They keep walking for hours, and it's already evening. Upon the way, they also visited a ruin that might be a home for a family of 4. Why? When they were searching for things in the living room, Seren found a family photo down on the floor; it was already cracked and shattered, yet it's still manageable to recognize the content. It was a happy family, a father, a mother, a son, and also their daughter—just like Felix's family, even though he's an only child, there's Seren to cover it!
The family might not be surviving from the disaster, and that's why Seren looked sad while viewing the picture. She holds the basket with both of her hands. Then Felix, who's a little curious to what Seren was seeing below, led him to step closer to her. Just a few inches away, she spoke up; his steps stopped.
"Hey, it looks just like us, isn't it? …" Seren spontaneously spoke up, breaking the silence.
Felix walked closer to Seren. Now, they're just side-by-side. Then, he took a closer look at the picture.
"You're right, …" Felix's eyes suddenly went wide; he heard something, and it was a loud sound echoed in his ears from behind. "Ah-" Then, he held Seren's shoulder with his right hand, embracing her. "C'mon, we gotta go. There's nothing valuable here." He gradually pulled her away.
Seren then accidentally landed her eyes on a stacked book on Felix's left hand. She stopped following his movement for a moment (she was stunned); her face showed confusion and dropped her jaw slightly.
She looked at Felix, which made the moment awkward. "Nothing valuable, huh?"
"That's not important! C'mon, just go." Felix dragged Seren once more.
"B-but, … what are we even rushing for?" She questioned while being dragged away along with Felix.
"Nothing, there's nothing we're rushing for …. Except," His eyes showed the expression of nervousness.
"W- what? What is it-"
As Seren questioned her brother, Felix searched the area looking for the source of the sound, then … "Look."
When they're just outside the building, Felix pointed, there is smoke billowing from the horizon; and a huge bird from a far, flying towards them as if looking for prey. That's the Chronicles, about to attack another region, supposedly.
While Seren was looking towards the area Felix pointed out, she was freezed in fear. She was panicked for sure. "Bro …. We have to RUN!" Then, she looked at Felix. He was busy putting the looted books in his bag.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Seren's voice was definitely panicked.
"Wait …." He quickly zipped the backpack, then wore it back. "Okay, take shelter." Felix grabbed Seren's hand and started to sprint along with her to go as far as possible.
They ran in a hurry to save themselves. The more time's ticking, the closer the Chronicles are. The scene started to thrill; can they survive? If not, they might get torn apart by the Chronicles. As they sprint, there's a river stretched—it's a dead end. There's nowhere to go. They're left with no choice but to hide in the ruins by the river. It was just a half-split wall and was cracked, a single wall from a building that was destroyed beside the river.
They take shelter under the pillar. They crouched down; Seren's under Felix's arm. The basket is placed aside by her. They were holding tight to each other as if their lives were on the line (It is). Seren looked scared as the ground started to rumble aggressively, Felix stroked her head to comfort her. The ground's shaking—they're close, they're so close; also the smoke has covered the area.
They held the position for quite a while. Meanwhile, Felix got irritated and pained by the sounds that keep echoing in his ears as the Chronicles pass by. After quite a long thrilling minutes, the atmosphere finally began to calm down. The Chronicles has passed the way; leaving Felix and Seren intact. Soon after, Felix got up to take a little peek at the Chronicles, who were already far away.
"Alright, we're good." He turned to Seren, then offered his hand gently—palm's facing up, slightly forward. "C'mon."
Seren nodded "... 'kay" She took the basket back and accepted Felix's hand right after. Then, she was pulled to get up slowly.
After Seren was standing up straight, Felix didn't let go of her grip. They walked side-by-side, holding hands. However, just a moment later … Felix hasn't shown a sign of releasing-hand.
Damn, is that my intuition again? That's … so disturbing … because … it happened so suddenly and loudly. Whatever, if the so-called intuitive don't kick in all the time, we might be endangered. Felix thought to himself, wondering why he had those voices in his ears. It's not the first time. It always happens whenever the Chronicles are near.
"Umm, bro …" Seren said, her voice kinda confused.
"Huh?" Felix reacted by turning his head back to his little sister.
"O-our hands …." She paused in place—not taking a step as Felix followed her movement.
Felix looked at their hands; still holding each other. He quickly realized, and then his cheeks looked a little pinky and sort of panicked? "Sorry-" he immediately tried to release her hand. However … why doesn't she let him go?
