The Battle for Allegra: Relegated

Season One: Episode Four

Caleb Fast

Copyright © 2020 Caleb Fast

www.calebfast.com
First Published in 2020 by the Author on Amazon
All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author.
For information regarding permission, please email the author at calebfast@calebfast.com Please direct all further inquiries to the author at calebfast@calebfast.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real-world people, events, or locations are entirely coincidental.

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

One

Two

Three

DESPERATE PLEA!

The Story Continues,

Other Books By Caleb Fast

One

The Bulwark, Allegra

“Just run!” Matthew commands when he notices Rav’ian slowing down slightly, “Don’t worry, I’m right behind you!”

Rav’ian heeds Matthew’s words and she quickens her pace. Matthew hopes against all hope that he and Rav’ian are still heading in the right direction. Unfortunately, he can’t be sure thanks to the thick cloud of smoke that he had deployed.

The sniper fire has intensified since Matthew first tossed the smoke grenades. He isn’t certain, but part of him wonders if the Beetle snipers knew that he and Rav’ian had just slaughtered so many of their friends.

One of the sniper beams hits the ground nearly a meter away from Matthew’s feet, snapping him back to the task at hand of running for his life. The ray cracks loudly, and the mud sizzles where it had been hit. Not in the mood to get shot again, Matthew ducks down slightly and surges ahead.

Another sniper bolt strikes the mule and burns a hole into its side. The mule continues lumbering ahead seemingly unfazed through the storm of sniper fire.

“You’re almost there, come on!” Matthew hears someone beckon from ahead of him.

“Ack!” Rav’ian screams as a sniper bolt cuts into her thigh. She quickly stumbles and falls to the ground where she clenches her leg and squirms around.

“I’ve got you,” Matthew calls out as he races over to Rav’ian’s side.

Matthew slides to a stop beside her and he stares as the scorched hole in her leg for a few moments. Another loud crack from a sniper makes Matthew flinch and he immediately scoops up Rav’ian. Scared for his, and Rav’ian’s life, Matthew carries her in his arms the rest of the way to the trenches.

Before Matthew realizes it, he is at the edge of the frontmost trench. He then carefully hops down, doing his best to not jostle Rav’ian, who had fallen silent. Now protected by the trench’s high walls, Matthew relaxes slightly and lets out a content sigh.

“Well, that’s a new one.” A nearby human remarks as they examine Matthew.

“Can one of you get Marie?” Matthew huffs, his arms still clenched around Rav’ian who is beginning to stir.

“Who’s Marie?” one of the Mudders inquires as they cock their head.

Sighing once more, Matthew levels a stare at the small gathering of human Mudders and asks, “Just track down a Toaz, they’ll know who she is. Tell them Rav’ian got shot.”

A few people scurry away in order to fulfill Matthew’s request, leaving just a handful of curious faces who continue ogling him. They remain silent, save the occasional whisper.

After a minute or two, one of the onlookers asks, “So, what’s a Toaz?”

“She’s a Toaz,” Matthew answers simply as he jerks his chin toward Rav’ian. Frowning, he prods, “Are you guys new?”

“Yeah, just shipped in from Galatia,” one of the men promptly replies. Smiling, he nods, “We were told that we’d be able to fight for our freedom.”

“Your freedom?” Matthew asks curiously as Rav’ian mumbles something.

“Galatia’s a prison world, mate,” another soldier with a strange accent informs Matthew as he kicks some mud off his boot. Likely seeing that Matthew isn’t following, he continues, “We gots ourselves in a mite of trouble few years ‘ack. Me frien’s and I are fixin’ to go straight af’er we done ‘ere.”

“So, they just left you guys here on the front?” Matthew asks, trying to conceal his worry.

As much as he liked the idea of having even more humans fighting by his side, Matthew is beginning to wonder if there were any other good humans out there in the galaxy. Between this lot of convicted criminals and all the Fulcrum guys with James, Matthew can’t help but feel out of place.

“Aye,” the man answers as he takes a few steps closer to Matthew. The man is stout, and he has a wild black goatee to match his equally wild eyebrows and hair. Nodding, he eventually introduces himself, “Name’s Reginald Greenfield, me frien’s call me Reggie.”

“Well, Reggie, I’m Matthew,” Matthew nods in return before he looks down to Rav’ian who appears to be on the verge of saying something.

“Good t’ meet ya,” Reggie smiles, revealing a mouthful of metallic teeth. He then motions to two other humans and continues, “This ‘ere be me crew… rather what’s ‘eft of ‘em at least.”

The first person Reggie motioned toward steps forward. She is short and her auburn hair is braided and secured to the back of her head with a length of wire. She examines Matthew a moment before she introduces herself with a smile, “I’m Louise, Louise Glendoveer.”

“And I’m Alois, Louise’s big brother.” A young man sounds as he steps forward. Alois is much taller than Louise and he looks far more rugged as well. To seal his menacing look, much of the right side of Alois’s face is scarred from severe burns.

“Are not,” Louise counters as she narrows her eyes and scowls at Alois. She quickly looks back over to Matthew to explain, “We’re twins—”

“—And I am five minutes older,” Alois finishes with a mocking laugh as he elbows his sister in the side.

Matthew chuckles at the twin’s teasing of one another, but his amusement is cut short as Rav’ian moans in pain. Worried for her sake, he says, “It’s great to meet you all, but I—”

“Move!” Rav’ian sounds, cutting Matthew off.

Rav’ian’s eyes are fixed on something above them, and Matthew’s blood runs cold when he realizes that it must be the mule. He quickly tosses Rav’ian’s form easily a meter from where he is sitting before rolling after her. As he rolls, he sees the various onlookers also diving for cover.

Not fast enough to avoid the danger, Matthew is suddenly buried beneath the mechanized mule, and all the equipment it was ferrying. Matthew grunts as he tries to free himself from beneath the mule to no avail. He tries to take a deep breath when he suddenly realizes that he is sinking into the mud at an alarming rate.

“Get me out of here!” Matthew calls out as panic starts to set in.

His fear driving him, Matthew starts thrashing about until he throws one of the bags of supplies off of himself. He then starts clawing his way out of the mire and away from the mule. He sputters, coughing up a mouthful of mud before he looks over to see Rav’ian, who is on her side, watching him.

“I apologize for not providing you with a greater warning,” Rav’ian sounds with her strange frown.

“It’s fine,” Matthew assures her after a cough. He takes a drag from his canteen and swishes the water about for a few seconds before spitting it out, along with all the remaining filth in his mouth. Rising to his feet, Matthew turns and asks, “Reggie, are you and the other alright?”

“Aye,” Reggie replies from his hiding spot. The others slowly peek out from where they had been hiding as well.

“What is that thing?” one of the ex-prisoners asks as they gawk at the mule.

“It’s a mechanized transport for supplies,” Matthew replies as he lightly kicks at the mule that had yet to move.

