Chapter 1

Red light shone down upon the Wyoming state border. The verdant grasslands and beautiful scenery along this stretch had been completely reduced to a wasteland. The beauty of the state was still intact further in, where the battle had not yet reached but along the border it was gone

As the rising red sun blanketed the area, the crimson light soon fell upon the camo netting of a border fort under the command of fortress commander Ryder. The outer positions were covered in netting and sprawled out in foxholes ranging from one to two soldiers to fully artillery howitzer positions

Each of these was interconnected with a series of trenches dug in to the flat lands which allowed swift advance or retreat. Further back was the main camp which was secured by machine guns and tank cannons fixed into old fashioned anti-tank guns, again all covered in the netting.

Whereas the outer lines were sprawled out the inner ones were made into a solid line with the cannon and machine guns positioned at the back higher up, just above the main trench for the soldiers. Behind the groundworks wall was a web of trenches, mortar, howitzer and bunker positions

The largest of these bunkers was the command centre of the fort where Ryder spent most of his time and energy.

Behind this lot was the camp itself, with lines of tents, a few bunk houses, wash and toilet facilities and a large section for cooking. The people here were mostly soldiers and had become accustomed to what was for them at the fort; they all agreed it seemed to be the best place to be.

In the distance was Cheyenne, the capital city, broken and in a state of ruin. The outer areas of the city had been long since abandoned, only wild animals darted in the shadows, their eyes always weary for the Exclamber. Deeper in however there still was a focused point of resistance that refused to give in and refused to move.

Ryder stood inside a watchtower and surveyed the brightening scene with a cup of tea in one hand and the other massaging his brow. The man had become more muscular as time had gone on and a beard had begun to appear around his jaw. The bags under his eyes were darker and told the tale of many sleepless nights.

He looked at the city while taking a sip of the hot liquid and thought. It had been at least a month since the majority of people had evacuated the city and the resistance had ceased contact. He wondered how many were left inside. The commander had visited the resistance there once before, after the evacuation only to find that the entire city centre had been transformed into a massive killing zone.

"Commander Ryder?" A strong female voice shouted up the ladder to the tower. Slowly and uncaringly the man turned around, took a giant sip of his tea and walked to the ladder and looked

"Genette" He replied with a bite

"Madam President I think you'll find my title is" She bit back

"Uncertified"

"I will not argue with you commander, I would win if we did"

"How professional of you. In either case this fort is a member of the attrition alliance which happens to remain independent"

"There's no such thing as independent anymore, the rest of the state backs me completely"

"Then feel free to order the rest of the state around as you will, but here remains under the command of the council, which I happen to be a member of. You're not winning votes with me at the moment I must say"

"Listen, we need a leader who will take charge and start fighting this damn war. A leader who will save this state from the monsters. I am that leader, this will go a lot easier if you support me

"Is that a threat?" Miles said walking out of a bunker behind her, Ryder smiled at him and he returned the expression