Chereads / Gathering Clouds / Chapter 1 - Prologue: Shadows of the past

Gathering Clouds

Joey_yeet
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Synopsis

Chapter 1 - Prologue: Shadows of the past

It was the last days of the war, the final canon was about to fire, and the last sword was about to be stabbed the last flag was to be raised so as they think. Then the death rattle began in all directions, as every nation knew it must do, and as every nation felt itself dying within itself.

There were no victors or vanquished at this time; only death and agony. The world had been reduced to a single city, Geneva, where everyone lived underground so that there would not be any more air fighting. Outside Geneva, the land lay like a dead thing—the continents of Angbotain and Spiunknds being now one vast plateau, which could be seen by the naked eye on. Patricia A. Polvelove walked in the corridors of the underground tunnel to seek the weekly rations, she bumped into a lady who looked up from her work. "How are you doing?" asked Patricia.

"I'm doing all right," said the other woman, whose name was Sandra T. Rombout, "but I wonder how long we're going to have to live down here."

Patricia looked down and said "I hope this war would finally be done my dad said the Union of allies is about to reach the capital of spuov plea. she looked at her scared hand remembering the bombing of 2053 which killed her mother and 2 little brothers.

When Patricia came back from the ration room, she bumped into a man named Raymond J. Michaux, he wore dark glasses because he was blind. He spoke to her. "Good day," said Patricia. Raymond greeted her by bowing his head in her supposed direction. Patricia then went in line to get her ration, as she was falling in line she heard murmurs from 4 people. One of them was Raymond's wife, Betty. She whispered something. The others murmured too.

A few moments later, Patricia reached the end of the line and got her food, as she turned around she saw a thin man who seemed to be in charge of the whole operation. she proceeds to stop and listen to the man and the current update on the push to spuov plea.

***

In the middle of the night, Patricia awoke suddenly and stood up. She saw the shadow of a huge bird on the ceiling of the tunnel. It was the great bird of the apocalypse, the phoenix, which rose from its ashes once again after the final war. she followed it and saw the bustling metropolis of Geneva; she was in awe of the technological wonders that her country has achieved but as she was gawking on the impossible architecture and the zooming cars that looked like magic to her, she noticed that everyone in her immediate vicinity was looking at the ominous dark cloud which harbored no feeling or remorse as the cloud was whisked away airships of impossible size and countless of smaller ships followed it, and as soon as she blinked the airship dropped a bomb, a bomb that was so destructive it killed 1/3 of the population of Geneva, she immediately covered her eyes but she did everything around her was already scorched and destroyed; The phoenix spoke to her...You will be the catalyst of this.

and she immediately woke up with beads of sweat on her forehead dripping, while tears were rolling and her snot was dripping, she checked her body and looked around in the dark, but as her eyes were adjusting she saw a shadow that quickly fled to another room. she wondered what that was, then she realized that she dreamt about the phoenix.

She tried to sleep again, and this time it was different. She was in a strange place that was dark and cold, she then looked up and saw a sky full of stars, but everything was devoided of life no rustling sound of the wind, no sound of cicadas, it was as lifeless, unlike her previous dream, as she was about to turn a voice echoed and told her, you shall bear the burden of end and give life to the beginning.

she looked around and saw a figure that looked like a female angel, she then recognized the person as her mother, and she hugged her and cried. "What's wrong my dearest?" said her mother, and she replied "it is just my dreams mom...they are too scary" after her tears had dried her mother said "It will only get more complicated and hard, as much as it hurts me you will have to bear it, for now, grow and be strong for the calamities will get harder as you grow." after her mother said that her visage gradually disappeared from Patricia.

The next day Patricia woke up with a sense of melancholy and a feeling of longing, as she did the same routine, but this time Patricia sensed something has changed. She saw Raymond's wife crying and screaming, People gathered around her, and as Patricia tried to squeeze herself into the crowd she saw Raymond's lifeless body, she covered her mouth because of shock and she didn't realize that her tears were escaping her eyes, she tried to console Betty but she was hysterical over the death of the only person who loved her for the last 10 years since the war broke out. As Patricia ran to her room step by step she remembered Raymond and she remembered him her tears began to fall, 5 meters away from the room where Raymond passed away, she was crouched her arms were around her Patricia, the only person that treated her Kindly had passed away, without leaving a word of advice like her father did, she thought to herself "Why is the world so cruel, why does everyone I love and cared for always leave me." it took some time for Patricia to gather the strength to stand up and go to her room, to prepare for her MSAS(Military, Survival, Academic, School).

At school the same scenario played out, she saw her friends weeping and wailing and they didn't even see anything. She was confused because she couldn't understand why they were acting this way when she reached home she saw a white envelope, she picked it up and proceed to enter her little room, she placed the letter on her bed, as she was getting ready to get her ration, she looked at the letter she remembered the letter her father often send her, as she flipped the envelope, her heart dropped immediately she saw a crescent stamp, as she opened the envelope she read

"Dear Ms, Polvelove, We are sincerely saddened that your father Mr, Richard Polvelove was killed, he fought bravely with his men, but sadly their trench was overrun by the enemy, Mr, Polvelove is no doubt the greatest man we have ever had the honor to fight with. Please Proceed to the reparations department to collect the appropriate BC(bunkerCredits), his ashes, and his personal belongings. Sincerely Yours the Bureau of Arms. "

her body collapsed like its strings were cut, she couldn't process what was happening, she didn't understand why these are happening to her, and she couldn't possibly decipher the hidden messages of all these tragedies coming her way. she felt nothing, she felt as if time has stopped she could hear the sink dripping, everything was maximized in her little room, and she helped herself stand up and proceed to the rations department.

***

A few days had gone by she gathered all the strength and willpower to proceed to the Reparations Department. She arrived at the door of the Reparation Department, and opened the door, as she entered she saw a beautiful woman with red hair and a soft smile on her face, she looked at Patricia and told her that she should begin, her father's valiant defense gave him a 100,000 BC, a credit good for 2 chairs or a 9mm bullet, as she tries to weigh the choice when returned with 5 empty chairs around the table.

She arranged her father's belongings, his shoes which has a missing pair, his tattered pants, his blood-stained uniform, his broken watch stoped at 3:00, his necklace which carried her mother's portrait, and a family photo, as she turned the blood-stained picture she read the letter on it which read "Ever since you were born, I have fallen in love with you, you are the reason why I am willing to go to the ends of the earth, just to see you secure and happy, all of you are my reasons to strive to do my best" after she read that she allowed herself to finally feel and let go of the emotions she has bottled up and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried and cried while holding her father's urn tightly you could audibly hear muscles giving way for to the urn she spoke all the unspoken words she has saved up to tell her father, her hatred her anger, her pleas, her worry, her anxiety, and lastly as she was about to fall asleep she spoke to his urn about how happy she is that he's finally back with her that she doesnt have to feel lonely anymore.