Inside the old school building that had been turned into a temporary shelter, the air was thick with fear more than dust. The sound of scattered crying filled the space, as Ken sat in a narrow corner beside Yoko and her older brother, huddled together as if they're trying to hide from the world itself.
Ken's face was pale, his gaze lost in emptiness, and his voice barely audible:
"I didn't even say goodbye… Maybe I'll never see them again."
No one answered right away. Only Yoko's brother spoke quietly, his eyes were fixed on the dirty ceiling.
"Father and Mother haven't come back either… We don't know if they're even alive."
Moments later, silence was torn apart by a massive explosion that shook the entire building. The walls trembled, chunks of ceiling collapsed among the crowd. Women screamed, children wailed, and sirens blared in the distance.
Ken shrank further, his hands trembling as he clutched his arms to his chest. Tears filled his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Everything inside him screamed that he might not survive this time.
Time crawled. Two hours felt like a lifetime before the chaos began to fade.
Ken's voice came out hoarse as he looked toward the metal door:
"I think… it's over. We need to see where is our families."
Yoko's trembling voice carried a desperate plea:
"Yes… I can't stay here anymore."
The three stood slowly. They opened the door, and the wind, thick with ash, brushed against their faces. But the world outside was no longer the one they knew.
The sky was gray, the streets buried under debris, and the sound of gunfire still echoed. Soldiers ran through the alleys, shooting aimlessly, while people's screams mixed with the roar of flames devouring the houses.
Ken froze. In front of him, a baby crawled across the blood-stained ground and crying. Ken instinctively reached out, but a bullet pierced the child's head before he could touch him.
Blood splattered across the dirt. Time stopped for a second. Then Yoko's scream tore through the chaos as she fell to her knees:
"He was just a baby!! Why?! Why would they—?!"
No answer came. Behind them, a massive soldier appeared, his uniform torn and soaked in blood. He slowly raised his weapon and fired.
Yoko's brother fell instantly, blood bursting from his chest. Yoko gasped and threw herself over him, screaming in his name, her voice was breaking apart in the noise.
As the soldier aimed at her next, Ken moved without thinking. He grabbed her arm and pulled her hard, running blindly, the sound of bullets roaring behind them.
A sharp pain tore through him as a bullet hit his shoulder. He grunted, stumbled, but didn't stop.
He glanced at his right arm, blood streamed from his shoulder, dripping down to the ground. He couldn't afford pain. He gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on Yoko's hand, and kept running.
Yoko turned to him, seeing the blood soaking his sleeve:
"Ken! Your shoulder—"
He cut her off in a low voice:
"Keep quiet… just keep running."
All he thought about was keeping her alive. Don't fall. Don't stop. Don't die. The air grew heavy around them, suffocating, but Ken kept running with a bleeding shoulder and a pale face as if his wound didn't exist.
They reached a narrow alley drowned in shadows. Yoko collapsed to the ground, her body was trembling, her breathing shattered. Her eyes stared blankly, tears still streaming, as if crying alone couldn't contain the pain. Ken sat beside her in silence, his injured arm hanging limply, blood drying on his sleeve. He said nothing, he just rested his forehead against hers and held her close with his other arm.
His hand shook. His chest rose and fell heavily. His face stayed still. Minutes passed in silence, broken only by their shallow breaths. Then Ken whispered softly:
"We need to go home, Yoko."
He stood first, leaning on the wall, then extended his hand to her. She looked at him with weary eyes and rose quietly. Together, they walked slowly toward the main street leading to their homes, passing twisted corpses and ruins covered in ash.
When they arrived… Ken stopped. His house was burning. He froze, his eyes were wide open, staring at the flames in silence. Then he ran towards the door without thinking, shoved it open, coughing as smoke filled his lungs.
"Mom?… Dan?… Emily?… Dad?!"
He ran into the living room. What he saw on the floor was something he could never unsee. His mother was lying there, holding Emily close to her chest, just like she used to when she was afraid. No blood. No wounds. Just lifeless blue faces.
Ken dropped to his knees, closed his eyes, and rested his head against his mother's arms. Slowly, he began to cry:
"Mom… please… I'm here now… I was just late, but I came…"
He coughed again, hard. His vision blurred. Near the back door, he saw it… a small opened metallic device. Its smell was unmistakable.
"They… they killed you with gas…"
He fell again, sobbing. He shook Emily gently, whispering through his tears:
"Emily… didn't you say you wanted to be a doctor? You were supposed to save everyone… not to die before you even start."
Breathing became harder. His vision dimmed. With trembling hands, he took his mother's necklace, Emily's doll, and a few burnt photos. He placed them in his small bag, then looked at them one last time.
"Forgive me,"
He whispered.
On his way out, he fell to his knees again and again. The fire devoured the walls, smoke filled every corner. His chest burned. When he reached the door, another explosion erupted. The blast threw him against the wall, his head hit the stone, and blood ran down his forehead. He fell… but his eyes stayed open.
