Fic - A Forgotten Time
Part 1/?
Author Megan
rating FRT
Disclaimer - Mag 7 doesn't belong to me
Universe -OW
Description - A man that Buck thought was dead, reappears and is back to get his revenge.
Author Note - So, this fic has been sitting around for a year or so, and I finally decided to post it now, or it might stay on my hard drive for another year.. It is partially beta, so if there is anyone who would like to finish beta it , let me know.
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The drip of water, follow its fellows down from the ceiling of the cave onto the unconscious man on the floor for the cave. Slowly the constant splash of cold water dragged the man out of his unconsciousness.
Blinking his eyes, he stared into the darkness, trying to get his brain to function to tell him where he was. After a moment, he winced at the smell of rotten eggs; Buck at least knew where he was. There was only one place near Four Corners that you could smell the sulfur gas coming from the old mines.
Groaning softly, he raised his head and looked around. Frowning at the darkness, he tugged his hands to try to bring his hands forward; when he realizes that they were bound behind his back.
Trying to remember what happened, it took several minutes for him to realize the events that lead him to this place. Cursing, he tugged on the rope that bound him. He just knew he was running out of time.
After what seemed like hours, but was really a handful of minutes, Buck was able to slowly leverage himself up to an upright position. Closing his eyes for a second, he gathered himself for the next effort.
Grunting, Buck moved slowly towards the wall of the mine, and stared to rub his bonds against the sharp wall of the mine. After several long minutes he could feel the rope part.
Rotating his arms some to loosen them, Buck circle the chamber he was in, finding the entrance he walked out the narrow tunnel into the main tunnel.
Hugging the wall of the mine, he almost fell to the ground when his foot knocked into something. Catching himself, he bit back the groan that was trying to escape from him; he carefully bent down and felt around the floor to find out what he kicked.
Finding it, he grinned. Hearing the sloshing of the oil in the lamp, he had found. Straightening up, he felt around in his pockets until, he was able to pulled out one of the matches that he kept there. Lighting it, he quickly lit the lamp.
Squinting against the bright light, Buck quickly adjusted the flame, so it was just putting out enough light that he could see by.
Noticing the glint of thin silver lines on the mine wall, allowed Buck to know exactly which mine he was in and where he needed to go to get out.
Taking a few steps, Buck release a sigh of relief happy that he would be able to see where he was going, suddenly his feet betrayed him. Stumbling, he cursed as the hot oil of the lamp spilled on his hand, Buck barely caught it before it fell and hit the floor of the mine.
After a few moment, he sucked in a couple of deep breathes, leaning against the cool wall of the mine, he slowly waited for the throbbing of his hand to subside.
With a shake of his head, he was about to take a step forward when he heard echoing down the tunnel a familiar voice calling out to what he figured was the bad guys. "Sirs, I don't know who you talked to, but I don't know anything about the mine, and really, this is not where I would like to spend my night, tied up and missing a rather good poker game."
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Stopping for a second, Buck closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath. Wincing as his ribs quickly made it known that the action was a bad idea, he reopen his eyes, and eyed the direction he had been going.
He hated mines, the echoing, the twist and turns, the dampness, and the smell. Taking a few more steps, he turned around a bend and he stopped, as he spotted the faint glow of light at the end of the tunnel.
Taking a good hard look at his path to the end of tunnel, Buck snuffed out the kerosene lamp, he was using and set it gentle down on the mine floor. Walking to the end the tunnel silently, he paused at the edge of the glowing light. Preparing him for what he might see.
Still hidden by the shadows in the mine, Buck peered around the corner, and quickly scanned the cavern that the bandits were holding Ezra in.
Counting six bandits, Buck moved back in the shadows and cursed. How was he supposed to handle six bandits, without a gun or even a knife?
Taking another peek around into the cavern, Buck eyed the lone source of light in the room, a small kerosene lamp. As an idea sparked in his brain, he grabbed several heavy rocks.
Taking a deep breath, he smiled slightly, he always loved a challenge, and hitting a lamp and six men in the dark with rocks should be interesting.
