Later that day, they sat down with fried fish and chips, the ice cream already eaten. They did not talk much. They just sat there, looking at the view, the sounds of the street mixing with the noise of their forks.
A group of teenage boys walked by, and one whistled at Maya.
Vell tensed up immediately.
"Hey pretty girl, why not hang out with us instead of your dad?" one of them called out.
Maya rolled her eyes. "Ignore them."
"Did he just call me your dad?" He whispered, horrified.
"Yes. You are ancient, remember?" She grinned.
The boys kept walking, but Vell was still bothered. "I am not that old. Do I look old?"
"You have those lines on your forehead when you worry. Like now."
He tried to relax his face. "Those are not wrinkles. They are thinking lines."
"Same thing."
He watched her, and for a moment, everything seemed good.
"Hey, how old are you turning tomorrow?" she asked.
"Why? You should know that already."
"Just because I want to know."
"Okay... I will be twenty-six."
"Oh yes, that is right. You are old."
"Here we go again."
"What? It is true. You are almost ancient. Should I start calling you Grandpa?"
"Stop it."
"Why? Does Grandpa need to take his medicine?"
She kept laughing, and he could not get mad, not when she smiled like that. Even though the joke was getting old, she was too sweet. But still, he was not going to just sit there and take it.
"At least I am still growing."
Her laugh stopped suddenly. She stared at him, her expression changing from playful to serious very fast. He knew she was not really mad, but she was trying to make him stop.
He did not.
"I mean, look at you. You are seventeen, right? So why are you still so short? Are you broken or something—"
Then he saw it. The tears.
"Oh no," he said quietly, feeling panic rise in his chest. "Oh no. Hey, I did not mean it like that! Please, stop crying. I am sorry."
He was already worried when she gave him that look. That half-smile, the one that always seemed like it was hiding something sad. And then, without warning, she burst out laughing.
"You are so easy to fool. How do you still fall for this? We have done it a million times."
He just stared, feeling tightness in his chest, his jaw becoming hard. "Maya, this is making me stressed. I am getting a drink."
"Get one for me too," she said, still laughing, barely looking at him.
"You are too young."
"Just a soda then."
"Fine."
As he walked toward the shop, his thoughts were all mixed up.
'She is going to cause me so much trouble, for real.'
He shook his head and smiled a little.
'But she is adorable. I cannot believe this is the same girl from back then. She has grown up so much. I am so proud.'
He grabbed two soft drinks, took a deep breath, and headed back. But the moment Maya came into view, his mind stopped.
There she was, surrounded by a group of men who were too old to be talking to a teenager. They stood too close, their eyes looked too hungry, and then one of them grabbed her arm.
His brain felt hot with anger.
He stood there for a second, just staring, trying to tell himself he was not seeing what he was seeing. But then the man pulled her, and that was it.
His body moved before his mind could catch up. The bottle in his hand smashed against the man's head with a sickening thud, dropping him like a stone.
The others turned around.
"Who is this big guy?" one asked.
"Who cares? Let us just beat him up," another replied.
They pulled out knives, which should have scared him. But it did not. Everything became a blur. He grabbed the nearest plate and threw it at one man. It broke across his face, giving Vell just enough time to swing a fist at another, hitting him right in the nose. There was a crunch, and blood poured from the man's face, but Vell did not care.
He did not feel a thing. He let that man fall, turned, and drove his knee into the third man's stomach, following with an elbow to the neck that left him gasping on the floor.
One tried to attack from behind, but Vell was too fast. He smashed another plate into the man's face, sending him falling to the ground.
And that was when things grew dark in his mind.
He knelt beside the one still moving, grabbed him by the shirt, and started punching. One hit. Then another. And another. He kept going, his knuckles wet with blood, his mind filled with the sound of bones breaking.
It was not enough. The rage, the fear, everything just kept pushing him forward, pushing him harder. The man's face was barely recognizable by the time he heard her voice.
"Vell..."
It sounded far away. His fist hung in the air, shaking.
"Vell! Stop, please. I am fine. They did not hurt me."
