Prologue: The War
The day started like any other. It was summer, and families were going on vacation and spending time in the hot summer's day. Anna was only five years old at the time, and she was at the beach near her family's house just outside of Portland, Maine. And while the little five year-old girl didn't know it, the whole world was falling as she played in the sand.
A group of radicals called the Freedom Healers were trying to overthrow the government. What had started off as an occasional skirmish quickly turned into numerous incidents between the Freedom Healers and the government had occurred. The country was split in two, those who supported the government and those who sided with the radicals. On top of that, relations with other countries had also been going south, meaning that the United States was facing both a civil war and an international war. Luckily, the fighting hadn't made its way to Maine yet, and little Anna was too innocent to understand the war at the time.
Her older brother and her father were keeping close watch on her as she built a sand castle in the sand. "Look Daddy!" Young Anna said, pointing her little sand castle. "Look at my sand castle!"
"It's very sweet darling." Her father, James said with a smile on his face. "You're quite the artist."
Anna giggled, beaming at her father's compliment before continuing to make her sand castle. The biggest worry for the little girl was making sure that her castle was perfect, but the rest of her family was worrying about how long they'd be able to make it before the war finally reached them.
James had seen the reports on the news, the videos of people fighting in the streets, explosions bringing down entire buildings, fires raging on and on for days on end. He did his best to keep his daughter away from the television, only allowing her to watch the morning cartoons before shutting it off. He feared that if she saw anything of what was happening outside of Maine, that she would be scarred for life.
There was a part of Anna that could tell something was up with her father, he always seems worried about something. And her older brother Josh, who was ten at the time, knew what was going on because he would sneak a peek through his parents bedroom to watch the news every night.
"Josh! Come and play with me!" Anna called out to her older brother.
Josh looked and saw that Anna was running around, kicking up water with her feet. He smiled; his sister seemed to be the only thing that made him smile ever since the war started. "Okay, I'll come play with you," he said, standing up and walking towards his sister, who smiled brightly at him.
"Come and catch me!" Anna yelled out, running away from her brother through the shallow water while she giggled playfully. Her brother smiled and ran after her, pretending to be a monster.
"You better run Anna," Josh called after her with a smile on his face as his little sister squealed and ran away. Josh ran slower than he actually could to give his younger sister enough time to get a good lead, then he would start actually running so that she would laugh and run away as fast as she could.
Eventually, the young girl got tired, so she slowed down and caught her breath. She turned around and there was Josh, who grabbed her and spun her around in the air. "Hey! Put me down!"
Josh chuckled, and after spinning her around a couple times, he set his little sister down on the ground.
After they spent some more time on the beach, Anna, Josh and their father headed back to their house, which was no more than a ten minute walk from the beach. There they found Anna's mother, just getting home from work. Anna's mother Joan worked for the FBI as a DNA Analyst, and Anna had always looked up to her.
When Anna saw her mother get out of the car, she ran up and jumped in her mother's arms. "Mama! I built a sandcastle today!" She said excitedly.
"You did? Was it a good sand castle?" Joan asked her daughter, who nodded her head up and down. "Well, I'm glad that it was a good sand castle. Let's go inside and you can tell me all about it," she said, carrying little Anna inside the house while James and Josh followed behind her.
Once Anna had finished rambled on about her sand castle, Joan told her to go get changed and ready for dinner. She then pulled James aside, making sure they were alone so she could tell him what had happened at work that day. "It wasn't good James, I overheard my boss talking about the violence. It's spread up north through Mexico and just reached the border between Florida and Georgia. People around the country have been told to evacuate their homes. He said he suspects that it'll spread up here by the end of the week." She said somberly.
James sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "What are we going to do, Joan?" He asked. "If we try to leave, we'll certainly have to go through some states that have already been affected, but it's not safe to stay here. What are we supposed to do?"
"What choice do we have, James? we have to save our children, get them out of here before any harm comes to them." Joan stated with a sigh. "We need to send them up north to Canada to stay with their Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg until the violence stops."