With that as his last thought, he took a quick breath, focused on what he had to do. Stepped out from the bit of cover he was using and let the first rock go.
What happened next, he had a feeling he would never quite be able to recall accurately. The first stone hit the lamp that the bandits had on a box. Knocking the lamp to the rocky floor, causing the area to go black, Buck moved to the next part of his plan.
Then not thinking Buck started to pitch his baseball sized rocks into the room where he last saw the men standing. As he threw the last rock, he waited for a long minute, waiting to hear anyone make noise.
After the few tense moments, when he didn't hear anything, he bent carefully, trying to find his lantern. Finding it, he unhinged the cover and shined the light into the room.
Letting go of his breath, he had been holding Buck couldn't believe his eyes. Everyone but Ezra had been hit by the rocks. The bandits were knocked unconscious where they had been standing. Shaking his head in hopes of getting rid of the black spots that were appearing in his vision, he stumbled into the room and moved over to Ezra.
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After the light was knocked out, Ezra only heard a series of clangs, bangs and grunts. The whole time, the Southern wished he could see to see who was attacking the kidnappers.
Finally, after what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes, the lamp was relight. Blinking at the harsh light, Ezra stared in shock at the person who was standing there.
Buck grinned softly. "Surprise."
Licking his lips, Ezra grinned. "For once I like the surprise. Can you untie me so we can leave this pleasant mine?"
Buck nodded, taking a few stumbling steps forward, and Buck paused to grab a knife from one of the unconscious men and stumbled his way to Ezra's bound hands.
After the rope was cut, Ezra brought his wrist forward, rubbing them. Standing up, the southern turned and looked at Buck in the low light. "You don't look well."
A sickly smile crossed his face, "Better then these guys. Can we go?"
Ezra grinned, "Yes, let's get out of here before our friends wake up."
Nodding in agreement, Buck took a stumbling step towards Ezra. Reaching the conman, Buck tripped on one of the unconscious man. Stumbling, he would have fallen if Ezra hadn't reached out and grabbed the man.
Ezra helped straighten Buck. Frowning at the taller man, the Southern couldn't help but ask. "You sure you can make it out of here?"
Buck snorted and started moving forward, "I can walk, grab the lantern and let's leave this place."
Mumbling about stubborn as mule men, who would have a limb hacked off before saying they were hurt, Ezra grabbed the lantern and headed out of the mine.
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Pausing for the fourth time on the way to the entrance of the mine, Ezra frowned at how pale Buck had gotten. "Mr. Wilmington, you are looking rather pale."
A soft grunt, then "I'm fine Ezra, I'll be fine. We're almost out of here."
Eying the distance to the entrance of the mine, Ezra really wished that Nathan was here with them. Closing his eyes for a second, he pushed his own pain down where he could forget it. Opening his eyes he looked at Buck. "You think you're ready for the last push."
Using the wall of the mine as help to stand, Buck grinned slightly. "I'm ready."
Cursing the whole situation, Ezra allowed Buck to lean on him as they did little more then staggered to the entrance of the mine.
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The journey to the entrance of the mine, for Ezra at least, passed in a kaleidoscope of images... Even with the lone lantern, the tunnel seemed to remain dark except for the pool of light around the two men. Having to pause every few minutes to let Buck rest, the fear of the men waking up and coming to get them and finally the creak and groans of the mine supports, all which looked like they were just waiting for the right breeze to break and bury the two men under a ton of rock.
Seeing the glimmer of sunlight, Ezra urged Buck to go faster. The injured man glared at Ezra for a second but started to move faster. As the two men crossed out of the mine and into the sunlight, they heard several shouts echo from deeper in the mine. Realize who was yelling, the two men sped up.
What neither man heard or the men yelling was a loud cracking sound of a main support beam breaking. Just as Ezra and Buck managed to get to their horses, they felt the ground beneath them shaking. Turning to look at each other for a second in fear, they both looked back at the mine entrance that was a behind them a few feet.
