Genesis (The Exodus Trilogy) by Andreas Christensen Page A

weeks. Long periods of boredom, waiting for the right time and place, and then a quick surprise attack where the enemy least expected it, followed by a rapid withdrawal, vanishing into the woods before the soldiers knew what had hit them. The patrol hadn’t accomplished as much as he’d wanted, but on the other hand, they didn’t lose a single man. With life more precious than anytime before in history, that was a real victory. Come to think of it, he’d been out in the field most of the winter, and though that life was rough sometimes, he’d begun to get used to it. He’d always enjoyed being outdoors, and even though his earlier experiences had never been under conditions such as an Aurora winter, he’d learned something very important: if you knew what you were doing, even the harshest of winter conditions could become your ally instead of a deadly enemy. That knowledge had saved his life several times, and it was the single most important asset he and his team had, which made them a valuable asset to Tina Hammer, who would send them on all the most difficult missions.
    “We’ll be leaving again tomorrow morning,” he said. He’d been postponing this conversation all winter, so why did he feel so awkward now that he had the chance?
    “You know, I worry about you out there,” Maria said after a short silence, looking up at him through those long lashes, eyes so dark brown you could get lost in their depths. He felt his skin grow hot.
    “I worry, too… I mean, I worry that I won’t see…” he trailed off as their eyes locked, and Maria smiled at him.
    “I know you do.” That smile made everything else disappear, as if the world around them wasn’t tearing itself to pieces. As if nothing bad could happen. Maria took his hand and stepped closer.
    “I… We…” he stuttered. Maria put a finger to his lips, and he stopped trying to speak what couldn’t be put into mere words. She laid her head on his chest, and he carefully embraced her, burying his nose in her hair. He took a deep breath and inhaled her scent, soap and wood and smoke intermingled. They didn’t need words. The moment seemed to last an eternity. This is the way it’s supposed to be , he thought.
    “My cabin is just over there,” Maria whispered. Their eyes met again.
    “Are you sure?” She nodded.
    “Geena’s out with the hunting party. She won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon.” Neither of them spoke, then he finally smiled back at her. How could he ever turn her down? She was everything he’d ever dreamed of.
    Their lips met.
    Kenneth taylor
     
    Kenneth sat deep in thought, while Tina was busy studying a rough map with Thomas and Dean, who had just arrived. The comms still seemed to be down for some reason. Luckily though, Tina had insisted they lay a landline through the mountains, and now this was the only thing maintaining clear lines of communication between the Stronghold and the outposts covering the southern passes. A messenger had arrived from one of these posts half a day ago, bearing news of a large force moving toward them. They had scrambled the shuttle a couple of times, and its reconnaissance value was incredible. A shuttle, with all its sensors and detection equipment, could survey in half an hour the same area that several recon patrols would spend weeks gaining an overview of. But they didn’t dare take it too far south or too high, or it would be susceptible to anti-aircraft missiles. And they only had the one Thomas had escaped with last autumn, and it carried no weapons. Fort Andrews, on the other hand, had two, not counting the one stationed on board the Exodus itself, both fully weaponized. Regardless, the quick aerial survey only confirmed that Havelar’s forces were about to move north and gave them a hint of the enemy’s size and armaments.
    Thomas spoke before anyone else. “They are going to try to cut off the outposts quickly, so we’ll have no warning once they’ve taken them