As Knox ventured deeper into his hometown's desolation, his heart heavy with dread, he stumbled upon the familiar path leading to his childhood home. The sight of the once-cozy house sent a bittersweet nostalgia through him, memories flooding back of happier times spent within its walls.

But as he approached the front door, his steps faltered. Something felt wrong. The door hung ajar, swinging gently in the breeze, a silent invitation to a scene of unimaginable horror.

With trembling hands, Knox pushed open the door and stepped inside. The air was heavy with a suffocating stillness. Once a haven of warmth and comfort, the house now felt cold and lifeless.

His heart pounding in his chest, Knox made his way through the silent rooms, each step heavier than the last. And then, as he reached the familiar doorway of his mother's room, he saw her.

She lay motionless on the floor, her once-vibrant eyes now empty and lifeless. Knox's breath caught in his throat as he rushed to her side, falling to his knees beside her.

"M-Mom?" he choked out, his voice barely a whisper. But there was no response, no reassuring squeeze of her hand, no comforting words to chase away the darkness closing in around him.

Tears streamed down Knox's cheeks as he reached out to touch her, the coldness of her skin sending a shiver down his spine. The world seemed to collapse at that moment, leaving him adrift in a sea of grief and despair.

His mother lay before him, taken from him in the cruelest of ways. And as Knox knelt beside her, lost in a whirlwind of emotion, he knew nothing would ever be the same again.

As Knox's trembling fingers brushed against his mother's lifeless form, his heart sank like a stone in his chest. The weight of grief pressed down on him, threatening to suffocate him with its intensity. He couldn't bear to lose her, not like this, not after everything they had been through together.

But a terrible realization dawned on him as he knelt beside her, lost in a whirlwind of emotion. His mother wasn't alone in her final moments. Slowly, his eyes drifted to the corner of the room, where his younger brother's motionless form lay, crumpled on the floor.

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"No..." Knox's voice was barely a whisper as he crawled over to his brother's side, his hands shaking as he reached to touch him. But there was no response, no sign of life in the stillness of his brother's form.

Tears streamed down Knox's cheeks as he knelt there, his heart breaking into a million pieces. They had been so close, he and his brother, inseparable in their bond. And now, in the blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving Knox alone in a world that suddenly seemed infinitely darker and colder.

With a choked sob, Knox pulled his brother into his arms, holding him close as if trying to shield him from the cruel reality of their surroundings. But no amount of love or protection could bring him back from the abyss that now separated them.

As he knelt there amidst the ruins of their shattered home, Knox felt the weight of their loss settles over him like a heavy blanket, smothering him with its unbearable weight. His family, home, and future are all gone instantly, leaving nothing but emptiness in their wake.

At that moment, he realized he didn’t see his father. With tears blurring his vision and despair weighing heavily on his shoulders, Knox's search for his father became increasingly frantic. He overturned debris and called out his name until his voice grew hoarse, but there was no sign of him. Panic clawed at Knox's chest as he struggled to comprehend the absence of his father in their moment of dire need.

Finally, as the reality of their situation crashed over him like a tidal wave, Knox's grief gave way to a simmering anger. In a fit of rage and anguish, he screamed out into the empty house, demanding answers from the absent figure of his father.

"Why?!" His voice echoed through the ruins, reverberating off the walls as if pleading for a response that would never come. "Why weren't you here to protect them? Where were you when they needed you the most?!"

Each word was punctuated by frustration and betrayal, each syllable a painful reminder of the father who had failed to shield his family from harm. The silence that followed Knox's outburst was deafening, and the absence of an answer left him feeling more alone than ever.

But even as his anger threatened to consume him, some of Knox knew that his father's absence was not a reflection of indifference or neglect. Somewhere, deep down, he held onto the hope that there was a reason, a justification for his father's absence in their darkest hour.

With a heavy heart and a weary soul, Knox sank to his knees amidst the rubble of his shattered home, his anger giving way to a profound sense of loss and longing. In that moment of vulnerability, he could only cling to the memories of his family, praying that somewhere, somehow, they would find peace together in the afterlife.

Knox sat alone in the dimly lit room, the weight of grief pressing down on him like a heavy blanket. The flickering candle on the table cast eerie shadows across the walls, reflecting the turmoil in his mind. His family was gone in an instant, leaving behind an emptiness that seemed impossible to fill.

But amidst the overwhelming sorrow lingered a flicker of hope - a small flame that refused to be extinguished. It was the hope that his friends, his companions through so many trials and triumphs, were still out there somewhere, safe and sound.

Yet, even as he clung to this fragile hope, Knox couldn't bring himself to seek them out. The mere thought of facing the possibility that they, too, might have perished was too much for him to bear. It was easier to remain in this state of limbo, to delay the inevitable reckoning that awaited him.

So he sat there, lost in his thoughts, wrestling with the conflicting emotions that tore at his heart. Finally, with a heavy sigh, he made a silent vow to himself - when he was ready and had gathered the strength to face whatever fate awaited him, he would search for his friends. But for now, he would hold onto that glimmer of hope, however faint it may be, and let it guide him through the darkness.