There was a man sitting at a cluttered desk within an office. His eyes flitted over a crooked name card reading Dr. Malkorn Black before they rested upon a miniature train chugging along its little rails. Malkorn's fingers nervously tapped away at the wooden desk, in sync with the train's movements while he tried to soothe his scattered thoughts.

"It's been more than twenty years," he murmured. "You can do this."

Promptly, the man stood and the door to his office closed behind him. His heart hammered in his chest and sweat started to build upon his forehead. It wasn't long until he arrived at his destination, the laboratory of the facility. The doors loomed over his body; even as the director, rarely had he ever felt so intimidated. Taking a deep breath into his lungs, he tidied his shirt and entered the room.

"I got you your favorite flowers," he announced. His voice was steady, although tinged with a hint of nervousness as he extended a bouquet of gentle, white lilies towards her.

Eve White turned to the voice, her eyes widening in surprise. For just a moment, she seemed to forget about the bundle of papers in her arms when they fluttered to the ground mere moments later.

Malkorn’s jaw parted slightly, but Eve paid the papers no heed. The woman faced the man, clasping both hands to her bosom when a bitter, regretful smile spread across her lips.

“Malkorn…” she whispered, stepping forward and pushing the bouquet back into his arms, “I’m so sorry, I totally forgot… It’s just… I’ve been so busy.”

Eve slowly leaned forward into Malkorn’s embrace and his arms gently wrapped around her thin frame. She swayed against his chest and a quiet sniffle was heard.

“Eve…”

Malkorn studied her face, every line and curve was already etched into his memory, but it was always refreshing to witness her beauty once more. Many years ago, he had met Eve for the first time at a conference for the development of the new energy known as ether. Her passionate, ambitious personality coupled with her thorough results captivated a large audience, and it wasn’t surprising that he had fallen in love at first sight.

And that wasn’t to mention her abilities in the field of research. While he had spent countless years, immersed in endless and rigorous calculations. Eve made everything he did seem like child’s play. The woman was nothing short of a scientific genius as she could nearly harness the ether at will. Due to her efforts, she had been a key piece in the development of Project E.

Malkorn gazed down at the woman quietly sobbing into his chest. Her tiny coughs, and little spasms causing small rumbles to echo throughout his body. Running a hand through her dark hair, he tenderly caressed her lengthy, midnight locks.

“Malkorn… I d-didn’t mean to forget. I really didn’t…”

Her voice was but a mere murmur and she struggled to put thought into words. It wasn’t long before Eve burst into another fit of tears.

“There, there,” Malkorn soothed, gently stroking the woman’s back. “It’s the summer, I’m not as busy as you during this time. It wasn’t hard to remember that you’ve always loved lilies.”

The man’s hand moved towards the bouquet before delicately nipping off the head of a blossoming flower. Eve gazed up at his emerald eyes with her pleading eyes of blue. Her lips quivered, and her grip tightened on his shirt, yet Malkorn only smiled.

“Shh… It’s alright honey,” he whispered. “You’re as beautiful as ever…”

He brought the lily up from behind her nape and lightly tucked the floral green into the tresses behind her ear. Pulling back, he dreamily looked into the woman of his dreams.

“As beautiful as the day we met.”

Malkorn leaned forward, tilting his head to the side slightly and gave the woman a light peck on her reddened cheeks.

Eve snorted before turning away shyly. “Yeah right.”

Although, the tears and snot flowing down her face did little to support her retort. Unable to hold up the facade, Eve pursed her lips, and glared at the man.

“When have I ever lied?” Malkorn chuckled. Using a thumb to wipe away her tears, he swept the woman up into a bridal carry. “Now I believe that we have somewhere to go.”

“W-wait!” Eve yelped. “Where are we going, I still have so much work le—”

“Shush,” he silenced the woman with a kiss. “It’s our anniversary. We’ve been cooped up in this lab for way too long. Besides, when was the last time we did anything fun?”

“But…”

Malkorn gave her a grim look and Eve shuddered.

“No buts,” he said sternly. “Are you the Malkorn Black? Director of Project E?”

His words prompted the woman to roll her eyes, but she soon shook her head anyways.

“...No…”

“Great, then you must understand that I have the power to forcefully grant both of us a day’s worth of rest,” Malkorn grinned.

He pulled her tight against his chest, and brought the bouquet in front of her eyes for her to take.

