Washington D.C., June 1865, Office of Senator Malcomb Buckingham
Lilly, Benjamin and Isaac sat in a lushly appointed office and waited. And waited. It had been more than twenty minutes according to the grandfather clock across the way.
Lilly’s nerves were getting the better of her. “He will not believe any of this.”
Benjamin reached for her left hand and lifted it to his lips. He kissed it. A plain gold band adorned her ring finger. “He has to.”
Lilly caught Isaac’s eye and he smiled at her. She returned his grin. She’d grown to love this boy like a dear son. And while every thought of Elijah brought her some measure of pain, having Isaac and Benjamin alive and with her eased the grief. She was so grateful to be here with them. It emboldened her for what they were about to do.
The outside door opened and a fifty-something, tall, beefy man with dark brown mutton chops and a balding head opened the door. He spied Isaac and hesitated.
He cleared his throat and sat behind his desk. “Mr. and Mrs. MacKenzie. What a great pleasure to meet you. I am Senator Buckingham. I understand you are here to—”
“This is our son, Isaac. Isaac MacKenzie,” Lilly said.
The senator looked stunned. Then he looked at Isaac and Benjamin, then back at Lilly. He cleared his throat once more.
Lilly spied Isaac suppressing a smile.
“Uh, yes,” the big man said. “How do you do, Isaac?”
Isaac smiled. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”
Benjamin and Lilly smiled, and she could tell Benjamin was as amused as she was at the senator’s discomfort.
The Senator cleared his throat yet again. “As I was saying, I understand you are here to testify to the horrifying conditions you saw at Andersonville. But I am confused. We all know what happened there. The abuses by the Rebels against Union prisoners of war. Wirtz has been found guilty of these atrocities and will be hung for it. No more evidence is needed. There is nothing else to be done.”
Benjamin sat forward in his chair. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
Benjamin placed a group of papers on the senator’s desk.
“These papers are our testimonial to what happened. What really happened in the prison that night,” Lilly said.
The senator threw her an impatient look. “We already know what happened. The prison was closed after the Union—”
“There has been a substantial concealment of the real events of that night. Because who would ever believe us or the thousands of other prisoners who survived? No one will believe them when they tell their families. No one will believe us. Only powerful men like you can do anything. To keep it from happening again,” Benjamin said.
The senator sighed and looked through the papers. His face turned grim. Angry.
Lilly exchanged a glance with Benjamin.
“This is absurd,” the senator said. “I have heard these rumors before. They are the ravings of men turned mad by the conditions they survived in that prison. Including, apparently, you Mr. MacKenzie.”
The office door opened, startling everyone.
Dr. Jacobson walked in with a smile.
Pure surprise and joy enfolded Lilly. Benjamin gasped and laughed. They rose and went straight for the doctor. Lilly embraced the him warmly and Benjamin shook his hand. Dr. Jacobson then hugged Isaac as if he were his own son.
Lilly said, “We thought you were dead.”
Dr. Jacobson smiled. “Well, as you can see I've got a bit of a limp, but otherwise I’m good as gold. But all of those details can wait until later. I understand you need another witness to what happened in that prison.”
Dr. Jacobson marched up the senator’s desk. “And I can testify in whatever court, whatever way required to prove that what these people are telling you is the truth.”
Senator Buckingham cleared his throat…again. “Well...well, of course. I will take this all into consideration now that I have all three of your testimonies. If that will be all, I have many meetings to attend.”
Lilly’s stomach dropped as disappointment took over. She exchanged knowing glances with the others in the room. They all understood they wouldn’t get anything more from the senator that day. If ever.
Moments later, out on the street in the bright sunlight and the hustle and bustle of the city, they stood and looked at each other.
“Did you give him Elijah’s diary, Lilly?” Dr. Jacobson asked.
Benjamin pulled the diary from a pocket in his suit jacket. “No, we didn't.”
Lilly sighed. “We know the real story. We will make sure people know what happened.”
They smiled and walked down the street together.
Many days later, Lilly stood in the sunlight of a suburban Ann Arbor, Michigan street. She looked at the lovely house in front of her and allowed the nerves to flutter in her belly before walking up the steps. Benjamin and Isaac waited by the horse cart.
Before Lilly could knock, the front door opened to reveal a pretty blonde woman just a little older than Lilly.
“May I help you?” she asked, her face open and curious.
Lilly felt sadness fill her heart. “Are you Jane O’Leary?”
The woman nodded, curious. “Yes.”
“I’m Lilly Mackenzie. I have something for you...from your husband. I was a nurse at Andersonville Prison.”
The woman’s eyes filled with tears, and she nodded and opened the door wider.
Lilly entered holding a small package.
Battlefield in Europe, 1918
World War I
Twilight
Artillery fire rumbled, far enough away that the soldiers in the trench imagined they might be safe a little longer.
One soldier in particular, an officer in a dirty American military uniform with a nametag that said Billings, watched the dark skies with apprehension.
Another crack and boom rattled the sky and a vortex opened up near the trench. It swirled and shimmered, reaching from the ground to the sky. From within, dark shapes emerged.
The soldiers in the trench leaned in as Billings held out a journal he’d carried with him for a long, long time. It was old, cracked, and he knew if he made it through this war, he must preserve it and try to save it from the ravages of time. The battle-weary soldiers around him leaned forward, obviously eager to listen.
“That noise we just heard,” Billings said. “That's not artillery. It's them. My grandfather told me about this. They're back. And we have to be ready for them. We have to be ready to fight an enemy the likes of which you’ve never seen...”
THE END