Topic: General Cross

Cross Numarc

Date: 2009-11-04 22:48 EST
"Ready"Aim"Fire!" Said Cross as his arm fell down from its upward point to aim toward the enemy soldiers marching down the road. Smoke filled the air with the first volley of shots, horses neighing in fear as men shouted and yelped in pain. Several thumps followed the gunshots as bodies fell to the ground. Cross heard the enemy soldiers organizing under the orders of their leaders and narrowed his eyes.

"Second wave!" He shouted. His order was followed by another round of gunshots as the second rank of soldiers fired while the first reloaded their weapons. This continued for several minutes, the two ranks of riflemen taking turns in firing at the enemy. Twigs snapped behind them, and the general whirled about and flicked his wrist. All at once, the trees around them lit ablaze, the fire coursing toward the sneaking soldiers to engulf them in their blazing tendrils.

First there were screams of pain, then the cracking of wood, popping of flesh, and finally, the splintering of bone under the intense heat. With a wave of his hand, Cross had the fires cease, dying out within seconds so he could survey the scene. Several charred corpses and skeletons lay amongst the ashes of fallen trees.

"Move out." Cross said to his soldiers as he turned his back on the scene and started toward the small group of wagons that the enemy soldiers had been escorting through the forest. "Take the weapons, money, rations, and anything else of value. Kill any survivors."

Cross Numarc

Date: 2009-11-05 22:16 EST
Cross and his platoon of soldiers marched on days after the raid on the enemy's convoy. They stuck to the forest, though. Members of the enemy's military went up and down the road the entire time, begging for an ambush. But the orders were clear, stay hidden until the signal was lit.

The signal came after three days of marching. There was no mistaking it. The sky lit up red, flames blazed overhead and fell down on the heads of the bewildered enemy army. They were engulfed in the fire, and Cross' men went to work. The general and his soldiers ran, emerging from the veil of trees to burst out onto the road and surprise a contingent of troops marching toward the nearby town.

"Now!" Shouted Cross, and all at once a volley of shots sounded, the iron slugs of his soldiers rifle's tearing into cloth and flesh, rending screams of pain and surprise from the confused victim's throats. Cross and his men discarded their rifles and drew the sabers at their sides. Metal flashed in the fire-lit night, slicing through the enemy soldiers who were too disorganized and surprised to properly defend themselves.

One man thought to aim his rifle at the general, but Cross' fingers snapped just as the hammer on the weapon fell. The spark exploded into a blast of flames that blew up in the man's face. A charred body fell to the ground. More, blade torn ones joined it.

"Burn it all. Move on."

Cross Numarc

Date: 2009-11-05 22:48 EST
We knew what we were doing. Or, I did at least. I don't know if the soldiers did. But I was aware. I knew that each man killed was a son, a brother, a friend, husband, father, and so on. It doesn't make it hard though. Taking a life is like putting out a fire. In the end, you're saving the world from just another possible source of destruction.