Elixia came home to the rest of her family in a blind panic. She was hysterically talking about militia, guns, and the monarchy falling. Toranto, Pauline, and Roman all ran up to Elixia worried about her and wondering why she was acting like this. Pauline took Elixia's hand and calmly told her to explain what she saw to them. Elixia caught her breath and tried to calm down as much as she possibly could before speaking.
"When I was in the marketplace, I saw a group of soldiers carrying guns and knives. They started walking up to all the stands and taking food and clothing, they threatened to kill anyone that wouldn't give them anything. Then they told everyone to line up in front of them, but no one knew what was going on so we all just stood there. They shot the closest demi-human to them and stole everything she was carrying to make us listen. They made the rest of us line up and gave them half of everything we had. I tried to get as far away from there as possible after I gave them my stuff, I could hear gunshots behind me when I was running back here. I don't know what's happening, but I think a coup is going on, I could hear the men talking about the king being killed and wondering who would take his place."
Toranto, Pauline, and Roman all stood in horror listening to the events described by Elixia. Each of them began to sweat and hyperventilate at the thought of their home being taken or any of them being murdered by militia. They all stood there for a second, with no idea as to what course of action would be best to protect themselves. Guns were very limited in the kingdom; citizens were usually not allowed to own guns in most kingdoms around the world. No one in the family owned a gun, all they had to defend themselves were kitchen and garden utensils such as knives and hoes. Regardless, they armed themselves as best they could, and all began to pack emergency supplies in case anything should happen. Each of them took a duffle bag and packed it with as many rations and emergency supplies as they could. They all had a flashlight, spare clothing, spare batteries, food, water, and something they could use as a weapon. It wasn't much but it was all they could afford to pack at once, they all thought this would be the best course of action in case they needed to leave their home.
Later that night, they grouped to discuss a plan in case they would need to evacuate their home. "Toranto, make sure you keep your shields on you at all times, just in case," Elixia made sure to tell him. He nodded, taking out his shields from his bag and strapping them to his arms. "Okay, if we need to evacuate, we all need to make our way to the basement and follow the path down there that leads to the backyard garden. If we can get down there before any soldiers show up, we should be able to make it to the backyard and escape from there. Everyone needs to make sure to keep their bags on them at all times." Roman spoke the plan to everyone. The tension was insidious, no one liked the idea of leaving behind their home, but they also didn't want to be killed by soldiers. If they were to survive whatever was happening, they would all need to make sure they were operating under the same plan.
The next couple of days were spent in what felt like endless anticipation for the worst, they could hear gunshots and explosions in the distance from their home. The sounds would get closer each day. No one dared to set foot outside of their house, instead, they had begun putting up boards and barricades to stop potential soldiers from entering their homes. The idea was to slow down anyone potentially trying to enter, an extra second could be the difference between dying and escaping. They could hear soldiers chanting, footsteps slowly getting closer to their home, people screaming, and people's screams being cut off in an instant. It all felt unreal as if it was the beginning of a nightmare with no end in sight. Little did they know that it would only get worse from here.
Exactly one week later, in the middle of the night, Elixia woke her son in a frenzy. "Toranto, wake up! Wake up now!" She tried to keep her voice as low as possible, visibly horrified, gripping and shaking Toranto as hard as she could to wake him up. It didn't take long for Toranto to wake up, he jumped up in horror and expected the worse. But it was his mother. "Mom, what's wrong," he said in a panicked tone. "Get up now, go to the basement, and get out from the backyard! They're coming now," Elixia said in a panicked yet determined tone. Toranto immediately got up and grabbed his bag and began following his mother to the basement. Both of them were afraid for their lives, hyperventilating and panicking, trying not to cry as they fled the only place they'd ever called home. "I have to wake up your grandparents but go, and if anything happens, I love you, Toranto." He shook his head and followed her instruction, too afraid to speak. The demon made his way to the basement as fast as he could, repeating the last words he heard from his mother in his head to never forget them. He was running, he was afraid, he was crying, and there was nothing he could do about it. He wanted to stay behind with the rest of his family, but he knew his mother would never allow that, she would ensure he lived no matter the cost.
Toranto quickly made his way to the basement and began running to the backyard. He turned around wondering where the rest of his family was, he stopped and listened. He could hear that they were up and making their way to the basement door, but they were too late. The soldiers burst into their homes with a loud explosion from a grenade that destroyed half their barricades. Toranto stood in fear as he listened to the events play out above him, feet away. The explosion shook the entire house, dust started to fall from the inside of the pathway in the basement. He was lucky enough to be underground when the grenade went off, otherwise, he luckily would have suffered permanent hearing loss. The rest of his family, however, was not as lucky. Pauline, Roman, and Elixia were running to the basement door, now in the main room just making it past the front door. But the explosion went off just as they were there, they were knocked to the ground by the shockwave produced. They lay there confused, disoriented, and badly hurt from the explosion. Before they even had time to think, the soldiers poured into their home and shot both Roman and Pauline. They lay dead next to their daughter. Elixia looked in horror at her parents' corpses, still bleeding from the gunshot wounds. Their eyes, still open bled out, as the life in them slowly faded away. Elixia began to cry as she looked up at the people who had just destroyed her home and murdered her parents. "She looks younger than they were, she can still work," one of the soldiers said. With that, they knocked Elixia unconscious. Her final thoughts were that she had done everything she could to keep her son safe. Toranto heard the gunfire, two bodies hitting the ground, and the sound of his mother being bludgeoned and her body hitting the ground as well. He stood there for a moment, not knowing what to think or what to do. Tears ran down his face, the only family he'd ever known was gone in an instant. The only thing he could do was push forward, just as his mother wanted him to.
He was able to make it outside, when he opened the cellar door he took one last look at his home, knowing he would likely never see it again. He began to run as fast as he could, trying to get far away from anywhere he heard gunfire and explosions. He ran for over half an hour, and eventually, he found himself in the middle of a forest far from any town. The demon sat below a tree to catch his breath and process everything that had just happened. Although he still had his bag with supplies, he had nothing else. He cried he was hurt, but he pushed forward for the sake of the family he just lost. Only now did he realize that the words "I love you, Toranto" would likely be the last thing he ever heard from his mother.