Morning came again to the Cheyenne encampment
and with winter coming, they were preparing to leave for their winter camp near
the mountains. There, they would meet up
with one of their Northern Cheyenne cousins and camp together. After spring, both tribes would separate and
go to their own summer camps.
Since the invasion of the white men into their
lands, most tribes, now short on men, food and supplies would camp together
during the winter to save on resources.
After spring and before summer would start, they would then leave, going
their separate ways.
The five men stood waiting for their comrades
to come. Chris and Vin were requested
to visit the Chief in his home before they would hit the trail back to Four
Corners. Kovaahe and two of the Dog Men
had gone with them, knowing that the two men still needed help to even walk.
“So ya think Chris gon’na be alright?” asked
JD. He had seen so much pain in his
idol’s eyes these last few days that it ate at his soul. He hated seeing one of his friends hurting
so much and he was helpless to do something about it. He knew Buck too was hurting, although the ladies man would never
admit it.
“I don’t know, JD,” answered Buck
thoughtfully. “Ya see when we first
came to Four Corners, Chris was as low as he could go. It was just a matter of time before…” Buck
stopped in mid-sentence. He knew what
Chris would have done if he had met the men that he did.
“What would he have done, Buck?” asked JD
curious as to why Buck had stopped.
Buck did not answer. He turned pain filled eyes towards JD and the others. Josiah, Nathan and Ezra understood what Buck
was getting at, but JD being as young and naïve as he was did not.
“Huh, Buck?”
“He would have taken his gun and put a bullet
in his brain, JD. That’s what he would
have did,” said Buck angrily. “He would
have ended his pain.”
JD stared at Buck in shock. He could not believe that Chris would do
something like that. But the others
knew how death of someone you loved could drive you to do it, especially the
type of death his family had received and he had no outlet for his revenge.
“And you think he would try it again
considering the current events, Mr. Wilmington?”
“I do, Ezra.
And that’s what has me scared.”
They all looked at Buck and realized that he
had stated what they were all thinking.
“Then we make sure that it doesn’t get the
chance,” said Nathan. The man had saved
his life so many times. There was no way
that he would not do the same, even from his own destruction of himself.
“We can’t guard him day and night, Nathan,”
said Buck.
“Yes, we can, Buck,” interjected Josiah.
“But how?” JD asked. “Ya know once he and Vin
get back to town they ain’t lettin’ us go with ‘em.”
“Who says they have to know,” said Josiah,
smiling devilishly.
Buck eyed him askance. “Josiah?”
“We follow them,” answered Josiah
determinedly. He then walked away
towards the horses and their gear.
Nathan rolled his eyes upward. He knew they were asking for trouble, but he
knew he wanted to protect the two men also.
He would go with the others if it came to that.
“But, but…” said JD.
“Close your mouth, Mr. Dunne. It is
unbecoming,” said Ezra and followed Josiah’s suit.
JD looked to Buck for some sympathy, but Buck
shrugged his shoulders and went to find the Cheyenne girl he was talking to and
see if he could finally get through their language barrier.
JD was left standing there with Nathan, but he
too walked away to where Josiah and Ezra went.
JD glanced at the sun, hanging high in the sky
and shook his head. He really loved
these guys, but they were starting to get on his nerves. He then also starting a slow strolled over
to his own horse.
*********************************************************************
Chris sat cross-legged, stoically in the tipi,
listening to the words of his adopted father.
Vin, by his side, kept his eyes focused on the conversation between
Chief Aenohe, Chris and Kovaahe. The
Chief was talking to Chris about his decision to return to his original people
and how he felt about it and Chris was explaining that his home was no longer
as long as he did not have Mapiya.
Until he found her, alive or dead, he could not say where his home was
any longer.
It surprised Vin that ó'kôhóme was not there.
But Vin figured the man was probably in mourning over the lost of his
sister and that Chief Aenohe probably surmised that Chris seeing ó'kôhóme would
not be such a good idea considering how raw Chris’ hurt was. Vin knew Chris blamed ó'kôhóme for some of
what had happened to his wife and child and at this moment, the blond was not
too forgiving.
“Emo'ôhtavo vo'e, my son” started Chief
Aenohe. “I understand why you must go
and it pains my heart that you will, but I have hopes that you will return.”
