-Part Three- Afterthoughts-

-Chapter Thirty-Two-

The sands tore at our bodies as we marched, dust devils swirling about like vultures circling the soon to be dead. We trudged on, bent over, nearly kissing the earth as we walked, heads bowed to the elements. Any protection we wore was rendered useless by the ferocity of the winds, the sands flowing about us like liquid, seeping into any crevice it could find.

Bastard winds…

I cursed silently to myself, knowing that the thoughts were with my fellows as well. The dirt caked our bodies, sticking to the blood and sweat that permeated our fur. We all cursed the storm, but secretly we all knew that it was truly a blessing. The storm was but a delay, a small hill for the inevitable to crest before meeting destiny. We knew what our destiny was to be. Our lonely outpost could last only so long in the face of destiny. Truly, it would be a blessing to have the winds blow forever, but the creators have never intended such.

The sun, as obscured as it was by the sands, was at its peak when we arrived. The great stone castle looming over us, blocking the northern winds and allowing us refuge as we passed through the ancient archway.

"Thought we'd never make it 'ere…" a hare muttered from behind me as he shook the sands from the armors he wore.

"Aye, glad that Capn' knows 'is way 'round the desert," I replied softly, dumping my hat on the cracked stone floor of the courtyard.

"Ain't that the truth, we'd be stuck out in that thar desert fer eternity if'n we didn't have 'is sort of navigatory skills, wot!" the hare chuckled, unbuckling his clothing as we descended into the bunker that had been built into the castle's main building.

"'Ey, pipe down there, mates," an otter ahead of us whispered as we passed the infirmary by, the rows of beds were a disconcerting sight. The darkened rooms seemed to go on forever as crowded as they were. Some of the beds held the living, the corpses littering the edges of the confines, sheets covering them haphazardly, the smell of death and decay permeated the air.

"Almost fergot 'ow many there were…" I whispered, mostly to myself, the nearly omnipresent sounds of the dying causing my fur to stand on end. I stared at the healers as they darted about the haphazardly lit infirmary, their fur ragged and their eyes dull as the sprinted from bed to bed in their bloody garbs.

I don't believe that they were healers anymore—by their own or any other beast's admission—having been robbed of the opportunity to save anybeast by the lack of supplies and the shortage of space. The nearly dead would be comforted as they eased them into death's embrace on their way to the dark forest. Most of them were in a herb induced coma's, the only signs of life the involuntary moans of their fading flesh, minds thankfully released. A small minority of the beds contained those whom would survive, at least under normal circumstance. They stared back and as their eyes met my own I found myself looking away.

Like looking into a damn mirror…

Damn the fates…

If only our last mission had been something more worthwhile. Instead we were on a defensive mission. We were to wait for death rather than rushing to meet it upon the battlefield. A fair deal for anybeast whom wished to live on, but it seemed only a minor delay. We were not left with hope, but with anticipation.

"'Ey, Salus, thinking big thoughts there, matey?" the hare nudged me with a free elbow as we descended into the basement.

"No…just a few small one's…"

"Yer thinking 'bout your sister, ain't cha?"

"A little bit…" I replied, normally it would be at the forefront of my mind, but these days…

Getting to ya, Sal, ain't it?

"You shouldn't worry for her too much. They ought to be safe in the east," the hare stated, dopping his accent for the moment. I merely smirked, unconvinced by his words, "Look at it this way. They may be a cold bunch of bastards, but they're still logical. There isn't anything for them in the east, just desert and ocean."

"Believe me, Kith, I wish I knew, I wish I could believe, but the fate's have said otherwise, and time and time again our hopes are proven false," I hissed softly, a tiny flame of anger within me.

"Sal," the hare whispered back as we reached the bottom of the stairwell, "If we haven't hope, then we may as well lie down and die right here."

Perhaps you're right, Kith…

Perhaps…

I knew that hope dwelled within me still, that I still believed deep down that we would all be all right. I still hoped that everything could go back to the way it were, but even so, alongside hope was the knowledge that these were improbabilities at best. I found myself cursing my hopes for giving me light when I wished that I could simply fade away into the dark.

"All right, everybeast at attention," a smallish mouse called out into the relative quiet room, snapping me from my thoughts as he made his way to the front of the stage, "The commander is ready…"

---

It has been a privilege to have served alongside you all, and whatever happens on the battlefield today, we can only hope that the course of history shall look kindly upon our cause.

With the commander's words still fresh in our minds, we departed from the sub-basement, spreading out within the castle for our last bit of freedom before the battle was to come. Sundown was the expectation, with the storms winding down and the sands no longer obscuring our position they would come. By the light of the moon the last would come.

We can only hope that the course of history shall look kindly upon our cause.

Not exactly the most encouraging speech, nor the most stirring, but at the very least the commander had had the decency not to attempt to deceive us. This was a last ditch effort at best and at worst it was our final stand. I think that most of us accepted our fate, unwilling to admit to doing so, but although we still held onto those few scraps of hope, we knew. We knew well that this was the final mission. There were no plans, and no hopes beyond this.

"So, Sal," Kith muttered softly as he ran a paw idly across his weapon, sweeping the sand from its surface, "you ready fer all this?"

"No…" I answered in earnest, clutching my own weapon tightly, "but anybeast who says yes is a damned liar."

"Always the cheerful one, ain't ya?" the hare replied, the darkness in his eyes readily noticeable even as he put on his mask of cheer.

"Nah, mate, just being the realist…" I responded, turning from the hare to watch the sun dip further down towards the horizon.

---

It was quiet now, the sounds of battle having long since left the desert flats. A soft breeze whipped the sands about the corpses that littered the dunes. In the distance one could still see the dull flashes of light as the stragglers were slaughtered. Those whom could escape had done so, anybeast left was a prisoner of fate. Somewhere behind me a decision was being made, even as life slipped away from me, the stinging pain all that was left to feel as a dull nothingness swept over my senses. In some tiny piece of my mind, still left alive and cut off from the rest of my body as it went into shock, I knew the decision.

From behind the dune where my body lay there was a brilliant flash, the sky was lit aflame and in what was only a fraction of a second the desert was engulfed in a fire creation had never been meant to see.

They decided yes…