Author's Note: This story takes place after Color Blind. It originally appeared at The Way Station, around 1998.
Chapter 1: Lightning Strike
"Rider Coming!" Teaspoon's gruff voice sounded from the across the station yard.
Lou sighed and gazed at her half-eaten bowl of stew, "It figures. The only time in his life Cody is early would have to be because he doesn't want to miss lunch."
The others laughed and nodded in agreement as Lou pushed herself up from the table, "I'll see you all in a few days," She smiled.
"Ride safe, Lou," Jimmy, Buck, and Noah chorused and smiled gently.
Even with the warm words from them, it was impossible to miss the absence of the Kid's usually predictable plea for her to be careful. They boys glanced uneasily at him, but as was typical of him lately, his lips were tightly pressed together.
Lou sighed audibly, but Buck was the only one to notice. Things were about as bad as they got between the two of them. After Lou had refused his proposal, saying she wasn't ready for marriage, Kid had grown very cold and distant from her. Lou had never imagined he would be so very angry with her. After all, it was he who had fallen for another woman right away. It had been Jimmy who'd seen her hurting, and Jimmy who had offered her comfort.
A fact Kid had not failed to notice. While he was angry at Lou, he held barely concealed malice towards Jimmy, and that troubled Lou. She'd never dreamed to come between them, and yet, Kid had moved on so she wasn't sure what business it was of his with whom she spent her time.
Lou glanced at Kid, flushed a bit, but then turned quickly from the table. Still, Jimmy saw the sadness in her eyes. It had been there often lately. Jimmy glared at Kid, willing him with a piercing stare to tell her to be careful, to watch herself, or just goodbye. Kid, although his expression was every bit as miserable, said nothing. He didn't even look at her.
And so Lou fled, no doubt to cry her eyes out halfway to the next station.
When the door closed with a bang, Jimmy turned to Kid, "Would it kill you to say a kind word to her, tell her to take care?"
Kid's eyes snapped with anger, but his voice remained neutral. "Seems like you are both perfectly happy having you take care of her."
"Kid," Noah scolded.
"A month ago you would have called me out if I implied what you just did," Jimmy pointed out, his voice lower now.
"You calling me out Jimmy?" Kid said angrily, rising from his spot at the table.
"You are acting like a fool, Kid," Buck stood up too, ready to come between them if Jimmy proved as foolish as Kid.
Surprisingly, Jimmy stayed seated, a feat which they wouldn't have thought possible until a few months ago.
"I ain't calling you out Kid. I ain't never gonna call you out. Even if you'd hurt Lou and the others that way, I wouldn't."
Kid was speechless, and they were still staring at each other with hostility cracking between them when Cody burst in the room. "Indian trouble! A pony express rider out of Willow Springs almost lost his scalp. They may have to call in the Army."
"What happened to start the trouble?" Noah wondered.
"Which tribe?" Buck demanded at the same time. His loyalties were painfully divided between the world of the white man and of the Kiowa, and he dreaded the day his two worlds collided. It was, of course, inevitable.
"Sioux," Cody supplied quickly, putting his friend's mind at ease, but knowing that Indian trouble of any kind meant danger for his friend from people who did not see different shades of red.
"Is Lou going to be all right?" Noah suddenly wondered, "She's heading in that direction."
Cody sighed, "I tried to warn her, I was yelling at the top of my lungs for her to hold up, but she acted like she didn't even hear me. Seemed kind of upset when she took the pouch and ran. I tried to catch her, hold her up, but she had the fresher horse."
All eyes turned to Kid in accusation. He squared his jaw defiantly. His heart was thrumming in his ears and adrenaline washed through his bloodstream. Everything in him was tensed and ready to dash off to protect her like he had always done, but she had made it clear she didn't want him being that person for her any more. So, it cost him, but he stayed put, mind racing over what this news might mean for Lou.
Teaspoon strolled in about that time, "What the hell was all that commotion at the hand-off Cody?"
Cody turned to Teaspoon, "It is the Sioux. One of their villages was raided, it was pretty much a massacre. They aren't interested in talking anymore. They are just a step away from declaring all out war. Express rider was attacked."
"The express rider, did he make it?" Noah suddenly asked.
"Lucky he had a fast horse," Cody said, "The horse came into the station with an arrow in his flank, and the rider caught two in the leg. He will make it."
"Teaspoon, do you think Lou will be all right? Ike's out too," Buck wondered.
Teaspoon sighed, "I wish I would have known this before I sent Lou out. I would have waited for more word before sending any of you into that mess. When is Ike due in?"
