Walker Ch. 01.11

Shuq ran behind Walker. He stopped her 'Go further up the road. Hide. Do not come out unless it is clear we won. If not, run back to town.'

'I want to stay with you!'

'No! Go now.' he shoved her away and she obeyed.

Everywhere shouting became moans as the number of wounded began numbering itself; barks, bleats and goat screams came from the backline. The tiger saw Edwin in the melee, then he noticed five small figures having broken off into the dirt road, they were firing wildly at any guardsmen from behind. Walker sprinted at them, his tiger's feet silent as the air rushed over his face.

The first one's body whipped into the air as the jumping tiger's knee collided with its jaw. Walker landed on the second crushing its delicate chest beneath his weight. The third had time to turn before the heavy shackles smacked into its face. The fourth and fifth screamed at him and ran back towards the fighting. He caught one, wrapping its neck with the chain before viciously yanking it taught. Its neck cracked and the windpipe was pulped in an instant. The fifth fired a clumsy arrow between his legs before his fingers wrapped around its neck. The tiger did not bother killing it yet, instead he found where Edwin's sword clashed with a wild woman wielding a two-handed club. Walker swung the struggling beastkin onto his shoulder, rushing at the woman before swinging the beastkin at her with all his might. She flew into the press of bodies around her as the hapless creature's body skipped upwards from her face.

The tiger retrieved the club, a simple weapon consisting of a long wooden haft shoved through a hole in a heavy rock. The enemy on the right flank buckled as their corpses piled beneath the guards' feet.

Walker used his whole body to apply power to his overhead swings. He had the luxury of space with which to swing the long weapon, beating the pressed bodies before him into submission as Edwin slashed and deflected strikes at his side.

The footing became treacherously slick beneath them with blood and spilt entrails. A spear grazed his side, he deflected an axe but was unable to strike back with his clumsy weapon now that the press of bodies was too thick around him.

He decided to shove Edwin out of the fray with his shoulder, 'Left flank.' he breathed at the surprised man. A man in thick furs and a bear's head on his skull rushed at Walker with a screeching battle cry. His axe split the haft of Walker's club. As the wild man pursued the tiger, a fatigued Cedric swung his hatchet in a strange sideways action, hitting the bear's head with the side of the blade. The man stumbled towards Walker whose foot kicked him in full in the face. The bear's head fell sideways and the tiger landed another vicious kick to his face. The man collapsed.

The two men hurried after Walker as they rounded the rear of the fight. The slavejacks on the left flank had gone from thirty to less than half that number. Walker found a heavy spear and joined the line of bodies hacking and slashing wildly at each other under the light of the moon. Edwin and Cedric fought cautiously beside the more confident tiger whose spear tip licked into necks, eyes and between ribs with lethal efficiency. A hole appeared before him as the enemy pressed against each other in order to avoid the tiger and his spear.

The cries of the wounded and dying overtook the noise of increasingly tired combatants.

Without archers, and their force being pressed so tightly together that their weapons became near useless, the enemy's numbers had dropped drastically. So diminished was the band that guards and slavejacks had to stand back so as not to get in each other's way.

'Surrender!' a call came from the center of the enemy 'Fight! Fight!' another admonished.

The tiger knew this was the moment. He fell back several feet, filled his lungs and let out a deep roar. The sound echoed from the hill, the trees seemed to shudder and many combatants jumped. The cacophony of clashing weapons died down. 'Down if you surrender!' he screamed, 'Weapons down if you surrender!'

The fighting died down almost immediately. Weapons were thrown down and a weak cheer came from the guardsmen and slavejacks.

'Back up! Back up!' Walker instructed the Lumbertonians.

Where two hundred of the enemy had been there now stood less than a quarter of that in the midst of a slaughter. Guardsmen, slavejacks, beastfolk and wild humans littered the ground. The Guards' survivors numbered little more, though there stood more of the men than the women. The tiger's eyes took this all in.

'What do we do? Kill them?' Edwin whispered in his ear.

Keeping his voice low Walker gave quick instructions.

'Right boys!' Edwin instructed 'We're taking prisoners. Someone go fetch the runners. Get the loggers here too. We haven't time and must move, now! Fighters, take a prisoner. Everyone else, gather any weapon that's got metal. Get the runners to gather bows and arrows.'

Cedric and the older guardsmen oversaw the prisoners being herded into a tight group before being surrounded by the remnants of their force. The loggers and runners briskly set about gathering weapons in the limited light.

Movement caught his eye. Walker went to the back and closely watched the bend by the river. 'Edwin.' he called.

The Captain jogged to where he was 'Aye?'

'There's more in the rocks. We have to go now.'

'Will they attack?'

'They will shoot at us.'

Edwin didn't hesitate 'Move now! Move boys!'

