Athos and Baltazar began fighting their way forward. Step by precious step they were able to slay the seemingly endless supply of the dead. The ground had grown slick with red blood and purple sludge. Athos’ limbs became leaden with the strain of fighting for what had felt like an eternity of blocking, stepping, and swinging.
Finally, after a seeming lifetime of fighting, but was in reality about twenty minutes, Nikas’ voice boomed out, “Halt! Second Kentarchia hold what you’ve got!”
Athos noticed that during the course of the advance many of the Toxatoi had been brought into the center of the formation. Nikas’ voice boomed out once again. “Second rank switch with the first rank!” Athos looked behind him and saw Theron. Theron smiled at him. Athos raised his shield and turned with his left side facing the front. Theron slipped into place beside him, and Athos stepped back. Baltazar had been relieved by Caifas.
Panting heavily, Baltazar and Athos smiled at each other. “What a hell of a first battle! Is this day ever going to end?” Baltazar asked in between pants.
Athos couldn’t think of a reply, so he simply put his arms on his waist and tried to catch his breath. He looked up to see how Theron was doing. Theron had just severed the head of one of the creatures with his Spatha and kicked the still animated head into the Bewitched Cannibal right behind it.
This back and forth continued for about an hour. Slowly but surely the reserves in the middle dwindled as Skutatoi after Skutatoi fell under the teeth of the dead. Increasingly there were undead wearing the armor of Skutatoi from both the Syrian Thema and Imperial Tagmata assailing their square. Athos began to despair. They were the only island left in a sea of carnage.
Athos began speaking with a slight trimmer in his voice, “Baltazar, my friend.” Athos stopped speaking and swung his ax, chopping off the top third of a creature’s head. The former male citizen of the empire dropped to the ground, and its head oozed purple sludge.
Nikas yelled, “Listen up ladies! I need you to begin a fighting withdrawal. On my mark take ten steps backward. As the line contracts if you have no room to stay in the line step back into the reserve. Begin!” Athos and Baltazar began stepping back as requested.
Baltazar stumbled on the corpse of a creature and fell backward landing on the body. An undead Skutatoi in full armor lunged on top of him. Baltazar pushed at the creature to keep it away from his throat, but he just didn’t have the strength left to push it off. The snarling man drew closer inch by inch as Baltazar’s strength flagged.
Caifas ripped off the creature’s helm and buried his ax into the top of its head. He then leaped over Baltazar and shielded him from the next living corpse. The creature slammed into Caifas’ shield, and he took a step back. Becoming tangled in Baltazar’s legs, Caifas fell backward on top of the bodies of the two creatures.
At that same moment, Athos, not knowing what was transpiring beside him, slammed a creature in the face with his shield. He then swung his ax, but his fingers slipped on the blood-soaked grip. Instead of burying the blade of the ax into the side of the creature’s head the flat of the ax head slammed into its head. While the skull fractured from the impact, it did not penetrate to the brain.
The force of the blow knocked the creature to Athos’ left where it landed on Caifas. The hungry one, seeing an opening, sank its teeth into Caifas’ throat and ripped out a piece. Too late, Athos brought his ax down onto the thing’s head finally ending its unnatural life. Caifas looked up at Athos his wounded neck bleeding profusely from the jagged bite wound, “Athos, don’t let me become one of those things. Kill me.”
Athos nodded to his brother in arms but as he drew up his ax to swing one of the dead grabbed his shield arm and sank in its teeth. Athos recoiled in horror and brought his ax down on the creature’s forehead. The ax sank into the forehead of the creature that bit him and went limp. The weight of the now limp creature still fastened to his arm dragged him to the ground.
Another undead leaped on top of Athos and was desperately trying to find an opening to the soft flesh underneath his armor. Damon struck, removing the creature’s head from its body. Athos, with two corpses now on top of him, looked over to his left. Caifas looked back at him, coughed, and stopped breathing. At that moment an ax smashed into Caifas’ face. The blow came from Baltazar.
