Chapter Six

As we reached the woods, the now group of around three thousand survivors and me of course were all stopped. We then all slowly were spread out and divided into three groups of one thousand people.

Then me and the rest of my group were told to advance into the woods first.

I slowly began to walk forward, Lance was next to me. I kept looking around. My hands also couldn’t stop shaking. 

‘This is it. This has to be it. The bandits must be in this wood somewhere.’

As we walked through the woods, I began to gradually slow down. At this point I was near the back of the group. Behind us though, were a couple of hundred soldiers, each armed to the teeth.

“I wonder if they are here for the bandits...or are they here for us?” I mumbled to myself.

Lance, who had seemingly stuck to my pace. Almost leapt up in joy.

“You can talk! You can actually talk!” 

In his joy, he picked up and spun me around.

The racket he was making thought, echoed around the forest. In that second every person looked at us. 

Thud!

“Why did you have to drop me!” 

As I stood up, dusting myself down. I glanced up to him. His face was scarlet.

“Hehehe….”

My laughter caused him to grow pinker….

“Oi! Slaves move! Or are you rebelling!” The guard as he yelled, threatened us with his spear. This caused me and Lance to move much quicker than before. Reaching now the front of the group.

As we continued to walk forwards, the shaking of my hands began to grow and my breath began to quicken. It wasn’t just me though, I could see that others were just like me. In fact some were worse.

I think now, everyone knows what is happening and it has finally sunk in. Not only that...we are the first wave in this assault.

Up ahead, I could see a break in the trees. It seemed lighter. A Lot lighter, at least compared to the shade of the forest. 

In about a few seconds, we all reached the tree line. Looking out I could see it. The bandit encampment. 

It was a lot like the military camp in a way. High wooden walls, multiple towers. Each tower had people on by looks of it. Not only that I could just about hear some yelling coming from the camp. I guess we had been spotted by them.

I began to feel, the people behind me pushing, as I looked back to see why. I could faintly see the spears of the guards, dancing around at the back.

Then a yell sounded out. “Attack you slaves! Your time to fight is now! Charge! For the glory of the Empire!”

With that, people began to scream. I was confused why, until the very next second. I heard a message that the guards had begun to attack us!

People began to push at me even more. I slowly was coming out of the tree line and now into the open space where I could easily be seen by the towers.

I heard a loud whistle, as I looked up. I felt something pass by my face. 

“Ahhhh!”

I screamed and sounded out from behind me. I quickly looked back.

An arrow was sticking out of someone's chest.

He reached down to pull it out…

“No! Don’t!” I yelled out too late.

As he pulled it out, loads of blood squirted out of his chest. Spraying me and the others near me in blood.

I stumbled back, my hands trying to wipe the blood out of my eyes.

“But...I...I said don’t….”

I looked back to the man...he was dead. Lying in a pool of his own blood.

Then I heard more whistling...as more arrows ripped past my head. I saw more puncture the bodies of the others. Only a few died instantly.

The rest were left screaming out. The moaning and yells instantly filling the previously peaceful clearing.

I had never seen anything like this. How...how could this be happening?

My whole body was shaking now, as my horrified gaze looked on, more and more people were forced into the clearing only to be mowed down by the arrow fire.

Then I felt someone try to pick me up. It was Lance!

“Aidan! Come on! We have to move, if we stay here we will be killed by the arrows.”

With his help, I got back to my feet. A little clarity coming to my clouded mind. I began to look around and think.

“We can’t go back into the woods as the guards will kill us….We can’t hide out here...that means our only option is to..” I didn’t need to finish my words. He already knew. In fact I did too. I just didn’t want to believe it.

After all, the closer we get, the more likely we will be hit by the arrows.

Then it hit me. We have no weapons. How are we meant to kill them?

Lance had read my mind. He reached down into one of the dead bodies and to my disgust he pulled out the arrow from the body. 

“These are our weapons.”

