Chapter 1: The moment my world fell victim to the flames
The moment my eyes opened, a smile appeared on my face. I had waited so long for this day! Finally, it was my birthday! I threw the blankets off my legs and got out of bed. The other bed in the room was empty, which meant that my parents were already awake. I walked to the living area, trying to be quiet so I could scare them. The smell of pancakes reached me and I was about to walk into the room, when I heard my mother's voice. "Gustav, we're not going to make it like this. There is not enough money for us to get by." Dad sighed. "I know, Darya. But with the war going on, there is nowhere else I can work. The factory is the only place I can earn some little money right now." "I know that, but let me go to work as well darling. They are looking for women to make clothes, I can do that." "You can't leave Lidiya here alone." "Lidiya is old enough to look after herself if necessary." "Old enough? Darya how can you can that. She just turned 9." "I know Gustav, but it's war... The situation is only going to get worse." I had heard enough, I didn't want them to fight over me. Softly I entered the room. "I can do it, daddy." I whispered. My parents turned towards me, not realizing that I had been standing there for a couple of minutes. "I really can, that way mum can make some extra money." My mum hugged me closely and gave me a kiss on my nose. "That is very brave of you Lidiya, but what do you say about having some breakfast? I made your favourite, pancakaes." I smiled one of those smiles only children can give. "Yes please!" I hurried over to the table and sat down, ready for my birthday breakfast. My father laughed his warm, fatherly laugh when he saw the joy in my eyes. "Someone is eager to get this day started!" My father took the chair left of me, and my mum carried the pancakes and placed them on the table. "These are specially for you, my malysh (baby)." I clapped my hands, I know I'm not a baby anymore but when I get excited I can't help myself. My mother placed 1 candle in the pancakes, I really appreciated this because I knew how expensive candles were. "You shouldn't have... Thank you so much mum and dad." They both smiled warmly at me, and my dad lighted the candle. "Make a wish, my doch' (daughter)." I inhaled, ready to blow the candle out… And that's when my world fell apart.
The explosion came out of nowhere, the noise was loud and horrible, the floor beneath us fell apart and it swallowed us whole. Darkness took control of me when I landed on something hard.
Slowly my eyes opened, but I barely could see anything. I breathed in and instantly started coughing, smoke entering my lungs. That's when I realized that the reason I could barely see was because there was a big smoke cloud hanging in the air. I tried to move, but a sharp pain went through my leg. I looked back and saw that a heavy closet was trapping my leg underneath, bending my knee in a strange unnatural way. A red glow was shining on the walls, and when I looked to the other side I found the source: fire was licking against the ceiling, destroying everything in it's path. Fear squeezed my throat. "MUM! DAD!" I yelled, hoping that my parents would come and get me out of this living nightmare. Of course yelling caused another cloud of smoke to enter my lungs and I started coughing. I looked around, and I noticed something laying on the ground a few meters away from me. I started to crawl towards the thing on the ground, crying out from pain when I got reminded of my leg. "Fuck." I whispered, knowing very well my parents didn't want me to use such language. I tried to get closer again, trying to ignore the sharp pain. As soon as I realized what was laying in front of me, I regretted the decision to go over there immediately. Cold eyes stared into mine, all life drained out of them. Blood ran out of her mouth, which was locked into a surprised "o". "MUM!" I screamed, not really being capable of processing what I was seeing. I reached towards my mother, my fingertips being able to touch her cheek. "Mum, please, no…" I sniffed, which resulted into a cough attack because of the smoke. This was my worst nightmare becoming reality. No, this was worse than my worst nightmare. I knew there was a war going on and people got killed, but somehow I never expected my parents to be one of them. When I looked around I saw other shapes on the floor, and the realization that those were all dead people hit me. "No, no, no!" I cried. At the same time I realized that the fire was closing in on me, using the wood and the dead bodies as fuel. I just sat there, crying. I was going to die, I knew it. There was no-one coming to help me, and because of the closet on my leg there was no way for me to get out of there. I just sat there, crying, desperate, while the flames were closing in on me. The heat was becoming unbearable and breathing was nearly impossible. Even though my mother was laying only 1 meter away from me, I couldn't see her anymore because of the thick black smoke. I knew this was going to be my end, only 9 years old. People wouldn't mourn me or my parents, hundreds of people died in Sokovia every day. And when the fire was finished with us, there wouldn't be much left to mourn anyway.
I had imagined the amount of pain I would feel then the fire had finally reached me, but it wasn't even close to the reality. The flames were licking at my skin, melting my clothes into my flesh and scorching my hair. I wanted to scream, but no voice came out of my mouth. Tears were streaming over my cheeks. I wished I was dead. I wished I had died when the floor gave in. I wished I would die then and there so the pain would stop. More fire, more flames, consuming me. Make it stop! I thought. But it didn't. It was like the flames were entering my skin, burning my bones from the inside. Still not dead... Please, I think, please make it stop. I can't look out of my eyes anymore, the fire licking at my eyelids. More pain, why didn't I die?! My bones felt as if they are being reborn, using the fire as a forge. Fire in my lungs, my throat, everywhere... I scream out loud, a horrifying sound that didn't even sound human, I scream into the fire as it consumes me while letting me live.
It's dark when I open my eyes. I want to move my arms but everything hurts. Looking at my arms they are black, burned to a crisp. Why am I alive? I notice footsteps approaching me, I want to look up but I can't. My body isn't listening to what I want, I just lay there. "This is the girl sir, she's alive and breathing." A guy lifts my chin up so I look him in the eyes, blue eyes with a monocle over the right one. "So you're the special one, surviving this fire without any real damage." I didn't know what he meant; there were burns all over my body. "I… I am... damaged…" I whispered, my voice hoarse. "Well well, she can even speak." The men replied. He grabbed my burnt arm, I flinched expecting this to hurt like hell… But it didn't. "See?" The men said with a big grin on his face. "When Baron Strucker says something, you better believe it." Strucker, the name ringed some bells in my head. On the streets everybody warned you about the Baron living in the castle in the mountains. They said that he looked for people to participate in experiments to test medicine, but nobody had every returned to their homes. I wanted to run away as fast as I could, but my legs weren't working. I managed to crawl to the left, but he simply grabbed me by my throat, and held me in the air. "What's your name, little girl?" he asked with a mean voice. "L-lidiya..." I croaked out. An evil grin appeared on the men's face. "Not anymore, subject 507." He threw me on the floor and I groaned. "Take her to the castle and lock her in the cell, I think we finally found a subject that fits our needs."
Do you know what I go through
To live what I want make a new
I'm fighting, I'm fighting
Do you understand what I need to stay alive and survive
I'm dying here, I'm dying
I keep playing the song over and over again in my head as I get carried away.