"Operation Hannibal" Introduction (Part 3)

INTRODUCTION (Part 3)

Edward ran towards the shelter of an outcropping of birch trees. He was in good shape and had reacted quickly, but as he broke into a sprint and reached the halfway point to safety he felt himself picked up by a giant fist and thrown in the air. It seemed like he was flying for a brief instant, but then the same hand threw him back to the earth with brutal force, pinning him against the ground in the snow and rocks of the clearing. From his back he looked at the sky and the smoke overhead and heard the Russian machine guns begin firing over the moans and cries of his wounded comrades. He couldn’t move a finger and suddenly felt very cold. Then, slowly, he heard the explosions and the cries fade. “That’s funny” he thought, “nothing hurts” and then, strangely, he could hear laughter.

All of a sudden he was home with his family, and seeing in their smiles how much they loved him ... Walking with his father around the workshop; playing hot jazz for his sister on her piano as if he was determined to break all the strings; teasing his younger brother; spoiling his baby sister Emilia ... And his mother, how much he loved his mother! He heard her voice then from the kitchen and called back to her. He came to her and as he walked through the door she was standing at once before him. He went to her and then, as she held him in her comforting arms, slowly all faded to black as the grey smoky daylight dimmed peacefully into the dark of night.