{"id":10242,"date":"2025-12-07T17:50:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T17:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=10242"},"modified":"2025-12-07T17:57:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T17:57:35","slug":"excerpt-kidnapped-from-ukraine-book-2-standoff","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/excerpt-kidnapped-from-ukraine-book-2-standoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Excerpt: Kidnapped from Ukraine, book 2: STANDOFF"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the defenders of Azovstal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CHAPTER ONE <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Shatters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mariupol, Thursday, February 24, 2022 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bed moved. I squinched my eyes shut and flipped to\u00a0my side.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smack<\/em>. Something hit my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was Dariia doing one of her silly tricks again?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I reached over to push her away, but her side of the bed was\u00a0empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My hand landed on something hard. I opened one eye. A\u00a0hunk of plaster? I looked up. A jagged brown spot showed\u00a0through the white ceiling right above my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not a dream and not my twin sister\u2019s teasing. The whole bed\u00a0room shook this time, and speckles of plaster salted down on me.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What was happening?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tumbled out of bed and slipped my feet into my pink bunny\u00a0slippers, then whipped out to the living room.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dariia was up and dressed, sitting at the table across from\u00a0Dad, who was in his pajama bottoms, sipping coffee. They both\u00a0looked tense.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just before I\u2019d gone to bed last night, I had carefully sorted\u00a0out all the components of the complicated bracelet I was making for my dance teacher as a gift for her name day. It was\u00a0going to have dangling teardrop-shaped ornaments made from Azovstal metal. Dad worked at the Azovstal steel plant,\u00a0and he collected scraps for me. I had already crafted the pieces\u00a0into shape and lacquered them with one layer of fire-engine red nail polish and had set them on the tablecloth so they\u00a0would dry evenly overnight. This morning before school, I\u00a0was going to apply the second layer of polish so they\u2019d be dry enough to assemble into the bracelet in time for tonight\u2019s\u00a0dance class. Except all the red teardrops were now shoved to\u00a0the side of the table in a jumble. Normally, I would have told\u00a0Dad and Dariia how I felt about them messing around with\u00a0my stuff, but normal days didn\u2019t start with ceiling chunks falling onto me.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I plopped myself at the table and waited to find out what was\u00a0going on.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mom came in from the bedroom dressed in her work clothes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her face was tight with worry. \u201cThe Russians are attacking the whole country,\u201d she said, holding up her phone to show the news story. \u201cWill it even be safe here in the apartment?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart nearly stopped beating. The Russians were\u00a0attacking? Was that even possible? They had barked about it for\u00a0so long that I never dreamed they\u2019d actually bite.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s best to stay put,\u201d said Dad. \u201cThey\u2019ll be going after the\u00a0airports and the armed forces. It wouldn\u2019t make sense for them to waste resources going after twelve-year-old kids like\u00a0Dariia and Rada, or civilians like you, but stay out of the\u00a0cross fire.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dad\u2019s statement filled me with terror. Stay out of the cross\u00a0fire? <\/em>Did he think they were going to be on the streets with guns?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need food, then,\u201d said Mom. \u201cThere\u2019s not much here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dad got that annoyed look on his face. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t you go\u00a0yesterday?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mom\u2019s eyes flashed. \u201cYou could have gone too, you know. I\u00a0was putting together emergency packs for each of us in case the\u00a0 war started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pointed toward the door. Four knapsacks, all\u00a0lined up neatly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not safe to go to the grocery store,\u201d said Dad.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe can just go to Tkachuks\u2019,\u201d said my sister.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mrs. Tkachuk ran a shopping mart downstairs. Even though\u00a0it wasn\u2019t very big, we did a lot of our shopping there because it\u00a0 was so handy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mom punched the number into her phone, talked briefly, then\u00a0hung up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re open right now,\u201d she said. \u201cBut Mrs. Tkachuk\u00a0said to hurry because she wants to get home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come with you,\u201d said Dariia. \u201cTo help carry stuff up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There wasn\u2019t an elevator in our building, so everything\u00a0had to be lugged up the stairs. I looked down guiltily at my\u00a0own slippers and nightgown. If I had gotten dressed, I would\u00a0have been able to help Mom, but Dariia was dressed and\u00a0ready to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth girls should stay up here,\u201d said Dad. \u201cI\u2019ll go down\u00a0with you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was sitting there in just pajama bottoms and slippers. He\u00a0was no more prepared than I was. It didn\u2019t surprise me when\u00a0Mom shook her head at Dad.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not even dressed, Ivan. I need to hurry. Dariia is\u00a0dressed. She can come with me instead.