Falling on my knees, It took me a second to realise I had just been shot in the back.

'Di...I real..ly just get shot, is t..is the..end?'

My thoughts quickly began to slur as my consciousness started to fade.

A sudden scream halted my departure from the land of the living. Weakly looking up at the source, I saw Dawn with tears running down her face.

"I found her!!" shouted a voice behind me, followed by the sound of running feet in our direction.

I knew I couldn't let them get to her; who knew what those freaks would do to a child.

Using all my willpower, I forced myself up and grabbed her quickly.

I could see a small park gate at the end of the alley and knew that if we could get to it, we might be able to lose our pursuers.

"It's going to be ok, kid; we will both be ok." I comforted Dawn with gritted teeth as I carried her in a limping sprint towards our only possible hope.

I attempted to ignore the blood loss and bullets peppering my surroundings. However, I was immediately relieved when the shooting stopped.

"Stop firing you incompetent fools; you might harm the child!!" screamed a man I recognised as Samuel. "As it seems I can't trust you, imbeciles, I will deal with them myself."

A disturbing chant quickly followed his reprimand. " VI DEAE AURORAE MANDO TIBI CADERE."

We had almost reached the gate when I felt my legs suddenly buckle and my body slam onto the floor.

'Why now? Why did my body have to fail me now.'

Footsteps slowly made their way towards us as I lay bleeding on the cold ground with Dawn in my arms.

I looked up and saw an impeccably dressed man in his late forties placing a staff against the alley wall. He arrogantly dusted his shoulders before looking down at Dawn and me with eyes devoid of warmth.

"I do apologise for this unseemly business, young man, but nothing can stand in our way, not even pesky morals. My brother-in-law once stated that "The universe is a machine for the making of Gods". And unfortunately for you, you went against the universe tonight." The man, whose voice I recognised as Samuel's, said in a pitying tone.

"He..nri...Bergso..n?" I managed to whisper out with confusion.

'Wasn't he a philosopher from the 19th century? Is this man really over 100 years old?'

"Ahh, a cultured man, I see your pitiful appearance hides a sharp mind. Why yes, indeed, that was his name. My brother-in-law would've been pleased to see his words live. Though, there is some irony in that statement as you lay dying before me" Samuel chuckled in a friendly manner as if we were having tea. "How rude of me not to introduce myself, I am Samuel Mathers of the Golden Dawn, and you have something of mine."

He looked towards the distraught Dawn as she hid further in the crook of my arm.

"As much as I am enjoying this conversation, I am running out of time, and you serve no purpose. Come now, little Dawn, time to fulfil what you were created for." Samuel commanded as one hand gestured her over, and the other took out a pistol and aimed it at my head.

'It seems my life will once more change for the worse in a side alley, this time permanently.'

As I embraced my approaching death, I began to think of the life I once had. How I could've been a part of my favourite show, the boys, and should never have pushed away those who cared for me.

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'If another life exists after this one, I will value those around me and maybe I could become an actor again in a significant role like soldier boy.'

Just as Samuel was about to pull the trigger, a small ray of light streamed down from the sky. The sun had risen, and the first light of dawn fell upon my dying body, the child and the gem covered in my blood.

The gem seemed to absorb the ray, my blood and the tears that fell down Dawn's face. It began to pulsate before rising above us and exploding into a blinding shower of golden light. I could no longer feel or see anything but the light.

"You think you can take what's mine." Samuel smugly yelled before proceeding to chant towards the gem. "MEUS ES TU IN NOMINE DEAE AURORAE!!"

The light dimmed for a second before exploding in strength as if offended that any being would try to stop its will. It grew brighter and brighter, causing me unimaginable pain. I screamed inside my head, having never experienced anything so intense and mind-numbing.

"Nooooooooo!!! That was meant for me!!" A voice distantly wailed in confused anger alongside repeated gunshots. "I will find you wherever you go!!"

The pain retreated, and a comforting warmth took its place. My sense of self began to dissipate until all that was left was the light.

