Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except Jenna, Maggie, and their parents. And since part of the plot is based on the Mediator series by Meg Cabot, I don't own that, either. The title of the fic is also a take off the book "Summer of my German Soldier", which isn't mine.

A/N: This is my first Patriot fanfic…I can't say all of the chapters will be this long, but I'll try. I really shouldn't be starting another fic on top of the ones I already have going, but I caught some of the movie the other day (after not seeing it for awhile), and I couldn't wait to get this little plot bunny out of my head. I hope you like it! Please R&R!

Jenna was falling.

She barely had time to open her eyes and react before she felt herself tumbling unceremoniously out of the backseat of the car, landing face down on the blacktop with a less than flattering yelp.

Well, that was pleasant, she thought, I wanted to step onto South Carolina's soil, not eat it.

She stayed sprawled out on the side of the driveway, somewhat incoherent. There was definitely a piece of rock digging uncomfortably into her leg, but she couldn't will her stiff body to move. After being holed up in a car for the past day and half--her Dad had this brilliant idea that making the trip via car would give them more "bonding time" than a simple plane ride--all she wanted to do was lie there.

Jenna glared up at her father, who was standing over her, blocking out the warm afternoon sun. Her dad grimaced. "Oh…sorry, Jenna," he apologized, ignoring the scowl that had taken up residence on his daughter's face, "I didn't know you were sleeping."

Way to go, Dad. Way. To. Go.

He offered his hand out to her, but she didn't take it. She waved him off with annoyance and he walked away to join his wife on the porch of their new home. From where she was, Jenna could tell that they were talking about her, especially since her mother kept glancing in her direction. Ear pressed to the ground, Jenna remained still, suddenly curious when she heard what seemed like hooves racing over the grass--an entire group of horses galloping with a certain urgency. She picked her head up and peered off into the distance, not seeing a single horse in her line of vision. And the weird thing was, it sounded so close.

Her mother leaned over the railing of the porch, concerned. "Jenn, honey, are you okay?" she called.

"I'm fine, Mom," The eighteen year old responded, placing her ear against the pavement once again. "I'm just…chilling."

"In the driveway? Like that?"

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Yeah."

Disregarding the numerous odd looks from her parents, Jenna concentrated on the sound she had heard moments earlier. As soon as the thunderous roar of hooves returned, she was rudely interrupted by her younger sister. The eight year old squatted down beside Jenna's face, her head tilted to the side in confusion.

"What're you doing, Jenna?" she giggled, "You look silly."

"Shush, Mags, I'm trying to listen."

"To what?"

Jenna closed her eyes, determination etched into her features. Maggie mimicked Jenna's actions, lying down on the grass and squeezing her eyes shut tightly. The sisters were quiet for a few minutes, with Maggie squirming impatiently and peeking at her older sibling with interest. Meanwhile, Jenna was marveling at the noises that filled her ear--hooves pounding against the earth, men shouting to each other. An unexpected gunshot rang out, causing her to jump up with a startled gasp.

"What is it?" Maggie questioned. "I didn't hear anything."

Jenna raised an eyebrow. "You didn't? But Maggie…it was so loud…" She trailed off, noticing that her sister had started shaking her head vigorously, dark curls bouncing every which way. The teenager was left bewildered--she knew she couldn't have imagined those noises. They had sounded real, like she was in the very center of the action. It was almost as if she was hearing the echoes of the past. But how?

The teenager pulled herself into a sitting position and finally got to her feet, brushing off her jeans. Maggie made a mad dash into the large expanse of perfectly manicured grass that was now their front yard, twirling around and enjoying the intense sunlight. Her parents had already retreated into their house, most likely to devise a plan for the furniture that needed to be unloaded from the U-Haul that had followed them down from Pennsylvania.

Jenna studied their new home for the first time, astonished at how beautiful it looked. Since her father had taken this job in South Carolina, they were able to afford a much more luxurious house than the tiny suburban one they owned back in Pennsylvania. Jenna had this idea in her head that she was going to hate living practically in the middle of nowhere--it would take some getting used to--but now that she laid eyes on the house, that ridiculous thought disappeared. She could almost sense the history of this place.

The house was a classic farmhouse style with traditional southern colonial architecture. It was two stories; an elegant cream color with black shutters that stood out against the stark white trim. There were wide front porches on both levels, held up by pillars that seemed as though they belonged in an ancient Greek monument. And from what Jenna could tell, there were also porches in the back of the house. A front room jutted out from the side of the porch by the main entryway, and it was all windows, as was the rest of the house. Sophisticated, colonial windows that Jenna appreciated, with their simple yet classy design. A huge white chimney completed the house, looming above Jenna with a sense of power.

She ambled up the stone pathway that lead to the stairs of the porch, admiring the landscaping as well. Everything was flawlessly maintained; the previous owner must've taken great pride in it. It made Jenna wonder, though, why would someone even dream of giving a house like this up? Truth be told, however, she was grateful that they had moved out. She was absolutely in love with this place, and they hadn't even been there for twenty minutes. It made her feel like a princess. She could just picture herself here--reading on the porch, enjoying the warm summer nights, chasing Maggie through the garden. It was perfect. She hadn't been this genuinely happy in awhile.

