Remember Normandie: Chapter 1

11:12 am

That's what her blood smeared wristwatch read when she looked up at her fragile bound wrists.

Even if it was useless, Karoline continued to pull the rope bindings around her wrists with all her might. She still held onto the hope that she might break free any moment. Out of all of the things, she had to break free.

Seeing that the rope was still tightly wrapped around her hands, Karoline's rage began to build up again. Richards paced around the struggling sélectionné and watched how the precious stone keeper squirmed under her bindings. He seemed to be enjoying the moment a lot more than what Karoline wanted.

Ignoring the mocking glares that the man seemed to be directing to her, she concentrated on pulling the rope yet again...but her attempt failed. Opting for another strategy, she wiggled her frail fingers up to the base of the rope and grabbed hold of the fabric's corners, and pulled once more.

Underestimating the extent of her injuries, a sharp pain was delivered to Karoline's torso. She immediately stopped her desperate attempt of escaping and hunched over to take in the searing pain. "Damn it..." she muttered to herself while struggling to straighten her body again.

Karoline wanted nothing more than to continue to pull her bindings loose and break free from Richards's grasp, but with the horrible throbbing sensation that shot through her skin every time she moved...it was proving to be harder than what she expected.

Karoline searched high and low deep inside her for a speck of strength to help her get through the pain, but nothing came.

With the rope still in place, and Richards laughing at her failed attempts, Karoline let out a scream. Even if it obvious that the rope wouldn't dare break, Karoline got her pained body straight again and continued to pull the fabric with the little bit of strength she still had left.

"Richards! Damn it Richards!" She screamed out to her enemy while repeatedly yanking the rope that bound her hands together. Her immense frustration showed through every desperate yank she made.

Yanking, and yanking, and yanking, that's all that her wrists did. She didn't care if this caused more harm than good to her already injured body. All that she cared about was being free again.

She wanted to feel connected with the good, the bad, the great, and everything in between. To feel the rush of dancing with a loved one go through her body, to feel the happiness of children playing around her, to feel the satisfaction of saving someone who wanted nothing more than to harm themselves, to feel the pain of getting her heart broken, to feel the warmth of the sun and the chill of the wind...she wanted to feel everything.

Karoline wanted to feel connected with the world again, and with none of it there to accompany her, she felt completely lost.

Dark bruises began to spread out through her sweat filled hands, each dark spot frightening the team more than they already were. The team looked back and forth at each other, exchanging looks of horrors while trying to figure out how they could stop the frantic fit of anger that their teammate had before she harmed herself any further.

Each desperate yank that Karoline made seemed to be cutting deeper into her skin. The fresh drips of thick blood coming out of her wrists began to merge with the rest of the crimson rivers that ran down her arms. A throbbing sensation also began to spread through her frantic hands. It was clear that the sélectionné was tired. Her arms were close to giving up, her bones ached, and her breaths got heavier than what they were before.

But Karoline paid little to no attention to those things. Even if she did, nothing could compare the bolting pain shooting through the battered body she had been left with from the previous beating.

Still ignoring the fresh cuts to her wrists, and the pale color that they held, Karoline continued to yank the rope. Get me out! Get me out Get me out! The desperate thoughts ran through her mind. She wanted nothing more in this world other than to get out. With all the trouble they had gone through, and all of the unforgivable things she had seen in the past two weeks, Karoline refused to do anything but that.

With the bindings still place, and her body growing tired, Karoline finally decided to stop her frantic yanking.

Taking a deep breath, she relaxed her tense arms and leaned her pained back against the orange dirt wall behind her. A devilish laugh filled the air around them, but Karoline ignored it. She needed to think of a way to get not only herself but also her team out of the troubling situation they were in.

Looking up to her wrist watch again, she thought about the time the device held only a few moments ago. There was something about the time that felt familiar to Karoline, too familiar for her liking. She looked at the red stained watch again and tried to make sense of the numbers.

