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Chapter Two - Night Time Visitors

Eugene's hand suddenly clamp over John's mouth as a dagger enters his left side up under the ribs cage and into his heart while being drag back down with Eugene onto the pile of bodies all the while making very little noise. He waited a few more minutes to see if anyone heard anything or if there was anyone nearby. He then rolls John's body over onto his back and pats him down, finding a dagger and a money pouch and deciding to check the pouch later he tucks it in between the rope belt that Eugene has on to hold his pants up.

Eugene then pulls off a poorly made dagger sheath that goes around the leg calf. Strapping the scabbard onto his right calf, it took a few minutes to get it on. After it felt like forever trying to undo a knot in the leather string before he was able to put the dagger in and make sure it will stay in place. Eugene checks the shoes on the body, only seeing that it was the same type of boiled leather that was wrapped around like the one on his foot with a cloth. Seeing several other pieces of leather armor on the body, an arm-guard, one shin-guard, and a belt, all poorly made and worn with a lot of use. But leather is leather strapping them one at a time and thinking that at the moment he needs to take care of the other two and to get the hell out of here. An intense pain flooded his head as memories, images, and intense emotions flash through his mind causing him to almost blackout. The strongest memories were of his father and uncles' death by men on horseback charging toward them. Watching as their sharpen spears splintering as the horses' barrel into them flinging them like rag dolls. Turning in the direction where they last stood, the intense feeling of taking them home flooded through his heart. With tears flowing down his face as he realizes that the body he inhabits lost some of his family here. The knowledge of his home was only thirty miles to the east. He shivers as the wind picks up from the cold autumn air. The thought that he has a family shock him. Have an aunt who was raising him and his younger sister. What more there was another aunt and two nieces who live nearby. The thoughts of having a family nearly overwhelm him. After his two grandfathers pass away some twenty years ago on Earth, he has been alone for most of his life.

The memory of a small spring about a mile to the east of here came to mind. It was surrounded by a sizable thorny thicket making it an excellent place to hide and maybe keep the wagon there safe until the troops leave the area. The name of Joseph of Farwell flood his memory, Commoner don't have last names usually name after their job or place they live. The small village must be Farwell. Memories of several families living around a deep well that was dug out a few years ago pop into his head. The land is rocky like that of the Ozarks mountains region of Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas. Several villages in this area are barely scraping by and paying the Baron's high taxes. He remembers that there were many nights of going hungry just so his aunt and younger sister can eat.

Several of his neighbors were hauled off to the silver mines a few months ago for not being able to pay the raise taxes. If not for the trapping this boy had done, they all would have been carted off too. Still didn't stop the barons from conscripting all able boys and men for this war. From the previous owner's memories of three of the young girls whose family was carted off to the mines are being used by the knights as prostitutes. Sarah. Leela and Fran were all at marriage age but never got picked by anyone in the last two years because of their looks and sturdy built. It would not be long before they would have been sold off as servants to the Barons or other rich lords. Thinking back to the reason why he was not married was his elf-like ears. Remember that his mother was aunt's sister that was raped by a man seventeen years earlier. The local families did not want their children married to a bastard sired by a rapist. At this moment, he thanks his boy's father for his eyesight and the fact he was not married.

“Joseph sounds much better than Eugene. Please to meet you,” muttering to himself as the moons were once more swallow by the clouds dropping his vision to that of twilight. He glances up at the stars that seem to shine as bright as a full moon that shine through the cloudy sky. Worry about the next morning and being out in the sunlight with his night vision the way it is. It took a few minutes of weaving through his memories that he can remember that his eyes adjust to the light unless it is sudden and blinding. So Eugene realizes he was going to have to be careful while looking at lights and campfire, so not to be temporarily blind him, “or sunrises and sunsets,” he mutters to himself. He was thinking about how Joseph was able to keep from being blind. He realizes that Joseph never really thought it was strange seeing in the dark better than everyone around him. Yet the sunlight did not bother Joeseph because he was able to see in both environments with no problem. The fact he can zoom in on things or people he kept most of that a secret to prevent others from making fun of him or bully him. There were quite a few of the young men and some adults that were rude or downright hateful to him. A few of them beat by some of the kids in the villages over the years. It was worst during the harvest festival.

