I do not own any of the characters from Mag7. They belong to the associated companies, including MGM and Mirisch Trilogy, I believe, and their creators. I am not making money off of them. Please do not sue me. The characters that I have created belong to me, and are copywrited as such.
"Hell," Vin muttered, "I'm probably going to get pneumonia for this little ride. Who'd have thought a case of Cabin Fever and an extra long patrol would end up like this."
He sighed. "You'd know that the one time I forget my slicker it would just have to pour freezing rain down on me. Eh Chyan?" The horse flicked his ears.
Thunder rumbled overhead and so did the ground in front of them.
Chyan whickered in fear and began to back down the trail. Vin squinted, straining to see.
"Ah Hell!"
He turned the horse around and kicked him into a gallop. The mud on the ground under the horse was dangerous, but not as dangerous as the rocks coming down the path behind them.
Chyan pounded down the road as Vin gave him his head.
The rocks rumbled behind him, the first pebbles skipping under Chyan's hooves.
The horse stumbled and lost his balance in the mud. He threw Vin off, sending him straight into a tree.
Darkness fell upon him and the last thing he heard was his horse's terrified scream.
The rocks rumbled on.
Across the room Buck flirted with half of the establishment's girls. Near Buck JD sat, holding a mug of milk. His expression was half disgust and half awe at Buck's skills.
Chris could tell that another argument over animal magnetism was brewing. He sighed.
The saloon door slammed open and Chris looked up hopefully.
He picked up the shot glass and downed the whiskey in self disgust. He did not want to be worried, and he didn't want to show anyone else that he was worried. So far as Chris was concerned, he was failing miserably on all accounts.
Josiah and Nathan entered the bar and walked up to the table.
"Hello Chris," Josiah said.
"Josiah, Nathan," he replied, nodding his greeting.
"It's still pouring down," Nathan remarked lazily. "I hope Vin's all right."
"Amen, to that, Brother Nathan. It isn't fit for man or beast out there."
"He's doing the devil's patrol," Chris interjected sharply. Nathan and Josiah exchanged a look.
"I thought Vin was doing the desert patrol today," Nathan said.
"It got changed this morning." Chris grunted as he poured himself another shot.
"There's no place to stop there in a storm, what with the potential for rock slides…" Josiah murmured and gradually trailed off.
"I know," Chris growled. "If he's not back soon, we're going to look for him. Nathan went to the bar and grabbed two more shot glasses. Josiah poured them each a drink.
"God keep him safe," Josiah thought as he swallowed the whiskey.
Vin looked at his mother's pale, wasted face. "Mama?" he asked. She did not respond and he began to cry.
He didn't know how long he sat there after he stopped crying. It might have been hours or maybe even just minutes. Someone knocked on the door but he ignored it.
Some strange men burst into the apartment room. "The landlady was right," one said as he grabbed Vin. The man dragged him from the room, kicking and screaming. He didn't want to leave his mother, and like the Tanner he was, he fought for his freedom.
He failed and the man placed him into Hell.
Chris looked at Ezra and jerked his head, beckoning for the gambler to join him.
Ezra swiftly finished up his poker game, easily winning over a hundred dollars. "Gentleman, your company has been an absolute pleasure for me, but I'm afraid I'm being deprived of it. Duty's stern hand beckons me. Perhaps we shall play again at a later time, and you may recoup your losses." He rose and went to the back table.
Buck saw Ezra leave the poker table. He kissed the girl in his lap and reluctantly let go of her. He joined the rest of the group.
Chris looked around. "Even with the rain Vin should have been back by now. Saddle up."
"It's hard being a Tanner, Mama, but I'm still fighting. He won't beat me down."
A hand clapped down on his shoulder. Vin twisted round. "What have I told you Tanner?" a man growled.
"Sir?" Vin asked.
"Don't sir me, boy. I've told you again and again to stay inside. You never listen, maybe I should give you a reason to do so."
The man's hand tightened on Vin's shoulder. He was dragged back into the building and down a flight of stairs.
"Open the door," the man ordered, shoving Vin into it.
