They're coming!" Gia's voice tore through the dense forest, her breath ragged as she sprinted between towering trees.
The crack of snapping twigs and the whisper of rustling leaves followed her every step. The cold evening air burned her lungs, but she pushed forward, her heart hammering against her ribs. Dark silhouettes moved in the distance behind her, swift and relentless. She dared not slow down.
Her short black hair clung to her damp forehead, strands whipping against her face as she risked a glance over her shoulder. Shadows moved through the trees, closer now.
They had found her.
They had found them.
For ten years, she and her grandmother had survived in these woods, hidden from the Alpha's men, the same monsters who had slaughtered their family in a night of fire and blood. But today, the enemy had gone deeper into the woods than ever before.
And now, they were here.
Gia crashed through the wooden door of the cabin, her chest heaving.
"Granny! Where are you?" she cried, her voice sharp with panic. "We need to go. We need to go now!"
There was a soft shuffle from the back of the dimly lit room.
"Gia? What's wrong?"
Her grandmother came from the shadows, her frail frame wrapped in a thin shawl, her silver hair glinting in the flickering light of the fireplace. Her sharp eyes narrowed, sensing the urgency in Gia's trembling voice.
"There's no time to explain!" Gia rushed to the small wooden table, grabbed a worn-out leather bag, and stuffed it with whatever supplies she could find. "They're here! We have to leave!"
Suddenly, there was a loud bang.
The thunderous crack of wood made the air itself tremble. The door exploded inward, the force nearly ripping it from its hinges. Dust and smoke filled the air.
Gia froze. Her grandmother stood beside her with eyes wide with panic.
Four men stormed into the cabin, their massive frames blocking the doorway like living shadows. Their eyes were cold, their expressions unyielding.
"Take them." The leader's voice was calm, absolute.
Gia's pulse roared in her ears as she threw herself in front of her grandmother, arms outstretched like a shield. "Stay back!" she hissed, her stance defiant despite the tremor in her limbs. "Granny, get behind me!"
The leader's steely gaze swept over her, his lip curling in amusement. "Alright then, get the boy first," he ordered.
Gia's stomach clenched. Boy? She swallowed hard, her mind racing. They thought she was a boy. A dangerous mistake, but one she couldn't afford to correct.
"The old woman, too. Burn this place to the ground," the leader added, his voice void of mercy. "Nothing exists without the Alpha's command."
He turned and walked out. Suddenly, chaos erupted.
Rough hands seized Gia's collar, yanking her backward. She kicked, twisted, clawed, but the men were stronger.
"Let me go!" she screamed, her nails raking against flesh, her feet thrashing against their shins. But it was useless.
Her grandmother's voice called her name, but it was swallowed by the crackling of flames as fire licked the wooden walls of their only home.
The night filled with the roar of destruction.
And Gia was dragged into the dark.
--
As they moved through the darkness, Gia's mind drifted unwillingly to the night that had shattered her world.
It had been ten years, yet the memory was as fresh as an open wound, its edges raw and unrelenting. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring the present as the past pulled her under.
She remembered the desperate struggle with her brother.
"I don't want to stay here!" Gia's small hands clawed at Wagner's grip as he dragged her toward the hidden safe room. Her heart pounded, a frantic drumbeat against her ribs.
"This is not the time to be stubborn, Gia." His voice was sharp, his breath labored. The metallic scent of blood clung to his clothes. Smoke and screams filled the air outside.
He shoved her inside, his face etched with urgency and something deeper, fear.
"Be quiet and stay here. I'll come for you when everything is over."
The iron door slammed shut, and the heavy lock clicked into place, sealing her in darkness. She pounded on it, fists raw, throat aching from her cries.
But Wagner didn't come back.
Outside, chaos raged.
The warriors had been caught in their sleep, their defenses shattered before they could even reach their weapons. It was a massacre. The invaders were merciless, cutting down anyone in their path.
Gia pressed herself against the cold iron bars of the safe room, her breath shallow, her ears straining. Then, a sound split the air, a scream so raw, so full of pain, that it ripped through her like a blade.
Her blood ran cold.
She knew that voice.
"No, no, Mama!" Her scream tore through the darkness. She gripped the bars, shaking them with all her might. Tears streaked down her face.
On the battlefield, her mother clutched at her father's torn tunic, her body shaking.
"No! Don't leave me, Justin!" Her voice was a choked sob as she cradled his fading body. His blood stained the earth beneath them, pooling, spreading.
Wagner ran toward them, sword trembling in his grip.
Their mother turned, her face pale and streaked with dirt and blood. She raised a shaking, bloodied hand and cupped Wagner's face, her touch trembling but firm.
"Wagner, you need to go. Get your sister and leave. Go now!" Her voice was urgent, but her eyes were soft, full of a mother's love, even in her final moments.
Wagner's jaw clenched. "No, Mother. I will fight. I will kill them. They won't escape!" His fists trembled at his sides.
His father, barely alive, grabbed his wrist with his last ounce of strength.
"Go, Wagner. Save your sister." The words were weak, but the command in them was absolute.
Then, his hand fell limp.
Silence.
A breath.
Suddenly, there was a whistle through the air. An arrow sank deep into their mother's chest.
Wagner's breath caught. His world tilted.
His mother's lips parted in shock, her eyes darting to the weapon now lodged in her heart. A crimson flower bloomed on her tunic.
She stumbled forward, reaching for Wagner, and then she collapsed.
Gia screamed from the safe room, her body shaking against the iron bars, but no one heard her.
No one could save them now.