Space Knights: The Arrival by Gregory Samuelson (buy e reader .TXT) 📕

“What’s going on?” asked Trance as he noticed the tools the two men were wielding.

“It’s a battle in town. The Boulthorians have attacked the outpost and are now moving into town. They’re destroying everything. Stay here and guard the house and the women,” said Chorus as he and Martin went off to help defend the town.

Trance went inside and immediately planned his defense of the house. First he had Maxine and the girls lock themselves in the master bedroom across from Martin’s bedroom at the end of the hall. He then sealed the back door and blocked the hall with the sofa and other furniture. In the living room he moved the other furniture to block anyone’s approach to the hall. He then went and set up some simple booby traps to slow down and stun any intruders that might break into the house.

In the kitchen he laid the chairs down and set them to trip anyone who came through there. He ran out of the house and in the shop quickly drove some long nails through some boards and took them back to the house and placed them at various spots that he thought that an enemy might trip and fall on them. At the kitchen door he set the kitchen table on its side and set a long hayfork on it. He’d tied a rope to the doorknob and the other end to the fork just below the tines, the idea being that when the door was opened the fork would be pulled into whoever had opened the door.

To arm himself he went to the barn again and brought in three standard pitchforks, another hayfork, a short manure fork, four hunting spears, the bow and hunting arrows he’d bought in town, a butcher knife, and the other ax. Now armed and feeling ready he went back through the house checking his handiwork and set himself behind the sofa. He then thought and made sure the other bedroom doors and the bathroom door were shut. Feeling that he’d done what he could to protect the house he sat back, relaxed a bit and waited.

He had placed the long hayfork against the sofa to deter someone from charging it. He kept the manure fork at hand just in case of close combat and slid the butcher knife into his belt. Carefully he set the regular pitchforks and spears so he could easily reach them and put the quiver of twenty arrows on his back, taking one out and nocking it on the bow. He felt that he had done what he could to protect the house. Half of him hoped nothing would happen yet the other half thought about what would happen if something did happen. Either way he couldn’t wait to hear from Chorus and Martin.

He didn’t have to wait long. Gradually he began to hear the distant sounds of battle. In fact the battle seemed to be moving toward the Markem’s farm. Twenty minutes after Trance had finished setting up his defenses a group of Boulthorian knights came rambling up to the house. They were scouting for a place for their platoon to stay and make a base to launch more attacks and hunt down the pockets of resistance. They dismounted their horses and decided to investigate the house.

Just as Trance had predicted one of the Boulthorians came up to the door and swung it open very hard. Just as planned the hayfork was pulled into the first knight. “Agh!” he screamed as the points were driven into his middle. He crumpled back and his companions went in past him.

The others instantly became more cautious; unfortunately another unlucky soldier backed up and tripped over a chair and landed on one of the boards of nails. He yelled in surprise and great pain. He perished when one of his companions that was trying to help him up tripped and fell on him and drove him onto the nails, one of which struck his heart. The knight that had fallen on his doomed partner didn’t live much longer due to the fact that in his surprise and killing his partner he stood suddenly and lost his footing and fell throat first on a second board of nails.

The remaining seven knights now very cautiously moved through the kitchen toward the living room. There they encountered the maze of furniture and made their way through. Here, like the kitchen, the booby traps worked as expected and caused pain and confusion. Still the knights kept moving to the hall and started making several rude comments about whoever had set up these household defenses. The first knight that reached the hall ran toward the sofa hoping to catch the house defender unawares. “AAHH!” he screamed in horror as he ran straight into the hayfork.

Trance was initially stunned by what had happened so far, but he quickly recovered and sent his first arrow at the intruders. He missed and ducked as one of the knights drew a bow and sent an arrow back at him. Trance set the bow down and got ready to throw the first pitchfork. His chance came to throw, and he stood quickly and hurled the fork directly at a charging swordsman.

“Take cover!” commanded the knight with a short sword as he ducked behind the fallen recliner.

Keeping cool, Trance counted in his mind how many men were left in the house yet. Well, he knew that four men had screamed in agony, and he had seen six men jump for cover in the living room. He wasn’t sure if there were more. Wow, he was stunned that four men could go down in just a few minutes. Oh well, don’t dwell on it he told himself; there are still six enemies in the house. He knew that they were very capable of ending his life at any time. He breathed deeply and made up his mind to make it as hard as possible