The guards poked at the prisoners with confiscated weapons and the column began moving. Shuq emerged from the trees a little up the road. She fell in lockstep with him wanting to hook her arm into his but retracted it quickly as she realized the fluids dripping from his fur was not water.

Walker marched briskly casting cautious glances over his shoulder. The moon was low in the sky and the sun would soon rise to their left. The pace was swift and some wounded fighters, enemy and friendly, needed support from their brethren.

Figures ran between the trees behind them, closer now. Some smaller, some human.

'Release the shackles human.' he growled at Edwin.

'Alright.' Edwin said huffing, 'No point now I suppose.' the man fumbled at his belt and produced a thin metal rod with two teeth, this went into the holes of the thickened iron and released the tiger's wrists with a twist.

Instantly Walker rushed to the side of the column where a runner had a collection of bows slung over her shoulder. He chose the largest and took it from her. Another runner had an armful of the crude arrows, as they walked, he picked the ten straightest ones. Picking the strongest looking of the women he instructed her to hand her items to another, 'Come with me.' She hesitated but a sharp word from a guardsman set her right.

'What're you going to do?' Edwin asked coming from behind.

'Countering. I'm taking this one with me.' he indicated the runner.

'Do I gotta?' she complained casting nervous glances at the gore covered tiger.

'Yes.' Edwin informed her.

Walker had the woman by the wrist but had last words for the Captain 'Move torches away from the main group. Do not stop moving.'

Walker knelt her behind a tree off the road 'I can see in the dark, girl. Can you count?'

'Aye.' she said.

'We're being followed. Count to twenty, scream then run to towards the column,' he counted trees, 'to the eighth tree from this one. Count to twenty, then scream.'

'Why?' she asked shakily.

'Can you do it?' the tiger pressed.

'I can. Will I die?'

'Not if you do as I say. Snake when you run, do not run straight. Do not peek, do not hesitate. Press your back to the tree. Can you do it?'

She sounded scared but was calm 'Aye, I can.'

Walker ran in a crouch further into the trees. He knelt and watched the moving black spots, darting between the trees. The slave girl's voice rang out far behind the torches of the column. Three dark figures rushed towards the spot where the girl had screamed.

One came close enough for him to count its steps. He notched an arrow and let fly into it. Before the arrow had even hit he was sprinting towards it. There was a short exclamation of surprise before the tiger's claws tore its throat out, the woman died gurgling on her own blood. The other two figures were still moving towards the roadside. Another heard footsteps from behind and turned to find the running tiger's fist crashing into its face, it collapsed.

Walker brought the bow to bear again, jogging sedately towards the third who had reached the tree. The runner's second scream came from the eighth tree to the front. The dark figure crouched, listening but heard only the arrow leaving the bow at its back. It pierced through the neck and pegged the soft dirt in front of it. Arterial blood sprayed against the tree as the figure staggered with its hands to its throat.

Walker quickly gathered arrows from the dying man's hip pouch before running forward 'Girl!' he called in a hushed tone, 'Girl, it's me!'

'Aye?' she called back 'Can we go?'

'We're not finished. There's more.' She let out a crass curse.

'Again. Same thing. Count forty to the first scream, twenty to the second.' he instructed 'After the second scream run up the road as fast as you can, tell Captain Edwin I'll be along. Do not run straight, remember that.'

'Aye. I won't.'

Walker went into the trees and watched the rear. He saw two groups, one coming straight towards him and the other further down, a way from the road. They moved briskly but the trees obscured the scant light of the dipping moon. He counted seven further down, and four heading towards him.

Notching an arrow to the bow, the four had found the corpse of his first victim. He slipped forward, pulled the bow. The runner screamed and he let loose, a figure went down, the other three dropped to the ground. He rushed closer to the next tree, knelt behind it and listened. His wide ears heard fear, they did not know where the arrow had come from. Notching another arrow, he leaned out from behind the tree and pulled back. In moments a head popped up and looked around. It flopped down as a shaft penetrated its skull. Then he was running towards them.

'Whassat?' a beastkin asked before a dark shape flew from behind a tree, landing on its companion. A whoosh of air. Then the tiger had its fingers round the beastkin's neck as the runner's second scream filled the air. The beastkin tried to cry out but the grip was like a vice and it could not.

'Make a sound and die.' seeing the tiger's hellish eyes glint it nodded and the grip allowed it breathe.

The humanoid creature weighed little. He lay it on the ground, trapped it with his knee. He found the largest group to his right, rushing towards the sound the runner had made. He fired the bow at a high angle and watched as the group realized they were being shot at, it dispersed for cover behind the trees. Walker let off five arrows in quick succession. He took the beastkin under his arm and sprinted up the slope and to the south. He heard counter fire thumping into the trees and dirt behind him. It would take time for them to realize he had left before investigating the vacated spot.

He spotted the torches much farther along the road. The sky was growing lighter in the west and the moon had touched the horizon.