1. The beginning

The cannons were lined up on the wall, and soldiers were lined up wearing orange war uniforms and black fingerless gloves, standing side by side, carrying their weapons on their shoulders, placing their left knee on the floor of the wall and resting on their right feet..., while in the middle of them was a person wearing a green suit, also carrying A rifle on his shoulder, and his eyes were fixed in one direction. A circular wall the size of a small city in length and close to head-butting the clouds, while the sky overlooked them with the sun that had risen minutes ago and they only heard a deep silence from which they could almost hear the beating of their hearts. 6 hours have passed and they are in this state waiting for the next thing they have been preparing for years.

- They are late, Commander

One of the soldiers said in a whisper to the green commander, and sweat began to pour out of him in fear

-Remain silent. This is the moment we have been waiting for for a long time. The leader said while his gaze is fixed in one direction, then he continued:

- It is the decisive moment. The people behind us, their lives depend on us.. everything here depends on us. We must do it for once

His eyes widened in obvious anger, he tightened his grip on his weapon:

-Even for once!

The soldier looked at him with eyes mixed with hope and fear. He looked back to the front, then swallowed his saliva and said:

- we hope that

Minutes passed while the soldiers were in the same state. Some showed a longing for revenge for what was coming, while some began to show fatigue and despair, while others were shedding tears behind their weapons and trembling with fear. Suddenly, everyone woke up to the sound of a missile coming from one of the directions of the wall heading towards the sky, followed by the voice of the commander, shouting forcefully,

- Death or life, both are freedom

The voices of all the soldiers followed him saying in a voice whose strength resonated greatly

-Death or life, both are freedom

Then the cannons and weapons aimed their ammunition at a rapid pace towards their target. The target was soldiers riding horses as fast as the wind, masked and dressed in black as if they were a mirage of bats, with only their angry eyes visible from their faces. They, in turn, carried shells on their shoulders, led by a single fighter. He wears a red suit and a black mask and rides a horse that distinguishes his great body from the rest. Each of the fighters was carrying a shell on his right shoulder and holding it with one hand, while the other hand was holding the horse's leash, except for their red leader.

The shells continued towards them while the commander shouted:

-Don't stop, never stop, keep targeting them... They won't do it this time either.

Shells and bullets continued to fire with extreme violence at the black soldiers arriving on their fast horses, and it seemed clear to the soldiers of the wall that they were failing. Not a single black soldier fell, while they were approaching at a tremendous speed.

-Sir, it's no use. Someone shouted next to the wall's leader, then he dropped his weapon from his hands and his face was filled with terror. He sat on his knees, bowed his head in surrender, and began to cry loudly.

- What are you doing?

The leader said, glaring at him

The soldier continued to cry like a kid who lost his mom,

The commander realized that he could no longer, at a moment like this, convince the soldier's man by man to fight, if he could promise nothing but that he too would continue fighting until his last breath, and that the result was the same now.

The black army became close to the wall, a few meters away, and another shell rose into the sky, coming from behind them.

- south of the wall has collapsed!

The leader whispered to himself as a feeling of defeat began to overwhelm him

The black army began attacking the wall by throwing their missiles at it, each shot penetrating the wall, which was meters thick. The commander was certain at the time that the fate of the wall would be ruined within moments.

- Everyone, step back... everyone gets down, Hurry up

The leader said in a loud voice, hoarse from the pain of screaming

His orders were passed on alternately by the rest of them to inform each other, and they began to descend one after the other. Each of them tightened his ropes which were tied to small strong pegs on the ground of the wall and connected to the bottom of their bellies... and the wall began to collapse, stones after another. Parts of it were completely demolished while the soldiers were still trying to descend and retreat, and stones began to fall on some of the descendants, causing them to die. Who would think that such small shells could demolish such a great wall?