“My heart is sad for my leaving, father, but I
must find her,” said Chris determinedly.
“When I do, I will return. I
swear this to you.”
“I know you will my son and I have something
for you,” said Chief Aenohe. He then
brought forth a medicine pouch that he placed around Chris’ neck.
Chris accepted it willingly and gladly.
“It will protect you on your journey and bring
you safely back to us,” said Chief Aenohe.
When the pouch was settled on the blond’s
throat, Chris thought it felt warm for a minute, but then chalked it up to his
imagination or stressed out mind.
Vin smiled at the gift that Chief Aenohe had
given Chris. Considering he carried his
own medicine pouch around his neck and it had brought him luck over the years,
he knew it would do so for Chris.
“Thank you, father. I will keep in close to me,” responded Chris.
“And with one that shares your soul,” said
Chief Aenohe laying his eyes upon Vin. You’re your other brothers at your side,
I know that you will be safe.”
The old Chief then leaned over and grabbed
Chris into a hug.
As soon as he had released Chris, Kovaahe
said, “And we shall always be brothers, Emo'ôhtavo vo'e. Remember, if you call me, I shall
come.” Kovaahe then handed him
something that was wrapped in a small deerskin wrapping.
Chris opened it to find a small beaded
necklace with a wooden circle looped on it.
The wooden circle had the picture of hawk on it.
“It is my spirit guide. It will guide you on your journey through
life,” explained Kovaahe.
“Thank you, my brother. I will not forget you and one day I hope to
return,” replied Chris.
“”You will return. I cannot believe otherwise,” said Kovaahe.
“Nor can I,” interjected Chief Aenohe.
Chris nodded to both.
“And you, Netse Ôhvo'komaestse,” said Kovaahe
turning to Vin. He then took Vin’s hand
and held it open. He then placed a
small package into his hand. Vin opened
it and found a beaded feather.
“It will keep you safe and it is a part of the
one Emo'ôhtavo vo'e has. It will warn
you of trouble.”
“Trouble?
What kind of trouble?” queried Vin.
“Trouble,” was all that Kovaahe replied and
smiled.
Vin sighed exasperated. Sometimes the people confused even him.
At that Vin stood up and Chris followed
suit. They said their goodbyes and left
the tipi for their friends and their journey back to Four Corners.
They found their friends ready and
waiting. Peso, Pony and Thunder were
saddled, ready to hit the trail.
Vin mounted Peso and Chris mounted Pony, with
Thunder tied to his saddle. Vin eyed
Chris and smiled. The town was in for
shock at seeing the blond gunslinger due to the fact that Chris had not cut his
hair, but had it pulled back into one braid down his back. He had not changed clothes since he had
none. They had disappeared with his
original saddle and saddlebags. The saddle he now had was a used one, given to
him by his adopted father as a gift.
The Cheyenne Chief did not need it and thought it an appropriate gift
for his son to have on his way into the white man’s lands.
Buck smirked as he viewed Chris. He wore only his deerskin leggings,
breechcloth and moccasin boots. A blond
headed Indian. What a sight he would be
coming into town! And then there was
Mary Travis and Billy. Buck rolled his
eyes to sky, offering a prayer at the outcome of that meeting.
With one last look at the Cheyenne encampment,
Chris watched as they residents went about their daily routine for the new day. His heart moaned at the sight of the freedom
he was leaving behind and he nudged Pony onward towards whatever lay waiting
for him on the horizon. The others
followed, silent and in their own thoughts.
They knew the man had a long and hard road to travel. But he would not be doing it alone. It would take them approximately four months
to reach their destination. Then Chris
and Vin would get what they needed and head back to start their search. The others had agreed that no matter how
long it would take, they would go with them.
They would find Mapiya, alive or dead and heaven help anyone who tried
to stand in their way.
***********************************************************************
Chapter 1
A year and a half later
It was noon when Vin came sauntering into the
saloon in Four Corners. He dusted the
trail dirt from his clothes and stared around the dim interior. The place was pretty quiet, being early in
the day, but he knew by time night fell that the quiet would be gone and his
job to keep the peace would begin. He spied the man he was looking for over in
the back of the saloon.
