Emil watched the bricks they claimed to be as powerful as bedrock crumble down upon the massive impact of the titanic feet.
He could not spare a single second to squeal or wail.
Blood splattered like petals of crimson roses.
They pelted down like hails and rain, drenching the deranged humanity in rivers of revolting liquid.
Shrieks echoed. He watched people flee and dodge, clinging to their loved ones as they cried for their life.
The ground quaked violently. Rumbles scattered and danced in the air.
The sky rumbled. It was weeping.
And the silver-haired boy eventually blurted out a heart-wrenching cry as his knees collided with the floor.
"Don't just stand there, Emil! Run! Run!"
Emil shuddered and stared hollowly at his brother.
The uniformed soldier landed on the roof agilely and grabbed his sibling's wrist, hauling him forward as fast as his strength could afford.
The ten-year-old continued whimpering.
It was real.
Everything was as real as could be.
Lukas clasped his hand tightly and refused to let go.
He couldn't catch up with the pace. He didn't know what to do. He saw a titan snatch a woman from the street, crack open her bones and snap her body into half before gobbling it up in one go. He feared they would be the next targets.
"The Wall of Clubs is down!" Someone yelled. "They're coming after us! So many of them! Run!"
And then, it happened.
They almost reached their destination. They almost got inside the abandoned school building, but he tripped.
"Emil!"
His knees landed first, scraped by the rough concrete floor. He let out an agonising whine.
"Watch out!" One of the soldiers swishing by yelled.
"Damn it!" Lukas yanked his brother up and tossed him in through the window.
"No!" Emil screeched, watching as the monstrous hand squished his brother's ankle and towed him off the ground. Lukas drew his gun deftly and fired, aiming right at the eye. Another pistol was triggered, followed by a slash. The creature collapsed with an ear-splitting thud.
"You two alright?" Mathias asked, his face twisted in angst.
Lukas merely nodded and picked up Emil. They scrambled downstairs and dashed into the depth of the building.
"Stay here and don't move." Lukas ordered, gingerly hiding his brother inside the murky storeroom and slammed the door.
"Lukas!" Mathias' voice echoed down the hallway. The ground quavered with the intrusion.
Lukas stared in horror at his mate being captured by those beasts.
"Emil, listen to me carefully. I've to go help Mathias. You stay here. Don't move, okay? Don't make a sound. Don't ever move an inch. Stay still. I'll be right back." Lukas repeated, his eyes brimming with tears as he shut the door firmly.
"No!" Emil sniveled. "Please don't leave me alone!"
But his brother was nowhere to be seen.
Tears cascaded down his face as Leon ran and ran.
His legs ached.
His arms were scraped by broken glass shards.
Blood kept oozing out of his gashes.
But he couldn't stop. He didn't dare to.
His brother had told him specifically to run at all cost; run until he could see safety on the other side.
The last thing he saw; was his mother's blood-drenched face as she shoved him out of a collapsing roof and his brother's gallant shadow as he defended him, buying him a golden opportunity to flee.
He shuffled down the hallway, his heart thumping with every trembling step he took.
The wars raged on. They never ceased.
His tears had long dried. He couldn't make out what was real and what was delusional.
They had promised that the holy wall would never fall.
They had lived in peace and prosperity within the walls for decades.
One unexpected attack though was sufficient to plunge the entire kingdom in ruins.
Sobs reverberated in his ears. He wasn't sure if those belonged to him.
They grew louder and louder. They were the cries of melancholy; the cries of forfeiture; the cries of sheer fear.
"哥…哥哥…" He called out to his brother but never got a response. "媽…" He winced at the thought of his mother trapped underneath the falling debris.
His father had promised to rescue them. He had told them he would be there and everything would be alright.
But no…
He never did appear.
The sobbing noise drew nearer. Leon stumbled exhaustedly and sneaked into a forsaken room. The place was dark. The curtains were drawn. He could hide here for the time being.
"L-Lukas…"
Now the weeps were emanating out of the tiny storeroom; of which he was certain, unless of course the ear-piercing blasts had deafened him.
He flung open the door and gasped at the light-haired boy around his age. The boy yelped and cowered in one corner.
Leon didn't know what to do.
Neither did Emil.
"Where's brother?" Emil asked the raven-haired Asian.
"Leon!" An accented voice bawled from behind. The door was booted open and in darted a man in military uniform, mostly likely still in his adolescence.
"哥…" Tears flooded his eyes as his brother pulled him into an embrace.
"Thank goodness!" The Chinese soldier cried, tightening his grip around the boy in relief. "I thought I lost you."
"Comrade, we need to go now!" A voice in thick Russian accent shouted.
"Let's go, Leon."
"W-Wait!" Leon yapped and tuggeed his brother's sleeves. "We need to get him out of here too!"
He pointed to the Scandinavian boy crouching inside the storeroom.
"Come with us! Quick!"
Leon held out his hand to the shivering boy.
"But brother said-"
"We'll find your brother! I promise!" Leon cried and pulled the other boy up instantly.
And they evaded the wrecked building just before it collapsed.