*Flashback:*

This was at the beginning of this tragedy stricken war, the war the killed thousands of innocent people. I heard explosion after dreadful explosion ringing in my tiny ears, leaving nothing but a flat buzz for me to hear my families cries through.

My sweet grandmother, the person I told everything to, turned to me with tears falling down her terrified face. She put her soft hands on my knees, which were clenched close to my chest, and her angelic voice cut through the terror around us. Clearly she said,

" Nathan, take this ring and lock it up, have it with you and you will be safe," she told me, placing a glistening diamond in my little hands.

I took one last long look in her comforting green eyes before my oldest brother picked my up by the collar of my dirty shirt and dragged me to the closet. With no time to hide himself in there he locked it and ran to cover the rest of my family. For the hours those bombs raged on I held my self in a protective ball, the rock clenched close to my chest and tears burning my face.
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Present day:

We ran like death was behind us, which it was, our bare feet raw from our skin skidding across the jagged stones below us. I felt Maria pull my arm down under a piece of scrap metal as another bullet flew near us. My gaze study her dirt covered face, I knew she was hiding the fear we both felt inside.

" How far?" Her sweet voice asked over the cries of grenades in the distance.

My head peeked from behind our cover to look at the safe house that was only feet away. I looked back at her, but now she was staring at a fallen rebel, blood dripping from the wound in his chest. My hand cupped her chin and turned her head so she was forced to once again look at me.

" Maria, this is how it is, we can't grieve over every brave man fighting for the cause," I explained to her.

She flashed those beautiful doe eyes at me and a tear twinkled at the corners.

" I know, my father's a monster," she whispered feebly.

I only shook my head, he might be but his daughter is anything but. My arms wrapped around her and lifted her weak body, leading the way to our new shelter. Each step I took sent pain shooting up through my body as I'm sure was the same for my sweet Maria. Just as I fully grasped the wooden know a bullet grazed my calf, breaking through the skin, and I let out a cry of pain.

" Nathan? Nathan!" Maria screamed.

I dropped her and fell to the ground, clenching the wound that warm blood escaped from. A fellow rebel heard my scream from withing the building and helped Maria drag me inside. I lay in the middle of the quiet room, helpless and shaking, with Maria holding her hand in mine.

" Nathan, honey, are you okay?" She asked hopefully.

I shook my head with the remaining strength I had, the blood loss was taking to much out of me.

" Will you be?" It broke my heart, her voice cracking from the painful tears.

My lips were still, to afraid to answer her, yet I quickly ripped the silver necklace I wore and retrieved the shimmering object that hung from it.

" Maria, if anything happens to me, I just want to know I am forever yours," I said placing the ring on her finger, "marry me?"

She finally let her tears shed, and they dripped down onto me as she nodded. Luckily many of the rebellion tribes are made up of pastors and we were married in that monotonous room.

Slowly I started losing vision and I was lightheaded as I slipped into cold darkness. Maria gave me one last passionate kiss before I was sure I was dead.
Maria's Point Of View:

That was it, Nathan's head rolled back and his purple eyelids shut. The man I loved, the man I would die for, is now dead himself. This is all because of my dad, Gage, he started this war because my mother was killed in the fifth world war, between France, Asia, and the U.S.

He banned thousands of men together to try and take over the entire world. When the United States sent their army over there the war began. But they weren't there to fight him, only to reason with him. Now millions of people......No! Nathan will not die.

I strapped on my loyalist arm band and ran into the catastrophe happening at that moment. One of my father's minions ran to me, as they were ordered to, and took me to my father's fortress. The marble floor below my was cold and made me shiver, but it was also the fear that helped.

" Master Gage, sector 42359 is reporting," the minion reported.

The tall man turned around and his dark face lightened with a smile that quickly faded.

" Maria dear, have you gotten the rebellion out of your system?" He asked, never leaving his stare from the window.

I looked to my marred feet, I knew what I had to do, this is why I came.

" Yes, master, I see now that I was wrong," I lied to the ground.

I heard him walk towards me and lifted my chin as I remember Nathan did so fondly. His deep brown eyes were stern but somewhere among all that hatred I saw the softer side of him, the side that loved my mother and me.

" Good," he said with a smile, "now let's have you settled in."

He turned around, this was my chance, the only one I would most likely get. I took the pistol that was always strapped to my waist and aimed it at him. The minute he turned back to face me I pulled the smooth trigger, letting four powerful bullets fly into his chest. They dug deep in and immediately he fell to the floor with a betrayed gasp.

I clenched my jaw to prevent the tears, he may be a dictator, a criminal, and a murderer but he was also my dad. With a moment to grieve I placed him in front of the window, shot the gloss four times, dropped the evidence, and let out my best blood boiling scream. Right on time more loyalists ran in to find out why I was weeping into my hands.

To any simple minded communist it would look like a rebel shot him through the window. But any of the rebellion tribe would know, a rebel would always places his victims hands over his chest and takes his badges, so he may die with honor, even if he does not deserve it.

But, what everyone knows, once the reigning master is dead his next of kin takes his place, which is me. The time following my father's funeral, I put Nathan on a machine loyalist scientist created, the re-evangilizations, it brings back souls that were dead for up to two days. And I made an announcement to my people bigger than this war.

" As your new Master," I spoke into the microphone, "I say, let this war be over, to many people have died, loved ones fighting for what they thought was worth fighting for. Go back to your ancestors resting places and flourish, make a new beginning."

And it was, everyone returned home, grieved over their memories, and repopulated the earth. Nathan and I started a family and lived happily in the fortress. The only thing that worried me was the day, years later, when my son, Gage, found my loyalist arm band. Ideas, I knew, floated in his head, but another thing I also knew was if I held him close to me all would be safe and sound.