Erik straightened and nodded respectfully at Sergeant Markham as the man approached. He prayed he had fooled the officer with his performance.
"You fought well out there, Fink," Markham said. "When did you learn to fight like that?"
Erik shrugged. "I was just mad, sergeant. When those beasts ca charging at the gate, I wasn't thinking much."
Sergeant Markham eyed him. "Perhaps. But your strikes seed practiced and efficient. I know rage when I see it, and that wasn't it."
Erik hesitated, but in the end, he doubled down on his previous statent. "I don't know, sir, but I was certainly enraged. I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing."
Sergeant Markham watched him a mont longer, then nodded, satisfied.
"Well, you held your own. That's all that matters."
He clasped Erik's shoulder. "You might get a promotion if you keep this up, Fink."
Erik nodded, giving a small smile. "Thank you, Sergeant."
With a last nod and squeeze of Erik's shoulder, Markham turned and moved away, continuing his inspection of the soldiers, hoping his team was still alive and well.
Erik let out a quiet sigh of relief as the man left. It seed his performance had convinced the sergeant, at least for now.
He would need to be more careful from now on to avoid raising the man's suspicions. But, of course, Markham wasn't the only one he had to pay attention to.
Erik then headed to the walls. An officer directed him to stand guard on the walls for the rest of the day.
…
…
…
As night fell, Erik still stood watch with his fellow soldiers. The hours had passed slowly, with little to occupy their minds besides scanning the landscape for signs of attack.
A soldier pulled out his ration bundle and began eating. Erik followed suit, opening up his own provisions.
"You fought well out there today," one of the n said to Erik. "I was terrified to die today, but thanks to you, I'm alive."
"Aye," another said. "The way you took down that big bear thing, I thought for sure it had you. Good to have you watching our backs."
Erik nodded. "Thanks," he said. "Glad I could help."
The n returned to eating in comfortable silence; the complints easing so of the tedium of their watch. Erik nibbled at his food, his mind only partially on the al since he was considering the day's events.
As Erik finished his al, two blackguards approached the group of soldiers.
"Who is Ben Fink?" one asked.
The other soldiers turned to look at Erik, who froze, his mind racing.
"That would be ," Erik said, rising to his feet and making a military salute.
The first blackguard eyed him. "You must co with us," he said.
"What? Why?"
"That's classified."
Erik, at that point, could only nod. Erik was already thinking of killing the two blackguards and steal another dude's identity. For that reason, he followed the two n, but once they were alone, the two turned to look at him.
"You are not in trouble, young man. Our superior wants to talk to you. We couldn't say it in front of the others, but we can't tell you why."
Reviews
All reviews (0)