Baskemont Chapter 11 - Fort Newstead

True to Captain Carpenter’s claim, the squadron reached the imposingly dull outer walls of Fort Newstead two days later. The lack of other dangerous encounters after the day of the big battle probably helped speed up their progress.

There had been the two groups of wandering Zombies they had come across, but these had run away before the squad could even get close enough to engage them. It had felt like the only glimmer of luck they’d had over the last few days. Of the injured soldiers, two more had fallen ill to the point that they’d had to be mercifully executed before they spread the plague to any of the others.

As Katherine and Oliver had helped some of the others with the graves they had dug near the scout outpost they were camping by that night, they had shuddered at the thought of how easily it could have been their own graves being dug. Oliver’s arms in particular, still bearing the scars from the last battle, had been trembling the whole time they were digging, and even a little while afterwards.

Nobody believed him when he tried to pass it off as a reaction to the increasingly cold weather.

The morale was understandably about as low as the temperature when they first caught sight of the fort. Where Fort Ridley had been built on the remains of a small fishing village, Fort Newstead was built on the ruins of a moderately sized town, and the much longer length of wall that covered it very effectively communicated the increase in magnitude.

“Look alive, soldiers, we’ve reached the fort!” Captain Masterton had yelled on sighting the walls, the slightly reduced verve in his voice the only indication that he too was feeling the effects of the squadron’s low morale.

For a fort that was apparently placed at a very important strategic location, it looked very… understated. Flair and flavour seemed to be concepts that hadn’t been able to breach those big, sturdy walls. And speaking of breaching those walls…

“Stay alert here, soldiers, some of these corpses may not be fully dead yet,” warned Carpenter as they rode closer to the fort’s entrance. On either side of them was heavily trampled ground that would have looked a lot muddier in warmer weather, only sparsely dotted by trees and the occasional patrolling Robot but very liberally coated with dead bodies. Even in the cold, the stench was launching an assault on their senses that was arguably just as deadly as if the corpses themselves were joining in the attack.

Only seconds after she spoke, a couple of the dead bodies shakily got up on sensing their company. Before they could so much as snarl, though, a short yet sharp shower of bullets decimated their heads.

Katherine imagined what someone with heightened senses would think of the smell – and then immediately regretted the thought, as the painful visual of Gloria’s face being blasted by the Zombie parked itself inside her mind.

“I was expecting something more… well, just more, I guess,” commented Lizbeth as they rode along the gently curving road.

“Forts aren’t really much in the way of architecture, are they?” said Katherine, looking on as a blast of energy took out a trio of awakening Zombies.

“That’s what I don’t get though,” said Lizbeth, “They’re basically smaller versions of castles, right? But castles look so beautiful most of the time, and these things look, well, so plain. They could try a little harder, couldn’t they?”

“I guess they couldn’t really focus on making it look good when they had to keep an eye out for Zombies all the time,” suggested Katherine, “Then again, I don’t know if castles were also built in the middle of war zones.”

“Probably not,” thought Lizbeth, her eyes drawn to a Robot punching a corpse that had begun to stir as the squadron rode by, “Or maybe they looked this dull at first, and then they were renovated to look better once the place was a little more hospitable.”

“It could be worse though,” said Katherine, “At least it just looks boring. It could have looked like an absolute eye-sore.”

“Haha, yes!” agreed Lizbeth, “One of those real marvels of architecture that make you wonder just what kind of drugs the creator was on when he designed the thing.”

“Lucky for us, those bizarre things probably take just as much effort to make as the more pleasant buildings,” said Katherine as the party were now at the gates, waiting for the drawbridge to descend and allow them in.

The small moat surrounding the fort was the worst offender yet in terms of its stench; Katherine’s eyes were almost tearing from the raw power of the fumes coming from there. There was barely enough water to cover the dead bodies in here, and as for the water itself – Katherine had to convince herself that it was water, because the alternative that it really looked like was not one she wanted to consciously think of. Or subconsciously, for that matter. A couple of Robots were trudging around here as well, and Katherine couldn’t help but feel sorry for them, those mechanical legs wading through wastes no sane person would ever dare approach.

Luckily, the drawbridge was brought down faster than the average drawbridge (but still not fast enough for those present who were not as well acquainted with drawbridges), and Eagle Squadron 8 rode inside without any delay and a great sense of relief.

Fort Newstead was more crowded than Katherine had expected. A large number of grim-faced soldiers were milling about inside the walls, practicing their sword work or tending to their equipment. The occasional group was playing cards or sharing ugly jokes over warm drinks. Not too many new faces though, and far too many faces that had experienced the brutality of the Crusades first-hand. The faces mostly greeted them warmly though; it was always good to see more survivors of the wretched wilds of Mortanny.

They first rode to the stables, a large stretch of what could have been a spacious garden in better days, where their remaining horses were all taken from their hands. With some relief, Katherine grew herself back to her normal height; the loose fit of her clothes in her shrunken state had bothered her a bit on the journey here.

“Sigh, I was only just getting the hang of little you, Big Sis,” joked Lizbeth, back to being the shorter of the two. Katherine patted her on the back affectionately in return.

From the stables, the march to the building that housed the headquarters was thankfully brief. A few of the other soldiers in the fort nodded politely as they passed; their restraint was probably due to a mix of military training and unfamiliarity. Their appreciation for the new arrivals still managed to sneak through their battle-worn faces though.

“Eagle Squadron 8, reporting for duty, Commander!” announced Captain Masterton as he and Captain Carpenter smartly saluted a more senior-looking woman with piercing green eyes.

