A Madman's Laugh

A few hours before Ethan finished his exploration, a pack of wild dogs, driven mad by hunger and desperation, had found the orphanage.

The barricades that the group had built were no match for the animals' ferocity. The dogs tore through the weak defenses with ease, their snarls and howls filling the air as they descended upon the helpless trio.

When Ethan returned a few hours later with what he had scavenged, a hellish sight greeted him. The orphanage was in ruins, its doors splintered and its walls smeared with blood.

He saw his friends' lifeless bodies sprawled on the ground, their faces frozen in expressions of terror and pain.

The wild dogs were still there, their muzzles stained red as they feasted on the remains.

Rosalie's once-bright green eyes stared blankly at the sky, her small frame mangled beyond recognition.

Levi's clever hands, which had once crafted tools and traps, were now twisted and broken.

Hank, who had always been a protector for his sister, lay face down in a pool of his own blood, his body torn apart.

Ethan, seeing this sight, instinctively screamed, his voice tearing through the dense silence filled with barking and chewing noises.

His scream echoed through the orphanage, filled with a deep sense of loss and despair, because Ethan knew that today he had lost the last few people he could trust with his life in this cursed world.

Ethan's scream attracted the attention of three wild dogs that hadn't yet eaten. Their heads snapped up as they turned their hungry eyes toward him.

———

Amidst the charred remains of the decayed forest, Ethan, with his malnourished body, was seen running for his life.

His boots pounded against the ashen ground, each step sending up small clouds of dust.

His breath came in ragged gasps, each inhale burning his lungs with the foul, smoky air.

Behind him, the snarls and barks of a pack of wild dogs grew louder, their yellowed fangs glinting in the pale morning light.

Saliva dripped from their jaws as they closed the distance, their eyes gleaming with primal hunger.

Ethan's heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing like a drum in his ears. It didn't take long for Ethan to exhaust himself.

His legs trembled, his muscles screamed, and his vision blurred as the world around him seemed to tilt and spin. He could feel the hot breath of the dogs on his heels, their growls vibrating through the air like a death knell.

Realizing he couldn't keep running and that the dogs were seconds away from tearing into him, Ethan lunged for the nearest tree.

Its bark was scorched and jagged, but it was his only hope. His nails dug deep into the rough surface, splintering and tearing as he clawed his way upward.

Blood began to flow from his frail hands, staining the blackened bark with streaks of crimson. The pain was sharp and immediate, but Ethan paid no mind to it. He had endured worse for the sake of survival.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he managed to haul himself onto a sturdy branch, his body trembling with exhaustion and fear.

Below him, the pack of wild dogs circled the base of the tree, their growls growing more frenzied as they leapt and snapped at the air, desperate to reach their prey.

Their eyes glowed with a feral intensity, their blackened fur matted with dirt and blood—some of it fresh, some of it dried.

An unrestrained laugh escaped from Ethan's mouth, a hollow, broken sound that echoed through the burned forest.

Tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision as his laughter turned to sobs. The weight of his despair crashed down on him, crushing his spirit beneath its unbearable load.

Now, perched high above the ground, Ethan stared down at the barking pack, his tears mingling with the blood on his hands.

The forest around him seemed to close in, its oppressive silence broken only by the dogs' growls and the faint rustle of ash in the wind.

The world felt colder, darker, and emptier than ever before for him.

As Ethan clung to the tree, his mind replayed the images of his friends' broken bodies, their lifeless eyes haunting him like ghosts. He knew he couldn't stay in the tree forever.

However, he also knew that the dogs would get bored and eventually leave, but the horrors of this world would never let him go.

For in this ruined world, survival came at a cost—one that Ethan was no longer capable of bearing.

Ethan's mind wandered as he sat in the tree, the dogs still circling below him.

Ethan was a simple man. No matter who he had to kill to get food, water, or medicine, and no matter how much he had to suffer to guarantee his friends' survival, he would go through it with a smile on his lips.

Because the only thing that had been keeping the last bits of sanity in Ethan's mind intact was his friends.

In their presence, Ethan felt appreciated. When he saw the smiles of happiness on his friends' faces as they survived because of his hard work, it made all the pain and suffering he had to endure worth it.

Being with them had been slowly healing Ethan's heart and mind over the years, which had long been broken into pieces.

Ethan had already become an insane monster long ago in the eyes of others—a lunatic, as they called him.

But because of his friends, he had still clung to his humanity. However, today's events shattered the last bit of human emotions that Ethan had left.

After going through the cycle of seeing the people who mattered the most to him die in front of him again and again, while being powerless to do anything about it, Ethan finally snapped.

His tears mixed with his blood as he started to laugh maniacally. It was as if he had heard the biggest joke of his life.

Ethan finally understood that his life wasn't much more than a joke, and he was nothing more than a clown for thinking anything would ever go right for him.

As the memories of his parents and his friends dying in front of his eyes overlapped, Ethan's laughter only increased.

And as he laughed repeatedly, Ethan's laughter grew more and more maniacal.

Until suddenly, he stopped. No emotion was present on his face. It was as though he was a lifeless object. Any presence of life that his eyes had once gleamed with had vanished.

His two swollen black eyes held no emotion. It was as if an endless abyss existed within them.

Ethan looked down at the wild dogs below—which had begun to lose interest in him—their growls fading as they wandered off in search of easier prey.

Ethan watched them go, yet no emotion stirred in his heart. He had become completely indifferent to his own life and death.

It wasn't until Ethan watched the sun climb higher in the sky that he finally began to descend—his movements slow and deliberate. His hands were raw and bleeding, his body aching from the whole ordeal, but his emotionless face didn't change at all.

The only thing that was currently on Ethan's mind was how to better survive in this world.

When his feet finally touched the ground, Ethan took a deep breath, the acrid air burning his lungs once more. He looked around at the desolate landscape, the charred trees and blackened earth stretching out in every direction. There was no sign of life, no hint of hope.

But still, Ethan forced his tired body to begin walking. He didn't know where he was going or what he would do when he got there, but he knew that he couldn't stop.

To stop was to die, and he wasn't ready to die yet—death would have him only when it earned him.

The world was a harsh and monstrous place, but Ethan, having survived this long, was an even greater monster. And now, without the limitations of his sanity, he would keep moving expressionlessly to achieve his goals.

No matter what, Ethan would find a way to move forward.

For now, that was enough.