Adventures on the trail west(closed for Ambrosia_64)

[latenightlover]

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It was a warm May evening and a tall man was standing in front of a rickety old chalk board that had seen better days. He had a group of 8 children seated in a semi circle around him. Once again he had lost track of the time and he was about to run out of daylight but he just lectured on. This was one of the few times the man by the name of Thomas truly felt like himself.

True, Thomas was used to teaching pupils much older than this and material much harder than this but he was just glad to be back in a...well not a classroom exactly but out here on the trail he had to settle for what he had.

Taking a break from writing on the chalk board he saw the parents standing around the outside of the semi circle trying to not interrupt his teaching, but also trying to get his attention as it was time for supper. Many of the children had grown restless and were daydreaming our doodling in the sand with sticks.

"Well I think thats enough for tonight..." he said kind of dejectedly. At least his students in New York at least had the manors and upbringing to fain interest while he was lecturing. "Your parents are here and supper will be served shortly" He said dismissing his students.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

Eight year old Charlie Wilkens popped to his feet and bent to pull his four year old, half asleep sister Mary up alongside him, twisting around to look at the parents stepping into the firelight and ushering children off to supper.

A young, softly smiling woman stepped forward and picked the small girl up, placed her on her hip. She held a graceful hand out for the little boy to hold.

Miss Hannah Mills was traveling with her maternal uncle, caring for his pregnant wife and two little children. She seemed to have endless patience with the high energy antics of the children in the wagon train, and was often tasked with keeping an eye on them.

Five foot six and lithe bodied, she wore a light blue calico dress with small pink and red roses printed on it, a dark blue apron tied around her small waist. Unlike many of the women in the party, she typically did not wear a bonnet. Her dark long hair was braided and wound into a bun at the nape of her neck, large dark eyes kind and intelligent. She preferred to listen most nights at the campfire, and usually retired early to put the children to bed and sit with her aunt. She often listened to the lessons, when she could.

"Did you thank your teacher for his lesson?" She asked Charlie-and the little boy smiled sheepishly and turned his head to look to the man. "Thank you sir. It was a good lesson."

"It was." Hannah agreed with a slight incline of her head towards him, her approving eyes leaving the little boy and shifting to Thomas.

"What a boon it is, to have you with us on the trail."

 

[latenightlover]

Thomas set to work erasing the board cleaning up from the lesson. 'i used to teach trigonometry but now I'm reduced to this. What would the great Cauchy think of me now's he thought as he worked.

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a letter, worn and tattered from the ride and exposure to the elements. He was about to read it again when he heard one of his pupils a dress him. He turned to see 8 year old Charlie looking up at him.

"Thank you young man. You and your sister show promise, even though she started to dose part way through again" he reached out and playfully poked the young girl on the nose as he spoke.

As their cousin add r eased him he shook his head "its no trouble. Least I can do anyway to have you lot to travel with. Now you all should get going, supper is ready."

 

[Ambrosia_64]

Lying on a bedroll inside their covered wagon, Hannah listened to the soft, steady breathing of both her aunt, parsing it out from the lighter breaths of the little girl curled between them. Her uncle and his son were both in a small tent just outside, no doubt deep in the sleep that was eluding her.

She shouldn’t be awake. She had worked hard this morning, and once the wagon train had started up again, walked much of the way. If she could not sleep, at least she could enjoy a rest. She had half resolved to get up and go for one of her late evening/early morning walks when she heard the bird call. It sounded like a starling- such a clever, pretty little bird. And then there was an answering call, but it was...off.

Hannah frowned as she sat up, trying to identify if this was an odd starling call or a different bird entirely-when she heard another call, this one closer and from a different direction. Her heart seized as she heard the sound of horses spurred with raised, whooping cries.

Indians. And not the peaceful kind either, like the tribe they had traded with, broken bread by the campfire. No, this was an attack! “Wake up, hurry-” She whispered urgently to her aunt, grabbing hold of her uncle’s hunting rifle.

“Wha, Hannah?”

She jumped down from the back of the wagon and burst into the boys’ tent. “Uncle!” Men were shouting, scrambling to raise an alarm and get to their weapons-the train was in a semi circle rather than a full one, leaving them vulnerable. Hannah did not know how many there were, but the fighting had started up the way.

The bear of a man wasted no time, thrusting the half asleep Charlie into her and accepting the rifle, not even bothering to pull on his boots before he hurried towards the fighting.

This is really happening. Hannah’s numbed mind realized, kicking into high gear as she hurried to untie one of the horses, terrified but resolved to do all she could to keep her adopted family safe from harm-she had read stories. She had read TERRIBLE stories.

