Scarlett: The colour of blood
By Ana Lex
Published by Ana Lex at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Ana Lex
Smashwords Edition
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Table of Contents
Victory is sweet
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Chapter 1
The sugar fine grains of sand lay parted in the wake of a single set of solitary footprints. Apart from this it remained undisturbed. Faintly wet, the sand remained silent as waves rolled over it. Toucans wheeled and screeched in the cloudless sky, skimming the surface of the crystalline water. As multicoloured as a rainbow they raced competitively. Under the picture perfect water tropical fish darted around each other. Through, under and over. They weaved through the exquisite coral intricately.
The serenity and beauty was ruined as an unnatural noise echoed through the dense forest at the end of the smooth sand.
The birds stopped in mid flight and dove for the sand and the fun loving fish cowered behind the coral where moments ago they had frolicked.
Amazing; how one action, one noise could utterly transform a place of sheer peace and simple happiness into something else entirely. No, it wasn’t a place of pure joy; an undiscovered treasure. Since the first crunching footstep on the fallen bough it hadn’t been. It had become a battlefield.
Under the shining sun of summer, as Honor marched through the forest ripping aside the undergrowth with the butt of her rifle, she frowned. She had signed up for the bloodshed and the fights. That was a given in her hazardous occupation. Hell that was the reason most people, mainly boys (funny that), enlisted in the first place. She knew that. What she hadn’t counted on was the derogatory attitude towards her because of her gender. Stupid living men she thought cruelly, dead men are a lot smarter. I'm a lot more dangerous than you, she smiled internally. Having lived for so long in a home where females and males were regarded equally, she had forgotten what this could be like. She had definitely disregarded this pain from the last time. But then again, maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised that this particular memory had elapsed. Honor always had been good at blocking painful memories from her thoughts. A useful thing too with her ... experiences.
She held her head up proudly and bared her glistening teeth towards the clear sky, as she vowed she would hold back no longer in battle. Solemnly she reiterated the thought to herself; men will drop like flies from my experienced hand just as mice in a trap. Yes they would see the true power of her, eventually.
She then retrieved a sharp pointed dagger from her sock as she halted. Holding her palm to the sky she slashed her palm. Entwining the green with scarlet she murmured one word. Her name, “Honor”.
She then replaced the weapon in her sock, carefully positioning it so it wouldn’t harm her. After checking the safety catch on the even more lethal weapon in her arms she sprinted off to rejoin the others. One can never be too careful.
Unbeknownst to the army Honor was travelling with an army of another country was hiding not far away behind a sand dune that not long ago a scout had presumed to be all clear. As a matter of fact it was clear until the soldier had turned back into the forest to report on what he had seen. Cleverly their enemy, hoping to grab with both hands any opportunity that came their way, snuck onto the dune therefore gaining height and surprise. For the attack to be successful they had had to move quickly. The other army, the one Honor was travelling with was five minutes away in the forest and getting closer every second. In their haste to rush everybody over behind the dune from a forest beside it they had forgotten a crucial point. Footprints.
One hundred sets of footprints stretched across the glistening sand, clearly marking that men had been this way recently. Even more of a giveaway was the fact that the footprints didn’t lead anywhere, which meant the other army would know that they were there.
Crack. Snap. They had arrived onto the sand glistening in the burning sun. How fitting that this landscape would not only be the most beautiful thing those men would see in this life but the last thing they would see in this life too. It wasn’t forgiving either. The footprints so painstakingly obvious in the otherwise still surroundings were not missed.
The front troopers charged through the first few metres of sand propelled forward by the momentum of their bush bash now unhindered by the dense scrub.
“Halt”, the General bellowed. His mind was already ticking over. If they retreated they could be followed. But if they followed around the side of the bush carefully maybe, just maybe we might be able to convince them that we have left and we could strike whilst their guard was down. Hence eliminating two birds with one stone. He smiled cruelly to himself. If they could take down these men then they would be taking down any threat to their base as previously instructed and raiding a ‘company’ for supplies. They could slaughter the men then take their equipment. He might even earn a promotion. Then again they had height and more troops than them. Surprise, the fact that they were armed to the teeth and military expertise should win over that though. Shouldn’t it?
‘Captains’, he shouted grinning, he knew what to do.
