FAITH
FAITH (after an idea by Nesciri)
Kid came riding fast back from town pulling Katy
to a hard stop. "No one's seen them. Cody, let's get going. I'll grab a
few things." Kid dismounted and ran into the bunkhouse.
Cody knew Kid was more than a little worried and
he ran over to the corral. He saddled his horse and led her through the gate.
He suddenly realized his stomach was hurting and it got a little worse every
time he took a step. He frowned as he placed a hand on his suddenly tender belly.
It was probably nothing and would be gone in a little bit. Just as he had mounted,
he heard the sound of approaching horses. He looked up and was filled with relief
when he saw two familiar figures.
Jimmy and Lou came riding up to the bunkhouse at
a pretty good pace. Kid ran out and helped Lou off her horse before giving her
a hug.
"Where have you been? We were just about to
ride out looking for you." Kid tried to keep the frustration out of his
voice. He was so happy to have Lou back but he couldn't help feel a little angry.
Lou looked at Jimmy over Kid's shoulder and the
two exchanged worried looks. Lou shook her head a little at Jimmy who ended
up fiddling with his horse's reins. She wanted to tell Kid herself what Yellow
Crane had done to her. "We lost Yellow Crane. We don't know where she is."
"Doesn't matter. Red Bear's here and Buck feeling
better," Kid said firmly.
"We did see her though. That's why we're late.
She came into our camp while we were sleeping," Lou said while watching
Kid's face to gage his reaction.
"She hurt you?" Kid felt anger flame up
inside him.
"Not exactly. Kid, she put another curse on
us." Lou ducked her head and she wiped her hands across her eyes. She was
so tired. She wanted a hot bath and a good meal. She wanted for Kid to hold
her. She wanted the nightmare to end. "Kid, I need to talk to you."
She sounded so desperate that Kid knew something was terribly wrong.
"Sure thing, honey." His voice was tender
and he put his arm around her waist as he led her a little away from Cody and
Jimmy. Any other time he would have taken her into the barn or out for a walk.
Now, he didn't want to be out of eyesight. Yellow Crane had a spooky way of
showing up whenever they were least expecting her.
"Kid," Lou whispered. "The curse.
She said she would take my firstborn. Our firstborn." Lou started to cry
now and she clung to Kid. "She's destroying everything. She keeps hurting
Cody, Ike almost got killed, and Lord knows what she's doing to Buck. Now she's
taking our future."
"Lou, Lou," Kid chanted as he held her.
"She can't hurt us. Not really. She doesn't have any special powers. Isn't
Buck feeling better? He'll be up soon and everything will be fine." Kid
hoped he sounded convincing but he secretly wasn't sure at all. She continued
to sob and he gently rubbed her back. "I'm not going to let anything hurt
you or our children when we have them."
"I'm just so tired," Lou sniffled a little.
She tried to manage a smile for Kid. "I'm going inside to wash. Will you
come with me?"
"Of course." They started to walk back
toward Jimmy and Cody when Lou suddenly stopped. Kid noticed she was looking
at Hickok who was looking at the ground. "I forgot. She said something
to Jimmy. I couldn't hear what. I can tell he's upset."
Kid nodded. "Go on inside. Rachel, Buck and
Red Bear are inside. I'll be right there." Kid approached Jimmy who looked
up and met Kid's eyes.
"Kid, I want you to know that I tried to take
care of her," Jimmy said with a hint of guilt in his voice.
"I know you did. We'll all be fine," Kid said as he watched Jimmy turn to leave. He had to know something though. It couldn't wait.
"Jimmy, what Yellow Crane say to you?"
"It was nothing," Jimmy shrugged and walked off, his head hanging down and his boots scraping the ground.
Cody in the meanwhile had been listening to the
conversation feeling a little more woozy every minute. He felt chilled under
his flannels and buckskins as a fine layer of sweat broke out on his skin and
he shivered violently. He began to swallow convulsively as he fought back a
wave of nausea. He stumbled a little and clutched his stomach as sharp jagged
pains suddenly assaulted him. He bent over as the cramps worsened, almost collapsing
on the ground. Pain came at him from all angles and he didn't know what to do.
Kid, who saw Cody's struggles, reached over to support him but Cody shook him
off. He ran a few steps and leaned over. His head spun as he vomited for the
next ten minutes. Kid finally helped him into the bunkhouse and tried to put
him into his bunk. "I can't lay down. I need to walk," he moaned as
he pushed Kid's hands away.
"Billy, you're too sick for that," Rachel
protested. Jimmy had run inside to tell them that Cody was sick and needed help.
Rachel found herself praying again that it was not the result of another trick
but deep down she knew different.
"Rachel, I'll throw up again if I lay down." They could only watch helplessly as he moved around the bunkhouse in a daze. He still clutched his stomach and he made his way to a chair. He grabbed the back and leaned over it. "I'm going to get sick again." He ran outside. Everyone else looked at each other. "I'll go with him," Jimmy said. When they came back inside, Cody slumped over to his bed.
"Billy, what do you think it is?" Rachel
asked as she put a cool cloth on his neck.
"I don't know. I just ate some eggs. They should
be fresh."
Red Bear who had been watching quietly surprised everyone when he got up and picked Cody's plate up from the counter. He lifted the plate and cautiously smelled it. Memories of long ago came flooding back. He knew what this was and who had done it. Yellow Crane was here and she had tried again.
