The moon had risen by the time Mark was pulled from the saddle. He could hear a woman frantically yelling for help and turned to see what looked like a gypsy wagon a few feet away.

"Quiet down, woman!" Reef yelled. "I'm coming!"

The man firmly gripped Mark's arm and dragged him along as he made his way towards the vardo. Reef unlocked the door and pulled it open before ordering the woman out; Mark's mind spinning as he watched the figure emerge.

Jackson had hit him too hard. That had to be it. There couldn't be any other explanation; …she was dead.

Interrupting the boy's muddled thoughts, Reef suddenly grabbed the woman's arm and pulled her towards them.

"How many times do I have to tell the two of you?!" he shouted; tightening his grip on both of them. "It's not safe out there! They'll come for us; they'll find us! Look, Margaret! Look at what they've done to our son! LOOK! You did this! Look at what you've done to him!"

Tears burned in the woman's terrified eyes as she stared at Mark; the youth's expression reflecting her own fear and confusion.

Reef suddenly grabbed the woman by the shoulders and began shaking her. "You're working with them! You told them where we were! You betrayed me!"

"No! No, please! I-"

The woman screamed as Jackson raised his hand to slap her; Mark suddenly bolting forward to step between them.

"It was me!" he desperately yelled, trying to put as much distance between the woman and Jackson as possible. "It wasn't her, it was me! It's my fault; she didn't do anything!"

The man's eyes hardened as his gaze settled on Mark. He gathered the boy's shirt in his fists and effortlessly lifted him off the ground before throwing him backwards. Mark landed in a heap on the muddy ground; the woman's cries piercing the night. He moaned in pain as a firm hand took hold of his arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Boy, I've warned you!"

Mark's cheeks stung as Jackson repeatedly slapped him; the force of the blows driving him backwards until he again fell to the ground.

"Your mother and I have tried; we've tried so hard!"

Mark's brow furrowed in confusion as he realized there were tears in the man's voice.

"All we want is to protect you! You don't understand!" Jackson reached forward and began shaking Mark. "You have to understand! You have to! It's not safe! Just look at what you've done to your mother! Look!"

Again, the man hauled Mark to his feet and turned him around as he pointed towards the small, frightened figure. "Promise me, Son! Promise me you won't run away again! They'll find us; they'll kill her if you do!"

Mark couldn't find his voice. The pain in his head, Jackson shouting in his ears, the cries of a mother he thought was dead; he couldn't think clearly enough to speak.

"No… no you brought them here, didn't you? Didn't you?!"

Before Mark could answer, his frame was again thrown to the wet earth. He attempted to push himself up; a sudden, sharp pain in his ribs detering his efforts.

"What have you done to us?! What have you done?!"

"I- I'm sorry; I didn't know! Please, it won't happen again, I promise!"

"You brought them here!"

"No I didn't!" Mark raised his arms to shield himself from another blow. "Look!" he pleaded. "Just look!"

Jackson stopped, turning to the direction Mark pointed.

"See? No one's there! She's safe! You're safe! Nothing's going to happen!"

"No… no I hear them! They're still out there!" he yelled, kicking the boy once again.

"They're leaving! They're going away! They won't bother you anymore!"

Several agonizing moments passed as Mark watched Reef Jackson stare into the distance, intently listening for something that wasn't there.

"No… no they're still here!" Jackson suddenly grabbed Mark's arm and began dragging him towards the wagon. "Margaret get inside!"

"Please," she begged. "There's no one out there!"

"NOW!"

The woman scurried into the vardo as Jackson took a piece of rope and began tying Mark to the wagon wheel.

"I'm sorry, Son, but this is your own doing. When they come, you send them away. You send them away and make sure they don't come back; you hear?!"

Mark forced himself to nod, grimacing in pain as Jackson tightened the ropes too much.

"How could you do this to us? How? HOW?!"

"I-I'm s-sorry," Mark stammered in a coarse whisper. "It… it was an accident…"

"Just send them away," he mournfully answered, violently shaking the boy one last time. "Send them away!"

Mark stared after Jackson as the man walked away and disappeared around the side of the wagon. Pulling his knees to chest, Mark rested his head on top of them as tears began trickling down his face; pain and terror coursing through his entire being.

By dawn, Mark had lost feeling in his extremities. The cold wind stung his face, his still damp clothing giving the rest of his body little more protection. For hours he had drifted in and out of sleep, knowing he needed to stay awake, but unable to fight his heavy eyelids.

"Mark!"

He jumped, slowly turning to see Jackson hurrying towards him. Mark made himself as small as possible, attempting to pull away as Reef reached out to put a hand to his cheek.

