Raid - 4.

The severe impact had thrown Carciem to the ground, momentarily knocking him unconscious.

So, when he opened his eyes with difficulty, he felt a warm liquid trickling from his temples to his cheeks, running down his face and clothes. Or maybe it was the other way around?

The blood seemed to be flowing more from his neck to his forehead, and his blurred vision wasn't helping.

He could feel an unbearable heat beginning to close in on him, and squinting, he noticed that the earth and sky were reversed.

Oh yes, he was literally upside down; suspended in the branches of a tree that had certainly broken his fall.

"Can you hear me?"

He clenched and unclenched his hands, feeling Sarmawyn's handle in his right palm. Then, slowly turning his head, he tried to get up before immediately stopping. The pain that burned in his chest was unbearable, and he suspected that the rock that hit him had broken several of his ribs.

Exhaling loudly, he heard a guttural growl nearby. He didn't need to look in the direction of the noise to know that it was the creature that had made it. It had surely been getting closer the entire time he had been unconscious.

"Ca... You... He... Me?"

His muscles were completely petrified; bubbling and pulsing with electric shocks. The strengthening spell had deactivated at the same time he had lost consciousness, and the physical backlash on his body had not failed to manifest itself.

"Sir... Can you hear me?!" Finn's voice exclaimed again.

Carciem frowned, and forcing his neck into a straightened position, tried to look up and over the rest of his body. A glow came from the still-closed pocket of his uniform's breast pocket, a sign that the communication stone had miraculously remained in place despite the force of the impact.

His right arm didn't move, despite the hand still clenched on the antique sword, and with great difficulty he managed to move his left forearm to put his hand on the pocket of his uniform.

"F... Finn..." He pronounced in a trembling voice.

"Sir! You finally answered!" Said Finn in a relieved voice. "I was afraid we had lost you too!"

"I was... Unconscious," said Carciem. "What happened? Did our troops manage to get to safety?"

"We lost contact with several units in the North as well as the East and South," Finn revealed to him. "Quartermasters General Marxien and Axtriès managed to get people to safety, but the creature didn't spare them either. What do we do, sir?"

Breathing hard, Carciem tried to take a look at his surroundings, but the vegetation all around and his upside-down head position didn't make it any easier. Blood continued to rush to his skull, clouding his thoughts and ability to think; but he also felt that, given his injuries, his heart would probably not have as much blood left to pump to his head.

"Order the retreat..." said Carciem after a moment's thought.

"Sir, about that... "Finn began. "We've already had to evacuate the mobile command center. While you were unconscious, the creature grew again, and caused the ground in the entire area to collapse."

"The roads?" Carciem asked, cutting to the chase by sparing his words.

"Useless. We've already sent messages to the armored cities nearby to warn them of the danger," Finn said.

Carciem took a moment to think again, his thoughts becoming more and more confused. He was probably going to lose consciousness again, which meant that time was running out.

"Sir, where are you?" Finn inquired. "If you're not too far away, we can come get you..."

"No, don't come," Carciem cut him off.

He could smell a stench of sulfur growing stronger and stronger, making his already difficult breathing more labored.

Even though he was in a difficult situation, he couldn't put more lives on the line to save his own. He would have to fend for himself, though he knew he probably wouldn't be able to make it on his own.

"Sir, if you're not too far away, maybe we can-"

"Sergeant Parthimian, I fell from several dozen meters," Carciem interrupted him. "So there's no need to mobilize whatever resources we have left on my person."

Finn had fallen silent, listening gravely to the weakening voice of his commanding officer.

"The most important thing is to get our troops to safety and fall back to Ylesse and its vicinity," Carciem continued.

A dull roar sounded, and the sound of exploding and breaking rock told him that the ground was still crumbling near his position. The creature continued to destroy everything, stirring and turning the ground continuously, and was now creating a huge canyon in its wake.

Within minutes, his position would surely be compromised, and the ground would collapse beneath his feet. He had to move, so he tried to get up.

However, the pain was too intense, and looking up at his legs entangled in branches, he realized that one of them was probably broken. His right foot was turned at an angle far too strange to be natural, and the pain radiating from his joints proved him right. Blood had soaked through his pants in several places, creating dark, damp stains.

"Sir?" Finn manifested.

He was about to answer him when a high-pitched scream sounded again. To say it was a howl, however, was to embellish the situation: the aforementioned scream seemed more like an unbearable screech, akin to chalk being dragged across a blackboard. The unpleasant noise was similar to the one he had heard a few minutes before the creature broke loose; and this time, thanks to his body being in contact with a tree - and thus the ground - he could feel intense seismic tremors.

A hoarse gurgle passed near him, and he knew that the creature was coming even closer to him.

"Sir! The shaking has resumed and the ground is starting to give way here as well!" Finn exclaimed, in a panicked voice.

His subordinate must have been the highest ranking officer on the scene, and not knowing what decision to make, he had naturally turned to Carciem. Panicking in this situation was only natural, especially with so many lives suddenly depending on him and the decisions he would make.

However, if Carciem couldn't come back, Finn would have to be the one in charge.

"Sergeant Parthimian... You are in command now." Carciem announced.

"Sir?!" Finn exclaimed, bewildered.

"Your priority is to get everyone to safety, do you hear me?"

There was a short silence, as if Finn finally realized what he had been told, and the responsibilities that now rested on his shoulders. Then he nodded with a disenchanted "okay".

Reassured that his soldiers were in good hands, Carciem gave his final order.

"Now run away without looking back!"