Soldier in Blood Splattered Uniform
Chapter 3
Dozens of Hollowmen spurted out of the ground, filling the courtyard with their malevolent grins. The sound of creaking bones filled the air, complimented by the smell of rotting flesh, which slithered across the ground like a giant snake. Skye's eyes frantically dashed around, trying to gauge the how the others felt. Coincidentally, they all looked as terrified as she did.
Darting down the stairs, Ben drew his sword and rushed to aid a few soldiers who were struggling to barricade the giant doors. The aggressive knocks and bangs at the doors echoed around the camp, as even more Hollowmen tried to force their way inside. Their numbers were rapidly increasing.
Skye vaulted off the ledge and pulled out her hammer – a hero hammer, which used to belong to her father. She'd be lying if she said she used it for sentimental purposes, but it did look cool and wasn't bad for fighting either.
The door collapsed. The soldiers that were blockading the door fell to the ground, crushed lifelessly beneath the weight of the heavy wood. The wisps flew in, resembling shooting stars and gleaming crystals, however then transformed into the decrepit forms of Hollowmen.
The gruelling fighting commenced. Skye hurried back and forth between the vast, exposed space where the doors used to be, and the large open windows, where more and more Hollowmen invaded the Mourningwood fort. When they slaughtered the last Hollowman, cheers erupted from all corners of the camp. Exhausted, Skye slumped against a stone wall, trying to regain her strength.
Just moments later, the overjoyed faces of all the soldiers turned gloomy and fearful once more. One last wisp flew through the gaping hole in the wall and buried itself in a grave. Lieutenant Simmons ascended from under the ground – his eyes were sunken and his flesh was rotting, with maggots burrowing in every orifice. He was a Hollowman.
"Lieutenant Simmons, I specifically ordered you to stay buried," Major Swift yelled, drawing his sword.
"Does no-one listen to orders around here anymore?" Ben shouted.
Skye groaned. With the last of her physical strength, she willed her body into a standing position, swaying slightly due to tiredness and fatigue. Charging up a fireball, the heat at her palms acted as a waking call, shocking her fully into consciousness. The possessed Lieutenant let out a loud grunt, sending all the others to sleep. She was all by herself.
Just her luck.
She lobbed the fireball at the Hollowman, but it didn't seem to have the desired effect. Instead it started running towards her, unfazed by the spurts of fire that Skye was hurling towards it. Its sharp cleaver arms began swinging and rotating, slashing any nearby object to pieces. She grabbed her hammer and smashed it against the Hollowman's head.
It vanished.
The Hollowman let out another deep moan, an abundance of wisps flying out of its mouth. They settled in a formation around the Lieutenant, guarding him. Skye turned her attention to the newly formed Hollowmen, shooting at them from afar. Ducking and rolling to avoid their slashes and cuts, she had finally decapitated the last one, and it crumbled into a pile of decayed bones and ashes. She pointed her gun at the Lieutenant, her finger ready to pull the trigger, when the Hollowman perished - a bullet lodged in the side of its head.
She turned her head to see a blonde soldier with his usual grin, gun still aimed and smoke still billowing from the end of it.