Chapter 1.1

To most of us, the day of the invasion started like any other day, Alex, Theo and I, arrived at school at eight-thirty with the six hundred other children that attended our school. The thing we feared to most was social embarrassment or lunchtime detention, not death. It was a cold early spring morning, fresh dew blossomed on the garden grass and birds flew high and silent in the cool air. I remembered these trivial details, or maybe I made them up in retrospect of how normal the day was.

Alex and I walked to school but started off a bit early to meet up with Theo before registration, taking a short detour to pick her up from her house, like we always did. She bundled out the front door with her hair half brushed and roughly pulling it up into a bun that almost immediately fell out. Her unruly hair was not so easily tamed.

"Overslept?" Alex laughed at her rough image like he always did.

"Ugh, whatever. Who decided the school should start this early? It's not good for teenagers to get up this time." She complained.

"You mean it's not good for you to get this early." He intervened

"Whatever. It's not like you're a saint getting up in the morning." She shrugged, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

"Did you remember to revise for that social science test?"

"Damnit! That was this week?" she yawned lazily, despite her remarks, she didn't seem all that concerned. "As friends, you're meant to remind me of these things!" she added, but her words didn't match her tone, she was still half asleep. We all knew it wouldn't really matter anyway; Theo never studied, but social science was her 'thing' so she always passed.

"For someone who wants to go to college to study it, you're not very studious about it." I shoot back a criticism.

"Ezra, please don't. we all know you probably had a two-hour discussion about the ethical guidelines of the three nations with Sean."

"It wasn't that long!"

"Ah huh, right, Aliana only had to shout four times to get you to the dinner table last night."

"You're such a little nerd." She grins.

Like we always did, we picked up breakfast from the food stall selling pastries outside the school gates. Though by the time we'd entered the school, Theo was on her second almond pastry, in between bites she mumbled "I have another tournament on Thursday, my parents can't make it, but you're coming right?"

"Of course." Alex answers, and I nod in agreement. If there was anything, she was truly serious about, it was inter-school tournaments for martial arts. Her parents almost always worked during the day, so since becoming friends, we would get dragged along to the dojo to watch.

Every now again she would attempt to get me to try it out, but I was done with fighting- even if it was just a performance, I never wanted to fight another human being again.

At the time we were third years, so we were about to start studying for our final exams to be taken in two years. Although Theo called me a nerd, I didn't really mind. Given the time I'd lost in my childhood, I wanted to make the best out of the life Luke gave me. I wanted to excel and show him and myself I could be something more than the scared little kid who knew nothing, but how to cause harm. Thanks to him I had a family and friends, and a life I couldn't even imagine before. At the time I remember feeling so hopeful, none of us could have predicted that was our last day of our current lives.

The morning was quite normal, it blurred into one long chain of normal events, I couldn't really remember much of the specifics of what went on. There wasn't any sign of danger or hostility. The lessons were the same, the other kids were the same, pulling the same stunts and thinking they're funny, the teacher gave the same lectures about working hard now we were in our third year.

Then, whether it was bad luck or coincidence, the subject of Garlantia came up in our humanities lesson. It was innocent enough, but my ears pricked at the comment, which loomed over me with a sense of foreboding. Ms Hennenworth liked to promote discussions about controversial topics, like why poverty occurs or classicism, it just so happened that that day was Garlantia's turn. I didn't usually care, but today was different. There were rumours about where I came from, none of them confirmed, some of them true. Either way, I didn't want the discussion to turn in my direction, so I sunk low in my chair and tried not to get noticed.

"no-one knows for sure why Garlantia closed its border, we can only speculate, therefore I want you guys to tell me some of your ideas." She announced while settling back into her chair at the front of the class.

"-They closed their borders because they're antisocial bastards!" one girl giggled.

"-Because they didn't want to share their technology!"

"What about you? Didn't you used to live in Garlantia?" Her eyes were looking right at me, her question was innocent enough, but there seemed to be some other meaning behind it I couldn't decipher.

The atmosphere immediately stilled. I wasn't sure how much Sean had told the faculty about our origins upon enrolment, whether it was just a slip of the tongue or if she was demanding confirmation of rumours she'd heard, intentional or not.

A moment later, her expression suddenly flooded with horror and it seemed like she suddenly understood what she asked and quickly added "you don't have to answer that Ezra. I didn't think." I think her face was even paler than mine, she was now restlessly on the edge of her seat. Her unease was a source of curiosity that just egged them on.

"Why not?" a girl called from the other side of the room. I didn't see who it was, I was watching straight ahead, trying not to feel the many gazes boring into the back of my head.

"Because I said so, and that the end of it." She answered firmly, uncharacteristically harsh.

What happened in Garlantia was a long time ago, I've lived in Reagen for six years, yet sometimes it feels like only yesterday. I swallowed the bile rising in my throat and answered, "a tactical decision to prepare for war. Close off your borders, and no-one knows what technology you have, the state of the government, nor the plans of the country." But it was also true that Garlantias borders weren't exactly closed, I moved in and out of the country many times with Dark Moon Squad, and each time not without casualty, so the opposing militaries knew of the small movements in and out of Garlantia. But as it was officially closed, no information could flow from the other side. It was strictly one way so Garlantia had the advantage.

"A war?" the teachers meagre voice rung out in the silence. "… What an interesting idea." She mused, as the lunch bell cuts her off and everyone shoves their books in the bag and rushes out of the classroom. All apart from the teacher stood frozen at the front of the class wearing a weak expression even after everyone had left. I grabbed my bags and bundled out of the room with everyone else, not wanting to be the last one left in the room with her.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked, tapping me lightly on the shoulder from behind.

"I'm fine. I'm not hungry so you go ahead, I think I'm just going to go to the library for some revision."

He nodded, his blond curls bouncing off his head as he moves. His concerned expression doesn't change. I know he meant well, but I just want to be left alone. The library was in a different building, on the fourth floor, so I had to fight my way through hundreds of children jamming themselves in the direction of the canteen. It didn't help it was pizza day.