Once Milo and I finally shuffled our way out of Lee's Store, I instantly inhaled, smelling the salty sea air of the South Carolina shore, which was way more refreshing than the musty, sweaty scent of Lee's Store.
MIlo laughed. "You're too happy to leave the store, huh, Evan?"
I smiled and rolled my eyes. "What do you think, Milo? It smelled horrible in there.
We both turned to follow Captain to the Star of the West. Once we finally made it to the ship, a small man was handing each of us a rifle and a small bag of food to keep the new militia occupied during the short ship ride.
I leaped onto the ship with Milo directly behind me.
"Are you ready for what's to come, little lady?" Milo asked, clearly mimicking the Captain.
I chuckled happily, forgetting that I was going to probably lose my life if the battle at Fort Sumter got out of hand. "I don't think you are, but I sure am."
***
As the ship approached Fort Sumter, I could finally make out the scene before us. I leaned farther on the ship's edge to get a better glance.
Men, who were mostly wearing a light brown uniform, other wearing no uniform at all-just casual clothes. They were most likely Southerners.
"Butternuts," I murmured to myself in irritation.
They somehow managed to surround the fort, reminding me of the time at Harper's Ferry where us raiders were forced inside the small engine house. Unfortunately, Oliver didn't make it out alive.
That's why I'm on this ship right now, for Oliver.
For Oliver.
I snapped out of thought when loud gunshots exploded in the passenger's ears. I could manage to hear Milo scream in astonishment through the annoying ringing in my ear. The ringing in my ear from gunshots became quite redundant, but I haven't seemed to get used to it yet.
"They're firing on us!" Captain shouted. "We need to turn back!"
He faced the man at the ship's wheel.
"Retreat!" he yelled, his hands cupped to my mouth.
He shook his head slowly. "We must keep going! I'll turn around once we get hit."
Captain rolled his eyes. "Fine, but I don't want to risk my men-and girl-getting killed."
The Southern militia kept firing at the ship, and the Northern garrison held off firing back at their enemy.
"Why aren't they firing back‽" I shouted to no one in particular.
"I don't know," Milo replied, thinking that my question was for him to answer.
"It was a rhetorical question!" I growled angrily, my patience for the Northern troops growing thin.
All of a sudden, a large cannonball ripped into the side of the Star of the West, sending a few soldiers, including the strong stranger, into the water below. I guess he was just having classic bad luck.
"Retreat! We have a direct hit!" Captain shouted, his voice cracking from stress.
The man at the Star of the West's wheel obeyed Captain and frantically spun the wheel, the ship beginning to turn.
Anxiety set in my mind. I can't leave now. I can't give up on abolishing slavery for Oliver. This is just the first battle that will be in my process of avenging him. If I retreat along with the ship, it'll be like giving up on Oliver's hopes and dreams.
I turned to Milo. "We need to head back toward the fort! I can't just back down like this!"
"Brave lady," he added through a small giggle. "What's your idea? We can't change Captain's mind."
"I know that you dunce," I replied angrily. "I have a better idea than arguing with Captain."
Milo sounded surprisingly calm as the Star of the West slowly sank while heading back towards the Charleston shore. "And what is that idea?"
"We should jump," I muttered.
"That sounds crazy!" Milo shouted, his hands at his temples. His face then became calmer, and he smirked. "I like it."
"Good," I said impatiently. "Because we jump now!"
I took Milo's hand in mine and we both ran to the edge of the Star of the West. We then leaped off of the side of the ship, our legs scrambling in the air, longing for the ground to land on. We plunged into the cold water in the harbor, bubbles swirling around us.
Through my watery surroundings, I could barely manage to hear the surprised gasps and shouts emerging from the Star of the West. I smirked slightly and chuckled, trying not to let any water fill my lungs.
I glanced upward and began to paddle toward the surface, my lungs squeezing tightly from the pressure. Milo was just above me, and I could see that he just broke the surface of the water.
