Matt – 72 hours in captivity

Sitting on the floor of a dark room with his hands tied behind his back, Matt blinked as he stared into nothingness.

Sometime ago he had opened his eyes, and found himself surrounded by darkness, his head exploding with pain. Trying to concentrate, he had done his best to assess the situation. He was lying on one side, his wrists were tied securely behind him, he had a head wound, didn't know where he was and it was too dark to see if anyone or anything was in the room with him. All in all not too promising. Slowly he had moved his legs and felt one foot touch a wall. Using the wall to guide him, he slowly got himself into a sitting position and leaned back against it.

There he still sat - head pounding and throat dry. He again went over what he remembered. He had been in the Long Branch with friends when it came time to do rounds. Newly and Festus, had offered to go along, but he told them to stay and finish their drinks. He had gone through his routine without incident, until he reached Jake Myers' old storehouse. Myers had bought a bigger building, and the old place had been up for sale for a few months. As always, he wanted to make sure the door was locked. He didn't want drunks, outlaws, or runaways settling in. As he started to wiggle the doorknob, the door suddenly flew open, causing him to briefly lose his balance and take a big step forward. That was when he was struck on the head from behind.

Now sitting in darkness, with no way to mark time, he had no idea how long he'd been held. The only thing that had broken the dark silence, was a visit from his captors. The door had creaked open, and one man entered carrying a lantern and a gun. A second gunman followed, and then a man carrying a tray. They never said a word and their faces were covered by bandanas. The two gunmen had kept their pistols pointed at him as the third man put the tray in front of him, untied his hands, and pointed a gun at his head. Seeing that there a bowl of soup and a canteen on the tray, he thought it could be some kind of weird trick, but took his chances and ate and drank, getting some small relief from his hunger and thirst. As soon as he finished, his wrists were again tied behind his back and he was left sitting in darkness. The trio had come only once, but the fact that they had come at all meant they didn't want him to die of thirst or starvation, at least not yet.

As time crept by, Matt realized that he had to keep his mind and body busy so he didn't go crazy being alone in the dark for endless hours. He decided to try to stand and walk, and to give himself something to focus his thoughts on.

Getting his feet under him, he managed to slide up the wall to a standing position. Turning so his left side was against the wall he started walking slowly and carefully around the perimeter of the dark room, like a newly blinded man. He gave himself the assignment of making a mental list of all the men who might want him to come to harm from his earliest days as a lawman to the present. If he managed to keep walking while doing so, he'd be getting a good amount of exercise.

Kitty

It was after midnight and Kitty was awake in bed trying with all her might to conjure up Matt, as if she could make him appear by sheer force of will. She pictured him walking though the door the way he always did when he came in very late. She'd be half asleep, and he'd come over quietly, kiss her gently and whisper, "Go to sleep honey, it's late. I love you." Of course Matt didn't appear, and a small part of her couldn't help but think that if she hadn't left Dodge to go to that convention he would be here with her, but she knew that that was as irrational as Festus and Newly blaming themselves. When she finally fell asleep, she tossed and turned with nightmares. A terrible dream about Matt dying woke her and she sat up, eyes wide open. She looked at the clock, it was 8 AM, not too early to find Festus and Newly to see if there were any new developments. As she rose and started to pull her robe on, she saw some brown and red stains on her sheets. She panicked, she had known women who had miscarriages and bleeding was a sign. No, she couldn't lose the baby. She made sure she wasn't still bleeding, dressed quickly and went to Doc's office.

Doc was busy with a patient when she went in, so she quietly slipped into the back room, and sat on the side of the bed, trying to be calm. Finally Doc opened the door, "Kitty, are you all right? It is Matt?"

Kitty looked at her beloved friend and blurted out, "Doc, I'm pregnant. I'm sure of it – probably 7 or 8 weeks. This morning I found some blood on my sheets and I'm scared."

Doc rubbed his mustache, "Kitty, are you actively bleeding, or did you just see spots on the sheets?"

Kitty shook her head, "Just dried spots."

Doc looked at her reassuringly, "Well, I've seen that in a lot of women who've then continued on with their pregnancies, and delivered healthy babies." He paused and took her hand, "At the same time, Kitty, we have to be realistic. This could be a sign that you're going to have difficult pregnancy and will have to take it easy to carry this child to term, maybe even be on bed rest. We'll see about that as time goes on, but I certainly don't want to see you on your feet working at the Long Branch while this is happening, and Kitty – I know you are a business woman and that's important to you, but you might have to let things run themselves for a while."

Kitty took in everything that Doc had just said, and responded slowly and thoughtfully, "Doc, I will do anything and everything to keep this baby, that is my priority. You and I both know that businesses don't run themselves, but I will figure something out. You can be sure of that."

Doc nodded, "Good, and I'm going to keep a close eye on you through-out this pregnancy. I think you know that. Now you go home and I'll come see you after I check in with Festus and Newly to see if there is any news about Matt."

Kitty stood up, and kissed Doc on the cheek, "Thank you Doc. I'll see you later." She started down the stairs with a heavy heart, wishing more than ever that Matt was with her, and wondering where he was. He could be hurt or even dead. She could lose the man she loved and their baby. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and took herself in hand, reminding herself that thinking the worst never helped anything. She took a deep breath and started walking home; she had some planning to do.

TBC