Blue Thunder (2 page)

There was something special about her. She
was kind and not afraid of a little hard work, Effie mused. Melissa
had pestered her many times to help cook and she had relented out
of sheer frustration from the persistence. But, Melissa made her
proud; the golden haired beauty had learned well. She couldn’t have
loved the girl more if she was her own and as she loved all the St.
Andrew children. And on occasions, that sweet child stayed with
Doctor Olsen to help care for the wounded. She came home the other
day and announced she had helped remove a bullet and stitched the
man’s wound by herself. This information caused her mother,
Mistress Mary to pale but her father, Master Darrell St. Andrew
beamed with pride.

Melissa asked, “Where’s the birthday
girl?”

Effie snapped out of her thoughts and
replied, “Daphne is in de barn playin’ with the new kittens.”

Just then her master stepped through the
back door and seeing Melissa, smiled the way a proud father smiles
at a cherished daughter. His light, gray eyes were clear and always
smiling.

His brown hair was silver along his temples
and through his thick sideburns. Effie could see he was glad
Melissa had on a pretty dress for a change, but he knew better than
to mention it, so he just placed a loving kiss on his daughter’s
glowing cheek. The child looked like her mother

5

and her master could not hide the proud
gleam in his eyes. Except for the coloring, Melisa and her sister
Daphne were identical in looks.

Effie recalled how he claimed to be married
to the prettiest lady in the whole state. She marveled how her
master and mistress of more than twenty years still aroused passion
in their hearts. The lady of the house was a tiny woman, only
coming up to Melissa’s shoulder and the child was of average
height.

Mary St Andrew’s owned twin dimples, a
characteristic feature she passed down to her children. Her dark
brown hair, slightly graying, shone with golden highlights, matched
by two finely shaped brows. Her light brown eyes sparkled with
flecks of gold; she was a patient and understanding woman and Effie
loved working for the family.

Melissa was thinking about her father, how
at forty nine, he was still a handsome man. She was proud to walk
with him knowing this man of vitality was her father. Many times
she wondered whether she’d fall in love with a man who was even
half as good looking as her father. Her parents shared deep love,
never hiding their affection. The love that shone in their eyes was
always there as far back as she could remember. She wanted a
marriage like that and would settle for nothing less. She hadn’t
yet to meet a man who stirred her passion.

Upon realizing she was wool gathering, she
cleared her throat. “Papa, remember to wash

up early. We’ll be attending Daphne’s
birthday party this afternoon. Don’t forget we want you here on
time.” She tried to put an edge to her voice to show authority but
he merely scratched his chin and the grin she knew was forthcoming
slowly appeared.

“How could I forget the day my youngest
treasure came into the world? I couldn’t forget if I wanted to.
Your sister had been hinting since last month for the beautiful
fabric she saw in the dressmaker’s shop. By the way, where is the
birthday girl?” And as an afterthought, he asked, “And where is my
lovely wife?”

“Daphne’s in the barn with the kittens
and....” Melissa wrinkled her smooth brow, “I haven’t seen mother’s
smiling face this morning.”

“She’s pickin’ flowers, massa.” Effie wiped
the white dust from her hands onto her apron. “Ah be getting’ her
if’n’ yo’ needs her.”

6

“No, no,” her father replied. “She’s
happiest when she’s tending her garden. Leave her be, I’ll wait for
her in the study.”

Her father left tweaking Melissa’s nose and
her mother walked in with an arm load of freshly picked flowers.
She inhaled the sweet scent. “Good morning Melissa.” Her mother
dimpled and kissed her face. Melissa took her flowers, from her,
placing them in a vase. “How long before we can dine, Effie?”
inquired her mother.

“As soon as Ah peel de potatoes, an’ cooks
‘em, suppa will be served.” The cook waddled her large frame over
to Melissa, saying, “Chil’ be a lamb an’ go to de cellar fo’ Effie.
Yo’ knows dat spooky place gives me de hebee jeebees.” She placed
her dark hand over her ample breasts, dramatically. “De last time,
somethin’ run over mah feet, mah ol’ black face

turned white. Po’ me frighten out o’ mah
wits. Ah do mah best not t’ faint, but Ah didn’t stay t’ see what
dat waz.”

