Disclaimer: I own very little, especially not CSI NY.

Author: Lily Moonlight

Notes: Thank you very much for reviews, please continue! They're a great help and I love knowing what you think. Thanks to Ballettmaus for all her help; to fractured-fairytale06, DNAisunique and Brinchen86 for discussion, and afrozenheart412 for some extra thoughts.

Apologies this took a while to post, my new job has been taking up a lot of writing time. As previously, I'll send an extra little scene to all reviewers. Thank you to everyone who sent me comments on the last one :) Next chapters will be faster as I have chapters 25 and 26 completed.

Once Upon A Time In The Old West

Chapter 24: Gunsmoke

Stella

Amazin' how one word can have so much power; 'cause for a few seconds, it seems like we've all been turned to stone; ain't no movement from anyone. Until a scream from somewhere brings us back to life and the whole horror of what that one word means comes crashin' down on me. Even though we've had plenty of snow fallin' and soakin' into the timbers of the buildin', that ain't gonna be much help. Fire's gonna spread fast, we gotta move and get everyone out!

Noise erupts even louder than before; more screams, shouts, cussin'. Don leaps to his feet and charges towards Baines, yellin' at me to let him and Mac deal with him. Mac's already got his hands on the villain, his face red with rage, curses spewin' outta his mouth as he attacks him. Looks like he wants to strangle him at the very least. I feel kinda' dazed momentarily, but get myself to my feet.

Truth is, I want nothin' more right now than to go land a few punches to Baines myself, 'cause I reckon I'd be capable of handlin' the situation. Could sure cause him some damage at least, make him suffer. Know though that ain't gonna be much help, so instead I start doin' what's gonna be most useful. Gonna have to hold onto my anger for the time bein'. This is my saloon, my responsibility. I gotta move fast and get folks out, before there's too much panic; that ain't gonna help no one.

Kinda' feels like a whole tide of people are startin' to swirl round me, tryin' to get away from where the fire's begun, but I'm fightin' to go the other way, yellin' at them to do the same. Main door of the saloon ain't much of an escape route at the moment, not with all that brawlin' goin' on, so I've gotta direct folks out another way. Lookin' towards the back of the saloon, I can see a few wisps of smoke driftin' through the air; the smell of it and the smell of burning's real clear now and I can hear the crackle of flames already. My heart sinks at that; seems it's spreadin' faster than I thought. All you can do with fire is try and defeat it and if that don't work, you gotta escape it. Which is what we're gonna have to do. It ain't gonna wait for anyone. Ruthless, that's what is, plain and simple. I just hope we're gonna be able to save my home...

Tellin' folks to go the same way I'm goin' don't seem to be workin' too well; ain't many listenin', so I start grabbin' hold and pushin' them in front of me, tryin' to guide them away from the fightin' and calm down some of the hysteria that's gettin' a grip. Manage to take a quick look over my shoulder after I've hauled Daniel Messer to his feet and kinda' pushed him into Lindsay's arms, tellin' them both to keep movin', and I see Mac still grapplin' with that monster, Baines. Both of them are exchangin' punches and it makes me wince, seein' Mac bein' hurt again, and seein' the rage with which he lands blows on Baines. The hatred in Mac's face kinda' scares me; scares me that he's capable of that kinda' feelin', and that it's mainly 'cause of what Baines did to me that's produced it. Ain't ever had anyone who cares for me that much before. What scares me most is the thought that he's gonna get himself hurt even worse, or killed defendin' me and the town...

Realise I've come to a stop as a few folks bump into me. Turnin' away from the scene at the front of the saloon, I see a whole lot of scared lookin' faces gazin' at me, waitin' for me to tell them what to do. Give myself a shake; I've gotta trust Mac to keep himself safe, and I've gotta trust Don, Sid and Sheldon to help him out and all, 'cause I reckon they're gonna be trustin' me to play my part.

"Keep movin'!" I yell to everyone, makin' my voice sound stronger than I feel. "We're gonna get to the back of the buildin', behind the stairs, keep goin' that way! We're gonna get out through the cellars."

