Prologue
Nothing can withstand the power of the human will if it is willing to stake its very existence to the extent of its purpose.
− Benjamin Disraeli
Darkness. Darkness followed by a distant sound in the background, which echoed evenly at regular intervals. At the beginning he didn’t quite know what to make of the strange pulsating sound, probably because he himself didn’t know where he is, or for how long he had been there. He made a small effort and tried to slowly open his eyes. Suddenly, he was engulfed in a mixture of dust and bright light. At that moment he felt a sharp pain throughout his body – a response of his nervous system, which had just started working with full steam. The irritating sound was still echoing, but it was much closer, and now he could recognize that the regular intervals were actually sounds coming from ambulance siren. He tried to scan his immediate surroundings. He was in the inside of a grey SUV, or at least in what was left of it. One of the semi-crushed doors in the back, let in a beam of light from the outside that completely surrounded him. With every single ounce of willpower left, he tried to turn his body on the other side. The response instantly arrived in his brain and he loudly gasped. At the same moment, he saw Her. She was lying down motionless in front of him, with her back leaning against the wall. A single stream of blood slowly descended down the right side of her forehead. When he noticed the blood, apart from the strong physical pain, he felt another one, an inner turmoil, as if someone has just punctured a hole inside his heart. Slowly, he started remembering the events that preceeded this situation. All of a sudden, he started moving towards her, not even registering the blistering pain he felt throughout his entire body. While he was crawling with tears in his eyes, the only thing on his mind was the hope that it was not too late, that there was still time. Finally, he somehow managed to crawl near her. He raised his head, trying to get a closer look at her face. Suddenly he felt a strong pain in his temples. Overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the pain, he slowly dropped his head and passed out on her knees. The ambulance siren echoing on the outside has just stopped, while faraway in the background, several loud thunders from the upcoming storm could be heard, together with the first couple of raindrops, which had already fallen upon the Cretan soil.
