Hi, everyone! Welcome to the Wildcat Returns! I hope you all read my first Young Guns fanfic: The Unknown Regulator. If you did I hope you enjoyed it! Well, let's get started shall we! Here we go!
Ember woke up suddenly, by a commotion that was coming from the street below. She sat up, stiffly, from her position by the window and looked out through the clear glass. Coming down the road, was a lynch mob consisting of about five men. About three of them were carrying torches and another was leading two spare horses.
"Oh my God!" Ember muttered aloud, a hand rising to her throat.
The group stopped in front of the pit across the street. Ember stood as she looked upon the scene. If she strained her ears hard enough, she could hear the conversation. Ollinger was beside a fire with his hands up as if in surrender.
"You're a bit late?" she heard him complain. Ember listened as Ollinger explained that Billy the Kid had escaped.
A hooded man jumped off his horse and ran inside to make sure Ollinger wasn't lying about Billy's whereabouts. A few minutes later he ran back out confirming about the missing prisoner.
One of the men on horses, with an Irish accent, turned to one of his companions, after looking inside the pit an not finding Billy.
"We might as well go," he suggested, but Ollinger wasn't finished yet.
He stepped forward and said, "We got a couple of his Regulators in there. The Indian and the Tenderfoot. We also got the Wildcat up there," he finished pointing at Ember through the window.
"The Wildcat, huh? Well, hell why not bring them all out," The tallest man encouraged. Ollinger grinned at them, then signaled to Bill to fetch Ember. Ember turned as she heard the heavy footsteps on the stairs and placed her back against the window. Bill unlocked the door and peeked his grinning head around. When he caught sight of Ember he pushed the rest of himself inside the room.
"Alrighty, Miss Wildcat, let's go," he told her grinning. He reached his hand forward to pull her, but Ember just stepped out of his reach and glared at him. She squared her shoulders and lifted her head.
"I can walk by myself, thank you, Bill," she stated to him. She then walked around the scrawny man and down the steps, Bill following behind her. When they got to the bottom of the steps, Ember moved to the side and allowed Bill to slide around and open the door.
Ember stepped out into the cool night air. Across the street she could see that Doc and Chavez were already loaded onto the spare horses. Ollinger came up to Ember and gripped her forearm and half dragged her over to the lynch mob members.
"See, I told ya we had the Wildcat," he announced proudly. "Well, so you have," the Irish man said form behind the hood.
Ollinger spun Ember around again, where she would face him, and pulled out a piece of rope. He had Bill grip Ember's wrists and hold then together while he tied them roughly and tightly. Ember winced as the new robes cut even deeper into her skin than the previous ropes had. Ollinger admired his work when he was finished then he had Bill bring him another piece of rope. Ollinger took this piece and tied it, again, tightly and roughly around the other piece. Entwining the ropes in random places. When he was finished no one could tell where one piece of rope ended and the other began.
Ollinger grinned at her then rubbed the back of his hand over Ember's red, left cheek. Ember glared at him the yanked her head back out of his reach. Ollinger narrowed his eyes at her then balled his hand into a fist. Ember wanted to reel back, but she kept her ground and kept glaring at Ollinger. Ollinger leered at her, then punched Ember's cheek, hard.
Ember wobbled backwards a bit but the taller lynch mob member caught her by the shoulders. At some point he had gotten off of his horse without either Ember or Ollinger noticing.
"Alright, Ollinger, don't bruise the tender skin yet," he scoffed.
Ember felt her cheek throb with pain but she tried to ignore it. Ollinger just laughed and waved his hand for the man to carry on.
The tall man walked Ember over to the man who had run inside earlier to look for Billy, the one who was on his horse already. The tall one placed Ember behind the man on the horse then went to mount his own horse. The Irish man gave the signal and the group moved on through town. Around them people started laughing at jeering at Ember, Doc, and Chavez.
"Pick your tree, breed!" the Irish man laughed as he spoke to Chavez. Ember looked at Chavez and tried to give him a small smile.
