Well, certainly we couldn't have killed off one of America's greatest novelists and the creator of New American Literature, now can we? 
French weapons, so cool yet so bizaare...
French weapons, so cool yet so bizaare...
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Well, certainly we couldn't have killed off one of America's greatest novelists and the creator of New American Literature, now can we?
French weapons, so cool yet so bizaare...
French weapons are always cool, plus they look better than others.
French weapons are always cool, plus they look better than others.
That they are! definatley can't beat some of those wicked French weapons. I think the Penguin would like the last one!
French weapons are always cool, plus they look better than others.
They look cool because there is no ageing in them as they are still to be used...
Ok, we need an update...
That they are! definatley can't beat some of those wicked French weapons. I think the Penguin would like the last one!
Well, Penguin got his cute o'umbrella already.
They look cool because there is no ageing in them as they are still to be used...
Ok, we need an update...
Working on it. Update should come within 24 hrs.
Update time! My writing may still be a bit messy since my state of mind wasn't that well when I wrote this. o
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o...
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Chapter II
“Ahhh… I’m bored,” said Sam lying down on the steamer’s deck.
“You can’t be more bored than I am now… ohhh… crap!” spoke Danjou.
“What?” asked Sam startled. “What is it, Monsieur Dan…”
Sam got up and looked at where Danjou was looking. They both saw Adeline leaning a little down and looking at them with a smile. She then threw her hat overboard in the most “unintentional” way.
~Moments later~
Both Danjou and Sam were wet from their little swim. They were only traveling through the Mississippi at low speed and at relatively calm waters, therefore there were no difficulties for them in getting back to their steamship, or even for Adeline to steer the vessel for a short while. The two made it back to their vessel with Adeline’s hat and greeted by their little princess who was smiling pleasantly at them again.
“Hah… hah… hah…” although the past week had been a series of physical excitement for Sam, his body still seemed unforgiving its abilities were put to test. Perhaps it was because he and Danjou swam with wet clothes; there wasn’t that much time for them to take off their clothes unless they wished Adeline’s hat would had drifted away with the current.
“Tired?” asked Danjou. “She said… it is better to have us tired rather than to let us be bored.”
“I’m sure tired since I swam at full speed for the hat,” said Sam. “Wait, I thought she doesn’t speak English. How did she know we were bored?” he asked.
“Regrettably, five minutes ago, she expressed her boredom and the desire of how to express that in English…” said Danjou in a low tone.
“So… you just taught her without thinking of the possible consequences?”
“Regrettably… yes,” replied Danjou a bit embarrassed.
“Jeeshh… think before you act…” said Sam as he began to take off his wet clothes as to not catch a cold. However, Sam failed to notice Adeline, who was still by their side, started to act almost hysterically at his own action.
“What? What’s wrong …” began Sam when the corner of his eye caught Adeline coming towards him.
The next thing Sam knew was that the end tip of a parasol struck him straight in the groin and threw him overbroad in the most dramatic way.
“Are you alright, Monsieur Clemens?” asked Danjou.
“Don’t… talk… to… me…” said Sam in his terrible-mood face, while covered in some blankets and shivering beside the boilers of the steamer for warmth.
“Well, Monsieur Clemens, she wished to tell you, “Men should not just take their clothes off before a lady.” Perhaps you should think of the possible consequences your actions can lead to before her,” said Danjou amusingly with his shirt off.
“Hey!” exclaimed Sam after noticing Danjou wasn’t wearing his shirt. “You took off your clothes too. Why weren’t you hit?”
“She said I was muscular enough to not worry about it, Monsieur Clemens,” replied Danjou while trying to squeeze some water out of his shirt. Adeline was a little distance away looking at Danjou’s body with admiration.
“What? That’s nonsense. Let’s take a look at your…”
Sam immediately shut up after seeming Danjou’s muscular body, and felt that his own was like a monkey’s compared to Danjou’s gorilla-sized body. A sense of defeat came to him most surely.
(Hey, Ar... no... Co... no... Danjou)
“Ohhh, merde!” cried Danjou suddenly. The kind of cry he would exclaim when trouble was coming.
“What? What is it?” asked Sam before he turned around and looked at where Danjou was looking at. Sam then let out a similar exclamation as Danjou’s.
“Crap!” exclaimed Sam.
A steamer appeared behind them, steaming towards their vessel at full steam. To describe it clearer, it was a gunboat, armed with two large cannons mounted near the bow and ready to deliver destruction.
(Something like this, but I want it to be considerably smaller than in the pic, plus the cannons up front.)
The gunboat immediately fired at them once they spotted the boat Sam and the others were on, sending water splashing onto the deck of the unarmed vessel.
“Monsieur Danjou! What should we do? Should we just surrender ourselves?” asked Sam terrified at the presence of cannons aiming at his direction.
“No surrender, Monsieur Clemens. Wait,” said Danjou surprisingly calm.
“You don’t expect us to jump overboard again, right?”
“Wait. Just wait,” replied Danjou.
Danjou immediately went into the pilot’s house and began to steer their vessel around to face their enemy behind. The vessel was a lady with a big ass, but she slowly but surely turned towards the oncoming gunboat, gradually coming face to face to the enemy vessel.
“Monsieur Danjou! Are you trying to ram them? This is insane!” cried Sam as he watched Danjou maneuvered their steamer around. Meanwhile the enemy continued to fire at them, scoring a few hits and sending wood splinters everywhere in their defenseless prey.
“Rather than to just try to ram them, I prepare to board the enemy vessel,” answered Danjou.
“What? What are you talking about?” cried Sam completely surprised at Danjou’s words.
Danjou briefly turned to Adeline and seemingly explained to her what he was about to do. The little princess got on Danjou’s back without any words spoken.
“We’ve no time, Monsieur Clemens, follow me as best you can,” said Danjou as he carried Adeline on his back and head for the deck. A few more seconds later their vessel rammed into the enemy, and violently shook both vessels.
