Authors: Jess Harpley
She grasped her M4 tightly. It was the only thing holding her to the world, like she was some ghostly being to be whisked away in the wind without it.
“Stand behind me, sister.” He gave her a tiny smirk before his face returned to its stern glare. She took the place next to Reese, her heart pounding in her ears and throbbing behind her eyes.
Xander addressed the crowd, “Beacon, acknowledge your newest cell!”
Whoops, hollers, and whistles lit up the quiet morning, and feelings of glee spread through Sway’s gut, wiping away all fear. It was finally a reality. They were Beacon.
Twentieth of Ka, the Eighty-fourth year of D’Mjak
The Priyon are moving quickly, but not quick enough. Word is starting to spread among the natives that we’re invading their territories. Many of the cities we’ve come to are armed, making this campaign more difficult than it needs to be.
Why do they hold so desperately to life? What is it they have that’s worth fighting this perilously for? Perhaps it’s their dreams.
I wish… I wish this was done already. I love and miss you. Please send me a message. I’m so very lonely without you near.
Chapter 4: Unexpected Encounters
The air crystallized around Sway’s lips as she exhaled slowly into the chilled afternoon, her heart pounding as hard as her squads. She turned, scanning the trees as they crept on through the sparse forest outside of Kamloops, their town. They moved in flawless unison, the diamond formation perfected from thousands of hours of training. The wild smelled of smoke, and so they knew to be on alert for other humans.
Xander held his hand up and they all crouched. Silent, their eyes trained down the barrels of their guns as they watched for threats. The gray of the sky made it difficult to pinpoint objects moving in the deadened treeline, but they stayed vigilant, even through exhaustion.
Xander pointed to smoke coming from over a hill. “Move up, stay low,” he whispered, and they continued on through a dried up river.
Part of it was the hype of their first real patrol, but there was hardly a danger. Even renegade humans weren’t much of a threat to even a new Beacon cell. Most would avoid a Beacon patrol, for they were well known throughout the region.
They crawled up the ridge on the opposite side of the riverbed and Sway kept her focus on the trees, as was her duty, while Eli surveyed the ground. They approached the abandoned campsite and silently split up, as trained, surrounding the area.
Straggling birds chirped among the dead leaves, squirrels prepared their winter bedding, and rabbits scurried to their holes at their approach in an otherwise empty forest. Sway tapped Eli’s shoulder with her damaged hand, shaking the pain away gently.
“Clear.” Eli reported to Xander.
Leandra whispered from the back, “Clear here.”
“Clear,” Reese reported from the right flank.
Xander smiled. “Well done cell. Stage one cleared, no mistakes.”
The group echoed with a resounding sigh of relief. It had been part of the test all along, and Sway judged by the statement
stage one
they were still in it. No wonder he told the squad to load rubbers
,
she thought with amusement.
“We need to bed down for the night. Fabel, where should we make camp?” Xander adjusted his heavy pack. They’d brought a week’s worth of provisions, materials for setting up camp as well as cleaning their weapons, and a radio. They were all loaded to capacity, and certainly feeling it.
Frederick Abel retrieved the map from his chest pocket, “There’s higher ground about half a kilometer south of us.” He looked in that direction. “It appears to be pretty barren. No trees, no water.” His finger traced the riverbed. “There is a grouping of caves if we follow the river east for another two kilometers. Potentially closer to water, cover from the elements and fairly well hidden from the naked eye.” He tsked. “They could be dead ends though, trapping us if anything stumbles our way.”
“Enough dallying, pick a campsite.”
“Caves,” Fabel said with confidence as the wind picked up.
“Form up, two kilos to the caves. Stay on alert.”
Walking through the sand was grueling, and they all began to pant. Their packs were each at least twenty five kilograms, and the resistance of the riverbed made it that much worse.
“Contact south,” Delilah River, a tall girl with wavy blonde hair whispered, crouching with her weapon raised.
They all stiffened, scouting their designated directions. “What is it, River?” Xander crept towards her.
She shook her head, “I’m not sure, it was small, and quick. Too quick for a human. Maybe a dog, or a fox.”
“River, Reese, Sway, Eli, investigate,” Xander ordered, and they formed up into a smaller diamond, moving with conviction.
