Saving Grace: A Novel (Healing Ruby Book 3)

by Jennifer H. Westall

  “I’ll see you soon,” I said.

  Then I hopped into the truck with Henry, and we made the short drive back to Cabcaben.

  ***

  When we arrived, the camp was buzzing with news. Doug came over to me before I’d even climbed out of the truck. “We got orders coming. Rumor has it they’re moving us to the front line.”

  “Is this like the convoy rumors, or is this real?” I asked.

  “I think this is real. We have a meeting at eighteen hundred with Captain Prescott and some other bigwigs.”

  Henry came around the truck and leaned against it. “I reckon it’s about time we got to kill some Japs. I’m tired of sitting on my rear waiting for ’em to come after me.”

  “We’ll need to get word to the girls,” I said.

  “Don’t know if there’s time,” Doug said. “Sounds like they’re moving us out tonight.”

  “Tonight?” I said.

  “Japs broke through the line,” Doug said. “Every division is falling back.”

  I glanced down at my watch. If Doug was right, we only had half an hour before the meeting, and that wasn’t enough time to get word to Ruby. I’d just have to pray that she listened to me and would stay with the nurses.

  ***

  For once, a rumor had proven true, and we were indeed heading to the front line that night. After the initial meeting, Captain Prescott called me into his quarters, where he had a large map stretched across a table. “Lieutenant, you’ve done an excellent job around here. Your battalion has maintained an excellent airstrip, and the barracks project was completed ahead of schedule, despite many of the men being weakened and ill.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I said.

  He pointed to the map. “As I stated earlier, we’re being called to the front line, right here.” I took a closer look as he continued. “Now, this spot between a division of Filipino Scouts and the 57th Infantry has been held up to this point by an entire division. The Nips overran them, and it’s our job to push them back.”

  An entire division was overrun? “Sir, with all the illness in our ranks, you realize we’re only at about a hundred men. And many of them are not infantry. Does Headquarters know this?”

  He frowned, the lines in his face deepening. “Yes. They know.”

  “With all due respect, I understand the logic of sending us in there. I mean, I’m all for facing the enemy. I’m not afraid to fight. I just don’t understand how this is a winnable situation.”

  “Winning isn’t the objective anymore, Lieutenant.”

  “Then what is?”

  “Survival. We hold off the Japs long enough for the rest to retreat to Corregidor.”

  “I see.” So the mission was doomed. But if the plan was a retreat to Corregidor, then that meant Ruby would be moved there too. And if I could play a small part in making that possible, even if it meant certain death, then I would face it. “What can I do to help, sir?”

  He walked around the table and handed me a piece of paper. “You’re being promoted to Captain. I’ve been promoted to Major. I’ll be coordinating with the other divisions, the Scouts and the 57th, as we arrive. Your job is to move this ragtag group through the jungle and fill the gap. Then kill as many Nips as you lay your eyes on.”

  Ruby

  April 8, 1942

  Days passed, and Matthew and Henry had disappeared. Janine and I visited our meeting place a few times, but we could hear the sounds of small arms fighting drawing closer, and eventually decided it was too dangerous to venture away from camp. I prayed Matthew and Henry were safe, but a gnawing feeling in my gut told me they were in danger. But what could I do? So I prayed nearly every moment of every day. I even carried Daddy’s Bible with me to my ward.

  I had plenty to keep me busy. Over the week following the bombing, soldiers came pouring into the hospital, wide-eyed and full of horrific stories. The Japanese were overrunning our lines, slaughtering thousands. First a few, and then by the dozen, men would wander through the hospital, emerging from the jungle in a daze. Many of them had gotten separated from their units and had no idea where they were. Some continued on their way after a meal, but many were so ill or wounded, they wound up in a bed in the latest ward. I found myself ministering as much to their spirits as I did to their broken bodies. Sometimes, I was able to read from Daddy’s Bible out loud. This, more than anything else, seemed to bring a small measure of comfort.

