Chapter 1

A fatal mistake

(72 hrs. later)

I awoke in a fairly large bedroom. It wasn't big and fancy or anything. Merely a simple bedroom, complete with a television, a full bathroom… The works. I slowly sat up and looked around a bit, taking in the scenary.

"Where am I?" I murmured to myself.

I climbed out of bed and made my way to my bedroom window, looking outside. What I saw, almost made me pass out. I was in Germany.

"Oh god… Oh god, oh god," I said as I started to panic.

I started to make a run for the door when, it suddenly opened, and someone stepped inside. It was a young man walked inside. He had short blonde hair, teal colored eyes, and wore a military uniform. A military uniform I recognized all too well.

"Ah, you're awake," he said.

I gritted my teeth and charged at the man, throwing a punch and connecting it with his stomach.

"Ack!" he yelped.

"Du Sohn einer Hündin! DU WARST DA! Du hast sie getötet! Du hast sie getötet und du hast mich enttäuscht! DU MUTTEST KIDNAPPER (YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU WERE THERE! YOU KILLED THEM! YOU KILLED THEM AND YOU KIDNAPPED ME! YOU MURDERING KIDNAPPER)!" I screamed as I kept punching him.

"Ow! Stop! Stop it!" demanded the man.

But I kept punching him.

"LET ME GO! HELP! HELP ME!" I screamed.

"Stop! I'm not going to hurt you!" snapped the man.

"HELP! HELP ME! HELP! HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE! HELP!" I screamed.

Just then the man grabbed me and put my arms to my sides.

"Abelard! What the hell is going on!?" I heard someone bark.

"I've got this!" he snapped.

The man, Abelard, looked me dead in the face.

"Stay still and I'll release you," he said.

I just glared at him, breathing hard. As much as I didn't want to, I stood still, and he released me.

"See? That wasn't so hard was it?" he asked.

I didn't say anything.

"Giving me the silent treatment now, huh?" he asked, "that's fine, I'll start first… You can join in whenever you like… I trust you were comfortable with the accommodations after we pulled you out of that forest."

"You burned down my home," I said firmly.

"Ah, there's your voice," Abelard said as he walked right past me and sat down on my bed, "listen… I know you've been through a lot… But I want you to know kid, this… U-Uh… I'm sorry… I didn't catch your name."

I didn't say anything, I just glared at him.

"…Alright 'kid' it is," said Abelard, "…listen, I just thought you should know, my friends and I… We didn't plan for this. We didn't plan any of this. This was a big, fat, fucking mistake, these Germans… They went way too far."

"Too far!?" I exclaimed, "I watched planes flying over my home, I saw soldiers marching through the streets, I heard tanks rumbling through the roads, I heard people; scores of men, women and children my age scream in terror as those bastards attacked my home, and you expect me to believe that you had nothing to do with this!?"

Abelard put his hands together and took a deep breath.

"Listen… I know you're pissed… And you have every right to be…" said Abelard, "but I'm telling the truth when I say that my friends and I didn't plan for this to happen. We were only helping to restore the country of Germany to its former glory after what happened back in the first world war, that's all."

I didn't say anything, I just kept glaring at him.

"…Alright, how about this, if you think that my friends and I participated in the attack, why are we having this conversation right now?" he asked, "if you think that my friends and I are with Germany, why did we work to find and grab as many of your people as we could?"

"Lies," I hissed.

"Not lies kid," said Abelard, "my friends and I made a mistake… A very… Very fatal mistake. And a lot of people are about to pay for it."

"And why are you so concerned about it?" I asked, "you just said you tried to find and grab as many of my people as you could when you laid siege to my home."

"Aye… So that we could protect them," said Abelard, "do you think that we're just a branch of… Cold-blooded killers like Hitler's boys? No… We actually care for the innocent."

My expression started to soften.

"We only came here to help restore Germany, Hitler took it a step further and used us… Used the resources we had to start a global conquest for world domination," said Abelard.

My expression went from a glare to a look of sympathy.

"…Why didn't you try to stop him?" I asked slowly.

Abelard looked at me for a moment and smirked.

"…Heh… Starting to get through to you, huh?" he asked.

Abelard got up and started to head to the door.

"Sorry kid," he said, "maybe next time."

I swallowed as I heard him open the door.

"…Ariela," I said.

"Hmm?" he asked.

I looked back at him and saw he was looking back at me.

"…My name is Ariela Liora," I said.

Abelard smirked.

"Ariela Liora… That's a pretty name," he said.

He pondered for a moment.

"Your accent seems… A bit odd to me," he said, "Du Deutsch (You German)?"

"Polskie (Polish)," I said, "mit deutschem Blut (with German blood)."

Abelard grinned and left, leaving me alone with my thoughts.