BETTER
THAN DEATHBETTER
THAN DEATHAuthor's note: As we all know there came a point in the third season where Travis Fine, who portrayed Ike, decided he wanted to leave the show. The crack-head third season writers got rid of him in their own way, and if you liked their method please read no further and email me so I can know such a person exists. As for the rest of us, I wanted to create an ending for Ike's character on the show that would be exciting yet somewhat permanent without all the grief. Some previous discussion has concluded that many of us would be extremely disappointed to have seen him married off the show as Sam and Emma were. So now the story will begin at the end of Presence of Mine Enemies, as Ike ran toward the saloon where Emily has her gun pointed at Neville.
As he got closer to the saloon, he could see Emily standing with her gun pointed. He knew that she was having difficulty pulling the trigger, but that Neville was there and that he was calling her bluff. He hoped that his prediction was right as he jumped to her side and looked in the exact direction that her gun was pointed. His gun, in his hands since he left the bunkhouse, fired quickly into Neville before he even realized Ike had entered the saloon. The man fired once in vain toward the rider as he collapsed onto the bar. The crowd that had gathered to watch Emily's retributive attempt, silenced staring at the dead man and his killer.
Ike dropped his gun and turned to hug Emily. Her body felt good to his touch. He was oblivious to the rest of the world, and especially to the crime he had just committed as her fine hair brushed against his chin. She stared at the dead body as if it were going to jump up and seek its own retribution at any time. Tears flooding her face as if she never had the chance to cry before. The bartender was at the side of the dead man, more for the purpose of keeping the pool of blood from spreading than anything else.
The crowd's shock quickly passed as their attention turned toward Ike, and people began to make comments on the activity of the past few minutes.
"He never even pulled his gun!" one onlooker commented about Neville.
"Oughtta at least give a man a fair chance," another added.
"Sonofabitch got what he deserved," one man defended.
The crowd all added their opinions. Ike didn't notice any of this, but the other riders who had arrived by this point noticed the controversy. They soon realized that the boy that was probably the kindest of the riders was now perceived by at least a minority of the patrons as a cold-blooded killer.
"What in tarnation is going on around here?" The gruff voice silenced the crowd as Teaspoon entered the saloon. Before anyone could answer him, he knew exactly what occurred, and from the immediate response from some of the more riled-up members of the crowd, he knew he was going to have to do one of the hardest things he had ever done.
Cody, Jimmy and Kid stood near the crowd in case it needed controlling. Buck kept one eye on the increasingly tense crowd as he watched his best friend in case he needed support. Ike looked into his eyes while keeping his arms around Emily. Rage and fear were simultaneously expressed in the frantic gaze.
Buck immediately understood his thoughts, as if they had been spoken loud and clear.
"You better get out of here fast. Why don't you two head over to Teaspoon's office?" He suggested.
As if suddenly snapped out of a trance, Ike looked at Emily and pulled her reluctant body out the door. She kept her head turned, staring at the lifeless body of Neville while now shouting obscenities in his direction, until the doors to the saloon closed and she could see him no more. Ike ran with her to Teaspoon's office where she returned to a position with her head nuzzled into his chest, soaking it with tears. He gently ran his hands over her back, calming her shaking body as his mind raced. The crowd had seemed displeased with his actions, and he realized that for the first time ever he had killed a man in cold blood.
Meanwhile, Teaspoon wouldn't let anybody leave the saloon. Several men brought it to his attention that the killer had fled the scene, as if doubting the old marshal's ability to handle the situation.
"Now sir, I have never seen you around here before, so I guess it's expected that you doubt my ability to handle this situation, but that boy is in my office right now waiting. If you got a problem with that you can just look out that there window and see him across the street. Right now I have a matter of getting all this information straight. Then I will take care of Ike."
Teaspoon had been right in that he had never seen the man before, as he was from out of town. Teaspoon figured this much, as all of the town's regulars kept their mouths shut, if not speaking of how much Neville deserved any sort of death that would come to him. Teaspoon and the boys were caught off-guard by the size of the group of men demanding justice for the death of this low-down cheating gambler. Teaspoon sent Noah, who had recently arrived on the scene, and Buck to his office in case any of these men decided to go after Ike. Meanwhile he had Kid and Jimmy help him collect information from the witnesses.
When Buck and Noah arrived at the office Ike was sitting on a bench next to Emily, who had calmed down considerably. Ike looked at the two men with concern.
"You seemed to have made a few men there a little upset," explained Noah.
"Teaspoon wanted us to come and make sure none of them came after you," Buck added.