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dad reached across the table and squeezed my hand. \u201cI think\u00a0your mom would be happier if we were both dressed by the time\u00a0 they get back from the store.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked down at my nightgown and slippers. He was right.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who knew what today would bring? We had to be prepared for anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ankle-length vintage dress of burgundy crushed-velvet\u00a0edged with pink piping that I\u2019d laid out for wearing today now\u00a0seemed wildly inappropriate. Much as I hated Dariia\u2019s fashion\u00a0sense, I had to admit that my sister\u2019s leggings and hoodies\u00a0seemed more practical if there really was a war going on.\u00a0Normally, I wouldn\u2019t dare touch her stuff\u2014not just because it\u00a0was often sweaty and gross but also because she had forbidden me to touch it. She thought I\u2019d wreck it\u2014which was just\u00a0weird.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I put on my own underwear and T\u2011shirt, then went to Dariia\u2019s\u00a0side of the bed. I kept my clothing neatly sorted in a box under\u00a0the bed, but my sister\u2019s things were strewn all over the floor,\u00a0dirty and clean mixed together. I ended up having to sniff three\u00a0hoodies before I found a reasonably clean one that happened to\u00a0be dark green\u2014not my sister\u2019s favorite color. After that, I pulled\u00a0on a pair of bright yellow sweatpants that I had never seen her\u00a0wear. I figured that even if she got mad at me for wearing\u00a0her things, she couldn\u2019t accuse me of ruining her favorite stuff.\u00a0Once I was dressed, I twisted my braid into a high knot and\u00a0stuffed my phone into a pocket. I stepped back into my slippers\u00a0and went out to the living room.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dad was dressed. He was sitting at the table finishing up a\u00a0call. He set the phone down and said, \u201cThat was Ostap. He says\u00a0all of us can shelter at Azovstal until this is over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s great,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Azovstal was a massive steel plant built in the 1930s. It had a\u00a0maze of bunkers and bomb shelters underneath it that went on\u00a0 for several kilometers. If any place was safe in Mariupol, it was in an Azovstal bomb shelter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut what about you? Don\u2019t you have to report to your unit?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re meeting at the plant,\u201d said Dad.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo when Mom and Dariia get back, we\u2019ll be on our way?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll take the food with us, the knapsacks, and whatever else we\u2019ll\u00a0need?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the plan,\u201d said Dad. \u201cWe\u2019ll get through this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right at that moment a loud crash shook our building.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the window, I watched in horror as a high-rise a block\u00a0away burst with smoke. I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that this wasn\u2019t going to be as simple as Dad said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom and Dariia should have been back by now,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was thinking the same thing.\u201d Dad punched in Mom\u2019s\u00a0number. \u201cIt didn\u2019t go through.\u201d He hit Redial and stared at the\u00a0screen. \u201cCome on, Yaroslava, pick up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe we should just go down and meet them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s expecting us to be in the apartment,\u201d said Dad. \u201cWhat\u00a0if we miss them somehow? Let\u2019s give them five more minutes to\u00a0either call back or return. In the meantime, do your bathroom\u00a0stuff.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another explosion flashed bright outside our window. I swallowed down my anxiety. I didn\u2019t like the fact that Mom hadn\u2019t picked up.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Dad kept stabbing Redial, I slipped into the bathroom.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d just put toothpaste on my brush when a sound like a thousand dinner plates exploding made me drop it. The floor of the\u00a0bathroom shook. I clutched the sink.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the noise and shaking stopped, Dad called out, \u201cRada,\u00a0are you okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tried to open the door, but it stuck on something. \u201cI\u2019m fine,\u00a0Dad,\u201d I shouted.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I took a step back, then charged the door shoulder first. It\u00a0barely budged. The second time I bashed the door, it scraped\u00a0open. The bottom of it was stuck on glass fragments and plaster that had fallen in front of it. On the living room floor was a Dad sized mound covered with the tablecloth, studded with shards of\u00a0glass. And he had been worried about me?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My bracelet pieces were scattered in with the glass and plaster\u00a0all over the living room, looking like giant drops of blood. Our window was blown out. It had just a few jagged fingers of glass left in it; rain and wind blew through our flat.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shards studding the tablecloth looked razor-sharp, and\u00a0thinking of my dad underneath all that made my heart pound.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the defenders of Azovstal CHAPTER ONE  The World Shatters Mariupol, Thursday, February 24, 2022  The bed moved. I squinched my eyes shut and flipped to\u00a0my side.\u00a0 Smack. Something hit my head.\u00a0 Was Dariia doing one of her silly tricks again?\u00a0 I reached over to push her away, but her side of the bed was\u00a0empty.\u00a0 … Continue reading “Excerpt: Kidnapped from Ukraine, book 2: STANDOFF”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10242","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10242"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10245,"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10242\/revisions\/10245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calla.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}