Chapter 15 – Beyond the Wall
The eastern sky had only begun to brighten when Brook arrived at the northern gate.
A cold breeze drifted through the fortress, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and pine from the wilderness beyond.
The gate stood silent.
Massive.
Ancient.
Brook had spent years protecting it from the inside.
Today, for the first time in his life, he would walk through it.
"Didn't think you'd beat me here."
Brook turned.
Crowley approached with his cloak draped over one shoulder and a travel pack strapped to his back.
"You look nervous," Crowley said.
"I am."
"Good."
Brook frowned.
"You keep saying that."
Crowley adjusted the straps on his pack.
"The people who stop being nervous are usually the ones who don't come home."
Before Brook could reply, Captain Mercer walked into the courtyard.
Behind him came Lieutenant Graves and the rest of the expedition team.
Twelve Watchmen.
No one was smiling.
Mercer stopped in front of the enormous gate.
"This mission has one purpose."
"Observe."
"Not conquer."
"If we encounter an unknown threat, we retreat."
His eyes swept across every member of the team.
"I'd rather return with unanswered questions than fewer Watchmen."
Everyone nodded.
"Move out."
The gears inside the fortress groaned to life.
Chains tightened.
Iron locks released one after another.
Then the northern gate began to open.
The sound echoed through the entire fortress.
A narrow beam of morning sunlight slipped through the widening gap.
Brook couldn't take his eyes off it.
As the opening grew larger, the world beyond slowly came into view.
Rolling green fields.
Old dirt roads almost swallowed by grass.
Scattered ruins covered in vines.
And beyond all of it…
The endless forest.
Brook stepped forward.
His boots crossed the threshold.
For a brief moment, he stopped.
He looked back over his shoulder.
The Wall towered behind him like a mountain.
From out here…
It looked even larger than it had from inside the city.
"It's strange," Brook whispered.
"What is?" Graves asked.
"I spent my whole life wondering what was outside."
He looked ahead.
"And now I'm wondering what made people build something that big."
No one answered.
Because everyone had wondered the same thing.
The expedition moved in a staggered formation.
Graves led the front.
Brook and Crowley stayed near the center while two scouts ranged ahead, searching for tracks.
The fields were quiet.
Too quiet.
No birds.
No insects.
Only the sound of boots brushing through tall grass.
Brook knelt beside an abandoned stone milestone.
Most of the writing had worn away.
He brushed moss from its surface.
"Can you read it?" Graves asked.
Brook shook his head.
"The language is different."
Crowley glanced at the stone.
"It hasn't been used for a very long time."
Brook looked at him.
"You recognize it?"
Crowley paused.
"…No."
It was the same answer he'd been giving for days.
Brook let it go.
For now.
An hour later, one of the scouts raised his hand.
"Tracks."
The team gathered around.
Deep claw marks crossed the road before disappearing into the fields.
Mercer crouched beside them.
"They're fresh."
Brook studied the impressions.
"These aren't from yesterday."
"No."
Graves pointed farther ahead.
"They're moving east."
"Toward the Wall?"
Mercer asked.
The scout swallowed.
"Yes."
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Weapons were drawn.
Orders became shorter.
Every Watchman scanned the surrounding fields.
Brook rested a hand on the hilt of his sword.
His heartbeat quickened.
Something felt wrong.
He couldn't explain why.
Only that the silence around them had become… heavier.
A sudden rustling came from the wheat to their left.
Everyone froze.
Graves raised a fist.
The entire formation stopped.
Another rustle.
Closer this time.
Brook narrowed his eyes.
The wheat bent as something moved through it at incredible speed.
"There!" a Watchman shouted.
A dark shape burst from the field.
Half the squad reacted instantly.
Swords flashed from their sheaths.
The creature sprinted directly toward them.
"Hold!" Mercer barked.
No one moved.
The shape leapt—
—and landed awkwardly in front of Brook.
It wasn't an Abomination.
It was a frightened deer.
The animal stared at the armed Watchmen for a heartbeat before bolting into the opposite field and disappearing.
Several Watchmen exhaled in relief.
Graves chuckled.
"I nearly scared myself to death."
A few nervous laughs spread through the group.
Even Brook smiled.
The tension eased.
Only Crowley didn't laugh.
He was looking at the place where the deer had emerged.
His expression hardened.
"Brook."
Brook turned.
"What?"
Crowley slowly pointed toward the wheat.
"The deer wasn't running from us."
Brook followed his gaze.
The stalks of wheat were moving again.
Not from one direction.
From several.
Mercer's smile vanished.
"Formation!"
This time, dozens of dark shapes surged through the field.
The ground shook beneath their feet.
Low growls rolled across the open land.
Brook drew his sword in one smooth motion.
The first Abomination burst from the wheat with yellow eyes fixed on the expedition.
Then another.
Then five more.
Mercer's voice thundered across the field.
"Stand your ground!"
The expedition's first real battle beyond the Wall had begun.