He grabbed his ID from the table and hung it around his neck. It swung back and forth as he ran toward the checkpoint, anticipation building.
Best candy in the nation. I'd do anything to keep this culture alive.
He flashed his ID at the guard, then bolted through the gate into Zone 0.
The streets came alive. People everywhere—talking, laughing, selling. Zone 0 felt communal, connected. Not like Zone 1's cold individualism.
"Hey, Craig! Wanna play soccer with us?"
A boy waved from the local field, foot poised on the ball.
"Sure! Let me grab some candy first, then I'll be right back!" Craig shouted.
"If you don't mind getting us some too, we'd appreciate it!" The boy—Dean—grinned.
"Sure! How many each?"
Dean blinked, caught off guard. Craig usually got them one each when they asked. But each?
"Two each!" Another boy cut in, stealing the ball from Dean's foot. "Thanks, Craig!"
He kicked it to a teammate.
"Hey, Dai, get back here, you scum!" Dean chased after the ball.
"Sure thing!" Craig waved and ran off.
He knew how they saw him—rich kid, political family, Zone 1 privileges. He'd expected them to hate him. But they didn't. They came to his house on weekends, called him out to play. Even fought with Zone 1 security just to get through the gate.
"That might be true, but I'm not naive. They probably have something buried deep down against me."
He kept running.
"After all, we're human."
"Still—they made him want to fight. For all of them. They pulled him out of the dark, murky thoughts that threatened to drown him."
He reached his favorite candy store. The owner looked up and grinned.
"The usual, I'm guessing, Craig?"
"Yes, ma'am!" He headed down the aisle. "But I'm buying more than usual today."
She watched him in his pristine uniform. Any kid going to the government-run private school in Zone 0 came from a rich Zone 1 family. Why the mid-belt government set it up that way, she couldn't say.
"Neither can the poor kids," she thought, resting her chin in her hand.
Craig grabbed armfuls of chocolate milk bars, his smile wide and bright.
"Oh, that's a lot! You sure are obsessed with these, aren't you, kiddo?" She moved to the counter.
Craig brought the pile over, practically vibrating with excitement.
"How's school been lately?"
"Great! I've been learning a ton this semester, even with the advanced material." He pulled out a black card with a golden star—government household members only.
"That's good"
She watched him swipe it. Yes, officials' families had their own cards. Different from everyone else's.
"Have a good day." Craig waved, already halfway out the door.
"You too!" Her voice faded behind him as he sprinted toward the soccer field.
As he ran through the crowded streets, Craig noticed a few people pointing upward. "Hey… why do the clouds look so… foggy?"
"I don't know… maybe you're seeing things? I don't see it," another replied.
"Oh well…" Craig shrugged, focusing on weaving through the crowd.
Then something strange hit him—a fine powder drifting down from above. He looked at his hands and shoulders in alarm.
"What's this?!"
A sudden, intense burning spread across his skin. Chaos erupted around him. People screamed, clawing at their eyes, rubbing their skin, coughing violently.
"What's going on?!" Craig gasped, his mind racing.
The streets turned hazy; the fog thickened, carrying a choking, acrid smell.
"It's phosphorus!" a man yelled, pointing upward toward a small glowing point in the sky.
The late evening twilight began to vanish beneath the unnatural haze. Shadows stretched long, distorted by the rising cloud.
And through the murky, smoke-filled sky, Craig saw it: a looming creature, enormous and vaguely angelic, yet terrifying, cutting through the clouds like a predator watching from the heavens along his armies.
Craig froze, eyes wide as horrific screams tore through the streets. People were calling frantically for their children, dragging them into homes, shielding them however they could.
"Those are the Atrial Light Lancer Mecha Warriors!" a man shouted, stumbling past Craig, his clothes smoking from the burning chemical rain.
Chaos spread like wildfire. Families trampled each other in the desperate scramble for safety. Children screamed, crying for parents they couldn't find. The streets of Zone 0 transformed into a panic-stricken mass, every step a battle against the crush of terrified civilians.
A sharp, urgent voice cut through the din—an emergency AI war alert blaring from every device in Zone 1:
"Please evacuate Zone 1. You are our top priority. I repeat, an Atrial Light Lancer—King of the Sky—has been spotted, accompanied by its Knight Soldiers. Evacuate immediately, in accordance with government emergency procedures."
Zone 0 citizens surged toward Zone 1's bunkers—the only shelters large enough to hold them before transport.
Craig stood frozen in the middle of the screaming chaos.
"Light Lancer. King of the Sky."
The candy slipped from his hands.
"Mother! Father! Ani!"
His voice cracked. Tears poured down his burning face, his vision blurring.
"Please—move!" He shoved forward, but the crowd was a wall of bodies, all pushing toward the gate.
The checkpoint line stretched endlessly. People screamed for missing family members.
Craig pushed through, lungs burning, throat raw from the chemicals. He couldn't breathe.
Then—BOOM!
The explosion tore through Zone 0. Houses collapsed. Stores disintegrated. The shockwave hurled everyone forward.
Craig flew through the air and slammed into a wall with a sickening crack.
"Ahh!"
Pain shot through his spine. He gasped, vision swimming. The impact rattled every bone in his body.
He clawed at the ground, trying to stand. Tears streamed down his face—from the chemicals, from the pain, from everything.
"An..Ani... Mother.. fa."
His lungs burned with every breath. He covered his nose with his sleeve and dragged himself up. White fog surrounded him. He couldn't see anything. Just faint screams. Groaning. Other survivors stumbling in the haze.
"I need... to find..."
He limped forward, each step agony.
"I left without telling them."
The thought crushed him. His whole body shook—not from the blast, but from pure terror.
He couldn't see. Could barely breathe. But he had to get home.
Another explosion ripped through the air. Then another. Screams layered over screams. Voices overlapping, desperate, dying.
"M-Mother... Ani..."
Craig's heart shattered. He stumbled forward, helpless, sobbing.