Baltazar replied, “Indeed, the last time we came this way we were an army of nine thousand. I wonder how far north the damned have made it?” The group topped a rise. Below, spread before them was a valley. The trio spied several figures wandering aimlessly in different directions.
Boulous replied, “There’s your answer.”
“Satan’s rotted balls! I was hoping we would make it a little farther before we had to fight those bastards,” Justin said frowning. “I was going to give the city guardsmen some training tonight when we made camp. I don’t think they can handle facing even a few of the damned without some basic shield wall training, “Boulous there only seems to be four of them. Do you think you could kill them with your men?”
Boulous replied, “Aye, we’ll charge them and cleave their heads in two with our Spathas.”
“Good, meanwhile we will halt and try to get the city guardsmen formed up into a shield wall. I imagine they won’t be worth a shit with weapons. Until they can manage basic shield and weapon discipline, teaching them testudo formation seems pointless. We’ll pause here for an hour and run them through some formation drills. That way when we need the buggers to fight, we might have a chance.” The creatures had spotted the group up on the hill and were now running toward them.
Boulous barked an order, “8th Mesopotamian with me, wedge formation.” The members of the 8th Mesopotamian broke from the column and complied with the command. There were eight of them in total. Boulous pointed at the damned running toward them, “Charge!” As one the horses leaped forward down the hill at a gallop, the sounds of their hooves striking the ground echoed off the nearby cliffs.
“Guardsmen, dismount and form up in front of these wagons,” Justin yelled. The forty members of Damascus’ city guard haphazardly began to come together in a line. Justin rolled his eyes, “Is this the best you lot can manage? This is pathetic! I said form a line, you louts!
Both Baltazar and Justin began yelling at the men individually. The guardsmen were hit with a constant barrage of commands such as, “Hold your shield straight, put your hand down at your side, stand up straight, chest out, and eyes forward.”
Once they had them lined up, Justin yelled, “Now listen up. We are going to go through some shield drills. On my command raise your shield, draw your ax and turn so that your left side is facing forward. This is to present as little of you as possible to the damned. Your shields should touch so that none of those bastards get through. When I give the command push your shield forward pretending there is a creature in front of you. Then bring your ax down on its imaginary head. Clear?”
The guardsmen replied mumbling and sheepish, “Yes, sir.”
“I can’t hear you,” Justin yelled.
“Yes, sir!” yelled the men in unison.
Boulous’ group closed in on their first target. It was a female wearing a tattered brown homespun dress. Boulous raised his Spatha as he drew near. The she-damned let out a moan and reached for him as he maneuvered his horse to the creature’s right while swinging the Spatha. The Spatha connected with her nose cleaving the top of her head off. She immediately fell to the ground. Her body was run over by the men behind Boulous in the wedge formation.
The group charged on. They reached the next damned. He was dressed in the tattered robes of a Shepherd. As Boulous drew near, the former Shepherd raised its head into the sky and let out a tormented-sounding scream. That’s new, Boulous thought.
The undead Shepherd dropped down into a fighting stance of sorts. Boulous not wanting to take any chances. Sheathed his Spatha and drew his spear from the saddle. He lowered it in front of him and aimed the point at the creature. A fraction of a second before impact the Shepherd dodged out of the way and grabbed his leg as he rode by. The added weight of the undead body nearly pulled Boulous out of the saddle.
Securing his spear, he drew his Spatha and swung at the creature. The creature’s other hand had also grabbed his leg. The Spatha cleaved through both arms and Boulous almost lost his balance when the weight pulling on him disappeared.
The creature bounced on the ground a few times as it rolled away. Boulous and his men continued charging towards the next target. The Shepherd, now without arms, got to its feet awkwardly. Spying Justin’s ragged shield wall, it began running in their direction.
The next damned was slight of frame. Boulous couldn’t tell whether it was a female or a boy. He sheathed his Spatha again and grabbed his spear from the saddle. Hopefully this one is a little less slippery than the last one. He lowered his spear as he made his approach. The creature moaned as it ran towards him. Boulous’ spear hit the boy in the forehead and ripped the top of his head off. The body bounced off the right side of his horse and collapsed to the ground.
