Winchester West
Disclaimer: I have no claims to the show Supernatural, the characters or themes. I also mean no insult to any and all Indian tribes, people etc. I just like to play with the characters, tease, torture, caress and the rest!!
CHAPTER 25Previously: It was then that two shots rang out and Black Wolf went limp in his arms.
The Chief looked around wildly but saw nothing, while his warriors formed a protective circle around him and his son. As he lowered Black wolf to the ground, he ordered the hunt to find the one who had fired. White Stag handed a water bag to him, as White Feather carefully lifted Black Wolf's head so that he could drink. Five days is a long time and he had to tell Black Wolf to sip slowly the water, so that he would be refreshed by it instead of throwing it up. He leaned Black Wolf against a rock so that he was sitting up and cut the bonds with his knife. It was then that the damaged caused by the bullets appeared as Black Wolf cried out in pain whenever his right arm was touch or moved. It was obvious even to White Feather that Black Wolf needed to return to camp as soon as possible, so that the medicine man could maybe restore his arm to movement and thus it was ordered that part of the hunting group would return to the camp but the other would continue the search for the shooter.
Black Wolf had two bits of good luck, when he got shot but it was the second bullet that caused him the trouble. The Apache warrior who fired upon him, had wanted to kill him with the first shot or at the very least severely wound him. Severely enough that his master White Feather would have no choice but to order his execution. Unfortunately for the Apache at the exact moment that he fired the first shot, White Feather pulled Black Wolf into a standing position and thus the bullet that was aimed at his head hit him in the side and went straight through barely missing White Feather himself. The second bit of good luck was that there was no time to accurately target him again so the second shot hit him in the shoulder. The problem was it did not go through. It stayed buried in his shoulder, stuck in the space between what we would now call his clavicle and his humerus. This caused him not only pain but it stopped him from moving his arm, which for a termiqui means certain death. For if he could not move his arm, he could not work, and if he could not work, his master would order his death. He knew that White Feather would have no hesitation in carrying out that order.
White Feather knew something was wrong when Black Wolf screamed as he lay him down. He saw the blood coming from his side and shoulder. This was Bad. He looked into Black Wolf's eyes and asked him if he could move his arm or hand. Black Wolf closed his eyes and shook his head "No". Everytime he tried pain shot up and down his arm. With his back to his son, White Feather removed his gun from his belt and pulled back the hammer. Then he heard his son send a rider back to the village to get the medicine man but White Feather knew that the termiqui did not have the time to wait for him to arrive. The bullet would have to be removed, so instead of shooting Black Wolf, he ordered a fire to be built and cut off the jacket Black Wolf was wearing. Each move or touch to his shoulder gave black wolf great pain, so his master looked at the shoulder wound first. Gently turning Black Wolf over, trying to ignore his screams of agony, White Feather poured water over the wound to clean it, hoping that the bullet would be visible to him, instead of buried deeply. In that he was lucky. He could see part of it but another part was covered by the shoulder itself and White Feather feared that cutting that bit away would deny Black Wolf the use of his arm. It was not that he was afraid to kill him, it was that he knew that Black Wolf and his son where very close and having to order the termiqui's death would upset white Stag greatly, and it was that, White Feather wanted to avoid.
White Feather had grown used to having the termiqui around but more as a company to his son, and a worker, then as a member of the family. Where White Stag viewed the termiqui as a brother, his master viewed him as a slave. One that was useful. When hunting it was Black Wolf who acted as bait and led the pray into the trap, not his son or another warrior of the tribe. For you see White Feather saw him as a tool, ranking just above a horse or a good hunting dog, not as a person. If it was upto White Feather, he would have killed the termiqui without a second thought, to spare him further pain. Well maybe he would have felt a little regret and he had to admit that finding another as loyal would be hard, but he figured not impossible. But White Stag was here and had already sent word for the medicine man, so he had to at least try to save the termiqui. He was comforted by the thought that if the termiqui did die, at least he would die in the service of his master. This thought was not a comfort though to White Stag, who brought water for Black Wolf to drink, and held him as his father eased the flesh away from the bullet, and sticking his fingers into the wound, grabbed it with his fingertips and pulled.
