Gone With The Wind

Prologue

Word count: 2146

Axel gripped his mother's hand tighter as they crouched behind the towering building, shielding themselves from the fire. Screams and cries erupted from the square and they gripped each other's hands tighter. Lethal flames were licking hungrily at Axel's bare feet as he watched his school become fuel for the cruel fire. Children were ripped from the arms of their mothers and guided away by evil- looking soldiers. Robin Crater- a boy from Axel's class- was picked up by his shirt collar and dragged away from his screaming mother who fought back angrily, shrieking for her child. Fear crept into Axel's heart when she was apprehended and a large knife shoved unmercifully into her skull and stripped of all her valuables. Axel's mother hid her face in her sleeve as more and more young women were slaughtered; young boys taken hostage; and children stolen, destined to be slaves. She would not allow that to happen to her child- not ever. They could take her, break her soul; but they would never get their murderous hands on her baby.

The smoke darkened the sky and the flames climbed higher and higher up the building, much to the pleasure of the soldiers, forcing her to take her son and leave. Everywhere was crawling with armed guards and Adira knew that she would never be able to slip out without being seen. Axel was choking and tears streamed down his face from the thick smoke, creeping into his lungs and then ends of his brown hair were singed from the fire. Recklessly, she put her son to her chest and ran to her death, praying that the bullets would miss her until she was far enough away for her son to escape.

Blindly, she ran, her hair covering her eyes, obscuring her limited vision. Out of nowhere, a bullet embedded itself into her shin and she faltered, almost losing balance. Pain shot through her harshly, as another bullet hit her shoulder and then her shoulder blade. Axel was crying, clutching his mother as she ran, blood spilling from her wounds like a cursed waterfall.

Adira knew that she would end up like Robin's mother and all of her other friends- a rotting, forgotten corpse on tainted ground- but she continued to run with the hope that she could give her child a fighting chance.

Strong winds blew from out of nowhere, almost knocking Adira to the floor, slowing her down enough for a soldier to grab her and throw her to the floor, tearing Axel away, kicking and screaming. A large boot was pressed to Adira's chest, labouring her already shallow breaths. She was unable to look towards her son when she heard him screaming and crying and a soldier screeching back at him.

"Don't hurt my son!" she wailed, her pleas lots in the wind, "Please, don't hurt my son!" again, Axel screamed and Adira heard his tiny body fall to the floor and anger took over her, sending adrenaline coursing through her veins, "I told you not to touch my son!"
The winds soon became impossibly strong, knocking the soldiers off their feet. Out of the corner of her eye, Adira saw Axel stand up shakily. He ran over to her and kneeled beside her.
"Don't worry, Mama," he told her, "the nice lady said that the mean men won't hurt me anymore,"
Adira looked on in shock as she winds barely affected her son. His cheeks were still rosy and he wasn't shuddering,
"What nice lady?"
"The one who gave me the wind," he told her, on a time that suggested that she should've known this.

Shaken, Adira pulled herself to her feet, her wounds still throbbing and the soldiers still struggling to fight against the wind. Axel started running and the wind slowed down, but Adira didn't question it. The soldiers were recovering quickly and collecting their guns, ready to pull the trigger on the almost-escapees. Axel noticed his mother falling behind and saw the blood trail that followed her as she ran. Without hesitation, he ran behind her and used the wind to push the soldiers back and knock the guns from their hands. The impact sent him into orbit and he crash-landed into his mother, knocking her to the ground, his shock causing the wind to stop blowing, allowing the guards to begin to close the gap between them.