"Why are you still asleep? Didn't I tell you to pick up your sister?"
Seven years ago, his mother had uttered those exact, same words. However, at that time, Orion was far less mature. He recalled his response vividly, something along the lines of..
"What? Mom... she's fifteen, okay? Fifteen years old! She can manage on her own! Just let me sleep,"
At that time, he had barely managed to graduate from college with considerable effort, enduring countless sleepless nights cramming for tests or tackling challenging projects, so all he wanted, was a few months of well-deserved rest before starting his working, adult- filled with responsibilities- life.
Because of that, he believed that having to pick up his fifteen-year-old sister from school was simply asking too much.
Convinced he was in the right, he brushed off his infuriated mother and nonchalantly returned to sleep without a care.
Little did he know that this would be a mistake he'd regret for the rest of his life.
Orion recalled that, shortly afterwards, his father abruptly jolted him awake with a forceful kick.
"What was that for?" He yelled in anger, turning to face his father, only for his anger to calm down immediately.
His expression was filled with too much despair to bear.
Before he could ask him, his father had hurried to the living room. He ignored him and became fixated on the television screen, trembling with anxiety.
It seemed to be a horror movie.
His mother lay on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably like a child, and even his father looked ashen with bloodshot eyes.
A sense of foreboding washed over him.
"Dad? What's wrong?"
His father didn't respond.
"Mom, please tell me what's wrong!"
She ignored him, continuing to cry while watching the movie.
Out of reflex, he turned to look at the horror movie, only to turn pale with shock.
What he saw was an extremely gory scene, and the victim of such inhuman treatment?
It was his sister.
That was the very first time Orion saw the bloody livestream.
From that moment on, their family was never the same. A visible crack had appeared with the loss of Luna, one they could never overcome. A few months after Luna's departure, his mother followed, succumbing to heavy depression. Who wouldn't, having seen their child endure such brutality and finding no justice? After his mother's passing, his father's last straw broke. He descended into severe alcohol addiction, often more asleep than awake. In just two years, he too departed, leaving Orion as the sole survivor of their once-happy family of four.
Of course, Orion wasn't unaffected. He too, fell into a different kind of addiction. He became obsessed with the livestreams, watching every single one of them. He neglected himself and withdrew from society, living solely to watch the gruesome livestreams, hoping that someone would clear them, anyone.
But nobody every did...
Back into the present, Orion hastily changed into whatever clothes he could find before rushing out of the door, he didn't forget to tell his mother before leaving.
"Mom, I'll go pick up Luna from school," He said, feigning normalcy. He had to be careful not to reveal his future knowledge, the last thing he wanted was to inadvertently alert those aliens.
His mother shot him an exasperated look as he hastily made his way toward the door. "You should have done that already, Orion. She probably left the school by now," she remarked, her voice filled with frustration as she returned to her household chores.
Orion paid no heed to his mother's words; instead, he quickened his pace. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment the broadcast had begun, but he knew that Luna was among the unfortunate individuals chosen by the 'higher beings.'
As long as he finds Luna before the broadcast, then everything could be overturned. He will not allow the tragic fate that had befallen his family in his previous timeline to repeat itself.
He fumbled for his phone while on the run, desperately dialing Luna's number. It rang and rang, but there was no answer. By the time Orion reached Luna's school, he was already full of desperation. His eyes darted anxiously through the scattered crowd, searching for any glimpse of his sister, but she was nowhere to be found.
Orion's anxiety grew as he reluctantly stored his phone away. He rushed inside the building, his voice reverberating through the empty hallways and classrooms as he called out Luna's name.
"Luna? Luna!" The few remaining students turned to look at him curiously, but he paid them no mind.
As he scouted the school premises, his dread deepened. She wasn't in her classroom, and she wasn't in the schoolyard. Orion's steps became frantic as he retraced his path, searching for any sign of his sister.
But Luna was nowhere to be found, and time seemed to slip through his fingers like grains of sand.
His mother's words echoed in his mind, "She probably left the school by now."
Just when despair threatened to consume him, a deafening rumble shook the building, causing the walls to quiver and the ground to tremble beneath his feet. Orion stumbled, nearly losing his balance, as the sound grew louder.
He rushed to a window and gazed up at the sky, his heart sinking at the sight that met his eyes.
There, hanging ominously in the air, was a colossal, cube-like object, pulsating with an otherworldly energy and casting a dark shadow over the entire city. People on the streets below pointed and stared in awe and terror.
Orion's breath caught in his throat as he realized what this meant— the broadcast was about to begin.