Na17 Hero Stories by Gordana Nenadic Stevic

Hero Stories N A 17

The Bill Olivia Taylor stepped out of the cab and opened her umbrella. The weather was shitty and the ground covered with mud, usual in this part of the country but not for her. Surely she’d been here before, but that time it wasn’t like this, that was for vacation. The disappointment came creeping but she pushed it away, it is time to go to school. The first few months at university flew by like the wind does in the summer, easily and unnoticeable, warm and very welcome. She just sort of happened to end up in an already established group of friends, but it didn’t bother her much. The connection to Amy and Benjamin had come at once, almost instinctively, when they met in their common class; Advanced Interpretation: Law and Language, and the rest of them just followed. Benjamin and William had been friends since they were toddlers and when William started studying law last year he met Emma, the child genius two years younger than Olivia herself. •

Olivia! Amy called.

•

Yes?

•

Stop dreaming and come over here! I need your help with my hair.

Olivia walked over to their shared bathroom and looked in the mirror. Amy with her blue eyes and auburn curls, all made up. Amy Scott… She was the beauty of the group, always had someone to take her out on the weekends. •

Can you do like a messy, but still sexy and sophisticated, top bun?

• Whoa! That is a lot of pressure on a hairstyle! She lifted the hair and started twisting. •

No… Amy curled her lip. “I look like a librarian.”

•

A sexy librarian?

Amy was satisfied at last and went out the door, high on nerves and attitude. Olivia heard the loud noises from her friends down below when Amy went down the stairs. She wanted to go down to them, hang out together, maybe study some, watch a thriller, but instead she sat down to study some. The time was 19:32. She was waiting for a skype call from her parents down i Florida set at 20:00 and her mother would freak out if she didn’t pick up on time. Olivia looked up from the papers and saw that the time had passed eight o´ clock without as much as a buzz from her cell. Well no worries, daddy did say he had a meeting right before. Let’s do some more… Quarter to nine. It was starting to get a bit suspicious, should she call them? Ask if they’d forgotten? No, her mother would never forget. She looked down on her phone like it had betrayed her, an uneasy feeling in her gut surfacing. The other three in the group, Emma Adams, William Andersen and Benjamin Davies, was on the bottom floor of their two-story house. Quiet now that Amy had left, silently returning back to studying just as a loud rumble rose from Ben's stomach. •

I’m hungry! He complained.

Emma sighed with exaggerated eye movements. She had already dealt with this. • Oh stop it you. We have settled this already. When Olivia have finished chatting with her parents, we’ll order dinner. • How much could they possibly have to say? Ben was a hungry person. “I should’ve tagged along Amy on her date. I’m sure they have gotten their food by now. Could you imagine? Roasted potatoes, a nice steak.” His mouth was watering. “Or something asian maybe? Amy likes sushi… Oh oh! Indian food, curry 2

and…”  They were so used to this that the zooming out went on autopilot, but William couldn’t focus anymore, so he went across the room, fell onto the couch and turned on the tv. Some comedy show, that wasn’t his genre. He zapped once, twice, and there! Some late news. Emma heard the noise from the tv in the back of her head, but it was just white noise until she realized what they were reporting. A hurricane at the coastline of Freeport, just outside West Palm. That’s where Olivia is from! • da.”

Will, turn it up, please. She had to be sure. “It’s at the east coast. Flori-

Benjamin turned his head from his computer to see what all the fuss was about. •

Oh no... All three in chorus.

•

Oliviaaa!! Ben had to talk to her, see if she was alright.

He took the stairs two steps at a time, thinking about Olivias parents and the fact that Olivia was the only child. He knew how much her friend missed her parents. • Olivia? Why are you sleeping? Come on down, we have to show you something. •

What is the time? Did my parents call when I was sleeping?

•

No, I’m sorry, there is a hurricane right outside Florida's east coast.

Olivia's face, normally sunkissed all year around, was now white like a sheet. Olivia tried to take in her surroundings. The arched ceiling, high windows, slightly checkered floor and, well, her parents caskets. You could barely see them from all the flowers. Even the floor around them was strewn with beautiful flowers and ribbons. The ceremony for Olivia's parents had been beautiful and the church was now crowded with people who wanted to pay their respects. Among them was not only the other four in the group, but also a whole lot of Olivia’s parents’ impor3

tant friends. And among those friends there was one guy Olivia were most keen on encountering. For she had thought up this plan. She needed prevent that such an awful thing would ever happen again. The wanted to introduce a bill that would regulate how new houses will be built and how old houses will be renovated. They need to be better, sturdier, safer. She did not want another child to lose her parents the way she did. The important person she wanted to talk to was a man called Simon Smith. A state official representing the state of Florida. Olivia and the rest of the group had checked their facts meticulously before she dared to request a meeting with this Mr. Simon Smith. Turns out the state of Florida does not have any actual legislation regarding the construction of houses near the coastline, the houses most affected by natural disasters Simon had immediately accepted when she had requested that they’d meet. She understood that it was purely a favor in order to honor her late father. She and Mr. Simon had barely even met before. Her father and Mr. Smith were only somewhat acquainted with each other. Unfortunately, the meeting did not go well. The state official, Mr. Simon Smith, did not want to talk anything about any issue. He had given her rather unaffectionate hugs and chin kisses, and later moved on to talk only of some memories. When she brought up the issue, he waved it away and made the whole appointment feel like a childish figment. The only useful thing she got out of the visit was two business cards, one from Mr. Smith and one from a young apprentice, a Liam Campbell, according to the card. She realised that the last one probably wasn’t intended for business after all, but she saved it anyway. Back at university she realized that the life there was pretty much the same all day, every day, and had been for the last 400 years or so. Everything was always done the same, because that’s how it is supposed to be. Olivia didn’t quite fit in with these immensely posh types, just enough to not feel like an alien. Some days though, she felt like cinderella after she married the prince, where everything was supposed to be done a different kind of way. She had just talked to Ben and Amy about their mission. She thought that they might need help from someone else. After all, they had not been able to make headway for months now. Benjamin thought it was enough that they had each other, they did have both Will and Em4

ma after all. They were very good, she wouldn’t disagree about that, but not quite good enough. They needed a teachers help, an actual lawyer on their side, because almost a year had gone by without notable progress, so she took the matter in to her own hands. •

Miss Taylor?

Olivia turned around to look at the old professor. It was Dr. Jason Brown, notorious in his field and the very best Harvard could offer. She would not settle for less than him. •

Yes, Dr. Brown?

•

Have we met before?

•

No professor, I believe we have not. She put her on her good-girl smile.

•

Then what could you possibly have to say to me?

Whoah, grumpy! She thought. • You see, I’ve researched you a bit.. And found out, not only that you are the finest Harvard can offer, in the law-department, but also that you are known for fighting for people. I know you have talked within the faculty about our bill, regarding natural disaster prevention. Would you be interested in helping us? One last good deed, so to speak.   • That were a long time ago. I’m not interested. He cut the conversation short and she realized nagging wouldn’t change his mind, only her own reputation.   •

Good afternoon Dr. Brown! She called to his back.

Jason did not know why he had agreed to the short conversation with the young lady. He had known from the beginning what she wanted to ask him and he knew that the school board wouldn’t agree to let him help them and maintain his seat in the faculty. It was too risky to oppose what in the end would be the government, and Harvard was way to conservative. He hadn’t even decided if he wanted to help yet. His late wife would think he’d grown boring and grumpy with age, but he couldn’t help it. Surrounded by morons and spoiled brats all day long, becoming a cranky old man was easy.

Amy had told the other in the group about her meeting with Dr. Jason Brown. They had been a bit shook at first, that she even had managed to get an appointment with him, but they also agreed to trying to recruit him. William took one of the professors’ very few classes. He tried to make the professor talk about the subject with leading questions, sometimes succeeding, but most time not. It was a quest to make the professor long after an actual problem to solve.

One day, Olivia was waiting outside what she thought to be one of Wills classes. She looked down on her watch, five more minutes to go. That was enough time for a quick visit to the ladies room, but just like that the door flew open behind her and the whole class started flowing into the hallway. She could hear fragments of laughter and chatting from the older students, but no Will in sight yet. Lastly the professor himself walked out the door. •

Good day professor!

• Good day Miss Taylor. They looked at each other, searching, but the professor was the one to find his words first.   •

I heard about your parents. My condolences.

•

Thank you. Her voice was a whisper.

• I want you to know that I wouldn’t normally do this, but I have decided to help you with your bill… No, let me finish, I will help you with contacts and expertise, and in cases when it is needed I will give you leverage. But this is your fight, not mine and you will draft everything yourself.   •

Thank you! She was astounded. “Thank you so much!”

•

Send me what you have tonight. Good day Miss Taylor, I have a class.

And he was gone again.

Jason Brown was a man of his word, and this time he had not only promised his help to this girl, but he had also promised both his wife and himself not to grow any more arrogant. The youngsters did the dirty job, the only thing he did was providing them with numbers and email-addresses. He sharpened their prepositions and talked to stuffy old men who would never listen to a girl still at university. While he did that, Olivia ran from meeting to meeting in the morning and attended all her classes in the afternoon. Amy constantly had her ear glued to her phone, negotiating with whoever was the obstacle that day, in the beginning she would have had a hard time to even get past the secretaries, but now she could reach the important person within the quarter. Emma and Will had their phones constantly overflowing with messages from the two. Benjamin had become the one that took care of his friends, he made them all unwind for a second or two, then they were all off again.

Olivia had just received a message from Dr. Brown stating “I have a lot to do today, come tomorrow. My office. 17:15. Good day.”. Hah, typical! She thought. That text represented the professor completely, always very frank and clear. Then 7

there was the second text; “News. Big. Should bring A, E, B & W as well. Good day.”, that was the scary part to get. Big news… She felt it in her bones that this could be it, and that was nerve wracking.

The following day, when they had all arrived to his study, Jason started talking. • I have been contacted by Congressman Bradley Cooper. He want to see your bill. They were all silent, not quite able to take it all in. Jason observed the five attentively. Olivia and Benjamin had the exact same expression; eyes wide open and mouth ajar. Emma had one of her eyebrows slightly risen. It was the faces of disbelief.  Their bill was going to one of the state of Florida's sitting Congressmen for his consideration. Olivia couldn’t believe her ears. After almost three years of drudgery they finally had something to show for their hard work. • Bradley is a friend of a friend so to speak. I’m happy he realized that some legislation regarding this issue might be due. It is not a day too soon. Jason realized he hadn’t felt such joy since the his own active days. He even smiled.  Olivia looked around her. She had realized a long time ago that she never would have made this journey on her own, but she had forgotten to thank any of the others. She had to make that right • Thank you, thank you, professor! She saw the small smile hidden in the professors face and smiled back. “And thank you so, so much!” This time to her wonderful friends.

Their bill would later be accepted by the congressman and make its way into becoming proper legislation in the state of Florida. A few years later it would be statutory that houses in Florida had to be built and renovated a certain kind of 8

way, in order to protect the people who live there from natural disasters and other catastrophes. The bill would later on be spread across the U.S. to the states most affected by those kind of catastrophes, and their inhabitants could feel safer knowing the law were now on their side, protecting them. All the friends would part, physically, and become successful in their own kind of way. The professor started a program for one student a year, wanting to do the same thing as Olivia, where he took it upon himself to be their mentor. Olivia moved far away from the coast, where she nowadays always felt unsafe, and had a career as a lawyer. One time, later on in her life, there would be another hurricane outside Florida's east coast, and after it was over she would travel there, to her hometown, and hike up a hill from her childhood. While up there, she looked down from the hill, down on to the city and the sea. She let her gaze wander over the small houses and docks. She saw all the life that remained, all of the houses that hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fallen, all the people that hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t died or lost their home, and she smiled.

A Hero Story “She needed a hero, so that is what he became”

Her hair falls down her shoulders, bouncing in line with her steps and shimmering in tones of gold and honey as she walks towards the building. The pavement is burning with colors from the fallen leaves and a gust of wind makes them twirl around her feet. Her friends are waiting for her at the entrance and she lights up when she catch sight of them. The smile that now has appeared on her face could make any receiver filled with bliss. “Noah?” She hugs them tightly and puts a line of hair behind her ear. The move makes a golden earring visible and it glimmer in the same colour as her curls. She is focused on her friends as the girls start talking and her vivid blue eyes are filled with warmth and care. “Noah!” He snaps his head away from the window to face the teacher, surprised to hear his name. “I’m sorry, what?” The teacher sighs and turns her back toward the class to point at something written on the whiteboard, then turns around again, repeating a question. Still looking like a big question mark, the teacher passes the question to the friend next to him, who answers easily. They both giggle at Noah’s sudden mind of absence and the friend tells him to maybe start listening better. Noah shrugs his shoulders and straightens in his chair, throwing a quick glance at the window and noticing that she has taken off. 10

She stirs the cup and breathes in the warm smell of cinnamon and coffee. Her hands are still cold even though she had to take her jacket of when she got inside the heated cafĂŠ. Outside the trees are swaying and the leaves are shifting in vibrant colours. The pumpkin-coloured light where she is sitting is making the whole place look warm and friendly. She comes here often to study, see friends or read a book whilst savouring one of the many drinks on the menu. She lifts the cup to take a sip from the steaming brew while her phone vibrates on the dark wooden table and a message lights up the screen. Her stomach turns when she reads the name and a shivering feeling goes up her spine. He wants to meet her. Now. She has told him, or tried to tell him, that it is over between them. Every time he asks for forgiveness after an inaccuracy, he takes her hands and she softens, the deceiving affection in his voice numbing her feelings and making her forget what made her upset in the first place. She knows that it is not right to suppress her emotions like that, and as soon as she is by herself again it all comes flooding back. The long name lights up the screen one more time, followed by a â&#x20AC;&#x153;babyâ&#x20AC;? and two question marks. She can never stand her ground with him, and whenever he is around she does not know whether she wants to either. His messages are always perfectly shaped afterwards, destined to lure her down the same path over and over again. Deep down she knows he does not mean what he says and this time she has to stand her ground, but it is easier choosing to believe in a lie when it is telling you exactly what you want to hear.

He became aware of some things about her today, or more specifically about her so-called boyfriend. Rumor says he is a stubborn drunk who can not take no for an answer. Noah could recognize seeing them together and wondered why such a lively person would settle for someone like that. The bus wheeled in at the stop and he got on. He sat down at the some spot he always does, and bethinked when he first met her. It was approximately two months ago and he had taken the bus into town for a meeting on a saturday morning. Normally he would take his motorcycle on the weekends, but that day it was on repair and would not be fi11

nished until the following week. At first he did not notice anyone bumping down next to him in the seat on his way home, but when he smelled the sweet scent of roses and a warm trail of coffee, he turned his head around and took out one of his earphones. “Excuse me, all the other seats were taken”, she said with her head half turned to him, half turned down at her bag where she was fumbling after something with one hand while balancing a paper mug in the other. “No, it’s no problem.” He looked up at the crowded bus and wondered when all the people had gone on, glad he had gotten a place to sit. She smiled at him and fished up a phone from her bag, then closed it and rested in her seat. “I kinda recognize you, do we go to the same school?” He was surprised she said that, almost everyone knew who she was, but he did not expect her to have seen him around. “Yeah, we do. I’ve seen you a couple of times, you’re in junior year, right?” “Yes I am”, she straightened her back and put out her hand, “I’m Olivia, nice to meet you” “Noah”, he took her soft hand in his, “nice to meet you too.”

She gets in on the passenger seat and closes the door after her. Her hands are sweaty and her mouth feels dry. He turnes down the stereo and reaches for the gear to put his car into drive. She told herself she had to speak and the words suddenly tumbles out of her mouth. “I’m not staying with you tonight and I can’t have it like this anymore. I want to talk about.. I mean, I have to..” “Please, Olivia!” he hit the steering wheel with his palm, “is there always something you have to whine about?”

She kept shut and tries to hold back the tears that started burning in her eyes. Olivia could instantly identify the distinct smell of alcohol coming from his breath and her body froze. The car reels on to the road and she looks out the window where the sky had started getting darker. She wonder how it had gotten to this point and was mad at herself for letting it happen. Now Olivia was sitting mute and petrified in the passenger seat next to the boy she used to believe was her everything.

Noah strolls the few meters up to his house from the bus-stop and a bizarre feeling crawls over him. He stops walking and takes a deep breath. It was as if something heavy was laying on his chest, suffocating him. He hurries inside the house and up to his room, where he lay down on the bed. Noah closes his eyes and tries to calm down, but a series of inexplicable pictures flashes through his mind. He opens his eyes again, sits up and struggles to breathe steadily. His heart is beating fast and his whole body is stinging, as if a thousand needles were placed all over his skin.

Olivia tries to think of something to say, as her heart starts beating faster when the driver increases the speed now going way over the limit. “Maybe you should slow down a little” Her voice is low and shaking. “Don’t tell me what to do”, he growls back. “But we’re going over the speed limit and you have been -” “DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” He rams down the accelerator and she gets pushed back in hear seat. “What? Where you trying to say I’ve been drinking? You always want to accuse me of something! You did this and you did that, just stop! I know what I’m doing.”

His words slurred out of his mouth and his head was red, turned to her as he shouted. Olivia wanted to tell him to keep his eyes on the rode, but she was paralyzed.

Noah can not sit still and he starts walking around his room. Now the pictures comes in waves, pounding like a headache. A car, street lights flashing by, a girl, panicked. Is he dreaming? No, he is awake. His body is being torn into pieces, or at least he feels like it is. His feets going one way and his legs the other, causing a tremendous pain. Every second it gets harder for him to breathe and he can hear his blood pumping through his veins. Suddenly he sees her.

Olivia turns her head around just in time to see the big tree emerge in front of them. She starts crying, screaming out the unreliable boyfriend’s name in pure despair. He did not notice her pleading for rescue, or maybe he made an active choice to ignore her, a consequence of the high level of alcohol in his blood that was fueling his temper. Olivia closes her eyes, begging that somehow they would not collapse into the tree, as the front of the car hits it and time freeze.

Noah sees her, with eyes shut and tears running down her cheeks, and reaches out his hand to touch her. She opens her eyes wide and her mouth forms an “O” but no sound comes out.

Oliva believe she is dead. Or maybe she fainted and started dreaming. Noah, the boy she met on the bus a couple of months ago, is in front of her and she is not sitting in the accelerating car anymore.

