Prisoner in Time (Time travel) (60 page)

“Pardon me Sergeant?” Doc shouted. “A word with you, if you please.”

“Yes Sir Captain,” the sergeant responded, stopping short and rushing back to address his superior.

“Sergeant, I’m just curious. What is the meaning of our quickened pace?”

“Reb’s Sir,” the sergeant reported instantly. Pointing to the west, he continued, “Our scouts reported seeing ‘em on Compton’s hill, about five miles out yonder.”

“Compton’s Hill?” Geoff blurted loudly.

“Yes Sir Lieutenant,” the sergeant answered.

David shot Geoff a suspicious stare, then scanned the landscape for the hill.

Doc raised his hand to his eyes and squinted, sharpening his focus.

“Hmm, I don’t see the telltale dust cloud of an advancing army,” Doc said.

“No Sir. Me neither, but Gen. Schofield gave us orders for double-time march just the same.”

“Very well sergeant,” Doc responded, nodding in respect.

The sergeant raised his hand in formal salute, then turned and rushed back up the line, shouting commands to his men.

“Did you hear that? Compton’s Hill,” Geoff blurted once again.

“I heard it. Is that the hill… the one Arles died on?” David asked, his tone apprehensive.

“Uh huh. Sure is,” Geoff responded, excited yet nervous.

“And now it’s covered with Reb’s. There goes any chance of planning,” David said, now growing worried. “I hate to say this Geoff, but without being able to check it out before the battle, I’m afraid your chances of saving Bobby are now almost nil. Maybe you should reconsider.”

“Are you out of your freakin’ mind?” Geoff shot back. “I’ve come all this way… been through horrific battles, sawed off people’s legs and now when we’re so close, you think I’m going to just give up? No way man… no way,” he finished, shaking his head in disgust.

“Geoffrey, I believe in letting a man make his own choices, but this time I really do have to protest. This is madness. David’s correct. Without being able to at least see the hillside, there’s simply no way to plan. Anything you do from this point will simply be left up to chance,” Doc said, trying to reason with him.

He pointed to the distant city out in front of them, and continued:

“Consider this Geoffrey: about five mile up ahead is Nashville. Somehow, you will have to cross our lines and march five miles south back to Compton’s Hill. With the enemy occupying that hill, you probably won’t get very close until the day of the battle. On that day, you’ll have to somehow move past our troops without them calling you back into duty, and sneak up the hill to position yourself somewhere where you’ll have close access to Arles. Of course, this is while the Confederate army is trying to shoot you and furthermore, this is without even knowing what any of this looks like beforehand. I’m sorry Geoffrey, but I just don’t see any chance for success here.”

Geoff stared at Doc, then to David. He shook his head and looked out toward Compton’s Hill. His mind raced, as he struggled for a solution. Looking back toward the north, he stared at the distant city through the dust cloud that hung high above the soldier’s heads. Suddenly, he smiled.

“Doc, I think you’re right about the dust cloud. There’s one over us, but not on that hill. Maybe the enemy hasn’t arrived just yet. Maybe they’re still on their way and the scouts were just planning ahead. I’m betting we could walk right up that hill, right now.” Looking to David, he continued, “The hill’s only five miles away. If we ride fast, we can get there, check it out and be back here in time to enter the city with the rest of the column. What do you say?”

“I say you’re not thinking clearly!” David shot back. “Just because you don’t see a dust cloud, doesn’t mean the enemy isn’t up there. There might be battalion positioned up there or maybe just a couple of sharpshooters waiting to pick people off. In any case, if our scouts say the enemy’s up there, I’m believing them.”

“You have a pair of binoculars, right? Well, how about we just get close? We don’t even have to stand on the hillside. We can find a spot that’s far enough away to be out of range, but close enough to see with the binoculars.”

“I don’t know Geoff,” David responded, exhaling worriedly.

“Guys, I know you’re worried about me and I really appreciate that, but I think you keep missing the point. I’ve suffered through war and surgeries for one reason: to save my brother. If at any time, I had changed my mind, don’t you think I would’ve rushed back to the time portal and gotten the heck out of here? I didn’t do that, so you have to realize that I’m determined and you’re not going to change my mind now or ever...” he paused a moment, then added, “I think I’d have a better chance at success if you guys helped me instead of trying to stop me.”

David looked to Doc for an answer. Staring back at him, Doc’s eyes showed the same conflict he was feeling. Reluctantly, David asked, “You think you can cover for us for a couple of hours?”

Doc pursed his lips in discontent.

“You two lads are going to send me to an early grave,” he said, with a reluctant nod.

-----*-----*-----*-----

The two rode quickly, sometimes trotting, sometimes galloping, but always keeping their eyes on the distant hill. Using a nearby forest for protection and cover, they stopped periodically and listened. Aside from the wind and birds, there were no signs of the enemy. Riding to the top of a bluff less than a half mile away, the two stopped once more and listened.

“Nothing… not a peep,” Geoff announced assuredly. “Can I see your binoculars?”

David pulled them from his saddle bag scanned the top of Compton’s Hill, then handed them over. Geoff smirked at the delay, then scanned the hill himself.