Jimmy glanced at Buck, "Tomorrow. Ike is on the right side of the trouble. I don't think the Indians will venture as far East as his route. But what about Lou Teaspoon?"
Teaspoon sighed, "I don't know what the best thing to do is. I don't want any of you in danger."
"I could go after her, bring her home," Jimmy suggested. "Or catch her and complete the run. She's got a head start, but I think I could catch her inside an hour."
"I'm sure you could," Kid muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear him.
Jimmy threw his hands up in frustration as Kid got up and left the bunkhouse.
Teaspoon stared hard at the door Kid had just walked out. Jimmy cleared his throat lightly to regain Teaspoon's attention.
"Go after her or not?"
Teaspoon sighed and nodded. "Go get her, bring her back. She's smart and she's the fastest rider we got, but she ain't a match against a war party."
"Two guns aren't much better, Teaspoon. That war party had 12 braves, from what I heard," Cody muttered.
"Ride fast, son," was all Teaspoon could tell him.
"So if they catch her, and they find out she's a girl, what happens?" Cody wondered, mainly out of morbid curiosity.
"You don't want to know," Buck supplied, and walked out of the bunkhouse, wishing he didn't.
The dust was still settling after Jimmy had ridden out as Buck walked the yard with his eyes downcast, not really having a purpose in mind. It could be so easy to hate the Sioux for endangering his friend, but he understood their plight like none of the others could. They had been wronged, left in grief, and they had absolutely no recourse. Vengeance was the only justice they could seek for their losses, because the government had left them no other way.
Of course, Lou had done nothing to them, but there was no way the Sioux would see it that way. She was a trespasser. They all were. And anyone to cross their warpath now would suffer. Be it from a horrible, unspeakable death to what could be an even more gruesome captivity, depending on which band got her, Lou wouldn't fare well.
"Buck?" Kid's voice startled him from his unsettling thoughts. Buck eyed Kid, who was leaning against the entrance to the barn, watching the direction Jimmy had ridden. Interactions with Kid weren't easy these days, and Buck wasn't in the mood for a fight.
"Yeah?"
"I want you to tell me the truth, and I figured you'd know more than anyone…"
"What is it, Kid?" Buck asked patiently now that he saw the worry in Kid's face.
"Is Lou in danger?"
"I think you know the answer to that, Kid," Buck said quietly, then sighed. The look in Kid's eyes betrayed his recent attitude toward Lou. He was pale with fear. Buck took a deep breath then nodded, "She could be. I mean, that is if they are still in the area; they might have moved on. They might not kill her, if they found out she was a woman, but if they took her captive she might wish they had."
Kid nodded, and wordlessly turned and walked back to the bunkhouse.
Buck had half-hoped he'd show some of the protectiveness that had driven all of them, especially Lou, crazy and leap onto Katy to ride after her.
Still stung from her accusations of him crowding her and refusing to believe in her abilities, still smoldering that where he'd lost his best friend in her, Hickock had benefitted from her undivided attention, he didn't.
Lou looked at the stationmaster and sighed in frustration. "What do you mean Indians? Do you think the Sweetwater station would have let me ride out if there was real danger?"
He'd been arguing with her about her riding out for several minutes now.
The stationmaster was a short, heavy set man in his late twenties. He had an air of arrogance. "Told you, Sioux are acting up. Damn savages. I say we kill all of 'em!"
Was that what Cody had been shouting to her about as she urged Lightning to run away from the station, trying to get away before she cried? The man at the relay station where she'd switched horses earlier had tried to tell her something too, but she'd ignored him. At that point, her sadness about Kid had turned over into mad, and she had just wanted to ride until she was too tired to think about or feel anything.
Why hadn't she listened? She was angry at herself for her own foolishness, then childishly, she was mad at Kid all over again for causing her to be angry. And so it went, she thought, circles and circles of hurt and anger and betrayal, all underscored by the fear that she'd made a terrible mistake in not accepting his proposal, and knowing the damage she'd done by refusing him was irreversible. She had her pride, and so did he.
"Look, why are you complaining? You ain't got to ride out of here, you can rest awhile. We got an extra bunk."
Lou cast an uneasy glance to where the boys of Johnson's station were lounging lazily, and smugly, on the porch of the rickety shack. They were a wild bunch, one of the wildest bunches in the whole express, but they were good at their jobs. They'd never liked Lou because of her (or as they thought his) small size. She didn't relish the thought of spending any length of time with them.
