Hey guys! I'm going to post my story so far below. But first, I'm only 8,000 some words through it and I'm not editing this by any means (so ya it probably sucks but then again, November is for writing, the rest of the year is for trying to figure out what the hell you wrote)! Anyways, tell me what you think!

*copies and hopes this doesn't crash my computer*

Prologue
"Sir! Urgent telegram for you!" screamed a soldier who looked as if he didn't even shave yet. That was the terrible price of war. Several men turned to him from their table in the tent and looked as if they hadn't slept in quite some time. Another man, standing up, was in the midst of pointing something out on a map that lay on the table. The man looked old and had on clothes that seemed to belay his importance and aura of authority. The young soldier quickly handed the official looking paper to the man, and with an exaggerated salute, ran off to perform some other menial task. Little did he know that the small task he had just accomplished would have a profound effect on history itself.

Chapter One
"Sashka, wake up. It is time to go to school and you know how your father gets when you are late!" yelled a woman, passing by the door to a small bedroom. Alexander opened his eyes and saw truly how late he was this morning, Light was already pouring in through the cheap blinds on his window. Still in a daze he stood up and began his routine without thinking. His first thought of the day didn't occur until he was done getting dressed; he might be late for school. He would have to grab something for breakfast on the way out and eat it as he walked from their apartment to the crowded primary school downtown. He grabbed his things and headed into their dining room.

Their apartment wasn't very big. It could barley hold the four of them, his father Ivan, his mother Olga, and his six year old sister Yulya. As it was, he and his sister were sharing a small room. They had a kitchen which doubled as a dinning room. In their kitchen were a small refrigerator and a poorly made, used oven that they had gotten several years before. The table they had was used for many purposes, eating, doing work, preparing meals, and just relaxing or talking at. Their living room had a small television which never seemed to work when you watched it. A couch was seated opposite the television and was missing several pillows and had stains of all kinds almost anywhere you looked. Their walls were covered with lousy wallpaper that almost looked worse than the bare walls themselves. A picture or two hung on the walls, a portrait of some family at one time or another. Most tried to remind them of a happier time but seemed only to remind them that this was not one of those happier times. On the floor was a rough, harsh carpet that only irritated the feet. In the corners the carpet had started to come undone and was gradually being worn away.

The only item of warmth in the entire house was their fireplace. It was simple, nothing fancy or elaborate, just a normal brick fireplace. They lit fires some nights and just sat together, talking, reading, or just enjoying the company of the family. It brought them back to a life that was something more, something better. In those waning hours they could forget their misery and look forward to a day when they would have a better house, enough money to eat decently, and a time when they wouldn’t have to work all day in order to continue a life of misery.

Alexander grabbed the meal set aside for him and his sister's hand and headed out the door. "Have a good day my son! Be careful!" yelled his mother after him. He nodded and closed the door. "You woke up late again didn't you brother?"
"Yes, yes. Enjoy your youth while you can," said Alexander, acting as if he actually appreciated being younger than fifteen, "You can stay up as late as you want and wake up as if you had been asleep for years."

"So? Who cares about sleep when you can't do anything you want to do?" This made Alexander laugh.

"What, like homework? And watching your little sister all the time? And helping to make dinner and clean up and… and… everything else that needs to be done!" Yuyla merely shrugged a sort of "that's great but I was thinking about something else five minutes ago" shrug. Like all small children, little things amused her. She was still innocent and couldn't remember a time when things were better. Life to her was full of rewards and void of responsibilities. The biggest thing she had even been entrusted with doing was helping her mother pick out a present for her father. She was a flower that had experienced the wonders and beauties of spring but hadn't lived to face the harshness of winter yet.

Yulya enjoyed primary school. She learned some of her letters and colors. Her teachers were mean but they only made her parents and the others around her look nicer. The best part of her day by far was her art class. She loved to make things, to take a block of nothingness and make something, anything. She didn't prefer any type of art, anything was enough for her; painting, coloring, clay, drawing, whatever she could get her hands on which was normally scarce. Last Christmas Santa Klaus had delivered to her a set with five colored pencils and a small notebook. Yulya didn't realize how long "Santa Klaus" had saved up to be able to buy that present for her so that she might be happy. And she was. When Christmas rolled around and she opened her present she was ecstatic. She must have used up two of the pencils in the first week and radiating a non-stop feeling of warmth had infected her parents and brother with this disease. It had been one of their best Christmas' ever.

