Fire in the Sky

Buck sighed. "What a night. I miss a cold beer and a warm female."

Josiah smiled back. "Amen, Brother."

"How many cards you want, JD?" Ezra waited.

It was the MacCready gang that caused the Seven to be camped outside of town, almost into the desert. Jake MacCready and his gang had busted out of a federal prison a week before. Word along the telegraph wires was that MacCready was on a deadly crime spree headed straight through Four Corners. A couple of sheriffs were already dead. The army had been dispatched but it was likely they would not head off MacCready in time. If there was going to be a confrontation, it had to be away from innocent people. The Seven were hoping to intercept the gang on the road long before they got into town. It would only be a matter of time.

+ + + + + + +

Nathan watched as Buck, JD, and Ezra played a friendly game of cards by the firelight. Josiah lounged nearby reading a book. Chris was out somewhere beyond the perimeter, keeping watch.

Vin strolled some distance from where they were camped just to think for awhile before turning in. He could barely see out into the darkness, despite the starry night. He looked up at the sky. He'd often marveled at the vastness of it all. His gaze became a hard stare.

"What th - !"

A circular formation moved far above his head. A white-hot beam of light shone straight down on him, almost blinding him. He could barely make out a circle of cool blue lights around it. The thing seemed to hover over him for several minutes. His whole body tingled as if his skin were on fire. His mouth went dry and just breathing became an effort. Just as suddenly, the light was gone, and the circle of blue lights disappeared into the sky.

He stood there awhile, blinking, waiting for his vision to clear and his heart to slow down. What the heck was THAT? What had just happened? He seemed to be all right, and yet he felt different.

+ + + + + + +

Nathan was the first to notice a shaken Vin as he rejoined the group.

"Something wrong, Vin? You look like someone just walked over your grave."

"Out there. I - I saw somethin'."

"Like what?"

Vin paused, then shook his head. "There was a light and... Didn't you see it?"

They glanced at each other, but said nothing. Vin looked at each of them. He didn't see Chris quietly rejoin them.

"Didn't anybody see anything? It was there. Right out there! And it was - glowing."

"What 'it' are we talking about?" Ezra asked.

Vin looked surprised. "I - I don't know. I don't know what it was."

"Are you certain you actually saw something?"

"Saw it?! I felt it! I - "

He looked at their faces. No one would meet his eyes.

Finally Chris broke the silence.

"Okay, so who wants to give up a little beauty sleep?"

Vin grabbed up his gun and strode into the darkness. "I'll do it."

Chris watched him go, then followed quietly.

+ + + + + + +

Nathan waited till Vin and Chris were out of earshot.

"Think he'll be all right?"

Buck shrugged.

"Chris'll talk to 'im."

JD was mumbling.

"Well, speak up, boy," said Buck. "Somethin' on yer mind, just speak up. Everybody - everybody just - be quiet! JD's got somethin' to say. Go ahead, JD. Say it. We're all listenin'."

JD almost changed his mind. Then the words spilled out in a rush.

"What if he really did see something?"

Buck leaned forward with interest; his eyes gleamed in the firelight. JD took a deep breath and continued.

"Well, come on. I mean, you guys know Vin. He don't say much, so...it ain't like him to be funnin' like that. And he sure ain't crazy. Maybe he really did see something."

Ezra shuffled the cards and stole a look at Buck. "What do you think the odds are of that happening?"

JD continued hotly. "Maybe he did--maybe there's something out there. How do we know?" He pointed at Buck who was now chuckling softly. "You don't know! There could be something...out there...Or - or up there..." His voice trailed off. He looked beseeching at Josiah. "Couldn't there?"

Josiah didn't look up from his book. "Oh, yes. Many men believe so. The ancient Greeks and Romans said all kinds of gods and such came from - 'out there.' A lot of folks believe that's where Heaven is. If everyone's right, it must be mighty crowded. Up there."

JD couldn't tell if Josiah was making fun of him or not. It was always hard to tell with Josiah.

Ezra smiled. "So you are suggesting Vin received a celestial visitation from a heavenly body?"

"I'd welcome a visit from a heavenly body right about now," Buck laughed. "Especially if she's pretty."

JD searched unsuccessfully for a scathing comeback. "Aw, I'm going to sleep" he said, as the soft laughter of Ezra and Buck followed him to his bedroll.

+ + + + + + +

Chris approached Vin as he sat on the rocks, staring out over the moonlit desert. He glanced down before he spoke, searching for the right words in the dirt.

"You all right?"

"Same as always." Vin didn't look at him.

Pause. "Good. 'Cause you know we're gonna need you when MacCready's gang gets here."

"You worried?"

