Stowaway in Time

alone, maybe she felt guilty for having dragged him so far, or maybe she just couldn’t bear to think about his kind blue eyes closing forever. She would get him to the lake and out of enemy territory. Then it would be his turn to help her.
“Jesse, we need to go.”
He shifted and muttered something.
“Rise and shine.” She raised her voice. “The bad guys are coming, remember? Do you want them to catch you napping?”
He sat up, rubbed his eyes and glanced out at the bright morning. “You should have awoken me at dawn.”
“I only woke up a few minutes ago.” Well, maybe thirty minutes, but who’s counting?
“We need to strike the tent and get moving.”
Diamond passed him the canteen. “I already ate. Do you feel up to any food this morning?”
He made a face. “Maybe later.” He drank as she dismantled their tent. He packed up the gear, abandoning the poles she’d gone to so much trouble to find. “Less weight.”
“I get it.” She didn’t know how he carried what he did, sick as he was.
“We could leave the tent, too, since we expect to run into other Confederates today.”
It would lighten their load, but Diamond didn’t want to spend another night in the open. At least the tent kept any rain off. “I don’t think we should chance it.”
“Right.”
Within minutes they were on their way. Jesse seemed better after a decent night’s sleep and walked unassisted. He even had enough energy to quiz her. “Who are these people you need to find?”
“Bob Rivers and Anne Rush.”
“Sorry, don’t know them.”
“I didn’t expect you would. Anne’s from Ste. Genevieve, so I guess I will start the search there.”
Jesse didn’t reply and they walked in silence for a while. “Tell me more about what happened to your head and leg.”
“The Yankees bombarded us for days. Due to our heavy fortifications, they couldn’t get close enough to do any real damage, but occasionally they’d get lucky. They hit the battery where I worked. The wall exploded like it was made of sand. Stuff flew everywhere. I came to in the hospital tent.”
“Have you changed your bandages?”
“It’s fine. I was lucky. One guy lost an arm.”
Diamond swallowed a surge of nausea. She’d read that during the Civil War, amputation was standard practice for most serious injuries, but reading differed from hearing about it firsthand. She prayed she would be home before she had to actually witness such butchery… or experience it herself. No, she wasn’t going there.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said so much to a lady. Blame the fever or your unconventional dress.”
“You’re living this nightmare. I think I can handle a few words.”
“A nightmare? Perhaps. War is far more violent than I expected.” He shook his head. “You must think me hopelessly naïve.”
“No,” she assured him even though he seemed to be one of those glass-half-full type of people. “Lots of young men go off to war with dreams of glory.”
“That’s harsh.”
“Realistic.”
“I signed up for duty, not glory.”
“How’s that working out for you?”
He frowned. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
“Forget it. I’m a cynic.” Her father had thought it was his duty to go to Afghanistan. Not as a soldier, but as a reporter. He had wanted people back home to know what was really going on, but he had paid for his sense of responsibility with his life. And she and her mother had paid, too.
They fell silent, saving their breath for walking. Jesse’s strength waned after the first hour and he began to stumble.
“Here.” She slipped her arm around his waist. “Lean on me.”
“Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. We’re a team.” Jeez, could she be more corny? Soon she’d be telling him there was no “I” in team or other such nonsense.
“I’m unaccustomed to asking for help.”
“Yeah, me, too, but we made a deal. I get you out of Yankee territory and you help me find Rivers.”
Jesse took her at her word, allowing her to take a good portion of his weight. Diamond’s already overtaxed muscles screamed in protest, but she didn’t complain. A deal was a deal.
When they stopped for lunch, Diamond ate the last apple and together they drained the canteen. Jesse refused even a bite of Johnnycake. He seemed barely conscious as he slumped against a tree.
“Give me a moment and we’ll be ready to go.”
Jesse grunted an assent.
Diamond scurried into the bushes to take care of personal needs. Jesse had stepped into the woods this morning, but stayed put now. She didn’t enjoy prying into his personal business, but he was probably dehydrated. They needed to find the lake and refill the canteen.
Vowing to never again complain about cleaning the bathroom, she meandered back to where she’d left Jesse. She had nearly reached him when a movement caught her eye. She turned to see another soldier, dressed in gray and sporting a bushy brown beard, looking as startled to see her as she was him.
“Now what do we have here? I took you for a boy at first, but you’re one of those woman soldiers.”
“I’m a civilian. I have no quarrel with you whether you’re Union or Confederate.” She thought he was probably Confederate, but many regiments supplied their own uniforms and some Northern units wore gray.
“I’ve no quarrel with you either. Fact, I wouldn’t mind getting right friendly with you.”
Diamond’s heart rate sped up, the whoosh of blood in her ears drowning out the buzzing of insects and rustling of leaves in the breeze. She would not let this man rape her. Not without a fight. She slipped her hand inside her pocket and curled her fingers around her multi-tool. The blades were small, and the man outweighed her by a ton, but he would not get away unscathed. “Leave me alone. Union troops are out right now searching for stragglers. Do you want to spend the rest of the war in a Union prison?”
“I won’t hurt you. I just want a kiss, a memory to warm me on cold nights.”
Would he leave it