The car purred around us as we drove. It was silent for the most part. The radio hummed quietly, and neither of us moved to turn it up. It was peaceful. I hadn’t been alone with my dad in a while.

“I’m proud of you Logan. You’re growing into such a beautiful young woman.” He said. I smiled, keeping my eyes on the road.

“Thanks daddy.” I said, turning my brights on. It was getting dark.

“Listen,” He said, pausing, “I want you to know, that no matter what you do I’ll always love you.” My brows knit in confusion as he kept talking. “If you want to leave this fight behind you and have a life outside of the Resistance I won’t stop you.”

“Daddy, I want to fight. The only way we’re ever going to be safe is if we fight. I’m sixteen now, and I’m going to begin sitting in on the meetings. I know you won’t let me fight or help with missions, but I can at least sit in and listen to what you talk about.” I said, letting it all out at once. I wasn’t angry or upset. It was just how I felt, and what was fair. I heard dad sigh.

“If that’s what you want darling.” He said. I knew he didn’t like it. But we both knew that I was the most likely to end up with the tattoo, and this would help me get ready for it.

“It is. I want to be able to protect everyone. I want to bring us back to equals and not have to hide.” I said, my eyes scanning the sides of the street for any wandering animals. It had gotten really dark really quick.

“I understand. As long as you understand the danger.” He paused, I could feel something nagging him but I stayed quiet. My dad would always tell you what he was thinking; you just had to give him time to get it into the right words. Again my eyes scanned the darkness. Maya’s warning came into my mind and I suddenly felt uneasy. What had she seen, if anything?

“Just know that no matter what happens to your mother or me, it is not your fault. Never blame yourself for anything.” I saw him look over at me out of the corner of my eye.

“What do you mean?” I asked, worried.

“Your mother and I, we have some very dangerous enemies. Lately…lately there have been attacks on other high ranking members of the Resistance. Just promise me, if anything happens, you don’t blame yourself.”

I was confused. We were safe weren’t we? “We’re safe aren’t we?” I asked. I glanced over at my dad.

You know how they say the smallest action can change the world? Well, it’s true. I glanced at my dad. The smallest action not lasting more than a second changed my world. In that second, my dad’s eyes grew wide. He reached out his arm across me but I didn’t feel it hit my chest like I should have. I heard him yell something, but it was cancelled out by a screech so unearthly it scared me. What kind of creature could make that noise? I felt my body move forward to try to continue moving and I realized the car had stopped. The seat belt tightened across my torso and my head whipped forward, hair flying. Everything was a swirl of black and gray.

Then, it was just black.