Searching For Jeremy Bolt Chapter Fifteen
Jeremy and Jason were inside the old Bolt family cabin on the east side of the mountain. They had traveled in the buckboard. Jeremy made Jason drive so he could hold his shotgun on him.
Jeremy tied Jason to a chair and bound his hands and his feet.
"I'll untie you when it's time for you to eat or you have to go to the privy." Jeremy told him.
"Okay, Jeremy. May I ask you a question?" Jason inquired.
"I guess so, what is it?" Jeremy looked at him.
"How do you know that I'm not your brother, Jason? Don't I look like him and sound like him?" The oldest Bolt asked.
Jeremy studied Jason's face and took a deep breath. "I suppose you look and sound a bit like Jason, but that's so you can fool the others. You can't fool me." Jeremy said.
"Why can't I trick you?" Jason pressed.
Jeremy sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. He didn't speak for a few minutes. He seemed lost in his thoughts.
"Well, I can f-f-feel J-J-Jason in my heart. And I don't feel you. That sounds sissy but that's how I know." Jeremy replied quietly.
"No, it doesn't sound sissy. It sounds nice." Jason said. "What are you going to do to me, Jeremy? How are you going to make me tell you where Jason is?"
"You will talk if you get hungry enough. So, you can't have any food until you tell me where he is." The young man answered.
"A few minutes ago, you said I could have food. You said you would untie me so I could eat!" Jason argued.
"Hey! I make the rules here! Don't yell at me! Remember, I'm the man who has the shotgun." Jeremy shouted.
"I can't believe you would actually shoot me, Jeremy." Jason lamented.
"Don't try me and find out." Jeremy replied.
Suddenly it began raining hard. It was cold outside and there was a good possibility that the rain could change to snow soon.
"I better go check on Brownie and Buckie again in case it snows." The youngest brother said.
Jeremy put on his rain gear.
"Be sure to button up your raincoat. You get terrible fevers when you get sick, brother." Jason advised.
"You are not my brother!" Jeremy grumbled as he went out the door.
"Yes, I am!" Jason growled.
When Jeremy came back in after tending the horses an extra time, he was soaking wet, and his raincoat was unbuttoned.
"Look at you! Jeremy, are you trying to get pneumonia?!" Jason bellowed.
"Who are you?! My grandmother?!" Jeremy barked.
"No! I'm your brother who loves you! I have watched you almost die from a fever more times than I can count, and I don't care to watch you come close to death again. And I certainly don't want you to die." Jason finished his tirade quietly.
Jeremy was surprised by the change in Jason's tone of voice. "Well, I surely don't want to die. That's something we agree on."
Jeremy took off his rain gear and changed into dry clothes. When he returned to the front room, he went to the cabinet and scrounged around in it for food.
"We have beans and bread for supper." He told the oldest brother.
"That's fine. That's what we usually eat when we are here." Jason replied. "Jeremy, please untie me. I'm not going to attack you or try to get away."
"No, you will get my shotgun or knock me out." Jeremy responded. "I'll untie your hands so you can eat supper when it's done. I have to cook the bread."
"Oh, alright!" Jason yawned.
After the bread was cooked, Jeremy allowed Jason to eat first. He sat across from him at the table holding the shotgun on him.
"Oh, heck!" Jeremy put his hand to his head.
"What's wrong, Jeremy?" Jason looked concerned.
"My head aches all of a sudden." He answered. "Oh, no!"
Jeremy dashed to the washroom. He retched violently.
"Jason! Jason! I need you! Help me, please!" Jeremy cried out.
The big lumberjack quickly untied his feet and ran to his brother.
"J-J-Jason, something is w-w-wrong with me! I'm scared!" Jeremy gasped.
"What is it? What happened?" Jason asked.
"I was wiping my face after I stopped retching and I happened to glance in the mirror above the basin. For a few seconds, I didn't recognize myself. And I don't mean like when was the last time, I got a haircut kinda thing. I mean I didn't know who I am. Not my name or anything. What's happening to me, Jason?" Jeremy worried.
"Do you know me now, Jeremy? Or are you calling me Jason because I said that's my name?" He questioned.
"Yes, I know that you are my brother, Jason." He answered.
"For the past few days until just a minute ago, you haven't recognized me, Jeremy." Jason explained.
"I sort of remember not knowing you the last few days. Why is this happening to me? Whatever it is." Jeremy was puzzled.
"I'm not sure, Jeremy. Do you remember when you and the Reverend Carpenter came up here last Sunday?" Jason inquired.
"Yes, I remember. It was after the luncheon that Lottie had to celebrate Jenny's christening." Jeremy replied.
Jason nodded. "Do you remember if anything happened while you and Craig were up here?"
Jeremy thought for a minute. "We came inside the cabin. Candy had told him about Dad writing our names and our ages in the fireplace when he built it. Carpenter wanted to see it."
