Wendigo, Deer Woman and Murder

Arrival

Isaac stopped and pointed out a few who he considered beautiful. "Aren't they cute? I wonder if my charm will work on these ladies too."

George rolled his eyes at that remark. "We are not here to have fun, you know that."

"Oh come on, live a little." He punched him in the arm. "I bet you never even had a girl before." 

"Oh be quiet." George replied with anger in his voice. He was simply not one to sleep with a girl he did not love. It was foolish and he knew that, he even tried to lose his virginity to one of the tavern girls or prostitutes in New York. Yet he could not do it. He blamed his religious and virtuous upbringings for that.

"Should have taken one of these harlots in the harbor, lovely creatures." The solider almost drooled.

"Let's just move one, they probably won't understand you." George insisted.

"Let's find out, hm?" his comrade smiled. And indeed none of the woman understood or spoke English. It certainly did not stop Isaac from trying and George had to practically push him away to avoid further embarrassment. "I heard they fulfill your every wish as long as you give em' a piece of Iron."

"Maybe in the past. But I am sure these people had enough time to trade with us and know what Iron is."

"Ha! You really are no fun, you know that?" Isaac said and boxed him into the shoulder.

As they walked just out of sight from the woman, they heard a giggle coming from behind a bush on their left. A native girl was peaking out from behind it an beckoned them closer with her finger in a seductive manner. George could only make out a part of her face but her could tell how smooth the skin on her arm was, and her hand was very beautiful. She spoke in a language that they did not understand but what she was implying was obvious.

"Looks like I get lucky after all." Isaac smirked.

George held him back. "Did your forget that we are on guard duty? What if the Sergeant catches us? That'll be 20 lashes for you. At least."

"Tell you what, why don't you wait for me over there and I finish this, hm?"

George did not approve of course. But Isaac was just as stubborn as he was and once he had made up his mind about something, he could not be stopped. "Fine, just do it quick. And don't treat her like that poor harlot you beat up in New York." The poor woman had bruises all over her body and face after her was done with her.

"Don't worry I won't." He was starting to be annoyed by his comrade. Why did he even care? He remembered how he punched him for beating that harlot. That woman was a former slave girl, no one cares about her. 

And that was exactly why George reacted this way. Frustrated, George retreated our of earshot and after taking a close look around to make sure no one was here, he leaned against a tree and took out a book from his pocket.

His mother was a devout, open-minded person and the friendliest soul in all of England. She had encouraged him to be self educated and bought him more books than he could consume. His father was more stern. As a lawyer, he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps. So he was quite unhappy when George proclaimed his wish to serve in the army and fight for King and Country. He did not allow him to serve, until his sister Lizzie had married a lawyer. Now the son-in-law would take over the family business. With that being settled, George was free to come to America. His sister always said he had inherited Mothers kindness and Fathers stubbornness. And he had to agree with her on that one.

Shivering, he looked up to the sky. "Yeah it's definitely gonna snow soon." he muttered.

An ear piercing scream broke the silence of the woods, scaring a bunch of crows to hurry off into the distance. A deer was hurrying away from the source of the scream as well.

George was immediately alarmed, as the scream came from the bushes where Isaac and the native woman had been. "Shite! Why did I leave him alone?" With his musket in hand, he rushed over and around the bushes. The sight before him was so gruesome he nearly threw up.

Isaacs chest and stomach were crushed, having apparently being trampled upon and his blood began to stain the lush green grass. The local woman on the other hand was nowhere to be seen.

"Help..." the redcoat managed to get out. Blood was flowing out of his mouth and drowning anything else.

George reacted quickly after recovering from the shock and called for help. He fell down to his knees and tried to stop the bleeding as good as possible. But even though he was not a doctor, he could tell that Isaac was going to die. "Just hold still and don't talk. Help! We need help, get the Surgeon!" He heard several footsteps approaching but he was too busy focusing on the wounded soldier.

Isaac tried to say something. "I said don't talk." But he pushed George closer and managed to get a few words out.

"A... demon... it was... a demon." Isaac stuttered with his last breath before slowly closing his eyes and he drew his last breath, just as the another patrol arrived with some natives.

"What happened?" one of the soldiers asked.

George looked up to the others, his hands were now stained with the blood of his colleague. "I... I... I don't... know." This was truly a shock. He had expected to see death on the battlefield and even then it would have gotten to him, no matter how much he prepared for it. But Isaac died far away from the enemy, completely unexpected.

"I'll get the Surgeon." another solider said and was about to run off.

George stopped him. "That's not necessary... He is gone."

The soldiers and natives alike offered a small prayer in their own religions before helping to carry the body back to the camp.

None of this made sense to George, and not just because of Isaacs untimely death. Who was the woman behind the bush and where was she now? Did she kill him and then ran off? No, surely he would have seen her. But then again, she knew these woods better than him.

One thing was certain however: George would have a lot of explaining to do. And if a native truly was responsible for his death, it could strain relations between the British and their allies.

Oh yes, it was going to be one interesting Winter.