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azombiewritesTitle: The Hunted
Nineth story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: The bank of Four Corners is robbed and when the seven hired gunmen go after them, the robbers set a trap and two of the lawmen are injured. The hunters then become the hunted.
Main Characters: Ezra, and the rest of the seven, and some OC's
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Beta: Not betaed – written in the early days when I didn’t know what the words grammar and edit meant. *is ashamed*
Notes: Nineth story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Total Word Count: 24,041
Part Two
"Shit," said Chris.
Buck was shortly forgotten as they ran to Ezra's side. Nathan tried to get him to lie down so he could see what his injuries were but Ezra resisted.
"Get away from me!" He yelled at Nathan as he tried to push him away. In one way Ezra was glad that they were alright but he couldn’t believe that, they hadn’t come looking for him. He was so angry at them now that he actually felt sick to the stomach. He had never really lost his temper at them before but this time he was not going to hold back.
"Ezra, you have to lie down so I can see if you’re badly hurt," argued Nathan.
"I don't have to do anything." Ezra spat at him. He continued to try to push him away. Ezra couldn’t even believe it himself that he was this angry.
"Lie down Ezra and that’s an order," growled Chris. They would have to argue about what happened later. Now was not the time. However, he knew that it would be Ezra doing all the arguing.
"Don't you even think of giving me orders?" Ezra was starting to feel weak and he felt himself fall onto his injured side. He screamed out at the pain that went through him. They tried to roll him onto his back but he still struggled, he still pushed them away but his struggles started to weaken even more as waves of pain continued to flow through his side. His face was contorted by the pain. He had no choice he had to roll onto his back. He allowed them to roll him over but continued to try to push them away. Even though he was getting weaker, his anger was building.
"Ezra, will you stay still please, you will have plenty of time later to be angry at us," said Josiah. He couldn't believe that they had forgotten him.
Ezra didn't listen to him. "Why wait till later." The anger was evident in his voice. "I thought that you were all either dead or badly injured but no, all of you are fine. So what was it, you were perhaps hoping that I died out there so you wouldn't have to worry about me anymore." He was staring at Chris.
"You're wrong, Ezra." Chris could see that he was getting weaker. He grabbed Ezra's left arm and pinned it to the ground. He felt Ezra struggle but just like he thought, he was weak and he was not able to get his arm away from him. "We'll talk about it later, Ezra." He nodded to Josiah to grab Ezra's other arm. As Josiah did this Ezra cried out again at the pain that went through his shoulder.
"Take it easy with that arm Josiah, Ezra, is still having trouble with his shoulder, it's still giving him some pain." he spoke as he tore Ezra's shirt open, he didn't bother about the buttons. "That's why he wasn't there to help this morning. I gave him something last night to help him sleep, that's why it took him so long to wake up."
"Shit," Chris said again. He said this for two reasons. One was because of what Nathan had just told him and secondly because he saw the wound on Ezra's side. He was shocked for a moment and he let his hold on Ezra's arm loosen. Ezra managed to pull his arm away and tried to get up. Chris quickly grabbed it again.
"Chris, roll him onto his side I want to see if there’s an exit wound and then we’ll take his jacket and shirt off." Chris pushed Ezra onto his side again and heard him moan in pain. They then pulled his arm out of his jacket and shirt. They left his right arm in his jacket.
"You think that he was shot, Nathan?" asked JD. He had been watching Ezra. He felt terrible about what they had done.
"No, a bullet didn't do this." Nathan answered him as he looked at Ezra's side. He was worried about the wound. He could see that it was dirty. "Ezra what did this?" he hoped that he was going to answer him.
Ezra had finally stopped struggling as it was only causing him more pain than he wanted. "A fallen tree. The explosion threw me against it and one of the broken branches went through my side. I sat there for ten minutes hoping that someone was going to help but when no one came I thought that you were dead or hurt so I had to get myself off it."
They let what he said go for the moment. Nathan gently rolled him onto his back knowing that lying on his shoulder was causing him more pain. He started to go through Ezra's jacket pockets.
"If you’re looking for my flask it is still in my room." Ezra smiled but his smile was full of sarcasm. "Chris would not have approved if I brought it along on this trip."
"JD, go and get the canteens and Vin, could you see if there’s anything that we could use as bandages in the saddle bags."
JD returned with the canteens, one of them was only half-full as they had used some of it to clean Buck's head wound. Vin also returned with some shirts from Ezra's saddlebag as one of the horses he had found was Ezra's. Vin knew that he always carried extra clothing in case he needed it. Buck had also made his way over to see how Ezra was.
