"Sehun! Sehun! Where are you!" 

  Sehun heard his sister screaming from the top of her lungs repetitively. He flicked his head up to look at her with wide eyes as she barged into his room, panting and looking as if she had just seen a ghost.

  "Run. Now. T-they are coming," his sister said. 

  Sehun cursed as he shot up from his chair and ran across his room towards his bed, grabbing the bag pack he had prepared from a while back. His parents had warned him about this the moment they found out that he possessed crafting abilities. It was just last year, barely a week into his 17th birthday that he first discovered his powers. He still remembers the very first time he displayed his abilities in front of them. He could never forget the look of fear, combined with a hint of fascination they had plastered on their faces. How could he, it was a reflection of God’s cruel gift to their son. Not long after, his parents wasted no time in planning an escape route that would lead their child somewhere safer. They needed to get him as far away from the central as possible and hidden from them. As long as he wasn't found, his safety, as well as that of their family, would be ensured.

  Even though Sehun was well aware of the fact that they would come for him sooner or later, he didn't expect that day to come so soon. There were surveillance cameras implanted in every inch of the living grounds and if a guard was to catch him in the act, he knew that it would be used as hard evidence against him. But he’d honestly thought that his powers could be kept a secret longer than this, seeing as how he had never revealed his abilities in public.

  He threw his bag pack over his shoulders while simultaneously grabbing his scarf and cap from edge of the bed before scrambling out of his room. In that very moment, he felt as though he had just mentally collided into one of those huge warehouse trucks he’d always seen travelling down the roads. He couldn’t deal with all the overflowing emotions; it was all too much for an 18-year-old to handle. There was that constant uncertainty that he had always felt, gnawing at his insides. He wasn’t sure–was never sure– about his escape plan. Then again, how could one ever be certain about one’s own probable death? Despite not knowing if he'll be able to go into hiding successfully, he continued running down the stairs towards his escape. He felt anger and resentment towards himself; he hated that feeling of helplessness and guilt towards his family for not being able to stop all of this from happening. He knew that his fear for his loved ones; not knowing if they will truly be safe without him, would never disappear so long as his powers remain, so long as he was alive.

  In one swift movement, Sehun had put on his cap and immediately started to sprint towards the back door only to stop dead in his tracks. He knew what he had to do; there wasn’t much of a choice. He snapped his head back to face his parents and baby sister, looking at them with tear-filled eyes.

  His mother, a typical homemaker, was a compassionate and graceful woman. She had always offered to help look after the neighbours’ children whenever they had to work the night shift or if they had to go somewhere faraway for a business trip. While the children are indeed grateful towards her act of nurture, their parents never seemed to appreciate her kindness, not once have they shown her a hint of gratitude. Sehun knew that his mother was too good-hearted to see the flaws in others; that was her weakness. She leaned forward to give him one last hug before hesitantly pulling back. There wasn't much that she could say to him since they all knew that time was of the essence. He turned to look at his father who was giving him a concerned look, he had wanted to say his goodbyes to him as well before his sister ran up to give him a bone-crushing hug. Sehun brought his arms up in response and gave her a tight hug in return. Not wanting to let go of her, he buried his face deep into her hair.

  They stood still in each other’s embrace for a moment before she released her grip on him. As she took the scarf from his hands, Sehun bent down to match her height, just enough so that she could place it over his shoulders. His expression saddened as he watched his little sister. Sehun didn’t care for many things in this desert of life, but Arietty was like an oasis to him, she was the one that he could find safety and comfort in. She carefully wrapped the long stretch of cloth around him such that the lower half of his face was covered, hiding his identity.

  "Sehun, please stay safe. As much as it hurts to let you go into hiding alone, I will not let you get in harm's way,” her eyes were glistening under the lights as tears started to form while she spoke. “I have only one thing to ask of you before you leave," she said while bringing her small palm up to the side of his face.

  "Anything," he replied immediately while tilting his head to the side to rest his cheek against her hand.

  "Remember that wherever you go, no matter what happens, we'll always be here," she reminded him as she placed a finger right above his heart.

  Arietty was only 10 years old but she showed signs of maturity that surpassed many girls of her age. Regardless, she was still his precious baby sister, the one person that he loves more than life itself. It wasn't hard to fall in love with Arietty really, seeing as how she practically looked like a fairy descended from heaven itself. With her skin porcelain white and smooth as silk, along with that full head of hair like that of dark chocolate that ended with a slight wave right below her waist, she was the epitome of perfection. Boys would kill to be with a girl like her and girls would kill to be her. But the thing that Sehun found most special about his little sister among all those features was her Hazel eyes. He loved the way it glimmered whenever she got all excited. He'd always thought that she was too stunningly beautiful for a 10 year old; sometimes he would even question how they could possibly be related. To Sehun, his little sister was a gift from God and he'd often like to tell her that. He’d guessed that was why she liked to call herself his ‘Guardian angel’. 

