Haven

Chapter 1- Into the swamp

The sun was beginning to set over the new city of Haven. Where skyscrapers were once built so high it was as if they could reach the Heavens, streets alive with the sounds of laughter and chatter as people shopped and enjoyed the company of others or made a quick phone call to a loved one on their way in to work.
It was a perfectly simple life, a little dull at times but compared to now, having to live in a world where the air was thick with unbearable heat and the smell of decay. Or having to constantly watch your back and be prepared for an attack from creatures that are unlike anything anyone has ever seen before and are damn near impossible to kill... Dull sounded perfect...
Juniper did her best to recall these things as she walked towards the edge of the city. Typically it was against the rules to travel this far from the compound alone; it was much too dangerous for most people. Juniper, however, was an exception to this rule. She was one of the Recruiters for her Compound. Recruiters were the individuals chosen by the Council to serve as defenders of the compound and protectors of the people residing in them. They were sent out on missions to retrieve supplies, provisions and occasionally, rescue missions to extract civilians from the dead zones, areas not safe for humans to live or travel through without the escort of a Recruiter.
She walked past an old busted down building that had once been this cafe she had loved. She tried to remember what the city had looked like before, before all of those Heaven reaching buildings were reduced to piles of busted concrete and broken glass, but the steady 'snap', 'pop', 'crunch' of broken bones that had once been those laughing people, men, women and children, those who never survived the initial attack, of the man-made chaos that followed, quickly brought her back to reality.
The closer she got to the edge of the city the louder the sounds of the swamp got. The low, insidious growls and blood-curdling groans, cries of the unknown creatures that had decided to take up residence in the dark, murkiness of the swamplands. That area was nothing but dingy water and tall grasses. Thistle Brush grew in the eastern part of the swamp which, on the positive side, let them know that the water was deepest in that area. However, it had also become the gravesite of many people who didn't know that the roots of the Thistle Brush were home to a creature they called the Swamp Angler.
It was so called because it seemed to be an evolved form of the deep sea Angler fish that resided in the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean. The Swamp Angler was much larger in size and able to survive in shallower waters. Its body was almost transparent and if you managed to actually get a good look at it before it ate you alive you would be able to see the demons innards as well as its foot long, razor sharp teeth that were so long they protruded out of its mouth. One of the more terrifying traits this thing possessed was the human shaped growth that protruded from its body, along with the light lure that its deep sea relative possessed. The growth was used alongside a pheromone the demon released in order to trick its prey into believing that they were seeing long lost loved ones after using the light lure to grab their attention and entrance them. It would slowly move closer and closer to its prey and then drag them under the water to drown and then devour.
Juniper hopped up onto a large concrete slab and took a deep breath as she looked out over the swampland. She had a long way to go before she reached her objective and the sooner it was over with the better. Haven was run by the Council, three members of their society that had been elected by the people, who had sent her on her mission. They had placed distress beacons in strategic locations in the area surrounding their Compound. The beacons were set up in case other survivors got lost or stranded and needed sanctuary. They could find and activate a beacon and the nearest Haven would send a Recruiter to find them and bring them back to the safety of the Compound. Recently one of those beacons had been activated so the Council made the decision that Juniper should be the one to go out and retrieve whoever activated it.
She crouched down to tighten the laces of her knee-high, black leather boots, making them so tight it almost hurt. Black leather pants, tucked neatly into the boots, covered her legs and she wore a black leather jacket over her ACDC t-shirt. Once she was satisfied that the boots were tight enough she rose back to her feet. She was short in stature, standing at five foot three, but her petite frame and short size made her agile and quick. Which was perfect for jobs like this, where being swift and silent could mean the difference between making it back alive or becoming the meal of the day for some mutated demon. She shuddered at the thought and zipped her leather jacket all the way up, the collar fitting snug but comfortably around her neck. Her waist length black hair whipped around her as the wind picked up and she quickly tied it into a tight ponytail, her vibrant emerald green eyes scanning the area around her for signs of any type of threat.
Taking one more look at the broken city scape behind her she sighed deeply and muttered to herself. "Okay, lets get this party started…" She then began to head into the swamp. As she drew closer the air grew stagnant and thick with the smell of decay. There was a small bridge that extended the full length of the swamp that they used to travel through it without having to get into the dangerous waters, but the bridge was old and rickety so you had to be very careful when crossing it. The deeper into the swamp she got the stronger the smell of putrid, rotting flesh got. She used the sleeve of her jacket to cover her nose and block out some of the smell and made sure not to get to close to the edge of the make-shift bridge. Getting to close to the murky water was dangerous; it was so dark and dingy it made it impossible to tell if anything was lurking beneath the surface waiting for her to come closer so it could drag her under and devour her.
