He had taken what he could in his bag from small tools, a few bottles of medicine, and important research logs. But that wasn't enough. It couldn't be enough when everything in the lab was barely enough.
"Hold on a little longer, baby girl," he whispered with a voice that cracked endlessly like a sheet of glass under great pressure. "Daddy's going to fix everything. I… I promise."
"I'm okay, Papa…" she whispered a lie. Her breath was soft. It was usually soft, but this time, a little more than normal.
Her lips curved up into the faintest smile, even though her eyes were dulled and tired. She let out a little wince of pain. "See? I'm okay. I'm smiling…"
"You don't have to do that," he choked. "I… I believe you. Don't force your smile. Just focus on conserving your strength—"
"I… I'm fine…"
She wasn't.
Her skin had gone pale with a bluish tint around her fingers and her lips.
Her pulse was erratic and fluttered. Every breath she was taking felt like she was swallowing needles. It was a constant internal war and yet, she clung to his shirt like a child refusing to let go of their favorite toy.
It was as if the sheer strength of her grip would keep death away a little longer.
Dr. Debronx was the name of the man running away with his daughter.
He staggered against a wall, nearly tripping as his knees buckled, but he caught himself last second to keep the two of them from crashing into the pool of mud below.
Every nerve in his body screamed, not just from the physical strain of the weight he was pulling around, but from the feeling of helplessness.
He hadn't felt like this since five years ago, the day his life had become devoted to his daughter entirely.
* * *
Five years ago.
"Don't you think that it's a bit foolish to assume that just because you were correct about a kaiju's appearance once, that you'd be correct two times in a row? The previous time was just a coincidence," said a man with wrinkles that flowed gracefully on his face, who was wearing rectangular glasses thinner than air.
"But sir, it's a pattern. I read hundreds of reports of previous kaiju attacks, and all of them share the same pattern of the drastic shift in weather, a spike in birds suddenly migrating, micro-tremors too shallow to be tectonic, our electronics sometimes glitching, the—"
"Enough! Dr. Debronx, if it were that simple to predict when a kaiju will attack, don't you think other scientists would've discovered it by now? How could it be that someone of your intellect was the first to discover this when there are thousands, if not millions, of people smarter than you?"
"I—"
"I don't want to hear your nonsensical theories any further. Get back to work before I have them deduct your pay," the man rolled his eyes.
"But—"
The man's eyes looked up at Dr. Debronx intensely, and that made him nervous.
Gulping, Dr. Debronx nodded and responded, "Yessir."
He quickly got out of the office before the threat of a pay deduction could come to fruition.
As he was walking back to the lab, he couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "But I swear that all the patterns are a recurring thing that happens every time a kaiju attacks. I was right about it the last time. And just because I'm a little slower than the others at certain stuff, that makes me dumber? It's called my talents are being utilized incorrectly."
Complaining to himself, he still went back to work as if nothing had happened.
A few hours later.
In the comforts of his home, Dr. Debronx was sitting on the couch reading a dissertation while his wife was in the kitchen cooking up a warm dinner.
"Darling, could you go wake up Judy from her nap?" she asked while taking a sip of her soup.
"Sure thing," he answered as he placed his papers down. "Why is she even taking a nap this late? She's going to be impossible to put to sleep tonight."
"Tonight is your turn so… not my problem," she laughed.
"Haha… so funny."
Heading upstairs, he knocked on a pink door and asked, "Are you awake?"
No response.
Opening the door, he was greeted by a little girl who was lying on her bed with her legs kicked up against the wall and her arms above her head.
She was softly snoring, and there was a line of snot that seemed to have dried from her left nostril.
Taking a seat beside her, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook it. "Wake up. Wake up, baby. It's time to eat dinner."
He received a few groans in response.
"Come on. Let's get up, brush our teeth, and head downstairs to eat. Mommy made you your favorite."
"Spaghetti?" a soft voice muttered.
"No. Your other favorite. Chicken soup."
"Can you pick me up?"
"Aren't you getting too old for that?"
