The First Descent

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

A blank landscape.

That is all one can see in the white expanse that is made of snow.

Pieces of snow drift here and there from the gray clouds above-a gray blanket that expands across the entire sky.

In the expanse of snow, among the blanket of white, some things do stand out.

In an area in the countryside near the east coast, a small town exists. Once beautiful and green, the town was once upon a time vibrant and teeming with life.

Now, compared to the entire land of snow, the town was but a memory.

Lifeless and barren.

In the town, many of the once simple yet warm buildings collapsed. Everywhere eyes would look, litter and trash were many of things littered across the once clean roads. Debris and cars laid unmoving, still, even as the harsh cold winds attempted to erode it.

In one of the larger buildings, with a sliver of the morning light filtering into the building at a distance, two lumps of shadows lay against the hard floor.

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

Then, one of the lumps slowly moved. First, it was a twitch, and then suddenly the lump turned over, revealing a boy of about thirteen years old.

Covered in a coat, the boy's brows furrowed as a sudden gust of cold washed over his face, like a sudden slap. Even then, the boy simply rubbed his eyes with his gloved hands as he yawned.

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

The sound of coughing once more entered his ears, akin to an alarm blaring right next to his head..

The boy neither groaned nor complained, but instead slowly sat up from the hard, cold marble-tiled floor.

He then stretched his arms, yawning again, along with even more blinking. Perhaps there was a small sneeze along with that, but he didn't care as he forced his tired, weary eyes to open.

As he opened them, light made way into the darkness-albeit dim enough to not warrant his eyes to look away.

In the distance, to his left, he saw a small glimpse of light casting shadows on the hall in the distance. Perhaps the soft, early dark purple dawn morning light filtered through the broken windows.

Taking another deep breath, breathing in the cold, almost dusty air, the boy turned is body onto his side and slowly pushed himself up.

Around him, trash littered across the entire floor, and the aisles normally filled with food and other essentials were almost all gone, save for a few empty bags and boxes.

Small vapors of transparent, white mist escaped his mouth as the boy exhaled.

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

More coughing was heard, and the boy began walking across the hard, polished floor.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

𝘛𝘢𝘱.

Weakly stumbling, the boy made his way towards the source of the coughing-a shaking, trembling figure.

Under the dim, early morning light, the dark figure was covered by a thin blanket. Standing over the figure, the boy kneeled down. He placed his right hand onto the lump's shoulders, and gently shook it.

"Chaya...are you okay?" the boy whispered.

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

That was the only response he got as the shivering lump turned over. Rolling onto its side, underneath the thin blanket, was a small girl inside her coat.

The boy felt his hands become colder as he heard the girl coughed again.

"I'm fine, J-Jonah, I'm fine..." the girl said. She then began to struggle sitting up.

'You're not fine,' the boy named Jonah thought.

"It's okay, Chaya, just rest. You don't need to talk," he whispered, gently pushing her shoulder down.

Weakly nodding, the girl's head fell back onto the floor with a slump.

Rubbing her shoulder, the boy's shoulders drooped. The weight on his chest grew more noticeable. The tightness of his chest, the heaviness in the air…he couldn't breathe.

Everywhere he looked, there was only fog. A cage that he can't see outside of.

The boy placed his hand on his chest, his breathing quickened.

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to breathe deeply. Breathe in…hold…breathe out.

The boy repeated these steps as he grabbed his chest more tightly. Then, after a while, the weight disappeared-if only for a brief moment, and he fell onto the ground.

Gasping, Jonah gripped his gloved hands tightly.

As he was staring up blankly at the dark ceiling, where the shadows hide every corner, his thoughts ran abandon.

'So, this is what it means to be at the bottom of the ladder?'

A sense of true despair; the feeling was not even close when he forgot to turn his homework in. The feeling when he was hungry and he didn't know what to do.

The feeling when his little sister is sick, and he 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼.

Each cough that rang out from the small girl made his chest ache so, so much.

Oh how the boy wished he could make her happy. Yet, no matter how much he thinks about it, he can't see a future where they're all happy.

Especially after what happened; or rather what is happening as of right now.

'How did things end up this way? Why?'

Jonah looked back on it all...the day his and his eight-year old little sister's world changed.

The day his world…no.

The day both his and Chaya's world changed.

...

𝗔 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗮𝗴𝗼.

It was a warm spring night, with a cool, soft breeze cooling the warm air. It wasn't too cold, but it is rather chilling for those who are physically weak.

Chattering and laughter filled the air as people of various sizes mostly wore traditional clothing such as kimonos, partaking in fun activities underneath the bright lanterns and decorations.

