Disclaimer I own very little, especially not CSI NY.
Notes Chapter 10: Meanwhile, back in Hattanville...
Thank you very much for all reviews, please continue! They're a great help with writing, and I really appreciate knowing what you think of this story. Thanks for alerts and favourites; to afrozenheart412 for extra thoughts; Miss Poisonous for confidence boosts; and Forest Angel, Blue Shadowdancer and iluvCSI4ever for reading.
So, slightly ironically, or maybe it was even poetic justice, I found myself out in not one but two blizzards last week. I survived though :D Hopefully the characters will too...
Once Upon A Time In the Old West
Chapter 10: The Searchers
Hawkes:
There's not a soul to see out there. I'm straining my eyes staring out the window, but there's nothing but white flakes falling from the sky. Look at it for too long, and it sends your eyes and mind spinning. Sure looks beautiful from a safe and warm distance, but, out there, the reality's ugly as death. Been too many folks lost and perished in blizzards over the years; folks who got themselves disorientated, lost their way, and weren't found again till it was too late. Been more than a few fur trappers whose poor frozen forms haven't been discovered until the spring thaw. Every life taken by the brutal winter weather is a life too many, and right now we got two lives very important to the town out there somewhere.
It's been more than four hours since the Sheriff and Stella set out and I'm wondering whether we ought to take some action. Flack and I've been waiting in the Sheriff's office the last couple of hours whilst Hammerback and his wife, Miss Angell and Kelly, have been busy continuing the work looking for any other documents relating to the ownership of Hattanville. I'm mighty grateful for the arrival of Miss Kelly Higgins in town, can hardly believe it was only this morning she came riding out of nowhere and saved my life. Feels like I've known her for ever...
But we got two more lives in danger at present, and I turn to Flack to ask his opinion, "Blizzard's raging. Think we ought to send out a search party? They've been gone a while."
He's pacing the length and breadth of the room and I'm finding it a struggle not to do the same. But we couldn't have the two of us doing that. For one thing, there's not enough room in here for any real satisfactory pacing, and I know it won't do any good. We're both in a real state of worry for Taylor and Stella, and all kinds of scenarios as to their fate are playing in my mind. Blizzards here in the north western corner of the state are not to be taken lightly. If you go out in them, you're taking a gamble with your life. It's a truth both of them know very well. All I can hope is that they know what they're doing and we'll see them again, alive, before too much more time passes.
As any native of the state will tell you, the snowstorms and icy winds show mercy to neither man nor beast. You've got to be tough and know what you're doing out there, and even then it might not be enough to save you. Flack and I are both keeping our hopes pinned on our friends having the strength, and the luck, to return safely, but I reckon there's got to be something we can do to give them a helping hand.
Flack's stopped his pacing and is standing in front of the fire with his thumbs hooked into his pockets. It's quite a blaze we got in the grate but it's not taken all the chill from the room.
I step over and join him, as he hasn't answered my question yet.
"What d'you think? Too soon to be sending out search parties?"
He speaks without turning his eyes away from the flames, "I'll tell you what I think, Doc, times like these I can't help thinkin' Mac's a darn fool. Hot-headed don't even come into it. Stella too. Woman's got too much of a spirit of recklessness. You saw how it was earlier; try arguin' with 'em when they've both made up their minds, and I'm tellin' you, Doc, you're wastin' you're breath." He shakes his head, "Sometimes I get to wonderin' if I'm wastin' my time as Deputy…"
They're the words of a worried man, and I don't take what Flack says as serious as he sounds, but I recognise he's in need of some reassurance. Truth is, I'm a little angry myself at Taylor and Stella for putting themselves in danger, but at the same time I'm admiring of them setting out to do this, not for themselves, but for the town. I can only hope it's not going to cost them, and us, dearly.
"You know Taylor better than anyone in this town does, except Stella." I keep my mind from darker thoughts by trying to stir up some of Flack's resolve, "You know he's a man wise enough to know the worth of his Deputy, even if he don't always show what he thinks. There isn't another man in town he's got more respect for. He'll have taken heed of what you said, even though he's made his own decision."
I'm speaking the truth. Taylor may be a man who blazes his own trail, but I know for a fact he'd have no other man as Deputy than Don Flack, and there's no better man to stand at his side and keep him steady.
