Chapter 2 #2
A moment later, Andrew Carter’s head appeared at the top of the ladder. Even from this distance, Robert thought the man looked weary. As the father of a four-month-old baby boy, Andrew was in that phase where he never seemed to get enough sleep.
Robert had heard that it would be better soon, but he wasn’t so sure. While he wanted children of his own in the future, he was a little leery, what with Lizzy and Andrew’s general demeanors of late.
“What’s going on?” Andrew asked as he climbed onto the wall.
“Bandits are attacking the cart. They’re too far out for now, but I think if we get some bowmen and sharpshooters up here, when they come in range …”
Andrew nodded. “Great. Let’s get that done.”
More men and women began to climb the wall, bows and arrows at the ready, rifles slung over their shoulders.
Here, women fought beside their men. One of Robert’s finest shooters was a young woman of nineteen named Sally Simmons.
She had come to study under Julie, their apothecary, but turned out to have a natural affinity for shooting a bow and arrow.
They’d delegated her to train others in their makeshift town army.
Robert walked among them, making sure everyone knew what the problem was and where to concentrate their fire.
“If you don’t have a clean shot, don’t take it,” Robert said, speaking loudly. “We have friends and family out there. Let’s not take them down with friendly fire.”
There were nods.
The cart was closer now … Still, the battle raged on. The bandits were oddly determined. Normally they would have given up by now. Robert wondered what they were doing but quickly pushed the thought aside for later. There was no time for that. The cart was finally within shooting distance.
The air, which had been so silent and peaceful not a moment ago, erupted in noise and the unmistakable smell of cordite as the riflemen and women took aim and fired on the bandits.
Here and there, a bandit tumbled to the ground, falling off his horse, leaving the animal to run free. It seemed the folks in the cart had run out of ammunition because there were no bright flashes of muzzle fire or puffs of smoke.
From this distance, Robert could see that it was Kevin at the reins, urging the poor horses to run.
They were failing. Robert could see it a mile away.
The horses were tired, near the end of their endurance, but they had only a few hundred yards to go, and then they would be safely through the gate.
The gate.
Someone would need to work the mechanism, and Lizzy had vanished.
Leaving one of his trusted men in charge on the wall, Robert hurried to the ladder. The cart was closing in fast.
He climbed down the rungs as fast as he could. When his feet touched the ground, he was already running.
Bustling folks, the town’s secondary armed force, were all in the way. They held their pitchforks, shovels, picks, and axes all at the ready. Should a bandit get inside, he was likely to meet his Maker before he could do any mischief.
“Coming through!” Robert yelled.
The men stepped aside as he moved through them, and Robert finally emerged at the gate. He looked to his left, the sound of gunshots and fighting very close, the thud of hooves shaking the ground, and saw the cart was right there.
With a cry of surprise, he dove to the other side, where the mechanism to close the gate was. Rolling, rising, and running the last few steps, Robert pulled the lever. Nothing happened.
“What on?—”
“Ugh, not again.” Lizzy reappeared from somewhere. She was pale, but she made her way into the tangle of ropes again and maneuvered around. “Okay, try now!”
Robert pulled the lever. This time, with a rumble, the gate began to close.
For a few moments, there was chaos as folks surged to the gate, and the sound of gunfire echoed around the wall.
And then a cheer went up.
Robert pushed his way through the gathering crowd as the gunfire petered out on the walls. He reached the cart after a moment or two.
Andrew was already there. “Anyone hurt?” he asked.
There were several voices that spoke at once, and then Julie arrived. With her usual efficiency, she began to triage the folks on the cart.
To Robert’s surprise, there were a lot more of them than he had expected. An extra five, to be exact.
Kyle climbed down from the cart and walked over to Robert with two women trailing behind him. One held Kyle’s hand; the other, looking pale but excited, smiled at Robert.
“Hi, Robert,” Kyle said. “Glad you were on your toes this afternoon.”
“Yes, I’ll bet you are,” Robert said with a grin.
“Let me introduce you,” Kyle said. “This is Alice Emmerson. She’s going to be living here.” His grin grew even broader. “And this lovely lady is Lucy Rowling from Boston.”
Robert blinked. That name was familiar. And then the realization hit him. Lucy Rowling, the woman he’d been writing to for months. She was standing in front of him. But that couldn’t be. He hadn’t asked her to come to Unity. Had he? No, he was certain he hadn’t.
“What are you doing here?” he blurted out.
There was a shocked silence.
“I … uh … Surprise,” Lucy said, holding her hands up and smiling nervously.
Silence greeted her remark, and she lowered her hands and bit her lip, looking disappointed. He’d done the wrong thing. He could tell.
“Look, I’m sorry to just arrive like this—” she began.
Robert could feel every eye in the place digging into him, making his rising embarrassment worse.
Of all the things that could have happened, Lucy Rowling coming to Unity was not one he had thought possible.
She was safe in Boston, where he didn’t need to worry about her.
Only she wasn’t. She was standing in front of him all of a sudden, and Robert wasn’t certain he could handle that.
Forcing a smile while trying to keep the discomfort he felt from his expression and voice, Robert said, “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.” He held out his hand.
She was rather pretty with her blonde hair and her bright blue eyes, which were regarding him with open curiosity.
Taking his hand, she shook it. “It’s good to meet you in the flesh too. It’s quite the town you have here.” She beamed.
Robert stared at her and completely forgot to let go of her hand.