How did it go, minion?
:arrow: Looks good so far. The only problem is the lack of indents.
Ah, that's okay. I'm sure they can still read it.
:arrow: I sure hope so.... A lot is riding on this story.
I know. I'm working damn hard on it.
:arrow: Can I just paste it now?
Yes. DO IT!
:arrow: Enter twice, and..... ctrl+V!
"Good afternoon, Deccus. I knew I could trust you in coming here."
Deccus stood up. He has been sitting for awhile, so his legs were slightly stiff and he wobbled a little, but maintained his composure. He was addressing the General, after all.
"Yes, sir. I always keep my word. I agreed to be here, and here I am."
"Good. Then I have an assignment for you. I need you to command a small force and take over an enemy outpost on the outskirts of their territory. It's far enough from their headquarters that they probably won't retake it."
"How large is my force, sir?"
"It consists of five soldiers, including you."
"What? That's a nothing troop!"
"I assure you, they are very well trained in what they do. They're waiting for you at the Academy, ready to leave when you need. They're all in dorm room five. Go meet them, get to know them, and finish your assignment. One of the soldiers knows how to get to the target. Return here after you're done."
"But..."
"GO!"
Deccus left without a word of objection. When the General tells you to go, you go, no questions asked.
Deccus stepped out of the head building and blinked from the sudden change of light. It's always so dark in there. The General never showed his full face, for fear of spies finding him when he went home. The fresh coat of snow seemed really bright in the noon sun. Regardless of the weather, he headed for the Academy.
Deccus walked through the city of Vahal, a town surrounded by a thick, high wall. There were food stores, weapon shops, suburbs, almost everything you'd expect in a city.
If it weren't completely populated by children.
This didn't surprise Deccus in any way, for he was only a child of twelve years himself. There was no one over fourteen in the town. The wall around the city was composed of only densely packed snow around a wood foundation, since the engineers here didn't know how to mix concrete. It stood over 10 feet high, and a meter thick. Soldiers walked on top of the wall, armed with Snowthrowers. They were basic infantry, only ten years of age. Since Deccus was older, he was a bit more advanced than the standard unit. For one, Deccus had thicker armor. He also had a shield, which clearly marked him as a 'Shield Joe' unit. He wasn't an average Shield Joe, however. He had a much more advanced gun. Instead of holding a small hand-held Snowthrower, he had an S-buster, which enveloped his entire hand and had a com unit built right in. Usually com units were separate walkie-talkies, but not Deccus's. He made the gun himself, as with his outfit. No one had a second glance at Deccus. They were all busy, or they didn't care. Most soldiers made their own outfits, so no one criticized any one else's. Except for the Bunny Boy. Rumor was he was bugged to the brink of insanity, and ran away from Vahal before he graduated from the Academy. Ah, the memories Deccus had at that place...
He arrived at his destination before he realized it. He entered and paused, looking around.
It was exactly as he remembered. From the fountain in the middle of the entry hall, from the four huge stairways leading to different destinations in the massive building.
Deccus took the stairwell that led to the dormitories. The amount of times he took these stairs...
He chuckled. He was only a child, yet he thought like an adult, thinking of past memories in such a way. He felt rather old, as well. A child shouldn't have to feel this way.
He found dorm room five rather quickly, since it used to be his friend Holly's room. Deccus opened the door and entered.
In the room were four people, doing various tasks. Two people were playing cards on the table, one losing badly. Another person, whom Deccus recognized immediately as Holly herself, who was leaning against the wall watching the card game with low interest. The only other person in the room was sitting on the window sill, drawing something on a notepad.
"I never expected you to be the commander of this mission. At least you haven't changed since our school days."
Deccus turned to Holly, who had addressed him. "How haven't I changed?"
Holly was wearing tight armor, red with black trim. Deccus had never seen it before, yet it looked good on her. She didn't have a helmet on, so her pony-tailed brown hair hung down past her shoulders. She had a small backpack on, but Deccus didn't know what was in it.
She walked up to him and hit him on the chest with her knuckle, making his armor rattle. "You're late."
"Sorry if the General took longer than expected."
"That's the same excuse you used when you were late for class."
"Well, it worked then..."
"Hey! Lovebirds! Shut up!"
The soldier that was losing at cards had yelled loudly to stop the bickering. Lovebirds? Deccus thought.
The angry soldier was dressed in black armor, black helmet and black boots. It seemed to reflect his mood perfectly.
The silence was broken by the person on the window sill. "Thank you, Kaeden. That will suffice."
Kaeden grunted and sat down.
"Hello, captain. I don't believe we introduced ourselves properly. I am Kleth." He stuck out his hand. "What's your name?"
Deccus shook Kleth's hand. The hand bore fingerless gloves, made of leather. Kleth wore a light coat and boots, with numerous tools hanging from his belt, and a full looking backpack filled with who knows what. "I'm Deccus, your commander for this mission."
Holly spoke up. "If you can keep your mental stability for more than five minutes, that is."
"Don't read too much into what she says, Kleth." Deccus whispered to his companion.
"I've inferred that from the five minutes that I've known her. You look more than adept at commanding our squad." he replied intelligently.
"Thank you. I don't seem to know the character behind you, though."
Kleth glanced behind him and looked back. "Oh, yes. That's Ted. He's rather quiet, so we don't know him at all well. Kaeden seems to know him good, though."
"That's cuz he's my neighbor." Kaeden replied loudly. "I've known him since before the Academy."
Ted nodded a hello and started packing the cards. He had a navy-blue down filled coat and a toque on, with a face that clearly said he wasn't much a person for talking.
"I won’t pressure him." Deccus looked to the rest of the group. "What are the details to the mission?"
"The fortress we're to surmount is poorly defended." Kleth said and laid his notebook on the table. It was a drawing of a small outpost, drawn in perspective. "If we use a divide and conquer tactic, we can conquer this obstacle with relative ease."
"Divide and conquer? From the looks of it, there are only three fighters in this group!" Deccus exclaimed.
"Maybe. I'm a Systemator, so I do technical support. Receiving messages, sending and intercepting messages, repairing stuff, things like that. Kaeden is an Elite unit, with a bazooka-like Snowthrower, and such making him lethal on the battlefield. You, as a Shield Joe can defend and attack simultaneously, making you very capable of the assault. Holly is a Snow Fox unit, so she can attack rather deftly with her heavily modified Snowthrower."
"What's so modified about it?"
Deccus was then hit with a cloud of snow. He was partially buried in snow from Holly's Snowthrower. He came up sputtering.
"Wha- ph- was that?"
"Instead of packing the snow into one projectile, like Kaeden's, it focuses the snow into a continuous stream, like a real flamethrower." Kleth described the weapon in Holly's arms, consisting of a thin gun connected to a pack on her back.
