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I sat there in silence only hearing the distant cries of wounded animals. I can't believe dad's gone. He taught me everything I know. Whenever I did a mistake, he was there to fix it. He was there encouraging me when I was too scared to push forward. How am I supposed to go to mom or Sam and tell them that dad is dead?

Suddenly I feel a hand on my shoulder. I don't turn around to look, instead I choose to sit there cradling dad in my hands. "Marco your wound has to be looked at".

I instantly knew from the voice that it was Eros, but I don't care about the wound in my side, I'll just sit here holding dad as long as I can.

"Do you have any other family"? My ears instantly rise to his question. "I know what it's like to lose someone close to you. I know it feels so easy just to sit there being consumed in pain, but don't you think your dad want you take care of your family"?

A sit there in silence, repeating the words he said over and over in my head. Dammit he is right. It would be so easy to just sit here and let time take care of the rest, but I promised to protect mom and Sam. So that's what I have to do.

I took a deep breath and pressed my lips against the side of dad's head. I whisper "I'm sorry dad that I wasn't here to protect you, but I promise to do whatever I can to protect mom and Sam". I squeeze him tightly one more time with whatever strength I have left.

I slowly lay dad down on the street and take one last look at him. For some reason he seems to be at peace, as if he's fallen asleep. I lift myself up but slowly lose balance and almost fall over. Luckily Eros was there to catch me "all right Marco let me see that wound".

He slowly guides me in front of one of the wooden houses and sets me on its front step. I take off my leather garb and belt. Eros helps me take off my vest and shirt.

Eros looks over the wound and says "well it looks like a clean-cut and thanks to that leather garb you're wearing, it was able to slow down the bleeding".

Eros pulls out a little satchel and opens it up next to me. Inside there is a needle, a bloodstained cloth, a thread, and bandages. Eros also pulls out a small bottle which was on the back of his belt. He opens the bottle and pours a little bit of the liquid onto the cloth. "I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to hurt". He quickly places the cloth onto my open wound. A sudden surge of pain runs up my spine, as I place my left hand over my mouth and grown in pain.Eros pulls off the cloth and grabs the needle with the thread. He slowly starts stitching my wound back together.

To take my mind off the pain I start looking over the street that we just fought for. There are still plenty of bodies lying across the street. I notice that there are rabbits walking down the battlefield trying to find any wounded. A rabbit starts walking up to us. Eros looks up at me and follows my gaze to the street. He sees the rabbit coming and shakes his head. The rabbit nods and turns around heading back up the street.

"Not bad for your first time". I look down to Eros and ask "what are you talking about?" "Isn't this the first time you've ever been in battle"?

"Yes but are you sure because this wound in my side says something different" I say with a sarcastic look on my face. "Even the best fighters get scars" Eros says while he finally finished stitching up my wound. He takes his sword and very delicately cut off the excess string. Eros grebes the bandages and starts covering up my wound, by wrapping the bandages around my waist.

Eros stands up and looks at me while saying "all right ready to get on the other side of the river". I felt an overwhelming joy thinking of seeing mom and Sam again. Thoth the thought of telling them about dad still lingered in my mind.

I slowly stand up. I still feel a lot of pain but this time I can actually walk in a straight line. Eros helps me put on my cotton shirt and vest. "Alright everyone had back to where we were building the barricade" shouts a guard dog as he runs up the street. I quickly threw on my leather garb and belt.

"All right Marco let's not keep these mutts waiting". I was about to follow Eros when I realize I have forgotten something. "Eros I forgot my axe back with my father". I suddenly felt my heart sink when I realize that I had to go back to dad's body. "Marco, you're in the middle of a battlefield. You can pick whatever weapon you want, as long as no one living is holding it".

Eros turns around and starts heading down the street towards the unfinished barricade. I took a couple steps towards the road while peering through all the corpses for some weapons. I notice a hamster laying on his right side with a pool of blood surrounding him. He was wearing a brown leather garb which meant my father must've made it for him. On his belts he held a one-handed sword. I run over to his body and quickly pull out the sword from the belt and start heading down the street towards the barricade.

