I am going to be doing some short stories from time to time about the lives of my characters from Damaged and 2448 before the main events, hope you enjoyed.

'What are you doing there? We have to go. They'll come back.'

Unable to speak, Svetlana looked at her brother Milos. She sat in the leaves, stared blankly at him.

'Svetlana? Come on. They're coming back.' He held out his hand and took hold of the shivering girl's arm. Her dress was ripped. She was bleeding. He put an arm around her and started half running, half walking to the car, an ancient Yugo their dad had bought from his cousin. The sound of bombs, so devastatingly loud was now receding. For now. He opened the door of the battered vehicle and pushed her inside.

His dad sat in the back seat, not acknowledging him, staring straight ahead. At first the ancient vehicle wouldn't start. With tears in his eyes he got out to push. He looked over his shoulder to see if they were coming. The shooting was now in the distance. A constant roar.

'Svetlana, help me get the old banger going,' he said. The little girl crawled out of the door, in obvious agony. She went beside him to push the car. Their dad followed but Milos could already tell he was not really there. Seeing his sister like this filled him with sadness and rage.

Eventually the wheels began to roll. The pair got back inside. As the vehicle crawled along the muddy pathway they began to see other people, other families who had suffered the same fate.

'3 fingers, sis. Come on.' Milos felt a stab of pain as she obediently held them up, not really understanding. Not really. Their old lives were gone. Forever. His mother would have shouted at him, would have told him to stop this craziness, they were Yugoslavs first and Serbs second. But she was no longer there to tell him that. He bit his lip to stop the tears as they drove into the night.

'Where are we going?' Svetlana's thin voice came from the broken seat next to him. It was the first time she had spoken since he found her.

'I don't know,' he gulped as he turned a corner. 'I don't know!'

The car was so empty. Usually it was an effort trying to get everyone inside. It was the first time he had driven it past the village; his dad never let him usually, he was too young. It wasn't really up to him now.

Milos gripped the steering wheel as the car crunched over a rock. Nobody spoke. He half expected to see his other sister behind him. Only half expected.

His dad's rifle was at his feet. It didn't work anyway. He didn't dare to look at the ruins behind him.

'I'm sorry, sis.' Svetlana stared out of the window, not speaking, not moving. He wished she would say something. The sounds of war echoed outside. He glanced behind him, his dad was looking at his hands, completely unresponsive. Nobody said a word.