The crowd disintegrated into chaos. Screams tore through the night as the survivors scattered in every direction.
"Jump on the car and run!" Clark's voice cut through the chaos, sharp with urgency.
Without hesitation, the family scrambled onto the roof of a nearby car, leaping from vehicle to vehicle in desperate pursuit of distance from the monster behind them. But no matter how fast they moved, it wasn't fast enough. The Minotaur's strides were enormous, its power terrifying, and soon it was closing in.
"Shit!" Clark cursed, fear cracking through his voice.
Crack. Thud.
The ground trembled as the monstrous beast collided with the cars, its horns piercing through metal and glass as though they were paper. Each step it took sent quakes through the pavement.
"Keep moving! We just need to get past this block!" he shouted back, his voice strained and wild.
Hearts pounding, lungs burning, they kept running, leaping from car to car. But the Minotaur was relentless—its strength boundless, its rage insatiable—as it snarled, reaching down to scoop up an entire car. The beast flung it effortlessly, the vehicle soaring overhead, the wind from its passage nearly knocking them off balance.
Jagger glanced back just in time to catch the gleam of cruel amusement in the beast's eyes. 'Is it... laughing at us?'
"Keep going!" Clark bellowed, desperation shredding his voice.
BOOM. SCREAMS. CRASH. EXPLOSION.
The thrown car ignited a chain reaction. Vehicles skidded, collided, and exploded until a wall of burning wreckage cut off their path forward.
The shockwave of the explosion was massive, hurling everyone backwards from the top of the car. They hit the pavement hard, the impact knocking the air from their lungs.
A high-pitched whistle echoed as Jagger opened his eyes, dust and debris falling around him. He tried to flip himself over, his hands scrambling for purchase as he struggled to his feet. The smell of burning metal and plastic stung his nose.
"Mum!" A muffled voice caught his attention. Jagger's gaze followed the sound. Hannah, her face and clothes coated in ash, kneeled next to her mother, who had fallen onto her back, screaming.
"AAAH!"
His father held his mother's hand and yelled, "Sophia, you're going to be okay, just breathe! Breathe, honey!"
Jagger rushed over to their side, staggering with each step, leaning on cars for support. The world was spinning, his lungs felt as if they were collapsing in his chest.
"I can't feel my leg!" Sophia shouted. Her face was white, her lips trembling. A jagged metal pipe had impaled her thigh. The wound was deep, blood seeping between his father's fingers.
"Mom." Jagger's voice was small, barely above a whisper, as he fell onto his knees by her side. He shook his head, trying to clear the fuzziness as tears began to fall.
"Mum!" Hannah screamed, her voice shrill and panicked. "Mum, you're bleeding!"
Clark stared at the raging flames, his face twisted in horror. He looked back at his children, then at his wife.
"Save them, Clark." Her eyes were desperate, her voice cracking, but her expression was firm. "GO! TAKE THEM!"
"MUM! NO!" Hannah cried, her voice breaking.
Fire roared, choking smoke rising into the sky, sealing off any hope of escape.
The Minotaur roared, the earth trembling beneath its monstrous advance. Its hulking frame loomed closer, its shadow stretching across them like a death sentence.
"Dad! What are we going to do?!" Hannah cried, her voice shaking so violently she could barely speak.
Clark frantically looked around. Then he spotted it—a narrow alley, barely visible through the smoke.
He stood up and scooped his wife into his arms. "That way!"
Jagger grabbed Hannah's hand, his head still pounding from the shockwave. His eyes burned, his vision blurry, but he pushed forward.
They sprinted after Clark, feet pounding broken pavement as they veered toward the opening. But Jagger's heart sank when he saw it. "Dad, you and Mom!"
The alley was too narrow for them to pass.
Clark leaned his wife against the brick wall, her breathing labored and pained. The wound had turned her jeans dark red. Clark stood, his eyes locking with Jagger's. Determination burned there, but sorrow lurked beneath. "Both of you go through there," he said quietly, his voice steady despite the quake of emotion beneath it. "You and your sister have to go on. Without us."
"No!" Hannah wailed, collapsing into sobs and hugging her mother. "I won't leave you! We can't! I can't lose both of you!"
Clark turned to Sophia, and for a fleeting second, they exchanged a look filled with love, pain, and finality. He smiled at her, though his eyes betrayed the truth. Then he turned to his daughter, softening his voice. "I'll find a way out here, but right now you both have to survive. Your mother and I will catch up later… I prom—" His voice faltered, then steadied. "We will meet you again. Trust me."
But Hannah shook her head furiously, tears streaming. "I know what you're doing! You can't make me! I'm not going without you or Mum!"
Sophia's labored voice cracked the silence. "Listen to your father. We'll be okay. But we need you to run and hide."
Clark forced his son to meet his gaze. His eyes blazed with fierce intensity. "Jagger, you have to protect her. No matter what happens, you take care of your sister. Even if you have to carry her, you'll get her out. Safe."
The weight of those words crushed Jagger, causing his shoulders to sag. His eyes stung with tears. "I… can't…"
THUD.
