Chapter 20: Death Ain't Picky

In this chapter, Tak learns the cold lesson of war that this very chapter was named for. As you may have guessed, someone dies. But who? Read on to find out. Please review, as I would like the opinions of my readers on this chapter.

Dib and Tak sat under a large tree near the cemetery, resting from their day's adventure. Dib munched on a piece of the hardtack, and a piece of salted pork a passing soldier had given them. The salty, tough bacon and the hard, flavorless bread were far from a gourmet meal, but Dib ate hungrily. When you're starving, food is food after all. Tak sat next to Dib, leaned against the thick truck of the tree.

"I wonder how General Buford is." Dib said between bites.

"I'm sure he's fine." Tak replied. "He was sent to guard the rear, I think. He probably didn't see any action today. Even if he did, he's probably still alive. I think it would take a lot to kill a man like him."

"Yeah." Dib replied. He sighed. "I don't think it matters much." Tak looked at him questioningly.

"What?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter how brave you are, how good of a soldier you are, you know. You can die anyway." Tak looked at the ground, and then gazed out at the old cemetery.

"I know." She whispered. "Like Reynolds."

"It makes you think about how close we came to dying today." Dib said.

"But we didn't." Tak replied. "We're alive for now. Maybe that's all that matters."

"Yeah." The boy whispered. He bit off another piece of the salty pork and chewed on it. He felt a kiss on his right cheek. He swallowed and turned to Tak, who was leaned in closer.

"Tak…" He said. She smiled and looked away. She thought about how war makes people grow up fast. Dib had changed a good deal since they had first arrived in this time. He had grown alot. He was still intelligent and witty, but he was also more mature, and more solemn. And Tak couldn't deny that she thought he was kind of cute. She felt him grasp her hand in his.

"I just want to say that…you know…I think you're…amazing." Dib said shyly. Tak smiled again at him. "And the whole time I was running down that hill toward the enemy, I was…well, I was thinking about you."

"You crossed my mind a couple times too, Dib." Tak confessed. He blushed and chuckled bashfully.

"You know, you're way too bashful, Dib." Tak said. "Most men would have kissed a girl by now."

"You…want me to?" Dib asked.

"Sure." Tak replied. Dib and Tak leaned in, and Dib touched his lips to Tak's. He suddenly felt warm, and he tingled all over. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, then pulled back. He looked into Tak's eyes. She smiled sweetly.

"That wasn't so bad." Tak whispered.

"No." Dib whispered back. "Does this mean we're…you know?"

"I could've done worse." Tak grinned. She looked around. "Hey Dib, I remembered that I promised someone I'd visit him in the field hospital. You want to come?"

"Sure." Dib nodded. He stretched and stood up. He and Tak held each other's hands as the ventured toward the row of large canvass tents a short distance away.

By the time they were within a hundred feet of the hospital tents, they were already beginning to feel the sickness and fear of battle again. What looked like a pile of firewood outside the tents from a distance upon closer inspection, turned out to be a mound of human limbs. Legs, arms and feet were heaped into a mass of human flesh and blood in the open air.

"Oh…" Dib groaned as they walked past one of the tents. Moans came from the structure, and the ground in and around the tent was red with blood. An army doctor, his blood soaked sleeves rolled up, his apron dyed red with the gore, walked out of the tent, his face full of despair and gloom, and sighed, taking a few breaths of fresh air before turning back to his grizzly work. Men were laying about everywhere, or sitting against trees and fences, their wounds awaiting treatment. Some of the soldiers looked up at Dib and Tak pitifully as they passed. They squeezed each other's hands tighter and walked on. Up ahead, four men climbed out of a large hole carrying shovels. Dib and Tak moved aside as several men passed, carrying blood-stained pieces of canvass, obviously wrapped around a human form. Several passed carrying dead soldiers by their pant legs and arms. They rolled them down into the pit haphazardly.

"God, Tak." Dib choked.

"I know." She whispered. An orderly passed, wearing the green stripe on his sleeves of a medical soldier. "Sir?" Tak called. The man stopped. "Sir, I'm looking for a man. He was brought here earlier. Sergeant Wood was his name."

"I don't know." The man said. He looked around a moment. "Ask that captain over there. He's the officer that takes the names of the casualties…if he can…" With that, he turned and walked off. The two approached the Captain, who also wore the green stripe on his sleeves.

"Captain sir?" Tak greeted. The man looked down grimly. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. He was brought here earlier." The man sighed.

"What was his name?" The captain asked unemotionally.

"Sergeant Wood of the 86th New York." Tak replied. The man looked down at the small bunch of papers in his hands. He shuffled through them.

"Hmm…86th New York…hnn…Wood. Ah yes. Here he is."

"Where is he?" Tak asked anxiously. The man looked around.

"I do believe he is in or near that tent over there." The captain gestured. "At least I believe so. It's hard to keep track."

"Yes sir." Tak said. She took Dib by the hand again, and they walked toward the tent. The front of the large canvass shelter was open, so they stepped inside. The smell of blood was strong in the air inside. It looked and smelled like a butcher shop. There were several cots inside, each occupied by a hurt man, and four were laying on the dirt floor. Two surgeons was all there was to attend to the many poor patients. One of them looked up and saw Dib and Tak.

"You kids shouldn't be here." He said gravely.

"I'm looking for Sergeant Wood." Tak explained. "Do you know where he is?" The doctor looked down sadly, and motioned for them to come further into the makeshift hospital.