And that's when it hit her.

Thinking back to the day when all hell broke loose, she remembered how her old watch had been broken due to the desperate customers trying to escape. She still remembered the sound of glass lens breaking, and the way that the clock had stopped in one particular time.

11:12

Ever since that day, the four numbers had been engraved into her mind in such a way that they would never be forgotten or left behind. Too much had been changed that day three weeks ago for her to ever forget them. Too much had happened that day for her to ever be the same again.

11:12

That's all that it took...just twelve minutes to change her entire life.

***

11:00 am

The coffee shop's double glass door was swung open, giving the chance for a fuming Karoline to storm in. "Are you kidding me? I can't do that!" She screamed into her phone while stumping her way into the shop. Her mother had just asked her to go in and buy drinks for the entire family, all while she was having a heated conversation with someone on the phone.

While she went in, the rest of the family sat down outside and took a break from their long walk in the streets of New York. Her older brother André sat down on the wooden round table set for four and took frequent glances at his angered sister through the coffee shop's glass windows.

"Are you sure we shouldn't help?" The black haired male asked his mother.

"I think your sister needs some space while she finishes her troubling call." His mother Ileana answered while she settled down in the seat opposite to her children. André's dark brown eyes turned into worry as he looked at his angered sister inside of the shop. Part of his worry was for his sister, but the other was for all the attention that Karoline was attracting from the rest of the coffee goers.

"So you're going to let the rest of the coffee shop deal with her rambling?" André's youngest sister Christelle asked in between a laugh.

"They'll be fine." Their father, Nicholas, answered as he relaxed in his seat.

Not bothering to listen to him, André still played out his worried look to his father, hoping that in some way he would reconsider his statement. Noticing his son's troubled look, Nicholas leaned forward in his chair, reached a hand out, and shook his son's thick hair, making a mess of it in the process.

André quickly laughed at his father's action but soon snatched his hand away in annoyance. Pleased to see his son smiling, Nicholas joined his son's effort and began fixing his hair. Soft like his own, he found himself also admiring the same ink color that he had on his head.

Once the man on the phone finished his never-ending rambling, Karoline said her goodbyes, hung up, and let out a troubled sigh. Noticing that she had more than one person looking at her, Karoline shrugged off the strange looks she was receiving and settled in line.

Noticing how narrow the space was, Karoline was thankful at that moment for the slim figure that her mother had given her, a group of genes that if she didn't possess, Karoline never would've managed to squeeze into the tight line the coffee shop had. Once she had her designated spot, she took a quick glance back at the familiar faces outside and took note of where her family was seated.

Her being the middle child of three, she was in her fourth year of university, and just got off the phone with her physics professor discussing the final project of the semester for the coming Monday. Even after countless arguments about how on earth she would direct the final project all on her own, she just decided to trust in her professor's better judgment and go along with his plan.

Swinging her long wavy hair behind her shoulders, she found herself looking at the group seated outside. The window in front of her showed her father Nicholas waving signs at her younger sister. At first, Karoline was confused as to what on earth her father was doing. But once she saw the way his arms were moving at a steady rhythm, she knew that he was playing his usual game of charades with her sister Christelle.

Christelle on the other hand, was more than confused by the strange movements that her father seemed to be doing in front of her.

"Dad, seriously I have no idea." Christelle insisted to her persistent father.

"Honey, come on! What am I?" Nicholas tried to slow down his hand movements in order to help his daughter better understand him. But this came to be useless judging by the pale clueless look the young Christelle still had.

Her brother André sat there in a fit of laughter as he watched how his father struggled to make himself clear. He wanted to desperately give his father some pointers on how to make his movements more clear, but every time he tried to compose himself, André would fall into the same uncontrollable fit of laughter he once had.

