Bret kicked his horse into a walk, watching to make sure his brother did the same.

"Where are we going?" Bart asked.

Bret sighed. "I dunno…we can't stop at the next town; that might be the first place Mundy would look."

"Yeah," Bart agreed. He suddenly winced and tried to shift his position a little.

"Let me do the worryin', Bart," Bret said. "You just concentrate on staying on your horse."

Bart sighed again, raggedly. It was all he could do to actually talk, the pain was so bad. "Good idea," he said, trying not to groan.

They rode mostly in silence for the next couple of hours, Bret not wanting to sap away at any meager strength that Bart might have by making him talk. It became harder and harder for Bart to hide the pain that he was in, and he kept closing his eyes for longer amounts of time.

Bret kept his eye on him, and when Bart's eyes stayed closed and he suddenly swayed, Bret reached out and grabbed his good arm, stopping both horses. "Bart," he said.

Bart's eyes half-opened and he mumbled, "Huh?"

"We're stopping," Bret told him.

Bart's eyes closed again. "Can't," he mumbled.

"Why not?" Bret asked, tightening the grip on his brother's arm.

"Not going…fast enough," Bart said, before taking a deep breath. "He'll catch up."

That was probably true. Bret sighed. "But you're weaker, Bart. You need a break."

Bart gave no answer.

Bret knew that it would probably be impossible to get Bart back onto the horse if he got down now, so he took out his canteen and opened it, holding it under Bart's nose. "Here."

Bart reopened his eyes and reached out for it with his left hand. He was obviously dizzy, because he swayed again after letting go of the reins, but Bret still had a tight grip on his left arm, which kept him upright on the horse.

Bret kept hold of the canteen as his brother drank, and let him have his fill.

Once Bart was satisfied, he closed his eyes and lowered his head for a moment, before reopening them and looking at Bret, the water having slightly revived him.

Bret inwardly sighed. It was obvious how much pain his brother was in, and guilt stabbed at him again. "You look terrible," he said.

One corner of Bart's mouth lifted in a half-grin as he reached for his wounded arm and held onto it. "Thanks."

Bret looked out ahead of them and saw mountains in the distance. He decided to stop once they reach them. "See those mountains?" he asked.

Bart blinked a few times. "Yeah."

"If you can make it there, we'll stop when we reach them. No argument."

Bart nodded slightly. "All right."

With that, they started out again, slowly making their way north.

Ten minutes later, an ominous sound met their ears; thunder. Bret looked to the west, and spotted dark clouds. A storm was the last thing they needed! The mountains weren't too far off now, but Bret had a feeling that the storm would arrive before they reached them, and if the frequency of the thunder meant anything, it was a serious storm.

Bret looked at his brother and saw that he'd noticed it too.

"We're in big trouble," Bart said to him.

Bret nodded. "That's an understatement." He studied his brother, able to clearly see the magnitude of his pain. "How are you holding up?"

Bart sighed. He was barely able to stop himself from groaning anymore. The pain was a never-ending throb spreading down his arm, into his chest, and even up through his neck, giving him a headache. As if that wasn't bad enough, he was still dizzy. He realized that he wasn't sitting up straight on his horse, but was hunched forward, and he abruptly noticed that his left hand was hurting by how hard he was gripping the horse's reins.

"Bart?"

Bart looked up to see his brother watching him worriedly, and he realized that he'd forgotten to answer him. "I'll make it," he managed to say.

Bret doubted that. He looked at the mountains before looking back at the clouds as thunder rolled again. "If you don't want to get wet, we have to hurry."

"We can't outrun it," Bart tiredly said. Even in his current state, he knew that.

Bret knew it too. The sky was darkening and lightning flashed, with the resulting thunder loudly rumbling a few seconds later. A gust of wind suddenly blew, spurring Bret into action. "Let's go."

They kicked their horses into a faster walk; Bret knew that galloping would be Bart's downfall.

The dark clouds overtook them quickly and it started to rain sooner than they expected, quickly drenching them both. Though getting wet certainly wasn't going to harm either of them, Bart certainly didn't need it.