As they reached the first floor of their apartment complex, a friend of Alexander's joined the two. "Sasha! You're running a bit late today I see." said Boris with a grin.

"Man, everyone is giving me such a hard time for being a little bit late today. It's not like we never have to wait for you…" Boris responded with a smile and a laugh.

"It's a joke Sasha, nothing to be mad about. Besides, we should be more concerned with getting to school on time!" Boris Borisovich lived on the first floor of the two story apartment complex. He was a fairly average child and didn't have any special talents or goals for himself other than finding work some day. He didn't aspire to become famous or a great political leader but thought a bit more realistically and figured he'd do just what his father had done, his grandfather had done, and his great grandfather had done. "How are you doing Yulya?" asked Boris politely.

"Quiet fine, thank you." Yulya had taken to using big and sophisticated words so as to impress her teachers and parents. At times it made her sound smart but at others like she was a snotty princess talking down to the common folk. Not that Russia had had a princess in quite some time…

"What do we have today Borka?" asked Alexander with a grin. Borka was Alexander's nickname for Boris which he didn't like at all. Boris stopped and held up his hands in a sort of "I deserved that" way. Boris accepted it as payback for the comment on Alexander's late awakening.

"Nothing much I don't think. In history we're starting World War One. That should be interesting enough. We have English and Russian today also. Sounds like a pretty normal day to me…" Alexander nodded. If this excuse life was what he considered normal he hoped he never had a normal day again.

Chapter Two
As Alexander entered his history room, his fellow students were enjoying the small amount of free time they had before their teacher came. People were moving around, talking, writing, or just sitting down to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. His class contained thirty-five students which was about average for the school. This presented a bit of a problem, having thirty-five children in a room built for twenty is not exactly what you would call ideal conditions. Far from it. But they managed to get on somehow. Their class was situated in the middle of the building and became very hot and humid with so many people in it. The classroom was normal, it had cinderblock walls and a small wooden door with a big lock used to keep late comers out.

Their teacher was an old woman who seemed sometimes as if someone had drawn her job out of a hat. She seemed as if she had grown up during a different time and it was sometimes hard to identify with her. She had experienced something different, they had lead the same lives. No one really knew how old she was but it was evident that she was… well… old. She looked old and had wrinkles drooping from anywhere and everywhere. She was thin and small. It's funny how you grow taller until you hit a certain point in your life and then you grow smaller. If you couldn't tell her age from her looks, talking to her for a while would give you the sense that she was different even if you couldn't really tell how at first. She seemed pretty nice and wasn't really mean, just strict and down to earth, a sort of "theirs work to be done and we're going to do it" approach to life.

As their teacher entered the room and rasped on her desk everyone hurried and sat down at their desks. "Today class, we will begin by studying World War One." She said as she went to the door and locked it. "Who knows something about World War One?" she asked. Several people raised their hands. "You," she said as she pointed to a boy.

"Uh… Nicholas the Second was the tsar at the time?" said the unsure boy trying to get some conformation from his teacher.

"Yes, that's correct." Responded the teacher as she wrote "Tsar Nicholas II" on the chalkboard. "Anyone else? Yes you." She pointed to a girl in the front row.

"We and our allies fought against Germany." Said the girl, quite sure of herself.

"Yes, and who else did we fight again?" asked the teacher.

"Uh… Japan?" asked the girl.

"No, that was World War Two." The girl blushed a red color. "No one else knows anything about World War One?" the class seemed to look down at their feet, embarrassed that they didn't know anything about what the teacher thought they should know. Only a couple seemed to think the predicament interesting, a teacher is supposed to teacher people, not to assume they know everything. "Well, at least I know what you know, that is to say nothing. Everyone take out a piece of paper and take notes. You assignment for tonight is to write a paper about what you learned to today and how it has affected our history." Groans could be heard from most everyone in the class. They abruptly stopped when the teacher snapped her head and glared at them.

"As I was saying. World War One, or the Great War as it was then known, started in 1914 with the assassination of the Austria-Hungarian archduke Frances Ferdinand. The Austrians blamed the Serbian government for this and declared war on Serbia. Before the war had begun, various treaties and alliances had been made. Germany and the Ottoman Empire were allied with Austria and Serbia was allied with us. We were also allied with France and Great Britain and their colonies. Japan and the United States were also allied with us but the United States did not enter the war until 1917 because of Germany's use of submarine warfare. Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary formed the Triple Alliance or the Central Powers. We along with Britain and France formed the Triple Entente or the Allied Powers.