“Hmph,” Begrudgingly, Eve accepted the flowers with a pout. She turned away from the man, but it didn’t go unnoticed that she clutched the bouquet close to her heart.

Malkorn released a laugh, enjoying the endearing act his wife was putting on. And just as he predicted, she faced him a moment later, unable to deny his gesture.

Eve held the bouquet close, before placing a tender hand on the man’s chin.

“They’re beautiful,” she smiled. “Thank you.”

With the lilies safely cradled in her arms, Malkorn once again ran his hand through her hair before sweeping her out of the lab. He waved his hand once, and a sensor immediately shut the door behind them.

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As they made their way down the hall, they bumped into a stout man wearing a pair of spectacles. Dr. Edward Ling, one of their colleagues who they had been in major collaboration with since the birth of the project. His eyes seemingly took a glint when they saw Malkorn carrying Eve in a bridal carry.

"Well, if it isn’t the two superstar researchers,” Edward said with a grin. “Is there some special occasion? Or a party that I wasn’t invited to?”

Malkorn chuckled and nodded. “You’re exactly right, Edward. It’s our anniversary, actually. We were just heading down to the docks for a night at the cafe.”

Edward’s grin widened. “Sounds nice. What about afterwards? Got any wild plans for the night?”

“Oh, shut it,” Eve muttered, her cheeks flushing pink.

“I wish,” Malkorn said with a bitter smile before glancing down at his wife. “But we’ve still got some work to finish.”

“Aish,” Edward groaned. “Don’t even talk about work when it's your anniversary. I’ll have my team take over. You both deserve a break once in a while, right?”

“Thanks, Edward,” Malkorn sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “I appreciate it, have a good night.”

Eve waved a small hand, blowing a raspberry at Edward, who laughed when Malkorn flicked her forehead playfully.

“You two never change,” Edward chuckled. “Take care, Malkorn, Eve.”

They started down the hall with a giggle, but Edward suddenly called after them and their steps immediately halted.

"Wait, hold on. I almost forgot. There’s something you need to know." His smile faded as he continued. "This morning, an armed officer showed up in Sector 727. They’re demanding immediate development of ether weapons. We can’t stall them anymore. They passed a bill yesterday giving them control over a large part of our research."

“Who’s they?” Eve’s eyes narrowed.

She motioned for Malkorn to lower her and a scowl came across her lips.

“The military,” Malkorn growled. “How could those bastards pass that bill? We’re scientists, researchers. We don’t owe them a thing. Where were they when we worked for decades just to get here?”

"You’re right, but if we don’t comply, they’ll shut us down immediately," Edward said, grinding his teeth. "The officer they sent fired a warning shot. Right through one of the intern’s workstations. They won’t stop until we give in."

Eve clutched Malkorn’s arm. "They can’t do this! Our research is for the benefit of humanity. The military can’t take something this powerful for themselves, not when they can’t understand its potential. In the wrong hands, the entire world itself is at risk!”

"Is there anything we can do? Maybe negotiate?" Malkorn asked. "There has to be another way besides surrendering."

Edward sighed heavily. "I wish there was, but they’ve already hit us with sanctions. Destroying our research is an option, but that would set humanity back decades. There's no justification for weapons like these."

"Absolutely," Malkorn began, "It goes against everything we stand for and—"

Before he could finish, a low rumble shook the ground. The lights flickered rapidly and a tentative silence filled the hall.

"What’s happening?" Eve asked, her voice dripping with concern.

"Probably just an earthquake," Malkorn started, but a violent tremor cut him off.

The ceiling cracked above them, sending dust into the air. Books tumbled from shelves, and the sound of a large vase shattering echoed through the chaos. Screams from researchers filled the facility as people scrambled to dodge falling debris. A second later, the alarms in the building went off in the loud blaring of the air-raid sirens of the past.

[Attention! Seismic Event Detected. Estimated Magnitude: 7.2 | Epicenter: Sector 17 | Estimated impact in: 15 seconds.]

[All personnel, evacuate to the nearest reinforced shelter immediately. Structural integrity protocols activated. Emergency barriers will engage in 20 seconds. Please remain calm and follow the safety protocols. Secure all sensitive equipment if possible.]

[Repeat: Seismic Event Detected. Proceed to safe zones. This is not a drill.]

