Shifters: The Overture of Sedition

Part 9 Caleb's POV

A bullet flew past me, barely missing my ear. I reloaded my rifle and shot at the person shooting at me. I hit him in the chest and watched him fall backwards, dead. I grinned, another enemy down. I aimed for another one of the enemies and shot him in the head. Two down, about 100 more to go. This is going to be a long day.

"Sir, there is a weak spot in their defenses. Should we attack?"

I turned to see my second in command, Mathew, standing near me. He was wearing full knights armor like all of my men with the helmet off. In his hands were his sword and shield. His green eyes looked straight into my brown ones and his long, blonde hair was ruffled and blowing in the wind towards the south. He was standing straight at attention as he awaited an order.

"Not yet. Wait for my signal before charging," I ordered.

Mathew nodded. "Yes sir."

I watched him March back to his spot and turned back to the fight. I aimed my gun at another man and shot him in the head. The fighting against Goliath had been going on for years. I had to leave my wife and child to lead the fight. We thought Goliath was dead until about a few years ago when the fighting against his kingdom got worse. But I didn't think of the past now. Now I thought about the present, and about how many of his men I will take out today.

The line of men we were fighting grew smaller and smaller. I waited for the right moment before yelling "Now!"

At that second, my men and I charged forward. We rushed the men in front of us, putting our guns away and going to hand-to-hand combat. I met with a man about the same body type as me and punched him in the face. I dodged a blow to my side and kicked him in the groin. He doubled over and I kneed his head. I then grabbed his head and snapped his neck. I let him fall and looked around for my next victim.

I saw two enemies taking on one of my men and ran to help. I landed on one of them and took out a knife. I sliced his throat, blood pouring out of the wound. I jumped off as the body fell, my knife now dripping blood. I turned to the other man to see that my knight was doing a good job at fighting him. Before I could leave though, someone grabbed me from behind and put me in a choke hold. I stabbed my attacker's hand, causing him to let go and grabbed his other hand. I threw him over me and slammed him into the ground. The knife was still in his hand so I pulled out my sword and stabbed him in the heart. I pulled my sword out of the dead body and looked around at the fighting around me.

Time seemed to slow down as I looked at the fighting around me. My men were slowly taking out the enemy. The fighting at this place was almost done. But the war was far from over. We were on the very edges of the Kingdom of Shadows, Goliath's kingdom. We still had a long ways to go until we reached his castle. And even longer until I killed Goliath and need the war. We had a long way to go but I will do whatever it will take to defeat Goliath, the man responsible for all of the pain and sadness I went through.

Time returned to normal as I watched Goliath's men retreat. A smile spread across my face as I watched them run deeper into their kingdom. I heard cheering erupt from my men as the enemy disappeared from sight. I looked at my men and watched them hug each other and help the injured up. I then turned and, signaling with my sword, started to walk back to camp.

Camp was tents lined up in a flat spot on the land. I ordered my men to take the injured to the medics and the others to go back to their tents. I watched them carry out their orders before starting to walk back to my tent. I still held my sword as I walked, and nodded a greeting to any knight I passed. I reached my tent and walked in, closing the flap behind me.

I sat down on a stool close to the entrance and grabbed a wet cloth from a pail of water. I then used the cloth to wipe away all the blood off of my sword. Once my sword was cleaned, I put it back in its holder and put the holder on the desk next to my cot. I then started the process of taking off my armor, placing it on a stand next to my desk. Once my armor was off, I sat at my desk. I moved my holder aside and took out a piece of paper. I moved my ink bottle to my right and took out a quill. Dipping the quill in ink, I started writing. I was writing a letter to Mathew saying that he was in charge while I was gone. I also told him where I was going.

When I finished the letter, I left it on my desk as I went to my cot. I pulled out a duffel bag from under the cot and placed it on my bed. I unzipped it and opened the chest at the bottom of my cot. I packed a few outfits in there along with food, shoes, and my gun. I looked at my desk where I kept a photo of my wife. I picked it up and looked down at it, smiling. It was our wedding photo. I opened the bag and placed the picture on top. I then zipped it closed and grabbed the letter. The ink was dry so I rolled it up and tied it closed with a ribbon. After that I walked outside into the blackness of night. But the camp was not dark, small fires here and there illuminated the camp.

I walked across camp to Mathew's tent and walked inside. He was in his cot, asleep. I placed the letter on his desk and walked back to my tent. I put my armor back on and tied my sword holder to my waist and put my bag on my back. Taking a look around my tent, I made sure I had everything I needed. I then turned and walked out of my tent. I silently made my way out of camp, walking past the guards. They didn't question me as I left, I told them where I was going last night. I continued walking away from camp, following the route we had taken to get here. As we walked, I practiced what I would say once I got to my destination. Once I got back home.