PART 1

Kal leapt off the balcony with Lamir following close behind him. The air rushed past his face and he couldn’t hear anything but the rushing wind before he landed on the cobblestone below. His suit absorbed most of the impact as he slammed into the ground. Using all four limbs, Kal’s handprints were left in the stone as he rolled with the momentum.

Lamir simply crashed to the ground, using his legs and crouching to use his hands to stop the force. Without waiting, Kal sprinted off toward the wall in which Yvlana stood. He had seen during the drop all the soldiers had taken position and the archers remained further inward with the Vog to protect them.

There were nearly one hundred thousand human soldiers, guarding the walls with their lives. More than five hundred thousand citizens were pilled inside the city due to fleeing other cities and coming to Xerixes as it was the last stronghold.

Before Kal and Lamir reached the wall, the Thrak were at the top. Looking up, he could see the aliens pouring over the shield walls as only a small percentage were killed before leaping over. The soldiers stabbed upward as the Thrak clambered over them but there were simply too many and the weight of the creatures were more than likely starting to crush them.

A glimpse of Yvlana gave Kal a sense of relief as she fought, her blade slicing through scores of Thrak. The hordes of beasts ignored them mostly, going straight for the archers and the defenseless civilians inside.

Blasts of light lit the roofs as the archers used their L.E.C. weapons. An incredible volley of energy blasted the line of Thrak, bursting them into bloody heaps of flesh. Blood sprayed everywhere as the Emarine weapons did their work but would soon need to be recharged.

The moment the volley stopped, Thrak immediately continued over the wall, still ignoring the shield wall and leaping over.

More flashes encircled the city as the soldiers on the wall used the L.E.C. shotguns. Shooting in between the shields and blasting upward or down over the wall. A few L.E.C. sniper rifles picked off Thrak within the city but it wasn’t enough.

Only two minutes had passed and they were already being overwhelmed. “Lamir!” Kal tossed two E.E. grenades. “Get to the north wall.”

“On it, boss.” Lamir snatched the grenades out of the air and veered northward.

His helmet hadn’t finished repairing itself after the fight with Cassius so Kal couldn’t use his com-link to communicate with Yvlana. “I have to hurry.” he thought.

Several Vog were fighting Thrak as he sprinted by but at the corner of his eyes, he saw a group of archers in danger as Thrak climbed up the side, out of sight of the humans.

Skidding to a halt, Kal turned and jumped with all his strength. Mid-air, Kal pulled his sword free and slashed at the climbing creatures. Killing three in one swing, Kal twisted and kicked off the wall to land a blow on a Thrak a moment away from pouncing on an archer.

Cutting its head in two, Kal slammed to the tile roof startling the archers as he pinned the dead Thrak with his knee.

“Keep an eye on the streets,” he ordered. “The Vog can’t stop them all. Protect each other. The Vog could use your support too.” Kal pointed to two Vog fighting six Thrak.

Jumping into action several archers pelted the Thrak below. For the first time, Kal realized how divided they all were. They didn’t even think to help the Vog but rather focus on supporting their own kind on the wall.

“In order to survive… we must work together,” he said to the group of archers, though he doubted many heard him.

“Y-yes sir.” one said.

“You’re doing good, men.” Kal encouraged. “Don’t get distracted from your flank again.”

Leaving them with that, Kal crouched and flew to the next roof, making his way to Yvlana. She was still fighting fiercely but there were too many to stop them all. Drawing closer, he dared to call out to her.

“Yvlana!” he shouted as he leapt from another roof.

She turned for an instant, showing him she heard him, then continued fighting.

“Take this!” he yelled as he jumped again.

His plan was to land on the wall and hand her one of the two remaining grenades, however, that plan quickly fell apart as a Thrak lunged straight for him. The alien crashed into him, mid-air and flung him downward.

Yvlana shouted something and reached for him but was too late. With one arm wrestling the Thrak and its jaws, Kal used his free hand to toss the grenade to her before plunging to the stone below. Before hitting the ground, he saw her snatch it out of the air.

An instant before landing, Kal twisted and pulled the Thrak beneath him then crashed into the stone, crushing the alien against the ground. It was dead on impact.

Standing to his feet, a massive explosion rocked the wall next to him and a giant pillar of smoke reached for the sky. A sickening stench wafted over them as burning flesh and bone filled the air.

Taking a deep breath, Kal once again leapt onto the roof of a house and looked for Yvlana. She appeared out of the smoky gusts of the blast, Yvlana must have immediately used the grenade which would give them a momentary respite. This time, Kal landed on the wall and touched her arm as she still looked disoriented from the blast.

“Are you alright?” Kal asked.