Martha Hammerback, Miss Higgins and Mr West start guidin' folks as well. Gotta say, I'm real thankful for that, and it gives me another moment to check on Mac and the others again. Seems Sid and Sheldon have gotten control over another one of his gang, and seem to have two of them trussed up like chickens now. Can't see where all the rest of Baines's gang are in all this confusion, but those I can see are rushin' about, tryin' to get themselves to safety, and it's a sight to warm my heart to see other folk startin' to tackle them. Though I guess now the gang are almost the least of our troubles. Reckon all the alcohol they've drunk between them and the threat of fire's gotten them more scared than jack rabbits. And jack rabbits ain't difficult to trap when they're scared.

Before I turn away again, I see Don's turned his attention to another member of Baines's gang, managed to get him wrestled to the floor, looks like he's usin' the ropes he had on his own wrists to tie him up. Feel a sense of justice at that, as I turn back to my task, orderin' folks to keep with me as we move towards the back of the room and the cellars. They're tryin' to see what's goin' on with Baines and all: can't blame them for that, just wish they'd listen to me and take heed of the fact I'm tryin' to get them to safety!

Finally though, folks are listenin' to me and goin' the way I want them to, and I start thinkin' maybe we're all gonna escape this without too much damage. Soon as we got folks outside and safe, we can start savin' the saloon.

Moment we reach the door to the cellars, I grab the lamp I always keep lit and hung over the lintel. It's dark down there at the best of times, and with the day closin' in around us, so it seems, we need as much light as we can get. I pass it to Mr West who looks at me with a question in his eyes I was ready for him to ask.

"It's real easy to find your way out," I tell him. "Just go down the steps and keep straight on till you come to more steps, then push open the wooden doors. You'll come out at the back of the sheriff's office."

"That ain't gonna be a problem, Miss Stella," he says with a smile. "We'll be outside in no time, folks!" he raises his voice, soundin' real cheerful which seems to reassure a fair few folks.

"Thank you," I murmur to him, just brushin' his arm with my hand as he opens the door.

"Any time," he says warmly and touches his hat to me before he disappears into the darkness. With smoke startin' to kinda' wreathe round us, I make sure everyone gets through that door and down those stairs safely, helpin' a few along the way and just managin' to catch a hold of Lindsay who stumbles. She turns a pale face towards me, and the sight of it makes me real worried for the girl; wouldn't be exaggeratin' much to say she looks like a ghost. Ain't got a scrap of colour in her skin and her eyes are like saucers.

"You all right, Lindsay?" I ask, keepin' hold of her arm. She's got her fiancée gripped with her other arm, and seems like the effort of supportin' him's provin' almost too much for her.

She manages a ghastly kinda' smile and nods at me, though her gaze darts away from me as she answers, "Fine, Stella. Honest, I'm fine." Her voice ain't much more than a whisper, but she pulls away from me and disappears down the stairs before I can ask her any more. Gotta make sure I check up on her later. Somethin' ain't right with her, whether it's the strain of everythin' that's happened today, particularly to Mr Messer, or she's sufferin' with somethin' else. For the time bein', I murmur a few words to Martha Hammerback as, holdin' her skirts up and lookin' kinda' nervous, she heads down the stairs. Ask her to keep an eye on Lindsay, which she agrees real readily to do. Reckon she's noticed she ain't lookin' so good and is concerned about her as well. There ain't much Martha don't notice.

She's the last to go down into the cellars. Now I gotta go and check how many other folk are left inside. Gotta take a moment to look around and kinda' get the situation assessed. Realise that the smoke's gettin' worse; makin' it hard to see clearly; makin' me start to cough and all. Stink of it creeps up my nose and the sound of the fire makes my heart beat faster. Glance over to the kitchen and the back parlour, and the sight of flames dancin' inside horrifies me. It's takin' hold way too fast!

