Ella wandered aimlessly back into the cave. She picked up the silk sheets still lying upon the floor and wrapped them around her shoulders. She knew the chill she felt was not just caused by the damp cave, but from within herself, an icy feeling was snaking slowly through her veins. The thoughts flashed through her mind that this place may indeed turn into her resting place, she would not put it past Joey to forget about her or at the very least think it was better to never see her again after what had happened.

But then trying to judge and comprehend anything Joey did was near impossible. Every time she thought she had his traits worked out in her mind and she could predict his actions he would do something unexpected and her carefully laid plans for dealing with any situation he may present her with were blown into the wind like sand during a harsh storm.

She glanced around, her eyes taking in everything slowly, her mind working, thinking and trying to pull out ideas from her muddle of thoughts. She knew she had no other choice than to try and find a way out, whether Joey came back or not was none of her concern, she just had to make sure she wasn't there if he did decide to venture upon the cave again, and she had to save herself from starvation and thirst. Thinking on this matter made Ella's mouth feel suddenly dry, she couldn't remember the last time she had taken a drink and the thought made her heart flutter in panic. Her hands glided over the silk about her and through this action her mind settled softly upon an idea. She grabbed at the material and held it out before her eyes before glancing around the room.

She quickly got to her feet and began rummaging in the various boxes of jewels and booty. Finally, after what felt to her an unbearable amount of time, she found what she had searched for. Her hand curled around a slight knife bejeweled with small blue gemstones, it was far too delicate to be a weapon and Ella concluded it must have been a fancy letter opener.

She marched back over to the large silk sheet and carefully began to shred it into long strips. When she was finished she had a good amount of long material. She began to braid them, strengthening them and assuring her make-shift rope would be able to do the job she wished it to be capable of. When that task was done she searched out other material and did the same until the rope was long and her hands sore from the repetitive work.

When she had rested a little she once again began to search, pulling out objects from the crates in her panic to know that she could find what she sought, that she still had a chance. She finally let out a frustrated cry and tipped one of the crates fully over in anger, letting the contents crash to the ground. Everything was too small for her needs, pocket watches, necklaces, even a pair of opera glasses, everything beautiful and gleaming… mocking her plight. She sat upon her haunches, regaining her breath back from the anger. Her eyes were drawn back to the shining items, how many people had Joey killed to obtain these trinkets? Ten, Twenty… she knew in her heart the answer could be more than she'd care to admit. The thought that these items had once belonged to a living, breathing person, a person whose life had been snuffed out by Joey Garza, a man she knew all too well, sent a strange shiver through her body. Her eyes finally rested upon something that the glinting finery had obscured. A pile of dirty, weather beaten paper wrapped up in a coarse string of twine.

Slowly, Ella reached out and picked up the bundle. She turned it over in her hands before finally deciding to open it and at least give herself something to do while she caught her breath. As the twine fell away it was soon apparent that the paper was actually letters. She fetched the small lamp that Joey had left burning in the corner and sat back down once again. She strained in the dimness, her eyes barely able to make out the thin, spidery scrawl but with effort and time she began to make sense of what was written and the very first words sent a sickening jolt through her mind.

Dear Ella,

Today I was accepted as part of Captain Woodrow Call's posse. I reckon that will make you laugh, thinking of me as a law man, it still seems strange to myself. I've been from your company for near on six weeks now, the time seems to drag without your smile but the thought of seeing it again makes me strive to come back to you.

Do you want me to come back Ella? I know I'm being forward but I meant every word I said to you and I hope that if you look deep you'll feel something for me too. I know in the past, I wasn't honest with you, perhaps if I had been things would be different between us and that night… that night wouldn't have ended with my harsh words, in truth I loved you then, I think maybe you knew that too and my confession to you a few weeks back wasn't that big of surprise, apart from the telling that my feelings are the same.

I'm sorry to bring it up, I know we both swore to forget what had happened between us and go on with our lives, but I've never forgotten, I couldn't, I hope you'll forgive my weakness.

Ella, write me and tell me you want me to come back to you. I'll ride through day and night if you send me word. As a man it's hard for me to admit, but I'm afraid to come back if you've decided against me.

I will leave my letter here and await your word, send it care of Laredo.

It'll only take one word Ella.

