We're getting towards the end... but something just happened...

Chapter 8

Jeremiah moaned softly and then opened his eyes. He could feel the warmth from a blanket over his legs. The warmth felt so amazing to him. His back still burned from something Lacy had put over the deep slashes on his back. His shoulder continued to twinge and fester from the jarring impact he had gone through to put it back into place. He pushed himself up slowly with his good arm. He could feel every single nerve, tendon, bone, and muscle in his body with each stiff pop and crack. He gritted his teeth as he winced closing his eyes to the ache.

"Oh… ouch…" Jeremiah let out a deep guttural groan as he sat up on his almost arthritic legs.

"How you feelin?"

Jeremiah's stomach jumped into his throat at the deep booming voice that came from behind him. He hadn't noticed anyone in the room with him when he had opened his eyes. The injured man turned a little too rapidly for his aching body to handle. With his good hand he grasped his ribs and adjusted his arm in the cloth sling looking up at the friendly face of the familiar black man.

"Kurdy!" Jeremiah sighed, his voice raspy and quiet. The sight of his friend nearly brought a tear to his eyes as he flung himself into his friend's arms.

"It's okay… you're safe…" Kurdy was overwhelmed and shocked at the emotion being poured out from Jeremiah. The two together had been through so much before this why now? How much had his friend really gone through?

Jeremiah backed slowly away from his friend and looked up at the stunned Kurdy. He ran his hand through his hair and looked down at the floor, his bare chest rising and falling with each breath. Slowly he brushed his long fingers across the slick surface of his black leather trousers. His red swollen rope burned wrists showing the obvious struggle he had had with the bonds holding him prisoner for days.

"Sorry… I…" Jeremiah took a deep breath as he ran his hand over his tired face, his eyes continued to glisten behind their red feverish rims.

"It's alright Jeremiah. You went through a lot back there." Kurdy calmly answered watching his friend intently as he flinched again obviously from the pain that wracked his smaller frame. Jeremiah, although mostly cleaned up was still a mess of abrasions and contusions. It had been a long time since Kurdy had seen a man… any man take such a beating and still be alive to talk about it. "You hungry man… we…"

"Food?" Jeremiah lit up. His eyes opened as he watched a slow smile spread across Kurdy's face.

"Normally it's me lookin for grub… today it's you." Kurdy laughed.

"I'm sore but… I'm starving." Jeremiah stated as he tried to find his footing.

"Take my hand… I'll help you up." Kurdy responded by extending his powerful hand towards the injured man.

Jeremiah slowly reached up and put his own hand his friends hand. He let out another deep groan as his friend pulled him quickly to his feet. Jeremiah swayed unsteadily on his feet for a moment. He instinctively flung his hand out to stabilize himself against anything as he felt another long arm wrap around the corded muscles of his bare midsection. He sucked in a deep, almost surprised and terrified breath as he turned to see Marcus Alexander standing like a tower of strength next to him.

"Marcus…" Jeremiah closed his eyes as his legs tried to give out under his own weight.

"Hey…" Marcus gasped as he and Kurdy caught the unstable man before he made it to the ground. Jeremiah leaned his head forward onto Marcus's chest as he began to feel waves of nauseating vertigo pound viciously at him. "You probably need to lie down…"

"No… I need… to sit Marcus." Jeremiah blinked and swallowed hard as he winced at the pain assaulting him. "I haven't eaten or drank anything… in the better part of three days. I don't think the problem is just a beating… I'm hungry..." Jeremiah closed his eyes tightly as he fought to maintain his position on his feet and not on his stomach on an old mattress on the floor.

"I'm not arguing with your stomach Jeremiah but…" Marcus responded.

"Good… cause I'm not lying down again… but I may need help getting… to that chair." Jeremiah stood his ground against the pleas of the two bigger men.

Kurdy shook his head at Marcus as he started to open it again in protest. Although Kurdy knew that the "leader" of Thunder Mountain was probably right he also knew Jeremiah wasn't going to cooperate with the orders to rest. He never did.

"You'll need to start with something a little easier on your stomach." The sharp looking red head announced to the three men.

Jeremiah stopped in his tracks as he looked at her. His mouth dropped open and he then he looked back at Kurdy who smiled a crooked smile back at her.

"This is Rita, Jeremiah…" Kurdy grinned back at her.

