The War Apiary

Prologue

The screams of woman and children filled the night sky. Embers floated up into the darkness like fireflies taking flight away from the turmoil below.

"You! Get in line!" Shouted a man dressed in black with a red wasp imprinted on his chest plate. The man was undoubtedly a Rebellion soldier.

A young girl who was holding a smoky coloured feline in her arms just stood staring at him but didn't move.

"Didn't you hear me? I just verbally expressed for you to GET IN LINE!" The sentinel shouted again. This time gesturing with his gun for her to get into the line of people who had their hands on their head.

"She doesn't speak English," said a prisoner from the line.

"Can't you leave her? She's just a child," pleaded another.

The guard glanced at the line. "Shut up!" He barked. "No one asked for your input!"

The girl saw her chance to escape. With the cat in her arms, she turned and ran. A poor thing it was, it's tail all bushy and it's eyes darting here and there. Their home had been destroyed by fire and the noise of gunshots and people screaming was just too much for both the girl and the poor feline. Gunfire rattled behind them. All around, the bullets sparked up shattered earth as they impacted the ground. The girl ran for her life, tightly clutching her beloved furry friend.

Not sure if she was being followed, she turned to look back as she ran. Her foot caught on a fallen branch and she lost her balance and stumbled, dropping the cat in the process. The gunshots were ripping up the ground, but never managing to hit her. Frantically, she found her feet, picked up the cat and fled into the darkness.

The gunfire eventually ceased but she continued to run.

After what seemed like hours of running through rice fields and bush she came upon a small wooden shack. It was a place where farmers would normally keep their milk cows, but this night there were no cows or farmers. Everyone had either been caught up by the Rebels or had fled.

She slowed and looked about herself but found she was alone, just her and her cat. So, still hugging it, she settled down in a pile of hay and began the long wait for daybreak.

"We're safe now, Yen," she whispered to her furry companion while nuzzling its head with her nose. Her face came away warm and sticky. The cat seemed extremely limp in her arms. The unfortunate animal must have been hit by a stray bullet when she had fallen to the ground and died in her arms on the way.

"Oh Yen..." she whispered, burying her face in its long soft fur that was still warm. "Please don't go!" she sobbed. Her heart seemed to be more broken than before. Her parents and siblings were most probably dead and the cat was all she had left, but now she had nothing but bitter memories.

In a shed in the middle of nowhere sat a small girl frightened for her life feeling alone and helpless. All the while, hugging her dead cat. The noise of gunfire in the distance of a Rebellion firing squad made her hug the dead feline still closer to her shattered heart.

War is a hateful, bitter thing that no human being should go through, especially a young child.