Genesis

Prologue

My heart was racing as I ran towards the commotion. The world was in chaos, smoke from fires everywhere. I heard an explosion further ahead, and my heart constricted in fear. I was praying that my loved ones were okay. How did it all come to this? I had to reach them, I had to get to them before...no, I couldn't finish that thought. My comrades were yelling for me to wait for backup. I removed my earpiece; I knew they were behind me, but I had to move with urgency. This was my family.

The buildings in my neighborhood were now abandoned. Not many people could've been evacuated in this situation. The attack was so sudden, no signs, no warnings. There were a lot of casualties, men, women, children, elderly, young. They mattered not to our enemy. The rescue team to my neighborhood was all gone but my family was still here and I needed to get to them as quickly as possible.

My house was on the outskirts of town. There was nothing special about it. Just a normal family home with a decent sized yard for a normal family gathering. It had its white picket fence, and we were doing our best to live our American dream. However, in this knew found world, under this regime, happiness came with a price. I needed to find my family, I needed to know that they were safe, but the sick feeling I had in my stomach was only getting worse the closer I got to my house. There was no one in or out of view, no enemy scouts, no security, no alpha team to take me out. I knew it was a trap and I should've taken more care, I should've been more cautious, devised a plan, find the best route to get to my family. I should've made the perfect rescue plan, but the sickening feeling in my stomach only deepened. I saw the smoke before the buildings were clear and I knew that was from my house. I heard their screams, and I pushed my limit. I had to reach them.

They were on their knees. I heard his laughter, heinous and repulsive. I heard a scream, but I couldn't tell if it was from one of them or from me. He executed them one by one, my parents, my brother, my husband, my child. I was too late. A sharp pain went through my chest, it slowed me down, but I didn't stop. I second bullet hit my shoulder, the third and fourth my stomach, almost there. The fourth bullet went straight through my left knee. He was toying with me, but I didn't care. My heart was on the ground laid out in front of me. Finally, my thoughts echoed. I crawled to my daughter's side. She was so precious. She was only four. I struggled to a sitting position. She was heaving, her breaths becoming more and more shallow. "Mommy's here," I said soothingly as I held her. The bastard hadn't killed her immediately. He was still toying with me, with my child. I pushed her hair from her face, a pair of odd eyes stared back at me, one pupil black as midnight, the other a light blue, tears staining her cheeks. I forced a smile, "Everything is going to be OK baby," I said wiping the tears from her face. Pain racket my body, but I held on to my child, watching as the light left her eyes, watching as she took her last breath.

Uncontrollable sobs escaped me, my family was gone. I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't care. He cocked his gun, and I felt the warm barrel against my skull. This was the gun he used to kill my family. I placed my baby gently down, kissing her eyelids closed, and turning to face the bastard who took my life from me. I ignored the pain that was going through my body and stood. I lost too much blood; my movements were now too sluggish. He had a triumphant grin on his face, and the hatred I had burned for him. He still had his gun on me, pointed square between my eyes. He was going to kill me; it was there in his eyes, so I knew he saw mine. I knew he saw my resolution as I stared him down. I knew he felt it. The hatred that burned had become so palpable. He stopped smiling knowing this was his last chance. If he didn't kill me now, I was going to kill him. Fear flashed across his features but disappeared just as quickly as they appeared, and I knew he felt it too, what I was. I smirked, he pulled the trigger.