[b][h3]West Koniginsberg, Northern Manitoba, Gottesland[/h3][/b]

	Laying on the dirt floor of the crawlspace, James awoke. His head pounding, and his body stiff, he raised his head and looked around. Light crept in, from the floorboards above. To his left, he saw a uniformed revolutionary, with a well-trimmed beard and a joyful expression on his face.

	"Welcome back to the land of the living, General", the man chuckled softly. "With how much blood you lost, we were worried."

	James shifted around, and let out a low groan of severe discomfort. "What... what's the situation? Is the enemy still present?"
	
	The man's expression grew grim. "Yes sir, they're patrolling the streets right now, rounding up our boys."

	"Shit", James growled. "What about Victoria? Do they have her?"

	"Sir, we're stuck in this house. We have no way of knowing what the situation is."

	Letting out a grunt, James sank back to the floor. Remembering the attack, he raised one hand to his face feel the damage. His fingers rested on a firm bandage wrap, that encased his left eye. He winced, at the pain the pressure caused. 

	"How many men do we have here?", he wondered.

	"Including you, sir, just three.", the man responded. "Although, I saw some of the others make it indoors. Don't know if any of them have been found."

	"So where's our third man?"

	"Up top", the man answered, giving the floorboards a light tap with is knuckles. "He's in civilian clothes, keeping the place occupied to reduce suspicion. This place is residential, after all."

	"Well done", James commented. "Not much we can do for now, but wait these bastards out. Give it a day. Then, I'd like our civilian friend to go out and locate someone with medical training. I'll need proper treatment, before this gets infected. If our lady has been captured, I can't rescue her if I'm dead."

	"Yes sir", the radical said, calmly.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________


[b][h3]East Koniginsberg, Northern Manitoba, Gottesland[/h3][/b]


	The Gottesland soldiers came marching down the street in orderly lines, with the appearance of a Victorian military parade. Each wore a dim metal helmet, suspiciously resembling a welding mask. It was an intimidating sight to behold.

	Victoria gazed at her approaching adversaries through the gap between the cellar doors. 

	"If only we had armour like that", she murmured to herself, thinking out loud. "Maybe these fascists wouldn't have made it so far."

	The soldiers, slowly and rhythmically, surrounded the city hall and readied their rifles. Once the building was surrounded on all sides, a four-man squadron was sent inside. They slammed through the front doors, and thundered through the building. Every closed door was knocked off its hinges, and every closet and cabinet was ripped apart. Eventually, they made their way to the back of the building, to the mayor's office. Smashing through the door, they were immediately met with gunfire, as Victoria's guards retaliated from the corners of the room. One soldier fell to the ground, dead, but the others quickly stormed in and dispatched the rebels.

	Following the crackle of gunshots, Victoria heard the the three bodies strike the floor. First, the clang of the iron-clad soldier, then the muffled thumps of the two guards. A moment later, the rustling and slamming of the search resumed. The soldiers were determined to find the rebellion's leader. Anticipating a long wait, Victoria recoiled from the cellar's entrance, and began looking around for something edible. 

	However, as she did this, the crash of shattered wood rang behind her, and she suddenly found herself being grabbed from behind by a couple brutish Gottesland soldiers. Restraining her arms, they forcefully dragged her out of the cellar, into the blinding sunlight above. Her vision slowly returning to her, her sharp blue eyes rested upon a soldier sporting a series of medals and stripes. Removing his helmet, the officer unabashedly looked her up and down.

	"And here she is!", he proclaimed, provoking several soldiers to cheer and jeer, victoriously. 

	Victoria responded with an insolent sneer, as her captors lifted her up by the arms, displaying her to the crowd like a trophy. This certainly wasn't a favourable position to be in. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________


[b][h3]Richmond, Metro Vancouver, British Columbia[/h3][/b]
[img]http://thecontrolleronline.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Metro-Last-Light-Gameplay.jpg[/img]

	Clad in baggy, faded radiation suits, two scavengers clamoured through the rubble-filled swamp. Overhead, partially-demolished concrete towers cast ominous shadows over them. The sickly-coloured, cloudy water was up to their knees. Even at night, and through their masks, the two men could see well enough by moonlight.

	"[i]Wie fühlen Sie sich?[/i]", one of the scavengers inquired, in a concerned tone, glancing over his shoulder to his partner.

	"[i]Nicht gut[/i]", the other responded, wearily.

	Onward they trekked, their treasure-laden backpacks rattling with each step.

	This was, by far, Gottesland's furthest scavenging expedition. Legends were whispered among the locals, about the unimaginable wealth of Great Vancouver, hidden deep in the radioactive ruins. The scavengers knew, that if they ever made it back home, they'd be welcomed as heroes. The first scavenger smiled to himself, beneath his plastic mask, at the idea.

	Suddenly, a series of rocks tumbled down from on of the nearby towers. Several stories up, the two men heard frantic scuttling. They weren't alone...

	Strange whispers echoed through the ruins. The scavengers strained their ears, attempting to comprehend it.

	"[i]Dah-jiah-yao, nee-men-gay-woah-men-nee-de... tsaoh![/i]", the distant creatures ranted, in lispy gibberish. 

	Then they saw them, swinging from pieces of rebar, scuttling along the mounds of shattered concrete. Hideously deformed, completely naked, their eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. The whispering grew louder, into a cacophony of aggressive hisses.

	"[i]Woah-hueh-dah-soo-nee-jah-nah-dah-ren![/i]"