No better woman than Stella to do the same. Hot-headed as she is herself at times, she keeps him grounded and cool-headed in many matters. I can fairly say the whole town was delighted when their Sheriff and the owner of the Star Saloon finally started stepping out together. Raised a smile from every one of us.
Wish I could find a smile for them now. If anything's happened to them, it's not just a Sheriff and a Saloon owner we'll have lost, but two of the finest people you could meet. It's a loss I can't even begin to think about, and won't until I'm forced to do so.
Flack's shoulders have slumped. A moment later though he turns to me and I see nothing but determination in his face.
"Know what, Doc? You're right. Mac's a downright stubborn man on most every matter, and this ain't gonna be an exception. Whatever's happened out there, he and Stella are gonna get themselves back to town safe and sound. That's not to say though they might be needin' a little help, after all, what's a Deputy's duty? How's this for a proposal - we give 'em half an hour more, then we start roundin' up a posse to ride out and follow their route."
"Sounds like sense to me."
As I turn to take another glance out of the door, into the swirls of snow and darkening skies, the hurricane lamp swinging over the lintel catches my eye, "And I got another idea as well…"
No more than fifteen minutes later and we got the whole of Main Street festooned with lights. A few knocks on doors and folks turned out in force and did us proud. We got nearly every lamp and lantern in the whole of Hattanville hung up outside of every building, creating a sight to make a man glow inside, and I'm hoping it's one our friends will be seeing real soon. Least we can do is give them a guiding light back home.
Flack's hanging the last lantern up outside the Saloon and I head over to join him. Can barely see more than a few feet along the road leading out of town, but I know that anyone coming in is going to be seeing Hattanville from a long way off. Those lanterns make one heck of a difference, even though the snow's blowing like the whirling dervishes I've seen pictures of in the illustrated magazines Hammerback subscribes to and shares round town.
We're standing in a circle of light, stamping about in the snow and banging our arms against our sides as we peer into the gloom. It's a thin, cruel wind cutting through us, and it's a futile effort pulling our coats tighter against it. Can't help but note too how as soon as we make an impression in the snow with our boots, it's filled up with a fresh fall of flakes. There's no sound but the wind moaning, and it sends a shudder through me. If I was a fanciful man, I could even say it had a note of death in it. But I know it's just the noises of nature.
Nature's a merciless phenomenon though, and it doesn't do to trifle with it. We should rightly be inside, seems like madness to be ignoring that blazing fire back in the Sheriff's office, but neither of us want to stir a step. If our friends are on their way, then we'll be outside to greet them.
But there's nothing to see, nothing to hear.
Just the snow.
Just the wind.
"Doc! You hear that?" Flack's wading towards the road, "Coulda' sworn I heard hoof beats comin' towards us. Listen up!"
I'm straining my ears to hear even as I'm struggling through the drifts to catch his long legs up. Times like these I envy the height of Don Flack. He's stopped and is cupping his ear. Reckon he's going to be more attuned for hearing the noise of a horse, or horses I'm hoping, as Taylor and Stella left on one apiece. I'm straining my ears, hearing nothing, until I remember the time I heard a heartbeat in a man everyone else thought had left this world, and was able to bring him back to the land of the living. And then I catch the faint sound on the wind.
"You hear it, Doc?" Flack shouts at me over the wail of the blizzard.
"I hear it!"
Very faint, but getting closer, is the sound of a horse cantering towards us.
Only one horse.
Even deadened by the snow, it's an unmistakable sound. But as we listen, it starts to slow and falter and stop…
"The lanterns! Flack, grab a lantern and start yelling!"
Doesn't take us more than a moment to snatch the two closest to us, then, looking like a couple of mad men to anyone who might be watching, but not caring less about it, we start hollering and swinging those lanterns for all we're worth. Blasts of wind steal our voices, but we're not letting that daunt us.
Nor the fact that no one's answered us.
The hoof beats start up again, coming closer, slower now, but we can soon make out the dim shape of a horse coming towards us.
Whether there's a rider, we still can't tell for sure.