He looks at her, where she is sitting shocked on his bedside, and she examines him who is sitting next to her, trying to figure out what is happening. Noah is shaking and breathing frantically, feeling as if he has a high fever, making him sweaty 14

and freezing at the same time. Olivia looks around his room, feeling the soft duvet on his bed with her hands and takes a deep breath. “How?” she starts. “I don’t..” he shook his head. “You saved me”

The Unwilling War Hero, A Star Wars Story The Galaxy is at war, the ruthless galactic Empire is at the hunt after the smug and naive rebels. The latest battle, The battle of Yavin left the Empire vulnerable for an attack after that the rebels had destroyed The Empire's finest weapon, The Death Star a giant space station the size of a small moon that could destroy planets. The victory was not at a cost at the rebels, the aftermath of the battle lead to the location of the rebel base being located by the Empire and the rebels were forced to retreat…. ILC Asha ship logs 10/8-4089 Ensign Clearance Nimitz. The operations at ILC Asha continue as usual with no direct news about rebel activity, Ensign Nimitz has registered all supplies that we will hand over to Admiral Dodona's fleet at 15/8 owing to my actions, the supplies procedure was accelerated and will be ready for delivery faster than expected. Captain Thrawn was mostly satisfied with the work. I can't believe I actually wrote this, something positive about Thrawn, at the beginning of Thrawn's leadership my feelings about him were crotchety, because we graduated at the same time, but he was promoted at record speed and I wasn’t, but after some time I realized Thrawn’s intelligence and started to worship him and began to work as hard possible to keep up with him. Who would have thought that the blue-skinned alien with red eyes from the Chiss agency could possibly hold so much knowledge? It’s not official that you have to be a human to be an officer in the Imperial Navy, but wide alien racism is widely-spread in the ranks of the Empire, and many officers have raised eyebrows about Thrawn's rapid progression through the ranks. There have been none brute force attacks on Thrawn but it do16

es not require a genius to figure out that something is boiling behind the scenes at the Imperial high command. I looked through the window of my cabin and saw absolutely nothing except outer space of emptiness, a common thing to notice when you are in space on an Imperial light cruiser, especially on ILC Asha where I’m. I wondered how I could be here, then it struck me where did it go wrong, two months ago I was a promising supply coordinator at my parents' company, with absolutely zero ideas about becoming an imperial officer on a light cruiser on the hunt for rebels. We were instructed at the academy that rebels are fugitives that escape the law and do not pay taxes! At the time it seemed a little bit silly but when you are told the exact same thing about them from everyone you meet, then you eventually start to believe it. I closed down my computer and walked out of my cabin, the ship was decorated personally by Captain Thrawn and it does not take long until you understand that the Captain loves art, especially from other alien races to the superior Commander’s despair, but the Captain didn't mind, he was too focused on the battle after the next battle, yes, you heard me right Thrawn was always two steps ahead of all us in his mind, truly a genius. I entered the bridge and was greeted by Thrawn and other men at the Bridge.

-Ah, Ensign Nimitz, I have a mission for you, Thrawn said with a stone cold tone in his voice. -Yes Captain, what can assist you with? I asked him with a bit insecurity in my voice. -I’m very pleased with your work at the supplies, with your help we have accelerated the supply with almost 70%, a quite remarkable deed for just a graduating Ensign, tell me how did you succeed with this? Thrawn’s voice was a bit lighter but you could decipher a certain reason why he just asked this question. -I don’t know Sir I just did what I’m good at and what I have learned from my previous occupation and implemented it here. This time there was a little more security in my voice, I knew why it just felt good to tell him that. The Captain looked at me and then down at his datapad and said:

-Very well, Ensign keep up that good work and I will bring about it to Imperial command and you will surely be promoted. -Thank you, Sir, but I do not require glory, just results for the Empire. That was the greatest lie I have ever told, I do not wish anything good for the Empire or the rebels I just wanna get of this ship and continue my work at the private sector. -Interesting, Thrawn said and looked at me reflectively, our next mission after we have delivered the supplies to Admiral Dodona is to assist him with the increased rebel activity in the Hoth system, any more questions Ensign? Thrawn said just as he ordered the ship navigator to change course to the new coordinates after we had delivered our supplies. -No Sir! I said heavily. -Very well, Ensign, you are dismissed then. I soluted Thrawn and left the bridge, thinking of our next mission, contribution at Hoth does that mean ground warfare? Or orbital bombardment? Those were just some of the questions that I asked myself, did I really sign up for this? I’m not certain that I could kill someone else, especially if it someone that I’m ordered to kill but I have no hatred against, I mean we are all just living beings and why should someone decide if you should live or die. That night I did not sleep well but when it was morning, I almost forgot our next mission because of I did not have time to think of it, we were too busy to think because of the delivery mission to Admiral Dodonna had been adjourned, four days in advance because of a distress beacon had been activated at Admiral Dodanna’s main ship ISD Galanties.

The first thing that was noticed when we arrived was that Admiral Dadona’s fleet was under attack and they were losing, I looked at Thrawn who starred out of the bridge’s main window at the ongoing battle. -Orders Sir? I asked Thrawn -Battle stations and contact Admiral Dadona’s main ship (Imperial Star Destroyer Galanties)! ,Thrawn yelled. 18

-No response Sir, someone has shutdown ISD Galanties communications array, the communication officer yelled to the bridge personnel. -Convert power to forward shields and boost the engines, I want this ship besides ISD Galanties as fast and possible, prepare a boarding company, I want to get on that ship and take control over it as fast as possible, Thrawn yelled and then looked at me: -Ensign Nimitz do you have any experience with boarding? -No sir, I have read about it in the academy but I have never experienced it in real life. -Very well, Ensign, you are with me as second in command when we board, prepare yourself for combat! Thrawn looked away and begun to discuss details with the bridge Commander, meanwhile I was standing still, frozen with fear, I began to ask questions in my mind; Boarding, combat, war, killing, I do not have the guts or the experience with anything of those attributes, but somewhere a lightning struck within me when I saw the ongoing battle and all imperial men who died. Like a day changes to night, I was a completely different person, ready for war and slaughter.

ILC Ashe did a quick alteration of her course and located her right next to ISD Galanties. Beside me stood Captain Thrawn with an ice cold facial expression, staring out of the window, probably calculating the odds of success of this action, behind us stood a company of stormtroopers with their blasters ready for action. In my hand I held a blaster, I had fired this weapon at the academy before and I felt pretty confident with it but at that time, where I firing at dummies who did not move and now I was prepared to kill living things with a consciousness. Ahead of me was a door; not just any door, the door of the ventilation shaft; the ventilation shaft that leads to ISD Galanties, the door that presumably leads to the enemy. The door opened and I held my breath, too my vast surprise was the corridor empty, not a living thing in sight, no crew and no rebels.

-Okay, squad, form up in three men squads and secure the ship, squad 1 Nimitz, trooper 1 and 2 go for the bridge, squad 2 engine room squad 3 and 4 with me to the communication center! Thrawn’s eyes shone when he presented orders and like good behaving puppies, we complied.

We split up and I were accompanied with two stormtroopers with the name trooper 1 and 2, they had other names but Thrawn preferred to not call the troopers their real name because of the risk to develop a relationship with an expendable resource, instead, he gave them numbers. The path to the bridge of the ship was not very long it was just a few corridors down to the left and then into the turbo elevator and then up to the bridge, the way to the elevator felt like an eternity despite it only took 5 minutes, but the silence and emptiness really worked up my stress levels, for each sound that the wind created, I thrilled and was ready to shoot. We entered the turbo elevator, still not a soul in sight, the elevator raced upwards and opened its doors at the bridge level. A shady character sat in the Captain's chair and observed the ongoing battle, we walked slowly towards the chair with our blasters raised and pointed at the shady character. The chair spun around and to our great surprise Admiral Dodona was facing towards us. -Ah, my rescue party, Dodona said with sarcasm in his voice. -Pardon Sir? I asked him at the same time as I looked at the troopers who looked at me with astonishment. -You are imperial right, what’s your name Ensign? Dadonna sat still at his chair. -Clearance Nimitz Sir, but this is not a rescue mission, we are here to take control of the ship. My shoulders were still tight and I felt like something was going to happen. -On whose orders? Dodona raised upwards from the chair and gazed at us. -Captain Thrawn Sir, he wants this ship back to Coruscant as fast as possible! I took a step forward at the same time as I said that sentence, truly a great mistake.

-Over my dead body! Dodona raised his blaster and shot both trooper 1 and 2 dead, I jumped behind cover and signaled Thrawn for backup. I returned fire with no success and shouted: -Why did you betray the Empire!? Â -The Empire is dead, the emperor is weak and it is only a case of time before it falls! Dadona returned my fire and almost hit me. -You are a traitor, how could you, how much money did you receive from the rebels!? I was infuriated, how could someone betray the thing they had worked so hard to achieve. -The rebels paid me a lot but that was not the main reason of my betrayal, the ranks of the Empire are impure, alien scum as your Captain has besmeared the once glory of the Empire. Dadona walked towards me and I saw my opening, I shoot him not just once or twice, I shot him 5 times in his chest with hatred of what he said. The elevator door shot open and out rushed Thrawn with the rest of the troopers. -Ensign, I heard everything via the comlink, what are your thoughts about the situation? Thrawn poked at the dead Admiral with his blaster and the looked at me. -My thoughts are to turn this ship around, blast the enemies ships with this ship's superior firepower and then contact high command for further instructions. I glanced at the windows and saw the ongoing battle and the thought struck me that we have to handle this situation before any more imperial lives go to waste, thanks to a traitor. I ordered the troops to take the guns controls meanwhile Thrawn and I turned the ship around and opened fire at the unsurmised rebels who got totally eradicated. The battle was over and we were victorious; it was a strange feeling but a welcomed one, during the battle no feelings about regret were thought about and not afterward either. High command was very satisfied with our work and requested Thrawnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence at Coruscant probably for another promotion, and what will I receive? Probably a good work Ensign, keep up with and you will surely be promoted someday. 21

Coruscant was a true spectacle planet to observe, the whole planet was like a giant metropolis, all of the planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface was covered with houses. We were greeted by imperial guards and officers who congratulated Thrawn for his work at the Hoth insurgencies. We arrived at the Imperial Palace where the emperor lived and we prepared us to leave and let Thrawn go inside by himself and right when I was to lo leave, he stopped me and said: -Ensign where are you going? -Nowhere Sir I just would leave for your promotional ceremony. I looked at the gates that opened. -I understand that but have you not received the news, Thrawn smiled at me. -No Sir, what do you mean? I became very confused. -There will be two promotions today, one for me and one for you, Thrawn began to go inside the palace. I was being confused but at the same time very happy, followed him inside the palace and to by great surprise all raised up from their chairs when we entered. -Ah Captain Thrawn please step forward, the emperor commanded. Thrawn walked forward and received his new status, Commodore. No one in the Empire has ever received this rank as fast as him, everyone in the hall applauded and Thrawn stepped aside. Now it was my turn, -Ensign Nimitz come to me, the emperor looked at me and said: -Congratulations on your stunning work with Commodore Thrawn I now promote you to Lieutenant Commander Clearance Nimitz, congratulations. I solved the emperor and placed myself next to Thrawn meanwhile the spectators applauded. I could not believe it, how could I skip four promotion ranks that would take years for a normal person to receive in just one battle? I asked Thrawn and he said that thanks to my nimbleness we saved many lives, secured a baffling area in the Empire and bringing a traitor to justice, death. The former Admiral Dadona was responsible for all insurgencies at Hoth according to an investigation by the Imperi22

al Security Bureau. His death lead to the rebels quickly giving up because of a lack of leadership and threat of an orbital bombardment.

The ceremony was over and I headed home, but just when was about ready to go Thrawn stopped me and said; -Where are you going this time Lieutenant Commander? -Home to get some rest, I said. -No, you don't have you not heard about our next mission? Thrawn smiled. -No, I thought we should get at least one day off, I said with a sarcastic voice at the same time as I smiled. Thrawn laughed and then told me that ISD Galanties have received a new Commander and a new name; the name was ISD Chimera and its owner was of course Thrawn. Its second in command was Lieutenant Commander Clearance Nimitz and just like that the boy with dreams of becoming a supply Commander was replaced with a man's desire to become a high ranking officer in the galactic Empire, not by his own will but rather uncommitted circumstances.

Deceiving Looks I inspected the house we would spend our night in from the car window. It was huge, pure white and had windows everywhere. We could see people dancing through them in blinding lights, probably from a disco ball, with drinks in their hands. When Abby finally found a parking lot, I could take a clearer look of how my friends had decided to dress. Abby wore a short red dress with cleavage and straps, I thought it were a bit too exposing. Her light brown hair was partly clipped to her head by a bobby pin and she had brown leather boots reaching up to her knees. Phoebe had chosen a simple, yet voluminous black skirt. Her top was pure white with golden attire around her neck, making her shining black hair stand out. She wore her hair in a high ponytail and had the tallest heels of us all. I was dressed in a light pink jumpsuit with flower pattern and black high heels. My blonde hair was let out and I wore hula hoop earrings. Abby lapped her hands. “Okay, let’s say hi and make ourselves comfortable.” I nodded and Phoebe took the lead towards the door. I could already hear the loud music pumping through it. Phoebe knocked, although with a bit of hesitation. A young man with raven hair and tan skin opened. His features adorned a grin and when his forest green gaze fell on us, it became even bigger. “Oh hey! You must be the friends Abby talked about.” He stretched out a hand towards the raven haired girl. The young man seemed to stumble a little and kept his balance by holding the door frame. “I’m Phoebe.” The girl shook his hand and he cast a smile at her. She looked a bit flustered and quickly moved aside, letting me walk up to grab his hand. 24

“Um, I’m Kelsy” I said, almost not succeeding with masking my nervousness. He cracked a smile. “Aiden.” My eyes broadened at the name. The host then moved over to Abby and placed his arm around her waist, giving her a smile as well, making her giggle in delight. I knitted my eyebrows. By his behaviour, I guessed he was influenced already. “Wanna come in? It’s pretty cold outside.” He gestured at the door and we all went in. The entrance was empty, no plants or furniture anywhere, probably to protect the delicates it usually held. “Do you want something to drink?” Aiden asked. When Abby nodded and followed after him, his arm still around her waist, me and Phoebe decided to do the same. Aiden’s arm then slipped lower and lower and reached her bottom. I scowled in irritation and decided to open my mouth, but Abby just moved it back to its original position and laughed. Phoebe was too caught up in gazing everywhere and hadn’t acknowledged it. I scowled. Aiden searched in his fridge for a cold drink. “Do y’all drink?” He held up a bottle of Vodka. I hesitated. None of us really knew Aiden, except Abby, or any other people here. Maybe someone decided to do a prank and put something in the drinks? My eyes were pinned on Aiden. His grabbing didn’t seem to bother the others, but it bothered me. Should I confront him about it? Phoebe shook her head. “Someone’s gotta look out for these two.” She pointed her thumb at us and I snorted at her attempt to flirt. “Okay cool. Do you want anything? We have more than Vodka.” My face turned into a grimace. I wasn’t so sure if I wanted anything and when I thought about it, I didn’t even want to be here. But seeing Abby’s playful smile, Phoebe’s

smirk, Aiden’s expectant eyes and all the people dancing in the background, I gave in. It’s not that I’m new to alcohol. “Okay fine. What do you have?” My tone of voice changed, which made Phoebe wrap her arm around mine. “Nice. You really need to let loose and chillax, Kels.” She squeezed it. “I am chillaxed.” She shook her head. “Take something strong.” I snorted amusedly at her unsual enthusiasm. “Sure, why not. But you have to take care of me if something happens.” Phoebe nodded her head and we took a couple of shots of our desired drinks.

Afterwards, Aiden whispered something in Abby’s ear and she looked really intrigued. The raven haired boy began to walk out of the kitchen with the brown haired girl in hand. What was he up to? I frowned and took my friend in her other hand. “Abby, where’re you going?” She shot me a small glare and mouthed `you’re embarrassing me.` I took a harder grip on her wrist to emphasize my point. “Can I talk with you for a sec?” Abby groaned, but followed me to a far corner in the kitchen. I met her slightly irritated look. “I don’t think you should go with Aiden.” I cast a glance at said guy. “I don’t trust him.” She sighed and unfolded her now crossed arms. “Kelsy, I like him. You know how long I’ve wanted to get to know him better.” Abby’s tone was soft and I felt guilt settle in the pit of my stomach. “And now… Now I know he likes me too.” I bit my lip. I knew what she felt about Aiden, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of him being oddly gregarious around her. It made me uncomfortable and I could see that in Abby as well, but she was blinded by all of his flattery. I shook my head.

“He’s been touching you nonstop since we came. Why are you okay with it?” She averted her sapphire eyes, but I caught the conflict in them. She fingered a bit with the side of her red dress. The manicured nails suddenly became limp. Then she met my eyes. “Are you jealous, Kelsy?” I stood there dumbfounded. This was not the route I thought she would go. I shook my head fiercely, but Abby didn’t look convinced in the slightest. “I promise you I don’t like Aiden. I’ve barely talked to the guy!” She snorted at me. “I’ve seen the looks you give us. Either you like him or you’re just jealous of a guy liking me and not you.” I couldn’t find the words. Sure, Aiden was good-looking and seemed nice at first glance, but I didn’t like the pervertedness he displayed. Although, she made me frustrated when she said those last words. I tried to shrug off her attempt of making me feel hurt, but it made me really irritated. “Abby wake up! The guy’s a perverted creep! How can you like someone like that?” Abby’s eyes were like saucers. As soon as the words had left my mouth, I realized how cruel it sounded. Her crush called a creep by her best friend? That was a low-blow from my part. She scowled. “Phoebe even likes him so why are you so against him?” Before I could retort, Aiden and Phoebe walked up to us. They had stood and watched the tension building up in the room, along with a few curious glances from other people. “Hey hey, what’s got you two so worked up?” Phoebe walked between us, using her arms to keep us apart. Thankfully, she and assuming Aiden hadn’t heard what our little fight was about. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” Abby snapped. She walked with determined steps towards Aiden, the loud sound of her high heels making all the more people noticing the spectacle. She turned abruptly to see me and placed an arm around Aiden’s torso, almost making him choke on his drink. 27

“Make yourself comfortable, Kels.” Then she flew up the stairs with the guy. I froze. Phoebe had stopped sipping from her glass and I didn’t need to look at her to see her shock. “Um… Do you want some more?” She hesitantly asked. I just nodded my head.

