Alex's mother and father pushed through the crowds of running people, but with every step, it seemed to make the center farther away.
More crawlers had infiltrated and were rushing behind people. Alex watched as men and women got chewed up, mutilated, and destroyed.
His mother was too busy running to try and hide his face from the horrific sights. If she wasted even a second, they would all die here.
Alex tried to close his eyes, but he could still hear the sounds of screams and blood splashing all around.
"We are almost there, just keep moving," his father said to his mom, but in the next second, when he turned around, a huge crawler burst through the buildings and stood in front of him, stopping the whole crowd.
Alex looked at this new crawler. It was far larger than the ones that had chased them up till now, and not only that, it had a black miasma coming out of its body.
"Oh no," Alex's father said, slowly starting to retreat. "Honey, I need you to run, run with Alex as fast as you can, and don't breathe until you're very far away.
"This crawler has reached the level where it can use darkness to corrupt people," his father said as he readied his rifle.
The crawlers that had been chasing from the back had also stopped when the big one showed up, blocking the humans' escape route.
"What about you? What do you plan to do?" she asked.
"I have to buy you enough time to escape. I'll attack the smaller ones, create a gap, and you take Alex and run," he said.
"You will die," she said, holding his arm.
"We don't have the time for this. Not everyone can walk out of this. When these crawlers decide to move in a few seconds from now, all of us will die.
"At the very least, think about Alex and save him. I might make it out as well; I have three big shots. I'll use two to clear a way for you two and the last one to escape," he said, placing his hand on her shoulders.
Then he removed his hands and started running toward the smaller ones. His wife also ran behind with Alex. When the bigger crawler saw them moving, it let out a roar, releasing a huge wave of dark fog.
Those that were caught up in the fog immediately corroded, turning into meat paste on the floor. Alex would have vomited again, but there was nothing left in his stomach.
His father looked behind and saw the fog catching up. He grabbed his wife's hand and pulled her to run faster. When he was close to the smaller ones, he activated the rifle.
It made a whirling sound that drew the crawlers' attention. He fired the first beam at the one in the center. The beam struck the head with an explosion, sending the crawler falling backward.
"Go now, go!" he said to his wife, and she started running. Some of the people who were still alive saw this opening and started running toward it as well.
Alex's father stood still, charging up for another attack, and fired another shot toward the closest crawler that was about to attack the escaping people.
When Alex's mom heard the second shot, she expected her husband to use the last shot to make a way to escape.
But then she heard the third shot and immediately turned, seeing that he had used it to take down a third crawler.
She then saw her husband running in the opposite direction, with the remaining crawlers chasing him. He had used the three shots to draw the attention of the remaining crawlers so they would all chase him and leave his family and others to run.
When she understood his plan and saw him running toward the bigger one, she felt her world crumble.
"Noooo, please, no!" she cried out loudly. Alex also watched the scene, praying in his heart that his father would not die here. This man and woman had come to be the only people he knew and cared for.
They filled the void in his heart, not allowing him to think about the pain of dying and leaving his twin brother, something he was yet to forgive himself for.
In short, he loved his father and mother, and he didn't want to lose them. So, watching his father running toward death, his heart tightened.
He forcefully removed himself from his mother's hands and dropped to the floor. He ran after his father; his mother tried to grab him, but he moved too fast for her to quickly catch him.
Alex ran with tears in his eyes, praying that he would not be unable to save someone he loved for the second time.
The smaller crawler caught up to his father, stretching out its tongue and grabbing his father's leg. His father used the empty rifle and whacked the tongue, forcing it to release him.
He got up and held the rifle up like a sword, but his back was to the bigger crawler. It approached him from behind, and when he noticed, its mouth was already open and ready to bite.
Alex watched in fear and terror as the crawler brought its mouth over his father's head. His father looked up in pure terror as the jaws closed and his head was removed.
A fountain of blood gushed from his neck as his body slowly fell to the ground. The smaller crawlers immediately gathered around the body and began tearing it apart, mutilating it completely.
Alex froze, watching with shaky eyes as his father's body was destroyed and his blood splashed everywhere.
He couldn't move at all. Even when the crawlers finished and turned their attention to the escaping crowd, he was still there.
His mother ran up to him, carrying him, her eyes filled with tears and red from crying. Alex could feel her body trembling even as she carried him.
Internally, he was amazed by her strength. She had watched her husband get killed, yet she found the strength to move, but Alex froze.
Was it because his father died, or was it because he felt guilt for not being able to save another person close to him?