《HAVEN: THE SKY SCRAPER》


 1. The Haven Soldier

    The day is dreary, ''as usual'' Daniel thinks to himself as he looks up into the sky, the years of war have all but smothered out any blueness, and has done so for a long time.


    Making his way through the seemingly endless puddles of sludge and debris, Daniel takes a moment to rest up against a fallen tree.


    The distant sound of bombs dropping are but all too familiar, and a little too close for comfort.


    He lets out a sigh, before forcing himself up off the fallen tree, and heading in the direction that the bombs are coming from.


    The firearm hanging loosely from the strap around his neck weighing him down as always.


    Reaching a ridge, he takes a look down into the valley and the city that lies within it. A city in ruins that is, the bombers are flying overhead releasing their payload.


    Daniel makes his way down the ridge as anti-aircraft guns begin firing shells high up into the air.


    The odd plane that is struck hurls downwards crashing into the ground, some hitting other bombers as they descend causing an eruption of flames.


    None of which fazes Daniel, he''s far to used to all the warfare at this point, even so, he is still constantly terrified.


    "Mr Daniels, about fucking time" a female soldier snarls at him as a house explodes behind her.


    "Sorry I''m late" he replies, crawling back to his feet having been knocked backwards by the blast.


    "You''ll never guess what I heard on the radio" another soldier announces excitedly as he helps Daniel to his feet.


    "What''s that Tom?" He asks.


    "There are ships taking refugees to Haven" Thomas replies.


    "We''re to hold the enemy off to allow them to do so" the female soldier informs them.


    "Are they taking ¡­ Is anyone allowed to go?" Daniel asks nervously.


    "If you can make it there" Thomas replies.


    "INCOMING!" a soldier shouts as a plane comes hurling towards the ground.


    "Oh my gosh, kid! Hey kid! get out of the way!" Daniel yells seeing a young boy directly in the path of the falling plane.


    "NOOO!" He shouts in dismay, watching as the plane spirals ever closer to the ground without control, and engulfed by flames.


    A figure appears, jumping out of a window ledge close to where the boy is, and grabs him, pulling him towards himself.


    The plane crashes down with a great explosion taking half the building out with it.


    Daniel hurry''s over to the crash site along with the other soldiers that have seen the boy and this other person.


    Kicking down a door, whilst shifting some rubble and fallen wood out of the way, the figure appears with the boy in tow.


    A gasp can be heard from the crowd as they see the uniform the individual is wearing.


    "A Haven soldier, isn''t he a bit far out to be here with us?" Thomas asks turning to Daniel.


    "He''s wearing a metal mask" Daniel points out.


    The soldier walks straight past the pair of them, but takes a double glance at Daniel and stops in his tracks.


    He takes out a photo from his pocket, looks up at Daniel, then back at the photo, and then back up at Daniel again.


    "This is for you, sent with love, from Mikey" the soldier informs him and hands over the picture.


    Daniel stands there in disbelief at what the soldier has just told him, holding the picture in his hand, not able to take a look at it as he is in that much shock.


    Slowly he looks down at the photo to see himself, and the one called Mikey, it''s a picture of Michael kissing him on the cheek


    At the back of the picture as he turns it around is written, ''Hey Danny, I am at bridge eight in the front lines, I don''t know if I will make it, so I wanted you to have this''.


    "Is that your friend Michael?" Thomas asks.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Um yes ¡­ Yeah it is" Daniel replies as he wipes away the tears that have started to roll down his cheeks.


    He suddenly realizes that the Haven soldier is no longer next to them, and frantically looks around for him.


    "Hey wait! Come back!" He demands seeing the soldier off in the distance.


    "Daniel get back here!" The female soldier yells after him.


    "Go get him Tom" she instructs him.


    "Why do I always have to chase after this idiot?" He asks rhetorically whilst chasing after Daniel.


    Running after the Haven soldier is a lot more difficult than it looks, bombs are still going off left right and center, to make matters worse, on the other side of the ridge tanks and large war machines are pelting down shells and rounds onto the city.


    "Daniel! You can''t just run off like that you fucking idiot" Thomas yells at him.


    "Wait! PLEASE WAIT" Daniel shouts at the top of his voice whilst clenching his fists and closing his eyes, almost as if he is afraid the answer will be no.


    The Haven soldier turns around as Daniel opens his eyes, and for a brief moment a smile starts to form on Daniels face, until he realizes that the soldier is pointing a gun directly at him.


    BANG


    He fires a single shot that wizzes past Daniel, much to his disbelief, piercing the arm of a soldier who has a blade aimed straight at his face.


    "Ahhhhh" the soldier yells out in pain holding his arm as blood runs down his uniform.


    "Fucking hell Dan" Thomas states as he points his gun towards the soldier on the floor.


    Daniel looks down at the soldier on the ground, he can''t be any more than 19 years old.


    "What do we do with him?" Thomas asks.


    "Our orders ¡­ Our orders are to ¡­ Are to kill any enemy we come in contact with" Daniel stutters in reply, looking down at the boy sorrowfully.


    "NOOOO! PLEASE! PLEASE DON''T KILL ME" the boy tries to reason with them.


    Thomas looks at Daniel and he returns an equally concerned glance.


    "Nobody is going to kill you" the haven soldier interrupts them, placing a bandage on the lads'' arm to stop the bleeding.


    The lad reluctantly allows him to help panting heavily and turning quite pale.


    "He isn''t the kind of soldier you are all used to fighting" the Haven soldier informs them.


    "What do you mean?" Thomas asks.


    "Look at his uniform, he''s from Flumina, they invaded them around three years ago" he replies.


    "So you''re not are original enemy?" Daniel asks the lad.


    "Fight or die, those are the options ¡­ I''m so, so sorryyyy ahhcahuh" the young lad replies and bursts into tears.


    "It''s ok, you don''t have anything to apologies for" Daniel tries to reassure him and pulls him into a friendly embrace trying to comfort the poor lad.


    "Who are you exactly? I mean even for support, you''re way too far out to where Haven soldiers usually are" Thomas asks curiously.


    "I''m here information gathering, mainly on the ware bouts of a Sky Scraper" the soldier replies.


    "Fucking hell, you''re looking for a Sky Scraper?" Thomas continues to ask excitedly.


    "That would imply I don''t already know where the damn thing is, I''m also out here on reconnaissance" he remarks.


    "Hey, how did you get this photo?" Daniel asks, frantically taking the photo back out of his pocket with shaking hands.


    "He gave it to me, to give to you, if I came across you" the soldier replies.


    "Is ¡­ Is he alright, is he ok?" Daniel asks in a quick stutter.


    "He was fine when I left him" the soldier replies.


    "Isn''t he right at the front lines?" Thomas asks sheepishly in consideration for Daniel.


    "He is" Daniel replies looking down at the photo with more tears streaming down his face.


    "You talk about the front lines as if they are somewhere faraway" the Haven soldier remarks.


    "Well, we are technically in a safer area here" Thomas explains.


    "I''ve just gotten back from the front lines, how far away do you actually think they are?" The soldier asks.


    "A few countries over" Thomas replies.


    "Are your commanders not telling you lot anything?" The soldier asks clearly rhetorically.


    "What do you mean?" Daniel asks in a concerned tone of voice.


    "His country, the edge of that, is the front lines, all this that you are used to over here, this is just the enemy braking through every now and again" he explains.


    Daniel stands up and looks into the horizon.


    "Oh not a fucking chance, I know that look, snap out of it man, he isn''t worth going all the way to the front lines for" Thomas moans, clearly trying to persuade Daniel from whatever it is that he has planned inside his head.


    "I''m not asking you to come with me" Daniel snaps back.


    "You can hardly look after yourself as it is" Thomas points out.


    "What the fuck would you know?" Daniel begins to snarl back as he trips over some rubble.


    "I rest my case" Thomas remarks with his hands out before folding his arms.


    "You two wouldn''t stand a fucking chance at the front lines" the Haven soldier interjects.


    "DANIELS!" The female soldier from earlier can be heard yelling at him.


    She is accompanied by a small troop of soldiers.


    "Marissa, I''m tired of all this shit" Daniel remarks as she walks over to them.


    "Refuge" the Haven soldier informs them all, pointing at the lad on the floor, who is still holding his arm in pain.


    Some medics come over and begin to patch the young lad up properly.


    "We''re being sent to reinforce the front lines" Marissa informs the pair of them.


    "Things are working out quite nicely for a change" Daniel mutters as he looks out into the distance.


    "You have a got a warped view on things working out nicely" Thomas mutters back at him.


    "And what will you be doing Haven boy?" Marissa asks loudly.


    "Might as well come along with you lot, I need to survey this part of the front lines anyway" he replies.


    "When are we leaving?" Daniel asks.


    "Now" Marissa replies, just as some tanks drive past them heading up the road.


    Daniel isn''t really prepared for this answer, neither is Thomas for that matter as they begin to follow the other soldiers, along with tanks and planes that are flying overhead.


    The Haven soldier sticks close by, walking alongside them.


    "So what''s your name then comrade?" Thomas asks him.


    "Most people refer to me as Angel" the soldier replies.


    "A real Haven soldier" Thomas rambles excitedly.


    "Pretty hyper aren''t you" he points out.


    Thomas gives him a dirty look at this response before turning his attention to Daniel.


    "So is this Mikey like your best friend or something?" he inquires.


    "Yeah my best friend, he''s actually the love of my life" Daniel replies with a small smile.

 2. Move Out

    A large ensemble of war machines fly overhead, or clamber down on the ground over the decimated landscape.


    "I''m fucking bored" Thomas states in his apparent dismay at the situation.


    "We are likely going to die soon and all you can say is, ''I''m fucking bored''" Daniel remarks, using his fingers to put emphasis on the last part.


    "You''re just antsy because you aren''t with lover boy yet" Thomas snaps back.


    "When was the last time you two saw clear skies?" Angel asks the pair of them, looking up into the sky as he does so clearly intrigued.


    "About ten years ago, I was fifteen" Daniel replies.


    "Ohhh, how I miss those blue skies" Thomas mutters with a sigh.


    Suddenly a screeching sound can be heard, followed by an instantaneous explosion as a shell hits the troop of soldiers.


    Screaming erupts from where the explosion takes place as bodies are thrown in every direction, blood splatters around the impact crater along with body parts.


    "Fucking hell, I only left them a week ago, they can''t have gotten through this quickly" Angel remarks, looking off into the distance through a pair of binoculars.


    Daniel and Thomas have taken shelter behind a tank on top of which Angel is now standing.


    "Please be ok, please be ok, please be ok" Daniel mutters under his breath clenching his photograph.


    "Hey, I''m sure he''ll be fine mate" Thomas reassures him with an arm around his shoulder.


    Tank fire can be heard all of a sudden, as the vehicles that advanced before everyone, move in on the location that the shell has come from.


    "Hymm, no sign of them yet" Angel mutters.


    "No sign of who yet?" Thomas asks looking up at him.


    "War machines, specifically, an eight tracked tank" he replies.


    "We wouldn''t stand a chance if they attacked us" Daniel points out.


    "All the more reason to get to that fucking Sky Scraper" Angel states.


    "I''ve never actually seen one" Thomas tells him as he leans up against the tank.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "Well the one that was sent here disappeared about eight years ago, there''s only one other still in operation, acting as a deterrent" Angel explains.


    "Oh yeah, I keep forgetting the fighting isn''t just going on here" Thomas mutters.


    "I thought Haven wasn''t fighting in the war?" Daniel asks intrigued.


    "We aren''t" Angel replies with a glare.


    "Then why look for the Sky Scraper?" Thomas asks.


    "Because it''s too dangerous to be left lying around, even after eight years" Angel explains.


    "<strong style="min-height: 0; margin: 0">Move out! Keep advancing!" Marissa yells orders at everyone as she stands on the back of an open topped truck.


    By this time the evening has started to draw in, and it is quickly getting dark, well, if it can be considered darkness with the amount of bombs, shells and rounds exploding all around.


    Not to mention the planes continually dog fitting and crashing to the ground or into each other, zeppelins have also made an appearance to the battlefield.


    "The fighting is getting more intense the closer we get" Daniel points out walking alongside the tank with Thomas.


    "That tends to be the case" Angel states hitching a ride, resting comfortably on the tank.


    "Can we have a rest I''m knackered" Thomas expresses his discomfort with a yawn.


    "Jump up" Angel tells him and offers him and Daniel his hand to pull them up onto the tank.


    "What''s ¡­ What''s Haven like?" Daniel asks now resting comfortably.


    "I heard it''s like paradise" Thomas suggests.


    "Well compared to this hell hole it is" Angel replies almost avoiding the question.


    "Hey! This hell hole as you call it is our home" Thomas snaps.


    "It isn''t any more Tommy" Daniel mutters softly.


    Angel looks around, the other soldiers who have listened into their conversation, seem equally as glum as the pair of them on the tank with him.


    A zeppelin overhead bursts into flames, lighting up the sky with fire and smoke, before disappearing on the other side of the hill they are all heading towards.


    "Hey Dan¡­" Thomas begins to say softly but realizes that he has fallen fast asleep, still clutching his photograph.


    Thomas shuffles over and resting his head against Daniel''s shoulder, slowly drifts to sleep himself.


    Angel gently ruffles the lad''s hair before getting up and taking another look through his binoculars, knowing full well that beyond the hill, is the front lines.


    "We might be joining the battle sooner than you think" he mutters.

 Book 1 Chapter 3: Beyond The Hill

    "Daniel! Thomas!" A woman calls up to them loudly startling them awake.


    "Morning Lucy" Daniel greets her as he rubs his eyes.


    "Heads up" she tells them and throws a small foil parcel up to them.


    "Finally, I haven''t eaten in days" Daniel mutters.


    "What ¡­ Is it exactly?" Angel asks examining the food he has been given.


    "It''s bread" Thomas replies getting an equally disgruntled look from Daniel.


    "Your rations are shit" he tells them, as he attempts to bite down onto the bread.


    "If you haven''t noticed, we can''t exactly grow nice things around here" Thomas snaps.


    "When was the last time you had anything nice?" Angel asks.


    "A few years after the war started, then, it was good old rations" Daniel replies holding up the bread he is eating as an example.


    "Ahhhww ¡­ Do you remember what chocolate tastes like" he asks turning to Thomas with a happy smile on his face.


    "Please don''t, I''ll start crying" Thomas replies half-heartedly with a cheeky grin.


    Angel smiles at the pair of them, but his smile quickly drifts away as he hears a familiar sound not too far off in the distance.


    Chinooks can be seen flying overhead in the same direction they are all slowly advancing in.


    "Looks like you are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at this one" he states, now standing up and looking through his binoculars again.


    "What can you see?" Thomas asks.


    "Oh shit" he snaps back.


    "GET DOWN! TAKE COVER!" Angel suddenly begins to yell and immediately jumps on top of the two of them, pulling them in tightly as if to shield them both with his own body.


    A mighty ruckus can be heard, as a round of shells that the troop aren''t familiar with pelts down from the top of the hill.


    A chinook is struck and immediately tares in-two, soldiers scream as they fall out of the open hull, with no chance of surviving the fall.


    Another is struck and immediately bursts into flames before crashing into a tank on the ground.


    "COME ON! COME ON! WE DON''T HAVE ALL DAY!" Marissa can be heard instructing the troop as some prepare mortar rounds.


    "Take aim and, FIRE!" She yells.


    Around five mortar rounds cascade in the direction Marissa has chosen as a designated target.


    "What the fucking hell was that?" Daniel asks shaking in quite a bit of panic.


    "An eight tracked tank" Angel replies.


    "Come on" he tells him, placing his hand out to help Daniel to his feet.


    At the top of the hill, and slowly crawling its way towards them, a large vehicle that has eight tank like tracks driving it forward, armed with an array of guns can be seen.


    "It''s like a battleship for the ground" Thomas points out.


    "Well this battleship is far too close for comfort, what the hell is going on at the front lines" Angel mutters whilst taking out a radio out from his rucksack.


    Either side of them, as far as the eye can see, tanks and soldiers now scatter along the landscape, all advancing in a single line with them.


    A group of soldiers huddle round someone with a radio.


    ''We ¡­ We can''t hold them, we need reinforcements'' someone can be heard stating in a panic.


    ''You are to hold those lines! And that''s an order!'' The person they are speaking to demands.


    ''We need reinforcements, they''ve broken through the river defences'' they reply, followed by radio silence.


    Everyone looks over towards the hill, where they all know the person is radioing from.


    ''Caelum Timore this is Angel do you copy?'' He asks through his radio.


    ''Reading you loud and clear'' comes the reply.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ''If you can brake away from the fighting, I need you to take out an Arma Piscina on top of the hill near the front lines'' he explains.


    ''What are you doing all the way over there?'' The person asks.


    ''Following a lead now get your ass over here'' he demands.


    ''Roger, but it will take me a few hours'' they reply, and Angel puts the radio back into his rucksack.


    "Arma Piscina?" Thomas asks curiously.


    "It''s the technical name for one of those war machines, it basically means armoured tank" Angel explains.


    "I see" Thomas replies.


    This particular Arma Piscina, is now bombarding everywhere in their direction, even the rows of troops, tanks and chinooks off into the distance either side of them, are not able to advance forward.


    One of the electromagnetic rail guns it is armed with, blasts a shot that hurls directly past them, shattering the walls of five buildings nearby, causing them to collapse.


    "Bastard" someone walking past mutters and spits at Angels direction.


    "Why are you calling him that?" Daniel snaps.


    "He''s from Haven, where the fuck are our reinforcements, huh?" The soldier asks in a sarcastic manner.


    "We are not fighting in the war, if we did it would be on two fronts, your leaders assured us that they had the situation over here under control, luckily for you, we don''t trust your leaders, so I was sent out to see exactly what the fuck is going on over here" Angel calmly replies.


    Screaming can be heard from the top of the hill as allied troops begin to run towards this side of the battlefield, clearly fleeing terrified.


    The Arma Piscina wastes no time in attempting to slaughter the fleeing soldiers.


    "Fuck there''s civilians over there" Thomas snaps under gritted teeth.


    "COVERING FIRE!" Marissa demands and mortar fire cascades towards the Arma Piscina, not quite reaching it, but providing some cover in the form of dust, smoke and debris.


    Thomas begins to look extremely pale as he looks through his binoculars, he watches helplessly as a group of children are struck by a shell.


    He stumbles backwards a few paces before vomiting at the side of the tank.


    Daniel falls to the ground next to him, he was also looking through some binoculars at the same point.


    "They''re not even letting kids survive" Thomas points out to Daniel.


    Daniel looks up at Angel with dismay in his expression.


    ''Angel, come in Angel'' a voice can be heard coming from the radio in his rucksack.


    ''Yo what''s up?'' he asks taking the radio out.


    ''We''ve lost the south everyone is pulling out'' the person responds.


    ''Ah shit'' Angel mutters.


    The same conversation can be heard going on with Marissa as Thomas operates a mobile radio for her.


    A truck rolls down the hill ablaze, and crashes into an impact crater near them.


    People start to make it down to the bottom of the hill, but are quickly picked of as they do so.


    Soldiers scramble to help the few that make it to safety, rushing them to the medics and getting them as far away from the front as possible.


    A flaming zeppelin appears into view crashing at the top of the hillside to the right of the Arma Piscina.


    "What, the hell, is that thing?" Thomas asks looking up at a black object in the sky.


    "Arce Caelo" Angel replies.


    "Translation means?" Thomas continues to ask but a bit more dramatically.


    "Sky castle" he replies.


    The Arce Caelo is both propeller and jet propelled, longer in width than length, and is a true giant of the skies.


    "Merissa there''s two giant war machines ahead of us, don''t you think it''s time to run?" Thomas asks frantically.


    But it''s too late, even if they did want to escape, the Arma Piscina and Arce Caelo begin to work in unison, decimating the battlefield.


    A shell hits the building next to him and Thomas is struck with rubble, slowly attempting to crawl to safety, he drifts out of consciousness.


    "Tom, Tommy, can you hear me?" Daniel asks, as he slowly regains consciousness.


    "Ouuuhhch" Thomas mutters rubbing his head.


    "Here pretty boy, drink this" Angel tells him, and hands over a metal water canister.


    "Thanks" he replies, and takes a sip of the water.


    Slowly getting up to his feet with the help of Daniel, he sees the full extent of the damage around him.


    The bottom of the hill has been completely destroyed, and the landscape either side of them is battered, there are countless bodies on the ground.


    "Ho ¡­ How long was I out for?" He asks.


    "About fifteen minutes, but then you fell asleep for about an hour" Daniel replies.


    ''This is Caelum Timore, are you still alive Angel?'' A female voice can suddenly be heard asking from his radio.


    "ADVANCE!" Marissa shouts, as the signal is given for the army to take the hill, in the form of red flares.


    ''Cheeky fucker, yes, I am still alive, I''ll assume you are nearby then?'' He asks.


    ''Five minutes and counting'' she replies.


    ''I''m heading in" Angel replies.


    They all begin scrambling up the hill, the tanks advancing alongside them, some war planes move in and the chinooks begin to shoot at the two main targets still lingering around.


    "Watch out!" Angel yells and drags Daniel out of the way of a tank rolling down the hill ablaze.


    "Lucy!" Thomas yells and she waves back at him, but is cut down by machine gun fire.


    "Keep moving" Marissa instructs him pushing him forwards.


    ''What the fuck is going on here? We were told everything was under control'' the female voice can be heard saying clearly in shock over the radio


    ''You see our main problems?'' Angel asks through the radio.


    ''Yes'' she replies.


    ''Take em out'' he instructs her.


    ''Yes Commander'' she mutters, before there is silence on the radio again.


    Within a few moments'' rockets can be seen flying overhead ploughing down into the Arma Piscina, the entire hillside erupts like a volcano leaving a huge gaping hole.


    Debris scatters all around leaving no doubt that it was destroyed.


    The Arce Caelo seems to be taking whatever it is that has destroyed the Piscina head on, firing everything it has got at it.


    Within another few seconds, it two is destroyed, and hurls into the ground with another huge explosion right back at the area that they had been advancing from.


    ''I''m needed back in the south to help the refugees'' the female voice informs Angel over the radio.


    ''Thank you'' he replies.


    "Wait, they aren''t staying to help us?" Thomas asks in frightened bewilderment at what he has just witnessed.


    "Nope" Angel responds abruptly.


    "Nothing we were using even put a scratch on those things" Daniel points out.


    "All of our main firepower is down south" Marissa explains.


    As they approach the top of the hill, the skyline behind it is lit up with bright flashes, the sounds of rockets, bombs and fighting quickly intensify as well.


    "I''m so fucking scared" Daniel mutters.


    "Me too" Thomas mutters back, with tears running down his cheeks as he grabs him by the hand tightly.


    Finally, they reach the top of the hill.


    "And I thought what we had come from was bad" Thomas states with fear in his eyes.


    Before them they can make out a large city quite literally on fire, countless Arma Piscinas in the far distance beyond the city, and the sky full of various war machines.

 Book 1 Chapter 4: The Front Lines

    Down in the city, there is a constant mix of screaming from frightened individuals, soldiers yelling commands and the continual sound of endless fighting.


