Part Four
The Long Dark Night
The saloon was full but the mood was far from lively.
Like the rest of
"Somehow, we've got to get through this
blockade." Buck Wilmington declared as the six sat around the table
conferring their position as if it were a council of war. "If Vin's right,
we don't have a lot of time and we won't have a chance when they decide to ride
in here."
"That's easier said that done, Buck." J.D.
retorted, still smarting from the humiliating encounter with that Quint woman, not to mention he wanted to hurt someone for
the near violation of
"Well we gotta do
something." Buck said apprehensive, glancing at Inez who was working
behind the bar even as they spoke. He could see the slight swell of her stomach
through her dress and knew that curve was actually his child growing inside
her, relying on him to keep it and its mother safe. Buck had no intention of
failing either of them. If he could not protect her now, how was he ever going
to prove to her that he could be a husband to her?
"According to your own observations," Ezra
spoke up. "These villains are well supplied and informed. The lady who
delivered this charming bruise," he referred to the discoloration on his
cheek bone where Selena had hit him that had developed into a formidable
shiner. "Knew exactly who we were during our unfortunate encounter. She
also knew that we would take the most obscure path out of town and had it
guarded accordingly. As much as I may dislike to admit it, I think she has done
her homework in evaluating us all and I believe is quite prepared to keep us
penned in indefinitely."
"Well there are ways out of
The people of
"I don't know whether it's a good idea for you to
go off on your own Vin," Josiah regarded the tracker knowing precisely
what the younger man was alluding to with that suggestion. Vin had a tendency
to go off on his own when he believed he was right. While it was an admirable
quality at times, there were instances when he had almost gotten himself
killed. "With Chris down for the count and Nathan needed with the injured,
this ain't exactly the time to divide our forces. We don't know for sure that a
massacre is what these mercenaries have in mind or whether or not they're going
to wait a few days to make their run on us. Whatever they plan to do, we're
going need you here."
"I know," Vin frowned unhappily before
draining his glass and slamming it hard on the table. "I just hate waiting
around here for them to come get us."
"We're not waiting around," Buck replied
lending support to Josiah's demand that Vin stay put since he too was aware of
Vin's predilections to getting things done when he was determined enough.
"We're keeping those we care about safe."
Once again, Buck fought the urge to look at Inez. For
the first time, he had some idea of the anxieties that Chris used to have for
his family during those nights when he had to leave Sarah and Adam for a trip
out of town. Buck had always considered those occasions a chance for him and
Chris cut loose, never understanding what secret fears Chris kept inside of him
until that awful night when all his nightmares came to pass in a blaze of fire.
"Maybe Vin's right." Nathan added.
"Maybe its better if he makes a run for Sweet Water to get help. I don't
know about you but personally I don't think one more man is going to make a
difference if they decide to hit us hard. There's more than thirty of them and
six of us. Even with the town's help, it ain't gonna be easy to defend this
place."
Suddenly, the quiet of the evening night was broken
with the loud eruption of gunfire followed by the thundering sound of horses
screaming their arrival with high pitched neighs that captured everyone's
attention as they rumbled through town. The lawmen immediately leapt out of
their seats and ran out of the establishment as the screams and gunfire
continued. Emerging outside, they caught sight of a group of armed men,
spreading out across town in groups of four. The lawmen immediately counted at
least a dozen mercenaries presently fanning out over
"It looks like they're moving ahead of
schedule!" Buck cried out as he grabbed the first horse that he saw at the
hitching post and mounted it. Beside him, Vin and Ezra did the same as Josiah,
Nathan and J.D. hurried in the direction of nearest riders they could reach on
foot.
"Get off the streets!" Vin shouted to anyone
who could hear as he climbed into the saddle. Immediately, people started running
for cover indoors, more than happy to let the law deal with the invaders while
they hid in safety.
Buck led the charge as his horse galloped down the
main street of
The flaming piece of wood shattered the glass store
front, igniting the curtains as it passed through them and quickly finding
something to burn when it finally landed on the floor. By the time Buck, Vin
and Ezra rode past the premises, the fire had snaked up the floor covered with
grease and dirt to find sustenance in the rest of the shop's wares. The
remaining trio of mercenaries they were pursuing still had torches of their own
and the lawmen knew that they had to keep the riders from finding new targets
or else
"Get off the streets!" Buck shouted at
anyone who still had not heeded the warning as he continued firing at the
enemy. "Damn!" He swore as he saw another torch flying to the air,
this one landing on the awning of
"Vin get the ones with the torches!" Buck
shouted because Vin was the sharpshooter among the three of them and only he
could make the lengthy shot with that much precision. Buck had seen Vin nail a
target at almost 500 yards on horse back in the dark. He hoped this would not
be as difficult.
The tracker was already taking careful aim. He did not
believe in shooting a man in the back but in this case, there was little
choice. Before the night was done, these men could very well succeed in razing
the entire town to the ground. He saw the man pull back his arm, preparing to
throw the torch he was holding at the window of the Clarion News and knew that
this was as good a time as any to make the shot. Pulling the trigger with
perfect confidence, Vin heard the bullet escape the barrel of his
Meanwhile Buck and Ezra were also making careful aim
at the remaining riders, preparing to put them down as permanently as Vin had
just done so without as much subtlety. Releasing a lethal barrage of fire,
their bullets soon cut down the men in front of them and the bodies toppled
past the lawmen even though their horses, continued galloping forward, leaving
their dead masters behind.
Unfortunately, the destruction was far from over as
the lawmen saw Gloria Potter's store blazing from the inside out while
"Bastards!" Buck swore as he saw evidence of
at least two more fires glowing warmly against the backdrop of the indigo sky.
"It looks like they ain't gonna let us wait this
out with nothing to do." Vin said sharply.
"Gentlemen," Ezra nudged his horse in the
opposite direction. "We are far from resolved from this duty just
yet." He started riding after another collection of mercenaries, still
holding their torches and making their way towards the Pemberton Emporium.
Being one of the largest buildings in town, it was one of the most inviting
targets not to mention the difficulty in putting out the fire should the
structure become engulfed. There were too many things within the building that
were highly flammable and it would be almost impossible to stop the entire
Emporium from becoming a raging inferno.