The blizzard is making it hard to stay standing, let alone see clearly. So we press forward, heaving our feet out of snow that seems to want to suck us into it, and I'm still praying the horse isn't without a rider…
We're beginning to despair when the poor beast finally comes into sight, drops its head with an exhausted whinny, and slows to a stop.
There's no one in the saddle.
Both of us stop dead in our tracks, not wanting to believe what we're seeing. Not wanting to believe what it means.
"Is that…?"
"Yeah." Flack's voice is bleak, and my heart sinks into my boots. "Recognise the star on his forehead. It's Blaze..." Stella's horse, but no sign of his owner, or Taylor. All I can think is that our worst fears have been realised.
Our friends are lost.
But Flack's shining his lantern into the gloom, and turns to me with hope lighting his face, "Don't give up yet, Doc! Ain't no way that horse got this far by himself, gotta have had a rider some of the way. We just gotta find 'em!"
With his lantern held high, he strides a few steps ahead. I'm close behind, squinting hard. Can't make out a thing.
Nothing to hear.
Nothing to see.
Nothing but white.
Then Flack gives a yell, "I see somethin'!"
I see it too. A few yards away there's something in the snow…
A few steps closer and we can see a huddled shape on the ground. Few more steps and we see it's someone lying in a heap, fast becoming invisible as the snow settles over them…
Flack's the first to reach them, dropping his lantern, turning them over, "Little help, Doc!"
I'm already there, setting my lantern down carefully, as Flack's has gone out. Gives me enough light to see it's Stella, and she looks near frozen - her lips and eyelids are blue, and she's icy cold to the touch…
"Stella!" I'm trying desperately to find some life in her...
And then her eyes fly open and she clutches my hand with a grip of iron.
"Thank God!" The exclamation comes from both Flack and myself, and a breath of relief whooshes out of me. Any questions can wait - we need to get her inside, fast.
Flack takes hold of her arm gently, "Come on, Stell. Can't stay out here, lyin' in the snow."
Stella shakes her head, and speaks through violent shivers, "N-no intention of d-doin' so. G-got n-no time f-for that… "
I put my arm round her shoulders as she sits up, "Mac… H-he's trapped! We… we gotta help him! Gotta g-go get h-him out…"
The fear I'm feeling is as clear as ice in Flack's voice as he asks her, "What happened? Where is he?"
Her eyes fall closed for a moment, before she jerks them open, "Had to… had to l-leave him. Couldn't g-get him outta there..."
"Where? Where is he? Come on, Stell."
Her head droops and her eyes are closing again, so I give her a gentle shake.
"Stella! Stay with us. What happened? Where's Mac?"
She lifts her head and her eyes are open again, "Gun… gunpowder works. Ceiling c-collapsed on us, f-floor gave way. Got… got myself out, b-but couldn't f-free Mac. Stuck under a beam. Too… too heavy. Rode back to g-get help. We h-have to go b-back there!"
Her hand is like a vice around mine and there's a terrible urgency in her voice, but I'm aware of the snow falling thick and fast around us and how much she's shaking with cold. There's a cold fear in me that the blizzard might have already taken a life, and I'm sure as hell not going to let it take another.
"Think you can stand, Stella?"
She nods, "S-sure I can."
I know Stella's not going to accept any more help than she has to, and I know, even though she won't admit it, that she's almost as bad as Mac in the way of avoiding my assistance. Remember the time she got bit by a rattle snake she'd been removing from Sinclair's store for him, and how it took Taylor threatening to carry her over his shoulder down Main Street to my surgery before she consented to me examining her. Fortunately, I was able to treat the bite without too much difficulty as it wasn't a full grown rattler. If it had been, it's likely I'd be telling a very different tale today.
It's not something I take personally however, and truth be told, there are a few of my patients I'd prefer not to like calling me out so much. I have a suspicion that some of the senior ladies in town send for me just to have a sight of me, rather than for any medical need…
Stella has a store of stubborn strength, same as Taylor, but nonetheless, after Flack and I help her stand, we're both keeping a tight hold of her.
"We'll get you inside then Flack and I'll round a few folks up and head straight out there…"
The spark returns to her eyes, "And I'm c-comin' with you! Ain't t-time to be sittin' around inside whilst… whilst Mac's relyin' on me. I gotta g-get back out there and h-help rescue him!"