"How are we going to get them up there? Surely the border will be closed if the violence continues. We're trapped here, Joan. We're trapped and there's no way out," James said, his voice threatening to crack with emotion.
"If we keep the kids here, the radicals are going to take both Anna and Josh away from us, James. We have to get them out of here, even if it means having to sneak them out illegally." Joan stated, trying her best not to cry. "I'd rather try and save our kids than do nothing at all. And I think you would too." She stated.
James paused, regaining his composure before speaking again. "You're right. We have to do something. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if they took Anna and Josh," he said, looking at his wife. "We have to leave. Soon."
"I'll send word to Terry and Greg, they'll make time to come for our babies once we get them to the northern border." Joan said, tucking her hair back behind her ear. She then broke down and let a few tears fall. "We may never see our babies again, but we can't tell them that. They can't know that we may be taken into camps or on the run. We have to tell them that we're coming up later, otherwise they won't want to go."
"I think that Anna will take it better than Josh. She's a smart kid, but we've been keeping her away from the news, so she doesn't really know everything that's going on. Josh on the other hand, he might be less understanding," James said, "But no matter what, we have to get them out of here. I'll do whatever it takes so that they're safe."
"My boss said this is going to be 'the war to end all wars.'That it may end in most of the world's population dying. World War 3, that what he said. Do you think we'll ever see our babies after this?" Joan asked, looking down at the floor.
"We will see them again. We have to believe that. While we may be apart from them for some time, we will see them again," James said, opening his arms and embracing his wife tightly.
Later that week, Joan and James sat Anna and Josh down to have a talk about what was going to happen. Anna sat next to her older brother on the couch. Then their mom and dad sat with them, putting Anna and Josh in the middle. "What going on Mama?" Anna asked with a five year old's adorable curiosity.
James and Joan looked at each other nervously. "Your mother and I have decided that you two are going to stay with your Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg for a while," James said slowly, waiting to see how the kids would react.
"Why?" Anna asked, looking at her mother in a confused way.
"Well, your dad and I have some out of town business to attend to, and Aunt Terry said she and Uncle Greg would be happy to let you guys stay there." Joan stated. This wasn't the complete truth, but it also wasn't a complete lie either.
"Why can't we go with you guys?" Josh asked.
"We're going to be attending a lot of meetings, so that wouldn't be fun for you. Plus, there wouldn't be anyone to watch you while we're busy. It's for the best that you go to stay with your aunt and uncle," James replied, "Besides, you guys will have a great time with them!"
Josh knew the real reason as to why his parents were sending them up to live in Canada with their aunt and uncle. He knew his parents were going to get them out of the country before the war got to their doorstep. The young boy looked at his little sister and then back at his parents. At first he was angry, but then he realized they were doing this to keep Anna and him safe. "When are we leaving?" He asked.
"We're heading up to the border a little after sunset." James informed. "Hopefully we won't be gone too long, and you can come back home." He said, kissing the top of his little girl's head. "Now, it's time to get ready to leave. Go get some warm clothes on. It's going to be cold once the sun sets."
"Come on Anna, I'll help you pack up," Josh said, taking his little sister's hand as the two walked up the stairs to their rooms, which they would soon be leaving behind, along with the rest of their life as they knew it.
Anna was silent as she got ready to go. She still didn't understand why they were going, but it didn't matter. "Josh, why are we really going to see Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg?"
Uhhh," Josh said, trying to think of something plausible. He didn't want to scare Anna but he didn't want to lie to his five year old sister. "Well, our parents want us to be safe from some bad guys." He said.
Anna gasped. "Bad guys? What kind of bad guys? Are they gonna hurt us? Are they gonna hurt Mama and Daddy?" She asked worriedly, her thoughts racing around in her head.
"I hope they don't. We're going to be safe for a while with Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg though. And maybe Mom and Dad will join us in a little while." Josh said, trying to keep Anna calm.
"Why are there bad guys anyways?" The little girl asked. "And why are they bad?"
