DAY 876 - AUGUST 1, 2013

Buoyed by the ISIS takeover in many parts of Eastern Syria, Al Qaeda members perform a daring prison break at Abu Ghraib, the famed US jailhouse used during the American occupation in Iraq. Consequently, Al Qaeda frees more than 500 high-ranking terrorists into the Iraqi desert and Israel's Director of Military Intelligence warns that Syria is becoming a hotbed for global jihadists. Britain and France confirm that Sarin gas was used in Syria during the spring. In response, UN weapons inspectors say they will visits three locations where chemical weapons were allegedly deployed. Iran, one of Assad's strongest allies, extends a $3.6 billion credit line to Syria while Russia pushes forward with arms shipments to the regime, despite intense international pressure to break ties with the Syrian government. Furthermore Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, promises to propel Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's forces to victory. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says that the situation in Syria has now claimed over 100,000 lives.

After the prison break at Abu Ghraib, Al Raqqa has become a breeding ground for Al Qaeda. Mujahideen from all parts of the world have started to arrive in Syria to fight the holy war. You and Jeremy haven't left your house for days. You have seen ISIS members go into the hibiscus shop below. Thankfully Sargon, the old man in charge of the place, hasn't given you up. But it doesn't stop them. In the middle of the night you hear a crash as the flimsy wooden door to your room is kicked open with strong black boots. Two men in balaclavas grab you by your shirt and force you to stand. They hold machetes, and immediately you have an image of the sharp knive being the last thing you feel when they execute you in the town square the next morning. Then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot Mousa, the Iraqi you lived with in Aleppo. He recognizes you as well. You see it in his eyes. There is a terse moment of silence where you decide what to do...