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“You did not have a good life, even some of your own family maltreated you, yet they did care about you. Things will change.” muttering to himself.

“Gods damn it! It would have to go pitch black just as I get up to you, John”. Eugene heard Jared's voice directly behind him, turning around and grabs Jared as he walks up from behind, plunging the dagger up under his chin into his brain, killing him instantly. I gently laid him down upon the ground, listening intently, waiting to see if anyone else was around. 'Stupid! Stupid! Acting like a recruit and daydreaming is going to get me killed' chiding himself. Patting down the body and finding two hatchets, smiling to himself as he felt their weight and balance. Growing up with two grandfathers, one of which was his real grandfather, but the other was his adopted grandfather. Well, he was his grandfather's war buddy from world war two and my uncle.

Joseph's grandfather and his best friend saved each other during that war and made it out. Both of them married sisters that only made their bond stronger. In truth, he was his uncle, but it was more respect calling him grandfather. His adopted grandfather was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian. That taught him how to trap and hunt. Although he did not have a drop of native blood in him, his adopted grandfather did not care and taught him how to survive in the wilds. That later help him to become a better scout in the army. Just like both of his grandfathers that were in northern Africa and Italy campaign during the war as scouts. Thinking of wars, the memories of the Joseph came forward about the two weeks of training on how to use the sharpen sapling as long spears to stop men on horse. Guessing from his history books, it seems that the world he is in is like the Greeks and early Roman. Bronze weapons seem to be the common material used in this world, with the stone being used if there is no bronze. He read a lot of history about ancient wars in the textbooks that a buddy of his was using to pass a test in one of his classes he was doing online. He was surprised at how much tactics and past events were still useful in future wars. He began to use that knowledge and his grandfathers' knowledge of guerrilla warfare, which help him make it to Master Sergeant before he left the scouts and the army behind.

All he wanted to do is to work his ranch in Montana and forget the world. If not for the fact he was ambushed by the Grayson brothers and some cousin of their upon the highway, he would have been busy hauling the ten head of cattle and Bubba the bull he bought, back to his ranch. Remembering seeing a car broke down on the side of a county road, and a woman flagged him down. He stops to offer her some help only to be attacked by all three of the Grayson boys. Garth, Terry, and Barry. The girl must have been a cousin that was sweet on Garth. After Fighting Terry and Barry, one with a tire iron and the other with a wooden baseball bat. He remembers that he was able to disarm both of them when they both pull out their knives. Words of both of my grandfather went through my head at that time. 'If they start it, you end it, but if they pull a knife on you and try to kill you, then you kill them first. A dead enemy can not stab you in the back'. Rememberingplunging a knife into Barry's gut after killing Terry. He then heard a woman screaming, and a gun goes off, making him stagger. Realizing he been shot he pulls the knife out of Barry and flung it at Garth as he fires again, Eugene saw the knife blade enter Garth's chest as darkness descended.

Eugene faintly remembers that just before it went black, he saw a coyote walking up to him and sitting down. Eugene shook his head and sign deeply before realizing that while he was reminiscing, there is still one more robber out there. Right now is not the time to worry about his death. Now he is more worry about Joseph's family. The boy's sister was only thirteen years old and becoming a beauty. Her father was worried the local Baron would use this war between the two dukes to grab his daughter and his nieces. Looking around and not seeing anyone around him except for some lights to the west, at least he thinks it the west considering the moon over there was lower in the horizon than it was before. And the eastern sky had a faint tint to it, harking the sunrise in an hour or more. The lights to the west look like a camp, maybe one of the armies. After thirty minutes, he found his father and two uncles' bodies. It took him thirty minutes to carry them to the woods. Just as he lay the last uncle's bodies next to his father that he heard movement coming toward him in the woods. The night was lighting up with the coming sunrise, and he figures that the two men he killed father were coming to check on his boys. Pulling out the two hatchets, he crouched near a tree and waited.