Chapter 9
Mrs. Bolton paced back and forth on the front porch, wringing her hands. Cati, Gabriella, and Troy had been missing for a day. When night came and they hadn't returned Mr. Bolton had sent Eddie out to find them. The news he brought back with him wasn't pleasant. The wagon and picnic basket were there but nothing else was. Even in the dark, Eddie had spotted the large patch of tracks, in the soft mud, on both sides of the creek. The next morning he and his father had ridden out to gather a search party. The posse was now gathered outside the Bolton house.
Chad Danforth, Jason Cross, and Ryan Evans leaned against the porch railing, patiently waiting for Eddie to join them. Their horses, laden with saddlebags full of supplies, waited, tied to corral, in front of the barn. As soon as they'd heard the news they'd gathered their things, saddled up, and hurried over.
"You boys be careful now..." Mrs. Bolton called to the boys, as Eddie came out of the barn, leading his mount.
"Don't worry mother," Eddie replied, "We'll get them back."
"That's not what I said Edward," she crossed her arms.
"We'll be careful ma'm," Chad assured her.
"Thank you Chad," she smiled, "...bringing them back would also be nice though..."
"Don't worry dear," Mr. Bolton appeared at the barn door. "I have full confidence that the boys will be fine." His wife nodded, trying to mask her worries.
"Right," Eddie swung up onto his bay gelding, "Let's get going fella's." He turned to his parents as the rest of the boys mounted their horses. "Don't worry... everything will be fine. I'll see you both in a bit." With that, they were gone.
"You know, I feel like I should be going with them..." Mr. Bolton rested a hand on his wife's shoulder, his eyes following the figures retreating over the hill.
"I know you do John," she replied, patting his hand affectionately, "but you're needed here. What would the town do without a doctor? The boys will handle things well enough."
"Eddie's so young though," he continued. His wife followed his gaze to the retreating figures in the distance. She could see the longing in his eyes. He wished he were with them.
"John Bolton, you stay right where you're at." She commanded. "You couldn't bring that boy back if you tried. He may be young, but he's completely competent with a group of fully capable boys. They'll be fine." He looked at her with raised eyebrows and a questioning face. "Don't look at me like that. I'm just as worried as you are. We just have to try and stay positive."
"I know..." he sighed, "It's just hard..."
Three days of hard riding passed quickly. The fourth morning came too soon and Troy, Gabi, and Cati found themselves mounted and on the trail once again. Troy's head still hurt, but he kept quiet. He had to be strong for the girls. Cati was visibly beginning to wear out. Gabi didn't complain, but he could tell that she was hurting. Her sling had long since come loose and wasn't doing her much good. She clutched her injured arm to her side, whenever her hands were loosed, and refused to make eye contact with him whenever he asked how she was doing. She was now ahead of him, riding double with Cati, on Lightening. She clung to the saddle horn with her good arm, holding herself on while Cati handled the steering.
Troy was thankful that nothing serious had happened so far. He'd heard stories of women and young girls who'd been captured by Indians. The stories weren't pretty. Quite frankly, he was surprised that he hadn't been killed right away.
Finally, nightfall arrived and it was time to make camp. Cati and Gabi's hands were once again freed and they set off in search of firewood, under the watchful eyes of the man with the crooked nose. Their job done, their hands were once again tied and they joined him, leaning up against a large log. After a while, one of their captors brought them chunks of scorched meat, unceremoniously dropping the food in their laps. They ate in silence. Cati fell asleep almost immediately. Gabriella soon followed.
Sleep would not find Troy. He sat, with his sister on one side and Gabriella on the other side. He loved his sister dearly and had become very close to Gabi. He couldn't let anything happen to them. Staring ahead, he watched the men at the fire. They'd stay up for a little longer, and then roll up in their blankets and go to sleep. It'd been the same story for the last couple of days. Sure enough, as thoughts continued rolling through his mind, the men began wrap their blankets about themselves and stretch out next to the fire. They'd be sleeping in a few minutes.
Troy racked his brain. They had to get away. Everyone back home was probably worried sick. If they snuck off, he'd be able to follow the back trail. The Indians were sleeping now. Quietly, he nudged Gabriella.
"What is it Troy?" She blinked her eyes sleepily.
"See if you can get my knife out of my back pocket..." He turned his back to her. Gabi's hands touched his mid back and worked their way down, eventually finding the pocket.
"Why didn't you think of this earlier?" She glared at him.
"I needed to see what their pattern was...I didn't want to get us killed," he replied. Really, with all of the stress he'd simply forgotten that it was there.
"We could have been killed anyway." She replied.
"Yes...but we weren't." Troy said firmly. "Come on now. Put the blade up to my mouth... I'll pull it open." He grasped the thin blade between his teeth and slowly pulled his head back. Gabi silently shifted the knife in her bound hands until she could cut Troy loose. Troy gingerly flexed his wrists. Satisfied that they were working correctly, he cut Gabi loose and reached for his sister.
"Cati," he shook her lightly, "come on kiddo, wake up." His sister slowly opened her eyes.
"What's going on?" She whispered. Even as young as she was, Cati understood what a dangerous situation they were in.
"Where getting out of here..." he quickly freed her hands. "Come on..." He crept off towards the horses, motioning the girls to follow. They carefully picked their way to the herd, keeping an eye on the sleeping Indians. Troy slowly sifted through the horses until he located Thunder and Lightning. He boosted Gabriella up onto Thunder's back and put Cati behind her.
"Let's get out of here..." he swung onto Lightning, turning the horse back the way they had come. "Gabi...Cati..." He turned to look at them. Even in the dark he could tell their faces had paled. He followed their eyes back towards the campfire. The men were quietly creeping towards them.
"Troy!" Cati shrieked and pointed. Troy felt himself being pulled from Lightning's back and thrown to the ground. He could see the man with the crooked nose staring down at him. The man's foot rose and planted itself in his stomach. Troy recoiled in pain, curling himself into a tight ball.
Gabi watched in horror as the man continued to beat on Troy, who in his weakened state didn't offer much of a fight. Cati's arms were wrapped around her and she stroked the younger girl's hair soothingly, trying to comfort her. She didn't even notice that the other men had mounted and grabbed hold of Thunder's reins until she saw the trees passing by. She looked back again. The man was no longer standing over Troy but mounted on a beautiful buckskin stallion and riding after the main group. Troy lay, still, where he had been thrown.
For the first time, Gabi was truly scared. Before, she'd always thought that Troy would be able to keep her and Cati safe. He wasn't going to be there. They were leaving him behind. She and Cati would have to make it on their own.
Okay, before everyone starts to hate me, let me speak...TROY IS NOT DEAD. I didn't like where I was going with this and thought I'd change it up a bit. This chapter was a bit rough, but it will smooth out again. Also, characters like Sharpay, Taylor, and Kelsie will be popping up soon.
I'm sooo sorry for making you all wait for updates, but I'm just really having trouble finding the time. I've just finished one of my final term papers so that should help a little bit. Hopefully I'll have some more up before Christmas break. I'm not making any promises but I will try my best... If not, look forward to updates on both of my HSM stories (Feels Like Home & Waiting For the Sun to Shine) as well as my Summerland Story (If I Had Only Known) and my two new Heathers stories (Never Alone, and Only Hope) over break.
