‘Fuck you, Maguire! You can’t hurt me or anyone I care about!’
‘That’s where you’re wrong, Christopher. As long as you have the slightest doubt I will be able to haunt you forever.’
Two men joined Standish and Larabee smiled as he looked at Maguire. ‘Guess this is goodbye you Bastard, because I have no more doubts! YOU CAN’T HURT ME OR ANYONE ELSE! Go back to hell where you belong!’ Chris smiled at the three men standing in the shadows as Maguire faded once more. ‘Thanks, boys!’ he said as the nightmare slowly receded.
“What’s going on, Ez?” Tanner and Wilmington asked in unison as they hurried to the bed.
“Another nightmare,” Standish answered.
Tanner reached out and touched his friend’s left shoulder and spoke softly. “Hey, Cowboy, ain’t nothin’ to have nightmares about anymore. We’re here and we got your back.”
“Yeah, Chris, it’s time to let the nightmares go,” Wilmington said as he watched the eyelids flutter and finally open over the green eyes.
“Thanks, Boys,” he echoed the words he’d used on the same three men who eased him from Maguire’s nightmarish grip.
“Must’ve been some dream,” Standish observed.
“Yeah, it was, but it had it’s good points too,” Larabee said, remembering the feeling of unity from his friends, both waking and dreaming.
“Mr. Larabee, I’m...”
“Dr. Carlyle. I think I owe you an apology, Doc.”
“No, Mr. Larabee, you don’t. Your reaction was very understandable given the circumstances. Do you feel like talking about your experience?”
“Y...yeah, I think so, Doc.” The blond turned to the three men in the room. “You boys don’t have to...”
“Not going anywhere,” Wilmington stated.
“We’re here for the duration, Mr. Larabee,” Standish offered.
“Can’t get rid of us that easily, Chris,” Tanner told him.
Chris felt the warmth of the words and knew nothing he said could run these men off. He nodded and turned to the doctor. “ What would you like to know?”
Wilmington pulled a chair up to the bed and indicated that Vin should sit down. He smiled as the door opened and Dunne, Jackson, and Sanchez entered the room. “Looks like the gang’s all here, Pard!” he said as he looked at Larabee.
Chris was not surprised to see the others show up just when he was about to talk about his ordeal. He knew no one had called them and understood that the unexplained happenings of the last few weeks were continuing and would until Maguire was in the past, and injuries were healed. He looked from one man to the other and his eyes came to rest on the doctor. He swallowed against the raging emotions, trying to keep them inside, yet he knew his friends would not see it as weakness if he gave into them. He watched as Jackson filled up a glass and handed it to him. Chris smiled, drank the ice cold water, and took a deep breath as the doctor pulled up a second chair.
“Why don’t we start at the beginning, Mr. Larabee...”
“Chris.”
He saw the hesitation in Larabee’s eyes and knew the younger man was still having trouble with the idea of talking about his experience with a stranger. Carlyle understood how important it was to have these six men in the room at this time. These men were there for more than moral support, they were there for their strength. “Chris, you just take your time and we’ll get you through this.”
Larabee sipped at the water again and nodded his thanks. He turned towards Vin Tanner and anger flared in his eyes. “The son of a bitch said you were d...dead, V...Vin.” Tanner’s hand inched across the blankets and touched his friend’s arm, sending strength through the contact. Larabee nodded gratefully as he continued. “There was so much b...blood I...I...knew he was right, b...but I couldn’t m...move. M...Maguire said he’d given me a sedative...wouldn’t let me touch you...T...tried to get to you, Vin, but he ground his heel into my hand. Maguire and another m...man dragged me to the horses,” he said as he met the sharpshooter’s eyes. “Wanted to help you, Vin, but the bastards wouldn’t let me go. I re...member trying to crawl back to you...knowing I had to help, but...they wouldn’t let me...tied me to the fucking horse and rode away. Left you there to die, Vin. I LEFT YOU THERE TO DIE!”
“No you didn’t, Chris. You just said they gave you a sedative and tied you to a horse,” Tanner explained softly.
“I should’ve been able to do something...should’ve been able to stop them.”
“Chris, you’re not at fault here,” Jackson told his friend.
“Listen to your friend, Chris, it wasn’t your...”
“How the hell do you know?” Larabee spat as warring emotions ran rampant through his mind. “How the fuck do any of you know? I saw Vin shot...I heard that bastard say that he was dead and I couldn’t do a damn thing about it! I just left him there in the boiling sun and let his blood run out of his body!”
