A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I have no excuse...well maybe. After the last chapter I got caught up with work(being a manager is hard work at times) But now I have moved to a state farther up north. I was also vacationing in Australia and New Zealand. But I'm back now and I have a new job so woohoo! Please enjoy this next chapter. This story is so much different than my others when it comes to my reviewers. I adore you all! And I'm thrilled that I still have readers. Whomever you are or wherever you are, I hope you enjoy the rest of your year!
A few days and nights passed and everyone was in their warm beds fast to sleep; all except for Gabriel. A small candle was lit on the nightstand next to the bed. He was on his knees on the side of his bed, praying. He was praying for the soldiers, for his father, the, and his family. Just as he was about ready to blow out the candle a terrible feeling rested at the pit of his belly. Someone was coming! He didn't know why he was having this feeling and he got up off his knees, grabbed his shotgun leaning against the wall at the foot of the bed and slowly opened his bedroom door. He heard nothing but the sound of his breath and heartbeat as he stepped out into the hall. He pressed his ear against everyone's bedroom door and heard the soft snores and he relaxed a bit. For a second Gabriel thought that maybe he was just hearing things so he walked downstairs to grab some fruit to nibble on. Perhaps that would make him feel better.
As he picked up an apple he brushed it off with the sleeve of his shirt and just before taking his first bite he stopped and looked out the kitchen window. A shadow had moved and it wasn't the shadow of an animal but a human. He quickly ducked, grabbing his shotgun. After waiting a few moments he peeked his head up just enough to see out the window but not enough to be exposed. He spotted bits and pieces of red and quickly ran upstairs to warn everyone. He went to Thomas's and Kristine's room first.
"Wake up!" he whispered as loud as he could.
Thomas awoke with a jolt, grabbing his pistol from under his pillow. "What is it? What's the matter?" he asked.
Gabriel held a finger to his lips. "Shhh. Red Coats are here. We need to get everyone out of here as quickly and as quietly as possible." Gabriel left to wake the others.
Kristine was just waking up and Thomas explained everything to her while he got dressed. Kristine quickly rose from the bed and put on her slippers and a was no time to get properly dressed.
Thomas slowly opened the bedroom door without it creaking open and held his gun out in front of him. Both Thomas and Kristine could hear the Red Coats trying the front door. Thomas looked back at his five and placed a finger in front of his lips and walked the rest of the way out of the room, closing the door just as quietly as he had opened it.
Everyone met up and headed downstairs into the kitchen where the back door was. They would sneak out from there. But it was not that easy. The Red Coats had already made their way inside and everyone had to hide and sneak around. Nathan waved Thomas and Kristine over from under the table he quickly made room for them. The others had already made their out of the house; Gabriel was leading them.
While Thomas, Kristine, and Nathan hid quietly under the table they watched as Red Coats boots made their rounds about the kitchen. They spoke in whispers so it was hard for any of them to hear what they were saying, but a few words were made out: Empty house, no sign, no rebels, ghost, and fire. When the Red Coats had left the three made it their chance to escape the house and they did the same way as the others.
They were not out of trouble yet. There were still Red Coats outside and more than they had anticipated. They were clearly out-numbered. Gabriel and Thomas made hand signals to direct each other on which way to go since they were split up into two groups. From time to time Thomas would look over at Kristine, afraid that she would vanish from his sights like she had in the past and go back to her time, her world. But now she had something inside of her that was both apart of his world and hers: their child.
Just as they were away from danger a loud whistle was heard. It wasn't from Gabriel or from Thomas or anyone else in their group, but by a Red Coat. One of the soldiers had spotted them in the grass and signaled the others. The chase was on then and everyone dispersed. Thomas fired back and so did Gabriel. Even the younger boys had guns and fired back. It didn't matter if they shot a Red Coat or not. It was a way for the British soldiers to ease up on them. Nathan was then split up from Thomas and Kristine and left to hide behind a tree. Gabriel came to his aid quickly, though and brought him back to the others.
"Where are Thomas and Kristine? I thought they were with you?" Gabriel said just loud enough for Nathan to hear and no one else.