  Dread filled the entire staff. At mess, Janine and I tried not to talk about it because we were so afraid for our husbands, but the nurses around us couldn’t seem to help it. The Japanese were closing in fast, and imaginations ran wild with the possible tortures that might be on the horizon. About a week after the bombing, we were sitting at a table finishing our pitiful rations of rice and tomatoes when Natalie seemed to lose it.

  “What if they execute all of us?” she asked, panic rising in her voice. “Or worse?”

  “If they do, I can only hope it’s quick,” Roberta said. “After that business in Nanking—”

  “Roberta!” Janine shouted. “Now isn’t the time to frighten everyone.”

  Roberta shrugged and went back to eating. Gail Downing, one of the higher-ranking nurses, came running across the clearing toward us and waved another group of nurses to come near. We all crowded around as she caught her breath.

  “We just got orders to evacuate to Corregidor. They’re moving all the nurses out in less than an hour!”

  “What?”

  “No!”

  “We can’t leave now!”

  The grumbling erupted, with almost everyone objecting to the move. “What about our patients?” Roberta asked. “We can’t just leave them.”

  Gail quieted everyone down. “Mrs. Fincher is meeting with Colonel Lansing right now. He said they don’t want any women in the camp when the Japs come through. I overheard her arguing with him. Apparently, the orders are for all military nurses to be evacuated, and only the military nurses.”

  My heart pounded. As a civilian, I would be left behind. Where would I go? I glanced at Janine, who furrowed her brow. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you here,” she said, as if she could read my mind.

  Gail shushed everyone again. “No, listen. Mrs. Fincher flew into a hot rage and told Colonel Lansing he had to evacuate all her nurses—American, Filipino, and civilians. He said he couldn’t ’cause his orders were only for the military nurses. But then she said, ‘If you don’t evacuate all of the nurses, then I won’t go!’”

  The murmurings started up again, with most of the nurses agreeing with Mrs. Fincher. I was relieved to know my comrades weren’t so eager to ditch me.

  “Well, I won’t go,” one of the nurses called out. “I mean, can they make us go?”

  “That’s right,” called another. “We took a pledge, and I don’t intend to abandon my patients.”

  “And what about the doctors and medics? If they have to stay here and face the enemy, then so should we.”

  I glanced over at Natalie, who sat hunched in her seat. Clearly she was unnerved by all this talk of staying. “Don’t we have to obey orders?” she asked no one in particular.

  “Hush!” Gail said. “Mrs. Fincher’s coming this way. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  Mrs. Fincher marched across the clearing like she was ready to take on the Japs herself. I figured Colonel Lansing got an earful of what she thought about his orders. She stopped at our gathering and surveyed everyone.

  “Well, I suppose you’ve heard the news. But just to make it official, we are being evacuated to Corregidor tonight. You will have less than an hour to gather your belongings. As of right now, the order is for military personnel only, but I guarantee that will change to include all of you nurses shortly. So, go ahead and gather your things as well. Everyone will report to the surgical building to be loaded onto buses and trucks, and we will then make our way to Mariveles to catch a boat across the bay. Ladies, the situation on Bataan is grave. Do not delay.”
/>   Many of the girls jumped up and hurried off toward their quarters. Some stayed behind to plead their case to stay with their patients. But Mrs. Fincher would hear none of it. She shooed everyone off to gather their belongings. I approached her with a certain amount of trepidation.

  “Mrs. Fincher, thank you for standing up for the civilian nurses—”

  “Grace, that’s all fine and dandy for later. For now, get moving. I’ll send final word of the decision for the Filipinos and civilians.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I took off for my quarters wondering what I would do if Headquarters refused her. As tough as she was, this was the military, and you couldn’t just go around defying orders.

