One Big Mistake

“Hold the line! Reload!”
The Hessian watched from his mount as the men struggled in the hail of musket-balls in the distance, scowling as he watched his commander try to shriek orders through the haze of fear that now bewitched them, hiding in their make-shift covers of trees and bushes.

“Scheisse…” He breathed, shaking his head. What a mess.
He could already see who had the advantage. The stupid soldiers were too busy panicking to even think straight, hiding like foxes and shooting blindly once they’ve seen a gap of their enemies’ routines. He’ll bet they were now toying with the idea of desertion, perhaps even mutiny.
A sound like a crack momentarily distracted him from his comrades.
His eyes, sharp and ghoulish; spotted a slim shadow creeping across a thick branch of a tree, crawling on his hands and knees towards an unfortunate redcoat. He flinched as the shadow swooped upon the man, cutting him down with a quickness of a cat.
He sucked in a breath and grimaced at the sight, now wanting like never before to gallop down there and slice the enemy into peaces. But orders bound him to stay in the camp, if he valued his position, and he might endanger himself in front of the gunfire.
Sensing the tension that now coursed his body, his horse shifted nervously under him. Duly, he patted his horse’s neck, but he was still distracted with his bottled fury as he watched the enemy move.
He could see that they were merely the young blood of the Americans, a group of youths so full of energy and fervor that it annoyed him. There were at least a dozen of them, a small number in comparison to the men, but he quickly saw that despite of their inexperience in shooting, they could move through the woods well.
But in spite of this, they were still an undisciplined lot. If he were one of them he would try to get his companions to surround the opponent, but instead they move only to kill what was in front of them.
Suddenly the boys stopped their firing, and the Hessian watched with renewed interest as they turned and fled from the battle scene, causing the commander to swear profusely.
He glanced briefly at his comrades, taking in the damage they had done. There were only a few men that were shot, while other individuals were viciously attacked. Nothing much.
His eyes flickered back to the direction in which the boys had taken. With Daredevil he could take them on, hunt them down and kill them for their impudence.
The thought made his face slit into a grin. Yes, he should hunt them down… give them a taste of what it’s truly like to being at war. He would make them scream, cry and beg for mercy. He would most especially, make sure that their heads would be lopped off, with an expression of horror frozen in each of them, until their countrymen would find them at dawn’s light.
He glanced back at his comrades below, focusing his blue eyes on the fat commander that was now trying to console some morale into the soldiers. The leaders will be angry, they expected their orders to be followed at all costs.
But what the hell, they don’t call him the ‘berserker’ for nothing. Besides, he’d do the redcoats a favor anyway. If the boys should live to tell their tale, the Americans would become cocky from this embarrassing moment. It is best to strike fear into them, for it makes the job easier afterwards.
Hungry for the hunt, he traced his tongue lightly against his teeth, causing a faint taste of iron to run in his mouth. He could no longer wait. Quickly he steered his horse around and galloped to the trees, now not even caring if he was discovered out here. The battle was over, but not the war. As a mercenary to the English king, he was simply ensuring a victory.
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“Come on…work…you--stupid--thing, work!”
Jodi punched in the buttons of her cell phone with her thumb, staring hard at its blank screen through tears. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. All she could remember doing was stepping out of that motel, yet somehow it led to getting lost to the wilderness. Especially when the most useful gadget man had to offer decides to call it quits!
Unable to bear it, she let out a shuddering moan of despair. She knew she was so lost. Not a single artificial light was there in the distance to give her hope of civilization being nearby, and the fact that she was confused of how she came frightened her. Had she suddenly lost control of her mind? Was she so drunk that she had walked in here unawares?
Jodi tossed the cell phone angrily, not even caring as it clattered noisily down the uneven grown. Sobbing, she sank back to the tree she had been sitting against, drawing her knees to her chest. She wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else, but here. This place was too dark, too noisy, too…
A ticklish feeling crept across her bare forearm. She slapped the spot vehemently, expecting it to be a mosquito, or a spider. She couldn’t sense the culprit afterwards, but all she did was produce an angry sting on her skin. She knew that uncomfortable feeling would creep back on her again.
