3. War

The first day of the invasion from the Humans was met with heavy resistance from Zulaith Military forces, but it didn't last long. Every weapon and equipment used was quickly made ineffective by Humans. Zulaith Orbital satellites were destroyed or captured, compromising communication and intelligence networks; the anti-air defense system was quickly obliterated by orbital kinetic strikes; the air force, quickly made obsolete by highly advanced spacecraft; and the ground forces are at a huge disadvantage with the loss of air support and the fight against technologically advanced weapons and vehicles of the Human military.

Three days after the start of the war, everything changed. The once-thriving Vulinus city has turned into a raging battlefield; the once clean and lively street has been littered with trash, bullet casings, destroyed vehicles, and corpses from soldiers and civilians alike. Fires, smoke, gunfires, and explosions have changed the city into a living symphony of hell.

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[04:00 AM]

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As the sound of gunfire continues outside, Amber and I wait in the living room carrying backpacks with supplies and essential belongings. Waiting for Mom, I heard a nearby explosion, which made me flinch, making my hands shiver and fur stand; when someone held my hand, calming me down. I look to see Amber holding into it, giving me a comforting smile, "It's going to be ok. Mom says we're going to see Dad and take us somewhere safe. So don't worry; If anything happens, Mom and I are going to protect you."

Holding Amber's hand tighter, I say, "O-ok." 

A short while, Mom is walking down the stairs carrying a large backpack and something metallic on her hip. Recognizing it, I ask Mom a question, "Mom? Is that a Gun?"

Kneeling in front of us, she speaks in an unusually serious and cold voice, vastly different from her usual gentle tone, making me and Amber tense. "Yes. When we go outside, I want you two to follow everything I say. Do not leave my side under any circumstances; do not talk to strangers; If you see a human, run; and tell me if anything's wrong; do you understand?" 

"Y-Yes!" Amber and I answer Mom immediately. 

"Very good," Mom replies with a gentle voice

Walking out the door, Amber and I look at each other before following behind Mom. When we went outside, the once peaceful city was now ravaged with fires and thick black smoke. Sounds of gunfire and occasional explosions resound throughout the city. Walking through the debris-littered street, we follow behind Mom closely, who is cautiously scanning the area. Without warning, two human spacecraft flew over our heads; It was so loud that we had to stop and cover our ears. When it passes by, we continue walking. 

After an hour of walking, Amber and I started panting. My legs are starting to cramp so much that it's getting difficult not to collapse on my knees. I look at Mom, who doesn't look exhausted at all. Then Amber calls, "Mom, can we take a break? My legs are starting to hurt."

"Just endure it for a bit longer," She says with an understanding tone. "The sooner we arrive, the sooner we can take a rest."

"O-ok," Amber says while panting.

After walking for a short while, two spacecraft suddenly hover above us, blaring warning's in our language Awuri. 

<Halt! This is the Terran Military! You're under arrest! Disarm yourself and raise your hands above your head! I repeat->

Mom quickly drops her backpack and shouts, "Run!" Grabbing our arms, Mom quickly drags us away; forcing our already exhausted legs, we run through the alleyways and abandoned homes, trying to evade the humans chasing us. As we ran, we barely kept up with Mom. When we passed through an open street, a group of human soldiers patrolling the area spotted us. 

"That's them! Hey! Stop right there!" They yell at us in English as they start drawing their assault rifles. In a split second, I found myself and Amber being shoved inside a building. The last thing I saw was Mom quickly drawing her gun. "Shit! She's armed!" One of the humans yells before an exchange of gunfire erupts.

Terrified by what's happening, I crawl to the nearest pillar before crouching behind it. Placing my hands over my ears, I try to block the sound of the thunderous gunshots. As I cower in fear from the fight, something soft and warm embraces me. The familiar feeling of Amber's arms wraps around me, gently patting my head while whispering, "It's going to be ok." Tears well in my eyes as I hug Amber tightly while sobbing on her chest.

As the gunfire continues to thunder without any signs of stopping, the sudden silence surprises both of us. As the silence starts to slowly eat away my sanity, the sound of footsteps starts echoing in the building. Noticing the footsteps, I raise my head from Amber's chest and look behind the pillar. The scene shook me to the core like it was straight out of a horror movie.