“Is it dead?” the man presses as he rises from where he had taken cover.

“I sure hope not,” Matthew frowns as he stoops next to the mule. Realizing that he had more pressing things to attend to, he turns and helps Rav’ian to her feet.

“What’s in the bags?” Reggie queries as he approaches the mule.

“A lot of gear from a gunship wreck,” Matthew replies as he helps Rav’ian limp toward the heap of metal. He sets her on top of the mule’s body as he continues to Reggie, “There’s a lot more out there still, you and your people might want to get what you can tonight.”

“Is it safe to go out there at night?” Alois asks as he looks down at Rav’ian. Frowning, he gives Matthew a worried look.

Nodding, Matthew assures him, “It’s a lot safer than it is during the day.”

Matthew reaches into his backpack and pulls out some gauze. He then rifles around in his med pack for a few moments before he finds some burn cream. He pulls it out to apply to Rav’ian’s leg, but she quickly pushes his hand away and shakes her head.

“This does not work on my people,” Rav’ian explains with a wince.

“Then what can I use?” Matthew asks.

“The healer will possess what is required,” Rav’ian sighs as her eyes squeeze shut.

“Is there any way I can help?” Matthew questions, hating how useless he felt.

“You cannot,” Rav’ian replies as she lets her head rest on the mule.

“Whereabouts is this shipwreck?” Reggie asks once he sees that Matthew had finished with Rav’ian.

“I don’t know for sure,” Matthew admits with a shrug, “But you should be able to follow our tracks back to it without too much difficulty.”

Approaching Matthew, Louise asks, “Why aren’t you going to return to it? If there’s so much stuff to be had, I would think you would be interested in it.”

“Rav’ian and I have something else to take care of first,” Matthew tells her as he looks to Rav’ian. Part of him wants her to nod in agreement at least before he commits both of them to Wyndover’s mission. When Rav’ian doesn’t show any sign of response Matthew sighs in defeat.

“And what might that be?” Louise presses as she stands a couple paces away from Matthew and the mule. Oddly enough, she and her brother hadn’t gone running for cover as the others had. Instead, they seem to have only retreated several meters away.

“I can’t say at the moment,” Matthew responds, knowing the importance of keeping the mission under wraps.

“And why’s that?” Alois butts in as he joins his sister.

“Because I—” Matthew starts before cutting himself off. He pauses a moment to consider how to phrase his response before he just goes for it and says, “Because I don’t trust you guys yet.”

“Listen here, just because we—” Someone starts before Louise cuts them off.

“He has no reason to trust any of us, he has only just met us.” Louise sounds in defense of Matthew. She nods at Matthew for a moment before leveling an accusing glare at Reggie, “A lot of us would be better off if we didn’t trust people too fast.”

“Oi, you can’t go blamin’ me fo’ tha’!” Reggie exclaims.

Louise snorts before she mutters, “No, I’m pretty sure we can.”

“He did get us out of there,” Alois points out in a whisper.

Shaking her head, Louise counters, “No, you got us out. And you’ve got the scars to prove it.”

“But he waited for us,” Alois maintains.

“And then he got us arrested, what’s your point?” Louise demands.

“Now you can’t be bringin’ tha’ up now,” Reggie cuts in.

“Enough!” Matthew interrupts their argument, “Rav’ian needs silence so she can rest. You can fight elsewhere.”

“Where are they?” Matthew hears Marie’s voice sound from nearby.

“Over here, Marie,” Matthew calls out as he raises his hand as high as he dared. By now, the dense cloud of smoke has cleared, so the Beet snipers would have a clear shot to blow his hand off if he raised it too high.

Marie materializes from the group of ex-inmates and she stops dead in her tracks when she sees the mule and all the supplies it had been carrying. She cocks her head to the side and looks between Matthew and the bags of supplies for a few moments. After several awkward moments, she finally asks, “Where did you get all of this?”

“A Coalition troop transport got shot down, just about everyone was killed,” Matthew reports, “One of the survivors—a Second Lieutenant—made sure Rav’ian and I got everything we needed. They said they knew how bad it was for us on the front.”

Marie smiles excitedly and approaches Matthew with a bounce in her step. Once she is alongside the mule, she asks, “Is there any medical supplies? We’ve been out of so many things for so long.”

“Check out this bag,” Matthew instructs as he pats one of the larger bags. He smiles knowingly as Marie tears into the sack and starts pulling out various odds-and-ends.

“This is amazing…” Marie starts as she slowly peels out a large piece of medical equipment. Once she has it out of the bag, she gently kisses it before going on to explain herself, “I’ll finally be able to do bloodwork for everyone now.”

Matthew nods slowing, wanting to celebrate with Marie, but also worrying about Rav’ian. When he sees Marie go back to exploring the bag’s content, he interrupts, “That’s great, but Rav’ian’s in bad shape.”

“Right, I’m sorry,” Marie sounds as she pulls herself away from her early Christmas gift. Looking to Rav’ian, she starts talking, seemingly to herself, “Severe burn… Looks like it’s just a flesh wound…”

“Can you help her?” Matthew interrupts Marie once again.

“Yes, yes,” Marie nods absently as she reaches into a small satchel that she is wearing. She pulls out a strange orange ointment that smells like rotten seaweed and starts putting it on Rav’ian’s leg where the sniper bolt had burned her.

Rav’ian moans as Marie applies the ointment, but she doesn’t sound like she is in too much pain. Before long, Rav’ian opens her eyes and looks up to Matthew who is cradling her head. She smiles at him briefly before turning her attention to Marie’s work.

“How long until she’ll be back on her feet?” Matthew asks as he gently wipes some dried mud from Rav’ian’s face.

“She should be quite capable once she has rested,” Marie replies as she finishes applying a copious amount of the ointment to Rav’ian’s leg. Marie goes on to wipe her hands off on a towel before she grabs the gauze Matthew had pulls out earlier. She then wraps Rav’ian’s leg up tightly, which arouses a pained grunt from Rav’ian. Once Marie ties off the bandage, she looks up to Rav’ian and asks, “Is that better?”

“Yes,” Rav’ian replies as she slowly exhales, “Thank you, healer.”

“Well, if I understand it right, it’s Matthew you should be thanking,” Marie announces as she smiles to Matthew. Nodding to Matthew, she continues, “His efforts brought you both back to me—I mean us.”

“Thank you, Matthew,” Rav’ian smiles as she closes her eyes and exhales once more.

“I am needed back at the medical bunker,” Marie announces suddenly. Standing, she nods curtly to Matthew and Rav’ian before spinning on her heels and leaving the way she had come.

“What about the medical supplies?” Matthew calls after her as he looks at the pile of gear she had been fixating on moments before.

“Bring them to me later!” Marie’s voice sounds in response.

“She finds you attractive,” Rav’ian mutters in a bemused tone. Grunting, she tries to climb off of the mule.

