It All Came Falling Down

thirteen

    "Wait a minute; he's not there! I don't even see a light," Hero said, groaning. "I would've guessed he was sleeping, but I can make out the bed in there. He's not on it. You sure this is the right house?"
    "Definitely the right place," I replied.
    "We have to get closer. Or maybe even inside." Hero shook her head in disappointment and stood back up with her rifle lowered. She began heading for the trapdoor on the rooftop. "Let's go!"
    "Hold on!" I told her loudly. She stopped in her tracks. "Do you hear that?" I then asked. There was some kind of roaring noise coming from the distance.
    Hero nodded and pointed west of our position. "Yeah. It sounds like it's coming from that way. Kinda sounds like yelling. I couldn't see anything close by, and if we assume that it really is yelling, there must be a lot of people in order for us to hear it from this area."
    I thought about this for a second. She was right: the sounds increasingly seemed like yelling. What will cause so many people to scream and shout suddenly? "War cry!" I blurted out. "It could be a war cry!"
    "Why would the soldiers do a war cry in the middle of the night in a town with damn near nothing?" As soon as Hero finished her question, an alarm set up by the Esdrusian military in the forum went off, sending a painful and unmistakable tune off into the night. A startling explosion lit up the sky in the distance. Then there was another, followed by the third and fourth. Lights turned on all around us, and the stomping of soldiers from contact between the ground and their boots rang loudly as troops mobilized quickly. Then, there was gunfire- lots of it in the direction of the destruction.
    It was very apparent what was going on. "We're under attack!" I stated the obvious.
    "Likely by Resistance forces!" Hero's eyes lit up. "If that's the case, I couldn't be seen in an Esdrusian uniform."
    "No, no! You cannot take off that uniform, especially not now. If the Resistance really is in offensive, the Army will shoot anyone they perceive as a threat without warning or negotiation. That includes civilians with weapons dressed up like militia," I warned.
    Before anyone could say anything else, a shell fell from the sky and exploded the second it came in contact with a building not far from where we stood. BOOM! Another set off a ringing in our ears. It was a mortar strike, and it was clear to me why it occurred the way it did. The first series of attacks bombarded the main gates of the town, where there were sentries and many soldiers stationed. The second location with the most Esdrusian troops was the forum. The offensive was almost certainly the work of the Resistance.
    "We need to get off the roof! And far away from the forum," I shouted to Hero. Swinging open the trapdoor, we hurried down the ladder and down the stairs to the first floor, where we headed for the door. Explosions shook the ground outside. Dashing out onto the street, I collided with another soldier.
    "Comrade! What is happening?" I asked him.
    "Corporal," he replied after studying the rank on my uniform coat, "I was sent to call our brothers and sisters up front to retreat by Lieutenant Truxin's orders! I am unsure of what occurred! I have heard that it was an overwhelming Resistance invasion!" The lad hurried off once he spoke his last word.
    "Come on! This way!" Hero led the way out of the forum and down a street. I had absolutely no idea where she was taking me, but I knew I needed to regroup with my unit. To my dismay, we ran straight into Lieutenant Truxin and a sergeant.
    "Corporal Wyllis! You're headed the wrong direction!" the lieutenant shouted. "The town has been overrun, and we lost connection to our reinforcements! We are retreating so that we can call in an artillery strike!"
    "Yes, sir!" I answered.
    Truxin, however, turned his attention to Hero. "Who the hell are you? You're not one of us!" He lifted his arm, bringing his pistol in front of her face. Without thinking twice, I knocked the lieutenant off balance with my rifle before collecting myself. Raising my weapon, I put a bullet into the second soldier standing, who reacted just slow enough for me to kill him.
    Finally, I turned my attention back to Lieutenant Truxin, who laid on his back defenseless. He did not connect the straps of his helmet, so his headgear fell off; his head was left completely exposed.
    "Traitor! You damned pig!" he insulted. "You disgrace your Fatherland, your comrades, and your family! Rot in hell, Wyllis! You son of a whore!"
    Holding my rifle steady, I turned briefly to Hero. "Do the honours. Truxin is all yours," I said, allowing her to take my place in aiming her firearm at the lieutenant.
    Hero, tears streaming from her eyes, spoke through gritted teeth and a trembling voice. "For my dear brother, Androleus Kamisteo: I avenge you." She pulled the trigger without hesitation, leaving a hole in the centre of his forehead. She couldn't stop staring at his cold eyes, her arms still holding the rifle aimed at his head; even when lifeless, there was something about his eyes that made him look fierce and pure evil. Maybe it was just the vertical scar that ran through his left eyebrow and eye. Whatever the case was, the bastard was dead.
    A teardrop hit the ground- a beloved sister's mourning of her dead brother. The sister who delivered swift revenge and could not stop staring at the still irises of her sibling's murderer. She knew she had put to death a demon who would've killed more, while avenging the deaths of those he had already put down. Maybe she was admiring her vengeful execution in some sick way, but nevertheless, I had seen enough of those ruthless eyes. Hero, though, seemed as if she was held fixed by a spell.
    "I'm sorry, Hero. I really am." I laid a hand on her shoulder. "But we have to go now. We need to get out of this town soon. Truxin mentioned an artillery strike, which will surely come soon and mercilessly. Let's move!"
    Barely nodding, she took one last, brave look at the dead lieutenant's face before taking the lead again. But just as we ran ahead, a group of combatants emerged and pointed their weapons at us. One of them was focused on me, holding his firearm up and ready to shoot. He pulled the trigger and the weapon discharged with a loud bang.