Ike looked at the messengers with his eyebrows pinched together questionably. <Do we know them?>
"Never seem them before in my life," Noah said as he kept his eyes out the window looking toward the saloon.
"Me neither," Buck added. "I think Neville might have made a few friends in the past few days, they seem to be from out of town."
Ike sat still as he thought of what this would mean. All he had cared about was Emily's safety, and he had succeeded at protecting her. Now it seemed he needed to think of his own safety, something that he hadn't expected from anyone but Neville. The fact that the man could actually make friends amazed him, and the sort of friends such a man would make would not be satisfied with any leniency on Teaspoon's behalf. Ike began to get defensive. <I had to do it!> he signed forcefully, beating himself hard in the chest in the process.
"We know that Ike, just relax now," Noah suggested. It always seemed to hurt Noah when Ike pounded himself in the chest to get attention or stress a point.
Ike went on in a flurry of violent motions that only Buck could follow. Emily had recovered from her stupor and eyed Buck for an interpretation of the gestures. Noah watched out the window, knowing he would hear what he needed from Buck.
Just as Buck opened his mouth to reply to Ike instead of translating, Noah spoke up. "Here comes Teaspoon."
In fact Teaspoon was on his way, along with the other riders and a few of the angry onlookers. The coroner was carrying away the body of Neville as the group headed to the jail.
Emily ignored the procession and eyed Buck inquisitively, "What did he say?"
"Hold on," Buck replied as his and Ike's attention was swiftly changed to that of the old marshal entering the room.
"You sure seemed to make a couple of enemies Ike," Teaspoon announced as he rushed in the room ahead of the mob. "I wanna lock you up before any of them can get their hands on ya."
Emily looked at Teaspoon, horrified at the thought. Obediently, Ike got up and walked into the cell while Teaspoon quickly turned the lock. He ran out of the office, disregarding the questioning from the speaking members of the room, and pushed back the small crowd of disgruntled witnesses.
"I wanna make sure that boy gets punished!" one man shouted from the crowd.
"Yeah, he murdered that man in cold blood, we wanna see justice served!" came another voice. It was responded to with a few cheers from the other men, who were somewhat inebriated from their afternoon drinks.
"Now hold up here! I have locked him up and he is going to stay there while I get his side of the story, and I will handle the law around here. That boy's got a right to defend himself and I intend to see that he gets that chance!"
"What's there to defend?" a man questioned. He obviously grew courageous in the course of attacking somebody else, the kind of man that enjoyed watching somebody hang as long as it wasn't his neck, Teaspoon thought. He was slightly buck-toothed, which was magnified by a large gap in the nasty brown protrusions.
"He ran right in and killed that man in cold blood. I think the law is that he should be hanged! Hell, he didn't even shout a warning at the man, give him a chance to know what was coming!"
"That's cause he's a dummy!" One of the others chimed in. He must have been there the day before when Ike had confronted Neville in the saloon.
"What do you mean? He can't talk?" Questioned the bucktooth man, who convinced Teaspoon more of his lack of intelligence with every word.
"Nope, he came in the other day and started pushing Neville around for no reason too." The man added. The patrons of the bar didn't know anything about the other occurrences linking Ike's hostility to the slick gambler, so all they had seen was the boy coming in and picking fights with the man. Teaspoon realized that he was going to have a rough time with this situation. These men saw Ike as a cold-blooded killer, and as far as the law was concerned, he was.
Teaspoon calmed the crowd down and assured them that he would keep the prisoner and make sure justice was served. He hoped that as the men headed back to the bar they would forget about the whole incident and find something new to get riled up about. Meanwhile he had to explain the predicament to his boys.
As far as the law was concerned Ike was guilty of murder, plain and simple. He had run in and shot an unarmed man, and many people saw it happen. Now if none of those people demanded that justice be served, Teaspoon could turn his back and let it slide somehow, but Neville had seemed to create a few friends who were demanding that Teaspoon uphold the law. Teaspoon knew that Neville deserved exactly what he got, but there was no legal way he could let Ike free. So for the time being he needed to keep Ike locked up, as a matter of technicality and for his own protection. Teaspoon hoped that if he postponed a trial for long enough the men would simply forget about the whole matter and Ike could go free unnoticed. Secretly he doubted that possibility, but it was his only hope.
Teaspoon explained all this to the riders, who had pretty much figured that much out on their own. Deep in their hearts they wondered if Teaspoon would have it within himself to turn Ike over to the District judge to what would be an almost inevitable guilty verdict, and a hanging. Ike sat in the cell, looking away form the group with his lips pinched together in disgust. H e had too much to think about to be concerned with any one thing. Finally, his attention focused on one matter in the room.
