A small family huddled together in an abandoned CyberSoft center. Once known for providing semi-malware-free updates to cybernetics and C.I., it was now almost completely overtaken by purple, grasping vines. The storefront itself was shrouded by looming, alien trees with huge red leaves, weaving together like a bloody sky. They had decided to seek shelter inside the alien forest that had taken over a large portion of the slums just outside Aurora City. They had thought that they could avoid a bad situation, and hopefully survive in the unknown. The mother and father had always been poor and they struggled through every day together, striving to at the bare minimum, survive in the dystopian world that had long been their reality. When the Omnicrux System descended upon their world, however, they were sure their lives couldn’t go downhill anymore than it already had the last few days. When the vile thugs of the twilight market had nearly captured them and kidnapped their son, the two were positive that was all this new world could possibly throw at them. Inside the alien beauty of the heavily altered slum though, was something far worse than they could have ever imagined.
The monstrous silhouette that was lurking outside in the treeline was unlike anything Nix had ever seen in all his seven years. Its massive silhouette loomed between the towering trees, and even from inside the shop, the family could hear its sniffing and feel the ground shake with each of its heavy footfalls. Nix's heart raced with terror, and he clung tightly to his parents as they tried to remain as still and quiet as possible. His mother was holding him tight to her chest and making soothing cooing noises while she ran her hand through his shock of dirty yellow hair. Her thin form was wrapped in a thin layer of clothing and her entire body trembled in the increasingly cooling atmosphere.
Nix’s father rambled to himself under his breath, his words barely audible over the sound of the monster's breathing. He was chastising his lack of hindsight and grumbling about how terrible of an idea it was to hide in the forest to escape the people from the Twilight Market, “Stupid, stupid man!” His father weakly slapped his hands against his face, the vindictive embrace of regret wrapping her arms around his throat, “What did you get your family into.” His father whispered and Nix anxiously balled his mother’s top up in his fist when he sensed the terror and uncertainty in his father's voice.
The fact that the electricity was still running this far into the forest only amplified the danger, with the soft glow of electronics periodically blinking on the walls, illuminating the family's faces in eerie shadows. Nix wasn't quite sure what was happening, but he knew that the monster outside was something from his worst nightmares. The small boy’s breathing was slowly accelerating, and his chest was feeling like it was being clamped down on as he watched the massive shadow lumber ever closer to their building.
As the creature drew closer, its sniffing becoming louder and more frantic, the family knew that they had to make a decision and act fast. Nix’s mother turned to him, her voice urgent as she gripped both sides of his face and stared deeply into his muddy brown eyes, “My beautiful, beautiful boy.” Her eyes were glossy and she bit the bottom of her lip before she continued, voice wavering, “Nix, we love you so, so much and we are going to be right behind you, but we have to distract the monster or else none of us will be able to run away.” His mother’s eyes gained a steely expression and she seemed to become more resolved, “I need you to run, my little phoenix, you have to run and you can’t look back.”. Nix hesitated for just a moment, but the fear in his mother's eyes convinced the boy that he had to move.
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He slipped away from his parents, unwrapping his thin and frail arms from around their necks, his heart pounding in his chest as he tiptoed his way toward the back of the shop. He didn't know where he was going to go, but he knew that he had to find a way out, to escape the monster that was closing in on them. The soft glow from the electronics lining the center lit the small boy's way directly to an external door at the opposite side of a shop with letters glowing above, ‘EXIT’. Pulling himself forward on hands and knees the boy reached the exit door and grasped a small hand around the handle. It wouldn’t give at all, and Nix could make out small purple vines worming their way around the door frame.
With a massive effort, the small boy put his entire body weight into the lever handle. After several heartbeats of strain, the handle snapped down and Nix shifted his body weight forward. The door stuttered open, screeching loudly and tearing vines free from the building. Immediately a deafening roar filled the air and he felt the ground start to tremble. Nix started to turn, almost peering over his shoulder when he heard his mother scream, “RUN!”
Tears poured down the boy's eyes as he took off in a dead sprint. He ran in silence for only as long as the monster took to reach the front of the shop. When the glass exploded inwards, he began to sob. He had run several yards before his parents started screaming, his father first, then his mother. While his father's bellowing started as a cry of hollow reproach, it quickly became a wet, almost inhuman screeching. When his mother’s voice picked up in volume, Nix clamped his hands over his ears and began to scream himself, doing anything he could to drown out the awful noises.
He thought of nothing else other than running as hard and as fast as he could. Nix had no idea what he would do in a world like this, especially not without his parents, but he had to keep running. Hands still clamped over his ears, he dashed between trees and bumped against vine-wrapped buildings. Peering through eyes practically blinded behind a small ocean of tears, the young boy almost missed the humanoid figure that rushed out from behind a tree half a dozen yards away.
When he realized it was a person Nix stumbled to a stop, pulling his hands away from his ears to claw away at the tears on his cheeks. Running the back of a palm across his face cleared his vision completely and he realized it was a person. A skinny man with black hair and a purple jacket with a high collar was staring at him intently, relief obvious in his body language. The man's head cocked slightly, eyes widening before he beckoned to the boy. “Hurry!” The man shouted, desperation tinging his words. Nix’s arms pumped wildly as he rushed in a dead sprint toward his savior, relief was sparking through every cell in his body as his feet tore small furrows into the mulch.
Nix was so happy that there was somebody else here, somebody that would be able to help. Maybe this mystery man would even be able to save his parents. A flicker of joy sparked in his chest as he closed the distance to the man. Soon enough the boy could see the details of the man's face and he seemed to have kind eyes. But something confused Nix about the man’s expression at this moment… He wasn’t looking at Nix anymore, but was gazing over the boy's shoulder, his expression suddenly angry.
Nix started to turn his chin, seeking the origin of the kind-looking man’s rage. For a split second, the boy thought he could make out thick brown fur, but then his vision kept spinning. For some reason, the world was tumbling in Nix’s vision. It was hard to focus on anything in particular in the chaos of the spinning and the world had started to lose color. Every once in a while though, Nix caught a glimpse of the man’s face and a deep sadness filled his heart. Just a handful of heartbeats ago, the man had seemed a savior with kind eyes but for some reason that had melted away. Nix had always hated anger and fighting. He despised his parents' arguments but for some reason watching this savior devolve into an animalistic rage with each full rotation of his perspective just filled him with sorrow.