Carlyle watched as the six men moved in to surround Larabee. He heard them telling the injured man there was nothing he could’ve done once Maguire drugged him. He heard the soft hiss from the blond as the other men’s words of comfort washed over him. Carlyle understood that this would be the true source of Larabee’s healing, that these men had some kind of bond that could not be explained. He let them talk and sat back, letting the power of true friendship seal the bond.
“Ain’t never left me behind, Cowboy, you’ve always been here and always will be. Did you really think I was dead? Deep down, in here, where it counts!” Tanner asked as he pointed to Larabee’s chest and head.
“N...no...I knew you were there. Kept feeling you, but Maguire kept taunting me. You know what got me through? What kept me alive?”
“What, Brother?” Sanchez asked.
“I knew you guys wouldn’t let me quit. We got a bond that goes way back and that’s something that can’t be broken no matter what Maguire tries....tried.”
“That’s right, Chris...Tried. Maguire is dead and won’t be a problem anymore,” Wilmington assured him.
Larabee nodded and looked gratefully at his friends as he continued with his story. “We left Four Corner and ended up at some old shack,” he smiled and looked up at his friends. “I think that old shack belonged to my great, great, grandfather.”
“You might be right about that, Chris,” Tanner said as a picture of the little piece of heaven flashed in his mind. He’d never seen the place, but something told him his own ancestor had spent many good times there.
“I d...don’t remember much after that. Maguire and his buddy held me down and he shot me with some kind of drug. Think he said it was something from the nightshade p...plant, but that he added some other things to it. He s...said it wouldn’t kill me...although I thought I was going to die when it raced through me....felt hot and cold at the same time. Bastards just l...laughed at me. Started seeing things that I knew couldn’t be there, but it didn’t make it any easier. I... I remember being forced onto a plane, but all I could see was that shark...”
“Shark?” Vin asked and saw the sorrow in Buck’s eyes.
“Remember it, Buck?”
“Yeah, I remember it, Chris.” Wilmington turned away as he too was caught up in the painful memory of an earlier time in their lives. A time that started out as dream come true and ended in a nightmare that nearly cost Chris his legs and his life.
“You sent that son of a bitch to hell too.”
“Yeah, we did. Hopefully he was waiting there for Maguire.”
“That’d be the perfect end for the two of ‘em,” Larabee said as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Remind me to tell you guys about the shark me and Buck caught. Damn thing wasn’t very happy and tried to bite my leg off. Buck stopped him though,” Larabee laughed as he thought back on the painful incident. “Punched the sonofabitch and when he didn’t let go Buck used a hook and pulled the damn thing away and threw him back in the ocean. I remember laughing so hard at Buck punching the thing, but the pain hit soon after.” He grew quiet for a few seconds and the others thought he’d fallen asleep until his quiet voice began speaking again. “Sorry, Doc, got a little sidetracked there.”
“That’s okay, Chris, you talk about anything you want to.”
“I remember waking up in the dessert with the sun beating down on me and not being able to think clearly...”
“Probably because of the drug you’d been given,” Jackson supplied.
“Yeah, it was. Found a tape recorder beside me and turned it on. It was Maguire telling me we were going to play a game called Cat and Mouse. He told me Vin was dead and that I could get revenge for that if I made it to help. There was a canteen and I drank from it and began running. D...don’t know h...how long or w...where to, but I ran and ran. Saw things that couldn’t have b...been there, but that didn’t matter. For me it was real...real and terrifying...” Larabee’s left fist clenched the blanket tightly as he relived the wild run through the desert. He knew the others understood how hard this was for him and were letting him talk it through at his own pace. “Saw more things that I knew weren’t there, but they were and I knew something was wrong with the FUCKING WATER...” Chris reached for the glass of water and uncertainty took over as he looked at it. He knew it was safe to drink, but the memories of the tainted water was still fresh on his mind. He turned to the tracker, tears glistening in his eyes. “That’s when I saw you, Vin...thought you must really be dead, but...”
“It wasn’t me, was it?”
“It was and it wasn’t. I...I thought it must’ve been you, but there was something different...”
“The buckskin clothing,” Standish filled in.
“Yeah, that was it,” Larabee agreed. “Knew it couldn’t be you because of the buckskins. Although they did suit you.” The blond smiled thinly as he looked around the room, amazed that the six faces he saw were so much like the seven peacekeepers from the long dead town of Four Corners.
“Maybe I’ll start wearin’ ‘em on special occasions,” Tanner said.
“Nah, stick with the jeans and the leather jacket, Tanner,” Larabee insisted.