Ezra led this time, pushing the unfamiliar horse he
was riding harder than it had ever been ridden in its entire life. Even with Vin
and Buck behind him, riding as fast as possible, he knew he would be hard
pressed to reach the mercenaries who were almost upon the building. Looking
behind him, he shouted at Vin.
"Mr. Tanner, you must stop him from throwing that
infernal object into the Emporium!" Ezra implored. "It will go up
like a Roman candle."
Ezra did not have to say it twice. Like before, Vin
had not intention of letting Julia Pemberton's
livelihood go up in flames although the shot required to prevent it was almost
twice the distance it had taken to save the Clarion. Nevertheless, Vin was
determined to try. Taking careful aim as he closed the distance between himself
and the target, Vin took a deep breath and knew he had no time to make a
precise shot as he might like and aimed from the hip.
The bullet struck the rump of the horse being ridden
by the would be arsonist. The animal reared up on its hindquarters in pain,
tossing its master and the incendiary torch off its back. Vin hated resorting
to shooting the horse but the animal had presented a better target than its
rider and Vin had to improvise quickly. The man tumbled to the ground badly but
was scrambling to his feet soon enough. He did not appear unhurt but his horse
was in no mind to let him saddle up again and so he was forced to climb on the
back on his companion's mount. By this time, the lawmen had reached the group.
Their arrival was preceded by gunfire which had the mercenaries fleeing the way
they came, leaving the Emporium relatively safe. However, they were determined
to use their torches and flung them aside whilst returning fire. One of the
torches landed on some crates in the street, another through the doors of
Murphy's Saloon while the last torch landed through the window of someone's
home.
Buck, Vin and Ezra kept their heads down as bullets
whizzed past them. Vin felt the heat of a bullet graze his buckskins but
fortunately penetrated no further than that. By now, the streets were devoid of
people except for those who were taking up the defense of
However, the mercenaries were not alone and the rest
of their number was still rampaging through town. Buck looked over his shoulder
and realized that what they had managed to save was only one small part of
town. The rest of
"Damn!" Buck swore. "We ain't done
nothing at all!"
"Not enough it appears," Ezra replied as he
saw so many fires across town that it seemed like daylight in
"Come on!" Vin kicked his heels into his
horse and sent the animal surging ahead towards the mercenaries that were still
in town. "This ain't over yet! We're in for one long night!"
"Stay inside!" J.D. ordered a curious woman
who had peered out her window to see what was happening as he ran past her
home, both his guns drawn on the rider who was outdistancing him rapidly. The
young man felt his heart pounding as he attempted to maintain the pursuit,
wishing more than ever he had his horse with himself, instead of where it was
stabled at the livery. He emptied all bullets at the group, he, Josiah and
Nathan had broken up. Despite his best efforts to end the man's rampage, he
could not fire the shot that would see that take place.
Suddenly, almost as if the bandit had a conduit to his
mind, J.D. saw the man ride towards the livery, guns blazing at everything in
his path as he made the journey there. Stray fire shattered windows, created
holes in walls and generally caused enough pandemonium to send people running
in all directions, seeking cover. He had some idea as to the purpose of these
raids, other than to burn down the town and kill innocent people and guessed
that was the campaign of terror that Chris had been so determined to prevent.
The rider paused at the livery long enough for J.D. to
catch up but not long enough to keep him from tossing the flaming piece of wood
through the open door of the stable.
"NO!" J.D. shouted angrily, knowing just how
much damage that was going to cause. The reaction of the animals was immediate
and he heard terrified neighing as the hay inside the building ignited
instantly. The man turned long enough to look at J.D. and throw him a sneer of
complete triumph that more or less snapped whatever restraint the young man
might have possessed. With skill he did not know he possessed, J.D. fired
without even thinking because he wanted this done with quickly.
The bullet slammed into the man's forehead, blowing
the back of his head out in a spray of blood and bone. He fell of his horse
without uttering a sound and J.D. more or less ignored his bloody form when the
young sheriff had to run past it to reach the animals inside the stable. J.D.
paid no more regard to the corpse beyond the knowledge that the man was dead
and would cause no more trouble. When J.D. arrived at the main doors of the
livery, he could hear the panic cries of the animals locked within their
stalls, unable to escape. The young sheriff immediately pulled off his coat and
ran into the structure.
As expected, the hay had caught fire immediately and
since the place was literally covered from one end of the stable to the other
with hay, the fire had plenty to feed on as it consumed its way across the
structure. The horses inside their stalls were kicking and screeching in terror
as they were visited by one of the most primeval of natural enemies. Some of
the animals were kicking so fiercely they were actually breaking wood and it
would not be long before one of the animals hurt themselves from the sheer
terror of trying to escape.
The fire had snaked up the ceiling beams and the
livery was filling up with smoke, adding to the further descent of panic for
the animals trapped within. J.D. pulled the gates that he had unlatched and saw
Chris Larabee's black gelding which had returned to
town hours earlier on its own, sprint from its stall, galloping towards the
doors. He repeated this procedure several times, freeing the dozen or more
horses stabled inside the building. Some were eager to depart and more or less
bowled him over as soon as he had opened the gate.
Unfortunately, there were a few stragglers, held back
by the intensity of the heat of the raging inferno, not to mention that wall of
flames that needed human navigation to traverse. The smoke was making hard to
breathe but J.D. was not prepare to abandon the animals and hurried into the
stalls of the ones that still remained. He had not idea who the mare belonged
to but knew that it was never going to make it out of the livery in its heightened
state of panic.
Wrestling to get an adequate grip of the mare's bridle
which was not an easy thing to do considering the horse was kicking its hind
legs violently, trying to smash its way out of the stall, J.D. attempted to
calm the animal.
"Whoa there girl!" J.D. cried out, trying
desperately to reach the leather straps so he could gain some measure of
control over the mare. However, she had no intention of making it easy for him
and finally, J.D. had no choice but to flip his coat over her head to calm her.
