Chapter 1: Present And Past
..."Get your slothful asses up and stand to attention!"
... "Form up in line of battle and shoulder arms!"
Thomas suddenly snapped back from his trailing thoughts and did as Seargent Prescott ordered without delay. Thomas and his comrades of company B stood in two ranks with their muskets shouldered and faced straight ahead as Seargent Prescott's gravely and hoarse voice thundered through the early morning air. Seargent Prescott was certainly an imposing man, standing right at six feet tall and with a weathered and roughly bearded face that gave assurance that he was not a man to be trifled with. He was a professional soldier, and had been in the regular army before the outbreak of the war. Thomas feared him, but also had a respect and trust for him, because he knew that Seargent Prescott would never cower or abandon his men in the heat of battle. But there was something else about Seargent Prescott that sent chills down Thomas' spine, and it was Sergeant Prescott's voice itself- Thomas could not be certain of the source, but in his mind he knew that he had heard a voice very similar to that in his childhood.
Thomas suddenly realized how little of his childhood that he could remember, and it was almost eerie how much he had forgotten. But one thing he could never forget was that voice-that gravely, nasty voice that caused him to feel a chill even thinking of it. But what was it about that voice that caused him fear and unrest? That he cou- [float]-ldn't determine, but he knew [float down here] someone who might remember- Franklin Denbrough, another man about his age who was also in Company B. Franklin and Thomas had known each other their entire lives and had grown up together as friends in Derry. It was strange, Thomas could remember growing up with Franklin and their friendship, but a lot of the particular events of their childhood he could not remember. Maybe Franklin [you will float down here child] would know more details, and hopefully so because Thomas had a strange feeling that something terrible had occurred in Derry when they were children.
Thomas now began to realize that his memory was like a fog that hadn't yet lifted and it frightened him to know that this mental fog would rapidly dissolve as he remembered more, and he wasn't sure he would like what was stored away in the recesses of his mind. Franklin would know more certainly... that is if they both survived this coming battle...
