Ares: Never Grow Up
Dave's past! (End)

POV: Dave

"Uncle uncle! What about my picture?! Isn't this cool?! I'm drawing a robot!" A boy looks tugging at my pants. In his other hand, he carried a piece of drawing paper with some strange shapes inside.

"really? I want to see it" I said, crouching, looking into her eyes. The boy was getting more enthusiastic, he showed his still disheveled image.

"Here comes the coolest and strongest robot! I rode this robot with Uncle Dave! Oh yea! Uncle Alan made the robot!" He explained it to me so happily. I smile, so this is what my aunt used to feel when she raised me.

Maybe you also feel this a little late.

I raised my hand, then rubbed his little head. "Right, that's so cool! You have to be like that someday! Don't forget to take me on board!" I said with a smile. He nodded excitedly, then went to show the picture to the other children.

I'm back to my busy life, which is drying clothes.

Whuunggw!

"Hm?" I looked up at the sky, a foreign sound like a broken machine, getting closer. The black hue in the white cloud started to get stronger, until from behind the clouds, I saw a falling rocket.

I didn't care much and panicked, because at least it didn't fall over the parlour. It seems to be heading south.

DUUMM!

The sound of a loud impact like a bomb that exploded, even making the birds fly away.

"HOEE! HUEEE!"

DEG!

"Antonio!" I was so shocked when I heard the sound of a child crying. As I recall, the only smallest and easiest child to cry here was Antonio. Immediately I left my job, running to his tiny room.

Brak!

"What's wrong?" I asked as soon as I opened the door. On the floor, she was crying while crawling towards me.

"HOE! ONUT! ONUT! WUUU!" he said with an unclear pronunciation. I immediately carried her and walked out of the room.

So he was scared because of that voice, it was quite loud indeed.

"Calm down, it's okay. There I am here. Little stars don't like to see you cry, do you want to make little stars sad?" I remember that Antonio loved the stars in the night sky. As soon as I said that sentence, her crying became even more slow.

"Don't be afraid, me and the little star will always be by your side. That voice cannot hurt you" I said again, cradling his body in my arms. I saw him who was getting tired, slowly he closed his eyes, it seemed like he was sleepy after crying.

"Fyuh, thankfully it worked," I said softly. I was about to go back inside the parlour, but my gaze was fixed on the thick red mist that flew here. The fog seemed to devour everything within it, it was extremely dense and fast.

"What's that?" I panicked a little, I tried to walk quickly into the house. After putting Antonio in bed, I immediately closed all the doors and windows.

"Reza! Immediately tell the other child to go into the room!" I said to the oldest boy here. She was working on her PR, after hearing me, she immediately stood up and ran towards her sisters.

"Hey! Uncle Dave said get in the room!" what I can hear from here. My eyes focused out the window. The red fog was getting closer, making this unpleasant feeling hit my heart like a storm.

WHUSS!

GRUNTUNG! THE GRUUNTUNG!

This smoke had already devoured the parlour, but the origin had not yet entered. Although I'm not sure this can last long. My eyes looked towards the roof that was starting to leak. And some air holes that can not be closed perfectly.

"Oh my God .. What is this?" I murmured while standing. I took all the unused cloths, then I wet them. After that I covered all the remaining holes with the cloths.

Nyut!

DEG!

It hurts! My head hurts! I just inhaled a little!

My head was throbbing like it had just been hit by a hammer. My footsteps began to wobble, making me fall on the floor.

BRUK!

"Damn ..."

BRACKET!

WHUSS!

I gazed towards the back door, the red mist barging in like a thug. With all my strength left, I stood up. My feet ran towards the fog. "Why?!" I screamed in it.

Faintly, I saw a small unconscious figure. It was in front of an open door. "... Laila?! Why are you here?!" I was about to crouch down and carry her, but after I crouched down .. My legs could not stand.

"..." - ".I stared at the pale little girl. My heart felt so painful, it was like it was sliced to its last piece. In the midst of the fog rushing in, I decided to hug the girl, until my consciousness also disappeared.

.

.

.

Whistle! KWAAAK! KWAAAK!

Deg.

"Well?!" The crow's voice made me realize. I tried to get up even though I felt my body was very heavy at this moment.

Wait ... heavy?

I turned to see who was in my arms. A cold and pale stiff body, as well as a crow trying to pick up some of its meat cuil.

She is Laila, who is gone.

"..." - ".At that moment, I was crying. My mouth was open, but I couldn't make a sound. My neck was like it was clamped by a big lump of iron, my shoulder like it was pierced by a peg.

I put his body down trembling, all the remaining energy I put into exploring this parlour. Before I entered the rooms, I saw myself in the mirror reflection on the wall.

"... It's me?" The figure of a little man who used to wear seedy clothes, now I just run with a big shirt without pants.

I don't give a shit! The kids! What about the other kids?!

I ran again, my hands opening every room door. But ... precisely every room I checked, made me more desperate.

In this parlor, no one lives but me.

...

Flashbacks, end.

***

POV: Ares

I heard it, a hoarse and frail voice by the small figure in front of me. The figure of the man whose shoulders bear the burden that has been broken, and the figure of the father who has lost his back.

"After that, I buried them all. I then just relaxed in front of the parlor, lamenting the cruel destiny of this world.

Until those bastard kids come! They ravaged this parlour for clothes and food!

That's why I attacked them" Dave said with eyes still angry, but moistened by tears.

Greb!

"Eh?"

"Vani?" The three of us were surprised, Vani suddenly held onto Dave's hands.

"... You must be, in a lot of pain, right? You ... have already .. held it well. You can take it out" said Vani, trying to resist her crying cravings. Ken and I looked at each other and smiled.

You two also approached Dave. Ken grabbed his shoulder, and I put my hand on the top of his head.

"It must be heavy, you can feel tired."

CRIING!

I made a fairly thick cloth of medium size. The cloth covered Dave's head to his back. Definitely tired of facing all reality alone, moreover he was also abandoned by the person he considered his family once again.

The cloth was not to wipe his tears, but to let him hide for a moment from the world.

The sreeett!

Some rose tendrils began to creep around us. The tendrils encircled us, and gave rise to a great number of red roses. Beautiful and fragrant, from the origin of this tendril, I saw Merlida who was crying.

This world is cruel and imperfect, but everything can be beautiful if passed together.

TBC.