"Please! Please don't do this," Jo pleaded as the children huddled around her and Asia in the parlour. The leader had made sure that every person in the house was downstairs and accounted for while Ricky and the tall man had taken Jim into the guest room.
"Too late now," he said. "We're here and we're not leavin'." He paced back and forth across the floor, stumbling in places as he kept a bottle in one hand and his pistol in the other.
"This is a school and the children are frightened," Jo said. "At least put away the gun."
The man stopped in his tracks and turned to Jo. "You're a real bossy one, aintcha?" He stepped towards her. "I don't like that in women. Always tryin' to control ya. Well, not me," he snickered, getting right into Jo's face. "No one, 'specially you, is gonna tell me what to do. Now sit down! And keep quiet!"
Jo closed her eyes as the man screamed. Nat and Nan grasped her arms; each terrified but feeling obliged to protect their teacher if necessary. As the man walked away, Jo herded her children towards the far corner, beside her desk, and sat in the chair, Asia taking the other one. Rob crawled into his mother's lap and sat there shaking. Although entirely too young to understand exactly what was occurring, his intuition told him this was a time to be scared.
Ricky came running into the room, his hands and shirtfront covered in blood. "Jimmy's bleedin' real bad. We can't stop it. Somebody's gotta stitch him up or somethin'."
"I don't know nothin' about doctorin'. Just put pressure on it," the leader snapped.
"That won't work," Nan blurted out. "If an artery was cut, you need to tie it off or it will keep bleeding." Jo looked at her, terrified while the leader's face broke out in a slow smile.
"Sounds like you know somethin' about medical stuff, Girly." The leader turned towards Ricky. "Take her to Jimmy. Make her stitch him up."
"No!" Jo cried, grabbing hold of Nan. "You're not taking her anywhere."
"It's alright, Mrs. Jo. Maybe I can help." Nan stood and carefully made her way to the guestroom.
"Well, she's not goin' in there alone," Asia stood as well. "If she goes in, you have to take me too."
The leader looked at Ricky and hastily nodded. "Don't let 'em out of your sight."
As they left the parlour, Asia gave Jo a shaky smile and grabbed hold of Nan's hand. Jo held Rob a little tighter and sighed. She hoped Nan could do something.
XXXXX
"I need a needle and thread. There are some in the hall closet." Nan ordered, examining the wound. "He's breathing real slow. He must of lost a lot of blood."
The tall man left the room in search of the medical instruments, closing the door behind him. "Is he goin' die?" Ricky asked.
"I don't know. I've never really done this before. Dr. Pierce has always been there," Nan sighed.
"Who's Dr. Pierce?"
"He's the doc in town," Asia replied, standing close to Nan. "He's a real good one too. Probably have your friend fixed up in no time."
"I told them that he needed a doctor. I told them he was gonna die."
"It's not too far from here. You could still take him there," Nan added, realizing Asia's intent to rid Plumfield of their visitors.
"I don't think so." The door to the guest room opened and the tall man entered. "Ricky, I leave ya for a moment and you go act real stupid." He handed Nan the needle and thread. "Now, get to work."
Nan nodded. "Asia, I'm gonna need your help. I want you to keep the wound spread apart. I'll see if I can find what's causing all the bleeding."
As Nan and Asia worked, Ricky sat close by, nervously watching and assisting in any way he could. The tall man paced back and forth, his hand constantly on his holster, as if waiting for a reason to draw his gun.
"I can't find it," Nan said finally. "Wherever he got hit, I can't seem to see it."
"Just sew up the hole. Then he won't bleed everywhere," the tall man spoke with agitation in his voice.
"That won't work. He'll bleed inside and he'll die."
"Just try again. Maybe you'll find whatcha lookin' for," Ricky urged.
Nan looked to Asia, and after a quit nod, went back to searching for the source. "There!" she exclaimed. "There is a little nick in this artery." She began to sew it up but stopped after glancing towards the injured man.
"What? You found it. Fix him up!" Ricky insisted.
Nan shook her head. "I think he's gone."
The two men exchanged horrified looks. "You're wrong about that, Girly," the tall man said. "He's just knocked out."
Asia grabbed Nan and pulled her away from the bedside. "He stopped breathin'. He's dead."
Ricky looked closed to tears as realization hit both him and his partner. "What are we gonna do?"
The tall man stared hard at Nan and Asia. "You could have saved him," he murmured, anger apparent but the two women were unsure if it was directed towards them.
