_____ 1st Chapter _____

Prologue

   On Sept 19, 1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga, an unnamed Confederate sharpshooter mortally wounded Union General William Lytle, who was leading a charge at the time. Shots from a Confederate Whitworth rifle was easily identifiable due to the shrill whistle their hexagonal bullets made in flight.  All members of the General’s staff and artillerymen knew to duck for cover. 

Whitworth rifles can hit a man more than a mile away and were held responsible for the deaths of many high-ranking Union Officers. But — who gets killed depends on the loyalty of the man pulling the trigger. 

   The Yankee, Duncan Woods, had the good luck to acquire this Confederate rifle. He became a trained, Yankee Civil War sniper and used this weapon against the south.  

Now the war is over.  This is the story of how he, along with his Whitworth .451 caliber rifle, seeks revenge after the brutal slaying of his family by the Russell brothers. The only question that remains:  will it save him from his own grave?

The beginning of the end

   Duncan Woods sits easy in his saddle, half asleep, leaving it to his horse, Brown, to follow the familiar trail through the woods. He trusts Brown knows the way, and he is enjoying the solitude and looks forward to seeing his beloved sister and her family.  He has not visited them since before his enlistment in the Civil War. 

It is late in the evening and only a moon casts shadows of light as he approaches the corral.  No horses whinny greetings.  In the distance, no welcoming smoke rises from the cabin’s chimney. This is eerie, not normal at all.  Uneasy, now completely awake and alert, Duncan slides his rifle from its holder and lays it across the saddle as he rides on toward the cabin.

The quaint, unpainted cabin, usually glowing with welcoming lamps, is dark and shows no sign of life.  As he gets closer, he can see the front door is wide open.  With a light kick of his spurs, he picks up speed as an unknown fear overwhelms him. He slides the Whitworth back into its holder and takes his Colt 45 from his hip.  

Near the porch, he slides easily from his horse. With both feet planted on the ground, he is hit with the familiar sense of death he had experienced in his Civil War days.  Approaching quietly, he peers into the open door. 

With his pistol in hand, Duncan moves quickly into the cabin almost tripping over his brother in-law, Luke!  Luke, lying in a bloody mess, stares up at him. Duncan drops down, puts his fingers on Luke’s neck. He's cool to touch, with no sign of life.

He stands and looks around in disbelief. There are signs of a struggle—chairs and the table tipped over and everything in the room has been tossed about.  

“Amy, Hudson?  Are you here?” he yells loudly. He gets no reply, just deadly silence fills the air. Now he is frantic, wondering what has happened to his beloved sister and nephew, Hudson. He moves quickly to the bedrooms, opening each door with caution and finds nothing. The rooms are neat and orderly, just as they should be. Rapidly turning around, forgetting caution, he heads out of the cabin and runs to the barn. Duncan finds himself falling easily into combat survival skills. This brings him up short and he approaches the barn with caution as common sense takes hold. Who might be lying in wait there?

Duncan, using the end of a pitchfork he finds next to the barn, nudges the large door open. He looks in and, as he adjusts to the shadowy interior, he gasps and almost falls to the floor at the scene confronting him. It's Amy and Hudson, nooses around their necks, hanging from the rafters.

Amy seems to stare down at him, her beautiful eyes wide, full of questions. Amy's young, fifteen-year-old son Hudson, hangs right next to her, his eyes are closed as if in sleep and his head is strangely tipped, almost resting on Amy’s shoulder.

Duncan, suddenly enraged with grief, madly stabs the pitchfork into the ground. He stares wildly around in disbelief then looks up quickly again, as if to prove this is not his worst nightmare.  Sobs come. He shivers and sinks to the ground overcome with anger and grief.

As his emotions subside, he gains back his sense of self-preservation.  Duncan looks around, checking the barn for any tell-tale signs of who did this despicable act. Finding nothing, and satisfied he is now alone with his slain family, he wearily tramps back to the cabin for his horse Brown. With Brown, he will be able to get Amy and Hudson down from the rafters.

Sitting astride Brown, he reaches up to loosen the rope from the rafter and lowers Amy down to lay across his saddle.  In the process, he sees a small note pinned to her blouse. He can clearly see it simply reads PAID BACK.

His blood runs cold.  Duncan now knows exactly who he is up against.  It is the Russell brothers.  Angry thoughts rush through his mind as he carries Amy across his saddle back to the cabin.

Gently placing Amy on the porch, he returns to the barn to retrieve young Hudson. 

It took most of the night to dig three graves and put Luke, Amy, and Hudson in their final resting places.

He finds wooden fence slats to fashion three crosses. The evening progresses slowly with raving sorrow and memories filling the dark. 

Duncan has to stop occasionally, giving in to his emotions as he remembers the good days with Amy and her family before the Civil War. 

Amy is his younger sister and he remembers her laughter and how her eyes would dance with happiness when he would pay her a surprise visit.  The little cabin would ring with laughter and story-telling during those times.

As he places the last shovel of dirt on her grave, he stands resolutely with the shovel in hand, and vows to her saying with deadly assurance, "I promise the Russell brothers days are numbered!”

He remembers chatting with friends about Luke, Amy, and Hudson during the war as he cleans up the cabin for the last time. He finishes putting everything back in its place then leaves a carefully handwritten note tacked on the outside of the door:  "As the only surviving member of this family I hereby offer this homestead free of charge to any who will love and take care of it. Signed, Duncan Woods, brother of sister Amy, and her family found slain this day and buried here for all to see.”

Duncan rides over to the graves. Sliding off his horse, kneeling and holding his hat over his heart, he whispers hoarsely, "On your graves, they will pay dearly for what they have done to you.  I swear it.” 

   Duncan slaps his hat on his head as he stands then jumps on his horse, "Yee-haw, Brown, let's get em’," he shouts, as he turns his horse taking off in a full run not wanting to look back.