September 17, 1939
The crisp morning air carried an alluring aroma of brewing coffee. In the distance was the sound of a crackling radio. As I descended the stairs, and turned the kitchen's corner I began to be able to discern the words of a radio broadcast.
"Another grim day, with an additional 4,866 reported dead. I cannot soon envision an end to the casualties as the g-chhk," the radio cracked to a stop from my brother silencing it abruptly while my father quickly spoke up.
"Well, if it isn't the prodigy himself, finally up."
"I suppose you academics enjoy your beauty sleep, eh?" my older brother teased as I joined them, our laughter did its best to deflect the radio's message. Despite my imminent departure, they still perceived me as a child to shield from the world's harsh realities.
"Pay no mind, Hubert," my mom interjected, placing a bowl of cooked oats before me as I sat at our small wooden table.
I smiled at her and took a bite. As I did, a sweet rush of flavor enveloped my taste buds. "Is this..."
Smiles from my family answered in their silence.
"You shouldn't have." I spoke guiltily
"We wanted you to have one last special breakfast before heading out, Hue." my father dismissed my concern.
Oats infused with brown sugar and cooked with molasses - a modest feast to say the least, but to our impoverished family, it was akin to eating like royalty.
"But, it's not even a holiday. The cost must've been..."
"It cost us nothing," my dad continued. "Enjoy your special breakfast, kid. We were hoping to see you off before heading to the factory."
I thanked them all and hastily savored the meal. It was the last taste of my mom's home cooking before I would embark on an impossible journey to study physics at Cambridge, something I thought I could only ever dream of. It was sponsored by a one in a million chance encounter with a traveling physicist who came through the bakery I worked at.
He was a near mad looking man with frayed and unruly hair to say the least. It was only by chance that I looked down and took notice of the book he was reading. It was Edward Gibbons' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Through this sparked a conversation. All I ever did in life was read. Somehow in the hour long discussion that followed it came out that my real passion was the sciences. And now, thanks to my frantic ramblings, and a man who for some reason was interested in listening to them, I was being presented with a chance to save myself and my family from what once seemed like an endless cycle of struggle.
The 15-minute walk to the bus station lacked any excitement; It was mostly filled with the awkward silences of a family that was never great with emotions or communicating.
"Well, kid…" my father spoke at our arrival.
Turning to see their faces heavy. My father, mother, and brother stood in a line behind me.
My throat tight, the moment lingered.
"I... I don't..."
Before I could speak they rushed to smother me in hugs, tears forming in their eyes as they did mine.
Slowly they began to break away. My dad lingered for a bit before pulling back with his hands firm on my shoulders. "Go be great."
I nodded and did my best not to break down right there. Slowly I ventured into the bustling crowd while my family began to make their way home. Ticket in hand, 'G361,' I navigated the signs to find my bus, gripping my frayed duffle bag. Conversations buzzed in the different rows of seats until a commanding voice overtook them.
"Settle down, settle down! We're about to depart!"
Thuds and hydraulic hisses accompanied the jerking movement of the bus sliding forward. Laying against the window, I tightly hugged my bag. It had been but an hour since I last saw my family, and already my heart yearned deeply for them.
I could picture it clearly. They would have made it home by now - my father and brother readying for work, my mother packing their lunches. Staring out the glass I slowly became lost in thoughts of Britain, daydreaming about becoming a scientist.
As we exited the town, a distant boom halted the convoy we were in. Buses rapidly came to a stand still as clouds of dust and smoke kicked up. Everyone in the cabin began to murmur as our driver stuck his head out the window to see up the road.
"AYE! WHAT THE FU-" A 'Vvvvvvvvrt' noise cut him off mid-sentence as his head seemingly exploded in a flash of blood and brain matter.
Loud screams immediately filled the bus as people began lunging into the aisle and bursting through the door, pouring out into the street. I could see the same thing happening ahead as the road became a frenzied panic. As chaos ensued the singular 'vrrrt' had multiplied into what seemed like hundreds. Windows began to shatter into bursts of glass. I looked out in shock and confusion at the running horde where bodies seemingly dropped one after another. Some fell and instantly became still in swelling pools of red, others cried out as they desperately tried to crawl and pick themselves up; Only to have a sea of boots trample over top as their anguished screams muffled into nothingness, reducing them into a disfigured bloody pulp that went unnoticed by the masses.
I could only watch, frozen in horror. I couldn't even begin to process what was happening in front of me yet my mind went a million miles a second. I'm not sure how long I was stuck, but eventually, a firm hand grabbed my arm and pulled me from my stupor. "WAKE UP AND GO!"
The older man dragged me into the aisle, pushing me forward and out of the bus as he too joined the rush. Outside, chaos reigned: screams, stampeding bodies, distant crashes and loud booms reverberated from all directions.
Without even thinking, my body began running blindly ,joining in the attempt to get back into town in hopes to escape the terror. The main road entrance we had just passed through was in sight and no more than a couple minutes walk, yet it seemed like the farthest run of my life.