Walking down the street, a short white-haired girl pulled along a taller white-haired boy.

The older brother and little sister were with their loving father and mother.

It was the spring festival, a traditional celebration; a celebration for the end of winter and the coming of spring.

The family had come to the festival in order to enjoy the festivities and fireworks.

Alas, even if it were the end of winter, it was cold for younger children, and so Chaya had to wear a coat.

Jonah was sad, and so he also brought a coat, albeit because he didn't want his little sister to feel left out.

Then he was teased by his parents.

It was not just them to.

There were many others who also teased him.

'I hope they stub their toe against a hard wall or chair leg or something. All of them.'

Just this little thing, just this little nice older sibling act of his made others think he is a siscon.

How could they?

Many say Jonah is a siscon, especially his classmates.

He is not.

He is a very kind, gentle older brother. He keeps himself in check by having a curse jar, and every semi-curse he says like "fudge" or "fiddlesticks" counts as a curse.

All so his little sister can never found out the real ones.

The big curses are the scary ones.

'Oops, I went on a tangent again.'

Anyways, there is a difference between a good older brother and a siscon, and people are blind enough to not see the difference.

In the end, Jonah never bothered to correct them anymore.

They just keep getting ammo to tease him.

He'll remember that.

He'll remember them all.

As the two children were walking, a sudden gust blew past them, and Jonah shivered.

Alas, this impromptu decision of him also bringing a coat turned out it was the right choice to make. As the wind's breeze became colder, the boy pulled Chaya, who was trembling, closer to him.

She hugged him tightly, and he smiled.

This is what all good older brothers do.

As he was looking around, he abruptly realized he couldn't see their parents.

'Oops.'

Earlier on, the two ran from their parents…is how the stories go. No, the little sister ran from their parents, and the boy had to tag along with her.

He assumed Chaya was very impatient to see the fireworks, for she kept egging their parents for a while.

Finally, with their permission, they allowed her to go ahead of them under Jonah's supervision.

Although their parents called out to them to stay near them, the smaller sibling smiled innocently, pretending not to hear them.

The taller sibling only sighed, but alas he still willingly followed behind her with a smile.

As the boy walked through the bustling crowd, holding Chaya's small, pale hand, he suddenly heard shouting. Of course, there was shouting, but this time many people shouted. Looking around, he saw people looking at the sky, and some pointing at it. So, he followed their gazes, and his eyes were greeted with a miracle.

Many, many balls of orange light flew across the sky. Seemingly as countless as the stars in the sky, many of them flew across the sea of stars.

It was truly a mesmerizing sight to watch. As Jonah stared up at the night sky, murmurings and whispers filled the air.

"Is this a meteor shower?"

"I never saw one before…"

"Why didn't the weather forecast say anything about this?"

Murmurs, many loud and many small, talked around him.

While the boy continued to look up at the stars, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking to the side, the boy saw his little sister was also looking at the shooting stars.

Chaya's eyes sparkled with awe as she pointed at the starry night sky.

"Jonah, are those shooting stars?" she asked, almost breathless.

"Probably."

The girl pouted slightly. Then, her face beamed brightly again, and her eyes sparkled.

"Do you think if we pray for a wish, the shooting star will grant my wish?"

Even as she spoke, she quickly closed her eyes, as though thinking of a wish of sorts.

'Red flag alert. Red flag alert!' Jonah screamed inside his head. Outwardly, he smiled and nodded.

Apparently someone else thought the same, as before he spoke, a voice rose up from the crowd.

"Hey siscon, that's a red flag if I ever heard one-"

Just as Chaya stiffened, in one swift movement, Jonah picked up a pebble along the road and tossed it to where the voice was. Apparently, it landed on the mark as he heard a 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥, and he heard a yell following that 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥.

"Oi! What the heck man!?"

All of this happened in the span of a second or two, for the surrounding civilians did not seem to notice what events had transpired.

No, they did notice. Instead, they just smiled knowingly.

'Damn, they noticed.'

And Jonah definitely knew what their smile was.

All their smiles.

'I'll remember that. I curse you, you mother trucker, for insulting me and Chaya. Mostly Chaya. I hope both sides of your pillows are uncomfortably warm tonight...'

Even before Chaya perceived that something was slightly off, Jonah gently gripped her shoulders, as though letting her know he was there.

His adorable little sister relaxed, sinking into his side.

Both ends of Jonah's mouth curled upwards.

Just a normal occurrence.

This is what all caring, gentle older brothers do.

It has to be.

"Yes, Chaya," he said. "The shooting stars will grant you your wish, I'm sure of it."

"Really!? Then I'll start praying!"