Time didn’t seem to exist when I and Phoebe danced to the music with a bunch of people in the blinding lights. We moved our bodies in a way we never usually would and we held onto strangers like we were old friends. I laughed at the blissful feeling of not caring about anything. Suddenly, I lost my footing and stumbled out of the human circle of shouting people who tried to sing along with the song. I laughed at my own clumsiness only to realize something. I had forgotten about Abby. Vaguely, I remembered her with another boy and that they went somewhere, but my mind wouldn’t sort it out. I turned to Phoebe. “Where’s Abby?” Phoebe laughed at my disorientation. “So the booze is starting to wear off. Do you want another one?” I shook my head and Phoebe pointed to the stairs. “They went upstairs, remember?” I pondered for it a bit. Then it hit me like a train. I rushed to the stairs and climbed them as best as I could. When I had almost reached the top, I heard a scream. Suddenly all of my senses seemed to be on alert. The voice had come from my left. I flew up the rest of the stairs, ran to the door and slammed it open. There, pressed to the wall, was a mop of light brown hair. Her sapphire eyes reflected her body’s trembling in fear. Her face was covered in red marks and the cleavage with straps on her red dress was torn. Abby. A figure had its back turned towards me. The person turned around, the black hair looking as neatly as ever and met my eyes with forest green ones. 28

Aiden. He looked at me with such an uncomfortable stare that I wanted to shrink. I felt my body stiffen. Aiden’s hand covered Abby’s face. He had placed it over her mouth in a way that she couldn’t bite it or make a sound. The guy knew very well how to handle this type of situation. It made my blood run cold. Had he done this to other people? I didn’t have time to register my thoughts when he slowly moved away from Abby, making sure she stood still, and locked eyes with me. I was the threat, the one who could expose him. My heart beat started to race and it felt heavier to breath. Should I scream at the top of my lungs? Would people even hear over the loud music? I sucked in air. Just when I would let it all out, I felt two hands around my throat. I had just a fraction of a second before they closed around it, preventing me from breathing. I pulled down my chin to protect myself from suffocating. Aiden came closer to my ear and whispered. “Want to join the party, beautiful?” My body cringed away at how close he was. I couldn’t help it, my body started to shake. He laughed at how terrified I must have looked. Then he grabbed my wrists. I struggled as much as I could, but then remembered some of the things I had learned from a course; a course about self-defense. My body relaxed and I let him have the satisfaction of having me under control. Then I let him drag me to the place Abby was. Abby’s lip quivered and she had slid down the wall to try to crawl away. Aiden noticed this. He reached for a key in the keyhole and turned it, locking us all in. He then placed it in his pocket and kicked at Abby. It made me flare up in anger. “Leave her alone, you bastard!” The softer grip and concentration on Abby made me able to move. I grabbed his wrist, folded his fingers over it in a fist and 29

bent it in an awkward angle. Then I quickly forced his body around my own, which made him lose his balance and he landed on the floor with a thud. I left him no time to recover as I pressed all the force I could master into breaking his wrist. Abby muffled a gasp along with me when I heard the joint make a horrible popping sound. Aiden let out a scream of pure agony. I stood up and my whole body shook from adrenaline. Looking at my hands and then watching Abby’s still form made me snap back to reality. I reached in his pocket for the key and shouted at Abby to make her react. She took the key and fumbled with it. I grinded my teeth in worry of Aiden recovering too fast. Luckily the door swung open and me and Abby ran out of the room and locked it. We heard Aiden’s groans through the door, but we didn’t dwell on it and contacted the police as quickly as possible. Me and Abby stared at each other, out of breath and in disbelief. She inhaled and exhaled slowly before speaking. “T-thanks… Thanks for finding me. I don’t know what I’d do if you didn’t.” Her voice quivered. “I’m sorry for what I said before. I was so stupid.” The corners of her eyes were beginning to fill with tears. “I was so stupid, I’m so sorry.” She whispered. I felt my heart wrench when I clearer inspected her bruised face. My best friend had taken a brutal beating. The anxiety welled up in my body. It wasn’t just her fault. I had yelled at her and hadn’t gone looking for her, even when I knew the guy was bad news. All of this could’ve been stopped long before she got so badly beaten. Tears began to spill from my own blue eyes. I embraced her. “I’m so sorry too, Abby.” We just stood there, still on the top floor, holding onto each other tightly.

Phoebe had gone looking for us and some people had stood by the stairs, hearing a painful, loud scream coming from the room. They had rushed up, curious 30

to know what had happened. Me and Abby had filled them in and they helped us keeping Aiden at bay. Phoebe had joined in on our second hug, probably feeling guilty for leaving us alone. The police had arrived and had without difficulty arrested Aiden. We were now walking back to Abby’s car. We were exhausted after the night’s adventures and I just wanted to go home. When all of us had taken a seat in the car, we sat there quietly, watching the policemen putting a whimpering Aiden into their car. Phoebe snorted. “Serves him right. I never suspected Aiden to be such a jerk.” Me and Abby didn’t utter a sound. “You know, I liked him in the beginning too. But now, I know how deceiving looks can be as well.” There was a pause. “Sometimes, he made me feel uncomfortable too, but I would just brush it off as me being nervous.” Phoebe then turned her head around, looking straight at us. “Now I know to always trust my gut feeling, even if it may be ridiculous.” I smiled at her words and I caught Abby doing the same. “Thanks Phoebe.” I decided to add my two cents as well. “The next party we go to, we trust each other and stay together.” Both girls nodded in agreement. Phoebe started the car.

It’s an Emergency! I’m very affected by what happened that day, a moment which could have changed mine and several other people’s lives. Still today I can hear how people were screaming and shouting, how the panic occurred. This was the type of scenario that me and my fellow colleagues should be able to perform without hesitating one second, just like if it was drilled into our backbones. This was that time, this was the real deal. The alarm went off 5.30 am just as the sun was about to rise. I woke up, sat myself on the side of my bed and put on my white t-shirt which laid on a chair in the corner of my room. It was a normal morning for me, going up early and getting prepared for work. I’m a morning kind of person, hence why my alarm goes off way earlier than it actually has to. It was a saturday and I was about to head to work as usual after three days off. After breakfast which contained of a large bowl of porridge with some fruits and mashed apples, I grabbed my passport, car keys and my small suitcase with a tag with the letters CPH on it. I ripped off the tag and threw it in the bin since I had forgotten to remove it after the flight on wednesday. I seized my coat with the four golden stripes on each wrist and hung it up in my brand new BMW M5. It was my dream car since way back so I just had to purchase one, directly delivered from Germany with a spoiler and all the deluxe equipment. The engine roared and I released the handbrake but kept the brake down whilst putting my aviators on. Then I was headed towards Kastrup International Airport, my home base.

The feeling of being on the way to my work, my passion, to being able to work with what I’ve always dreamed about gets me every time. The scenic drive over the famous bridge Öresundsbron always gives me a bit of goosebumps. I saw the light in the end of the long tunnel and drove out. Immediately out of the tunnel I 32

noticed a plane flying just above my car and was on final approach for runway 22L. I turned my focus to the road once again and drove the last metres before arriving to the parking garage. My personal parking space has the number 54 inside the parking garage named P10. I pulled my suitcase out of the car boot and walked towards the entrance.

Inside the airport I met my crew for the day and my co-pilot Anders. Anders and I have flown together for several years and has become very good friends. He’s from Sweden as well so we usually have a nice chat during cruise. My work for the day started as usual by gathering the whole crew together and discussing the conditions for the flight bound for Malaga. Me and Anders commenced by checking the flight conditions along the route which today was planned over Germany, France and then onwards towards Spain.

• We have a bit of turbulence over the northern part of Germany so we may have to be obliged to divert around that at some point. After the turbulence it should be straight forward with a strong tailwind.   • Yes that is very good to hear Anders, many people are eager to arrive to their vacation so a shorter flight time would treat us nicely.

45 minutes prior flight we arrived to the beautiful iron bird, stood at gate B4. I observed the screen just above the entrance to the gatebridge, “SK1205 Malaga 10.05”. The sun reflected off the recently washed surface and straight into my eyes. For a moment it felt as though I was already situated in Malaga, Costa del Sol. Anders already stood outside the closed gate door waiting for me. I took my suitcase once again and dragged it after me in to the cockpit of the plane. Our pre flight check commenced and I went out of the airplane and performed my compulsory “walkaround” to check for any major damage to the plane. The passengers started 33

to board the plane 20 minutes prior flight and as a tradition I stood just outside the cockpit and welcomed all the passengers. Many passengers nowadays are scared of flying, hence why I want to build up some trust for the passengers towards me as a pilot. After a while I stepped back into the cockpit and even after I had closed the door behind me I could hear how the passengers cheered and talked about their forthcoming vacation. They were so eager to arrive down in Spain and so was I. •

Scandinavian 1205 requesting pushback and startup clearance, gate B4

•

Pushback and startup approved, gate B4, Scandinavian 1205.

I released the parking brake and transferred the approval from the airport tower to the groundworker who sat in his towing truck just in front of the front wheels. The groundworkers removed the parking blocks from the rear wheels and we were rolling backwards. I switched on the second engine first and waited for it to be stable before igniting the first engine. After both engines were stable I informed the groundworker that he now had the permission to remove the headset and the towing truck.

•

Scandinavian 1205 requesting taxi to runway 22R, south bound departu-

re. • Taxi approved via taxiway Alpha and hold position at Alpha1, Scandinavian 1205.  •

Scandinavian 1205 taxi via taxiway Alpha and hold position at Alpha1.

I applied some thrust and we started rolling towards the runway. When we arrived to position Alpha1 I slowed down the big plane by pressing down both of my 34

feet on the pedals. Eventually we received our line-up and take off clearance and I switched on the take-off lights and applied full thrust. The roar from the engines was louder than ever before and my body got pressed against the backrest. I heard laughs of excitement outside the cockpit as well as a toddler who started crying.

5 minutes later when we had climbed to 15000 feet, I realised that something was not as it used to be. Seconds later I noticed how the emergency light right in front of me began to flash and a high warning sound came through the speakers. I looked at my display in front of me and read the warning message which said “Engine failure”. I turned my head around and looked out of the window. I demanded Anders to seek for an engine failure on his side and he slowly turned his head and the straight back and nodded his head. We were flying on 15000 feet and both engines had collapsed due to a problem with the pumps providing the engines with fuel. I ascertained that this was indeed not a dream. The panic within the cabin started to occur and I kept my nerves under control and did what I was capable of. I started by trying to switch off both engines but nothing happened. At this rate we were on the verge of flying in to German airspace with two broken engines. • Mayday, Scandinavian 1205 request an emergency landing after both engines have broken down.   • Request approved, turn left heading 120 and proceed towards runway 04L, Scandinavian 1205.

I set the heading to 120 degrees and we were bound for an emergency landing at Kastrup. After some minutes I provided all the passengers with the information that we had an engine failure on both engines and I switched the seatbelt sign back on and once again attempted to revive the engines but the system was totally

corrupted. Down at 5000 feet I realised that with the amount of speed we had without any possibilities of thrust we were unable to make it back to Kastrup. • Scandinavian 1205, we are not able to reach runway 04L, we may end up in the sea. •

What about runway 12, Scandinavian 1205?

•

Scandinavian 1205, won’t make it, we will go ahead and land in the sea.

It felt as though the traffic controller got astonished and the last thing he said was that he would send help immediately. We had such a high sink rate so I had to work hard with the rudders and ailerons to keep the plane stable. As we got closer and closer to the ground I heard a lot of screams from the passengers. This was not the scenario they would fantasize about when they woke up in the morning, neither did I, sitting on my bed in my white t-shirt at 5am. I extended the flaps which made the airplane more stable during lower speeds. Anders continued to have contact with the tower to guide us down to the ground without having to face any strong winds, without any thrust we would have a massive problem if we encountered strong winds. My left wrist and my legs got so tired, sweat started dripping off my forehead and down on my black trousers. My head went back and forth trying to keep focus on both the temporary runway in the water and my flight display. “Sink rate, sink rate” came loudly out of the speakers. I dragged the joystick with big movements to gain control of the plane and the tension within the cabin got a considerable amount bigger but I kept on being calm and collective with my work. “50….40….30….20...Retard….10” the speaker declared. And usually when the speaker says “retard” I’m supposed to reduce the thrust to zero and even though we had no engine power I proceeded to reduce the thrust and pulled the joystick backwards and flared to get the right angle of attack to minimize the amount of damage the plane would take. A huge impact conquered my body during the touchdown but that did not matter at all because straight after touchdown me and Anders and the whole crew extended the massive water slides out from the doors. My job as a pilot in this situation is to make sure that everyone in the cabin gets

out of the airplane with life vests on and make sure that I am the last person out of the plane. Anders and the traffic controller had fixed medics who was on their way and after just 30 minutes of floating in the ice cold water help arrived when some coast guards arrived with their big boats. They provided us with the information that more boats and helicopters were inbound to rescue all the 236 passengers onboard. Eventually I was the last person left in the sea and as I got rescued I could not really comprehend what had just happened.

At the end of the day, what I did that summer’s day was something that will have a huge impact on my whole life. Though, several people on board the plane and others claimed that my decision was totally wrong, that surely I had the choice to return and land on a safe place, to not expose people to that kind of danger. Our airline also pointed out the fact that if we could manage to divert back to the airport we should do that considering the fact that the airplane costs a lot of money which would lead to decreased profit. Me and Anders eventually got taken to court where we had to describe the scenario from our perspective which we thought was ridiculous considering we had saved the life of 236 people. It felt as though we were the only people on earth who knew that the decision we made that day was life saving by the fact that we did not have the opportunity to go back to the airport considering our prerequisites. Obviously we received a lot of support from our fellow colleagues who knew our mindset and why we did what we did. As far as I’m concerned, our most important task that day was to save lives, regardless of how it went down.

One thing is safe to say, after the experience that summer’s morning I’ve learnt that anything can happen at any given time. I will forever be grateful for the knowledge that I brought with me from that experience. Next time when I’m sitting on my bed with my white T-shirt I will have this action in the back of my head thinking what I could have done differently but that does not change the fact that I’m considered as a hero in my own eyes. 37

THE ERROR They have known each other for a fine amount of time, enough time to understand each other in a depth that no such other has, a depth without a depth. Both know each other's problems on an extensive level. They have displayed almost every perspective of themselves towards each other, which leads to an unbelievingly strong bond with ambition and a lust to keep it intact no matter what. Regardless of the strength within this bond, regardless of the depth within and between them, has there always been a voice, a ruthless, inevitable voice.

The Voice protects, the Voice teaches, the Voice leads, but the Voice… the Voice is sincerely portentous... For the Voice treats any hindrance ruthlessly as if it was nothing, like it has treated other greatnesses, the same way it treated this hindrance… even though this particular one was nothing of a hindrance, for she was completely different than the others.

Chapter 1: The Voice -”Walk straight, look forward.” A voice spoke with a cold tone and seriousness. He walks with speed, placing a foot on the ground, one by another. He walks as if he inherited the characteristics of a wall, cold, hard and unbreakable. Moving forward on a straight path with haste and fluency, forcing anyone he encounters in front of him to pass along the side.

-”I said look forward, you fool!” The Voice spoke. “ You don’t want to appear as if you’re weak, do you?” 38

The wind blew cold air from the sides, blowing the appearance of his brown hair as if it was marking the direction of the wind. The winter's inprint had almost vanished from the ground whilst the trees still hadn’t replaced its fallen leaves. Whilst marching closer towards his school, had he finally decided to break the silence and utter a sound other than the sound of the strong winds.

-”I think the way you spoke to her yesterday was inappropriate,” He said. “I shouldn't have let you speak to her.” -”What makes you think that?” The Voice spoke. “She agreed and therefore she took the consequences, it was her choice.” -”You threatened her,” - “She wasn’t being hostile, you were!” - “The reason for you to speak to her was not to threaten her!”

The world stood still after the last sentence had been spoken. He stood there motionless on the wet, cold, stone path, straight as an electrical pole, with his eyes wide open, as if he was seeing something. He saw the world with his warm, brown eyes, beginning to turn into void, empty, black void. The trees, the buildings, the ground, the sky, everything within his sight begins to blend and merge with the void. The noises and the sound of the real world had been silenced. He was alone and he was inside of his mind.

Empty and quiet as it was within his mind, could he still feel the presence of something unwanted. He slowly looked to his sides to see if anything unwelcome had perhaps welcomed itself, but to no surprise was the void still as dark and empty as it had ever been. Suddenly he felt how his back was starting to get colder and colder as the time went, even though his mind was timeless.

Whilst gradually turning himself around, could he slowly see parts of what was in front of him, an entity that had parts of its body corrupted, parts that appeared to look like missing black pixels on a computer screen. The entity was coldwhite and tall, making him feel as if it was leaning over him. When he slowly turned his sight upward, could he see the entity's face. It wore a smile that extended far too much on the sides of its face, a smile that could make anyone feel uncomfortable. It’s face carried two different eyes, an eye that was totally dark, as if it were an empty socket, and an eye that was glowing a red bloody light. He blinked once and was startled when he reponed his eyes, the entity had repositioned its face right in front of his, with only a distance of a breath in between, still smiling.

-”The reason for me to have spoken to her was to let her know that we are not something she can treat however she desires to.”

Chapter 2: Beauty and the Beast.

School had ended and people walked out of the school as fast as they possibly could, people swam out of the doors of the school, they couldn't miss their buss, even worse if they risked missing their train. Teachers prepared their bags for they too had to drive towards their homes, to their families, and enjoy the dinner that was steamingly hot, ready on the dinner table. Everything was empty within the school after the teachers had left. Paper sheets had been left on the floor around the school, lockers in the cellar had been locked and all the lights had been turned off, almost every light. For there was one light, one particular light that two individuals shared, a light that shone through the corridors with brightness that could blend, a light so powerful that it only could shine when they were alone, for it had to be kept as a secret. But every light has its own lifespan. The light is lit from the

start, and extinguished in the end, and so something similar awaited this particular light that these two innocent individuals shared.

-”God damn it,” he said to himself. “Where is my chemistry book?.” -”How am I supposed to study for the test now?” He frowned whilst searching for the book, with his head inside his locker.

He could not notice the girl that walked down the stairs, but she noticed him and so she began to walk towards him, with a bright smile on her face.