Just like everything else living here.
In her state of hysteria, she could hear things more keenly than she had ever before. Little insects chirruped softly underneath the long grasses of the undergrowth, while cicadas screeched annoyingly on the trees, only to shut up whenever she heard a flurry of feathery wings flapping at their direction, only to start again when the noise passes. Sometimes a weak breeze would pass, causing the branches and the leaves to whisper and scrape amongst themselves. With all that noise, it was a wonder that she could hear the footfalls that crunched delicately in the undergrowth, making her muscles tense with paranoia.
She fervently hoped it was just a harmless deer, like the little muntjacs in England, but her mind, cursed for its wild imagination at times, made her think it could be a wild dog, or worse, a wolf. The nimble footsteps hardly came to her direction, but she clapped her hands loudly anyway, causing it to dash out of the area.
The act gave her the confidence she needed. She didn’t know what the hell it was, but at least what she had scared it off. Now with a clearer head uncovered from the fear that gripped her, she calculated her situation.
She already knew that she was nowhere close to town; it was too dark. Obviously this wasn’t a figment of her imagination either, and anyway it looks like she was truly deep in the wilderness, considering the level of noise. So if she were to start walking, would it get her back to Sleepy Hollow, or sink deeper into the wilderness?
Well, she has no food or water, so she wouldn’t be able to survive here for long. She didn’t know when dawn would come either, but she also didn’t know if she was unwittingly sitting in a danger zone.
Caught in the clutter of musings that fogged her mind, her eyes soon crept towards her phone, sitting a few feet away from her. She had left the light-up screen on, making it glow a bright blue in the shadows. It seems it could be used in this case after all.
Picking it up, she bared the light in front of her and frowned disappointedly.
The light didn’t penetrate much, but she supposed she could still use it. At least to allow her to know where she’s going.
She was now determined to find a way out of here, regardless of the mystery as to how she arrived, she would still use her time and energy while she still had it.
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And only god knew how long she had been tramping through the woods, holding her cell phone before her with an outstretched arm like a shield against the hidden evils in this place. Had she cared to, Jodi would have been impressed by the rare image of a strong and overgrown wilderness. All of the trees generally had a thick girth, twisting in several directions like pale wraiths, but relatively obscured by the thick growth of branches filled with leaves. It would have looked spectacular, a very real image for a scene of a gothic horror genre, but Jodi feared—and hated—the dark.
She was also growing less tolerant as her feet ached and grew tired. She had little sleep tonight, and now she fervently wished for something comfortable to lie in. Despite of herself, her eyes fluttered at the thought, and she suddenly tripped over a jutting lip of the earth. Gasping out a reactionary curse, she stopped herself with her hands when the ground rushed up to her, scraping herself as she went down.
She could have crushed her cell phone, still being held by her left hand, and she mentally kicked herself for being so stupid. Setting it down beside her, she wiped her hands, now throbbing and probably filthy, on her jeans. Her hand stopped short of picking the phone up when sounds, faint and unidentifiable at first, were heard crashing to her direction.
She stared ahead of her, stiff and fearful, as the sounds came closer and closer. It ripped past the bushes and trees, stomping through the ground fast and hard. At first Jodi couldn’t figure out what it was, she wanted to bolt, but somehow she had lost all feeling from her knees downwards. The heavy weight of the sounds made her think of bears, perhaps she had stumbled into their territory, or maybe she has unwittingly crossed between a mother and her cub. Jodi quickly scrambled for her phone, failing to notice the jangling of metal that followed the sounds, the multiple huffings of men catching their breath, and the flapping of cloth material from their movement.
It was right when the first of the men emerged when Jodi had finally thrust the phone in front of her. She gaped in surprise when she saw the light expose the ruddy, cherubic face of a man. It wasn’t the surprise of finding someone out here, it was what he was wearing that stunned her. He was actually sporting a dark three-cornered hat. She wasn’t even allowed to recover from her surprise when the cell phone was suddenly smacked out of her hand.
“WITCH!” shrieked the man and she quickly found herself thrown to the ground by an unseen force. A breath barely squeaked out of her before several men tackled her, pressing their weights against her and scrambling for her hands.