The wind picked up, blowing stronger than either of them expected. Lightning flashed and thunder loudly rolled over their heads. The lightning left the sky a few times in an earsplitting crack, and suddenly, hail began to fall, taking them both by surprise. At first, they were simply tiny pellets, but they soon grew to the size of quarters.

Bart gave a cry of pain when the bigger ones struck him, causing more pain to his shoulder.

Bret grabbed Bart's reins so his brother could keep his left hand free, which he placed over the wound to protect it. "Don't you dare fall off that horse, Bart!" he exclaimed.

Bart said nothing, eyes closed as he endured the pain.

Bret grabbed his brother's left arm, keeping the reins of both horses in his other hand. When they finally reached the mountains, he quickly looked for a ledge that they could hide under. Once he spotted one, he quickly dismounted and pulled his brother down from his horse, sitting him under the ledge and pulling the horse's heads under.

Bart slumped against the rock, eyes closed tightly as he gripped his shoulder.

Bret sat beside him and grabbed his good arm. "Bart?"

"Owww," was all that Bart could say.

Bret sighed and looked out at the storm as it continued to rage. Eventually, he saw something in the distance that shocked him. "Bart, look!"

Bart managed to open his eyes, and blinked, in shock himself.

A twister was making its way through the terrain. It wasn't very large and thankfully wasn't moving towards them, but it was there all the same, and it was a fascinating but frightening sight.

"Am I…seeing things?" Bart weakly asked.

"If you are, then I am too," Bret answered.

They watched the twister slowly move south, and they realized with alarm that it was headed for the town. They didn't have to worry for long, for the storm was moving fast and the twister suddenly seemed to be thinning out, before it quickly fell apart before their eyes.

Bart couldn't ignore his pain anymore and groaned, lowering his head.

Bret tried to pull Bart's hand away from the wound. "Let me see."

Bart let go and winced as Bret removed the sling and peeled his soaked jacket off him. The pain was pulsing as if there was a heart beating inside his shoulder, and he had to bite his lip to avoid groaning again.

"Don't hold it in, Bart," Bret said, sympathetically. "I know it hurts."

"Understatement," Bart said, with a gasp.

Bret got his brother's shirt off next and removed the wet bandage. The stitches were holding, to his relief, but the wound was red-rimmed and inflamed. Bret desperately hoped that it was the result of the hailstones, and not the beginning of an infection. He stood and grabbed their saddlebags, taking out the bandages that he'd brought and rewrapping Bart's shoulder before putting a dry shirt on him.

Bart's eyes stayed closed; he was not only in a lot of pain, but he was exhausted. His face was very pale.

Bret watched him with a sigh. Bart was obviously not going anywhere for a while.

Bret looked out from under the ledge. It was still raining very lightly, and he knew that if Mundy was following them, he would spot them easily where they were. "I'll be right back, Bart," he said.

Eyes still closed, Bart merely nodded.

Bret stood and walked out from under the ledge, finding that less than twenty feet away was a corner that had an outcropping that would conceal them better. He quickly ran back to his brother and knelt beside him. "Bart," he said. "I found a better place to hide."

Bart half-opened his eyes. "Where?" he croaked.

"Not twenty feet away," Bret said. "Where Mundy won't be able to spot us."

Bart sighed and shifted away from the rock at his back.

Bret reached out to grab him and pulled him upright, holding his brother tightly when he groaned and swayed dizzily. "I guess it would be a stupid question to ask if you can walk," Bret said.

Bart understood why. It would be less painful than mounting his horse only to dismount it again a few minutes later. "I can," he said, optimistically.

Bret pulled his brother's good arm around his shoulders and wrapped his other arm around Bart's back. "All right, here we go," he said.

Bart started walking, wincing at the pain. It seemed ridiculous how a wound to the shoulder could indirectly affect the legs, by making him too shaky and weak to walk on his own.

Bret was patient, but he tried to get Bart to the new spot as quickly as he could. He was as relieved as his brother when they finally made it, and he lowered Bart down to sit under the ledge.

Bart groaned again, holding onto his bad arm.

Bret quickly went to get the horses and brought them back to Bart. On his way back, it started to rain again, and he quickly ran back under the ledge and sat next to his brother, hoping one thing: that if Mundy was following them, the rain would delay him, too.

TBC