The Blazing Sun Above
I remember that day, and it's a day that I will never forget. The sound of helicopters in flight in the distance, getting louder and louder as they approached. The sound of trucks and tanks getting ready and anticipating the arrival at our city where they will run down our hearts along with everything else. The sound of the very first scream of an ordinary innocent minding their own in the street. At first I didn't know what was happening, I didn't have time to think about it. Everything happened so suddenly. The night before I was just talking to my friends about what we planned to do the following day. Next thing I know my parents busted into my room. I gave a confused look at them. First I looked at my mother holding my little sister. Then my father grabbed me, "Come with us son we have to leave now!" he said to me in an aggressive yet concerned voice. "Should I take anything?" I asked still confused with what was actually happening. "No! Leave everything!" he replied. I began to hear the sounds of infantry charging on the landscape. I began to hear more screams. The danger was getting closer.
My family and I hurried out of my room, my father dragging me by the shirt almost in tears. I've never seen him cry before. He didn't cry when my baby sister was born. He didn't cry when he lost three of his right fingers. He didn't even cry when his mother passed away, at least not in front of us. I took a quick glance out the window when we were rushing down the hallway. I saw soldiers marching down our street. Groups of men were breaking down all of our neighbors' doors, dragging them out by their hair, shooting anyone giving them any problems. I was amazed I was able to take so much in with just one glance. A lot of the men passed our house up. I had my hopes up that by some miracle we would be completely missed. My father planned to hide us in a secret room he had in the back of our first floor closet. Then his plan died when we heard the violent barking of dogs.
I was still praying for that miracle. The slim chance they would miss our house. We rushed down the stairs, but we were stopped dead in our tracks by a banging. Before we knew it soldiers kicked down the front door. They were armed with dogs and AK-47s, safeties off. My father pulled us into the kitchen. He pulled my sister from my mother's arms and gave her to me. "Here," he said. "Take your sister and get yourselves to safety," he commanded, "Run! Just run!" he told me, "I love you son!" I ran. I took my sister and sprinted out the back door and down a back alley behind our house. I stopped to catch my breath behind a dumpster. It was then I heard a burst of gunfire from my house. I knew what had happened, and I cried, so did my sister. I knew I had to pull myself together fast though. I knew the soldiers would release the dogs after us, they knew we got out of the house. So I followed my father's orders and ran.
I ran for 10 minutes, not knowing where I was going. Not knowing how I was going to get myself and my little sister to safety. As I ran I thought of possibly running into a group of people that could take us in, but every shot of gunfire killed my hopes. I knew the soldiers weren't missing anyone and I knew we would soon run into a patrol. My sister and I were making our way staying low behind the houses. We eventually ran into another man in an alley being chased by a dog, he tried to hop the fence, but the dog got a hold of his leg. They were coming, we had to pick another route. So what did we do? We ran some more, my feet were beginning to burn and bleed. I didn't have time to put shoes on before we left. Before I knew it we took a wrong turn and were in the middle of the painted red street. We ran into the view of an incoming patrol. "Hey you!" they screamed out. They had their weapons directed at us.
We were just about to take off when one of the soldiers fell to the ground. We were confused again, then the soldiers took their interest off of us and looked to the rooftops. We looked up curious as well. Standing on the roof of one of the houses was a man with torn up clothing and wielding an M14 rifle. Quickly he took the other two men out, he was a good shot. Then two more men came out of the building, grabbed us and took us inside. The house had a similar layout to mine, at first I thought it was. The only differences were the wallpaper and some furniture. The man who was on the roof was waiting for us in one of the upstairs bedrooms. "Hello kids, my name is Nikolai Karlov," he told us, "I am a sergeant of the local police force. Me and my men can offer you our hospitality," he reassured us. He looked at his men, "You two guard out front, you two on the roof." he commanded. He took us down a hidden stairwell. "So what are your names?" he asked. "I'm Mikhail and this is my little sister Nina," I answered, "Thank you very much for this," I asked in appreciation. "No appreciation needed, it's what I do." he told us. When we reached the bottom of the stairwell we were lead into a dark room. Nikolai hit the light switch. When the lights came on we must of seen at least a dozen more families down there.
