Tales of Nimrod: The Tree of Life Read online

made them truly formidable was their near human intellect. If you stared one in the eyes, you would get the feeling that something almost human was returning your gaze. They are well camouflaged with tan fur that was covered with spots that resembled eyes. They would be hiding in the tall grass between the wall and the electrified fence that protected the orchard. The fence spanned the entire valley at a narrow point, and behind it were two towers mounted with computer controlled plasma torches. The AI controlling them is very hard to fool, so if you are not Jav or one of his officers, you would be burned to cinders as soon as you stepped past the fence.

  When Nimrod heard this, he was distressed. Many men would die to retrieve what he sought, and he wondered if it was worth their sacrifice? Many had died already taking the city, but now they had added a new city to the realm and the wealth that it contained. Nimrod decided that he and a small force of elite men would assault the orchard. They would take all their plasma rifles plus the ones they had just captured in combat. The Martians had been clever and had destroyed their rifle charging units before the city fell. Nimrod had his best man working on trying to complete one unit from the damaged ones. Together with the help of their Martian allies, they might have a chance at making one work. It would not however be in time to help them with this mission. Nimrod ordered that most of the captured Martian technology be sent to Resen. Only the plasma rifles, projectiles, and one terrestrial vehicle would go with him. He also took the female Martian prisoner; hoping that she might be useful.

  Nimrod’s elite team numbered only one hundred and twenty and consisted of a mixture of first generation humans and exceptional ones from the second. One of these was his cousin Gog. Gog did not have the intellect of the first generation, but he did have their strength. He was huge in stature, over seven feet in height. The sight of him alone struck fear into the hearts of most men. He was their best warrior; never defeated in one to one combat not even by Nimrod. Others on the team were bowmen whose bows were so strong that normal archers could not string them much less take them to full draw. These men could hit a hare at over one hundred yards away. He also had five men who were exceptional with the plasma rifle. Nimrod himself was expert with the sword and the bow. His bow was the strongest, and he often bested his most accomplished archers in competition. He was also competent with a plasma rifle.

  Upon arriving near the valley, Nimrod sent his best marksmen out to scout positions. It was crucial that they take out the riflemen and archers on the wall. They had the three new rifles that had been captured at Edon, and two of them were fully charged. The more they could use these weapons the less casualties they would suffer. They still had to be used sparingly for they were a rare resource, and there was no way to predict how much the rifles would be needed in order to neutralize the cherubs and the towers. After his marksmen had taken their positions, Nimrod advanced his troops towards the wall.

  The guards saw them coming and soon the top of the wall was full of archers and below the field filled with rows of giants. The giants numbered forty two in all. They did not attack, but stayed within the range of their archers. Nimrod and his men took to as much cover as they could find, then Nimrod shot two of the giants in the head with his plasma rifle. Almost before the giants hit the ground, Nimrod’s force was assailed by rifle fire coming from inside the wall. His marksmen quickly located their source and returned fire. There were seven riflemen in covered positions from inside the wall, and it took many precious rounds to dispatch them for parts of the wall needed to be destroyed first in order to get a clean shot. Once the riflemen were neutralized, the marksman turned their fire on the archers. Nimrod and Gog’s son Ur began to kill the giants with rifle fire. When the giants realized what was happening, they sent seven of their number into the wall and those remaining charged Nimrod and his men.

  Nimrod’s archers launched a volley of arrows at the charging giants. Most were ineffective, bouncing off the giants’ shields and helmets. The rifle fire from Nimrod and his marksmen was much more lethal. By the time the giants reached them, half of the giants were down either killed or wounded, all by rifle fire. Their remaining number attacked viciously, killing and maiming with every swing of their weapons. The giants’ large stature which struck fear into the hearts of men was now also a vulnerability. It left their heads exposed to rifle fire during battle for they were much taller than their opponents. The battle raged until all the giants were brought down. The wounded giants were healing amazingly fast and would soon be ready to attack again. Nimrod and Gog saw this happening before their eyes. Gog grabbed an axe from a fallen giant and began to decapitate the wounded. Some of the wounded giants surrendered when they saw what was happening to the others. Their armor and weapons were taken, and they were bound. The casualties of this battle were extreme on both sides. Nimrod had lost thirty men and another sixty were gravely injured of which many were likely to die. Out of the thirty five giants only seven still lived. They gathered the giant’s weapons and armor. Gog and some of the larger men took weapons and shields for themselves. Only Gog was large enough to wear the giants’ armor and helmet.