Yours always,

Josiah 'Doc' Scurlock

She stared at the paper, time lost meaning and when she finally came back to herself she was unsure how long she had been confined within the shock. She let out a desperate sigh, unbelieving what her eyes were telling her was right in front of her. She quickly flipped to the others, reading each one with hurried glances, not fully taking all of the words in, just seeing her name at the top and Doc's signed at the bottom. She counted five in total… she glanced around the cave, tears stinging her eyes and she brushed them away in frustration. Why were these letters amongst Joey's belongings? For a moment her mind refused to answer her but finally the floodgates opened and the truth came pouring out like a torrent that left her feeling as if she'd been knocked to the ground under its heavy weight. Joey had taken these letters before they had even gotten a chance to reach her, somehow he'd deliberately acquired them, taken them knowing they were meant for her…. Why? He hadn't even known her then, to look at, yes, and he eavesdropped constantly, but he hadn't known her! Her hand crushed the collection of letters as emotion washed over her, making her want to curl into a ball until it had passed.

Her mind began to flash up far too much advice and explanations, none that made much sense. Had Joey planned for her to come to his side all that time? Is that why he'd taken the letters? Spied on her? Threatened her while she slept? Killed her husband… Had Dave really died because of the desire of another man? Her mind whirled at the grotesque game that was unfolding before her very gaze, she felt suddenly sick.

The truth was hard to bear, while Dave's death had not been her fault it was now possible that she had been the reason, such knowledge was unwelcome. She glanced down at the crumpled paper clutched in her grasp, if only she'd gotten just one of the letters, just one! Everything would be different, she'd convinced herself Doc didn't want her all that time, that she was tainted and used up, not good enough for a man such as him. It was why she'd accepted Joey, someone she felt was as lost as she was… but it hadn't been true, it had never been true, she was nothing like Joey and the fact she had never realized this when she needed to was a bitter tonic to swallow.

Ella couldn't prevent the tears that fell. The world felt so much crueler in this moment and tears were the only reply she had.

Finally she wiped at her eyes, suddenly angry that she was being so self pitying. She read the top letter again, fully taking in the words. She allowed her gaze to go over the lines many times and with a small nod to herself she silently admitted that she'd never been able to forget that night with Doc either. She gave a weak, small smile, it seemed a little absurd that she and Doc had never let go of each other even after swearing they would, keeping what had happened a secret… but she had no time to dwell upon the past now, she had to pull herself together and find a way out of danger. She had Doc to think of, Maria, the children and herself, she couldn't allow her mind to fall apart. She let go of the letters, leaving them and her torrent of thoughts lying upon the cold ground of the cave.

Her eye line drifted to the wall and she studied the rifles lined along the rough rock, her mind once again on the task she had set herself. It was true they were the right kind of size but she highly doubted she could throw anything so heavy high enough for it to be of any use.

Just as her mind began to dwell upon morbid thoughts of slowly dying of thirst her gaze caught a small gleam. Her eyes widened and she stood abruptly rushing over to the item that had been partly concealed in shadow. She grasped the smooth walking cane in her hand and judged its weight. Her heart sank as she realized the wood and gold item was far too heavy, not as heavy as a rifle but still it would not help her. Defeated, she moved to lean it back against the wall before a small flickering of an idea made itself known to her, Johnny Duke had owned a cane just like this. She ran her hand over the smooth surface of the wood, looking for a join and there half way up, disguised by a band of gold, was the small ridge she had been searching for. She grinned and took the cane into both her hands and twisted.

Ella felt the object resist for a moment but soon the satisfying twist came and she began to unscrew it until it came apart in two pieces. Her grin spread as she realized she had a chance, that it hadn't all been for nothing.

She rushed over to the braided silk and cloth and tied one half of the cane to the rope before giving it a small test swing. It held well and her spirits lifted further. Ella glanced up at the tunnel, she assumed that dawn would soon be appearing and once it did she could put her plan in motion, it was true she had no idea if it would work, but she had to try.

She sat back and rested herself against one of the crates, letting her eyes close and her mind wander as a vague sleep washed over her, Ella knew she would need all her strength if this was to work, if she did get out of this cave she had at least a day's walk back to Ojinaga. She wondered absently as sleep playfully tugged at her if Billy would help her find Doc and warn him, but an icy chill somewhere deep within her said that she would not reach him before Joey, Joey would already be on his way to finish off the rest of Call's men. She forced the unpleasant thought from her mind although she knew the likely outcome of the two meeting would result in one losing their life.

