CH1: THE BEGINNING.

[Nightfall.]

[A small, humble home at the edge of a city.]

"Chelsea, we have to go now, please. You know the intensity of the situation, the signs have been detected, so we can't afford to waste more time."

"Give me a minute, Bruce. I need to speak with our children, and you need to do the same. You know how the situation is. What if this is the last time we get to speak with them..."

"Don't say that," Bruce interjected and embraced his wife, who had tears trickling down her face. "We are going to make it back, okay? I assure you that nothing will happen to us or our children," he reassured the woman while wiping the tears from her eyes.

"What is going on, Mom? Dad?" A young boy took his parents by surprise. He had the wildest orange eyes that were slightly covered by his distinct orange, curly hair. He stared at his parents with curiosity and constantly averted his gaze from his mother to his father, waiting for a reply. "Are you two going to work again?"

"Yes, Ace, I know we told you that we were given the year off, and we promised to spend it with you, but..." the boy's mother stammered as she struggled to hold more her tears back. It was difficult to contain her emotions even in front of her son. She was certain that something would go wrong at work, and it might be the last time she had to spend with her children.

"We have been called back to work, son, and we will be back later today," Bruce, on the other hand, was confident that nothing would go wrong. "I am sorry, but we can't just quit work," he added.

"Why not, Daddy?" An even smaller child asked as she walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. She had the same hair color as her older brother, but hers was much longer. "Why can't you just find another place to work then?" She asked her parents with the most judgmental look a young child of six could give.

"If it was possible, dear, we would have left a long time ago, but it's beyond our powers," Bruce replied and lifted his daughter off the ground. He embraced her, and as a child, she felt relaxed on her father's chest.

 "So why did your boss call you back to work, Daddy?" She asked so innocently.

"Someday you will know, Cherry. Right now is not a good time. Do you know why? Because you are still my little princess, so don't worry, we will be back later today," Bruce replied.

"Ace, take care of your little sister, we have to go now, okay?" He added once more to his son who nodded his head in agreement while his parents left the house in a hurry after a brief goodbye.

"Mummy and Daddy would come back, right?" Cherry asked as soon as their parents left. "They'll come back and play with us, just as they promised?"

"Yes, they will be back," Ace responded. 'I hope.'

__________________________

Ten years later...

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today in remembrance of our loved ones, Mr. and Mrs. Underwood, who are no longer with us. As we remember this couple, we remember a brother, a sister, a friend, and parents to these young children, Ace and Cherry. It's a great sadness that death took them from us, but let us stay encouraged as we celebrate their lives,"

Ace and Cherry stared at their parents' photo frame with tear-filled eyes. Although it had been a long time since they last saw their parents, the pain they felt each time they remembered them was almost as if it just happened a few days ago. Ace, who had become a young man of eighteen, was affected severely by his parents' disappearance. It took a toll on his emotional and complete well-being, leaving him with severe asthma attacks which suddenly appeared, even though he wasn't born with it.

Cherry, on the other hand, suffered differently than her brother. With emotional trauma having been built up over the years, it altered her mood swings which became unpredictable. One moment she would be happy, and the next second, her demeanor would become as cold as ice.

Due to certain reasons best known to them, Bruce and Chelsea never allowed their children to meet their relatives, even the birth of their children was a secret, so after their sudden disappearance, the siblings were tossed from one foster home to another.

A few hours passed and the ceremony came to an end with both siblings tossing tulips at a particular tree where their parents would take them once in a while to have picnics and play around. While their bodies were not found nor given to the children to have a proper burial, they held the ceremony at the very field they were in at the moment every year.

After a while, Ace walked towards his foster family's car slowly while his sister moved as though she hadn't attended her parent's memorial.

"Do you need more time?" Annabel, their foster mother asked in a compassionate tone. "We can hang around a little longer if you wish."

"No, we are fine," Cherry replied with a smile, confusing the two a little, making them wonder if she was sad or was forcing herself to hide it.

"Hey champ, are you okay, or would you like me to take you somewhere to relax, maybe get you an ice cream?" Ben asked Ace, hoping that a delectable treat would cheer him up.

"No, thank you, Sir. I just want to go home now," Ace retorted.

'What does he think I am, some ten-year-old who could be cheered up with an ice cream?' He argued within himself after feeling exasperated by that question.

"Alright, that's fine, let's go home then," Ben uttered and started the engine. With that said, the man started the engine and drove them back to their foster care home that was deep in the biggest and busiest city in the world, ArkVille.

ArkVille was a town full of men and women looking to make a living or become rich real quick. It was encircled by tall skyscrapers and had large buildings that acted as homes, schools, and places of business for many. Anyone who wanted to make a name for themselves would flock to the city, and this caused it to become overpopulated. With overpopulation came pollution, making ArkVille the most polluted city in the world.

Since Ace was plagued with asthmatic attacks from time to time, he'd constantly visit the doctor at least eight times a month even though his symptoms kept persisting. Due to his medical condition, Ace's new foster parents moved to the edge of the city since it had the least amount of air pollution. This way, Ace would have to visit the hospital less and suffer fewer attacks.

After a few hours of driving, the foster family arrived at their home, a small three-floored apartment building at the edge of the city. In it lived five boys and three girls. Ace was the oldest in the family, and with only two years left to become an adult, he had this short time to spend with them before being legally forced to move out.

"Well, Ace," Mr. Ben spoke. "You have to cheer up a little. The school term begins tomorrow, and I wouldn't want kids to pick on you because of this situation, alright? You and your sister are wonderful children with kind characters. I'd hate for people to take your character for granted and mistreat you."

"It's okay, Mr. Ben," Ace replied. "That already happened to me, so I just got used to it. If you don't mind, I would like to get some rest, please."

Mr. Ben let out a heavy sigh before leaving Ace alone in his room. 'I worry for him.'