Stumblin' over a chair and cussin', 'cause at this point I ain't gonna care if anyone hears me, I start tryin' to gather the rest of the townsfolk that are left together. Sure ain't an easy task. It was dark enough in here to start with, now it's like someone's dropped a veil of smoke over everythin'; it stings my eyes as I strain to see what's happenin' at the front of the bar and how Mac is. Still I ain't able to see what's happenin' with Baines. There's all kinds of shoutin', thuds and curses flyin' around, but the sound's all jumbled together, ain't possible to make out who's doin' it. All I can make out are shapes, grey kinda' shapes, and I ain't got a clue who's winnin' or who's hurt. Or worse...

Takes all my control not to go chargin' over there; gotta fight with myself for a moment again. Baines is one man, I'm remindin' myself, one coward of a man against four of the bravest men in town. He ain't gonna win, he ain't!

Tears are prickin' the back of my eyes, which is 'cause of the smoke stingin' them, I know it is. Dash my hand across them and start callin' out for anyone left to move to the back of the room. Manage to find another oil lamp, snatch it just before it rolls off a table and onto the floor. Strikes me then what might've caused the blaze: Baines and his cronies doin' their target practice in the back room must've struck an oil lamp. Damn them! Damn them! All this trouble, this chaos and destruction caused by a bunch of men who ain't got a shred of sense and decency. And 'cause of them, my home is burnin' down around me with people I care about inside!

Costs me real effort to swallow my anger and keep myself together enough to concentrate. Still got folks to help before I do anythin' else. Few are millin' about so I catch hold of them and send them in the right direction, givin' them a few assurin' words as I do so. All the while, I'm lookin' about me, tryin' to keep my eye on everythin' that's goin' on.

Soon notice, as I'm about to head over to the Angell family who are still in here helpin' a few folks, a small and frightened group of townsfolk huddled at the back of the room. Seems they're gonna need helpin' and encouragin' to get outta here, 'cause they've kinda' pressed themselves into a corner, all of them lookin' terrified and stubborn at the same time. Gonna have to get them movin' fast, 'cause with fire, sittin' in a corner ain't gonna do a scrap of good. It don't respect corners, don't respect anythin', in fact. Don't take me more than a few minutes to reach them and get them to their feet, with a few encouragin' words, tellin' them it's gonna be fine. Guess I'm convincin' myself of that fact and all...

Once I've got them movin' towards the cellars, the Angell family approach me. Mr Angell's helpin' Mr Jones, one of the town's real old timers up off of the floor, which is provin' a difficult task given his sticks and the stiffness of his legs, while his wife and Miss Jessica are supportin' Mrs Jones between them. Miss Jessica's attention ain't wanderin' far from where Don is, though we ain't able to see him clearly. Guess she's feelin' somethin' the same as me, wantin' to go and help the man she cares for.

Mrs Angell looks frightened and clutches my arm before I can move. "Miss Stella!" she gasps. "What are we gonna do? The fire's spreadin' too fast!" I can see the beginnings of hysteria in her eyes, which I gotta do somethin' about.

"You can still get out through the cellars," I tell her quickly, givin' her a steady look, not showin' any of the fear I'm feelin'.

Miss Jessica gives me a reassurin' kinda' look. "Pa and me will help see all these folks safely out," she says calmly, even though she pauses a moment to clear her throat, and she's got worry in her eyes as well. The smoke around us is gettin' worse, got a real nasty, acrid smell to it, and it's startin' to dry our throats out. Mrs Angell throws a look over at the back room, and her eyes widen in horror, but fortunately, Mrs Jones provides a distraction.

"Reckon you got some secret ways you're gonna show us, ain't you, Miss Stella my dear?" she pipes up in a quaverin' voice and her eyes sparkle at me. Even in the situation, I gotta give her a smile. She's a real tiny old lady who ain't much bigger than a bird; reckon she's gotta be long past seventy and deaf as anythin' but her mind's as sharp as a razor. Got a whole heap of admiration for her.

