After dismissal, Jacob hesitated before approaching Lieutenant Victoria Watkins.
"Ma'am," he said quietly, "when can I get my belongings back? I need my phone. I need to check on my parents see if they're okay."
Victoria studied his face for a moment, then nodded. "Follow me."
She led him through several corridors until they reached a warehouse-like storage area lined with tall metal cabinets. She stopped at one, unlocked it, and pulled the door open.
"Here's everything we recovered," she said.
Jacob's breath caught as he saw his backpack, wallet, phone pieces of the life he'd had just days ago.
"Thank you," he said softly.
He gathered his things and made his way to his room in Ruby Quarter. The moment the door slid shut behind him, he dropped his bag and pulled out his phone with shaking hands.
The screen lit up.
His stomach sank.
20 missed voicemails.Hundreds of messages.
The first text was from his dad.
Hey, don't forget to pick up some flour on your way home.
Jacob's chest tightened.
The next message followed minutes later.
Jacob? Where are you? Call us when you see this.
Then another.
Please tell us you're safe.
The messages grew more frantic the farther he scrolled.
His hands trembled as he opened the voicemail inbox.
The first few were panicked but controlled his parents trying to stay calm. Then the sounds changed. Sirens. Shouting. Something crashing in the background.
Then came the message that broke him.
His mother's voice was shaking. "Jacob… monsters are attacking people in the streets. We're hiding in the house. They're breaking into homes now we don't know how much longer we can"
The voicemail cut abruptly.
The next one began immediately.
His father's voice this time, strained and desperate. "Jaxson, run! Get out now! Don't look back!"
Then his mother again, sobbing. "Jacob, if you hear this… we love you. We hope you're safe. You and your brother please, find each other. You have to survive. Together."
The message ended with the sound of something smashing through the door.
Screaming.
Then
Silence.
Jacob's phone slipped from his hand as he collapsed to his knees.
Tears streamed down his face, his chest convulsing as grief tore through him. His parents were gone. And his little brother Jaxson was out there somewhere. Alone. Terrified.
"No… no, no…" Jacob whispered, but the words meant nothing.
Hope drained from him completely.
He cried until his throat burned. Until his body ached. He didn't eat. He didn't move. He just sat there, grief swallowing him whole, until exhaustion finally dragged him into sleep.
When he woke the next day, his eyes were swollen, his body heavy. He dragged himself into the bathroom and stared at his reflection.
The person looking back wasn't the nineteen-year-old kid who'd worried about assignments and boring Tuesdays.
It was someone hollow. Someone broken.
But he couldn't stay that way.
Slowly, Jacob straightened.
He clenched his fists.
He needed to become someone strong enough to be there when the people he loved needed him. Someone strong enough to find his brother.
Someone strong enough to never let this happen again.
"I won't break," he whispered to his reflection.
From that moment on, Jacob made a vow.
He would give everything one hundred and ten percent.
And every last one of those creatures that took his parents from him
Would pay.
After dismissal, Jacob hesitated before approaching Lieutenant Victoria Watkins.
"Ma'am," he said quietly, "when can I get my belongings back? I need my phone. I need to check on my parents see if they're okay."
Victoria studied his face for a moment, then nodded. "Follow me."
She led him through several corridors until they reached a warehouse-like storage area lined with tall metal cabinets. She stopped at one, unlocked it, and pulled the door open.
"Here's everything we recovered," she said.
Jacob's breath caught as he saw his backpack, wallet, phone pieces of the life he'd had just days ago.
"Thank you," he said softly.
He gathered his things and made his way to his room in Ruby Quarter. The moment the door slid shut behind him, he dropped his bag and pulled out his phone with shaking hands.
The screen lit up.
His stomach sank.
20 missed voicemails.
Hundreds of messages.
The first text was from his dad.
Hey, don't forget to pick up some flour on your way home.
Jacob's chest tightened.
The next message followed minutes later.
Jacob? Where are you? Call us when you see this.
Then another.
Please tell us you're safe.
The messages grew more frantic the farther he scrolled.
His hands trembled as he opened the voicemail inbox.
The first few were panicked but controlled his parents trying to stay calm. Then the sounds changed. Sirens. Shouting. Something crashing in the background.
Then came the message that broke him.
His mother's voice was shaking. "Jacob... monsters are attacking people in the streets. We're hiding in the house. They're breaking into homes now we don't know how much longer we can"
The voicemail cut abruptly.
The next one began immediately.
His father's voice this time, strained and desperate. "Jaxson, run! Get out now! Don't look back!"
Then his mother again, sobbing. "Jacob, if you hear this... we love you. We hope you're safe. You and your brother please, find each other. You have to survive. Together."
The message ended with the sound of something smashing through the door.
Screaming.
Then
Silence.
Jacob's phone slipped from his hand as he collapsed to his knees.
Tears streamed down his face, his chest convulsing as grief tore through him. His parents were gone. And his little brother Jaxson was out there somewhere. Alone. Terrified.
"No... no, no..." Jacob whispered, but the words meant nothing.
Hope drained from him completely.
He cried until his throat burned. Until his body ached. He didn't eat. He didn't move. He just sat there, grief swallowing him whole, until exhaustion finally dragged him into sleep.
When he woke the next day, his eyes were swollen, his body heavy. He dragged himself into the bathroom and stared at his reflection.
The person looking back wasn't the nineteen-year-old kid who'd worried about assignments and boring Tuesdays.
It was someone hollow. Someone broken.
But he couldn't stay that way.
Slowly, Jacob straightened.
He clenched his fists.
He needed to become someone strong enough to be there when the people he loved needed him. Someone strong enough to find his brother.
Someone strong enough to never let this happen again.
"I won't break," he whispered to his reflection.
From that moment on, Jacob made a vow.
He would give everything one hundred and ten percent.
And every last one of those creatures that took his parents from him
Would pay.
Over the following days, Jacob fell into a simple routine.
He ate when he had to. Slept when exhaustion forced him to. And spent the rest of his time preparing mentally and physically for the training that waited ahead.
But no matter how focused he became, there was one thing he never skipped.
Emily.
She was housed in the Sapphire Quarter, placed in a child-care wing that functioned like an orphanage, filled with other children who had lost their families in the attack. When Jacob visited, she was usually playing, drawing, laughing, or running through the halls with kids her age. And every time she saw him, her face lit up like the world hadn't ended at all.
Over that week, they became each other's anchor.
When Emily felt sad, Jacob was there kneeling beside her, listening, reminding her that she wasn't alone. When Jacob felt the weight of grief threatening to crush him, her smile was enough to keep him standing.
Without realizing it, Jacob became a big brother to her.
And Emily looked up to him as if he were her hero.
To Jacob, Emily wasn't just someone he had saved anymore.
She was family.
Someone he needed to protect. Someone he needed to shield from a world that had already taken too much.
By the time the week finally ended, Jacob's leg had healed enough to move freely. The pain was still there dull and lingering but it no longer burned with every step.
He stood outside his room early that morning, key clenched in his hand, heart steady.
He was ready.
Ready to train.
Ready to become stronger.
Ready to become the kind of person the world and the people he loved could rely on.