Life is a series of moments, some better than others, some we remember while some we don't. My name is Max. I am 29 years old. There are moments in my life I remember well, since those are important and significant to me.
Chapter 1: When everything began
In the year 2010 …
"Are you coming? We are going to be late." I yelled out to Charlie. I was 17 and she had just turned 16. We were about to leave to our last evening in our normal life, a high school prom. Tomorrow we are going to start on the missions Charlie's father gave her before he died. Today though we decided that we are going to enjoy our evening and forget about the missions or at least try.
"One minute." Charlie's sweet voice interrupted my thoughts. A smile crept onto my face.
"Well hurry up." I answered unable to wash the smile of my face.
"Calm down, I'm coming." I heard her answering while she walked down the stairs. Slowly I first saw her feet which were in thin gold slippers, then her dress which was like fire, orange on the top and slowly fading into a dark red at the bottom of the dress which was about at her knees. Her wavy brown, gold-ish hair was pulled to one side of her face, which was indescribably beautiful. Her thin brown eyebrows, her flawless skin, her lips almost as red as her dress, but most of all, her eyes; crystalized green which in the center turned into a blue as clear as the ocean, surrounded by her dark brown eyelashes.
"Wow", I said slowly "you look absolutely stunning."
"Well, you don't look that bad yourself." She replied smiling. I looked down at myself; my black pants, my white shirt, the blue tie tied around my neck, my black jacket hanging loosely over my shoulders and my dark brown hair.
"Why thank you, my lady. Shall we?" I asked in a played royal voice.
She giggled, "Well, yes of course. We are already late, aren't we?" she responded in the same voice. I extended my hand out waiting for her to give me hers. Gently she laid her hand into mine.
"Gosh, you're amazing." I whispered loud enough for her to hear as we walked out of her house. She looked at me as she smiled. She was just stunning and there I realized for the first time that I was madly and hopelessly in love with her. My hands slowly extended around her waist, pulling her into my chest. I felt the warmth of her body resting against mine. It was a feeling I could never get used to. It was amazing every time. For a while we just stood there and didn't say anything, just enjoying the moment.
"Come on, we should really go now." Charlie whispered and looked up into my eyes.
I reached down, gave her a kiss and then answered, "Yeah, let's go." We walked to my dark blue impala that was parked outside of her house. She walked around the car, opened the door and let herself slide into the car seat. I looked up to the dark blue, almost black sky seeing thousands of stars and the moon. Silently I prayed 'if angles or god exists, please let this be a wonderful night.' Then opened the other door, sat onto the seat, and started to drive towards our high school.
"Max?" Charlie broke the silence.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"I can't stop thinking about the missions. I mean, what if he wanted us to start them now? What if our first task was today? What if we totally fail if we don't start today? And what did he mean when he said 'it is a life or death situation'? Whose life? What will happen, Max?"
"I don't know." I answered quietly. The last words of the president echoed in my head. 'Finish the missions quickly, it is a life or death situation. Oh, and son? Whatever you do … keep my daughter safe, you hear me? Promise me that nothing will happen to her. Keep her safe.' Even though the questions haunted me too, I had to keep calm and for one evening forget about everything that has been going on over the last few days because that is what he would have wanted. "Charlie, I don't know." I repeated, "I just want to forget everything and live a normal life, even though I know I will never be able to do that. The least I can do is forget about it for tonight and have a fantastic time. I promise you, the first thing we will do tomorrow is open the box of the missions he gave you and start. But for tonight, please let's just forget and enjoy our time."
"Ok, fine. But the first thing we do tomorrow is open the box." She said after a while.
"I promise." I said as I pulled into the parking lot of our high school. I parked the car and asked; "You ready?"
"Of course." she answered smiling. I smiled back and opened the door of the car. An indescribable feeling of relieve, luck and peace rushed over me. I loved that feeling and wondered if I would ever feel that feeling again after we started missions. I knew that I had to be strong and protect and be there for Charlie, but under all of that, I was scared. I was freaked out. I was scared that something would happen to Charlie or me. I was scared of being that weird freak that just disappears after high school. I was scared of the missions. But most of all, I was scared of letting the president down. I knew though that I was not allowed to be afraid so I pushed all of the fear away and thought about the upcoming prom. I watched as she stepped outside of the car and closed the door, I did the same. I locked the car, took Charlie's hand and started to walk towards the gym in which the prom took place.