A month had passed.
Garvin sat in the airport lounge, his expression still filled with utter despair. Beside him sat Hunter, Ryder, Ethan, Jaden, and Golden, each wearing the sa look of quiet sorrow. The air between them was thick with unspoken emotions, the weight of their impending separation pressing heavily on their shoulders. Beside each of them sat their suitcases, tangible reminders that this was truly happening.
Garvin exhaled deeply before finally breaking the silence that had stretched uncomfortably between them. "Alright. We all et back together in twenty-nine years. Until then, make sure you all stay safe," he said, his voice steady but laced with a sadness he couldn’t completely hide.
Ryder furrowed his brows and let out a frustrated sigh. "But seriously, why the hell are we going to different countries? Can’t we all just stay together?" His eyes scanned the group, looking for soone to give him an answer that made sense.
Garvin shook his head. "I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have to be in another country for business," he admitted, forcing a small smile. "I can’t stay here for too long or I might end up losing my mind. Every street, every building, every damn thing reminds of Scarlett. If I stay, the mories will haunt , and I’ll end up hurting myself waiting for her. I can’t do that to myself."
Ethan chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I knew it. I knew you and Scarlett were a thing," he said, his tone light but his words carrying a sense of finality. "Back during the apocalypse, when I saw you both kissing in the forest, I felt... weird. At first, I thought it was jealousy. I thought that was supposed to be . But looking back, I realize now that what I felt for Scarlett wasn’t love, it was just friendship. And honestly? I’m happy for you, man." He flashed Garvin a grin before nudging his shoulder playfully.
Golden, who had been silently listening, tilted her head in curiosity. "So... what do you guys plan to do in these twenty-nine years?" she asked, genuinely interested in their individual futures.
Ryder was the first to respond, a confident smirk tugging at his lips. "Oh, that? Well, for , I plan to earn a ridiculous amount of money and, of course, start my own family," he said with a self-assured nod.
Hunter scoffed, crossing his arms. "And what happens if another apocalypse strikes Earth?" he challenged. "You’re just going to put your family in danger?"
Ryder rolled his eyes. "Dude, I can’t spend my whole life being paranoid. Besides, by the ti twenty-nine years pass, I’ll be what? Fifty? I need soone to succeed , you know? Gotta pass on the legacy," he added with a grin.
The group burst into laughter, the brief mont of humor cutting through the lingering heaviness in the air.
Ethan leaned forward slightly, his gaze settling on Garvin. "And what about you?" he asked, his tone more serious this ti. "Are you planning to get married to soone else... or are you really going to wait for Scarlett?"
Garvin didn’t hesitate. "I’ll wait for her," he said firmly. "I don’t care about the age difference we’ll have after twenty-nine years. What I know for sure is that I’ll wait, and when the ti cos, I’ll marry her. No one else."
A collective murmur of surprise rippled through the group.
"Whoa," Hunter breathed. "That’s... unexpected."
Garvin stood up then, grabbing his suitcase. He glanced around at the friends he had fought alongside, survived with, and now had to leave behind. "Anyway, ti to board my plane," he said, his voice quieter now. "See you all in twenty-nine years. Don’t you dare die on ." He turned to Ethan specifically. "And Ethan, take care of Golden and Jaden, alright? Scarlett will kill you if anything happens to them."
Ethan chuckled and gave a mock salute. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Guess I already have two kids to look after, huh? Now all I have to focus on is making more money and living my best life. We may have more than enough wealth now, but without proper investnts, even a fortune can run out. And trust , I don’t plan on letting that happen." He flashed Garvin and Jaden a warm smile.
Garvin returned the smile, then took a final glance at each of them before nodding. "Alright then. Stay safe, all of you."
With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the others behind as they remained seated, still waiting for their respective flights.
And just like that, their paths diverged.
For now.
____________
The moon hung high in the sky, its pale glow casting an eerie light over the earth below. The night was unsettling, the air thick with an unnatural stillness.
Inside a cramped but livable living room, chaos reigned. Empty bottles, dirty plates, and discarded trash littered the floor, turning the space into a ss of neglect and filth. The scent of alcohol and stale cigarettes clung to the air, mixing with the faint, lingering odor of sothing rotten.
