Imperium: Volume 1

At one point during the night I did wake up to hearing the Dom Squad making there way down the road. Thankfully he slept through that, as I was forced to put a field over the fire, to help diminish the flames.

We were up as soon as the sun hit the horizon, and were currently heading to a town called Trent. Raeve told me that, there was something there he needed to retrieve before we made our way to base camp. He didn't bother to tell me what.

Funny, how he has me follow, but still has his wall up. I guess that's what I get for being the newbie.

We were less then a kilometer out from town, when he stopped me.

"Okay. So when we reach town, I need you to hold back. I can't have you going in." He told me.

"What why?" I asked

"These people, aren't exactly friendly...to your kind." He said oddly.

Shit....does he mean Imperiums?

"What do you mean my kind?" I asked looking away.

He sighed...."Woman."

"Oh...." I said more relaxed.

I didn't bother fighting him on this one. I was getting a little tired anyways of those people looking at me like I was meat. We reached the tree line, and I popped a squat, as he made his way in.

Raeve' s P.O.V

As I was walking into this god forsaken hell hole of a town, I looked back to her. She was sitting on her pack, with her head down. I could barely make her out, aside from her ball cap. Which was good. The people here have a bad reputation for using and abusing woman. They see them here as sport.

That's why this place was mainly made up of men. No woman dared to venture to this town. It reeked of blood and fear that came from their victims. The only thing that we shared in common was pure hatred for The Dominion. And these guys knew how to get something done, when needed.

I walked over to an outer building that lay near the opposite end of town. I was in search of the town's leader, who went by the name of Kipsky. I heard he was a monstrous of man with an egotistical manner, but could get shit done. My purpose here was purely retrieval.

As I approached the building, a man stepped out blocking my way. He didn't say anything, he just looked down to me.

"I'm here to see Kipsky." I held up my dog tags, and gave him an annoying look. I wasn't in the mood for a stupid run around, and I wanted to make it quick as possible, seeing that June was waiting for me.

I knew for a fact they were advised that someone from the resistance would be making there way here, wearing a set of dog tags. He just stood there and groaned.

"Let him pass." A voice came from behind him.

He moved aside and let me in, to where I saw a man sitting at a small table, with a bottle of homemade moonshine and a couple of shot glasses. I approached him.

"Kipsky." I said to him. He leaned back in his chair, kicking out the one in front of him from under the table. I took at seat.

He poured a glass of his moonshine and slid the glass over the table to me. I just looked at him as he watched me. Was this a test or some shit? I took the shot and let the liquid pour down my throat.

It tasted like straight up gasoline! I wanted to spit it out as soon as the taste hit my tongue, but he continued to watch me intently. It was hard to swallow, and the burn that lingered in my throat had me desperately wanting to purge out my stomach contents. I could feel the heat resonating on my face, and my eyes began to water. No way I was letting this bastard win. I stared at him and pushed the glass back towards him.

"Another." I said.

"Ahahahahahahahahah." He laughed and pointed me to the others. "I like him."

His laugh abruptly stopped as he stood up and his demeanor changed. He was now serious.

"Come with me." He said.

I followed him, through what felt like an endless amount of turns, until we made our way to the basement.

"You have what we need?" I asked.

He walked over to a trunk that laid against the back of the room. We walked up to it and he opened the lid. We peered in and both looked at eachother after looking what was inside.

"Good." Was all I said.

He let the lid drop and turned back to me.

"We will have the rest delivered in a few days time. Just as long as you keep your end of the deal.: He said with his brows furrowed.

"Don't worry, you'll get what you asked for." We then shook hands, and parted ways.

We made our way back up towards the entrance. As I walked towards the door, I poured another shot and downed it, slowly placing the shot glass top down. I looked at him and nodded before making my way out. He let out a small grin, and watched me leave.

June

It didn't take long at all before I saw Raeve making his way back to me. He had his hands in his pockets and I could see his dog tags swaying across his chest as he walked. He walked with his head down, hiding his face with his hat. It wasn't until he reached me that I finally saw his face. He didn't stop walking when he reached me, and kept moving.

"Comon." Was all he said to me.

I stood up and threw my strap over my shoulder and followed.

"You gonna tell me what that was all about?" I asked him.

"Nope." He responded.

I stopped dead in my tracks as he continued to walk. It took him about a minute to notice that I was no longer behind him.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he turned to me.

"Listen! If your going to drag me into this, you better tell me what's going on. I'm not going to be dragged on some boy scout mission, with no clue as to what's happening!" I told him.

"Can you just trust me?" He asked.

"Should I go ask your friends back there?" Pointing back to Trent.

"No!" He said. "Please June, I'll explain everything to you when we make it to base camp...ok?"

We stood there face to face in silence, waiting for one of us to say something. My head now towards the ground. He stepped closer to me, his hands still in his pockets.

"Please June." He said.

I looked up to him and studied his face. It was the first time I really got a good look at him. Any other time, was to dark or I was trailing behind him. I noticed a small scar on his left brow, and small freckle that was perfectly positioned at the end of the brow. I took in a deep breath and put my gaze down towards the dirt.

"Okay...lets go." I readjusted my hat to hide my face. I noticed I did that alot, especially when people looked at me. Perhaps it was my need to feel invisible.

He walked along aside me, and told me it was a 2 day journey to base camp. And from what I understood earlier, we were heading towards The Dominion capital. Only one thought entered my mind, as we walked down the road.

Dad.