Chapter 6 The River
A/N: It's Angel's chapter now and he picks up a friend for his travels. Enjoy.
Out somewhere in the vast lands Angel was waking up. Sleeping on the ground was harsh at first but after three years it didn't matter. Angel rolled over feeling less than well rested. But he doesn't sleep much one because of dreams and two how can you sleep knowing people were after you? The sun was setting and it's rather hard to sleep all day with the sun blaring in your eyes. Angel got up and needed food and began walking.
He escaped the hospital but had to be careful. He was now known as a deserter. If he was caught he would either be sent back to war or killed onsite for treason. He was risking his life to get back to Buffy but that seemed more important than fighting for a lost cause. His father taught him how to hunt so Angel made his own bow and arrows and he could hunt deer and pack the meat. He would have to consume it quickly or it'll rot on his travels. When the sun falls he'll hunt the deer come out at night. Angel walked alongside the road where he could see it but never touched it. You up your chances of getting seen on the road rather than hiding and walking along side it.
Night had fallen as Angel finished eating and got up. It was time to cover some ground. He put dirt over the low fire her built and began to walk through the woods. He could hear the owls hooting in the night and smaller animals running around in the woods. Angel looked up into the night and saw pieces of the night sky through the tree tops. He would find a clearing soon to read the stars. Angel kept trotting along and he could hear the faint sound of a nearby river. This would be a good time to fill up his water canister and maybe even wash up a little.
Angel did just that he washed in the cool river and it felt wonderful. It soothed his sore body and gave him a boost of energy. Angel got out of the water and put his clothes back on and filled his water canister and packed up and was off. He decided to follow the river for a little bit and got maybe a mile when he heard something. He got closer and it was a horse and it reminded him of Claire back home. If no one took care of her she's probably dead and that made his heart ache a little. Angel saw the horse and it was tied to a tree and he wanted and was tempted to take it. The horse could cover more ground than he could so he slowly walked to it looking making sure it's owner was long gone. But then he heard a voice it sounded like singing. Angel walked to the direction and down the hill he saw a man.
"You're my angel my butterfly. Come fly away my love…" The man said holding a woman in his arms. "God forgive me for doin' this I'm so sorry." Angel slowly drew his weapon and snuck down there. "I'm sendin' you to a better place you go fly away." The man held the woman about ready to drop her into the river. They were up rather high and there rocks below. The woman would get hurt from the fall and rocks and drown that or the rocks would kill her on impact.
"Hey!" Angel yelled and the man stopped and stood still looking to Angel well continued to face forward just turning his head slight. He was close to the edge himself and if he took a wrong step he would fall too. The man was tall and lanky with puffy somewhat curly blonde hair. "Don't do that." Angel demanded holding the gun.
"Don't pull that trigger I'm a man of God." The man said trying to save himself but Angel didn't care. Angel's killed more men than he can count. Once when this war began pulling the trigger was something he almost couldn't do. The first Yankee he shot came charging with a knife and the first thing that went through Angel's mind was Buffy's face, the way she felt under him when holding her and when he was on top of her before leaving, the way her tiny body fit to his, the way her lips felt on his and then her smile. He shot the Yankee solider dead and ever since then he's gained strength in combat. And now these days he doesn't think twice who he will kill. War makes your heart hard and your soul dry.
"I killed several of them." Angel stated meaning anyone no matter who they were if those posed any threats Angel was ready to shoot. Maybe three years ago he wouldn't but now he didn't care.
"I mean I'm God's minister." The man explained still holding the black woman in his arms. He was saying he was a preacher but still that didn't matter to Angel.
"What part of God's business is throwin' a woman down a gorge?" Angel asked with some anger he hated this world now it was so cruel to one another. This war served no purpose it only drew men apart.
"A slave woman," The man corrected Angel breathing heavily afraid to die. "Can you see that in this light? Black as a bucket of tar."The man described the woman he held. Angel saw her as she slept in his arms or was she dead?
"Is she dead?" Angel asked and the man shook his head no.
"No I drugged her." The man answered. "Like you would a butterfly and I care for her that's the heartbreak of it. She's got my bastard in her belly." That explained it why he was ready to kill her. A white man a preacher no less slept with a black woman that was against the rules and if she was pregnant the main would be hung. Maybe Angel should put him out of his misery.
"Come on back up." Angel demanded and the man did as he was told and walked back up the gorge with Angel following him.
"I'm beggin' you," The man started but Angel wasn't having it. The man was to lead Angel back into town.
