Infinite 01 - Infinite Sacrifice

one up and breaks into groups to dig trenches outside the city.
    Ophira and I dig all day beside Theodon’s army, ignoring throbbing, bleeding blisters. When night falls, a woman from our group stands up and shouts, “All soldiers go home! Put down your spades and give them to your mothers. We’ll dig so you can rest and give your all for our country tomorrow!”
    The women cheer, and the leader of their group bows low to us and takes his troops back inside the city. Theodon breaks formation to turn around and give us a worried nod before another soldier pulls him back by his chest strap. We continue throughout the night with staked torches as our only light.
    The sun rises in a vibrant, red haze, and we can see thousands of little shadows assembling on the mountains surrounding Sparta.
    Someone shouts, “Mothers find safety within the city!” as trumpets give forlorn warning.
    Filthy and stiff from exhaustion, Ophira and I hobble back with them. The women are corralled into the stately assembly building above the square. We arm ourselves with whatever we can gather: shovels, pitchforks, sickles. Some women wear ropes cinched around their necks because they’ll rather hang than be taken captive. Our building is three stories tall and set high in the city, giving us a good vantage point. We all huddle at the windows and watch with mouths agape as the enemy assembles into tight, well-disciplined formation. Ophira finds her medallion, brings it to her lips, and clutches my hand as she chants something I don’t understand. I pray that the Athenians will stay their distance, and every woman jumps back when the sea of men begins to surge forward toward Sparta. Knowing we have nowhere to run, I take Ophira’s shaking hand and bring her back to the window. Far off, roaring forward, come the horrid, gigantic beasts called elephants leading the charge. They’re like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Ophira shuts her eyes tight and brings her hands to her mouth in more whispered prayers.
    I’m scared for Theodon and for Sparta. Every time the enemy moves to approach the city, Sparta sends out troops to push them back. Some of their men put down their spears and rush to fill the trenches in segments so that the elephants can cross, all the while under a deluge of spears and arrows from the roofs of the single-story city dwellings walling in the city. As each enemy falls into the trenches, their comrades carelessly shovel dirt on top of them. Once the elephants gain passage, the enemy looms along the perimeter of the city, testing every entrance. Inside the city, our stone streets are filled with soldiers and boys running to their commands. It’s amazing that in so much chaos, control is still being kept. Many loyal helots step forward with farm tools in vast numbers to defend the city. We have to buy Sparta time.
    An impressive phalanx formation of red-cloaked hoplites, the only regiment left behind to protect the city, marches right outside the square. They look ethereal with their feathered, beak-faced helmets and bronze body armor—like beautiful, deadly birds. Spear and shield expertly positioned, they go out to repel a heavy attack. We can’t see the elephants but can hear them, right outside the fortress of our city. They sound like I’ve always imagined the sea monsters in Nereus’s tales, echoing a thundering horn blow. I hope we’ll never see one up close, that they will not be let into the city.
    Later, we wait, sitting on the floor, listening to the battle in the background, when we hear the men shouting especially loud. We rush to the window to see, to our horror, ten elephants have broken into one of the side streets and are charging down to the square. Ophira clutches on to me in terror.
    My imagination can’t have created such a creature. It’s the height of three men and the weight of ten horses. White horns which the enemy has tipped with iron protrude out of its face, and a long snake-like appendage curls and twists as it charges. On its head are huge, flapping pieces of flesh that move like wings! These elephants trample over any men standing in their way. Spears are thrown at them, yet they bounce off their thick skins. The beasts thrash their horned heads back and forth, throwing men against stone buildings. Worse yet, they grab men with their snakes and throw them against the ground, then squash them with their giant heads.
    Half the men go running from them, while the other half