Fallight Midit

Chapter 8: Fallback Plan

From the screams and explosions I can hear in the distance, the battle must be lost. I will still return to the front to hold the enemy back, but we need a plan for escaping the city if it is taken. I turn to Camilla, who is healing my wounds to the best of her ability.

"Camilla, if this temple is burnt to the ground, where are you going to go?" Camilla forces a light smile and looks around the room.

"I have nothing else. I have lived here most of my life, so I suppose I am going to die in the temple when it is burned down" a depressing acceptance of a doomed existence, but not one that I want to become reality. I refuse to let someone who helped me, die. I will not allow this temple to become her tomb. She helped me, and now it is my turn to help her.

"you should not waste your life on some kind of poetic death for yourself. You should do everything you can to make this world a better place. You are already a healer, so you have the possibility to save millions. So why let your life be wasted on a selfish thought like that? Think about how much good you still have to do in this world" Camilla is struggling to form a word now, she does not know how to react to my outburst. Was she really expecting me to let her die here? Camilla stutters,

"w-well, this city is going to be sacked, and I need to be present to help with rebuilding and repairing the damage" it seems that Camilla has a very constricted view on how she can help everyone. Is she really hoping that she will survive a fire out of pure luck?

"you don't have to stay in a burning temple for the whole sacking. You can flee and return once the smoke has cleared" I have offered my solution to Camilla, who is struggling to choose the best course of action. I force myself onto my feet and walk towards the door, "when this city falls, I will come back here. And when I see you, I want you to come with my group, to survive and escape the city. Before everything comes crashing down" I walk out of the room and run towards the temple exit. As I reach the exit, the smoky, red sky comes into view. I can determine the fastest way back to my friends based on the path they took me through on my way back here. I will have to run as fast as I can, while also trying to conserve my energy. I need to be ready for that Meddler if he returns. I should be able to take him on, seeing as though I am no longer hampered by my wounds. But if the situation is dire, we might need to pull a full retreat to the inner-city. The defenders may be trying to prolong the battle and delay their enemy for as long as possible, but the battle is close to being lost. When the victor becomes clear, I will have to decide on our course of action. If worse comes to worse, we will have to flee the city and hide in the wilderness. While my main focus right now is trying to defend this city, my focus will shift more towards finding a way back to our time. But that will take time, and we may encounter that Meddler before then. A group of conscripts sprint through the street, rushing past me. The leader is pointing towards the direction I am heading. The leader has a panicked expression on his face.

"we are down to the last few outer defences. We will begin our retreat towards the middle-city when the last few defences fall" the group disappears down the street. The casualties must be piling up rapidly if forces are being redirected to the areas I was fighting in. Our forces couldn't have collapsed that fast, right? The conscripts should have been able to hold out a lot longer than that. Or did that Meddler return and obliterate our defences? I am going to have to rush through the city as quickly as I can, I can not risk arriving late to the battle. Without a moment to spare, I break into a sprint and move towards the gate as quickly as I can. The sounds of explosions, screams, war cries and clashing metal fill the city as I pass each street I had preciously passed by when my friends brought me to the temple to recover. But now I am going to return to the front, and I am not going to allow this city to fall. I can see the shining reflections coming off the swords in the distance, so there must be a blazing inferno nearby, on account of this battle taking place during the night. I reach the end of the street, revealing the chaotic scene before me. Most of the defenders are either dead, or are lying on the ground, exhausted. I swiftly draw both of my swords, and dash forward to meet an enemy's sword head-on. I clash my first sword against his, both taking him by surprise and saving the vulnerable conscript at the same time. I use my free sword to slash at the enemy. He must have not been expecting another attack, because he does not attempt to block it, and my blade cuts through his entire body. As my opponent's body falls to the ground, I turn to the conscript on the ground, who is showing a thankful smile on his face. He raises both of his hands and claps them together in a praying pose, nodding his head as a follow-up.