  Though he was only 7 when she was born, he still remembers the day he held his baby sister in his arms for the first time. But right now, though he was still holding onto her the same way, the simple action felt so much more different. He didn't know if this would be the last hug between them.

  Sehun nodded once in response and pulled down his scarf, before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. He then pushed himself up against his knees to regain his standing posture and gave her a longing stare. With his foot dragged against the wooden floor as he took a step back, he gave his family one last look of apology before dashing his way out the back door. He slammed the wooden panel shut with one hand as he pulled the hood of his jacket over his head with the other. This was the start of his escape, the start of his new life.

  Sehun's house was located at the outskirts of town. The day after his crafting powers appeared, his parents had chosen a house furthest away from the central and moved there so that it would be easier for him to escape when the time had come. They searched high and low and found many different options for a hideout but the best so far would have to be the hidden cave behind the falls. As far he knew, no one else in the whole sector had knowledge about the place, not even his family until they had accidentally come across it one day.

  The year before, in their journey to look for a better hiding place, Sehun and his father had travelled miles into the woods behind their home and decided to take a break near a small river they had spotted. It was then that Sehun's father heard the slightest sound of water falling through.

  "Quiet down Sehun. Listen!" his father said while motioning for him to stop talking. "Come," he beckoned. He followed his father as they walked along the stream.

  It was a long walk but they had finally stopped and ended up standing face-to-face with a giant waterfall at the opposite end of the lake.

  "With a waterfall like this, there's bound to be a cave hidden behind it," his father told him as they both walked towards it. 

  Sehun, listen carefully. Run straight for the woods. Once you're in there, don't stop running till you see the old pine tree, take a left turn there. Keep on going and take a right at the end of the lavender meadows. Turn right again near the lake and continue straight till you've reached the waterfalls. Remember. Do not stop for anything.

  Sehun was running hard and fast as he recited the directions given by his father. He repeated it over and over again in his head as he reached the entrance of the forest. Honestly, it was the perfect hiding spot and he only had to stay there till The Selections were over. The only problem was reaching there before they could find him.

  The Selections is an event that took place in Pedra annually in every sector. Every year, The Capital sends a large number of heavily armed military soldiers to each sector, known as the Keepers. A Crafter's ability can appear as soon as one turns 10. But on rare occasions, some only discover their powers when they are as old as 30. Hence, in order to pick out the existing Crafters, everyone of age 10 and above was forced to go through a blood test during each year's event.

  Sehun had seen it before when he first turned 10; the Capital had just created a new device that involves pricking the tip of your finger with a small needle. A small drop of blood is then applied to a test strip that is inserted into a metallic meter that will decipher the result, allowing them to distinguish the Crafters from the Humans. The Keepers would then check each and every one for the Crafter's DNA and pick 2 nominees to participate in the Purity Games. The Capital is advanced; Sehun will give them that. He just wished that they would use their brains and money for a better purpose. They could actually come up with ways to end this stupid war, to put a stop to this nonsensical violence once and for all. But instead they chose to use their power to make their weapons more effective against crafting powers, which in Sehun’s opinion, was a total waste of resources.

  Just when Sehun was about to turn left at the old pine tree, he heard an ear-splitting screech that caused his whole body to freeze. Chills went down his back. He thought that he’d heard it wrong but there it was again, that same shriek that mimicked the one earlier before. It took him a while but then he realized, that voice that he recognized almost too well, that cry for help that pierced through his heart, belonged to Arietty. Without a moment’s hesitation, he his heels and sprinted away from his designated hideout.

  Ary please be safe, please, let that scream I heard belong to someone else...

  That was all that was going through Sehun's mind as he saw the outline of his house from a distance away. He knew that abandoning the original plan to escape was a recipe for disaster; he knew that there might be a chance that that those screams wasn’t even from her. But he had to know. He had to make sure that she was safe.

  Sehun charged through the back door as soon as he reached the foot of his house. He didn't care if there were any Keepers nearby, all he could think of right now was his sister.

  "Ary? Ary! Where are you!" he screamed as he looked frantically around the first floor.

  When he got to the living room, all he could see was Arietty being dragged by the collar along the floor. Sehun spotted from the corner of his eye a soldier clad in white armed with a machine gun, aiming it at Arietty while the other was continued to pull her shirt in a rough manner to get her to stand up.

  "Get your ing hands off my sister before you lose them," Sehun shouted at the Keeper who was grabbing onto Arietty.

