Chapter Seven

The army of Orcs, stopped about a hundred meters from the wall and leered up at us menacingly. I began to wonder what they were planning to do when suddenly, every single one of the uglie bastards began banging their metal armor with their monstrous, festering fists in unison. The thunderous clang of noise filled our ears and I wondered vaguely if Leith could hear it up in heaven. As though someone had been reading my thoughts, a large boom in the distance made me glance up at the dark sky just in time to see the first few raindrops slam onto the cold, mucky stones about me.

"Typical." I muttered, shaking the droplets trickling into my eyes away and adjusting my helmet so that it ran off the sides and left me with a clear view of the disgusting clump of creatures stamping and roaring on the sodden grass. I glanced at the small green glow of the chip in my wrist, signifying I was still alive and kicking...I hoped it would reaming that way for the rest of this momentous battle. I heard Aragorn shouting for the men to hold in the distance and took aim at one of the larger members of the group below, smiling maliciously as I pulled the trigger. The blast of gunfire ripped through the din and I watched at the creature I had been aiming for blinked in surprise before falling heavily to the ground. The moment that followed was one of complete and utter stillness. The kind of stillness you get just before an earthquake or a terrible hurricane.

Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. And then...

"FIRE!!!" Suddenly arrows rained down with the water from the skies and I watched as the creatures below screamed and ran towards us, their vicious swords gleaming with their own slime. I pulled the trigger again and watched with a terrible satisfaction as I watched the Uglie-bastards fall into the mud face first under my fire. I suddenly realized I had hardly any ammo left, so I stashed the gun beneath a large stone (for later) and looked around me for a weapon. I found one soon enough.

I crouched down beside the old man who had an arrow protruding from his frail body and checked his pulse. "Sorry mate." I whispered, closing his glassy eyes with the palm of my hand before sliding his sword from under him and stepping back to the edge of the wall, and submitting myself entirely to the red haze of battle.

It's difficult to describe, that feeling of cold calculation. When you're enveloped in the red haze in slow motion. You can easily spot where to plunge your sword, where the enemy is at it's weakest. You do what you have to do in order to survive. You don't notice the blood that shines black in the moonlight, you don't notice the ice cold rain that reopens the cuts on your face because it simply doesn't matter. You don't care about such trivial things ... all you care about is the killing. I'm not sure how many of the orcs I shoved off the ladders that were leaning against the wall, and I have no idea how many I shoved my newly acquired blade into. All I knew was I was doing what I had to do.

My duty.

Through the pouring rain and the sea of people and orcs, I noticed flashes of the golden hair of the elves, all of whom were scavenging the bodies for more arrows. One elf caught my eye in particular. An elf who was currently fighting hand to hand with one of the largest of the Uruk-hai I had ever had the unfortunate to lay eyes upon ... the Elven captain. "HALDIR!!" I called out, absently slicing an Orc's neck who was unlucky enough to try and stand in front of me. The Large Orc and Haldir fought with swords. Haldir's silver sword almost glowing white light ... and utter contrast to the dull, black hooked sword of his adversary. Even through the din of battle, I heard the Orc laugh when Haldir winced as his arm was cut open by it's crude sword. He was going to die. Oh good Lord ...

I suddenly realized I was just standing there, watching, and I charged towards the Orc, screaming out with fury and loathing as I launched myself at the disgusting creature's back. It screamed as I hacked mercilessly at it with my weapon, watching with grim satisfaction as the disgusting hulk finally stopped struggling. I felt a hand on my shoulder, tightening it's grip when I stopped hacking away and I turned to see Haldir's grim face.

"It is done. I thank you, I owe you my life. I only wish one as young as you did not hold so much hatred in your heart." He said, his face showing gratitude and ... pity?

"So do I." I replied before patting him on the shoulder and turning back to the nightmare before me, throwing myself back into the action. I called out orders, directed men to better positions ... but the orcs just kept coming. There were so many of them, so few of us. I glanced up at the sky only to find it was still pitch black an empty, no traces of dawn any time soon. So much for leaving all the work to Gandalf and the Riders ... shite. "HOW GOES IT ARAGORN?" I bellowed over to the older man, who was currently shoving an orc off from the top of the wall. I followed his gaze and watched it slam to the ground, only to be trampled by it's companions within milliseconds. Aragorn looked up and hesitated before answering,

"NOT WELL!! I FEAR WE SHALL HAVE TO PULL BACK IF THIS PERSISTS!" I swallowed and nodded, wiping away blood and sweat, and collecting a little rainwater in my outstretched hands to splash my face with. I took deep breath before pushing back trough the crowd of men and boys, helping them chop down one of the ladders.

