NOVEL NEXT 86. An Issue At The Gates
Tucker and Brian sprinted through the smoke that rose from the flaming buildings. Charred timbers smashed onto the scorching dirt floor. Chaos had broken out within the outer perimeter and countless soldiers of the Everheart Kingdom were falling back to the inner walls. Yet the moment they arrived at the gates, their expressions darkened.
Several soldiers were frantically screaming at each other. Both of the captains were at a loss for words, but soon the reason became clear. The entrance to the inner section of the fortress city—their shelter and rally point—had been sealed. They glanced at each other in confusion before making their way towards the front.
"What the hell is going on?" Tucker shouted as the men cleared the way.
"These assholes won't open the fucking gate!" Nemo gritted his teeth and glared at the gatekeepers. "They keep saying that their orders were to keep it sealed!"
"Nemo, you need to calm down," Jones whispered. "If you keep acting like this, everyone will be riled up—"
"So what?" Nemo grabbed Jones by the collar and forced him to take a good look around them. There were wounded men from the Thirty-First, the Thirtieth, the Twenty-Eighth, and finally the Twenty-Ninth platoons. Yet none of them were allowed in. "We have so many soldiers here. Our own fucking brothers here and yet they won't let us in."
"I'm sure there's a reason. We just have to wait until Liam and the others get us in." Jones faced Tucker. "Right, Captain?"
Tucker kept quiet and stared at Brian, who was at a loss for words. He then turned to the men from the other platoons. "Are your captains here?"
"No sir, we haven't seen them since the battle," a soldier from the Twenty-Eighth replied.
"I see…" Tucker gazed at the old soldier with rough, curly brown hair. His armor was in tatters, but the stern glint in the old man's charcoal eyes remained strong. "What's your name?"
"Wilfred Argos, sir."
"Do the men under the Twenty-Eighth follow you?" Brian asked.
Wilfred shrugged his shoulders. "They might listen at best."
"Well, first let's see what the hell is going on." Tucker approached the gates and stared at the heavily armed soldiers at the top of the stone walls. "Why can't we enter?"
The gatekeeper, recognizing the Captain of the Thirty-First, offered a stiff salute. The light in their eyes was hollow, dimmed by grief, and their voice carried the weight of regret. "We don't know. We're just following orders."
"And who gave these orders?"
"Our superiors."
"Who are these superiors?" Tucker asked, but watching them fall silent caused a hint of annoyance to appear. "Was it the Commander?"
"No, sir."
"The advisors?"
"No, sir."
"Then who gave you these orders? The commander's son?" Tucker sarcastically asked. Yet the silence that came caused his stomach to churn. He stared at the guards and scoffed. "You can't be serious."
"I fear they are," commented Brian. "In fact, it's because of him that the gates are still locked."
Tucker glanced over his shoulder at the men who were trapped outside with him. It was roughly around a hundred soldiers. And in the distance he could see the Empire's banners basking in embers of their city. They were advancing on the gates and would arrive in minutes. Yet no mattered how much he wanted to yell at the gatekeepers to let them in, he knew they wouldn't.
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His eyes drifted to the weary soldiers, their faces etched with fatigue. He clicked his tongue before staring at Brian. "We need to find somewhere to hold."
"But where to?" Brian asked.
The question left Tucker silent. If this was at their original bastion, they could have retreated to the Thirty-First's barracks. But they were in an area that both of them weren't familiar with. He didn't know what to do and stood there, lost in thought. Only to be brought back by cannon fire from the top of the walls.
His gaze fell on the other soldiers. "Do any of you soldiers know somewhere we could take shelter?"
Wilfred stepped forward. "I do, but there's no guarantee we'll be able to hold it."
"What is it?" Tucker asked.
"It's a storage building that my platoon used to guard. The walls are thick and should be able to withstand most attacks." Wilfred pointed toward the storage building. "If we hurry, we'll be able to make it before the Empire's forces reach us."
