Prisoner in Time (Time travel)

by Petersen, Christopher David

  With the danger now far behind them, the column of men traveled at a slower pace, allowing David to keep up without much effort. As the two marched together, the silence made their travel uncomfortable and David began to speak, hoping to bridge the awkward gap between them.

  “I think I’m going to be all right. I think the bullet passed through my side and out my back.”

  “Uh huh,” Geoff grunted.

  “Just hope the doctors at the camp have the provisions there for me to treat it.”

  “Uh huh,” Geoff responded, continuing to feign indifference.

  “They don’t have antibiotics or modern surgical instruments here in this time period. The best I can hope for is to clean the wound thoroughly, and change the bandages daily.”

  “Uh huh,” Geoff answered once more, looking away through the forest.

  David looked over toward Geoff. His lack of responses felt insulting and rude and he decided to test the young teen’s attention.

  “I’m thinking about cutting off a finger from a dead guy and using it to plug the hole,” he said in casual tone.

  “Uh huh…” Geoff responded again, then spun his head around in double-take. “Wait… What’d you say?” he asked incredulously.

  David smiled slightly, responding, “Just checking to see if you were listening.”

  Geoff shook his head in disgust. “Douche,” he responded in crass tone.

  “Geoff, I’m just trying to be your friend.”

  “Ha… that’s a laugh. You killed my brother and now you want to be my friend? What would ever make you think I’d want to be your friend?”

  “I didn’t kill your brother. He was simply a victim of unfortunate circumstances,” David responded.

  “Unfortunate circumstances? So there was nothing else you could have done to save his life?”

  “No,” David shot back.

  “No? Nothing at all? You couldn’t have done some other procedure to save him?” Geoff pressed.

  “No, I did all I could for him,” David asserted.

  “Really? If a real brain surgeon was there, do you think he could have saved him?”

  “Possibly, I don’t know. It’s hard to say.”

  “You mean hard to admit,” Geoff countered.

  “No, I mean hard to say. There were a lot of variables at play with your brother’s injuries. It’s possible that someone with more experience could have saved him, but I think it’s unlikely. There was just too much damage.”

  “That’s a cop-out. You failed because you weren’t competent enough to handle the surgery and now you’re just making excuses for yourself. Maybe if you had been smart enough to become a brain surgeon like the other guys, my brother would still be alive today. You shouldn’t have been working on my brother. Someone else should have.”

  Geoff’s words pierced through his mind. He felt the teen’s comparison of him to a brain surgeon was irrelevant, but pondered the last statement: “shouldn’t have been working.” They were the same words Nurse Strugg had made the day before and now gnawed at him. He contemplated his exhaustion during that fateful surgery and how it might have affected his performance. Guilt began to seep into his thoughts. Quickly, he repressed the offending emotion and continued in his defense.

  “That’s a ridiculous statement. I’m the most senor surgeon that hospital has right now. If I did make a mistake while working on your brother, a doctor with less experience would certainly have made more. The fact is, he received the best treatment the hospital had to offer at that time and still died from his injuries. If we couldn’t save him, it wasn’t from incompetence. He simply couldn’t be saved. At some point, you’re going to have to come to grips with those facts.”

  “No I don’t!” he countered angrily. “I’m here and I can change those facts. So what do you have to say about that, Dr. Useless?”

  “I say you’re acting like a child in a grown up world and you’re going to get yourself killed because of it.”

  “It’s my life. I can do with it whatever I please,” Geoff retorted.

  “Not when it includes others.”

  “Hey, I didn’t include you. You just chose to butt in on my business. In fact, why don’t you just choose to butt out!” Geoff responded angrily.

  He let go of David’s arm and forced him to walk under his own power. David stumbled at first, then limped along at the same pace as the others. Still holding his wound, he struggled through the pain while replaying the previous conversation over and over in his mind. Guilt once again, permeated his thoughts. With his eyes focused in front, he made one last simple statement:

  “There’s still time to turn back.”

  Geoff shot him an angry stare and replied, “And there’s still time to find Arles Moore.”

  -----*-----*-----*-----

  Two hours passed and the small detail of soldiers entered the wide encampment of General Joseph E Johnston’s Army of Tennessee. Numbering more than five thousand men, Geoff eyed the sea of canvas tents with amazement.

  “Holy crap! I’ve never seen so many people in one place in my whole life,” he exclaimed.

  “This is nothing. It’s just a small army. At the battle of Gettysburg, the combined forces totaled more than a hundred and fifty thousand men… thirty times larger than what you’re seeing here right now,” David responded, his wound causing him to wince as he spoke.

  “No Way! Where’d they put ‘em all?” Geoff asked, forgetting his dislike for David momentarily.

  “They wouldn’t have been able to fit all those soldiers in an area this size. They were spread out over miles of territory, which is the case for most battles.”

