The Devil In Me

Chapter 36

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Around New Orleans

"Here, take mine." Klaus muttered, shoving his grey bread at the young boy shaking beside him. William eyed it for a moment, about to refuse, when hunger overcame him, and he grabbed at it, stuffing it into his mouth gratefully. The boy was hungry, and Klaus had been longer without food before. Klaus crouched down beside the water bucket, and dipped his hands in it, bringing the stale water up to his mouth, drinking deeply. They had been on the move all night, moving into one bad position after another, and there was no doubt that they had incurred heavy losses. The amount of men the Americans had mustered outnumbered them, and the British were cold, tired and on the edge of giving up completely.

Klaus was hidden behind a low lying hill with the ragged remnants of his brigade, and the grey, pre-dawn light was gradually revealing the desperate situation they were in. Americans were closing in, their position was vulnerable, their back up scattered or killed. William coughed quietly as he forced the last of the dry bread down his raw throat, and Klaus moved to the side to allow him access to their dwindling water supply. He couldn't quite remember when he William had become his shadow, or indeed if he had actually been introduced to him formally. He had broken up a fight onboard the boat, two weeks into the journey. The men were bored and restless for battle, and the long voyage had done nothing to quell their bloodlust. Skinny and young, William had been ripe for torment, and the men aboard had laughed to see the boy, barely a man, with his nose stuck in a book, while they sailed to fight. Klaus had no interest in becoming a protector of the defenceless, however, their cackling and bullying disturbed his solitude too often, and he was forced to step in. Perhaps he might have left it at that, and the men would have carried on their torture more quietly, but for the look in the lad's eyes. It had been so terribly reminiscent of another boy, young and scared, that he had taken care of, protected from harm, made hot milk for in the night, as two little heads one dark, another blonde sat whispering at the table. So, he had warned the men to keep their distance, and they had, without question. The next morning, William had popped up at his elbow, and hardly left it for a moment since then.

"So, what do you say? I shall take the 50 on the left, you the 50 on the right" William whispered, and Klaus gave him a smile in return. He was afraid, it radiated off him, and why shouldn't he be? Klaus reasoned, it was normal to fear death, to want to live. He tried to remember when he had been as young as William, in the Navy, facing foreign shores and bloody battle sites. Had he feared death? He couldn't recall. There was only one thing he could remember fearing the loss of, and he knew it was not his life.

"I prefer the left..." Klaus muttered, seeing the young man's need to distract himself. William laughed, pressing his trembling hands together.

"Very well, you chose first, you are the veteran." William chattered on, and Klaus nodded occasionally, his mind going to the battlefield. They would not win, he was sure of it, how many would die was the only question that remained.

"Should you fall... I will find her, your Caroline, and -" William was saying, snapping Klaus back to reality suddenly. He turned to him.

"What?" he asked roughly. William gulped, seeing the fierceness come to his mentors eyes.

"I will find her... your lady, and tell her about your braveness, and courage..." William said hesitantly.

Klaus recalled the first night he had spoken of Caroline to his new friend. They had been aboard the ship, and William had been talking about his family in America, and in particular his cousin, far removed, whom he had been close with. A shy girl, not pretty or pleasing enough for society, she and William had been in correspondence for quite some time. He hoped to travel and visit her, after the battle. Klaus had been quiet, listening to the boy's hopeful plans. Suddenly, without warning, he had started to speak of Caroline. It had started innocently enough, just a mention of family who were settling in America, but before he'd realised it, he had become absorbed with telling William all about her, the woman he would hold his heart forever. Speaking about her, sharing his memories, made them fresh again for him, and he felt as though he had relived each one during that long sea journey.