Chapter 11 Chapter 9 Intermission

night. It's quiet in town because people are healing.The troops on both sides suffered unexpected losses, retreated outside the front line to recuperate, and waited for the next attack.The attackers and defenders all left the streets, and the dragons and helicopters also disappeared from the sky, leaving a broken and tired silence.There was no movement in the empty streets, only the sound of burning fire could be heard.The dark red flames glow faintly in the night, like many candles that are about to be extinguished, like a city trapped in hell.In the darkness, the sound of the wooden door hitting the door frame continued to be heard, but no one closed the door.A gust of wind blows a piece of paper across the street, wrapping it around a lifeless human leg.Dead bodies lay outside the house where Sean Morrison was hiding.Mutilated and soaked in a pool of dry blood, they seemed to have been forgotten after the battle line had passed.Morrison has been waiting for someone to come to collect the body, but there is no one.

He sat on a chair by the window on the first floor of a shelled house, silently watching the night scene of the street.The second floor of the house had been destroyed by the explosion, and the roof on the first floor creaked and swayed from side to side, as if trying to find a comfortable position.The fire miraculously did not spread, and apart from cracks in the walls and broken windows, the first floor suffered little damage.Neither the heating nor the lights were working, but the moonlight reflected from the snow on the side of the house provided enough lighting for the house.Morrison sat in a chair, looking out the cracked window into the empty street, looking for James Hart.He had been away for nearly two hours, and there had been no news, and the helper he had promised had never appeared.

It's very cold inside, and tends to get colder.The air Morrison exhaled has condensed into a cloud of mist in front of his eyes.He clutched the blanket around him, but it didn't help much.The blanket was found on the second floor and is one of the few remaining items available for use.He really wished he had searched more carefully just now, but every time he took a step on the second floor, he could hear a pile of building materials whining, so he thought it would be better not to joke about his life.He looked at Susan Dubois and Polly Cousins, who were sleeping together on the couch.They huddled under a thin blanket, sharing each other's warmth.The two slept soundly, but they were not restful, as if they were deeply troubled by nightmares.Ever since they crawled out of the cave bar, they had displayed a strength and calmness that Morrison secretly envied.But in the end, they fell into a deep sleep, but he couldn't sleep at all, so he had to sit in a chair and watch quietly as usual.The two women found strength and comfort in each other, but it made him feel out of place.He didn't think they did it on purpose.The two of them were old friends, and he had never really been close friends.He was always going his own way, and sometimes that meant he had to leave the people he knew and walk alone.

Only this time he didn't choose to be alone voluntarily.Polly and Susan had fled to sleep, so he had to stay awake as a guard.He didn't want to sleep anyway.After being buried in the ruins of the cave for so long, he thought he might never want to sleep.The moonlight inside brought him some comfort, calm and persistent, bright and shimmering.From a strange point of view, he felt as if he was in the deep sea, and he didn't need to worry about any threats from land.Someone suddenly talked in sleep on the other side of the sofa, so he stood up and walked to the sofa to make sure that the two women were safe.Polly's face was peaceful, like a child's, but Susan frowned deeply, as if she didn't like the scene in her dream.A lock of curly hair fell down her cheek, and Morrison gently pushed it back into place.Susan murmured a few words in her sleep, then sighed, and fell into a deeper sleep.

Morrison crouched beside her, and a strange thought came to his mind.He had always liked Susan; if events had pushed him, perhaps he would love her again.But such a thing never happened.She's always busy caring for someone else, whether it's a lost lamb or a wounded heart; and he always has a song to sing and a drink to drink, and usually both.It's too late now.Things changed, things changed, and if he really followed his plan, he would never know whether he had a chance to love her or not. He got up and went back to the chair by the window.He felt tired, weak, and even a little old.At least, no longer young.He couldn't remember how long he'd lived in Shadow Falls, especially since he'd spent all his time with goblins.Many years had passed since his untimely death in Paris and his incarnation into legend.The legend did not last long; a few years later, those who encouraged him to enjoy himself in time and transform into a beautiful corpse as soon as possible found another legend.Then he came to Shadow Falls.He smiled slightly, remembering the kind of life he had lived before.The songs, the poems, the wine, the drugs, the passionate women, and his music.He never treated his friends well, but at least he left some meaningful songs for them.

He pulled the chair over to a table.He'd been writing songs as long as he'd just been sitting there, and was going to finish writing them before he left.He didn't think he had much time left.Shadow Falls is running out of time.Both the attacker and the defender have forgotten the purpose of the war in the first place, and would rather destroy Shadow Falls than see the town fall into the hands of the other side.Morrison has not lost sight of his original intention.Shadow Falls must survive because it means so much to so many people.He has even thought of a way to save Shadow Falls.That was a good way, enough to repel the Crusaders and prevent Shadow Falls from falling into ruins.If successful.In contrast, his last plan—the plan to invite the goblins from the underground world of the mountain to help out—was nothing more than a desperate plan, and now this plan is really feasible.The only problem is, he's likely to die.

He frowned and looked out the window at the empty street.He was not ready to die.He still has a lot to do.The Gate of Eternity had been calling to him ever since he arrived at Shadow Falls, but he refused to heed its call.Things have changed.He looked back at the sofa and sighed softly.He doesn't miss much of the world, but he certainly misses Susan.He wished they had met each other before they came to Shadow Falls; before they were real, before they were mistaken for legends. But at this moment, he thought he had experienced all the things that really mattered.Let others sing and set a bad example for Shadow Falls.Now there's only one more thing he needs to do, and that's to save the town that gave him a second chance.He suddenly smiled.Who would have thought that he would end up being a hero?He sat blankly in the chair for a while.He was afraid, but fear was not enough to deter him.Shadow Falls was more important than him.He has always been aware of this fact.

He looked at the papers on the table in front of him.Maybe that was the last song he wrote in his life.It's not his best song, but it's passable.He wrote the song just to say goodbye because he didn't think he'd have the chance to say goodbye to his friend himself.He would leave the song on the table as he walked away.When Susan and Polly wake up, they will see the song.He considered waking them up before leaving, but decided not to.They would have tried to persuade him not to do that, and he was terrified that he would follow their advice. He stood up, walked gently to the sofa, took off the blanket on his shoulders, and carefully covered the sleeping woman.He looked around, enjoying the silver brilliance of the moon, and then left the room with a sigh, closed the door, stepped into the corridor, and walked out of the house.The street was empty and cold, and no one would come to disturb Susan and Polly's rest, but just in case, he locked the door tightly.He walked down the street, humming a new tune to the sound of his feet on the snow.The air was fresh and pleasant, and the moonlight was spotless, enveloping him like a spotlight.