To say that things happened too fast or all hell broke loose was the worlds biggest understatement. Upon reaching the river things got real hairy real fast, literally.
Patches was contemplating the rolling water and watching for water mocs when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and began to tickle. Instinctively she rested her right hand on her crossdraw pistol, while holding both reins in her left. Quickly she attempted to look in all directins at once, when out of the corner of her eye she saw Lucky jump for the water.
THEN she saw the human shaped shadow slipping like oil from the rocks.
Fast she drew her pistol, shouting the single word "AMBUSH!" as she did. No sooner was her finger pressing the trigger when out of nowhere 200 pounds of solidity slammed into her back from the left.
She got one shot off, which went wild, before the gun flew from her hand. She and whoever had jumped her slammed to the ground with numbing force and she took two punches to the kindeys before she could even gain her breath back.
Thunder, in the meantime, had screamed and reared, then attempted to take off away from the water. But he was no dumb horse, realizing that someone was trying to catch him. He spun on a dime, half in mid air, bucked and kicked his attacker in the head - killing him instantly - before running off to the shelter of the rocks.
Meanwhile, Patches struggled with the greasy smelling thing that straddled her back. His arm circled around her throat, choking her and bending her backwards at the same time.
She reached up with both hands, trying to see through the stars obstructing her vision, and gouged as deeply as she could at the mans face. He screamed as blood tricked down both cheeks, raising his hands to his wounded face. Patches took that opportunity to spin underneith of him and slam the heal of her hand squarely into his nose. He fell back screaming and kicking, and Patches sprang to her feet.
Next thing she knew...they were all over her. What truely couldn't have been more than 7or 10 men seemed like a horde and Patches did the only thing she could do -- she started throwing punches.
The scuffle couldn't have lasted more than half a minute (although it seemed like an eternity), before Patches found herself face down in the mud attempting to roll with each kick what surely had been coming from 20 or 30 different boots. Not that she didn't get her share of licks in, but one blow to the gut doubled her over and she was done for.
She heard someone ask someone else what he should "do with'er", and another person answer "Kill'er". She was rapidly losing consiousness and the only thought in her pain filled head was "Don't worry Bill, I toldja if I die, I'd haunt ya for the rest of your life."
She had every intention of doing just that too. Returning as soon as she could as a ghost to haunt the lab at the Southern Star forever, or until someone at the Star could hear her message....
~Several hours later ~
Patches swam out of a deep darkness, her eyes coming open slowly. It was still dark. Dark like it was when she and Scarlet first left the cave.
That could only mean one of two things. One: She had not been unconsious for too long or two: She had been unconsious for most of the day.
It was still raining too. Each drop coming to crash on her badly bruised back making her feel like a cushion full of holes.
Obviously she wasn't dead. She hurt way too much to be dead.
She raised her head attempting to blink the liquid out of her eyes. Only one eye was working properly. She groaned at the sharp pain in her neck as she lifted her head.
"Aw crap," she mumbled through swollen lips. This was not good. Carefully and with a great deal of effort she managed to roll over, letting the stinging rain wash the blood from her face for a moment. Again, she slowly opened her one good eye and attempted to make sence out of a water coated world.
A soft blowing from her right cought her attention and she turned her head to look. Peaking out from between two rocks, tentative, was Thunders head, his reins dangling down.
"C'mere boy," she said as loudly as she could. At what point did her throat become filled with ground glass? The horse took a slow step forward. Patches patted the ground with her hand, hoping the horse would realize she was alive and in desperate need of a hand up.
It took some doing but finally he came up to her, bending his head to softly blow in her face. She reached up and tugged at a rein.
"Gotta lay down," she whispered, still trying to find her voice. Thunder looked at her as if she were speaking in tongues. She tugged the rein a bit harder. "Lay down....need help."
God only knew how long later Thunder finally got what she was saying and laid down next to her. Using the tack, the reins, and the saddle horn as leverage she was finally able to slide down and wriggle around enough to get one leg over the saddle even though every little movement caused an excrusiating, seering pain throughout her body.
Surely this operation had taken hours.
