Cataclysm

Chapter 1

The chilling air takes me by surprise when I step outside and look around. The sky is a dismal shade of grey and dark clouds gather overhead and show signs of coming rain. I pull my jacket closer to me and begin walking down the steps and take a seat on the bottom step. I check my cracked watch for the time and realize that school will start in twenty minutes. He should have been here by now.

I quickly pull my jacket closer to me and begin walking down the steps only to take a seat on the
bottom step. I check my cracked watch for the time and realize that school will start in twenty minutes. He should have been here by now.

My mentor happens to be my father's right hand man and my escort. My father is the head of our
small town and has forbidden me to leave the house unless I have an escort. He used to be the commander in the central part of our nation-state, but shortly after the war, he and my mother moved here. They received followers and pretty soon our small village became a town of innocent citizens who fled the grips of the war.

The war around us began twenty years ago, but it still hangs in the balance. My father has told me countless stories of our nation-state; Dumani and its war with Tetron nation. Dumani is our nation and leading city, the remains of the so called United States. It is said that a country attacked the United States. I don't understand a lot of the old history, but to simplify things, Dumani is the leading city on the east coast of the nation-state. Every nation-state is named after their leading city and that city is the center of trade routes. There are four nation-states; Tetron, Dumani, Serendipity, and Terador. Tetron and Dumani have been at war with each other for twenty years, but we have remained neutral with Serendipity. Terador nation has remained silent these past years and nobody seems to understand their solitude.

I am thankful for our small town. It has gifted us with advantages because we have very little ties with the war. Life isn't easy here, but I still think we are fortunate. Here, the war is left at the back door.

"Good morning, Nora. Sorry I'm late." I look up and notice the General coming into view. "Are you ready to go?"

I nod to him and follow him down the street. He is an older man in his late forties. His hair is dark, but it shows noticeable signs of gray strands. He is taller than I am and has a more robust build to him. He used to be close friends with my father when they resided in Dumani. He was also my father's mentor when he was training to become a soldier. It didn't take long for my father to surpass the General's expectations and become a high ranking commander in the army.

We walk slowly down the streets and the sights of people coming out of their houses makes me feel sympathetic. A woman walks out of her house with an empty basket and her face is sunken and tired. These people have been through so much in the past couple years. Some of the citizens in our small town were survivors of Dumani's war and they show noticeable signs of their survival. Our small village even reflects the effect of war. Shattered windows, cracked stone walls, broken cobblestone sidewalks, and shady alleyways all remind us of the war outside our front door. Our town wasn't as high tech as the rest of the nation and my father worked to keep the peace. He would travel door to door and give food to those less fortunate. He has squandered up a small group of soldiers that have fled Dumani with him and would send them into the forest to hunt and gather food. I was lucky because he trusted me and wanted me to join the small group someday. He issued the General as my mentor and every day after school he secretly trains me and teaches me defenses.

"Have a good day today and I'll see you after school." General Tarnez says to me with a warm smile as I nod and enter the building.

Our school consists of one large makeshift building with only ten rooms. Our class has children from ages seventeen to fourteen. I was almost sixteen and my father said that on my sixteenth birthday I could drop out and dedicate my focus on training.