October 15th, 2014. 9:33 PM
The orange leaves of fall crunched beneath a boy's feet as he trekked through a bleak, modernized neighborhood, chewing on a chocolate bar he had bought moments before. The hometown Cinder Thynos once knew had definitely lost its spark after The Deep forced everyone into the spherical domes that now encased their cities, neighborhoods, and even entire states.
"I definitely took life before this huge pandemic for granted… I can't even go swimming with Athen or hunt grub for Mom like I used to."
Cinder exhaled, closing his eyes before lazily scanning the route he was taking home. He had lived in this neighborhood for nearly a decade, and accidents here didn't happen often. But whenever tragedy struck, word spread in less than a day. Little Way was a small town, after all. Information traveled fast, and everyone was knit together like a single piece of fabric. So the brown-skinned boy had nothing to worry about as he approached his hometown doorbell.
"I wonder if Mom's home. I was out a bit later than usual today, so she should be awake. I'll sneak in through the window if it's that much of a hassle."
Cinder smiled to himself. His mother was a determined woman in her field; she had been working digitally for the National Deep Research Association for years, constantly overworking herself if it meant possibly saving the human race. After knocking three times with no answer, Cinder reached up towards the flood escape ladder, provided to every house in the neighborhood in case of a Deep-related emergency. As he crouched in the uncut backyard grass preparing to climb, he heard rapid, frantic crunches. They sounded familiar. Someone was running toward him.
"Mom?" he asked, looking up with a confused expression. But before he could identify the looming shadow above him, he felt a cold sensation slip into his arm. A warm liquid oozed from the wound, and the strange metallic intrusion was immediately drowned out by a grueling wave of pain.
"W-Wuh…?! AGH!" Acting purely on instinct, the bleeding boy shoved the man in front of him. The figure stood motionless, never reacting, never breaking his shadow-casted gaze. In a flash faster than thought, Cinder did the only thing he knew: run. He took off sprinting, clutching his shoulder as a maroon waterfall of blood streamed between his fingers while he searched desperately for safety. As he ran, he glanced back and noticed something.
Nobody was chasing him.
"That means…" He wasn't after Cinder. He was just in the way. Why else would the man be near the flood escape of his family's home unless he intended to get inside? The realization made the boy's breath hitch. His vision blurred, his emotions tangled, and his instincts shot to an all-time high. With that ugly knot of feelings tightening inside him, Cinder's amber eyes welled with tears. His mom and little brother were inside that familiar house—one that would become their tomb if he didn't get up and move.
"Why are you standing here then, you useless piece of shit? Get moving, dammit…!" he wheezed, his voice slurring as each second dragged. Every moment stretched into eternity as his bleeding worsened, making it nearly impossible to stand.
His joints began locking as he lay in the autumn leaves, the same leaves that now threatened to define his eternal resting place. But Cinder forced himself to believe that this wouldn't be his coffin. The amber-eyed boy rose to his feet as the fog of panic in his mind faded, leaving only one thought.
"I'm gonna beat the shit out of that guy."
Cinder broke into a run, his hand still pressed against his wound while his injured arm flailed like a loose cloth in the cold Little Way wind. He passed familiar homes, spots, and even the pets of peers he had known for years. The winds grew colder and more violent, but he refused to stop. He would have called his mother, but it was too late, his phone had shattered when he fell into the leaves. Still, it had another use: a weapon.
"ASSHOLE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Cinder screamed after two minutes of running, his breath ragged, and his throat dry. He was back, and he did not have pure intentions.
But the boy came to a sudden, solemn realization upon his arrival at the home.
There was no shadow. There was no man. Cinder's family, in fact, wasn't even here. The boy stared ahead with a distraught expression before forcing a small smile.
"Hah. Damn. At least I tried to become something other than a runnin' bitch…" he thought to himself as he inspected the wound in his shoulder, finally lifting his hand away from it. It looked horrid. The force of the stab had been strong enough to render his arm useless for months, yet somehow not enough to permanently destroy it. As the boy stood in the heavy, violent winds, he realized the weather was far more aggressive than usual. Trees snapped from their stems, cars were lifting from the ground, and brick plates were sliding and tumbling along with the wind.
"...Why today? Why does today have to be the strangest day of the year? Mom and Athen aren't home? I get stabbed? Violent winds are everywhere… Why does it have to be today… that I die?"
This was the last thought of Cinder Thynos before his entire body went still, and he collapsed.