Doc caught this out of the corner of his eye and started trying to lie through his teeth to get them out of the situation.
"Gentleman, I'm a school teacher form the city of New York and the lady back there is my sister while the breed is, well he's our guide. And I believe you're about to make an enormous error," Doc explained.
The tall man rode up to Doc, "We know you rode with the boy, now you're going to hang for it," the man explained back.
"I swear I never laid eyes on him. I'm a school teacher form the city of New York," Doc defended.
The Irish man rode up beside Doc now, "I'm a school teacher from the city of New York!" he mocked then laughed a very familiar laugh.
Ember's head shot up as she eyed the man curiously. The man took off his hood and there sat Billy. Following his lead the other men took off their hoods as well. The tall man turned out to be Pat Garrett who Ember recognized fairly well and the man Ember was riding behind turned out to be a man named Dave Rudabough who they all recognized faintly from wanted posters.
"Howdy, Doc. How are your drawers?" Billy asked Doc, laughing.
"Good to see ya, Billy," Doc answered almost nervous. Billy laughed. Behind her, Ember heard Ollinger finally realize who had taken his prisoners.
"Come on, let's skin out!" Billy told them enthusiastically. Unfortunately, there were about twenty men blocking their way out of town.
"Jesus, you sure got a lot of boys riding with you these days," Doc commented almost dumbstruck at all of the men.
"Them ain't my boys. It's the real lynch mob! SKIN OUT!" Billy yelled at them.
"Hold on ,darling!" Dave told Ember as he spurred his horse the other way. Ember gripped as tight as the bonds would allow her to onto Dave's coat as he maneuvered his horse through the town.
The whole place fell into mass chaos. Fires spurted up everywhere. Dave directed his horse onto a porch of a burning building as one of the sheriff's deputies started shooting at them. Dave pulled out a large gun and started firing randomly, missing most of his targets.
"What are you doing?" Ember yelled at him over the roar of the gun.
"Blowing us a way out of here, sweet cheeks!" he answered, "Now, watch me take down this tenderfoot," he told her as he pointed the gun at the man. Dave fired the gun but now bullets ever exited.
"Oh, look there. No bullets left," Dave mused, shooting a few more times to make sure the cartridge really was empty.
"NO BULLETS!" Ember screeched. Just then, a few more bullets sailed over them.
"Hold on!" Dave yelled. Ember gripped Dave's back for dear life as Dave pulled out a pistol and ran at the man that was firing at them. Dave knocked over the man and sent him crashing through a window that had all kinds of plates and china ware.
Behind them, Ember turned and saw the sheriff and another one of his deputies. "Great, you got him now what about those two!" Ember pointed out to Dave.
Dave turned towards the two then back toward the shop. He pushed up on the already falling rafter and pushed the horse inside the store and not a moment too soon. The sheriff and his deputy started firing on the two. Dave shot back, but somehow they pushed Dave farther back into the store.
Dave and Ember looked around the small room, "Now what do we do?" Ember questioned, almost panicked.
Dave smirked, "This!" he said as he pushed his horse through the glass and started shooting.
Dave got them past the sheriff then they headed towards Billy. Ember peeked around Dave and saw Billy, Doc, and Garret. Frantically, she looked around and saw Chavez come up beside her and Dave.
"Come on! Hurry! We gotta skin out of here!" Billy yelled at them.
Just as they reached the others, there was an a series of explosions behind them. Ember turned slightly and saw a bunch of explosions that spooked their enemies horses.
Dave spurred his horse on to catch up with Billy. Ember heard Billy laugh his crazy laugh as they headed towards the river.
"Alright, Chavez, I'll get you loose first. Pat, you get those ropes off Wildcat," Billy ordered as he slipped off his horse and walked around their little hiding spot.
Pat walked over to Ember, who had fallen asleep, and gently shook her to get her up. Ember stirred then looked around. Pat pulled her off of Dave's horse and walked her over to a large boulder. Ember watched as Billy took aim and blasted apart Chavez's chains within seconds.