"No," Nan whispered. "He had lost too much blood. There is nothing anyone could do."
"No…" he said, "No!" The tall man crossed the room and grabbed hold of Asia's arm. "One of you, fix him!"
"We can't!" Asia cried, trying to relieve herself from his grip. "He is dead!"
The tall man was about to strike her but was blocked by Ricky's hand. "Stop it! We can't do this again. It's a school!"
The tall man let go of Asia in a somewhat defeated manner. "Get out," he said to Nan and Asia. "Get out now."
Allowing for no change of mind, Asia ushered Nan out of the door. "Are you alright?" Nan asked as they stood in the hallway.
She nodded. "Just a little sprain. Nothing to worry about."
"You're sure?"
"Definitely." Asia guided Nan back towards the parlour. Maybe not completely, she thought. We've got bigger things to worry about.
XXXXX
"We should just go," Ricky said as the three man frantically paced around the parlour.
"And have 'em go to the sheriff. Real smart, Ricky. We'd be jailed for killin' Jim on top of everythin' else," the leader growled. After Nan and Asia had returned, their appearance had explained everything. And now, following an insurmountable amount of time, the men were beginning to sober and the realization of the situation had hit them hard. Their need for escape was evident but at the same time, the sun was rising which made their time incredibly limited.
"Well, what else are we supposed to do? We can't just stay here."
"Just let me think! I can't do that with you jabberin'."
Ricky slinked away as if he had been struck and stood beside the scared group of children, staring out the window.
"We wouldn't tell the sheriff," Jo whispered to him. Ricky turned towards her. "You can just leave all of this behind you. Please, I just don't want anyone else hurt."
A small, genuine smile crept across his face. "I know. Neither do I."
"And there is bound to be someone stopping by today. If you're not gone…" Jo couldn't finish as she thought of the possibilities of what more intrusion may have on the already agitated men.
Ricky nodded. "I understand. We've gotten ourselves in a bad spot. I'll try to get 'em to leave."
The tall man came up behind Ricky. "You talkin' with 'em? What you should be doin' is tryin' to figure a way out of this mess you got us in."
Ricky spun around. "Me? How come it's my fault?"
"If you had done your job and kept that woman quiet, Jim wouldn't of been shot. We'd be half way to New York by now."
"Well, if you think you could've done a better job, why didn't ya?"
"Don't give me any of that lip, Boy. I could smack you so hard, you wouldn't be able think straight."
"Then why don't ya? If you think you're such a tough guy, go for it!" Before Ricky could finish his sentence, the tall man grabbed his collar and threw him across the room. Ricky landed atop of one of the side tables, sending its contents crashing onto the floor and crushing the wooden stand. The tall man rushed over to him and began punching him repeatedly in the face and stomach. Terrified, the children inched closer towards the two women, not wanting to get caught amidst the brawl.
At first the leader merely stood back, watching the attack happen, almost enjoying it. After a while, however, he pulled the tall man off of Ricky, revealing a bloody and winded young man. "You tryin' to kill another one?"
The tall man walked out of the room as the leader dragged Ricky to his feet. "You're such a stupid kid. Get up and go clean yourself off." Ricky obeyed and staggered towards the kitchen.
The leader turned towards the clustered group. "We're leavin'," he began, "but not without a little cover. Need to make sure we get to where we're goin'."
"There are horses in the stable. Take whatever you want," Jo offered.
"I'm glad you said that. We're gonna need to keep the authorities off our backs for a while too…" he trailed off.
Jo shook at the realization. "Fine," she began, "as long as you leave everyone else alone. You can take me."
The children gasped, understanding their teacher's sacrifice. "Jo, no. I'll go," Asia appealed.
"Asia, it's my turn," Jo said determinedly and squeezed her friend's hand. "I need you to stay here and take care of the children."
"I don't care who it is, but some one is comin' with us. And we're leavin' now!"
Jo nodded and kissing Rob on the forehead, she handed him to Asia and stepped from the group.
As they headed towards the front door, Ricky emerged from the kitchen. "What's goin' on?"
"We're leavin'. Let's get movin'," the leader announced, grabbing Jo's arm.
"We're takin' her with us?"
The leader gave Ricky an annoyed glance. "You make sure this one behaves."
Jo gave her family one last reassured smiled, although her eyes were filled with tears. "Be good," was the last thing she told them as the three men shoved her out of the house and into the unknown.