Burning Night: A Tale of the Everburning City

Chapter 24, Part 1: Adrian

"Into the trench!" Varnell barked.

Adrian dashed forward and slid into the irrigation trench ahead of him, falling onto the far side and crouching down.

The others slid into the trench around him, ducking low to keep their heads well below the surface.

Just as the last of Adrian's cohort ducked into the trench, flashes of bright red Salamander fire scorched the air above Adrian's head.

"Burn me, they're actually shooting at us!" someone said, nearby.

"Good," Adrian replied, as he leaned against the trench and slowly raised his head high enough to see over. "That makes this easier."

He could see a cluster of tightly-packed soldiers up head, all of whom were firing erratically at the trench that Adrian's companions had ducked into.

Adrian levelled his Salamander at the mob, and fired for quick shots.

Fire flashed in front of his face, and he heard screams from the mob advancing on him. He ducked down before he could study the damage he had caused, and wordlessly began to reload his gun.

Around him, others began to mimic his action, poking their heads above the trenches and firing into the oncoming pack of soldiers.

"Good! Keep that up!" Varnell shouted, a smile on her face as she skulked behind Adrian. "Farah is taking a dozen and is going to hop to the next trench, to flank them on the left. I'll take another group and do the same on the right."

Varnell rested a hand on Adrian's shoulder, and added, "keep the pressure on them. They'll dive into the trenches soon. Once they do, we'll need to drive them back out. If we can keep them from digging-in, they'll break!"

"Aye, ma'am!" Adrian replied.

"Who are we?" Varnell shouted.

It was Elliot, further down the trench, who answered first. "We are the walls!"

"And who are they?" Varnell asked.

"In our way," Caitlin answered, stepping up next to Adrian and firing four shots into the mob.

Adrian could barely follow Caitlin's movement, as she stuffed four more shots into her Salamander before her spent casings finished falling to the dirt.

A short ways away, someone else raised their weapon and rose up, only to fall backward as a flash of light cut through him. He tumbled backwards fell into the mud at the bottom of the trench, and fell still.

Adrian forced himself to look away, gritting his teeth.

He took a deep breath, pushed himself up, and fired four more shots before dropping down.

What he saw only really registered in his mind after he crouched back down. His glimpse over the trench was a mob busy pushing against its own front, as the lead soldiers were pushing their way backward.

Next to him, Adrian saw Caitlin staring at the body lying in the mud, her hands limp and barely holding her weapon.

"Dremora!" Adrian shouted, shaking her shoulder. "Dremora!"

Caitlin's expression, when he finally saw it, nearly broke his heart. There were tears in her eyes, her skin had gone deathly pale, and the odd-coloured spittle at the side of her mouth looked like vomit.

"Are you with me?" Adrian asked.

"I'll burn them all," Caitlin replied, as she took one of the ammo pouches off her belt, and flung it high into the air.