During this time, Tsar Nicholas the Second," she said as she pointed to the name written on the board, "took command of the Russian army. At the time the Russian army wasn't too good off and our conditions at home weren't too great either. The upper classes had mistreated the common people and taken away their rights for a long time."

"Sounds a lot like it is today." Said a smart alec kid in the back. A couple children snickered but the teacher ignored him and continued on with her lecture.

"In 1917 many workers started to strike for higher food rations and the military at home refused to obey commands to suppress them. Meanwhile Nicholas was off fighting the way. One night, Nicholas received a telegram warning him of what was happening at home and what might happen if nothing was done. He quickly returned home leaving the military in the hands of another.

When he got back he started to fix things. First, he listened to the people and their problems. He let farmers sell their crops on the open market. Farmers could also got ten acres of land if they agreed to sell their crops cheaply. They were also allowed to hire people to work for them. He reformed the Duma which had been established in 1912 so that it had more of a say in the government. The Duma now had to vote on all laws in order for them to be passed and could propose new laws. He gave rights back to the people and allowed all citizens to vote. He raised taxes on importing goods and lowered taxes at home. Later, he would establish an elected position to replace the tsar system that had been going over for hundreds of years.

Meanwhile, the war waged on. We will get into the specifics of the war and battles later on in the year but I will continue my general outline for now. World War One brought about several new innovations to warfare. First off, most of the war was fought using trench warfare. Huge trenches were dug in which soldiers fought. One side would shoot from their trenches while the other got down to protect themselves. Barbed wire and other deterrents were erected in front of the trenches to hinder the other side from storming the trenches. Sometimes one side would try to overtake another and would either manage to take the trench and kill the enemy or, most of the time, would run back to try to keep from losing any more lives. Hot air balloons allowed armies to spy on each other from above. Germany had developed submarines, named Unterwasser Boot or U-Boats for short, that they used to control and limit Britain's navy. This also lead to the United States entering the war when they sunk several American ships. Many new weapons were also developed and were used in World War One including the machine gun, poison gas, and many others.

World War One was ended by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Overall, the war wasn't really won or lost but had come to a stalemate and was stopped by all sides. Germany faced some penalties and a League of Nations was created which would eventually lead to the United Nations we have today. Any questions? No? Good ok. Don't forget to write that paper tonight. Tomorrow we will be covering the effects of World War One and how they shaped what our country is like today. You are dismissed."

Alexander met Boris and they walked over and found Yulya and begun to walk home. "How did you like the discussion today Sasha?" asked Boris politely.

"I thought it was very interesting. I like to learn about our history and think about how it could be different. Like what would have happened if Nicholas had not returned home?"

"I can only imagine Sasha. We might not be as well off as we are now." This made Alexander laugh.

"Ha! Or more likely we would be better off now. The people would have eventually rebelled against such an incompetent leader. And it's very hard to believe that we could possibly be worse off than we are now. Our parents work all day to barley feed us and to afford a run down apartment and second-hand appliances. Heck, the only reason why we don't work is because of our age. Won't that be fun, working to stay alive at the age of sixteen, only a year away. And worst of all, you know that I speak the truth." remarked Alexander grimly.

"You shouldn't complain so much big brother. Things aren't as bad as you make them sound." said Yulya. That was true, thought Alexander, but then again all she needs to be happy is a crayon and five minutes a day.

The hard part was finding something that would change their lives as well as everyone else's. Even harder was actually accomplishing that goal. "Someday," thought Alexander, "someday."

Chapter Three
When Alexander got home he started to write his history paper due the next day. His talk with Boris influenced it quite a bit. He wrote, "Today in class we learned about World War One. We talked about Tsar Nicholas the Second and how he saved our country from certain destruction. He is the one we must thank for our horrible economy in which my parents must work from 6 in the morning until 9 at night in order to afford our run down apartment and used appliances. Because of him, big businesses are able to buy out anyone and charge ridiculously high prices, the crime rate is the highest it has ever been, children have to work to support their family, public schools are overcrowded and under staffed, and there are millions of starving and homeless people. Because of him, the government stands ideally by and does nothing, enjoying all the money they are bribed with. Almost anything in our lives that is bad can be traced back to our "friend" the fabulous Tsar Nicholas the Second."