-”Why am I always so irresponsible?” “Have I perhaps left it in a classro–” The Voice couldn’t resist to not insult his clumsy behaviour, it spoke up. -”No, you haven't left it in a classroom,” the Voice in his head interrupted him. “You’ve already put it in your backpack, idiot.” Whilst he was annoyed by the fact that the book was already in his backpack, were he even more annoyed that the Voice was right, as it has always been about everything else. -”Stop being so mean,” he paused. “I don't like you either, so quit being me–” -”Hi Adam!” said the girl next to him. Adam slammed his head to the roof of his locker as a response to her unexpected voice. -”Hi Eve…” She put her hand to her mouth and laughed. “I'm – so sorry” she continued to laugh. “I didn't mean – to scare you”

He took his head out of his locker. ”God damn it woman,” laughing whilst looking at her. “Why do you – always have to scare me like this?” -”I did not intend to,” – “You're just too easy to scare.”

There she is, in front of me, with her beautiful golden hair, hair that has been constructed out of the purest of golden strings, combed with caution and perfection. There she is, with her admirable face, a face with the a white skin tone, clear and beautiful as snow. Her face carries two blue eyes, eyes with with a beautiful, blue, crystal-like pattern iris that surrounds her pupil. She smiles at me, which has the potential to heal any wound that my heart has suffered from, and her sweet laugh gives me enough strength to endure sleepless nights. Her intelligence, as charming as it is, has always made me question mine, but her personality is what made me realize how unique she i–

She pushed him lightly on his shoulder. ”Adam to earth, Adam to earth?” He shook his head. “Pardon me,” – “I couldn't resist.” Adam closed and locked his locker whilst putting on his backpack, with all the heavy books it contained. -”Resist what?” -”Your astonishing beauty.” He saw how she changed her smiling face gesture into a more cute and a shy version whilst looking with her bright eyes into his. -”Come on,” he reached out with his hand to her shoulder. “Don't give me that look, im just being honest.” -”You're so nice to me.” He laughed. “You are just surprised that a guy like me,” pointing at himself. “Would acknowledge how beautiful you are.” Her eyes slowly opened up further, she couldn't resist and so she hugged him. 42

They stood there. hugging each other, not thinking about anything other than the particular moment they lived in. -”Hey, let's start walking,” – “I surely know that you don't want to miss your buss.” -”You're right,” she sighed. “I really don’t want my parents to worry about me.” They walked away from his locker and went up the stairs where they walked to the hallway and exited the building.

-”I just wanna ask,” – “To whom did you talk to when you were beside your locker?” -”Can you guess?” He sighed. -”ERROR..?” Adam swallowed the lump in his throat whilst looking to his side, he knew that Eve and ERROR was not on good ground. -”I understand” she sighed. “Has he said anything about me, anything at all?” -”No he hasn't.” -”Is he maybe saying something about me,” – “Right now?” Adam can hear how the Voice inside of him, how ERROR speaks to him in this particular moment, with a emotionless, cold tone. -”Indeed I am, parasite.” -”No, he hasn't,” he paused. ”I wouldn't allow him either.” She sighed. -”You know that I wouldn't let anyone or even him hurt you,” – “You know that.” She looked up into his eyes. ”I do,” – “Thank you.” 43

-”Great,” he checked his phone. “Well I am in a bit of a hurry, I don't want to miss my buss.” -”Okay, I see you tomorrow then.”

She turned to a different direction and began to walk faster and faster with her heeled shoes.

He shouted. “Don't walk to fast,” – “You might fall with those dwarf legs of yours!” She shouted back at him “Yeah, yeah,” – “Very funny!” He laughed. “It was!”

Chapter 3: The remorse.

Adam was home, thinking about Eve, thinking about what he should do about the situation between Eve and ERROR and thinking about what he said to Eve earlier this day. He felt how his head started to get warm, as if the amount of thoughts that passed through his head couldn't be processed properly, like a machine being overwhelmed by the work it has to do, causing it to overheat. “What does she think of me?”, “Am I a monster?”, “Is she afraid of me?” He just couldn't handle the amount of it, it was to much. Thoughts flew from every direction in his head, but everything started to slow down when he realized he had to talk to her, tell her that there is nothing to worry about. -”I know what I should do,” he said to himself with hope. “I should try to show her, maybe make her understand!”

-”But how?” He sighed. “How am I supposed to make her understand that I will never hurt her?” – “Perhaps I could tell her that I would like to have a word with her?” He immediately sat up from laying on his bed. “Yeah, that does seem to be a good idea!” – “I should try to talk to her!”

After he came up with that brilliant idea, had he begun to prepare what he could say when he gets the chance to meet Eve. He thought of the place were they should sit, he thought of how he should tell her that there is nothing to worry about and he lastly thought of how he should contain ERROR to not let him hurt anyone.

-”Maybe the park could do?” – “Or even the libra–” Suddenly his phone next to him started to vibrate, letting him know that someone was calling him. He flipped the phone and read the name on the caller, it was Eve. -”Why is she calling me so suddenly?” He scratched his head. The phone kept vibrating, he was thinking why of a sudden she were calling him, had maybe something happened? Curious as he was, did he answer the phone.

-”Hi Eve,” he mumbled. “Is everything oka–” -”Adam,” she sighed. “We need to talk.” Adam paused for a minute, trying to figure out why all of this happened so suddenly. -”Is something wrong?”

Eve sighed. “Well I..” she paused. “I don’t” – “I dont think this will work anymore.” Adam’s head couldn't think properly when Eve said that sentence, he couldn't understand anything at this point. -”Eve,” – “What do you mean?” – “I don't really understand.” She exhaled deeply. “I don’t want to continue on,” – “We can’t be..” Adams heartbeat started to increase rapidly, he could feel how his heartbeat shook his whole body every time it beat. Adam’s voice was filled with despair.”Could you speak more clearly?” – “Please..?” -”We can’t be friends anymore,” – “Im sorry..” He couldn't think clearly from now on, as if he couldn’t comprehend words anymore. -”Wh..” – “Why?” -”Because I'm,” she paused. “I'm afraid of you,” – “At least a part of you..”

Everything around him was soundless, the cars outside his house, the birds, the dogs barking, the winds, he was only able to hear his heartbeat beat in a two-rhythmic way. It beat, slowly and steady, as if he was on a deathbed in hospital, dying slowly. She was afraid of him. Afraid that a part of him would hurt her, afraid that a part of him would dare to place a hand on her, she was afraid of him. All this time, the time and effort Adam had put to make sure that Eve would feel protected, that she would feel safe, it had been for nothing, for he could not protect her from himself.

-“Adam, Im–” she paused. “I am very sorry, I didn't want it to end like this, but i couldn't have it continue on like this.” Adam couldn’t say anything, the shock had paralyzed his whole body and turned him into statue. -”I have nothing more to say,” she went silent for a second. “We should only remain classma–” Adam ended the call before Eve had ended her sentence, his heart couldn’t take it anymore, not even Eve’s smile could heal the deep wound that had cracked his heart open. The phone that he once held dropped lifelessly from his hand and fell to the wooden floor. He looked up into the roof of his room whilst tears were slowly sliding from his eyes down his cheeks.

-”You are to thank me for what i've freed you from.”said ERROR. Adam’s grief and sorrow turned into hatred, pure hatred that grew and spread its roots faster and stronger through out of his body. The blue veins that crawled around his head had turned visible on the surface of his head, almost as if they were about to burst and sweat . He clenched his teeth and clenched his fists as if he was getting ready for a battle.

Suddenly everything turned black, he had entered his mind. Adam could see from a distance where ERROR stood and so he began to walk towards him. ERROR looked at Adam walking towards him.”Why are you here? said ERROR as his voice echoed endlessly in the void. Adam kept walking towards ERROR, he looked at him with infuriated eyes that met ERROR’s red shining eye. -”You knew how much she meant for me,” his voice started to get louder. “You knew how much I cared for her!” 47

Adam’s walking speed increased. “Why..” his voice was filled with grief. “Why did you do this,” – “WHY?!” -”Calm down,” said ERROR whilst moving backwards. “She was a toxic person.” -”I adored her,” – “I cared for her,” – “But now she's gone, because of YOU!” Light started to shine behind Adam, as bright as a sun's glare. The light’s brightness increased as every emotion that Adam had felt merged with the light. Envy, grief, anger, fear, pity and joy. But there was one emotion that had struck Adam’s heart that empowered every other emotion, a emotion that had immense power and influence, a emotion he had never acquired from anyone, anyone but Eve, it was the sensation of love…

ERROR moved backwards and spoke with a stuttering voice. “Cal, Calm down Ad-” – “Adam, it was for your own good!” “For my own good?!” he laughed maniacally. “You never had any good intentions!” Adam screamed at ERROR with all the air that his lungs carried. He started to run towards ERROR whilst ERROR moved backwards at a faster rate. -”Adam, calm yourself !” The light behind Adam shone so bright that it illumintated the emptiness around them, beams of light stretched outwards from Adam endlessly. ERROR were blinded by the lights brightness and soon he began to feel how the beams tore him apart, putting him into a agony. ERROR screamed monstrously. “You will pay for thi–.” Suddenly the light’s brightness intensified immensely and exploded everywhere. Adam’s vision was dazzled. 48

Chapter 4: The Metamorphosis Adam stood up in front of his window in his room, observing the landscape that was in front of him, thinking about himself, thinking about how he managed to eradicate a part of himself. Adam sighed. “I wish I could tell you Eve,” he said to himself. “ I wish I could tell you that he is gone.” -”After all,” – ”Do I still appreciate everything we had,” his voice was filled with despair.-“You changed me so much,” – “And I am forever thankful for all the memories we created together.” He kept looking out of his window whilst tears from his eyes ran down his cheeks and dropped onto the floor. -”Thank you,” he paused. “Thank you Eve.”

Saying Goodbye Leaning against the wall she takes up a little notebook, the sides of each page brown, beaten down throughout the years. I wonder what it might contain, maybe a diary or nonsense. Probably the latter. Jess dunks me in the back, interrupting my obvious gazing in her direction. I turn to him while adjusting my backpack. “Come on Levi, just talk to her. Was the fight really that bad?” he asks loud enough for the whole world to hear including Evangeline. Her eyes meet mine and it stays like that for a brief moment. The wound still open, stinging whenever I see her. I guess she feels the same way. She turns away, hiding what others might believe is tears, but I know better. Evan doesn’t cry. “It’s none of your business, and please lower your voice”. “If you say so” he says as the left side of his mouth slides up, smirking, my eyes rolls in response. As I start walking towards the classroom I try to meet her eyes yet again. Passing her the scent follows me filling my nose with vanilla. It was always vanilla. That was the last time I saw Evangeline, the last time anyone saw her before she took her own life.

Seven years later I still find myself looking through the yearbook, only to remind myself of her beauty. How the wavy charcoal black hair hovered over her shoulders, and how the eyes were more blue than the ocean and summer sky combined. I wave my hand indicating for a fifth glass. Due to the loud bar music and constant ongoing conversations at the table next to me I don’t hear the bartender’s murmurs. Feeling ignored he moves on and my focus finds its way back to the book. Sipping on my drink I turn to the next page. My heart hasn’t healed, and it never will. The guilt keeps growing each day due to the constant reminder of me being alive and not her. I still feel her beneath my fingers, and knowing that she is far beyond my reach feels like a stab in the gut. My eyelids feels heavier making it 50

arduous to keep them open. Surrendering, I rest my head on her picture, making it the closest I’ve ever been to her in years.

Sunshine wakes me up as it tries to penetrate through my eyelids. After all the weeping last night I struggle to open my still swollen eyes. A success leads to confusion. It takes a minute or two to realize where I am. Why am I back at my parents, and what is that atrocious smell. The floor isn’t even visible due to all the clothes, books, magazines and plastic wrapper covering it. “Levi! I’m leaving now, there’s some pizza money for tonight on the table. Don’t make any fuss at school”. What does she mean with “school”? Is this some kind of sick joke? I rush down the stairs searching for an explanation, in the kitchen I pass the fridge and start making my way to the living room. Hesitating I turn back and almost trip because of what I encountered. “ 12th may 2011” one week from her death day.

Hands on the wheel I feel sweat dripping down my temple. I make a last left and step out of the car. I almost drop to the floor as I smash the doors open. There she was, standing by her locker trying to find whatever she was seeking for. Charcoal strands of hair attempts to block her sight and effortlessly she drags it away. Before I know it I run down the hall and embrace her. Emotions whom been contained for years suddenly explode open. My head lands on her shoulder and I hear myself whisper “I missed you”. Pursing her lips she push me away, “Levi! Contain yourself !”. Her brows furrowed in confusion, and I expect nothing else. Quickly, I devolve to the 17 year old me. “I apologize for my feelings and for my sudden actions” I say with a small grin bowing. She smirks lifting up my head. “You are a strange boy Levi Yuno, come on”. I wipe my cheeks dry and try to compose myself as I follow her lead.

Back home I stuff myself with the nutritious meal my mother contributed with. If this is real, if I really went back in time, Evangeline will be alive for six more days. Six mere days which I’ll dedicate on trying to save her. After quite some time of scrolling through my contact book, I finally find her saved as “Evan”. I open a 51

new chat and start typing “Awake?”, I roll over to the other side of my bed and wait, peering at my phone. For what seems like two hours later, turns out to be four minutes, she replies, “I am now.”. I call her and she answers. Her voice, smooth as silk, heals but rips me apart at the same time. We talk for hours about nothing and everything. Mostly about her, my favorite subject. I still find myself numerous times trying to go deeper, trying to find an explanation. Although I know that isn’t fair and it will only deteriorate our relationship.

Time flies by, it flies by too fast. We talk each day, and I’m getting to know her all over again. All her flaws, freckles and habits becomes clear yet again after all these years. The conversations never gets any near profound. She is in control, never letting me even think about bringing the subject up. There’s this shield, keeping me and everyone else away from her. I gather up the prowess that’s left in me and send her a message. “Keep your schedule free this weekend, don’t question it”. Friday night I start packing everything I might need and place it in the trunk. Early in the morning the next day I pick her up, even though she just woke up and was a bit irritated with me I couldn’t help but smile, her beauty is truly striking. “And why do you look so damn happy Levi” she says whilst getting in the car pushing her hair back. Tilting forward I surprise her with a kiss “You just have that effect on me”. While driving I notice that her focus slowly drifts away leaving her eyes empty. She doesn’t say anything, lost in her own thoughts. Maybe she’s going over the last details, how it should be done, if she should write a letter and if so to whom. I never received a letter, perhaps it caused her too much pain. Only three days left.

Arriving to our destination she comes back to reality, sprinting out of the car. The wind catches her hair, making it flow backwards and she embraces it “Levi this place is magical!”. The hours pass, laughter fills up the time making it seem like minutes. Everytime she laughs I almost choke trying to push back tears. Hearing it is a gift I’ll forever cherish. In semi darkness we lay down beside the fire, both silent. 52

The time left is short, I need to confront her somehow and now. “Evangeline?” I whisper. Never breaking eye contact with the stars she answers “Yes Levi?”. “Are you sure everything is okay, you seem distant” I try to grab her arm, reminding her that I’m here with her. “What do you mean” she rises up, feeling uncomfortable by the question. I push further even though it breaks me to do so. “You look empty somehow, like you aren’t even here” which she won’t be in three days. When I look up she’s peering through me searching for answers, forgiveness. I take her hands “I’m here for you. Evangeline you are not alone, okay?” Her eyes redden and tears starts to slowly drip down, gathering around her lips. This is the first time I see her crying. “I know, I’m truly okay. Just stressed over school” leaving my hands cold she gets up and walks towards the lake. “I don’t believe that”. Her head hesitates to turn around. I stand up, memories of her mother screaming as the casket goes underground flashes by. Flowers, notes by her locker from strangers. Candles lit around her house also left by stranger feeling pride over such action. Pain felt by those who actually knew her. Friends who stayed indoor for weeks never feeling warmth, blaming themselves. I wasn’t good enough back then, but I will be now. I’ll be the hero she deserves.

“I know that you are in pain, constantly questioning your existence”. Both in tears I continue, I can’t hold it in anymore. “Please Evan don’t do it, don’t leave me”, she falls, broken by my words. Hands over her face she screams. “Stop, just stop”. I can’t. “I know you want to hurt yourself, but I’ll stay with you. You don’t have to walk through the rain alone anymore” I say grabbing her face. “Levi you don’t understand, I’m dying inside. Constantly rotting, and I can’t take it anymore” She looks up on me, rivers leaving her eyes.

I hold her, trying to stop the shaking, the crying. She already made up her mind, leaving me powerless. No one is capable of changing her mind, and I know that now. Her eyes said nothing else even though I searched, hoped, for lies. I drive her home reluctantly, she laughs and talks trying to distract me from thinking of 53

last night. Evan holds my hands, I let her for a second, only for some comfort I can’t seek elsewhere. She tries to meet my eyes, due to the great pain it will cause me, she doesn’t succeed. But remembering that this may be the last time I see her, I grab her wrist looking down as she steps out of the car. “Please Evan”. One more tear leaves her left eye as she smiles, “Goodbye Levi”.

Seven years later I still find myself reading that letter. It brings me peace, imagining her voice. How she would utter the words. How she would try to express the emotions through her hands, and smile as she says my name. I inhale the summer air and look up, the air smelled like metal indicating that rain was coming and sunshine was trying to descend through the clouds. The sun reminds me of her, and so does the rain. Eyes back on the letter I commence my reading yet again. “Levi, I know this isn’t fair and you’ll probably hate me after this.” I could never hate you even if I tried. “ For you I hope a state of euphoria. Exactly what you gave me” and you me. “Remember that it’s better to be held than holding on, let people in. Don’t relive my mistakes” I’m sorry for realising to late. “This isn’t your fault, and blame will never fall on you. You were my flashlight, guidance in darkness. My knight in shining armor, hero at all times” and you mine. “My umbrella through the rain” I would never let you walk alone. “Goodbye Levi” Goodbye Evan.

(P)

The Attempt To Outrun Your Demons He lays on the ground and everything in his body hurts. He can taste the blood in his mouth and yet another punch in the face comes. The kick in the stomach makes him lose his breath and change to fetal position. Fighting back was something he stopped doing years ago, he knew it was worthless. He can see something shiny in the corner of his eye nearing his leg. It’s a knife!

Leo wakes up screaming, the bed is wet and his hole body is clammy. It’s the third night this week he has a nightmare and he can’t understand why. The nightmares are starting to get too much. Leo had thought leaving home and starting college would help with the nightmares, but apparently he was wrong. He lays down again and looks through the window. Outside, the wind is whistling and leaves with burning colors are flying everywhere. The sun is coming up behind the horizon but it’s still a little dark outside. People are walking with coffee in their hands, they look relaxed and happy almost like they have the world in their hands. All Leo could think of was that he wished it was him and with that thought in his head he falls back to sleep.

