The Angel of Death
A scorching hot pain rips through Vi’s gut causing her to shoot forward like a ball out of a cannon. The haze she experienced on the field from blood loss is still dragging her down, but she’s conscious enough to know she’s not on the battlefield any longer. Once again, she feels hands on her, but they seem to be gentle and smooth. Her head pivots back and forth in a dire attempt to discover where she is and who has their hands on her.
“Cait! I need more ether! I can’t work on her if she’s awake!” The man’s voice sounds angry and desperate. Vi is unsure if it’s because she’s thrashing or simply because she exists. Instinctively she tries to rise from the bed, but soft hands are once again on her. This time, they cup her cheek, stroking her flesh gently in a soothing manner.
“Easy. Easy. Easy. We aren’t going to harm you.” Vi’s panicked breaths slow as she stares deep into the crystal blue eyes of the beautiful woman in front of her. Death was in fact a woman and thankfully she seemed to be gentle. As her breathing slows, the woman lifts a cloth to Vi’s face, making sure to encompass her nose. Inhaling the sweet smell, the soldier can feel herself slowly drifting off into the abyss once more.
If there was a god, surely he wouldn’t allow her to suffer any longer. This must be some way of making her passage to the afterlife more enjoyable. Even though her death was painful, she’d been granted the opportunity to see those blue eyes and that face as a reward for fighting the good fight. Perhaps fighting for the freedom of others will earn her a good spot on the other side. Soon, she’ll find out. Sleep takes hold and her body goes limp.
- - - - - - -
“I need to work on her shoulder wound now. Can you help me unwrap her?”
Tobias had spent most of the time since they’d arrived home trying to take care of the soldier’s gut wound. The bullet had been tricky, lodging itself in enough flesh it required him to open the poor woman up a little. When he’d gone to cauterize the wound prior to stitching, she’d awaken from what should have been an ether induced sleep.
Caitlyn will never forget the look of terror in the woman’s eyes as long as she lives. Whether it was from fear of her unknown surroundings or fear of death, the emotion thankfully seemed to fade away when she saw the woman’s grey eyes morph to a sense of security when Caitlyn had caressed her cheek. Perhaps it reminded her of someone back home and that was all the soldier needed to give in the sleep. The thought almost made Caitlyn jealous, bringing forth the thought that it must be nice to have someone so devoted and caring in your life.
Gently, the woman removes the bandages that hide the most telling part of the soldier’s identity. She can’t help but blush as the final part of the wrapping flies off the skin leaving the woman’s bare breasts out for all to see. It instantly feels far too intimate, and Caitlyn has to turn her head away. Thankfully as the embarrassment travels further through Caitlyn’s face, her father gives her a reprieve by requesting she sanitize his tools before he works on the shoulder.
“We can’t risk infection. Infection leads to fever and we both know how hard that will be for her to fight off.”
Fever. Caitlyn hated the word. It had already taken so much from her, and she was determined to not allow it to take the woman in front of her. Dutifully, she took the tools her father had been using into the washroom and cleaned them as best they could. Tobias had told her horror stories from medical tents he’d worked at during the ongoing war. He’d seen the atrocities some of these so-called medical doctors were doing to soldiers in hopes of saving lives. In reality, they were doing nothing more than spreading disease and killing more than they would save.
When she returned to her father, he was holding the now dislodged bullet in his hand. His eyes were trained on the object, studying it as though it were something he’d never seen before. “It’s amazing how something so small can create so much chaos. We as humans often forget how fragile our bodies are.”
She can sense the subtle anger in his words. Even though he’d joined the military, Tobias had made it abundantly clear he didn’t necessarily approve of war. He understood and believed in causes, but all of the death and destruction he had witnessed, all of the loss of life, it had taken too much of his soul for him to care anymore.
Though the casualty numbers from the Mexican American War had been nothing compared to the war between the states, Caitlyn knew that a good number of the previous war’s wounded had been tended to by her father. Now, he once again found himself volunteering his time to heal wounded soldiers, no matter the color of their uniform.
“I need you to hold her once more so I can cauterize the wound in her shoulder. Hopefully the ether has knocked her out enough that she won’t feel it.”
Caitlyn shook her head to acknowledge her father’s request. Grabbing the woman’s right wrist and left shoulder, she placed her knee on the edge of the bed, allowing her to lean forward and push all of her weight onto the solider. She doubted it would do anything if the woman had not fully succumbed to the anesthesia. The moment of fear that had caused the commotion early had warranted the use of all of Caitlyn’s body strength to keep the woman under control and in the bed. It was shocking that it ended up being a gentle touch that brought a sense of relief from the terror.
Tobias heats the rod and looks to his daughter to ensure she’s ready for what comes next. Much to his surprise, the wounded warrior doesn’t move, finally fully asleep. He holds the rod on her just long enough for the smell of burning flesh to permeate the air.
“I’m going to dress the wounds. While I do that I need you to go burn her uniform.” As Caitlyn stood to leave, her father grasped on to her wrist. “See if she has anything she’s carrying that might give us a name or where she’s from in the event she doesn’t make it.”
It was such a morbid sentiment. Caitlyn had heard her father say it to her before, only then it was in regards to a tiny body resting in her arms, the feeling of unwanted heat radiating from the child’s body. “You need to be prepared in the event she doesn’t make it through the night my dear.”
The thought sends a shiver down her spine. Suddenly the sight of two beds, one holding her mother and the other her tiny daughter assaults her memory. They’d both contracted a severe fever somehow, causing them to suffer greatly while Caitlyn could do nothing but watch in horror.
Her eyes snap shut and she feels her emotions floating toward the aching pain that settles in her chest at night.
“Caitlyn!” Her father cries out, retuning her attention to the situation unfolding around her. Tobias doesn’t miss the tears that rest at the creases of his daughter’s eyes. Sighing, he stands, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “The uniform, my dear. I want rid of it quickly in the event someone witnessed us returning to our home with her.”
The woman can only nod, unable to speak out of concern that she may break down if she does. She retreats to the living room, building a warm,roaring fire. When she retrieves the uniform, the amount of blood that stains the navy uniform causes Caitlyn’s breath to catch in her lungs. Nearly the entirety of the right side of the Yankee uniform is stained dark red. The smell of iron pummels Caitlyn’s senses. Her stomach churns as she considers the likelihood the woman will be able to survive that much loss of blood.
Her hands pilfer through the pockets of both jackets. Just as she’s about to give up hope, the last inner pocket she reaches into contains a small, leather notebook. Her hands trace over the worn material, a symbol of its use and appreciation.
As she watches the wool go up in flames, she slowly unties the cover of the notebook she’s just discovered. The first page of the notebook provides her with the information she was hoping to find … a name.
Violet Zaun
“Violet.” Caitlyn can’t help but smile as the name rolls off her tongue. The hand writing is dainty, not at all what she would expect from a woman with such a muscular stature. Her mind begins to wonder through what tales the book holds. She knows it’s wrong, but she wants to learn more about this mysterious female soldier that has unknowingly found her way into Caitlyn’s life.
“Well, Violet, let’s see if we can’t learn a little more about you.”