  ***

  The nurses’ quarters were ablaze with activity. Many of the nurses were crying as they rushed to pack, worrying over their patients and who would care for them. None of us had much in the way of belongings, especially those whose suitcases had gone down with the Mc E. Hyde on Christmas. But over the months on Bataan, Mrs. Fincher had worked tirelessly to get us the more feminine supplies necessary to keep our spirits up. It was amazing how precious bobby pins and bit of makeup had become, but those small items kept us from feeling completely cutoff from the world. Sally Carpenter hadn’t been at the mess area with us, so she was only now being told the news. She had just come back from bathing in the river, and her hair was still in curlers as she struggled to get ready.

  It didn’t take me long to finish since, even with my salvaged suitcase, I had so little to my name. Having recently washed my undergarments and a dress, I pulled the still damp clothes from the line and threw them into my suitcase along with Daddy’s Bible. Then I stood and looked at my bed with a sudden inexplicable sadness. This tiny little corner of the jungle had been my home for over three months, the place where I’d married Matthew, and where I’d buried Joseph. A piece of me would always remain here.

  But there was no time to ponder my thoughts, so I grabbed my suitcase and found Janine. “I’m heading over to my ward to check on a few fellas one last time. I want to make sure the medics and doctors know what’s going on with the most critical cases.”

  “I should do that too,” she said.

  Several others agreed, and we all took our bags and ran for the hospital. I was out of breath by the time I reached the ward I’d been assigned all week. It wasn’t too far from the nurses’ quarters, but it was a good distance from the surgical building. I’d been handling mostly the medical cases, those with various illnesses and some with shell shock. But of course, many had multiple issues. Illness on top of injury. I walked through the rows of beds, checking temperatures and dressings. Some needed changing, so I worked quickly to dress the wounds with fresh gauze.

  For most, I simply prayed over them and said goodbye. I did my best to stay strong, but looking into the eyes of the men who had suffered so much already and were terrified at what lay ahead, sent waves of guilt through me. Why should I get the chance to escape, when they would not? How many of them would be dead within days? Maybe hours?

  I called over a medic named George. He was good with the patients, kind and gentle. He hurried over and looked at me with surprise. “Grace, you should get going. You’ll miss the bus!”

  “I just want to make sure you know—”

  “I’ll take care of them, I promise. But you have to get moving. Don’t worry about these guys. They’re tough.”

  I took a moment to meet the gaze of each patient nearby, not one of them seeming in the least bit resentful. “Go on, Grace,” Harold called. “You get to safety. We can handle a few Nips.”

  The others nodded. “Hurry on, now. We’ll be all right.”

  “I love all of you,” I said through my tears. “I’m so sorry.”

  George put a hand on my shoulder. “You girls have been as brave and strong as any soldier out here. It’s been an honor to serve with you.”

  I hugged him and waved goodbye to the others. Then I picked up my suitcase and ran for the surgical building. As I got closer, I realized I was the only woman still in the camp. A few of the men encouraged me to hurry ’cause the bus and trucks were already pulling out. I rounded the dental clinic and ran along the path toward the main road.

  Dust kicked up in the air as the bus pulled forward. I ran as hard as I could, waving my hand in the air and yelling for the bus to stop. It kept moving, picking up speed. As I neared the bus, I saw a face turn to look at me out of a window. It was Natalie. She made eye contact with me, and I hollered for the bus to stop. But then she turned her face forward and sunk low in her seat. The bus continued on without stopping.

  I couldn’t keep up, nearly collapsing as I watched it head along the main road for Mariveles. Could I catch another ride? Should I walk? How many kilometers was it? I caught my breath for a moment, then turned back to camp. In the distance, gunfire erupted, and something exploded. Something akin to fireworks shot into the air in the distance back toward Cabcaben.

  Mrs. Fincher had said the situation was grave. She was right. And I had no idea what to do next except to pray for mercy.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Matthew

  April 8, 1942

  The heat and humidity nearly suffocated me as I climbed the final few feet to a ridge overlooking a small creek that snaked through the jungle. I dropped to one knee and held onto a vine for support while I caught my breath, keeping my eyes peeled for Japanese patrols. Henry and Doug climbed up beside me. Henry fell onto his back and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He gave one to Doug, and then lit them both. Within minutes, the rest of our unit made it to the top, and they all took a seat along the ridge.