He crashed into the door, his chin slamming into the knob. He reached up and opened it. Without being told to, he walked inside and took off his shirt.
Vin faced the wall and braced himself.
The belt cracked down on his skin.
He bit his lips to keep from crying out.
Vin refused to move, refused to give the man satisfaction. After a time the beating stopped although the pain remained. The door slammed closed and he was left alone, in the dark.
Vin sank to the floor, choking back his tears. "I'm a Tanner. I don't give up, I fight. I'm a Tanner. I remember Mama, I'll always remember."
"Probably at the beginning. There's no telling where Vin could be on that trail. No telling at all," Buck replied. He didn't like the trail either.
Chris looked back at them, his hat shading his eyes. "Wrong," he said. "Buck, you, JD, and Josiah are taking the trail from the beginning. Nathan, Ezra. and I will take it from the end. We'll meet in the middle if we don't find him. If we don't meet in the middle, we found him, he's injured and we've taken him back to town. Understand?"
"Right Chris," Buck agreed.
"We'll part at Kenyon's gulch." Buck nodded, ignoring Chris' peremptory tone. He'd seen the worry in his eyes.
"God, please let Vin be all right. I don't think Chris could take it if he died, not after Sarah and Adam…" Buck prayed as Chris kicked his horse into a canter. The rest of the men followed suit, a sense of urgency filling them.
A small girl was shoved into the room. She fell to her knees as the door slammed closed, leaving them both in darkness. Vin could hear her ragged breathing and the soft rustling of her skirts as she moved.
He slowly moved towards the spot where he had seen her last. He stopped, when he thought he was close to her. Vin knelt down and reached out a hand. It bumped her knee and she jerked back.
"My name's Vin Tanner," he said quietly, reaching out again. The girl was curled up into a ball. He could feel her shake and realized that she was crying. "Old Branson didn't hurt ya too badly, did he?"
"N-no," the girl stuttered, "he just gave me a whipping. He said it was for being born." She began to shake harder as she attempted to repress her sobs. Anger filled Vin. He knew that you never hit a girl, but Branson had done it anyway. It infuriated him but he choked down his anger. Vin could tell that it would frighten his companion.
"What's your name?"
"Riana Collins," she whispered.
Vin reached out for the first time since his mother's death. He pulled Riana in close, gently giving her a hug. She let go of her control and sobbed in his arms.
Guilt filled Chris and drove him on as he worried about what they might find.
Nathan nodded quietly at Josiah, Buck, and JD. JD and Josiah nodded back. Buck's eyes were glued to Chris' rapidly retreating back.
"Take care of him, Nathan. If Vin isn't ok, Chris isn't going to deal with it at all well." Buck's tone was unusually serious.
"I will Buck," Nathan replied. He rode off after Chris, while the other three men rode off in the opposite direction.
Vin stepped in front of Riana just as Branson's foot kicked out. The hobnailed boot caught him in the shin and he staggered.
Branson lunged forward and grabbed Vin by the front of his shirt. "You still haven't learned to listen boy. You do what I tell you, when I tell you, and I've told you to stay away from that Bitch. She'll learn to do what's right and so will you." Vin was flung to the ground, and Branson's foot lashed out again. It connected solidly in Vin's ribs.
He felt something crack and he doubled over in pain. Branson drew his foot back to strike again.
Riana threw herself over Vin.
Branson held his foot back and looked consideringly at them. He reached out and grabbed Riana. "I always knew you were a whore," he hissed. He wrenched Vin up from the ground and dragged them both down to the basement room they knew so well. He tossed them on the floor.
"I'll be back," he promised. The door locked behind him and they heard a rat squeak.
"Vin," Riana whispered. "I'm scared and I really don't feel well."
"You'll be all right. Remember, you're my sister now. We're Tanner's, we don't give up, we fight."
They both knew that Buck was right, if anything had happened to Vin, Chris would self-destruct. He began to wonder when the two men had become so close. Oh, he'd known that they'd connected to each other on the day they'd saved him, but neither man had really reached out. Chris was too often in a mood and Vin, well, Vin had been happiest when out on patrol. Vin's dislike of towns was legendary among the group, although none of them knew why.