    "INCOMING!" A soldier yells as a mortar round explodes onto a building next to her.


    The side of the building crumbles away and crushes fleeing civilians beneath.


    An Arma Piscina attempts to cross a bridge, but the sheer weight of the war machine buckles the bridge and it collapses into the river.


    "New command from HQ, blow up the bridges, don''t allow any more of those bloody tanks to get across" a commanding officer informs the soldiers around her.


    It is beginning to get dark again as the reinforcements from the hill make their way down to the city.


    At the top of the hill battlements are under construction, along with dug outs in an attempt to get some sort of advantage from the high ground.


    But again, you can''t really call it dark.


    "About bloody time!" A soldier yells at the new arrivals, just as a rocket explodes into the hillside behind them all.


    Thomas begins to look pale again looking at all the bodies around the place.


    "Hey! Where the fuck are you running off to?" Daniel asks, watching Angel speed off in front of them.


    "You two are going with me" he instructs them.


    They both take a glance over at Marissa, she nods and they scramble after him.


    "Where are we going?" Daniel asks as they make their way through the rubble.


    "To the front" Angel replies.


    "Fuck that" Thomas states, and stands still on the spot.


    Angel turns around and realizes how frightened the pair of them actually are.


    An Arce Caelo crashes down nearby, sending tremors through the ground, a building to the left of them completely collapses.


    "At the very front is where I got that picture" he informs Daniel softly.


    "Fuck it" Daniel snarls, and wonders off ahead of them.


    "I''ll bring him back, you retreat to the hill" Angel instructs Thomas seeing the expression on his face.


    "I swear this bastard is gonna get us all fucking killed" Thomas remarks, and storms on after Daniel.


    The three of them continue to make their way through the city and notice that soldiers are evacuating civilians.


    "We need to find somewhere to take shelter for the night" Daniel points out.


    "This way" Angel beckons them.


    He leads them to a church that is amazingly still intact, with an upside-down tank outside it, and a helicopter crashed into the roof.


    Making their way inside, they see that the building is empty, wood, tile and glass splinters underfoot as they step through the bits of roof that have caved in.


    "Well it''s not much, but at least its dry" Angel remarks.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Lightning and thunder immediately crack, shooting across the sky as rain begins to pelt down outside.


    Thomas sits down on the floor leaning against a church pew, whilst looking up at the sky through the hole in the roof, as another flaming zeppelin drifts overhead.


    "Mind if I sit with you?" Daniel asks.


    Thomas nods gently and clenches his hands together resting them on his lap.


    Angel on the other hand, has gone off exploring the church and is rummaging around an ammunitions box behind the marble alter.


    "Now this could be useful" he mutters to himself, picking up a rocket launcher.


    "Fancy a snuggle?" Daniel asks as he gently nudges Thomas.


    "Love too mate" he replies, and the pare of them lean closer together to get what little comfort in the situation they can.


    As they fall asleep, Angel breaks open the door to the church steeple, and clambers to the top until he reaches a window and a balcony.


    He observes the distance through his binoculars, all of the Arma Piscinas have lined up on the outskirts of the city, and none of them are advancing, almost as if they are waiting for something.


    "This isn''t good" he mutters realizing why they are not advancing.


    A vast array of Arce Caelos can be seen off in the far distance, he can barely make them out in the smoke ridden skies.


    He decides to take his resting point for the night at the top of the steeple.


    The following morning they are all awoken by a bombardment of shells.


    Helicopters and chinooks flying overhead attempt to land and airlift people to what is now considered the safety of the hill, whilst planes continue their onslaught as the dog fighting intensifies.


    Angel looks down and can see soldiers are already starting to abandon their posts, fleeing for their lives.


    "Morning sunshine" Thomas greets Daniel, and gives him a gentle slap to the face to wake him up.


    "Mhhhmm morning" he replies, whilst having a stretch and a yawn.


    Out of nowhere, a plane crashes into a building at the side of the church, the helicopter stuck in the roof begins to fall through, and they scramble towards the main doors to escape.


    As they make it outside the pair of them head to a safe distance at the other side of the street, before watching as the steeple collapses.


    "Fucking hell, that was a close one" Angel yells, announcing his presence as he clings onto a part of the steeple that is still intact.


    "Well done for making it out alive lads" he tells them with a cheeky grin on his face.


    "He''s genuinely insane" Thomas mutters turning to Daniel.


    "You can say that again" he replies now watching Angel shuffle down to the ground.


    Buildings begin to explode around them as yet another bombardment of shells pellet the area they are in.


    "We''re running out of time, the enemy is planning on wiping us all out in a single attack" Angel informs them.


    "How?" Daniel asks.


    "Notice how there isn''t any Arce Caelos in the sky" he points out, quite literally pointing to the sky.


    "There aren''t enough of them to level a city of this size" Thomas remarks as they continue making their way through the city.


    "There are more coming" Angel informs them.


    A military truck drives past and quickly grinds to a halt when the people driving realize that Thomas has a portable radio.


    "Hey you! Radio operator, come over here" a woman hollers to him.


    Angel observes the uniform of this lady and quickly realizes that she is the general of the army.


    He appears to hide behind the truck, much to Daniels confusion.


    "Radio into HQ" the general instructs Thomas.


    "Righto" he replies realizing who she is.


    He adjusts his radio, connecting to the right frequency to contact HQ, before passing the radio over to her.


    ''Command this is general Scarlet Watchtower, we have suffered heavy losses and casualties, requesting permission to order a full retreat'' she informs them.


    ''Under no circumstances do you give up the city'' Comes the response.


    ''With all due respect, we are struggling to even hold our position let alone defend it'' she informs them calmly.


    "What are you doing?" Daniel asks Angel.


    "Being nosy" he replies, putting his finger to his lips in a shushing motion.


    Daniel rolls his eyes at this response.


    ''You hold that city! I don''t care how many of you die in the process'' the person from command snaps at Scarlet before the line goes dead.


    "A Haven soldier, you''re a bit far out from where you are supposed to be" Scarlet states in quite a bit of shock.


    "We thought that too" Thomas agrees with her.


    "I''m here for reconnaissance purposes, it would appear that your command has been lying to us" he informs her, and shows her his ID tag made from metal and glass.


    She almost does a double take at what is inscribed onto it, he indicates for her to keep quiet about it, and she nods in reply.


    "DANIELS!" A familiar voice can be heard calling over in their direction.


    "Hello Marissa" he greets her.


    "General, most of the city has been evacuated and everyone is making their way to the hill" Marissa informs her superior officer.


    "Good work, the rest of you to bridges seven, eight and nine with me" she instructs everyone loudly.


    The general and her subordinates drive off in the truck ahead of everyone else, and they follow behind on foot.


    Daniel takes out the photo from his pocket again, and kisses it.


    Thomas notices the worried expression on Daniel''s face.

 Book 1 Chapter 5: Mikey

    "DETONATE!" A soldier yells at his subordinate as they try to blow up the bridge they are defending.


    The middle section of the bridge explodes and collapses into the river below, one side of the bridge doesn''t collapse completely, leaving it halfway in, and halfway out of the water.


    "Well done Michael" the commanding officer encourages him with a pat to the back.


    "All of the Arma Piscinas have moved back" Michael points out.


    "Yessss, they''re clearly up to something" his commander states in agreement with Michael''s concern.


    Scarlets truck pulls up alongside them and she hops out.


    The devastation here is far worse than anything they have come across, and the body count on the ground is immeasurable.


    As they walk up to join Scarlet and the others, Angel takes out his binoculars and observes the distance.


    They all suddenly notice that there is a silence that has drifted slowly over the city, the bombardment has stopped, and the atmosphere is eerie.


    "There is a bombing run that will level the city and kill everyone in it" Angel informs her, passing over the binoculars.


    "Oh shit" Scarlet replies with a clear sense of panic and urgency.


    There can be heard a sudden hum of engines in the distance from the Arce Caelos, hundreds of them, all flying at different heights.


    "Fall back, FALL BACK!" Scarlet commands everyone.


    Without hesitation people begin to scramble and make a run for it.


    Helicopters and chinooks take off at full compacity trying not to leave anyone behind.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    "We''ve only just fucking got here" Thomas whinges as he leans up against some rubble.


    "I need to find Mikey" Daniel says in a worried manner.


    "I''ll help you find him" Thomas reassures him, and they begin to search about the place.


    "Did you say Michael?" A commander asks over hearing them.


    "Yeah, this is him" Daniel explains showing them his picture.


    "He''s over by bridge seven, that way, but you better hurry!" They instruct him sternly.


    "Right, thank you" Daniel replies gratefully.


    "Do try not to die you two, I''ve rather grown to enjoy your company" Angel teases them as he watches them head off.


    He notices that the Arma Piscinas have all started to position their guns, clearly making ready for an onslaught.


    Not expecting them to suddenly open fire on the city, he falls backwards off the brick wall he has been standing on for a higher vantage point.


    The screams in the city begin again as at least a third of the city is levelled.


    "MIKEY!" Daniel screams in desperation searching for him.


    Enemy soldiers have now started to make their way across the water and are open firing at anyone on the ground.


    "HELP!" Michael screams as his leg is trapped under some wood.


    "MIKEY!" Daniel continues to scream.


    "Shut up, do you hear that?" Thomas snaps at him listening intently.


    "HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!" Michael continues to yell.


    They clamber over a lopsided tank to find him struggling to get up.


    "MIKEY!" Daniel yells and rushes over to him tears streaming down his face.


    "Daniel? What are you doin ¡­" He attempts to say but is interrupted by Daniel pulling him into a hug and kissing his cheek.


    "Alright you pair can we get out of here, I''d rather not die today if it''s all the same to you" Thomas interrupts them.


    "Right, yeah of course" Daniel replies and they attempt to lift the rubble off of Michaels leg.


    The enemy soldiers have advanced quicker than anticipated and they are taking aim at the three of them.


    Thomas hearing the clicking of triggers behind them, jumps in front of the other two with his arms out.


    The first few guns shots fire narrowly missing him, just before there is a whooshing sound followed by an explosion where the enemy is standing.


    Thomas looks over in the direction that the projectile has come from to see Angel looking rather pleased with himself, but tosses the rocket launcher to one side as it has ran out of ammo.


    "THANK YOU!" He shouts over gratefully.


    They lift the rubble off Michael allowing him to stand up a bit unsteady.


    "You''re a fucking idiot, what are you doing here?" He asks Daniel sarcastically.


    "Come on you two!" Thomas demands in a panic.

 Book 1 Chapter 6: Escape!

    "GIVE THE ORDER, SOUND THE BELLS, EVERYONE RETREET, GET THE INJURED AND CHILDREN OUT! GET THEM OUTTT!" Scarlet demands.


    In an instant, soldiers release yellow flares, and one by one the church bells across the city begin to ring out sounding the retreat.


    ''The city is lost, tell command we''re pulling out'' she informs the person at the other end of her radio as a chinook lifts her to safety.


    At ground level a medic carrying oxygen tanks is struck by machine gun fire and immediately erupts into flames, screaming to the ground until they are dead.


    Everyone is getting out of the city in whatever way they can.


    Michael, Daniel and Thomas, are running alongside a small canal that seems to be rubble free from all the fighting.


    "Come on let''s go" Thomas yells in a state of panic.


    A chinook flies overhead of them and they begin waving and calling at it in an attempt to be rescued.


    Luckily the pilot sees them and opens the bay door lowering the chinook as safely as he can for them.


    "Fancy seeing you three here" Angel tells them, offering his hand out to help them onto the chopper.


    As they are lifted upwards, they all let out a sigh of relief, and watch out of the open door as they leave the city.


    The Arce Caelos have reached the city as they continue to fly up the hill.


    The bombardment begins, and for the final time, the city is lightened up in flames, within a few minutes, there is nothing left of the mega city which had once stood here.


    The Arce Caelos don''t stop over the city continuing straight over the hill.


    "Can''t you call your friend?" Thomas asks Angel.


    "They wouldn''t make it" he replies glumly.


    They all watch as the hill and surrounding landscape becomes engulfed with explosions, the unlucky few still on the ground running for their lives.


    "They''re killing unarmed civilians" Angel snarls angrily.


    The bombers turn their attention to all the vehicles and aircraft attempting to escape, and open fire.


    "Shit" Angel states as he witnesses a chinook colliding into another.


    Daniel holds Michaels hand tightly, breathing heavily, clearly terrified.


    ''Hey Angel, you still alive?'' The same female voice can be heard through the radio in his rucksack.


    ''Caelum Timore, how nice of you to check in on me'' he replies through the radio.


    ''How are things going down at your end?'' She asks.


    He looks around at all of the soldiers and civilians that look incredibly disheartened, frightened, and ready to give up.


    ''Full retreat, Silverpeak is lost, too many casualties to count'' he replies solemnly.


    ''The king and queen have ordered all refugees to be taken back to Haven'' she informs him.


    Everyone around him immediately perks up and start to mutter excitedly to one another.


    ''I''ll get as many to you as I can'' he replies with a smile seeing how reassured everyone now looks.


    He puts the radio away and sits down on the opposite side to the three of them.


    "You''re from Haven?" Michael asks inquisitively.


    "Yep" Angel replies.


    "What''s it like there?" He continues to ask.


    Angel is going to shrug the question off, as he usually does so when asked, not wanting to give any false hope to anyone.


    To his dismay, some of the younger people sat near them have moved in closer to hear the conversation.


    "The sky is crystal clear, and the oceans are blue" he begins to explain.


    "You don''t have all the smoke blocking out the sky?" Michael asks.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Nope, we have made sure to keep the fighting away from the mainland" Angel replies.


    "We have many different types of fruit trees, and the flowers are beautiful" he continues.


    "Is it true the palace is made from white stone?" A little girl asks.


    "Only the purest of white stones" he tells her seeing how intrigued she is.


    "Is it true you can visit the king and queen there?" A young lad asks.


    "On Wednesday afternoons and on some of the weekends yes" he replies.


    "I hope I get to see it" the young lad mumbles.


    "There are mountains aren''t there?" Daniel asks joining in on the conversation.


    "White mountains to the back, with a crater to the front that is an extinct volcano, covered in trees and greenery, lovely sandy beaches" Angel replies and appears to be daydreaming at the mention of the beach.


    "Hey kid, I''m sure you''ll get to see it" he tells the young lad who had asked about the king and queen, the poor boy has tears rolling down his cheeks.


    "Have you meet the king and queen?" The little girl asks.


    "I''m friends with them" he tells her enthusiastically.


    "What are they like?" She asks excitedly.


    "Well, the queen is lovely, she is a very strong lady, and the king, he''s a bit of an odd ball like me" he explains with a little wink at the end.


    "It''s getting dark" Daniel points out as he looks outside the window, noticing all the devastation still occurring.


    "Let''s get some sleep" Michael tells him with a kiss to the cheek.


    Thomas walks over to Angel, who is now looking outside through one of the windows at the back of the chopper, as everyone attempts to get settled hoping to find some rest.


    "How many of us are actually going to make it to Haven?" He asks in a matter of fact sort of way.


    "Hardly any of you at this rate" he replies.


    "Figured as much" he mutters, and sits down folding his arms shivering slightly.


    "You can lean on me if you like" Angel reassures him as he sits down beside him.


    "Thank you" Thomas replies gratefully, and leans into him whilst placing his arm around Angel''s stomach.


    The pair of them like most of the people around them, fall to sleep.


    The following morning, they are woken by the chinook shuttering in the wind, with a bit of a jolt.


    "Back to hell" Daniel mutters.


    They are passing over the city that everyone had originally been making their way through, and the pilot is preparing to land.


    "Why are we stopping?" Michael yells down to the cockpit.


    "We need to refuel" one of the pilots reply.


    Gently landing on what presumably would have been a school playground, the pilots immediately rush about the place to get some fuel for the chopper.


    Angel takes this opportunity to stretch his legs outside.


    "There''s so many of them" Thomas mutters looking around at all the refugees.


    Everyone is walking or taking whatever method of transport they can, all heading in the same direction.


    "Good morning general" Angel waves over at Scarlet who is clearly overseeing the evacuation.


    "I don''t suppose you have any support to give us?" She asks glumly as he approaches.


    "I might do" he replies looking off into the distance.


    "We''re about half a day ahead of those damn planes" she explains.


    "Luckily for us they are pretty slow" he responds.


    "Unfortunately for us the capital is still at least four hours away" she informs him.


    "Do you have any idea where this is?" He asks showing her a picture.


    "A Sky Scraper, that thing went down years ago" Scarlet replies.


    "I''m aware of that, I have an idea of where it is, but not an exact location" he points out.


    "General, word from the capital, they are declaring the west a lost cause" a soldier informs her.


    "If we can evacuate everyone east, will Haven help us?" She asks turning back to Angel.


    "We will help as many as we can, as far as I am aware, the next lot of rescue ships will be heading to the eastern docks in around five days" he replies.


    "That''s not enough time, ok, we''ll work with what we''ve got, what will you be doing now?" She continues to ask.


    "I''m going to look for the damn Sky Scraper" he replies and waves goodbye.


    "Having a Sky Scraper, could seriously turn the tide in this battle" her subordinate hints as she watches Angel walk away.


    "We''re heading off again" Daniel comes over to let him know.


    Angel gives him a smile and a pat to the shoulder in a friendly gesture.


    "Hey so um, thanks for helping us" Daniel mutters bashfully.


    "No problem" he replies with a smile as they make their way to the chopper.


    "Last night you said you are friends with the king and queen, is that true?" He asks.


    "I grew up with the king" Angel explains, much to Daniels surprise.


    "Lets go, lets go, lets go, our next stop is when we run out of fuel or make it to the capital" the pilot informs them as she taps the side of the chopper loudly.


    The engines start back up again, and quickly, but carefully they are lifted into the skies.


    "The fucking planes will catch up to us in less than half a day" Thomas interjects.


    "I don''t care as long as we get as far away as possible" Daniel points out.


    "I wouldn''t worry so much about those Arce Caelos, they aren''t our biggest concern now" Angel remarks.


    "Your friend that you keep speaking to on the radio, they were able to take one out like it was nothing" Daniel points out.


    "That is a Ferrum war machine named Caelum Timore, which means ''Sky Terror'', they flew in from the south and then went back" he replies.


    "Why aren''t they helping us up here?" Daniel asks.


    "They are trying to save the influx of refugees from the south" Angel replies.


    "I''m tired of all this fighting" Thomas mutters, rubbing his face with the sleeve of his uniform.


    "Me too" Daniel states in agreement.


    "Me three" Michael joins in.


    "So, you two, been together long?" Angel asks pointing between them as he does so.


    "About two years? Something like that" Michael replies.


    "Lucky gits, the only chance of a love life I''ve ever had got shot down right in front of me" Thomas mutters begrudgingly.


    "I told you to speak to Lucy beforehand" Daniel reminds him.


    "Whatever" he replies in a huff.


    "How long have you been away from Haven for?" Michael asks.


    "Must be coming on around, two years now, I would imagine" he replies.


    "That''s a long time just for reconnaissance" Daniel points out.


    "Tell me about it" Angel replies with a huff.


    "How long will we been flying for?" Michael asks.


    "About four hours give or take" Daniel replies.


    "Might as well get some shut eye" Thomas mumbles in a yawn.


    "He''s got a point, try and get some rest" Angel instructs them as he pulls a blanket around himself and Thomas.


    After sleeping for the majority of the journey, they are again woken up by the chinook jolting about.


    It is now late afternoon.


    "Everyone, prepare for landing" the pilot informs them.


    "Hey, is that what I think it is?" Thomas asks.


    "The capital" Daniel mutters as they look out of the window.

 Book 1 Chapter 7: The Capital

    The capital remains largely intact with its battlements and soldiers making ready for battle.


    Originally built on a hill, it is surrounded by a square wall, with a fortress at each corner point.


    The main palace at the top of the hill, the cathedral and the university are the most iconic structures within the capital''s walls.


    "Now that is one heck of a capital city" Angel remarks as he steps out of the chinook.


    TV reporters can be seen dotted about the place wearing bullet resistant vests labelled ''PRESS''.


    ''We''re here, live, standing outside what many are now calling the new front lines'' one can be heard saying as they pass by.


    ''We are getting reports that Silverpeak has fallen'' another can also be heard commentating.


    As they approach the main gate''s, they see Marissa and the rest of their troop they had become separated from, well, what''s left of them.


    Only half of them seem to have made it out alive from Sliverpeak.


    "Sweet, can finally get something proper to eat" Daniel mutters quietly.


    Michael gives him a kiss on the cheek after hearing him say this, suddenly realizing how fatigued Daniel looks at this point.


    "Glad you could finally make it" Marissa greets them in her usual sarcastic manner.


    "Fucking hell, it''s good to see you guys" Thomas states and grabs some of the troop to give them a hug.


    "We will be stationed on the battlements, generals'' orders" she explains whilst beckoning them all to follow her through the main gates.


    "But first, I think we should all go and get something to eat" she continues.


    "Yes please" Daniel replies in relief.


    The troop follows her over to a nearby food establishment, further up the street.


    They line up and are given some soup and piece of bread, that Angel is actually willing to eat this time.


    "Thank you" Daniel says gratefully to the lady handing out their sup.


    They all eat their food quietly, and can''t help but notice that people around them are staring at one person of the group in particular.


    "You stick out like a saw thumb in that uniform" Daniel tells Angel softly as he eats some bread.


    "Well I am rather dashing in it" he replies cheekily with a wink.


    "Why does everyone call you Angel? surely that isn''t your real name" Daniel asks.


    "No, no it isn''t, it''s actually my surname, it became a nickname I received from the other Haven soldiers, referring to me as an angel of death" he explains stating the last part half-heartedly.


    "Hurry up and finish eating, we''re heading to the battlements" Marissa instructs everyone.


    "I''m using the toilet first" Daniel states, and wonders off to use the restroom.


    Some of the others follow suit and use the limited time they have to quickly use the facilities.


    "It''s getting dark" Michael mutters, noticing Angel using his radio.


    "MOVE OUT!" Marissa demands, and they follow her towards a large stairway leading them up to their position on the battlements.


    "What a view" Thomas remarks as he leans against the edge of the wall.


    "Where''s Angel?" Daniel asks.


    "No idea" Michael replies.


    "Fucking hell, is that more Haven soldiers?" Thomas asks.


    Everyone presses themselves up against the battlements, trying to get a closer look at this approaching platoon.


    Heavily armed, and equipped with the latest in military technology, even a small group like this is a force to be reckoned with.


    ''Are you getting this'' a report asks her cameraman as they rush over to film the soldiers.


    ''We''re here at the capital of Stannoss, and as you can see Haven soldiers are now arriving, completely contradicting the hard-line message that Haven has all but abandoned the country'' she starts to commentate.


    Some of the soldiers either wave at the camera or make funny hand gestures as they continue walking past.


    They march right up to the main gates where they are greeted by Angel.


    After a short conversation, it''s clear who''s in charge as the troop follow the instructions given to them, Angel with a few of the soldiers, walk in the opposite direction as the rest of the troop head up to the battlements, taking a position next to where everyone else is positioned.


    "It''s not much, but it is a relief to see them" Daniel states quietly as he watches the Haven soldiers loading one of the long-range guns.


