6 The Stars are moving

“Denji! Calm down!” Shouted Eito.

It was probably unintentional that Denji had the gun pointed to Saku's head as it's a reactionary thing to do with a gun in your hand.

“Why are you alive then! You killed them! You left them to die in that house while you hid in the boot!”

“Go ahead! Shoot me!”

Denji's already furious eyes opened an inch wider.

“I ran away like a coward!” Saku yelled and then his voice became gloomy.

“I could have saved Yasu, but I took his keys instead of his arm… He was calling for help! But I didn't want to risk dying, getting eaten alive… Dying that way!” His eyes drooped down after gazing into Denji's.

“But after Akihiro died, I still hear that asshole's screams! I saved my life for what? Now I won't be able to live it down. They all died for nothing!”

“You f**king piece of shit! I'm going to kill you! I'll KILL YOU THEN.”

“Stop Denji!” Eito yelled and started pulling Denji back.

Saku grabbed Denji's gun and put it in his mouth, and then he reached for the trigger in Denji's hand.

Saku pressed hard, forcing Denji's hand to close and pull the trigger.

“Agh!” Denji grunted.

A gunshot echoed through the night.

***

Day 0 — Midnight — Australia

In the countryside, a boy sits on a foldable fishing outdoor camping chair with no cushion but a blue waterproof canvas fabric.

In front of him are a lake and a fishing rod in his hand. As it is night, the lake looks bottomless, and the water looks like black ink except for the reflection of the moon in the middle.

Surrounding the boy with a straw hat are hills and valleys, and behind him is a tree line.

If a stranger walked by, one would not only find it strange but be concerned for the boy and ask him what he's doing out here alone. This is routine for Alex. Sneaking out from his Grandpa's house that is. As always, he came out on a starry night.

The boy stared at the lake. The winds are calm tonight making the lake a viewing mirror of the night sky.

Various sounds of insects called out sporadically in the background while the mating call of crickets ruled the night.

It took a moment for the boy to notice the stars moving.

It took another moment for him to realize that the stars moving wasn't an illusion because of the water moving.

His head snapped up, and he quickly found the moving star.

As it got closer, it looked more like a glowing orb.

'Could that be a meteor?' He thought.

Suddenly, countless smaller lights streaked from the orb radially like fireworks.

'What!? Was the meteor huge, and it blew up?'

…

'Is it heading towards me??'

One meteor was beelining towards him.

He stood up and begun walking backwards and turning around.

As the meteor descends from the atmosphere, it appears to be speeding up much faster than expected. The view of a fast-moving object coming down from high above at an angle makes it difficult to gauge the distance, making it a kind of optical illusion.

Alex was seeing this right now and began running.

Alex makes it through the tree line and runs in the straightest path towards his house to escape from the impact radius of the meteor.

What could be seen on his face later is fear and despair.

From taking a glance behind, he could tell that the meteor was moving too fast and there was nothing he could do.

In a split second, Alex runs smack into a tree and as he rebounds into the air backwards, the meteor, now looking like a tracer bullet pierces into his back.

***

Day 0 – 3:14 — Japan - Kirigaoka junior high school

Aimi Harue watched Hikaru's back with a blushed face. Being careful, she looked away for a while then looked out from the corner of her eye.

When the coast was clear, she gazed at the side of his face looking towards the window.

Her eyes traced his jawline to his lips. She looked away embarrassed.

Hikaru Suteki.

He was renowned for his good looks, perfect grades and Kendo sword skills.

The name Hikaru is gender-neutral, which makes one wonder if his androgyny was noticeable at birth despite the lack of distinguishing features in a baby. He has wavy black hair reaching just below his shoulder.

With creamy white skin, one could say that he was so beautiful that he looked like a girl. He already looks better than any girl in his school as a guy without needing to undergo sex-change surgery. Heck, he hadn't even put make-up on yet.

He was poached a few times by modeling and acting agencies, but he turned them all down because he wasn't interested. However, with a face like that, with no sort of skills and just his charm alone, his future was already secured. His average income would at least be a six-digit figure.

Thinking about last night's conversation with Chiho, she looked into his eyes and her soul got lost in them.

*Bell chimes*

“Oi Hikaru!”

A group of guys came up to Hikaru. Hikaru got up and smiled. The guy who spoke dangled something shiny in his hand.

“Want to come over to my dad's workshop and see what's inside?”

He was holding one of the many strange metallic capsules that were littered everywhere.

Literally, they could be found under the dirt with their end sticking out on the road, inside a car through the broken window, people's houses, shops, workplaces, hospitals, etc. They found many of them in bins because some people cleaned them up.

***

*Bang*

The revolver was pointed straight into the night sky. Smoke rose from the muzzle.

Denji had wrestled his hand away just in time.

Saku broke into tears and fell to his knees and hands. He then cried out loudly.

“Tch”

Denji spat at the side.