"No. I'm just a baby."
"Okay okay. You're just a baby. I'll pick you up," he chuckled.
Family dinner was like per usual. Once Judy had brushed her teeth and washed her face, she went from a sleepy mess to a ball of energy that couldn't stop bouncing around the living room as she waited for all the dishes to be placed on the table.
After washing the plates alongside his wife, Dr. Debronx was about to take his daughter back to her room to put her to sleep when the phone suddenly rang.
"Who is it?" he asked his wife, who had picked up the call.
"It's your workplace," she answered, handing him the phone.
"Yes? Right now? Can't it wait for tomorrow? Really? Okay. Okay. Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."
Putting the phone back in the wall, he was about to explain when his wife asked first, "You have to head back?"
He nodded with a guilty expression.
"How long?"
"I'm not sure. It might be for an hour or two or… or it could be another all-nighter."
"Don't expect me to be up then," she chuckled as she picked up Judy.
"Sorry."
"Tell your father that I'll only forgive him if he takes me out on a date this Saturday."
"Daddy, Mommy said that she'll only forgive you if you take her out on a date."
"Tell your mother I love her."
"Mommy, Daddy says he loves you."
Giving his two girls a kiss each, he left for work in complete darkness.
Scanning his eyes around the lab, he noticed that it wasn't only he who was called back to work but also most of his other coworkers.
"You think we're going to be here all night?" one of them asked.
Another responded, "I hope not. I haven't gotten a good night's rest in over two weeks. I'm starting to bald from all the stress."
"Are you sure that's stress and not just genetics?"
The group of scientists, fueled by a hundred cups of coffee, began to slave and rot away in the lab due to something that wasn't really that big of an emergency. It could've waited for tomorrow, but the higher-ups hate the lives of the peasants below them.
About halfway done with the assignment they were tasked with, one of them looked up from the vial that he was mixing liquids in and asked, "Did any of you guys hear that?"
"Yeah. It's Jacob farting again for the fifth time."
"First of all, I only farted twice. And secondly, no. That wasn't me."
The small tremor they had heard returned, this time slightly louder.
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
"Is it an earthquake?"
Shatter!
"Debronx! What the fuck! Why would you drop that?"
Shards of glass were underneath Dr. Debronx as the glass beaker in his hand had been dropped.
"Debronx! Earth to Debronx. Hey buddy. It's not the time to—"
Tremors!
"What the fuck?! Holy shit! Is it actually an earthquake?"
"No," Dr. Debronx shook his head. "No." It isn't an earthquake. It's something far worse. He knew it. He knew his theory was correct. A smile grew on his face, then suddenly, he remembered the two people he had kissed a few hours ago.
Before anyone could stop him, he rushed out of the lab and found himself a hackney cab, paying the cabbie an amount far greater than the standard rate in order to entice him to drive the horse and carriage as fast as he could.
TREMOR!
"Neighhhh! Neighhhh!" the horses shrieked as they came to a sudden halt.
"What's the matter with you two? Our client here has paid a great sum to get him to his destination. Let's get moving," the cabbie said.
The horses refused to move. If anything, it seemed like they wanted to turn back.
"Is something wrong with both of you?" the cabbie asked before looking up. In the far distance, just slightly above a tall building that pierced through the sky, was the head of a giant creature.
"Pinch me in the ass and call me a donkey! Fuck! I'm sorry, sir, but I can't go any further." The cabbie turned to look at Dr. Debronx and explained, "We're being attacked by a kaiju, and the direction you want me to head in is the direction it's at. Let's get somewhere safer, shall we?"
"I can't. My wife and kid are there!" a terrified Dr. Debronx screamed as what should've been a triumph moment for a scientist like himself became one of panic.
"...Fuck. I'm sorry sir, but I have to prioritize my life. I… the best I can do is give you a refund," the cabbie said.
"It's fine," Dr. Debronx said as he grabbed his jacket and hopped off the carriage.
Running as fast as he could, waves of people were passing him as if he were fighting and swimming against the currents of the ocean.