Chris Larabee was sitting all alone with a
bottle of Red Eye whiskey half filled in his hand and staring at nothing. Vin could see that the green eyes were
bloodshot and he knew he probably had not left the saloon for the two weeks
that he had been gone.
Vin sighed despondently. It was almost over a year and half since
Chris had lost his second wife and child and since having return to their fair
town of Four Corners, he had not risen from his depression not one bit more
than then.
Vin noticed that Buck and the others were
sitting as far away as possible from the gunslinger and he knew it was not
going to be a good day.
“Hey, Vin!” he heard JD called from where the
others sat and he walked directly over to them.
They were playing poker, Ezra dealing and
everyone else losing. It was the only
thing they did so far since their return.
Play cards, police the town and watch over their despondent leader. They, like Vin, refused to leave the man
alone with his guilt, afraid that the blond would do something drastic to ease
his unending pain.
That was exactly had happened a couple months
ago when Vin found Chris in his room at the boarding house, on the floor, drunk
beyond reason and waving a gun around, threatening to end it all. It was then that Vin decided to start the
search for Mapiya, alone and without Chris and it was also then he had made the
others promise that they would not let the blond man out of their sight. The boys had kept their word and Vin went to
search for signs of Chris’ missing family.
Now he was back and had no good news to speak
of. He did not find Mapiya or anything
that signaled her passing, but he did not find her body and that gave him a
tenuous hope to hold on to.
Vin took a seat between Buck and Nathan and
then sidled a glance at the man they called their leader.
When they had first got back, Chris could
hardly stand, let alone walk to the saloon.
Vin had stayed by his side during those two long months, while Nathan
kept trying to convince the man that he was not well enough to go trekking
about with winter coming.
He had contracted pneumonia during their
journey home and it laid the blond man up in Nathan’s clinic for all that
time. They had thought a couple of
times that they were going to loose him, but then Nathan, with the limited
skill and tools he had medically had pulled him through.
Then the snows came and with it the storms,
closing most of the passages and covering up most of the trails that led to the
Box Canyon area where they had lost Mapiya.
Vin had even went out on his own for a couple
of weeks once the snows were over to see if he could find some sign of whether Mapiya
might have survived or at least her body, but none was to be found.
During that time, the blond sank deeper and
deeper into desperation, one that kept the grieving man drunk and unawares of
what went on in the town half of the time.
The Judge had heard the story of what had
happened to Chris from the others and sympathized with the man’s plight, but he
had a town to watch over and he needed men capable of doing that. At this moment, he did not consider Chris
Larabee one of them. That had left Vin
and Buck in charge of keeping the town safe, while the blond gunslinger drank
his mind into oblivion every day.
And then there was the rout he had with Mary
Travis. It was a shock to her when she
saw Chris coming riding in, dressed like an Indian, the day they arrived
home. Then it was bigger shock when
days later, Chris told her he had lost his wife and child and it wasn’t Sarah
and Adam he was talking about. Vin
watched from a distance, seeing the hurt in her eyes. He could see it did not sit well with Chris either. The man had not set out to hurt the
woman. He did care for her, it was just
not in the way he thought he did. Mapiya
had stolen is heart and there was no one else who could fill it. It was Sarah all over again as far as Chris
was concerned.
With the winter at its end and spring finally
arriving in the small town, Vin had went out again to do his search, only to
come back empty handed again. And
though the weather was warming up, it was not so for Chris Larabee. The air was still cold to Chris, as well as
his heart and Vin was afraid that if they did not find Mapiya soon, they would
loose what was left of the blond.
“So how’s he doin’?” Vin asked Nathan.
Nathan snorted and said, “The damn hard-headed
bastard won’t let me take a look at ‘im.
I’ve been tryin’ to take a look at that scar of his and he keeps tellin’
me to go away. I can tell he still has
a fever that comes and goes, but he won’t admit it.”
“He bit my head off three times since ya left,
Vin,” piped in JD.
“We can’t seem to get near ‘im, Vin,” said
Buck softly. “He’s put a wall up
between us.”
“Yes.
Even young Mr. Travis does not seem to be able to get through to our
sorrowful leader,” stated Ezra.