Besides, Lou had promised Teaspoon she wouldn't stay in other stations when she had an overnight run. That promise had been a relief to everyone at the station, including her.
"Look, Joe, just give me a fast horse okay? This stupid nag couldn't outrun a slug," Lou said, and forced a smile gesturing to the lazy chestnut she'd gotten at the way station while Lightning rested, "I've got to move on."
Joe took it personally, apparently. "Too good for us? You think just cause you got Wild Bill at your home station you can turn your nose up at us, boy?"
"His name is Jimmy," Lou growled, but realized that was a fight she didn't want to pick. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Lou glanced at the sunset. The beautiful colors mingled with ominous clouds. It wasn't looking to be a nice ride back.
"Look Lou, I just don't think you should ride out of here," Joe said.
"It's my business, Joe!" Lou snapped, her patience wearing out as she grew ever more uneasy about being forced to stay where she was.
One of the riders jumped lightly to the dust and swaggered out to where Lou was standing in front of Joe. He was chewing on a straw. He was a good-looking young man with sandy blonde hair and dark brown eyes.
"Let him go, if he is so set on getting scalped. Sioux would probably throw him back anyway. No challenge in taking that runt."
Lou's eyes glinted angrily, but she said nothing.
"I'll saddle him up a horse," the boy said and turned toward the barn.
Lou nodded at Joe, knowing the man was just looking out for her. "Thanks for your concern. I just got business in Sweetwater."
Joe studied her, "Must be awful important business to be worth dying for."
Lou didn't say anything, uneasiness crawling up the back of her neck at those words as Joe walked away.
A few minutes later the rider swaggered out again in the same lazy manner, leading a bay colt by the reins. The horse looked half-wild.
"He's green, but fast. Think you can handle him?"
Lou would have died trying rather than admit she couldn't. It was a challenge he thought she couldn't measure up to, but he didn't know that she was quite adept on horseback. She felt confident that she could handle him.
"I can ride anything you can saddle," She said through clenched teeth.
He raised his eyebrows and said calmly, "We'll see."
Lou acted like she didn't hear him, and taking the reins and a handful of mane she leapt onto the horse. She was ready when he reared for the sky. She knew everyone at the station was watching her, waiting for her to fall off, to ask for help. She could only imagine how surprised they were when she skillfully brought the animal under control. He trotted docilely to the edge of the station yard, and then with a loud cry from her, was suddenly in a dead run.
"He can ride, that's for sure," Joe admitted to the boys, who reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Jimmy rode hellbent. Horrible, gruesome images played in his mind over and over again, most of them ending with Lou's pretty hair on the belt of some brave. The danger out there was real, and Lou was in the middle of it, and not up to her usual sharpness because of her worry over Kid.
And Kid wasn't doing his job of worrying enough for all of them.
How fast had she been pushing the damn horse? He wondered. He hadn't had a sight of her. He'd switched horses at the way station, been warned by the station master about the trouble. He'd been caring for Lightning, who'd been in the corral long enough to be cooled, but the station master said he'd come in in a lather and the boy on his back couldn't be bothered to stop to listen to the danger out there.
"Rode like the devil was behind him," the stationmaster had said of Lou.
Night had fallen when the worst of the storm unleashed. Lou was weary to the bone from fighting the young horse. Unfortunately, the horse had a never-ending source of energy. One day he'd be a great horse, Lou was sure, but at the moment she was considering shooting him.
The sun had set a few hours ago, and the only light she had after the colors faded had been the occasional flash of lightning. She thought the darkness her friend though, and hoped if there were really any Indian braves out, they couldn't see any better than she.
The storm, which had held off nicely, broke upon her. Thunder clapped in her ears until she wondered if she'd ever hear again. Her horse spooked badly, nearly unseating her. Luckily, she hadn't dropped her guard and hung with the animal.
Lighting began splitting the sky in jagged streaks that seemed closer than any Lou had ever encountered. She gasped as she saw a streak escape the sky and destroy a tree not far from her at all.
Thunder again roared in her ears, and then the rains came. It seemed as if a million pounds of pressure drove the sudden downpour onto Lou and her horse. Snorting, the horse reared for the sky suddenly, and Lou almost lost her seat again.
Lou tried to gather her wits and calm the horse, but with lightning streaking all around her, she became very frightened, and the sensitive horse knew it. If he'd been wild before, he was quickly becoming ferocious, rearing and bucking as if he'd never had anyone on his back.
And then the hail started.
