"Liam!"
Trisha dropped to her knees beside him.
His entire body was trembling violently.
His breathing had become ragged and uneven, and his golden eyes glowed brighter with every passing second.
People continued screaming around them.
A man with blue flames covering his arms ran across the street.
A woman suddenly sprouted white feathers on her back.
The city had descended into complete madness.
But Trisha could only see Liam.
"Liam, look at me!"
He didn't respond.
His fingers dug into the pavement.
Crack.
The concrete beneath his hand broke.
Trisha froze.
Liam slowly looked at his hand.
So did she.
Neither of them spoke.
He had broken solid concrete.
With his bare hand.
"What...?" he whispered.
Then pain struck him again.
He cried out and grabbed his head.
Trisha held his shoulders.
"It's okay! It's okay!"
No.
Nothing about this was okay.
Liam's body suddenly arched.
A deep growl escaped his throat.
The sound didn't even seem human.
It sounded like a wild animal.
A dangerous one.
His nails lengthened.
Not much.
Just enough to become sharp.
Trisha's eyes widened.
"Liam..."
He looked up.
His glowing eyes met hers.
For one terrifying second, she didn't recognize him.
Then the gold faded slightly.
"Trisha?"
"I'm here."
He blinked.
His breathing remained uneven.
"What happened to me?"
"I don't know."
He looked at his hand again.
Then around them.
The chaos.
The screams.
The people changing.
The impossible.
Slowly, he stood.
His legs nearly gave out.
Trisha quickly caught him.
He stared at her.
Then he laughed.
It wasn't because anything was funny.
It was disbelief.
"I think I'm losing my mind."
Before she could answer, another familiar scream echoed nearby.
"GET THESE THINGS OFF ME!"
Britney.
Trisha and Liam turned.
A few meters away, Britney was spinning in circles.
Tiny crystals of ice were appearing around her hands.
"What is happening?!" she cried.
Hazel grabbed her arm.
"Calm down!"
"I am calm!"
A ball of ice suddenly formed in Britney's hand.
She screamed and threw it.
The ice ball flew across the street and smashed into a lamp post.
Everyone stared.
Silence.
Britney stared at the broken lamp.
"I did that."
"You did that," Hazel agreed.
Britney looked like she was about to faint.
Then someone else screamed.
This time, it was Vyonna.
Water suddenly spiraled around her body like a living ribbon.
Alpha stood beside her with wide eyes.
"I didn't bring any water!" she shouted.
As if responding to her panic, the water rose higher.
"Okay, that's creepy."
A gust of wind exploded around Alpha.
Everyone staggered backward.
Even he looked shocked.
Hamim blinked.
"Did I just see wind?"
"Yes!" several people shouted.
"This is insane!"
Another voice interrupted them.
"Guys..."
Everyone turned.
Grey stood frozen.
A black feather had appeared in his hand.
Then another.
And another.
They slowly floated around him.
Henry's jaw dropped.
"That is ridiculously cool."
Grey looked horrified.
"I have feathers!"
"They're awesome feathers."
"I don't want feathers!"
Suddenly, laughter escaped someone.
Then another person laughed.
Soon almost everyone was laughing.
It wasn't because anything was funny.
It was fear.
Shock.
Disbelief.
The world had ended overnight.
And now they had powers.
Somehow laughing felt easier than screaming.
Trisha looked around.
All her friends were changing.
Everyone.
Britney.
Vyonna.
Alpha.
Grey.
Even Hamim's shadow seemed darker than before.
Yet nothing had happened to her.
She looked at her hands.
Normal.
No glow.
No feathers.
No ice.
No fire.
Nothing.
A strange disappointment settled inside her chest.
Then she felt Liam's hand cover hers.
She looked up.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
She forced a smile.
"Yeah."
He frowned.
She wasn't fooling him.
Suddenly every electronic screen turned black again.
The laughter died.
New crimson words appeared.
CONGRATULATIONS.
THE FIRST AWAKENINGS HAVE BEGUN.
YOUR BLOODLINES WILL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE.
THE THIRD PHASE STARTS AT MIDNIGHT.
SURVIVE UNTIL THEN.
Then one final line appeared.
THE DARKNESS IS NOT EMPTY.
Silence followed.
Nobody understood the message.
The darkness is not empty.
A cold breeze swept through the street.
For the first time since the strange morning began, everyone noticed something.
The city sounded different.
Too different.
There were no birds.
No distant traffic.
No airplanes.
Even the barking dogs had stopped.
The entire city had become unnaturally quiet.
Trisha suddenly remembered the dream.
The golden eyes.
The voice.
The Heir has awakened.
A shiver ran down her spine.
"Maybe we should go somewhere safe right now," Hazel said nervously.
"Together," Alpha added.
Nobody disagreed.
Whatever was happening, being alone suddenly seemed like a terrible idea.
Then came another sound.
Tap.
Everyone froze.
Tap.
It sounded like something hitting the pavement.
Tap.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Bukar frowned.
"Do you hear that?"
Nobody answered.
Because they all heard it.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The sound was coming from the end of the street.
Darkness covered the road, making it impossible to see clearly.
Liam instinctively stepped in front of Trisha.
The others slowly moved closer together.
The tapping stopped.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness.
Someone gasped.
Then another pair appeared.
And another.
And another.
More red eyes slowly opened within the darkness.
Watching.
Waiting.
There were too many to count.
Trisha's heart started pounding.
The message suddenly flashed across every screen again.
The words appeared one by one.
THE HUNT HAS BEGUN.
A low growl echoed from the darkness.
Then another answered.
The red eyes began moving.
They were coming closer.
Britney grabbed Vyonna's arm.
"Tell me those are people."
"I don't think they are," Vyonna whispered.
One of the creatures stepped beneath a flickering streetlight.
Everyone's faces turned pale.
It looked like a wolf.
Except it was much larger than any wolf they had ever seen.
Its black fur seemed to absorb the light around it.
Long claws scraped against the road.
Then it lifted its head and revealed rows of sharp teeth.
And it smiled.
Behind it, dozens of red eyes continued emerging from the darkness ahead.