Danjou took the opportunity offered by the confusion of the enemy caused by the ramming and leapt onto the enemy vessel gracefully. The enemy was in total chaos and Danjou found no trouble sending people screaming overboard.
Sam boarded the enemy vessel surely and steadily but in a much less “fashionable” manner compared to Danjou. He found Danjou already done with most of the crew with a combination of punches, kicks, and even a handy hammer.
Sam looked around the gunboat. Much to his surprise, some of the crew, out of sheer desperation and lack of foresight, turned the two cannons mounted on the exposed turret of the gunboat around, unexpectedly at the vessel itself. They seemed to be trying to hit Danjou and Adeline with their cannons without realizing the extent of the damage that they might cause to their vessel.
“Watch out!” cried Sam to Danjou, but it was too late. Danjou was busy fighting the rest of the crew and didn’t notice two cannons were aimed at him and Adeline. The two cannons roared and blasted a large section of the vessel away, even exposing and damaging the boiler of the steam gunboat. Danjou was thrown of his balance as well as the men he was fighting with, and landed on a deck filled with bits of debris.
Adeline got up first from behind the smoke and dust, as she had Danjou cushioning her fall. She then tried to pull Danjou up, but Danjou’s head appeared to still be spinning around due to his fall. A man then pulled out his revolver and began to walk towards the two of them.
“Arrgghhh!” cried Sam. Without realizing what he was doing, Sam immediately grabbed a nearby shovel and charged at the gunman from behind. Then he slammed down the shovel at his target’s head, before viciously sending the man overboard with a kick in the groin. Surprisingly to him, Sam felt more than just a simple sense of satisfaction.
“Get up, Monsieur Danjou,” said Sam. Danjou quickly got up with both Sam and Adeline pulling him up. The three of them then noticed the crewmen at the cannons were reloading for another volley of fire.
“Take this!” Danjou threw the hammer he was wielding and threw it at the man who was lighting up the fuses for the two cannons. It was a well-aimed throw that knocked the man into the water. However, the fuses were already lit. The rest of the crewmen, realizing what they had done, simply jumped overboard in fear.
Sam rushed to the cannons in attempt to extinguish the fuses. However to Sam’s horror, it was too late already, the fuse of the cannon had already burned into the barrel itself. What happened next was pure chaos. With Adeline on his back once again, Danjou ran as quickly as possible with Sam closely behind. Luckily the vessel had been steering astray right for the riverbanks ever since it was rammed, and allowed Danjou and Sam to move through the water without much of a swim for the riverbanks. The cannons then fired, and destroyed a good part of the already damaged boiler. The boiler followed this by literally exploded, sending pieces of the wreck gunboat flying everywhere.
Sam looked behind him. What remained of the gunboat was just a pile of burning wood, which was gradually extinguished as it sunk beneath the surface of the river.
“I’m starting to think whether it is a good idea to follow the two of you. There’s just too much excitement that I’m afraid my heart can’t take any longer,” said Sam as he slumped onto the riverbanks, totally exhausted.
“If that’s the case I’m afraid to inform you that there might always be Yanks lurking out there wanting to dig your heart out. I’m sure there are more of them out there since last time before after all the trouble we have caused to them now,” replied Danjou amusingly.
“Don’t… don’t mention that to me again,” said Sam obviously unnerved.
Adeline had taken out her chick from a small, specially made basket and hold it in her hands. Surprisingly enough, the chick was happily chirping along, as if the brawl the trio just had did not cause any harm to it while it was with Adeline. Adeline played with it for a brief moment, before she turned to Danjou and spoke a few words to him.
“Monsieur Clemens, it seems like she wants to show her gratitude for acting so gallantly just then for us. She said you get to name her pet chick,” said Danjou to Sam, in a way as if he was expecting to see some funny response by Sam.
“She wants me to name her chick? How is this a way to show gratitude towards someone?” muttered Sam unhappily.
As if she sensed Sam was not happy about naming her chick, Adeline drew her parasol from behind and looked prepared to strike.
“Wait! Wait!” cried Sam nervously. “Uhhhmmmm…… let’s see…… I guess… I’ll just have it named Chicky!” exclaimed Sam after a brief moment in desperation.
“A chick named Chicky… Monsieur Clemens, can’t you come out with a better name?” asked Danjou from beside.
“Uhhhmmmm… ” said Sam nervously.
Danjou than conveyed what Sam said to Adeline, and surprisingly, she seemed happy and let out a pleasant smile.
“It seems like that she likes the name, regardless of how we might think,” said Danjou to Sam, who seemed relieved when he saw Adeline put away her parasol.
“We should camp somewhere soon,” said Sam when he suddenly felt a jerk on his trousers. It was Adeline holding out Chicky to him, as if she wants him to rub Chicky’s head.
“Rub her Chicky’s head? Is this also part of her way of showing gratitude?” asked Sam to himself.
Sam then rubbed Chicky’s head with his index finger relunctantly. He seemed to rub Chicky to hard and made Chicky uncomfortable. In retaliation and without warning, Chicky suddenly viciously pecked Sam’s extended finger, far more viciously than one will normally expect. Sam’s screams and howls of pain then filled the surroundings, comparable to a howling monkey of the Amazon.
(Sam's new look?)
“Ahhh… I’m bored,” said Sam lying down on the steamer’s deck.
“You can’t be more bored than I am now… ohhh… crap!” spoke Danjou.
“What?” asked Sam startled. “What is it, Monsieur Dan…”
Sam got up and looked at where Danjou was looking. They both saw Adeline leaning a little down and looking at them with a smile. She then threw her hat overboard in the most “unintentional” way.
~Moments later~
Both Danjou and Sam were wet from their little swim. They were only traveling through the Mississippi at low speed and at relatively calm waters, therefore there were no difficulties for them in getting back to their steamship, or even for Adeline to steer the vessel for a short while. The two made it back to their vessel with Adeline’s hat and greeted by their little princess who was smiling pleasantly at them again.
