The Ember In The Storm (undergoing editing)

Chapter 12: Apprehension

     JACKSON watched Roman lay the last rose onto the small sand hill. Its blood red petals seemed to add a little life to the stiff dark evening and atmosphere around.

Roman held his hands together and closed his eyes, giving a small prayer whilst Jackson could only look away from it all. He was still in denial of this all.

"Amen", he heard Roman say, patting Elizabeth's grave as if assuring her of her next life. Jackson already knew that wherever Elizabeth was going, she would be happy.

"Are you sure this is the right place to have her rest?" Roman inquired once again, just as he did the hour before. Jackson always gave him the same response, being that he was absolutely sure of it.

They had buried her half a kilometer from the Anderson mansion. A family necropolis on one of the lands that belonged to them. Jackson's grandfather, mother and a few other relatives he had ever only heard of than seen had been buried there with tombstones over their graves. A high metal fence surrounded the twenty acres land.

Despite the disastrous burnt down mansion behind them, the cemetery still looked as agonizing as before. Besides, no one would come to such a place to bring more misery to it.

Jackson was certain that there could not be a better place than this to bring Elizabeth for rest. Soon after the war, he planned on renovating the mansion and it's land. All the crop and servants cabins were burnt to ash whilst only the building of the mansion stood. Furnitures and other items burnt or stolen.

If Jackson had seen the mansion the week before, he would have fallen to his knees in pure sorrow to his brothers death. Well now it was obvious that he was alive and breathing back in New York. He promised to go after him after having put Elizabeth to rest peacefully. He would have wanted her to be as close as possible throughout his years on earth... he was positive she would have wanted that too.

Next to her gravestone was another with a tombstone reading Elizabeth Lincoln Anderson with the inscriptions below stating:

Missed by friends, husband, sons and family.

February 11th, 1737–July 2nd, 1769

Jackson was positive the two would get along. His mother would love Elizabeth because he loved her. She made him happy and she too would want to see her son happy. She was mistaken about her, Elizabeth never brought him any sorrow. In fact, he felt the most alive when he was around her. He did not still understand why his mother persisted on him staying away from her and her people.

"General, what do we do next?" Roman inquired. Jackson turned for his leave, walking towards his horse.

"Not we, Roman. I", he sat over his horse, watching Roman follow the actions as well. "Having some tea with my brother".

"Tea?" Roman faced him in confusion before deciding to ignore it. "Then after that? The war has been growing in the North of New York, according to Sean and the others. France already sent their troops in and it seems it's in our favor", Roman explained as he analyzed a letter in his hand whilst their horse's strode away.

"That seems certain indeed", Jackson agreed, watching the mansion from across as it seemed stranded, glasses broken and the bright walls stained with ash. He would find a way of renovating it and bringing it to life. The mansion held more than his childhood, it held not only his mothers memories but as well as Elizabeth for he had only grown to know her within those walls.

"Have you thought of life after the war?" Jackson suddenly asked, facing Roman who had been caught off guard by the question.

"Life after the war?" He repeated the question to himself. "No, not quite", he admitted before adding, "Perhaps just live happily with my wife and son. I am not sure but whatever it is, I wish to have my family beside me".

"Mhm", Jackson looked away from him, feeling a sense of both envy and adoration at his words.

"Sir!" Roman exclaimed, causing Jackson to halt and face him in curiosity as to what he needed. Roman looked aside to his right, staring ahead at a small pathway within a forest. A wagon wheel was laying just on the side of the road, not too far into the trees.

The wheels traces began from their left which started from the mansion to the forest, unclear and lost.

Jackson leaped off his horse, staring down at the traces with a clouded mind. "I know these wheels from anywhere, they belong to one of our carriages", Jackson brushed a finger against the soil before standing upright and facing the forest trees to which they believed the carriage went through.

"Why would they take such a dreadful route? Could this have been during the attack?" He asked himself, although loud enough for Roman to hear. Jackson walked towards the forest, cuing Roman to follow behind.

The pathway was within an enclosed forest and had branches hanging left and right. Jackson and Roman had to bend their heads and skip over logs to walk, so having a whole carriage drive into the forest seemed absurd and stupid.

"Do you smell that?" Roman asked a second before Jackson could ask him the exact question, too. A lingering scent of what was like spoilt food or a rotting rat burnt their throats.

"It smells horrific", he admitted, brushing a hand over his nose frequently as Roman held a handkerchief to his.

Jackson felt himself hit against another log, nearly falling to his front but managing to balance himself. However so, the log was softer and just as he lowered his head to look at it, he staggered back as his blood ran cold and his pores swelled from the sudden shock, causing the hair on his arms to rise.

A rotting disembodied head stared up at Jackson, eyes bulging out of its sockets as maggots slowly crawled in and out of it, past its sockets and lipless mouth. It's jaws were separated in an almost surprised frightening manner whilst ulcers of its decomposition engulfed its skin.

From sight, it was a clear that it had been a male, a young male to add on.

"Jesus Christ", Roman muttered looking around as to where they stumbled on. A few other bodies lay in front of them, about two male and five female. The carriage lay on its top, fallen over three women who Jackson immediately recognized out of two from clothing even when he stood ten feet away.

He walked towards them, eyes wandering at everything and everyone, trying to estimate what had really occurred. Right in front of him in a gruesome and festering manner was Vaughn, head facing her left as half her body managed out of the large carriage.

Her hair was still blonde as he had left it, however soaked in blood. Her arm was outstretched for her life, needing to survive. Three deep small wounds were over her forehead, clearly from gunshots.

Jackson clenched his jaws and fists, wondering just who would do such horrendous acts. Three gunshots to the head? Something seemed personal about it.

Scarlet lay next to her, no gunshot from his view but still perished.

"That woman, is she not—"

"Luke's fiancée, my cousin, Vaughn", he quickly said, almost feeling grieved by the scene. Jackson and Vaughn never exactly got along, true, yet that never meant he wished to see her in such state. He still thought of her as family.

Deep within, Jackson was glad Elizabeth had not gotten into that carriage. He was glad that her stubbornness saved her from an early dreadful fate because he would not know how he would react if he found her amongst them.

"How unfortunate", Roman admitted with pity.

"True, quite unfortunate. I am guessing there was more to this than meets the eye, Roman. Something more happened here", Jackson stood upright, speaking from instincts rather than facts.

Jackson learnt to always trust his instincts and his instincts were never wrong. They told him that Elizabeth had been quite right about the events, however, she only spoke from her perspective. She was simply part of the audience and had absolutely no idea what hid behind the curtains, who had been playing the game all along.

"And my brother has a lot of explaining to do".