  Our scant group of one hundred had been reduced to fifteen over the course of the week. We’d held our position at the front for nearly eighteen hours—less than a day—before the Japanese scattered us like flies. I had no idea how many of my men were dead, injured, or lost. My first week as a captain, and I was a miserable failure.

  “Where are we?” Doug asked.

  “I’m pretty sure we’re somewhere in the Bataan jungle,” I said. “Beyond that, it’s just a guess.”

  Henry chuckled. “That’s encouraging.”

  In the chaos of getting separated from our unit, I tried to form a decent strategy. It seemed like moving south was the best idea, toward the bay. We’d run into other stragglers from various units, some had stuck with us, some had continued wandering through the jungle like ghostly skeletons. My own body was wasting away to nothing. I’d had to cut several notches in my belt to hold up my pants, and my shirt hung on me like like it was three sizes too large. What I wouldn’t give for a hot shower and a steak.

  “Our best bet is to continue south and get to Headquarters,” I said. “Hopefully we can regroup with other units there.”

  I waited for the men to finish their smokes, then stood to try to rally them into making a few more kilometers. But a hail of gunfire shattered the air, and bullets whizzed past my head. My training kicked in and I dropped to my stomach. “Hit the deck!” I yelled.

  “They’re behind us!” Henry pointed down the slope we’d just climbed.

  Men ran through the vines and trees near the bottom, stopping to fire up at us. We were exposed and needed to take cover. I started to order the men to the other side of the hill, but I saw movement there as well. The Japs were trying to surround us. “Let’s move!” I yelled again.

  Pushing myself up, I ran along the south side of the ridge, having seen fewer Japs on that side. Bullets streaked past, splintering the trees and leaves around me. The ridge curved around to the right and descended toward the creek. I stumbled and rolled down the hill before regaining my footing. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw to my horror that the men were still in pursuit: ducking and tumbling down the hill.

  Toward the bottom, I noticed a fence made out of bamboo, and I dove behind it. My men landed all around me, and we crawled along the ground behind the fence. I could hear the Japs shouting to our right and to our left.
It occurred to me that bamboo would be very poor protection from bullets, so I signaled to Henry to keep moving, and pressed on toward the creek.

  The fence ended once I reached the water. I took a quick look around and didn’t see any Japanese soldiers, so I signaled for the rest to follow me, and jumped into the shallow creek. I ran as low to the ground as I could, trying to keep my head lower than the bank on either side. We followed the creek until there was no more shouting or gunfire. Only then did we crawl out onto dry ground.

  I waited for the men to catch up and took a head count. Fourteen. “Who are we missing?” I asked.

  “Henderson,” Doug said, panting. He shook his head. “He didn’t make it.”

  I noticed Doug’s shirt was ripped at the shoulder, blood seeping into it. “You hit?”

  He shrugged. “Just a bit.”

  “Anyone else hurt?” I asked the group.

  There were gashes and bruises, and another fella with a bullet hole through his forearm. All in all, we were still in decent shape. Except for Henderson.

  “Let’s put a little more distance between us and that Jap patrol,” I said. “If we get separated, just keep moving south until you get to the coastal road. That will take us into Mariveles. We can regroup and get orders there.”

  Barely speaking, we walked another hour south until we finally found a small road. It seemed to be heading in the right direction, so we stayed on it for another hour or so. By then it was late afternoon, and most of us hadn’t slept for nearly two days. I wondered just how long I could keep moving, but knew, as Captain, the men were looking to me for leadership. I could not stop.

  “Look,” Henry said from beside me. It occurred to me then just how well he was doing keeping up with our enforced march, considering his leg had barely finished healing. He pointed ahead of us to a charred truck on the side of the road.

  I hurried over to inspect it. Very little remained unburned. “Must have taken a mortar bomb,” I said.