She spent the rest of the day on the wall. More monsters than ever attacked the fortress. Many had spears, but even more came wielding swords and axes and sickles and scythes and sometimes nothing but claws and tendrils. A few of their appendages were so awful and twisted she couldn't find the words to describe them.
But Kilroy, Brendon and Lindsey cut them down all the same, and she shielded them while they fought. None of them suffered so much as a scratch, but she couldn't shield everyone, nor could her team, as strong as they were, keep the wall completely safe. She never went more than an hour without finding a fallen soldier.
Several of the soldiers Kilroy had sent away earlier were amongst the dead. He didn't seem to notice, but Ellen remembered their faces. The sight of their still bodies was almost too much to bear. She didn't know any of their names, but they'd all come to her rescue when the giant monster had chased her, and she was very grateful for that.
After finding a sixth soldier from the group dead, she put her knife back in its sheath and walked away. It was still early in the night, but she had had enough.
"We'll be up here again tomorrow," Kilroy called out. "If you're willing to help, we'll be glad to have you!"
Ellen had no doubt he would enjoy having her around, or rather, her shield, but did he care about the person her shield belonged to?
She shook her head. That was the stress and paranoia talking. Kilroy had been nothing but kind to her ever since they met. He did care about her.
Sleep came hard, there had been no water anywhere on the wall and her throat ached, but waking was easy. Something heavy crashed down nearby. It landed so close it shook her bed.
Ellen left her bed and ate a few scraps from her pocket. Food was the one thing she didn't have to worry about, at least not for another few days.
The commander she had met before was waiting outside her room. So was another man wearing the exact same type of armor. Both stood frozen in place with pale looks on their faces. The source of their fright was obvious. The room right beside hers had been crushed beneath a monstrous hammer. So had the room on the floor below. A faint light from the dark sky above shined down on the carnage.
"Nobody lives in those rooms anymore," Ellen said listlessly. The weapon was a massive, twisted, intimidating thing, but looking at it only gave her one thought: at least it wasn't her room.
She hurried passed the two men.
"Hold on," one ordered. "I'm sure you know why we're here."
Ellen did know, and that's why she picked up her pace.
One of the men darted forward and blocked her path. The other came at her from the side and cornered her. She tried to move backwards, but the first man grabbed her shoulder and held her in place.
"We need your help on the wall again," one said.
"No, we need your help at the front entrance," the other said.
They might need her shield, or maybe they wanted her knife, but she had no use for either of them.
She tried to slip free, but the grip on her shoulder was too tight.
"You are a member of the Fortress Guard, are you not? Soldiers who abandoned their positions usually find themselves hanging from a rope."
Ellen froze, not from fear or shock, but from anger. She had gone up on the wall not because it was her duty or obligation, but because she had wanted to help. And despite all the help she'd given, a minor hesitation was enough to cause them to threaten her life.
She started reaching for her knife. If they were going to treat her like a monster, she may as well act like a monster.
She grasped the handle, but the sound of Kilroy's voice made her hesitate.
"What's going on here!" he shouted. He charged forward and rammed into the two men hard enough to launch them across the hallway.
Their hands slipped away, and Ellen ducked behind Kilroy. "They threatened me," she said. She had wanted to sound fierce, but her voice wasn't much more than a pathetic whimper.
Kilroy shook his head at the two men. "I can tell sending you two here was a mistake. Now get out of here before I pull your ranks."
The two men hurried off. They both shot Ellen venomous looks as they left, which she ignored.
"Did you really send them here?" she asked Kilroy afterwards.
"Sorry about that," Kilroy said. "One of them said he wanted to see how you were doing after yesterday's onslaught, but then both of them took off when I told them where you lived. I should've known better." He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder. "We can still use your help on the wall, but if you're not up for it then I don't blame you. It's going to be another long, miserable day that we might not live to see the end of." He started walking away. "But if you do want to help, you know where to find me."
Ellen planned to check on her friends before she did anything, but first, she ducked back into her room and dug her coin pouch out of her chest. The coins were useless now, but having them nearby reminded her of the day she received her first advance. The dimension had been much calmer back then and the days were peaceful in ways she'd likely never experience again.
She stuffed the pouch into her pocket then made her way to Ludendi's house. Dozens of people were still roaming the streets along the way. The sight of them irked her. There was so much death and suffering atop the fortress walls yet they still didn't seem to understand how much danger they were in.
At least the giant monster she had met in the forest was dead now. Her friends would no doubt celebrate when she told them the news. Being in a position to watch that awful thing die almost made all the misery she had experienced on the wall worthwhile.
Ludendi's front door was open when she arrived, but a voice inside made Ellen pause. It was Ralph. He was the last person she wanted to see right now, and he likely wanted nothing to do with her, but she couldn't help but wonder why he was visiting Ludendi. She pressed herself against the side of the house and listened.
"Are you sure you're getting better?" Ralph asked. "You sure don't look any better."
"I'm not sure," Ludendi admitted. "I really don't feel that much better."
"That wildling girl's knife is supposed to heal people, right? Why don't you borrow it?"
