Chapter 67: Survivors

Moving debris out of the way, I picked up a large concrete slab with rebar sticking out of it that was probably previously part of a much larger building and tossed it into the distance, revealing an older man who was trapped underneath it.

"W-Whose there?" Asked the older man hesitantly in slight fear as he blocked the sun from hitting his eyes while looking around, only to spot Pharaoh.

"Yo, Sir, you okay?" Asked Pharaoh in Serbian with a raised eyebrow as he removed the rest of the debris before picking up the older man.

"Y-Yes, I-I'm okay, Young man." Replied the older man with slight joy, realizing he was saved, only for him to go silent as he remembered what had happened.

"I-Is, Yolnza, my Wife, okay? P-Please tell me you've found her, young man? Please!" Asked the older man in a pained voice as he looked up at Pharaoh, who softly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't found a person named Yolnza; do you know where she was when everything went down?" Asked Pharaoh as he carried the old man while jumping from the top of the debris and landing on the ground.

"When… When those people destroyed our building, she and I were hiding in our room, s-so she must be close to where you found me." Stated the older man with an angry expression as he looked up at Pharaoh in hope.

Hearing his question, I sighed in pity; inside that pile of debris, which was previously a large apartment building, he was the only one lucky enough to have survived the explosion; there were no other heartbeats I could hear, at least from that pile of debris.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but you're the only one who managed to survive; everyone else is dead." Replied Pharaoh, his words causing the older man to be in disbelief as tears started streaming down his face.

"N-No, my wife, s-she' must be alive! H-How could she have died? She was right next to me! No, you must be lying! Let me go! I-I'll my find my Yolnza myself!" Yelled the older man as he wiggled free of Pharaoh's hold, dropping to the ground and landing on debris.

Seeing the man stand up and hop towards the pile of debris I had just rescued him from with his one working leg, I followed right behind him. Once he reached the area where he was previously trapped, he tried moving the debris, though coupled with his exhaustion, starved, and old body, he could hardly do much, even though Sara was probably stronger than him currently.

"P-Please, Yolnza, you, you must be alive." Muttered the older man as he tried his hardest to move a large part of the building, though his meager strength wasn't enough even to budge it.

Grabbing the piece the older man was trying to move, I picked it up and tossed it overhead, earning me a look of awe from the man before he instantly resumed searching for his Wife. Watching him frantically search through the pile of debris, although I wished to allow him the chance to grieve, I could still hear several other heartbeats in this city.

"I'm sorry, but she's dead. Please, there are still other people around the city who are living." Said Pharaoh as he rested his hand on the man's shoulder, though he merely smacked it away while continuing his search.

"She is not dead!" Said the older man with venom in his voice as he did his best to move the debris out of the way.

Singing to myself, I left the man be for now, though before leaving, I intended to come back and retrieve him, whether it be through force or not. Running towards the nearest sound of a heartbeat, I busted and charged right through several buildings before arriving at what looked to be a supermarket; entering inside, what greeted me was the same as every war-ravaged city Sara and I visited: corpses everywhere.

However, this was probably the worst and most disturbing scene to date, as everything was fresh, and despite seeing probably thousands of corpses by now, while I did get somewhat used to it, my feelings hadn't once changed; it still filled me with rage, though now wasn't the time to be angry, I had someone to save.

Walking through the place, I headed towards the freezer section and approached the corpse of a man who was shot in the back of his head; flipping him over, I saw underneath him was an unconscious young girl. With a quick look, the back of her skull was fractured, though that was probably because her father, who I presumed was the man, had fallen on top of her.

Rigor mortis had started to set in, so moving his arms without purposely breaking them was a hassle, though once the girl was finally free, I picked her up in my arms and used my shirt to wipe all the blood and dirt off her face as I turned around and headed right for the exit. Leaving the store, I dashed towards the small refugee camp Sara and I had made, though the bumpy ride must've awoken the little girl as I felt her move.

"How are you feeling, little girl?" Asked Pharaoh softly as he sported his friendliest smile, which seemingly worked.

"M-My head hurts a little." Replied the little girl quietly as she rubbed the back of her head, right atop the fractured area of her skull, causing her to wince in pain.

"Don't touch right there; your skull is fractured." Said Pharaoh lightly, prompting the girl to nod hesitantly before finally looking up at him.

"Brown skin? Who are you? My Dad warned me not to talk to strangers. Where is my Dad?" Questioned the little girl as she curiously looked at Pharaoh's brown skin before her eyes turned suspicious.

"I'm Pharaoh, though you can call me Tut, and your Dad, I don't know where he is; I saw you lying on the ground, so I went to help you. What's your name?" Asked Pharaoh curiously with a smile, causing the little girl to nod while pouting sadly.

"I'm Slavany; thanks for helping me." Replied the Slavany with a nod as she looked at Pharaoh, who smiled back, easing her.

"No problem, Slavany."

"Where are you taking me, Tut?" Asked Slavany as she observed the scenery, noticing the destroyed building, which distracted her from the fact she was moving as fast as a car.

"To a group of people, I also happened to help." Replied Pharaoh as he dashed through the damaged and debris-filled streets while the two descended into silence.

After a few minutes, I spotted Sara, along with a decently large group of ten or so Serbian people of varying ages; most were injured, exhausted, and weary; some were still grieving for their loved ones, while others had already finished.

Approaching an older woman I had happened to save earlier, I gently set the Slavany down right next to her.

"Could you look after her, please, while I go find other survivors?" Asked Pharaoh with a slight smile, earning an immediate nod from the older woman.

"Of course, young man, it's the least I could do for all the help you're providing us; please, go out and save as many of us as possible." Replied the older woman with an expression of gratitude as she looked at Tut before glancing at Slavany.

Nodding in thanks, I reached down and carefully rubbed Slavany's head.

"I'm going to help more people; if you ever need me, just say my name, and I'll return within a second." Said Pharaoh with a smile, earning a nod from Slavany, prompting him to stand upright and quickly leave, only to be stopped by Sara.

"Do you need something, Sara?" Asked Pharaoh curiously as he gave her a look, though all he got was an empty backpack to the face.

"There is nothing left, Tut; I would go out and acquire more, but I'm not the one with super speed." Remarked Sara with a slight frown as she looked at Pharaoh, who raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is everything okay, Sara? You seem rather hostile." Asked Pharaoh in concern, his words causing Sara to grab her face and sigh.

"I'm sorry; I don't mean to be hostile; it's just seeing everything is angering me. Haa, I wish I could keep a cool head like you." Said Sara with an apologetic tone as she looked at the several survivors, feeling angry at what they were forced to experience.

"Yeah, I feel that. However, if it makes you feel any better, I heard that women are emotional thinkers while men are logical thinkers." Replied Tut with a nod before slightly smiling, though all that earned him was a blank look from Sara.

"Well, I still have a few more people to save, so I'll speak with you later." Added Tut with an awkward smile as he waved at Sara and dashed away, heading toward the closest heartbeat.

"Haa, out here helping people after their city was just ravaged by war. Yet you've still got the audacity not to call yourself a hero? Ridiculous." Muttered Sara as she looked in the direction Tut ran off to before shaking her head and sighing.

Although I heard Sara, I didn't bother thinking about it; I had more pressing matters to deal with; once they were all finished, only then would I argue with her about that.

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Yo, I don't know about y'all, but that little girl seemed a little racist to me. Hmm, also where dem power stones at?