Northern Star (3 page)

Perry felt bonded to Hunter. Though they’d never talked,
his life was as vital to her as her own. She would do whatever was necessary to see that he lived; then she would try to find Noma.

Afraid of seeing the searing pain in his eyes again, she pulled off the soiled dressing as slowly and gently as she could. Blood oozed from the torn tissue on his right shoulder, calling an abrupt halt to Perry’s progress. She took a deep breath, fighting to control her nausea. She knew that the hot redness, spreading like scarlet weeds beneath the skin from the bloody injury, meant infection.

Hunter slept, unaware of her touch. She slowly bathed his shoulder, remembering how he’d touched hers in the darkness. Whether he lived or died would depend on her keeping the wound clean until a doctor could be found. The jagged rip in his skin and muscles stood in sharp contrast to the other smooth shoulder. Perry watched as his chest rose and fell slightly with each breath. In the light his undamaged skin shone golden to his waist.

She wrapped his arm where sections of the skin were rubbed away. Hunter moved in pain, clenching his teeth, yet made no sound. Perry finished her work as rapidly as possible, binding him with clean strips. She lifted his head gently as he accepted the water she offered. Even as Hunter’s fever raged, anger boiled in her own veins. Dear God, how she hated this war! How she hated not being able to help him. She longed to see those gray eyes filled with something other than pain.

Hunter held out a hand toward her. “Angel, where’s the
Star
?” he mumbled. “Angel…my angel, was the
Star
captured? Is Abram alive?”

Perry grabbed his long fingers and pulled them to her cheek, wishing she could answer his questions, but they made no sense. “I’m here,” she whispered as she moved his fingers along her face.

Hunter looked up, his eyes half closed, his mouth tight with struggle. His hand slowly crossed her cheek and circled to the back of her neck, as though touching her were
the medicine he craved. His fingers caressed her flowing black hair as he pulled her face near his own. “My angel, you are so…”

Pain clouded his eyes. Perry lowered him to the hay and reached for a scrap of cloth to bathe his feverish face. She wrapped the only blanket around him, softly whispering words of care, though she knew he could no longer hear her.

She sat, chin resting on her knees, watching Hunter for most of the morning and wondering what he’d been about to say. She was lost in thought and didn’t react at first to the creaking sound of the old barn door. In her mind the sound seemed faraway, unreal. When the noise did register, she would have bolted to the edge of the loft to welcome Noma, but panic’s cold fingers gripped her. It might not be Noma, and the visitor might not be welcome.

Pulling her hat down securely, Perry inched her way to the loft’s edge. Lying on her stomach, she slid over the stored ladder and pulled herself close enough to peer down at the intruders below.

Three soldiers milled around beneath her. They poked, inspecting the hay, searching every corner of the dusty floor. Luckily not one bothered to look up. With the ladder removed, the tiny loft rose unnoticed in the late-morning shadows. Perry stared at the three blue uniforms moving beneath. Blue! They were wearing blue. Her mind raced. Somehow, since dawn, her haven had changed hands. She was no longer in Southern territory but in Northern-occupied land.

Perry glanced at Hunter, then back at the men below. He had to have a doctor. If she couldn’t tell which side he was on, neither could they. The fact that she’d found him hiding should be strong evidence to any Southerner that he was a Yankee.

Scrambling like a mouse at daybreak, she moved across the loft and shoved a small pouch of valuables between two rafters. Her tiny treasures would be safer in this loft
than on her body. Then, with a sigh of resolution, she lifted the ladder and shoved it through the opening before she had time to change her mind. Blue or gray, Hunter needed help.

As the ladder hit the floor with a thud, the three men bolted into a defensive action. They moved swiftly and cautiously, with catlike grace. Each showed the skilled training one obtains only with years of practice and war. They wielded their weapons as if the metal were an extension of their arms. The trio seemed more like animals of prey than men. Perry pulled her hat low and set her mind to enlisting their help.

All three were staring, guns cocked, as Perry slowly descended the ladder. Her own personality vanished like an actor’s must as he steps into a role with each curtain’s rising. “You dirty Yanks haven’t started killin’ kids yet, have ya?” Perry’s voice was low and rough. “Y’all wouldn’t want to kill me, anyway. I’ve done you blue bellies a favor.”