As she said that, the visibly excited girl put both the palms of her hands together, closing her eyes again in stern concentration.

Jonah smiled when he saw her face scrunching, her brows furrowing. As he was looking at her, unfortunately, someone rudely interrupted him.

Like an alarm interrupting a person's needed slumber, a loud voice yelled over the crowd.

"Hey! What was that for!?" the person in the crowd said, not too far from them.

"You damn siscon-!"

By then the two had already vanished into the crowd. As they went deeper, the white-haired boy look back.

To his immense relief, Jonah could not find a glimpse of the annoying person.

'Good riddance.'

Now that he heard the voice again, it was most likely a boy similar to his age judging by his voice.

'I hope I never meet him again,' he thought.

He no longer need to curse him, for he already did.

There are too many people who think he's a siscon. It'll take some time to lessen those numbers...

One day, they shall know.

As he thought of that, the white-haired boy slowly-and sneakily-pulled his little sister further into the depths of the crowd walking by.

While he did so, said little sister was too deep in her concentration to see what was happening as she continued praying.

"My wish is for you, Papa, and Mama to all be happy, and we can live happily together forever," she whispered, bowing her head towards some invisible being in the sky.

"That's a good wish, Chaya," Jonah said, and his eyes kept straying to the crowd. While he was doing so, he then had a thought.

'That is a good wish...I guess I'll make my wish too. I should create my own red flag I suppose.'

Thinking that, he put his palms together and closed his eyes.

'God, gods, or whoever is listening to me...I wish that Chaya could be truly happy...also our entire family to. I hope we will stay with each other safely for the rest of our lives...' the boy prayed solemnly.

And someone answered his prayers.

"𝘽𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧-"

…

Under the night sky, under the shooting stars in the sky, the boy and the girl stumbled as the sound of a trumpet blared seemingly against their ears.

As the sound suddenly reverberated in his ears, the boy almost fell over.

The sound was foreign, strangely metallic, bright, yet brilliant and intense.

Powerful. Firm.

Ominous.

Jonah stumbled around, nearly doubling over once more, as if the ground was shaking.

It was the same for the rest of the people around him. For the adults or children, men and women, rows upon rows of people reacted in different ways.

Some just covered their ears, some simply looked around, blatantly confused, and some just fell over onto the ground, kneeling or lying flat against the dirt.

Some had their mouths opened, soundlessly screaming.

Jonah was one of the few who covered someone else's ears. His own little sister.

The boy saw her soundlessly opening her mouth in a scream. No matter what he did, he couldn't hear anything.

The sound of a trumpet blaring, vibrating the world in his eyes, didn't allow him to.

It did not give its permission for him to hear anything else but its blaring, trumpeting bellow.

"𝘽𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧𝙧-"

Jonah scrunched his eyes as the vibrations of the sound echoed throughout the festival.

As the boy's body shook from the vibration of the blaring noise, he slowly felt something heavy pushing against his chest.

'I…can't breathe. I can't…breathe-!'

The thought appeared over and over inside his head, and it somehow made it worse.

The invisible pressure grew heavier and heavier as he gasped for air. His face flushed, feeling hot and turning red.

The pain never ended, for as seconds passed by, the trumpet's blow continued to make its presence well known.

Then, Jonah couldn't handle it anymore. Like a ball being filled with air constantly past its limit, the boy felt as if he was about to explode.

Just as his tired, shaky hands were about to leave Chaya's ears; just as Jonah felt he was about to fall, the sound abruptly vanished.

The world fell silent; frozen in time as the boy fell onto the ground with a 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥, like a marionette's strings being cut.

The invisible weight disappeared, and so he thankfully and desperately inhaled air.

While he was breathing in the good stuff, someone walked over to him.

"Jonah, are you alright?" Chaya said, standing over him worriedly. Jonah managed to put on a smile as he tried getting up.

At least she was fine.

That was all that mattered.

"Y-yeah, I'm-𝘩𝘶𝘧𝘧-yeah, I'm…I'm fine…" he said, trying to sound convincing.

Chaya didn't seem convinced, for her shaking arms and legs, the trembling in her voice-that told him all that he needed to know.

Alas, he hoped he managed to pull off looking 'alright.'

Within a few seconds, the boy got up with a huff, and he looked around.

'Where's dad and mom? And, where did that trumpet come from?' Jonah thought.

It was incredibly overwhelming and loud, it was really strange. Even the people around him were confused, evidenced by him overhearing people begin talking to each other.

"What horrible sound was that? Was there a marching band today?"

"Is this part of the festival?"

"How come I've never heard about this?"

