Hearts;
or, One Heartbeat Away

oooOOOooo

"Kid! C'mon, Kid, don't give up on me now," Hannibal Heyes' voice was a desperate plea in the lonesome wilderness. The heavy rain pouring from the dreary, black sky outside didn't help lift the dismal mood. A meager campfire cast eerie, strange shadows on the cave walls.

Heyes was distraught. He had done his best for the Kid, but his friend needed a doctor. And soon.

The posse had chased them relentlessly; always picking up their tracks again no matter how much they tried to lose them. Finally they did lose them, though not before leaving a bullet in Kid Curry.

A sheen of sweat covered Kid's pale face, marking the start of a fever. Kid's breath sounded ragged and harsh to Heyes' ears. Kid moved restlessly beneath the blankets. One minute he felt cold and the next, he was burning up again. "Heyes…"

"I'm here, Kid. I'm here." Heyes knelt beside his friend.

"Don't...don't think I'm gonna make it...this time 'round," Kid panted. Every word seemed to sap the strength out of him.

"We'll get you a doctor, Kid. Just be patient and hang in there for me."

"Doctor…," Kid let out a weak chuckle. "Closest doc...in Leaning Tree...with that posse."

Heyes said nothing to that. They both knew what that meant. But neither had the heart to tell the other it was over. "I'm gonna make some coffee," Heyes muttered. He stood and prepared the battered coffeepot. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw the Kid shiver beneath the blankets. He silently prayed for a miracle. A miracle. That's what it would have to be to save Kid at this stage. Heyes felt helpless; more helpless and overwhelmed than he had since they'd lost their folks.

When the coffee was done, Heyes poured himself a cup. "You think you can down a cup?" No answer. Fear gripped Heyes. "Kid?" He set down the coffee and rushed over to where his partner lay. Relief swept over him when he saw the Kid's chest still rising and falling. He sat beside him and sighed, leaning back against the cave wall.

Heyes hadn't been able to remove the bullet from the Kid. It was lodged between two ribs, terribly close to the heart. He'd tried to get it out but they both knew Kid needed a doctor. He'd cleaned and bandaged the wound as best he could. The bleeding had stopped; but it was the amount of blood the Kid had lost beforehand and the bullet that worried Heyes. The poison from the lead was being pumped throughout Kid's veins. His partner looked as though he were one heartbeat away from eternity.

Several hours after midnight, the rain had relented some but Kid's fever was raging. Heyes could do nothing but watch his friend suffer and try to make him as comfortable as possible. Maybe if he turned himself in, he could get help for his cousin...

Heyes glanced down at Kid. Yes. Yes, that's what he would do. He hated to leave him alone but it was the Kid's only chance.

He was setting a full canteen next to Kid when his cousin stirred. Kid blinked a couple of times, trying to clear the cobwebs of his feverish state. "Heyes? Where're you goin'?" he asked, seeing Heyes with a saddlebag slung over his shoulder. His words were slurred and he couldn't see straight. Everything was a blur.

"I'm gonna go get help."

Kid struggled for breath again, the bullet in him causing him excruciating pain. "Heyes, don't leave me," he whimpered.

Heyes' eyebrows knit together in worry. Kid must really be hurting. It wasn't like him to go on so. For an instant, Heyes saw the Kid as a frightened child again.

A sharp pain shot through Kid. He couldn't stop the muffled scream from escaping his clenched teeth this time. His breath quickened and his face screwed up in a grimace. "It hurts!" he whispered. Kid's eyes locked onto Heyes' brown ones. Then he squeezed his eyes shut in pain, his breath labored.

"Kid?"

"Get...get that amnesty...for us," he strained for the words.

"But, Kid, we're gonna get it together. We'll walk right into the governor's office together when we get it."

"Heyes, make it stop!" He let out a terrible groan and clutched his chest. Then he shuddered...and lay still.

"Kid!" Heyes bent over him and tried to find a pulse. He tried to listen for a heartbeat. None. Desperation quickened his movements even more. He felt the neck, the wrist. Nothing. Heyes felt as though he'd been kicked. "Kid? Say somethin'!" No, he couldn't be! Not after all they'd been through. Not after trying so hard to earn amnesty. Not after all the posses and bounty hunters they'd dodged. Heyes slapped Kid's face gently, trying to wake his silent partner. He didn't know how long he tried.

He couldn't - no, wouldn't - admit his partner was dead. It just couldn't be! But deep down inside, he knew it was true. Heyes looked at his sleeping partner's face.

"You don't care what happens! You don't even exist!" Heyes yelled to the heavens, his voice ringing off the rock walls of the empty cave. His vision began to blur and he brushed harshly at his eyes with his sleeve. He couldn't stop them, though, once they started. Tears streamed freely down his face as he sat there. Just watching. And waiting. For what, he didn't know. Maybe for death to reach out and take him too.

Heyes woke with a start. He must've dozed off for a few seconds. It was still dark outside and their campfire was still lit. The storm had worsened; the rain was, once again, pouring from the sky and now, an occasional rumble of thunder was heard. Then he remembered. The Kid was…he was gone. "Why did you leave me, Jed?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Hello the camp!" A voice from outside called.

Heyes stiffened and pulled out his gun.

"Is anyone there?"

"What do you want?" Heyes called back. He glanced down at the Kid's body then back at the cave entrance.