“Get that light! Destroy it, it’ll give us away!”
“Wait!” She wailed, her voice weak from the pressure, but high with anxiety. “Stop! I’m o--MMmmmMMPH!”
“Shut her up!” One of the men snapped, but it was already done. With a horrible realization sinking into her, Jodi saw that she had now had been restrained and at their mercy. And all she could do was squeal in panic.
She wanted to hate herself to death. It was an illogical thought but it was now dominating her as she stared into the dark. She had never been humiliated into a position like this before, and here was one frightening experience that can lead to an unspeakable result.
“Good God, what is this wench wearing?” One of them asked incredulously.
The rest of them whispered and murmured amongst themselves, so quietly that Jodi can barely hear their words. Her heart went into her mouth when she felt multiple hands searching her, tensing when she felt them squeeze and slide over her buttocks and thighs. She couldn’t help but yelp loudly when one of them actually grabbed her crotch.
It caused the one with his hand on her mouth to press harder against her face, squashing her lips against her teeth.
“Don’t you DARE scream.” He hissed, “Or I’ll cut your throat from ear to ear.” He added, this time more quietly, patronizing. Jodi snorted angrily under his hand. She now wanted more than ever to bite him, but she couldn’t. His hand pressed her upper lip so tightly against her teeth that it now felt raw. She doubted she could even scream.
When the young man turned away to his friends once more, Jodi simply stared ahead and focused entirely on catching their words. She couldn’t see where her cell phone is lying, so she wasn’t sure if it was still in working order, and not smashed to pieces by the trampling of these brutes.
The men were still searching her, sometimes murmuring incredulously about the ‘foolish garb’ she was wearing, or smugly admit that she is indeed female. However, that was not the main course of the conversation they were having. In fact, listening to them further confused Jodi. She listened to them as they wondered aloud of what they were going to do with her, that they didn’t have much time and she’d only be slowing them down. She noticed how some others were more concerned with who she was, and hearing words like “spy” or “witch” made her raise an eyebrow.
Who the hell are those guys? She wondered incredulously. What kind of people are they that dress in costumes, run about blindly in the woods and talk Shakespearean?
Obviously not the typical wayward punks back in town. A more childish, irrational part of her mind wondered if they were Amish.
Her drifting mind was soon shocked back to reality when the discussion became more heated and violent than ever.
“I say she’s a spy!” One of them whispered harshly, “No one else owns that…that…thing! It must be from Britain!”
“Oh, well said!” Another replied sarcastically, “She’s smuggling something under our very noses isn’t she? Alone and unchaperoned? Be quiet! The English may be godless but they’re not that godless enough to create that unholy light!”
They must be Amish.
Of course, Jodi, having lived in England for six years, couldn’t help but wonder what was it that these guys have against the English? How can that country inspire such hatred from these men?
“Enough of this! We’re on the run and we’re sitting on our arses talking of this wench? I say we slay the bitch and head back home!”
Jodi stiffened. She then heard words of agreement or disagreement. At least that made her glad. She couldn’t help but take them seriously as they argued amongst themselves, their words quiet but the tone sharp and aggressive. Her heart thudded faster when she heard a foreboding hiss of metal scraping something.
“Amos! Put that down!” One of them shouted, she recognized it as the voice belonging to the man with his hand on her mouth.
“What’s wrong with you? She’s a witch! Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live!”
“She’ll expose us!”
“Perhaps she has some information!” One of them suggested, “She’s too close to the camp to not be one of theirs!”
“Idiot!”
Jodi struggled at the hands that bound her, despite the fact that her skin crawled and her blood pounded quick and fast throughout her body, she only did it slightly as to not rouse attention. She began to struggle more violently as the argument got louder, but it wasn’t until she heard a thudding vibration from the ground that the men had finally stopped dead.
It was the thudding of hoof beats coming towards them.
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He couldn’t believe his luck. As he rode through foliage, he had long expected that they had already separated and branched through the territory, because that would have prevented an easy capture. Instead, the young idiots were all staying in one spot, unguarded and making so much raucous that he had already heard them a mile away.
