Stowaway in Time

carried a lot in her stake-out bag, but relied on her GPS for directions. She may have used a compass back in her Girl Scout days, but she was rusty on how to read one. She hoped Jesse would remain coherent enough to guide them to the lake.
“No, but I can get us there.”
If you remain conscious. Diamond bit her lip and kept silent. No sense stirring up trouble. As capable as she was back home, she didn’t feel up to navigating a war-torn nineteenth-century America on her own. Jesse was the best chance she had of tracking down Anne and her time-traveling boyfriend. And strangely enough, she was the best chance he had of avoiding a Union prison.
They headed east for what seemed like forever to Diamond’s aching muscles. She should have kept going to the gym rather than falling off her New Year’s Resolution to get in shape around the third week in January. They walked through the woods, tripping over tree roots and fallen branches. Jesse seemed mostly out of it, so Diamond monitored the sun, trying to head southeast. She backtracked over ground she’d already covered, resenting every foot.
Jesse had not leaned too heavily on her at the start, but as the morning wore on he needed more and more support. At least she wasn’t cold anymore. The exercise and the heat radiating from Jesse’s body kept the chill at bay. However, her stomach clenched with hunger, the energy bar she had eaten a distant memory.
At last she stopped, lowered Jesse to the ground, and slumped beside him. “I’ve got to rest and get something to eat.” She wondered how much farther they had to go and how far she had initially been from the lake when she had awakened to this nightmare. She no longer tried to convince herself that she was crazy or dealing with a hard-core group of re-enactors. In her gut, she knew she really was in the nineteenth century. “How are you hanging in there?”
Jesse frowned. His face was pale, but his cheeks bloomed red with fever. “You speak strangely. Where did you say you were from?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he doubled over coughing.
That doesn’t sound good. He burned with fever and for all she knew, might have pneumonia. People died from pneumonia even in the twenty-first century. He needed to get someplace warm and safe where he could recover. An antibiotic would sure come in handy too.
He finally stopped coughing and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Well?” His cloudy gaze had sharpened and a spark of humor lurked within.
What had he asked her? Diamond shook her head and temporarily shelved her worry for him. He wanted to know where she was from and she supposed there was no reason she couldn’t tell the truth. “Memphis.”
“I thought I heard a hint of the South in your voice.”
“And here I thought all my hard work trying to get rid of my accent had paid off.”
“Wanting to blend in up north?”
She could hardly tell him she had wanted to increase her chances of being picked up by one of the bigger TV stations. “Something like that. What about you? Where do you call home?”
“Southeast Missouri, close to New Madrid.”
“And you fight for the Confederacy? Why not the Union?”
“Sounds like you favor the Union. Were you lying earlier when you claimed to be neutral? Don’t worry, I wouldn’t blame you if you did, faced with a smattering of Confederate troops.”
“If I favored the Union, why would I be helping you?”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to get your dander up.”
“I’m not mad, just hungry and exhausted.”
“I have rations.” He slipped the strap of his haversack over his head. “Johnnycakes and apples.”
Diamond wasn’t sure what a Johnnycake was, but she was hungry enough to eat anything. Jesse leaned back against the tree trunk and closed his eyes, so she unbuckled the pouch and opened it to find a few apples, several pieces of lumpy, golden bread and a packet of foul-smelling meat along with some other items. She grabbed an apple and a piece of the yellow bread, presumably a Johnnycake.
The apple was small and misshapen compared to what she was used to seeing at the supermarket, but tasted like heaven. The cake resembled cornbread, but was dry as dust and difficult to swallow.
“Here.” Jesse handed her his canteen.
Diamond gave it a look. Made of wood, with a cork in the spout, she distrusted it on sight. She still had a bottle of water in her backpack, but she couldn’t pull it out without Jesse noticing. Besides, if she was going to be here for a while, she had to drink the water, eventually. Hoping she wouldn’t catch Jesse’s illness, she pried out the cork and tipped the canteen up to her mouth. The liquid slid down her throat, washing down the Johnnycake and soothing her parched membranes. Although she wanted to drain the whole container, she allowed herself only a few mouthfuls. “Want an apple?”
Jesse shook his head. “Not hungry. Thirsty.”
She passed him the canteen, and he also restricted himself to a few swallows. “We have to get going.”
Diamond wasn’t sure she had the strength to stand. “Surely we’ve come far enough to evade the Union soldiers.”
“Maybe for today. But they’ll be looking for stragglers.”
Stifling a groan, she pushed herself to her feet and offered him a hand.
“You go on ahead. I’m only slowing you down.”
“Nice try, but if I have to move, so do you.”
“You can make it on your own. I’ll be fine. The Yanks will find me and fix me up.”
Maybe, if she had left him on the main road. Not here, in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps she hadn’t done him any favors. “If that’s the Rebel attitude no wonder you guys lost the war.”
“Lost the war?” Gripping the tree, he pulled himself upright. “Losing Island #10 is a major blow, but it doesn’t mean defeat. Our troops are winning back East.”
“Really? Tell me more.” Diamond slid