Nathan had no idea how he was going to clean Ezra's wound. He knew that whatever he done it would not clean all the dirt or any bits that may have broken off the branch. He had no alcohol to clean it with and he knew that Chris would not let him boil any water in case the bank robbers were still around. He had no instruments to help him get into the wound, he only had his hands, they would not be enough, and they were dirty. He knew that the wound was going to become infected. Once he had done what he could for him he was going to have to get him back to town.
There were two horses here now. He would ride one and he would put Ezra on the other. He watched Vin tear one of Ezra's shirts into strips. Vin handed him one and Nathan soaked it with some of the water.
"Turn Ezra on to his side again, Chris, and hold him down." Nathan watched again as they forced Ezra onto his side. He had begun to struggle again as he knew what Nathan was about to do.
No one had thought about Ezra's legs. They only thought about holding down his arms, as they were what he used to try to push everyone away. As Nathan came, forward Ezra brought his leg up and kicked out at him. Ezra was so angry now that he didn’t want anyone touching him and if he couldn't use his arms then he would use his legs. His boot caught Nathan in the chest and it knocked him backwards, the wind gushing out of his lungs.
Vin moved to help Nathan. "I'm alright Vin, just grab his legs." They were all shocked that Ezra had done that, as it was such an unexpected thing for him to do. As Vin moved towards Ezra, he could see him watching him and he thought that he saw hatred as well as the pain in his eyes. Vin was careful just in case Ezra tried to kick out again but he didn’t have to worry as that one kick drained what little energy he had left. He now just lay there, too weak to struggle anymore.
JD helped Nathan get up. He rubbed his chest, surprised that Ezra had any strength in him at all. He had dropped the wet cloth on the ground and it was now useless, as it had gotten dirty. It meant that he would now have to use more water to wet another one. Once he had done that, he moved back towards Ezra. He could see Ezra watching him; he was now squirming under everyone's grip.
"Ezra, I’m going to be as quick as I can." Nathan said to him.
"Why don't you take your time, I'm sure that you’ll enjoy yourself." Ezra looked from Nathan's face to the damp cloth that he held in his hand.
Ezra turned his head into his own shoulder as Nathan began to wipe his side. The pain was excruciating. His scream was muffled by his own shoulder. He tried to struggle but he was to weak. Nathan pressed the cloth into the wound trying to get as much of the dirt out as possible. Ezra screamed one last time and was then quiet. Chris and Vin no longer held him down as he had lost consciousness. Josiah though continued to keep one hand on his shoulder and he began to wipe Ezra's forehead with the other. He felt so bad about what they had done he felt that he needed to comfort Ezra in some way.
As Nathan continued to clean, his wounds Ezra still tried to move away but he was that weak that Josiah's one hand on his shoulder was enough to keep him still so Nathan could continue. Ezra also tried to move his head away from Josiah's touch but Josiah continued to run his hand along Ezra's forehead. He then placed his hand on his head and gently moved his thumb across his head from left to right. Ezra soon began to accept the touch as he stopped shying away from the human contact.
Once Nathan had finished he sat back and looked at the wound, it was an angry red and already beginning to swell. He then placed his hand against Ezra's forehead and felt the heat that his body was already beginning to generate. He then used more of the strips to bandage the wound. He pulled it as tight as he dared and he heard Ezra groan at the pain that he caused by doing it. When he had finished that, he had Josiah help him remove Ezra's jacket and shirt from his other arm and then put the jacket back on to keep him warm.
"We have to get him back to town, Chris. The wound is already becoming infected. I have to get him back to my room so I can clean it properly." Nathan stood up and looked down at Ezra. He looked so pale against his red jacket.
Chris nodded. "Vin, get the two horses." Vin was already on his way.
Buck and JD were now sitting next to Ezra. They hadn’t taken their eyes off Ezra. His head was now lying against his left shoulder. He didn't move anymore. They knew that there was nothing they could for him. Buck looked up as Vin returned with the horses.
"Nathan, you ride Vin's horse and I’ll ride with Ezra on his horse." Nathan nodded; he wasn’t going to give Chris an argument.
"What about Buck?" asked JD.
"I'm fine JD, we have to get Ezra back to town." Buck said from his position next to Ezra.
Chris got up on the horse and watched as Vin and Josiah carefully lifted Ezra off the ground and then walked towards him. He helped them lift Ezra up onto the horse placing him in front of him so Ezra could lean against Chris's chest, which also allowed Chris to hold onto him so he would not fall off. They then rode off towards town.
The others watched them leave hoping that Ezra was goin to be okay.