“Yes. Yes.” Yvlana waved him off. “Kal…” she paused. “We can’t win this.”

Glancing to the east and west, a sinking dread filled him as Thrak poured over the wall uncontested. The humans had been overrun without them but thankfully Felkuru and Lamir held the northside but in the grand scheme, it meant little. Thousands of them rushed into the city and began slaughtering the women and children.

He had felt this way before, when his homeworld was being overrun and when they retreated from planet to planet desperately trying to survive. Nothing had changed, the Thrak would overwhelm them as they had done thousands of years ago.

“I’ve got one more of these.” Kal fondled the E.E. grenade in his hand.

“That won’t be enough.” Yvlana spat out black saliva. Her blonde hair and face were untouched as her helmet pulled down. The rest of her suit was covered in dust and blood.

“I know.” Kal sighed.

He couldn’t accept that this was the end for them. Still wanted deeply to spend the rest of his life with Yvlana. Intervals of panic and fear washed over him but he fought it back each time. He racked his brain for a solution but kept coming up empty-handed.

“It’s okay.” Yvlana grabbed his hand. “You don’t always have to have an answer. This isn’t your fault.”

She knew him as well as his thoughts drifted to ways he could have changed things. “If only.” the thought kept coming back but her words calmed him slightly.

“I know,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry I punched you,” Kal said out of the blue.

Despite their situation and the carnage around them, Yvlana laughed wholeheartedly.

“I forgive you,” she smirked. “Kal,” she said more seriously.

“What?” he looked into her eyes.

“Let’s run,” she said. “We can get Lamir and just run away from here.”

He would be lying if the thought hadn't already crossed his mind but hearing her say it solidified his decision.

With a frown of disappointment, not just at her but in general, “You know I can’t do that.” Kal said. “I won’t leave them. Even if it kills me, I won't turn my back on them like they did us on Votis.”

“But why not?” she raised her voice. “The humans mean nothing to us. Is it the Vog? Fel? He can come with us.” she said rapidly as if trying to convince herself.

“Yvlana,” Kal said softly. “Stop.”

“I don’t want to die like this,” she whispered. “I want to live. Get married. Have children.”

At that moment, Yvlana Arthas looked frail and defeated. Quickly, Kal pulled her close and kissed her gently on the lips, and held her tight.

“I want that too,” he mumbled through the kiss.

Another explosion shot into the sky from the north, interrupting them and pulling them back into reality. Lamir must have used one of the E.E. grenades which sent another pillar of smoke into the sky.

“Lamir used one,” Kal said. “I gave him two.”

“You still have one,” Yvlana said. “We should pull back and defend the castle.”

Another enormous explosion several hundred feet from the last, shook the ground as smoke blasted into the air. Turning, Kal saw the Thrak had nearly climbed back up where Yvlana had thrown her grenade.

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There was no retreating in formation, only chaos as Thrak gushed into Xerixes. The streets became filled with the aliens, causing havoc wherever they went.

“Retreat!” Kal bellowed at the top of his lungs.

Several horns sounded the retreat and the effect spread through the city. From their vantage point, he could see crowds of people already clumped together at the entrance of the castle. The outer gates had fallen and there was nothing they could do.

Utter chaos insured. The men on the wall had little chance of retreat as they had Thrak clambering over them constantly, which meant they were being left behind to die.

A moment of pause stopped Kal from fleeing the wall but the chaos only got worse as massive volleys of spikes rained down upon them. The female Thrak had finally started shooting and the destruction was horrendous.

Buildings collapsed and humans and Vog were skewered and slaughtered. Nothing escaped the bone projectiles, even the male Thrak were caught in the fire.

Yanking Yvlana’s arm, Kal flung her off the wall just in time as a volley of spikes sprayed the tops of the walls. Some were blocked and ricocheted off the shields but most were pierced and shoved the men right off the wall. Kaladin ducked as he threw Yvlana down but was smacked in the thigh and rib by the bullet-like bones.

The impact sent him flying off the wall and caused him to spin out of control through the air. Unable to see which way was up, Kal braced himself before hitting the ground.

Thankfully, Yvlana slammed into him mid-air and stopped him from spinning in time for him to land on his feet. She crashed onto a roof on her back and looked at him through her helmet.

Seeing her helmet, Kal checked the status of his own and was relieved to see it had repaired itself in the time it had taken him to run across the city. Activating his helmet, he immediately spoke into his com-link.

“Thanks for that.” Kal huffed, out of breath.

“Don’t mention it.” Yvlana smacked her lips in a kiss.

“Where are you guys?” Lamir chimed in. “We’ve retreated to the castle. Felkuru can’t hold them off much longer.”

“Where is he?” Kal asked, worried for his alien friend.

