Chapter 12
Cody woke up. He was laying outside around a campfire. He started coughing. Kid came over to help him up and give him some water. Teaspoon and Buck soon walked over as well.
"Son. How are you feeling?" Asked Teaspoon.
"Sore. My throat's on fire."
"At least you are here. We got you."
Cody smiled as he coughed some more. He scanned the small camp. He tried to sit up only to groan in pain.
"Take it easy." Said Buck.
"The rest of them?"
"We got them out. Some already left but we lost two. I'm sorry son, we did all we could." Answered Teaspoon.
"Jeremy? Leanne?"
"I found the man running out the back of the burning house. He's dead." Said Buck.
"And Leanne?"
"We tied her and another fella in the back of the barn. After we got y'all out, we went for them."
"And?"
"Both dead."
"Good business." Whispered Cody.
"Cody, we didn't find Jimmy. Found his gun on the other man in the barn and found more of y'alls things in the back of the barn." Said Kid.
"We got to go." Said Cody trying to get up.
"Now hold on, take it easy. You got beat pretty good plus all that smoke. Just take a minute."
"We can't. You don't understand, he sold him. Last night. Wagon. You don't understand." Cody said as he closed his eyes. He felt dizzy. They watched as his head fell back down.
"The hell? He sold him?"
"Now we for sure know what kind of trading she was speaking of."
"Everything else burned in the house, Teaspoon. How the hell are we supposed to find this guy?" Said Kid.
"I don't know, I truly don't know."
"That wagon headed south last night. There has got to be something somewhere. A name. Anything." Said Buck.
"Quinton."
They all turned to see a big man behind them. They listened quietly.
"Overheard him call his name. Quinton. Mean son of a bitch. He bought my son along with your boy. He has been here before."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Said Teaspoon.
"Name's Lloyd. I want to help you find him. I need the satisfaction of breaking his fat neck once I have my boy back."
"You ok to ride?" Asked Teaspoon standing in front of the man.
"I have to be. That boy is all I have left."
"We'll do what we can. We'll find them."
"His friend. He your boy?"
"Yeah. These are all my boys."
Lloyd looked around at the faces of Buck and Kid. He smiled as he looked down at his feet.
"I see. Listen, if anything happens to me, promise me that you'll take my boy with you. Please."
"I give you my word."
"Thank you. His name is Levi. He's a good boy."
"I don't doubt that."
"Yours, he was sick when they took him. We need to go."
"I know. We will try to head out in the morning. Give Cody one night's rest at least. We leave at dawn."
Lloyd nodded his head. Teaspoon sighed as he watched the man ease himself down across from the fire. He went back over to where Kid and Buck were.
"We know the direction that they left but they could have went anywhere. This is like finding a needle in a haystack."
"I'm gonna ride back into town. See if someone will come clean since Jeremy is dead. Maybe we'll luck up. It's worth a try." Said Kid.
"Anything is worth a try at this point. Let's try to get some rest. Daylight comes fast enough."
The trio nodded as they settled in for the night.