Hiding from the Dark.



He’d watched what they had done to Lugz, how they had ripped him to pieces, each strike of their blades slicing yet another piece of his flesh from his body, Thed was barely out of their reach when he’d decided that for him, it would be best to be elsewhere, so with the very best of intentions he’d ran from the hooded figures because he knew that once they had finished with their slaughter of Lugz he would be next. So now here he was, crouching , hidden from view behind a garbage bin, listening to the faint echoes of foot falls reverberating off of the rain soaked asphalt of Florence Street. Faint sounds of angry voices talking back and forth looking for more prey to feed their bloodlust upon. And just when he’d thought that they would find him cowering there behind the dumpster, it all suddenly fell silent. No more voices, no more footfalls, they had all fallen back into the shadows, all that was left was the sounds of the rain, but Thed knew there was still danger to be had, and he was staying put. Huddled there, cold and wet and alone in his own private hell. Hoping against hope that the light would come. For Thed, it couldn’t come soon enough.

The Alleys Of Florence.



Thursday December 12th , 2069.
It is three hours before sunrise, and they are now seven miles east of 32nd street, four miles into the occupied reds zone of the Canns Landing corridor. Just one block north of Florence Street. Against her better judgment, Samantha Bliss has allowed Priss to be a part of Klinger’s patrol detail, while Milo Tripper stays back and covers the rear flank. Lifeguards night vision has picked up the heat signature of one adult male red, and while Klinger and Priss investigate, the rest of the team slowly maneuver their way through the misty alley ways of Florence street.
“Uhhh… Samantha?”
“Yes Lifeguard what is it?”
“Isn’t this region supposed to have been deserted by humans?”
“Yes.. Right after the reds occupation here.. Why?”
“We’re picking up a series of signatures beneath the surface. The spikes are too low for reds.. They’re definitely human.”
“Human? Are you sure?”
“Yes ma’am, they’re underground, moving northeast of you..”
“Probably in the abandoned subway, most likely. Probably the only place civilians could survive here. Are they coming towards us?”
“No.. away from.”
Klinger and Priss appear holding the runaway red known as Thed at gunpoint. Samantha Bliss looks the red up and down and then at Klinger and Priss.
“Look what Priss found boss lady.”
She looks down at Thed, he is much smaller than the other red males that she has seen, he is cold wet and shaking, and he cowers at their feet, silently begging for mercy.
“What do they call you?”
He is holding both hands up, and there in his eyes is a look that she is very familiar with, it is the look of genuine fear. He very much looks like a pet dog that has been beaten by its owner.‘
“What is your name?”
“T..T..Thed. Madam…My N.. Name is Thed.”
Klinger appears at her side and whispers something under his breath to her. She looks down at Thed.
“You had a friend with you did you?”
He silently nods.
“And someone took his head from him did they?”
Again he nods.
“Well Mr. Thed. We are from Threshold. And we are going to find out what’s been going on here on Florence street.”

The Fellowship.



He relates to them what transpired with his friend Lugz and the hooded humans, and how he was chopped to pieces by them, the stories that he has heard about the mysterious residents of Florence street, keeps their attention for a time, until he mentions general Cuji. Then Samantha interjects into the conversation.
“How far is the Cuji’s outpost from here?” She asks him.
“Six miles to the southwest.”
She knows that they must save Cuji for another time, and that there are three Threshold agents to consider. And somehow their disappearance has something to do with those people in the deserted subway. Thed agrees to take them to where the hooded humans first appeared to them, and where they had cut down Lugz. Along the way an odd thought crosses through her mind, and Samantha only halfway wonders what two lone red soldiers were doing so far from their outpost.
“So.. tell me something Thed, how far did you and your friend get before you decided to chicken out, and go back to your outpost?.”
He gives her a nervous look.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, two soldiers, unarmed.. Six miles from their out post. You had to have been on the other side of Fremont street otherwise you wouldn’t have had to turn back to cross over Florence street putting yourselves in any danger. You wanted to desert, and you got lost and chickened out so you tried to cross Florence at night so you could be back before morning Muster. Cuji would never have known. Was it something like that?”
He nods again.
“Yeah.. Lugz and me hated this whole army thing. We were both too small to engage in real combat, they only used us for training, we were supposed to pretend like we were Threshold agents in field maneuvers, and when the bigger soldiers took us prisoner they would beat on us. Like we really worked for Threshold.”
Samantha listens intently..
“Well I don’t blame you for wanting to leave then-”
“SAM?”
When she hears alarm in Lifeguards voice she knows there is something wrong.
“They are coming Sam!!, picking up human signatures, maybe fifteen to twenty all around you and closing in fast! Find cover Now!!!.”
Instinctively, the members of Team Alpha draw their weapons and soon find themselves standing in the middle of a large circle, of hooded figures all wielding edged weapons, but with blades against Guns.. Samantha Likes her teams chances.. The fellowship of Florence was about to meet the best field team in Threshold’s history.

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