No Matter What

one

I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a puddle of muddy water. I was lying down on a pathway in muddy water in a neighbourhood. There was nobody. Not a single soul. No sign of life. Not even a mosquito or fly.

The blocks of flats around me were either abandoned or partially destroyed or burnt. I tried to recall what had happened. I could remember many useless things. I knew I used to go to school, I knew I had friends.

But I couldn't remember who they were, what school did I go to. Who were my parents? Whose music did I listen to? Did I even listen to music? Where did I live? What happened? Where's everyone? How did I end up here? Why can't I remember?

Tears welled up in my eyes as questions flooded into my mind. Why can't I remember useful things like how I ended up here? Why do I only remember useless things like I used to stay in a home?

Panic began to engulf me. What do I do? What do I do?

My tears start to stream down my face and I did the first thing that I had in mind.
"M-Mommy?!" I yelled in a shaky voice, desperate for help. This was how my voice sounded like?

Yes, a sixteen-year-old girl calling for her mother like a toddler who just fell from running.

I can't deal with this memory loss. I have to get somewhere safe. Somewhere I can rest, not a random muddy puddle in a pathway surrounded by eerie-looking blocks of flats.

I tried to get up, propping my elbows on the floor as support. There was a sudden throbbing in my mind and my body felt sore. I sat up and tried to relax, hoping the throbbing would go away. It did.

I tried to stand up but the throbbing came back again. It felt like someone was stomping on my skull and stabbing my back. Despite the pain, I stood up. I tried maintaining my balance but it felt like the Earth was shaking.

"Shafa! Get out of there! You'll get hurt!" a voice yelled in my mind.

I closed my eyes and a flashback began playing like a video saved in my mind.

I saw millions of people running towards me from behind.

About twenty metres in front of me was a boy motioning and yelling at me to hurry. I began running as fast as I could, but a hand grabbed my leg. I looked back and saw a lady's hand grasping on my ankle. I tried yanking her off and eventually succeeded. I continued speeding towards the boy, looking back every few seconds.

I looked at the lady who I yanked off and saw a tiny tattoo on her cheek. It looked more like a symbol. It was a skull. Everyone else had the same on the same spot on their faces. I was a meter away from the boy but someone from behind me caught hold of my hair. I stretched out my hand for the boy to hold onto it and pull me away from the people whose hands were trailing down my body. Thankfully, he managed to get hold of my hand.

He pulled me away from them with a force and succeeded. He starts floating in the air and holds out his hands. His once brown eyes turned white and his pupils couldn't be seen. A powerful bright whitish-blue shield came blasting out of his hands and the wierd people were sent flying in the air.

He falls to the ground and his eyes slowly turn brown again. He closes his eyes and did not open them again. Tears began streaming down my face as I yelled, hugging him in my arms.

"No! Diego, please don't go!" I cried. I tried to shake him but to no avail.
"You're the only one I have left," I sobbed silently, my arms still holding onto him tightly.

"You promised me no matter what..."

I opened my eyes again and found tears rolling down my cheeks. My knees shook and I fell back onto the ground.

Then, darkness.