AN: Okay, firstttt... THANK YOU to the guest reviewer/reviewers who've been supporting me! I wish you would consider making an account, though, so I could PM you! :) Anyway, on with the story!
Benjamin sprinted from the porch and caught his son before he hit the ground.
"NOOOOO!" Gabriel shouted, as he was dragged away by two British officers.
Madison looked around her. She didn't want to be here anymore.
Benjamin Martin looked up at Tavington.
"Stupid boy." he bit out.
Madison saw the look on the broken father's face. It was just a little worse than the look her own mother always got, right after she'd hit Madison. It was a look of regret and failure as a parent.
Except... there was a little something different in Benjamin's expression.
It was anger, mixed with sorrow.
She didn't blame him for one second. His child had just been murdered!
"Captain." the colonel said, and rode off.
She glared daggers into his back, wishing she could run up and knock him off that damn horse.
All the other children ran to their father's side, with wet eyes and runny noses. Sniffling and stuttering, they called Thomas's name.
It absolutely broke Madison's heart.
To hear a child crying over something so serious. Most children only had to cry over things like losing their favorite toys or not getting their way, but Madison knew what it was like to be a kid and feel real pain.
She recalled all the harsh words and beatings her mother had forced on her.
All the times her father should've been there to stop them, but wasn't.
All her uncles, aunts, and cousins who would easily trade her for a few dollars and a fix.
All her "friends" who didn't care enough to be there for her.
She knew pain. She knew loss. She knew how it felt, and she saw her own tears reflect on Margaret's face, as the small blonde girl stared at her brother's pale corpse.
Madison's sadness left her.
She begame angry.
No longer caring if she messed up the timeline or not, she charged into the house, ignoring the growing flames.
After only a few seconds of searching, she found Benjamin's stash of military weapons.
Not really knowing how to use any of the guns, she grabbed three random ones, a handful of bullets, a Cherokee hatchet, and a pair of small daggers.
She looked at the thin blade of her weapon of choice.
Yeah, she could use these. It looked easy enough.
So, she walked back outside, having to dodge a flaming beam on the way, and presented Samuel and Nathan with two of the guns.
She looked up to a distraught Benjamin, and held a gun out to him.
He just stared at her.
Finally accepting the musket, Benjamin walked over to his remaining sons.
"Samuel, Nathan." he stated firmly.
He stared at them for a few minutes, and they both nodded in silent understanding.
Then he looked at his eldest daughter.
"Margaret." he instructed her to take the youngest two to their Aunt Susan's plantation if he, Samuel, and Nathan should not return.
Then, he looked at Madison.
"Madison..."
She looked away from him, feeling the awkwardness of being in the middle of a family emergency, when she wasn't a family member.
"Go with Margaret." he said.
Her eyes widened.
"Boys," he said, as he began to walk away.
"Wait a minute!" Madison stopped him.
He snapped his head to her in annoyance.
"I'm coming with you." she announced.
He looked at her like she was a nut.
She walked over to where he and his boys stood.
"I'm coming." she said again. This time her words were stronger, and less shaky.
The man didn't say anything. Just turned and began walking.
"Hey!" she yelled, running after him.
He gave her an icy look, but it didn't faze her in the least. She'd seen a lot worse.
"Thought you might need this." she said, presenting him with his tomahawk.
He took it, and without any word of praise, ran off in the direction of the Brits.
Madison just shook her head, and tried to keep up.
She'd never been very athletic, and as she wore her brand new Keds, she realized how much she should've broken the things in before planning on wearing them.
"Shit!" she whispered, short of breath.
When Benjamin finally stopped on a small hill, overlooking a pathway, Madison almost passed out.
She didn't even hear him telling the boys about how to shoot the guns. She was too busy trying to feel for her pulse, that was definately at an unhealthy rate by now.
"Madison," Benjamin's words snapped her out of her cardiac-induced episode.
He looked around for a moment, trying to think of what he should say to her.
"Stay out of sight."
Madison rolled her eyes.
Men.
Even in the 1700s, they still thought they were superior.
She smirked, and knelt behind a tree.
It wasn't long before a group of men in red uniforms, carrying weapons, and mounted on horses was seen in the distance.
Madison glanced swiftly at Samuel and Nathan, who were practically hidden in the brush, looking very anxious. Then, she looked over at Mr. Martin. He looked completely eager to kill the men that broke his family, and she couldn't blame him.
She sighed quietly, hoping her choice of weapons wasn't a bad one, and shrunk even lower behind the tall pine.
She was a few feet closer to edge of the hill than the males were, so if the Brits saw any of them, it would be her.
And she didn't have anything to shoot them with.
She tried to calm her breathing as the redcoats came closer, finally passing directly by the hill she and the boys were on.
"Lord, make me fast and accurate." Benjamin whispered a short prayer.
Madison was too scared to speak, so she made a mental request.
"God, make me fearless." she thought to herself, and peaked out from behind the tree to see the kind officer from earlier riding on a horse, almost right in front of her.
Benjamin was the first to fire, killing the man in the very front.
As he fell from his steed, everyone else went on high alert.
Next, Samuel fired. Then Nathan.
