A Country Divided : Through Blood United

The Battle Of Gettysburg: Getting Ready

I woke up to a shy sun barely poking through the windows as if it was uncertain if it should wake me from my deep slumber, knowing that something bad was possibly going to occur in the next few days. Before I shoved myself off of the bed, I remembered the date that was on the calendar the night before Johnathan and I went to our room: June 29th, so it must be the 30th today.

I rose out of my hotel bed anyway, curiously glancing out the window and wondering why the sun wasn't being its usual harsh self.

I scraped my head in confusion and turned toward Johnathan who was burritoed in a cocoon of blankets on the other side of our bed. He was softly snoring, and I decided to be quiet and not wake him up.

I quietly made my way toward the hotel room' window, and I placed my hands on the windowsill and squinted to get a better look at the sun.

It's golden, spherical body peeked over the horizon, a few rays streaking into the orange sky.

"Hm," I chuckled to myself. "I woke up at the crack of dawn. Strange."

Right when as I noticed my sudden mistake of talking to myself, Johnathan slowly rose out of his cocoon of blankets on the bed and stretched his arms out in exhaustion.

"You're never up this early-" he paused to yawn loudly and then continued speaking. "What has got your brain in a knot?"

I shook my head, trying my best to stifle a small laugh. "I'm not sure, but I've always felt that the sun's way of waking me up set the mood for the next few days; do you kinda see what I'm getting at?"

"Not much," Johnathan shrugged as he crawled out of bed and walked to my side. He glanced up and me and placed a finger on my chin, making me turn my head towards him. "But what's your point about all of that?"

I glanced to the side awkwardly, knowing that Johnathan would probably not understand what I'm trying to say. "Well, today the sun was basically 'telling' me that I probably shouldn't wake up since the next few days are probably going to be bad."

Johnathan's expression continued to stay in his confused state, and his muscles didn't move, except for his eyes, which darted at the sun and landed back onto mine. "Huh?"

I stepped back, causing Johnathan to let go of my face. I turned back toward the large window and rested my elbows on the windowsill. Without turning my head, I glanced toward Johnathan and we exchanged gazes. "I know that you might not understand, but y'know. It's just a feeling that I have."

"Alright," he rolled his eyes and sighed. "But remember your promise to Evan? As soon you reached Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where we are right now, you were going to try and enlist in the army as who again?"

I chuckled and brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Not sure, but I've been thinking of the name Angelo or something like that."

Johnathan brushed off my joke and stroked his chin in thought to try and help me find a new name. "Evangeline, Evangeline, Evangeline," He recited my name over and over again, saying it very slowly so he could think of every possibility of a new nickname. At least he pronounced the a in my name with an accent and not flatly like everyone else.

"Oh! I got it!" he shouted after repeating my name for who knows how many times. "What about something edgier, like Van or Vange? Vangie for short."

I nodded at the new nickname for me, repeating it in my head. Van. Vange. Van. Vange. Van. Vange. Vange honestly did sound more like a masculine name, so I decided to go as Vange Freebourne.

Before I could declare my choice of name, Johnathan pressed his finger to my lips to keep me quiet. "Before you shout your new name to the world, why don't you change your appearance or last name? I honestly think that the Colonel will become skeptical of you after noticing two exact copies of you, y'know?"