Matthew waits for Rav’ian to stop before he sounds, “I don’t think you’re ready for that.”

“But I must accompany you in the search for the stolen machinery.” Rav’ian protests weakly.

“I don’t know how helpful you will be like this,” Matthew reasons as he points toward Rav’ian’s leg. After a moment of thought, he offers, “How about I just scout things out and then come back for you later? That way you can rest up.”

“I believe you are in need of rest as well, Matthew,” Rav’ian reminds him with a knowing look.

“Ugh, you’re right,” Matthew moans as his head suddenly starts pounding. He massages his temples for a few beats before yawning deeply. Rubbing his eyes, Matthew continues, “I need some sleep.”

“You’re free to stay in our camp,” Alois offers with a welcoming smile.

Matthew smiles back and nods his thanks. Without turning to his companion, he asks, “What do you say Rav’ian?”

When Rav’ian doesn’t reply, Matthew spins around and sees her chest slowly rising and falling as she breathes. Her eyes are closed, and he quickly realizes that she had fallen asleep.

“Louise should be able to get you’re A-TUT back up and running if you would allow it,” Alois volunteers his twin.

“My what?” Matthew asks in confusion.

Pointing at the mule, Alois clarifies himself, “That’s an all-terrain utility transport—A-TUT for short. A lot of marines call them mules.”

“Ah, right,” Matthew nods enthusiastically, now understanding. He quickly regrets his nodding as it causes his head to throb once more. He moans before continuing, “Go ahead, please.”

“Louise, if you would,” Alois invites his sister.

“I don’t have any of my tools,” Louise protests as she raises her hands to show that she doesn’t have anything.

“Matthew, are there any tools we can use on that A-TUT?”

“I think so, have at it,” Matthew replies as he rubs his face tiredly. Knowing that he is on the verge of passing out, Matthew decides to busy himself with putting away the gear Marie had taken out of the bag.

“Ah, just what I needed,” Louise sounds from another bag as she produces a toolbelt. She quickly drops to the ground and gets to work behind the mule.

“Oi, what’re you doin’ down there?” Reggie demands as he emerges from the group of ex-inmates that had gathered once again.

“Mister Campbell here needs our help,” a slurred reply comes from Louise. She pops back up into Matthew’s view with a wrench in her mouth. Pulling it out, she continues, “I just need a couple more seconds and I think I can get it running again.”

“That was fast,” Matthew muses as he finishes stowing away the last of the loose cargo.

“It was an easy fix,” Louise explains, clearly savvy enough to skip the long explanation.

“Then get on it,” Reggie orders.

Matthew watches as Louise silently slips back under the mule. A moment later, it whirrs back to life and its motors’ contently hum at the ready. Nodding approvingly, Matthew smiles and thanks Louise for her work.

Smiling sheepishly, Louise shrugs, “It was nothing, really.”

“Regardless, I owe you one,” Matthew insists before yawning once more. He examines Louise for a few moments as she avoids eye contact with him before he finally says, “And you can keep the tool belt as my thanks.”

“Are you sure?” Louise asks excitedly. She finally looks up in order to search Matthew’s eyes.

Smiling, Matthew assures her, “You have more use for it than I ever will.”

“Thank you,” Louise smiles broadly as she takes another look at her new tools.

Matthew sees Louise look covetingly at the sack that she had pulled the belt from and he quickly asks, “Is there anything else that you’d like out of there?”

“Well, there’s—” Louise starts before she clamps her mouth shut. Shaking her head, she declines, “No, this is more than enough, thank you.”

“Well then, I guess we had best be getting to your camp then,” Matthew sounds resolutely, “Rav’ian and I need to rest up before we head out on our special assignment.”

“They’re stayin’ in our camp?” Reggie demands of Louise and Alois.

“Aye, sir,” Alois readily replies, “If you haven’t noticed, there aren’t a lot of humans around here that we can trust.”

“There are alien races you can trust here,” Matthew interjects, “Just look at Rav’ian.”

“I ain’t seen her do nothin’ yet,” Reggie declares, clearly not convinced.

Louise quickly adds, “Alois and I will share our own supplies with them, you don’t need to worry about them taking anything of yours.”

“I ain’t rightly sure this is smart, we don’t know ‘im!” Reggie protests as he points a shaking finger at Matthew.

“Alois and I will keep an eye on them,” Louise offers as she looks over to Matthew. She continues as she shrugs and points at Rav’ian’s leg, “There’s not much else we can do today anyways. You can see what’d happen to us if we went over the top.”

The moment Louise stops talking, Alois starts in, “I promised him that he would be able to stay in our camp, if only for the day.”

“I don’t think—” Reggie starts.

“Frankly I don’t care what you think anymore,” Louise interrupts, “Alois and I are taking Matthew and his friend in regardless of what you think.”

Taken aback, Reggie tries once more, “How dare you, I’m your leader! I—”

Shaking her head, Louise scowls and interrupts Reggie once more, “Your leadership stuck us in a Galatian prison.”

Undoubtedly feeling insulted, Reggie tries once more to defend himself, “I—”

“We’re leaving,” Louise announces as she scowls at Reggie. Turning, she starts marching away and calls back, “Now.”

“Isn’t he in charge of you two?” Matthew asks as he starts after Louise who appears to not care if anyone is following her. After a few steps, he looks back to see that both Alois and the mule are following him.

“He used to be,” Alois replies, “But there isn’t much of a command structure in prison.”

“About that, what did you do to get stuck there?” Matthew inquires, his curiosity getting the best of his manners.

“We were accused of illegal salvaging,” Alois replies with a nod as he pulls up alongside Matthew. Smirking, he continues with a chuckle, “Problem is, we were supposedly on a government contract at the time.”

Perplexed, Matthew presses the matter further, “So, they just locked you up?”

“No, they turned our ship into space junk first,” Alois frowns, “Just the three of us survived. There was a crew of thirty-eight onboard, plus an additional twenty people we were transporting.”

“They killed that many people?”

“From what I’ve heard, they do stuff like that all the time.”

“So how did the three of you make it out?”

“We all got on an escape shuttle and then the Coalition fleet picked us up once they blew up the Cherry Picker.”

“Cherry Picker?”

“That was the name of our ship.”

“Interesting name,” Matthew nods before he looks back to ensure that Rav’ian is still on the mule. Seeing that she hadn’t moved from her perch, he asks Alois, “If Reggie isn’t in charge of you two anymore, why are you still with him?”

“He waited for us to get to the escape shuttle. If he left without us, we would be dead right now. His waiting saved our lives.”

“I thought Louise said you saved her life.”

“I did, then Reggie saved the two of us.”

“How long were you guys in prison?”

“Believe it or not, we were out of there within a week.”

Once Alois stops talking, Louise halts and turns to add, “Yeah, I think the Coalition started arresting random people in order to have them join this little war.”