“Hah… hah… hah…” although the past week had been a series of physical excitement for Sam, his body still seemed unforgiving its abilities were put to test. Perhaps it was because he and Danjou swam with wet clothes; there wasn’t that much time for them to take off their clothes unless they wished Adeline’s hat would had drifted away with the current.
“Tired?” asked Danjou. “She said… it is better to have us tired rather than to let us be bored.”
“I’m sure tired since I swam at full speed for the hat,” said Sam. “Wait, I thought she doesn’t speak English. How did she know we were bored?” he asked.
“Regrettably, five minutes ago, she expressed her boredom and the desire of how to express that in English…” said Danjou in a low tone.
“So… you just taught her without thinking of the possible consequences?”
“Regrettably… yes,” replied Danjou a bit embarrassed.
“Jeeshh… think before you act…” said Sam as he began to take off his wet clothes as to not catch a cold. However, Sam failed to notice Adeline, who was still by their side, started to act almost hysterically at his own action.
“What? What’s wrong …” began Sam when the corner of his eye caught Adeline coming towards him.
The next thing Sam knew was that the end tip of a parasol struck him straight in the groin and threw him overbroad in the most dramatic way.
…
“Are you alright, Monsieur Clemens?” asked Danjou.
“Don’t… talk… to… me…” said Sam in his terrible-mood face, while covered in some blankets and shivering beside the boilers of the steamer for warmth.
“Well, Monsieur Clemens, she wished to tell you, “Men should not just take their clothes off before a lady.” Perhaps you should think of the possible consequences your actions can lead to before her,” said Danjou amusingly with his shirt off.
“Hey!” exclaimed Sam after noticing Danjou wasn’t wearing his shirt. “You took off your clothes too. Why weren’t you hit?”
“She said I was muscular enough to not worry about it, Monsieur Clemens,” replied Danjou while trying to squeeze some water out of his shirt. Adeline was a little distance away looking at Danjou’s body with admiration.
“What? That’s nonsense. Let’s take a look at your…”
Sam immediately shut up after seeming Danjou’s muscular body, and felt that his own was like a monkey’s compared to Danjou’s gorilla-sized body. A sense of defeat came to him most surely.
(Hey, Ar... no... Co... no... Danjou
)“Ohhh, merde!” cried Danjou suddenly. The kind of cry he would exclaim when trouble was coming.
“What? What is it?” asked Sam before he turned around and looked at where Danjou was looking at. Sam then let out a similar exclamation as Danjou’s.
“Crap!” exclaimed Sam.
A steamer appeared behind them, steaming towards their vessel at full steam. To describe it clearer, it was a gunboat, armed with two large cannons mounted near the bow and ready to deliver destruction.
(Something like this, but I want it to be considerably smaller than in the pic, plus the cannons up front.
)The gunboat immediately fired at them once they spotted the boat Sam and the others were on, sending water splashing onto the deck of the unarmed vessel.
“Monsieur Danjou! What should we do? Should we just surrender ourselves?” asked Sam terrified at the presence of cannons aiming at his direction.
“No surrender, Monsieur Clemens. Wait,” said Danjou surprisingly calm.
“You don’t expect us to jump overboard again, right?”
“Wait. Just wait,” replied Danjou.
Danjou immediately went into the pilot’s house and began to steer their vessel around to face their enemy behind. The vessel was a lady with a big ass, but she slowly but surely turned towards the oncoming gunboat, gradually coming face to face to the enemy vessel.
“Monsieur Danjou! Are you trying to ram them? This is insane!” cried Sam as he watched Danjou maneuvered their steamer around. Meanwhile the enemy continued to fire at them, scoring a few hits and sending wood splinters everywhere in their defenseless prey.
“Rather than to just try to ram them, I prepare to board the enemy vessel,” answered Danjou.
“What? What are you talking about?” cried Sam completely surprised at Danjou’s words.
Danjou briefly turned to Adeline and seemingly explained to her what he was about to do. The little princess got on Danjou’s back without any words spoken.
“We’ve no time, Monsieur Clemens, follow me as best you can,” said Danjou as he carried Adeline on his back and head for the deck. A few more seconds later their vessel rammed into the enemy, and violently shook both vessels.
Danjou took the opportunity offered by the confusion of the enemy caused by the ramming and leapt onto the enemy vessel gracefully. The enemy was in total chaos and Danjou found no trouble sending people screaming overboard.
Sam boarded the enemy vessel surely and steadily but in a much less “fashionable” manner compared to Danjou. He found Danjou already done with most of the crew with a combination of punches, kicks, and even a handy hammer.
Sam looked around the gunboat. Much to his surprise, some of the crew, out of sheer desperation and lack of foresight, turned the two cannons mounted on the exposed turret of the gunboat around, unexpectedly at the vessel itself. They seemed to be trying to hit Danjou and Adeline with their cannons without realizing the extent of the damage that they might cause to their vessel.
“Watch out!” cried Sam to Danjou, but it was too late. Danjou was busy fighting the rest of the crew and didn’t notice two cannons were aimed at him and Adeline. The two cannons roared and blasted a large section of the vessel away, even exposing and damaging the boiler of the steam gunboat. Danjou was thrown of his balance as well as the men he was fighting with, and landed on a deck filled with bits of debris.
Adeline got up first from behind the smoke and dust, as she had Danjou cushioning her fall. She then tried to pull Danjou up, but Danjou’s head appeared to still be spinning around due to his fall. A man then pulled out his revolver and began to walk towards the two of them.
“Arrgghhh!” cried Sam. Without realizing what he was doing, Sam immediately grabbed a nearby shovel and charged at the gunman from behind. Then he slammed down the shovel at his target’s head, before viciously sending the man overboard with a kick in the groin. Surprisingly to him, Sam felt more than just a simple sense of satisfaction.