"Don't we have a mission to do?" Kaeden said loudly.
"Right. We should go." Kleth walked out. Everyone followed.
The first half hour of the trip was spent in silence. Kaeden broke the placid scene by asking when lunch was, but was silenced by a sandwich from Kleth.
It was a two hour hike to the mission target, but only the first quarter was quiet.
“You know what? We should talk, get to know each other better.” Kleth said while hopping to catch up. “Better knowledge of your comrades is proven to lead to better performance on the battlefield, you know.”
He was hushed by a grunt from Kaeden, but Holly came to his rescue. “You know, he’s right. We should talk about each other more. Deccus, tell everyone about yourself.”
Deccus hesitated. “What? Why me?”
“Because, you’re the leader. They always go first.”
“Fine.” He sighed and began to speak.
“I was raised in Alberta, Canada, in a town that you’ve never heard of before. I was fairly average. Good grades, a few friends, things like that. My parents heard about the problem up here, and I was drafted for the Snowcraft force. They thought it would be a good experience for me. I met Holly at the Academy and we became friends, mostly because of spite. After I graduated when I was ten, and I fought on the field for two years, rising in the ranks up to Valiant status, due to my assistance in numerous missions. I was called to meet the General, and here I am. I’ve never seen Holly since graduation, so I was surprised to see her here.
“Now, how about you, Holly?”
She launched into her story immediately, not surprised by Deccus’s haste.
“I was born in a farming community in Colorado. I had eight brothers and no sisters, so it’s not a surprise that I don’t act that feminine. My parents wanted me to meet other girls my age, so they sent me here. I was already strong from farm work, so the training here was nothing. The only one that could compete with me in the physical department was Deccus, so we always competed for first. He beat me in the end, and thus that’s partly why he has Valiant status and I don’t. Not that I’d care, but I’d like to beat him at something. I was told to talk to the General, and I offered to use my old dorm as a meeting room, you all came along, so now I’m hiking with some idiots.”
“Hey! I’m not at all unintelligent!” Kleth stormed.
“I said some, Kleth. Not all of you.”
“Oh. That’s good. Who’s next?”
No one jumped at the offer.
“Fine. I’ll go.” Kleth cleared his throat and spoke.
“I was actually born in the town of Vahal. Believe it or not, my parents were only ten when I was born.”
“WHAT!?” Everyone was completely caught off guard.
“Isn’t it impossible for someone so young to have kids?” Holly seemed genuinely worried.
“Of course not. The youngest couple to have a child were nine years old, so my parents weren’t special. If being raised in this climate doesn’t make a person resistant to cold, I don’t know what does. Of course, I was drafted at the Academy when I was six. I never was good in the physical department, so I compensated by training my mind to the extreme. I graduated with flying colors in the academic courses, but barely passed in anything else. That made me automatically qualified to be a Systemator, so I participated in numerous battles repairing transports while being bombarded by enemy fire. I’ve had to defend myself with my wrench on more than one occasion.”
He patted the said tool strung to his belt. It looked to be a high-quality chrome tool. “I was asked to come on this mission, so I’m here being packboy for you folks.”
Kaeden let out a belch from his just finished sandwich.
“Why don’t you tell us about yourself, Kaeden? I’m sure it’ll be interesting.” Holly asked.
“Sure.” He wiped his mouth and spoke.
“I was born in Billings, Montana. That place had cliffs out to wazoo, so that’s probably why I’m so big now, climbing around all the time. Ted was living next door to me, and he was bugged quite a bit from bullies. I helped him out, and showed him a cave in the cliffs he could hide in. He didn’t always use it, though. He just spent all his time on that computer of his. Ted heard about this place on the internet, and he decided to go. I knew someone had to look out for him, so here we are.”
Kleth nodded slowly. “Yes, I was right. I guess that explanation goes for both you and Ted, so he doesn’t have to say anything if he doesn’t want to.”
Ted looked at Kleth with such a look of thanks that it took him by surprise.
“Ah, come on.” Holly moved up to Ted and put her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure Ted has something to say.”
He shook his head no, but Holly didn’t accept that.
“Don’t you want to say something?” She put her head beside his on his shoulder. He was panicking something fierce, but still shaking his head.
“Please?” She started to massage his shoulders.
Deccus couldn’t take it. “Holly, can I speak to you? Over there?”
She stopped immediately. “Sure.”
Deccus walked off course so they wouldn’t be in earshot with Kleth and the others. Holly followed.
“What’s up?”
“What are you doing!?” Deccus was mad.
She was unperturbed by this. “I said I’d help him around girls, and that’s what I’m doing.”
“Why are you helping him? You hardly know him!”
“C’mon. If I don’t help him, he’s going to spend the rest of his life alone. Look at his face. Picture him in twenty years, all alone, wishing he had spoken up, but never did, so he’s all alone and miserable. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if that happened, knowing I could’ve changed that. If he’s comfortable with me, I can introduce him to some my friends and maybe he’ll get lucky. He’s kinda cute, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Deccus was touched by this speech. He was only thinking of himself, not anyone else. He just got so envious. It could’ve been him she was massaging…
“You know, if we don’t get back they’re gonna think something’s going on.”
Her voice snapped Deccus to attention. “Right. Wouldn’t want that to happen, huh? Ha, ha- ha…”
She looked at him suspiciously, but walked back to the others regardless.
“Sorry, Ted. If you don’t want to tell us, don’t.” Holly told him, rubbing his head.
Ted sighed and smiled, enjoying her hand on his head without fear of having to talk about himself. She continued rubbing him, regardless of not having to persuade him of anything. Even though he knew this didn’t mean anything, it still drove Deccus to the brink. Sensing this, Kleth started conversation again.
“Hey, we should see what our interests are. Maybe we can find some similarities between us.”
“Good idea, Kleth. Only this time, Holly goes first.” Deccus wasted no time in making her go first.
“What do I like? Let’s see. Umm…” Her brow was furrowed from mock thinking. “I’d say… Fighting.”
“Fighting?” Deccus hadn’t expected that, but it fit her. “Why fighting?”
“It gives off a feeling that you can’t really explain. You may have felt it, but not like I have. Knowing that when I get home, I could easily beat them all to the ground. The knowledge that I’m the strongest in my family, let alone a family of boys, just makes me feel great. That’s why I’m training as hard as I am. I want to be the strongest one in the Snowcraft force. I want to be a general. I want to single-handedly defeat the Howlers. Then I can return home proud.”
It convinced everyone else, but Deccus was curious on whether that was her true want.
“Let’s see what Kaeden likes. I’m sure it will be most unexpected.” Kleth waved his arm at his large companion.
“Food! I like food!”
“Or… maybe it’s exactly what you expected. Ted?”
