The car sped up to the curb, braking loud enough for everyone on the block to hear. I didn’t know why they were all in such a hurry. The news said the government had everything under control. The Army, Navy, Marines, Police, and even the Coast Guard were rushing to guard all the entry points. There was no way The Sleepers could get past all of them to break all the seals.

I waited for the men to settle in to the living room, and then I snuck out of my room, planting myself right outside the door. The tallest man in the middle of the room did most of the talking.

“You need to turn her over to us, Ms. Henan. We don’t have time for some ancient ritual. We need to release her weapons and prepare to fight. The Sleepers are approaching, and we’re all in danger.”

“What do you expect me to do about it, General? She doesn't even know how to use her powers yet. Anyways, her powers are useless without a protection ritual and I’m still trying to find all of the ingredients we need. The prediction said we had more time. This isn’t suppose to be happening yet.” Mom jumped up rifling through the papers piled in to a mountain on her desk. Dad’s picture fell over from the pressure of the stacks. She collapsed to the floor crying. “You have to tell the President I need more time.”

“We don’t have any more time. The signs are clear - the sleepers have awakened. Just this morning, the final sign was observed less than fifty miles from here. A young girl found the first dead frog, but soon there were hundreds. Each one had the symbol burned into its back. Now give me your daughter. We’ll just have to hope she survives long enough to stop them and pray.”

“General, you don’t understand. “ Mom practically threw herself at his feet, screaming up at him, trying to get him to hear her. “She can't survive without the ritual blessing. I can't lose her too.”