novi grad, sokovia

2015

The spring air was slightly cool enough to make Kalina shiver, but the rising sun felt relieving on her skin, as she sat at a cafe table outside one of the old, main squares in Novi Grad. The buildings surrounding her still appeared worn down and bruised, obviously affected by the war-torn history of the region. Businesses has attempted to clean their exteriors and present a more modern touch, but broken rubble and old grey brick still painted a picture of old world Soviet influence. She patiently waited for Anastasia to arrive, as she wrote notes in her event calendar and questioned her schedule for the upcoming week.

Snow lightly painted the ground, some not melted from the winter. May in Sokovia was technically considered a spring month, but to Kalina it felt winter enough today. She lightly pulled her jacket up over her shoulders more, to cut any breeze that may hinder the warmth of the morning sun. Light cloud cover lingered behind the mountains enveloping the city, and it was dissipating as the sun began to crest the peaks.

Sipping on a latte that had obviously been brewed with some mineral water, over Sokovia's second-world, contaminated tap, she sighed and looked out at the street in front of her. Cars were driving in true Novi Grad fashion, aggressive and with purpose. Everyone had a place to be, and they were never where they intended on time.

Kalina missed it still, Sokovia was truly home, and no matter where she lived, she could never replace the country that her roots were buried deep in. The country had begun to tear itself apart, in protest and riot, and Kalina no longer felt the sense of warmth and hospitality from the homeland. The people were hurt, and she felt their pain. Military invasions, political protests, and air raids had impacted the country for nearly two decades, and while it was easy to hide behind rose colored glasses, Kalina had decided to no longer shield herself from the community.

Returning to Novi Grad for a short visit, she intended to lay a vision before Anastasia, of helping the citizens in any way she could. Anastasia's husband, Mikael, was now a member of the Office of the Sokovian President, and Kalina wanted to design her vision informally before bringing it to the hands of officials.

It was a lot, but her heart broke for her brothers and sisters, and having left to Paris to start a life of her own, she felt a moral obligation tugging at her chest to support the home she loved so dearly. Kalina's primary focus was to establish a fund to monetarily assist families whose personal businesses had either gone under due to the crash of the Sokovian Dollar, or had been destroyed in the air raids of years prior, and could not manage to get to their feet again.

She was a businesswoman, and this was her specialty. If she could convince private Sokovian stakeholders to contribute, for the good of the country, it would not cost the government a dime. Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes. The last organization she wanted to deal with was the Sokovian government. Feeling like they had already failed the citizens, Kalina harbored a small bit of resentment toward the officials sworn to protect them. She was blessed, but knew many families who were not so fortunate.

Shuffling a few documents in a folder, she glanced to her phone screen, which did not populate any new notifications. Anastasia must be running late, much like the other Sokovians on the road. She chuckled to herself and sipped the latte once more, watching the traffic become more frustrated in the morning rush.

A group of teens at a nearby table laughed vibrantly, likely catching morning coffee together before heading to the university downtown. Kalina missed the days she had no responsibility and sat at the local cafes drinking and laughing about a term paper or a group project. When she was younger, she felt so invincible and free, like nothing mattered other than waking up in the morning and completing her school work. She silently envied the group as she sat alone at her own table.

Now, life had grown busy, and she constantly sought to add new items to her list of to-dos, to keep herself occupied and her mind from wandering. Maybe I'm simply a glutton for punishment, she thought to herself, looking at the event calendar before her.

Cars began to honk at each other, traffic seeming to slow down to a halt in the road. A man rolled his window down and yelled an angry Sokovian swear at the driver in front of him. The laughter from the teens halted abruptly, and was drowned out by the sudden commotion in the street, as drivers began to exit their cars in a dazed manner. Kalina looked at the table of teens, who were suddenly no longer seated there, their cups still steaming with hot liquid in the cool morning air.

Patrons in the cafe peered through windows, before starting to exit the building slowly. Kalina rose to her feet, looking at the crowd begin to form in the road. People had begun to walk the opposite way down the streets that their cars were previously driving.

"Is everything alright?" Kalina stopped a woman nearby who had stepped out of the cafe.

"I'm not sure. Something is just telling me to leave." The woman's eyes fixated on the crowd, not making eye contact with Kalina. She frowned and placed a hand on her chest. "You need to go."

Letting the woman step away, her heart began to race. The crowd grew larger and moved more quickly away from the center of the city. Kalina swept up her books and papers and placed them in the oversized tote hanging off her chair. As soon as she grabbed her phone off the table, the urge to run overwhelmed her body. Not being able to place where the anxiety had suddenly spurned from, she moved with haste to the crowd of Sokovians.

No sooner than she joined her people, a thunderous sound crashed through the sky above the buildings, as if a tiny jet plane had rushed overhead. Glancing upward, she could only catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a blur of red and gold in the sky. It looked to be heading toward the center of their city, to a church that had stood proud in Novi Grad for as long as she could remember.