"Vin, JD why don't you go and see if you can find any more of our horses." suggested Josiah. As they also left to find the horses, they heard a gunshot come from the top of the hill.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Silvers had been watching the edge of the tree line when he saw two riders come of out the trees.
"Steven, get over here."
"What is it boss?" He followed the direction that his boss pointed in and saw the two riders as well. He squinted trying to see better. "There are two riders on one of those horses."
"Really. Well it's about time we showed them that we’re still here. Do you what your best at, Steven."
He watched as he lifted his rifle and took aim. He waited a few moments until he heard the gunshot. Instead of seeing a rider fall he saw the horse with the two riders on it fall. Steven had shot the horse out from under them. Oh well he thought, they will still know that we’re here.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Chris was worried that the bank robbers were still around but the further they got from the tree line the better he felt about it. That was until he heard the gunshot and felt Ezra's horse begin to go down underneath him. He quickly pulled his feet from the stirrups so his leg would not be caught under the horse. As it went down, he tried to pull himself and Ezra away from it.
Nathan had heard the gunshot and turned around to see Chris and Ezra go down. He rode back to them hoping that he didn't hear another gunshot. When he reached them, he jumped off his own horse. "Chris, are you okay?" He saw Chris nod and pull himself up. He had managed to get himself and Ezra out from under the horse. Nathan checked both of them though. Chris seemed fine and Ezra didn’t have any extra injuries but his side was bleeding heavily again. He also remembered to check his shoulder but that was okay as well. He must have landed on his left side.
"We can't get out of here now, Nathan, if we try they’ll just shoot us. We'll have to get back to the others and then go after these guys so we can then get Ezra back to town without getting any of us killed in the process."
Nathan nodded his agreement and he went to pick Ezra up. "It's alright, Nathan, I'll carry him." Chris bent down and lifted Ezra up into his arms and they began walking back to the others and with each step they expected to feel the force of a another bullet.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Silvers watched as the two men - one of them carrying another - walked back towards the woods.
"Steven, fire another shot but don't hit anyone, just scare them so they won't think twice about doing that again," he laughed as he really was enjoying himself.
Steven fired again aiming close to Nathan and he watched as all three of them fell to the ground. He listened, as his boss laughed not being able to stop the smile that crossed his own face.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Nathan was walking behind Chris leading Vin's horse behind him. He was unable to see Ezra's face as his head was in the crook of Chris's left shoulder. He picked up his speed to bring himself level with Chris so he could keep a better eye on Ezra. It was going to take them at least ten minutes to get back to the others. Nathan heard another gunshot and expected the worse. He dropped to the ground making sure that he didn’t let go of the reins. He saw Chris do the same but he was unable to keep Ezra from falling on his injured side again. Nathan noticed that Ezra didn’t respond to the pain it must have caused him.
"Chris, you okay?" Nathan asked again.
"I'm fine, Nathan, we weren't hit. You?"
"No. They must have missed us." He moved towards Ezra to make sure that he was still okay. He knew that he would not be alright for much longer.
"I think they missed on purpose," he watched as Nathan quickly checked Ezra. "They want us to know that they are still there and they don't intend to let us go anywhere." He looked down at Ezra knowing that they couldn't get him back to town in a hurry and that also meant that he was going to get a lot sicker before they finally could get him back. "Come on let's get back to the others." Chris picked Ezra up again. He could feel the heat from his body through his clothing and saw that his hair was now clinging to his scalp. His fever was getting worse very quickly.
"You don't think that they will shoot at us again," asked Nathan as he too got up off the ground.
"No." Chris had already begun to walk back to the trees and Nathan had to run to catch up to him.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The four hired gunmen who were left behind heard a second gunshot and they feared the worse. They wanted to go after them to find out what happened and to make sure that they were alright. Josiah held them back though stating that they too could end up in the same situation if they were not careful. Ten minutes later, they looked up as they heard a noise coming from the trees, their first reaction was to draw their guns. They quickly replaced them though when they saw Nathan leading his horse behind him and Chris carrying Ezra in his arms.
Buck ran up to them intending to help Chris with Ezra. He was shocked at the sight of him, it was as though he hadn’t seen what he had already gone through earlier. The sight of him made him react as though it was the first time he saw him in this condition. He saw Ezra lying limp in Chris's arms, he saw his sweat soaked head leaning against Chris's shoulder. He watched as Ezra's left arm, which was hanging from his side move back and forth with each step that Chris took. He wanted to take Ezra from his arms but he saw the determined look in his eyes. He could see that Chris felt bad about what happened - they all did - and that he wanted to do anything and everything to make it up to Ezra.
