The Guard

The night was bitter cold with a sky full of stars and scattered clouds. The kind of night he remembered as a child. But those nights he was usually up in the loft tucked under the quilt Nana had made with a fire in the fireplace of the small cabin. His brothers and sisters were tucked under the same quilt keeping each other warm. His mom and da were in a bed down below as were Nana and Papa. He wished he was home.

The full moon off Michael’s right shoulder was casting shadows that made it hard to tell what was real and what was just his imagination, or more likely his grandmother’s stories. The clouds moving rapidly through the sky would cover the light of the moon making it harder to see into the trees surrounding the camp. It was when the moon was partially obscured he was sure he saw movement. The few campfires that burned added to the confusion by throwing their feeble light into the trees in an eerie glow and making more shadows that moved as the flames danced in the pits. If he let his mind go he was sure he saw figures moving in the trees, figures that took the shapes of the demons his Nana told stories about. He would blink his eyes and shake his head to remove the images which he was sure were just in his imagination. It was funny that in times like this when he was unsure of what he was seeing his mind went back to the stories his Nana told him.

He was young when his Nana passed away and his memories of her became dimmer every year but he could still recall the funny way she spoke. His father told him his Nana came over from Ireland just before she gave birth to him. Her husband had passed away just before they were to leave for the colonies. Not only was she pregnant with Michael’s father but she had six other children to care for during the voyage. The ship was cramped, the food was bad and it took seven weeks to cross. After they arrived in Philadelphia it took her another 4 days to reach her brother-in-laws farm west of the city. While there she met and married the man he knew as Papa.

It was nights like this that made him miss home the most. It was less than 20 miles from where he stood freezing, but it might as well have been across the ocean. He could picture his wife and children sitting in their cabin in front of the fireplace warm and secure. He and Sarah had been married five years now and had three children. The first was a girl named Mary, the second was a boy named Ben, after his Papa and the third a boy named Michael after himself. Ever since his mother had passed away his father Ben lived with them in their cabin. It was hard at first, all of them in a tiny cabin but then Michael and his father, in spite of his injuries, were able to build a larger cabin for his family and his father stayed in the original cabin. He was glad now that he had his father to help look after and protect his family while he stood in the cold of this valley. He had rags around his feet that barely protected them from the snow, but surprisingly they didn’t feel quite as cold as they had. He wondered about that but soon he lost his train of thought.

He had joined the army a year and a half ago after the news came to their town in southern Pennsylvania that the Continental Congress had declared they would be independent from England. He had gone to school so he was able to read the paper and read it to everyone who would listen. He was cautious when he read it to his father for he knew how proud his father was to be a British citizen. His father had fought in the recent war against the French and Indians and was with then (Lt.) Colonel Washington at the Battle of Monongahela and again when Colonel Washington captured Fort Duquesne. It was there, with Washington, that his father had been wounded. His father was even recognized by Col. Washington and given a promotion to corporal because of his service. When he read the announcement his father stared at him with a distant look like he was trying to see into the future and what would become of his country. When several days later he learned that Washington had been appointed to lead the Continental army and was calling for troops, his father said, “He is a good man; he will make it hard on the British”. It was the first time Michael had ever heard his father refer to the British as if he was not a part of them himself.

During his first year with the militia he saw action in several different locations but never more than just skirmishes. After his first year he was appointed to the Provost Marshall's unit. He guarded prisoners, both British, captured in battle, and Colonials who had broken the law either military or civilian. Because he was able to read and write he was also given the job of investigating some of the complaints against the soldiers. He learned quickly how to question witnesses and get to the truth. He liked that part of the job but guarding the prisoners was another thing all together. In the small hut behind him were four men from Pennsylvania who were found guilty of desertion and murder along with other lesser crimes. These men had left camp and attacked a local farmer and his family. The men claimed they went looking for food and when the farmer refuse to give them any stating it was for Washington’s Army, they beat him so severely he died. The four men then entered the house where the family was hiding. They found the farmer’s alcohol and got drunk. After that they attacked the family. The two sons were killed immediately, the farmer’s wife and daughter they “used” then killed The four men drank some more and passed out. A detail from camp had been sent to retrieve the food the farmer sold to the army and found the four men and the bodies of the farmer and his family. After seeing what the four men had done to the wife and daughter the detail wanted to hang them right there and then. Only the promise from the officer in charge that the men would face punishment prevented them from doing that. The four deserters tried to claim that they acted in self defence from the farmer since they were starving and that the attack on the family was due to the whiskey. They were found guilty on all charges and they had all been ordered to be hung. One of the men had Loyalist family members living in Philadelphia just 20 miles away and it was rumored they might try to help him and his friends escape. The cabin had a small fire in the fireplace and twice the fire flared up filling the cabin with a terrific red light and foul smelling smoke. Both time after the light died down Michael looked into the cabin and each time he thought a man had died. Since he was alone he couldn’t go in and check, it would have been unsafe. Anywhere with everything else going on again he thought it was just his imagination. Still he said a small prayer for the man and then went back to his duty.

