Disclaimer : I don't own the characters, I make no profit. This is a Gen Story. This is only a small, very small piece. It's a gap-filler of the episode First In War, First in Peace. What happened to Mingo during the commercial so to speak. Actually, he fell in the water and then we see him staggering later on. My vision of what happened. And my vision needs a gap-filler too. Johanne.
Mingo felt the pain; only having the cold water covered him. As he sank, slowly, his brain registered the sudden flare inside his body. It didn't matter that he could not breath for all he felt was nausea and weak legs with no strength. The cold water surrounded him, covered him in a thick blanket, shook him off, and threw him in disarray. He was awake, despite all. His mouth opened against his will as he needed air, fresh, cool, soothing. Water invaded him. Covered outside, filled inside, he suddenly saw the cloud of his spirit guide surged behind his eyes. He followed the gaze, and as his brain started to slow down, the spirit guide lifted him up.
He woke up, wet, bleeding. He had no recollection of the strength gathered to push himself out of the water. But he knew one thing; he was alive and could remain alive if he stopped the bleeding. The cold had seized him, protected him but as the sun shone on his torso, the bleeding started again. The bullet had gone through, clean off him.
He sat up, lifting his knife and ripping his shirt, making a tight sling, one that would bind his wound, stop his life from spreading on the ground.
It took him only a few minutes but it felt exhausted, as if he had worked for hours at a terrible task.
He pushed himself up, managed to walk a few meters, and sat himself down once more, resting his back again the tall tree. Was his spirit guide making it possible for him to remain alive?
He rested. As his eyes opened, he knew he had rested far too long, the sun had gone down. A fear was creeping inside, not for his life, he felt protected now. No! Another fear, one he had every so often, when a cherished one was in danger. Daniel was in danger, he just knew it. He had to go.
He slowly got up. He ripped his shirt a little more, using more of the clean cloth cling to his wound. He remembered being 15, in England, wearing white man clothes gentleman's clothes. Studying, horse-riding, feeling a prisoner yet loving his education. His father had sent for the summer to the Royal Academy. He was not going to be a soldier, or an officer - but his father wanted to shake the Indian out of him once and for all. He had retained what was good of that discipline; he just knew suddenly, with clarity, as if again the spirit-guide was lighting his inner soul, who that man with Daniel was. He had trained would-be soldiers; he was a friend of the officer training those youths of the blue blood. He had often seen him drink with the officer in charge of his group. The man was British officer, he would betray Daniel, and he would betray Washington.
Mingo got up. He had to track Daniel and warn him.
May his spirit guide grant him strength in every step?