Slinging the M4, Sway pulled her sidearm, a compact .22, from the holster. She turned behind frequently, keeping a hand on Eli’s shoulder, watching as the other half of the cell disappeared between the trees.
River whispered, “Target in sight. It’s a little fox family.” She whined a bit as she eyed them, and Sway spared a quick glance. They were adorable, as she’d predicted.
“Let’s head back.” Reese patted Sway, and she holstered the .22, shouldering the M4 as she led the group back to their cell.
They regrouped and continued the trek down the riverbed. It would have been easier to walk alongside it, but Sway guessed Xander wanted them tired, prone to making errors. They arrived at the caves without any additional excitement, much to their delight.
Eli, Leandra, River, and Sway stood watch at the mouth of the cave as Xander, Richard, Reese, and Fabel investigated. The opening was small, just large enough to squeeze through if they took their packs off. It made for a good pinch point if they were engaged, yet terrible for escape if they needed to get out with haste. The next cave opening was larger, making it more difficult to shield the entrance.
“Which cave, Fabel?” Xander posed as he pulled his pack on. It must all be part of the test. If he picked the clearing at high ground, there would have been another choice there. Both caves had their advantages and disadvantages, it was hard to say which would be best.
Fabel bit his lip, “Larger cave. We can weave some weeds into our fishing net to provide cover at the entrance.”
“Leandra, Richard, get a fire set up before the sun goes down.” Xander pointed to them and they nodded, heading off into the trees to get materials.
“Sway, Eli, gather some foliage for the cave covering.”
They chimed together, “Sir,” proceeding into the forest. Eli collected and Sway provided cover, watching as Leandra and Richard both collected wood. If Xander caught them, it would be a mark against them. They knew how to do it, why were they being so dim, Sway wondered.
“Hale.” She hushed and Leandra’s eyes shot up. Sway raised her brows, motioning for her to shoulder her own weapon to cover Richard. She promptly abandoned the sticks, going on alert again.
They hurried back to camp and spent another twenty minutes weaving the camouflage cover. It was not too shabby, Sway thought, for the little materials they had to work with. Richard had the pit set up for a fire, and started harassing Fabel for the lighter.
He whined, “C’mon Freddy, I’m tired, just let me have it.”
Fabel’s voice held a haughty tone, “You have perfectly good hands and flint. We shouldn’t be wasting precious fuel when you can light the fire fine on your own.”
Richard persisted, “Don’t be a dick, man, c’mon!” They tussled in the setting sun playfully, sand thrashing about in all directions.
“Cut the grab ass,” Xander commanded and they separated.
“Sorry, sir,” They chimed together, but as soon as Xander turned his back, Richard was at it again, attempting to loose the lighter from Fabel’s grasp. Eli and Sway snickered but the rest of the cell groaned at their childishness.
River huffed in exasperation, “For fuck’s sake you guys,” she squatted in front of the wood with her own flint and tinder, sparking it to life. “There,” she pointed to Richard, “now make it food ready.”
When the sun set, they were all settled in. Bedding set up, dinner ready, cave entrance hidden, and intel written down. Fabel marked the location at which they found the campfire, and made a small mention of the foxes they encountered in the form of a sketch. Sway envied Fabel as she watched pencil lines form into the cute shapes they’d seen that day.
Xander set his empty plate aside. “Good work today, cell. I’m not really allowed to tell you, but we haven’t made any mistakes yet. You just may be more brains than balls.” He chuckled and they laughed with him.
How strange it must be to talk with teens like this, Sway thought. They all knew it had been different before the Priyon came. Children stayed in school until they were in their mid twenties, no combat training, or survival training, for that matter. They weren’t considered adults until they were nearly in their thirties. They were all well fed, fat, and comfortable in their uneventful lives. At least, in the well-off countries.
How the world changed, she mused. They were adults at the age of fifteen when school transitioned from math, reading, writing, and simple survival skills, to hard labor and community specialized training. Sway had the opportunity to go into communication, or medicine with Isla, but chose combat, much to Isla’s dismay.
Sway knew Isla believed she joined combat for revenge, for her parents, and it was partly true. Sway had wanted to harm those who took her family. As time went on though, she realized learning to defend her new family was far more important than avenging the dead. They were long gone, not caring for anything anymore. Little Dmytre, Isla, and sweet Reese needed her to be strong.