  As the two marched through the endless rows of tents, Geoff began to notice an ever increasing amount of eyes staring at them.

  “What the heck are they looking at?” he muttered in low tone. “Don’t they know it’s rude to stare?”

  Even through his pain, David smirked to himself at the young teen’s statement. It seemed out of place in an adult world.

  “Relax there partner, they’re just exhibiting human nature. With these modern clothes, we both stick out like sore thumbs, so you’ll have to expect some staring until they fit us with uniforms.”

  “Well, I don’t think we look that unusual. It’s not like we’re naked or anything.”

  “You’re applying your perception to things,” David retorted. “I’m sure they see things differently. To them, we’re probably dressed like clowns in a circus.”

  “I guess,” Geoff responded reluctantly.

  He eyed the men and tents as he passed on by. Dressed in their worn gray uniforms, they looked weary and tired from recent fighting. Some men huddled around their fires and conversed. Others lay inside their tents and busied themselves with pencil and paper while others still, rested in solitary silence, were lost in the harsh memories of recent battles.

  Geoff’s stomach sank as he realized the state of living he would have to endure. In every direction, he saw only the most primitive of tools for survival. From crude pots and utensils for cooking, to tattered bedrolls for sleeping, the average soldier’s life appeared hard and unrelenting.

  As David limped along in pain, he sensed a quiet coming from the young teen marching beside him. Glancing over, he noticed the sad and forlorn expression that registered on his face.

  “Not what you expected, huh?”

  Geoff studied David’s eyes momentarily. He expected condescension staring back at him. As he continued to read David’s gaze, he realized there was none to be found. In its place, he saw only kindness and for a moment, he forgot about his dislike for him.

  “Is it really as bad as it looks?”

  Through his pain, David struggled for a delicate reply.

  “I’m sorry Geoff, I wish I could tell you something different, but yeah… life is very difficult in this time period. There’re no modern conveniences.”

  He heard the softness of David’s voice and knew he was doing his best
to be sympathetic. With a simple nod, Geoff acknowledged the truth of David’s words. Walking in silence, the two continued to survey their circumstance.

  Geoff looked over at one of the tents and noticed a soldier gnashing his teeth on a hardened cracker. Watching the man struggle to eat the uninspiring food caused him to reel in disbelief.

  “What the hell, man. Did you just see that? The dude nearly broke a tooth trying to eat that cracker-looking thing.”

  “Yeah, I saw it. They’re called hardtack crackers. Usually you soften them in your coffee,” David responded. “I suspect he’s out of coffee at the moment.”

  “Coffee and crackers! Is that what these guys live on?”

  “Not entirely. The common soldier eats whatever’s available at that moment in time. Sometimes they have meat, other times fruit and vegetables. There’re times when supplies are low and all you have are your hardtack crackers to eat.”

  “Wow, that sucks. I didn’t know it was going to be this hard,” Geoff replied, then added, “Do you think they’ll feed us when we settle in?”

  “I don’t know, Geoff. I’m assuming they’ll feed us something, but it’s anyone’s guess as to what it might be. It could simply be hardtack and water.”

  He glanced toward the young teen and noticed a look of disbelief registering on his face. It was the same look he saw after the teen learned of his brother’s death. Seeing Geoff’s expression, he immediately felt a tug of guilt, reminding him that somehow he was responsible for the fate of the scared teen.

  David’s sympathy deepened. Before Geoff could speak again, he continued: “Geoff, I know you’re scared. I’ll do my best to help you through this.”

  Geoff shoulders stiffened. Instantly, he was reminded of his dislike for the man marching beside him. As the sad memory of his brother filled his thoughts, youthful pride clouded his judgment.

  “Like you helped my brother? No thanks. I don’t need your kind of help. I’ll fend for myself, thank you very much,” he snarled acidly.

  “Jeez Geoff, don’t be such a…” David started to retort but was quickly interrupted by the halt of the column of men.

  As the soldiers stood momentarily still in formation, Sgt. Cooper shouted out his next command: “Dismissed!”

  Without hesitation, the men quickly hurried off in all directions leaving two men standing alone. Sgt. Cooper hurried over to David and Geoff and relayed his further instructions.

  “Ok, you two follow me. We’ll get you a doc and then y’all ‘ill be processed,” he said first to David, then to Geoff.

  Without another word, he spun on his heels and hurried off toward a larger tent that sat beyond the smaller tents. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he checked to insure the two were following.

  “Well? What’re y’all waitin’ fer? Special invitation?” he shouted loudly.

  Immediately, Geoff sprang forward toward the waiting sergeant while David limped along trying to catch up. Seeing the two following his order, Sgt. Cooper nodded approvingly and continued on toward the larger tent. Stopping at the entrance, he pulled back the canvas flap and poked his head inside. Seconds later, as David and Geoff approached the tent, a tall thin man stepped outside the shelter clutching a white apron in his hand.