She shuddered at the thought but kept moving, a look of disgust on her face as she hop-stepped over a puddle of regurgitated human remains. They didn't know much about the creatures but they did know that certain parts of the human anatomy didn't seem to agree with them. Most creatures would consume the body in its entirety but then vomit up the bits they couldn't digest. Mostly bones, clothes, any type of surgical implants, also, the appendix and
gall bladder were coughed up as well.
There were a few doctors and an old science teacher back at Haven that theorized that if the beasts attempted to digest those particular organs the toxins inside them would be released and then slowly weaken, sicken and eventually kill them. Much like what would happen if they burst inside the human body. This made those particular organs valuable to the humans; they could be used to create weapons that worked well against the monsters that destroyed their world. Juniper knelt down next to the puddle that used to be a normal person, just like herself, and began sifting through the remains to find the precious organs. Obviously this puddle of person wasn't going to need them anymore.
She finally found the organs and placed them together in a jar she carried with her in her leather satchel and stood back up, turning to continue her trek through the swamp when a loud, booming voice sounded behind her.
"Hey shorty, wait up!" The obnoxiously loud voice yelled as the man ran to catch up to her.
"Kagen…" She grumbled as she turned to face him. "What in the Hell are you doing?!" She snapped. Did he not understand the concept of being swift and silent? Of course not, just look at him…
Kagen was a giant of a man with spiked black hair, a proud jaw line and biceps so large she was certain could snap her in half. Tattoos covered every inch of his arms and the black leather vest he wore showed them off perfectly. He wore a pair of ripped up, oil stained blue jeans and a pair of black combat boots as well. His eyes were a striking shade of blue that even Juniper had to admit to getting lost in on occasion and his skin was darkened by the sun. He had a cocky air about him and seemed to think he was the greatest thing since ever, but he was loyal to a fault and looked out for those he cared about.
He gave her a cocky, sideways grin, "Mathias asked me to catch up to you. I guess the Council wants us traveling in pairs from now on."
"I see…" She muttered. "Well, keep your damn voice down." She added with a bit of bite to her tone. She then turned and continued through the swamp. A
"Whatever you say doll face." He said as though he were mocking her, although he did lower his tone to match her whisper and began following her across the bridge.
"So, why did Mathias decide to send you after me? This is hardly a mission that requires two of us." She said glancing over her shoulder at him.
"He said something about there being an increase in vermin activity and that we are to travel in pairs on all missions until the activity dies down." He explained.
She didn't respond to him, honestly she wished Mathias had sent someone else, anyone else. It wasn't that she disliked Kagen, he just wasn't exactly known for being swift or silent…
They had just about made it all the way through the swamp when Juniper noticed a faint, blue, luminescent glow to her left. "Hey Ka- " She started to say but stopped when she heard the cry. The sound was faint at first but then it seemed to get louder, closer, clearer.
"Juniper!" She heard her name, clear as a bell. She looked at Kagen to see if he had heard it to see if he had heard the cry as well, from the look on his face she could tell he had definitely heard something…
"Juniper help me! Help me please?!" There it was again! This time she turned away from Kagen as she heard the cry, looking out over the swamp to try and find the body that belonged to the voice. The voice called her by name and it sounded so familiar… "Please! It's coming!"
"Jasmin?" Junipers voice was soft, her eyes widened in horror and she stumbled forward towards the edge of the bridge as the luminous glow began to take the form of her sister. Her sister who had died in the attack… "Jasmin I'm coming!" She yelled as she tore her satchel off of her shoulder and unzipped her jacket to remove it.
"Juniper stop! It's not her!" Kagen yelled as he ran towards her, grabbing her from behind and holding her tightly to keep her from diving into the water, tightening his grip as she fought to get away from him. "Jasmin is DEAD! Jun, she's gone it's not her!"
"Get off of me; let me go I have to help her!" Her eyes had dilated to the point that they looked as though they were completely black, her heart was pounding so hard she thought it may beat its way out of her chest all together. "Jasmin!" She screamed her sister's name as she fought. She couldn't seem to look away from her sister, who appeared to be moving towards her, her arms outstretched towards Juniper, beckoning her to come closer, to dive into the murky water.
Kagen refused to let her go, instead he spun her around to face him as she continued to scream Jasmin's name. "Juniper, snap out of it damn it!" He shook her hard as he yelled at her. Her eyes were glazed over as if she weren't truly aware of what it was that she was doing. They had been trained to handle people who were ensnared by the glow of the Swamp Angler, taught that they couldn't be held responsible for their words or actions while they were under its influence. All he could do was try to snap her out of it.