"Get," Angel said which meant keep walking until I say stop. Angel then brought this man back into the town and he was panicking as they walked through the sleeping town. Angel looked around to make sure no one was awake. The sun would be rising soon and Angel had much more ground to cover.
"It's better you blow out my brains than return me to this place." The man said if his people knew he got a slave pregnant than they would kill him, hang, torture him whatever they saw fit.
"You're gonna put her back where she sleeps." Angel demanded but the man was afraid.
"I do that the members will lynch me for sirin' a bastard while servin' as their preacher, we're a strict congregation. We've churched men for pickin' up a fiddle on the Sabbath." The man said explaining the danger her was in but that didn't phase Angel what so ever.
"So you reckon to kill her? What because she's a slave?" Angel asked and the man was quiet for a minute.
"I… uh…" The man stammered as Angel held the gun ready to fire. "There's a back door have pity." He pleaded and then led Angel around the building. They found the door and then man laid the woman back down to her bed and she didn't move she was out cold. The man put some blankets over her as she lay by the fire. "Thank you I was gonna do a grievous wrong." The man looked up to Angel and stood up feeling a little woozy. "I think I should go back up to my wife," Then that struck a nerve in Angel. This man had a wife and he's sleeping around no that wasn't going to settle at all. He's not a man of God what so ever. "She wakes at the slightest noise." The man went to walk pass Angel but Angel grabbed him by the throat, kneed him in both the chest and stomach and the man went down. Angel held the gun to the man's face.
"Where's some paper and a pencil?" Angel asked.
Angel tied the man up to a post and shoved the paper he wrote on into the man's mouth. The man was still trying to talk his way out of this as Angel walked away in the early morning hours.
Angel fought with sleep today. He couldn't sleep during the day. Angel got up and decided to just keep going. Maybe he could tire himself out and slept later this afternoon. Angel grabbed his gear and was. What would be nice was to have a map of some sort. That or just know where he was at and if he was heading in the right direction. Walking that's all he does now is walk. Sometimes he'll jog anything to get him home faster.
Today was a hot day and the sun was beating down harshly. He did his best to keep out of the sun and stay in the shade. He had to rash his water until he found a moving stream. He fought to drink the water canister because it was half full and he would drink it one gulp if he allowed himself. Not only was he thirsty but he was hungry. He hasn't been to find deer or wild game today because the Home Guard was everywhere he could settle in a place for long. Right now he didn't know what was worse fighting in a losing war or fighting to get home. There were tons of men like him fighting to get home to their mothers and father, their wives and children.
Children Angel thought would Buffy want his children? Would she even want him now after all this time? He was a shell of his former self. He's seen too much death blood consumed his hands. Would she love him after knowing he's killed men not even men but young boys no more than thirteen he was no longer that innocent farm boy she met up in the roof of a chapel. He was twenty three then now he was twenty six. Buffy was no more than twenty one now. She came to Cold Mountain at the age of eighteen what was she like now? He knew she had to change everyone did but did her heart and mind change too about him. What if she found someone else? No he had to push it aside she called for him she told him a letter to come home and that's where he was going home.
Food, finding food was on his mind he needed strength to press on. He looked to his right and saw a corn field just across the road. It wasn't much but it was something so he headed over to find food. The fields looked like they were left unkempt so the corn probably wasn't all that good but it was something. Angel looked for a healthy stalk and found one that was more golden not brown or blacken by the sun. He then reached for an ear and opened the husk up. The kernels looked ok and he started to eat. The corn wasn't sweet in fact it had a bitterness but he was so hungry he didn't care.
Angel walked and then heard rustling in the corn stalks. He dropped the ear and drew his weapon. Then group of black people came out of the stalks and he lowered his weapon. They weren't going to hurt him and Angel was about to leave when he saw a woman holding a basket of eggs. Eggs sounded good better than this bitter corn.
"I'd pay a dollar for an egg." Angel offered and dug around in his pockets pulling money out but the group ignored him and began to walk away. He then followed them he just wanted an egg was that too much to ask. "I've got no quarrel with you." He followed them to the road but they ignored him still. "Hey!" He called out but they kept walking. "Am I near the Cape Fear River?" He asked and they turned a corner. Angel sighed 'well that's nice.' And he turned around and kept walking but went ahead and pulled some more ears of corn off the stalk to save some until he found something else. But then as he was walking he heard screaming and turned around.
"Home Guard! Get back there!" Angel then heard the sound of gun fire and he started to run.
