The War

The smell of freshly cooked bacon and egg filled the air in the kitchen. It delighted the young female who had just finished preparing herself for another day of school. "Good morning, ma." Greeted the young lady, placing her bag on the chair. The older female turned to look at her only daughter with a soft smile. "Good morning, Nadia dear." She replied, placing two plates on the table. Each plate had two slices of bacon and an egg, a meal Nadia always loved in the morning. They sat down and started eating, listening to the morning news that was being reported on the radio. ``Good morning ladies and gents, a pleasant morning to all of you! This morning's headline is...`` The reporter seemed to have trailed off, murmuring to someone, who must've been his coworker. ``Apologies for that interruption, breaking news people, an abandoned factory has been reported to be seen open last night?`` He continued in a questioning tone, the reporter sounded amused about this abandoned factory. ``Police are currently investigating the area, so far no further reports.`` "What's so interesting about an old abandoned factory?" Nadia's mother, Mrs. Nguyen snorted. She stood up and placed her empty plate along with the used fork and knife in the sink. Nadia finished her breakfast shortly after, likewise placing her empty plate, knife, and fork in the sink. "Who knows ma, you might find a crime scene in an empty factory," Nadia replied, waving her hand while walking out of the kitchen. She stood in front of a mirror fixing her hair. Nadia could hear her mother talking in the kitchen, something about crimes and things related to it. "Honestly!" Mrs. Nguyen exclaimed, walking out of the kitchen at a fast pace. Nadia couldn't help but smile at her mother's attitude. "Your father was one who's so interested in crime scenes, I mean, honestly, what's so interesting about it?" Mrs. Nguyen spoke while fixing the pillows on the couch where they sat last night. "What is so interesting about blood and cruelty?" She questioned, sighing. She turned to face her daughter, whom she had raised on her own since Nadia turned fourteen years old. It has now been four years since Nadia's father left them so suddenly, missing four birthdays. Nadia had hoped her father would show up on her recent 18th birthday, but when the day came to an end and still no sign of him, she lost hope and settled to the conclusion he didn't want anything to do with her or her mother. "Guess that's why he left, huh?" Nadia scoffed, leaning on the cabinet below the mirror on the wall. Mrs. Nguyen stood quietly, looking at her daughter with pity. She knew Nadia had always dreamed that one day her father would stand in front of their door one morning. She couldn't help but hope for that too, yet days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into years. Still, Mr. Nguyen showed no signs of his status. "My dear..." Mrs. Nguyen whispered, walking towards her daughter. She placed a hand on Nadia's cheek, causing the young lady to look at her mother. "Your father loves you, he does." Mrs. Nguyen assured her, Nadia snapped at her words and shoved her hand away. "He loves me?" Nadia repeated, going up the stairs to brush her teeth before leaving for school. "He left his only daughter!" She exclaimed, closing her bedroom door with a loud bang. Mrs. Nguyen sighed sadly, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Nadia had a point. If her father truly loved his daughter, why would he leave and never return? It had been six minutes since Nadia went upstairs. She finally went down the stairs, not saying a word. She knew her words earlier were harsh. Walking towards the front door, she easily slid on her shoes and called to her mother, "Ma?" She waited for a reply, and when there was none, she sighed before calling out once again. "I'm leaving now, ma!" In the kitchen, looking out the window, stood Mrs. Nguyen, a tear ran down her cheek, and she could hear the front door click open and shut, signaling that Nadia had already left for school. It was then she trembled and cried, longing for her husband. Nadia walked down the street, her school was a walking distance from her house, only a fifteen-minute walk. The cold air blew, bringing a chilling sensation. Nadia shivered slightly, somehow she felt that this would be no ordinary day. Every day wasn't ordinary for her. She was always picked on at her school, she was nicknamed "The Weird Kid" for her cold and unusual demeanor. She crossed the road and entered the gates of her school. Other students arrived as well. Some were bidding farewell to their parents who had dropped them off. Nadia walked towards her locker, much to her dismay, a group of boys stood by her locker, almost as if they were waiting for her. "Hey, look!" One of the boys pointed at Nadia. He had spiky blonde hair, the boy who was leaning on Nadia's locker, who had raven-black hair turned towards the direction his friend pointed at, and smirked. "Well, well, well," he growled, pushing off the locker with his foot. He had his hands in his pockets. "If it isn't the witch!" He laughed, catching the attention of the other students. Nadia was not having any of this. "What?" Nadia deadpanned, shoving past the group and opening her locker. "If it's cash, I don't have any." She said plainly, this ticked the black-haired male who reached out to grab hold of Nadia's arm. "Hey!" A girl yelled in the distance. She ran next to Nadia in defense. She was one of the student council members and also Nadia's closest friend. "What do you think you're doing?" The girl questioned, placing both hands on her hips. The boys slowly backed away at the interruption, considering this was a student council