She was behind him, arms wrapped tight around his chest, pulling him back, bringing him to his senses. His breath came in rough gasps as he stared at the man in front of him, barely awake, a pool of red spreading underneath.
"It is... it is okay," she whispered, her voice shaking.
"...I did it again, didn't I?" His voice was flat, numb, like he was talking about someone else. He did not dare look at her.
"Yes," she said softly, "but you were protecting me. It is fine. Everyone saw it."
He finally looked up, and that was when he noticed them—everyone standing there. Staring. Whispering. Some had phones out, recording.
Their faces were not relieved or grateful. They were shocked. Disgusted.
He wiped a hand across his face and dark hair, smearing the blood that was not his.
He jumped to his feet, looking at what he had done. The men who had touched Maya lay still on the ground.
Maya, however, stood out from the rest – her eyes fixed on his, filled not with fear, but with deep worry. She was thankful for his protection, as always, but her real fear was that he might end up in prison because of this.
Before long, the police arrived, quickly putting handcuffs on him without asking a single question. The scene told the whole story: injured men, a man covered in blood – what more proof could they need?
"Wait, those men were bothering me, a minor!" Maya shouted. "My uncle just defended me!"
"Step back, please. The court will decide if he is guilty or innocent," the officer said firmly.
Maya opened her mouth to argue, but a sudden, powerful shock wave cut her off, sending everyone falling to the ground. The sudden silence that followed was just as disturbing.
"What was that...?"
"Was that an earthquake?"
"I do not know, but we should get out of here, now!"
People began to panic as they tried to find their families. Then, someone yelled a warning.
"Everyone, run! Now!"
Confused, the crowd looked up, and their faces showed pure terror.
Huge structures were falling from the sky, one of them only minutes away from crushing them. Chaos broke out as people pushed each other in a desperate attempt to escape.
"Give me the keys to the handcuffs!" Vell yelled at the running police officers.
"No way!"
Maya, knocked down by the rushing crowd, tried to get up.
He rushed to her side, protecting her from the frantic people. As the chaos slowed for a moment, he pulled her to her feet, and together they ran for their lives. The closer the falling tower came, the stronger the pressure felt, almost pushing them down.
They barely escaped as the tower crashed into the ground, sending things flying everywhere. This end-of-world scene was happening all over the world, killing many people.
Vell did not wait to see why the towers fell. He did not really care about all that. They just ran, moving through crazy streets until they found a small store that looked empty.
They rushed inside, going straight to the back, finding a storage room with the door slightly open. No time to think. He pulled her in and locked the door behind them.
Maya was scared, walking back and forth and shaking, her breath coming fast. He held her hands gently.
"Hey, it will be fine, all right? Just breathe. We are okay for now."
She nodded, but he could tell she did not really believe it. Truth was, he did not believe it either.
But he had to be strong for her.
Once she stopped shaking so much, he started looking around for anything useful. He still had those handcuffs on, wrists hurt and raw from running.
He hoped to find something—anything—to break them off, but the room was mostly just stacks of boxes, a few old tools, nothing that would help. As he was moving things around, that was when he heard it.
Screaming.
"Ahhhhh—"
"Somebody, help—"
"What is happening—"
"Save me—"
He stopped moving.
His stomach tightened. Maya curled up on the ground, hands over her ears, shaking again, but he just stood there, listening.
The screams were not all of it. There was something else underneath, some... rough, animal-like noise. Like a growl, but not exactly. It scared him more than the dying cries.
Then, a banging at the door shocked him back to reality.
"Is anyone in there? Please let me in," a man's voice, high and scared.
"Please, I am going to die out here!"
Maya looked up at him, eyes wide. He shook his head, telling her to stay quiet. No way he was opening that door. Not for anyone. Not after hearing all those screams.
"Oh no, it is coming! Please, open up!"
The banging grew louder, more desperate.
Then it just... stopped.
Silence.
It stayed quiet for a second before they heard something else. A sniffing sound, like an animal trying to smell them.
And then—