Marcus ran past the statue in town square, looking up at the man on his horse, raising his sword to the sky. He continued down and closed in on the obstacle course, Catherine way ahead of him in the distance. At his heels, Leeroy ran. Marcus jumped over a log and then under another one. Crawled through the trench, feeling the cold mud slip into his shirt.

He shook off the tense feeling in his muscles, that warmth mixed with a chill deep inside his limbs. Leeroy scrambled to crawl behind him, and on the other side of the wall, Marcus heard Catherine yelling at the finish line. She had sailed over this obstacle like an eagle, making people like Leeroy and Marcus look bleak in comparison.

Over the past weeks, Marcus’ muscles had grown leaner, more taught. His clothes fitted him looser now, but he could feel the muscles underneath. It was really a stranger’s body now, nothing like his old body had been. He was a new man.

Marcus fixed his gaze on the top of the wall. He grabbed the rope with both hands and took in a sharp inhale. He placed his boot against the slick wood and then he climbed. It wasn’t like looking at Catherine, who was gracious. But he continued, and he was making his way up.

Yesterday, he had almost gotten to the top, but his muscles had felt sore by the end and his leg had slipped. He had plummeted down to the ground, crashing into the cold dirt beneath. This time, that wasn’t going to happen.

At halfway, Marcus felt his muscles protesting, giving in and wanting to leave him on the ground once more. Marcus strained against the feeling of giving up, keeping his gaze fixed on that point at the top. If he could only take a few more steps, then he could swing his leg up and conquer this obstacle.

The wall shook and Marcus’ gaze shot down. Leeroy was climbing up to his side. Just making his first steps against the wall. Marcus felt his legs wavering and looking at the ground made him feel more tired than before. The feeling was like pushing through deep snow or water, but Marcus fought it and took another step.

He didn’t make the mistake of looking down again and every time the wall shook from Leeroy’s body climbing upward, Marcus just took another step. Forcing himself to keep going. He was up; he was at the top.

Marcus grabbed the rope as high up as he could and sucked in another breath, this time through clenched teeth. He hauled his body with his arms, swinging his leg up. His foot caught on the edge and for a second Marcus panicked, but then he twisted his foot higher, crawling his way up the last stretch.

His leg caught, hooking him to the wall, and Marcus hauled himself that last way with a groan escaping his lips. Marcus’ chest heaved, his legs ached, and he was sitting on the top of the wall. His thighs kept him steady in place, refusing to let him fall. He dared to look down, seeing Catherine on the other side waving at him, smiling.

“You got this,” she said. “Just make it down and you’ve finished.”

Marcus’ gaze caught with Sergeant Tick. He had a frown on his face. Marcus knew he would blow that whistle soon. He would yell at them that today’s attempt was over. Marcus only had a few seconds to make it down from the wall and cross the finish line. He started edging his body over, taking a last glance at the other side. His gaze landed on Leeroy, almost there, reaching toward the top.

Leeroy grabbed the rope harder, swinging his leg up. It graced the top of the wall and Marcus’ breath caught as he saw Leeroy’s leg miss and swing down.

Leeroy groaned. His arms were twitching, holding up his body weight. Marcus cast one last glance at Catherine, jumping in the distance. He shimmied himself closer to where Leeroy was hanging on by the rope. He looked like he was going to let go.

“Try again,” Marcus said.

Leeroy looked up and saw Marcus holding out a hand toward him. For a second, Leeroy seemed to analyze the situation. Was it worth it for him to try again?

Then his arms stilled, his muscles grew taut and his grip around the rope hardened. He swung his leg up toward the top, this time he made it even further away from the goal. But Marcus was there, he caught Leeroy’s ankle and hauled him the last stretch. He grabbed Leeroy’s thigh and gave him a pull, helping him up onto the wall. Together they finally sat face to face smiling at each other.

Marcus felt like he was a boy in that second, not a man. A boy and his friend, who had helped each other reach the top of an apple tree. Who were going to steal as many apples as they could carry and run as fast as they could into the woods. His grin was wide, an ear to ear sensation when everything in the world seemed right.

He swung his leg around to the other side and made himself ready to travel down the wall. But then Sergeant Tick blew the whistle and Catherine’s cheer stuck in her throat for a moment. It grew quiet and Marcus’s gaze flew over to Leeroy; he was still smiling. A wide grin, seeming to light up his entire being.

He had made it over the wall for the first time. And so had Marcus. Who cared if they hadn’t done it in the arbitrary time Sergeant Tick commanded of them?

They had fought the wall, and they had won.

Marcus’s boots hit the ground and his smile stretched even wider when Catherine ran up, cheering again. She patted him on the back and Leeroy threw his arms around them both. He yelled into Marcus’s ear and jumped up and down. This was clearly his best accomplishment yet.

Marcus’ gaze caught with Sergeant Tick, watching the three of them. His lips were curling upward, almost like he was smiling. Catherine and Leeroy made their way to the showers, but Sergeant Tick asked Marcus to stay behind.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Good job, soldier,” Sergeant Tick said, his face now back to neutral. “That was the stuff leaders are made of. You will make a great addition to the army. We need more people like you, especially now that the threat is growing. Soldiers need to look after one another, not just care about their own accomplishments. And you proved what you’re made of today.”

“Thanks,” Marcus said. “But what do you mean, the threat is increasing?”

“You haven’t seen them?” Sergeant Tick asked.

“Seen what?”

