Guardians of the Broken Walls

 

I felt as though I could slice the tension in the air with a knife. My fourteen sisters-in-arms and I stood side-by-side as we heard the monster bash against the walls of our castle. My eyes moved down to the remains of the guards that arrived before us. They had gone out to meet the beast, to serve as a first line, to buy us time to prepare.

The beast had cleaved them in half with its mighty jaws. The top halves had crawled back inside, struggling though they knew they would not survive, doing all they could to stop the creature, even going as far as to try to barricade the entryway with their bodies. They died as heroes.

The creature slammed into the castle's entryway once more, its massive form straining to widen the door. The walls rattled with each strike, a tangible reminder of the beast's formidable power.

"Hold steady, young one," my experienced sister, always calm in the face of danger, whispered low to me, her eyes never leaving the monster. I nodded to her, preparing my own spear. Though one of the youngest among the guard, this was not my first time facing such a foe.

I had fought against other monsters and even met the being we called the giant once. This monster was nearly five times our size and far more powerful than us. The giant was far larger but benevolent. This beast was not. It had attacked before the front guard had even tried to warn it away.

The monster's sharp jaws tore into the walls, the sound of them giving in echoed around us. It hissed menacingly upon seeing us, its jaws snapping with hunger. We kept our distance, knowing that being caught in its maw meant certain death.

"We can't let it breach the entryway. If it gets inside, it will kill everyone!" one of my sisters roared, launching herself forward and thrusting her spear. The monster, despite only having its head through the entryway, countered before she could even make contact, its sharp jaws splitting her in half before spitting the other half to the side. Her top half writhed, spinning and flailing before she was still. She had died at our feet.

I felt a quiver through my entire body. She... she had been my age. I looked to my experienced sister for guidance. Her eyes were locked in front of us, never breaking away from the monster. I followed her example, looking into the black voids that were the creature's eyes as it pushed more of its body inside. There was no mercy there, only cruelty.

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"This must be what wiped out that other castle the scouts discovered," one of my sisters murmured. I recalled the grim tales: scouts, out hunting and foraging, stumbled upon a castle in ruins. All provisions had been consumed, and the grounds were littered with partially eaten, decomposing bodies. Not even the young had been spared.

"That castle was far larger than our own and had a great deal more soldiers, and they failed. What hope do we have?" I asked.

"We don't know that it is responsible. And even so, we must not let it through," my experienced sister said, taking command as our leader. The monster finally breached the entrance, standing at its full height, towering above us, a pair of large wings on its back. I looked behind us.

"Is anyone going to come to our aid?" I asked.

"No. A great deal of us are out foraging and all of the other guards have positioned themselves in between here and the queen should we fail."

"What about the giant? Maybe he'll help. He has before. All he asks in exchange for his protection is some of our food," one of the others whimpered, dodging away from the monster's teeth as it attempted to grab her.

"We cannot depend on him, even if he would help. There is no way to reach him. He comes and goes as he pleases. We must defend the queen and the castle, even if it costs us our lives! It is our duty! It can't stop all of us! Together, sisters!" one of my sisters cried out. Five rushed the creature, including her. Two were struck down in an instant, but the other three's spears made contact.

"Ha!" they cried in victory.

"No! Get back, you fools!" our leader cried out. It was too little too late. They had been so assured in their victory, they had neglected to notice their spears had failed to pierce the monster's thick hide. The monster reacted quickly, and they met the same fate as the others at the business end of its jaws. The monster spit them from its mouth before it lunged at us, breaking our flank.

We darted in and out, our weapons flashing as we tried to pierce the monster’s hide. Each thrust was futile, the weapons bouncing off its thick skin. Survival was a matter of quickness of thrust and quickness of foot. Our small size gave us an edge in the cramped space. The beast, though deceptively quick, struggled to maneuver in the narrow corridor. As long as we could get in fast, strike, and get out, we could continue to fight.

Some of us weren't fast enough. We had started with fifteen, and now we were six. Including the guards that had fell before we arrived, I had never in my life witnessed an attack from a single enemy that resulted in so many casualties

"Our spears are useless. I have not seen a creature so fierce before," I whimpered.

"I have done battle with others of its ilk in my time, but never one so large. They are warriors through and through," Our leader said, barely moving out of the way as the monster attempted to end her.

"There are more of these things?" one of those remaining asked.

"Many more. They exist in tribes. Where we forage, they hunt. They kill. They even go as far as to cannibalize each other."

"Queen help us, that's terrible."

"This is likely a scout, trying to get a proper read on the strength of our defenses. If it leaves, it will return with more."

"So if it gets further into the castle, we're doomed, and if it leaves, we're doomed even more. We can't even hold our own against one!"