Nathan shook his head. "I don't know. We got split up while running. I think they went that way." and he pointed towards his left where it led to a river.
Gabriel said nothing and grabbed his brother by the shirt and pulled him to run. "Keep everyone else safe. We're almost away from them. I'll go after Thomas and Kristine." and before Nathan could protest Gabriel was already running towards the river.
Thomas held on to Kristine's hand tightly as they ran. They were almost free from the enemies grasp; there was just one more Red Coat they had to take care of.
"Thomas! I don't think I can go much longer." Kristine was close to collapsing. "The baby..." she breathed hard, trying her best to keep up. At this point, Thomas was almost dragging her. Suddenly, he stopped and told Kristine to keep running. "I'm not leaving you!" she protested.
"You have to! I can take care of this Red Coat. Its only one. Trust me." he gave her a slight push. Kristine gave Thomas one last look before she tore her eyes away from him and ran.
Thomas turned back around to face the Red Coat and held up his gun to fire. The Red Coat was perfectly in his sights. The British soldier saw this and tried to ready his gun as fast as he could, but Thomas was faster and he shot at him, getting him right in the chest. For a moment everything was still but the sound of Gabriel's voice alarmed him.
"Gabriel? It's all right, I got him," he told his brother was about a hundred yards away and still running towards him. "Gabriel?"
"Run, Thomas!" Gabriel shouted and raised his gun, ready to fire. Thomas looked behind him and saw two more Red Coats. Gabriel managed to get one but there was still the other. There was no time to sit and load the gun again for the second Red Coat was ready to take aim and fire, so Thomas ran. He ran after Kristine, worried that there might be more British soldiers.
There was a terrible pain like a sharp needle pressing on one of Kristine's sides. She had to stop and catch her breath so she ran for cover behind a large tree. At that point she heard two more gunshots and flinched at both, scared that maybe one of those was meant for Thomas. Kristine rubbed her eyes dry from any tears creeping their way out. She had to stay strong for Thomas's sake...for the baby's sake. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard approaching and she clasped her hands over her mouth to try and stay quiet. When she saw that it was Thomas relief washed over her. "Thomas!" she whispered as loudly as she could. Thomas turned quickly and ran over to her. He didn't say anything, just helped her up and continued running.
They ran up a hill, getting deeper into the woods. Running water could be heard and Kristine knew they were close to the river. If they could reach the river and cross it in time, perhaps the British soldiers would stop coming after them. At that moment Kristine could take no more and she unwillingly fell to her knees. No words had to be said for Thomas to know she had reached her limit and he dropped his gun and picked up his pregnant wife. With all the running he had been doing it took a great deal of effort for Thomas to carry her up the hill. There was still one last Soldier after them and he didn't know if Gabriel was still coming after them to help. He never looked back.
As they reached the top, Thomas put Kristine down. The two were leaning on each other now.
"Just a little more," Thomas said and he saw the pained look on Kristine's face.
"Ok..."She forced herself to say.
Thomas held out his hand then for Kristine, ready to go down to the river. The feel of his warm hand comforted her. But the moment was short lived and one last shotgun sounded in the air. It was so close to hitting Kristine that her ears started to ring and she felt the grip of Thomas's hand slip away. It was so dark she could hardly see anything, but the light from the moon was enough for her to see what was happening. "Thomas!" Kristine screamed as she watched her husband fall back down the hill. Kristine tried to go after him but the pain in her side shot through her again and this time affecting her belly, making her drop to her knees and on to her side. She crawled to a nearby tree and rested beside it, trying to gather her strength. Kristine was losing consciousness and before she blacked out a tall, blurry figure hovered over her. Was it Gabriel? Or was it someone else?
Thank you so much again for reading. I will try to come out with new chapters more regularly from now. At least once a month (I'm working on an original story and other fanfics). I hope this year has been kind to you. You are all amazing and I wish you the best!
Btw there is a show on Netflix that is called Turn. It's about the Revolutionary War. I really like it and I think you might too! Check it out if you can :)