I hauled the cage into the catapult’s bucket, taking care avoid the flailing, muck-crusted claws. My sergeant caught the look on my face and smacked me on the arm.
“Better loading the catapult than on it, eh?” He said. But his smile was forced.
The necromancers whose service we had been pressed into were nothing if not innovators. The cage would break apart on impact, releasing the ghouls trapped inside behind enemy lines. It flanked and demoralized the enemy in a single action.
It works on us, too, I thought as I released the lever and sent back yesterday’s casualties.

“catapulte” by rey perezoso is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.

Thanks for reading!