He passed me the arrow he had just got. As he let go, I almost instantly dropped it. The blood, it was all other my hand. It's so thick and slimy. How can I use this as a weapon…

Blurgh..

I threw up, my vomit had covered the arrow and the dead body which Lance had got it from…

Lance looked back and saw what he did.

“Aidan, don’t be silly. This is the only way you can survive. That is all we can do. Survive.”

He then passed me another arrow.

As I held onto it, my hands tried to let go out of impulse. I stopped myself though and instead held onto it. 

‘This is all I can do to survive. Survive. Survive.’

“Survive!”

I wasn’t even sure when I had yelled out loud. But soon, I heard other people yelling the same word. Soon enough it felt like everyone was yelling it.

Yelling, survive.

Looking up, Lance was already running forwards with his arrow in hand. Not wanting to leave the only friend that I seemed to have, I chased after him. Behind me, I could hear the sound of footsteps pounding into the ground behind me.

A quick glance back told me all I need to know. Everyone was rushing forward. Not many had arrows in their hands though. Probably due to the fact that although it felt a lot of arrows had been fired. In truth not many had. At least not compared to the total amount of us.

As I raced forwards closer and closer to the encampment. I began to notice more and more details that I had previously missed. For example the wooden logs that made up the wall, each were pointed at the top making I guess ladders a much harder option. Not that we had any choice to use them though.

In fact, how are we getting into the encampment in the first place. 

I didn’t stop running though. As even if there is no way in, running is better than standing still.

Whoosh! 

Another arrow ripped past my face. This time though I felt a slight stinging pain in my check.

“Ahhh!”

Someone screamed out from behind me, as I felt the warm splash of blood on my back.

I didn’t even glance back this time. The sight was beginning to become more and more common. It was happening in front of me, next to me, and behind me as well. More and more people were being felled by the arrows. 

Not only that, their screams had begun to echo at this point, or I thought they were echoing. It is so hard to tell at this point. It noise may even just be in my head.

I was forced to begin to slow down a little as I reached the walls. The people in front had branched off left and right. Looking for a way in. 

I choose to go right. The only reason why, was because I had seen Lance go this way. 

I had no idea though of how he was still alive. He had led the charge from the front the whole time. Every single arrow that had come his way, had seemingly been dogged as if the arrows themselves were moving out of his way. 

As I ran, I could hear the yelling of voices from inside the camp.

“They are outside the walls!....They are reaching the gate...haha..this will be easy…”

Boom!

“Waaa...who didn’t lock the gate! Dam...grab the swords...they are inside!”

As I ran round, the voices told me there was at least a way in..

Thud!

I spiralled into the floor.

My hands scappred on the ground as I rushed back up. Underneath me I saw a body covered in fresh blood.

Running again, I noticed that my shirt was covered in the body's blood.

The smell was nauseating, in fact how have I not noticed the smell before?

As I began to sub consciously sniff the air, all I could smell was blood. It was horrible...If not for the occansal arrow ripping through the air around me I probably would have stopped and cried.

As I came round the corner, I saw it. The gate. 

It was wide open. Around it and inside of it I saw so many bodies. Most had arrows sticking out of them. The rest were covered in what looked like slash marks. There was even a random hand just sitting there all alone. 

I stumbled past it all, slowly moving into the camp inself.

Inside it was horrible.

There were so many more bodies..mainly people in now blood drenched shirts and trousers. Their bodies are just laying there lifeless.

There were a few bandits though. 

Each one looked completely different. They had mismatched clothes on, their amour seemed to be mainly leather and furs. More on the fur side, except for one person who I saw was covered nearly head to toe in leather. Their weapons though could not be seen. 

As I looked further in, I saw why. Some of the people who had gotten here first had seemingly abandoned the arrows and were now using the bandits weapons. 

The one thing I could see though was that there was so much blood.

So damn much.

