Speaking of Brenden, like me, he had sandy blond hair, and standing at 6 ft even, he was an impressively fierce-looking man, rippling with athletic muscles akin to a professional fighter, and his short haircut was professional looking.
When I say he resembles Cptn America, I'm not kidding, at least regarding physique. With high Norwegian cheekbones, sharp eyes, and slightly tanned skin, he was the perfect combination of our Slavic and Norwegian bloodlines.
Although sharing similar physical traits such as hair and eyes, I was slightly taller at 6ft 1 inches, and my hair was tied back in a ponytail with the sides shaved down to the skin.
Unlike my father and Brenden, however, my skin tone took more from my mother's side, and I was pale, as expected from my Norwegian blood.
Characteristics aside, to my father, we were all overreacting, and nothing was going to happen. Still, since my brother and I were taking no chances, we forced him into his gear and told him if nothing happened, he could go back to watching World War Two documentaries on N*****x.
Unfortunately for my father, none of his words got through to me because my eyes were fully trained on the magical panel floating in front of me as I watched the progress bar barely move by fractions of an inch every minute.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, I glanced at my wrist with a slight smirk gracing my lips. Gone was my smart watch; in its place was a costly, high-end self-winding wristwatch.
It was Brenden's birthday present to me, which I received earlier, an Omega Seamaster Quantum of Solace 007 limited edition. Since we didn't know how things would turn out, he wanted me to have an impact-resistant, robust watch that wouldn't be easily damaged.
"If it's good enough for James Bond, then it's good enough to wear in war." That was the reasoning he gave a million times when he bought his YEARS ago and would wear it during work, and his justification for giving it to me this morning.
It was expensive, like VERY expensive, well over 10,000 USD, but since shit was about to hit the fan, and the USD would more than likely become useless, Brenden didn't blink when buying it.
"One minute, it's almost showtime. Be ready for anything." Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I turned and met Brenden's eyes as he spoke.
Nodding at me, he turned and hugged Emilia once for comfort before tilting his head to the side and popping his neck. Then his eyes zoned out as he stared into the distance, indicating he was looking at his panel.
45…
'Here we go…'
40…
'Only a few more seconds…'
35…
'Deep breaths, clear your mind, don't panic…' That thought echoed in my head for a moment, but all it did was trigger the exact response I DIDN'T need to experience.
30…
'What will happen?"
25…
'Is chaos going to reign?'
'Are natural disasters going to happen?'
20…
'Will there be monsters, gates, portals, hell on Earth?'
'Will we be teleported to some random dimension? There are too many possibilities…'
15…
'Or am I wrong, and nothing will change?'
10…
'What if, what if, what if?' With 10 seconds left, all I had were questions. My mind wouldn't calm down as anxiety, anticipation, and FEAR took over.
'Will our weapons even work if monsters appear?'
'Am I going to die?'
5…
Shooting one last look at my family, I steadied myself and clenched my fists tightly.
Emilia looked utterly terrified, Brenden looked confident and ready to fight, and my father…well, he looked like he wanted a snack and a nap because he literally couldn't understand why we were freaking out.
4…
3…
2…
1…
[Earth Particle Saturation Progress: Alpha 100%]
[The Particle Saturation has been completed, and Earth's current status has been Upgraded to that of an Alpha-Grade Planet.]
[Beginning the naturalization of all living beings on the planet for acclimation to a Particle Saturated Environment]
[Arkadia welcomes those from around existence to enter Earth so long as they meet the standards necessary to interact with an Alpha-Grade Planet.]
[All Primary Functions are now available to Every User.]
BAH BUMP
BAH BUMP
"UGH, MY CHEST!"
The instant the Particle Saturation finished, a flood of messages appeared on my panel, but before I could read them, my father screamed and collapsed to the ground while gripping his chest with both hands.
"DAD!" I was the first to react; however, half a beat later, I, too, was on the ground and being subjected to intense heat mixed with pain surging through my chest and body.
After me was Emilia, and lastly, Brenden, soon enough, all of us were struggling to breathe as we experienced an abnormal feeling coursing through our bodies.
It took every ounce of willpower I could muster in order not to scream out, but that was only me. Physical pain was something I had grown used to, considering every waking moment of my life since 2013 had been filled with intense physical pain in my lower body.
But my slight immunity to pain wasn't something the others had; Emilia, especially, was already a mess as she thrashed about on the ground, screaming in agony with tears running down her cheeks.
Brenden was better, but not by much; his eyes were misty, and there was a trickle of blood running down his lips as he bit down and crawled toward Emilia.
Then there was my father…my elderly father, who was already frail to begin with. Looking at him hurt me more than any blade, bullet, or explosion ever could.
Blood trailed down his face from his eyes, ears, and mouth; every opening on his head was streaming blood as he convulsed on the ground silently. After his initial outburst, he fell quiet and lost consciousness.
"D…Dad…no…" My words were quiet but filled with something primal, fear, pure unadulterated fear.
Seeing the man who raised Brenden and me alone, who sacrificed his golden years to raise two brats of 5 and 7 years old, the man who my entire life never showed so much as a hint of weakness, the man who taught me everything from how to fight, to how to survive in the wilderness laying there, immobile and bleeding, caused something in me to crack.