Emily had started to cry again.
Realizing the seriousness of Ike's situation she began to feel guilty, and blamed herself for all that happened. She babbled apologies and "should haves" and other incoherent things about the death of her father and other related issues. Buck had taken her hands and attempted to comfort her, but all Ike wanted at that very moment was to place her head back onto his chest and let her know that she shouldn't cry over him. Instead he stared at her as she babbled through her tear-drenched face.
The other riders were busy asking Teaspoon about options and such, but Ike ignored the commotion. He only looked at the woman he just risked his life to protect and stared at the saloon through the window of the office deciding that whatever becomes of the situation, it was worth it to protect Emily.
"Alright boys," Teaspoon said with a sigh. "Right now there ain't much we can do, so you might as well go on back and get finished with your chores. I will be by sometime this evening, but I don't want Ike to have to stay here alone."
"I'll stay here tonight," Buck offered.
"Thanks Buck. Now head on and you boys try to stay out of trouble all right?"
The boys mumbled comments as they reluctantly moved back towards the station. Now Teaspoon was left with Ike and Emily. Ike was holding Emily's hands through the bars of the cell. Emily turned to Teaspoon when she noticed the room was empty.
"We have to be able to do something!" She pleaded.
"The way I see it, there ain't much we can do." Teaspoon explained. "I want to see if this whole thing will just cool itself down, and if it doesn't we will come up with another plan."
Ike finally looked at Teaspoon, his green eyes glaring as they had to Buck earlier with rage and fear all at once. The expression that he conveyed in this simple glance sent chills up Teaspoon's spine.
"Emily, I'd… uh … I would like to talk with Ike alone a moment if you don't mind. Why don't you head over to the station for a little while?"
Ike squeezed Emily's hands tight between his then let her loose after a quick kiss on the forehead through the bars. The cold metal of the bars quickly numbed her face, making her barely able to feel his soft lips press against her skin. She reluctantly walked out the door taking one look back to her man, knowing that it could have easily been her behind those bars.
With Emily absent Ike moved onto the bed and rested his back against the wall as he looked down, knowing he wouldn't get out of this without a sermon.
"Damn it son. You gone and done it didn't ya?" Teaspoon spoke mostly to himself.
Ike glared up at him, his face changed from the stubborn expression of earlier to that of almost fear. <You know I had to do it. He could have killed her!> he signed with ferocity.
"I know how you feel son, but you can't go and kill a man in cold blood."
<I did.> He replied with finality. He looked away from Teaspoon and stared at a block in the wall for no reason other than to keep his eyes away from the disappointed stationmaster.
"Of all my boys, I would have never expected this. Hell, ya'll find trouble all the time, and I know love makes a man do strange things. I just don't see how you can get out of this, son. Soon those men at the saloon might think I'm not doing enough about it and they might send word to the governor or something. Then it will all be out of my hands. God help you son. I know we got Hickok out of the noose once, I sure as hell hope we can do it again."
The speech was more to himself than Ike, though Ike had listened to every word. Teaspoon turned to the boy and proceeded to give a lecture on the right time and place to bring up your disagreements, which Ike obediently listened to with his eyes on the ground. When he was convinced that Teaspoon had ranted enough to feel better he looked up with sad eyes and asked <That really doesn't matter now does it?>
"I guess it don't son, what's done is done. Now I guess I already know your story, unless you got anything to add that might be of help?"
Ike squeezed his lips together and slowly shook his head.
"Alright, well I am going to stay here with you for a little while, then have one of the boys bring ya some supper. Anything else you want?"
<Who's cooking, you or Jimmy?> Ike questioned.
"Since I'm here with you I can't be cooking can I?"
Ike managed a smile at the thought of the boys teasing Jimmy about his cooking. <Can you bring my journal?> he asked.
"Yeah, at least that will give you something to do. Meanwhile, just rest up. It's been a long day."
Ike nodded in agreement and fixed his eyes on the window as he relaxed into deep thought. Only once before had so much about his life changed so fast. He forced himself to think of Emily, and the family he had found with the Pony Express. Before he was able to be too sentimental, Emily brought in some food. She used the keys that Teaspoon had left out in the open in a careless manner to open up his cell and enter with the meal. The couple shared the solemn evening full of apologies and appreciation. Ike finally made Emily promise never to apologize for anything that had happened in the past week again. She reluctantly agreed and they embraced in a tight hug.
"See if I ever leave you as deputy!" Teaspoon greeted the couple as he walked into the office.
"Sorry Teaspoon, um… I was just giving Ike his dinner," she said with a guilty grin.
