*All rights to the character Jasper belong to Stephanie Meyer and her association with Twilight; as well as the reference to Eowyn, belonging to LOTR but not the character herself

Different Points of View during the Scene, alternating between Jasper and Jerad

Just before dawn, I collected my Sargent Major leaving him in charge of the march to Albany with the remainder of the regiment, apprising him of the plans afoot; he reluctantly watched as I rode towards an uncertain future, taking the5 Officers with whom I plotted my assault. Taking notice of the solitary Officer whom did not join the posse, I never took Hood for a deserting coward but sometimes even my acute powers of perception are skewed by my unwavering trust and an uneasy suspicion welled in my chest but I pressed on.

Riding day into night as if the hand of Death himself was swiping at our heels, we ferociously galloped until our destination could almost be seen. Within a mile we halted and dismounted, cautiously tying off our steeds, bidding them rest as we took cover in the woods around the cabins and sat in wait. Taking a shorter path around to this destination than the 2nd Lieutenant surely did, this would place us right at the eve of battle, and he would wage an attack on this small town, taking no prisoners as he did at any opportunity previously. Only this time, he did not suspect a handful of men to lay in wait for him. Prideful was an officer who thought himself invincible and taking advantage of your power to cause harm onto those who looked to you for protection was neither moral nor admirable.

In the far corner of the street a fire began to rage, engulfing the structure in flame. The building next to it quickly caught as well, spreading and consuming as it grew. In the distance we could hear faint screaming, a field not 100 yards from where we waited but could not tell if it was Jamesand his regiment or the townsfolk.

"Somebody get me some damn intel, I need to know what's going on over there!"

Cpl. Winchester, from my left, charged through the trees, disappearing out of my line of sight quickly. That kid was the most fierce fighter I had ever encountered, his perception was only matched by his stealth. His older brother had been sent ahead and I knew Sam looked forward to when were were all fighting side by side once again. Winchester brothers in tandem were a brutal force to be reckoned with. The fires hastened our decisions, the shouting grew louder and more pronounced from the distance. The situation raged further out of our control, much more than we had a contingency for, I had to cogitate before we acted, tactfully but precise. Out of chaos came semblance of order if you knew where to look.

"Where the hell is that kid?" I growled

Jerad looked around, shrugged; all eyes on us for the orders and I could no longer wait for his return.

"Captain, you take Meyers and flank to the left. Grab that goddamn Winchester when you see him. Continue on as planned. Summers and I will mobilize to the right, staying in position. We need to surround the field if we are going to set our siege. We will use the orange flares when positioned. GO!" Slapping me on the shoulder, they disappeared into the smoke and ashes.

Feeling the radiating fear from the young man next to me I felt a necessity to encourage his allegiance.

"With covertness being of the utmost importance here, we need to exploit the window of opportunity we are given, it is slight and unforgiving Soldier. I know in my heart you have chosen to follow me into this battle and will see it through to the end." He steadied his hands and followed my lead, snaking through the dense vegetation. We no longer had visual contact of Jerad or Meyers, no sign of Winchester either. This did not ease my mind as I anxiously unholstered my rifle and lowered my body closer to the ground.

Jerad's POV

As Meyers and I staggered through the thick foliage, we stayed mindful of where we were in the layout. We could not be more than 50 yards to destination, still no sign of Winchester, the Lieutenants squadron and the flames of the township burned to the sky around us. How did it come to this desperate of a situation so swiftly, how is it possible that the Major and I lost control of the siege?

Focus

"Meyers, ten paces to your right. The hollow log, shoot for that. I will be right behind you." Nodding him ahead, motioning with my hands

…1….2….3

"Go!"

Head lowered to the ground, he sprinted across the field and splayed himself in shooting position underneath the log. Kneeling behind my own tree, I took two deep breaths in and counted down to myself. I turned to rush his position when shots rang out. One after another the piercing rifle shots splintered into bark around me, shattering thick oak into pieces. Relentlessly they maintained continuous weapon discharge, there was nowhere to run, and nowhere I could take refuge from their open fire.

Damn

With only seconds in-between powder packing their rifles, I saw the window and bolted to clear the distance before they began the relentless barrage of fire once more. Shots buzzing past chased my every step, closer and closer to the intended target; I closed the 10 paces unbelievably unscathed to find Meyers, gun in hand, pale and petrified.

"Christ! What the hell man? Couldn't fire off a shot for me?" I panted

He motioned towards the brush ahead and I saw the reasoning for his terror. For not five feet away from us lay the mangled lifeless body of Winchester, throat slashed ear to ear, he had bled out in a matter of minutes if I ascertained correctly. How someone overpowered him, silently, in the woods and took his life caused my chest to tighten. We were not alone and a new foe lay in wait for us in these close quarters.

Godspeed my friend

My only hope at this point was Jasper hearing us under fire, launch a counter offensive and continue into formation.

As the bombardment continued on us the gravity of no escape became a serious reality, trapping us in a treacherous corner. We were open to any angled attack on any direction besides face front, this log would not hold the arduous gunfire for much longer. Peering around the edge I saw less than five men holding us at bay, if there were any advantage this was it.

Jasper was not coming, he surely had his own fight blazing as the troops surrounded us on both sides. We had to save ourselves. Thank God I kept a military mind and one of the best with me, if this were going to be our end then we will go out fighting as we always had.

We would not go out as cowards, cowering behind a log with our comrade at our feet. Not this day.

"Ready?"

"Yes sir"