The scream that came from Black Wolf was heard for miles, and conciseness left him soon after. In fact White Feather was afraid that Back Wolf had died or would die soon. Blood flowed out of the would and with black Wolf unconscious, he was not sure if he could move his arm. So he wrapped the shoulder trying to stem the flow of blood and watched as the warriors built a travis to carry Black Wolf home. The medicine man could deal with it from here on and if it proved necessary to kill Black Wolf, he would be kind and give him a quick death. The trip back to the village was hard for Black Wolf, his shoulder and side hurt a great deal and he seemed not to be able to recognize where he was or who he was with. In fact when one of the warriors felt his forehead, it was warm to the touch, showing that though the bullet had been removed quickly, Black Wolf would succumb to the fever that seem to strike most of the ones who survived a bullet wound. The warriors shook their head, they where not sure wither his master would give him time to recover or just kill him, when the fever took over. White Feather himself did not know what he was going to do.
They where close to the village when they met the medicine man riding towards them. Immediately he went to check Black Wolf's condition and had him moved directly into his tent. White Feather went to his, and was greeted by his wife, who was happy for a change. Happy that was until she found out that Black Wolf had returned and what condition he was in. Then she was very unhappy and continuingly told her husband to kill the termiqui and that he should have no pity in his heart for such a killer as Black Wolf. In part White Feather agreed with her. No matter how hard Black Wolf worked, he still felt cheated. His eldest son was dead, the killer remained alive and well, and unpunished. All he had to replace his son was the termiqui and now he would not be able to work for 7-10 days while he recovered from the fever. All that was inside of White Feather, all his feelings of anger, revenge and guilt for accepting Black Wolf's offer, cried out for him to kill Black Wolf and then go on to find a reason to kill his father, but it was his feelings and love for his son that stopped him and gained Black Wolf the time to recover. White Stag would never forgive him if he did not give Black Wolf every chance to survive and return to work. Even though his wife was angered, it was his feelings for his son that won.
Maureen stopped talking, she had told them all she knew. Black Wolf had survived and had returned to work. The work was hard, the punishments painful and often, but he did have powerful friends, Manawa, the medicine man and some warriors of the tribe, not forgetting the chief's only son White Stag. They all sort to aid him at all times and tried to make his life easier. But he also had a powerful enemy in the form of Dark Flower, wife of chief, who wished to see him pay for the death of her eldest son White Wolf, and a master who would rather see him dead, for the same reason. But he did survive and was making a life of sorts for himself.
She had also learned that the Apache chief Red Moon, was very unhappy about one of his warriors shooting the termiqui, when he had guaranteed that if he managed to reach his tribe, he would be free. You see the Apache keep to their word, for as all Indians know the word of a Indian is their bond, and therefore his actions where unforgivable. That warrior was punished and left when the tribe moved on to other hunting grounds with just a knife and a jacket, but no water and no horse. But the Apache do remember strength and courage and on hearing that Black Wolf had survived, they thanked the spirit for his safety, and begun to tell their children of the Sioux Termiqui who could have been a Apache warrior. They listen to other stories from other tribes of hunts he went on and of how he always seems to survive not matter what is done to him. Other tribes also tell the story of the trial and soon all tribes know of the termiqui and whisper stories to their children of things they have heard of him. How he is brave, honorable, and wise. How he is blessed by the spirit. How he was healed by one who had passed from this world, and was seen to return to aid him. Many stories where told by parents to their children, some true, some not true, some that where believable only to the young children while older children said it was not possible to be done. Maureen had heard them all and told them all to the family gathered around. Some they laughed at, some they cried over, and some they did not believe. Such as the one that happened when he was Ten and spoke of how (being taller then most at that age), he had wrestled a bear to the ground. That they thought unbelievable but actually that had occurred. But it was not a full grown bear, it was a half grown bear cub chasing after the fish he had caught. Scratched and bruised he had returned to the camp two fish down, for after being rolled by the bear and rolling the bear back, he had decided that the bear also deserved something so he left two fish and watched from a distance, as the bear ate them. When he returned though, he warned the other hunters of the bear and spent the rest of the day being attended to by the medicine man.
So you could say that even the true stories where a little larger then they where originally. Maureen settled down after a good meal and when only her father was with her, changing her bandages, she told him of the connection she had made and got laughed at. He said that it was impossible but Maureen was not so sure. Her connection was that every time Black Wolf got severely punished, Sarah fell ill. Her father a modern man of medicine, a scientist, well versed in modern medicine, and science, laughed at the idea that two people could be so close. He actually told her that, "Maureen, my dear you have been listening to too many Indian stories and thoughts. I am glad that you've decided to settle down here among civilized people. Now go to sleep. I may not know why your sister gets ill, but I know that that superstition is not the answer." Maureen curled up in bed ad went to sleep, hoping that her father was right and that was not the answer. Actually when the end did come her father would remember her words, pick up his Bible and wonder how many other superstitions where True!
Next: Black Wolf at 14