Kalina was pushed and bumped by others in the crowd, as she tried to dial Anastasia. The phone rang once before immediately going to voicemail.

"Anastasia, I don't know what is going on in downtown, but I'm leaving the cafe. I'll meet with you as soon as I can get out of the city, but please stay away." She looked around at the crowd she had blended into, and cut off the call.

A man in a uniform wearing a brightly colored circle on his back was waving to the crowd, shouting and prompting the citizens to leave the city immediately. The sun was beginning to rise to higher in the sky, and the reflection off his backpack blinded Kalina. Her confusion turned to realization, as the backpack appeared more as a shield, and she recognized the man as someone who they called Captain America.

Captain America. The Americans. The Avengers. They must be in Novi Grad, but why? Kalina's racing heart skipped a few beats as she was shoved by a man and his adolescent daughter running down the street. A young woman with dark brown hair was yelling to passers by in fluent Sokovian, guiding people down the streets in obvious haste. Kalina, desperate and confused, reached out to her.

"What do you know...?" Her Sokovian was shaky and panicked, as she lightly grabbed the woman's upper arm, the material of her red jacket rubbed in Kalina's hands, sticking like a poorly made faux leather. The woman made eye contact with her, visibly distressed and exhausted. Placing her own hand over Kalina's, she comforted her with urgency. The crowd seemed to slow down around them for a brief moment in time, and the gesture became intimate.

"Please... trust me... Go." The voice of the woman was soothing, genuine concern expressed in her eyes. Kalina nodded without hesitation, and squeezed the other brunette's hand before departing the area. Whatever the woman knew that they could not see, her selfless compassion for the Sokovians around her reminded Kalina of her admiration for her country.

Small planes began soaring in the skies overhead, only, they were not planes, they were people. Bodies made of some sort of metal were both in the sky and rising from the ground. The people's screams resounded in Kalina's ears as she picked up her feet and began to run down the street, away from the robot-like beings. She clutched her tote at her side, damning herself for wearing heels.

Whatever was occurring before their eyes, they would surely come out stronger for, Kalina reassured herself as she ran.

This was Sokovia. This was her home.

-----

the outskirts of novi grad

"Don't worry, they are fighting in the city. We're miles from harm." Helmut looked into Heike's eyes, attempting to reassure her, wiping a tear from her cheek as she held their son, Carl, in her arms. At nearly two and half years old, the only thing the toddler cared about in this moment was seeing Iron Man fly by their vehicle on the way to the Zemo estate from the inner city. Helmut had smiled peacefully watching his son point and giggle at the sky, unaware of the looming danger in Novi Grad.

Heike stood in the drive of the estate as Heinrich Zemo stepped out to rush them inside. Helmut leaned in to kiss his wife's forehead with marked hesitation, before nodding toward his father. "It will be alright, stay here. Stay safe. I will be back for you as soon as the dust settles."

Nearing the end of Helmut's EKO Scorpion commitment, his team was abruptly called to Novi Grad on this morning to aide in the clearing on the city. His unit had received intelligence on the hostile threats in the area, and was enroute to retrieve their commander, Colonel Zemo, in order to brief him on the way. They would arrive to the estate at any minute, and Helmut wanted to ensure his family was safe before rushing away to whatever faced their team at the capital.

He smiled at Carl, who clutched a small toy while in his mother's arms. Sounds of the city echoed in the countryside as the mountains sang an eerie tune, foreshadowing the events that would occur. "You be a strong boy, my little sun. It will all be over soon."

Helmut leaned in to kiss his sons forehead, as the young boy giggled unaware of the situation. He flew a bright colored airplane in his tiny hands, showing it to Heike, whose eyes were now filled with tears. The man looked to his father and nodded once more, indicating it was time to move inside as the low rumble of trucks crested the hills near the estate.

"Father will be here, I will ensure I clear the city and find your family." Helmut pressed Heike's shoulder toward his father, prompting them to retreat. He could see the dark, olive green trucks shadow the horizon. Their cargo areas covered by tied down tarps, in typical military fashion, to transport the teams into the city. He would change into uniform and don his weapon as he was briefed.

"Helmut, I love you. Be safe." Heike turned into the arms of Heinrich, who led the woman and her son into the estate. Wait staff surrounded them, ensuring their belongings had been retrieved from the chauffeur vehicle and that they were safely secured in the home.

Without acknowledging Heike's affection, Helmut stoically turned to receive three large vehicles as they pulled up to the drive. A few men stepped out of the back of the lead truck to let down a short ladder that would allow him to hoist himself into the cargo area. As he stepped into the back, he barked for his uniform. The men on the ground climbed back into the rusted truck bed and clicked the tailgate closed to keep the teammates inside. The truck engine's low rumble angrily growled at the men, as it started to accelerate off of the property.

