• A Day of Reckoning

    “The city is in peril, Charles. The rebel
    group, White Lotus, has finally infiltrated the
    city.” As the news reporter points below to the
    city from her helicopter, the screen explodes
    from the shrapnel of the grenade. I look around
    and see the once great city of Godstadt burning
    down to the base of the foundation. Buildings
    of glass shattered, and now deformed. Bodies
    hanging from the windows, people jumping
    from the top in flame to the street. "Welcome
    to the paradise for the sadists," I murmur under
    my breath. My sarcastic attitude tends to go a
    little over the lines sometimes. The sky is
    blood-red and the stench of the enemies, as
    well as my fallen comrades, stain the air.
    Forever I know that I sacrificed the lives of
    those who trusted me, for my own cause.

    I step down from the armored humvee,
    and run through the bodies burning on what
    was once a beautiful diamond encrusted street,
    which is now nothing but a bunch of gravel
    and dirt. I am worried about my fiancée. Is she
    dead? Is she wounded? Is she kidnapped? Is

    she being tortured? These thoughts go through
    my head.

    “Genevieve, Where are you? Genevieve!”
    I scream for her at the top of my lungs. My
    words are repeated numerous times before I am
    struck from behind. My vision blurs as
    someone stands above me from behind. A pool
    of blood forms around me, drenching my eyes,
    but, allowing me to have a glimpse of my
    attacker before I die.

    "Do you think that you could destroy
    me?" My attacker says as he snickers. "Did
    you honestly think you could kill me? You
    may have destroyed my city and my legacy,
    Nikita, but you will never end me!" He grabs
    my blood-drenched hair and shakes me from
    left to right. My head feels as if it has been
    hit with a blunt object. Oh wait, it did. The
    shaking makes the pain worse. I shout out as if
    my head is about to split.

    "I gave you everything when you were
    rescued from that abomination of an island. I
    taught you warfare and how to defend for
    yourself. I can't believe you would combined it
    with those mythical beasts!" He frees his right
    arm and punches my mouth and chin repeatedly
    with his maxed strength. My teeth shatter in

    my own mouth with a quick following of the
    taste of my own blood. It drips down from the
    side of my face into the puddle beneath me. I
    am so weak, I cannot find myself the strength
    to even match against his brute strength. He
    then drops me unto the ground and then my
    vision goes black.

    I begin to dream of when things were
    peaceful, and not so violent. Before the entire
    revolution, before I met Akatashi, before I
    gained political insights. These new insights are
    the cause of my situation happening now, and
    there is no way for me to stop it. Someone,
    please come to my rescue, I need someone. I
    need someone right now.

    I see myself laying in the meadows of
    my village with no worries, no revolution, and
    no possible death at the man who enslaved me.
    The warm spring sun shines down on my body
    and warms my insides. My head is laying in
    an assortment of flowers of many different
    colors, and the smell of lavender fills my nose
    with its sweet, fresh smell. This was the best
    spring the village ever had.

    Romero pounces on me by surprise.
    "What are you up to Nikita?" He says.

    My heart jumps at the sight of his face
    close to mine. His beautiful blonde hair flows
    with the occasional gentle spring breeze. The
    tiny pink pedals of a nearby tree fall and travel
    with the wind behind him. This beauty is just
    so rare to find nowadays. I don't know how to
    feel about this situation, I have never really felt
    an attraction to other guys. I have always have
    been different from the other girls. While they
    talked about Akatashi being the cutest of our
    generation in the village, I always found this
    one girl as the most beautiful thing; Genevieve,
    also who is my best friend.

    I remember asking my mother about this
    very subject, keeping it as a hypothetical, that
    is. I was grounded and was told to never ask
    such an evil question again or I would be
    punished. Ever since, I have suppressed my
    emotions towards her, because they were
    unnatural according to my mother.

    After spacing out I reply, "No... Nothing,
    what a... about you?"

    He raises an eyebrow at me, "You look
    a little hot, is something wrong?" I can't
    believe he is seriously asking this question.
    How would you react if someone suddenly

    pounced on you in a peaceful and quiet
    moment?

    "You surprised me. You're lucky I didn't
    kill you," I give him a smile. In my village,
    people see me as the aggressive type. I really
    am not that aggressive, unless I need to be.

    "You know that it's dangerous to be out
    here right? The enemies can attack at anytime,"
    he says. It is true that the Tribal Forces are
    trying to break the magic shield that protects
    our village. I highly doubt they will ever be
    able to break it. As long as the village has
    hope it will protect it, it will stay strong and
    protect us. Luce Di Protezione Unificata, is the
    name of this barrier.

    "You can't speak like that, Romero. If
    you lose faith in Luce Di Protezione Unificata,
    it will weaken and the Tribal Forces will be
    able to attack us." I say as I give him a glare.
    He rolls off of me and lays down beside me.

