14
Outcome I
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Edward and Theo stood behind the clerestory. Two pairs of eyes were watching the stride of the three wolves.
The rhythmic assault on the church gate had opened up a crack. This small sight now betrayed their presence. With a frame bent out of shape, the door started giving way. Every single person, no matter how old, pushed back with fear as the cracks increased.
Fear and doubt started showing on everyone’s faces, followed by great resentment. Every tremor pushed them closer to death, yet they could do nothing about it.
The window’s glass had broken and through the cracks two guns aimed out at charging wolves. The vibrations of the impact shook the two guns, each tremor pushed them closer to pulling the trigger.
But then everything went silent.
The crash that came never happened, the wolves had slowed. A resounding gunshot that followed a human shout marked the landing of the dice. Yet this was quickly overwhelmed by the snap of a bowstring.
It was so loud that even the windows they were hiding behind started trembling.
‘Impossible.’ Alphons looked with wide eyes. Dread overwhelmed them as the arrow flew toward a roof.
Everything went silent. A massive howl of the dire wolf was the only noise that filled this void. And then two more howls forced everything back into action.
‘No!’ Alphons panicked, he instantly started moving. Theo was jolted awake by his father and their aim finally realigned.
The goblins’ insanity reached a crescendo, shrieks so loud even the glass windows started shaking echoed inside the church. Most couldn’t help but hold their ears as their eardrums almost ruptured.
“Alphons!” A voice sounded out.
The assault had momentarily stopped. Edward, who knew something was wrong yelled out.
The wolves had momentarily halted. Yet their next couple of steps made it obvious, they were preparing for a sprint.
Edward ran up the stairs. Yet the first thing he saw were two shots firing through a crack in the windows.
They only had a single chance, their window of opportunity was small. The most important detail was the element of surprise. These creatures were highly adaptable. From the shot during the first assault, they had already realized the extent of the lethal range of their guns.
This was their only chance, Alphons couldn’t wait and see what happened. The moment the wolves stepped forward Alphons and Theo fired their bullets.
Their silence had paid off, the goblin's taunting on the church door didn’t work. No, the silence had made the goblins more aggressive. These predators knew something was wrong. And it was this uncertainty and eagerness that formed the human's only chance.
That single pause of the main force. Right within their range.
Alduin's first shot changed everything. The two ensuing bullets only cemented what was going to happen.
Wolves, larger than a human, each with little to no fur had been whipped into action. Yet their muscles, covered with scars, cuts, gashes, and burn marks, didn’t move.
The changes had already occurred.
The first thud followed the snap of the bowstring. Something landed on the ground. Shortly after two loud shots rang out and the last two wolves also paused. The stride they were preparing for stopped. The whips cutting their skin never fell.
Instead, what fell were two more thuds. The remaining goblin riders fell down onto the pavement.
“Double!” Alphons yelled. The surrounding goblins immediately sprang into action. But before this horde of monsters could offer their leaders protection, two more shots rang out.
“The archers are gone!” Alphons yelled with urgency. They were certain, a double tap had killed the final two.
Edward who heard Alphons' confirmation roared loudly, “Now!”
The people dismantled the barricade with haste. They had no time to waste, even after the assault a wide gap was forced open through the crumbling doors. And as the gates opened, people carrying makeshift spikes, clubs, and even slingshots, finally exited the church.
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Theo and Alphons had already reloaded and started aiming at the more aggressive and quick-witted goblins.
Three wolves had been freed from their riders. One followed a group of goblins closely but the other two were extremely hostile. Chaos dominated the town square as the wolves bit goblins with insanity. The docile beasts had turned on the same species as their masters.
A domineering force stepped out of the entrance in a formation. The goblins who deemed them as weak prey were incapacitated with every shot. Chaos suddenly reigned as more changes occured. The entire battle had shifted, humanity's sure demise now changed into an unexpected assault.
The absence of the leader only worsened things for the goblins.
“PUSH!” Pikes pierced forward with every shout.
Edward ordered the rapid destruction of the opposing formation. Any goblin that showed a semblance of leadership was either prioritized with a pike or killed off with a shot.
The gathering Goblins kept failing to find a new structure. Their sharp weapons forced multiple people into defense.
“PUSH!” Another wave pushed forward. 200 people synchronized their actions. Even if they were weaker individually, more than enough arms could make up the difference. But even so, blood splattered in all directions as a maddening force pushed back.
