Missing
Author: Wendy H
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, etc., etc.
Ratings: Angst
Author's Notes:
Thanks to V, who is constantly putting more
ideas in my head than I can handle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part One
"So, Boston, did they send you to law school just so you can do clever things like this?"
Even though, Scott was unable to see his brother due to the embarrassing position he now found himself in, he could still make out the barely controlled sniggering as he struggled not to laugh out loud.
"I mean, me being a simple country boy, I gotta ask how'd you do it?"
"Simple is right!" Scott called back in frustration. "Simple in the head. Now, get me the Hell out of here!"
Scott's loud and impatient voice couldn't have pleased his brother more if he tried to. Johnny was having too much fun to let Scott off too easily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe you did that," Johnny rebuked his brother as Lancer boys barreled into the house earlier that day.
"Why? She looked so lonely," Scott grinned as he managed to evade his brother's elbow connecting with his ribs. "And after all, you're such a 'sweet boy for a gunfighter'." The blonde Lancer doubled over laughing as he imitated an old and craggy voice.
"What are you two on about?" Murdoch Lancer asked as he watched his son's good-natured teasing with some pleasure.
Feigning a quick movement toward his brother, that had Scott stepping back in readiness to flee, Johnny shook his head as he made himself comfortable on the corner of Murdoch's desk to explain. "My dear brother, decided to offer my services to old Mrs. Pruitt for Sundays town dance."
"Jessica?" Murdoch asked, finding the situation slightly amusing himself. "And what services would that be?" The elder Lancer asked with raised eyebrows.
"As her dance partner of course," Johnny grumbled as he moved his had around in his hands. "No offense Murdoch, but she's not really my type. She's more your--"
"My age?" Murdoch finished his youngest son's sentence for him as he heard Scott spluttering uncontrollably behind him. "Well, if you must know, Johnny, Jessica has a good fifteen years or more on me." The rancher defended.
"Scott only did this because, Jenny Wainwright made it clear who she's going to dance with and it's not going to be him," Johnny glared as he threw his hat at his now hopelessly amused brother.
"But you're such a 'sweet boy'," Scott roared as he caught Johnny's hat and tossed it back at its owner.
"Boys!" Murdoch light-heartedly admonished before getting down to serious ranch matters. "Fun can wait. I've got another job for you. I need you to go and check around the South pasture land for me. Jelly tells me one of the hands found the remains of another dead calf this morning. That makes four in two weeks." Murdoch frowned.
"That cat again?" Johnny asked, his joke with his brother now forgotten.
"Thought it had left for parts unknown," Scott said as he joined his father and brother.
"We all did. You think you two can go and take a look, see if you track it down for me?" Murdoch asked.
"Sure, I'll go, don't know about Johnny though," Scott said with a smile as he began backing toward the front door, "I'm not sure if he can drag himself away from Mrs. Pruitt." He chuckled as he bolted for the door.
"And he's the one that went to Harvard," Johnny mocked as he shook his head and headed to the door after his brother. All the while his mind trying to figure an equal revenge.
Having tracked the lion most of the day, they had lost the cat's tracks as they led up to a rocky outcrop. Both Lancers agreed to give it one more hour before heading back to the ranch. Tethering their horses, they set off on foot to track the animal down.
"What's the bet, it's going to rain and wash these tracks away before we find out where it's hiding?" Scott said as he pondered the darkening sky before continuing to track the cat as his brother had taught him.
"And what's the bet I end up dancing the night away with Jenny, even taking your meddling in to account?" Johnny responded, re-igniting the earlier topic of dispute as he proudly watched from some distance behind, as Scott tracked the Mountain lion.
"Brother," Scott grinned as he turned to look back at Johnny, "I'll take that bet and when--" His last words were swallowed just as he was, as the ground suddenly gave way beneath his feet.
Running desperately to where he had seen Scott disappear, Johnny found an entrance to an old mine shaft. It had to have been the combined pressure of rotten boards and Scott's weight that had caused the collapse.
"Scott?" Johnny tried to keep the panic out of his voice, but failed miserably as he imagined broken bones, or worse.
"Yeah, I hear you," The voice sounded more irritated than hurt. "Get me out of here, will you?" Scott's voice echoed up the tunnel.