She thrashed for a bit after the darkness had enveloped her but was
disorientated by the sudden blackness to finally allow J.D. to wrap his fingers
around her bridle.
"Its okay girl," he said softly, trying to
soothe her with his voice as he attempted to lead it out of the stall.
"We're getting out of here."
The smoke was so thick, it was difficult to breathe
but J.D. could not leave any of the animals behind as he waved the grey clouds
out of his path as he heard the crackle of fire much closer than the would
like. The blaze was everywhere now, even inside some of the stalls he had just
vacated. The mare was still struggling but J.D. was able to exert some measure
of control as he led it to the doors into the cool of the night air outside.
The young sheriff took greedy gulps of air as he
emerged into the night once more. His lungs felt dry and raspy when he released
the mare who promptly bolted down the street. There would be time to round up
the other animals later but for right now, there was still a few more
languishing inside that inferno. Taking another greedy gulp of air, J.D. dashed
through the open doors and noticed that the doorway itself was on fire. There
were at least three more horses and the fire was making good pace throughout the
building. With anguish, J.D. knew he would not be able to get them all out and
decided he did not care. He could not leave any creature to die like this.
Throwing caution to the winds, J.D. ran into the first
stall of the last three horses still inside the stable. The fear of fire had
kept them inside their stalls, too frighten to venture or make any attempt to
save themselves. Fighting time and the thick smoke inside the building, J.D.'s
eyes watered and could only see when he squinted hard. He refused to admit that
he was almost blind as he grabbed the harness around the animal and dragged it
out of its stall, even though it was bucking and kicking in protest at having
to venture out into the fire. His lungs were starting to burn and J.D. started
coughing as he struggled to bring the horse to safety. The air was filled with
the sound of a raging fire and the terrified neighing of the remaining horses.
Suddenly, a loud crack was heard, like the snapping of
a great log. He could not see from which direction it was coming but heard it
break loudly. The beam landed only a few feet away behind him, the loud impact
sending the horse he was attempting to save into a surge of fear that caused it
to break free of him.
Fortunately, the animal had bolted towards the door in
its fright and managed to help itself when it escaped through the night air.
J.D. had been thrown to the ground when the horse had
broken free of him and as he scrambled to his feet to see the damage done, he
realized with dismay that a support beam had fallen directly between him and
the remaining horses. While he might be able to squeeze past them, there was no
way he was going to be able to bring the animals through with him. The entire
structure was starting to heave and groan as if it were going to collapse at
any minute. It would be have been entirely justifiable if he ran out and left
them. No one would think any less of him for doing so.
Except he could not.
J.D. loved horses. Everything he had loved about the
West, gunslingers and cowboys had come from that appreciation. When he had
lived in the east, learning to ride them had been his own connection to the
dream he wanted so much to be apart of when he was old enough to seek it out
for his own. He could not imagine abandoning the creatures desperately needing
his help even though he knew freeing them would be virtually impossible now. He
could not leave them to be burned alive. He made a decision then and hoped his
conscience would let him live with it later.
Ignoring the stinging in his eyes and the burning pain
in his lungs, J.D. kept his head down and ran under the fiery beam across the
livery floor. Clearing the flaming wreckage, he entered the stalls of a young
mare that was kicking and screeching her terror with each breath of smoke she
was inhaling. J.D. could see her nostrils flaring and then recoiling at the
toxic air in its lungs. J.D. tried to pacify the animal the best he could and
noticed that to some extent, it was calmed at his present. He took hold of its
bridal and ran a soothing hand over its warm flank, hoping to ease its fears.
Then he pulled out his gun and put it down before the
animal was even aware of the shot.
The bulk of the horse collapsed immediately and J.D.
knew that some of the tears in his eyes were not from the fire as he groaned in
anger with what he was forced to do. Slipping out of the stall, he went to the
next animal and repeated the same thing, telling himself all the while that it
was all he could do. When the grisly task was finally completed, J.D. knew it
was time to go. That the structure had not collapsed already was a minor
miracle and he ran forward at breakneck speed as he heard the first snap of
burning wood. Leaping over the beam, he had never run so fast in his life as
when he did when those hot embers started raining down on him as the ceiling
finally gave way.
"J.D.!" Nathan was there to greet him when
he burst out of the livery doors, just as the building crumbled behind him. Hot
waves of air and fire blew outwards as wood tumbled to the earth in a final
conflagration. "Boy! Are you crazy!" Nathan demanded almost on the
verge of panic when he realized how close his younger friend had come to making
that pile of flaming wreckage his funeral pyre.
"I had to get the horses out!" J.D. said
while coughing hard, trying to expel the toxic smoke from his lungs so that he
could get fresh air into instead.
"Breathe easy!" Nathan ordered, bending the
boy over as he continued coughing loudly.
"It hurts to breathe." J.D. struggled to
say.
"You've probably suffering from smoke
inhalation." Nathan guessed and made a quick scan of him to ensure that
was the only injury that J.D. had sustained.
Josiah came running up from the main street at the
point. The preacher's gun was drawn as he advanced upon them and surveyed the
situation on arrival. This scene although more progressed than some of the
others Josiah had misfortune to come across prior to his arrival here, was only
one of many such incidents throughout town. Despite the continued gunfire as Vin,
Ezra and Buck ran the last remnants of the mercenaries out of town, the entire
community had emerged from their hiding places to deal with the numerous fires
that had been set across town.
Unlike the attacks made by the Klan some months ago,
those seemed to pale by comparison with what they faced now when the prospect
that the entire town could be nothing more than cinders by dawn if they did not
band together and help was a looming possibility.
"I managed to get a few of them but they did
plenty damage." Josiah announced.
"I'm gonna talk J.D. to the schoolhouse,"
Nathan declared, "he's taken in a lot of smoke."
"You okay J.D.?" Josiah regarded the young
man with concern and noted that his pallor seemed rather grey although it was
difficult to tell because he was covered in smoke and dirt.
"I'm fine." J.D. said unhappily, still
unable to shake the guilt at being forced to gun down those last few horses.
"The smoke's gotten to me just a little."
