ON YOUR HORSES, BOYS
Part 23
The hurt was so great in Chris' belly he believed he'd been impaled. He tried to pitch himself sideways, to clamber towards his assailant as if he could scramble past, but a hand grabbed him by the throat and shoved him back.
"Stay down," someone snarled.
His deadened fingers dug at the unbearable pain and for a moment he gave thought to surrendering himself to the growing blackness that skirted his vision. Then his lungs began to burn, and the blackness grew and a panic like no other filled his heart. He desperately needed to breathe but the hand squeezing his larynx was literally choking him to death.
"You plannin' on strangling him now?" He heard someone else ask.
The grip loosened. It didn't let go, but it did allow him to draw a breath. He sucked greedily at the air and tried to regain his senses but his mind was as cut off from understanding as his lungs had been from air. He wanted to speak, to ask what was going on, but his mouth was too numb to form the words.
"No, strangling is too easy. I want him to really know what it means to cross the Nichols family."
The Nichols? Chris recognized Peter's voice and his heart pounded harder.
"Well, do whatever it is you're gonna do and let's go! Someone had to have heard him hollering."
Little by little, the gunfighter's brain began to sort itself out. One memory came then another and another in a downpour of events, but his drug sodden mind was slow to keep up. It took him a while to understand where he was and why, but what he couldn't figure out, no matter how hard he tried, was how Peter had been able to lay hands on him. Then he remembered Ezra and his panic grew. He groped at the fingers around his throat and forced "Ez…ra" out with a gasp.
"If I were you, I wouldn't waste the last few minutes of my life worrying over the likes of him."
Chris' eyes came open, revealing the one face he loathed more than anything -- Peter.
"Standish was the catalyst in my brothers' destruction and interfered in something that didn't concern him. He'll be coming with me."
"N-no." Chris tried to rise but his effort was rewarded with an increase of pressure around his neck. "Let him… go."
"You don't get to plead for his life." Peter released the tightened throat, straightened and jabbed Chris again with the rifle butt.
Another cry filled the air. This time the gunfighter came off the cot and dropped to the floor.
"Damn it, Peter, are you tryin' to get us caught? Let's go!" Luke yelled.
Peter watched his victim coil at his feet. "Alright," he replied, "pick up Standish and let's head out."
Luke went to the bed and pulled back the sheet. "Ma ain't going to like this," he complained as he gawked at the motionless body.
"Just do it!"
"He's got no clothes on!"
Peter smirked when he imagined the naked gambler being thrown at his mother's feet. "Don't be stupid! Just wrap him up and get a move on!"
Luke waved his hands in the air. "Now you're in a hurry!"
"Just shut up and do as I say," Peter barked. He reached for the lantern on the bedside table as Ezra was again covered with the sheet, brutally yanked off the bed and tossed across Luke's shoulder.
Larabee pushed himself onto his back when he heard Ezra cry out. The gambler was being taken away, and although Chris still suffered the debilitating effects of Nathan's drugs he had enough presence of mind to know what horrors lay ahead for him if the Nichols escaped the clinic. "No…" he rasped, "leave him be."
Peter crouched beside him, resting the light on the floor. "I told you, you don't get to beg for his life. You and Standish will both pay the same price as Hank Connelly for killing my brothers."
"You hurt him… again… you're dead," Chris said dangerously despite the grimace of pain on his face.
Nichols ignored him as he increased the flame in the lamp.
"Hear me… you son-of-a-bitch… you're dead!"
"I hardly think you're in a position to make threats."
"I will kill you." Chris tried to roll and push himself onto an elbow.
Peter rose and took a step back. "By all means you're welcome to try. I want you to snap out of this fog you're in. I want you conscious and fully aware of just how truly screwed you are. In fact, I'll help you." He drew a foot back and kicked the gunfighter hard in the ribs.
Chris gagged. He tried to protect himself by pulling his knees up and folding his arms around his middle but Nichols simply came at him from behind and booted him in the back. The blows weren't strong enough to cause serious damage, but they were exactly enough to gain his attention. His eyes went wide with pain when he was pulled to his back and fisted again across the face.
