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Entry 23

And now, here we are. Back at the beginning, from whence this adventure came.

"Archers along the ridge! Shield wall!"

The shields went up. Some men prayed, and some men cried. For those who believed in neither, they silently lamented whatever losses may be ahead.

Little could be seen beyond the wall of interlocked wood; more fear came from anticipating the piercing rain, rather than watching the clouds gather. Each second lasted an eternity.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

Fifteen.

Were they even there? Had they fl-

Thump.

A shield, somewhere down the row. The first arrow had landed.

Then all at once, the deluge released.

Within moments, that same thump found itself echoed from every surface currently holding our line intact. Varied screams shot out, reaffirming that many wouldn't come back from here. As openings appeared in the wall, other soldiers were forced to step overtop those corpses and close the gaps.

And almost as quickly as it began, the hail ended. Though, we found no moment of reprieve: while the arrows kept most of us pinned down, bandits had begun swarming from side passages and crevices in the rock. The Confederate reinforcements broke off from the barrier as quickly as they could, rushing to beat back the flow of enemy bodies.

From off to my right, Rells shouted, "Defensive circle, fill the ga-

No, not this one.

SIGNAL TERMINATED
SESSION INCOMPLETE

I was wrong. Another failed replica of a dead world, and we're no closer to the solution. Computer, locate next simulation. Criteria: approaching final cycle, minimal resistance, high likelihood of destruction. Filter results.

LOCATING SIGNAL...
LOCATING SIGNAL...
LOCATING SIGNAL...
SIGNAL IDENTIFIED - SIGNAL #2096587341
ACTIVATE EARLIEST SIGNAL SOURCE?

Affirmative, activate source. Set start coordinates at six months prior to total spatial collapse.

VERIFICATION CODE REQUIRED

Verification code: Alpha Lima Thirty-Two.

ACCESS GRANTED
BEGINNING SOURCE TRANSMISSION...

Let's hope this is the right one; the cost of failure is too high.


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Comments

  1. Kanah BelflowerApril 10, 2022 at 10:17 AM

    Log Number 749 - Another Dead Land

    No more bright futures, no more happy worlds.
    Fire, famine, disease and decimation seem to await me at my every dreaming hour, and I can't stop them.
    The VP over in publishing said, and I quote: "The end of the world doesn't sell anymore."
    But it's more than that. Something is wrong with these places, these planes of existence.
    Forty years of life and I've never feared my own mind; not until now.

    ReplyDelete

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