Josiah could tell by his manner that there was more to
it than just than and the look he exchanged with the healer more or less
confirmed that Nathan held the same belief but neither were willing to press at
the moment. J.D. would tell them when he felt like he needed to talk about and
the truth was, the present situation did not lend itself well to any heart to
heart disclosures. The town was in nothing less than chaos at the moment,
appearing as if it had just emerged from the aftermath of the battle. Aside
from the fires, there were also a number of dead or injured people that needed
taking care of, to say nothing about the property damage caused by bullets and
stray fire.
"Well, come on then." Nathan took J.D. by
the arm to ensure the young man come with him because something about J.D.'s
state of mind concerned him. He had heard the gunshots as he approached the
livery prior to its collapse and although he did not know for certain what had
happened, Nathan a pretty good idea. "We'll get you fixed up."
"Its best you get up there anyway." Josiah
remarked. "You're going to have a lot of patients in a short while. More
than Alex can manage I'm sure."
"You best get her Josiah," the healer urged.
"She's been staying at her clinic keeping an eye on Chris."
"I'll do that." Josiah nodded grimly as
Nathan and J.D. brushed past him and started walking towards the schoolhouse.
The preacher watched them go for a moment before hurrying towards Alexandra
Styles' clinic. Even though it was well and truly dark by now, it appeared that
the night was just beginning.
He felt terrible.
That was more or less the first conscious thought that
seeped into Chris Larabee's mind when awareness
finally brought him out of the darkness of his slumber. He tried to move and
felt as if a ton of bricks was resting against his chest and was not letting
him go anywhere but then, not even a ton of brick could keep Chris down if he
was determined to move. He forced himself onto his elbows even though the
action forced a groan of pain from him in retaliation for the unnecessary
movement. It took Chris a few seconds to deal with the agony.
Much to his chagrin, Chris was forced to concede that
the pain was considerable indeed for he felt his head swim from its sheer
intensity, not to mention the moan of silent protest from every limb in his
body for the overexertion.
When Chris was finally able to maintain some sort of
control over the pain and he had to admit, it not much, he took a moment to
examine his surroundings.
Judging by the partition and the clean, antiseptic
smell of the sheets he was lying on, Chris assumed he was in a room inside
Alexandra Styles' clinic.
Realizing that Vin must have brought him here after he
had been shot, he instinctively looked at his chest to examine the wound he had
only seen as a bloody smear on his shirt.
The last thing he remembered was telling Vin to leave
although he should have known better than to expect the tracker to do such a
thing. Vin could be loyal to a fault when the occasion called for it and Chris
had no doubt that the thought to abandon Chris would never have even crossed
his mind, despite the peril to himself. Nevertheless Vin had saved his life,
yet again. The gunslinger made a note to thank the man if he survived the
night, which at this moment did not feel all that certain. Chris tried to slide
further upright in his bed, when he noticed Alexandra Styles was dozing lightly
in the chair next to him. Judging by the uncomfortable way she was position
there, it looked like she had been in it for quite some time.
He watched her for a moment, admiring the lines on her
face and marveled at the fierce determination to heal that transcended
everything else for her. Chris had seen her walk straight into a camp full of
yellow fever patients where most respectable doctors would have fled at the
first sign of the corpse and advised that the place be quarantined. When it
came to saving a life, there was no in betweens for her and he wondered if she
had been as dedicated when she had been putting him back together. Chris allowed
her to sleep, aware that she was probably exhausted and understood as he stared
for a moment, why Vin Tanner was so utterly lost.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to sit up,
feeling more waves of agony searing through his body as he moved into an
upright position in his bed. He could not see the injuries beneath the bandages
around his body but he could certainly feel them. The heaviness in his limbs
threatened to overcome him at any moment but Chris refused to relent. He needed
to get up.
As he pulled the covers from over himself, he left out
a soft grunt of pain as he prepared to swing his feet off the bed. He paused a
moment and sought his clothes and saw only his gun belt draped over the
bedpost. Unfortunately, it appeared he was not dressed but decided he would
figure something out when he was finally on his feet.
"Where do you think you are going?" Alex who
was very much awake demanded, her arms folded and her eyes meeting his with
reproach.
"Where do you think?" Chris retorted
quietly, trying to hide the pain in a mask of cool indifference.
"You are in no condition to even think of leaving
this room. Do you know that I have spent the last day, making certain you stay
alive?" She declared firmly, having risen from her chair and taking up
position in front of him, like a sentry daring him to breach the walls of her
responsibility to him.
"I'm real grateful but I gotta
go." Chris said heaving himself painfully out of bed.
"Of course." She said with no further word
of protest as she slipped out of the partition and left him alone. "I'll
just get your clothes."
Well that was easy.
Chris had expected more of a protest with her because
when it came to her patients, Alexandra Styles had a temper that put even Mary
to shame, not to say his wife was any less fiery either. In fact, when Mary was
properly riled, even Chris had the sense to duck for cover. Still, he could not
help but smile, he did so love strong women. Sarah had been the same way and
their spectacular arguments had been followed by some torrid session of love
making when they were making up.
He was in the process of climbing out of his bed when
suddenly, he felt a sharp sting on his rear. "What the hell was
that?" He snapped when he realized that Alex had returned unexpectedly.
"What did you give me?" He demanded when he realized that it was a
needle that he had felt penetrate his skin.
"Something for the pain." Alex replied in
that no nonsense tone that told him firmly that the only way out of this room
was over her dead body.
"I ain't in pain!" Chris lied but did not
want her to know that he was because she had no call sticking him with needles!
Especially on his bare butt when he was not looking!
"Well you're being one!" Alex retorted.
"Now you are getting back into bed, Mr. Larabee."
She took his arm and did not have to exert much strength to get him back onto
the sheets.
Chris scowled angrily as he was forced back under the
covers and felt the effects of the sedative she had given him starting to take
effect. "I'll get you for this." He grumbled weakly.
"Whatever." Alex glared at him with
annoyance. "But while you are my patient, you will sit still and rest or
so help me I'll get your wife in here and trust me, she'll be less forgiving
than I."