“At ease, captains,” she said in a voice that would be croaking from overuse in a few years, but wasn’t going to give up its steelier tones that easily.

She spoke to the two captains first, asking details about their journey here, before turning to address the rest of the squadron.

“Welcome to Fort Newstead, Eagle Squadron 8! My name is Commander Mallory Hutchinson…”

*

“…we march to Baskemont in two days.”

If the captains assembled there had not had any military training, they would have drawn their collective breath very sharply at the announcement. Instead, they simply nodded very curtly and yet very enthusiastically.

“I’m glad there are no objections,” continued Commander Hutchinson, “and, I have to admit, a little curious that there are no questions.”

“But now that winter has passed, and our numbers are sufficiently large, the timing for this manoeuvre could not be better. I should hope that I don’t have to remind you of the importance of gaining control of Baskemont, so I won’t. This is the route we will take – “

Here, she indicated a line that had been very firmly drawn on a map that was laid down on the table that they were all assembled around.

“ – which should get us to the East gates of Baskemont with minimal interference, according to the latest scout reports. Falcon Squadron should reach the Southwest gates at roughly the same time. With both our armies invading the town at the same time, we stand the best chance we’ve had in a very long time of reclaiming Baskemont.”

She stared at the cross on the map that marked the location of Baskemont for some time, before concluding:

“If there are no further questions, then you have your orders, captains. I trust you will have your troops ready when the time comes to march out. This will be a glorious conquest for the Crusades, ladies and gentlemen!”

She had many more encouraging, even flowery statements to make. But this was not the audience that needed them. She kept them for a later date and a larger crowd.

“Eagle Squadron, dismissed!”

As Captain Masterton and Captain Carpenter walked over to the barracks where their unit had been set up, Masterton twiddled his moustache with some excitement.

“It’s about damn time we make a move on ol’ Baskemont. I’ve been waiting to hear the Commander give the order for months now!”

“We’ve only been here for three and a half months, Daniel,” teased Carpenter calmly, “Plus, did you really want to march out to Baskemont in the middle of winter?”

“We have had worse winters here, Carol,” said Daniel, “But fine, you have a point. Still, being cooped up in this hell-hole for weeks ‘n weeks of nothing but sleet and darkness has been trying, really trying, on my nerves. I’m a man of action, not a man of sitting on my tushy!”

“No arguments there, even I’ve been nearly going insane just staring out at the sky all day,” laughed Carol, a rare twinkle appearing in her intensely blue eyes, “And it’s not that much of a sky to look at on a daily basis, let alone for weeks.”

“Well, on the plus side, the squadron should be all healed up ‘n raring to go out there ‘n smash in some Zombie heads!” said Daniel as the two of them stepped out into the suddenly less unbearable chill of the day.

“That reminds me, I’ve been meaning to tell you but I keep forgetting,” said Carol, as though a reminder had popped up in her mind out of the blue, “I’m impressed with how little trouble you’ve had with Private Katherine. I was expecting to have to defuse many more situations between the two of you!”

“Private Katherine… that’s the sort-of Indian journalist woman with the ‘big’ abilities, isn’t she?” asked Daniel, making a pretense at being apathetic.

“Yes, that’s her, more or less,” said Carol with sarcastically narrowed eyes, playing along for now.

“Well,” began Daniel, being a little more serious, “She’s been a solid infantry-woman for the squadron since day... two? Three? Since the day I had to give her a piece of my mind for not doing her job right. And she’s great at looking out for the rest of the soldiers too, especially that little pack of hers with Private Kenneth ‘n the rest. Not too shabby for a soldier who’s only here to write a newspaper story!”

Daniel was happy with that take on the matter until he saw Carol’s raised eyebrow. The question it was asking was surprisingly clear.

“What, you expected me to have issues with her ‘cos she’s Indian? Carol, what kind of racist varmint do you take me for?” he asked, feigning shock.

“It doesn’t bother you even a little bit though?” asked Carol suspiciously, “Every Cowboy I know has stories of how some Indians did something terrible to someone in their family at some point in the past, present company included. It’s only natural to feel some residual hatred when you grow up with stories like that.”

“Well, it just so happens that some of us grow up enough to not let the past dictate how we see the present, Carol,” said Daniel, a little condescendingly even, “Although, to tell you true, I did have my doubts at first. But, like I said, she’s a good soldier, maybe even too good for the dirty work we have to do. And we’ve got enough troubles to deal with already without my stirring up some more for no good reason.”

“That’s good to hear, Daniel,” said Carol with a smile as they stood outside the building that housed the barracks for several of the squadrons, theirs included. “I’m guessing you want to do the honours?” she asked, gesturing towards the main door.

“You guessed right, Carol,” said Daniel heartily before walking into the building, Carol staying just a step behind and to his right.

*

“We’re marching out to Baskemont! Holy mackerels!” Anthony couldn’t contain himself.

“Finally, we’re going to do something major for the Crusades!” said Kenneth, who looked like he was constantly on the verge of zipping off to Baskemont all by himself.

“It was apparently one of the biggest hub cities in the region back in the days of Faeritalum,” said Oliver, sounding like an awestruck fanboy who had just met the creator of their favourite book series and gotten an autographed copy from him, “If we can take it and occupy it, this will be a huge step forward for the Crusades!”

“We’re finally going to leave this dull mess of brick and stone walls!” said Lizbeth, unable to stop bouncing on her bunk.

Katherine simply smiled.

Strangely, she just couldn’t find the right words for what she was feeling. Or maybe the words that were coming to mind weren’t the best ones to bring out in current company.

