Chapter One - Instinct

Heartbeat. I awoke from sleep when I suddenly heard the familiar sound and I realized my mother had lifted me out of my bed. Her heart pounded hard as she held me to her, cradling me gently in her arms. I groggily curled up closer to her, getting comfortable in the warmth of her embrace. "Mommy?" I murmured, looking up at her in a slight daze. Something wet landed on my cheek and I blinked up into my mother's shining blue eyes. "What's wrong?" I asked, slightly alarmed to find my mother crying.

My mother just sniffed and smiled, her face brightening some as she did so. Her smile was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen in my short two years of existence. "Nothing baby. I just wanted to hug you, that's all."

"Oh…" I yawned and buried my face into her arm. She was so warm and her heartbeat was so soothing that it took only moments for me to begin drifting off. "Okay…"

"Baby I love you so much." she nuzzled me and pressed her lips against my forehead. I squirmed the slightest, then gave in to her insistent affections. "I'd do anything to protect you, everything if I was able. You're the greatest thing that I ever accomplished in my life." Her breath tickled my forehead as she began to rock back and forth. "Mommy loves you so, so much…"

"Love…too…" I yawned again and tried to fight my drooping eye lids. I barely saw the way my mother's face darkened as the saddest look crossed her face. "Mommy?"

"Hush little Edan…" Mommy whispered as she began to carefully lower me back onto my bed, extricating herself from my grip. She drew up the covers and looked down on me, the saddest smile I'd ever encountered on her lips as she said my name one last time. Little did I know it was the last time. My eyes closed and I let out a contented sigh. "My little Edan…"

"Edan!" shrieked the most beautiful harpy-like voice in a most unflattering manner.

"Dani!" I shouted as I backed away from the creature that was slowly advancing on me. It snarled viciously and pounced at me, but I quickly rolled beneath it and slashed upward with my sword. The creature landed behind me with a heavy thump and I took off toward the horde of creatures that had cornered my squad members. "Kato!" I shouted as I approached the crowd of fighting teenagers and monstrosities.

A large, half-African American boy turned from a just-defeated monster and saw me running for him. He crouched down and cupped his hands before him, nodding at me. I pushed forward and just as I stepped into his hands, he forced his cupped hands upward, launching me into the air. I flew over the crowd, yelling with my arms flailing until I landed with a hearty yelp on top of the largest of the monstrosities, a great hulking brown creature with fists the size of oil drums and no head. It raised its great fists over its lack of head and I knew I had to move fast. I stabbed my sword into where the creature's head ought to have been and jumped off, my hand clinging to my sword hilt for dear life. Gravity dragged me and the sword down and as I fell the sword sliced down the monster's chest. Landing on solid ground, I scrambled away from the suddenly tipsy creature and shouted, "Timber!" as it fell and exploded into thousands of squirming little bug creatures.

Giant Venus fly traps erupted from the ground then, swallowing the waves of bug creatures. From behind me a gentle voice called out to me in a very uncharacteristic tone. "Timber?! Really?!" I turned and a navy-haired girl dressed in brown leather armor made a face at me, her tanned skin looking relatively pale in the lack of light. She drew her bow and shot an arrow, dispatching a flying raptor -like monster. "You've got to mock me like that?"

"Come on, Chrys!" I smiled at her mischievously. "Get a sense of humor already!" I stabbed into a larger, hissing monster and whirled around to catch the oncoming blow of another taller one. "Hey Calli! At least this batch has a little more variety!" I called out to my next nearest comrade, another girl. "The last batch was all land-confined, remember?"

Calli gracefully flipped back from a flailing monster and glowered toward me, her dark blue eyes matching the dark blue of her long hair and her armor. If her skin hadn't been such a pale white, she could've easily blended in with the dark of the cavern. "Seriously, Domino? Get a grip on reality or so help me…" her threat was cut short when a large fist closed around her body and yanked her up. "Dylan!" she shrieked. Before I could move to help her, a dark blur flashed past me and a boy similar in dress and appearance to Calli sliced off the monster's arm. The girl landed with a thud and the dark boy turned toward me, his dark eyes smoldering.

