Note: Thanks again for those of you reviewing the story. It makes me happy to see that you're enjoying it and you keep me motivated. For all of your kind feedback since the last chapter, thank you many times to TinDog, Tinee Dancer, Paulina Ann, drumboy100, BMSH, sm2003495, Hero 76, hlahabibty, max2013, EvergreenDreamweaver, Erin Jordan, and BeeBee18. :)
Civil Skirmishes
Chapter 12
"What the HELL?" Joe shouted as he rolled out of the way, narrowly escaping the bullets that had ricocheted on the sidewalk next to him. Among the noises and screams from the crowded streets, one thing was certain: this guy was after him.
Not having time to think, Joe ran as quickly as he could, dodging into the side-streets. Uttering a prayer of thanks that he had always been agile, he dodged behind a statue of an outhouse*, of all things, right in the center of the town. Pausing for a moment to breathe, he realized suddenly that the "pops" he had heard coming at him were replaced by sirens in the distance. There was no more gunfire.
Cautiously, he made his way forward, past the throngs of people who were gathered in the square or in the shops and who were blissfully unaware of the fact that a madman was after him.
"Great," he muttered under his breath as he started to walk back to the tour center. "Why is someone trying to kill me?" He dodged into the back of one of the period clothing stores and made a call to Chief Cruz, informing him what had happened, although it turned out that he was aware of it, having received numerous phone calls. With a promise that he would call him in a few hours, Joe hung up and began his journey back.
All of a sudden, Joe gasped as he felt someone grab his arm, and whirled around on his assailant, nearly knocking him over.
Chet Morton stumbled back, but caught his balance before falling. "Yo! It's just me!" Chet exclaimed, catching his breath. "Chill! Are you okay, Joe? I heard shots and then saw you running like a bat out of hell. Don't tell me someone was shooting at YOU?!"
Joe let out a breath he didn't realize that he had been holding. He managed a weak smile. "Yeah, well- always an adventure, right?" he asked. "How'd you get here?"
"I was going to meet Callie at the Jennie Wade House and I was just walking across the parking lot. I heard the shots and then I saw you. I wanted to make sure you were okay." Chet finally smiled. "I dropped my damned ice cream cone, too, for you. That's a good $3.50 I'll never get back. Never said I don't sacrifice for you."
Joe rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Chet. I don't think I've seen you run so fast since …. well, I've never seen you run so fast." He chuckled.
"Ha ha, Hardy," Chet retorted. "Now that I've saved you, we can go back and find Callie. I'm sure she's freaking out right now." He started walking.
"You SAVED me?" Joe asked, incredulous. "You've got to be kidding me! You're hanging out with Biff too much," he added, knowing that Chet's response was pretty close to the the sarcastic one Biff would have given.
"That's not my choice," Chet muttered under his breath, looking away and pulling the sunglasses over his eyes.
"What?" Joe asked, surprised and suddenly uncomfortable.
"Never mind," Chet replied with a shrug. "Where's Vanessa?"
"She's… uh…." he had to pause for a moment to remember, "back at the hotel."
"Oh," Chet replied awkwardly. "Okay. She's a nice girl," he went on absently, clearing his throat. "It's been - what-like two years for you guys?"
Joe felt the color rise to his cheeks. Clearly, Chet wanted to talk… but he didn't know if he had it in him right now to do so. "Almost two and a half…" he began, and then stopped. His eyes went wide and he groaned. "Oh, shit," he muttered under his breath and raised a hand to his temple.
"Uh- should I ask?" Chet questioned. "That wasn't the reaction I thought I'd get."
"I forgot our anniversary. God, I'm such an idiot. Vanessa must be pissed right now." He groaned.
"You celebrate half- year anniversaries?" Chet asked, surprised. "I'd forget, too. I'd forget my own birthday if it didn't involve ice cream cake."
Joe laughed in spite of himself. "Yeah. I started it, actually." He veered off towards the cemetery without thinking, away from the noise, and Chet followed. "When Vanessa came around, and I started falling for her, I was so… happy?" He shrugged. "I wanted to show her how much she meant to me. So now I'm the asshole who started the tradition and then forgot about it. Ugh."
"I'm sure she appreciated that initial thought, anyway," Chet replied at last. "But it's still a pain in the ass to remember half- anythings. I don't know. Maybe I'd feel different if I had a girl."
By now, the boys were strolling into the hallowed grounds, and Joe paused. It felt good to talk to Chet again. He'd spent far too long avoiding him.
"Then again, I'm a whole lot to handle for a girl," Chet chuckled, rubbing his rounded torso.
"A whole lot," Joe emphasized with a laugh. "But you look good, pal. I guess you've cut it down to two fast food meals a day, huh?" he teased.
Chet looked pleased. "One, actually. Frank and Callie got me on the healthy eating bandwagon. I've lost thirty pounds. Not too bad, huh?"
Joe looked at him and smiled. "Not bad at all." He held his tongue. He would have told Biff that it was a good thing he was still ugly, but he knew that Chet was more sensitive than Biff, and they were still on tenuous ground. "But promise me you won't turn into either of them. I don't understand how Callie can be such a good cook and still eat that health food crap."
"It's not so bad," Chet replied. Then he looked at Joe and they both burst out laughing.
"Who am I kidding? It sucks. Hence, the ice cream that you just cost me. But it's worth it to slim down a little. With the Hardys off the market, maybe me and Hooper can finally get some chicks."
Joe raised a brow. "Frank's been with Callie forever, and …." His voice trailed off. "Yeah, I'm off the market, too."
Chet gave a tight grin. "Treat her right," he said, serious again all of a sudden. "Don't blow it, Joe. Vanessa is a really good catch. Try not to be an asshole to her."
