Chapter 2: Amber Village

Leaves swirl as the wind blew them through the air. Ferral, Nia, and the rest of the army trekked through the jungle until stopping in front of a creek with a large waterfall. Ferral turned to the other experiments, “All of you go in first,” He said, “The two of us will keep watch.” Nia and he stood at the sides of the waterfall, each of the experiments jogging into it. But instead of getting splashed by the water, they only fazed through it. It was fake, only a hologram. Once through, a large city-sized village surrounded by trees with pink and purple flowers was revealed.

Buildings of various sizes made of stone scattered around the area. High inside some of the trees were wooden homes with bridges that connected to each structure. There were shops, schools, and hospitals that were on both the top and bottom of the village. It was bustling with people going about their lives. In the very center was a building larger than all the others. A three-story mansion made of bricks and stone, with a large bell on the top of the front of it.

As the soldiers continued to enter, some were greeted by loved ones. Family, wives, husbands, children, and friends. Once the last of them had gone through, Nia had started following them, but Ferral continued staring into the forest. “Everything’s fine.” She told him, “Now, c’mon, the children should be getting out of school soon.” He stared for a minute more before turning and joining his wife, and the two walked through together. When they did, the citizens who were at the entrance ran over to them. Ferral and Nia smiled at the small crowd. “Cheif! It’s so good to see you again!” Someone said as the two walked past them. “We’re so happy you all returned, Chief!” Another shouted. Everyone gave praise and welcome to the couple, a little girl coming up from behind Nia, and pulled on her arm. She turned and looked down to see that the little girl had a flower in her hand. She knelt and took it, “It’s very beautiful, thank you.” The girl’s face lit up with joy, and she ran back to her parents. Nia giggled as she got back up, catching up with Ferral.

A tall, lanky man came pushing through the crowd. “CHIEF! CHIEFTESS!” He called out. Getting frustrated, he spread out his wings, pushing some of the people, and jumped into the air, flapping them slightly before landing in front of them. “Cheif. Chieftess.” He bowed. “Reginald, what’re you doing here?” Ferral asked. Reginald was a secretary bird experiment. He had pale skin, long, thin legs, large white and black wings for hands, and his black hair slicked back. He wore a white dress coat and orange glasses. “First off, let me say thank goodness you both made it back safe.” He responded, “And second, I’m here because you two are needed for a council meeting.” “A meeting?” Nia asked, “Did the council say for what?” “Yes, they wanted to discuss the recent attack attempts on each village.” Nia nodded, “Very well, I’ll be there soon.” “I’m coming too.” Ferral added, but Nia stopped him. “You remember what you said?” She raised an eyebrow, “You promised them.” “But this sounds extremely important.” Reginald nodded, “Indeed! They said you two MUST be present.” Nia whipped her head around and gave Reginald an angry look. He stepped back and lowered his head, “Apologies.”

She turned back to Ferral, “I can handle things myself, you just go.” “I know, but…” Before he could say anything, Nia punched his stomach. “Nothing should ever come before our children,” She scolded him, “You’ve been getting too caught up in your duties, and have been ignoring them. Don’t worry about this, that’s why I’m here.” Ferral groaned a little, “Alright, you win.” He looked up at her and chuckled. She sighed, “Honestly, you spend too much time giving attention to others that you forget about those who come FIRST.” He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. “Yeah, it’s a bad habit of mine.” “Hmph, a terrible habit more like it.” The two split off, Nia going with Reginald and Ferral heading over to Amber Village Elementary School. As Ferral walked through the village, the people would greet him, some even handing him a little gift or snack.

He had been the main founder of this village. From the location, architecture, the modified trees that would never grow in this continent, and even the cloaking system around the entire area. Ferral had help, of course, but every design and idea mostly came from him. Even the name for the village was from him, though he had second thoughts on it. But Nia liked it, so the name stayed. He had been the village chief for the last five years, keeping everyone safe and to live peacefully. Five years had also been the length of how long he and Nia had been married. However, this village was not the only one. Almost every continent besides Europe and Antarctica had been taken over by the experiments. Europe was the only place that held the last remaining humans. After the massive genocide of sixty-six percent of the human race, the remaining thirty-four percent went into hiding, trying to fight back.

Seven years and they’ve barely made a scratch.