"Stop distracting my sister!" Dylan snapped and dove once more into the fray.

"Gee, the twins woke up on the wrong side of their matching beds this morning." I sighed and turned only to get blinded by a large outburst of light. "What the…" I cursed.

"Solar storm!" cried out Dani's beautiful voice, this time sounding a lot less shrieky. The brilliant light flowed past me and slammed into a couple of creatures about to get the drop on me. I blinked against the excessive light and tried shielding my eyes. "Edan?" Dani called out again.

"Danica…" I stumbled forward, still quite blinded until a pair of slender hands gripped me by the shoulders and straightened me. I looked up into the gorgeous features of a brown-haired, bright, honey-eyed girl who could've probably been a super-model had the universe not been chewed up and spat out by an apocalypse. "Dani… you beautiful, brilliant light bulb you…"

"Nice attempt at flattery…" Dani said flatly, obviously not amused by my comedy act as she smacked my arm. I yelped, more shocked than hurt. Her honey eyes narrowed, her gaze practically pinning me to where I stood. "The next time you want to drag your team exploring on what's supposed to be a plotted patrol course, let's just tie you up…"

Before she could say another word, a perverted thought occurred to me and I grinned at her. "Oh Dani… if you wanted to try something kinky all you had to do was ask!" I said brightly. Then I cast a glance toward the dark boy, "But I refuse to do anything of the sort with Dylan." She smacked me again, harder. "Ok… ok… Ow…"I relented, dropping my smart ass commentary act. Rubbing my arm, I pulled away from her. I noted Kato and Chrys were finishing off the last couple of monsters and I surveyed the rest of the battlefield for my squad members. "J-Squad, who's still alive?"

"Dani." Dani called next to me, straightening her orange-tinted armor and checking her hair in her mirrored dagger. She flipped her hair with the back of her free hand and narrowed her eyes at me. "Then again we all knew I'd survive."

"Chrys." Chrys called out from some yards away, picking up one of her arrows from the stone floor. She frowned at a broken one and sighed. "You owe me new arrows…"

"Dylan." Dylan answered with a slight growl, hauling his twin sister, Calli, to her feet.

"Calli." Calli dropped her brother's hands and looked her herself over. She grumbled as she wiped at some nasty looking monster guck on her armor. "Stupid…"

"Meira." called out a girl from behind me, cutting off Calli's grumblings.

"Kato." said Kato as he carefully made his way toward me.

"Edan." I said finally counting off on my fingers as each person called out their name. "Excellent. No one's dead… with the exception of the need-sunlight twins." Okay, I lied. I couldn't help myself. Before Dylan or Calli could insult me I turned toward Meira, a pale, lanky, red-headed girl wielding a wicked looking gun. "How many did you count?"

Meira stepped on a scuttling brown bug, crushing it beneath her standard issue combat boots. She looked up at me with intelligent, calculating teal eyes. "I'd say twenty-five to thirty. I'm not sure if any got away. It was a nasty group for sure." She glanced over the battlefield, a mixed look of nervousness and discontent crossing her fair features. " We ought to report it…"

"My math skills aren't as impressive as yours but I believe that's definitely a higher number than last time." I muttered as I stared at the ominous, continuance of the tunnel ahead. "So close to headquarters too. It didn't exactly look like an ambush or a scouting party…" I locked eyes with my second-in command, Kato, hoping he'd have some insight about what we'd just encountered. He just frowned at me and shook his head, for once insightless about what we'd just witnessed. "Right…" I glowered again into the darkness.

"What's your genius plan now, Captain?" Dylan said sarcastically, crossing his pale arms over his dark-armored chest. "You aren't actually thinking about leading us down further, are you? Our asses are already about to get chewed because we veered off course. Again."

