Sacrifice
By Rackuhn
Disclaimer: I don't own them, just having some fun.
They were cautiously making their way through the thick foliage being careful not to be seen by the man that was hunting them down. He had been following their trail for several days after spotting them in a small town about seventy-five miles from where they were, and he had finally located their camp an hour ago. It was fortunate for both of them that the shot he took at his targets went wide, missing both of them, but causing them to abandon their horses and run into the nearby woods.
But they knew that they were in trouble. The man may have been a bad shot but he was definitely good at tracking. Even with their numerous skills at hiding their trail, he still managed to find them and take pot shots at them, every one of them thankfully missing their targets. It had been quite some time since they last saw or heard any signs of the man, both hoping beyond hope, that they had finally evaded him, but unfortunately, the man found them once again. Heyes first heard the shot then felt the impact, not from the bullet, but from his partner pushing him from behind. The second shot he heard was from a gun that was closer to him, definitely Kid's gun. Then all was silent.
Heyes felt the pressure of Kid still lying on the back of his legs as he leaned up onto his elbows. He turned slightly to see that the man who had been hunting them, was now lying on the ground, dead. He looked behind him and saw that Kid was lying on his stomach, his right arm underneath him with his gun still pointed in the direction of the other man, but his forehead was touching the ground and was not moving.
"Kid?" Heyes asked in concern as he carefully pulled his legs from underneath his cousin. Getting onto his knees, Heyes turned him over only to see the large red stain on the left side of his partner's shirt as he felt his own heart stop at the sight that was in front of him. Kid was still breathing but it was very labored so Heyes carefully pulled him into a sitting position against his thighs hoping that it would better help his partner breathe. "Kid? Talk to me." He heard a low moan as Kid's eyes fluttered open.
"H…Heyes?"
"Right here buddy," Heyes replied as he opened Kid's shirt to see the damage. The wound wasn't large but the location…Kid's whole left side was covered in blood and he couldn't help but cringe at the sight.
"Y…you all right?" Kid was struggling to keep his eyes opened and every breath he took seemed to be harder than the one before.
"I'm fine thanks to you," Heyes smiled back as he leaned forward to look at his cousin's face. "You just take it easy and I'll get you to a doctor so that he can fix you up."
Kid shook his head. "Don't!" he forced out as best as he could.
"You're not giving up on me are ya, partner?" Heyes asked, seeing the light fading from Kid's eyes.
Shaking his head in answer, Kid suddenly started struggling to breathe, his eyes squeezing shut as his face reflected the pain he was in. Heyes went to move him into a more comfortable position when Kid tilted his head back, staring hard at his cousin, his hand gripping tightly to Heyes' vest. "Heyes!"
Heyes watched in horror as Kid arched his back and then went limp, his hand letting go of the vest, and his head lolling against his partner's chest. "Kid?" Heyes whispered, his eyes wide with fear as a feeling of horror overcame him.
The birds that he had heard moments before stopped their songs, the slight breeze that helped cool the day suddenly stilled, even the insects that had been pestering them all day were no longer buzzing around them.
"No, don't leave me! Don't you dare die on me!" Heyes yelled back at his lifeless friend as he shook him. A look of terror crossed over his face as he realized that Kid was gone. "No," he cried out softly and placed his cheek on the top of Kid's curly hair, tears streaming from his eyes, hugging him tightly. Not since they both lost their families, had Heyes ever felt this alone. He sat there for a long time rocking his partner's body, holding onto him as tight as he could, not wanting to let him go. "Ah Kid, it wasn't suppose to be this way!" he cried out.
"You're right Hannibal, it wasn't suppose ta be this way."
Heyes turned his tear-streaked face up in the direction that the voice came from. He was stunned to see a very familiar man standing there. "Grandpa?"
"It's me lad, it's me," Grandpa Curry smiled back. "Everythin' is gonna ta be all right."
"How? Kid's dead," Heyes answered, his voice lacking any hope he once had.
