Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Second Chances

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“No matter how many ages have pass 

or how many wars i fought,

your body and soul belong to me

and my heart belong to you,

for you I'll cross the cosmos

and burn the stars, 

and i long for you and no one else,

because in the end 

the two of us are one.”

Chapter 1: Second Chances

Jody woke up to a shrill noise, cookie, her fat ginger cat, had probably knocked over the kitchen clock for the third time this week. She got up and saw through the window that the weather was great on Wednesday, the days in Montreal were fresh in the spring, great to go for a walk outside, completely different from the infernal weather in Rio de Janeiro, where she spent her vacations since her childhood in her grandparents' house. As much as the heat was something that made her exhausted just thinking about it, Brazil was still a memory she cherished, the beaches, the energy, the friends she made every time she visited the country. But it was impossible to think of Brazil without thinking of her grandfather, a man from another era, who would not accept anything that he thought was wrong. Jody was sure that he hated her, since her childhood she was criticized for being too rebellious, too masculine, how could a girl have knees full of scars from falls and scratches? But this should not occupy her thoughts, it was exam week at her animation school, and she should be focused on studying, even though she had already spent two days playing Monster Hunter, priorities are priorities.  

 

After doing the same old routine of washing her face and brushing her teeth, she put on a Jujutsu Kaisen t-shirt, her combat boots, jeans, and one of her beloved synthetic leather jackets or whatever the hell that was. She had always been a fan of the biker and gangsta style in fiction, maybe then she would look more badass, after all it was hard for a 20 years old, 5'6" skinny girl to look menacing. Jody looked at herself in the mirror, her amber eyes were beautiful, she always received compliments for them, but not even those eyes could hide her "I went to bed too late" face, she tied her short hair in a ponytail, letting the bangs hide her forehead that she thought was too big, her honey bronze skin was an inheritance from her Brazilian family, Jody was pretty, even if she had her complaints. When she went downstairs to the kitchen, she saw her brother eating breakfast, eating the cereal she had bought the day before.

 

"You're eating my cereal again? I told you it's not my fault you pick a new weird flavor every week." The look on his face was a mixture of disgust and incredulity.

 

Lucas was his younger brother, he always tried everything he could, even if most of the time he regretted it.

 

"I'll pay you back later" he said with a distracted look as he watched a video on his cell phone about cheddar cheese ice cream.

 

"Lucas, in all your long 17 years of life, when have you ever paid me anything?" she said with a smug look on her face. 

 

"There was the time I borrowed 20 bucks from you and paid you back right away!" he exclaimed enthusiastically, proud of himself. 

 

"That 20 bucks was mine, you only gave it back five minutes later because that girl refused to go out with you." Jody didn't know if his brother was dumb or a genius, maybe a mixture of the two. 

 

He waved his hand in a sign that seemed to say "okay I surrender," and went back to focusing on his dodgy food videos. Jody put the clock back and gave Cookie a hug, saying in a cute voice that he "shouldn't drop the clock!", when she realized the time, she saw that she was late for class and would have to eat on the way, she grabbed her backpack and walked out the door, past her dog Cream that was rolling in the grass with muddy paws, she walked towards the street, yelling "Bye Cream!" and disappearing around the corner.

 

When she entered the subway, she felt relieved thinking that she would probably arrive on time, she already suspected that the professor didn't like her very much. When she noticed the silence in the place, she turned her face to see if everyone was quiet or if she got into an empty car, her bright eyes almost went out when she saw a boy no older than 16, holding two huge pistols, his face was a mixture of anger and sadness, he looked straight at her and shouted, "On your Knees! Now!"

 

Jody couldn't think of anything for a few seconds, then she knelt on the cold metal floor, how could this be happening? This was the kind of thing you read about on Twitter or watch on TV, but this was real and it was happening. The boy was shouting about how the country was full of invaders, that it was the duty of its citizens to protect future generations, and that he would die with pride for his country. 

 

"Invaders?" Jody thought, "what is he talking about?", and then it all made sense, she saw the anger in the boy's eyes as he ranted about how immigrants were taking "what was rightfully his." 

 

In these moments of danger, people think of their closest loved ones, but Jody could only think of her grandfather, the way he spoke, the anger in his eyes, it was nothing she hadn't witnessed before, and then she remembered why she hated guns, her grandfather collected guns of all calibers, always saying they were his right as a citizen, that they were for the protection of his family, but she never felt safe in his presence, he seemed to be one step away from using them at the first opportunity. 

