Sanctuary: Safe Haven

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."

Unknown Author

Year 2064

"Six years have passed since father died ... and here I am again, standing in front of a casket."

Froja felt a lump in his throat whenever he saw the sign next to the casket.

"Here lies Mae Yakane, 2016-2065"

Since the passing of her husband Ruseigner, Mae had taken on the helm. She did her best even while grieving, being pregnant, and raising two children.

To the left of Froja stood a crying little girl holding his hand.

"Rhian, it's about to rain. We have to head in."

Froja tried to convince his little sister, but her tears were too overwhelming. He carried her on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

People grieve differently, and Mae's way of grieving was by immersing herself in paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork. She partly blamed herself for her husband's demise, even knowing she couldn't do anything about it.

After giving birth to her second child, Mae only rested for four months before returning to work. She didn't want their hard work to go to waste, especially with others eyeing the Sanctuary.

Just like that, five years quickly passed, and she dedicated her whole life to the Sanctuary, so much so that her cause of death was exhaustion from overworking.

Froja and Rhian looked at their parents' tombstones, sadness clear in their eyes.

It had been a week since their mom's passing, and Froja still had no idea what to do next. Everything was so sudden that he couldn't think straight.

He only knew two things:

Protect his sister.

Protect the Sanctuary.

They were about to go home when a woman in her mid-50s approached them slowly.

She put her hand on Froja's shoulder and said, "I know you're in pain, and I can't say that everything will be alright, but my doors are always open, Froja."

Jane, Mae's sister and their aunt, was one of those vultures his mother had warned him about, the kind that swoops in to take someone else's hard work without a second thought. Froja knew more of her kind would come to claim his parents' legacy.

But what could he do? He was only 15 years old. In the eyes of everyone, a mere child couldn't be responsible for the lives of millions of creatures. Froja knew that very well.

He knew what would happen next but still couldn't shake the feeling that he was lost.

________________

Four years passed in the blink of an eye.

Froja was now 19 years old.

Inside the Tortoise Sanctuary.

"I'll scrub all this muck off so you can feel much better."

Froja was working as the Sanctuary's primary maintenance team.

A lot happened in those four years. Jane received custody of Rhian. Since Froja wasn't of the right age, he wasn't granted the right to keep his sister by his side. He also lost his rights to the Sanctuary.

Since The Sanctuary was a project made by different governments worldwide, they deemed Froja unworthy and unsuited for the role. Therefore, Wayne—Jane's husband—was taking the helm.

"Alright, that should be good enough, little one." He put the little tortoise down and got another one.

Froja's daily routine involved helping with the animals or cleaning their enclosures, and there were so many animals in The Sanctuary that he couldn't possibly slack off.

In his mind, this was the only way to protect the legacy his parents left behind.

*static crackle* noise from the radio came up

"Froja, over. We need more people in the grizzly bear enclosure."

"Hahhh, whatever would you do without me?" Froja stood up, and as he was leaving, he saw from the corner of his eye a figure with a hoodie looking at him from the tortoise sanctuary.

No other staff besides him should be here, so he became suspicious.

"Hey! What's your name and badge number?" he called out before seeing the hooded figure slowly leaving the enclosure.

Froja started to run to catch up with the figure. "Hey! Where are you going!" he then reached for his radio to report the anomaly.

*static crackle* "This is Froja, over! I'm currently at the tortoise's enclosure chasing someone; he's now running over to the wolf's den!

Requesting backup, over!" Not long after, a reply came.

"Copy that, Froja; backup is on the way with their toys hot and loaded. Do not engage, I repeat, do not engage."

When Froja heard the reply loud and clear, he stopped running and tried to catch his breath. Slowly, he heard footsteps approaching and thought it was backup, so he didn't pay attention.

"The Yakane's think playing God is a game; you shouldn't have even been here. If you were smart enough, you'd join your parents in the afterlife," a cold voice declared.

Froja didn't have to look; he could already feel it in his bones. Death.

He sprinted to the door next to him, trying to open and enter it as fast as possible.

The assailant soon followed through the door. The door sign:

"Extreme caution: Wolf Enclosure"

After a few minutes of running, Froja saw two trees large enough to hide his body. He quickly hid, thinking he would only have to wait a few more minutes before backup arrived.

Not long after, he heard the voice of his assailant again.

"It's useless. If you think anyone will come for you, you are sorely mistaken. A lot of people hated your family. Do you think you can play God and choose who to save without repercussions? I know you're here somewhere." The assailant saw Froja's footprints leading behind a tree.

"I found you, you little rat." Five gunshots soon followed, and Froja ran away with a bloody shoulder.

"Run as much as you can! It will all be the same!" the assailant shouted and quickly chased after him.

"F*ck! It hurts so much!" Froja looked at his shoulder, feeling as if it was on fire. The lunatic chasing him was dead set on ending his life.

As he kept running, he saw the artificial lake meant for the wolves. He ran to it as fast as he could, all the while holding his bloody shoulder. He didn't even notice a couple of wolves now looking at him due to the smell of blood.

Now that he had reached the lake, he had no idea what to do next. He wasn't thinking straight and had just madly dashed here.

"Look at you, worthless. You didn't even try to fight." Froja turned around and looked at his assailant.

"You are weak; know that in your death, you protected no one. At least your father fought before we killed him. You are nothing but a disappointment." He lifted his gun, and just as he was about to fire, he heard a wolf howl close by.

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