The alarm blared, but Lin Shen kept snuggling deeper into his blanket. His mom peeked in, hands on her hips.
"Lin Shen, it's already 8:15! You're gonna be late if you don't get up now."
He groaned, barely opening one eye. "Five more minutes, Mom."
She rolled her eyes but smiled. "No more five minutes. College isn't waiting for you, and neither is breakfast."
Reluctantly, he threw the blanket off and sat up. "You're impossible."
"Just trying to save you from missing another class," she said, ruffling his hair. "Now, go get ready!"
Lin Shen trudged into the bathroom, still half-asleep, and turned on the shower. A few minutes later, he stepped out, hair towel-dried and clothes on, fully awake now.
"What's in breakfast today mom?"Lin Shen asked curiously after settling into his chair comfortably on dining table.
His mom smiled warmly as she set a plate of fluffy pancakes topped with golden maple syrup in front of him, along with a side of perfectly scrambled eggs. "Your favorite," she replied, still smiling. "I hope you're hungry!" Lin Shen grinned, picking up his fork. "You always know exactly what I need, Mom."
"BOOM!!!"
Suddenly,a deafening sound echoed from outside.Both Mother and son exchanged a quick, wordless glance before they dashed toward the door.
Stepping outside, they saw thick flames pouring from a building on the north side of the city,reaching the sky.
While in the sky, a robot clad in red armor was flying ,its four dragon-like wings spread wide. Two black horns jutted from its head as it stared down at the flames consuming the building below. In its hands, it gripped a strange, gun-like weapon which looked much more advanced than modern technology.
The robot began firing the strange gun in all directions, its blasts tearing through the air. People fleeing in panic were struck down mercilessly many of them dying on the spot while others got severally injured, falling as the weapon unleashed destruction without hesitation.
After killing every living being in range of 500 meters the robot started mumbling something in its robotic voice.And then after some time he moved his right hand forward and suddenly, green orbs the size of an adult human's fist began to emerge from the bodies of the dead, swirling through the air before being drawn into the robot's right hand, where they were sucked in and disappeared completely.
The robot then glanced toward the mother-son pair and began moving in their direction, more weapons unfolding from its body as it advanced.
Seeing this, Lin Shen snapped back to his senses, grabbed his mother's hand, and began running in the opposite direction.But alas, he wasn't fast enough. The robot quickly closed the distance, attacking them with its strange weapons.
Lin Shen and his mother were running through the streets along with people from their neighborhood, the robot following them and firing its weapons.People were falling around them, screams of fear and pain filling the air. Bullets flew toward Lin Shen and his mother,and to save him,his mother pushed him to side.The force of the impact knocked her to the ground, and Lin Shen stumbled, narrowly avoiding the oncoming fire. The robot's pursuit didn't slow as it advanced, its weaponry still aimed at the fleeing crowd.The robot fired again, and many people were struck, collapsing as the blasts tore through the crowd. The robot then aimed its fire directly at them, unleashing another round of blasts. Many people around them were struck, falling to the ground in an instant, their cries drowned out by the explosions. Lin Shen, his heart racing, struggled to keep his mother safe while the robot closed, but despite Lin Shen's desperate attempts to protect her, he was unable to do so. A few bullets struck his mother, and she collapsed, lifeless in his arms. Lin Shen, seeing this, was now unable to stop the tears in his eyes and began crying out for his mother, his heart breaking as the world around him seemed to crumble.
By now, all the people in the vicinity were dead, and the streets were eerily quiet. The robot stretched its right hand forward again, and the same green orbs began emerging from the bodies of the fallen, including Lin Shen's mother. The orbs swirled through the air, drawn toward the robot's hand. Lin Shen, his consciousness fading, felt the darkness closing in as everything around him grew silent. His vision blurred, and his cries for his mother became weaker, until everything around him descended into darkness.
After some time the robot glanced at Lin Shen's body, it's eyes narrowed,and muttered "Strange".
And then moved forward without thinking much about it.