    Angel at this point has hitched a ride on a helicopter, and is making his way towards the palace.


    "I''m so tired" Daniel mutters as he rests against the wall.


    "We can rest soon" Michael tells him, before giving him a kiss.


    "You can rest tonight; the enemy will be here by morning" Marissa informs them all as she walks past.


    "Get some rest Danny" Michael comforts him, softly kissing him on the cheek before helping him to sit down and covering him with a blanket.


    Angel jumps out of the helicopter along with the other Haven soldiers, and make their way towards the main entrance of the palace, not before taking his metal mask off that is.


    Walking through the palace he asserts his authority to anyone who attempts to stop them, simply showing them his metal and glass ID tag that hangs around his neck.


    He abruptly walks into a press conference that is taking place and sits down with the other soldiers at the back of the room.


    The floor is lively with various reporters shouting over one another, trying to take their chance at asking a question.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    General Scarlet is amongst the panel, which consists of herself, the prime minister ''Cornelius Silverton'' and the minister of war ''Markus Stout''.


    "Prime minister, why haven''t you received any help from Haven?" a reporter asks.


    "Haven has been very reluctant to send us any help, which is terrible given how dire the situation is" Stout replies.


    "I would like to assure all our citizens that we are doing our upmost to defend our country" the prime minister states.


    "Is it true that Silverpeak has been lost?" Another asks.


    "Yes" Scarlet replies.


    "Yes, miss Reeves" the prime minister points to one of the reporters and she stands up.


    "Don''t you think it''s a little strange, that you inform the general public of one thing, and then Haven soldiers arrive here in Stannoss?" She asks.


    "Haven have made it quite clear they will not be sending us any help" Stout remarks.


    "That doesn''t answer my question minister, as you know, there are more than a few rumours about yourself in particular, with regarding to corruption" she remarks back.


    The secretary has a look of despise on his face at what she has just said.


    Angel puts his hand up and Scarlet realizes that he and his soldiers are amongst the crowd.


    "Well why don''t we ask the representative from Haven itself, please" the prime minister suggests, and beckons Angel to stand up.


    Stout is clearly uncomfortable with him being here, shifting about on the spot.


    He clears his throat before speaking.


    Some of the reporters realize exactly who he is, and start to ramble amongst themselves whilst scribbling down notes or trying to get the best camera angle.


    "Do you take us for fools? Haven hasn''t received a word from Stannoss in the last six months" he states.


    "That''s an outrageous lie!" Stout snaps.


    "At Silverpeak, you ignored the advice of your general to evacuate and save lives, sating and I quote ¡­" Angel informs them as he takes out a recording device.


    ''I don''t care how many of you die!'' Can be heard playing over and over again.


    "I''ve been scouting in this country for around two years now, every single report we have received over the last six months has either been fabricated, or a down right lie, and it all came from one person" he remarks.


    "GAURDS! GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" Stout demands.


    The guards look at each other, none are willing to go anywhere near him.


    "Minister Stout, I am placing you under arrest for war crimes, get him" Angel instructs the soldiers next to him.


    Stout attempts to run away, but Scarlet grabs him by the back of the neck and slams him down onto the table.


    There is a huge commotion as Stout is taken away and the room is cleared.


    After a short while of waiting in the hallway, a soldier comes to collect Angel and he follows swiftly.


    Scarlet is waiting for him in the war room.


    "Quite a spectacle you put on there" she remarks.


    "Well I haven''t been able to wind a certain person up recently, I thought this might get his attention" he replies with a smirk.


    "They are advancing quicker than we anticipated" she informs him.


    "So, what''s your battle plan?" He asks.


    "We have lined the grass plain with smoke bombs, once the enemy is close enough, we will fire more smoke bombs using the long-range guns" she replies.


    "From there the zeppelins will take off to around twenty thousand feet and head over the enemy" she continues.


    "You do realize flying objects of that size will immediately be detect on their scanners" he points out


    "That''s fine, the air force will protect them" she replies.


    "Once the smoke bombs have gone off, the long-range guns and railguns will begin a bombardment, the rest will begin to fire as soon as the enemy is in range" she finishes explaining.


    "I''ll get my troop ready for battle then" he tells her, and heads out of the room.


    Michael and Daniel are in each other''s arms and fast asleep at this point.


    "Two and a half days to go before we can get the hell out of here" Thomas mutters.


    He takes a final look out to the horizon, before laying down and pulling a blanket over himself.


    The following morning, they awake to the sound of commotion.


    Daniel appears to be more glum than usual.


    "Morning sunshine" Angel greets him.


    "Hello stranger" he replies with a smile.


    "Here, have my rations too" Angel tells him, handing him over some breakfast.


    "I ¡­" Daniel tries to say clearly embarrassed.


    "Just accept it, I''m not taking no for an answer" Angel states as he walks away.


    "Thank you" he replies begrudgingly.


    Everyone eats their rations, taking the limited time they have to relax.


    Civilians are pouring out of the city at this point and heading in the direction of east.


    "Everyone''s heading for the ships" Daniel remarks.


    "You''ve got to loosen up and try to relax a little" Thomas tells him.


    "We''re in the middle of a fucking warzone" Daniel points out.


    "Oh come on now, don''t look so glum" he tries to encourage him and begins dancing


    "What are you doing" Daniel asks trying not to laugh.


    "Hey, you sexy thing, why don''tchya talk to me, woo!" Thomas starts to sing as he dances.


    Laughing a little, Daniel walks over to him.


    "Is that the best you can do?" He asks.


    "Clearly, you are jealous of my mad skills" Thomas replies with a wink.


    Gun fire hits the side of the battlements and three shots directly hit Thomas, his blood splatters all over Daniel.


    "Ah ¡­ Ahh ¡­ AHHHHHH" Daniel screams, falling to the floor and clutching his head.


    Screaming can be heard from the across the city as it is pelted with shells.


    "DAN! Danny, are you ok?" Michael asks hurrying over to him.


    "FIRE!" Angel can be heard demanding, and the long-range gun his troop are in charge of erupts into life, the sound of it is deafening.


    A medic checks Daniel over and finds that there is nothing wrong with him.


    "T ¡­ T ¡­ Tom" he stutters as he is helped to his feet.


    "Snap out of it" Marissa instructs him.


    "TAKE AIM AND, FIRE!" She instructs everyone else.


    Various explosions, and rising white smoke beyond the wall, indicates that the enemy has arrived, the long-range guns fire off into the distance.


    Before too long there is a wall of grey smoke.


    The hum of zeppelins can be heard raising above the city accompanied with the whooshing sound of jets.


    Immediately the railguns begin to fire along with the long range weapons, changing to live rounds instead of smoke.


    "FIRE!" Angel can be heard shouting again.


    Daniel doesn''t know what to do with himself, and is quite dazed at this point.


    The sounds of guns going off all around him is terrifying.


    He looks over at Marissa who is clearly trying to ask him for something.


    "What?" He asks.


    "GIVE ME A ROUND!" He hears her yelling as he regains his composer.


    "R-Right" he stutters, and picks up a shell, carrying the heavy object over to her.


    She loads it into the gun and the rest of the team reposition its trajectory.


    "FIRE!" She yells swinging her arm down as she does so.


    Michael takes over for him and Daniel takes a look over the edge of the wall.


    "Oh shit" he mutters, seeing the smoke has now cleared, he can make out a horde of Arma Piscinas, along with tanks and ground troops advancing on the capital.


    In the distance, and slowly making their way towards them, is the squadron of Arce Caelos.


    The wall directly in front of him, is struck and shattered by incoming fire and he falls backwards.


    A zeppelin can be seen crashing downwards engulfed in flames, the metal melting off the structure as it does so, it erupts into a great explosion out on the battlefield.


    The squadron of jets rushing through the air fire rockets at the enemy, in an attempt to protect the zeppelins.


    "WE''RE GOING DOWN!" A pilot yells to the captain in one of the zeppelins.


    "RELEASE THE PAYLOAD!" The captain instructs his crew.


    Bombs begin to descend through the hatch at the bottom of the airship, destroying many ground targets before the airship itself explodes.


    Part of the battlements are struck by enemy fire and collapses, taking a long-range gun with it.


    Daniel rushes to bring rounds over to the gun as the city continues to get bombarded.


    He looks over at Angel for a brief moment, and notices his arm appears to be injured, Angel looks back at him, he gives Daniel a thumbs up before continuing to instruct his team.


    "FIRE!" Marissa can be heard shouting again.


    A projectile hits the spot where Daniel is standing, and sends him flying in the opposite direction.


    "DANNY!" Is the last thing he can hear someone shouting, before he passes out.


    "This is general Scarlet all aircraft release payload!" She instructs them observing everything on screens in front of her.


    The few zeppelins that have survived are exactly where she wants them to be.


    One by one they begin to release their payload above the Arce Caelos.


    The plan works perfectly as the bombs and rockets hit their targets.


    The slow-moving Arce Caelos cannot dodge out of the way and begin to collide into one another, the sky is lit up with explosions left right and center.


    In the confusion many of them crash into the ground not able to avoid hitting one another.


    This little victory is short lived however, as the remaining zeppelins are shot down.


    The onslaught from above, and the continual bombardment from the capital, has pushed the enemy back.


    "General, it would appear that they are retreating" her subordinate informs her.


    "Thank God" she replies with a sigh of relief.


    The cathedral bells begin to ring marking an end to the fighting.


    Although it was a short battle the damage to the capital is more than clear, even so, cheering and celebration can be heard across the city as the last of the enemy pulls back out of range.


    "Ahhh, thank fuck for that" Angel remarks and collapses.

 Book 1 Chapter 8: A Choice

    Waking up slightly dazed, Daniel starts to fidget around in the bed he now finds himself in.


    ¡°Where am I?¡± He asks as he begins to come around.


    ¡°Hospital¡± Michael tells him, holding his hand tightly.


    ¡°The last time we heard bells, we were retreating¡± a familiar voice mumbles next to him.


    ¡°Tommy¡± Daniel mutters with great relief.


    ¡°How you feeling?¡± He asks


    ¡°So, soooo much pain¡± he replies quietly.


    He looks up to see the Haven soldiers sitting around Angel, who has not yet woken up.


    Exhausted, tired and fed up, Daniel falls to sleep.


    News reports have been put together of all the incidents taking place in Stannoss, and one person in particular, is not pleased.


    Viewing the TV reports and various articles on screens in front of him, the king paces up and down impatiently.


    ¡°Your majesty ¡­¡± His personal assistant ¡®Jacob¡¯ attempts to say.


    ¡°That idiot, that fucking idiot, he disappears for months on end and then turns up out of the blue, in Stannoss of all places¡± the king begins to rant.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill him, I¡¯m gonna fucking kill him¡± he continues to ramble now storming out of the room.


    ¡°Your majesty, you have a meeting with the admiral¡± Jacob informs him.


    ¡°Tell her to fuck off!¡± He snaps and storms off.


    ¡°Um ¡­ Dooley noted¡± Jacob mumbles.


    Practically marching down the corridor, the king takes an abrupt turn into a study room, the queen is quietly admiring the gardens, viewing them from one of the many windows in the room.


    ¡°That fucking idiot!¡± The king remarks announcing his presence loudly.


    ¡°Hello to you too¡± the queen replies.


    ¡°A message from the admiral, ahem ¡­ You fuck off¡± Jacob states, peering his head around the doorway before disappearing again.


    ¡°I take it you have seen everything that is going on?¡± She asks moving over to sit down with him.


    The king is now sat down sprawled out with his hand covering his face in a dramatic pose.


    ¡°He¡¯s gonna be the death of me¡± he mutters.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been informed he¡¯s using that bloody nickname, I can¡¯t understand why, there isn¡¯t anything angelic about him, whatsoever¡± he continues to rant.


    ¡°Oh really, and there was me thinking you calling him that was charming¡± she mutters in a teasing manner before picking up her saucer, and taking a sip out of her cup.


    ¡°We were kids back then, and you, are not funny¡± he replies with a glare.


    ¡°Admit it, you miss having him around¡± she remarks.


    ¡°Hey bitches¡± the prince yells announcing his presence from underneath a pile of blankets next to the coffee table.


    ¡°Late night was it?¡± The queen asks.


    ¡°I¡¯ve still got music ringing in my ears¡± he replies.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe we are in the middle of a war, and all you can do is go out partying¡± the king remarks.


    ¡°Someone¡¯s got to enjoy themselves¡± he mutters back.


    ¡°Well enjoy it while you can¡± the king reminds him.


    ¡°Yeah I know, I¡¯ll be going off to fight bla bla bla, ahhh man my head is killing me¡± the prince replies clearly in discomfort.


    ¡°So what are we going to do about this situation?¡± The queen asks.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s clear that we need to become more involved in the war, acting as buffer zone clearly isn¡¯t working anymore¡± he replies.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like how close they have gotten¡± the queen remarks.


    ¡°It¡¯s a shame Flumina fell, those chocolate coated bagels with a custard filling where to die for¡± the king mutters.


    ¡°Time to make a choice¡± she states.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be helping protect everyone?¡± The prince mumbles.


    ¡°What would you do then?¡± The queen asks him.


    ¡°How many countries have fallen now, five? Six? Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s time we went on the offensive¡± he states his point of view on the matter.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad none of us are related, if you two where family we¡¯d just be arguing all the time¡± the king tells them.


    ¡°So you agree with me then?¡± The prince asks, now leaning upright.


    "You have to remember the reason we are staying out of the war" the king reminds him.


    "Yeah, the king and queen before you two dying" the prince replies.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    "Well remembered, that isn''t the main reason though" the king remarks.


    "If we get involved fully, it will give the other nations an excuse to use a higher grade of weaponry" the queen explains.


    "Because of the Sky Scrapers?" the prince asks.


    "That''s right" she replies.


    "They are classed as weapons of mass destruction for a reason" the king ponders looking off into the garden.


    "We need to try and avoid a greater cost of life" the queen states.


    The prince notices the princess hovering in the open doorway to the garden listening to what is being said.


    "What do you think?" He asks her.


    "I agree with you, we should be doing more to help" she replies.


    "I think we should go and fight, people our age are dying, and they can''t defend themselves, and that''s unfair" the prince states his opinion on the matter in agreement with the princess.


    The king looks over to the queen and she nods in agreement.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve made our choice then¡± he states and heads out of the room.


    ¡°JACOB! GET ME THE ADMIRAL!¡± He can be heard shouting as he disappears back up the corridor.


    Back over in Stannoss, general Watchtower has advanced troops beyond the city, along with the air force in an attempt to maintain the ground they have taken back.


    Now back on his feet, Daniel has been roped in along with every other able-bodied person to begin repairing the city, and clearing the rubble.


    Michael can¡¯t help but notice Daniel seems to be in a happy mood for a change, listening to him humming to himself.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡± He asks curiously.


    ¡°Tom didn¡¯t die, and, we¡¯re still alive¡± he replies with a smile.


    ¡°Careful, I might get jealous if you start lulling over this Thomas¡± Michael taunts him.


    ¡°He was right you know¡± Daniel mutters.


    ¡°About what?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what¡¯s facing him, he always has a smile on his face¡± he replies now sweeping the floor.


    Michael drops what he is doing, and drags Daniel by the hand over to a wall, before pushing him against it, and kissing him intensely on the lips.


    Pulling away, he can¡¯t help but notice Daniel blushing, and smirking quite uncontrollably.


    ¡°He¡¯s not the only one with a smile on their face¡± Michael teases him.


    ¡°C¡¯mon¡± he beckons Daniel and the pair of them get back to work.


    ¡°Ouh uhh uhh ucchhh¡± Angel pines in discomfort.


    ¡°This fucking hurts¡± he rambles on.


    ¡°Would you stop whinging, it¡¯s only a scratch¡± Thomas snaps from his side of the room.


    ¡°Tough little trooper aint¡¯chya¡± he says to him with a smile.


    ¡°Tougher than you, you big wimp¡± he replies.


    ¡°Sir, general Watchtower would like to see you¡± one of the Haven soldiers informs him as they step into the room.


    ¡°Ouhh sir, we have gone up in the world¡± Thomas mutters trying not to laugh because it hurts too much.


    ¡°You behave yourself whilst I¡¯m gone¡± Angel instructs him as he heads off.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know¡± he replies quietly.


    Walking down the corridor and into the main entrance of the hospital, he follows the soldiers to a jeep that is waiting for him.


    Hopping inside, the engine rumbles to life before they drive off.


    It doesn¡¯t take long to arrive at the palace as it is only five minutes away.


    Hopping back down, he continues into the palace, where Scarlet is waiting for him.


    ¡°Follow me¡± she instructs him, and he promptly does so.


    ¡°I have something that I think will be of interest to you, do you remember that picture you showed me and coordinates that you believed the Sky Scraper to be located in?¡± she asks.


    ¡°Yeah ¡­ What about it?¡± He asks back.


    ¡°I think you have been looking in the wrong place¡± she explains.


    ¡°They are coordinates from around eight years ago when we lost contact with it¡± he points out.


    ¡°We¡¯ve had some rather strange reports to say the least, of a hill destroying anything that goes near it¡± she informs him.


    ¡°And you thought, I know, he¡¯s batshit crazy, let him go and sort it out¡± he replies sarcastically.


    ¡°At first, we thought it was a new weapon that Terra Auri has come up with¡± she continues.


    ¡°Right ¡­¡± he mutters.


    They enter into the war room, and walk over to a round table with a map placed on top of it.


    ¡°No one can get close enough to take a picture of it, but the description matches your picture exactly¡± she tells him whilst turning the map around.


    ¡°Here¡± she states, and points to a location on the map.


    He places his own map down onto the table and matches the coordinates to the hill.


    ¡°Got any spare chinooks?¡± He asks with a big grin on his face.


    Daniel and Michael have both finished their duties for the time being, and are sitting down with the others to have something to eat.


    ¡°Mhmmmm this is so good¡± Daniel mutters happily.


    ¡°Can you remember the last time we had anything that tasted this good?¡± Michael asks, but Daniel is too busy enjoying his food to answer.


    ¡°I have some good news¡± Marissa announces, clapping her hands together to get everyone¡¯s attention


    ¡°General Cooper has requested for us to go and help protect the refugees over at the eastern docks¡± she informs them.


    ¡°Antiago is advancing on the south, so they need all the help they can get¡± she explains.


    ¡°Does this mean?¡± Sebastian asks cautiously.


    ¡°Yes, we won¡¯t be seeing any combat for a good few days¡± Marissa replies.


    ¡°Oh thank God¡± he mutters and lounges back into his chair.


    ¡°Not like you to be vocal Seb¡± Daniel states with a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been too tired to even move, let alone speak¡± he replies looking quite blissful.


    ¡°Shall we go and see how Tom¡¯s getting on?¡± Sebastian suggests.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a good idea actually¡± Daniel replies, and they make their way back towards the hospital.


    Thomas, at this exact moment in time, is attempting to get some rest as Angel walks back into the room.


    ¡°Did you behave while I was gone?¡± Angel asks him mischievously.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like I can fucking go anywhere¡± he replies sarcastically.


    Daniel and the others walk into the room, and immediately notice general Watchtower standing by the window with her hands behind her back.


    ¡°Good you¡¯re all here¡± she remarks and walks over to them.


    ¡°The good news, or the bad news first?¡± Angel asks them.


    They all look at each other for a moment.


    ¡°Good news¡± Daniel replies.


    ¡°Thomas, you will be accompanying these Haven soldiers back to Haven¡± Scarlet informs him.


    ¡°Yay¡± he mumbles quietly.


    ¡°And the bad news?¡± Daniel asks.


    ¡°Well it depends on what you define as bad news¡± Angel replies.


    ¡°Angel here has requested for two soldiers to accompany him whilst he is searching for something, requesting you two specifically¡± Scarlet explains as she indicates to Michael and Daniel.


    ¡°The rest of you will be heading off to the eastern docks, which I believe Marissa has already informed you¡± she states, and indicates for them to follow her as she walks out of the room.


    Daniel and Michael take a look at each other for a moment.


    ¡°Do we have a choice in the matter?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s up to you whether you come along or not¡± he replies.


    ¡°Either way, I¡¯m leaving in ten minutes, I do believe my chinook is waiting for me¡± he informs them, and also walks out of the room.


    ¡°You should go¡± Thomas pipes up.


    ¡°You know what he¡¯s looking for¡± Daniel remarks sternly as he sits down next to him, leaning forward clenching his hands together.


    ¡°Could be fun¡± Thomas tells him.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± He asks Michael.


    ¡°Could be dangerous¡± he replies


    ¡°Which is code for exciting¡± Thomas mumbles.


    The sound of a chinook preparing to take off can be heard nearby.


    ¡°Fuck it¡± Daniel yells.


    ¡°Make it to Haven safely, promise me¡± he says to Thomas whilst holding his hand.


    ¡°I promise¡± he replies happily.


    Daniel and Michael begin to run down the corridor and into the street, following the sound of the nearby chinook.


    They rush into the courtyard it has landed in, just as it is preparing to take off.


    Running to catch up to it, Daniel jumps into the open bay door.


    ¡°GRAB MY HAND¡± he yells at Michael.


    He does so reaching out and Daniel pulls him up into the chinook.


    They catch their breaths for a moment and look down at the city buildings speeding by underneath them.


    An alarm rings and the bay door begins to close.


    ¡°Pair of crazy fuckers you two are¡± Angel can be heard saying as he laughs to himself.


    They fasten themselves in and hold on tight for the ride ahead.


    Watching as it begins to get dark again, Daniel and Michael fall to sleep.

 Book 1 Chapter 9: The Sky Scraper

    By late morning, Angel looks extremely tired, as he hasn¡¯t stopped the chopper once on their journey.


    ¡°Hymm, that¡¯s not good¡± he mutters quietly to himself as he looks at the fuel gage.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re running on emptyyy woahh¡± he begins to tell the other two, but immediately has to swerve the chopper out of the direction of incoming projectiles.


    ¡°WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?¡± Daniel shouts in desperation.


    ¡°I DON¡¯T WANNA DIE LIKE THIS!¡± He screams.


    For a brief moment Angel can see an enormous white object off in the distance.


    Suddenly they are struck again, and part of the chopper catches on fire.


    ¡°Oh shit, that¡¯s not good¡± Angel continues muttering to himself.


    They crash into the ground with a huge thud, and scrap along a good distance until they grind to a halt.


    ¡°GET OUT! GET OUT!¡± Angel screams at the pair of them pushing them out in a panic.


    Escaping outside, he keeps pushing them, getting them as far away from the chinook as possible.


    A rocket shoots overhead targeting their fallen aircraft, the explosion sends them flying forwards.


    ¡°Well that didn¡¯t go too badly¡± Angel tells them as he rolls over to assess the damage.


    ¡°Aww man, damn things knackered¡± he mutters, very unimpressed with the radio from his rucksack.


    Having fallen on top of it, he holds it up to have a look at it, well the two pieces of it, before chucking it over to one side.


    ¡°What the fuck just attacked us?¡± Michael asks, clearly annoyed as he stands up.


    ¡°That would be the Sky Scraper¡± he replies before resting his hands behind his head.


