Keith Goldson looked over the panic and fear present in the eyes of all his students. His heart bled for the confusion they must have felt, especially the younger grades. Yet, there was very little he could do for them.

He was mandated by the board of education to sound the alarms and preside over the process at his school, the Sandy Fields Primary School. He had hated the idea of ringing the alarms and terrifying everyone on campus but, he was told it was protocol.

Apparently, in circumstances of invasion, which he hadn’t even realized was written into the protocols, getting the children to the safest room in the school and then reunited with their families was the main priority.

The cafeteria was a massive room with little natural lighting. The walls were high raised and solid concrete. There was a dome ceiling in which various sky-light windows were scattered throughout. Keith used to hate the room and its morbid layout, though he had to admit it felt safe.

The board of education had taken on the role of contacting the parents through a public service announcement released to all news and radio stations. If this had been a terrorist attack, the school would have locked down and no students would be allowed to leave. As it were, however, the administration thought they still had time to reunite students with their families. It was a risk they were willing to take, clearly.

Keith meandered around the room trying to check in with all the teachers. Headcounts were done and redone multiple times in his presence. Luckily, with every class, all students were accounted for. He tried to calm his staff by providing hollow words of wisdom. They all asked questions in hushed tones. Regrettably, he didn’t have much to update them with, he too was in the dark about the current situation.

Soon enough, parents started lining up asking for their children.

Keith could see their concern and fear as they stood in an orderly line. He was honestly surprised by the lack of panic, but he understood too. The more panicked they became, the harder this whole situation would become.

With a deep breath he stepped up to the front lines, aiding the staff that were retrieving kids from the cafeteria.

“Paige Bixby!” the woman before him screamed.

Keith nodded, “What grade?”

“S-second,” the woman breathily responded. She looked as though she was going to pass out at any minute.

“Ma’am,” Keith began, “I assure you, she’s okay. I’ll go grab her then you can be with your family in this trying time.”

The woman looked up at him with glossy eyes, “Th-thank you.”

Keith waited for her to continue, but instead she steeled her spine and quickly wiped her tears.

He nodded at her, knowing all too well the front parents must put on to protect their children. Leaving her in a more stable condition, Keith departed to retrieve her daughter.

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Keith approached the second-grade classes, full of crying kids and unsettled adults. “Paige Bixby?” he called out to the group.

“She’s over here,” one of the school’s younger teachers responded.

Keith stepped up to the class and followed the gesture of their teacher. His eyes settled on a little brunette girl, silently looking around. He couldn’t tell if she didn’t understand or if she was simply distracting herself.

He squatted down to her level, “Paige?”

Her gaze snapped up towards him, “Yes, Mr. Goldson?”

“Hey kiddo, your mom is here to pick you up,” he spoke in a delicate tone, trying to comfort rather than stress the young girl.

“Oh. Okay. Thank you,” she spoke and quickly brushed herself off.

Keith couldn’t help but see his own daughter in Paige. She had once been a strong independent girl too. Now, she was even more independent with kids of her own, surrounded by a beautiful family she’d built. Keith couldn’t stop the pride that swelled up inside him as he thought of his little girl. He also couldn’t quell the fear for her with the threat of battle looming over their country.

Quickly, he closed that part of his mind from spiraling and focused on his current mission. He glanced back towards Paige only to find the place she’d once occupied empty. He scanned the room and found her trotting out of the cafeteria by herself.

He refrained from chuckling, his admiration for this strong child evident, and hastily followed her to the main door.

Paige leapt into her mother’s arms and quizzically asked, “Mommy, are we in a war?”

Her mother’s smile slipped for a moment before she recovered enough to respond. “I truly don’t know, Paige. But we will chat about it all with your father tonight, okay?”

Paige nodded, accepting this answer and wrapped her little arms around her mother.

Keith watched on, the reality of the situation settling deep into his soul. He didn’t know what would come of these children, but he prayed each and every one of them would survive.

Only two hours or so had passed before the cafeteria was emptied. Keith walked through the halls of the desolate school. He checked all the rooms, called out to any potential stragglers, and locked every door behind him. When he was satisfied the entire building was empty, he found his way to his office.

He sat upon the red stained leather chair and dropped his head into his hands.

He considered calling his daughter, or his wife, but he felt a moment of weakness. A moment of knowing he couldn’t help them, regardless of how badly he wanted to. He decided he needed to understand more about the situation before checking in. He needed to know the threat that was encroaching on him and his family.

He grabbed his cellphone and scanned a few news sites before he settled on one. With a tap, the small screen was encompassed by a video.

“It is with great remorse we share that the Remdians have begun their invasion.”

Keith’s face blanched at that single sentence.

“Not three hours ago, their soldiers on the border began their march onto Caledorn soil.”

Keith stood up with terror pulsing through his veins. The fear swallowed him whole as he scoured his office for any important keepsakes.

Moving with recklessness, he placed photos and various paperwork in his briefcase. Shoving everything in the bag with no concern for crinkles or tears.

In the background the video continued. “This has been Bethany Squire with Channel Seven News, please stay tuned for more updates as the situation develops.”

When he was convinced that he had everything of value, he swiped his phone off his desk and frantically typed his wife’s number.

He sprinted out the door, the phone still ringing against his ear.