“He’s battling demons that just won’t let go,
Ezra,” replied Josiah.
“Yeah, but we are only tryin’ to help ‘im,”
responded JD.
“I know, JD.
It’s just that Chris is hurtin’ right now and nothin’ we say can make it
any better,” said Vin.
“So nothing, huh?” asked Buck.
“Nope.
Not a sign. But I’m hopin’ that with
spring comin’ and the tribes comin’ back to the summer camps that maybe someone
saw somethin’. I think it’s worth a
try,” replied Vin.
“Yeah, but what do we do about him in the
meantime?” asked Nathan.
He was worried about Chris and he knew his worries
were well founded. He was watching the
man drink his life away. It was a daily
routine that ate at Nathan’s soul.
Chris would get up in the morning and go straight to the saloon. He would then stay in the same seat all day,
gulping down whiskey or any rotgut liquid he could find.
When the day ended and he could barely stand
on his own two feet, the regulators would pick him up and take him back to his
room. There he would scream at them,
fighting them with an uncoordinated body due to the amount of alcohol he had
consumed, and finally pass out on his bed.
The others would stationed one of them inside his room until he awoke
and kicked them physically out. Then
the cycle would start all over again.
During some of these times, Nathan had managed
to examine him while he was out cold, finding out that the man was not taking
care of himself and treat his injuries and illnesses. But soon Chris caught on and would never drink to the point that
he would pass out and that made Nathan’s job more difficult.
Vin looked at the others and smirked. He knew what they were asking. Vin seemed the only one person that Chris
did not try to kill if he approached him.
In fact, Chris looked forward to Vin’s conversations since they
surrounding his findings concerning the whereabouts of Mapiya.
Vin got up from his place at the table and
slowly walked over to the table where the brooding blond sat.
Chris felt a shadow come over the bottle he
had in his hand. He was about to take
another drink, when another hand clamped down around his hand and the
bottle. He looked up with bleary,
red-green eyes to see Vin Tanner standing over him.
“Hey! Vin!
Where…ya been?” said Chris, his words slurred.
“Out searchin’,” replied Vin, taking the
bottle from Chris’ hand and placing it upon the table.
“Have a seat and…a drink,” said Chris smiling
at him.
Vin eyed the man but only saw a shell of the
former man he had once known. He
wondered if it had been better to just leave him in the Cheyenne village. But then again, he did not think it would
have changed the outcome.
“I think ya had enough, Pard.”
“Ain’t had enough! Can’t make it stop,” came Chris’ pain wrought rasp.
“Can’t make what stop, Cowboy?” asked Vin
kneeling down so that his face was even with the blond’s. He saw the anguish in
those green eyes and knew his friend was suffering.
“Make ‘em stop, Vin. Please,” pleaded Chris, tears starting to form in his eyes.
“Come on, Pard,” said Vin and he put his arms
around the blond’s waist and helped him to stand. He then slowly walked the man out of the saloon, amid the stares
of the other regulators. They had to
find Mapiya and fast. Time was running
out for Chris and they had run out of options.
**********************************************************************
Mapiya sat in Red Moon’s tipi, nursing her little 10 months old baby boy. He was born during the winter and Mapiya had named him Heoveaenohe, which was Yellow Hawk in Cheyenne. She had named him so because he had inherited his father’s hair color, but he had bore Mapiya’s brown eyes.
He was a fine boy and Red Moon had told her that she was blessed with a beautiful child. Far Woman knew how hard the birth was for the younger woman and had knew it was even harder without family, friends or husband to revel in the event. But according to her husband, Red Moon, it would not be for long. Spring was on them and Red Moon had kept his promise to Mapiya and had asked White Cloud to send a messenger to the Cheyenne camp which Mapiya’s father resided to inform him that his daughter’s was alive and well, and that he had a grandson. As Mapiya got Heoveaenohe ready for his bed, she thought about how she would go about what she would tell when she saw him. She knew he would be proud of his new son. She shivered at the joy of being reunited with her love and she could not wait to start her new life with her family. As she sung Heoveaenohe to sleep, rocking him back and forth in the cradleboard that Red Moon had made for her, she dreamt of her reunion with her husband and her family and lying back down onto her pallet, she fell asleep, not knowing that her husband was no longer at the Cheyenne camp, but dying inside with lost and searching for her. ***********************************************************************************************************************
Red Moon and Far Woman had awakened Mapiya
early in the morning with news. It
seemed that her brother, Kovaahe and ten of the Dog Men were on their way to
the Comanche camp to take her home. Red
Moon had told her that the messenger had brought something to give to her from
her father.
