Chapter 1: The Awakening

The sudden explosion jolted Bohdan from his slumber, sending him crashing to the floor. Shattered glass embedded itself in his skin, leaving him bleeding. The dream of liberation had abruptly ended. He glanced at his watch, trembling; it was 4:17 am. Moments later, the piercing sound of sirens heralded an air raid.

Bohdan struggled to rise from the ground but found himself unable to do so due to the excruciating pain. Distant blasts confirmed his dire situation—caught in the heart of a battlefield, he braced himself for the inevitable.

Then, an eerie stillness enveloped him. I’m still alive! His breath quickened, not from any physical injury, but from the sheer terror of his precarious existence. He steeled himself for another attempt, managing to sit and assess his injuries. They were more severe than he had anticipated. With painstaking care, he began to remove the shards of glass embedded in his flesh.

The room rapidly chilled through the gaping hole where a window once stood. The ominous thrum of helicopters drew closer, signaling that rema