Skye laughed to himself. A skinny kid from the Dome, only good at pushing a wheel, given the power of roots or some stupid shit. What a weird, beautiful, amazing time he had. Tears started to build in his eyes, running to the side of his face as he looked up at the creature about to claim his life. He didn't want it to end, it was getting so good.
The wolf-like creature swung, and with a thud that echoed though the night, froze in place. It began to sway and then fell sideways over the wall like a limp doll, an arrow sticking out from where its ear would be, sticking out the other side.
Elli blinked into the world where it was just standing, ready to end it all for Skye. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up with little force. She looked at his side, knocked and shot another arrow somewhere in the distance and grabbed him to look again.
"It's alright, hardly a scratch."
She playfully slapped his cheek with a few taps.
"Get your shit together, we're winning this."
She stopped to fire two more arrows, then she was gone again. Off to fight another battle on the wall. Skye looked around for the first time, having a moment to identify what was going on. It was bloody, and it was hard to watch, but she was right. They were winning. It wasn't pretty but they were fighting back.
A creature was driven over the wall by two soldiers with spears, another sliced open by a Warden with an axe. Even below, in the fort, the ones that got over were being swarmed by workers with hammers and pickaxes. It wasn't clean, but it was effective.
Skye picked up Thorn and started to walk towards the closest monster on the wall. two warriors were pinning it down as another was stabbing it with the spear, each of them screaming for dear life as they did. Skye picked up the pace and raised Thorn above his head, bringing the full weight of the pick side down. There was enough force that it ended up going all the way through and erupting from the other side.
The soldier that was stabbing it look back at Skye:
"Hey, trade me, this one sucks."
As he reached out his spear in exchange for Thorn. Skye had to laugh, even in the middle of all of this, they had the chance to crack jokes still.
"Find me when this is all over, I'll make you one of your own."
Skye grabbed the monster by the scruff of its back and picked it up, and with much effort, brought it above his head, then threw it over the edge with a grunt and some panting.
Fuck I hope that looked cool, I almost wasn't able to lift that.
He gave a thumbs up to the soldiers and continued down the cat walk. He heard from behind them yell as another appeared on the wall. It was going to be a long night for everyone.
The formation was chaotic and there was no reason to stay in one spot anymore. Soldiers were fighting up here, down there, and now outside the walls too. Claire and the Wardens were pushing out to grab the wounded who were dragged to the other side. If there were any.
Skye was able to find a new found clarity now that so many people were getting hurt, like he was holding his breath for something bad to happen and it finally did. Now he didn't have to worry about it happening, he could just push forward.
The thought of losing anyone was such a weight that he didn't realise how light he would feel now that the worst case scenario happened.
Who would have thought that people dying would bring me relief.
He thought as the tears kept rolling down his face, thoughts of the moments he shared with the warriors, the workers, the Branded flashed in front of his eyes. They mixed with the blood from his head and painted streaks down his face.
Such sorrow was bound to happen in a world they weren't built to survive in.
He swung Thorn over the edge, catching the head of a beast with the pick side Thorn right as it rose above the wall, slamming it back down from where it came. Another was charging straight at him, until its whole head exploded from the force of getting hit directly with an energy ball from a Flower Boy to its side.
Skye just kept walking with a lightness in his steps. Thinking about everyone who he would never see again. He felt their bodies laying on the ground. He felt the vibration of the creatures biting into them and dragging them back to the forest.
He stabbed and chopped his way down the cat walk until he noticed just how tired his arms were, shaking as they held onto Thorn. Looking back he could see the line of creatures' corpses that he left behind. He didn't know how much time had passed, he just kept moving forward. Their blood dripping from the cat walk into the ground, he could feel it hit the back of his throat.
He had entered a flow state of sorts, where all he had to do was walk forward and swing. He could tell where everything was, how they moved, when they would leap off the ground and where they would appear. All he could do was move and think about this great loss of life, and how he was happy it finally happened. They would all mourn together and the burden of worrying about it wouldn't lay on his shoulders alone.
Sounds of yelling and blasts came from underneath the wall on the outside, drawing his attention. There he could see Claire and her Wardens moving in a tight formation and advanced towards a fallen soldier.
He must have been dragged off the wall and managed to kill the creature on the way down seeing how it laid dead on top of him.
Claire and her Wardens fought like a single unit. When one would block, another would slash from the side. If one of them got hurt, the person next to them would pick up the slack. Whatever was going on with the Branded, as annoying as it was, was working. They were fitting into the roles perfectly.
He could see Claire standing at the tip of the formation, swinging her giant sword with ease and absorbing the blows that would otherwise be fatal from landing on her Wardens. He had no idea how she kept such a clear vision of the battlefield, but she was managing, like a hivemind of warriors. Skye was about to look away and focus on the task at hand, but he was glad he didn't.
Because in that instant, Claire stabbed her sword into the body of a charging monster and pinned it to the ground. It laid there still alive and moving, trying to claw its way to her but only cutting itself in half slowly.
She raised her arm and Skye could have sworn he saw the air around it start to spin around her wrist like a vortex.
Then out they came, blasts so strong and rapid they tore through the air with pops of sound. Each blow landed like a machine gun at the charging creatures, far too fast for them to dodge. She was a walking turret and she was mowing down her enemies.
During her time in Tombstone she realised just how much more force her body could handle before breaking and how to store it more effectively. Before she felt the uncomfortable nature of the energy in her body and let it out as soon as she could, but when she had no choice but to hold onto it, it changed how she perceived it all.
Skye stayed with his jaw slightly hanging, admiring what she just did and feeling a ping of fear. He knew that she would never try to hurt him, but if she did, what could he do to stop her? That would tear right through the Chestnut Warriors like paper and travelled ten times faster than the Flower Boys blasts. It was a move of pure destruction.
The world came back into view and Skye remembered where he was, unable to stay so focused on her any longer. The back of his neck tingled and he knew he was about to be struck, something was coming to the wall fast and would soon jump up.
Skye mustered his strength and gripped Thorn, ready to swing the axe side first at whatever made its way over the wall.
He felt the pressure of its feet on the ground and figured it may be two moving close together by the amount of vibration. He readied himself, and swung.
The next thing he saw was the bright night sky and felt the air passing around him quickly. Whatever had jumped over the wall was now blocking out the moonlight and flying over him.
His body connected to the ground with a crack to his head, landing on something hard. The whole world flashed white then started to spin. Everything went quiet, only shattered by the howl of the creature that pushed him over the edge of the cat walk.
Skye turned his head to the side, feeling the wetness of blood on the back of it as he moved. He looked at the centre of the camp where this giant creature stood, easily double the size of every other monster they have been fighting until now.
It raised its head to the sky and all the others followed suit. Their howls joined together and washed over the battlefield.
Skye couldn't think anymore. It was time for him to shut his eyes.