Chapter 2

That night Ryder stood on guard in his favourite watch tower with another cup of tea. The night was completely silent which made the commander nervous and suspicious. Silence had become scarier to him that any noise. He leaned over the side of the tower and sighed heavily

"When you look into the abyss the abyss looks into you" He said quietly to himself

The strain of managing the fort was mounting, especially with the political tensions. Ever since Hellman had disappeared he felt alone and constantly plagued with the ever harsher nightmares that he did not understand.

A far away explosion sounded which brought the man back to Earth and he looked around to find the source. It came from Cheyenne. The explosions continued but even heavier, the light from them was visible to Ryder, who looked on in interest. Clearly those inside the city were still alive he thought to himself, but when he visited last, the living conditions and life were pathetic. Still he admired their ability to survive out there.

However with nothing that could be done other than order the search lights to illuminate the perimeter, he settled in for a night, slumping down in a corner and wrapped a blanket around him. The nights were cold but bearable; the snow had not yet come.

As the man drifted into sleep the dream enveloped him. Blackness swirled around, a warmth was felt through every fibre of his body. This was not a comforting warmth but instead a fiery one which became hotter and hotter until Ryder wanted to scream out. His very soul seemed to be burning from the inside. His eyes adjusted to the blackness and he saw a huge cave filled with people who appeared to be merely black ghosts, their eyes glowing yellow, a million pairs were fixed upon him from all around.

The cave vanished and the heat subsided within second. The heat did not disappear completely but instead was replaced with a comforting feeling. The relaxing nature of where he was now flowed through his entire body, tranquillity and peace were all around. A light suddenly flashed upon him so bright he attempted to close his eyes but was unable. Again he could make out silhouettes of men and women but this time they were encased in light and their dark blue eyes were once again fixed upon him.

Once more the feeling subsided and everything around him vanished away. This time it was replaced with scenery he could make out as clear as if he were awake. He could feel everything around him and could see that a grey colour tinted the walls of the hall he was now standing in. Huge pillars held up the massive ceiling and were assembled down the long hallway. At the very end he could glimpse something that looked like a throne but it was too far for anything to be made of it. Whispers were all around him, none could be made out but they pierced Ryder through his body. Clouds of grey appeared from all around and surrounded him as if they were a group of people circling.

The gentle whispers continued and were also comforting to him for a reason he did not understand. He walked forward to the edge of the circling cloud but was stopped as a face emerged from it. The grey face was of a woman though no specific features could be made out from it. The face moved forward and separated from the cloud, the body looked a grey cloak floating in the air. The woman reached Ryder's ear and said softly

"When you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you" and with that she planted an airy kiss on his cheek and vanished into the cloud which separated and flew off away from him. With that Ryder awoke

When the morning came it was cold, the breath of the men and women steamed out and drifted in front of them before fading away and being replaced with another. This time of day was when the red tint was the least pronounced and the moment when the sky almost looked normal, whiteness shone through onto the fort. Ryder looked across and saw Miles emerging up the ladder. He stopped so only his top half was visible

"Jesus you look as bad as I feel mate" Miles said to which Ryder replied

"Not the nicest night I won't lie. Anything new?"

"Yeah, Genette pulled some strings it seems and got the meeting moved forward to tomorrow. We need to head off soon"

"Oh that's amazing" The commander replied with a sarcasm filled sigh

"The meeting is taking place over the other side of the state"

"Even better"

Miles laughed "Well either way wake up, we have to leave soon"

Just as this was said both of the men's radios started squawking out frantic exclamations. The first one that they could understand was

"Exclamber activity around the fort, a large group is moving towards it!" Ryder's eyes widened and he shouted into his radio

"All soldiers to stations! What's the position of the group?"

By this time Miles had already slid down the ladder and proceeded to run into the command bunker along with several staff. Ryder on the other hand leaped up, grabbed the binoculars from the pouch on his hip and scanned the horizon.

Soldiers all through the fort scrambled to their defence stations as a siren started which reverberated across the entire camp. The camp area was a hive of activity as those who knew how to fight ran forward to their lines and those that did not know ran back to the zone towards the rear. Ryder spotted the group steamrolling their way to the fort in a beeline. With that he retreated from the watch tower and to the foxholes at the frontlines.