Chapter 46

Upon entering the creek, Kid had moved as fast as his body would allow, which wasn’t very fast at the moment, but he hoped it was enough to keep him ahead of Murray. Kid was surprised Murray hadn’t found him yet since he had been very close to where Kid was when he’d been drinking at the creek. But so far he hadn’t heard any movement on land or in the water for that matter. Kid looked behind him once more to be sure no one was following him. The action caused him to lose his footing in the unstable water of the creek. He fell to his knees and winced as he came in contact with a rock. That does it, he thought. He had to get back on solid ground, not that it felt very solid with the way he was teetering around on his two feet. But anything was better than this.

Relieved at not hearing anyone following him, Kid trudged toward the shore. Hopefully this little journey of his had gotten him closer to the side of the valley he needed to be on, closer to the main path, at least. Once his feet reached the sandy ground, he dropped to his knees, so relieved to be on land that he hardly noticed the pain from landing on the cut on his knee.

"I made it," he said out loud. He leaned over once more to try to fill his stomach with water, hoping it would take away the hunger pangs he started feeling. If he felt hunger, maybe it meant he was getting better; he hoped so. He knew it was in vain but still felt he had to try. If it didn't work when he was a little boy living in a house in Virginia with barely enough food on the table to keep a mouse alive, let alone two growing boys and their mother, then it surely wouldn't work now.

For now he would stay near the water. Kid pulled himself up once more and readjusted the makeshift sling holding his arm still. He was soaked clean through, which made his shirt cling to his wound so each time he moved he felt a tug on the open injury. Ignoring it once more, he moved through the grasses, heading toward the slope ahead. The area was so dense that it was impossible to tell where the trail might be so he figured he'd rest a while then try to move on. He found a small alcove on the other side of a fallen tree trunk and surrounded by grasses. Easing himself to the ground, he fell back onto the softness of the grasses and closed his eyes in search of some much needed rest.

Buck and Charlie dove behind some rocks as the sound of footsteps came closer. Each was hoping it would be Kid but somehow the glance they gave each other showed the same thought: with the way their luck was going, it was more than likely the crazy trapper and not their friend.

Sure enough, the old man strode with heavy steps toward the creek. They watched as he searched the sandy shore, bending down a couple times then throwing down a handful of sand, obviously in frustration, each time he rose to his feet. Finally, he headed across the creek.

Buck and Charlie came out of hiding. Buck motioned Charlie to remain quiet then indicated for him to follow. Buck led the way, going in the same direction as the trapper but where the old man had gone across the creek, Buck led them through the creek, heading downstream.

Kid rolled over, trying to cuddle closer to the warm body he dreamed was lying next to him but all he managed to get was a face full of grass. Sputtering, he shook himself awake then in disgust pulled up a clump of grass and threw it onto the ground. He leaned onto the elbow of his bad arm and cried out in pain. Holding his hand over his wound, he cursed himself for letting his mind wander. It seemed like months since he'd held Lou close to him when in fact it was only days. It was only days, wasn't it? Time seemed to have stopped out here so he really had no way of knowing.

He tried to sit up but the throbbing had started up again in his shoulder so instead he threw his body backward, attempting to lie back down again.

"Ah!" he cried out loud as his head came in contact with something solid. It felt like a tree branch but he wanted to be sure so he inched his way over to it. Kid pushed the grass aside and gasped at the object in front of him. He leaned closer to inspect it. Suddenly the last two days began to make sense or as much sense as you can make with no information but your own conclusions.

Kid now knew the old man was pure crazy and he needed to get out of this valley now. He stumbled to his feet and headed in the direction of the creek; he needed one more good drink of water before attempting to start the climb up the slope that led out of this god-forsaken place. But before he could get more than five yards away, he heard splashing and it was close. Glancing over his shoulder, Kid started to panic. It was such an effort to move anymore that he didn't think he could outrun Murray. Maybe he couldn't outrun him but he could try to outsmart him.

He turned around and headed toward the slope, moving past where he had just napped. As he rounded a bend in the path, he stopped short as he came face to face with the old man. Both men stood still for several seconds, not believing that the other was in front of them. Kid stumbled backward in an attempt to put distance between them but pulled up short as Murray brought his rifle into view.

"Hold it, boy!" Thomas Murray cried out. He'd discovered blood on a rock that was standing above the water level so he knew Joey was close by. He then heard the brush being pushed aside and knew he was definitely close to his son, he just hadn't expected to be this close.

"I'm not your boy. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Kid said, clenching his teeth together to stop them from chattering due to the pain he was feeling. His head had also started to spin once more so he put an extra effort into standing as solid as possible so it appeared as if he was in control. He needed to be to get the man off his back once and for all.

Murray shook his head, his jaw clenched tight; he was slowly losing his patience with his disrespectful son. "I don't know why you're saying that and I don't know why you keep runnin' away from me," Murray said as he slowly approached the young man. He now had his rifle pointed at Kid, though it wasn't raised to eye level. "All I've ever tried was to do right by you but you never appreciated it, always had to argue with me, and always made me have to teach you a lesson."

Kid's mind was whirling as the pieces of the puzzle started fitting into place. "And what happened during one of those lessons, hmm? Did it get out of hand, did you do something you would regret or maybe ... maybe even block out its existence. Is that what happened?" Kid had backed up a few steps when Murray had started approaching him. He knew he was onto something now but wasn't so out of it with the pain that he couldn't make out how unstable the old man before him was.

He also knew that words weren't going to help him here - he needed something else. Kid's eyes surveyed the area around him, searching for the one thing that might come to his advantage. Finding it, Kid carefully continued his backward movement, hoping Murray wouldn't notice. He needed to be near where he'd taken his latest nap for this confrontation to come to a close, hopefully with him as the winner.

Ignoring the boy's hard words, Thomas Murray noticed the way his son seemed to be distracted all of a sudden. "What's gotten into you, boy? I always knew you had no respect for your elders. You listen to me when I'm talking to you!"

He advanced slowly on Kid who kept backing up. Kid finally stopped and waited for Murray to catch up to him.

Both men turned in surprise as footsteps could be heard running toward them.