Chapter 1 : Fallen from the sky

- "I already told you no. End of discussion."
- "But Mum... Dad is still there when now I could go in his place."
- "Yes, but I need you here, and your father will do just fine."
- "But-"
- "No buts, it's time to go and milk the cows. Otherwise, Ivan will be waiting for you again."
- "It's always me waiting for him."

This world is not fair. Two years ago, my father was called to the front line because every household has to provide for a healthy man, and I was not yet of age. Now that I am, I would like to take his place, but my mother does not want me to. His health was declining when he left, and I couldn't imagine his condition.


For the next hour and a half, Darian was busy setting up the machine and moving the dairy cows to where they needed to be milked. It wasn't even 7am when a deep, booming voice was heard in the barn.

- "Darian, are you there?"
- "Yes, I'm here. Any longer, and you'd be late again, you idiot."
- "I'm never late. And I only come now because I hate spending time with you."
- "Come on over here. I've almost finished with the cows. Let's get the tractor."

The two young men gave each other a warm greeting hug before strolling without a care to the shed where the tractor was parked. They were childhood friends. They would say brothers if you asked them. And they had been running most of the farms' common activities since their fathers were drafted. Their next task was to move the enormous milk tank to Ivan's parents' farm so it could become fit for consumption.

- "So, did you talk to your mother about it?" Darian asked.
- "Yes, but she won't listen. According to her, my father is in better shape to fight on a battlefield than I am."
- "Mine says the same to me, even though we both know how old and tired our fathers are after their farmers' lives."
- "You know, I don't think neither my father nor yours would want to be exchanged with his son. No father would want to transfer his problems to his son."
- "I know... But I really want to get them out of there. Your father and my father have suffered enough--"


Before he could continue his sentence, a ball of fire shot across the dark winter sky. And a piece of it broke off and fell into one of the fields of the shared domain of Darian and Ivan's families in an end-of-the-world commotion. After exchanging glances halfway between excitement and apprehension, the two young men decided to get off the tractor and run the 500 meters of the field separating them from the debris to try and not destroy the precious crops more than they were already.


- "What is it?" Ivan asked, worried
- "I don't know, it is dark, and it looks like a rather small object. Come on down."

Ivan, afraid and anxious, decided to follow his friend, and as they approached the center of the impact zone that measured probably 20 meters from one end to the other. To their amazement, the small object in the center was an unconscious girl. Her skin was pale, and her body looked frail. Her hair was short and platinum blonde. There were no severe wounds on her, just scratches and grazes that looked too superficial for the impact.

- "She's still breathing." Said Darian after getting closer to the girl's face.
- "How come she's still in one piece? Or even still a body?"
- "I don't know, but help me carry her. We can't leave her here."
- "No, I'm not touching that. She'll even think we're trying to kidnap her."
- "Will you stop your nonsense?"

Darian tried to carry her by himself, but he failed to get more than her shoulders off the ground. She was very heavy.

- "Are you going to help me, you moron?"

Ivan, seeing his friend struggling to carry a girl who must have weighed at most fifty kilos, decided to help.

- "Uh, she weighs at least 100 kilos. This is really not normal. We should call the Police..." Said Ivan,
- "No, go get the tractor and bring it here. I'll drag her out of the crater. We'll take her to my place and call for help. Everything will be fine."

Ivan complied, and Darian began to drag the young woman across the soft soil of the impacted field. A few dozen seconds later, Darian heard a voice :

- "Police! What's going on here?"

Oh no, what's going on now? Why are they here? They are always there when they need to piss us off.

