Original photos used with the written permission of the owner.

DEMONS

by Kim Roberts

© 2000

CHAPTER 7

Cody awoke in the darkness of the hayloft to the sounds of a cat fight in the barn below. For a moment he didn't know where he was, but the sensation of Lizzy's soft breath on his bare chest triggered pleasant memories of the evening. Sleep threatened to overtake him once more as he draped his arm around Lizzy's waist and settled back down into their bed of straw. A smug smile crossed his face as he envisioned looks of envy from the other riders. He would have a story to tell the boys in the morning!

The sound of neighing and nervous movements of the horses in their stalls below called Cody back from sleep once again. He bolted upright, recognizing the unmistakable smell of smoke wafting its way through the barn. Jumping to his feet, he quickly pulled on his trousers and hurried to the opening of the loft. His fears were confirmed as bright orange flames illuminated the darkness below. Gaining strength from the consumption of the loose straw on the barn floor, the fire danced confidently up the dry timber posts supporting the frame of the barn. The old wood crackled and popped in protest as the greedy flames advanced.

"Lizzy! Wake up!" Cody shouted to the sleeping girl.

Locked in peaceful dreams, Lizzy didn't respond to his call. Cody stumbled through the darkness of the loft toward her as the heat of the flames below began to rise through the cracks in the floorboards.

"Wake up, now!" Cody insisted, roughly shaking the girl.

Lizzy began to stir as a smile of remembrance crossed her lips. "Oh, Billy," she mumbled softly, reaching out to find Cody in the darkness.

"Not now, Lizzy! We gotta get out of here!" Cody grabbed Lizzy's arm and began to pull her to her feet.

Startled by Cody's brusque tugging on her arm and the urgency in his voice, Lizzy snapped awake. "What's wrong?" she demanded.

"The barn's on fire!"

"What?" Lizzy asked in disbelief.

"The barn's on fire!" Cody shouted again. "Get your clothes on quick! We gotta get out of here!"

Lizzy quickly jumped to her feet and threw her dress over her head, managing to fasten a few of the buttons before Cody grabbed her hand. Splinters of old wood reached up to grab their bare feet as they hurriedly crossed the loft. An eerie orange glow from below outlined the boards of the floor.

Cody looked into the opening, his heart pounding faster, as he noticed the bottom half of the ladder engulfed in flames. "The ladder's on fire, Lizzy! We're gonna half to jump part of the way!"

"What?" Lizzy cried, panic filling her voice.

"It'll be alright. I promise." Cody answered, trying to convince himself as well as the frightened girl at his side.

"I'll go down first, then you jump to me." he instructed.

"I can't! It's too far!"

"Lizzy, we have to! There's no other way down!" Seeing the fear in Lizzy's eyes, Cody pulled the trembling girl to him and spoke in the softest voice he could muster, "We're gonna be fine, Lizzy. Trust me. You stay right here while I go down."

Lizzy nervously nodded her head in agreement as Cody began his descent. The flames spread rapidly through the dry lumber of the barn, reaching out toward Cody as he quickly made his way down the ladder. His heart pounded harder within his chest as he surveyed the scene below. The loose straw on the floor had no defense against the voracious appetite of the fire. The flames had traveled up the support posts and now licked against the bottom of the loft.

Feeling the heat from the flames below on his bare feet, Cody realized he could advance no further down the ladder. Pushing himself off the wooden step, he jumped the remaining ten feet to safety, narrowly avoiding the encroaching flames. His ankle twisted underneath him as he landed unceremoniously on the dirt floor.

Ignoring the pain in his ankle, Cody quickly jumped to his feet and called to Lizzy. "Hold your skirt up and stop when I tell you!"

Lizzy hesitated for a moment as she looked into the opening. Her head began to swim at the thought of descending into the flames below, but as the haze of smoke in the loft grew thicker, threatening to steal away the remaining oxygen, she gathered her wits and began to climb down the ladder. Gathering her skirt in one hand she slowly descended until Cody instructed her to stop.