"You okay, Boston?" Johnny needed to be sure that Scott was all right.
Once, he was assured his brother had been uninjured by the fall, Johnny had made himself comfortable, so he could peer safely over the side and allow the fun to begin. Vengeance was going to be sweet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Now, get me the Hell out of here!"
"Now, Boston, you don't need to be getting all riled up down there. This is going to take some careful figuring to get you out. I'm gonna need to ponder on it a spell. A 'plan', that's what I need. Yep, a plan and a nap." Johnny just managed to stifle an all-out belly laugh, as he heard his brother's groan echo up the shaft.
"Brother, all you need is a rope. No pondering, no figuring and unless you want me to shoot you dead when I do eventually get out of this Hellhole, no blasted nap. Just a God damned rope!" Scott shook his head in utter disgust. Here he was, at the bottom of mine shaft, bruised and sore in more places than he could count and covered from head to foot in mud. And unlike his brother, Scott was finding nothing humorous about his current predicament. Any patience had long burnt away to a short fuse.
"A rope? Hell, Boston, no wonder you went to Harvard," Johnny snickered. "I would NEVER have thought of that!"
"Just get the blasted rope, Johnny Lancer!"
Hearing his brother's patience finally give out, Johnny was about slide back from the edge, when he stopped and peered over the rim again. "You did say rope, didn't ya?"
"Johnny, I swear, if you don't go, I'm going to--"
"I'm going. I'm going," Putting a halt to his brother's unvoiced threat, Johnny lost the last of his control and roared with all the laughter he had been holding back, as he pushed himself away from the hole.
Still smiling, the younger Lancer stooped down to pick up his hat, having lost it in the rush of blind panic in seeing to his brother's welfare. A shiver ran down Johnny's spine and his smile faded as the memory of how close he had come to losing Scott suddenly struck him. Dusting the dirt from the brim, Johnny placed it on his head as he quickened his pace and headed down to where the horses were tethered to retrieve the much-requested rope for his Scott.
LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR
Scott listened until the last of his brother's laughter faded into silence while grinding his teeth in impotent frustration. Now that Johnny had gone to fetch the rope, he was feeling very much alone in his small earth jail.
After a dismal attempt at cleaning the some of the filth from his face, Scott took a closer look at his prison. His boots were ankle deep in mud, and made a sucking sound as he attempted to move. He wasn't about to complain. If it hadn't been for this wet clay surface which had cushioned his fall, he might have suffered a broken bone or two, instead of just scrapes and bruises.
While waiting for Johnny to return, Scott made his way through the sludge, examining the confines of his space. He had only followed the shaft a short distance when he came face to face with a wall of rocks and scattered beams.
Glancing back the way he'd come, Scott now knew there was only one way out of that place and it meant waiting on his comedic brother and suffering through his good-natured joking. Scrunching his face into a frown, he considered his options again, perhaps it would be preferable to try to dig himself out.
LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR
Checking the rope as he wound his way through the rocks and bushes back to the mine shaft, Johnny's humor had faded as he realized there was a renewed sense of urgency in his brother's situation. Thunderheads had started rolling in while they had been searching for the mountain lion and then with Scott's accident. The skies had darkened overhead enough to make Johnny accelerate his pace, knowing that rain would make it that much harder to get Scott out.
Seeing the break in the ground ahead, Johnny relaxed a bit, knowing that he'd have Scott out in no time, though he might have to run for his horse, if Scott's mood stayed as dark as it sounded from down below. Focused on the job ahead of him, Johnny didn't hear the cat until it was too late.
With his hands still gripping his brother's lifeline, Johnny spun around at the sound of growling threat and was knocked down by the mountain lion's sudden and ferocious attack.
With the wind knocked out of him, Johnny used the only thing he had and pushed the coiled rope between the snarling cat's mouth as her teeth made a lunge at his throat. Powerful claws tore a burning trail through his side as he watched his and Scott's death mirrored in her eyes. Using all the strength he had left, Johnny shifted to his left, throwing the cat off balance as he made a last ditch effort for his gun.
