When Given a Lemon

Part 12

I try focusing on the fact that I am trapped down here and need to find a way to free myself. This thing isn't as big as me but outweighs me by several times. I can barely breathe, unable to push the beast off of me, and the only sound that reaches me is that of the other beast’s threatening growl.

Pushing with all I'm worth, I am able to get just my face out from under it, so I can see a little through the trampled red snow. I try not to think about that either, what my face is touching. I gasp as I'm once again able to breathe cold air. I am also now able to see a little of the remaining monster bare its fangs, its growl intensifying as it claws and snaps at Merryl who deflects and jabbed at it in return. I don't know how they are able to keep up with it, nor how it didn't bring terror to them as it lunged for his neck or arm.

Merryl fought with strength and determination, both things I lacked.

Another arrow skittered off the hard shell of the beast’s shoulder, likely shot wide trying to avoid hitting Merryl. The other half of our group had finally joined in, the lieutenant and his Second circle around to find an opening while Merryl kept it busy.

The other soldier came to me, distracting me from the fight trying to help me out from under the heavy carcass that was slowly but surely crushing my ribcage.

Heaving and holding my bruised ribs once I've been freed, I clumsily get to my feet so that I don't become an easy target for the remaining beast to spot. It's bad enough having this one beside me, it honestly scared me a little even though it was dead.

They are quicker than we are, with their strange shell chested and backed bodies that are covered the rest of the way in a bizarre fur or hair. I can't tell the difference. It's deceptive, they look big and armored and are incredibly heavy, but more lythe than they appear, making it easy to underestimate their speed, leaving gashes clawed into the arms of Merryl and the other soldiers before they manage to put it down. Once it stopped moving they left it to bleed out in the snow while they all staggered back to us.

Still panting, I squat down to catch my breath. Only then looking down and realizing I am ankle deep in a pile of the dead soldiers' entrails. Lurching back to my feet I stumble away to lean against a tree far enough to the side that it had not been spattered by sprays of death. Not that I am not already completely covered in it, in him. When I get back to camp I will need to scrub and clean my boots as well as the rest of me.

The whole area looks like a bloodbath now and reeks up to the sky. Seeing the amount of gore that covers the whole area makes my stomach sink at the prospect of sorting through it to gather what's left of this poor soul.

How are we supposed to clean this up?

Finding and carrying back all of the remains of the soldier will be hard enough, I hope that they don't plan on making us haul these heavy beasts back with us as well! It took two of us, and a lot of effort, to get me out from under one of those things and we barely were able to lift it! Granted, I won't be stuck underneath one while trying to lift it the second time round if we did… but still!

I look back at all the scattered remains of the soldier uniform and anatomy, deciding not to mention anything about moving the beasts.

No point putting any bad ideas into their heads if they haven't thought of it yet.

The lieutenant doesn't make us drag them back with us and I take a moment to thank all the gods and devils of the world, promising to hold rituals for each once I am back home. He doesn't let us leave the bodies as they are though. Of course not. He wants us to suffer.

Stooping to pick up my dropped curved blade, he turns to me. I don't miss the pointed look he gives me as he does, then sliced off two hefty limbs from a nearby tree and set to work sharpening them into long spikes before ordering us to stick the corpses onto the end of them.

It took three of us together to lift each one high enough to partially impale it through the spike he had stuck in the ground. When we had them both in position they stood like grisly road markers, proclaiming the area a “monster-zone”. Wiping the blade on my already mucky jacket sleeve before handing it back to me, he tells us he intends to make us thoroughly scour through this whole region for more of the pests later on.

The thought of purposely seeking these beasts out tempted me to defect. What if it had just been me, Lemon, and Merryl out here today? We might have taken out one of them –rather, Merryl might have taken out one– but there's no way we would have taken down two before it got to at least as many of us. While Merryl finished the first, Lemon and I would probably be busy getting eaten by the second!

Speaking of Lemon, where the hell did they go during all this? I swivel around and there they stand, over by Merryl. Had I just missed them? Too busy being suffocated by the other beast to see them? I squint my eyes and they shrug. I guess even if they did step out of the way, it's not as if I had been any help either.

“First order of business before we let you go frolicking through the winter wonderland though,” the lieutenant tapped his bow to dislodge some gore. I grunt at the thought “let us”; as if he's having to hold us back from risking our necks like this. “It's painfully obvious that none of you have any idea what you are doing.”

Any of us? I surely hope they don't include Merryl because if they do then that even lessens my chances of becoming adequate. Which means my chances of survival might then be even lower. For my part, I thought he did great! As the lieutenant kept talking, I had to bite my tongue even harder. It's not as if we were trained by the best, or really by anybody for that matter, so I don't think calling us out for this now is really fair.

I glance over and Merryl is nodding solemnly in agreement with them. I have to stop myself from making a face, my thoughts will only get me into trouble if I let them seep to the surface because despite what our skills are now, the military should have done something more about it when they recruited us. Then maybe one of our soldiers wouldn't have been eaten!

Still, that doesn't change the fact that what the lieutenant says is true. We, the majority brought up to this frozen hill, don't know what we are doing, and yes we do need better training.

He gestures and one of the accompanying soldiers pulled out a couple heavy canvas bags for us. That's right; what we are here for.

“You'll all end up like this poor fool if we don't do something about you.” He tossed a bag at us then tramped off with the other soldier, leaving the rest of us to clear up all of the mess on our own, saying over his shoulder he would speak with the captain about getting our worthless selves whipped into shape.

I can't help but wish it wasn't he that said “whipped” because we were all painfully aware of what he could do with that weapon.

Not that his marksmanship was lacking in any way either.