Before them the last of Satan’s minions, looked like it may have been a merchant. The robes of the man looked to be of high quality. Other than blood stains they looked to be in good shape. Boulous yelled, “Wheel formation on the last target. Use your bows and fire at will.” The wedge broke apart and formed a circle around the last creature. The men shot arrows at it. Several struck it with a wet thwack sound on its sides and chest. Finally, the fourth arrow fired at the creature sank into its head, and it fell to the ground motionless.
They turned back to rejoin the column. Boulous saw that Justin and Baltazar had the guardsmen lined up. As he watched they thrust their shields forward and swung their axes over the top of their shields at imaginary foes. The-not-so imaginary opponent of the armless creature was about a hundred feet away from them. The Shepherd let out a blood-curdling scream as it picked up the scent of their living flesh.
Justin yelled, “Good, now hold the defensive formation and wait for that damned.” The undead Shepherd sensing plentiful meals in front of him charged right into the shield wall. The guardsman held his shield firmly as the creature smashed into it. The shield made a clanging noise from the impact. The guardsman then raised up his shield and took a step forward and drew his ax. The creature, lunged forward toward the man’s leg as he drew his ax.
The armless Shepherd, now on the ground and underneath the man’s guard, shimmied uphill toward the man’s leg. Sensing triumph, its teeth clicked as the mouth rapidly opened and shut. The man, seeing the danger, dropped his Spatha. Using both hands, he jammed his shield into the armless apparition’s head smashing it.
By this point, Boulous’ riders had drawn close to the shield wall formation. Justin yelled, “Pretend Boulous’ group is the enemy. Maintain your line and charge!” The guardsmen let out a yell and ran down the hill toward the horsemen who came to a stop and watched them. Justin and Baltazar jogged behind them as they ran. Justin yelled, “Slow down or speed up.” As needed, at several of the men that were failing to maintain the line.
As they reached the cavalry Justin yelled, “Halt, give them your war face.” The forty guardsmen let out fierce sounding screams at Boulous’ men.
Boulous chuckled and held up his hands, “We surrender.”
Justin replied smiling, “We accept your surrender. I guess we will allow you to live.” He winked at Boulous, “For a while at least.” Justin then turned to the guardsmen, “Back up the hill. Fetch your mounts and rejoin the group.” With the danger past the wagons moved up to join Boulous’ cavalry, Justin, and Baltazar.
As they rode, Baltazar daydreamed about the night before, and the time he had with Liana. After seeing Constan and Athos to their bunks, he left the fort and headed to Liana’s dwelling. Excited to see her for the first time in weeks, he hurried across town to the flat she shared with her family. He tapped out their code lightly on the front door. Liana answered almost instantly. She opened the door quietly and stepped out onto the stoop.
Baltazar smiled at her. Liana smiled back at him and held up a finger telling him to wait. She quietly closed the door and threw herself into Baltazar’s arms, kissing him passionately. They held each other close for several minutes then Liana said, “I heard today that the 5th Parthica retur
ned with only thirty survivors. I was frantic to find out if you were among them. I checked the fort this morning, but it was empty. Where were you?”
Baltazar smiled, kissed her on the forehead and began, “We had a meeting with Governor Maurice.”
“Whatever for?”
“We had to figure out a plan to keep Damascus safe from the damned.”
“The damned? I’ve heard some rumors. Wild talk mainly about cannibalistic crazies set upon us from the deepest bowels of hell. What are the damned like?”
“Awful, they are literally the dead risen, minions of Satan all. They hunger for the flesh of the living. If they bite a living being, that person transforms into one of them in minutes. It is a horrific sight,” Baltazar paused and began to weep at the memory. “We lost so many men, they were endless. . .”
Liana held him close, “It's alright, love, it’s over, you’re safe now.”
“No, I’m not. We are going back out tomorrow, orders.”
