Chapter 5 of The Other Side of the Creek (Ben's First Battle)

I would have posted earlier, but our computer was really slow. Anyway...


Chapter 5

Ben jerked awake in the middle of the night. He lay on his mat for a moment, wondering what had woke him up. He glanced around at the others. They were all peacefully asleep on their own mats. Then he heard a noise from above, a sort of rustling noise. It sounded like someone (or something, Ben thought with a shudder) was above the dwelling, trying not to make noise but not succeeding. That was what woke me up he realized.

The noise came again, only louder. It sounded as if there were more than one things above. Ben held his breath, starting to get a little nervous. He looked at the rug that covered the door leading to the dark, mysterious passageway, and wondered what scary creature could come out of it. He considered waking Learka or Klii, but then decided against it. Probably just my imagination. Then again, that's what I said when I saw the ogres.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and then glanced up at the hatch in the ceiling. To his shock and horror, the hatch budged slightly. Ben looked toward Learka, who still was soundly asleep and snoring a little bit. Then he looked back at the hatch. It creaked and opened up a little more. From the darkness outside he could see the glint of an eye reflecting the dying fire in the hearth.

This time, Ben made up his mind. "Learka," he hissed.

The older boy cracked an eye open. "What?"

"There's someone opening the hatch!"

Learka was on his feet immediately and grabbed both his and Ben's sword. Giving Ben his, he gripped his own in his right hand and moved cautiously toward the hatch. Yev, Klii, and Kaela also woke up at the noise and grabbed their own swords.

Learka was about to thrust his sword through and spit the person outside when a man's voice hoarsly called, "Psst, Learka! Don't make a noise and don't kill me for goodness sake! Tis I, Nolan!"

Learka lowered his sword and spoke in a whisper. "Nolan! What are you doing in the Dead Forest at this time? Why didn't you come by the tunnels, or send Larkin?"

Nolan, a wiry man with starting-to-gray hair and a sword on his hip, dropped into the dwelling. "That's just it, Learka." He said as he nodded to everyone else. "The tunnels have been found out and invaded by the ogres. And Larkin is missing, as is almost every member of the squirrel tribe. There were no talking birds to be found either. I've come to warn you; we will flee soon. The ogres have invaded several of the smaller tunnels. We need every fighting male, now." he glanced at Ben. "Would he be considered a fighting male?"

Learka looked at Ben, and then at Klii. "What do you think? He can't use light yet..."

Klii nodded. "He should go. Adonai has told me that this will build his faith. Also, Kaela will go."

"Me?" protested the nine year old. "I'd hardly be called a 'fighting male'!"

"Women too, can be warriors of Adonai." Klii wisely responded. "Though it is rare Adonai calls a woman to fight in a battle. They usually fight by different means, like men and Yev. We will fight, too, but by prayer."

Nolan said, "Will you two be safe if the ogres come to your dwelling?"

"We have our swords," answered Yev. "And we can pray."

Then to Learka, Ben, and Kaela, Nolan ordered, "Come on. We will make our way above ground until we get to the part where the main follower army has gathered."

The four of them clambered up the hatch and out into the dark night. It was cold out, but not the crisp, fresh, coolness that many winters bring. It was more of the clammy, threatening cold. Ben shivered and clutched his sword harder.

They made their way down a little path, Nolan leading. The trees seemed to close in on them, and shadows darted around. Kaela stuck close to Ben, and no one said anything. The moon shone down, though sometimes it was covered by dark clouds.

After a good amount of minutes they arrived at where several hundred followers were gathered around one man, who seemed to be the leader. There were only a few women in the crowd; many had chose to fight by staying at home and praying. Nolan, Learka, Ben, and Kaela mixed in with the group.

They had arrived just in time to hear the man in charge saying, "We cannot strategize in good detail, for the ogres are already raiding the homes of followers. There is no time to spare, so I can only say, listen for the advice of Adonai, and follow me!"

The man drew his sword, which shone with an inside light, and then charged toward an opening in the ground leading to the network of tunnels. The followers came after him, each with swords drawn.

Ben found himself running through the labyrinth of passageways with the followers, alongside Learka, Nolan, and Kaela, and hoping that the ogres had already gone home. He hoped in vain, however, for suddenly the head of the charging followers collided with a large group of ogres.

The ogres started slashing their way through the followers, and worked themselves deep into the crowd. Everyone was still running along, and they came out of the narrowed passage into Great Oak Hollow meeting place. There the main battle took place.

Ben was in the middle of thrashing, kicking ogres and followers when an ogre singled out him to fight. It took up stance in front of him and held out it's ugly, long, stone knife, stabbing at Ben. He retaliated by blocking the thrust and driving his sword toward the ogre. They continued parrying and thrusting, dancing up and down, until the ogre finally got the advantage of Ben. It tripped him up, and then pounced on him while he was on the ground.

I really wish this had come a day later, Ben thought. I need more sword training, bad. He saw the knife coming down toward his throat, and in a split second prayed. Adonai, I'm sorry I've doubted you. Please don't let me die! It wasn't the most eloquent of prayers, but it worked. The ogre's hand stayed for a few moments, allowing Ben to get on his feet and and point his sword at it. He was about to run it through, when a shininess passed along the sword blade, and the ogre collapsed, pierced through by a ray of light. Ben himself felt a thrill pass through him. I guess I really believe, now.

In a momentary lull he glanced around to find where Kaela was. He located her, in the middle of blasting a big, two headed ogre with light. He also saw Learka surrounded by several of the ogres, fighting valiantly. Ben decided to help him out.

He came up behind an ogre and pointed his sword at it. The ogre fell, his back hit with a burst of light. Ben lopped the head off another one, and Learka easily finished the other two.

"Thank you." Learka said to the younger boy. "I noticed you shot one with light. Do you...?"

Ben grinned and nodded. "Yes, I do. And your welcome."

The fight didn't last much longer. The ogres were all destroyed, and all that were left from them were bodies with pools of black blood all over Great Oak Hollow. Ben, Learka, and Kaela helped some of the followers set fire to the ogre bodies, and then headed back to their dwelling.

They came through the door into the main room, and saw Klii and Yev, both on their knees, praying ferverently. They both looked up when the returned warriors entered.

"Oh, your back!" exclaimed Yev joyously. "You won the battle, right?"

Ben nodded. "We sure did! And guess what else!" he told Klii, Yev, and Kaela (who hadn't found out yet) that he finally believed in Adonai.

"That's great, Ben!" Kaela congratulated her older brother.

"It is," agreed Klii. "Now Adonai will do wonderful things with your life, and teach you many great things. But now, let's inspect injuries."

Learka had a gash on his calf, Kaela had a jagged cut from a knife from her cheek to her ear, and Ben's left wrist was slightly fractured. Yev prepared soothing poultices for them all, and then they sat around the table, having a late night/early morning snack.

"What do you think we'll do now?" Learka asked Klii. "Will we continue the attack on Mahal?"

Klii nodded. "Almost certainly. We can't give the ogres time for recuperating, and we have to strike before Daran knows of the defeat. He isn't going to be very happy, that's for sure."
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That was another fun chapter. Enjoy.

Izori