by Shawn Muller
Awaken
Book 1 of The Chronicles of Ghost Company
BY
Shawn Muller
Awaken
Shawn Muller
Distributed by Amazon
Copyright 2015 Shawn Muller
Amazon Edition, License Notes
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Awaken
Index
Chapter 1 – Waking up
Chapter 2 – Unforeseen Consequences
Chapter 3 – Preparations
Chapter 4 – Springtime
Chapter 5 – Let the games begin
Chapter 6 – Epilogue
About Shawn Muller
Awaken
Chapter 1 – Waking up
“Ngh” was all I could say as I slowly opened my eyes. I was lying flat on my back looking up at a green canopy of trees. It took me awhile to regain my focus, the forest stopped spinning and I tried to sit up - big mistake. I promptly vomited, just managing to turn over and miss myself. Groaning, I fell back down, the world spinning even faster as a massive headache formed. I passed out again and when I woke up the world was stable once more, headache gone. I tried sitting up, slower this time and managed it without a repeat of earlier.
Looking around, I was in a pretty dense forest with various berry bushes and creepers growing between the trees with the floor covered in a thick undergrowth of ferns, quite comfortable actually, if you ever find yourself waking in a strange forest. A faint, cool breeze blew across my face, the smell of moist soil thick in the air. Distant songs from various birds sang noisily above my head. Glancing to my right I saw my bag lying nearby and crawled towards it.
I was fortunate that my equipment was still in the backpack. But lying next to it was a hand-drawn map of a continent or an island I had never seen before. And even stranger was the sword and shield before me. This made no sense to me in my befuddled state. I had fought against terrorists who used machetes, but then I had had my trusty assault rifle. There was no assault rifle anywhere to be seen. Mind you, I did not see any other signs of technology - no GPS, my wrist watch gone, even my box of damn matches. I was left with a primitive flint, a compass (surprise, surprise) a broadsword, shield, a shorter stabbing sword and two daggers. My day was not looking too good.
I managed to stand up eventually and began to strap on the weapons. Broadsword belted on the left thigh, stabbing sword on the right. I began to strap the daggers to my belt when a faint rustle in the undergrowth caused me to pause. The rustle got louder as it approached me and I noticed the birds had stopped singing. I crouched down and quickly finished strapping the daggers in place before I grabbed the shield and drew the broadsword.
The forest seemed to grow thick, oppressive as the air itself stopped moving as I held my breath. A thick bush in front of me shook violently as a massive grey bear pushed its way through. It was bleeding from multiple wounds in its flank, broken arrow shafts protruded from its hind quarters. The bear stopped before me, shaking its boulder sized head from side to side before it reared up onto its hind legs. I dared not move, hoping that it would not see me as a threat. The bear easily stood taller and broader than that of a grizzly, yet this was clearly no grizzly bear. Even coming from South Africa where our main predator was the lion I could tell that this grey monstrosity was not a grizzly.
The grey beast bellowed out, scaring the silent birds into sudden flight. Before I could react a flight of arrows pierced the bear’s chest, driving in deep to hit the heart. The great bear teetered backwards as the heart failed and it drew in its last breath. I used this opportunity to grab my bag and I slowly backed away as the bear crashed over onto its side. I watched as the light faded out of its eyes and the last breath rattled out of its chest. I tried to piece together what had happened. Tried to wrack my brain as to where I was.
Bit by little bit I remembered my conversation with the strange old man, and what that had led to. But my thoughts were interrupted with multiple rustles in the undergrowth around me. Still holding the sword and shield in my hands, I moved away from the bear and tried to put a tree trunk between my back and the noises approaching from behind. Strange voices carried through the still air, a language I did not recognise at all. Could I be in the Amazon? No, that was a jungle, not a forest, some little known forest in Asia Minor or Siberia? Those thoughts quickly ended when a little green man wearing a loin cloth stepped into view.
The little green man reacted quicker than I did. He shouted back over his shoulder before holding the point of his short spear up, aiming the razor sharp metal tip at my belly. A further five little green men burst through the underground around the first one, armed with an assortment of spears, clubs, short swords and small bows. The bows were drawn back, aimed at my chest, causing me to raise the shield higher in response.
I made a split second decision not to stick around. Before I tensed my muscles to dash behind the tree I was standing against, an arrow thudded into the wooden shield, bursting through the wood where it lodged itself, narrowly missing my forearm. Decision made, I made a run for it. Adrenalin pumping through my body, chest heaving I ran with a group of little green men on my ass, hell bent on killing me. A small figure to my left jumped up from the thick undergrowth.
