Night Watch

Spoiler:

Anton was of a mixed opinion when it came to night watch. On one hand, it seemed like a rather low key assignment. After all, you were simply standing guard over the outside of the marine base at night. I mean, who would be crazy enough to do that? On the other hand, it was night watch. Which meant you had to stay up ALL NIGHT, and then most likely keep working the next day without rest. A number of marines would try to sneak in some shut eye while on this assignment, but Anton was too frightened of what would happen if he did. Not because of anyone slipping by, but by being caught out by his superiors.

And so, Anton slowly, rather stiffly walked along the perimeter of the Loguetown naval base. Of all the places, Anton had been assigned to outside of the walls. Exposed to the elements and actual danger. His large sword hung from his back, his eyes held wide open. The poor man didn't even dare to yawn. He just had to keep reminding himself of the price for slacking. That sense of fear kept him going through training, and it certainly would get him through the night. Especially since the darkness hid all sorts of evils that caused Anton's fear filled imagination to go into overdrive. Who knew what sort of things lurked in the darkness, ready to prey on the poor man.

Therefore​ it made sense for Anton to almost have a heart attack when there was a loud clanging sound. The man's hand clutched at his chest, trying to keep his heart from bouncing out of his chest. What was that sound. His hands trembled as he drew his sword, heading towards the sound. It seemed to be coming from the back gate, where food and supplies were brought into the base.

And much to his dismay, a shadowy figure was crouched down before it, fiddling with the lock.

Anton suppress a groan of dismay. Somebody was actually trying to break into the base? Why? Why did he have to do it on Anton's watch? The poor man was tempted to simply pretend he didn't see anything, but if the man broke in and caused some trouble, who knows what would happen to Anton? The thought sent a shudder through his body. Trembling and holding his sword, he approached the figure. "Y-You! What are you doing?" he called out, or rather squeaked out.

The figure glanced over his shoulder and before Anton could blink, he had spun around, light reflecting off of his blade. Anton only just barely blocked the blow with a screech, stumbling back. The figure was dressed in all black, their eyes being only thing visible. All Anton could tell was that the figure was male.

As Anton managed to get his footing, the figure shot forward, their blade swinging. Anton's slower, heavier blade, combined with his lack of skill, caused Anton to stumble back, barely able to keep his balance. The intruder was clearly the more skilled combatant. Suddenly, there was a burst of pain and Anton cried out, the intruder's blade slicing him across the chest. Red stained his coat as the young man stumbled back, clutching his midsection before falling to his knees. Before he could even look back up, a boot connected with his face, knocking the man flat.

Looking down at the fallen marine, the intruder turned and headed back towards the gate.

The intruder headed back towards the gate. That damn man's screeching might have attracted some attention, but that wasn't enough to deter the intruder. It just made them abandon subtle. With a swing of the blade, the lock was torn from the gate, causing it to slowly swing open. How pathetic. If this was what the marines had in terms of defence, then this would be easier than he thought.

"NOO!"

The intruder was blindsided by something crashing into him from behind. Was that damn marine still alive!? The intruder struggled and flailed, trying to shake off the screaming man. He tried swinging his blade, but the position the two were in made it difficult to strike at him at all. Growling in frustration, he swung back his elbow, catching Anton in the nose. Blood spurted out as he was knocked back, the intruder finally able to shake him off. He turned to thrust at him with his blade.

"FREEZE!"

The intruder paused and looked behind him, seeing several marines with weapons trained on him. Dammit, that man's screaming had woken up the entire garrison! All the intruder could do was surrender as a couple of the marines went to cuff him and lead him away.

Meanwhile, the commander approached the wounded and beaten Anton. The man was on his back, bleeding from both his chest and nose and looking rather disoriented. "Get him to sickbay. On the double." He ordered, turning away as a pair of marine helped the battered Anton up and began to lead him away.

At least now Anton could get some rest. If only it didn't hurt so much.