A punch on the jaw echoed through the area, the force knocking Jagger back a step. His father's fist clenched around his bloodied collar. Tears welled in Clark's eyes. "Do it for your mother and me! You are strong, Jagger. I know you can. Please, son… do as I say. This is my final wish… Survive, please."
Hannah was crying as she clung to her mother. Sophia hugged her, wrapping her in trembling arms. She kissed her cheek, whispering through breaking sobs, "I love you so much, my angel. You're the greatest thing that ever happened to me."
She pressed her worn bag into Hannah's hands. "Food, water… and something you can give me when we meet again." She smiled, tears glistening in her eyes.
People ran past them, screams ringing through the night. A woman sprinted by, blood gushing from a ragged tear in her neck. An arrow was buried in her back, the feathered end fluttering as she collapsed.
The Minotaur closed in, its massive form blotting out the street. Along with the laughter of goblins, the beast let out a roar, the sound like an earthquake.
"Take your time before coming to see us. Live a happy life if you can." Clark lifted Jagger's chin, a gesture that had once been a playful tease, now weighed with meaning. "What I began…"
Jagger's throat tightened, and he fought back a sob. He forced himself to meet his father's gaze. The man stared back, unflinching, the steel in his eyes sending a shiver down his spine.
"I will finish," Jagger choked out, the words heavy. "I promise."
Clark pulled his son into a tight hug, his fingers gripping his shirt. He gave him one last long, intense look, then smiled, the sadness behind it betraying his words.
Tears escaped Jagger's eyes as he rushed to his mother's side, kissing her forehead a moment longer than usual, like a final goodbye. "I love you, Mom."
"We will meet again, Jagger," his mother said, her voice soft and soothing. Her smile was warm and comforting, a promise. She gently touched his cheek as he leaned in, savoring the warmth of her touch. "Now go."
Jagger grabbed his sister and pulled her from their mother's embrace. "We need to go!"
"NOOO!" Hannah screamed, latching onto her mother as Jagger dragged her.
Jagger wrapped his arm around her as she lost her grip on Sophia.
"Dad, please, no!" Hannah screamed, her nails digging into Jagger's shirt.
"My princess, go. We will see you again," Clark said, his tone calm and firm, despite the tears streaming down his face.
"Please, Jagger, I don't want to leave them!" She tried to free herself from his hold.
Jagger tugged her hand, pulling her into the alley, his own heart shattering with every step. "Hannah, we have to go!" His voice cracked beneath the weight of fire and fury around them. She thrashed against him, screaming, her fingers ripping at his skin, her legs kicking.
"Jagger, let me go! YOU FUCKING COWARD! HOW COULD YOU LET THEM DIE?!" Her voice ripped through the air like a blade.
But he couldn't stop. He dragged her deeper into the alley as the world behind them collapsed into fire and violence. The Minotaur's roar bellowed, the ground shuddered, and Hannah's anguished screams echoed, searing themselves into Jagger's soul.
-
Clark staggered away from the mouth of the alley, each step heavier than the last. He sank down beside Sophia and took her hand in his own, squeezing it tightly as if holding her would anchor him to life. His other hand pressed against his side, where blood seeped steadily through his shirt. He winced but forced a crooked smile.
Sophia leaned her head against his shoulder, her voice fragile, trembling. "You got hit too, didn't you?"
Clark lifted the edge of his shirt. An ugly gash carved across his stomach, raw and deep, glistening with blood. Yet a soft chuckle escaped him.
"Always laughing," Sophia murmured, staring up at the smoke-choked sky. "Even in the face of death."
"Nah," Clark said, shaking his head faintly. "Not laughing at this shitty situation. Just… proud. Happy, even."
Her tired eyes flicked to him. "Proud?"
"Yeah." His lips curved in a pained grin. "Our boy can take a full-blown punch and still stand tall. He's all grown up now." Another laugh slipped out, though it caught in his throat and twisted into a wince.
Sophia's body shuddered with a weak laugh of her own. "I'm bleeding out here, and you're making me laugh… asshole."
Clark turned his head, gazing at her as though memorizing every detail of her face. Tears glistened in his eyes. "Thank you," he whispered. "For being in my life. For being a loving mother. For loving me."
Her hand squeezed his, trembling, desperate. Tears slid down her ash-stained cheeks. "Stop with that sloppy dramatic bullshit," she rasped, trying to smile through the pain. "Don't you dare make me cry my last moments alive."
Clark's chest shook with another broken chuckle.
The Minotaur's footsteps thundered closer, cars thrashed wildly as they were thrown aside, flames roared into the sky. The beast would reach them soon.
Clark leaned in and kissed Sophia, his arms wrapping around her trembling frame as if he could shield her from the monster's shadow. "I love you," he breathed against her lips.
She smiled faintly, her tears catching the last flicker of firelight. "I… love you… too."
Her head settled against his shoulder. His rested against hers. Their hearts beat together, slowing with each passing moment.
The world burned and collapsed around them—flames, screams, and the Minotaur's roar drowning out everything but the sound of their breathing.
With eyes closed, they clung to each other, two souls bound in love even as life slipped quietly from their grasp.