With his fingers just managing to reach the butt of his weapon, Johnny felt the cat regain her purchase and bite down on his unprotected shoulder. Screaming in pain, Johnny ignored the teeth grinding into his flesh and bone of his gun arm and managed to free his gun. Feeling light headed, Johnny closed his eyes as he twisted his wrist and squeezed the trigger.
LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR
Even deep in the earth, Scott heard his brother's painful cry. Moving as fast as the mud would allow, he made it back to the mine's entrance just as the sound of gunfire shattered the silence.
With his heart racing, Scott looked up helplessly at the jagged opening and called up desperately. "Johnny? This isn't funny, you know." But Scott knew that even Johnny wouldn't take a joke this far. Something was terribly wrong above ground.
Unconsciously, stepping to the tunnel wall, Scott's fingers clawed for a hold in the soft clay, as his calls became more frantic. "JOHNNY? ANSWER ME!"
LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR
"JOHNNY! ANSWER ME!"
"Boston?" Johnny groaned, as he fought his way back from the encroaching darkness to answer the familiar and fearful voice.
Trying to remember what had happened, Johnny cried out when he tried to move his shoulder. Turning his head to see what was causing his pain, he was confronted with the dead eyes of a mountain lion, her teeth still buried in his flesh. Pushing down the bile threatening to leave his stomach, Johnny brought his left arm over to push the dead animal from his shoulder when he was rewarded with a fiery pain in his left side. Ignoring it, he grabbed hold of the lion's top jaw and painfully levered her teeth from his shoulder.
Breathless, Johnny used his feet to push the rest of the cat off him and laid still as he caught his breath.
"JOHNNY! WHAT'S HAPPENING?"
"Scott?" Remembering why he was here, Johnny rolled over, biting his lip as pain stabbed at his wounds in retaliation. Crawling on his knees, his eyes clenched tight against the pain, Johnny blindly fumbled for the rope and found it. Then he weakly pulled it free from under the lion's body while holding his bad arm protectively against his stomach. Somehow, Johnny made it to his feet, mouthing his brother's name as he accomplished two stumbling steps before passing out.
Johnny's unconscious body fell to the ground, spiraling out of control down the hillside, until an unyielding rock put an end to the slide with a sickening thud.
TBC
Author: Wendy H
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, etc., etc.
Ratings: Angst
Author's Notes:
Thanks to V, who is constantly putting more
ideas in my head than I can handle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part One
"So, Boston, did they send you to law school just so you can do clever things like this?"
Even though, Scott was unable to see his brother due to the embarrassing position he now found himself in, he could still make out the barely controlled sniggering as he struggled not to laugh out loud.
"I mean, me being a simple country boy, I gotta ask how'd you do it?"
"Simple is right!" Scott called back in frustration. "Simple in the head. Now, get me the Hell out of here!"
Scott's loud and impatient voice couldn't have pleased his brother more if he tried to. Johnny was having too much fun to let Scott off too easily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe you did that," Johnny rebuked his brother as Lancer boys barreled into the house earlier that day.
"Why? She looked so lonely," Scott grinned as he managed to evade his brother's elbow connecting with his ribs. "And after all, you're such a 'sweet boy for a gunfighter'." The blonde Lancer doubled over laughing as he imitated an old and craggy voice.
"What are you two on about?" Murdoch Lancer asked as he watched his son's good-natured teasing with some pleasure.
Feigning a quick movement toward his brother, that had Scott stepping back in readiness to flee, Johnny shook his head as he made himself comfortable on the corner of Murdoch's desk to explain. "My dear brother, decided to offer my services to old Mrs. Pruitt for Sundays town dance."
"Jessica?" Murdoch asked, finding the situation slightly amusing himself. "And what services would that be?" The elder Lancer asked with raised eyebrows.
"As her dance partner of course," Johnny grumbled as he moved his had around in his hands. "No offense Murdoch, but she's not really my type. She's more your--"
"My age?" Murdoch finished his youngest son's sentence for him as he heard Scott spluttering uncontrollably behind him. "Well, if you must know, Johnny, Jessica has a good fifteen years or more on me." The rancher defended.
"Scott only did this because, Jenny Wainwright made it clear who she's going to dance with and it's not going to be him," Johnny glared as he threw his hat at his now hopelessly amused brother.