Joe's mouth dropped and he swallowed. He felt defensive, caught off guard, but, above all, ashamed and guilty. "I've grown up," he said at last, voice tight. "I know what I have."
"Good," Chet replied, head down, as they continued to walk with no real destination.
"Chet," Joe cut in, after a few minutes of silence. He hesitantly reached out his hand and touched Chet's arm. When Chet met his eyes, he felt his own burn.
"I think of her every day. I wish it could have been me; I swear to god, I do." He had to turn away from Chet and release his arm as he struggled for composure and forced himself to talk. "I'm sorry I never talked to you about it. I'm sorry I didn't treat her like I should have. I can't ever go back to that day, but I would if I could. I know you don't believe this, but I loved her, Chet. I loved her…" He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
He heard Chet release a heavy sigh and finally step in front of him, so he couldn't avoid eye contact. "I know you did," he managed.
Joe looked into his friend's eyes, bright with tears as well. "You do?"
Chet nodded. "Yeah," he began. "Sure I do. I mean, it was always weird seeing one of my best friends with my sister, but she loved you, too. I wanted to kick your ass so many times, though."
Joe could only nod.
"But I didn't need to," he went on. "I didn't have to destroy your life- you destroyed your own."
"I know," Joe mouthed.
"I don't blame you, Joe. I mean, to be honest, a part of me always thought that if she didn't meet you, she would be alive today. And I know that you think that, too. But I got past that, because… I guess Fate meant for us to be friends. And what happened to my sister could have happened to you, Frank, Callie, me, Biff, Tony, Phil, Liz- ANYONE. Blaming you is blaming the victim of a crime, and I realize that now. No one asks to be robbed or raped or killed or kidnapped or anything like that. It's always the bad guys. And you're one of the good guys- you really are- trying to make the world a little better. And that's why I try to help when I can. So does everyone. Because you and Frank - you're brave and resourceful- you know, you're good people, and you always sacrifice for others and you're so hard on yourself. So please stop blaming yourself. I did a long time ago."
Joe couldn't stop the tears overwhelming him. "I'm trying," he managed. "Thank you, Chet. I-"
Chet reached out to him and Joe hugged his old friend tightly. For the first time in a long, long time, he felt as if he could breathe clearly.
When he pulled away, he saw that Chet had been crying, too. "I miss my friend," he said, simply.
"I miss you, too," Joe responded. Then, to break the tension, he smiled. "Can you imagine if Biff had seen us?"
Chet smiled in return. "He's really a jerk," Chet replied, joking, and wiped his own tears away.
Joe sighed. He still had a long way to go with Chet, but this was definitely a start. "I guess we need to go back to the Tour Center," he finally said, and started to quicken his pace as Chet walked beside him. "I have to get out of my head. I've blown off Vanessa, just left Callie at the Jennie Wade House, not even thinking to text her, and I haven't even texted Frank or Biff. I've made a mess of things. I feel her here, Chet. She's all over. I... is that weird?"
Chet's serious answer surprised him. "No. I feel her, too."*
All at once, as they turned the corner, Joe, who was in the lead, barely saw it as a rifle was slammed into his stomach. He cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, the wind completely knocked out of him. When his assailant saw that he was with someone else, he took off running down the alley, leaving his rifle behind.
Without thinking, Joe managed to stand up and started to chase the guy, leaving Chet behind to grab the rifle. Unfortunately, the guy had a large head start, and Joe was still fighting the pain and having difficulty breathing. The only thing he knew for sure was that the person was wearing a Civil War uniform.
Legs pumping, Joe finally turned the corner and realized that he was in an extremely crowded tourist area. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the man running up the stairs into a building at the far end of the street. Cursing under his breath, he made his way through the crowded streets until he finally arrived at the building. He almost jumped when he saw the man sitting right outside, but, before he could go after him, someone grabbed his arm.
"You can't go in there, young man!" a voice cautioned.
Joe shook his arm free and whirled on the man, and then his face drained of color. The guy was in a Confederate uniform. Slowly, he looked at the man on the lawn. There were at least twenty of them- and they all wore matching uniforms. His eyes turned to the window inside. There was a meeting going on- and dozens more men in the same uniform. He would not be looking for a needle in a haystack- he would be looking for a needle in a stack of needles.
Deciding not to even bother, he walked away from the 'soldier' and texted Chief Cruz, copying his brother. He'd need a list of all of the members present in the group and someone to run prints on the rifle which hopefully Chet still had. Maybe Chief Cruz had a list of all buggys registered in Gettysburg as well.
He breathed heavily, each breath painful, and touched his ribs, which were on fire. Lifting his shirt, he saw a huge bruise covering his midsection, and his right side already swollen. He didn't think his ribs were broken, although a hairline fracture was certainly possible.
Slowly, grimacing, he made his way back to the Jennie Wade house. He saw officers on the streets, speaking to pedestrians. He saw Chet in the distance, holding a rifle and speaking to one of them. He caught sight of Callie, who, when she saw him, had the strangest mixture of anger and complete relief on her face.
And there was the damned campout to deal with tonight. And Frank's attack with the ghost tour. And two murders and another attack. Plus, his body ached; his mind was spinning with Chet's words; and he knew that, somehow, he'd have to make it up to Vanessa and get his heart straightened out.
"They say the actual battle was a mess," he muttered to himself, thinking of the many skirmishes he'd already engaged in, and, he was sure, the long war to come.
*The battle of Gettysburg was the largest battle ever fought in North America (165,000 soldiers). By the conclusion of the three day battle, there were over 51,000 casualties (dead, wounded, missing). It is considered one of the most Haunted towns in America, and the Devil's Den is considered one of the most haunted places in the town. There are ghost tours galore!
*And there is a statue of an outhouse in the center of town. :)