 

The shrill sound of a gunshot through the glass pulled Jody out of her thoughts, when she opened her eyes she saw the boy pointing one of the guns at a girl dressed in a hijab, lying on the ground was a slightly older woman, also wearing a hijab, blood dripped from her head, and then Jody shuddered.

 

"You will be a warning to all those filthy invaders! Go back to your own land!" he shouted with a hatred so great it gave chills to hear. Jody thought to herself "somebody's going to do something, isn't he? they won't let him shoot her in the face like that", "please, somebody!" 

 

This situation reminded her of all the times she tried at all costs to run away from the responsibility to act, no matter how hard she tried, it seemed life kept throwing her into situations like that, she couldn't die there, she had a whole life ahead of her, if she stayed put, he could spare her and she would see her family again at the end of the day. The second shot came, going through one of the girl's thighs, Jody saw her fall to the ground, the blood running down her clothes, and then Jody saw a scene that made her feel an anger that she had rarely felt, the shooter was talking with a smartphone in his hand, on his face that before there was only hatred, now there was satisfaction... and pride. 

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"Are you all watching!!! i said i would! brothers don't be afraid, let's together clean up this country once and for all!" He was live, with a smile on his face, as the girl bled on the ground, Jody couldn't believe that someone like that could exist, hearing about horrible things was one thing, but experiencing them in practice was something much, much worse.

 

When the shooter pointed one of the guns at the fallen girl's head, Jody thought of nothing, her future, her family, her friends, all that was erased from existence for a few moments, she fired in a leap at the shooter, before he could raise the gun, Jody grabbed him and they both fell to the ground, the gun went off and hit a middle aged man in the shoulder.

 

"Stay out of this! my war is not with you!" he exclaimed.

 

"And I'm supposed to stand by? watching you murder that girl?!" Jody replied, shouting even louder. 

 

The shooter unclasped one of his hands and pointed the gun at Jody's forehead, at that moment he realized that she was crying, and then he roared:

 

"You asked for it! you! just be quiet, don't cry now! this is your fault!"

 

Jody's gaze was distant, and then with a smile she replied "I'm tired... of running away." 

 

The fourth and final shot came, and Jody was engulfed in silence... and darkness.

 

The feeling of dreaming about falling from a high place or drowning was something Jody knew well, what came soon after was waking up startled and realizing she was in her bed the whole time, how many times had she not been through that? She tried to draw breath and it didn't come, she felt the cold touch of water on her body, and then she did the usual, counted 1... 2... 3.... and then opened her eyes. 

 

The brightness abruptly invaded his view, she lifted one of her hands and touched her face, feeling the damp touch, what was happening? and then she remembered, the shooter, the bleeding girl, it all came as a whirlwind of thoughts, she got scared and got up at once, when she looked around, she realized she wasn't in her bed, nor was she in the subway, she was at the edge of a creek, there were some hills, a village and a dirt road ahead, this was not a dream, she was alive.

 

An old man with simple clothes and a hat was leaning against a fence a few meters away, when he noticed the girl, his eyes widened as if he had seen something from another world. Jody took a few steps and said "Excuse me, sir, can you help me ... where exactly am I?" The man cracked a huge smile and shouted: 

 

"Marta! Marta! Call the Crusaders! we're rich!" An extremely short elderly woman came out of a simple house just ahead, "Call the Crusaders...have you been drinking in broad daylight yet again?" 

 

When the woman noticed Jody at the edge of the stream, she put her hand to her mouth and was silent for a few seconds, then she shouted so loudly that it made Jody startle for an instant, not an ordinary shout from when one is frightened, but a word.

 

“Invader!”

 

Jody was so confused by it all that she could barely stand, she took a few steps to a nearby tree as a group of villagers approached.

 

"Don't try to run away!" one of them shouted, "Tie her up!" the old man said.

 

Startled, Jody tried to run towards the road, looking back she saw a growing group of villagers chasing her, when she looked again at the road she bumped into a horse, she fell on the ground kicking up dry dust in the air, when she wiped her eyes she saw a girl with red hair, she wore a gray cape covering most of her body, and under the cape Jody could see that the girl had her eyes blindfolded, a yellow band with the words "keep out" covered her eyes, and then the girl held out her hand and said:

 

"Get on or you'll become these guys' circus animal, or worse, a slave of Kirion."

 

Jody thought nothing of it, the whole thing was complete madness, but at that moment the mysterious girl was her best option, she held her hand and climbed on the horse.

 

"Thank you, my name is Jody!" she shouted as they rode down the road.

 

"Nice to meet you Jody, I'm Katherine, and welcome to Kirion!"

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