Disaster. That was first thing that came to my mind as I stepped out of the scattered debris that cluttered around the remains of my house. I bit my lip gently as I scanned the ground; the only thing in plain view were bits and pieces of what was once a place called home. The dust clouded up into my face, and I let out a slight cough as I stumbled out into the streets, careful to avoid any broken shards of glass. A panicked breath escaped from my throat as I seated myself down onto the coarse gravel. My filthy fingers found themselves lifting up a piece of what used to be a portion of our living space and I spun the small piece of metal in my palm several times before tossing it away in disgust.

Tears automatically made their way down my cheeks as I observed my surroundings and realized the full extent of what had happened. Where was my family? What had even happened?  Attempting to blur out a stinging pain in the back of my head, I stood up and started to run; desperate to find sight of any living thing. I needed to find my brother, my parents, my friends...anyone.

My head turned immediately towards the sound of a clash, and within moments I was scanning the pile of rubble that had caused a commotion. My eyes widened as I kneeled closer to get a better look before realizing that the pile wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. Instead, they were bodies. Bodies of dead people. I placed a hand over my stomach, bracing myself for the unpleasant feeling that was slowly rising up in my throat.

It was quiet...too quiet.The sky had turned into a dark mist of gray and blue. The atmosphere was covered in a thick immense fog, and I could hardly see as I continued walking aimlessly. Kneeling down, not knowing what to do next, I punched the ground in frustration, feeling the roughness of the road dig into my fist, but stopped as my hand felt something supple. My heartbeat quickened as I slowly realized that it was another body.

I could recognize that face anywhere. It was Chen. My brother.