Chapter 13: Pray to God, he hears you; pray to God, he hears you
Chapter summary: Things are starting to heat up. The dragoons are searching harder than ever; Ruthie is in the most danger yet; and Nathaniel and his sister Alyssa- they just need a way out. Everyone is exhausted and tensions are high.
She felt disgusting and sick. She revolted at the smell of her own body as she cowered in tiny corner behind her bed. If she tucked her head into her lap, she was nearly invisible. Invisible she thought ruefully, that's what she wished she were. There was no such luck. Abby groaned quietly. This whole ordeal had completely consumed her. She rubbed her red puffy eyes. She had been crying so much since Nathaniel left, one of the men had tried to attack her violently. She rubbed her face against her grouty arm. She tried to forget what happened, but the horror kept playing her mind.
When Nathaniel left, Abby barricaded herself in the bedroom again. It was the only way to be safe in her mind, and even then, she didn't feel incredibly safe. She was in the midst of pushing a large bureau in front of the slap of wood that settled for a door. Suddenly the door burst open, revealing a very drunken man. Abby went reeling to the floor. She tried to shield herself from the toppling chest of drawers that were threatening to spill over on her. She quickly moved out of the way and stayed in a curled ball. She could feel the cumbersome vibrations of his feet through the floor, or maybe she was shaking that hard. Poor girl couldn't tell. He didn't walk in a straight line and stumbled over his feet, as he approached her. He laughed drunkenly. "Get up" He snapped. Abby didn't move, if fact she only twisted further into the ball.
The inebriated man glared at Abby and landed a swift blow to her exposed back. She cried out immense pain, but still didn't move. She chocked back the hot tears threatening to over run her eyes. She attempted to block the pain of his repeated blows out, but it seemed to fail miserably. Eventually, her assailant was bored with just kicking her. He reached down, grabbed her by the hair, and shook Abby like a poor little animal in a lion's mouth. She screamed agony as he threw her down to the floor again. For the first time since she was trapped, Abby whimpered. She had tried to fight it for so long, but the grief finally overwhelmed her. She couldn't move; she was in too much pain. She refused to look up at the demon as he stamped towards her. She could sense that he was going to attack her again. She steeled herself for her blow but it never came. She looked up through bleary blue eyes at two men. One man had stopped the other and shoved him out. He slammed the door behind the prior assailant. He snapped back to Abby and started stalking towards her. Abby stared at him wonderingly, but she had some idea that he too was going to attack her violently. She let her eyes flutter close as she resigned herself to the future. Maybe her soul uttered a small prayer of despair begging God to keep her safe, but the would be attacker backed off. He narrowed his eyes and walked away. Abby sighed. She thanked God and squeezed her eyes closed. There was any part of her body that didn't hurt. She was profoundly exhausted physically and mentally. Slowly, the battered little girl drifted into a heavy sleep.
That was two days ago, and the bruises on her ribs were turning a lovely shade of dark black purple. She tried to move a little as possible, she was beyond despondent at this point. Abby wondered if the world had abandoned her. Even though she knew in her mind that her friends would never leave her like that, but she couldn't force herself to care about them. It was a feeling of selfish carelessness washing over her, but at this point Abby deserved it. She sighed and let her head loll in the crook of her arms wishing for something or someone to come save her. This despair had to go eventually.
Just because Abby didn't feel as if they were, didn't mean that the Dragoons weren't scouring over miles and miles of empty forestry in search of her. During that time, however the American continent was so much large, that is not to say that it has physically gotten any smaller, but it is less dense with forests. There was only so much that the men could do. Not to mention the fact that they didn't think that the Americans who took Abby would be stupid enough to keep her so close to home. (Apparently, the concept of hiding things in plain sight was foreign to these people). Bordon has spread as many men as he possibly could out in the further parts of the woods. However there was a war going on and only a few men could be spared at one time. Bordon himself was growing gaunt, and pallid. He was so sick that he couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep and his body was beginning to show the constant wear. He had heavy dark circles around his dark brown eyes.
He walked into the parlor where Wilkins, Rose, and Danni were eating breakfast. "Good lord man, you look awful." Wilkins commented. Bordon stopped and looked at him. There was a moment where the he weighed the options of beating Wilkins head in or just letting it slide. He opted for the later and flopped down in a chair. "Come on, man, you've got to eat something." Wilkins chided as he shoved his plate across the table where the other Captain was sitting. Bordon looked at it then groaned. He covered his eyes with a heavy gloved hand.
"You won't do Abby any good if you starve to death." Rosie warned as she continued eating her breakfast of eggs and toast. Bordon sighed and he lolled his head forward. He stared at the food and then looked back to Rosie for some sort of conformation. She nodded and he sat forward to eat. Just as Bordon was cutting the eggs to eat them, Tavington walked into the room. He stared at the to Captains sitting at the table angrily.
"What are you two doing?" He snapped. "Am I supposed to do all the work?" He growled at them. Tavington was in a foul mood, fouler than usual that is. He too was suffering from lack sleep and food depravation. Only no one was very sympathetic to him, because he wasn't love pinning over a lost girl and he was a jerk in general. He stood there rigidly waiting for his men to jump to their feet at attention. Bordon looked back at him and stared for a minute.
