“Do you want to hear a story, Nellie?”

Sitting down with his legs crossed in the lotus position, a father covered in bandages held his daughter in his lap while holding a children’s book. Surrounding them lay rubble and broken concrete, dust filling the air. Yet the father paid no mind to the mess, instead choosing to stay silent until he saw the light nod of his daughter and a small sound of approval. The father smiled at Nellie and began to read in a quiet delicate voice.

“It's your favorite story. The one about the Golem who became a knight.”

The father opened the picture book, its first page now depicting the knight’s origin.

“Once upon a time, a city full of humans was under attack by terrible monsters and demons.”

Flipping the page again, the father continued to read in a soft voice.

“The humans, helpless against the onslaught, prayed to God with all their might for salvation from the monsters.”

Drip.

“And God, upon hearing their pleas, decided to give life to a statue of a knight residing in the main square. Awakening, the Golem was born in conflict.”

Drip.

“The Golem took to its duty as knight of the city and…stood tall against the monsters.”

Nellie began to cough midway through the reading, but the father quickly covered her mouth in an instant to dampen the sound.

“It will be alright, the story is almost over. Now where were we, ah yes, the Golem went to face the monsters.”

Drip.

A crawling sound could be heard in the distance, as if a group of crabs came together like a herd and tranced around the building. The father’s eyes twitched in worry, quickly glancing at a doorway before returning back to the book. The smile never left his face, never betraying his true thoughts on the situation to the ignorant child. The father continued to read.

“The Golem, with its faith in god and humanity, slayed the foul monsters and eventually brought peace to the city.”

Drip.

A crimson puddle began to form under the father as his bandages increasingly got more dyed in red. At a certain point, some of the ones on his arms got too wet and crumbled from the weight of the blood.

“The Golem was cheered for its heroic deeds by the people and lived happily…ever after.”

A loud screech was heard from beyond the crumbled building, and the trancing from earlier got increasingly louder as it detected its prey. Nellie flinched at the loud approaching noise, yet was too weak to stare at the doorway her father continued to glance at. All she could do was hope.

“Dad…do you think the Golem will come to save us?” Nellie asked.

Her small hands began to clutch the father’s pants and she shivered as she heard the noise grow closer. Her ignorance was already shattered, yet continued to stay strong for her dad. Nellie never wanted to see her father stop smiling, so Nellie too will be strong. All of this was possible despite the horrors and sorrow surrounding her, as Nellie continued to carry on hope. Hope that soon her hero will save her, that the Golem will come. It was this hope that gave her enough strength to hold back tears and not upset her dad further, to be like her hero too.

“Yes, it’ll come. The Golem will be right here if you pray hard enough. Just close your eyes and pray,” the father instructed, holding back tears behind his sweet smile.

Nellie did as she was told, clasping her hands together and closing her eyes, thinking brave and hopeful thoughts that God would hear her words and that the Golem would come to save them. She prayed that she would meet her hero one day, that her mother could return from those bloody streets, that her father would heal from his wounds, that her friends were all okay, that her French bulldog Georgie would be alive and well, that she would no longer feel this aching pain in her chest, and most importantly, that her father would never stop smil—

Bang.

“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.”

Forced to do what no Father should ever do, the man could only weep as his daughter fell lifeless to his side with a thud. With a hole in her temple, Nellie’s corpse twitched and shivered until enough blood came gushing out from her brain, forever silencing the hopeful young girl. The father had stopped smiling, his face now too scrunched up in tears and anger. Without knowing, the father failed to fulfill Nellie’s one last prayer.

“Nellie…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.”

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The domineers, attracted by the scent of blood, rushed into sight in the doorway. The hideous creatures were all latched on a woman’s body like protruding barnacles, squirming in joy over their discovery. Their crab-wasp-like bodies twitched from the scent of blood, excitement growing in their tiny little bodies for new hosts to take over. Their joy, however, quickly diminished when they saw that the little girl had died, a potential host ruined. In anger, the domineers let out hissing and grew restless, worrying that the other vessel may shatter soon too.

