SquidgeWorld Archive

Return from Despair

The day started out beautiful; the sun shone down, the birds chirped, and the air wasn’t too hot or too cold. Hannibal Heyes and his partner Kid Curry were famous outlaws who were trying hard to go straight. The governor of Wyoming even offered them a provisional amnesty if they stayed out of trouble for one year, but a reward of $10,000 each for their capture was still on their heads. These two former outlaws slowly made their way down a meandering path between towns with no particular destination in mind. They were basking in the warmth of the day with their minds wandering as aimlessly as they were.

A gunshot in front of the trail ended the serenity of the day.

"Hold it right there, boys, and get those hands high in the air!" a voice was heard coming from a rock cropping nearby.

Two sets of hands reached up in the air. "Can you tell me what’s this all about?" asked an annoyed Heyes. He couldn’t believe they had walked into another trap.

"Want you to slowly lower your left arm, Curry, and use two fingers to remove your gun from the holster. Then throw it out front on the path."

Heyes and Kid glanced at each other when they heard the name Curry.

"Curry…the outlaw? You must be mistaken; neither of us are that notorious outlaw, I can assure you. I am Joshua Smith and this here is my best friend Thaddeus Jones..."

"I knows who ya are! Now you, Curry, the blonde one, remove your gun as I told ya earlier!"

"I’ll throw down my gun, but I ain’t Curry!" Kid said as he slowly lowered his left arm and threw his gun on the ground using two fingers.

"Good! Hands back up. Now your turn, Heyes. Do exactly as Curry did."

"I’m not Heyes; my name is Joshua Smith and I’m from Red Rock," Heyes stated as he lowered his arm and threw his gun on the ground using two fingers.

"Now climb down from your horse, Curry, and walk to the large boulder just off the path on your right." Kid obliged and did as he was told. "Now lay down on your belly with your hands behind your back." He glanced at Heyes with a "not again" look before lying on the ground. Leather thongs were thrown over the rock cropping and landed near the Kid.

"Heyes, slowly climb down from your horse and use the leather thongs near Curry to tie his hands up nice and tight."

Heyes made his way over to Kid and picked up the thongs on the ground. He knelt down and began tying his hands. "Sorry, Thaddeus," Heyes said as Kid winced in pain.

"Don’t remember tellin’ you that you could talk! Now go lay down next to him and put your hands behind your back."

Heyes lay next to Kid and put his hands behind his back. He heard footsteps behind him and felt someone tie his hands.

"Okay, you can get up now." Heyes and Kid rolled over to sit up and get a view of their captor. He was older, physically bigger than either of them and appeared to be a trail-worn, tobacco chewing bounty hunter who was so dirty that they weren’t sure the color of his hair. They glanced at each other…no; he didn’t look familiar to either of them.

As Kid attempted to roll into a kneeling position in order to stand as he was told, the bounty hunter swiftly kicked him in the abdomen. Kid moaned as he fell back to the ground.

"Hey…what did you do that for?" Heyes asked concerned about his partner.

The bounty hunter leaned over Kid and spit a wad of tobacco near his head. "Don’t remember me, do you, Curry."

Two angry blue eyes stared at the man. "Should I?"

He received another kick for his comment--this time in the side. He clamped his teeth together and squinted his eyes not wanting to verbalize the pain he felt.

Heyes could only watch as the man hurt his friend again. "What’d my friend Jones do to you to deserve those kicks? Don’t know why you think we’re Heyes and Curry, but you have the wrong men! Who are you anyway?" Heyes was frustrated and tried to distract the man from Kid.

"I told ya to get up!" the bounty hunter yelled to Heyes as he roughly pulled Kid up by the arm. Heyes struggled to stand from his kneeling position and waited until Kid was standing, slightly hunched over because of the kicks.

"Now walk over to your horse and kneel down again, Heyes," the man ordered as he roughly pushed Kid back towards the path and then hoisted him onto his horse. Heyes walked a few yards and slowly kneeled again. After securing Kid’s feet to the stirrups with rope, he pushed Heyes up and onto his horse. Heyes glared at the man as he tied him to the horse and then put their guns in his saddlebag. He led the horses by their reins to his horse behind the rocks. He tied the horses’ reins together, mounted his horse and started down the path they came from.

"Where you taking us?" Heyes inquired. Kid was being too quiet and that concerned him.

"Over to River’s Bend a few days away. Know the sheriff there and he don’t care how I bring in my bounty--dead or alive…or even a little bruised up." The bounty hunter laughed as he leered back at Heyes.

"You gonna tell us who you are?"

"Name’s Milton. Curry here knows; don’tcha. Enough talkin’, Heyes, unless you wanna be gagged."

Heyes questioningly looked over at Kid who shrugged his shoulders at Heyes’ unspoken query. Kid was hurting from the kicks as his mind went over the many possibilities of who Milton was and why he wanted to hurt him.

Several hours down the road, just before dusk, Milton led the horses off the worn path to a patch of trees to set up camp for the evening. Heyes and Kid were stiff from balancing in their saddles with their hands tied behind them, thirsty and hungry.