“Why would they do that?” Matthew asks, admittedly worried. The more he heard from the twins, the more he feared that everything he heard about the Coalition was true. Perhaps the Coalition was, in fact, the cruel overlords that James had tried to convince him they were.

“My guess is they don’t have enough soldiers quite yet,” Alois replies, “Louise has been telling me about what she thinks is going on for a while now.”

“Either they don’t have enough soldiers, or they want more humans on the front.” Louise informs Matthew, “Most everyone who was killed on our salvager were all alien races, just like it is up here.”

Confused Matthew asks, “Now why would they want more humans up here in the line of fire?”

“I don’t know,” Louise admits, “All I know is there was no other reason for us to get sent to Galatia only to be immediately offered freedom if we fought for Allegra.”

“And you agreed?” Matthew asks dumbly.

Frowning, Louise cocks her head and slowly answers, “Yes, because the alternative was a lifetime in the mines of Paradise. We figured a few months of being enslaved as soldiers beat a lifetime of it.”

“Sorry, this is all just a bit much for me,” Matthew cedes with a shrug and an awkward chuckle, “We don’t get much news of the outside world where I’m from.”

“And where is that?” Louise inquires, “You know a lot about us now, and we don’t know much of anything about you.”

“I’m from a nearby world called Sinclair where I used to be a fisherman,” Matthew replies simply. Chuckling, he adds, “I always wanted a way out so I could see the galaxy, and now here I am.”

“Not everything you expected, huh?” Louise laughs. Before Matthew has the time to reply, she asks, “Matthew, where is the medical bunker that Marie lady said she wanted you to drop your stuff off at?”

“Just follow the signs that say field hospital,” Matthew instructs as he points to a dingy sign that is mounted on a nearby trench wall.

Two

The Bulwark, Allegra

“My head…” Matthew moans as he reaches up to press his palms against his eyelids.

Opening his eyes, Matthew is greeted with a view of the interior of the tent he had fallen asleep in hours before. He remains still for a few beats as his mind slowly replays the events from before his nap.

He and the twins had dropped off the medical supplies at Marie’s bunker after an unsuccessful search for her. Once they did that, the twins led Matthew to their camp as he told them about himself. They had taken an avid interest in him, which Matthew found rather entertaining.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Matthew,” Louise’s voice cheerfully chirps from somewhere outside of the tent.

“How long was I out?” Matthew groans as he slowly sits up, his abs aching at the effort.

“My count is twelve hours,” Alois answers from nearby. He chuckles as he continues, assumedly to Louise, “Which means I won our little bet.”

“Fine, fine,” Louise snaps. There is some shuffling outside before Louise finally sounds, “Matthew, your friend Rav’ian has yet to wake up. I doubt she’ll be up any time soon though.”

“Why’s that?” Matthew inquires as he emerges from his tent. He looks up to the sky and is greeted with an impossibly bright sun. Squinting, Matthew reckons that either Allegra’s sun is a lot larger than Sinclair’s, or Allegra is a lot closer to its sun.

Matthew takes in the surrounding trench that he is in which is one of countless similar trenches that make up the Bulwark. This particular trench is a lot drier than the rest, save a few mud puddles and a small trickle of water on its far end. The tents are all situated around the recessed cul-de-sac of sorts.

Louise stands, startling Matthew who quickly looks over to her. Seeing that she has Matthew’s attention, Louise replies, “Her wounds are still healing, I’d say that she has least a few more hours before she’ll be ready to head out.”

“That Marie lady sure knows her stuff,” Alois muses.

“Yeah,” Matthew agrees with a laugh, “I don’t know where she learned it all, though.”

Louise walks over to a pile of gear next to the tent Rav’ian is staying in and she stoops down to pick up her own equipment. Standing once more, she shoulders her bag and assures Matthew, “We’ll figure that out eventually, I’m sure.”

“The machine…” Rav’ian mutters from within her tent.

“Matthew, Rav’ian is talking about a machine, does this mean anything to you?” Louise asks with a perplexed look.

Matthew finishes slipping on his other boot before standing upright and nodding wordlessly. Part of him had wished that Rav’ian would be ready to accompany him on their hunt when he woke up. Frowning, he now realizes that he is on his own.

“What kind of machine are we talking about?” Alois queries as he grabs his own gear.

“Where are you two going?” Matthew asks, trying to avoid Alois’s question.

“With you,” Louise replies readily as she puts out the small fire she and Alois had been cooking over. Smirking, she continues, “You’ve got us for the long haul.”

Unwilling to put the twins in the line of fire, and wary of letting them know too much, Matthew starts, “I can’t ask you to—”

“Reggie is dead, Matthew,” Alois interrupts.

“I had Alois check it out, he says it looks like he was killed by a human,” Louise finishes as she bites her lower lip in an attempt to hold back tears.

Matthew looks between Louise and Alois for a few moments before he finally asks, “Any idea on who it was?”

Alois scans Matthew for a few seconds before he finally admits, “I tried tracking them down, but I lost their trail after a while.”

Once Alois finishes talking, Louise pipes up, “My bet is that whoever killed Reggie is also the person that you are after.”

“I want to accompany you to see if I can find the tracks of the person who killed Reggie,” Alois adds once his twin had finished.

“And what about you?” Matthew asks Louise.

Frowning, Louise announces, “Odds are that whoever killed Reggie is waiting for us to split up so they can take us all out one at a time.”

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Matthew asks, feeling like something isn’t adding up.

“The Marie lady is still unaccounted for,” Alois reports, “As are several people who met you when you returned to the trenches.”

“It sounds like a lot more than a coincidence to me,” Louise asserts.

“So, you want us to all stick together just in case,” Matthew nods in understanding. Frowning, he looks over to Rav’ian, who is still asleep and asks, “But what about her?”

Louise, who apparently already worked everything out, quickly responds, “You said those of her kind can be trusted. We can leave her with them while we do your thing.”

“Makes sense,” Matthew sounds as he gathers his gear. Looking to the mule, he continues, “I think I’d like to leave all the gear with them too, just in case. But I will be bringing the mule along with us in case we need it.”

“Could we leave our stuff with them as well?” Louise asks.

“Yeah,” Matthew affirms, “That’s probably your best bet.”

“Alois, can you load all our stuff up?” Louise asks of her twin. She frowns as she slowly nods and continues, “And bring Reggie’s stuff too, he won’t be needing it.”

“On it,” Alois sounds as he quickly starts collecting items from three of the tents that are scattered around the campsite.

Louise grabs her rifle and starts walking around the camp, peeking inside of each tent as she goes. Every so often she stops to poke around in someone’s belongings before she moves on the next. After searching a few tents, Louise waves Matthew over.

Cocking his head, Matthew asks, “Aren’t we going to help pack?”

“No, that’s Alois’s thing,” Louise replies, “He likes doing the physical side of things while I take care of the planning.”

“Yeah, I noticed you do a lot of planning,” Matthew chuckles as he recalls how often Louise’s ideas are brought up in conversation.

