Four months later…
A young man snuck out to the bridge late at night. Seeing no one around, he started across it.
Big mistake.
The siren sounded and formless formed behind him.
Still, he kept running.
He slid under the legs of a formless that stood between him and the last sprint to freedom.
The next day, the citizens would surely be punished for one of their own escaping, but that didn't stop him from fleeing into the Zone of Wasted Years.
Two days later…
The man pushed himself on through the desert. He was hungry and dehydrated, but there was no sign of food or water anywhere.
As he started to pass out, he thought he saw a figure walking towards him, but he told himself that he was probably just hallucinating.
"Drink." A voice ordered softly, shoving a water bottle in his mouth.
The man drank.
"What are you doing out here without supplies?" The voice asked.
The man opened his eyes to see a boy crouched beside him. It wasn't just any boy though; it was one of Shuggazoom City's protectors, Chiro!
"Where… where have you been?" The man questioned, anger bubbling up inside him.
Chiro flinched. "Trying to get back to Shuggazoom City. Someone kidnapped me and left me out here to die."
That was when the man noticed Chiro was in his pajamas.
Chiro shook his head as if to clear it and reached into a backpack. He pulled out a pineapple-like fruit and ripped off a piece.
"We don't have much food left, but you need to eat too." He said.
The man stared at him. "We?"
"I met up with my Dad a few months ago. We've been traveling back towards Shuggazoom City ever since. Um… we were far away." Chiro explained. He held out the fruit he'd torn off. "Eat it. You'll need your energy."
The man nodded and ate the fruit.
Then, Chiro helped him up and led him back to a small campsite.
"Dad, I found one of the citizens. He needs help." Chiro told another man at the fireplace.
The man turned. "Good lord! Phillip? What happened to you?"
"Taren?" Phillip gasped. "Everyone thinks you died years ago!"
Taren snorted. "Figured they had no faith in me. Oh well, my being out there came in handy. Now, tell us what happened to you."
Phillip sighed. "Well, it started when the Monkey Team and Jinmay were captured by Mandarin."
"What?" Chiro interrupted, jumping to his feet. "Mandarin has the Monkey Team and Jinmay? We have to help them!"
"Chiro! Calm down! Let him finish!" Taren yelled, pushing his son back down. "We shouldn't act until we know everything!"
Phillip waited for Chiro to stop squirming before he continued. "Mandarin then led a huge attack on the city, reducing almost half of it to rubble. After gaining control of the city, he set new rules. No being out past six. No running away. No rebuilding the buildings we lost. Everyone must build statues of him out of the ruins of the destroyed parts of the city. Those who've broken those rules are taken into custody. Few have managed to do it without getting caught."
Chiro was crying. Taren pulled him into a hug.
"Don't worry, Chiro." He whispered in his son's ear. "We'll save everyone. Together."
