The sea breeze was freezing cold. The air cut through his great coat and the cold stabbed at him like a knife. Mark stamped his feet in a futile attempt to keep warm. Behind him the sail ships creaked as they bobbed up and down, straining at their moorings. Half an hour earlier it had rained and the street’s cobble stones were wet and slippery. Since then the sea mists had rolled into Appledore bringing with them the night and the winter breeze.

Appledore was a small but important port. Most of the continent’s trade came through Appledore. The town had only a half dozen streets, the docks and the taverns on the dock sea front. By day it was a bustling, lively town. By night the streets were deserted, apart from the county Militia of course.

Mark un-slung his musket and checked that the rag that he’d tied around it too keep the damp out of the powder was still firmly in place. He sighed and slung the musket back over his shoulder. He started to walk up the street.

Suddenly he heard the whistle on the other side of town. He ran towards the sound of the whistle and the Sergeant’s cry of “Midnight Watch to me !” He worked his way through the town to where his Sergeant was calling for him. As he rounded the corner he saw the rest of the watch firing at the retreating pack of Kell Wolves.

Kell Wolves, part of Denius’s native wild life, were reptiles usually about seven to eight yards in length, not counting their lethal three yard long tails. The walked like dogs hence, hunted in packs and were incredibly brutal. Horrifically strong they were the main reason why Denius was the only agro planet in the Empire to have a Militia.

Kell Wolves attacked Denius’s smaller townships and outlying farms with disturbing regularity. They killed men, women and especially children. But they never killed humans for food, Kell Wolves didn’t seem to like the taste of human flesh. No they killed because they enjoyed it. Killing the human colonists was a Kell Wolf sport.

Mark ran to join his comrades, un-slinging his musket and tearing the rage off it as he ran. He drew level with the rest of the watch, took aim and fired at the Wolves. Gunpowder stained his face as the musket kicked hard into his shoulder. His own gun smoke obscured his view and he had to wait for it to drift clear. Two hundred yards away two score Wolves stood looking back at the dozen watchmen of the Midnight Watch.

“Form line ! Reload !” bellowed the Sergeant.

Mark obeyed with the ease of long practice. The Wolves had begun to running towards them now, snarling as they came. Mark held the musket level with his left hand, taking a cartridge from the leather pouch that hung at his waist with his right. He bit the bullet end off the greased paper cartridge, half cocked the musket and poured a little of the cartridge’s powder into the pan. He brought the musket upright, grounding the butt, and poured his remaining gunpowder down the barrel.

He spat twice, first he spat the ball down the musket and second on the floor to rid his mouth of the salty taste of gunpowder. He looked up, the Wolves were now only a hundred yards away, there wasn’t time for the ram rod. He tapped the musket butt firmly against the cobble stones, brought it back up and cocked it.

“Aim !” shouted the Sergeant.

He raised the musket and took aim at the pack, they were less than sixty yards away now.

“Fire !” the Sergeant ordered and a dozen muskets fired in union.

The noise was tremendous. The volley tore into the pack and half a dozen Wolves fell. The others halted their advance and retreated twenty yards. The watchmen watched as over thirty Kell Wolves regrouped less than eighty yards from them. The Wolves came at them again. There wasn’t going to be enough time to reload for another volley and they all knew it.

“Fix bayonets boys.” the Sergeant said solemnly.

They all knew a dozen men couldn’t stand against a pack this size and live. They were going to die but they had to buy time for the rest of the town. Even now a full company of Militia would be assembling on the docks. Mark fixed his bayonet and stood ready as the Wolves came at him.