“He’s holding the gate with a dozen Vog,” Lamir responded. “Everyone is trying to get in and he's blocking the entrance from the Thrak.”

“We’re on our way,” Kal said as he jumped over to Yvlana.

“Get here fast,” Lamir said. “I need you two.”

“We’re coming, Lamir.” Yvlana said. “Just hold on.”

Sprinting at top speed, Kal and Yvlana jumped the gaps of the buildings and quickly made their way toward the palace. There was chaos everywhere but could do little to stop it.

Everyone on the wall was wiped out and any remaining archers had already fled, falling back to the inner walls.

“There isn’t enough room for them,” Lamir said over the com. “Millions of people are flocking in. I can’t save them, Kal. What do we do?” he sounded desperate.

“Just hold on!” Kaladin said forcefully. “One more minute. I’ve got one last grenade we can use. It might give us enough time to get everyone inside.”

“We have to close the gates,” Lamir said. “Literally, there isn’t enough room for everyone. The palace is full to the brim and the courtyard is full of soldiers.”

“And the citizens are getting in the way of them,” Yvlana said. “They can’t get to the Vog to help.”

Kal landed on a building, then saw what Lamir meant. Fel was battling hundreds of Thrak, and they kept crowding around him, trying to get at his stomach. The Vog’s one weak point was their underbelly where their scales were weakest. The Thrak were slamming into him from one side, trying to unbalance him and the female Vog were trying to protect his sides but the humans were getting in the way.

It became a bloodbath of bodies and crowded close-quarters fighting. Hardly any room to maneuver.

“FEL!” Kal spoke to him with his mind. “Get back over the wall. You can’t save them. Lamir is closing the gates.”

“No, Kaladin,” Fel grumbled. “We cannot abandon them.”

“You have too!” Kal said desperately, pulling out his L.E.C. pistol and firing it into the Thrak horde.

“There is no time my friend,” Fel said sadly. “If we run now we will only die moments later.”

“I-I…” Kal stuttered. “What do we do?” he asked.

“I am sorry, Kaladin, but there is nothing we can do to stop the inevitable,” Fel said. “Our time has come. We fought bravely and with honor, that is all we could do.”

“There has to be something we can do!” Kal shouted, his fear rising.

“You can’t fix this, my dear friend,” Fel grunted as he sank his teeth into three Thrak.

“Watch out!” Lamir yelled over the com.

Kaladin whipped his head around to see the entire wall full of the female Thrak, readying their aim. Yvlana tackled him off the building and into the street below as a volley of spikes sprayed the city relentlessly.

They tore the city to shreds. Rubble and collapsed stone stood in their wake as another volley peppered the city like cannons.

Almost every man, woman, and child were ruthlessly skewered, along with dozens of Vog, and Fel was struck many times but his armor protected him. Praying it would all stop, Kal watched as the building in which Yvlana had hidden behind, collapsed over them. Kaladin flipped Yvlana over and he braced himself on top of her, shielding her from the stones.

The stones did little to damage his shields but the weight was immense. They were completely buried in rubble and Yvlana began supporting him with her legs and arms, keeping some of the weight off of his back.

“Thanks,” Yvlana muttered.

“Don’t mention it.” Kal groaned from the strain.

Heaving with all his might, Kal shoved the main wall off of them as Yvlana protected his sides from any more falling debris. Pushing out of the stone, Kal caught the last glimpse of Felkuru being hit by a volley of spikes and his sides were exposed.

“NO!” Kal screamed.

Felkuru howled in pain as bones pierced his hide and sunk deep into his throat and stomach. Blood and pieces of flesh lay around him and without pause, the male Thrak went in for the kill.

“Run,” Fel said as he was torn to pieces.

“Come on!” Yvlana yelled, dragging him to his feet. “We have to go!”

The sky covered them in shadows and Kal looked up to see a veil of spikes coming down on top of them. Kal pushed Yvlana over, and jumped on top of her once again, covering her body with his own.

The force of the impact was incredible as the bones shattered off his shields but slammed him into the ground. Yvlana however, cushioned the blows as her body kept him from sinking into the stone from the force.

His shields broke and an instant later the spikes sunk into his armor, quickly weakening the Frostrum steel. He felt intense pain as one pierced his side and left shoulder. The back of his head was hit, which caused him to smash his own head into Yvlana’s.

As quickly as it came, it stopped. Kal collapsed onto Yvlana, exhausted and in pain. Hundreds of dead Thrak littered the roads and humans and Vog accompanied the dead. Hands lifted him into the air as his vision was blurred and he couldn’t hear or see properly. His head spun from the shot to the helmet, which is probably why he felt so dizzy.