“Get up, Monsieur Danjou,” said Sam. Danjou quickly got up with both Sam and Adeline pulling him up. The three of them then noticed the crewmen at the cannons were reloading for another volley of fire.
“Take this!” Danjou threw the hammer he was wielding and threw it at the man who was lighting up the fuses for the two cannons. It was a well-aimed throw that knocked the man into the water. However, the fuses were already lit. The rest of the crewmen, realizing what they had done, simply jumped overboard in fear.
Sam rushed to the cannons in attempt to extinguish the fuses. However to Sam’s horror, it was too late already, the fuse of the cannon had already burned into the barrel itself. What happened next was pure chaos. With Adeline on his back once again, Danjou ran as quickly as possible with Sam closely behind. Luckily the vessel had been steering astray right for the riverbanks ever since it was rammed, and allowed Danjou and Sam to move through the water without much of a swim for the riverbanks. The cannons then fired, and destroyed a good part of the already damaged boiler. The boiler followed this by literally exploded, sending pieces of the wreck gunboat flying everywhere.
Sam looked behind him. What remained of the gunboat was just a pile of burning wood, which was gradually extinguished as it sunk beneath the surface of the river.
“I’m starting to think whether it is a good idea to follow the two of you. There’s just too much excitement that I’m afraid my heart can’t take any longer,” said Sam as he slumped onto the riverbanks, totally exhausted.
“If that’s the case I’m afraid to inform you that there might always be Yanks lurking out there wanting to dig your heart out. I’m sure there are more of them out there since last time before after all the trouble we have caused to them now,” replied Danjou amusingly.
“Don’t… don’t mention that to me again,” said Sam obviously unnerved.
Adeline had taken out her chick from a small, specially made basket and hold it in her hands. Surprisingly enough, the chick was happily chirping along, as if the brawl the trio just had did not cause any harm to it while it was with Adeline. Adeline played with it for a brief moment, before she turned to Danjou and spoke a few words to him.
“Monsieur Clemens, it seems like she wants to show her gratitude for acting so gallantly just then for us. She said you get to name her pet chick,” said Danjou to Sam, in a way as if he was expecting to see some funny response by Sam.
“She wants me to name her chick? How is this a way to show gratitude towards someone?” muttered Sam unhappily.
As if she sensed Sam was not happy about naming her chick, Adeline drew her parasol from behind and looked prepared to strike.
“Wait! Wait!” cried Sam nervously. “Uhhhmmmm…… let’s see…… I guess… I’ll just have it named Chicky!” exclaimed Sam after a brief moment in desperation.
“A chick named Chicky… Monsieur Clemens, can’t you come out with a better name?” asked Danjou from beside.
“Uhhhmmmm… ” said Sam nervously.
Danjou than conveyed what Sam said to Adeline, and surprisingly, she seemed happy and let out a pleasant smile.
“It seems like that she likes the name, regardless of how we might think,” said Danjou to Sam, who seemed relieved when he saw Adeline put away her parasol.
“We should camp somewhere soon,” said Sam when he suddenly felt a jerk on his trousers. It was Adeline holding out Chicky to him, as if she wants him to rub Chicky’s head.
“Rub her Chicky’s head? Is this also part of her way of showing gratitude?” asked Sam to himself.
Sam then rubbed Chicky’s head with his index finger relunctantly. He seemed to rub Chicky to hard and made Chicky uncomfortable. In retaliation and without warning, Chicky suddenly viciously pecked Sam’s extended finger, far more viciously than one will normally expect. Sam’s screams and howls of pain then filled the surroundings, comparable to a howling monkey of the Amazon.
(Sam's new look?
)
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Because Chicky is going to play an important role in this AAR serires.
Seriously though, I should hurry up and get another update here.
Phew... folks... finally got it here. For some stupid reason my Internet Explorer broke down (damn you Bill ), and I couldn't post this update soon enough. Eventually I resort to Firefox and now I'm here, so here we go!
PlaceHolder, this update might not be of best quality. No pics yet since I still need to find them.
), and I couldn't post this update soon enough. Eventually I resort to Firefox and now I'm here, so here we go!...
PlaceHolder, this update might not be of best quality. No pics yet since I still need to find them.
Chapter III
“…” A stone-faced Danjou remained silent whilst holding Adeline close to him.
“Monsieur Danjou…” said Adeline in her small voice.
“I wish you can remain silent, Adeline. Also keep your eyes closed.” Danjou placed his hand on top of Adeline’s head. Surprisingly the little girl obeyed.
“Are they gone yet?” asked Sam.
“Just wait for a little while more,” replied Danjou.
There was some chatting near where the trio was. Union soldiers, dressed in their blue uniforms, were checking around for anything worth salvage. Indeed, the field was filled with the dead and their earthly possessions.
“What just happened here?” whispered Sam to Danjou.
“There must be a skirmish around here. It seems like the Unionists beat back the Confederates with their superior numbers.”
Looking around the field, it was a fact that the majority of the dead wore the blue uniforms of the Union Army. Nevertheless, the blood of the dead from both sides stained the green field of the battle.
After a while, the Yanks left for good to a camp presumed to be not far away.
“Let’s proceed to the little town just east of us to rest for the night,” said Sam after he got up. “I assume that it hadn’t been taken by the Union Army.”
“Agreed,” said Danjou while not looking back, and at the same time trying to leave the stench of the dead away.
After a few hours of walk, Danjou and the others arrived at a small town not far away from where the skirmish took place.
“We should hurry up and find somewhere to rest… ” said Danjou. Adeline appeared to be exhausted by the day’s walk already.
“Hey, who goes by there?” Somebody suddenly called out, and approached their group.
Although a bit uneasy, Sam decided to speak for their group by the fact that he was American and would not be up for too much trouble, so long as he was on the right side.
