bananafishtoday: You should have seen me laugh when Thomas Cromwell was randomly generated as the leader of the rebel army. It was just so...fitting!
Now, if anyone has a desire to vote for this AAR in the awards I will be eternally grateful...though not confident of victory! This AAR fits into the Narrative category. Link
Chapter 30 – Ambush!
30/1/1820
John had been about to ask some more questions, when the train suddenly jerked and screeched to a stop. They were on a section of otherwise empty track with a high embankment on their side. Around them the passengers in the first class carriage were starting to ask questions.
In their compartment, John had almost fallen forward when the train stopped. He looked out the window and saw two figures moving to the embankment. For a second he sat and looked at them, still confused and puzzled.
Lady Mendenhall suddenly dived down and pulled him with her so he hit the ground hard. At the same time the glass in the window shattered and the wooden panel on the door splintered. A heartbeat later there came the crack of a gunshot.
John didn’t know what to do. It was all so sudden that he didn’t still comprehend that he was under attack.
“Well, this is fun!” Lady Mendenhall said. John was surprised to see a different side of her now. She seemed almost…excited. “Ever been shot at before?” she asked.
“N-no,” John replied. He winced as a bullet was punched in the side of the train just above his head.
“It’s simple. Have you got your gun?” The Lady pulled John until they were at the far end of the compartment, the seat shielding them. She peered up from this refuge and ducked back down. “Two men on the embankment. They know which compartment we’re in, and presumably stopped the train with more of them.”
There were screams in the rest of the carriage, gunshots. John pulled out the pistol, holding the weapon in his hand. Sir Henry had helped him load it, and though he had fired a gun before, it had never been at a living target.
“Right, give it here. I’ll draw their fire. You get outside and take cover.”
“Shouldn’t I be doing that?” John asked. After all, she was the peeress and he was just a young man.
“Trust me,” the Lady said with a grin, taking the weapon. Another pair of bullets slammed into the compartment. “Go!” she cried, knowing the enemy would have to reload.
John scrambled for the compartment door. Behind him Lady Mendenhall fired at the distant targets through the broken window. She had little hope of hitting anything, but it would keep their heads down.
John pulled open the door of the compartment and dived into the corridor as another bullet smashed the window opposite.
Other passengers were milling around, but John stayed low and pushed his way towards the exit. All was confusion as people milled around, some panicking, some demanding to know what was happening.
Suddenly a loud noise announced the presence of the attackers from the engine of the train entering the first class carriage.
“Down on the floor now, all of you!” one of the men said in an accented voice. He fired a pistol into the roof to make his point.
John hit the ground, but instead of staying still he crawled back the way he had come. While confusion reigned in the front of the carriage, John got up and ran with some others for the rear of the carriage. He passed their compartment, but Lady Mendenhall was gone.
John pushed out the door with some others and ended up on the far side from the embankment, standing in a gentle snow.
“What do we do?” one woman cried.
John pointed to a dip not far away. “Run there. Take cover!”
He was about to follow when there was a shout from the train. Turning, he found himself facing one of the attackers, a tall and beefy man carrying a revolver.
“You. Boy, come here,” he ordered. He cocked the gun and aimed it at John’s forehead. “That woman can’t save you now,” he gloated.
There was the sound of a gunshot, deafeningly loud, and a man fell to the ground in the snow.
Now, if anyone has a desire to vote for this AAR in the awards I will be eternally grateful...though not confident of victory! This AAR fits into the Narrative category. Link
Chapter 30 – Ambush!
30/1/1820
John had been about to ask some more questions, when the train suddenly jerked and screeched to a stop. They were on a section of otherwise empty track with a high embankment on their side. Around them the passengers in the first class carriage were starting to ask questions.
In their compartment, John had almost fallen forward when the train stopped. He looked out the window and saw two figures moving to the embankment. For a second he sat and looked at them, still confused and puzzled.
Lady Mendenhall suddenly dived down and pulled him with her so he hit the ground hard. At the same time the glass in the window shattered and the wooden panel on the door splintered. A heartbeat later there came the crack of a gunshot.
John didn’t know what to do. It was all so sudden that he didn’t still comprehend that he was under attack.
“Well, this is fun!” Lady Mendenhall said. John was surprised to see a different side of her now. She seemed almost…excited. “Ever been shot at before?” she asked.
“N-no,” John replied. He winced as a bullet was punched in the side of the train just above his head.
“It’s simple. Have you got your gun?” The Lady pulled John until they were at the far end of the compartment, the seat shielding them. She peered up from this refuge and ducked back down. “Two men on the embankment. They know which compartment we’re in, and presumably stopped the train with more of them.”
There were screams in the rest of the carriage, gunshots. John pulled out the pistol, holding the weapon in his hand. Sir Henry had helped him load it, and though he had fired a gun before, it had never been at a living target.
“Right, give it here. I’ll draw their fire. You get outside and take cover.”
“Shouldn’t I be doing that?” John asked. After all, she was the peeress and he was just a young man.
“Trust me,” the Lady said with a grin, taking the weapon. Another pair of bullets slammed into the compartment. “Go!” she cried, knowing the enemy would have to reload.
John scrambled for the compartment door. Behind him Lady Mendenhall fired at the distant targets through the broken window. She had little hope of hitting anything, but it would keep their heads down.
John pulled open the door of the compartment and dived into the corridor as another bullet smashed the window opposite.
Other passengers were milling around, but John stayed low and pushed his way towards the exit. All was confusion as people milled around, some panicking, some demanding to know what was happening.
Suddenly a loud noise announced the presence of the attackers from the engine of the train entering the first class carriage.
“Down on the floor now, all of you!” one of the men said in an accented voice. He fired a pistol into the roof to make his point.
John hit the ground, but instead of staying still he crawled back the way he had come. While confusion reigned in the front of the carriage, John got up and ran with some others for the rear of the carriage. He passed their compartment, but Lady Mendenhall was gone.
John pushed out the door with some others and ended up on the far side from the embankment, standing in a gentle snow.
“What do we do?” one woman cried.
John pointed to a dip not far away. “Run there. Take cover!”
He was about to follow when there was a shout from the train. Turning, he found himself facing one of the attackers, a tall and beefy man carrying a revolver.
“You. Boy, come here,” he ordered. He cocked the gun and aimed it at John’s forehead. “That woman can’t save you now,” he gloated.
There was the sound of a gunshot, deafeningly loud, and a man fell to the ground in the snow.