Chapter Two
The Eden Colony was on the fringes of the western suburbs of London, founded by Professor Stanley Ribbon, a psychic who had foreseen the apocalypse long before the millennium battle. The colony was protected by powerful magic: it helped to conceal it from the wandering eye of The Dragon and predators of the Night.
It was the last largest free colony in Southern England, the second largest was Northumberland in the north and third was Lincolnshire in the East. The colonies were large sprawling communities of humans and non-humans; they were self-sufficient groups having military units, schools, crop and cattle farms.
There were other pockets of free humans dotted about the cities but life was harder for them. The Eden Colony was the last free colony in London leaving the free humans in London to move through the subterranean maze, 82 miles of intercepting sewers parallel to the river Thames.
The tunnels had been abandoned by the Night and Eden's most powerful spell casters had put wards to make sure they wouldn't want to return to them.
There were infections and viruses in the cities; some were deadly to humans and the colony manufactured gas masks that would protect them from exposure as they moved underground. The Colony engineers had long ago set up atmosphere processors to purify the bolt holes in the tunnels, they were small bunks equipped with supply cabinets spaced in intervals throughout the tunnels.
Produce was no longer imported for human consumption, supply routes were carefully controlled by the Night and goods were smuggled regularly by Colonies. Soldier was part of the surveillance team who fed into operations to move food and medical supplies to free humans across the city.
Surveillance and operations were part of the military units of the Colonies call Constabularies, the Constabularies kept the peace both inside the community and protected the community from the Night.
Soldier Dominick had been born and raised in Eden, she had joined the Constabulary when she was young; eager to absorb herself in anything other than the harrowing memories of her mother's death. Every man or woman had the right to fight and protect their home and she was no different at eight years old.
She walked in darkness, just a small extension of magic and she used the shadow like a cloak and for anyone or anything that looked they would not see her but an amorphous blackness that blended into the night.
She wore a colony issue fitted M7 fibre cat suit that concealed throat, to wrist, to heel, on top of it she wore the staple Constabulary ballistic vest, thigh holster, knife belt and combat boots. She had added the black scarf and had it wrapped tight around the lower half of her face to help filter the sulphur content and a black hoodie to add bulk and conceal her stainless steel wrist guards.
She came to the border of Colony land and she could feel the wards press upon her like a fist, if she reached out she could feel the magic as thick as stew and if she knew if she touched it with your bare skin it would feel icy, wet and unpleasant.
It was designed to keep out the Night, some beings would avoid the area altogether but for those that tested the wards they would be marred by uneasiness, nausea and fear. If you stood for long enough in the thick of the magic it would start to speak to you, slithering, echoes of distress, sounds that would be enough to drive away even a battle hardened Constabulary man.
It was a magic that pulled the worst of your fears and nightmares to life, a spell that would break your mind and reduce you to a snivelling mass, forever walking the darkest labyrinthine paths of your mind never to be free.
Soldier pushed through it quickly, even though she wore the sprig of heather and Angelica to stave off the worst of the spell it was still powerful enough to stir her memories, the faintest echo of her mother's voice. When she was through the other side, she glanced behind her and there was nothing but overgrown fauna and a curving line of sycamores framing an ordinary suburban meadow lane.
She headed toward the colony entrance, a packed mound of earth that spoke of nothing of what was beyond, the entrance again was a piece of magic and it would open only to those it would recognise, this was not witch magic but Fey.
She had to uncover one hand and held it up toward the shimmer of power, she felt the magic latch onto her fingertips like the suckers of an octopus, she felt he thrill of recognition and the way opened like a seam in the fabric of reality emitting warmth and fragrance of the life within.
She stepped inside the colony proper and felt a wave of relief wash over her, another day another night and she was still alive. She pushed back the hood a little and rubbed at her forehead which was damp with perspiration, and her fingertips grazed the puckered scars that were neatly hid beneath her dark fringe.
She had forgotten now how she had got the scars, it had happened whilst her mother was still alive, whilst she was very young, some accident or other. She had always had a fringe to conceal her forehead and cover up those ugly scars.