At the dining table, a man and a woman sat, shoveling food into their mouths with little regard for manners. Their movents were slow, lazy, as if they had been drinking for hours.
On a tattered sofa nearby, a young child lay sleeping. Her tiny chest rose and fell with soft, rhythmic breaths, her delicate features peaceful until suddenly, her eyes snapped open.
A crimson glow flickered within them for the briefest mont before vanishing. A second later, she let out a piercing wail, her small limbs thrashing violently in the air. Her cries were raw, desperate, filled with a hunger that demanded to be acknowledged.
As if in response to her agony, the sky shifted. Thick, dark clouds rolled in, swallowing the moon’s glow. Within seconds, the heavens unleashed a torrential downpour, sheets of rain lashing against the earth. Thunder roared, a deafening symphony of rage and sorrow.
The woman at the table groaned in frustration, pushing her empty plate aside. She reached for a cigarette and lit it with unsteady hands, inhaling deeply before taking a swig from her cup of whiskey.
"Will that damn baby ever shut up?" she snapped, her voice dripping with irritation. "My ears are bleeding from her crying."
The man beside her let out a humorless chuckle, blowing out a puff of smoke. "This is exactly why I told you to get rid of her when you had the chance," he muttered, shaking his head. "If you’d listened to , we wouldn’t be dealing with this bullshit." His lips curled into a sneer as he leaned back in his chair. "Or better yet we could just sell her. She’d fetch a decent price, and we’d finally have so peace."
The woman scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Shut the fuck up if you don’t know what to say," she shot back, her tone sharp. "I’m not selling my kid, even though I despise her. Not because of her, but because of her useless father." Her glare darkened as she exhaled a plu of smoke. "And don’t act like I didn’t try to get rid of her during pregnancy. I did. But she wouldn’t die."
The man snorted. "She’s a stubborn little parasite, huh?" His smirk widened. "Still, we need to do sothing. The neighbors have been complaining a lot lately. So even called the damn cops, saying we were mistreating a child. I don’t want those nosy bastards knocking on my door again."
Without warning, he pushed his chair back and stood up. His heavy boots thudded against the floor as he strode toward the crying infant. Without hesitation, he grabbed a pillow from the sofa and pressed it against her tiny face, muffling her screams.
"Just shut the fuck up," he hissed, pressing down harder. "You should’ve died when your mother tried to abort you. If you had, you wouldn’t have to suffer and neither would we."
The mont his hands covered her mouth, the storm outside intensified. The wind howled violently, the rain hamring against the windows like furious fists. Thunder cracked through the sky, shaking the walls of the house. The air inside the room grew heavy, thick with sothing unseen but undeniably nacing.
The woman sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. "That’s enough," she muttered. "You’re going to attract attention with your stupidity." She shot him an annoyed glare. "Just leave her alone. We’ll drop her off at the orphanage omorrow. I think I’ve had enough of this crap."
The man’s eyes narrowed. "What’s the point of that?" he asked, his voice low and persuasive. "We could make money off her. Sell her to so rich folks or better yet, to soone who knows what to do with her organs. Babies are in high demand in certain markets, you know."
The woman let out a bitter laugh. "Are you fucking stupid?" she snapped. "Who the hell is going to buy a baby’s organs? And even if soone would, I wouldn’t do sothing that monstrous. I might not want her, but she didn’t ask to be born. She didn’t force her way into this world. The least I can do is give her a chance at life, even if it’s not with ."
She stood abruptly, moving toward the child. As she picked her up, she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Damn. No wonder she’s been crying, she’s got a dirty diaper. Ugh, how disgusting."
The man scoffed. "Hey," he called, making the woman turn to face him. "You need to start speaking to with so goddamn respect."
She rolled her eyes again, a mocking smirk playing on her lips. "And why the fuck should I do that?" she sneered. "What have you done to deserve it?"
The man’s face twisted in rage. Without warning, he reached behind him, grabbing the ceramic flower vase that had been sitting on the table.
"I told you to show so fucking respect!" he bellowed as he swung the vase forward, smashing it against the side of her head.
The impact sent her staggering backward. A gasp of shock left her lips as she clutched the side of her skull, blood already trickling down her temple.
"I guess both mother and child can fetch so huge amount of money then."
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