Josh hesitated, trying to figure out how to answer his sister's question without scaring her. "I don't know why there are bad guys, Anna. We just have to trust Mom and Dad when they say we'll be safer with Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg," Josh answered, "I promise that I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
"Are you going to be my knight who protects me?" Anna asked sweetly, and Josh couldn't help but smile at this.
"Yes," He said, rubbing the top of her head. "I'm going to protect you Anna, I'll be your knight. And I'll train you to be the best knight there ever was." Josh smiled gave his little sister a hug. "Now get dressed into something warm, the sun is setting soon and Mom and Dad want us in the car by sun down."
The whole family got dressed and packed a couple things that they would need, like water and snacks, before they all got in the car and began to head towards the northern border. Anna's face was pressed against the window of the car as they drove away, leaving their house in the dust.
James drove with caution, making sure to watch for patrolmen that may be guarding the roads to the northern border crossing. He held his wife's hand while the other steered their car. The two kids were quiet in the back, Anna was busy looking out the window at the night sky. Josh was watching his parents hands, something felt off. He knew that this was the last time he would see his parents in a while, and that was for one reason. Because of the war.
They drove around two hours before reaching the border, little Anna had fallen asleep and Josh was making sure they had even enough snacks to get to their aunt and uncle's house. The car slowed down to a stop, and James slowly got out, checking their surroundings for any guards.
"There's no guards around here. But Terry and Greg aren't here either," He said to Joan, "They said they would meet us here."
Joan bit her lip nervously, wondering where they could've been. "We can't stay here long James." She answered. "Just because there aren't any guards her now doesn't mean that there won't be in about five minutes." She got out and then walked to the trunk. "We have to send them up by themselves, otherwise we'll all get caught and they'll take Josh and Anna. Josh has a GPS from his scouts, he knows the way."
James hesitated, looking to Josh and Anna, who were still in the backseat of the car, and then back to Joan. "I don't like this plan, but it's the only one we've got," he said. He went to the car and opened up the rear passenger side door. "Come on, you two," he said, taking Anna's hand and helping her out of the car.
"Where's Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg?" Anna asked innocently.
Joan looked at James, who seemed troubled on how to answer their daughter's question. They knew that the reason the Terry and Greg hadn't met them was because they had been captured by the radicals. "Well, they are just running late. Which means you two are going to meet them."
"Are you coming with Josh and me?" Anna asked with the same innocent voice, which made James' throat grow a lump.
"No, sweetie, we can't come with you and your brother," Joan said, tears welling up in her eyes. "Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg don't have enough room for me and your father, so you two are going to have to go alone. Josh will make sure you get there, right Josh?"
Josh teared up but nodded quickly. "Yes, I will."
"Good man," Joan said, walking up to her son and getting down on her knees. "You take care of her," she whispered. "You hear me, take care of Anna. She doesn't understand, and you're her guardian now." She said, because she knew Josh understood what was going on.
"When will I see you again?" Josh asked, choked up on tears.
"I don't know, son, but I promise you that you will see us again. You will see us again," James said, putting a hand on Josh's shoulder. "Now your job is to make sure that you and your sister get to Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg."
Josh hugged his mom tightly while James got down to Anna's level. "Will you listen your brother? He's going to get you to Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg."
"I will, Daddy," Anna said before hugging her father tightly. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered, her little voice cracking as she started crying. Anna had never enjoyed being away from her family. Her parents were her favorite people on earth, and they had always been there for her.
James hugged his daughter, a few tears falling down his face as well. "Alright, now you and your brother better get going. Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg are waiting for you," He said, standing up and wiping away his tears. "Josh, do you have the water and the snacks?"
Josh nodded. "I've got the water and the snacks in my backpack," he replied.
The family shared a group hug before James heard a car coming up, knowing it was the guards. "You guys need to get going. Go!" He said, putting Anna's backpack on before lifting her up over the wall as Josh climbed.
"I love you two, now start walking and don't look back." Joan called after her kids. Anna caught one more glimpse of her mom and dad before they got in the car and drove the other way.
Josh took her hand. "Come on Anna, let's go." The five year old linked her fingers in her older brothers.