"Oh, Son, what did they do to you?" Jackson reached down and began untying the boy's restraints. "It's alright; you're going to be alright…"

The man's words turned Mark's stomach. As soon as his hands were loose, he tried pulling himself to his feet in an attempt to run; his right leg suddenly giving out from underneath him.

Reef caught the young man, looking him over in concern. "It's alright; let's get you inside."

Every part of Mark wanted to tear himself from the man's grasp, but he couldn't find the strength to give the slightest resistance. Every part of him ached as Jackson led him inside the wagon. He collapsed onto the floor, hearing a woman's gasp behind him.

"He's nearly froze," Jackson announced with a grief-stricken voice. "Those animals must've nearly beat him to death before leaving him out there. Do what you can; I'm going to get us out of here before they come back."

As he heard the door to the vardo close, Mark tried to again open his eyes, making little progress. He suddenly felt hands attempting to remove his shirt and weakly resisted.

"Please," her soft voice called. "Let me do this. You need to get out of those wet clothes."

Mark stopped resisting, but he couldn't find it in himself to relax as the woman continued to work. Sensing the boy's uneasiness, she started with his shirt and belt, covering him with a blanket before removing his jeans. She piled more blankets on top of the young man, then began rubbing his ice-cold hands.

In time, the woman watched as her charge drifted asleep. She continued to work warmth into his skin until the boy's temperature returned to a much more natural state, then began tending to the wounds on his face. Finally, there was nothing for her to do but wait. The wagon rocked back and forth as she sat and watched the boy sleep. She wondered how a father could be so cruel to his own son, and how that same man could stand back and blame some invisible "they" for what he had done. Anger and rage boiled inside of the woman as she was reminded of the boy's assault over and over again. How could anyone do that to a child?

Several hours passed before the woman heard a soft, low moan. Mark slowly opened his eyes, confused by the face that greeted him. He knew it didn't make sense… he knew it couldn't be her. ...But it was all he could see.

"...M-Ma?"

She gently smiled, shaking her head. "No," she tenderly answered. "I'm afraid I don't know where your mother is."

"...Who… who are you?"

Instinctively, the woman reached down and ran her hand through the young man's hair. "My name's Elisabeth… Elisabeth Cuthbertson."

Mark let out a deep breath, closing his eyes. "...She's dead."

The woman looked at him quizzically as she pulled her hand back. "...What?"

"My mother," he answered, hesitantly looking back up at the woman. "...She died a long time ago."

"...I don't understand… why did you…?"

"...You look like her… every… everything about you is… is her."

"...Is that why your father took me?"

Without thinking, Mark tried to sit up, moaning as he collapsed back onto the floor of the wagon.

"It's alright; lie still."

"Reef Jackson is not my pa," Mark firmly answered, wincing in pain.

"...Who is he then?"

Mark let out a heavy sigh, explaining what little he understood of the situation. Elisabeth stared at him in shock as she listened, almost unable to believe the words coming out of the boy's mouth.

"But… but if he… if he tried to kill you… why did he take you? What could he possibly want with us?"

"...I don't know what he wants with us. ...I don't think I want to know."

There were a few moments of silence before she asked, "...Your mother's name… was it Margaret?"

Mark nodded. "...He called you that last night, didn't he?"

"He's been calling me that ever since he took me."

"...How long ago was that?"

"A week or so now. I… I was on my way to my sister's a few miles out of town. He stopped me and… and he was too strong."

"...I'm sorry."

Elisabeth's brow furrowed in confusion as she shook her head. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for."

"...If it weren't for me… my family… you wouldn't be here."

"Now you stop talking like that. This isn't anyone's fault except his. ...But it doesn't matter, anyway. We won't be here long. My husband will be coming for me… you'll see. And your father, I'm sure he's looking for you."

"...My pa's in Colorado," Mark quietly answered, realizing for the first time just how far away he was from Lucas. "...But he'll come. Once he finds out what happened, he'll come… and there's nothing in this world that will be able to stop him."

In the two days it took Lucas to get back to North Fork, he got very little sleep. His mind was consumed with thoughts of his son. What had happened? What exactly did 'no major injuries' mean? What was Jackson planning to do next? The train couldn't move fast enough. The worried father needed answers; he needed to know that his son was safe. He needed to be there to protect him.

Half past eight, the train finally settled into the station at North Fork. The first thing that Lucas noticed was that Micah wasn't there to meet the newcomers. Gripping his rifle even tighter, the rancher hurried to the marshal's office, only to find it empty. He ran to the hotel; the look on Lou's face worrying him.

"Where's Mark? What happened?"

"...Lucas, I… I think it might be best we…"

"Where's my son?!"

"...I don't know."

"You don't know?" Lucas took two long strides towards the proprietor, closing the gap between them. "What do you mean, you don't know?!"

