Don't Forget

#34 Defend the Walls

     It's time.
     Everyone knew that this hiding couldn't last forever, but it still catches them off guard.
     Mitch is right in the thick of it, Jerome helping him wedge a wooden pallet between two buildings. Groups of soldiers are cutting down nearby trees to stack up. A lot of work can be done when so many people are desperate for this plan to work. There's nowhere to retreat to. The camp is already built in a circle formation with the medical building in the middle, and now it's looking like a proper fort with the makeshift walls.
     Lachlan sent all the messengers out on different routes to the other camps, maybe 12 in total. Each one of them has a kid under 12 with them. They might be able to slip past the squids if they don't draw too much attention.
     If everyone ran and abandoned the camp, their only defendable position will be gone. A large group with elderly and children would be much slower then trained soldiers. Not everyone can run or keep up, either.
"Captain Mitch, all the civilians are are in the medical building with a unit guarding them", a soldier comes to report to Mitch, fully dressed in their armor and weapons.
"Good. Unit 4, right? Go back to your group and get them on the camp's east side", Mitch quickly explains and then goes back to nailing down the pallet.
"You know, this kinda reminds me of the siege drills that we had to do back in training", Jerome tries to brighten the mood. Mitch smiles a little, momentarily distracted.
"Those were the good days. Our worst problem back then was waking up on time", he chuckles. They stack up another pallet.
"Remember when one of the newbies shaved some fur off the back of my head? I still can't believe he took that dare from Preston", Jerome laughs out loud, despite the tense situation.
"That was nothing compared to the time Rob glued all my arrows together. They came out of the quiver all in one clump", Mitch steps back from the wall as he pounds in the last nail.
The two are interrupted on memory lane when Lachlan and Vikk join them. The General looks like he's aged five years in half an hour. He's heavily stressed by a battle right on their front yard.
"There's walls all around the camp now. I'm setting up some archers all along them", Lachlan's voice is stern and gives so room for arguments, "Mitch, I want you on the north side where the scout came back from. Jerome stays with you". Mitch was always the archer in their six man unit, and Jerome had his axe to cover him. Why break up their old system when it worked so well? Lachlan and Vikk are even staying on that side to fight with swords when the time comes.
"What do you think about the odds? This could be just a patrol nearby, or a Piscus scout found the camp days ago and finally attacking now", Vikk muses over the details. It's pretty inconvenient to be attacked when so many extra people are sheltering in the camp.
"Some of the messengers will make it to the other camps. They'll know to come looking if they don't hear from us in a few days", Lachlan smiles grimly.
"Shall we go wait? Might as well have a welcoming party to greet them", Mitch drags a finger across one of his handmade arrows before dropping it into the quiver on his back. Each is sharped, a few made of steel with four prongs from the blacksmith.
Almost every soldier the four pass stops to salute the General and Captain. Mitch greets them all by name, trying to be encouraging and strong. It feels so fake. In his mind's eye, Mitch sees every single one dead on the ground.
The camp's north side is crowded with soldiers. About a third of the forces are here, with the rest on the other three sides.
Archers are a good strategy to have with the wall's small defense, but the forest proves to be a problem. Some tress were chopped down for the wall, but the camp is still surrounded by dense trees. The archers will only get four volleys before they're at the wall. The defense is only four feet at it's lowest. This battle could get ugly. Fast.
Mitch hears them before he sees them. There's an army moving through a forest. Of course they make way too much noise to be sneaky. What the Captain doesn't like is that the Piscus look like they've managed to stay in formation.
"Archers! Ready!", Lachlan yells it out loud, and Mitch draws an arrow with them. He's almost guaranteed a hit with the crowd. The enemy only notices the waiting pin needles when the General orders them to fire.
     Some of the squids have shields along with armor, and others duck behind trees, but some of the arrows still got through and struck soft flesh.
     There is nothing beautiful or good about war. It should always be a last resort. Still, Mitch fights because he believes in the cause. There will be death on both sides. Those are sins that every soldier from either side has to live with.
Mitch is reloading his bow and firing again before most of the other archers even have an arrow drawn. He fires a third arrow just as Lachlan shouts for the second volley. Adrenaline is starting to take over. The squids still advance through the pointed rain.