Milton untied Heyes, dragged him off his horse, and, with a gun pointed at his chest, had him walk over to the edge of the trees to relieve himself. Later, he forced Heyes to sit down against a tree and tied him to it. The procedure was repeated for Kid and he was tied to a tree nearby.

Heyes was concerned about the Kid all day; those kicks were rather hard and he had to be hurting. While Milton busily set up the camp, Heyes whispered, "Kid, you okay?"

"Yeah, I’m fine," Kid whispered back.

"Who’s Milton and why’s he got it in for you?"

"Wish I knew. Been tryin’ to figure that out all day."

"Hey…no talkin’ over there or I’ll gag ya both!" Milton called out while trying to get a fire going. Having two prisoners to watch and setting up camp was harder than he thought. He dug through his saddlebags and found some jerky to gnaw on and some beans to put on the fire. Digging a little deeper, he found a whiskey bottle. He took a few swallows before replacing the cork.

"Milton, you wouldn’t by chance be willing to share your dinner with us?" Heyes asked with a smile after hearing Kid’s stomach rumbling.

"Hell, no; I ain’t feedin’ no outlaws!"

"Well, could you spare some water then? We’re mighty thirsty after being on the trail all day." Milton considered the request and let both former outlaws drink from a canteen while he held it to their mouths.

Milton sat down and ate his beans. "Sure are good if I do say so myself. Too bad you ain’t gettin’ any." Heyes and Kid glanced over at each other and rolled their eyes.

Milton finished the plate of beans and threw down the dirty plate. He opened the bottle, took several more gulps of whiskey and walked over to Kid with anger in his eyes. Kid glared back with steely cold blue eyes. "You’re gonna get what’s comin’ to ya, Curry. I’ve been waitin’ a long time for this."

"What’s this all about, Milton? What’d he do to you to make you so mad at him?" Heyes asked for a second time that day.

"I’ll tell ya what he did; made me look real bad with his quick draw in front of my friends and girl. Shot the gun clean outta my hand and broke it. Lost my job because of the hand and the respect of my friends and gal. She left me right afterwards. Took everything I had, so I thought long and hard about what I could do to get back at him. I aim to take somethin’ from him tonight; I’m takin’ his manhood," he chuckled.

Heyes and Kid made quick eye contact and Heyes saw the fear in his eyes for a quick second. "What’dya mean by that? This outlaw Curry didn’t take anything away from you--you lost them all yourself. Can’t blame Curry for it. Besides, my friend’s not…"

"Sure can! If it weren’t for him and his fast draw, I’d be married now to that purty gal. I’s gonna make him think twice about pullin’ a gun on anyone else again."

Heyes appealed, "Be reasonable, Milton! Damn…" Milton ripped off his bandana and gagged the silver-tongue.

Milton took a few more swallows of whiskey. He walked in front of Kid, grasped his curly blonde hair and pulled back forcing Kid to look up so he could stare at him. "Are you ready, Curry? Are you ready to lose your manhood ta me in front of your partner here so you can be humiliated in front of your friends?"

Kid silently glared back. He was afraid and his heart was pounding, but he wasn’t going to show fear to Milton. He would quietly endure whatever came his way as he had many times before and deal with it later.

Milton untied the rope that fastened Kid to the tree; his hands were tied behind his back. Milton yanked him up into a kneeling position and, standing in front of him, unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down enough to free his cock.

"Suck it, Curry, all the way."

When Kid turned his head away, Milton pulled out his gun, aimed it at Heyes, and pulled the trigger. Heyes tightly closed his eyes and gasped; the bullet grazing him in the upper left arm.

Kid glanced over at Heyes and knew what he had to do.

Milton kept the gun in his right hand aimed in Heyes’ direction and his left hand grasped a handful of Kid’s hair as Kid did his best complying with orders.

Heyes kept his eyes closed. He couldn’t watch his partner being forced to be in that position and he wished he could close his ears from the sounds being made. "I’m sorry, Kid. Hang in there. Just do as he says and we’ll work it out later," he thought over and over wishing…hoping…Kid could hear him. Heyes struggled with the bonds that held him; he had to get free to help his friend.

Soon the climax came. "Swallow it, Curry," Milton demanded. Kid started gagging and couldn’t swallow. "I said swallow it all or else…" he waved the gun at Heyes. Kid swallowed best he could, but suddenly leaned over and retched.

Milton became furious and holstered his gun. He slapped Kid in the face making him fall over and then hauled him up by his arms just to punch him in the stomach and then in the face. With his hands tied, Kid lost his balance and fell back on the ground. Milton then kicked Kid in the groin causing him to gasp as he doubled over in pain. Milton wanted Kid to know he had the power to do whatever he pleased to him and he was the one in control this time.

Again, Milton hauled Kid up and dragged him to a boulder. "No…" Kid implored as Milton unbuckled Kid’s gunbelt and started unbuttoning his pants. "Please, don’t do this!"

"I told you that you were gonna pay—and pay dearly for what ya done to me!" Milton took hold of Kid’s pants and pulled down until his pants and long johns were down by his knees. He then jerked Kid around and threw him over the boulder. He slapped the bare ass and bent down whispering loudly in Kid’s ear, "Are you ready? I’m gonna enjoy this so much!"

