Everyone was on high alert.
Short, sharp commands crackled over the radio:
— "South tower, keep scanning."
— "Western patrol, hold your position."
Rauf and I had our eyes locked on the darkness from the tower, barely breathing.
The pale moonlight faintly lit the slope, but everything else was cloaked in threatening shadow.
For a while, nothing happened.
Only the whistling wind and the silence of nerves stretched taut.
Then... a movement.
The bushes on the northern slope rustled.
Moments later, shadows emerged — fast and agile.
The one in front held a rifle.
I grabbed the radio: — "North! Movement! Three, maybe four!"
All towers responded.
Kudret's voice barked through the static:
— "They're surrounding us! Positions, now!"
The men approached cautiously.
They wore no armor, but their movements were trained.
Could be raiders — or scouts for something bigger.
The weight in my chest grew heavier.
Rauf whispered:
— "Commander, this feels wrong…"
I nodded.
A glint in the darkness caught my eye — a flash, maybe a scope?
I made a decision in that moment:
— "Be ready… If they fire, we fire back."
The figures crept closer.
Then one of them blew a sharp, short whistle.
It was a signal.
Suddenly, more shadows emerged from the surrounding trees.
South, east…
We were being encircled.
Kudret roared into the radio:
— "They're closing in! Get into position!"
The camp reorganized quickly around the central tower.
Women and children were moved to shelters.
The rest raised their weapons, ready to defend.
Then, a voice rang out from the northern side:
— "Surrender! No need for bloodshed!"
Rauf glanced at me.
Someone asked:
— "What now?"
I took a deep breath.
— "Surrendering now means dying," I said. "We fight — smart."
I picked up the radio and gave orders:
— "Do not leave cover. Hold positions. Only fire if they do."
For a moment, only my heartbeat filled my ears.
Then, a bullet sliced through the air from the bushes.
Then several more.
They had made their choice.
They opened fire.
On my signal, the towers fired back.
The battle had begun.
Bullets lit up the night, sparks flying like flint.
The earth trembled beneath us.
Rauf grabbed his rifle, took aim, and fired.
Kudret and his men built makeshift defenses, reinforcing the main gate.
Süleyman and his brother held the northern front fiercely.
After the first wave, there was a moment of silence.
The kind that screamed danger louder than gunfire.
Voices crackled through the radio:
— "Running low on ammo!"
— "We got one down!"
— "We've got wounded!"
I ran through options in my head.
We couldn't win by holding out.
We needed to break the rhythm.
I spoke to Kudret through the radio:
— "Send two to the north. Draw their attention."
— "Understood," he replied.
Two agile scouts slipped out from the northern edge.
Once they were in range, a grenade exploded — a trap.
Light tore through the darkness.
The attackers scattered, disoriented.
We didn't waste the chance.
All towers and positions opened fire.
They couldn't hold.
Some fell where they stood.
The rest fled into the trees.
Soon, silence fell again.
Only our breathing and the crackle of the fires remained.
Kudret's voice came, worn but proud:
— "We drove them off… for now."
I exhaled deeply, the pressure lifting just slightly from my shoulders.
But I knew — this was only the beginning.
Someone out there knew about us now.
And they would return — better armed, more ruthless.
When we descended, the camp was a mess.
Some tents were torn.
Two had minor wounds.
But no one had died.
That was a victory.
Süleyman approached, blood trickling from a cut on his forehead.
Still, he smiled:
— "Commander, we made it through the night."
I gave him a faint smile in return:
— "This night, yes. But we'll be ready for tomorrow."
People gathered around us quietly.
Some wept. Some prayed.
But all of them — somehow — still stood.
Kudret came close:
— "We need to rally the people. Give everyone tasks. We'll fortify the defenses."
I nodded.
— "We don't have a choice anymore."
My eyes drifted to the sky.
The stars were still there.
Unchanged.
The world had burned, humanity had crumbled — but the stars still shone.
That was hope.
To shine through the ruin.
We didn't sleep that night.
We patrolled in shifts, treated the wounded, counted supplies.
Each new day, we had to grow stronger.
Because we weren't just surviving anymore.
We were building a life.
And we'd protect it — no matter what.