"Alright, you and he came inside and looked at the fireplace. Can you remember what happened next?" Jason asked.
While Jeremy was thinking, Jason noticed that his brother was shivering. He got a blanket and wrapped it around him.
"Jeremy let's go sit by the fire so you can get warm. I do not want you to get sick. Does your head still hurt?" Jason guided Jeremy to the sofa in the front room.
"Yeah, it hurts a little. Jason, I remember now! We went in the bedroom, the one Josh and I shared. The preacher wanted to see-each room in the cabin. He said he couldn't believe a family of five lived in this small cabin." Jeremy spoke.
"Well, we did it, didn't we?" Jason smiled sadly.
"Yes, we did, and we loved it." Jeremy whispered.
The two brothers were quiet for a few minutes. It was still raining hard outside.
"No! I won't do it!" Jeremy yelled.
The outburst startled Jason. "You won't do what?"
"I won't kill you, Jason!" Jeremy told him. "That's what Craig was telling me in the bedroom. He wants you dead and he wants me to kill you."
Jeremy jumped up from the sofa and ran out the cabin door.
"Shakespeare's Sunbonnet!" Jason took off after his little brother. "Jeremy! Jeremy!"
Young Bolt ran as hard as he could in the downpour of rain. He knew running in the dark on the mountain was not a good idea, but it was a much better idea than killing his brother.
Jeremy ran until he came to an old shack. He was out of breath, and he had to stop so he went inside. The youngest brother could hear Jason yelling for him as he searched the woods. Big brother was headed in the right direction,
Jeremy made his way in the dark to the fireplace. He fumbled on the mantle for some matches. He found some and lit one.
"Hello, Jeremy." Craig said. "I have been waiting for you and Jason. I know he is coming right behind you so don't think he can get the drop on me."
Craig pointed his shotgun at Jeremy. He reached with one hand to strike a match and light the lantern on the end table next to his chair.
Jeremy didn't respond, He looked behind Carpenter at the door expecting Jason to walk in at anytime.
Reverend Carpenter mocked him. "Yes b-b-big b-b-brother is c-c-coming to s-s-save you. That's his purpose in life, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is, Craig. It's every man's purpose in life to save the people he loves. You would know that if you had ever loved anyone." Jason answered as he walked in.
"I loved Penny and my brothers. My love for Penny is the reason I want you dead. You took her away from me, Jason Bolt! She loved me like you love your precious Jeremy! She was ruined after you dumped her. Penny lost her mind. She didn't love me like she did before! That's why I have done all of this to destroy you and Jeremy. I want both of you to hurt as I hurt." Craig babbled.
Carpenter was quiet for a few moments. Jason and Jeremy glanced at each other across the room.
Suddenly, Craig laughed. "I killed everyone I loved. They thought I was crazy. They were going to commit me to the family asylum. I'm not crazy. I only wanted Penny to love me like she did before. I loved her like Jeremy loves you. She stopped loving me the way you love Jeremy because you dumped her. Well, I'll fix you, Jason!"
Craig lunged from the sofa toward Jeremy. Jeremy fought him. He punched and kicked him over and over. Craig had the strength of a mad man. Just as Jason grabbed Carpenter by the collar to yank him off of his brother, the preacher plunged a hypodermic needle into Jeremy's neck.
Jeremy collapsed on the floor. Craig laughed and Jason snarled.
"If you've killed my little brother, I'll walk you through the gates of Hell myself!" Jason glared at him.
The eldest brother dropped to his knees. "Jeremy! Jeremy! Can you hear me?"
Jason lifted Jeremy's head carefully from the floor supporting it with his arm. He could see the syringe was still in Jeremy's neck. There was medication or whatever it was remaining in the syringe.
Craig Carpenter made his way to the door of the shack.
"Not so fast, preacher!" Joshua nudged him with his shotgun.
"Thank God, Josh! We need you badly. This bastard gave Jeremy some type of injection. What did you give him?!" Jason demanded.
"I'm not sure. It will either cure him or make him a turnip!" Carpenter smiled an evil smile.
Jason and Joshua exchanged a terrified look.
Joshua grabbed the diabolical preacher by his arm and shoved him into a chair. The blond brother tied the man to the chair.
"You better pray that Jeremy gets well." Joshua growled at him.
Carpenter laughed hysterically. It was a chilling frightening sound.
Joshua had brought the horses and the buckboard from the old home place. He had also fastened a tarp over the back of the wagon.
Jason and Joshua carefully placed Jeremy on some blankets in the back of the vehicle. They placed two blankets on him to keep him warm.
Jason looked mournfully at the youngest brother. "Joshua, what if?"
Joshua put his arm around the eldest Bolt. "He will be fine, Jason."
"Of course, he will! Let's go get that scoundrel!" Jason replied.
Craig Carpenter rode in the front of the buckboard with Jason and Joshua. The two Bolts tried to persuade him to tell them what was in the syringe. He wouldn't say anything at first then he reminded them that he wasn't sure what the concoction was.