I sighed and chewed my lip slightly, my mind weighing the possibilities. My curiosity about what could possibly be at the end of the tunnel would have to wait. "No… Meira's right. We've got to report this." I turned back to look into the imploring and condemning faces of my peers. "As much as it pains me, I say we go back and report this to Commander Riven." I grimaced as I spoke the name, my mind already switching over and thinking about the number of tortures our advisor had planned for me. "I mean, the number of scouting decay monsters wandering in this tunnel has increased since our last visit. Maybe it's nothing or maybe it's something. We'll let the higher ups figure it out."

"This is the second time now your squad has deviated from high command. You were ordered to patrol the High Roads, Domino! Not to go exploring every dark ominous cave and hole you thought was cool!" Riven paced before my line of squad members, who were all at attention. His boots echoed throughout the large briefing chamber as he stomped. He ran his hand through his spiked magenta hair. "It was a simple mission. Patrol the already patrolled roads. Honestly, was I speaking Russian when I relayed the High Commander's orders?" Riven walked straight up to me and put his face close to mine so I got a good view of the pale white scar running along his cheek bone. His violet eyes flashed with barely contained rage. "What do you have to say for yourself, Domino?"

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I answered. "Was I speaking Portuguese? Did you not hear what I said?" I said, annoyed and slightly repulsed by his sudden proximity to me. But I held my ground and stared Riven straight in the eyes. "We ran into another group of Decay creatures, larger than the group we ran into the first time we broke protocol. I mean, what are they doing there? Could that tunnel be significant to Baltor? Maybe he's trying to find our Headquarters? I thought you said you were going to have that tunnel checked out? Why is it not getting checked out?"

Riven took the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb and walked away from me, grumbling. "I say patrol and you go exploring! We've got bigger problems on the actual war front and we can't spare the resources! The same fucking tunnel…what is your infatuation with it? Like we've got men to spare for a little boy's instincts…"

"I'm not a little boy!" I snapped irritably. "I'm nearly eighteen…"

"Not a boy? You're a rebellious little brat! A man would follow the orders of his superiors!" Riven snapped.

"Superiors who can't take him seriously?" I snapped back.

"Seriously? How can we take the Headquarters' resident prankster seriously?!" Riven roared.

"Riven! That's enough!"

Everyone turned to see a weathered, well-built warrior walk in, a disapproving expression reflecting in his handsome features. He frowned at Riven, his thick eyebrows furrowed. "Has this squad completed their report?"

Riven stood and crossed his arms. Watching his demeanor, I noticed how Dylan and Calli both bore themselves with the same sense of jerkiness. Like father, like children. "Well…"

"We've reported all we encountered and the mission was completed. Albeit a bit late, but thoroughly…" I stated, giving Riven a daring glare. I saw Calli's and Dylan's matching dark stares pinpoint on me then, but I chose to ignore them, refocusing all my attention on the person who interrupted us.

"Good. If they are finished, then they can go." the warrior said simply, his expression relaxing some. We all saluted him and Riven and the lot of us were about to depart when the intruder's warm, brown eyes suddenly landed on me. "But I need to speak with Edan privately."

I stopped in my tracks and caught a couple of smirks and glances from my peers. Dani glanced at me warily, her eyes drifting from me to the intruder and back again. I gave her a 'Don't worry' smile and nodded at her, encouraging her to go. She shrugged and left and suddenly I felt a little bit betrayed. Would it kill her to pretend she cared what happened to me?

"Good luck." Kato murmured as he walked past me. Not exactly the caring I was looking for, but I guess I had to take what I could get.

"Hope Brandon eats you for breakfast…" Dylan muttered as he shoved past me and walked out the door. Definitely not the caring I was looking for. I restrained myself from launching myself at Dylan when a large calloused hand landed on my shoulder. I looked over and found myself face-to-face with Riven again and I nearly yelped.