“Rumi…look at what I did to our daughter,” The bandaged man cried out to the overpopulated host, now pointing the gun toward his head.

“All I did was spout crap about how God would save us, that he would send a Golem to come save us. Yet we all knew the truth.”

The domineers in panic of the soon to be suicide quickly released their pincers on the woman’s body, now jumping towards the man and his gun in a desperate attempt to keep another vessel alive. Only the developed domineer remained on the woman named Rumi, controlling the corpse like a puppet. Seeing his wife’s face, a sad look appeared on the man’s face, and then determination.

“We’ve been abandoned.”

The man squeezed the trigger…yet nothing happened. The gun had malfunctioned, worn from being used too much without proper care. Opening his eyes, the man knew it was too late for him. The domineers will gain control of both his mind and body, and he would be subservient to their will for eternity. Not even allowed to scream, the man struggled as his body was swarmed with domineers, each biting into his skin to make him open his mouth. While he initially refused to bend, the pain soon grew to be too terrible for the bandaged man, and one of the lucky domineers managed to pry open his mouth. Thus began the process known as domination that the domineers were so known for. The puppet once known as Rumi only frowned at the scene, knowing that the man would suffer a fate worse than death. Yet the domineer controlling her did not let that emotion linger, for why would it be sad when the brood can expand. And besides, such horrors were commonplace anyways all around the globe, some even worse than what the Domineers do.

And thus, another horrid scene had occurred within this now ruined Earth. Survivors were no strangers to such a life, for that was just how things were. Of course, no one knew this was how things were going to turn out this way when the Day of Havory was first announced. But such was life. How could humanity have known that these invaders were much more powerful than they imagined? And yet, even then, hope still existed for Humans. Hope that one day a hero will arise from the ashes and bring them salvation. Yet to this day, no one proved powerful enough to raise a fight against the all-powerful extraterrestrial beings. As for what man can endure and conquer chaos itself?

* But what if something were to change < ? > *

***

In a dimly lit room layered with a stone floor, a barely cut and abstract sculpture was placed facing the sky, far away from any civilization. Lying on its back, the inanimate sculpture carried a resemblance to a human, albeit its giant size of about eight feet tall. Yet despite how inhumane and giant the sculpture was, it carried a friendly aura in its design that let off an easy going feeling to its viewers. It was such a creation that stood idly by, waiting for life to begin as it stared up into the light.

* Sweet, slumbering golem < … > *

Ash began to descend from above, glistening in the starlight that shone over the sculpture.

* May you rise in this terrible world, prepared < . > *

The sculpture, still inanimate, did not react to the words nor falling ashes. When the ash eventually reached the bottom, lying on the rough stone body of the sculpture, it slowly faded away as its essence was absorbed by the work of art.

* While I cannot give you my full support < … > *

Shining with little life, a singular bright blue ember came into view within the light, slowly falling like the previous ash.

* I can give you my greatest gift < . > *

The ember landed softly on top of the golem’s upper chest, in the exact location a human heart would have been if not for the fact that this was a sculpture.

* I am sorry for what I have done < . > *

The ember, like the ash before, was absorbed into the sculpture. Yet this time, something could be heard to the golem. A sound eerily similar to that of a pulse.

* Both cursed and blessed < , > *

* Your future is < . > *

As the voice began to lose its strength, the reverse started to occur with the lone absorbed ember within the sculpture. Inside, the ember began to grow, going from just a small speck of light to a roaring dancing flame. Only one more step was needed for the sculpture to awaken. Choosing carefully, the mighty voice hesitated, unsure of what its last few sentences should be.

* I wish you luck , unfortunate golem < . > *

The voice paused once more, the strain from its actions soon becoming too much to bear without limiters. One last time, the voice whispered softly to the lonely sculpture its final full sentence.

* And be safe < , > *

* Gus < . > *

The blue flame tingled at the name and no less than a second later, exploded its mighty essence throughout the sculpture with ferocious speed. The fire was now lit, and soon, the Golem would awaken.