Two for Home

Chapter 1-2

The months and the battles passed, and he’d seen what the men—frustrated that the battle had been fought to a draw and not a victory or overcome with battle lust when they did win—had done, not only to wounded Rebs on the battlefield, but to the women of the plantations they’d stop at to grain and water the horses or to find food for themselves. Not the 14th of course, because they were good men, but others…

The worst one…four men had dragged a young girl into a barn, although Zach hadn’t realized that until afterward, when they came swaggering out, doing up their britches.

They’d leered at him. “You want a taste of her, boy? Maybe suckle her t**s? They’s itty bitty ones, but help yourself. She ain’t so purty no more,” the biggest man had gloated. “But I reckon that won’t make no difference.”

Zach had rushed to find the lieutenant, because frankly he was afraid to see what was in the barn.

Later in the war he’d grow accustomed to the atrocities men committed upon each other, but not then. He followed the lieutenant into the barn. In one of the stalls, a big, black woman cradled the girl and sobbed as she petted blood-soaked blonde hair. “My baby. Oh, my sweet baby,” she wailed.

The lieutenant tore off his uniform jacket and covered the girl with it, but not before Zach saw what had been done to her. She was naked, her body covered in deep gouges and bite marks and her thighs were bruised and streaked with blood. Something white was smeared not only over her belly and her small breasts but her mouth as well, and her face was battered and unrecognizable.

Zach gagged, and the lieutenant wheeled on him. “Shorty, I need you to fetch a doctor.”

“Y-yes, sir.” He raced through the camp, relieved to be away from the disturbing sight.

Fortunately, one of the doctors was free, and he let Zach drag him to the barn. The doctor must have suspected how bad it was, because he ordered Zach to stay outside.

Not long after, the lieutenant came out, his lips in a grim, pale line. “Who did this?”

“Is she…” Zach gulped. “Is she dead?” He might have seen death before, but never with such brutality directed toward a woman.

“No, but the doctor isn’t sure if she’ll be right in her mind when she comes to. If she comes to,” he murmured to himself. “Now tell me, Shorty. Who did this?”

“They weren’t of the 14th, Lieutenant.” Zach didn’t know the men.

“Can you tell me what they looked like?”

“Average height, brown hair and eyes.” All he could do was give a general description that matched half the men in camp. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“This isn’t your fault, Shorty.” He growled. “I’ll notify the captain.”

Even though the company wasn’t responsible, they got a stern talking-to. “These women may be Rebs, but they’re to be treated with respect.” The men might have been galvanized by the strategic victory, but they respected their lieutenant, and they all nodded in agreement.

And the next day the regiment moved on.

Almost a year later, though, Zach saw the men again.

After the Second Battle of Bull Run in August of ‘62, the men were disheartened not only by the Rebel victory but by the loss of more than a hundred of their friends and comrades. They set up camp, and all Zach wanted was to wash off the stink of blood and gunpowder—even though he’d kept his promise to Pa and hadn’t fired a shot, he’d still managed to get blood spattered all over him.

He found a secluded little creek just outside camp and sat down on the bank to pull off his boots. He set them neatly to the side, then slid his suspenders off his shoulders and went to work on his madder red trousers. They were around his ankles when the four men came upon him.

He didn’t recognize them, but that didn’t surprise him, since there were a number of other companies camped in the vicinity. He wasn’t concerned either, because he’d never had any of the soldiers of the 14th treat him as anything other than a little brother. He offered the four a smile.

Abruptly, they made a grab for him, and he snatched at his trousers and tried to scramble away. They laughed coarsely as he struggled not to trip over his feet and his pants.

“Gonna take each one of our pricks in your mouth and suck us off, boy,” the biggest one said. “The major’s been keeping us under a tight watch, and we ain’t had us a piece of tail in ages. Having you, though…That’ll make up for this piss-poor battle.”

That was when Zach recognized that voice and those men. The man managed to move fast in spite of his bulk, and he caught hold of Zach’s arm. Zach flinched when the man’s fingernails dug into his forearm. Zach wasn’t going to whimper, but he was scared.

“Let me go,” he said, swearing to himself when his voice chose that moment to crack.

“I don’t think so, boy.”

Zach ducked his head and sank his teeth into this bastard’s arm, just above the wrist. He tasted blood as he broke the skin, and the man howled and clouted him in an effort to get Zach to release him, but he didn’t. Then the sweetest sound in all the world reached his ringing ears.

“What’s going on here?” Lieutenant Marriott demanded, and if the big man had held a burning brand, he couldn’t have reacted quicker. He opened the fist that gripped Zach’s arm and tried to yank it free. Zach released it and sagged in gratitude at the lieutenant’s timely appearance.

“Keep your mouth shut, kid,” the big man hissed, only loud enough for Zach to hear. He gave the lieutenant an ingratiating smile and tugged his shirt sleeve down to conceal the teeth marks in his arm. “Ain’t nothin’ goin’ on, Lieutenant. We was just funnin’ with the boy. I reckon he couldn’t take a joke. We didn’t mean no harm.”

Zach had no intention of keeping his mouth shut. “They wanted me to suck them, sir.” He dodged away from the man and stepped closer to the lieutenant.

“The boy is under my protection. You’ll leave him alone.”

“Aw, hell, Lieutenant, we didn’t know it was like that.”

“Now you know. And if I ever catch you even looking cross-eyed at him, that bite he gave you will seem like a lover’s kiss, because I swear to God I’ll cut you into doll rags.” His gaze was cold as he stared at them from under the brim of his red kepi.

“Jesus, Lieutenant, you don’t got to take on like that. He’s just a f*****g kid. That’s what kids are for.”

“Get back to your own company. If I find you anywhere near the 14th, I’ll slice the hide from your miserable carcasses, and you’ll be begging me to put a bullet between your eyes.” The lieutenant stood with one hand on his pistol while the fingers of the other clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. Zach had never heard him sound so deadly.

They grumbled but slunk back to their own camp, the big one glaring at Zach over his shoulder.

Zach reached out a hand and caught the chevrons on the sleeve of the lieutenant’s blue broadcloth coat.

“Are you all right, Shorty?” The lieutenant glanced down at him and turned red, and that was when Zach realized his trousers were still tangled around his ankles. Fortunately, his muslin shirt hung low enough to cover the drawers that had somehow been tugged down to his knees.

“Sorry, sir.” He shivered, yanked up his drawers and his trousers, and tucked in his shirt. “You came in time. I’m all right.” Zach felt sick and cold as he looked up at the lieutenant. “They’re the men who hurt that girl,” he said.

“Last year?”

Zach nodded.

“You’re sure?”

He nodded again.

“All right, get back to camp. I’ll deal with them.”

Zach watched as the lieutenant stalked after the men, then did up the buttons of his trousers, stepped into his boots, and hurried to obey the lieutenant’s order.