• Chapter 1
    Commencement


    I had to protect them. These two children that I called my own. They were innocent. Harmless. They needed me. They cowered behind me in a corner not easily seen. They were shaking, quivering in fear as they held onto each other. How could they not? Their real mothers were dead. The ones that killed them were right outside these mostly destroyed walls. The only one that stood between them and those horrible people was bleeding and just barely managing to stay conscious.

    I don’t know just how wounded I was. All I knew us that I could feel my blood running down in small streams and pain sang through my body. Those people had been attacking since early morning, and it was just a few hours before noon now. I was tired. I was hurting. I couldn’t show it. Those poor children were already so scared… I had to be strong for them.

    “Give us the brats!” I heard a voice from outside boom. “Give them to us, and we’ll spare you!” Never… I’ll never let you have them! My thoughts pushed themselves through my lips and made themselves vocal. I heard a responding growl. “Then die, wench!” Bullets began raining through the now thin walls.

    More pain began exploded through me as some bullets bit into me. I didn’t scream. I couldn’t. The children were screaming already. They didn’t need me to add to their fear. I wanted to protect them. I had to. I was going to protect them even when my knees hit the floor and my world went black.