"Up..." she said and this time the horse obeyed, instantly gaining his feet. Patches' head went dizzy and her vision greyed to almost nothing as Thunder rose. She sat as still as possible on the nervous horse, doubled over, until it cleared.
She reached for the reins, but could only catch one. Finally, short of breath and weakening more with every movement she just let go and wrapped her arms around Thunder's neck.
"Go home boy," she whispered into his wet main. "Gotta go home and get help."
That seemed to be a command the horse understood and he took off.
Patches was in and out of consiousness during that half a days ride, never really sure how long it took or why she never fell from the saddle. Thunder only stopped once or twice to drink from some ouddle before pushing on. When she was consious she spoke to the horse as she could, urging him to go faster, but he was very aware of the condition of his rider and didn't jostle her too much. When he thought she was slipping from the saddle he'd stop, and the stop always woke her.
~Somewhere around 8 PM~
Dr. Bill stood under the shelter of the porch roof of the telegraph office smoking a cigar, listening to the rain coming down, and staring into the inky blackness of the night.
Where was she? She should have been back long before now WITH Scarlet in tow. Something had happened. Something terrible and hurtful and by God he could feel that in the core of his very bones.
His eyes frantically searched the land he could not see, although his body was held in a stance of calm like never before. To look at him, a person would think he was casually standing there smoking, perhaps enjoying the sound of the rain before turning in, but every muscle in his body was tense and ready to spring should the need arise. His normally active mind that held a myriad of thoughts at any given time now only screamed one sentence: "Where are you?"
He realized quickly that in this weather, as dark as it was, his eyes would easily deceive him, perhaps tricking him into seeing that which was not there to begin with. Several times already he thought he saw movement where there was none. But he recalled a lesson in listening from back in Arizona, where Patches had taught him to seperate sounds.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and listened.
Rain, spattering down, not as hard as it was earlier. Horses in the barn. Running rain water from the roof of the house. A voice calling to someone, also from the house. Hoof beats...coming in fast.
Hoof beats?
His eyes snapped open, searching the darkness. Where, where were they coming from? Patches? Hoof beats, closer now....
Then the flair went off. Bright yellow lighting up the night. THERE! A shadow of a horse running in, with a lump on its back. Thunder?
He had no time to make his mind register exactly what he was seeing in the eerie yellow glow, he simply tossed his cigar and ran as fast as he could into the rain.
Bill came to a screetching halt just as the running horse did the same. There was a moment when horse and human simply looked at eachother. Thunder was covered in foam and scratches, his head down, breathing hard. Bill took a tentative step toward him, hand held palm out. Thunder looked over his shoulder, then back at Bill.
Bill stepped around, his heart slamming full throttle into his throat. Fast he stepped to the saddle and cought Patches before she could slide off and fall to the ground.
"Oh God," he said as he cradled her in his arms. She was hurt and bad. Even her knuckles were scraped and bloody. "Patches? Patty!"
"My God what happened?" Johnny's voice by the horses head.
"Where's Scarlet?" Fritz's voice at Bill's shoulder.
Bill wasn't even aware they had joined him. He stood and turned around, his face set in a mask of concern. Johnny and Fritz took one look at the limp form in their friends arms and all three men rushed to the house.
Ella ran down to the kitchen in response to Johnny's bellow and met the men coming in.
"Lay her there on the kitchen table," she ordered while pulling her supply box out of the pantry. "Fritz, fetch water and boil two pans full. Johnny, bring lanterns in here for extra light. Bill... ," her voice trailed off as the naked emotions on Bill's face stopped her from sending him away.
She took out a piece of soft cloth and moistened it with her disinfectant. Handing it to Bill, she said quietly, "Clean her face and hands."
Ella turned to assessing the injuries. Patches had broken ribs for sure, and only a miracle could have prevented a punctured lung, but both lungs sounded clear and sound. She had a broken collar bone as well. The bruises on her throat were going to be more dramatic-looking tomorrow, but were not an important problem now. Her eyes were responding to light normally, so her head wasn't damaged too badly.
