Novels by Yusuf I. Jnr

‎Night crawled slowly across campus, tinting the sky in deep bruised darkness with a tinge of light as Wesley made his way down the dim path leading toward the woods. The air was cooler now, crisp enough to sting lightly against his cheeks. His hands were tucked into his hoodie pockets; his “best” attire.‎‎ Standing next to her earlier in the morning had felt too painfully inadequate. Wesley remembered to not let that be the case again this time.‎‎He walked with uneven steps, half-dreading and half-excited, his thoughts noisy and tangled.‎‎' What does she want to do tonight? Are we going to practice being a werewolf and what it's about? Why did I even agree to this?'‎‎On his way, he rehearsed questions in his head. Questions that had been on his mind since afternoon, questions he should have asked her earlier in the mornin. About werewolves, about what he’d turned into, about the strange instincts that kept flaring inside him. She was the only person he could talk to about any

Wesley pushed into his dorm feeling fatigued. He expected to meet his roommate, Ralph, but only the quiet walls greeted him with a wave of silence. His roommate was gone, probably off to class or the gym or wherever normal people with normal lives went at this hour. For once, Wesley was grateful. Silence was exactly what he needed at the moment.He stepped inside and shut the door gently behind him, leaning against it for a moment. His pulse was still unsettled, beating in uneven thumps as his mind replayed his encounter with that pretty girl.‘I’m a werewolf…’She had said it casually, like someone telling him he had forgotten to tie his shoelace, and it only left him confused as to the truth of it.Wesley dragged himself to the bed and collapsed face-first into the thin mattress. He stayed that way for a while, breathing into the fabric, letting the exhaustion sink into him. He had classes to attend, he probably should have gone to at least take some notes…but how was he supposed to

“You’re a werewolf now.”The words hit him with such force that the world seemed to tilt. Wesley’s mind blanked…‘Werewolf.’‘Werewolf.’His pulse spiked violently, panic surging up his spine as the word echoed in his mind. ‘Werewolf?’He subconsciously stepped back, knees weak and sweat pooling on his forehead.‘No! It can’t be…I’m not a-’ Wesley wanted to deny, but his brain betrayed him with a flood of memories that seemed to slap the denial out of him.He remembered the wolf that’d attacked him last night. He remembered the bite, and how he’d woken up in a pool of his own blood just this morning—proof of how he’d been mortally wounded by that wolf. And strangely, he had no wounds on him.As if-As if he’d healed someway.Wesley’s chest tightened painfully.‘No.No, no-’He sucked in a breath, ready to deny it still. Anything to escape the possibility of him being a werewolf. How could he believe that? It has to be a prank!Wesley subconsciously looked at the girl to see if she mean

‎Wesley didn’t realize he’d stood up until he noticed the scrape of his chair on the cafeteria floor. The girl was already walking away, unbothered by the looks she’d stirred up. He followed her because his body seemed to have chosen for him, still buzzing from embarrassment, still trapped somewhere between panic and the lingering warmth of her breath against his ear.‎‎The cafeteria doors shut behind them, muting the chatter inside. The air outside was cooler and quieter, it left him feeling a bit relieved. She walked ahead with long, confident strides, her long hair swaying like she didn’t have a single question or doubt in the world. Wesley trailed a few steps behind, every heartbeat reminding him he had far too many problems at hand.‎‎' Why him? What did she want? How did she know about him liking Emma?' His thoughts kept looping‎‎And beneath that he questioned the feeling in his chest, 'Why does it feel like the air around her pulls me in?' Like he couldn't resist for some r

‎Wesley stared at the girl like she had spoken in another language when she said she could help him get Emma back. His brain stalled, tripped over itself, and finally shut down entirely.‎‎“W-what?” he croaked, voice cracking in incredulity. The girl rolled her eyes, looking at Wesley as if he was denying something so obvious that it made him look stupid and lame.‎‎Heat rushed up Wesley's neck at his own fumble. He tried to recover, tried to pretend he wasn’t just seconds away from imploding just now.‎‎“I don’t…" He paused realizing he'd be feeding right into it. " What are you talking about even?” ‎‎"Her." The girl pointed right towards Emma, her expression as dry as cement. ‎‎Wesley sucked his teeth, he said fast, waving his hand dismissively. “I’m not-- no, that's not it...”He tried to deny, but his tone was unconvincing, even to himself.‎‎" I don't need anything or anyone." He stabbed a forkful of food, shooting his head down as if to ignore everything else even though

‎By the time class ended, Wesley's brain felt like it had been dragged across gravel. Everyone else seemed completely normal, packing their bags, joking with friends, drifting into little clumps of conversation that floated toward the hallway. ‎ ‎Him? He just sat there, staring at the blank page on his notebook like there was something written on it that only he understood. ‎ ‎' Maybe I'm just overthinking everything. I should go eat first for a change. Maybe I'm just hungry...' ‎ ‎He forced himself to stand, slung his bag over his shoulder, and followed the stream of students out of the lecture hall. His legs felt strangely light, as if he'd lost too much weight. ‎ ‎Not only that, every sound around was just sharp in his ears. The scrape of chair legs, the echoing footsteps, even the fluorescent buzz overhead. ‎ ‎It all felt… amplified. ‎ ‎' Is this paranoia?' Wesley wondered, fighting the urge to press his palms to his ears so as to not look crazy. ‎ ‎He refused to be

