I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Vladimir Korzhakov but you can just call me Vlad. I was born in 1993 in Novgorod, Russia and moved to the United States in 1997 at age 4.
My parents, bless their souls, died in a plane crash in 2004 when returning to Russia for a visit. After my parents' deaths I was moved to an orphanage in Nashville, Tennessee.
For the remainder of my life as a minor I went to some of the worst schools in Nashville. The high school I attended was the worst by far. Constant violence as well as poor funding gave me little opportunity to receive a proper education.
I was never adopted so I stayed at the orphanage until I graduated high school. Despite being in an orphan I was able to land myself in the local community college. I studied in civil engineering as well as a bit of mechanical engineering on the side and graduated in 2 years with an associate's degree.
I landed a job in a small engineering firm in Denver, Colorado last year. I like Colorado because the cold weather reminds me of my home country, Russia. My Russian family members are either dead from the harsh conditions in the Soviet era or are too far away to care about me so I have no real family to fall back on.
For the last year, I've worked that mindless job for 9 months now and I'm barely squeaking by. I have a run down apartment in the east side of Denver and I usually pass my time by watching crappy 21st century reality TV. I've had a hard life from the very start and I don't see it getting any easier.
That's my story, not much to it. Until today...
*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*BEEP*
"Ugh is it time again?" I say as I slap the dismiss button on my alarm clock and crawl out of bed.
Today is Monday, the worst day of the week by far. I slowly walk my way over to my dresser and dress in a simple button-up shirt and jeans. It may be simple, but it's appropriate for my less-than-formal job. I make my way over to the kitchen where I grab the box of Cheerio's and pour myself a bowl. I sit down on the couch and turn on the TV to watch the news.
The weather report was on and the lady was droning on like usual. "Great, thunderstorms all afternoon," I say as I chomp down the remainder of my cereal.
Cheerios are bland as fuck but they're all I can afford on my budget. I look up at the clock and realize it's time to head to work. "Fuck," I exclaim as I throw my cereal bowl in the sink and grab my rain jacket for the return trip home. My work is only a couple blocks down the street from my house so I normally walk there and back.
I take the elevator down to the ground floor and rush out the door much to the dismay of the receptionist Susan. "Watch where your going Vlad for god's sake!" she yelled after me. I slowed my pace down to a fast walk. In just 10 minutes I arrived at my workplace.
"Campbell and Sons' Engineering" is a small business that mainly focuses on small residential projects. I happened to land a job there because my college professor knew the owner and recommended me. I was honored at the time, but then I saw how little my salary was.
Seriously, for an engineer, I really am working on the lowest possible salary. I work there along with Jonathon Campbell, my boss, his son Terence, and my other two co-workers Arnold ("Al") Crelin and Fredrick ("Freddy") Johnson.
"Mornin' Vlad!" Al calls out to me.
"Morning," I grumble back.
"Boss man has us working on those plans for that old rich lady in Cherry Creek today," Al says looking almost as bored as me.
"Well we better get going then eh?" I say back.
The work day is a monotonous as one could expect. Just lots of measuring, math, and statistics. And all we get for a break is our 10 minute lunch break. Oh how I wish I could of landed a better job. Al and I managed to finish the plans by closing time much to the pleasure of Mr. Campbell.
"Good work boys! We're already ahead of schedule with that project! Now get out of here! You deserve a good night's rest after all that work!"
Al and I walk outside to a torrential thunderstorm. I was expecting storms but this is just ridiculous. "See ya tomorrow Al!" I shout against the wind.
"See ya!" he shouts back before walking towards his car. I begin my walk home in one of the worst storms I've ever seen. Luckily I brought my rain coat which is keeping me mostly dry. I get about halfway before the storm begins to get even worse. Instead of making the smart decision to step in a nearby shop to wait out the worst part of the storm I foolishly press onward.
The wind is really howling now and I can barely keep my footing on the rain soaked concrete. Knowing my luck with the weather my jacket is probably going to blow off in another second or two. Finally I decide that the storm is getting the best of me and I better step inside somewhere.
I spot a small coffee shop just across the street from me and decide that would be as good of a place as any. Just as I'm about to cross the street I feel my hair stand on end. Now I knew what this meant due to the fact that I read a pamphlet about lightning safety in order to pass my engineering exam.
Although I knew what was about to happen I didn't have time to react. Time slowed down as I could only watch as my world turned white and the loudest crack of thunder I've ever heard racked my skull. Then everything went black. Blackness for as far as the eye could see.
And for the second time in my life, I felt truly alone...