The alarm clocks roaring noise goes of at 8.00 a.m. and she does not want to wake up. After the day she had yesterday, going to school is not her top priority. Her eyelids feels like stones and her body is aching. Just when she’s about to get out of bed Ethan rushes in to her room. “Come on Avery get out of bed, you said 55

we were eating breakfast together before school”, he shouts. “Yeah I know but I don’t want to get up. The bed is warm, cozy and it’s protecting me from all the bad things outside” she murmurs. “You mean protecting you from Jake?” he asks but he already knows the answer. She turns away from him because he knows how to read her facial expressions. “Avery you can’t let him get to you. He’s just another bully that feels superior when he pushes people around” he says. “I know you’re right and that honestly bothers me. If he knows that he got to me he will continue, I know that but it’s hard to pretend like everything is fine when it’s not” she says with sadness in her voice. “I understand, but do you know what will cheer you up? A luxurious breakfast with your best friend” he says loudly trying to make her feel better. Ethan pulls Avery out of bed and she gets dressed. Five minutes later they walk through the bedroom door and Avery knows that a morning with Ethan will always brighten her mood.

When Leo walks to class, a wind sails through his curly brown hair. The wind causes goosebumps to rise on his body. This morning after the night he had, he didn’t bother with what clothes he put on. He just took the first thing he got in his hand and in this case it was a black pair of jeans and a grey shirt. But in this minute, Leo regrets not putting on something warmer. He takes up his phone to look what time it is and right before the screen lights up he bumps into someone. “Ohh I’m sorry” says the most beautiful voice he has ever heard. Looking into sapphire colored eyes his heart skips a beat. Perfectly heart shaped lips, fiery red hair and curves in all the right places make up the beautiful creature standing in front of him. Taking in the gorgeous girl he almost forgets to speak. “Don’t be, I’m the one who should pay more attention to where I’m going. My name is Leo” he says and hopes she can’t hear how nervous he is. “Um I know, we went to the same high school” she answers. “We did?” Leo says surprised. “Of course you don’t remember me, why would you?” she says quietly with hurt in her voice and before Leo can apologize she walks away with her head down.

Leo is standing on the exact same spot when Noah approaches him. “Who was it you were talking to just now?” Noah asks. “I’m not sure, but apparently we went to the same high school” he answers still bewildered by the whole situation. Noah and Leo have known each other their whole lives and have always been best friends. “She looks a lot like that girl named Avery from high school” Noah says. “The girl that was bullied by the cheerleaders?” Leo asks and he feels bad for not recognizing her. “Yeah I think it’s her, but I’m not sure. Back then she always wore baggy clothes and weird makeup” Noah answers with laughter in his voice. They start walking so they won’t be late for class, but Leo can’t stop thinking about Avery, her beautiful voice and how hurt she looked when she walked away. If he could just see her one more time he would do everything in his power to take that pain away.

Walking away from Leo she can feel her eyes watering. Avery can’t understand why she got surprised when he didn’t recognize her. She shouldn’t care but she does. Leo was the most popular guy in high school and she, the outsider everyone bullied. When she first looked up and saw that it was Leo who walked into her, her body froze. All Avery could see was the strong jawline, the jeans hanging low on his hips and the defined muscles under his shirt. The secret crush she has had on Leo since junior high is still running through her veines. But for Avery that crush has always been in her imagination, because how could she ever trust someone other than Ethan with her big dark secret.

It’s been four months since the day Leo ran into Avery on his way to class. In the weeks following that day he took every opportunity to see and talk to her. At first he could not understand why she was so closed off. It took him three weeks of almost begging on his knees for her to say “yes” to a date and another three months before they revealed their darkest secrets to each other. It’s not easy telling the girl you’re falling for that your father used you as a punching bag for most of your childhood and Leo imagines that it was just as hard for Avery to talk about her awful rape. But now that the truth is out Leo feels like nothing can break what 57

he has with Avery. Nothing can be harder than what they have gone through these past months, not even tomorrow when they’re facing their old lives at the high school reunion.

Hand in hand, Avery and Leo walk through the double doors that is keeping them separated from their past, the past that they so badly want to forget. Standing in a room full of the people they went to high school with, including their parents, Avery knows that she should tell her parents about what happened on that day 10 years ago. It won’t be easy but it’s what she’s got to do to move past it. But first she has to face all the bullies that made every day a living hell for four years. Having Leo by her side makes it a little easier to breath. As Leo drags Avery across the room towards his old friends she can feel the stares coming from the group of cheerleaders standing in the middle of the crowded room. After Leo greets the group of guys all eyes land on Avery wondering what Leo is doing with her. It only takes a second for her to feel like she is back in high school and the bad habits resurfaces as she tries to hide her face behind her hair. As usual it doesn’t take long before the cheerleaders surround the guys, seeking Leo’s attention. The old head cheerleader Sonya takes one look at Avery and Leos interlocked hands before giving Avery a disgusted look and whispers not so discreetly “What is Leo doing with that tramp?” to her friend. The comment makes her try to hide even more. The movement catches Leo’s attention and he whispers quietly in her ear “Don’t do that, don't let her win. Keep your head up high ´cause you’re beautiful just the way you are”. Leos’ comment gives Avery the courage she didn’t have two years ago to stand up for herself. “I’m tired of this, you can’t keep pushing people down just to make yourself feel better. If you have that low self esteem maybe you should get some help. I might have been scared of you two years ago but not anymore” Avery says to Sonya. Then she turns around to walk away only to freeze in her step. Everything around her disappears. The only thing she sees is him, the man who raped her. He is here, standing in the middle of the room talking to her parents. All she can think of is that she needs to get out of here. She needs to move. Leo tugs at her arm saying something, but she can't hear him. With panic raging through her body she can feel the tears coming and a faint taste of stomach 58

acid starting to spread in her mouth. “I need to get out of here” she whispers, hearing the panic in her own voice. And with that she takes of running towards the door.

It takes all about two seconds before Leo takes off after Avery. As he's pushing past people in the crowded room, he tries to understand what just happened. Going through the double doors he sees Avery as she ducks into the women's bathroom. Leo reaches the bathroom just in time to stop Avery from swallowing the whole bottle of anxiety meds she always keeps in her bag. “Please don’t do that. Don’t leave me here, not like that. I need you… I need you, because I love you”. Shocked at his own words he quickly realizes that what he just said is true. No one has ever made Leo feel like Avery does. Every second with Avery makes it a little bit easier to breath and his broken soul is slowly starting to heal.

Two days after Leo saved her in the high school bathroom she is sitting nervously in the car, driving up the long driveway leading to his parents house. Avery can still not believe that the amazing guy sitting next to her loves her. The car stops and Leo jumps out rushing around the car to open the door for her. “Always a gentleman” she says with the biggest smile on her face. They walk side by side to the front door and knock. Leo’s father opens and that’s when it hits her. The man who raised the wonderful boy she calls boyfriend is not only the man who hit Leo but also the man who raped her. He reaches out his hand and says with the biggest smirk on his face “My name is Keith Calston, but you may call me Mr.Calston”

As they walk into the house every memories from the beatings resurfaces. Leo thinks that it’s funny that the memories you desperately want to forget are the once you remember forever and the memories you want to hold on to seem to slip away like sand in the wind. His father leads them to the dining table and Leo helps Avery with the chair. When they both are seated he can feel the tension in the air, and looking at Avery he’s beginning to feel like something is wrong. Leaning in close. “What’s up?” he asks quietly so that only Avery can hear. “It’s him” she 59

responds so soundlessly that he almost doesn’t hear her. But he does. Anger arises so fast in his body that it feels like someone has punched him. Avery’s quiet words ring in his ears as he realises that his own father is Avery’s rapist. Leo’s mother serves the food and they all eat in silence. Every bite is like gravel in his mouth. As everyone is on their last bites Avery asks permission to step out for a few minutes to make a call. Avery leaves the room and Leo feels the tension rise even more. Fifteen minutes goes by and a nagging feeling is starting to build in Leos stomach, why is Avery not back? Leo rises from his chair “I’m going to go check on Avery” he murmurs. The minute he steps outside he sees Avery, she’s lying on the ground. He sprints forward and as he nears her, he can see the razor in her hand and the blood surrounding her. After dialing 911 he sinks to the ground feeling his heart break inside him. He thought he saved Avery that day at the reunion, but he was wrong. He just bought her time until the next windstorm swept through…

(p)

The cross of the Sabre Panic. The young men panicked trying to hide from the roar of the russian guns. German battle-cries could be heard. “Für den Kaiser” they cried as they charged head first into the slaughtering lines. But the Kaiser wasn’t there. He was taking a nice warm bath in the imperial palace in Berlin; while his men were shitting themselves out of fear on the front lines. The eastern front was brutal. The eastern front was unforgiving. The eastern front was pointless. Klaus didn’t want to be here. He was a forced conscript, doing his duty for the empire. An empire of dreams. An empire that wouldn’t last. They were fighting the Tsar. The leader of another empire. An empire of dreams as well. An empire that wouldn’t last. Luckily for Klaus, he wasn’t on the forefront of battle. He was behind the front lines. Five hundred meters to be precise. He was part of the machinery that was a german artillery division. He simply aimed, adjusted and fired. Hoping that the shells would hit their target, sending men screaming into oblivion. While firing a shell, he wondered what time it was. He took a quick peek at his pocket watch. It was a cold bright april afternoon, and the clocks were striking three. He had been awake for twelve hours now, waking up to the roar of artillery at three in the morning, having only slept for two hours. He hadn’t taken a piss for the last twelve hours and he desperately needed to go, but his commander would kill him if he left his post. He felt the tension ease up as the warm fluid ran down his leg, wetting the wool trousers. This was the third time in a week he had done that. The first time it happened he had cried when he went to sleep. The second time he just felt sad. This time he barely noticed. It had become a part of his life now. Klaus wondered if the russian artillery men pissed themselves as well. He was told they were less disciplined, so maybe their commanders allowed them leave to urinate.

He stopped thinking about taking pisses when he realized he felt the ground rumbling. He started to hear screams. And he started to hear something else. Horses? Horses. He heard the neighing and galloping of a russian cavalry unit. The rhythm got stuck in his head “Ba-da-bom ba-da-bom ba-da-bom ba-da-bom”. It got closer. He picked up his rifle. He was down in a trench. The cavalry was upon him. Riding down into the wide man-made hole the horses trampled him and a sabre was run through his abdomen.

Mountains. Grandiose, majestic mountains was what Klaus saw when he woke up. The next thing he noticed was that he sat on the back of a horse. “Dobroye utro” the man in front of him said, laughing, “Vy nashli svoye vremya” he continued and laughed. Klaus didn’t speak Russian, but he heard on the tone and the laugh of the man that he wasn’t hostile. Klaus tried reaching his pocket watch but couldn’t reach it since his hands were bound. He asked the man what time it was in german, but only got an answer in russian, followed by a brief laugh. Time passed and he noticed the sun was setting. He knew that the sun always went down in the west and it was to the right of him, which meant that they were traveling south.

When darkness had descended fully they stopped and set up camp. Sitting down by the campfire Klaus finally got to see the face of his captor. He was not of russian descent. He was definitely ottoman, but he spoke russian. Klaus was very confused, he was just a simple man from a small German village, not a ruthless soldier of the Imperial German Army. He had bandages around his stomach, the unknown ottoman man had probably taken care of him. He owed him his life. He had learned basic russian before going to war, phrases such as “retreat”, “attack” and for some reason also phrases like “thank you”. Klaus let out weak “Thank you” in russian and pointed to his stomach. The man showed him a brief smile in an awfully timid way, he then started to laugh, obviously entertained by Klaus’ attempt at speaking russian. He then said in german “I’m Özdemir, we’re going to Constantinople”. Surprised by his sudden knowledge of german Klaus was baffled 62

and didn’t speak for a good five seconds which made Özdemir laugh again “Brighten up Herr Baumhardt, for I am not your captor, rather I am your friend”. “How do you know my name?” Klaus asked with a worried look on his face. Özdemir shrugged and gave out a smile “I guessed”.

The following days they would cross the mountains of the Caucasus following the small mountain paths of the region. Mountains became plains and plains became deserts as they turned to the west. The two companions got acquainted with each other along the way. Özdemir told Klaus that he was an Ottoman spy who had infiltrated the russian army in order to sow the seeds of distrust amongst the ranks of the soldiers, hoping for a revolution against the Tsar. One day he told Klaus that the russians had found him writing letters to Constantinople and he had to leave in middle of the night and had by chance found Klaus lying in a trench clearly struck by a cavalry charge, feeling sympathy for the wounded german he felt he could not leave him lying there dying, so he took him with him on his way back to report to the Sultan.

One night after they had set up their camp and they had eaten their supper by the fire and gone to sleep, a group of mounted men closed in on them. Klaus, having heard the thunderous gallop of the russian cavalry many times recognized the sound from far away and woke up. He tried waking up Özdemir but he only muttered “quiet Mihri, my little dove” in his sleep. After a few tries Klaus managed to wake Özdemir and there was no time to explain anything. Özdemir grabbed his rifle and gave his saber to klaus to defend himself. The unknown group of mounted men were approaching, they saw that there was four of them. “Two each” Özdemir said to Klaus with a laugh. The four men split up into two groups of two and turned left and right, coming at the two travelers from two sides. The first to fire their rifle was one of the riders from Klaus side, the shot missed the former German soldier however, hitting instead the sand to the right of him. Özdemir fired and one of the riders fell to his demise. The three remaining riders were closing in on the two travelers. Klaus and Özdemir quickly jumped up on their 63

horse. They rode away from their enemies. Özdemir gave Klaus, who sat at the back his rifle to shoot their followers. Shots were fired by both parties, all of them missed; aiming was very difficult when riding a horse. Klaus fired his rifle one more time and eventually hit one of the three riders, who fell down his horse and died in great agony. One of the two remaining riders now placed a perfect shot which hit Özdemir’s and Klaus’ horse which got them tumbling down to the ground. Struck by their sudden fall, Özdemir and Klaus tried getting up, however Özdemir’s leg was caught under the great weight of the horse. Klaus was at this moment struck with panic as he had naught ideas of what to do, should he try to shoot the two riders that were dangerously close to them, or should he help his friend from the crushing weight of the horse ere the riders killed them both. He did the aforementioned. He picked up his rifle, reloaded and shot. One down. The other was too close for Klaus to reload again. He grabbed his saber and in a feat of unrivaled precision fueled by his want to save his friend he charged the horse that now was upon him, severing it’s front legs making the rider fall down before Klaus. “Mercy” the man said, but Klaus was not one to show mercy to someone who had tried to kill him. He was a trained soldier after all. The last of the four unknown riders fell to Klaus’ sweep of his blade that flashed in the light of the morning sunrise. Klaus stood there for a while, glancing at the horizon, when he heard Özdemir say “excuse me, could I get some help here?”. Klaus helped Özdemir up, who went directly to the dead body and searched it. He found no flag on the man, meaning that he was not a soldier or a british spy. He found nothing of interest on the man except a brooch in the shape of three swords that crossed each other in front of a big cross.

Luckily for the two travelers, they were close to Constantinople, and after two more days of walking they arrived at the capital of the ottoman empire. Özdemir showed Klaus to his family’s house and introduced him to his wife Rukiye, his father Muzaffer and his daughters Mihri and Istemade and left Klaus with them while he went to report to the Sultan of his mission in the Russian empire. Özdemir’s family had held a great feast for them the day before, and Klaus was still in his bed when Muzaffer entered the room. Since the Ottoman empire was allied 64

with the German empire in the war, the inhabitants of Constantinople had learnt a bit of german and with that basic knowledge Muzaffer said “I saw this brooch. Is it yours?” Klaus explained to him how they had been ambushed by four riders and how one of them had carried the brooch. Muzaffer then said “This brooch carries the symbol of the order of the Sabre’s Cross, an ancient christian order, devoted to taking back the holy land. They have been seen more and more as our great empire are drawn further into the war. They see it as a weak time for the Ottoman empire and the Sultan, and will not be content until these lands are under christian rule.”

Later that day, Klaus was walking the streets of the city, he felt a feeling as though he was being watched, which he probably was. Seeing germans in the streets of Constantinople had become a more common sight over the last year, but he still felt as an oddity among the southrons. After taking a stroll through one of the many bazaars he saw a little child waving at him. Smiling Klaus waved to the little girl who gestured for him to follow her. Enigmatic he followed her out of the bazaar. He tried to get her to stop so he could ask her where she was taking him but she would just gesture for him to follow. Eventually they left the crowded streets and they got to a back alley where she stopped and looked at him with her brown innocent and playful eyes. Darkness. Darkness was all he saw as the masked men put a cloth bag over his head. He heard one of them give the girl a coin and she ran off to the bazaar again. A punch in his already hurt abdomen made him fold and fall to the ground. A kick in the head made him lose his consciousness and he he was hung over the should of a very big man, taken away to god knows where.

