Northern Star Read Online Free Page B

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. TheStars 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 timesduring 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.
    The old orderly moved toward her,