Quietly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself for the upcoming battle. Suddenly he heard several voices arguing with each other, and as he reached the entrance, he witnessed two large men in red uniforms with their backs against the wall—and holding swords with another man at their sides. Suddenly a third man stepped into the doorway, and he held two guns out in front of him. With his hands covering his mouth, he yelled, "Get out of here or I'll kill him." When the first two armed men saw this, they started retreating but were held at bay. "Come on, I will save you. You have no choice," the man with the guns said. "Let me out or this man is dead," Quiggly's voice exclaimed. "Stay back," said the man with the guns. "This will be his end, not yours." With his gun cocked, the man stepped up to the first two men and with one swift move, shot them both. Once the smoke cleared, all four men stood there, staring at the carnage. With blood gushing out of his mouth, Quiggly said, "This ends tonight. This night will be for you, my men, as our ancestors told us to seek revenge. Tonight the gods call for revenge. Quietly, Quiggly stepped into the forest of death. They had no idea what they had put themselves in for, but Quiggly never turned back; he would not stop until he saw the evil men die. Quiggly traveled through the bushes as his eyes sought the most secluded place he could find. A place where the men would not look. As he approached the location, he looked around in the darkness, checking the area to make sure no one was there. Quiggly took a deep breath and quickly ran into the clearing where the men lay hiding. The two big men jumped at the sound of the man's heavy steps. Quiggly struck one of the men with a blow to the head, killing him instantly. The man Quiggly struck the next blow at was thrown into the air. In a split second the man landed on Quiggly's shoulders, hitting him with full force. Quiggly fell to his knees in agony as he felt intense pain in his neck. In agony, Quiggly dropped the dead man and grabbed at his neck, and slowly he felt as his head started to swell. Quiggly fell to the ground. The man jumped over him and quickly began to run away. Suddenly Quiggly reached for his gun as he lay on the ground. Before he could grab it, he blacked out from the pain. When he woke up, the last thing he remembered was feeling intense pain in his neck as he fell to the ground. Once he got up he realized he was alone. He was lying on the ground next to a pile of dead bodies and had several arrows sticking out of his body. Quiggly struggled to get out of the forest and then he realized he was not alone. As he struggled to get out of the woods, the two armed men approached Quiggly, who had been mortally wounded. Quiggly grabbed for his sword as he tried to crawl away. One man grabbed the handle of the sword. "We will deal with you later," said one of the men. "Damn, what have I gotten myself into?" Quiggly questioned with his hands in the air as he fought to breathe. "He must be dead. Come, let's get out of here. We don't want to get caught," said the other man. "Hurry, quickly. It is not safe to stay here." As they ran through the forest, Quiggly, after receiving another blow to the back of his head, fell to the ground. He struggled to get up, but it was too late. His last thoughts were of his wife and children and his home. With the last ounce of energy he had left, Quiggly grabbed at the swordsman's sword and took the blade of the sword in his hand as he tried to get up. Quiggly then drove his fist into the side of his head, causing him to fall forward. With the sword in hand he took it and started slashing and cutting away. Blood was pouring out of Quiggly's face as he continued to hit the two men to get them to leave him alone. The next blow came from another man, and Quiggly was not sure if he could defend himself against the armed men who now stood above him in the dark. "You have nothing, do you?" Quiggly asked. "Where are you going to go with a dying man on your hands?" The man moved closer to Quiggly and thrust his sword into Quiggly's side. As Quiggly cried out in pain, he drove his knife into the man's side. The man yelled in agony as Quiggly grabbed the sword and held it like a hammer and smashed the man's head. "I guess this one is the one who killed my family," Quiggly said as he continued to fight. "This one will have my vengeance!" Quiggly then tried to take his sword and sword in his hands again, but his strength failed him as he collapsed to the ground. He could feel the blood dripping off his face as he gasped for air. The two men had moved back and were leaving. Quiggly could hear them talking as he lay there, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. His eyes closed, he was now in a world of darkness and pain. He wasn't sure how much time had passed before the man he struck first with his sword came back and stood over him. Quiggly began breathing more heavily as he tried to see the man's face in the dark. His teeth were chattering as the man's hand touched his face. "Get away from me. Let me be!" he yelled. "A wise man knows when he is beaten," the man replied. Quiggly attempted to stand as he tried to gain his balance. "Leave me," he pleaded as the man grabbed his head with his other hand. "Let me die in peace." "You don't know what you are saying," the man yelled. "This is not over." "I have not lost," Quiggly replied, with his last breath as he grabbed for his sword. He took the sword in his hand as he desperately tried to get up from the ground. As he did so, he stabbed the man who was holding his head in the face, killing him instantly. As he began to stand, he felt himself fading away, but as he made his way to his feet he saw the final blow that would end his life. As the last blow struck him, he dropped to the ground, breathing in great gasps. He was barely able to lift his head, let alone lift a weapon, but he did so. Quiggly struggled to the ground to get a clear shot at his attacker. He heard his attacker yelling and breathing heavily as he tried to get out of the woods. But he wasn't fast enough. Quiggly pulled the trigger of his gun, and his bullet struck him right in the head. As Quiggly collapsed onto the ground, he thought, _I have got to get out of this dark place. I can't see where I'm going. I am so confused and I cannot breathe. I must get away from this evil place_. Quiggly struggled to get to his feet, but he lost his balance and fell to the ground. After several minutes, he finally got to his feet. "A man should be able to breathe even when he's dead," Quiggly said to himself. "I'll see how long it will take for this man to find me." "It is no use, so don't be running off to find help," said a man's voice from behind Quiggly. Quiggly's body shook from the cold. He still had several arrows stuck in his body. He was a man on a mission and did not have time to worry about what was in his path. With one quick motion he grabbed a sword from one of the fallen men and rushed toward the man who spoke to him. The light from the moon shined on his face as he fought to see what was behind him. He took another step and fell to the ground, but his spirit remained undefeated. The sword fell from his hand, but before he could pick it back up another man pulled it from his grasp and ran off into the darkness. Quiggly crawled to the side as he tried to regain his breath. He kept struggling to get up but felt the pain in his body. "When I get to the highway, I'll make it back home." With the last breath in his body, he dropped to the ground, and was gone. In the darkness of the woods, he waited, but his body continued to shake as he tried to get up and walk. "My wife and children are waiting for me to come home, and now they will not know where I am," he said. "Quiggly did not think about the consequences of his actions. He only thought about getting his revenge for all of the people he had lost. # CHAPTER 7 # HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI IN MARCH OF 1865, A WOMAN NAMED SADIE