Hannah helped her aunt down from the wagon and accepted a small satchel to throw over the horse. She took Mary’s small hand in her own-and started towards the woods, moving only as fast as her pregnant aunt could go and holding tightly to the reins of the horse. “What tribe is this? Why are they attacking us?” Her aunt was holding her stomach and looked pale and as frightened as Hannah was.

“Shh, the men will handle it, we’ll be alright.” She tried to be assuring, but her voice sounded shaky. They were leaving the train behind, nearing the edge of the woods. They would hide within until the coast was clear-if the coast would ever be clear. “I cannot walk far-” “I know, I brought Samuel to help us-” It was a struggle with so pregnant a belly, but they managed to get her on the horse’s back. They continued on-and then there was a holler in a language she didn’t know-she only half turned to see they had been spotted.

Hannah didn’t even think about it. With strength she hadn’t even known she possessed, she plucked eight year old Charlie right off his feet and handed him up to his mother-and then the small, crying Mary next. “Hannah-”

“I’ll be alright, go, go!” She gave the horse a smack on his hindquarters to send the horse racing headlong into the forest. God be with you- Both of her graceful hands snatched up fistfuls of her skirts-and Hannah turned and ran. She sprinted along the edge of the woods and away from where the horse had entered the forest, her heart hammering fast enough she was half sure she might die of terror before her pursuers could ever catch up to her.

To her great relief-and terror-the hooves grew louder and were coming for her, not her family. Hannah dared only a few more strides forward-before she turned and raced headlong into the forest herself. Tree branches and thorny bushes pulled and tore at her dress and stockings, roots threatened to trip her, and the ground was uneven and treacherous with slick leaves and vegetation. She tried to run where the trees were closer together, hoped against hope to lose them, her throat and lungs burning.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been running before she realized she wasn’t being followed. The crashing, noisy ruckus of a horses flying through the local fauna had dimmed down to just one singular body racing as if on fire-until Hannah’s left boot caught in a root and she went down, barely catching herself on her hands as she did so.

She could scarcely breath. Pushing herself onto her hands and knees, her head hung between her arms as her ragged breaths turned into wracking coughs and shivering. She had run a long ways. Miles.

Miles.

Hannah turned and tried to get up-before she collapsed back against a heavy tree trunk, still badly winded and dizzied with physical exhaustion. She had no idea where she was, she realized. When had she lost her pursuers? Had her aunt and cousins escaped and managed to hide until the battle was over? Was her uncle still alive?

She thought of all the other families that had been involved, and hoped against hope that all yet lived. As for her, she may be lost, but she was alive. Alive. When she had slapped the horse and turned to run in the other direction, she had been sure she was doomed. And yet here she was. Living. Breathing. Alive.

With a breathless laugh, Hannah ran a hand through her messy, half undone braid and continued to laugh, unable to stop-even as the laughter quickly dissolved into tears. The fear, the worry, the race for her life and the desperate hope that she had managed to save her cousins and aunt-it was all too much for one person, particularly a woman as soft spoken and gentle as Hannah.

 

[latenightlover]

Thomas sat hunched over a simple desk inside his covered wagon, a simple lantern burning low in the early morning hours. He frantically wrote notes on sheets of paper only stopping to dip his pen in his ink well. He should probably be sleeping but he was close to something big...he could feel it. A breakthrough out here, like this, under these circumstances would be huge. It would be months before he could publish of course, and he wasn't even sure if where ever he was ending up would have a publishing house but he would worry about that more later.

For the first time in what felt like hours he finally took a slight break to smell the night are coming into his wagon and give his aching hand and head a rest. He rolled his shoulders, little pops and cracks being heard as he did so. He really shouldn't get wrapped up in his work like this. He looked around at all the papers strewn about on the floor of the wagon, hoping he would be able to get them back in order.

It was a cool evening and a slight breeze blew threw the wagon, the light of the lantern flickering slightly. On it hung a strange smell he didn't recognize, and didn't quite like either. It smelled...off...somehow to him. Then he heard a call on the wind, almost sounding like a bird. Then a second answering call...but not as pretty and the smell came more intense to his nose. The sound was also closer.
Another one rang out in the night, this one much closer. This didn't feel right to him and Thomas finally decided to take action.

He grabbed his rifle and jumped made his way out of his wagon to take a quick look around the camp. As he made his way from his wagon he passed his horses, grazing next to the wagon on some grass near by. He had untied them from the wagon and tied them to a tree earlier in the evening. He ran a hand along the neck of one of them when he heard it, the undeniable sound of hoof beats and whooping war cries. His heart sank and his blood ran cold as it registered in his head what was going on.

