Later that day, Abuja felt like a ghost city.
No traffic. No shouting. No children playing outside. Just the steady hum of uncertainty. The government hadn't restored power. Schools were suspended. Most people were too afraid to even open their doors.
But Anthony couldn't stay locked inside anymore.
He grabbed his hoodie and slipped it on.
"You're going out?" his mother asked, standing by the window, arms folded.
"I just need to see something," he said. "I won't go far."
His father raised an eyebrow. "If you see anything strange, you run. Don't try to act like a hero, Anthony."
He nodded.
Confidence met him outside. She was already waiting.
"You sure about this?" she asked.
"No," he replied honestly.
The streets of Gwarinpa were unsettling. Some cars had crashed into each other and been abandoned. Stores were shut tight. Windows boarded.
But the strangest thing was the people.
Some walked slowly—like they were lost. Others stood completely still. A man across the road kept staring at a wall like it held all the answers to life. A woman hummed a tune that made Anthony's skin crawl.
Confidence leaned close. "Something's wrong with them."
Then they heard it.
A low humming—like a siren, but deeper. Almost musical.
They followed the sound to a small crowd gathered by an old primary school building. At the center of the yard, a boy no older than sixteen hovered a few inches off the ground. His body glowed faintly, his eyes completely white.
"He hasn't come down since yesterday," someone whispered.
"They say he's in a trance."
"They say he's... a Hunter."
Anthony turned. "A what?"
A woman replied, "People are giving names to those who awakened strange powers. They say the military is recruiting them. Calling them Hunters now."
Confidence's eyes narrowed. "Hunters?"
The glowing boy twitched in mid-air. His head jerked toward Anthony for half a second—then back.
That half-second was enough.
Anthony felt it. Like the boy had seen something in him—something deep and buried—and flinched.
"Let's go," Anthony whispered.
As they walked away, someone behind them said, "There's one in every neighborhood now. But not all of them are sane. Some are dangerous."
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