But some also carried shields, Leon protected the flank as his blade pierced forward to a group that wished to surround them.
“They’re there!” Someone shouted.
“Kill them!” Another answered.
The survivors were moving toward a place where goblins had gathered. Their line of success was ever so small, but now they had found a chance at survival. They had found their targets.
Two bloodied bodies became visible through the chaotic creatures. One lay with a hole in its chest while the other tried pushing itself up with a gasped breath.
“PIERCE!” Edward yelled out. The goal that would mark success, all their effort was for this moment.
Two eyes with horizontal, goat-like pupils, stared back before trying its last mad charge. Sharp teeth and a crooked smile showed its disdain. Yet it was only answered by ten pikes entering its dying body.
“Where’s the third?” Edward roared as the axe he grabbed somewhere glowed a crimson red.
Goblins immediately started scattering the moment these two captains were killed. And through this chaos, a tight group could be seen escaping on the main road. Followed by almost all retreating goblins.
The two wolves had become the target of the rifles. Continuous shots rang out. Pikes pierced forward. The goblins in their jaws should bring their total higher than 20.
‘78.’ Edward had been paying attention but fear overwhelmed him. ‘Twenty of them was all we could-‘ Edward looked at the ones escaping. If they managed to escape, the survivors would be hunted again and again.
‘Alduin,’ Edward thought as he started his next move. Through the blood-stained square, the outcome could be seen.
“VELEDA!” Edward yelled towards the inside of the church.
And with his signal, it only took a moment before a town bell rang out. Their enforced silence had been completely washed away. And with it their last remaining strength.
The bell rang out, from the middle of town all the way to edge of the forest.
They weren’t able to resist another assault. They had to finish it now. If they were to return, they would be the ones to lay dead in this town square. Even the church gates couldn’t take anything more.
The bell served as their cue. Every survivor was guided back into the church as the square they fought a death battle for was now evacuated.
Permanent lightning-like cracks had completely covered the world like a dome. A network of roots in a blood-red sky.
And the town square, coated in a bright red colour, mimicked the sky. The town had been ravaged completely. An unimaginable sight of dead, lay spread out in front of them. The last semblance of life were the retreating goblins.
“Grandpa, where’s Alduin?!” Veleda tried to catch her breath but she noticed their plan had gone awry.
“He’ll be alright,'' Edward said, but he wasn’t able to look at Veleda. He wasn’t able to hide his worry. Even now, uncertainty for their survival still surrounded them.
“Edward, we can’t close the gate!” Theo yelled out. The hinges had completely collapsed now that the door had exited its frame.
“We-”
A blaze. Fire. Heat.
The red sky shone with intense light. The red filter started glowing. It all happened in an instant. The bright red sky and the dark red street both disappeared from everyone’s mind.
“COVER!” This was the last thing that could be heard.
A deafening explosion rang out. The sound hit them first. Then the tremors reached the church, shaking everyone off their feet. But all was suppressed by an overwhelming shockwave. A sulfuric smell had carried over with a massive shockwave.
But even that was nothing compared to what entered their vision.
A blazing fire devoured everything they were familiar with.
From the houses at the edge of the town that completely exploded. To the raging fire that was funneled through every nook and cranny that existed in the old town’s streets. The three main streets were completely devoured. The church was the only safe haven in this ring of fire.
It only took an instant. Sounds completely overwhelmed everyone, and the scorching fire erupted into the sky.
Edward, who had fallen to the ground by now immediately covered his ears. It probably was an instinctive measure but everyone here had the same reaction.
And only a second later a heaven-defying explosion was accompanied with the streets and parts of houses crumbling. The impact shook the foundation of the church.
And for the second time, the church bell rang out. The shockwave and tremors were so strong that it rang even louder than before. However this time, it marked the end.
The flames had formed a black cloud, completely blotting out the broken sky.
A nauseating sulfuric smell followed in the wake of destruction.
Leon was the first to stand up. The usual bright child had a look of disbelief on his face, however, he wasn't alone. Slowly everybody in the church started standing up. And in their eyes, the only thing they could see was devastation. A bomb had landed in their town. Fire and blood. Only ruins were left.
“Alduin!” A panicked voice joined the sound of destruction.
The small figure exited the church onto a town square covered in blood, ashes, and debris.