It has been 10 days since we retreated from the walls. Milo, Ulrik and Gabriel are dead. Zara is alive only by the graces of God. Her injuries are grave. She will not make it.

My energy runs low and of my squad only three remain.

Most of the captains died. Those foul things knew what and who to target. It was the true horror of the fallen. A collective hive mind that assimilated all the knowledge of those they killed and turned.

I blocked a clawed hand that burst through the thicket of leaves by the tree I stood. I pulled my glaive out of my way and thrust my sword into the void of leaves.

I felt some resistance as my sword struck true. It snarled and jumped down from the branch it hung.

"Ambush!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Our makeshift camp sprung up in activity and the torches were lit.

Brutus, the only surving captain from our wall, the first captain of the 501st wall division, took command.

"Support the night watch! Leave your things and get the fuck up now!"

I checked the abomination with my shoulder and pulled my sword free from it's torso. Black blood flowed freely from its wound.

I waisted no time stepping forward with my right foot, pressing my advantage while it struggled to get back up on its feet.

I swung my sword downward, cleaving into its head. That did nothing to slow it down.

It grabbed the blade of my sword, trying and failing to hold it in place as I launched a devastating kick into it's chest. I felt my foot crush bone and sink into its rancid flesh.

It stopped it's struggle and I pulled my sword free.

To kill the human types, you had to crush their chests. That was were their cores were. As for the beasts? Their physiology allowed for some very insidious tricks. You either crush them flat or cut them in half from cheek to arse.

I wondered why I wasn't beset by another of the foul things till I saw Marcus, James and Filo holding them off.

They were the last few members of my very shortlived squad.

I rushed towards Filo, he was closest to me and slammed my entire weight into the fallen human he held off.

The elite rank strength pattern allowed me to don much heavier armor than the others could. It led to a very devastating charge that picked the thing off its feet and launched it straight into a tree with a sickening crunch.

It did not get up.

All my current power could only be attributed to the traits of my arcane talent. It doubled the power and efficiency of any pattern I learn from the arcane texts.

I was pretty much a walking tank that rivaled a master in strength and a grandmaster in recovery.

I praised whoever thought up the idea of full plate armour. Though I wasn't as skilled as a captain, I could match them in sheer power and survivability with these heavy plates.

My legs never stopped moving. I arrived by Marcus side and swung my glaive with my left hand. It cleaved the the fallen human in half. Marcus waisted no time to stab it's core, breaking it into a dozen pieces.

I heard a scream. It came from James. His sword was caught in the things right hand while its clawed left dug into his shoulder.

Filo, who had been taking care to sneak up on it, rushed out from behind and swung his sword across its chest. It was deep enough. It fell.

The rest of the camp were cleaning up. I met Brutus's stare with mine. I had warned the idiot. I told him we should have taken the extra time to set camp on the other side of the forest. Even if we were attacked, most of us would be able to fight more effectively.

Our group consisted of freshly trained recruits, me included, that only learned how to wield a spear or glaive properly. These were long reaching weapoms that would be made useless in a thick forest like this.

He just disagreed because he didn't want a green horn like me giving any suggestions. He and his other cronies decided stopping here and resting was a great idea.

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Now 8 of us lay dead and 6 more were added to the critically wounded. 14 out of our remaining 40 capable of battle were down for the count. Out of the 8 that died, 3 of his squad leaders were killed.

It served them right.

He looked away in slight embarrassment and ordered the rest of us to pack up and head out of the forest.

We would set up camp and recieve any survivors that make it through the forest as well. We will camp there only for the time it takes to treat a few of the less critical injuries and recharge some of our lost energy through meditation in shifts.

His orders were executed as quicly as humanely possible. The injured were put on makeshift stretchers and their carriers would switch every few miles traveled.

We couldn't stay in the forest any longer. Those were just the scouts that found us. We had to leave before their queen thought we were a good enough target to siphon of the resources she was currently throwing at the commanders camp.

I tried to keep Zara talking. We spoke about everything from how her life was before we came to this world, about her deceased husband, about her nieces and nephews she dearly missed.

That was all I could do to just keep her here with us.

Malcom and the twins walked behind us. He was great at keeping their minds off of things. It was painful to see those kids fight with their lives on the line.