    ¡°I thought it was on our side?¡± Michael continues to ask now quite confused at the situation.


    Daniel leans over noticing the metal and glass ID tag that belongs to Angel, he picks it up and sees Angel''s full name, along with his rank that has been abbreviated to ¡®COTAF¡¯.


    ¡°Fuck me, your name is Oliver?¡± he questions him in bewilderment.


    ¡°Yep, it¡¯s Oliver alright¡± he replies taking the ID tag off him.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°Then why the fuck, have we been calling you Angel all this time?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°There is a reason, but I¡¯m not willing to discuss it¡± Oliver replies.


    ¡°No! I¡¯m not going another step forward with you, until you explain¡± Daniel demands as he and Oliver stand up.


    ¡°Because Terra Auri will track me down, kill me and anyone else that just so happens to be in close proximity to me¡± he explains.


    ¡°You must have done something big time to piss them off that much¡± Michael remarks.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of my rank, and being close friends with the king¡± he replies, and immediately starts walking in the opposite direction of the burning chinook.


    ¡°Where are you going now?¡± Daniel yells at him.


    ¡°Well if it hasn¡¯t entered your mind already, we weren¡¯t anywhere near that thing, and it shot us down¡± Oliver replies.


    ¡°Its capabilities are far greater than that, and quite frankly, I don¡¯t want to stick around to experience them first hand¡± he continues.


    Reluctantly, the other two follow him down the side of the hill.


    Stepping over a mound, all three of them immediately go pale in the face.


    Huge craters lie dotted about the landscape, off into the distance, a forest to the left-hand side has been completely incinerated, and a town in front of them has been obliterated.


    ¡°What happened to this place?¡± Michael asks cautiously.


    ¡°Take a wild guess¡± Oliver replies.


    ¡°That thing ¡­ Did all this damage?¡± Daniel asks in disbelief.


    ¡°You lot should be ashamed of yourselves¡± he snarls in disgust at Oliver.


    ¡°I quite agree¡± he mutters, looking out at all the devastation.


    Even the surrounding hillside has been obliterated.


    ¡°It¡¯s like this in every direction surrounding it, from what I¡¯ve been told¡± he tells them.


    ¡°Hang on, if it¡¯s shooting way off into the distance over there, then why haven¡¯t we been killed yet over here?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°That¡¯s why¡± Oliver replies pointing at the chinook.


    ¡°I¡¯m betting it¡¯s scanners haven¡¯t picked us up as a threat yet¡± he continues to say and begins to walk back up the hill.


    ¡°Oliver, what are you doing mate?¡± Daniel asks, becoming quite concerned.


    ¡°If we go that way, we die, if we go that way, we die, if we go upwards, we die¡± he rambles in response.


    He takes the tag from around his neck and holds it out in front of him.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone mad¡± Michael says to Daniel as they rush in an attempt to stop him.


    An enormous white aircraft can be seen resting at the very top of the hill.


    ¡°That ¡­ Is terrifying¡± Daniel states looking up at deadly war machine.


    ¡°Two years of searching¡± Oliver mutters as he takes a rest on a nearby boulder.


    ¡°That¡¯s incredible¡± Michael says in shock.


    A noise can be heard coming from the Sky Scraper, and a few moments later, projectiles begin firing at them.


    ¡°STAND DOWN! ALL WEAPONS SYSTEMS OFFLINE!¡± Oliver shouts at the craft whilst waving his hands in the air.


    ¡°FUCKING STAND DOWN!¡± He yells as they run away.


    A drone flying overhead zooms its camera lens down onto Oliver¡¯s ID tag.


    The firing from the Sky Scraper immediately stops.


    The drone zooms down in front of them, itself also large in scale.


    ¡°Greetings from Heaven¡¯s Gate¡± it says to them.


    Michael and Daniel share a baffled look at each other.


    ¡°Heaven¡¯s Gate?¡± Daniel asks.


    ¡°It¡¯s the official name of this Sky Scraper¡± Oliver explains, before turning his attention to the drone.


    ¡°You are far from home, Oliver Angel¡± it states.


    ¡°Can you take us safely to Heaven¡¯s Gate?¡± He asks.


    ¡°Yes, please hop on¡± the drone replies and slowly moves forwards in front of them.


    They clamber onto it and hold on tight, Daniel and Michael clearly more nervous than Oliver.


    The true devastation of the surrounding area can be seen as they go higher and higher in elevation.


    Slowly but surely the vast scale of this aircraft also becomes frighteningly apparent.

 Book 1 Chapter 10: Heavens Gate

    ¡°It has been quite some time since you were last here¡± the drone informs them appearing to be speaking to Oliver.


    ¡°I see you have also brought along some allies from De Monte Flores COTAF¡± it continues to state.


    ¡°What does COTAF actually mean?¡± Daniel asks looking directly at Oliver.


    ¡°It¡¯s my official rank, Commander of the Armed Forces¡± he replies with no enthusiasm whatsoever.


    ¡°Angelus, what happened to Heaven¡¯s Gate?¡± Oliver asks.


    ¡°This thing has a name?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°Yes, my full name is Angelus Mortis¡± Angelus replies.


    ¡°Heaven¡¯s Gate was sabotaged and activated its defence systems¡± the drone explains.


    ¡°All this damage was done in defence?¡± Michael mutters looking down to the ground.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you weren¡¯t able to find something this big, couldn¡¯t you have just used satellite images?¡± Daniel asks.


    ¡°Heaven¡¯s Gate has been playing a loop through each satellite that flies overhead, the people viewing the images see this land exactly how it was eight years ago, all communication systems were also shut down so that no tracking could be undertaken¡± Angelus explains.


    ¡°What happened to the crew?¡± Oliver asks.


    ¡°Many used the escape crafts and headed to the mountains, some where sealed inside hanger bay four¡± it replies.


    ¡°Did you just say, sealed?¡± Daniel asks with a concerned expression.


    ¡°Due to an electrical fault that occurred during the sabotage, the bay doors were sealed shut¡± Angelus replies.


    ¡°I guess they¡¯re all dead then?¡± Michael asks not expecting any response.


    ¡°All crew members are alive and well, there was enough supplies to last ten years inside hanger four¡± Angelus replies.


    ¡°Wait, hold up a second, you mean to tell us these people have been trapped inside for eight years?¡± Daniel asks in shock.


    ¡°Correct¡± Angelus replies.


    ¡°What happened to the person responsible?¡± Oliver asks.


    ¡°The person responsible for the sabotage died on impact during the collision with the hill¡± Angelus replies.


    The drone gently lowers itself to the ground allowing them to step down.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Oliver walks over to a doorway at the side of Heaven''s Gate.


    ¡°Angelus mentioned you have been here before?¡± Daniel asks Oliver, feeling confused at this point.


    ¡°I was an apprentice on Heaven¡¯s Gate before the war started¡± he replies.


    ¡°Before we go in, I need to go take a piss¡± Daniel tells him.


    ¡°There are toilets inside¡± Oliver informs him whilst typing a code onto the panel next to the doorway and scanning his ID tag.


    The door opens revealing what almost looks like a void, a large open area of the aircraft that on closer inspection is clearly a hanger as a large door that isn''t very visible from the outside can be seen next to them.


    Oliver beckons them to follow him down a long corridor with large windows to their left.


    There is emergency lighting dotted about the place with escape signs leading to the exits.


    They walk up four flights of stairs before continuing down a corridor, as they walk down the corridor Daniel and Michael take a look inside the various rooms they are passing, one of which is clearly a canteen.


    Turning left they enter a huge room to the front of the aircraft, containing large screens and high tech control panels which Oliver immediately takes a look at.


    ¡°Well, the power is intact, let¡¯s try this¡± he mutters and begins to tap on the touchscreen control panel.


    After a few moments the lights come on along with the air conditioning.


    Screens begin to display the CCTV footage from around Heaven¡¯s Gate, including the crew in hanger four.


    ¡°They¡¯re all really alive, after eight years¡± Michael mutters.


    ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ll show you to the toilets¡± Oliver beckons Daniel to follow him.


    Leaving the control room through a different doorway, they follow the signs leading to the aircrafts living quarters, Oliver clearly knowing the layout of the aircraft very well.


    ¡°In there¡± he tells them indicating to a lavatory next to another canteen.


    ¡°Thank you¡± Daniel replies politely and goes inside.


    Not what he is expecting initially given that this is a war machine, the layout of the toilets are actually what you would more expect to find in pub, very neutral in colour scheme.


    ¡°Oaaa¡± he mumbles realizing the water coming from the tap Is hot and the soap dispenser works.


    Leaving the bathroom, he turns the corner to see Michael sat down in the canteen and to hear clanging coming from what is presumably the kitchen.


    ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± He asks.


    ¡°Apparently, he is finding food¡± Michael replies with a smile.


    ¡°Speak of the devil¡± Daniel mutters seeing Oliver appear behind the serving area of the canteen.


    The sound of deep fat fryers bubbling can be heard over in his direction along with a ¡®cssskkkk¡¯ sound as an airlock freezer is opened.


    ¡°Hungry?¡± He asks whilst bashing a bag of frozen food onto the worksurface.


    ¡°Is any of that going to be still edible at this point?¡± Daniel asks.


    ¡°Yep, well the fries will be at least¡± he replies as a sizzling sound can be heard coming from the deep fat fryers.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be focusing on getting the crew out of the hanger?¡± Michael suggests.


    ¡°Yeah we should really¡± Daniel replies.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry I haven¡¯t forgotten about them; however, they have all the food and supplies they need, you two haven¡¯t eaten properly in weeks¡± Oliver tells them overhearing the pair whispering to each other.


    ¡°I wish this bloody war would end¡± Daniel mutters and plonks his head into his arms against the table.


    Walking over to them, Oliver places two plates full of fries onto the table along with some glasses of water.


    They both gulp the water down quickly before trying some of the fries and realizing how good they are.


    ¡°Thank you¡± Daniel tells him gratefully.


    ¡°Eat up, we¡¯ve got work to do¡± he instructs them, and they quickly do so, eating the remaining food in front of them.


    ¡°What have we got to do now?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°To have a look at hanger four¡± Oliver replies.


    ¡°Is hanger four an escape hanger or something?¡± Daniel asks.


    ¡°Well sort of, it''s actually a supplies hanger that houses some escape craft¡± Oliver replies.


    Walking along a further corridor, with a set of windows to the righthand side of them, Oliver leads them down another four flights of stairs to another much more open part of the aircraft.

 Chapter 11: Heavens Pilots

    A large hanger door is in front of them, like Angelus had informed them earlier, sealed shut.


    There are various boxes and crates scattered about the room next to machinery to lift them around.


    A screen next to the hanger door displays footage from inside, the crew are doing various jobs within the hanger, whether it be working in the kitchen, cleaning the escape craft, working out or playing card games.


    Everyone seems to have kept their sanity.


    One of the individuals can be seen speaking into a telephone at the far side of the room.


    ¡°I thought they couldn¡¯t contact anyone?¡± Daniel queries.


    ¡°That¡¯s the captain, wouldn¡¯t you be trying to get in touch with anyone that could help¡± Oliver points out.


    He walks over to the screen next to the hanger door and taps on a speaker icon.


    ¡°Hello, this is Oliver Angel the current COTAF of Haven, we will get you out as soon as we can¡± he states and taps the speaker icon again.


    From inside the hanger rejoicing can be seen with everyone celebrating, the captain puts his head into his hands and begins to breakdown in tears.


    ¡°Eight years of being trapped inside, I can¡¯t imagine what that¡¯s like¡± Daniel mutters.


    ¡°Now we just need to see what the problem is, exactly¡± Oliver mumbles in response losing confidence at the last part.


    He heads off back in the direction they have come from and the other two follow suit.


    Leading them back into the control room he takes a seat and starts to scroll through information on the screens in front of him.


    ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°I''m looking to see what happened to cause the aircraft to crash like this¡± he replies.


    Some video footage displays on the screen and the three of them begin to watch.


    ¡°MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! This is captain Whiteclover, the Gate is going down, I repeat the gate is going down!¡± The captain can be heard yelling into a microphone.


    An alarm begins to go off and everywhere in the ship crew members can be seen running towards various hangers and scrambling to get the escape craft ready.


    ¡®Warning all crew proceed to evacuate, this is not a drill¡¯


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.¡®Warning all crew proceed to evacuate, this is not a drill¡¯


    A voiceover can be heard saying repeatedly.


    Suddenly there is an electrical surge across the aircraft causing the lights to blinker for a moment.


    ¡°MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! We¡¯ve lost power in all engines; emergency power won¡¯t keep us airborne¡± the captain can be heard as he continues to send a distress signal.


    ¡®Security protocol activated, defence systems online¡¯ the voiceover states.


    A mighty ruckus can be heard from outside the aircraft as the weapons systems begin to engage with anything unfortunate enough to be nearby.


    ¡°STAND DOWN! DISENGAGE ALL WEAPON SYSTEMS!¡± The captain demands.


    ¡®Going dark¡¯ the voice over continues to state.


    ¡°We just lost all communication systems and satellite navigation is offline¡± a pilot nearby informs the captain.


    ¡°Captain! It¡¯s no use, we need to evacuate¡± a subordinate tries to reason with him.


    ¡°May God have mercy on our souls¡± he replies just as an enormous flash can be seen outside.


    ¡°ABANDON SHIP!¡± The captain instructs the remaining crew in the control room.


    ¡®Lockdown in progress¡¯ the voiceover states.


    The captain along with the remaining crew make their way to hanger four where preparations to abandon the aircraft are underway.


    Suddenly the hanger door closes fully, having only been halfway open at this point.


    Metal shutters can be seen closing on the bay doors leading out into the open sky and a commotion of panic starts inside.


    ¡°Pause¡± Oliver instructs the system and it does so.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t actually see what went wrong¡± Michael points out.


    ¡°View footage from the start of the evacuation procedures, locating specifically the electrical serge cause¡± Oliver instructs the system.


    The footage displays at the start of the evacuation from Engine Room 1.


    An individual in blue overalls can be seen messing with some electrical panelling.


    Electric sparks can be seen and the individual shoots across the room bashing into the wall on the opposite side, still holding onto some wiring.


    ¡°Right, looks like we know what happened, c¡¯mon¡± Oliver mutters and beckons them to follow him.


    They head down some flights of stairs to the left-hand side of the control room towards Engine Room 1.


    At the bottom of the stairs is a large window displaying the outside, with a small room next to it, inside this room is a set of three chairs in front of which are a set of screens.


    On the outside of each is a large gun.


    They continue down a corridor and come across what is left of the blue overalls, along with the skellington inside it.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna be sick¡± Daniel mutters looking nauseous and leaning against the wall.


    Oliver walks over to the bones and pulls what is left of the electric wiring from its grasp.


    He looks over at the open panel from where the wiring came from.


    ¡°This needs repairing before we can free the crew and fly again¡± he informs them.


    ¡°Do you know how to fix it?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°I was an apprentice engineer whilst onboard the Gate¡± he replies.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you were doing over at the front lines?¡± He asks Michael.


    ¡°Yeah I was¡± Michael replies.


    The pair of them suddenly realize that Daniel is swaying from side to side.


    ¡°I ¡­ I don¡¯t feel so good¡± he mutters before collapsing.


    ¡°He is really sleep deprived¡± Oliver mumbles as Michael catches Daniel mid fall.


    ¡°Take him upstairs, the pair of you need to go and get some rest¡± He instructs Michael.


    ¡°What are you going to be doing?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°Repairing this damn thing¡± he replies as he rolls up his sleeves.


    ¡°Actually, first there is something I need to do¡± Oliver states appearing to change his mind suddenly.


    ¡°C¡¯mon I¡¯ll help you get him upstairs" he says and indicates at Daniel.


    The pair of them carry Daniel upstairs and Oliver leads them into one of the living quarters, they place Daniel on a bed and pull a blanket over him.


    ¡°Get some rest¡± Oliver instructs Michael, he doesn¡¯t argue giving a gentle nod and lies down next to Daniel.

 Chapter 12: Direct Orders

    Oliver walks back into the control room and takes a seat on the captains'' chair before tapping on the control panel.


    ''Communication systems online'' a voiceover announces.


    "Video link to Haven HQ" Oliver instructs the system.


    ''Video link being established'' the voice over replies and a screen switches on, revealing an individual resting their feet against their own control panel.


    "Phoenix, you lazy bastard, I can see exactly what you''re doing" Oliver snaps at him.


    Phoenix not expecting this begins to choke on his drink and start coughing.


    "Commander?" He asks looking around the room.


    Oliver taps something onto the touchscreen control panel and a live stream appears on the screens in front of Phoenix.


    "I ¡­" Phoenix starts to say but gets distracted by the information flooding in onto the screens in front of him.


    Noticing in particular that the vessel Oliver is contacting him from is Heaven''s Gate. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He immediately slams down on a button next to him and an alarm can be heard going off.


    "Oh for the love of God, really Phoenix" Oliver mumbles.


    "Just following orders" he replies.


    The king comes rushing into the room and pushes Phoenix out of the way in his swirly chair.


    "Hello Nathan" Oliver greets him whilst slouching back into his chair.


    "Where the hell have you been?" Nathan asks dramatically.


    "Look, I found our lost toy" Oliver replies placing his hands out and looking rather pleased with himself.


    "Is it operational?" He asks.


    "The power is still working and so are the weapon systems, but it will need some electrical repairs before it is able to take flight again" Oliver explains.


    "Also, we found the lost crew" he continues and again taps on the touch screen control panel.


    Another screen in front of Nathan and Phoenix display a live feed of hanger bay four and the crew inside.


    "That isn''t all of them, the majority fled to the mountains" Oliver informs them.


    "The one''s that are trapped in hanger four, send them home" Nathan instructs him.


    "I''ll have to get them out first, the doors are sealed shut" Oliver replies.


    "Are all the drones still intact?" Nathan asks.


    "Yep, Angelus brought us here" Oliver replies observing a screen with the active drones displayed on it.


    "Get Heaven''s Gate functional again, we''re going on the offensive, that''s a direct order Oliver" he continues.


    "Nathan! You know what this aircraft is capable of, do you really want to set it loose on the battlefield?" Oliver asks sternly.


    "Get it operational again, that''s an order, Oliver" Nathan instructs him.


    "Sure thing, your majesty" Oliver replies bitterly and the screen goes dead.

 Chapter 13: Troubled Dreams

    Waking up on the bed to the feeling of dull sunlight on his cheek, Daniel notices Michael still fast asleep next to him.


    He gets up quietly, giving Michael a kiss on the cheek as he does so, before taking a look outside one of the many windows.


    It is getting dark outside, and unusually for him, there is no sound of any bombs, gunshots, screams or fighting to be heard.


    He wonders out of the room, and as he turns the corner, he can hear the sound of clanging, followed by a drilling noise coming from the stairs echoing from engine room one.


    Cautiously he follows the sound.


    Popping his head around the corridor and much to his relief he sees Oliver fixing the electric panelling.


    ¡°Give us a hand¡± Oliver beckons him noticing he is nearby.


    Daniel walks over and holds up a panel for him as Oliver drills it back into place.


    ¡°Looks like this will take all night¡± he states.


    ¡°Yeah ahhhh¡± Daniel replies yawning.


    ¡°You don¡¯t sleep very well do you?¡± Oliver asks.


    ¡°Not really¡± he replies.


    ¡°Michael still sleeping?¡± He continues to ask. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°Yeah¡± Daniel replies sheepishly and rubs his eyes.


    ¡°I just have nightmares of all the people I¡¯ve lost¡± Daniel mutters.


    ¡°You¡¯ve still got Michael, try thinking about the positives, might help you sleep better¡± Oliver tells him with a smile and a pat on the shoulder.


    ¡°What about you, do you have a significant other?¡± He asks.


    ¡°There was this girl, most beautiful person you have ever seen, she had the most wonderful laugh¡± he replies.


    Daniel listens quietly to Oliver and notices a childlike joy of happiness he hasn¡¯t seen him display before.


    ¡°She made me so happy, I sort of, lost all my insecurities when I was with her, we were engaged to be married¡± he continues and sighs on the last part.


    ¡°Were?¡± Daniel asks.


    ¡°She died, as a result of one of these things¡± he replies much to the shock of Daniel.


    ¡°You mean, a Sky Scraper?¡± He asks.


    ¡°Yep¡± Oliver mutters.


    ¡°That¡¯s so sad¡± Daniel states softly.


    ¡°Life goes on¡± he tells him with a sigh.


    ¡°Dan, I¡¯m gonna be here quite a while, you¡¯re safe here, go and try to get a good night¡¯s sleep¡± Oliver instructs him.


    ¡°Ok¡± he replies and walks back into the corridor.


    He walks past a large window stopping for a moment to look outside, curious he has a look inside the room with the three chairs and large guns positioned outside.


    The ventilation system has done its job, even after eight years there is only a thin layer of dust covering everything.


    This distraction reminds him that this place is not a sanctuary, but a deadly war machine.


    Reaching the stairs again he hesitates for a moment, and decides to have a look inside a large hanger further down the aircraft, it is dark inside as he walks in to take a look.


    Suddenly the hanger lights come on startling him, he can''t quite believe his eyes and stumbles backwards.


    Drones, similar to Angelus, easily a hundred of them hang from the celling.


    "Now you''re starting to get it" Oliver mutters to himself keeping an eye on Daniel on a tablet next to him.


    Done with his exploration for the night, he heads back up the stairs and into the living quarters.


    Giving Michaels hair a ruffle, he snuggles up to him and attempts to sleep.


    ¡°I have troubled dreams too¡± Oliver mutters before carrying on with his drilling.

 Chapter 14: Evacuation

    The evacuation is well underway from Stannoss and Thomas has been loaded onto a zeppelin, much to his disapproval at having been loaded onto it, like a parcel in his opinion.


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get back home¡± he hears one of the Haven soldiers say next to him.


    ¡°Have you been away long?¡± He asks.


    ¡°About a year¡± he replies.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite looking forward to seeing Haven¡± Thomas mumbles.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll get you there¡± the soldier tells him enthusiastically.


    ¡°That would be nice¡± Thomas replies.


    Looking out of the window, he can see other zeppelins flying alongside them accompanied by helicopters and chinooks, there is also a vast array of military vehicles on the ground. All evacuating refugees, in particular the injured, young and elderly.


    Soldiers on the other hand, having arrived at the Capital yesterday evening, have been sent back in the direction of Silverpeak beyond the city.


    ¡°Snap?¡± The soldier asks him, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands.


    ¡°Sure¡± Thomas replies with a smile.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Thomas asks the soldier as he hands him over some cards.


    ¡°Kyle, what¡¯s yours?¡± Kyle asks.


    ¡°Thomas, but everyone just calls me Tom¡± he replies. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Nice to meet you Thomas¡± Kyle tells him.


    They begin to place the cards down one after the other.


    ¡°SNAP! OUCH¡± Thomas yells enthusiastically but immediately grabs his side in pain.


    ¡°Hey take it easy, you might be tough, but you¡¯re still injured¡± Kyle tells him gently holding his arm.


