Soldiers and more soldiers stared at me with tense expressions and weapons in hand.
Tap Tap Tap
I walked forward, looking straight into each of their eyes.
Every exchange of glances made them tremble irrationally and then look away.
Tap Tap Tap
With every step I took, the ocean of people parted, without a single extra thought.
'What a bad feeling.' I glanced one last time at the tower behind me.
Sigh
"Brother!!!" Mai shouted, waving from in front of our apartment.
Suddenly, the sight made my heart feel lighter.
I smiled and walked toward her without any further worries—no matter what language they used to talk about it, that place would lead me to death.
"Mai," I said lightly. "Grab your things, the government wants to evacuate the area."
She nodded in response.
"I know that…" She lowered her head. "But why did you go there?" Her expression darkened.
"I just wanted to check something. A foolish whim of mine." I gently patted her head.
"The news won't stop talking about how no one comes back and how danger is guaranteed," she murmured. "Those promises are lies meant to lead you to your death—you know that, right?"
"I know," I said curtly.
"You know that I care about you and don't want you to die, right?" she said, on the verge of tears.
"I know," I replied again.
"You know that—"
I lightly tapped her on the head.
"You don't need to say anything else. I know all of that." I smiled gently at her. "Let's get out of here, as far away as possible, as fast as possible."
She nodded, then hugged my arm and rested her downcast head against my shoulder as we went back inside.
When I returned, the TV was still on, and the news kept talking nonstop about the mysterious event.
Mai and I kept listening while we packed our bags.
[…This is probably the greatest event in human history since the Great Stagnation, and most likely our first contact with extraterrestrials!…]
"Do you think that's it?" Mai asked me from her room.
"Aliens?" I laughed. "Aliens who know ancient human languages in such depth?"
"Who knows? Maybe they've been here for a long time. I mean… there were gods in the past, and their worshippers knew far too much about the stars, even though they were just barbarians. Maybe the gods were aliens."
I kept laughing.
"Gods died for our science, don't you think? There's no chance that that delirious mysticism boils down to ultra-technologically advanced aliens. And please, don't reduce them to barbarians—they were quite clever, they just didn't have the same technologies we do."
Mai thought for a while.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She sighed. "The gods died because they never existed in the first place. It's a shame—life would be easier if they had... Just imagine, I could ask god to pay off our apartment!"
I laughed and nodded.
"I would also love it if we had rulers from other worlds. I'm sure being their slave would be more pleasant than working for that disgusting pig. But that's not happening. Unfortunately."
She chuckled softly.
Before long, we were both standing in front of the door with suitcases and backpacks at our feet.
"All set?" I asked, looking at her. "We won't be back anytime soon, if ever, so I hope you're sure you didn't forget anything."
She nodded.
"Everything's here."
Sigh
"Then it's time to go."
I unlocked the door and carried the luggage outside, then locked it again.
'What a bad feeling.' My mouth tasted bitter, it felt like I am running away from a battle.
Still, I ignored it, staring intensely at the apartment in front of me.
"Damn it… screw the end of the world, aliens, and fantasy monsters. I hadn't finished paying for it."
Mai laughed beside me, leaning against me.
"I hope we can come back… or at least get the money back." I nodded.
"Anyway, let's go," I said, turning around. "Before I decide to start punching soldiers to keep my home."
"Don't be silly."Mai burst out laughing.
"Bye-bye, house!" Mai waved from a distance.
As soon as we reached the street below the apartment, a new unpleasant sight appeared.
"War tanks?" Mai's eyes widened.
The street was packed with soldiers, every one of them armed to the teeth with missile launchers and rifles.
Above us, helicopters hovered with mounted weapons; jets were probably on standby, ready to approach in an emergency.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the entire Antarctic army had its sights aimed at the tower.
"They're afraid," I said to Mai. "And rightly so."
"Of what?" she glanced at me.
"You've read fantasy stories," I said with a smile. "This is how they start—then come the hordes of monsters and infernal titans."
Mai shuddered.
"Do you really think so?"
"I don't know, but if I had to deal with an emergency like this—on the scale of a fantasy story—I'd act as if it were one."
Once again, I turned away and left together with Mai, my steps calm and steady.
...
We headed toward the city center, looking for a hotel to spend the first few days. Which wasn't easy considering the emergency situation, leaving us stuck in a hotel lobby for several hours.
But finally...
Click
I turned the doorknob and was greeted by a luxurious double room, a wide smile spreading across my face.
"Wow!" Mai exclaimed beside me, eyes shining. "This is our room?!"
I nodded.
"Yay!" She ran and jumped onto the bed like a child while I just laughed.
"This is wonderful!" she shouted, bouncing. "How did you manage this?"
I shrugged.
"The government is paying for the rooms." I walked over to the TV remote in front of the bed. "As for how or why they let me stay in this one, I have no idea."
I laughed.
"The clerk was a young woman; she gave me the key. She said something about how someone hardworking like me, who did so much for his sister, couldn't be lodged in a bad place."
Mai suddenly stopped jumping on the bed, her face slightly flushed.
Cough, cough
"I see…"
Gulp
"How did she know about me? And your job?"
I just shrugged.
Beep
I turned on the TV.
"There were a lot of people around, a lot of people lost their homes. Naturally, we were talking to each other. Still, it was a nice gesture, don't you think? Such a generous young woman."
Cough, cough
"Of course…"