In The Dark

Damien took a heavy breath, tasting the rusty metallic and damp aroma that had been a part of his life for years. This underground bunker was his home, a dark and narrow world beneath the surface that had become the only place he knew. The flickering neon light on the ceiling was the sole source of illumination, casting a dim light that strained the eyes.He checked the workout equipment in the corner of the room, his gray eyes weary as they scanned the pile of worn-out gear. His father, a man with a weathered face and a raspy voice from years of hard living, stood before Damien with a cold, unforgiving gaze."Start again," his father commanded, his voice hoarse and firm, echoing in the small room.Damien nodded, slowly lifting his tired body from the cold concrete floor. In a low position, Damien moved quickly, performing the exercises that had become his daily routine. His body had grown accustomed to this pressure-exhausting physical workouts, intense combat simulations, and survival techniques that seemed more like torture than learning. Every misstep resulted in punishment, whether it was a blow to the back or a shove against the cold wall.As Damien did push-ups, his father stood nearby, watching with a sharp gaze. Occasionally, he instructed Damien to do another exercise, without giving him a chance to rest."Faster! Don't waste time!" his father barked.Despite the deep pain, Damien couldn't bring himself to hate this man. Amidst all the suffering, Damien had a gift-a strange and hard-to-explain ability. He could see the colors of people's souls, a gift that made the world seem more complex. When he looked at his father, he saw not only the anger and bitterness hidden behind the cold stare but also a gloomy blue that surrounded his father's soul. Fleeting flashes of silver sorrow and green despair mingled, offering a glimpse of a person more than just cruelty.Damien paused for a moment, staring at his father with sweat and bruises on his face. "Why?" Damien asked, his voice weak but curious. "Why are you doing this?"His father sighed deeply, his face showing no emotion. "Because the outside world will not be merciful," he replied, his voice rough and cold. "You need to be prepared."Damien knew that even though his father seemed indifferent, there was something in his eyes-a fleeting glimmer that suggested more than just anger. The pain he endured was not merely to hurt him but to protect him. It was his father's way of showing love, though Damien still did not fully understand it.As night fell and the training ended, Damien sat in the corner of the room, his body slumped and breath ragged. His father stood by the door, looking at him with a vacant stare. The silence that enveloped the room was heavy, connected by the pain they both felt yet separated by a wall of misunderstanding. In the middle of the room, his father was busy cleaning the old rifle that had been his trusted weapon for years. The faint sound of metal scraping against metal mixed with the hum of the generator, which was starting to run out of power. Amidst the constant tension, a rare conversation suddenly sparked between them."Damien, you know why we're here, don't you?" his father asked suddenly, his eyes still focused on the rifle in his hands.Damien nodded. He had heard this story countless times, but tonight, there was a different tone in his father's voice. Deeper, as if it carried an unspoken burden."I know," Damien replied quietly. "Because the world outside is destroyed. But why?"His father stopped what he was doing, setting the rifle on the floor and looking at Damien with an unreadable expression. "There were two events that destroyed this world, two major events that changed everything," he said with a tone heavier than usual. "The first was that strange meteor."Damien looked at his father, listening intently. He had heard about the meteor before, but his father rarely spoke in detail about what had actually happened."The meteor fell in various places around the world," his father continued, his eyes distant as if seeing a dark past. "It brought a strange disease, something that attacked living beings in ways we had never seen before. Those affected didn't just get sick-it wasn't something that could be explained by normal science.""What happened to them?" Damien asked, though he already knew the answer. He wanted to hear his father tell him more about the world he never knew, a world that had fallen apart before he ever saw it."They changed," his father said briefly, his voice cold. "Some became weak, others mutated. Some lost their minds, becoming wild and dangerous. The meteor seemed to carry a disease that altered the structure of bodies, accelerating evolution into something inhuman."His father paused, staring at Damien, whose eyes were full of questions. "But the real problem wasn't the meteor," he continued. "The problem was humanity."Damien knew the story was about to get darker. "What did humanity do?""They were greedy," his father answered firmly, his voice filled with hidden regret. "When pieces of the meteor were studied, something extraordinary was discovered-a potential power that could surpass the limits of ordinary humans. Whoever possessed a piece of the meteor would become stronger, faster, as if accessing something humans were never meant to have. And that made some of them want to monopolize that power for themselves."Damien imagined the world his father described-a place filled with fear, greed, and destruction. "Is that why the war happened?"His father nodded. "Yes. Nuclear war. Major nations, small factions, all of them wanted to control the meteor fragments. Their battles wiped out most life on Earth. Nuclear bombs destroyed what was left. And afterward, the survivors didn't just have to face radiation but also creatures mutated into monsters. Perhaps the nuclear radiation reacted with the meteor's disease, causing even more horrifying changes."Damien fell silent, trying to process the heavy information. He pictured an outside world ruined by human greed, filled with mutated creatures roaming among the ruins of civilization."That's why I'm training you, Damien," his father said firmly, breaking the silence. "Because out there, it's not just radiation and starvation that will kill you. There are humans worse than monsters, and monsters worse than humans."Damien looked at his father, his eyes able to see deeper than the surface. The gloomy blue around his father's soul seemed darker tonight, as if wrapped in regret and sorrow. But there was also a flash of silver that Damien recognized as hope-hope that behind all this harsh training, his father simply wanted him to survive."I understand," Damien said quietly, though deep inside, he still felt far from ready. "I will survive."His father nodded without a word, picking up the rifle lying on the floor. In the quiet bunker, only the sound of metal scraping and their heavy breathing could be heard. The world outside may have been destroyed by two great disasters, but in this room, one thing remained unchanged: Damien's determination to survive and the legacy of disaster they were trying to face together.