Elian stared at the dead body that had fallen from the sky.
It didn't look anything like the man who had been beating him up seconds again.
The limbs were tattered, and the man's face was gone, blood oozing from every part of his flesh.
Something told Elian to run, but he found that he couldn't move. He was frozen, his body shaking.
Lydia Vance thought she was dreaming. She pinched herself, but the dead body was still there, staring back at her.
It was the first collector that broke the silence.
"Where did he go?" he asked, shaking and looking around for his partner. He did not believe it was his partner's body on the ground.
Turning to Elian and his family with a furious glare, he asked. "What did you do to him?"
Elian was too shaken to tell him he had nothing to do with it. He lifted his finger to point at the body, but Fiona's scream echoed at that same time.
Two creatures landed right in front of their home at that moment. The collector fell to the ground in fear before them, his body trembling.
Elian felt his heart pounding like a drum and goosebumps masking his skin.
It was nothing like he had ever seen before. They looked like birds, vicious birds. He could not tell what they were, and he had never heard about them. But Elian was sure that these were the kind of creatures that only existed in his nightmares.
The birds had dark feathers, with brutal and reddish eyes. They also had long, razor-sharp beaks that curved inwards like that of a dagger. The most shocking thing about these creatures was their size. They looked monstrous and stood about four feet tall.
"Pleas….Please don't…."
The collector had barely begged when one of the birds ate his head off, his body falling to the ground with a thud. The other ripped the collector's body apart mercilessly, tearing him limb by limb.
Elian felt his blood run cold, but he still mustered up the courage to push his mother and sister into the house. They found a corner to hide, with Elian praying that the creatures would not sniff them out or detect them.
But the creatures followed - they seemed to be very intelligent. They were not ordinary birds.
Breaking and destroying things in their path, the creatures searched for Elian and his family.
Fiona whimpered and almost screamed when she realized what was about to happen. Elian quickly clamped his hand over her mouth and shook his head slowly, fearing they might attract attention from the creatures.
Lydia tried to shield her children, but the sight of the birds approaching only agitated Fiona, making her very afraid. Unable to control herself, she screamed. All she thought of was how to get away from the monstrous creatures.
Without thinking, she broke out of the family knot and started to run away in fear. Elian's protective instinct immediately snapped, and he ran after his sister, screaming her name.
"Fiona, no… Fiona!"
Unknown to him, his mother was left exposed to the creatures.
Lydia attempted to run after her children, but before she could even think of it, one of the monsters lashed out with its massive wings, sending her crashing into the wall.
Lydia screamed at the impact, her cries drawing Elian's attention to her direction immediately. "Ma!" Elian shouted, running to her side.
But it was too late. The creature's beak descended, with its talons pinning her in place as it tore her shred by shred, ending her life in an instant.
"No!" Elian screamed, but he barely had time to mourn because the second creature was catching up with Fiona.
At that moment, he realized he had to make a tough decision.
He could run fast since one of the creatures was busy with his mother, and the other was chasing after Fiona. He couldn't fight them, he had no skills or abilities. But he could save himself if he ran.
But could he do it? Leave his sister behind?
Charging toward the creature chasing Fiona, Elian started to scream, drawing its attention. The bird turned, its dark eyes focusing on Elian.
"Fiona, run! Run!!" He yelled as the bird started to fly toward him back in the direction of their home.
Elian was sacrificing himself.
Before he could make it far, the bird snapped its beak forward, digging it into his shoulder and drawing blood. He fell to the ground, crying out from the unbearable pain.
Just then, the creature which had killed his mother rushed towards Fiona.
"No! Leave her alone!" Elian cried as he saw the bird flying toward Fiona, who was still running and screaming.
But Fiona didn't get far. The first creature that killed Lydia caught her, its talons gripping her frail body. Elian watched, helpless, as it tore her apart, scattering what was left of her body on the ground.
"NO! FIONA!! NO!!!" Elian cried, crawling towards his sister desperately, his vision blurring with tears. He was pulled back by the second creature, which immediately dug its talons into his stomach, his cries of pain filling the air. He could feel the life draining from him, his strength fading away with every drop of blood that pooled under him.
This was it.
This was his end.
He would die at nineteen as nobody, but at least he would die beside his family.
Just as the bird lowered its beak to eat Elian's head off, a loud, distant explosion rented the atmosphere.
BOOM!
The creatures shrieked at the same time.
Another explosion hit.
BOOM!
The creatures shrieked again.
BOOM!
This time, the birds flew away, heading in the direction of the explosion.
Elian was left sprawled on the ground in between the corpses that had once been his family. Tears blurred his vision as he struggled to breathe. He was bleeding out heavily, and there was no hope of help coming to him.
In his last moments, his vision dimmed constantly as he stared at Fiona's lifeless body, her face frozen in terror, her body shredded to pieces. He tried to turn back and look at his mother, but his weak body wouldn't let him.
Tears streamed down his eyes as he thought about the dreams he had held dear to his heart.
He planned to work his way to Aetherforge and become a forger. His absolute dream was to give his mother and sister the lives they deserved. A life far away from Destitropolis where they would be happy and healthy.
All his dreams had been snatched away in the blink of an eye. His mother and sister had their lives snuffed out of them right before his eyes before they could ever know what happiness and wealth felt like.
No. It couldn't just end like this, Elian thought.
He had to avenge his family. He had to find those birds and kill them.
Elian felt himself straining to stand up. Blood spluttered from his mouth as he tried to form words. "I-I…I c-can't die lik-like…"
His body gave way as he collapsed back to the floor in a heap.