This chapter includes an attempted attack. There is nothing graphic, but I did want to give some warning. Thank you to all who are reading!

Chapter 5

About an hour later the two were in the barn readying the horses they would use when they heard riders coming up the lane. Jaq looked out and recognized the three men as some who worked for Talbott. Jarrod came to stand behind Jaq and watched as the men dismounted and went to the house.

"Those men are with Talbott," Jaq said. "Benny and Carl Simpson. The other man's name is Steve but I don't remember if he's related to them or not."

Steve kicked the door in, and Jaq jumped. Jarrod grabbed Jaq's hand and pulled her back away from the window in the barn.

"I guess they're tired of waiting," Jaq said. He could tell she was a bit frightened but there was also some anger. "Bastards damaged my door."

Jaq's eyes flew to Jarrod's at the use of the word bastard, hoping she hadn't offended him. Jarrod couldn't help but smile. His look became serious again as he heard one of the men making their way toward the barn.

"We need to get out of here," Jarrod said quietly. Jarrod realized he was still holding on to Jaq's hand and he tugged for her to follow him. They had just gotten to the other side of the barn and threw open the other set of doors when the doors to the front opened, and a shot rang out. Jaq's hand tightened around Jarrod's and he began to run, pulling Jaq behind him. They stopped just as they reached the woods and Jarrod noticed Jaq was bleeding from her side.

"You've been shot," Jarrod said in alarm.

"Yes, but we don't have time to deal with that at the moment. I'm fine. Let's move," Jaq said as she dropped Jarrod's hand and the two began to make their way deeper into the woods. Jarrod knew it was the shock of what had just transpired that kept Jaq from feeling any pain so they would need to use that to their advantage and get as far away as they could.

They'd somehow managed to get far enough ahead of the men so Jarrod could sit Jaq down and assess her wounds. He leaned her against a tree and began to pull up her shirt to see where the blood was coming from.

"Looks like the bullet was a through and through," Jarrod said examining the wound on her side. Jaq's complexion was pale, and she grimaced as he poked and prodded. He took his knife and cut away the attached material that had been tied into a bow at the top of her shirt. He planned to pack the wound to help stem the bleeding.

"I'm sorry," he said, as he worked on her wounds.

"We need to keep moving," Jaq said, her breathing coming in short gasps. "They aren't too far behind."

Jarrod knew Jaq was right, but he was concerned she'd lost too much blood. And moving her would cause her to lose more. He needed to take care of the men. It was just three of them, so he was trying to devise a plan in his mind. He lifted Jaq up and the two began moving again. They could hear rustling a ways behind them and Jarrod knew they were running out of time.

Jaq had done an admirable job of not slowing them down, but she was breaking out into a cold sweat and the adrenaline rush from before was wearing off. The pain was increasing, and she wasn't sure how much farther she'd be able to go.

Jarrod sensed she was slowing down and made the decision to go on the offense with their attackers. He stopped and looked around, seeing a small clearing with some underbrush nearby.

"I'm going to have to try to get rid of at least one of them," Jarrod said. He gently laid Jaq down behind the brush and checked her wound again. He was pleased that the blood flow seemed to have lessened, but Jaq was not is good shape. They had to make it to the next town as soon as possible.

"I'll be fine," Jaq said, her eyes meeting Jarrod's. He used a few of the loose branches nearby to cover her up so she wouldn't be seen as easily.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," and then he was off.

Jarrod doubled back and walked as quietly as he could through the forest. He'd come up with a plan and hoped it worked. He was sure that the men had split up and he could hear one of them nearby. Jarrod took off his coat and found a tall stick. He leaned the coat up against the tree with the stick, so it looked as though he was the one standing there. He then hid off to the side and waited. It didn't take long for one of the men, the one Jarrod thought was named Carl, to see the coat and move toward it. As soon as Carl approached, Jarrod rushed him. He didn't want to use his gun because he knew the sound would draw the others. They fell to the ground and began trading blows. Jarrod got in several before Carl pulled his knife. He plunged it down and Jarrod was able to maneuver away at the last second. Jarrod grabbed hold of the Carl's hand as they struggled with the knife, managing to gain a stronghold and with one last push, the knife plunged into the Carl's chest. He fell dead to the side.

Jarrod jumped up and retrieved his jacket so he could hurry back to Jaq. At the last second, he reached down and grabbed the canteen the man had with him as well as the other man's gun.