Still, it had been a really long winter – or at least it had felt like a really long one. The boredom of being cooped up inside the fort throughout the whole of winter had been almost as bad as the nights out in the open, exposed to the dangers of the wild. Only the occasional Zombie horde throwing itself at the walls were able to poke holes in the blanket of monotony that had draped Fort Newstead in the winter, even if the horde hadn’t been able to break through the fort’s impervious walls themselves.

“They couldn’t have picked a better time for the attack too,” Oliver was saying excitedly, “The Zombies probably won’t recover from the winter cold as quickly as we do, so we’ll have a huge tactical advantage when we go up against them!”

“Like we even need it,” said Anthony dismissively, “The whole of Eagle Squadron is marching on this one! Not just our unit, ALL of them!”

“And apparently we’ll be getting reinforcements from another fort!” said Kenneth, “This is going to be so epic! Argh, why can’t we just march out right now!”

“Just a guess here, but maybe the reinforcements need the extra days to get there at the same time that we do?” suggested Katherine.

“That’s what I was about to say!” said Oliver, “The strategy doesn’t work if one squadron starts invading the city before the other side gets there!”

“And I highly doubt you’d be interested in hovering outside the walls of Baskemont waiting for the signal to go in, what with all the Zombies roaming around there and the glorious weather,” teased Lizbeth.

“You know, I honestly wouldn’t mind the change of scenery,” argued Kenneth, “I’m starting to see these drab grey walls in my dreams now, and they’re still just as boring in there!”

“I actually agree with Kenneth on that one,” said Katherine, “I won’t miss being holed up in here the whole of winter at all.”

“Well now, the two Kenways finally agree on something!” joked Anthony, “This calls for a celebration!”

“We agree on a lot of things, Trigger,” said Kenneth suspiciously, “What are you on about?”

“Or at least, we don’t disagree on everything, if that’s what you’re hinting at,” added Katherine, her eyes narrowed.

“I concur,” said Oliver, “Hell, they’ve been more ‘together’ on everything in the last few months than my sister and I have been our entire lives.”

“Aww, Dodo,” said Katherine, patting him affectionately, “I’m sure you’re exaggerating but I’ll take the compliment!”

“I’m still all for having a celebration though!” said Lizbeth, who was somehow still bouncing ever so slightly, “Let’s go to the rec hall and see if the lute and drums are free!”

“Right on!” said Anthony, happy to finally have someone on his side in the conversation.

“We should probably grab Samuel though,” said Lizbeth, as they prepared to leave their quarters, “No offense, Trigger, but your lute playing is still pretty, um, basic.”

“That’s a great idea!” said Oliver, as Anthony huffed at the slight to his musical ability, “He won’t mind at all, I would think!”

“Let’s maybe not tell him why we’re celebrating though,” pondered Katherine, “If anyone isn’t all that happy about going back into battle, it would be Samuel.”

“Happy, maybe not, but the guy’s surely looking for any chance to get revenge?” asked Anthony as they walked, “I mean, I know I would be in his shoes.”

“Not everyone looks at things the way you do, Trigger,” said Katherine.

“And I agree with that,” said Kenneth with plenty of exaggeration, and the group laughed at Anthony’s look of annoyance.

Baskemont Chapter 12 - Baskemont

There was something about marching with an army of a hundred strong soldiers, many of them Supers, that awed Katherine so much that she could only talk in whispers, if she could talk at all. She had been in big crowds before, back in Nexus city, such as when a big performer was playing at the theatre or a big speech was being made by the Mayor, but those crowds were chaotic, disarrayed, having several focuses at the same time. Here, everyone had only one driving thought in their minds as they marched out from the gates of Fort Newstead, their determined steps almost in rhythm with each other.

“This feels so intense,” commented Kenneth in a low voice, who was marching next to her.

“My thoughts exactly,” whispered Katherine.

It was only the first few weeks of spring, so the trees were still barren and brown, and the ground still murky with the slush left behind by winter. There were some blots of green here and there if one looked closely, but the squadrons weren’t interested enough in the scenery to notice. Nearly all of them had been taking shelter in the fort for the whole of winter, most of them for even longer than Eagle Squadron 8 had been, so there was a strong sense of eagerness to get to the action as quickly as possible. The scenery would still be there when they came back, and it would probably have improved by then too.

Nobody was thinking if they came back. With an army this big behind them, confidence was naturally quite high. Not to mention that reinforcements would be there with them when they finally reached Baskemont.

The journey was almost two whole days long, and extremely uneventful. They probably had passed some small Zombie camps on the way, but nothing that could possibly pose a threat to a force of their magnitude. There were a few spots they passed which bore the marks of undead occupants who had, on seeing or hearing the great mass of Supers approaching, had quickly decided that their best option for survival was a very swift relocation.

It was in one of those spots, a stretch of farmland that lay on the outskirts of the city of Baskemont, that the troops camped on the second night. Eagle Squadron 8 were inside the ruins of what could have been some kind of big enclosed garden back in its glory days. The jagged silhouette of Baskemont silently stalked them from the horizon to the west. It was somehow hard to believe just how close they were to the broken walls of the city, and yet how far away it still seemed.

Maybe it was this weird mix of perspectives that was doing it. Maybe it was the excitement of being so close to the beginning of a major operation for the Crusades. Maybe it wasn’t actually excitement, but nerves. Whatever the reason, Katherine was having trouble sleeping that night.

Taking care not to disturb the others sleeping near her, she decided to walk around the garden.