“Hey, you. Tell me honestly or I’ll shoot you in the ass,” said the man as he revealed his revolver. “Are you one of those smelly Yanks, or are you a respectable Confederate like me?”
Danjou looked as if he was going to deliver a preemptive strike, however Sam signaled him to stay low.
“I… I’m a Confederate. I just enlisted as a private a little over a month ago.” Sam then showed the man his dirty but still recognizable gray uniform under his coat. It was difficult for him to obtain another piece of wearable clothing, so Sam kept his old Confederate uniform despite he wasn't considering himself a Confederate anymore.
“So you are a Confederate too, ehh? Good. At least then you won’t smell as bad as those Union bastards,” said the man as he put his gun away. Sam felt relieved by the man’s words.
Danjou eyed the man with a serious look, almost hostilely. Adeline was hiding behind him peeking at Sam and the man.
“Name’s Mark,” said the man as he shook Sam’s hand friendly. Mark appeared to be a man slightly older than Sam. He was dressed simply but seemed to be a strong man who had done considerable farm work.
“My name is Samuel. Sam will be fine,” replied Sam.
“Well, Sam, why are you here? Anything particular you want in town?” asked Mark.
“Nothing particular. Just wanting to find some place to stay for the night,” said Sam to Mark.
“Ahhh, so did you take part in the battle that just happened outside of town?”
“… Yes… but I lost contact with my regiment, so I thought about staying somewhere for the night.”
Sam thought he responded well, but then suddenly Mark’s attention turned to Danjou and Adeline.
“May I ask you who are they? They don’t appear to be one of us in any sense…” Mark raised a question that made Sam nervous.
“They are… errr… my relatives from New Orleans. They don’t speak too much English I’m afraid, since they are from the French part of my family…”
Mark eyed Danjou and Adeline suspiciously, but then he turned around and spoke to Sam casually.
“As long as they behave I have no objection against their stay. Make yourselves comfortable around here. Just don’t do anything suspicious here. You know, the battle that just happened outside of town, many of our lads in town lost their lives to those Yankee bastards. Also, we don’t know when will they come to town and take over. People are not that friendly as you might hope them to be, so don’t act cocky and just stay low. I’ll have to go on patrol now, so see you around in town.”
“Thank you, Mark. See you around in town,” said Sam as he watched Mark left. Mark appeared to be not one of the most approachable folks, but at least he acted “friendly” enough and did not ask too much questions, particularly regarding how Sam “participated” in the battle with Danjou and Adeline.
Sam was able to quickly locate a small hotel for the three of them to stay for the night. They got a small but comfortable room on the second floor, and in it were two warm and cozy beds. Adeline was soundly asleep almost immediately after their arrival at their room apparently exhausted by their journey. She was still holding Chicky’s basket with Chicky sleeping inside. It was a delightful sight for Danjou and Sam, but the problem for the two of them was that she refused to share a bed with either one of them.
~Later into the night~
“You can’t sleep?” asked Danjou from the other side of the bed.
“Yes,” replied Sam. “I’m not used to sleep on the same bed with a muscular man like you,” thought Sam as he tried to fit himself better into the obviously smaller half of the bed.
“Thinking about what might happen in this town in the near future?”
“… Correct.” Although he was in a relatively uncomfortable sleeping position, the situation in town worried him more. It was true that the Yanks could come anytime, and the townsfolk seemed to be acting quite hostile to outsiders, and even suspicious of each other acting as an insider for the Unionists. People like Mark just might suddenly accuse him of something and point a gun at him.
“We shall leave tomorrow, perhaps before noon once we get some supplies from the general store. Rest well. You’ll need all you can get…”
Danjou then remained quiet, and Sam slowly but surely closed his eyes for the evening.
~The next morning~
Sam had a huge headache. He did not sleep well last night, and the fact that he fell of the bed did not do any good.
As Sam was walking down the stairs and resolving to not sleeping on the same bed as Danjou in any way possible, Danjou and Adeline were already having some breakfast included with their lodging. Adeline was also happily feeding and playing with her adorable Chicky.
“Did you sleep well?” asked Danjou.
“Don’t even ask about it,” replied Sam as he helped himself to some bacon, but that was quickly snatched away by Chicky, leaving Sam empty handed.
Suddenly, some loud cries of a crowd abruptly ended the once peaceful morning. Apparently there was something stirring outside.
“What happened out here?” asked Sam to a townsman as he and his other two companions went out of the hotel.
“Ohh, it’s nothin’. We just caught a bloody Yank sneaking around town,” said the man with a smirk.
“What’s going to happen to him?” asked Sam.
“Do I have to say it? Of course we are going to use him to set an example for our people,” said the townsfolk before he went for where the crowd was gathering just like the others.
Following the updates Sam, with Danjou and Adeline following him, also went to check around where the crowd was gathering. The sun was blazing, and the heat and humidity made one feel uncomfortable on the streets.
As he walked closer to the crowd, Sam noticed Mark barking at someone, who also noticed him at almost the same moment.
“Sam, come here, I have a task for you,” cried Mark as he signaled Sam to come over. As Sam went came towards him, Mark put his arm on Sam’s back and handed Sam a gleaming revolver.
“What… what do you want me to do?” asked Sam worriedly.
“Isn’t it clear enough, Sam? I want you to prove yourself a good Confederate.”
“You mean…”
Lead by Mark, Sam was brought before a battered and bloody man. Some fresh open wounds and bruises indicated he just took a bad beating. He was held up on his knees by two other townsmen, and looked at Sam wearily with his half open eyes.
“Here we go, Sam. He’s all yours,” said Mark almost cheerfully.
Sam was obviously hesitating regarding on what to do was best. The crowd was full of screams and howls demanding the Yank’s death.
“Come on! Just shoot him! Shoot him in the head!” cried Mark. “I didn’t realize you are such a dope.” It was obvious for Sam that Mark was raising his voice.
