Chapter Six
A/N:
:Cringe: Sorry! I know it's been ... quite a while since I've updated. But I got the job! (Which is why I've not had that much time online.) And ... I'm beginning to hate customers. Especially the whiny ones. But I won't discuss this - there's enough rants about it on my livejournal!
And - oh oh oh - I must mention. Did anyone catch the last Lost or Desperate Housewives? Aahh! Lost O.O go Charlie! DH MIKE! YESS! Erm ... I mean NOO:eg:
Oh and - Hidalgo's role is expanding quite a bit. Not that he wasn't a large character before, he's just ... ermm ... okay, let's pretend he is magical okay? Animals are very intelligent too ... Hidalgo is a genius among them though. :g: Happy v-Day to you all. :) Enjoy the chapter! Thanks to Rhonda for checking over it for me:)
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"Come on," Red grunted, staring in the direction the shot had come from. "Let's get the hell outta here."
Turning the horses back around, they headed onto a well-worn path that was unknown to Frank. Not surprising, considering the man had never stepped foot on this land. The world passed him by in a blur, however, as his mind raced trying to figure out what had happened. Where had the shot come from? It wasn't Grey Wolf - the indian never touched a firearm, and refused to, preferring to stick to the old ways and the bow and arrow. Surely Grey Wolf was experienced enough in his skills to realize someone could have been tracking him.
Another thought crossed Frank's mind. Was it the other tribe? Had they found Grey Wolf and killed him for trespassing? A cold knot formed in his stomach, telling him that this could have very well been what had happened. Though he hadn't seen any of the scouts from the tribe, he knew that they were near. The group could probably be watched even now - that thought sent shivers down his back.
"What do you suppose it was, Red?" Bradley asked as if reading Frank's thoughts, turning his hat down to the wind.
"Coulda been anything. Maybe a hunter or some kids ... then again it could have been someone trackin' us. Either way, we're getting outta here and heading into Thase."
"Thase?"
"For supplies. Man can't live on bread and water alone." Red laughed. "And I'm hopin' for a hot meal and something good to drink."
"Yeah, and a soft bed!" Rick said. "Hey Red ... while we're there, why can't we just give the injun' to the marshal? They can take care of'em for us and we won't have to drag his carcass all the way back home."
"No." Red shook his head. "I want him to stand trial in front everybody who knows and is related to us. And then I want his dead body hung for the birds."
Frank shuddered, knowing the man would do exactly as he said. He particularly didn't like the sound of the town they were heading into. Thase. A town on the edges of an indian encampment had to be full of white men who harbored a hate for the dark skinned ones. He would find no help here either - and could possibly leave worst off than he was now. Which, then again, couldn't be much more worse. He was almost to his breaking point after all.
Not too long after, they could begin to see a few buildings in the distance. Dread ate away at Frank with every moment that passed, as he continued to force his body to move. He could barely feel pain now, though he did know he had a raging fever; his vision wavered in and out with each step until he couldn't tell what was real and what was his imagination. Almost without him noticing, they had arrived, amidst the onlookers of the small town who jeered at Frank and looked at him with distaste.
"Come on, damn ya." Red snarled, yanking Frank over to one of the horse polls, forcing the man to kneel painfully. When Frank was finally lying against the poll, Red took another string of rope and tied it about his neck, fastening him to the poll with the horses. Giving it a quick jerk to make sure the man couldn't escape - not that Frank could even think of trying, being that the rope was so tight he was struggling to simply breathe - Red slapped Joseph on the arm and started towards the nearest saloon.
"Oh, Rick!" Red turned. "Why don't you head over to the store and get our supplies, then meet us in the saloon?"
Rick nodded and walked the other way, passing a group of swaying men who had obviously consumed a few too many beers. Turning his head to Frank, Bradley gave the man a pained look, sorrow carved onto the lines of his young face, before following his cousin into the bar.
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Grey Wolf groaned as awareness returned to him, blinking the blurriness in his vision away. Fire crept up his side and he slowly sat up, noticing White Wing standing nearby, obviously on guard incase the other returned. Prodding at the wound, he noted with relief that it wasn't as bad as he had first thought. The bullet passed through his side, and from what he could tell, it hadn't hit anything major.