Heyes worked more frantically to loosen the bonds. His wrists were bloody as he used the tree bark to cut the thongs moving his hands up and down in quick motions. He had to get loose! He had to help the Kid…

"No-o-o-o-o!" Kid screamed; he wasn’t prepared for that kind of pain when Milton entered him.

Heyes momentarily stopped as he cringed inside then doubled his effort to break free.

"You enjoyin’ this, Curry?" his hot breath muttered in Kid’s ears. "I sure am! Betcha gonna think twice before drawin’ next time, aren’t ya."

Kid closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing against the pain he felt everywhere. It was the only thing he could control at this point. After the initial scream, Kid barely groaned when the pain became more intense.

"Awwwww!" Milton screamed with pleasure as he climaxed. He leaned down against Kid’s back panting for a few moments. He then stood up and buttoned his pants closed.

"Stand up, Curry!" Milton yelled breathing heavily as he grabbed Kid’s hair and pulled back and up. Kid stumbled into a standing position with his pants still down near his knees. Kid’s eyes looked down; no eye contact was made.

Milton punched him in the face and finished the motion by grabbing his own left arm and chest. Kid fell to the ground hitting his head hard and blacked out. Heyes looked up to see Milton sweating and short of breath, his glazed eyes staring first at Heyes and then at Kid. He collapsed in a heap near the Kid.

"Mmmm! Mmmm!" Heyes cried out in frustration. After several minutes, the thongs gave way and Heyes pulled his arms forward and took the gag off.

"KID!" Heyes untied his feet and crawled the few feet to his friend. He gently brushed his face, "Oh Kid! Oh god!"

Heyes glanced over at Milton. Whatever happened to him, he had to get him away from the Kid. Heyes checked; he was dead!

Heyes stood up and grabbing Milton’s legs slid him to the other side of the camp and covered him with a blanket. Grabbing another blanket, Heyes knelt next to his friend and covered his bruised, exposed body.

Heyes ran his fingers through his dark hair; what a mess they had gotten into! And Kid--how was Kid going to cope with what just happened to him?

"Kid! Kid! Come on, Kid. Can you hear me?" Heyes gently stroked his friend’s face and smoothed his hair from his face.

Kid softly moaned and his eyes began to slightly twitch.

"That’s right…come on, Kid. I need you to wake up now; need to know you are all right."

Kid slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus. His limbs barely moved a few inches. Suddenly he jerked away from Heyes’ touch and glanced around panic-stricken; he began to breathe heavily and his eyes showed fear. He began to crawl backwards until the aches throughout his body prevented him.

"Kid, it’s just me! You’re okay; calm down." Heyes spoke softly as he reached out to soothe his friend as he would a panicked horse.

"Milton?" Kid took a few deep breaths trying to gain control of his breathing.

"Dead…think it was his heart."

Kid leaned over and began to retch. Heyes put a hand on his back as a measure of support.

"Hurt…everywhere!" Kid moaned.

"I can imagine." Heyes looked around the camp and found the discarded whiskey. He got up, grabbed the bottle and handed it to Kid. "Here, it’ll help with the pain."

Kid gratefully took the whiskey and had a few swallows. It burned going down.

"Heyes, you’re bleedin’." Kid pointed to the bullet grazed wound on his arm.

Heyes forgot about his arm and wrists with all he had witnessed. He took off his bandana and tried to wrap it around his bleeding arm.

"Here, let me help you with that." Kid wrapped the bandana around the wound and tied it off tight to stop the bleeding. Heyes winced. "Sorry!" Kid handed the bottle to Heyes who took a few deep swallows.

"It’s okay--had to be done," Heyes said as he looked around the camp in disgust.

"Kid, we can’t stay here--not after what just happened." Heyes paused. "Can you ride?" he asked doubtfully.

"No." Kid whispered as he stared at the ground embarrassed.

"You okay if I look around for another place to camp where we can rest up some?"

Kid didn’t look up. "Yeah, I’m okay," he said as he wondered if he ever would be okay again.

Heyes found their guns in Milton’s saddlebags, holstered his own gun and handed the Kid his gun. He walked around the area thankful for the full moon that shone through the trees. On the other side of a large rock formation was a sheltered area further away from the road. A rock protruded out creating a large crevice with a roof offering protection from the elements and man. It was only a couple hundred yards away so Kid could make it in his condition. Most important, the old location was not visible. Perfect. Now he just had to move Kid and the horses, make a fire and set up camp, and bury Milton.

Heyes watched Kid as he cautiously walked back into the camp. He had learned over the years not to startle or sneak up on the Kid. Kid had great hearing and usually was reaching for a gun; however, this time, he just stared straight ahead and didn’t seem to hear him.

"Kid?"

"Hmmm," he mumbled still staring ahead.

"I found a better place to camp. It’s close enough to walk and offers more protection." Heyes walked in front of Kid trying to make eye contact. "Think you can make it with some help?" He offered a hand to help his friend up.

"Yeah," he took Heyes hand for help, but avoided any eye contact. The blanket fell off of his body and Kid realized his pants were still down. Embarrassed, he released Heyes’ hand to pull up his long johns and pants. Heyes averted his eyes giving Kid some privacy and then offered the hand again. This time Kid shook his head then slowly – and painfully – stood up.