"How is it you have not been captured or killed yet?" I asked in curiosity. "Well we've already had soldiers search the house at least five times today, all failed attempts. You see Mikhail those so called soldiers are too damn stupid to think to look hard enough to discover the entrance to the stairwell that brings you down here and the dogs can't get our scent because we're so far below ground level and we do our best to show no evidence that we even exist." he explained to us. I thought it was amazing what this man had accomplished, the bravery he and his men had shown. My spirit was rising again, and I could tell my sister's was to. I looked at the broken faces sitting around me everyone with a lifeless stare at the ground. I could tell we were under the street because I could hear the movement of trucks and other heavy military vehicles above us. Then I heard a patrol of trucks stop right above us. Sounds of gunfire broke out on the street above us. The families jumped and stared up at the ceiling. Then just as quick as the gunfire started it stopped. We thought Nikolai's men successfully ambushed the patrol, but we were wrong.
We heard a voice screaming in the house sitting above us followed by commands being shouted out by enemy infantry. Turns out there was an ambush, but on Nikolai's men. We heard a loud voice screaming, "Where are they? I know you're hiding people in here, but I want to know where!" Then we heard one of Nikolai's men respond, "I am not telling you shit, you can't prove anything!" he told the soldier. "Oh really?" the soldier asked. Then we heard him throw a body on the floor. The person was still alive. "This man would like to disagree with you!" he told Nikolai's man. I knew what was happening, a citizen snitched Nikolai out because he thought it would save his life. Then we heard the shot of a pistol. I guess it didn't. "Now I'll ask you again. Where are they?" the soldier demanded, "Okay if you're not going to talk to us, we'll make sure you can't give any information to Nikolai either." We moved to an upper level to hear everything, there was even a small peephole in the ceiling to look through so we could see what was happening on the floor above. Then we heard the same soldier say, "Vladimir give me your knife." he commanded. "Now open your mouth" he commanded Nikolai's man. One of the other soldiers got him in a chokehold and held him steady. It couldn't of been before the blade was a few inches from the man's face before…he snapped.
He pointed down at the floor and the soldier saw the peephole we were looking through and ordered the others to go and get us. I remember the last thing I saw through that peephole, the sight of the man's throat being slashed. The soldier looked at the man's corpse with a look of accomplishment on his face. It wasn't long before we heard feet marching down the staircase. I turned and looked at Nikolai, he had an emotionless look on his face and in a matter of a few minutes, we were captured.
My sister and I were escorted out of the house by the enemy soldiers along with the rest of the families. Nikolai and his men were taken outside, lined up against a wall and executed right there. The families and us were thrown into trucks. Two soldiers and two dogs sat in the back with us to make sure we didn't try anything stupid. One man asked, "Where are we going?" A soldier in the back with us responded, "You'll find out when we get there." They didn't tell us much. I kept my little sister close. She was the only valuable thing I had left. We traveled about 30 more miles until we saw a large building in the distance. We approached closer and closer, it grew larger and larger in size. The facility overwhelmed us with it's mass size. The building was in the middle of nowhere. The truck we were traveling in stopped right in front of the stronghold. "Everybody out! Everybody out!" a soldier screamed. I was moving slowly. One of the men ripped my sister from my grip and kicked me out of truck. I fell face first on the ground. Another man kicked me in the stomach. My nose started to bleed and I coughed up blood. My little sister was crying, she knew I was in pain. The soldiers started collecting the rest of the young ones and threw them in a seperate vehicle. The machine drove off. That was the last time I ever saw my sister. I was worried and furious, but I knew I had to focus on my survival. I forced myself up and stood at attention with the other men and women. I thought we would have the same fate as Nikolai and his men. I thought we were to be executed as well. Then we looked and saw a man walking through the main gate and towards us.
The soldiers gave a salute as he walked pass them. "Welcome to OpFor Central Prison and Labor Facility!" he said in a confident voice, "I am General Ulrich Belov! Do not worry! I know who you all are!" he told us, "You are all disobedient dogs! You have no discipline, no order! However, I assure you we will fix that here!" he reassured us, "What you are looking at is one of the OpFor's most highly secured prisons! Built for scum like you!" he continued on, "Now if you'll be so kind as to follow me." When we entered the prison we got the immediate smell of death. The entire compound was made up into four different sections. The main prison block, the building we had entered. There was a dining hall in the back beside the third section, the execution chamber. The fourth was the guard lounge. It was a bit overwhelming. There weren't any bars on any of the cells, just electric fences. "As you can see we made sure we were one step ahead of you. No one escapes! No one has, and no one will!" he told us, "Now what I'm going to do is assign each of you a guard who will escort you to your new home." We each went to our assigned guard. I just wanted to rip a weapon out of one of their hands and take them all out, but I couldn't do anything foolish. I wanted see if anyone else was going to make a move first, but no one did. My guard took me to my cell. Cell Block D5 was my new home. No more than a few seconds the guard switched the electricity on, 10,000 volts. I was secure. All I could do now was think of how I was going to get out of there.