Mere minutes later the captains who had been briefed were explaining to the soldiers in their command about the ... Situation. The ‘expendable’ lot of unworthy recruits that were there to make up numbers strong enough to overwhelm even the most threatening enemies not matter of the level of skill they did or did not possess, were to run the risk of putting up a frontal attack on the opponent. These unskilled soldiers were to be backed up by our best troopers with the highest rank. Therefore it will provide a hopefully convincing attack so that the majority of the force to sneak around the side and surprise them. Henceforth turning the tables back on them. This focused the defence of their enemy on the front where the most risked lives were the undisciplined, who had no clue and the experienced soldiers that could take care of themselves and probably the weaker links as well. The General was very pleased with himself indeed.
Word spreads quickly, even in a camp as large as theirs. Minutes later everyone had grabbed their weapons and were lining up in front of their soldier in command. “Listen up,” Captain Shasto bellowed to his soldiers. “We have a new objective ...” a low murmur rippled through the company, many had not seen action in a while, some still had never been in the front line before in a battle and for them this was an adventure. Excitement was the prominent feeling in the clearing they had retreated to, to regroup. It crackled through the air so thickly some were surprised their hair wasn't on its ends. Not once did it cross their minds that some of their comrades would not return to camp that night...
A dog would not have heard the soldiers creeping slowly but swiftly through the forest, picking their way through avoiding all long fallen branches or anything else that presented a danger to their silence, let alone a human. As darkness fell as surely and securely as a blanket the soldiers lay in waiting. As the first gunshot rung through the air they were to get up and run in the cover of the trees and join the battle themselves. If only the shot would sound.
After ten agonisingly slow minutes for everyone involved, a shot rang out clear and true into the forearm of an unlucky sentry who opened his mouth like a fish and let out a bloodcurdling scream. As if propelled by an invisible force the soldiers in the frontal attack surged forward silently.
The enemy brought to attention from the first gunshot started to realise what was going on. With the rapidity of their attack they had no time to organise themselves. Individually most of the soldiers rushed forwards to protect their mates. Some, the smart ones stayed behind to talk to their commanders and strategise where they could (hopefully) hold off the attackers. Other still ran into the forest with their weapons, never to be seen near an army again for they were ashamed of their cowardice when bravery was needed most.
Rifle shots echoed through the eerie gloom, when they hit their mark it was followed by the sounds of death; screams that pierced the air, gurgling that filled their throats and the thud of their bodies falling in the sand.
With practiced precision the soldiers stepped smoothly onto the sand and started shooting. Baffled by the sudden shots from the side the army split up to deal with each side separately. This was exactly what they wanted them to do. They had fallen into the trap. With the force divided it was harder for them to cover themselves.
Honor pounced into the action that she had been craving so dearly as elegantly as a panther. Dropping to one knee she positioned her rifle for a shot. Bang. As smoke unfurled from the piece of destructive metal in her hands a cry faded into the night, an agonising wound bound from her seemingly delicate hands.
Moving after her first shot she moved to a new target a few metres away from the last who was staring horror stricken at his comrade, lying in the sand with his own blood spurting out of his chest, where a gaping wide hole was open.
Down they fell like cows in a slaughterhouse, overwhelmed by an attack they had thought to be postponed until the morning when they reached the dune. The attack had surprise, better weaponry and more troops but the biggest weapon of all was the vampire hidden in their midst and they didn’t even know it.
Rashel couldn’t care less for which side won the battle, she won either way. The very extent of her knowledge was that she was on the side of England and the other was Portuguese. The men could care all they liked; she didn’t even know the reason for battle only that the job needed to be done. So it was.
The Portuguese started to really panic now as they comprehended that they were losing. The first men to rise had been the first to die and the hesitators seemed to understand that fleeing to the forest was the best option. Even the bravest of the men were overwhelmed by the crushing mass of the dead bodies of their comrades and turned tail.
Within another ten minutes or so an eerie silence descended on the dunes like a veil. Sobs were suddenly struggling to escape throats and eyes were brimming with tears. Many fell to the ground to pray to the lord and beg forgiveness for their actions.
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Thank-You for persevering with my book. As you probably know I am a very young writer with no publishing experience at all! I would appreciate it if you could comment on why you did or didn’t like the first chapter of my book and if you would like me to publish the finished work.
With much appreciation, Ana Lex