"Don't think this is over, Domino." Riven muttered. He dropped my arm and slammed the door to the briefing chambers behind him as he exited. The slamming sound eventually settled, leaving me alone with Brandon. It was silent for several moments before Brandon of Eraklyon finally spoke.

"Edan…"

"Here we go…" I sighed and turned to face Brandon, staring into the familiar, handsome expanse of his face. I shoved my hands in the pockets of my cargo pants. "You're going to go on about how I disobeyed orders again and how I put my squad in danger. Then you'll go for the emotional sting about how disappointed you are in me and how I've been behaving toward Riven. Then you'll bring up the spiel about how I've got this duty and image to uphold being the son of the very founders of the Defiance and how not upholding these could shatter what little resistance there is to the universal takeover… blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…" I sighed and wandered over to one of the tables that occupied the room, pulling out a chair and collapsing in it. "What can I honestly say Brandon?"

"Well since you've said everything I'm supposed to say…" Brandon wandered over and took a seat next to me, clasping his hands between his knees. He took a breath then looked at me. "Life's not fair, my peers are total jackasses, my father's an over-protective bastard who rarely sees me and could never understand what I'm going through, the drill sergeants and Commander Riven are always on my case, I never get to take on real missions, I never get to sleep in ever, the food here sucks and Dani keeps shooting my advances down…" Brandon said all this in an exaggerated, whiny tone and I just stared at him. He looked at me, his brown eyes looking at me knowingly. "Did I get it all?"

"Erm… well the Dani part…" Instantly heat began to rise up in my cheeks. It definitely wasn't a situation you wanted to bring up with the girl's father, so I figured I better change course. "Ummm… you forgot how everyone blames me for my mother's decision to take up that suicide mission…" I said.

"Right." Brandon put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Edan, I know what you're going through. A lot of the Company members do. Your father isn't totally oblivious to your problems either. But he does need to prioritize. And he knows you need to pick and fight your own battles. There's only so much he can do." Brandon dropped my shoulder. "So what are you getting on Riven's nerves about now? You didn't ask him for another field trip for fighting drills, did you? Or a possible Nap Time to be added to your kids' training schedules?"

"Actually, I've graduated from those wisecracks, thank-you! It's just…" I licked my lips and looked at Brandon, wondering if I should even tell him. Then I figured if I couldn't trust the man who'd practically raised me, then there was no one in the universe I could talk to. "There's this tunnel we've been exploring the past couple of High Road patrols. There's something… something about it. I don't know what it is. I just know it needs to be found out…" I looked up at Brandon, the father-figure in my life, half expecting him to try easing my mind about the mysterious tunnel. "We stumbled across hordes of Decay enforcer groups both times we explored it. When I reported this to Riven the first time, I don't think he ever did anything about it."

"Probably not. The cliffs and fields surrounding the High Road are riddled with hundreds of tunnels and caves. To pinpoint the one you guys are talking about…" Brandon frowned at me. "Then you've got to consider we don't exactly have a lot for manpower, Edan. Our forces are spread so thin the way things are…"

"Yeah, yeah…" I stood up and crossed my arms, walking away from Brandon. "I get your point."

Brandon just smiled at me. "Well if this tunnel bothers you that much, I'll ask around and see if I can stir up anyone's interest for poking around in their spare time. I'm sure someone around here is bored enough on break they'd go do a little exploring." He nodded at me. "You know your mother had some spot-on instincts. Maybe it runs in the family."

"Maybe." I mumbled. "Bet it didn't do her a whole lot of good either. Thanks anyway, Brandon."

"No problem, kiddo." Brandon stood up and headed for the door. "Oh and Edan?" I looked at him and he gave me a warning glance. "Stop baiting Riven. Seriously. It's bad for your health." With that said Brandon was gone, leaving me to stand alone feeling a lot lighter than I had before.