Disclaimer I own very little, especially not CSI NY.
Notes Chapter 8; have our two heroes survived? Read on to find out…
Thank you very much for all reviews, please continue! They're a great help with writing, and I really appreciate knowing what you think. Thanks for alerts and favourites; to afrozenheart412 for extra thoughts; iluvCSI4ever for discussion; and Forest Angel for discussion and reading.
Once Upon A Time in the Old West
Chapter 8: Lonely Are The Brave
Stella:
Cold… So cold…
Can't feel nothin' but cold…
Somethin's wrong… What happened? Somethin' must've happened… Gotta be some explanation for me lyin' here in the freezin' cold… Feels like my arms and legs have turned to ice… That ain't good. Don't rightly know if I can move 'em…
Can't see nothin' either. It's dark… Too dark… But guess that might be 'cause my eyes are closed… Best try openin' 'em… Yeah, reckon that might be a good idea…
Huh, didn't do much good. Still can't see nothin' but the dark… Sure it weren't this dark before… before whatever happened. No, no, it was light… there was light 'cause I had a lantern! I was holdin' one and… and someone else was. Should be someone else here with me. They had a lantern too…
So cold… Feels like all my thoughts have kinda' frozen up… Why's it so cold? I gotta think… Snow! There was snow, lots of it, a blizzard... We were ridin' through a blizzard, me and… and the other person… I gotta remember who… Maybe I oughtta try and move, warm myself up a bit, get my memory warmed up too.
So I'll try movin', seems a good plan, maybe that'll help me get the feelin' back in my arms and legs… But there's somethin' sorta' heavy lyin' on top of me. Hell, this sure ain't good. Can't move nor see properly. And still can't seem to remember properly neither…
Know one thing for sure, I got an outsize in headaches. There's a bangin' goin' on inside my head like dynamite goin' off. Dynamite… Now that's somethin' I know I got a fair amount of knowledge on… Know it makes a heck of a noise when it blows… Seem to remember somethin' else makin' a loud noise just before it all went black. Maybe someone set explosives off? Don't know who'd be doin' that sorta' thing though…
This pain in my head ain't improvin' any. Maybe I better lie still for a moment, close my eyes again, see if that helps… Nope. That ain't helpin' much. Better open 'em again. Guess I'm gonna have to put up with it. Gotta try and move. Reckon that's important. Too cold to be lyin' here. Too cold and wet, 'cause somethin's drippin' on me now. Water... There's water drippin' on me. Can feel it underneath me too. Ugh. Cold water. Freezin' cold. This ain't good at all… Somethin's up here… Somethin' happened… Somethin' bad…
Wish I could get rid of this headache, seems to have muddled all my thinkin' up… Come on, Stella. Get yourself straightened out here. Let's consider all this… So I'm lyin' somewhere dark, somewhere cold, and I got water drippin' onto me and around me… Got a poundin' in my head too that still ain't gettin' any better. Reckon I ain't had this kinda' headache since the last time Blaze threw me off, and my head made the acquaintance of a gatepost. Not that I recall much about that neither… remember sorta' flyin' through the air, then next thing I knew, Mac was leanin' over me lookin' more worried than…
Oh! Mac! It was Mac who had a hold of the other lantern! Mac was with me…
So where is he now? He should be here! What's happened to him? Reckon that water drippin' on me's clearin' my head, 'cause I'm rememberin' it all now… We were in a room… at the gunpowder works… lookin' for the deeds to Hattanville… I was callin' Mac to come look at somethin', then he grabbed a hold of me and was yellin'… Then there was a noise, somethin' fallin' down, and I might've screamed, but only 'cause of the shock, and then the floorboards must've given way and we were fallin…
Don't remember any more after that, 'cept darkness and cold. Guess I hit my head, 'cause me and consciousness must've parted company for a short while. Good thing I got a hard head, don't reckon it's done me much damage… But Mac! I gotta find him! If I'm here then Mac's gotta be here somewhere too. Just hope he ain't hurt…
"Mac! Mac, where are you?"
Damn, that didn't come out loud as I'd hoped. Got all kinds of dust in my throat, makin' me cough. Shoutin' whilst lyin' down don't help much neither. I oughtta be gettin' up…
"Mac! Can you hear me?"
