Chapter 12
The Consequences of a Storm
I have to apologize, Nick was killed in previous chapter. Joby is the other Garret boy still alive. Oooops. I did a booboo. I'm tired and I was still sick. Okay, I was just not watching what I was doing. I'm going back to using my chart.
Sitting there in the dark while the others slept; Matt couldn't help but wonder where the little girl had gone and if in fact had she been hurt and ran away. His heart felt heavy and responsible for her. 'Where the hell did she go?' he kept thinking. Then he saw her. She popped her head around the rock and smiled mischievously at Matt. Matt shook his head no, to warn her away, but she slipped back behind the rock.
Crawling quietly over to Twig, she carefully pulled his knife from the holder then slipped back into the bushes as he turned away from her in his sleep. She never showed any fear as she took the knife and quietly slipped back behind the rock. Looking for her, Matt noticed that she didn't move, or at least he was hoping she wasn't moving. He listened for any sound and other than the wind rustling through the tops of the trees, he heard nothing, but the snoring of Ebb Garret. It wasn't until he felt a slight tug on the ropes that held his hands, that he knew where the little girl had gone. All he could do was hold his breath and pray that she didn't make too much noise and wake Ebb or one of the others. She finally cut threw the ropes on Matt's wrists and he quietly brought his hands to his sides. His hand landed on something cold and steel and he knew immediately that it was a pistol. Joby heard something, and in his haze he looked up to see the little girl beside the prisoner with a knife in her hands. Matt saw him move for his gun just as Ebb and Twig woke up and pulled their guns. Diving to the ground, he rolled, grabbing the little girl and trying to get them to safety. The little girl sat in his arms as still as can be, as he turned his head back and took aim. Firing the first shot, he hit Joby in the belly who fell to his knees as he gave into the darkness that soon swallowed him whole. Ebb and Twig had dove behind the boulders. Ebb looked at their position. They were only a few feet from the horses. He signaled Twig to head for the horses. They jumped up onto the horses, grabbing the reins of the others and took off. When Matt looked back at the little girl, she lay on the ground, blood oozing from a wound to her head. Gently lifting her up, he took her over to the fire and laid her on one of the beddings.
"Who in the world is that?" Doc said watching the big man lay the child gently down.
"She's our rescuer that's who she is, Doc." Matt snapped back as he stood up and quickly went over to Doc to untie him. While Doc made his way over to the child, Matt went over to Festus and untied him. "See if you can catch up with them and get our horses back." Matt told his trusted old friend. Festus immediately took off after the running men on foot. Matt then made his way over to doc and the little girl. "Doc, I'm sorry I was snippy, is she gonna be alright?" He asked as he knelt down beside Doc and the little girl.
"Yeah, I think so. We just need to let her rest for a day or two is all." Doc said as he tied the bandage around her head.
"Well, when Festus gets back, I'll have him stay here with you and the child. I'm gonna head out to find Kitty." Matt said as he stood up. He staggered a bit and Doc saw it. Getting to his feet, Doc looked up at the big Marshal and saw the stain of red on his left shoulder. Doc began to look at his shoulder. "What are you doing, Doc?" He asked.
"I'm taking a look at this wound of yours." He gently prods the area, then pulls Matt around. "Well, it looks like the bullet went clean through, that's probably what grazed her." Taking his handkerchief from his pocket, he placed it over the bleeding wound. "You're not going anywhere until I get that bleeding to stop, otherwise you'll die on the trail looking for Kitty."
"Doc, I ain't got time for this." He said as he pulled away from Doc.
"You'll just have to sit down and find the time, Matt." He said pulling him down to sit on the huge log. "If I let you wonder out there like this, Kitty'll just have my head. And I've kind of gotten used to it sitting right where it is, on my shoulders." Doc said as he began to look at the wound again.
"Doc, you sound like you're afraid of Kitty." Matt said teasingly.