  It was decided that it was far too risky to enter the wall. No one knew what dangers or traps might be waiting inside. They knew that there were at least seven giants inside the wall, and they did not feel confident about facing them in close quarters. The best archers launched grapplers over the top of the wall, then skilled climbers ascended and secured the ropes. Nimrod and twelve others including three of his marksmen and Gog climbed to the top. There they secured the entrances to the inside of the wall and bound those archers that were still alive. Some of the archers had not been shot, but had been wounded by flying debris caused by the rifle fire. The men Nimrod left below sent up supplies and weapons. Nimrod also had the Martian brought to the top of the wall. Nimrod’s men below then secured the captured giants, barricaded the exits so that nothing could get out from inside of the wall, and cared for the wounded.

  Nimrod could see the fence and the towers, but no beasts only the tall grass. They took one of Jav’s wounded archers and lowered him into the field. The man was barely conscious and was not aware of what was happening. After being on the ground for a few minutes, he realized where he was and panicked. He began to run towards the door on his side of the wall. Before he made it ten feet, two cherubs were on him tearing him apart. Nimrod shot at them, hitting one in the side. The cherubs then disappeared quickly into the grass leaving the dismembered body. These were formidable beasts, and he had no way of knowing how many of them were out there. Nimrod decided it was not worth the risk to venture into the field, so he set fire to it. This move put at risk the very prize he sought, but he could think of no other way.

  The fire rushed through the field. It created so much smoke that nothing could be seen from the wall. Nimrod could only wait. It took hours for the smoke to clear, and when it did, Nimrod was pleased to see that the orchard was unharmed. The towers had extinguished the fire shortly after it had passed the fence. There was only one charred cherub in the field; the one that he had shot. You could hear the mourning cries from its brethren echoing down the valley. Their calls sent a chill up the spine. Nimrod knew if they grieved for their dead then it was likely that they also held feelings of hate and vengeance.

  The cherubs were sheltered in hidden caves carved into the valley walls. This made venturing into the valley a very high risk undertaking. If Nimrod had more men and more rifles, he could go down in overwhelming numbers, and the beasts would be of little concern. Given his limited number of rifles, he needed a plan. Gog volunteered one. Gog would take the Martian prisoner and some of their explosives into the valley. He and the prisoner would walk to the fence where he would attempt to throw the explosives near the base of one of the towers. After making his way back, they could detonate the explosives with a rifle shot. Nimrod and some of the best warriors would stay at the bottom of the wall to cover him and draw away the cherubs. Nimrod agreed. It was not the best plan, but it wa
s a plan.

  Before sending anyone into the valley, they lowered down shields and weapons that they had taken from the giants. Gog, the Martian, Nimrod and five of his best warriors then descended to the valley floor. There was no sign of any cherubs. Nimrod had kept his best marksmen on the wall, and only he and one other man had a rifle on the ground. They found the one door on their side of the wall and quickly secured it. The silence was eerie, and Nimrod was surprised they had not been attacked. Gog took the prisoner and slowly walked toward the fence. He made her carry the explosives. She looked very calm as if she had nothing to fear. They made it to the fence and still no cherubs. With one great throw, Gog tossed the bundle of explosives over the fence. It landed near the base of one of the towers. It was a heroic throw of over forty feet; no one else could have come close to such a throw.

  Gog was on his way back when they came. The cherubs moved with incredible speed, and their leaps were more akin to flying than jumping. In an instant, Gog was surrounded by four of them. Slowly the