Arc 1 - Chapter 5: Not Looking Back

(Solmonath 28, 56 / 3:06PM)

A mother’s love has no bounds.

No matter how torturous a search, a mother’s will is one forged out of iron. Iron so thick that it can block all hate, crush all evil, but…

“Have you seen a boy with light-brown hair?! He’s a middle-schooler and he’s five feet tall!”

So brittle that if it were to bend, it would be shattered into thousands of pieces.

“Ma’am, this is a big city. How am I supposed to know what your kid looks like?”

“Just please take a look at this picture?!”

“Sorry lady, but let me listen to my Metallic in peace.”

For the hundredth time, a stranger brushed her off like dust, making her slump her shoulders. Her hands holding her face, she had been looking for Luke for the past four hours, and yet there was no sign of him.

Feeling as if the world was against her, her sharp nails slowly scraped against her skin, leaving off a trail of scratch marks. Knowing Luke went to explore downtown, mostly since she knew Fred lived in that district, she still couldn’t trace his track.

And it didn’t help for the citizens of the city to continue on with their day.

“All these idiots listening to Michael Jackdaughter and Princess, too busy in their world…”

Mary continued to run throughout the downtown district of the city, her eyes scanning the smallest traces of boys in the middle-school age range. The small skyscrapers above failing to give her shade, combined with the density of the sidewalks she ran, only led her to trail out a couple of drops of sweat.

Yet her running ceased as soon as her phone rang. Taking it out, she placed it right alongst her ear, her face clammed with sweat.

“Mary? Did you find him?” A familiar voice molested her ear.

She started to tear and whimper, with tears rolling down her pale sweaty cheeks. Unable to say the words, words which burned a bridge between her heart and vocals, she couldn’t utter.

“M-Mary? Mary? Are you there? Say something!” Joseph’s loud voice caused Mary to flinch, bringing all her five senses to spike up. Even though her face and voice quivered relentlessly, with fear and hopelessness, her heart managed to cross that burned bridge.

“J-Joseph … I … I … I’m sorry…”

She broke down in tears, and she raised her other hand to cover her twitching mouth. Yet Joseph remained cool from the other side, despite his voice withholding a growl of stress.

“Listen, Mary, I know this may be hard, but … meet me west at the end of the city…”

“W-what? What are you saying?” Her tears ceased, fading away as her fingers which curled the phone began to deepen. The chunky phone, which started to crack, shriveled and chipped off corners of the metal from the device.

She would have snapped the phone in two, but she didn’t.

“Luke is still out there! I’m doing my part in searching for our son, but why aren’t you?! No … I’m not meeting up with you…”

“Don’t do this on your own, Mary! You need me—”

Mary hung up the phone, putting the blocky cellphone back into her large abnormal pocket. Not wanting to pick up the phone anytime soon, she resumed her search for Luke.

‘I’ll find my son even if it kills me…’ thought Mary.

As Joseph was hung up, a long radio static assaulted against his eardrums, his fingers prying itself on the office phone. Instead of slamming the phone on the desk—no, his frustration was beyond that…

“DAMN IT!!”

He flipped over the table.

Objects like pencils, papers, and many other office supplies scattered all over the room. Enraged, he kept kicking the table legs that held the metallic table in place. Even if his kicking did nothing to the table, one of the legs was dented and almost broken…

And to hold a table, four legs support it…

Several workers noticed the sudden outburst, seeing their mayor who was once calm and collected go through a meltdown. Quietly staring at him, it was a while before Joseph ceased his kicking, his face plastered with sweat.

“D-Do you need some fresh air sir?”

“… Get my limo ready… “

“For what sir?”

“To get some fresh air.”

Melancholy, Joseph walked out of the room, leaving behind the flipped over table with a broken leg. Sliding his sleeves to the halfway point between his wrists and elbows, he also adjusted his suit.

—Why can’t people keep my promises?

________________________________________________________________________

(Solmonath 28, 56 / 3:47PM)

How long was he out? How long did he remain unconscious—no, he wasn’t unconscious, but…

—Ow … where?

Darkness clouded his vision, with dust swirling inside his lungs and throat. Unable to cough, it felt like something was trapping him, as if his body was pressed down by a divine force. But it wasn’t.

Groaning, he blinked yet he still couldn’t see.

—Wait, am I … stuck … how did I … get trapped … What happened?

He had to remember what happened, whilst his eyes lowered onto the darkness in which he couldn’t see. Remembering bit by bit, a teen tried to pick a fight with him, which led to the very same teen to get on top of the stack of crates.

