Chapter 51 - Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry

All that night, Jed lay awake and thought about what he would do. When Han woke up, Jed asked him, "Han, do you trust me?"

Han was surprised. "Yeah, 'course."

"I need you to do something for me today, no matter how hard it is for you. Will you promise?"

Han swallowed nervously. He didn't know what Jed was going to ask him, but he'd already said that he trusted him. He wouldn't go back on that. "Alright. If I can."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Jed sighed with relief and Han gave a hint of a smile for the first time in days. "Want to tell me what I've just promised to do?"

"I want you to eat and sleep as much as you can today. I'm going to do it too. We've got to be as fit as we can be by tonight."

Han's eyes widened. "Why?"

"You said you'd trust me."

Han nodded. "Alright." He picked up his clothes and started to dress. "Then I guess we need to go and have breakfast."

Han didn't eat a huge amount at breakfast, but he ate more than he'd eaten before. Afterwards, Jed looked at him meaningfully until Han said, "I'm tired. Can I go back to bed and lie down?"

Julie Monroe was surprised but pleased. They'd been trying to get the boy to rest since he'd arrived but he'd always fought them over it; she found his watchful presence unnerving.

Jed went with him and they slept until noon.

Han was able to eat more at lunchtime and after they'd eaten, both of the boys went back to bed. When Julie Monroe checked on them an hour later, they were both fast asleep.

She woke them for dinner when, once again, they ate as much as they could and went to lie down immediately after.

She and her husband relaxed after dinner, happy that the boys were finally doing what they were told. At least they would both be fit and well fed when they left on their respective journeys the next day.

Once they were back in their room, Han looked at Jed expectantly. "Want to tell me what's going on?"

Jed wondered again if he was doing the right thing. Han still looked very pale.

"You okay, Han?"

Han sighed and pushed himself back on the bed. "I'm fine, I guess. You?"

Jed sat next to him and shrugged.

"Are you going to tell me why we needed to be fit for tonight?"

"Yeah."

Jed was silent for a moment. He thought again about the Sorensens and their children, and the farm with all the dogs… It could still be his. If he said what he planned to say to Han, it would all disappear.

Han didn't rush him, he just waited patiently. Trustingly.

No-one else had ever trusted or listened to Jed the way Han did. His sister and brothers had always dismissed him and laughed at him. His mother and father loved him, but they didn't listen to him in the same way, as if what he said was important.

If he told a lie, the Sorensens and his chance of a life with them, would vanish. If he told the truth, Han would be sent away to Valparaiso and Jed would never see him again.

It wasn't such a hard choice, after all.

"I heard the Monroes talkin' to Leah last night. They're goin' to adopt her, but they can't take us. No-one can take us." He tried to keep his eyes down and the color from his face. He'd never lied to Han before. "They're goin' to send us to Valparaiso."

Han went white. "No..."

Jed nodded.

"No! They wouldn't do that, not to you. You're her brother. Leah wouldn't let you go to that place."

"There's nowhere else to go. They said all the orphanages are full because of the war. Valparaiso is the only place that can take us."

"She wouldn't let them send you there. There must be someone that could take you if the Monroes can't."

"There isn't. Han, they're plannin' to tell us tomorrow morning, right before they take us there. If we don't want to go to Valparaiso, we have to run away tonight."

Han shook his head. "You can't have heard them properly. They wouldn't do that, not to you."

Jed decided to take a risk. He could see that Han wouldn't be convinced any other way, and he thought he could see how to do this, if he was clever. "Alright, I'll go and ask them. You can come with me, but stay out of sight."

Leah and Charlotte had also gone to bed now, so it was just the Monroes sitting in the cozy parlor. Jed knocked on the door and walked inside, Han hanging behind him. He signaled to Han to wait behind the door.

"Jed, whatever is it? Is everything alright?"

"Ma'am." He made sure he had the words exactly right before he said them. "Leah told me everything - about her adoption and what was going to happen to Han and me."

Julie looked surprised. "She did? Oh. We were all going to sit down and tell you everything in the morning. You do understand why we can't take you, don't you Jed? I'm very sorry, we would if we could but we simply can't afford to."

He jumped in quickly. The last thing he needed was for her to say too much and ruin everything. "Yes, of course, ma'am. We both understand. Han's been to Valparaiso before, did you know? He'll know his way around."

Albert said gravely, "Yes, we did know that, Jed. We're glad it won't be strange to him." He and his wife exchanged questioning glances. Why was the boy acting so oddly?

Jed continued, "I just wanted to be sure, though - you did say Han and me would be leavin' tomorrow?"

Albert spoke. "Yes, that's right. We were planning to tell you both after breakfast and leave soon after that. Is that alright with you?"

Jed nodded. He was very pleased with the way the conversation had gone. "Yes, sir. I just wanted to know. You know, so we could say our goodbyes. I'll go back to bed now. Goodnight."

The two of them went back to their room.

Even though he had heard it with his own ears, Han couldn't believe it. He could understand being sent back himself, but not how Leah could be alright with them sending her own brother to a place like Valparaiso. Surely, the Monroes could have found someone to take him!

But he had heard it, clear as day. They were going to Valparaiso and leaving in the morning.

He saw Jed watching him.

Han knew that he would keep his promise to Maggie, whatever happened. "I won't let them take you there. I won't let them put you in that place."

Jed nodded. "We need to leave tonight, after they go to bed. We should take some food with us and things that we might need."

Han looked up sharply. "Stealing."

"It's stuff we need."

"We shouldn't steal."

"We have to. Can't go with nothin'." Jed didn't like it any more than Han, but they couldn't go empty-handed.

"Your ma wouldn't like you stealing. Neither would mine."

