The retreat

A.N. Hope, you liked it. I have some bad news, my laptop got the rare case of the blue screen, so I had to reinstall my windows, and now I had lost all the drafts and outlines, for this story. Don't worry I will continue the story but decided to take some break from it, and start a new one. I will try to update this story twice a week, but probably you get one chapter a week.

Jon POV

Running toward the Wildlings, who were left, I yelled with all my voice, for them to run towards the Wall. After getting close to Mance, I see him ordering his people to prepare for the fight. Getting close to him, I hear running footsteps in the darkness beyond us, where no light touched. Drawing my sword, I got next to Mance, who have heard it too.

"We need to hold them back until the rest retreats to the Wall," I tell him.

"No, boy you don't need to do anything, they are my people, you should go back." He replies.

"No, once they cross the Wall, they will be my people too, we hold together, my father already had ordered his men to get ready," I say and look at the darkness.

"So be it, you fool." He replies with a smile on his face.

They came fast and unrelenting, throwing themselves at me, as I cut one in half, another shows up, stabbing them is pointless, without a torch to set them on fire, the only thing I can do, is cutting their arms and legs. We needed to hold them down, but with each passing moment, there were more and more of them. Now standing side by side with Mance, Tormund and Rattleshirt we hold as much we could before a new wave of them rams at us.

The fire arrows that flew over us illuminated the darkness, and what we saw drained our hope, of holding them any longer. Run, that was the only thought that was running in my head, but I stood tall and readied my sword again. As the horde of the dead ran at us, it felt like a hopeless situation, we were pushed back too easily, as the ones we cut down, grabbed our legs, and dragged us to the ground. The new bodies jumped at us, I hit one away with the flat of my sword, kicking another away, but they don't stop, and with one of them grabbing me, I fell.

Falling to the ground, I pushed one body of me, to let another fall on me, I thought it was the end when a cavalry ran through them throwing the dead of me and others. My father lifted me and patted me down, after taking a look at me, he turns back at the coming horde.

"Hold your shields." I never heard him yell so loud. "Throw the torches at them."

Looking in front of me, I could see the torches lighting up the bodies that were on the ground creating a firewall. As we steadily stepped back, one foot at the time, letting the dead burn and giving the time for the ones behind us to run towards the Wall. The dark sky was brightened by thousand fire arrows flying from the top of the Wall. It seemed that we could hold until a cold wind blew over us, the wind has extinguished the firewall that was created.

"Is the Other," Mance says, gotten near us.

"Retreat, retreat." My father yelled as we could feel the dread.

Stepping back, faster than ever before, we hit the backs of the Wildlings that still have not gone through the tunnel. Looking in front of me as fire arrows hit the darkness, and seeing the terrifying ice spider, big as a horse, I could hear someone cry out of fear, I didn't blame them.

"Ready your swords," Father says in a loud voice, not betraying any fear from him. "Ready to fight."

Holding his sword in front of himself, he lets out a quiet cry and steps forward. Taking this sight, others find their courage too and lift their sword and shield. Taking a deep breath I also take a step forward readying my sword. As they neared us, we brought the fight to them, with my father in front, cutting one of the spider's legs, I followed him by cutting off another leg.

As the spider fell, I got closer to it, and with a swing of my sword the head of it was gone, before I could celebrate I was hit in the chest by something hard and went flying few meters, before going down to the ground.

"Jon!" I could barely hear my father's yell.

Trying to quickly stand up, before I am swarmed with the dead, I knock one of the dead of me and took my sword from the ground. As another dead body ran at me, I swept its legs by my sword, then cut down another one. Getting back to my father, I saw him fight against the Other, before I could go to help him, another cold wind blew at me, as a horse, whose flesh was falling down, knocked me back to the ground.

Feeling my body, which I could barely move, I forced myself again to my feet, only to be greeted by the Other, riding the horse. It looked down on me and was reading its spear to attack me, before a rider rode behind me and hit the Other with his lance, knocking it down. Quickly running to the fallen monster, I stab it with my sword towards its chest, it let out a shriek, before becoming nothing.

"You own me for this, Jon," Joffrey says riding back next to me.

Eddard POV

I fought in two wars, but never was I terrified, as I am now, at least the last two times I fought something that I understood, but not this time. This time it was something different altogether, seeing the dead rise, no matter how many times you cut them down, even then I could fight them with fire. But when a huge ice spider comes, what can you do? How could you fight something like that? Well, we still did it beheading it, and now we face something even more terrifying.

