Blood Moon by Jana Petken

he was picked up by one of my associates, who very kindly brought him to me. Now Charlie here says he don’t want me to do my job, but I ain’t gonna let this one get caught, not the way every man in uniform is acting – like they want to kill every Northerner and string up every nigger trying to make a run for freedom. I ain’t gonna let him down. He’s just a boy.”
    Mercy said, “How are you planning to get him up to the border? I presume you’re talking about Delaware? You know a lot more about this than I do, but it’s not going to be easy, not with all these hot-headed buffoons running loose. Charlie’s right. I don’t think the Underground Railroad should be running anytime soon, not until all this hoopla dies down.”
    “Listen to you with your American words. I liked you better when you spoke all the time in that peculiar way of yours. Didn’t tell me what to do then neither,” Lina said indignantly.
    Mercy felt Lina’s irate stare. She blushed, lowered her eyes, and squirmed uncomfortably in the chair. She had never been on the receiving end of one of Lina’s tantrums, but when she looked up again, she could see by Charlie’s expression that unless the situation was defused, there would be some sharp words coming. “Lina, do you really want to do this? You know I’ll go with you gladly, but even if you’re familiar with every rock and bush from here to Delaware, it doesn’t change the fact that from here to the border, every rock and bush will be crawling with soldiers who are itching to get into a fight. Please don’t do this.”
    “Child, for your information, I ain’t going all the way to Delaware. I’m no fool, and there ain’t no need for you to get involved. For all I care, you and Charlie can stay here and bake cookies for those Federals that’ll be walking in here any time now, but I’m going, and there ain’t no changin’ my mind.”
    “The captain lost his boat,” Charlie said gruffly to Mercy. “One of the militias took it just as soon as Virginia declared – they say it’s the duty of every Virginian to make sacrifices.” He then told Lina, “The Confederates will hang you as a traitor if they catch you, and no wife of mine is getting strung up. Now, I don’t want to hear no more about this. I figure it’s time we headed back to the cabin. I’ve had enough of war and it ain’t even started yet.”
    “And leave your boardin’ house in the hands of those damn Yankees figuring on comin’ here? ’Cause that’s what’ll happen,” Lina flung at Charlie. “They’ll come in and strip it bare, and you know it.”
    “I don’t give a damn what it ends up like, just so long as it don’t end up as a secret hidin’ place for runaway slaves. I don’t want nothing to do with any of this damn stupidity. I’d rather hunt bears and trap rabbits than see this unholy spectacle unfold. Honey, I promised to protect you until the day I die, and that’s what I aim to do – not to mention I promised Jacob that I would look after Mercy.”
    Lina softened. She held Charlie’s hand, leaned in, and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you Charlie, I surely do, but you have to let me take this boy up. He’ll be the last one, I promise. There’ll be hundreds of niggers making a run for it in the coming weeks or months, but whether they’ll be successful or not is now in the hands of the good Lord, not in mine. So I’m asking you to give me your permission to see this last one through before we head to the cabin – please, Charlie. I aim on goin’ through with this, but I don’t want to go with you all riled up.”
    Mercy sensed Lina’s sadness. All these years of hard work and effort to free slaves would be but memories for her now, she thought, for even Lina must know that to make attempts at any of the borders by land would be far too dangerous in the near future.  “Charlie, if she’s set her mind on this, I’m going with her,” Mercy said. “You know you won’t