"Lord, man you look like death." He snarked. Bordon rolled his eyes.
"Yes, sir, I know" He replied. "Sir, I've dispatched as many men as I could to the surrounding wood area, but we have had very little luck in finding anything."
"If you have any suggestions, sir, I would be most grateful." Tavington sat in a chair next to Danni. He opened his mouth to say something, but Danni cut him off.
"Oh, I have a suggestion, but it's not really helpful." She chirped. Everyone looked at her expectantly. "Colonel Tavington could drop dead!" She continued excitedly. Tavington rolled his blue eyes at her and turned his back to her slightly. Danni didn't care she just continued eating. Tempers were short lately with Abby's disappearance. Rosie was getting sick of Jemina's constant moaning, Danni was getting sick of waiting around. She wanted to take action and just do something.
"Well, Bordon, we cannot spare any more men to the subject. Ration the ones that we do have and have them, two by two, to search the woods."
"Yes, sir"
They rationed men equally among four higher-ranking officers. Colonel Tavington and Captain Bordon divided the surrounding area into quadrants and had the officers scouring every section, for Miss Ritland. That is why two regulars were stuck in the woods surrounding the fort. "What are we doin' here again?" Smith asked.
"I dunno really," Jones replied as he hacked at the surrounding foliage. "Some little bird got herself lost in the woods and now the Colonel's makin' everybody look for her." He snorted. Smith laughed in reply.
"Really," He continued. "I bet you twenty quid it's that Davis bird." He chuckled darkly. "Everyone knows he's got a thing for her." He chuckled.
"Well, then mate, you owe me twenty quid, cause we're searching for the other one." Jones cracked.
"What the mammoth?"
"No the other one!"
"Oh, you mean the one Bordon's love pining over! Ha, the Ritland girl" Smith nodded enthusiastically. "What have we here?" He asked pointing to some smoke billowing up over the hill. "Maybe we should check it out." The two men started a short little trek down the hill and soon came upon a little shack. They approached it carefully guns ready for anything that might come along. Smith walked up to the door and banged on it loudly. He waited for someone to answer while Jones went around to the back. There was a great deal of rustling and a slew of cursing before a short, thin man threw the door open.
"WHAT?" He shouted.
"Sir, I need to search the house." He demanded. Jesse leaned in the doorway, blocking the soldier's view of the front room. Jesse turned back into the house and looked at Phillip. The other man gave him a slight nodded to let the man enter. Jesse let the soldier pass. "Thank you sir" He came in and began looking around. There wasn't much to the little woodland shack. There was a main room with a large potbelly stove, a table and a few chairs, and there was a door to the left. He nodded to the door. "What's in there?" He asked.
"Not much, mate" Phillip snapped. "It's where we keep our game, it's the slaughter room." He lied as he picked his nails with the tip of his knife. He tried to seem disinterested, but it was very difficult to do. He didn't really care if the soldier was there, but he had no idea what the girl would do, or even if he could hear her. She had been catatonic for the past two days. He wasn't sure if she was still alive anymore. Occasionally he would go and check on her, but the only sign of life was the little cringe she would do when he entered. He got restless and started staring shiftily at the rifles across the room. He wasn't sure what was going to happen. The soldier seemed to accept the fact that the extra room was a slaughterhouse and started towards the door.
Abby had remained in her position for days, or weeks it seemed. Time was irrelevant to her at this point. She was still in so much pain that she could barely manage to breathe. One of her captors (she was never really sure which) would occasionally come in and check on her. She refused to look at him or acknowledge his existence; save for the involuntary cringe that seemed so take over her body when ever he entered. She was so weak, but she could hear something in the main room. It sounded like a British man. Could it be a solider? She thought excitedly. Abby found some sort of God-given strength in her thin weak body and launched to her feet. She ran to the door and tried to throw it open violently, to no avail however it was locked. "HEY!" She screamed. "Hey, I'm in here!" She banged her tiny little fists on the door wildly hoping to get through to what she imagined was a solider that had come to rescue her. "HELP ME!"
Outside the door, the red coat regular was satisfied that the men weren't hiding anything. He wasn't really interested in doing his job all that well. He talked with the men casually for a few minutes until he saw his friend approaching the door. He was about to bid them good-bye, when there was a loud and violent thrashing behind the door. He turned to it wide-eyed, after all, he had assumed that it was a slaughterhouse and that anything would try to get out worried him. He turned to the two men questioningly. He saw the shocked look on their faces and immediately knew something was wrong.
"Open the door!" The soldier demanded, as he trained his rifle on Phillip, as he was closest to the door. He forgot about Jesse, and allowed the other man to sneak around to the guns leaning against the doorframe. Phillip fumbled with the key for a few minutes trying to stall, so that Jesse could get the gun and kill the soldier. Of course, neither man saw the other solider outside the front door, waiting for his partner to come out. "Open the door!" the soldier yelled again.
