"Come on men!" John Laurens shouted. He charged forward on his dappled stallion. British troops had engaged John's battalion in a gunfight. Shots echo through the clearing, and many men on both sides were injured or killed. But John didn't stop. His men, both black and white, fight strong, not giving up until almost all of the British troops are killed. There was a problem ,though. John's horse ran around, its head rearing.

"We need a medic!" A voice rang through the area. Men rushed over, only to see their leader bleeding out. A man knelt to John's side, whispering in his ear. He had darker skin, and a weird hat sat on his head. It was like a sack, but made out of cotton, and it hung off the man's head.

"John, John." The man's steady, calming voice was forced. "Come on, stay alive."

John coughed and groaned, reaching up to rest a hand on the man's shoulder. "I know that Hercules." John let out another groan, his white shirt growing red with blood. "I promised Alexander."

The battalion's worry only grew. John was in no shape to survive this wound unless he immediately got some medical attention. The black men's hope to finally gain freedom was going to die with John. Most of the soldiers went around to tend to any others who were hurt. The less dead the better.

"Will somebody get a doctor?" The other man with John shouted again. His name was Nathaniel.

"I'm kind of tired, Herc."Hercules leaned forward and pulled John closer to him. "Come on Jack. Stay alive. Don't go to sleep yet."

John grinned and patted Hercules's cheek. "You're kind of like a dad to me."

"What did you think I meant by 'loco parentis'. It's Latin knucklehead." John smiled at the memory of the night they met Alexander, while Hercules tried to smile, but failed.

John's eyelids fluttered. "Raise a glass to freedom."

"Raise a glass to the four of us." Hercules bit his lip and pulled John closer, putting pressure on John's bullet wound. "Tomorrow there'll be more of us."

"Telling the story of tonight." John let out a breath, but did not take in another.

A/N: Sorry that I ended of a cliffhanger AND a sad note, but that's just me. This chapter is kind of short, but I promise that they'll get longer. And I apologize that my update schedule won't be consistent. I'm juggling a couple of other stories of FFN and my own original works. If there is a time period of more than two months, feel free to PM me about the next chapter.

Thanks for reading! I hope you leave a review!

-Mermaid1108