'Well ... besides me.' Grey Wolf shook his head, calling White Wing over. He pulled down his pack and took out the bandages and herbs kept there, cleaning the wound as best he could. When finally he had bound it enough to stop the blood-flow, he stood up, groaning aloud again when the world spun.
A nicker from White Wing caused him to chuckle softly. "I'm alright, sister. Just a graze, that's all."
The horse snorted, throwing her head up. Then, slowly, she maneuvered herself onto the ground so that Grey Wolf could mount her with ease. He grinned at the overly dramatic animal and carefully slid onto her back, hissing when the movement jarred his side.
"Did you see which way he went?" Holding a hand across his side, the man steadied himself as his horse stood back up. However slowly and gently she tried to stand, it was still more than enough to send small spikes of pain through his wound.
The horse threw her head into the direction that they had recently come from - the direction Frank and his captors had traveled. Grey Wolf's eyes clouded over. He knew then for sure that the other indian meant to kill the white men, and would not let anything come between he and his cold blooded revenge. If he caught up with them, Frank would also be killed for the 'taint' in his blood. This was something that Grey Wolf would not allow.
"Hurry, sister. I've a feeling he has a big head start on us and we need all the time we can scrap together. Don't worry about being gentle," he patted her neck. "Just ride like the wind."
Snorting worriedly, White Wing took off, hating to cause her friend pain but knowing just as he did that Frank's time was quickly running out.
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Hidalgo, stopped on the edge of the woods just beyond the town, stamped his feet. He was angry. Angry that Blue Child had been taken, angry that the men were being allowed to hurt him, and angry that he failed to protect the man. Pacing around and throwing his ears back in fury, he kicked at a small tree with his back leg, noting with small satisfaction when the thin branch snapped under the impact.
Now treeless, besides the large ones that he had rather NOT try to destroy, Hidalgo stood still, debating on whether or not he should charge into the town and help Frank to escape. The man had sent Grey Wolf away during their rescue attempt - a foolish action, Hidalgo thought. If not for Frank's stubborn way of thinking, he would already be free and tended to, and none of this mess would be happening. Hidalgo personally planned on killing one of the men who dared to harm Frank. It was not normal for a horse to be as ruthless as Hidalgo felt right then, but the animal barely cared. Frank was his brother, in a spiritual sense. The two were bound together by friendship, loyalty, and love. Nothing would EVER take the man away from him, not if Hidalgo any say in it.
On some level, Hidalgo suspected he could feel Frank. His pain and his emotions. Which was why he was even more worried now. There was a tightness in his chest that was not there earlier. He tried to send comforting thoughts to the man, strength to keep him going, and a willingness to help him escape if need be. Though he knew that Frank would not try to escape. Not if he had an inkling of a thought that his village would be in danger if he did so. Frank always tried to protect others - even if they did not like him. Which, it just happened to be, that half the village still treated Frank like an outsider who should have been banished from birth. But the Chief and many of the older braves had accepted him. Not as a man, but as a brother. They had seen Frank time and time again risk his life for his people. The people of the horse.
Hidalgo hoped that someday, the entire tribe would know just how much Frank sacrificed for them.
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The sun's light blinded Frank, making it impossible to see anything. Not that he was trying anyway, he'd rather not watch the towns-people give him nasty looks. It really wasn't his fault that he was tied to the pole, after all. He was only trying to breathe and survive. Not that he was doing a great job of that anyway. Breathing was his main goal at the moment, and it was one he was almost failing at. The rope around his neck cut into his skin deeply, igniting the wounds already there into a white hot pain, and cutting off his air supply. His hands were tied so tightly behind his back that he had long ago lost the feeling in his fingers. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if the white men had ever heard of 'overkill'. This definitely qualified as such - tying a man who could barely walk, let alone escape, up so tight that there was a good chance it would kill him. Frank snorted quietly, wincing in pain as he did so. He knew the white men weren't trying to keep him alive and would do everything they damn well pleased. None of them would shed a tear if Frank's heart suddenly stopped beating.
Unaware as he was, the boot that found it's way into Frank's side surprised him out of his pondering. Grunting in pain, he tried to catch his breath, which had escaped him in the impact.
