The sun was shining brightly in the sky; it was a beautiful day in the small town of Shania, a little town filled with semi-humans. One could find all kinds of creatures there: cats, dogs, raccoons, foxes. In this vilge lived a young girl, six years old, who was returning from school with her parents. Her name was Sarah, Sarah East. She had short blonde hair and wore simple gray pants along with a t-shirt featuring a cat. She was accompanied by her older sister, Ileana, who was about ten years older than her little sister. Ileana looked just like her in every way: the same blonde hair, the same blue eyes. Ileana was wearing a school uniform—a bck skirt, a white shirt, and a gray tie.

  They arrived at their home, a small wooden house located on a little cobblestone street. Their parents weren’t back yet; they were still at work. Their parents were bakers and often finished te. Sarah dropped her things on the dining table and looked at her big sister.

  "Ileeaaaa, can you help me with my homework?"

  Ileana was a bit bothered by the question. She had a big project due the next day, but when she saw her sister’s pleading puppy-dog eyes, she gave in. In the end, Ileana abandoned the idea of working on her project and sat down at the table next to her.

  The homework was simple: basic addition. However, Ileana wasn’t about to do it for her. She grabbed some small tokens and began teaching her sister how to calcute properly.

  Sarah, however, wasn’t the best at math or logical thinking, and she struggled like crazy. What should have taken about half an hour ended up dragging on for two long hours. When it was finally done, she kissed her sister on the cheek before heading off to rex in her room.

  Her room was rustic; it had a bed with a small bnket, a wardrobe, and shelves filled with various keepsakes. It was already 6:00 PM, and she was tired, so she decided to take a nap until her big sister woke her for dinner. She y down on her bed, hugging her stuffed raccoon tightly.

  Suddenly, in the midst of her incomprehensible dreams, she woke up with a start, being shaken awake. She opened her eyes to see her sister panicking.

  "We have to go! No time to pack anything! We need to leave now!"

  Sarah was confused. What could her sister mean? She quickly turned her head to the left, toward the window, and saw a horrifying scene. Houses were burning, people were screaming and fleeing. A strange artificial light shone in the sky, its glow mesmerizing Sarah and making her dizzy. She was lost, still clutching her raccoon tightly in one hand.

  Seeing her frozen in pce, her sister grabbed her hand and began running with her. They rushed out of the house, and Sarah saw chaos all around. People were running in every direction, while others in armor were killing semi-humans.

  "What’s happening, Ilea?!"

  The little girl cried out, looking at her panicked big sister. Ileana pced a hand on her little sister’s cheek and took a deep breath.

  "Everything’s going to be okay, we just have to run far away, do you understand?"

  Sarah nodded timidly as they started fleeing together, running through the various streets. However, as they ran, Ileana collided with a soldier who came at her from the left. She was tackled to the ground, panic in her eyes as she screamed at Sarah to run.

  And that’s exactly what Sarah did. She bolted, running as fast as her legs could carry her. She dove into a bush and hid. Gunshots echoed throughout the city, and she curled up tightly inside the bush, quietly sobbing. She had no idea what had happened to Ileana, but she prayed her sister had managed to escape.

  Time crawled by in the bush, but then she heard the sound of footsteps—heavy boots. Two soldiers were approaching her hiding spot. In the blink of an eye, the soldiers colpsed to the ground, blood pouring from their throats.

  Peeking her head out of the bush, Sarah saw another semi-human, someone of her own kind. The stranger looked a few years older than her. She had short bck hair and wore ripped jeans and a bck leather jacket.

  The bck cat approached the bush, having spotted Sarah. Her gaze was cold but somehow reassuring at the same time.

  "We don’t have time to waste. Follow me if you want to live."

  Sarah hesitated. Following a stranger seemed like madness, but it was either that or risk being captured by the soldiers. She reached out and took the preteen’s hand, and together they descended into the sewers.

  Leaning against the grimy wall, Sarah gagged at the nauseating stench, her face turning green. She looked up at the bck-haired cat.

  "I… I… My name is Sarah… Sarah East."