"But you're such a 'sweet boy'," Scott roared as he caught Johnny's hat and tossed it back at its owner.
"Boys!" Murdoch light-heartedly admonished before getting down to serious ranch matters. "Fun can wait. I've got another job for you. I need you to go and check around the South pasture land for me. Jelly tells me one of the hands found the remains of another dead calf this morning. That makes four in two weeks." Murdoch frowned.
"That cat again?" Johnny asked, his joke with his brother now forgotten.
"Thought it had left for parts unknown," Scott said as he joined his father and brother.
"We all did. You think you two can go and take a look, see if you track it down for me?" Murdoch asked.
"Sure, I'll go, don't know about Johnny though," Scott said with a smile as he began backing toward the front door, "I'm not sure if he can drag himself away from Mrs. Pruitt." He chuckled as he bolted for the door.
"And he's the one that went to Harvard," Johnny mocked as he shook his head and headed to the door after his brother. All the while his mind trying to figure an equal revenge.
Having tracked the lion most of the day, they had lost the cat's tracks as they led up to a rocky outcrop. Both Lancers agreed to give it one more hour before heading back to the ranch. Tethering their horses, they set off on foot to track the animal down.
"What's the bet, it's going to rain and wash these tracks away before we find out where it's hiding?" Scott said as he pondered the darkening sky before continuing to track the cat as his brother had taught him.
"And what's the bet I end up dancing the night away with Jenny, even taking your meddling in to account?" Johnny responded, re-igniting the earlier topic of dispute as he proudly watched from some distance behind, as Scott tracked the Mountain lion.
"Brother," Scott grinned as he turned to look back at Johnny, "I'll take that bet and when--" His last words were swallowed just as he was, as the ground suddenly gave way beneath his feet.
Running desperately to where he had seen Scott disappear, Johnny found an entrance to an old mine shaft. It had to have been the combined pressure of rotten boards and Scott's weight that had caused the collapse.
"Scott?" Johnny tried to keep the panic out of his voice, but failed miserably as he imagined broken bones, or worse.
"Yeah, I hear you," The voice sounded more irritated than hurt. "Get me out of here, will you?" Scott's voice echoed up the tunnel.
"You okay, Boston?" Johnny needed to be sure that Scott was all right.
Once, he was assured his brother had been uninjured by the fall, Johnny had made himself comfortable, so he could peer safely over the side and allow the fun to begin. Vengeance was going to be sweet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Now, get me the Hell out of here!"
"Now, Boston, you don't need to be getting all riled up down there. This is going to take some careful figuring to get you out. I'm gonna need to ponder on it a spell. A 'plan', that's what I need. Yep, a plan and a nap." Johnny just managed to stifle an all-out belly laugh, as he heard his brother's groan echo up the shaft.
"Brother, all you need is a rope. No pondering, no figuring and unless you want me to shoot you dead when I do eventually get out of this Hellhole, no blasted nap. Just a God damned rope!" Scott shook his head in utter disgust. Here he was, at the bottom of mine shaft, bruised and sore in more places than he could count and covered from head to foot in mud. And unlike his brother, Scott was finding nothing humorous about his current predicament. Any patience had long burnt away to a short fuse.
"A rope? Hell, Boston, no wonder you went to Harvard," Johnny snickered. "I would NEVER have thought of that!"
"Just get the blasted rope, Johnny Lancer!"
Hearing his brother's patience finally give out, Johnny was about slide back from the edge, when he stopped and peered over the rim again. "You did say rope, didn't ya?"
"Johnny, I swear, if you don't go, I'm going to--"
"I'm going. I'm going," Putting a halt to his brother's unvoiced threat, Johnny lost the last of his control and roared with all the laughter he had been holding back, as he pushed himself away from the hole.
Still smiling, the younger Lancer stooped down to pick up his hat, having lost it in the rush of blind panic in seeing to his brother's welfare. A shiver ran down Johnny's spine and his smile faded as the memory of how close he had come to losing Scott suddenly struck him. Dusting the dirt from the brim, Johnny placed it on his head as he quickened his pace and headed down to where the horses were tethered to retrieve the much-requested rope for his Scott.
LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR
Scott listened until the last of his brother's laughter faded into silence while grinding his teeth in impotent frustration. Now that Johnny had gone to fetch the rope, he was feeling very much alone in his small earth jail.