Sam, not knowing what to do, was racing through his mind. He simply didn’t want trouble, and dirtying his hands with a man’s death was out of the question. However, if he just walked away, could he, not to mention Danjou and Adeline, be left alone by Mark and the almost hysterical townsfolk?
“Which part of it don’t you get it, Sam? Pull the trigger and shoot!” shouted Mark beside Sam.
Sam turned his head and looked beside him. Time was slowly down almost to a halt for him. Danjou seemed ready for some imminent trouble as displayed by him reaching slowly for his firearms. Adeline on the other hand was looking at him. Her blue eyes seemed full of worries. Too much worries, or were they sorrows?
“I said, “Shoot!” What are you f****** waiting for? Shoot!”
Sam held his breath, before he pulled the trigger of the revolver back.
“…” A stone-faced Danjou remained silent whilst holding Adeline close to him.
“Monsieur Danjou…” said Adeline in her small voice.
“I wish you can remain silent, Adeline. Also keep your eyes closed.” Danjou placed his hand on top of Adeline’s head. Surprisingly the little girl obeyed.
“Are they gone yet?” asked Sam.
“Just wait for a little while more,” replied Danjou.
There was some chatting near where the trio was. Union soldiers, dressed in their blue uniforms, were checking around for anything worth salvage. Indeed, the field was filled with the dead and their earthly possessions.
“What just happened here?” whispered Sam to Danjou.
“There must be a skirmish around here. It seems like the Unionists beat back the Confederates with their superior numbers.”
Looking around the field, it was a fact that the majority of the dead wore the blue uniforms of the Union Army. Nevertheless, the blood of the dead from both sides stained the green field of the battle.
After a while, the Yanks left for good to a camp presumed to be not far away.
“Let’s proceed to the little town just east of us to rest for the night,” said Sam after he got up. “I assume that it hadn’t been taken by the Union Army.”
“Agreed,” said Danjou while not looking back, and at the same time trying to leave the stench of the dead away.
…
After a few hours of walk, Danjou and the others arrived at a small town not far away from where the skirmish took place.
“We should hurry up and find somewhere to rest… ” said Danjou. Adeline appeared to be exhausted by the day’s walk already.
“Hey, who goes by there?” Somebody suddenly called out, and approached their group.
Although a bit uneasy, Sam decided to speak for their group by the fact that he was American and would not be up for too much trouble, so long as he was on the right side.
“Hey, you. Tell me honestly or I’ll shoot you in the ass,” said the man as he revealed his revolver. “Are you one of those smelly Yanks, or are you a respectable Confederate like me?”
Danjou looked as if he was going to deliver a preemptive strike, however Sam signaled him to stay low.
“I… I’m a Confederate. I just enlisted as a private a little over a month ago.” Sam then showed the man his dirty but still recognizable gray uniform under his coat. It was difficult for him to obtain another piece of wearable clothing, so Sam kept his old Confederate uniform despite he wasn't considering himself a Confederate anymore.
“So you are a Confederate too, ehh? Good. At least then you won’t smell as bad as those Union bastards,” said the man as he put his gun away. Sam felt relieved by the man’s words.
Danjou eyed the man with a serious look, almost hostilely. Adeline was hiding behind him peeking at Sam and the man.
“Name’s Mark,” said the man as he shook Sam’s hand friendly. Mark appeared to be a man slightly older than Sam. He was dressed simply but seemed to be a strong man who had done considerable farm work.
“My name is Samuel. Sam will be fine,” replied Sam.
“Well, Sam, why are you here? Anything particular you want in town?” asked Mark.
“Nothing particular. Just wanting to find some place to stay for the night,” said Sam to Mark.
“Ahhh, so did you take part in the battle that just happened outside of town?”
“… Yes… but I lost contact with my regiment, so I thought about staying somewhere for the night.”
Sam thought he responded well, but then suddenly Mark’s attention turned to Danjou and Adeline.
“May I ask you who are they? They don’t appear to be one of us in any sense…” Mark raised a question that made Sam nervous.
“They are… errr… my relatives from New Orleans. They don’t speak too much English I’m afraid, since they are from the French part of my family…”
Mark eyed Danjou and Adeline suspiciously, but then he turned around and spoke to Sam casually.
“As long as they behave I have no objection against their stay. Make yourselves comfortable around here. Just don’t do anything suspicious here. You know, the battle that just happened outside of town, many of our lads in town lost their lives to those Yankee bastards. Also, we don’t know when will they come to town and take over. People are not that friendly as you might hope them to be, so don’t act cocky and just stay low. I’ll have to go on patrol now, so see you around in town.”
“Thank you, Mark. See you around in town,” said Sam as he watched Mark left. Mark appeared to be not one of the most approachable folks, but at least he acted “friendly” enough and did not ask too much questions, particularly regarding how Sam “participated” in the battle with Danjou and Adeline.
Sam was able to quickly locate a small hotel for the three of them to stay for the night. They got a small but comfortable room on the second floor, and in it were two warm and cozy beds. Adeline was soundly asleep almost immediately after their arrival at their room apparently exhausted by their journey. She was still holding Chicky’s basket with Chicky sleeping inside. It was a delightful sight for Danjou and Sam, but the problem for the two of them was that she refused to share a bed with either one of them.
~Later into the night~
“You can’t sleep?” asked Danjou from the other side of the bed.
“Yes,” replied Sam. “I’m not used to sleep on the same bed with a muscular man like you,” thought Sam as he tried to fit himself better into the obviously smaller half of the bed.
“Thinking about what might happen in this town in the near future?”
“… Correct.” Although he was in a relatively uncomfortable sleeping position, the situation in town worried him more. It was true that the Yanks could come anytime, and the townsfolk seemed to be acting quite hostile to outsiders, and even suspicious of each other acting as an insider for the Unionists. People like Mark just might suddenly accuse him of something and point a gun at him.