Chavez stood and rubbed his wrists for a moment then went toward Pat and Ember. Ember looked down and saw Pat kneeling in front of her with a large knife. Carefully, he started to try and cut his way through her bonds without cutting her. The ropes moved over Ember's skin, chaffing even worse.
"Ouch," Ember muttered. Pat looked up at her apologetically, "Sorry," he apologized then went back to his work.
Chavez walked over and put a hand on Ember's shoulder. Ember looked up and smiled at him. Chavez gave her a small smile in return, then he turned and went to check his horse. Ember looked over and saw Doc getting behind the same rock Chavez had and prepared to get his chains removed.
"Now hold still now. I got this buckshot infection in my elbow. Makes my right arm kind of…whoa. Hold still now," Billy joked with Doc.
Doc looked up, weariness and irritation in his eyes, "I am still. Just shoot the chain, ok?" He said as he ducked back behind the rock.
Billy pulled the hammer back on the gun an looked at Doc, "God damn, it's good to see ya, Doc. I knew you'd come back. We made a pact, remember? You, me, Ember, and Chavez. Pals. Forever," Billy said, reminiscing.
Ember looked down just in time to see Pat cut through the last of the ropes. The thick pieces of twine fell away from her skin, leaving it raw and nearly bleeding.
"There ya go, Wildcat," Pat said, standing up.
Ember grinned at him in gratitude. Then she turned around and ran to Chavez. Chavez, who had been watching as the last of the ropes fell away, held his arms open to her. She jumped on him and he caught her easily. Ember crashed her lips into his and Chavez smiled against her lips and kissed her back.
The two pulled back almost breathless but finally happy. Chavez set Ember on her feet then hugged her close to him. Ember smiled then hugged him back. After a few moments, the two let go of each other, but Chavez still kept one of Ember's hands in closed in one of his.
Behind Ember, Pat cleared his throat. Ember turned towards him and saw him hold out some extra clothes.
"Thought you could use these," he explained. Ember laughed loudly for the first time in about a week.
She held Chavez's hand to her lips and kissed it softly then slid her hand out of his. Ember walked over to Pat and took the clothes from him, "Thank you, Mr. Garrett," she thanked.
Pat laughed at her now, "It's Pat to you and it's no trouble they should fit," he explained. Ember nodded then went off a few yards behind some brush to change.
"Well wasn't that sentimental." Dave mocked as he started walking around impatiently.
"Billy the chain come on!" Doc pleaded.
"Like I said, forever," Billy mused.
Dave walked up suddenly, "Look, I don't care if you all swapped spittle and pissed in each other's boots. I don't take to tenderfoots in my gang and I definitely don't take to no Mexicans," he pointed out.
Ember walked back into the campsite and went and stood behind Chavez who was checking his horse. She heard the last part of what Dave had said and started watching Chavez carefully.
"It ain't your gang, Dave," Billy told him exasperated, as if he'd had this discussion before.
Chavez glared at Dave, "It's Mexican-Indian you son-of-a-bitch," Chavez corrected.
Dave raised his hand and laughed a little, "Oh, I'm sorry. Tell me something, Cha-vez. Was it the savages putting it to a Mexican whore or was it an Indian whore putting it to the whole god damn Mexican army?" Dave asked.
At the end Chavez leaped for Dave but Billy and Pat rushed in on this one.
"Migisi!" Ember yelled to get Chavez's attention.
Billy pushed in between the two and flung them backwards. Ember grabbed Chavez by his shoulders and turned him towards her. Softly, she started speaking something in another language, that the others couldn't understand but Chavez could, and stroking the side of Chavez's face with her fingertips. Dave finally figured out what she was doing.
"Oh my god! Is she Indian, too?" he almost yelled.
Ember glared at him then stepped in front of Chavez to face Dave.
"Only half." she confirmed, smirking.
Dave laughed, "Is that so? Well, guess that makes you the next generation of the Indian whores, huh?" he laughed.
Ember's eyes both narrowed and darkened as she leapt forward, knocking Dave to the ground on his back. Ember sat with her knees on his chest as she pushed down on his lungs, "Want to say anything else, Rudabough!" she spoke darkly.