Michael was having a hard time staying awake. The cold was really getting to him, at least he had stopped shaking so badly but he didn’t know why. He quit feeling his feet a while ago and thought that it was because he had been moving enough to warm them up. He was actually starting to feel warm all over but he wanted to go to sleep so badly.

Michael had not gone to church service much since entering the army. He told himself that it was because he had more important things to do and that he couldn’t spare the time. The real reason was he wasn’t sure about God anymore, he had too many questions. But now standing here he thought to pray. He knew what he should say but he couldn’t focus, he felt confused and couldn’t think of the words. When the words did come to him he couldn’t speak them, his mouth wouldn’t work and the words came out jumbled. He was trying to ask God to protect his family and keep them safe but most of all he wanted God to let the night be over so he could go somewhere else, someplace warm and safe where he wouldn’t have to stand around in the cold anymore. Michael just wanted to be away from here. He again wished he was home.

As he stared into the trees he saw the dark figures and suddenly they parted as if running from something that terrified them. He suddenly heard the screech of a Barn Owl which startled him since the night was so quiet. He then caught what he thought was a shadow flying past but when he looked he noticed it was a pair of Barn Owls flying toward the trees. He then noticed two figures approaching from where the owls had gone. At first he thought they were just the flames shining through the trees but even in his confused state he could see they were real, in a sense. From a distance they appeared very tall and as they got closer he could tell they were even taller than he first thought. He noticed they were dressed in armor similar to what the Hessians wore but it covered more. And it seemed to give off a strange glow. He remembered from books he had seen back home that the ancients wore armor like this. It covered their chest, lower arms and their lower legs. Each of them carried a shield which was also glowing. And from their belts they had what must be swords, only they were not like the swords the officers carried, they were shorter and broader.

As they got closer Michael saw that one was very fair skinned and the other was dark. He figured the dark one must be the servant of the fair one. He knew immediately that couldn’t be true. He noticed that as they walked they were side by side and step for step with each other and a servant would never walk beside his master. He also got the feeling that they were equals, friends, maybe even brothers. The fair one had long flowing hair that appeared to be of spun gold. Michael knew what he was seeing could not be true and several times he shook his head and rubbed his eyes trying to wake or at least make sense of what he saw. Suddenly, Michael became aware of a bright light beside him and when he turned he saw a figure dressed similar to the two approaching. He also noticed the one standing next to him had wings and the wings were spread over Michael like the crown of a tree.

Michael started to pray as fear of what he saw was overcoming him. Suddenly the fear left him as the dark one spoke his name as if greeting an old friend. If Michael was in his right mind he would have realized that although he didn’t know these men they knew him and his name. The two men stopped and he swore he could see wings on their backs. They began to glow brighter. Michael asked them who they were and why they were here. Although neither of them spoke he heard they words;

“Michael, we are messengers of the Almighty and we are here for you.”

Before he could even ask the next question which was “Why?” he heard the voice again and it told him they had been sent to answer his prayer and take him home. He immediately thought of his wife and children and their cabin and his father.

The voice again broke his concentration telling him it was not that home but his eternal home with his heavenly Father. The voice also told him it was time to go.

Michael felt warmth he had not felt in a long time and a lightness he had never felt. He saw the men turn and begin walking away and he started to follow. When he looked back to where he had been standing he saw the figure of a soldier laying in the snow. He felt a connection to this soldier but he didn’t know why. He turned and continued following these men…