"Well, you might want to be more careful about it," he said in a quieter voice so none of the passers-by could hear. "I would hate for that man to go running free on these streets, as dangerous as he is." Teaspoon added the last comment with a wink to Ike and actually received a light laugh in return.
A little while later Buck returned with a deck of cards to stay for the evening. Ike kissed Emily good night and Teaspoon walked her to Rachel's house where she was going to stay until things were straightened out. Buck unlocked the cell and dealt some cards on the table. He left the keys in the cell door in case trouble came in and Ike needed to lock himself up. The two boys played a few hands of poker in silence before Buck dropped his hand of cards onto the table and looked at Ike.
"You have to leave," he said.
<I know,> Ike replied solemnly. He moved his gaze to the window where the moon was shining through brightly. If he had been a little bit slower in shooting Neville it could easily have been the moon that would shine down on his funeral pyre. He shivered at the thought and looked back at Buck. <I'm scared,> was all he replied.
The two spent the whole night reminiscing. They talked about the times when they were at the mission school, how Buck had been scared of Ike before they met. Buck told Ike about Emily's questions earlier that day. It felt so long ago to have been part of the same day. Ike was excited that she had been so curious and demanded to know exactly what Buck had told her. Finally the morning sun cracked through the side window and Teaspoon came dragging into the office.
"Damnit Buck, can I not trust you as a deputy either?" He teasingly questioned the young Indian as he looked at the brothers sitting across from each other at the table. "Did either of you get any sleep?" he asked the pair.
"No," they both replied drowsily.
"Well I would like to tell you both to go get to work on your chores, but I guess they will just have to settle with you today Buck. Ike, you know where you need to be." Buck reluctantly dragged himself out the door after casting a knowing look at Ike. Ike smiled back and obediently walked into the cell where he locked the key himself and tossed the keys to Teaspoon before the old Marshal had even noticed that they were hanging out of the lock.
"Uh… thanks Ike. Wish all prisoners were that helpful."
Ike grinned and his face went back into the serious look it had held the day before. He didn't feel like talking business with Teaspoon today. At this point all he wanted was to get some rest. He walked to the untouched bed and lied down.
"Jimmy said he ran into some men last night that knew those fellows that were raising hell at the saloon yesterday," Teaspoon started. Then he turned and looked at the bunk where the gentle rider had already fallen into a deep sleep. "Poor fellow," he said under his breath.
Ike slept through most of the day. Along with it he didn't miss much. The men from the saloon the day before stopped by once to make sure Teaspoon hadn't let him free. They immediately went back to the saloon to partake in the evening festivities of the establishment, but only after mentioning that they had taken the liberty of sending a rider to notify the district Judge of the previous day's crime.
"I don't trust you old man," BuckTooth said right before they left.
"Well I guess the feeling's mutual," Teaspoon replied with a cheerful smile.
Ike pretended to be asleep but heard every word of the conversation. A little while later he pretended to wake up and stretched his arms with a silent yawn.
"Good mornin' sleepy head!" Ike looked over to see that Cody was sitting at the desk instead of Teaspoon. "I see now that you aren't helping us with the chores you have taken to sleeping the day away huh?"
If Ike hadn't been on the other side of the room with the cell locked up he would have punched Cody in the arm. Instead he just laughed at the comment and asked about the others.
"They are all finishing up the afternoon feeding. I volunteered to come down here and let Teaspoon take a break."
<Why am I not surprised?> Ike replied. He was somewhat disappointed. He was hoping to talk to Teaspoon about what the District Judge would do. He had a feeling he already knew what that news would mean. Those men weren't going to forget about Neville.
<Where's Emily?> Ike asked.
"Helping Rachel with dinner. Don't worry, she was planning on eating it here with you no matter if you woke up or not."
Ike's brain was still in a slight haze from sleeping all day. The thought of dinner as soon as he woke up disoriented him momentarily. He would be ready for lunch when everybody else was fast asleep. He wondered how Buck had survived the day.
"What did you two do all night last night?" Cody inquired as if reading Ike's mind.
Ike shrugged off the question, <just talked.>
"About what? That's an awful long time." Ike began to get irritated with Cody's nosiness.
<Lots of things.> Ike replied letting his motions say more than that. His brisk movements and piercing glare also told Cody to stop being nosy.
Ike changed the subject and had Cody let him out for a trip to the outhouse. Cody made a big hooplah over unlocking Ike's cell and walking with him to the outhouse. Ike gave him a dirty look and Cody left him alone to do his business. Cody sat on the porch of the office watching the group of young lady's walk down the street when the men from the saloon the day before decided to make their second visit of the day.