I finally reached the surface, and I gasped, my lungs filling with sweet air. I flipped my hair back and combed the loose strands of wet hair out of the way with my hand.
"That was hot," Milo said matter-of-factly.
I rolled my eyes, my heavy rifle attempting to pull me down into the water's depths. "Okay, whatever, Romeo. We need to get to the fort, and fast, before we get shot by the Southern troops."
Under my command, Milo and I slowly made our way toward Fort Sumter.
***
I climbed over the slippery rocks that bordered the island where Fort Sumter sat, my now weak arms struggling to keep hold. Milo also struggled next to me, but he chose not to show his exhaustion from the long swim.
I could barely manage to see two men sprinting out of the fort toward us. They broke through the Southern troops that surrounded Fort Sumter.
"Need help?" One of them asked in my direction.
I nodded weakly and held out my hand.
The Northern soldier grabbed my hand and pulled upward firmly. I was dragged onto the grass of the island, and I coughed up a bit of water that pooled in my lungs. Milo was at my side doing the same, and we both finally rose to our feet to follow the two soldiers back into Fort Sumter.
"That was really brave, what you two did there," One of the soldiers said in awe, breaking the ice. He opened the door for us as we entered the fort.
The two soldiers boarded the door down after we were safely inside, and then they both gave Milo and I a blanket to warm us up.
***
After Milo and I were finally well again, I set the damp blanket down and quickly tied my hair into my classic half-ponytail look. I retrieved my rifle from the floor and headed toward Milo, who was chatting with a few other soldiers as they were eating breakfast.
"You're up," Milo cheered happily. "It was getting a little boring hanging out with the guys."
"Hey!" One of them shouted, obviously offended.
I chuckled and took a seat on the floor next to Milo, who handed me a piece of bread to snack on.
I gladly took the slice of bread from Milo and began to dig into it, and I instantly became satisfied, the rumbles from my hungry stomach finally fading away.
"Why aren't we firing back?" I asked, my voice muffled from the bread in my mouth.
"Major Anderson's orders," one of the soldiers replied. "He said we shouldn't begin to fight until we have more supplies, which won't probably come. Ultimately, we're here, practically hunkering down in this small fort, surrounded by the Southern army." He rolled his eyes in disbelief.
"Will we be getting supplies soon?' I asked the soldier, my body swelling with curiosity.
"Jeez, girl, you ask too many questions," the soldier responded impatiently. "He's probably telegraphing President Lincoln as we speak. He's probably requesting another resupply ship to arrive, and it hopefully will not retreat."
***
Months later, another resupply ship had finally entered the Charleston harbor. I checked an old calendar that loosely hung on the wall of the fort. The date read April 12th.
I hoped that my choice with Milo to jump off the Star of the West was a good one. I rubbed my eyes from exhaustion. The night sky still shone, thousands of stars peppering above the for-even though it was morning. I yawned and rose off of the cold floor, Milo sleeping comfortably next to where I was.
Major Robert Anderson at alone at one of the fort's boarded windows. I had to get used to boarded windows, as they kept reminding me of Oliver. I made my way over the sleeping soldiers and I finally reached Major Anderson.
"This is never going to work," he sighed to himself. "We have all the advantages over them, but we're still hiding in this stupid fort instead of chasing 'em off."
"What was that, Major Anderson?" I asked as I approached him.
"Nothing," he snapped angrily.
I rolled my eyes. "Is anything bothering you-"
Before I could finish my sentence, a wave of gunshots rang in the once silence room, and Major Anderson scrambled to his feet in shock.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Can't you see‽" He growled back in frustration. "They're firing on us! You wouldn't understand, you're a woman."
Through all the gunshots that slowly began waking up the troops in the fort, I clenched my fist in anger, my main focus being to knock some sense into Major Anderson. "Excuse me? I've been in a fight before. I choked a man almost to death. And I'm not sure that I'm supposed to say this, but remember the Pottawatomie murders? I helped in that."
