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Extinction X Humankind
Act - 18: "Legacy of Hard Times"

Act - 18: "Legacy of Hard Times"

The E Wing corridor stretched ahead, shrouded in shadow and filled with the echoes of distant chaos that unfolded deeper within. My breath quickened as I turned the corner and saw two soldiers in military gear. They were dragging a young girl by her hair. Her cries filled the corridor with echoes of pain, her voice sounded hoarse from kicking and screaming trying to resist their grip on her.

"You little bitch!" one of the soldiers snarled, before kicking her in the stomach. She crumpled in pain and let out cries that became reduced to whimpers.

Rage surged through me like a volcanic eruption, as the voice inside me began hissing, "Do you see now what I mean?"

A black aura began to envelop from me filling the corridor with darkness, shadows flickering with my rising fury of wraith. "Let her go," I commanded swiftly with a cold tone.

The soldiers froze, their eyes widening as they turned to face me. The one on the left was had average height, his posture and body language hinting at a higher rank compared to his comrade. His movements ooze a nonchalant and confident energy, showing of his authority. The soldier on the right on the other hand was tall and massive, his hulking frame and muscle casted a long shadow across the floor.

The voice inside me hissed again, "FINISH THEM BOY."

The soldier on the left had a cap on with weird stripe on it saw me stepping out from the shadow, he began to speak to me in a friendly tone, "Hey there kiddo, we're here to rescue you people you see. So why don't you get over here and we're going to bring you to your parents."

I grinned menacingly. "You adults always love to lie, don't you?" I then step back into the shadows.

The soldiers exchanged serious glances. Then the guy on the left, fidgeting his cap while gripping the girl's hair with his left hand, nodded with his head signaling his comrade to advance to get me. As the big soldier moved forward, I vanished in a blink of an eye and reappeared behind him from the shadows like a blur. In an instant, I used my hand as my weapon. The soldiers body felt like clay as my hand pierced straight through his chest inflicting pain and suffering.

The remaining soldier, still gripping the girl, stared at the scene before him in horror. "What the...?!"

I stood there, smiling wickedly at him, while holding onto his comrade's still-beating heart in my right hand, with blood splattered across my face. The soldier quickly pulled out his gun to aim at me, but before he could fire, I had already vanished into the shadows again, humming an eerie tune like a phantom in the darkness.

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Panic-stricken, he let go of the girl hair, he then switched onto to his rifle and like a madman he began firing blindly into every corner that covered in my domain of black shroud of aura. Eventually the magazine emptied, his hands began to tremble as everything became quiet, he tried to reload but due to his state of panic his hands kept shaking and ended up dropped his bullet onto the floor. Everything went silent for a moment, the only sound being water droplets from the ceiling echoing as time seemed to stand still in that very moment. Then out of the darkness I steps out again. In a flash I lunge at him a wicked grin. His face twisted in terror at the sight of me. "Oh God, please!" he begged.

I steps in closer, my voice dripping with menace as I said. "God can't help you now." Then, with a swift, brutal motion, I pierced through his chest. Like his comrade before him, he collapsed to the ground, desperately trying to patch his wound as blood gushed out like a fountain. I squatted down beside him, watching him struggle in vain trying to block blood from spilling out of his heartless body, his life began to slowly slip away. Strangely, I felt no remorse for him.

The voice inside me hissed again, "Hihihi, you are getting good at this, youngling. This is it, no mercy!"

"They had it coming," I replied.

The girl watched everything in terror, her eyes wide in dread. She was thin, her frail build accentuated by stains of blood and grime that covered her body.

"Tell me how this happened," I demanded, but she fainted before she could respond.

The voice inside me hissed, "Hihihi, she's deadweight, boy. Don't bother. You need to move; there's no time."

Ignoring the voice, I quickly picked her up, her body felt noticeably light and limp in my arms. I decided to hide her in a narrow-hidden room not far away. With urgency driving me again, I darted through the dimly lit corridor, making my way to my home.

I wasn't yet used to my new power. Every time I tried to use it, like when I boosted my leg muscles to sprint faster, it felt like my body was barely keeping up with the sudden surges of strength. The raw energy coursing through me was overwhelming, a double-edged sword that I struggled to control.

It wasn't long until I reached my home, but the sight that greeted me stopped me cold. Fresh blood smeared across the door and trailed inside, painting a grim path. My legs shook as I stepped over the threshold, each footfall heavy with dread. The metallic scent of fresh blood filled the air, making my stomach churn. I moved slowly, every creak of the floorboards echoing my growing fear of what lay ahead.

As I stepped into the living room, my heart sank at scene before me. A pool of blood spread across the floor, leading to a familiar figure. It was my father laying on the dirty carpet, still alive but barely clinging to life. His breaths were heavy and desperately trying to gasp for air. He looked at me, as tears start streaming down his face.

I stood over him in silent, and he tried to speak, but blood gushed from his mouth as he tried. In a hoarse voice, he finally said, "I'm sorry, Keinan, for everything. Your mother... they took her. She is still alive." He choked on more blood, his eyes dimming slowly.

"I know what I've done to you until now is unbefitting of a father but let me at least teach you the truth of a man. Let this be my final scolding. Hard times like this create strong men, strong men create peaceful times, and peaceful times create weak men, and weak men create hard times. Always remember..."

With his last jagged breath, he whispered, "Always remember... son."