"Was he hurt?"
"Yeah, h-he got a f-few cuts, knock to his h-head, r-reckon he was in shock too, and water was seepin' in as I left. Freezin' cold w-water… can't keep him waitin' there, Hawkes. W-we gotta get… get back there!"
I exchange a look with Flack, and his face has darkened. He's keeping his grip round Stella and pulling her on.
She's resisting though, especially when I tell her, "You shouldn't be riding back out there - you're freezing…"
"I'm w-warmin' up already!" She answers even as another shudder rattles her teeth, "I'm f-fine and ready to… to go. Just n-need to… to see to Blaze first. C-couldn't have g-got back without him, n-need to make sure h-he's all right."
"You ain't goin' nowhere but indoors." Flack growls, and tugs her onwards.
He's met with more resistance, "Don't y-you be t-tellin' me w-where I ain't goin', Don Flack!"
We've no time for disputes, so I intervene, "We're going to have to do some quick preparations first. Seems like we're going to need ropes and so on. Flack, you get Blaze into the stables then see who you can round up, Messer and Ross for sure, and I know Miss Higgins will want to help too. Meantime, Stella, we'll go wait by the fire."
Give him his due, it only takes a moment for Flack to concede, "Won't take more than minutes to do that, I'll make sure of Blaze, then I'll direct Hammerback and his wife, Miss Monroe and Miss Angell to keep the fires burnin' here." He gives me a nod and Stella a glower before he heads over to her horse.
I pull Stella gently, "No good us standing out here waiting for him, and letting a perfectly good fire go to waste." She's still got a mulish look on her face, so I throw in a bit of manipulation, "Long as you're sure you can manage to walk there…"
"C-course I can m-manage!"
And she does, only stumbling once on the way to the Sheriff's office. I've soon got her sitting in front of the fire with a dry cloak round her, and it don't take long before the colour starts returning to her skin and her shivers subside.
Flack soon returns as promised with a small but trustworthy group all ready to head out and find Taylor. Kelly is amongst them, which I'm mighty pleased about, and she gives my fingers a squeeze as she joins me.
The moment everyone comes clattering through the door, Stella stands and announces defiantly, "We all ready to go? 'Cause you're gonna need someone to show you the way."
I hold my breath, anticipating Flack's reply, but it's what I'm least expecting, "Figured that's what you'd say, Stell, and I know I ain't gonna be able to stop you, so I took the liberty of pickin' up some of your strong stuff from the saloon…" He holds a bottle out to her which she takes with surprise.
"Where'd you find this?" She narrows her eyes, "I keep this in a secret place for emergencies only. How'd you get a hold of it?"
He shrugs, and a grin appears for a moment, "Happened to see where you put it after you gave Mac a dose last week followin' that punch. Figured this counted as an emergency."
"Then I'll be findin' a new place for it. Still, I ain't ungrateful, and guess I could do with a drop…"
With that, she pulls the cork out and puts it to her lips. The jaw of every man in the room drops as she swallows a draught without even blinking.
She replaces the cork and gives herself a slight shake, "Damn that's good! Fires you up ready for anythin'. Anyone else wantin' a drop?"
There are denials all round, all of us being uncertain as to what exactly she mixes up in the liquor that's become legendary in town.
She smiles, "I'll keep a hold of it then, reckon we might need some before the night's out. Any of you need any, I hope you'll not be afraid to ask."
More rapid murmurs of denial as Stella tucks it into her cloak.
Then the smile's gone and she's heading out of the door, "Let's go, Mac's waitin' for us."
Flack's saddled her up a fresh horse, and I don't miss the grateful smile and thanks she gives him. She may be a stubborn and hot-headed woman, but she's never one to wrong a friend or stay unjustly angry with anyone for long.
Stella's at the head of the group as we set off with Kelly and myself flanking her; Flack and Messer take up the rear, with the rest of the men in between. The snow falls thick and fast around us and the wind cuts through every layer of clothing we're wearing.
I can only hope we reach Taylor before it's too late.
Will they reach Mac in time? Find out next chapter! Please, please review and let me know what you think, I'd love to know, and it helps me with the next chapter :D Thank you, Lily x