Chapter 8

Troy groaned. He didn't know where he was. His head hurt, his wrists hurt, his whole body hurt. He tried to raise an arm but realized his wrists were tied behind his back. Suddenly, everything came back to him. He slowly opened his eyes.

It was dark now. His eyes soon adjusted to the lack of light. He could see the Indians, grouped together around a large fire, a short distance away. They were talking amongst themselves. He carefully turned his head, looking around. Cati and Gabi were nowhere to be seen. Where were they? What had been done with them?

After a short time, the girls appeared at the edge of the camp. They were carrying firewood. A man was following behind them, prepared to catch them if they attempted to escape. They dropped their load next to the fire. The men mumbled something Troy didn't understand, bound their hand, and shoved the girls in his direction, indicating that they were to wait there until further notice. As they approached, he could see their tear stains on their faces.

"Troy!" Cati was the first to notice he was awake. She hurried towards her brother, dropping to her knees on the ground in front of him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Cati," he nodded, ignoring the constant throbbing in his head. "Are you ok?" The little girl looked up at Gabi for reassurance and nodded slowly.

"Are you alright?" Troy caught Gabi's eyes. They looked tired and scared. The sparkle that he had come to admire was a little dimmer than before.

Gabriella nodded. Physically she was fine. Mentally, she was not. She would not say anything though, at least not while Catherine was still awake. The little girl was frightened enough. She didn't need to know how serious their situation was.

"I'm alright...just shaken up a bit." She paused and looked over at Cati, "You should try to get some sleep... we may be in for a long ride tomorrow." The little girl nodded.

"I'll try..." She replied. She scooted as close to Troy, who was leaning against a boulder, as she could and lay her head against his side. She was asleep within minutes. As Troy watched his sister sleep, a tear started forming in his eye.

"I wish I could hug her right now," he spoke softly. "She must be so scared..."

"She is scared," Gabriella nodded, "but she's being very strong...and brave." She paused. "I don't think the fact that we were carried off by Indians scared her as much as the idea that you might never wake up."

"What?" Troy turned to look at her. "I know the clunked me pretty good... but I couldn't have been out that long."

"Almost two days." Gabriella replied, "Well, you would wake up for a few minutes and then drift out again. Even when you were awake, you weren't really awake." She paused. "I didn't even know if you were alive at first."

"What do you mean?" Troy asked. Gabriella relaxed against the rock, next to him.

"When that man hit you over the head, you just slumped to the ground. You're head was bleeding badly. You were so limp and pale." She paused sniff back a tear, "Cati had already been taken by then. It's good that she didn't see you like that. They took me right away. We rode for a long time. The people that brought you in met us later, at the first camp. You were belly down on a big paint. You looked so limp I thought you were dead."

"I remember the first part," Troy continued, "I'd just gotten there and saw her being led off." He cringed at the memory of the snarling face running off with his little sister in tow. "You were still putting up a fight and I was going to be danged if anyone took you too." A small smile formed on Gabi's face. He could be so determined at times.

"My knight in shining armor..." Gabi let out a small laugh. How ironic it was.

"Yeah, well, if I'm a knight I'm not a very good one," Troy's head dropped. "I didn't save either of you. The only thing I did was get myself captured. Now nobody knows what happened or where we are." He shook his head. "I can't believe I let this happen... and then to go and scare you two like that!" Gabriella could tell he was getting angry and frustrated.

"Troy, there was nothing else you could have done." She assured him. "Besides, if you had put up more of a fight they may have just killed you. Where would Cati and I have been then?"

"You're right." He spoke after a moment. "I'm with you and Cati now... we're all together. Everything will be alright."

"As long as we stay together..." Gabriella nodded her head, sleepily. After a few minutes of silence, Troy noticed her eyelids begin droop and her unsuccessful attempts to stifle back yawns.

"Here." He spoke quietly, "Lean up against me." Gabi scooted closer and laid her head on his shoulder. She fell asleep instantly.

Sleep did not find Troy easily. Many things were through his mind as he sat against that boulder. He, his sister, and Gabi were all safe... for the time being. He just needed to figure out how to get them all out of there.

He felt Gabi shiver and try to wiggle closer to him. He wished he had a free arm to wrap around her. Sighing, he let his chin come to rest on top of her head. Her hair felt so soft against his skin. Her head felt so right, lying on his shoulder. Finally, Troy was able to sleep, not thinking of their current predicament, but how perfectly Gabriella's head fit in the crook of his neck.

TROY LIVES!

Ok, I know that was really short, and probably a bit too sweet, but I didn't want to leave you guys hanging all weekend. I'm going back up north and will not have my computer...so... I guess this is better than nothing. Have no fear, though, I will be back! Also, just for the record... I don't plan on killing off any main characters any time soon... so you all can stop worrying. Thanks for reading!

-CodeRed