Chapter 6
The Consequences of a Storm
Disclaimer: I don't own the original Gunsmoke characters, I'm just using them. Also, in order to write proper Navajo, I'd have to be Navajo and unfortunately I am not. So, I decided not to name this Native American's nation and create my own language. Any similarities to any language any where will be purely coincidental, since I only speak English and some Spanish.
KR
Kitty came out of the bedroom with her blouse half buttoned. She had taken her hair down and had the thick red locks braided and hanging over her shoulder. As she picked up the basin and headed for the sink, she heard the board squeak on the front porch. Smiling, she gently set the basin down on the table and headed over to the door. She reached for the knob smiling. Thinking that Matt had come home for lunch, she opened the door. "I didn't think you were coming….." She started, but stopped in her tracks. Standing in the doorway was an Indian. His skin was darkened by the sun and he stood a little more than six foot tall. He was almost as big a man as Matt Dillon. She felt her heart jump, as though it had leaped to her throat. Without thinking, she desperately attempted to slam the door closed, but he had placed his big hand on the door, preventing her from doing so. Kitty turned and ran towards the bedroom with him right on her heals in pursuit. Reaching for her, he grabbed the collar of her blouse and yanked on it to stop her, but instead, the buttons flew open and came off of her as she fell to the floor into the bedroom. Kitty desperately grabbed at her skirt to cover her bared breast as she tried to crawl away from him. He stepped into the bedroom and pushed the door closed behind him. Terrified, she closed her eyes as she pulled her knees against her breast and scooted back against the bed. Her mind whirled in fear as she remembered what had happened to her almost nine months ago.
He promised he would not touch her, yet he was the first of his men to have his way with her. She had suffered greatly at his hands. He had struck her across the cheek several times and even threatened to cut her face up with his knife. He was going to make sure that she understood he meant what he said. When she lay on the ground, barely moving, her hands over her face, she sobbed and they laughed at her. She could hear the chorus of laughter as she sobbed. It was while she lay there prone, that Jude Bonner had noticed something for the first time. Her skirt had been rustled up her thighs somewhat and one stocking had come loose from under her bloomers. He saw the white flesh of her thigh and his mouth began to water with anticipation. Her white flesh enticed him and everything he had said about her was no longer completely valid. He had told her she was a woman, that in it self, made her fairly useless, the fact that she was a white woman, made her worth even less. The only thing she would have been good for was to be a slave. But as he looked at her lying there on the ground, something else began to stir. He could feel his britches getting tighter and he wanted release. Smiling at her, he moved towards her and knelt beside her body. His hand suddenly gripped her thigh and she suddenly sat up swinging at him. Jude laughed as she struck him in the face and chest. Her strength was fleeting, as he grabbed her wrists, pulling her tight against his chest. Smiling at her, he clenched his fist and struck her in the cheek as he let go. She fell back onto the ground, her head swimming in dizziness and confusion. Kitty was vaguely aware of him removing her stockings. His callused hands caressed her bare white thighs and he was excited by the silky smoothness of her bare skin. He looked at all the slips gathered beneath the skirt and reached under them to pull the thin bloomers completely off of her body. He didn't want to explore any longer, he wanted inside of her. Climbing on top of her, he clamped his hand over her mouth and roughly entered her.
She was being humiliated in front of his men right there in the dirt. Her eyes opened and darted from side to side to see his men watching and sneering at her as they cheered him on. She cried as he continued with his task.
Kitty clutched her hands to her ears as she heard the voices laughing and sneering at her in her mind. The gentle hand on her knee brought her out of the nightmare and she looked up with tears streaming down her face to see the big Indian kneeling next to her, a look of complete bewilderment on his face. He looked at her, her knees up against her breast and her upper body naked. Then down at his hand, which still clutched her blouse. Realization dawned on him. Stretching out his hand, he offered her the garment and stood, moving back just a bit to give her room to put the blouse on. He did not turn his back on her, as she sat up and pulled on the blouse, not realizing that he was watching her as her breast gently swayed with her movement. He noticed the one breast seemed slick and knelt down to examine her. Kitty slapped his hand away, but he grabbed her by the throat and his fingers quickly glided over the nipple. The milk seeped out onto his finger and he brought it to his mouth. He thought that the little grave out back belonged to her child which couldn't have passed too long ago, since her milk was letting down, but he couldn't be sure, since she didn't speak his language. He removed his hand from her throat, then gently reached over to cover her bared breast.
"Nea shua ka iah?" He spoke to her. Kitty looked at him, she had no idea what he was saying. Perplexed by the confused look in her eyes, he pulled her to her feet. "Nea shua ka iah?" Again she said nothing but shook her head as she shrugged her shoulders. He stood up and looked around and saw the tiny cradle in the corner of the room and walked over to it.
Kitty looked down and returned to buttoning her blouse. She was so confused and bewildered that she didn't even attempt to run out of the bedroom. He gently pulled the tiny baby dress from the cradle. "Nea shua ka iah?" She now understood that he was asking her where the child was. Kitty walked over to the window and looked out, pointing to the tiny stone out by the oak tree. His suspicions were correct, she had just lost a child. Looking at the tiny dress, he folded it up and placed it in the pouch that hung over his shoulder. Then took a soft pink baby blanket and folded that into the pouch as well.