"I don't feel good," she whimpered. "My throat hurts, and I have a headache."
Vin flinched slightly remembering. "Really Mrs. Johnson, I'm all right. I just have a sore throat and a slight headache. If you'd watch Vin for the afternoon I'd appreciate it." His mother's voice echoed in his mind. He couldn't remember the room, but he did remember the conversation. It had been the last time his mother had really been well.
"How long do you think we'll be down here for anyway?" Riana rasped.
"Probably about as long as we were for the kitten, maybe longer," Vin answered softly, trying to hid his fear. He smoothed her hair down. Riana whimpered. A rat squeaked in reply.
Vin frowned into the blackness and prayed. "Please God, let her be ok."
"That mud is going to be awfully hard on the horses' hooves," JD said worriedly. "I hope Vin didn't get stuck because Chyan got hurt."
Josiah looked at him. "Don't borrow trouble, JD. God sends enough without it."
Chris glared at the gambler. "We leave the horses and go around," he snarled.
Ezra looked at the sucking mud and at his neatly polished boots. He sighed and shut his eyes for a moment.
"Ezra get off that horse and get walking," Chris barked. Ezra blinked.
Nathan looked at him. "Chris, it ain't gonna help if we get hurt trying to find him. And Ezra is just getting used to the fact that he's gettin' dirty. Aren't you Ezra?"
"Indeed, Mr. Jackson, and my resignation is very deep," Ezra said swiftly. He slid off his horse's back and sank into the mud. His foot slipped out from under him and he went crashing down. Mud splattered everywhere.
Ezra felt his ankle turn underneath him. He gave a short gasp, and took a deep breath.
"You all right, Ezra?" Nathan asked, looking at him suspiciously.
"I'm in excellent condition, Mr. Jackson," Ezra replied hiding his pain. He looked sadly at his coat. "Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my attire."
"Then get off of your duff, and get moving," Chris snapped. He turned away from the men and took off again.
Ezra slowly got to his feet. He could almost feel his ankle swelling up inside the boot. Nathan continued to watch him suspiciously.
"Mr. Jackson, perhaps you had best catch up with our esteemed colleague, before he requires medical attention," Ezra said, distracting Nathan. He gestured at Chris who was recklessly climbing the rocks.
She tossed restlessly, whimpering.
Branson began to yell. "You can't quarantine us! The children have to be educated, we have to bring in food and clothing!"
"I will quarantine this place for the rest of this town's citizens. You will be provided for, but I have to do what I can to stop an epidemic. And furthermore, only I will come near the girl and this boy."
Riana's eyes opened slightly. She reached out a hand imploringly. "Vin," she whispered.
He approached the bed, ignoring the fighting adults. Vin knelt down next to her and took Riana's hand. "I won't leave you, I promise."
"If Vin was in there…" JD started. He was unable to continue his thought.
Buck's face was impassive, but his eyes said what his voice and face would not. They were bleak, almost dispairing.
If Vin was under there we won't be losing just him, we'll lose Chris too. If we don't find Vin alive, and soon, Chris will die. I can't lose Chris. The thoughts ran through his mind. The last repeating itself over and over again. I can't lose Chris. I can't lose Chris. Not now, not after he's started to come back.
The Doctor had won. They had been quarantined from the rest of the orphanage and it had also been quarantined. Only the Doctor saw them. He strictly enforced that.
Vin and Riana were locked in this one room, and only the Doctor had the key. Branson had beaten Riana for getting them quarantined after the Doctor had left. And when the Doctor had seen that he had gone up in flames.
Vin felt caged, even more so than in the basement. It was like the time before Riana had arrived. He got up and paced.
Riana moaned from the bed. She tossed agitatedly.
Vin ran to her side, and knelt down. "I'm here Riana, I'm here."
He soothed her and sat where he was. Every time he started to pace it happened. She could sense his anger and it didn't help her. "Fight this illness, Riana. Please fight it."
"Ezra hurry up," Chris yelled.
"Mr. Larabee, we will be unable to render our assistance to Mr. Tanner should we fall and kill ourselves before we reach him. Perhaps, you should think about this." Ezra's lazy drawl had an edge to it.
