Axel attempted to comfort the child, who nodded with tears streaming down his cheeks.
"My children?"
The man cried out from the front seat, unable to turn back due to the rod in his stomach.
"I've got them. I'll get you too. Hold on!"
Axel yelled, as he assessed the jammed seatbelt.
'Fuck! The fire!'
He cursed, feeling a slight burn on his face.
'Fuck! FUCK!'
He had to hurry.
He cursed his luck for not having enough money to upgrade his Cyberwares. The only thing his current model could do was insert data cards and provide a slight boost to his overall strength.
His eyes lacked enhanced vision for seeing long distances or in low light, and his ears couldn't pick up sounds from a greater range.
"FUCK!"
'Think! Think!'
He struggled to push the jammed seatbelt out of its holster, but the flames were already creeping dangerously close inside the truck.
Byte meowed urgently and tugged at his pants, attempting to pull him away from the engulfing fire.
"Help! Please. It hurts."
The boy pleaded, his voice filled with agony as the flames began to sear his skin.
"FUUUCK!"
"Help! Ple-ease."
'Fucking. Fuck. Think!'
His mind went blank, overwhelmed by the heat and the sound of crying children. The feeling of helplessness, of being unable to intervene in the face of such tragedy, was crushing him.
He didn't hear the screams of the woman as the fire consumed her, nor did he hear the desperate pleas of the man watching his beloved wife burn alive before his eyes.
All he could focus on was the boy and the flames creeping closer, licking at his shirt. Desperately, he tried to swat at the fire, but all he succeeded in doing was burning his hands.
As he wiped his blurry eyes, he was surprised to feel tears streaming down his cheeks.
'You can't help him. You're too weak. Too weak. Too weak!'
The voices taunted him.
'Too fucking useless. You couldn't even save a child. Hahaha. Look at you. Crying. Useless.'
"No..."
'Pathetic.'
"No..."
'Can't do anything right. Too pathetic.'
"No..."
A burst of fire suddenly struck Axel in the face, the intense heat licking at his skin.
He screamed in agony, staggering backward as his vision blurred. Disoriented and dazed, he instinctively backed away from the engulfed car, collapsing to the ground in a heap.
He could hear the crackling of the fire, the anguished cries of the mother, the desperate pleas of the father, and the frightened whimpering of the son.
Curling up on the ground, Axel clutched his head, attempting to block out the overwhelming sounds assaulting his senses.
Just then, Axel felt a wave of heat wash over him from somewhere, providing a brief moment of relief in the cold night. However, it was short-lived as the fire engulfed the vehicle in flames, the explosion-less inferno illuminating the darkness.
Three humans burned inside the vehicle, their flesh sizzling and crackling in the intense heat. The acrid smell of burning flesh mingled with the smoke, assaulting Axel's senses with its sickening stench.
Then, as suddenly as it had begun, there was silence. Complete and utter silence. No more pleas from the father, no more cries from the mother, and no more whimpers from the son.
Axel opened his eyes, his vision blurred with tears.
Before him lay the truck, now nothing but a charred husk, devoid of any movement. There was no explosion, just the eerie sight of the vehicle consumed by flames until it simply burned away.
Perhaps there was an explosion. Perhaps his ears, like his heart, had blocked out the desperate cries of a family, shielding him from the full extent of the tragedy.
'No...'
He felt a heavy weight in his chest, a profound sense of loss, failure, and death weighing him down.
Beside him, Byte meowed softly, her gentle fur brushing against his skin.
Axel sat up and embraced the kitten, seeking solace in her warmth. Despite the overwhelming darkness surrounding him, the small creature offered a glimmer of comfort in the midst of his despair.
"Meow..."
His eyes suddenly turned cold, the light within them seemingly extinguished. Gently, he set down Byte and rose to his feet, a sense of determination replacing the anguish in his gaze.
He walked purposefully towards the wreckage, his steps deliberate and resolute. As he approached, Nova suddenly emerged from somewhere and began to ramble, her words tumbling out in a frantic stream.
"I...I couldn't get any help. Nobody was there."
Ignoring her, Axel continued to walk past, his cold demeanor unchanged.
"My parents..."
Nova pleaded desperately, but Axel showed no signs of stopping.
With a heavy heart, Nova's shoulders slumped, her chest rising and falling with each sob as she turned to look back at the burnt wreckage where her family lay. Tears streamed down her dirt-streaked face, her hands trembling as she collapsed to her knees.
He felt empty, devoid of any thoughts or feelings, consumed by a profound emptiness that seemed to stretch endlessly.
Then, his gaze fell upon the Commander. Her body was a mess of blood and bruises, adorned with large gashes and wounds, yet she was alive.
Her black uniform, once pristine, was now stained crimson with blood, giving her the appearance of a bloody god of war from ancient legends.
The Rhino, although in a sorry state, still posed a formidable threat. Its massive frame could easily crush the Commander if it managed to gain a lucky hold on her.
As the sun began to rise in the east, painting the sky with hues of purple, the two of them continued their fierce battle, trading powerful blows back and forth.
Byte meowed desperately and tugged on his pants, trying to pull him away from the impending danger. However, Axel remained oblivious to her efforts.
With each step, Byte found herself airborne for a fleeting moment before landing back on the ground, her attempts to divert Axel's path in vain.
He was completely lost in his own mind, unaware of the peril he was walking into.