Awakening

Bang! The blast threw Bohdan out of bed. The glass shattered, and two pieces pierced the skin. His hand was bleeding. The dream of freedom was over. He looked at his watch, shaking. The clock showed 4:17 am. Sirens announced an air raid a moment later. Bohdan tried to lift from the floor. He failed. The pain was too intense. A series of distant explosions confirmed he was in the middle of a battlefield, expecting to die at any moment.

Suddenly, there was a silence! I am not dead yet! The breathing got heavier. It was not because of lung injury or flying particles released by the explosion. The immediate danger of death terrified him. One more attempt! This time, he managed to sit and see his wounded body. It was worse than he expected. He slowly put away all of the glass pieces stuck to his body.

The room was getting cold fast by the hole of what used to be a window. Sounds of approaching choppers signaled it was not a great idea to stay. Bohdan crawled to the kitchen, stretching his hand to the fridge. He picked up a bottle of vodka. I am not dying sober! He drank a shot and poured the remains on his wounds.

Gunfire sounded in the distance. The invasion was here. Bohdan removed wood tiles in the kitchen and picked up a gun his family had been hiding since World War II. The house was situated near the airport. In times of peace, Bohdan was dreaming of getting a pilot's license. Every time he got into the air, he was fascinated by the landscape duty. Crop dusting was a career to pursue to escape the suffering of daily life.

Now, he had a different assignment — to reunite with his family and escape the reality of war. He crawled out of the house with a semi-automatic rifle on his back, heading to the nearby forest.