Prologue

 

              Fire, fire all around; nowhere to hide from the scorching tongues.  Outside, chaos reigned.  Soldiers ran to a burning school where screams of trapped children rang in their ears.  Laser fire from an unknown enemy drew closer every passing second.  1 soldier stopped to wipe the grime away from his exquisite blue eyes as he entered the burning building.

              “ Anyone in here?” he yelled into a classroom.

              “ Over here, Josh.  I can’t see anything because of the smoke,” a young boy nearly invisible because of the dense smoke sat alone, curled in a tiny ball.

              The soldier easily helped the boy up.

              “ Are you ok, Justin?” Josh asked.

              “ Yeah,” Justin answered.

              “ Where’s Serena?” Josh asked suddenly as they ran outside.

              “ She was in that building,” Justin pointed to a blackened piece of ground with only the steel frames remaining.

              “ David, take Justin to the base,” Josh ordered.

              “ Be quick.  The enemy’s advancing fast,” David replied.

He ran off towards the blackened ground and entered the charred remains.  Seconds later, laser and crystallice rained down.  The enemy advanced, killing all in its path.

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              A pair of eyes watched the city’s demise from a hidden place.

              “ The 20 years have begun, Prophet Eli,” a young servant kept his eyes down turned in the presence of the great teacher.

              “ I know, Lahem.  Leave me.  Let no one disturb me.  I have studying to do,” Eli stayed solitary until the door shut.

He grabbed an old, dusty book from a shelf and laid it reverently on his desk.  Soft footsteps went unheard as he flipped the delicate pages.  An almost silent crystallice beam left the ancient prophet dead.  The intruder picked up the book hastily and disappeared into the chaos.

Chapter 1