"Runaways!" Angel got off the road and into the woods as he heard screaming of the runways being shot and killed. Angel ran as fast as he could through the woods hoping the men didn't see him. He decided that would be the last time he would be on the road. Angel stopped to take a breather but continued to walk. His heart was racing and he could have been caught. He kept walking when he heard a voice.
"I daresay that's Home Guard followin' you." Angel turned around and saw the preacher from last night although he was in his long bottoms and his long blonde was cut short. "They're out on the road, huntin' down deserters." He explained but that wasn't new news to Angel he knew that. "And I don't recommend that way you'll meet half the town comin' after me with a noose thanks to you." He said and Angel sighed because the Home Guard was following this man and now they were together…again.
"I should have shot you when I had the chance." Angel then turned around to walk away and leave him behind.
"I know where there's a ferry crossin'." The man stated and that got Angel's attention and he faced the man again. "Or you can stubborn yourself to death." Those were Angel's two options. He wanted to take the ferry crossing. To cross the river meant if the Home Guard was on his trail they would have to go all around and it would be a long time before they could find a crossing but could he trust this man?
"If this is a trap…" Angel warned the man
"Please yourself Peaches," The man called Angel Peaches what kind of name it that. "I'm just bein' a Christian now follow me." The man motioned and Angel followed but couldn't get over being called Peaches.
The men then came to a boat with a woman in it waiting. Angel followed the man and they stood there. She looked up and she reminded Angel of Buffy for a moment with the blonde hair.
"You got any money?" She asked with a hiss.
"Five dollars." The preacher said as he went through his pockets in his robes.
"For five dollars I wouldn't give a parched man a dipper of this river water." The woman argued and was about to turn them away she wanted more than that.
"The sign says "Ferry five dollars,"" The preacher pointed out and the woman shrugged with a little bit of a smile.
"Nobody crosses these waters unless they're runnin' from someplace." She explained and then there were gunshots and men yelling in the woods. The Home Guard was closer than Angel would have liked but this lady wasn't moving and being stubborn over five dollars. "You wanna wait for your friends?" She asked and Angel had enough and reached in his pocket and pulled out money.
"I can give you thirty dollars Confederate." He said holding out the money and the lady took it and nodded.
"Well all right let's go." She said and Angel and the preacher got into the boat. "Whatever that's worth." She muttered because Confederate money had little value to it now. She started to row away as Angel watched the shore line making sure no one was following them. He should relax they were nearly halfway across the river now.
"They cut off my hair." The preacher stated and Angel looked over to him as he sat up straight and tall appearing to be looking up to the sky. "That was hard," He started to ramble on and Angel did his best to ignore him and rolled his eyes as he kept an eye on the shoreline. "I was vain about my hair I had curls," The man sighed looking down at his hands and then looked back up. "But I deserved it." He then looked to the woman who was rowing them to safety. "I'm the Reverend William." He introduced himself to the woman. "And this is my friend," He looked to Angel but didn't know his name. "Peaches." Angel let out a grunt of disproval as they were carted across the river.
"I'm Kate," The woman introduced herself still keeping her eye on Angel as she rowed the boat across the river.
"Have I seen you in church?" William asked the woman and she shook her head no.
"No not likely to neither." Kate said as she rowed but she kept her eye on Angel. He finally settled a little and faced her. "I'd say these days the devil rules the roost." She was now studying Angel and smiled he was very handsome. "Thirty more dollars we can go over to that cabin and I can pull this dress over my head." She suggested to Angel and he looked up but it was more of a "seriously." William however perked up in a different way.
"Have we got thirty dollars?" William asked but then they heard gunshots and the woman fell out of the boat and into the water.
"Get down!" Angel yelled and grabbed William by his robe and shoved him down. Angel searched for the oar and found it and while keeping low started to paddle. William couldn't find the second oar so he used his hand instead. The Home Guard would have to find another way around this water was full of gators. Angel looked behind him and saw the men on horse ride back into the woods. He relaxed a little as he paddled as fast as he could to the other side. He thought about it he should have stole William's horse but he couldn't change that now. The shore line was coming up and Angel had the boat land and out. Angel really wanted to ditch this man but it looks like he was stuck with him for now at least. Maybe if they come up to town Angel can dump him off there.
Angel and Spike are traveling together and as always Angel is annoyed. Next we see how Buffy's doing. I have a total of nineteen chapters for this story by devoting one chapter to Angel and one to Buffy it help extend this story or it would have been over in ten. So more to come thank you for reading comments and reviews are welcomed.