After the Toddler Invasion fiasco, everything simmered down after a period. Things were becoming tense earlier, but it appeared that the adults were no longer determined to attack Miyana or the other children for “running away from the city.” No children ventured to question what had influenced the adult's decision. That only meant they had gotten away with the crime with a slap on the hand.
The adults and a few of the teenagers all appeared to have stepped on their toes multiple times in the last few days. The entire city had become a dreary place, with no one wanting to do anything but stay indoors. It was difficult for Miyana and her friends to meet up at their normal hangouts other than the school and the playground, where they awaited pickup at the end of the day. No one allowed any of the kids to leave their homes.
Miya was unable to spend nearly enough time with her father as the weekends progressed. Her time with him was quickly reduced to never seeing each other as she awoke before school started. “What's happening ?” She muttered to herself outside her bedroom doorway as she noticed her one-legged grandma scurrying past her and straight to her mother, who was crying loudly on the couch. That same morning, her father slipped away before any of them could be able to send him off.
It also crushed her heart that she wouldn't be able to see her father for a few days. Her father needed to train the newbies harder, so they could be the greatest in his group, but this had never happened during the spring season.
After finishing her quick serve breakfast, she kissed her grandma farewell before heading to the bus stop, where she patiently waited with her classmates. It seems like the grownups' weariness was beginning to rub off on them as well. They were tired when several of them did not appear to have slept well. One of her friends wore mismatched shoes, while another had their toothbrush still in their mouth while snoring loudly. Some grumbled that their parents didn't even get out of bed to fix their hair, so they began to hand comb the knots out.
They had no idea what was going on. Aside from the fact that they can't be with their friends after school, as a punishment. They can't sleep because of the screaming, wailing, and loud praying. Everyone was dejected. The children were lounging on the grass side slope of the bus stop when they noticed a couple of people wearing something similar to Miya's father's outfit, chatting to the owner of the house they had just knocked on.
“That's the Death Messenger from war. They only come to your house if something dreadful has happened to your loved one.” Everyone turned to see some familiar faces. Every morning, the same junior high students waited for the bus with them. They all reclined against the grass, next to the children. Everyone's attention was drawn to the same people from across the street.
“They only come to deliver devastating news, and… They leave after they have done so. They just leave the other group bawling at their doorway.” The next teenager hesitated to speak out. Miyana didn't understand what they were saying, but she didn't like it. However, everything they said earlier was true.
From across the street, everyone could hear the old man's heart shatter. Everything began from a single letter. “You will soon notice the beginning of the black ribbons hanging on everyone's doors and front trees that the Death Messenger visited.” The same teenager sobbed as she was consoled by her peers. Miyana examined the girl, who was wearing a black ribbon pinned to her shoulder bag.
She must have received a visit from the messenger. She realized something was off about the city as she locked eyes with the weeping girl. Miyana's blood went cold. She gripped her head, which seemed as if it wanted to fall off her shoulders, unable to keep her breakfast down. She immediately tailed home to be with her mother and grandparents. She realized her father wouldn't be coming back home for a while. She couldn't be in school with such a horrible stomachache, but she just kept telling herself that.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
When everything began to quiet down. Everyone in the city hoped to find a glimmer of light in the days of gloom; that was all they could ask for, but things only continues to worsen. Alarms blared a dreadful sound throughout the confined metropolis in the middle of the night. That alert was only supposed to sound during the trial protocol.
As if on cue, everyone raced out of their homes in their nightgowns, terrified, to check if anybody knew what was going on. That night, the council had spent days deliberating on the best course of action. As a result, they inform the entire city of the terrible news. The city will soon be joining the war, against the unidentified foreigners.
It would be preferable to lie and claim that everyone agreed with the council and that things improved, but they didn't. People protested and demanded to be allowed to evacuate the enclosed city. Stores and other public places have been forced to close for fear of being looted by the same individuals they used to know. Children were scared to go outside and play, therefore schools became heavily protected to keep undesirable occurrences at bay.
So much has occurred in the city that it might cover countless chapters. It was a little worrisome at first, but things did ultimately settle down. Things began to seem promising in terms of positive news, which everyone anticipated. Soon after, the three years' worth of resources that Miyana's family had saved up before the death messenger's appearance, began to run low. They began to apportion a meal among the four of them. Her grandfather did complain about wanting a little more, but he was immediately silenced.
Not long after, Miya opened the door to see three soldiers standing and conversing with her. The person closest to her had a letter in their hands, it seems as if it was the same as the Death Messenger letter. “This is not possible.” She told herself. Her grandfather hurriedly followed behind. Fortunately for her, she was leaning against his round belly, or else she would have been stumbling backward and looking for somewhere to run and hide.
She avoided looking at the soldiers who stood silently waiting with a letter in their hands, as her grandfather embraced her. She fought back tears, burying her face in his chest. “Where is he? WHERE IS MY SON?!” He slammed his arm against the wall. The sound didn't even cause any of the soldiers to wince, but it made Miyana drop to her knees, clutching her ears tightly with her palms.
Unable to look away from the messengers, he began reaching his arm roughly towards where his granddaughter was. Embracing Miyana to his side, for both for their reassurance, wasn’t helping much. Something deep down snapped within him, when he heard her sobbing to his shirt. “BRING ME, MY CHILD'S BODY. NOT SOME FUCKING LETTER!” He uncontrollably spat out saliva, with each word he spoke. His panting only got intense as the agony became too real for him to take.
He began to shout louder after hitting the same wall with his fist. Startled with fear, she placed her attention on her grandfather. It was the first time he has ever screamed like this before. Her tears continued to fall, but no noise came out. She laid her ear on her grandfather's chest; his heart was breaking the more he glanced at that letter. His entire body couldn't stop trembling with grief for the loss of his only son. “How could it have come to this? PLEASE! Please bring me back, my boy!”
Miyana's mother and grandma were gathering the harvest they had grown in the backyard. They dropped everything. Rushing inside when they heard shouting. And, like her grandfather, her mother burst into tears and began to hyperventilate, but she fell to the floor. The soldier who was holding the letter apologized and clarified the situation. “This isn't the letter you're hoping to avoid. It's a letter of drafting.” The soldier swiftly handed over the letter, and they proceeded to the next residence, where they received the same reaction as before.
Her grandfather, along with a few dozen others, was selected to be sent away the next day, outside the enclosed city, beyond the gates that morning. Women and teenagers were obliged to help with tasks, such as assisting wounded soldiers or assembling and disassembling material for them.