"I got a few, Mrs Jones," I tell her, speakin' as loud as I can, as I'm drawin' her and her husband and the Angells along with me towards the group of townsfolk in the corner. "Don't you worry, we'll soon have you and Mr Jones back home and tucked up safe and warm in your beds."

"I know you ain't gonna let us down," she says with absolute certainty. "You're a good girl." She pats my arm and gives me a smile, which I manage to return. Feel kinda' humbled at the faith she's got in me. Wish I could feel as calm and certain as she does.

I raise my voice so everyone around me can hear, and hold the lamp so they can see me. "The cellars are the safest way and the quickest, you'll be outside in no time. Promise you all, it ain't hardly gonna take any time to get out. Before you know it, you'll be back safe in your houses."

A few faces are lookin' frightened at the thought of goin' down into dark cellars, and I know it's gonna prove a frightenin' experience for some of the little ones, but maybe I can kind of turn it into an adventure for them, maybe a couple can take charge of the lamp, might take their minds off bein' scared.

"I need some real responsible folk to carry this. Maybe a couple of you young ones could be a real help and hold it to light the way?" I ask, holdin' the lamp higher and castin' my eyes round the children I can see, makin' a show of studyin' them real carefully. Same time, I'm doin' my best to ignore the growin' sound of flames and the shadows flickerin' on the walls. Horrible sight it is; looks almost like they're reachin' for us so I raise the lamp as much as I can, tryin' to send them away with the light it casts.

Notice a couple of especially eager young faces; recognise them in fact - Lindsay had pointed them out to me a while back, 'cause they were always real sensible in the schoolroom she said. They'd looked real nervous just a moment ago as well, so reckon this'll do them both good. Givin' them a smile, I hand over the lamp and they reassure me they'll be as careful as anythin' and that they ain't gonna drop it. Tell them I know they ain't gonna be careless and I trust them, and catch the eyes of their parents at the same time. Look of gratitude in their faces, although I weren't needin' any thanks, is real nice to see.

Seems everyone's just about ready to go, so I turn back to Mrs Angell, who still ain't calm; her face is flushed and her breathing's comin' kinda fast, her husband's lookin' anxiously at her and all. Hope she ain't gonna faint on us. Guess she's only stayed in here this long 'cause her husband and daughter have.

"Come on, Mrs Angell, you're gonna be fine," I say, takin' hold of her other arm. And even though she still looks scared, she lets me lead her willingly enough to the door of the cellar. Still with my arm linked through hers, I watch to see everyone gets down safely, seein' the light from the lamp bobbin' about as the two little ones carryin' it go down the stairs. Folks file after them, leavin' the Angells and Mr and Mrs Jones till last. Let go of Mrs Angell and she allows her husband to guide her in front of him real gently, murmurin' a few soothin' words to her. She clutches his hand, starin' fearfully at him for a moment, but then she kinda' screws her face up in determination and goes through the door in front of him, still holdin' Mrs Jones' arm.

Miss Jessica follows, but before she goes, she looks at me. "Be careful, Miss Stella," she says, a warnin' note in her voice. "Guess sometimes you're a lady who goes takin' a few risks, but this ain't the time. Get yourself out soon as you can," she pauses and brushes the skirt of her dress, lookin' away from me for a moment, then her dark eyes rise to meet mine again, a trace of fear in them. "And don't let Don go takin' any risks he don't need to either, please."

Though Miss Angell ain't someone I've had many conversations with, I got a deal of respect for, from knowin' her the short time she and her family have been in town.

"Don's gonna be fine, I can promise you that," I say firmly, rememberin' sayin' somethin' similar to the man himself only a short time ago; almost makes a smile come to my lips thinkin' about it. "And I ain't gonna be stayin' in here longer than I have to neither." That's as true as I can make it; I know I ain't gonna leave till everyone else is outta here; everyone from the town that is. Baines and his gang are another matter.