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Suddenly, I felt myself settle into my body, and my identity slowly return. The light was gone. However, my relief did not last, as the previous horror was now replaced with overwhelming fatigue, a constant coldness and the tightness of restraints holding me up.

Trying to string together thoughts proved immensely difficult as an odd-tasting gas constantly filled my lungs through a mask. Pushing past the gas's attempt to force me to sleep, I began to try and understand my situation.

'What the fuck is going on? Didn't I die? Why am I in restraints? Am I in a hospital? What was that light?'

Starting to panic, I strained to open my eyes or move. However, I failed even to twitch, and I quickly gave up.

Focusing on the one sense that truly remained, I was surprised at how much information I could hear.

The first thing I heard was people possibly speaking Russian, followed by machinery, vehicles and numerous other everyday noises.

'How am I doing this?'

The sounds began to overwhelm me as my brain tried to process more and more information. Severe pain began to spread throughout my mind, and I internally screamed.

'What's happening to me!!!'

I could no longer hold onto my consciousness and didn't even want to try with the pain I was experiencing.

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I don't know how long I slept before my mind gradually awoke. Still feeling immensely weak and exhausted, my sense of hearing had surprisingly become controlled during my time unconscious. I could hear that the activity in my surroundings had decreased significantly. With my newfound control, I utilised the sounds in my vicinity to create a mental image of where I was.

I was able to ascertain that I had been moved into some form of metallic chamber within a weirdly familiar lab.

'Did that Samuel guy take me here to do weird cult st...?'

My thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sounds of breathing inside an additional chamber towards my right. Wherever I am, I am not alone.

As I previously could not control my sense of hearing, I didn't notice the weak breathing of a child-sized person inside a second chamber. I could already feel my will to stay awake leaving me; however, I needed to know if it was who I thought it was.

"Da..wn?" I brokenly whispered

I heard no response to my query and had unfortunately used the last of my strength to whisper her name.

My consciousness once again began to fade.

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I flickered in and out of awareness too many times to count. It could have been days, or it could have been years. In a way, it was a blessing that I couldn't stay awake to endure this torture of isolation.

Each time I awoke, I managed to hold on a little longer, but not once did the person I assumed to be Dawn respond.

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An abrupt explosion followed by the sound of gunfire and blaring alarms pulled me away from my most recent journey within the realm of drug-induced sleep.

'What the hell does a dream about being a kid getting grilled by an old man for flunking out of boarding school even mean.'

Very quickly, I could feel the eerily realistic dream I had experienced slipping from my memory with every passing second. After a minute, I was left with only the knowledge I had once more dreamt of something that felt important.

"BOOM!! BANG!! BANG!!"

'Huh, it seems the people fighting the Russians are doing an alright job.'

I didn't even bother trying to "see" what was happening, as I had no doubt that I would be back asleep soon. The number of times I had awoken to false hope at escape was too numerous to imagine. It's weirdly often that these Russians have internal battles over the compound. Either way, I have never been released, no matter who wins. I have long given up on leaving this dreadful prison any time soon. Not until I could deal with the annoying gas that made me so weak.

However, my nonchalance disappeared very quickly when the front of the chamber was ripped away, damaging some of the tubings that supplied the gas I had slowly been building a tolerance to.

With the gas no longer being pumped into my system, my eyes opened wide with a gasp, and immense strength flowed back into my body. For the first time in a long time, I looked at my surroundings with my eyes and not my ears. It took a few seconds for my eyesight to adjust, and I began to see a mesmerising mist dancing around me.

As the mist cleared, I noticed a group of familiar-looking men staring at me.

I locked eyes with the closest one, who oddly looked a lot like Karl Urban.

"Soldier Boy." the Karl doppelgänger whispered in a butchered cockney accent.

Those words triggered a cruel cascade of pain, unlike anything I had ever experienced. It wasn't the agony coursing through my mind that made it so cruel, but how it changed who I was forever.