"I kinda like it this way …." She said, smiling softly, facing the ground; her cheeks are soft-red. Then, she took another step forward to stand beside Felix once more.
"A-alright then … as you wish …." He replied, the corner of his lips showing a partial smile.
Seren hummed. It might also be her way to express the sense of relief.
"Good thing we survived, isn't it? Bro-ther." She said, looking up at her side to face Felix with a soft smile.
"Yeah, miracles have blessed us a lot …." He paused, then added another. "O-kay, let's continue this trip, shall we?" He said out loud.
Seren nodded as an agreement. "But don't you dare minding your own business in the middle of those situations." She suddenly changed her mood to an unfriendly and intimidating one. The atmosphere quickly became intimidating, of course. Slightly tighten her grip.
"U-uhh, it's important, y'know-"
"So, those are more important than me?" She cut Felix off with the most innocent words and face ever. She put on a very cute and innocent face; it was made up, still ….
Felix blushed a little. "Okay, fine. I won't do such a thing, no more …." He melted. He can't control the overloaded cuteness from Seren's innocence. The reddish-orange sunset's hue made the atmosphere even warmer.
Seren giggled, "That's my Bro."
Felix got annoyed. He's able to hold it back, though. What a good brother. "Wh-whatever, we need to set a tent. It's about to be dark."
"Yeah, yeah. But … can we continue this moment a little longer?" She grinned.
Felix sighed, " … 'kay."
They continue, walking hundreds of meters nonstop. Day and night, just like a daily routine. But this time, the scene is quite adorable; holding hands! Seren kept swinging their grip playfully. Alright, they wander by following the riverside; which is also the same direction as the Chronicles that went by. Which also where the sun was setting—the setting sun shines orange, which makes the moment memorable. Wait, why would they even go there?
"Hmm, Brother, our mission is to find a surviving region, right?" Seren asked curiously, facing Felix in the middle of the walk.
Felix simply just nodded.
"Then, … why are we even going along with the Chronicles? There's no way someone could survive those huge troops."
"Us?" Felix denied defiantly.
"W-well, that's an exception, you knooow? C'mon, why did I even have to explain?"
"Alright then, it's decided. We'll … uh, continue tomorrow—like I said, the sky's getting dark." Felix pulled his hand from Seren's.
Seren relieved a forced sigh, "C'mon, brother." She pouted. "Fine, it's my turn to prepare the tent, isn't it?"
"It is." He scanned the area back and forth—looking for the perfect tent-setting area. "Alright, set the tent on this riverside. And I'll search for dry leaves and branches."
He went closer to the riverside; Seren followed, and the ground was full of debris. Luckily, there's still an empty space really close to the river. He walked closer; Seren followed, and the ground was rough and descending. On the other hand, the riverside is quite clean. There's only a boulder and a tree there—next to each other. It looks like the perfect spot to set up a tent. Then, Felix laid his backpack under the tree. He turned around, then walked towards Seren, who was just nearby. He tapped Seren on the shoulder, then walked away without spilling any words.
After Felix was far away, Seren clenched her fists; still wearing the backpack and the basket on her grip, "Alright, I can do this" she said, turning around from Felix's path.
Felix's now at the ruins, and he searches for flammable items. Then, he spotted a fallen tree; the twigs and branches might come in handy! He immediately approached the fallen tree closer. Upon the way he spotted a flashlight under his feet, it might be useful later on, isn't it? He picked it up, tapped the flashlight, and then switched the button to 'on'. It works! "Nice." He hummed in his achievement. It really is necessary. He smuggled it in his front-left pant's pocket. Then, he continued approaching the tree.
Soon after, he's already standing beside the fallen ones. It wasn't so big at all. It was just regular in size. He crouched down, picking small twigs that might burn at its best—the smaller they are, the easier for it to burn, likely.
He picked one by one. Then, he got a handful of it. Additionally, he looked around to find dry leaves. He then picked as many as possible. To sum things up, now his arms are full of stacked branches and dry leaves on top; holding them in place. Right after, Felix walked back to Seren. It wasn't a long walk; it was just a few blocks from her.
When he finally saw Seren from a distance, "Huh?" He said, fastening his steps forward while holding the flammables.
It looks like Seren hasn't finished her duty …. Hmm, suspicious.
When Felix was near, "What's wrong?" he asked, then he laid the branches down.