"Put that back!" She said angrily as she went over to him. She tried to reach for the pouch but he grabbed her wrist, holding it tightly as he went over to the door and pulled her out of the bedroom with him. He pushes her down in a chair and looks around. The table was covered with a checkered cloth and there is a vase in the center along with sugar cup and a cream pitcher. He swiped his arm across the table and everything hit the floor, which caused Kitty to jump in fear. He then rummaged through the cupboards collecting canned goods and flour and sugar and bread, sitting them on the table in the center. Watching him grab the food, Kitty had hoped and prayed that he would take what he needed and leave. He then took the water canteen, which hung on the wall and put that over his shoulder. Kitty watched as he grabbed the edges of the tablecloth and gathered them together. He then looked at her and grabbed her arm. "Let go of me!" She yelled as he dragged her to the door. She suddenly used her free hand, hitting him and swinging at him. He knew that she was as fiery as her red hair and even though he didn't want to hurt her, the only way to get her out of the house was to take her, unconscious. His hand came up quickly across the jaw as his other arm grasped her about the waist. Knocking her unconscious, he carefully laid her on the floor then went out to get fresh horses for the ride.
Kitty woke to the bouncing of riding bareback. Her arms were wrapped about the man's waist and tied at the wrists to keep her from trying to escape. "Where are you taking me?" She asked, not really expecting answer.
"Yennah, itahcoo." He said pointing to the hills ahead of them. By the looks of the sun, she figured they had been riding for about two hours, which made it close to three. Matt and Doc would not be heading back to the ranch for several hours yet. That would mean that he would not be able to head out and look for her till morning. She laid her face against his back in defeat and he felt the hot tears that fell from her eyes, on to his back. "Te oue nahna!" He said regretting what he was doing. But he had no other choice.
Matt walked back to the jail where Doc, Festus and Newly sat drinking coffee. The sun was going down, and he wanted to get home early. Something was gnawing at the back of his mind and he didn't know what it was, but something wasn't quite right. "Hey, Mathew, you gonna set and jaw wit us a spell?" Festus said looking up at the big tired Lawman.
"Nope, gonna get home to Kitty." He said as he locked up his rifle. "Doc, you about ready?" He asked him. Doc took another sip of the coffee and nodded. "You two gonna be alright tonight, with them roustabouts' in town?" Matt asked as he turned back towards them.
"Don't see why's not. The worst of them thar scallywags is in that jail." Festus said pointing to the three men, now sleeping off a mean drunk. "You jes git on home and tell Mizz Kitty, I'll be seeing her tomorrow. I promised to take her to the Pawnee River to fish."
"You what? What kind of dern fool idea is that? Don't you think she's been through enough without having to ride fifteen miles in the middle of nowhere to go fishing?"
Doc said to Festus a bit agitated.
"It were her idea, Doc. She wanted to go on a picnic and just git away from the ranch is all. I weren't trying to cause her no stress or nothin', I was just wantin' to hep, is all, Mathew" He said trying to defend his position.
"I know you were Festus. Doc, Kitty just needs to get away from the house. She sits out back and stares at the grave, it isn't doing her any good sitting there remembering." Matt said trying to help Festus.
"I know, I know, I just don't want her re-injuring herself is all." He looks over at Festus.
"I don't want her riding horseback so you will take my buggy or a buckboard."
"We was gonna take the buggy from Moss's place. She already done rented it for the day. Alls I gotta do is pick it up and head on out to the ranch. I'll be there bright and early in the morning." He said sitting back down in his seat.
Doc didn't know what else to do, but shake his head as he and Matt headed out the door and back to the ranch.
It didn't take long, within ten minutes they were back at the ranch. Matt noticed that the door was left opened and there wasn't a lamp lit in the house. He looked over at Doc to see the same worried look he had seen when she was injured. Matt slowly climbed down off of Buck and tied the reins to the post. Pulling his gun from the holster, he slowly walked into the house, with Doc coming in behind him. Doc grabbed the lantern and lit it. They noticed that the things that sat on the table lay broken on the floor and the chair was over turned. "Kitty!" He yelled towards the bedroom, but there was no answer. Grabbing another lamp, that Doc had lit and set on the table, he headed for the bedroom.
Doc stood waiting for him to come out. After a few minutes, he came out holding a necklace that he had found on the ground. Matt felt his heart skip a beat in fear. Jude Bonner had worn one like this. Not exact, but it was similar. 'Was this another of his family members that had come for revenge?' he feared. "What is it?" Doc asked him.
"I don't know, it belongs to an Indian, but I don't know who. It's not Navajo, or Arapaho, nothing familiar to me." He said as he headed towards Doc. "He's taken her. As far as I can tell, there was only one, but he could have friends waiting for him out there."
"Why would he take her?" Doc asked confused.
"I don't know Doc, but I've gotta go get Festus, I need his help tracking them." Matt said as he headed out the door.