    "Nikita, you know I haven't lost faith,
    but, anything is,"

    "No, this is one thing that is not
    possible! You don't know how strong faith is if
    you think it can be broken by something evil
    and wrong!" I snarl as I cut him off. He is

    silent for a few moments, thinking on what to
    say. I would even be afraid of myself to say
    anything at this moment. I don't know what to
    say to him.

    "I'm sorry Romero, I didn't mean to
    scream at you. I just have been so frustrated
    with myself lately," I look up at the sky trying
    to hold back the tears I want to shed. I allow
    no one to see me cry, even my mother.

    "It's okay, Nikita. I know you have the
    strongest faith in that old barrier. You're
    probably the only thing that is keeping it
    strong. What's wrong by the way?" He grabs
    my hand.

    "Just promise me you'll tell no one
    Romero, you have to pinky swear on this," I
    sit up and turn my body towards his. I point
    my pinky towards him, and he returns the
    gesture. The promise is now locked.

    "You should trust me by now Nikita,
    you know that I haven't broken a promise yet,"
    he smiles innocently at me. This wasn't true, he
    told my mother about the money I took from
    her purse for the field-trip at school.

    "Yea, okay Romero. I have been feeling
    this way for a long time, and I really don't

    know what to do about it. It just feels so right,
    but I am told it is so wrong," I pause trying to
    wipe away the tear that is traveling down my
    chin. I feel safe around Romero and I feel like
    I can tell him almost anything.

    "What is wrong?" He says as he puts
    his arm around me, and embraces me with a
    hug. His body feels so warm and soft, it's like
    the feeling I have when my dog lays on me
    while I sleep in my bed.

    "I feel like I'm in love with Genevieve.
    I know our village frowns upon that kind of
    love, but I can't help something that comes so
    naturally to me." I cry into his chest trying to
    avoid the embarrassment of crying.

    "I think it's normal, Nikita. Love is love
    and that's that. Don't let the old teachings of
    this village stop you from being you," he says
    stroking my hair.

    "Romero, I know I should be myself,
    but, my mother would punish me if I even said
    I was having a relationship like that. I don't
    even know if Genevieve feels the same way. If
    I told her, and she didn't feel the same way,
    our friendship would probably end right there
    on the spot!"

    "There is only one way of finding out,
    and that is to try. If you never try, you will
    never know how she feels." He says.

    "I don't know. I have to think about
    trying it. If she doesn't feel the same way, it'll
    be bad. I'll lose the girl I have fallen for." I
    burst into tears. I have never felt this weak in
    my life. Why does love have to be so tough?

    "I have to go now though, Nikita. I'll
    see you later. I wish you much luck on asking
    Genevieve. Good-bye." He gets up and runs
    toward the village. I am now alone and in
    tears.

    I have to figure out a way to tell
    Genevieve how I truly feel. I know for a fact
    she is the one for me, but, will she feel the
    same way? She is always changing her mind
    on things, she is never sure on anything, really.
    I remember one day when she was helping her
    mother tend the fields on a warm summer
    morning. I hid behind a tree watching them
    silently. I wasn't really that much of a talker
    back then, and it's hard for me to talk to new
    people.

    "Genevieve, if you keep bending the
    stems, it'll die," Genevieve's mother gently tells
    her. Genevieve looks down at the wilting plant

    in disappointment to see it's once lush, smooth,
    green leaves turning brown and decayed. Her
    mother then lowers her hand over the plant,
    and the once brown leaves, turn to a deeper
    lush green than before. Genevieve giggles.

    "Mommy, how did you do that?"
    Genevieve looks at her mother in amazement at
    the sight of her mother reviving the health of
    the once, not far from death, flower.

    Genevieve's mother looks down at her
    with a bright smile, "Someday you will be able
    to do the same as me my love. Our family has
    a gift not many others have, Genevieve." She
    then wraps her arms around Genevieve to
    embrace her in a hug.

    "Do you know the name of this plant,
    Genevieve?" Genevieve rubs her head, and
    closes her eyes, tightly, trying to remember the
    name of the flower. Moments went by and she
    still hadn't come up with a response to her
    mother's question.

    "It is a bleeding heart, it is said that a
    princess long ago was arrogant to see the love
    of a young prince who had tried many times to
    impress her, and only after he died had she
    realized that he was the one all along," her
    mother leans down to kiss her forehead before

    being shot by a silent bullet. The bullet enters
    from behind her head as she falls to the
    ground.

    "Mommy! Mommy! Are you okay?
    Mommy? Wake up, please, Mommy!"
    Genevieve shouts out in desperation. Her tears
    run down her chin as she clenches to her
    mother's chest. Hoping that she could revive
    her mother, much like her mother revived the
    flower.