"I'm just a pilgrim looking for a place to rest; I mean you no harm."

It could be someone from the posse that had chased them or even a bounty hunter. Another roll of thunder grumbled and a flash of lightning lit the sky. Against his better judgment, he decided to allow the stranger to share his camp. No one deserved to be out in that storm. "Alright, come on in." Heyes kept his gun at his side, ready for anything.

Footsteps approached and soon, a shabby-looking cowboy entered. He smiled at Heyes and didn't seem to notice the gun in his hand. "I'm much obliged. That's quite a storm we're having."

Heyes just nodded and sat down protectively beside the Kid's body. "Got some coffee in the pot over there." He put away his gun, but kept his hand on the butt of the revolver. If this man was out for the reward, Heyes would be ready for any false move the stranger made.

"Thank you kindly." The stranger poured himself a cup. He nodded his head toward Kid. "Hope I didn't wake your friend."

Hot tears threatened Heyes' eyes again. "You didn't."

"By the way, my name's Gabe," he smiled.

"A pleasure, Gabe. I'm Joshua. Joshua Smith."

"I surely do thank you for letting me share camp with you."

Heyes nodded, but watched the stranger warily. He studied the man behind suspicious eyes. He seemed to be a jovial enough sort of fellow. The clothes he wore were wet from the heavy rain and there was mud covering his boots. Heyes was confused when he noted that the man wore neither holster nor gun. He could have one hidden in his coat though; or he might be concealing some other type of weapon.

"Sure was a pure blessing that I noticed the light from your campfire," the stranger went on. "I was pretty near soaked to the bone when you invited me in. What with no horse and all, I'm not sure I would've made it to the next town."

Heyes struggled to keep his eyes open. The stranger's voice seemed to be lulling him to sleep. No, he couldn't fall asleep. Not with a possible bounty hunter in their camp. He fought hard but within a short time, a deep sleep overcame him and he neither saw nor heard anything.

oooOOOooo

"Heyes?" Heyes sat up at the sound of his name being called. He could've sworn he'd heard Kid calling him. But, no, the Kid was dead. He'd watched his cousin die last night, he remembered. Had it really happened? Had he really watched the only family he had left die right before his very eyes? A shudder went through him, recalling the distressing and horrifying experience. "Heyes?" There it was again. "Get me out of these darn blankets; I'm suffocating here!"

"Kid?" Heyes scrambled out of his blanket. "Kid, you're alive!" Heyes let out a whoop that caused Kid to cringe.

"Yeah, I'm alive. Where else would I be?" Kid struggled to remove the blankets that were piled on top of him.

"But I thought...last night-"

A confused look passed over Kid's face as he sat up. "Funny thing...I can't remember last night. Last thing I remember is findin' this cave."

"Kid, you died last night!"

"I WHAT!" Kid cried in astonishment.

"Yeah that's right! You died. I felt like dyin' myself seein' you lay there...Then that drifter-Hey where's he at?"

"Who?"

"Gabe. The man who wandered in here last night."

"I didn't see no one...wait a minute."

"Yeah?"

"I remember. I remember this fella standin' over me, smilin' and sayin'-"

"Yeah? Yeah?! What'd he say, Kid? C'mon spit it out!"

"Well hold your horses! He said somethin' funny...like, it wasn't my time yet and that your prayers were being heard and answered. You don't pray...do you, Heyes?"

"I did. Last night, I did. First time in years." Kid noted the emotion in those dark brown eyes. "I thought I'd lost you. You were dead, for cryin' out loud!" Suddenly, he grabbed Kid and pulled him into a hug. "He did hear, Kid! Thank God; He heard."

"Yeah...yeah, Heyes." Kid smiled.

Heyes was positively beaming. "How's the bullet wound?" Heyes checked for the wound. There was nothing there. Not even a scratch.

"What is it?" Kid asked when he saw Heyes' bewildered face.

"It's not there. There ain't even a scratch on you."

"I sure don't feel like I've been shot. I feel pretty good. Matter of fact, I'm kinda hungry." He looked around the cave. "We got anything to eat?"

oooOOOooo

After breaking camp, and of course eating breakfast, two men left the shelter of the cave. The rain had stopped and the horses' hooves squished in the mud it had created. A brilliant rainbow was painted across the sky.

"Did it really happen, Kid?"

"What? You mean me dyin' and all?"

"Yeah."

"I remember bein' shot. I remember hurtin' bad in between blacking out. So it couldn't all have been just a dream...or a nightmare."

"But there's no scar or anything to prove you've been shot."

"I oughta know when I've been shot! Now unless we had the same dream," - Kid shrugged - "I'd say there's a good chance it did happen."

"And Gabriel?"

"You saw him and heard him."

"But was he real?"

"Remember, I told you what he said to me. I saw him too." He paused. "You reckon he might've been that angel that our folks told us about from the Good Book?"

He didn't answer the Kid's question. Heyes felt uncomfortable. He was used to being able to think things out, to be able to find a reasonable explanation for any puzzle or circumstance. There was only one explanation he could possibly come up with this time; that there really was a God hearing, listening and watching over His creatures.

They rode for awhile saying nothing. Then Heyes spoke. "You know what, Kid?"

"What's that?"

"Our folks were right, I guess. There really is Someone out there lookin' out for us."