"Sure you don’t want any help? You took quite a beating and I know you’re hurtin’," Heyes asked concerned.

Kid just shook his head, grabbed the blanket leaving his gun on the ground and asked, "Where we goin’?"

Heyes sighed as he picked up Kid’s gun and gunbelt. He gathered their horses that still had their saddlebags and saddles and led the way. "It’s just over here on the other side of this rock. No one on the road will be able to see the camp there so we can stay awhile. Think I heard a creek, too, so there’ll be water." Heyes talked the whole way to the new site. Kid was quiet – too quiet – and Heyes could feel a tension in the air that made him uncomfortable.

When they arrived at the new site, Heyes asked, "Well? What’dya think?"

"Better." Kid replied as he shivered. He wrapped himself in the blanket and sat down in the crevice. Heyes placed Kid’s gun and belt near him.

Heyes took a deep breath and began to set up camp. First thing was build a fire for warmth and light. He looked around and by the moonlight found plenty of dry twigs and branches. Soon a fire was going strong and provided able light. Heyes emptied a canteen of water into a coffeepot and put it on the fire. Next, he took care of the horses. He removed the saddles and saddlebags and then tied the horses to a tree with a long length of rope so they could roam for food. Good enough for tonight, he thought. Tomorrow he would take care of Milton’s body. Not only was he too exhausted, physically and emotionally, to take care of it tonight, he didn’t want to leave Kid on his own right now.

Heyes glanced over at Kid thinking he might have fallen asleep. Kid hadn’t moved and was curled in the blanket staring at the fire still shivering once in awhile.

"Want some coffee?" Heyes asked as he poured a cup, added a little whiskey as a second thought, and handed it to Kid.

Kid looked up, but avoided eye contact as he took the proffered cup and took a sip. "Thanks."

Heyes sat down next to Kid with his own cup and stared at the fire.

"Kid…"

"I’m really tired; think I’ll try to sleep." Kid said to avoid conversation with Heyes; he didn’t want to talk about what just happened. He groaned softly as he lay down and tried to find a comfortable position. He still hurt everywhere.

Heyes closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. Dang that hurt as he inadvertently used his wounded arm. Kid was withdrawing from the world and him. He had seen him do it once before many years ago after they buried his family and it took him months to come out of it. He wouldn’t…no couldn’t let that happen again. Milton accomplished exactly what he wanted. Now it was up to him to unravel the damage done. Sleep did not come easily that night.

A sunlight beam and the soft whinny of a horse woke Heyes out of a light sleep. His mind was working overtime how to help Kid overcome this horrible ordeal. He looked around and noticed the fire was about out and Kid had not moved. Hopefully he got a good night sleep and would feel better this morning, but Heyes doubted it. It was going to take more than a good night sleep to feel better after all that happened yesterday. Yesterday…did it only happen yesterday?

Heyes stretched as he got up and shivered a little. He added wood to the fire and walked towards the sound of running water. The nearby creek had plenty of water--may even have some fish for catching. Heyes hoped so; he and Kid loved to fish when they were boys in Kansas. He splashed water on his face, filled the coffeepot and headed back to camp.

Heyes immediately noticed the camp wasn’t as he left it. Kid was no longer lying by the fire, but appeared panic-stricken and huddled far into the crevice shaking. Heyes quickly set the pot on the fire as he ran to his friend.

"Hey…hey…what’s the matter?" he asked as he kneeled in front of Kid and gently grasped his arms.

Kid looked fearful and tried to get out of his hold, but Heyes held tight. "I…I heard something and didn’t see you when I woke. Thought he got you."

"Who, Milton? Kid, Milton’s dead. His heart gave up right after the attack. I’m gonna bury him right after we eat breakfast. You’re hungry, aren’t you?"

Kid started to nod his head yes, but then began to shake it no. He shrugged his shoulders and looked lost. "I dunno."

"Kid, you’re scaring me when you’re not hungry." Heyes sighed. "Listen to me; what happened was a terrible and horrible thing. We’ve had terrible and horrible things happen to us before--when our families died, in the Home, when we got shot--and we’ve overcome and survived them all. You’re gonna overcome this, too. You’re gonna survive. Let me help you. If you need to talk about it…" Kid shook his head vehemently. "Well, not now, but if you do, I’ll listen. We will get through this like we have before."

"Heyes, did you…"

"No, Kid, I couldn’t. Had my eyes closed the whole time and prayed hard while I worked on my bindings."

Kid sighed and did a quick nod. The thought that Heyes did not watch seemed to comfort him.

"Now, think you could eat something?"

Kid nodded his head again and slowly straightened up to stretch. His whole body still hurt. Heyes did a quick visual check on his partner as he stretched. "You got quite the bruise on your face. Hope you feel better than you look?"

"I doubt it; I hurt pretty much everywhere."

"Well, we’re in no hurry to get anywhere and the weather seems nice. You just take it easy while I fix breakfast." Heyes pointed through the trees. "There’s a creek just down there if you wanna clean up some before eating."

