Colony Wars 1: War Never Ends

Chapter Four - The Surprise Attack

28th February 2076 – 1st Galactic Step

Shanti Street

New Dawn City

Earth

Solar System

Mud squelched under Lara's body as she fell heavily into the puddle of brown sandy muck. A booted foot stamped down next to the girl, splashing more of the thick, sloppy sludge over her round face. Lara rolled away and jumped lithely into an upright position, and then she used the back of her hand to rub the mud out of her cold blue eyes.

"Ha, throwing mud in your opponent's face. Is that the best move you've got, you cheater," sneered Lara through clenched dull white teeth. "I won that medicine, fair and square Milo. Now give it back or I'll..."

Lara never had time to finish her sentence as two more boys roughly grabbed her from behind and threw her down, face first into the sticky dirt. The mud did not bother Lara at all, but the pain of her neck snapping forward did. Then she heard the booted footfalls again and a firm pressure was applied to her upper back, forcing her face further into the suffocating swill. She tried twisting her head to the side to suck in a gasp of air, but a callused hand grabbed her dirty brown hair tightly and held her head still.

The mud went up her nose and into her mouth. The gritty tasteless gunge made her feel sick at first, until the panicked sensation of not being able to breathe overrode her nausea. Lara could hear the boys laughing cruelly and the moment she felt the pressure upon her back lessen slightly, she thrush her free arm up into the boy's crotch. She felt his body double over from the crippling blow, and then she rolled over spluttering and coughing.

The boy named Milo came at her again, while she was struggling to stand. Milo was a large rotund teenager, with a wonky smile and a pockmarked face. He also had several big red blisters, which had been caused by radiation poisoning upon his forehead and neck.

Milo lunged at Lara, but she quickly managed to use her tiny frame to twist out of his way and just as he passed her, she kicked the back of his leg. The kick sent him plummeting downwards into the puddle, where Lara had just been. Then she spied the small white and red medicine case in his back pocket. Lara kicked Milo again hard in the rib cage and then stooped to snatch the meds, before his other friend could get involved.

Lara jumped over the fallen boy and trampled barefoot through the slippery mud away from the fight. She felt a rush of air behind her as the third boy made a desperate grab for her, but only ended up overbalancing himself and crashing down on top of Milo. Lara giggled when she saw the pile of dirty boys who were struggling back to their feet, and then she spun and ran away quickly.

Lara ducked and weaved through the maze of hastily built shanti houses, that been erected on the outskirts of New Dawn City. Many of the constructions were unstable and Lara guessed that it would only take one good hard kick to knock them to the ground. This is exactly what she did to a nearby shack to try to discourage the boys from pursuing her. The metal corrugated roof collapsed in on itself and many of the wooden boards spilled out into the alleyway, leaving the bewildered occupant huddled up in the corner.

Between the startled yelps and the crashing that the tumbling building materials were making, Lara found herself giggling again as she scurried away. Lara had been homeless for as long as she could remember. She grew up in the EuroTac capital, dodging from one garbage-strewn alley to another, hiding in the shadows from the internal security officers who policed and conscripted anybody they met.

Lara was loving being in New Dawn City, for now she was free to go anywhere and do anything, within the sight of the half-hearted law bringers. She thought that the holocaust was probably the greatest thing that had ever happened in human history. Of course, she had never received proper schooling, so she did not really have a basis for comparison. Lara thought that she was very grown up for a twelve-year-old, who had never had or even wanted anything in her life, except for the approval of her younger brother Toby.