Family Ties Part 16
Family Ties
Part 16:
“Well?” Chris didn’t mean to be so gruff but he was impatient for a response on how the boy was doing. He knew the black healer was doing everything he could, but Chris had long lost the ability to reign in his patience.
Nathan shook his head slowly as he tried to get the wound to stop bleeding. “Lost a lot of blood, it don’t look good.” His warm brown eyes turned sadly towards the dark gunslinger, “He don’t got no fight left in him Chris, don’t think he’s going to make it much longer.”
“Dammit” Chris felt the vein in his temple throb as he felt the sting in his foot from his boot connecting to a downed log.
“Easy big dog” Buck’s words were lost on his old friend as he watched the man storm away trying to gain control of his turbulent emotions.
“Buck?”
Buck turned his worried gaze onto the young man he had taken under his wing. The kid had a soft heart and needed his reassurance while everyone waited to see if the boy would live. “It’ll be alright JD.”
Josiah softly prayed for the boy. Glancing at his healer friend’s expression, he knew that the boy wouldn’t be able to win his fight against death. He prayed for Vin’s safe keeping as well. The ex-bounty hunter’s face had hardened before he rode off to scout ahead, trying to get a bead on the gang that had been responsible for the boy’s injury. He hoped the young man wouldn’t try to take the gang on himself; he had refused any help with tracking ahead. Said he figured we’d only slow him down. Coming out of his musings he caught Nathan’s sad expression as his friend shook his head in the negative. Things had just gotten direr.
Vin had kept a steady pace. His keen tracking ability easily followed the deep impressions the hooves of the gang’s horses made. The easy trail that they left didn’t require such intense scrutiny, but Vin was taking no chances on loosing the gang. He couldn’t help replaying the scene the guys rode up on, the poor boy was ready to fall out of his saddle, his blood pouring from him. Vin knew there was no way the boy would make it. He may not have had Nathan’s training in healing, but he knew enough that the boy’s wound was fatal. He wanted the men responsible for killing the boy and took off from the others with single-mindedness intent to catch the men responsible. He wasn’t stupid though, he knew he would need the others to capture the gang. From the tracks it was easy to discern there were at least six men, hopefully there would be no others for them to meet up with. He just hoped to find where they hid out and keep watch till the others joined him. He was leaving an easy enough trail for the others to follow. He had been spending a lot of time with JD lately honing the young man’s tracking skills. JD had been quick to pick up the hidden signs and Vin had no doubts he would be able to follow his trail he was leaving him.
Pulling to a stop, Vin saw the signs that one of the gang had separated from the others. He decided to follow the trail that the single rider took. As he rode along he had the feeling that the gang had laid a trap for someone. A short time later he came upon the tell tale signs that a seventh rider had come in contact with the others. He climbed down from his horse to get a better look and felt his heart start to pound when he got a closer look at the new horse’s track. It was one of the horses from Four Corner’s livery and not just any horse, it was that dang blasted chestnut monster that Chris’ litter brother had taken a shine to. He had a bad feeling that the rider of said horse was none other than that little brother and he felt his heart skip with the thought of the boy in the clutches of the gang that had so recently taken the life of another child not much older than Ezra. He spotted where the horse had backed up into a position of escape before taking off. “Dammit” he cursed as he saw where the gang gave chase.
Vin thought back to the running gambit of emotions he felt as he had followed the trial. First there had been fear when he saw the spot where the horse had stumbled; he just knew that the signs were going to point towards the rider’s capture. Then there was hope as he read the distance that grew between the gelding and the pursuing horses; maybe, just maybe the rider would escape. Finally he felt elation as the gang’s horses stopped their chase and turned in a different direction than the escapee.
Now Vin was tracking the single rider, having decided that the gang would have to wait. If it was Ezra that was traveling alone out here, he had no doubt the boy would have no idea how to survive. Stopping at the stream they had stopped and watered at, Vin saw the small boot prints that confirmed his suspicions that it was indeed Ezra out. “Chris is going to be furious.”
“Aw Hell!” Vin cried out when he spotted the tell tale sign of fresh blood. “Dammit.” Knowing time was working against him, he quickly mounted up to hurry along in his search. Visions of the boy from earlier in the day were melding into flashes of the southern charmer he had grown so quickly attached to. His heart constricted with the mental picture of Ezra bleeding to death. Clenching his jaw he swiftly moved along the trail, thankful that it was relatively fresh; and prayed that the boy would be alright.
The sky was just turning to dusk when Vin breathed in relief. Just at the edge of his vision he spotted his quarry. Kneeing his mount into a run he quickly caught up to the horse and rider. It was easy to see that both the horse and rider were exhausted; Ezra himself was sleeping in the saddle. Vin sidled up beside the chestnut gelding and brought the horse to a halt before he pulled Ezra out of the saddle.
“Easy Pard, I’ve got ya” Vin tried to soothe the gasp of pain he heard from Ezra with the movement, but the words were lost on the boy who had quickly slid into unconsciousness. Vin felt his heart lurch as his hand encountered the wet sticky blood. Cursing to himself; he took in the slightly pale pallor and increased heat of the small body. He needed to get the bleeding stopped and find shelter for the night.
Once he cleaned out the wound, thankful that the bullet had only cut a deep groove into the boy’s side, he tried to bring Ezra around. “Ezra, come pard. It’s Vin” However the boy was not ready to join the waking world yet. Even though the wound was considered minor, Ezra had lost a lot of blood and was getting hotter. He really needed Nathan. Deciding the stream where he had stopped earlier would be the best spot for setting up camp. It was also in the direction of the other men and he was hopeful that the others were already heading this way. He tied the gelding to his saddle horn before settling Ezra in front of him, than he started back towards the stream. Hearing the boy moan, Vin tried to comfort him. “Easy Ez, your safe now. I’ve got you.”