Disclaimer- Stephenie still owns the usual suspects.
I own my original characters and original story.

Unbeta-ed and Drabble-ish. No heavy angst.

Enjoy!

*****************************************WYiMA*************************************

I stood by that freight car, pistol drawn, watchin' my own hand fixin' to slide the door open. Suddenly, the memory of my Pa's voice come unbidden to my mind.

"Son, afore ya leave, I want ya to know that I'm proud of ya, and I would feel that way whether or not ya was goin' off to war. You're a good man, same as your brother."

I recollected how he stood beside the old apple tree and pulled his kerchief from his pocket to wipe his brow afore continuin'.

"Noble, that's what ya are, like lions, brave and proud. The problem is that ya view the rest of the world as bein' the same way."

He put his hand on my shoulder,

"I feel I've wronged ya somehow by keepin' ya so close to home. Emmett, not so much, but you Ed…"

He shook his head as he looked down at the ground.

"I reckon it was on account of losin' your Ma that I worried more than was natural for my children, and now you're bein' throw into the worst of it, and know nothin' 'bout what mayhap come against ya."

He looked me in the eye then and spoke low and serious.

"I'm fearful for ya son, 'cause bein' the way ya are, ya ain't suited to fight against them that ain't like ya. Men that ain't noble, men that ain't never gonna do somethin' just 'cause it's the right thing to do."

"I'm speakin' of the worst kind of men, Ed. They take pleasure in another man's pain. You're gonna meet up with them on both sides of this war. Whereas good men mayhap be like lions, these other fellers they's more like snakes. They's the kind ya gotta kill or be killed by 'em. But it ain't easy, 'cause to win against 'em, ya gotta think like 'em."

I slowly drew my hand back from that door as the memory of that talk with my Pa played on in my mind…

"A snake lies in wait, coiled, ready to strike, and never usually makes a sound 'til it's too late."

I leaned my ear against that door again and put all my concentration into listenin' for any sound comin' from inside. I even stopped breathin' for a time…

What I heard then, liked to turn the blood to ice in my veins. There warn't no mistakin' the sound of someone whimperin', and I knowed in my heart it was my Izzy. I warn't about to give myself time to revel in the knowledge that she still drew breath, 'cause at that moment I was a man driven by only one desire: the desire to kill the sumbitch what was makin' her cry.

Thinkin' back on my Pa's words made me suspect that Forrest knowed full well that I'd be comin' for him, mayhap he even lured me here, and would be lyin' in wait in order to put a bullet in my head.

I moved away from the door, slow and quiet, and made my way around to the other side of the car. Soon as I turned the corner, I could see that the door on this side had been slid open a few inches; the bastard more 'n likely usin' the openin' for light to see by.

I come at that openin' the same way I would an enemy soldier durin' the war, careful and quiet. When I got close enough to peer inside, my eyes was immediately drawn to where the light was shinin' across somethin' lyin' in the middle of the floor.

She was on her side, facin' away from me, her hands tied behind her back, and her body shakin' from her sobs. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from cryin' out.

Across from where I stood, just as I had suspected, was James Forrest, gun drawn, watchin' that other door like a hawk. I pulled the hammer back on my revolver, and pulled the trigger.

******************************************A/N*************************************
A/N I know…I'm dragging this out. I apologize. Drabbleish. But this was good, yes? I PROMISE another chapter b4 tonight… I failed yesterday because of all the drama over at fanfic (which is a massive failure btw pulling stories left and right). I spent a little too much time sprucing up my TWCS account and my blog and didn't get the chapter finished. (see my profile for links to both).

Thank you to everyone who reads and reviews. I will slowly but surely respond to them all.

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More to come….