Chris glared at him and turned around. Before he could hurry on Nathan spoke, "Ezra's right, Chris. We won't be able to help Vin at all if we die before we get there."
Chris growled but slowed down, slightly.
Ezra's thoughts turned to a new bent as he followed after the black clad man. He began to wonder how long it would take Chris to self-destruct if they did not find Vin alive, and how long the group would stay together if their leaders died.
"How are you today, Vin?" he asked as he felt Riana's forehead.
"Fine. How's Riana?"
"Her fever should break tonight, if it ever will," the Doctor told him bluntly. He knew Vin hated to be lied to. If you told him anything, the boy wanted the truth. The Doctor respected that.
"And everyone else?"
"There are four more cases," the Doctor replied as he walked back out the door. He couldn't do anything more for the girl, she was in God's hands alone.
"I'd say so," Josiah said as he turned his horse around and led the way out of the canyon.
"You don't think Vin was under..." JD started to say, his voice trembling.
"I don't know, JD," Josiah said quietly. "I hope not."
They rode on in silence for a little while. "But it fell in the rain, so Vin would have been further on right?" JD pressed, unable to believe the ex-bounty hunter could be dead.
"It's possible, JD," Josiah said. "But if we can't get to Vin," Buck cut Josiah off.
"Chris will lose it," he said.
Vin sat on the bed and pulled her into his arms. "I'm here, Riana. I'll always be here," he murmured continuously, as if his voice alone would hold her there.
She calmed down, lying still even as her fever rose higher.
They stayed there, unmoving for hours. The Doctor came in but didn't ask him to move. All they could do was wait.
"It won't help Vin if we get ourselves hurt or killed," Nathan repeated again. "And Ezra's hurt, even if he won't admit it, just like at the Seminole village."
Chris glanced at Ezra, who had caught Nathan's final comment. "Ezra?" he asked.
"I assure you, Mr. Jackson, I am fine," he said.
"That's what you said when you dislocated your shoulder," Nathan replied through clenched teeth.
"I am fine." Ezra pushed past the men and continued to pick his way through the rocks.
"If he's fine, I'm Abraham Lincoln, God keep his soul," Nathan said softly.
Chris frowned slightly and started after the gambler.
"Riana?" She did not respond.
Vin waved his hand in front of her eyes and she looked at him.
"Are you all right?"
"What? Vin, I can't hear you," Riana said. Vin stared at her in shock as the Doctor walked in.
"How is our patient today?" he asked cheerfully. He got no response.
Vin looked up at him, wide eyed. At the Doctor's questioning look he said, "She can't hear. Riana can't hear."
The Southern gentleman's jaw was tight. His walk wasn't as smooth and graceful as it usually was. Ezra was favoring his right ankle.
Chris practically flinched at every step Ezra took. My fault, he thought. It's all my fault. Vin being out here is my fault, Ezra getting hurt is my fault. It's all my fault.
Ezra stopped in front of them. "Mr. Jackson, Mr. Larabee, I believe you should come as hastily as safety permits," he called.
"Fine, thank you," they replied. The Doctor had gotten Riana a teacher from the school of the deaf, when it had been discovered that she couldn't hear. Miss Elizabeth had come to town six months ago, and Vin and Riana spent hours with her every day.
"How is life at the orphanage?" Miss Elizabeth inquired.
"It's the same as always," Riana replied.
"Good, good. I'm glad you're happy there," Elizabeth said. She had somehow gotten the idea that the children at the orphanage were very happy. Neither Vin or Riana had been able to correct that misconception. Vin wondered afterwards if that had been a mistake.
"I'm returning to the school in a few weeks," Miss Elizabeth continued calmly.
"Why?" Vin asked aloud, forgetting to sign.
"You can't," Riana protested.
"Neither of you need me anymore. You've learned the language, you're learning to lip read, Riana, and you have each other. You don't need me to teach you anything else. And I'm needed back at the school," she signed. "Plus, you're happy at the orphanage. You should spend more time there."
Elizabeth smiled benignly at them. Riana and Vin looked at each other incredulously.