"Jump to me!" Cody shouted.

Lizzy looked down into the flames beneath her and panicked. "I can't!"

"Yes, you can! Push away from the ladder!"

Paralyzed with fear, Lizzy stood motionless on the wooden step. Cody watched helplessly from below until the heat from the approaching fire burned her feet and Lizzy jumped toward his outstretched arms, her skirt brushing against the flames. The force of Lizzy's body against him caused Cody's injured ankle to buckle and they rolled onto the soft dirt floor, gasping for breath.

Relieved to be on the ground, Lizzy didn't realize the skirt of her dress was on fire until Cody began throwing dirt on the flames spreading through the cotton fabric. Panicking, she tried desperately to pat out the fire with her hands, until Cody pulled them away from the burning fabric and rolled Lizzy's trembling body back and forth in the dirt until the flames were extinguished.

Attempting to prevent another night of mischief from the pranksters, Teaspoon completed his second walk through the streets of Rock Creek. He enjoyed the quiet the late night offered. It gave him time to think without Barnett or one of the riders demanding his attention. His thoughts tonight centered on Kid's earlier comments about Buck's behavior. Although he had dismissed Kid's concerns about Buck, he had noticed the boy acting strangely at supper that night. Buck appeared to be locked up in his own world, completely oblivious of the others around him. He seemed extremely nervous and had snapped at Lou for merely asking him to pass the sugar. Buck hadn't acted like that before, even in his deepest moments of grief. Teaspoon realized that Kid was right, his duties as Marshal did force him to spend less time at the station. Perhaps there was something else bothering Buck. Teaspoon decided to talk to the boy in the morning.

Assured that the business district was locked up tight and the residents of the small town were safely tucked in for the night, the weary Marshal headed back to his office hoping for a few hours of sleep before Rock Creek sprang to life again at daybreak. Reaching the door of his office, his attention was diverted by a faint orange glow softly spreading across the night sky at the edge of town.

"Damn, them," Teaspoon muttered under his breath as he started back down Main Street. His pace quickened as he realized the orange glow hung over the Express station.

Teaspoon ran into the yard of the station as Cody and Lizzy stumbled through the open door of the barn and collapsed on the ground, gulping in the fresh air as the fire crept further through the building behind them. Teaspoon looked at the two in amazement, wondering why they were in the barn at this time of night. Realization settled upon him as he noticed their state of undress.

"What did you do?" Teaspoon demanded, considering for a moment that the fire might have been an accident and not a prank.

"Nothin', Teaspoon," Cody answered defensively. "We… we were asleep in the loft. I woke up and the place was on fire!"

Realizing Cody was not to blame, Teaspoon pulled the boy to his feet. "Get the others out here while I start moving the horses!"

Hampered by his sprained ankle, Cody limped toward the bunkhouse. Lizzy ran ahead of him, stopping on the porch to frantically ring the dinner bell in an attempt to summon help from the neighbors. Awakened by the sound of the bell, Noah and Lou were already partially dressed when Cody burst into the bunkhouse.

"What's goin' on?" Noah asked as he hurriedly pulled on his boot. The expression on Lou's face repeated the question.

Cody leaned against the bunk, trying to catch his breath. "The barn's on fire. Teaspoon's movin' the horses out now."

Fearing for her precious Lightning, Lou ran past Cody into the night, followed by Noah, trying to pull on his second boot as he ran through the bunkhouse.

Cody rummaged through the dark room trying to find something to cover his bare feet before going back to help the others. Satisfied with a pair of Jimmy's old boots, he sat down and pulled them on, wincing at the pain in his ankle. As Cody's eyes adjusted to the dim light in the bunkhouse, he noticed Buck, still sound asleep in his bunk. Wondering how on earth anyone could sleep through the commotion, Cody shook Buck's shoulder, attempting to wake him.

"Wake up, Buck!"

The laudanum induced sleep was heavy. Buck stirred slightly, hearing Cody's plea in the distance, but the thick fog separating dream from reality prohibiting him from answering.

