I woke with a start, to see my mother her eyes wide in distress. “Hurry Arthur,” she cried. I got out of bed, suddenly wide awake. “Mother what’s going on?” I had never seen her so panicked. “The government forces, they’re here,” she said her voice trembling. Tears began to run down her pale cheeks. “Promise me you’ll run and not look back.” She hugged me one last time, I could feel her trembling and then she let me go. I ran through the house. The door was wide open. Outside I heard terrified shouts, something wasn’t right. My father was standing there, fighting an armour-clad man with a sword. I ran past him, our eyes met briefly and he nodded just slightly as if to say “Go on, save yourself.” I ran faster than I’d ever ran before. There was a hollowed-out tree nearby, if only I could reach it. I saw it, a tangled oak with a hole in its depths. I clambered inside. It was uncomfortable, but I didn’t care. I looked back at my house. There was a figure on the ground, the snow around her was spattered with blood. Rage and grief filled me, how dare they. Wanting to put as much distance between me and those murderers I ran. The tears on my face froze with cold. I collapsed onto the snow covered ground, memories of my parents flooding through my brain. It was so cold. My limbs began to stiffen, my vision went blurry like I was drowning in a frozen lake. I glanced at my home; the snow was scarlet. It was eerily quiet, the valleys silence rang in my ears. Everything went blurry. I touched the bottom of that frozen lake, and never resurfaced.