Vin always thought of that day as the beginning of the end.
Buck's mind drifted along with his thoughts. He wasn't really paying attention to the country around him. If JD had ever done that he would have yelled at him.
Low bushes dotted the ground. Birds twittered softly, but Buck was oblivious to them. His horse whickered, and Buck absently patted his neck.
The birds burst out under the horses hooves, followed closely by a snake.
Buck's horse reared and jumped sideways.
Afterwards no one could say exactly how or why it happened. Somehow Buck lost his stirrup. As he struggled to keep his balance and get his stirrup back, the horse bolted.
Buck slipped sideways, with his other boot still trapped. He cried out as the ground rushed up to meet him.
The horse dragged him along over hard ground and rocks.
He heard JD yell, "Buck," and then he lost consciousness.
"Vin if Branson catches us not..." Riana trailed off gasping.
He looked down at her face, specifically at her blue tinged lips. "I don't care," Vin said. "If you can't breathe then you can't work. Branson has to understand that."
"He won't, you know he won't." Riana forced out.
"Sit down, catch your breath," Vin ordered. He took the water inside and handed it to one of the girls. She looked out the door past Vin and saw why he had it. She nodded in silent understanding. He went back to chop the wood.
Branson walked into the back garden. "Why the hell aren't you two good for nothing bastards working?" he growled. "You aren't here to sit on your lazy butts."
"Riana can't breathe," Vin protested.
"She won't be able to by the time I'm done with her," Branson replied. "Get back to chopping that wood!"
He grabbed Riana by her hair and dragged her into the building. The last thing Vin saw was her terrified eyes.
He lay completely still and unmoving.
Nathan made his way to Vin as swiftly as he could. Chris stood frozen, a mask slipping over his face. His eyes were ice cold.
Ezra looked down at Vin, and for once he let his poker face slip away. Concern lined it.
"Mr. Jackson? How is Mr. Tanner?" he called. Nathan looked back at them.
Blackness clawed up them, reaching hungrily towards him. He descended. His fingers trailed on the wall, picking up small splinters.
Vin reached the door. It was firmly shut. He stared at it in trepidation.
A faint cry reached his ears.
Vin shoved the door open.
JD slid off of his horse and knelt at Buck's side. He carefully untangled Buck's leg from the stirrup. Josiah tied the horses and joined JD.
"We need Nathan," JD whispered, looking down.
Buck's face was chalky and his breathing shallow.
Josiah reached out and checked for injuries. "Brother Jackson would be a gift right now," he agreed, "but for the moment all we can do is wait for Buck to wake up."
JD looked mutinous. "One of us should go and get Nathan," he argued.
"JD, Vin once told me that if there was a rock slide anywhere on the devil's patrol, it would trigger off another, and another, in a chain reaction. Buck looks to be mostly all right. Vin, on the other hand, almost surely needs Nathan a lot more. We wait."
JD blanched at Josiah's words. He nodded.
Blood congealed in puddles on the floor.
"Leave Riana alone," Vin said icily.
"Leave the bitch alone? Leave the whoring bitch alone?" Branson asked incredulously. "After eight years I would have thought you'd have learned to stay away. You're not a smart boy, and it's time you did learn. I've been easy on you up till now, and I'm not going to be nice anymore."
Branson smiled evilly and lunged forward. He pulled Vin farther into the room and shoved him towards Riana.
The door slammed closed.
"Take off your shirt boy," Branson hissed. Vin did as he was told. He placed it carefully over Riana and stood.
The whip cracked down.
"Mr. Jackson, is that fortuitous or not?" Ezra asked quietly, upon reaching the healer.
Nathan looked at him. "Right now Ezra, I just don't know." Chris slowly gathered up his courage and hurried down the rocks towards Nathan and Ezra's hushed conversation, and towards the fallen tracker.
He looked down at Vin and wanted to crawl away in shame. He had caused this, and it never should have been.
Vin's face was deathly white where mud and dried blood didn't cover it. His hair was stiff and sticky. Vin's breathing was so shallow that it was almost imperceptible.