    ¡°Yeah, I keep forgetting that¡± he growls in response.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be at the docks soon¡± Kyle mutters in a concerned tone looking out of the window.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good thing though, right?¡± Thomas asks cautiously


    ¡°It is, but it was a bloodbath when we came over on the ships¡± he replies.


    ¡°I must say you¡¯re filling me great with confidence in your ability to take care of me here¡± Thomas tells him.


    ¡°Sorry¡± he replies with a smile.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t let anything happen to a new friend¡± he mutters.


    Thomas gives a little smile at this comment.


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the deal with Angel?¡± He asks.


    ¡°His name is actually Oliver, he¡¯s the commander of the armed forces¡± Kyle explains.


    ¡°Oh ¡­ Ok¡± Thomas mumbles not expecting this answer.


    ¡°Do you know much about the Sky Scraper he has gone after?¡± He continues to ask.


    ¡°Not really, other than it¡¯s extremely dangerous¡± Kyle replies.


    ¡°There are more than just that one though, aren¡¯t there?¡± Thomas questions him.


    ¡°Yeah, there were two others, but one got destroyed around eight years ago, the other one is acting as a deterrent to Crystallini I think¡± Kyle replies.


    ¡°Have you ever seen one?¡± Thomas asks.


    ¡°Nope¡± he replies.


    ¡°All your main firepower is down south from what I hear¡± Kyle states suggestively.


    ¡°Yeah, the majority of it is, but we don¡¯t have anything like the Sky Scrapers¡± Thomas replies.


    In the distance an explosion can be seen in the form of a bright flash, the pair of them notice that it is now raining with raindrops drizzling down the window.


    ¡°Where abouts in De Monte are you from?¡± Kyle asks.


    ¡°A little village actually, it¡¯s not there anymore¡± Thomas replies with a sigh.


    ¡°Sorry to hear that¡± Kyle replies sympathetically.


    ¡°Where in Haven are you from Kyle?¡± Thomas asks.


    ¡°I am from a little town up in the mountains¡± he tells him.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to show me¡± Thomas informs him cheekily.


    ¡°I might just do that¡± Kyle replies with a smile.


    The lights suddenly dim in the zeppelin.


    ¡°Time to get some sleep¡± Kyle points out.


    ¡°Yeah¡± Thomas replies as he looks out of the window.


    Another great flash of light can be seen off in the distance.

 Chapter 15: Freedom!

    Waking up the following morning, Michael notices Daniel is fast asleep and decides to leave him in his peaceful state.


    ¡°Good morning¡± Oliver greets him, announcing his presence bringing over some vegetable soup.


    ¡°Wake him up then¡± Oliver instructs him.


    ¡°But he¡¯s sleeping¡± Michael points out.


    ¡°I¡¯m awake now¡± Daniel interjects leaning up and rubbing his eyes.


    ¡°Fucking hell, you look dirty¡± he comments realizing Oliver is covered in black and dust.


    ¡°Well it was a long night¡± he replies wiping his brow with his sleeve.


    ¡°Is it fixed?¡± Daniel asks coming over to the table to eat some soup.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find out after breakfast¡± Oliver replies looking quite exhausted.


    ¡°Pizza?¡± Michael asks, looking rather confused at the three slices next to his bowl of soup.


    ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s military grade stuff, last for ages, it¡¯s perfectly safe to eat¡± he explains.


    ¡°I¡¯m not complaining¡± Daniel mutters taking a bite after dipping it into his soup.


    ¡°It¡¯s so nice and peaceful hear¡± Michael points out.


    ¡°Ironic isn¡¯t it, this being a machine of war¡± Oliver replies.


    ¡°How did you two meet?¡± he asks them curiously.


    ¡°Well we¡¯ve known each other since we were fifteen¡± Daniel replies.


    ¡°Lived in the same town I take it?¡± Oliver suggests.


    ¡°Same city actually, at the base of the mountains¡± Michael explains.


    ¡°Sounds like a cold place to grow up¡± Oliver points out with a smirk.


    ¡°Best of both worlds actually, at the base of the mountain is quite cool, lovely and warm in the day time, and then if you go up a little bit, you have all the snow, it¡¯s beautiful really¡± Daniel explains with a happy smile on his face.


    ¡°Would you like to go back?¡± Oliver asks. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Yeah, I would actually¡± Daniel replies.


    ¡°Yeah it would be nice to go back¡± Michael agrees.


    ¡°Drink up¡± Oliver tells them indicating at their glasses of water as he gets up.


    They gulp it down before following him to the control room.


    Oliver sits down on the captain¡¯s chair and the pair of them sit down either side of him.


    ¡°Now then, shall we see if this thing works?¡± Oliver asks rhetorically.


    He begins to push six levers, two at a time to the halfway point.


    ¡®Engines online¡¯ the voiceover announces.


    A mighty rumble can be heard as the turbines start to spin slowly and the jet engines spark back into life.


    ¡°Open hanger bay four¡± Oliver instructs the system.


    ¡®Hanger bay four opening¡¯ the voiceover continues to announce.


    On the screen in front of them they can see the main door to hanger bay four slowly rolling upwards and the crew rushing out.


    ¡°Good morning crew, this is Oliver Angel speaking, welcome back¡± he informs them talking through the intercom.


    After a few minutes of watching the crew make their way about the aircraft, the captain who is a tall man with a long grey beard walks into the control room.


    ¡°Hey skipper¡± Oliver greets him cheekily.


    ¡°Angel, it is very, very good to see your face¡± the captain replies and drags him over to give him a friendly embrace lifting him up off the floor.


    ¡°Is everyone ok?¡± Oliver asks.


    ¡°Everyone is perfectly fine, there is someone who particularly wants to see you¡± he replies.


    ¡°Hey Olly¡± a quiet voice can be heard from someone peering around the doorway.


    ¡°RILEY!!¡± Oliver shouts excitedly and rushes over to hug his old friend.


    Whilst hugging him Riley burst into tears and the pair of them fall to the floor.


    ¡°I ¡­ I never thought I¡¯d ever get out of that place¡± Riley stutters through tears and moaning.


    ¡°Captain this is king Nathan of Haven¡± Nathans voice can suddenly be heard coming from the main screen.


    ¡°Your majesty¡± the captain replies attempting to straighten himself up before stepping into view.


    ¡°You and your crew are to come home, we are on our way to collect you all from the eastern docks¡± Nathan informs them.


    ¡°Yes your majesty, thank you your majesty, we¡¯ll have the Gate make its way straightaway¡± he replies.


    ¡°You will be using the escape craft, much quicker, Heaven¡¯s Gate will be entering service again¡± Nathan explains.


    The captain has a concerned look on his face at this response.


    ¡°Yes your majesty, we¡¯ll make preparations to leave immediately¡± the captain replies.


    ¡°All crew leave ship immediately, head outside and prepare the escape craft¡± he announces through the intercom.


    None of the crew need any encouragement and immediately run as fast as they can outside, many of them fall to the floor feeling the grass in their hands, or begin spinning around in a circle breathing in the fresh air whilst feeling the breeze on their face.


    ¡°Riley¡± Oliver says to him with a big smile.


    ¡°Yeah I heard¡± he replies bursting into tears again as Oliver helps him to a seat.


    ¡°What about you?¡± The captain asks.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be staying here at Heaven¡¯s Gate¡± he replies and holds up his ID tag.


    ¡°COTAF, I expected nothing less from you¡± the captain tells him and before leaving the room himself, gives Oliver another embrace.


    ¡°Who are these two?¡± Riley asks.


    ¡°This is Michael and this is Daniel¡± Oliver explains pointing to each of them as he does so.


    ¡°Hello¡± Riley says giving them a little wave.


    ¡°Nice to meet you¡± Michael replies shaking his hand.


    ¡°Hello¡± Daniel also greets him but giving a little wave instead.

 Chapter 16: Farewell

    ¡°C¡¯mon¡± Oliver beckons everyone to follow him.


    They all head down the corridor and down the stairwell reaching the entrance they had originally entered through.


    The crew are still celebrating being outside.


    ¡°They seem so happy¡± Daniel states with a smile.


    Some have already started to board the escape craft and are chatting excitedly to each other.


    ¡°Good morning Oliver¡± Angelus greets him casually zooming overhead.


    ¡°Hello Angelus¡± he replies looking up at the drone.


    Riley lays down on the grass and rests for a moment, enjoying the texture of the grass between his fingers with a big smile on his face.


    ¡°You can go home now Riley¡± Oliver says softly, whilst sitting down next to him.


    ¡°I missed you so much¡± Riley tells him and grabs his hand tightly.


    ¡°I missed having my mate around too¡± Oliver replies and gives him a hug.


    ¡°Riley, time to go¡± the captain says to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m staying here with Olly¡± Riley tells him.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± The captain asks sympathetically.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure¡± he replies.


    The captain pulls him into a friendly embrace before turning to the others.


    ¡°This is farewell¡± he states and gives a brief wave before stepping into the escape craft.


    ¡°Farewell skipper¡± Oliver replies and gives a wave as the escape craft take off.


    They all watch as one by one the four upwards facing propellers start to spin and the four jet engines, two at the front and two at the back of the escape craft roar into life, lifting everyone up into the sky heading off in the direction of east. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯ve just figure out where you get your nickname from¡± Daniel states.


    ¡°Hymm?¡± Oliver replies.


    ¡°Angelus Mortis, doesn¡¯t that mean angel of death?¡± He points out.


    ¡°Not just a pretty face are you¡± Oliver replies.


    ¡°You still use that nickname?¡± Riley asks.


    ¡°Well yeah, you¡¯re the one who gave it to me¡± he tells him.


    "Angelus is the main drone Olly was working on, and since his surname is Angel anyway, it just sort of stuck" Riley explains.


    ¡°What now?¡± Michael asks, the four of them now sat on the ground.


    ¡°Time for us to say our farewells to this place as well¡± Oliver replies and stands up.


    Dusting the grass off of themselves, the four of them make their way back inside the Sky Scraper.


    Heading down the corridor and up the flights of stairs before entering the control room again.


    ¡°Prepare for take-off¡± Oliver tells them and pushes the six levers he had pushed earlier all the way up.


    The sound of the turbines increases much louder outside as the massive propellers start spinning more rapidly.


    Daniel and Michael are holding onto their chairs at this point feeling the commotion of the aircraft.


    ¡°This should do it¡± Oliver mutters to himself.


    He begins to press on the jet engines on the display activating each one of them.


    ¡°All doors seal prepare for take-off¡± he instructs the system.


    ¡®Doors closing, prepare for take-off¡¯ the voiceover announces.


    The main door they had entered through closes, and Heaven¡¯s Gate slowly begins to rise off the hill into the air.


    ¡°Set course to the eastern docks¡± he continues to instruct the system.


    The aircraft begins to turn leftwards before flying in the direction that the escape craft has gone.


    A map displays on the screen with the location they are in now and the destination they are heading to.


    ¡°Disengage weapons systems¡± he continues to instruct the system.


    ¡®Weapons system offline¡¯ the voiceover announces.


    ¡°Auto pilot engaged¡± he gives his final instructions to the system.


    ¡®Auto pilot engaged¡¯ the voiceover announces.


    ¡°Hey, wanna go for a sky walk?¡± He asks Riley cheekily.


    ¡°Bet I can still beat you there¡± he replies and the pair of them rush out of the control room running up the corridor.


    ¡°Hey! Where are you two going?¡± Daniel yells after them.


    ¡°C¡¯mon¡± Michael tells him with a smile.


    They run up the stairway to another level before reaching the top of aircraft.


    Pressing a button to open a doorway, Michael and Daniel finally understand what the pair of them are on about.


    Walking outside onto a part of the aircraft that has guns stationed about the place, and a hand rale in between each one, they feel the rush of the wind go past them.


    ¡°So this is sky walking¡± Daniel mutters.


    Riley and Oliver much more out of breath than the other two begin to laugh at each other, before leaning against the hand rale.


    Daniel and Michael walk over to them and stand either side of them.


    ¡°You look around our age Riley¡± Michael points out.


    ¡°Riley was sixteen when he got trapped inside¡± Oliver explains with a sigh.


    ¡°I opted to stay at Haven¡± he continues.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡± Daniel.


    ¡°Why are you sorry? I¡¯M ALIVE BABY! WOUHUUUU¡± Riley starts to yell with a happy expression on his face.


    ¡°C¡¯mon we need to get back to the control room¡± Oliver reminds them and they make their way back inside.

 Chapter 17: Leviathan

    Over in Haven, Phoenix and the team around him are scanning through satellite images and coordinating the army, he notices a group of aircraft worryingly close to where the navy and rescue ships are heading.


    "Get me the admiral, get me the admiral now!" He snaps at the others around him.


    "What is it Phoenix?" She asks appearing on the main screen.


    "The Leviathan is closing in on your location along with red giants" Phoenix informs her in a state of panic.


    "How far away?" She continues to ask.


    "You should be able to detect them on your scanners in the next twenty minutes or so" he continues.


    "Thank you" she replies and the screen goes blank again.


    The Red Giants are so called because the aircraft are large in scale and quite literally painted red.


    "Your majesty, the Leviathan is inbound" she informs him. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "You''ve got to be fucking kidding me" he mumbles making his way to the bridge of the ship.


    "All ships prepare for combat" Blackcroft announces through a speaker.


    Sailors begin to load and reposition guns on the warships, alarms can be heard going off as they enter combat mode.


    "This is something we could really do without having to deal with" Nathan moans.


    "Full steam ahead" Blackcroft instructs her subordinate.


    "Eye, eye, captain, full steam ahead" he replies.


    The engines rumble and the ship drastically increases in speed.


    "Nautilus, all aircraft airborne, now!" Nathan instructs the aircraft carrier through his headset.


    One by one planes take of vertically and zoom overhead.


    Before too long blobs appear on the scanners indicating that they are now within range.


    "All aircraft standby to engage" Nathan continues to instruct them.


    "They''re not focusing on us, what are they ¡­" Nathan snaps, as he runs to the other side of the ship, viewing the Leviathan making its way past them in the distance.


    "They''re targeting the docks" he mutters with a dreadful realization coming over him.


    "BLAST THAT THING OUT OF THE SKY! NOW!" Nathan demands.


    "YOU HEARD THE KING" the Blackcroft instructs the sailors.


    Rockets begin to fire from the ship targeted directly at the Leviathan, flak is fired from the aircraft and the rockets detonate a good distance away from it.


    "Naval warships also inbound" Phoenix can be heard announcing through the screen.


    "This is going from bad to worse" Nathan mumbles to himself.

 Chapter 18: Arrival

    Thomas and Kyle are still chatting together happily, having found a new friend in each other, as the zeppelin lands at an airport next to the docks.


    ¡°Here we are¡± Kyle says looking out at the terminal next to them.


    ¡°Servant, that way¡± Thomas tells him, now sitting in a wheelchair.


    ¡°Huh, who are you calling a servant¡± he replies as he wheels Thomas down the zeppelin.


    There is a quiet hum from the engines of the zeppelin as they move across the ramp and into the terminal.


    Inside is full of refugees, as is everywhere else.


    ¡°Gosh all these people¡± Thomas mutters.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ve got priority¡± Kyle tells him with a wink.


    Thomas gives a little smirk back at this comment.


    Fresh smoke can be seen way out in the horizon.


    ¡°That¡¯s, not a good thing, is it?¡± Thomas suggests with concern.


    ¡°No, no it isn¡¯t¡± he replies.


    ¡°But hey, don¡¯t you worry buddy, we¡¯ll make sure you get out ok¡± Kyle reassures him placing his hands on Thomas¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that¡± he replies resting his hand on top of Kyles.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Merissa and the rest of the troop have also now arrived at the docks, landing on some offshore battlements in a chinook.


    ¡°Over here!¡± She instructs everyone and they make their way over to another long-range gun.


    ¡°I can see Haven ships¡± Sebastian states looking through some binoculars.


    ¡°And ¡­ Terra Auri warships¡± he informs them now quite nervous.


    ¡°Arriving at De Monte eastern docks sir¡± a sailor informs Nathan.


    ¡°Right, lets try and rescue as many as we can¡± he instructs them.


    ¡°Oliver! Is Heaven¡¯s Gate operational again?¡± He asks opening a video link to the Sky Scraper.


    ¡°Fully operational, but it will be a while until we get to the eastern docks¡± he replies.


    ¡°Good¡± Nathan snaps and the video link goes again.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the rest of the crew stay onboard?¡± Michael asks.


    ¡°Heaven¡¯s Gate only needs a bare minimum of people to operate it, all the systems are automated, and the king wanted to get them home as quickly as possible, the escape craft fly much faster than what this thing is capable of¡± Oliver explains.


    Back at the offshore defences, Marissa and the team are continually loading and firing the long-range gun at the enemy ships that have become visible in the distance.


    The vast array of guns firing leaves no interval and the sound is deafening.


    ¡°There here¡± Sebastian tells everyone disheartened by what he sees.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">Sebastian, GET DOWN!¡± Merissa yells at him as the entire wall they are positioned on crumbles away after being hit by a projectile that explodes.

 Chapter 19: The Eastern Docks

    Warships scatter the horizon, crashing through the waves near the harbour.


    The refugees, too many to count, gather round the docks and surrounding landscape hoping to get onto one of the rescue ships.


    In the distance they can all hear the sound being created by the Haven battleships.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">LEVIATHAN¡± someone screams as the aircraft comes into view through the clouds.


    Sirens immediately begin to sound off as the offshore battlements attempt to shoot down the Leviathan.


    Panic ensues amongst the frightened refugees as they begin to run for cover.


    To make its entrance known loud and clear, the Leviathan shoots one of its large rail guns at a zeppelin over the harbour, it immediately explodes and brakes in-two.


    Not even a moment later a bombardment begins from the Leviathan, buildings and warehouses erupt into flames from the explosions.


    The Red Giants begin to fire upon the warships docked in port, not able to get away many of them sink halfway, one of them even capsizes onto the shore.


    The air force shoots across the sky engaging with the enemy in an attempt to protect the refugees.


    But it¡¯s no use, it¡¯s clear to see they are heavily outgunned, the body toll begins to rise as more and more people are killed.


    Children crouch screaming, along with the many injured, blood mixes in with the seawater staining the sandy beaches, and bodies float about in the sea.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">FIRE!¡± General Cooper can be heard demanding as the long-range guns from the battlements erupt into action.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">ALL AIRCRAFT ENGAGE THE RED GIANTS¡± he instructs the air force through a speaker.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">FIRE MISSILES!¡± He continues to instruct the soldiers.


    ¡°General, a message inbound from Haven¡± a soldier informs him and he heads into a control room.


    A live feed on one of the large screens inside is already connected as he walks into the room.


    ¡°General Cooper, this is Admiral Blackcroft from Haven, we will be assisting you in anyway we can¡± She informs him.


    ¡°We need time to evacuate the refugees, is there anything you can do about the Leviathan?¡± He asks.


    ¡°We¡¯ll give you as much time as we can, unfortunately there is nothing we can do about the Leviathan¡± she replies.


    ¡°The ships will be leaving at dusk¡± she informs him.


    ¡°Thank you¡± he replies, and heads back out of the room.


    Screaming can be heard from the streets of the city built up around the docks.


    Buildings collapse crushing fleeing individuals as the Leviathan continually bombards the city.


    The warships, now in range, also begin to bombard the city.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re getting out of here¡± Thomas states looking out of the terminal.


    ¡°Kyle, the ships are heading in, we need to leave now¡± one of the Haven soldiers tells him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry Thomas, we¡¯ll get you out of here¡± he reassures him as an aircraft erupts into flames on the runway having been hit by the bombardment.


    The terminal is hit shattering glass everywhere and leaving a gaping hole at the far side.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Apparently escape craft are coming to collect us, we need to head to the cliffs further along the shore¡± another informs them.


    An aircraft can be seen coming into view from over the cliffs.


    ¡°Your majesty this is Caelum Timore¡± a female pilot informs him, through the screen intercom system onboard.


    ¡°Nice to see Flumina has still got some fight left in it¡± Nathan greets her.


    "Light em up" he instructs.


    ¡°Yes sir¡± she replies.


    Projectiles pour down hurling towards the enemy ships, two are immediately blown up, the explosion can be seen by Thomas and the others fleeing towards the cliffs.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">FIRE TORPEDOES!¡± Blackcroft demands.


    ¡°All torpedoes fire, fire, fire¡± sailors instruct each other.


    The large tubular water bombs plough into an enemy vessel, creating a huge explosion.


    Rescue ships have made it to port and soldiers are trying to get as many people onboard as quickly, and safely as physically possible.


    The Leviathan suddenly turns its attention to a rescue ship leaving port, mainly full of young individuals.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">CA ¡­ CAPTAINNNN!¡± A soldier screams realizing they are its next target.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">HARD TO PORT!¡± The captain instructs his officers.


    The quick decision narrowly saves the ship as a huge blast of water cascades onto it from a missile exploding in the water.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">FULL SPEED AHEAD!¡± They continue to demand.


    ¡°Zeppelins inbound¡± A soldier in the air traffic control tower states at the airport.


    The zeppelins immediately open fire on the Red Giants.


    ¡°We can¡¯t outrun it sir¡± the officer informs the captain of the ship being targeted by the Leviathan.


    ¡°Fuck¡± the captain growls.


    A round of missiles shoots down at the ship, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, it explodes halfway before making it.


    A group of drones from the Heaven''s Gate have released flak into the air intercepting the bombardment.


    ¡°Good afternoon your majesty¡± Angelus greets the king over the intercom.


    ¡°Angelus, time for you to live up to your name, use shock and awe, search and destroy¡± Nathan instructs the drone firmly.


    ¡°Yes your majesty¡± Angelus replies, the drone and the others around it, change colour to red on the various lighting panels around them, Angelus begins to let out a deafening screeching whilst zooming across the battlefield.


    They begin to attack anything that gets in their way.


    The many escape crafts land over at the cliffs where Thomas and Kyle are waiting with the other Haven soldiers.


    ¡°Got quite a predicament going on over here ain¡¯tchya, hop onboard¡± the captain from Heaven¡¯s Gate greets them.


    ¡°See Thomas, I told you we¡¯d make it¡± Kyle tells him helping him onto the escape craft.


    They take off leaving the fighting behind and head out in the opposite direction of the docks over the sea.


    Thomas watches all the explosions happening as they get further away.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">HELPPPP! SOMEONE PLEASE! HELP ME!¡± Sebastian screams holding onto some debris in the water.


    ¡°<strong style="font-weight: bold">SURVIOR IN THE WATER¡± A sailor yells down the ship.


    Some sailors jump into the water and swim over to Sebastian.


    By this point he has passed out in exhaustion, a helicopter overhead hovers above them and a bed is winched down to him.


    The sailors get him onto it before giving a thumbs up to the helicopter, slowly he is winched up.

 Book 1 Chapter 20: The Calm Before The Storm

    Sebastian wakes up on a bed and quickly realizes that he must be on one of the rescue ships, after rubbing his eyes and gathering his bearing''s he slowly leans up.


    There is no sound of gunshots, no long range weapons firing, no bombardment from battleships, in fact, no sound of any fighting whatsoever.


    "Hey, let me take a look at you" a medic says to him.


    "Anywhere hurting?" He asks.