After seeing Jon being knockdown by the Other who rode the ice spider, I didn't feel fear as I expected, only felt anger for it, rushing at it was a foolish thing on my part, but I had already seen too many die today, and maybe I knew that it was the end of me either way. It will not kill anyone, not as long as I live, I will stop it, once everyone is behind the Wall, I leave the rest to my sons.

Blocking his impossible fast strike, I swung my own sword at it, it dodges my strike easily, just by leaning to the side. Rising my sword before me, I blocked its attack, but was pushed back, feeling the end of myself, I clenched my hands on my sword and stood tall as the spear ran through me. Felling the unbearable cold seep at me, I stabbed my sword into its chest, it didn't have time to defend itself.

Hearing the scream of Jon, I felt relieved that he was fine, as I fell to my knees, I could feel the end coming to me. At least I die without any regrets, I have raised a wonderful family, a strong heir, and have kept my promise.

"Father." I could hear Jon yelling for me.

"Jon, take me back home." I just wanted to rest, back home with my parents, with my brother and my little sister.

Jon POV

"Father, stay with me, please," I begged him, as I hold him.

"Jon, we need to go, the dead are coming." I could hear Joffrey telling me.

"No, not without my father," I reply to him, knowing how selfish I was.

"Jon, he's gone, we need to go," Joffrey says.

"I won't leave him here," I replied still holding my father.

"Damn you, bastard, fine, put him on the horse." He replies to me and helps me put the body on his horse. "I am not dying here, do you hear me, bastard."

"Go, take my father's body and sword, bring them back to the Winterfell," I tell him and help him on the horse.

"What about you?" He looked back at me and asked.

"Go," I reply to him, and hit the horse on the back, so he could start riding.

Looking around me, I see chaos thousands upon thousands of bodies lying on the ground, as the northern and wildling forces were almost all gone. The dead didn't push us anymore, but they attack in mindless fury, without anyone to take a command we were like a headless chicken, I cut one of the dead after another, trying to gather the rest of the men that were still alive.

"On me," I yell. "On me, everyone who can still stand, stand right now."

Helping one after another Northmen and Wildling, as more and more men stood by my side, we held the dead from advancing any further. Getting close to the Wall, I see that most people were already gone through the tunnel going towards Castle Black. Only we were left, as we desperately fought the never-ending dead and retreating back. Blocking one of the dead that was going for Mance, I could see the exhaustion on their faces.

"Go, Jon," Mance says. "Leave the rest to me, I will lead the men to hold them back."

"We fight together, we retreat together," I tell him, even if I can see that it isn't possible, someone has to be left behind.

"Thank you, Jon." He says. "Thank you for saving my people, for fighting with us, Tormund take him and go."

"What? No, we still can fight, Mance." I tell him.

"Sorry boy, but it's hopeless," Tormund replies and picks me up and runs towards the Wall, I didn't have any strength left to resist.

After getting to the tunnel, it was closed behind us, the ones who were left behind never to be seen again.

…

The next morning, we checked the battlefield, there were no bodies left, only the burning remains and weapons left on the ground. There was no point in searching for any survivors, the North of the Wall was lost. So we sealed the tunnels in every fort. Some thought, that it would stop them, but I knew better, it only would hold them, the question was for how long?

Less than half of the northern forces have survived, everyone lost somebody, Lord Karstark lost his second son, more than ten thousand Wildlings were dead too. Now we must carry on, the remaining Wildlings need to get settled and without my father, it would get harder. Looking down from the Wall, I thought of what I should do.

"You brooding again, Snow." Joffrey comes next to me with Sam and others. "You're were offered a leave of the Night's Watch, just go, I would have already left."

"It isn't that easy, I have sworn an oath," I reply to him.

"What is more important your honor, or the lives of those bastards down here?" Joffrey asks. "Nobody wants to lead them, even seeing what is beyond the Wall, members of the Night Watch will never trust them to be by their side, and no lord wants to take them to their lands."

"Joffrey is right, Jon, those people need you more than we do." Sam agrees with Joffrey. "Go, be a lord, knowing that you are behind our backs is enough for us."

"What about others, if I take the offer, others will ask to be released too," I argue.

"There will be, but what will they do, just complain and throw a fuss," Grenn says. "They will never get any support, and it will be the same as always."

"You're right, it's time for me to take responsibility." I agree reluctantly.

The dead are coming, and we will need all the help we could get.