He is my soldier. She is my Indian.

Chapter 7- Jackson

Chapter 7- Jackson

"Faster boys! We don't have all day!"

They shouted commands at us every time we stopped for a second. I was unaware we were on some strict timeline. It wasn't as if they were going anywhere.

I wiped the sweat off my brow with the back of my hand and threw the small tent I was carrying back over my shoulder.

Soldiers were scrambling all around me, doing the exact same thing I was. I kept repeating the same phrase over and over again in my head to try and make time go by faster.

'Almost done. Almost done. Almost done.'

We have been "almost done" for the last twenty minutes.

Finally a guy that didn't look old enough to be enlisted threw the last tent into the wagon.

Most of the men had to walk but I was lucky enough to be allowed a horse. Being on the leaders good side had it's perks.

I jumped on the normal chocolate brown horse.

She was a sweet horse and had taken a liking to me and a couple of other soldiers. A couple of days ago she had arrived with no rider and a black feather had been stuck inside her mane.

We started our long ride towards our new uncharted camp. We estimated it would take maybe a day and half of straight ridding. With the stops I'm sure we were going to take it would be about two and a half days before we reached camp.

"Jackson!"

I trotted my horse to the front where I was called.

"I want you to go ahead and start scouting the area. See if there are any natives in that area."

I nodded and made my horse pick up a faster pace.

I knew of a tribe that lived in that area. They were small but strong. They would prove to be a problem. We may have them in numbers, but the battle would be on their land. There would be a battle. It was impossible to avoid.

I knew our soldiers would stop at nothing to feel the gold in their grimy hands. Maybe the natives didn't even have gold. Was what we were doing right?

I pushed the thoughts away from my mind. I had no say in the matter. My orders were simple, and I was to follow them blindly. It was what I signed up for.

****^^^^****

The sun began to creep behind the rising hills.

I could tell my horse was tired so I decided it would be a good place to stop for a short rest.

Riding at night was dangerous. Mainly because I didn't know the area, but I had to beat the rest of my unit to the area.

I was probably only a couple of hours ride from the spot where the nearest tribe lived.

I decided to go ahead and set up camp for the night. I tied my horse to a branch and sat down beneath a tree, and leaned my head back.

All the sudden I heard a twig snap behind me. I quickly jumped from the ground and crouched in a defensive position. I held my knife tightly in my hand ready to attack anything that came at me.

A small bunny jumped from behind the bushes. I relaxed from my crouch and laughed at my silly paranoid actions.

Then I felt something cold and sharp against the adam apple of my neck. My body immediately tensed up again.