When she opened the package, she saw it was
her wedding necklace she had made for her husband. She looked at Red Moon, her brown eyes questioning what he
knew.
He could only shrug his shoulders. He said, “I
do not know what it mean, but it was told that you would know.”
But that was it. Mapiya did know. She
feared the worst and her heart ached from it.
Her son was asleep, after being fed and Mapiya leaned over and touched a
strand blond hair from his face. He
looked so much like his father and she had hoped that they would all be
reunited again. But with this omen, she
did not know and her hopes were being dashed by this package from her father.
Far Woman saw the woman’s eyes as she opened
the package. She knew it was not good
news. She said to Mapiya, “This…it…someone…you
love?”
“Yes, Far Woman. It belongs to my husband,” replied Mapiya as she rubbed the necklace
in her hand.
“What…mean?”
“I do not know, Far Woman. My father sent it but until I go to him, I
will not know.”
“Keep…hope here,” said Far Woman touching
Mapiya’s breasts and smiling. “Keep…safe.”
“Thank you, Far Woman for your words of kindness.” Mapiya knew Far Woman was right. She had to keep hope alive. She will find her husband and he will see
his son.
************************************************************************************************************************
Vin sat and watched as the blond man slept in
the bed in his rented room. He kept
vigilance over the man, like so many times before that he had lost count. If they did not find Mapiya soon, he knew
the man would sooner or later do something foolish, foolish enough to cost him
his life.
Over the past year, Chris flirted with death
and took every stupid chance that would get him killed. How many times could he kept pulling him out
of the fire before the man got burned, he did not know. But it was getting harder and harder to do
so. And if the man was not be killed by
some bank robber, criminal or gun hawk that came into town looking for trouble,
he would probably slowly die from the rotgut alcohol that he kept consuming. To Vin, neither was an option.
The man groaned on the bed and Vin knew he was
waking up, which meant he was not going to be in a good mood when he came
finally awake.
Chris turned over on to his stomach and moaned
as his head felt it would burst opened.
His mouth felt dry and sore. His
stomach was doing somersaults and he wished he could shoot it to make it
stop.
He cracked open one eye and found himself
staring into the blue eyes of a man whom he trusted with his soul. Right now though, Chris knew he could trust
no one with his soul, including himself.
His soul as far as he was concerned was gone so there was nothing for
anyone to keep secure for him. He kept
trying to push this man and his other friends away. But no matter what he said or what he did, they kept coming
back. Damn them all! He had destroyed so many lives. Too many to count, including Mapiya, Sarah,
Adam, Mary, Billy and he believed if these men stayed near him, theirs would be
added to the tally. He could not help the lost feeling that ate at him and the
anger that he could not vent on the cause of it and it was slowly winning.
He got up from his bed and staggered over to
the basin on the dilapidate bureau and threw water on his face. He then grabbed a towel from one of its
drawers and wiped the sleep from his eyes, hoping to wipe away the dreams and
memories that came with it.
When he had completely felt that he was awake
he turned to see Vin, scrutinizing him under hooded eyes. The lanky young tracker sat perched in a
chair across from the bed, near the door, silently appraising the gunslinger’s
posture.
“Well?” said Chris, his voice gruff from sleep
and misuse.
“I ain’t got nothin’ to say, Pard,” said Vin
looking at him grimly.
“Well, if you ain’t got nothin’ to say, then why
are you here?” asked Chris, sitting on the bed to pull his boots on.
“Watchin’ ya back, Cowboy. Lately ya don’t
seem to be able to,” said Vin without any judgment in his tone.
“Don’t need it,” said Chris angrily, buckling
on his peacemaker.
“I think ya do and so does the boys,” answered
Vin rocking back into the chair so that it leaned up against the wall.
“Ya do, huh?