When Klaus woke up he was in a dank cellar, sitting in a chair with his hands bound. He was alone, or at least he thought he was until he noticed a familiar voice behind him. Sitting on a chair behind Klaus with his back facing him was none other than Özdemir. “Hello my friend” he said, laughing “It seems as though we’ve gotten ourselves into some trouble”. Into the room walked a man of high sta65

ture who wore armour of chainmail with white cloth over with the emblem of the sabre’s cross, three swords crossed in front of a big cross, on it. When Özdemir saw his rather ancient attire he burst out laughing, saying “I am terribly sorry but are you lost? the 12’th century is thataway” pointing to the way he came from. The man didn’t reply to what he said. After a period of silence he said “The blood of four holy knights lies upon your hands, Özdemir son of Muzaffer and your pet dog here”. Clearly not satisfied with being called a pet dog Klaus cried out “Do not lower me to the level of an animal when thou self is nothing more than a wretched impostor, longing for days already gone!” With his cry Klaus felt his abdomen hurt and he swore to say no more that day. “I am Amadeus Magna, Grand Master of the Order of The Sabre’s cross”. “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, so the old men of Babylon said. Blood shall be paid with blood” he said as he took his sabre and plunged it deep into the heart of Özdemir. Klaus, still silent from the pain of his former cry went into a rage, standing up, still bound to the chair he ran towards Amadeus and used his own head to strike the Grand master of the Sabre’s cross in the head. Amadeus lost his balance and fell to the ground. Klaus sat down on his knees and used his thick german skull to repeatedly batter Amadeus’s head, both bleeding heavily from their foreheads. Not until Amadeus head had cracked like an egg would Klaus stop battering his head at him, still not uttering a single word. He walked slowly, still in a rage, towards one of the swords hanging at the wall and cut himself loose from the chair and the ropes that bonded his hands together. He walked out of the dank cellar, blood flowing from his head he came across a table where there were notes and maps of the city. He took a look at some of the notes and saw that one was signed with a british flag, then and there he broke his vow of silence and cursed the british threefold. He grabbed one of the sabres from the wall and continued on his way out, two knights stood watch on the others side of the door he would pass, he rushed through the door and with a fell swing of his sabre he slaughtered both of the two door-guards as he thought about what the Grand Master had said “Blood shall be paid with blood”, “Indeed it shall” he thought for himself. Five knights of the Sabre’s Cross was slain by the hand of Klaus that day, but it would never pay for Özdemir’s life, he would kill every one of them, and all of the british who had funded their vile order as well. 66

When he got out of the cellar-base he could not believe his eyes. The city was aflame and her people panicked. The knights had stormed the streets and Constantinople was swarming with them, he would send them all screaming back through hell’s own gates if he could. Klaus ran all the way to Özdemir’s house, hoping to find his family and to flee with them from the city. All around he could hear the town-criers shouting “The Sultan is dead, long live the sultan”. Klaus stopped and asked one of them what happened to the Sultan, breaking his vow of silence a second time “Assassinated, by the hand of a knight of the Sabre’s cross. City’s crawling with them”. When he reached Özdemir’s house he found it burning. Blinded by the rage caused by the killing of his friend he went in there, looking for any survivors. His first sight was the corpse of what could only be Muzaffer, burned to a crisp. Next to him was Istemade and Rukiye who had almost got out of the house before the fire had engulfed them. He heard a cry from the other room and rushing there he found Mihri standing in one of the corners not touched by the fire yet. He grabbed her and rushed out to the streets. He had no time to talk to her, he carried all to the way to the gate of the city, where he found a saddled horse that had belonged to one of the knights whom the men loyal to the Sultan had killed. He jumped up on the horse and had Mihri sitting in front of him. “Your family is dead, he said to her. Killed by the hand of the order of the sabre’s cross, I killed the man who murdered your father, if that is to any comfort” Klaus said, breaking his vow of silence for the third and final time. They rode out of the lost city towards the sunset, towards the west. For the story of Klaus would not be one of heroism, but rather it would be one of vengeance, and some say that the fire of his rage yet burns in his eyes.

The Price of Being a Hero As Elina Sanders walked along the coastline, she glared at the ocean. She had not forgotten and she never will because every time she closes her eyes she is back. Back at the worst day of her life, the day she wakes up screaming about every night. Truth to be told, being a hero has its price.

It was an ordinary day, a regular Tuesday, when Elina Sanders with reluctant dragged herself up from the warm bed. Like every morning she was at a terrible mood, she angrily rubbed her drowsy eyes and glared at the alarm clock on her bedside table. Outside of her bedroom window, San Francisco started to wake up and move with its conventional pace. Elina opened her wardrobe only to stare at it for a few minutes, and after a further a few minutes of Â searching for something to wear, her wardrobe looked like a bomb detonated. During the search for something to wear, Elina had managed to find her old swimming suit hidden under a pile of clothes. The swimming suit brought back memories, pleasant ones but also horrible ones. Memories from her competing with the school team and winning nationals, but also from her father's drowning accident and Elinas current fear of water. Since he died, nothing has been the same. Elina, living alone with her mother who is furthermore constantly working at the hospital after the accident, only to come home late at night and leave early in the morning. At some point they both lived in some kind of denial never talking about what happened, on the other hand Elina preferred not to. While people brought them food she saw her mother put on a facade, gratefully receiving the food, thanking the neighbors with a sad smile, whereas the facade never disappeared. Elina grabbed the swimsuit and put 68

it away in the back of the wardrobe, reminding herself about the promise she made to start over. Today was going to be a good day, that was leastways what she was trying to persuade herself to believe. Little did she know, that the day had just began.

As she ran to the bus station, delayed as usual Elina pulled her blond, shoulderlength hair into a messy bun. On the other side quarter, an old lady walked with her dog on the pavement. Abrupt the dog cease walking and started barking instinctive loud. Elina heard another weird sound, she looked up. The birds had begun to fly as crazy, in a big clutch around and around. A shiver went down her spine, something unpleasant was about to happen. Only seconds later the ground began to tremble, only to start shaking madly. Elina fell hard to the ground, it was impossible to stand up. She had never heard a noise so deafening as when the buildings around her began to tremble and fragment. Cinder blocks started to fall around her and Elina tried to determine where the old lady with the dog had gone. Next to Elina was a store whose storefront shattered over her. Million pieces of glass tore apart ElinaÂ´s clothes and skin. She started crawling on the pavement to get away from the shatter. If it was not for the ringing in her ears, Elina might have heard the hundred of car alarms that were set of or the wailing old lady only seven meters from her who had a cement block over her crushed legs.

The madly shaking begun to develop into a constant tremble and Elina managed to rise from the pavement. She wanted to find the lady, whereas Elina could not managed to move her left leg without the pain made her vision fade. As Elina looked down at her leg, she felt her stomach turn inside out, and she had to make an effort not to vomit. A big piece of glass, sharp as a knife, was pointing out of her leg. Elina took three trembling breathes, tore a strip from her already torn cardigan. She grabbed the glass with shaking hands and gently pulled it out. An instant bleeding began but she wound the strip around her leg and clenched it with a piercing scream. Now Elina continued her searching for the old lady and as she

stumbling forward she managed to lay eyes on her, and the cement block as well. Elina kneeled in front of the lady. “I am Elina, I will get you out of here! What is your name?” Elina said with a shaking voice as she took the old lady´s bloody hand and started to inspect the cement block. “Elina dear, it is dangerous here, save yourself. I am stuck.” The lady said with a raspy, slow voice. Blood had started to cover her lips when coughed. “Not without you!” Elina tried with all her strength to push the cement block away from the lady, but in vain. The lady's breathing became slower and slower. An alarming, metallic sound cut through the air and the building behind them started to slowly tilt. “Elina, the building is going to collapse, get away dear! I have lived a long, happy life but yours has just begun. Do it for me, leave.” It was just as the lady had found her last bit of strength and she would not take no for an answer. Elina knew she had no shot at moving the cement block and the building behind her began to fall in an alarming rapid. “I am so sorry, so, so sorry...” Elina whispered as she kissed the lady´s cheek and rose. With eyes drown in tears, she gave the lady one last gaze. Then she ran and the tilted building crashed behind her.

Elina´s eyes were so drowned in tears, that she did not see the panicked girl she ran into. “Are you hurt?” The other girl with long red hair and with a bloody scar in her forehead asked. She examined Elina from top to toe, the injured leg and cuts from glass made the other girl shiver. “You are hurt, you need to get to a shelter so a doctor can take a look at you.” The girl confirmed and continued walking away. “Hey, I am fine, what is your name and where are you heading?” Elina asked as she ran to catch up with the redhead. 70

“I need to find my little brother Sammy, our parents are out of town and he is my responsibility. He should be at his school, it is just a few blocks away.” “Then I am going with you, I will not let you do this alone” Elina said as she had the old lady in her thoughts. She left her, she will not leave this girl alone. The girls had to climb over a pylon, and the pain in Elina´s leg burned. “You really should get to a doctor.” The girl repeated as she helpt Elina climb down and saw Elina´s painful face expression. “I am Becca.” “Elina Sanders” Elina replied and they continued their search for Sammy. Cars were crushed under huge cement blocks and Elina could not manage to look at the bodies of the drivers, who were just as equally destroyed. As they walked Becca fell to the ground and after getting up they realized she stumbled on a human body, a little boy. His blond hair was painted red by the blood and his skin was white as snow. Becca could not help but see her little brother, Sammy, with his red wild hair and pale skin in the little boy. The awareness made Becca vomit until there was nothing left in her stomach and her entire body was shaking madly. “That could have been Sammy, that even look like…” She was not able to finish the sentence and her cheeks were stripped of the tears that quiet fell down from her green eyes. Elina took Becca´s hand and guided her forward, she needed to remain strong if they would have a chance at finding Sammy.

Injured, bleeding people and survivors from the earthquake running like crazy around them trying to find their loved ones. Elina and Becca had the school in eyesight when the sirens went off. An alarming sound, that is for the residents in San Francisco known as when danger is on its way. Becca turned to Elina with panic in her eyes, and everybody around them ceased with the running and stared at each other. “What the heck is this Elina?” Becca screamed to drown out the alarm. A man on the other side of the road started yelling.

“A tsunami, tsunami, get cover, find height!” Panic broke loose. As the most of people started to run from the cost side and further in the city, Becca harshly grabbed Elina`s hand. “We can not leave Sammy, we need to get him out of the school before the wave strikes!” Elina looked Becca in the eyes and realized there was no other option, so they started running against the school.

On the ocean the monster wave who now were about 25 meters high stormed against the coastline. All the people who had run to the beach to seek cover from the falling buildings were the Tsunamis first victims. Elina and Becca who now ran hand in hand against the school, heard the wave before they saw it. A cascading and crushing sound that devastated all in its way and when Elina turned her head around, she faced the blue wall behind them. Only meters away from the front door to the school, the wave strikes them from behind. They had no chance against the force of nature. Their bodies hurtled in the school´s front wall, and Elina felt her lungs filled with water as her body, incapable of doing something, pitched around with the stream. When it lastly ceased Elina´s head hurt so much her vision became blurry and when she cough the water from her lungs it only became worse. She forced herself to get up, and now she could not rely on her leg at all. Water was up to her knees and streamed slowly. A piercing scream cut through the air, Becca. “Becca, Becca. Where are you?” Elina screamed with all voice she had left. She followed the piercing scream and lastly found Becca lying on a piece of wood. When she saw Becca, she fell on her knees in front of her. “It hurts Elina, everywhere. I can not feel my legs.” Becca said as tears once again fell down her cheeks and her breathing became irregular. “Oh Becca, I am going to get you help. I will be back, I promise you.” Elina said, and as she was about to leave to get a rescue team, Becca took her hand. “No, help Sammy! His in the school, it must be full of water and he is not a great swimmer.” Elina knew Becca would not take no for an answer and stumbled 72

against the school once again. She had to use all her force to open the front door, and as she did water streamed out. She heard screams somewhere from inside. Heck, Elina had not been in this much water since her father died. The basement must have been the safest place when the earthquake hit, because of the bunker that was placed in every school in San Francisco, and now they could not get out. Elina found the stairs and now the water was up to her stomach. She had to swim, but her body had frozen of fear for water and she started to hyperventilate. Screams from downstairs made her dive in. In some point, it felt like she never quit swimming, but as she swam she saw another door she had to open. Something had stuck at the bottom of the door and made it impossible to open, regardless of Elinas attempts. Instead she grabbed an iron pipe that had broken down, dived down in the water and started hitting the piece of metal under the door with the pipe. Elina felt a rush of satisfaction when the piece of metal started move and lastly gave up its grip. With tired hands, Elina dragged the door open and faced a stream of water. The room was approximately filled with water up to the roof and children had a arduous battle to stay afloat over the surface. “Here, swim to the door, it is open!” Elina screamed and the children and a few teachers started swimming against her. Elina tried to guide and help them but she had to hold the door open. In the back of the room, a boy with red, wet hair struggled to keep his head over the surface. “Sammy, you must be Sammy!” Elina said with relief, as she held out her hand to help the last child out of the bunker. Sammy nod and grabbed her hand with a huge effort and intense breathing. “I am going to get you out of here and then we are going to find your sister!” Elina said as she hooked her arm around Sammy and swam out of the building. Out on the street the kids were so exhausted from the swimming that some of them collapse on the ground. A group of people, who were about to seek shelter in the closest hospital, volunteered to help transport the children to the hospital. “Go with them Sammy, I am going to find your sister.” With reluctant Sammy let go of Elina`s hand and Elina started to stumble to the place where she left Becca. Her red hair revealed her, and when Elina took her hand, she smiled. 73

“I knew you could come back.” She was struggling to keep her eyes open. “Sammy, did you find him?” Now her voice was like a whisper and her skin pale. “He is fine, but you can not give up now, you hear me?” Elina started to panic when she saw the relief in Becca's eyes and tears fell down Elinas cheeks as Becca took her last hissing breath.

How to Paint a Town Everything was packed into boxes in all different sizes. Some small for the tiny pieces and bigger for the larger things. Luna went inside for one last time to make sure that she was ready to leave. To leave this apartment, this town and drive her red car on the road that lead to a new place. The window sill in the apartment on the third floor was occupied by Noah, a kind-hearted but very shy boy. He loved to sit there watching the town from distance. How the businessmen, with their briefcases, walked fast looking at their wristwatches every five seconds as if they were late to something very important. How the fruitseller sold apples and kiwis to the young lady with her crying child in one hand and money in the other. And how it all looked the same as always. Noah couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand why everyone looked so grumpy and unhappy. Therefore he became surprised when someone in red boots, yellow coat and the biggest smile he had ever seen, walked down the street. It was like if she slowly painted the town with color and smiles. If you were observant like Noah, you could see a petite smile grow on the people she walked past towards her new apartment. When Luna came home from her very first walk in the grey town she was a bit concerned. How was she supposed to make the city alive again? It was not always easy to be the happiest one in every town. But she felt in her heart that she had to do something. And she needed to start soon before it was too late. But how? Maybe a housewarming party for all her new neighbors? Well, she had to unpack the boxes from her car and make her new tiny apartment cozy and warm. She started to bake an apple pie so that everyone could feel the lovely scent of cinnamon and apples.

Suddenly, on her way up from her red vehicle, she saw a boy sitting on the stairs. She almost sang “hello” to him and he didn’t know what to say. It was something different to see her this close. How her whole appearance spread positive energy and how her eyes sparkled as she was waiting for his reply. After what felt like an hour he smiled and whispered “hi”. •

Do you want to join me for some apple pie upstairs? she asked.

•

That sounds wonderful, but I don’t know, Noah slowly answered.

• said.

Oh I’m sorry, but feel free to come inside whenever you want, she kindly

Luna walked past him with two moving boxes in her arms. When she went down again he was gone.

She sat down for a moment in her ocean blue velvet sofa. Suddenly, when she was thinking about how to decorate her living room, a featherlight knock was heard from outside the front door. Who could that be? •

I couldn’t resist the incredible scent of cinnamon, Noah proudly said.

With a lovely laugh Luna invited him to sit down beside her dining table while she prepared the pie together with some ice cream. It let Noah have a look around, and all he could think of was how every little object spread happiness around itself. The flowers were blooming in their odd but magical pots. He also perceived an orange cat peacefully sleeping in its cozy bed. •

Oh, that’s Joy, Luna explained.

• She is so pretty, Noah said, just like you. But the last three words were just in his head.

Noah wanted to stay at her place forever, but after many hours of talking he had to go home. However they promised to meet soon again. Luna was filled with optimism and enjoyment after talking to her new neighbor. He was indeed shy, yet she was an excellent listener and they had talked about everything under the sun. How they could change the town, how fun it was that they had met and how lovely the apple pie really tasted.

Unfortunately, not everyone seemed happy with all these colors and happiness. Lily was a very old lady who had the town’s grumpiest face. She made everyone’s life a little bit worse for each day, not at least her own. She made the town greyer without anyone noticing, except Luna. She had brought attention to the woman next door. Luna knew that it wasn’t an easy situation to handle and it kept her awake that night.

During a couple of days they had gently started to paint the town with colors and happiness. It was now time for the final piece, the housewarming party. They agreed on making the excellent apple pie again as well as some chocolate chip cookies, fruit salad and raspberry cupcakes for all the kids. Happier than ever, Noah went out to put invitation cards in every single mailbox. This was going to be the best housewarming party ever! What they didn't expect was what Lily did late that evening. When she saw a bright and way too colorful invitation card on her black door mat, she instinctively thought of her new annoying neighbor. On her way through the town she opened all the mailboxes and stole the invitation cards. In her world there was nothing called fun, it was just about destroying the fun for herself and everybody else.

• So, are you excited for tomorrow? Noah asked, when they stood in Luna’s kitchen preparing for tomorrow.   •

Definitely, but somehow a bit nervous, she answered.

She felt so lucky to have someone to talk to. After just a few days of talking and laughing she knew they were meant for each other. She wanted to show him the world, how big and beautiful it was. And that there were so many outstanding and perfect places. He needed to explore the world and get out of town. But first they had to complete her, or rather their, mission. Because the town needed some help to become as happy as they were. •

It’s going to be excellent, he said trying to calm her.

A week ago Noah thought he was happy, or maybe happy isn’t the right word. Let’s put it like this: From the very first second he had met Luna she had learned him about life, about happiness and about love. He had understood that he had missed a lot in life and felt blessed to have her around.

• What if no one comes? she questioned. She had a bad feeling in her stomach that ate the good vibes she usually felt around Noah.   • I don’t think that will happen, but IF then there are more of these delicious cookies for me, he said and grinned.  Going to bed that night wasn’t easy for any of them. Luna was worried. Noah was a bit too excited. And Lily was satisfied with the mess she was going to make and made plans all night long.

The next day the unit made Luna’s apartment ready for the awaited party. They baked the cookies and made the final touches. One o’clock… Two o’clock… and then three. Still only Luna, Noah and Joy were eating the cookies and pies and Luna was sure that something was wrong. They looked out through the window and it was like it always had been. Grumpiness and grey shades in the air as usual.

• How can everyone have missed a party this big and amazing? Noah asked, very confused.   • • hand.

I knew it! Luna said. But I do actually have an idea, she continued.  Please tell me! Noah said, taking one more bite of the cookie in his left

• What if we move the housewarming party into the street? She suggested with a smile.  • That’s an excellent idea! Noah quickly replied with crumbs flying out of his mouth.

So that was exactly what they did. All the sweets, cookies and pies were brought down to the square beside the fountain. They started to give away delicious pieces of pies and biscuits. More and more people started to notice the colorful party and wanted to join. The fruit seller came, the kids brought raspberry cupcakes to the playground, the old ladies talked loudly about the apple pie and even the busy businessmen stopped to enjoy a cookie or two.

•

Wow, this is by far the best cake I have ever tasted! someone loudly said.

•

I totally agree, the fruit seller insisted.

