A Chance for Charity (The Immortal Ones) (17 page)

‘
You have a touch of the
devil in you I fear,’ she sputtered through lungs heavy with
infection.

‘
Why Martha, how could you
think such a thing. It was obviously much less of an injury than we
thought,’ I reassured the old woman. I couldn’t help but disagree
with her assessment. I leaned away from the satanic and toward the
magical.

‘
My own grandmother told me
stories of Salem. Her mother was there when they sentenced those
witches to death. Do you remember the trials?’ she asked, her eyes
grew wider as the old memories of her grandmother’s tales filled
her head.

‘
That was over one hundred
fifty years ago Martha. There are no witches, now or were there
then,’ I patted her hand, in hopes of settling the old woman
down.

‘
You keep your evil away
from me. I want to see the Lord when I die. The devil is in you! I
won’t have you block my way to the gates of heaven,’ Martha
shrieked and gave way to a fit of coughing, so violent that a tinge
of red spread across her handkerchief. Moments later, all traces of
life departed from her old, weakened body.” James grimaced at the
memory.

“
I left the hospital that
week and made arrangements to practice medicine in Bridgeport,
Connecticut. It was a growing city that could use my skills and I
could use an escape from the worried and confused looks from my
colleagues and from the patients as well.

“
I became a personal doctor
for many of the upper-class Bridgeport families, attending to my
clients mainly in their homes. I also opened an office, and
attended to those who could not afford medical care. This was a
risky move on my part. The rich can see charity as both positive
and negative. While one family can boast that their doctor helps
unfortunate souls, another family will refuse to be seen by a man
who takes care of the poor. It might tarnish their polished image.
But I took the risk because I became a doctor to help all people,
not just the ones with money.

“
In March of Eighteen
Hundred Sixty I went to City Hall to hear a speech given by Senator
Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was making his way around Connecticut
giving various speeches in favor of the Republican Party. He was a
staunch believer in the abolition of slavery. Being the son of a
professor and a teacher from Massachusetts, slaves were not
something I had first-hand experience with. I was very interested
in hearing his opinions.

“
Lincoln spoke in the
largest room that the city had to offer and people poured into the
streets when no empty seats could be found. At the conclusion of
his speech, we rose swiftly to our feet and clapped with an excited
frenzy. Lincoln had such a way of rousing the crowds. I understood
his disdain for slavery and agreed that it must be brought to an
end. When Lincoln ran for president later that year I was proud to
cast my vote in favor of him. His victory was rejoiced.” James
paused.

“
Did you get to meet him?”
Link asked.

“
I was able to shake his
hand, but no formal introductions were made,” he answered, and then
continued again. “With the presidential victory came the Secession
of the south and war was quick to follow. I felt it was my duty to
offer my skills to the Army Surgeons and was immediately thrust
into action as a Field Surgeon. The year was Eighteen Hundred
Sixty-One, I was forty-one that year but my face did not match my
age. I had barely noticed at the time, but my body had stopped
aging probably ten years prior.

“
Field Surgery work was not
for those with a weak disposition. It takes a strong man, or a
foolishly cocky one, to saw off another man’s leg. The stench of
earth and blood, mixed to a paste at your feet, rises up to assault
you as you stand in front of the operating table. There are ten
more men waiting in line and a pile of limbs already in the corner
of the tent. Then you must watch and hope that the remainder of the
limb does not become diseased and poison the body,” James stopped
for a moment as he noticed a visible shudder run through both Link
and me. I couldn’t imagine having to saw off another person’s
limb.

“
It was during my first
year as a Field Surgeon that I finally came to understand my gift.
That is what I think of my immortality now. It is a gift, not a
curse. I was at the Battle of Bull Run, in July of Eighteen Hundred
Sixty-One. As I came to the aid of a fallen soldier, I felt
something strike my upper arm. I looked around to see what had hit
me and noticed a tear in my jacket. Upon removing the jacket, I
noticed a bullet wound. The projectile had passed right through my
flesh and a single drop of my blood dripped from my arm.

“
There was no pain. My arm
felt as if a harmless bee had stung it. It had immediately stopped
bleeding. The solitary drop of blood, that had exited my wound,
fell onto the face of the soldier I was attending to. My blood
entered a small cut on the soldier’s face, and I watched in
amazement as the cut closed up and healed within seconds. A thin,
faint scar was all that remained. My body could heal itself and my
blood could heal others.”

“
So that is when you first
knew,” Link said - finally getting an answer to his earlier
question.

“
Yes that is when I
realized I could do so much more to help those boys, than I was
able to before,” James answered. “I experimented on other soldiers
when I was positive I was alone and the soldier was not fully aware
of his surroundings. I knew there could be no witnesses to
my
talent
.

“
I would cut my wrist and
let my blood fall into a soldier’s wound and it would heal as if by
magic. My body will allow only a small amount of my blood to
escape, because it is too quick to heal itself. That meant that I
could only instantly heal the smaller wounds a soldier had. The
larger ones required my medical training and a fair amount of
luck.

“
I lived and worked as a
field surgeon for two years. The Siege of Vicksburg marked the exit
of my military career,” James said as Catherine walked in the room,
home from the shop.

“
Sit darling, I’m just
getting to the good part,” James smiled.

“
So, we are giving Link a
history lesson today,” she surmised.

“
I healed a cut on his
hand. He had questions,” James said. Catherine gave a knowing
nod.

“
Well, continue with the
good part,” she said, pulling a chair over to James. She always sat
by his side.

