A world for a world, Quentin's last thought before diving into a deep slumber.
The approaching evening sky blanketed thick smog of disaster. Flesh hungry dead bodies surged the cities, chasing down people across each streets and ellipsed aircrafts flew over each states and countries all over the world, shooting photon beams on intellectual beings upon sight.
For less than a day, the world suffered great losses of almost a billion lives. Warbots brought from a distant galaxy, swarmed to every part of the earth carrying biological weapons. Brain hosting viruses were airborned by these AIs across the cities, controlling human bodies to hunt down all intelligent beings of the planet. It felt unreal for the people, experiencing a life from an apocalyptic movie, but the chaos it brought, felt agonizingly real.
A white jet fighter soared above the state of washington at mach 2, twice the speed of the sound, it formed a vapor cone around its rear. Quentin was operating this hasting aircraft to his home. Amidst the apocalyptic scenes below lands, he cleared his mind, driven only with one thought that day: reach his home and ensure his family's safety. Nyx and Vauna waited for his return.
He passed over a gigantic silhoutte of a centipede crawling over the city and towering as high as the buildings. His head followed the view as he flew passed it, built mostly with mechanical parts.
He exhaled heavily, the day felt too unreal for him. hoping it was just a dream, an explosion slapped him into reality.
A loud and sharp noise boomed simultaeneously with lightnings flashing behind him. Something bursted on his trail revealing six white elliptical aircrafts catching on his speed and shooting red projectiled lasers on his spot.
"Shit, shit shit!" He maneuvered the fighter jet vertically, dodging each shots with ease. But he doesn't have the upper hand to counteract the aircrafts. They were too advance for his fighter jet, each were plated with a kinetic energy absorbing materials making it impenatrable with projectiles.
Then another elliptical aircraft approached him far distant ahead, boasting thrice larger than the sizes behind him.
Confusion shrouded his mind routing to his home when a low and gravelly voice connected to his radio.
"Mr Quentin! Slow down on the streets. There are more coming ahead of us"
"Voren!" He exclaimed, a bit of hope eased his worry.
Voren assured him to clear the enemies on their perimeter and thus leaving the job to Voren, he descelerated down the chaotic city. Getting a clearer view, mountains of vehicles dumped in the middle of a street. Dead people roamed through and corpses of children and women scattered like garbages. Grimmace embraced the views from every corner. He never imagined this future for mankind, his accumulated hardworks slowly withered away before his sight. But those sacrifices weighed nothing more to him at the moment, he could watch it all burn into smoke to ascertain a safe escape with Nyx and Vauna.
A darknening atmosphere of the near evening brought him seconds of calmness, compelling him to rest for a bit but the explosions above snapped him from the trance. Twelve explosions simultaneously reverberated above the dark sky.
His communication beeped. "Clear! Mr. Quin." Voren signalled him to rush again at full speed,
"Received," he replied and so his engine's roar gradually grew to a piercing rumble. Once more filled with determination, he flew the jet high up sky, piercing through the clouds rapidly until a sonic boom bursted across the clouds.
Almost an hour of flight, darkness completely scattered the firmament when he and Voren entered the zones of california.
Small explosions bombarded the thick forests at the feet of a mountain and behind them, an ongoing turbulence of cities, casted warm lights and smoke on their sky.
"Mr. Quin," Voren's voice, crisped to his radio.
They were approaching closer as his radar read, hard thumps of his heart grew stronger as they draw closer to the destination. Explosions continued below the ground.
"I can hear your breathing Mr. Quin,
calm down."
"Received, I'm alright Voren," assuring him, his voice went weak, almost of a hoarsed throat.
"I promise you, Nyx will get better soon as she gets treated on our planet", said Voren trying to ease his evident worries. But all he could respond was a silence, still clouded with uneasiness, he was uncertain on how to pay him a deep gratitude amidst of distressing situation.
Voren persistently talked to him anyways, still comforting him as they soar the night sky and still few explosions appeared from the ground at a time.
Voren's blabbering continued, turning slow from Quentin's ear as soon as he finally glimpsed the roof of their mansion.
"Nyx, Vauna," he hissed. Slowing down his jet to a lower altidtude, now hinted with a small relief in his heart. After every dangers around, his craving for their embrace drew finally few more meters to his grasp.
"It's all fine, it's all fine now," he hushed, breathings controlled. But his composure replaced a heavy gasp with an unexpected turn of situation.
Gazing from below, the mansion lit up. Growing brightly and stunning Voren. While everything from Quentin's perspective went slow during that moment and his heavy gasping was even more deepened.
"Mr. Quin!" Voren's shout grew undistinctive to his ear. "Mr. Quin! Eject off!"
Sudden outburst of flames engulfed the whole mansion, an explosion five times larger than the house came straight from the inside. Almost in disbelief, his mind went from a still silence to a gradual enrage. His thoughts crunched, pulling the throttle lever, acceleraring his jet down towards it.
Now hopelessly, confusion and horror shrouded him,
A debri projectiled directly to his spot, hitting the snout of his jet and cracking his flight helmet. His aircraft immediately caught on fire, descending down to the flaming house and he released everything from the top of his lungs; the rage and regrets in a single scream.
The aircraft's system read warnings on the screen, switching the auto ejection of his seat, quickly climbing him to the atmosphere as his jet plunged down to the burning mansion. A larger explosion boomed as soon as it landed.
Completely left with nothing, he remained mindless in the midair, his parachute shot out. Bloods trailed from his head down to his blank stares directed to the sky. Below him, lay the burning mansion, leaving him only with a void thought in his mind.
After all the loss he went through, he could think only of one last resort: to burn everything with him.
He could watch the world blast with wild fire to save them from demise but it was the last time ever. He lost conciousness before even landing on the darkened forest.