they were dealing with. "Ah, Ms. Nakatomi." The black-haired male chuckled, backing away. Nakatomi - first name's Kei, glared at the male, crossing her arms, "Shouldn't you be off to class, Theo Hewitt?" Kei questioned, raising a brow. The male scoffed, turning on his heels and walking away, along with his friends. "This isn't the end, Nadia Nguyen!" He called Nadia, but she didn't reply, shutting her locker with a loud metal bang. "Don't let him get to you, Nads." Kei softly told her best friend, seeing the anger growing in Nadia's eyes. Nadia could only look away, refusing the comfort Kei was offering with her words. "Let's just get to class already, we'll end up being late." With that, the two walked to their first class, Geography. The walk was quiet and unsettling, none of the two females bothered speaking. When they reached the classroom, Nadia took her seat by the window, followed by Kei who sat behind her. Shortly after their arrival, their Geography teacher arrived and started discussing right away, but throughout the first thirty minutes of discussion, Nadia's mind was up in the clouds, thinking about this morning's events. "Ms. Nguyen?" The professor called, snapping his fingers in front of the brown-haired female. Nadia slowly looked up at her strict professor, not saying a word. "Dozing off again, I see?" The professor said, shaking his head. Truth be told, geography never really piqued Nadia's interest. The professor made his way to the front of the class. Kei took this chance to tap Nadia on her shoulder. "Girly, are you sure you're okay?" She questioned, concerned for the well-being of Nadia, who turned to look at her and nodded slightly before looking back at the front of the class. After class, both Nadia and Kei walked together to their next class, that is until the bell suddenly rang, catching the attention of many. ``Attention all students, faculty, and personnel!`` Came the principal's voice from the speakers which are placed in every corner of the hall. Outside, the sound of a blaring alarm rang across their small town. ``This is a DRILL, I repeat, a DRILL.`` These words brought fear and anxiety all over the school, murmurs erupted along the hallway. ``There has been a breakou-`` the principal was cut off by a huge explosion in the distance, which caused the ground to shake violently. The murmurs turned into a chaos of yells and panic. Students ran all over the place, some started messaging their parents. Nadia turned towards the window to look at where the explosion came from. Her eyes widened at the sight, more explosions occurred due to the bombs being dropped from a certain location, yet she could not make out where it was coming from. Then she remembered her mother who was currently alone in their house. Fearful thoughts and scenarios filled Nadia's head, she made a run for it through the crowded hallways. Behind her, Kei was calling out for her, but to her dismay, Nadia had already made it out towards the gates. Down the streets she ran, raising against time, her hopes of seeing her mother pinned inside her head. She panted, catching her breath as she turned around the corner, came to a stop, and placed a hand against the wall to balance herself. Her once-tidy hair became messy, sweat dripped from her forehead. She looked up, eyes widening at the sight of her home. The house which she grew up in was now in rubles, and neighboring houses caught on fire due to a nearby bomb explosion. But a figure under the ruble had caught her eyes. The upper body of her dearest mother, her lower half crushed under the debris. "MA!" Nadia yelled, running towards her. Mrs. Nguyen struggled to look up at her daughter who had started crying. "Na...dia..." She muttered, strength slowly leaving her body. Blood trickled from her forehead, the wall of concrete which crushed her was too heavy for Nadia to move, yet she tried with all her might. "Nadia, you can't!" Her mother coughed. "You h-have to go..!" Mrs. Nguyen urged her only daughter, but Nadia didn't listen. She tried pushing the wall of concrete once more but failed and ended up slipping, bruising her elbow in the process. "Ma, I can't leave you, not like this," Nadia said frantically. She searched for another way. She knew she was running out of time. In the distance, she could hear metal clanking. This made her pause and look ahead of them. Fear shivered through her body at the sigh of five robotic machines coming their way, each holding a... gun. Mrs. Nguyen panicked at the sound of metal coming their way. She quickly urged Nadia once again. "Leave, Nadia, go!" She cried, but Nadia didn't budge, she wanted to help her mother even though it meant risking her life. She was the only one she had... "Why won't you listen to me for one last time?!" Mrs. Nguyen cried, this made Nadia freeze and slowly look at her. The younger lady remembered the harsh words she had said this morning, tears continued to stream down her face. "Ma, I...I can't leave you..." she whimpered. Mrs. Nguyen slowly reached out to hold her daughter's hand, clasping it in hers. "My dear, listen to me," she croaked out, starting to cry. "I...I love you so much," Mrs. Nguyen said, her voice breaking. She took Nadia's hand to her lips and pressed a soft kiss onto it. "I shall be with you, wherever you go, remember that," said Mrs. Nguyen, looking up at her daughter one last time, smiling tearfully. "Now go, my daughter, save yourself." Nadia hesitated at her mother's words. The robots slowly closed in. She knew she had no other choice. She hated herself for being so weak at that moment. Embracing her mother one last time, she whispered the words she swore would be the last time she'd say it. "I love you, mama."