Chapter 4

I was sitting in one of those wagons, surrounded by a few other women who'd been dragged along just like me. There was a kitchen lady, a washerwoman, and a couple of other young girls who, like me, were picked for the same "special job."

No one said a word. Heads down, eyes empty, as if they'd already given up on life.

The general leading the group was Everett Nelson, a greasy, middle-aged, fat guy, perched on his horse with his belly sticking out. His eyes kept sneaking glances at me, sticky and gross, like a fly on meat. It made my skin crawl.

That night, when we set up camp, I was assigned to a small tent. I'd barely sat down when the tent flap was suddenly pulled open.

Everett waddled in, his face bunched up in a greasy grin, all his chubby cheeks squeezed together. "Miss Parker, are you settling in alright?"

I shrank back, eyeing him warily. "It's fine, thank you for your concern."

"Oh, no need to be so formal," he said, plopping down right next to me, way too close for comfort. His hand started creeping toward me. "From now on, we're family..."

My heart was pounding, my mind racing. What should I do? His hand was almost on my shoulder.

Suddenly, I shot to my feet.

"General," I blurted out, my voice so loud it startled even me. "I've got a killer idea to drive off the enemy."

Everett's hand froze in midair, and he stared at me, totally stunned. "What?"

"A killer idea to drive off the enemy," I said, trying to sound as serious as possible, forcing my voice to stay steady. "I've been racking my brain the whole way here, and I finally figured it out."

Everett gave me a skeptical once-over, his eyes sweeping up and down like he couldn't believe a girl like me could come up with anything useful. "You? Just a girl, what kind of genius trick could you possibly have?"

"What's wrong with being a girl?" I shot back, hands on my hips, chin up. "Girls can't have ideas now? Just hear me out. What if it actually works?"

Everett thought for a moment, pulled his hand back, and stepped away. "Go ahead, let's hear what you've got."

I let out a sigh of relief, but my nerves kicked in again right away.

What was I supposed to say now? I didn't have any killer idea to drive off the enemy. I just blurted that out on the spot. But now that I said it, I had to keep the act going, no matter what.

My brain was working overtime, digging through every drama and novel I'd ever read for inspiration.

"General." I lowered my voice, putting on a mysterious look, "What if we hit the enemy camp at night?"

"A night raid?" Everett snorted, his smirk dripping with sarcasm. "They've got thirty thousand men, we've got three thousand old geezers and sickly folks. You want us to try a night raid? Are you trying to get us all killed?"

"Not a head-on attack," I jumped in, my brain working overtime. "We send a small team to sneak around back at night and set fire to their grain stores.

"Once their food goes up in flames, the enemy camp will be in chaos, that's our shot."

Everett frowned, rubbing the fat on his chin, thinking it over.

I struck while the iron was hot. "And once we set the fire, we just bail, no need for a head-on fight. Even if it fails, we won't lose many people."

Everett stared at me for a while, then suddenly broke into a grin. "You're pretty interesting."

I felt a jolt of hope. Was this my chance?

"But," he said, his smile fading, "who's gonna do it? With this crowd, how many could actually sneak around to the back of the enemy camp?"

I thought for a moment, gritted my teeth. "I'll go."

"You?" Everett stared at me, his eyes bulged like brass bells.

"Yes, it's me," I said, puffing out my chest. "I'll take the men. If we succeed, it's thanks to your brilliant leadership, General. If we fail, it's my fault, and you have nothing to do with it."

Everett's eyes lit up.

I knew exactly what he was thinking. I was basically volunteering for a suicide mission, which worked out perfectly for him. If I pulled it off, he got all the glory. If I failed, he lost nothing.

"Good." He slapped his thigh. "We'll do it your way. Tonight."

I forced a smile. "General, can I at least get something to eat first? My brain's not working when I'm hungry."

Everett stared at me, baffled.

I explained, "Gotta eat if you want me to actually do anything."

Everett just shook his head, half laughing, and waved his hand. "Alright, alright. Someone, bring Miss Parker some food."

Once I'd eaten my fill, I set out with thirty men, the only people Everett could spare were the old, the weak, and the sick. Why thirty? Because that was all he could scrape together: twenty veterans who wheezed with every step, and ten scrawny, half-starved teenagers.

Walking down the dark road, my nerves were shot. To be honest, everything I said earlier was just bluffing. This whole "night raid on the supply stash"? I'd only ever seen it in TV shows; I'd never actually done anything like it myself.

And in those shows, the main character always had a squad of elite warriors. Me? I was leading my ragtag team of geriatrics and malnourished kids.

But the die was cast, and there was no backing out now.

The moon was barely visible, half-covered by clouds, and everything around us was shrouded in darkness. We moved forward, not daring to light any torches, just using whatever weak moonlight we could to figure out where we were going.

After trudging for over an hour, we finally spotted some lights up ahead.