“The beasts, the shadows, the howls.” A frown spread over his forehead. “Don’t worry, you will soon enough. An attack is bound to happen sometime, hopefully. Otherwise, you will see them in a few weeks out in the wasteland by the villages.”

“Hopefully? You want the attacks to happen?”

Sergeant Tick shook his head. “Nah, but we don’t want them to not happen either. There is something eerie in the way they haven’t bothered us in a while. Something is wrong in the way they’re stacking up numbers in the dark.”

A shiver ran down Marcus’ spine. He hadn't really thought too much about it. About what he would be fighting. He had just thought himself lucky for not seeing the enemy yet. For not experiencing an attack in Aldrion.

Sergeant Tick dunked Marcus in the back. “Go on, hit the showers.”

Marcus nodded and stalked off toward the army facilities. He left the sergeant behind, but the feeling of dread followed him inside.

#

It was evening when Catherine held the door open for Marcus and Leeroy to walk inside the Last Stance.

“Losers pay,” she said as they walked in.

“Hey what? We didn't lose, I won today. I finally made it over the wall.”

“Yeah, but not in time. Sergeant Dick had already blown the whistle when you two lazy asses made it over.”

“No fair,” Leeroy said. “You always make it up the wall. So with those rules, you will never have to pay.”

Catherine shot him an innocent gaze. “Yeah… And the problem with that is?”

Leeroy shook his head and unlatched his coin purse from his belt.

“You two find a table. I guess I’ll buy the first round.”

Marcus and Catherine found a table by the wall and Leeroy returned shortly with three beers clutched between his hands. He spilled some on the table as he placed them down, but no one cared. This wasn’t a fancy establishment, especially not during the evenings.

“Oh shit, I almost forgot,” Catherine said. “Did you see the Dick smile today?”

Marcus’ eyes widened, staring at Catherine with bewilderment. Leeroy coughed up some beer from his throat and started laughing.

“Is that what we call the sergeant now?”

Catherine flashed them an innocent grin. “Yep, it’s his shorthand. Who wants to say Sergeant all the time?”

“Oh, man,” Marcus said, dragging a hand over his face. “I’m going to have to get used to the two of you. You know the dragons don't really condone language like the one you two use?”

Catherine shrugged. “I don’t think the mother does either, but who the hell cares? She hasn’t come to smite me or anything. She actually is the reason I always pass the obstacle course. It’s with her strength that I can perform on a superior level to you two lazy worms.”

Marcus rolled his eyes.

“But hey, man, what did the Dick say to you after training?” Leeroy asked.

“Sergeant Tick,” Marcus said, glaring at Leeroy. “He told me I was a natural leader or something like that. And then he said some strange things about the threat level increasing.”

Marcus raised an eyebrow.

Both Leeroy and Catherine grew pale when he mentioned this. They sipped on their beers quietly and Marcus got the feeling they knew more than they led on.

“What does that mean? What is happening here?” Marcus asked.

Leeroy cleared his throat. “It’s not good. The latest report from the scouts detailed growing numbers. The darkness is tightening on the horizon and more people are disappearing in the wasteland.”

“Then why are we going out there?”

Leeroy and Catherine shared a glance.

“We have to,” Catherine said. “You haven’t been here for very long. But the beasts won’t stop attacking Aldrion. They never had. And this has happened before. They have stopped attacking us for long stretches, but only to grow their numbers and then hit us with an even bigger force. It’s like they’re testing to see once in a while if a big push will knock us down. They want to get into the valley.”

“Why?”

“Who knows?” Catherine said. “It isn’t like we speak to them. You valley-folk seem to think we have some connection, some unspoken bond with our enemy. But we don’t. They don’t negotiate. They don’t take prisoners and they don’t speak. They’re made of shadows and darkness. It’s not like we can understand their motives.”

Marcus nodded, mostly because he didn’t know what to say. Had he thought they could understand them?

Yeah, perhaps. He had thought that someone must know what they wanted, why they were doing this. He didn’t know why. He’d just assumed.

“Okay, so we don’t know what they want,” Marcus said, twirling his glass against the table. “But like, why do we have to go out into the wastes? Why don’t we just stay inside the protection of the walls?”

“Well, everyone doesn’t agree we need to go out there,” Leeroy said, shooting a glance at Catherine. “It’s like this. Some people say we should go out into the wastes and cleanse away all the beasts. But that’s been tried and didn't work. And then some other people are saying, just stay behind the walls, leave the villages to die outside. But then we wouldn’t get any intel about the enemy. So now we have sort of a compromise in between. We stay behind the wall most of the time, but patrol the villages and send out elemental warriors to scout. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Marcus took a sip of his beer, letting his tongue swirl around in the flavor of barley and wheat.

“Hmm… I guess that is a compromise,” he said. “But don’t you wish there was some way to get an upper hand on them and strike back?”

Leeroy shrugged. “Sure, mate. But what would that be?”

Indeed, what would that be? Some new impossible magic, like Mel had been speaking to him about. Or some new military strategy, maybe making the elemental warriors fight in the army. Train more elemental warriors?

“Yeah, people probably have already thought these things and haven’t come up with anything,” Marcus said. “I just wish we could find a way to save people.”

Catherine gave Marcus a wide smile and Leeroy clinked his glass against Marcus’.

“That’s just because you have a big heart,” Leeroy said. “And some grandiose delusions of saving the world.”

A blush spread on Marcus’ face and he winced.