Instinctively I brought my shield down, catching the spear jab and deflecting it harmlessly to one side. A second figure ran in from the right, a metal banded wooden club held high. I lashed out with a backhanded cut, neatly severing the head off the body. Bluish blood sprayed out of the neck before the momentum of the running man carried the now dead body across my path. I felt the warmth of the blood spray over my face as I leapt over the falling body. The metallic smell of blood was thick in my nose, the thumping sound of my own blood pumping in my ears all I could hear. I struggled to wipe the thick, drying blood out of my eyes as I stumbled over unseen roots. An arrow whizzed past my ear, causing me to duck and pump my legs and arms harder in order to get out of range of the bows.
I dodged around a thick tree, hearing the thunk of arrows hitting the trunk. A distant rumble was to my right, the unmistakable noise of a swift flowing river. Maybe I could lose them there. Maybe I couldn’t cross the river and would end up a pin cushion instead. The racket of chasing green men crashing through the undergrowth spurned me on. I used my shield to bash through thick brush, my sword hacking at tangling vines that hindered my desperate flight away from danger.
Without warning, I plunged down a short embankment before falling off a very small cliff into the river. The surprisingly warm water soaked my combat fatigues and boots instantly as I scrambled to regain my footing. Somehow I held onto the shield and sword even though they were tugged at by the swift flow of the water. I stood knee high in the clear water, exposed to the green men from above. I immediately moved back against the cliff, trying to hide underneath a tiny overhang of protruding roots from the brushes and grass that grew alongside the river. I struggled to control my ragged breathing that sounded so loud in my ears. My hammering heart felt like it was about to burst right there on the spot.
My breath caught in my throat as I heard the little green men above me, shouting at each other as they reached the top of the embankment. I pulled back against the earth wall even more, praying that they were not a
ble to spot me. Sharp, high pitched whistles filled the air followed by sharp cries of pain and surprise. The sudden lack of noise other than that of the river shocked me. A slithering noise in the thick undergrowth came closer directly above the spot where I was hiding. I held my shield tight in front of me, sword poised to stab upwards should the need arise. The noise stopped and I held my breath once more.
A solid weight fell onto the shield, knocking me onto one knee. I ducked down at that moment and when I looked up I was looking into the gaze of a little green man, the lifeless eyes looking nowhere as the current tugged the body downstream. I saw a long arrow shaft with bright blue fletching sticking out of the chest of the green man before the body rolled over onto its stomach, the broad arrowhead sticking out with a piece of bluish flesh hanging off it. Not know what had happened and unwilling to stick my head out just yet, I waited for a long while to make sure that I was forgotten by whoever or whatever it was that was chasing me.
After a long while I was certain that I was no longer being hunted. My feet were numb from the water which had turned colder as the day wore on. I still held my sword and shield at the ready and decided it was time to cross over the river and put some distance between myself and this volatile area.
Willing my unresponsive legs to move, I began to wade across the swift flowing waters. Roughly half way I was forced to stop as the waters began to reach my chest. I had to remove my bag from my shoulders and held it above my head together with my weapons. I did not want them to get wet and for rust to set in on the metal. By the time I was across the river I was thoroughly soaked through. My teeth were chattering as I re-shouldered my backpack, my fingers numbly tried to refasten the buckles for the sword belts.
Stamping warmth back into my legs I looked across the river and saw the bodies of the little green men laying on the embankment. All were slain by arrows expertly shot into the vital areas.Not wanting to hang around the area too long I set off, picking a compass point at random and headed in a westerly direction. The direction roughly paralleled the river for a few hundred meters before the river turned southwards. I continued to follow an animal trail that wound its way around the thick tree trunks. The forest buzzed with the sounds of high pitched insects and the raucous cried of birds. Flies buzzes angrily around my head before a cool breeze blew them away. An odd animal grunt greeted me along the way as I disturbed the frequent users of the pathway.
I took regular breaks as the air was very humid beneath the forest canopy. Sweat dripped off my brow and soaked my combat fatigues thoroughly as if I were still in the river. The patchy green colours of my trousers looked a uniform dark green in the dull forest light because of the sweat. I could not see the sun through the thick canopy to guess the time of day, but my rumbling stomach told me very clearly it was well past lunch.
I found a small log to sit on and began to dig in my backpack, looking for any sort of provisions. Tucked well within was a small food parcel, wrapped in a waxy brown paper of some sort. Gingerly I undid the wrapping and within it was a small loaf of bread together with biltong - dried meat. Taking small bites of the loaf and washing it down with water I began to enjoy the tranquil surroundings. A gentle cool breeze blew over me keeping the heat from being overbearing. The thick canopy of trees waved high above my head in the breeze causing sporadic sunlight spots to shine through in various sized beams. Dust motes floated, illuminated by the light. Birds sang their beautiful songs continuously with the occasional grunting of what must be a wild pig in the distance. Darting high amongst the leaves were little red squirrels as they chased each other over the few nuts that grew that high up. My bread was almost done and I was about to stand up to continue my journey when a buck stepped into view on the pathway I was following. I froze, not wanting to scare it as it neared me. It was no taller than my hips, thin legs guiding it over and around exposed roots. It had a light furry body, almost green in colour with a dapple of brown mixed in. A single white stripe ran from its head down to a bushy white tail. Large brown eyes looked everywhere as it came closer. Large oval ears twitched nervously at the slightest unknown noise. A bright blue bird floated down from a branch above me and landed on the buck’s back and began to pick at the ticks that were lodges onto the buck’s skin.
