EDGE

The sulfuric air burns the lungs of people walking tirelessly in the land of war and corruption. A bearded man with an unkempt appearance stretched his hand to drag his weary body while beside him, a frail-looking woman with arms comparable to twigs of a tree was bearing a child. She walked with a careful step as she held her tummy when she saw her husband fall. The wife attempts to help her husband, but the bearded man tries his best as he grits his teeth and stands again. He rises up while his knees are shaking from lack of balance.

"Don't mind me, my wife."

This bearded man was still young, if not for his growing beard. His eyes looked at his wife with tenderness, but he shook his head. His wife's beautiful smile brings unexplainable energy to him. She nodded obediently and started walking again, her husband in her hands; they helped each other step by step.

"Anthony, it's hard to breathe."

The wife said her complexion was becoming paler as cold sweat started to form on her forehead. The husband looks at his wife with worried eyes and stops for a moment. He holds her and sits down to rest.

"Anthony, we can't stop. That person might get still on our tail."

An old woman in her white coat walked back from the crowd and spoke to the couple; however, she saw Anthony's wife's complexion getting paler and deemed the situation an emergency. She frantically rushed to prepare her equipment.

"Let them come then. I'll fight them to death."

Anthony's eyes flickered with a dangerous light; he was raging from inside. His hatred was visible in his eyes as he spoke. Laura, his wife, was lying on the ground and replied weakly.

"Anthony, don't. How about our child?"

The doctor returned and checked Laura's condition, but her expression turned grave.

"Anthony, this is bad! Laura can't hold on much longer. We must get the baby out right now, or both of them will die!"

Anthony had a panicked, stricken face. The doctor immediately told him what he needed. Before he realized it, his body was already moving on its own. A few minutes passed, and all tools and items requested by the doctor were already acquired by Anthony with the help of other refugees.

"Doctor, how was she?"

The old woman in white robes didn't move nor bother to reply to Anthony, and from her expression, he could tell she was in deep concentration, so Anthony chose to calm down and patiently wait. Luckily, he didn't wait too long, as his ear perked up when he heard a crying sound coming from the thing the doctor held; it had little hands and feet, and the thing wouldn't stop crying. Anthony was ecstatic from seeing his and Laura's son but immediately shocked when his eyes moved to his wife. Anthony saw his wife's vitality slowly fading from her loving eyes, and he couldn't help but moan and wail in agony from helplessness. An arm as frail as a twig was stretched, and thin fingers touched Anthony's unkempt face. He could feel the undying love and care in her rough hand.

"P-protect him."

Laura said in a shaking tone as her eyes began to moisten and her hand on Anthony's face eventually weakened and fell to the ground. A tear also falls from Laura's face.

"Laura! No!"

Anthony finally bursts into tears, and his cry resonates with his son, to whom they haven't given a name yet.

Three weeks had passed.

Buggy cars were speeding in the desert, leaving a cloud of dust in their trail. The leader was obviously the fastest and on the lead buggy car; these people seemed to be searching for something based on how they scanned their surroundings with their sharp eyes. The leader has a red bandana on his head and wears a black leather jacket. The leading buggy car suddenly came to a halt, and all buggy's also slowed down and stopped near their leader.

The door opened, and the leader came out of the open door. His eyes have a dangerous glare, making all his subordinates turn their heads to avoid meeting them. The leader is obviously not in a good mood, especially today, but why? Question of all subordinates while watching their leader approaching some pile of rocks with a piece of branch sticking into it.

His name was Garren. He's 48 years old and one of the mayors of numerous provinces here in Knox; Knox is a land where 70 percent is a desert while 30 percent remains habitable land, but due to war and corruption, those 30 percent start to dwindle, and become 25 or so. The land of Knox is substantially divided into provinces, and this province was governed by a mayor, and Garren was also one of them. While other mayors are prone to conflicts and corruption, Garren could be considered an exception. He was a good leader and the sincerest of all his subordinates had ever seen or had been under.

Garren approached the pile of rocks, and there he confirmed what he saw was a piece of clothing. Although it was pretty damaged from the design alone, Garren could say that this fabric came from an expensive dress. The subordinates looked at his back and were surprised when Garren started to frantically dig up what seemed to be the grave of someone. They immediately ran, stopped their leader, and asked him to let them do it. The old leader looked panicky and worried, but he agreed. The subordinates start to dig the grave. Garren's eyes never leave the grave, like it's someone important to him, so his men are careful.

The subordinates finally see the body while digging, but someone suddenly jumps in and throws rocks away madly. They're shocked that Garren has reddened eyes and is on the verge of tears. Garren didn't stop; even his hands started to bleed until he finally saw the corpse on the grave.

Although the dead start rotting, the beautiful face of a woman is still there, and Garren easily recognizes his own daughter.

"Laura!!!!"

Garren screamed like a lion who had lost its cub; he bit his lips and started to bleed. Coupled with his reddened eyes, all the subordinates feel heavy, and blood also starts to drip from their clenched fists.

"Vengeance!"

Only one word resonates in their minds as they watch Garren drown in pain while holding his daughter's corpse.

It was night. 6 hours passed, and Garren finally moved from his position. He raised his head and looked at his subordinates.

"Kill all those ingrates! No one shall be spared alive!"

Garren's face was ghastly pale, but even then, his subordinates could see the seething flames of wrath that came from his eyes. The stars didn't appear this night, and people were subjected to a cold and lonely night.