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N ever had I seen the Capital in such chaos. Normally, the threat of pissing off Telvian Enforcement was more than enough to keep cooperation, but not today. And a huge part of that might be the fact that somebody had set fire to the Academy.

Students were running wild, the little ones screamed or cried, looking for direction from the few adults trying to manage the situation.

Some of the older students tried to guide the younger ones, while others cheered as windows blew out and flames came rushing out of the building in raging plumes.

Enforcement was trying to corral them all while others were trying to direct firefighters to the blaze.

“Remain calm,” an officer shouted. “You’ll be reunited with your parents at the evacuation site.” He might as well just have spoken to the wind because no one was paying attention.

The scene caused something inside of me to grow cold.

They were only children, young adults… people .

Raúl and his Telvian Council were the enemy, not them.

They were victims. In fact, every Telvian citizen was a victim, even the nobility.

They were just trying to survive a society that groomed them to live a certain way, believe a certain truth.

It was their reality, and they didn’t know any better.

Just like me.

Just like Jacob.

We didn’t know any better. We didn’t know the truth beyond our walls. All we knew were the lies we were fed from day one.

Jacob swooped in close, whispering in my ear and snapping my attention back to the task at hand. “Keep your head down, and just keep moving.”

I didn’t reply, I just did as he said and followed his lead, weaving my way among the chaos. REG Command was on the other side, several blocks away.

Suddenly, people around us screamed and dropped to the floor as a Northern F-18 fighter jet flew over the sky, close to the ground, being pursued by three Telvian jets, firing away.

“Oh shit,” Jacob cried out as he dropped to the floor and took cover.

Bullets sprayed the ground, debris flying into the air as the rounds struck the concrete.

I dropped down by a parked car, trying my best to get low and small to avoid being shot.

The wind whipped around me as the jets flew over, stealing my hat.

Several people screamed out as they were gunned down.

“Stay down!” Jacob screamed. He didn’t have to tell me twice.

The Northern jet somersaulted in the air, and came back around, firing at Telvian Enforcement on the ground, just as a fourth Telvian jet showed up out of nowhere and gunned down the Northern plane. The thing exploded, falling through the sky right at me.

“Mara!” Jacob yelled just as I let out a slew of profanities.

I jumped up and ran, pumping my legs as hard as I could as the jet hit the ground and combusted, sending chunks of rock and debris everywhere.

The shockwave threw me forward, sending me flying.

I didn’t think. The moment my body hit the ground, I curled up, protecting my face just as shrapnel, bits of concrete, and burning ash rained over me.

My ears rang, drowning out all other sounds as I opened my eyes to see Jacob by me, his sunglasses gone as he grabbed my arm and pulled me up frantically.

I scrambled to my feet and started running, letting him lead me through the panic as people lost their minds.

I didn’t look back. I didn’t look to see the disaster that was the Academy, or the barrage of dead Telvians I knew had to be behind me.

I just kept running. I stayed focused on REG Command ahead of me, seeing people pour out of the building, Telvian Enforcement losing all control of an orderly evacuation.

Suddenly…

Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow!

The sound came in loud and in quick succession.

“Get down!” someone screamed just as a Northern Apache helicopter swooped in, firing its 30mm machine gun into the crowd of children.

“No!” I shouted, waving my hands at the aircraft. “They’re kids! They’re just kids!”

“Mara, get down!”

In one heartbeat, I was pulled off my feet, flying through the air as my brother grabbed me by my jacket collar and yanked me hard under the cover of a building just as the Apache zoomed by, laying waste to everything in its path.

It destroyed the very spot I had just been standing and left a bloodbath of children along the ground.

I screamed.

Because it was one thing seeing buildings burn to the ground.

Because it was one thing watching soldiers fight each other to the death.

Because it was one thing killing monstrous creatures like hellhounds.

But it was another thing murdering children.

“This is madness!” I cried. “They’re going to kill everyone!”

“Stop it, Mara! Get your head in the game,” Jacob snapped back at me.

I felt the knot forming in my throat, the fear climbing up my spine. “They were kids! They just killed all those kids!”

“And there’ll be more kids, Mara! And more kids after them.

And women, and babies, and families. This is just going to keep going, and it’s just going to get worse.

And that’s why we have to stop it. That’s why we have to keep it together, get to that building, and destroy all of it.

It’s got to stop ,” he said, stroking my hair and then cupping my cheek.

“It’s got to end, Mara. And we’re going to finish it. Okay?”

I blinked back the tears, trying to get the image of their young faces out of my mind as I nodded my consent.

“Good girl,” he whispered, stroking my hair again. “You can do this,” he reassured me as he pulled me into a hug. “You got this.”

I panted, trying to calm my rattled nerves as he kissed the top of my head.

Slowly, he pulled me back, holding my face in his hands. “Just keep your eyes on me, okay? Don’t look at anything else. Just eyes on me.” I nodded, taking a shuddering breath. “Okay,” he whispered. “Let’s do this.”

I didn’t want to.

I didn’t want to do this anymore, but I knew there was no going back.

I had seen a lot of death over the past several months, but never had I witnessed masses of children gunned down in the streets.

The horror of that one moment rocked me to my core.

But all I could do was swallow the grief, the fear, the pain, and put one foot in front of the other.

I followed Jacob back out into the chaos, across the bloody streets of the city center.

I was shaking. The adrenaline pumping through my system was something fierce, and the pounding of my heart caused my whole body to feel like it was pulsing with the tempo of its rapid beat.

Northern and Telvian aircraft kept flying above, with Northern jets frequently outnumbered by their enemies.

Jacob and I dodged gunfire, or took cover inside a building, but it all came as a blur to me, one scene slipping into another with no clarity. All I saw were their faces.

“Mara,” Jacob called, looking over his shoulder as we jogged forward. Somewhere close, we heard an explosion. “When we get to the REG, avoid Enfor—”

“Halt, citizen!” I heard behind us, but I pretended I didn’t hear them, continuing my steady pace forward toward the building.

“I said halt! ” the voice called again.

Jacob stopped in his tracks, never looking behind him, as I came to a stop at his side. I eyed him and watched as Jacob dragged the stunner out from his waistband under his sweater. I did the same, pulling mine from under my coat.

I cleared my throat but didn’t dare turn around. “What is it, officer?”

“You’re going the wrong way, citizen. Turn around and report to your assigned evacuation site.”

“Yes, of course,” Jacob said calmly. I gave him another glance and suddenly, my heart stopped.

He’d lost his sunglasses, and I realized at that moment that I had lost my glasses and hat too.

Anyone who had half a brain was going to recognize us if they took the time to look.

I lifted my hand, pretending to cough, but pointed at my eyes.

I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard, rubbing his lips together. He knew it too. We were sitting ducks.

“Citizens,” the officer spoke more forcibly. “Turn around and move to the evacuation site now .” And then I heard it, the click and snap of a weapon being loaded. “Or be arrested and suffer consequences determined by the REG.”

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and sending a quick prayer up to the universe as Jacob cleared his throat. “Yes, sir,” he replied. Then we both turned around.

It took all of half a second before the officer said, “Wait a minute, you’re—”

ZAP!

Jacob fired his stunner, and the guard collapsed to the ground.

No sooner than the officer was down, someone else screamed, “Rebels! Rebels in the Capital!”

Every Enforcement officer within a thirty-foot radius heard the scream. And they all turned and set their sights on us.

“Well shit,” Jacob said. “This is gonna be bad.”