There was a faint sliver of moonlight giving an even fainter glow to the surroundings, although it did very little to the dark shadow of Baskemont in the distance. As Katherine weaved her way through the various shelters propped up by the soldiers, a gentle wind caressed her face. If it was a sign of things to come, Katherine would have considered it a good one.

She made her way to a little pond serenaded by bushes that, even though only barely recovering from the winter, were clearly not native to the land. She wondered where they were originally from; whoever had owned this garden before the Great Plague must have travelled quite a lot.

There was an empty spot by the side of the pond, and the gently rippling surface seemed to be gesturing to her that it was a cosy little place to sit at, and wouldn’t she try it out, just for a bit? She decided to take the little waves up on their offer.

She sat down beside the pond, and almost reflexively dipped her feet into it before seeing that the pond, just as ruined and forgotten as the structures around it, was filled with stagnant water that was possibly more alive than the Zombies in the neighbourhood. And it was definitely the wrong colour for pond water, from what little she could make out in the faint moonlight. Still, the muffled gurgling that it was making was somewhat soothing, in a strange way.

“Hey, Big Sis,” said a friendly voice, “Couldn’t sleep?”

Katherine turned around.

“Hey, Dodo,” she replied, “Not really, no. How’s the patrol?”

“Uneventful,” said Oliver, sitting down next to her, “I think I can spare a few minutes without putting the camp at risk of a Zombie attack. So, is it nerves?”

“Haha, I guess so,” said Katherine, now looking at the quivering surface of the pond again, “Although now that I’m out here, I’m wondering more about what life used to be like here, before the Plague. This garden, for example, it must have looked so beautiful back then.”

“True, and the city was probably more colourful and alive,” pondered Oliver, “And that’s partially why we’re here, isn’t it? To bring some of those golden days back to this land. To make things as beautiful and lively as they used to be.”

“We won’t be the ones to see that happen, though,” said Katherine, as something began to bother her in the back of her mind, “This land won’t be restored in our lifetime, I think.”

“No, but none of us are really here for ourselves, are we?” asked Oliver, in full philosopher mode, “We’re here for something outside of ourselves. To make someone else’s life better, even if we’re not around to receive their gratitude. That’s how I feel about it, anyway.”

“I don’t know if I’d completely agree with that, but you have a…” began Katherine, before the thing that was bothering her finally registered.

It was a small object partially buried in the ground, trying to vie for her attention in the corner of her eye. Something about it looked out of place even in a garden like this, where at least half the plants probably were just as foreign. She stretched out a hand to pick it up, and found herself looking at…

…an Indian bead necklace.

Many of the beads had already fallen off though, and the string nearly crumbled in her hand when she had pulled it from the ground. But she knew it was Indian from the small bear totem that was at the centre. It had been carved from some kind of animal bone, and it felt even older than it looked. But the carving had only partially faded with time, and enough of the bear was still present to snarl at her.

“Huh, I would never have expected to see that out here,” said Oliver, also marvelling a little at the find, “Do you recognise the tribe or something?”

“That’s not really how Indians use totems, Dodo,” said Katherine, removing the bits or bead and string from the bear, “but I recognise the symbol, a little. Indians believe in the idea of spirit animals, a sort of guide that follows them through their lives and takes the form of an animal depending on the characteristics it represents. The bear, for example,” she waved the totem in her hand, “represents strength, courage and protection of others. It’s like a big and burly guardian type spirit.”

“It suits you perfectly then,” said Oliver with a smile as she began to fish around in her pockets for a length of string.

“Since it’s you, Dodo, I’m going to assume you did not just imply I’m fat,” joked Katherine as she found a satisfactory string and improvised a necklace with the totem.

“Ha! As if I would dare,” said Oliver, and then added, “It looks good on you. Really brings out your more Indian features.”

“I hope it brings me more than that,” said Katherine, now trying to get a good reflection of herself in the pond and failing, “These totems apparently show up in your life when you need them the most. And I’m going to need a lot of strength and courage for tomorrow’s action!”

“Aren’t we all,” said Oliver, now getting up, “I should probably return to my patrol. You’re welcome to tag along if you still can’t sleep, you know.”

“No, I think this little trip was enough to calm my nerves,” said Katherine, stifling a yawn, “I think I’ll head back to my sheet. You shouldn’t stay out here too long either, Dodo.”

“I’ll be fine, my shift ends in an hour or so,” said Oliver, “Good night, Big Bear.”

“Oh God, Big Sis was bad enough!” said Katherine, punching Oliver gently, “Good night, Dodo.”

And with that, she began the walk back to her sleeping spot.

*

“Listen up, squad!” announced Captain Masterton when they were all assembled outside the walls of Baskemont; every captain was barking instructions to their own units at the same time. “We will be capturing the northern section of the city. That means the moment we go into the city limits, we turn right ‘n blaze a path through the district there, running roughly parallel to the city wall until we reach a square with a cathedral. You’ll know it when you see it, it’s a damn big sight for sore eyes, according to scouting reports. Some of the reinforcements from Falcon Squadron will be making for the same square. Until they all arrive, we clear out ‘n hold the cathedral, ‘n after that we clear out the rest of the northern section of the city. Any questions?”

“No, Sir!”

“Damn straight! This will be a glorious day for the Crusades, my fellow soldiers! There has never been a better time to be on your best fighting form! Now, on the signal, follow me!”

Katherine looked around and realized that, for an army about to invade and take over a city, there was a curious lack of siege weaponry. For some reason, she had been expecting cannons or catapults to accompany them. Then a little voice inside her head gently reminded her that, with Supers like Anthony and Brenda around, they already were equipped with perfectly adequate, if not improved, alternatives.