Jarrod reached the small clearing where he'd left Jaq and his heart stopped. Lying on the ground behind the bush where he'd left Jaq were the feet of one of the men. He rushed over and saw the man was dead, but Jaq was nowhere to be found.

"Jaq!" he called out in a loud whisper.

"I'm here," she responded, coming from behind a tree. In her hand was a bloody knife, her hands also covered in blood. He noticed a few buttons on her pants were missing and her shirt was cut open, revealing the camisole beneath. Jarrod didn't take the time to try and sort out what had happened but couldn't keep his anger from coming to the fore. The anger was directed at the dead man but also to himself for leaving Jaq alone. He knew they needed to keep moving though. There was still a third man out there and they had to get to the next town as soon as possible. Jarrod held on to Jaq and began leading them away.

They traveled for another few hours, stopping to rest periodically. The wound in Jaq's side was still bleeding but not as badly as when she had first been shot. Jarrod decided they needed to make some sort of camp for the night. It would be getting dark soon and there wasn't going to be any moon to help light their way.

"We're going to stop here for the night," Jarrod said.

"But there's still another man," Jaq said. She wanted nothing more than to stop but she was scared. More scared than she'd ever been in her life.

"Us stumbling around in the dark won't help. Especially if we fall and hurt ourselves. The good thing is there's no moon so more than likely he'll need to stop for the night too."

Jaq hoped Jarrod was right, but she wasn't in any position to argue. She allowed Jarrod to help her sit down against a tree. They heard running water from a nearby stream.

"I'm going to get us some water," Jarrod said, and Jaq nodded.

Jaq leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She still remembered the look on Steve's face when he had found her. The sickening way he moved toward her and she knew he wasn't going to kill her outright. He intended to have his way with her first and she was helpless to stop him. Jaq shuddered and opened her eyes. She heard rustling in the brush and knew a profound sense of relief when it was Jarrod who broke through. He offered her the canteen and she drank, enjoying the sweetness of the cold water.

The sun was almost completely set. Jarrod looked around and began to gather brush to build them some cover and shelter. He looked over and noticed Jaq was becoming restless. He paused what he was doing and walked over to her.

"What happened back there, Jaq?" Jarrod asked, kneeling next to her.

In the fading light, Jarrod saw that Jaq's eyes filled with tears. It took her a moment to control her emotions enough so she could speak.

"A few minutes after you left, I heard rustling. I hoped it was you, but it wasn't. Steve was looking around and discovered me. He…he didn't say anything. Just smiled at me and knelt. He sat his gun down and decided he'd use his knife to intimidate me while he…" She paused and closed her eyes. She opened them again and said, "He began to cut open my shirt, then he moved to the buttons on my pants…"

"How did you get the knife?" he asked softly.

Jaq took a deep shuddering breath. She couldn't look Jarrod in the eye as she told him.

"He set it down to…to unbutton his pants…I didn't know what else to do. I knew I had to-"

"Yes, you did. And you did nothing wrong. Jaq look at me," Jarrod said firmly. Jaq looked at Jarrod and he reached over to wipe away the tears that fell.

"It was you or him."

Jaq nodded. Jarrod stood and began working on the shelter again.

"We don't dare light a fire in case it can be seen. We'll have to use our body heat to keep warm," Jarrod said, watching as Jaq was rubbing her hands against her pants.

"I can't get the blood off," Jaq said, not paying attention to anything Jarrod was saying. She kept trying to wipe her hands and was becoming more and more agitated. "Get me some water?"

Jarrod knelt before Jaq and said in a calm voice, "Jaq, it's alright."

"I can't get it off," she continued, beginning to panic. She started crying and Jarrod put his arm around her. She pushed him away.

"I'm fine…I'm fine," she kept repeating.

Jarrod knew she wasn't. He waited a moment and she took a deep breath. She looked at him and tears fell down her cheeks.

"The look in his eyes…When he knew he was going to die..." she said, her eyes wide with anguish. Jaq knew she had no choice, but she was devastated that she'd had to take a life.

Jarrod reached for Jaq again and she didn't push him away but let him hold her. He then took the canteen and poured water on her hands to help her get the blood off them. Once Jarrod had her cleaned up, he went to refill the canteen. When he returned, he helped her into the small shelter he'd built and sat down next to Jaq putting his arm around her. He was unable to resist placing a small kiss on the top of her head. She leaned into him and couldn't help but feel safe for the first time in a while. The temperatures were dropping, and they huddled together to keep each other warm.