    "I''m a little achy and saw, but ok other than that" Sebastian replies clearly fatigued.


    "Ok follow my finger and touch it with yours" the medic instructs him.


    Sebastian follows the instructions and watches the medics finger before tapping it with his own finger.


    "I''m pretty sure you only have mild injury''s, my main concern is that you passed out in the water, you need to keep warm so you don''t catch pneumonia" the medic instructs him and wraps a blanket over him.


    "Sure thing" Sebastian replies tugging on the blanket.


    "Hey, are we away from the main land?" He asks.


    "Nope, we are still at the Eastern Docks" The medic replies.


    "Did we win?" Sebastian asks.


    "I don''t know if win is the right word, but Terra Auri have scarpered" he replies with a concerned look upon his face.


    "They ran away?" Sebastian continues to ask now pushing himself up off the bed.


    "Pretty much" the medic replies giving him a helping hand.


    "Why?" Sebastian asks but immediately looses track of what he is saying looking through the doorway.


    He slowly walks over to the door continuing outside onto the deck, in the sky and almost directly in the middle of everything is Heaven''s Gate, blissfully floating about in the air shinning brightly with its vast array of lights far above the ground.


    "Impressive, isn''t it" the medic states leaning against the edge of the ship with him.


    Up in the sky, Heaven''s Gate is now fully staffed with military personnel, engineers, soldiers and other necessary individuals going about various tasks within the Sky Scraper, Oliver clearly in charge of operations is slowly brining the war machine to become fully operational again.


    An escape craft is making its way over from the aircraft carrier just beyond the docks towards Heaven''s Gate with Nathan inside.


    "What''s that red blob over at the mountains on the map?" Daniel asks, feeling rather out of place at this point.


    He is referring to a red blob appearing in a beeping motion on one of the large monitors.


    "That, is a distress signal that this damn thing has been suppressing for the past eight years" Oliver explains.


    He is watching the escape craft that Nathan is approaching on intently.


    "The crew that escaped?" Michael suggests.


    "Not just a pretty face are you" Oliver tells him with a smirk.


    Riley seems to have taken back up his old position on the Sky Scraper, and is helping the engineers with the necessary repairs and overhaul around the place.


    "Brace yourselves boys, the king, has arrived" Oliver states sarcastically watching as Nathan''s aircraft lands inside Heaven''s Gate.


    Riley just so happens to be walking over to the three of them wiping all the grease of his hands with a dirty cloth.


    "Riley, why don''t you take these two to go and get something to eat" Oliver instructs him in a friendly manner.


    "Sure, come with me guys" Riley tells them enthusiastically putting his arms around the pair of them dragging them over to himself.


    "If the king wants to see me I''ll be in my quarters" Oliver informs one of the officers that are now piloting the aircraft and jogs off down the corridor.


    "King on deck" a soldier announces and Nathan storms into the control room.


    "Where is the COTAF?" He asks looking around the room.


    "He''s in his quarters your majesty" the officer replies pointing in the direction Oliver has run off in.


    Nathan continues to storm off in that direction until reaching the captains quarters.


    "Wait here" he instructs the guards that are accompanying him just before he bursts through the double doors.


    "YOU!" Nathan snaps in Oliver''s direction.


    "Hey sexy, did ya miss me?" Oliver replies spinning around in his chair to face him before giving a wink.


    "You take far to many liberties just because we are childhood friends" Nathan continues to yell at him this time picking up a paper weight off a worksurface and throwing it at him.


    "I thought you''d be pleased to see me " Oliver states now rushing around the desk ducking and diving to avoid objects being thrown at him.


    "Oh what''s that? Nope! I cant hear you through all of your bull shit Oliver" Nathan replies sarcastically.


    Finally Nathan grabs hold of him by the scruff of his uniform and pins him up against the wall.


    "Soo ... Is this where we kiss and have passionate sex on the desk?" Oliver teases him.


    "Aren''t we fucking hilarious" Nathan replies with a glare.


    He realizes that Nathan doesn''t have any anger in his face, just a concerned expression.


    "Were you really that worried about me?" Oliver asks cautiously.


    Nathan loosens his grip and walks back over to the desk.


    "You earned your rank regardless of being a friend of mine, and everyone recognises you for that, you are exceptionally skilled" he replies.


    "But you are such a fucking idiot" he continues.


    "There''s the Nathan I know and love" Oliver remarks with a smirk.


    "Olly, you''re my best friend, and the closest thing I''ve got to family, so yes, I was worried about you" Nathan states whilst folding his arms and leaning back on the desk sulking.


    Oliver lets out a huff before walking over and leaning against the desk right beside him.


    "Sorry if I made you worry, but this is a bit petty considering there is a war going on, pull yourself together" Oliver tells him sympathetically with a gentle nudge to the shoulder.


    "The Wrath is nearly finished" Nathan states, setting a new much darker tone in the room.


    "That thing" Oliver remarks.


    A knock comes from the door startling the pair of them.


    "Come in" Nathan tells them.


    "Your majesty, your presence is requested in the control room, the queen, prince and princess have arrived" a guard informs him.


    "Very well" Nathan replies.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    "I didn''t realise you were bringing Anna and the whole posy with you" Oliver points out as the pair of them head out of the room.


    "The queen thought it would do the pair of them good to see what''s actually been happening in the war, and quite frankly I agree" Nathan explains.


    They head back up the corridor with two guards in front of them, two besides them and two behind them, the royal guards, each member of the royals has six each.


    The queen is waiting patiently for them along with the prince and princes, Phoenix can also be seen in the background on one of the large screens.


    "Wel well well, if it isn''t little Finley" Oliver mutters with a big smile on his face speaking directly to the prince before ruffling his hair.


    "You''re still alive?" Finley replies in shock.


    "And little Claire" he says whilst turning his attention to the princess before ruffling her hair as well.


    She shares the same expression of shock that Finley has, neither of them have seen him in two years.


    "There have been some new developments" Anna states speaking directly to Nathan.


    "How so?" He asks.


    "It seems that the occupied nations now believe we are here to help" Anna replies and points to a news report playing on one of the screens.


    "I didn''t think it would take long, but that is quick, we''ve been here less than a day" he remarks.


    "Word of us being here has travelled as far as Ferrum" she continues to explain.


    The main footage in the news report is of the Sky Scraper entering the airspace in the docks with the Leviathan fleeing along with the rest of the enemy forces.


    "Everyone back home wants to know what is going on" Finley mutters texting friends on his mobile.


    "Around seven of the occupied nations have gotten in touch with us and about two or three that are on the brink of collapse" Phoenix pipes up from his screen.


    "They have all requested a video conference with Haven, it''s been arranged to happen in the next thirty minutes" he continues.


    "Do you three not bother talking to me at all anymore, about things we might have planned?" Nathan asks the other royals dramatically.


    "Admiral on deck" a soldier announces as Blackcroft makes her way into the control room.


    "We shouldn''t stay any longer than we have to, the ships are at full capacity and we have days of travel at sea in open water before we get back to Haven" she tells them.


    "I''ve ordered some of the new warships to meet us half way" she continues.


    Daniel and Michael have wondered back towards the control room, as they approach Oliver and without realising they are also approaching the queen, the guards stop them from going any further, much to their shock.


    "Stand down, let them pass" Oliver instructs the royal guards.


    They step aside allowing Daniel and Michael to walk over to Oliver, feeling a little bit confused and unsure of this situation.


    "Lads I''d like you to meet Queen Anna, King Nathan, Prince Finley and Princess Clair" Oliver tells them and points to each person as he is explaining.


    "Errrrr" Daniel states with a little wave a bit shocked.


    "Relax, we don''t bite" Anna tells them with a smile.


    "it''s a pleasure to meet you" Daniel replies with a smile before looking over at the prince and princess.


    "Sup" Finley greets them with a little hand gesture.


    "Hello" Claire also greets them.


    "These are my good friends Daniel and Michael" Oliver tells everyone chirpily as he puts his arms around the two of them tightly.


    "Anny friend of Oliver''s, is a friend of ours" Nathan tells them shaking their hands each in turn.


    "Meeting in fifteen minutes" Phoenix informs everyone appearing on the screen again.


    "Only four of you can join the conference" he explains to everyone.


    "Right you two stay here, we''ll head to the conference room" Anna tells everyone, herself, Nathan and Blackcroft head off.


    "Finley go and talk gay shit with them pair" Oliver teases them all before heading off to join the others.


    "You''re not funny" Finley states rolling his eyes at him.


    "He is quite funny" Claire states with a smirk.


    The video link in the conference room is set up by Phoenix for everyone in each nation, the name of the country outlined by a box followed with a series of small video feeds underneath, depending on how many representatives are speaking allowing up to four from each nation, this is laid out five across and three upwards.


    There are leaders from many occupied and non occupied nations joining this secret web cam meeting including; Flumina Terra, the rebels from Flumina up in the mountains, De Monte Floris, Ferrum De Terra, Rookland, Whiterock, Denport, Stonecrop to name a few.


    The representative of each nation is as follows;


    De Monte Floris - Prime Minister Cornelius Silverton


    Flumina Terra - Prime Minister Grace Shacklton


    Flumina Rebels - Captain Simon Barrows


    Ferrum De Terra - Queen Rosemary


    Rookland - Prime Minister Fatima Beadston


    Whiterock - General Jordan Scott


    Denport - King Julian Chocturn


    Stonecrop - Queen Patricia Greenbind


    The one nation that everyone is aware is taking the biggest risk joining this meeting is Ferrum, who have suffered the most throughout this war being used to produce weapons, ammunitions and food for Terra Auri.


    "Greetings from Haven everyone, my name is phoenix, I will be in the background of this meeting attempting to block any external interferences, please begin" Phoenix announces to everyone and then disappears from the screen allowing everyone to see each other.


    "As you know we are all risking a lot being here, we want to know if Haven is here to help?" Queen Rosemary asks, desperation in her face and tone of voice.


    "Yes, we are here to help" Anna states.


    A sigh of relief appears to drift across everyone gathered for the meeting.


    "We called for this meeting in hopes of reaching an agreement with some old and some new allies" Prime minister Grace informs everyone.


    "Since we lost Silverpeak, we haven''t been able to hold back Terra Auri, we are coordinating our forces to protect our civilians, but we can not hold out indefinitely" Cornelius remarks.


    "That being said, we are extremely grateful to Haven for the support it has already given us, and for protecting the eastern docks, thank you" he states gratefully.


    "Stout really made a mess of your forces, they are scattered all over the place" Oliver informs him.


    "We are slowly bringing the army back to full strength, but it is going to take some time to re-coordinate all our units" general Scarlet replies who is also representing Flumina.


    "We have an abundance of food supplies that we can bring to which ever nation is most in need of it" queen Patricia informs everyone.


    "Our medical expertise could be very beneficial in the fight, but Crystallini is moving in" General Jordan tells everyone.


    "We in the mountains are stockpiled and ready to take action as and when is needed, and I think it will interest you to know that your crew from the Sky Scraper are with us here in the mountains your majesties" Captain Simon of the rebels informs the King and Queen.


    "Do any of your nations have any information about what has happened to our prince and princess? Since we forced them to flee we haven''t had any contact with them" queen Rosemary asks in desperation clearly worried.


    "We are keeping them safe here, with us rebels in the mountains" Captain Simon replies reassuringly.


    "Oh thank goodness" she mutters in relief.


    "We are very interested in hearing your proposal regarding the war" King Julian says directing the point at Flumina.


    "We are proposing a new alliance, sharing resources, medical and military expertise to beat our common enemy" Prime minister Grace explains to everyone.


    "All in favour?" Cornelius asks.


    Everyone in turn agrees to the new alliance.


    "Then it''s decided, will be creating the United Nations Alliance, or U.N.A for short" Anna states.


    "Ferrum, you have suffered most, please know that we are with you" Nathan tells the Queen.


    Each in turn the other leaders and representatives state ''we are with you'', and the Queen clearly emotional remains strong not allowing herself to burst into tears.


    But this glimmer of hope is short lived, guards burst into the room that she is speaking to everyone from and begin to smash the room apart, screaming can be heard as she is dragged away and the feed goes dead, the same thing happens at Flumina with Prime Minister Grace, ''we''re under attack'' can be heard over at the rebels and the prime minister, ''your majesty the naval warships are under attack'' can be heard frantically over at Stonecrop.


    "Make preparations immediately!" Anna instructs everyone shouting to them all.


    "Going dark" Phoenix announces and all the feeds cut out.


    "Oliver make your way over to the rebels in the mountains with our soldiers and rescue them" Nathan instructs him.


    "Yes your majesty" Oliver replies and walks out of the conference room over to his main position within the control room.


    "All hands on deck! Set a course for the mountains" he demands loudly startling Finley and the others.


    "Yes sir!" The crew and soldiers reply.


    ''Sealing bay doors'' the system announces and all exterior hanger doors begin to seal shut.


    ''All crew prepare for relocation'' the system continues to announce, alarms can be heard going off all around the aircraft, the engines begin to roar as Heaven''s Gate starts to move in its new direction.


    "All crew to battle stations" he continues to instruct loudly, the soldiers follow his instructions to the letter loading the various guns on the aircraft and getting to their relevant areas.


    ''All crew prepare battle stations'' the system informs everyone.


    "Angels online" Oliver instructs the crew.


    "Angels online sir" a crew member responds.


    "Release the angels" he commands.


    "Releasing angles in, three, two, one" a crew member replies.


    The hanger that Daniel had walked past the other evening, where he had seen all the drones hanging from the ceiling begins to release them one by one through open hatches on the floor, sirens are going off with big flashing lights as the hatches open outwards.


    "If we can free Demonte and Flumina then we can stand a chance at winning this war" Nathan points out as himself, Blackcroft and the other royals make their way towards a hanger where an escape craft is waiting to transport them.


    "Will we be having a public vote to go to war?" Claire asks whilst scrolling through social media on her mobile looking at what people are saying about the recent events.


    "That''s exactly what we are going to do" the queen explains.


    "Do you think everyone will vote to go to war?" Finley asks.


    "I think all the TV reports and refugees flooding in has opened everyone''s eyes" Claire replies holding up her mobile to show him.


    "All ships depart immediately" Blackcroft instructs the navy through a radio.


    The ships down bellow at the docks make their way out into the open water in the dark of night, the sea is rough with waves rocking the ships, Sebastian watches the water through the window he is sat next to as he eats some vegetable soup.


    The wind howls and lightening flashes across the sky as the rain begins to pelt down.


    Somewhere in the depths of the mountains in Haven, boots clang against a metal walkway as an engineer walks along the gangway to her colleague.


    "It''s nearly complete" he states glancing over at her.


    They look down into the darkness, the outline of an ginormous structure can be seen with sparks a the very bottom as workers go about their duties.


    "I hear they are planning on using it" he remarks.


    "May God have mercy on our souls" she mutters before clanging away again.

 Bonus Bit!

    Hello readers!


    I am going to explain a little bit about the various aspects of this fictional world that Haven takes place in.


    First off, more information about Haven


    Haven is an island nation that sits in the middle of the sea between the eastern continents and the western continents, originally colonised by pirates hundreds of years ago, the island is the remnants an extinct volcano, the country is very rich as it is able to mine a vast array of precious jewels and sell them to the rest of the world, the nation is revered as one of the most technologically advanced societies in the world, it is also considered a large military power because of its investment into defence.


    Why has Haven only been acting in a peace keeping motion until now?


    The king and queen before Nathan and Anna were killed two years after the start of the war, forcing the pair of them who were prince and princess at the time to take on the throne, to try and stabilise the country they signed a peace treaty with Terra Auri and the other big players in the war, this meant that they would only ever act as a peace keeper and enable them to take in refugees.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Why did the war start?


    The war started originally because Terra Auri and Crystallini wanted to reclaim the land they once had.


    Haven''s Sky Scrapers


    What are they?


    Large aircraft with deadly capabilities in war


    How many of them exist?


    Two known to exist


    Heaven''s Gate


    - Given the name as it brings destruction and death, hence Heaven''s Gate


    Heaven''s Keeper


    - Given the name as it is mainly used for peace keeping, hence Heaven''s keeper


    When will the next book in the series be out?


    I am currently writing the next book, won''t be long now!!

 Book 2 Chapter 1: Home

    A family can be seen running in the direction of the eastern docks, a mother and father along with two small children and a baby. In the distant background can be seen what they are running from, the Leviathan, in it''s retreat towards the mountains it has been destroying a small town that is now ablaze.


    "I want to go home" the little girl cries.


    "Everythings going to be alright just keep going" her mother reasures her whilst clutching the baby.


    Explosions can be heard in the background, not only in the sky but also coming from ground as the enemy has made its way far inland thanks to Stouts efforts at dispersing the army.


    Screams can be heard from the town they are running from as the Leviathan heads off into the distance, the ground onslaught continues however.


    "We need to get out of here" the mother states in a panic to her husband.


    "A Sky Scraper! A Sky Scraper!" The young boy yells jumping up and down excitedly.


    "I didn''t believe it" the husband states to his wife as they all look on in disbelief.


    Heaven''s Gate can be seen bursting through the clouds in the night sky, shining brightly like a star with its vast array of lights.


    "AHHHHHH" they all scream as the enemy begins to fire upon the family.


    ''Warning! Warning! Enemy fire detected''


    The system can be heard announcing onboard Heaven''s Gate and zooms a camera down bringing the family into focus.


    "Angelus, protect those people!" Oliver demands.


    "In pursuit already" Angelus replies.


    The family are taking shelter behind an old field wall as the humming from drone engines can be heard approaching.


    Drones zoom around them before Angelus hovers directly in front of them.


    In a frightened panic the family press themselves up against the wall holding each onto each other.


    "Greetings from Heaven''s Gate" Angelus greets them.


    "Please do not be afraid, my name is Oliver I am the commander of the Sky Scraper you can see before you, we are here to help, there is a team on the waydown to help you with food and medical supplies, these drones will protect you until then" Oliver''s voice can be heard speaking through Angelus.


    An escape craft can be heard making its way towards the family.


    "Top gun, begin bombardment" Oliver commands.


    A gun at the top to the front of Heaven''s Gate begins to reposition itself with the crew inside loading and taking aim at the designated ground targets.


    "Take aim, fire!" The commanding officer instructs everyone, a mighty ruckus with a ''buff'' sound and a flash of light takes place as the gun begins to fire.


    A screeching noise can be heard down at ground level, soldiers jump out of the tanks they are in and attempt to flee, but it''s no use, the biggest explosion the family have ever seen takes place a short distance away from the town they have fled from.


    "Are you seeing this?" Daniel asks, turning to Michael, the pair of them watching everything from a large window in the control room, Michael looks back at him in an equally worried manner.


    The enemy immediately calls a retreat beginning to flee for their lives.


    "Angelus" Oliver says.


    "Already on it" Angelus replies.


    "Quick let''s get out of here!" One of the fleeing soldiers can be heard saying.


    Suddenly beaming lights can be seen all around them as drones hover in a circular imprisonment around them.


    "This is Heaven''s Gate, surrender or die" Oliver states through all of the drones at the same time creating a frighteningly loud amplification.


    The soldiers look at each other before dropping their weapons.


    "Give the town some aid" Oliver continues to instruct everyone.


    The control room is alive with activity as subordinates coordinate the relief efforts, escape craft leave the hangers with soldiers, medics and other essential personnel along with supplies to help the town.


    "Keep to course, maintain our speed" Oliver instructs the subordinates before looking over at Daniel and Michael.


    They look back not sure what to say, still shocked at what they have just witnessed.


    Oliver walks over to the window and stands next to them.


    "That was just one shot" Daniel mutters back.


    "Scary isn''t it" Oliver replies softly.


    "I''ve heard about the main weapon system, and what it''s capable of" Michael states observing the burning ground disappearing out of view leaving darkness outside the window again.


    "I haven''t" Daniel remarks.


    "The main weapon system is what gives these things their name, what you''ve just witnessed, isn''t even close to what this thing is capable of" Oliver explains.


    The three of them share a moment of silence as they look out of the window as the aircraft flies through cloud cover again.


    The rescue ships have all left the eastern docks and are making their way steadily through open water; they have been at sea for a day now.


    "How goes our fair seas?" The queen asks walking into the control room of the battleship she is on.


    "Clear so far, there is a storm surge I want us to navigate around, luckily there has been no retaliation from the enemy, so far at least" Blackcroft replies monitoring the fleet.


    "So far being the operative words" the queen states in agreement.


    The sea is quiet and calm, a great rest bite for all the passengers who have escaped the danger over in De Monte Floris, the gentle waves begin to pick up velocity however, bashing against the sides of the ships as they navigate around the storm surge.


    "Can''t wait to get home" Claire states, herself and Finley resting against the bow of another ship.


    "Me too" Finley states in agreement.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    They look out into the ocean quietly as the wind begins to pick up speed.


    Thomas and Kyle are resting and laughing together having landed safely on the aircraft carrier the previous night.


    "Finally going home" Kyle mutters happily slouching into his chair.


    "You must be looking forward to it" Thomas suggests as he pulls a blanket over himself.


    "Like you can''t believe" he replies.


    "Come on, let''s get some rest" he tells him reassuringly and the pair of them settle in for the night.


    The following morning Daniel and Michael are already wide awake when a soldier knocks on the door to their living quarters.


    "Come in" Michael tells them politely.


    "The COTAF would like to see you in the control room" the soldier informs them.


    "Ok thank you" Michael replies and the soldier nods politely before leaving them.


    "Come on then" Daniel mutters with a yawn and rubs his eyes.


    They make their way to the control room and head over to Oliver who is standing at the same window they were looking out of last night.


    "I thought this might interest you" Oliver states with a smile and points out of the window.


    As Heaven''s Gate begins to rise in elevation, Daniel and Michael look down at the city that can be seen nestled in the base of the mountains.


    A beautiful place complimenting the landscape around it, still amazingly intact despite the war.


    "Home" Daniel mutters softly before resting his head against Micheals shoulder.


    Michael places his arms around him and gives him a kiss on his forehead.


    Oliver walks over to his usual position in the control room.


    "Message inbound from the rebels sir" a subordinate informs him..


    "Put them on the main screen" Oliver instructs and walks over to speak to them.


    Gunshots and explosions can be heard as Captain Simon comes into view.


    "We can''t hold them, the Leviathan has us pinned down" Captain Simon explains.


    "Hold on just a little longer captain, we''re nearly there to help you" Oliver replies assuringly.


    "THEY''VE BROKEN THROUGH THE BARRICADES!" a soldier can be heard yelling outside.


    Captain Simon abandons the video feed and rushes outside.


    "Get some soldiers on the drones and send them out ahead of us" Oliver orders everyone.


    Drones make their way to hangar four, soldiers attach safety cords to connectors on the drones before stepping onto them, around two soldiers on each drone and zoom off ahead of Heaven''s Gate.


    Over with the rebels, they have already lost three quarters of the base and are pinned down.


    Further down the mountain where a pathway leads up to the base tanks and soldiers can be seen slowly making their way through the destroyed barricades.


    The rebels along with the Haven soldiers that are with them, are defending the base from various battlements, using whatever means necessary.


