Preview 2: Destroyed Lives

Matakh returned with a jolt to the land of the living, the pain still present, now as a headache that felt like someone whacking away at his skull from inside, and a sore, compressed chest. He opened his eyes to see the ceiling of his basement, or what was left of it. Large areas had collapsed, and he guessed that the rubble was what was pressing down on his chest and, in fact, his entire body. Reaching a hand up, he could feel dried blood caking one side of his face, which would explain why his fur there felt so odd. He must have gotten a cut from the debris.

He suddenly remembered how he had gotten under the rubble, and he felt fear shoot through him. Oh my gosh! Mom! Dad! Meea! Oh…

He groaned and lifted a hand to push the offending debris from his body, only to hear a sudden clatter and a familiar, feminine moan. “Meea?” he croaked, his voice rasping from his dry throat. He coughed, clearing dust from his airways, a small puff of it coming up from his nose. “Mee?” he called again, more clearly this time.

He heard a groggy-sounding moan, and then a soft, “Matakh?” He sighed in relief. At least his sister was safe.

“Yes, Meea. I’m here… I hope all of me.”

He heard his sister giggle softly and he smiled, glad he could make her laugh, in spite of what had happened. But his smile died when he heard the next thing she said.

“Mom and Dad… Have you heard them at all?”

Matakh felt a cold pit settle in his stomach, and he didn’t respond, afraid of his sister’s reaction should she learn the truth. But his silence spoke volumes, and he heard her start to breathe faster and more erratically.

“No…” she said softly. “No… No they can’t be… They can’t have…”

“Mee…” he started to say softly, but suddenly he heard Meea give a pained cry. A loud clatter filled the air as she started to shove the debris off of her, trying to free herself. He heard her start to sob, and his heart broke. He sighed and started to heft off some of the beams lying across his body. When he had lifted away most of them, he sat up and looked over at his sister.

Meea had fought her way free of most of the rubble that had covered her, and was now struggling to get up. She was covered in dust, and her normally blonde was gray with ash, and hung in a tangled mass. She managed to get to her feet and tried to head for the door, but her foot caught on a wooden beam. She fell to her knees, her hands slapping against the stone floor. She didn’t get up, but just stayed there, sobbing uncontrollably, her body shaking as she cried. Tears fell from her eyes, wetting the cold floor beneath her.

Matakh stood, wincing as his chest gave a twinge in protest. He was sure he had bruised some ribs, and he could feel what seemed to be a large scab running down his face. He could only imagine how awful he must have looked, as he was certain that he also had at least one black eye, and he felt like his tail was bent in several places. He looked behind him to see to his great surprise that the appendage in question was in fact perfectly whole, and was twitching in response to his fear and anxiety.

He shook his head and walked over to his sister, his spirit feeling as though it was bleeding from grievous wounds. When he reached her side, he knelt down and draped an arm around her shoulders, silently trying to comfort her. He could hear her whispering, “No… no… no…” repeatedly, trying to deny what had happened, but powerless to change reality.

Matakh felt Meea lean into him, resting her head on his chest, her tears wetting his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, cradling her as she sobbed, starting to cry himself with the pain of their loss. He held his sister as they both mourned the loss of their parents, gaining some comfort in each other’s presence.

For a long while, they just sat together, letting their sorrow go in the form of tears. It seemed like their whole world had died along with their parents. They felt broken, defeated, shattered, and bereft of willpower. Everything that they knew was scattered around them in ruin, and the most important people in their lives were most likely gone.

Finally, Meea’s sobs quieted down, becoming sniffles and whimpers as she held tightly to Matakh’s shirt. Slowly, she pulled away from her brother, wiping her eyes on her sleeve to dry away the tears. When she looked up at Matakh, her face was stained with wet tracts running from her eyes down her cheeks, and Matakh gave a weak smile as he reached out to brush away the dust from his sister’s face.

Meea sniffled one final time and looked towards the door leading up to the house. “Shouldn’t we try to get out? I mean, we need to see how bad the house is damaged.”

Matakh nodded. “Yeah. Maybe we can still salvage some of our stuff, if it wasn’t all destroyed.” Together, they made their way through the ruins of their basement, wary of sharp pieces of metal and broken glass.

“We were lucky,” Matakh observed as he looked around him at the destruction. “We could’ve been crushed or buried alive.”

Meea nodded. “Your right… I guess.” She sighed. “But Mom…”

Matakh lightly tapped her muzzle to shush her. “Don’t focus on it. Let’s just worry about getting out of here.” Meea nodded once more, sniffling a little but otherwise remaining silent.