• ment.

You are my hero, a little child called out, and everyone nodded in agree-

Everyone seemed so joyful. They started to smile and the town slowly became happy and colorful again. Luna was finally done with her mission and decided that it was time to continue her travel around the world. Once more Luna packed all her stuff into boxes in all different sizes. Yet this time she wasn’t alone.

A bright yellow box was waiting outside Lily’s door. She found it on her way home from her daily walk and complained about how the color made her eyes itchy. She started to slowly open the box and found two perfect cookies together with a little note. They didn’t just look amazing, they smelled if possible even better. Not even Lily could resist to take a bite. A smile started to grow on her lips while she was eating the cookie. Lily hadn’t smiled in years and she felt totally free! The smile stopped for a second while she read the note. Luna wanted her to take care of Joy? But when she saw the orange cat peacefully sleeping in her dark blue sofa it was back again. And now the smile was finally there to stay forever.

☆Be kind and smile often☆

(p) 80

Not as it Seems I really love sleeping, so it was not a big surprise that I woke up feeling quite grumpy after someone pounded on the door to my room aggressively four or five times. I folded the cotton-blanket of my naked and overheated body, stood up on the freezing stone floor and made my way over to the window, while I was scratching the back on my head and my incredibly exhausted eyes which were a struggle to keep open. The old shutters on the outside of the window made a nasty creaking noise as I slowly opened them and a small beam of sunlight rushed through the small window, directly into my eyes, which made me give away a whimper. The sun was already on the middle of the sky, which meant i had overslept. I heard my Father’s raspy voice from the other side of the door, telling me that it was time for work. Apparently he had been standing there for approximately half an hour in an effort to wake me up, but I am a really heavy sleeper, so I am quite surprised that I even woke up at all.

I put on a pair of pants and a sweater that my mother sew for me when I was 12 years of age, but now I am 17. I opened the door and walked out to the kitchen in a zombie-like way to grab something to eat. My mother was sweeping the floor in the hallway, so my mood improved a bit when she met me with a heartwarming, “good morning Sara”. I did not answer her, or I was not alert enough to be more precise, but I nodded to let her know it was not my intention to ignore her. My senses now started to kick in and there was this incredible smell coming from the kitchen. A smell that seemed familiar, but i could not quite set my finger on what it was. Something i had not experienced in a while and my desire to see what is was made me pick up some speed. I made it to the kitchen and my face lighted up in a huge smile when I saw what made my stomach growl like a bear. I was my 81

motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s famous crab-stew with potatoes, carrots and many herbs that I did not know the name of, my favorite dish. My brother had already gotten his hands on a bowl filled with stew, he was sitting on his usual place at the dinner table and drank it without using a spoon, like a little goblin, but who could blame him? There is no better food in the world than motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stew. My brother Tim is three years younger then me and everyone around the village says that we look just alike, but Tim does not appreciate that. Do to the reason that I am a girl. Both of us have long blond hair, green eyes, freckles and puffy cheeks. I do not personally enjoy it when people point it out, but I guess that they are relatively chubby compared to other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cheeks.

I took my shoes and went outside to meet father on the backside of our house , after I was done sweeping down two bowls of stew. He is the major blacksmith of the village and has been for the prior 14 years after my grandfather passed, at the age of 49. He was a great blacksmith, the greatest, but father is better. He swings his hammer through the air gracefully as a knight and smithers any given metal without a problem and he wants me to take over his position when he retires. The problem is that I have no interest in following in his footsteps and it shows in my lack of skill, he always says that I seem unfocused and he is wright about that. I do not really have any sort of interest in being a blacksmith, which my family has been for the past 12 generations. It would be like a dream coming true if I were able to somehow do something special with my life. I have have a always dreamed of being some sort hero, a protector of our village. Our village is not too big with a total of approximately 100 persons, so it does not seem like something spectacular to any man, but it would mean everything to me, although it probably will never happened.

My mother called us inside after six hours of work, she had made a big variety of foods to celebrate my father's birthday. The food was great and I had a bit more than I feel comfortable admitting to, but it is better to be full than sorry. That is way I felt great when I began my walk to the river located outside the village, on 82

the other side of â&#x20AC;&#x153;the Kings Forestâ&#x20AC;?, because it was my turn to wash the dishes. This feeling quickly changed when i made it past the first treelines. My stomach started to tingle as I was approaching the river. I started to get nervous, scared of not knowing what was happening to me. I started to hyperventilate and the tingle in my stomach started to feel like a growing lump that grew more the closer I came to the river. My legs started to feel heavier like I carried some sort of weight on my back and every step became a challenge to stand up. I started to get the feeling that someone was watching me and I calmed myself enough to be able to hear the footsteps behind me. At first I though thought that I was just overexhaminating, it was probably just in my imagination, but as i came further into the forest the sound of the thing walking behind me became louder and louder. I suddenly stopped walking to see what or who was following me, just to see nothing, noone.

I dropped the dirty dished and started to run for the river as fast as i could, faster than i had ever ran. Ran so fast that the leaves I ran past flew in every direction. My legs started to hurt and I started to feel like the dinner I just ate wanted to come out the same way it came in. That is why I thought about stopping, but the footsteps came back and now they were loud enough to make me realise that someone was indeed following me and the thing was now running. I did not feel safe enough when I finally made it to the river, so I decided to swim across before I could rest. When crawling out of the cold river, my arms felt like dough and my legs felt like they were stuck between two boulders. I was just laying in the tall, green grass and I did not even feel the nettles burning my skin, neither the Army ants biting me to protect their anthill I just had collapsed on. I was laying on my stomach with one on my feet still being in the river and with my head tilted to the side to prevent me from drowning in my own vomit. I was just laying there, thinking about life in the dark by myself, waiting for something to break the silence and I did not even think about the thing anymore.

I lost the count of time, but I must have been there for at least 15 minutes before I heard a boat slamming into the side of the river, but I was still too tired to 83

react. The old man in the boat sighed and said, “you are a great runner, hard to keep up with”. There was something about his voice that felt calming, like I had heard it before. All the bad feelings in my body just went away with the wind and I made the courage to turn my head to the other side. My sight truckled at first, so I was only able to see a dark and blurry configuration. It took me a couple of seconds to get used to the light from the lantern, placed the boat’s prow. My heart dropped and I lost my breath when I realized who was standing in front of me. A bit more than a meter over my head stood my grandfather who was supposed to be dead. He picked me up and led me to his boat, do to the physical and mental stage i was currently in. He pushed the boat out to the middle of the river with his paddle and starter to row with the stream. A awkward silence occurred between us and I was too afraid to say anything, but it aesed up when he began to speak.

•

You know why I decided to fake my death, right?

I looked at him with a wondering glance, “faked his death”? How could he do such thing? He had a great life, had a fantastic son and married my kind-hearted grandmother who took her own life after he “passed”. He commenced to tell me about this story about a mythical beast, a dragon, which had tried to attack our village for centuries and has been held back by a noble soldier, but no man has been able to slay the beast. The soldier eventually has to retire and find a substitute, which luckily enough was my grandfather, but he has been very sick for a long period of time and apparently am I the chosen one to take his place. The whole soldier-thing had to be kept a secret, which is why my grandfather had to fake his own death. My mother had told me the story about the dragon before, but it is just a fairytale and my father have additionally told me that grandpa was out of his mind. I felt like I had enough of his gibberish, so I ordered him to turn into the side and let me return home.

•

thank you for the offer, but I am not interested.

I said it with a fierce tone, turned around and headed home without looking back. I felt revealed walking home, but the same feeling I had on my way to the river struck me again, however I did not feel like someone was following me. The silence ceased when i had walked halfway through the forest by a agonizing scream that spread through the air. The one scream quickly turned in to duccins and some of them disappeared as quickly as they appeared. I soon enough realized that the screaming came from the village, so I picked up the pace and ran in the directions of the screaming, what I then saw will hunt he for life.

The whole village was on fire and people ran in every direction trying to avoid it, some of them had caught on fire and were melting from its atrociously high temperatures. They were heading for the forest to seek protection, but where hit by e beam of fire at the last second. One man were stumbling around in the middle of village trying to put out the fire, before he got crushed by the tree-tall beast. I was just about to make a â&#x20AC;&#x153;run for itâ&#x20AC;? in the direction of the terror to check on my family, but my grandfather snagged my arm and we hid behind a tree just as the beast turned its head in our direction. I were in shock, so grandpa picked me up and ran for our lives deeper into the forest. I turned my head around and my tairfilled face met a dark figure of the beast who made the treetops wobble as it roared.

I returned to the same place 15 years later, 15 years after the terror occurred in the village I one upon a time knew as my home, but I felt like it was another place. Left were only some burnt wooden beams and ashes. It was impossible to distinguish the people's ashes from Â what came from the houses. Grandfather passed two years prior, but I cept training to get strong enough to fulfill my task and I did. The beast was now laying dead, filling up a ditch outside the village with its enormous body. The dragon attacked me as I approached the village, spraying fire at me while I held it back with my shield. It then tried to struck me with its powerful tail instead, but I jumped over it and grabbed hold of the tail just as it was swept by underneath me. I ran up the creatures back and and jumped of just as I pierced its thick rocksolid skin with my sword, sliding down its side. It was enough to 85

kill the beast, splitting its stomach wide open and exposing its intestines to the open air.

The story spread quickly and I was soon known as a hero throughout the country. Fairy tales were made about me and everyone referred to me as “S.R Sara Rubbersborn”. I had fulfilled my dream, but I did not feel satisfied or pleased with the outcome. My home was burnt down to the ground and everyone I once cared about passed away in pain right before my eyes. The true feelings of being a hero is really “not as it seems”.

An Eye For an Eye Paul Beckett said goodbye to Henry, his little basset dog, grabbed his green long oilskin and left his small apartment on the third floor on Rockingham street. He walked to Murry’s coffee house, as he usually did in the evenings. Sitting there in the thick opium fog from people's pipes and thinking about a case, was something he always had been doing. But not this time. Nor yesterday, or the day before that. Or even the week before that. He hadn’t had a case in over a month and this was starting to get to him. Having a break for a week after a long case was something he needed and wanted to have but this time it was unusually long. Money was running low, he had been cutting down costs on food to prioritize opium for his pipe and still having at least five cups of tea every day. Things weren’t looking good, the debt collector had been beating the door of his apartment several times. Paul never let him in, as he did with most people who knocked his door without having earlier informed about their arrival. He didn’t want to talk to no debt collector, neither get his belongings taken. The only thing on his mind was the absence of a case. Paul walked in, and took a seat far back in the narrow old coffee house. On his way there he tried to locate a copy of today's paper. There was always someone who had read it and then accidentally left it in haste. This was the only way for him be aware of what was going on in the world, especially Sheffield and Britain, since he couldn’t even spare the two pennies for a paper anymore. It was a thick paper. “Please just let there be some sort of paragraph about something I could work with”, Beckett thought as he turned to the page after have skimmed the front page.

But today was no different from any other day. Nothing interesting whatsoever, no disappearances, no crime waves and not even any burglary. His bad temper grew on him although today’s comic strips made him chuckle a bit. Nothing interesting had happened in the rest of the world either. Paul threw the paper away, stood up and with a brisk pace started walking towards the exit. “As happy as always Beckett?” one of the intoxicated locals shouted. A laughter spread in the room. “No wonder no one wants your help” another one of them yelled, followed by an even greater round of laughter. Paul stopped right by the door. He turned around in silence, went up to the second man’s table and bashed his head in the table top. The coffee house suddenly turned completely silent. “Stop being so damn bitter over that old case Beckett. Surely won’t help that woman that you walk ‘round here smashing John’s face in the table” said a man sitting two tables away. Every eye was aimed at the tall man in the oilskin coat who with determined steps walked out.

Since he couldn’t afford a carriage he started walking down the leaf coated cobblestone heading home. It was quite cold that night in the beginning of october. He picked up the pace as the fog was thickening. The outskirts of a young woman emerged from the fog down the road, she was wearing a beige long coat and her light brown hair was held in a bun by a thick golden hair pin. As they got closer he started to recognize her and he could tell that she knew who he was. Paul got high hopes of this being the someone who would bless him with a longed for case. They got even closer but he still couldn’t point out why she looked so familiar. He got flashbacks to his last case about the disappeared woman but he know the woman closing up to him was far younger than her. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the young woman who now stood a meter away.

“Paul Beckett?” she said with a soft voice. “Correct” he answered, “and you are?” They shook hands, “Gwen Walsh”. “Daughter of Edna Walsh I would assume? Sorry for not being able to finish that case ‘bout her. I thought I had him but when the Judiciary refused to listen to me I..”. Gwen interrupted him mid-sentence. “That’s what I came to talk to you about. That man, who both you and I know did it, Ruben Lynch, his father has now passed away.” Paul couldn’t believe it. “How?” He asked as he instantly started thinking of ways to bring the case to surface again. “I haven’t been told the details, I just overheard two men talking about it. But it’s weird that there hasn’t been anything about it in the paper.” “Nah, they wouldn’t want the public to know that the area’s most powerful man has passed away. The risk of it being publicly known that he, like a spider in a net, alone controlled Sheffield with surroundings would be too high.” Gwen didn’t know what to say and though she could tell Paul felt finished with the conversation she had to ask why he was walking home instead of taking a carriage. He was a bit ashamed to answer, she could tell. “Money has been running low lately, have to cut the expenses.. but it’ll get better, always does” he said as he stretched his back a bit. “How about I pay you in advance? For you to get decent meals or afford carriages at least”. His pride took a hit but it would be worth it, “Thank you” he uttered as she handed him a bundle of bills. “Good luck” was the last she said before leaving into the fog.

When back on Rockingham street, Paul walked into the building in a better mood than he’d ever done in the last months. He petted Henry and for once gave him a full portion of food since money wasn’t as big of a problem anymore. He still didn’t make himself a proper meal, a few pieces of a bit stale bread that he dipped in broth had to do for the night. He sat down in his checkered armchair and whilst enjoying his meal, he started to reiterate that old case about Edna’s disappearance. After weeks of barely no sleep and spending all his time on the case, he had finally found all the pieces he needed to convict Reuben Lynch. But the police dismissed all theories that included him thanks to Reuben’s father’s political influence. Beckett couldn’t do anything to better the situation so he had to let it go.

It was since that day he hadn’t had a proper case, only a couple of small things which weren’t even associated to any crimes. Now was his chance to get back in the game, to restore his old failure. With that in mind, he fell asleep in that armchair.

He woke up to Henry whimpering, his way of communicating that he wants to go outside. They took a short walk in the fresh morning air and on the way back he bought a can of beans, some sausages and ham from a store down the road. Although his economy still wasn’t at it’s best, he preferred to prioritize a good living.

When back home he dug out his old papers and notes about Reuben and everything about that case. The living room quickly turned into a mountain range of paper piles. He again took seat in his armchair, but this time with a close to full breakfast, and started to go through one of many piles. Most of it was of course irrelevant but as always he felt unpleasantness when it came to throwing things away, thus the chaos in his living room. After have skimmed through old notes and papers for an hour he came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t help re-reading things he already know. He decided to visit the pubs and places where Lynch used to be, with the hopes of finding someone who had seen him recently.

Paul grabbed his green oilskin in an ever so better mood than yesterday, told his neighbour to walk Henry by lunchtime, and left Rottingham street for McDermott's pub and restaurant where he knew Lynch used to have lunch a couple of times a week. They weren’t open yet but since his intention only was to speak to McDermott he walked right in. “Oi there, what d’ya think you’re doing?” “Does Reuben Lynch still come here a lot?” Paul asked calmly. “Not since he moved to that old mansion northwest of town, how so? Who are you?” Paul didn’t bother to answer, only thanked and left the pub and it’s confused owner. No time to lose he thought as he ordered a carriage. “Where to?” the coachman asked. “Chapwood Chateau” Beckett gave as answer. He know realized 90

this had been going a bit too well, he was already on his way to Lynch and wasn’t even equipped with his revolver.

The carriage stopped by Lynch’s gate a couple of hundred meters from the mansion, Beckett asked the coachman to hide the carriage a bit and hold it until he got back. He scouted the area and started walking up to the great house. Nothing out of the ordinary anywhere on the way which made him suspicious. He took a lap around the house and decided to get in through the kitchen door at the back. No one was in there, in fact he couldn’t hear a sound from anywhere in the small castle. “Rueben!?” Paul tried yelling. No response. The colt single action revolver was now in his hand and so the first thing he entered a room with. “Lynch!?” he tried yelling again. Silent steps on the floor above was heard. “Reuben I know you’re up there! You’re father won’t be protecting you this time.. Let’s talk this through. “I didn’t intend to kill her..” he squealed back with a shaky voice. Paul her him starting to run up there. “What are you doing up there?” Paul yelled as he heard a window smash and only a moment later a body striking the ground. He ran outside to see a lifeless Reuben Lynch lying with limbs pointing all the wrong directions they possibly could.

Half an hour later, the some officers who two years earlier had claimed him innocent were now watching his corpse lye by the feet of the detective who was right all along. Beckett walked back to the carriage by the gate. “Where to?” the coachman asked. “Murry’s coffee house.”

Hero Story “We look forward to having you on this course. See you in august. Yours sincerely,”. Sophie stroke back her long, black hair and read the email over and over again. She could not be more happy. Ever since she was little she had dreamed of becoming a doctor and save lives. Sophie and her best friend Theresa had decided to meet at the old coffee shop when they got their results, where they had shared all their secrets, dreams and problems for years. Now she and her best friend would take the course together and their dream would come true.

Sophie listened to her favorite music playlist on her way to the café and she was almost dancing down the street. This was what she had been waiting for ever since her graduation two years earlier. When she arrived at the coffee shop she saw Theresa at their table and she walked up and hugged her. She could feel the scent of Theresa's perfume that Sophie had given her last christmas.

•

Hi Tess. Have you been waiting for a long time? Sophie asked.

•

No, I just got here. I ordered the usual. Now tell me, did you get in?

•

You tell me first. You got in, didn’t you?

• you?

Almost, I am the first one to get in if someone drops out. How about

Sophie was shocked by Theresa's answer. Oh no, Theresa did not get in? What was going to happen now? All they had gone through together. Sophie did not know what to say to her best friend.

• Oh, I really thought you would get in Theresa! But it’s fine, there is always someone that quits. And..., Sophie hesitated, I got in.  •

Congratulations Sophie, you deserve it.

