THE SHIELD (TRANSFORMATION)

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER

Fifteen years of moving every six months.

Fifteen years of new names, new towns, new life.

Fifteen years of my mom looking over her shoulder every time a car drove too slow past our house.

And today, I turned 15.

No party. No friends. No cake.

Just me, Mom, and a small house at the edge of a farming village nobody had ever heard of.

The garden was quiet that morning. Mom stood outside for a long time, just staring at the tomatoes and corn like she was saying goodbye to them. When she finally came in, her eyes were red.

"Cody," she said. Her voice was soft. "Go to my room. Bring me the small box. It’s on the top shelf, behind my clothes."

I nodded. "Okay, Ma."

Her room smelled like lavender and old paper. I climbed on the bed to reach the top shelf. No box.

I checked the drawer. Empty.

I checked under the pillow. Nothing.

Something felt wrong. My chest felt tight.

I got down and looked under the bed.

There.

A bundle wrapped in faded brown cloth. Tied with string. Dusty, like it hadn’t been touched in years.

My hands shook as I pulled it out. It was heavier than it looked.

Back in the kitchen, Mom was washing dishes. She didn’t turn around.

"Did you find it?"

"I... I found something under the bed."

She froze. The water kept running.

"Bring it here," she whispered.

I set it on the table and started unwrapping it. Layer after layer of cloth fell away.

Inside was iron.

Dull. Dark. Burnt around the edges, like it had been in a fire.

Just a disc. About the size of my palm. Useless.

I frowned. "Mom, what is this? It looks like trash."

She finally turned. And when she saw it, she dropped the plate in her hands. It shattered on the floor.

"The Shield," she breathed.

I picked it up. It was cold. Dead.

On a whim, I touched the center with my finger.

*BLUE.*

Light exploded. Not from the room. From the disc.

Bright, electric blue that shot up to the ceiling and painted the walls.

My eyes went wide. My heart hammered.

And then I saw it.

Fire.

Men with guns.

Our house, surrounded.

A woman screaming my name.

I gasped and dropped the disc. The light vanished instantly.

Thunder cracked outside, so loud the windows rattled.

The door slammed open.

Mom.

She was crying. Not soft tears. Big, shaking sobs.

When she saw the Shield on the table, she collapsed to her knees.

"You found it," she whispered. "Oh God, Cody. You found it."

I knelt next to her. "Mom, what’s going on? What did I see?"

She grabbed my face with both hands. Her hands were cold.

"That was your father’s," she said. "General Cade. The most wanted man in Tana. He died so we could live. People have been hunting us for 15 years because of that thing."

She picked up the Shield. It was dull again.

"This is The Shield. It bonds to our blood. It protects. It destroys. And now that you’ve touched it, they’ll know where we are."

I stared at her. "Who’s ‘they’?"

"The people who killed your father."

She stood up suddenly, wiping her face. "I need you to go. Right now. Pack a bag. Go to the city. Past the old market, to Auntie Mara’s shop. Get the medicine I asked for last week. It’ll take you all day. Leave now."

"Mom, that’s a 6 hour walk—"

"GO, CODY!"

I knew it was a lie. She was sending me away.

I grabbed a bag and ran.

I walked for hours. The sun went down. The stars came out.

When I finally turned back toward home, something felt wrong.

The sky was orange.

I started running.

By the time I reached our street, the house was gone.

Just rubble. Blackened wood. Smoke.

"MOM!" I screamed. "MOM!"

No answer.

I tore through the wreckage with my bare hands, cutting myself on nails and glass.

"Mom! Please!"

Then I saw it.

Under a fallen beam, half-buried in dirt.

The cloth bundle.

I ripped it open.

The Shield.

Still there. Still dull.

And with it, a letter. Folded twice. My name on it in Mom’s handwriting.

Cody

My hands shook so bad I could barely open it.

My son,

If you’re reading this, then they found us. I’m so sorry.

Go to Mister Andrew. This is his address: 14 Blackstone Lane, Old District.

He was your father’s best friend. His brother in arms.

He will teach you how to use The Shield. He will teach you how to activate its true power.

Don’t trust anyone else. Not the government. Not the soldiers. Only Andrew.

You are the last of House Cade. The destruction started with your father. It ends with you.

I love you. Always.

Mom

I read it three times.

Footsteps crunched behind me.

I turned.

Three men in black armor stood at the edge of the ruins. One of them was holding something that looked like a scanner. It was beeping. Fast.

One of them pointed at me. At the Shield in my hands.

"There," he said. "That’s it."

I looked down at the dull disc. Then back at them.

The blue light flickered once under my palm.

[TO BE CONTINUED ]