Her long brown haired sister, Christelle, shook her head in disappointment while she watched the scene that was unfolding. "This is unbelievable..." She muttered out while taking her fingertips to her temples. All while in the meantime, her equally brunette mother copied her son's actions and giggled at her struggling husband as well.

After giggling to herself for a good amount of time, Karoline turned her attention back at the line and waited for her turn in peace.

The coffee shop in which they were in seemed to be a lot smaller than the one's they were used to when they visited New York. No wonder they had agreed to send only one person into the shop to get some refreshments.

From the looks of it, the coffee shop only had enough space for five to ten small round tables so customers could sit. It also had three much larger tables outside for those who preferred to have their cup of coffee out in the open, one couch behind the glass windows, and only two people working behind the counter taking orders.

The line also seemed to be much longer than what Karoline expected. For a small and hidden place like this, it was surprising that it managed to get this packed at such early hours of the day. But that wasn't a problem for Karoline or her family. If there was one thing they agreed to do on this vacation, it was to ignore every bit of stress and worry they could possibly have.

While waiting for her turn, Karoline decided to look up at the TV screen that was mounted on the wall behind the counter. With no surprise, the news anchorman stood there blabbering about the days recent events. It was always the same every day: A car crash in the early hours of the morning, a new governor being elected, and the latest town shooting were among the things that the anchorman had announced.

After that, the weather forecast came to view. A woman paced around the screen pointing to various spots on the country's computerized map. Karoline paid close attention when she began to inform how the weather would be for this part of New York City. Once she saw the various suns and clear skies that played out in the screen, Karoline knew that today would be a good day for her and her family to continue their walk around the city.

"Next!" The clerk called out. Karoline had been so distracted with the broadcast that she didn't even notice the line had been moving. At that moment, she got worried that there were people waiting behind her. But Karoline was relieved to see that she was the only one left in the line when she turned around. Karoline then hurried to get to the front of the line and got ready to face the man in front of her, ready to take her order.

Her mouth opened only mid-way with the words stuck to her lips when, without a warning, a loud static noise was heard.

The room went silent. The only noise left in the air was the harsh static noise coming from the shop's TV screens. The confused clients just kept looking back and forth at each other while the noise got louder and louder. Right on cue, phones in everyone's pockets began ringing. Just as they pulled them out, glitches and static were the only things that filled their screens.

"You're kidding right?" An angered client said while moving his computer screen up on down trying to stop the static fit it had. "Just when I was on a high score," He muttered to himself while still trying to get his computer working.

The rest of the clients were just as frustrated as the computer man as they kept fidgeting with their devices trying to understand what was wrong with them. Karoline even pulled out her own phone and tried to fix it as well. She tried pushing many buttons, tapping on the screen, or even hitting a few times against the counter top, but the glitches were still there.

It would have been understandable maybe if one phone went haywire, maybe even the TV screen, but for it to happen to every single device there was in that room? Something was just not right.

Frustrated with her phone, Karoline decided to just drop the phone onto the counter and let it be. She took the time to look around at the rest of the clients. Each and every one of them spoke to each other in a frantic way while trying to figure out what on earth was going on.

The static noise also seemed to get much louder as the seconds went by, making it quite uncomfortable for Karoline to stay in there another second. But as much as the loud noise was annoying her, there seemed to be something else, something in the air that was starting to make her feel very uneasy.

Karoline looked up to the clerk in front of her and tried to confront the man and see if he knew something about this mess.

"What the he-" was all that escaped her lips when the TV screen in front of her stopped its strange static fit, and slowly the face of a man was made clear.

By the looks of it, he seemed to be in his mid-thirties, judging by the still smooth skin around his face, but also the hint of wrinkles around his eyes. His body stood tall and firm in front of the camera, showcasing his large height. His features also seemed to have no emotion as he looked into the screen. Making the short black beard that matched his long curly hair the center of attention as he stood there.

