Something Greater (SAMPLE)

THE BLACK TROOPS

A piercing scream woke me up.

As I slowly emerged from the fog, I heard gunshots, bangs and the loud barking of the dogs. Somehow, I thought I was still dreaming. But when I opened my eyes, the horrifying sounds were still there, emerging from the outside.

Everywhere around me was darkness. For a moment, that darkness fell silent. I tried to calm down, and convince myself I was caught in some weird, inexplicable hallucination. In mere seconds, the silence was broken, the deafening sounds becoming louder and coming from different directions. Following the source of that terrible noise, I strolled to the window. As I came closer, the angry voices, mingled with muffled cries and the never-ending growls in the background, became clearer and clearer until I was able to discern what was happening. I didn't need to open the curtains to know I would witness the sight of life-threatening danger but, as if caught in a trance, I needed to peer outside.

With a shivering hand, I raised the edge of the curtain and peeked through the window.

Dozens of moving vehicles, the likes of which I had never encountered before, moved along the road. Tanks, trucks, cars and what seemed to be hundreds of soldiers only yards away from the house made for a terrifying and surreal sight. I took in the scene of chaos, and recognized a man in the crowd. It was our neighbor Jonathan, Mina's father. He knelt in front of a tall soldier in a black uniform, crying and making incoherent sounds. Despite my efforts, I couldn't make sense of his words, but it wasn't difficult to conclude he pleaded for his life.

In my mind, I screamed and urged myself to get away, call for help or do something—anything—but my body wouldn't cooperate. Instead of running, I stood frozen to the spot because I knew what that black uniform meant and what would take place that night. The Nyrmans had fooled us, and set the cruelest trap yet. There would be no evacuation in the morning. None of us was likely to see the light of dawn ever again.

The soldier laughed at Jonathan's desperate attempts to evoke mercy. He struck his face with the back of his gun, then leaned the weapon against his forehead. What happened in mere seconds, felt like eternity. A heart-wrenching scream ripped through me when the soldier pulled the trigger. The shot knocked my friend's father to the muddy ground, as if he was a bag of trash and not a person.

In the cold aftermath, the soldier kicked Jonathan's bleeding body, making sure he was dead. Then, before I got a chance to turn around and run to my mother, the murderer looked away from his victim and gazed up at my window. As if burned by a raging fire, I quickly drew the blinds and hurried toward the door, bumping into a silhouette of a woman who wrapped her arms around me and offered comfort.

"They killed him. They k-killed Jonathan," I mumbled in horror, hyperventilating and taking refuge in her embrace. "What are we going to do, Mama?" I asked in true fear, well aware we didn't have time to hide or run.

"It's okay. Everything will be all right sweetheart. I won't let them hurt you," she whispered in a soothing voice, leading me toward the tiny closet. Then she took a step back, opened the door and made me look into her eyes. Her expression was grave and filled with purpose. "Get inside, and don't come out or make a sound...no matter what."

I started to protest, refusing to leave her on her own with those monsters, but she slapped me as hard as she could, forcing me into silence. I stared at her in shock because she had never done that before.

"Do I make myself clear, Elena?" she scowled at me in sudden anger.

Loud, demanding knocks emerged from the front door, and echoed throughout the house.

Suddenly, both of us got a hold of ourselves, and quickly glanced toward the hallway. My mother gripped my shoulders, and leaned her forehead against mine. Her body shook with powerful cries. Her expression was pleading and desperate.