I was making my way down to the unfinished barricade when I notice an enemy soldier laying on his stomach. My curiosity getting the better of me, makes me stop to take a look at the equipment these creatures are wearing. The first thing I notice is there armor. It's not made out of leather, instead it appears to be made out of some simple cloth that any knife could cut. It appears that the coat he is wearing is more for decoration than for actual war. The coat is pure black and on his waist he has a yellow sash.

The coat's back is covered in all kinds of symbols that make no sense. I grab his side and slowly push him over onto his side. I notice the cut around his neck which probably killed him. The coat itself is only slightly damage with a couple stabs in the lower chest. The coat has this long opening from his neck all the way down to his knees separating it from completely joining together. The only thing that is keeping it closed is knots on each side, held together by string that wove between them.

I look down to his legs and I am not surprised that they are feral like all other creatures that are born out of the Zao kingdom. Where our legs would go straight down to the floor then forming our feet, His legs were digitigrade. Getting my eyeful of the creature I once more start my path down the street towards the unfinished barricade.

I finally reach the unfinished barricade where a sizable group of animals are starting to gather. I find Eros standing somewhere in the front and chose to join him. That's when I notice Capt. Palvet climbing up the crate he was standing on when he gave his speech before the battle. "Alright everyone listen up. We have counted the dead and it seems that for every animal we lost, they lost 3. This was a very successful battle. Thanks to the bravery and courage of everyone who is standing here and to the tactics of a very intelligent hamster. Who if I'm not mistaken is standing right in front of me". The captain looks directly at me with a respectful smile and everyone else applauds and cheers. I start to blush from the sudden attention. I look up to Eros who was standing beside me. He turns to look at me and gives me a nod in respect.

"But sadly even with our successful battle. We do not have enough animals to hold up against another attack. So I want everyone who can stand on their own 2 feet. To grab at least one wounded and start heading back to the docks". Everyone took this as their cue to start helping the wounded get back on their feet.

Suddenly a hamster appears running up the street from the Southgate "Wait. You can't go back"! His shouting got everyone's attention and curiosity. We all start to gather around this hamster with a terrified look over his face. The hamster is on his knees sweat dripping down from his face while trying to catch his breath. "What are you talking about" the captain shouts as he made his way through the crowd. The hamster took a couple minutes before he can finally start talking properly. "We saw from the towers on the Southgate. The other barricades weren't able to stop the enemy from advancing and now they have overrun the docks.

We all stood there in silence contemplating what the hamster had said. I look up to everyone else and notice their faces becoming pale in fear. Capt. Palvet steps into the little circle we had created around the hamster and says "Alright everyone we have a problem". "A problem? This is a catastrophe. We have no way to get back over the river" shouts a terrified rabbit.

"Captain"! A guard dog bursts through the circle we have created. "Andras what's wrong" the captain says with a wordy look on his face. "Captain it appears the enemy stragglers we let escape are coming back with reinforcements".

For the first time I see the captain face goes white with fear. Probably realizing that this was a battle he could not win. Capt. Palvet starts pacing back and forth within the circle and says "so there is a large army marching in our direction that we cannot defeat and the docks which were our way across the river have been overrun by the enemy. What in the name Zao am I was supposed to do now".

The captain kept on pacing back and forth murmuring under his breath. Then suddenly he stops as if an idea has crosses his mind. He turns and starts looking through the group of animals surrounding him. He takes his time gazing through each and every animal until he finally stops his gaze on me. Everyone else in the group followed his gaze and notice where he is staring.

"Have any ideas hamster" the captain said with a hopeful smile. I start getting annoyed with the looks he was giving me as if I was a child and had no chance to be treated as his equal. "His name is Marco". The captain turns around and sees Eros standing there giving him an angry glare. "We can start learning about everybody's name once we are out of danger. So do you have an idea or not".

Well did I have a plan, I think to myself? Was there any other place safe? The only place I know that is safe is across the river. I stood there thinking of any possibility when I remembered something dad said. "Who says we have to cross the river from the docks". Everybody in the group looks at me with surprise written all over their faces. "Down South in the deep forest there is a village where my uncle lives. I know that they have small rowing boat that can cross the river".

