Long Shot

Chapter 1 - The Posse

"Heyes, tell me again why scaling this mountain is a good idea?" Kid Curry snapped over the sound of gunshots. He was in a foul mood from lack of sleep and food over the last two days, and riding up a steep narrow trail that left them exposed to the posse that had been the source of their troubles only made matters worse.

"Kid, they're not good enough to hit us from back there, and once we get over this ridge we can make it across to the trees. They'll have a devil of a time trackin' us over the rock and we can lose 'em up in those mountains." The plan would work, he told himself. It had to. This trip down to Colorado had been his idea and it wasn't going to end in capture.

"I dunno, Heyes, I think they might be good enough," Curry exclaimed, ducking as a bullet whizzed by his ear. He slowed his horse slightly and turned around in his saddle to send a few shots back over the heads of the posse. He hoped it would make them back off a bit, but he was wrong. The posse kept firing and he could tell that at least a few of them were very good shots.

A few yards in front, Heyes concentrated on climbing. The trail was covered with loose rocks from a recent rockslide and his horse was struggling to find solid footing.

Heyes was concentrating so hard on reaching the top and what he believed would be their salvation that he didn't hear his partner let out a sharp grunt.

"Kid!" Heyes called back, a few minutes later. Curry was now a good distance behind him. "Get a move on. We're almost there." He glanced over his shoulder expecting to see the Kid urging his horse up the trail, but instead he saw his partner slumped over the horse's neck and looking precariously close to falling off.

"Kid! Are you alright?" he shouted again, not willing to acknowledge the reality that was staring him in the face. The question itself was absurd, he realized. The Kid was definitely not alright.

"Heyes…" Curry groaned, holding on tightly to the horse's mane and neck.

"It's okay Kid. We're almost there," Heyes said reassuringly, even as his own fear began to grab hold of him. This couldn't happen, not now, not after they'd gone straight. "Come on Kid." This time his voice was barely a whisper.

Frantically his mind raced through their options. If they surrendered now, would these men give the Kid the medical attention that he needed? It might be their best option. He wasn't sure Curry would be able to ride very far anyway. He could always work out a plan later. They'd been in jail before and they'd always found a way out.

Several shots rang out again and Heyes realized that they were shooting to kill. Surrender was no longer a possibility. This posse had no intention of taking them alive.

He grabbed wildly for the reigns to Curry's horse, and pulled the other animal alongside his own. He couldn't see any blood, but from the way the Kid was sitting in the saddle, he could tell the bullet was in his back or shoulder. He prayed it was only one and not in too deep. His friend was still conscious, but it looked like it was taking every ounce of his energy just to stay on the horse.

"Don't worry, Kid, I've got it all worked out," he lied smoothly and tried to give his partner an encouraging smile. "Just hold on."

The trail was too narrow to ride side by side, and he didn't want the Kid to be behind in case the posse fired any more shots, or he fell off. Heyes decided to get behind and drive Curry's mare up the trail. If she could find good footing they might make it. Just as Curry's horse crested the top, Heyes' horse stumbled and scrambled for solid footing, loosening more rock in the process. Desperately the animal lunged and made it up onto solid ground. Heyes watched, still holding his breath as the edge of the cliff gave way, the side of the mountain becoming a flurry of dust and gravel roaring down. The posse, just at the base of the mountain, turned and raced back away from the rockslide. Nobody was going to be following them up here today.

Blinking and shaking his head, he looked around to see where Curry's horse had gone. The mare was standing a few yards off, her head lowered and sides heaving. Kid was still mounted, although he was slumped over the mare's neck with his eyes closed. Fearful of what he would find, Heyes cautiously approached the animal and took hold of the reins. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder and gave him a nudge.

Curry flinched and his eyes flew open. "Aah, watch it, that's where I got hit!" he exclaimed angrily.

Heyes let out a relieved breath. He gently lifted the sheepskin jacket and lightly ran his hand over Curry's back. Heyes felt the knot in his stomach tighten—his partner's back was wet and sticky. He looked down at his own hand which was now covered with blood.

"I'm gonna fix this Kid, I promise," he said, having absolutely no idea how.

Slowly, he helped the injured man off of the horse and then carefully tore open the back of his shirt. The wound was still bleeding, so he reached into the saddlebag for an extra shirt and tore it into strips. He grimaced as he could see only one tear in the skin, which meant only one bullet, but also meant no exit wound. He pressed the cloth against the Kid's shoulder to try and stop the bleeding.

Curry let out a cry of pain. "Damn it Heyes, if this bullet don't kill me your doctorin' sure as hell might!"

Heyes knew the anger was the Kid's way of fighting the pain, but the harsh words stung because Heyes already felt responsible for the whole situation.