Other than the main gates on the East side of the city, there were also two breaks in the walls that the soldiers could use to enter. There were a few Zombies peeking out at them from guard towers and some of the gaps in the wall; strangely, they seemed to know better than to come running out and expect to survive the trip.

This was a moment where Katherine would have written in her article for the Weekly Nex that ‘the tension was palpable’. She still had the notebook on her person, along with the newly acquired bear totem necklace. She probably should have brought the pen along too, just in case…

Other squadrons were starting to move into the city now, and the sounds of early scuffles with the defending Zombies were beginning to float out past the city walls. It was going to be their turn any moment now. She could hear Kenneth’s rapidly tapping foot, and smiled; Kenneth had always been the more impatient of the two of them –

“That’s our signal! Let’s move, soldiers!” yelled Captain Carpenter, and Eagle Squadron 8 breached the city of Baskemont.

There was no time to think inside the walls; with melee soldiers like Katherine and Kenneth on the outside, and ranged specialists like Anthony and Samuel within the group, the squadron surged through the ruins like a hot needle piercing through several layers of the city’s flesh. Within the hardly standing structures were a few small groups of Zombies, most of whom could manage a little more than a croak and a step before being decimated by the soldiers.

Within the confines of the district, which had the cramped and cluttered feel of what had probably been a very poor part of the city, Katherine decided to stay at her normal height so as not to be encumbered, only enlarging her fists and feet when taking on the Zombies. As they hopped in and out of buildings, flushing out straggling Zombies with all the elements at their disposal in the process, Katherine couldn’t help but feel a rush. Within the surgical precision of their advance through the streets was a chaos only barely held back, and unleashed with glee on the Zombies in their way.

She was ambushed by a bunch of suspiciously sneaky Zombies as she entered one of the houses. Using her pliable frame to make some very dexterous dodges, she grabbed one by the head and smashed it into the floor, while sending the others flying with a sweeping punch clean out of the house through the window. Just outside, she heard a whir and several cracks as a speeding Kenneth bashed in the flying Zombies’ heads mid-run.

With the screams and groans of battle overwhelming her ears and the blasts of energy and bullets flying through the air, her mind was so fully occupied with keeping a clear head in all the chaos that she didn’t stop to reflect on a very small nagging doubt. The doubt being that this was all a little too easy. If she had reflected on it though, some rationalization about that being exactly the point of this assault at this time would have waved away the small nagging about.

As she punched a Zombie straight through the brittle roof above and then shielded herself with an enlarged arm as the whole thing began to collapse around her, the doubt realized that it would never be addressed and wandered off to sulk in a corner.

At around the same time, Lizbeth teleported in and whisked her away to the middle of the street.

“I had it under control!” said Katherine, before the two of them began to run up the street towards a group of Zombies that were having second thoughts about whether they were strong enough to take on these invaders.

“Didn’t look like it from where I was!” said Lizbeth before twinkling away to take on some of the Zombies ahead.

Katherine wound up, and then flung her enlarged arm through the Zombies like a fist-headed battering ram. As the Zombies were scattered by the blow, their eyes showing a mix of confusion and panic that wasn’t really going to help them, a glowing rock flung itself from somewhere behind her into the half on the right before exploding in a blinding flash and obliterating the Zombies in the process. The other half had finally managed to get an actionable idea into their heads and began to scatter, but were met by a searing fan of fire in the process.

As Katherine ran past them, one of the Zombies shout out a long, slimy looking tongue and managed to grab her around the neck. Struggling for breath, Katherine tried to get enough eye contact with the creature to land a blow in retaliation. Before she needed to though, the Zombie found itself on the receiving end of a charged punch from Captain Carpenter.

“Thanks, captain,” managed Katherine with a wheeze.

“Stay alert, soldier!” replied Carpenter, not unkindly though, before moving ahead.

They must have gone halfway through the city by now, wondered Katherine during the very brief moment of respite. Where was the cathedral?

Before she could think about it some more, another couple of Zombies emerged from a house to her right; she greeted then with a vicious swinging kick. Their heads were smashed to bits as her enlarged foot connected with them.

“Is it just me, or is this a little too easy?” asked Kenneth as he stopped blitzing around and took a breather by Katherine.

“It’s not just you,” said Katherine, “Most of them aren’t even trying to stop us.”

“That’s not going to stop me though,” said Kenneth pointedly.

“Nor me,” assured Katherine, before advancing up the street with Kenneth jogging beside her.

It was when they got to the next junction that Katherine realized with a sinking feeling why it had been so easy up until then. The moment they stepped into the middle of the junction, several roars buffeted them from all around. Zombies were crawling out of the windows, spilling out through the doors, creeping out from the alleys; within a matter of seconds they were surrounded. The Zombies they had come across before this must have been buying time for the setup they had just stumbled into.

The group straight ahead had a leader, if the one different-looking Zombie at the head of the group could be called that, and the leader looked like the acid-spitting type. It was groaning something to the Zombies behind it, and if they had been close enough they probably would have recognised some kind of encouraging words coming from it. But before the Zombie could finish talking, a fierce arrow bored a hole through its head before embedding itself in the head of a Zombie further behind. As the Zombie’s head cracked open from the force, the two of them slumped to the ground.

As the rest of the Zombies, infuriated by the pre-emptive strike on one of their own, began to surge into the squadron, Katherine briefly wondered if Samuel had gotten some much-needed revenge with that shot. She sure hoped so, for his sake, as the squad found themselves quickly overwhelmed.