Abby could hear the soldier yelling on the other side of the door. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief; finally, someone was going to rescue her and take her home. She banged on the door a little more and screamed out her name. "Hey, my name is Abby Ritland, some one please help- there was a gunshot. It made Abby stop in mid sentence. "Uh" was all she could manage. She wasn't sure what had happened, but had a good idea of the reality of it. Her would be savior was dead. She wilted and leaned her head against the rough wood. "me" She finished. Abby fought hard to keep back the stream of pained tears threatening to over run her body. She wasn't even sure she had enough water in her system to shed one single salty tear. Suddenly there was another gunshot. She shrieked through a broken sob and slide down to the floor.
Jesse nodded for Phillip to move out of the line of fire. The man bent down and kicked key away as his partner took aim and fired. The British red coat slowly crumpled to the ground. His weapon flew out of his hand and skidded across the floor. Jones burst into the room gun ready. He was about to shoot Jesse, who was reloading his own weapon, when Phillip shot him. The two men just stared at the bodies. Carefully, the examined for any signs of life, but there were none. "Well, that was unexpected." Jesse chortled mirthlessly.
Phillip raised his eyebrows and toed one of the soldiers rigidly. He half expected him to jump up and start fighting again. "What are we going to do with them?" He asked. "I'm sure their platoon will miss them." He said. He picked up the two guns sitting on the floor. He inspected them while Jesse started dragging the bodies outside. "We could always throw them in the river." He offered for an idea.
Jesse mused over it and shook his head. "No, some one would track them up river then search us out." He explained. "No, we need something that would seem logical for two soldiers to have come across in the woods."
Phillip nodded in agreement. "Well, there's a bear cave somewhere near here." He offered. Jesse agreed as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We can take them up and leave them there. Only what are we going to do with her?" He asked jerking his thumb towards the door. Jesse shrugged.
"She can stay locked up in there. She can't get out." He said as he went outside to get the horses. Phillip followed him and went to get a wagon of some sort. "We needn't worry about her." Phillip found a wagon and pulled it out for Jesse to latch the horses up to.
"It's not her I'm worried about, if that moon calf, Dawson comes around he may just ruin the whole thing." He explained. Jesse mulled over the suggestion thoughtfully. "He's got a soft spot for the girl and I'm sure will return her to the fort, at our expense. And if I know the way this'll work out, he'll come off as a hero and we'll be the ones with a nooses round our necks." He snorted. "We can tie her up and take her with us." He nodded. They hitched the horses up and got the bodies ready; now for the task of loading the girl onto the horses. Neither new what sort of response they would get from her; the gravity of it all was bound to have traumatized her.
Somewhere in the deep reaches of her despair, Abby was able to shed some salty tears. She didn't know where they came from she was so dry, thirsty and empty, physically and spiritually. She sat crumpled on the floor with her knees drawn up to her chin. She felt the door press against her body, but she didn't have even the slightest desire to move away from the door. It pressed harder against her body forcing her to role over. She stared up at the person forcing their way into the room, and her body began to quiver in terror. He had a feral look in his eyes as he hauled Abby to her feet. Abby squeezed her eye shut in fear and began whimpering involuntary. "You're coming with us!" He shouted. Abby tried to wrench herself from his grasp, but she couldn't seem to do that. Finally, Abby willed her eyes open and stared at him wonderingly. He pushed her down to her knees, and Abby cried out in pain. "SHUT UP!" He screamed, as he backhanded her. She cringed in pain, but held it all in. She didn't fight or argue as he roughly jerked her thin arms behind her back and tied her wrists together.
P.A.T.R.I.O.T
The days dragged on for Alyssa. She tried to sleep after Nathaniel left, but the anger in his eyes and the way he ran out of the house scared her. It didn't help that she was hungry and had people beating down her doors. Finally, after two sleepless nights, Alyssa went to a neighbor's house; she needed to be away from her house for a little while. She stayed for a long while and started back around noon. Although her friend offered to lend her the carriage, Alyssa declined. She felt that a long walk home might help her nerves; they were slightly more than frayed.
As she approached her house, Alyssa saw a large chestnut horse moored on the porch. She stared at it wide eyed. Her eyes shifted from the door to the horse; it was slightly ajar, which unnerved her. She stood at the bottom of the stoop debating on what she should do. Maybe if she didn't go in, the person would go away, but she knew better than that. Alyssa sucked in a deep breath and started up the stairs. She placed her hand on the door and waited tentatively. She felt a heavy tightness in her chest as she pushed the door open. She looked around the foyer and into the parlor. A young man was sitting on her settee. He didn't stand up or even acknowledge that she was there. She observed him carefully. He seemed so familiar, but the sort of familiar that people are when you don't know them, but of them. He was ugly that much was apparent. Suddenly, she remembered, this had to be Thaddeus Krieger, the one that those two women from the fort wanted her to look for. "Can I help you?" She asked timidly.
He looked up at her as if he were some important person, descending from on high to mingle with the commoners. He raised a bushy greasy eyebrow at her and turned his nose. "Perhaps, but I would prefer not to talk to a lowly woman." He snorted and continued to lounge on the settee. Alyssa didn't know what to think. Part of her wanted to cock her hips and tell this man off, but her nature wouldn't let her. She stood there for a minute trying to think of something to say. She didn't have to how ever, "But if I must," He continued. The tone of his voice was one that a person uses when they are taking on a huge imposition. "Does Nathaniel Dawson live here?"
There was a brief pause while Alyssa thought of what to say. She looked at him. "Well, since you are in my house, you might be considerate enough to tell me who you are."