"Where is Mary?" Chris asked, starting to
get drowsy and felt a surge of annoyance that she had been so sneaky. Still, he
had to admit whatever she had given him had taken the edge of the pain that was
coursing through him although he was still angry that she had done it and when
he was on his feet again, he would devise some way to get her back.
"She's with Billy." Alex said reluctantly.
She had been aware that there was some trouble in town but had been reluctant
to leave Chris because of the seriousness of his injuries. Besides, she had
been on her feet all day and had taken the opportunity for some rest, knowing
that in the aftermath of whatever calamity that had taken place, she would be
undoubtedly needed. "There's been trouble in town."
"What sort of trouble?" Chris asked,
snapping out of his grogginess at that news.
"Alex!" Josiah's deep voice called out after
he had burst through the front door, slamming it against the wall in his hasty
entrance.
"In here Josiah!" Chris responded, managing
a loud enough cry to bring the preacher through the partition into the little
room that he was presently occupying during his debate with Alex.
"Chris." Josiah exclaimed with a smile,
seeing the gunslinger awake although Chris' pallor and general state of health
seemed so far away from the tough, brooding man he had ridden with for the last
two years. "Its good to see you're still with us."
"Barely." Chris grumbled and shot Alex a
stormy look when he felt his head swim because of the sedative she had
inflicted upon him. His limbs felt heavy although the pain had dissipated
somewhat and Chris had trouble keeping his head up and finally had to rest back
on the pillow once again.
"What's happened?" Alex asked thinking it
safe enough to take her eye off Chris now that the drugs were well and truly
working on him. Besides, she had been unable to dismiss the panic in Josiah's
voice when the preacher had first entered her clinic.
"There's a lot of people hurt out there."
Josiah replied and provided Chris with a quick run down of what had been taking
place, knowing the gunslinger would not be satisfied at being shielded with the
truth.
"Where's Mary and Billy?" Chris asked, his first
thought was still of his new bride and stepson.
"Mary left Billy with Audrey King," Alex
answered promptly, remembering she had not the chance to tell Chris why his
wife was absent when Josiah had made his unexpected entrance. "I sent her
home to get some rest because she was at your side most of the day."
"Good." Chris nodded as his eyes started to
cloud over.
"I gather you sedated him." Chris heard
Josiah's voice fade away in his ears.
"It was the only way I could get him to stay
still." Alex let out a sigh of relief as the morphine finally did its work
and Chris Larabee drifted back to sleep, still
muttering how he would get his revenge upon her later on. She had no doubt that
he would make good on that threat but right now, he was quiet and she was
grateful. By the sound of it, she was going to have her work cut out for her
tonight.
"He'll never let you forget this you know,"
Josiah remarked with a faint smile, unable to deny the admiration he felt at
her audacity. There were not women who were willing or brave enough to drug
Chris Larabee into submission when he did not wish to
be.
"Probably not," Alex returned his smile as
she threw several items into her worn doctor's bag to replenish the stores she
was going to need when she returned to the schoolhouse, hospital, whatever it
was at this time. "Is everyone okay?" She asked as she gestured her
readiness to leave and allowed Josiah to lead the way. Chris was more or less
going to be asleep for the next five hours if the dosage of morphine she had
given him succeeded in its work, so she would not have to worry about him
trying to leave his sick bed prematurely.
Josiah knew that she cared for all of them but was
familiar enough with a woman's heart to give her the answer she wanted.
"J.D.'s took a little too much smoke in when the fire broke out at the
livery but mostly everyone is okay."
"Oh good," she sighed with relief, glad to
know that no more of her friends were hurt. "Josiah," Alex met his
gaze as they were about to leave the clinic. "Its going to get bloody
isn't it?"
Josiah could not lie to her, not after what he had
seen these last few hours. When he had hurried here after leaving Nathan and
J.D., it felt as if he were walking into a page from the past. He had
remembered travelling through towns in the south following the wake of a Union
Army attack, trying to offer comfort to those who might need it. No one had
been in the mood for preaching back then, not when so many had died and the
words of God seem shallow and bitter.
"I need help here!" Nathan shouted as he
tried to hold down seventeen year old Luke Willis who had been at home sleeping
in his bed after a hard day's work when a torch had flown through the open
window of his bedroom and set his sheets on fire. By the time he was aware of
the danger it was almost too late and now Luke was squirming in agony as the
pain ate into him with such searing waves that he was more or less
incomprehensible to everything else around him.
Rain hurried to the side of her lover, not caring that
she could not help him but that she had to be at his side to help him. She
could see the pain in Nathan's eyes as he tried to remain unaffected by the
screams of this boy whose flesh was raw before her. He might have beautiful
once but she could not longer tell. His face was a mass of blood and raw skin.
Swallowing hard, she forced away the terrible images of this boy's injuries and
concentrated on helping Nathan to soothe his suffering.
"What can I do Nathan?" She asked. Until
now, she had been assisting with the injured in a minor way but less than an
hour ago, she found herself embroiled in the most violence she had seen since
her village had been attacked by Confederate renegades. Townsfolk, suffering
everything from gunshot wounds to third degree burns were being brought into
the schoolhouse awaiting treatment from the two healers that had been working
themselves into exhaustion since this had all began.
"I need you to hold him down." Nathan said
giving her a look that was filled with more than just gratitude but held the
true love he felt for her. "I have to give him some morphine."
"There now," she spoke into Luke's ear as
she placed her hands on his body and whispered gently. "I know it hurts
but you must stay still." She urged. "We can take the pain away for a
bit but not if you are fighting us."
"I can't stand it!" The boy fairly sobbed,
his eyes wide open with terror at the pain. However, he had stopped fighting
Nathan noticed, even though he was twitching in his efforts to control his
agony.
"I know," she continued her soft words,
glancing at Nathan who was preparing the syringe for use. The healer urged her
to continue; knowing that it would distract the poor boy until he had
administered the morphine. "It won't be for much longer." She
insisted and hoped that she was not lying to the boy as Nathan pressed the
needle against his arm and broke skin.
"I didn't smell it until it was too late!"
Luke wailed. "I was so tired!" He started to cry fresh tears as he
lamented this awful thing that had happened to him. "I worked all day at
the farm and then I just was dog tired when I came home, I went straight to
bed."