Kid thought for a moment and decided that’s just what he needed--to get some cool water on the bruises and clean up from the mess of the attack. He even smelled like sex and that odor was making him nauseous.

While Kid cleaned up, Heyes added coffee to the hot water, opened some beans, and soon had bacon frying.

Kid walked back into camp clean, but stiff and sore. It would be a few days before he could ride in a saddle. Heyes handed him a cup of coffee he gratefully took and then he tried to find a comfortable position to sit.

"Ready to eat?" Heyes asked as he finished with the breakfast.

"I guess."

Heyes glanced up at his partner when he heard his response. He was really hoping for more enthusiasm. He needed patience; it was going to be a long road to recovery.

They ate the meal in silence with Heyes eating more than Kid for once.

"Hoping for something else for breakfast? You didn’t eat much and we didn’t have much yesterday."

"Sorry—my insides are still tender from the kicks."

"Oh," Heyes nodded as he thought that made sense. He got up and, taking Kid’s plate, cleaned up from breakfast.

"Kid, I’m gonna hafta go back and get rid of the body. Are you okay here alone?

"Yeah."

"I’ll just be over there; if you need me, holler."

"Okay…Heyes?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For doing it without me. Can’t go back there."

"I know. That’s why I moved the camp last night. You’re going to be okay…just give it time."

Heyes found a small shovel and walked back to the scene of the crime with apprehension. He didn’t want to go back either. He didn’t want to remember…to relive yesterday again. Nothing had changed overnight except the fire was cold. By the tree were the bloody thongs he escaped from. There was blood, Kid’s blood, on the boulder Milton used for…Heyes shuddered. Milton’s horse impatiently pawed at the ground still tied to a tree with the saddle on it. And, at the edge of camp, lay a dead body. Another dead body he had to bury. God, he hated burying bodies!

Heyes walked around until he found where the soil was loose and digging a grave would be easy. A couple of hours later, a sweaty Heyes dragged the body into the hole. He sat for awhile drinking from a canteen when he heard Kid.

"NO! NO!"

Heyes jumped up and ran back to camp forgetting how tired he was. He pulled out his gun as he cautiously approached the camp to see what happened.

Kid lay by the fire shaking and crying out; it was obvious he was having a nightmare. "Noooo…please don’t!"

Heyes knelt by his partner and gently shook him. "Kid…Kid….Kid! Wake up! Come on…wake up!"

Blue eyes opened showing terror and Kid flinched at Heyes’ touch. "Leave me alone! Please, don’t touch me!" Kid cried out as he crawled back into the crevice. His shirt was plastered to his chest and his hair matted to his forehead from the sweat. He trembled as he curled into the corner. "Please leave me alone!"

Heyes slowly walked towards Kid and sat down near him. He stroked the wet hair and spoke softly. "Kid, you were having a nightmare. I’m watching your back; you’re all right. Milton is dead. He’s not gonna hurt you again."

Slowly, Kid’s breathing slowed to a normal pace. "Why, Heyes? Why me?"

"I don’t know, Kid. I do know you’ve been through a lot and always manage to come through it."

"What if I don’t this time?"

Heyes placed his hand on Kid’s face and made him look at him. The warm brown eyes gazed intently into the lifeless blue eyes. "You will! You’ve never given up on me and I’ve never given up on you. Together we can do anything, including getting through this trauma."

Kid looked confused, "This what?"

"Trauma…horrible experience, terrible thing."

"Oh."

"I have to go back and finish. I know you don’t wanna go back there, but I’d rather not leave you alone. Why don’tcha come with me and take care of the horse. You’re better with horses than me and this one could use some soothin’. And doing something is probably better than thinkin’ right now."

Kid closed his eyes and Heyes could tell he was wrestling with what to do. "I’ll go help ya."

"Thanks." Heyes stood up and gave a hand helping Kid to slowly get up.

Heyes let Kid set the pace as they walked back to finish the burial and cleanup. Kid focused immediately on the horse and did not look around the campground. Heyes filled in the grave and cleaned up the few cooking utensils Milton used.

"Horse coming back with us?" Kid asked as he stroked its muzzle and stared off into the distance away from the camp and the new grave.

"Yup, may as well. We’ll report Milton’s death to the sheriff in the next town."

Both were glad to be walking away from the site of such pain and going back to their campground.

Evening came and Heyes noticed Kid not settling down for the night. He was antsy and walking around, then sitting down just to stand and walk again. "What you doin’?" he asked.

"Nothin’."

"Can you tell me whatcha thinkin’ to make you so restless?" Heyes paused. "Can’t help if I don’t know what’s goin’ on in that brain of yours."

Kid stood up and faced away from the fire. "I’m…I’m…I don’t wanna have that dream again. If I close my eyes, I’ll see him again."

"So you’re plannin’ to what--never go to sleep again?" Kid shot a look at Heyes and then turned away again. "I though we had an agreement about me thinkin’ and you shootin’." Heyes thought for a few minutes. "Still hurting pretty bad?"

"Yeah."

