La Ramie

Synopsis

In 1833, after finishing the survey for what will be the city of Chicago, James Thompson is approached by Jonathan Knight asking him to accept an offer to survey a path to a remote outpost for what will be the bed for future railroad expansion west of the Mississippi After accepting the large offer James embarks with Jonathan at the behest of a William Sublette. Along the long journey James travels with Charles Bennington, a great hunter that has hunted the area, Charles's son, Preston, and some tough an rough riders that accompany Charles. After meeting with William Sublette and getting the details of this survey James, Jonathan, Charles and his men meet up with an army dispatch and some church parishioners on their way to the same outpost. After learning the outpost will be formally named a fort and be under control of the US Army, the group makes their way through the wilderness as James tends to his job he was hired for. James takes one of Charles's riders on as an apprentice young Henry shows great interest in the surveying field and is eager to learn under James' lead. When they reach the end of the mapped trail that is to be surveyed, the fort just over the next bluff has no smoke coming from it. The first sign of no inhabitants. The group reaches the abandoned fort and finds no trace of anyone, or anything alive. Shock and disbelief set in and a plan is put together to try to find any answers to what had happened at the fort. Chaos begins when Sgt. Burlingham is found dead the next morning after collapsing during dinner the night before The next in charge, Cpl Pullman has Jonathan arrested under the accusation of poisoning the Sgt. Panic sets in when two of Charles's riders go missing and Henry is found alive but unconscious followed by the a headless Private showing up just outside of the fort. James attempts to plea with Pullman to release Jonathan so that they can leave and escape whatever it is surrounding the fort. The attempt is pushed backed with a threat to jail James with Jonathan While tending to Henry Charles shares with James a plan to get Jonathan freed and get out of the fort, James now feels this huge weight of dread begin to loosen its grip over him. Later that night while watching over Henry James is awoken to a strange noise. When he goes to investigate the source, he finds Charles and Preston, murdered is a gruesome fashion. The three parishioners and the last two remaining Privates follow a similar fate. Now with only a few survivors left James attempts to make one last plea for the release of Jonathan so they can get out. It only ends with James getting thrown in the same cell with Jonathan. The crazed and delusional Pullman has charged James with the release of all the horses and mules. Leaving no easy way out. With all of the men accounted for, or dead, Pullman feels in total control of the situation and sticks to his orders to hold and maintain the fort, that is until the last remaining rider intervenes only for Pullman to kill him in his attempt to free the men. Now Pullman decides to be executioner of the fort and take out James and Jonathan only to be shot by Henry who has woken up and saved James and Jonathan. James, Jonathan and Henry gather any last-minute items as the rain starts. Jonathan hears the horses in the brush and attempts to grab as many as he can for any supplies they may have packed on them. James reluctantly lets Jonathan run into the dark wilderness for the horses while him and Henry make their way for the boat Henry found before he was found unconscious. James and Henry stop in their tracks when a scream from Jonathan echoes out of the trees behind them. James and Henry rush to the boat when a crack of thunder and a flash of lighting blinds James finding Henry on his knees, dead. Another flash of lightning strikes the forts storehouse igniting the gun powder stored there and the fort explodes blowing James backwards into the boat knocking him unconscious. The boat drifts down river until a few people on shore find James in the bottom of it. The story ends with Mr. Sublette walking through the hospital and up to James' bed to ask. "Mr. Thompson where is my survey, and where is Mr. Knight?"