Dusting the dirt off his clothes, Jonah kept going back to thinking about the strange trumpet sound.

Strangely enough, he had a feeling it wasn't a part of the festival.

It was akin to an announcement.

An announcement to get people's attention. An announcement in preparation for the arrival of something grand.

For something truly, truly grand.

'But what's coming?'

As the boy continued hearing mutterings of confusion and complaints around him, he felt a shiver up his spine.

Jonah, startled, immediately raised his head and looked around.

As he was doing so, the boy noticed some people started pointing to the sky, and so he followed their fingers...

Looking at the sky, Jonah felt his mind go blank.

In the dark, night sky, he saw that the so called 'shooting stars' were…writhing. Even at this distance, he could see that the 'small' comets twist and turn.

Writhing in agony and pain.

As he squinted his eyes, Jonah finally made out what was 'writhing.' They were orange flames; weaving and dancing across the 'shooting stars.'

While the boy watched, he also noticed that these balls of fire were growing larger and larger.

As if they are coming closer and closer to them.

Many others noticed as well, for the many voices of complaints, annoyance, and awe were instantaneously converted to screams of fear filling the night sky as all manner of people began making a mad scramble away.

Pulling Chaya's hand, who was still looking at the sky in awe, he began running away along with the crowd.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

As the voice of his little sister's protest entered his ears, he only had a thought.

'I need to protect my little sister, and find my parents. That's all that matters.'

That was all the boy could think of.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

A few seconds after they began running, someone harshly bumped into his little sister, and she fell with a yelp.

"Chaya!" Jonah screamed, and his heart dropped.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱-

The boy fought against the crowd. Ever step, he tried to move closer to her. But everytime he took a step, grunting with exertion, he fell back a few more steps.

The people were frantically running past him, like a stampede, pushing him away like fighting against the river's current. Their frantic footsteps were like the thunderous quakingof the ground, akin to an earthquake.

Thoughts floated in the boy's head every second, and they didn't help him at all.

'What if something happened to her? What if she gets hurt? What if-?'

Alas, he attempted to futilely wiggle his way past the crowd. When he was growing more desperate, he suddenly heard a voice.

"Jonah!"

Then, the boy felt relief. Like a hungry man in a desert arriving upon a clear, shining blue oasis, Jonah drank in its sight, gulping it down as a deep, yet reassuring voice rang throughout the air.

Even when people were screaming and yelling, amongst all of it, Jonah heard it clearly, like a pin drop in a silent room.

The boy looked up, and everything became silent around him. His heartbeat slowed down, and his lungs relaxed.

A tall man was pushing through the throng of people.

Jonah's father was…a person who stood out in the crowd. The white-haired tanned man was rather tall and lean, and when he walked, people instinctively parted away from him.

Like Moses and the Red Sea.

Then, the boy snapped back to reality, and the screaming and awful noises rushed into his ears once more.

"It's Chaya-!" Jonah yelled over the crowd. "She-!"

"I know, I see her," said the man in a stern, deep, yet gentle voice.

Pushing and shoving past several more people, the tall man made it to the little girl. The poor girl was on the floor, shivering and crying whilst covering her head in a fetal position.

"It's okay, daddy has you," he softly said, cradling the small girl in his arms. The small girl cuddled inside his arms, sniffing and shaking.

"D-daddy..."

"Chaya! Are you okay?" Jonah ran up to them, taking advantage of the opening.

Fortunately, the opening the throng of mobs made when they parted ways for the man previously seconds ago were still there.

"She's fine, it's just a couple scratches," his dad answered for the little girl as he patted Chaya up and down, dusting off the rubble and dust.

Seeing that she was okay, Jonah exhaled his held breath, filled with relief. Then, he remembered what was actually happening.

"Dad, why-"

"There's no time for questions. We have to get back to your mother and leave!"

While saying that, the dad then started jogging, holding Chaya in his arms. Jonah followed behind him, joining the crowd of people running.

That was all he knew.

…

The festival; its festivities once so bright and festive, was no more.

The air, once permeated with the festive world of joy and laughter was covered in fire and rubble Instead, smoke filled the air, and red, writhing flames danced and weaved all around them as the family of four ran.

By the time they reunited with Chaya and Jonah's mother, people had already fallen underneath the weight of rocks.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

The earth consistently quaked, vibrating, as if multiple heavy objects fell onto the ground, shaking it.

Along with the sounds of heavy objects falling onto the ground, the muted sounds of footsteps echoed as the family of four continued running.

While they were running, the crowd of people slowly disappeared, and only a noticeably short number of people remained.

'Perhaps they found a safer place,' the boy had thought.