Baltazar shifted and moved into a position to defend Athos so he could stand up. Damon kicked the top corpse off of Athos, and finally, Athos was able to rise to his feet. As Athos reached his feet, another creature crashed into Baltazar’s shield. At that same moment, two creatures rushed Damon. Baltazar pushed his shield to throw the undead off, but it did not budge.
Damon ducked under the bite of the first creature, and it slid past him. Now low, he screamed a battle cry and swung his ax up into the jaw of the second creature. The jaw exploded. Purple sludge and teeth went flying in all directions from the strike. An arrow hit the now jawless creature squarely in the forehead, and the corpse fell to the ground.
The first creature now behind Damon was struck in the head by another arrow and fell to the ground. Baltazar was unable to get separation from the undead on his shield, so he dropped it, took a step back and swung his ax. The resulting blow cut the creature’s head in half from ear to ear. A gout of purple goo erupted in all directions as the corpse fell to the ground. The group was then able to reform a front with Baltazar now fighting alongside Damon and Athos in the second rank. A shield was passed forward to Baltazar.
Athos’ right arm throbbed from the bite. He examined the arm. Several links were broken on his chain mail, but the teeth hadn’t penetrated to the skin. Constan, now beside Athos, looked down on the damaged sleeve and said, “You sure are a lucky bastard, laddie!”
Athos cracked a smile at this statement and replied, “No thanks to you, old man!” The friends looked out into the endless sea of the dead, and it struck them that there will be no escaping their fate this day. Too few of them remained, and there were far too many creatures intent on feasting upon their flesh.
Constan turned to Athos and placed a hand on each of his shoulders and said, “Lad, it has been a privilege to have known you.”
“As it has been with you old m-” Athos’ statement was cut off by the billowing sound of several Cornu signaling a charge.
The friends turned toward the sounds of the Cornu to their right. A dull rumble could be heard. As the seconds ticked by, the rumble became louder and louder. Athos was momentarily blinded by the setting sun reflecting off the helm of a charging Kataphractoi. The Kataphractoi, with lances set, tore through the dead. The impact of the heavily armored horses created clouds of purple mist as the creatures struck by the mammoth metal encased beasts were smashed. Bits and pieces of them flew in every direction as the Kataphractoi advanced.
Athos made the sign of the cross and spoke, “Thank you, God, for this deliverance from Satan’s horde!”
The Kataphractoi broke around the remnants of the 2nd Kentarchia and cleared a large empty space filled with the bits, pieces, and many larger body parts. Some of the dead, now missing arms, legs, and even severed but still very much alive heads crawled or bit at the ground. Anything it took to move closer to the men of the 2nd Kentarchia. They had one goal, to feast on the flesh of the living.
The Kataphractoi roughly three hundred in number executed a perfect in-formation turn and charged back toward the 2nd Kentarchia. The men of the 2nd Kentarchia stood confused as the Kataphractoi bore down on them.
Athos yelled over the din of the charge. “Why are they charging just us now?” Finally, their intent became clear as one by one the riders leaned over in their saddle and put their arms out.
Constan yelled, “They are going to grab us and ride out of here.” Seeing this, the men of the 2nd Kentarchia immediately broke ranks and created lanes wide enough for the heavy horse to ride through. One by one, the men of the 2nd Kentarchia were snatched up by the outstretched hands of the Kataphractoi.
Athos made eye contact with
the Kataphractoi that was riding toward him. Athos held out his left hand. It took the rider only a few seconds to cover the distance. Their palms clasped together and the strong arm of the armor encased man pulled him up into the saddle. The rider looked back at him, “Well met, friend, my name is Egidius.”
Athos smiled at Egidius, “Egidius, I do not know how much longer we could have held. Gratitude for your timely rescue. How much of the army is left?”
“Not much of the Thema at all, I fear. The 5th Parthica was the first to lose a Kentarchia. The 1st Kentarchia refused to retreat with the rest of the 5th Parthica. The creatures butchered them. Next to fall was the Syrian Tourma 2nd Aleppo anchored up against the river. They were the first Tourma to break up. They stood against the creatures for less than an hour. Their commander was a damn fool. Just like the 5th Parthica’s 1st Kentarchia, he attempted to stand his ground without retreating. The dead broke up the formation by using the corpses of their own mates as launching boards.”