"Where's the Dummy?" A louder member of the groups asked.
"He ain't a Dummy," Cody calmly replied. "And he is doing his business if you must know."
"You don't seem to be keeping a very close eye on him," the same man commented.
"He's not going anywhere," Cody replied with the slight whine in his voice that he would use to reply to Teaspoon if he asked Cody to move a pile of manure.
"Yeah well I think this town's giving that killer special treatment!" the man proclaimed.
"Yeah well if you raise your voice to me again I am going to have you arrested for interfering with the law!" Cody blurted.
"What law, I don't see a badge on your chest?" The man had a point. Most of the boy's had forgotten the slight technicality when they took their shift at the jail. Cody hadn't even taken an oath to watch the prisoner, just sat in Teaspoon's chair for the time being.
"I may not have the badge on, but I am a Deputy Marshal of Rock Creek. And you are hindering me from being able to keep the proper attention upon my prisoner." Cody said the statement with so much seriousness that the loud man began to laugh at him.
Ike had long since finished his business in the outhouse and had been watching the incident from through the cracks in the door. He noticed, as Cody must have also, that the men were already well into the night's quota of spirits and not much competition for a fight. When Cody threw the punch at the laughing man he saw the other two step back towards the tiny building. Ike waited until just the right moment to throw the door open and knock one of the men over.
"God damned freak!" The man shouted as he pulled himself up off the ground. Ike had punched the other man in the face and bloodied his nose from the impact. He threw a foot into the first man's chest to keep him down. He turned to hit the first guy again and was met with a weak punch in the face. Ike returned with a strong punch in the guts that caused the drunkard to step back into the butt of Cody's pistol. The man's eyes rolled back into his head as he fell on the ground. Ike noticed the louder man that had been arguing with Cody in the same condition a few feet away. Quickly Cody noticed the man on the ground that was still somewhat conscious.
"Play along," Cody almost whispered as he lightly smacked Ike upside the head with the butt of his gun. Surprised by the action, Ike stood there a moment in shock, then pressed his hands to his head and doubled over suddenly appearing to be on the verge of losing consciousness. Cody grabbed his arm and pulled him into the office.
"Damnit Ike! What'd you have to go and do that for!" He shouted as he walked him into the cell. He looked out the window and turned to his friend seated on the cot with his head in his hands.
"Okay, its clear."
Ike looked up and grinned at Cody. <Thanks.>
"I guess we won't be having any more trouble from you, considering that bump on your head that you'll be nursing right?" Cody suggested with a grin.
<When my vision returns I'll let you know> Ike responded.
"I don't think that's gonna make them any happier," Cody said as he watched the men stumble back to the saloon.
Ike just shrugged. He didn't particularly care what those men thought. If he were in trouble for murder a little fistfight wouldn't be too much on top of it.
"What's going on?" Emily's voice rose into the room as her back was turned to see the angry men.
Cody explained what happened and Emily looked at Ike. "Oh that's just great. Go picking a fight with the men who are already trying to get you hanged. Now they are surely going to get in touch with the district Judge."
<They already have,> Ike fiercely replied.
"What? How?" Emily asked in shock.
<They sent word this morning, those men did. They didn't trust Teaspoon.>
"Well did you hurt them bad?"
"That one I got won't be thinking clearly for a day or two," Cody explained proudly.
<I think I broke one nose and the other man just about fell over drunk on his own.>
"Well, serves them right for siding with Neville." Emily proclaimed. "Cody, Rachel told me to have you come home for dinner."
"Thanks, you two be careful here ok? And uh, if the men come by, remember that he is on the verge of consciousness because of that bump on the head." He reminded Emily of the supposed injury as he motioned to Ike. Cody's concern was quickly forgotten as he rushed to the bunkhouse for the meal.
The meal was less informal than the day before. Emily locked the cell up as Ike ate in case the drunks decided to return. They talked briefly and Teaspoon returned telling Emily to get on back to the house in case any trouble occurred. Ike gave her a hug before she left and slipped a note into her hand that he had written up while Cody was talking earlier. Teaspoon smiled as she left the office.
"She's a nice girl Ike, I can see why you did this for her."
Ike shrugged modestly. He looked at Teaspoon knowing the conversation was going to become more serious.
"I was going to stay here tonight and let the other boys get some sleep. With you gone I can't spare any of the others, and after seeing Buck today I realize whoever stays here isn't going to be of much use either."
<Sorry.>
"That's all right son. I understand completely."
Teaspoon actually slept most of the night. Ike sat and wondered about Emily. He thought that he explained everything he needed in the note, but worried about details he might have forgotten. At one point a different drunkard from the saloon came by to check on the marshal.