She reached the bottom of the ladder, squared her shoulders in the oversize jacket, and faced the men with all her mustered bravery. She kicked at the dust, as she’d often seen young boys do when they spoke to their elders around the churchyard. Perry didn’t look the men in the face for fear one might suspect her gender. She cleared her throat. “Like I say, I done you boys a big favor, and I’m hopin’ you’ll be grateful.”

One man, larger and stockier in build than the other two, moved forward. His large bulk seemed caked with enough layers of dirt to cultivate a crop. Perry curled her nose at his odor, but she forced herself to stand firm. The man grunted and smiled with a mouthful of yellowed teeth. “Well, little Johnny Reb, what have you done to make us all grateful? Did you stay out of the war so we’d have a chance to win?”

His two companions laughed at his joke and lowered their guns. They, too, were dressed in worn, dirty uniforms
of faded blue. Both had slim, weasel-like bodies and dull eyes that reflected no love of life. Like men Perry had seen in the South, they’d done too much killing and not enough living.

Perry rubbed her nose on her sleeve and purposefully boasted, “I’ve been keeping one of your Yankee officers alive all day, sir. Found him nearly dead, I did. Knew he be one of your officers, so I thought somebody might just come lookin’ for him. Figured if I kept him alive, there might be somethin’ in it for me,” she lied.

The huge soldier’s eyebrows raised questioningly as he surveyed the room. Perry pointed upward. “He be up there, sir. I figured it was drier. He needs a doctor bad, ’cause he’s lost a lot of blood.”

The stout soldier motioned for his comrades to watch Perry while he climbed the ladder. Sweat beaded across her forehead as her heart thumped past the minutes. Her hands were in tight fists inside her huge pockets, her right fingers gripping her small knife. If this lie didn’t work, maybe she could run for the door. Her heart pounded as she realized what nonsense that would be. A woman with a four-inch knife was no match for three men with guns. If they didn’t shoot her, they’d surely discover her to be female in the scuffle. Perry had heard stories of lone women found by soldiers, and these three looked capable of any crime.

A booming voice echoed down the ladder. “The kid’s right. There
is
a wounded man up here. Looks half dead.” The stout man appeared at the edge of the loft. “Catch, Jack,” he yelled, throwing his rifle down at the same time. “I’ll carry him down.”

“Fine, Luke,” the man who caught the gun answered in a hollow, dead tone. Perry studied the two men before her and realized neither cared if Hunter lived or died. They must see men die daily; one more was of no consequence.

Brusquely descending the steps, the huge man returned with Hunter flung over his shoulder. Perry cringed as blood
once more stained the outside of Hunter’s dressing. She wanted to yell out for the man named Luke to be careful but was afraid her voice would give too much away. As she saw Hunter’s pale face she blinked threatening tears away. How she wanted to comfort him. If only she could tell him that soon he would have a real doctor. If only she could brush the blond hair from his face—but there was no time, and three men were watching.

Luke turned to face Perry as he stepped off the ladder. He seemed unhampered by the burden on his shoulder. “Where’s his uniform jacket and cap, kid?” he demanded gruffly.

Swallowing hard, she tried to think of an answer. She lowered her head and kicked at the dirt again. “Well, sir…well,” she said, stammering, stalling for time.

“Well, what?” Luke demanded, moving within a foot of her. His breath fouled the air between them.

Perry tried to make her voice whine as she whispered, “I sold ’em to a Negra woman for food.” She closed her eyes, praying she sounded convincing. If Hunter was a Union soldier, he would be safe. If not, maybe he could get doctoring before anyone discovered otherwise.

Perry’s eyes flew open as she heard the soldier’s laugh. “Enterprising little bastard, ain’t he, fellows? Sonny, you may come out of this war rich, after all,” Luke said, chuckling. “Well, come along with us, Johnny Reb. If this officer of yours does live, maybe you will get somethin’ out of it. In the meantime, reckon we’ve got enough grub in camp to feed the likes of you a meal. Lookin’ at those puny arms, I’d say you haven’t been fed in weeks.”

The other two men glanced at each other, as though wondering why Luke was bothering with a wounded man and a kid, but they didn’t seem to find it worth the effort to comment.