"'Bout you? No. Should I be?"

Vin didn't answer.

"Look, Vin, I just want you to know...we're all with you. If you say you saw something, that's good enough for me. If you saw it, then you saw it."

Vin stared back as if he'd been slapped.

"Don't humor me. I don't need it. Especially from you!" He got up and walked away.

Chris didn't follow this time.

+ + + + + + +

Buck looked up as Chris reappeared in the firelight.

"Didja talk to 'im?"

"I talked to 'im." Chris sat down.

"And?"

"I talked to 'im."

Buck lowered his voice. "That don't sound so good. Now is he gonna be all right or what?"

Chris didn't answer. Buck leaned closer.

"We're gonna need every gun we can get. And we need him."

"What do you want me to do?"

Buck didn't have an answer. He rolled over to go to sleep. Chris rolled onto his side but it was a long time before he found sleep.

+ + + + + + +

Chris awoke early to the sound of horses stirring. He approached them quietly and nearly tripped over Vin saddling his horse.

"You're leavin'?"

"Looks like it." Vin faced him. "I need to think. I need to - be away from here for awhile."

"Now? Can't this wait?"

Vin shook his head, mounted his horse and rode away.

+ + + + + + +

Chris had waited as long as he was going to. When Vin hadn't returned by afternoon, Buck found Chris saddling his horse.

"You're goin' after him." It was a statement, not a question.

"We need him."

Buck studied him carefully. "You sure about that? As he was, yes, but as he is now? You willin' to risk your life and everybody else's?"

"We need him. Simple as that." Chris quickly mounted the horse and rode off.

JD walked up and stood next to Buck, watching Chris ride off in the distance. "He's goin' after him?"

Buck shrugged. "We need 'im."

+ + + + + + +

Vin rode slowly. With no idea where he was really going, he wasn't in any hurry as the horse wandered slowly through brush and dried creek beds.

His head snapped up suddenly. Someone was following him. Had been for awhile. He slowed his horse, pulling his gun. He holstered his gun when he recognized Chris.

"You don't give up, do you?"

Chris shrugged, riding up alongside him. "Mind tellin' me why? This isn't like you, Vin. If there's a possibility we're all gonna die because you're not there, I'd like at least an explanation."

Vin stopped. "I don't know what's 'like me' anymore."

Chris stopped, too, waiting.

"Chris - I felt it. It was so . . . real. Then it was over. Then I don't know if I really saw something or not. Sometimes I'm sure of it - and then other times I wonder if I'm goin' crazy. "

"You're not goin' crazy. Sometimes we can't know a reason for everything. Sometimes there isn't one. Sometimes you need to accept that."

Vin shook his head. "If I don't trust myself, how can I expect the others to?" He said quietly. I don't want someone gettin' killed on account of me. You saw their faces. Can any of them say they trust me right now? Can you?"

"So you're runnin' away?"

Vin looked at him sharply. "Dammit, Chris, this is important!" He shouted. "MacCready - "

" - You think I don't know that?" Chris shouted back.

"I'm doin' you a favor! Y'all be a lot better off without me. You'll have a better chance."

"Don't count on it. Look, I'm not here to beg you; I just wanted an explanation. That's it then?"

"Yeah."

"Suit yourself." Chris turned to ride back.

"Chris, LOOK OUT!"

The warning came too late. The horse reared up from the angry snake it had stepped on. Chris was thrown. His hat flew off, he landed hard on the rocky ground and didn't move.

"Chris!" Vin knelt beside him and saw the blood oozing in Chris's sandy hair. Chris was still breathing but he was out cold. Vin pulled off his bandana and tied it quickly over the wound. 

+ + + + + + +

When Chris awoke, it was night. For him, this was the most agonizing awakening he'd ever known. Surely the worst hangover he'd ever had. His face burned and his ankle hurt like crazy, too. A cold, wet cloth swiped across his face. He started to move, then cried out in pain.

"Easy, easy . . . Here. Drink this." Vin pressed a canteen to Chris's mouth, trying to force a little water down his throat.

"Vin?" He gasped. "I thought you left. What time - what day is it?"

"You've been out all day. How you feelin'?"

"I-I think my ankle's broken."

+ + + + + + +

"Ezra, what time is it?" Buck started to pace.

"Two hours since you last asked me that."

"And that was two hours after you asked me," JD chimed in.

Buck stopped pacing and looked at them.

"Shouldn't Chris be back by now with Vin?"

Josiah shrugged. "Maybe Vin needed more persuading."

Buck nodded doubtfully. "Maybe."

"Gentlemen, has it occurred to any of you that perhaps Mr. Tanner is out of sorts over last night?"