"Make sure you ain't," are Miss Jessica's partin' words as she hurries down the steps after her mother. Mr Jones and Mr Angell are the last to go, and both of them give me a warnin' and all not to stay in here, Mr Angell glancin' over his shoulder at the same time at the fire I'm all too well aware is right behind us. I usher them down the stairs real quick, not givin' them any chance to keep talkin'. Now I got all of them to safety, all I gotta do is make sure there ain't anyone I've missed and then go find out what Mac's up to.

Trouble is, findin' Mac, I realise, ain't gonna be easy. Smoke's thickened now, meanin' I can see even less. Even though my sight's kinda' blurred, my other sense are workin' too well. Can hear plenty; glass smashin', yellin', sound of wood splinterin' which is no doubt all my chairs and tables breakin'. Smell of smoke's almost chokin' now, and the sorta' sharp and hot smell of flames is even closer. Feel a kinda' burnin' hot breeze liftin' the hair on the back of my neck. The fire's makin' a sorta' screechin' sound and before I can stop myself, my hand flies to my mouth and a cry escapes my lips. My home's bein' wrecked from the inside out and there ain't nothin' I can do about it! Whirlin' round, I plunge forward tellin' myself it's just wood and nails, it's just a buildin', it don't matter... somehow I ain't convincin' myself.

But can't think about it now, I can't. I gotta find Mac, gotta try and help him take down that villain Baines; the one who's responsible for all of this.

Manage to duck just in time as a bottle goes flyin' past my ear; next thing, a man near enough goes flyin' past me and lands a few feet away. Lies still a moment while I'm standin' in shock. Next thing, he scrambles to his feet and I recognise him as one of Baines's gang. Picks himself up and staggers forward, headin' right towards me, then he kinda' veers away and starts headin' towards the flames. Hesitate for a moment, before settin' my face, I grab a hold of his arm and shove him towards the cellar door, 'cause I ain't gonna let him burn to death, even if there's a part of me thinkin' he deserves whatever he gets himself into.

"Get yourself down there!" I yell, and he blinks at me before stumblin' down the steps and into the darkness.

Turnin' back to the front of the saloon, I start to panic, 'cause there ain't no sign of Mac or Don, or Sid and Sheldon. Try and find my way towards the bar where the sounds of brawlin' have died down, which makes me even more worried.

"Mac!" I'm spinnin' round, startin' to feel dizzy now. Bumpin' into all the mess of broken tables and chairs strewn about the place ain't helpin' neither; gonna be covered in bruises by the mornin'... "Mac! Where are you? Come on, Mac, please, answer me!" Ain't no response, and despite the heat in here, there's ice cold crawlin' over my skin. Feel like I don't know where I am, ain't able to see much of anything, except flames and smoke and blurred sorta' shapes. Mac and everyone else have gotta be somewhere near though, just have to find them...

"Where do you think you're goin, hey?" At the sound of that voice, fear hits me. I whirl round and find Baines in front of me. Ain't no chance to do more than gasp as he grabs hold of my arm and yanks me towards him, makin' me crash into him. His face glares into mine, his eyes burnin', the flames reflected in them. "Thought you could escape me, did you?" he snarls, shakin' me hard. "Well, I got news for you; you ain't escapin' me so easy." A cackle of laughter splits his lips, and I'm strugglin' hard to break free; land a couple of blows to him, but they don't seem to make no difference to him; the grip on my arm stays tighter than a vice. Sweat and blood streaks his face, his forehead's gashed and his cheek's cut deep. Moment I look into his eyes, I see somethin' else that turns me sick and afraid. There ain't an ounce of sanity left in him; if there was any there to start with, it's all gone now, all burned away.

And I'm facin' him on my own.

There ain't a sight of Mac, can't see him at all, anythin' could've happened to him. If this brute's free to grab hold of me, what has he done with Mac? My heart grows colder and colder as Baines with a wild snarl of laughter starts draggin' me towards the back of the saloon, towards the flames, the heat of them scorchin' my skin. I'm fightin' as hard as I can to get free, pryin' at his fingers, tryin' to get them off of my arm; whether it's the strength of insanity or somethin' else, I ain't able to escape.

