My eyes lit up with hungry anticipation as Rade’s gray peaks faded in and out of the eternal smog that hung over the city. From the mile or so left to run, it still looked like a storm cloud – in pollution and demeanor.

And just to think: I would be the sun to pierce through that cloud, to deliver that hell-hole from its putrid existence. Because the Elders had caused it all…the Elders had… . They had ruined our buildings, our economy, our people. They had denied me a family. To rule in a “good” name.

How exhilarating it would be to end their lives.

But now, my lungs were still pumping oxygen through my system. My legs were still working to get me through the city entrance. And best of all, I had a plan. The perfect plan.

And I was only a mile away from it…