"It's not your fault." Rain brushed the hair
from his scorched brow. "You didn't know this was going to happen."
"I should have!" Luke gushed and descended
into loud sobs of pain and anguish at what was happening to him. Rain looked at
Nathan, unable to keep the sorrow from her eyes, wondering how he could stand
to hear such cries, not just from this one boy but from all the others he
treated and healed over the years.
"You'll start to feel a little better now,"
Nathan said quietly, hoping the drug would do what he had been unable to. There
was no real way to cure burns of this magnitude and even though Luke was one of
the worst cases he had seen so far, Nathan knew that there were many others
awaiting his ministrations and he had to move on. Alex was at this moment
conducting surgery on what were almost battlefield conditions.
"Rain," he looked at her. "I need you
to stay with him for awhile." He said having taken note of how she had
been able to calm Luke with her voice. Ironically, he could empathize with the
young man on this one point. How many times had Nathan himself gone to sleep with
the memory of her sweet voice in her ear when she was not? "At least until
the morphine starts to work."
"Of course Nathan." She smiled at him with
none of the anger he had seen when they had first returned to
"Rain, I'm really glad you're here." He
swallowed.
She touched his cheek and kissed his lightly on the
lips. "I am glad to be here Nathan but you must go." She prompted
with a hint of mischief in your eyes. "You are needed."
"We ain't even married yet and you're bossing me
around already?" Nathan grinned at her and did not care at all if she did
because she was right. He had to go there were many more than needed his help
and the night was far from over for him.
"I think I'm going to be sick!" Julia
Pemberton struggled to keep the contents of her stomach in place as she held
the tray for Alex while the doctor tried desperately to remove the bullet
buried deep inside Isaiah Hollister's back. The man was biting in a piece of
corkwood she had given him for the purpose because his injury did not allow for
him to be moved although that safety protocol was almost academic. The depth of
the bullet lodged inside his spine was out of her reach no matter how hard Alex
attempted to extract it.
"Do it somewhere else!" Alex barked as she
tried to keep Hollister still even though the man writhed with pain each time
she attempted to remove the piece of lead that trapped inside his body. She
could hear his groaning in her ears as he kicked hard as she inserted the clamp
inside him to make another attempt. Alex was literally covered in blood; it
seeped into her apron, into the sleeves of her shirt and splattered in thick
rivulet across her neck and face.
Julia turned away but remained where she was, aware
that her presence was vital even if the grisly scene before her was more than
she could stand. In the small room behind the schoolhouse, Alex was performing
the surgery, Hollister's frantic screams of pain bounced off the walls. She saw
Alex remaining calm and detached and wondered how the doctor was able to do it.
There was no fear in her eyes as she worked, splattered with blood the harder
Hollister struggled, no revulsion at being covered in his fluids even though it
was becoming obvious even to Julia that the bullet could not be dislodged.
Suddenly he stopped struggling all together and he
heaved a gasp that possessed the disturbing substance of finality. Alex felt
the life drain out of him with such abruptness that she was completely
unprepared for it. "No!" She exclaimed, dropping the clamp
immediately and rolling the man over on to his bloody back. Almost frantically,
she searched for some sign that he was still living and could not even detect
the faintest thread of a pulse. "Come on Isaiah!" Alex pressed her
ear against the place in his chest occupied by his heart. "Don't give up
on me!"
Alex tried everything she could in her arsenal of
medical knowledge to revive the man and Julia stepped back, watching in a
mixture of sorrow and fascination at her determination. However, as the minutes
ticked by, it became more and more apparent that there would be no miracle
cures. Alex nevertheless continued to try, almost to the point of beating his
chest to kick start his heart into working again but none of it worked.
"Alex," Julia said after she had set down
the tray and approached her friend. "Its too late. He's gone."
"No he's not!" Alex snapped. "I can
just think of something else. ."
"Like bringing him back to life?" Julia
retorted, not unkindly but because Alex needed to know she was not God to
dispense life and death at will.
Alex could say nothing to that statement and responded
by stepping away from the Hollister's body. "I just couldn't get to that
bullet." She sighed, trying not to let the frustration get to her. Alex
retreated to the other corner of the room and started washing the blood off
herself using the water in a small basin provided for the purpose. The
colorless fluid was soon turned into the murkiness of crimson as Alex cleaned
herself off, even though the stains on her clothes still remained.
"I know," Julia said resting a supportive
hand on her shoulder. "You did the best you could Alex, I could see
that."
"It wasn't good enough was it?" She
swallowed and remembered the other task that was required of her now that
Hollister was gone. "I have to go tell Hollister's wife, he didn't make
it."
Julia could say nothing to alleviate the burden of
that duty for Alex and followed quietly as Alex left the room and stepped out
onto the floor of the schoolhouse. Outside, Alex surveyed the scene and saw
things were more or less slowing down. For the moment at least, there did not
appear to be any more injured coming into the temporary hospital. She saw Rain
and Inez helping tirelessly with the patients requiring care and noticed Nathan
seemed almost as exhausted as she was. Hollister's wife Trudy and his daughter
Emma saw her exit from the room and immediately hurried to her. As Alex felt
her heart sink at what she would soon have to tell Trudy, she saw Vin and Ezra
bringing in someone else.
"Doctor Styles?" Trudy asked hopefully, her
eyes begging Alex to deliver good news and the doctor squirmed inwardly at
being forced to disappoint her.
"I'm sorry Trudy," Alex said gently as she
could, knowing that there was no real way to tell someone that a loved one had
died that could make the pain any less. "I couldn't get the bullet out. It
was too deep. He died on the table."
Alex steeled herself for the tears that inevitably
followed that revelation and found that she could not think of anything to say
that would make the knowledge of the family's loss any easier. She could not
even say it was a painless death because they would have heard him screaming
while she had attempted to extract the bullet. Instead, she swallowed the bile
that was in her throat and continued towards Vin and Ezra who was carrying
someone who was obviously suffering from smoke inhalation.
"Is it still bad out there?" Julia asked as
she followed Alex to them.
