Everest (2)

The night was nearly ending. Many soldiers were still awake, with more and more waking up from naps. Terry was working with the crates, finishing his daily quota. Gary was just resting in his tent.

"Once this is over, I'll give my boys a nice earned vacation." Gary groaned as he tried to find a comfortable spot on his chair. After a minute or two, he found it.

Then he heard a bell. He groaned in frustration as he got up. He took his equipment and went out.

Walking towards the wall, he saw soldiers also preparing. The 333rd garrison regiment was ordered to guard the walls by the commander. The order was told earlier.

Some soldiers were seen betting.

"How much do you think they'll lose?" One asked.

"Possible it will turn out just like the 300th, or maybe the 217th regiment." Another informed.

"Bet that half will be eliminated!" A soldier chimed in.

"Bet that all will be eliminated." The bets were going crazy. The men were betting on the lives of the 333rd. They were using food as the currency. Since food was scarce in the northern region of the country, food was at a high and since food was used as trade for more materials it won't change for a long time.

Gary just sighed. Knowing what happened back then, he picked that all will be eliminated within one week. Gary continued to go up the wall but was stopped when he heard someone calling him.

"Captain Gary!!" A messenger called upon him, running towards the walls.

"What is it!?" Gary asked, now on top of the wall, and the messenger near the gate.

"Captain Jonn has a message!!" The messenger informed him.

"I'll be down!" Gary said with a hint of distraught. He hurried down the stairs, reaching the messenger in a few seconds. "Information. Now!"

"Due to some skirmishes in the eastern area, the supply has been moved there since there was a problem. And because of that, the supply of trebuchet, scorpion and ballista ammo, and other necessities have been delayed till further notice. I am currently talking to the commander as of now. If the walls ever be taken by the enemy, the gates will open so be prepared." The messenger hurried, reading the letter. Gary only grumbled in anger.

"Can this day get any worse?" Gary asked himself. "Tell him, 'The enemy taking the walls is probable, we need archer support. Only use the trebuchet on the siege engines.'"

The messenger wrote it all down.

"Now go!" Gary ordered. The messenger followed his order and ran as fast as he can. He passed the small sliver of an opening in the second gate, and as he entered, it was sealed shut.

Gary then went up the walls again. On the top, he looked towards his camp.

"205th Garrison Regiment! Come up here!!" he ordered. The members of the 205th sensed the urgency and immediately obliged. Men hastened their preparations. Gary put on his helmet.

Troops then entered the top of the wall like animals. The soldiers of the 205th along with the 333rd and 175th. They were located in the back with the 333rd , the 175th regiment, being archers, at the front.

The enemy launched their offensive, more than at least 50 thousand orcs and trolls, with 10-35 siege towers and more ladders. The battering ram was already ahead of the engines. The enemy archers fired their weapons. Arrows and boulders were hurled onto or over the wall.

"Shields!" Gary shouted bringing his shield up near his face as the cover. The soldiers behind the archers followed his command. From big and round to small and square, the soldiers used their shields as cover. Meanwhile, the archers took cover by the wall and returned fire. Some of the men were hit. Some were injured and some were killed.

"Fire the scorpions!" Gary shouted again. The scorpions on the first wall fired on the enemy and the siege engines. The crew were doing all they can to stop the siege engines.

"Sir the boiling water!" A group of soldiers came with a pot of boiling water ready.

"Near the gate or where the ladders are near!!" He ordered. The group then made their way, but one arrow hit a crewman's knee, making the group stumble. The boiling water was safe.

The siege towers neared the walls, a thirty feet gap was remaining. The trebuchets started to fire. One by one, the siege towers were being destroyed or damaged. The ballistae fired upon the catapults further back from the enemy.

"Pour the waters!" A soldier shouted. The boiling water was then poured onto the battering ram which had reached the gate. The crewmen of the ram were then poured on with the boiling water. The hotness of it boiling their skin. They screamed and wailed. But ultimately, they died.

Archers continued to fire, some dying from arrows. The men manning the scorpions stopped firing, as all of their ammo was used. Same as the trebuchet, stopping due to the lack of ammo.

"Terry! Take this!" The officer of the logistics company ordered him. He was given a crate full of arrows. "The others were injured beyond work capabilities! You're the only one here!"

Terry nodded, he grabbed the crate and ran towards the wall. He ran with all his might. Passing by troops that were injured or dead. Once he reached the stairwell of the walls he stopped. He was sweating profusely. He then remembered what happened last time.