Still no answer. This is bad, real bad. If he ain't answerin', he's gotta be hurt. And I can't have that. Too many times he's gotten himself hurt tryin' to protect me and others. And each time, no matter how much yellin' I do, he still gets that real stubborn look in his face that tells me he ain't gonna hesitate to stand in harm's way the next time. It's a thing I love about him, but sometimes it makes me real mad, 'cause I don't want him thinkin' he's gotta be protectin' me. Last thing I need's that; I ain't the kind of woman that needs a man to be protectin' her, 'cause I can protect myself… Trouble is, I reckon Mac knows that, he just don't seem to be able to help himself. But I don't want him or anyone else thinkin' I can't look after myself.
Don't reckon they do though. Reckon I made my reputation strong enough in town so folks know Stella Bonasera ain't a woman who can't manage on her own. Reckon Mac and I got an understandin' about that too. Guess I gotta allow him times now and again to show he cares, but I don't want him showin' it in ways that end up with him gettin' hurt…
"Mac! Mac, are you here?"
He still ain't answerin'. Heck… I gotta find him… Managed to sit myself up and I got my hands free; seems to be all kinds of pieces of wood and plaster lyin' all over me, from what I can feel. Reckon my eyes are adjustin' a little to the dark now, can make out shapes. Real jumbled shapes they are; I'm guessin' both the ceilin' and the floor collapsed, and we came tumblin' down with it. Still can't make out any sign of Mac though… I'm feelin' about with my hands, trying to clear all the debris that's lyin' on top of me…
Seems there's a real heavy piece of wood across my legs, pinnin' me down… can't shift it with my hands, but maybe if I try and sorta' wriggle out from underneath… Ain't easy though; I'm still freezin' cold, and my legs don't seem to want to work as they should… gotta make 'em though. I ain't gonna be lyin' here waitin' for someone to rescue me. I'm gettin' myself and Mac outta here, if he needs me to. Which, judgin' by the fact he ain't answered me yet, seems likely. Don and the others ain't gonna be knowin' anything's up, so it's gotta be down to me. And it ain't fair they go puttin' themselves at risk neither; me and Mac made the decision to come out here, so guess we're gonna have to get ourselves outta this mess…
There! I'm free, got my legs out, just need to try and get some feelin' back in 'em, my arms too. Guess I was real lucky that piece of wood weren't heavier, otherwise I don't like to think what might've happened… My legs still feel kinda' numb, but least I can move 'em again. Not that I can move very far. I'm still kinda' gropin' about in the dark here… Wonder if either of our lanterns are about anywhere? Reckon that might be too much to hope for, they're probably smashed to smithereens, but they sure would help me findin' Mac…
"Mac! Please, if you can hear me, answer me… Mac!" It's makin' me cough, all this shoutin', but I don't care. I'm gettin' frantic now. I gotta find him, I gotta know he's all right…
"Mac! Come on, Mac, I ain't gonna be losin' my voice shoutin' with you not answerin'! Mac!"
Can't hear nothin'. Nothin' but the sound of my own heart, and it feels like my pulse is racin' round my body faster than those wolves were runnin' alongside us… Guess they're still out there somewhere, maybe waitin' for us, maybe they're gonna come lookin' for us… No, gotta stop thinkin' thoughts like that! But I got a shiver through me rememberin' the way they'd been driven so crazed with hunger; we were real lucky gettin' outta that situation. Coulda' gone either way at one point, don't know how much longer we coulda' held 'em off for. Not that I was gonna run outta bullets. Or pistols.
Always make sure I carry plenty of pistols around with me. Mac and Don have both sorta' teased me about that before now, askin' how many I got and why I need to be carryin' so many. Truth is, you never know when you're gonna need one, and a girl's gotta be prepared for any situation out here in the West, even in a civilised town such as ours. As the events of the summer proved with Gerrard and his gang, a girl can never have too many pistols. Our escape then weren't down to luck, it was down to the skill and bravery of folk. And plenty of pistols.
It don't miss my ears or eyes neither that Mr Daniel Messer has a more than mild curiosity about the matter, and number, of my pistols. Seen him lookin' kinda' speculatively at me at times. Seems certain other folk in town have an interest too, and if they ain't got some kind of a bet goin' on, then my name ain't Stella Bonasera. Reckon Mr Messer thinks I don't know anythin' about his little gamblin' game. But he'd be wrong in thinkin' that, 'cause there ain't a lot that goes on in this town I don't know about.
