"‘We have to get out of here!’ Nick screamed. ‘Get up, we have to go!’
Nathaly looked up at him with a panicked expression on her face. She was trembling heavily and seemed unable to move. Another loud whistle cut through the night sky and Nick dropped himself to the ground instinctively. Pieces of stone were launched in all directions as the cannonball struck the wall beneath him and the screams of the wounded guardsman could no longer be heard. As Nick watched another cannonball shoot by and miss the building by a hair’s length, he quickly decided he would be safer inside.
Just as he had turned around though, half the balcony exploded in a shower of wood and wicker and Nick was thrown off the side by the impact of the shot. He fell, and his hands desperately tried to find something to hang on to. Clawing wildly he found a window frame and managed to grab it, sending a jolt of pain up his left arm. Around him it was raining stone and wood and glass.
Gasping for breath Nick tried to hang on, while large splinters were sticking into his flesh. He was feeling dizzy, his vision shaky and his ears ringing from the impact. Far away, he thought he could hear Nathaly scream at the top of her lungs, but he couldn’t be sure of it. There was pain everywhere as pieces of debris kept swirling around him, beating him and piercing him relentlessly. Blood ran over his cheeks and down his arm and for a moment he wondered if he would survive the long fall down.
Then there was another impact nearby that made his hand slip and this time there was nothing left for Nick to hang on to.
Now I will find out."