Mitch launches almost two arrows for every one of Lachlan's four. It doesn't cross the archer's mind to actually check how many enemies are on the field. Draw. Aim Fire. It's a song in his blood. The bow string hums, hungry for more blood. Mitch is happy to oblige.
     And then there's a row of squids reaching the short wall. Most of the archers drop down and are replaced by soldiers bearing long spears. The squids, by this point, are using shields to try and block the barbed shafts.
     Jerome huffs in frustration. His weapon of choice is no use at this angle. Mitch slings his bow over a shoulder and grabs him by the arm. The Captain has an idea. The spearman will be overwhelmed shortly. The squids need to be distracted.
     Mitch recruits a few other soldiers  before jumping the wall. He lands around a curve and just out of sight of the battle. Lachlan might kill him for this later. What's new? Mitch is pretty good at getting scolded.
     The small group of soldiers run out of cover while screaming. They bang their weapons on their armor, the noise being louder then the struggle at the front of the wall. A good chunk of the squids turn to look at them in confusion.
     It's quite a cheesy trick, but effective. Mitch had the small group make as much noise as possible while revealing themselves. Since his soldiers and the squids are on level ground, only the ones right in front can see how many there are. All the extra noise made it sound like there were many more.
     Jerome completely disregards his axe in the beginning. It's tightly strung to his back. The hybrid charged straight into a squid's shield and throws them over his shoulder. One all fours, he springs at enemies with claws and teeth. Jerome trained for years to combine his animalistic behavior with GoldenEye fighting techniques.
      When a blade swings for his back, Jerome shifts so that his axe head catches the blow. He stoops down lower and grabs the handle to whip it across the squid's face.
Mitch has no problem holding his own for a short time in the fray. He is a Captain, after all. The sword is much more personal then a bow. It means seeing your enemy's face right before you end them. Even if the squids have taken everything from him, Mitch will never forget their faces.
He blocks a blow with the flat of his blade, pushing with all his weight and catching the squid off balance. Mitch gets a clear opening for the squid's neck. It's a quick and merciful death. Both sides wear armor, but it's no good if vulnerable spots are left open.
     Mitch fights like a soldier should. He doesn't have Jerome's claws or Vikk's daggers. The Captain's form is strong and steady in combat. This is his element.
     He lunges back to avoid a blow, the swipe just missing his chest plate. Mitch swings back and gets blocked. He immediately pulls back and swings low for the squid's legs. The strike lands right on point; the gab between the armor on their knee.
The squids are no longer focused on the wall, their attention completely diverted to Mitch's group. He's not stupid to think that the small force can beat them all.
"Fall back!", Mitch gives the order after only seven minutes of fighting. Jerome tears through another squid with his axe before booking it out of the fray. A few squids have the guts to chase him. The rest of the GoldenEye soldiers copy his actions and abandon the fight.
Mitch can almost feel the squids on his heels when he runs into the woods. Surprisingly, they don't give chase for very long before stopping. The Captain circles back to the camp through the trees. It's a slightly further spot from where he dropped out.
A few troops on the wall are helping to pull the small group back up. Jerome is still on the ground, and his posture brightens when Mitch appears.
"I think that distraction worked out well", the hybrid smiles when Mitch gets close. His paws and axe are covered in blood.
"It definitely gave our archers a bit more time", Mitch agrees. It feels good to be doing something rather then preparing for it.
Once back inside the camp, Mitch and Jerome work their way back over to where Lachlan is standing. The General isn't even watching for their approach. He's comply focused on what's going on beyond the wall. Vikk is the first one to notice them.
"Look at this. They're all just..... leaving", he's confused, Turing back to the battlefield. Mitch rushes to his side in disbelief. Surly it takes more then that. It's too good to be true.
The squid force was actually a lot smaller then Mitch expected. Half of them lay on the ground unmoving. The rest are retreating to the trees.
"I don't trust it. There's something we're missing", Lachlan mumbles underneath his breath, eyes narrowed.
"My thoughts exactly. I just can't figure out what", Mitch bites his bottom lip.
The answer comes when distant shouts sound from the other side of camp. That area is less then half as defended as this one. The four turn to stare at each other.
They're the ones who fell for the distraction.