"Lookey here boys, a real live injun'." One of the men - no, boys, Frank noticed, and very drunk ones at that - laughed. He jerked when the one that had spoken poured some of his whiskey onto Frank's neck, causing it to burn like Hell's fire.
"Come on, I heard you injun's were ruthless bastards aimin' to collect the scalps of all the white men you could find." One of the others snickered, every other word slurred in his drunken state.
Frank almost groaned aloud. This was just what he needed - another group of white men who's intention was to cause him as much harm as possible. As if he didn't have enough people trying to hang him or use him as a decorative rug.
"What's wrong, can't speak? Too good to share your wise words with us common white folk?" The first one spoke again, sending another kick into Frank's stomach.
"Hey, what's goin' on out here!" A voice yelled. Bradley, Frank thought. He hoped the young man didn't try to cause anything over him. Bradley had been good to him thus far; well, as good as he could be without his cousin lynching him also.
"We're just having fun shortstuff. Ain't done as much as you and yours have to him just yet." The drunken men snickered.
Bradley flinched, as if struck. He didn't want to be reminded that he and his party were the ones who were torturing a human being. They weren't the same color, no, but Bradley had felt bad about it from the start. Well, this was one thing he could put a stop to, even if Red got madder than a wet hen over it.
"He's ours, don't put your damn hands on him again." Bradley tried to muster up the strength to cover the fear laced in his words.
"Oh, and what are you going to do about it?"
Drawing his gun, Bradley aimed it directly at the man's forehead. "I'll kill ya, how about that?"
"From where I'm standing," the men drew their guns and aimed at Bradley, "It looks to be four against one."
"And unless you want those pretty little ears blown off," Rick whispered from behind the men and cocked his gun, "I'd get the hell outta here."
The boys turned, staring down the barrel of a loaded rifle. "We were just having some fun mister, that's all." The leader of the group shrugged, turning when Red and Joseph walked out of the saloon. They scattered when the two pulled their guns also, not wanting to end up in a all-out shoot up with the other, more experienced and sober, men.
"Bradley, what in the hell did you think you were doin'?" Red asked.
"They were gonna kill him! I was makin' sure he stayed alive to make it to the trial."
Red snorted. "In that case, since you care so much about him, he can ride double with you. We're leavin'."
"I thought we were goin' to stay the night?" Rick frowned.
"Just saw ole Billy Wright and his gang. Don't think he'd warm up to the idea of me stayin' in the same town as him."
"The one that has been gunnin' for you for over 10 years now?"
"The one and the same." Red tossed some of the supplies to Bradley to tie to his horse. "Now hurry up - I want to be gone before he walks outta that saloon."
Frank, having missed out on everything that had happened thanks to his lack of oxygen, was jarred back into the present as the rope was loosened and a flood of air came rushing into his lungs. He took another great breath, thankful that he could just do that. He barely noticed when he was thrown behind Bradley and onto the horse; nor did he realize that they were now riding out of the town, with Hidalgo following soon after.
And for the next few hours, he probably wouldn't notice much of anything.
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Reviews -
Erindi - LMAO sure, I can send Aragorn. Slightly drooled upon and rough around the edges, but still ... :g:. Eek! So ... I can't kill Grey Wolf:sniff: Darn. ;)
Mornflower - Good, I hope to see some Hidalgo fics from you:) And yep ... they ARE so screwed, aren't they? Screwed, mauled, roughed up, shot, tied up, kicked, beaten, etc etc. And I'm not even close to done yet. :sighs: I wonder how they're going to even survive! Hehehehehe.
