The Ember In The Storm (undergoing editing)

Part II

Roman watched Jackson stomp his way back to his horse with fury, clenching onto a white clothe in his hand. The sun was setting behind Jackson and it made the shadows make it hard for them to read his expression.

"Sir, where are we going?"Roman asked his General, watching him get over his horse all too quickly. Roman attempted to follow his actions before being held back by the gesture of his hand in the air, halting him back. He stopped in his tracks.

"You stay here with everyone else. Pack all your belongings, we need to relocate. This place is not becoming as private as it should be", Jackson declared not too loud but enough for the others behind to hear him. Sean walked to him with confusion, the other two soldiers walking behind him. All three stopped next to Alex standing at least five feet from Roman and the General.

"With all due respect, shall I ask where you are going off to and when you shall return?" Roman inquired.

"I will return tonight, then we will relocate. I am not yet confident as to where we shall go, therefore, any suggestions will be taken into consideration", he told them all, causing the four behind Roman to look at each other in surprise with how he was willing to hear them.

"Yes, sir!" They said in unison still. Sean raised a hand, Jackson motioned for him to speak up.

"Sir, and what of the bodies? Do we bury them all?" He pointed to the small hill of dead bodies across the field.

"Do not waste your time and energy, burn them", Jackson growled.

"Burn?" Alex asked in surprise.

"Yes, is there a problem? Did you know any one of them for you to hold a funeral, soldier?" He raised a brow, no trace of sarcasm in his voice or face.

Alex gulped at the question as the others chuckled a little under their breathes. "No, sir. Apologies".

"All well then. Any more questions?" Silence. "Good. I hope to find you all ready with your horses by midnight", Jackson said turning his horse away from them, leaving quickly before any of them could say a word back.

His horse began slow, accelerating its speed towards the town quickly.

Even with his horse racing against the wind, Jackson still urged for it to go faster. "Come on, boy!" He exclaimed, his body leaning forward and eyes fixated ahead.

The trees seemed to fly by past him in an unbelievable speed, the wind blowing his hair behind him like just the horse's mane. Somehow, his hair loosened from its bun which he quickly knotted up earlier and had strands loosened. It was a messy one. Now however, his hair went slack and was flowing and jumping against his shoulders and behind him.

A journey that would take at least half an hour took Jackson a quarter of an hour itself to get past the deep forest and into the city's market.

People walked in and out of the place, most leaving for the day was coming to an end. The buildings stood sturdy and were used for either housing accommodations or shelter for running businesses.

These apartments came in different sizes and styles, most of which were keenly priced and had terrible infrastructural planning, still, people lived within them for they had nowhere else to go. With the war going on, lands and properties were lost and poverty had escalated.

Vagrants approached Jackson with their hands in front of his horse, palms open and pleading for money. He excused them all and gave the excuse of having none.

Finally, he arrived his destination. A simple guest house about half a kilometer from the seaside. It was finely built and held a splendid white design. The door was huge and there were countless windows of same size on both sides. From the front, it was much smaller than the side.