---

Ella awoke an hour or so after she had first sat down and rested. She could see a sickly pale light filtering in from outside, the dark passageway seeming to drag all the sweetness from the glow the sun normally offered. Ella pushed herself up onto her feet, her back and shoulders gave small protests at being made to sleep in such an uncomfortable position. She ignored the twinges and fetched her newly made object from the floor and, giving the cave a last glance of repulsion, she began to make her way to the small crevice. The dark corridor was much easier to navigate in the light of day and she made good time in reaching the high rock face.

She shaded her eyes and searched for the place she knew Joey had climbed the night before. When she felt certain she had located it she began to swing the rope with steady movements, gaining speed in her task, before she threw the rope and half of the cane with all her strength upwards. It reached the top, but her angle had been slightly off and the cane bounced off the edge, falling to the ground near her feet with a dull clatter. She picked it up and tried again and again, praying silently each time that it would reach its intended destination and if it did fall back down the cane would not shatter. A few times her throw met the mark but she could not get any grip on the rope lying at the top and the cane fell back without its intended prize. How many hours she labored she was unsure but she would not give up and only rested when she felt she had to.

Finally she reached her goal. The cane above snagged on something and Ella's heart skipped a beat and her whole body gave a tremor. Slowly she eased the braid with her hands towards her and to her great relief a rope came into view and fell in a ripple over the brink down towards her. The fear that she had avoided dwelling upon, that the rope would have been cut, bore no fruit and it hung still attached to the top. Ella gave a roar of triumphant laughter and walked towards it with a swell of pride at her achievement, she gave it a light tug before hesitating, the rope had left burns and small blisters upon her hands from the night before. She dashed back into the cave and searched a moment before finding what she sought, a pair of ladies leather kid gloves, it was true that they would not offer her much protection but they may bear the brunt of the rope and save her own palms a little. She grabbed a man's velvet jacket and tried the arms around her waist, the clothing would serve her well in the heat of the noon day sun, she could shade her neck, face and head from the unrelenting rays.

Ella made her way back to the waiting rope and pulled the gloves onto her hands. She braced herself for the climb and taking one last deep breath she began the arduous task.

---

Joey left the lip of the crevice. Perhaps she thought he would return any moment and take her to safety, but he had no intention of seeing her now, not tomorrow… not until he had finished with Call's men and with Doc. Joey felt certain he was the reason for Ella's stubbornness, in the past she had always gladly fallen into his arms if he gave her a look of desire, smile if he gave her the merest notion of a kind word and now all she was doing was fighting against him and not in the usual way, he could sense the difference in her. She didn't want him anymore, she wanted to leave… Joey would rather she rot in the cave than to allow her that freedom. She was becoming more and more like his mother, selfish and only interested in the next man. If Ella gave herself to Doc and married him that would make two men she had wedded and three men she claimed to love… but then Joey didn't know how many times she had whispered those words into other men's ears to get what she wanted. Perhaps all the times she had claimed to be true to him was nothing but a whore's lie. If this was true he wanted to find out where her heart was, did she really have one? If the mood took him one day he would possibly find out when he was through with her… if he was ever through with her… For now if she stayed he would be forgiving, and she had no choice but to stay if he willed it. He was confident she'd find the canteens of water in the cave given enough time, the contents may be a little stagnant but it would stop her dying of thirst. By the time he returned she would be weak from lack of food, and this affliction alone would force her to welcome him into open arms and beg for his mercy. He would break her…

He made his way back down to where his horses still awaited him. He took the bridle off one of them but left the saddle. He'd stolen the animal anyway and now he had no use for it, it could do as it pleased. He mounted his own horse and began his journey through the night, he knew exactly where his destination lay and he planned to make it in good time.

Joey rode for many hours, his fixation on killing keeping him wide awake as his mind mulled over what he would do to the men. He had already decided he would not just take each one out with his rifle, as easy as that would be there was no sport in it; Joey wanted to play with his prey a little. He decided that he would shoot any that disobeyed him or tried to leave. He would herd them into hiding, killing their animals and then in the night he would take all their provisions, leaving them with nothing but raw horseflesh to dine upon. He smirked at the idea.

Joey would then herd them further into the desert, giving them no other choice than to begin to walk, with no water and no food, he would force them into the depths of the desert. He would make them starve, a more deserving and cruel death he could not think of and it pleased him greatly.

