Flower City

Chapter One

Horror knows no time - it could occur at any point.

It was 5AM and the town was perfectly dark. The street lights had been off since midnight, and all windows resembled pitch black abysses. There was no sound to interrupt the perfect silence - not a dog's bark nor a cricket's chirp. That must mean something.

Diana was staring out of the fogged window of her room, unable to see much more than the jagged, rocky mountaintops a little ahead of her. She pulled her blanket closer as a thin, sharply cold wind came through the cracks between the wall and the window frame and sighed, unable to relax. Something had woken her up - a sound, or perhaps the lack of such - and she felt a really unusual, unsettling feeling in her stomach, as if huge claws were slowly sinking into her flesh - gently enough to be painless, but unpleasant enough to be frightening and uncomfortable. She blinked, trying to see through the darkness, but to no avail. She felt like there was something above her, something lurking right behind the corner, and she couldn't make out what exactly, as if she was blind.

Eventually, she gave up and lay down again, feeling more frustrated than afraid. It's perfectly normal for you to feel scared, honey, her mother would say, at times of war we all do. And indeed, the war had been going on for more than three years now. Exactly two years ago, Diana's father had been killed in the battlegrounds, she recalled bitterly, and threw her blanket over her head.

~

It was cold, and the kill hung over him, darker and scarier than the blanket of fog which had covered the forest. He could hardly see what was in front of him, nor could he be sure he was going the right way. He pointed his torch to the ground, careful not to trip over anything and flung the worn game bag over his shoulder. There were still no signs of civilization even after he had walked for a considerable amount of time; it felt like time had stopped. He looked up at the sky, where a pale spot of silver was resting, assuring him it was still night. He reached a stone-lined path and suddenly his leg caught in something, he lost balance and fell, dropping his rifle. Swearing under his breath, he got up to search for his rifle - why did it have to be so dark? - but found precisely what had tripped him. There was a metal wire fence ahead, just like the ones peasants put around their crops. He didn't want to risk putting on his torch, as hunting in that part of the forest was prohibited, yet it was his only option - that's when he heard a voice beside him, which made him stumble in fear.

'Really, Lucas? All you can do? Pathetic.'

~

A loud familiar sound woke Diana 20 minutes later and made her blood run cold. The wailing of the sirens was tearing the air apart, sounding more erratic than ever. Her mother lit a lamp in the other room and shouted at her to go to the basement immediately. Diana hopped off her bed at once, taking her coat from the nail on the door, quickly putting on her plaid skirt and white sweater she had to wear at school as a uniform. She ran down the stairs hurriedly, unaware of the bone-freezing wind and the heavy rain. She looked back at her mother, who was standing at the terrace, staring at the sky - it was still dark and cloudy, but the lights of over ten planes were scattered among the reddish clouds, and their engines could be heard over the wailing sirens.

'Mother, come on!' Diana yelled, but her mother didn't move - she just stared upwards with a stern expression on her face.

'Go, Diana! Don't be afraid for me, not now!'

Something urged Diana forward, a force stronger than her will, and she found herself running towards the back yard, breaking through the rusted lids of the basement and climbing down the rotten stairs. She stumbled in her hurry and fell on her back, breaking a jar - but neither the broken glass nor the solid rock beneath caused her as much pain as the sound that followed - a deafening bang, alerting of the first bomb that had fallen really close. She yelped, rolling over to a bookcase and lied down on her stomach, trying to ignore the pain in her back. Another bomb fell, causing the entire basement to shake and more jars fell off, glass shattering to thousands of pieces. Diana was terrified - her mother was still out there, still somewhere... but the sirens didn't stop their melancholic yet terrifying wailing, which was only overpowered by the noise of the falling bombs.

It felt like it'd been hours since the sirens had gone off, but eventually, they died out. The squadron no longer seemed to be over Flower City - perhaps they had moved north, on the other side of the snowy mountains which gave the village at least a little bit of protection; Diana had counted five blows, but all of them had been so dreadfully close. She wanted to break out of the basement and escape from its molded tiles and broken jars, but just as she headed for the exit, she heard voices coming from the backyard. They were speaking in a language she didn't understand, but easily recognized - they were probably Silverwave soldiers. But what were they doing at her house, and Flower City in general? It was a small village whose main inhabitants were homely old people. Soldiers usually searched the houses of thieves or members of secret organizations against Silverwave's army; what did Diana and her mother have to do with that? Sure, Diana's father used to be a soldier, but he had been killed over two years ago; why would they bother?

The metal lid was flung open and the first one to enter was a tall, thin man, looking no older than 40. Although he didn't look so terrifying, there was a gleam in his eyes only a madman would possess; and at that moment, Diana knew he wouldn't be too happy to find her. Alive.