Katherine immediately grew herself to more than double her height, and then used the added elevation to try and stomp a path out through the Zombies for the rest of the squadron. It was easier said than done, though; a few of the creatures were clinging onto her, trying to hack and claw into her skin, and she had to try and shake them off while also making sure not to trample any of her squadmates, or get hit by their blasts. It felt like she was trying to juggle a bunch of plates while a monkey was clawing at her head.

“Watch out!” came a cry from somewhere below her, and she moved her foot just in time to avoid stepping on Anthony. She turned to quickly apologize, and could only look in horror as a Zombie had managed to get its teeth into his neck.

“TRIGGER! NOOO!”

Filling inside with fury, she tore at the Zombies on her, crushing them and flinging them into the nearby buildings with reckless abandon. Her bodysuit, only just repaired over the winter, was torn apart once more, and some of the scratches in her skin were worryingly deep. At this very moment though, she did not care one bit. Her eyes could only see the crimson shades of rage as she pounded away at the Zombies that were pouncing onto the body of Anthony.

It was a miracle that she didn’t hit any of the squadron by mistake. But if she had been looking at her immediate surroundings, she would have seen that it wasn’t purely a miracle. Most of the Zombies were attracted both to the smell of Anthony’s blood and to her magnified show of rage, which had given the rest of the squad enough room to both get out of Katherine’s way and strike back with their own fury.

A mess of bodies and blood later, Eagle Squadron 8 had lost a few more of its soldiers, including Matthew the mind-jumper. But the Zombies had been dealt with, savagely in most cases. Since they still hadn’t completed their mission yet, the captains skipped the prayers (or silently uttered them in their heads, more likely) and ordered the rest of the squad to proceed onwards with an urgency that had a hint of reluctance to it.

Katherine hated that Anthony was given such a punctuated farewell. Kenneth, Lizbeth and Oliver probably did too. But War was not all that considerate to begin with (it never had been, had it?), and it wasn’t going to start now.

The squadron, hindered by the more injured members of their group, took a little longer to move through the next few junctions. Katherine checked all her wounds and found that only two on her right leg were in need of an intervention. Making use of her pliable neck and a scrap of cloth from one of the dead soldiers, she quickly tied a tourniquet on the affected leg and sucked out as much blood as she could from the wounds.

“Big Sis! Are you…” began Lizbeth, who had probably teleported back to her when she’d noticed her absence.

“I’m fine, it was just the two wounds and I’ve taken care of them, I think,” said Katherine, hoping against hope that it was true, “Could you help me patch them up?”

With Lizbeth’s help, the wounds were bound up very efficiently. Lizbeth then teleported the two of them back to the rest of the squadron.

“Katherine! Thank God, I was so scared – “ began Kenneth, who was currently supporting a badly injured Oliver.

“Dodo!” cried Katherine at the sight, “No, no, no, this can’t be happening!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine after some first aid and… rest,” said Oliver weakly, “Look, we reached the cathedral…”

And indeed they had.

The scouting reports had been right about it being big. As to whether it was a sight for sore eyes though, that could be debated. Its predominantly stone structure had withstood most of the harsher ravages of time, but a lot of what must have made it look pristine back in its day had not survived as well. The resulting building looked like the architectural version of a former beauty pageant winner who hadn’t aged as gracefully as she would have liked, but was still stubbornly trying to maintain her figure at the least.

The expansive square beside it only boasted a structure that must have been a fountain, but now looked like a piece of sculpture that had been dropped onto the square from the weathered top of the cathedral. In-between the fountain and the cathedral, the reinforcements from Falcon Squadron were having their hands full dealing with a big swath of Zombies. Eagle Squadron 8 moved in to assist, streams of fire and ice mowing through the Zombies.

“Good timing, Eagles!” said one of the captains of the other squadron, “We got here about ten minutes ago. The cathedral’s mostly secure though, so we just need to take care of this lot before moving out!”

“Shouldn’t be too hard with both our forces combined,” said Masterton in reply, “Carol, take half of the squad into the cathedral to help out, would you? I’ll handle things here with the rest!”

The Zombies in the square soon folded under the might of the two squadrons. After a quick get-together during which the captains quickly introduced themselves, arranged for the wounded to be sheltered in the cathedral and tended to, and then discussed tactics, the able-bodied soldiers  that remained fanned out in multiple directions, cleaning up the rest of the Zombies that were hiding in the district.

Katherine, seeing Kenneth going up one of the towers bordering the northern gate to the city, decided to go up the other tower. When she reached the top, she found herself behind a group of four Zombies who were about to charge in on a currently occupied Kenneth on the parapet ahead. She struck them down from behind with one clean punch from an enlarged fist, like a bowling ball striking down four unaware undead pins. Kenneth whizzed around to make sure the Zombies all stayed down.

“I thought you promised you wouldn’t keep saving me?” asked Kenneth good-naturedly once he was done.

“That wasn’t really saving you though, you could have handled that lot easily,” said Katherine, “I just wanted to lend a hand.”

“Oh God, when did you start with the terrible puns?” said Kenneth, holding his stomach in mock agony.

“Oh yeah, that was a pun! I didn’t realise,” said Katherine. “Honestly!” she added at Kenneth’s disbelieving look.

“Well, it looks like we’re done here,” said Kenneth, taking in the surroundings before signalling to the troops below then that the towers were cleared, “Do you think we have some time to enjoy the view a bit before reporting back?”

“I think the captains wouldn’t mind terribly if we were a little bit late,” said Katherine as she walked over to the parapet’s edge.