He glared at her trying to seem important. "I'm sure that's not important."
Alyssa went against everything in her nature. She pursed her lips at him. "Well, then I'm sure it's not important that I answer you." She crossed her arms and turned to leave. Suddenly there was a tall old man behind her. He had an expressionless face, but that seemed even more intimidating than if he had an angry look on his face. She barely suppressed the scream that rose in her throat.
"Oh, I think it does, Miss." He said menacingly. He forced her backwards into the room. Alyssa nearly hyperventilated as she found her way to a chair. She placed her head in her hands trying to figure out what she was going to do. Three was nothing that she could do. The short ugly man smirked at her displaying his crooked teeth.
Alyssa sighed deeply she choked down terrified tears that were threatening to overwhelm her. "What…" She coughed a little more. "What do you want?" She asked. Krieger smiled brightly.
"There now, that's the spirit," He chortled darkly. "Back to my original question, Fraulein," He put his hand to his mouth and tried too seem important. Instead, he just poked himself in the face with a sharp nail. After he rubbed the little trickle of blood that was running down his face, he finally returned attention to Alyssa. "Does Nathaniel Dawson live here?"
Alyssa didn't respond at first, she weighed the options of every thing very carefully. She had no idea how the man would react if she lied. She leaned into her hands still trying to think of an appropriate answer. Finally, with a very grim voice she managed "Yes" It was so quiet that at first she imagined she only thought it, but as she lifted her head she watched the gnarly pimpled faced man twist his thin white lips into a mangled smirk. It disgusted her and she forced down a violent shiver.
"That is very good." He crooned. "Where is he?"
"I don't know." She answered. It was the most truthful answer she could muster. She didn't know where her brother had gone, why he had gone there or when he would be back. The invader glared at her.
"Please now, Fraulein, I don't want anything bad to happen to you." He chuckled coolly. His dark brown eyes danced towards the other man with a hint of sadistic glee in them. Alyssa stared at him blankly.
"Really," She cried. "I don't know. He left the other night suddenly; he didn't say a word to me. Honest, I'm telling you the truth." She stared at him wildly. She waited for a reply, but only found that this man reveled in silence. Or perhaps he couldn't think for himself. The taller older man leaned down and whispered something into his ear. Suddenly his eyes light up.
"I'm sure I can find a way to make sure that you are telling the truth Fraulein," He jumped to his feet, smiling manically. Hundreds of awful scenarios raced through Alyssa mind as she watched the German brake off a piece of her furniture. She jumped to her feet and came at him, not knowing what she was going to do really. However, before she even reached the German, his manservant grabbed her and started forcibly dragging her outside. Alyssa screamed, fought, and clawed at her captor as she watched the German light a fire on the piece of kindling. Then she realized what was happening. He was going to burn her plantation down to the ground. She ripped away from the other man and started towards the German, but it was too late. He had already thrown the first torch and was lighting a nearby branch. Alyssa had two choices at that point, she could try to stop him and let the fire burn or she could stop the fire and let him throw more onto the house. Neither represented a very good option, but she decided on the latter. Alyssa tried to wrangle the next torch from him, but the German would brandish it at her every time. After a few dangerously agonizing attempts, Alyssa resigned herself to the defeat, no matter what she did now, there was no way that she would be able to rescue her home or any thing for that matter. She had to let it burn. Alyssa couldn't even cry then she was that upset; she couldn't think or do anything for that matter. She merely sat on the ground staring dumbfounded at flames licking everything she had ever owned in her short life. She turned her blue tear filled eyes to the Hessian.
"HE WASN'T EVEN THERE!" She screamed. Rage clawing at her insides, now she had nothing, and nowhere to go. What was she going to tell Nathaniel, or better yet, what was Nathaniel going to tell her?
Alyssa stayed by the burnt up home watching anything she could have hoped to rescue scorch to ashes. Her once shiny soft hair was hard and dirty with cinder and ashes streaked with salty tears covered her face. After what seemed like hours, the fire subsided and all that was left was billows of black angry smoke rising like a vile beacon to show the triumph that the German had over her. Alyssa had never been a hard person; never in her life had she needed to actually do anything that required grit. She was a lady, but it seemed now that she had to take the reigns in her life. What could she do? She wondered. Slowly sleep started to sink in to her exhausted little body, but as she was nearly asleep, a thought struck her. Alyssa's blue eyes shot wide away and she jumped to her feet. The fort was only a two-day trip from here and if she could make it there, perhaps something could be done about this mess her brother got them into.
P.A.T.R.I.O.T
The two men dragged Abby out into the open forest. They glanced around suspiciously, scrutinizing the woods for any other soldiers that might be in the area. She squinted her blue eyes in the sudden daylight; it felt like ages since she had seen the sun or anything but the dingy walls of the wooden little shack. Abby lifted her bound hands to eyes trying to block out the sudden light that threatened and succeeded to impede her sight. Once her red rimmed blue eyes adjusted to the brightness of the daytime, Abby took a moment to gaze at everything and let the sun hit her face. She had missed it so much; being stuck in that little room for days on end with little to no human contact was driving her insane. She stumbled a little bit, still disorientated from being in the room. After that, she decided to watch the ground or rather her feet. Unexpectedly, she saw something that almost made her retch. The bodies of the two soldiers lying there on the ground, their eyes were still open and their bodies still oozing blood from their wounds. She gagged slightly and turned her face away. She didn't know these men, but still, she felt as if it were her fault that their families would now have to go on living with out a son, father, brother, or husband, what ever they were to those poor souls.
