He couldn't hear anything anymore—not the gasps, not the whispers, not even his father's voice trying to calm the room. All he could hear was the echo of that number.
Four, Four days, Four days until what?
Until death? Until they were wiped out? Until Zane returned?
Raymond's hands gripped his own coat like he was trying to hold himself together. His lips trembled. His knees wobbled. The weight of everything slammed into him at once like a falling wall.
His body finally gave in.
He dropped to his knees, tears spilling down his face.
He shook his head violently, his words broken and panicked.
"This can't be the end… This can't be…"
He sobbed harder, his voice cracking like shattered glass.
"I don't want to die…"
Raymond stayed on his knees, sobbing into his palms like a child lost in a nightmare he couldn't wake from. His cries echoed in the compound, sharp and helpless, cutting through the silence that had overtaken the party.
The music had stopped.