"Looks like he got thrown into that tree, and then part of the slide came down on him," Nathan said, in answer to a question that Chris hadn't heard.
One thought echoed continuously in his head. It's all my fault.
"What the hell happened?" Buck gasped. "I feel like I been kicked by a mule."
"Almost," Josiah said, "you were dragged by your horse."
"I must have been distracted by that pretty girl," Buck muttered.
"There aren't any girls here, Buck," JD said.
"There was," Buck answered. "She's gone now." JD looked like he was going to argue the point when Josiah interrupted.
"Can you ride, Buck? We need to go find Chris and the others."
"Course I can ride, Josiah. That girl said to hurry up, Vin needs us…" Buck trailed off. Josiah and JD looked at each other oddly but said nothing as Buck slowly picked himself up off of the ground. He winced and stumbled. "I'm going to need to get my ribs wrapped and get something for my leg," he said.
His hand curled around Riana's. She was freezing cold and coughing constantly.
"Vin get out of here," she whispered. "I'm not going to make it this time. You can, leave. Get out of here. Find somewhere you can be happy."
"No!" he signed into the palm of her hand. "You'll be fine, you will survive."
"No, I won't. I've been coughing up blood Vin, and people don't turn blue without a reason. I've been dying bit by bit since I got sick, Vin. I've stayed for you and I can't this time, I just can't." She started coughing again. Vin could hear the wetness of it.
"Don't leave me, Riana."
"I'll always be with you, in spirit. Get out of here before Branson kills you too."
Vin whimpered low in his throat.
"Remember when I gave you the bracelet?" she whispered. He nodded in the darkness, remembering.
"Mr. Jackson, I am perfectly well, Mr. Tanner here, is not. Place your attention where it is needed." Ezra calmly said.
Chris lashed out with his foot, kicking Ezra in the ankle. Ezra stifled a cry.
"Ezra, sit down." Chris' voice was expressionless, but it brooked no argument.
Ezra looked at him icily, "Mr. Larabee, I'd appreciate it if you would refrain from violence upon my person. I am unimportant."
He stopped speaking abruptly, and looked around. "How very unusual," he muttered and sat down on a rock.
"What?" Nathan asked, looking up from Vin. He blinked in surprise at seeing Ezra seated. "Ezra, you rarely do what you're told when you're hurt. In fact you generally have to be forced into it. Why are you sittin'?"
Ezra looked at him blandly. "A gentleman should always do what a lady suggests."
Vin lay in the yard watching the birds while Riana played. He talked about them, using both sign language and his voice.
Riana and Elizabeth laughed at him. Vin always thought about how nice it was to laugh without it being to stop the tears.
"Vin, give me your wrist," Riana said, breaking into his reverie. He absently gave it to her, and she tied something on it. Vin looked at his wrist. Riana had made the string into a bracelet, that was far too big for his wrist. He raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't want you to grow out of it," she said. "Miss Elizabeth, could I have some more string, please? I'd like to make one for Melinda and myself."
Miss Elizabeth cheerfully handed her some more string, and by the end of the afternoon she had finished her bracelets.
Melinda was the newest girl in the orphanage. She had been overjoyed at the present and at being accepted into their group of two. Lindy was the only other person, besides Vin, who accepted Riana's deafness.
As time went on, she was the only person who worried with Vin over Riana's developing weakness. Over her trouble breathing and the constant blueness of her fingers and lips.
That was why she was the one who took the buckets from him when the rest of the kitchen girls would not. She had not been in the kitchen when Vin had brought the wood in.
In a corner of his mind he worried about Melinda. But, as always, his first care and worry was for Riana.
And she was still trying to talk.
"Buck," JD protested, "you're hurt. We should be goin' slower so you don't get hurt worse."
"I'm all right, JD, or at any rate I will be," Buck said calmly. "But Vin needs us, and he needs us fast so we're goin' fast."
"Buck," Josiah rumbled, "you can't know that, not for sure. For all we know... we could be too late."
Buck looked placidly at Josiah. JD simply looked hurt. "NO!" he yelled. "We can't give up on Vin, and we can't hurry you Buck."
"We have to hurry, JD. The girl said so, she also said I would be fine."