Behind her Ember heard Pat ask Billy, "Are you going to stop them?"
"Nope, never step in front of a Wildcat when she's angry," Billy replied chuckling.
Ember and Dave ignored the two.
Dave grinned at her stupidly, "Yeah, you're really cute when you're angry," he said. Ember balled her hand into a fist and punched Dave in the jaw.
"You bitch!" he screamed trying to hit her now, but Chavez had already grabbed Ember by the waist and pulled her off.
If it hadn't been for Billy, Dave would have torn through Chavez.
"Come here, you little bitch. I'm going to kill you!" Dave roared. Ember was struggling in Chavez's grip as well, trying to get loose.
"Yeah! Come on and hit me! I've been hit enough and I've got the bruises to prove it! You can't do anything to me that they haven't already done!" she screamed back.
Finally the two were separated and Billy looked Dave hard in the face, "Remember something, Dave. These are the Lincoln County Regulators," he told him sternly.
Dave scoffed, "Yeah, was."
Doc corrected Dave's grammar and finally got Billy to shoot the chains off of him. Billy explained that he was taking the broken trail called the Mexican Blackbird.
Chavez looked at Ember who was beside him now, "It's your choice, Leona. Should we go?" he asked her quietly.
Ember shook her head, "I don't see any other way. They already caught us in California. As bad as I hate to say it, but I think we should follow Billy's lead on this one," she admitted. Chavez nodded the kissed her forehead.
The couple looked up when they heard Doc mount his horse. They could see a watch in Billy's hand that could only have been Doc's.
Billy walked up to Doc's horse and looked up at Doc, "The horse ain't for sale, Doc. But what about my boots, they're nice and broken-" but he was cut off by Doc kicking him in the face, "You son-of-a-bitch!" Doc growled as he jumped out of the saddle and onto Billy.
The two started rolling on the ground as Chavez and Ember stood immediately. Chavez rushed forward and seized Doc under the arms while Pat did the same to Billy. The two started screaming at each other.
"I SAW YOU KILL!!" Billy screamed at Doc.
Ember rushed forward, in between the two, "STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!" she screamed at them.
Billy looked past her now, "You remember, John Tunstall?" he asked Doc.
Billy went into a rant about a story John had told the Regulators a long time ago. Ember felt a tear well up in her eye as she remembered what had happened before the Lincoln County War.
"I shall finish the game, Doc," Billy finished. He turned towards his horse, "Who's ever riding for Old Mexico, we ride now," Billy instructed.
Chavez placed a hand on Doc's shoulder as he passed him them went to Ember as she walked with him.
Billy looked over at her, "We'll get you a horse in the next town," he told her as he mounted his horse.
Ember and Chavez walked to his horse while Pat and Doc were talking. Chavez helped Ember onto the horse first then turned to Doc who had finished talking with Pat.
"They'll catch you, Doc. They caught us," Chavez said looking up at Ember then back at Doc, "Everybody but him. The villagers say he's the diablerro, he can change into a coyote and disappear and never gets killed. Me? I think he's just the luckiest wide eye in New Mexico. But he'll cross the border, he will," Chavez told Doc ad he climbed up on the horse, trying to convince him to come along.
"Chavez, I can't ride with him anymore. I've been trying to spend the last year forgetting him. I read about them in the newspaper and in those damned five cent books. Jesus Christ , the children in New York City imitate him in the streets. He's in my sleep. You've gotta understand what I'm saying. It's over," Doc reasoned.
"When the spirit horse comes, then it's over," Chavez argued the turned the horse towards where the others had gone.
"Hold on, Amor," he told Ember as he sent their horse into a full gallop. Ember replied by snaking her arms tightly around his waist.
After a few moments, Ember heard hoof beats on the ground. She turned and saw Doc riding hell bent for leather.
When he caught up to them Ember called across, "Glad you could make it!" she laughed, beaming at him.
Doc laughed then the three followed the others closely.