The Dark
/The Dark is a prequel story to The Dex Legacy audio drama. Below is a small extract. The complete story can be found in the Learning to be Human anthology by Flame Tree Press. You can find it here.
Ren always liked the dark, and after two weeks fighting in the Domonos Mountains he liked it even more. Outside the sun was scorching the dusty brown landscape into shadowless submission. But here in his cabin, with nothing but the green glow of electrical dials to break the peace, all was cool and calm.
Isra stirred in the bunk next to him. He felt her naked skin on his own and stretched luxuriously. She propped herself up on an elbow and looked at him, her bright blue mechanical irises glinting in the gloom.
“Any injuries I should look at?” she said, running her fingers through his hair. It was still damp from the shower and temporarily dust free, a state that would change as soon as they stepped outside.
“None that I remember, I think I got out clean.”
“Hmmm. I don’t know if I did. Check me?”
She sat up and he ran a white-pale finger down her brown spine. She wriggled and the old scars across her back danced. That morning, they and their brother, Varian, had intercepted an enemy supply train carrying weapons, rations and, as it turned out, three Units of reinforcements up into the mountains. They hadn’t been expecting the reinforcements, or they would have taken backup, but they made it work. The Domonosi Rebels were more dangerous sniping from a distance, but up close Varian, Isra and Ren had every advantage.
“You’ve got a new cut here on your shoulder.” It looked like a clean slice, and with her enhanced clotting cascades it had long-since closed. He reached for the scanner and ran it over the wound. It beeped. Impurity detected.
Isra groaned and swept her damp curtain of black hair over her shoulder. “Open it up.”