Her mother laughed at the serious frown on
the servant’s face and her foolishness. Melissa suspected it was
only a small field mouse, but she agreed to go down into the
devil’s hole, as Effie called it.

7

THREE

Jacob spotted the Union soldiers riding over
the hill. He blinked for a moment, not believing his small eyes.
His heart leaped into his throat as he dropped the hoe and ran as
if the devil were after him. By the time he reached the main house,
his hands burned and bled from the falls. He was breathless. The
back door slammed after he ran into his grandma’s large frame.

“Land sakes, honey chil’. Jacob, what’s de
mattah?” she asked. “Sumpin’ gotten into yo’?”

It was a statement and question and Jacob
swallowed, gasping for breath. “M-men… comin’!”

Something was wrong; her old bones never
lied. Bending to his level, Effie placed a loving hand on her
grandson’s trembling shoulders. “Now calm yo’self and tell ol’
granny whut put yo’ tail in a spin?”

His eyes bulged with fear. “Men in blue
uniforms are comin’ over de hill, yellin’ t’ scar’t Satan
himself!”

“Oh Lawdy!” Effie blessed herself and ran
from the room telling her grandson to warn the others in the field
to run and hide, if they hadn’t already. She screamed, “Massa,
Massa, hurry! Thea’ soldiers a comin’!” Her heart was beating
wildly, sweat dripped from her brow.

Darrell heard the commotion before the
servant charged into the study. He had been lighting his pipe by
the window when he first saw riders coming down the hill. As the
cook flew into the room, he went running past her with his rifle in
hand.

“Why all the screaming? What’s happening?”
His wife cried as she ran down the stairs. She clutched her throat
appearing frightened by his urgency and sporting his weapon. When
he didn’t answer, she followed as he ran to the front door.

“Where are the girls?” he asked. Cocking his
rifle he heard the panic in his own voice.

Mary‘s face paled as she cried, “I don’t
know.” She shook her head trying to recall.

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“Daphne, I think is still in the barn. Oh
God! We don’t have time to get her,” she groaned.

Darrell saw fear darkened her brown eyes. “I
hope she has enough sense to hide herself,” he said. He’d protect
his loved ones with his life and he prayed it wouldn’t come to
that. “Where’s Melissa?”

The cook, now caught up in the conversation
cried, “She’s in de devil’s pit.”

“Oh, I had forgotten our daughter was in the
cellar.”

He grabbed his wife’s trembling hands. “You
two get yourself down to that root cellar and lock the door behind
you!” he ordered them seeing fear etched on their face.

As he heard horses nearing, he readied
himself to fight for his family and he raised the rifle, preparing
for the worst. What was going to happen to his family and what were
those soldiers doing so far south? Since the war started, he and
his wife prayed they wouldn’t be caught up in it.

A moment of indecision passed as Mary
clutched her stomach, her body quaking. She

held onto her servant for support, but the
cook was shaking more than she was. “God, help us,” she prayed, and
Effie said amen.

“Go!” Darrell shouted over his shoulder.

Mary ran to the cellar door, taking the big
brass key from the lock. “Get down there with her,” she ordered
Effie, but the servant refused to budge.

“Ah’s not goin’ down thea’. Ways Ah sees it,
if Ah mus’ meet de Lord, Ah do it fightin’ dem Yankees. No, ma’am.”
She shook her head so wildly, her jowls quivered.

No time to argue, Mary believed Melissa
hadn’t heard the commotion and not aware of the danger. If she were
she’d come up and fight off the soldiers with her bare hands.
Quickly, Mary shut the door and locked it, then dropped the key
into her pocket. Running into the study, past Sam, who was hard of
hearing and oblivious to what was happening, she plucked the other
rifle from the wall. Hurriedly, she snatched shells from the desk
drawer and joined her husband in the yard that was doing his best
to ward off the Yankees.

“Mary!” Darrell yelled over the gun fire,
“Get back into the house.” He fired another shot, hitting one of
the men. There were still five soldiers left.

9

Mary saw another soldier charging; he came
up from the rear, shouting and waving frantically. His uniformed
sleeve bore more strips than the other men. She was not able to
make any sense out of it, but she took aim and fired.