Of course, he said nothing.
“C’mon, kid. Get it over with.” Kaeden persuaded his smaller companion.
He still waved no.
Giving up, Kleth decided it was his turn. “What I really like is electronics. If I had the resources, I could make a digital targeting system for Snowthrowers, dramatically increasing the hit rate for units. I have it all drawn out, I just need to make it. But since there’s no metal here on Vahal, I can’t construct anything like that.”
“Maybe when we get back to the General, maybe we can talk him into importing some metal.” Deccus suggested.
Since there was no metal, the people had to get by on the next strongest thing, wood. The inside of the buildings had a foundation of wood, coated with a layer of snow. The armor that they wore was wood, specially made to fit them. There was plenty of trees on the continent, but since it was always winter, the trees couldn’t grow back, so more had to be imported from other countries.
“I think that covers everyone.” Kleth looked around.
“Except Deccus.” Holly pointed out.
Drat. She remembered. Deccus thought to himself.
“Well… Where to start…” He stalled. He had to make something up, since his real passion was not something he was willing to share. “What I really like is cooking. I love to bake bread, grill steaks and make cookies. I originally applied to be a cook, but my physical attributes made me a top-notch soldier. I’d rather be a cook than a fighter, any day.”
A silence followed this speech.
“Cooking?” Kaeden was in disbelief.
“You want to be a cook?” Kleth could hardly believe it.
"Well, you did work at the cafeteria back at the Academy." Holly wasn't completely sure that this was what he liked. She looked skeptical.
"That I did. Hey, look. It's the fort."
It wasn't at all a big fort. Only two levels, and hardly bigger than a garage. A few soldiers patrolled on top of the wall, but that was all.
"Seems easy enough. At least we're not outnumbered."
"I have a plan. Deccus, you attack the front gate and try to distract them as much as you can. Kaeden, fire at them from a distance, assisting Deccus. Ted will be the medic if the need arises, and I will be here for support functions."
"Sounds good. Let's go!" Deccus yelled and ran towards the fort, firing away with his gun to get their attention. They saw him and countered his attack by launching a barrage of snow at him. He rolled, dodging them with ease. He aimed at one of them, but he was out of ammo. Pulling out his shield, Deccus blocked all attacks while loading his weapon, one handed. He specifically built it to be reloaded in a situation like this.
The roof soldiers had a good strategy. They each fired one blast, then the other one fired, then the next, and so on, so each had a few seconds to reload their weapon.
Finally done reloading, Deccus charged up his gun, adding more snow to the shot. Draining all of his ammo stores into one blast, he drew his shield and fired at them, a super dense blast heading straight for the head of the main shooter. He didn't have a helmet on, so he took the hit and fell out of sight behind the wall.
By now, reinforcements had come to their aid, so five people were firing at Deccus instead of three. Using the shield to its full potential, Deccus could charge his weapon from behind its cover, but it wasn't enough. One of the shooters was lobbing shots, hitting Deccus in the head.
"Hey! Kaeden! Where are you! You're supposed to give me support fire!"
"Sorry!" One of the shooters suddenly fell to the floor. "I'm workin' on it!"
Now they separated to two groups to counter both Deccus's and Kaeden's firing. Kaeden had more power to each hit, but he couldn't charge it, like Deccus could. Plus, he couldn't refill his ammo stores as easily. Deccus made his gun himself, and designed it to be filled one handedly. Kaeden's had more power, so he could fire from greater distances.
The front gate opened a little and three foot soldiers rolled out, while more took to the roof.
Deccus fired a few shots at the foot soldiers, then fired again at the roof, switching between the two. More came out of the gate, and still more on the roof. He couldn't fire fast enough to keep the foot soldiers at bay long enough for Kaeden to knock them down.
His shield has never been tested quite like this. His main job was to distract them, and he was doing it well. All of their forces were focused on him and Kaeden. What was Kleth planning, having him sit here like this?
He didn't have time to think about it, due to the even dozen soldiers marching his way. His shield was large enough to cover his body when crouched down, but no good when they were three feet away.
Deccus turned on his walkie-talkie, which was built right into his gun. "Kaeden! Focus on the ground guys!"
"Sure thing!"
Eventually they came so close that they could fire right above the shield.
"Get off of me!"
With a burst of adrenaline, Deccus ran forward, shield first. They hadn't expected this, and didn't have time to dodge before being knocked to their feet, where Kaeden proceeded to bury them under a layer of snow.
Deccus's speaker came to life. "Nice tactic. They weren't expecting that."
He turned on his mike and replied. "Thanks Kleth, but what are you planning here? I'm getting pounded here, and you're just sitting back and watching me."
"If you need it, ask for Ted to come."
Suddenly a cloud of snow erupted from the top of the fort, completely covering all the soldiers up there.
"Can't you guys do anything right?" Holly called from up above.
"I thought we were supposed to distract them, not finish them off." Deccus called back to her.
"And a fine job you did at that. They didn't even hear me climb the north wall."
"That's good. Now how about opening the door so we can come in?"
"Give me a second." She disappeared from view.
After a minute the front door opened, allowing access for the rest of the group to come in.
The inside was very well laid out. The second level was only an outrigger of floor a few feet down from the top of the wall. A few people were on the floor, buried from Holly's assault. There were a few rooms on the first floor, but were all very small.
"I'll call HQ to come and pick up these guys." Kleth kicked one unconscious opponent.
"Good idea. I'll see if we can find something we can use."
Deccus went to the dormitory room. The bunks were very close together, and had minimal blankets. Nothing was here except for a few trinkets that the soldiers had.
He stepped back outside and asked Kaeden if he found anything in the armory, but every weapon they had was being used against them. Holly had found nothing in the kitchen either.
"Well, guess we should report back to base. Let's go." Deccus waved his hand towards the door.
"Wait." Holly put her arm up. "Hear that?"
A muffled cry was heard somewhere to their left.
"Sounds like someone's gagged somewhere."
The sound got louder.
"Sounds like it's in the wall."
Deccus tapped a part of it. "Seems pretty solid to me."
"Not there." Holly rapped a section of wall with her knuckle. "Here."
She pushed and prodded, but couldn't find anything. "It sounds kinda hollow."
"Maybe try kicking it."
She kicked the wall. It did sound hollow.
Then the wall shook from a kick on the other side.
"Someone's in there, all right. Kaeden, pull the door down."
Kaeden strolled up to the wall, put his fingers around a loose section and pulled. The snow came loose, revealing a slab of wood separate from the wall.
"Keep pulling!"
With a grunt the wall gave way and led to a very small closet.
With a prisoner.
"What's he doing here?"
"Who'd know better than him? Let him out."
Kaeden helped him stand while Deccus and Holly untied his binds.
Lastly the gag around his mouth was undone.