"I'd rather not. She's really sensitive about her knife."
"Who cares what she is," Ralph scoffed. "Besides, do you know how many people have been killed on top of the wall? She's probably already dead and buried."
"That wouldn't surprise me," Ludendi said, a sad tone in her voice.
Ellen winced. She didn't expect Ralph to say anything kind about her, but how could Ludendi have so little confidence in her?
"I heard they're digging a giant grave for all the Fortress Guard soldiers who didn't make it," Barry said. "Maybe one of us should stop by and, um... you know, just in case..."
So Barry didn't believe in her either. Ellen balled up her fists.
"The Fortress Guard is losing members faster than they can recruit them," Trevor said. "I don't know how much longer she can survive, if she's not already dead."
"And once she's gone one of us will get an awesome new weapon," Ralph said. "Who wants to use it first?"
"I know there are a few things I'd like to try with her knife if I ever get a chance," Ludendi said. "Ellen is talented with a knife, but I think she could do a lot more with a weapon that powerful."
"I could be a lot more aggressive if I could heal myself after every fight," Barry said. "Or even during a fight."
"I'd probably still keep my distance even if I was using a weapon like hers," Trevor said, "but it would be nice to have a cushion to fall back on if something went wrong."
Ellen kicked the side of the house so hard she dislodged a brick then stormed off. So that was why Ralph never spoke to her: he was too busy dreaming about her dying so he could take her knife. Worse yet, her friends were in on it. Were they even really her friends, or were they simply tolerating her because they wanted her knife and her shield?
She came across a wooden street sign and kick
ed it so hard it snapped in half. A few drifters in the area gave her curious glances, but she shot them a look so venomous they hurried right along.
She paused in the middle of the road. Why was she staying in this awful place? It wasn't for her friends, she didn't have any. Did she think she could save the fortress? No, it was about to be destroyed and nothing could change that. Kilroy and Brendon and Lindsey didn't need her, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves. So why did she stay?
There was no reason. Ellen outstretched her right arm and started concentrating. The Fortress Guard would have to go on without her. She was leaving.
"Are you going off by yourself?"
Ellen startled, and her concentration broke.
Lindsey approached her from behind. "You shouldn't go anywhere by yourself. You're not going to last long alone."
"I'm sick of this dimension and all the people in it," Ellen growled. "The only reason anyone talks to me is because they want my knife and my shield, but they're not going to get either one, because I'm leaving right now." She started concentrating again.
"You're not thinking clearly. I think you need to sit down and relax for a while."
Lindsey took a step towards her, and Ellen immediately drew her knife. "Stay away!" she shrieked.
Something happened to her. First Lindsey reached for her, then before she could blink, the whole world started spinning. When it stopped, she was laying sprawled out on her back. Her whole body ached and she was out of breathe.
"That was a bit harsh," said an old, dry voice.
Ellen stared up at the dark sky in a daze. Brendon was looking down at her from the left, and Lindsey the right.
"The stress is starting to get to you," Lindsey said. "It's starting to get to all of us. You can't let it consume you like this."
"But my friends," Ellen whimpered. "They don't care about me at all. They're just waiting for me to die so they can take my knife."
"That's wrong," Lindsey said sternly. "Your friends went through something nobody their ages should have to deal with, and so did you. You all need time to come to your senses. Having you on the wall like we have been isn't helping at all, but you can make it through one more day."
"And those commanders," Ellen whined, her eyes becoming damper by the second. "One of them said I'd end up hanging from a rope if I didn't go with him. I just wanted to help. I don't want to die here."
"If someone comes at you with a rope," Brendon said, "I'll send them away with an axe in their head."
He reached down and lifted Ellen back to her feet. She tried to resist, but their words had given her a strange sense of comfort, and she no longer wished to fight them nor abandon the fortress, because they were right. She had gone from one awful situation right into another that was even worse, and so had her friends. None of them were thinking clearly. It also didn't help that Ralph was still trying to poison their thoughts.
But she couldn't completely escape her doubts. What if it wasn't their stress or Ralph that had made them say those things? What if they really were thinking about taking her knife from her?
"Let's get moving," Lindsey said. "This is our last day on the wall. We'll do a quick check in the morning, and then you and your friends will leave this place. Or if you don't trust them, the three of us and Kilroy will leave with whoever's left over."
Ellen followed her and Brendon towards the wall, her head hung low. She'd soon have to decide which one of her friends she wanted to leave with. It was a decision she didn't want to make.
A sight near the wall took her mind off her friends. It was a wide-open hole surrounded by a small crowd of weeping onlookers. Why they were weeping she couldn't imagine, until two members of the Fortress Guard approached the hole carrying a stretcher. They stopped near the edge and slid their patient, a man with a bloody wound near his heart, into the hole then walked off.
It was a grave. She shuddered. The bodies of all the Fortress Guard soldiers she'd seen laying atop the wall had disappeared somewhere, and now she'd finally found their destination.