‎Needless to say, a piece of paper couldn't be hacked.‎‎"We should hurry." Anya warned, reaching for a handle. I took the cue and quickly moved to grab the other. The porthole was tinted, one couldn't see what was inside from the outside. ‎‎She glanced at me and said, "In three..." She signaled as she counted. ‎‎On the third count, I wheeled the handle in an anti-clockwise rotation. That was usually the case with locks. Proof was how Anya supposedly tried to do the same with the other handle but it wouldn't budge. She quickly wheeled it clockwise and the clanking noise of the locks reverberated through.‎‎Soon, the door clicked open, locks undone. Anya glanced in acknowledgement at me. I returned the look, sharing in the intensity of the moment. She returned her gaze to the door, heaving a deep breath before pushing the door open. Anya went in first and I followed in suit. ‎‎There were no alarms.‎‎What lay beyond the door was surprisingly ordinary. It wasn't anything one wo

The inside of the building was nothing like I expected. A sole light bulb hung overhead flickered as it struggled to illuminate the corners. The floor was concrete and dusty; echoing the emptiness all around. ‎‎It seemed like an empty warehouse. Only that the armed man with the folder in hand walked towards a staircase in the side, descending down it. I glanced at Anya, she had the same thought in mind.‎‎That must be it!‎‎We decided to wait till this man leaves before investigating whatever and wherever that staircase led to. If we followed behind him right now, on these concrete floors, it is more likely that he'll hear our footsteps. ‎‎A mere quarter an hour passed before this man returned. He was without the folder he had in hand before. ‎‎We simply watched as he walked to the door, still armed, and knocked twice. The metallic door creaked open from outside after several clanking, unlocking noises. And just like that the man left, leaving us alone in the building. ‎‎"Hu

The ride inside the supply van was anything but comfortable. Anya and I remained crouched in opposite corners amongst several wooden crates while the vehicle bounced violently across the rough terrain. The invisibility ray projection remained active over our bodies and neither of us dared make any unnecessary movement.‎‎ The whisper-link in my ear was completely silent as the only thing that accompanied us was the rumbling of the vehicle and the occasional voices of the men seated in front.‎‎Needless to say, there wasn't anything interesting from their conversation. They only spoke about supplies, broken equipment and how difficult it had become to move resources through the desert. They didn't seem the least suspect of us. But that could be an act.‎‎It wasn't until later that the vehicle gradually slowed down.‎‎The faint sound of heavy metallic doors opening echoed outside before the supply van that had suddenly come to a halt drove forward once again. Not long after, it came

The cries of the vagrants drowned the silence that followed. Families who looked as though they had not eaten in days hurried towards the supply van with all the strength they had left in them. Mothers dragged their children by the hands while old men who could barely walk limped as fast as their frail bodies could carry them. Their skins had tanned and darkened from the extreme conditions. ‎ ‎The entire place suddenly became chaotic. ‎ ‎I couldn't help but look at the scene before me with mixed emotions. Though the people looked miserable beyond words, there wasn't any sign of violence amongst them. They simply rushed over with desperate expressions, afraid that there wouldn't be enough left for them. But that didn't mean that when push came to shove, things wouldn't get ugly. ‎ ‎"Stay sharp, we make a move soon." Anya's voice sounded through the whisper-link in my ear. I answered with a soft nod and remained crouched behind the broken wall. ‎ ‎The rear doors of the supply va

‎The Wastelands of Ashara was a shattered remnant of what was once a prominent city in the past. A striking result of the last global war that shook our very mother Earth. Bums and children suffering from malnutrition and now only an empty shell in their tattered and dirty clothes took each corner of the ruins as their place of stay. It was a free world they lived in, but generally, they were slaves of poverty, mismanagement and victims of the vices of humanity. ‎ ‎ I kind of felt for them. ‎ ‎As a victim of hunger and torment myself, I know just how much these people suffered. And worse was how they were erased from the rest of the world. They probably believed they were the sole survivors of the last world war, but reality couldn't be any different. ‎ ‎"This is the base of operation of Liberix. Though from received information, they're much more discreet about their operations. We have to make use of every possible means to find out what it is they're doing." ‎ ‎As w

‎The Solitude Outpost ‎Few days passed, a week probably, with us flying about towards the Ashen Expanse, which apparently was some forgotten part of the New World that I'd never even heard of before. From what Anya briefed me, it wasn't merely an uninhabited region but one that had been erased from every public resource and map in existence. No matter how long one searched, it would remain almost impossible to find this place except by accident. Only few world powerhouses knew of its existence. ‎Anya and I had remained professional throughout the entire journey. Nothing remotely similar to what happened back in the Spax Corp. main facility ever ensued again. It almost made me question if the Serena I knew back then had only been an act from the very beginning. ‎She was much colder now...Much more mature, and frighteningly professional. ‎Sometimes I even wonder if she intentionally avoided speaking simply because she found conversations to be unnecessary. ‎It was already past