Two men dressed in black were now in Darian's path. He turned to face them. The first was a force of nature, with 1m95, broad shoulders, and a ridiculous amount of muscle mass. The second was shorter and had a keen eye, scanning his surroundings. They wore the same black outfit that Darian would lend to special forces. Special forces members were definitely not the kind of people you would want as enemies. They served as peacekeepers in the lands of the coalition and were not reputed for their kindness. Both men carried a certain confidence and an intimidating nonchalance that told Darian that no matter what he did, he could not stop them from achieving their goal. And that he should definitely not lie to them. The smaller of the two men said:

- "What are you doing? And what is this crater?"
- "Hello, officer, this young lady fell from the sky and -"

Without warning, the tall man rushed up behind Darian, crouched down, and examined the girl. Darian was utterly shocked by the speed at which the man had moved. After briefly observing the girl, he nodded as if to confirm something with his colleague.

- We should probably call for help. My friend is coming with a tractor. We can reach my farm and tell them to meet us there." Said Darian, his voice trembling.

Damn it, they're not of the special forces at all. They look way too shady. I've got to get the hell out of here. How do I carry this chick? Oh, no, this situation seems complicated now.


Glances were exchanged between the three men, and the smaller man in uniform advanced toward Darian calmly. The young man was frozen in place, trying to find a way to escape. When the short man reached Darian, he put his hand on his shoulder and said:

- "Kid, your friend, was he here earlier?"
- "Uhh... yes, he was."
- "And he's coming back with the tractor, right?"
- "Yes, exactly, sir."
- "Then we'll wait for him together. By the way, my name is Skander, and the tall one there is Zarek. What about you? What's your name?"
- "Darian- Sir."
- "Very nice name." Says Zarek

Darian had plenty of time to imagine absolutely every possible scenario where things would go wrong in his head. He had many questions to ask, but he had remained silent, and the two men were not much more talkative than that. Finally breaking the silence was the sound of the tractor, along with Ivan's deep voice :

- "Still not done dragging her out? I'm coming to help you! -- Oh... Who are you?"

Darian turned slowly to Ivan, and Ivan knew from the pallor of his friend's skin that there were reasons to be concerned at the presence of these two men. On the one hand, Darian was standing about 1 meter away from the two men standing between him and the girl. On the other hand, Ivan was still 5-6 meters away from his friend. The two pairs of men were facing each other in a totally unequal power struggle. Skander pulled a gun from the back of his waistcoat and pointed it at Ivan, motioning for him to come closer. Darian spoke up and said:

- "Look, we really don't need to resolve this. We can just leave on our tractor and pretend we didn't see anything if that's what you're worried about."
- "Keep moving, young man. And you, Darian, turn around and get on your knees. I don't want to stain myself; this gun does serious damage. Also, hurry up. I don't want this to last any longer than necessary."

No, no, no, no, no... I'm going to die, and so is Ivan, just because I wanted to play hero instead of leaving.

Ivan stood at Darian's side, silent and with a blank stare. Ivan was staring at the ground as requested, and Darian was desperately looking for a solution. In a shrill voice very different from his own but still recognizable, Skander said:

- "Close your eyes."

My eyes closed of their own accord. I wanted to die a soldier. I wanted to see my father again. Why did it end like this? I can't even open my eyes. What a nightmare. I will die like an animal in a field without even looking at my murderer or defending myself.

Darian heard the first shot, the sound of shredded flesh and the sound of a body falling to the ground. He had just lost his brother at heart. The young man was broken. Then a second shot was heard, and the sound of flesh was thunderous just before the sound of a falling corpse. Darian was still alive. A third sound of collapsing bodies reached his ears.

- "Darian?"
- "Ivan?! Where are we now?"
- "I don't know, I still can't open my eyes. Can you?"
- "No, I can't... But are we dead?"
- "I don't know, I'm scared."

After a few seconds of complaining, Ivan managed to open his eyes and turn around.

- "Holy shit, man."
- "What's wrong? My eyes are still blocked."

After a short moment in which Ivan couldn't really describe the scene he was seeing, Darian opened his eyes and turned around to see a horrible scene. The two men and the girl were in a puddle, or rather a pool, of blood. The girl was still whole, and the two men had holes in their bodies the size of a baby's head. Ivan's breathing was irregular. The poor country boy was on the verge of collapse. Darian, on the other hand, was relatively calm.

- "Ivan, we have to move."