Well, I don’t. Now, if ya’ll
excuse me, I’ll be seeing ya around,” said Chris grabbing his hat and duster
and heading for the door.
He had got about half way when he felt a hand
grab his arm and pull him back. He
turned to face Vin who was now out of the chair and standing looking at him
defiantly.
“I ain’t gonna let ya do this, Chris.”
“Do what, Vin? What the hell do ya think I’m doin’?”
“Ya diggin’ an early grave and I ain’t gonna
let ya do that to Mapiya,” drawled the Texan softly.
Chris stared at him astonished, but deep down
he knew Vin was right. He did want to
crawl into a hole and die, right beside Mapiya and his child. Right beside Sarah and Adam. What was there left in his life?
Vin knew what he was thinking, as he always
did when it came to Chris Larabee. It
seemed the first day that they met something had connected the two and it was
no different now.
“She ain’t dead, Cowboy,” said Vin arguing
against Chris’ feelings. “I knowed
it. And ya know it too.”
Chris shook his head, trying to fling the
cobwebs and fog that clouded his thoughts.
A few months ago, he had believed that, but now after a year had gone
by, it was turning out that the others were right. He would never see his wife and child again until death took him
to them.
“Chris, ya just have to give it a little more
time.”
“Shit, Vin! How much time! It’s been almost over a year and we’ve found
nothing to tell us different!”
“Chris, I’m tellin’ ya, ya just got to hold
on. We’ll find her, dead or alive, and
we’ll either put ya demons to rest or we’ll mourn them together.”
Chris knew the blue-eyed tracker meant what he
said, but it was still hard for Chris to believe. “I’ll try, Vin,” was all Chris could respond.
It was enough for Vin right now. It was more than he had hoped for. “So why don’t we go down to the saloon and
get ya somethin’ to fatten up that skinny ass of yaurs?” suggested Vin.
Chris smirked at his friend and nodded. He then opened the door, as Vin got ready to
follow him out.
“Who you calling skinny, ya scrawny ass, no
good, hardheaded Texas rat,” said Chris laughing on their way out of the door.
**********************************************************************************************************************
ó'kôhóme, Kovaahe and four of the Dog Men had
arrived when they said they would. The
meeting was joyful and also heartbreaking.
ó'kôhóme had explained to her how they had thought she was dead and how
their father mourned her. He also told
her that her husband refused to believe that she was dead until he found her
body.
On hearing her husband’s name, Mapiya had
asked her brother of news of her husband, of his health. Her brother’s look did nothing to prepare
her for the shock she was about to receive.
She had found out that her husband had left
for the home of original people and was only stopping there to pick up supplies
for the long trek to search for her or her body, which ever he found. Neither ó'kôhóme nor Kovaahe knew where he
was and that was a year and a half ago.
Mapiya had wished she had left to find him
earlier when she wanted to and cursed herself for her failure. But her brother and husband’s best friend
explained to her that she had done the right thing, by protecting her child,
her husband’s son. It would have been
too great a risk.
As Mapiya gathered her things, she said
goodbye to her new found friends and wished them well in their continued
journey.
Red Moon told her that he would always think
of her as a sister and would always be remembered by him. He also praised the day when he would see
them again, as she and her son were reunited with the boy’s father.
Far Woman hugged Mapiya gently, telling her
how nice it was to have another woman around the tipi to talk to, other than
her husband. She loved him dearly, but
he did not know anything about helping around the home. Mapiya giggled knowing full
well that Far Woman loved to tease her husband and her love.
Once Mapiya, with her son Heoveaenohe strapped into his cradleboard on her back was
settled on a horse brought with the men, she said her final goodbyes and they
headed back for the Cheyenne camp.
As they rode, her brother and Kovaahe told her
all about what happened once she disappeared.
Po'êxao'o and Ka'evêsehe were dead, their bodies thrown to the wolves and
their souls walking in the land of dead to suffer for what they had done. Me'eohtseva'e was alive and living with her mother and father,
but since the time of her brother’s death and of ó'kôhóme rejection, she had become what the Cheyenne
called Emâsêhanee'e, crazy. Otseemeoo'e was well and often wondered if she will ever see again
her husband’s white brother, Netse Ôhvo'komaestse
. Mapiya could tell that the girl was
smitten with him from the first day he entered into their village.
