I stopped the truck after two hours of driving in full speed. I have lost the army vehicles that followed us an hour ago but I wanted to be as safe as possible so I kept driving. I parked the truck inside a secluded warehouse. Honestly, I’ve stopped looking at road signs minutes after I drove away from the school and I destroyed the GPS so I had no idea where we were.859Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3taAF1wNtS
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But that was the least of our problems. The humans have just broken the treaty. Meaning, war would erupt and Reins would be on the run. Hiding for our lives. 

I could hear the others crying inside the truck. The two adults with them did their best to comfort them. But we all knew it was useless. No words would be able to comfort us. Especially those kids inside that truck since they would likely never see their family again because it would be too dangerous to come looking for them. All we could do was pray for each other.

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This was the first time I’ve ever been thankful that I was an orphan. With no family, I would not carry the burden of thinking that I abandoned them. At least, I had the comfort that my family would not experience the war.

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“Katra,” a sweet voice brought me back to reality. “Katra dear, we can’t stay here.” 

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I looked besides me and saw my Chemistry teacher, Coleen, looking at me with sad eyes. It took my breathe to see her that way because she was the liveliest person I know of. To see that sadness replaced the twinkle in her eyes reminded me how dire our situation was.

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I nodded at her and she took a step back as I jumped down from the truck. She put a hand on my back and led me to the side of the warehouse where old chairs were thrown aside. I took in the group, who from now on would be my family. The youngest of us was a ten year old boy. He was the only child amongst us.

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The rest was ranging from thirteen to seventeen, and I was one of the oldest. There were 13 of us in total. Such a pitiful number of survivors from the school with the highest rate of Reins. There were six male among us and seven females, and no dry eyes.

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Except for mine. 

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They all looked lost. Like they were waiting to be awoken from a bad dream. But it wasn’t a dream. The humans have rallied against us. They have started a war.

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“We can’t stay here,” Coleen repeated.

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“But where would we go!?” one girl cried. 

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“I want to go home!” another one shouted.

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“It’s not safe to go back,” Dr. Carly replied firmly, like she was also convincing herself of the position we are right now.

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The young girls cried once more as silence filled our group. There was nothing to be done. What happened has happened and none of us could change that. But we can’t just stay here and wait for the army to find us. They would surely kill us at sight. 

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“Rest,” I said and all eyes looked at me. “There’s nothing to be done right now. We need our rest.”

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They mumbled their agreements and I told them to sleep inside the truck and I would stay up to watch the surroundings as they rest. None have disagreed. We were all tired and lost to do anything but rest. Like a zombie, they made their way towards the truck.

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Coleen had said she’ll stay up with me but I told her otherwise. She wanted to disagree but I stopped her when I said that the kids needed a parental figure so that they could sleep after all that has happened and obviously, it wasn’t me. Nodding, 859Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZIS5APv0l
Coleen climbed up the truck and sang them a lullaby.

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I ran up the warehouse’s rooftop because above I would be able to see if any army was near our hiding place. 

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I welcomed the fresh air as I sat near the edge of the rooftop with my feet dangling. Many things have happened and it all happened so fast that I wasn’t able to comprehend all of it. But right now, as silence filled my ears, and my adrenaline vanishing, my mind was filled with all the things I have witness and experience. And the feelings that I kept on hiding was unleashed and tears started streaming down my face and my heart constricted in pain.

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The fear in my kids’ eyes as we made our way out the school, the screams of people who needed help, the young scream of fright from my kids, and the blood that tainted the floor red kept on rewinding in my mind. I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling. I couldn’t stop my heart from feeling like I’ve also died.

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And worst of all, I couldn’t erase it all from my mind.

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I didn’t knew that I had fallen asleep. But it was already dawn when I had opened my eyes. I couldn’t believe that I had cried myself to sleep for the first time after my parents’ death.

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Yawning, I stood up from the hard floor and my body felt stiff. So, I stretched my arms at each side then I turned around. My eyes grew in shock as I saw three army vehicles closing in on our location. With body stiff and all, I ran down to the truck. 

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I hit the side of the truck twice before jumping up to the driver seat. I quickly started it and in no time, I was maneuvering it out of the warehouse. Suddenly, the hard fabric, which was separating me and the others was ripped, opening a window-like between me and them.

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“What’s happening?” Dr. Carly asked.

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“They’re here!” I shouted as I looked at the side mirror and saw that they were on our tail. “Hold tight!” 

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Then, I made a sharp turn that lifted the left side of the truck up in the air but I pressed on the gas and the tires touched the road once more. I sneered at myself when I saw that I didn’t lose them. I would have easily escaped if I was actually running but it’s not like I can leave these people.

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“For pete sake!” I shouted at the people behind me. “We’re all Reins here somebody please tell me you have any ability that would help us right now!”

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“But the treaty!” one answered me but I called him off.

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“There’s no more treaty! If you have the ability to shake them off our tail do it!”

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One man stood up. Steven, a classmate of mine in Math. He and I didn’t interact much but there’s no way I’d forget the man who almost beat me in exam. 

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He faced the army vehicle and rubbed his hands together. I looked at the rear view mirror to see what he was doing. And when he opened his hands, a blinding light appeared and he pointed it to the vehicle and I was sure they would be blinded by 859Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4eMrAUFOp
the light and pressing on the gas would mean their death. The first car crashed and blocked the road, making the road inaccessible. 

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They cheered when there were no more cars following us and I let go of the breath I didn’t knew I was holding. But I didn’t let go of the pedal. I needed to put as much distance between us and them. 

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It was afternoon when I finally managed to find another secluded place. I parked the truck and jumped down to stretch my body. I felt stiff and sore from the continuous exercise. Plus, I was hungry. Though, it wasn’t like we could just walk in inside a convenience store.

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“I’m hungry,” the ten year old boy groaned. 

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If I remember correctly, we passed by a small town five miles ago. I didn’t liked the idea forming in my mind. But we’re humans too. We needed to eat. So, with that thought in mind, I climbed up the truck bed.

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“Gimme a bag,” I said. “I’m sure there’s one here,”

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Natasha, a sweet fourteen year old girl handed me one. I took it and smiled at her. I knew Natasha the moment she entered school. She was a very sweet girl and I would always find her in the library where I would spend my time so, we became friends.

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“What are you planning?” Coleen asked.

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“There’s a town five miles down. I’m sure they have food there.” 

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“You’re stealing?” they all asked together.859Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdJ6IRw5Ef