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EMBERFALL
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The apartment felt smaller tonight. Shadows played along the cracked walls, stretching and shifting with the flicker of their lone lamp. They sat in silence, gathered around a worn map of Emberfall, each of them studying the escape routes that Elara had meticulously traced. Every path, every alleyway, every hidden corner was marked, but Jordan couldn’t shake the feeling that they were trying to escape a net that was already closing in.
“We’ll hit the first checkpoint here,” Elara whispered, pointing to a narrow side street near the edge of the neighborhood. “With the shifts changing every few hours, we’ll have a small window to slip through undetected. If we miss it, the whole plan falls apart.”
Sara leaned closer, squinting at the map. “And then through the waterway tunnels, right?”
Elara nodded. “Exactly. They haven’t been used in years, so Enforcement rarely monitors them. They’re unstable, though, so we’ll have to move fast. From there, we make our way to the safehouse outside Emberfall. With any luck, we’ll reach it by sunrise.”
Jordan’s jaw clenched. “And if we’re caught?”
Elara’s eyes met his, unwavering. “Then we don’t give them the satisfaction. We fight. They’re expecting civilians, not resistance fighters.”
Her tone held a fierce determination that both reassured and unsettled him. She was prepared to risk everything, even if it meant facing Enforcement head-on. But Jordan’s focus was on his family. This wasn’t about resistance to him; it was about survival, about protecting his mother and sister from a regime that would take everything from them without hesitation.
Maya sat beside Sara, hugging her stuffed rabbit tightly, her wide eyes flickering between Jordan and Elara as they spoke. At twelve, Maya knew more about survival than she did about childhood. She had grown up in the shadow of Kane’s rule, in a city that was little more than a prison. Jordan wished he could protect her from this world, but he knew that tonight, there was no avoiding it.
“Elara,” Sara began, her voice barely a whisper. “Are you sure this is the only way?”
Elara’s gaze softened as she looked at her old friend. “Sara, if there was another way, I’d take it in a heartbeat. But Enforcement has their eyes on anyone with ties to the past. They’re cracking down harder every day. If we don’t act now, it’s only a matter of time before they come for us.”
Sara nodded slowly, her hand tightening around Maya’s shoulder. Jordan could see the fear in her eyes, but beneath it was a spark of resolve. She had fought once before, back when resisting Kane’s rise was still a possibility. Now, all that remained was survival.
Jordan took a deep breath, letting the silence settle over them. “So we stick to the plan. We get through the checkpoints, reach the safehouse, and move from there.”
Elara nodded. “Exactly. We don’t stop. We don’t turn back.”
Just as the words left her mouth, a harsh, blinding light flooded through the windows. It illuminated the room in a brutal, unforgiving glare, erasing every shadow and exposing every inch of their makeshift refuge. The steady, mechanical hum of drones grew louder, filling the night with a relentless whirring that sent a chill down Jordan’s spine.
Sara’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes wide with horror. “No… They found us.”
The reality hit Jordan like a blow to the chest. They were here, now. Enforcement agents, armed and ready to tear apart everything he had fought to protect. Elara’s expression turned grim, her hand already reaching for the gun at her side.
“Jordan, get your weapon,” she ordered, her voice steady, but tense.
He didn’t hesitate. Heart pounding, he sprinted down the narrow hallway to his bedroom, where his old revolver lay hidden in a drawer. It was a relic from another time, barely functional against the advanced weaponry Enforcement carried, but it was all he had. As he gripped the cold metal, a surge of anger rose within him. They would not take his family. Not tonight.
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He returned to the living room, the gun heavy in his hand. Elara had positioned herself by the door, her own firearm raised, her body tense and alert. She glanced at him, her gaze hard as steel.
“They’re coming in from the front. We’ll hold them off as long as we can. Stick to the walls, stay low, and don’t give them an easy target.”
Jordan nodded, his mind racing, his every sense on high alert. He looked over at Sara and Maya, huddled together by the far wall. Maya was clinging to her mother, her face pale with fear. He forced himself to keep his voice calm.
“Maya, listen to me. You stay right there with Mom, okay? Don’t move.”
