“Quickly, head for the fields!” A hooded man gestured urgently at his three companions. As he looked back at the dark road, he gritted his teeth. 5Please respect copyright.PENANAmf1dKYv36d
5Please respect copyright.PENANArSrMvXRUh4
They’re catching up on us. 5Please respect copyright.PENANAikg0VpJkoy
5Please respect copyright.PENANASRCS35Q1ak
The man grabbed one of his companions by the shoulder while the others ran ahead. “Guide them to the bunker,” he whispered while handing the keys to his companion, who was a woman in her thirties and heavily pregnant. “Chase will be there waiting. I’ll be right behind you.”5Please respect copyright.PENANADnCJTdKFI0
5Please respect copyright.PENANA9BJpQ3H5no
“Andrew, no! You know youcan’t do this on your own!” she objected anxiously. Andrew, as the man was called, planted a quick kiss on her forehead and caressed her baby bump. “We’ll see each other soon, Grace, don’t worry. Now, go!” As he pushed her away gently, a surge of energy sent the woman in the opposite direction from where he was by twenty feet.
5Please respect copyright.PENANAd7vOvEp8EV
I need to survive this for my family and every individual out there who is like us.
5Please respect copyright.PENANAmCWf8mjNO8
Andrew repeated those words in his mind countless times. This was the only way he could ensure the safety of his family and friends, as well as the legacy of their ancestors.
5Please respect copyright.PENANAILCc6EhwCS
Out in the darkness, he could hear his enemies shouting at each other.
5Please respect copyright.PENANABmbUIkK8zt
“I see him! Let the hounds go!” One of them yelled.
5Please respect copyright.PENANAM1dFwrt6bL
Andrew took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It’s now or never.
5Please respect copyright.PENANApWizRP2G7U
With a hushed voice, he thrust his hands towards his enemies and murmured a string of words. Immediately, a brilliant flash of light seared through the air, engulfing the darkness. The ground beneath Andrew’s feet shook, and in the distance, he could hear screams for help coming from his enemies.5Please respect copyright.PENANAqF80SIg1O1
5Please respect copyright.PENANArcH6tNwbXz
Then—all at once—the light vanished. What followed was a silence that was deafening.
5Please respect copyright.PENANAgXTF3ALCmM
*
5Please respect copyright.PENANAr2UMYtILF2
When Andrew reached the bunker, Grace ran towards him and hugged him as if her life depended on it. Andrew reciprocated and sighed in relief. After running from their pursuers for weeks, they were finally safe.
5Please respect copyright.PENANAaEcXBU6SKO
“Andrew,” one of his companions called out to him, “thank you. If it weren’t for you, my wife and son wouldn’t have been here.”
5Please respect copyright.PENANACLMqGJuS58
“I’m just glad everyone is safe, Jonathan. Did you manage to find an escape route out of here?”
5Please respect copyright.PENANACMEHeGWEQD
“Yeah. But we’ll need to plan thoroughly for it to work.”
5Please respect copyright.PENANAjgCS6nDr6e
Andrew nodded in agreement. “We’ll discuss it tomorrow morning. For now, get some rest.”
5Please respect copyright.PENANAZvXcfJYiSF
Jonathan hugged Andrew and motioned for his wife and son to thank him. “Joseph, c’mere. What should you say to the man who saved your life?” A four-year-old boy with green eyes hid behind his mother and timidly expressed his gratitude. Andrew chuckled and ruffled the boy’s hair.
5Please respect copyright.PENANA2wPzUbb3JW
As his friend retired to bed, Andrew sat in the corner of the room and held his face in his hands.
5Please respect copyright.PENANAhdkOnNDaJ4
How did it come to this?
5Please respect copyright.PENANAITSwyaFzAj
“What are we going to do now, Andrew?” Grace sat down beside him and leaned her head against his shoulder.
5Please respect copyright.PENANA4bgB4c78B1
He remained silent for a while. In his mind, he had run through every possible solution that might be viable to them. At the end of the day, only one was the safest option. It would be difficult, but it’ll have to do.
5Please respect copyright.PENANAREqLayx8hX
“We start fresh. New identities, new life, new home.”
5Please respect copyright.PENANAuXfZHRTEsF
“And our child?”
5Please respect copyright.PENANADEGB0uodBS
Andrew pursed his lips. His child will probably be like him and Grace. After all, the same blood runs through their veins.
5Please respect copyright.PENANA3ZCBYhmvjN
“We prepare him. And he will prepare his children, and their children after them, until the war has been won.”
5Please respect copyright.PENANADhZDux3JqD