Some people's feet went down to the ground, so they took off their armour and heavy belts and fled in fear from the battle. Others were killed by stones falling on them, and a few remained steadfast standing at a distance from the wall waiting for the black soldiers to come to them. Fear gripped the hearts of most of them and this was evident in their features. The commander's feet reached the ground, then he motioned with his hand to the soldiers to retreat as they looked from among the rubble of the wall at the black soldiers coming towards them at a tremendous speed. The commander tightened his weapon in a last attempt to hold on, and so did the rest behind him.

-At least we tried

He said in a low voice, anger taking over his features

- We may have failed, but the others will not fail. The next generation will not fail.. they will not fail!

Smoke from the black soldiers' weapons rushed towards them, and in the blink of an eye, they left a powerful scene of destruction... to everything.

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A busy morning in the city with a warm weather, wet ground bears witness to the remains of last night's rainwater. Mixed sounds pass through the ears of every person in this small city, between children playing, calls from vendors, and women's conversations.

The feet of an adult young man walk vigorously on the mud. He wears blue boots that are half stained with mud. He is tall, with thick brown hair, eyes wide and narrow at the edges, and sharp features that sprinkle some handsomeness on his features. He carries his bag on his back with both hands and walks with balanced steps. His features indicate that he is happy

- Caro, won't you wait for me?

his friend who was behind him said and bent down to tie his shoes. He quickly got up. He was a tall, strong-built boy with black hair falling over his forehead, and sleepy eyes with dark circles around them. He walked quickly towards his friend and put his hand on her shoulder:

- Why are you ignoring me? My feet are stuck in the mud. He bowed his head and looked at his feet and pants, which were stained with mud

- It's the first time I've worn these clothes, and now they've fallen to the ground and gotten dirty. It seems that this day will be happy with a start like this!

Caro grabbed him tightly by the arm and pulled him towards him quickly until his companion's body tilted. He said as his head approached his friend's head, then he said:

Didn't you notice anything unusual, Ray?

Ray replied:

-like what?

Caro said, taking a deep breath with a slight smile:

- It hasn't rained for a long time, and on our first day in the army it rained! Isn't it as if the sky is happy about us joining the soldiers of the Wall and that this's a message from the sky that people's freedom will be in our hands?

Ray continued to look at him with surprised expression, then added, ignoring his words:

- What's the solution now for my clothes? Look how I look. He looked right and left while rubbing his hair:

- Oh my God, there is no water around to clean my clothes with!

Their conversation was interrupted by a girl in their age, with brown-blonde hair, a long braid that reached her buttocks, and long bangs that reached her eyelashes. She was wearing a long skirt and woolen clothes, and carrying between her hands a large basket filled with apples. She walked around them and.. She said:

-You two! I've been looking for you since morning, where have you been?

She took a quick look at Ray's clothes, then opened her mouth in surprise and with deliberate provocation, she said:

-Ray, are you still playing in the mud with kids? Oh my God! when will you grow up? Look at your clothes!

Ray showed signs of anger while Caro hid his laughter. He said, trying to silence her:

-Look who's talking! She still snatches candy from kids and tries to provoke adults!

He put his hands in his pants pocket and said firmly and with a sharp look:

- How many times do I have to tell you to interfere in your matters?

She looked away from him, then said in a whisper

Arguing with children is useless

Then she continued her words while adjusting the position of the apples in the basket:

- I heard that Wall 118 was demolished by the "Shadows" yesterday, they killed the residents there, as expected, of course.

Caro widened his eyes in shock.

-truly?

Ray looked at him dismissively.

-Shocked, you mean? I told you this day will be happy!

The girl said excitedly as if she remembered something:

- Oh, I remembered, It's your first day in the army! When will you go to Watero Square?

Caro replied:

- just after a while

She said, waving goodbye to them:

We're 17 so fast, we're getting old, guys.

She looked at Ray quickly, then changed her gaze from his direction:

- Except for some people. I don't know when they will grow up.

Then she continued her words, turning away from them as she walked briskly.

-Anyway, your brother is waiting for you.