I tried thinking of a possible escape plan. I sat there for 4 hours thinking. Then the electricity shut off for my cell. "Hey new meat dinner time." one of the guards informed me. The guard escorted me to the dining hall. I looked at my fellow prisoners as I passed their cells. Hopeless faces, nothing left to be found. After about a 15 minute walk we reached the dining hall. I was still thinking of a possible escape plan and when I could go through with it. I grabbed my tray and got in line. I didn't even recognize what they were serving. I just took whatever they gave me and didn't ask any questions. After I got out of line I tried to find some place to sit. "Hey new guy," I heard, "take a seat." I looked over and saw a prisoner with a few of his friends. I went over to them and sat down. "So brother what's your name?" he asked. "Mikhail," I replied. "I'm Niko. This is my brother Alexander and my good friend Roman." he told me. "Why you looking so nervous Mikhail?" he asked. I looked at him surprised. "Hey man I understand. First day, a lot racing through your head right now." Niko said, "Look you hang with us now. We'll be your guides and mentors." they told me. They didn't really give me a chance to answer. "So where's your cell located at?" Niko asked me. "Cell Block D5." I answered, "What about you guys?" I asked. "Cell Block A6." Niko answered. "A9." Roman said. "Ya F1 for me." Alexander answered finally. "Look I know what's going on in your mind right now." Niko told me. "Really?" I asked. "Ya you're trying to think of an escape plan." he answered, "We want in." they all said together. How could I refuse this offer? "Look," Niko said, "You look like a smart guy Mikhail. I can see trust and honesty in your eyes. Don't worry......we're escaping."
The first night was the hardest. I heard the voices of my fellow prisoners talking amongest themselves. I stayed silent in my bed and slowly I fell asleep. I remember what I dreamt that night. I dreamt about my family. All of us sitting, having dinner together. At first I thought it was real. I thought what happen these past couple days was just a nightmare. I knew I couldn't keep kidding myself like this though. I had to accept the reality. I was woken up from my dreams by a loud siren. "Rise and shine ladies." we heard voices of guards calling out. "What time is it?" I asked, "Dawn," he responded, "Now come on get your ass up and ready for roll call." he ordered. You see we all had daily schedules.
6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.-Roll Call
7:00 a.m. to Noon-Labor
Noon to 1:30 p.m.-Lunch
1:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.-More Labor
7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.-Dinner
8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.-Final Roll Call
10:00 p.m.-Lights Out
This was the schedule we lived by everyday. At least during lunch and dinner I could talk to Niko, Alexander, and Roman. We talked about everything that was on our mind. We talked about our families, what we wanted to do in our future, life before this shit. All was normal until one day, Niko had a plan.
"Hey guys I was looking around the dining hall, talking to some people," he told us, "General Ulrich Belov wants to exterminate us all by next Tuesday." We all looked at him in shock. "What?" Roman asked concerned, "Where did you hear this?" Niko looked at all of us. "From some of the guys that have been here a while," he answered, "they overheard a couple of the guards discussing it." "What are we going to do?" I asked. "I'll tell ya exactly what we're going to do," he told me, "We're not going to give them the opportunity. I talked to some guys and we all came to the only possible conclusion." "Which is?" Alexander asked. "Prison riot." he answered. We all looked at each other. "Well if it's the only option," I said, "How many people are in so far?" I asked. "Well I would assume about a quarter of them, but the news is spreading quickly to others." he answered. "When do they want to do it?" Roman asked. "The day of extermination." Niko answered, "The guards are going to take us out of our cells and take us outside group by group." he explained, "It would be the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack on the guards. We could get their weapons and free fellow prisoners," he continued on, "We'll take care of Belov and steal the trucks outside for our escape." It was the perfect and only plan any of us had. "Sounds good man." I said. "Be strong brothers," he told us, "for we are on the road to freedom.
Next Tuesday couldn't of came any slower. We went on with our everday lives in the prison. We rarely brought the idea up. Niko didn't want the guards finding out or else we'd be exterminated a lot sooner. I was scare yet excited for this. For some strange reason I felt like I needed to do this. I figured there would be many casualties, but this was war. There was also more good news on top of all this. Word was SAS forces were moving in on our location. We couldn't wait though. We would be dead by the time they reached us. It wasn't too much longer before Monday came. At dinner that night I saw anticipation yet fear in his eyes. I didn't blame him. I could see it in all of the other prisoners' eyes as well. They were all anticipating this. I went to bed extra early that night. It wasn't much longer. Dawn finally came.
