"The cruelest thing about missing someone is not knowing if they're dead… or just waiting to be found."
A tall man stood in a dark room, his tired eyes fixed on the plate beside him. The food lay untouched, already gone cold.
He wasn't hungry.
He hadn't been for few days.
He kept running his hand through his hair, tears forming in his eyes.
"Dad... Where are you?" he whispered to himself to avoid waking his little brother sleeping next to him.
He looked outside, waiting for the sun to come up. Outside, the world carried on as if nothing had changed.
Finally, the sun rose slowly, its light seeping through the curtains. Another day had begun.
Another day without answers.
Another day of pretending everything was fine.
He quickly left the room and entered the kitchen, taking out the bread from the fridge and putting jam on it to give to his little brother for lunch.
"Leo, wake up! It's time for school!" he shouted, his voice weak from exhaustion.
"Uhhhh, already? I hate going to school!" Leo shouted back.
A few minutes passed, and Leo entered the kitchen fully prepared for school.
"How did you get dressed so quickly? Don't tell me you didn't shower again; it's already been 5 days!" Ethan said angrily.
"Well... I was just not in the mood," Leo said, smiling.
"Eww, and your breath stinks too! You haven't been brushing either or what?" Ethan said, pulling his face away.
Leo just stood there, looking up at Ethan with his dolly eyes.
"You are not cute," Ethan said, rolling his eyes.
"HEY! That's not nice! Every girl from your class loves me; they say I am really pretty," Leo said proudly.
"Well, that's probably because they want my number," Ethan said, not paying too much attention.
Leo tried to say something, but he quickly realized Ethan was right. "OK, here is your lunch; now go outside. The school bus is about to come in 5 minutes," Ethan said, looking at the clock.
"What's in the lunch today?" Leo asked excitedly.
"Bread and jam," Ethan responded.
"Whyyyy? I have been eating bread and jam for the past 5 days! Can't you make anything else? Dad made delicious food. Speaking of Dad, when is he gonna come back from his trip?"
As Leo said that, Ethan started looking down.
*I am tired of lying to him, but he isn't ready for the truth. Not yet,* Ethan thought.
"Well, he is gone on a pretty long trip, you know, so you just have to deal with me, even if you don't like it," Ethan said, forcing a smile to reassure Leo.
"Okay, I guess I can handle it," Leo said, sulking.
Ethan ruffled his brother's hair, trying to hide the guilt. "You have been doing this a lot since Dad left," Leo said, looking confused.
"It's nothing; I just like how your hair feels."
Just then, a honk echoed from outside. The school bus had arrived.
"Go on, don't keep the bus waiting!" he said, nudging Leo toward the exit door.
Leo grabbed his backpack, and with one last glance back at Ethan, he ran toward the door. "See you after school!"
As Leo was leaving, Ethan pulled out his phone and checked the notification.
Missing Person Alert
Case #477
No evidence. No witnesses. No trace.
"Another missing person..." Ethan murmured to himself.
As Leo opened the door, a blinding flash enveloped them. Ethan rushed toward Leo, instinctively trying to shield him from whatever was happening.
Leo screamed in terror; Ethan's mind was a mess, trying to figure out what was happening.
The light began to fade, but soon they found themselves falling from the sky.
As they crashed onto the ground, Ethan quickly got up, trying to see if Leo was alright.
"Ethan, where are we?" Leo's voice trembled as he sat up, looking around in wide-eyed confusion. The landscape was foreign; trees were everywhere as far as their eyes could see. The sky was a beautiful orange color, and the scent of wildflowers and soil was almost calming.
"I... I don't know," Ethan replied, trying to act calm. "We just have to stay together."
Leo was shaking from fear, but seeing his brother calm helped him get over it.
Ethan helped Leo to his feet, glancing around for any signs of danger. They were no longer in their neighborhood; instead, they were surrounded by towering trees that were so tall their tops were not visible.
*I still have to figure out where we are,* Ethan thought to himself with concern.
*Did we get kidnapped? No, that wouldn't make sense. Maybe we died from that flash and this is the afterlife. No, I felt the pain from the fall; we are definitely still alive,* Ethan kept thinking, trying to make sense of this situation.
"Leo, let's look around a little bit," Ethan said, grabbing Leo's hand.
Maybe looking around would help.
As they moved forward cautiously, a strange chill swept through the air. Suddenly, a loud growl echoed from behind a nearby tree, causing both of them to freeze.
"What was that?" Leo whispered, his eyes wide with fear.
"I don't know, but we should—" Ethan started, but before he could finish, a creature jumped in front of them.
It was a goblin; its sharp teeth, big nose, hunched posture, and light green skin made it obvious.
"Run!" Ethan shouted, pulling Leo in the opposite direction. They sprinted through the forest, adrenaline coursing through their veins as the monstrous creature chased them.
"What is that thing?" Leo gasped, already running out of breath.
"Just keep running!" Ethan screamed. The goblin's voice grew louder and louder as it closed in on them.
Finally, a village came into their view, but Leo's legs were giving out.
"I can't... An.. Anymore," Leo said, trying to catch his breath.
As Ethan saw the goblin was close enough to attack, he picked Leo up and started running again.
"Do you think you can outrun it?" Leo said, hugging Ethan tightly.
"Don't worry; you also know I am the fastest runner in our school," Ethan said, gritting his teeth.
*I have to keep running!* Ethan was filled with hope as they got closer and closer to the village. I can make it!
Thud.
They fell backward as they collided with an invisible wall.
This area is locked, a message popped up in front of them.
Ethan and Leo stared in disbelief at the glowing message that had suddenly appeared before them.
"Ethan!" Leo whimpered, clinging tighter to his brother, his small frame trembling.
"Stay back!" Ethan shouted, getting up and positioning himself between Leo and the approaching goblin.
The goblin stopped right before them, preparing for a lunge.
*What the fuck is going on? Goblins, weird invisible walls, flying messages... nothing makes sense! Is this a dream?* Ethan thought, keeping his eyes locked on the goblin.
The goblin kept looking at them, almost as if it was waiting for something.
*Why isn't it attacking? Is it maybe scared of us?* Ethan thought, finally getting his hope back.
But that hope was short-lived as another message popped up in front of them.
Stage 0
Survive against the goblins × 589
Time -> 10 mins
As Ethan read it, a herd of goblins began rushing toward them.
*10 minutes? Maybe I can try running away,* Ethan thought. But as he looked back to check on Leo, he found he had fainted from seeing the herd approaching them.
*That's not an option anymore,* Ethan thought, panicking as the goblin began to slowly approach them.