Tom cursed as a breathless Rachael explained the situation to him. "This is bad. We just got here, and they've already trapped us! Is there no way to escape it?"
Callum shook his head to let him know there was no way around it. A stream of curse words escaped Tom's mouth then he kicked a nearby chair. Tom curled his hands into fists before closing his eyes. Then a moment later, he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"There's not much we can do. All we can do is evacuate everyone toward the edge to buy us some time." A deep-set frown appeared on his face as his shoulders sagged. "You know, this is probably the end for us. I'm sorry I didn't do better as a leader. Maybe, if I had listened to Adam, at least a few of us could have survived."
"Tom, this isn't your fault." Rachael sighed right before hugging him. "We were the ones who provoked this by entering the church and the gobs' domain. But we both know this would have happened eventually. Especially since the gobs were getting closer to the library each day."
'The only way they could've avoided this would have been if Tom dared to forsake the civilians.' However, from what Callum had seen of Tom, he could be sure it was not in the man's nature to do something like that. 'Besides, there's no guarantee somewhere safe exists in this world. The gobs probably would've caught up with them eventually.'
"All we can do is prepare to put up a fight," Callum said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "We should give the civilians some hope of surviving."
"You're right. We would be better off using this time to shore up our defences. There's no point retreating toward the edge." Tom sighed as a calm expression of acceptance appeared on his face. "Rachael, find Amy, then do your best to create a wall to block off the street. I'll start asking for volunteers for the fight. Cal, you prepare yourself as much as you can. I'm afraid these people don't know you well enough to pay much attention to anything you say."
Callum shrugged his shoulders at the apologetic expression on Old Tom's face. "No problem. I'm not comfortable giving out orders anyway."
'It's not like there's anything I can do to prepare myself.' Callum sighed while watching Tom and Rachael go their separate ways. 'The fog will arrive soon. It's just a question of how far behind the horde is.'
It took some time for word to spread. However, as soon as it did, the civilians became anxious and restless. Meaningless fights broke out over the smallest of issues, which forced Tom and Rachael to intervene. Meanwhile, Amy had managed to gather a group to help move abandoned vehicles and collect furniture from the buildings.
Callum was too restless to sit back and do nothing until the fight started. So, of course, he helped with that part. He raised an eyebrow as the makeshift wall took shape on the street. 'I don't know how long it can hold, but it's better than nothing.' He thought as he cast a criticising gaze over it. That was when the green fog rolled down the street, causing everyone to hold their breath.
"Anyone who won't be fighting should evacuate now! Get as far away from here as possible!" Tom roared over the crowd as children cried and adults watched the sight with fear. He walked among them, giving words of encouragement and shaking a few hands as he ushered them to leave.
As Callum watched that scene unfold, he silently wondered if he would ever be capable of something like that. However, that would require him to value the lives of others over his own. Just because he did not want those people to die did not mean he would not have abandoned them if there was a chance to do so.
Of course, the situation they were in right now stopped him from doing so. There were no streets or side alleys they could use to go around the incoming threat. That meant his best hope for survival was fighting alongside the other Walkers and putting his life on the line.
A grim atmosphere descended on the group as the non-Walkers climbed the barricade to get in position. Callum contemplated where on the wall he should go. However, Old Tom answered that question for him.
"Cal, you take the centre. Your Time card will slow down the assault on that section. That will create a funnel effect on the left and right sides. That will ease the burden on Amy and Rachael. And Cal, good luck out there. Let's do our best to survive this."
Callum smiled at Tom. However, his heart was not really in it. Although he would do his best, he did not see a way out of that situation. 'We're bound to run out of Will counters before we kill them all.' His mind wandered to the creature he had fought in the church. He did not know why, but Callum felt sure the monster would come.
Callum shivered as the cold accompanying the fog set in. It seemed to seep into his very bones as he took his place on the wall. The men and women gathered there shot a curious look in his direction.
"You should all move closer to the sides. Give me plenty of space, or you'll be affected by my spells." Callum said with a calm voice that showed nothing of how he truly felt.
The people there grumbled. However, they did not dare to question a Walker. Some of them had seen Callum in action before. Back during the fight outside of the library. So they understood what he meant. Callum summoned his hammer and glanced along the wall to Rachael and then Amy.
Both women nodded at him when their eyes met with grim expressions. It was clear neither of them held much hope for the upcoming battle. That was when everyone gathered there tensed up. The familiar sound of the gobs' excited squeaking permeated the air.