"If you've fought them before, how can we stop it?" I asked

"Their skin is tough, resistant to our weapons, but there's a soft spot at the base of the neck. If we can stab it there with our spears, we might stand a chance," our leader replied, the wisdom of her experience showing.

"Will that work?" one of my other sisters expressed doubt, dodging the monster's snapping jaws.

"Do you have any better ideas?" I shot back, my exhaustion clear in my voice. I glanced around, seeing the same weariness etched on my sisters' faces. Their silence was answer enough.

"Alright then, sisters. I'll distract it. While I do, climb on its back and aim for the neck," our leader whispered, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Sister, are you sure?" I asked, my voice trembling. I couldn't imagine fighting without her guidance.

"If I can buy us a second, it'll be worth it. I've served the queen loyally. I'm not afraid to die!" She leaped forward, her spear ready, not giving us a chance to argue. Two others followed, their movements a blur around the monster's head.

My doubtful sister and I exchanged a determined nod. Moving in perfect synchronization, we flanked the beast, one to the right, the other to the left.

It thrashed violently as we leaped onto it's sides. It was clearly aware of our presence, but our sisters kept its attention with relentless attacks to its face. Its jaws snapped ferociously, missing them by mere inches. As we climbed onto its back, the monster's wings began to vibrate in an attempt to dislodge us, as we reached its weak point.

"Where is the soft spot? It doesn’t look any different than the rest of it!" the doubtful sister yelled out. I could barely hear her over the hum of the creature's wings.

"I don’t know! Just STAB!" I desperately drove my spear repeatedly into the area where the beast's head met the rest of its body. My sister joined me, our spears stabbing at its neck while our sisters stabbed at its face, dodging its jaws. Our stabs were fruitless. Its carapace may have been weaker as our veteran sister said, but we lacked the strength to pierce it.

The beast swung its massive body, the combined force of its movement and vibrating wings flinging us aside with ease. The castle trembled violently, much like it had during the monster's initial assault on the entrance.

"Oh no. It's too late. It has already summoned the others," I whispered, my voice rattling as I struggled to my feet. Only my doubtful sister, our veteran leader, and I remained. The rest of our sisters had fallen.

"What are we going to do?" my doubtful sister asked, shaking the dust from herself. I looked to our leader, still fighting with the monster to the best of her ability. Her exhaustion was showing, and the monster appeared to be toying with her as the walls shook behind it.

"We fight. The others haven’t entered yet, and we can at least try to take one with us," I said, not wavering.

"For the queen," my doubtful sister affirmed, bolstered by my resolve. Together, the two of us lunged, our spears aimed at the beast’s face just as it prepared to land the killing blow onto our leader. Our distraction worked, drawing its furious gaze toward us. Our veteran sister collapsed to the ground, still breathing but utterly spent.

We backed into the corner. Any attempt we made to get around it, to get away, to fight, was met by the creature cutting us off, getting closer and closer.

"It’s going to finish us both at once," my sister heaved, her breathing heavy.

"At least we die a hero’s death," I said as the monster barreled forward. Its jaws snapping shut... barely an inch away from us.

"It... it stopped?" I said, stunned. Its jaws rapidly opened and closed, but it could get no closer.

"L-look..." my sister uttered, barely able to hold it together.

Around the beast's midsection was a large pair of metal claw-like appendages, holding it in place.

"What... what is it?" I asked. Without effort, the appendages pulled the creature out of the entrance. It resisted the entire way but even with its herculean strength was unable to free itself.

"It’s... it’s... him... it has to be..." My once doubtful sister sobbed as she moved to our veteran sister. As though to answer her, a massive eye peeped into the entryway, taking stock of the dead.

"The giant... once again he has come to our aid..." The veteran coughed as my doubtful sister helped her up. Almost brought to a fit of laughter at our narrow escape from death, I moved to help my doubtful sister.

*********

"Hmmm...just in the nick of time. Still lost fifty or sixty from the looks of it. You did your best, girls. You were outmatched. Good thing I checked the camera." The beekeeper looked at the struggling wasp between his tweezers. It was pissed. He moved the tweezers to the top of the jar and slammed the lid over it before releasing the hornet, pulling the tweezers out and sealing it.

"No doubt about it." The beekeeper looked at the massive insect bouncing against the glass. It was nearly two inches in length, easily five times the size of his bees. Asian giant hornet. European honey bees didn’t stand a chance against these monsters. A couple of them could wipe out a nest of thousands in a few hours. "And if there’s one of you, there’s a nest somewhere. I better get some additional netting around my hive for protection and report this."

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Credit to www.craiyon.com for the images.