War of the Medusas

By Lora Hodgin

The action of the novel “War of the Jellyfish” takes place in the current modernity, but in an alternative reality. In a state that does not exist in our world under mysterious circumstances, and with the presence of some fantastic details.
The inhabitants of the Republic were at one time attacked by jellyfish, apparently terrible sea animals from the depths of the water. None of saw the enemy, although they are the only ones who think so...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lora Hodgin
• Release date: Oct 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215686720

Lora Hodgin

Hi all!I am Ukrainian, originally from Odessa. Not a professional writer, but I really enjoy the process. The characters themselves keep me from giving up their stories, so I will continue.Ready for criticism and comments, but I really hope that you will be interested.Lora Hodgin

Book preview

War of the Medusas

by Lora Hodgin

Copyright 2023 Lora Hodgin

Smashwords Edition

The subway car was empty, but that didn't prevent two guys of roughly the same age from colliding at the entrance doors. They glanced at each other without much interest, not bothering to apologize or yield to one another.

They had a lot in common, both visible and invisible, but neither of them attached any importance to it, preferring to look down at their shoes in the case of the blond one. In the other case, equally handsome, they collided without even noticing each other.

As soon as the doors opened, both rushed to exit. Their identical stuffed backpacks bumped into each other but still allowed them to spill onto the platform.

There, one of the two, named Raúl by birth and on his documents, exclaimed, Could have let a guy with luggage pass!

The blond guy didn't respond to that. His gaze was once again fixed on the ground. Although he did stop and even turned toward the one addressing him.

Get out of the way! Raúl contemptuously exclaimed. The blond was an obstacle in his path.

Raúl wasn't as bad as he pretended to be. The stress had led him to push the whole world away and hide behind a heavy veil of misunderstanding. It was understandable; his entire family had died in a terrible catastrophe a week ago, and he only regretted not being among them.

The blond guy slowly raised his head, directing the gaze of his blue eyes toward Raúl, causing him to stop, waiting for what he was about to say. However, instead of words, the response from the blond guy was a raised middle finger. The blond nimbly turned away, causing the hems of his gray jacket to flutter, and headed for the station's exit.

Only now did Raúl notice the large backpack on the guy's back with the emblem of Great Hopes School. He ruffled his hair but dismissed the idea of catching up with and reprimanding the blond, let alone continuing his journey with him.

Both guys were heading to the same place—the Fifteen Kappa School where they would study and live.

The school was located within a large complex of orphanages known as Great Hopes. It was home to children whom no one else cared for, and if they did, they simply didn't want to.

Raúl knew that it wouldn't take long to walk from the station to the orphanage, given that it was aptly named Great Hopes. However, he was surprised by the number of houses, buildings, and cottages in that place, in other words, the schools for children. Each had a number and a letter, but since the numbering changed every year, they didn't bother posting it at the entrance.

The school number indicated the age of the students, and the letter denoted the order of establishment. The emergence of a school was directly related to necessity. For instance, if hostilities resumed, the number of schools would sharply increase.

In the complex of orphanages, there was a remarkable diversity. While searching for his destination, Raúl initially ended up in a small house for five children, or Alpha One School, where the cries of babies in strollers could be heard, specifically five of them.

This school was fully occupied, and if no one was taken away, no one would escape or die; they would continue to live there until they moved on to Alpha Seventeen School. In another case, the vacated spots would be filled by a child from the Beta School of the same number. This was a rule of the orphanage—each new school was only for new students.

The next building, resembling a dormitory, visited by Raúl immediately after the first one, turned out to be Gamma Eleven School. It was one of the largest, as it was established during the first Medusa war when the required number of schools for each age group had to be constructed.

Further down the road, Raúl encountered a couple of elegant three-story cottages designed for ten students, offering unique living conditions. The Six Epsilon School impressed him the most since, in addition to a beautiful house, it featured a garden, a swimming pool, and numerous gazebos. It seemed that this complex of orphanages operated like a lottery, admitting children based on unfortunate circumstances in a strict order, and no one could cheat or jump ahead of those who had been waiting longer. The system of registration in the Republic was so stringent that no one even thought of trying to deceive it.

It took Raúl some time to find the school he was looking for. He only spotted the building a couple of hours into his search. It wasn't as impressive as he had hoped, but neither was it as dreary as some of the others he had come across. It was a large, one-story structure painted in gray, surrounded by small flower beds and a small garden, enclosed by a low silver fence made of sticks.

The Fifteen Kappa School was located next to Two Beta School, which housed twenty-five little kids, and Eight Epsilon School, which was more modest and not fully occupied. At that time, out of the ten allotted spots, only three were taken. On the other side, there was a vast expanse of meadow, a winding, shallow river, and a cluster of trees. It appeared that Raúl's school was situated at the outskirts of the complex.

As he approached the tall gate, Raúl confidently pressed the doorbell button, even though it was unnecessary since the fence was so low, he could easily step over it. He proceeded to meet a woman dressed in a white pantsuit, whom he took for a nurse.

Young man! There's a gate for entry! Don't you have eyes? the woman scolded, her presence making her more than just a woman.

Around fifty years old, she had a high hairstyle with curly dyed hair, and her attire was far from medical, with white high-heeled shoes. This was Marianna.

Raúl mumbled his question, Fifteen Kappa? and walked past her. It seemed a bit too abrupt to Marianna, so she shouted even louder, repeating a part of what she had said before.

As he walked down a small alley towards the building, Raúl couldn't help but notice the drabness of the walls and the small windows positioned every half-meter along the perimeter. However, the size of the building impressed him. The main house and a smaller structure nearby took up half of the enclosed area, which was quite spacious.

Without much hesitation, Raúl opened the entrance door and entered a small, cramped hallway. He was somewhat taken aback by how narrow and uncomfortable it was.

You must be Raúl, right? he heard a male voice and turned around.

That's how Raúl met the two responsible figures of the Fifteen Kappa School: Marianna, who managed the school and was responsible for overseeing the students' general well-being, and Rubin, the security guard who also demanded supervision due to his age.

Raúl was assigned a small room, but seeing a bunk bed in it, he realized it was meant for two people.

The window in the room faced the school's enclosure and the three-story building of the neighbouring school. There was no scenic view, and natural light was limited. However, Raúl paid no attention to these details. Instead, he was more interested in the hammock hanging from the ceiling, which he thought might be a third sleeping spot. He wanted to climb into it but was interrupted by a