2 A Hope

Before the world had fallen into chaos there was a great scientist named Dr. Anderson. He was the greatest mind of his generation. But he was a paranoid man, he never trusted anyone and always believed that the very next second would be his last second. So, he built a machine that would allow him to travel across a different dimension of a higher plane of existence. He later disappeared but he left this machine as the last source of hope for humanity.

It's nearly dawn the mood inside the building is very tense and everyone is anxious since it's their last chance to live. James finally enters the with eight hazmat suits with oxygen tanks. He says with a sense of responsibility and urgency in his voice" I know you guys already know this, but remember no matter what happens you can't directly expose yourself to the outside air. Its extremely acidic and the most important thing no matter what you do you can't make any noise. The Raks can only find us through noise." Everyone looks rather tensed and afraid to even ask any question but suddenly a kid asks James" Are the Raks really that dangerous? I mean a lot of us have never seen them." James answers to Chris with a distressed look on his face" They are the abomination that make us wish we were dead".

Soon, the group departs and are extremely cautious about any Raks. They are travelling in a silent hovering van with the adults being Noah and Michael being lookouts and James being the driver. But suddenly they hear a warning from the van. Some air is leaking inside and destroying the engine of the van. Noah gets very tensed and asks James on what they are supposed to do now. James answers very firmly " We can't stop right now. The Raks become more active during night and I don't have the equipment to fix it right now. We will go as far as it takes us then we will go on foot." Noah acts a little hesitant but ultimately agrees with James. After a couple of hours the van finally breaks down. James reminds everyone again" The van has broken down we can't go like this anymore. We have to go on foot and for the last time make as little sound as possible."

Everyone seems to trudge forward quickly but carefully but it seemed like Noah and Chris were unable to carry on any longer. Michael notices this and whispers " This is the final stretch guys, once we get out of here then we would be out Rak territory." Noah somehow tried to persevere through this but Chris was too weak for this. He tried all his best but it was clear he could not walk any longer. Seeing this James said " We will take a small break for a while in the nearby building. But still everyone be careful." Everyone went in the building and was resting. Some of them sat down, some just calmed down and others were too anxious to take any form of rest.

Chris went a bit further along east to calm himself down because he was too anxious around others.

Michael and James went as lookouts and ordered everyone to come back in ten minutes. As Michael was looking around he noticed that there was a Rak a bit further in the distance towards east direction. On further inspection he saw that there was a whole nest of Raks there. Michael quickly ran back and whispered to everyone" Everyone calm down but we need to leave immediately. There is a Rak nest nearby." Everyone quickly got up and wanted to ask a lot of questions but realised that they don't have a lot of time so they started moving. James was trying to account for every person but saw that Chris was missing. Then he remembered that Chris went in the direction of the Raks. He quickly hurried towards there but he saw that Chris was already cornered by the Raks.

They were were giant red and white creatures standing on two legs with huge teeths and no other facial features and with ear like structures across their torso.

James tried to hurry towards Chris but Michael held him back. He grabbed his mouth shut and dragged him back. Then he whispered to James" We can't save him. We must not sacrifice another life." James couldn't hold back his tears as he saw Chris being eaten. He was then dragged away by Michael as he was consumed by sorrow.

Later during the night they took shelter in a far away building with everyone being extremely sad for Chris but at the same time being worried that they could die in a similar way. James was with Michael and he just couldn't stop crying. James says to Michael in an extremely monotonous tone while stammering" It feel..s li..ke I was the one who got him kill..ed. He was so you..ng and he was so inno..ce..nt. I don't li..ke th..is Mich..ael. I can't li..ve li..ke this." Michael wanted to console him but he knew that he couldn't do it. So Michael said " James you are the hope of our family. After Chris's death everyone is already in a state of despair however seeing you like this would make them lose all hope. You have to stand strong during this time so that accidents like this don't happen again. We are almost at our destination so just for a little longer you have to stay strong.Now, go to sleep we need you at your best". James realises the situation he is in and decides that he can't seem weak and follows Michael's advice.

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