In a sewer entrance in an alleyway far off into the distance, near what seems to be an endless rift, two people slowly crawl out cautiously. One looks a little blurry and disappears into the distance in haste before the other is done crawling out. Soon, the blurry figure comes back and slowly becomes visible, nodding to the other. The two then disappear into the distance, away from the endless rift.
The endless rift is actually an extension of one of the very first blackholes to blow, and all life in a few thousand miles was extinguished. The landscape of what was once most of East Africa became a big hole after the explosion. The land there was uninhabited since the endless slope ended in a waterbody at the centre, and little was known of it other than the fact that most of the surrounding areas were just as desolate as the hole right after it first blew up. Most of the surrounding people had died too after the blackhole pulled everything that was loose in the surrounding area—that was including buildings and most life around. Close to nothing survived, but those who did became a little... different, and that was including the three siblings.
The three lived in the surroundings, but during the disaster, the two were out in a cave system which had a small stream passing within. By the time the disaster was over, the cave system had been unearthed, and most of the land was desolate. The disaster had stopped just when they were exposed and drawn in. The energy blast that followed caused them considerable harm ten years ago. The two boys were both nine years old, and the girl was four years. Jake was more of a playmate, not their sibling, but after the disaster and surviving a few years together, they came to rely on each other as siblings.
After the disaster, the two became different entirely. Jake actually gained a far enhanced physique compared to most, even during a time when most didn't know the changes the energy from the disaster caused—after all, they were the closest thing to patient zero considering how close they were, and most as close as them all died. Aedar, on the other hand, became a little less human in a sense. His innate instinct sharpened, and his senses grew more focused. His ability to hunt anything he set his eyes on became less human and more beastial. His physical enhancement was weaker than Jake's, but not by far.
Amereiln, on the other hand, gained what they called whispers. She could hear the strong thoughts radiated from people. Her ability to hear them was a menace to her, especially considering that for some reason, she could hear all of Aedar's thoughts—from small intentions to complex thoughts. It was more of an eternally open channel, and the range of their connection was more than 20 times the usual. The only downside was that just the thoughts of her brothers was overwhelming her fragile mind. The three had to find ways to survive away from people for months before they could heal and let Amereiln get used to the whispers. The three realised nothing of their home had remained during the year they spent there. Good thing was that the stream that passed underneath the cave still had some life in it, and the energy blast allowed them to heal a little faster. As the process of natural selection continued, they only thrived.
A year later, the three siblings started to move away from the hole, and that is when they interacted with people. But even then, they had to be cautious—not just for their safety, but also because of Amereiln's whispers. Unlike when there were two minds to listen to, the more they interacted with people, the more overwhelming they would be. They had to stay around fewer people until she found her control, especially considering that when she strained too much, she would become more of a conduit for everyone to hear each other's thoughts, and that almost got them discovered.
During this time, they avoided any settlement with more than 50 people, but as these kinds of settlements became thinner in number over time, they found Daraja settlement and tried to settle there. That set them on one of their most dangerous paths—after all, in a world where people dropped dead from time to time, people became desperate, and any anomaly was simply another threat, and any advantage a chance to thrive.
When they got there, they met an old couple they'd met earlier on while moving, and the couple invited them to the house they had stayed in. They were reluctant at first but agreed in the end. It was great and all until their sister bonded with them and started to hear some of their more complex thoughts. They realised that one of the reasons that the couple was so amicable was the fact that they knew the siblings were unique, and they were planning on settling on a sum from an organisation in exchange for the three. Everything would have been great if not for the fact that they thought that Aedar was the one with the whispers and the other might just be a little unique.
Their assumption came from the fact that Aedar, due to the connection existing between the two, shared the mental burden with his sister when it was too much, and thus they assumed it was him who was the source. They were thus, in a sense, on guard against him and reined in their thoughts when he was around. And since he was mostly around Amereiln, it worked like a charm against her, but they slowly bonded with her. Little did they know that the stronger a bond became between them and Amereiln, the more she could pry into their thoughts. And one time when Aedar was away, they let their thoughts slip, and the three kids became aware.
