I woke up to my mother frantically shaking me. “Wake up David!” She screamed, “The British are here!” I got out of bed and looked out the window. The British were attacking Yorktown, just as my mother said.

“Where is Father,” I asked.

“He went to fight, David, but we have to hide.” Mother ran outside and I followed her. While we were running, mother explained that we had to hide in the woods because the soldiers would check the house. We heard the booms of cannons and guns. We also heard men screaming. We ran so deep into the woods that we could not hear the battle. We took refuge behind a mossy log. The forest was still wet from morning dew and the early sun shone through the trees. But something is out of place.

“Mother,” I asked, “why is the forest so quiet?”

“All the animals heard the battle and ran away,” Mother sighed. She looked really tired. I realized that my legs ache. We must have been running for hours.

“But we can’t hear the battle, how did the animals know to run?” I asked.

“Animals have much better hearing than us,” Mother explained, “Now stop talking, David. The soldiers might check the woods.” We sat there in silence for a very long time. I realized how cold I was and slid closer to mother and fell asleep.

I had a dream where I was fighting the British alongside George Washington. I was the best soldier in the army and my mother and father were so proud of me. With the skills of me and General Washington, we were able to defeat the British with no struggle. After we won the war, I became a national hero and everyone knew my name. After the war, Mother came to congratulate me. She started shaking me and said, “Wake up David!”

I heard the crinkling of footsteps on leaves. “Mother?” I begin to say.

“Quite,” whispered mother, “There is a solder here.” As she says this a man in British colors appears from behind us. “Run David!” Mother screams. I run and I never look back. The air is so cold that it stings but I don’t notice. My legs are burning but I don’t stop. My mind is racing so fast that I didn't see the tree coming. I slam right into the tree and blackout.

I’m in the same forest but now it very dark. I can hardly see the trees around me and I do not have a lantern. I feel something warm against my chest. I look down and see my dog, Freddy. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” I say as I pet Freddy. Freddy and I were exploring the woods and we saw a bright light in the distance. We walked through the dark forest towards the light. As we got closer, we heard men talking. Freddy started to bark when he heard the strange voices. “Stop Freddy!” I yell.

“I heard a boy!” One man shouted.

I woke up and my head felt awful. I looked around but I did not see Freddy but I did see British soldiers and mother. “Mother!” I screamed.

The soldiers looked at me. “After him!” One shouted. I panicked and ran towards home. When I was at our front yard I turned and saw three soldiers and my mother chasing after me. I ran in the back of my house and hid in a bush. The group ran right past me. A British general on horseback came and took two of the soldiers to fight and he left one to search for me and guard mother. The soldier checks the bush next to me and I thought I was done for. My heart was beating so fast that I thought it would break my ribs and I was drenched in sweat. Right before the soldier checked the bush I was in, I heard the bark of a dog. The three of us looked over and saw Freddy running towards the soldier. Freddy bit him in the leg and the soldier was in so much pain that he dropped his gun. Mother picked up the gun and pointed it at the soldier. There was dead silence. With no warning, the soldier lunged at mother but she stepped to the side. She pointed the gun at the soldier again.

“If you don’t run away right now,” said Mother, “I’ll shoot you!” The soldier looked at Mother, then me, then Mother again and then ran. I did not realize that I stepped out of hiding.

“That was incredible, Mother!” I said as I hugged her.

“Not really,” Mother said, “He was young. If the dog pointed a gun at him he would have run.”

“What happened to you after I ran,” I asked her.

“The soldiers took me captive and we searched for you for an hour or two. When we found you and you ran, the soldiers told me that if I did not keep up they would shoot me,” Mother explained.  My only response was hugging her again.

Later on, we learned that the colonists not only won the battle of Yorktown but we also won the war. Soldiers were coming back to their families now but hundreds were missing. I saw children all around happy to see their fathers back. A lot of them were wounded but that did not matter to the children. But for every happy child, there is a sad one without a father. An entire week has passed since the battle but Father still has not come home. “Maybe he just got lost on the way home,” I said to myself. One half of me wants to believe what I keep on telling myself but the other half knows I’m lying. “Mother,” I asked, “When will Father get home?” Mother looks like she is about to cry and she sighs.

“It is hard for me to tell you this, David,” Mother said through tears, “Many men on both sides of the war lost their lives. Your father was one of them.”