“Have to agree with Chris, Vin. No Buckskins,” Dunne agreed.
“I wouldn’t talk, Kid, you’d better stay away from derby hats ‘cause they don’t suit you,” the sharpshooter said and they all laughed.
Chris grew serious again as the laughter died away. “It wasn’t you, Vin, but he told me you were alive and that I had to stay alive for my friends. I think that’s what kept me going...knowing you guys were out there searching for me. I knew you wouldn’t give up and I couldn’t give up either.”
“Glad you didn’t, Pard,” Wilmington said.
“Thanks, Buck.” Larabee said and turned to see the doctor watching him. “Kept running... had no choice. Seems like every time I stopped I’d hear gunshots and I knew I was being herded. I...it was hot...scorching...felt like I was burning up, least until night came. Then it just got so damn cold...and I did...didn’t mind running ‘cause it kept me warm...” He closed his eyes and shivered on the bed. He felt his friends watching him and knew they were there for a reason, to help get him through this and help him get past everything. “I don’t know how long I ran, but I saw something moving and I edged towards it.” A glimmer of a cocky grin formed on his face as he continued with his story. “I stumbled and hoped whoever it was would think I hadn’t seen them. I got lucky and the sonofabitch wasn’t expecting me and suddenly I was the cat and he was the mouse. We fought for who knows how long and he pulled out a knife. The damn thing was between us and I swear I don’t know where I got the strength, but I beat him at his own game and d...drove it into h...him. I didn’t get a ch...chance to see if he was dead because Maguire started firing at me. I r...ran...ran as fast as I could until I came to this old house. A woman was there and s...she a...agreed to help me...called you, J’siah, but there was no answer,” Larabee said tiredly and saw the guilt cross the blue eyes.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there, Chris. I didn’t get your message until the next day,” Sanchez said.
“I don’t blame you, Josiah, and neither should you.”
“Thanks, Brother,” Sanchez said of Larabee’s words.
“No need for thanks, except for me thanking you guys for coming after me.”
“What else would you expect, Mr. Larabee. You’re always the first one to come after one of us,” Standish told him.
Larabee smiled again as a yawn formed on his face and he looked at his friends sheepishly. “Sorry, been doing that a lot lately.”
“Chris, do you want to rest or...”
“No, Doc, need to do this now. Otherwise I might just blow up like I did earlier and the boys can tell you about my temper.”
“Temper?” Jackson said sarcastically. “What temper?”
They laughed again and Larabee looked at the medic. “Thanks, Nathan.” He took a deep breath, coughed, and continued with his story. “Didn’t have time to talk long as Maguire showed up. He killed the woman and the next thing I knew I woke up t...tied up in that fuckING,” his voice rose as he pictured the darkened interior of the chamber, and the hated figure standing there. “MINE!”
“Easy, Chris,” Tanner said.
“Bastard just kept finding new ways to torture me, but you know what, Vin?”
“What?”
“I got through it because
of seven men from our past and because of you guys. Kept seeing you and hearing
you. Especially that poem, the one you gave me after W...Wilcox died,” Larabee
closed his eyes and recited the words that continued to give him strength. “What
I offer seems pale in return,
A vow that blood couldn't make stronger.
It's given with newfound pride and honor,
You are forever my brother, I am alone no longer. Do you r...remember those
w...words, Vin.”
“I remember them, Chris.”
“I h...heard your voice s...saying them and w...wouldn’t let that b...bastard take your strength a...away from me! D...dammit!” Larabee wheezed painfully. “S...sorry.”
“Just concentrate on breathing, Chris,” Jackson said as Carlyle hurried to the door.
“S...shit, h...hate th...this,” he said as his breathing grew worse and he began to cough. He closed his eyes as pain erupted through his body and his chest constricted as the air seemed to be cut off from his lungs. He heard the worried voices of his friends, but didn’t have the energy to answer them. He fought to hold on to consciousness as he felt his head lifted slightly and a mask placed over his mouth and nose. He breathed deeply of the cool mist, opened his eyes for a second, but finally gave in to the call of sleep with six anxious men watching over him.
“Doc?” Jackson asked.
“Chris did very well, Mr. Jackson. He talked about the things that happened and that’ll help him past a lot of it. I can tell you he’s far from over the experience, but I believe it’ll be you gentlemen that will help him put it behind him. I’m going to schedule a couple of more sessions with him, but I’d also like you men to let him talk things through with you if he feels up to it. Don’t stop him from talking...”
“We’d never do that, Dr. Carlyle,” Jackson told him as the nurse checked the settings before leaving he room.