Doc walked to the door and watched as Matt headed back to town at top speed. Things just couldn't stay quiet for long in Dodge he thought to himself as he scratched his whiskers and headed back into the house. Matt would be right back with Festus and they'd need fresh horses, so he set himself the task of getting the horses together.
Festus and Newly loaded up the rifles and went about gathering ammo as Matt grabbed two canteens and bedrolls. "Festus, go over to Moss's and get two fresh horses. I noticed there was one horse in the corral that didn't belong to us, I reckon he took two, I didn't go into the barn to see."
"I'll be back directly, Mathew." He said as he sat the rifle down and headed for the door. As he opened it, Buck and Sam entered.
"You wanted to see us, Marshal?" Sam said to Matt as he stepped into the Jail.
"Yes, I'm sure you already heard from Mr. Thomkins, Kitty was kidnapped. I'm taking Festus with me and I need you two men to help Newly with keeping the peace." He said going over to the drawer and pulling out two Deputy badges. "You've already been sworn in. Newly, they're all yours." He said going back over to his pile of supplies.
Sam and Buck looked at each other as they placed the badges on their chests. Didn't seem fair to them that the Marshal and Miss Kitty didn't have a moment's peace. "We'll do whatever you need us to, Newly." Buck said as he watched the Marshal loading the rifle.
"Sam, you and Buck take two rifles and make rounds." He told them. Sam grabbed two rifles from the cabinet and handed one to Buck. They both checked to see if they were loaded and they were. Tipping their heads, they nodded to Newly and headed out of the Jail. Passing Festus as he returned from Moss's livery stable.
"Got them horses right out side, Mathew." He said looking over at Matt as he handed Festus a rifle, a box of shells and a bedroll.
"Good, are you ready to go?" Matt asked him.
"Yep!" He said as he headed out the door. Matt was following behind him.
"I'll see you in a few days, Newly." Matt said to Newly who was sitting on the edge of the desk.
"You be careful out there, Mr. Dillon." Newly said as Matt headed out the door.
Kitty woke up as she felt the horse beneath her picking up speed. The horse was now trotting along and the sun was going down. As they came to the top of the hill, she looked down on the stream, which lay ahead. She was hot, dirty and thirsty so the stream
looked very enticing to her. The horse now stood in the middle of the stream, which was probably two feet deep. Taking his knife, he cut the ropes at her hands, then taking her upper arm, he helped her down into the stream. He quickly climbed off of the horse as well, and watched as she leaned over into the water to splash water on her face and neck. He watched in fascination as the water caused her blouse to cling to her breast, molding over them and making them quite noticeable. Kitty didn't realize what she was doing until she saw that he was watching her every move. Something inside her stopped her in her tracks. She felt angry, no, anger wasn't what she felt, she felt rage and hatred for him. He was no better than Jude Bonner, he wanted her and for only one reason. "Is this what you want?" She asked him as he looked at her, confused. Kitty unbuttoned her blouse as she slowly moved towards him. "Is this what you desire, my body?" He was still confused by her words and now even more so by her actions. She was beautiful, but what was she offering him? She moved to stand in front of him, only a few inches away and she looked up into his brown eyes. "It's what you want, but you can't say it, cause you're too stupid!" She said angrily. "Have you ever had a white woman before, Indian?"
Again he watched as she pressed her naked breast against his bare skin. He looked into her cool blue eyes and thought how much they were like the pale blue sky. He wanted to tell her so.
Kitty took his hand and looked at it. "You don't know what to do, do you?" She asked looking back up at him. She placed his hand on her bare neck, closed her eyes as if she were enjoying the feel of his hand on her skin. Opening her eyes, she slid his hand down to cup her bare breast and looked at him for any kind of desire. When she saw only confusion in his eyes, she suddenly pulled his mouth down to hers and devoured his mouth in a kiss like none he had ever felt. This time he reacted. He grabbed her upper arms and slid his hands down her arms, pushing her blouse out of the way.
"Isha noka ky eh!" He said to her. Now she was confused. She didn't know what he had said, but anger flared in his brown eyes. "Che unan kyeh?" He said walking her back towards the shore line. "Che unan kyeh?" He shoved her down on the ground, her blouse caught behind her down past her elbows as he lowered her. "Ish, sha nunka, benawa, eh umpe benawa?" He said his hands roughly caressing her breast his body partially on hers.
Kitty turned her head in fear, and cried. "No, please!" Suddenly his weight was gone. When she looked up, he was sitting on the ground next to her. Kitty slowly sat up, she was dazed and didn't understand what had just happened. As she reached to puller her blouse around her, she felt his hands on her arm, helping her with the blouse.
"Te oue nahna!" He said to her as he helped her with her blouse. Once she had it around her and was beginning to button it, he gently took her about the wais and helped her to her feet. Kitty now understood, that he didn't want her for her body. But she was still his prisoner. That would not change.
TBC
I apologize to everyone if you find any part of this offensive. I can't help what comes out, okay, maybe I can. I'm struggling with this language though. Boy am I confused. :) KR