Teaspoon met the man on the porch. "May I help you?" The marshal asked the man with an air of ignorance, Teaspoon knew exactly why he was there.
"I wanted to make sure that murderer was still in there," the man said with the careful pronunciation of each word in effort to disguise his drunkenness. "Don't want you playing favorites with that boy or anything."
"You just stay right there, he's passed out cold from earlier today. There's nothing for you to worry about." Teaspoon moved and pointed in the window at Ike, who had quickly laid down on the cot and pretended to be asleep with a rag on his forehead.
"I told Joe I got that Dummy good." The idiot commented. Teaspoon figured this must be the man Ike said fell over drunk.
"Yeah, you got him good enough." Teaspoon indulged the drunk. "I don't think he'll be doing anything for another day or so. Can't even sit up straight without loosing his last meal. You go on and have your fun. I promise you he will still be here in the morning."
Realizing that the activities in the saloon were more fun than listening to the bickering Marshal, the man was easily convinced to go back to his drinking. Not likely to even wake up tomorrow, Teaspoon thought.
Just as Teaspoon re-comforted himself at his desk there was another person approaching the jail. He sat up and grabbed his pistol just as the door opened and Emily Metcalfe walked in.
"Oh, its you." Teaspoon commented as he sat his gun onto his desk. He tipped his hat in welcome.
"Sorry to come at this late hour," Emily apologized. "But I need to talk with you about something, uh, in private." Her eyes darted toward Ike, who was sitting up giving her a questioning glare.
Teaspoon moved to the edge of his desk farthest from the cell, not sure what Emily would have to talk about that she didn't want Ike to hear. He leaned over next to the small banister that separated the jail section of the Marshal's office from the entrance area.
"Well you see, the thing is…" Emily leaned over and snapped a pair of handcuffs onto one of Teaspoon's wrists, and the other onto one of the banister poles. "…I can't have you responsible for what is happening."
<Good to see you.> he motioned as she grabbed the set of keys off Teaspoon's desk.
"Well now what are you two kids up to?" Teaspoon teased from his imprisoned position at his desk.
She didn't reply but flipped to the right key in the set and quickly slipped it into the lock. The cell opened with a slight creak and the couple slipped out the door and around the corner. As they disappeared in the alleyway they heard Teaspoon's belated cries for help from the office.
Teaspoon noticed a note Ike had left in his cell and reminded himself to pick it up when somebody let him free. While sitting and occasionally yelling for help he looked out the window where he could see Cody sitting on top of the saloon with his rifle ready to protect his friend. Emily had only told Buck, like she was supposed to, but the other riders knew, and they were ready to watch his back.
By the time anyone responded to Teaspoon's bellowing, the couple was long gone.
As they rode out of town Emily was pretty much lost in the darkness but Ike seemed to know the trail as if it were broad daylight. After an hour he suddenly turned to the right into a thicket of trees and got off his horse. He let out a quick distinctive whistle and Emily was surprised to see Buck emerge from the trees. The young Indian looked as if he were trying hard to fight back the tears as he grabbed Ike in a tight hug. Emily knew her cue and walked back to the edge of the woods in case anybody managed to follow the couple.
"Oh god Ike, I'm going to miss you more than anything!"
Ike choked back tears as he nodded his agreement.
"You be careful," Buck started, but he couldn't finish whatever he was about to say. He reached into his medicine pouch. Ike had never seen the contents, but knew how precious they were to his friend. Buck opened up the smaller white sack inside and removed a few of the tiny pebbles it contained. He stuck them into a smaller pouch that he had made earlier that evening and handed them to Ike.
"I don't know where they came from, but my brother gave them to me when I left the Kiowa and told me they would help protect me in my new life. I guess you are going to a new life now. Keep them with you and think of me, and the spirits will watch over you."
Ike looked down at the pouch in his hand. He had seen some of the work of the pouch when Cody stole it from Buck, and although he didn't completely believe in the powers, he wasn't about to doubt his friend's beliefs at the moment. He smiled and placed the pouch around his neck, and as he raised his arms from his neck pulled off his bandanna exposing his slick head. He handed it to Buck.
<I will get a new one. It would be too obvious if I didn't. You keep this in case I ever return to my old life.> he explained. <I don't know where we are going.> he lied to his friend who was aware it was obviously a lie. <I will write you whenever it is safe.>
They had been through most of their good-byes the night before and they had spent much of the morning crying over the event to come the next day. Ike was trying to keep that from occurring again. Buck handed him the bundle of his possessions that he had packed up in the bunkhouse and bit his lip to hold back the tears. So he quickly hugged his brother tightly and turned away and walked toward his horse. Emily was waiting patiently.