Athos nodded, “We had the same problem. Our Kentarches Nikas ordered us to withdraw to prevent that.”
“The units that did that survived, at least for a time,” Egidius replied. He then yelled, “Hang on, Athos, creatures ahead.”
Egidius’s legs tightened their grip on his horse, and he lowered his lance. Athos looked around and saw that the Kataphractoi had formed a wedge as they approached the mass of creatures in front of them. Athos put his left arm around Egidius’s waist and drew his Spatha with his right. As they slammed into the mass of creatures, the armored horse, and Egidius’s lance delivered terrible damage upon them. Athos swung his Spatha constantly as creatures flew by to their right. He scored several hits, destroying heads or just severing them. After about two minutes of this, they broke into the open once more.
Athos looked up at the sky and saw the stars. They seemed to be heading north. Egidius continued, “Your Kentarches was smarter than most of them. With the 2nd Aleppo gone, the creatures flowed around the flank of the 8th Mesopotamian, and they simply had nowhere to go. They died to a man fighting to the last. It was then the turn of the 5th Parthica to be surrounded. Being closer to the center of the formation you had some Toxatoi to your rear. They were set upon by the creatures and fell back briefly. They were able to reform and drive the dead back from your rear for a time.”
Egidius paused for a moment as he nudged his horse to smash a lone creature. The creature was struck by the armored breast of the heavy war horse. The impact against the horse smashed it, and it slipped under the hooves of the mighty beast where its head was crushed under its mighty hooves.
Athos glanced to his rear and saw the creature twitch and lay still. Egidius then continued, “One by one the Kentarchias of the 5th Parthica succumbed to the onslaught. All except yours. Your group stood just like the Ironman of legend. Though the dead surrounded you and pounded upon you from every direction, you held the line. It was as if each of you were imbued with a piece of the Ironman. That was when General Vahan ordered us to charge from our vantage point on the hill from the right side of the valley.”
Egidius swung his Spatha at one of the dead in their path. The blade sliced through the head like a melon and the corpse, now with only the bottom half of its head, toppled to the ground. He sheathed his Spatha and continued, “General Vahan ordered the Imperial Tagmata into a fighting withdrawal up the hill on the valley’s right side. We all saw your stand from our vantage point. It was an amazing thing to watch a lone unit of maybe eighty souls stand against the darkness. You were an island of sanity amidst thousands of the hungry beasts. The General wanted you saved for your valiant stand in the face of such odds. We were ordered to charge down the hill with lances lowered to clear a path to you. We then whipped around and picked you up. Upon success, we broke north up the valley in between the hill and the Jordan River. Our orders are to break contact with the creatures by continuing to ride north. Once successful, we are to ascend back up the hill and ride south until we re-establish contact with the retreating Imperial Tagmata.”
“There was nothing special about what we did. Each of us stood and fought for our brothers-”
Egidius interrupted, “On the contrary, you stood where thousands of others failed to stand. It was amazing.”
Athos spoke again, “No it wasn’t. We stood because it would have meant the death of our brothers if we failed to stand. That is all.” As Athos finished this explanation, the Kataphractoi turned left and began ascending the hill. Athos looked around. There was not a single one of the dead in sight.
Chapter 19
Evening, August 9th 636 Yarmouk Valley, Palestinia Province, Byzantium
Reflections
As they completed their ascent to the top of the hill and turned south, they heard the din again. The voice of thousands of the dead calling out for the flesh of the Imperial Tagmata. Athos took heart as the sounds of battle also drifted over them from a distance of several miles. Sounds carried further in the cool night air. Cries of victory heralded another few minutes of survival, and cries of anguish meant that another soldier had succumbed to the seemingly never-ending onslaught of the hell spawn.
They traveled in silence toward the sounds of fighting. Each man a prisoner of his own thoughts. What would the rest of this horrible day bring? For each man the answer was different. Most dreaded the thought of falling to the dead and being consumed alive. Some prayed and looked forward to the chance to ascend to God’s Kingdom in heaven when they fell fighting against what surely must be the minions of Satan manifested on this earth.