"Ma would understand. She'd do it, if she had to."

Han realized that he was right; she would if she had to. And they had to. They couldn't leave with nothing, they wouldn't survive five minutes.

He ran his fingers through his hair and started to think of the things they needed - food, money, clothes. A knife or a gun - preferably both - for protection. It was a lot to steal from the Monroes, and they wouldn't be able to get clothes. They'd both left their homes in what they were wearing. They'd need jackets, it was starting to get cold at night.

"Han?"

"I'm thinking of a plan."

Jed sat down quietly and waited.

"We take food from here, nothing else." As Jed started to protest, Han held up a hand. "Nothing else. We don't want them to send the sheriff after us. If he caught us, we'd go to Valparaiso for sure, we'd truly be waywards then. We'll head back…" he swallowed, "home."

He saw Jed blanch.

"We have to. We need some clothes, for a start. We can't get those here. And that stuff is ours, it belongs to us. It'll be okay now. There won't be anything there to see, they'll have taken…" he swallowed, "...everything away. I'll go in and you can wait outside, keep a lookout."

Jed nodded. It was suddenly becoming real to him, the enormity of what they were about to do.

It occurred to him that he could still tell Han the truth and go to the Sorensens. Han would understand.

Han would only ever want what was best for him.

Jed stood up. "When do we leave?"

They listened for the sounds of the Monroes going to bed. Jed wrote a short note to Leah while they waited. Han didn't ask him what it said.

They crept down to the kitchen and took some bread, ham and apples. Han searched for, and found, some jerky and dried fruit, and added them to their pile. He tied everything up in a cloth. They both paused for a moment and took one last look around the tidy kitchen. It looked safe and cozy and dependable, all the things they were about to leave behind them.

Han put his hand into Jed's. "Ready?"

Jed nodded, his mouth dry.

They opened the door and fled out into the night.

It was cold out, but the moon was bright and they could see clearly. They ran almost the whole way.

When they saw Jed's house, they stopped, arrested by the sight. It seemed strange that a place so familiar felt so foreign. In the dark, it didn't look like the home that had been filled with so much love and laughter. It didn't even look like the place they had last seen, a place of screaming and burning. It looked like a ruin from a thousand years ago.

Han put down the food bag. "You wait here. Whistle if you need me or see anyone. I won't be long. Will you be alright?"

Jed couldn't trust himself to speak. He nodded.

Han turned and ran towards the house. After a few minutes, Jed saw a lamp shining from one of the windows.

Han tried to keep him mind on what he was doing. He kept his eyes away from where he had seen… things.

He found a bag and threw in some of Jed's clothes and some blankets. He searched around for any money or valuables that they could sell, and found a few dollars that Maggie had hidden in one of the jars in the kitchen. While he was there, he picked up a couple of sharp knives and added them to the bag, along with an old tin pot and a couple of plates and mugs.

He went through the house, picking up anything he thought they might need. A few times he found himself debating over items that weren't completely necessary. They'd have to carry everything and there was no sense in taking things they could manage without.

He went into Caleb and Maggie's room and searched for Caleb's handgun. He found it hidden away under the mattress with a box of bullets. He thought about taking the rifle, but decided against it. It would be impossible to hide and would make them too conspicuous.

He took one last look around and saw a picture of Caleb and Maggie. They looked very young. He wondered if it was their wedding picture. He put it quickly in the bag, then blew out the lamp and ran back outside.

Jed was waiting for him, his chin on his knees. He had tears on his cheeks as he looked at Han.

"Did you want to go in? See it one last time?"

Jed shook his head.

"Sure?"

"No. I don't want to think of it like that. I don't want to remember it that way."

Han thought of the dark, cold house, and he thought of the time before. He thought of Maggie and how he would always remember her now. He nodded.

Quietly he asked, "Are you sure you want to do this? We could still go back."

"So they could send us to Valparaiso? That's where we'd go if we went back."

Han looked away. Jed was right.

"No. I want to do this. I trust you. You'll take care of us, I know you will."

Han stood up and held out a hand to him. They began to walk to Han's house.

Just as before, Han walked through the house picking up anything that might be useful. He found his jacket and pulled it on, glad of its warmth.

He stood for some minutes staring at the bedroom where he had last seen Elizabeth. They had taken away the bloody sheets, but there were dark marks on the mattress. He wished he'd never seen her like that and was glad he'd kept Jed away from Maggie. However much Jed might have wanted to hear his mother's last words, he wouldn't want to spend the rest of his life picturing her like that.

The way Han saw them all now.

There was a small handkerchief case that Elizabeth had stitched and he picked it up. As he did so, a ring fell out of the pocket and rolled onto the floor.

He bent and picked it up. It was David's ring.

He remembered how David would take it off before he started work around the farm, saying he didn't want to damage it. He must have taken it off that morning, the morning of the attack...

Han dropped to the floor, clutching it in his hands and sobbing. He pictured David leaving that morning, so happy and carefree, but the image was tainted by the picture of him lying cold and dead in the yard.

Han started when he felt a pair of arms go around him. He leaned against his cousin and cried for the first time since the death of his parents.

He cried for a long time. At last, he wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"'S okay. You better now?"

"Yeah. I'm not gonna cry anymore."

Jed wiped his own face. "Don't think it's something we can stop."

Han swallowed and stood up, bringing his cousin with him. "Well, I can. I'm not going to cry anymore and neither are you. We're done with crying. It's you and me from now on - and we're not just gonna survive, we're gonna be great! One day the whole world will know our names and talk about Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry!"

Jed followed him out into the night. They didn't look back as they started on the road that led them away from their homes.

The road that led to their future. The road that would lead to their names being known everywhere.

Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry.