Trey watched in horror as his father clutched a hand to his chest, the sword wound leaking red like ketchup from the bottle. Hot tears ran down his face as his father fell to his knees on the rough, hard concrete of the abandoned street. His father collapsed onto the street, the only thing he could hold onto after all these years stuck in the Empire State Building, the place where he could no longer hide. The sorrow from his father touched Trey's heart for the last time as his father bled out. His attacker, however, kicked his body aside, grinning like a madman.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFKoyrg9sI
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"He was bound to die, anyway," snarled the man. "I need to feed my family." He pointed his sword at Trey, the tip dripping liquid rubies. "Let this be a warning to you. Never cross the Silver Swordsmen."583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjVW5TpgEh
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Trey took off running, his face red and raw from crying and his throat burning of tears and bile. How sick can one get? He simply couldn't stand it. He wanted to turn back, to tear his enemy apart and carry his father's body home for a proper burial. But he knew what would happen to him if he tried. Torn apart by the same sword that ate through his father like a wolf. It was a fitting end for him and even Trey knew it. But the fact that his father had died just seconds earlier, in front of his eyes, tore into his soul like a child ripping through a sheet of paper. Tears spilled down his face as he turned the bend, the insane cackling from the swordsman haunting his ears.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj8K966tTwV
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Never again will he trust anyone in this hellish asylum. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZFu7ciWc2a
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He saw his home in the distance, just one of the many near-destroyed rooms enclosed in what used to be the Empire State Building, one of humanity's greatest feats. He couldn't bear to see it nearly destroyed from the last bombing. Brushing his tears away like his father used to do, he ran off into the daunting thickness of the fog. What was he going to tell his brother and sister? What was he going to do?583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWFSYc0CXg
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He trusted his twin sister more than anything but he was afraid to tell her and their younger brother the news. Nooks was only seven at the time and Ashe was the same age as Trey. Figures that's why they're twins, anyway. A cold shiver ran down his back as he heard the sounds of war cutting through the air like a knife on a bottle of hard cider. Swords clashing, flesh tearing, screaming echoing off the walls of the broken city.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZkl4pdv3O
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It used to be the pride of America, the great place where famous people and rich people lived, but now it was turned to ash, just like many people expected of it. It wasn't as grand or magnificent. It was a pain to look at and a shame to live in. People nowadays were living in places people of the past couldn't fathom to take shelter in. Places like the coldest regions of Antartica, Siberia, and Greenland. The world had been reduced to rubble in nearly two years. And it was a shame to humanity to even think about.
It didn't take much effort to reach the building. Fires blazed in windows, many rooms sparking and spewing smoke. Trash fires. He sprinted up the fire escape, the amount of running he'd done in the last two minutes spending his energy like a fat dog on his first run. He leaped into the room, sweating and panting exactly how a fat dog would. His sister and brother sat trembling on the floor. The remains of a desk and chair had been morphed into a strange contraption that resembled a bed. The cloth for blankets had been stolen by his father and sewn together by his mother. He realized what would happen to him now. He and his siblings were orphaned.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡff3SN2WWX9
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His mother died while bringing Nooks into the world from lacking medical assistance. Trey blamed her death on Nooks before he knew any better. To this day the pain still resides in his heart like jagged pieces of metal circulating in his veins. It brings him to tears whenever he studies Nooks' face, because he looks a near copy of his mother. He remembers that she used to sing to him when the bombs hit because it soothed him like aloe vera on a sunburn. 583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzoL3o2YpvA
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He smiled grimly at Ashe, blood spattering his face like freckles but no alarm came to them. They knew what had happened and they were hesitant to tell Nooks. Ashe and Trey exchanged glances. Go soft? Tell him every last detail? Get down to the specifics? They had no idea. Ashe cleared her throat.583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQcOTs3GCg
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"Nooks, we have something to tell you," she said softly. "Daddy won't be coming back."583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3q9lwxvah
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Nooks looked up at her with big eyes. "What do you mean 'he's not coming home'? Is he on a business trip?"583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqF1x8Zy7pe
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Ashe nudged Trey. He coughed into his fist. "Yes, and he's moving to Greenland to live out his life. He said that he'll be back before he passes, though, so you don't have to worry. We'll stay here because the flight there is too dangerous and expensive."583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCzpKnSWOZ
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"But don't we have enough money to fly there, too? We steal all the time and we probably have some cash stored around here somewhere!"583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGE5PEznkHD
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Trey gripped Nooks' shoulders. "Daddy's....Daddy's dead."583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyCEhh1o9Ek
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Nooks blinked tears out of his eyes. "Wha-what do you mean...?"583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1flKuY4rh
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"He's not coming back...ever."583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjBmYzmcTgw
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Nooks shook his head. "He has to come back! He has to! PLEASE, Trey! Tell him to come back...!"583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpecotRoim5
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Trey sighed and pulled him into a group hug, Ashe staring at him with a vengeance. "He can't come back, you know that. But he'll always be watching us..." He looked to the sky, "Always."583Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYF7uSGVtP3
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