"Buck," Josiah interrupted, "you hit your head, there aren't girls with us. And there haven't been any girls with us."
"Well, Josiah, I guess she must have been an angel. But out of respect for the lady, I'll be doing what she said." Buck kicked his horse into a quick canter. Josiah and JD had no choice but to follow his lead.
"Riana, don't talk. You'll be fine," Vin said.
"Vin, I'm dying. I've been dying since the fever, we just didn't know it. Now, we do." Vin started to object again but she cut him off. "Please, listen to me."
Vin's hands fell silent. "I am dying. It would take a miracle to save me, and I don't want one." Vin made a faint sound of protest while she coughed. "Get out of here, Vin. Get away from Branson or you'll be next. Don't let them change you. Don't ever let them get you off balance. Laughter can still get you through it. And remember, no matter what, I'll be with you."
Coughing overtook her.
"You can't die," he whispered.
"Vin, we're Tanners. We don't give up, we fight. And I have fought, but my time is up. You have to keep up the fight, and to stay true to yourself. I'll help, I will. I just won't be here physically anymore. Remember, you won't be alone."
Ezra looked at them coolly. "Yes, a lady. Mr. Larabee, perhaps you would be so kind as to meet our companions. They should be arriving shortly."
Chris looked at him coldly. "Did the lady tell you that too.?"
"Perhaps," he answered.
"It's a long way to walk to meet them, Ezra," Nathan said as he continued to check out Vin's injuries.
"No, it's not. Several more fortuitous slides have blocked the trail. If Mr. Larabee would deign to walk to our horses, our compatriots will honor him with their presence."
Vin pulled himself into a sitting position. He bit his lips to control the moan building in him.
Vin pulled Riana into his arms. She didn't make a sound.
"Riana?" he asked.
"Remember, I love you and I'll always be with you," she whispered. Vin felt her go limp in his arms, although she still breathed.
"I love you too," he whispered again. "I will always love you."
He wanted to stay with Vin, but someone had to get everyone else, and Ezra couldn't do it. Chris knew Nathan wasn't going to let Ezra go anywhere. Chris also knew that he wouldn't let Ezra walk on that ankle. That left him and he cursed the responsibility, and he cursed himself for causing their injuries.
Ezra watched him go, but only half of his attention was on the gunslinger. The other half was listening intently.
"That man needs to learn that he's not responsible for everything, especially not things like rock slides. Vin could have said no, it was his choice to come on this patrol," a feminine voice muttered.
Indeed, Ezra thought. That is true, but Mr. Larabee has never seen things that way.
"Well, he should learn then," the voice replied to Ezra's amusement. Then it faded away.
He'd almost lost Chris once when Sarah and Adam had died. Vin had started to bring him back. If they weren't there for Vin, Buck would lose Chris. Only this time it would be permanent. Buck refused to let that happen, not for any reason.
They neared the end of the patrol. They could see three horses in the distance, and Buck rode on.
As they got closer Chris appeared over the top of a slide. Chris looked over the rise and saw his partners riding up. His eyes widened. "How did Ezra know they were coming?" he asked softly. He picked his way down the slope.
He met them at the horses. "What are you doing here?" Chris demanded.
"A rock slide has completely blocked the beginning of the trail," Buck answered calmly. "A young lady strongly advised that we come here quickly."
"Buck!" JD squawked. "There wasn't any girl there!"
"Yes, there was JD," Buck answered shortly. Chris had gone slightly pale. "What's the matter, pard?"
"Ezra saw a young lady too, when Nathan and I swore there wasn't anyone but us there," Chris answered. "We need to get back to Vin now. He's hurt bad."
"So's Buck," Josiah said quietly. "He got dragged by his horse."
"I'm fine," Buck snapped. "Now we need to hurry up. Vin needs us."
Buck swung himself off of his horse and collapsed on the ground.
Despite her words, Vin knew Riana didn't want to die. He knew she was fighting and he knew that she would fail. He prayed that she didn't feel any pain.
Time went on.
Riana stopped breathing, and this time she did not resume. "NOOOOO!" he howled into the uncaring room.
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