War with the Deranged Killer Mutant Monster Snow Goons
Disclaimer: I do not own Calvin and Hobbes and all characters associated with the comic. All rights are owned by Bill Waterson.
Still at her post as the West wall Susie, along with her crews on the two pieces, were thwarting snow goons attempts from gaining this portion of the wall. Salvos of rock flung forth from their catapults had chewed up their formations, dead were stacked five feet high, and many more were wounded, limbs severed or their torsos pierced many times over. Goons showed no mercy; not even to their own. If one slowed it was shoved or knocked down to make room for fresh troops to come through. The amount of moans and groans from their mouths was mounting to where it nearly drowned out all other sounds. Those next to Susie had to shout inches from her ear in order to be heard. Still though the group kept up their fire, rocks tumbled and hissed in the cold air past their heads.
When their second attack began to falter the goons retracted into the darkness. "Hurry, bring up the rest of the rocks!" Susie turned to a boy that was next to her. Touching the shoulder of a girl next to him the two raced down the ramp and each grabbed two pales of stones and came hustling back. Just when they set down the pales the goons let out a roar announcing their return to the field and they came out in a solid line twenty abreast and four ranks deep. A catapult snapped hurling a six pound boulder over the wall landing directing onto one goon and began rolling into the ranks behind.
Standing as a Gibraltar of the fort Susie kept directing her small crew to their task whilst looking left and right at the other positions that she could see in the little light emanating from the house. There was a small porch light in the back and front of the house and another in front of the shed, this was not enough to illuminating the entire landscape and not much made it over the wall to show the landscape, however it was enough to show a few feet beyond the wall. Despite the intense fire some goons made it to the wall and began to rip into it with their claws, then to add horror some took chucks of the ice and began to hurl it back at the defenders. None of their returns were hitting the defenders but it did startle them and cause to duck and weave more and more than hurl stones. For this just a couple of goons reaching the walls multiplied to four and then eight.
It seemed to be worked out into a leap frog method. A goon would sally forth and rip a chunk from the wall and be cut down as a second would take it up and hurl it and be slain followed by a third that would repeat the process. This process was time consuming and many were lost thus others sought to be individuals and scale the slippery slope themselves. Again, this was causing the defenders grief for it was not at just one or two places but in half a dozen forcing the defensive fire to be split rather than focused on one threatened point. To the left of the battery two goons succeeded in mounting the wall and were greeted by the wail of two defenders brandishing bats and sticks swatting at these flies on a window sill. Down the attackers went before being able to enter the compound. They were holding here, but not too far away their situation was becoming desperate. Susie glanced to her right to the catapult overlooking the road and saw it being wheeled down the ramp and retreating back to the house. What was going on? She did not know and sent someone to go to see. If they were retreating then they were in danger of being isolated.
That catapult that was retracted back to the front of the house was loaded, but no one knew which way to direct its fire. There were perhaps twenty kids gathered with two catapults forming the second line of defense when a figure came sprinting across the shoveled grass and stopped in front of Calvin easily distinguishable by his red beanie with a matching fuzz ball on top on his crown. Panting for breath the boy said, "Susie's wandering what we should do."
"Tell her," Calvin began, "To move here and bring her catapults with her."
The boy nodded and began to rush back, "Hurry!" Calvin shouted spurring him faster.
Neither Susie nor anyone else with her understood that the goons had penetrated to the South-East and were coming in vast numbers and now they were mounting to the South too quickly for Ryan's company to deal with them. With two kids leading the catapults and two holding the trails to prevent it from running rampant Susie directed the withdrawal. Looking left she could faintly see the catapult there still snapping away. She called out to them with hands cupped around her mouth, "Retreat to the front of the house." She paused for a moment to see if her words were heard. A boy on the ramp turned to look at her and she waved a gloved hand, but the boy turned and resumed his work oblivious to the order. Cursing under her breath Susie turned and joined the rest in their gathering in the front of the house. There was that piece and those in that isolated position to the South. They were people, people that they needed. Susie grasped the shoulder of the first person they came across and directed them to go to those catapults and have them retreat back here. The kid's face was bleach white with fear but Susie was firm in her direction and the boy took off.
Outside the walls the snow goons took note of the slackening fire and began to converge quickly. Billy saw them and began shouting down what he saw from both the East and the South after seeing them abandon their attacks on the South and South-West position because of casualties. Now they were moving to the west and South-East, areas that had been abandoned. "Good gravy. They're getting smarter," the thought chilled his insides.
Now in several areas the thick snow and red brick walls were begin scaled on masse. Looking up from his lunette Ryan noticed that now the gate was about to be ripped from its hinges after constant beatings. Next to him his friends were lathered in sweat, their jackets soaked, and under their hats were droplets of sweat streaking down their cheeks. "This is it. Get ready!" he said. All those around him readied stones and leveled their spears. One good charge and the gate was flung open and the goons came in. "Now!" their redhead leader cried.
Unleashing a crippling volley that felled perhaps twenty but those behind rolled over them. One was struck, recoiled a little, then came right back towards the lunette. Ryan screamed "Die! Die! Die!" heaving stones over the low wall until it staggered and fell on one of the projecting stakes in front of the position, right through its icy heart. At his back stood Calvin receiving the arrival of Susie's company, but what of the other two posts that were on the opposite side of the house. The messenger made it to the South-West bastion to relay the order and ran to the last one when goons came crashing over the wall and immediately swallowed up the catapult and its crew before they had a chance. The messenger saw them being flung or carried into the corpse of tree kicking and screaming. The messenger came back huffing and spilled out what he saw for all to hear and there were many gasps and worried faces, but Calvin refused to be submitted to the mob rule and proclaimed that there be order. No panic, no screaming the defenders readied themselves for what would be the last push, the core of the goon's force. Still at his post Ryan finished off the last of those that made it through the breach and stared at the black abyss. "This is it!" he cried, "Victory of Death!" From the gate came a cluster of eight foot goons slapping away the bodies of their dead to make a way for them. Three charged the horseshoe emplacement, one was hit and fell, a second was impaled soon after by a stake, and the third made it to them only to fall and be beaten to death with sticks. Their adrenalin pumping Ryan and his friends cried for more; savages and their prayers were answered. From the very gate came much more of the screaming, moaning, hissing animals that Calvin himself created.
Watching with wide eyes, Calvin and everyone else stood still as a tidal wave of white chugged forth and immediately swallowed up Ryan and three of his stalwart friends. Letting go with everything they had the defenders cleared them out, but Ryan and the others were gone, carried or hurled over the wall unable to be retrieved. With the news that the south bastion was lost and being converged on from three sides it was useless to fight out in the open any further. Shouting as hard as he could in the cold heavy air to relay that order the others around him swiveled their heads around and then began to rush for the door. It was not orderly, four or five kids tried to force their way in at once and when the clog could not be cleared Hobbes shoved them in with all of his might and threw those that fell down in individually. Looking around him the goons were swarming as ants on a cracker. Hobbes took up the can of gasoline and ordered his crew to retreat into the house. As he was about to enter a kid came running around the house from the West side. His face streaked with blood, mouth hung open, hat and one glove were gone. He staggered up to the tiger and fell onto the porch. Looking down his jacket was cut up from countless strikes. "I gotcha" the tiger said softly as he picked up the kid and carried him inside then returned threw anything flammable onto the patio and doused it with some gasoline.
As the goons encroached on his position he struck a match against the door frame, smiled, and dropped it on the pool in true Hollywood style and up it went.