While they were running, Jonah noticed something sticking out from piles of concrete and rubble.

Passing by it, he halted, for he barely made out the mangled body of a girl.

Alas, although he could barely see it due to the barely illuminated fire and smoke, his imagination filled in the gaps.

The imagination of a girl who looked similar and was very, very close to his little sister's age.

For just a moment, Jonah thought he saw Chaya there.

The boy felt his stomach churning.

"Oh...oh dear lord...ugh..." the boy swallowed down the bile in his throat, and his insides began feeling as though they were flipping and tumbling upside down.

Then he started heaving. Desperately grasping for air, he instead inhaled the hot, smoke-filled air. As he began coughing. Jonah heard his father's voice.

"Jonah. Do not look at that."

He turned to his dad, who was pushing Chaya's head against his neck. The boy knew his dad did it so that the girl wouldn't see the terrible sight.

Jonah gripped his fist tightly, and his fingernails dug into his hands, as he looked back at the body.

The pain pulsed inside his palms, but it felt as if it was only a pinch.

"But..but Dad, she might-!"

"Jonah!"

The boy almost jumped into the air as he turned to look at the tall man.

His dad rarely ever shouted.

All his life, Jonah saw him as a gentle person who knew almost everything. A man who knew every answer to every question. He was kind, gentle, and yet firm in his actions.

He was everything the boy inspired to be.

Now, when he looked at his father's face, he saw his eyes were filled with grim, steely determination…along with an emotion he couldn't comprehend.

"It's too late for her now. The best we can do is to get ourselves to safety, so we can keep her in our memories. So we can never forget her."

As the man said that, he started looking around.

"If I remembered correctly, there was a bunker just in case of an earthquake or a flood..." his dad muttered, and he began moving away with his mom.

As Jonah began following him, he looked back at the rubble.

The mangled body of a little girl; her hair matted with blood, the red blood that dripped down her face, her eyes dark and empty...seeing nothing...

Jonah bit his lips, and he absorbed the sight into his memories. A memory that will always be remembered.

A reminder of what could happen.

The boy tore his eyes off of the body, and he took off after his family.

His footsteps echoed across the empty, lifeless debris and rubble, leaving the body of the poor girl behind forever.

The poor girl who will always stare at him forever, dead and gone.

...

In the shadows of the night, amidst the flames and fields of rubble. the heat pressed against Jonah's face, and sweat dropped from his forehead as he raggedly breathed.

𝘏𝘶𝘧𝘧.

𝘏𝘶𝘧𝘧.

𝘏𝘶𝘧𝘧.

It had been a few minutes since the boy left behind the body, and the family of four continued running along the road.

Suddenly, they halted their footsteps as a whistling noise, similar to the sounds of fireworks firing into the sky, passed over their head.

Jonah covered his head as a wave of heat washed over him. Just as sudden as the heat appeared, it abruptly vanished. As they halted their footsteps, a flaming ball of rock suddenly fell from heaven.

It landed a couple yards away from the escaping family. The moment it crashed into the ground, the world around them quaked.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

It shook the earth, and a flash of heat was sent outwards. Buildings shook, and along with the falling pieces of rubble, dust and small pebbles flew from its impact, showering the family as they stumbled, covering themselves with their arms whilst almost falling over.

Jonah held onto his father for dear life, as did his mom. Even after all of this, his dad stood firm, with Chaya still covered in his embrace.

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩!

They all covered their faces in one way or another, but alas that did not prevent the dust and smoke from being inhaled.

Coughing and wiping his eyes, Jonah looked back at the flaming ball...and he saw something he thought he would never see in real life.

From the small crater of the remains of the flaming ball of rock, from the fire, a shadow emerged.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 emerged.

To describe it, this 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 was a strange blob that covered in fire, but it moved strangely. It lumbered like an individual who hasn't walked in a long while.

The moment it stepped out of the fire, it suddenly stopped.

The family watched as the malformed thing twisted and turned, writhing and shaking. The family slowly stepped back as the blob of writhing flames grew. From a blob, it began to form a strangely overbearing, yet lengthy humanoid body.

What seems to be the head was just a ball of flames, with no visible face.

A strange dichotomy of an alien body.

When it stopped twisting, turning, and forming, only a long, seven feet tall thin body, with its long thin arms and legs.

Jonah stood there, frozen, along with his family. He couldn't help it. He watched it in horror fascination as it was something akin to a dream-the imagination-breaking into reality.

A mistake it was, to stay behind.

The boy watched on as the monster slowly turned its round head at them.

A strange occurrence, for it had no face nor eyes to indicate if it was the front, nor could it see them.