"He's over there…on that cot, miss." The doctor said lowly. Tak made her way to the crude bed. She held a hand to her mouth, and resisted the urge to cry. Sergeant Wood lay on his back, the canvass he lay upon was stained red by blood, either his or other patients who had been treated before him. His arm and his leg were both missing, the stumps bandaged with gauze through which blood still oozed.

"Sergeant…Wood?" Tak asked in a whisper. Dib stood behind her and gently held her shoulders comfortingly. The man slowly opened his eyes and looked toward Tak.

"Young…young lady…" He whispered weakly. "You came to…to visit me."

"I promised I would." She said compassionately.

"That you did." He said with a feeble smile. "But I do not think we will be…dining together in…ah…in my house…I'm afraid."

"No…" Tak said. "You're going to get well. And you'll go back to Buffalo a hero. And…"

"I'm sorry." Wood whispered. Tak's eyes filled with tears. "Don't cry now." He said, mustering his strength a little. "Don't cry for old soldiers, or you'll cry the oceans full."

"It's not fair." Tak whined. "You're a good man. It's not right!"

"Maybe it isn't." Wood said. "But that's…that's just the way it is. Death ain't too picky about who he takes. The good lord calls the rich…the poor, the good and the…bad…when it's their time. I guess it's my time."

"Can I do anything for you?" Tak asked sadly.

"In my pocket…" Wood replied, his voice getting weaker, "in my coat, there's a photograph of me with my family…and my watch. Will you…please…make sure that my family gets them?" He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I will." Tak said. "I promise you, I will."

"Thank you." He muttered. "Take care of yourself, young…lady."

"I will." Tak whispered, placing her hands on Wood's remaining hand. "Rest now. You'll be well soon."

"So'll we all." Wood whispered very lowly. "In heaven." He took a breath, and then went silent. Tak sobbed silently, and Dib held her in his arms.

"I'm sorry, Tak." He said. "I'm so sorry." Tak sniffled and turned back to the cot. She picked up Woods' jacket, and reached into the pocket. She pulled out a silver pocket watch and a small photograph. She looked at the picture. Wood was in the center, wearing a clean, new uniform. Beside him was a woman in a white dress, and in front were two children, a boy about four, and a girl of about 14. Tak held the items to her chest, and tears ran from her eyes. She realized that Wood had probably seen some of his daughter in her, and that is why he had treated her so kindly. She turned back to Dib.

"Let's go." She said sorrowfully.

They stepped out of the medical tent, and Tak put the watch and the photo in her pocket with the handkerchief she had taken from Reynolds. They held hands again as they walked toward Hancock's headquarters. There was nothing left to do but to see if the General needed them for anything. They walked in silence in the gathering darkness. The distant sound of cannons was slackening, and they knew that the night would end all hostilities for the day. They also knew that it was likely that they would resume again tomorrow that the two would end up in the death and mayhem of war again. But for now, they could enjoy the moment that as Tak had said 'was all that mattered'.

Ahead on a small rise on the ridge was Hancock. He stood alone, gazing out across the field with his arms behind him as if in thought. Tak and Dib looked at each other, and approached the commander .

"General…Hancock, sir?" Dib asked. Hancock turned. He nodded politely.

"Hello." He greeted. "I was just engrossed in thought."

"About what, general?" Tak asked. Hancock sighed and took off his hat. He looked around, as if to see if any other soldiers were near, then knelt down to place himself at the same height as his two young orderlies.

"When this war started, everyone thought it would be over in a couple months." Hancock said. "Now it's been a couple years, and the price of it keeps getting higher and higher. How much longer can it go on like this?"

"Until we defeat the rebels, I guess." Tak said. Hancock scoffed.

"Yes, and they believe I'm sure that the war will continue until they defeat the Union. So then what? Will we be left with but one man of each side finally killing each other? They say that children are far more innocent than their elders. What is it that you two believe?"

"That it is all terrible…" Dib muttered. "But it has to happen anyway." Tak nodded.

"Isn't that the great irony?" Hancock asked. "And it gets worse. What if the two of you found yourselves, by your own desire to fight for what you believed was right, facing each other on the field?"

"You know someone on the other side…someone you're really close to, don't you general, sir?" Tak asked sympathetically.

"Yes." Hancock affirmed. "Right over there, in fact." He pointed to a spot in the trees across the field. "I saw the colors earlier as General Pickett's division arrived. Right over there, not a mile away is my old friend Lo Armistead." Tak repeated the name silently. She remembered where she had heard it before. Reynolds had mentioned his name.

"General Reynolds said something about Armistead." Tak said. "Yesterday before…" She looked down, and so did Hancock.

"Reynolds, Armistead and I were close." Hancock said. "We came up in the ranks together…God. Lo and I were almost like family. John Reynolds too. Now John is dead, and here Lo and I are, looking at each other across a field, commanding parts of two warring armies." He sighed and let his head fall in sadness. Tak reached into her pocket, and pulled out the embroidered handkerchief. She handed it to Hancock. The general looked up at the handkerchief and then to Tak.

"How…" He asked, taking the square piece of fabric and feeling it gently.

"Yesterday." Tak explained. "I took it…so I could have something to remember General Reynolds by. I thought…you know…you should have it, sir." Hancock smiled.

"Thank you." He said. He cleared his throat and stood. "You two never cease to amaze me."

"It's nothing, general." Tak said. "Do you need us for anything?"

"I don't think anything else will happen this evening." General Hancock replied. "If you want to accompany me to headquarters, I'll make sure you two get some hot food and a warm place to sleep. The idea of a good hot meal sounded good to Dib.

"That would be great sir." Dib said.

"Come on then." The general said, motioning to them. "Let's retire for the evening."