As they updated her on all the different
things that had gone on within the past year, Mapiya had thought. If she went to the white village of her
husband, maybe she would find Netse Ôhvo'komaestse or one of the others. They would surely know where her husband had
gone.
She told her brother and Kovaahe that this is
where she wanted to go and where she would start her search for her husband.
ó'kôhóme and Kovaahe did not believe it was a
good idea. They had never been to a
white village before and they have heard how they treated other people of their
kind. They thought that it would be
dangerous to go there.
But Mapiya insisted. It was once the home of
her husband and if nothing else, she hoped to find information as to where he
might have gone. She told them in no
uncertain terms that if they did not accompany her there, then she would go it
alone.
The two men knew they would not be able to
dissuade the woman from going and they knew she would hard-headed enough to try
to sneak away on her own, so they reluctantly agreed, only after sending one of
their men to tell her father where they were planning to go and if they did not
return within 14 setting of the suns, then he would come with more men to find
them.
Mapiya thanked them reverently and told them
what her husband had told her of the location of his white home.
The trek would take them three suns from where
they currently were. They just hoped
that they would find Emo'ôhtavo vo'e or someone who knew of his whereabouts
before that time.
The two men nodded motioned the group towards
the north trail and headed for the village of Four Corners.
***********************************************************************************************************************
At the setting of the third day after his talk
with Chris, Vin had found himself trying to get the blond out of his depression
again. It had seemed that he had got through to the man before, but with the
coming of another day and another disappointment, it changed so
drastically.
They went back to the area where they had lost
Mapiya to try to find some evidence of her passing, but it was to no
avail. They came back with heavy hearts
and Chris was no better than before. It
was if the man was riding a wild bronc and had no control when it started to
buck and tried to toss him off. Vin was afraid that once the bronc did, Chris
would end up hurting more than his pride.
The sun had long ago disappeared from the sky
and had brought another end to another cruel day for Chris. Vin stood on the steps of the church as he
watched the blond gunslinger stagger out of the saloon and proceed towards his
room at the boarding house.
At that moment, Josiah came out of the church,
two cups of coffee in his hands. He
handed one unceremoniously to Vin and then took a seat on the steps next to the
young tracker. He noticed the forlorn
look on the man’s face and he knew the cause was weaving down the street.
“That man carries a heavy burden, brother,”
said Josiah nodding over to the disappearing form of Chris Larabee.
“He’s carryin’ more than his share, preacher,”
replied Vin.
“So what are you goin’ to do?”
“Don’t rightly know, Josiah. I just got to get ‘im to see that this ain’t
the end, no matter what he finds out.
“That’s a tough mission you have there,
brother.”
“Yeah,” said Vin staring off to where the man
had disappeared. Josiah could tell that
Vin was not really listening to him.
“Vin, you alright?” asked Josiah concerned.
“Yeah.
Josiah?”
“Yeah, Vin?”
“Do ya think ya can die from a broken heart?”
Josiah, who at first was not looking directly
at the young Texan, turned to stare into his blue eyes. He said, “I think if the love is strong
enough, yes. Yes, I do. Is that what
you think is happening to Chris?”
Vin shook his head and said, “I don’t rightly know
what is happenin’ with Chris. He don’t
talk to me anymore.”
“Don’t talk to you anymore? But Vin, I heard him…”
“I mean he don’t talk to me, Josiah,” said Vin
emphatically to the ex-preacher. “I
can’t understand what’s inside his head anymore.”
Josiah then knew what Vin was referring to. He
was referring to the mysterious bond the two men shared and how they always
were able to communicate their feelings to each other without words.
“Well, maybe it’s because he’s so wrapped up
in trying to find Mapiya that it’s interfering in the communications between
you two.”
Vin eyes turned to one of surprise and
hope. “Ya think so?”
“Yeah.
I just think once this is over, once we either find Mapiya or…or her
body, things will change.”
“I think if he finds Mapiya dead, Josiah, then
things will turn for the worst.”
“How worst can it be?”
“I think worst than this,” said Vin nodding
towards the boarding house. “I think
he’ll go back to way he was after the death of Sarah and Adam and that ain’t
good, Josiah. That ain’t good at all.”
