Chapter Five
Tom was slowly getting back to his feet, he slumped quickly down again however. He paused and tried once again, only to fail like the previous time. He looked straight at Jennifer, "Help me to my feet," said Tom to Jennifer in the night. "I must be able to walk."
"Don't," she said frantically as she helped him to his feet, "you should stay here for a bit until you've fully healed." Unknown to Tom, he felt like he was just knocked out nothing more. He didn't recall that that he nearly died being burried alive. "You were nearly dead," she said, "you were being burried alive," she finished as she started to cry.
"Burried alive, are you mad Jennifer? I'm fine, I just can't breath or feel my arms and legs."
"Then you should stay here until you get the blood moving again, and your lungs ready to..."
"Jennifer, I must thank you. But realize I have priorities right now..."
"War isn't as glorious as it seems Tom, realize that. Why should you throw your life away so soon?"
"Why were you a nurse?"
"I had no choice, I was forced to come here by Union officers, they were short on doctors and nurses, Doctor Richardson was with me until the battle started."
"Doctor Richardson, I need to find him then, I could ask him how things are going back home," he said with excitement as he slumped back into the couch, unable to move.
"Tom," Jennifer said quietly, "thnigs have gotten very bad at home."
"What do you mean?"
"Old Evan Harris has taken over as Mayor, and he and his men are stopping anyone from leaving and entering. Only Confederates and his personal possy are allowed in and out of the town. He went after your younger brother Jeb too, I don't know why..."
"That son of a..."
"Calm down Tom, please."
"Isn't the marshal doing anything?"
"He's on his payroll, or he's just to damned a coward to try and stop him. Tom," she paused, "I've always loved you, don't leave so soon. Stay here with me at Clinch Mountain."
~ The old farmer stood at the banks with a net, rope, and his rifle in his hand as Bill came strolling down the river. "Easy now," he said aloud as he tossed the net over Bill, which was attached to the rope. He scored perfect, and slowly brought Bill in, despite the heavy current and rapids all around him. The man however began to struggle, it appeared as if Bill would slip out of the net, and only a few hundred feet down the river was a twenty foot waterfall that would certainly spell doom to him, if he was even alive at this point.
"Come on, don't be shy," he said once again to himself. He pulled him close to a point where he reached over to grab his rifle and used the barrel to lodge through some of the openings in the net and bring him closer to the flooded shorelines. Bill was now at the feet of the farmer as he removed the net and the rope that was tangled and mingled all around him. Soon, he turned Bill over to see his pale white face with water coming out of his mouth. The farmer quickly placed his ear to Bill's mouth, to try and catch any signs of life. He looked hard at the confederate soldier, he carried him quickly to his horse.
"Come on Sally, back to the barn," he said with a heavy kick to the brown horses' side, to which the horse sharpely sped away. The farmer left the rope and net on the riverside as his rifle was attached around him, along with Bill. He looked back at the young confederate, thinking the impossible. "He has to get out of that soaking wet uniform," he said to himself.
After several minutes of riding, over the hills and far away, he finally reached the ridge next to his stables and home. He rushed in with his horse, dismounting quickly and setting Bill on the muddy ground while taking his horse into the stables. "Good girl," he said to his favorite stallion and quickly moved back to Bill, picking him up and running to the door. Opening it he yelled inside, "Sarah! Miles! Come quickly, I have a man; he's barely alive!"