“We shall leave tomorrow, perhaps before noon once we get some supplies from the general store. Rest well. You’ll need all you can get…”
Danjou then remained quiet, and Sam slowly but surely closed his eyes for the evening.
~The next morning~
Sam had a huge headache. He did not sleep well last night, and the fact that he fell of the bed did not do any good.
As Sam was walking down the stairs and resolving to not sleeping on the same bed as Danjou in any way possible, Danjou and Adeline were already having some breakfast included with their lodging. Adeline was also happily feeding and playing with her adorable Chicky.
“Did you sleep well?” asked Danjou.
“Don’t even ask about it,” replied Sam as he helped himself to some bacon, but that was quickly snatched away by Chicky, leaving Sam empty handed.
Suddenly, some loud cries of a crowd abruptly ended the once peaceful morning. Apparently there was something stirring outside.
“What happened out here?” asked Sam to a townsman as he and his other two companions went out of the hotel.
“Ohh, it’s nothin’. We just caught a bloody Yank sneaking around town,” said the man with a smirk.
“What’s going to happen to him?” asked Sam.
“Do I have to say it? Of course we are going to use him to set an example for our people,” said the townsfolk before he went for where the crowd was gathering just like the others.
Following the updates Sam, with Danjou and Adeline following him, also went to check around where the crowd was gathering. The sun was blazing, and the heat and humidity made one feel uncomfortable on the streets.
As he walked closer to the crowd, Sam noticed Mark barking at someone, who also noticed him at almost the same moment.
“Sam, come here, I have a task for you,” cried Mark as he signaled Sam to come over. As Sam went came towards him, Mark put his arm on Sam’s back and handed Sam a gleaming revolver.
“What… what do you want me to do?” asked Sam worriedly.
“Isn’t it clear enough, Sam? I want you to prove yourself a good Confederate.”
“You mean…”
Lead by Mark, Sam was brought before a battered and bloody man. Some fresh open wounds and bruises indicated he just took a bad beating. He was held up on his knees by two other townsmen, and looked at Sam wearily with his half open eyes.
“Here we go, Sam. He’s all yours,” said Mark almost cheerfully.
Sam was obviously hesitating regarding on what to do was best. The crowd was full of screams and howls demanding the Yank’s death.
“Come on! Just shoot him! Shoot him in the head!” cried Mark. “I didn’t realize you are such a dope.” It was obvious for Sam that Mark was raising his voice.
Sam, not knowing what to do, was racing through his mind. He simply didn’t want trouble, and dirtying his hands with a man’s death was out of the question. However, if he just walked away, could he, not to mention Danjou and Adeline, be left alone by Mark and the almost hysterical townsfolk?
“Which part of it don’t you get it, Sam? Pull the trigger and shoot!” shouted Mark beside Sam.
Sam turned his head and looked beside him. Time was slowly down almost to a halt for him. Danjou seemed ready for some imminent trouble as displayed by him reaching slowly for his firearms. Adeline on the other hand was looking at him. Her blue eyes seemed full of worries. Too much worries, or were they sorrows?
“I said, “Shoot!” What are you f****** waiting for? Shoot!”
Sam held his breath, before he pulled the trigger of the revolver back.
No harangue coming from Sams mouth concerning the little humanity that is hidden deep within every human even during times of war?
Nope, since it's going to me who's going to write it. Can't think of something sensible for Sam to say to an almost hysterical crowd.
o
Nope, since it's going to me who's going to write it. Can't think of something sensible for Sam to say to an almost hysterical crowd.
"Look, the Union troops are there behind the hills and shall be here within 5 minutes so run for your lives!"
If the Confederates do believe that, he might as well add, "Also don't forget to leave your valuables behind... heh... heh"
well i've just read the whole thing. even stranger than your other one, but just as weirdly enjoyable.
Ok, folks, please don't hurry and just scroll down to read. This update is still a bit incomplete in a sense, but complete in another. Don't know whether or not I should refrain people from reading it. Perhaps I shouldn't even post it yet, but then I feel guilty for not posting anything. o
I'll try to edit it as soon as possible, but I have to sleep now. Sorry for any inconvenience.o
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oI'll try to edit it as soon as possible, but I have to sleep now. Sorry for any inconvenience.
o...
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A gunshot, loud and clear, can be heard by all present. However, the bullet struck nothing but gravel.
The Yank, previously with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes a bit unbelieving at what had just happened.
“What’s the matter?” asked Mark surprised.
“I… I just can’t do it…” said Sam trembling a bit. His grip was loosening around the revolver, and it seemed that the gun was to drop to the ground at any moment.
“What’s wrong with you head? He’s a bloody bastard Yank!”
Sam could not reply. The idea of killing someone, someone totally defenseless and battered, is still too faraway from him.
“I just knew it…” began Mark with an angry voice. His body seemed to be shaking as he spoke.
“What?”
“I just knew it… you’re bloody Yank too, am I not right?”
“I thought that you are a Yank from the start we met," continued Mark, "but I always told myself to put a little trust in you, so I gave you a chance to prove yourself a good Confederate…”
“Wait, Mark, wait…” Sam sounded as if he was beginning to panic.
“So this shit is what you give me in return? Huh?” yelled Mark as he grasped Sam by the collar of Sam’s shirt.
“Hey! Catch this!” yelled Danjou as he threw multiple unknown objects at the crowd. Mark and a few “lucky” ones caught what was thrown.
“Hey wait, this is liquor!” cried Mark as the crowd looked at what were thrown to them in surprised faces. The crowd looked even more surprised when Danjou suddenly drew his pistols and fired at the bottles.
The bottles when shot straight through, and the heat of the bullets immediately ignited the volatile liquid inside.
(Perhaps this should be name "Abe's cocktail")
“Aarrgghhh!!! Someone! Get the flames off me!” Mark was shouting and screaming in pain, at the same time trying to extinguish the flames on him as best he could. The whole crowd was in total chaos as people tried to put out the flames that were biting hard into them.
