The Fugitive

This is a prequel to a story I have not finished yet. It is about my steampunk character, so anyone who does that with me can't read this! Please enjoy even if you don't know what steampunk is.

The Fugitive

It was 1855 in Charlestown, South Carolina.  This infernal war against the Union was coming to a close, and it was all because of me.  Lenora Mae McBee, or should I say, Fugitive’s Key; for the most part, I kept aloof and no one expected a woman to play such an active roll off the fields.  However, I did get noticed, and I am on the run from the Union of America and the wonderful Confederacy.  In the Union of America, I am wanted for several counts of murder, infiltration of their camps, and espionage.  Lucky for me, they are only after “the man” Fugitive’s Key.  Those Yankees are so incompetent it is no wonder I was able to trick them so easily.  The Confederacy is a little different.  They see Fugitive’s Key as their hero, but Lenora Mae McBee is accused of a domestic crime that I swear I did not commit.  The only way for me to survive now is to hide on this steamship, but the crew all seems rather suspicious of me.  Alas, I am getting ahead of myself.  My story was to be told in 1855 on how I won the great Civil War for the Confederacy.

I had been Fugitive’s Key for quite some time by 1855, and had done a lot of work to ensure our freedom from those tyrants led by Abraham Lincoln.  But I must say I kept everything fairly low tech, you see I tend to get overly excited with any type of gun whether it be ray, plasma, electrical, or a simple bullet.  So instead of going trigger happy and killing off all I see, I stick to my knives and concoctions of poisons.  I always felt my identity would not be a problem because regular old Lenora Mae is always a lady, while most assumed Fugitive’s Key was a ruthless man �" because no lady would commit such acts, no matter how much Fugitive’s Key looked like one.

I loved the adventure of it all; running free and taking down the enemy.  I usually only had to use my knives to leave my mark.  I carried technically three vials with me at all times, all my own concoctions:  the first forced people to tell all of their secrets with a whiff, but would kill them slowly and painfully with a sip.  The second was just a torture element that burned them from the inside out until their brains were puddled in their skulls.  Lastly, I carried a cure.  Both of the poisons came from similar elements, so the cure for both could be contained in the same vial, but an additional respective ingredient would have to be added as well.  Oddly enough, I always had those pesky Union soldiers running scared at the sight of me.  I blame the mask, but apparently it was always my key of cogs that really gave me away.

It started off as just a normal day in my double life; sometimes, I would hope the Union would never give up so I could continue with this life forever.  But, at the same time I wanted my country to be free of their reign like we had been freed from the British so long ago.  I was enjoying my breakfast while my slaves did my bidding �" I do not understand why those Yankees have to fight against our way of life anyway �" it should not be their problem!  It was during my meal that I received the news.  A young Union soldier I had poisoned was calling me through the video screen for updated plans.  I told my slaves I would take the call in the parlor, and I went to my quarters to change into Fugitive’s Key.

The soldier looked quite distraught, as was to be expected, after all the poison he smelled was forcing him to say everything whether he wanted to or not.

“Miss Fugitive’s Key, ma’am, General Grant, has received the Confederacy’s plans of attack and is going to surprise them this very afternoon, but General Grant is smarter than you; you cannot stop him!”

“I do believe that is your opinion, and I do beg to differ, for I believe any one person of the Confederacy is smarter than all y’all Yankees combined.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some work to attend to.”

It was so easy after that; I gathered my things and met up with the Union troops right as they were stopping for water.  “Perfect!”  I sent word to General Lee of Grant’s whereabouts and plans through my portable video screen.  He was rather pleased with my accomplishments and promised me much when the war was over as a token of thanks.  I told him of my plan to keep them rather occupied before they arrived, which made him laugh at my good nature.  If only my country was aware that Lenora Mae McBee and Fugitive’s Key were the same, maybe then they would not be out for my death.

After I finished my briefing, I began my rampage of distraction.  I started off stealthily, dropping my poisons in various canteens and disabling precious artillery.  When industry came, I immediately was interested in all the gadgetry and taught myself how to build, and even improve, upon them.  This is why some of those Union fools do not believe I could really be a woman because of my intense knowledge of topics ranging from electricity, to plasma, to clockwork.  My favorite part is arranging the gears so the technology will be useless until I fix it up.  I have surprised General Lee on occasion with the artillery I have confiscated from the Yankees, but I think he has been even more impressed with the improvements I made to them.

The technology I thought would take me longer to tinker with, I sort of ‘pranked’ instead.  I had just finished disabling the static components from my last electric gun, when I received a signal that General Lee was mere moments away.  And with that, I casually walked amongst the men with a lackluster, “How y’all doin’?”  Some of the men started to run in fright upon realization of who I was, while some remained planted.  I just love the impression I can make on men; it makes my job so much easier.  With that I ran after the retreaters, and made sure people would know I was the reason for their downfall by knocking them down and cutting a key into their right forearm.  Their screams of pain making me feel even more like a victor for my cause.

General Lee showed up during this and started battle against the defenseless Union soldiers.  Some knew their weapons would be useless while others tried anyway; desperation entirely evident as it coursed through them.  As the battle raged, I started to fix some of the weapons and give them to the Confederate soldiers.  This only increased the panic of the declining Union army.  Not a single soul of the Confederacy lost a life; General Grant was sparred just so he could sign the treaty.  The Union had finally given up; the Confederacy would now be her own country.  My eyes gleamed with pride that I was able to assist in such a landmark event.  General Lee thanked me personally.  I could tell he was begging to know who I was, but I left without a word.

When I returned home, I quickly changed from the pants, blouse, corset, and utility belt of Fugitive’s Key and into my attire more suitable for a lady like Lenora Mae.  I received a call shortly after from my betrothed Nathaniel Harris.  I had been so elated from the results of the war; I had completely forgotten that he wished to marry me after we won.  Now there was nothing wrong with the man, on the contrary, he was especially wealthy, a Confederate soldier, and wished to eventually become president.  The only problem was I knew marriage meant I would have to give up my life of freedom in order to be “enslaved” as his wife.  Do not get me wrong; I loved him dearly, but I was not ready for marriage.

In the video call, we discussed how I was to meet him within a week over at his plantation in Mississippi.  We would then make our preparations and be married, hopefully, in approximately a month.  With a heavy heart, a few of my slaves and I departed for what I knew would change my life completely.  Little did I know just how much, and that I would inevitably be on a steamship years later.

Reviews

[Hatter at Heart]

I really liked reading this piece. It was a nice quirk of the main character to refer to herself (or think of herself) in third person. There were a lot of colorful characters that you managed to fit into such a short story, even if they were only mentioned. That takes a lot of skill. In fact, I read the whole thing in an accent, as if she were speaking the whole story in her own voice! Very well done.