"Finally. I thought no one would come and rescue me."
He wore minimal armor and had no boots whatsoever. Covering his eyes were a pair of ski goggles, tinted so his eyes weren't visible.
"Who’re you?" Kaeden asked the new arrival gruffly.
"My name is Wedge. I was a sniper for a scout squad, but we were ambushed. All my teammates were taken into separate bases, so we couldn't escape as a team. I was the most dangerous of us, so I was put in the most uncomfortable place possible."
"Maybe we should report back to boss soon, before they find out that this guy's gone." Holly suggested.
"I'd suggest it. I sent a message to HQ and they're waiting for us back at Vahal. If we hurry we can make it back before nightfall."
On the way back Wedge was barraged with questions.
"Where're you from?"
"I'm from Fairbanks, Alaska."
"You've come a long ways."
“Not really, if you think."
"How old are you?"
"Eleven."
"Can you tell us about yourself?"
He cleared his throat. "I was eight when I joined the Snowcraft force. I wasn't the best fighter in my class, but my accuracy with a blaster and my running speed made me ideal for being a sniper class. I fought in the main army for two years before being commissioned for a scout force. We worked for a nearly a full year before we discovered-"
"Hold it."
Everyone stopped.
"What is it Deccus?"
"See that up ahead?"
Everyone looked.
"I don't see anything."
"I can't see much, but I know something's up there."
"It's a Howler army. Roughly forty soldiers, all fighters. If we head that way and hide behind that boulder, we can avoid them." Wedge pointed sideways.
"Good eye."
"I have to have good eyes to be a good sniper. Let's hurry."
Everyone went in the direction Wedge pointed. The army marched past without noticing anything behind the rock, though it came close when Ted was about to sneeze, but Wedge plugged his nose to stop him. After a while, the army's backs receded down a hill and out of sight.
"What's an army like that doing out here?" Kaeden asked. "There's nothing in that direction besides where we were just at."
"That's probably where they were headed." Wedge suggested. "They may be going there to resupply the forces."
"But a tiny place like that? I don't get it. It doesn't even have a strategic location."
"I don't get it either. All I know is that the way they're going is the not the way for us to go."
And so they trudged on. Wedge did a good job of covering their tracks in case they came back.
For an hour they walked, until Vahal was in plain sight.
"Hm. The city seems to have grown since I was last here." Wedge perspected.
"How long has it been since you were captured?"
"About six months ago."
Silence.
"You've been in that hole in the wall for half a year?"
"Yeah. I got pretty stiff, but I made it."
By now they had reached the front gate. Deccus identified himself to the guards on top of the wall, who granted them passage.
They went through the city until they hit the Main office. They walked in and found that the General had been expecting them. The door opened and they all went in.
"Hello again, Deccus. I heard of your victory. Good job." the General said, his face hidden in shadows again.
"Thank you, sir. When we were there, we found this prisoner." Deccus waved his arm at Wedge.
"Yes, Kleth told me of him. You can supply him with weapons if you go to the armory. He will work for you until further notice."
"Yes, sir."
"Now then, your next assignment.
"There is a force of Howler elites going around, taking out our smaller forces. I want you to find them and capture them. They just took over Fort Prodigy, so you may be able to catch them if you move quickly."
“They what!?”
“They recently took Fort Prodigy.”
“But… There was an entire brigade there! What chance do we have against that kind of power?”
“You just took over a fortress that had almost as much defense as Prodigy. Do you have any objections?”
“No, sir…”
“Good. Then go.”
"Yes, sir."
The door behind them opened. They walked out, a sense of foreboding about them. Nevertheless, they bucked up and headed for the armory.
They entered. "Hey, Dagor. We got a new guy and he needs some stuff."
The stout boy turned to Deccus's voice. "Oh, it's you. I've been wanting to talk to you."
"What about?"
"I just built a new type of shield. Since you're the best Shield Joe out there, I want you to try it out." He brought out a huge, four foot high shield from behind the counter. It had an angular nature, obviously meant to deflect projectiles better than a flat shield, like Deccus’s.
"Tempting, but no thanks. My shield is fine."
"That tiny thing? That can't cover any of you."
"It's light, so I can move it quickly. Plus, it can cover all of me when I crouch. Maybe let Kleth use it. He could use some protection while he's working."
"Oh, no thank you. It looks much too heavy for me to use effectively."
"But we aren't here for the shield." Holly spoke up. "We're here to equip our newest member with some sniper equipment."
"Right. What are you, a medium?"
Wedge nodded.
"Give me a sec." Dagor stepped to the back of the shop, where more weapons were kept. He returned with a thin armored coat, some gloves, sniper style boots and a long, thin, rifle like snowthrower.
"Got a whole sniper outfit here for ya."
"Thanks." Wedge picked up his equipment and put them on.
"I'll pay for this. Here." Deccus handed Dagor a few thin pieces of cloth.
The Snowcraft Force used cloth instead of paper for currency since it lasted longer and held its color better than paper did. Plus it was harder to make counterfeits out of fabric, and cloth was better in extreme cold than paper. The currency you earned depended on what rank you were. Money that Privates earned was worth less than what Deccus earned, since he was a Valiant class.
Dagor's eye's widened slightly. "That should more than cover the cost."
"Keep the change."
He grabbed it without hesitation.
"Let's go, troop." Deccus thumbed the door
Everyone stepped out of the armory, out onto the street and out of Vahal, then out of the gate and into the field once again.
"Which way, Kleth?"
He pointed to a direction to the east. "That way."
And so they marched.
"How many are in this Howler force?" Holly asked.
"About six." Kleth replied. "They're better equipped than us, more experienced and can work together as an army with expert ease."
"We're the same as them, only with more people. This'll be easy."
"But they're better equipped and more experienced than us. They are not to be taken lightly. They can take over entire fortresses."
Deccus laughed. "So can we."
"We took over a very small encampment, with minimal opposition. Fort Prodigy was a very well defended base, with plenty of personnel, and it was completely overtaken! We can't afford to underestimate these people..."
"Ok, Kleth. We get the picture. You can shut up now."
Kleth went to the back of the line and was silent the remainder of the trip.
Holly smacked Deccus on the arm. "That was a bit harsh on him. You should go and apologize."
"He's fine. After a good fight he'll be nice and happy again."
"If you say so. Still, you should go."
"I'll do what I damn well feel like."
She shrugged and fell back.
For the next hour they marched in silence. Kleth kept a stiff upper lip towards Deccus, and relayed messages to him through Holly.
"There they are." Wedge told the others and pointed somewhere south of them.
Deccus squinted but he saw them. Six of them, all in matching red armor.
"Let's get a little closer and do a some reconnaissance. Maybe we can find a weakness." Deccus said and crouched behind a boulder.