Maya nodded, her eyes wide and terrified. Jordan’s heart twisted at the sight of her, so small and vulnerable in the face of a threat she couldn’t fully understand. But there was no time to comfort her, no time to promise her safety.
A deafening crash shattered the tense silence as the front door splintered under the force of a battering ram. Shouts echoed through the apartment, followed by the heavy, ominous sound of boots pounding on the floor. Jordan tightened his grip on the revolver, his pulse racing as the first Enforcer stormed into view.
The Enforcer was a hulking figure in black armor, his visor gleaming under the harsh light, reflecting Jordan’s image back at him like a mirror of his own fear. Jordan fired instinctively, the shot cracking through the room. The Enforcer staggered but barely slowed, as if the bullet had only grazed him.
“Elara!” Jordan shouted, but she was already firing, her shots precise and controlled, forcing the Enforcers to take cover. She moved like a soldier, every movement calculated, her eyes narrowed with determination.
Two more Enforcers entered, their rifles raised, scanning the room with cold efficiency. One of them zeroed in on Sara and Maya, his weapon trained on them. Jordan’s chest tightened as he realized the threat—he had to keep their attention on him and Elara.
“Over here!” he yelled, firing again. The Enforcer’s gaze shifted, his rifle swinging toward Jordan. He barely ducked in time, the shot slamming into the wall behind him, sending fragments of plaster flying.
Sara pulled Maya closer, shielding her as best she could, her face a mask of terror and resolve. But it wasn’t enough. One of the Enforcers pushed forward, his eyes fixed on Maya as if he had been given specific orders to capture her.
“No!” Jordan screamed, lunging forward, but another Enforcer blocked his path, swinging his rifle like a club. The impact struck Jordan’s shoulder, pain radiating through his arm as he staggered back. He struggled to keep his balance, his vision blurring.
The room erupted in chaos. Elara was still firing, her shots forcing the Enforcers to stay low, but it was only a matter of time before they overwhelmed her. Jordan’s mind raced, his every thought focused on Maya. He had to reach her, had to pull her back before it was too late.
But in the haze of gunfire and shouts, he saw it—the Enforcer’s iron grip closing around Maya’s small wrist, pulling her from Sara’s grasp. Maya screamed, her voice high and panicked as she struggled, her fists pounding against the Enforcer’s armor, but her efforts were futile. She was too small, too powerless.
Jordan lunged forward again, his fists clenched, but another Enforcer slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. He gasped for breath, the pain in his chest sharp and unforgiving, but he pushed himself up, his vision clearing just in time to see Maya being dragged toward the door.
“Let her go!” Sara cried, reaching out, but an Enforcer blocked her, pushing her back. Her voice broke, desperation filling every word. “Please, don’t take her! She’s just a child!”
Maya’s tear-streaked face turned back toward them, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. “Jordan! Help!”
The sound of her voice shattered something inside him. Ignoring the pain, he tried to rise, but the Enforcer kept him pinned, his weight pressing Jordan into the cold, unforgiving floor. The light from the drones outside intensified, illuminating the room in a blinding glow.
And then, just as quickly as it had started, the Enforcers began to retreat. Their mission complete, they moved with precision, pulling back through the broken doorway, taking Maya with them. Her cries grew fainter as they disappeared into the night, leaving behind only silence.
The light from the drones faded, the relentless whirring growing distant until it was nothing more than an echo in the darkness. Slowly, the room settled into an eerie stillness, broken only by the sound of Sara’s quiet sobs.
Jordan pushed himself up, his body aching, his heart pounding. He stumbled toward the doorway, his mind numb with shock. Maya was gone. They had taken her. The reality of it crashed over him, a wave of despair that left him gasping.
Sara was kneeling on the floor, her hands covering her face, her shoulders shaking with grief. Elara stood nearby, her face pale but determined, her gaze fixed on Jordan.
He looked at her, his voice a broken whisper. “They… they took her.”
Elara’s expression hardened, her hand resting on his shoulder. “Then we go after her. But we can’t do this alone. We’ll need help. Real help.”
He met her gaze, the anger in his chest rising like a fire that wouldn’t be extinguished. For Maya, he would face anything.
He nodded slowly, his voice steady with newfound resolve. “Then let’s find the resistance.”