"Lucas, I… I'm sorry," she answered with tears in her eyes. "Someone attacked Mark in his room and so Micah… Micah had Mark stay with him. He went to school the next morning and…"

Lucas put his hands on her shoulders, desperately looking into her eyes. "Please, what happened to Mark?"

"...Reef Jackson… he… he took Mark…"

"Why? Where?"

"We don't know. They… they just vanished…"

"No…" Lucas took a half step back. "No, that's not right. Jackson wants me. Jackson needs me! Mark can't do anything for him! He had to have said something so I would know where to go!"

Lou shook her head. "...Micah and the posse looked all day yesterday... the rain washed out any trail Reef might have left. ...We tried wiring, but you had already left Colorado. They headed out again this morning with supplies... Micah said they would mark the trail for you."

"The ranch; did anyone check the ranch?"

"...There wasn't a trace. …Lucas, I… I'm sorry…"

Despite Lou's concerns about him trying to follow the posse in the dark, Lucas was soon riding out of North Fork. He pushed himself through the night, the thought of his son at Jackson's mercy driving away any thought of resting. It was nearing noon when the weary rancher came upon a part of the posse. Nils was the first to notice the rider, bringing him to the marshal's attention.

"Micah, who do you reckon that is?"

"I don't… Lucas?" Micah brought his horse to a stop and waited for his friend to ride up. "Lucas-boy, we weren't expecting you for at least-"

"I told you not to let him out of your sight!"

"...I'm sorry, Lucas. Your wire didn't come through until it was too late."

"What have you found?"

"Nothing yet. We have a few groups out looking… we're meeting up at the springs this evening."

Without saying anything else, Lucas kicked Razor, urging him on. It was an unsettlingly quiet day as the men looked for any sign of a trail they could follow. Micah frequently eyed Lucas, seeing the contrasting anger and worry in his face.

That evening was devastating for Lucas as the men came back in groups of twos and threes, reporting that they had found nothing. After a considerable amount of time had been spent planning for the following day, the men began turning in; Micah soon realizing that Lucas had disappeared. Worried his friend had gotten the notion to try to track at night, the marshal got up and walked around, finally finding Lucas sitting alone by a tree. He approached the man and hesitantly sat down beside him.

"...We'll find them, Lucas-boy…"

"We'll find them alright," he answered, rage glowing in his eyes. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll find them and I'll make Reef Jackson pay."

"Let me handle Jackson."

"You tried that once, Micah!"

"And it wouldn't have ended any differently had you been there. You worry about Mark… he's going to need you."

Deep creases formed on Lucas's brow as he closed his eyes and rested his head against the tree. "...The hotel. What happened?"

"...Mark and me were playing checkers late. He went back to the hotel and someone was waiting for him. ...I think it's safe to assume now it was Jackson. Mark put up enough of a fight to get Lou's attention and when she entered the room Reef was making an escape out the window and Mark was on the floor. ...He was a little banged up… Jackson hit him across the head with something and drew some blood, but overall, he was fine. ...If I had known it was Jackson, I wouldn't have let Mark go to school. I thought whoever it was had been scared off. I told Mark to go straight to my office after school… I didn't think anything would happen while he was there, and I was going to look around town to try to get to the bottom of what had happened the night before. ...Lucas, I'm sorry."

There was a long silence before the rancher finally shook his head. "...That wasn't your fault. I should have taken Reef back to Oklahoma when I had the chance."

"Now hold on, this isn't-"

Lucas put up his hand, stopping the marshal. "...He's my son. Nothing you say is going to make me feel less responsible." Lucas thought for a few moments before turning towards Micah. "...You and Mark were playing checkers?"

He nodded. "Mark showed up in my office the night after you left. ...Said he realized he couldn't hold what I had done against me forever. ...Lucas, I know I hurt the two of you… I know I broke your trust and that it won't be an easy thing to gain back. ...But I realize now that I shouldn't have hidden the truth from you. I shouldn't have lied and tried to cover everything up. ...And I hope that one day, you'll be able to forgive me."

Lucas looked at Micah for a long time before finally turning his gaze back towards the horses. "...No use crying over spilt milk."

"Lucas…"

The rancher let out a heavy sigh. Micah was needing more than that, and he knew it. None of this was Micah's fault, and he knew it. He waited a few more moments before turning to look at the marshal one last time.

"...Micah, there's a reason I told you not to let Mark out of your sight."

"I told you-"

"Let me finish. I could have wired John Hamilton, or Lou, or half a dozen others. But I wired you. I reckon you're just about the only friend that's ever lied to me that I could still trust. ...I'm hoping I won't come to regret that… but I'm not worried that I will."

"...Thanks, Lucas-boy."