Tears began to stream down my face as I struggled to keep my body upright against the many who crashed into and fell lifelessly around me. Only one thought ran rampant through my mind as I pushed forward.
'I don't want to die'
Eventually, I made it, dripping in sweat and covered in the splattered blood of those who had not been so lucky. As I looked around, the thought of safety I had hoped to gain instantly disintegrated. Gray-clad men wielding guns that spewed fire, and the piling bodies of men, women and children filled the streets around me.
Frantically I began to run: bullets, explosions, and debris filled what was once my hometown. Doing my best to hide behind the corners of now crumbling buildings, I desperately tried to evade the detection of any would-be pursuers, witnessing untold carnage along my way.
As ash rained from the sky like a light snow, I gripped my chest and held my hand over my face. It felt as though there was a fire within my lungs that only grew hotter with every breath. My body weak, I darted as quickly as I could to my house, flinging the door open.
What I saw stopped me in my tracks. It was almost as if time had slowed down at that moment.
On the ground was my father, his face swollen, battered and disfigured, his body poured a pool of red from the countless gashes and holes that covered him. Hanging from the wooden support beam above him was my brother's lifeless body. The rope around his neck was so tight that it had begun to break through the skin. His once joyful and sarcastic face is a deep purplish black, his mouth leaking a slimy stream of foam.
"Why… Why is this happening..." I unconsciously muttered, struggling to grasp my reality.
"HUEBERT!" my mother shrieked. Her voice was so close yet it sounded so distant.
As I turned to face her I could barely recognize who I saw. Her eyes were swollen and black to the point of nearly being shut. A man stood behind pinning her body against our kitchen table.
"RUN, PLEASE!" She screamed and pleaded, choking on her tears, only to be slammed down against the wood when she did.
Time is still distorted, I felt a presence loom over me like I was sinking into the floor. Slowly, I turned to look beside me only to meet the gaze of a long metal tube that gleamed between my eyes. Before I could begin to think, a blinding flash of light filled my vision; What followed was only darkness.
A hot sensation overtook me as my mothers voice breaking screams filled my ears. Desperately I wanted to run to her, but I could not.
Almost as fast as it had appeared, her voice began to fade. My mind was trying to make sense of what was happening, but as if being scrambled by a whisk, any form of thought seemed impossible.
Eventually, even the darkness somehow began to fade. As my bodily awareness ceased, so too did my overwhelming emotions. The sadness, the pain, they all started to slip away as I tried to grasp onto them. Until all that seemed to remain was my now untethered consciousness.
Now existing in what felt like an endless void, a thought was able to appear clearly once more.
'What is this?'
"For you, my dear, this is only temporary." A warm voice echoed.
"Soon, this will feel like nothing more than an old dream, inspired by distant memories, of a long forgotten world."
'Who are you?' my mind began to panic, unaware of how to cope with what it was experiencing.
"I am many things child. I am the one that builds from the rubble, yet I too am the creation's destructor. Existing as a law of the universe, as much as I do a figment in the mind of man." she answered plainly.
I could not begin to comprehend what she was saying.
"Despite your great potential, the time you had in this world was cut short by the lust for power and greed of others."
'I see...'
"Do not fret dear soul, for reasons unknown you have broken away from the natural cycle. Your soul is to be reborn anew. A chance at life again."
"The natural cycle? Reasons unknown? I don't understand...Tell me, why is this happening?!"
The faces and voices of my family echoed through me. Clinging tightly to my memories of them, fearing their loss if I hesitated for even a moment. 'I can't forget my family...'
"Love?" she spoke, surprised.
'Of course,' I responded bluntly. 'How could I not?'
She answered in a slightly disoriented tone. "Souls seldom cling to old memories so strongly. The death of the physical form is meant to catalyze a cleansing. Memories, emotions, regrets—all shall be purged upon reentry." Her voice trailed, carrying a sense of confusion and concern.
'Reentry?'
"I fear I cannot continue in my explanation any further; our time runs short."
"..."
"However, before we are finished I will grant you a blessing. Whatever has caused us to meet in such a way will no doubt be daunting. I cannot save you from your child, but I can aid you in your journey"
'Your blessing?'
"Yes. The world you will be reborn into differs greatly from the one you have known. To help ensure you do not suffer the same fate. I shall infuse you with a piece of the divine, granting you the ability to endlessly expand your capabilities; may your thirst for knowledge never be quenched. May knowledge be your power, and curiosity be its source"
'I don't understand…'
"The time has come. May our next meeting be under better circumstances, and many centuries from now."
'Centuries?'
Her voice rapidly faded and the abyss that enveloped me vanished just as fast, quickly being replaced by overwhelming sensation. With this, my once intricate mind started slipping away. Consciousness eroded and anxiety engulfed me.
As my eyelids opened the flickering light of fire filled my blurred vision.
As of now, Huebert Mazur was dead, and I had been born.