"Well, I think we have manage to maintain some
semblance of control over the numerous infernos left by our Spanish
friends." Ezra remarked as they put the man down on a near by cot where
Alex immediately set to work examining him. Both lawmen were covered with the
black of soot from the fire. Ezra had discarded his coat and his white shirt
and waist coat was soiled with black smears of cinders from the smoke. Julia
guessed that after they had chased the mercenaries out of the town, they had
been assisting with getting the fires in town under control and she felt a
tinge of concern not just for Ezra but for the tracker as well as she saw how
exhausted they were.
"We lost Hollister." Julia said grimly.
"Damn." Vin whispered under his breath.
"How many is that now?" The tracker muttered angrily, knowing that
they had a few deaths tonight already, not simply from gunfire but also from
the incendiary nightmare they had been enduring most of the night.
"At least five." Julia answered because Alex
was busy with her latest patients. "Most of the injuries have been smoke
inhalation and severe burns but the gunshot victims are the ones who don't
survive." She found herself casting a glimpse at Hollister's widow who was
still sobbing with her daughter, not too far away.
"I wonder what this scoundrels are going to do
for an encore tomorrow night." Ezra frowned
Julia looked at Ezra and Vin. "Tomorrow night?
You think they'll be back tomorrow night?"
"No reason to think they wouldn't." Vin
retorted. "They're trying to scare us."
"They're doing a good job." She shuddered,
not at all liking the idea that they would have to endure all this again
tomorrow night. "People are terrified and I have to admit so am I. I've
heard talk from some who are thinking of getting out."
"Now that will only get them killed." Ezra
declared. "My dear, you are to tell those who are foolish enough to
believe that it is possible to run the blockade that there is a liable to be a
reception committee waiting them if they attempt to breach our isolation."
"I did," Julia answered, remembering what
Ezra had endured at Selena Quint's hands when he,
Josiah and J.D. had attempted to get help in Sweet Water. "You two should
take a few minutes. Inez has some food prepared," she directed her gaze
towards the table at the far end of the room where Inez had left hot meals for
those who needed it.
"I think I might take you up on that offer Miss
Pemberton," Ezra remarked. "Join me?" He looked at her
suggestively and Julia decided it would not hurt to take a few minutes to
herself.
"Why not?" She replied. "Vin?" Julia
looked at the tracker who seemed more interested in what Alex was doing.
"I'll catch up with you later." He said
distracted and took a step towards Alex as Julia and Ezra went on their way.
Vin had been watching Alex tend to the man they had brought in and noticed
something in her manner that was more than just the exhaustion.
"How is he?" Vin asked when she had finally
completed her treatment of her latest patient.
"He's okay," she said softly. "A few
days of rest and He'll be on his feet again. Can't say the same for
Hollister." She replied bitterly and Vin realized that she was more upset
about Hollister's death than she was letting on.
"Come on," he took her by the elbow and lead
her out of the building for a few minutes. "You need to get out of
here."
"Vin!" She protested, "I've got
patients."
"Looks to me like you've taken care of most of
them." The tracker retorted, having observed that everyone appeared tended
to already and she really needed to be out of here for a moment. In fact, after
everything they had been through tonight, Vin himself, wanted to share a few
minutes with her alone.
"Don't argument with me Darlin',"
he declared in a voice that told her that he was not taking no for an answer.
"I'll carry you if I have to."
"You wouldn't dare." She stared at him
tempestuously, almost as if she were challenging him.
"Try me." He looked at her with arms folded
and a sparkle in his cobalt coloured eyes daring her
to defy him on this point.
Alex had learnt enough about him by now to know that
when he got it in his mind to do something, he could be even more obstinate
than she was and just as immovable. "I'm going, I'm going." She
muttered and frowned when she saw the smirk of triumph produced at her
capitulation.
"Bastard." She grumbled.
"Nag." He grinned.
Vin lead her out of the rear entrance of the
schoolhouse, into the small patch of garden that was coming along quite nicely
and would be something of a playground by the time school actually opened. They
could still smell the stench of smoke in the air but it seemed far away for the
moment at least. Alex stepped out under the stars and immediately felt some of
the tension she had been enduring, melt away suddenly.
"How you doing Darlin'?"
He asked once they were alone in the quiet. Vin pulled Alex towards him and
held her for a few minutes because he sorely needed to feel her against his
skin and she needed a hug after what she had endured tonight.
"I'm not too good. I hate losing patients. I feel
as if I hadn't done enough." Alex tried not to cry but she could the
emotion welling up inside her.
Vin could appreciate that sentiment most prolifically
right now. With
"Its okay Darlin'." he stroked her hair gently as he held her,
wondering how the presence of her could be so comforting to him. "You did
what you had to. It ain't no fault but the men who did this that Hollister
didn't make it."
"Vin" Alex said pulling far enough away so
that he could see her face, while still remaining firmly in his arms.
"This town cannot survive another night like this. People are starting to
slip into hysteria already. If this is just the first of these attacks, leading
up to a massacre, you know how bad it could be."
Vin knew perfectly well how much chaos the town could
descend into if help was not forthcoming. With Chris out of the picture, morale
was low and following what had taken place tonight, spirits had sunk even lower
if such a thing was possible. Something had to be done and it had to be done
now.
"I'm working on it." He said quietly.
"I think we may be able to get one man out of town. There are trails they
don't know about, some old Indian tracks. I think someone with the know how
could make it through."
Alex knew where this was going and she did not like it
but could think of nothing to say to refute what he was trying to tell her
because there was no other choice. "You mean you." She met his gaze.
"I'm the only who make it through Darlin." Vin confessed, seeing by her eyes that she
understood the situation even though she did not wish him to go.
"I don't want you to go," Alex whispered as
she embraced him again, laying her head against his chest once again. "But
I know you have to so just promise me, you won't get yourself killed."
"I won't." He smiled. "I don't dare
make you mad."