  But before the man could even react to his threat, Sehun was already halfway across the room, running towards the two and pulling Arietty away. The next thing he knew, he heard the sounds of several guns recoiling. There were a handful of soldiers turned around facing him–15 to say the least–directing their guns towards the unknown boy.

  "And who do we have here, her knight in shining armor?” Sehun turned around to see a man dressed in an ivory suit walking into the living room. “You'd better rethink that unless you want to defy the Capital."

  As the man gave him a stern, warning look, Sehun noticed that he appeared to be the one in charge of the whole operation. He could tell since the man was dressed differently from the Pedra military. His suit was also designed with armor, similar to that of the Keepers. But the man wore no helmet and held no gun; his clothing was too intrinsically designed for him to be just a simple head of the Keepers, Sehun knew that he should be wary of the figure that stood in front of him.

  "I am her older Brother and this is not an act of defiance, this is an act of protection.” Sehun replied him. “I do not see why she should be taken away for she is not a Crafter.”

  The man scoffed at him in return.

  "You dare lie to me in my face? The blood results have clearly shown that your sister is indeed a filthy Crafter, it's in her DNA," he said as he waved his hand to one of the soldiers, signaling him to bring forward the blood scans.

  Sehun stood in shock as he examined the results that appeared on the meter, Arietty is indeed a Crafter. But it made no sense, she hadn't told him anything regarding this and neither he nor his parents had seen any signs of her crafting abilities. No, this couldn't be true; she wasn’t a Crafter–she couldn’t be.

  Sehun turned around and grabbed her by the shoulders.

  "Ary? Why didn't you tell me?" he whispered to her as he looked at her with worry. Arietty shook her head violently as tears started rolling down her face.

  "I-I didn't know either!" she replied with a shaky voice. "I... I have been hearing animals speak to me recently. But it seemed so crazy that I thought that I was just imagining things! I had no clue that I had these abilities!" she said as she gave Sehun a squeeze on his arm. "I'm sorry, I really am. I didn't know what to do."

  Sehun held her close. 

  "No, don’t be, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself for this Ary," he assured her.

  Just then, a loud cough was purposely made. 

  "I hate to be the one to interrupt this touching moment," the man in the suit said as he rolled his eyes. "But yes, take the girl and let's be on our way back to The Capital, we have collected what we came here for."

  As a soldier reached out to grab Arietty, Sehun pulled her away and instinctively blocked her with his own body.

  "Don't you dare touch her." Sehun growled.

  "How dare you. You're already a betrayer of your own kind for harbouring a Crafter and now you're openly protecting her? Who the hell do you think you are." The guy in charge was really pissed off now.

  "I am a Crafter as well, take me instead of her," Sehun said without any hesitation. "I volunteer to fight in her place in the Games." 

  Sehun felt Arietty tug roughly on his arm, pleading him to stop whatever he was about to do.

  "What? Two Crafters in one household? Well, I must say that this is my lucky day," the man hummed in response. "Shall I have the honour of picking the lucky one?" It was sickening to see him take pleasure in something so sadistic.

  Arietty hurled herself in front of Sehun as soon as the man finished his sentence. 

  "No!" she croacked. "Take me instead, please! I was found first!" she cried as she clung herself onto Sehun. "Sehun please, please don’t do this." 

  "Shut your mouth you vile little creature, you have no say in this decision," the man barked at her.

  Sehun immediately hissed at him but Arietty pulled him back. Whoever this guy was, he was really starting to get on Sehun’s nerves.

  "Tell me now, what ability do you possess my boy?" he asked as he stepped closer.

  "I'm an Air Crafter."

  "Air Craft–" he paused, startled. The man seemed a bit taken aback at his statement. "I see," it took a while before he started to open his mouth again. "Alright then, the brother shall take part in The Games in place of his sister,” he ordered as he eyed Sehun suspiciously.

  Four of the soldiers then stepped forward at his command, two of which had to pry Sehun out of Arietty's hands while the others took hold of Sehun's arms.

  "Sehun! No Sehun please. Let me go! Sehun! Don’t leave!" she begged. "No! Please take me instead!" Arietty screamed at the top of her lungs as she struggled to get out of the Keepers' hold on her. "Please Sehun, say that you'll let them take me instead, please", she cried in half defeat.

  In her heart, she knew that there was no way that he would let her take his place. Sehun was already being pulled out the front door as he turned to face her with a look of apology.

  "I can't do that Ary. You know that."

  Arietty clawed at the soldiers to let her go but they didn't budge. All she could do was scream as hot tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

 "Sehun please don't go," she was sobbing tearless, broken sobs. "Please."

  Sehun took one last look at his baby sister and his parents. The three of them were distraught as the begged the soldiers to spare their loved one.

  "I love you. I'm doing this to protect you all," he said to his family before being dragged out the door. "So please, wait for my return."