Ezra was roughly woken to a swift kick on his already sore ribs. Instinctively, he reached for his gun as he cried out in pain. The realization that he could not find his weapon forced him to acknowledge that it had not been a nightmare. The harsh reality of his situation flooded over him as he gasped for breath.
His muddled thoughts raced over the past torturous hours making him relive his capture, the cell, the beatings. Again, the rough boot connected with his battered body, this time his face taking the brunt of the assault. He tried to roll over, evading the tormentor but found that instead he was grabbed by the arms and drug off the ground. He tried to focus on the voices that were all around him but could not make out any intelligible word. He couldn't figure out why they were exacting this punishment against him. He could not think of anything that he had done to deserve this treatment. Perhaps, if the pain had not clouded his mind, Ezra would have realized what was about to happen, not to him, but the girl in the cell.
Those pained screams would haunt him for the rest of his life.
The next morning found the remaining six men sitting tall in their saddles at Archer's Pass, impatiently awaiting the arrival of the kidnappers. Vin kept vigil with his glass, scanning the horizon in even sweeps. Finally, he spotted movement across the ridge. Minutes later, they watched as three men made their way into view. They came to a stop a good distance out in front of the six men, their horses nervously prancing beneath them. One of the men had a sling supporting his right arm. Vin shot a slight smile at him, letting him know that he was the one responsible for his injury.
"You got the money?" the tall man on the black horse called out.
"Where are the hostages?" Chris demanded.
"The third rider glanced over at his boss before motioning behind him. Slowly, a horse and rider, previously unseen, moved out from behind the boulder. JD sucked in a quick breath as he saw Ezra, wrists tied in front of him to a heavy rope, stumbling along behind the rider.
"Now, the money." The tall man's voice was muffled by the scarlet hankerchief tied across his mouth.
"Where's the other one?" Chris retorted. Drawing on the strength that if these men didn't know their other hostage was his younger sister, he wasn't going to be the one to tell them. It could only make a bad situation worse, especially for her.
"Give you a location after you give us the money."
"Ezra first."
The man once more motioned behind him and the fourth rider cut the ropes that bound the conman. Trying to keep on his feet and moving forward, Ezra picked his way towards them as Chris tossed the money sack at the black horse's rider.
And then, all hell broke loose. One moment, Ezra was coming down the ridge towards them and then there was nothing but gunfire. In a storm of dust, the four men disappeared, leaving Ezra in a crumpled heap at the base of the ridge.
The others fought to keep their horses steady as they tried to return fire. When the dust settled, they found that they were alone. The outlaws were gone, leaving a faint trail.
Josiah was the first of the six to take notice of the broken body of his comrade. He urged his horse towards the spot where Ezra laid unmoving and jumped from his saddle before the horse stopped completely. The large man gently lifted the battered man's head into his lap and called out, "Ezra!"
Nathan had closely followed the preacher to Ezra and grabbed his saddlebags before kneeling down to see how badly his friend was hurt. "Ez! Come on now, answer me!" the healer called as he frantically searched for a pulse.
"Nathan?" Chris asked hesitantly, "How is he?"
"Alive," the healer replied. "Got to bandage him up and get him back to town before I can tell you anything more."