To Suffer Without Dying

Ch.1 : Spirals

November 22, 2013

One Year Before The Event~

A luxury yacht slowly meanders it's way through the Strait of Gibraltar. Light from the full moon reflects serenely off of the calm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Small PT boats form a protective circle around the yacht, because of the precious cargo that was on board. The German ambassador, with his wife and son, was going to Turkey for a peace meeting and a possible Alliance with the Turkish national government. Several other UN nations would be attending (the U.S.A., France, Israel, Russia, and the UK) to discuss the rising threat of the Loyalist Union who already has China, India, Mexico, Brazil, and South Africa with in its tight political grip.

OAKLAND

I had just finished an night swim, and plopped down in my room with my laptop, and logged into Facebook. Ugh. So many notifications... I thought to myself and scrolled down and clicked the news feed. Too many birthday wishes. People need to chill. I'm only 17. People take birthdays too far. I paused right where I was And listened intently. Silence. I knew that we hadn't reached Turkey yet, because my parents would have called me to gather my things. Running footsteps overhead stopped in their tracks, then a mysterious thump was audible. The stairs leading to my cabin creaked ominously; someone was coming down. I immediately l, looked for a place to hide and a weapon. As my father always says, "If someones coming for you, the only good thing to have is a weapon and a place to hide." My cabin was small, not much more than a desk, a book self, and a bed, so hiding was out of the question. A small but sharp sword was pinned to the wall in a decorative way. I tore it down hastily and stood by the door ready to pounce. Suddenly, the door shattered inward and a masked figure strode in. I shut my eyes and plunged the blade into his chest. He fell backwards with me on top of him. I caught a glimpse of the Loyalist flag (deep olive green with a white star in the middle) on his uniform, before several explosions sent me flying into the back wall, and set my ears ringing. Pieces of of the upper deck snapped into long, pointed, deadly flying projectiles that launched around the ship, impaling anything in their way. I crawled up the stairs to see what was going on. Raging fires engulfed the bridge. Loyalist soldiers and crew men raced around the deck. Some boxes (that i assumed where rations) exploded revealing Anti-Aircraft guns, which roared to life to combat the incoming fighter planes. The PT boats escorting the our yacht formed a protective circle to keep any and every other boat out of the vicinity. The military aboard began to fire upon the Loyalists. I spotted my mother near the captain and ran toward her. She held up her hand and screamed something at me , but I couldn't hear her even I wanted to. By the time I saw the rocket, it was too late. The fireball engulfed my mother and tore a gigantic hole in the side of our ship. The shock-wave hit me like a freight train, launching me overboard and into the warm water if the Mediterranean. I swam to the surface and looked for something to grab on to. A piece of metal floated a few yards away. I swam to it. The ship descended into the dark water. Tears began flowing from my eyes. I grabbed the piece of metal and floated away. A few days later I woke up in a hospital in Italy. My father was next to me. He hadn't been on the boat because he was already in Turkey. He told me that we would have to go to Ukraine to clear the German Embassy. The Russians moved weapons into Ukraine with out anyone's consent. There was fear of civil war.

Mikhail

No body believed me when I said there would be war. I saw it coming. I knew it would arrive. I was ready. Their so called president failed them. He refused to join the EU. I was 14 at the time, homeless, and a thief.

February 18, 2014

A cold wind blows over the German Embassy in Kiev. It is early morning, around 4:00 A.M. There is talk of civil war. A lone figure races across the rooftops draped in a long black cloak.