“He says I was born with both our brains,” Louise chuckles as she looks over to her twin. Still staring, she continues, “It’s been a bit of a catchphrase of sorts for him as long as I can remember.”

“Well, it sounds like he’s a great tracker,” Matthew offers as he stops beside Louise.

Nodding, Louise agrees, “Yeah, we both have our own sets of skills.”

“So, what did you want me over here for?” Matthew asks.

“Check out the guy in the tent,” Louise instructs.

Matthew stoops down and peeks through the tent’s flap. He is immediately greeted with the face of a dead man. The man’s face is locked in an eternal scream that sends shivers down Matthew’s spine. Matthew jumps away from the dead man’s tent and crashes into the neighboring one. As he fumbles around trying to free himself from the mess, he is greeted by another dead body.

“They were all here when we got here,” Louise informs Matthew as she helps to free him from the tent he had entrapped himself in. Once Matthew is to his feet, Louise continues, “When we left this morning and found you and your friend all the tents were empty. By the time we got back after dropping off all the medical supplies, half of the tents were full of dead guys.”

“Think it was the same people who killed Reggie?” Matthew asks with a dry mouth. He can’t help but worry that Louise may be lying to him about how long the bodies had been here.

Nodding, Louise points at some footprints and replies, “Alois says some of the tracks match, so yeah.”

“And you said it was a human that did it?”

“Alois says the prints were definitely human.”

“Well, there aren’t a lot of humans up here. The ones I do know are terrorists. Suffice to say, I think they probably are involved.”

“Think we should take the dead guys’ gear? They won’t be needing it any more than Reggie does.”

“As much as I hate the idea, you do have a point.”

“Hey, you’re a salver now. It’s what we do!”

“A what?”

“Salver. It’s short for salvager—you’re one of us now, boss.”

“Boss?”

“Alois and I took a vote while you were asleep, you’re our new boss.”

“I don’t think—”

“The voting session is over, congrats skipper. …You know, Alois even came up with a clever name for you already too!”

“Do I even want to hear it?”

“Oh yes, it’s a gem.”

“Alright, go for it.”

“So, you know how we are called Mudders?”

“Yeah?”

“And you’re a sailor…”

“And?”

“And since you’re in charge that makes you a skipper. So, Alois told me that we should call you ‘Mudskipper’ for now on.”

“Mudskipper?”

“Aye, Mudskipper Matthew. You’re our captain now!” Louise declares happily. Alois overhears her and starts laughing as he gives Matthew an exaggerated salute.

“Oh joy,” Matthew mutters, mostly to himself.

•••••••••••••••

With Rav’ian, the trophies from last night’s hunt, and all the gear stowed away with the Toaz, Matthew can’t help but feel free. As he sees it, he suddenly doesn’t have as many burdens. Sure, this feeling may just be temporary, but Matthew intends to make the most of it.

“So, we’re looking for some really big tracks,” Alois sounds, pulling Matthew out of his state of bliss.

Nodding, Matthew replies, “Yeah, big prints from a large machine.”

“We’re not hunting down a mecha, are we?” Louise whispers.

“That’s exactly what we’re after,” Matthew responds, no longer willing to hide the truth from his new crew. So far he had only heard of the mech being called a mech or a mechanized soldier of some sort, but he had to admit he liked the sound of mecha too.

“You truly intend to track down a mechanized marine?” Louise asks with wide eyes.

Shrugging, Matthew offers, “For what it’s worth, it was stolen.”

“Stolen, how?” Alois quickly demands.

“I don’t know how,” Matthew admits with a frown, “All I know is that there are nearly a hundred dead marines out there and the mech is the only thing that walked away from the crash site.”

“And there’s just three of us going after whoever did this?” Louise asks, her worry evident.

Frowning, Matthew replies, “I don’t know who else we can trust right now—beside the Toaz. And right now, I think the Toaz will be better off if we left them out of this. That way they can keep track of things around here. Just in case something bad happens.”

“I don’t think this is the best idea,” Louise maintains as she quickly glances over her shoulder.

“Bad idea or not, it has to be done,” Matthew shrugs, “You said so yourself, these are probably the same people who killed Reggie.”

“Stop,” Alois sounds as he slides to a halt in front of Louise and Matthew. He crouches and Louise follows in suit.

“What is it?” Matthew whispers as he stoops down and presses himself against the trench wall.

As Matthew’s body presses into the porous wall, he feels the warm mud seeping through his clothing. Oddly enough, he doesn’t find the mud nearly as distasteful during the day thanks to its warm embrace. He reaches down and takes a handful of the mud and squeezes it, watching carefully as it oozes between his fingers.

“Back up,” Alois orders as he starts retreating. Louise and Matthew are quick to comply, and they make their way back from where they came.

“It looks like we’re being hunted,” Louise whispers to Matthew, “Alois found a crude trap in our path.”

“Are you sure it was meant for us?” Matthew breathes as he looks back to Alois.

“It’s new, way too new to be for anyone other than us,” Alois reports, “And I think it was set by the same person who killed Reggie. They left the same tracks.”

Nodding, Matthew surmises, “So either we’re next, or they know we are on to them.”

“I’m sure—” Louise starts before getting cut short by a gunshot and a splash in the mud near her head.

“Hit the deck!” Matthew calls out as he drops to the ground and looks to where he had heard the gunshot.

About fifteen meters ahead Matthew sees the intersection he and the others had passed through just a few minutes before. From one of the intersecting trenches, Matthew can see the barrel of a rifle sticking out from the shooter’s hiding spot. Pointing, he reveals the attacker’s location to Louise.

“Think it’s just him?” Louise demands as she pushes a crate in position so she can hide behind it.

“I sure hope so,” Matthew calls as the shooter blindly opens fire around the corner they are hiding behind.

“Alois, where are you?” Louise shouts as she looks behind her and Matthew. Matthew follows her gaze and sees that Alois is no longer behind them.

“He must have gone over the top!” Matthew announces before he starts digging into the earthen wall he is pressed against. At first, he uses his fingers before he quickly changes gears and uses the small shovel he has strapped to his backpack.

“Alois, look out for the snipers!” Matthew warns as he cranes his neck out from the foxhole he is digging. He then quickly ducks back behind his cover as another volley of weapons fire sounds off.

“Now we know there are at least two of them,” Louise acknowledges as bullets smack all around them with renewed fervor.

“I hope there aren’t a lot more than that,” Matthew grunts as part of his mud wall explodes as it is hit in the latest volley. Wiping some grime from his face, he takes hold of his rifle and looks over to Louise.

Louise gives him an expectant stare for a moment before asking, “What are you thinking?”

“Alois is probably sneaking over there to take them out, right?” Matthew asks as he presses himself even further into the soft earth.

“I would assume so, yes,” Louise nods.

Nodding back, Matthew instructs, “Then we need to occupy those guys long enough to let him sneak up on them without being noticed.”