Whatever it was, there was no doubt that it had somehow sensed them for it began its terrible lumbering towards them.

At that moment, Jonah came back into reality. The smoke. The heat. The flames.

Chaya.

Then, he blinked, and the monster was right in front of him.

It was so close, Jonah could make out the flames dancing on its body. Each flame writhing and glowing a dreadful orange-red glow.

Jonah raised its arms above itself, and it swung downwards. The boy felt the world become slow, and at the edges of his vision an orange glow as its arms dropped down onto his face-

"Jonah!"

Suddenly, he felt a force pushing him. Falling onto the floor, the boy heard a dull clanging noise followed suit.

Looking up, he saw his dad struggling against it.

In his hands was a long metal stick picked up from somewhere. While the two struggled, each pushing against each other, the dad suddenly yelled and pushed off its arm.

Just as he shoved it, the other arm came down onto him.

Bringing it down, the arm created a louder 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥, and the dad grunted.

A sickening crack rang out throughout the air, and Jonah's heart dropped as he watched his dad back pedaled away, clutching his left arm.

Although he gritted his teeth, the dad kept his eye on the fire monster, it slowly lumbering its way towards him.

"Dad-!" Jonah yelled.

"Jonah, get your mom and sister away," his dad said in a very, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 calm voice.

"Dear-!" his mom screamed from behind him.

"Don't worry about me, just get out of here!" he roared, and he slammed his metal stick against the monster. It surprisingly connected with the body, but the fire suddenly flickered onto his arm.

The dad gritted his teeth, but he kept pushing it back.

Step by step, Jonah watched as his dad kept pushing it further and further, albeit slowly.

After pushing it a couple steps, the dad abruptly roared and shoved the monster away.

With a strange groan, the monster backpedaled in a wobbly manner as it began the process of falling onto the ground.

The moment it fell flat, a large heavy 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥 echo echoed in the surroundings.

Jonah felt the corners of his mouth rise-

Then it fell into the abyss as the fiery monster slowly began to stand back up. Seemingly not disorganized in the slightest, it let out a strange groan as it lumbered back to the man in an almost drunken-like manner.

The boy suddenly had a strange thought.

It was as though the fire monster was akin to a marionette on strings.

"Come on Chaya, Jonah. Your dad can handle himself," his mom said. She couldn't hide the tremble in her voice.

Jonah blinked, and he remembered what to do as his mom began pulling Chaya and Jonah along.

When they reached a corner, Jonah looked back to see his father's broad back, facing the flaming monster.

...

They ran for an uncountable amount of time, dodging several more of the monsters, rubble, and corpses that laid across the ground.

Jonah tried to look away from them as much as humanly possible, but it was quite difficult when he needed to see what was in front of him.

Even then, in order to see in front of him, he tried to get his eyes to stay consistently open. The world clearly didn't want him to, as the smoke kept wafting into his eyes and noise.

The boy constantly coughed and blinked the smoke and sweat out of his eyes.

'It smelled so bad,' he thought, but he knew he had to keep moving.

Even when the three slowly grew tired, huffing and gasping for air, they continued to run.

Run.

Run.

And run.

That was all they knew, even as their lungs cry out for air.

To rest.

The smoke truly was thick, blatantly impairing their senses, as if it was its sole purpose. It was frustrating, for it continued to chase them like a dog right at their heels, nipping and biting at them, trying to make the run faster and faster.

Alas, if its purpose to blind them enough to fall, then it truly was foul and malicious. As the three ran and ran, the two children's hands held by their mom, the building next to them suddenly crumbled.

Jonah didn't even have time to move, as a small piece of concrete fell from above, landing onto their mom's hand.

The hand holding the little girl.

Chaya fell onto the ground with a little tumble.

The two skidded to a halt as the building started to crumble, and started to fall above them. Seeing this, the mom hurriedly ran up to Chaya, who was struggling to stand up. Grabbing her, and with a miracle that gives strength at the moment of need, the mom simply tossed her towards Jonah.

The girl flew into the air, and right into Jonah's open arms. As a result, the two tumbled away.

As they tumbled away, the sound of rocks crashing onto ground greatly magnified. Dust and rocks flew over them, and Jonah immediately covered the shivering girl with his body.

Even as he felt sharp objects hitting his back, he was dragged into a memory. A memory of the shooting stars flying across the night sky.

When all was peaceful in their lives.

When they were happy.

'Please…whatever being is listening to me…please give me the strength to protect Chaya!'

He continued praying, even as the building continued crashing down, collapsing.

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮! 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮! 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮! 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘮!

…

At last, after what seems to be a long, long time, the last of the booming crashes came to a halt.