With Hunter still folded over his shoulder, Luke moved out of the old barn that had been Hunter’s refuge for two days. Perry followed quietly behind the men. She knew
they glanced back often to ensure her progress. It would be foolish to run. Where would she go? How could she leave Hunter now without knowing if he lived or died? Her best plan of action seemed to be to follow along, then backtrack when she wasn’t being watched. Luke was a gruff fellow, but he cared enough to carry a wounded man to camp, which was more than she could say for the other two.

Conflicting thoughts battled in Perry’s mind as her feet plodded in the oversize boots. Maybe the camp wasn’t too far from the barn and she could sneak back tomorrow to see if Noma had returned. Surely Noma would wait in the barn, or would she? Perry pictured Noma arriving, finding both Perry and Hunter missing. She wasn’t sure Noma would remember to go to Granddad’s old place. As one mile turned into another, then another, Perry planned.

Cannon fire rumbled around her in low moans. At first it seemed as harmless as the thin trails of smoke that drifted slowly into the clouds. Then the smell of impending death blended with the odor of a campfire. Early spring was paled by the winter of war.

Bodies scattered like litter beside the muddy path. They lay as a silent reminder of earlier battles. Blue and gray, with their blood blending together in death. Ragged, ghostlike characters knelt over the remains. Whether they were mourning or robbing, Perry could only wonder. Somehow the vulture or mourner brought the same sadness to her. The sight of the twisted bodies only strengthened her determination to help Hunter. She was a fighter and she’d fight to the death for this man who’d touched her soul with his gray eyes. Somehow for her there was nothing left but this one quest. If she lost it, she’d snap and vanish as quickly as the puffs of smoke from a gun blast.

His bandage was bright red now, and his face the yellowy paleness of lye soap. As she moved closer to check his breathing, they entered a clearing and the temporary Union camp. She looked up and froze for a moment. The
Stars and Stripes flew above them. She hadn’t seen a Union flag in years, but after her long walk it was somehow a homecoming sight.

Luke marched past the tents and mess wagon to the back of the clearing. Perry had no choice but to follow. The campgrounds melted into a shady, wooded area. Wounded men lay everywhere under the shade of the trees. Most were asleep or unconscious. A few moaned or cried in pain. Perry’s heart ached for them. She could hardly bear to look at the field of suffering surrounding her. Men were bleeding where limbs had been torn from them. The dying were all around, and no one was helping to ease their pain. Perry wondered how Hunter could possibly be better off here than in the loft. At least there he could die in silence, without the stench of rotting flesh around him. He could sleep until death without the cries of another’s agony ringing in his ears.

Luke bellowed at a lone man moving among the bodies. “Where’s the doctor?” he inquired.

The thin, overworked soldier moved toward them. His limp was pronounced and his slow stride showed exhaustion. His voice was dull and lifeless. “Doc left just before the last battle with a load of wounded. I’m the orderly in charge till he returns.” As he spoke, he lifted Hunter’s head with only passing interest. “Anyway, this one probably won’t make it till Doc gets back. Put him over there with the worst.” He pointed with his bony finger.

Perry guessed the orderly was too old to serve as a soldier and wasn’t particularly fond of his duties among the wounded. How could they assign such an uncaring man to this job? But then she realized the position would drive a caring man mad.

Luke nodded to the old man and motioned for Perry to follow. She admired the way Luke had carried Hunter all this way, seemingly unmindful of the extra load. His stockiness was due to a wealth of muscles. Though she noticed his two companions had complained several times
during the walk and dropped in exhaustion as soon as they’d entered camp, Luke hadn’t said a word about his burden.

They moved among the dying men until Luke found an empty spot near the edge of the clearing. He laid Hunter next to a large elm, showing more gentleness than Perry thought him capable of. Turning to Perry, he said, “You can stay with him if you’d like, kid, but don’t see much use myself. About dark, if you wander back over to that mess tent, I’ll see you get some grub.”

As she knelt beside Hunter in the grassy shade Perry nodded and muttered, “Thanks.” She watched Luke pick his way through the wounded and disappear into the distance. Tears rolled down her cheeks and fell on the damp grass. What a mess she was in! Perry had never felt so lost. A few days ago Captain Williams had issued orders for her arrest, and now she found herself surrounded by Union troops.

Hunter’s bandage was blood-soaked and dirty, his face ghost-white beneath sweaty blond hair.