"I'm sorry Kid," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. He finished bandaging his partner's shoulder as gently as he could. The bullet looked deep and he was afraid he'd do more damage if he tried to get it out using his hunting knife. He was also worried about infection.

Curry had remained silent during the rest of the bandaging, and when Heyes was finished, he looked up at his partner and let out a ragged breath. "Heyes…"

"I know Kid… I know."

The look in his partner's eyes frightened Heyes more than the posse had. It wasn't just pain and fear. It was a look of trust. Heyes knew the Kid trusted him with his life. They had always trusted each other. Even though Curry would complain sometimes, they both knew they would always stand by each other. Heyes had never admitted it but he knew the Kid was right—he was what had been keeping him alive all these years.

Desperately he looked around, trying to think of anything that would help his partner. Suddenly, his face brightened.

"Kid, how far do you think we rode today?"

Curry looked up and squinted as he tried to focus on the question. "What? Fifteen, twenty miles maybe."

"And yesterday?"

"Bout the same. What are you getting at?" Kid was confused and not sure what Heyes was trying to say.

Heyes was pacing back and forth, looking up at the sun and then over to the woods. "Kid, I think if we ride due east through those trees we'll come right out onto that little mountain town we stayed in a couple weeks ago. They got a doc there as I recall." He had already made his decision and was gathering up their things and getting Curry's horse ready. With the bleeding stopped and the wound tightly bandaged, the Kid stood a chance of making the ride. If he stayed here in the mountains with the bullet in him, he had a slim chance at best.

Curry didn't have the energy to argue, so he let Heyes help him back up onto his horse and prayed that Heyes was right.

-oooOOOooo-

Heyes gave a sigh of relief when the town below them came into view. He'd been right, but the ride had taken a toll on his partner. The Kid was barely conscious now, one hand grasping a handful of his horse's mane and the other tightly wrapped around the saddle horn. Heyes had been leading Curry's horse for the last hour.

"Kid," Heyes reached out and nudged Curry's leg.

"Hmm?" Kid opened his eyes and looked at Heyes, but couldn't seem to focus.

"I'm going to go check things out and make sure it's safe." He settled his friend down against a tree and tucked his bedroll blanket around him. He worried that taking a wounded man into town would draw too much attention from the local town folk and he wasn't sure what that would mean. "I'm going to find the doc and then I'll be back for you."

Curry nodded, his hand automatically resting on the handle of his gun. "I'll be f-fine, you be careful," he said, his jaw clenched tight.

Heyes had to smile; the Kid could probably still outdraw any lawman or gunslinger that came his way. He hoped the folks in town would remember them as the drifters that came through a couple weeks ago and nothing more. He kicked his horse into a gallop and headed into town.

The first building that Heyes approached was the livery stable. Two men were standing in front near the road and were involved in an animated conversation.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find the town doc?" Heyes called to the men.

"Sure thing, he's over at the sheriff's office," one of the men said, barely looking up.

Heyes felt the knot in his stomach tighten. "Is there a problem?" he asked lightly.

The second man turned and grinned broadly. "Naw, the sheriff just got a telegram that said to be on the lookout for any gunshot wounds. It seems that posse out trackin' those two outlaws thinks they hit one of 'em."

Heyes felt the color drain from his face as he tried to sound only casually curious.

"Oh? Is that so?" How could word have gotten out so fast?

"Sure is, I know 'cause I'm the telegraph operator," the man replied proudly. "I just delivered it to the sheriff. That posse just got back into Castle Rock and sent a bunch of telegrams out to all the surrounding towns." The man seemed anxious to impress this newcomer with how much he knew.

The taut smile on Heyes' face never faltered. "Well, you are well informed. I guess everyone will be safe here then. Well done."

Heyes reined his horse back into the street, his head swimming and fear welling up inside of him. There had to be a way to get help for his partner. Why was that posse so damned efficient?

As he rode down the street, he knew the two men were watching him. He knew if he immediately rode out of town they would probably become suspicious and go to the sheriff. I'd lead the sheriff straight to the Kid, he reasoned. No, better to look like I have an errand in town.

Glancing around, he saw the saloon where he and Curry had spent their evenings when they had stayed here. What was the name of that girl that Kid had spent so much time with? Anne, Anna, Anna something? Annabelle, that was it. With a sudden thought he reined his horse to a quick stop. Annabelle! The night they left town, they had heard about two cowhands from a local ranch who had gotten into a fight. One had cut the other pretty bad with his knife and the injured man had come looking for Annabelle to sew him up. Word around the saloon that night was that Annabelle did some doctoring for people who didn't want to make their injury or illness public. It was a long shot, but it might be their only chance.

A few quiet inquiries later, and a few dollars lighter, Heyes had the information he needed and headed back to find his partner.