That night, on the bedding mat he used in the Civil War, Fred was asleep in front of the Ingalls' firplace...Well into the night, he dreamed a dream...In fact, it wasn't just a dream, it was a nightmare!
There he was...in the middle of a vast, vast space and just up ahead was a lake...but not any ordinary lake...This lake was a burning lake! A lake...that BURNED with fire and brimstone! In this lake, Fred saw body after body after body come up to the surface...As each one did, they were screaming, crying,...gnashing their teeth,...clawing the ground, trying to escape from the burning liquid fire...but then, like clockwork, each body would go under again, the liquid fire choking them and muffling their screams..."Where their worm dieth not, and the FIRE is not quenched..." Fred heard a strong man's voice beller...He recognized it as that young preacher's voice. "Wh-What?" Fred muttered. "Where their worm dieth not, and the FIRE is not quenched..." It spoke again. Fred saw another body come up again out of the burning fire...Someone he recognized...It was his army buddy, Jake Henderson...Immediately, Fred tried to go to him, but he stopped at the edge of the vast space...It was like he was unable to cross over...Something prevented him..."And beside all this, between us and you there is a GREAT gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you CANNOT; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence." He heard the voice beller...
Fred stood there...as he saw Jake bobbing up and down in liquid fire, waves crashing over him. Fred heard him screaming...almost those same words he was screaming when he died that day on the battlefield,..."Lay! Lay you've gotta help me!...Get me out of here! Help me!..." A burning wave crashed again..."Get me out of this burning FIRE!...HELP ME!" ..."Where their worm dieth not, and the FIRE is not quenched..." The preacher's voice rang in Fred's ears...He saw more and more and more waves crash over Henderson's floating body. "Help me, Lay!...HELP ME!" He screamed as another firey wave crashed again.
Fred stood there, unmoving..."I can't Henderson!...I'M SORRY!" He shouted across the great, vast gulf.
"Then make sure you find out how NOT to come here, Lay!" Henderson screamed. "Its horrible down here!...I don't want you here! Suffering like me!" ..."Where their worm dieth not, and the FIRE is not quenched..." The young preacher's voice hollered again! The voice was almost defening...Now it seemed like Fred was getting closer and closer to the burning lake and yet another a body came up out of the hot, burning liquid fire...The person grabbed Fred's leg and he felt their hot, burning touch...The person started to pull Fred down into the lake, and Fred kept feeling hotter and hotter...Fred started screaming, "Don't pull me into the FIRE!...I can feel it already! I can feel the FIRE!" ..."Where their worm dieth not, and the FIRE is not quenched..." He heard the preacher's voice scream again. "OH GOD!...I know what the fire is now! I know what the burning FIRE is!...Don't pull me into the FIRE!...I don't want to go to HELL!...I DON'T WANT TO GO TO HELL!" He screamed...Fred felt himself falling into the burning liquid fire...And suddenly, he shot up out of his sleep and realized he was lying on the floor before the fireplace...Fred had broken out into a cold sweat but he could still feel the heat from the fire in the Ingalls' fireplace...He was panting hard, and he felt a hand on his shoulder...He looked up and saw it was Charles...
"Pa...Is...Is Fred okay?" He turned his head and saw Mary, with Laura standing next her, dressed in their nightgowns and nightcaps...Tears were streaming down Mary's face.
"You alright, son?" Charles asked.
"Yes sir...I...I just had an aweful nightmare...That's all...I'm sorry I woke you up, Mary and Laura...Gosh, I'm sorry I woke you ALL up!" Fred said, running his hands up over his nose, the rest of his face, and his, now messy, blond hair...
"You sure you're alright, Fred?" Caroline questioned him gently. "How about I make you a cup of hot coffee...or some hot tea..." She said, touching his shoulder.
"Coffee please, Mrs. Ingalls..." Fred said, getting up from the floor and taking a seat at the kitchen table...
"What did you dream, Fred?..." Laura asked him..."It always helps me if I tell Ma and Pa about my bad dreams."
"Laura..." Caroline softly said. "Maybe Fred doesn't want to tell you his dream..."
Laura looked over at Fred..."I'd rather not...If that's okay, Laura." He told her. Laura walked over and wrapped hers arms around him. "You look like you need a hug, Fred..."
He smiled a little. "Thanks Laura..."
"Now...I think you girls better be getting back to bed..." Charles said.
"Yes sir." Laura said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight Pa."
"Goodnight Pa." Mary said, hugging him..."Goodnight Fred...Hope you're okay."
Fred smiled a half smile. "Thanks Mary...G'night."
Mary smiled at him and then followed Laura up to the loft.
"Laura!" Mary said, as she threw herself on their bed.
"What?"
"Why do you have to go around hugging Fred?"
"He looked like he needed one, Mary!"
"Yeah but..." Mary said, in a high pitch. "I'm the one who likes him! Not you!"
"Well, if you like him so much...Why don't you go down there and hug him?" Laura said.
"Yeah...like I'd have the guts to do that!" Mary thought to herself.
The next day was Sunday, and the Ingalls' were about to head out to go to church.
"You know, Fred...We really would enjoy it if you'd come to church with us this morning...but its your choice..." Caroline told him.
"Are we still going swimming after church, Ma?" Laura asked. She looked hopefully at Fred.
"If you still want me to...Just come get me after church, then..."
So the Ingalls' headed off to church without Fred...He stayed home and tried not to fall asleep. It was hard because he didn't go back to sleep after his nightmare...Fred was afraid that if he fell back asleep, his dreams would haunt him again...
After church, Caroline packed a picnic lunch and Charles, Fred and the girls all went swimming in the swmming hole...They dressed down to their underclothing and headed for the water. Fred had a running start and jumped the lake, making a cannonball. Mary and Laura took the rope and swung into the lake. Charles started to splash Laura, and Fred ganged up on Mary. Laura wanted revenge, so she started splashing Charles and then Fred. Charles wanted to be funny and so he dunked Fred underwater.
Fred laughed..."Charles! Payday someday, buddy!"
"What could you do?...You broomstick with a face!" Charles teased.
"When you least expect it, Charles! When you least expect it!" He laughed, getting out of the water so he could get some of that good fried chicken Caroline had made. Fred's soaking wet underclothing stuck to his skin, showing off his slightly toned body...Mary couldn't help but stare at him!
"Mary!...You have a sick mind!" Laura said.
"What? I didn't say anything!"
"Yeah...but I'm sure you thought it!...You were staring at him long enough!"
"I was not!" Mary insisted. "And you're the one who brought it up Laura! And just what do you think that I was thinking?...I think you're the one with the sick mind!"
Charles looked at Mary...and then at Laura and started to laugh. He just couldn't help it!