She was sitting on a boulder—hugging her knees to her chin. Her face looked dead. Not a single readable expression from her. Then Felix looked in the direction she was staring at. It was their tent, lying down in misery—it's messed up. Then, after quite a silent moment, Seren spoke up.
"I can't reach the upper knot."
"Really?" Felix asked.
"Like, I've finished setting things up. But then, the last thing to do is to tie the last knot, which is at the very top. Ahh, I can't reach it." She paused for a moment, then looked at Felix, who was standing beside her. "I tried to move that boulder, but it was too heavy. Then, I dragged our backpacks and then stacked them like a sandwich; but … when I climbed on it, it suddenly fell apart. Broo, why am I so SHORT?!."
There's quite an awkward silence between the 2 of them. Right after that, Felix let out a giggle.
"Awhh, c'mon …." Seren was red-faced; hiding it between her knees.
Felix covers his mouth "Then, how did you even do it before, huh?"
"There's always something for me to stand on. But this time … there's none." She kicked the air. "Awhh, just … set it up already"
"Alright, alright." He quickly takes her duty over.
Felix walked towards the scattered tent, then fixed it correctly. For short, he's done setting their tent as should. Then, he turned around to Seren; she was squatting to prepare for the campfire, with the branches and dry leaves that were brought by Felix. Then, she stood up, clapping her palms several times to dust off her hands. Then, Felix stepped closer.
"Alright, now, light them up." He stood next to Seren.
She nodded, then pulled out a match from her pocket. However, when she was opening the match box, it was empty—not a single remaining match. Then, she turned her gaze to Felix; her face looked worried and in a partial panic. Of course, she was throwing her problems at Felix.
"What …, the sky's getting dark."
"W-what should we do?" She adds more burden to Felix.
"Hmm, wait a sec." he crossed his arms to think for a moment. "Ah," he released the arm-crossing, to pointing upward with his right hand. "where's our basket? The one with those breads that you found yesterday?"
"Oh, wait." She said, turned around, then ran towards their stacked belongings under the tree. She immediately rushed back to Felix, right after. "Here, what now?" She delivered it straight to Felix. As he accepted it.
"Okay, let's do this."
Seren tilted her head to the side in curiosity.
So, Felix squatted, then opened the basket, which was their food, inside. However, that's not the case. The aluminum foil under the bread—basing it was the case. He carefully lifted the aluminum foil, which left their food with no base. Now, the aluminum foil has been removed from the basket.
He placed the basket aside, then started to tear the aluminum foil for about half an inch wide and 3 inches long. He placed the remaining aluminum foil on the basket and then pulled out the taken flashlight from his pant's pocket. He removed its battery out of the case. Then, he gave the torn aluminum foil a cut in the middle; he once again tore it, but this time, it was in the middle with a triangle shape inwards.
"Alright, it's finished." He showed his work to Seren.
"Woah! New experiment!" Her eyes perked up in excitement.
"Haha, watch this!" He proudly replied.
After that, he connects both foil's edges to both edges of the battery, then immediately brings the torn part of the foil close to the dry leaves. Et Voilá! Fire has been created. But the battery's edges are quite burning Felix's fingers, though.
"Ow, ow!" He flapped his hand several times and blew air to cool it down. As he realized, he took the battery he had just dropped with his other hand.
"WOAH! COOL!" Seren's eyes perked up and shimmer even more. Her mouth is wide open as flies might choke her out (it didn't).
"Cool right?" He attached the battery back to its case in the flashlight. Then, he stood up in pride.
"Yeah!" Then, she yawned, covering her opened mouth. "It … is …."
Felix's eyes softened, "We should have dinner first before sleep, okay?"
"Okay …." she yawned once more.
To sum it up, they boil water, then pour it into the cup of the instant noodles to have a simple dinner with the instant noodles they looted somewhere a few days ago. Right after that, they instantly went to sleep in the tent. The tent fits for 2, but it quite lacks free space. They say good night to each other before sleep.
But then, when he was in the state of deep sleep, Felix saw someone; a girl silhouette in white. The nuances are so bright and pure white, just like another dimension. It doesn't feel real to him—a girl out of nowhere appears in his dream. Is it just a dream?
"Follow the riverside, my friend." A beautiful rhythm-like voice echoed beautifully to his ears. It was the girl's voice. She's like … giving a command to Felix.
Then, he spontaneously woke up from sleep. His body's trembling, he sweats a lot, his face is pale, and his mind is completely confused. Then, he gazed around the tent in fear and confusion without moving a muscle. He found out that … Seren's not with him.