After the teenager snapped out of her dreamlike trance, she realized that she was the only one standing outside. Eagerly, Jenna stepped into the house. Her parents were in the living room deciding on a floor plan, and she could hear Maggie bounding throughout the house on some sort of eight year old adrenaline rush. Jenna smiled once she saw the lavish, hardwood staircase with a banister that she knew Maggie would try to--if she hadn't already--slide down. She was halfway up the stairs when Maggie shouted her name. Jenna whirled around and allowed Maggie to join her in the middle of the staircase. The little girl tugged on her elder sister's hand, dragging her up the rest of the stairs and into the hallway.

"Lemme show you my room!" She proceeded the pull Jenna down the hall, their shoes thudding on the polished hardwoods. Maggie shuffled into the bedroom she had chosen, which was right over the front room that was downstairs, and across the hall from the bathroom. The bedroom was incredibly sunlit, as was the rest of the house, due to the amount of windows.

"It's very nice, Mags."

"Take the room next to mine," Maggie ordered playfully, "You'll like it--I'll show you!"

Jenna felt herself being wrenched in another direction, out into the hall and to the bedroom beside her young sister's. She stood inside the doorway as Maggie ran across the floor and opened the glass double-doors that lead onto the porch. Jenna was overwhelmed by it all; the fact that it was gigantic in comparison to her old room in Pennsylvania and that she actually had her own porch. The windows in this room were amazing--she had about three or four of them, including the glass that was in the doors. Strolling over to them, she went out onto the porch and marveled at the view of the yard and the land that they owned.

Maggie leaned her head against the railing, grinning as the summer breeze blew through her hair. She looked up at her sister, her blue eyes sparkling.

"It's so pretty."

"It's too good to be true," Jenna replied, her own blue orbs meeting her sibling's, "I feel like royalty."

Maggie giggled. "Me too."

"C'mon," Jenna said, taking her sister's hand, "let's go help unpack."

The rest of the afternoon was spent unloading their belongings from the car and the U-Haul truck, and lugging them to their respective locations all around the house. By dinnertime, most of the downstairs furniture had been set up, but there were still piles of boxes that needed to be sorted through. The family also had to put up with sleeping on their mattresses for a few nights, at least until the beds could be assembled. After eating a late dinner of pizza that Maggie and her father had to drive a couple of miles into town to pick up, the exhausted family retired to their rooms.

It was nearing eleven o'clock, but Jenna found that she couldn't sleep. She didn't know why. Maybe it was the strangeness of sleeping in a different house for the first time. Or, maybe she was still kind of creeped out by this feeling that had been hanging over her ever since she had started helping her parents unpack that afternoon. She'd had this feeling of someone constantly watching her, and it made her nervous. Jenna loved the house, but there was something different about it. She just couldn't figure out what it was.

She had spent the last half hour going through the numerous cardboard boxes that littered her floor, searching for a lamp to plug into the wall across from where her mattress had been situated. As soon as she successfully located said lamp and plugged it in, Jenna climbed onto her makeshift bed and sat with her book propped up against her knees. The light, summer air wafted through a window that she had left partially open, fluttering the pages of her book and her slightly wavy auburn hair.

Jenna turned a page, engrossed in the novel, when the lamp beside her flickered. Her gaze immediately snapped to the lamp, and she watched it with an odd sort of interest. It wavered a few more times before going out altogether, earning a surprised gasp from the teenager's mouth. She quickly ear-marked the page and set the book down next to her on the mattress. Reaching over, Jenna turned the light back on and stared at it--half curious, half scared--to see what would happen. A couple minutes passed, and Jenna waited on bated breath. The light flickered rapidly, and another minute went by before the lamp went out again.

"Okay." Jenna whispered, fear causing her voice to shake. She pushed the book off the mattress and laid down, her back purposefully facing the lamp. She squeezed her eyes shut, begging sleep to come.

The lamp switched on.

Jenna let out a frightened squeak. "This can't be happening." she told herself, getting up from the mattress. She marched over to the plug and yanked the cord out. She all but sprinted back into bed, burying her face in a pillow.

That's when the floorboards by the closet creaked, as if groaning under the weight of something, or someone. Jenna freaked, jerking the sheet she was using as a blanket high over her head.

"Go away." she demanded, her heart racing. She knew she wasn't alone in the room, and that realization scared her. "Go away…"

The footsteps began traveling away from the front of the closet, making a soft but noticeable thump as each footfall collided with the floor. They stalked closer to the mattress she was occupying, and Jenna held her breath, not daring to remove the sheet. The footsteps stopped abruptly, and the feeling of someone watching her returned. Jenna could almost feel a presence hovering over her. She attempted to take slow, deep breaths to calm herself down, but the weird entity stayed where it was.

"Leave me alone," Jenna told it. "Please…just go away."

Jenna could've sworn that something brushed along the top of the sheet.

And she thought she heard a voice whisper to her, "I will not hurt you."

But she couldn't be sure.

A/N: I hope you're interested...Please Review! I'll appreciate it!