But Sophie was not feeling as joyful as before. She had been positive that Theresa would get in and now that she had the answer, Sophie did not know how to act or what to think. She felt nauseous when she got home and went to bed early.

That night Sophie slept terrible. She had been dreaming about going to medical school alone and not getting along with anyone. She had even dreamt that Theresa had spread rumors about her because she was mad that Sophie got in and not she. Sophie knew they were just stupid dreams but she did not feel good about the situation. Was she going to follow her dream without Theresa or would she give up the spot for her best friend? However, this was her dream too and not only Theresa’s.

***

“Hi Tess, do you want to go shopping today (kissing emojis, heart emojis)?”. Sophie sent away the message to Theresa. Ever since they last saw each other There93

sa had been ignoring her messages. Why would not she answer me, Sophie thought.

One hour passed and Sophie had not gotten any reply from Theresa, so she went to the mall by herself. She tried on a blue shirt that fit well and bought it with the gift card she had gotten from Theresa from her favorite store.

When Sophie had left the mall and was on her way home she passed Sophie’s and Theresa’s coffee shop. While walking by the coffee shop she thought about if she would accept or decline the course and why Theresa was ignoring her. She looked in through the windows of the coffee shop and saw Theresa and another girl at their table. Could it be true? The café that Sophie and Theresa had shared everything at their whole lives and now Theresa was sitting there with another girl. Sophie walked faster than before and when she had completely passed the coffee shop she started running and the tears started falling.

***

Sophie was only one block from home when it happened. Everything turned black and she fainted.

***

Theresa was sitting in her car, driving her friend home, when something horrible happened. They were driving towards a crossline, the traffic lights had just turned orange but she was so close. She knew that she would have time before it turned red. But suddenly. A person hurried across the street not looking for cars. The car got closer and Theresa could see that it was a young girl. 94

•

Stop the car, Theresa’s friend shouted.

Theresa could only hear her friend in the background. She was like paralysed. She tried stopping the car but nothing happened.

Sophie was not looking where she was going. She had tears all over her face and she ran over the street without looking for vehicles like she in normal cases always did. She had gone through half of the street when she suddenly saw a car in her visual field. She tried running away but the car came closer. She panicked and freezed. Before everything turned black, she could see that it was the same type of car that Theresa owned.

***

In the middle of a street in Stockholm in april, at least fifty people were gathered. Some people seemed panicked. Some just stood there and did nothing, it looked like they were watching something. A teenage girl was crying and shouting in her car. An old woman tried to comfort her. You could hear an ambulance further down the street and a police car almost hit the crowd while stopping. After a while a young girl got evacuated on a stretcher. Someone had ripped her jeans and shirt. Probably to stop the blood from flooding. The clothes that she still had on were dirty and bloody. Her whole body was covered in blood and her hear that had been black was now dark red. The police officers tried holding back the curious people from stepping too close. It looked like someone had gotten murdered.

***

A warm day in june one of Stockholm’s biggest church was crowded. There was flowers everywhere. Inside, outside and on the walls of the church. Journalists were there to document the funeral and ordinary people were there to support the family. It was a twenty year old girl that had died in a car accident.

• “Thank you all for sharing this day with us. It is so sad that our daughter mist her life before me and my husband. Life is not supposed to be that way.  Our daughter had just gotten in to the medical school in Linköping before the accident. She had dreamed of becoming a doctor her entire life because she wanted to save other people’s lives. Unfortunately, she did not have the opportunity to do that before her life ended”.

Sophie’s mother started crying and her husband embraced her for a moment. Although, she managed to continue her speech.

• “But my husband and I are sure that she would be proud anyways. Our daughter Sophie Andersson has saved seven lives all around Europe because seven of her organs got transplanted. And for that, we think she is a real hero.   Thank you all again for being here today. We genuinely appreciate it”

Theresa was sitting on the second row in the church and listening to her best friend’s mother talking about Sophie that she had killed. She started crying. It was her fault, everything was her fault. What crazy person kills her best friend? If she just would have replied to Sophie’s message that day in april and went shopping with her Sophie would be alive right now. What was Sophie’s parents and sister thinking about me right now, Theresa thought. 96

Theresa agreed with Sophie’s mother. Sophie really was a true hero. She was proud of her best friend. She had saved seven lives at the age of twenty and had always been nice to everyone, including Theresa.

***

Two weeks after the funeral Theresa looked on her computer screen. “We look forward to having you on this course. See you in august. Yours sincerely,”. Theresa had taken Sophie’s spot. It felt weird and not right to first take her best friend’s life and then take her dream away from her as well. Yet she knew that she had to accept the offer and do it for Sophie’s sake. Sophie had dreamed of saving lives and now Theresa would do it for her.

The Cure That Killed Jeff woke up by a strong beeping sound. The alarm had went of. A strong sense of “fear” hit him when he saw the clock. It was 10.00 AM already. As fast as jeff could, he jumped out of bed, put on his cloths and ran out of the door. On the way down the stairs he met mrs Rachit. Bill doesn’t know mrs Rachit very well, even though she lived in the apartment under. They exchanged a “Hey” to each other, and jeff kept on running.

Jeff knew that he was going to be late, which was a problem sinces today was a big day. Today he was going to show his research to the school board, for a chance of receiving a fund of one hundred thousand rupee. Upon arriving at the school, Jeff saw that the competition had not ended yet, and managed to place himself in the line. After 15 minutes of waiting jeff finally got to show them what he got. For the past 3 years Jeff has been working on a medicine that could terminate specific cells. The only problem was that jeff haven't been able to select what cell it should target, it just kills all cells it can find.

After the presentation, Bill who was jeff ’s professor in math, approached him. He had a big smile on his lips. He congratulated, Jeff for a great presentation, and that he would like to visit him in the labb, to learn more about the medicine. Jeff, who always liked Bill, invited him to come over at the end of the day.

The day went past, and when the sun had gone down, Bill knocked on Jeff ’s door. He was greeted by a familiar smell, like the one his orphanage smelled like. He 98

was there for a special reason, and not the reason jeff thought. Jeff proudly showed is latest discoveries about the medecine. He showed that if the medicine was put in contact with small bugs, all the bugs would directly die. This was a very dangerous chemical, that a small amount would be enough to case big damage. Bill asked questions about how humans would react, if it was dangerous. If Jeff was paying attention, perhaps he would sense what Bill had in his mind.

Chapter 2

It was the most warm day for 30 years. On the streets people tried to hide from the sun’s warming arms. The people on TV said that it was causes by global warming. Jeff wasn’t interesting and switched channel. It was the economy news. They talked about the new water treatment plant that was going to be premiered in two days. The heat had caused big problems since it made people drinking alot, and the city's water structure hadn’t been repaired for many years. But the mayor had promised that he would solve the issue and get the water running again. The solution was a new and improved water plant.

As Jeff watched the news, he saw that there was a familiar figure. It was Bill. He was behind with the scientist, looking around in the water plant. “Why would Bill be interested in water” Jeff thought. The clock was 7pm and Jeff had some matter to run, so he didn’t have time to think about it.

When Jeff came home he noticed that his front door wasn’t closed. Strange, he thought, I always make sure it's closed enough. Carefully he walked forwards the door, and slowly opened the door. He was greeted with a big mess. He couldn’t believe his eyes. There was paper all over the place, and all of Jeff ’s work had been stolen. Luckily his stash of money was still there, under the pillow, but when jeff realized that his medecine was gone he started to panic.

Jeff heard a knock on the door. It was mrs Rachit. She looked scared. ”There was a man, I couldn't stop him” she said. She was crying and had a bruise on her left eye. “Could you describe what happen?” Jeff replied. “He was not very long, he had a labcoat” She said “Ok thanks for the information, perhaps you should go and get some rest”. Mrs Rachit went back to her apartment and Jeff went to the cough and turned on the TV. He started thinking about anyone that he knew, who wore a labcoat and knew about his research.

“BREAKING NEWS!” He was inte interrupted by the TV’s flashing. He saw that there was an reporter that stood in a lab where there was a lot of scientists and they all looked stressed out. “An unidentified virus has been discovered in the drinking water in the west part of the city.” said the reporter. “The death numbers is around 20 thousand and it will increase. Scientist has discovered that the virus is some kind of chemical that is killing cells in the human body”. Jeff immediately recognized the description and knew that it was caused by his medicine. But where and how could it had spread to the western part of the city, and how had it made its way to the water.

“The only way the virus could had reach the west part, was if it was released in the drinking water. Drinking water, the water plant!” Jeff thought. 100

Chapter 3

Jeff ran down the stairs, out of the apartment. He waved at the first taxi he could find. The taxi pulled over and Jeff jumped in to the back seat. “Where would you like to go?” The taxi driver asked and turned around. Jeff who was in a hurry got a shock when he saw the driver. It was his old classmate from high school, Aarav. They shaked hands. Aarav had always been a messy student so Jeff wasn’t surprised that he now was driving a taxi. “What’s up with the hurry?” he asked. Jeff explained that someone had stole his research and put it in the water plant.

In a hurry they drove thru the city. The traffic was dim, but there was a slight panic in how people drove. Jeff was lucky because he lived in the north part of the city, so the people around him hadn’t been affected by the virus yet. The weather had gone really bad, and the rain came down so fast that it was impossible to see 10 meters in front of you.

When they reached the water plant, there was a red Volvo parked outside the gates. They parked behind it and Jeff got out. He walked up to the Volvo and saw that it was empty, but not locked. He opened the door and started to investigate the inside. He found some paper that came from his research. The person who had driven the Volvo was the same person that broke into his apartment.

“I found an entrance” Aarav shouted. There was a big hole in the steel fence that someone had used to get in to the water treatment plant. Jeff crawled thru and Aarav followed him. The water plant consisted of three buildings. Two smaller and a big one that looked like a tower. “You stay here and call the police” Jeff told Aarav. 101

Aarav hesitated at first, but then decided to stay.

Jeff ran up to the big building and started climbing the stairs. The rain had made them slippery. Once he was on top, he looked around. The view over the city was beautiful. He could see the mighty skyscrapers and the emergency vehicles blue lights. It made him concern when he saw that the whole west part had been shut off. He turned around to focus on the reason he was there. The tower had a big hole in the middle, where all the water was stored. There was a big bridge across the hole, where someone was standing.

“Stop” Jeff screamed The person turned around, and Jeff was surprised. It was Bill. “What are you doing with my research” Jeff asked “Im doing this for the better good. Making the population smaller. I have already got rid of the west part, but when im done hear, there will be no city left” He replied “You will never get awa…..” Jeff was interrupted by the thunder. He fell on his stomach, and when he looked up he saw how Bill was pouring down some liquid from one of Jeff ’s stolen test tube, down the big hole in the tower.

Chapter 4 Jeff screamed in anger when he saw how the content of the test tube fell down in the water. “I did this before, when the water was connected to the west part. Now I have settings selected to the south side” Bill said with an evil smile. “Why!!!!” Jeff screamed. 102

“Good question. I’ve never liked this shitty town. Its over populated and the inhabitants cause great damage to the nature” Bill answered. “Unfortunately I only have 1 tube left, so I will have to decide between the north and the east side”.

Jeff watched as Bill picked up a metal like item from his inner pocket. It looked like a gun. “I can’t leave any witnesses. And since all the items have your fingerprint, it can easily be blamed on you” Bill said. He took some steps forwards Jeff, whom was still laying down. As he put the barrel against Jeff ’s temple, Jeff saw someone sneaking up behind.

A loud bang went of and Bill fell down. Behind him stood Aarav with a bloody crowbar. “I thought you might need some help” Aarav said with a smile. He helped Jeff get up, and the they looked at bills body. The crowbar had hit him in the back side of the head and the skull was crushed. “I don’t think he will wake up” Jeff stated. “So did you save anyone?” Aarrav asked. Jeff had saved half of the city, but the west and south side were already doomed. The fact that his creation was the reason behind all the death really teared in him and there was no way he would ever forgive himself.

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A Glance in the Mirror Amelia looks at herself in the mirror, her hair starts to fall of and her cheekbones are getting more and more visible. With a splash of cold water to her face combined with her husband, Josh, screaming at her, she's being dragged back to her normal life. “Back to reality”, she said and took a deep breath. The clock is 06:12 AM and she has three minutes to get the breakfast ready before Josh is going to get mad. She hurries to the kitchen, gives Josh his breakfast and rushes back to the bathroom, jumps into the shower and sees all the bruises over her entire body, she is sore and her head is aching. After the shower, Amelia tries her best to cover her shiner with concealer before she wakes her kids up. “Good morning loves, rise and shine”, She whispers through the spring between the door and the wall. Sofie and Elena sighs and rises out of bed. Amelia dresses her kids and gives them breakfast, a bowl loadfull of cereals and then drives to work after letting the kids off at kindergarten and school. She is feeling ill and is about to puke. She pulls over to take some fresh air and continues to drive to work, the busy, busy hospital.

The feelings of stress and anxiety hits her when she enters the hospital. The hours passes by and she starts to feel tired, her legs are weak and the sweat is dripping down her forehead. She takes a quick glance at the clock and notices that her shift is over. She is walking fast towards her red old car, drives to kindergarten and then to the supermarket to buy food for today's dinner. 104

At home, Josh is swearing, throwing plates on floor and breaking vases. “Where the hell is she?”, he says as he walks around the house. He hears a car driving up the driveway, takes a fast look out the window and says to himself: “One day I´m going to destroy both her and her car if she doesn´t start to behave and acting like the real scum she is”. When she enters the door, Josh sends Elena and Sofie to their rooms. As soon as they close their door, he hits her, right over her left cheek. The slap burns and she can feel his hand grabbing her hand. “I am sorry, I love you”. She glances at her wedding ring, “Is it all worth it?” she asks herself. “Is it really worth it? All these bruises, shiners and scars from coming home too late from work, even if it is just by 5 minutes to accidentally forgetting to give him his dinner at 7 o'clock every day. Is it really worth it, being married to a man who doesn't let me wear what i want”.

The days passes by, all the same, except from one evening when Josh is out drinking with his friends. It hits Amelia that this is her only chance for a long time to escape with her daughters from Josh. It is just a matter of time when he is going to start to hit Elena and Sofie.”I have to do this”, she says. “Elena, Sofie, back bags with all your clothes and favourite stuff, we are going to drive far, far away from here”. “What does she mean?” Elena asked her 12 year old sister Sofie. “I don't know but dad is dangerous and he can hurt us” , she responds.

They are on the way to Amelias parents. The ground by the road is a mixture of mud, grass and fallen yellow leafs. The autumn used to be Amelias favourite time of the year but Josh always got even more violent during autumn and winter so now she fears that a little bit. “What if he finds us, what is he going to do to me and my daughters?” She thinks to herself. Amelia just drives and drives, she want to get away from here, the town of hell called Kansas city.

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The signs says “Jefferson city”. “Moooooom, why did we leave home?” Elena asks, “I miss dad”. Amelia feels guilty and starts pushing the brake slowly. She wipes away a tear from her cheek and smiles “Dad wasn't kind either to me or towards you, we are going to live at grandma and grandpa's house until he is kind again.”

Everything passes by, trees, cars with people laughing in them, happy families that are on their way home from their vacation, a vacation full of laughter, without any fears. That scenario has never been possible for Amelia and her daughters. Josh has always been violent against Amelia, except from when they are with his family because he wants to appear as the nicest boy in front of his parents. Amelia looks back in the backseat and sees her beautiful daughters sleeping. Elena is holding her favourite stuffed animal, a pink bear, while leaning her head onto Sofies shoulder. “So young and wise”, she whispers to herself and smiles as a tear starts running down her cheek.

“AMELIA, where are you?”, Josh says as he stumbles through the door. He can't find her so he searches through the house, under the bed, in each room, in every corner of the house. He tears down curtains, brakes plates and vases as he searches through every centimeter of the apartment. And then it hits him, “the garage!” He slams the door and runs to the garage. Her car is gone. “I knew she was going to do this, she won't be having it easy when I find her”. He takes up his phone and calls her at least ten times, then he starts texting her and calling her parents. None of them are answering. He tries to call Sofie but she isn't answering either. Josh stumbles back into the house and crashes on the couch.

After hours of driving Amelia finally enters Jefferson city. A town associated to Amelia's childhood, a childhood she wish she gave her daughters instead of growing up with a dad that abuses their mom and having them confined every single day. When she finally reaches her moms and dads house she breaks into tears. She is trying her best to not wake up her children whilst carrying them into 106

her childhood bedroom. She looks at the blue wallpapers and smiles to herself. “Oh, what I miss this place” she says and gives her parents the biggest hug ever when she is done carrying in all the stuff. -Thank you for doing this - No problem honey, everything for you my beloved daughter. The clock is 2AM and Amelia cant be awake anymore and falls asleep on the couch.

The worst headache combined with two heavy eyelids and anxiety from yesterday wakes Amelia up from 8 hours of sleep. She looks at her phone, 17 missed calls from “Josh<3”. “What have I done? I have taken the kids away from a person that I love?” She rises up from the couch and enters the kitchen with weary eyes and tired legs. She's being greeted with two hugs from Sofie and Elena. “Good Morning mommy, we have made you breakfast”. She sits down and takes a sip from her tea and takes a bite from a scone with cheese. “Thank you again, I cant thank you enough for doing this”. Her mom answers by blinking with one of her eyes and giving her a smile.

Two years later: Amelia enters the code to the door and is being greeted by everyone, each strong woman and their children. “Happy one years anniversary” everyone shouts like a choir. “Come here, we have a surprise for you” “An organisation where you help other vulnerable women from their abusive partners, who knew that we are so many women that needs help. By your amazing idea of starting this organisation you have helped multiple women from destructive relationships. I want to thank you for being there and understanding us by never putting any pressure on us, you give us time to recover from our past. Sometimes a hero doesn't wear a cape and is in sci-fi movies, sometimes their name is Amelia and runs a shelter for women.” Amelia walks around that whole day with the biggest smile on her lips, she gives everyone a hug and is more than proud of herself that she really made this by 107

herself. She is proud that she used her dark past to help other women that is in the same position as she was. And the best of all, Josh is finally being put to trial after Amelia reported him to the police for abuse. And after a long day of work and celebrations Amelia heads back home to her newly bought house in Jefferson city.

Amelia looks at herself in the mirror, her hair has grown back to normal. No shiners to hide nor bruises to cover. She smiles to herself and walks out of the bathroom and into the living room where she sees Sofie and Elena being ready to eat dinner. She glances quickly at her finger where she used to have the wedding ring and thought â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was really worth itâ&#x20AC;?.

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