Chapter 27: To Be A Soldier
General Hancock rode slowly along the line, inspecting the placement of the cannon. Behind him rode his color sergeant, holding aloft the blue flag of the corps. Hancock had found a small horse to suit the purpose, and on it sat Dib and Tak, riding alongside the flag bearer with Tak at the reins. Dib felt a great sense of importance and duty, and realized that he had never felt like this before in his life. Sure, his pursuits of the paranormal gave him something to strive for, and something to take pride in, but that seemed now like more of a small personal goal, and his accomplishments seemed petty. Now he was involved in something that was more than him, and he felt constantly that the eyes of everyone, from the other soldiers to the great General Hancock were always upon him, watching him, expecting him to do the best he could.
He could almost understand why Tak liked being a soldier. It was scary, sometimes downright terrifying, and he had been closer to death the last couple days than he had ever thought possible. The things he had seen ranged from the harsh and bitter to the grotesque and unbearable, but now he felt a great strength had come from it all. Despite all the bad, he actually felt good. And here he was, not even old enough to drive, and he was called a hero by a general, taking part in the greatest battle in U.S. history, and sitting on a horse with his arms wrapped around the girl of his dreams. That was really good. He caught the faint smell of her so close to him. Yes, very good.
"General Hancock sir!" Greeted a familiar voice.
"Ah, good day Cushing." Hancock replied. Dib and Tak looked over to see Lieutenant Cushing saluting General Hancock. Cushing noticed them and bowed courteously.
"And good day to you, young soldiers of Hancock's staff." He said smiling.
"Hello Lieutenant Cushing sir." Tak replied with a smile.
"You have met then I see." Hancock spoke.
"Ah yes sir. These two helped me get my limbers up last evening, to which I'm most grateful." Hancock turned in the saddle and smiled at the two, then looked back to Cushing.
"Yes, these two seem to be everywhere they need to be at precisely the right time. I'm quite glad they're on my staff." Dib felt embarrassed by the compliment, and even Tak almost blushed.
"Well sir, if they ever decide to become artillerymen, please send them my direction." Cushing said grinning.
"Heh. I will do just that." Hancock said. "Good day." He rode on, and as they passed, Tak smiled at Cushing, and Dib gave him a salute. They soon reached the spot where the day before, Sickles had been posted before he had decided to move off to start a battle of his own. Tak felt the disdain for the fool once again. She felt the watch in her pocket and remembered…
"You two wouldn't mind…" Hancock began. Suddenly, there was a loud thud from across the field, followed by another, then another. A shell exploded a hundred yards away. The horses spooked and shifted a bit, but the small group reined them in as the distant explosions continued. "Damn." Hancock said.
"What are they doing?!" Dib cried out as another shell exploded a little closer than the first.
"The reb artillery…" Hancock said, his eyes wide. "They're going to attack soon. We had better get back to the center of our line. Come!" They wheeled their mounts, and made quickly for the center of Hancock's corps as shells landed seemingly everywhere. The cannon fire from the enemy continued, and it seemed they had a hundred guns, all pointed toward them.
"To the wall!" Hancock shouted, riding along the line. "To the wall men and stay low! Ready the guns, but hold your fire!" Tak watched the general, oblivious to the flying death all around him, shouting orders to his men from horseback amid the explosions. It reminded her so much of Reynolds, and she could see now how these men could have been close friends. If Lo Armistead was much of the same, then the Rebels had at least one good commander.
"Tak?" Dib asked, holding tightly to her. "Shouldn't we like…get down or something?" Tak clenched her teeth as a shell exploded close by. They dismounted, and the color sergeant waiting for a chance to do the same, climbed off of his horse as well. Hancock wheeled about and rode up to them.
"General Hancock!" Tak called. "Please get down sir! This army can't spare another good general." Hancock inhaled deeply and looked across the field.
"There are times when a corps commander's life does not count." He said gravely. Several of the soldiers nearby looked up in awe when he spoke. The words hit like boulders, and the two knew that they were destined to be remembered. Tak smiled and looked at Dib. She had a gleam in her eye. He nodded. She stepped up into the stirrup and quickly mounted their horse. Dib grabbed her hand and climbed on.
"Alright!" Tak exclaimed in a defiant tone. "We're with you, general!"
"Then come on if you're coming!" Hancock called, riding quickly toward a battery of cannons. "Commence firing!" He called, riding by. "Train your guns on theirs and fire away!" He yelled at another.
"Yeah!" Tak exclaimed. "General Hancock's orders, pour it on them!" She screamed to a cannon crew as they galloped past. Her heart was pounding, shells were exploding all around, and she felt more alive than ever. Tak had wanted to be a soldier he entire life. She had trained relentlessly to be an elite warrior. Now, she realized, this was the moment. This was what she had prepared for all these years, and as the first of the cannon on the ridge started pounding out fiery doom to the enemy artillery and she felt the cool wind in her hair, she realized her dream, and it was good.
So it has begun. The fight for the third day, what has been called "the high-water mark of the confederacy". What happens next? Unfortunately, you'll just have to wait a few days to find out. I'm currently working on the next chapter, and will try to get it up as soon as possible, so have patience. Until then my loyal readers, cheerio.