Abby didn't have long to think on the subject, however, one of her captors, the filthy vile murders that he was, shoved her a long. "Come on, girl, we don't have all day!" He shouted still pushing her along. That irrational, angry part of the human being wanted to turn around, haul off, and hit him, but she quelled it harshly. Her rational thinking kicked in, she thought about how unstable these men were, and if she were to do anything to one of them, they might just not respond like a normal human being. She just put her head down and moved on.
One of the men grabbed her arm roughly, a sort of conduct and anger she had come to expect from these men. Her poor body was battered and bruised so badly that she didn't feel it anymore. She was feeling a little more than slightly dejected everything she had ever known. He launched her onto the rear of a horse, behind the other man. Her skirt billowed out over the horses tail and to the makeshift wagon and hitch behind her. She watched silently as the man hauled the bodies around irreverently. Once the soldiers came into her blurry sight, she jerked her face away from them getting a dark chuckle out of the man in front of her. A dull thud resounded in her ears as the soldiers' bodies fell lifelessly on the wooden plank. A salty tear trickled down her face; it surprised her. How was she able to cry? There weren't any tears left.
What had she done? What was the point? For a long while Abby dwelled on those questions, not that she hadn't spent almost every free moment in the cabin room asking herself the same questions. Now it was a little more clear out here in the open. She looked up towards the sky and then remembered that there was a greater plan to all this. There had to be, trials come to make you stronger in the Lord. She sighed and decided that she had a strong arm that she should use. Abby slouched ever so slightly and did something that she had almost forgotten. She prayed, not aloud, but rather in her mind. "Lord- Lord, I know that there is a reason for this craziness. I know I'm missing the point, but please, help me get it and make it be over soon. Amen." Her eyes flicked down to the wooden plank with the bodies strapped tightly to it. Abby cringed as she stared at it. She had a strong enough constitution not to vomit, but still it made her sick. It was like something that she couldn't turn away from, the lifeless bodies fascinated her and disgusted her at the same time. One of the men started singing, loudly and off key, but it distracted her from the dreadful sight following her. Almost as if God himself sent it down to her, even it if wasn't the most welcome distraction. She tried not to focus on any of the dismal things surrounding her, but rather the trees and the wildlife. Soon, the white noise of the woods and then gentle jostling of the tired horse sent Abby into an uncomfortable sleep.
Nathaniel had not made it very far before someone stopped him. It was a band of red coats searching for a band of rebel dispatchers, much to his relief. The young man though he would get away with out any trouble. That not so, as he came to the roadblock a fat red coat stopped him.
"This is the King's highway! I demand that you dismount to be searched for dispatches." He yelled. Nathaniel steadied his horse and gently dismounted. He had no reason to fear them; he had no dispatches. They began pulling his saddle to pieces and had him stripped down to his shirt and pants. "Sir, there is nothing here. Shall we let him go?" The soldier muttered to superior. The Captain smirked in Nathaniel's direction.
"No, he looks like a rebel." He laughed. "And we should show this rebel with whom he is dealing." He grinned darkly. That was the last remotely pleasant memory that Nathaniel could recall. For three or maybe four days now the soldiers had abused him. When they weren't breathing him, (which they called interrogating him) the soldiers tied him to a tree. They refused to him eat or drink anything. After a little while, his mouth was parched and his lips began cracking. He lolled his head against the rough bark, exhausted. There was nothing left for him to care for. At hat moment, Nathaniel cursed everything. He regretted it all, even his life. Why had he strived so hard to attain something he could never attain? There was no way he could have kept his land. He cursed the day that he had taken this evil job.
Time passed and he became despondent and began hallucinating. At one time, he saw his sister. Other time he saw some dark figure, which he sore it was come to take his soul. Not much later, Abby would come to him. She would push her way past the deathly figure, and just as she would reach Nathaniel, Abby would disappear. These visions only sent him down further in to his spiral of serious despair. There seemed to be nothing left for him any longer. Even the torturous red coat had abandoned him, leaving him tied to the tree.
Nathaniel only lived in spurts of consciousness His only memories of the past few days were bare flickers of black images, leaving him with no sense of time. Today, a new shape came into his line of sight; the one flicker consisted of one black figure. It came closer than any other did. He felt this one. He felt it pull at his binds tightly and then a sense of release. It had a familiar voice. "Hold on, Nate, I've got you" played in his head.
Muted light burned down on Nathaniel's face as he came into a slow conscience. He started awake and instantly regretted it. He groaned and lay back down, rubbing his head in wonder. "What in the world?" He muttered, as he noted a pitcher of water next to him. With what little strength he could muster, he took a long deep drink of the water inside it. After he finished, he swung his feet over the side of his cot. The flap of the tent flipped open and Nathaniel saw the last person he expected.