Athos watched the moon as it crested the horizon. It was blood red tonight. Many of the men murmured and made signs of the cross when they beheld that moon. They halted about a half mile behind the remaining Imperial Tagmata. The sounds of the fighting here were so loud that they had to shout to be heard over it. The ever-pervasive moan of the dead also washed over them, the seemingly never-ending anguished cry, calling out for fresh meat to feed their unending hunger.
Droungarios Simon of the Kataphractoi rode through the ranks instructing the men of the 5th Parthica to dismount and form up in their ranks behind the Kataphractoi. To a man, they had lost their shields when they were rescued, so they all felt naked. Only some of them still had weapons.
Droungarios Simon spoke. “I know this has been a long a grueling day for all of us, but our work is not done yet. The dead still seek to tear the flesh from our bones. We cannot let this be. Our entire nation (he pointed to the north) lay behind us wide open and vulnerable to these hell spawn. Here we must stand and hold back this great darkness, so that our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters may continue to bask in the light that you will provide them this night!”
Everyone broke into a cheer. “Men of the 5th Parthica, though you have sacrificed much tonight and stand exhausted after the valiant stand you made against the darkness, you may yet be called on to face it again. Wait here. I will try to secure for you weapons and shields so that you may properly arm yourselves once again. Kataphractoi, with me!” The Kataphractoi let out another cheer, and they formed a line as their horses began trotting toward the sound of battle.
Nikas jumped out in front of them, looked Athos in the eye, “I’m glad to see you are still with us Athos. Apparently, you are not as stupid as I originally thought. Form up into your Kontoubernions!”
The survivors laughed at the jab. Athos knew Nikas was just trying to hearten them, so he took no offense. With practiced ease, they slipped into what remained of their ten-man Kontoubernions. Many were now far short of that number. Of the one hundred members of the Kentarchia that greeted the dawn that morning, only eighty remained to see the Sun set that evening.
They waited for a time in silence. Athos stood with Baltazar to his left and Constan to his right. Constan turned and looked at Athos, “Do you love Athea with all your heart?”
Athos looked Constan in the eye, “I do old man. More than life itself.”
Consta
n nodded in acknowledgment, “Never make the mistake I made. I did not have the faith that I should have had in my Amata. I should have had that faith, and perhaps paid a bit more attention. After I saw my Amata with that other man, I rejoined the army and begged to be stationed anywhere but Constantinople. They shipped me north to the Danube frontier. There I served out my time in the cold dampness of that accursed land. It seemed so dark and far away from the bright lands kissed by the sun around the middle sea. Whenever I was off duty, I drank away my sorrows and emptied myself into the hairy whores of that land.”
Constan paused, grief evident on his face. A single tear slid down his cheek. He wiped it and continued, “Many years later a chance encounter revealed the truth. The army had decided that my time in that northern land of darkness was over. There were few of us left that had faced the Persians in battle. Thanks to my experience, I was to be stationed in Syria. It was thought that my expertise against the Persians would better serve the Empire there. I was given a horse and ordered to report to Constantinople where I would take ship to Antioch and then onto Damascus.”
Constan paused a moment to take a breath, “I had an evening to kill, so I walked the streets of Constantinople in the area where Amata lived. I wanted to face my pain that night in the hopes that it would finally be washed away. I had a chance encounter with the man she hugged and kissed that final time I saw her. On his arm, he had a woman that was not Amata. A six-year-old boy looked at me nervously from behind his mother’s skirts. I must have been quite a fright to that child with my weathered skin and scars. I spoke to the man, Nias was his name.”
Constan paused for a moment. His lower lip quivered. Steeling himself for the pain, he continued, “Nias set me straight. He was not in a relationship with Amata. She was just a good friend. What I thought I saw was not what I had actually seen. She was merely congratulating him on the birth of his son. She kissed that man on the cheek and not on the lips. After a brief hug he put her down, and they walked together toward her tenement, but they did not hold hands or have any other physical contact during the walk. Had I paid attention I would have seen this. They didn’t even enter the tenement together, but my mind would hear nothing but the word betrayal!”
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