The Aurigan Republic

Prologue

A young boy ran through the streets. His clothes were covered in mud and a shoe was missing. He could hear the gunshots while explosions were occurring throughout the city.

An hour earlier, the boy said farewell to his parents, who reluctantly placed him in the back of a truck. The truck didn't get very far before an artillery shell hit it. Once the boy recovered from the explosion, he ignored the blood that covered him. Fear had taken over and his instinct told him to run as far away as he could. With an enormous burst of adrenaline, the boy ran towards the hills outside the city. He ignored the screams of other civilians he ran past. Yet, he couldn't completely ignore what he saw. Many of the wounded were left to die. Some small children stuck by their dying or dead parents unsure what they could do. Pushing the scenes to the back of his mind, the boy used his small size to navigate around the bodies and vehicles that crowded the streets.

A sudden explosion sent the boy flying. With agonizing pain by his side, the boy finally stopped to look. Dry blood covered his side. When he found the strength to feel his side, the boy winced at the pain. He felt no obvious wound and stood up once again. With renewed hope, the boy continued his way towards the hills. With each passing minute, the shelling of the city seemed to have gotten worse. Much of the city was aflame and he could hear the screams of those who couldn't escape the flames fast enough.

There were hardly any soldiers supervising the evacuation of the city. The situation developed into everyone for themselves and the boy understood it. He only cared about survival and him darting past other people with no sign of stopping was proof of that. Then, someone shouted and many people looked at the sky. The boy didn't stop doing the same. The shouts conveyed fear that he wished to shut out from his mind. With the explosions growing louder and louder, the boy pushed himself to keep running. In some ways, death was behind him and the gap was quickly closing.