Trailing his mind, … there was a bright flash, a flash bright enough to outshine the sun. Coming from the windows, everyone was amazed at it, but then … then came the shockwave. And a second later … There were chunks of debris flown on top of them.

But what happened to the others?

At the last second of what he remembered, just as the debris fell; he, Fred, Stan, and Gary were safe on the stack of wood. Unknown to the others down below, who knows if they survived the rain of metal.

—If I, Fred, Stan, and … Gary were on top of the wood, then where …

Did his friends go?

“Fred! Stan! Where are you guys?”

Still trapped, but yet not crushed, he shouted from the top of his lungs. Plowing out chunks of dust dwindling inside his mouth, a couple of dry coughs attacked his lungs the more he yelled.

“Anyone! Say something!”

He kept looking around, but not even a breath exhaled. Trapped within the confines of darkness, his spirit began to chip away the more he shouted, the more he waited. What if they—

Luke shook his head.

—N-no. they’re not dead, they're not dead, they're not …

He tried to wiggle his way out, but to no avail, he felt the pressure of the debris still trapping him. Feeling hopeless, his wiggling began to cease, his soul already succumbing to the…

—The debris began to lighten—

The weight of the debris decreasing more and more, Luke yet again continued his wiggling vigorously. Like a worm traveling through the dirt, he even felt his own arms and legs loosen from the pressure. Sure enough, he was free from the weight that pinned him down, causing him to take in a huge breath of air into his lungs.

Looking up at who saved him, it was none other than…

“S-Stan! Fred! And … hey Gary.”

Luke and Fred hugged each other tightly, giving each other a pat on the bat before Luke hugged Stan as well. Even though Stan didn’t return it, he let out a soft chuckle.

As for Gary, he kept quiet. His anger subdued due to the situation they’re now in, he kept his body away from him. Cutting the reunion short, Stan pulled Luke away.

“We need to get out of here.”

“But what about our friends—” Said Gary, before he was interrupted.

It wasn’t by anybody, but by something. The wall, which separated them from the man building, came crashing down. Dust clouding all over themselves, they coughed and gagged, but the dust faded away too quickly even for their eyes.

Looking upon the sight, what lay bare on the floor…

“Oh my God…”

“No … no … no …”

Fred gasped.

“Is that…?”

Everyone, all the geeks who participated in the construction of their robots. Gary’s followers, Stan’s friends, Fred’s role models, Luke’s enemies, were all…

—Dead. Pelted by metal shrapnel and boulder cement stones—

Their bodies lifeless on the ground, most of them had sharp metal rods sticking out of their bodies. A large pool of blood was sinking into every crack and hole in the building, and it created a lake, but the smell…

‘Damn it! Damn it all!’ thought Stan, as he kicked a couple of stone pebbles that originated from the ceiling.

Gary slammed his knees on the sharp debris beneath him, his knees scraped against the sharp corners. All of them looked up to him, and now they looked down with death in their eyes.

Fred took several steps backwards, giving him enough room to turn around and get in all fours. His body swelled with his cold sweat, his stomach churned and moved violently, causing him to unleash an acidic juice from his mouth. His vomit torturing his throat, it scorched under the leftover food he ate barely a few hours prior.

As for Luke, his eyes widened, with nothing to speak of. In utter denial something like this could happen, he looked up to the roof—

There was no roof, only a hole

“What is that?” Stan uttered those three words, his voice as quiet as a house-mouse.

The four of them saw with hopelessness at the sight in front of them, their brains unable to comprehend the unrealistic and impossible. Ignoring the lake of blood bestowed in their minds, their eyes traveled elsewhere, leading them to trail up to something they never saw.

It was …

“A monster?” Stan gulped out the words.

Taller than half of the buildings in the city, the monster was a force to the eye’s proposal to glance. More than 200 meters high, and engulfed in yellow flames, it had so much flame it looked to be spewing out solar storms.

Its appearance was gigantic. It had devilish horns on its forehead, hot orange eyes, long flaming hair that covered its neck, slender arms and legs, and a slim waist.

And a feminine chest, as well as pear shaped thighs.

Luke’s whole body shook as he saw the devil’s wife himself, everyone did.

As the monster began to move, it looked toward a certain building just beyond the edge of the city. Turning its head to look down, the yellow-flamed monster watched the despair and shock of the citizens and onlookers who froze.

Taking another step forward, the planet shook, shaking what's left of the destroyed building. Screams and shouts heard far from the distance, Stan snapped himself out of his trance upon the fiery monster.

