Gentleman of War by Chris

Author:Chris
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: military, science fiction, aliens, war, sci fi, apocalyptic, ww1, british army, world war i, war against aliens

Chapter 10

First Watch

"You stand here. You look out here." Southampton was rough-housing Neven like he was a meaningless animal. He stood uncomfortably askew on the wall next to the gate.

"Got that?" Southampton asked gruffly, as if Neven didn't already know, as if this hadn't been his second watch at the manor in as many days. He left, making his question entirely rhetorical.

Neven shivered, though it was not cold. The rifle was unfamiliar, heavier and slightly older. For the first time, he missed the comfort of his old gun. He reflected upon his situation.

It was normality, of course, or at least as close to being normal as he could imagine, given their situation. But it was skewed. It was like looking into a pool of water, dropping a penny in, and letting the ripples distort reality. It was like a dream where you know everything is normal, but there is still a sinister undertone, a smell in the air, in the atmosphere. The whole estate felt like a bomb ready to go off.

He turned around for a glance at the house, before resuming his duty. It was at least an hour before he hazarded another glance. The sun was slowly setting, but there was more than enough light for Neven to see that same familiar streak of hair that had previously passed by the window inside. Phillipa was crouched down, behind some trees, in amongst the bushes that lined the far side of the estate.

He thought of his duty, but decided instead to move down the wall. When he reached the stone staircase, he peered casually around, eyes and ears pricked. Then he flew down the steps, with maximum speed and minimum sound. The soft grass flopped beneath his boots. He passed around an errant flowerbed, picking up speed.

"... picking fruit," he heard her say. He had been walking for a minute and was finally around the house.

"Phillipa?" Neven passed through an awning and found himself in a hidden grove.

Bent down, Phillipa was collecting apples from the ground and putting them into a basket that was fast becoming full. A few yards away, Neven saw the familiar Church leaning against a tree, munching an apple of his own.

"Look at that," Church remarked, mouth open and displaying half-chewed fruit. "Reunited. The three of us again."

Neven did not give credence to his statement.

"What are you doing?"

"One of my chores, they've started us as of now. That Gifford wasn't kidding," Phillipa had a smock on that was becoming wet and slick with apple juice and mud, which sometimes rubbed onto her clothes underneath.

"Is everything okay?" Neven asked, judging the tone the girl was taking.

"We found them going through our things. Two soldiers. They said we wouldn't need them, that we're sharing everything from now on."

"It is a bloody prison," Church said.

"What do we do?" Phillipa asked, stopping and looking up. She cast a peek at the house that loomed over them, dominating their field of vision."

Neven contemplated this. Church seemed to be intent on capturing his answer too.

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