Chapter 14

The night was cool, but humidity still hung in the air. Elim had waited until most of the fires in the camp had been extinguished before he’d crept out of his bedroll and out into the night air. He took his pistol but left his rifle. Hopefully, he wouldn’t need either.

He approached the meeting place he’d arranged with August and saw his brother peeking out from behind a tree. Elim trotted up to him and took cover beside him. “Ready?”

Another voice answered. “Yes, sir.”

Standing behind Elim were Privates Chase, Howard, Holt, and Douglas.

“What are you all doing here?” Elim hissed.

“We wasn’t about to let you go off and save Miss Barris without us.” Private Douglas spoke with mock bravado.

“How did you even know about this?” Elim eyed August.

“You need help,” August said.

“If we get caught—” Elim began.

August tugged his arm. “We will if we stay here any longer.”

They started off single file, avoiding the worn path the wagons had made and sticking close to the tree line. The night was silent except for their footsteps and the animals concealed by the darkness. The going was slower than Elim wanted, but after what seemed like hours, a building appeared in the darkness. The windows were all dark, and the grounds were as shadowed as the woods.

August leaned close. “Are you sure someone is here?”

Elim’s heart ached. “Doesn’t look like it.”

Before he could formulate a plan for what to do next, a woman’s scream rang through the night like a gunshot. Elim motioned for his men and August to take cover. He saw a man in a red coat drag a colored woman by the arm out of the house. Elim held his breath, eyes trained. Please don’t be Adeline. As the man moved away from the house, other Confederate soldiers lit torches and emerged from the trees on the other side of the farm. The light was so stark in the darkness, it seemed as if the sun had risen over the farm.

The woman thrashed and pulled against the man’s grip, but to no avail. “I am a free woman.”

“But we know you’re hiding runaways here. You belong to us now.”

Elim gritted his teeth. He motioned to his men and August. “Holt, go back to the camp and report this.” He saw the disagreement in Holt’s eyes, but Elim held up a hand. “You’re the youngest and the fastest.” He may not be able to save everyone’s life, but Elim could at least save this young man. For now.

They watched Holt disappear into the night behind them. August pointed. “There are some buildings on the other side that may give us some cover.”

“Douglas and Chase, go around to the other side behind those buildings. We’ll catch them in the middle. August and Howard, spread out around the side, and be quick.”

The group dispersed. The Confederate soldiers were going through the house and barns with no thought of what was going on around them. Douglas and Chase reached the buildings without being spotted. August moved counterclockwise through the trees. Howard moved in the other direction. Elim stayed where he was, loading his pistol. From his count, there were twelve Confederate soldiers.

Twelve to five. Horrible odds. He would have to use the element of surprise to full advantage.

The soldiers had gathered more people in the area in front of the house. They huddled together, arms wrapped around each other, but still no Adeline.

Movement to his left caught his eye. August was waving his pistol at him. Once he got Elim’s attention, he pointed the weapon.

A soldier was leading Adeline to the clearing. She had one arm around an older woman and the other around a young boy.

Elim sighed, pride filling his chest. She’d done it. She’d found them.

“Get all the goods from the house and let’s go,” the sergeant in charge barked out. The Confederates spread out, and a plan formed in Elim’s mind. If the sergeant was left alone, Elim could overpower him. Then the people gathered could run for the trees. Maybe they wouldn’t have to wage a battle to rescue these people. He looked to August, who was staring at him. Elim gave him a brief nod, and once the last of the soldiers disappeared around the side of the house, leaving only the sergeant behind, Elim sent up a quick prayer and charged.

Running full speed, he’d crossed half the space before the sergeant turned and saw him. The man raised his pistol at Elim. He wasn’t going to make it.

Suddenly, a figure tackled the sergeant from the back, knocking him off balance. The shot went high into the air. The sound of the shot echoed around the field.

“Run!” Elim screamed, and the people in the clearing sprinted. They only had a moment before the other soldiers would come running. As the freed captives ran for the trees, he spotted the figure who had knocked the sergeant down.

Adeline. She grabbed her mother and brother and ran for the trees.

The sergeant was trying to get on his feet. Elim pointed his pistol at him. “Stay down.”

The sergeant lifted his hands.

Elim nodded. This man would go along with the rest of the Confederate soldiers being held for prisoner exchange.

