Rain pounded against the windows outside in a thousand repentant drops eager to get in.
Warmth drifted in from the fire in the cozy little house on the outskirts of the city.
Stew scented the air, and gentle laughter coursed through the halls.
Seventy-seven Jacob sat cross-legged on the floor, playing with his wooden soldiers, his toys, all over the room, playing with his little sister Ella. His mother, a sad-eyed woman with a soft smile, hummed to herself as she stirred the stew. It was peaceful.
Until it wasn't.
The front door crashed open, and the walls shook. Rain and cold wind blew in.
Jacob's father stumbled in, raining wet, his chest pumping as though he'd run out of the gates of hell.
"Whatever's wrong? Whatever is it?" his wife screamed, dropping the spoon on the floor.
The man's face was frantic, feral with terror. "I did it honey," he panted. "I found it. After all these years, I finally found it. But they know. They're coming. We have to get out. Now."
His wife just stood there, frozen. "What are you saying? Who is coming?"
"The Academy. The Order. Everyone. They want it for themselves. I've spent years on it, they'll murder to keep it quiet."
She didn't say one more thing. She ran. Running from room to room, grabbing whatever she could, money, food, clothes.
BOOM!
The front door burst open, splinters flying in all directions. Smoke and cold flooded in.
"They're here!" Jacob's dad yelled. "Hide the kids! GO!"
His wife scooped up Jacob and Ella in her arms and into the bedroom. Her hands were shaking as she pulled open hidden niches in the walls and stuffed the kids into them, individual spaces, from each other.
She dropped to her knees, cupping Jacob's face in her hands. "Shh, baby. You and Ella have to be quiet. Don't speak a word. Whatever you do hear. Mommy and Daddy will see to it, okay? Just stay safe. Promise me."
Jacob nodded, his eyes welling with tears.
"Good boy." She kissed his forehead, then Ella's. "Be strong."
And she vanished.
Inside his den, Jacob barely breathed. He heard as the commotion grew, things were smashed, swords crashing into each other, walls shake. Shouts. Blastings. Wailing.
Ten minutes went by.
And there was silence all of a sudden.
Jacob could hear the footsteps. Heavy footsteps. One of them came in inside.
He peeped through a small hole in wood.
Four men.
Jet-black armor, face to head concealed. Assassin type. One of them switched and showed his eyes beneath the eye slit on the mask. A jagged scar travelled up the right side of his eye.
Jacob's stomach tightened up.
And he heard his father's voice.
"No! Not the kids!"
With a roar, his father rushed in, his own body leaking dozens of gashes dripping blood. His face flushed with rage, and clutched in his hand was a long, silver-tipped arrow.
He hit.
Steel plunged into muscle. The scarred man reeled back, having a hole torn through his chest.
But then
The hole closed. Flesh rippled, bones snapping shut. In seconds, as if the blow had never occurred.
Jacob's father barely had time to respond. The scarred man was quick, finishing him in a heartbeat. Flash of metal. The killer stabbed him in the chest.
Jacob's father spat up a glob of blood.
"Daddy!!!"
Ella shrieked.
Her secret was found out.
One of the killers whirled about, tore off the panel she'd been hiding behind, and pulled her out.
She struggled, kicking and biting. One of them slapped her hard across the face down to the floor.
"Someone loves Daddy, huh?" the scarred man said with a mocking tone. "Don't worry, sweetheart. You'll be joining him soon. This world is too cruel for little angels like you."
He pulled a knife and dragged it across her throat.
Jacob bit his hand, stifling his own scream. Tears streamed down his face. He couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.
Ella collapsed near their father, blood pooling beneath her. With her final strength, she crawled forward and took her father's hand.
"Daddy…" she whispered, before going still.
The room fell into silence.
"I'll report back to the Academy," one of them said. "Job's done."
He vanished into thin air.
The rest stayed behind. One of them took out a globe from his backpack. Dark, metal, and throbbing.
They planted them in the house and left.
Jacob stood stock-still.
Click.
Beep.
Boom.
The world exploded.
—
Jacob was struggling to breathe.
He was sitting up straight in bed, his heart thumping like war drums. Sweat soaked his sheets. His respirations were harsh gasps.
The room was dark, the only light the thin moonlight coming through the shattered window.
He sat in his own room.
It was a dream.
A dream.
But the sole childhood memory he possessed.
Jacob clutched at his chest. He still recalled the scent of the blood, Ella's words when she died, the flames that burned their house down.
Ten years.
Ten years and the same nightmare. Night after night.
And every time, it had ended in fire.
He looked over at the little, shattered picture frame on his bedside table. Blackened photo inside. His family, everyone. Laughing. When it had all made sense.
Jacob clenched his fists.
"I swear to you dad I'm gonna get 'em back for what they did to us, and soon!" He said to himself, barely loudly enough.
The hallway outside his room was quite dark as well prior to his door opening. He tried to look at what or whom was outside, but his eyes were bir blurry.
He dashed quickly and drew his glasses from the drawer and as he placed them on and turned towards the door again, he saw two Sharp short swords with chains behind them moving towards him.
"Holy shit!!!"