He crawled slowly, his teeth clenched in pain. The only sound he heard was a faint ringing in his ears:
'I won't die here…'
He crawled… and made it out. The moment he crossed the doorway, the roof collapsed behind him, sealing hell inside.
He stumbled back, then looked up at the burning house. His voice cracked as he screamed… hoarse, broken, almost inhuman:
"MOM!!! EMILY!!!"
His cry echoed through the chaos, then came again, weaker this time.
"Mom… Emily… why did you have to go… why?!"
He fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder, the blood mixing with ash. He lowered his head to the dirt and wept. Every breath came out as a broken sob, every tear extinguished something inside him. His forehead bled, his arm burned, and his body was covered in scratches and soot.
At that moment, Yoko stepped out from the ruins of her own home next door. Her short black hair clung to her face, her eyes red from crying. She wasn't the same girl who had laughed in the yard that morning… she didn't even look human anymore.
Her mother's remains lay among the wreckage, her father crushed beneath part of the fallen roof. Blood filled every corner, and the stench of burnt flesh choked the air. She couldn't scream anymore. She couldn't feel anymore. But she saw Ken.
She whispered faintly:
"Ken…?"
He was panting, clutching a small bag like it held his entire world. She ran to him, fell to her knees, and gently touched his shoulder.
Her voice cracked as she cried:
"Ken… are you okay?!"
Ken opened his eyes with difficulty, his face pale and his eyelids half-closed. He whispered hoarsely, barely audible:
"Is… is anyone left…?"
Yoko answered weakly, her voice was trembling:
"They're gone… my mother… my father… they're all dead, Ken… and my sister… she's missing…"
Ken closed his eyes, his voice was shaking as he whispered:
"I saw my mother and sister dead too."
Yoko struggled to stand, while Ken remained on the ground, coughing violently, gasping as if the air itself had turned against him. She spoke through trembling lips, though her eyes held a faint spark of determination:
"We have to move, Ken… this place isn't safe anymore…"
She extended a trembling hand toward him. Ken slowly raised his own and placed it in her small hand, pulling himself up unsteadily. As they began walking through the shattered streets, Ken suddenly spotted a familiar figure standing amidst the ruins. Without thinking, he ran towards him, every part of him was screaming:
'Dan!'
He got closer until the figure's face came into focus. Yes… it was him. His older brother. Ken collapsed into his arms like a lost child, words spilling uncontrollably from his mouth:
"Dan! Brother! You're alive! I thought you… I thought you died with them… Mom… Emily… the twins… they're all gone…"
Dan's body trembled, shock washing over his face. He hugged Ken tightly, as if his arms alone could protect him from the broken world around them.
His voice cracked as he whispered:
"No… no, it can't be… Mom… Emily…"
He gasped softly, and tears slid down his cheeks silently… no resistance, no pride left.
"Father went looking for you… he never came back."
They walked together for a while until a man appeared from one of the alleys, a strange-looking soldier. His face was cold, a lifeless smirk curling his lips, his uniform stained with blood. He approached slowly, eyes narrow and calculating.
"Well, well… lost children? In a place like this?"
Dan replied without moving:
"Who are you?"
The soldier chuckled darkly:
"Just a man cleaning up what's left."
Before he even finished speaking, he lunged forward. He grabbed Ken by his right arm and Dan by the other, holding them as if they were helpless toys.
"Now then… which one of you should disappear first?"
Yoko screamed. Ken froze, his eyes locked on the gun slowly rising toward his head, his breath coming out in shaky, wheezing bursts.
The soldier said coldly as he tightened his grip on the trigger:
"Let's start with the small one. I like the way children scream."
Dan shouted:
"Leave him! Take me instead! He's just a kid! He doesn't know anything!"
The soldier stared at him for a long moment, then smirked and lowered the gun from Ken's head:
"How brave."
He shoved Ken aside roughly, then aimed the weapon steadily at Dan's forehead.
"One of you… has to disappear now."
Ken froze, his eyes were wide with terror. He couldn't move. He couldn't even scream. Dan looked at him, not a look of farewell, but a final command.
"Live, Ken… even if you can't bear it anymore… you must keep going. Run."
The gunshot echoed. Dan fell instantly. The bullet pierced his skull, and blood erupted like a fountain. His body hit the ground without a sound, his blood spreading across the dirt.
Ken stared at his brother's body, he was unable to comprehend, unable to breathe. Only a few seconds passed, but they shattered everything inside him.
He screamed, his voice breaking with grief, rage, and despair:
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!"
He fell to his knees, his cry shaking the entire alley, echoing off the walls before fading… slowly… until he collapsed unconscious.
Yoko ran to him, dropping to her knees, shaking him desperately:
"Ken! No! Ken, please! Don't die too! Don't leave me alone!"
But he didn't move.
Then… more gunfire. The soldier raised his weapon again and began shooting. Yoko screamed, frozen in terror, but something ignited inside her. Instinct. Defiance. Life. She lifted Ken onto her back, though her body was weak and trembling, tears streaming down her face without end.
She whispered, her voice was trembling but resolute:
"Ken… I won't leave you… never…"