A woman, drenched in blood, staggers towards us, saying something in a hoarse and pained voice, "A-Amb-ber… B-Blaze…"

My chest feels so heavy and hollow that I can only mutter one word, "M-Mom…?" Amber can only watch in horror as Mom shuffles like a puppet barely dangling on a string. Before long, she collapses on the ground as if the puppet master decided to cut her last string.

"Mom!" As we shout to our Mom, we quickly rush to her side.

When we knelt beside her, a crimson pool starts forming under her back. My pants, now turning red as it soaks the pooling blood like a sponge; feeling the unnerving wetness on my knees. As Mom pants for air, she weakly raises her blood-soaked hand. With no hesitation, Amber and I quickly grab it tightly, staining our hands with blood. With a weak voice, she speaks to us, "I'm g-glad you t-two are safe." She gave us a weak smile.

Seeing my Mom smiling in this state broke us down in tears. As we continued to cry, Mom spoke. "S-Sorry for letting you two s-see me like this."

"I-It's ok, Mom! D-Don't apologize!" Amber screams.

"Y-you two have g-grown so much… I-I wish I c-could continue watching over you two..." Her breathing gradually slows down.

"W-What are you saying!? Y-You can still watch over us! Right!? Right!?!" I yell.

"I-I'm sorry..." Mom apologizes again. "M-Mommy's sleepy..."

"M-Mom! P-please! D-Don't close your eyes!" Amber begs.

Mom continues talking, "A-amber…" Amber quickly answers. "Y-Yes!? W-What is it, Mom!?"

"T-Take... care… of your... brother…" With her last breath, she slowly closes her eyes, the hand we're holding goes limp.

"M-Mom…?" I whisper. 

I slowly shake her hand, "Mom… wake up," I shake it again. Amber only hangs her head as she slowly lets go of Mom's hand; I continue to call out to Mom; "This is not the time to sleep, Mom… so wake up." 

"Blaze…" Amber calls out to me.

"M-Mom's just sleeping, right?" I ask Amber with a pleading voice. 

"Blaze," Amber calls out my name again.

"Y-Yeah! Mom's just asleep!" I grab Mom's arm, shaking it strongly; "Mom! It's time to wake up!"

"Blaze!" Amber shouts at me, which I ignore, "Come on, Mom! Wake up!"

"BLAZE!" She grabs both of my wrists, pulling my hands away from Mom's arm.

"Let go of me! I have to wake her up!" I shout back at her. "Mom's dead!" Amber stares into my eyes with wet bloodshot eyes. 

"No… you're lying… you're lying!" I shout; before I know it, Amber's embracing me. "Please, Blaze… please… trust me…"

"No… no… no!!!" As I try to deny the fact of Mom's death, the urge to cry was so strong that I started wailing on her shoulder, making Amber cry as well.

As Amber and I mourn the death of our Mother, the deafening scream of engines interrupts us. Looking at the window, I watch a human spaceship hover above the street, multiple soldiers wearing some kind of suits start jumping off. Landing hard on the ground, they quickly storm into the building with me, Amber, and my deceased Mom inside; they quickly surround us with assault rifles aimed at us. One of the soldiers calls out in English with a distorted electronic voice, "Targets secured!"

Targets… secured? I thought to myself.

"Roger that, transporting targets to the drop-off point." As they finish reporting, they forcefully separate both of us apart.

"No! Let go of me!" I yell at the soldier who grabs my shoulder.

"Blaze!" She calls out to me as she struggles from the soldier's grip, "Let go of my brother!" As she continues to struggle, one of the soldiers takes a pen-like object and presses it on Amber's neck. "I said… let… go…" A few seconds later, the content of the pen empties into Amber's neck, suddenly making her go limp.

Seeing her suddenly go limp made me shout out to her, "Amber! Amber!" Suddenly, I feel something prick my neck. As I struggle to remove the needle from my neck, a wave of relaxation overwhelms me; my limbs feel like they're carrying a bag of rocks as it starts losing strength and my consciousness starts to quickly drift away when my eyelids become unusually heavy. Using the available strength I have, I reach out to Amber, "A-Amber…" Before the world of darkness overtakes me.

Everything I held dear that day shatters.