Stephanie Wonder was looking for her five-year-old son, Alex. She had left him playing with his toys in the living room, but when she came back from the kitchen, he was gone. She checked every room in the house, calling his name, but there was no answer. She felt a surge of panic in her chest. Where could he be?
She ran outside, hoping to see him in the yard. Her husband, James, was working in the garage on his new project. They were both scientists at New Dawn, which was responsible for conducting research on a strange core found beneath the Earth's surface.
She saw James emerge from the garage, holding a device. He looked worried and confused.
"James, have you seen Alex?" Stephanie asked, her voice trembling.
"No, I haven't. Why? What's wrong?" James said, looking around.
"He's missing. I can't find him anywhere." Stephanie said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Maybe he's hiding somewhere. He likes to play hide and seek." James said, trying to calm her down.
They searched the yard together, calling Alex's name. They had a golden retriever dog named Sunny, who usually followed Alex everywhere, but he was nowhere to be seen either.
They checked the garden, where they had planted some flowers and vegetables. They had rented this vacation house in Eastern Africa for a month, hoping to get away from the stress of their work and spend some quality time with their son. They loved the scenery and the weather here. It was supposed to be a peaceful and relaxing place.
They reached the shed at the end of the garden, where they stored some tools and equipment. Stephanie heard a giggle from inside. She opened the door and saw Alex sitting on the floor, surrounded by some boxes and buckets. He had a smile on his face and a toy car in his hand. Sunny was lying next to him, wagging his tail.
"Alex!" Stephanie exclaimed, rushing to hug him. "You scared me so much! Where have you been?"
"I was hiding, Mommy." Alex said innocently. "I wanted to surprise you."
"That's not funny, Alex." James said sternly, joining them in the shed. "You shouldn't run away like that. We were worried sick about you."
"I'm sorry, Daddy." Alex said, looking down.
"It's okay, buddy. We're just glad you're safe." James said softly, ruffling his hair.
"You need to be careful Alex! There are wild animals in the forests! You could've gotten hurt!" Stephanie scolded Alex. "No more toys for you till we get back home".
"Mommy!" said Alex, protesting.
"Give him a break Stephanie". James said laughing.
Just as Stephanie was about to argue, her eyes witnessed everything being engulfed in a blinding white light. She looked at her husband, and saw him lunging towards her and Alex with the device he had been carrying extended in his arm. She pondered why he had seemed so anxious earlier? He had had a meeting with the chief executives of New Dawn recently, she wondered if there was something he had been hiding from her.
Alex woke up with a headache and a dry mouth. He opened his eyes to a crimson sky. He felt something heavy on his chest and realized that he was lying on the ground under a pile of rubble.
He tried to move but he couldn't. He felt trapped and scared.
He remembered playing with his mom and dad in the garden after they found him in the shed. They had forgiven him for hiding and were laughing and joking with him. They had thrown Sunny a ball and watched him chase it around.
Then there was a white light everywhere and none of them could see anything.
Alex didn't know what happened next either. He only knew that he felt a warm sensation in his body and then everything went quiet.
He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. He didn't know where he was or what had happened to his mom and dad and Sunny.
He felt something next to him. It was a metal device that looked familiar. It looked like one of the many toys his father never let him play with. He said they were dangerous, not toys meant to be played with. It had a small screen that showed some numbers and symbols.
He pressed one of the buttons on it and saw the screen change. It showed a message that said:
**SHIELD DEACTIVATED. POWER LEVEL: 0%.**
Alex didn't understand what it meant. He pressed another button and saw the screen change again. It showed another message that said:
**WARNING: EXTREME ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS DETECTED. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.**
Alex felt a surge of fear in his chest. He didn't know what environmental hazards were, but they sounded bad.
He pushed the rubble off his chest and slowly got up. He gasped at what he saw.
The entire Earth was scorched black. No buildings, no life, absolutely nothing.
The sky was red and orange, filled with smoke and fire.
The air was hot and dry, making it hard to breathe. The ground was cracked and barren, littered with debris and ashes.
Alex didn't recognize anything. He didn't know where he was or which way to go.
He felt alone and lost.
He started walking, hoping to find his mom and dad and Sunny. He hoped they were still here somewhere.
He walked for hours, but he didn't find anyone or anything. He only saw more scorched land.
He started crying.
He tripped and fell to the ground, continuing bawling his eyes out.
He felt a sharp pain in his skin and realized that he was getting sunburned. The temperature had risen to unbearable levels. It was scalding.
He was in both physical and mental anguish.
As he lay on the ground, he heard another loud noise from above and looked up again.
He saw aircrafts hover over him, flying towards the sky. But there was something else in the sky.
They were coming from the sky.
They looked like angels, fairies even.
Alex wondered if they were here to help.
But as they came near, they looked eerie, they looked strange, they looked- alien.
They had wings, but they were not made of feathers. They were made of metal and wires and lights.
Alex's hope was extinguished as he saw one of them slice through an aircraft in an instant with a bizzare-looking spear. Alex let out a piercing scream, as the bisected torso of the pilot fell before him splattering him with blood.
They were valkyries, but they were not benevolent or heroic.
And they were mere heralds.
The gods had decided it was time to claim what was rightfully theirs.