AUTHOR'S NOTE:
In my part of the USA, April Fools Day is winding down. I enjoyed reading the AFD-themed stories which several writers posted today. And I want to wish WillowFalk a happy birthday!
And, as my OC Brossette might say, a big MERCI ("thank you") goes to FirstFandomFangirl, MMM, Loki God of Evil, StoryMaker7, ninjagogirl luvs iceage21, MasterofCupcakes, WillowFalk, WalrusWins257, and Naruby7 for great comments on the previous chapter!
In the chapter below, the reference to the desert is from Chapter 23 of The Fire Within a Ninjago Cowboy.
This chapter doesn't start out too well for Kai...
Chapter 37 - Injury and Inspiration
Kai wailed in agony as the hot metal of the fireplace poker seared the flesh of his heel. The major who had been stepping on the prisoner's back then moved away, once Colonel Doolverr's deed was accomplished. The injured Yellow soldier remained on his stomach, writhing in pain.
"Let that be a reminder to you about who's in charge around here, hothead," Doolverr declared as he replaced the poker in its proper receptacle and removed his glove.
Jay glared at the Purple officer, not caring if the enemy noticed. What a skeezick! Branding people just like cattle! the cowboy silently fumed.
Putting the glove back in his pocket, the general commented, "You know, I think it's almost suppertime. Boys, let's go eat, shall we?"
The majors and the sentry agreed and headed to the inner office to retrieve their coats.
While Doolverr waited for his coat to be brought to him, he noticed Brossette standing there uncertainly. "Don't think you're coming with us, Sergeant," the officer scoffed. "Bring the hothead to the infirmary to get treated for his 'accident,' then get these Yellow maggots into the stockade," he ordered. "I'm sure Smith's friend here - I forgot his name, but who cares? - will help you drag him around. The key which unlocks the shackles is on my desk."
The sentry returned with Doolverr's coat and held it up behind the Purple officer to assist him in putting it on.
As the colonel donned the garment, in preparation to leave the building, the letter from Sam to Kai fell out of his uniform pocket.
Doolverr picked up the envelope and held it toward Brossette. "Sergeant," he ordered, "go throw this in the fireplace, you lazy swamplander, and earn your pay, would you?"
As Brossette took the paper, frowning at the insult, Doolverr continued. "The rest of us are going to enjoy some roasted goose. Tell me, boys," he said jovially to the two majors and the sentry as they went out the door, "what brand of wine shall we have tonight with our goose?"
An annoyed Brossette watched as the door closed after the jocund group, having just been made to feel like an insignificant servant, especially in front of prisoners. He looked at the envelope in his hand and angrily stuffed it in his pocket.
Turning his attention to the two prisoners, he saw that Jay, though limited in his arm movements, thanks to his Vengestone Company shackles, was kneeling next to Kai, offering comfort and trying to look at the injury while Kai twisted in anguish.
Brossette dashed into the colonel's office and swiftly located the key to the shackles. "Here is the key, mes amis," he announced, holding it up as he ran back into the main room.
Jay held up his wrists as the Purple soldier unlocked his shackles first. "I did not know that the colonel would make the misere," he said as he twisted the key, tilting his head toward the cowboy in misery on the ground. "To me, Colonel Doolverr is a peeshwank!"
The corners of Jay's mouth couldn't help but upturn slightly at the amusing-sounding word. "What is a peeshwank?" he asked, briskly rubbing his wrists after being released from the metal restraints.
"Where I come from, it means a runt, a little person," Brossette explained while endeavoring to unlock Kai's shackles.
Jay agreed. "A peeshwank he is, hands down! Short in size and short on morals!" He turned his attention to Kai, "Hold yer horses, pardner, and you'll be right as rain after we get you to the infirmary!"
Later that night…
As Kai lay on his stomach in the shanty which would serve as his home - as well as the home of Jay and four other Yellows - for the foreseeable future, he was thankful for one small blessing among the atrocities he had suffered in the days since he and Jay were bushwhacked near Ouroborus.
He still had Sam's hairpin. He could feel the object located in the pocket next to his heart.
After all his other possessions had been stolen by the bushwhackers, such as his wedding ring, Kai had been quite overjoyed to discover that they had missed the hairpin when they had rifled through his pockets while he was unconscious.