In the midst of the rubble and dust, one of the lumps of rubbles suddenly moved.

Falling onto the ground next to it, a lump was revealed. It was a boy, and he slowly opened his eyes and looked down into his arms.

In his arms was a little girl.

Thankfully, Chaya was barely touched, his entire back and top of his body was colored by gray dust and small rubble.

Although they both had scratches, it was much better in terms of being crushed under so many rocks.

They were able to escape from the collapsing building.

Jonah got up first, and he didn't see his mom at all.

He simply called out to her.

"Mom! Mom!"

The boy's voice echoed around the piles of still, lifeless stone and rubble. He waited for an answer.

None returned.

Something ran rampant inside him, a heavy feeling that flooded into his veins, and it was exponentially increasing at a rate far surpassing his heartbeat.

Jonah called out again.

"Mom! Mooooooom!!!"

This time, he screamed in a wobbly, trembling manner.

The moment of silence that followed afterwards made felt true despair.

Jonah's breathing became more hurried. His heartbeat thumping over and over besides hie ear. He grasped desperately for air, but all he breathed in were smoke. As he coughed, almost keeling over, he suddenly gripped his fists tightly.

The boy covered in gray dust trembled once again.

As he kept calling out to the rubble of rocks, he heard Chaya muttering something. Then, he remembered.

Where he was right now, and what he had to do.

"Ma-mama?" Chaya weakly asked.

Jonah quickly grabbed Chaya's arms. He blocked the sight from her as he began edging his way forward.

"We…we have to run Chaya," he said, and he swore he hid the tremble in his voice. Hoping to hide the shivering undertone that betrayed him.

He hoped she didn't notice it.

"But Jonah-!"

Abruptly, invading their ears were screams of despair. The two looked up, and they saw the strange flaming monsters chasing other people.

Like cats approaching their prey, the monsters were trapping them against walls and corners, surrounding them like herding cattle.

As the two siblings watched, a sudden 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥 echoed behind them.

Looking back, the siblings saw that there was one staggering towards them from behind.

Jonah immediately led his sister into the only opening left-an alleyway near his side. Huffing, the only that was heard were the sounds of quickened breathing as they kept running.

The little sister, scrambling and running in the dark alleyway alongside her big brother, escaping for their lives.

Alas, their little escapee plan ended as they slowed to stop for a tall wall stood in front of them.

It was simply a dead end.

"Oh no..." the boy said under his breath, and he slowly turned around.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

If it was a coincidence or not, he doesn't know, but the fire monster that was chasing them appeared around the corner. Turning its faceless, empty head around, it seemed to pause, looking at them.

Like a curious giant, it tilted its head. Then, it began moving.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

Lumbering over lazily in an almost lazy-like manner, its flaming body lit the dark alleyway, casting shadows behind the siblings.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

His heartbeat quickened and echoed in his ears, and a sudden thought appeared in his mind.

'Did it hear me when I was shouting?'

Instant self-blame washed over him as Jonah stared at it. Then, he felt Chaya shivering against his body in his arms.

The boy rubbed her back.

'Damn it all. What sort of big brother am I? Why aren't I stepping up to keep those things back like dad? Why can't I sacrifice myself to save her!?'

Jonah bit his lips, and he tasted the coppery blood in his mouth. His head slowly kept raising as the lumbering fiery monster approached them.

Finally, it stood over them.

As it raised its arms high above them, the boy felt his mind become empty.

Enlightened.

A strange sense of acceptance washed over Jonah, and he closed his eyes, exhaling his last breath.

'I guess...I am a coward after all.'

Jonah closed his eyes tightly, and he held Chaya behind him. He felt the air wooshing over them, the heaviness of the blow falling down on them. He can smell the smoke; he can feel the heat of the writhing flames; he can feel-

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬!

𝘛𝘏𝘜𝘋.

The boy still closed his eyes tightly. Then a second past. Then another.

And then another.

After the fifth second, Jonah slowly opened his eyes, and he was greeted to the sight of their dad standing over the monster, holding the same metal bar he had earlier, albeit crooked, bent, and distorted.

Looking at his dad, Jonah saw the left side of his head was bleeding, along with his left eye being closed, the blood dripping down from his head to his chin.

Huffing and gasping for breath, the tall man stood there in an almost patient-like manner. He stared down at the monster on the ground. Then, raising the stick, he brought it down once more.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬!

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬!

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘤𝘬!

The dad continued to whack it, and Jonah only watched with blank eyes.

Every strike seemed to shake the monster's body. An uncountable number of whacks later, and giving it a last good whack, their dad finally stopped.

Then, with a loud 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘥, he knelt down heavily on one knee in front of them.

