Roll Call

A Jerry & Sharon Ahern Short Story

An old soldier, lying in a hospital bed, remembers the night he crossed a collapsing bridge during a raging storm. Sheets of icy cold rain are falling from the sky, the water under the bridge churning too swiftly for anyone to swim to the other side. He must seek out reinforcements to help hold back the Union troops who will kill the remaining men of his outfit. These Confederate soldiers are determined to slow up Sherman's march to Atlanta, even if it means their death. Preston Hollings has spent his life since then trying to forget this night, still wondering if it were real.