Disclaimer: I do
not own the Magnificent Seven or the characters. I do not use this forum for profit. I do own the story and it’s premises.
Rating: FRT-13
Warnings: H/C of my favorites Chris and Vin with some romance
intertwined, some language.
Synopsis: While watching the
Magnificent 7 tapes over and over and over, I noticed that they lacked
interaction with some Native Americans.
I have done a lot of research on this aspect of the show and during the
1870s Four Corners was the cornucopia of Native American historical and
geographical richness. This is my first
frantic so be gentle with me.
The man in black had been gone from
Four Corners for at least two months now.
He had told his friends and the Judge that he would be gone for at least
four months and would be back before winter.
He thought his mission would have ended more successfully, but he was
still no closer in finding the people who had murdered his family.
As he rode on his horse, Pony, Chris
Larabee raised his green eyes to the sky and squinted at the noonday sun. He would be back in Four Corners in four
days. He had spoken with his friends
about the purpose of his leaving and he knew in certain ways that they had
understood, but he also knew in others ways that they had not.
Mary Travis had tried to talk him out
of it that fateful day two months ago, saying that the people of the town
needed him. But Chris had refused to
listen. The only thing he knew was that
he needed to find the killers of his family.
To put an end to his mission for revenge.
Unfortunately, it proved to be a
fruitless one. The man he was looking for
was long gone from the town of El Dorado in the Colorado Territory. The people of the town, whom he had spoken
to there, had said that the man he was looking for had moved on two weeks
before Chris had hit the town. Now, he
was on his way back to Four Corners, disappointed and angry. Disappointed, that he had missed his
opportunity to avenge his family and angry because he had stayed too long in
Four Corners before setting out on his mission.
He thoughts then turned to Four
Corners. He had decided that staying in
Four Corners had made him soft and dull-headed. So soft and dull-headed that he
had missed his prey.
There was a time when he would have
never let anyone or anything stand in his way of avenging his family. His one purpose for living would have never
been forgotten had he left Four Corners that day after saving Nathan Jackson
with the help of one Vin Tanner. He
also would have never renewed his old friendship with Buck Wilmington, nor met
Josiah Sanchez, J. D. Dunne or Ezra Standish if he had never agreed to help the
Seminole Indians protect themselves against a crazed ex-Confederate. And of course, he never would have fell in
love with Mary Travis and her boy, Billy or had any dealings with her
father-in-law, the honorable Judge Travis had he not given assistance to the
Judge in apprehending a murderer.
These people, he would never had met or
known. He would have been alone with
his hatred and anger. Alone to die, he
finally mused. He did not realize at that time that his life would change so
much upon meeting these people, but it had, and now he was returning to that
life, empty handed and defeated.
Pony moved casually through the rugged
terrain, taking his time. Chris
leisurely sat in the saddle, although his senses were constantly on guard.
Chris’ black duster and hat had turned almost gray with the past several days
of dusty trail dirt. The duster blew
gently behind him as he and Pony trotted slowly through the Box Canyon trail. His blonde hair had grown to shoulder length
and needed a hair cut desperately. His face was covered slightly in a fuzz
beard, which was a little better than his hair.
Over the period of two months Chris did
not visit many towns and hence he did not acquaint himself with their
accommodations. The last time he even
partook of their conveniences was in El Dorado and that town was not even what
Chris would call a town. It was more of
a backwater pigsty.
He was also becoming very paranoid
riding alone for so long. He trusted no
one and nothing, hence his staying away from towns grew longer in time and so
did his hair. His face he tried to shave as often as possible, which was not a
lot. Until yesterday he had not even
thought about it. The topmost thing on
his mind was seeking out the man that could lead him to his family’s murderers.
Both man and horse was in no rush to
reach their destination, knowing that the end only meant dealing with other
things. For Pony, it was rest and good
rub down. For Chris Larabee, it was
desolation and failure and anger that burned down to his soul.
Four Corners,
same day
Buck Wilmington came walking out of the
saloon. He had left Ezra and J.D. at
the bar, still drinking their way through another of Inez’s private stock that
she kept for only “certain occasions”.
It was dead of night and Buck was looking for the solace of his bed and
certain young lady. As he walked down
the boardwalk towards his room at the boarding house, he saw Nathan Jackson and
Josiah Sanchez coming from the direction of the church. They had both been assigned to patrol as did
Buck, J.D. and Ezra, since the leaving of Chris Larabee and the disappearance
of Vin Tanner. They both saw Buck and soon turned to walk in a direction that
would intercept him. Buck smiled widely.
He knew why they were coming. It
was the same thing since one month after Chris had left them.
Once upon him, Nathan and Josiah took
positions to the left and right of him, both walking with him towards the
direction of the boarding house.
“Hey, Buck. Ya’ll hear from Chris yet?”
“Nothin’, yet, Nathan.”
Nathan grimaced then turned his face to
Josiah to see it mirrored his own.
“Do you think somethin’ happened,
Brother?” Josiah put in.
“Can’t tell ya. Chris is an odd-stick, if ya know what I mean.
Haven’t heard or seen neither hide nor hair of ‘im. He did say four months.
We just gotta give the man time. He’ll be back.“
“How long it’s been?” came Josiah’s
question as the boarding house drew nearer in their slow meandering walk.
“Been bout two months, I’d say,” came
Buck’s reply.
“I don’t know, Buck. It seems kinda strange ta me that we ain’t
heard from Chris this long. He usually
does send a wire ta let us know he ain’t hurt or anythin’,” came Nathan’s
comment.
Buck knew Nathan was right. But he also knew that if Chris was all right
and if they went out looking for him, he would be madder than a hornet’s
nest. Chris didn’t like people getting
into his business and Buck had got into trouble more than once over it. Nope.
He was not going down the street again.
He then glanced at Nathan and then
Josiah. “Nathan, Josiah, stop worryin’.
I’m sure Chris is fine. You know how he
can be sometimes when he’s got somethin’ ta do,” said the big peacekeeper,
smiling widely at them.
Nathan eyed him doubtfully. Both he and Josiah remembered what happened
the last time that they decided not to look for Chris Larabee. They were lucky that time when they found
him alive in that prison in Jericho. He
and Josiah did not believe they would be so lucky the next, though and they did
not think Chris would be either.
“Have ya seen, Vin lately?” inquired
Josiah.
“Nope.
And I don’t reckon we will until Chris is home. Chris did say once he was done, he would go
with Vin ta Tascosa. I don’t doubt ‘im. He wouldn’a make a promise like that unless
he aims ta keep it.”
“I hope ya right, Buck. It don’t make me any less worried about,
Chris, though.”
“I know, Nathan. But ya gotta have faith that Chris knows
what he’s doin’.”
"Shouldn't that be my line, Brother?"
"Just believe me, Josiah. Chris
will come home."
Nathan and Josiah nodded in agreement,
but still had their doubts. They
realized that they were at the boarding house and it was time for each of them
to go their separate ways about town. All
three nodded to each other and proceeded to their own places of rest and their
own thoughts of where Chris Larabee was.
TBC