Let's see how the teacher likes that. The sad thing was that it was true, the corruption of the government and high crime plagued their every day lives. Alexander's parents weren't even sure if they should be letting him take Yulya to school but they didn't really have a choice, they had to work. Any citizen could vote, but most did not. People were hired to "ensure" that the "right" people were elected and often stood menacingly outside voting booths. People together could accomplish anything. Keep the people from organizing and getting together and you could control the masses.

As Alexander saw it, capitalism had failed them. Capitalism had divided them, there were the haves and the have nots as his teacher often said. You either owned cooperation and made millions, or lived in an overcrowded city and were forced to work as hard as you could to live, not to improve your life. How could America possibly do it? What was the magic behind this "American dream"? How could they people maintain the freedoms they had? How was it that there was a middle class? And if America if everyone was equal and had an equal shot at becoming rich, why did the government need Social Security, Medicare, and Medicate? Why look after the poor if it was their fault that they hadn't made it in life?

Communism had also failed many countries. China was a mess, Vietnam was a mess, and Poland was a mess. Ahhh yes… Poland. Russia had looked after Poland, had helped them see the light of capitalism, had helped them in World War Two. And what did they get in return? What thanks was there? The Polish Revolution in 1949. After World War Two Poland had lost nearly one fourth of its population. They needed to rebuild their country and the masses decided that the best way to do that was communism. Good idea, bad execution. Why is it that in almost any communist country the bourgeoisie had taken advantage of the proletariat? Wasn't that the exact opposite of what it was supposed to be like?

Of course communism was "evil". The people in charge of everything, in charge of businesses, didn't need people seeing that they were being taken advantage of. And the government didn't need the bad relations with the United States. What better way to control the future than through the children. If they children are taught from their first day on earth that things are how they are, they're not going to change, and that communism is not going to help it, then they start to believe that. And if they believe it they will oppose it to the grave unless doubt could be cast on everything they had ever been taught. Life was perfect, if not for them, for the upper class. They had everything they needed, food, huge mansions, enough money to buy medicine and get really teaching for their children who would then enjoy the same benefits. The lower class would never change. Parents had to work to live, had to have children to continue their "legacy", and their children had to go to school so that they weren't alone all day. Then the children grew up and repeated the cycle. With little or no religion throughout the country the people had nothing to really look forward to after death and didn't believe that everyone truly was created equal. Maybe that's where the American Dream came from.

It was a wonder to Alexander why people continued. Why live on if nothing good will ever come your way? Why live on if you'll be in poverty forever with no hope of anything better in life for you? Why live on and have children if they are just doomed to repeat the horrible cycle of despair? Was it because something good really could happen or was it just a false hope? Was there any purpose in life? Could you really make a difference?

They had been better off before. Somehow, they had. Their father had owned a two hundred acre farm built up from a small twenty acre one. He had hired people to work the fields and had paid them a good salary. Some had even lived with them. They grew wheat and corn and even had some cattle. If their life hadn't been good at least they were content. Yes, some years were better than others, sometimes they wanted a bit more food than they had. But things had always gotten better, crops had always grown back. Food was a good business to be in because unlike most things, people will always need food. Or so it seemed. Apparently people stopped needing food, well, at least they stopped needing their food. When one thing goes wrong, another usually goes wrong too. They had a two year long drought. They barley had enough food to feed themselves much less to sell. People quit or were fired and then they had to do all the work. That was the most fundamental lifestyle, you grow your food, harvest it, and cook it, or you die, simple enough. Then the economy got worse and they could no longer afford to buy the other necessities of life. And to their rescue comes some business that wants their land to build some giant warehouse or something. They didn't want to sell, they were forced to. People snuck into their fields at night and doused them with cheap alcohol. Then, they set them on fire. The blaze lit up the night sky. Yulya wasn't old enough to comprehend what was going on, why her parents and brother were crying. The flames were pretty though. Alexander was old enough to know what was happening, and old enough to know that things would never be the same.

Chapter Four
Alexander woke up on time the next day. Being picked on was one less thing he would have to worry about. He sat down to eat his breakfast with his sister before heading off from his apartment to meet Boris. "Have any trouble with your paper Sasha?" asked Boris as if he couldn't think of anything else to talk about.

"No not really." Even if he did it he thought it better to say otherwise. He and Boris always seemed to have a friendly little competition going on and it didn't help to admit ones weaknesses. Besides, he really didn't have any trouble on it. "How about you?"