He was panting with anticipation now, his swordhand gripping on his blade while the other held the reigns, as soon as he heard them up close, he kicked his horse into a full gallop and roared encouragingly. Daredevil, agile as always, swerved past obstacles and jumped over the rocks that littered the area. They then broke into the place where the youths were sitting, and the Hessian was already carrying off a head of one of their own.
Swerving Daredevil to face them, the Hessian raised his swordhand, letting out his grisly battle cry shamelessly and in full view. Stuck on the blade was the severed head of one of the youths, cut cleanly and so fast, that the body was still falling down the uneven ground of the woods once the youths had noticed.
“It’s HIM!” A boy shrieked, and they finally broke into action. The Hessian smirked as one of the weak-willed ones tried to bolt then, only to smack into their allies.
Go ahead and run, he thought, it would just make it all the more amusing.
“Wait--Look! He’s alone!” A lad gleefully observed. The Hessian shrugged at this, and waited for them as they, encouraged, plucked up their swords and daggers. He noticed that they weren’t picking up their firepower; this fact made him more confident than before. Watching them move, he also noticed that they had been crouching over a body for some odd reason.
A wounded friend? He couldn’t smell any fresh and spilling blood, and from this distance he could hardly see the full details. However, as the lads formed themselves for battle, stepping hesitantly towards him with their weapons bared and shining, one of them was left behind to care for that body.
He shook his head. He shouldn’t care for such things, especially now.
The Hessian wrenched the head from the blade with brutal ease, and tossed it to the approaching youths. It caused them to gasp and recoil as it bounced down, but as the Hessian had hoped, it had fueled their fury. He hardly had the time to prepare himself after jumping off his mount before the youths pounced upon him, howling and thrashing at him like a pack of wolves.
First came the emotion of surprise, but then came amusement. He swatted the boy closest to him with a full slap across the face, punching another in the gut soon after, laboring to ward them off for some space. But the youths were not wary of the strength he exerted in the blows he had thrown, neither did they even see how swift and powerfully he had moved to dodge and attack. But they were already throwing away all restraints such as sense and precaution. They were now attacking for the sake in killing him.
But the Hessian did not feel overwhelmed. In fact, he was laughing inside, joyful that he now has a challenge. What better way to hone his skills of swordsmanship!
No longer wishing to toy with them, the Hessian bounded forwards, and with a quick flourish, he cut off their attacks with his own blade. The forcefulness of his sudden offensive tactic caused the boys to stagger back in surprise, and the mercenary took full advantage of it.
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Jodi lay there, listening to the sounds of the fight with one ear, and taking note that her captor was now shifting nervously over her. She had been flipped onto her stomach when the rest of the men stood up to fight the mysterious horseman that had barged into the scene, just so the one that stayed behind can twist back her arms and maintain a good grip on them.
Licking her lips, she flexed her wrists experimentally. At first he didn’t seem to notice, but when she tried it again, she suddenly felt something razor-thin pressed against her throat.
“Stop it.” Her captor said, reestablishing his grip on her arms.
Well, so much for an escape.
An enthusiastic roar rang out across the air again, reminding her once more of the intruder that came galloping here. Hopefully to rescue her…?
Somehow she couldn’t even bring herself to welcome that wishful thinking. She had seen how it arrived, watching with wide eyes as the animal raced towards them, the creature on its saddle, leaning close to the side, its arm and weapon a blur.
Jodi closed her eyes, wishing she could banish the macabre image of the head flopping down, only to be skewered with a sword and disappear in a flash. It brought her from her confusion, and her stupidity in waiting for something normal to creep back into view, something to tell her that not all is lost to her. She saw the blood, the wide blank eyes of the victim, looking so young to be dead. Suddenly she realized that she was no longer afraid of her attackers. She now noticed that that rider was now the most of her worries, and if she doesn’t escape now, she thought, he would come for her. And there would be no guarantee for mercy.
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The American shrieked in panic before the blade had even touched him. The mercenary punctured his belly nonetheless, grimacing with contempt as he twisted it. He shoved the cadaver away and swung around, slicing another of the youths through the neck. The boys had hardly any time to react. As the Hessian hacked and slashed at them, at times whipping at their weapons, trying to spur them on to attack back. But their attempts to defend themselves were feeble. Not fast enough. Not hard enough.
