Looming Doom

"Hino!" Holding in her hands was that same black-haired boy in the exact same uniform she had seen for the last couple of weeks; his eyes were shut, dissatisfied and eager for something more, yet he lay motionless this entire time, just waiting within her grasp.

'Told you this would happen; you should've listened to me.' Pandemonium stares down from above, watching the two bodies before her grasp each other, one holding while the other pulls away.

K4 rolls tears down her eyes. "This isn't how it should have happened. This can't be the way it ends; we were supposed to end this together!" The desperate pleas of almost a child flow out of her; it wasn't like she hoped.

'You can always make things right if you really want to.' Pandemonium kneels down next to her, just hovering above her shoulder, waiting for the perfect moment to finally set everything out.

"You're right but so terribly wrong." K4 turns back to Pandemonium with a forced smile appearing on her face, the face of someone who has given up on pushing anymore; it was over in that desperate defeated face.

Pandemonium gives a smirk. 'Just give up; I can take things from here. You will be free.' The promise of freedom for the enslaved was almost like a dream come true; this was the moment she waited for her entire life.

"You're right, I did enough, didn't I?" That validation she needed was crucial for everything.

'You did... Now rest, my exhausted robot.' The next moment everything fades into darkness, like everything was shut off in a mere moment; there was nothing to see for her, just the endless abyss which lay ahead.

. . .

"K4!" In an instant jolt, K4 awakens from her slumber, almost frantically looking around, scanning the area, noticing that they were upon the wastelands, the resting place they promised to be at. In the distance, a huge metallic hole could be seen where the initial missile had come from.

"I'm here; it's fine. Remind me how much time we have left." Her voice was still panicked and disoriented, like she was in another world.

Hino lets out a sigh. "You had that dream again, didn't you? Everything is fine." The comforting words gave her a bit of a chill time before waiting for the date of today.

"Just tell me everything again." The haziness was definitely a part of the dream; every night since they entered the wasteland, it has been like this. K4 tried asking Pandemonium for help, but it seems she doesn't know the answer either; it was a confusing mess to her.

"Tomorrow we're set to die from the missile. We have been camping here for the last week. We entered this wasteland about two weeks ago. This is getting worse and worse, it seems."

"Yeah, you're right, every night," K4 sighs out slowly, letting everything go back into her memory. These reoccurring dreams weren't her most pleasant surprise yet, but they seem to be unavoidable at this stage; maybe it was the combination of the last rewinds finally catching up to the emotional robot.

The campsite was set up as they rested upon a hilltop overlooking the missile silo where the missile will directly hit. In the past rewinds, they would be correctly planning out many stage plans to intercept or destroy the missile, but that wasn't the case this time; they ate their supplies and just did random activities to pass time for the entire week.

The food was almost gone as well, so they would have a grand feast tonight, worthy of kings. It was their final meal, just like many others; it's best to make the most of it. The missile hits midday, so it doesn't leave much time to do anything. tomorrow

"Thank you for being with me this entire time; it really means a lot." The sudden change gives Hino a jolt, remembering this happens each time.

Hino looks deep into K4. "What happens in that dream? You said that every time you awaken again." His concern was genuine; it seemed oddly convenient that everything started to scare K4, like almost a curse put upon her.

'Don't let that dream kill you... You're going to die anyway, so keep it for later. Pandemonium was obviously sarcastic; having spent so much time with K4, they kind of grew on each other. Despite this, there was still a clear line that Pandemonium doesn't care half as much about K4 compared to the other way around.

Ignoring her comment, she finally decides it's over. "Hino, let's have a pleasant day today and enjoy every moment before tomorrow. A dream is just a dream, after all."

"That sounds better now!" Hino gets up from the tent, taking in the dry air of the wastelands. There wasn't any pretty nature or any sort of animals out here, just dry, coarse dirt and the cracks underneath waiting to quake, the silo being the only proof of humanity being here.

K4 also takes out of the tent taking in the air, compared to Hino; it didn't have an effect on her in any way, making it rather obsolete, but the sights did rather put her in a sour mood, especially with her dreams recently.

"I'm going to make a tree today," K4 declares.

"A tree?"

"A tree, yes, it will remind me of the times we were in that nature, and ever since the beginning when we travelled to Ox, it will be rather hard, though." Her voice taking a playful approach gives Hino, finally, some motivation to start his own hobbies.

"Then I will try writing a poem, maybe about trees, and then we will combine our artworks and have a memorial that will die out with us."

"That is a pretty good idea; you better try your hardest!" K4's way of motivation wasn't the best, but it did the job, especially for Hino.

Both of them sat down at their campsite, Hino starting to come up with words for his poem and K4 trying to get carvings into her mind. Pandemonium was also a bit intrigued by the wooden carvings, and both of them took an approach in the mind space.

As hours go by, both of them are making steady progress on their projects; it was about noon, but that left plenty of time still for them to continue. Both were pretty concentrated, leaving the dry air just a tiny bit drier.

"Hino, isn't it weird that we found hobbies before dying?"

Hino sparks into confusion. "What's weird about that?"

"A lot; most people are with families or even with friends while we're here carving and writing poetry at the heart of the explosion."

"Is there an issue with that?"

"No. You're right; spending our time together isn't a waste. I don't regret it anyway, even if it is basically admitting to the world we couldn't save them."

Hino scoffs, "Stop with that saving the world. Leaving Shilo, we knew it was impossible, so why continue dragging it?"

K4 gives a smile back to Hino: "You're right again; you need a little humbling soon, it seems, before your ego rises."

"Give it your best shot." A daring challenge to K4

Standing up from her wooden trunk, she walks up to Hino, showing the tree. The leaves were nonexistent, like the wasteland, yet as a dead tree, it got full marks; it was well made; there weren't any blunders or any wooden pegs or chips sticking out; it was just well made.

Hino, on the other hand, has written a poem about their journey; it wasn't the finest piece of literature, but it was pleasant for the both of them. Their struggles would remain intact within these memorials until the explosion would evaporate them as well; it was cruel but also destined to be that way.

Both of them start setting up using every piece of food and water they have to set up a grand meal; they had around four people's worth of food, which was supposed to last them, but the hunting and fishing from before also gave more supplies.

"Are you ready for the final meal?" K4 looks over at Hino, who is prepared to dig into a big piece of meat.

"Let's enjoy it." Hino takes the first bite. Soon after, K4 starts eating as well. Despite not feeling hunger, it was enjoyable to be eating with Hino, their light-hearted atmosphere finally dragging on into the night where they could both enjoy a full rest once more.