Prologue

When the news showed footage of the destruction at Mission city, overlayed by the voice of a frantic and frightened reporter, the only outward sign that I was in any way affected was the tightening of my jaw and how the silver cutlery in my fist folded like butter.

The two redheaded kids sitting in front of the TV paused from their card game and exclaimed in amazement at the carnage, at the flashes of metal moving between buildings, the huge jets screaming through the city streets, before their equally redheaded mother quickly ushered them away from the screen and upstairs to clean their teeth.

"But muuum!" Oscar and Libby whined as Abby hustled them towards the staircase.

"No buts! It's a school night, you should have been ready for bed thirty minutes ago."

"But we haven't finished our game!" Libby protested.

"I was just about to use my trap card, mum!" Oscar complained.

"You can finish your game tomorrow. Go on! Upstairs!"

The children reluctantly complied, stomping up the staircase while I carefully bent the knives and forks back into their original shape, keeping an ear on the television.

"-low flying aircrafts and reports of unknown assailants. Military presence is-" The camera shook and sounds of an explosion echoed through the television's speakers. The reporter's voice hitched, and then spilled on determinedly over a chorus of frightened voices and screaming. "- is – is on the scene. Mission city is officially in lockdown do not –"

After making sure the kids were safely deposited upstairs, Abby walked back over and stopped beside me, staring at the screen and frowning. I didn't look away from the television as we stood in the middle of the room watching the video footage cut away. Unease rolled inside me, and I placed the straightened cutlery onto the dining room table. What did this mean?

You know what this means.

Beside me, Abby shook her head slowly. "The world's going mad."