"It's like what they say." Wedge said and also ducked behind the rock. "'Know thyself and know thy enemy, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles.'"
"I guess it will help to see what they're like." Holly said and crouched too.
Looking down, Deccus saw the enemy.
The first one he saw that stuck out most was a rather portly boy. His armor was very thick, and his weapon was a lethal railgun. His expression clearly said he'd rather be else where.
One other soldier was a small, skinny kid with minimal armor and weapons. He had a small hand snowthrower, but nothing else.
Beside him was a girl about Holly's size. She had long, blonde hair and an expression Deccus didn't want to see again. Her weapons were twin heavy handguns and her armor was reasonably thick, but not enough to seriously hinder movement.
A huge, muscle bound kid was next. His arms were huge, his body was huge, and his guns were huge. Twin cannon blasters, one in each hand, connected to an ammo pack on his back and strapped onto his arms. He looked extremely bored.
The other one was a very strange unit. He was barely three feet tall, and his head was nearly as big as the rest of him. He looked to be like Kleth, a support unit, only he had more weapons.
The leader had a shield, very much like Deccus, only it was bigger. He also had a small hand blaster, like Deccus, only it was bigger as well.
The corpulent boy spoke first. "I'm hungry. When can we eat?"
"When you stop badgering me about it." The leader replied fiercely. "The more times we stop, the slower we go."
"Venra, at this rate we can't continue much further anyways." The midget said. "We've gone ten hours without rest or food. We can't go on like this. We're all getting edgy and irritable."
"Shut it, pipsqueak!" The girl yelled and hit his head with her fist.
The skinny one hurried up to the midget's aid. "You all right, Pix?"
He rubbed his head. "Yeah. I think so."
"If he doesn't start closing his trap, he's gonna get more than a thwack on the head."
"Now you should be nice to Pix. He does a lot of work that otherwise you'd be doing."
"Does it look like I give a damn?"
"You all better start shuttin up, or I'm gonna start shootin!" The twin cannoned soldier said, lifting his guns towards the rest of them, his eye twitching.
"Calm down, Allouette. You're gonna hurt yourself."
"I can't calm down! I haven't shot somethin fer hours! I can't take it anymore!"
He unloaded a few rounds of ammo on the boulder Deccus was behind of, yelling. The power of those blasters reverberated through the whole rock. Deccus could feel it through the rock and his shield on his back.
Allouette panted for a minute afterwards.
The leader spoke first. "Cool it, Allouette. You've killed people with those things. Don't add us to the list."
This hit Deccus to the core. Are they so merciless that they kill people?
"They... They killed the guards of Prodigy?" Holly whimpered.
"Who'd be sick enough to do something like that?" Wedge was disgusted.
"We gotta stop these guys. They're a menace to this island. Kaeden, you take on that big guy with the twin cannons. Holly, pick off who you can. Wedge, help Holly out. Ted and Kleth, do what you always do. I'll go after the leader. Ready? Go!"
Dashing shield first, Deccus slammed into the back of the leaders head, knocking him out cold.
"He got Venra! Get him!" The girl pulled out her guns and fired at Deccus, but the rounds bounced harmlessly off his shield.
"I'll get through that shield o' your's!" Allouette yelled and started to fire.
The first shot sent Deccus flying. He was more worried about the condition of his shield than his own shape, at least until he saw the rock his head was aimed for.
* * *
"Ow..."
Deccus lifted his head. Such pain... He let it fall down. It hurt too much to move. Breathing heavily, he grunted and got up.
"So he is alive."
"I thought he'd died."
"I'm here. Don't worry." Deccus said and started to open his eyes. "You're leader is tougher than he... Looks..."
Pix was staring him in the face.
"He looks all right."
"Lemme finish im off!"
"No, Allouette. Don't kill unnecessary people if we don't have to."
"Can it, shorty!" The girl punted him a few feet. "Let Allouette have his fun."
"Sweet!"
Reacting quickly, Deccus made a mad dash away from the madman's cannon guns. The shot's followed close to his heels, but he managed to avoid them all.
"Stop runnin so fast!"
Suddenly Deccus fell over something. He had stumbled over Pix's unconscious body.
As if in slow motion, Deccus could see the shell of frost headed for his head. He rolled in time, but was followed by another shot. Making a circular dash around them, he frantically searched for his gun and shield in the snow. Where were they? They had to be buried somewhere. If that was the case, then it was hopeless.
A small shot hit his arm. Both of them were firing at him. He saw the other enemies unconscious, faces in the snow. It was just the two of them against him.
Something smashed into Deccus's stomach. It brought him to the ground, and his armor was destroyed.
"Got him!"
Another hit his arm. He didn't hear the projectile hit his arm, but the snap of bone was audible. His thoughts were on his arm, but soon switched to his leg, which were also hit. Then his other arm, then his chest.
"He survived five hits? What is he, a freak?" Allouette paused to reload.
"He's been trained to specialize in defense." Venra was back up. "His armor is better than ours, and his body adapted to taking hits. You just have to hit him in the right spot."
"Righto. One shot to th head, comin up!"
No... Where's Kaeden? Kleth? Ted?
"Don't move now. It'll only make ya hurt longer."
"Where's... My team...?" Deccus could only make out a few words.
"Oh, them. They're over there." Allouette nodded his head to a pile of people. "Good and dead. Yer all alone."
No... Not them...
"You'll be joinin them soon, though. Don't you worry."
"Not... Not them..."
"What, you gonna start cryin now? Take yer beatin like a man!"
"Not Holly!"
Despite all the pain, Deccus managed to get up and dash for Allouette, only to be knocked down again.
"Jus don learn, do ye? Take this!"
A shot to his head.
Hollllyyyy........
* * *
Blackness. Total blackness. Kind of scary. Almost soothing, though.
Wait. There's a light. What's going on? Am I dead? Only one way to find out.
No. Come back here, light. Don't go. Crap. Now I'm all alone, with no where to go. Just blackness.
Great. Another light. It'll just move away, like the last one did. Wait. It's coming for me. Dare I? Nothing else to do. May as well.
Whoa. That's getting bright. Hey, whoever's in charge of lights there, turn them down. Maybe they don't have a dimmer installed, and it's either this or off. Makes sense.
Wait. Now I hear stuff. Sounds familiar, too.
"He's alive!"
"I thought we'd lost him for sure."
Deccus opened his eyes. So bright...
"Deccus! He lives!"
Suddenly something clamped onto his chest.
"Ouch! Holly! Your crushing me!"
She jumped off. "Sorry. I forgot you have broken ribs."
"What isn't broken?"
"Well, for one, your left leg is perfectly intact." A doctor in a white lab coat said. "But that's one of the few. Nearly every other bone is somehow broken or cracked. It's a wonder you're still alive."