Louise quickly sticks her own rifle out from behind her cover and opens fire in the general direction of their assailants. Matthew glances around the corner of his small crevasse once more and sees that Louise’s assault sent the attackers back behind into hiding. Using this to his advantage, Matthew motions for Louise to cover him as he prepares to charge down the trench.

“Look out!” Matthew hears someone shout in the attacker’s direction. This call is immediately followed by a loud grunt, and Matthew reasons that Alois must have gotten to them.

Hoping to get to the assailants in time to help Alois, Matthew charges down the trench. After a few short steps, Matthew sees one of the shooters racing toward him, Alois hot on his heels.

The man is wearing a mask, which makes Matthew nervous. The nervousness must be mutual because the man slows slightly when he sees Matthew charging him, but that isn’t enough to stop him completely.

Locking his jaw, Matthew lunges toward the man, his arm already swinging toward his target’s face. Seeing this, the man stops altogether and he raises his arms to try and protect himself.

Matthew’s fist crashes into the man’s arms with a loud crack which is immediately followed by a scream of pain. The man crumbles to the ground in front of Matthew, cradling his right arm protectively.

“Who are you?” Matthew demands as he rips the man’s mask off. He then takes a handful of the man’s hair and pulls at it until he can see the man’s face.

“No one,” the man seethes through clenched teeth.

“You know, that’s weird because you look a lot like someone I saw with James earlier.”

“You should have accepted his invitation when you had the chance,” the man fumes. He tries to spit on Matthew, but fails miserably, managing only to cover his own face in spittle.

“This is the guy who killed Reggie,” Alois informs Matthew once he catches his breath.

The man tries to jerk away from Matthew before responding to Alois, “You can’t prove anything.”

“Alois?” Louise prods as she looks expectantly to her brother.

“The footprints match,” Alois declares, “It’s him alright.”

“What do you two want to do with him?” Matthew asks of the twins.

“Let me gut him like I gutted his friend,” Alois demands as he takes a step forward, a bloody knife in hand. The man whimpers in fear and he tries to break away from Matthew’s steely grip.

“Not yet,” Louise shakes her head.

“Please, no…” The man whimpers as he squirms slightly.

“Would he actually do that?” Matthew whispers to Louise.

“If you can answer some of our questions, we might just spare you,” Louise informs the captive.

Just who are these people? Matthew thinks to himself as he glances between Alois and Louise. Looking down at the man beneath him, Matthew gets a sour taste in his mouth. Releasing his grip, Matthew lets the man drop to the ground. Shaking his head, Matthew protests, “We’re not torturing—I’m not torturing him.”

“Please, I’m just following orders,” the man blubbers further.

“If you don’t tell us everything right now, then we won’t have any choice other than—”

“I… can’t be a part of this…” Matthew announces as he raises his arms in surrender, “Do what you think you have to do.”

“You can’t let them do this to me!” the man whines as he looks to Matthew in fear, “Help me!”

“Did you kill their friends?” Matthew asks the man.

The man responds after several moments, tears streaming down his face, “Yes, but I—”

Shaking his head, Matthew starts walking away. The man whimpers behind him before Matthew announces, “Then I can’t help you, you’re a murderer.”

Matthew quickens his pace slightly and is around the corner when the man finally calls out, “If you leave me now, then you no better than I am!”

Shaking his head, Matthew slips behind the corner he and the twins had been attacked from. He is immediately greeted with the sight of a man whose guts had quite literally spilled from his abdomen.

Swallowing, Matthew resists the urge to vomit as images of the Beet feeding ground from the night before flash before his mind’s eye. Grimacing, Matthew dry heaves a few more times. Frowning, Matthew inwardly congratulates himself for not actually puking.

Turning, Matthew finds someone’s backpack and he stoops down beside it. Opening it, he rifles through its contents and quickly finds a blanket. Pulling it out, he unfolds it with a shake and covers the unsightly mess Alois had caused.

In the distance, Matthew can hear cries of pain sounding as the twins retrieve the information they desired from the assailant. Doing his best to ignore the suffering he had allowed; Matthew covers his ears and stoops down in the mud. Shuddering, he closes his eyes and lets out a guttural shout to try and overpower the man’s cries.

•••••••••••••••

Matthew wakes up with a start as he hears the sound of boots sloshing in the mud nearby. Gripping his rifle, he looks up and sees Louise and Alois approaching him.

Frowning, he looks back down to the ground. I just let them torture a man, Matthew thinks in disgust, I just… let it happen.

“Matthew, we’re done,” Louise sounds as she places a hand on Matthew’s shoulder.

“Did you kill him?” Matthew asks without looking up.

Louise laughs and then continues after a few moments, “No… we took him to the Toaz once we were finished with him.”

“We didn’t torture him, don’t worry,” Alois quickly adds, “He told us everything before we got the chance.”

“Who are you guys, really?” Matthew demands as he looks up to the twins.

“We were with the Resistance years ago,” Louise responds, suddenly very forthcoming, “Alois and I were… shock troopers of sorts. We were shipped all across Coalition and neutral space to fight and to train troops.”

Confused, Matthew cocks his head and continues his questioning of the odd duo, “I’m sorry, how old are you two? And I thought you said you were arrested without any reason?”

“We’re twenty-three,” Alois answers, “And we weren’t doing anything illegal.”

“At the time!” Matthew exclaims, “But you guys had a history that would be more than enough to get you sent to prison.”

“We didn’t leave any trace of our presence anywhere we went,” Louise argues as she and Alois pull Matthew to his feet, “And we had a cover story for where we were and what we were doing for all the years we were with the Resistance.”

Pulling away from the twins’ reach, Matthew demands, “And why should I trust you now, since you’ve kept this much from me?”

Chuckling, Louise gazes into Matthew’s eyes. Smirking, she looks him up and down and admits, “You shouldn’t, but I think you can see that you don’t have any other options at this point.”

“Are you threatening me?” Matthew inquires as his hand instinctively reaches for the knife in his belt.

“Alois, no,” Louise warns as she stretches her arm out to her brother. Matthew then sees that Alois has his own knife in hand and he looks far too ready to use it again. Alois relaxes slightly and Louise proceeds to assure Matthew, “I have no reason to threaten you, I’m just pointing out that you probably won’t make it on your own now. Besides, you need our help to get your mecha.”

“So, I don’t have a choice. I have to either trust the two of you or die?” Matthew asks as he eyes the twins. How did I end up here, where all the humans have such violent histories? Matthew wonders as he rubs his face.

“We can’t guarantee your safety if you go out on your own,” Louise offers with a shrug.

Matthew gives Louise a curious look as he asks, “And why are you two so committed to protecting me?”

“We heard about your fighting ability when we landed here,” Louise starts, “Suffice to say we were curious. When we saw that chain of Beetle heads on your A-TUT, we knew you lived up to the stories.”

