“Sir, do you have a plan?” Sam asked, his voice low but direct, eyes fixed on Mr. Maxwell.A slow smile crept across Mr. Maxwell’s face. “We go back to the very beginning,” he said. “We’ll retest every factor used in creating the original mutation that was transferred into the bat. We’ll find out why that kid is different.”Sam hesitated. “But sir… when we first tried that mutation on humans, they all died. Even animals didn’t survive. It was only that lucky bat that lived long enough to meet the boy and infect him. Are you really planning to sacrifice more lives just to chase a theory?”Mr. Maxwell’s smile vanished. He turned his head slightly and shot Sam a sharp, cold glare—one that drained the color from Sam’s face.“Do as I said,” Maxwell growled, turning to walk out of the lab.“But sir…” Sam dared to push again, his voice almost a whisper, “we’ve already sacrificed so much. And now we have a successful batch of human soldiers—ones who obey commands without question. We’ve achie

The next morning, Silas’s grandmother stormed into the police station, her face a mask of worry and fatigue. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her hands trembled as she clutched the last photo she had of Silas.“Please… he didn’t come home last night. Something’s wrong—I know it!” she pleaded at the front desk.One of the officers glanced up lazily, a half-eaten sandwich in his hand. “Sorry, ma’am. But there’s no official confirmation that he’s missing yet. We have to wait at least 48 hours before we can file a report.”“He’s not a child who’d just lose his way,” she snapped, voice breaking. “He doesn’t stay out like this—he’s all I have left!”The officer stood, adjusting his belt. “I understand, but this generation isn’t like the old days. Kids today know how to handle themselves. Still, if he’s not back by tomorrow, we’ll start looking. Just try to stay calm… and please, don’t go wandering around on your own, okay?” His tone was final as he turned and returned to his s

“Hello,” a deep voice replied from the other end of the line.“Sir. The job is done,” came the reply.There was a pause, then Mr. Maxwell’s voice followed, calm and composed, from his luxurious bedroom. He lay comfortably beside his wife, basking in quiet satisfaction.“Good. I trust there’s nothing that could trace it back to us?”“No, sir. We handled it clean.”“Alright, then.” He ended the call with a tap, placing his phone back on the bedside table.4:05 AMThe lab was still and dim. Mr. Sam, drained from sleepless hours, had collapsed onto the desk, his head resting beside scattered notes and a humming computer screen still aglow.Silas stirred.His vision was clearer now. No dizziness. No strange pulses echoing through his skull. His body felt warm, stable—even his legs no longer gave out like before. The floating sensation was gone, replaced by a firm steadiness.He glanced around, noticing the half-drained blood bag hooked beside the bed.As he moved toward the window, hoping