Chapter 1 Jade

“Come on, Hunter, we don’t got all day with the rental,” I called out, as I hoisted another box from the truck. I was helping Hunter, my best friend, move into his new home. It was a simple, one-story place with two bedrooms and two bathrooms—a solid starter home. Nothing fancy, but it had character, and more importantly, it had potential.

Hunter was the rugged type, and I’d known him since we were kids. He was a guy who loved the outdoors—everything from weapons to hunting and fishing. Those were all interests we shared, which was probably why we’d always gotten along so well. In a way, helping him set up this little haven felt like just another one of our countless adventures.

He emerged from the rental truck with that familiar steady determination painted on his face, carrying a set of fishing rods in one hand and a large duffel bag slung over his shoulder. “Alright, alright, I’m coming,” he chuckled, tossing the bag down onto the grass with a soft thud.

The day was perfect for the task, calm and cloudless, and we fell into a comfortable rhythm as we worked. I dragged boxes labeled "camping gear" and "kitchen essentials" inside, while Hunter wrestled with some of the larger pieces of furniture, pausing occasionally to catch his breath and throw some lighthearted complaint my way.

We’d driven up from Nashville to Louisville, so we had only another few hours with the UHaul. We had a late start on the day that ate up our time. Hunter’s parents were quite sad to see us go as well. I was moving into my own place, with my brother, closer to the university, then driving my things up at a later point. Most people were trying to stay as stationary as possible due to the possibility of war.

I helped hunter offload the rest of his boxes, though he didn't need my help. He had strong arms and wide shoulders. All our childhood i was taller, until a couple years ago. It was frustrating how i relied on him to reach the tall things now. His muscles flexed as he picked up boxes 3 at a time.

He had several days worth of stubble, it gave him a rugged look but could not mask his loving eyes.

We had lunch in his new backyard, simple sandwiches, some chips, the sun beating down on us. Between bites, Hunter looked up at the sky, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he were watching a storm on the horizon.

We sat silently on the grass for a good while. He leaned closer to my shoulder, “Remember that time we tried camping in that thunderstorm a couple years ago?” His voice and eyes carried nostalgia.

I chuckled, wiping my hands on my jeans. “You mean the time I almost drowned in the creek trying to save the tent?”

Hunter laughed, shaking his head. “You spent more time trying to keep that damn tent from floating away than actually getting it set up. We were soaked before we even got the fire going.” He passed his soda to me after taking a sip.

I grinned, remembering the chaos. “And you kept insisting the fire would still light, even with everything soaked.”

"Hey, it wasn't my fault the wood wouldn’t stay dry. But you know, we still ate, didn’t we?" He raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk on his face. “Those beans, man, they were delicious.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop laughing. "Disaster, pure disaster. But we survived it, somehow." I took a small sip and passed him his drink back.

Hunter’s grin faded slightly as he took another bite of his sandwich, his eyes drifting off toward the horizon. "Yeah... we did," he muttered, his expression distant for a moment.

I watched him, the change in his demeanor not lost on me. “What’s up? You thinking about the war?” I touched his knee with my hand.

Hunter didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stretched his legs out in front of him, looking over his shoulder toward the road that led out of the neighborhood. “I don’t know... things feel different now. Its a different time.”

I felt a chill run through me, even though the day was warm. "You think it's coming?"

Hunter didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then, quietly, he said, "I don’t know. But something’s off. I think it’s already started."

I hesitated, the weight of his words settling in. The last time we’d faced something that felt this uncertain, we were camping in that thunderstorm, laughing through the chaos.

The quiet stretched between us, the air suddenly feeling heavier, as if the weight of his words had seeped into the ground beneath us. I shifted uncomfortably on the grass, the cool breeze from the trees doing little to shake the tension that had settled.

“What makes you think that?” I asked, trying to lighten my tone but failing to mask the unease in my voice.

Hunter finally looked back at me, his jaw tightening as his gaze locked on mine. “It’s just… everything feels off. You can’t ignore it anymore. People are talking about it more, the tension, the rumors. It’s only a matter of time before things go south. I just don’t know when.”

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. It felt like every passing day was thickening the fog of uncertainty around us. There were whispers everywhere—talk of borders closing, of alliances shifting, of the possibility of war creeping into every conversation like an uninvited guest.

“I can't be too surprised, considering the North let us off easy self governing. It’s hard to wrap my head around it. It’s like, one minute, everything’s fine. The next... it feels like the ground’s shifting beneath us.”

Hunter nodded, a flicker of something dark passing over his face. “It’s not just that. I’ve been seeing more patrols around, checking vehicles, people just... on edge.” He ran a hand through his hair, his brow furrowing. “And then there’s the fact that we’re all just sitting here, waiting for it to happen. Like we can’t even pretend things are normal anymore.”

I leaned back on my elbows, staring up at the cloudless sky, trying to calm the swirl of thoughts in my head. The air felt too still, too silent for such a monumental change to be on the horizon. Yet, the signs were there, in the little things—the way people moved differently, the conversations that always ended with a nervous chuckle or an uneasy glance.

"Do you think it'll really come here?" I asked, the question hanging in the air like a thick fog.

Hunter didn’t answer right away, his eyes distant again as he stared off into the distance. “I don’t know,” he said, his voice low. “But something’s been building. And if it does, we need to be ready. We are on the edge of war and the edge of Kentucky.”

The words felt like a punch to the gut, not because they were unexpected, but because they echoed something I’d been trying not to admit to myself. The world had felt too fragile lately, like everything could fall apart in an instant, and here was Hunter, the last person to ever be this concerned, telling me it was already starting.

“We’ve got time,” I said, my voice more for myself than for him. “It won’t happen overnight.”

Hunter gave me a half-hearted smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Jade, I hope you’re right.” He stood up, brushing the grass, and crumbs, from his pants.

I stood as well, and we walked back to the UHaul to go to my brother's house and offload what little of mine i brought up here.