"Tell it to me straight, doc. How long do I have?"
"Considering your state, I'd say about a few days ago. But since you're a special case, maybe eighty or more years. If it wasn't for your training in defense, you'd be dead."
"A few days ago? How long was I out for?"
"144 hours. You were progressively dying up until yesterday, when you started to recover. Despite the fact you got hit in the head twice, I'm surprised your conscious now. After a concussion and internal bleeding, I thought you were finished."
"It'd take more than that to kill him." Holly was tearing.
"Yes, but the best thing for him now is rest. Let his body do it's work. You can have a couple more minutes with him, then leave him alone." The doctor turned and walked out, leaving Holly and Deccus alone.
She sat back down. "I never thought you would have made it."
"So why are you crying? Disappointed that I survived?"
"No, you lummox! I'm happy!"
"Oh. So... Where's Kaeden and Kleth? Did they make it?"
"With difficulty, yes. They're not quite as durable as you, but they didn't take as many hits, either. They're on the way to recovery."
"What about you? You look fine."
"I pretended to get hit and feigned death. After they went away I radioed a medic team while Ted kept you all warm until they came."
"So that means you heard me get hit?"
"I risked a glance to watch you get the beating of your life. How can you take so many hits?"
"Let's just say I had practice in getting hit."
"What do you mean?"
The doctor came in. "That's enough, Holly. Let Deccus get his rest."
She stood up and leaned in, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and continued out.
This alone helped Deccus recover more than anything.
"And there goes the last cast." The doctor took off the plaster around Deccus's leg.
"Finally I can scratch that itch. It's been bugging me for a week."
With the greatest feeling of satisfaction, Deccus scratched his leg.
"Every time I remove a cast, they itch. It must be horrible to have that itch for weeks and weeks, but you can't reach it. I wouldn't know, since I've never had a cast.
"Say, are Kaeden and Kleth recovered?"
"Yes. Both of them have made a full recovery and are waiting for you to return."
"Am I able to stand now?"
"Yes, but no sudden movements. Your body is still stiff."
Slowly Deccus sat up, tilted so his legs were over the side of the bed, and nimbly put both feet on the floor and stood.
"Feel all right?"
"Hard to move, but otherwise I feel great."
"Excellent. The record has been broken."
Deccus cocked an eyebrow. "What record?
"The record for worst injuries recovered from. You had 57 broken bones, internal bleeding and a concussion, yet they're completely healed. I have to say, I'm impressed."
"I don't blame you. I'm surprised myself."
"Try moving around now. See if you're completely recovered."
Gingerly Deccus lifted one foot. Instantly all his weight was put on one appendage. It wasn't too unbearable, though. He moved his lifted foot forwards, then put it down. He lifted his other one, and did it again.
"Wow." The doctor was mightily impressed. "After only three weeks, you're walking again. Truly amazing."
Deccus continued to walk, over to his boots. He noticed that his armor was repaired and hanging on a coat rack.
He slipped one foot into his boot and tied the string. He did the same tot he other foot, then put on his newly refurbished armor, Then his shield and the rest of his uniform.
It felt wonderful to be wearing them again. All decked out for battle and everything.
"By the way, Doc. Do you happen to know where Holly might be?"
"I assume at the Academy. That's where the General told them to stay until you returned."
Deccus nodded. "Thanks."
"Hold on, there."
"What?"
"You're still in your hospital gown."
He looked around himself. His entire behind was exposed.
"Ah... Heh heh. Where're some clothes?"
The doctor strode over to a closet and opened it, revealing some of Deccus's clothes from his dorm.
"Thanks."
Quickly he dressed and redonned his armor. Instead of carrying his shield on his arm like in battle, be put both arms in the ropes that held it on his arm, so it was carried like a backpack. His blaster he put in his holster.
The sun reflecting off the city walls nearly blinded Deccus. He hadn't been outside for nearly a month, so his eyes weren't used to bright sun.
He stopped squinting when he entered the front doors to the Academy. Thinking of where to go, he headed for dorm room 5.
He knocked a few times. A groan was heard inside. It sounded like Holly's groan. He knocked again.
"Hold on, I'm coming."
The door opened. Yep, it was Holly. She was a mess, though, like her room. She brightened up immediately as soon as she saw who was there, though.
"Deccus! Hi! Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine. You don't look good, though."
"Oh. Sorry. I haven't been able to sleep very well recently."
"How come?"
"Oh, look at me. I'm leaving you in the hallway. Come in, come in. I want to tell you something." She stepped to the side to allow him passage.
"So why haven't you been able to sleep well?"
"Because... I wasn't sure if you were really going to make it. Your wounds should have been fatal, yet you survived. Any sort of outside force could have finished you off with the slightest effort. If you didn't make it, I wouldn't have been able to tell you..."
"What? What is it?"
She swallowed. "I..."
The door opened and Wedge came in.
"Good to see you walking again. Hard to believe after that pounding you got."
"Yeah. Just my luck, I guess." Deccus shrugged.
Just then Kaeden and Kleth came in as well, followed closely by Ted.
"He's back! He walks again!" Kaeden yelled.
“This is quite extraordinary. Statistically, you shouldn’t have survived. Even with your defense training, your wounds were fatal especially since we don’t have licensed doctors on the island.”
Deccus shrugged again. “I try not to think about it.”
Then someone else came in the room. She had a red robe on, and a pretty face. Deccus recognized her as a messenger Nymph. Why they were called that is unknown, but they do their job very good.
“Deccus?” She asked.
He stepped up. “That’s me.”
“Your presence is requested by the General as soon as possible.” Her voice seemed mystical and other-worldly.
“Did he say why?”
“No. He said only to tell you to be there.”
“Ok. Anything else?”
“No. That is all.” She said in a final tone and walked out.
Holly had a peculiar expression. “What was that for?”
“What was what for?”
“Why did she have to talk like she has a throat disease to deliver a simple message? A paper airplane with the message written on it would have worked just as well.”
Deccus shrugged. “Who knows? Let’s go see what he wants.”
He strode out the door with the rest following him.
It was a fairly long walk from the Academy to Headquarters. Vahal wasn’t the biggest of city’s, but the Academy and Headquarters were across town from each other, and was still a considerable distance.
The secretary waved them into the General’s room when they arrived.
As always it was very dark. His hands were visible, but nothing else of the General could be seen.
“You came post-haste. I like that.”
Deccus nodded. “Yes, sir. I came as soon as I heard.”
“Excellent. Now, I called you here to assign another mission.”
Deccus gulped. He hoped it wasn’t another difficult one.
