Whisked Away

Whisked Away: Chapter 10: Memories

Reality seemed to fade around Felix as his thoughts retreated. Is this the end? Where I die? Felix's subconsious began to kick in. Suddenly, against his will, Felix remembered everything.

Everything.

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Felix was running alongside his brother on the edge of their small town, Rememberance. It was the year 2174, and the threat of nuclear winter was being held over the two powerful nations in control: The Paladins, who sought reform and chaos, who happened to have questionable motives, And The Dragoons, who sought freedom and peace. Rememberance was plot on safe land near what was Dublin, Ireland. It was a Paladin-controlled settlement. The Paladins held all of what was Asia, Africa, and Europe, whil the Dragoons held what was North and South America, as well as Australia.

Antarctica had been declared No man's land due to nuclear fallout.

Both Felix's father and mother were in the Paladins, fighting for their beliefs and their homeland. At the time, Felix, though only five years old, knew the hardships of war. He had lost a friend of his, Alexander, to a mutated cow outside the settlement. The only beacon of hope in Felix's life was his eighteen year old brother, Ruben. Felix had been born and raised in Rememberance, but all good things must come to an end. Felix was shocked by how vivid the memory was.

He had been eating breakfast with Ruben when a sudden knock at the door distracted him. Ruben answered the door instantly. "Mom!" he had cheered. "Dad!"

It had indeed been them. Felix remembered rushing to embrace his parents, hugging them happily. But something was amiss.

His parents had told Ruben to take Felix to a city called "Rebirth" where the Paladins wouldn't find us. "We're being... Executed for treason today. I need you two to escape before they do something to you, too." He remembered his father saying. Felix could barely remember his father. The next thing he remembered was him landing in this strange new city called Rebirth. It was located not far southwest of what used to be Halifax.

Felix's next memory was his new school. He had always been outcasted because of his roots, but he knew that it didn't matter. Felix was now seven, and Ruben had taken over as his legal guardian at the age of twenty-one. Ruben had joined the city's defence force, hoping to make money while staying close to Felix. Life had, at the time, seemed good. But the memory of his parents still haunted him, as Felix knew that they had loved him.

His next memory was the worst of all. It was from August 13th, 2181.

At the age of twelve, Felix had been sitting in the park with Ruben when sirens starting going off. Paladins were attacking the settlement. Ruben had handed Felix a pistol saying: "Only use this if you need to." Ruben had run off to join the defence, telling Felix to head home. Felix had never run so fast. He encountered trouble as he approached his school. Dragoon troopers were engaged by Paladins. He decided to take a longer route, around the back of his school.

This still haunted Felix.

A single Paladin had been running through the alley, effectively cutting him off. He told Felix to get aginst the wall. Felix complied, scared of what the enemy might do to him.

Then he remembered the pistol.

The trooper had started a call on his comm to what Felix assumed was the Paladin's commander. his back was turned to Felix, and Felix knew that the Paladins didn't care about civilian's lives. Felix still regretted his descision.

It was over quickly. Felix had shot off five rounds into him, the recoil devastating to his small arms. The trooper had fallen dead instantly. Felix had felt nauseous, and he vomited on the ground. After three solid minutes of crying, he had built up enough courage to leave. The rest was a blur.

Until the worst part happened.

Ruben had been wounded. Badly. Felix had stayed in the waiting room for hours until finally the doctor came and told him the news.

Ruben had died.

Felix burst into tears at this, not knowing how to respond. Felix remembered being driven to the orphanage, and being introduced to some of the other children. He had been given a room, though Felix still had trouble sleeping that night.

The next morning Felix was going down for breakfast when he had heard something playing on the TV in the room next to him. Some orphans were watching a show. Felix still remembered the name.

"My Little Pony: Frendship is Magic."

It had been aired last century, but they were rerunning every episode. Felix had spent most of his time in the orphanage watching that show, as it had been one of his many ways of coping. Luckily, he was adopted not long after. He continued to watch the show for two years.

On his Fourteenth birthday he was given rights to go outside the city limit, as Rebirth had been a quiet enough city. He had been given a bike, and Felix found himself wanting to stay as close to nature. All the sights and sounds had a way of mending his broken heart. Every day, he would wander the forest's ancient paths, somethimes, though rarely, detouring to go to the ocean. He remembered his latest trip, going to a part of the forest he hadn't before.

That ended well.

Felix was aroused from his thoughts by a feminine voice.