<Good-bye> he signed.
Shocked at what he was meaning Emily protested. "I'm coming with you."
Ike shock his head violently. <Its too dangerous, you should stay here.> He knew she didn't know the signs, but he felt he got his point across.
"I can handle myself, there's nothing left here for me to stay for."
Emotions ran wild through Ike's blood, wanting more than anything for her to ride away with him, but knowing that her presence would only make it harder to hide and slow him down.
He grabbed the reins and mounted with less grace than usual. He reluctantly kicked his horse forward. As his emotions took control he sped his horse more and was soon at a full gallop with Emily unable to keep up. Finally he realized this and slowed down.
He took one last look at the direction of the way station and trotted away. Emily rode happily behind him and the rhythmic bouncing of the horse's trot began to soothe his nerves from the incidents of the past two days. That was, until he heard the gunshots.
If he had thought his life had already turned around in the past couple of days, what he saw next made it all look insignificant.
At the sound of the shots he instinctively spurred his horse to a nearby thicket of trees and turned to look at the source of the noise. He heard a quick yelp from Emily, and when he looked she was laying on the ground, hands clenched to her chest. Her horse had run back toward town. He couldn't see the source of the shots in the glow of the moon, and his mind raced with options. Finally he made his choice in a moment that spanned a fraction of a second, but felt like hours.
The voices slowly penetrated though the cloudy haze of her mind. She was between consciousness and deep sleep, and although she was somewhat conscious she could not pull herself to open her eyes and become awake. Exhaustion overwhelmed her body although she was sure that she had been sleeping for a while. It could have been hours or days, she had no clue. She fought against the heavy weights that held her eyelids shut, and eventually gave in to the battle as her mind slipped back into the restfulness of sleep.
Again she tried to pull herself from the darkness, this time with more power from the recent rest. She vaguely remembered her last attempt to wake, and wondered how long she had slept since then. It felt only to her as if she had shut her eyes for a moment, but she knew better than to trust her perception of time. More aware of her surroundings this time, she could distinguish voices in the room. There were men, several of them. The words blurred together in her ears making them almost distinguishable, but just far enough away that they couldn't be deciphered. She attempted harder this time to pull herself into the conscious world, and managed to open her eyes slightly. She could see several men sitting at the table and the flickering of a fire in the background. She turned her head to see the rest of her surroundings, but the energy of the movements pulled her back into the dark world. Her body pulled in two directions. Her conscious mind wanted to join the living world, while the exhausted body wanted nothing more than to lie still, sleeping. Again the body won the battle.
While her mind struggled with her body, she began to wonder about her present situation. She didn't remember much about how she got to this condition. She vaguely remembered helping her father move to Rock Creek. There had been trouble, there always was trouble. Her father was dead, and the thought sent another shock of pain throughout her body. But there was more to the pain. There was a memory of somebody else. Somebody close to her. For all her might she couldn't remember who this person was, and the strength to think about it was tiring her. Suddenly she wondered about him? She couldn't remember what had happened or why it happened, but she had a painful feeling in her chest that she should be remorseful for reasons she did not remember.
Again, she tried to pull herself to consciousness. This time the voices in the room were gone, but she was able to focus her eyes on the table again where they had been sitting. One young man sat there. He had a gentle face with a slight smile as he read a dime novel. His blond hair was pulled behind his ears with slight wisps falling beside his face. She forced herself to move around and look at the room, her mind slowly defeating her body. She was in a bed, in a room with a closed door. The window was open and let in a bright haze of light that made glowing lines on the hardwood floors, muffled in areas by thin curtains pulled limply to the sides. She tried harder to recognize the surroundings, but could not place them anywhere in her memory. Her mind tried to panic, but her body would not release enough energy for fear. If anything was to happen, her body was not ready to protest. She slipped back into the darkness of sleep.
Again, she awoke feeling closer to consciousness. A man was rubbing her forehead with a wet cloth, and she thought she recognized something about this person. He had long dark hair, and was obviously Indian, although she knew he was kind and gentle. She longed to be able to recall the information from the recesses of her brain, but the dark haze that had held her asleep possessed this information, and was not ready to yield to the present struggle.
"Good morning," the man said to her with a tone of care, yet sadness displayed all over his face. "You wait here a minute while I go get Rachel." The man said as he walked out of the room.
Rachel? She thought. The name had no significance to her, but she was convinced by now that she definitely did know the Indian. Not like I have a choice but to wait here, she thought. I certainly can't go anywhere until I convince myself that my legs are attached to my hips.
