A/N: Only an epilogue to go. This one will roll into the next story. Thanks so much for sticking with me.
A/N2: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Things are explained a little bit here. Hope you like it. Thanks!
Chapter 38
"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Sergeant Zeki shouted, raising his arms, after a few more minutes of exchanging gunfire with the invaders below. The Gale Force at the wall stopped firing as they were ordered. As the smoke cleared, it revealed that only fifteen men remained of the original attacking force. Of those at least seven were wounded.
"You down below! You have committed an act of treason! I should have you all shot dead right here! I am offering you a one-time deal! Put down your weapons and your lives will be spared! Continue down this foolish path and the only result will be death!" Zeki bellowed. While he yelled, the Vinkuns and Elphaba moved even closer to the remnants of the gate. They stopped just outside the range of the gate possibly falling on them, should it fall inward.
The sound of weapons hitting the pavement did not come over the walls to the ears on the other side. Zeki said nothing, just dropped his arms, and the soldiers resumed firing on those below. Almost as soon as they started firing, they stopped.
"Forward march!" Fiyero shouted. The Vinkuns moved closer to the gate before splitting equally into two groups – Fiyero leading the one and Lieutenant Dilek. They moved to the two reinforced side doors, which had been bolted shut by the Gale Force. Both doors were unbolted and then they exited, their guns raised. The sight before them was one that most could have gone their entire lives without seeing. Bullet ridden bodies, blood, and broken parts of the gate and equipment spewed on the ground. In between the stones that made up the road, the blood seeped. A few bodies groaned but the rest were dead. Sergeant Milligan came from behind Dilek and stabbed the bodies with his bayonet, effectively ending their suffering.
"What the hell were they thinking?" Fiyero asked when he realized that these men looked like average peasants, who would not have wanted to take on a force like the ones guarding the Palace. There were torches, pitchforks, and some rifles on the ground, nothing to indicate how they damaged the gate.
"They weren't but they also weren't average citizens," Boq spoke up, glad that he no longer had a stomach. If he did, he'd be vomiting. That was one bonus of being under a magic spell.
"How can you tell?" The Prince was surprised by the Tin Man's comment.
"Ink," Boq pointed with his toe to the ink on the dead man in front of him. On his arm was a familiar mark – a black capital "O" with an emerald green "Z" over the top and a few yellow bricks beneath them. Fiyero came over to take a closer look.
"Ex-Gale Force," he spat.
"Wizard ass-kissers," Dilek spat too.
"That explains how they got their hands on gunpowder – enough to do the damage to the gate," Sergeant Milligan said.
"How many men did you kick out of the service?" Elphaba asked.
"Zeki! We need my list and Sergeant Duncan!" Fiyero barked up to the man on the wall.
"On it!" He replied and was off like a shot.
"Can you identify these men?" Dilek wanted to know.
"I can't but Duncan may be able to, without checking for their marks. We have a general description of each man that was ejected and the numbers on their ink, on that list I mentioned," Fiyero explained. That was the first time he regretted sending Zetti out on a mission without him. The Lieutenant would have definitely known more of the troops. Duncan was quite capable but his exposure to all of the troops was less than Zetti's.
"Secure the area!" Dilek ordered his troops and they spread out around the piles of bodies.
"I'm going to reiterate what I asked earlier. How many men did you kick out of the Gale Force?" Elphaba wanted to know.
"The entire force was a mess. I lost count after a while," Fiyero admitted.
"Well, I've been counting and I'm starting to lose count on how many dead people we have here. It would seem they formed their own army and attacked despite the overwhelming odds. Somehow, I have a feeling though that this is not over," the green woman said.
"No, far from it. This is only the beginning," Fiyero shook his head.
To Be Continued…