Xander squirted a bit of water on his tin plate, wiping it down with a handkerchief as he ushered the team to hurry, “Quickly now, privates, we need to get off to bed. Our day starts well before dawn, unlike today.”
Sway shovelled the rest of the oats and eggs down, though her palate had grown quite tired of it. They all needed to be full, ready to take on the next task. Who knew what morning would bring? She placed her bet on simulated combat.
They bedded down side by side, except for Xander and Fabel, who took first watch. Sway miraculously fell asleep in an instant, and was both surprised, and excited, to be awoken by Leandra for her shift with Eli.
He perched at the edge of the cave with his L96, fingering one of the rubber 7.62mm rounds as he intermittently looked out through the scope. “Sway,” he whispered, eye pressed to the frosted glass.
“What is it?” She gripped her M4 tightly, shouldering it as she scanned the moonlit riverbed.
“Have you ever wondered what it would be like if civilization sprung back? Like, if we went into the cities and elected officials and just started rebuilding?”
“Little jerk.” She leaned back against the frozen cave wall, pulling up her knit woollen socks as she noticed the chill on her ankles. “I thought you saw something.”
“Sorry, there’s nothing out there. Seriously though, do you think we could do it?” He pulled away from the scope for a moment, eyeing Sway with intense blue eyes.
How could he not know the answer Sway would have? They couldn’t rebuild. Technology was dangerous. “No. I think the
darkness
, whatever it is, would come wipe us out before we even got close to where we had been.”
“What do you think video games were like? Don’t get me wrong, I love our aging board games, but to play an immersive story on a screen with lifelike images and great sound!” He turned the L96 as he watched the horizon.
“I don’t know.” Shaking her head, she wondered where he was going with those questions. “What are you fishing for, Eli?”
He shrugged, “Just making small talk. We have another two hours to go until sunrise, and then a long day before us.”
Pacing to the back of the cave, Sway checked on everyone. All soundly sleeping, except Xander. He pretended well, however it was obvious by the way he rolled to his side he was following Sway as she verified everyone’s well being.
“Eli?”
“What is it?” He glanced back as she dug in beside him at the mouth of the cave.
“Do you want to leave us?” Her fingers wound the orange ribbon back and forth. It was difficult to think about losing her best friend after she’d lost so much. He had been talking about technology with more frequency, and the others who left.
“Why would I want to leave? Where would I go?”
“Vancouver? Seattle? Calgary?” She watched the wind rustle dried leaves as they sat in silence.
Sitting back from his watch, he placed a heavy hand on Sway’s shoulder. “I have no intentions of abandoning the only family I’ve ever known just because I’m techno-curious.” They grinned at each other, tension releasing. “Plus, I love Kamloops. It’s my home.” He patted her hard, then returned to his L96.
“Good. I’m not sure what I’d do without you. Probably just get fat and bored.” She tried to keep it light, but it was true. She’d be lost without him, her right hand, her ground watcher, her sniper. She’d have to retrain with a replacement for years before she could head back out on patrol, not that she’d want to. She didn’t think she could trust anyone as fully as she trusted Eli. While Reese was more than adept, he had a far different style than Eli. And in any case, he was paired with River.
Eli perked up, tightening his grip on the rifle as he took the safety off.
“Where?” Sway whispered, covering her mouth to hide her breath in the freezing air.
“Two hundred meters at two o’clock.” He inhaled slowly, digging the 7.62 rubber bullet into the sand of the entrance. They only used rubber bullets and paint tipped rounds for the
real training
patrol, since they were fighting against other Beacon members. Few live rounds were provided to Xander in case of dire situations that called for it.
Sway dialed in her spotting scope, and, sure enough, it was a Beacon member at two hundred and twenty or so meters out. Surveying the surrounding area, it appeared to be a single target. “Looks like just one. Sit tight.” She tapped his shoulder and he didn’t flinch, as trained.
Creeping back to Xander, her voice trembled as she roused him from his poor attempt at feigning sleep. “Lieutenant, we have a potential threat, two hundred twenty meters out to the southwest.”