Elfeh - LMAO I have so painted them and made them into doormats. Now to find a great bloody Oliphaunt to stomp on them. :g: Oliphaunt with a cowboy hat, a gun, and a bottle of whiskey. Man I'm evil! Hahahahahaha. But you know me too well, I am so addicted to Estel / Frank / etc pain. Bwahahahahaha!
leggylover03 - LMAO! Yep they are to' up from the flo' up. :eg: BUT I am not as bad as you and LANTHIAN (I think I spelled that right) who did not know how to stfu and kept getting BASHED! LMAO!
elitenschwein - Erm ... WOW:) I'm so glad it came off that way! doesn't have a major selection of Hidalgo fics, but I'm sure there are some more good ones around! I'm honored that you would say mine is your favorite though. And do not worry! Your english is great! Viggo is very good in getting 'into' his character, so to speak, so Frank Hopkins is definitely one of my favorite movies and legends. (Plus, I'm a sucker for Cowboys ... hehehehe!) Thank you so much for your review though, it made my day:)
Carrie S :Frowns: How am I supposed to be creative with a broken muse:attempts to tape her back together again with duct tape: ... erm ... right, gives her to Elrond You, heal, now! Hehehehe. Oohhh I'm sure they'll find a way out. Somehow. Err ... I hope. :g: And yes, thank you! I did get the job. Which I now loathe with a passion ... but hey! It's a job! Hahahaha:D
Meriwether Weslar - Nothing is ever easy when it comes to Frank and Grey Wolf! They are complete trouble magnets! Hahhahahaa. Thanks:)
westernrider - Hey, I can be the chef also, as long as we're serving up Viggo:g: Thanks bunches:)
Lancey - What? Nooo. Come on, I'm not that simple here. Of course Grey Wolf couldn't just free Frank. Then the fic would be ... well ... over. There could be a sequel, yeah, but meh. I'd rather have a long, drawn out, oh-my-god-Frank-and-GW-are-gonna-die fic. :eg: I hope you enjoy the rest of it, short chapters and all! Hahahaha.
Alatril Orodreth - You've read them all? Woah, haha. I don't think I have. Yet. :g: Anyway, thanks oodles:) I'm so glad you are enjoying it!
Hiei-Rulez - LMAO! I can imagine that! Hidalgo using them doing that mexican hat dance (a la Speedy Gonzolas from Bugs Bunny :g:) while you whack them with the shovel! LMAO! The men will get what's coming to them. In time. :gets attacked by a uruk hoppity: Urrghhh no! But ... that's such a good idea ... I think that will happen ... :rushes to write the idea down in the Hidalgo fic file:
Lory - LMAO! I don't think punching her in the nose would be a good idea. Then she'd come up with something else that I'd have to write and I'd be over swamped with fics! She's an evil brat of a muse, I tell ya. Hahaha. But thanks, I'm glad you like it:)
nightbug08 - LOL I'm trying to update as fast as possible, haha! Thanks for the review.
Banjo - LMAO don't feel sorry for'em. They'll get revenge and get free. Er ... :skims through plot notes: I think. Maybe. I'm not sure yet. :eg:
fan33 - Ah, yes, and I apologize for the delay in the update. However, RL is long, boring, and the Sims 2 has a "WooHoo" feature. :eg: But anyway - I'm glad you like it! Thanks so much for reviewing:)
viggomaniac - I know that feeling - I usually stay quite a ways behind on my author alerts. Hahahaha. And yeah - I'm into many Viggo-character centric fics:g: And yeah - the elf needed a long rest. After being chased by the teens, drooled upon by the women, and glared at by the men who's wives have fallen head over heels ... well it's safe to say he's reserved a nice padded room for himself! LMAO! And YES! I LOVE Josh Holloway! He's simply ADORABLE! (Those dimples, AH!) You mentioned it on your profile? Wow! I'm honored:) Thanks so much! And Ooooooh. I must check out that Sawyer fic! Though one has me hooked, I think it's called "Metamorphosis" or something like that. VERY good stuff there. Anyway - hope you got caught up:) Thanks again!
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Well, that's that chapter done:) And I HOPE I can find the time to write soon. :Cough: However I spent my last paycheck (which was my first paycheck and I was VERY happy to say in the least, to get it) on LOTR stuff and I'll probably be playing with said LOTR stuff for a while. :g: LotR: The Third Age + The Hobbit for PS2, The Sims 2 for PC (the WooHoo! feature is getting exhausted :ahem:), and over 30 of action figures / collectibles. Whee:)
And OH! Before I forget. Everybody run and join my and Rhonda's (leggylover03) Yahoo group! It's called "TheFellowshipFollowers". We have over 200+ members and growing!
Anyway! Reviews welcome!