"Chris!" whined Brittany, her face turning beet red, "Quit!" Though her cries were only met with laughter as Chris leaned back into his chair. "What?" His teal eyes falling gently upon her own, knowing full well his soft gaze was enough to subdue any distress she may have felt.
"You know exactly what!" she mumbled as she covered her face in her hands.
He reached forward and took her hand within his own, pulling it away from her face. "You're absolutely adorable when you get flustered." he said with a smile, pulling her hand close to brush his lips tenderly upon the knuckles. His eyes, never parting from her, only smiling more as she tried to hide the smirk from behind the other hand.
"That's not fair..." she whispered, sliding her hand from her face to his own and squeezing.
He couldn't help it as his smile grew and grew, the sun catching her dirty-blonde curls as they sloped down past her shoulders, shading her gentle blue eyes behind her glasses. She wore a a one piece black dress with a white scarf wrapped around her neck, the tail falling down to her mid-back. However he was far more casually dressed for their Sunday afternoon date with his jeans and t-shirt. He had commented earlier about how under dressed he was and how messy his brown hair had been but she assured him it was fine. She loved him no matter how silly he may have looked.
He released her hand and brought his digits to stroke his beard, brushing along the inch long strands before turning his gaze to the resturaunts entrance. "You know, when I reserved us priority seating on the front porch of this place I figured we would also get priority waiters." he said, frowning now at this point.
"I'm sure they will serve us soon." she replied, gently kicking his foot with her red dress shoes, teasing him in return.
"Yeah, I guess." he pulled his hand to the back of his neck, massaging the skin as his impatience began to settle in. "But I mean...it's 2049. We have hover cars and cities the size of states almost." he muttered, glancing above them to the sky high-ways above where streams of flying cars roamed. It had been a long time since cars ruled the streets below and instead was nothing more than a utopia for walkways, cyclists and the general population to cross through the massive concrete jungle. For miles around there were nothing but skyscrapers to where the only sky that could be seen was when looking directly up.
"Chris! Just be patient!" Brittany whined, once more, her face going red again and once more was met with only laughter.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I'm just hungry." he said, and almost as if on que his stomach growled, "And I hear this place serves the best fettecine alfredo."
"I know! I'm dying to try it!" she squeeled, wiggling in her seat and hitting the tables center, rocking it to which Chris had to snatch a falling glass cup. "Oh come on!" he muttered, placing it back upon the table and returned his gaze to her. But he could not remain angry with her. Especially when she got upset and started apologizing.
"Babe...it's alright. It was an acci-"
It was then that them, and everyone else that was unfortunate enough to have been on that particular block was met with a shockwave that leveled everyone. Like a fast acting domino effect everyone found themselves laying upon the ground, dazed and confused as debris and dust began to spread out and consume those who were not able to get up in time. The screams of the people fell upon silent ears as all sound and sense of stability had left Chris as he struggled to get even to his knees, glancing around in a confused panic.
"Brittany?! Brittany?!" he called out, looking around at the mass of bodies around him, looking for any sign of her as the cloud of dust grew closer and closer.
Clumsily he got to his feet, but not before nearly falling over again, catching himself upon the side of a knocked over table. Remnants of the glass surface having been shattered, but it was not the only thing that lay broken. The windows to the resturaunt had been blown in. Tables, chairs - anything and everything had been strewn about. A bicycle had even lodged itself within the concret wall just feet from where the two had been sitting.
"BRITTANY?!" he screamed again, pushing bodies over while shaking his head to clear his mind even more. It was then that he saw them, her red shoes which lay under multiple people who had either been knocked out...or was dead. He didn't have the time to check. Chris grabbed the nearest body and turned it over and beneath it she lay, her eyes staring up at the sky without movement. Without light.
"No...no, no...NO!" he cried, grabbing her by her shoulders and pulling her up, screaming down at her. "BRITTANY! GOD DAMN IT BRITTANY!"
Tears swelled his eyes and he began to feel his nose drip, pulling her body tightly against his chest, rocking back and forth upon his legs. "No..please....no..." His lips brushing against her cheek before finally breaking down completely, screaming in a furious rage of loss and hate. And then he was consumed by the dust cloud.
He did not care, however. All he wanted was to stay with her. All he wanted was her. And she had been taken from him.
The sounds of the other people screaming and running had become scarce as only those too injured to flee remained calling for help within the dust. However, the world became silent as the words of a booming voice echoed out.
"You will all...bow before Xenom."
Chris turned his head in surprise and fear, trying to focus the best he could through the cloud for where the voice might have come from. But it was too difficult to see. Instead he slipped one arm beneath Brittany's legs and the other around her back and lifted her up as he rose to his feet.
"Come on Brittany...let me get you out of here..." he said, sniffing back his grime, wiping his tears away on his shoulders. He used his feet to kick and prod at the bodies infront of him, much like a blind man with a stick, to step over his obstacles. He needed to get her out of there. He needed to get out of there.
However, it did not take him long to feel lost. Turned around and confused. "Come on...COME ON!" he cried out angrily but immediately froze after turning around. Chris's eyes filled with fear immediately, his muscles immediately shut down and locked up, paralyzing him.
Just feet infront of him loomed a dark figure, much taller than himself, having to be over seven feet at least. But that is not what stopped him, he did not fear the size of the sillouette. He feared the glowing red eyes that shone through the dust which had now begun to settle.
Bit by bit the being was revealed, staring with the crimson silk strands that fell upon his shoulders which seemed to have been protected by a black rock material which stretched down over the males pectorals. His arms and abdomen were left bare, toned and tan. His legs, however, seemed to have been draped in a black hakama like clothe. But still, those eyes bore deep into Chris's soul.
"You all...will fall before Tetsue, Lord of the Xenom Temple." Tetsue growled, a voice so deep and filled with hate the air itself around him began to distort. He slowly raised his arm up over his head, taking hold of a handle that had to have been at least a foot long and pulled a massive cleaver from behind his back. The blade was so dark it almost made Chris think it was a trick of his eyes, but he certainly was not tricked by the 9 feet of blade that quickly came down upon him.
"I-I'm...so sorry Brittany." he whimpered before the giant cleaver turned his world black.