Once again the armies of darkness are sweeping across the world and this time there may be no stopping them. Only by standing together can the heroes of civilization hope to prevail, but at this hour of their greatest trial the mightiest of their nu...
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The baby was screaming. Sergeant Gallit picked it up, looking around to see who it belonged to, but there was nothing but chaos and confusion all around him. Villagers were running around like headless chickens, carrying what they could of their possessions and calling out to each other as they got ready to leave their lives behind. The soldiers did what they could to organise the evacuation, but there was little they could do except make sure no-one got hurt and keep an eye out for looters. Emotions were running high as the danger, which they'd been expecting for months now, was finally on the way.
Gallit handed the baby to his new Corporal, Cheston, formerly nicknamed Chestwig, and shouted at a man who was trying to load everything he possessed onto one poor donkey, who was baying a heartfelt protest. "What's the matter with you, you bloody fool?" the Sergeant shouted at him. He grabbed the donkey's load and yanked it onto the ground, ignoring the man's protests. "Essentials only! You may need that animal to carry you or your wife! You do not want to wear it out!"
He strode away to help another man lift his heavily pregnant wife onto the back of a cart, while two more of his men were leading a distressed elderly couple by the arm, trying to console their fears and telling them that it would soon be over and that they'd be able to go home. One of the soldiers was visibly ashamed at the outrageous lie, and had his head turned away so the old woman wouldn't see it.
"How can there still be so many people here?" wondered the Corporal, shaking his head in disbelief. "We issued the invasion warning weeks ago."
"The bloody fools won't really believe it until the Shads actually enter the village and begin butchering them like bloody pigs," growled the Sergeant. "Move out all those who're ready to move. The rest'll have to catch up." Maybe the sight of others beginning the trek to safety would prompt the others to get a move on, he thought. They'd see themselves being left behind, abandoned to their fates while their fellow villagers were safe behind strong city walls, and indeed some were already yelling at their families, screaming that they had to go now! Right now! A woman ran past carrying a gaily painted ceramic pig, followed by a screaming girl, while a father rounded up a group of young boys play fighting each other with wooden swords. Soldiers began leading frightened families out of the town, down the road leading to Fort Battleaxe. Babies crying, the old women looking frightened and bewildered, unable to comprehend what was happening to them in what should have been the peaceful twilight of their years.
