-Worlds apart-

Atlas Backstory (1)

NOTE: this part, possibly the next few parts, will be about Atlas and his Backstory. It will be important to the later parts. So please at least skim through it, I hope you've enjoyed this story so far!! :)

LIBERRAD-4th of June, 2130 (Atlas is 8)

Atlas woke up in the middle of the night to the smell of smoke. He sat in his bed and looked across the room to his little sister, Natasha, who was sleeping peacefully. He got out of bed and tip-toes over to the door. He opened it, peaked his head out and the smell only got stronger. He goes to his parents room and opens the door. 'mama? Papa?' he says in his quiet and soft voice. His voice wakes his mom and dad up. His dad sits up and looks at him. 'you okay, kiddo?' he asks. Atlas nods. 'i smell smoke. Is everything okay?' he says. His parents share a look before his mom gets out of bed and starts to go downstairs. His dad also gets out of bed and walks over to Atlas. 'Hey, buddy. Can you get Nash for me?' he says, trying to keep his tone soft. Atlas feels a pang of worry but nods. He leaves the room and goes over to his and his sister's room. He walks over to her and shakes her awake. 'natasha? Wake up.' he says, still shaking her. Eventually she wakes up and sits up, while rubbing her eyes. 'yeah? What is it Atlas?' Atlas opens his mouth to speak but hears a crash come from the house and causes him to scream slightly from shock. Natasha quickly gets out of her bed and grabs Atlas's hand, her being the oldest she was always very protective of him. 'atlas, what was that?' she says. He shakes his head and hides behind her. 'i don't know....' suddenly their dad comes bursting into the room. 'KIDS GET OUT!' he yells. Natasha quickly runs to the door of the bedroom and put.of it, Atlas following behind. That's when they see, a large fire that broke out and is spreading rapidly through the house. Natasha continues to run and lead Atlas outside, until she trips and falls, causing her to let go of Atlas's hand. 'NASH!" he yells, turning around to help her up. 'IM FINE, JUST GO!' she yells. 'W-WHAT? N-NO, IM NOT LEAVING YOU HE-' he starts but gets interrupted. 'JUST GO!' she yells, practically begging. He pauses but quickly turns around and runs out of the house.

When he gets out he looks around, he sees neighbors from around, standing there, looking at the fire. But no sign of his parents. 'MAMA! PAPA!' he yells around. All the neighbors look at him. He continues to look around but can't find them anywhere. He realizes they must still be inside. Without thinking, he turns around and starts to run back towards the flaming house, but right before he gets there, someone grabs him to stop him. He turns around and sees an old man, holding his arm to stop him. 'L-LET ME GO! MY FAMILY IS INSIDE!' he yells frantically, trying to get his arm away from him. The old man only tightens his grip. 'Don't go back inside, kiddo. It won't end well.' he says calmly. Atlas looks at him. 'P-PLEASE! PLEASE! I NEED TO SAVE THEM!' he yells again, tears forming in his eyes. The old man frowns slightly and crouches down in front of him and puts his hand on Atlas's shoulder. 'I'm not letting you go back into a flaming building.' he says, his tone soft but firm. Atlas has a look of panic and fear in his eyes. 'p-please... Please I need to save them!' he says. Before the old man can speak again, suddenly the house collapsed in on itself. Followed by the screams of his mom, dad, and Natasha. Then, silence is heard. Every neighbor gathered around, looking at Atlas. Atlas looks at the house and feels a tear run down his cheek. The old man notices and gently rubs his shoulder to soothe him. Atlas feels more tears falling and he turns around to the man and buries his head into his shoulder, trying to muffle his sobs and cries. The old man doesn't hesitate and wraps his arms around him in a warm embrace.