"That's what I'm here ta fix," Grandpa smiled while he waved his arm in an arcing motion.
Suddenly Heyes felt Kid move in his arms as if he was trying to wake up. "Kid?" Heyes saw blue eyes staring back at him in confusion. "Kid, you okay? Are you all right? Oh God, I thought that you were dead."
Kid blinked a few more times as if trying to clear the fog from his brain. "I think…I think I was," he stated in confusion as he looked back at Heyes. "What happened?"
"Ya did something unexpected," Grandpa smiled back in pride. "Ya saved your cousin's life is what ya did."
Kid looked over and his eyes opened wide in astonishment. "Grandpa?"
"Aye lad, tis me."
"What's going on?" Heyes cried out not sure if everything happening was real.
"Like I said, Jedediah here save your life, Hannibal. We weren't expectin' him ta do that."
"You mean…I was supposed to get shot and killed instead of Jed?" Heyes asked, not realizing that he started using Kid's real name again.
"Not killed, only wounded," Grandpa Curry answered. "But instead, Jedediah pushed ya out of the bullet's path and ended up getting himself badly hurt."
"Not that I'm not grateful he's back, mind you, but why isn't he dead anymore?" Heyes asked looking down at Kid once again to make sure that he really was alive, and wrapping his arm around Kid's chest just to feel him breathing.
"Because it wasn't his time. What he did today could truly be called heroic."
"All I was doing was keeping Han safe," Kid replied, his face flushing with embarrassment.
"Aye lad, tis true, but because of your unselfish act, ya sacrificed yourself for Hannibal. But as I said, we weren't expectin' ya ta do that, although I should have known better. Ya two are always watchin' out for each other." The smile on Grandpa's face told both of them how proud he was of them.
"And that's why you're here?" Heyes questioned.
"Aye, ta give Jedediah his life back that was mistakenly taken from him."
Heyes sagged in relief at the news that his cousin was going to all right. "Ya hear that Kid? You're gonna live!" Heyes shouted out, squeezing the younger man in an embrace. Then a thought occurred to him as he looked back up at his Grandpa. "The wound! He was shot and the wound is bad."
"Not a problem anymore. Look."
Kid watched as Heyes moved his blood stained shirt out of the way and found where the wound originally was, there was a small, fading pink scar instead. "Kid? How're ya feeling?"
Kid, who was still leaning against Heyes, moved ever so slightly to test for any pain and found none. "A little stiff and tired…but I think I'm okay, Heyes," he smiled back. Heyes pushed him up into sitting position and crawled around to face him.
"You're sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure!"
"Oh God, I thought that I lost ya, Kid," Heyes sighed in relief.
"I thought that I was a goner too," Kid grinned back. "Guess we were both wrong." Both men turned to face Grandpa Curry once more but he was gone. "Heyes, he was here wasn't he?"
"Yeah, he was, Kid," Heyes nodded as he searched the area for the older man.
"This all really happened didn't it?" Kid asked, shivering slightly but not from being cold.
Heyes turned back to his cousin. "Take a look at your shirt. Bullet hole and blood." Kid just sat there staring. Come on, let's get out of here," Heyes said as he grabbed Kid's hand and pulled him up to his feet. Heyes smiled as his cousin stood there.
Kid suddenly became aware of Heyes' stare and became uncomfortable "What?" he asked, still shaking slightly.
"Thanks for savin' me Kid and it's good to have ya back," Heyes smiled and then slapped Kid hard across the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" Kid asked as he rubbed his offended limb.
"That's for dying on me. Don't you ever do that to me again!" Heyes yelled back.
Both men stood there staring at each other when they heard the sound of a familiar laugh around them. Slowly, smiles formed on each of their faces. "Take care of each other boys," they heard Grandpa Curry order.
"We will Grandpa," both said in unison and smiled again.
"And thanks Grandpa," Heyes said quietly as the two men started walking back to their campsite, Heyes knowing that they would have to deal with the death of the man hunting them down later.