“Yup, just as I had suspected, the place is deserted,” he said confidently. Handing the field glass back, he added, “Shall we?”

“Not so fast junior. We’re not stepping out in the open and just strolling up that hill.”

“We’re not?” he replied, puzzled.

“No, we’re not. Just because we don’t see anyone doesn’t mean they aren’t there. We’re going to continue to sneak through the woods. Once we get close enough, the binoculars will be all we’ll need to view the hill up close.”

“Fair enough,” Geoff responded.

Continuing through the edge of the forest, David kept a nervous watch on the nearing hill. Every few minutes, he stopped, listened and scanned the area. Within a quarter mile of the base of the hill, he hauled back on the reins and got down off his horse. Looking around him, he began to have an uneasy feeling.

“This is it, Geoff… it’s as far as I feel comfortable. We can crawl to the edge of the woods from here and check out the hill with the glasses.”

“I just hope we can see everything from here,” he responded, disapprovingly. “We’re still pretty far away.”

“The only thing I’m looking for at the moment is the enemy. I won’t lie to you Geoff. I’m a little nervous about this.”

“Man, don’t be such a wuss,” he teased. “If the enemy was up there, they would’ve shot us by now.”

“This isn’t a laughing matter, Geoff. We’re a long way from safety. Let’s just finish our reconnaissance and get the heck out of here.”

Seeing the seriousness of David’s expression, he only nodded in acquiescence.

The two crouched low and moved cautiously toward the edge of the woods. With each step, David’s intuition began to gnaw at him. Something just didn’t feel right. Within thirty feet of the open land, they began to crawl. Inching along on their stomachs, they moved slower as they became more exposed.

“This is good enough,” David whispered, several feet from the edge of the wood line.

Taking out his binoculars, he scanned the area once more for the enemy. Moving right to left and back again, he worked his way up the quarter mile hill, searching for movement, unnatural shapes or anything that seemed out of place that might indicate a person in hiding.

“Well?” Geoff asked impatiently.

“I’m still looking,” he responded, dryly.

Moving up to the crest of the hill, he concentrated his focus, looking for signs of moved earth, cut trees or boulders unnaturally positioned. All seemed undisturbed.

“Well? What’s the deal man? Do you see anything or not?” Geoff asked again.

Handing the binoculars over to Geoff, he said, “Well, from what I can see, it looks clear… but looks can be deceiving.”

Geoff grabbed the glasses and began his own search. Moving from bottom to top and back down again, he finished his scan in much quicker time than David.

“I don’t see anybody up there. I think the coast is clear. Let’s go,” he said, standing and heading out of the woods.

David leaped to his feet, grabbed Geoff and pulled him back down to the ground.

“Hey, what the HELL man,” Geoff shouted out in anger, as he fell onto his back.

“Shhh, keep your voice down!” David shouted back in frustration. “What the hell do think you were doing?”

“What was
I
doing? What are
you
doing?” he questioned.

“Geoff, this isn’t a game. I don’t care if we didn’t see anyone. If the scouts say they spotted the enemy, that’s good enough for me,” David explained, then added, “You’d think you’d be a bit more cautious after seeing so much death the past few months.”

Grabbing the binoculars off the ground, David quickly scanned the hill once more. Suddenly, his heart raced and a wave of fear swept his body. Standing at the top of the hill, gray uniformed soldiers began to appear. Too far away to hear, he could see the men shouting as he stared through his field glasses. For a moment, he lay paralyzed with fear, unable to move. As white smoke drifted into the air, he instantly reacted.

“GET DOWN!”

Geoff shot forward and flattened to the ground. Instantly, trees erupted in splinters around them as the sound from the distant hill finally reached their ears.

“They’re reloading. Let’s get out of here!” David shouted.

Rolling to their knees, the two crawled swiftly between the trees. Suddenly, more bullets exploded in the woods and dirt around them.

“GET DOWN!” David shouted again.

As the sound of rifle fire echoed across the valley, the two lay perfectly flat and waited.

“RELOADING! MOVE!” David shouted.

The two rushed on their hands and knees once more. As more bullets impacted the trees, bark and wood fragments burst through the air. David clutched his face and fell to the ground.

“David, you hit?” Geoff yelled in panicked tone.

David moaned as he rolled to the ground. Geoff rushed to his side. Quickly, he scanned his body for blood.

“David, say something.”

Through gritted teeth, he moaned, “Get going. I’m right behind you.”

More bullets sounded out as they impacted the trees around them. Geoff began to crawl once more. Looking back, he saw streams of blood dripping from David’s face as he crawled behind him. Suddenly, he felt searing pain cross his right shoulder.

“Mother… what the hell was that?” he shouted.

“You hit?” David yelled from behind.

“I don’t think…”

Suddenly, David’s hat flew off his head, startling Geoff, cutting him off in mid-sentence.

“Whoa dude, you ok?” Geoff shouted frantically.

Seeing his hat laying several feet in front of him, David knew he almost died. Fear welled inside him. More bullets echoed in the valley. He jumped to his feet and pulled on Geoff’s coat.