Chapter 1

"Father where are we?" I asked. I did not receive a response from the tall, rugged looking man. I sat up and brushed the sleepiness from my eyes and stared into the rising sun. We have been traveling for days to escape all of the riots and revolts from back home in Kansas. Bomb squads raided my town and destroyed anything and everything in their paths and crushed any resistance with their heavy artillery. Some lived but most died in the first twenty four hours of the attack. Nobody knows why this all happened except for the man I call my father. He said that my mom and sister made it out with a convoy just before the attack but I haven't seen or heard from them since that horrific day. My name is Luke. I am twenty one years old and married for a second time. My first wife Shelbie died giving birth to my beautiful daughter. It was a bittersweet moment for me because I lost my wife and gained my daughter. I raised her best I could and then one day a beautiful brunette walked into my guitar shop and we hit it off. Next thing I know I am standing with her at the altar. She said I do and so did I and then we started a family. She blessed me with four more children shortly after the marriage. Our children's names are Sara, Thomas, Lexi, Ashley, and Chris.

Ok back to the story. The day was still young and everything seemed to be going perfect. The shops opened on time and the paper boy was flying through the route like normal. You could smell the freshly baked bread from the bistro down the street and you could hear that sweet music coming from the coffee shop. I had just woken my baby girl for school and was helping my wife get the kids lunches ready. Jessica is my foundation in life. She really is a super mom and loving wife and I couldn't imagine life without her. So I was about to get into the shower when my phone started ringing. I reached into my pants pocket and answered. "Hello?" I asked. "Yes is this Corporal Luke Vanderhine?" and strange voice questioned. "Yes it is. May I ask who is calling?". "This is Governor Charles and I need you to get your family out of there at once. I heard rumor of a battalion coming to your town in search of you and your notorious father." I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I hung up the phone and stood frozen for a good minute until my wife opened the door and took the phone while leading me to the shower.

"Babe are you ok?" she asked while getting the water running. "I am fine sweetheart," I replied with a cool tone. There was no way I could get her involved in this." How can I take care of this without alarming her or the kids?" I thought to myself. There was no other choice but to ask my dad. Jessica started to kiss me and everything seemed to melt away. I haven't had time to relax and just be with her since my job with the armed resistance picked up. We heard word that a militia had formed and was coming from the far west and we needed to be ready to defend our own. So this was nice for a change. We just enjoyed each other's company for a good hour and I will not go any further than that. We got out and dried of and got dressed while still kissing each other. Its times like these that I live for and I hate that every moment I am home that I cannot fully focus on my wife and kids. "Babe you don't seem very focused right now." Jessica asked looking me in the eye. "It's nothing baby girl. I just really don't want to go to work today." I replied and kissed her goodbye as I went out the door for work. I just went over all I have heard this morning as I drove to work. Thought of every possibility I have and what I can do to prevent my family from figuring out what could possibly happen to them if I am not careful. "I have to call dad." I said aloud to myself, "I have to."

Chapter 2

"Babe! Babe! Where are you?" "Mom wake up!" Lexi said while shaking me awake. "I am so sorry sweetie. I can't quit thinking about him. Every time I fall asleep I'm looking for him. I hope one day I will find him." I don't know if I was talking to my daughter or me. These days I think I'm going insane. I call for him, look for him, dream about him, and most days I swear that I hear his voice or see his shadow behind me. He said he would come find me when his squad pushed the enemy back out of the town. It's been about six months now. "Mom are you in here?" "Chris baby I am back here!" signaling him to my location. I noticed that there were tears in his eyes. I have never seen him cry in all my years of being his mom. This truly scared me. "What's wrong sweetie?" I asked trying not to sound alarmed. "Mom I saw him in my dream. He was standing there and I almost got to touch him and ask why he hasn't come back for us yet." Then he couldn't hold the tears back any longer. They started running like Niagara Falls. I pulled my baby boy in close and held him tight. "It will be alright baby. It will be alright." I said this over and over again and before I knew it I was crying to. I did not dare let him see or hear me crying.

After he finished crying we both went to the kitchen part of the camp and started to warm something up to eat. I often day dreamed of being back home in my own kitchen cooking this enormous meal for my family. Luke would come in all beat up from training and he would come up behind me and caressed my stomach while he kissed my neck. Then we would sway back and forth in sync with each other. It was those small things that made me love him more and more each day. "Mom when will we go home?" Chris asked. "When your daddy comes and gets us." I said as I handed him his MRE meal. We both sat and ate with the rest of the survivors and just talked about what we used to have. I keep telling myself that when I wake up in the morning he will be standing there waiting for me. "One day Jessica, one day." Then I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep.

Chapter 3

As I pulled in to the parking lot at work I pulled out my phone and called dad. I told him everything that the governor told me that morning. He said that I shouldn't worry but to get my family out of dodge. "Alright dad I will do my best to get it done." I replied as I hung up. "Well time to get my family to safety." I said to myself as I got of the truck. I went around back of the office and looked at the view of the city knowing that soon it would be one big battlefield. I know I have this campground I inherited from my grandfather up in New Jersey. "That's where I will send them." I thought while going in the office.

My dad often told my sister and me of our family heritage. He would tell us of the mighty warriors we came from and how our family stood for what was right and fought for the weak. I would feel the chills run down my spine every time he would go into the battle scene of the stories and hang on to every word that came out of his mouth. They all were known as assassins that stood in the shadows and never fought in the light. People often feared them and shunned away if they ever stepped into the light. They were fast and accurate with any weapon they placed their hands on. I believe this is what drove me to be the man I am today and my job profession.

As I got to the locker room and put on my uniform I was greeted by my commanding officer. "Hello corporal." he said. "Hello Sir, how is the wife and kids?" I replied kindly. "Well you know how kids are corporal. They are in the terrible twos." He laughed. "I know that all too well Sir. It will get better. If it wasn't for Jessica I wouldn't have made it through!" I replied with a slight sign of anxiety. I have a lot on my mind and I need to shake it before I show signs of it and risk blowing my cover. Besides the resistance I work for a private company which sends me after targets to silence them and do it without leaving any evidence or sign of the job. I have been on one job for almost a year and a half and it is so hard to keep my cover when I work with the target. Yes, that's right. My target is none other than my commanding officer. He was caught giving Intel to the enemy and was never sent to trial. So my company gave me orders to blend in and silence.

So I went through the day and trained a few new recruits and clocked out. When I got home I got the family and told them that we were going to the campground. When we got there we settled in and I just broke down and told them what was happening and that I had to go back and meet with dad to prevent civilian casualties. My wife pulled me outside and collapsed into my arms and we stayed that way for at least an hour. She pulled me into another cabin on the land and we slept together one last time before I left. "I love you baby. Promise me that you will come back to me. Luke you have to come back!" she said through endless tears. "Jessica baby, you know I will come back. I will never leave you alone. Never in my life." I replied barely holding back tears. I got into my truck and drove off into the sunset except this might not have the fairytale ending.