Rose had come in with the lanterns, and sent Fritz and Johnny out. Then Rose helped Ella undress and bathe Patches. Ella bit her lip at the sight of blood that could only have come from kidney damage.
The jar of bruise ointment was empty by the time Ella and Rose had applied it to all the places that needed it. After Ella had bound Patches's ribs and set the collar bone, Rose helped her dress Patches in a soft nightgown. "We can take her out to her bed in the telegraph office in the morning. I don't want to move her until then," said Ella.
The probability of surviving any injury or combination of injuries was a mathematical equation. Since the human body was not a series of independent variables the total probability was a summation and not a summation of squares and root of the sum. SHE’S GOING TO DIE SHE’S GOING TO DIE SHE’S GOING TO DIE SHE’S GOING TO DIE. Per istam Sanctam UnctioXnem, et suam piisimam misericordiam, indulgeat tibi Dominus quidquid per visum deliquisti. Amen. Per istam Sanctam UnctioXnem, et suam piisimam misericordiam, indulgeat tibi Dominus quidquid per auditum deliquisti. Amen. YOU’RE NO PRIEST. YOU COULDN’T FINISH ANTHING. YOU WERE’NT THERE WHEN SHE NEEDED YOU THE MOST! SHE’S GOING TO DIE. SHE’S GOING TO DIE. SHE’S GOING TO DIE. SHE’S GOING TO DIE. SHE’S GOING TO DIE. Assigning a value of “X” to the probability of successful recovery and solving for the cumulative percentage we arrive at a statistical negative result that normalizing SHE’S GOING TO DIE. SHE’S GOING TO DIE. SHE’S GOING TO DIE. SHE’S GOING TO DIE. SHE’S GOING TO DIE Per istam Sanctam UnctioXnem, et suam piisimam misericordiam, indulgeat tibi Dominus quidquid per odoratum deliquisti. Amen. Per istam Sanctam UnctioXnem, et suam piisimam misericordiam, indulgeat tibi Dominus quidquid per gustum et locutionem deliquisti. Amen. FIND THEM KILL THEM FIND THEM KILL THEM FIND THEM KILL THEM FIND THEM KILL THEM FIND THEM KILL THEM FIND THEM KILL THEM FIND THEM KILL THEM.
Through this holy annointing, and His most loving mercy, may the Lord forgive you whatever wrong done. Amen
“Bill?" A voice from far away, too soft to break through the litany in his head. He couldn't take his eyes off the battered form on the table. For some reason everything was swirling.
"Bill?" He should have been there. He could have protected her, SHOULD have protected her...
"BILL!!" His head jerked around, his eyes finally meeting with Ella's. Thankfully -- for the moment -- the internal clamor stopped. "I think that’s all we can do for right now,” Ella said, calmly. “I’ll put the coffee on and we can sit here with her.” She handed him an unused bit of leftover bandage so he could clean his glasses before turning toward the stove to start on the coffee. He sat near her head and cleaned his glasses all in one fluid motion, removing the tears that had accumulated on the lenses.
Once his glasses were back on his face he noticed some dirt and twigs or something in Patches hair. The fact that her hair was loose and so unkempt bothered him terribly for some strange reason. Ella must have unbraided it in order to check for head injuries, and all 40 inches of it was balled up under her neck.
"I need a brush," he said gruffly. Those were the first words he'd spoken since he found her drapped over the back of her horse.
Ella turned. "What?"
Gently Bill lifted Patches head with one hand and began straightening out her hair with the other. "She doesn't like to sleep on her hair," he said. "I need a brush."
Ella looked at him, then down at her. Was the brushing of Patches hair something that he needed to do for her or for himself? She supposed it didn't matter as long as Bill was occupied enough to stay sane. She smiled just a tiny bit. "I'll get you one." She said and went to retrieve a brush.
"Bill?" Another voice disturbed his attempt to sort out all the other voices that threatened to fill his ears again. Bill looked up. It was Tensleep. His mustache drooped and he held his hat in his hands. "How bad is it?"
"Bad," Bill said, as Ella handed him the brush. Ella poured coffee for both men.
"Has she said anything yet?" Sleep took a step in the room.