"Seems Milton loved his whiskey. There were several bottles in his saddlebags instead of food. How about we play some Blackjack and have some drinks like in a saloon. It’ll take our mind off of it and we might get a little drunk and sleep like babies." Heyes proposed the idea knowing one of them had to stay sober and alert. He’d just make it look like he was keeping up with the Kid.

"Sounds okay to me." Kid found the cards and a bottle in the saddlebag, got their tin coffee mugs and sat down by the fire.

They played and drank, and drank and played, until Kid finally passed out. Heyes wrapped a blanket around him and lay down nearby to be available if he was needed. One day and two nights down…

Next morning Heyes woke up late and, looking over at Kid, smiled as he realized there had been no nightmare. He quietly got up, added wood to the fire, cleaned up by the creek, and started breakfast. The food was ready and Kid was still sleeping. He drank his coffee and thought about what steps to take to help Kid. He could still hear Milton’s reason for the attack: "I’s gonna make him think twice about pullin’ a gun on anyone else again." Where was Kid’s gun? Heyes didn’t remember him wearing it yesterday, but the gun was such a part of the Kid that he rarely did notice it. He’d have to make a point to look for it today. Heyes hoped what Milton said had nothing to do with where Kid’s gun was.

"Ohhhh…" Kid moaned as he tried opening his eyes. He had a horrible headache this morning from all the whiskey the night before.

"Mornin’ sleepy-head!" Heyes responded in too cheerful of a voice for Kid.

"Don’t talk so loud! What did ya do to me last night? I feel worse!"

"Just a little whiskey and some Blackjack. How’d you sleep?"

"Like a…hey, I didn’t have a nightmare!" Kid smiled for the first time since the attack and then frowned. "Is that your plan to stop the nightmares, Heyes? Whiskey?"

"No; just the first thing I thought of with no notice. I’ll come up with a better plan now that I have more time." Heyes smiled having seen Kid’s smile. "Hungry? Got breakfast ready. Thought we’d try some fishin’ in the creek afterwards."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Kid smiled his second smile Heyes noticed.

After breakfast, they went through their saddlebags and found string and bending needles from Heyes’ sewing kit made good hooks. They found long branches on their way to the creek to make fishing poles.

As they relaxed in the warm sun and waited for the fish to bite, Heyes looked over and noticed no gun on Kid’s hip—just like he thought.

"Kid?"

"Hmmm."

"Where’s your gun?"

Blue eyes looked down. "I dunno."

"You don’t know? You’re never without your gun!" Heyes waited a few minutes and could see his partner’s embarrassment. "Are you not wearing it because of what Milton said?"

Silence confirmed what Heyes already knew.

"Kid, you’ve never drawn your gun unless in defense for yourself or me or someone needin’ help."

Kid looked over to Heyes and sighed. "I don’t even remember drawin’ on him. How many other lives did I hurt?"

"And how many lives have you saved, including mine too many times? Milton was blamin’ you for his troubles, but he did it to himself. Easier to blame you than himself. It’s not your fault he lost his girl or friends or job. He’d probably have lost them if he had never met you.

"Sure about that?"

"Have I ever been wrong before?" Heyes gave Kid a dimpled smile.

Kid rolled his eyes. "Don’t even ask. Hey…I think I have a fish on line!"

After a delicious lunch of fish and no beans, Heyes asked, "So, you gonna let Milton win or are you gonna put your gun on?"

"I’ll wear it," Kid replied sounding reluctant.

"I was thinking we could target practice for awhile this afternoon. How about it?"

"I dunno."

"Hey, since when do I gotta talk you into shootin’? Usually I gotta talk you outta practicing." Heyes put his arm around Kid and led him to an open area nearby.

"So what are we gonna shoot?" Kid asked, looking around.

"Oh, I don’t know. How about that tree over there?" Heyes pointed to a tree about forty feet away.

"That tree? Even you could hit that tree, Heyes."

"Come on—just try it."

"Okay." Kid shrugged as he pulled out his gun and placed a shot in the middle of the tree trunk without seeming to aim. "Now what?" he asked as he kept his gun in his hand.

"How about that bush beside the rock?" The bush was about sixty feet away.

"The whole bush?"

"Just one of the one yellow flowers on the bush."

Kid sighed and shot a flower off the bush. "Your turn. Let’s see if you can hit the tree."

"Same tree?" Kid nodded so Heyes took aim and his bullet hit the same mark as Kid’s bullet.

"Not bad...let’s see if you can shoot one of the yellow flowers on that bush."

Heyes aimed and soon another flower was shot off the bush. Heyes turned to Kid and smiled.

"Pretty good; you been practicing, Heyes?"

"Hey," Heyes pouted, "I’m not bad with a gun; I’m just not as fast as you."

"How about something harder?" Heyes encouraged Kid and then swatted away a fly. "How about a pinecone in that tree?"

Kid holstered his gun and squinting his eyes looked high up in the digger pine. A second later the gun appeared to jump into Kid’s hand as he shot into the tree. A heavy eight-inch pinecone fell inches from Heyes.

"Not that pinecone…sheesh…you almost hit me! I meant the little one, not the biggest one."

Kid smiled. "You didn’t say which pinecone." Seeing Kid smile pleased Heyes and he again swatted at the pesky fly.

"My turn…I’m gonna shoot that fly."