  The bck cat nodded and replied, "My name is Mikki. Mikki Hearts."

  Pov ??? (A-B)Far from the vilge, in a luxurious building in the capital city of the Republic of Alduino, about thirty men and women dressed in suits and ties had gathered for a discussion. The atmosphere among them seemed tense.

  A man raised his voice, silencing the other people in suits.

  "We cannot let the Pactists take power! They will ruin our country; they'll drive away all the industries!"

  Another man spoke up.

  "The Social Pact can’t be that bad, can it?"

  A more anxious-looking man interjected.

  "They’ll sink us! The HJ must continue to rule the Republic! Harmony and Justice—that's our party, and the Social Pact is an extremist faction pushing for foolish freedoms!"

  "Mr. Waterman, the polls are clear. They have a 15-point lead over us, and the elections are just months away."

  Another voice entered the conversation, calmer and more composed. The speaker stood out with a more elegant suit. It was Florian Todorovic, the president of the HJ and the current president of the Republic.

  "We can dey the elections. The semi-human movement is gaining more and more traction. All we need to do is pin the bme on them and unch a war against them. War will unite our people, and their hatred will give us legitimacy."

  Some of the suited individuals stopped talking and exchanged gnces. The idea was outrageous, bordering on what an extremist party might propose—but it was their only option.

  "No objections? Good. Mr. Peeters, Enns, Paulis, and Jansson, I’m leaving it to you to communicate our pn to the rest of the party. As for the others, we’ll discuss the details of the pn further."

  .. ..  .  .

  Pov Sarah (A)

  In the sewers, the two girls exchanged information. Mikki Hearts, the one who had just saved Sarah, was twelve years old. She had learned to fight from her parents, mercenaries who had passed through the vilge.

  Mikki revealed that the strange light in the sky was a weapon created by humans to weaken semi-humans. That was why the two of them were hiding in the sewers.

  Of course, soldiers had also descended into the sewers to hunt down the remaining survivors. The two girls got up and began running. Unfortunately, despite their attempts to stay quiet, their footsteps echoed loudly against the sewer walls. The soldiers began chasing them.

  During the chase, Sarah tripped, slowing Mikki down. As soon as Sarah fell, Mikki ran back to help her up. The soldiers were closing in. The girls turned left into a tunnel but quickly found themselves trapped by a metal grate. Mikki tried shaking the bars, but they wouldn’t budge. The soldiers arrived and pointed their weapons at them. The girls raised their hands in surrender—resistance was futile, as they were outnumbered.

  A woman stepped out from the group, likely the leader. She wore a long bck coat and appeared to be in her forties. She took a step forward and began speaking.

  “You can’t fight. Surrender now. There’s no escape. You’ll learn to enjoy obeying humans. Perhaps you’ll even appreciate the view from your cell overlooking our glorious Republic.”

  As Mikki opened her mouth to argue, a piercing scream echoed through the sewer, painful to the ears. The distraction gave way to chaos, and suddenly, the sound of gunfire filled the tunnel. The soldiers and their leader fell to the ground in a hail of bullets.

  Behind them stood a group of women, heavily armed. One of them, dressed as a scientist, approached the fallen leader and, without even gncing at the two girls, began searching the body. She pulled out a small blue orb from the leader’s pocket and nodded.

  One of the armed women gestured toward Mikki and Sarah.

  “What do we do with them, Doctor?”

  The scientist turned her gaze toward the two girls. She had white hair and strange-colored eyes. She stepped closer and crouched down, looking at them with a cold yet kind demeanor.

  “Your names?”

  The girls answered in unison. The scientist gave a faint smile, pcing a hand on each of their cheeks. Without a word, she stood and began walking away. After taking a few steps, without looking back, she spoke simply.

  “They are free to join us. I see potential that can be forged.”

  Mikki and Sarah exchanged gnces and silently agreed this was their best chance. They both got up and began following the scientist. Mikki, her voice still tinged with suspicion, asked a simple question.

  “What’s your name?”

  The scientist replied with a slight smirk.

  “Denasaia Ansia, but you can call me Dena.”