It was raining fire. We struggled to reach a safe place, but flames rained down on us. A shrill cry of a horse made me turn. Ping struggled to hold the reins of his horse, who was panicking, trying to buck off the wagon which had been consumed in flames.
"Save the cannons!" I cried. Men surrounded the wagon, unloading it's contents. We raced forward, ducking beneath a sharp cluster of rocks. "Fire!" Our cannons blasted into the mountains, leaving a train of black smoke and fire behind them. I gazed around Ping had just dived behind the rocks. Where was Chi Fu?
"Fire!" I cried again, and another round of cannons went off. A loud boom, then silence. The smoke loomed around us. We were all holding our breathes, no one moved. The smoke finally cleared, revealing a large figure at the crest of the hill. Shan-Yu.
What I was not prepared for was the army behind him. Thousands. Maybe more. "Prepare to fight," I said stupidly. Was there any point? But nevertheless, the men all bared their swords. Unfortunately, so did their leader, and the army coasted down the hill. Yao, our best shot, prepared the last cannon.
"Yao, aim the cannon at Shan-Yu." Ping pushed right behind me, shoving Yao out of the way and grabbing the cannon. "Ping! Come back!" I called. He was going to kill himself. I couldn't lose any soldiers. Especially not Ping. He was odd, yes, but brave. So brave. He was one of the best, if not the best. I watched in horror as he ran towards the Hun army.
He tumbled into the snow and plunged the cannon in, and I could see, even from my position, that it was too high to be accurate. He'll kill us all. Shan-Yu's hawk swept low and knocked him away. My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn't move. Please, not Ping. But he must have found the flint, because the cannon sailed up, and out of site into the mountains. We were doomed.
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A rumbling shook my feet, and I struggled to maintain my balance. Shan-Yu slashed at Ping, and he was knocked aside. Ping! I jumped from my perch on the rocks and ran towards Ping. I charged through the snow, trying to reach him, even though I knew I woudn't make it.
But before I could even come close to Ping, or the army, a white wall of snow and ice slammed down before me, devouring the army in it's hungry wake. I stared wide-eyed at it, unable to move. Ping! He was a genius! I was hoping to destroy the leader, one person, but Ping had triumphed over the whole army. And suddenly, he was here, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the avalache.
As we sprinted away, I heard the familiar neigh of Ping's horse. That has got to be the smartest horse I have ever met. And then the snow was upon us, pulling at our limbs and trying to pull us under. Ping reared towards me, reaching out his arm. I grabbed his hand, but my legs were swept out from under me. I was gone.