Burning Barn

Chapter 1

The Rain

Adam lay in a cold sweat. Joe laying in his arms. Joe was panting.

"Joe...hey Joe look at me." Adam tried to get his brother to answer. Joe gritted his teeth as Hoss pulled the bullet from Joes gut. Joe coughed a bit and trembled as if to cold to move.

"Joe...little Joe." Hoss tried and looked at Adam and swallowed hard. Adam pored whiskey down Joes wound which got a prompt yell from him as the pain coursed through his whole body.

"Did you see which way Bree had gone?" Adam asked. Joe shook his head and swallowed back the lump in his throat. "Nah...sh...gone. Couldn't..." He swallowed again and gasped as he leaned over to the side and spilled the contents on his lunch and parts of his breakfast. "What happened?" Adam asked Hoss. Hoss just shrugged. "I donno Adam. It looks like Joes been beat up good before he was used for someones targeting thats for sure." Hoss answered as Joe took Adams hand. "She took her Adam..." "Who Joe...Who?" "Rita..." Joes eyes rolled and he fell limp.


The air around her was hot and sticky. The wind that nipped at her hair was wet smelling, with the promise of rain. Across the horizone lightning flashed and suddenly she wished she were home with her father, and three brothers.

Bree tasted blood from her earlier attempt to run away with resulted in a savage beating by the man on watch. Her heart skipped a beat when the man nearest her smiled. "Don't you try and run away again darlin. If you do Ol Bill over theres going to string you to a horse and drive him into the river. They'll never find you then.

So that was there plan...they wanted my brothers and father to find me. "Who? I'm afraid I haven't got a clue who your talking about." Bree announced and looked away.

"Oh don't you then?" he asked her. "Why don't you bring her inside Greg...she'll be nice and comfortable in there." Bill said and smiled as he licked his lips. Bree gasped and tried to run from Greg who grabbed her by the hair and threw her down. Kicking her in the ribs. Bree rolled onto her side and gagged, coughing up dust and mud.

"Little shit. What did I tell you huh?" Greg roared and a woman walked out onto the porch.

"Why don't you teach her to respect her elders greg?" Rita said and pushed her hair from her eyes. A young girl next to Rita. Her hair just the same color as hers...but the rest of her looked just like her father. Ben Cartwright.

Adam and Hoss rode toward Victory City following the trail of the kidnappers. Adam stopped Hoss as they heard splashing. At first Adam thought it might be a woman cleaning her clothing, but when he saw Greg and Bill holding someone underwater Adam and Hoss acted on pure instinct and jumped onto the men.

Hoss grabbed the man punching him right in the jaw. Bill toppled over freeing Bree who continued to drown in the deep water as Adam kicked at Greg who grabbed Adams head and shoved him into Hoss who fell into the water. Bree was floating downstream with the current

"Help..." She felt herself go underwater and take water into her lungs. Just as she thought she would drown she hit a rock and held on. She tried to hold on for as long as she could.

"Please." She whispered as the ice cold water ripped at her back. She felt herself slipping. Her nails digging into the moss on the rock. She coughed up more water as it splashed onto her.

"Adam, Hoss...I can't..." She felt herself break free from the rock and fell into the water once again taking in more water. Her lungs burned as she sprawled around trying to grab onto the rock once again. Her eyes closed on there own and her body to cold to continue flopping around the water. Her mind wanted to work, but she couldn't think. She felt someone pull her from the water, and all went dark.