"Are you alright Chaya? Jonah?" he gasped out between each breath.

The boy only nodded his head numbly. Suddenly, Chaya ran from behind him and into their dad's arms, sobbing and crying.

"Papa...m-mama-!"

"I know...I know. We...we can mourn for her, together, when we get to safety," he said in a steady voice, hugging and rubbing her back

Jonah only watched Chaya, crying in their father's embrace. The boy's legs immediately gave out, and he topped onto the ground silently.

The boy opened his mouth, and then closed them.

Opened, and then closed.

As he watched the two, a thought floated in his head.

'Was there ever truly a safe place we can all be at?'

Even then, he kept quiet as he bit his lips once more, the taste of blood becoming pronounced.

The family of three stood together, grieving in the shadows of a dark alleyway, amidst a town of fire, rubble, and blood.

The world really was ending.

...

Jonah let out a sigh filled with endless exhaustion. Following it, a cloudy mist escaped from his mouth.

After that day, it was as though the whole world became chaotic and disarray. One day, the air was filled with smoke, and the next snow heavily fell down from the sky.

The family of three, at their home, found out the radios, and TVs were all shut down. Only the crackling noises were heard.

The one phone they had-their father's, had no signal nor wifi. No matter how much they tried fixing it, all the electronics wouldn't work.

"Something must be wrong with the cell tower," his dad told him. Jonah simply believed it for what it is.

He doesn't know anything anymore, except for what is left or right. Actually, was left even left anymore?

The world had changed so fast that…that he…

"..."

Now, the boy hopes that they will be saved...but something inside him tells him they won't be saved.

Looks like his cynicism and pessimism is getting to him, Jonah had thought.

'It looks like I have to go try to find some food...'

Jonah looked around.

It had already been minutes since he began looking, and he was a bit farther from where the two were resting.

He was trying to find something-anything at all really-that can sate both their hunger...for at least a while.

When the two siblings came here, this store was already looted long before they came. The boy held out the hope that there would be at least something worth finding.

A hope for some miracle, albeit a dying one.

As he was looking, something at his peripheral view moved. Jonah darted his head to the left, but there was nothing there.

'Well well well. There's a ghost now? What has this world come to?' he thought deprecatingly, and he smiled at his own dark humor.

Was he going insane now as well?

Even then, Jonah stared hard in that direction. As he did, he heard tiny whispers of laughter.

And it whispered next to his ear.

"𝘏𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢…"

It was a laugh.

A laugh.

And he was alone.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

The white-haired boy felt as if he had been dropped into a basin of ice water.

His hands and feet trembled, becoming much more colder than before. Along with the trembling came a tingling feeling.

Then he felt something move to his left.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

Jonah's head darted to his left.

Nothing but shelves, litter, and darkness.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

On the right, something moved. He darted his head again.

Like before, there was nothing.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

The boy felt like his eyes had a seizure, for his vision started becoming blurrier. His increasing heartbeat didn't stop making his life difficult, pounding right next to his ear. He gripped his hands into fists, and a sharp sense of pain flowed into him from the fingernails digging into his palms.

Even then, Jonah kept swiveling his head around over and over again.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

Sweat dripped past his brows and into his eyes, stinging them like onions.

Jonah didn't stop. No matter where he looked, he felt as if he was being watched.

He felt that no matter what he did, something was always going to watch him.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱.

The boy gulped as he felt something tickled the back of his neck, reminiscent of a small bug crawling on him. Then came a tingle on his arm, and the feeling of something crawling up his leg really made him want to just scratch it.

Even after all of that, Jonah's eyes stayed wide open, never stopping in his inescapable act of looking around.

"If I closed my eyes, I might miss something," the boy had thought.

And it might not be a good thing.

Swiftly moving his head here and there, his eyes darting to and fro, not once did Jonah stop. He simply couldn't stop.

He simply can't.

Now a minute had passed, and his eyes started to become strained.

Even more perspiration-sweat, fell from his forehead and into his eyes, stinging them even more.

Jonah finally felt he had to blink. He tried to resist it.

Then the voice whispered into his ear, and said 𝘆𝗲𝘀.

The boy blinked.

A quick blink, but a blink nonetheless. The moment he blinked, the boy 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 it.

A little farther ahead of him, just a couple steps away…was a shadow.

It was a very dark shadow; darker than the darkness inside the dim building.

Even with the early morning light, filtering through the distant windows, it was barely an outline amidst the darkness.

Jonah's adjusted eyes could see it…and he felt as if 𝘪𝘵 could see him.

So, the white-haired boy stared at it.

And it stared back at him.