Then all went dark.
The rain showed no sign of stopping.
The road was empty. No vehicle in far sight.
The boy woke up far from the car. He was thrown out when the car crashed.
He was lying on bushes which soften his fall.
But his head was very injured. And the scratch marks were all over his body.
Blood was pouring from his head, his body wounded as if he had been attacked by an animal.
"What happened...?"
He woke and looked around to see the situation.
But when his senses came back, he realized he was not in the car.
He couldn't tell how long he had been lying there.
His fear was taking hold of him, and when he looked ahead, his eyes widened.
For few seconds the world stopped for him, his mind stopped working. His breath tightning under his chest.
He screamed,
"Mom!!"
"Dad!!"
He rushed toward the flipped car with his bruised body.
His pace was slow, filled with fear that something might have happened to them.
As the distance between him and the car decreased, his fear and the silence of his parents also increased.
The cold raindrops mixing with the blood made it difficult for him to see.
The only sounds there were the falling rain, thunder, and his loud beating heart.
When he approached the car, his body froze.
Blood was all over the ground, mixed with the water from the rain.
"Mom..?"
But he got no reply. His mother's body was lifeless, hanging upside down. Then he rushed to his father's side.
His father, barely conscious, looked at him with sorrow.
"Ashen, I am sorry, my beautiful child. "
Ashen was now even more scared.
"Dad, please stop! Nothing will happen to you! "
"Nothing will happen to you. Someone will surely come to save us. "
His dad, with pity in his voice, knew there was not much time.
"Ashen, the world is not as beautiful as you make it. "
"If it was, then those people wouldn't have left us to die here like this."
"But you don't worry, someone will surely pass by and stop to help. "
Then he tried to comfort his son.
The regret was clear on his father's face.
"Don't be scared, my little boy. "
"I am fine, I just need a little rest."
He tightened his hand for a sec but loosen it after like he knew rest wasn't coming.
"Then, after I recover, we will go fo— "
Before he could complete his sentence, his life left his body.
His last words stopped mid-sentence.
His attempt to reduce his son's fear failed.
"Dad...?"
"DAD!?"
"Please say something!"
"Please, why did you stop talking?"
"Dad, I am here with you. Please talk to me! "
"Dad wake up!"
But Ashen didn't realize that his dad is no longer with him.
Both his parents were dead.
And the silence was not just painful it was indifferent.
A child left alone in the wilderness.
The burning smell of oil and blood was making him crazy with every passing second.
He kept crying there without stopping, his tears blending with the raindrops.
The rain that had accompanied him finally stopped, leaving him alone.
His screams could be heard from far away, but they were of no use because no one was there to hear them or help him.
The blood loss due to his head injury and wounds was finally striking at him.
"My head hurts."
"And my whole body is aching."
"It's hurting so much, Mom, Dad. "
His body was weakening, and his wet clothes made him shiver in the cold weather.
He used his last strength to make a final scream for help.
"PLEASE SOMEONE HELP US!"
And with that, he fell to the ground, his vision becoming darker and darker.
"Why?"
But something felt different.
The air felt heavier, like something unseen had stepped closer.
Then he heard a faint sound.
A sound that was becoming heavier, like a person walking while wearing stone shoes.
"Who's there?"
His voice was faint, almost silent.
He looked up with his remaining strength.
And saw a person.
A soldier but something was different. Ashen had never seen a soldier like this before.
"Who are you?"
"No, it doesn't matter please save us."
"Please save mom and dad."
"I beg you. "
The soldier's emotions were hidden under his mask.
The sigil on his chest was growing brightly.
A sigil that doesn't look like a symbol of any nation.
Ashen looked at him and thought,
"Why are you not doing anything? "
But before he could say anything, his vision went dark.