Bill shook his head. "Not yet," he said quietly as he carefully began to remove bits of dirt and grass from Patches's hair.
Tensleep sagged against the wall. "Patches hurt, Scarlet missing and Fritz is goin crazy with worry. Sure wish I knew what happened out there."
"I'm sure you'll find out as soon as Patches regains consiousness," Ella stated guiding 'Sleep into the room to sit down with his coffee.
'Sleep looked up at her and nodded, then looked at Bill. "She'll make it Bill. She will," he said comfortingly.
Bill nodded, never looking away from his methodical brushing, his mind recalling every last scientific fact he knew about human hair. He thought that he looked forward to watching all that fiery red turn to gray, slowly, over time. Years and years and years watching her hair turn. He wondered how long it would be in 20 years if she still refused to cut it. But will he be able to after this? The first 24 hours were always crucial. How long could a hair grow in 24 hours?
"Ella," Fritz and Johnny had come in the room followed by Bo and Jimmy.
Ella turned, reached down more cups, filled them then went to the kitchen door. "How is she?" Johnny asked.
"She's breathing slow and steady," she said with a glance over here shoulder. "But hasn't woken up yet. It's going to be a very long night. And don't even think about asking Bill to leave her or get some rest because I can tell you right now, he won't."
"Wouldn't dream of it," Fritz said, staring. If that was Scarlet laying on that table, 25 pounds of TNT couldn't get him away. He tore his gaze from the scene in the kitchen, accepted the proffered coffee and sipped although it held no flavor for him.
"Bill and I will stay with her, I assume you and Tensleep will come on and off. For right now though, we'll give her room to breathe. I'll let you kniow when she wakes or if she says anything. Alright?"
Fritz and Johnny both nodded and then left, taking Bo and Jimmy with them.
"Bill's holding in a lot of pent up anger," Fritz noted to Johnny once they gained the hall.
"Wouldn't you?" Johnny asked.
"Oh yeah. Figure he might need something to do while waiting. He can't brush her hair forever."
Johnny raised one eyebrow. "I think you've got tetched." He quipped as best he could under the circumstances.
"Maybe so." Fritz agreed. "But I know that if I was in his position I'd wanna be killing something. All that waiting is enough to drive a man mad."
Johnny sighed. "Is Scarlet the only person in this world who can make sence out of what yer sayin?"
Fritz almost laughed. "I think so. I'll be right back."
And so Johnny Longknife stood in the middle of the hallway and watched his soon-to-be-son-in-law stride out door. A few minutes later he came back with a long branch, his unsheithed knife still in his other hand.
"Figure Bill might want to make her a cane. With broken ribs she might need it. Might give him something to take his agressions out on too."
And with that he strode back into the bedroom.
~ Somewhere around 3 am ~
Patches groaned softly. Bill sat straight up in his chair, the branch Fritz had given him sliding off his lap to clatter to the floor. Ella lifted her head from the table at the sound, took one look at Patches and went straight for warm water and a cloth.
Bill took her hand, very gently. "Patches?"
Her one good eye fluttered open. "Bill...."
Bill smiled inspite of himself. "Yes darlin. It's me."
By this time Ella was swabbing her face gently. It must have felt good to her because she closed her eye and moaned softly.
"Bill..." Her voice barely above a whisper, her eyebrows coming together with the effort of her thoughts. "Tell Johnny...."
She stopped. Bill glanced at Ella who indicated he should encourage her to go on. He leaned down closer to her, one hand on the top of her head.
"Tell Johnny what darlin?" He asked.
"Tell ...Johnny...Travis sees..." She managed.
"Travis?" Bill was confused. "What does Travis see darlin?"
Patches moved her head to the side, almost a jerking motion. She swallowed hard twice then Ella gave her a sip of water while Bill held her head.
"Travis...sees...where Scarlet....is going." She whispered. "Travis sees....love you darlin. Be alright." And with that she fell back into oblivion.
Bill, his eyes beginning to tear up again, leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Love you too darlin." He whispered. She squeezed his hand.
"I think I need to get Johnny," Ella said.