The louderspeaker’s robotic voice filled the facility and everything felt all that real. However, with only fifteen seconds, it was exceedingly hard to resist the urge to panic.

“Follow me, fast!” Edward shouted, sprinting into a room and diving under a table.

Malkorn pulled Eve along with him, but as they reached the door, the frame collapsed, sending wood and metal shrapnel everywhere. The man quickly turned Eve away, shards flying into his back while he shielded the woman from harm. Groaning, he shook himself off while Eve released a gasp.

“Edward!” Malkorn roared. “Where are you?!”

No answer came and the ticking timer threatened them by the second. They desperately peered through the kicked up dust, trying to find the table where Edward had taken cover, but they couldn’t see anything.

Another tremor rattled the building, even more violently than before. Malkorn wrapped his arms around Eve but she fought against his grip, trying to enter the room.

“Edward!” Eve screamed. “Tell me you’re okay!”

Still, there was no reply and the only sound that returned was metal clanging against metal. Instruments, valuable records of data all crashed to the floor. But there was nothing that they could do.

“Stay low, move!” Malkorn shouted and pulled Eve against a reinforced wall. They huddled against it with the man cradling the woman in a protective embrace. His breathing was heavy, and as he looked down the hall, his expression hardened.

“Dear, are we going to be okay?” Eve whimpered.

Malkorn forced a reassuring smile onto his lips before moving the woman’s locks from her face. He leaned in close, eyes hovering in front of hers.

“We’ll be fine,” he whispered. “We just need to get to the end of this hall.”

Eve nodded, but a loud crash echoed from down the corridor. Their faces sank when they saw a wall collapse, blocking their only way out.

“Shit,” Malkorn cursed, tightening his hold on Eve. “We’ve got no choice but to wait this out.”

For a brief moment, it seemed that they had found a point of grace and a sense of safety. But the droning of the sirens didn’t help calm their states of mind either. Malkorn was about to let out a sigh of relief, until suddenly his vision went white.

Glancing at Eve, the last thing he saw were her eyes widening in horror. A blast of flame engulfed his body, searing pain spreading across his limbs. His shoulder screamed, and when he looked down—the joint was just gone. Nausea washed over him like a wave, but he fought the urge to vomit, forcing himself to stay conscious.

“Eve! Damn it!” Malkorn yelled.

His voice was drowned out by the roaring flame and the chaos of the falling debris. Smoke quickly filled his lungs and he started to cough violently. His vision swam, and bile rose in his throat.

“Eve!”

There was no sight of her, everywhere he looked and he spat out a mouthful of thick, blackened goo. The notion cleared his mind just enough to focus again, but it was increasingly difficult with a cacophony of sensations attacking each and every one of his senses. By now, the sirens were long drowned out underneath the crackling inferno and his voice was raw and weak. Still, he continued to cry out for his beloved until finally, he found something buried beneath rubble.

“Eve…” Malkorn’s voice cracked.

Through the smoke, he saw an ankle, charred and splintered. Ignoring the flames lashing at his clothes, Malkorn dragged himself towards her. His skin peeled away, but the pain couldn’t matter less. Eve was his world, he couldn’t lose her, he wouldn’t.

Another pipe exploded from above and steam rushed into his path. Malkorn staggered to the side, clutching his shoulder and the sudden thought of his daughters, Alice, and Cecillia shot through his mind. Though, darkness flashed before his irises and the tempting offer of submission was ever so present.

He fell to a single knee until he collapsed onto his hands. The world was asking the impossible from him, and he just…

“I won’t let you die!” Malkorn roared.

Inching forward little by little, he crawled through the haze. Malkorn felt physically his bones cracking under the pressure, every single joint screaming in pain. Each tiny movement was eternity, but he pressed on without thinking. His arms moved on their own, their mechanical movements fueled by nothing but pure adrenaline. Reaching her ankle, he released a hoarse scream. His hands ripped away at the fallen debris, until finally, he saw her face.

“Eve…” Malkorn whispered, his voice barely audible.

Her unconscious body lay there and he found himself moving over her torso. He tried to smile, but it came out bitter and weak. His limbs gave out from beneath him, and he collapsed, using the last bit of his strength to shield her in any way.

Darkness closed in, and he smiled at her one last time, but as his consciousness faded, a golden light wreathed his body in warmth.