They learned that all the family love was crap, and the three became cautious. Aedar stayed away with Jake keeping watch, and slowly they became aware that they'd been discovered. With them remaining unaware and the three planning how they'd survive while unearthing those involved, they realised that Ted's crewmen were involved. And when the time to act finally came, Aedar was in charge of killing those from Ted's crew and any organisation agent they were aware of who was in the know. At the time, it was easy as they were anomalies in a world with weak people.
Jake, on the other hand, was in charge of their alleged parents, but a certain agent thriving in the settlement was impossible to kill without incurring too much loss—he was taken care of by their sister. Apparently, she wasn't as helpless as they believed, and she induced extreme shock to his brain, inducing an enormous amount of whispers into his brain, forcefully turning him brain dead.
When all was done, Ted, whose crewmen had died, found the common point and discovered what had happened. But unlike his crewmen, he wanted to kill Aedar, but finding him was just as annoying. And when some of his crewmen disappeared, he didn't take it kindly. Ted was actually a military man, so when he went after the other two, they didn't have an easy time. But eventually, Ted reached an agreement with Jake, and thus in a sense, Jake became their information broker. The grudge between Ted and Aedar remained, but they would attack only if he ever stepped foot in their territory.
The relationship between the siblings grew better when Ted, for some reason, also grew stronger and thus in a sense became their backer—especially considering that the information on Aedar being different was out, and all the chaos around them eventually meant someone would connect the dots. And two years ago, it happened, and now it caught up to them. Only this time, their chances of survival were slimmer. They had been in contact with a lot of information, and they were aware that they were not too special. And with communication becoming better over time, even with their ever-growing strength, they'd end up dead or captured.
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The two cross a few streets, and soon they reach an entrance to a seemingly random house. When inside, a small plump man who seemed busy fixing an old radio turned to them.
Turning to them, he smiles then frowns. "Oh, hello Jake. What is he doing here?"
"I need to speak to the boss. It's urgent," Jake said. But seeing the man still eyeing him suspiciously, he added gravely, "It's urgent, and don't worry—he'll stay out here."
The door on the back of the room opens, and a white-skinned guy walks out all smiles and points at the door behind him with his thumb as he walks towards them. "He can go in."
He then walks towards Aedar and pulls his neck by his elbow and laughs as he pats his chest. "Ahh! Our golden goose—what brings you around these parts? Had something so great you have to protect Jake from us, have you? HA! HA! HA!"
This guy's name was John, and he was arrogant and bloody annoying, especially towards Aedar. Sometimes he seemed friendly towards him, but his greatest mistake was falling for the same lie as everyone and thinking that Aedar heard the whispers. Thus, whenever the two met, he would just annoy him just to try to throw off his game—or so he thought. He had once met their sister, and she confirmed that he wanted to invoke a fight between Ted and them so as to eliminate Aedar and have Jake swayed away from his siblings. Something was always unnerving about him, and they guessed that the issue may be bigger than the fact that one of Ted's crewmen Aedar killed was his buddy. If Aedar wasn't mostly arrogantly passive, then he'd have killed the guy long ago, but something always felt wrong.
Jake walks away, and the two are left there. Some of Amereiln's power had touched their minds so much so that Jake and Aedar had a minor connection between each other, though it was barely within five meters of each other. The three are left outside, and the annoying John kept babbling on while the plump guy eyed him suspiciously before heading off to his work. A few years of cooperation had not washed away the bad blood.
*'Tell Ted to be very careful of John in your own terms—the unnerving feeling about him is getting stronger,'* Aedar transmits to Jake before he disappears.
Later, Jake comes out, and the two disappear out the door. As they leave, an uneasy feeling suddenly plagues them immediately they are out, and the two suddenly disappear into an alley very fast. The two originally had their escape route mapped away from the rift, but they suddenly move towards it before splitting up. As Aedar reaches the edge of the rift, he then moves along the edge, which looks like a hill compared to the endless rift. As he moves away, a shadow appears and Jake comes into view, and the two nod at each other before dashing back into the cold, dark alleys and the collapsed buildings near the rift.
The thing about the coming of the holes, disasters, and deaths that occurred is that the scarce resources became abundant. Thus, the houses built became useless with the failing population and sometimes occasional attacks from strange creatures. Thus, the area near the rift was abandoned, and others left for better settlements.
As the two cross the alleyway, a blade aims right for Jake's thigh, and he shrieks. The two stop and stand back to back as Jake pulls out the blade.
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