Go Down Kicking (Legion of the Black)

A band of ten outlaws formed a dark procession through the dank veil of heat swamping the desert. Nine were engaging in unimportant chatter, seeking to alleviate the feelings of weariness and defeat which threatened to overpower them. But one walked ahead, in silence. Her mirror blue eyes scouring the barren landscape for any abnormalities which could mean danger and one of her worn hands resting upon the bone fashioned dagger at her hip. This was Erin. Unknown to most of the world, she was at the head of a small parade of uprising. With sharp, discreet attacks and stealthy escapes, her tight knit community of rebels were piercing deeper into the core of their vulgar enemy F.E.A.R.
It wasn't until the sun began to sink closer to the desert floor and cast long shadows across the wasteland that the march halted and Erin turned to face the congregation.
"We will have to set up camp here tonight." She announced and gestured to the open expanse of sand surrounding them. "But if we make good time tomorrow we should reach the oasis by midday."
As she spoke, she slung a dusty pack of rolled sheets from her burnt back and began to unravel them. Everyone, save for one very tall, tattooed boy followed suit.
"Really?" His hoarse voice rasped through the air. "Why do we have to sleep in the open again? It's so dangerous."
Erin straightened up from where she was unrolling her makeshift bed, her face had now adopted a cynical expression.
"Yes, Dylan, really." She answered and looked the taller boy up and down. "Unless, of course, you possess the ability to create some shelter in this forsaken desert?"
Dylan shrugged his broad shoulders awkwardly and slowly removed his own pack.
"Thought not." Erin shook her head and took a few paces away from the gathering of rebels and greyed sheets. After scrutinising the ground for a short while, she got down on her knees and began scratching away the coarse sand. Its red grains clumped beneath her short nails but she carried on until, finally, the sand felt damp beneath her touch. Hurriedly, she deepened the hole and sighed in relief when a fine stream of water trickled lazily into the opening.
"Water!" Erin called and dug her nails into the wet sand again, to allow more of the liquid in and make sure less seeped away.
All at once, she was surrounded by the other rebels, clawing at the sand and cupping water to their mouths. Some immersed the edges of their clothes in the pool to refresh their parched skin and ease the strain of their trek.
Once each of them had taken their share and returned to their respective camp beds, Erin scooped up the draining droplets of water and rolled them over her tongue before swallowing them slowly. She then watched the last remains soak away into the rich sand and, after a short pause, took the steps back to sit on her sheets. Erin pulled the rough material over her legs and bunched it around her as comfort from the chill rapidly creeping into the darkening air. Across the circle from where she sat, a petite girl with bright red hair swept in a voluminous fringe across her forehead was passing around the crumbling remnants of some stale bread to the hungry gathering. As Erin took her rations she shook her head slowly. They really needed to stock up on supplies. The oasis would allow them to replenish their water stock but to get food they would probably have to launch a town raid... which was one of the last things Erin wanted to do any time soon. She raised her head up to the sky, now a deep midnight blue, and grazed her eyes over the stars glowing softly above.
"Erin?"
A gentle voice broke the air close to her head and Erin turned to face the speaker, a black haired girl only a few years younger than herself with heavily outlined, smoky eyes.
"Yes, Cami?" Erin replied after a short pause.
"What if they get us tonight?"
She did not have to specify who they were. Erin knew all too well who the enemy always was. Resting back on her elbows with her dark golden hair brushing her shoulders, Erin weighed the question cautiously.
"They won't." She finally answered. "I have no guarantee that they won't find us tonight, but they won't get us. We will fight with every ounce of determination we have and push them away. Even if they take our bodies, they can never take our spirit."
Cami allowed herself a small nod to acknowledge Erin's words. The elder smiled slightly and said,

"Pull your sheets closer to me if it makes you feel safer, though I'll be on watch for a while."
As the raven haired girl scuttled off to accept the offer, Erin adjusted herself into standing position and addressed the whole camp again,
"We have to cover a lot of ground tomorrow so it would be best if you all shut up and slept now."
She winked to accompany her words but few of the rebels had enough energy to mock being offended; the majority were already huddled into their sheets and had their eyes closed.
"No fire tonight then?" the redhead queried with her head cocked to one side.
"No, not now that we're over halfway to the towns." Erin said as she walked out of the gathering. "Ricky! You're with me!"
"Not like there is anything left to burn anyway!" The girl called and stuck her tongue out in a childish gesture at Erin's back.
With a roll of her eyes, Erin turned around and answered,
"Well Savannah, we can always burn your hair if you want?"
"You said we were too close to the towns." Savannah grinned and wriggled beneath her thin sheet as Erin bit back a laugh. Without bothering to come up with a retort, Erin turned on her heel and strode into the darkness, not pausing when she once again called,
"Ricky!"
Before long a young man with long black hair and a thin frame arrived at Erin's side, rubbing his eyes wearily.
"I'm here, I'm here." He muttered, more to himself than to Erin and dropped his hands from his eyes to stare down the black air and its secrets.
Erin barely greeted him, she was on the move again: circling the arrangement of sheets. She pierced the darkness with cat like eyesight and, although a breeze blew the cold air over her skin, she was only focused on detecting danger. Something about what Cami had said unnerved her. She already had the sensation of being followed pricking her, now she was extra alert. All it took was one area of a different shade to the rest... a silhouette, any tremors, un-natural noises...
Erin whipped to her left and stared pointedly at the stars, a smell of ash invading her nostrils steadily.
"What is it?"
Ricky's hushed voice stirred the hair falling over Erin's ear and she reached out to lay a hand upon his arm. Raising her other hand but never altering her gaze, Erin pointed to a group of stars clustered low over where the horizon sat. Trailing his eyes along her arm and finding her point of focus, Ricky tried to discern what was wrong with the scene.
"Smoke." He whispered as his eyes picked out the black haze which caused the stars to waver.
"The same smoke F.E.A.R make when they materialise." Erin confirmed quietly. She ran her tongue over her lips and, dropping her guiding arm, twisted so that she could see Cami, sleeping blissfully.
"What are they doing so far into the desert?" She asked herself, furrowing her brow.
"The real question is, what do we do about it?" Ricky pointed out, more calmly than he felt.
Erin let her other hand fall to her side and shot him a derisive look.
"You can go lie down while I keep watch. They probably don't know we're here but if our paths cross you'll have to be well rested."
Ricky considered rejecting her offer, but his aching muscles protested otherwise. He left her with a nod of thanks as she turned back to the clearing smoke.
Folding her arms over her chest, Erin spat venomously into the sand swirling around her feet.

Notes