"INDIANS" he calls out waking the families around him. "EVERYONE UP! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

A few families sprung to action, hearing the sound of hoof beats approaching the camp. With the families up he sprung into action, untying his trustiest steed and leaping up onto the beast, not even bothering with a saddle, or faltering with his rifle. He rode toward the sound of the hoof-beats, taking aim with his gun, but it was a cloudy night and it was hard to see in the dark. Taking a few shots he managed to hit two Indians out of their saddles before he caught something out of the corner of his eye.

Some of the women of one of the families in the train had headed towards the woods and was being approached by several Indians on horseback. All but one the family was mounted on horseback and they made their way safely into the woods. The one left on foot ran a little further down, the Indians on horseback following her. It took a moment but he recognized this woman on foot, it was Hannah, the cousin of two of his students.

His blood ran cold once again in his body and he started feel his anger take hold as he watched the Indians close in on her. He raised his rifle and took aim once again at one of the pursuers and fired with a loud thunder like crack. A brief moment later the Indian cried out and slumped forward in the saddle before falling and getting trampled by his horse.

Thomas approached the woods at this point, nudging his horse forward with his legs. Hannah made her way into the woods, fast as a fox, trying to loose her other pursuers. He rode after her, determined to make sure that she was was okay. As he rode he tried to take another shot but he was out of ammo and didn't bring any other bullets with him.

He road into the woods a short way and tried to make his way back to Hannah, trying to keep an eye for any sign of struggle as he rode in the dark.

 

[Ambrosia_64]

The Indians were so focused on their quarry they didn't seem to realize they themselves were being pursued. They continued on at breakneck pace after the girl before being forced to slow as the wood grew thicker.

No doubt Thomas was forced to slow also, maybe even conceal himself, lacking ammo. They gave up the pursuit after a long chase, turning left and heading off in some other direction-but Hannah was long gone.



HOURS LATER:

They sky was lightening when she woke up, a damp chill in the air. She had fallen asleep somehow-something that shouldn't have entirely surprised her, given how exhausted she had been BEFORE running so very far.

Hannah came to her feet, numbly dusting the skirts to her dress off, her eyes taking in her surroundings now that she could see better in the rapidly dawning day. She had no idea which way to head...but on closer inspection, she could kind of see where she had tripped, and a faint trail of broken branches and her own tiny footprints in the leaves and dirt beyond that.

She was lost, but maybe she could make it back if she was careful and observant, tried to follow her own trail? Maybe.

 

[latenightlover]

Thomas road into the night looking for Hannah. Thankfully they had given up their persuit of her and he had managed to sneak buy undetected. He made his way deeper and deeper into the woods barely able to make out her track in the dark. It didn't help that he had to ride very slowly in the thick woods and in a few spots he had to dismount and walk his horse.

This went on for hours and he had long given up riding by the time the sun started to grace the world with its presence once again. He rounded a bend and there she was, leaning against a tree. He let out a sigh of releaf when he saw she was unharmed for the most part.

"Hanna" he called to her as he approached her. "Hanna are you okay?"

 

[Ambrosia_64]

Recognition and relief swept over the young woman's face as Thomas grew close enough to call out. She would no longer be wandering the woods alone, and for that she was very grateful.

"Thank goodness you are alright! I am well enough, now that I am no longer lost and alone. " She said once she was close enough, her dark, wearied eyes full of concern. She reached out and clasped one of his hands in both of her own. "I was so afraid...and am yet afraid for my family, the camp-do you have any news?"

Hannah had clearly been through a fright. Her escape through the forest had also left marks-there was a scratch on one delicate cheekbone from a branch and small tears in the plain dress she wore, no doubt had been sleeping in. Her usually neat braid was mushed and a little bedraggled, the hem of her skirts splattered with mud along with the toes of her boots.

 

[latenightlover]

Hanna could tell it had been a long night for Thomas, the legs of his trousers were all cut up from sharp branches slapping against them as he road. His hair was a mess and he had some twigs sticking out of it and there were bags starting to form under his eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine, I tried to scare them off of you but I lost track of your family...sorry. And No I have no news from the camp. I fought off a few of the invaders before finding your trail and then I took off after you. When I left things were still standing and we were starting to defend the train but the indians got the jump on us pretty good...I'm not sure how well we would be able to hold them off. Not many were awake when I left..." his words trailed off as he stopped to think, for the first time since it all started, about the others.

"If you're good to ride I can help you up and we can go take a look ourselves."