"No, not really. She was pretty clear on all the material yesterday and it was a pretty easy assignment anyways. I wonder how long her good mood will last." He responded with a grin.

"No one knows Boris, no one knows." He jokily stated with an equal grin.

"I don't see why you make fun of your teachers, you are supposed to respect your elders." Commented Yulya. This gave them quite a laugh.

"It must be a teenage thing," laughed Boris.

"Indeed Boris, you speak nothing but the truth!" remarked Alexander as he smiled back.

When they arrived at school, they found that, surprisingly, their teacher's good mood had remained. "Ok student, settle down please. Did anyone have any trouble with the assignment for last night? No? Good. Would anyone care to read theirs?" Nobody raised their hands. "Come on, I was in your shoes once, don't make me call on someone…" she said although it sounded like an empty threat. She sighed. "Ok, let's see… how about… you." And she pointed towards a kid sitting at a middle table.

"Uhh…. Ok…" he said as he stood up. "Uh… Nicholas the Second, Tsar during World War One, caused us to have many benefits that we have today. He opened free markets and trade as well as helped boost farm production. Also he let people veto…" mumbled the boy in a monotone voice, "uh… sorry that's vote, he let people vote and have rights. Also, he strengthened the Duma." He looked at his teacher for approval as if asking he should continue when he didn't have anything more to say. She only nodded and said, "Good, well done. Anyone else care to share? How about…you. Why don't you share your paper with us?" Spoke the teacher, almost asleep from the last speech, as she pointed to Alexander.

"Well… now is my big chance to show them what I'm made of," thought Alexander. He cleared his throat a couple times. He didn't really like speaking but he knew he had a talent for it. "Today in class we learned about World War One and how it would forever change our nation and the world." He started; adding in a couple words he thought would sound a bit better. "We discussed our friend, hero, and benevolent leader, Tsar Nicholas the Second, and how he saved our country from certain destruction." At this point everyone was paying attention and his teacher was beaming at him. He smiled back but not for the same reason. He knew her appearance would change in a moment or two. "He is the one we must thank for our horrible economy in which my parents must work from 6 in the morning until 9 at night in order to afford our run down apartment and used appliances." Bam. The bombshell dropped. A couple peoples head's immediately shot up, drawn out of their bored states. Most didn't really catch on to what was happening yet. "Because of him and his "great accomplishments", big businesses are able to buy out anyone and allowed to charge ridiculously high prices. Because of him, the crime rate is the highest it has ever been. Because of him, children have to work to support their family. Because of him, people like us who attend public schools are faced with overcrowding and our school is far under staffed." The teacher's mouth dropped down and was in a state of shock. "Because of him there are millions of starving and homeless people in the streets. And because of him, the government stands ideally by and does nothing, enjoying all the money they are bribed with, while we, the common people suffer and face lives not worthy living. My friends, almost anything bad in our lives can be traced back to our "friend", none other than the fabulous Tsar Nicholas the Second."

Everyone stood silent for twenty seconds. Alexander sat down. Nothing moved, no sounds were made. Everyone absorbed what had just been said. "Well… uh… that was… interesting… Alexander, can I talk to you outside for a moment?" stammered his teacher. He calmly got up and walked to the door after his teacher and quietly closed it so as not to disturb anyone. "That paper… well it's not exactly what I was looking for out of this assignment…" remarked the teacher almost as if she was trying to put a feeling into words but not exactly sure how to do so.

"What do you mean? You asked us to write a paper about what we learned in class and how it has affected our history. I did exactly that. Had you wanted us to write about how Nicholas has improved our lives you should have said exactly that, try not to be so vague next time," remarked Alexander trying not to be too rude. "Oh and besides, had you said that I would have been forced to come in to class with a blank piece of paper." The cobra had mesmerized it's victims and then in a single swoop, sunken it's teeth into the neck.

"Uhhh… well… uh… you see…" stammered his teacher, "You paper is… how should I say… uh… radical…"

"Any person in this world who accomplished something was a radical at one point or another. You being a history teacher should realize that." The teacher had suddenly run out of options.

"Why don't we go and see the principle after class to talk this over. He can give you a better explanation of what I'm trying to put into words."

"Oh what fun, I look forward to the end of class." It was true but then again, not unlike normal. Everyone looked forward to the end of class. He just had better reasons than them.

