The tremors intensified. Kyrai clung to Jay's arms, her grip bruising, as tears soaked into his sleeves. Above them, the heavy thud of a door swinging open echoed through the house.
Luis, clutching his wife in a desperate embrace, looked up with wide, terror-stricken eyes. Suddenly, the ceiling groaned. Dirt cascaded down like a waterfall, clogging the air with dust.
"I-It's going to collapse!" Kyrai screamed.
"Look at me," Jay commanded, his voice steady despite the chaos. "Trust me. It won't fall!"
Kyrai nodded weakly, leaning into his confidence. The shaking eventually subsided, but the sounds of slaughter outside did not. As Mary moved to open the cellar door, Luis bolted upright, blocking her path.
"Why? We have to get out!" she whispered.
"Invasores," Luis hissed, his expression turning cold. "Invaders."
The brief spark of relief vanished. Mary retreated into a corner, trembling. Jay let go of Kyrai and stepped toward Luis, while Kyrai rushed to her mother's side.
"Why is she hiding?" Jay asked, his voice low.
Luis didn't look at him. "Because there are killers in this house, boy. We kill them, or we don't leave this basement alive."
Jay swallowed hard, his knuckles whitening as he balled his fists. A rough, foreign voice cut through the silence from the floor above.
"Scour the house! Find the residents!" the captain barked.
A chorus of "Yes, Captain!" followed. Jay counted at least six or seven pairs of boots stomping overhead. Luis scrambled to the back of the cellar and returned with a rusted, jagged knife, thrusting it into Jay's hand.
"Here's the plan: when they open that door, I'll take them down with a blow. You finish them."
"I can do it!" Mary stood up, eyes shimmering with tears.
Luis sighed, a pained look crossing his face. "No, Mary. I know you. You can't."
"But he's just a child, Luis! He's your friend's son!"
"I know!" Luis snapped, then lowered his voice, turning away. "But I won't risk my wife and daughter. I can't."
Jay stepped forward, the cold steel of the knife grounding him. "I'll do it. Don't worry, Auntie."
Mary looked at him with pure pity. Kyrai tried to speak, but the words died in her throat. Luis and Jay took their positions by the door, the air thick with tension.
The latch clicked. The door creaked open.
Luis exploded into motion, delivering a crushing blow that sent the first soldier reeling to the floor. Jay didn't hesitate. He lunged.
The soldier's eyes widened as the rusted blade plunged into his throat. Hot blood sprayed, coating Jay's youthful face in a gruesome crimson.
Monster! A frantic female voice screamed inside his head. How could you do this? How?
Jay froze, lost in the internal cacophony, while Luis efficiently stripped the corpse of its gear. As Luis armed himself, he glanced at Jay. The man's expression had darkened, twisted into a disturbing, predatory smile.
"Move!" Luis barked.
They cleared the house room by room. Every time Luis took a life, his smile grew more shadow-torn. By the time they stepped outside, the family was physically unharmed, but the world they knew was gone.
The village was a graveyard of scorched earth and the acrid stench of gunpowder.
Jay didn't wait. He sprinted toward the barracks. The soldiers there knew him; they knew whose son he was. He pushed through the wreckage until he saw a slumped figure.
His breath hitched. His father lay there, broken and bloodied.
A hysterical, disbelieving laugh bubbled up in Jay's throat before dissolving into ragged sobs. Every step felt like a dagger to the heart until he finally collapsed, wrapping his arms around his father's cold, lifeless body.