It was a pretty good view. To the north of the city was a very large plain gently sloping downwards, only scantly dotted with clumps of trees or the ruins of farmhouses and villas. The sun, fading away into the horizon to the west, had decided to bathe it all in warm, even glowing shades of yellow and amber. Standing there, at the parapet between the towers, with the great expanse of new grass below them, they almost felt like they could see the whole of Anglos from their post.

“Thanks, Katherine,” said Kenneth quietly as he looked on with her.

“For what?” she asked.

“For sticking to your promise. For not overcrowding me and watching my every move,” said Kenneth, “It makes a moment like this feel even more special, you know? Like I contributed to this big victory on my own two feet.”

“You’re welcome, little brother,” said Katherine softly, “Although it doesn’t feel like much of a victory to me.”

“Yeah…” said Kenneth sadly, “Dodo might not make it to next week if his injuries aren’t taken care of, and Trigger…”

“It was my fault, I just know it!” said Katherine, slamming the parapet in frustration, “I nearly trampled him back there, and my clumsy feet distracted him enough for that Zombie to – “

“Hey, hey, hey!” interrupted Kenneth as he held her arm, “I saw what happened, and it wasn’t you that distracted him, okay? He was busy blasting the Zombies at your feet when he saw you trying to clear a path for us, and that one nasty bugger got the jump on him. The way they surrounded us like that, it couldn’t be helped. That’s how all the others died too!”

“I hope it was all worth it, taking this city,” said Katherine glumly, “The squadron’s almost half the size it was when we landed here.”

“You know what was worth it, though?” said Kenneth, desperately fishing for something positive to talk about, “Having you around as a squad mate. Even if I didn’t think so at first, I’m glad you decided to be here with me in the end.”

“Same here, Kenneth,” said Katherine with a smile that was strangely hard to make, patting him on the arm, “I’m glad I got to see you being such a force to reckon with out there on the battlefield. And I’m really glad I didn’t have to hover around you to make it happen.”

“Same here, Big Bear,” said Kenneth, grinning. Katherine groaned.

“You too? I need to have some words with Dodo about - ” began Katherine, before noticing something odd in the distance, “Is it just me, or is that forest… moving?”

Kenneth took a look as well.

“No, it’s not just you,” said Kenneth, shielding his eyes from the sunlight, “And there wasn’t that much forest over there to begin… with…”

They both reached the same conclusion at the same time. And then gaped at each other in horror for a good long while.

Baskemont Chapter 13 - The Evacuation

“There’s probably a thousand of the damned creatures in there,” said Captain Masterton as he looked at the oncoming horde through a spyglass, “And they’ve got enough ex-Super Zombies in there to give us all kinds of hell.”

“How long do you reckon before they get here?” asked Captain Hollander from the Falcon Squadron, who had been whisked up along with Masterton by a very panicky Kenneth.

“Not long enough,” said Masterton bitterly as he briskly handed over the spyglass to Hollander.

“If we can hold the gate,” began Hollander as he looked at the oncoming horde, “we might have just enough time to get the others out of the city ‘n to safety. We have two Supers who have enhanced speed, ‘n you have at least one, so they can help quicken things up on that front.”

“Or we can get all the troops over here ‘n take on these critters,” snapped Masterton, “We only just took the damn city, Hollander!”

“We don’t have the numbers to hold them all off, Masterton!” argued Hollander, “There’s no point in us all dying just so there’s slightly less Zombies in Baskemont afterwards, when we can save ourselves, get more reinforcements ‘n take on this lot later! If they’re even still here!”

“Damn it, you’re right,” cursed Masterton, “Still, some of us will have to hold the gate – “

“I can hold it on my own, Captain,” suggested Katherine, “And then Kenneth can come get me out of here once everyone else is safe.”

“I hate to have to ask you to do that, Katherine, but we don’t have time,” said Masterton with some rare sorrow inflecting that proud voice of his, “Thank you, ‘n God’s luck be with you! Kenneth, let’s start the evacuation!”

“Two soldiers from my squadron, Privates Callahan and Trentbridge, have volunteered to help you block the gate,” said Hollander when they were down by the gate a moment later, “They’re no size-changers, but their enhanced strength ‘n durability should help keep that gate closed for longer. And a few more of the soldiers will try to fend off the ones that trickle through the gaps in the walls and such.”

Katherine had enlarged herself to a size at which she was able to almost fully cover the gate by sitting with her back resting on it, her feet and hands dug into the ground in front to provide more support. Callahan and Trentbridge moved to the two sections of exposed gate between her body and the hinges, briskly nodding to her as they dug their feet in and prepared themselves.

“Thank you, all of you,” she said, her voice shaking a little from the nerves.

“It’s you who should have all the thanks, Private Kenway,” said Hollander, tipping his head, “We may be losing the city once again, but at least we won’t all lose our lives thanks to your bravery.”

“If this plan works, then none of us should have to lose their lives,” said Captain Carpenter, who was also taking position along the ramparts along with a few soldiers from Eagle Squadron. Katherine recognised Brenda, the woman with the blue energy blasts, among the faces.

“Captain Carpenter! You don’t have to be - ” began Katherine, but a firm look from the captain silenced her.

“You didn’t have to volunteer for this either, Katherine,” reminded Carpenter as she charged up, “We all do what we have to do, where we can.”

“Brace for impact!” called out a lookout from the top of the tower.

The north gates of the city had been constructed from more metal than wood, with a dash of concrete thrown in there. At a more recent point in history, the gate had been fortified with more steel and concrete. This meant that, while the gate was thankfully one of the sturdiest structures in the mostly ruined city, it also had the cushioning of a gate-sized anvil.

