boundless (A.U)

one.♡

Another bombing raid had hit, only this time, closer. I yapped and sprinted to the left, away from the last raid. My legs were running as fast as they could take; I came to a stop once all the screaming and slamming had finally stopped. My body collapsed on to the ground as I took a deep breath.

I peered around the ominous forest with wide and thoughtful eyes. The trees were like shadows and the atmosphere was terribly eerie. I zipped my coat up in an attempt to stay warm. The fading screams in the distance made me jump every so often, but I still didn't blink. I was accustomed to it.

I felt another belabour; it was closer. My body was quick to stand as I stood on my tip-toes to see where it was coming from. The ground started to shake like there was a 9.0 earthquake that had just hit. A gasp escaped my lips as I started to run again. I bounded in the opposite direction of all the chaos and felt tears well up in my eyes. There is no time to be weak.

I kept running until a loud bang threw me to the woodland floor. Before I could process a single thought, my body froze to the ground. I tried moving my arms, but I was paralysed. An uncomfortable numbness invaded my body, followed by a darkness.

I shoot up and clutch my chest with fright.  I glance around my room. I am not in lying dead on a forest floor. I am in bed. It was just a nightmare. I exhale with relief. I peer over at my clock. 8.57AM. I climb out of bed and stumble over to the bathroom. I double-take at the mirror and gasp at the reflection staring back at me. This isn't me. This is the ghost of who I was. 

I wash my face with cool water and take a relaxing shower. I quickly throw on a navy dressing gown and wrap my wet hair in a towel.

I make my way downstairs. As soon as I am in earshot of the kitchen, the noise level rises. 

I look at my mother who is cooking scrambled eggs with one hand and gossiping on the phone with another. When I glance towards the table, I see a high chair with a yelling toddler in it. 

"Grace, thank goodness you're here. Put the bib on the baby." She orders, throwing me a couple of bibs. I nod. 

As I slowly make my way to the table, I watch my little brother Oscar shout about wanting his toys. I feel a light tug on the hood of my dressing gown from him who looks at me with a pout. 

"Gigi, I want my toys!" He says, looking over at mum with disgust.

"We've been through this Oscar, no toys at the table," I say, whilst giving him a pat on the head. 

I sit in my seat at the end of the table and tap my fingers. I am waiting for my older brothers to call like they do every morning and night. Josh, Max, Harry, Zach and Brad are my older brothers. Josh and Max are leaders in the Northern Europe gang called 'The Unsparing'. Since they are usually away, working for their gang, they always call us to let us know that they are okay. Whenever they do call, they give us a small piece of information. Very risky, but very important. 

We have absolutely no say in our society.  The police are petrified of the gangs, as well as the government. Anybody who speaks out of line, or even expresses a conflicting opinion is instantly killed. That's why I keep myself to myself. To keep me and my family safe. 

"Gigi, are you not going to school today?" Questioned my mother as she sat down with her coffee.

"No, there's no point, it started over an hour ago, and we'll be lucky if there are more than six people in our class today." I sigh 

"That's terrible. I remember when education took first priority." My mum rolls her eyes.

"I know mum, but can you blame people. It's much safer to stay at home these days." 

"I know." She sighs. 

"I'm going to get a meal deal from the shops, do you want owt?" I ask before slapping my hand over my mouth.

"Grace! Don't go around parading that accent! We stand out enough as it is. Nobody can know that we have had any contact from England. Understand?" She shouts 

"Sorry, mother." I sigh.

When I was born, before this dreadful war, we lived in Yorkshire, England. We had to flee the country when I was nine. Norwegian government made our new identities. We had to lie and tell everyone we had an English accent because we watched a lot of Coronation Street. But that was not true. None of our stories were and if anyone knew, we would be murdered.