Free Desperate (Harris Trilogy Book One) by Teresa Greene

everywhere. Bile rose in her throat and she had to fight to keep it down. Men were crying for their mamas, moaning from all the pain, and the stench of death was in the air. 
    Just when she thought she could bear no more, she saw Adam lying on a litter being brought in. She ran to his side and took his hand. Blood oozed from a wound on his leg. “Adam, can you hear me?” 
    In a weak voice he whispered, “Jake, I need something for pain. He clutched Kate’s sleeve and pulled her close. “Please give me something.” Pale as a sheet from loss of blood, she feared he would pass out.
    She helped Adam sit so she could give him some quinine. “Thanks, Jake, the pain is horrendous, almost more than I can stand.”
    Doctor William s came to look at Adam’s wound. “Private, get me the saw, I will have to amputate his leg.” Kate felt the color leave her face. The thought of Adam losing his leg caused her chest to ache.
    She mustered up her courage. “Can’t you save it, Doctor?”
    C ontempt showed on his face. Waving his bloody hand toward the injured and dying, he snapped, “Do you not see how many injured men we have to see to? There is no time to save limbs, only lives.”
    Perhaps he was correct, but it was Adam, someone she knew. They had become close friends and she could not tolerate the thought of him losing his leg without at least making an attempt to help save it from amputation.
    She ran to Doctor Greene and put her hand on his arm. “Doctor Greene, will you please look at my friend’s leg? Doctor Williams is going to amputate. Please see if you can save it!” She saw the hesitation in Doctor Greene’s eyes. Williams was the senior doctor and Kate knew he did not want to upset protocol. “Please.”
    Doctor Gre ene approached Doctor Williams. “May I have a look before you amputate the young man’s leg, Doctor Williams?”  
    It was obvious the senior doctor was annoyed at being questioned about his diagnosis. However, with the multitude of patients to attend too, he moved aside so that Dr. Greene could examine Adam’s leg. “If you feel the need to question my abilities, Jacob.” Dr. Williams gave Kate a menacing glare before he stepped away from Adam. She ignored his anger. So what if she made an enemy. All that mattered was Adam.
    G rateful he would at least make an attempt to save Adam’s leg she whispered, “Thank you, Doctor Greene.” 
    He pressed his fingers against Adam’s wound making him flinch. “Jake, we are instructed not to spend too much time with each patient. Sometimes we have to amputate, even though the limbs could be saved with time-consuming operations. We are to save as many lives as possible.”   
    “Please try to save his leg.” Kate peered up at him and hope surged through her when his expression softened.
    “I’ll see what I can do.”   
    Kate assisted as best she could with the removal of the piece of metal lodged in Adam’s leg. She swabbed the blood and handed Jacob the instruments he needed for the surgery. She was relieved when she saw Dr. Greene pull the metal ball from Adam’s leg. 
    “ There, now only time will tell. If gangrene doesn’t set in, he will probably get to keep it.  We’ll know in a few hours.” She was so thankful she wanted to throw her arms around him and hug him, but that just might look a little suspicious. She reminded herself men didn’t hug other men.
    Nightfall finally came and Kate was so exhausted she could hardly put o ne foot in front of the other. She looked around at the many injured soldiers still needing medical attention. Dozens had not made it, and died on the operating table. They would remove the body, wash the blood from the table with buckets of water, and lay another injured soldier down. It was endless. 
    The air reeked of vo mit and excrement. Piles of amputated limbs and bodies waited to be buried when someone had time to take on the task. By this time Doctor Williams was pretty drunk because he