Chapter 1: That Was No Terrorist Attack

Paris, France.

October 6, 2016: 2 months and 25 days after the massacre.

Aaron Gungnir, civilian

My wounds had been well healed by then. Cat and I lived in a quaint apartment in Paris. None of the native people there were too fond of us being Americans, but we spoke French like a first language. Like all mornings we turned on the news, but to our surprise, we found a report on the GIGN tracking a mysterious truck that arrived off the coast. I thought:

"Oh wow, French people getting scared. That doesn't surprise me."

Those were my thoughts until I saw actual soldiers blocking roads and the streets, and posted to cut off the truck. There were citizens surrounding the barricades on the streets, and officers keeping them back. I saw the news helicopter aim at the blockade to see the GIGN soldiers aiming their guns down the street. I called Cat over to see it with me.

They switched to a reporter on the ground. They aimed the camera down the street to see the truck turning the corner. It was obviously in a hurry. The soldiers at the blockade all opened fire on the truck's driver. It swerved around the road and eventually tipped over. The soldiers ceased fire. A few walked over to the back of the truck, and the reporter asked the soldiers if they could walk up, and they agreed to allow it. Cat and I stared intently. The reporter walked up and she was oblivious to the soldiers trying to open it. They eventually yelled at one of the soldiers to get a crowbar but at that point it didn't matter.

The truck exploded and the camera went flying to the point where we couldn't tell what was going on. We heard screams at least, so we knew it was pretty bad.

"Okay... If you could call Alena, that'd be great." I said.

Alena was one of our British friends. She was best friends with Cat when we were in America. She might want to know about something of this importance. I also called my American friend Michael, who now lives in Germany.

"Dude! Did you get the news!" Michael yelled. I could tell he knew something happened!

"Yeah, It's on the telly right now!" I cried!

"Damn Aaron, I saw it right down the street!" He told me.

"Wait... Where were you?" I asked, confused.

"I don't know. Somewhere in downtown Hamburg, why?" He asked, also confused.

"Um, we just had a truck blow up at Verrerie..." I said, realizing what had happened.

"So... We're both fucked. Okay, just... Let me know how things turn out there, alright?" He asked, more concerned than he usually was.

"Kay, see you bro." I said with a crack in my voice, before abruptly hanging up.

I went to go see Cat, and I came to see her crying. I hugged her, and without asking what was wrong, I whispered,

"We're gonna be okay, Cat. I promise. I know it."

She didn't say a word to me. But just then a news report came on.

"Breaking news, at 6:22 Greenwich Mean Time, chemical attacks were triggered across europe. Citizens in Paris, are being asked to leave their homes if they're in a 4 kilometer radius of 1600 Rue De La Verrerie. The death toll alone in Paris lies at around 14, so far. luckily, the gas of the attack has been the cause on no deaths so far, but we'll bring you everything as the story develops."

At this, Cat ran to our room, and slammed the door. I followed her, and knocked. I didn't hear anything so I cracked it open to find her crying into her pillow.

"Cat. We're gonna be fine. We're not gonna have to leave, our place is far from there. Really, we're gonna be alright." I wanted to say anything that could make her feel better. It always killed me to see her like that.

She stopped sobbing and at this point just started to breathe really hard into her pillow.

"Just know I'm here for you." I whispered to her. After a while, she fell asleep, and I managed to carry her with me back to the living room. I set her down, sat down with her and leaned her against me. I knew waking up like that would be a relief to her. At this point I put my hands on my face and sighed.

"Geez. This has been a shitty day, and it's not even 7."

As more news followed, another report came on with the caption, "Russian troops present in Paris."

"Eyewitnesses are now reporting Russian tanks rolling down the Champs-Élysées."

I decided I would try to fall asleep and wake up from this nightmare. I turned off the tv, and I held Cat tightly, and just collapsed onto the couch with her.

Next thing I knew, the apartment next to ours exploded. It woke up both of us, and we both screamed and grabbed onto each other. I saw a helicopter outside the apartment, strafing the buildings across the street. It turned my way. I instinctively grabbed Cat's hand and yanked her out the front door into the hall. I heard many bullets bursting through the wall, and wood shards flying off the walls. I waited until the guns stopped spinning before peeking back into our room. I went to a safe in our room, which then had the wall to the streets below burst open.

I opened it and i pulled out a .44 Magnum. I gave it to Cat. She had never held a gun before. I told her,

"They don't like these outside of America. I knew we'd need something. Now... We're gonna get out of here. And we're gonna be safe. Come on."

I went to the kitchen, grabbed some knives, sharpened them, and put them in my coat pocket. Cat followed me into the room.

"Aaron?" she asked uncertainly, her hazel eyes widening slightly as she watched me sharpen the knives.

"Cat..." I said before sitting on the kitchen floor and leaning against what was left of the cabinets. I tapped the floor next to me. She sat down.

"Cat. I'm not sure how to explain this to you but when it comes to surviving, you kind of have to do everything you can to help yourself." I stuttered so much as I got choked up telling her that.

"But Aaron," she whispered hesitantly, her gaze never leaving the sharp edges of the knives I held in my hands.

I grabbed a cloth, wrapped it around the blade she was staring at, and then put it in her pocket.

"We're gonna get through this together. I swear. Just follow me, and I'll protect you, just like I always promised I would." I said, with a crackle in my voice.

I got off the ground holding her hand and went to the door.

"Let's do this," I said firmly. Cat nodded grimly and we prepared to leave the room.