Chapter Five
"Alexander Ivanoich, come in please." Alexander and his teacher walked calmly into the small office building used by the principle to run the school. It barley had enough room for his cheap wooden desk that was currently scattered with papers. He sat in a cushioned chair behind his desk with Alexander and his teacher taking regular chairs from a nearby classroom on the other side. "Your teacher has told me about your little speech today in class Alexander. It's not exactly what we have come to expect from you in terms of our overall expectations from all our students. Do you care to explain why you did what you did?"

Alexander thought about this for a moment. A couple of minutes ago he had been ready to tackle the world and revolt against the evil oppressors of his nation. Now he wasn't sure that the oppressors were so bad after all. He managed to stammer out a "No sir." And looked down at his feet.

"Do you understand why we're having this little talk?" asked the principle politely.

"Yes sorry. I'm sorry, it won't happen again." He muttered trying not to make eye contact.

"I expect that it won't. You may go to your next class now. I look forward to not having to talk to you again." Announced the man as Alexander headed out. Alexander scolded himself for not standing up to the principle. "You could have been all over him…" he thought to himself. Yes, he could have pointed out that his facts were true and that there was nothing wrong with exercising his right to free speech.

It was then that it occurred to him that they really didn't have any freedom of speech. Having a right and being able to exercise it are two very different things. Just like their ability to vote for a leader. And their freedom of the press. When the businesses that control the government also control all the television and newspapers there is no freedom of the press. The problem was it appeared the only one who realized all of this was him. People would never openly and aggressively oppose him, simply do the exact same thing his teacher and principle had done, just tell him off and make him think he was crazy and wrong.

The key was finding another person like him, someone who saw the truth no matter how obscured behind darkness it might be. That was the key to things changing, people had to see the light. The more people that saw it, the easier it became for others to see it until it was like a huge snowball rolling down a hill, increasing size and speed slowly at first and then at a quicker and quicker pace until it was moving fifty miles and hour and could swallow small children alive. Not that they would swallow small children alive but the point is clear. Who could he trust? Who could he confide with? Was there no one else that saw even a crack of that light?

Eventually the people would see the light, there was very little doubt about that. People had always realized the truth in history. Even those crazy Americans, realizing that Britain had control over them, had rebelled against their oppressors. Now they were the most powerful nation on Earth. Or maybe they had simply gotten tired of paying taxes to England and decided it was worth a try. No matter, they had succeeded in what would probably be the greatest revolution in the entire history of mankind. How had they done it? How was it possible that colonists were able to defeat the greatest army in existence at the time? Their knowledge of their surroundings and the distance England had to go to fight probably tipped the scale in their favor but still, how had they managed? How was it that the United States had so much luck? How was it that they had won every major encounter they had entered, with the exception of Vietnam in which they weren't even directly threatened? How could a bunch of farmers beat the British army, survive a Civil War, accumulate that much land, help win both World Wars, and have the best economy in the world?

The key was the Americans. What drove them? What cause did they have that they were willing to die for? What made them hold on, against all odds, and manage to push through? They had the richest people in the world and the least homeless. Their currency was almost honored world wide. Their technology was, if not the best, close. In terms of land, Russia was much bigger. With all that land, how could they possibly be twenty yards behind the United States in the fifty yard dash of world powers? Heck, the United Nations only served to control what the United States did. That another example of how the masses could rival the big boy, if all the nations refuse something but the United States, the United States will back down because even if they are the United States, the rest of the world stands "United Against Them". He had to find someone.

Chapter Seven
Alexander didn't mention his confrontation to Boris on the way home that day. Even if he had told him it wouldn't have changed anything. Besides, Boris was not the right kind of person Alexander could confide something like this with. Yes, it was true that he was extremely loyal and honorable, but he lacked the vision, the dream, to see how something could possibly change. Boris was a person more focused in the "here" and "now" than what tomorrow and the day after and the year after might bring.

He couldn't talk to his sister either. She would most certainly rat him out and she was too little to understand anyways. But she was the right kind of person, had she been born around Alexander's time she might possibly be able to identify with him. That was what he needed, someone who had experienced the worst society had to offer and was able to see why it was so bad. It seemed like an impossible task for him to accomplish. He would try though, he would try.
As the three children walked home towards their apartment, they were mainly quiet, reflecting on the day at school. Alexander looked around them and saw his fellow "citizens", walking around glumly in their cheap fur coats, going here or there. Some had bags, some had hats or gloves, and some went in and out of shops. Virtually no one had a car. They were mainly reserved for richer people. Some families had a car that was made in Russia and thus of extremely bad quality. Their family was not able to afford one but Alexander didn't really care, walking was fine with him. He could almost feel the misery radiating off of fellow people. They gave off a sense that they had reached the bottom of life and weren't very satisfied with anything at all. These were the people that would make the change, reflected Alexander again; these people had the power to do anything, anything! If they only realized that they could, they would.