Time was a blur as it passed, and soon enough I heard the orders to retreat to the castle being shouted by King Theoden himself. I yelled his order through the crowd and watched as they hurriedly moved towards the keep ... all except the Elves. They stood at the foot of the wall, hands blurred because they were moving so fast in snatching arrows, placing them in the bow and releasing them. It was quite a sight actually. I watched for a couple more minutes before shaking myself and sprinting to the wooden gates.

"We need time! A distraction!" Theoden was conveying to Aragorn. Aragorn merely nodded and he and Gimli headed for a door. I followed and gasped when I realized it swung out into nothing but an extremely narrow cliff edge...and believe me, when one has already fallen off a cliff less than three days before hand, one is not exactly jumping at the chance to have another go.

"Faith? What're you doing here?" Gimli asked as good naturedly as he could while standing on an uncomfortably small cliff edge.

"I followed you! What're you doing here?" I shot back, gulping when some gravel from beneath my feet shifted slightly.

"We're going to create a distraction. Will you come?" Aragon replied.

"Think I'd leave you to have all the fun?" I replied, a little shakily when Aragorn gestured to the other cliff about two meters from us.

"We must jump there and then climb up the side of the bridge and catch them off guard."

"Toss me." Gimli muttered.

"Pardon?" I asked before Aragorn could get a word out.

"Dwarves are not good at jumping long distances. Aragorn, you'll have to toss me." He grumbled. I stifled a laugh and bit my lip to keep from smiling. "Tell the Elf that Aragorn had to toss me and whether you are a lady or not, I shall ..."

"It's alright Gimli. You have my word." I assured him quickly. If there was one thing I really didn't need, it was an angry dwarf.

"And you have mine also. Come, let us not waste any more time friends." Aragorn said. What ensued was one of the most odd fights of my life. When we were all finally up on the bridge, it was Aragorn, Gimli and I fighting and taunting twelve Orcs, just to keep them busy before the cavalry arrived ... it sounds a lot easier than it is. Once again I was thrust into battle, and I was once more covered in stinking, foul Orc blood. The stones around us were stained with their thick, unnatural blood and somehow I knew that it would never be washed off. Nothing and horrid could ever be removed entirely. Far off in the distance, I heard the booming sounds of a horn far though it was steadily growing louder. When I was sure the last Orc on the bridge was dead, I let my smile begin to grow and I ran all the way from the bridge through the main Keep and back to the wall. I watched in a mixture of awe and relief as a single white horse emerged from behind the cliffs.

"Cavalry's here." I murmured as Gandalf and his mythical horse galloped down towards the Army of Isenguard, followed by hundreds of horsemen, each armed with spears and newly revived hope. They broke through the dark, disgusting ocean of creatures and the men around me cheered as they slew the Orcs in droves. I was so entranced by the sight that had been recited to me in legends since I was a tiny baby, I didn't notice the scrawny Orc who had scrambled up the wall and was crouched down amidst the rocks behind me.

"Take that you slimy..." I began before gasping.

Oh. Shite.

Something was in my back. Something pointy and sharp and...oh Hell...painful. I swallowed hard and blinked a couple of times, wondering why the battle had suddenly become so terribly silent. I dropped to my knees and through the waves of agony that assaulted me, I could see Aragorn's horrified face sprinting towards me. He caught me before my head cracked to the ground and I could see his lips forming words above my face ... if only I could hear them ... maybe if I tried hard enough ...

"Faith! Faith can you hear me!? You have an arrow in your back, though it's not poisoned, you will survive! Can you hear me! You must keep awake! Please! Faith!" He shouted, his dark eyes desperate and worried.

"That's Captain Faith to you ..." I managed to gasp. Aragorn smiled weakly but it quickly disappeared when I coughed and tasted the all too familiar taste of blood on my tongue. "You ... you have to destroy ... Saruman's book ... you ..."

"No!! Faith!" I glanced down at the chip in my wrist and was alarmed to see it was no longer green, but was a dark red colour. Dark red meant ... no pulse.

Ok ... that can't be good.

And then ... I was numb and the world turned to black.