After a dismal attempt at cleaning the some of the filth from his face, Scott took a closer look at his prison. His boots were ankle deep in mud, and made a sucking sound as he attempted to move. He wasn't about to complain. If it hadn't been for this wet clay surface which had cushioned his fall, he might have suffered a broken bone or two, instead of just scrapes and bruises.
While waiting for Johnny to return, Scott made his way through the sludge, examining the confines of his space. He had only followed the shaft a short distance when he came face to face with a wall of rocks and scattered beams.
Glancing back the way he'd come, Scott now knew there was only one way out of that place and it meant waiting on his comedic brother and suffering through his good-natured joking. Scrunching his face into a frown, he considered his options again, perhaps it would be preferable to try to dig himself out.
LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR
Checking the rope as he wound his way through the rocks and bushes back to the mine shaft, Johnny's humor had faded as he realized there was a renewed sense of urgency in his brother's situation. Thunderheads had started rolling in while they had been searching for the mountain lion and then with Scott's accident. The skies had darkened overhead enough to make Johnny accelerate his pace, knowing that rain would make it that much harder to get Scott out.
Seeing the break in the ground ahead, Johnny relaxed a bit, knowing that he'd have Scott out in no time, though he might have to run for his horse, if Scott's mood stayed as dark as it sounded from down below. Focused on the job ahead of him, Johnny didn't hear the cat until it was too late.
With his hands still gripping his brother's lifeline, Johnny spun around at the sound of growling threat and was knocked down by the mountain lion's sudden and ferocious attack.
With the wind knocked out of him, Johnny used the only thing he had and pushed the coiled rope between the snarling cat's mouth as her teeth made a lunge at his throat. Powerful claws tore a burning trail through his side as he watched his and Scott's death mirrored in her eyes. Using all the strength he had left, Johnny shifted to his left, throwing the cat off balance as he made a last ditch effort for his gun.
With his fingers just managing to reach the butt of his weapon, Johnny felt the cat regain her purchase and bite down on his unprotected shoulder. Screaming in pain, Johnny ignored the teeth grinding into his flesh and bone of his gun arm and managed to free his gun. Feeling light headed, Johnny closed his eyes as he twisted his wrist and squeezed the trigger.
LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR
Even deep in the earth, Scott heard his brother's painful cry. Moving as fast as the mud would allow, he made it back to the mine's entrance just as the sound of gunfire shattered the silence.
With his heart racing, Scott looked up helplessly at the jagged opening and called up desperately. "Johnny? This isn't funny, you know." But Scott knew that even Johnny wouldn't take a joke this far. Something was terribly wrong above ground.
Unconsciously, stepping to the tunnel wall, Scott's fingers clawed for a hold in the soft clay, as his calls became more frantic. "JOHNNY? ANSWER ME!"
LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR
"JOHNNY! ANSWER ME!"
"Boston?" Johnny groaned, as he fought his way back from the encroaching darkness to answer the familiar and fearful voice.
Trying to remember what had happened, Johnny cried out when he tried to move his shoulder. Turning his head to see what was causing his pain, he was confronted with the dead eyes of a mountain lion, her teeth still buried in his flesh. Pushing down the bile threatening to leave his stomach, Johnny brought his left arm over to push the dead animal from his shoulder when he was rewarded with a fiery pain in his left side. Ignoring it, he grabbed hold of the lion's top jaw and painfully levered her teeth from his shoulder.
Breathless, Johnny used his feet to push the rest of the cat off him and laid still as he caught his breath.
"JOHNNY! WHAT'S HAPPENING?"
"Scott?" Remembering why he was here, Johnny rolled over, biting his lip as pain stabbed at his wounds in retaliation. Crawling on his knees, his eyes clenched tight against the pain, Johnny blindly fumbled for the rope and found it. Then he weakly pulled it free from under the lion's body while holding his bad arm protectively against his stomach. Somehow, Johnny made it to his feet, mouthing his brother's name as he accomplished two stumbling steps before passing out.
Johnny's unconscious body fell to the ground, spiraling out of control down the hillside, until an unyielding rock put an end to the slide with a sickening thud.
TBC