1 Chapter 1

2010 July 23rd, Afghanistan

I opened my eyes, being blinded by the sunlight. The floor was shaking. I got up from my bed, confused. The floor started shaking more violently - I nearly lost my balance. I pressed my hands against the wall, steadying myself. I noticed my window was shattered, sharp pieces of glass on the floor. I thought this was an earthquake, although earthquakes aren't this usually strong. And my parents were always there to evacuate me. I could hear screams and gunfire from outside. I ran down the stairs - except the bottom stairs were on fire. The whole downstairs was engulfed in flames. I ran back up to my room and shut the door. I thought about jumping down my window but I quickly realised the fall was too long for me to survive. I was scared. I was only 7 years old. The floorboards of my room creaked as the floor gave away. I landed on my back, realising I was in the hallway. There was a big piece of glass pierced in to my shoulder and a scar running down my arm. I couldn't see anything - I was surrounded by smoke. "All clear, sir" I heard a voice say behind me. I coughed as I got up. There was ash in my shiny, black hair. "Hold on, I heard something," said the voice "I think there's still someone here". I didn't speak English at the time so I didn't understand what the voice said. I could hear footsteps in the distance so I went into the kitchen and hid in 1 of the high cupboards. I also took a long, sharp piece of glass with me for self defence. I was plunged into darkness as I closed the cupboard doors. The footsteps grew louder. I grabbed the piece of glass so hard, my knuckles turned white. A drop of sweat ran down my neck. Whoever that voice belonged to, I knew they were in the kitchen as the footsteps were really loud. The whole cabinet was shaking