Ashes were all that seemed to be left of her skeletal life. Alyssa linger until morning around the remains of her home. Everything that had been familiar to her was gone; not even a remote remnant remained. She woke up sore and stiff among other things. Alyssa went to a small collection of water to wash her face. She saw the soot and tear-streaked stains, and it repulsed her. She jerked away and cringed. After she gathered her resolve, Alyssa cupped her hands and washed her face. An hour later, she was walking the lonely path to the nearest red coat encampment. It seemed that she was walking aimlessly. Alyssa drifted down the well-worn paths until the first evening star was join by thousands of bright lights blinking down on her curiously. The natural fear of the dark began to settle over the young innocent girl. She began to huddle herself together for some semblance of comfort.
Suddenly, from behind her, Alyssa glimpsed a flash of yellow light. She spun around and saw an old creaky cart slowly coming her way. Soon, it stopped and the driver was lighting her face. "Well, now," he chuckled, "what's a bird like you doin' out here?" The look in his eyes terrified Alyssa. She felt a strange sort of uneasiness with the man looking down at her. She had seen it before in the eyes of a cat as it pounced on a sickly bird.
"I'm- She stopped. She had no story for herself. Alyssa thought quickly, "I'm lost." She replied simply. The man nodded thoughtfully, as he rubbed the stubble on his chin.
"Well, I'll set you as far as the next town." He offered. Something in Alyssa told her to run very quickly in the opposite direction, but her loneliness and hunger took precedent. She took the hand he offered and climbed into the creaky old car.
Soon the cart driver stopped to make a small camp. He made a small fire and cooked some game. They ate in an awkward silence. Alyssa noted that the kept moving closer to her as she sat on her own little log.
"Have you any family?" She questioned politely.
"No" he answered sharply. Alyssa nodded and thought of another question. When she looked back at him, the man's face was only inches from hers. The next thing Alyssa knew was, she was on her back being attacked. She clawed, bit and kicked at her assailant. Finally, Alyssa landed a blow to his face. The man jerked back and she took off running. She didn't make it every far, however, Alyssa fumbled. The man was on her immediately. They rolled a little closer to the fire. Instinctively, she grabbed a handful of hot ash and shoved it in his eyes. Again, the man reeled backward screaming in pain. Alyssa shoved him away and ran as quickly ash she could. It seemed to her that everything was chasing her, forcing her deeper into the dark unfriendly forest. Alyssa until she collapsed into a distressed heap.
Her cognizant mind was in that strange stage between asleep and awake. She could feel a gentle rocking sensation underneath her. She could not remember why she was participating in such a steady motion. As the vague sounds of the forest surrounding her filtered into her sleep-clouded mind, Abby came to a soft coherence. She opened her red-rimmed blue eyes and watched a strange man on a horse ride next to her. At first, Abby questioned the reality of this man's existence, but then, she remembered. A tiny sniffle escaped her as she allowed her self to feel. Even if only for a tiny second, feeling seemed to be an evil thing lately. The stone she had in place of a heart was aching now, or maybe it was the bile in her stomach. The heat of the late August sun glared down the sick little party making death they were dragging putrid.
"How much farther?" The other man asked. Abby felt her captor's body heave as he sighed.
"Just a little further." He snapped. "We'll have to walk some of the away. The path isn't made for horses and riders. We'll have to lead them." He explained. "After that" he smirked darkly, "the bear's cave." Abby raised an eyebrow. She schooled her emotions and rested her head on the man's back there was an odd relaxed feeling among them. Even thought no conversation was directed at her, Abby vaguely trusted these men. (OF course, it only covered the assurance of her life continuation.)
Phillip glanced over his shoulder at the girl as she leaned against him. He wrinkled his forehead in curiosity. He could almost imagine his wife was still there. "What would she think now?" He wondered darkly, creasing his brow even more. His wife had always been Phillip's moral compass. His conscience sometimes even. This girl looked nothing like his wife, but there was a spirit about his girl that reminded him of his late wife. Feeling his emotions build up, Phillip forced them down and put his mind to the difficult task ahead. He turned his eyes upward and saw the hill. It was nearly a mile away. "We'll be there at sun down." He announced. We'll have to make camp and continue in the morning, the path won't be safe in the dark."
Nathaniel blinked twice at the person sitting by a little fire with a tine pot sitting over it. The man smiled. All of Nathaniel's murderous intent melted away. Instead, he stood there in a shock. "Glad to see you're up, Nate." He greeted.
"Thomas Perkins?" Nathaniel managed; his companion only smiled widely. "You're dead- but you're not dead; you're- you're here." He fumbled. "All right, either you're not dead or I've gone crazy." He rubbed his forehead worrisomely.
Thomas smirked. "I think it's a little of both. No, I was shot but here I am." He laughed. "My mother is nearly insane; that's why I haven't gone home. I believe she would die of fright." Nathaniel nodded and sat next him, seemingly satisfied with the strange answer. There was a brief silence.
"How long have I been out?" He asked. Thomas sighed and handed him a cup of tea.
"Two days; you were hallucinating, you mumbled something about a girl named Abby?" Nathaniel twitched, but Thomas just continued with out a beat. "Is she your lover?" He chuckled, nudging Nathaniel playfully. Nathaniel tightened his grip around the mug until he knuckles turned white.