JD studied Ezra for a moment. "You mean he thinks we think he's crazy?"

"Possible."

Buck shook his head. "Chris'll set him straight."

"You had better hope Mr. Larrabee is able to do just that. We are runnin' out of time."

+ + + + + + +

Vin slept lightly, waking now and then to check on Chris. The cut on Chris's head had stopped bleeding, but not until after it had bled quite a bit. He was feverish throughout the night, shivering so bad his teeth were chattering. Vin put all the blankets and finally his coat over Chris in an effort to keep him warm. Vin didn't know much about shock, but he knew Chris needed help. Vin was reluctant to try to get Chris's boot off. He didn't know how to set a broken ankle and was afraid of causing Chris any more pain.

"I wish I was Nathan right about now," he muttered to himself.

"Vin?" Chris's voice was weak.

"Yeah?" He knelt close, straining to hear.

"You gotta go back. They're gonna need you. Someone's gotta lead them."

"Chris - "

"Who else can do it? They're all good men, but they need a leader. It ought to be you."

"Thanks, but I told you before. I can't."

"Maybe you need to trust them." Chris closed his eyes and drifted off again.

+ + + + + + +

Vin was awake the rest of the night thinking over what Chris had said. He had a point. Maybe it wasn't about them trusting him. Maybe he needed to trust in them. Loyalty was funny that way. Maybe he was wrong about their reaction. There was only one way to tell.

+ + + + + + +

At first light, Vin took another look at Chris. He appeared to be getting weaker.

"Chris? We're goin' back. You need help and the closest help is probably Nathan. I'm telling you this because it's probably gonna be pretty bad for you. Sorry."

Chris barely nodded, his eyes squeezed shut against the pain. Bells seemed to clang in his skull with each tiny movement of his head.

Vin helped Chris onto his horse. Chris sagged over the horse's neck, fighting back a wave of pain and nausea as Vin tied his hands to the saddle horn.

"Sorry to do this, but I don't want you falling off."

Vin gathered the reins of Chris's horse, mounted his own horse and headed slowly back.

+ + + + + + +

It was late afternoon when Buck saw them: Vin pulling Chris's horse behind him and Chris slumped in his saddle. He ran up to them, shouting as he went.

"Nathan! JD - help me here!"

Buck's eyes met Vin's. Vin saw the concern and dread plainly. Buck and Chris went back a long way.

"He's alive." Vin assured him. "Just barely."

Buck cut the rope around Chris's raw, chafed wrists. Buck and JD caught him as he slid from the saddle and carried him into camp, Nathan following alongside.

+ + + + + + +

The camp was quiet. JD had just replaced Ezra on watch. Josiah had already had his turn and now Buck was watching him stir a large pot over the fire.

"Is that stew gonna be done anytime soon, Josiah? My stomach thinks my throat's been cut."

"Almost done now. Patience, Buck."

Ezra limped into camp, sat down beside Josiah and pulled off a boot.

"My feet were not designed for this kind of abuse," he said, removing a stone. "MacCready better get here soon before my podiatric health is irretrievably altered by this inhospitable terrain."

Nathan and Vin joined them as Josiah was filling plates with steaming hot food.

Ezra greeted them as they approached.

"Gentlemen! How is Mr. Larrabee?"

Nathan accepted a plate from Josiah. "I've set his ankle. I've also patched that head wound but it looks like he's got a bad concussion. Fever's finally broke. The shock and the fever left him pretty weak, but I think he'll recover. Fill one of those for Chris, will you Josiah? He's awake right now and I'd like to try to get some food into him. Vin? Nice job. Probably saved his life."

Vin nodded.

Nathan eyed him carefully. "Vin, you did what you could. Nobody told him to go. If it hadn't been Chris, any one of us might've come after you."

Buck nodded. "It was his choice. You know, Chris isn't gonna be much help when MacCready gets here."

Ezra chimed in. "Which, may I remind you, will be any time soon. Very soon, gentlemen." He looked at Vin. "You here to stay?"

Vin turned to look at Ezra and smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm stayin'."

Ezra nodded, as if he'd expected no other answer.

+ + + + + + +

A day later Chris was still weak, but he was improving slowly. Sitting up made him dizzy, so he slept most of the time.

The day had been a long one for everybody else, too. There was still no sign of MacCready and everyone wanted to go back to town.

"I'm starvin' out here," complained Buck.

JD looked at him surprise. "What do you mean? The food's been fine."

Buck smiled wickedly. "JD, that's not what I'm starvin' for."

"Oh." Then it hit him. "Oh!"

"We'll give it one more day," said Vin. "Everybody agreed?"