--

Rita sat a heat crazed glass bowl with a chip along the rim in front of Jeremiah. The steam rose quickly from the boiling hot liquid. Inside was a clear broth that he looked at and then looked up in puzzled anguish at the green eyed woman. His stomach growled angrily as he almost pouted. He knew that he should be grateful for anything but just clear broth? Where was the meat and vegetables? She felt badly for him as she watched the almost hurt childlike emotions dance across his battered face. She bit her lip as she sat down next to him and handed him an oversized wooden spoon.

"Eat this… slowly. If you can keep it down I'll get you something else." Rita's warm smile eased the disappointment just a little as he picked up the spoon and dipped it gingerly into the warm liquid. The clear fluid danced and sloshed back and forth in the circular shape of the spoon as he lifted it to his pale lips. He could smell the onions and venison that had been added to flavor the soup. He slowly wrapped his lips around the spoon as he felt the tingling hot lightly sear his tongue. He thought then that maybe he should have taken time to blow the steam from the surface to lightly cool it and prevent the minor burn he now had on his tongue. He swallowed the liquid. It warmed his throat and his stomach as he greedily began to consume the liquid.

"Slow down…" Rita smiled as touched her hand to his arm.

Jeremiah looked down at the table as he remembered his mother and a lesson on manors.

--

"Slow down son." She smiled her blond hair tucked delicately behind her small ears. Here eyes gleamed as she reached her soft hands across his. He was holding the silver spoon like a chicken drum stick in his hand. She took the spoon from the young boys hand and placed it on the table.

"But mommy… it'll melt." Young Jeremiah protested.

"Son, you need to remember your manors. My mother always told me that you never know if you might someday dine with the president." She smiled as she wiped the remnants of chocolate ice cream from his face.

"The president?" The young boy scrunched his face up as he asked.

"Yes son. You mind your manors and someday you might get to meet him." She winked as she show him how she held the utensil in her nimble fingers.

"Wow." He whispered as she turned her attention to the screaming child who was his younger brother Michael. He immediately grasped the spoon in his hand trying to hold it the way his mother had taught him.

It all seemed kind of funny to him as the day he had finally met the president the man was less than cordial to him.

--

Jeremiah lay down the spoon and then picked up the plastic cup which held water. The liquid felt so good as it slipped down his burning throat. He quickly swallowed the contents of the cup as Rita handed him a piece of bread. He looked at it and then looked back at her.

"Slowly okay…" She smiled gently as he set the cup down.

Rita then picked up the cup and filled it with the pitcher containing more of the same cool clear liquid. She then took his soup bowel and filled it with more of the contents from the pot she had on the top of the cast iron fireplace. She carried it back over to Jeremiah who looked at the contents of the bowl. Meat, potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, various herbs, the contents looked so wonderful and the smell was even better.

"Slowly." Jeremiah recited as he dipped the bread into the warm broth and used the spoon to pick up the hearty chunks of meat and vegetables simmering in the liquid. The morsels made his mouth water as he remember to blow the steam off first this time.

Kurdy sat down at the table next to Jeremiah and Rita while Marcus made his way to the other side of the table.

"How did you find me?" Jeremiah asked as he swallowed the bite in his mouth.

"Lucky break." Marcus stated.

"Blake got word they had taken you and told Marcus. Rita over heard Marcus talking to me and she told us about Cole and Lacy." Kurdy stated.

"Freeze and rewind…" Jeremiah was lost from the beginning.

"Blake... sorta runs this town. You know Rita and that's Lacy and Cole… that's her sister and brother sleeping over there." Kurdy responded pointing at the two sleeping in the corner.

"Lacy set you're arm while Rita smeared some stinky salve onto you're back to prevent infection." Marcus added.

"She and Cole tried to help me earlier." Jeremiah added as he took another bite.

"That explains why they were getting ready to hurt him too." Rita stated.

There was a knock at the door and Rita jumped to her feet, excusing herself to go and answer it.

"So you and Rita?" Jeremiah asked.

"Me and Rita what?" Kurdy asked defensively.

"You and Rita…" Jeremiah cocked an eyebrow as he bit down on the corner of the bread crust. "She's a red head and I know you." Jeremiah laughed and then began to cough. He dropped the bread on the table and wrapped his uninjured arm around his battered ribcage.

"He called it Kurdy." Marcus responded as he looked up from his own glass of water. "Besides, she's running around in a shirt that looks an awful lot like yours."

"She was cold." Kurdy answered coyly.

Jeremiah grabbed the flannel shirt that had been handed to him by Rita and started to clumsily put one arm into the sleeve when Marcus stood up and helped him to get it the rest of the way across his back and over his injured shoulder. Marcus then buttoned the middle button when there was a click that caught the attention of every one in the room.