As they neared the door, they suddenly heard a clutter from overhead, as if someone – or something – were moving around. They stopped short, and for a moment they felt hope rise in their hearts. “Mom?” Meea called. “Dad? Is that you?” They waited in silence, but there was no response. Even the faint sound of activity had grown still.

Meea’s ears drooped. “Maybe it was just a mouse…”

Matakh gently stroked her head, feeling his own hope die with his sister’s. “You’re probably right.”

They took another few steps towards the door… only for it to suddenly swing open, admitting a stream of light. The siblings raised their arms to shield their eyes from the radiance as they adjusted. When they could finally see again, they looked up towards the door to see… no-one.

“What…” Meea stuttered. “How? Who?”

Matakh looked at her, feeling just as confused. “I’m not sure. But we’re gonna find out. Come on.” He made to move for the door, but Meea stepped back a bit. He turned to look at his sister, seeing that she had suddenly grown nervous.

“You go first,” she said softly.

 Matakh nodded in understanding, and then moved towards the stairs. Reaching the foot of the stairwell, Matakh looked up towards the door, now seeming so far away. Taking a deep breath, he placed a foot on the first stair, wincing as it creaked. For a moment, he feared that it would break, but the wood held. He moved to the next step, and the next, holding his breath as the wood continued creaking. Halfway up the steps, he was sure it would break, but by some miracle the stairs held, and after what seemed like an eternity he was finally stepping out into the ruins of what had been their home.

Looking around him, he was at once appalled and grateful at what had happened. The bomb seemed to have hit just in front of the house, judging by the massive impact crater in the front lawn, and the blast had obliterated most of the dwelling’s front-most end. The kitchen was gone, along with a part of the living room and a good portion of the upstairs. Broken plates, furniture, and decorative accents were scattered everywhere, and Matakh had to step carefully to avoid cutting himself on any glass. The fortunate thing was that much of the rear of the house had been spared the force of the explosion, and his and Meea’s rooms appeared to be still intact.

“Well?” Meea called from the basement. “How bad is it? Anything left, or is it all just junked?”

Matakh turned towards the stairwell. “It’s actually not too bad. The front’s gone, but the back’s still pretty much whole. Our rooms look like they’ll still be fine. If we can just…”

His voice trailed off as he noticed something he had missed when he first came up from the basement, something that hit him like a fist to the gut. He felt his blood run cold as a wave of fear and sadness hit him.

“What’s wrong?” he heard his sister yell.

Matakh thought quickly. “Don’t… Don’t come up here,” he said loud enough for her to hear. “Just… stay down for now.” He looked around him, desperately trying to find something with which to hide the truth from his sister.

His thoughts were interrupted by the creaking of wood. “I’m coming up, Mat.”

Matakh opened his mouth to protest, to reassert that she should stay down, but he had gone mute. All he could do was watch as Meea came out of the door and into the ruins of their kitchen. “Now what was so bad that…” Her comment died away into a strangled whine as she saw the blanket beside the basement door… and the two bodies it was draped over.

They were lying against each other, the larger, Kotaho, with his chest against the back of the smaller, Linalia. Their faces were surprisingly peaceful, with no signs of pain or suffering, just serenity, as if they had died happy. Kotaho’s arm was draped around Linalia’s shoulders in a final embrace, and her hair was brushed away from her face. They look so peaceful, Matakh thought. It’s almost like they’re just sleeping. But he knew instinctively that they would not wake up.

Meea’s eyes went wide, tears welling up once more in them. She swallowed and walked a few steps closer to her parents, moving as if she were half-asleep. She reached out a hand toward the bodies, only to stop and pull it back. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but only got out a soft whine.

“Matakh,” she finally managed to force out, “are… are you sure that… they’re…”

Matakh nodded. “Yes, Mee. They’re gone. I’m sorry.”

Meea just stood still for a few moments, shock written on her face. Then, she broke down, falling to her knees, sobbing loudly. Her shoulders shook as she cried, and she covered her face with her hands, rocking forward and back. Tears fell from in between her fingers, staining the ground.

Matakh sighed and walked over to his sister, draping an arm around her shoulder. “I told you to stay down, Mee,” he said softly, holding her close to comfort her. She leaned into him, resting her head on his chest and clutching his shoulder for support. Her tears dampened his shirt again as she wept, and he found himself crying along with her, unable to keep his composure any longer.

For several long minutes, the two siblings wept and mourned over the loss of their parents, their home… and the lives they had once enjoyed. The ideals of their world were now in tatters, the promises its leaders had made broken, and the lives of its people tossed about like leaves in a gale. Their hearts were bleeding, their souls wracked with agony from the injustice and violence of it all...