Chapter 20

LUCIUS

I sat, staring off into the forest, knowing my Wren was gone. Knowing my village was destroyed and knowing exactly who’s to blame.

My eyes are angry, my face is red and my mouth is small. My fists are in my lap. I’m squeezing so hard; I start to shake.

There’s only one thing to blame or should I say…one organization.

I spin off my knees to my feet and head back to the village.

The morning sun revealed the destruction.

I walk slowly, almost in a daze, as I watch my people clearing the dead into a pile. I see the smoke of dying fires rise from what was once my home.

I climb the hill to the village entrance.

I stand and stare, helplessly, at our once vibrant home that has now been reduced to ashes. I watch as my people try to salvage what they can from the piles.

As I look around, another tear slips down my cheek. My people's faces look the same as mine. Their eyes follow me as I walk slowly toward my own ash pile of a house. The trees around my yard have been reduced to trunks.

I