Guess that's one of the advantages of runnin' the Saloon. Get all kinds of folks comin' in there, and get all kinds of secrets spilled too, along with the liquor. Specially on a Friday night when the men of the town make their escape from work and wives, as they put it. Course, the truth is, their wives also get their escape from husbands… But I ain't one to be judgin'. Part of the duty of a Saloon owner's providin' a listenin' ear to folk, so I get to hear most of what's goin' on in Hattanville, and if there's secret's let out that shouldn't be, well, I ain't one for gossipin' neither… Even though there's some mighty interestin' things I get to hear sometimes, includin' who's bettin' on who, and what they're bettin' on. However, I ain't gonna say anythin' to Mr Messer till the time's right. Maybe I'll just be droppin' a few hints, get him a little worried…
Seem to remember hearin' some Latin words once, somethin' like in vino veritas, which I took as meanin' when folks, usually men, get to drinkin' too much, they get to talkin' too much. It's fair astonishin' what a man will tell you after a few too many glasses of spirits. Most of which I turn a deaf ear to, it's gotta be said, 'specially when they get to talkin' about needin' the love of a good woman. Heck, if I had a dollar for every proposal of marriage I've gotten after too many glasses of spirits down a man's throat, I'd be a wealthy woman. And a much married one too if they'd all got their wishes. Truth is, there ain't a one of 'em I'd even consider marryin', 'cause I got my heart elsewhere, and I'm still waitin' for the proposal from the one man I would be sayin' yes to. Reckon if he keeps me waitin' too much longer though, I might have to do the askin' myself. Don't bother me that it ain't the traditional thing. Always been my belief that a woman oughtta be able to ask for what she wants...
But before I can even be thinkin' 'bout that, I gotta get him and me outta here, and I gotta find him first! Gettin' too distracted here with musings…
"Mac! Answer me!"
Gotta keep movin' and searchin'. Can't stand entirely upright though, as there's pieces of wood and all kinds hangin' above me, and I don't wanna dislodge 'em in case it brings it all tumblin' down on us. Guess I can manage crawlin' along on my hands and knees, even though it ain't the best thing, and it's botherin' me that there's all this icy cold water that I'm crawlin' through. I'm wonderin' where it's all comin' from, and why it seems to be increasin'. I'm startin' to shiver too, but that's the least of my worries, 'cause Mac still ain't answerin'…
"Mac, please! Where are you? Mac!"
Wait… Did I hear somethin' then? I've stopped dead, coulda' sworn I heard a sorta' groanin' sound… "Mac? Mac Taylor? Can you hear me?"
I'm hearin' somethin'. Hope it ain't more ceilin' about to drop on us. That's the last thing we need… Ow! Caught my hand on somethin' sharp, must be glass. Reckon it is… I'm feelin' round, and it's broken bits of one of our lanterns. Should've guessed I couldn't have been so lucky for it to have survived… But if one of 'em's around, maybe the other one is too, and maybe the other one ain't broken…
Got it! And seems to be intact! Seems we got a bit of luck. Now, if can get a hold of the tinder box I had with me… got it somewhere in my skirt… yeah, still there, hope it ain't gotten too wet…
More sounds, definitely sounds like someone. And there's only one someone I need it to be…
"Mac, I'm comin'! Hang on! Soon as I get this lantern lit up, I'm comin'!"
Damn tinderbox! Damn fingers bein' too cold and stiff! I'm fumblin' and I ain't got time for that… Strikin' sparks sure ain't the easiest thing to do in the dark and wet… But just 'cause a thing ain't easy, don't mean I'm gonna give up on it… Done it! I got a spark, gotta get that lantern lit again… I'm keepin' it steady, can't let it go out… can't have that…
Damn! This ain't fair! How's a girl to succeed in lightin' a lantern when she's got water drippin' down on her? But that's defeatist talk, and that ain't my style, I gotta try again… Gotta keep tryin' till I succeed. Got it! Finally, I got that lantern lit and can see where I am, and where Mac is…
"Mac! Oh, Mac! Stay still, hold on, I'm comin' to you…"
Heck, this is worse than I thought! He's only a few yards from me, but I got a whole mess of wood and rubble in between us, and that beam that's come down's gotten Mac trapped underneath. He's not lookin' good; can see he's white as snow and his eyes are shut fast… I'm scramblin' over fast as I can, don't give a damn if my skirt's gettin' torn and my hands along with it. That don't matter one bit. Mac matters, I gotta get to him…
"Mac! Mac, it's Stella! Wake up!"