A man ran up to the group as Alexander was in a half awake, half dream, state. "Hey, kids, give me all your money!" he shouted at them as he ran up and stuck out a knife menacingly. He word a brown coat made out of fur from something or another and had a sort of mask over his face. The man was gruff but didn't have a very good statue. The criminal was scrawny and had small hands. He probably needed the money to buy food and knew no other way of gaining money.

"Uh… we don't have any money, I promise, Yulya, empty out your bag and your pockets, give him anything he wants." Started Alexander. Boris and he emptied their pockets and bags letting the man take anything he wanted, not like they had anything of value anyways. Yulya was a bit more reluctant though. She emptied out her backpack slowly and was very clam during the ordeal.

"Little girl, hurry up, I would hate to have to hurt you," threatened the man. She finished quickly and he started to grab a parcel in her bag.

"Nooo!" she yelled as she tried to grab it back. "That's mine, go away you big bully!" she screamed.

"Yulya, stop, get back!" barked Alexander as he tried to pull her back. The man tripped and stumbled towards her and reflexively stabbed his hand out. His knife buried it's way into Yulya's leg and she howled out in pain. Blood spurted everywhere making quite a bloody mess on the pavement around them. Alexander froze in fear. Things around him seemed to slow down but he wasn't able to control himself, only to watch like a helpless cow as fellow cows were lead off to be slaughtered. The robber got his knife, ran away with her small bag, tripped on a rock and launched it accidentally into the air. He collided with the ground and slid a couple of feet, then got up and took off running as the item crashed into the ground, all in one big blur of motion. As Alexander and Boris grabbed a crying and screaming Yulya, trying to stop the bleeding of her leg and get her help, three crayons rolled out of the small black bag.

Chapter Seven
The hospital was a dark place that had large tiles on the floor and glaring lights from overhead. It smelled strange in it's own hospital like way. Alexander had spent several late hours awake waiting for the results. You had to be careful in hospitals and even more so here with the limited tools and such to work with. That, coupled with so many people injured (and so many people in general), lead to families that could wait an entire day just to learn that the doctor had just begun to work on a loved one who's life hung by a thread. It was the greatest torture developed, not purposefully (although sometimes Alexander begged to differ), invented by all of mankind. People have a tendency to deal better with things happening to them than to someone else.

He kept telling himself it would be alright, she would be ok, that she wasn't going to have to get her leg amputated or infected… or die. They were going to go into her room and see her nice doctor and she will be sitting there bored out of her mind and perfectly fine, and they would go home… and get on with their miserable lives. His car had just run into the brick wall that was reality. What did it matter if she got better? She would just live a horrible life full of misery and poverty. So why should he worry for her? Why? He knew the answer, he loved her. And she loved him. And, even if the chance was so slim it was almost non-existent, there was a chance they would have a better tomorrow.

His mother had come home from work early since they could not afford to have two parents away at any one time when they were supposed to be working. She worked in a factory that made ovens and refrigerators. She was the one whose job it was to screw in the little lights on the refrigerators and put in all the drawers. Now they had machines that did that in the United States and elsewhere but here in Russia they still did it the "good 'ld way", manual labor. That was a good thing though because refrigerators cost a lot because they cost a lot to make, that money had to go somewhere and it just happened to go to his mother. Besides, she didn't really hate her job. It bored her to death sometimes but people find that they can do anything it takes to get money to feed their children.

His father was a chef for a small restaurant downtown that was locally owned and somehow managed to be run by normal, decent people. Ivan could make quite a lot of food and had loved cooking ever since he was a kid. This made the job all that much easier. His boss was a really nice old gentleman that understood that he had children and they needed to eat. He treated all his employees the way they aught to be treated. In return, they actually put up with work and worked all that much harder. Plus, with a chance to tone his cooking skills, Alexander's father was able to make some delicious foods at home and knew what to get and where to get it so that they wouldn't have to pay quite as much.

