Prologue
The two were playing in their bedroom when Kevin, their older brother, ran into their room, panicked. “Dad said we need to leave. Now.” He he scurried to their bedroom window and opened it as wide is it would go, pushing out the screen. He waved his siblings towards him, and the girl, Jaqueline, toddled over. Kevin grabbed her under her arms and picked her up and over the windowsill. He did the same with Jackson, the other twin. Kevin climbed out after them, grabbed their hands, and ran to a car that was half-hidden in the woods. Looking back, Jackson saw his mother pouring something from a red container.
Before he could see anymore, Kevin shoved them into their car seats before pushing in after them. Their dad was already in the car, and their mom hurried into the passenger side and closed the door. Jackson looked back at the house and saw it in flames.
As they drove down road after road after road, Kevin started shuffling his feet and readjusting himself every few seconds. “Dad, what’s going on? Why are we running away from our house?” Their father ignored the question, staring out at the empty road. Their mother turned around to look at her children.
“You’re father got a call from his boss. We’re protecting you. Trust us.” Without any more explanation, she turned back around and rubbed her husband’s arm comfortingly.
The gates they were attempting to drive through were surrounded by people fighting. Swinging swords, shooting arrows, and flying punches everywhere they looked. The dad parked the car and his wife jumped out, grabbed her children from the backseat, and ran to the main building; the older brother and father following close behind. Ducking and jumping out of the way of weapons and people, out of the way of swords and knives and arrows and guns, the family ran inside and up the stairs into their father’s office.
The twins crouched by the desk; their older brother sat by the wall. Everything was silent except for their dad on the phone with someone, and him whispering what was going on with their mom. After 15 minutes, their dad walked over to the door. Their mom followed him, but he put his hand up and she stopped. He looked at his three children. “I’m going out to meet up with Michael, my boss. You stay here and wait for me to get you.”
Before he opened the door, Kevin spoke up. “Mom, dad, what’s going on? I think I’m old enough to know.”
Their parents stared at each other; eventually the dad answered. “Apparently, the Markus Organization thought they were strong enough to fight us and overthrow us, but instead I think we’re going to be the ones that win.” He sighed. “Though it will be a very close fight.” Glancing out the window, he mumbled, “many lives will be lost before the end.” He kissed his wife on the forehead and mumbled something quietly before running into the hall and shutting the door behind him. Their mom watched the door for a few moments before walking over to Kevin. She mumbled something to him before bending down in front of her youngest children. “You’re going to be safe here. Kevin will watch you. I’ll be be before you know it.” She hugged both her children, and when she tried to pull away Jacqueline held on tighter. The mom squeezed her one last time before pulling away and kissing each of her children’s foreheads. She then nodded to herself and turned around, running out of the room and in the opposite direction of where their father went.
The twins ended up falling asleep, leaning against each other. They slept until shaken awake by their father.
“Get up. Now. We have to go. Hurry.” He said.
Jackson, confused and drowsy, asked, “Where are we going now?” Their dad didn’t answer, instead taking Kevin’s wrist and dragging him away. Kevin looked back and reached for Jackson’s hand, which he took after squeezing his sisters’. Their dad didn’t look back.
Once they were outside, the twins wished they weren’t. There were bodies lying everywhere, and blood on the ground. Bodies were everywhere. Some people were rushing around, helping the wounded. Some were tending to their own wounds or helping get people inside. But some people were being left alone. Those were the bodies that weren’t moving. The ones that were dead.
They made it to the car and left the injured behind. The drive was shorter this time, and took them to a nice little house. A little old lady with greying hair opened the door. In the living room was a young couple sitting on a loveseat. Jacquelyn wouldn’t look up from the floor or let go of her twin’s hand. When everyone was inside and sat down the older woman brought everyone drinks.
Silence filled up the room. Nobody knew what to say first. Then Kevin cleared his throat. “What are we doing here? Where’s mom?” Their dad looked into his glass and gripped it tighter.
“Your mother is dead.” His voice was blunt, emotionless. Jacquelyn and Jackson glanced at each other, neither wanting to believe what he said, but both knowing it was true. The young boy saw flashes of a Wolf clawing at his mother’s face and chest. He watched her body fall limp to the ground, lifeless before she even hit the ground. Before they had any time to react, any time to show emotion, their dad continued talking. “As your mother said-” his voice cracked and he stopped to resolve himself before continuing. “We’re trying to protect you. A lot of bad things are happening that you won’t understand, and you’re too little to have to deal with, so...” He trailed off, and looked at each one of his children in turn. “So, I decided it was best to give you to host families to watch over you until I feel like it is safe again.”
Kevin jumped up off the couch, almost spilling his drink. “Dad, you can’t do that to us!” Their dad shook his head.
“I’m doing this to Jacquelyn and Jackson. You need to train your powers. You’re eleven years old- you’re old enough. They’re only four. They need to be protected.”
Kevin was too shell-shocked to even get a word out. Neither could the twins. “Dad… You can’t… We can’t just ditch them...” The man glanced at the three people waiting patiently and gave them an apologetic look before gazing back at his eldest son.
“It won’t be for long. They’ll be back before you know it.” Even as he said it, Jacquelyn knew he was lying. She looked at her twin and could tell he knew it too. Their father stood up and motioned to one of the women. She walked over and bent down next to them.
“Hey, Jacquelyn. My name is Iris. I’m a Witch, and I’m going to be the one taking care of you from now on. Morgan and Jakob,” she pointed to the couple then looked over at Jackson, “are going to be watching you, Jackson. Everything is going to be okay. You’ll be safe.” She lifted up her arms and mumbled something quietly. Jacquelyn and Jackson looked at each other in confusion before the woman touched their foreheads and everything went black. The last thing either of them heard was Kevin screaming, “Dad, no!”