“What! Why?” Liana demanded with an edge of desperation entering into her voice.
“Part of the plan Governor Maurice and Constan came up with. Myself, Justin, some city guardsmen and a few surviving cavalry from the 8th Mesopotamian are escorting some wagons back to the battlefield. We are to keep them safe and retrieve as much Kataphractoi armor as we can find.”
“Why you? You just got back.”
“I am to train the city guardsmen as best as I can while we travel to be Skutatoi.” Liana started to weep. She clutched him hard and held him close. Baltazar was unable to help himself with Liana pressed up against him, he feels a stirring in his loins. Liana’s sobs slowly trickled off as the two held each other close. She took notice of his arousal.
Liana gazed up at him with a mischievous look in her eye, “Come.” She opened the door quietly, held one finger up to her lips, and signaled him to follow her. Once inside she slowly closed the door. The room was filled with the sounds of people sleeping. Baltazar followed Liana as they crept quietly over the sleeping forms. They arrived at an empty spot in the back corner of the room. She sat down and gestured for him to join her. Baltazar smiled at the memory as it played out in his head. The warmth of that moment contrasted sharply with the stark desert around him as they rode on.
Constan looked down on the organized chaos unfolding before him. Something was odd, he thought and then it occurred to him. “Farid, where is Zahid?”
“He was afflicted with a case of the shits this morning. I told him to remain in our barracks.”
“He is an officer now in the 5th Parthica. Unless he is dead, he needs to be here. See to it Droungarios, immediately.”
Farid bristled at the order but thought better of defiance. “Very well,” he answered.
Athos felt nervous as he paced up and down the line of men. I can’t believe the 2nd Kentarchia is mine. A week ago I was nothing but a common soldier. As he made his rounds, he noticed two older men talking to each other in the second to the last line. Athos rushed over, “What is so important that you have to interrupt my formation to discuss it?”
Both of the men glared at Athos in defiance. They were both middle-aged. The signs of their easy lifestyle in the guard were reflected on their bodies. They both had a pot belly and poor posture. Neither one of the men responded to the question. What would Nikas do with this? He wasn’t expecting a response to the question, but he got one inside his head, “Take your Spatha and smack them in the back of the knees,” Nikas’ voice echoed inside his skull.
What the? Athos thought.
“Do it!” yelled the voice of Nikas inside Athos’ head.
Athos continued walking down the line. As he retreated from the situation, he heard the two men chuckle, “Look the whelp is scared of us.” Athos turned and began walking down the last line of men. When he reached the spot in line behind the two talkers, he paused. He noticed that they shifted nervously and turned their heads so they could see him. “Eyes forward, you louts. You’re in formation,” he then pulled his Spatha from its sheath. The sound of the steel blade being drawn brought a hush to the entire parade ground. Athos then struck both men in the back of the knees with the flat of his blade. Each man toppled forward from the blow onto the ground. Athos loomed over them with his Spatha, “I said what is so important that you had to interrupt my formation to discuss it?”
Quivering in fear one of the men answered, “We were discussing where we wanted to drink tonight.”
Nikas’ voice in Athos’ head urged him on, “This is the moment where you can take total control, put the fear of God into them.”
Athos did his best to emulate Nikas. He turned red and quivered with rage. He drew upon everything that had ever made him angry. Then like a volcano unable to hold back the eruption he exploded onto the men, “You interrupted my formation with talk about drinking?” The sound of this statement carried over the entire parade ground. “Stand up right now, both of you.” The two men complied. For the first time, they looked at Athos with fearful respect.
Athos circled the men. His body language showed he was barely holding back the urge to hack them to bits. “Stand at attention when I address you,” he said with a hiss. He then stopped in front of them, sheathed his Spatha and smacked both of the men in the belly. Each man grunted at the jab. “You both make me sick. How am I supposed to turn such piss-poor prospects into Ironmen? Clearly you two will require my individual attention. It’s obvious we need to work on your fitness. Drop and give me twenty pushups.”