Seeing the rock and dirt shaking off from the ceilings and the screams of the men turned from the cries for their blood to screams of terror. Before Buck or Ezra could move towards the mine to help the men trap, there was a finally shutter and a large cloud of dust and rocks in gulf the two men outside the mine.
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The last of the dust from the mine collapse floated through the air and slowly landed on the ground, was the only noise in the silent landscape for several long minutes, until finally there was movement from underneath the dust and debris as a man slowly sat up.
Ezra coughed slightly as he cleared the rock dust from his lungs. Looking first at the now sealed entrance of the mine, the Southern shook his head slowly in shock. A few more minutes and he and Buck would be buried under the rock that now filled the mine shaft. The thought of Buck, had Ezra suddenly frantic looking around for the rogue. After several minutes the gambler spotted Buck laying unconscious a few feet away.
Staggering to his feet, Ezra ignored the pricks of pain from his body, as he took the few steps to Buck. Sliding to his knees he reached out with a hand and placed it on Buck's chest. Relieved to feel the up and down movement of Buck's chest, Ezra took a second to take a breath, and scan the area around the mine.
In his scan he stopped and stared at one location as he spotted two horses slowly making the way over to the two men. Chuckling softly, he couldn't believe that Chaucer and Beau had somehow avoided the dust cloud and were coming to their owners. Reaching down he shook Buck gentle. "Wake up Mr. Wilmington. I need your help to get you onto your horse."
A soft groan, herald the stirring of the rogue, blinking, and Buck's eyes settled to squint up at Ezra. "What?"
"You need to get up and help me get you on your horse. We need to get back to Four Corners and Nathan."
Staring at Ezra for a second, Buck frowned as he processed the words. "You hurt?"
"We're both hurt, now can you get up? You can collapse once you get on your horse."
After a few minutes, the request seemed to penetrate Buck's fogged mind. With a few false starts and grunts, Buck with Ezra's help was able to get up on his feet.
Helping Buck to his horse, Ezra was glad to see that Buck's horse seemed to sense the problem and kneel on the ground, to make it easier for Buck to get on. Holding Buck in place as the horse got back to its feet. Ezra made his way over to Chaucer. After petting the horse's neck, Ezra slung himself on his horse.
Noticing the fading light, Ezra cursed. Hoping Buck's familiarity with this area was better then his own, Ezra moved over to the Ladies Man. Noticing that he was still barely awake, Ezra called out. "Buck? Buck? Which way do we head to get to Four Corners?"
The rogue blinked at Ezra for several heartbeats, "Go east and watch out for the rocks."
Staring at the landscape in front of him, Ezra growled softly. Taking a deep breath he mutters out. "Next time I find Mr. Tanner, I'm going to beat him over the head, stupid tracker, saying if I don't use the skills that I would lose them."
A soft groan from Buck had Ezra whipping around. "Buck? Are you awake? Do you know where we are?"
Buck only answered with another soft groan then nothing.
Ezra cursed, picking what he thought was east, and he hoped he picked the right one, as he headed away from the mine.
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The sun had set in what seemed like a week, but was only a handful of hours; Ezra had followed the eastern direction and found that getting out of mine was so far the easier part of the journey. He had started out following Buck's direction to the east but east covered a vast area, and since then, Buck hasn't been conscious enough for better directions.
The stars had come out and full moon several hours ago, allowing him at least a little light to guide the horses in the direction that Ezra had decide to go in.
Stopping for a second, Ezra frowned as he stared out at the land; he had given out trying to steer by the stars an hour ago. Looking over to the unconscious Buck, Ezra cursed as he saw the dark rivets of blood, striping the man's arm.
Stopping Chaucer for a second, Ezra wished that he had a flag or a banner showing him the way to Four Corners and to Nathan's clinic.
With a sigh, the gamblers motion his horse to go forward, eying a nearby outcropping, Ezra smiled slightly as he thought he recognized it.
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In the early dawn light, Ezra sighed in relief, he had been right at the last out cropping and they were near Four Corners. A few more hours and they would be at Nathan's clinic. Turning around to check on Buck, Ezra's voice echoed in the early morning slightly. "We're almost there."