“Monsieur Clemens, we should leave! Now!” yelled Danjou as he grasped Sam’s arm and pulled Sam with an astonishingly strong force. Adeline was already on Danjou’s back with her Chicky.
As he was pulled away, Sam suddenly noticed the Yank in the midst of the crowd. The Yank had a pair of sad eyes buried in a bruised and cut face.
“Should I he…” thought Sam, but his body reacted more quickly than his mind. Before he was aware, he defied Danjou’s pull and went straight for the Yank and got hold of him.
“Why am I doing this…” thought Sam as his mind began to return to him. “Helping others…”
Danjou gave Sam a menacing look, but nevertheless helped Sam got hold of the Yank. The four of them plus one chick than went straight for an empty wagon.
“They are getting away! Go and Aarrgghhh!!” one of the men in the crowd noticed Danjou and the others’ intention, but was quickly overwhelmed when a flaming man went bumped into him and set him alight.
It was impossible for the crowd to recover quickly from the chaos made, and soon a wagon was driving away from them as fast as it could be carried.
“Where did you find those bottles of good liquor, Monsieur Danjou?” asked Sam as he collapsed inside the wagon.
“From some alcoholics and with a stroke of luck, Monsieur Clemens,” answered Danjou as he continued to steer the carriage.
“Sigh… you do know how to blew things up do you?” said Sam.
“In some sense you are better than that compared to me, but it is true that we couldn’t stay long at some place like that for long, Monsieur Clemens.”
“True. Oh yeah, by the way you don’t have to address me Monsieur Clemens anymore. Sam will be fine. I’ll also call you Jean from now on, Jean,” said Sam with a smile.
“Sigh… very well, Sam, if this is what you wish,” said Danjou with a smile of his own in return.
Sam then noticed the Yank they picked up with them. He looked battered and was still bleeding badly in some places, but alive and kicking nevertheless.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot to ask. What is your name?” asked Sam exhausted but friendly with his smile still on.
The Yank looked up at Sam with a pair of shining eyes, and then after a moment he responded quickly.
“My name is Tom, Tom Sawyer.”
(The little rascal grows up.)
The Yank, previously with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes a bit unbelieving at what had just happened.
“What’s the matter?” asked Mark surprised.
“I… I just can’t do it…” said Sam trembling a bit. His grip was loosening around the revolver, and it seemed that the gun was to drop to the ground at any moment.
“What’s wrong with you head? He’s a bloody bastard Yank!”
Sam could not reply. The idea of killing someone, someone totally defenseless and battered, is still too faraway from him.
“I just knew it…” began Mark with an angry voice. His body seemed to be shaking as he spoke.
“What?”
“I just knew it… you’re bloody Yank too, am I not right?”
“I thought that you are a Yank from the start we met," continued Mark, "but I always told myself to put a little trust in you, so I gave you a chance to prove yourself a good Confederate…”
“Wait, Mark, wait…” Sam sounded as if he was beginning to panic.
“So this shit is what you give me in return? Huh?” yelled Mark as he grasped Sam by the collar of Sam’s shirt.
“Hey! Catch this!” yelled Danjou as he threw multiple unknown objects at the crowd. Mark and a few “lucky” ones caught what was thrown.
“Hey wait, this is liquor!” cried Mark as the crowd looked at what were thrown to them in surprised faces. The crowd looked even more surprised when Danjou suddenly drew his pistols and fired at the bottles.
The bottles when shot straight through, and the heat of the bullets immediately ignited the volatile liquid inside.
(Perhaps this should be name "Abe's cocktail"
)“Aarrgghhh!!! Someone! Get the flames off me!” Mark was shouting and screaming in pain, at the same time trying to extinguish the flames on him as best he could. The whole crowd was in total chaos as people tried to put out the flames that were biting hard into them.
“Monsieur Clemens, we should leave! Now!” yelled Danjou as he grasped Sam’s arm and pulled Sam with an astonishingly strong force. Adeline was already on Danjou’s back with her Chicky.
As he was pulled away, Sam suddenly noticed the Yank in the midst of the crowd. The Yank had a pair of sad eyes buried in a bruised and cut face.
“Should I he…” thought Sam, but his body reacted more quickly than his mind. Before he was aware, he defied Danjou’s pull and went straight for the Yank and got hold of him.
“Why am I doing this…” thought Sam as his mind began to return to him. “Helping others…”
Danjou gave Sam a menacing look, but nevertheless helped Sam got hold of the Yank. The four of them plus one chick than went straight for an empty wagon.
“They are getting away! Go and Aarrgghhh!!” one of the men in the crowd noticed Danjou and the others’ intention, but was quickly overwhelmed when a flaming man went bumped into him and set him alight.
It was impossible for the crowd to recover quickly from the chaos made, and soon a wagon was driving away from them as fast as it could be carried.
“Where did you find those bottles of good liquor, Monsieur Danjou?” asked Sam as he collapsed inside the wagon.
“From some alcoholics and with a stroke of luck, Monsieur Clemens,” answered Danjou as he continued to steer the carriage.
“Sigh… you do know how to blew things up do you?” said Sam.
“In some sense you are better than that compared to me, but it is true that we couldn’t stay long at some place like that for long, Monsieur Clemens.”
“True. Oh yeah, by the way you don’t have to address me Monsieur Clemens anymore. Sam will be fine. I’ll also call you Jean from now on, Jean,” said Sam with a smile.
“Sigh… very well, Sam, if this is what you wish,” said Danjou with a smile of his own in return.
Sam then noticed the Yank they picked up with them. He looked battered and was still bleeding badly in some places, but alive and kicking nevertheless.
“Oh, sorry. I forgot to ask. What is your name?” asked Sam exhausted but friendly with his smile still on.
The Yank looked up at Sam with a pair of shining eyes, and then after a moment he responded quickly.
“My name is Tom, Tom Sawyer.”
(The little rascal grows up.
)
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