Chapter 8 – Breach Drill
The Founding Festival was only a day away, but the Watchmen didn't get holidays.
Brook stood in formation with nearly sixty other Watchmen inside the northern training yard. Rows of wooden dummies lined the field while instructors moved between squads, correcting stances and barking orders.
Captain Mercer paced in front of them.
"The festival brings crowds."
He stopped.
"Crowds create distractions."
His sharp eyes swept across the formation.
"And distractions create opportunities."
No one spoke.
"For the next two days, every Watchman is on high alert. You are not just protecting the Wall—you are protecting every citizen inside it."
He turned toward the gate leading to the practice grounds.
"We'll begin with a breach drill."
The heavy gates groaned open.
Six iron cages were wheeled into the yard.
The conversations stopped immediately.
Brook's expression hardened.
Inside each cage was an Abomination.
They were restrained by thick chains bolted to the floor, but they still slammed themselves against the bars with enough force to shake the cages.
Several of the newer recruits instinctively stepped backward.
Mercer noticed.
"If you're afraid now…"
He pointed toward the cages.
"…good."
"Fear keeps you alive."
He drew his sword.
"But panic gets people killed."
The first cage opened.
A Fast Biter exploded from the darkness.
It moved so quickly that several recruits never even saw it leave the cage.
"Formation!" Mercer shouted.
The front line raised their shields.
The creature hit them like a battering ram.
Wood splintered.
One recruit lost his footing and crashed onto his back.
The Fast Biter immediately lunged for his throat.
Before it could reach him—
A blade flashed.
Brook stepped between them and drove his sword into the creature's shoulder, knocking it off course.
The Abomination rolled across the dirt before springing back onto all fours.
Its pale eyes locked onto Brook.
It hissed.
Brook lowered his stance.
"Get him out of here," he said without looking away.
Two Watchmen dragged the shaken recruit to safety.
The Fast Biter charged again.
This time Brook waited.
At the last possible second, he stepped aside.
The creature flew past him.
Brook spun, striking the back of its leg.
The tendon snapped.
The Abomination collapsed.
Mercer was already there.
One clean strike ended the fight.
Silence settled over the yard.
Mercer looked at the fallen creature before turning toward the recruits.
"What did you learn?"
No one answered.
He pointed at Brook.
"You."
Brook wiped dark blood from his blade.
"It wasn't trying to kill everyone."
Mercer nodded.
"It picked the weakest target."
"The frightened one."
"The separated one."
He looked around the yard.
"Abominations don't fight with anger."
"They fight with instinct."
"If you break formation…"
He let the sentence hang.
"…you become prey."
Training continued for another hour.
By the end, everyone was covered in sweat.
Brook leaned against a wooden post, drinking from a canteen.
Crowley walked over, tossing him a clean towel.
"Nice save."
Brook caught it.
"He froze."
"He almost died."
Brook looked toward the young recruit sitting alone near the infirmary.
"He won't make that mistake twice."
Crowley followed his gaze.
"Neither will the others."
A loud horn interrupted them.
Not one from the training yard.
One from the Wall.
Three sharp blasts.
Every Watchman in the yard looked toward the northern towers.
Mercer's face changed instantly.
"That's not part of the drill."
The horn sounded again.
Long.
Urgent.
Real.
"To the Wall!" Mercer shouted.
The entire yard erupted into motion.
Brook and Crowley sprinted through the fortress, taking the stone stairs two at a time.
By the time they reached the battlements, archers had already taken their positions.
Citizens below were being rushed indoors.
Brook stepped onto the Wall and looked beyond it.
At first…
He saw nothing.
Only mist.
Then the fog shifted.
Dozens of shapes emerged from the tree line.
Fast Biters.
Weepers.
Far more than a normal hunting pack.
They weren't attacking.
They were gathering.
Watching.
Waiting.
Crowley came to a stop beside him.
"…I've never seen this many."
Brook didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on the creatures.
Something was wrong.
The Abominations weren't looking at the Wall.
They were all looking in the same direction.
Toward the forest behind them.
As if they were afraid of something deeper in the wilderness.
Then, from somewhere beyond the sea of trees…
A single roar echoed across the land.
It wasn't like anything Brook had heard before.
Every Abomination froze.
The roar came again.
One by one, the monsters turned…
And ran.