The Shrouded Occult

Chapter1

Chapter 1

Zayn’s claws itched to tear the human apart.

Instead —he kept them sheathed, fingers curled tight at his sides—but the animal inside him surged at the sound of the man’s voice. The way the humans spoke about them always did this. Mindless animals, one of them had said earlier. The word still echoed in his skull, sparking a low growl in his chest that he swallowed down before it escaped.

They relied on the mutants to survive. Needed their strength, their speed, their ability to face the monsters beyond the walls. Yet they still spoke as if the mutants were the lesser evil—beasts tolerated only because the alternative was extinction.

Zayn’s golden eyes tracked Justin as the man spoke, his pupils narrowing without his permission. Every sound in the room stood out to him: the shuffle of feet, the faint rasp of breathing, the nervous flutter of human heartbeats. His animal side catalogued it all automatically, always alert, always watching.

We’re the monsters they’d rather deal with, Zayn thought bitterly. And right now, the animal in him would very much like to kill Justin.

The mutants stood quietly, listening. Humans assumed silence meant ignorance. They believed the mutants couldn’t speak simply because they chose not to. What they didn’t understand was that every one of them had once been human.

Justin clapped his hands together, his voice unnaturally cheerful.

“So next, I’d like you to look over these movies,” he said. “I want each of you to develop your character. Romance, adventure—it doesn’t matter. I just want to understand your personality.”

Zayn scanned the others. They looked at him, as they often did. His jaw tightened, but he gave a short nod. One by one, they took the movies and dispersed. Justin lingered.

The man approached carefully, as if stepping near a wild animal that might bolt or bite. Zayn’s nostrils flared. He could smell Justin’s anxiety beneath the artificial calm.

“Hello,” Justin said. “Once again, thank you for trying this exercise.”

Zayn dipped his head slightly. A restrained motion. Submissive enough to keep the peace, but no more.

“May I ask you something?”

Zayn’s ears—more human than animal, but still sharper than most—caught the hesitation in his voice. He nodded again.

“Why don’t you talk?” Justin asked. “You understand me perfectly. Humans are afraid because you don’t communicate. They need to know they’re safe. That their children are safe. You let us into your city, and we appreciate that. We can help. We’re not worthless.”

Justin hesitated, then added quietly, “I know that’s how you see us.”

A slow smirk pulled at Zayn’s mouth, revealing the edge of a fang before he forced it back. The animal in him bristled, offended by the implication that he needed lessons in humanity.

Justin cleared his throat. “Be that as it may, I’m trying to help you become more… human. And since the others seem to follow you—”

Zayn stiffened.

A warning growl rolled low in his chest before he could stop it. His spine straightened, shoulders squaring instinctively, like a dominant animal asserting space.

They don’t follow him.

Not truly.

He was only the strongest here. A placeholder. A temporary alpha until the real one returned.

The memories came unbidden. The night the cages opened. The chaos. The escape. The one who never stayed.

The strongest of them all—the only one bonded with all four animal genes. They had never seen his face, never stood before him, but they had felt him. Even two floors below, the mutants had bowed without knowing why. The animal inside them recognized a leader before the mind could catch up.

They remembered his screams. Human at first. Then something deeper. Louder. A roar that shook bone and instinct alike.

Zayn’s fingers curled into fists.

He turned away from Justin, the conversation finished as far as he was concerned. He would protect the humans. He would not bow to them.

The mutants were the ones who patrolled the borders. The ones who fought every night. The ones who kept the lights on, the power running, the city alive. The city was well equipped—that was why they stayed, even after years of suffering beneath the Occult’s control.

Hundreds of Occult members had lived in the houses below once, close to the portal they’d worked so hard to open. Close to the monsters they’d helped unleash.

“Please,” Justin called after him. “Just tell me your name. I won’t tell anyone you spoke.”

Zayn paused.

His name.

He didn’t remember his human one. That boy had been stripped away piece by piece—beaten, tortured, hollowed out until only instinct and survival remained.

What Justin didn’t know was that Zayn had already studied humanity. He’d watched every movie. Read every book in the library. Trying to remember what it felt like to be just human.

He had been eleven when they took him.

“Zayn,” he said at last, his voice rough from disuse. “My name is Zayn,” said the mutant.

The sound of it felt strange and grounding all at once.

Justin’s face lit up. “Perfect.”

