No one moved.

Arsene let out the smallest of breaths and he lowered his hands, but it was a foolish mistake.

The three officers lunged at Arsene, grabbing at his clothes and hitting him with their weapons as Arsene fought desperately to cover his face and head. But they grabbed his hands too. They broke his nose and covered him with cuts and gashes.

Valerie cried out for them to stop. They didn't. They only continued in their ferocity. Arsene was on the ground now, barely able to keep his hands up.

Christian fell back against the counter in an attempt to not accidentally be swept up in the attack. As Arsene tried to run into the back of the shop, one of the officers grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back to them. That's when Christian saw a locket that was around Arsene's neck ripped off and fly to the floor.

Frauke officers: Enforcers of law and order. Protectors of the way of life that the country held sacred. They held uncontestable power above the citizens of the regime. Even if he wanted to, Christian couldn't interfere. They had judged Arsene to be put to death. All because Markith citizens were deemed to be deserving of such and nothing else.

The attack reached its climax. The officers had stomped on Arsene's head, and he had gone limp, yet they continued.

The locket was grabbed from the foot of the scuffle and no more than a moment later a flash accompanied by the sound of a low and gritty crackling of lightning caught everyone off guard.

The three officers quickly looked up, and one after the other, they were shot to death. One was taken instantly, with no time to react to what was happening. He was shot in the head. The second was shot once in the shoulder as he moved then shot twice more in the chest. He fell flat on his back as he died. The last officer was able to react while the other two were killed.

The last officer rushed Christian and grabbed the wrist that held the gun. Valerie looked on as Christian wrestled with the officer for the gun. As they fought she ran to Arsene who was bleeding and bruised all over. His face was swollen and misshapen, but he was alive.

Valerie delicately lifted Arsene's head and laid it on her lap as she kneeled by him. She stroked his hair and cried over him. The sudden blast of the gun going off again ordered her attention back to Christian and the officer.

Chrisitan was hunched over but straightened himself up as the officer's arms around his neck slipped off. Christian was panting, fighting for air as he looked over at Valerie. She looked back in awe. Christian walked over to her and knelt. He showed her the gun, then, he covered it with his hands above and below it. The same flash and low, gritty sound of lightning sparked from between his hands.

Once Christian separated them, Valerie snatched Arsene's locket from one of his hands. In it was a photo of her. She saw in Christian's other hand a small lump of metal.

"We need to call for help. From people we can trust," Christian muttered.