-------------------

Terry was stacking crates as the battle was happening. As he finished, he felt accomplishment. He smiled. That was when the officer of the logistics company came to him.

"Terry! I need you to get these to the archers!" He ordered, giving him a sack full of quivers filled with arrows. He nodded, putting the sack behind his back and ran towards the wall.

He then went up to the stairwell, sweating a lot. As he reached the top, it looked like hell. Men were dead, others hiding and fighting the enemy. Many were injured but kept fighting.

Terry then went towards the archers, one by one he gave them the quivers.

"Thanks…" One archer said, looking at Terry but was immediately shot in the neck as he turned back to the battle.

Terry then continued giving archers some more quivers.

"Look out!" A soldier shouted, pointing at an incoming boulder. Terry couldn't hear it though, busy looking at the quivers in the sack. The boulder was nearing.

"Kid!" Another soldier shouted, running towards Terry. Terry noticed him and turned around, seeing the boulder, his eyes widened.

He ran backwards, stumbling due to it. The soldier who was running towards him stopped.

The boulder hit the wall, some debris was sent flying. Terry and other soldiers covered their faces. One piece hit and destroyed Terry's fingers on the right hand. Terry looked at his right hand, now bleeding. He couldn't scream, only breath rapidly. He shuddered, tears left his eyes. His right fingers were gone, bleeding and flesh coming out.

"Get him out!!" Someone shouted.

"Kid! Get out of here!" Terry heard someone shout. He then got up and ran down, holding his right hand with the left.

------------------------------

Terry may not have noticed it but he was now curled up on the ground, tears flowing out. He felt the shortness of his breathing. His heart was pounding rapidly. He felt dizzy, like time stopped and he was left moving. He wiped his tears. Looking for the crate, he stumbled upon a dead person. He jumped in fear. His heart rate spiked. He crawled away from the corpse.

This happened for a few seconds until he remembered what he was doing. What he said to himself and the captain.

He closed his eyes, and breathed in and out, drowning the distractions. This continued for a few minutes.

When he finished, he stood up and looked for the crate. As he found it, he then went up the stairwell.

"More incoming!" A soldier shouted pointing to another barrage of boulders. The siege towers neared the walls. Some archers aimed at the ones moving the siege towers. Some aimed at the ones using the battering ram. Rocks and debris were also thrown onto the orcs breaking down the gate.

Terry arrived on the walls, giving the archers some ammo. He hurried, going to cover whenever an arrow came near him. Left and right, soldiers were dying. Terry was almost done giving all the quivers when suddenly…

…

THUD*

A siege tower reached the walls. Its gate dropped, orcs upon orcs came out. The soldiers clashed against the orcs. The real battle has begun.

The men clashed against the orcs, and chaos ensued. Terry went to the other stairwell but was stopped because another siege tower made it through. The same thing happened.

Terry tried to escape somewhere else. An orc then tackled him, both of them crashing on the floor. The orc prepared to stab him in the chest. Terry tried to escape his clutches. The orc then attempted to stab him but was stopped as a mace hit his head, making him unconscious.

"Looks like you needed help there." Gary spoke to Terry. He offered Terry a hand. Terry accepted, he then got up with it.

"…"

"Go, I'll cover you." Gary said, readying into a defensive stance. Terry then ran towards another stairwell.

Gary faced an orc, the orc struck first, making Gary dodge to the left and headbutt the orc. The orc was now dizzy, Gary took the initiative and swung his mace at the orc's face. Sending him flying and bleeding. Using the momentum of the strike, he then hit an unsuspecting orc in the back.

Facing another orc, he parried and blocked the attacks one by one. Attacking with the tip of his mace on the enemy's stomach once they had his guard down. The orc, now hurt, tried to attack but was met with a mace to the left side of his face.

Gary ducked, seeing a sword being swung by an orc at him. As the orc prepared to swing again, Gary tackled him, dropping his mace. Gary then punched the orc countless times with no mercy, stopping when the orc spewed blood out of his mouth. Gary then got up, taking his mace.

More and more orcs came through the siege towers. Overwhelming the soldiers. Fire arrows started to come from the second wall. Both sides were fighting fiercely. Gary then ordered more regiments onto the walls.

