meal packs labeled "EVOGENEX NUTRITIONAL COMPLETE - TEEN MALE PROFILE."
"Here," Jacob shoved one at Trevor. "The usual gourmet shit."
Trevor peeled back the foil, revealing the airport-ass meal inside. "I'd kill for a burger dawg."
"Tell Mom and Dad when they call…" Jacob said, stabbing his fork into the flavorless meal. " …If they remember to call." . The implant behind his ear buzzed faintly, probably another automated wellness check from the company servers.
The kitchen screen flickered to life suddenly, displaying the EvoGeneX logo with the tagline "Pushing Humanity Forward." Jacob's gut twisted. Last time that screen activated, it was to inform them their parents were extending their Australia trip "indefinitely."
But this time, it was just a news ticker: "EvoGeneX Breakthrough in Telomere Regeneration Shows Promise." The footage showed his mother in a lab coat, smiling beside some glowing apparatus. She looked…
happy. Comfortable. Nothing like the strained woman who barely made eye contact during their monthly video-calls.
Trevor's fork clattered against his plate. "She looks tired."
Jacob swallowed hard. That was Trevor , always making excuses for them. He wanted to scream that being tired wasn't the point, that parents shouldn't need corporate press releases to know what their kids looked like. Instead, he just said, "Eat your damn food man."
Living Room – 9:00 PM
6 HOURS BEFORE THE SUNDERING:
The Life is Strange credits rolled as Trevor wiped his eyes. "Still gets me every time."
Jacob stretched, feeling the familiar ache in his shoulders from carrying tension all day. "Still a crap ending. Why didn't they just pick one of the game's original endings? I get that Hollywood's dead now, but come on,cno one gets happy endings in real life, this ending isn't realistic at all!!."
Trevor gave him that look. "Uncle Ethan did."
Jacob's throat tightened. Uncle Ethan, who'd actually chosen them over his career. Who'd stayed until he couldn't take the empty promises anymore. "Yeah, well, Uncle Ethan wasn't trying to rewrite human DNA."
The EvoGeneX implant buzzed again, sharper this time. The company called them "enhancements," but they felt more like leashes. His parents had gotten theirs years ago, said it was necessary for their work. The TV screen glitched suddenly, the image distorting into unnatural shapes. For a brief, terrifying moment, Jacob thought he saw something move in the static, something that looked almost like…
"Signal's out," Reyes announced, tapping his wrist display. "The whole grid's acting up."
Garrett looked up sharply. "Solar flare?"
"Maybe." But Reyes' expression said he didn't believe it. The guards exchanged glances, and Jacob felt that prickle again - the sense that something was coming.
Midnight: July 18, 2076
3 HOURS BEFORE THE SUNDERING:
Jacob lay awake, listening to the house breathe. Somewhere in the walls, the security system hummed its nightly diagnostics. The implant in his nape pulsed rhythmically, syncing with his heartbeat in a way that made his skin crawl.
He turned his head to watch Trevor sleep. His brother looked younger like this, the weight of their screwed-up family situation smoothed away by dreams. Jacob remembered the promise he'd made when they were kids, that he'd always be together, no matter what.
Even when their parents weren't together with them.
The implant buzzed violently, sending a jolt of pain through his skull. Jacob gasped, clutching his head. For a terrifying second, his vision whited out, and he thought he heard... screaming? Not human. Not anything he could name.
"Stop touching mee…" hummed Trevor while sleeping.
Then it was gone.
Jacob sat up, sweat cooling on his back. The digital clock read 12:07 AM.
Something was very wrong.
3:03 AM
0 HOURS BEFORE THE SUNDERING: IT'S COMING:
The first tremor hit like the fist of a god.
Jacob's eyes flew open as his bed lurched sideways, slamming him into the wall. Plaster cracked overhead, dust raining down like snow. Somewhere in the house, glass shattered.
"Fuck—!"
Across the room, Trevor tumbled from his bed with a yelp, his legs tangled in sheets. "What the hell is happening?!"
The door exploded inward before he could finish. Reyes stood there, backlit by the hellish pulse of emergency lights, his face stripped of its usual stoicism. Raw panic lived in his eyes now.
"TAKE YOUR EMERGENCY BAGS. NOW . Garage in sixty seconds or we DIE here."
Jacob was already moving, his hands shaking as he grabbed his backpack. "The wardrobe wall, it's still unstable from the last quake, we can't—"
"No time for exits!" Reyes barked. He hurled Trevor's bag at him hard enough to make the kid stumble. "GO TO THE FRONT DOOR OR WE WILL CRUMBLE WITH THE HOUSE!"
Trevor's voice cracked. "What's happening Jack?"
The house groaned like a dying animal. The ceiling split open with a sound like a gunshot, and a chunk of drywall crashed onto Trevor's bed, right where he'd been sleeping seconds ago.
Garrett appeared behind Reyes, rifle in hand, sweat glistening on his face. "WE SHOULD GO NOW, THERE IS AN EMERGENCY ALERT, THE WATERS ARE RETREATING . IF WE DON'T MOVE NOW, WE WILL DROWN HERE."
Jacob hesitated. On the nightstand, the EvoGeneX implant pulsed like crazy. His parents' last message played on a silent loop as he and Trevor ran to Reyes.
"Goddamn it." He snatched the emergency box his parents prepared for him and his brother.