Oh, this is real bad. I'm beside him now, shinin' the lantern onto him, and it's showin' me just how pale he looks; he ain't got a scrap of colour in his face, and his eyes are tight closed, "Mac, please wake up!" Got my hand on his cheek, cold as it is, 'cause I gotta let him know I'm here with him…
"Mac, talk to me, come on, you gotta wake up…" Might be the light flickerin', but reckon his eyes are startin' to open… "That's it, Mac. You gotta open those eyes, come on…" They're definitely openin', that's gotta be a good sign. Even if I can see there's a gash in his chest and it's bleedin' pretty bad. Gotta try and fix that. Reckon tearin' a piece off of my skirt'll help with that. Got a cut on his forehead too, reckon he must've got hit real hard, must've knocked him out. But he's comin' round, his eyes are openin' for sure now…
"S-Stella?"
I'm strokin' his cheek, but it ain't just my hand that's cold, can't feel no warmth in his skin neither, "Yeah Mac, it's me. You're gonna be all right, you hear me?" 'Cause he is gonna be all right. I know he is. I'm gonna make sure as hell about that. Whatever it takes.
"Stell… what… what happened?" His voice is faint, can't hardly hear it.
"Don't try talkin' too much, Mac." I'm squeezin' his fingers now, gotta try and warm them, they feel colder than mine. So cold…
"I'm gonna get you outta here! Reckon the ceilin' came down, and 'cause those old floorboards were rotten, we must've fallen through…"
He blinks, "We… we fell?" Guess he don't remember…
"Yeah, we fell, but don't you be worryin' 'cause I ain't hurt. Reckon you pullin' me outta the way of that beam helped… No, I ain't gonna say any more about that right now, that's gonna wait till we're both outta here. I'll say this for now though, Mac; I'm mighty grateful to you for savin' me, but I'm mad as hell with you for gettin' hurt!"
Reckon there's a smile in his eyes for a moment, "S-sorry 'bout that, but… but couldn't have you killed. That'd never do…"
"And I can't be havin' you killed neither, Mac!"
His eyes are closin' again, "I ain't killed…"
"Good, 'cause I ain't gonna let you be killed, you hear?" I give his shoulders a gentle shake, "We're gettin' outta here in one piece, both of us! Soon as I can get you free…"
He don't answer me straight away, so I move my hand onto his chest, just above his heart. Gotta reassure myself, gotta make sure I can feel his heart's still beatin'. It's real faint, but it's beatin'. Reckon it warms me up feelin' it, so's I can help warm him up too, "You hearin' me, Mac?" I say, nice and loud.
"Yeah… I hear you…" Still got his eyes closed, but he's still with me.
"Good, that's good. Now listen up, this ain't gonna be easy, 'cause you got a whole mess of wood and such on top of you, but somehow, I'm gonna get you out and back to town, you got that?"
"H-how you gonna do that?" His eyes have opened up a crack again, and he's managed to move his head, but I don't want him movin' too much, so I press down, gently though, on his chest, keepin' him still.
"Don't you be worryin' about nothin' Mac, 'cept keepin' with me. I'm the one doin' the figurin' out here… Now, I'm gonna hang this lantern up here so's we can both see each other, then I'm gonna see what I can do about movin' this piece of wood that's gotten you stuck."
Huh, this ain't gonna be as easy as said though… I've managed to hang the lantern up so I got both hands free, and so I can see Mac and what I gotta do. More I look though, more I see I'm facin' a big problem. That beam's gone and fallen real awkwardly, and it's kinda' proppin' up a big ol' piece of plaster. Reckon if I go movin it too much, it's gonna bring it all down, and we'll be in a worse fix than we already are…
Maybe if I try shiftin' it a little… Try pullin' Mac gently as I can… No, it ain't workin'… Beam's too heavy… Everything's gonna come down… Damn. Damn! I can't do it!
"S-Stella?"
I've sunk to the ground, hands over my face… What am I gonna do? I gotta get Mac out! Can't fail on this, I can't…
Well, guess if it ain't gonna work the way I was plannin', then I gotta think of another plan…
I pull myself to my feet again. Gotta make sure Mac's okay and not worryin', so I manage a smile for him…
"It's all right, Mac. Nothin' to worry about. Just gotta do a bit more figurin' out. You'll be outta here soon, I promise…"
But as I'm smilin' at him and strokin' his cheek with my fingertips, the darkness beyond the lantern light and the cold beyond the meetin' of our skin is creepin' inside me, and I'm fillin' up with an icy cold fear. I've made him a promise though, and whatever happens, I'm gonna keep that promise. I'm gonna get him outta here and safe back home. Whatever it takes…
Hope you liked that! Please, please review and boost my writing ego! Reviews still accepted for last chapter also :D 'Twelve Days' now updated too! Thanks, Lily x