“R-Run!”

With no other option, they tucked tailed and ran, once its footsteps shook Terra evermore. Gary, the only one hesitant on running, still had his knees bruising amongst the sharp stone debris.

“Gary! Let’s go!”

Without uttering a voice, Gary let himself be pushed up by Stan. The elf having a firm grip on Gary’s right arm, Stan dragged him through the debris, along with everyone else.

‘Why is this happening? Why us of all people…’ thought Stan.

While running, Luke looked back at the monster who ceased her stomping. As if she was enjoying herself, enjoying the chaos and despair she inflicted … it only let Luke’s mouth open slightly.

“Don’t look back! It’s never a good idea to look back when running!” Said Fred.

Yet Luke continued to look back, letting his eyes encapsulate the yellow flames spewing out from its body. In the next second, the monster used its right hand to grab a piece of a nearby building, grabbing it like it was cake.

She then threw the remnants of the crucible building, straight into the city below.

________________________________________________________________________

Banshee-like screams showered throughout the city.

“Daddy will always be with you. Daddy will always be with you—” A cat-human held something light in his arms, as he melancholically walked. A little cat-human girl, most likely an elementary schooler, looked cold as ice. Losing the flame of her humanity, it’s clear her father…

Was carrying the already dead remains of her daughter.

“Mommy! Mommy!” A regular human child, the same age as the deceased cat-girl, stood near a pile of debris. Crashed onto the pavement, a pool of blood splattered all over the stone rubble, with the kid uselessly prying it open with his scalped palms.

As he continued to cry for his mother.

Scenarios like this happened all over the city, and Luke and the others only catch glimpses of these unfolding.

—I don’t want to die … I don’t want to die … I don’t want to die …

Luke kept thinking, thinking of the thought of being bridal carried while ceasing to live, or being crushed to death by a ball of debris. Hearing pain, hearing despair; hearing death, Luke placed both his palms onto his ears, while Stan kept his eyes forward.

‘I don’t want to—no, we’re all going to live. I will be getting us out of here…’ thought Stan.

Stan’s goal of keeping everyone else alive to see another day was a goal he’ll not fail. Guilt? Sanity? He doesn’t want the past to plunder his future self. Lost in his own goal, he jerked to the sound of heavy wheezing to his right.
“I can’t run anymore. Maybe I’ll—” Said Gary, before he was interrupted by Stan.

“Don’t give up! If we take a break for one second, we’re all dead!

“Even I … pants … can’t … pants … run—” Said Fred, panting heavily the more he pushed his lungs to his limits. The same as Gary, he was also interrupted by Stan.

“Damn it you guys. Just keep running!”

As they all ran, the fiery beast from behind grabbed yet another piece of a building next to her. Having it wrapped in the palm of her hand, she threw the chunks of burning debris, scattering around the city at random.

Being unfortunate, one of the fiery debris slammed right next to them.

All four boys tumbled down, tinnitus again ringing the insides of their ears. A dust cloud of smoke and dust circling their area, Stan pushed his body up from the street.

“Ah! Everyone get up!

Fred, who panted heavily, had inhaled a dangerous amount of burning air into his pink lungs. Panting deeply, Stan reached toward the silver-haired boy.

“Fred! Cough out that smoke!”

Still coughing out burning dust, he didn’t have the stamina to push forward. Panting deeply, every breath mottored his lungs like the startup of a lawn mower.

‘Guess I have to carry him myself.’ thought Stan.

Placing Fred onto his back, he was light enough to carry, as Fred clung to Stan’s back and chest like a lifeline. Noticing Gary was running on adrenaline, his chubby body was able to keep up with Stan’s. Before they continued on with their sprint, they noticed one missing person.

“Where’s Luke?!”

“I thought he was with you?”

“Shit! Luke! Luke!”

He pinned his eyes at the dust covered area, seeing nothing from where they just ran past. A choice to make, he could either look for Luke, but at the risk of all three of their lives; or don’t look back.

‘Why?! Why?! Why?! Why me of all people!?’

Stan stood for a couple of seconds, pulling his hair with both hands as he didn’t know what the correct choice was. If he saved Luke, he would keep his sanity safe from guilt, but if he abandoned Luke …

Then he would be living a damned life.

“I’m sorry Luke …”

Stan continued forward, with Fred barely conscious and Gary barely clinging onto shared breaths of oxygen. Abandoning his goal, Stan had to submit to the cruel reality which hit him like a freight train.

As they sprint their all their might; not looking back.