The silence that fell in the room at that moment was unbearable. Even the tension that everyone had while they directed their gaze up to the screen was enough to make anyone feel uneasy. The room was frozen, looking at the screen in front of them. That was until without a warning, the face of the mystery man came to life.

"Well...you're probably wondering right now 'What is this that I'm witnessing?' 'Am I dreaming or am I in some distant life where none of these circumstances make sense me?'" The mystery man began to pace back and forth around the screen as he spoke. After a few moments of awkward silence, he stopped his pacing and faced the camera lens with his dark and emotionless gaze.

"Listen up, what I can assure is that from this moment on, a new order will be made, a new constitution, and lifestyle etc, etc, whatever you want to call it, is what awaits you. You get it right?" The man rolled his somber eyes in annoyance and let out a sigh. Karoline removed her gaze from the TV screen in order to get a glimpse of the clients in the shop. They all had their eyes fixed to the screen, their figures tall and still while listening to the words that this man kept spewing out of his mouth. None of them moved an inch. Not as long as the mystery man stood there speaking.

"This world will know and live what is peace." The man let out a chuckle as he raised his hands in defense. "Now, now, with this there will be order, there will be discipline and well...there will also be domination."

Just who does this man think he is? These were the words that raced through Karoline's mind. She just stood there, completely frozen, waiting for this to be one of her many dreams that took over her mind at night. The one's that ended just as fast as what they started. But this really seemed to be going nowhere.

Karoline waited...waited for someone to just shake her awake and get her out of this surreal reality she was living in. She waited and waited even more, but the mystery man in the screen she so immensely wished to be gone was clearly not going anywhere.

In the screen's background, the figures of two men appeared. One dressed completely in black, and another gray-suited man. The one in black seemed to be dragging the gray suited man who was struggling to get out of the other man's grasp. The one in black also had one hand covering the gray suited man's mouth and the other tying his hands to his back so he could finally carry him out the room.

Looking even closer, she noticed that the scene in site was none other than what seemed to be a conference room, one which looked to be of great importance judging by how the flags that represented various countries hung on the walls.

Scattered papers and knocked over chairs could be seen lying on the tiled floor, followed by the lights in the ceiling flickering. Sending many sparks flying onto the ground. The room itself was nothing but a disaster, but despite all that, the mystery man still stood in it. Karoline came to an unimaginable conclusion. One she wanted so desperately not to believe.

"So just get this through your mind, all right? I am your new leader. Accept and worship me in peace or..." He let a chuckle escape while a devilish grin appeared on his face "Well perish alone in agony." He then began to laugh to himself. His laugh, though, had no hint of sounding like the familiar devilish or villainous one you would expect when someone just finishes a speech like that. But something about it just sent a wave of unpleasantness into the air.

"That last part was a nice touch wasn't it?" He spoke back with a smug tone while looking at the camera in front of him. Everyone just looked back at each other completely baffled at all the things this man was saying. The mystery man began to laugh again. The same unpleasant laugh that made everyone in the room cringe upon hearing it.

This was the part in which Karoline was waiting for it to be the one where he just admits that this was a big fat joke and that everything will be back to normal, but today wouldn't be that day. "No but seriously...this is your reality." The man let out as he began to ease up his laughing. 

The man soon stopped laughing. He stood firm in front of the camera with an expression as hard as stone and crossed his tone arms to his chest. The silence dropped into the room as he stopped speaking once again. The next words that were spoken by him drew such an immense shock into Karoline's mind that it might have as well changed it forever.

"Come forward Normandie" He finished and disappeared from view.

What was just a mere moment of peace, turned into chaos before anyone could react to what had just happened.

******

Just a quick author's note here =) 

I really appreciate it if you have taken the time to read this, it means a lot. This is my first time writing a story so I know it still needs a lot of work, so any feedback is welcomed.

This is also a little piece of this story. I post more chapters of this regularly on Wattpad every Friday, so if you're interested in reading more, you can head on over there and take a look at it =) 

Again, thank you so much for your time!