"You have to let me go! She needs my help!" She yelled, still trying to shake loose from Kagen's grip.
"Jasmin is dead Jun that's not her!" He growled. He shook her hard again and finally she seemed to be jolted awake. The Angler was close enough now that they could see its razor blade like teeth and the growth that had, just seconds ago, looked like her deceased sister was back to its original form. "We need to get out of here, now!" Kagen yelled, he released his grip on Juniper and snatched her satchel off of the ground before turning to run towards the Grassland.
Juniper ran after him, still a little disoriented from the demons lure. There was a sudden loud crashing sound as the Angler chased after them. Ripping the bridge to shreds as it came after them. Juniper looked over her shoulder as she was running; the thing was right on their heels. "Kagen run!" She screamed. They were so close to the end of the bridge, they ran as fast as they could but the Angler was faster. She could hear its gurgling hiss and feel the bridge falling apart beneath her feet causing her to stumble a little but she managed to stay on her feet and keep running.
They gave one another a quick look and then dived as far as they could onto the hard, solid ground of the Grasslands. The Swamp Angler gave an angry growl and skulked back into the dark water. Juniper and Kagen lay there on the ground, panting and gasping as they tried to catch their breath.
"You wanna tell me what in the Hell that was?!" Kagen snapped at her as he got to his feet. His eyes were clouded, his lips pressed tightly together tightly and his arms were crossed across his broad chest. "I mean, C'mon Jun, you know better than to stare at the Swamp Anglers Lure and you did it anyway!"
She pulled herself to her feet as he scolded her. "Screw you!" She yelled back at him. "I could have handled it myself, I never asked you to get involved!"
"You could have handled yourself?! You must be joking because from where I was standing you looked more like dinner than deadly!" His voice got louder and louder as he spoke. "You almost got us both killed damn it!"
She opened her mouth to respond but closed it again when she realized that there was nothing she could say to that. He was right; she could have gotten them both killed because she allowed herself to be pulled in by the lure. She snatched her satchel off the ground and put it back over her shoulder. "Your right Kagen, I am sorry." She finally said.
Kagen looked at her in disbelief; Juniper wasn't exactly the apologetic type. He shrugged arrogantly and started into the grasslands. "Whatever, c'mon let's just get this mission over with. The sooner it's done the better…" He spoke to her without looking at her, he knew the Swamp Angler attack wasn't her fault but he couldn't help being upset about it. Not because he almost got killed, but because she also almost got killed, and that was something he could not allow to happen. Most of his family was killed in the first attack, he and his sister Amarah were the only two that survived it and so he had become very close to Juniper, the thought of losing either one of them terrified him.
They were close enough now to the tree line of the forest that you could see into them and there was something moving through the brush. Juniper tried to see what it was that was coming towards them but it was too dark to be able to make out what exactly it was. It was too small to be any of the seriously dangerous monsters that now lived in their world but that didn't mean it wasn't still deadly. "Kagen, do you see that?" She asked glancing up at him and then pointing in the direction the creature was coming from.
"Yeah, I see it." He said looking towards the trees.
They both drew their weapons, Kagen holding an over-sized battle axe in both hands and Juniper spinning her twin blades expertly. "You think there's only one?" She asked looking up at him.
"Hard to say, we could be surrounded… Most creatures that size don't hunt alone…" He replied looking around at the grasses surrounding them for any sign of unnatural movement.
As he spoke a very human voice called out to them. "Please, help me!" The cry sounded pained and a low groan followed by the rustling of leaves and a heavy thud sounded out from trees.
"You heard that right?" Juniper asked looking up at him then turning to run towards the tree line.
"Juniper wait, we don't know that it's human!" Kagen yelled after her but she didn't stop running and then quickly disappeared into the forest. "Damnit Jun, what are you thinking?!" He muttered to himself as he ran after her. He stepped into the shade of the tree line and looked around but saw no sign of Juniper. "Juniper?!" He yelled out looking around frantically, his heart pounding so hard it felt as though it may beat right out of his chest. "Juniper?!" He cried out again.
"Here… I'm over here…" She finally called back.
"Don't you ever take off like that again, do you understand me?" Kagen growled at her as he walked up to stand beside her. She was standing ten feet from a large crack in the ground; the earth around it looked as though it had been scorched away by a lightning strike. The air around them seemed to get hotter and thicker the closer they got to the crevice.
"Kagen…Look…" Juniper spoke softly and pointed at the crumpled mass on the ground only a few feet away from them.
Kagen's eyes followed Junipers shocked expression; looking at the spot Juniper was directing his gaze to. "Who is that?" He asked looking back to Junipers pale face.
She swallowed hard and her whole body appeared to be shaking.
"That's my brother…" She whispered.

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