"Help me, Jack!
Don't leave me alone!
I'm so scared!"
The terrified scream from his father jolted young Jack awake.
"What are you doing, Jack? Why are you just standing there? We need to hurry and get out of here,"said Jack's mother.
But Jack hesitated, his mind swirling with confusion and fear. "But, Mom… What about Dad? We can't just leave him behind…"
His mother's eyes were wild desperation as she snapped, "How many times do I have to tell you, Jack? It's just us now! Why can't you understand that?"
"No Mom..." Jack's heart clenched as he shook his head, refusing to believe her.
"I heard Dad's voice. He was screaming for us to save him. He sounded so terrified, Mom... He was screaming in fear, we have to help him."
While shaking Jack's body, his mother screamed. "If that's the case, then you know what it means Jack!!!!!… your father is already !!!…he…" Jack's mother couldn't finish her sentence, as she seemed to choke on her words.
"No Mom...you're wrong! I just heard Dad calling for help. We can't just leave him behind! We have to go back and save him!" Jack said, tears streaming down his face.
"JACK!" his mother screamed. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled to speak. "Your father sacrificed his life so we could escape. We can't waste his sacrifice… We must go, Jack. We need to find a safe place— now."
Jack cried harder, exhaustion weighing him down. "I'm so tired, Mom… And where can we go? You heard what they said—Those creatures have destroyed the entire city. Where are we supposed to run? Where!?"
Wiping away her tears, Jack's mother forced a sliver of hope into her voice.
"Your father… before he… he told me there's still a military base that's standing, If we can reach it before the creatures does, we do might be able to board a military plane and escape to safety, New York may be completely destroyed, but I believe there are places out there untouched by those creatures—places where we can be safe."
Jack's voice wavered, hopelessness creeping in."But, Mom, how can we possibly make it there without getting caught by that creature?"
Jack's mother tried to reassure him, "Oh, Jack, of course we can make it. If we try our best and stick together, we will surely get there."
She took a deep breath and continued. "And you know, Jack, that terrified and desperate scream you heard earlier wasn't from your father. That creature…it can manipulate the minds of its victims. It has the ability to fill you with fear and despair like you've never felt before. Your father, too, must have felt that force."
"But, Jack…" Jack's mother continued " The truth is your father had planned everything. He knew that if he didn't shield us, we would all be devoured together. So, he made the decision to sacrifice himself so we could survive. Bravely, he stood and faced the terrifying creature, clearing a path for us to escape. You haven't forgotten that, have you, Jack? Your father sacrificed himself because he knew we had a chance to survive. So we have to be brave like him. We can't let his sacrifice be in vain. Do you understand, Jack?"
Hearing his mother's words, Jack wiped away his tears. The memory of his terrified father was now replaced by the image of the man he had always admired—a wise, brave figure who had brought warmth and strength into Jack's life.That memory reignited the young Jack's spirit.
With great effort and struggle, accompanied by a few survivors, the two of them finally reached the military base.
But the situation there was already in chaos. The soldiers scattered in a frenzy, their movements frantic and filled with fear.
Seeing the situation, Jack's mother tried to get an explanation from one of the fleeing soldiers.
"Wait, sir, what's happening?" she asked.
With a panicked face and ragged breath, the soldier replied, "The creature has found out about this military base. It's heading here at incredible speed. It seems like no weapon on Earth can stop it. You need to get to the evacuation plane—now!"
In a panic, Jack and his mother ran toward the plane.
Only one evacuation plane remains on the ground, but many civilians have yet to board.
Jack and his mother ran towards the plane and climbed to the door, but there were already many people there.
"I already told you, we can only carry one more child!" shouted a soldier to the crowd.
Jack's mother heard the soldier's shout and immediately lifted Jack, screaming with all her might, "HERE!!!!"
Without a second thought, the soldier grabbed Jack.
"NO! No, Mom! I don't want to leave you!' Jack screamed, trying to hold tightly onto his mother's clothes, but his strength was no match for the soldier's."