"No," he glowered at the cup in his hands. "No, she's not."
"I think there's something a little deeper than that, boy, is there a story?"
Nathaniel looked at Thomas pointedly. "Not one I'm willing that share." He replied. Thomas nodded and took a sip of his drink.
"Whenever you're ready." He offered. "So, how's your sister, Alyssa?"
"Well, I hope. I haven't seen her in days. I've been with those bloody red coats." The conversation continued politely for the rest of the day. Questions heavily weighted Nathaniel's mind. What had become of the two most important women in his life? With the red coats so closely involved with his sister and his cohorts so violently inclined with this friend, he had no idea what was gong to become of either of them. If his encounter with the red coats was an indicator of their behavior, he didn't want to think of what they would do to his innocent little sister. As if he weren't terrified enough by that morbid thought, he knew what the others were capable of doing to his friend. He sighed, made a fist, and pressed it to his forehead.
"You seem troubled, Nate." Thomas said gently. A wrinkle smoothed over his face. He was concerned for his friends well being. Nathaniel gasped and stared at him. He tried to force some idea of a smile on his face.
"No- no, everything's all right." He said. "Everything's fine" that time he whispered it trying to convince himself more than anyone else.
"Lair," Thomas said. "I think its time fore that story now." He stood there, arms crossed, leaning against the three. He gave Nathaniel a hark look. The other man finally gave into him. Nathaniel sighed and bowed his head shamefully.
"Where to begin?" He wondered aloud. "All right…" The two men sat and Nathaniel began to tell his tragic story.
P.A.T.R.I.O.T
Danni lay languidly on the sofa. She laid her hands over her bloodshot eyes, blocking the dim morning light. She was exhausted, as she had not slept in days. The door opened and Danni sat up sending a searing glare at the poor maid. The girl balked and waited for the blonde woman's face to relax, before entering the room. "Breakfast is ready ma'am." Danni sighed and nodded. She dragged herself to the dinning hall.
She pushed the door open and scanned the room. In the corner, Rosie and Wilkins sat closely, whispering to each other. Then her topaz gaze landed on Lieutenant Captain Joshua Bordon. He, too, looked half dead as he sat there barely holding his head up with a gloved hand. His cheeks were drawn, his face was gaunt and dark circles outlined his brown eyes. He reminded Danni of the Grim Reaper to a certain extent. Bordon gave her a blank stare, as Danni sat down next to him. She poured a cup of coffee and placed it in front of him. "You don't look well, Captain." She commented. He stared at her for a few minutes, as if trying to figure out what she said. His blood-shot and glazed eyes only added to his dead appearance.
"I am not well, Miss Davis." He sighed and took a sip of the caffeinated drink. "I haven't slept for days." Danni nodded. He did look worse than the last time she saw him. "We lost two men."
"Well, where'd they go?" Danni asked. Bordon gave her a pointed look. "I mean, can't you find them?" She sat forward eagerly.
"It's not that easy, Miss Davis, the woods are a very big place. They could be anywhere." She nodded and sat back again. "It's very infuriating." He sighed covering his face with a large hand.
"Look, I know you're tired." She placed a sympathetic hand on his arm. "Go lay down, if anyone asks, I'll deal with them." Bordon gave her a look, but she smiled encouragingly. Finally, his exhaustion gave way and he followed her advice. Bordon left the room and wandered to his tent.
An hour passed there was little sound in the room save for the clock ticking away the time. It seemed to be taunting Danni murmuring, "You can't do anything, cept sit uselessly." Finally, the imaginary mantra dug into Danni's system. She jumped to her feet. "I can't take it any more!" She exclaimed as she tore out of the room. Wilkins and Rosie stared after her questioningly.
He wandered into the camp writhing in his bright red coat. He tried to shrink into the shadows of the tents, attempting to be invisible. He found a higher-ranking officer and handed him some paper work. "You're to be in Colonel Tavington's crew." The boy nodded keeping his tri-corner hat pulled down over his face hiding his small effeminate features. "All right, follow me." The two men walked into the camp. The higher-ranking officer left the young lad in the camp alone. The lad smirked and walked over where the other Dragoons and Regulars were gathering. He took a random place between to taller soldiers to camouflage him, and for a while, no one noticed.
William Tavington mounted his horse to do a quick scan of his troops. He began at one end of the line and he came towards the middle, he noted a gap in his taller soldiers. He halted his horse and pointed to the gap yelling loudly. The lad froze and stared at the Colonel with his big brown eyes. "Oh wonderful." He thought ruefully.
"You," The Colonel snarled. He pointed viciously at the short boy in the middle. He swung down from his horse in a swift powerful motion. He got directly in the boy's face. "You" He shouted again "What's your name?"
The boy tilted his chip up so that he could look the Colonel directly in the yes. His blue eyes burned with furry. "Danny Davis," the boy snapped defiantly. For a moment, the whole regiment thought that the Colonel would explode or strangle the boy. Finally, he regained his tight composure.
"Come with me," he snarled. The two men walked away from the large group into a tent. Abington closed the tent flap tightly; then he quickly whipped around to face the boy. "DAVIS!" He growled. "What in the devil are you doing here dressed like that?" Danni crossed her arms petulantly. She looked up and found Tavingiton's nose barely touching here. Danni blinked a few time at him then pushed him away.
