The deeper Kai and Sven moved into the apartment building, the darker it got. The corridor seemed to stretch endlessly, the ceiling lights buzzing with electricity as they flickered erratically, casting long, crawling shadows across stained walls that hadn't seen maintenance in years.

It was as if the further away they were from the entrance, the more abandoned the apartments became.

The air was stale, tinged with that specific kind of damp rot that only existed in old buildings long forgotten by landlords and tenants alike. Kai's boots stuck ever so slightly to the floor with each step, the grime underfoot thick and tacky.

And then they reached it.

Apartment 206.

Tucked at the very end of the corridor like a bad memory someone tried to bury.

Unlike the other doors they'd passed, this one looked… reinforced. Not in the professional, 'I paid a contractor' kind of way, but like someone had thrown scrap metal and bolts at it out of desperation. It had scratches along the frame, and the paint peeled and faded. Rust spider-webbed across the hinges. A foul musty stench leaked from the cracks, crawling into Kai's nostrils.

He frowned. 'This place must have been left for weeks… maybe even months.'

Sven, ever the picture of chill chaos, didn't hesitate. He jiggled the handle once, then casually knelt down, pulling out a small, familiar roll-up kit.

Kai blinked. "Seriously?" he whispered.

Sven just grinned, his fingers already working.

Kai crossed his arms. 'Does this guy just keep a lock-picking set with him at all times? And what doesn't he know how to do?' he wondered, watching Sven crouch with the confidence of a career criminal.

Click.

The lock gave way with an ease that felt almost insulting, considering how intimidating the door looked.

With a long, agonised creak that echoed through the hallway like a ghost's wail, the heavy door slowly swung open. The sound of it grinding open felt wrong, like opening a tomb. Dust billowed out in small puffs, and light from the corridor barely made a dent in the gloom inside.

Kai squinted, eyes straining against the dark.

It was quiet.

Uncomfortably quiet.

Then there was movement.

Something shifted inside. Big. Slow. A hulking silhouette stirred in the shadows and Kai's body immediately tensed on instinct.

A low, guttural growl rolled out of the darkness. Not a roar of aggression, but something else. Something more like pain. Like discomfort.

Kai opened his mouth to say something, but Sven got his words out before he could.

"Delivery for John!" he announced like an idiot, stepping through the doorway without a hint of caution.

Kai wasn't sure whether to laugh, but as their eyes adjusted to the darkness and they realised what was within, any semblance of a smile disappeared from his face.

Sven, on the other hand, launched himself forward.

Wham!

His fist connected with something solid.

Too solid.

Kai winced as the sound of the punch reverberated through the space, but there was no satisfying impact or grunt of pain from what he had struck.

Sven hissed, reeling back and shaking his hand like he'd just punched a concrete wall.

"Bloody hell! It's built like a damn tank!"

From the shadows, the figure stepped forward, and Kai's breath caught in his throat.

It was a giant reptilian creature.

Thick green scales coated his body like armour, each plate catching what little light there was. His eyes were large and yellow, pupils thin and slitted. His nostrils flared slightly as he looked at them, mouth parted to reveal jagged, uneven teeth. His claws flexed at his sides, long and wickedly curved.

Kai's instincts screamed danger. His hand hovered near his belt, muscles tense.

But then… the creature sniffled.

A wet, pathetic sniff.

A tear welled in the corner of one yellow eye and slipped down the side of his face, trailing across the ridge of a scale like water down a car windshield.

"Is it... crying?" Sven asked, frozen halfway into a defensive stance.

The mutant blinked, lowering his arms as if he'd only just realised he'd raised them.

"You break into my apartment… try to rob me… then punch me in the face… and even then, you look at me like I'm some kind of monster," he muttered, voice low and hoarse. "What the hell am I even supposed to do anymore?"

He let out a shaky exhale and slumped down onto the couch. The frame groaned violently beneath his weight. Dust poofed out from the cushions like ash from an old campfire.

Despite the odd behaviour of the giant creature, Sven began to take out his daggers and prepared to lunge forward again.