The hairpin was the same one which had given him strength to survive in the desert nearly a year and half ago, on that awful day in which Morro had ridden away with Sam and left Kai to die in the hot sun. Upon finding the hairpin on the dry, dusty desert ground, the cowboy had vowed he would be reunited with his woman.
Tonight, as he endured the pain of his burned foot, he made the same vow, and added to it. He vowed to be reunited with his wife, and together with her, they would raise their child.
A Mid-December Morning...
During each night of the three weeks since Kai and Jay had been incarcerated in the Kryptarium Prison, Kai shivered in restless sleep underneath a thin blanket in the small shanty he shared with his fellow Garmadon Ranch cowboy and four other prisoners within the stockade. His shivering often woke him up each night, much to his annoyance, but all he could do was clutch the blanket tighter around his shoulders and close his eyes again, hoping he would soon be dreaming once again of his beloved Sam.
Sometimes the pain from the burn on his heel woke him, too, but as the injury continued to heal, this occurred less frequently.
At daybreak, a Purple bugler's tune took its turn at interrupting the sleep of the prisoners. They were being awakened in order to participate in the routine morning roll call, to make sure no one had escaped during the night.
This morning, as usual, Kai reluctantly opened his eyes and grudgingly threw off the thin blanket, even though it had barely provided any warmth during the night. Next to him, Jay began to stir, as did the other shanty occupants. Though they craved more sleep, they knew it was best to hurry to roll call. The faster they were accounted for, the faster the firepit in their section of the prison yard could be lit for the day, providing much needed warmth, and the faster they could expect the food wagon to arrive with their meager breakfast rations of cornbread and beans. If they were lucky, they might get a bit of bacon, too.
Normally the Garmadon Ranch cowboys loved to eat these foods when made by the women back at home, but they agreed between themselves that whoever was cooking for the prisoners ought to be sentenced to eating his own recipes.
Kai and Jay sleepily filed out of the shanty. Jay altered the speed of his pace to accommodate his limping friend, pleased that Kai was getting around much better now after barely being able to walk after their encounter with Colonel Doolverr.
Together, the two cowboys made their way to the open space in their section of the prison yard along with the other incarcerated men, who were forming straight rows. Kai stood in his assigned spot in the fifth line, and Jay stood next to him. When they first arrived at Kryptarium, their row was the last row in the roll call lineup. Now, the number of rows had doubled in the past three weeks, which Kai knew was not a good sign for the Yellow Army, since it meant that more and more soldiers on their side were being captured.
While waiting for the rest of the men to assemble, Kai looked toward the front of the group to see which Purple guard would be calling the roll this morning.
Sergeant Brossette, one of the Purple soldiers frequently assigned to roll call duty, stood in front of the group, waiting to begin calling the list of prisoners' names.
Upon seeing the Purple officer standing next to Sergeant Brossette, Kai stiffened.
It was Colonel Doolverr.
Kai had not seen the burly officer since that afternoon three weeks ago when he and Jay first arrived at Kryptarium Prison, but the burn on his foot was a constant reminder of the cruel colonel.
"All right, you maggots, listen up!" Doolverr shouted at the prisoners, once they had assembled. "I'm here to tell you that in honor of next week's Christmas holiday, the Commanding Generals of the Purple Army and the Yellow Army struck a deal in which prisoners will be exchanged. I've been told to pick a dozen of you Yellows from this section of the prison and put those dozen on a wagon to Ouroborus tomorrow."
"Hotheads" - Doolverr grinned, looking directly at Kai in the fifth row - "needn't get their hopes up about leaving this place, 'cause they aren't going anywhere! But the rest of you will find out tomorrow morning. Carry on with the roll call, Sergeant!"
The general walked away, and Brossette, giving him a quick glare behind his back, began to call out the prisoners' names.
While waiting to hear his own name, Kai realized that even though he wouldn't have expected to be included in the exchange of prisoners, it still pained him to be directly told that he had no chance of freedom.
At least he had regained possession of the letter from his beloved Sam, telling him he was going to be a daddy.
Brossette had slipped it to Jay before taking the two Yellow prisoners from the infirmary to the stockade on that first day in Kryptarium Prison.