Smoke filled the air, blotting out the sun and leaving the once-bustling city in ruins. Buildings lay crumbled, and the sound of distant sirens mixed with the occasional low groan of shifting rubble. In the shadow of devastation, a little girl, no older than ten, crouched beside her older brother, her small hands clutching a tattered stuffed bunny.

"Hold my hand, Lily," her brother, Max, whispered, his voice hoarse from the dust. He was fourteen, lanky but strong enough to carry a scavenged backpack filled with canned food and a flashlight. He glanced up at the colossal footprint that had flattened the street ahead, its edges still smoking from the battle that had torn through their city the night before.

Lily sniffled but obeyed, slipping her tiny hand into his. "Do you think he's still out there?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Max didn't answer right away. He didn't want to scare her more than she already was. The truth was, Godzilla was probably gone, lumbering back to whatever mysterious place he called home, but the destruction he left behind was a cruel reminder of his power. Max had seen the battle from their apartment window—the towering beast fighting off a creature with razor-sharp wings. The shockwaves of their battle had shattered the glass and forced them to flee.

"I don't think he'll come back," Max said finally, squeezing Lily's hand. "But we need to keep moving. The shelters are supposed to be past the river. We'll be safe there."

Lily nodded, though her wide eyes darted nervously to every shadow and distant sound. The two of them climbed over chunks of concrete and twisted metal, navigating the ruins of what used to be their neighborhood. Cars were overturned, their alarms long since silenced, and bits of clothing and toys lay scattered like relics of another life.

They stopped by what used to be a park, now little more than an open crater. Max handed Lily a water bottle and crouched to look at her. "We'll get through this," he said, more to himself than her.

"Do you think Godzilla's a bad guy?" Lily asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Max paused. He had asked himself the same thing. From their apartment, he had seen Godzilla standing tall against the other monster, roaring with what felt like fury and purpose. It hadn't felt like destruction for the sake of destruction. It was like he was...defending something.

"I don't know," Max said honestly. "Maybe he's just...doing what he has to do. Like he doesn't even know we're here."

Lily tilted her head. "But he saved us, right? From the other one?"

"Yeah," Max said softly, though the cost of that "salvation" was all around them.

A sudden noise made them both freeze—a deep rumble, like thunder, but it came from the ground. The siblings crouched low, Max pulling Lily close as the earth beneath them trembled. Far in the distance, a guttural roar echoed, a sound so primal and vast that it seemed to shake the air itself.

Lily clutched her bunny tighter. "Is he back?"

Max peeked over the rubble, scanning the horizon. For a moment, he thought he saw something—a massive silhouette moving between the ruins, its tail brushing against skyscrapers like blades of grass. But as quickly as it appeared, it vanished into the haze.

"I don't think so," Max said, though his heart pounded in his chest. "Come on, we have to move faster."

As they pressed on, Lily's voice broke the silence. "Do you think he knows about us? That we're down here?"

Max didn't answer. He kept his eyes on the path ahead, pulling her along. Somewhere in the back of his mind, though, he wondered the same thing. Godzilla had fought to protect this world, but in doing so, he had left scars across it. Did he care? Could something that immense even comprehend the tiny lives scrambling to survive in his wake?

For now, it didn't matter. Max and Lily had each other, and as long as they kept moving, there was hope. Godzilla was gone, but the echoes of his presence lingered—a reminder that even in the shadow of titans, humanity could endure.

And they would. Together.