Peter Gillian smiled and waved at Sarah as he reversed down their driveway, his heart and stomach were full after their morning together.

Peter was profoundly excited to become a father. It had always been a dream of his, and, after finding Sarah, he knew he would never find a more perfect woman to raise a family with.

Pulling onto the street of his cul-de-sac, his smile grew as he recalled various memories throughout their relationship.

He remembered their first date in university, a time that had become a memory of cringey moments due to his awkward behavior. Still, he smiled at the memory of spitting water on her when she had said she’d always found him cute. That compliment was the first of many he’d hear from her sweet lips.

The next memory that flashed behind his eyelids was more recent. He had come home to a giddy Sarah and, while he was elated that she was happy, he remembered being perplexed. It wasn’t until she had sat him down and told him he was going to be a father that he was able to understand. They had been trying for years to have a baby of their own. The day that their pregnancy test read positive would forever be one of the happiest moments in his life.

He slowly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm of their first dance while replaying his favorite moments of recent months.

Moments of rubbing Sarah’s feet, visiting their doctor, hearing their baby’s heartbeat and early morning ice cream runs came to his mind in quick succession.

It seemed nothing could diminish his mood as he waved to various neighbors, driving through the roads of his gated community.

Everyone he passed wore a smile like his. If he was in a worse mood, he might have thought all the fake smiles were straight out of a horror film, that his community was forged out of unrealistic expectations and gold gilded lives but on that day, he was chuffed with the reciprocated happiness.

Upon his arrival to the gates of his community, the guards simply nodded at him as they opened the heavy metal doors.

He drove cautiously through his town, his mind subconsciously aware that he had a family to support and provide for now.

At a stop light, he quickly glanced at the radio, flicking it on. In his stupor of joy, he had forgotten all about the morning talk show that he liked to listen to. He figured he’d catch a few minutes of it before arriving at work.

The sounds of a duo known as Larry and Gary soon filled the car. Peter had found them mindlessly entertaining and a good way to spend his commute. The two men, who were childhood friends, often spoke about current events and their own wild experiences.

“So. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room!” Larry began.

“Ahh. Yes. The war brewing between our lovely Remdia and Caledorn? I heard our Remdian president is actually sending troops to the border,” Gary responded, his voice filled with more remorse than Peter had ever heard. The unfamiliar tone unnerved Peter, causing him to grip the steering wheel tighter.

“That’s not actually going to happen though right, bro? Most of our listeners are Caledornians! We have no problems with those lovely humans.” Larry chuckled, an obvious attempt to lighten the mood.

“If only we had a say in it,” Gary spoke, still horribly morose.

Larry mumbled something inaudible before changing the subject entirely, “Well, what about that football game last night?”

The two fell back into their normal chipper personas as they discussed highlights of the game but Peter tuned it out as dread settled into his bones. Hearing that troops were moving towards the border sent a wave of terror through him. The simple fact that his growing family lived in Caledorn caused his heart to stutter for a moment.

He had traveled to Remdia often, both for work and pleasure. The neighboring countries had always been welcoming to one another. Even through their differences, there was always peace between them. Peter struggled to imagine what could have caused this to transpire. He had kept up to date with all the latest politics and yet, nothing stood out as a precursor to war. Nothing made sense to him.

Negative thoughts plagued his mind, his drive to work inevitably taking an ominous turn.

He pulled into the parking garage below his office building, his mind still reeling. He sighed and rested his head upon the steering wheel.

“Have faith in the government,” he quietly whispered to himself. “They won’t let this happen, Peter.”

It was a simple affirmation he chose to soothe his current worries. Unfortunately, it had little effect.

Peter screwed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before grabbing his briefcase and opening his door. With every step towards the elevator, he tried to leave his fears behind. He tried to focus on Sarah and their baby, on the happiness he felt moments ago. He tried to remember the beauty in the world, but his mind kept imagining bloodstained streets instead.

His body moving on its own accord, closer to the metal doors of the elevator.

As he pressed the up button, he couldn’t help but want to be with Sarah. To support her in this trying time and create a plan together. He also needed her calming presence to ease his worries.

The doors started to close before he could step into the metal contraption.

“Wait!”

Peter instantly threw out his hand, stopping the elevator doors from closing. He turned his head to see a co-worker running towards him.

“Phew! Thanks, Peter. You running a bit late this morning too?” his coworker curiously asked.

“Uhm, yeah. I guess so,” Peter tried to formulate coherent sentences, but his mind was too plagued by fear.

“You okay, Peter? Is Sarah okay?” his colleague asked hesitantly.

Upon hearing her name, Peter made up his mind. Work wasn’t important that day, not when his wife sat alone in their house and the threat of a battle hung over his head. He’d call out properly on his way home, surely his boss would understand.

“Uh. Yeah, she’s okay,” Peter started. “Actually, I’m going to go back to her, something is telling me I need to be with her today. She’s more important than all this.”

“Okay… I hope everything is alright?” his coworker sounded obviously confused but Peter didn’t care how insane he sounded.

Peter nodded, “Thanks Dom. Take care of yourself.”

Without another word, Peter turned on his heel and marched back to his car, mentally compiling a list of steps to keep his growing family alive. Something deep inside him said he needed to take his family and run. He needed to protect them, whatever the cost.