Chapter 19

Signs of Withdrawal

Freemen led his men as they ran through the woods. They had fled the base and broken into four groups. The groups all headed south to warn the rest of the population and gather reinforcements. Freeman thought back on his short time at the base. Freeman had arrived at the base with the remains of his force no one had wanted to listen to him about the impending attack.

When the undead force appeared only hours before dusk. When retreating was no longer possible. Then the leaders wanted to hear what he had to say. When he suggested they flee immediately the leaders of the base laughed out loud. Freeman was surprised by the excellent defense plan but he knew that there was no way they would be able to repel the attacking force.

Freeman was still just getting used to the normal sounds of the base. He had spent the previous three days moving through the strangely silent woods, leading his men south to the base. He was disappointed but not surprised when they told him that neither Commander Luuks' forced nor Beckmins' men had returned to the base.

He was immediately summoned to report to the commander of the base. Freeman reported the attack that had happened in the town. He explained the orders given to Beckmin and himself to return to the base and warn them of this new threat from the corrupted lands. He related the attack on the freehold and his plans to use the river to get back to the base.

He described the odd barricades that he had found in the free hold. He told them how he had planned to spend a few days getting his men ready. It had not taken more than a few hours for freeman and his men to discover why the the barricades had been set up. The men wounded in the battle started to attack the rest of the force. Freeman led his men out of the freehold and spent the next three days running through the woods. They fled the force behind them, Freeman had to abandon his plan to use the river and take the overland route.

They rested only when they had to, and even then for only short periods. The creatures that stalked them needed no sleep, needed no rest. Over and over and over again they were overtaken and had to fight. Over and over and over again one of his men would be injured or killed only to join the force pursuing them.

Freeman did not know why but just a few thousand paces from the base the pursuit was stopped. Freeman and his remaining force rested then and finally arrived at the base.

He tried to warn the leaders of the seriousness of the attack that would land at the base. If the forces that had attacked them and then harried his forces attacked the base the base would be lost. Only after hours of testimony did they finally give him permission to replace the guards with the bodies of dead soldiers.

The attack had come exactly as Freeman had expected. Freeman had looked out at the attacking force and was shocked to see Luuk commanding the opposing forces. This would make it more difficult. The forces attacked exactly as Freeman had predicted. Freeman saw the blasters moving up to the exterior walls and start throwing their eldritch fire down on the opponents below. The yells of the men seemed somehow louder as the enemy made no sounds. They burned and died without uttering a sound.

The forces outside the walls withdrew. The men on the walls started to cheer.

Freeman searched out the commanders and implored them to flee while they could. He was told that he could organize a retreat if the dead rabble somehow managed to breach the walls. Freeman was dismissed and started making his plans. The enemy forces started to regroup and Freeman knew it was only a matter of a time until the walls were breached.

Freeman watched the enemy approach and knew that the attack would come soon and at the gate. He noticed the large numbers of small animals that had suddenly appeared inside the base. Freeman started directing men to kill as many of the animals as they could. When the blasters started to mount the walls again Freeman watched as the small animals launched an attack in the gatehouse.

A cold fear filled Freeman as he realized that the animals were being directed against vulnerable targets. He watched as the blasters were attacked by animals and birds. The blasters attacks were largely ineffective. Some of the attacks even hit the men inside the walls.

Freeman walked up to a group of bannermen, hoe picked out three.

“You, you, and you. What are your names.” Freeman asked them.

“Willard.” One answered. He was the largest of the three.

“Renolds.”

“Thrash.”

“Okay, I want to survive this. I am going to give you orders and you will follow them. Do yo understand?” Freeman asked them. In the background they heard the gates shudder under a massive attack.

“Yes Sir!” They answered in unison. The other bannerman were staring at him as well.

“Gather as many men as you can. All the men who are off duty. Have them meet next to the wall behind the officers mess. Pass on the message to anyone not on active duty. We will need several ropes, as much oil as we can carry and as much food as we can comfortably carry. We will be moving fast and hard once we get over the wall.”

The men scattered.

Freeman sent another three groups off in a similar manner.

The men gathered where he told them. Freeman looked at what they had gathered.

“We are going to go over the wall as soon as they have committed to entering the base. Once on the outside split up into smaller groups and head south. Gather forces and warn the population. Get as many people heading away form the fight as you can.” Freeman looked out at the group, they looked like eager boys ready to sneak out and break curfew.

“Remember what we are fighting. These things don't feel pain, they don't sleep. They don't do anything but kill. They look like your friends but they are not. Fight them if you have to flee from them if you can. Fire is your best weapon.”

The sound of the gate being bashed and broken filled the air as he addressed the men. The smell of burning flesh and hair filled the camp. He started splitting the group into two. He sent one of the groups to another spot along the wall. Scaling the wall in two spots would increase their chance of success.

“Remember, our goal is to alert the population and prepare for the real battle. The more men we have ready to fight the better off we will be. Lets go, and good luck to you all.”

The men split and got into position. He started to gather together the oil the men had gathered. He stacked the flasks of oil against the back wall of the officers mess. The men helped and eventually he had a fairly large stack piled onto the ground. He wrapped a couple of flasks with rope. Poured a flask of oil onto the rope and lit the rope.

The gate was still standing but he could hear the shattering blows being rammed into it from the out side. Freeman saw a couple of blasters moving to guard the gate.

Freeman figured he had about an hour until the whole pile went up. He hoped that enough of the monsters were near when it finally blew.

The gate crashed inwards and the air around him was filled with talk as the men started to discuss what would happen next. Freeman got the men started with the ropes sent over the walls. Freeman saw the flash as a massive flame was sent through the ruined gate into the enemy forces massed outside.

“Over the wall! Go! Go! Go!” He shouted, getting the men moving. He hoped that the other group was starting over the wall as well.

Freeman went over and made sure the men over the wall got moving in small groups. Keeping out of site of this dread enemy. Freeman figured that the base commanders would have stood to defend the sally port and would be destroyed there.

His group started to move off towards the woods to regroup there. There was possibly four hundred of them. Freeman knew it was only a matter of time before they were spotted.

He got them into the woods, split them into four groups and got them all headed south. He stopped where he could watch the base and waited. It hadn't taken long and the blast of the oil violently catching fire was large. Freeman saw several figures moving through the flames. Well at least they had caught some of them in the fire.

He turned and led his force south, knowing that he would be fighting his way south all the way.