The two men immediately fell to the ground and began doing pushups. “Count them as you complete them,” Athos demanded. The two men did as he asked. As they reached their fifth push up, the two men began struggling to finish them. One of them collapsed to the ground on ten. “You can’t give me twenty pushups? You two sacks of shit are unbelievable. To think I am supposed to turn you two into soldiers. It would be easier turning barmaids into soldiers than you two. Both of you stand at attention!” The two men rose to their feet slowly. “When I give you an order you say yes sir. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I can’t hear you.”
“Yes, sir!” They yelled as hard as they could.
“Good. Since you both so obviously need to get in shape you will give me ten laps around the parade ground,” Athos ordered.
“Yes, sir!” The two men yelled in unison and began their laps.
The voice of Nikas spoke inside Athos’ head again, “Splendid, now take total control of the Kentarchia.” Athos then asked the remaining men, “Now does anyone else feel the need to interrupt my formation training?” The men responded with silence. “I can’t hear you.”
“No, sir!” For the first time, the 2nd Kentarchia had responded as a group in unison.
“Excellent, because the next man to piss me off today is going to be forever sorry that he did,” Athos said with a sadistic grin on his face. He resumed his inspection. Now the men stood at perfect attention. He noticed a familiar face in the last row. “Hello, Hadad, how is your wife?”
Hadad relaxed his stance, smiled, and replied, “She is well. As big as one of those barrels full of water the smiths use to cool a glowing sword. Perhaps in another month, I will have a son.”
Athos smiled and clasped Hadad on the shoulder, “Perhaps so, my friend.” Nikas voice again interrupted his thoughts, “Do not show favorites.” Athos sighed, “One thing, Hadad.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Did I give you permission to relax?”
The memory of the two unfortunates still running laps flashed into Hadad’s thoughts, “No, sir!” He quickly resumed his rigid stance.
Athos walked to the front of the 2nd Kentarchia. He looked over the men as they stood at full attention. He smiled, “Everyone was doing it correctly. No one was meeting his gaze.” The voice of Nikas crashed back into his thoughts, “Stop smiling, always keep a scowl on your face!” Athos immediately turned his smile into the suggested scowl. I wonder if anyone noticed
my smile?
Athos turned and walked toward Constan. He was still standing on the dais watching everyone’s efforts to get the city guardsmen to stand in a passable formation. He noticed that Farid had disappeared. Athos saluted Constan and spoke, “2nd Kentarchia reporting for further order, Tourmarches.”
“Aye lad, you whipped them into shape quicker than I ever thought ye could. For a moment, I could have sworn Nikas himself had returned from hell to torment those poor bastards,” Constan acknowledged with a smile on his face. His tone was that of a father surprised at a son’s unexpectedly good performance.
Athos blushed, “I was just trying to do it like I thought he would, sir.”
“Well I dare say ye nailed it,” Constan looked at the other three kentarchias and scowled, “Looks like the other kentarchias have some work to do yet. If Zahid ever shows, I’ll have to give him the 1st Kentarchia to keep the peace with Farid. Keep an eye out in your group. We need to promote one of the guardsmen to be your top Dekanos. One of our survivors would be a better choice but, unfortunately, I have to play politics to keep that bastard Farid from sticking a dagger in me back.”
“Aye, sir. Do you suspect Farid was behind the attack last night?” asked Athos.
“You’re damn right I do. Farid claimed Zahid had a case of the shits this morning. I bet you a bottle of Cappadocian that he was on the receiving end of Baltazar’s dagger last night.”
Athos snorted, “I learned my lesson betting against you with the tallie bones. I’ll keep my coin and help you keep your head. What can I do?”
Constan frowned, “I know not of what you speak, lad.” He finished the statement with a wink. “Keep an eye out for now. I’ll let ye know if I find anything out. I suppose I should occupy the Tourmarches’ dwelling here in the fort tonight. That would be a prime opportunity for Farid to send someone in to slit my throat. Guess I will have to post a guard. Nothing but our people for now. Get your men out on the parade track and teach them how to march.”
Byzantium Infected Box Set Page 31