“Don’t worry. It’s not quite as impossible as the last one. Given all of your previous history, this one should be just right.” He cleared his throat. “The sub-city of Arcania is under siege from a heavy Howler attack. They could withstand the assault, but it would be with difficulty. Your assignment will be to attack the Howlers from the other side. At the same time, you’ll give a signal for the Arcanian forces to go all-out, thus capturing them in a pincer attack. One of the most important things to do will be to jam all Howler transmissions while you fight, since all personnel in Arcania are needed to fight so none of them can work the radio. This job will depend heavily on Kleth, so a new recruit will be added to your team to give him extra protection. Shed, come on out.”
A rather young boy came out from the shadows.
The most startling aspect of him was the gigantic shield he was carrying. It was taller than him, and rather heavy. It put Deccus’s shield to shame. Despite his young age, he looked like he could carry it rather deftly. It was red in color, as was his armor. It looked to be reasonably thick as well. Despite all this, he looked to be a very bright and optimistic person. He had a small handgun strapped to his belt, but for weaponry that was all.
“Hi! I’m Shed.” He stuck out his hand at Deccus.
He took it and shook. “I’m Deccus. Nice to meet you.”
He blushed slightly. “Wow. The great Deccus shook my hand…”
He wasn’t expecting this. “I didn’t think I was famous at all…”
Shed couldn’t believe it. “What!? How can someone with Valiant status not know he’s famous? How could have the army have pierced Styx Path without your help? And what about when those Howlers were attacking Vahal? You alone volunteered to be launched into the air with a catapult and parachute to the ground behind them to distract them while we gathered our army! Plus, with only minimal forces, you captured a heavily defended Howler fortress! That was only a few weeks ago, but still! It was amazing!”
Quite overwhelmed, Deccus decided to introduce Shed to the rest of the group.
“This is Kaeden, our heavy weapons specialist.”
He grunted and nodded.
“Wow. He looks like he’d be a fierce opponent on the battle field.”
“When he has a full stomach, he can do anything.” Kleth said.
Kaeden put a smug look on his face.
“This is Ted, our medic.”
Shed put out his hand. “How do you do?”
Ted nervously shook his hand and remained silent.
“It’s best not to push him to talk. He won’t do it. One person who can talk, though, is Holly here. Boy, can she talk.”
She thumped Deccus on the arm. “Quiet, you!”
Shed waved his finger. “Hey, I know you. You took my lunch money when I was at the academy still, a couple years ago.”
She was unyielding. “Yeah, so? What’re you gonna do about it?”
“I’m going to ask for it back.”
“Like hell you are!”
Shed shrugged. “I knew it’d be pointless.”
“General! I have a question.” Kleth spoke up.
“What is it?”
“How are we going to get to Arcania in time to help with the siege on foot? It’d take hours to get there.”
“I have that problem solved. Go outside the city and your question will be answered.”
“A-all right.”
“Uh, General, sir?” Deccus started.
“Hm?”
“Will just us seven be enough to make a difference?”
“What, you thought I’d have you go alone? No, no. The Elite Eight will be assisting you.”
An awed silence followed.
“The Elite Eight!?”
“The most powerful single force on this island?”
“Yes. With both them and you combined, you should do enough damage to aid the Arcanian forces.”
“Wow. The Elite Eight…”
“I never dreamed I’d ever be able to work beside them.”
“See, Shed, those are people you should admire, not me. They have the most optimum equipment possible, they have very highly trained units, and enough power to punch a hole into any Howler army.”
“Don’t you people have somewhere to go?”
“Right, sir. We should head out.”
Losing interest in the Elite Eight altogether, Kaeden headed out the door. “I wonder if we got rides! I love riding in carts!”
“Kaeden, we can walk faster than carts.” Holly said and ran out after him, with Kleth and Ted following.
“So what’s your name?” Shed asked.
“I’m Wedge, the sniper. I’ll tell you about me outside.” They both walked out. Deccus followed.
“Oh, and Deccus.”
He stopped and turned. “What?”
“I spent a lot of money to fully heal you. Don’t make that money go to waste.”
He puzzled that for a second. “Yes, sir.”
Again, Deccus’s eyes had trouble adjusting from the darkness inside to the brightness of the city. He couldn’t see the others, so he went to the main gate, where they’d most likely be.
He found them arguing with the guards at the top of the wall, who granted passage in and out of the city.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you out without a master password.”
“But only leaders know that password! We don’t know it!” Kaeden yelled to them.
“Sorry, but no can do. The Howlers are getting very active out there, and I can’t send some random people out there to get captured.”
“Sorry!” Deccus yelled very loudly, right by Holly’s ears, so as to see her jump. “I know the password.”
The guard nodded. “Ok!”
Deccus said the password and they were allowed out.
And granted with something never seen on Vahal before.
“We get to ride Ski-doo’s!? Sweet deal!” Kaeden exclaimed and jumped on a yellow one.
“This will get us there faster for sure.” Holly was trying to hide her excitement, but failing. She jumped on the black one, the biggest smile Deccus had seen from her on her face.
“Yahoo! I love these things!” Shed yelled and jumped on the red one.
Wedge seemed quite disgruntled. “I hate skidoo’s.” He grumbled but got on nonetheless.
There wasn’t one for both Kleth and Ted individually, so they paired up one, while Deccus got on the last remaining vehicle.
He started the motor. It shook and vibrated, brimming with power.
“Let’s go!” He waved towards the direction they were to go and sped off, the rest of them following.
What normally would have been a three hour hike was a quick ten minute ride on skidoo’s.
Deccus could see eight figures on the horizon. Deccus saw the middle person standing, and assumed him to be the leader. Slowly coming to a stop he got off and addressed him.
“Are you the leader of the Elite Eight?”
He looked Deccus up and down once. “Yes. Call me Anton.” His voice was harsh, tuned to years of battle.
Anton was rather tall for his age. He was considerably higher than Deccus, by at least four inches. His armor was a simple white, with shoulder plates that stuck out quite a ways. His boots looked like high-tech ski boots, but more flexible. There were red stripes here and there, but other than that he was all white. His weapons were twin cannons on his back and twin handguns on his belt. His forearm and foreleg plates were widened for increased protection. The rest of his team seemed to be dressed in a similar fashion.
Deccus nodded. “Ok, Anton. What’s the situation here?”
“The Howler forces have surrounded this side of Arcania.” He pointed over the hill. Deccus walked forward and saw.
Siege machines by the dozens had lined up in front of the Arcania wall. Nearly an even hundred infantry were there, some guarding the siege machines and others attacking by either lobbing shots or putting ladders up against the wall and climbing. The machines consisted of towers, catapults and rammers. The towers inched slowly towards the wall; the catapults lobbed huge shots over the wall and rammers moved forwards, carrying infantry inside it and rammed the wall, hoping to break it down.