Everyone around me starts understanding the situation I had presented to them. Capt. Palvet grows a big smile on his face and says "well then does anybody else have a better idea". Everyone else in the group starts whispering amongst themselves but no one stands up to give a better plan.

Capt. Palvet says "alright anyone who isn't hurt help the wounded onto their feet and get them walking as fast as possible". He then turns to me with that smile still on his face and says "Well lead the way Marco".

I nod in agreement and turn to towards the direction of the Southgate. The wound on my side is sealed up pretty good thanks to Eros which allows me to speed up to a light jog.. A guard dog ran past me heading towards the Southgate at full speed probably going to open the gates for us. I look behind me and finally notice how few of us were left. There were around 65 hamsters, 12 rabbits and 36 guard dogs. I can't believe how many animals can die in a single battle, but I'm sure before this war is over there will be much larger battles to fight.

Finally we reach the Southgate and thanks to the guard dog that ran past us, the gates are wide open. "Alright everyone. Stop at the Southgate and take a quick break" Capt. Palvet shouts as everyone slows down to a walk. I jog all the way through the open gate and look outside. In front of the gate stood a small village and behind it is a large forest that my uncle's village is hidden in.

I stand there slowly filling my wound, making sure that it hasn't reopened when I notice Capt. Palvet walking up to me. "How far into the forest is your father's village"?

"Far enough that the city's bells cannot be heard, but close enough that I can remember the path to it". I look up and finally start to notice that it won't be long before nightfall and I realized a big problem. "We have to move fast if we want to get to my uncle's village".

"Why's that"? I look over and realize the question was from Eros who was walking up to me. "It's almost impossible to get through that forest during the night. All the landmarks will be impossible to see in the darkness".

Capt. Palvet gave out in annoyed sigh "can we make it before nightfall"?

"Only if we keep going" I say while looking back to the force. "Well then I guess we have no choice". Capt. Palvet turns around and shouts "listen up, if we don't start heading towards the forest now. We will be unable to get to the village and across the river. So everyone get ready to head out right now".

Almost everyone groans in annoyance but understand the situation we are in. We slowly start heading through the village in front of the Southgate, when suddenly I hear a low sound like pebbles being thrown at a wall. I turn around and frantically shout "everyone run as fast as you can to the forest before it is too late".

With that everyone starts running through the small village. Luckily the forest starts just a couple yards from the village. The wound in my side starts hurting like crazy and my body aches from the constant pressure but I cannot stop now. Not when I am this close.

I just reach the edge of the village when I heard a scream from behind me and turn to see that a female guard dog has fallen over. I immediately without thinking ran pas through the group to get to the wounded dog.

By the time I'd reach her almost everyone had passed me already and are almost to the forest. I notice she was lying on her back holding her right leg in pain. There are bandages wrapped around her leg but the wound seems to have opened again and the blood is soaking through the bandages.

As I pick her up, I notice a large group of enemy soldiers start pouring out of the Southgate only just a couple blocks away. I immediately pick up the female husky and put her arm around my neck while placing her body against my left side. "All right you can do this just put 1 foot in front of the other and before you know it will be in the forest" I say while feeling the overwhelming weight of the husky on me. We slowly but surely start heading towards the end of the village which by now was about 3 blocks away.

"You are one crazy hamster" the female husky chuckles. "If we make it out of here alive I'll owe you a beer". Even with the unbearable pain in my side I find a way to smile and chuckle with her. I turn my head to face her and say "I've never had a beer before but..." Before I can finish my sentence I hear small explosions sound behind me. Suddenly her Head tilts forward as blood splattered all over me. She goes limp and her entire weight falls on me making me trip and fall on my back.

The shock of what just happened almost overwhelms me but I quickly regain my senses and push her body off of me. I quickly get up and sprint as fast as I can towards the forest. I can hear small explosions behind me and see dirt being flung up into the air all around me. I make it out at the village and am a couple yards away from the forest. I can see everyone staring through the trees shouting for me to get there as fast as possible. I start to notice the small explosions are stopping and the sound of footsteps and yells slowly diminishing.

