Ash and Rose

Prologue

3rd Person POV

Lightning flashed across the dark sky, illuminating terror-filled faces as they ran across a grassy field toward a grove of trees, hoping to find refuge among the oaks. People jeered from behind the group, anticipating the deaths of those whom they were chasing.

People begin to shoot at the smaller group, the castaways in the back dropped dead like flies in the winter. Their families cry out in agony but don't dare turn around and mourn. It didn't take long for the castaways to reach the trees. Upon entering the forest, they immediately split up, frantically searching for places to hide from the humans.

A mother and daughter hid underneath a group of bushes, chests heaving as they had run across the field. The little girl, about the age of eight, cried as she witnessed the death of her clan. Her mother brought her closer to her body, trying to pull her daughters' attention from the slaughter. 

"Amity, get her out of here!" Her husband yelled from behind, racing up to his family as he spoke, "We're going to try to hold them off the best we can."

Grief clawed at Amity's heart as she rushed into her husband's arms, tears beginning to fall down her face. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading him to stay, "Miles, no! It'll be suicide!" She yelled frantically over the roar of the wind.

Miles gave his wife a sad smile, wrapping his arms around her in the process. He pressed his forehead against hers and whispered, "Then I'll go down fighting, knowing that both of you are safe."

He gently kissed his wife, then took his daughter into his arms. She was still crying and was beginning to shake because of the events that were happening. He gave her a hug, which she graciously returned.

"Please come back...." Mercy whimpered into his chest. She had her arms wrapped around his neck as if he would disappear if she let go.

Tears began to well up in his eyes, a few falling down his face. He tightened his grip around his daughter. "I'll be back before you know I'm gone." His voice seemed hopeful, but he knew deep down there was a slim chance of him surviving.

Miles gave Mercy back to his wife, his cheeks now wet from his tears and the pouring rain. With a final kiss to his wife, he ran with the other men of his clan, who were also willing to fight for their families and freedom.

Amity held her daughter close as her husband charged into battle. A mixture of emotions rushed through her: grief, anxiety, love, and pride. She knew there was a slim chance her husband would survive, but she held onto the slim strand of hope that she will see him soon.

Shots rang out nearby, shaking Amity from her thoughts. Mercy began to cry harder, pressing her face into her mother's neck.

"Shh, baby, it'll be alright." Amity cooed, her eyes scanning the vegetation around her. The lightning threw itself against the sky, outlining the rain that poured down. "We need to find a place to hide." She decided and began to run.

Amity ran at a speed she knew humans could never reach, which gave her a sliver of hope that they would be safe, at least for a while.

After a few more strides, they stumbled across a large oak tree. Its gnarly roots showed above the soil but eventually dug its way down. The branches reached towards the sky as if they wanted to be a part of the chaos up above.

However, there was a somewhat small hole in the tree, no taller than four feet and almost completely hidden by vegetation, making only a quarter of the hole shown.

'This will do.' Amity thought and immediately made her way in. 'Hopefully, this place will be safe.' She carefully set Mercy down, who was soaked to the bone and shivering like a June bug in the water.

Amity took off her cloak, which was still dry on the inside, and wrapped it around her daughter. She clasped the button just as she felt something inside her snap. Amity howled in agony, clutching her chest with both her hands.

She felt her daughter wrapping her arms around her, trying to figure out what was wrong. She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face, desperation, and grief filling her eyes with a more powerful force. She felt something shrivel up next to her right ear, causing her to cry out once more in pain. The dead flower only meant one thing.

Her husband was dead.