Prologue
When I was young I heard that once, long ago, it was bright, the sun shined, children went outside to play. Now it's dark and foggy. No one goes outside. It seems it will never go back to the way it was. But people say it will. And maybe, thousands of years later it will. But right now, it's terrible, and I have the feeling it will get worse. Though I don't know quite how that is possible it's awful enough right now with all the smoke and fog. Not to mention the wars. Everyone is at peace now but soon I know they'll start again. 

Chapter one

Smoke filled the air. My mother was calling for me. I had been thrown back bởi the explosion. 
   "Stay there." someone told me, "We can't afford to loose another child." 
   I tried to get up and see what was going on but someone pushed me back down. 
   My eyes hurt from the smoke and it made me cough too. My mother came over to me. 
   "Where's Catus?" I asked, frantically 
   "She was too close to the explosion." đã đưa ý kiến my mother, "She didn't make it."
   I felt tears welling up in my eyes. She's dead? How could she be dead? It didn't seem real. It seemed like a terrible nightmare and I would wake up soon and Catus would be there. But I knew I wouldn't wake up.
    Someone told me to pack and I obeyed them, even though I didn't have much to pack.  Tears ran down my face, partly from the smoke, partly from my sisters death. 
    Soon we were going away from camp. I found my mother and kept bởi her side. I was afraid but I wasn't about to admit it. If I was going to cry this was the place to do it because of all the smoke. 
   "Where are we going?" I asked my mother. 
   "I don't know." she admitted. 
   "well I hope we get there soon."  I said. 
   "we probably won't." đã đưa ý kiến my mother. 
  "when will we get there?" I asked. 
  "a tháng hoặc two." she answered. 
  I didn't say anything else. I just kept on walking and hoping we would get there soon.