His vision slowly cleared and he snapped out of his daze. Lamir was carrying him over his shoulder and Yvlana was behind them, limping. Her leg and been pierced by a spike and her shields too, were depleted, her armor was battered but not nearly as bad as his own.

Along with waking, the pain did too. His shoulder felt like it had been ripped off and his stomach felt like it had been ripped out. At the corner of his eye, Kal saw Thrak approach from behind, silently creeping up on them.

“Look…” Kal coughed up blood. “Behind,” he muttered, trying to point but his arm wouldn’t work.

Yvlana noticed too late as they lunged for her. She spun around just in time to be stabbed straight through the stomach, the claws reaching through her body and the alien lifted her slightly into the air before its comrades reached her.

Lamir dropped Kal to the ground, making him scream in pain, his shoulder and stomach flared in agony.

Lamir made quick work of the Thrak and then lifted Yvlana over his shoulder, she didn’t look conscious. Fear and worry overshadowed the pain coming from his body.

“Yvlana,” he whispered as Lamir grabbed his good arm, and started dragging him to the gate of the castle.

Arrows and blasts of energy came from the walls, killing the stragglers. The Thrak had been temporarily stopped due to the mass explosion of volleys, killing everything in their path.

Lamir stopped dragging him a moment later and the gates slammed shut behind them. Kal rolled over to get a look at Yvlana, praying she was still alive.

With sorrow and horror, Lamir looked back at him, kneeling over his sister. “She’s dead,” he whispered.

Kaladin’s heart froze mid-beat. His body went cold and he couldn’t feel anything for a long moment. Lamir didn’t cry but he knelt there, mourning his sister. As Kaladin stared in horrific realization that the woman he loved, was dead, his mind went blank.

PART 2

Kaladin crawled to Yvlana’s motionless body. He was bleeding profusely from his wounds and his left arm was barely attached to his shoulder.

Howls and pounding at the gate interrupted his moment of mourning.

The guards shouted and screamed but there was nothing anyone could do. “This is it.” he thought. “We all die here.”

“Get up!” Lamir said. “She wouldn’t want you to die like this. Help me fight one last time.”

Kal knew, Lamir was only trying to get his mind off of Yvlana and point his anger toward the Thrak but it worked anyway. Kal grunted in pain but he managed to stand on his feet, though he was clutching his side and his left arm was all but useless now.

“I’ve got one last thing to do,” Kal said, pulling out the E.E. grenade.

Lamir gave him an evil smile and sprinted off toward the stairs, making his way to the wall. Kaladin, followed behind him, although be it at a slower pace.

Less than a hundred humans fought at the wall, dead lay everywhere, most covered in spikes. Women and children weren’t spared, the Thrak would destroy them all.

A massive pile of Thrak climbed up the wall, almost reaching the top. Lamir was hacking away with his sword, cutting them down mercilessly. He screamed a warcry, filling the rest of the humans with a rage and fury like no other. The humans fought like beasts, without backing down, to the bitter end.

Every person here knew, this was the day they all died, yet they fought on as no man had. Filled with strength and the need to avenge their fellow man, Kal slumped against the wall, looking over the side.

Grenade in hand, Kal activated it and threw it toward the largest pile of Thrak he could see. A moment later, everyone ducked behind the stone as the E.E. blast incinerated everything in its path.

Chunks of dead Thrak flew everywhere and rained down on them but the blast did little to stop them. Only climbing over their dead comrades to reach the top.

“Incoming!” Kal yelled as the female Thrak shot a volley at them from his side.

Lamir and a dozen others were directly hit, sending them all flying. Lamir was the only one that lived, however, he had been pinned to the wall through his chest and Kal coughed up more blood, yelling out to him.

“I’m finished.” Lamir wheezed.

“Lamir…” Kal coughed again. “I’m sorry. I tried to...”

“I know buddy.” Lamir choked. “We had... a good run.”

From several paces off, Kal could see him slump against the wall. He screamed in his mind, cursing the Thrak and their master. Whoever he was, he would do anything to kill him.

Looking around, almost all fighting had stopped, Thrak were surrounding anyone left and six Thrak crowded around him. Kal lamely pulled out his pistol but couldn’t find the strength to even lift it.

The Thrak’s eyes brightened and honed in on him. They barred their leech-like mouths and lunged for him. Pulling up his arm, Kal covered his face and sucked in air, waiting to be devoured.

A moment passed and nothing happened. Lowering his arm, Kal’s mouth dropped as everything was frozen. The Thrak crowding around him, unmoving. The few men below stopped in place. As if time had stopped, Kal looked around, wondering what had happened.

“Am…” Kal stuttered. “I dead?”

“No.” a deep and calming voice overhead spoke. “You are not dead, Kaladin Valhorn.”