“
Vicksburg, Mississippi is
located right on the Mississippi River. The Union wanted command of
the river as it would greatly benefit their campaign against the
Confederate Army. The town of Vicksburg got caught in the middle.
With the river on one side and troops embattled in the surrounding
areas, the townspeople were trapped in a military battle that
lasted for weeks on end.

“
The Union gunboats lobbed
tens of thousands of shells into the town, and the armies
surrounding it had even greater concentrations of their own
firepower. The town’s people were under siege just as sure as the
members of the Confederate Army were. Though miraculously, only
about a dozen of its citizens were killed in all that time. To keep
themselves safe during the battles they dug shelters into the
hillsides surrounding the town. They would bring small comforts
from home to try to make their cave dwellings as comfortable as
possible. Hundreds of these caves were carved into the
hills.

“‘
Prairie Dog Village,’
became the un-official name of the town, bestowed upon it by the
Union Soldiers. It was into one of these prairie dog caves that I
was smuggled, by a young woman who was deeply concerned about an
injured friend’s wound. It was not healing the way it should.”
James looked at Catherine, love ever-present in his
gaze.

“
This brave young woman,”
he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, “had somehow made it
through the lines, in search of an Army Surgeon’s tent. Many of the
Confederate troops were becoming diseased and malnourished since
the Union troops had cut off their supplies. She’d hoped a Union
Surgeon might be in a better position to help her.

“
It was the last week in
June, a Monday. I was in my tent and it was nearing five o’clock in
the morning when I was startled by a rustling outside. I opened the
flap of my tent and noticed a figure crouched in the distance. I
peered into the shadows and was able to discern a female
silhouette. I went out to meet her without fear. Somehow compelled
to find out what she wanted. She stood up, without trepidation as I
neared, and held out her hand in introduction.”

Catherine sat quietly, letting James tell
the story of the first time that they laid eyes on each other.

“‘
Hello,’ she simply said,
‘my name is Catherine. My friend is in desperate need of a doctor
and I’m afraid if one doesn’t come to her soon she may succumb to
her injuries. Will you be so kind as to help her?’

“
My compliance to her
request was out of my control. I followed her immediately, without
further question, without doubt of her sincerity. She led me to the
cave where she had been residing with her friend. The old woman had
been cutting wood, days before it seemed from the condition of the
wound, and had been startled by incoming shells. She sliced into
her leg and the wound was now beginning to fester. Her fever was
high and I could tell that disease would soon take over if the leg
wasn’t removed.

‘
The leg has to come off.
I’m sorry,’ I said to Catherine. ‘Would she want that?’ I
asked.

“
Catherine whispered into
the old woman’s ear, explaining the situation, soothing her. She
turned to me after a few moments and said, ‘No, she wishes to end
her time now. She feels she is too old to start over without the
use of both legs.’

“
I replied, ‘I could try
something else. It may help a little but I’m not sure. Perhaps you
should leave for a moment. I’m going to cut out some of the
infection and see if a medicine I have will heal the wound. It
won’t be a pretty sight.’ I urged her to go outside the cave and
she did without further question.

“
I had brought my small
medicine case with me and quickly gave the old woman a dose of
ether. When she was unconscious I cut a chunk of her infected flesh
from the wound and then turned the knife on myself. I cut into my
wrist and as the few bright red beads of my blood escaped I
directed them so they would fall around the edges of the wound. But
my blood stopped quickly and I knew I would have to make another
cut. I held the knife to my arm again and was halted by sight of
Catherine.

“
She was standing in front
of the cave. Her eyes held no fear, only curiosity.
That
, I admit, was a bit
unnerving. She stepped forward and held out her hand for the knife.
I placed it into her open palm, accepting defeat, expecting to soon
hear the cries for help. But instead was shocked to see her cut
into her own arm and replicate my movements, letting her blood
trickle out and down, directing it to the edges of the old woman’s
wound. Then to my utter amazement, Catherine held out her arm for
my inspection, so I could observe her unmarked skin. It was then
that I knew I had found another, someone who was just like
me.

‘
How long have you known
that your blood could heal?’ I asked her.

‘
That is the first time
I’ve ever tried,’ she softly answered. ‘I watched you, saw your
body heal itself. My body also heals itself. But I have never tried
to heal another. That is truly amazing. I can do something
amazing,’ she smiled at the realization.

‘
It is a gift,’ I said to
you,” James turned to face Catherine, squeezing her
hand.

“
Finding another soul like
me, that was my gift,” Catherine smiled at James.

“
I grabbed you, brought you
into my arms, and held onto you tightly. You returned my embrace
and relief washed over both of us. The comfort of knowing we were
no longer alone was almost overwhelming,” James turned back to Link
and continued on.

“
I was overjoyed to have
found this beautiful creature. She was meant for me, I was sure of
it. I begged her to leave with me but she insisted that she stay,
to care for her friend. I wrapped up the old woman’s leg and prayed
for the best, hoping that our blood had at least fought back the
infection. Catherine and I said our goodbyes and promised to meet
up again soon. In the early dawn I scrambled back to my tent,
hating that she was not by my side.”

“
It was just as hard for me
to watch you leave,” Catherine said to James. “But I really did
feel the need to stay with my friend. She had been through so
much.”

“
A few days later, the
Union declared victory as the Confederates surrendered. I knew that
I would also be surrendering as well. My need to be rejoined with
Catherine was greater than anything I had previously experienced. I
disappeared the day after the surrender was made formal. I fled
north to Chicago, no longer on my own, my beautiful Catherine was
right there with me. I knew that Catherine had been right the night
we had met, finding each other
was
a true gift.”

“
I’m always right,”
Catherine teased.