"Mac!" I'm yellin', desperately now, realisin' gettin' outta this situation by myself ain't likely. He ain't answerin', and the more I'm yellin', the more all that smoke's bein' sucked into my lungs, makin' me cough.

"He ain't gonna hear you," Baines says in a sing-song voice. "He ain't gonna be able to save you now, made sure of that when I knocked him down. You're comin' with me, and you ain't gettin' away this time!"

The heat and the horror of what he says almost overpowers me, but findin' every scrap of strength I got left, I shout, "I sure as hell ain't comin' with you!" I'm still battlin' to get loose, knowin' Hell's the only place he's headin', if he carries on towards the fire. Trouble is, if I ain't able to free myself, he's gonna take me right along with him. Oh God, where's Mac? Where is he? What has Baines done with him?

"Mac! Mac, please!" Gettin' frantic now, twistin' about as Baines is draggin' me on, even though I'm tryin' to let myself go limp, try and get free that way. It don't fool him; he simply throws his other arm round my waist and hauls me forward.

"You're gonna tell me where those deeds are and you're gonna get them for me," he hisses, shakin' me again, the sweat drippin' off his face. "Your Sheriff wouldn't tell me, but I reckon you can..." Strange look crosses his face, and his eyes glaze as he stares at me, stoppin' for a moment. "Yeah, you can tell me, then you know what? Maybe you and me can run this town together..." his smile turns real crazed. "With your Sheriff outta the way, it's just me and you. Always wanted a pretty lady to help me run things, reckon you'd be good at runnin' things with me..."

My blood almost boils over at that and I stamp down on his foot and claw at him, shoutin' that he ain't ever gonna be runnin' anythin' with me. Almost like he don't feel it or hear me though; he simply lets go of my waist and traps both my hands in one of his, laughin' and laughin' at me, that laugh that's been ringin' in my ears all day since this whole nightmare began. And as he keeps on laughin' and pullin' me closer and closer to those flames and my struggles are useless, I'm terrified that his laugh is gonna be the last thing I ever hear. With what feels like almost my last breath as smoke draws into my lungs, I cry out for Mac, feelin' like the sound's smothered by the screamin' of the flames we're almost in the middle of. My face burns with the heat from them, and I'm tryin' to dig my heels into the floor, but it ain't workin'. I ain't gonna get away this time...

Feel my vision start to blur, my hands scrabble at Baines's arm, and then next thing I know, his grip's gone from my arm and I've dropped to the ground as there's a thump beside me.

"Stella!" The best sound I could ever hear, one that drives all the echoes of Baines's manic laughter outta my ears, Mac's voice speaks to me and his hands wrap around me, pullin' me to my feet real gently and carefully. Touchin' my face, his eyes full of concern he asks if I'm all right and all I can do is nod while I'm gettin' my breath back and takin' in the sight of him, alive. Sure, he ain't lookin' his best, with smudges of dirt on his face and blood tricklin' from a cut above his eye, but he's alive.

"What happened?" I choke out. "What did he do to you? He said he knocked you down..." Mac pulls me into a hug as he reassures me he's fine, that Baines knocked him out for a few minutes, but he ain't damaged badly.

We pull apart, kinda' stare at each other for a moment, and look down at the still figure of Baines lyin' sprawled on the floor. My eyes turn to the piece of wood Mac's got in his hand, which he drops. Now I've recovered myself a bit, I gotta just say one thing to him.

"You know, I reckon I could've managed myself..."

His eyebrow rises as I look up through my eyelashes at him. "Reckon you could, but you gotta allow me to help you out sometimes, Stella," he says, a small smile on his lips.

This ain't the place, however, to be standin' havin' this kinda' conversation. Ask Mac where Don, Sid and Sheldon are and he reassures me that they're safely outside; made sure of that soon as he came round.

"Anyone else left in here?" he asks. "Apart from us?"

