I ran.

 Faster than I had ever ran before as the sound of distant gunfire and inhuman screeches permeated the cold air of the rainy night sky. I felt my stomach sink with dread as I turned back for a split second only to spot a large colorful monster plowing straight through one of the large military vehicles that had been guarding the rear of our small convoy of civilians.

I froze.

As everyone around me ran for the safe house that we had been promised not too long ago, I could only stand and watch in horror as one of the soldiers who had been protecting us from the beginning was ripped open and tossed aside as if they were nothing. 

“Coward”

The voice of that person reached out to me from deep inside, causing a stream of tears to well within my eyes and mix with the cold rain that surrounded me. A coward was all I had ever been; a liar, a fraud and a worthless piece of human garbage. A true man is he who fights for what is his, or so my dad said, so if I couldn't do that then what was I? Worthless, was the answer he would always give me; nothing but worthless.

“What the hell are you doing kid!?” A sudden voice penetrated through the dark barrier that I had lifted around my mind and suckerpunched me pack into reality.

Before me stood an old man, bound to a wheelchair and completely alone. He sat there with a confident grin, only tainted by small hints of worry; probably for me rather than for himself.

“I can’t outrun that thing on my own, and it seems most of these folk didn't really bat an eyebrow at me, so I would appreciate a bit of help. Not sure if you’re brave or stupid but I thank you for sticking around none the less” He stated befoe turning his back to me and beginning to wheel himself towards the safe house.

“Hurry it up or you'll be the one left behind,” The man chuckled, as if everything were fine and dandy. I stayed petrified for a few long seconds as I contemplated what had just happened; this man seemed to be the most incredible thing I had seen all day.

How was this man so calm about everything? All hell was breaking loose; people were turning into monsters left and right and the military was almost as harmful as the monsters themselves but this man, this chair ridden old fart was somehow chipper and determined.

With a heavy heart I bit my lip hard and forced myself to move. If this old man had the determination to live on, and I could help him, than I just had to. It wasn't about me anymore after all.

I walked up to him and began to push his chair with all of my strength, the wet surface of its handles were difficult to grasp but none the less I pushed on.

After a few seconds of pushing, the two of us turned a corner and finally made it to the safe house; a fairly small mall stood before us with a few military trucks stacked in front of it as a makeshift barricade. We hurried our way inside with little to no questioning from the soldiers guarding the entrance as they directed most of their attention to the various dark streets that surrounded the entrance to the mall.

“So what's up with you?” The man I had been pushing asked with an easy tone, as if nothing at all had been going on for the past few hours and we had just been enjoying a nice beer at the bar.

“Excuse me?” I asked after a few seconds of blank staring, slightly taken aback by the causal question.

“Well you were just standing there like a statue while everyone else was running for their lives. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for it but I doubt you stayed behind just to help this old man” 

I panicked a bit, not knowing what to tell him. The truth was that I was completely petrified by fear and the expectations of people who weren't even present, but of course I couldn't just say that. I had to act like a man, and a man in this situation would stand his ground and act tough.

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“Of course I stayed for you” I stated in a terribly weak attempt at a confident voice. “I could never leave someone behind like that”

A small chuckle stopped me before I could continue my lies, the old man forced the wheels of his chair to stop and maneuvered back to face me. He held an amused look but it was tinged with something I couldn't decipher… concern perhaps?

“Kid...” he began with a stern voice that contrasted his previously chill demeanor, “you aren't getting anywhere like that. You can't just puff up your chest and and pretend everything is alright and going according to plan… Sometimes, admitting that you're scared and need help is the best thing you can do”

I stayed silent for a few seconds, not wanting to be rude to this old man, but I finally managed to speak up.

“No offense, but we just met, I don't really appreciate the lecture” I managed to blurt out with a wavy voice.

“I’m sure you don't, but that's not really the point” he said with another small chuckle that quickly transformed into a loud cough, which subsided almost as soon as it appeared “just remember what I said, and think about it when you get home, okay?”

