Disclaimer: Credit for characters and dialogue goes to their respective creators.
Author's Note: I am not a native Spanish speaker.
----- Scene endings and beginnings.
--- Different scenes but all within the same time-frame.
This chapter is extra long because I couldn't not let it be. Description is key and in fanfiction, making the description blend well with actuality is a must. And once again, I thank all for reading and reviewing, I'm glad that this story gets read by more than just me.
Title credit - "Bang A Drum" Jon Bon Jovi, inspired by this very film.
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We had made it back to the ranch, Murphy's men hadn't come yet, but they probably would within the next passing hours.
Chavez, Doc and Dick had gone off to "talk" about what we would be doing now. Don't get me wrong, I knew about Chavez and Sam, it was kind of obvious to me, McCloskey still had no idea though. Well, while those three were off "talking", I was stuck with Charley, Steve and McCloskey at the house. Inside we sat, quiet as mice. We were all pretty upset, I swore to get revenge.
"B-Billy?"
"What, Steve?"
"L-l-look." I followed Steve's gaze and finger, when I saw what he was looking at my heart skipped a few beats. I ran out the front door and leapt off the porch, "Regulators! Steve, hurry!"
---
"Help! Help!" Steve huffed up the hill and collapsed at the feet of the three distraught Regulators.
"Steve, what the hell?" Dick pulled the man up by the collar.
"T-trouble." He wheezed, pointing back down at the house, "B-blood."
The Regulators exchanged glances and began running down the hill, Steve stumbling behind.
---
"What's she sayin', huh?"
"Shut up, McCloskey." The edge in my voice was dead serious. If he didn't, I would.
The girl sobbing in front of me had slumped to the ground, her brown hair was dis-shelved, her once vibrant dress covered in mud and blood. Her hands were covered in the sticky liquid, her arms and face were bruised, I held her shoulders, trying to get her to look at me,
"Sam? Samantha, look at me."
She just stared at her hands, mumbling something in Spanish.
"Billy!"
"It's Sam!"
"Get her inside!"
Before I knew it, Chavez had scooped her up and rushed her inside to the closest bedroom, John's. We all followed.
"¡El dios, me dejó morir!" Sam thrashed about as Chavez tried to hold her down, to calm her.
"A little help?!" He called.
"Right." Doc breathed and began running through the house looking for clean bandages, water and a blade. The rest of us stood there, gawking, we had all noticed the large bloody gash in Sam's leg. Doc hurried into the room and shut the door behind him.
We were left in shock. And we could still hear her cries through the door.
"¡Déjeme morir¡Deseo morir!"
Let me die...I want to die.
-----
"Think she's okay?" Charley's voice was quiet, his hands in a "teepee".
No one answered. None of us knew anything.
The three of them had been in that room for more than an hour. Sam had quieted down forty-five minutes into it, though everyone could still hear her crying.
Out of the five years I had known her, I had never seen her cry. Not even when Tulio died.
"Dick, what're we gonna do?"
I didn't answer.
The bedroom door opened, we all stood for news. Doc stepped out and shut the door,
"She's...okay."
He sat down and wiped sweat from his forehead and neck,
"We've got to get her to Alex."
"What? For God's sake, she was just shot, there's no way." I said in a hushed voice.
"We've got to, Dick. She can better care there, she'll be safe. We promised Tulio we wouldn't let anything happen to her, we've got to go through with it."
We were all quiet, Billy pushed past us, "Then let's ride."
He went out the door and to the horses.
Who the hell does he think he is?
-----
"¿Vamos a llevarle a Alex, autorización? Intento y sueño, le conseguiremos una cierta ayuda mejor." Chavez spoke in my ear as he carefully picked me up and carried me outside.
We're going to take you to Alex's, okay? Try and sleep, we'll get you some better help.
I nodded in comprehension.
I kept my eyes closed as I was handed over to someone else, and then to someone on a horse. I was sideways and able to lean comfortably on whoever was holding me. The back of my eyelids were light colored, it was still early in the morning.
It was quiet when the horses began moving. I could hear everything in nature: the birds, the bugs, the horses and as we got closer to town, the people. The pain in my thigh wouldn't go away, it stung every time the horse's hoof hit the ground, but it wasn't his fault or the rider's. Between the searing pain all over my body and the warmth of the rider's, I slept somewhat soundly.