“Up until last night, all I’ve done was protect myself,” Matthew tells the twins as he shrugs.

“And you learned how to do all of that on a fishing ship?” Louise asks curiously.

Nodding, Matthew replies, “Yeah, a few of the guys on the crew were veterans. Some used to be in special ops units.”

“And they trained you?” Louise asks, clearly surprised. Chuckling, she levels an accusing stare at Matthew and continues, “That’s highly illegal. I’d say you are in no position to judge us—”

“They didn’t train me, I just watched them fight and copied it. I used their moves against them when we’d fight.” Matthew answers, trying to gloss over the fact that it took several years before he was even faintly proficient.

Repositioning her gear, Louise starts marching down the trench they had been ambushed in. She tosses a rock and there is a loud crash, which Matthew reasons must be the trap going off. She slips out of sight, leaving Matthew and Alois.

“If you ever try pulling a knife on her again, you’re going to end up like him,” Alois warns Matthew as he uses his knife to point at the man he had gutted earlier.

Louise sticks her head around the corner she had disappeared behind and announces, “Well, we’re going to need those fighting skills if we’re going to find your stolen mecha.”

“Wait, so you’re still going to help me?” Matthew asks, surprised.

“As I said, you need us, and we probably need you.” Louise’s voice sounds in reply as she starts off down the trench once more, this time with Matthew and Alois in tow.

Three

The Bulwark, Allegra

“Well, it looks like we’ve found the tracks,” Matthew notes as he pokes at one of the large prints in the ground with his foot.

“Are they as recent as I think they are?” Louise inquires of Alois.

“They aren’t too recent,” Alois shakes his head, “The mecha likely passed through here several hours ago.”

“Well, if the mech was taken by James’s people, then it shouldn’t be too far away, right?” Matthew asks.

“I believe that’s going to be the case,” Louise agrees.

The trio follow the tracks of the missing marine mech as they lead away from the trenches and further behind friendly lines. The mountains loom ahead of them, as do the limited artillery pieces that line the various ridges.

To believe James and I just passed through here two nights ago… Matthew muses to himself with a chuckle. He looks to the mountain pass he and James had passed over in order to reach the front and sighs. A lot has changed in the course of just a couple of days. Chuckling, Matthew mentally corrects himself, A couple of Allegrian days at least. What is that? Three or four normal days?

“These are the same tracks as the two men who attacked us,” Alois reports as he points to two sets of footprints that cut across the trail the mech had left. Several other sets of footprints also crisscross the mech’s trail, possibly in an attempt to throw off those who may attempt to follow it.

“Should we follow these back to where they came from?” Matthew asks as he veers away from the mech’s tracks and pursues the much smaller footprints.

“No, these tracks will take us on the most direct route,” Louise counters.

“Why?” Matthew asks as he stops, “If I were on foot, I would have taken the shortest way back to the trenches.”

Motioning for Matthew to return to her, Louise sounds, “They probably took the shortest route on their way there in order to hide their mecha as quickly as possible; they didn’t want anyone to see it in daylight. Their people, on the other hand, needed to cover their tracks and ensure that they didn’t come from the same direction of their hideout.”

“Think of those footprints as a decoy of sorts,” Alois offers as Matthew rejoins them.

“So, what all did the guy you questioned say?” Matthew asks as he plods alongside Louise.

Looking over to Matthew, Louise replies, “He said that they’ve got a lot of people with the mecha. If we’re going to do this, we can’t risk getting spotted.”

“So keep your eyes open, we can’t let anyone sound the alarm,” Alois warns as he scans the surrounding landscape.

•••••••••••••••

Dropping to the ground, Matthew slowly looks over to where Louise is laying. She glances over to him and gives him a reassuring nod before turning her attention back toward the small dugout Alois had pointed out ahead of them. Matthew peeks over the small crater he and the twins are hiding in to follow Louise’s gaze.

Ahead, Matthew can just make out the form of a few helmets sticking out from some trenches. A couple helmets bob up and down as the wearer walks from one end of the trench to another.

“What’s the plan?” Matthew whispers just loud enough to be heard by the twins.

Rolling closer to Matthew, Alois answers, “We go around on the south side.”

“South…” Matthew mutters, mostly to himself as he looks distastefully at what appears to be a bombed out building.

The trench leads all the way to the derelict building which appears to be heavily defended. Matthew slowly swallows a lump in this throat as he continues scanning the hostile stronghold. Much of the building looks like it is on the verge of collapse, and the remaining portion looks very much haunted.

“I’m seeing some movement in the building,” Louise points out.

Frowning, Matthew adds, “I’m willing to bet that the mech is going to be in there.”

“It’d be a great hiding spot,” Alois agrees.

Matthew, Alois, and Louise all watch the building in complete silence for several moments. Sure enough, there is a good amount of movement within the structure. Matthew counts at least eight people milling about around the ruin in addition to the six or so in the trenches around it.

Worried, Matthew looks over to the twins and asks, “How are we going to—”

“Don’t move!” someone calls out menacingly from behind Matthew.

“I guess we found our way in…” Louise breathes.

“What do you mean?” Matthew asks. A moment later, he hears the man who told them not to move start approaching them.

“Shut up!” the man warns as he clicks his safety off.

“Who’s this, Dominic?” another voice sounds from behind Matthew and the twins.

“These three are spying on us,” the first man, Dominic, replies.

“Think we can take two guys?” Louise whispers barely loud enough for Matthew to hear.

Alois whispers something in reply, but Matthew can’t make it out. Judging by the soft grunt Louise makes, Matthew assumes Alois’s response wasn’t satisfactory.

“You, stand up,” Dominic orders as he kicks Matthew’s foot.

Matthew rises to his feet slowly and he watches the twins closely, praying that they make a move. Once Matthew is all the way to his feet, the man behind him turns him around roughly. Matthew is now looking at the two men who snuck up on them face to face.

“He’s the one James brought in,” the other man sounds after he scans Matthew’s face for a moment.

“The fighter?” Dominic asks, his face betraying both his curiosity and nervousness.

Nodding, the second man starts, “Yeah, you’d better be careful.”

“Maybe I should just shoot him,” Dominic mutters as he scans Matthew’s face, likely searching for any signs of a fight.

Shaking his head, the second man shoots down the idea, “No, James will—”

In an instant, Matthew takes a hold of Dominic’s rifle. Breaking it away from Dominic’s grip, Matthew smashes the weapon against Dominic’s chin and then unleashes a volley of bullets that tear into the second man.

Knowing that all the noise he made would draw a lot of attention, Matthew immediately drops back to the ground. Closing his eyes, he takes a long, unsteady breath.

Shooting a Beet is one thing, this… this is completely another… Matthew thinks as he feels some tears welling up in his eyes. His lips tremble slightly as he thinks about how he just killed two people. Two living and breathing human beings.

