It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change

Charles Darwin

…

Spiders scurried across the train carriage in the stormy night as the frenzy of travellers entered the carriage, a lone middle-aged man wearing an amber hoodie and black cargo pants sat on his own, waiting for his family to join him. Through a life of crime and vice, he was beginning to believe a shocking universal truth; the path of a criminal was a lonely path, and family had no place within the crime. The young couple sat next to him, the Asian woman cuddling the baby boy close within her arms.

'How long do we have?' The bearded family friend asked, the baby began screeching and annoyed the group of teenagers across the carriage, who were sexting together on the same phone, their natural repulsiveness getting the better of them.

'The hacker you hired did a shittier job than I dreaded, we had to get out of the whole compound within half an hour, they'll be here any minute. Just remember, you've got to get the information out to the journalists about what Ultor are doing – they can't keep testing on people like us anymore, it's not right. ' Noah replied, his fists were covered in blood of different shades, and he had collar marks across his entire neck, which startled many of the passengers in the room. The wife's injuries were no less severe.

'Just, hold on for a minute Noah, we need to say goodbye to Jacob…Properly.' Lin pleaded, she was beginning to cry now as she kissed Jacob on his left cheek, those amber sun eyes glimmering back at her.

'You decided to name him Jacob? After his uncle?' The family friend queried, sincere delight touched upon his face as the family forgot their dramatic troubles and all of a sudden, the world around them stopped moving. Noah moved closer to his wife and began whispering to Jacob, hiding his face and then unveiling himself again, entertaining his little miracle.

'It just seemed right after everything he had done…' Lin answered, she smiled politely in memorial, and then looked down at the miracle, taking her right hand out of her tracksuit pockets and unveiling a silver locket tied to a necklace, that she tied around Jacob's neck.

'Jacob…You might never need us, never miss us, never remember us…But you will remember the love we've given you for the rest of your life….We've given you this chance to survive our mistakes, our doubts, our lives…' Noah began, the rivers of tears flooded their faces as the older man tried to hide his away, and Noah's voice began to break. 'Wherever you are, wherever you go…Whoever you are with, we will always be with you, in this locket, and we will always watch over you, just like you will always watch over us in our lockets around our necks…'

'Noah, come on, they'll be here any minute.' Lin pleaded, the train had stopped at the Saints Row station in Stilwater, and another frenzy of travellers hurried into the train. The older man rose up from his seat, clenched his fists, and tried to prepare himself for what would be the toughest moment in his life. He took the baby away from them, the little arms reaching out for the parents instantly as they cradled together on the chairs, sobbing loudly.

The two looked back at the couple, and paused for a brief moment, then turned, nodded, and disappeared off the train, hurrying quickly as fast as the older man's feet could carry him.

Entering the train after them were a squad of Ultor agents, dressed in black and orange armour, wielding carbine rifles and gas masks. The couple nodded at each other after enough minutes had passed, kissed passionately with all the love and tragedy that defined their lives, and arose face to face with the agents. The agents aimed their rifles directly at their faces, and Noah stood in front of his wife, reached into his pockets, and drew out the green frag grenade.

'Fuck you too.' Noah uttered as he wiped the tears away, and pulled off the pin of the grenade, the crackling noise ringing out across the whole train station. He threw the grenade at them and watched it bounce through the window of the train driver's office, then jumped onto the ground and shielded Lin with his coat, flying extraordinarily across the carriage. The bullets had done nothing compared to the exploding grenade that had torn the whole carriage apart, and send bodies flying in all directions.

The path of a criminal truly was a lonely path, and family had no place within the crime. If a family was ever created, then sacrifices always had to be made.