Reaching past the first tree I immediately collapse on the ground sweating profusely and trying to catch my breath. 2 rabbits run to me and start to clean the blood off to make sure that I have no new wounds. I notice Capt. Palvet running up to me and yell "are you completely crazy. How the hell was that a good idea? Let's not forgets that you are the only one who knows how to get to the village. So how about next time you think about the group than just some random dog lying in the middle of the street". With that Capt. Palvet storms off.

I sat there speechless while the rabbits once more start cleaning the blood of me. How could he say that about one of his own kind? I look around and notice some of the guard dogs faces were covered with surprise to what the captain had said. Finally the rabbits have completely cleaned off the blood and seem to agree that I don't have any new wounds. "Can you get up" the rabbit asks while holding out her hand. I grab her hand and slowly get back on my feet. I move my body around and say "I don't fill in new pains, other than my sore legs". The rabbit chuckles and says "well if you feel any new pains just tell us, I will be more than happy to help our general". I blush and nod in response.

The 2 rabbits slowly walk away while Eros runs to me and with a smile says "you're one hell of a brave hamster, or stupid depending on how you see it. I've never seen anyone survive such a dangerous situation. The gods must be watching over you" he says while patting my back. He takes a quick look around and says "thanks to that maneuver some of the guard dogs seem to like you a lot more than Capt. Palvet".

I look around and see some of the guard dogs staring at me with expressions filled with respect. "Now if you don't mind I think it's time that we start heading towards the village before the day gets too dark". I nod in agreement and look for the first landmark. I look outside towards the village and moved myself along the forest edge, till I am standing directly straight to the main street that heads towards the Southgate. I turn around facing the forest and look on the ground. There is a small path that has formed from animals constantly walking on it. The small path cut through the forest like as if the trees were built alongside it. "This way" I say while heading down the path with everyone else following me.

The path is large enough for one animal at a time even though once in a while you have to push a branch out-of-the-way. The forest is dense with trees and overgrowth. The trees are sparse enough to allow sunlight to pass through and let bushes and weeds grow throughout the forest. In the distance I can hear birds singing and little creatures running through the bushes. The forest is completely peaceful compared to the constant screams and shouts from the city.

Suddenly the path finishes at a dead end right next to a large boulder. I look very closely and notice a small arrow face dug in to the rock facing towards the right. I follow in this direction for a couple yards until I reached a small creek. The creek runs along the forest cutting through the overgrowth of plants. The creek itself wasn't even a foot deep and is filled with rocks and pebbles. I run down beside the creek and look along the other side. Then just a couple feet up the creek I notice a tree with a red cloth tied around its trunk.

I easily run across the creek and head up to the tree. "How far from the village Marco"? I turn around and see Eros crossing the creek. "We're almost there, just a little bit further". I turn around and look once more at the tree. There is a path starting at the base of the tree and heading off into the forest.

I look up and notice by now the sky has turned orange and the forest is quickly darkening, but thankfully we weren't far from the village. We are almost at the end of the path and I can already see smoke in the distance, probably coming out of chimneys. I wonder if the enemy has already reached the village before us, but then again how would they ever know how to get to the village.

Finally the path slowly opens up to a clearing where just a couple yards away are some log houses. I slow down and take a quick breath to regain my composure. Slowly everyone else starts pouring through the path onto the outskirts of the village.

Slowly the villagers start to notice us. Some of them are going back into their houses and bringing out buckets of water and small parcels of food. Some of them have gone and brought with them clean bandages and medicine but, most of the animals stand in front of our group giving us surprised looks.

"Marco? What are you doing here"? I look up and notice my uncle pushing his way through the group of animals that have created this half circle in front of us. "What in Zao name happened here? Why are you wearing leather armor and carrying a sword? Where is James, my sister and Sam"? Suddenly my heart sinks when I think of what happened just a couple hours ago. Uncle Peter ran up to me with fear clearly seen on his face. He hugs me as hard as he can and I witch in pain from my wound. All the other villagers slowly gather around me with confused looks on their faces. Peter looks at me with a confused expression and says in a calm voice "what happened"? I look up to him with tears starting to roll down my eyes and say "War".