Tucker glanced at Brian, hoping he had an answer that he didn't. "What do you think?"
Brian crossed his arms as a series of war horns reverberated through the air. He gazed at the Empire's forces marching down the main street. Bitterly swallowing down the guilt of their failures. "Let's go."
"Alright. Nemo and Jones, you're with me. Wilfred, stick behind us and lead the way." Tucker turned to the Captain of the Thirtieth once his men had nodded. "Brian, can you cover our flank?"
"I can," Brian replied.
"Good." Tucker turned to Wilfred and nodded. "Those who want to follow form up. We're leaving."
"Yes sir!" The men of the Thirty-First and Thirtieth responded in unison while those from the other platoons remained silent. Their hesitation was understandable since there wasn't any trust established between them. However, seeing how the soldiers from the other platoons were moving behind their men, it was good enough.
Tucker held back his frustration. Parts of him wanted to curse out the gatekeepers for abandoning them when they were on the doorsteps of the inner gates. But at the same time, he couldn't blame them. They were just following orders. Even if the orders came from an idiot like the commander's son. There wasn't any time to justify why Reynold had made such an order. But he wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.
.
.
.
"What the fuck do you mean you won't open the gates?" Ray grabbed the gatekeeper by the collar but soon gritted his teeth as several guards raised their spears. "Do you even realize what you're doing! You're condemning your own comrades to die!"
The gatekeeper—a middle-aged man with slanted blue eyes remained quiet. He looked at Ray through the strands of black hair falling over his face. He said nothing at first, but then calmly grasped Ray's wrist. "We have our orders."
"To hell with your orders!" Ray snapped back while glaring at the guards. Yet, they remained calm and kept their composure.
None of them wanted to keep the gates shut, but they had no choice. The orders came from their superiors, and they couldn't defy them. Especially not for the lives of a hundred men when thousands stood behind the inner walls.
The guard freed himself from Ray's clutches and shoved him back.
Eric caught Ray with a grim expression. He stared at the gatekeepers, his jaw tight with restrained anger. He wanted to curse them out just like Ray, but what would be the point? The gates would still be sealed. His eyes drifted to the soldiers of the Thirty-First. Each one of them had their hands on the hilt of their weapons. Even though it was admirable for them to share their frustrations, Eric knew that having their men fight the gatekeepers would do no good.
"Ray, we're leaving," Eric firmly said.
"What!? Like hell we are!" Ray furiously shouted, but upon seeing Eric's cold gaze, he fell quiet.
Eric stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Take a look around you. Don't you see the tension you're creating between our men and the gatekeepers?"
"There wouldn't be any tension if they just let our comrades in."
"I know." Eric grabbed onto Ray's shoulder. "But we can't change that."
Ray scoffed and shook his head. "Then what? Should we just back down then?"
Eric kept his mouth shut. His disheartened gaze remained as he nodded.
"Bullshit!" Ray clenched his fists while trembling with rage. "What the hell do you think our Captain would do if he were standing here instead of us?"
Eric pulled Ray aside and spoke in a voice trembling with restrained fury. "I know exactly what he would do, but we can't act out of line. Do you think I'm not furious at what those bastards are doing? I share the same frustration as you, but right now, Tucker wouldn't want us to create trouble."
Ray hesitated and slowly exhaled. "Then what about the others? The Knight Slayer is still missing and we haven't heard a damn thing from Luka."
"All the more reason for us to remain calm."
Ray took a shaky breath and turned away while grinding his teeth. "Fuck." He glared at the gatekeepers one last time. "Don't think this is over, because once we're done I'll drag you bastards through the courts."
The gatekeepers remained silent as the men from the Thirty-First left. From the side, they could see the other platoons revealing their discontent with the situation. The Commander's son was assigned as their leader, and his words were absolute. If they were to act out of line, it would be considered treason. An act that would tarnish their reputation for generations.