The Fire Within

Chapter 6

The storm moves in over the mountain range and settles over the valley, blocking out the light of the full moon. The rain tonight is much harder and more miserable than last night. Lightning flashes across the sky as the thunder rumbles through the valley, causing Grace tremble slightly. She’s not sure if it’s the cold rain that’s settled over them, drenching them to the bone or if it’s the loud cracks of thunder that make her shudder, but this night feels hostile.

Grace and Zachariah ride forward through the forest, keeping hidden from man and beast. They continue to push toward Stratsburg where they believe the next group of Rebel soldiers to be camped. Tonight they have found two more camps, one unit was small artillery the other infantry. Zachariah believes the group at Stratsburg will be the largest and most heavily armed. He also believes that this is where they will finally meet some trouble on this trip. He desperately hopes he’s wrong.  

Although the information gathering during this trip should help the Union gauge how they wish to proceed, the mission itself has been rather uneventful. They have managed to spy on seven different units with approximately one hundred forty to one hundred sixty thousand total men. If he’s correct, this last unit will be at least twenty thousand men strong and will hold large artillery.

They continue to move through the torrential down pour that accompanies the thunder and lightning that have bombarded them through their travels. No matter how hard they try to penetrate the gloom and mist that engulfs them, neither can see anything. Every flash of lightning transforms trees into threatening looking creatures, making their travels seem even more ominous. Even the horses are on edge. Grace can feel that Abraxas even seems a bit nervous, shying away from tree limbs that resemble ghostly arms reaching out to grab them.

Zachariah continues to push forward, even though he can feel Grace’s apprehension to continue on. This is what he’s always been good at, keeping calm and keeping his eye on what he has to do. He’s always been the level headed, goal driven officer who is able to accomplish what many others can’t. So instead of allowing her to give in to her trepidation, he forces her to move on, knowing that she won’t ask to stop or to abandon their mission.

When they are just outside of Stratsburg, the rain finally slows to a drizzle and the moon begins to peak through cracks in the clouds, making for an even more menacing environment. They continue on a few hundred more feet until they reach the crest of a hill looking down into the valley below. From this point, they find their destination. In front of them is the largest camp they’ve happened upon in the past two days. They can see that this is indeed a heavy artillery unit, but not only that, there are cavalry and infantry among the soldiers sleeping below.

“One of us should get closer,” Grace says.

“I should go,” Zachariah whispers in response.

“No, I’m faster and it’s my job.” And before he even has the chance to argue, she’s gone, slowly descending the path that leads straight to the camp.

He watches as the ghostly white horse seems to float through the mist that has settled on the ground around them. He can see why she and Abraxas would look so intimidating to soldiers who didn’t know them. They look like wraiths descending on unsuspecting mortals, intent on draining their life force.

Grace slowly guides Abraxas down the path toward the camp below. She’s frozen and shivering from the rain and cold wind that accompanies it. Behind her the scream of an animal who’s probably been caught by its predator echoes through the forest forcing her to tremble a little. She pulls the horse to a stop to listen as the sound dies away, leaving nothing but an eerie silence in its wake. Suddenly she feels a sense of danger around her. She looks back to where she came from, hoping that the sight of Zachariah would calm her and make her be able to focus. But from here, she can no longer see him. Her titan sitting upon his steed has been swallowed up by the early morning fog that’s come over the land.