Fallen Angel

Night Time

The blackness of the late night sky was penetrated by a mixture of red, orange, and yellow; an apparent sign of a fire nearby. The atmosphere was thick with the pungent, bitter smell of smoke; a thick cloud of it was spreading upward into the air somewhere in the distance. Despite the danger most villagers would immediately sense from the explosion, no one had moved into the streets. In fact, most of Fortis was in the quiet state of tranquility that usually befell the town during a peaceful night.

Leira's metal-tipped boots made a clink sound as she walked through the empty streets, absently kicking loose cobbles and fallen leaves. Her tan army jacket was unbuttoned, revealing the wrinkled white shirt she wore underneath, indicating she had thrown on her uniform in haste. Her favorite sword was in its sturdy scabbard that was strapped to the belt of her pants. Her brunette hair was pulled back, still matted from her restless slumber. Her eyes were tired, and looked around furiously for any sign of danger.

Leira expected enemies to be surging in through a breach in one of the walls, but no such thing was there. All was quiet; even the expected shouts of the men charged to extinguish the fire were inaudible. The general had demanded that Leira take her  section of the regiment out to the suspected wall where the explosion supposedly took place, and guard it. The troop had run ahead, while she lagged behind, still drowsy from her nightmare-infested sleep.

Kyle stood on top of the wall, his rusty red hair extremely distinguishable among the dark hair of most of the other soldiers. His sword was slung over one shoulder in a casual stance. He was speaking to one of the other soldiers, which surprisingly was not Cora. Leira spotted her sitting on the wall, legs dangling over the edge, an absentminded stare in her emerald green eyes. Leira immediately frowned at the sight of her. Kyle's eyes flew to her direction, and he lifted his free hand and waved enthusiastically. Leira nodded in response, placing a hand on the rusted metal ladder leading to the top of the wall. She quickly climbed the ladder and stepped onto the wall.

The view from the top was fantastic; it gave you a perfect panoramic view of the world below. It was about thirteen to fifteen feet tall, enough to make one's head spin from looking down. Leira often braved jumping from it onto some large flat rocks below. They served as a sort of platform that would protect her from a straight fall down. It was very thick, with giant sandstone blocks stacked in place. Leira doubted that any human being could lift a stone of that massive weight and size.

She looked at her fellow soldiers. "So, what's going on?" she asked.

Kyle shrugged. "The General said that there was a breach in the wall, but I don't see a thing. The regiments posted across the other reaches of the wall also report that nothing is there."

Leira pondered the idea that the General may have possibly been incorrect in assuming that the enemy had entered Fortis. That still left the blaze burning fiercely in the town. "What about the fire? I heard the explosion. What's the deal with that?"

The soldiers exchanged blank, unknowing looks with each other. Leira sighed. Never enter a battle uninformed; though I doubt this could hardly be considered an attack...

The next half-hour felt like multiple hours as she sat guarding the wall, eyes fixed on the forest on the other side. Kyle and Cora chattered away, though Cora also stared intently on the wildness, as if anticipating something. A few soldiers were dozing off; one was even sound asleep. The leaves on the trees blew in the soft wind that came through the city, bringing with it the faint scent of smoke. The fire was dwindling, which indicated that the soldiers were doing their job.

The darkness of the forest could easily hide an enemy, and Leira wondered where they were. The air was unusually cold for a midsummer night.

A soldier broke the silence, asking a rather arbitrary question. "What do the enemies even look like Sergeant?"