The soft fall of footsteps preceded the entrance of the woman she assumed to be Rachel. She had on a white shirt tucked into a beige skirt that flowed almost angelically about her body as she walked. For a moment she thought she was in heaven, and the angels were just a little less extravagant than given credit on earth. She quickly dismissed the thought as the woman crouched beside her bed and placed her hand on her forehead.
"I don't think we've met," the woman said. "I'm Rachel Dunne, I work here at the station."
Rachel, she thought. Station, Pony Express, yes! That was it! She was at the Pony Express Station, where he worked. He was one of the riders. She remembered his face, but the rest was held in the recesses of her mind.
She wasn't listening as Rachel asked her a question.
"Huh?" she murmured to the station mistress dabbing her forehead with a wet rag.
"I guess you don't know, I won't bother you with it anymore right now."
Evidently Rachel had been talking more than she noticed, but she enjoyed the idea of being left alone to re-gather her thoughts
"Rachel," she asked as the woman was headed out of the room. "What happened?"
"They shot you," she said. As tears welled up in her eyes she added "and Ike got away."
Ike, she remembered now, and her heart filled with sadness. She was supposed to go with him, to grow old with him, but she was shot and he left her. Her sadness turned to anger. How could he have left me?
She began to cry as she wondered about the last few days, and eventually fell asleep from the exhaustion of her sadness. Her body felt warm all over, yet she had chill bumps up and down her arms.
When she woke again the Indian was by her bed, but he was not attending to her or her wounds.
"Buck," she said as she suddenly remembered his name.
He looked at her, as if she had awakened him from a deep sleep.
"Is he gone?" she asked, hoping that the answer would be "no," but already knowing the truth.
Buck looked at her with grief-filled eyes that seemed to be looking at a place beyond her body and nodded in response. He seemed empty, but not as though he was ready to cry.
"I'm sorry," she said, knowing that her words wouldn't help.
Buck cupped her hand in his and stared at her again. This time his eyes were on her, and she could tell that there was something else on his mind. She suddenly realized that he was at peace with the loss of his friend, but grieving for her. A quick shiver ran down her spine as a drop of sweat ran off her cheeks. She had a fever.
"Don't be sorry," Buck said, then she fell into the restless sleep of the past few days never to awake.
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The bullet wound itself would not have killed Emily, but the infection it caused was lethal. The last two days were filled with her in delirious fits, eventually leading to a deep sleep from which she never awoke. Teaspoon saw to it that she received a proper burial, and all of the workers at the station mourned for her. With this mourning was the other loss at the station, the loss of Ike.
When the shots were fired, Buck ran to the edge of the woods to see Emily laying on the ground. Knowing that Neville's friends would not show Ike any mercy if he returned for the woman, he discreetly motioned for Ike to go on. He hoped that the gesture carried more than the obvious, that he would take care of Emily, and deter the gang so his friend could ride free. He watched as his best friend turned into the darkness and rode away to a destination Buck doubted he would ever know.
The gang was caught off-guard by Ike's decision, and rushed to ready to chase. During this moment, Buck was able to shoot down two of the four men, and hide in the trees keeping the other two from firing back. He injured one of the remaining two's horse, and the other was left unhindered in any way. He hoped it was enough to get his friend away from the danger. A week later he still had no reason to believe otherwise.
He had grabbed Emily and taken her to the doctor in town who had removed the bullet and promised an easy recovery. But the doctor was human, and unable to fight germs that penetrated the wound. The infection spread, and the bullet was no longer a concern.
Buck watched her die, knowing she was a link to his friend that was forever lost. He grieved for her death, then made sure she had a proper burial beside her father.
The trouble with the loss was that nobody knew the fate of Ike. Even Buck did not know where he planned to flee, because Ike knew well enough that he would try to follow. The confusion with Emily had prevented that, and to the small express station their friend was missing with the mystery of his whereabouts. On every run they would keep an eye out for him, hoping he would join them as they camped at night or slip into a seat next to them at the saloon. They would fear the worst when they noticed an unmarked grave fresh along a trail. Buck prayed to the spirits that his friend would survive, and that he would some day see him again.
After one month and five days a note arrived at the station addressed to Rachel. She sat the note on the table until she finished with supper, and as the boys ate the opened to read the news. Her face seemed to glow by the lantern's light, and the tears of joy sprung without hesitation.
The riders gathered around each asking what the news was, and the note fell upon the table for all to read. That night every rider and Teaspoon and Rachel slept easier knowing the survival of their friend.