It was almost dawn when the lawmen finally staggered
into the saloon to decide their next course of action. Outside the fires had
been brought under control and extinguish and folk were dispersing back to
their homes for some well needed rest. Although each one of the seven wanted
nothing more than to fall into their beds and get some well deserved rest, Vin
had brought them together in the saloon to determine what they would now do. If
any action was to be taken, it had to be done while they were still in the
cover of dark. They could ill afford to waste another day waiting for nightfall
where there was the real possibly of another attack like the one they had
experienced tonight making another appearance.
"Mr. Tanner, I hope whatever you have gathered us
here for is of pressing importance that could not possibly wait for a few more
hours while we acquired some well needed repose." Ezra grumbled as he kept
shifting in his chair in the hopes of it becoming comfortable enough to afford
him a few minutes of sleep in its rigid confines.
"Button it Ezra," Buck said with
uncharacteristic annoyance. While he wanted to sleep too, he knew that they had
to work things out now. Like all of them, he knew the mood in town was becoming
increasingly tense and if something was not done soon, they would not have to
wait for the mercenaries to massacre them, people would be hysterical enough to
turn on each other. "What's on your mind Vin?"
"We can't go through this again." Vin
declared firmly and saw the others nod in agreement over that point.
"People are getting killed or hurt. There ain't gonna be a town standing
by the time those mercs are ready to cut us all
down."
"We are in no disagreement with you on this point
Mr. Tanner," Ezra spoke up. "But it appears at the moment, we are
caught in stalemate. We cannot leave to summon help or abandon town in case
they come back so what other option is there left to us."
"Vin. ." Josiah saw the flicker in the
tracker's gaze and knew what was coming. "No. It's a bad idea."
"I can make it through Josiah." Vin stated
firmly.
"Vin, you can't go out there alone!" J.D.
exclaimed once they all became aware of what Vin was attempting to suggest to
them. "There's bound to be some of them waiting for you!" With Chris
already hurt, J.D. did not want to imagine the same thing happening to Vin as
well.
"I gotta agree with
Josiah on this one," Nathan added his voice to the debate. "They're
sure to be keeping watch on us more closely now, figuring we'd be
panicking."
"Which is precisely what we would be doing if we
were to let you attempt this journey alone," Ezra declared. "I wish
to get help as much as you Mr. Tanner but we are required here because sure as
anything, those men will be back tomorrow night. I would bet my entire fortune
on it."
"You don't have a fortune." Vin retorted.
"Which is why I would be unwilling to part
company with what I have." The gambler returned smoothly.
"Vin's right." Buck Wilmington said
suddenly. All eyes turned to him as he
poured himself a drink from the half empty bottle in the middle of their table.
"Vin's gotta go." He repeated himself.
"He'll get himself killed." Josiah said
firmly. "Chris would never agree to this."
"Chris ain't here," Vin interjected.
"But even if he was, he'd know I was right. We don't have a choice. We
ain't gonna last five minutes defending this town on our own when those
mercenaries decide to come. The only chance we got of saving this town and
everyone we love is for me to get to Sweet Water and bring back help."
"Chris wouldn't like it," Buck added in an
unusual show of solidarity that Vin found surprising. "You're right about
that." He looked at Josiah. "So he'd probably go himself. Well he
can't do that and all we can spare is one man to make the run for Sweet Water.
Anyone else at the table who think they can make it through better than
Vin?"
Ezra shrugged uncomfortably while Josiah remained
silent as always, wearing a stony expression that kept his reluctance to admit
that Buck was right. Even Nathan seemed unable to think of anything to say in favour of abandoning the plan.
"I didn't think so." Buck frowned, unhappy
at being forced to put things so bluntly and disliking it even less that the
decision made could mean death to Vin Tanner if he were discovered or ambushed
by the mercenaries that had brought this town to its knees in a matter of a
day. He understood as they all did that
"When will you go?" Nathan asked finally,
his question more or less representative of the other's reluctant agreement to
this dangerous venture.
"Before sunup." Vin said firmly, having
already considered the route he would take long before they had gathered here.
"It's best that I move under the cover of dark."
"Do you think they'd be watching the town?"
J.D. asked since no one had brought up the subject. As it was, he did not like
to think of their number dividing for any reason, even with an imperative as
crucial as this one. He knew that Vin's plans was their best shot of coming out
of this alive and despite his reservations, had to concede that if anyone could
find a way through the blockade it would be the tracker.
"They might be." Vin replied, having
considered that possibility. "Hopefully, I can slip away without being
seen."
"I hope so," Josiah grumbled. "Cause if
anything were to happen to you, I ain't gonna be volunteering to tell your
lady. You should have seen what she did to Chris."
The group of men had been watching the town for most
of the night, even though their comrades had returned to their camp following
the raid. As expected, not all the volunteers had made it out alive, which was
probably why Diaz had offered an extra two hundred dollars for those who were
brave enough to make the attempt. The men assigned to the town were given very
specific instructions as to what they were required to do and they spent much
of the evening, watching the town's efforts to fight the fires wondering with
passing curiosity if the attempts would at all be successful.
By the small hours of the night, it was apparent that
the townsfolk had managed to subdue the flames that had threatened to wipe out
their community and it was during this quiet period in its aftermath that they
paid most attention to it. It did not take long for things to take place as
they had anticipated. The woman who hired Diaz and his men had given them a
laborious set of instructions, as well as the possibilities of who they would
be facing.
The lone rider's attempt to sneak out of town had been
a worthy effort and had they not been expecting this course of action to be
taken, he may well slip out of their reach. Unfortunately for him, that is,
they were instructed at the cunning of the prey they might be forced to hunt.
"He's reputed to be one of the best trackers in
the Territory." Quint had told them. "After
what we did tonight, you can guarantee, they'll make a run to get help and it
will be him that would most likely make the attempt."
It appeared that Quint was
right for the tracker rode out of town in the middle of the night, relying on
the moonless sky above to mask h is departure. They saw him almost immediately
and held back long enough for him to believe that he had made good his escape
and had evaded any watchful eyes if any had been present to keep watch upon the
town. Once he disappeared over the darkened horizon, they dug their heels into
their mounts and took up the pursuit.
"Remember!" The leader among the hunters
cried out. "Whoever brings him gets to claim the bounty on the body!"