The next tremor hit like a living thing. The bedroom window shattered outward, and through the gaping hole, Jacob saw the impossible: the ocean was pulling back, faster than nature allowed, the shoreline receding like a bathtub draining.
"Jacob!" Trevor's scream was pure terror. He stood frozen in the hallway, staring at the security monitors. The screens showed Oakland's skyline collapsing in perfect unison, skyscrapers folding inward like they were made of wet cardboard.
"That's not a fucking earthquake," Trevor said .
Reyes grabbed them both by their collars and yanked. "Eyes forward! You look back now, you die!"
They stumbled down the stairs, the wood groaning underfoot. Jacob's knee screamed where he'd hit the dresser, but he didn't slow down. The front door hung crooked on its hinges, daylight bleeding through the cracks.
The jeep was already running, Garrett in the driver's seat. Reyes shoved them toward it. "In! NOW!"
Jacob barely had time to yank the door shut before Garrett floored it. Through the rear window, Jacob watched their house, the only home they'd ever known, collapse in on itself like a house of cards.
Trevor clutched Jacob's arm so tight it hurt. His breathing was too fast, too shallow. "The water—l, it's pulling back like before l. If it comes back…"
"It'll wipe out the whole fucking coast," Jacob finished. His mouth was bone-dry.
Somewhere, in some high-tech bunker, their parents were safe. The implant behind Jacob's nape burned like a brand.
"Just drive," Trevor said, his voice hollow. "Anywhere but here."
The wave took them just outside Sacramento.
One second they were skidding down I-80, the next, darkness.
Jacob woke up choking. The world was white and sterile and wrong. His lungs burned with every breath.
"Trevor?" His voice was a ragged whisper. No answer.
The hospital,or what was left of it ,was overflowing. Cots lined every available space, filled with broken bodies. The air stank of antiseptic and blood. A woman near him sobbed loudly while holding the remains of her own daughter. A man on the other side was visibly shocked by the loss of his own legs.
Jacob tried to sit up. Pain lanced through his ribs. He gritted his teeth and forced himself upright, his vision swimming. But he felt lucky for not losing his limbs.
Outside, the sun was too bright. Bodies lay in rows under bloodstained sheets. Jacob's stomach turned. He recognized Reyes and Garret's boots sticking out from under one of the sheets, his hands were sweating and his heart was pounding.
Back inside, a cracked TV screen flickered to life. A news anchor with a bandaged face spoke in a monotone voice:
"…confirmed death toll at 4.7 billion. The Americas have been split in two by the new inland sea. Africa is now a single landmass approximately as big as the size of Australia. Europe is gone. Asia has been reduced to island chains. Australia remains largely unaffected, the loss of half of human-kind is a brutal blow for all of us , but we can survive together, helping one another ".
Jacob's knees gave out. He caught himself on a chair, his breath coming in short gasps.
'Where is Trevor… I have to find him. God, please , if you exist make me find him… .'
A hand landed on his shoulder.
Jacob flinched. Two men in black suits stood over him. The taller one had cold eyes and a voice like gravel.
"Trevor Smith?" he asked.
Jacob's pulse pounded in his ears. "Who the fuck are you?, don't tell me you two are from EvoGeneX " .
The man flipped open a badge: EvoGeneX Security Division. "Sorry to disappoint you but we are. We've been looking for you and your brother for a really long time." .
Jacob's blood ran cold. "Yeah? Well, you found me. Where's my brother?"
The second man, shorter, with a scar running down his cheek, shook his head. "We found him, he was moved to the Japanese EvoGeneX's labs."
Jacob's fists clenched, his voice raw with fury. "What?! Why did you move him there?! He has no one but me… and YOU, YES YOU , took him away from ME!Get to the fucking point! Why are you really here?!".
The taller man exhaled sharply, his tone measured but grave. "We're here because of your parents' work. Before they disappeared, they left behind two projects, and only you and your brother can survive the experiment. Behind your nape… you have the EvoGeneX implant, don't you? Just like him. You were both exposed to doses of unknown DNA. Your parents' true goal was never just research , it was to create the ultimate soldiers. They called it 'Project Neo-Human' . And now… you're the only hope we have left to rebuild civilization , you probably are gonna ask yourself how would you both do that, and that's why we are here, come with us and your questions will be answered ."
Jacob barked a laugh. "Rebuild? Only hope for humanity ? This is just some bulshit a kid would fall for."
The scarred man leaned in, his voice dropping to a near whisper."That's where you're wrong. Your parents found something… something that resembled an angel. They analyzed its DNA, and it was over ten billion years old. Yet it was intact. Perfect. Its features were so unnervingly human that staring at it felt like looking into a distorted mirror. They realized that the being's DNA was the key to creating something beyond human comprehension . That's why they tried to merge us with it, to forge a perfect being. A powerful being."
Jacob's stomach twisted. "What… we were always lab rats for them then…"
The taller man pulled out a tablet, its glow casting sharp shadows across his face. "They used themselves as the blueprint. You and your brother… you're the only ones who survived the process."
Jacob stared at the screen. The words blurred.
"Project Neo-Human."
His mind flashed to Trevor, alone, terrified, wondering what he was going through . Then to his parents, lost beneath the ruins of the old world or swallowed by the rising tides. A part of him wanted to recoil, to scream, to demand answers. But another part, deeper, colder, needed to know more.
He sighed.