"Yeah, right. This I gotta see."

Heyes fired his gun. "Got him!"

Kid looked skeptically at Heyes. "How do you know you got him?"

"Well you don’t see him flying around me anymore, do you?"

"Heyes, that don’t prove anything."

"Sure it does, Kid."

"No it don’t."

"Well, let’s find the bullet and there’ll be a dead fly on one end." A fly buzzed around Heyes’ face and he pretended it didn’t exist.

Kid grinned and the lifeless blue eyes began to sparkle.

"Alright…alright! Maybe I did miss him. You try to get him," Heyes challenged Kid.

Kid stared at the fly buzzing around Heyes.

Heyes watched Kid nervously. "Not while he’s near me; you might miss him and get me!"

Kid unholstered his gun, "Stay still Heyes."

"Kid…"

Bang!

"I got him!"

"No you…" Heyes looked around, but did not see a fly in the area. "Well, maybe…"

"Let’s get back to camp so we can clean our guns before it gets too dark." Kid put his arm around Heyes and they walked back to camp.

Towards evening Heyes sensed Kid getting restless again.

"How you feeling?"

"Better, I guess; don’t hurt to sit like it did and my insides feel just a little bruised."

"Think you could ride tomorrow?"

"How far?" Kid apprehensively asked.

"Just to the nearby town. Thought a real bed and a hot bath would do us good. Maybe a little poker, too, to raise the funds."

"Sounds good…real good." Kid paused. "Heyes, what about the nightmare?"

"I’ve been thinking a lot about that. Did you have nightmares after the raid?"

Kid was surprised Heyes mentioned the raids; he never brought up their childhood. "Yeah…real bad ones."

"And do you still have them?"

Kid thought for a moment. "Nope."

"And what about while we were at Valparaiso; did you have bad dreams there?"

"You know I did."

"And do you now?"

"Nope." Kid was starting to see where Heyes was going with this line of questioning.

"And I know you had dreams after Danny Bilson. Do you still have nightmares about him?"

"Not so much anymore. What you’re sayin’ is I’m gonna continue to have nightmares about Milton, but they’ll go away with time, just like they have before."

"Exactly!" Heyes gave Kid a dimpled smile.

"So I just gotta put up with ‘em ‘til they go away."

Heyes lost his smile. "Well…yeah. In the meantime, think it would be good if you talk about it instead of keepin’ it all inside eating away at you. You were the victim of a horrible attack, Kid, not the bad guy," Heyes paused. "There’s still some whiskey; want some?"

"A few swallows sound good--just don’t want as much as last night."

Kid lay down and said a silent prayer hoping for no nightmares. "Night, Heyes."

"Night, Kid." Heyes, too, sent up a quick prayer for his partner and friend.

The next morning Heyes and Kid woke up early. Both were anxious to leave the area and get back to the comforts of civilization. After a few hours in the saddle, Heyes spotted a town; not a moment too soon for Kid who was really starting to hurt again. A hot bath sounded even better than food at this point.

They rode into a small town of Jackson and breathed a sigh of relief when the name on the sheriff’s office did not sound familiar.

"Kid, why don’t you go check into the hotel while I report Milton’s death to the sheriff. I’ll meet you at the bathhouse."

"Sure that’s a good idea talking to the sheriff?"

"Just gonna tell him we came across his body and buried him. Don’t necessarily want him to see you with those bruises, though."

Heyes walked into the sheriff’s office and told the deputy in charge about sharing a campground with a man who called himself Milton. He just up and died because of his heart giving out. He buried him on the trail and wanted the law to know if someone was looking for him. Heyes gave the deputy Milton’s saddlebags and the deputy informed him he could keep or sell the horse and saddle for his efforts. From the money for the horse and saddle, they could afford a few nights and meals in town.

Both Heyes and Kid looked and felt like new men when they emerged from the bathhouse. A hot soaking was just what Kid needed for his aches and bruises. After a hot meal of chicken in the saloon, they leaned against the bar and looked around the room. A poker table aroused Heyes’ interest.

"Thaddeus, wanna play some poker?" Heyes and Kid comfortably slid back into using their alias of Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones when around other people.

"Go right ahead; think I’ll just stand here for awhile. Sitting that long still isn’t appealin’."

Heyes joined a table and within a few hours had gained a nice pile of money in front of him when the inevitable happened; a disgruntled gambler accused him of cheating. Kid immediately sensed a threat to his partner, but could only watch as the scene unfolded. Milton’s words came back to haunt him along with the dread of drawing a gun.

"You’ve been cheatin’, mister! Just leave my money on the table there and get outta here," an enraged ranch hand, who’d too much to drink, demanded.

"I haven’t been cheating; just having a lucky night," Heyes defended himself calmly.

The drunken ranch hand stood up and pulled out his gun. "I said you were cheatin’--now get outta here!"

Heyes glanced towards the bar at his partner. Kid realized Heyes needed him to back him up, but he couldn’t move and gazed at the ground. A moment later, Kid quickly left the saloon frustrated and angry at himself.

"What’s going on here? Holster that gun, son, or you can spend the night cooling off in my jail." Heyes took a deep breath as he noticed the sheriff standing behind him.