Growing irritated, Cody shook him harder. "Fine time to be sleepin', Buck! C'mon!"

Buck's lack of response confused Cody, but he didn't have time to think about it. Instead, he rushed out of the bunkhouse, as quickly as his injured ankle allowed, and into the station yard. A line of townspeople, alerted of the emergency, passed buckets from the water troughs to the burning building in a meek attempt to combat the fire. The dry boards of the building surrendered quickly to their enemy as the flames climbed higher.

Teaspoon had already retrieved several of the horses stabled in the back of the barn and secured their lead ropes to the hitching posts in front of the bunkhouse. Cody limped toward the blazing structure as Lou emerged leading Lightning and Ike's horse to safety. Noah quickly followed, managing to handle his own horse, the mare and her new filly.

Cody tried to grab Teaspoon's arm as the older man ran past him. "How many left, Teaspoon?" Cody asked, raising his voice enough to be heard over the roar of the fire, the shouts of the townspeople and the sound of clanging buckets passed down the fire brigade.

"I reckon there's five or six more plus all the gear inside if we can get it out!" Teaspoon shouted back. "Is this all the help we got?" he questioned as Lou and Noah ran back into the barn again.

"I can't wake Buck up!" Cody shouted above the din created by the growing crowd of onlookers.

Teaspoon stopped and ran back to Cody. "Is somethin' wrong with him?" he asked, concern for his injured rider evident in his voice.

"Dunno, I just couldn't wake him up. Want me to try again?"

Teaspoon debated for a moment, remembering Kid's concerns. Buck had appeared to be in some pain during supper, but it had been over two weeks since his accident. If something else were wrong, surely it would have been noticed before now. Convincing himself the boy was merely overtired, he answered, "No. Leave him be. Let's get them animals out of there."

Brightly colored wild horses, their coats shades of blue, green, red and yellow streaked across the open prairie. The magical creatures ran through the tall grass, leaving a trail of color behind them, transforming the prairie into a rainbow colored crazy quilt.

It was a beautiful site and Buck didn't want to leave his dream. But, the chaotic sounds drifting through the open windows of the bunkhouse pulled him away and he slowly awoke to an empty room and the noise in the yard. Groggy from the laudanum, Buck managed to pull on his trousers and stumbled onto the porch, nearly falling over Rachel as she knelt beside Lizzy, trying to comfort the shaken girl.

Realizing the futility of their efforts, Teaspoon ordered the townspeople to abandon their bucket brigade. The site of a small group of people throwing pails of water into the inferno was almost comical. There weren't enough buckets, troughs of water or volunteers in Rock Creek to battle a blaze of this size. The weary, smoke streaked faces of the riders and townspeople watched from a distance as the fire claimed the structure, its flames rising victoriously into the night sky.

In a drugged stupor, Buck stumbled toward Teaspoon and the riders assembled in the yard catching bits of their conversation.

"Think them kids are responsible for this Teaspoon?" Lou asked.

"I reckon so. Probably tossed a lantern into that pile of straw near the loft," Teaspoon answered. "Evidently they got somethin' against the Express, but I can't imagine what we done to deserve this punishment."

"Loft"

"Lantern"

"Punishment"

The words spun around in Buck's head at a dizzying speed as memories of the evening came rushing back. He remembered climbing the ladder to the loft, but heard voices and went back down. He vaguely remembered setting a lantern on a post near the ladder to the loft. Buck closed his eyes tightly, trying to envision his actions. He had been disappointed that he couldn't put Ike's drawing back in the trunk and went to bed. No… he went to the horse stalls first, then went to bed. Something was missing. He didn't remember putting out the lantern. But surely he had. He wouldn't forget something so important. Still, he couldn't remember.