Shake my head after glancin' round, squintin' through the smoke. "Don't reckon there is, but ain't no harm in checkin'." I want to get outta here and start tryin' to put the fire out, but gotta make certain we ain't left anyone behind before we leave.

"What about him?" I ask, indicatin' Baines. There's silence between us for a moment.

"He's safe where he is for the time bein'," Mac grunts, takin' my arm to move me forward. "Makin' sure we got the townsfolk out's our priority."

Can only agree, so with our arms linked, we push our way through the smoke, checkin' every corner we can, keepin' back from the worst of the heat. The whole back end of the saloon's blazin'. Heck, this is a bad situation! Flames are leapin' up everywhere now and I'm lookin' over at the bar with a terrible fear in me, 'cause I know just how lovin' of fire all those bottles of liquor are, and how any flames are gonna seize hold of 'em. Just gotta hope Don and the others are out there findin' somethin' to start puttin' the fire out, otherwise, there ain't gonna be much of a saloon left before long.

Takes us longer than we meant it to till we've searched out every corner of the Saloon that we can reach and made sure there ain't no one else but ourselves left in here. After another silent question and answer between me and Mac, we go back to where we left Baines.

And stop dead 'cause he ain't there no more.

Mouths kinda' gapin' in surprise, we gotta take a second to stare at each other, and then glance round. Ain't no sign of the man.

"He must've got out," Mac says, a frown crossin' his face as he looks real uneasy. "Don's no doubt lockin' him up right now..."

My eyes are locked on his, and I'm tryin' to ignore the fear that's crawlin' up my spine, expectin' Baines to come like somethin' outta the underworld towards us at any moment. "Yeah," I say uncertainly. "No doubt..."

Mac takes my hand. "Then there's nothin' keepin' us in here, come on, time we got outta here and all."

We start forward, and faint as anythin', there's a cry. We freeze, hands clasped together as we swing round towards the sound, and back to each other; questionin' each other silently if we really did hear what we thought.

It comes again and this time there ain't no mistakin' it. Someone's callin' for help, and there's only one person it could be.

Baines.

Mac's face blanks, and then a hard look comes over it, and he tugs at my hand. "We're gettin' outta here," he says roughly.

Take a few steps along with him, but then I stop, stoppin' him with me. "We gotta see who it is, Mac. Mightn't be him, might be someone we missed..." Don't believe that truly, but if there is someone we've missed, someone from the town, then we ain't ever gonna be able to forgive ourselves. If it is Baines callin' for help, well then, we decide what we're gonna do when we find him. "We gotta check."

Mac's eyebrows have lowered and I can see he's fightin' with himself, but he gives in and we start movin' towards where it seemed like the cry for help came from; towards the back of the buildin'; towards the fire.

We're headin' right into the flames and as the smoke billows round me, I'm strugglin' to take it all in, what's happenin' to my home. It's burnin' down around me, and here I am searchin' for one of the men who's responsible; the worst one of all; the one who'd have had no hesitation in killin' me. There's a voice whisperin' in my ear, sayin' maybe he don't deserve rescuin', maybe we should leave him where he is, and glancin' at Mac, I can see the same argument goin' on inside his conscience and all. Both of us are starin' at each other, our thoughts kinda' flashin' between us, almost as visible as we are to each other.

We know full well that it'd take nothin' more than for us to do nothin' and one of the cruellest, most wicked human beings we've ever met would be taken from this world. All we gotta do is walk away, maybe even pretend we ain't heard him callin' for help. We could pretend that the sound of the flames was too loud for us to hear clearly, we could've imagined it after all. It's possible he got out through the back somehow and we ain't hearin' nothin' but the sound of the fire playin' tricks on our ears. Guess it'd be real easy to walk out. Maybe that's what he deserves; maybe that'd be best. Could be said we'd be dealin' him justice, Mac and me, if we left him here.

Could we really do this? Could we really leave a fellow human being to suffer what's gotta be one of the most terrible deaths there is, bein' burned alive?

