A Song At the Walls

Hours passed in desperate struggle, and day turned into night. Finally, Mateus and the rickshaw made it off that deadly road, to approach the melee at the walls.

Covered in wounds, blood, puss and gore, the Roobit staggered to the supply drop point. His ears were torn, and one tiger paw had almost been bitten off. Mateus wasn't in much better condition - a deep cut across his face nearly blinded his left eye. His hand was cramping around the combat knife that he still clutched in exhaustion. There was almost no scrap of fabric or piece of skin that wasn't marked by combat.

Still, he forced himself up to unload the supplies, and passed them to the combat personnel on the wall supply point that were equally haggard. No sooner was the rickshaw empty, than the Roobit desperately returned to his companion tattoo, and fell into a deep coma. Too much expenditure of energy and exertion after forced growth made it unclear if the beast would ever wake up again.

Mateus found a small, out of the way nook on the inner edge of the wall, where only a few mutant beasts passed now and then, and collapsed. He tugged out another combat ration and slowly chewed it, feeling tired beyond words, at the edge of tears.

High above, at the main battlefield, beasts and people screamed in pain and despair, while the roar and chittering of the mutant beasts filled the air like the deafening rush of an avalanche. The outer walls of Florinad city shuddered under the pounding of waves of flesh, and blood thickly covered the ground like a retreating tide.

As the environment deteriorated further into a swamp, some small creatures began to drown in thick mud, bringing a small relief to the defenders - but it wouldn't last.

One by one, then by a few a time, then by dozens - the defenders started to die. The outermost wall was broken open, and the largest mutant beasts strode into the walls despite all opposition.

All hope was lost, and the survivors retreated inwards, filling the gaps in the lines as best they could, but knowing it could never be enough.

Mateus looked upwards at the deep darkness above, and couldn't decide if the sky was dyed dark by despair or night. The stars glowed brightly like mocking eyes, watching the joke of human's struggle against inevitability.

"Mateus…" called a voice from within the tattoo on his wrist, and Mateus quickly put his attention inside.

The pretty bird was sitting on her tree, shivering in fear, but her eyes were firm with resolve.

"Mateus, climb up the wall and let me out. I want to sing." She spoke softly, with a fearful quaver, but he could feel her bravery.

In a flash of inspiration, Mateus remembered her ability - Peace Song.

This ability is not as simple as humming a tune, or singing a crowd pleasing song - Peace Song is the ability to bring a wish into reality through song.

This ability is notoriously difficult to use. Firstly, most Beasts don't have large wishes beyond their basic desires. Next, the song is only effective in the range it can be heard. And last - using the ability burns up the life of the singer.

Gazing into the pretty bird's eyes, Mateus could see her resolve. It broke his heart into small glass shards - the Roobit is trapped on the edge of life, and now the pretty bird is willing to die.

Around the nook where Mateus hid, the world descended into madness, pain and death. And he finished his ration, gulped down all his water, and chewed through all the rest of his food as quickly as possible, trying to recover all the essence he could.

Then, Mateus left that fragile safety he had found, and started climbing up the wall. He didn't follow the flow of the stairs, and instead used the scars on the wall itself for purchase to climb higher.

His shoes broke at the toes, his fingers were scratched and worn, but Mateus didn't stop climbing. When he was too exhausted to go further, and in danger of falling off the wall entirely, the Alpha was brought out of the Tattoo.

Mateus clung to the Alpha's strong body, and the pair continued climbing for felt like hours.

Finally, they made it to the top of the wall, and Mateus collapsed, too tired to even stand. He put the Alpha back into the Tattoo, and sat there, defenceless, at the peak of the wall, watching the Mutant Beasts flow past him into the city like a deadly tide.

Mateus raised his hand, trembling with exhaustion, and the pretty bird perched on his danger gracefully. With a firm gaze, Mateus started channeling all his essence into her, until her feathers started glowing, and simply breathing became a challenge for him.

"Mateus, I'm going to sing. My wish is-"

"Don't tell me. People always say; never share your wish before it comes true. I know you have a beautiful wish, and I know it will come true. Don't worry about anything else - just sing." Mateus spoke softly, fighting to keep his eyes open.

As he watched, the pretty bird took flight - with each wing beat she glowed brighter, and flew higher.

He watched as she became a blazing blue and red light in the sky far above, and as her voice rang out gloriously, Mateus fell into a coma and knew no more.

As the pretty bird sang in the sky, all the world fell silent, and the combatants became still. Everything, from the sky, to the earth below, became enthralled in this song - in a single unselfish wish.

Tears condensed in the eyes of man, beast and monster alike, but no sound was heard - they couldn't stand the thought of changing the heart breaking beauty of this song.

Power condensed around the pretty bird in the sky, becoming glittering snowflakes and blood red flower petals. They drifted through the sky, glowing marvellously with hope, carrying the pretty bird's wish into the world.

The wing picked up, and carried this wish far and wide until it coated Florinad city and all the land around.

Her song finished, her wish complete, the pretty bird's glow faded away. Her wings faltered, her eyes grew dim, and she fell from the sky in darkness, watched only by the uncaring stars.