By late morning he had taken his position upon a sandy hill above the posse's camp. Their fire had been easy to make out even in the daylight and the tracks of their horses simple to follow. Joey had tied his horse a short distance from him as he crawled towards the edge, his rifle slung over his shoulder.

He watched the scene below him for some time, they had just begun to brew coffee and fry bacon. Joey hadn't eaten since the day before but he felt no hunger, only that clutching longing that clasped around him before he executed his plans. There were four men sat around the fire. A plump man who looked like he did not belong out here, he was dressed as any other man in the area but the clothing looked uncomfortable on him as if it didn't have any place upon his body. Joey thought the man would have been more at home in a stuffy suit. Sat next to this man was a young lawman Joey knew vaguely, he was deputy sheriff in Laredo, young, good looking and from all the tales Joey had heard in the saloons, stupid.

He also knew the old Indian man who was sipping at his coffee with his eyes glazed over in thought. This was Famous Shoes, the Kickapoo tracker. Joey wondered if he should at least let this man go, after all he owed him a little… Joey finally decided to see if Famous Shoes would take the good advice of his own common sense and head for better places once the shooting began, if not Joey would have no choice on the matter, if the Indian sided with the gringos he would have to kill him. Finally there was the blonde man, Doc. He looked travel tired and dirty.

Unafraid and feeling wide awake, Joey took aim…

---

Doc had arrived in the night; all the men had been asleep apart from the portly Mr. Brookshire whose turn it must have been to stand watch. Doc had quickly come to see how jittery Brookshire was when it came to anything unexpected. On their fourth day out in the plains tracking Joey Garza he had killed their best pack mule thinking they were being attacked by Indians. In truth it had all been in Brookshire's head, a nightmare. Doc had called out as he approached the camp, announcing who he was and hoping it would be enough to calm Brookshire's nerves.

"Doc?" Brookshire cried back in surprise.

"Yeah it's me."

"Oh thank God!" Brookshire said as Doc came into the light of the small fire. "We were all getting worried, the Captain's been gone for days and, well we'd started to think of packing up and heading home."

Doc dismounted and secured his horse to a nearby branch of wood. "Well, I've come to tell you all to do just that."

Brookshire looked startled. "I beg your pardon?"

Doc laughed, this Yankee always did have a very gentlemanly way of speaking. "You're packin' up tomorrow an' headin' for the nearest big town." He paused, noticing that Famous Shoes was now fully awake. Doc nodded at the old man in greeting.

"But what about Captain Call and Joey Garza?" Brookshire continued.

"Captain Call won't be chasing any bandits for a good while. The Garza boy ambushed him and shot him up pretty good." Doc paused, seeing the man before him take in a large shocked breath. "So without a leader I think it's best we forget the chase for now, once we get into town you can contact your Colonel and tell him what's happened, I'm sure he'll tell you what's to be done."

"Colonel Terry is not going to be happy" Brookshire said unhappily. "He wanted this Garza boy dealt with and if that hasn't happened I reckon he'll be mad enough to bite himself."

Doc couldn't help but laugh and wished it was true, that this man Terry did bite himself. Brookshire seemed to live in fear of what his boss would do next and Doc liked the portly Brookshire. The poor man was not even meant to be out here, he was just a desk clerk used to dealing with accountants, but when the man who had been chosen to make the journey out here to the wilds died, choking on a champagne cork, Terry had chosen one of his grunt workers for the job.

"Where's the Captain?" Another voice barged into the conversation. It was the young deputy from Laredo, Ted Plunkett, now fully awake and gathering enough of the conversation to know things were not well.

"The Captain's been badly injured, he's in a Mexican village not far from here. You're all to leave tomorrow, head back into the nearest big town."

Ted nodded in understanding. "I can't say I'm sad to hear that Doc." He looked at the fire a moment. "I've been wantin' to get back home for a long while now, I have a wife… and a baby on the way too."

Doc gave a small smile. "Well you can start on your way back tomorrow." He paused, getting his bedroll down from his horse. "We'll just try and sleep until then, I've ridden a good way and I'm tired, I need to get some sleep, good few hours till dawn yet."

The deputy nodded again before lying back down.

Doc laid out his bed and relaxed into it without much thought; all he wanted now was sleep and the morning to come. Once all these men were on their way he could return to Ojinaga and Ella.