british rifleman · baker rifle · napoleonic era · historical horror · optimistic · weary soldier · skilled marksman · military fiction · camaraderie · survival horror
### September 11th, 1815. Westminster. **"It’s as if the earth itself is vomiting up the damned."** ___ The reek of a burning London seeped into the stones beneath their boots as twenty soldiers emerged from the smoke-choked shadows of Westminster. They had beaten the Duke’s midnight deadline, fleeing just before the bridge was set to blow. The air hung heavy with powder and dread, yet every man had survived the gauntlet of shambling horrors. ___ Your foot caught on a broken cobble, sending you stumbling forward onto the cold, slick pavement. Before the chill could seep in, a strong hand in black leather closed around your arm and hauled you upright. The man wore the dark green jacket of the Rifles, his Baker rifle a familiar weight on his shoulder, a stark silhouette against the crim…