The men traveled in silence for a while. The way was treacherous because the road was wet and muddy with snow accumulating rapidly.
Brownie and Buckie went at a slow trot. Jason wanted to make them run but he couldn't take a chance of them being injured. Without the horses it would take hours to get Jeremy to the doctor.
The buckboard hit a large rock in the road and Jeremy yelped in pain.
"Whoa!" Jason told the horses. The wagon stopped.
"See about him, please, Josh." Jason spoke.
Joshua got in the back fast. "Jeremy, are you awake, brother? We are taking you to Doctor Wright. It's a slow go because of the weather. Jason! Oh no!" Joshua shouted.
Jason went into the back. "What's wrong, Josh?"
Joshua held up the lantern. "Jeremy is burning up with fever."
"There's a bucket and a shovel back here. I will fill the bucket with snow. You tear one of my shirts into squares and use them to wipe Jeremy's face with the melted snow." Jason said.
"Okay, Jason. He gets awfully sick with a fever. It scares me every time he gets one and now with this stuff injected in him…." Joshua replied.
"Jeremy will be alright, brother. However, I'm afraid he will get much worse before he gets better." Jason got out of the wagon to get the snow.
Later when they were traveling toward Seattle again and Joshua was keeping the cold compresses on Jeremy's face, Jeremy woke up.
"Joshua, where are we going?" He asked.
"We are taking you to the doctor." His blond brother answered.
"Why are you taking care of me? Where is Mama?" Jeremy inquired.
Joshua was shocked. Jeremy had been confused during fevers and concussions before, but he had not asked about their mother during an illness in a long time.
"Brother, Mom is not here. Jason is driving the buckboard. We will be in town soon. I'll get Lottie to come see you at the doctor's clinic. You would like to see her, wouldn't you?" Joshua explained.
Jason was listening to his brothers' conversation from the driver's seat. He was more worried about their youngest brother.
"Yes, it would be nice to see Lottie. But where is Mama? Why isn't she going with us to the doctor?" Jeremy asked.
"Well, uh, Jeremy, she…." Joshua didn't know what to say.
"I know what's going on! Mama is sick and you and Jason and Dad don't want me to get sick too, so you are taking me to Lottie. Well, I'm going home to take care of Mama!" Jeremy exclaimed.
Jeremy got up before Joshua could stop him. However, Joshua grabbed him around the waist as he tried to move toward the opening at the end of the wagon.
"Let go of me! I have to help Mama! She needs me!" Jeremy shouted.
"Jason!" Joshua yelled. "Jeremy is trying to get out the back!"
"Whoa!" The oldest Bolt shouted at the horses. He jumped down from the seat and went to the back of the buckboard.
Jeremy was trying to get out of Joshua's grasp, and he was almost pulling his brother down in the process.
"How can someone so sick have so much strength?" Joshua grumbled.
"Jason! Make Josh let go of me! I have to help Mama!" Jeremy pleaded.
Jason climbed into the wagon and took hold of the baby brother. Jeremy tried to get loose from his brother.
"Settle down, brother. You can't get away from me and you know it." Jason told him.
Jeremy stopped trying to get out. "What about Mama? We can't just go off and leave her and Dad. They need some help."
Jason swallowed hard. "Jeremy, Mom and Dad are gone. They passed away several years ago. Do you remember?"
He looked at his oldest brother. "Gone? Both of them? Yes, now that you told me, I remember. My stuttering began at Mama's funeral. Dad died when I was nine years old."
"Yes, that's right. Lie back down on the blanket, Jeremy. We have to get you to the doctor." The lumberjack guided him back to the blanket.
"Jason, I wanna sit up and I want you to sit next to me, okay?" Jeremy inquired.
"Sure, Jeremy." He answered.
After they sat down, Jason told Joshua to head on to Seattle. Carpenter was asleep on the front seat where they had tied him.
The buckboard had been moving for a few minutes, when Jeremy groaned.
"Jeremy, are you in pain? Tell me the truth. Don't try to spare my feelings." Jason said.
"Yes, I am in horrible pain. Jason, I don't think I am going to make it. Please hold me, I'm frightened. I won't get my lifetime with Candy or see Jenny grow up or be with you and Joshua anymore." Jeremy spoke sadly.
Jason drew his youngest brother close. "Jeremy, you are young and strong. You are going to get well." The oldest brother held him tight.
Jeremy looked into his brother's eyes. "I can't beat it this time. I'm sorry. I love you." He lost consciousness.
"No! Jeremy! Don't leave us! We love you, brother!" Jason shouted. "Joshua! Make those horses run!"
"The weather, Jason! What if one of the horses is injured?" Joshua yelled.
"They gotta run, we are losing our baby brother!" Jason buried his face in Jeremy's hair and cried.
TBC
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