What hurt me were the teenagers we got close to. They couldn't go through the genetic enhancements till they were done growing, the twins included, but that didn't stop the captains from putting them in armor.

I watched Luke die in my arms. His body was cleaved in two by on of the fallen humans that got passed our guard when we were at the walls.

He protected the rest of the kids left in the baracks.

Even while he bled out, he held his spear in hand.

Fuck.

I noticed the silence on our walk. Zara had been silent for the past 5 minutes. I had continued to walk, taking over those that carried her stretcher a few miles back to ease their burden.

I refused to look back. I just dragged the silent stretcher behind me. It was much heavier now. A weight I couldn't shoulder with all my newfound power.

We made it out of the forest. Malcom placed his hand on my pauldron to let me know. My mind was elsewhere, in better times. Times with my ex.

We laid her down and I finall saw her.

Her eyes were open and glassy, but she had a smile on her face.

I wept.

I set up a pire with aid from Malcom and the twins. I laid the torch at its feet and watched it burn while the rest set up camp. Her body was somewhere in there, but her soul now rested in the sky.

I did not blame God. I was past that. Heck I still prayed to Him every single day. I asked Him why we suffered. Why were we brought here. Just why.... I received no answer. Nothing.

I knew He was up there which made His silence so hard to forgive.

The events of the previous days played in my mind.

The day my squad members were assigned. The reunion with those that were taken for the captain training. My first day guarding the wall, and the day it all came crashing down.

My squad among a few others were to relieve those on duty. As we reached the transportation array, the alarm went off.

We made a mad dash to the baracks to salvage what we could and retreat to the temporary defense line.

The soldiers on the wall were abandoned. It was too late for them. All they could do was buy us time.

I was the first to see Luke at the entrance to our barack, his entrails spilled on the floor and the cocky grin on his face as he proclaimed he had protected everyone.

I held his broken body as he let out his last breath. I did not cry then. The tears did not come.

I saw the corpse of one of the fallen a few steps inside. It was a night rider. A small goblin like creature with a skin membrane that gave it the ability to glide. It was one of the few scouts the Queen used.

The things were deceptively fast, and their claws were as sharp as they were in life.

I saw the many holes in its body.

Luke must have stabbed it so many times before he got lucky and hit its core.

The captains that were lucky enough to be off duty split us off into smaller groups to increase our chances of survival.

Large groups were almost always targeted first.

After that was a mad dash toward the forest as the first of the fallen broke through the defenses on the walls.

We were fast, but they were faster.

We were beset by hordes of the fallen before we reached forest.

Malcom and Gabriel held the front with an astonishing display of skill. I hesitated to join the fray, but I joined in nonetheless.

Our saving grace came in the form of a man in green robes.

A mere wave of his hand sent currents of wind stronger than any storm known to man. He charged in while the rest of us fled.

He was the commander and the prize the Queen coveted.

His appearance led many of the stronger fallen away, but the much weaker and more numerous ones charged us again.

"Take cover!" Someone called out.

I saw a giant spear hurtling straight towards me.

I wasn't so sure I would survive it and was prepared to step away and let it wreak whatever havoc it sought in our back lines.

It was selfish of me and beyond disgusting. The kids were behind me. How could I move?

Gabriel stepped infront of me and took it head on.

It pierced through, it's head gleaming read with blood as it punched out of his back and stopped. Gabriel held its shaft in his bloodied hands.

He called out my name and ran to him.

I could see it more clearly. His hands had dug into the wood of the shaft and his feet left deep furrows in the ground.

He used everything to stop it from moving forward.

"Listen." He coughed "God has plans for you. You can not and will not die." I nearly laughed in his face. The same God that never once answered my pleas? That same God that blessed him but shunned me?

"He forgives you and I forgive you as well. It is hard to die for others"

Guilt gripped my heart. I stood there with inner turmoil. I was prepared to let them die. To let children die. To do what? To preserve my rotten life?

"Go. Protect them in my stead. I believe in you John."

And now here I was. Sending off another person I was meant to protect. Someone I told everying would be fine. Someone I promised will live when her chest was pierced by the fallen. Someone I promised would live to see the smile of her nieces again.

I was a liar. I knew she wouldn't make it. Nothing short of a miracle could heal the hole in her chest.

I just said everything I could to keep her her with us. To give her faith.

She held strong and died with a smile.

I would give the fallen no such grace.