Tearin' our gazes away from each other, we take a couple of steps forward and stumble over a body lyin' on the ground; Baines, trapped beneath a piece of wood. Get a sudden memory of Mac down in the gunpowder works, caught by the beam that fell on us; after the man lyin' in front of us set a trap. Could almost laugh at the irony.

"Help… help me!" his voice is real faint as his hand clutches at my skirts.

I can't keep the sarcasm outta my voice as I answer him. "What else d'you think we're here for? Reckon we're stayin' in a burnin' buildin' for fun, huh?"

"Help…" he wheezes, strugglin' to move, even though his chest's pinned down. "I can't… can't get up…"

"Havin' a beam lyin' on top of you's likely the cause of that," I snap, then cough some more; it's gettin' sorta' hard to talk and breathe, gonna have to keep my talkin' to a minimum here. Heat from the flames is gettin' hard to bear and all. Ain't never felt such a terrible heat before.

Mac ain't sayin' a word, he's just starin' at Baines.

"We gotta get this off of him," I say, and he turns his gaze on me.

"Don't know if I'm gonna be able to," he says, and there's red and orange gleams in his eyes as he stares at me and his voice is almost drowned out by the roar of the fire. "Looks too heavy to me..."

I know what he's sayin', know what he's thinkin' and all. Wouldn't be any blame attached to us if we said the beam was too heavy to move; wouldn't be a soul in town who'd condemn us. Least we tried, folks would say. Some might say we've tried too much already...

"No," I say, almost surprisin' myself, 'cause I'm goin' against what I want to do, what the image of Brigham Sinclair's body in the snow wants me to do, what the memory of Baines's pistol pressed into my skin and his voice threatenin' me with all kinds of torment wants me to do. "We ain't gonna leave him, Mac. We can't. Makes us as bad as him. We have to get him outta here, we gotta try at least."

It ain't convincin' him though; can see he's rememberin' the same as me; how he felt about it all. Baines groans and clutches at me again, and as he does, I realise I ain't afraid of him no more. Not now, seein' him like this, known' his life's in our hands. He's helpless, relyin' on us to save him, and that's taken all the power he had to frighten and threaten away. Ain't nothin' left of the villain but a man with a broken body and a broken mind. Could almost pity him; almost.

For the second time in a few days, I take hold of somethin' I ain't gonna be able to move by myself.

"You've gotta help me this time, Mac, we gotta do this fast." Fair bit of my strength's goin' on coughin' and I'm aware of those flames creepin' nearer to us every second, and the clouds of smoke thickenin' round us. He's still hesitatin' though. "Mac, come on!"

One final look of scorn and disgust at Baines and he silently takes hold of the other end of the wood, starts liftin' it. Feel my muscles strainin' with the weight of it, but between us we manage to lift it off of Baines and let it crash to the ground. The moment we do, he seems to pass out; his head flops to the side and his eyes close. Still without sayin' a word, Mac takes hold of his shoulders and starts draggin' him towards the front door, now there's nothin' near it blockin' our way. I grab Baines's ankles to move him round, coughin' even more. My throat feels like it's on fire, burnin' hot and kinda raw and scraped. What I wouldn't give for a glass of ice cold water.

We're a few yards from the door, almost out into the snow and the fresh air. Just before we reach it there's a sorta' poppin' sound and the glass in the windows blows out. Makes me wince; sends in a little more air for us to breathe, same time it makes the flames behind us grow even bigger, helpin' them destroy my home and possessions even faster.

We push forwards, Mac movin' real fast, but something's holdin' me back; the one thing I ain't ever gonna be able to replace, that I ain't gonna be able to let be destroyed. Know it's real risky doin' this, goin' back into the fire, and I know Mac'll try and stop me; so I ain't gonna tell him.

I gotta do this by myself.

Makin' sure Mac's head's down and his gaze ain't on me, I let go of Baines, take a big gulp of the air that's blowin' in from outside, and turn round and run back towards the flames.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter. Please review and let me know. Thanks very much, Lily x