“Jacob, I’m scared,” Kate whispered.

Jacob squeezed his wife’s hand. “I know. I am too.”

Their two‑week‑old son cooed softly, and Kate held him tighter against her chest.

Jacob knew the Superiors were coming. He could feel them closing in. He and Kate had managed to stay ahead of them for a while, but the Superiors were faster, tireless, relentless. Jacob wrapped his arms around Kate, knowing this would be their last embrace.

He shut his eyes. Memories flickered through his mind—his years living among the Superiors, obeying their every command; the day he married Kate; the birth of their first son, now seven, whom they had been forced to leave behind. And then the dream—the reason they were here at all.

He had dreamt of a place far beyond Superior territory, a place where humans lived freely and peacefully. He didn’t know how he knew it existed, only that he did. When he told Kate, she had doubted him—until she dreamt it too. That was when they fled.

But now, with the Superiors nearly upon them, Jacob wondered if he had believed the dream simply because he needed it to be true. Instead, he had led his family into a trap. He drew a long breath and opened his eyes. What he saw sparked an idea.

“Kate,” he said, gripping her shoulders, “we have to hide the baby.”

Kate stared at him, as though she hadn’t heard correctly. “What? Where?”

“There.” Jacob turned her and pointed.

About thirty feet away stood a tree with a hollow just large enough for a baby. They hurried to it. Inside was an abandoned nest—likely a raccoon’s.

“Nice and cozy,” Jacob murmured, taking their son.

“Wait—before you put him in…” Kate slipped off her backpack and rummaged through it. She pulled out a small piece of paper and a pen, scribbled a note, folded it, and tucked it into the baby’s blanket.

“What’s that?” Jacob asked.

“It’s for whoever finds him. His name, where he’s from, what happened to us… and to take good care of him.” Her voice trembled.

“His name? But we never named him.” Jacob looked at her, puzzled.

She smiled faintly. “I just did.”

“Oh?”

“Amos.”

Jacob looked down at his sleeping son. “Amos. Couldn’t be more perfect.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular photograph—himself, Kate, and their first son. He tucked it beside the note.

“You and your A’s,” Jacob said, glancing at Kate. She let out a soft laugh, though a tear slid down her cheek.

They both kissed little Amos goodbye. Jacob placed him gently inside the hollow tree. Then he wrapped an arm around Kate, and together they walked back the way they had come. They hadn’t gone far when the brush rustled and machinery whirred. They stopped. This was it.

Jacob looked into Kate’s eyes. “I love you, Kate.”

“I love you, Jacob.”

They kissed, and Jacob knew there was no other way he would rather die. They pulled apart just as three Superiors emerged from the right.

The leader smiled. “Found you.”

All three raised their pistols. Kate buried her face in Jacob’s chest. He held her close, shifting to shield her with his body.

The leader laughed—and they fired.