I knew there was something up. We weren't woken up at dawn like we usually were. I looked out my cell and saw groups of soldiers getting ready to escort the groups of prisoners outside for extermination. I knew they would most likely be starting on Cell Block A or F, the highest and lowest levels. I didn't see any movement on A, so I assumed they were starting on F, Alexander's Cell Block. I could hear the guards marching on Cell Block F. There was a problem. The guards didn't start escorting the prisoners out of the cell block. They opened the cells and opened fire on the prisoners. All I could do was stare at the floor in shock, but I couldn't give up, Niko wouldn't. Even though his brother was just executed, he had to fight, to honor Alexander. We heard more gunfire on Cell Block E. I was up next. "Here we go," I said softly to myself, "It's my time to fight." Guards starting marching into Cell Block D.
The guards marched down to the end of my cell block. Two guards per cell. They shut off the electricity. They opened the cell. I prepared myself. One guard opened up the cell, the other walked in and aimed his weapon at me. As soon as he was about to fire I lunged at him. I got a hold of his weapon and directed it towards the other guard. I took him out and then stripped the weapon from the guard holding it and took him out as well. Other guards started rushing over. However, other prisoners followed. More and more prisoners took control of the weapons and took out the guards on Cell Block D. Ha, I even heard a couple begging for mercy. "For our families! For our friends! For all that have fallen! Let us fight in their names!" I screamed out. "Quick take out the prisoners on A, B, and C." one of the guards Gen. Belov ordered. The guards hurried to take out the remaining prisoners. They didn't give them the chance. I could hear Niko screaming out, "For my brother!" Roman was also screaming out, "Suffer like you made my family!" Their ambush was successful as well. I could see Gen. Belov trying to get away in the distance. I grabbed a knife from one of the fallen guard's uniforms and went in pursuit. Belov was wounded in the leg from a stray and was limping. He was trying to get to his office. I knew where he was going, he was leaving a nice trail for me to follow. He made to his office. I wasn't far behind. He attempted to get on the phone, but he was interrupted. I approached his office and kicked in his door. He tried to pull out his sidearm and get me with a few quick shots, but I was also armed. I drew quicker and shot him in the arm. That wasn't enough for me. I went up behind him and grabbed him by the neck. "Guess we surprised you," I said as I slowly slashed his throat. We, broken prisoners and victims of brutal, physical, and psychological abuse had taken over the prison.
Some of us went into Belov's office for use of his radio. One of the prisoners got on it and tried to make contact with any possible support out there. The rest of us went outside and began to load the trucks for our long trip out of here. Some of us went off to search for where they kept the children. We had no luck. They must have already been exterminated. We started to load the men and women into the trucks with the necessary supplies. "Hey guys got good news!" the radio man shouted, "I just made contact with the Loyalists! They're coming to pick us up and take us to safety!" Safety? I doubted that. I couldn't believe that anywhere was safe anymore. This was amazing news though. The men and women cheered. I kept to myself. I again looked at their faces. The same people with the broken faces I remember have been turned into faces of joy and happiness. Most of them were crying, but tears of joy this time. "Mikhail!" I heard Niko shout, "We did it brother! We did it!" I nodded and smiled at him. He smiled and nodded back. I owe everything to Niko. He showed me what people can do when they stick together and fight for what they believe in. It wasn't anymore than a few hours before we again heard choppers in the distance, but this time was different. The men and women started to cheer louder as the choppers came closer. The sound of the choppers gave us comfort. There were at least seven of them. The Loyalists loaded us onto the choppers and took off. We were free.
That about brings us to this point. Niko, Roman, and I still remain close friends, brothers you can say. We are still fighting alongside the Loyalists. The experience on that day and at that prison if anything inspired us. It inspired us to continue to remain strong and fight. Fight so the innocent would not have to experience the tragedy, sadness, and pain. I'm here writing this to inform, entertain, and persuade you. To inform you that humans don't stop at nothing and are willing to go to any degree of violence necessary to obtain what they desire. Also to inform you not to give up, but keep fighting, because the light will break through the darkness. To entertain and satisfy humans' bizarre and unecessary craving for violence. However, also to persuade you to never stop fighting when things get tough, because it's like I said, humans are capable of anything. They are capable of their own destruction, but they are capable of so much more. They are capable of peace, harmony, and survival. They are capable of surviving the blazing sun above.
Keep fighting brothers and sisters! Stay strong!