From using weapons to using hands, the soldiers fought for their lives. Many have already fallen. Archers that were still alive tried to stall the battering ram by killing the new crew. But it was inevitable as the battering ram started hitting the gate. Little by little, the gate was being worn down from the force of the ram. Soldiers that were ordered to stop whatever came through the gate readied themselves. Forming a defensive shield wall with archers on the back.

BAM*

The gate was hit by the battering ram.

BAM*

It started to move a little.

BAM*

Some cracks were seen*

BAM*

The gate broke open. Orcs and trolls then proceeded to enter the fortress. Arrows flew as the enemy poured in. The enemy was met with spears and arrows, some dying to it.

The two sides clashed at the gates. The spear wall held as the archers fired upon the enemy.

Meanwhile, on the walls, things were getting worse. The overwhelming orcs proceeded to annihilate them with their numbers.

"Retreat down below!" Gary shouted, ordering the soldiers on the walls to retreat down. He then grabbed an orc's hand with his right and headbutted him. He then throws him off the edge of the wall. The orc, screamed as he fell down. He then grabbed his mace.

Gary then tried to go down the wall as well but was greeted with several orcs.

He then readied himself in a fighting position. As the first orc lept to strike Gary with his sword, Gary blocked it with his shield. He then pushed the orc to the right, off of the ledge. Another orc tried to strike him with an axe at his left side but Gary parried it with his mace. Pushing the axe to the ground, he then proceeded to bash the orc in the head with his shield. Gary then proceeded to charge through the other orcs. Making them stumble and fall. As he reached the stairwell to the ground floor, he saw that the second gate was opened wide. He then went down.

Seeing that the situation was now looking bleak, he shouted.

"EVERYONE RETREAT! TO THE SECOND LAYER!"

The ones who were waiting quickly retreated into the gate. The ones who were holding the line were slowly walking backwards. Terry was helping some of the men get inside the gate.

As the retreat was happening, orc archers were now running on the walls.

Gary was fighting off orcs as he was retreating into the second layer. That was when he heard the gate being closed.

"EVERYONE RETREAT QUICKLY!!" He shouted. The ones fighting the enemy now quickly chickened and ran towards the gate. Gary was nearing the gate but was interrupted as he was tackled by an orc. The orc readied to attack but was shot in the side by an archer. More orcs then came near them. Gary moved the corpse away from him and stood up. He saw that there were still a lot more soldiers who haven't made it inside yet.

He grabbed a spear with his left hand. He then yelled a warcry, alerting more orcs. He threw the spear at an incoming one. Making the orc fall to the ground. He then bashed an unsuspecting orc with his mace. He swung his mace at another orc, killing him with the impact. He bashed another with his shield and swung his mace to the chest of the orc, blood splattering all over. He blocked an incoming arrow with his shield, he then used the shield to block an incoming attack from an orc. He swung his mace, trying to hit the orc's arm but the orc dodged. Hearing some footsteps behind him. Gary spun around, hitting the orc with his mace.

Gary was on a rampage. But the number of orcs kept getting larger by the second. An orc archer from the 1st wall, aimed his bow at Gary. Preparing to fire, he sighed a breath of determination. The orc then fired the bow. The arrow whizzed, passing by orcs, trolls and humans. Nearing Gary, whose back was turned from the wall.

The arrow hit the chest, blood spewing. Blood exited the wound. Gary looked behind him seeing Terry, bleeding, shot in the chest by an arrow. Gary was not shot, instead, Terry was.

"Terry!" Gary screamed in anger and shock.

"Sir!" A group of soldiers came, holding back some orcs. "Go!"

"No! you go! I'll stall them!" Gary insisted.

"No, you go Sir!" It was not one of the soldiers from the group who said that. It was Terry, shouting gravelly. He was on his knees. "Your duty is to lead your men. Do that…don't die."

Gary hesitated, he then nodded, tearing up.

"Let's go!" Gary told the group. They then retreated, the archers helping their retreat.

Terry genuinely smiled one last time. Grasping the arrow which poked a little in front of his chest. He then dropped to the ground.

*BA DUM*

Blood flowed out of the wound. Orcs passed him by.

*BA DUM*

Blood escaped Terry's mouth. His vision was blurring. He was dizzy again. He then lost consciousness.

*...…*

Terry's heart stopped beating. Bloodstained his clothes, some escaped and formed a pool of blood.

Gary and the group successfully entered the second layer. Gary looked back to the first layer, the bodies of the dead seen everywhere, as the gate was finally sealed shut.