BANG.

The impact, when it hammered at the gates, went straight through her bones and shook her very soul. Her vision rattled into a haze, she desperately dug in her feet and hands some more, her teeth clattering as she tried to grit them.

And the sound, the sound of a thousand screaming and growling and groaning Zombies only a few feet of metal away from her, it shook her almost as hard as their bashing at the door.

BANG.

“Don’t hold back!” commanded Carpenter as she and the troops at the ramparts began to blast and slice and punch and slam away at the Zombies pouring through the gaps in the walls. They had the advantage as long as they stayed on the inside, the few gaps in the walls acting like funnels on the invaders, but it only bought them a few minutes at most.

THUD.

The impacts grew harder, like colossal drumsticks beating a ghastly beat on her spine, but as she gritted her teeth harder and winced, the two soldiers behind her leaning into the gates with all they could muster, she could make out blurs from the square up ahead, the one with the cathedral. And the auras of teleporters as well, Lizbeth probably among them. The plan was working!

“Watch out, they’re climbing from the top!” came a call from somewhere.

…and she thought she could feel it. The sound of feet scrambling as they climbed up what must have been a mountain of Zombies piled up at the gate. No wonder the banging had been less frequent; they had now moved on to pushing with the weight and power of hundreds of Zombies squashed together. She could feel her feet slipping and dug them in some more.

Screams of soldiers being overwhelmed by Zombies began to reach her from above somewhere. Her body felt like it had been blended and then rolled out like a piece of dough. She desperately tried to focus on something else to stem the pain, the fatigue – and a vision of the bear totem flitted into view. This was why it had appeared, wasn’t it? This was what she had needed strength and courage for, this was why the guardian spirit had come to her.

The blurs were coming for the soldiers at the gates now. Just a little longer. Ignore the screams, she told herself over and over. Ignore the sounds of death. Ignore the voices of un-death.

And then came the sight that she couldn’t ignore.

One of the blurs had been running for the gate. And then… it tripped. They must have. The blur went careening into a house, smashing painfully through the walls and the woodwork before coming to a stop somewhere inside. But it was the yell of pain that drained the colour from her face.

She knew that voice. She had known it all her life.

“KENNETH!”

She tried to lift a hand, to reach into the house and pluck him out of there, but the gate shifted alarmingly when she so much as twitched her muscles. And so she found herself rooted to her spot not just in horror, but out of necessity. She could feel the pain draining her of hope, sucking at her fighting spirit like a monstrous leech. And she was helpless against it.

“NOOO! KENNETH!”

More Zombies were pouring in from above and through the cracks. She could see them in the periphery of her vision, creeping in like an overactive fungus from all sides. More blurs appeared, badly obscured by the tears welling in her eyes, and she yelled to them that Kenneth was in the house, pleaded with them that somebody needed to fetch him, please…

…but there was no time. The soldiers were all in reflex mode, their every move now purely on survival instinct. There were too many Zombies to think, too much of impending doom to flee away from.

The soldiers at her side had heard her though. They looked at each other, and then called something out to her. In the whirl of emotions currently wreaking havoc on her mind, their voices were a whisper in a hurricane. And then they ran towards the house. One at a time. The pressure on the gate grew tenfold with each departure, and she felt like a rubber band stretched to its limit over a hot plate. But they were going to get Kenneth, weren’t they? She just had to hold the gate for a little longer, just a few seconds more…

And then the two soldiers were washed over by a wave of Zombies that must have climbed over the wall. They fought hard, sending Zombies flying to and fro, their swings and kicks fuelled by desperation – and then they disappeared.

Katherine had no more energy left to scream. She had barely enough to keep the gate from bursting open. It was going to be time to run soon, there were no more soldiers left to defend her, and nobody was coming to save her. More and more Zombies were pouring in, crawling up to her trembling limbs. Her previous wounds were starting to crack open again, and her attackers were zoning in on it like hungry sharks.

There was nothing more for it. Summoning the last of her strength, she hurled herself away from the gate and began to run towards the house as the gate behind her exploded open in a shower of twisted metal, and a torrent of Zombies charged through the opening.

“KENNETH!”

She had one last scream in her, and used it as she neared the house, her movements slowed by the many zombies hanging onto her elongated limbs. She thought she heard a reply, but it was drowned out by the snarls of her attackers. She weakly swatted at them, but to no avail.

She could feel their teeth and claws eating into her skin. Her life was flashing before her eyes. All the memories with Kenneth were in painful focus.

At least we can find each other when we’re undead, thought Katherine bitterly as she prepared to succumb to the Zombies.

And then there was a tinkling. And a whoosh.

*

She was up in the air, all twenty odd feet of her, very high above the city, and beginning to fall. She could hear someone yelling in pain as they attacked the Zombies who had been clinging onto her. She raised her head weakly to find Lizbeth blipping in and out of vision, teleporting around her body as she dealt with the Zombies.

When Lizbeth saw that Katherine was not unconscious, she called out something. Katherine thought she could recognise the instructions.

Get smaller.

Her brain was so drained from all the anguish she’d had to go through that it didn’t take part in the rest of her actions up in the sky. She shrunk herself back to her normal size, and by some sheer miracle she was still near Lizbeth afterwards, the Zombies all detached from her as she rapidly shrank away from them. She reached out to one of Lizbeth’s limbs, unable to tell which one it was as they fell through the sky.

There was another tinkling and a whoosh.

And then a lot of crashing and crackling.

And a hard thud.

And then the sensations all faded away.