The Young Riders: Buck Cross Prompt 68 - Lightning
Title: One More River
Fandom: The Young Riders
Characters: Buck Cross, Teaspoon, Polly, Kid, Lou, Jeremiah, Theresa
Prompt: 68 -- Lightning
Word Count: 747
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The Pony Express has ended, and the Civil War has torn the Express family apart. A few of them decide to strike out across the country to Oregon and a fresh start.
Author's Note: This is section 48 of a continuing story dealing with the journey from Rock Creek, Nebraska, to the West Coast via the Oregon Trail.
They were two weeks out of Fort Laramie, and from the landmarks Buck figured they were still about thirty miles outside of Fort Caspar. Overall, he considered that they were doing pretty well, given the terrain they’d had to cover. Still, it would be good to get to the Fort. There would be a ferry to get them across the Platte, and after that the road shouldn’t offer too many obstacles for a while.
At least it wouldn’t have the last time he’d been this way. But, as he realized now, that had been nearly two years earlier, and the condition of the road could have changed.
He tossed his bedroll into the wagon, taking a moment to consider all the changes those two years had brought. There was a move from Sweetwater to Rock Creek, the loss of Ike and Noah, the end of the Pony Express, the decision to head west.
Getting married . . .
He glanced over to where Julie was packing up the bacon they’d fried that morning. It would serve as lunch that day, something they could eat quickly if they stopped, or eat while they moved, depending on how the day went.
The getting married part had definitely come out of the blue.
As he thought about it, he realized he hadn’t even considered the question of where and when to leave her since they had departed from Fort Laramie. And she hadn’t said any more about Oregon either.
They were talking more, and the conversations seemed more natural. But most of the topics concerned the past, not the future.
It was something they’d have to talk about soon, he knew. The days were already getting noticeably shorter, even though summer still held its place on the calendar.
Maybe when they got to Sweetwater they’d have that talk. He still hadn’t told her about Sam and Emma’s offer of the deed to the farm.
Well, he’d see how things were going then.
Right now, he was more concerned by the black clouds rolling on the western horizon.
Buck walked over to the fire ring and grabbed the rag sitting nearby. He wrapped the cloth around the handle of the coffee pot and pulled it away from the fire. The liquid would stay hot for a while, and the warm drink seemed to give them extra energy along the trail in the morning. And if there was any left, it could be reheated the next time they stopped and built a fire.
He kicked sand over the low-burning fire, using a stick to stir the embers. More sand, more stirring - he repeated the process until he was satisfied that the fire was completely out. Then he carried the coffee pot to the wagon and hooked it into place.
“I think that’s everything.”
Buck looked over and nodded. “Should be. Are you ready?”
Julie gave him a little half smile and shrugged. “I don’t have much choice.” She moved her neck around, wincing. “I miss the hot bath at Emma’s,” she said, wistfully.
“It did feel good,” Buck agreed. “There are some hot springs when we get farther west. We’ll try to stop.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“Right now though I’d like to get moving.” He nodded in the direction of the black clouds. “Get a few miles in before the storm hits.”
Julie looked over at the horizon. “Do you think it’ll be bad?”
“Too early to really say, but it looks like a pretty good sized storm.”
“Well, I’m ready.”
“All right.”
Buck walked up to the front of the oxen team and pulled on the harnesses between the lead pair. They started off at once, and he stepped back out of the way, waiting for the wagon to go by. Accustomed to the routine now, the other animals fell in behind the wagon, and Buck and Julie did the same.
Ahead of them, the black clouds seemed to have grown just in the few minutes they’d been talking. There was a seemingly solid wall of blackness ahead.
Just then, a brilliant flash of lightning burst through, sending ripples of light dancing in the clouds. The storm was still too far in the distance for them to hear the thunder, but the light show was clearly visible as additional flashes ripped through the blackness.
The road ahead curved directly toward the clouds, almost seeming to disappear into a tunnel. And lightning flashed again and again, a portent of what was to come.