He and his mother had been waiting on a small couch with several other families for a couple of hours when a nurse arrived and announced, "Olga Natasha?" Alexander's mother stood up, and looked like a mess. Tears had streamed down her cheek for quite some time, her eyes were bloodshot and red from the crying, her hair was all over the place, and she was exhausted. "Come with me please." As the nurse lead her out, Alexander jumped out and started to run to catch up. A few people looked at him as he left. One lady who had an appearance similar to his mothers looked up at him and gave him a quick smile that almost said, "I hope she is ok, you’re a nice boy and deserve a good life." He smiled back and then left the room and followed his mother and the nurse down the corridor. It seemed to take them two years to get to the room when it was more like five minutes. They reached the room which was really a bigger room divided into sub sections by a heavy tan curtain that hung from the ceiling. The nurse motioned with her hands for them to enter. They both took a deep breath and then entered.

Chapter Eight
Yulya lay sprawled on a small, portable "bed on wheels" that was covered with a rough white sheet. She was unconscious and had a bandage of some sort around her leg. A doctor said, rubbing his heat, on a small stool in the corner of the section. "Ahh! Hello there, you must be her mother. She has been quite brave through all of this." Said the doctor warmly, still rubbing his head from a headache he was no doubly having from working for so long. The mother burst into tears the moment she saw her daughter and starting sobbing. "My baby… my little angel…" she sobbed.

"There there, she will be ok." Replied the doctor as he comforted her and patted her on the back. "We were a bit worried since the wound was pretty deep and we didn't see her until and hour or so ago. We might have to do some more work depending on how it plays out. If worst comes to worst it will have to be amputated; at best she will walk out of her with a scar that she can tell her grandchildren about forty years from now. But I assure you, we are doing our best and we will keep a constant eye on her to make sure it doesn't get worse than it already is. Like I said, your daughter has been very brave through all of this, you should be very proud." Commented the doctor. "Now I have to go check on another patient, I'll come back later. Spend as long as you want here but try not to disturb her, she needs her rest. Try to go home, I know how hard that can be now, but try. It will do you worlds of good. She's not going anywhere and probably won't wake up for a couple of hours at least. I'll talk with you later." With that he walked out the door and was off to help another person, maybe another child like this one, maybe an adult, it didn't really matter. He had seen it all, and here, that was saying a lot.

Chapter Nine
How horrible it must be to be a doctor thought Alexander. To have to see such small, poor, sweet, wonderful children, hurt in such bad ways. The stress of working on so many people has got to be enormous. Not only that, you see things that weren't meant to happen to human beings. People trust you to fix up their loved ones and to make them all better, something which doesn't always happen. How horrible it must be to say to a family, "I'm sorry, I did the best I could but your child has just past away." The stress and depression must tire you out so much that you can't even think. Your hands just do what they are supposed to while your mind rests and you hope that you don't fall asleep. Alexander couldn't possibly do that, could imagine being faced with death and ill fortune every day, being trusted by hundreds of people to make things better, he couldn't deal with responsibilities like that. The choice wasn't always as easy as "make things better" or "let someone die", Mother Nature didn't always like things trying to escape death and sometimes decided people that could make it probably shouldn't for some reason or anything.

If there was a God, it must be a horrible being. If it was in charge of what lived and died then it was to blame for things dieing all the time and everything else wrong in their lives. "Oh, you're just being selfish," people might say, "that person has gone on to a better place and you should be happy." Well, if that was true, then wasn't God also selfish? Would he rather have them all for itself instead of letting them effect the people around them and be with the people that really loved them? Wouldn't that be the unselfish thing for God to do? And if God was just the creator and didn't control who lived and who didn't, then why did he create anything in the first place? Just so they could have miserable lives and then die and be no more? What was the point in that? Was it some cruel demented experiment or something?

"Come mother, you heard the doctor," said Alexander after an hour of being with his sister, all alone his mother and him. "We should go home and get some rest. You really are a mess, take a look at yourself in the mirror." She seemed to wake up from a trance like state.

"Well…" she started.

"Mother, you heard him, they will keep watch on Yulya and make she nothing wrong happens. Besides, she won't even be awake for another hour or two. Come, you really should go home." His mother lost her will to argue with him or even speak. She seemed to realize just how tired and drained she was from waiting. Wasn't that interesting, sitting around and waiting could take so much out of a person. Alexander lead his mother out of the room and somehow managed to lead her back to their apartment which was a fifteen minute walk home, he didn't quite feel up to waiting for a trashy overcrowded bus, the perfect example of their lives and nation as a whole.