"It's all over for you but the dying," Peter said. "Enjoy your trip to hell!" He retrieved the lantern from the floor and threw it against the wall.
M7M7M7M7M7M7M7
Buck's placating tone did little to calm JD. When the young man pushed his hands aside for the second time, Vin interceded by placing his own hand on Dunne's arm. "Settle down," he said firmly, "we need to talk about what happened. Did you see or hear anything before the explosions?"
JD, obviously irritated and still visibly shaken, took a deep breath before he answered. "Not before the roof fell in. Afterwards I saw the oldest Nichols through the hole in the back wall. I could tell he had someone with him, but I couldn't see who it was or hear what they were sayin'. I don't think he could see me. If he did, he didn't seem interested." He stopped.
Josiah saw a look of uncertainty spread across his face. "What is it, son?"
"The Nichols, they blasted the front of the office first, then blew out the back wall. I thought for sure they were tryin' a jail break."
"It looks to me like they didn't try very hard. They left their little brother behind," Buck observed.
"That's just it. They didn't try at all."
"After they went to all that trouble, they didn't try to free him?"
"No, Buck, they just took off and left him behind."
"That don't make a lot o' sense, does it."
Vin raised himself from the floor and saw Dunne try to follow. "Take another minute to get your wind back, JD."
"No, I'm good. We need to see about getting this place put back together. I still got a prisoner needs watchin'."
Tanner glanced back at the unusually silent John Nichols. "JD," he called softly, "how'd our boy take it when his brothers left him?"
"He seemed surprised, like he really expected them to stick around and dig him out."
"Like they've probably always done in the past."
"Yeah, I don't think this was the first time he or one of his brother's has been locked up. But you know, Vin, he'd be a lot harder to get outta here seein' as he's got two broke arms. Maybe they just didn't want to hurt him pulling him out that hole in the wall."
"That or they didn't wanna be bothered." Vin walked over to the cell and leaned on its bars. "You look like you've lost your best friend there, pard."
John raised his face. "I ain't worried."
"You might oughta be. That prison wagon'll be here soon and it looks for now like you'll be headin' back to Eagle Bend alone to face charges."
"I ain't going anywhere in a prison wagon. My brothers will be back for me."
"Somehow I doubt it. It looks to me like they've decided to cut their losses where you're concerned."
"You're wrong."
"Am I? They missed their one an only shot at gettin' you outta here. They should've taken it 'cause I swear to you, they won't get another." John grew a brave face but Vin could see the doubt in his eyes. "You might wanna start thinkin' how you can save your own skin and quit banking on your big brothers doin' it for ya."
Josiah joined Tanner. "He's right, son. From the wire I got from Judge Travis I understand you boys stirred up quite the hornets' nest in Eagle Bend. When the law there gets their hands on you, I doubt they're gonna bother with a long trial and lengthy prison stay. I'd say they're plannin' on introducing you to a rope real soon."
"Nobody's hanging me," Nichols replied.
"Three prominent citizens are dead," Josiah said. "There are eye-witnesses who say your family is responsible. I'd say someone's gonna hang."
John shuffled around to face the wall.
"You were with your brothers when those men were killed, weren't you?" Vin asked. "You didn't try to stop them."
"Nobody stops my brothers," the youth mumbled.
"Maybe not then," Josiah said, "but how about now?"
"What're you saying?"
"I'm sayin' you can turn your brothers in, make them pay for what they did. You bein' so young, you might have a chance of makin' the authorities believe you had no part in those killings."
John's back shuddered and his breathing hitched.
The preacher stepped closer to the cell, feeling encouraged by the boy's display of emotion. "You have to speak up, son, and tell the truth. Tell the sheriff you didn't kill those men."
John turned around. "And what exactly makes you think I didn't?" he asked with eyes so cold they could have frozen the heart of the most forgiving saint.
Josiah's hopes sank when he realized what he'd believed to be sobs of regret were actually hiccups of laughter.
TBC
A/N: I just wanted to give special thanks to Jami, Lyndsey, Winnie and Cassandra30, who have been with me every step of the way. No matter what I do or how long I take to do it, you're always there with encouragement. You need to know I am paying attention! Thanks, Jordan