    The Leviathan continues its onslaught, Captain Simon takes a hard look at the devastation being caused around them, from the rocks falling as the mountain is struck, to the dead bodies on the floor, finally he takes a look over at the prince and princess who have fled from Ferrum, they are both clearly terrified and are cowering frightened on a stairway.


    With the next bombardment on the mountain, he makes a difficult decision.


    "CEASE FIRING! RAISE THE FLAGS! WE''RE SURRENDERING!" He orders loudly.


    Soldiers storm the base with ease rounding up the remaining rebels and Haven soldiers.


    The prince and princess are tied up, gagged, and forced to their knees at the edge of a dropoff.


    A General known as Clasandra slowly makes her way up the mountain, walking slowly, even her own soldiers are frightened of her.


    "You must be the infamous Captain Simon" she states mockingly.


    "Oh look and you''ve even bought us some gifts" she continues this time with more enthusiasm in her voice as she looks over at the prince and princess, she is quite menacing with a hint of derangement.


    "We surrendered, no need for anymore bloodshed" Captain Simon attempts to reason with her himself on his knees and tied up.


    "You don''t seem to get it" Clasandra states as she paces up and down.


    "We are in charge now" she continues and walks over to the prince and princess.


    "Perhaps you need a reminder of what happens when you try to defy us" she says sarcastically with malice in her voice and elaborating with hand gestures.


    The prince and princess look up at her with tears streaming down their faces.


    "They''re just kids, leave them alone!" Captain Simon demands out of desperation.


    Clasandra turns slowly to face him before pulling out a gun and shooting one of the rebels dead.


    She then kicks the prince and princess so they fall backwards down the drop off, murmurs of terror can be heard from them as they fall helplessly.


    Everyone can only watch in horror.


    "They''re here" a pilot states to his commanding officer on board the Leviathan, the aircraft is under different command to Clasandra and has already moved off.


    Heaven''s Gate suddenly appears into view over the mountain making an abrupt stop above the rebel base.


    "This is Heaven''s Gate, surrender or die" Oliver warns the enemy through ginormous speakers on the aircraft.


    His voice booms over the mountains unsettling snow, the former crew of the Gate can''t quite believe they are seeing it airborne again.


    A hum of engines can be heard coming from the drop off and some drones appear into view, one of which the soldiers have successfully caught the prince and princess mid fall.


    "Greetings from Heaven''s Gate" Angelus states, appearing directly in front of Clasandra.


    The General gives a nod to her subordonate who merely raises her own gun slowly and points it directly at the face of a Haven soldier.


    "Angelus, fire a warning shot" Oliver instructs the drone.


    "Warning shot in progress" Angelus states.


    A single shot from Angelus hurls towards the subordinate, hitting her with that much velocity it sends her corpse flying around ten feet backwards, a gaping hole can be seen from where half her face used to be.


    "This is your last warning" Oliver states sternly.


    Alarms suddenly begin to go off in the control room as projectiles can be seen on the scanners heading straight for Heaven''s Gate.


    ¡®Warning! Warning! Enemy fire detected¡¯


    The onboard system immediately warns the control room, the scanners identify the missiles heading towards them.


    "Fucking Leviathan" Oliver snaps.


    "Send out flak" he instructs.


    ¡°Sending out flak sir¡± his subordinate replies.


    Flak is sent out to meet the enemy projectiles and successfully protects the Gate, but unfortunately not the mountain, explosions can be seen as rubble falls down on the base.


    In the panic of the situation the enemy flees including Clasandra, drones without soldiers place themselves in defencive positions around the base.


    "Prepare the escape craft, send medics and secure the surrounding area" Oliver instructs everyone.


    "Bring the prince and princess safely to the Gate" he gives his final command before making his way towards hanger four himself.


    "Incredible" Captain Simon states looking up at the Sky Scraper.


    The escape craft make their way down to the base and immediately medics rush about the place to provide aid, soldiers begin to help clear up the rubble and free the wounded.


    The prince and princess are quickly taken to Heaven''s Gate where medics are waiting to see them.


    "Get the wounded to safety! Fix the blockades!" Captain Simon yells his commands at the people around him.


    He watches as an escape craft makes its way down directly landing in front of him, Oliver steps out and walks over to him.


    "It is very good to see you lot" The Captain states in a grateful tone, reaching out to shake his hand firmly.


    "Glad to lend a hand" Oliver replies with a smile.


    "I think there are some individuals who would very much like to speak to you" the Captain states hinting at the gathering crowd around them.


    The former crew of Heaven''s Gate have slowly started to gather around Oliver, realising he is the commanding officer.


    "Any word from the prime minister?" Simon asks.


    "Captain, you and your soldiers are to start making life difficult for our enemy, time to begin the liberation of Flumina" Oliver informs him.


    "Sir, what about us?" One of the younger Haven soldiers asks politely.


    "Time to go home" Oliver tells them and immediately the crew begin to rejoice, the younger soldier who had asked the question places a hand to his face, and begins to cry.

 Book 2 Chapter 2: The Mouse & The River

    In the far away lands of Terra Auri a small figure can be seen sneaking around, making sure to keep out of sight and hiding in the shadows, the figure moves through the treeline before cautiously scurrying along the foundations of a small bridge taking rest underneath it.


    A look of deep concentration upon his face, monitoring intently the large circular castle a short distance away, he is just over the border between Ferrum and Terra Auri.


    ''Mouse are you there?'' An excitable voice can suddenly be heard asking from a radio strapped to his waist, quite literally scaring the living daylights out of him as he rushes to grab it.


    ''Keep it down would ya Pheonix'' Mouse replies quietly.


    ''Word from the COTAF, he wants you to withdraw asap'' Phoenix informs him quietly.


    ''Gotta go, I''ll head out as soon as I can'' Mouse replies whilst pressing himself up against the underside of the bridge as he hears the commotion of people up above.


    "Ferrum scum!" He hears someone say and without warning a young lad is thrown into the water.


    Struggling to get up out of the water and gasping for air, Mouse watches impatiently, knowing that he mustn''t do anything to draw attention to himself. The lad getting to his feet with the water at waist height half choking and tears streaming down his face finally realises that Mouse is under the bridge, but he has no time to call over for any kind of assistance as a wooden plank is thrown at him from above, striking him on the head.


    "Come on, let''s just leave him to drown" Mouse hears someone say from above the bridge and the individuals appear to walk away.


    The lads body floats close enough to Mouse providing an opportunity to drag him over to where he is hiding, laying the lad next to himself, he assesses the damage.


    "Hey kid, kid can you hear me?" Mouse asks trying to ascertain if he is still conscious or not.


    Putting his head against the lads chest he realises that he isn''t breathing properly and begins to do CPR.


    After a few compressions he opens the lads mouth and breathes air into him, choking and spluttering the lad regains consciousness.


    "Hey it''s ok, you''re alright" Mouse reassures him, the lad just cries and whimpers into his own hands.


    Mouse pulls out a blanket from his rucksack and wraps it around the young lad.


    "Who are you?" The lad asks, still very distressed.


    "Names Mouse" Mouse replies.


    "I nearly died ... Ach uhh chh" the lad points out before choking a little.


    "Take it easy, here, have a drink of this" Mouse instructs him and hands over a small metal canister.


    The lad takes it gratefully and has a drink before realising that it isn''t water and spluttering it out.


    "Are you trying to kill me?" The lad asks.


    "It''s brandy, look it''s perfectly safe, it will warm you up" Mouse explains and takes a swig from the bottle himself.


    "Why are you helping me?" The lad asks.


    "Well it''s not like anyone else is going to help you" Mouse replies before taking a look up the river.


    The trees overhanging either side make it almost impossible to assess the distance as the river meanders.


    "What''s your name?" Mouse asks.


    "Callum" the lad replies.


    "Let me take a look at that head wound" Mouse tells him softly and gently adjusts Callum''s head so he can have a look.


    "It''s not a deep wound, I think the impact just caused a bit of shock" he informs Callum and takes out a bandage before pressing it against the wound.


    "You''re not from Ferrum" Callum points out.


    "No, no I''m not" Mouse replies whilst taking a look in the other direction of the river.


    "Where are you from?" Callum asks.


    Mouse takes Callum''s hand and presses it against the badage getting him to hold it in place himself, standing up and taking a few steps back Mouse removes the overcoat he is wearing to reveal his Haven uniform.


    "H ... Haven" Callum stutters with disbelief in his eyes.


    "I heard the rumours, but I didn''t think it was true" he mutters quietly.


    "Don''t get too excited, it''s just me I''m afraid, Haven''s citizens still need to agree to stepping into the war, in the meantime, you''ve just got me" Mouse tells him with a big cheesy grin on his face whilst pointing to himself with his thumbs.


    "Thank you for saving my life" Callum states softly.


    "Hey, it''s what I do" Mouse replies, shrugging his shoulders cheekily.


    Mouse suddenly puts a finger to his lips indicating for Callum to keep quiet as he can hear commotion above the bridge.


    "Callum" a voice calls out quietly, the sound of desperation in the person''s voice.


    "A friend?" Mouse asks quietly, slightly confused.


    "I''m down here!" Callum yells up much to the annoyance of Mouse who rushes to hide behind a pillar.


    The sound of scrambling can be heard as the person rushes across the bridge and down the riverbank, wading through the water close to the foundations of the bridge, popping their head around slowly Callum sees who it is bringing out a beaming smile on his face, another lad around the same age as Callum but wearing a Terra Auri soldiers uniform.


    "Callum, are you ok? Are you hurt?" The lad asks but getting up onto the foundations but immediately stops in his tracks hearing the sound of a firearm being loaded.


    Turning slowly he sees Mouse leaning against a pillar aiming the firearm directly at him.


    "Don''t move" Mouse instructs him.


    "Wait! Don''t shoot him please! He''s my friend" Callum pleads with Mouse.


    "Go on then" Mouse indicates to this new stranger hinting with the firearm.


    The lad rushes over to Callum pulling him into a hug.


    "I was so worried about you" he says softly.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Mouse lowers the firearm placing it beside him resting against the bottom of the pillar and sits down next to it, he takes off the cap he is wearing to reveal that he has bright orange hair.


    "Short, ginger, Mouse" the new lad states looking over at him.


    "You know him?" Callum asks.


    "He''s number four in the top six they want dead" the lad replies.


    "Number one being the COTAF, number two being the Admiral, number three being the Air Chief and number four being me" Mouse explains.


    "They won''t be killing me anytime soon, I''m heading back now anyway" he mutters to himself and looks up the river again.


    "Please ... Please take Callum with you, please take him to safety" the lad pleads with him.


    Mouse looks over with a strange expression on his face clearly not expecting this sudden request.


    "I''ll ... I''ll do anything" the lad continues to plead.


    "Sam" Callum says softly and Mouse''s eyes widen as the lads name is revealed.


    "Anything huh" Mouse mutters.


    "Yeah I''ll do anything you ask" Sam replies sorrowfully.


    Mouse thinks for a moment before scratching his face.


    "Come with us" he suggests much to the shock of Sam and Callum.


    "Really? But ... No one will accept me ... Being from Terra Auri" Sam remarks bitterly and slouches down next to Callum.


    "Sam" Callum says again softly.


    "We don''t discriminate in Haven, all are welcome, even you" Mouse tells him quite casually with a smile.


    "Really?" Sam asks in disbelief.


    "You''re not evil Sam, just because you''re from Terra Auri" Mouse replies.


    "I''m so cold" Callum states whilst leaning into Sam.


    "There''s nothing more I can do about those injuries, I''m not a medic, we''re leaving now Sam" Mouse instructs him and puts his cap back on before picking up his firearm again.


    "Come on Cal, up you get" Sam tells him and helps him to his feet.


    As Sam turns around he realises Mouse is already back on their side of the bridge peering around to check the coast is clear.


    "He''s fast" he mutters to himself.


    "Right, come on" Mouse instructs him, beckoning the pair of them to come over to him.


    "We need to do this as quickly as possible he should warm up in the sunlight" he explains as they lean next to him before lowering himself into the water.


    Sam helps Callum down into the water with Mouse before slowly getting into it himself, all of them making as little noise as possible.


    They move as quickly as they can clinging to the side of the bridge, Callum becoming even more fatigued before staggering out of the river and up the bank towards the treeline.


    "i can''t walk any further" Callum states clearly exhausted and losing stamina.


    "Here, I''ll carry you" Sam tells him and places Sam''s arms around his shoulders before picking him up.


    "Let''s go" Mouse tells them and Sam nods.


    The rescue ships are now halfway to Haven and should arrive tomorrow morning, but that still leaves today and tonight during the crossing of open water, which is an increasing concern for Blackcroft who appears to be constantly on edge at the situation.


    "Media attention is picking up back home and abroad" Anna states.


    "Damn secretary has been nagging me all morning" Nathan points out whilst rubbing his face.


    "Regardless of what he thinks, Heaven''s Gate needed retrieving, in, or out of this war" Anna replies to his whinging.


    "Apparently Terra Auri are trying to take the high ground, claiming we have ''broken the rules of the treaty'' and they were ''unprovokingly attacked''" Nathan remarks using his fingers to create quotation marks.


    "They are trying to turn the narrative of this war" Anna points out.


    "Good morning your majesties" Phoenix greets them all appearing on a large screen in the room.


    "What news do you have for us Phoenix?" Blackcroft asks.


    "COTAF has ordered Mouse and the other two to withdraw, he wanted me to keep you updated on the situation." Phoenix informs them.


    "For the love of God keep those two apart when he gets back" Nathan mutters whilst putting his hand to his face.


    "This weird feud the pair of them have going on is annoying and increasingly unprofessional" Anna remarks.


    "I couldn''t agree more" Nathan states.


    "The four of them are the best all round soldiers we have" Blackcroft points out.


    "You should have a clear run back to Haven now, no enemy fleets are in the vicinity" Phoenix informs them.


    "Things are getting a little edgy back here in Haven, people''s patience is starting to wear thin, there are already people campaigning for us to stay out of the war" he continues to explain.


    "Thank you for giving us the heads up Phoenix" Anna tells him gratefully.


    "No problem, I''ll see you all when you get back" he replies and disappears.


    Making their way through the thick forest Mouse along with Sam who is still carrying Callum take a moment to rest at a large boulder.


    "How''s he doing?" Mouse asks, indicating at Callum.


    "Not good" Sam replies.


    "We''re nearly at the rondevu point" Mouse explains as he scours the forest for any kind of movement.


    "Come on, let''s keep going" he instructs Callum and he does so following close behind him.


    The forest is alive with the sound of wildlife, birds singing and insects buzzing about, in any other circumstance this would be a lovely place to be.


    Suddenly Mouse turns quickly after catching something in the corner of his eye and immediately throws a blade in the direction, it wedges into a tree where a figure is peering around.


    "Oh it''s you" Mouse mutters Sam completely bewildered as to what is going on.


    "Here" a lady replies, throwing the blade back to him as she walks over.


    She walks over to Callum and Sam and begins to take a look at Callum, Sam a bit reluctant to let her go near him looks over at Mouse.


    "It''s ok, she can help" he reassures him and he gently lowers Callum to the ground.


    "Head abraition, he''s very cold, scrapes and scratches, not a lot of damage" she states as she checks him over.


    "Mouse" she says calmly whilst patching Callum up.


    "Yeah I know" he replies holding the blade and observing the area around them.


    "Stay here" he instructs Sam quietly and wanders off into the forest.


    "Where ... Where''s he going?" Sam asks the lady.


    "We are surrounded by six heavily armed soldiers, he''s gone to take care of them" she replies quietly.


    Callum watches her bandaging up Callum before taking a look all around them, he can''t see anyone and he can''t hear anyone.


    "AH" he yelps and places his hands up to his mouth to keep quiet, having been startled by the sudden appearance of Mouse standing in front of him again.


    "All sorted" the lady tells them.


    "Is the boat ready?" Mouse asks.


    "it''s ready, but we''re running out of time, they''re fast on our heels" she replies.


    "Come on Sam, let''s get Callum out of here" Mouse instructs him.


    Sam picks Callum up again and starts to follow Mouse, feeling much safer now this lady is walking behind him offering some protection, he has worked out that she is probably another spy like Mouse is.


    "This is Sam by the way, Sam, this is River, she''s number five on that list of yours" Mouse informs him.


    "Nice to meet you River" he says to her politely.


    "Likewise, I take it you''re fleeing your home?" She asks, indicating at the uniform he is wearing.


    "Yeah, it''s not home anymore" he replies glumly.


    "River''s an unusual name" Sam points out.


    "It''s because I''m a water specialist" she explains.


    "And Mouse is...?" He asks unsure.


    "Basically a ground specialist" Mouse replies with a smile.


    "We''re what you might call Elite soldiers" River explains.


    They hear the sound of wind picking up and the atmosphere changes in the forest, thick black rain clouds have moved in overhead and a downpour has started, the sound of rain on the river nearby is a great relief to all of them, looking down at the river they can see a small wooden boat and make their way over to it.


    River helps Sam to get Callum onto the boat, taking him inside a little hut area and placing him down on a bed, the boat is wedged into the riverbank and he watches as Mouse grabs hold of the edge of the boat, with ease Mouse pushes it into the river before hopping onboard, clearly a lot stronger than he looks.


    "The Mouse and the River" Sam mutters and sits down as the boat begins to drift into the water, and into the rain.

 Book 2 Chapter 3: Blue Skies

    "The current should take us to the edge of Ferrum by the end of the day, it isn''t the shortest route but it''s the least likely for us to run into trouble" River informs them.


    My kind kind of river journey" Mouse replies as he places a blanket over Callum.


    Lightning clashes overhead followed by thunder as the rain begins to pelt down even harder, Sam watches the rain hitting the water out of the open window, almost relaxing him a little, the window is low enough for him to stick his arm out and rest his hand in the water if he wanted to.


    Mouse has started the onboard fire to get Callum warm again, a black stove with a funnel sticking out of the roof of their small boat.


    River sits on the other side of the window, there is a small table separating Sam and herself in front of it.


    "Where are we heading?" Sam asks.


    "We are heading for the Ferrum rain forests" River replies.


    "That''s a dangerous place" Sam points out.


    "You don''t need to be worried with us around" Mouse tells him with a smile.


    "Hey, you said that River is number five on the list, who is number six?" Sam asks.


    "Speak of the devil" River remarks and indicates to someone walking across a tree branch overhanging the middle of the river.


    Sam can make out that the person is a woman as they pass underneath the overhanging branch, a thud can be heard on the roof of the boat and he listens as the footsteps make their way over, stopping directly above the window.


    "Come and introduce yourself" River hollers up to the person.


    A pair of boots appear dangling in front of the window as this woman lowers herself down, resting on the window ledge.


    "Sam, this is Falcon" River introduces her.


    "Nice to meet ya" Falcon states as she throws herself into the boat.


    "You couldve just used the fucking door you know" Mouse snaps at her as she leans up against the other side of the boat.


    "Come here, I need to warm my hands" she teases him whilst following him down the boat with her hands near his hair.


    "I hate you" he snaps as she follows him out onto the deck.


    "Fearless Falcon, Ruthless River, Mighty Mouse" Sam mutters to himself.


    "I''m impressed by a foot soldier like you know our actual titles" River remarks to him.


    "The soldiers like to boast whenever they have come into contact with you" he replies before looking out of the window,


    A quiet knock is heard from the doorway as Mouse can be seen putting his finger to his lips indicating for them to remain quiet, he beckons River over to him and she moves over quietly.


    "Prisoner ship" he states.


    "Falcon, what can you see?" River asks, instinctively knowing that she will be above the roof.


    "Ten guards out on deck, sitting down, at least three more inside" she replies quietly.


    "What''s going on?" Sam asks quietly.


    "Ferrum prisoner ship" Mouse replies.


    "We can either hide in the river bank and wait for them to go past, or we can go and deal with them" River suggests.


    "By deal with them ...." Sam asks cautiously.


    "She means kill them and sink the boat" Mouse explains a bit more abruptly than what Sam is expecting.


    "Do they have to die?" Sam asks, clearly upset about this prospect.


    Mouse goes to reply but has to make a double take at Sam noticing a small red flashing light from the metal ID tags around his neck.


    "You''ve got to be fucking kidding me" he snarls whilst grabbing the tags from around his neck.


    "A tracker" River sighs.


    "What ... We were told that was a heart rate monitor" Sam replies now worried for his own safety amongst these assassins.


    "Sam relax, we know you are genuine" River reassures him and places a hand on his shoulder, she can feel the tension on him.


    He lets out a nervous sigh of relief before sitting down by the window again.


    Mouse walks over to Sam with a knife before pulling Sam''s arm outstretched.


    "It''s ok, we''re just going to make a decoy" Mouse reassures him, Sam nods and he then proceeds to cut away at the sleeve.


    Walking back outside he attaches the sleeve along with the ID tags to an overhanging branch, whilst he is doing this Sam notices that River and Falcon appear to have disappeared.


    "Will they kill them?" Sam asks as Mouse walks back inside to sit with him.


    "We avoid killing where possible" Mouse reassures him.


    Over at the prison boat, the soldiers haven''t yet noticed the small escape boat further up the river and are happily minding their own business, one of them at the far end of the boat on his own notices a crocodile swimming in the water next to the boat.


    This is followed by a small commotion in the water arousing the suspicions of the other soldiers.


    "Have you gone for a swim down there?" One of them hollers.


    They listen but there is no response, making them all feel a little on edge given the atmosphere is already eerie due to the weather.


    "You two, go check he hasn''t fallen in" a soldier who is clearly in charge instructs a pair of soldiers.


    They make their way down to the other end of the boat and disappear out of view.


    "This is weird, don''t ya think?" One asks the other, but as he turns around he sees that they aren''t there anymore.


    He looks all around himself, fearful, clearly confused as to what is going on.


    Hearing creaking on the boat behind him, he turns slowly to see someone standing there, wearing a hollowed out crocodile with the top jaw hiding there face, tripping backwards out of fear he doesn''t get a chance to call for help as a cloth is put around his face from another unknown assailant.


    All the while the other soldiers have been waiting intently for the other two to come back and inform them that it was just a silly accident that has happened, as if the person had fallen overboard, but there is nothing, only the sound of thunder and rain with the occasional flash of lightning.


    The commanding officer becomes edgy at this point and scours around the river banks either side of the boat.


    "I don''t like this" he mutters.


    "On your feet, you five go and search the back of the ship" he instructs half the group that is left and everyone gets to their feet clearly on edge and clutching their firearms.


    The five that are left, three from inside and two from the group out on deck make their way to the other end of the boat, the others wait patiently.


    "They''re just gone, how could they vanish like that?" One asks.


    "New World Monkeys?" Another suggests.


    "We aren''t in the Ferrum rainforests here" the other replies.


    "They''re gone, there''s no one here" another shouts down the boat.


    "Look lively, we have company" the commander informs his soldiers.


    Without warning and startling all of them, an explosion can be heard a short distance away from them, behind it the small escape boat making its way down the river towards them.


    The commanding officer looks behind him and has to give a double take, two more soldiers have disappeared.


    Over at the escape boat, Mouse is collecting the two soldiers that disappeared earlier from the side of the river bank, forcing them to sit inside with the other one they have captured that had originally disappeared.