---
"Estamos aquí, Samantha. Le estoy dando al doc., yo tengo razón detrás de usted."
We're here, Samantha. I'm handing you to Doc, I'm right behind you.
I furrowed my brow and nodded groggily.
Once again I was handed down to someone, not on a horse, but I wasn't handed back to Chavez.
"Alex!" Billy yelled, it hurt my head. The banging was worse. I cracked my eyes open and tried to glare at Billy, it didn't work. Finally, Susan opened the door, Alex was behind her.
"Billy? Boys, what is it?" Susan rubbed her eyes, Alex noticed what was wrong. He has spotted the beaten Samantha, Doc was holding.
"We've got a couple problems, Alex."
Susan and Alex ushered us in and had Doc put me down in the guest room, I insisted I could handle sitting up and talking, but Susan insisted I couldn't. When she saw my wounds, she almost fainted.
"Oh, dear! What happened?!" She turned to the boys.
"We should probably talk about this in another room." Billy said. He had become a bit of a leader, Dick wouldn't be happy.
Doc took Susan and Alex into the hall and explained, the rest of the boys went to the kitchen to sit. Susan eventually came back in, her mouth was a line, literally. The color had faded from her face, as I knew it would. The blond woman cleaned me up and helped me dress in something less dirty, then made me lie down to sleep. I wasn't tired, though I should have been. I was running on adrenaline and I knew it would wear off.
-----
When I woke it was night. I could hear Alex's voice down the hall, in the kitchen. Billy's, Dick's, Susan's and Doc's were there too. I wanted to see them.
I slowly pulled myself up, it hurt, and swivelled my feet over the side of the bed. I sat there for a moment, breathing hard. Tulio's coat had been cleaned, thanks to Susan's spare time. I used the bedpost to pull myself up and steady, then shuffled, barely picking up my feet, over to the chair with the coat and pulled it over my shoulders. I noticed the door had been left open.
Quietly I shuffled out the door and down the hall, stopping in intervals to catch my breath and bare the pain. I squeezed my eyes shut, standing in the middle of the hall, listening to Billy speak,
"So, that's it? We hold a funeral and forget all about Murphy?!"
"Billy, I'm sorry, but there isn't much I can do, if anything." Alex and the others were sitting at the dinner table, discussing our well being and John's.
I pulled my coat closer to my body, I had noticed half way out of the room that I was only in my underwear. I didn't care at this point. The voices had stopped.
"¡Maldiga eso, Alex!" I yelled, someone jumped up from their chair, it scraped back. I shuffled as quickly and painlessly as I could to the kitchen, which wasn't very much. When I came around that corner all eyes were on me.
"Sam, you shouldn't be up!" Susan rushed to my side, but I put up a hand to stop her. As nice as she was, she had been getting on my nerves that day.
I closed my eyes and gripped the nearest chair-back,
"Alex, talk to J.P." Susan moved her chair so I could sit in it, I was between Billy and Alex. I lowered myself slowly.
"Sam..." he sighed, "You know if I can't do anything, J.P. can't."
I opened my eyes and leaned forward for an apple from the middle of the table,
"After the funeral, Alex, talk to J.P. Get him to deputize these muchachos." I polished the apple on my coat and took a bite.
"What? He can't-"
"He can and he will, Alex." I stood slowly with a grunt and took another bite of the green apple. I turned and shuffled back to the door, "Stop staring, Jay." And I kept on going, not looking back, hearing a loud thump. That is what being "indecent" did to a fellow.
-----
Three more days of recuperation at the McSween's and I was able to limp quickly. My leg still hurt, no doubt, but I was in a bit of a hurry to heal. I had to be able to walk to John's funeral, I wasn't going to be carried at all, I swore.
On the fourth evening at the McSween's we all attended John's funeral. It was quiet and breezy that day, the setting sun made it cold.
I leaned against Chavez, who had a protective arm around my waist. He had been my source of comfort since my delirious Spanish ravings. My minor bruises had healed, but I still had a noticeable black eye, a trail of black and blue bruises up my legs, not to mention the still deep hole in my leg, which was surrounded by black skin.
The wind whipped my long hair into my face as I stared down at the two graves. John had been buried next to Tulio.
Dick read a verse from the bible and we said our parting words.
"Amen."