“Brother Vin, I think you need to have a
little more faith in Chris Larabee.
Buck probably thought the same at one time, but even he has seen how
he’s changed once he found a home here with us.”
“I think he’s lost too much family, Josiah.”
“But that’s what we are too, Vin. We’re his family too and don’t you ever
forget that,” said Josiah adamantly.
Vin saw the hope that the man was giving him
and he grabbed at it like a rope. “I
won’t forget, Josiah.”
Suddenly, they heard a gunshot and another
following quickly behind it, coming from the boarding house. Vin jumped up and started at a dead run
towards the building, Josiah hot on his heals.
They ran into Buck, JD and Ezra as they came running
out of the saloon.
“Ya heard that?” asked JD, pulling out his
guns.
“Yeah. Git Nathan!” said Vin continuing his
run towards the place where the gunshot was heard, pulling his mare leg from
its holster at his side.
“Where’s Chris?” asked Buck hurriedly, also
pulling out his weapon and motioning JD towards the clinic for Nathan.
“Inside!” exclaimed Josiah running behind Vin
and removing his gun from his holster.
Buck and Ezra followed wondering what the hell
was going on.
JD and Nathan had just got to the boarding
house as the others converged on Vin’s position at the entrance. As they were about to enter, they heard
another shot coming from upstairs. Vin
realized it was on the same floor as Chris’ room.
“That’s where Chris’ room is!” he shouted and
started to run for the front door.
“Wait, Vin!” said Josiah, grabbing him by the
arm and pulling him back. “You can’t
just go busting in there. We don’t know
what’s going on in there.”
“He’s right, Vin,” added Buck. “We don’t how many are in there.”
Vin knew they were right, but it did not mean
that he had to like it.
“Fine!
I’m taking the higher ground,” said Vin as he ran to where the back
alley staircase was and started to climb up them towards the roof.
“Josiah, you and Ezra go around back. The rest of us will take the front. Come on, let’s go!” said Buck leading the
way into the boarding house.
When they got inside the front door, they saw
the clerk hiding behind his desk. “What
happened?” whispered Buck to the clerk.
The clerk shrugged his shoulders and pointed
up the stairs. Buck nodded and motioned
the others to follow him up the stairs.
In the meantime, Vin was climbing down the
roof stairs into the hallway on the top floor where Chris’ room was.
When he got to the bottom, he peered around
the corner. There was no one in the
hall and all seemed quiet.
As he started creeping down the hall, he saw
Buck and the others coming from the main stairway in the other direction. He then heard a noise from the side staircase
and he saw Josiah and Ezra joining them.
It was then that they heard a loud thump
coming from what was Chris’ room. Vin
nodded silently at his companions and they understood what to do. They split
off into two groups each taking a side area of the door to the room. Vin stood directly in front of it and
without preamble, cocked his mare leg and kicked the door in. What they saw stopped them in their tracks.
There was a body on the floor, the body of a
man, blood pooling around the chest area.
They could not see his face since he was lying face down. A gun was in his outstretched hand.
They then noticed Chris slumped against the
wall by the window, his shirt slightly opened.
His gun was pointed directly at them, his green eyes bloodshot and glazed
and seemed to waver open and close. One
hand held onto his right side as blood poured through his fingers as he
breathed heavily.
Vin and Buck ran straight for the blond on the
floor, while the others checked on the stranger.
While Vin and Buck were kneeling down next to
Chris, taking his gun from his hand, they heard Nathan say from behind them, “He’s
dead. Can’t do nothin’ for ‘im now.”
Nathan then proceeded over to where Chris lay
dazed and disoriented. “Chris! Chris, can ya hear me?” asked the healer,
trying to remove the man’s hand from his side to examine the wound.
“Don’t…have to…shout, Nathan. I can hear,” Chris rasped glaring at him.
“Well, at least we know he’s alive,” joked
Buck trying to lighten the mood of the situation.
Chris smiled lightly and tried to laugh, but
it turned into a cough instead as a burning sensation filled his side.
“Take it easy, Pard,” said Vin, placing his
hand on Chris’ shoulder.
“How ya feelin’, Chris?” asked Nathan as he
started examining the wound.