The Last Day

Part III

        "Keep Firing! We're pushing the black-souled monsters back!" Aaron ordered and encouraged the men gathered on Hope's wall. Always one to lead by example, Aaron smoothly pulled his bowstring to a stubble layered cheek where he held the powerful weapon for a brief second. Green eyes narrowed as the ex-marine carefully choose a target. Thick finger's snapped open and the longbow sprang forward, the yard long projectile rocketing out across the barren ground to punch through a towering demon's scaly chest. The winged monster staggered to its left and then tumbled onto its horned, twisted bovine face, reptilian eyes blinked once in surprise before glazing over in death. 

            From his place above the gate Steve couldn't deny Aaron's words. By the score the soulless and demons alike were falling to the steel tipped arrows of the Shepherds. Wave after wave of death rained down on the Dark Army, bodies piled higher and higher, but still Satan commanded his forces forward heedless of the loss of life around him. For over two hours now the defenders had kept a constant stream of arrows flying towards their enemies and every passing minute Steve expected to hear that they had exhausted their supply of the projectiles. With the drawbridge up and a several hundred foot drop surrounding Hope's walls, Lucifer's forces were at a loss on how achieve their master's wishes. 

            "By the grace of God, we might just survive this," muttered Steve, then the pastor turned to share a smile with Claude and that's when Lucifer's patience ran out.

            "ENOUGH!" the fallen angel bellowed, black shrouded arms thrown wide to hush the commotion around him. 

            Slowly and deliberately Lucifer floated to the edge of the moat, raising his arms above his ebon shrouded head, the Prince of Lies smiled wickedly at the defenders before snapping them down in front of him. Twin reports echoed through the gatehouse that housed the mechanism and the two chains that raised and lowered the drawbridge. With the whistle of a descending headsman's axe, the twenty-ton, timber-built bridge crashed down with enough force to dislodge half of its planks and to bury itself a foot into the earth.

             The Soulless and creatures only recognizable in nightmares rushed towards the breach howling in delight and eager to get to the Christians who had frustrated them moments before. But the archers held on to their will and focus, keeping up their deadly deluge of arrows, and once more the charge of the Dark Army stalled out. 

            Lightless wings of a raven pumped lazily as Lucifer floated to within twenty yards of the walls of Hope, angular face reflecting a cold beauty while the eyes of a great ocean predator surveyed the now motionless defenders. With deadly intent, Satan raised his arms once again, perfectly manicured fingertips glowing an unhealthy shade of green inside of each tightly clenched fist. His haunting face showed no emotion as he threw open his hands with each fingertip splayed out impossibly wide. Ten balls of green hellfire shot forwards then split after closing half the distance, then split once more with a quarter of the way left to go. The Shepherd's had no time to react as forty fist sized balls of fel flame tore into their ranks.

            Pastor Steve watched with a sinking feeling as three quarters of Hope's archers fell in writhing torment as the demonic fire consumed them. His only consolation was knowing that those men had been Saved and were now passing into Paradise. Aaron Trigg had miraculously survived the onslaught and was already trying to regroup the remaining Shepherd's into some kind of order, but the demon taskmasters had already started driving the horde towards the fallen bridge. Knowing that whatever Aaron would be able to get organized would not be able to stop the oncoming flow of enemies, Steve had to make a difficult decision-to fight at the gates and let the narrow width of the bridge act as a funnel or fight on the bridge to save the gate as a last stand position.