Alex's mother ran as fast as she could, not looking back. She didn't know where she was going, but she kept running because she had to.
Alex and his mother could already hear the sounds of the crawlers approaching. Shouts and screams filled the air at this time.
They kept going, not expecting that they would see a group of ten crawlers ravaging people. His mother froze when she saw them.
She slowly took a step back, wanting to run in the opposite direction, but when she turned around, the crawlers from behind had already caught up.
She had to think fast. She ran into a building, up the stairs, and into a room. She sat there quietly with Alex in her arms, struggling to breathe quietly.
Suddenly, the building shook. Someone else had run into the building, and a crawler chased him inside, smashing through the walls and compromising the integrity of the building.
Alex's mother held him closer when this happened. She covered his mouth, her eyes darting around, watching.
But the crawler downstairs was still thrashing around to eat the man, and as it caused more damage, the building began to crack.
Alex and his mother watched as the crack spread underneath them, and the floor collapsed, making them fall through.
His mother thought quickly; she hugged Alex tightly and turned around, planning to use her body to cushion his fall.
She slammed onto the ground, her head whipped back, and hit against the hard floor with so much force it sounded like something cracked.
She passed out instantly. Alex looked at her in shock, scared that she may have died. He got up quickly and pressed his face against her chest. Luckily, her heart was still beating.
Alex raised his head from her chest and gazed into the room. The crawler was there, feasting on the flesh of the man who had run in here.
The crawler turned and looked at Alex, making Alex jerk back in fear. The crawler immediately charged at Alex. Alex raised his hands instinctively and fired a bullet of darkness. It was something he had been trying to master for years now.
It was not as fast as a real bullet, but that didn't matter now. Alex fired two bullets; the first one hit the head and did nothing, but the second one hit one of the crawler's eyes.
The crawler screeched loudly, the corruption from the darkness began spreading, but it wasn't fast enough to kill the crawler. The crawler rushed at Alex with even more speed, faster than Alex could react.
Alex accepted his death, but in that instant, an arrow covered in dark flames hit the crawler right in the head and exploded it into bits.
Purple blood and body parts splattered on Alex and his mother. Three people clad in full black body armor walked into the room. Two held swords, and one had a bow; these were the Marines.
When Alex saw this, it was like his mind finally gave up and decided to rest; he passed out on his mother's body.
---
Alex's eyes slowly opened to white light and a white ceiling. He tried to sit up, but his head ached badly, and he lay back down.
"Seems I didn't die. The Marines saved me and mother—Mother!" He recalled that his mother had taken heavy damage. He immediately tried to stand up again, despite the pain, and pushed himself up.
He wasn't connected to any medical machines in the hospital room, so he wasn't restricted. He got on his feet and immediately tried to head for the door, but he collapsed to the ground.
His legs were weak, the whole room was spinning, and his head was banging. But he didn't stop; he dragged himself on the ground towards the door and struggled to open it, but he couldn't reach the doorknob.
Still, he didn't give up. He began banging on the door repeatedly until it was opened, and a woman dressed in nurse clothes stood there.
As soon as she saw him, she panicked and picked Alex up from the ground, carrying him back to his bed.
"What the hell were you doing down there?" she asked.
"My mother, I want to see her," Alex said to her.
"I'll get the doctor; please stay put," she said and left the room.
"No, my mother," Alex said, but she had already gone. A few minutes later, the door opened, and a man wearing a lab coat walked in.
He had white hair and blue eyes, was over six feet tall, and had an average build. He wore prescription glasses.
He walked to the side of the bed and looked at Alex.
"My mother, I want to see my mother," Alex said.
"Calm down, Alex. Your mother is alive. I am Doctor Ace, a friend to your father and the one who treated you and your mother," the doctor said.
"If you have treated her, then take me to her, please," Alex begged.
"Alex, I don't think you are in the right state of mind to see your mother," Ace said.
"What do you mean by that? I want to see my mother, please," Alex asked again.
"Sigh. Alright, I'll have the nurse get a wheelchair," Ace said and left the room. He came back a bit later with the same nurse, and she was pushing a wheelchair.
Ace carried Alex and placed him on the wheelchair, and the nurse pushed him out. Ace led the way to another room.
He opened the door, and they all went in. Sitting on the bed, looking at the blank wall, was Alex's mother, with a bandage around her head.
The nurse rolled Alex to her side. His mum turned to look at him.
"Mum, mum, you're safe," Alex said happily, but her words in response sent him into the abyss.
"Excuse me, do I know you?" she asked.
It was like his world shattered in that instant. He froze, his face slowly turning into an awkward smile.
"Mum, what are you saying? It's me, Alex," he tried to get her to remember.
"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about," she replied.
Alex couldn't process what was happening, so he tried to grab her hand.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" His mum yelled at him and shifted away.