Helmut threw off his suit jacket and undid his tie. The estate grew smaller in the distance as the truck sped down the road hastily toward the city. As he unbuttoned his undershirt and replaced it with his uniform top, he looked at the man seated directly across from him. "What are we expecting?"

As the trucks roared into the city, the chaos had already increased. Sokovians were running down the street screaming and crying. Parents were yelling to their children to hurry up as they rushed for cover. Robotic men resembling the Iron Man flew through the air, terrorizing the citizens and destroying property.

Paper, building scraps, and dust and debris swirled in the mid morning sky, as rubble settled from the fallout of explosions heard nearby. Helmut ushered his men out of the trucks, and directed them down different paths, yelling over the screams and noise of the iron mens' attacks. The citizens around them shoved each other out of the way, and order was no longer an option.

He held his rifle close to his body and took a group of men with him, simply trying to stave off the assailants and protect the Sokovians around him from their destruction. Racing through the crowds, he knew their ultimate mission was to protect the people and destroy the enemy. The Avengers had arrived in the city, and were already fighting off the powerful flying men.

Helmut fired off his gun, yelling commands to the men around him, pushing Sokovians away from harm, and sweating in the heat of adrenaline. The energy in the city was distressful and hurried, as more iron men appeared on the horizons. The fight would never end like this.

A large green man barreled down the road in a fit of rage, throwing the metal beings into the ground as he moved. The colonel pushed a woman and her child out of the way of the over sized man's path. Helmut watched as the green man demolished a building as he jumped to attack more of the android beings.

In the distance, gunfire from weaponry that was attached to one of the robots rang against the walls of the structures. It did not sound like bullets, but a collection of energy condensed and fired, like a laser of destruction. The sweat dripped down his face as he continued to fire his gun in retort to the power of their machinery.

One of the EKO Scorpion team mates cried out in agony, as he was hit with a powerful blast. Helmut turned to yell at his other men to recover the injured, when suddenly the ground beneath him began to quake. He looked at his feet, now able to see the tremors, as they grew more aggressive. Looking up, unsure of what was occurring, it appeared that blocks away the earth began to rise.

Sokovians ran toward him, still evacuating the area, as he stood in sudden awe and shock. Without a doubt that it appeared a portion of the city was rising into the sky, he immediately changed his priority, and started ushering citizens away from the breaking ground. The faces blurred before him, as he tried to drown out the chaos of the men flying overhead to get his people to safety. The sounds began to muffle as the earth on front of them was torn apart.

Heart racing out of his skin, Helmut shouted toward people that were falling behind, and attempted to help an elderly family down the street with haste. He called to his men in the area to aide the hurt and disabled out of the road. Being shoved by a man who was running away, Helmut turned his attention back to the rising city, seeing Iron Man fly near the levitating chunk of earth. Screams from above of citizens still stuck on the rock rang down to the city below.

The chaos on the street intensified as other Sokovians realized what was happening behind them, watching Novi Grad rise into the sky. The Avengers were in full battle in the air, and Helmut felt helpless on the ground, small and insignificant to do anything. Still, he was determined to protect his home, and ushered a man around the corner of the street. Children were crying and a young boy ran down the street alone, a woman screaming for him nearby to hurry.

Helmut turned back toward the city center, but was rushed into by a woman in distress, her bare feet bleeding and scraped from running in the rubble. He grabbed her shoulders, stabilizing her, as she pushed away, head down looking toward the next street corner.

"I'm sorry-" she choked anxiously and rushed out of his grasp, continuing to race away from the city flying above them, her brunette hair disheveled and blowing behind her as she ran. He let her go and returned to directing others to safety. The lingering smell of the woman, lilac and vanilla bean, hung in the air.

As Sokovians around him ran for safety, Helmut knew that all he could do now was protect the home he loved from the destruction that lie ahead.

-----

Kalina's heels cut sharply into her ankles as she ran the street with the crowd of Sokovians. The robotic men threatened to destroy anyone that got in their way, seeking only to demolish their surroundings and cause mass panic. The screams of the people surrounded her, as children became separated from their parents, and people trampled over each other. Pushing and shoving had become acceptable in this situation, and it was every man and woman for themselves.

She cried in fear, trying desperately to see through her tears. The pain in her feet was unbearable, and she slowed down, dodging other runners, to defeatedly remove her shoes. She would run barefoot if she had to, but she would make it out of this city. The ground began to shutter beneath her feet, and she felt the rubble on her toes begin to shake. Turning around, she watched as the city behind her began to take flight into the sky. She watched as cars began to sink into the ground only a block away from her, and screeches of the Sokovians falling into the abyss pierced her soul.

Wasting no time, she threw her shoes to the ground and ran away from the crumbling earth. She was terrified to look behind her, her face becoming streaked in tears as she sprinted as fast as she could. She was not the most athletic woman, and struggled often to catch her breath, but she maintained her health well enough to stay agile in