[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246624086/0/0]Table of Contents[/url] Derik lay on his back in the snow next to Willis. The two of them were silent, listening to the stuttering of gunfire and looking past their feet at Irene’s body. She almost seemed peaceful now, with her hands folded over her stomach and her eyes closed… Derik scolded himself and quickly turned his gaze skyward. Thoughts like that meant he’d been staring at her for too long. The stress of the battle had sunken deep and taken hold. Death was starting to seem like a good alternative to sitting in a ditch and praying that a lucky bullet wouldn’t find its mark. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want to watch his friends and everyone else die. They were all just killing each other for nothing. Why were they fighting? People weren’t the enemy. Why were they hunting Warlords instead of the Fallen? Two images flashed through his mind. First an old man, backed by armed soldiers, standing before the people of Wehwalt and telling them they were safe. Then blue eyes, piercing through the shadow of night, watching him from the roof as- Derik caught himself as his breathing became shallow and rapid. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled, in and out, calming his thoughts. They were just bad memories. Everyone had bad memories in this world, in this dark age. He needed to focus on getting out of this fight alive. Slowly, he brought his attention back to his surroundings. They had been waiting for awhile now with no change. No one had moved. The defenders of Flats were still shooting. Jennifer hadn’t given them any new orders. And Irene was still dead. Nothing had changed. Sol inched closer to the horizon, lengthening their shadows with the slow threat of night. Derik lay his head back in the snow, crossing his arms for warmth and suppressing a shiver. The cold embrace of the white powder had chilled him to the bone long ago, and his fingers and toes were numb. Some of the others were talking amongst themselves. Not about anything in particular; just whatever they could think of to distract themselves from their current predicament. “Hey,” Jennifer spoke up, raising her voice to be heard by all, “Somethin’s happenin’!” She was looking at Flats. Derik rolled over and wiggled up the slight slope to peek out at the town. Their enemies were moving around on their respective hill. One man was walking between them, waving his arms in grand gestures. It was easy to see he was yelling at them, giving orders. “What’re they doin’?” Willis asked, looking over his shoulder at Derik. Derik squinted in the dying light, not sure what he was seeing, “They’re…lining up, I think…I think I see the guy in charge.” “Everyone be ready!” Jennifer commanded warily. Willis rolled onto his belly, and everyone in the line scooted to the edge of their cover to get a view of Flats. Their enemies were only two hundred meters away, if Derik guessed correctly. Maybe less. He didn’t know what they were planning. “Sure hope they don’t have a rocket launcher, too…” Ibis muttered. “Traveler, I hope not,” the man next to Derik agreed. “Hey, guys…” a man shouted, “They stopped shooting!” Derik cocked his head to the side and listened. The only things he heard were the wind and people yelling down the line. “Don’t do anythin’ unless I say!” Jennifer reminded. Derik looked back at Flats. One man stood at the apex of the hill, clad in armor and holding a fist up in the air. “Is that their leader?!” A woman hollered, pointing at the figure. “Think so!” Saul replied. Jennifer didn’t say anything. The defenders of Flats suddenly lurched into motion, sprinting straight out into the field. The people around Derik burst with exclamations, voicing their confusion, shock, and fear. Jennifer bellowed over them, “DON’T DO ANYTHIN’! WAIT! WAIT!” A few gunshots rang out down the line, far from Derik and closer to the center of their army. “DON’T SHOOT!” Jennifer yelled, and Derik could see that other guards were trying to calm the others farther away, “WAIT!” Everyone managed to stifle their befuddlement enough for Jennifer to be heard over the clamor, “Get your guns ready! If we’re lucky we won’t have to do a thing!” Derik turned his attention back to Flats. Some of the gunmen had stayed behind. Four of them. The rest were running straight towards the center of the invading army’s line. One of the four at the hill turned and ran back towards the village. A powerful gunshot rang through the air, distant but easily heard in the empty field. It came from behind Derik, and he looked over his shoulder to find the source. After a moment, he spotted several heads a few dozen meters behind the center of the line, hidden in another dip in the terrain. A second shot was fired, and Derik looked back to Flats. At first, he saw no change in their enemy’s numbers. None of the charging gunmen had been hit, and the three remaining on the hill were fine. But the fourth had disappeared. There was a pause, followed by a third shot, and one of the three on the hill reeled and fell over. The other two ducked down, hiding from the sniper. “That must be the Warlords,” Willis deduced. Derik glanced back at the heads behind them before returning his gaze to the field. The rest of Natalia’s gunmen had already covered half the distance between them and were shooting as they charged. But their attention was focused on the center of the line, and Derik didn’t have to worry about taking cover. “The hell are they doin’?” The man next to Derik puzzled. “Be ready!” Jennifer reminded. Natalia’s gunmen were close to the line now, bellowing fearlessly and unleashing wild sprays of bullets into the snow. Not a single shot was fired back. Every person before them was cowering in their little ditch. “What’re we gonna do?!” Saul squealed. “Wait!” Jennifer repeated. The gunmen of Flats were nearly at the ditch. Geralt pointed his gun out at them, “But they’re about to-“ “Shut it!” Jennifer barked. When the gunmen were almost right on top of the trench, the people hiding in it popped up. Dozens of steel barrels were pointed directly at Natalia’s foot soldiers, meeting their charge with the cold gaze of imminent death. Even from a distance, Derik could see the gunmen’s reactions as they realized their terrible mistake. Their strides faltered and their bodies twisted as they tried to stop their momentum. But they couldn’t turn away. They couldn’t hide. Their defiant roars became horrified screams. Then the air split as a violent barrage of bullets was unleashed all at once.