“Fine…” I murmured halfheartedly, this man's grandpa energy was just too great.

With that he turned his chair back around and began to roll himself through the hallway. I followed closely behind and soon enough the hallway opened up into the main hall of the shopping center.

It was a large opening in the center of the mall where events and concerts would occasionally be held, the small amounts of moonlight that made it through the thick black clouds shone into it through the massive glass roof and illuminated the few hundred or so refugees that now occupied the interior.

 It was a depressing sight; the sound of children crying and people trying desperately to contact their loved ones filled the air. Looking at them made me feel like I should contact my own family, but on second thought they were probably way too busy trying to stay safe themselves so instead I opted to send a simple message. 

Vincent: Safe at a safe house, stay safe

I typed rather eloquently into our families group chat, before putting my phone away and looking back at my old comrade only to catch him wheeling himself into the auditorium without me.

I caught up to him with a quick jog and we both made it onto the ground floor without a hitch, where we were finally able to take a rest. I found a bench and quickly lowered myself onto it with a heavy sigh of relief.

“So what's your name kid?” the man asked, somehow sounding even more relaxed than before.

“Vicente” I replied with my eyes closed as I leaned back on the bench “most Americans call me Vincent, its a bit easier to pronounce I guess” 

“Ah, so that's What that accent was” he said with a cheerful tone “You're some sort of hispanic?” 

I cringed slightly at the straight forwardness of such a question; it was the equivalent of asking an asian person what kind of “nese” they were but the old man's words were genuine, and he probably didn't really get how that could be perceived as racist in any way so I just carried on like it was nothing.

“Yeah, Mexican actually, came here a few years ago to finish up highschool” I replied.

The man's expression lit up “That's great, You don't look the part though” he said, with the most genuine smile I had ever seen.

 It was true that my accent was light, and my fairly pale skin completely subverted the expectations of any american about what a mexican should or would look like, so he had not been the first to not completely place my ethnicity at a glance. I found it impossible to fault him for it.

“Lots of folks talk big about how all of you just come over here to steal jobs and cause havoc, but none of ‘em actually know what they're talking about. You’d think as a veteran I’d be one of them, but do you know how many mexican kids of seen fight for this nation? Much more than You’d think” He said, before wheeling himself next to me and leaning back in a similar way to myself.

“Course a lot of these kids were there out of necessity rather than patriotic duty, but they still did a lot more than all those stuck up brats who cry about it nowadays” he spoke with venom in his voice, as if he was personally acquainted with one of these so called stuck up brats.

“So you're a veteran?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from my people, the memories of stories about old family members and friends leaving for a better life and never coming back left a bitter taste in my mouth.

 “Captain Alexander J. Smith at your service” He said with a chuckle.

“Nice to meet you sir… er, thank you for your service?” I said with an unsure tone to my voice, was that how you were supposed to greet a vet?

“All I did was get my legs blown off kid, I’m no war hero” He chuckled lightly before slamming a hand lightly into my back, as if to let me know that it was okay to laugh with him.

 I released a chuckle of my own, even if it was a bit halfhearted, before looking up at the sky. At some point during our conversation, the previously light drizzle had become a full on typhoon as the dark clouds rolled in and covered any smidgen of light that was previously visible.

The heavy sound of water falling against the thick glass of the skylight became louder and louder, until it completely drowned out any attempts at conversation that could be made. I turned to look around at everyone in the safe house as panic filled my head and I began to freeze up once again.

 Suddenly a loud crash exploded through the room as a bolt of lighting shot down from the sky, engulfing some poor bastard at the other side of the room in a bright light.

I didn't have the chance to so much as react before another shock of lighting rained down from the sky, this time towards me.

Bright white completely filled my vision for a split second, the sounds of screams and panic from the poor people around me filled my senses. The old man's voice called out to me with panic and fear, the most scared I had ever heard him in the few moments we had known each other...And then there was nothing.

Not a sight.

Not a sound.

Only darkness.