“Call your men back,” Elim said through gritted teeth.

The sergeant stood slowly. Elim took a step back, not liking the look in his eye. “You’re outnumbered, Corporal.”

“Call your men or take a bullet.” Elim cocked his gun.

Two Confederate soldiers appeared from the house, their expressions showing their shock. They pulled their weapons, and the sergeant said nothing to stop them. The first two shots whizzed past Elim like flies buzzing. Both he and the sergeant dove to the ground. Elim rolled, hearing return fire coming from beyond the trees. The two men near the house went down and August emerged from the trees, his pistol still smoking.

More shots rang out and Elim got to his knees, looking in the direction they were coming from. August glanced in the direction that Douglas and Howard went before he trotted over to Elim and helped him up from the ground. “You all right?”

“Yup. We need to do something with this one.”

But when he looked in the direction of the sergeant, he went cold at what he saw.

The sergeant raised his pistol and aimed directly at August.

Elim was moving before he realized it, shoving August hard. His brother went down and the bullet that was aimed at him slammed into Elim’s shoulder. The pain exploded, knocking the wind from his lungs. He fell to the ground and thought he heard a woman scream his name.

Adeline.

Another shot went off close, and Elim gripped his shoulder and scooted backward, pain turning his stomach and blurring his vision. August stood, pistol still aimed at the air. The sergeant, however, was lying on the ground screaming in pain.

August rushed to Elim’s side. “Lie down.”

“We’ve got to get the other men and get out of here.”

“I’ll get them. Don’t move.”

The instruction wasn’t needed. His arm throbbed with pain every time he inhaled. The world went fuzzy and his arm grew warmer and warmer. He glanced down at his sleeve and saw that blood had soaked his coat. At least he’d managed to save the two people in the world whom he loved. He closed his eyes against the pain. Soon he wouldn’t feel any pain at all.

Adeline knew she should run with the others, but she lingered at the tree line. Elim stood, pistol pointed at the Confederate commander. He watched as August fired shots at the two soldiers coming from the house. Those shots, and some others whose source she couldn’t identify, bounced around the trees.

Then, as if time slowed down, the solider nearest Elim and August raised his pistol. Adeline wanted to scream, but the sound caught in her throat. Elim saw the raised gun at the same time and pushed August out of the way. She watched as the Confederate soldier fired and Elim fell to the ground. She screamed for Elim.

Adeline scrambled to her feet, but Mama grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “No, Adeline.”

Adeline looked at her mother, the woman she’d searched so long to find, and tears filled her eyes. She’d found them but now needed to leave them. Elim needed her. “Mama, I can’t leave him.”

“Girl, you best come on. You can’t tackle every solider out here.”

Her eyes went to Elim lying on the grass. August had left him there and had run in the direction of the house. “He’s hurt. He came to save me. I can’t leave him. Take Michael and go with the others. I’ll meet you back at the camp.”

Mama watched her for a second longer and then leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “Come back to us.” Then she and Michael disappeared into the trees.

Adeline checked the clearing for more soldiers and, when she saw none, crouched down and ran across the grass. When she reached Elim, he was lying still, his breathing shallow. His whole left side was soaked with blood.

“Oh no. Elim.”

His eyes fluttered open. “Adeline, go,” he managed, his voice weak.

“I’m not leaving you.” She needed to stop the bleeding. It looked like the bullet had hit him high on his arm, but she couldn’t tell with all the blood. She pulled the scarf from her head and wrapped it around his arm. “Take a deep breath,” she said.

When he had filled his lungs up, she quickly looped the fabric around his arm and tied it tight. He cried out with the breath he had taken in. She wrapped it again and tucked the edges under to secure it. “That should stop the bleeding.”

His head lolled to one side and his face grew pale. Lights flickered in the trees, and Adeline saw more soldiers on horseback coming up the path, but they were Union soldiers. They quickly spread out, some of them coming to Elim, others going to the Confederate soldier in the grass. The medic dropped down beside Elim and she gave him space to examine him.

“Looks like this is all taken care of for now. I’ll see if we can remove the bullet once we get back to camp.”

Elim looked over at Adeline, his expression showing both amusement and pain. “Teacher to cook to nurse. How do you know all this?”

She smiled down at him. “I read it in a book.”

And to her heart’s delight, he chuckled.