I watch horrified as a man to my left takes an arrow to the chest, and I try to crawl to him, but Luke hauls me back. And then I hear Mateo’s strong words again.
“He threw him out of a moving wagon, and left him to bleed to death. Only he didn’t die. We found him, we cared for him, and we nursed him back to health.” With those words, I hear confused shouts coming from the people of The Way, including some who hold the line this side of the gates.
Leaning my head out from Luke’s body, I try to see what’s happening, but with the clouds in the sky blocking out the moon and Luke trying to keep my body covered with his, I can’t see much.
But I do hear someone yell, “Prove it!”
I hear shuffling from behind me, and then someone walks past just feet away. From the cloak brushing across the dirt, I know it’s the Vater.
“I need to see this Luke,” I whisper-hiss, pushing Luke off and crawling to my knees.
Now, I can see the Vater cloaked with his back to me, and seconds later he removes the hood revealing himself to his people. Yells and shouts spread from inside the compound, and I can just make out a few more people joining the crowd.
The Vater raises his hands in an attempt to quiet his people, but it does no good. Mateo and Lord Paul both try the same, but its quickly becoming mass hysteria. Even the men inside the turrets are yelling, demanding an explanation. No one fires arrows, everyone is shocked into inaction. And that’s when I hear him. David.
“Loose you idiots! Loose!” He calls for the archers to fire their arrows but no one does, at least not at first.
The Vater takes another few steps, exposing himself, and that’s when the first arrow flies. Lord Paul tackles the Vater, knocking him on the ground, and Mateo yells for everyone to attack. This wasn’t the plan, but once again the plan is shot to shit. That seems to happen a lot. Our group rushes forward, but I need to find Luke first. We can’t get separated.
Spinning in a circle, I don’t see him, until suddenly he appears from my right, grabbing me and moving me forward. “We stay together, Little Minx.” I barely make out his words over the chaos, but I do stay with him as I see our first line of men and women clashing with the men lined at the gates.
It’s utter chaos, and I’m not sure where I fit in since we hadn’t planned for this.
The men at the gates are easily taken down, but getting through the gates will be another matter. We had hoped that seeing their Vater alive and well, the people would revolt, letting us in to get to him. That isn’t what’s happening as I see more men lining up just inside the compound.
“What do we do?” I try to yell in Luke’s ear as he flinches from the volume, but he just shakes his head, pushing his and my way to the front.
Archers are firing on everyone again, and I realize we should have prepared better for this, and then suddenly the gates begin to creak open. Looking up, I search David out just inside his line of men and his eyes are wide. This isn’t him. He didn’t order the gates to open. So who opened them then?
As soon as the gates are wide enough for a body, our men and woman are pushing their way in single file. Many of them are shot down immediately, arrows in their chests, arms, shoulders, legs, and even backs. It’s a bloody scene that I had not prepared myself for.
As the gate opens wider, less of our people fall, and more are making it through. They clash with David’s men as the members scream and run away in a panic. Luke and I finally break through the gated entrance, but I’m not sure where we go from here. I’m not sure Luke knows either as he turns in every direction, his steps faltering.
A blur passes me and I recognize my father as he makes it to the line of men, knife in hand. The Vater is yelling, trying to stop the fighting, but it’s no use. We have to take David out if we want that to happen, and now I don’t even see him. Did he run away like a coward again?
“There!” Luke yells, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the main building where I see who I think is David slipping around the corner behind the building.
We push our way through the crowd, hundreds fighting hundreds, but it’s almost impossible. I’m just not sure we can make it through. A man with a knife slashes at Luke and the two of us fall as he tries to avoid the strike. Luke lunges, grabbing the man’s ankles and pulling him to the ground where he knocks him over the head with the butt of his knife. We don’t want to kill these people, and they only want to kill us because they’ve been lied to. If only we could convince them of that.
A scream I recognize sounds on my right, and I know it’s Ash, but as hard as I try I don’t see her. Luke is drug away from me and I reach for him, but I’m cut off by clashing knives and swords. I climb to my feet searching, but he’s just gone.
No. There. I see him now, but the fighting pulled him at least a couple hundred yards away. No way I can make it. I know Luke though, and while I know we agreed to stick together, I also know he can defend himself.
Pushing my way further away from Luke, I finally reach a break in the fighting as someone grabs me by the back of my shirt and begins forcefully tugging me toward
