Disclaimer: I do not own KND.
The Heart is Mightier than the Fist
Prologue
February 6, 2006
10:00 P.M.
Osborn Estates, Rocafort, Illinois
Fire. Fire was everywhere, and smoke was eliminating oxygen within the entire house.
'I can't believe this is happening!' Thought a distraught woman, hiding in the home library with her two children, a light-blonde girl and a dirty-blonde boy. The woman's name is Margaret McKenzie, and her two children are Rachel McKenzie and Harvey McKenzie. Rachel is ten, and Harvey is seven. Sitting with them is the father, Eugene McKenzie.
Rachel looks very winded, having been trapped by a small book shelf and surrounded by smoke and flame. It wasn't until her dad, Eugene McKenzie, came over and pulled her out. The young girl had a broken leg, but she would survive.
"Mom?" the older McKenzie heard her daughter speak in a raspy voice. "When can we get out of here? The smoke is still coming in..." "I know how you're feeling, sweetie," Margaret tried to soothe her daughter's worries. 'Dammit!' She thought to herself. 'When are they coming?'
A similar fire was taking another house across the road from the McKenzie's. The fire department arrived, with enough firemen to fill a platoon.
"Howard," the chief directed a fireman in a red and yellow variation of the uniform. "Go into that gray house over there. That's the Larsen's place. And Jude." He addressed a fireman in a blue and green variation of the uniform. "Go and get the McKenzie's out. From what I could get of the phone call, they're in the library." Both men nodded and went off to do their respective assignments.
Fireman Howard entered the Larsen residence, seeing flames erupt all around him. "Anyone here?" he called out through his mike. He heard a banning from under him. 'What the hell?' he thought to himself. He looked down and saw a carpet. "Oh shit!" he muttered. Taking the carpet off, he saw a metal circle door, and it looked like it could be opened. Doing so, he saw three people. They were a middle-aged man with blonde hair, a middle-aged woman with raven-black hair, and a nine-year-old boy with dirty-blonde hair. The boy had a medium-sized cut across his forehead.
"Thank goodness," Howard replied. "Let's get you out of here!" Taking no chances, they all bolted for the doorway.
Both the Larsen and McKenzie families were already safely outside. Two explosions took place, taking out both homes... it was a lucky thing the families were beyond the reach of the explosion.
Wasting no time, the children were put into emergency vehicles and transported to the hospital.
Rocafort Hospital
11:30 P.M.
Rachel McKenzie's eyes opened after a long nap. For a moment she saw nothing but white lights, and she heard beeping sounds. She regained consciousness and saw she was in the hospital.
"Hey there, Rachel." Rachel heard a quiet yet relieved voice. She turned and saw in the bed next to hers was a dirty-blonde boy with green eyes. He has a bandage over his forehead. She smiled softly.
"Hi, Ryan," she welcomed softly. The boy's name is Ryan Amadeus Larsen. Before Fanny came along, Ryan was Rachel's first best friend, and he remains so to this day.
"What a bizarre chain of events, eh?" the boy questioned, his eyes gleaming. "Both of our houses catching fire. Two houses! Doesn't happen every day, does it?"
Rachel smiled softly. 'After what he had gone through, he can still keep an open mind.' She giggled quietly. 'And like every other time, he can put it off like it never happened.' "So true, Ryan. So true."
Both kids turned their heads to see their respective mothers coming to see them.
"Ohhh... thank heavens you're alright, dear," Ryan's mother spoke softly as she hugged him. The boy's cheeks lighted up slightly, and he returned the hug gradually.
"Thank goodness! I thought we would've lost you, honey bunches," Rachel's mother whispered to her. Rachel could not help but also blush.
"MOM!" Rachel muttered in embarassment.
They spent a few minutes talking before Ryan and Rachel asked a very pressing question.
"Mom, what happened to Gramma Emma?" Rachel asked with worry.
"And what about Elsa, mom?" Ryan asked about his sister.
The older women's faces turned somber... this is what they hoped their children would not ask until much later. They sighed and decided it best to talk now.
"I'm sorry, Rachel dear," Margaret said. "She was locked in her room... and the explosion... she didn't survive."
Ryan's mother nodded. "Same with Kassie, dear." A tear came from her left eye. "She's gone."
Note: Some sources claim several of the KND operatives were born in 1993; in my version, Operatives 1, 2 and 5 of Sector V, and Operative 362, were born in 1995. Numbers 3 and 4 of Sector V, and Ryan Larsen, the new character, were born in 1996. This is to clear up the confusion over the timeline in my story being based in 2006.