When the man left, Zayn resumed his patrol routes. His animal senses guided him through the city, alert to every unfamiliar scent and sound. The monsters outnumbered them five to one. Strength alone wouldn’t be enough forever. Thankfully, they had weapons. The Occult used the weapons on the mutants when they became too feral so the weapons were powerful. He stopped briefly in his room, grabbing his hand-drawn maps. As he passed the mirror, he caught his reflection.

Golden eyes stared back at him—predatory, sharp. His nose was flattened, his mouth wide, fangs visible even when relaxed. His hair was thick and golden, his cheekbones pronounced and angular. He could extend his fangs further if he wished—but never in front of humans.

He would have been a handsome adult male, he thought as he observed his face.

Now he was something else.

The animal inside him turned away first.

Zayn left the room and headed out on patrol.

___________________________________

Alisha glanced at Justin, her brow furrowed with worry. “Justin, tell us—what are the monsters doing?” A man asked.

Justin’s voice carried its usual calm edge, but Alisha could sense the tension beneath it.

“Please,” he said, “stop calling them monsters. We’ve all seen monsters kill, eat, and tear families apart. Do these creatures do that? No. At any moment, they could turn on us—but they haven’t. The mutants keep the true monsters at bay.”

Alisha swallowed hard, glancing at the crowd of terrified children. She remains silent while the rest of the community panic. “You won’t let them hurt us, right? We can’t go out there—the monsters will kill us. At night, we hear them—the other monsters. The mutants are the only thing holding them off!” A frightened lady screamed.

“They won’t,” Justin said firmly. “The mutant won’t let them hurt us. Every night, they fight those monsters for us. They’re trying to protect us. Do they like us? Probably not—but they tolerate us. So please, stop calling them monsters.”

A voice from the crowd rose in frustration. “But how did this happen? Why are they here? We have a right to know!”

Alisha let out a sigh. The same argument had been going around for weeks. They had no right to know. The mutants didn’t trust the humans yet—and honestly, who could blame them?

She remembered the first time she had seen them up close. Cloaked figures moving silently across the city, faces hidden with hoodies, bodies unnatural. Strong. Fast. Every movement calculated. Last month they left and came back with raw meat—a wild boar, a cow. Shoes, clothes. Their strength was undeniable; one mutant had carried the boar slung over his back as if it were nothing. That night, the city had feasted. Steak, bacon, smoked ham, all prepared and left for the humans to take.

Closer to the facility, she knew, the mutants cultivated plants and fruit trees. People occasionally dared to steal an apple or berries—but Alisha wasn’t that brave yet. She knew their power, felt it even from a distance. And yet, she also sensed the way the mutants watched over them, controlled the boundaries, protected the walls. If they want to hurt humans, nothing can stop them. The mutant could simply open the huge gate and walk away. Her mom has this many times over. Alisha's true fears lie with the small ugly creatures on the outside of the gate. Alisha hears them at night. Scratching, clawing. Just like they ripped and clawed her father to pieces right in front of her. Her mother had to snatch her away from the scene. She was stuck at the sheer violence in front of her. After that, Alisha, her mother and many survivors from the neighborhood brave the long days journey from their neighborhood to the large facility at the back of their city. They knew mutants were there.

“I’m going for a scroll, Mom,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to her mother’s cheek. She pulled her hoodie over her head and stepped outside.

Her thoughts drifted as she walked. How had this all happened? One minute, school, smartphones, normal life. The next, chaos: electrical blasts, streets overrun, neighbors screaming. And then the mutants appeared. Caveman-like. Something different, something they have never seen before. Their faces, their movements, their sheer power—nothing about them was human in the normal sense.

Alisha didn’t notice how far she had gone until a low, guttural growl cut through the air. Her heart froze. She slowly spun around, eyes wide.

From the shadows, a small, foul creature lunged. Its teeth were jagged, eyes red with hunger, claws scraping the pavement. The stench of decay and death hit her like a wall.

She screamed and ran.

The creature was fast, unnaturally fast. It ran on two legs while snapping at her heels. Her pulse hammered in her ears as she dodged fallen branches and debris. She could hear the scrape of its claws on concrete, its ragged breath growing louder with every step. Pain shot through her calf as its teeth grazed her leg. She fell, hitting the ground hard. The creature was there looming over her, jaws snapping, saliva dripping onto her hoodie.

The foul creature let out a deafening scream. Alisha has never felt this level of pain and terror, she couldn’t take it anymore. Her vision blurred, the world tilting, and darkness swallowed her as she passed out from pain and terror.