Lou cried out in pain as ice the size of pebbles pelted her arms and back. Hailstones bounced off her cheek hard enough to feel like a blow. The horse snorted and pitched his head between his front legs, bucking mightily as the hail stung him also.
Another streak of lightning split the air right over their heads, and both Lou and the horse screamed in terror. Then the colt was rearing for the sky, trying to fight off the lightning with flailing hooves. He seemed to reach upwards forever and Lou pushed her weight forward, trying to force him back to Earth.
Suddenly something was wrong. The horse had gone too high and struck out too hard and had lost his balance. Lou realized with a jolt that the horse was coming over backwards, on top of her.
Too late, she freed her feet from the stirrups and jumped, but wasn't fast enough to escape all harm. She landed split seconds before the horse and only had time to move her upper body before he crashed down on her legs.
For what seemed an eternity, but was actually only a few agonizing seconds, Lou lay underneath the stunned colt.
Then he thrashed his legs, and Lou felt the air from his sharp hooves whoosh by her face, and knew he'd missed her by inches, if that much.
The colt fought for his feet, slipping in the mud. Lou gasped, trying to regain the breath that was knocked from her in the fall, and unable to cry out at the agonizing weight on her leg.
In a flash of lightning she saw the horse above her, and then tried to duck as the horse wheeled. She wasn't fast enough and his hoof clipped her temple. She was aware of the horse's hooves retreating and the ground trembling.
She slowly closed her eyes there in the open trail, fighting for breath like a landed fish, as the rain beat mercilessly upon her.
Jimmy was frustrated and hopeless. He'd kept riding into the night, and through a hell of a storm, but he hadn't found Lou yet. A steady rain still fell. He was drenched to the bone and cold, and still the rain kept coming. At least the Sioux wouldn't be out prowling, he thought. No one in his right mind would be out in this.
He'd been in a panic since talking to the relay horse master. The damn first horse he had been given had gone lame within the first miles after leaving. He had exhausted his knowledge of curse words on the way back to exchange for a sound horse, who was a nag compared to most of the express horses. Jimmy had had to double back once more when the cinch on his saddle had snapped.
He warily rode into Johnson's station, announcing his presence loudly, hoping they wouldn't mistake him for a brave and fill him with lead. He would feel so foolish if she'd stayed here after all, he thought grimly, but he prayed she had. He could see those cocky boys laughing at him now as he rode up, soggy and worn out, to the rescue of a rider that had been safe all along. He was willing to face them, and in fact hoped desperately he would have to. He didn't want to think of the type of jeering he and Lou would be in for about the nature of their relationship should the riders think he'd gone after the boy.
Joe, the station master met him, "What the hell, Hickock? Do the lot of you in Sweetwater not got a lick of sense between you?"
"I'm lookin for Lou, Joe. He's here, right?"
The expression on Joe's face was like a punch to Jimmy's gut, and he knew.
"He rode for home hours ago. Before sunset. You didn't pass him?"
"Why the hell did you let him ride out?" Jimmy shouted, bringing the other riders out with interested expressions to see why Wild Bill was so riled up.
"Son of a bitch wouldn't listen to a word I said," Joe shrugged.
Approaching hoof beats made themselves heard over the rainfall, and hoping against hope, and willing to barter his soul in the bargain, Jimmy turned as the others drew their guns, hoping it was Lou.
Not a word was uttered as a bay colt, lathered in sweaty foam and coated in mud ran wild into the yard, blowing hard, eyes rolling.
"Was that Lou's horse?" Jimmy growled.
"Told ya he couldn't handle him," one of the boys on the porch said smugly.
Understanding immediately what had happened-the boys giving Lou a half-wild horse she never would have admitted she could not handle, Jimmy fixed his eyes on the one who had spoken. "God damn you. Anything happens to Lou, I'll be back for you. I need a fresh horse, damn it. Fast."
He rode out in five minutes, with a sputtering lantern, trying to follow the tracks of the bay colt. He needed Buck, he thought, or, more reluctantly, The Kid. Both were superior trackers. And both would have told him it was nonsense to track at night.
The tracks led him off the main trail home. Had the storm turned her around, gotten her off the trail? Or had she been taken off the trail? Or had the damn fool horse taken a detour before running for home?
His panic was choking him as he followed the tracks, not sure what else he was supposed to do.
It had to be close to dawn when he saw something on the narrow trail ahead.
Lou was lying face down and motionless in the mud right on the path in front of him, and her whole face was streaked with blood.