“I didn’t think so, but you would be surprised at how many patients try to talk to family and friends about what they went through. Most of the time the family and friends can’t face the reality of the horrors the victim faced. Their own fears making them turn away from someone who really needs them, leaving the victim to face it alone.”
“I assure you, Mr. Larabee will not be asked to discontinue with his revelations about his experiences. We’re here for the duration!” Standish informed the doctor.
“Chris is a lucky man to have the six of you.”
“That goes both ways Dr. Carlyle,” Sanchez said softly as he looked down at the sleeping man. “We’re lucky we all met. It was destiny, now and then,” he whispered as he turned tired eyes on the other men.
“Yeah, destiny,” Dunne agreed.
“Destiny or not, you gentlemen have proven that you are family. If there’s nothing else I have a couple of other patients I need to see.”
“Doc, he will be okay, won’t he?” Wilmington asked.
“I believe he’s going to be just fine and not because of anything I do. Gentlemen, take care of yourselves and you’ll go a long way to taking care of Chris’ problems.”
“Thanks, Doc, we will,” Jackson assured him. They watched the man leave and turned back to the sleeping patient.
“Nathan, how do you think he did?” Tanner asked.
Jackson was used to these men asking his opinion on medical matters. The men knew he wasn’t a doctor, but for some reason none of them could explain, they trusted his words more than they trusted the professional medical personnel. He realized it had more to do with how well he knew each of them. Their likes and dislikes, their backgrounds, and the stubborn streak that seemed to be ingrained in all of them. That streak kept all of them alive at one time or another.
“Chris opened up about what he went through, Vin, and that’s a good thing...”
“But...”
“But he still needs to talk about how he feels about it. He’s gotta let the anger out before he can let Maguire go completely and that’s where we’re gonna come into it. We let him talk, we let him rant, we let him scream if that’s what he wants to do. If he wants to cry we let him do that too, and we give him a shoulder to cry on. He made it through the ordeal with Wilcox, and I really think he’ll get through this one as well, and we’ve got one thing going for us that we didn’t have with Wilcox.”
“He trusts Vin and won’t shut him out,” Sanchez said simply.
“That’s right,” Jackson said as he looked at the sad eyes of the soft-spoken Texan. He knew they were talking about an experience they all wanted to forget, but it would always be a part of who they were. He saw the lines of pain on the haggard face and knew Tanner had overdone it again. “Vin, you need to lie down for a while.”
“I’m okay, Nathan,” the tracker assured him.
“Mr. Tanner, have you looked in a mirror recently. I’m afraid your reflection would surprise even you,” Standish told him.
“Ezra, you need to go to the hotel and get some rest yourself,” Wilmington told him, noting the bloodshot eyes and the slump of the younger man’s shoulders.
“I assure you...”
“That you’ll go to the hotel, get something to eat and go to sleep,” Sanchez interrupted before the conman had a chance to finish.
“Come on, Ez, I’ll go with you,” Dunne told him.
“I don’t need an escort, Mr. Dunne.”
“Maybe not, but ya got one,” the youngest member of the team said as he held the door open for the gambler.
“Bye, Ez,” Tanner said.
“Oh the indignity of having to...”
“Take orders from a younger man,” JD laughed as the door closed behind them.
“Now, Vin, you need to lie down before you fall down,” Jackson reiterated.
“I’m fine!”
“Vin, that line’s getting old,” Wilmington said as he straightened out the blankets on the fold away chair. “Now get your scrawny ass over here and lie down.”
“Ain’t got a scrawny ass!” Tanner staggered towards the chair. “Thanks,” he said as the ex-preacher grabbed his arm and steadied him.
“You’re welcome, Son,” Sanchez said and eased the sharpshooter onto the chair and gently placed him back on the pillows. He smiled as Wilmington pulled the warm blankets over the injured man.
“Thanks, Bucklin, make a good m...mama,” Tanner mumbled tiredly.
Half an hour later Sanchez sat alone in the room with the two injured men. Nathan and Buck had gone to the deli across the street to get lunch and would be bringing something back for him and Vin. His eyes roamed from one sleeping form to the other. Both so different and yet they’d come together and found a bond that could only have been destiny. A bond so strong that it seemed to give them insight into what the other was thinking or doing. A bond that had saved their lives more often than he could count. ‘Brothers, maybe not by blood, but there’s more than blood involved with you two. The good Lord meant for you to find each other, and by so doing, bringing together this strange group I call my family,’ he thought and settled back to keep vigil over the two men.
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