The bird was the first to react winging a swift retreat back to the safety of the branches above me. The buck froze with its ears and nose twitching even more as it sought out the hidden threat. A faint, distant cry of pain filtered through the air. The buck bunched its slender legs and leapt straight over me and swiftly disappeared into the thick foliage.
I ducked as the buck leapt over me before I jumped to my feet. Hurriedly I closed my backpack and put it on my shoulders before I drew my sword once more. Moving quickly and as quietly as I could down the animal track, I heard the not too distant clash of metal on metal. Slowing down so as not to make any noise I snuck up to a clearing where the sounds of a fight were echoing from.
I peered through the leaves of a berry bush to see who or what it was that was fighting. Within the small clearing I spied a group of little green men as they surrounded a human. A scattering of green bodies lay about in the clearing, all with deep cuts and stab wounds from the human’s long sword.
The green men were attacking the human one at a time, allowing the human ample opportunity to defend him. If the group attacked all at once, the human would be quickly overwhelmed. Before I could leap in to help the human overcome the green men attacking him, a peculiar green man stepped out from the concealment of a bush not far from where I was hiding.
This little green man wore a rough robe which looked like it was made from various animal skins. He had a small finger bone through his nostrils, linked to a fine chain which was attached to a finger bone that was through his left ear lobe. Unlike the other little green men who carried an array of swords and clubs, this little green man had a simple wooden staff which had an animal skull mounted on the top. A few tufts of bird feathers stuck out of the top of the skull giving it the appearance of hair.
A short, sharp bark of a command from the slightly better dressed man briefly stopped the other, loin clothed green men. With a look of shame on their faces, they turned back towards the human who had used that small lull in the fighting to wipe the sweat and blood from his eyes.
It was only at that moment that I noticed what he was wearing. He had an US ranger uniform on, coloured in their various green digital camouflage pattern. A camouflaged wide brimmed hat covered his ash brown hair. A backpack similar to mine lay behind him, propped up against the tree he was using to protect his back. He was armed with a long sword which looked like a bastard sword. A steel toe capped leather boot flashed out by him caught an advancing green man in the midriff, followed by a quick downward cut of his sword and the head was neatly removed from the green man.
I quickly shrugged off my backpack and stepped out behind the dressed up little green man. A swift thrust through his back and into his heart killed him instantly. By this time the group of little green men attacked the human en mass and threatened to swarm him over.
“You little bastards!” I heard him shout as an attacking sword thrust cut his upper left arm.
I ran at the group and used my shield to bash a green man over the head. I felt the skull crack under the force before the green man collapsed at my feet. Another thrust into the back of one green man and the odds began to favour us. Before the green men knew it I was amongst them, hacking and cleaving my way through their unprotected backs and sides. The human dispatched the last little green man with a forceful downward cut, cleaving the head and right shoulder clean through. A panting, blue gunk covered man stood before me, sword at the ready. I looked at him through sweat drenched eyes before lowering my guard.
“Where the hell you come from?” He blurted out.
“Probably the same place as you, Earth,” I replied.
He looked at me for a moment before bursting out in laughter.
“In all s
eriousness, the last thing I remember was an old man and then I woke up in this forest before being chased by these green bastards,” I replied.
“Yeah me to bud, some crazy old man spoke to me and then bam! I wake up lost in this place.”
I bent down to clean my sword blade on the loin cloth of one the little green man while I studied the stranger. He was of average height, slightly stoop shoulders but well-built muscular frame. Besides the short ash brown hair, he had a hawk like face with sharp ice blue eyes. I found myself liking him instantly. I stood up and sheathed my sword before sticking my hand out.
“My names Bob.”
“Max Smith,” he answered shaking my hand.
“Ranger right?” I asked.
“Yep, and I’m guessing you’re and Impi.”
“Ja I am. Here, let me look at that cut,” I offered as I rolled up his left sleeve.
“Damn bastard was lucky there. I managed to hold them off long enough till they decided to attack me all at once. Thanks for the assist.”
“No sweat. I had a run in with them as well earlier. Somebody helped me out but I didn’t see who.”
I quickly tied off a small bandage over his arm, stopping the trickle of blood.
“I don’t suppose you know where the hell we are?” Max asked of me.