They were all hopeless.
The battle was quickly finished, with all of what was left of the boys, fallen on the ground. The familiar stench of blood was thick in the air now, but the Hessian did not stop to notice it. He was already turning when the last of them was cut down, targeting his next prey. Hopefully the other would have more guts than the rest.
The boy was the biggest, definitely a farmer’s son, accustomed to heavy work and big meals. But the Hessian knew it wouldn’t matter.
The boy was staring at him, his face pale and luminous in the moonlight, his mouth agape. Uncaring, the Hessian stepped down from the higher ground and began to walk briskly towards him.

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The girl gasped as the knife slipped away, she had been so sure that he was going to slit her throat right then and there. The man seemed to have completely forgotten about her. Since he had already let go of her hands, Jodi couldn’t stop herself from getting up to watch his retreating form as he ran into the darkness of the woods, unable to believe that he had left her like that, unscathed!
The sound of a crunch grabbed her attention, of a boot crashing down on a twig or something of the like, and that reminded her. Whipping her head around, she watched in dismay as the figure was coming closer to her, and knew that this was her final chance, run now or never.

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His steps faltered when he saw the body get up on its fours, noticing its strange form. The individual had long limbs, too thin to be male, and wearing the most strangest garments he had ever seen. The thought of chasing that boy had suddenly vanished in his head, and instead was replaced with a feeling of curiosity.
He quickly trudged closer to this stranger, taking note of how tightly the clothes had hung on her body, it had to be a she, especially with that long and scraggly hair that hung over her face.
What in god’s name was this wretched creature doing here?
Suddenly the female scrambled up to her feet, and as he had feared, she dashed away from him, amazing him once more with the bizarre state of her shoes. They were a brilliant white, he could tell, but he daren’t dwell too long over its individuality. He should feel grateful that the shoes would make her an easy one to chase, and chase her he must. If he wanted questions answered.

All she could hear was her panicked and heavy breathing, her blood pounding and the breaking of foliage as she ran clumsily through the woods. She couldn’t tell if the monster was running after her, and she fearfully knew that she cannot give him a chance. Her shins and toes ached and throbbed from stumbling and tripping too many times, and each time she did so, that cold, horrible sick feeling got into her. She knew what this oily substance was, and it would not go away.
Trying to throw him off, she swerved and weaved through the trees, hoping that it would slow him down or confuse him. God, in no time at all there’ll be no way I can get out of this maze! She thought in panic, she hoped the man doesn’t live here, because at least she might not have to cross paths with psychos like him ever again.
A stitch was growing at her left side, but she tried to ignore it, tried to ignore the stabbing pain, tried to ignore the fact that despite of herself, her feet are getting slower and slower than before. She mentally kicked herself and tried to renew her speed. There was nothing else she could do but run, her life depended on it, she’d rather die than let him catch her.
She was now glad that her eyes were getting used to the dark. The woods no longer looked as thick as before, and she could dodge the awaiting sticks and branches in front of her, they looked like they wouldn’t give way easily if she had ran into them.
Light flashed in the corner of her eye, and when she looked at its source, she choked.
It was the damn armor, he was running up alongside of her and she was too oblivious to notice him. He was almost eclipsed by the leaves and branches of the surrounding plants, but she could now see his black shifting form as he got closer and closer.
“Fuck!” She shrieked, and she threw herself blindly to another direction, this time not even bothering to dodge the branches as it scraped and pulled at her, causing hot cuts across her face and arms as she thrashed her way through. She heard him tumble and crash after her, and Jodi wanted to scream herself hoarse.
He’s catching up to her, and she knew it. She could hear him breathe behind her, its undertones was hoarse and guttural, reminding her of predatory animals. Something swiped at her and brushed the collar of her T-shirt, making her shriek in panic. He was trying to grab her, and he’s almost—-
Something slammed into her shin, knocking her feet under her. She finally looked down as she plunged down to the ground jagged with rocks and fallen sticks. A sharp pain shot through her brain as she fell on the earth, and it was the last thing she could recall before everything went black.