"Wow-" Major Anderson gasped, obviously at a loss for words. "You're as tough as the rest of the men here, huh?"
"Tougher." I pouted and smirked at Major Anderson with pride and confidence.
I glanced behind me at the Northern troops that had just begun to wake up. I raced over to Milo, who was still sound asleep. Bullets penetrated Fort Sumter's thick walls, and many soldiers were lucky enough to dodge the bullets.
I shook Milo violently. "Milo, get up!"
He groaned. "Why..."
"We're being fired upon, you dunce!" I screamed, shaking him even more.
Milo scrambled to his feet and grabbed his rifle, and we both headed for one of the boarded windows of the fort.
***
We didn't bother to take turns firing at the Southern militia. But we did aim our best. No Southern men attempted to run into the fort, it was just a formal battle.
So far, no one in the fort was shot, which surprised me. My face showed no emotion other than anger when I fired my rifle, each shot sending me backward a bit.
Every time I stumbled backward when I shot my rifle, Milo snickered, clearly amused.
"Jeez, dude," I laughed. "You don't need to laugh for every time I stumble backward."
Milo remained silent, but cracked a quick smile in response. Milo was basically one large smile, since he tended to smile so much.
It had probably been hours while both sides shot at each other, so far no men dying. The battle was a blur, firing upon firing upon firing.
Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted in my leg. I quickly dropped the rifle and clutched my thigh in response, and I collapsed to the floor.
"Evan?" Milo asked as he also dropped his rifle to aid me.
My leg slightly bled, and I pulled up a part of my shorts to examine the wound.
"Ugh," I groaned. "A stupid bullet grazed my thigh."
Milo immediately ran to the back of the fort and grabbed an ice pack and some towels.
He ran back over to me and gave me a towel to bite.
"This might hurt," he chuckled.
"Don't laugh-"
Milo suddenly shoved a towel into the wound, causing me to shriek in pain.
"Milo!" I shouted through the towel in my mouth. "What are you doing‽"
"I'm just closing off the wound for now, it's not a large one, thankfully," he responded, his words barely audible through my screams of pain.
Milo finally wrapped a large towel around my thigh and tied it tightly. "This'll hold the bleeding off for a bit, and then we can go see a doctor."
Once I stood up and reached for my rifle, I spotted a bright red bullet shell; the one that barely hit me. I picked it up and put it in my pocket and continued fighting.
After what happened to my thigh, all I could think of was Oliver. One of his shots was to his thigh. Was this some type of omen that doesn't want me to avenge Oliver? I shook my head.
I hoped that I wouldn't be injured again, and I silently wished to remain strong through the last hours of the battle, the cut on my thigh severely setting me back.
***
A few hours after shooting Southern troops, with no bullets hitting anyone, Major Anderson shouted in panic.
"We're running out of bullets, everyone!" Major Anderson shouted, his voice cracking from stress. "We're going to have to surrender!"
I glanced around Fort Sumter. Some of the used-to-be seven foot thick walls were reduced to rubble, and many men sat on the ground without bullets.
Major Anderson ran toward me. "Evangeline, I'm going to need you for a second."
"What for?" I asked him, curiosity swelling in my brain.
"Come with me, we're going to surrender," Anderson said solemnly, his face growing dark. "We're running out of bullets-we can't fight back."
"I see," I replied as Anderson led me outside the fort.
***
Several gasps emerged from the Southern crowd as they saw that a girl was next to the Major.
"A girl was in there?" I heard one whisper.
"She was probably there for pleasure," Another one joked.
I grimaced in disgust. Women can fight, too, you know.
The commander of the Southern army, P. G. T Beauregard, shook hands with Robert Anderson.
"As the leader of the Union militia," Anderson began, trying to hold back any signs of defeat. "We surrender."
Beauregard smiled. "Good choice. I was afraid that we'd have to massacre everyone in there, including this little girl of yours."
I clenched my fist in anger.