Buck softly answered that statement, "Don't want to move again Ma, I liked it here."
Startled by the soft pleading in the words, the gambler had to swallow once to get the lump past his throat. "You're not moving Buck. We're almost home."
"But you said we had to. Said this town doesn't like us..."
Ezra bit his lip, he wanted to stop this rambling from the injured man, as it gave him an uncomfortable look at Buck's childhood that the gambler had a feeling that rogue wouldn't have shared if he was uninjured.
Taking a deep breath, he eyed the bandages that were splotched with blood. The wounds looked like they had stopped bleeding, but the rogue's breathing didn't sound right.
Looking around the area, Ezra hoped that it would only be a few more hours. He didn't think he had time to be wrong about it.
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Ezra stared at the rising sun, he could swear he see Four Corners in the distance, just a little longer. Turning to look over at Buck, he frowned again, when he heard the lady's man mumble in his fevered state.
"What do you mean, its not done...we need that wall up...they aren't going to wait..."
Ezra bit his lip, the urge to stop and see to Buck almost overrode the need to get to Nathan. Taking a deep breath, he kicked the horses into a gallop. Buck was getting worse and Ezra could almost feel that time was slipping away.
The last two hours or so had Ezra on the verge of panic and exhaustion. His own battered body wasn't happy with all the recent activity or the hard riding but he didn't have much choice. Buck seemed to be getting worse each passing minute, the rambling that the older man had been doing had petered out to a stop several miles back.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath as he could and pushed everything to the small corner of his brain, so he could focus on the only thing that mattered. Getting Buck to Nathan's.
Opening is eyes; he focused on the town in the distance and urged his horse faster.
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Ezra almost wept as he realized he had arrived in Four Corners. Not even thinking he rode to Nathan's clinic and favoring his right side, dismounted from his horse. Turning to Buck, he tugged at the half hitch knot. Tugging on it, he wasn't ready for falling back when his grip was lost on it.
Being saved from hitting the dirt, by someone, it didn't dawn on him someone was asking something, until he recognized Vin's voice.
"Ezra...what happened? Are you all right, what happen to Buck?"
Ezra turned to the tracker, "We need Nathan."
Vin blinked, not quite understanding what was going on. Calling out for Nathan, Vin heard the clambering of Nathan coming down the stairs. Helping Ezra with Buck's limp body, "What happen to you two?"
Feeling the last twenty four hours, Ezra blinked at the tracker. "I was out on patrol then..."
Before Ezra could finish he collapsed and would have fallen if it was for the quick hands of Josiah who had just arrived at the scene.
Nathan looked at the unconscious men. "We need to get them into the clinic."
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With the door of the clinic closed and Nathan not allowing anyone but Josiah to help him with the two injured men, it left the other three, outside the clinic's door, waiting for news on the small landing.
Vin watched as Chris paced back and forth, then watched as JD mimic Chris's pacing. "You both need to calm down. Nathan will be out once he finishes patching them up."
Stopping in his pacing, Chris turned and looked at the tracker. "How the hell did this happen? How did we not notice them missing?"
Looking from Chris and to JD, who had stopped his pacing, Vin sighed. "I don't know, But once Nathan gets done with them. We'll get the answers. Using all of our energy pacing, won't do anyone any good."
JD paused from his pacing and moved over to settle next to Vin. "But what if whatever came after them is still around. We don't even know what happened to them besides coming back here beaten and exhausted."
"Once Nate lets us know how the two are doing, I'm going to back track there tracks. See where they lead."
Chris stopped abruptly at that and turned to the tracker. "Not by yourself. We don't know who got them, but they were each alone at the time. You'll take someone with you."
Eyeing the man in black, Vin grinned. "Wasn't going to do by myself, I'm not that stupid."
Glaring at the tracker for a moment, Chris sighed. "Once Nathan tells it how they're fair, we're ride out to see if we can find where they were held."
With that decided, Chris started his pacing again, and Vin sighed. At least he was able to stop one of them.