    The soldiers all look quite frightened,clearly very confused about what has happened, the fact Haven soldiers are this far out is in itself a terrifying concept to them.


    "Now, one more distraction" Mouse mutters before walking out on deck and dragging himself up onto the roof.


    He takes off his cap almost becoming a beckon with his bright orange hair.


    "SIR!" One of the soldiers at the other end of the boat shouts.


    As the commanding officer turns around he stands still hearing the clicking of a trigger as a firearm is pointed at his head.


    "Sir" the two that are now left with him begin to say but are immediately silenced by a blade being held up against each of their necks.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "Drop it chief" River instructs him, still wearing the hollowed out crocodile.


    "S ... Sir?" One of the soldiers asks unsure what to do at this point.


    "Drop your weapons" he instructs them as he gives in to the situation.


    The other soldiers have made their way down the boat after no response from the others and begin aiming their firearms at the two strangers.


    "DROP YOUR WEAPONS OR WE WILL SHOOT!" They shout at them.


    "That would be very unwise" Mouse states appearing on the roof of the boat directly behind them aiming a firearm at them.


    "Drop your weapons, surrender, or they will kill you" the commanding officer instructs the remaining soldiers.


    Reluctantly they give up their weapons and Mouse ties them up, forcing each one of them to sit down at the side of the boat.


    Falcon attaches the escape boat to the side of the prisoner ship before joining the other three on deck, Mouse sitting on the roof dangling his legs over the doorway, River leaning against the otherside of the boat to what the soldiers are on and Falcon taking position sitting on some boxes at the far side of the ship.


    "So, what cargo are you hauling onboard this here vessel?" Mouse asks.


    None of them reply, the soldiers seem to be quite down for some reason, almost as if they are afraid of saying anything.


    Cautiously River steps inside and begins to slowly walk down the stairs into the dull under belly of the boat, each step echoing as she descends down the stairs.


    The silence down there is making her uncomfortable, putting on a pair of night vision goggles she can make out more clearly what is down here.


    Individuals, chained up, none of them older than nineteen, all of them boys, they appear to draw towards the walls, attempting to get as far away from her as possible not knowing that she isn''t their capturs.


    Seeing a light switch, she flicks it on and takes off her nightvision goggles, all the boys seem to blinker now the light is on, and slowly realise that she isn''t who they thought she was, but even so, they seem to have had their spirits broken, one boy in particular looks terrible as she spots him at the far side.


    Looking more closely she sees a young boy, can''t be any more than fourteen years old, badly beaten, bloody, and barely clinging to life lying on the floor not moving a muscle.


    "FALCON! I NEED YOUR HELP DOWN HERE!" She hollers up and Falcon comes down to join her.


    Whilst they are freeing the prisoners Sam hops aboard the prison boat much to the curiosity of the soldiers.


    The commanding officer appears to be trying to get his attention, indicating for him to grab a firearm resting against the edge of the boat and use it on Mouse.


    "I wouldn''t bother with that if I were you" Mouse warns the officer.


    "Mouse, what are you going to do with them?" Sam asks.


    "TRAITOR" the officer snarls at Sam but immediately shuts up as a blade lands directly next to his face embedding into the wood of the boat.


    "You do that again, and next time it''ll be your throat" Mouse warns him calmly.


    "I''d rather be a traitor, than a murder like you" Sam snarls much to the surprise of Mouse who was under the impression that he is a gently spirit.


    Falcon appears leading all of the boys up out of the boat, after a few moments they have all made their way out and are sitting on the opposite side of the boat to what the soldiers are. Finally, Falcon and River bring out the badly injured boy.


    "Which one of you is responsible for this?" River asks sternly.


    All the soldiers look slowly at the commanding officer.


    "He needed reminding who is in charge here" he snarls bitterly at her.


    "Do you really think, that you, are still in charge?" She asks sarcastically whilst throwing and catching a blade she has in her hands.


    "River, play nicely" Mouse tells her.


    "I was thinking more, that we leave him for the New World Monkeys" River remarks back looking over at him still tossing and catching the blade.


    The officer suddenly has a look of fear in his eyes.


    "You, what would you consider reasonable force?" She asks the soldier at the very end of the group, looking away from everyone with a look of shame upon his face.


    "Me?" He asks nervously.


    "Yes, you" she replies leaning against the edge of the boat next to him holding the blade up against his neck.


    He takes a gulp before answering.


    "Not that" he replies, he can''t even bring himself to look at the boy, and River notices this fact.


    "Take a good long look" she snaps forcing his head to turn and look at the boy.


    "I ... I''m so sorry" he mutters quietly.


    She drags him to his feet before pushing him backwards over the edge of the boat and holding him there by the scruff of the neck, despite his struggling it''s no use, he can''t escape the situation and begins to pant heavily.


    "Mouse" Sam says in desperation.


    "Keep out of it" he replies with a glare.


    "Interesting, you don''t even care when one of your team is about to be killed" River remarks, directing the point at the commanding officer.


    "He''s just as bad as you filthy scum, kill him" he snaps at her.


    "No ..." the injured boy can be heard whimpering.


    Falcon and River look down at him but Mouse doesn''t lift his glare on the soldiers.


    "He ... Helped ... Me" the boy mutters.


    "Lift up his shirt" the soldier next to her says.


    She does so to reveal bruises, she gently lowers him back down and helps him to sit, he whimpers and begins to get emotional.


    "Now then" Mouse states and jumps down before walking over to the commanding officer.


    "They''ll come for you, and gut you like the rats you are" the officer snarls at him.


    Mouse merely smiles before punching him in the face and ripping his ID tags from him, he proceeds to rip all of the ID tags off of the other soldiers, a look of shock can be seen on the officers face.


    "However will they find us now?" Mouse asks sarcastically and drops the tags into the water.


    "No, no, no, no, NOOOO! You''re not supposed to be here" the officer continues to snarl appearing to snap as it is frighteningly apparent he has completely lost control of the situation.


    "You know, your suggestion is slowly starting to warm on me, New World Monkeys it is then" Mouse states sinisterly and glares down at the officer before dragging him and throwing him into the hull of the boat.


    "You don''t need to be afraid now, we aren''t going to hurt you" Falcon informs the soldiers and begins to untie each one of them.


    "Sorry for the little show we put on there, we were just manipulating the situation to get one of you to snap, torture would''ve only given us unreliable information" River explains.


    The soldiers don''t seem relieved by this explanation, if anything they are even more fearful realizing that this was all just an elaborate act to manipulate information out of everyone.


    "That was fucked up" Sam states to Mouse.


    "We used a different approach because we knew you wouldn''t like it if we started torturing them" he replies half heartedly.


    One of the soldiers suddenly bursts into tears and begins to cry loudly into his hands, the soldier next to him tries to comfort him.


    "Even their own soldiers are being broken" Falcon remarks to Mouse.


    "Alright use lot, heres the deal, you can either hop on the small boat and head back to Terra Auri, or, you can join us and escape" Mouse tells them, giving them only two options to choose from.


    "NO! I''M NOT GOING BACK! PLEASE ANYTHING BUT THAT!" The soldier who has burst into tears yells.


    "Raise your hand if you want to escape" River tells them, one by one all of the soldiers raise a hand.


    "Right then, take the young boy gently into the small boat with the other injured person, come on, hop to it" Mouses instructs the soldiers and claps his hands with a smile and enthusiasm for encouragement.


    None of them hesitate and immediately do as they are told, River leads them into the other boat.


    "You four, put up a canvas canopy, everyone needs to take shelter from the rain" Falcon instructs them.


    They quickly get to work, putting up the canopy and starting a fire in a grill dish in the middle of the boat.


    "Hey! Cheer up, you''re free now, and soon we will have bright blue skies" Mouse encourages the boys that have been rescued whilst jumping up and down, this brings out a reluctant smile from many of them and a giggle from others.


    One of the older boys stands up, taller than Mouse and takes a few steps towards him.


    "What ... What can I do to help?" He asks.


    "Go and get the big pots from inside the small boat" Mouse replies and the lad does so with a few of the other older ones following suit to help.


    River meanwhile has patched up the injured boy who is now being warmed by the stove next to Callum.


    "It''s good we have trained soldiers, we''re gonna need them in the rainforest" Falcon mutters quietly to Mouse.


    "I''m relying on you Mighty Mouse if we come across the New World Monkeys" she states and stares out into the treeline.


    High up in the sky and now moving at full speed, Heaven''s Gate is making its way as quickly as possible back in the direction of Haven.


    Oliver is currently having a video conference call with Nathan and Anna.


    "Ferrum''s prince and princess are here with us, safe and sound" Oliver informs them.


    "Any word from River and the other two?" Nathan asks.


    "From what I''ve gathered, they are heading back through the Ferrum rainforests" Oliver replies.


    "Of course they are, only those three are stupid enough to attempt that trip" Anna states before letting out a huff and rolling her eyes


    "It should only take us about two days to get back to Haven" Oliver informs them.


    "We need River and the others to start with the war planning" Nathan ponders out loud.


    "It will probably take them another three weeks to get back in signal range" Oliver points out.


    "And around two months to get back to Haven" Anna remarks.


    "They have to be careful, flying would make it quicker, but they are more likely to be a target if they use that approach" Oliver continues to point out.


    "Heaven''s Gate returning should help to bring Haven''s citizens on our side to go to war" Anna states.


    "Meetings start as soon as we get back, a voting date has been set for next week" Nathan informs Oliver.


    "You need fifty one percent of the votes to go to war" Oliver reminds them.


    "All those little military projects you two have both been working on have already cost a small fortune" he continues.


    "You''re referring to The Wrath, aren''t you" Nathan mutters.


    "It should never have been built" Oliver states his point of view on the matter.


    "I agree, but having given the situation, it will be our most valuable asset in this war" Anna says.


    "For now bring Heaven''s Gate home, along with its former crew" she instructs Oliver.


    "Yes your majesty" he replies politely and his screen goes blank.


    "Anna, Nathan, the Trident is here" Blackcroft informs them as she walks into the control room.


    "This should bring some confidence to the refugees" Anna states softly as she and Nathan follow Blackcroft out on deck.


    Sailing past them as they lean against the edge of the ship can be seen a ginormous warship, with sailors out on deck giving a salute to the king and queen, The Trident is the biggest and newest warship Haven has, construction of the vesel only finished being completed a few weeks ago.


    It is joined by the other newly completed warships that have been instructed to meet them halfway for safe passage home, the most striking thing about them is that they are all painted white.


    Refugees, sailors and soldiers alike, lean out of windows or against the edge of the ships in the rescue fleet, as these mighty warships leave no doubt as to who is in control of this area.


    "Haven sure is equipped" Thomas states observing the huge warship sailing past.


    "I hear the Trident could take out the Leviathan if it got close enough to it" Kyle mutters.


    "There''s that bloody aircraft from Ferrum again" Thomas points out, noticing Caelum Timore flying around the outskirts of the fleet.


    "They are lending a hand to protect the refugees, like you" Kyle tells him playfully and bops him on the nose.


    All of sudden the water next to them erupts into a violent commotion, a submerged sea vessel unlike anything Thomas has ever seen surfaces.


    "What the fuck is that?" He asks Kyle.


    "That''s the Poseidon" he replies with a smile.


    "The mythological names you lot give things, are a bit ... Well, odd" Thomas remarks and Kyle laughs at the comment.


    "Haven itself was considered a myth before it was officially discovered" he replies with a smirk.


    Thomas''s attention however has been taken by something subtle, but beautiful.


    "It''s ... So ... Blue" he mutters out loud apparently mesmerized by the clear sky they are now sailing in.


    Sebastian has also noticed how blue the sky is, causing him to drop the mug he is holding and stagger out onto the deck.


    "There''s no smog, it''s just" he starts to ponder before looking over at the ship in front of him to see an equally shocked Thomas looking back and waving at him.


    "BLUE SKIES!" He yells over and waves back at Thomas.

 Book 2 Chapter 4: Ferrum

    "It will be getting dark soon" Mouse says to River, the pair of them at the front of the boat scouring the land.


    "Which means we will be entering the Ferrum rainforests" she replies whilst looking off into the distance.


    Neither of them seem too fond of this prospect, even though it is apparently the safest way to avoid enemy contact.


    The rain is still drifting down and has only gotten worse the closer they get to Ferrum, it will likely increase as they enter the rainforests, but for now, their main focus is on all the hungry mouths they have to feed.


    "They''re doing a good job working together" River states quietly, referring to the soldiers and the former prisoners.


    All of them are working together, collecting driftwood for the fire, preparing food and setting up sleeping areas out on deck.


    "You two look edgy" Sam tells them as he walks over with some soup.


    "Here you go" he says and thrusts a bowl into their hands each.


    "We''ll be entering Ferrum soon" Mouse informs him before munching on his soup.


    "Sam, what do you know about the New World Monkeys?" River asks.


    "Not much, other than they''re dangerous" he replies.


    "Hopefully we won''t come across any" Mouse mutters.


    "How''s the kid doing?" River asks, noticing Falcon heading over to join them.


    "He has a fever, we need to make sure he keeps warm" she replies.


    "Start the motor, we''re about to cross the Red" River instructs Mouse and he heads inside to start the engine and take control of the steering wheel for the boat.


    A small rumble can be heard at the back of the boat as the engine kicks into action, they have until now relied on the current to take them safely, the Red that River is referring to is a large river with clay banks either side of it, it runs the length between Terra Auri and Ferrum separating the two countries.


    "How does he know where to go?" Sam asks as Mouse directs the boat towards another small river branching off from the Red.


    "We discussed the route earlier" River explains.


    "Welcome to Ferrum" Falcon tells him and pats him on the back as she walks away.


    "When you said about leaving that guy to the New World Monkeys, you weren''t serious, were you?" Sam asks.


    ¡°No, two wrongs don¡¯t make a right, cruelty is something we try to avoid" River replies reassuringly.


    A howl can suddenly be heard echoing through the air, faint but clear, and sends a shiver through everyone on the boat.


    "Was that?" Sam asks with a worried expression.


    "New World Monkeys" she mutters an uncomfortable answer.


    She hands Sam a firearm before heading down the boat and doing the same with all the soldiers, none of this fills Sam with any kind of confidence and he decides to go and stay with Callum.


    "I was hoping not to run into them" Mouse says to River as she joins him inside.


    "We need to stick to the middle of the river" she states.


    "If they start throwing large objects at us, it could capsize the boats" he points out.


    "It''s getting dark, best put the lanterns on" she replies and heads back outside.


    "Start lighting the lanterns" she instructs the soldiers.


    They follow her instructions and light the lanterns, some of them rest just inside the edge of the boat and some hang over the water, as the dark sets in the two boats become tiny beacons in the river.


    Callum starts to stir and wake up much to the relief of Sam having been waiting patiently besides him.


    "Hey tough guy" Sam says softly.


    "Hey" Callum replies with a smile.


    "Where ... Where are we?" He asks.


    "We''re in Ferrum" Sam tells him.


    "Aw, that''s awesome" Callum mutters happily.


    "But we''re heading for the rainforests" Sam points out.


    "You''ve got to be fucking kidding me" he mutters quietly.


    "Good morning sunshine" Mouse says announcing his presence.


    "Hey you" Callum replies sheepishly.


    "Thank you for saving me" he says gratefully.


    "Don''t worry about it" Mouse tells him reassuringly and ruffles his hair gently.


    "Cal, everyones been talking about these New World Monkeys, but I don''t really know anything about them" Sam says clearly unsure.


    "They range from around six to nine feet in height, come in shades of brown, red, light brown almost caramelly in colour" Callum explains.


    "Nine feet tall" Sam says in disbelief.


    "They are almost like natural born bodybuilders, the strength those things have is frightening" Mouse remarks.


    "That''s terrifying" Sam states


    "That''s not the scary part, the scary part about them is that they won''t back down, the only way to survive an encounter is to hide, run as far away from their territory as possible, or to shoot them dead, the first two options don''t tend to be a viable option in thick rainforest, but even if you shoot one dead, there is usually a family group of them" Mouse explains.


    "Because they are so full of muscle, one round isn''t enough to take them down" Callum says.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "So in other words, we need to stay the fuck away fromt them" Sam strongly suggests.


    "Easier said than done, we''re in their territory now" Mouse mutters.


    "Who''s this?" Callum asks, noticing the injured boy on the bed opposite him.


    "While you''ve been sleeping we''ve comendered a Ferrum prisoner boat" Mouse explains.


    "Is he gonna be ok?" Callum asks.


    "He probably won''t make it through the night" Mouse replies before walking over and readjusting the blanket over the boy.


    A blood curdling growl can suddenly be heard coming from the riverbank, startling Callum and Sam but as usual nothing seems to faze Mouse, he walks over to the open window and looks out into the darkness, he shines a torch along the treeline but nothing appears to be there.


    "This place gives me the creeps" Sam states uncomfortably as he appears to shiver.


    "By morning we''ll be inside the rainforest" Mouse informs them, still monitoring the treeline and river bank.


    "We might get to see the temples" Callum tells them.


    "Would be interesting, but only from a distance" Mouse mutters still glaring out into the darkness.


    "Mouse, what happens after we get through Ferrum, I''m assuming we aren''t staying here" Callum asks whilst lifting himself to sit upright.


    "The plan is to head all the way back to Demonte" he explains.


    "That''s so far" Callum mutters clearly disheartened.


    Mouse is paying attention to a cluster of lights he can see, far away from them, off in the distance.


    "Do you know where the Ferrum rebels disappeared to?" He asks Callum.


    "No, noone does" he replies sleepily followed by a yawn.


    "Ok, try to get some rest the pair of you" Mouse instructs them softly before heading outside.


    "Ok" Callum replies whilst rubbing his face very tired still.


    On the roof of the larger boat, and paying close attention to the distance as Mouse was, Falcon paces from side to side slowly until Mouse clambers up to join her.


    "What do you think, rebels, or Terra Auri?" Mouse asks.


    "If it''s rebels, I''d be interested to know how they''ve survived out here, if it''s Terra Auri, I want to know what they''re up to" she replies.


    "He doesn''t look too good" Mouse points out, referring to the soldier that had apparently done something to try and help the injured boy, currently at the back of the boat moving wood around.


    Mouse jumps down from the roof landing in front of the soldier and startling him, Mouse notices that he is holding onto his side whilst trying to carry the wood.


    "Let me take a look at that" Mouse instructs him and forces the wood away from the soldier.


    Reluctantly he allows Mouse to lift up his uniform revealing lacerations on his side that were not visible when River had lifted his uniform over his stomach earlier revealing the bruises.


    "You''ve been severely beaten, how many times have you been disciplined?" Falcon asks appearing next to them.


    "Lost count" he replies clearly in pain.


    "Come on" Mouse beckons him and the soldier follows him over to the small boat.


    Mouse helps him down and leads him inside.


    Callum and Sam are both fast asleep now, Sam sitting on the chair beside the window still with his head on top of the table.


    "Sit" Mouse instructs him and the soldier does so, sitting down on another bed.


    Mouse slowly strips the soldier carefully removing his uniform not wanting to cause him anymore pain, he lies the soldier down before dipping some cloth into a bowl of warm water by the stove, he proceeds to clean the soldiers wounds.


    "AH ... OUCH ... TSSS" he snarls in pain.


    "So what did you do to deserve this?" Mouse asks, trying to distract the soldier as he is about to put antiseptic onto the wounds.


    "I gave him some food and tried to stop him from getting beaton, he''s just a kid" the soldier replies.


    "AHHHHHH" he yells in pain as Mouse presses another clean cloth onto him after dabbing it with an antiseptic liquid from a brown bottle.


    He proceeds to place a clean dressing on the soldiers wound.


    "Thank you" he tells Mouse gratefully, clearly quite exhausted.


    "Get some rest" Mouse instructs him before pulling a blanket over him, the soldier quickly falls to sleep.


    The following morning Sam is awoken by the sounds of birds squawking, as he looks out of the window he notices they are rather colourful, and that it is still raining.


    "YAHHHHHH" he lets out a big yawn whilst having a stretch.


    He notices Callum and the soldier are still fast asleep before looking over at the injured boy, not moving or showing any signs of life giving Sam an uncomfortable feeling.


    "He made it through the night" Falcon states as she leans against the doorway.


    "That''s good" Sam replies with a smile.


    "Come on" she beckons him with a head nod.


    He walks outside and his jaw drops, they are traveling through a gorge, all around them are trees that are easily three hundred foot high as far as the eye can see, lush thick foliage in every direction and a vast array of wildlife.


    "This ... This is amazing" he says almost spinning on the spot looking everywhere.


    "Here, have some breakfast" Mouse greets him hadding down some freshly cooked fish, he is sitting on the edge of the larger boat.


    "Thanks" Sam replies greatully.


    "Despite how plentiful this place is, rations for us are already starting to dwindle, we can''t live off fish alone" Mouse ponders out loud.


    He suddenly loses his trail of thought and before Sam can say anything Mouse indicates for him to keep quiet whilst pointing over to the river bank.


    Sam turns and jumps back, backing up to the larger boat shocked at what he is seeing, on the river bank stooping down, drinking water out of its hand is a New World Monkey, its fur is reddish in colour.


    "It''s ok" Mouse reassures him, placing a hand on his shoulder.


    "Didn''t think I''d see one of them again" Callum says announcing his presence as he balances himself against the doorway.


    Quietly drifting away the New World Monkey doesn''t even seem to notice them and disappears back into the rainforest.


    "Thirsty?" Mouse asks Callum.


    "Yeah" he replies politely whilst pulling the blanket he is wearing around himself tighter.


    Mouse swivels round and walks inside to get some water for Callum out of a black pot, without warning the commanding officer bursts out through the hatch to the lower part of the boat screaming, breaking the bolt forcing the hatch to smash apart in the process.


    "AHHHHHH!" He yells running forward but trips over a pile of wood and plunges over the edge of the boat falling into the water.


    "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" River taunts him.


    The others, having ran back away from the officer, peer over the edge of the boat, watching as River paces up and down the edge holding a firearm.


    "You better swim fast, the crocs look hungry" Mouse remarks sitting at the edge of the boat further down dangling his feet over the edge.


    "Here, can''t say we haven''t given you a fighting chance" Falcon yells down to him tossing a small firearm at him.


    The officer grabs the firearm before it can sink and swims over to the river bank, coughing as he drags himself up out of the water, he turns with a look of hatred on his face and raises the firearm directly at all of them.


    "YOU SHOULD HAVE KILLED ME WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE! AHAHAHAH" He screams before laughing hysterically.


    But what he doesn''t take into account, is that all the commotion he is causing has attracted the attention of an unwanted visitor.


    "AHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHH!" They can all hear him screaming as he is lifted by the arm a good two feet from the ground.


    "RAWRRRRRR" the New World Monkey screams back at him before smashing him up against a tree.


    Attempting to run away the creature bites down into his now broken arm.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He screams managing to wriggle free.


    He disappears into the foliage and after a few more screams and the sounds of his firearm being fired, they are left with silence.


    "Come on, shows over" River tells everyone.


    They slowly move back to whatever it is that they were doing only a few moments prior, noone seems to be happy, or sad at the situation, just shocked.