"One more day," Ezra agreed.

They didn't have to wait as long as they thought.

+ + + + + + +

Jake MacCready was big, red bull of a man. He was supposed to be awaiting a hanging for a long, colorful criminal history, including a recent murder. His gang - Peterson, Wheeler, Fox, Mitchell, Crombie, and Sullivan - wasn't much by way of brains or courage, but they were vicious, good followers, and that counted for a lot with a man like him. In the few days since their breakout, they had managed to steal horses, clothes and enough money to get to Mexico eventually. The way MacCready figured it, he had a few more days of robbing and stealing before the Army would catch up to him. Then he'd be off for Mexico. There was one more town ahead of them that he was sure they could make it to before then: Four Corners.

+ + + + + + +

Josiah was on watch that evening when MacCready approached. He didn't want to shout a warning that MacCready might hear. JD was nearby in the bushes, unaware of Josiah.

"JD!" He whispered urgently.

JD looked up, startled, clumsily buttoning his fly.

"Josiah?"

"Shh! Let Vin and the others know. It looks like our company's arrived."

+ + + + + + +

MacCready and his boys had seen the campfire several yards ahead as they approached. They waited there for Wheeler to return.

Wheeler returned quickly. "There looks to be seven of them. All asleep. And it looks like one of 'em's hurt."

"Good." He grinned. The boys had been so busy stealing, they hadn't had time for any real fun. "You boys lead the way. Give 'em a rude awakenin'. I'll hang back just to make sure." He patted his shotgun with a chuckle.

They crept quietly into the firelight. Seven lumpy blankets encircled the fire. Peterson smiled at the thought of waking them up. His foot kicked viciously at one of the blankets. It didn't move. He knelt to pick it up, revealing a tangle of brush underneath.

In a blur of motion, other blankets were thrown back and weapons drawn. There was no sound but that of hammers cocking.

Everyone was armed, guns pointing at each other. MacCready was nowhere in sight.

Peterson looked around him. "Looks like a standoff. Six of us. Six of you."

"There's seven" corrected JD.

Peterson laughed. "Yeah, right." He called out in the darkness. "MacCready!"

A soul-shattering scream broke from out of the darkness. Everyone froze.

Vin was the first to move. He darted into the darkness.

Buck followed him. "JD, watch 'em!"

A moment later, Vin was dragging MacCready by the collar into camp.

Jake MacCready knelt, staring wildly at nothing. His hands clawed helplessly at the ground. His mouth was open making strangled, gargling sounds.

Vin looked at him closely. "You seen it, didn't ya?"

For the first time, Jake MacCready saw him.

"They - they were horrible. They're out there! They're gonna get me." MacCready pointed to each of his gang in turn. "They're gonna get YOU."

He lunged at Vin, grabbing at him, begging. "Don't let them touch me!"

"Buck!"

"Got 'im." Buck hit MacCready smartly behind the ear, knocking him out.

Ezra turned slowly, watching each of them carefully. "Now I'd say with seven of us, and the odds most favorably - and might I add most comfortably - in our favor, you boys are outnumbered. Maybe you should consider putting your weapons down. Now."

"What is this?" demanded Crombie. He raised his gun, pointing it straight at Vin. "There's still six of us and six of you."

A shot rang out. Crombie dropped the gun, clutching his bloodied arm.

"Seven," corrected Chris.

+ + + + + + +

Vin, Buck, JD, and Josiah left the jail together, headed for the saloon to join Ezra and Nathan. The army would be arrive by tomorrow to escort MacCready's gang back to federal prison.

Josiah and JD walked in, joining Ezra by the card table.

As he passed through the saloon doors, Buck exclaimed in surprise. "Chris! Well, at last. What're you doin' here?"

Chris was sitting at a table with Nathan, his ankle propped on a chair.

"Nathan gave me permission." He smiled.

Nathan smiled, too. "I told you 'for medicinal purposes' only."

"I know. And I'm just followin' doctor's orders." He picked up the empty bottle. "I think this prescription needs a refill."

Buck headed for the bar. "I'll get it. Nathan, want to help me?"

"Sure."

Vin sat beside Chris. He finally broke the silence. "Feelin' better?"

"'Bout the same . . . You?"

"'Bout the same."

Ezra, Nathan, Josiah, Buck, and JD rejoined them at the table. Ezra poured drinks all around.

Chris looked at Vin. "Heard you're plannin' to stay."

"Yeah."

"Can I ask what changed your mind?"

Vin looked around the table at each of them. "Well . . . You don't turn your back on friends." He winked. "Trust me on that one."

Josiah lifted his glass in a salute. The others joined him. "Amen, Brother!"

The End