Mindoir - 2170
A scream rips through my peaceful sleep and jolts me awake. I reach out for my brother, but he's not there. Panic swells through me as I fumble in the dark. More screams join the first as I search blindly.
"Nathan?" I whisper frantically.
"They're coming." He answers, his voice cutting through the dark like steel.
"Who!?"
He doesn't answer, instead I feel something strong grip my hand and pull me out of my room. We rush downstairs, my mother's usual calm and graceful demeanor is replaced with something cold and calculating. My father rushes around the house like a maniac and brandishes guns I've never seen before.
"What's going on?" I choke out, terror coiling around my heart.
"We don't know, but you have to do what we tell you. When we tell you to run, you run and don't you dare look back. We love you so much, please be strong for us." My dad says, drawing both us in a crushing hug. My mother comes over, the tears in her eyes saturating the deep shades of blue in them, and kisses us each on the cheek. I've never seen my parents like this, it scares me.
Gunshots sound from outside, deep guttural voices coming closer and closer. My parents motion for us to be quiet and hide as they turn the lights off, disappearing into the darkness. Light dances in through the windows, dim at first then growing in strength. There is creaking outside the door and the shadow of a figure reflects on the wall. It moves around the house, peering inside windows before returning to where it started. The figure mutters something and is answered by others who soon retreat.
The glass shatters as a torch is thrown in, the flames quickly lapping at our furnishings. The smoke spreads throughout the house, the smell of metal assaulting my nose and throat. I hold my brothers hand tighter as I watch my parents force open the door. They usher us out, and relief washes over me but is quickly snatched away when rough hands grip my shoulders. I look up into the eyes of my assailant, a batarian, as he smiles and rips me from my brother. My parents rush out, guns in hand and I hear a shot go off, something warm seeps down my shoulders and back. The pressure on my arms is gone, and I turn to see the batarian fall to the ground.
"RUN!" My mother shouts at us, the gun shot drawing attention.
My brother pulls me away from our home and away from town. We can still see our house on fire when something pierces my leg and I fall. The pain is blinding as I try to find my brother but he too is down. I look back at the house, a raging inferno now, to see my parents overwhelmed and disabled. Footsteps near me draw my attention, as an armored foot comes into view and its the last thing I see before everything turns black.