Callum gulped as the knuckles of his right hand gripping his hammer turned white. His heart pounded furiously in his chest as a bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. A glance to his sides revealed the others on the wall were not faring any better. He even saw a dark stain on the front of a young man's jeans to his left.
'He's around eighteen. The same age as me.' Callum sighed as he thought about how his life had radically changed in the past few days. He thought about his parents, sister and friends back home. They would never know what had happened to him if he died there.
However, before he could become lost in his memories, the silhouettes of gobs appeared in the fog. The tension rose for the humans on the wall. But Callum's mind was distracted as he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. 'It's here...'
The gobs' furry figures lumbered into view as Callum's eyes went to the giant with grey skin. An imposing aura spread in the area as the monster marched just in front of the horde. Callum shivered again as he felt the creature's inky black globes fix their gaze on him.
The monster and the gob horde came to a halt a short distance from the makeshift wall. The gobs squeaked and gnashed their teeth as disgusting pink masses of flesh whipped the air over their heads. 'They're growing excited from the taste of our scents in the air.' Callum thought as he watched those tongues wiggle unnervingly.
However, the noise the horde made suddenly stopped when the giant stepped forward. The creature walked uncaringly toward Callum's position on the wall. Before stopping several meters away. Callum's eyes narrowed when he saw that. 'It's wary of my Slow spell.'
Every human became tense as they prepared for whatever the monster was about to do. However, what happened next took them all by surprise!
"Humans! I am Bal! Lord of the Hungry City!" The creature bellowed with a gravelly voice. "Surrender yourselves to me!"
Man of the humans averted their gaze as they felt the authority in that voice. Callum was unaffected by it, even though he could sense it too. He wondered what the reason behind that was. However, Old Tom appeared on the wall beside him. His dark brown eyes analysed Bal before giving his response.
"Why should we, Bal? Your pets have done nothing but treat us as food since we arrived here!" Tom swept his hand through the air to indicate the horde behind Bal. "The way I see it, there's no reason to submit to you!"
Bal chuckled at Tom's response as he fixed his attention on him. "You trespass on my domain. You kill my children. And you expect there will be no consequences to your actions?"
As Bal asked his question, everyone on the wall frowned at his accusation. After all, it was not like they had chosen to come there. They had no choice in the matter. So they felt it was unfair to accuse them of trespassing. Beyond that, they had only ever acted to defend themselves when they first arrived. The gobs had been the ones to attack them first!
Although Tom shared their thoughts, he did not think it wise to anger Bal further. 'If that monster can reason like a human, then there's a chance we can get out of this alive!' Callum thought as a flicker of hope sparkled in his eyes.
Tom seemed to think along the same lines as Callum as he opened his mouth to respond. "You have our apologies, Bal. We had no intention of trespassing here. It was an unfortunate event that brought us to your realm through no will of our own."
Bal remained silent while listening to Tom. However, Callum could not tell what the monster was thinking as no expression appeared on its face.
"We would be happy to leave your lands if you would point us in the right direction," Tom said with an amicable tone after a few moments passed in silence.
Bal tilted its head to the side as if it were pondering Tom's words. The humans on the wall became restless when several minutes passed without the creature giving its reply. However, as Tom prepared to speak again, cruel laughter filled the air! Callum's eyes narrowed as he stared at Bal, who seemed to have heard the funniest thing in his life.
"No!" Bal's mouth curled into a sneer. "Your lives are forfeit for your transgressions! You already belong to me! Besides, my children are hungry. They haven't had such a good meal in so very long."
Tom revealed an ugly expression at Bal's reply. The monster had no intention of negotiating, and this farce was probably him toying with them. As if there had been a signal, the horde in the background suddenly grew noisy again. Callum tightened his grip on his hammer as the first line of gobs lumbered forward.
"Prepare to fight!" Tom bellowed, revealing that the negotiations had, without a doubt, failed.
Tom nodded at Callum before jumping down behind the wall. After all, he had to preserve his power for the moment Bal broke through their makeshift barrier. Callum swallowed to wet his dry mouth as he watched the wave of fur rush to crash against the wall.
As the gobs passed Bal, who had not moved from his position, a cloud of smoke came to meet the ones charging at Amy's section. Callum could only smile at the sight of those hideous creatures gasping for air as she suffocated them. However, he could not help but worry about Rachael's side. After all, her Dash card seemed unsuitable for such a large-scale battle.
Callum's right hand glowed as the first gob reached his area of the wall. As it leapt toward him while revealing its cruel teeth, it suddenly moved in slow motion. Two will counters vanished from the back of Callum's hand as a smile appeared on his face. 'Got you!'