"Damn right, I am. That little spitfire of yours has quite a temper on her. And she's got one helluva aim with anything that ain't nailed down. At least, that's what I recall, you tellin' me." Doc said as he watched Matt turn bright red as he remembered that fight.
"Yeah, Doc, she sure is a fighter." He said smiling.
"That she is boy, that she is." Doc said as he continued to tend to Matt's shoulder.
It was almost getting light out when Festus came back with two horses and Ruth. They had left the horses go and continued on their way. Matt was keeping watch while Doc and the little girl slept. Matt pointed his gun in Festus' direction when he heard the noise. "It's me Mathew!" He said as he tied off the horses and headed back into the camp where Matt could see him. "How is she?" He asked as he knelt by the fire to pour himself a cup of coffee.
"I don't know, yet. She's been sleeping since she got hurt. Doc says she's gonna be alright though." He said wincing as he sat up.
"He winged ya'?" Festus asked him.
"Yeah, bullet went clean through. That's how she got hurt." He said regretting her injury.
"It weren't your fault, Mathew. Where'd the littlin' come from anyway?" He said looking over at the sleeping child.
"I don't know. But I guess we'll find out when she wakes up." Matt said as he winced again in pain.
"Why don't you get some rest till mornin' I'll spell ya'?" Festus said as he took a sip of coffee.
"If you don't mind, Festus, I think I will." Matt stood up and headed over to the vacated bedding. "I took Joby's body and laid it beside Nick's we can bury him in the morning." Matt said as he laid down on the blankets and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was fast asleep.
Kitty woke with a start. She could sense something was not right. As she looked around the room, she noticed that the sun was shining high in the sky. Kathleen began to whine and she gently lifted her into her arms. Standing up, she headed over to the chair where she could sit comfortably, and it was at that time that she realized that Rachel had been completely covered in a blanket. Some time in the night, she had died. Feeling saddened by this, she began to cry, not for herself, but for Rachel and the babies that would have to grow up without their mother. Kitty knew this feeling too well, since her mother had died when she was only 11 years old. Her father had used her in his schemes and then left her behind when things had gotten out of control. She felt the baby's mouth nudging at her covered breast and she quickly unbuttoned the blouse so that she could get to the milk she was crying for. Impatiently she sucked the nipple into her mouth and greedily drank from the woman whom was now the only thing keeping her alive. But to the baby, she knew nothing of the sadness going on around her. All she knew was that the warm liquid was filling her belly and making the emptiness go away. At that moment, Naomi chose to make her own presence known and began to cry from the cradle. Holding the baby securely with one arm, Kitty walked over to Naomi and lifted her into her arms. She sat down on the chair and helped Naomi lay back then watched as the child knew exactly what to do, as she tested the nipple with her mouth, playing her tongue across it and looking into the strange woman's beautiful blue eyes. Smiling, she took the nipple and began to suckle. As Kitty settled back and allowed the babies to nurse, she again let the tears fall down her face. As she looked at Naomi, she saw that she was looking up at her. Naomi gently reached out with her pudgy little hand and touched the tear that ran down Kitty's cheek. Smiling, she stopped nursing but after a moment, she continued. So many thoughts threatened to push her over the edge. She knew how it felt to lose her mother and her father, even though she had lost him by his own choice, it still hurt. How would Nekuma raise these girls alone? For that matter, was he going to keep his promise to his wife and let her go? She was a little uneasy about this, but she felt sure that Rachel would not lie to her and that her husband was a man of honor. Looking down, she saw that Kathleen had gone to sleep. Juggling both babies, she wasn't quite sure how she had managed to get Kathleen up on her shoulder, but she had. Naomi continued to nurse from the other breast. Kathleen lay her head on Kitty's shoulder and was fast asleep. Her little body was covering the bared breast. A few minutes later, Nekuma entered the cabin. Kitty could tell by the sweat and dust on him that he had been digging a grave. Moving to the sink, he washed his hands and face then turned back and walked over to Kitty. Gently taking Kathleen from her, he began to pat her back as Kitty covered her breast and went back to nursing Naomi.
TBC