"We aren't going to see mom and dad for a long time, are we?" She asked.
"I don't know, Anna. I hope that we see them soon, but I'm not sure if we will," Josh replied as they continued walking. It had gotten considerably darker, so it was harder for them to see where they were going. "Stay with me, Anna. I'll make sure we get to Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg."
Anna looked back toward where they came but it was completely dark. They walked through the woods and stayed cautious. Anna held her brother's arm as they made their way up through the forest. "How much longer Josh?" Anna asked.
"I don't know, probably not much further." Josh said, squeezing his little sister's hand to assure her that they would get there soon.
"Okay," Anna said, remembering what her father had said about listening to Josh They kept walking, but it seemed like they weren't getting any closer to wherever they were going.
Suddenly, there were bright lights ahead of them. Anna held her hand up in front of her face, shielding her eyes from the light. "Josh, what are those lights for?"
"I don't know, usually Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg don't keep the bright lights on." Josh said, pulling Anna closer to his side. He then saw a bunch of trucks outside. There were men in black uniforms, pulling Terry and Greg into the back of one of the trucks.
"Anna, get down." Josh whispered. Anna listened to her brother and crouched low beneath the pine bushes.
"Josh, why are we hiding? And why did those guys with the black clothes push Aunt Terry and Uncle Greg into the truck? Josh, I'm really scared," Anna said, clutching onto her brother's arm.
"Shhh, shh." Josh said, calming his sister. "I don't know Anna, just try and be very still." He whispered, holding his shaking sister. Once the trucks turned on and left, and Josh was sure everyone was away he took Anna's hand and they ran towards the back door of their aunt and uncle's cabin. "We're going to stay here for the night okay? We will stay in whatever room we want." Anna nodded, following Josh into the house once he got the back door open.
When they walked in, both of the children gasped. The house had been completely ransacked: windows were broken, furniture had been broken, pots and pans and plates had been tossed around. "Did the guys in the black clothes do this?" Anna asked.
Josh continued to look around the room, then nodded sadly. "The guys in the black clothes must have done this."
"Are they going to come for us Josh? Did they get Mama and Daddy?" Anna said, tearing up.
The young boy walked over to his sister. "I don't know, but we are going to be okay. I promise you I will protect you. I'm your knight, and I'm going to train you, remember?" He said, trying to cheer Anna up.
A small smile appeared on Anna's face. "Yeah, I remember," the little girl said. "When am I gonna get to start my training?" She asked eagerly.
Josh smiled and tucked her hair back. He knew martial arts and his father had taught him how to shoot a bow and a gun. "I'll teach you whenever you want to start learning."
"Let's start now!" Anna said in an excited tone.
"Let's get some rest, but we will begin tomorrow." Josh said.
Anna smiled and went to bed so the day would come quicker. "Will you stay with me Josh?"
Josh, who had been walking out of Anna's new room so that he could look for another mattress, turned around. "Of course. I'm just gonna go look for a new mattress, but I'll be right back after that. I promise," He said to his younger sister.
"Stay with me, in the bed. Mama would used to do that before I went to bed. You can get one once I fall asleep." Anna said. She was a sweet and smart little girl, and while at some moments she annoyed her brother, he couldn't help but love her.
"Alright Anna," he said with a smile before climbing into the bed, chuckling when his sisters little body moved over and held onto him.
"Good night Josh," she whispered in a sweet and gentle voice. "I love you big brother."
Josh smiled. "Good night, Anna. I love you too, little sister," He whispered in her ear.
The next day, like he had promised, Josh began to train Anna on how to become a knight. "Alright. I can teach you a lot of things, so is there anything that you want to learn first?" Josh said.
"Ooh! Can you show me your karate?" Anna asked excitedly.
"Sure thing." Josh said with a smile. They then began training, day and night, preparing for the war. And hopefully, when the time came, they would be prepared to find a way back to their parents.
hey! We hope you enjoyed it! We wanted to do a Sendrick story! Tell us what you thought!
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elle and gabi