After reaching the end with red eyes, at this moment he saw it! A small form lying on the ground.
The sight of it made his heart drop into his stomach as he is overcome by an intense emotion…
He knew it was Nina before he even got closed, there is no mistaking, and it is definitely her! Her body was limped and bloodied, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
"No…" Aaron chocked out, dropping to his knees beside her. "No, Nina, please. Please don't go…"
"Dad…? You are here" A weak voice sounded and it brought a ray of hope in Aaron's despairing heart, there is no mistaking, this voice belonged to Nina!
But it is so weak that it almost seemed like a whisper.
"Yes! Daddy is here, you'll be alright, and everything would be fine" He said, his voice still trembling.
"Dad… those big bad monsters… they took my legs. Now I can't play anymore…" She weakly said.
"No! You'll be alright, dad will make a stronger and better leg for you. That is my job, you'll be able to walk again!" Aaron forced a smile and for once he felt grateful that he had choosing to work on prosthetics.
"Yes… I… know…"
"But it's… so painful"
"I'm so tired… I felt sleepy…"
"No! Please stay awake, be brae, I will get you to a hospital and you'll be fine!" Aaron's body shook as his cradle her small figure in his arms.
At this moment, she raised her small and frail hand… as if trying to touch his face, "Dad… please protect mommy for me" With that, her small arms fall to her sides once more.
The crowd have form a circle around this father-daughter duo and look on with pity.
"No… please… Nina, please… don't be gone" He spoke softly and reached out with his hand, he gently brushed the hair away from her face. Tears fell freely down his cheeks as he cradled her lifeless body in his arms.
Aaron stayed like that for what seemed like hours, cradling his daughter's lifeless body in his arms. His heart ached with grief and despair, the pain of his lose almost too much to bear.
At this moment he felt pain, grief, despair, anger but most of all, his hatred is over the roof!
He hated the world!
He hated the sun for disappearing and plunging this world into darkness!
He hated himself for being be unable to protect his daughter!
He hated heaven and earth, they watch as his daughter is brutally killed!
But most of all, he hated the Nightcrawlers, he hated the darkness, he hated the strange fog that brought along with it the existence of the Nightcrawlers!
At this moment, his hatred for the Nightcrawlers has reached a level that they both cannot exist in this world! This would not end unless one of them was erased from existence!
The silence in the hall was deafening, broken only by the faint breathing of the crowd and the distant scuttling of the Nightcrawlers in the distance.
Aaron felt his world crashing down whenever he remembered how he found his daughter, her dying breath, and her last words. This distant sound of the Nightcrawlers further fueling his rage!
Finally, he opened his eyes and looked up, towards the heaven and wiped the tears from his eyes. He knew he couldn't stay like this forever. He had to get out of here, he had to find a way to honor his daughter's memory.
He had to find a way to destroy these Nightcrawlers, he had to find a way back home…
"I would protect her… and I would have my revenge" Aaron's sad eyes turned cold and lifeless, as if he is already dead inside. After all, Nina wouldn't want to see her strong father breaking down and crying like a boy.
Boys cried and complained, Men took action.
He remembered her last words, to protect her mother and his wife, and protect he must!
At this moment an undying grudge is set between Aaron and the Nightcrawlers, their mortal enemy was born at this moment, an enemy they created!
Within his heart is an everlasting darkness, a hollow void that would never be filled!