"This man’s cheatin’; look at all that money in front of him!" the ranch hand yelled at the sheriff as he quickly holstered his gun.

"Well," the sheriff looked at the other men at the table, "was he cheatin’?"

"Just having a lucky night, sheriff," Heyes was anxious to leave and find Kid.

"Didn’t ask you…well, was he cheatin’ or not, Bob?" the sheriff asked a local farmer who was playing in the game.

"Reckon he was just lucky, sheriff," Bob replied.

"Am I free to go, sheriff?" Heyes asked.

"Yup seeing you didn’t do nothing wrong."

Heyes started gathering his winnings. "Well in that case, I’ll be heading off to bed. Thanks for the game, gentlemen."

Heyes gulped down the rest of his whiskey, grabbed his hat and rushed out the door towards the hotel. He looked up to their room’s window and did not see a light on. Heyes knew Kid well and decided he hadn’t gone back to the room, but where would he have gone? He looked in the alley and on the hotel porch, but no Kid. Suddenly the answer came to him and he smiled as he hurried to the livery.

"Thaddeus?" Heyes quietly said as he entered the stable. He could hear someone by their horses and slowly walked in their direction. "Thaddeus, are you in here?"

"Yeah…" was the whispered response back as Kid methodically brushed his horse.

"Whatcha doing in here? It’s getting late."

"I didn’t back you up, Heyes. You needed me and I failed you."

"Nothing happened…and it was a good thing you didn’t draw. The sheriff was right there behind me a moment after you left. Sure didn’t need him seeing you draw."

"I couldn’t do it, Heyes. I just couldn’t do it. Kept hearin’ Milton talking about thinkin’ twice and this time I did. You don’t need a partner like me who can’t watch your back."

"So you didn’t draw one time. I DO need a partner like you. No one watches my back like you do, Kid. Milton was talkin’ nonsense. You can’t listen to him no more; he’s dead and can’t hurt you again. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you."

"Are you gonna believe me?"

"I want to--I’m trying to."

"Come on. It’s late and there are comfortable beds waiting for us," Heyes put his arm around Kid and gently steered him towards the door.

As they walked out of the livery a shot went out and Heyes’ hat flew off his head. They crouched down and Kid’s hand instinctively reached for his gun. There was no cover by the door so they crawled towards the closest alley on their left. Another shot stopped their direction and they lay on the ground.

"See anyone?" Heyes asked Kid who had great night vision.

"Nope. Who you think it is? Think they know us?" Kid whispered.

"Guessing it’s my friend, the drunken ranch hand. He didn’t seem none too pleased last time I saw him."

Another shot came close to their heads causing them to inch their way behind a water trough.

"Where’s a sheriff when you need him!" Heyes quietly exclaimed.

"I’m gonna go round the right to the other alley; cover me." Kid positioned himself ready to run.

"Wait; I’ll run and you cover."

"No. You gotta cover me. Ready?"

"How about we toss a coin…"

"Not this time, Heyes. Are you ready?"

"Yeah--on the count of three. One…two…three!

Heyes fired his six bullets in the direction he thought the gunfire was coming from and Kid ran into the alley.

"What’s going on here!" the sheriff yelled as he made his way to the livery. A shot went out and he fell into the street.

Heyes waited a minute and peered from behind the trough. He barely saw the sheriff on the ground when a shot grazed him in the upper arm.

"Damn!" he cried out as he ducked behind the trough once again.

Heyes heard one more gun shot and then silence.

"Joshua, are you okay?" Heyes heard a familiar voice ask.

"Just got nicked. Is it safe to come out?"

"Yup. Better go for the doctor while I take this fellow to the jail."

Heyes swiftly walked over to the downed sheriff and noticed he was still breathing. Heyes gently turned him over and checked where he was hit. People were gathering around them in the street. "Someone go fetch the doctor, now!"

The sheriff had been hit in the shoulder. Heyes removed his bandana and placed it on the wound to slow the bleeding.

The doctor ran to the scene and immediately took control of the situation. There wasn’t any more Heyes could do so he looked around for his partner. Seeing Kid rocking on one of the hotel’s porch chairs, Heyes went to join him.

Kid stopped rocking. "You’re hit again; same arm? Here…" Kid untied his own bandana and tied it around Heyes’ arm.

"Thanks; just another graze. Sheriff’s gonna be okay. What happened with you?"

"Walked around the livery to the alley I guessed he was in. Saw him hunched behind a barrel after shooting the sheriff. After he took aim at you, I was close enough to shoot his gun outta his hand. His hand’s hurtin’ but he’ll be okay. Just dropped him off into a cell seeing no one was around. Heard someone go for the deputy so he should be there soon."

"Pretty good work, partner!" Heyes smiled at Kid. "Thanks for saving me, again."

Kid smiled back. "Know…I just did it without thinkin’…without hearin’ Milton."

"You’re gonna be all right, Kid!"

"I know Heyes--just gotta give it some time, right? Let’s head upstairs to those comfortable beds."

Heyes smiled as he followed his partner upstairs. It would take some time, but Kid would survive, again.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.  The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise.  No copyright infringement is intended.