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LOVE FOR A FALLEN CITY by Shi-Kuo Chang -1- Blazing flames leapt from one roof ridge to the next roof ridge, half the sky over the City was reddened. The soldiers, shouting dreadfully, fled in disarray. He slashed relentlessly at the snakeman that had climbed over the ramparts. The rear half of the snakeman’s body and its big long tail coiled up in a tangle, but the front half was still struggling, its three yellow-green eyes glared at him with hatred. He stabbed his long blade into the soft middle part of the three eyes, the snakeman gave out a terrible howl and stopped moving. Yet another snakeman quickly jumped up the wall. He clenched his teeth and stepped forward with his sword to meet the enemy again. “The City is fallen, go now,” a soft voice whispered in his ear. “Not yet!” he yelled. He leaned over the ramparts and cut off the snakeman’s long tail with his sword. Losing its hold on the wall, the snakeman shrieked and fell off, but somehow managed to throw its last spear at him in midair. The short spear lost its momentum before reaching him and dropped to the ground. “Time to go now,” the soft voice said again. “Look behind you, see?” He looked back with fear. All the houses in the City were burning, the curved ugly figures of ever so many snakemen wriggled in the fire light, while the citizens, crying and wailing, threw themselves into the fire pits. Soldiers around the walls were retreating to the central plaza, but, before they could congregate, the surrounding snakemen already had thrown spears after spears at them. Now he alone remained on the gate tower. He howled in anger and jumped at the two snakemen nearest to him. The two snakemen dodged to the right and left, suddenly he saw several spears coming toward his chest. He lifted his sword to ward off the spears, right in that second everything before him suddenly turned black, and the sounds of killing and wailing disappeared all