  “This here’s Doc Freeman. He’ll be afixin’ your wound,” Sgt. Cooper said to David. Turning back to the doctor, he continued, “He’s all your’n, Doc. Could you send ‘round a boy when you’re done? He needs to be processed.”

  “Ah ha, found more volunteers I see,” Dr. Freeman chided.

  “Yes Sir. Ones’ able bodied and this here lad is jus’ bodied… but soon to be abled, I’mma guessin’,” Sgt. Cooper responded, pointing to David’s wound.

  “Hmm, well, let’s have a look, shall we?” the doctor responded, his tone mildly agreeable.

  Wincing slightly, David stepped forward and exposed his wound. Lifting his top and lowering the waistline of his scrubs, he allowed the doctor to examine him. David studied the man as he pressed on his skin around his wound.

  “Mmm, looks like you lost some blood but it appears to be just a scratch. Passed through your side and out your buttock. Should have you fixed up in no time,” he said, responding to both David and the sergeant.

  “Just a scratch?” Geoff shouted incredulously.

  Sgt. Cooper glared at the insolent teen. Instantly, Geoff softened his posture in submission and averted his eyes.

  “How long ‘till he’s ready for fighten?” Sgt. Cooper asked, turning his attention back to the doctor.

  “I’m guessing in a couple of days. He won’t be able to fire from a seated position, mind you,” the doctor replied, half joking.

  “Legs is all he’ll need, Doc,” Sgt. Cooper responded. Speaking directly to Geoff, he continued, “Ok boy, let’s get you processed. Follow me.”

  As Sgt. Cooper marched away, Geoff nodded nervously to David, then followed closely behind. David watched the scared teen turn out of sight, then he turned back to the doctor.

  “Doctor, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to assist in the procedure.”

  “Assist? Sir, you’ll be asleep while I perform the surgery. How is it that you intend to assist?” the doctor asked incredulously.

  “I hope to remain awake through the entire procedure,” David said, grimly.

  “Awake? Impossible. The pain would be intolerable,” Dr. Freeman shot back.

  “I’m well aware of the pain I’d be suffering through, but I believe my chances of infection will be greatly reduced if I assist in the surgery. In fact, I’m certain my recovery time would be reduced to mere days instead of weeks.”

  “Are you a doctor? Do you have experience in medicine?” Dr. Freeman asked, somewhat surprised.

  “Some,” David replied simply.

  -----*-----*-----*-----

  Sounds from humanity echoed through his mind. Lying on his stomach, he heard his name being called as if in a dream state. Parting his eyes slowly, his blurred vision began to focus and he saw two legs dressed in grey wool, standing at the edge of his bed.

  “David,” the familiar voice called out.

  He heard the voice and felt his mind wake from its subconscious state. Sights and sounds that had no meaning, now began to register in his mind.

  “David,” the voice called out once more.

  Rotating his head slightly, David began to examine the uniformed man that towered above him. As his eyes moved higher, he followed the line of buttons that led to the man’s collar. For a split second, he admired the decorative trim that adorned it. Drifting higher to the soldier’s face, he studied it only briefly, then noticed his cap that hung low upon his brow. Returning to the man’s face, he examined it once more.

  “David, it’s me. What do you think?”

  Suddenly, as if a switch were toggled, he recognized the man: Geoff Robbins.

  “You look... awkwardly gray,” he responded in surprise.

  “Ha ha, very funny. I think I look great. It’s only about a size larger than my regular size,” he replied, adjusting his pants slightly.

  “Uh huh,” David replied, simply.

  “So how’d the surgery go? I heard it was painful,” Geoff asked, mildly sympathetic.

  “I think I’ll be fine in a couple of days, but you heard right: it was excruciating.”

  "Sorry to hear it," he responded matter-of-factly. A wily smile spread across his face and he continued. "Guess what today is?"

  "Your sympathy's touching," David shot back sarcastically, then replied to the question. "I'd say your birthday, but you haven't been born yet."

  Geoff thought about David's response. A puzzled look crossed his face. He scratched his head in confusion, then replied, "That doesn't make any sense. Of course I've been born. I'm standing right here."

  "I'm kidding Geoff. It's just a little joke," he teased.

  "I don't get it," Geoff responded, still puzzled.

  "It's ok, just continue. Tell me what day it is."
<
br />   "Today is February fourth... eighteen sixty-four," he replied proudly.

  David thought momentarily about the date, then responded, "Swell."

  Ignoring his response, Geoff replied, "Do you know what this means?

  "Yeah, in ten more days, it'll be Valentine's day," David responded dryly.