Chapter 1 - Shots Fired
Kazimir Sokolov sat on the front porch of his home, an old cottage in a small town in Russia. The sun shone in his eyes, practically blinding him. It was a beautiful June day, there were almost no clouds in the sky, and he had been running around in the yard with a few of his friends just a few hours earlier. This time of year was usually pretty calm, and people rarely visited his town anyways.
But that didn't stop the fact that all around him, there was chaos. Of course there was, it was Russia Day, the national holiday of the Russian Federation. People were dashing back and forth between others all throughout the street, trying to get to one place or another, whether it be to talk with a neighbor or hurriedly buy out the stock at the market. And standing there in the middle of all of it were the giant soldiers who had been standing there for as long as he could remember.
They never seemed to move, standing as still as if they were statues that even time couldn't destroy.
Then, a gunshot rang out. The loud crack sounded like a whip violently cracking on a drum, and it made Kazi feel like his ears were going to start bleeding. Blood-curdling screams erupted around him. It was so loud from the screams, gunshots and His heart started racing as his instincts took over, telling him to run. Jumping up from the porch, he tried to go back into the house, to warn his parents. But the door was locked.
Desperately, he pulled on the old screen door with all of his might. But it wouldn't budge. "This is the worst time for my door to get stuck again!" He thought. A second gunshot sounded, booming like a lightning strike. This one was louder than the last, maybe closer to hitting him. In a last ditch effort, he panicked and threw himself into the door. It immediately broke, collapsing onto the floor of his kitchen. He ran inside the house, calling out for his family. "Mom?! Dad?! Esfir?!" His screams of helplessness echoed throughout the house and he knew what it meant- nobody was in the house anymore. They had all fled like they should've when they heard the shots. Not even his brave sister, Esfir, who he knew would do almost anything for anyone in need, had run deep into the surrounding forest behind their house by now.
And so, being the sensible child of 15 years old he was, he made the same decision his family had and ran as deep into the forest as his skinny legs could take him. He thought as he was running- Who were they shooting at? Would they have shot me? Did they already get my family? What if they're coming after me right now? An uncontrollable shiver went shooting down the back of Kazi's spine. He didn't want to think about that right now.
He had been running for almost two hours before he had to stop. The thinking had distracted him from the aches in his body until it was too painful to ignore. His head spun as he tried to calm himself down. He needed to build a shelter, and find a source of food and water. There was no way that he could go back to his town. Back to his home. He needed to find his family. That was when he decided- that was his mission. To find his family and get back to his normal life. But he knew it was a lie. Nothing could ever return to normal now.
He tried getting up, but it felt like someone had just bashed his brains with a rock. Holding his head in his hands, he fell to the ground. It was hard trying to stay conscious, but he managed as much as he could. Lying there in the dirt, it grew dark quickly. Stress and weariness made it nearly impossible to stay aware of his surroundings, and with fading light, it was getting harder yet. Then, he heard a faint voice, and the soft bobbing glow of a lantern light getting closer. He tried to answer, to call out for help. He reached up with his dirt-covered, bloody hand towards the light. And that was the last thing he remembered before everything went completely black.
Chapter 2
Kazi was still half-asleep when he feet something brush against his face. He opened his eyes and saw a mop of hair, a tangled yet somehow still clean shade of faded blonde. He immediately sat up, backing away into a corner. "Where am I?" He thought. It looked like a small tent, possibly handmade. Patches covered up large holes made in the tent and the walls were a dull, worn down greenish-brown color. He glanced at the figure lying asleep next to him.
A boy- about his age, judging by his height- lay asleep on the ground. The boy looked as if he were strong enough to beat up a bear. Or if he wanted to... he could definitely beat up Kazi. And he knew he wouldn't stand a fighting chance.