"I'm here to help." He narrowed his eyes at her. Danni, however, getting no verbal response, turned her nose up and tossed her hair. "And there's nothing you can do." She said and started past him. Tavington growled and grabbed her arm.
"The devil you will!" He jerked her forward out of the tent. He called a page and gave him orders to get Captain Bordon.
"He's asleep, sir."
"Well, wake him!" Tavington roared. He jerked Danni violently. She thrashed forcibly against him. He heaved her up by the arm to stop her from fighting him, and that only made her fight more. William Tavingtion growled and hoisted the girl over his shoulder. Danni screamed and fought him violently. "Will you stop?" He shouted. The page was still standing there staring at the spectacle. The Colonel glared. "Why are you still standing there? MOVE!" He watched the page scamper away and then he turned towards the fort. He still had Davis slung over his shoulder.
"What are you doing?" She yelled. Tavingtion said nothing. She failed her arms and beat him in the back. "Put me down!" Tavingtion again responded with silence. The majority of the trek was like that, Danni yelled and Tavington ignored her.
As they approached, the fort Tavingtion tried to hide the dark smirk forming at the corner of his mouth. Most of the people around staring at them "Put me down!" Came another of Danni's petulant cries. She finally became irritated with his silence and knocked him in the back of the head. Tavington lurched forward and the extra imbalanced weight nearly sent them both to the ground. Danni screamed loudly, much to Tavington's annoyance. He shifted the weight and continued on his path. Danni saw the gads of soldiers laughing, and she groaned. "Tavington, you put me down now!" She wailed. "You retarded, stupid- Tavington jostled her, landing his shoulder in her stomach. She grunted. "I'll break your arm!" She threatened.
William snorted. "Stay your tongue, Davis!" The door to the study swung open to Lord Cornwallis. He marched in causing the higher officers to stare, and dumped Danni unceremoniously in the chair. She growled at him in response.
"Colonel, what is the meaning of this?" Cornwallis demanded.
"It seems, sir," Tavington hissed. "That Miss Davis is intent on joining the ranks." Tavington smirked as he clamped a hand down on Danni's shoulder. He felt somewhat clever for his remark. Danni furrowed her brow and jumped up to defend herself. Tavington forced her back down into the chair. Danni grunted and tried again with the same results. She quickly became aggravated with him and snapped "Colonel Tavington, you are a fraggin' aardvark."
The current situation forgotten, Tavington raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her. "Aardvark?" He repeated questioning. The animal had not yet been discovered, so it was a new word to him. In the future, however, Danni had used it frequently; in fact, it was one of her favorite insults.
"Yes, aardvark," She crossed her arms. "Don't make me get out the big guns." Almost instantly, she wanted to retract the statement. It sounded idiotic to her ears. The lack of sleep was getting to her badly.
Apparently, the meaning was lost on Tavington. He scoffed, "Davis, the being that gives you a fire arm is an invalid." He chuckled deeply in his throat.
Insulted, Danni shot to her feet, shrugging his heavy hand off her shoulder, "Well, I was going to call you a paramecium brain, but you would have to have one first!" she yelled. They glared at each other in near confrontation. He wanted to say something evil in response, but his eyes flicked from her larger brown eyes to Cornwallis's eyes. The general had a tiresome glower on his face. In order to appease his commander, the Colonel acted against his nature, withdrew from the impending argument and turned his attention entirely to the general.
The older man rubbed the bridge of his nose and heaved a weary sigh. "Colonel, if you would return to your duties and immediately report if there is any news." Tavington nodded and bowed. Cornwallis opened his mouth to address Danni, but she was already gone, hurrying after the Colonel.
He had only taken a few steps outside the doors when they burst open again as Danni exited. "It's not enough!" She called after him. Tavington stopped, stood rigidly, and slowly turned towards her. "It's not enough." She whispered. It was barely loud enough for him to hear it. She intrigued him with her sudden change in constitution. He scrutinized her as her as he flexed his jaw. Tavington dashed forward closing the gap between them in three short strides. He was so close to her that he could feel Danni's body heat and she felt invaded by his warmth and aroma. She wanted to step backwards to shake him off, but didn't. Danni had to hold her ground against this man. He exploited any sign of weakness.
He leaned in closer and whispered "What do you suppose I do?" in her ear. Danni squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead with a clenched fist. Weakness or not, Danni stepped back, slightly intimidated. Her thoughts were murky from the stress, or maybe the way he smelled. His scent seemed to fill her mind suddenly. "I don't- I don't- I can't-" She stammered. "But there has to be something I can do." Danni looked up at him, tears forming her eyes. Tavington smirked at her vulnerability. He leaned in closer and watched her mouth work open and close, be fore he decided to pull away.
As he walked away he called, "Where is your God, Davis? Can't he do something?" He laughed.
Danni stiffened and watched him walk away. Something stirred inside her. "Where is your God, Danni? He can do something." A twinge of shame came over her. Danni bolted away from the place to find Rosie. There were things to be done.
TBC…
All right I'm back from the dead. Long time no see right? Anyway, hope you like it. This story arch is ending soon.