Both of their shots found their target with ease. Madison just sat, crouched, behind the tree and waited for the signal to attack.
Soon, the Britishmen started to fire back.
Madison was somewhat alright with this, having known it would happen, until a bullet clipped the side of the tree that was shielding her.
She jerked away from the small projectile, and stood up, frantic. She still hid behind the foliage, but now she was restless, ready to get out of the imaginary bubble she'd put around her hiding spot.
One of the men aimed his gun at Nathan, but Benjamin jumped out of cover and briefly revealed himself to draw their attention.
The next thing Madison knew, he was charging down the hillside at the officers.
She took this as a que, mustered her courage, and ran after him.
Having several male friends, she'd learned a few basic fighting skills, but not enough to be of any competition of a male soldier.
All she had was the two daggers... so that's what she went with.
Sprinting into the middle of the anarchy, she kicked some random man behind the knees, knocking him to the ground. Then, punched him in the face, hard enough to break his nose, and dragged the blade across his throat.
She was pretty sure that the only reason she had the upper hand was because he hadn't been expecting to be attacked, but that didn't matter much to her right now. She'd killed him, and that was that.
So she moved to her next victim, kicking him in his rather plump stomache, and slashing him right in the face. He fell to the ground.
Moving through the bunch, she managed to kill about six men in total, by the time a tall muscular body slammed iself into hers.
She fell to the ground, and tried to catch her breath, but the brute aimed his gun at her head. Rolling out of the way, she managed to slice into the artery near his ankle.
"Aaaaah!" he screamed, falling to his knees.
She stood up, angrier than before, and pulled the other dagger out. With one in each hand, she dug them into his shoulder blade. Then his collarbone, then his ribs, then his breast bone. And as his back made contact with the ground, she delivered one last fatal blow to his kneck.
Enraged, she just stood over him for a few moments, watching the crimson liquid gush from his body, but then the sound of distant pleas snapped her out of her trance.
She looked up to see that Benjamin had chased one man into the woods, and was now brutallt chopping him to bits.
Silently hoping she hadn't looked this sadistic when she killed those other people, she slowly backed over to where his sons were standing, mouths agape.
They were all somewhat surprised at his incredible rage. And even if Madison had seen it in the movie, she was starting to realize how different it was in person.
It was more terrifying.
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The walk back was very quiet. No one said anything at all the whole time.
Madison felt numb.
She'd killed people. She just couldn't believe she had killed those people. It was surreal.
When they finally arrived at the charred remains of the Martin home, it was still simmering. The black ash covered the ground around Thomas's dead body.
She couldn't believe that she hadn't tried to prevent this. It was her fault.
She looked away from Benkamin as he knelt by his fallen son. She didn't care to watch it. The whole point of coming into this alternate reality was to escape her own. But maybe if she had been a little less selfish, she would have realized that these people needed her.
She sighed, and looked down at herself for the first time today. She had blood and dirt splattered on her new shoes. It was also on her black T-shirt and ripped jeans. The charm bracelets and wristbands she wore were dirty, just like her skin. She needed a bath! Even her hair, in the high ponytail, was now falling in all directions.
Her makeup was running. Not that she had bothered to put any on this morning, but it had remained from the day before.
Later that afternoon, a burial ceremony was held for Thomas.
It was melancholy, but not unbearable. Really, she just wanted to sleep. She was so tired.
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Later that night, after a long bumpy ride in a covered wagon, Madison and the family arrived at Charlotte's plantation.
It was an average sized place, compared to others of that time frame, but to Madison, it looked like a castle.
The children all piled out upon arrival, and Benjamin hurried to greet his wife's sister.
Gabriel, on the other hand, moped around, seemingly dragging himself up to the porch.
"Woah." Madison whispered breathlessly.
He snapped his head around to look at her, as if he'd just remembered that he was in her company.
He smiled somberly, trying to be polite through his grieving.
"It's... big..." Madison gaped.
"It's a fair size for a plantation." he stated casually. "You've not seen one this large before?" he asked, curiously.
"I've uh... I don't think I've ever seen one at all." she muttered.
He turned to face her, and stopped walking.
"You've never seen a plantation?" He asked, baffled.
"Well, no. Where I'm from... there really isn't any need for them." she said, trying not to reveal that she was from modern day America.
He stared at her, causiously.
"Where exactly are you from?" he questioned. "There are plantations in almost every esteemed nation."
"I... can't say. I mean, if I did, you wouldn't believe me."
He just looked at her.
"How'd you know?"
"Know what?"
"That night. How did you know?"
She pretended to be confused.
"And today with... Thomas... I saw you restrain him. How did you know he was going to do what he did?"
"Well," she started, putting a hand on his shoulder and directing his gaze to the family exchanging pleasantries on the porch. "Sometimes you can just tell... even if a stranger... when a man is willing to give his life for his passion... his pride... his family."
Gabriel smiled and turned a few moments after he felt the warm hand leave his shoulder.
"Who are y-"
He stopped.
Madison was gone.
AN: Okay guys pleeeaaaase review! You don't know how much it means to the author when you take the time to write a comment on her story! PLEEEAAASE!
And thanks to my previous reviewers!
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