The soldier lifted him onto the plane, and threw him inside.
The plane's engines started to roar.
Jack grew more panicked. "No, no, you can't leave without my mom!"
"Calm down, kid, another plane will come back for the remaining civilians." The soldier said in an attempt to reassure him.
But Jack couldn't calm down. "No, sir, you don't understand! I can't leave my mom! We have to stay together! Let me down! I have to be with her! Let me down!" Jack screamed desperately.
But now it was too late, the plane was about to take off... then Jack ran to the window, looking out at his mother . He saw his mother smiling broadly while waving her hand, as if to reassure him one last time that everything would be okay.
Then Jack screamed. "No Mom, this isn't right! We were supposed to stay together, always!" But of course, his mother could no longer hear him.
Outside, Jack's mother was mouthing words to him, with a warm smile, she said "Wait for me there, we'll meet again soon, jack. Don't worry—everything will be alright now... I love you, my little jack,"
.
.
.
JACK!!!!!!!
"Why did you leave, Jack?
I'm so scared, Jack.
Please, help me, JACK!!!!!" Jack's mother screamed.
Jack, who had been yelling and banging on the plane window, suddenly stopped, his expression turning from desperation to confusion. His body seemed to sense something, a strange feeling suddenly spreading through the atmosphere around him.
Outside, his mother, who had been smiling widely moments before, was replaced by a look Jack had never seen on his mother's face before, an expression of raw, unspoken terror.
Jack immediately recognized that look, a look he'd seen far too often since the arrival of the creature. It was a mask of raw, paralyzing fear and overwhelming terror.
'The Monstrous' was the name recently given to the alien creature that thrived on human suffering, feeding on pain and despair. But even before it reached its victims, it would unleashed an all-consuming terror, a dread far worse than death itself.
And now, as he saw that same look etched onto his mother's face, Jack knew the Monstrous was close.
Frantic, Jack grabbed a soldier's arm. "Sir, the creature is coming!!, please, you have to save my mother! Get her on this plane!"
Hearing Jack's words, the soldier looked into the distance—and sure enough, the massive form of the Monstrous began to emerge. "Ah... Captain, we need to go! Now! The Monstrous is getting closer!" he shouted in a panic.
"We're taking off in seconds!" the captain yelled back.
The plane needed more time to take off as the soldiers had to forcefully disperse the crowd gathered around the aircraft.
Hearing this, Jack grew more frantic. "No, you don't get it, my mother's still out there! You have to bring her in!" but no one paid attention to him.
The plane was moments away from taking off.
"Please, someone... help my mom!" Jack shouted, his voice cracking with desperation.
Then Jack sprinted back to the window, but froze in place, his face a mask of utter shock. What he saw outside was a nightmare that would haunt him forever.
His mother's face had twisted into something grotesque, warped by the sheer terror and dread she was experiencing. The fear was so intense that it physically transformed her features into a horrifying distortion. He had just witnessed the true horror of the power unleashed by the Monstrous. Jack's mind reeled as he slowly began to back away from the window, his body trembling. He couldn't comprehend what he had just seen—it was beyond anything his mind could grasp.
Outside, his mother let out a horrifying sound.
"JACK!!!, help me!!!" his mother cried out,
...."That's not... that's not my mother," Jack murmured as he kept backing away from the window toward the crowd of people on the plane, before sitting down in silence.
"Jack, don't leave me here... I'm so scared!
Jack!
JACK!!!"
JACK!!!
JACK!!!
.....
Mr montgomery!!!
Mr Montgomery!!!!
Sir...
"Rrrghhh!"
Jack let out a painful growl.
"You're awake, Mr. Montgomery?" asked Helix.
Tears streamed down his face as a horrifying vision flashed vividly in his mind along with stabbing pain coursed through his body, forcing his eyes open in a sudden jolt of shock.
Jack opened his eyes in a room filled with creatures, one that bore a striking resemblance to the very being that had taken both of his parents' lives…