But before he could, Kai grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back with a hiss, "There's no need to hit the sad lizard."

"How am I supposed to know he isn't about to eat us?" Sven whispered.

"Look at him. He's clearly just an unlucky mutant," Kai responded in an equally hushed manner.

The two of them stood in the doorway, caught between guilt and awkwardness. The reptilian man rubbed at his eyes with the back of a thick claw, sniffling again.

Now that Kai wasn't focused on Sven starting a brawl, he finally took in the state of the apartment.

It was… a disaster.

Pizza boxes were stacked on every surface. Half-eaten meals turned into fossilised remains. Rubbish bags sat unopened in corners like sad, defeated soldiers. A layer of grime coated every window. The lights didn't work. The curtains hadn't been drawn in weeks.

It smelled musty, like a mix of old food and hopelessness.

"Right… um, sorry about all that," Kai said slowly. "Didn't mean to break in. We're not from the city. We're just trying to get by. Needed some clothes. Maybe a little cash. We weren't trying to hurt anyone."

Sven coughed, rubbing his sore knuckles. "Didn't mean to punch you in the face either. That part just kinda… happened."

The mutant blinked at them. "You're… not afraid of me?"

Kai raised an eyebrow. 'That's his first question?'

He pointed to his own eyes, which glowed faint crimson in the dim light. "Mate, look at me. We're kind of beyond judging appearances."

"Yeah," Sven added, smirking, "and between the two of us, I'm probably the one you should be afraid of."

A deep, unexpected chuckle escaped the mutant's throat. It was low and rough, but genuine.

"Name's Lenny," he said, sitting up straighter, though still looking exhausted. "You two are weird. But thanks."

"Kai," Kai replied with a nod. "He's Sven. You're surprisingly laid-back for a guy who looks like a walking crocodile."

"I get that a lot," Lenny said with a tired smile. "I mutated about three years ago. One morning, I was in high school. Next morning, I looked like this."

He gestured at himself, claws spreading wide.

"My neighbours screamed the first time they saw me. Cops came by more times than I can count. My mum won't even return my calls anymore. I haven't stepped outside in months. I mean, look at me… can you blame them?"

Kai stayed quiet for a moment, then stepped further inside.

"No," he admitted, "but it's still unfortunate."

Lenny nodded. "I kept thinking maybe I'd find a fix. But turns out I'm one of the unlucky ones. My mutation caused a permanent change in my body that can't be deactivated at will."

"Maybe not," Kai said. "But mutant suppressants might help. Some of them suppress the Z Gene in our bodies - temporarily, at least. Maybe you take them when you wanna go out, and ease off later on."

Lenny looked at him with wide eyes. "You think that'd work?"

"Worth trying," Kai said with a shrug. "Worst case? You're still you. And that's more than some people can say."

Sven was already shamelessly poking through a pile of laundry. "Oi, these trousers are like tents. You got anything less… monster-sized?"

"Take whatever you want," Lenny said with a half-laugh. "Not like I'm going anywhere."

Sven clapped him on the back, well, he tried to at least. His hand bounced right off a plate of thick shoulder scales.

"No worries, mate. I'm bigger than I look. We'll make it work."

Lenny laughed again, the sound rumbling through the ruined apartment. Kai found himself smiling despite the lingering weight in his chest.

Because, despite everything, Lenny still had his mind. His humanity. He just looked like something out of a horror film.

But deep down?

He was just a guy who'd been dealt a cruel hand.

Kai watched him quietly for a moment.

'Humans spent centuries dividing themselves by skin colour and race… things that meant nothing. It took generations to even begin fixing that. And now? Now, mutants are the new "other." The ones no one wants to sit next to on the train. The ones people stare at and cross the road to avoid.'

'Of course, there are some of them that are idolised, revered as heroes and marketed as such by the Association. But they still don't consider us humans anymore. And I don't blame them. I hardly feel like one anymore...'

Kai exhaled slowly.

'At least we eased the loneliness he was feeling by breaking into his house,' he laughed internally.

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