present Day - Year 3026
Elias ran towards his house as fast as he could, As soon as he arrived, his mother smiled and said You're right on time - Dinner is ready.
Elias sat at the table with his family, his two brothers and his sister. Everything felt calm and normal. No one knew it would be the last peaceful moment of Elias's life, Suddenly a loud explosion shook the ground, "Run!" "Run!" people screamed outside, panic filled the streets as strange creatures descended from the sky. Bulidings burned and fear spread everywhere.
Everything happened too fast. When Elias regained consciousness, he froze in shock. An alien stood inside, His sister's head was gone her body layed motionless on the floor and then His mother lay lifeless beside her.Elias froze unable to move. The alien slowly turned toward him and gave a terrifying smile. "You're next", it said.
Elias couldn't scream- fear held him still. But as the alien moved closer, his elder brother pushed him out of the way. "Run, Elias!" he shouted. Elias fell to the ground, stunned. Before he could stand, his other brother Tyson grabbed him and dragged him outside. Tears filled Tyson's eyes as they ran.
"I'm sorry---- I couldn't save her", Tyson cried.
Behind them the sounds of battle grew louder. One of the alien commanders appeared and attacked, at that moment before the attack, Tyson pushed Elias out of the way. Elias fell into the river.
The roar of the river was the last thing Elias remembered before the world went black.
"Mum!" he screamed, his voice cracking as his eyes snapped open. He tried to lunge forward, but his body felt like it was made of lead.
He wasn't in the river anymore. He was in a low-lit room that smelled of cold stone and gun oil. Shadows danced on the walls, cast by a single flickering lamp.
"The dead don't scream," a voice rasped from the corner.
Elias froze. A man stood there, clad in matte-black tactical gear, cleaning a serrated blade with a cloth. He wasn't a soldier—there were no flags on his uniform. Behind him, two other figures stood like statues, their faces obscured by ballistic masks.
"Where am I?" Elias whispered, the memories of the attack—the fire, the screams, Tyson pushing him into the water—crashing back into his mind. Tears began to track through the dried mud on his face.
The man with the blade stepped forward. His eyes were hard, like flint. "You're in the only place that's safe from the things that took your home. We found you tangled in the driftwood three miles downstream."
"They killed everyone," Elias choked out, his grief turning into a sudden, sharp heat in his chest. "Those... those things from the sky. I'm going to kill them. Every last one of them."
The man stopped cleaning the blade. He exchanged a look with the masked figures. "Vengeance is a heavy burden for a child. How old are you?"
"I'm thirteen," Elias said, his voice trembling but firm. "And I don't care how heavy it is. I want them to pay."
The man knelt down so he was eye-level with Elias. The air in the room grew heavy. "The world ended yesterday, Elias. If you want blood, we can teach you how to take it. But once you start this path, the boy who fell into that river stays dead."
Elias looked at the man's scarred hands, then at the sharp steel of the knife. He thought of his mother. He thought of the fire.
"Teach me," Elias said.
The man stood up and sheathed his blade. "I am Kael. From this moment on, you have no name. You have only the mission. Rest now. Tomorrow, we see if you're strong enough to survive the first lesson."
Elias leaned back against the cold pillow. "Thank you," he whispered. "For saving me."
Kael didn't look back as he walked toward the door. "Don't thank me yet, kid. You might wish we'd left you in the river before we're done with you."
I swear… I'll
kill every last alien.