“Matthew, are you going to be alright?” Louise whispers slowly. She touches Matthew’s shoulder which makes him flinch and pull away.

“He’ll be alright,” Alois sounds.

“I just killed them,” Matthew whimpers.

“Weapons fire!” someone shouts from the direction of the delipidated building.

“Check it out!” another voice orders.

“It sounds like our cover’s blown,” Louise points out before she peeks over their meager cover at the hostiles beyond.

Chuckling, Alois proceeds to remind Matthew, “They were talking about killing you, you shouldn’t feel bad about what you did.”

“You may have just saved our lives,” Louise quickly adds in an effort to ease Matthew’s conscience.

“Sal, Hunter, check it out!” one of the hostiles calls out.

Matthew is about to say something when the thunderous reports of an explosion sound in the valley. Soon thereafter, the earth beneath Matthew and the others starts shuddering. The blasts continue going off continuously, each blast reverberating through Matthew’s bones.

“Who’s shooting?” Matthew calls out, trying to be heard over the blasts. As soon as he finishes, another explosion sounds nearby, showering Matthew and the twins in dirt.

“What?” Louise shouts back, barely loud enough to be heard over the countless detonations.

“Looks like artillery!” Alois calls out, “We need to find cover!”

“Artillery?” Matthew asks, mostly for his own sake.

Turning over onto his back, Matthew looks to the trenches in the valley below and is greeted with a sight that sends shivers down his spine. All across the Bulwark, explosions are going off and there are people running to-and-fro. A light blue fog has descended across the trenches, reminding Matthew of James’s words.

That must be the gas James told me about… Matthew thinks as his eyes grow wide. Memories of James’s warnings flash through his head and he gets a sinking feeling in his gut. James had warned that the gas would drive people to turn on their fellow soldier. He also warned that not every artillery blast resulted in an explosion. That some shells waited for people to draw closer before they were activated to infect the unfortunate soul who stumbled across it.

Terrified, Matthew glances over toward where the nearest artillery round had crashed moments before. Matthew cranes his neck to get a better look at the nearby crater where it had landed. Sighing, Matthew notes that the round had evidentially detonated and not released any of the toxic gas.

“Looks like we got lucky,” Alois sounds before falling into a brief coughing fit.

After several still moments, Louise points out, “The artillery seems to have stopped.”

Frowning, Matthew announces, “But now we’re in for some real trouble.”

“What do you mean?” Louise asks.

“James told me that the Beet’s artillery opens up a whole new can of worms,” Matthew replies with a slight grimace, “Some of the shells release a toxic gas that drives people crazy. Those caught in it start killing everything in sight.”

Cocking her head, Louise inquires, “Are you sure you can trust him on that?”

“He thought I was going to join him when I first came, he didn’t think he needed to lie just then,” Matthew answers, “So, yeah, I think I can trust what he told me early on.”

Alois lets out a long, low whistle before saying, “If that’s the case, then I think our friends over there are in big trouble.”

“Why do you say—” Matthew starts to ask before he risks a glance at the trench and derelict building. He is greeted with the sight of a blue fog over the trenches and even parts of the structure.

“Charlie, what are you doing?” someone cries out from the ruin. They start to say something else but are silenced by a spurt of gunfire.

“I guess we can assume that not everyone is infected quite yet,” Matthew frowns.

“Then we use this to our advantage,” Louise announces as she quickly checks her gear, “Let’s get in and out while they are killing each other.”

“We have to avoid the gas,” Matthew warns, “Otherwise we’ll end up at each other’s throats as well.”

“Alois, did you bring any of Reggie’s supplies with you?” Louise inquires as she slowly rises to a crouch.

“I brought some,” Alois responds as he kneels next to his twin. He shrugs off his pack and opens it before continuing, “What do you need?”

“Do you have his gas mask?” Louise queries.

Chuckling, Alois declares, “Believe it or not, I do!”

“Alright then, masks on,” Louise instructs.

“Hang on, how do we know that we can only be infected by breathing it in?” Matthew challenges.

“You’ve got me there,” Louise admits, “What do you think we should do?”

Matthew scans the building for several moments. Nodding slowly, he takes in every detail that he can. As far as he can tell, only the part nearest the trench line appears to be affected by the gas that is now dissipating. There are several doors leading into the building, only one of which currently appears to be outside of the cloud.

“It looks like the south door will be our only way in,” Matthew reports as he motions toward the furthest door.

“South door it is,” Louise nods as she pulls off her pack. Setting her bag down in the mud, she proceeds to pull out a gas mask. Once she has her mask strapped into place, Louise finally offers, “I think we should have these on, just in case.”

“Can’t hurt,” Alois quickly agrees as he fishes two masks out of his bag. He hands one off to Matthew before fixing his own into place.

“Murry, stop!” another voice calls from the damaged structure. This call is immediately followed by several sets of gunshots and nearly as many screams.

“We’re going to have plenty of resistance in there,” Alois points out as he slowly nods. He then trains his rifle on the trenches and slowly swivels from one side to the next.

Nodding, Louise suggests, “So we make sure no one is left standing to resist us.”

Startled at Louise’s words, Matthew quickly protests, “Now hang on here, I’m not shooting any—"

“And we’re moving,” Louise interrupts as she rises to her feet and starts off toward the door Matthew had pointed out.

Matthew is about to argue when the twins both race out from their cover and make a break for the building. Shaking his head, Matthew gives chase. Whatever these two are up to, I hope I don’t get shot for it, Matthew thinks to himself as he pursues the cryptic duo.

“Hold,” Alois sounds as he slides to a stop beside the door. His back is up against the wall nearest the door and his hand is on the handle.

“Matthew, stay behind us,” Louise instructs, “We’ll clear the way for you.”

“But we still don’t know if they’re actually bad guys,” Matthew weakly argues, still feeling squeamish after killing the two men who had found him moments before.

“They’re hostile alright,” Louise announces steadfastly.

Frowning, Matthew gives in, “I just hope you’re right, I have a bad feeling about all of this.”

DESPERATE PLEA!

Thank You for exploring the future alongside me!

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Caleb Fast

The Story Continues,

Will Matthew and his new companions be able to storm what appears to be the Fulcrum hideout?

Will they be able to retrieve the stolen marine mech and avenge Wyndover’s friend?

Read on the see what happens in the war for Allegra!

The Battle for Allegra Episode Five:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086RTCX5Y

Other Books By Caleb Fast

The Battle for Allegra Series:

Season One:

Conscripted (1)

First Kill (2)

The Hunt (3)

Relegated (4)

Retrieval (5)

Sanctuary (6)

Secured (7)

Harborage (8)

Revelations (9)

Promotion (10)

Season Two:

Awakening (11)

Arrival (12)

Dawn (13)

The Limit of Infinity Series:

Renaissance: The Limit of Infinity

Escapade: A Price to Be Paid

Overcomer: No Man Left Behind

Wayward: Long Way from Home