ELEVEN YEARS LATER

  A knock at the door.

  Movement inside.

  The soft, familiar noise of a family at home.

  Sean—now nearly the same age as his parents—opens the door with a bright smile.

  “We missed you guys. Every six months is nowhere near often enough.”

  From the kitchen, Rebecca calls out, “Come on in. Food will be ready soon.”

  Miles drops onto his butt, babbling at nothing, pleased with himself.

  Later, Thomas sits cross-legged on the floor, holding Miles in his lap. The baby giggles, tugging at Thomas’s sleeve.

  Thomas reaches over, tapping Sean’s leg.

  “I’m proud of you.”

  Sean smiles—warm, grateful.

  Arthur and Sarah stand back, watching the moment settle around them.

  Arthur drifts—memory pulling him sideways.

  —

  SEVEN YEARS AGO

  Arthur stands at the bottom of the ramp, tense.

  “Stay here. On the ship, please.”

  Sean slings his pack over his shoulder—steady, defiant, gentle.

  “I love you. But I have to make my own way in this world.”

  Arthur’s jaw tightens.

  “You can do that here, can’t you?”

  Sarah rests a calming hand on his arm.

  “It’s okay, Arthur. Sean’s right. He’s grown. He can make good decisions. Remember—we helped raise him.”

  Sean hugs Sarah tight.

  Anna pulls him close, holding on a few seconds longer than she intended.

  “My baby…”

  Thomas leans against the doorframe, blinking through tears but smiling.

  The memory fades—replaced by the soft sound of running water and laughter.

  —

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  Arthur and Thomas sit with Sean at the table. His voice blends with the hum of the house—easy, familiar, part of the place.

  In the kitchen, Rebecca and Sarah wash dishes together, sleeves rolled, sharing a quiet joke.

  Sean steps behind Rebecca and kisses her cheek. She smiles, wiping her hands just long enough to squeeze his arm.

  Sarah watches with a small, fond smile.

  “You two make it look easy.”

  Rebecca laughs.

  “It isn’t. But it’s worth it.”

  —

  Later that night, Anna cries quietly beside Thomas.

  “He’s almost as old as we are.”

  “I know.” Thomas exhales slowly. “But he’s grown into a good man.”

  She wipes her eyes.

  “Of course he did. We’d kick his butt otherwise. I’m glad he found Rebecca.”

  “She’s great,” Thomas says, kissing her forehead. “Keeps him focused. Let’s get some sleep.”

  —

  The colony sleeps under heavy clouds, the moon hidden. A few workers wander the dim streets.

  Then—

  A deafening explosion rips through the night.

  A siren blares. Screams echo. Firelight blooms across the colony as the power station burns.

  Sean bursts from his home, sprinting toward the rising smoke.

  From the Phoenix, the Hammonds rush out.

  “Power plant’s blown,” Arthur says, already moving.

  Thomas keeps pace.

  “Raiders?”

  —

  Anna whispers into the Void.

  Sean hears her as if she stands beside him.

  “Sean—are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m heading toward the station.”

  Smoke coils around him. Flames blur the night.

  “Be careful. Could be raiders.”

  Sean smiles faintly.

  “Love you, Mom.”

  “I love you,” she says, voice tight.

  She turns to Thomas.

  “Sean is fine.”

  Sarah steps out of the Phoenix to catch up—but stops.

  Arthur, Thomas, and Anna have all frozen.

  Figures in high-tech military gear surround the ship.

  One of them lifts a small device.

  Arthur’s face goes still.

  “Let’s get to it, then…”

  A click—and a high-frequency scream tears through the air.

  The family collapses, blood streaking from ears and noses.

  Arthur hurls a knife at the device-bearer. It clanks off a helmet.

  The shriek intensifies.

  A second soldier fires tasers. Electricity snaps across them.

  They flicker into the Void one by one, bodies jerking under the current.

  Arthur forces words out.

  “They must’ve been waiting weeks.”

  “Sonic waves?” Thomas grits out. “I hate these new Hunters.”

  Anna sways.

  “I don’t know if I can stand—” Her voice shakes.

  Sarah reaches into the Void, urgent.

  “Sean—they’ve come for us. Get home. Protect Rebecca and Miles.”

  Sean turns and runs back into the firelit night.

  Anna raises her pistol with unsteady hands.

  A soldier fires first—the round blows through her skull.

  She drops.

  Blood spreads beneath her.

  Arthur takes a hit to the chest and crashes backward.

  Thomas and Sarah collapse as tasers crackle again, voltage high enough to kill.

  Anna’s hand twitches.

  Her face is a ruined mask of blood and shattered bone.

  She lifts the pistol inch by inch.

  BANG.

  The round smashes the sonic device. It bursts apart.

  The shriek ends instantly.

  The Hammonds gasp, fighting through the dizziness.

  The soldiers panic, emptying their weapons. Rounds hammer the ground around them as they close in with cuffs.

  Not fast enough.

  Thomas lunges, driving a blade through a soldier’s chin.

  Sarah twists another’s arms until bone gives.

  Arthur snaps a neck and stabs three times beneath an arm.

  A soldier charges toward Anna—Thomas cuts him down before he reaches her.

  The last man runs.

  Sarah throws her knife. It catches his thigh. She drags it down.

  Silence.

  The Hammonds stand over a ring of bodies—bleeding, battered, but unbroken.

  —

  Sean bursts into his home.

  Two men in tactical gear are waiting.

  One holds cuffs. The other keeps a pistol trained on him.

  Sean lifts his hands.

  “Don’t hurt anyone. I’ll go with you. Just leave my wife and son out of it.”

  “The baby comes with us,” the cuff-man says.

  Sean’s expression hardens.

  “Okay… just don’t hurt us. My wife is terrified.”

  The cuff-man steps closer. The other steadies his pistol.

  At the last second, Sean moves.

  He rips the knife from the man’s sheath and kicks him back—

  BANG.

  The gunshot goes wild.

  Sean spins, slamming the knife into the partner’s throat. Blood sprays.

  He drags the blade free and slashes the first man’s throat.

  Both fall.

  Sean stumbles, blood pouring from his side.

  Rebecca screams.

  Sean drops to his knees, calling into the Void.

  “Mom, Dad!”

  Moments later, the Hammonds burst into the home.

  Thomas drops beside Sean, already treating the wound.

  Arthur sweeps the house.

  Sarah pulls Rebecca into her arms, steadying her.

  Anna scoops Miles up gently.

  Rebecca curls on the floor, shaking.

  “This is all your fault. You brought this here!”

  Sarah’s voice stays soft.

  “Rebecca—are you okay?”

  Rebecca sobs harder.

  Sarah’s tone steadies.

  “She’s in shock.”

  Thomas presses cloth to Sean’s wound.

  “Arthur. Get in here—he’s losing a lot of blood!”

  They build a makeshift gurney and rush Sean toward the Phoenix.

  Rebecca and Miles are pulled aboard.

  Sarah takes the pilot’s seat, hands steady.

  The Phoenix lifts—not breaking atmosphere, just disappearing into the remote mountain range to the west.

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