Kairo sat crying in the corner of the house. Its windows were shattered, plants glowing faintly through cracks in the floor, strange lock graffiti smeared across the walls. To anyone else, it looked abandoned. To him and his family, it was home. Or what remained of it.
He pulled his knees to his chest, tears streaking down his cheeks.
Before him stood something no child should ever see.
A massive mutant human, a Null, tore into his mother. Its eyes burned red with bloodlust, ears stretched wide like a lion's. With one brutal snap of its hands, it split her body in half as if she weighed nothing.
"Run… run away, Kairo…" she whispered, her voice barely holding together as she stretched her trembling hand toward him, throwing a necklace to him.
"No, no, I can't leave you alone, Mommy!" he sobbed, mucus running down his nose, heart pounding so violently it felt ready to burst.
"You have… to go. For the sake of your sister…"
The words made something inside of him to snap,the paralysis broke immediately.
His head turned instinctively to the right. Eyes locking of his sister.
She layed unconscious on the floor, blood seeping from her head, staining her black hair a deep red, didn't seem in the best condition at all.
But he knew one thing was certain, if he stayed, the Null would kill them too.
With shaking resolve,he rushed to his sister, lifted her with every ounce of strength in his small body, and leapt through one of the shattered windows.
"I'm sorry, Mom," he whispered as he ran, her weight heavy on his back. "I'm sorry…"
The world around him began to crack and fold in on itself as he repeated the same words over and over again.
Until .
....
He jolted awake, gasping, pushing himself upright as if clawing his way out of deep water. The cross his mother gave him dangled against his chest.
The room was clean. White walls. A neatly arranged bed. Almost sterile, like something from a sci-fi film.
"Not this dream again," he groaned, rubbing his eyes hard.
Ever since his mother was killed six years ago, the dream had never stopped.(He was fifteen now.)
His hair was still crystal black, his skin dark like his mother's and sister's, but his body had changed. Lean muscle lined his arms, earned through years of training and survival.
SHTTTPWIN!!
A sharp chime cracked through the room as the speaker above flickered to life.
"Good morning, Kairo. Time for breakfast. Don't forget, you have your army graduation today." His foster mom's voice was calm, almost soothing.
"Alright, Mom. Coming down soon," he replied, stretching sluggishly.
There was no excitement in his voice , completely opposite to what you'd expect a person graduating to do.
But their was a reason for his negativity,just yesterday, he had received his examination results from Soldier HQ, straight from the commander's office.
They were nothing special. Pages of average scores and outright failures.
"The only reason you're graduating is because your stepfather was my friend back in the good old days.
Take that away, and you're just as useless as a toddler."
The words from the commander still burned in his head.
Anytime he tried to concentrate, the image of his mother being torn apart flooded his mind, instantly ruining anything that required focus, it was a curse that turned his life sideways.
Sluggishly, he brushed his teeth and took a bath.
Minutes later, he stepped out into the sitting room, dressed in a plain black soilders uniform with an umbrella symbol resting on his chest.
His foster parents sat at the dining table, clay plates of steaming soya porridge laid out neatly, vapor rising into the air.
"Don't tell me you were planning to miss your gala," his foster mother said as she ate. She wore a white tracksuit, the zipper lined with cultural braids.
"I wouldn't worry if I were you. I can't miss my graduation for the world," Kairo muttered as he sat along digging in on his share of the porridge.
"You could at least sound cheerful," his foster father chuckled softly, eyes never leaving the newspaper in his hands. He wore the same uniform, tailored for men. Custom attire. Every citizen of the caved city wore it.
Kairo shrugged. None of their words reached him. His esteem had already sunk too deep.
"Where's Ayanda?" he asked, lifting the porridge bowl like he was about to drink it.
"She went to run with her friends."
Click.
Coincidently,the door opened, and Ayanda stepped inside.
She was beautiful. Blue-eyed. Reserved. A little taller than most her age, though still shorter than Kairo. A yellow sunflower ribbon hung from her right ear.
"Mom, Dad, I'm home!"
"Your porridge is ready, sweetie."
Her gaze shifted to Kairo, who was wiping his mouth clean.
"You know the graduation's about to start, right?"
"Yeah. I'm on it."
He walked over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Catch you later."
He opened the door, set to start his journey.
"Before I forget, Lenard was looking for you." Ayanda reminded him.
"Got it. See you after the gala."
.....
Outside, the city felt alive.
Clear skies stretched overhead, sunlight spilling across the streets as a gentle wind swept through. Everything was clean. Orderly. Each house numbered, all surrounded by a massive wall.
A barrier that kept them hidden from the outside world, that was why this place was called the Veil.
The last place in Africa safe from the Nulls.
A wide tar road guided citizens everywhere. Hospitals, schools, farms.
Today, it led Kairo somewhere else.
The main outdoor hall where thr graduation was to be held.
Upon arriving ,flags and flowers lined every corner. A large stage stood at the front, occupied by high-ranking soldiers seated on decorated chairs. Behind them, a massive screen displayed a glowing symbol, the same that was on Kairo's uniform.
Rows of numbered chairs filled the Audience.
Nearly all occupied.
Except a few in the back.
"You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days."
Lenard's voice caught him near a flower garden beside the hall, the speech from the podium echoing behind them.
"Good morning to you too," Kairo shot back.
"Just because you're not happy with your grades doesn't mean you have to go all dark and gloomy," Lenard advised,cletching his teeth in the process.
"Let's just go."
Kairo caved in, he knew what Lenard was used to. If they started the debate, none of them would give up easily. A time wasting conversation that wasn't necessary on the conditions they had.
Together they slipped into their back seats, set and ready as if they where already their to begin with.
"So, as I was saying," the soldier on the podium continued, "we shall recall the story of how Africa nearly went extinct."