'Damn it, calm the hell down!'
As the man charged at Nael, he stepped back, ready to absorb the impact. The fight that was about to unfold was nothing like the one with the apprentice blacksmith. Back then, he'd been in good shape, and his life hadn't been on the line. But now, the bloodshot eyes of the man gave Nael chills. His expression spelled nothing but violence.
Takeshi had stepped away from the confrontation as soon as the man started yelling. He now stood near the stairs leading to the exit, back turned to Nael. The little sister had started to get up, alarmed by the sudden shouting. Her skin was deathly pale—so much so that it was hard to tell how long she'd been in that state.
Nael didn't have time to assess further. The man was already within reach, teeth clenched like a starving beast. Nael's eyes widened as the man grabbed him by the arms and shoved him backward with a strength no one could've guessed. Nael grimaced—his injured arm flared with pain.
'Ugh… what is this strength?!'
Shoved against the wall, Nael struggled, trying to free himself. But it was no use—the man's grip didn't loosen. Suddenly, two simultaneous cries echoed through the room. The first came from the girl, watching the scene with horror and confusion. The second came from Takeshi, still by the stairs, but now facing away from them. On his pale face, a look of concern began to form. The man turned his furious gaze away from Nael and looked toward the stairs. Nael seized the opportunity, pulled free, and rubbed his arms as he stepped toward Takeshi.
"What is it?"
Takeshi turned to him, eyes filled with fear. The sight stunned Nael. Since he'd met him, the quiet boy had never shown his emotions so vividly.
"There's a sound… upstairs." he whispered.
Nael strained to listen, searching for any suspicious noise that could spell danger. Indeed, a faint sound echoed along the stairwell walls. A flowing noise, coming and going, distant and close at once. Nael's eyes widened.
"Uh… when is the tsunami supposed to hit?"
The man, still standing where he was, spat:
"Hell if I know. It's not now!"
But Nael was already stepping back, pulling Takeshi with him.
"I'm afraid it is."
The man relaxed, then turned to his sister, who watched the scene anxiously. He walked over, told her to get up, and wrapped the blanket around her fragile body. Then he turned calmly to Nael and said:
"There are tall shelves a bit further. We can help them climb up."
Nael nodded, reluctantly agreeing to cooperate with the man who had just thrown himself at him moments ago. But it was better than fighting. He sighed. The man was already moving, taking the light with him and holding his sister's hand. Nael gestured for Takeshi to follow and trailed after the man.
***
Nael would never have guessed the room was this big. The light only illuminated about ten meters ahead—utterly insufficient for a space of this size. After walking for a while, he finally saw the shelves the man had mentioned. They were massive structures, several meters tall and wide, covered in various items. The group approached one in particular, where blankets like the one wrapped around the girl were stacked.
'Ah… So that's where it came from' Nael thought.
He felt a twinge of frustration for not having explored the whole room. Then again, he hadn't had a light either.
Behind them, near where they had entered, the sound of water trickling in grew louder—a sign they needed to hurry if they wanted to survive.
The girl had already started climbing, helped by her brother who whispered words of encouragement. Takeshi watched the scene, face calm, but Nael could still detect a hint of worry in his gaze.
***
Moments later, water now reached their knees. The flood outside must've been massive, given how fast the room was filling. Takeshi had just finished climbing, settling a few meters above the ground next to the girl. The man stepped aside, signaling for Nael to go up first. Nael hadn't forgotten the man's hostility, but they had to cooperate now if they wanted to survive. The man wanted to protect his sister. Nael wanted to survive… and maybe help Takeshi. He had spent almost a week beside the taciturn boy, and had grown somewhat attached to his company.
As he neared the top of the shelf, Nael felt a sudden pull from behind. Off balance, he froze for a second, then tumbled down everything he had just climbed. His arm and ankle took a nasty hit. The moment he hit the ground, the man—who had pulled him—descended too, a vicious grin on his face:
"You and I aren't done yet."
Nael groaned in pain.
'What a spiteful man… He's seriously getting on my nerves!'
The man was already on top of him, knees on his ribs, both hands tightening around his throat. He screamed, but the water muffled his words, distant and surreal, like a bad dream. Nael felt the air leave his lungs, his throat squeezed shut. He tried to fight back, but the man was too heavy. He searched the floor blindly for something—anything—that could help him escape. No luck. The water's currents slowed his movements. Debris from collapsing buildings floated in, carried by the gray, filthy flood.
His fingers brushed against something hard and broad. He grabbed the cold object and thrust it upward into the man's stomach. The man gasped, stunned, and released Nael's throat. Freed, Nael pushed the man aside and shook his head, trying to return to himself. Once lucid, he looked over at the man, now a few feet away. A metal rod was embedded in his abdomen, his skin pale and eyes wide open. His sister screamed, terrified. The man was clearly in shock, stammering incoherently.
Nael didn't wait. He lunged forward, grabbed the man by the neck, and slammed him into the floor. The water was now so high that both of them were submerged, struggling for survival. The man's eyes reignited with hatred, and he reached for Nael's throat in return. They fought like this for a while, strangling each other—the only difference being that the man had a metal rod in his gut.
Nael was finally facing the monster he had wished to fight.
'This isn't the kind of monster I wanted, damn it!'
Slowly but surely, Nael gained the upper hand. The man's grip weakened, his eyes dimmed, beginning to close. Nael, too, released his opponent's throat and instead grabbed the metal rod. They had sunk almost to the ground, while the water now surged meters above, licking at Takeshi's and the girl's feet. They were screaming at the top of their lungs, praying for the fight to end.
Nael heard none of it.
All he could see was the man's body sinking deeper into the darkness. His fingers turned white as he drove the metal rod deeper into the man's body.
Finally, they reached the bottom.
All of it had only taken a few seconds. Nael was already suffocating from lack of air. He glanced at the man, useless. It was too dark, the light had been left behind with the children, somewhere above.
'Die, you bastard.'
Nael gave him a hateful glaze. His lungs reached their limit. His nose filled with dust, and his eyes burned. Lost in darkness, he didn't realize the man had already died—eyes rolled back, limbs slack, blood oozing from the gaping wound.
Exhausted, Nael straightened up, let go of the rod, and tried to swim back to the surface...to safety. But fatigue overwhelmed him. No matter how hard his arms pushed through the water, his body didn't rise.
And so he sank, suffocating, lungs on fire, vision blurring.
'Damn it… I didn't even managed to survive…'
That day, in the dark, surrounded by water, debris, and blood...
Nael died.