Fandom: The Young Riders
Characters: Buck Cross, Teaspoon, Polly, Kid, Lou, Jeremiah, Theresa
Prompt: 68 -- Lightning
Word Count: 747
Rating: PG-13
Summary: The Pony Express has ended, and the Civil War has torn the Express family apart. A few of them decide to strike out across the country to Oregon and a fresh start.
Author's Note: This is section 48 of a continuing story dealing with the journey from Rock Creek, Nebraska, to the West Coast via the Oregon Trail.
They were two weeks out of Fort Laramie, and from the landmarks Buck figured they were still about thirty miles outside of Fort Caspar. Overall, he considered that they were doing pretty well, given the terrain they’d had to cover. Still, it would be good to get to the Fort. There would be a ferry to get them across the Platte, and after that the road shouldn’t offer too many obstacles for a while.
At least it wouldn’t have the last time he’d been this way. But, as he realized now, that had been nearly two years earlier, and the condition of the road could have changed.
He tossed his bedroll into the wagon, taking a moment to consider all the changes those two years had brought. There was a move from Sweetwater to Rock Creek, the loss of Ike and Noah, the end of the Pony Express, the decision to head west.
Getting married . . .
He glanced over to where Julie was packing up the bacon they’d fried that morning. It would serve as lunch that day, something they could eat quickly if they stopped, or eat while they moved, depending on how the day went.
The getting married part had definitely come out of the blue.
As he thought about it, he realized he hadn’t even considered the question of where and when to leave her since they had departed from Fort Laramie. And she hadn’t said any more about Oregon either.
They were talking more, and the conversations seemed more natural. But most of the topics concerned the past, not the future.
It was something they’d have to talk about soon, he knew. The days were already getting noticeably shorter, even though summer still held its place on the calendar.
Maybe when they got to Sweetwater they’d have that talk. He still hadn’t told her about Sam and Emma’s offer of the deed to the farm.
Well, he’d see how things were going then.
Right now, he was more concerned by the black clouds rolling on the western horizon.
Buck walked over to the fire ring and grabbed the rag sitting nearby. He wrapped the cloth around the handle of the coffee pot and pulled it away from the fire. The liquid would stay hot for a while, and the warm drink seemed to give them extra energy along the trail in the morning. And if there was any left, it could be reheated the next time they stopped and built a fire.
He kicked sand over the low-burning fire, using a stick to stir the embers. More sand, more stirring - he repeated the process until he was satisfied that the fire was completely out. Then he carried the coffee pot to the wagon and hooked it into place.
“I think that’s everything.”
Buck looked over and nodded. “Should be. Are you ready?”
Julie gave him a little half smile and shrugged. “I don’t have much choice.” She moved her neck around, wincing. “I miss the hot bath at Emma’s,” she said, wistfully.
“It did feel good,” Buck agreed. “There are some hot springs when we get farther west. We’ll try to stop.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“Right now though I’d like to get moving.” He nodded in the direction of the black clouds. “Get a few miles in before the storm hits.”
Julie looked over at the horizon. “Do you think it’ll be bad?”
“Too early to really say, but it looks like a pretty good sized storm.”
“Well, I’m ready.”
“All right.”
Buck walked up to the front of the oxen team and pulled on the harnesses between the lead pair. They started off at once, and he stepped back out of the way, waiting for the wagon to go by. Accustomed to the routine now, the other animals fell in behind the wagon, and Buck and Julie did the same.
Ahead of them, the black clouds seemed to have grown just in the few minutes they’d been talking. There was a seemingly solid wall of blackness ahead.
Just then, a brilliant flash of lightning burst through, sending ripples of light dancing in the clouds. The storm was still too far in the distance for them to hear the thunder, but the light show was clearly visible as additional flashes ripped through the blackness.
The road ahead curved directly toward the clouds, almost seeming to disappear into a tunnel. And lightning flashed again and again, a portent of what was to come.