"Rita!" Lacy shouted as she was startled from the peaceful slumber.

--

Her pail face was deep red and streaked with tears as the cold hard steal of a hunters knife was tightly tightly against the base of her throat; a small trickle of blood leaked from where the point had already penetrated her ivory skin. There were small bruises on her cheeks where someone had grabbed her face forcefully with strong fingers. She grappled instinctively against the powerful arm that had snaked cruelly around her delicate neck nearly cutting off her air supply.

There were two more men with him both holding handguns on the people in the room. Jeremiah stood between Marcus and Kurdy as the other big man jumped to his feet.

"Dude… let's talk about this… Let her go." Kurdy responded coolly, the look of concern ablaze in his eyes as he watched the women writhe under the threat from the man holding her.

"She hasn't done anything to you… let her go." Jeremiah stated, his raspy voice wasn't threatening at all.

"Oh yes she has… haven't you baby." Roger's eyes were almost crazy as he leaned over brushing his lips on her cheek. "She and I have quite a history. Baby I would've let you alone if you hadn't brought these men into my town."

Rita gritted her teeth and clawed at his arm as he nearly lifted her off of the floor as he heard Lacy and Cole moving in the corner on the mattress. Her face was brighter crimson her air supply became less as her captor continued to threaten her and torture her with his anger and contempt.

"She can't breathe!" Kurdy demanded starting to step forward.

Roger leaned over to here the sounds of wheezing as his former flame struggled less and less in his grip. His arm was reddend by the scraping of her long nails against his exposed skin. She had closed her eyes as her fingers began to shake.

"Nah… she's just fine." He responded with hatred dancing menacingly in his eyes.

He released his death grip on her slightly initiating sputtering, choking and coughing from her as she sucked maddly for her breath.

"What do you want Roger?" Cole's deep voice came from behind Jeremiah, Kurdy and Marcus. He held Lacy tight to his chest as she watched in horror. Her eyes glistened with tears.

"I want… hmm…" Roger brought the knife down slightly as he looked at Cole and Lacy. His knife slowly slid down from Rita's bleeding neck and then slid down the front of her shirt, leaving a trail of grazed exposed skin and blood from her throat. She closed her eyes as another tear slid down her cheek. Her jaw line quivered as she fought against a scream, shaking, terrified beneath his iron grip. Kurdy felt his anger boil in him as he watched the knife gouge and scratch at the surface of her warm, soft ivory skin beneath it's a cold, hard steel blade. He watched as his other arm drifted up around her neck as he leaned over and drew in a breath against her neck, blowing her stray red hairs from in front of his mouth. Kurdy cringed as the knifed stopped at her stomach.

"I want… this…" the knife blade was used to lift the tail of Kurdy's oversized shirt which she wore. It revealed the flatness of her stomach as it danced in and out quickly as she continued to breathe heavily, nearly hyperventilating under his touch. Roger ran the tip of the blade roughly across her pale skin; she flinched as a small trickle of blood began to ooze over the waist of her denim skirt.

"Please… don't…" Rita's voice sounded small as she pleaded with the psychotic madness of the man holding her.

"Don't what?" He sneered as he slowly let the shirt fall down and the continued to let the blade explore further down her body. The crimson of the blood on the tip of the razor sharp edge continued to sear at Kurdy's conciousness. Roger leaned to the side slightly as he felt her thigh and let the blade come to a rest cold on the exposed flesh of her leg. He pushed the steel towards her leg and began to lift her skirt initiating a jump and a gasp as she opened her eyes wide with terror her hand clawing at his. Slowly, very deliberately he let the knife slice across her leg, a sick almost possesed smile spread across his wind burned face. Her jaw quivered as she sucked in a deep breath; her wet tear stained face and red shocked eyes looked pleadingly to Kurdy while tears continued sliding down her face.

"Let her go!" Kurdy shouted as he tried to lunge at the man. He heard Jeremiah groan as his efforts caught him in the battered midsection. Marcus grasped his arm around Kurdy stopping him in his place.

The group watched helplessly as the four began to back up; the blood ran wildly down Rita's, muscular leg. Her head began to fall forward. Roger grabbed her by the hair pulling her head to his chest the knife next to her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open as Roger began to speak again

"You have twenty-four hours or I'll cut her into little pieces. I'll make sure it hurts her too. You know what I want…"

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