Falling Ashes

Chapter One - Kassie

 I stood by the window, wrapped in a blanket, staring into the flames of a distant fire. Another attack must've broken out in Renaldon. 

"Kassie?" my brother said in a whisper. 

I turned away from the window. "Go back to bed, Ollie," I said with a hint of exasperation. We went through this almost every night. It tore Ollie up when Dad died; more so than me. He went through the initial sadness and disbelief, but instead of moving on, he rebelled. 

During school, he hung out with older kids, ones with dangerous influence. Ollie changed, and it was not for the best. 

Dad was an Official when the war had broken out. He was on duty when the first bomb dropped three months ago, and well, Mom told Ollie he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that was it. 

If you were to ask me why we're at war with Mydermire, I honestly couldn't tell you. I think all wars are the same; all based around money, land, and greed. I could take a stab in the dark and say one of these is probably the reason Dad was blown to bits. 

The skies are no longer that majestic shade of blue; the kind that makes the stars gleam magic like they did when we were little, innocent kids wishing upon the first star in the night sky. Kladike has become the definition of dreary. Ever since that first bomb, the skies have been nothing but dense smoke; clouds billowing up toward the sky, casting an ugly gray hue. 

The past three months, Kladike has been living in fear, never knowing when an attack will break out, let alone where. Kladike has enforced new laws, making the town seem sad and expressionless; the compassion we once had for our community, lost, billowing up in the sky along with the smoke that has filled our town. 

I continued looking out into the distance, worries filling my mind to the brim. Newscasts on repeat from the previous days - four wounded, seven in critical condition, three children dead in Dibdi...Mydermire's president Gamba ordered another attack on Kartyndale...where will the next bomb drop? 

The voices of the remembered newscast slowly slid out of my mind. These days the news became background noise. They all reported the same things; people dying and losing limbs. I continued to look at the distant fire in Renaldon. What is happening to my country? I thought to myself as the fire gleamed a brighter shade of orange.
                             ***

The alarm in the square blared at 7:59. This was a usual occurrence ,so it didn't bother me until I heard the persistent voice of my mother; one I haven't heard since Dad died. I threw on my soft jacket that rested on my chair and sprinted downstairs. I saw her pleading with someone at the door, but I couldn't tell who I crossed the small living room and pushed my way past Mom, who stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest. 

Ollie stood on the porch with and Official's hand on his shoulder. Stiff, silver ties hung from the official's left hand.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked the Official who's badge read Foster.

"Oliver has broken the law one too many times. He came outside a minute before we released curfew," Foster told us as he tied the stiff, silver ties around Ollie's wrists, holding them together in front of his body. 

This wasn't the first time Foster has shown up at our house with Ollie next to him. 

"This is his third offense, so I'm afraid I have to take him in," he replied as he put his hands on both of Ollie's shoulders. 

I looked up and down the street to see curtains wide open, doors cracked; people wanted to see who was being arrested this time.

Ollie's body trembled as he looked at me in fear.