I quickly chose to avoid walking through the centre of the camp and instead tried to stick to the sides. The centre did just seem to open to me. Not only that, the archers in the towers would sometimes shoot an arrow to someone standing alone. That person would always quickly die.

I glubbed as I did definitely not want that to happen to me.

I could not see Lance though, nor his body for that matter. 

As I moved round the edge of the camp, I walked straight into a bandit. 

For a brief second everything was quiet as I gazed at him, and he gazed at me. Then the nadits eyes went cold as he reached for the knife at his waist…

 I yelled at him, “No! Don’t do ittt!”

He didn’t even stop for a second. As much as my heart and mind aches and tells me not to do anything. Survival was the key.

My grip tightened onto the arrow.

I leapt forward with a scream. 

Stabbing the arrow into the bandits eye.

“Ahh!” He screamed out.

I pulled the arrow back out, some kind of juice squirted onto me as I did.

Then I plunged the arrow straight back into him again. Then again and again and again.

As his body fell to the floor, I followed. STabbing and stabbing and stabbing.

My sceams became more and more sorrowful as I did. 

In the end, both my arms fell down lifeless to my side. 

Tears were rolling down my bloodied face, as I sorrowfully cried out.

I had killed him. I had actually killed him. I am a monster. How can I...What would they all think back home..what would….

“Ahhh!”

Another scream shocked me from my tears. As a body landed right in front of me, splattering blood everywhere. 

This caused me to quickly wipe it out of my eyes again...It was a bandit, seeming shot by an arrow.

I had no idea who had taken the shot though. 

Looking down, at the mutilated corpse of the bandit underneath me, I picked up the knife that he had tried to get. 

The arrow, I had long since lost as it slowly broke apart inside the body of the bandit which I had repeatedly stabbed. 

Moving away from the body, I stumbled at first before beginning to walk a bit more normally again. Still sticking to the outside of the walls. 

I then came across another gate, which had been smashed open.

I couldn’t see any ram, so who smashed it open?

As I moved inside slowly. 

Then I saw Lance, he was still alive!

I quickly rushed over to him. Just as I was about to reach him. I heard the whistling of an arrow. 

It pierced his chest..then another arrow came screeching in and more and more. His bloody body fell forwards. The arrows that had landed on his front, broke apart and went into his body further as he smashed to the floor.

I couldn’t believe it. He was dead.

As I walked towards his dead body. The noise of the battle seemed to disappear with each step I took.

I didn’t even notice as I dropped the knife to the floor.

As I reached him. I looked down wordlessly.

I hadn’t even known him for a month, and yet it had felt like a lifetime.

“HAHAHA! Did you not get taught anything boy...You never drop your weapon in a fight...The Imperial army is a load of trash nowadays, I the great Bandit King will reveal in the delights of the rich Imperial province. Dam. I wait to get a taste of their women...HAHAHA. Doesn't matter to you though. You will be dead!”

Looking behind me, I saw a giant of a man. He was covered in some kind of scaled armour. On his head there even was a crown! Guess he was some kind of important bandit...well the king as he called himself. In his hands there was a massive hammer.

Its ends were covered in blood. There was so much in fact it was dripping to the floor.

He took a few steps towards me, swinging his hammer forward as he did.

“Now die!”

I leaped to the side dodging the blow of the hammer.

His fist through lashed out, catching me off guard. 

I could taste blood in my mouth. 

I only barely managed to dodge the next hammer strike though, as it smashed into the ground, causing a small hole to be formed. 

As I dodged again and again. Each time the hammer slowly got closer to my body.

As I leapt out of the way again, I tripped landing into the floor.

‘Oh god no!’

“Poor boy...I like you..you move quick..you’ll make a good slave..who knows perhaps that perverted man will like you later...HAHAHAHA..sleep tight..”

As I tried to get back up, something smashed into my back, forcing me down to the floor. 

I coughed suddenly as some blood came out of my mouth.

As I looked at the Bandit King, his sadistic smile was the last thing that I saw as he smashed me on the head with his fist.