Darrell squeezed her hand. “I know where
Melissa got all her spunk. You’re a special person Mary. Our life
had been happy and prosperous. There would be no regrets and I pray
that our children will escape this horror by some miracle. Mary,
please go inside.” Her husband tried

once more to convince her through a hail of
bullets. “No!” She shook her head adamantly. “We build this place
together. I’ll not go it alone; we stand together.”

Her eyes watered remembering all the love
they shared. He grabbed her hand and kissed it. He was still
holding it as a bullet took his life. “Darrell?!” she shrieked,
sobbing over his lifeless body. Incensed with rage, she grabbed her
rifle and charged at the men. Her long skirt wrapped around her
ankles nearly made her stumble but she managed to get off a wild
shot.

Effie looked out the window in time to see
the bullet hit Mrs. St Andrew’s between her beautiful eyes. Effie’s
husband Sam was behind the door with a smoking pistol in his
trembling hands. The soldier didn’t live to boast, his bullet
struck the man in the stomach, tumbling him to the ground to die a
slow and painful death.

It had taken a while for her to make Sam
understand her babbling. There were three soldiers left and she
knew her husband wasn’t any match for them. He quickly bolted the
front door and grabbed Effie, practically dragging her to the back
door. Petrified, she stood rooted to the floor.

“Stop yo’ tuggin’, yo’ ol’ fool!” she
hollered but Sam didn’t hear her and she didn’t want to go. Where
would she go anyway? Her beautiful Mary was murdered by the Union
devils and what about Melissa and Daphne? If they escaped this
nightmare, they needed their Effie to care for them. She wouldn’t
leave, even under threat of death. Sam continued to pull at her. By
the time her mate dragged her through the back door, a bullet was
waiting for him and she realized that one of the soldiers circled
the house, expecting someone to escape.

Sam grabbed his wounded shoulder, falling to
the back porch wooden floor. Effie stared in horror as tears
streamed down her cheeks. Then something snapped and she ran back
into the

10

house when the soldier leaped from his
horse. She grabbed her broom and waited for him to come through the
screen door. A few whacks on the head stunned the soldier.

Like a fish out of water, the uniformed man
flapped his arms to defend himself calling her a crazy old lady.
Ear blistering curses spewed from his mouth as he snatched at the
broom, yanking it from her hands. With weapon in hand, he pointed
it at her, and snarled, “Cause any more trouble, you old bag, I’ll
shoot you.” Her outraged gasp didn’t faze him and the soldier
cursed. “Son-of-a bitch!” he waved his bayonet threateningly at her
as two other men ran into the room.

“Well, Smitty, what do we have here?”
snickered another soldier.

She eyed them feeling panic, but she would
not show fear.

“This old bat tried to knock my brains out
with her broom, Joe.” replied the one call Smithy, removing his
slosh hat and rubbing his sore noggin.

“What brains?” Joe snickered.

“Very funny Joe,” Smitty spat raising his
fists as the last soldier entered the kitchen.

“Okay, you two, cut it out! I am thoroughly
disgusted with all that happened. The sergeant is dead, and so are
our comrades.”

“Well since it appears as if you’re taking
over as our leader, what are we going to do with this one, Boyd?”
asked Joe, pointing to Effie.

The man said, “I think we’ll have her dish
us up that delicious meal I smell cooking.”

Joe sniffed and rubbed his bot belly.

Effie heard the declaration and folded her
arms over her large bosom; a stance that showed the enemy that
she’d not obliged. But, Smitty threatened her with the blade of his
weapon, demonstrating to her that he also meant he’d take no
argument from a mere slave. She did as ordered and prayed they’d
all choke on the meal that was meant for her beloved family.

11

FOUR

Gun fire startled Melissa on her decent down
the rickety wooden stairs. Losing her concentration, she misjudged
her footing and stumbled down the last step, turning her ankle.

“Damnation!” she gripped when she landed
hard on her rump. She sat there for a dazed moment before she
massaged her sore ankle. She didn’t think it was broken but it
smarted for a while. Another shot rang out and she frowned, and
then shrugged assuming that her father was target shooting again.
Melissa now regretted that she had come down here; she wanted to be
practicing with him. She was a good marksman.