Chapter 1: The Before

Before the bombs dropped three men scramble to get to safety before the blasts kill them and destroy any hope they have of surviving.

"We need to get to the cottage!" screamed Dante with the sirens wailing throughout the city.

The ever-looming threat of the impending nuclear war was becoming reality as the three men scattered to gather items from their home. They grabbed the items necessary to survive the horrible blasts to come.

"We have everything, get in the car." Galileo said rushing his brother and husband out the door. They got in the car and started driving north toward the rural area outside the city.

The streets were filled with people trying to escape their inevitable fate. Traffic was completely insane. The three men rode block after block hitting a traffic jam every way they turned.

"We need to dissaperate there, we'll never make it in this traffic." exclaimed Aristotle.

"You're right, we can only take necessities." Galileo said putting the already stopped at in park. All three men jumped out and started grabbing small bags out of the trunk. Dante tried to grab his brothers hand.

"We can't do it here!" "There's too many people!" He said with a twinge of aggravation in his voice.

"What does it matter?!" Said Dante. "All of these people will be dead within the hour."

Galileo looked at his husband for approval and with a nod of the head the three men joined hands. They needed to think very hard about where they had to go. With a woosh, and sharp inhale of breath, the three of them disappeared from the crowded city street and reappeared at the sacred ground their family once called home.

The small cottage in the middle of the woods may not look like much, but the ground is hallowed and filled to the brim with a magic aura of protection, not completely strong enough to hold the blasts away itself.

After transporting themselves to the cottage they scrambled to get ready. "Aristotle, you need to drink this elixir." It will temporarily increase you powers." "We need a ward around the property." Galileo said looking for the bag of crystal he thought he put in his pack.

The ground suddenly shook with a great roar. A mushroom cloud was forming at a distance. All three men stared in disbelief as cloud slowly got bigger and bigger.

"Galileo, we need the crystals now!" "Aristotle can't hold the barrier by himself!" Dante screamed, panicking now.

"I left them at the house!" Galileo said hitting himself in the head with his fist. And then it hit him. "I've got it!" "Aristotle, my love, drink your elixir on my mark."

Galileo sized up the mushroom cloud with his thumb and tried to get an estimate as to when the blast would hit. As long as they got through the initial blast everything would be fine. Dante and Aristotle looked at Galileo, waiting for the go ahead.

"Now Aristotle." echoed through the air as the blast radius extended outwards at an alarming pace. "Dante, grab my hand."

Galileo took his brothers hand and began speaking an incantation Dante had never heard before. Trusting his brother, he began repeating the incantation. A beautiful blue light stemmed from his husband and brother in law. It seemed to feed Aristotle more than any food ever could have. The blast was now a couple of miles away and everyone was getting scared.

"Cast the spell now, Aristotle!" Galileo screamed as the blast could now be heard coming towards them like a freight train.

"What if I'm not strong enough?!" Aristotle yelled with tears in his eyes and hesitation in his voice.

"You are!" Both of the other men yelled as the blast got so close it was hard to hear each other.

Aristotle, now seeing the blast coming through the woods and the path of destruction it was leaving in its wake, stood as still as a statue. With his eyes closed, he mutter a small incantation, so quiet his family could not hear him. Right before the blast was about to hit the property line Aristotle clapped his hand. A blue light flew out of his palms and into the sky. It exploded into a ward of protection all around them. A blast hit the half spherical structure and tried to break through, creating an ear splitting screech that echoed off the walls of the blue wall of light. Man and magic clashing in an age old battle, observable by the three men standing within. Aristotle stood as still as he could in the middle of the property.

Holding the spell until it was over...

Author's Note

Please correct my grammar and word usage. I love hearing contructive criticism so I can improve my work.