The closer he drew to his street, the city illuminated by flames, the louder the cacophony became. Walls were crumbled, towers had been split in two or three like rotten fruit.
Screams surrounded him everywhere, and they rose and fell as if they were being carried by a tide. Each scream was haunting, each one cutting deeper than the last.
By the time he reached his home, his lungs were raw, his legs were quivering, his back was drenched, and his hands were trembling.
The coat he brought with him everywhere had been tossed aside many blocks ago.
"No…" his voice crackled like the flames around him.
The house that had once smelled of warm bread and laughter stood in ruin.
Stumbling through the collapsed frame, jagged wood and shattered glass snapped under his boots with every step he took.
Clawing at the rubble, flinging aside everything with no thought or care of the splinters that were carving into his palms, he called out, "Clara! Judy!"
The air around him was thick with dust, and each breath he took felt like he was swallowing chalk.
Somewhere distant, the kaiju attacking the city bellowed along with its minions, the drones. Its scream was primal and sounded like a siren of doom, death, and destruction.
Yet Dr. Debronx couldn't hear anything. Everything felt silent to him. The only thing he could hear was his own heartbeat.
Bum-bum! Bum-bum! Bum-bum!
And then he found her—
His wife. Clara.
She lay pinned beneath what had once been a wall of her bedroom, her back facing towards him. Her body was limp, her dress torn and blood-soaked.
"...Clara? G-get up. We have to leave. We have to find Judy and… get out of here. Clara?"
The gaping wound in her chest left no doubt that she was gone. A jagged spear of bone, one used by the kaiju's minion, had driven it through her. The weapon had splintered on impact, and fragments of it were still jutting grotesquely from her ribs.
He collapsed to his knees. It felt like his stomach was being flipped inside out and his organs were being pulled towards his mouth.
Hovering his hands over his wife, he wanted to touch her, but he was scared.
Was her body still warm? Or was it cold? Cold like the corpse of monsters that he would often dissect and research in his lab.
Tears blurred his sight until her face became nothing but colors smeared by grief.
He wanted to wail.
He wanted to tear his throat raw until the heavens themselves shook!
Turning away from his wife's deceased body, he couldn't bear to look at it any longer.
Then — a soft whimper stilled him. "...Daddy?"
It was a miracle he could hear it through all the noise that surrounded him.
Turning back, he saw Judy, his little girl; she was huddled in the crook of her mother's arm.
Mustering up the strength, Dr. Debronx grabbed his wife's body and pulled it off of his daughter.
Even in her final moment, Clara had used her body to shield her daughter.
But not completely.
There was a shallow gash on Judy's side, and it was glowing faintly with this sickly hue.
"Poison," he muttered. The drone's weapon must've carried kaiju venom.
Her small chest rose and fell in shallow breaths.
"Papa… you're here," she whispered, too weak to even lift her hand, her eyes flickering as she was trying her hardest to keep them open.
A scream was building up inside him, but he refused to let it leave his mouth. He didn't want to frighten his little girl, so instead, he sank it deep into his chest. Bending down, he pressed his lips to his wife's cooling forehead, giving her one final kiss as his tears fell on her face like rain.
"Thank you for protecting our little girl. I… I'm so sorry."
And then he stood.
His legs trembled, but he held on, powered by something stronger than anything physical. Scooping his daughter into his arms, he clutched her small fever-warmed body against his chest.
A shadow flickered across the ruins as another drone was stalking the street, its claws scraping against the stone.
Pressing himself against the remains of a wall that was still standing, he held his breath tight. Every muscle in his body was screaming for him to run, but he didn't. He couldn't move an inch until it passed.
Only once the drone had left, attracted by the sound of one of his neighbors, did he begin moving.
Step by step, he left the ruins that he once called home.
Step by step, he was getting further away from the body he couldn't bear to say farewell to out loud.
Step by step, he was moving forward, carrying the one life he refused to lose now that the other had left him.
His tears had not stopped, but his feet did not falter.
He had to reach the hospital.
He had to save his baby girl.