Chapter 9: A Scary Time

When Neville awoke, Zaman was gone. There was a slip of paper in the clock. He was apparently visiting someplace to create a report. He had never asked Zaman about where he came from. Did he come from Earth? Or was he from another planet? Maybe he was from a planet where people did not sleep like humans on Earth.

He went to the table and enjoyed a cup of tea with some raspberry-filled donuts. The candy jar was filled with white chocolate frogs. He ate several. Just as he was getting up to look at a few reports, Zaman reappeared.

"Ah, you are awake. Interesting concept, sleep. Not all cultures partake of it. My culture only sleeps about once every three months, by your time measurement. Of course, when we sleep, it is for about three days, by your measurement. I hope to have you ready to do a few trips on your own by the next time I need to sleep. That would be most useful for both of us. For now, we should do more trips. You need to get the hang of your watch."

"Yes," said Neville. "That is a good idea. I want to learn.

"Good. Good," repeated Zaman. "I want you to learn and to enjoy being a recorder. Happy recorders do the best work."

They made dozens of more trips over the next few days of Earth time. He saw many wonders and wrote many reports with images to enhance them.

"That was fun," said Zaman as they reappeared from their latest trip. "Who would have thought so many young people could gather for such an extravaganza? Woodstock will surely hold a fond spot in the hearts of many people for a long time. I am glad I finally attended it."

"Yes," agreed Neville. "So much music and so much peaceful enjoyment. Even the rain and lack of food did not ruin it. I think this was the most peaceful gathering of muggles I have seen, so far. If all muggles could exist like this, instead of fighting so much of the time, the world would be a better place, I think."

"Well, finish up your report, and let's see what you have. Put the sentiments and feelings you just expressed into it. You may be ready for your first keeper of a report."

Neville wrote away for a long time while sipping a red tea and enjoying a plate of potstickers. He had a satisfied smile when he handed it to Zaman for review. Zaman took it and started to review Neville's account of the event, nodding his head as he read.

"I think you have done it, Neville," he said with a big smile. "I think this one is ready to be added to the encyclopedia."

Neville smiled. "Thank you. I am glad you like it. I really felt good about it. I feel ready to contribute."

"Excellent. I think we have time for one more before I need to rest. This will be a real test. The last thing we do in training is show you wars. They are not just complicated to report, they are dangerous. You will need to learn the shield function of the watch. Several recorders lost their lives reporting on wars before this function was created. Used correctly, you can record without being killed during a battle. The trick is to record safely without scaring the people around you. You cannot just stand in the middle of a battle with bullets bouncing off your shield and bombs not blowing you up. You need to balance your protected status by not making it obvious you are protected by some kind of 'magic trick."

"Oh, okay. I will watch you. This sounds a little tricky."

Zaman turned the book to June 30. He took a paper and wrote down Gettysburg. "I have done this one before, so I know what to expect. That way I can spend more time teaching without worrying so much about what is happening."

"Good," said Neville. "I will watch very closely."

"Look at the buttons on your watch," said Zaman, pointing to one at the eight o'clock position.

He pushed the button and said try to hit me.

"What?"

"Try to hit me."

Neville punched at him. His hand hit an invisible barrier that stung his fist. "Ouch!" he said, shocked by the surprise between him and Zaman.

"That barrier will stop anything that can come at you on Earth and most other planets. You are going to need it where we are going. Give it a try."

Neville pushed the button. He felt a little push of air, like someone had just closed a door. Zaman reached out and thumped the shield.

"Perfect," he said. "You are safe from whatever comes your way. Turn it back off for now. You will know when it is time to use it."

They moved to the clock and were whisked off to a small American town in the state of Pennsylvania. As they moved among the residents, there was talk of the war coming their way, but they had no idea of the extent of what was coming.

They made their way to the seminary, where much of the Union Army was establishing its position. Neville and Zaman watched, making observations.

"The battle will start in earnest tomorrow morning," said Zaman. "We can watch from here. Get a good night of sleep. Once it starts, there will be no rest while the sun is in the sky. Towards the end of the day, we will move to a new position."

As the sun set, Neville found a place to sleep. Zaman continued looking around. The night passed quietly enough considering a major battle was imminent. At seven o'clock in the morning, Zaman woke Neville so they could position themselves near the seminary to observe. At approximately seven-thirty gunfire broke out.

"Turn on your shield," said Zaman. "This is it."

Within minutes a Hell unlike anything Neville was yet able to imagine broke out. Cannons boomed. So many guns were firing that it was impossible to pick out individual shots. Men were screaming as bullets and shrapnel tore through their bodies.

Neville was shaking inside his shield as he watched. On several occasions, he heard bullets skip off his protective covering. It was like all of God's love had abandoned the world and the devil was turning the minutes of the day into hours of pain and carnage. It was only with great effort that Neville managed to write observations down into his book.

As the day finally started to wane, Zaman told Neville it was time for them to move to a new location. They walked for a considerable time until the had arrived at a new position atop a hill. Zaman said it was time to get some rest. They would observe things from this hill during the second day of the battle.

Once again, the night passed with unexpected calm. As the sun rose up, Zaman woke up Neville to prepare for day two of the battle. They were positioned in a place near the 20th Maine led by Colonel Joshua Chamberlain. He had been ordered to hold the position at all cost.

The battle raged on and on. In the latter part of the afternoon a direct assault began on the hill. The situation became more and more dire as the ammunition ran low on the Union side. From their position, they could hear the leadership forming a desperate plan. As they watched, the soldier spread out across the top of the hill with their bayonets in place and almost no ammunition.

On command from Chamberlain, the left side charged down the hill, with rest joining in so they were moving like a door closing to the right. This stunned the Confederate forces. The charge along with help from adjacent troops routed the First Alabama forces, winning what would be the most important pivotal event of the battle.

With the day won, Zaman moved them back across the battlefield to a place called Cemetery Ridge for the final day of battle. Neville slept hard, exhausted from the stress, even though he had barely exerted an ounce of physical energy during the day other than the walk to the new position.

"This is horrible," said Neville. "How can people do things like this?"

"You are correct. It is horrible. Battles such as this have existed all throughout human history. It is part of what your race must put behind you, if you are ever to progress to a level warranting your ability to access the encyclopedia."

"Horrible," repeated Neville. "I must have heard a hundred bullets bounce off my shield."

"So, did I," said Zaman in a soothing voice. "Just keep up your shield and we will be okay."

The final day of the battle featured a failed attempt by the Confederates to break the Union line with a charge across a field and uphill to attack them on Cemetery Ridge. It started with a noontime cannon barrage that was mostly ineffective, but the smoke from the cannons obscured that fact. The charge exposed a mile-long line of men to a hailstorm of rifle and cannon fire from the Union line in the wide-open field below them. The carnage was horrible.

Even though some of the Confederates reached the Union lines, and cracked it in a couple spots, they were ultimately repelled and the losses ended their chance of winning the battle. They were forced to withdraw, badly beaten. Many reports would call this battle the turning point in the war.

Before they returned to the office, Zaman led Neville past one of the numerous field hospitals. All the way there the ground was saturated with the blood of the dead and wounded until you would have thought at times it had rained earlier. In some areas, it was like a maze walking past dead horses and mules. Outside the hospital, dead soldiers were stacked like firewood. Although they did not enter the facility, the screams and cries of the wounded filled the air in a horrid symphony only Hell could appreciate. The far side of the hospital had an ever-growing pile of amputated arms and legs baking in the hot sun. The stench was unbearable.