She watched the grave intently as she moved closer and closer; Brendon and Lindsey were leading her right to it. She'd be able to see its contents in just a few seconds. Her heart was already pounding so hard it hurt. How many bodies were in there? Was there anyone she'd recognize? Would she be in there with them before the day was over?
Her vision went black, and she gasped.
"Don't do that to yourself," Lindsey said. "You already know exactly what's in there."
Ellen reached up and found Lindsey's hands covering her eyes. Her curiosity still wanted her to peak into the grave, but Lindsey was right.
She allowed Lindsey to steer her forward. A scent in the air told her she was closing in on the grave. It was the scent of death and decay; a scent she'd become far too familiar with over the past few days.
"These people gave their lives so everyone could leave the fortress safely," Lindsey complained. "Is throwing them in a hole like this the best we can do for them?"
"We don't have the time or the numbers for anything better," Brendon said flatly. "Anyone who falls outside the fortress isn't going to be buried at all."
"And where's Galvin during all of this? I haven't seen him in days. He better not have taken off while we're getting ourselves killed on the wall."
"He's trying to convince the stragglers to leave. He figures if the founder of the fortress tells them personally to pack up and move on, they won't be able to refuse."
Ellen soon had her vision returned to her. The scent of death was gone, and she was beside the wall. The stairs that would bring her to the last place she wanted to be right now were just ahead. The thought of turning around and running crossed her mind right away, but Brendon and Lindsey were already urging her forward.
A plume of black smoke in the distance caught her attention as she climbed the stairs. It reached from the ground near the entrance to the fortress all the way up to the sky. The source seemed to be inside the fortress, yet neither Brendon nor Lindsey looked the least bit concerned.
"That's how desperate we've become," Brendon said. "We've started tearing down people's homes to create a wall of fire to protect ourselves with."
"It's extremely effective," Lindsey said, "at least until we run out of resources."
There were so many monsters trying to get inside the fortress they had to build a wall of fire to keep them out. The thought made Ellen uncomfortable, but not as much as what she saw once she reached the top of the wall.
The dark cloud in the forest had shrunk, or maybe the monster inside was bigger now. It had a dark green body, one that was and longer than the fortress was wide. It was shaped a lot like a centipede. It had more legs than she could count, but there was at least a hundred, each one thicker than a tree. Its front end rose higher than the fortress's outer walls, and in its four brutish arms it wielded a massive hammer, two dingy scimitars and a rusted spear. Its face was likely just as gruesome as the rest of its body, but fortunately, its head was still hidden inside the cloud.
The sight of such a monster, even partially formed, turned Ellen's legs to mush. It was the largest monster she'd ever seen. It might just be the largest monster to have ever existed in the world.
At least now she knew the source of the monstrous hammers that kept crashing down around her room.
Her weak knees almost sent her falling backwards off the wall, but Brendon grabbed her by her tunic and held her in place. "That thing still isn't fully formed," he said. "We'll be long gone before it heads this way."
"But don't take your eyes off it," Lindsey warned. "There's no telling when it's going to attack. Maybe you'll get lucky and repel one of its weapons back in its face."
"I-I've never used my shield against anything that big," Ellen stammered. Her shield should work, but just the sight of such a monstrously large weapon coming towards her would probably be enough to finish her off.
A group of soldiers passed in front o
f her. One doubled back and collapsed to his knees directly in front of her.
Ellen startled and tried to back away. She'd never seen him before, but he seemed to recognize her.
"You're the girl with the invincible shield, right?" He grabbed her shoulders, peered into her eyes with his tearful expression and then begged, "Please help me! I have a daughter just like you back at home. Her mother is packing our things right now and we're leaving first thing in the morning. I have to survive until then. If we have you with us then nothing can-"
Brendon and Lindsey peeled him off Ellen and shoved him away.
"You're going to survive," Brendon said, annoyed. "You don't need her holding your hand."
"You might survive," Lindsey said, "but not if you run around weeping like this. Now get back with your team."
He kept gazing at Ellen, tears in his eyes, until Lindsey drew both her swords, then he sniffled and hurried off.
Another soldier came at Ellen from the side. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her so close the dirt and grime on his face rubbed off onto her. "I'm so glad you're here," he said in a pitiful, weeping tone. "My team really needs you. You can keep us safe. You can protect us. Please come with us!"
Ellen stood speechless while the soldier wept into her shoulder. What could she do to help someone so pitiful? Her shield only protected her from a fraction of the threats she faced. It could never protect a whole team from all the dangers lurking outside the fortress.
A second soldier latched onto her. "You have to help us!" he begged. "So many of my friends died today. I-I can't take it anymore. Just protect us for an hour or two, that's all we need!"
From the corner of her eye Ellen spotted more soldiers coming towards her. Her heart was already heavy from all the misery smothering her. If the monsters didn't kill her while she was pinned down, all the sob stories she was about to hear no doubt would.
Begging and weeping filled the air as more soldiers filed in around her. Their pleas blurred together into one massive storm of sadness that made her eyes water up. There was nothing she could do to save all of them. Even saving herself was going to be a challenge she could easily fail.
Forlorn Dimension (Ellen's Friends Book 1) Page 25