A/N: This is my first attempt at an adventure story so bear with me. Just a fore warning it might take me a while to post again, so I have tried to write as much as possible to begin with. Sorry if the plot seems confusing.
Disclaimer: I don't own them you know that! I'm just borrowing them from the BBC.
Prologue
The woods were unnaturally dark as a troop of young soldiers stumbled through the underbrush. Private Edwin Ashdyn and his best friend Private Riley Hemmings, the youngest two of the company, brought up the rear. They walked side by side jumping at every shadow that moved in the distance as they weaved between large trees and thorny bushes.
"Remind me again why we are here Edwin." Riley asked in a hushed tone as he maneuvered himself over a fallen tree.
"For the adventure, remember?" Edwin flashed him a wide grin. Edwin Ashdyn was natural born explorer, so when the opportunity to go on a scouting mission arose, he was one of the first to volunteer.
A sharp crack rang through the cold air not far from the soldiers' left flank causing both men to freeze and ready their guns to fire at whatever might emerge from the darkness. They waited for several seconds but the noise didn't come again. Ashdyn and Hemmings glanced at each other and chuckled nervously. Ashdyn lowered his weapon and signaled that they should move on.
"You call this adventure, I call this suicide." Hemmings finally retorted.
"You knew what you were getting into when you volunteered to come on this mission with me." Ashdyn replied shortly.
Hemmings did not respond to his comment and instead changed the subject. "It's right eerie with no Moon. It's no wonder the Alunae are so nasty."
Ashdyn nodded in agreement, "Yeah, a century without ever seeing the Moon, it's a good bet that's why the lot of 'em have turned savage being stuck living in total darkness."
The suffocating blackness of the forest made the trek equally as dangerous as their enemy. They were not allowed to use torches unless absolutely necessary so as not to draw attention to themselves. All they had was their night vision goggles which only gave the men a short range of vision and made their peripherals practically nonexistent.
Neither of the two men had noticed that they had strayed away from the rest of the company or that they were being watched. Another loud snap reverberated through the silence, this time to the men's right followed by the high pitched whine of weapons firing some 20 meters away. The next sound they heard was that of their comrades' strangled cries for help. Without hesitating Ashdyn and Hemmings tore off in the direction of the screams and gun fire.
As they reached the edge of a clearing they saw the group of soldiers being attacked by another group. The attacking company was swift and used the darkness to their advantage. The soldiers wearing night vision goggles were having problems keeping their sights on them. As they spent time searching and using up their ammunition an enemy soldier would come from behind and strike.
Ashdyn drew his gun and prepared to run into the battle. Hemmings stood watching, terror etched on his young face. "It's the Alunae" he whispered as he fumbled for his weapon.
"Don't just stand there, Riley! We have to help them!" Without another word Ashdyn rushed towards an Alunae soldier that was crouched over a fallen comrade in the middle of the clearing. He was half way there when a pained yelp came from where he had just left. Ashdyn halted, fired two rounds into the back of the Alunae, and then about faced to see Riley being dragged off by two figures.
"No!" He ran after them but his gear slowed him down and the three figures disappeared into the darkness. "Riley! Riley!" One final faint scream answered his calls. Ashdyn dropped his pack and began to race in the direction of the scream but was caught by the arm. Captain Roger Striker stood behind the Private holding him back. His face streaked with sweat and dirt.
"Let him go Private. No use in following them. We need to get the injured soldiers to safety." The Captain ordered as he surveyed the area.
"Sir they took him, they took Private Hemmings!" Ashdyn tried to wriggle out of his commanding officer's grip but was quickly losing his strength to fight back.
"I know Private but there are men over there that need medical attention!" Striker said forcefully. "We will send out a search party later." This time his voice contained a hint of sympathy.
Striker released the Private's arm and headed back to the clearing. Ashdyn stood scanning the line of trees one last time for any sign of his best friend before turning and following the Captain.
A/N: Like the sound of it so far? Let me know by reviewing!