Deep Winter by Kingsley Khan

Author:Kingsley Khan [Khan, Kingsley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Dark, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Media Tie-In, Science Fiction
Amazon: B09NMMMD3D
Published: 2021-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

The stern anchors were unceremoniously dropped into the river, and the boat glided to a stop at a hastily built dock. The slums stretched downriver at the base of the massive great wall. A wall ringing Iron port over one hundred feet high. Patches of dead brown moss clung to the wall face, and evenly spaced crenulations ran along the top. The river had been turned into a stone canal where the wall met on each side, a high bridge connecting the two sides hundreds of feet in the air.

The gangplank was lowered, and we left the river barge. The slum town was fifty yards downriver from the slums, and the refugee camp started to the right of the dock. A military tent was the first building after exiting the dock to the right, and a line of soldiers was waiting to escort us inside.

Fog billowed out from the mouth of the first soldier I saw, as he spoke, “this way. Check-in with intake for orientation.” He spoke in a bored tone, obviously having said the same thing thousands of times, “This way….”

Our group walked into the tent and funneled through honest to god cue ropes until we reached the front of the line; we were first. Four tables sat in a row with soldiers behind them and paperwork on the desks. The one on the left waved me forward, and the ten of us walked to the desk.

“Were you briefed back at Grain port?” Sargent Kowalski asked.

“Yes.”

“Good. Good. How many women?”

“Five.”

“All earthers?” he asked as more people began shuffling into the tent.

“No, only four. I have a sister Isolde McGuire and her husband, Daniel McGuire, and their kids, Eimeria and Luna.” He took down all of our names, adding them to a list.

“All right, will see about McGuire and Walker, but don’t get your hopes up, and we’ll let you know. We officially ask that you find one more female from earth to help, but four is honestly good enough. This is your orientation folder. It has some general information about where we are, how things work, and what the military’s action plan is going forward. If you make your way into the next tent, an orientation will be given every half hour for the remainder of the day.”

“Is there anything we would learn at the orientation that’s not in the packet?”

“Honestly, no. They just go over the folder. Anyway, this is your earth insignia pack. We ask all who set up homes to place the insignia on the upper right of their door so earthers can identify each other. It is up to you, however. Thank you and Godspeed.” Sargent Kowalski motioned us around him and through the back of the tent after taking our names down.

Walking out the back, I stopped in the alleyway between the tents, “So, do you all want to go to the orientation or just move on?”

“What’s in the folder?” Diana asked.

I thumbed through it quickly. “Looks like survival tips, home blueprints, a map, and other general information.

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