She remembered the way her mother would brush her hair up and lay a kiss on her forehead as if the scars didn't exist at all; it had always made her feel beautiful and loved, a feeling she had only had with her mother and never since.
"Welcome back, Sol."
She raised her hand in a wave.
There was a bustle of bodies as she entered the gates to the military quarter. She entered the stream of bodies asking of no one in particular. "What's going on?" She asked.
An old solider glanced at her quickly muttering. "Allies from the Pacific Districts of America: they shipped in whilst you were out."
She pushed her way forward through the crowd to get a look. She saw tall, strong, soldiers, all young men and tough looking women in army fatigues, they were causing quite a stir. They stood in rigid lines, their expressions stern and focused and their eyes fixed to a point in front of them, as if they didn't see the shabby denizens of Eden peering at them.
At the front stood a man clothed in black, tall, dark hair cropped short and stormy grey eyes appraising the British, his cold aristocratic mouth formed in an almost-sneer.
She could hear some of the conversation, dipping in the whispers of the surrounding crowd. The elders had gathered representing the different branches of the Colony community. Soldier tried to find Alan in the crowd, surely he would be representing Surveillance and Supplies; but in her attempt to get a better look she was nudged forward and stumbled managing to regain her balance moments before she would have collided with the grey eyed American man.
"Is that how you greet a superior officer? Remove your hood." He growled, she could feel those words vibrate in the pit of her stomach. Perhaps man had been too generous an estimation.
She pulled down her hood as she had been rold and ran a hand through her tangled, grease slicked hair, flashing the scars on her forehead for a brief instant. Her bobbed hair and heavy fringe fell into clumped tendrils around her face. A volley of gasps and mutters rose in the crowd; some were all surprised to see a young woman whilst others that knew her were staring nervously.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"Soldier."
"Your name?" He barked.
"That is her name, Major General." Sergeant Alan Edwards stood forward putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. He was tall and muscled gentleman of about forty-five years, his russet hair had flecks of grey and his square jawed handsomeness was marred by three C-shaped scar on his cheek.
The Major General's eyes narrowed into jewelled slits.
"That is my name." Soldier said softly with an amused close lipped smile. "Soldier Dominick."
"Alright, alright." Edwards tugged her back and nodded toward the barracks. "Why don't you go cool off, Soldier."
Soldier walked away with the Major General's cold gaze sliding all over her.
"What is her designation, Sergeant?"
"She's a scout for Unit Two, sir, she specialises in surveillance. She's been to the city on-"
"Thank you, Sergeant."
The sound of their voices faded as she walked away heading to the barracks to shower. She'd been in the city for several days, laid low among the Revenants, her wrist cuffs allowed her to programme her magic and she could replicate the scent of any species so as to get around the territories without fear of detection.
The Revenants had only basic intelligence and were guided by scent and sight, if she smelt like one of them and looked like a shadowy figure shrouded in black they tended to stay away from her. They were far more interested in fresh, living blood and meat.
She had been in the city watching for the arrival of the German dignitaries, hoping to alert the colony to intercept them, but they never came or at least she hadn't seen their convoy. She knew The Dragon's men were extra cautious since the Colony had interfered with the importing of slaves from Eastern Europe. She didn't know if they had magic enough to conceal people from moving about the city but it was possible.
She kicked off her boots and stripped off her stinking hoodie soaked with sweat and sulphur and peeled off her suit until she stood in her underwear. She was relieved to take off the sports bra that bound her breasts tightly and she peeled off her underwear damp with perspiration.
She hadn't heard an American fleet was coming to the Colony, she had no notion of why they were in Eden or what intentions they had. It was difficult to get into Britain: the skies and seas were monitored on four sides, by French, Spanish, Irish and Norwegian troops. Those Americans had balls, she could admit that at least.
She picked up her bar of soap and strode into the showers, greeting a few of the Unit Two crew with a nod. They were solitary creatures in Unit Two, taking shifts in the city territories.
"What's it like out there?" One asked.
"Quiet." She said as she turned on the shower and an icy spray of water hit her body. "It looks like rain."
She received a curt nod and they walked away.
She sighed in pleasure as the air turned from icy to lukewarm and she watched the dirt of the city swirl down the plug hole.
Miss S