On the Arcania side, some soldiers were on top of the wall, firing with random weapons. Some were on the ground level, but they were really getting pounded. Sometimes a rope came down and pulled a soldier up, while another came down. They had a couple of turret cannons on the wall, but the most noticeable part of the city was the tower near the middle of the city. It had a cannon that looked nearly as large as the city gate. It must have been broken, since it wasn’t firing anything.
“As you can see this will be a difficult task.” Anton continued. “I’ve formulated a strategy that I think will work well. I just need you to agree to it.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Everyone converged to Anton, and he quickly explained his plan to Deccus and the others.
“All the close range fighters will run forward, doing as much damage as possible. The snipers will stay behind the fighters cover, and pick off whoever they can. Deccus, you go first, since you’re quite a good fighter and you have a shield, along with you, Hadrian. CJ, Kaeden, you cover him.”
Kaeden and CJ nodded. CJ looked to be very similar in style to Kaeden.
“Holly and Meg, you go with me and give me cover fire.”
They both nodded.
“Shed, you try and cover both systemators at once the best you can. This mission depends on them, so the Howlers don’t call for reinforcements.”
“Ok!”
“Systemators, send the signal to Arcania to attack when I signal for us to attack. Ted, Krea, watch for whoever needs medical attention.”
All mentioned nodded.
“Everyone, assume positions!”
All present conformed according to Anton’s orders. Deccus and Hadrian in front, fighters behind them, snipers further behind and systemators at back.
“All ready?” Anton cried.
“Yes, sir!”
“CHARGE!”
Deccus sprang forward shield first, matching Hadrian’s speed. Deccus charged his blaster to full power and fired. The shot was focused as wide as possible, to announce their approach. Quickly Deccus popped open the ammo valve and refilled his gun while running still, then charged again, only more focused this time. Kaeden and CJ were firing as much as possible while still trying to keep up with the Shield Joe’s.
For the first time Deccus saw why Anton was the leader of the Elite Eight. His twin cannons were immensely powerful, and still had a high refire rate. He ran and switched between both guns without taking his eyes off of the Howlers. Sometimes he pulled both handguns out and released a barrage of shells, then switched back to his cannon, all without straying his vision. He himself downed more foes than anyone else.
By now they were closer to the enemy than before, and were in firing range of them.
“Hadrian! Go faster and ram into them!” Deccus yelled.
“Ok!”
Gathering more speed, Deccus hoped to do as much damage as possible while he still had the momentum. The enemy shells bounced harmlessly off Deccus’s shield, not slowing him at all.
“Deccus! What are you doing?” Anton yelled at him.
Deccus ignored him so he wouldn’t lose his concentration.
Seeing what Deccus was intent on, the Howler soldiers were starting to get out of the way.
This is gonna hurt.
Deccus braced himself for impact.
Many hard bodies slammed against his shield, but he kept as much speed as possible. Looking to the side he saw Hadrian doing the same.
Finally stopped, Deccus signaled Hadrian to fall back. They ran back to the others at top speed, hoping not to get attacked on the way.
“What were you thinking?” Anton yelled at them both.
“We did more damage there than a firing range would, and we made it out okay, didn’t we?” Deccus told him.
“You’re right. But, no time to argue. Get back to the front.”
Looking over the massive forces of the Howlers, Deccus could see the rammers starting to break the wall. There wasn’t much to the Arcanian forces, and they were taking a beating.
“Hadrian! We gotta help the Arcanian soldiers! Let’s circle around the Howlers!”
“Ok, but Anton won’t like it.”
“Kaeden, CJ, follow us!”
Splitting apart, they went separate ways around with the other two struggling to catch up to them while still firing. Deccus caught a glimpse of Anton following Deccus.
Eventually they worked their way around and were on the side of the Arcanians, who needed the help badly.
Deccus set his sights on the rammer doing lethal damage to the wall. He ran up and jumped on top of it. He charged his gun, poked it through a window on the side and fired, then jumped in himself. His shield worked very well as a melee weapon, as he found out then.
After he had taken over the rammer, he turned it around and aimed for the Howler forces. He inched it slowly for a catapult in the middle of an infantry swarm. He ran over a few Howlers’, but they’d be fine.
Once next to the catapult, he drew back the huge log inside the machine and rammed it at the catapult, completely obliterating it. He drove for another catapult, but the number of Howler’s inside the machine forced Deccus to retreat out.
Jumping on top of many heads and firing many shots, Deccus made for the others at the Arcanian gate.
An Arcanian soldier addressed Deccus. “Thanks, man! You’re in for a heroes thanks after this!”
That made him happier.
The battle raged for many hours. Deccus was getting quite exhausted. He called for a medic, and one came from the Arcania’s forces. A quick heat pack and swig of hot sugar water rejuvenated Deccus, and was ready to fight again.
With many snipers and fighters on one side, and Anton, Deccus and CJ on the other, the Howler forces were wearing thin.
“Good job, guys! We’re wearing them out!” Anton said.
It was true. Many Howler’s were starting to look for ways to retreat.
Suddenly Deccus’s intercom burst to life. Kleth’s voice was heard, and he sounded excited. “Deccus! The Howler’s are looking for ways to retreat! We don’t have to finish them all off, all we have to do is scare them away! Their morale is already low, all we have to do is throw things that explode at them, and we’ll be set!”
“Great idea, Kleth.” Deccus returned. “Only thing is, where do we get things that explode?”
“I’m sure we can collect enough materials to make a primitive Molotov cocktail.”
“Where from?”
“Inside Arcania. Hey, Raijin. Keep going, ok? I’m going to the other side. Shed, cover me.”
Soon Deccus could see Kleth running around the same path Deccus took, with Shed covering him. With Shed’s huge shield, the trip was rather easy.
“Ok, Kleth. What’s the plan?”
“We need to get into the city, but without opening the gate.”
“Ok.”
On spontaneous logic, Deccus ran into the crowd of Howler’s and snatched a ladder, then ran back.
“Will this do?”
“We need to signify a way to let Arcania know it isn’t a howler scaling the wall.”
Deccus undid his scarf and tied it to the end of the ladder, making a crude flag.
“Looks good. Let’s go.”
Slowly Deccus lifted the ladder and leaned it against the wall. A soldier on the wall was about to push it down, but saw the flag and left it alone. Deccus climbed the ladder as fast as possible, so as to not waste time. Kleth followed.
“Ok. We’re in the city.” Deccus put his scarf back on. “Now what?”
“We find a bar. There’s bound to be enough chemicals to make a Molotov cocktail.”
Deccus asked the soldier where the bar was. He quickly pointed at it and returned to fighting.
Sliding down the steps, Deccus dashed quickly to the tavern.
“Let’s look in the back. He probably keeps his supplies there.”
Many layers of drinks and other materials were lined up on shelves.
“Root beer?”