Buck had never experienced an actual "vision quest", but after an eagle appeared to him during his trials in the Kiowa village, providing him guidance and strength to endure the ritual, he considered the eagle his "spirit guide". In Buck's drugged mind, he saw the regal bird in the opening of the loft and reached for the medicine pouch around his neck, thanking the eagle for its protection. But the spirit's intent became clear as the eagle's wings burst into flame as it took flight. Buck's eyes opened wide in horror as he crouched low to avoid the flaming deity as it flew toward him leaving a trail of fire in the sky. Suddenly, the flames devouring the floor of the hayloft disappeared, the floor and the contents of the loft dropping into the fury below. Now it was clear to him. The appearance of the spirit wasn't to protect, but to punish. This was his punishment for killing the Kiowa in his dream, for doubting the strength of the spirits. The spirit had used his carelessness to destroy what was dear to him.

"No," Buck mumbled, his eyes fixed on the area below the loft, now blazing with increased ferocity.

Hearing his voice, the riders turned around. "Nice of you to finally join us, Buck," Cody said sarcastically as he took a seat on the ground to relieve the pressure in his swollen ankle.

Teaspoon breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the boy, but the look of shock on Buck's face startled him.

"What is it, son?"

Buck felt as if his chest was about to explode from the pounding of his heart and for a moment his legs felt too heavy to move. But he couldn't fail again. Forcing himself forward, Buck pushed past Teaspoon and Noah and staggered toward the barn.

Noah was surprised by Buck's odd reaction and tried to grab his dazed friend's arm, but Buck fought against him.

"NO!"

Teaspoon and the riders watched in confusion as Buck broke free from Noah's grip and ran toward the blazing building.

"What's he doin'?" Lou asked in amazement.

Rachel watched the scene from her position on the porchsteps, as perplexed as the others by Buck's behavior, until a sudden realization swept over her. "Oh, my God," she whispered.

Rachel's cry broke through the night as she ran across the yard, "He's after Ike's trunk! Stop him!"

The drug clouding his judgement, Buck ran without hesitation into the barn. Once inside, the intense heat of the fire and its thick black smoke wrapped around him like a shroud as he stumbled further into the building. Focused on his responsibility, Buck didn't feel the flames against his skin as he tossed pieces of burning lumber out of his way in his search of Ike's trunk. The heavy smoke clung to his eyes, blinding him. Closing them tightly, Buck tried to rub the effects away, but it felt as if shards of glass were cutting his eyelids. Robbed of air, his lungs crying out in agony, Buck gasped for breath only to draw in more smoke. Dazed and disoriented, the ground suddenly rushed up to meet him as Noah knocked him to the barn floor.

Buck tried desperately to free himself from Noah's hold, but Noah was just as determined and half dragged, half carried him out of the collapsing building. Teaspoon and Noah wrestled Buck to the ground, holding him firmly as he continued to fight against them.

"You ain't goin' back in there," Teaspoon said emphatically. "It's gone," he added and slightly loosened his hold around Buck's chest as he coughed and gasped for clean air.

The weight of the roof growing too great for the crumbling walls, the barn groaned and drew its final breath.

Buck's attempt to save Ike's trunk would have been unsuccessful, even if he had found it. When the floor of the loft collapsed, the trunk landed on a corner of its base on the barn floor below. The impact against the hard ground caused the frame to contort and the hinges broke, allowing the lid to fly open. Flaming pieces of the loft floor landed in the open trunk, immediately igniting the articles of Ike's clothing Rachel had packed away. In a matter of seconds, Ike's belongings had been reduced to ash.

Realizing he was too late, Buck slowly stopped fighting against the two men protecting him from his foolish actions and his body fell limp in defeat. Not yet sure he had come to his senses, they didn't release Buck but continued to hold him down as he silently laid blame. He had angered the spirits and the fire was his punishment. Ike's most treasured possessions had been entrusted to him and he had destroyed them. Buck slowly raised his head facing the spirit's retribution. His guilt became to great to bear and he began to shake uncontrollably under its weight. Hot tears stung his eyes and mingled with the dirt and smoke on his face creating rivers of sadness. He had failed his best friend, again.