"Chris, take him over to that tree there, I don't want him lying in the sun." Nathan said to him and followed him as Chris did what he asked of him.
"What happened?" asked Vin. He had to wait for an answer.
Chris gently laid Ezra down on the ground and stepped back as he knew that Nathan would want to check him over again. "They shot Ezra's horse out from under us and then when we tried to get back to you they fired another shot, but it was their way of telling us they are still around and don't intend to let us go anywhere." He didn’t look at Vin or the others but instead watched Nathan as he removed the bandage. JD saw what he was doing and ran to get some more of the strips of cloth that Nathan would need.
"They shot Ezra's horse? He's not going to be happy about that," said Buck hoping that Ezra would be able to have the chance to get angry about it.
No one said anymore as they waited until Nathan finished with Ezra but he took longer than they expected. JD returned with the makeshift bandages. "JD, get me the canteen as well," said Nathan as he took the bandages from JD.
"What's wrong, Nathan?" asked Chris as he knelt down beside Nathan.
"I have to stop the bleeding and I'll clean his wound again."
Chris moved to Ezra's other side and turned him onto his side. They watched as Nathan cleaned his wound and then press against it to stop the bleeding. They listened, as Ezra moaned and watched again as he tried to move away from him but Chris was able to keep him still enough for Nathan. As Nathan then began to bandage the wound, Ezra opened his eyes. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and then looked at Nathan on one side of him and then at Chris who was on the other holding him down. Chris saw that Ezra had woken and expected him to start putting up a struggle but he didn't. He just lay there staring at Chris who could see that there was just as much anger in Ezra's eyes as there was pain.
Now that Ezra was awake Nathan finished up quickly and then leant back to inspect Ezra's side. Ezra noticed that he had moved away from his side. Only a small amount of blood soaked into the bandage. As Ezra was not struggling against Chris's hold he let go of him and as he did so Ezra quickly sat up and hit Chris as hard as he could, which was not very hard considering what little strength he had left in him. It was not even hard enough to knock Chris over. No one was shocked by what Ezra just did especially after he had kicked Nathan in the chest. Ezra fell back to the ground clenching his teeth against the pain that he had just caused himself.
"Feel better now, Ezra?" asked Chris. He didn’t fail to notice how weak the blow was.
"It is going to take a lot more than that to make me feel better, Chris." Everyone heard the bitterness in Ezra's voice.
Ezra was enjoying the total blackness until he started to feel a pain coming from somewhere, he was not sure where. He just wished that it would go away. It didn't though so he tried to ignore it, as he didn’t want the darkness to leave him behind. The light started to break through though as the pain got worse. The light had become stronger as the pain became worse. He opened his eyes but had trouble focusing. He blinked hoping that it would help. He realised that he was on his side and he looked behind him to see what was causing the pain. He saw Nathan and it all suddenly came back to him.
He remembered what happened and how the others had left him out there to die. He turned his head back as he realised that there was pressure on his arms. He saw Chris looking down at him and felt the anger rise in him. He had never been so angry at this man before. He had reason to yes but he always held the anger down but for some reason he didn’t want to this time.
Ezra knew that if he struggled more hands would hold him down so he waited. He noticed that Nathan had moved away from him and as Chris removed his hands, he sat up fighting the pain that exploded in his side and he hit Chris with all the strength that he could muster. He knew that the punch would be weak but he wanted to hit him, he needed to hit him but it didn’t make him feel any better. If anything, he just felt more angry. Ezra was angry, the fever that he was suffering from was feeding that anger, and as the fever grew worse, his anger became stronger.
Ezra fell back to the ground and lay where he was and closed his eyes. He needed to rest for a moment and then he would tell Chris and the others what he thought about them but he felt the darkness coming back for him and he welcomed it. He could tell them later. Nathan put his hand on Ezra's forehead and felt that his fever was getting worse. When Ezra didn’t respond by pushing him away, he realised that he had lost consciousness.
"He's unconscious," he told the others.
"Vin, Josiah from what I could tell those two shots came from on top of the hill. I want you to go and scout around and then come back. I don't want you to try to do anything. Just get information and then come back and we’ll think of a plan then." They nodded and then left. "Buck, are you up to looking for the other horses with JD?"
"Of course I am. Anything to help Ezra get back to town quicker," answered Buck. He still had a headache but knew that it was nothing compared to what Ezra was going through.
"Good but don't go past the tree line, we don't need anyone else hurt," Chris warned them.
When the others had left to do what Chris had asked of them he went and sat back down next to Ezra. Nathan was wiping his face down with a dry cloth but it soon became wet due to all the moisture that Ezra was losing from his body through the fever. Ezra started to toss and turn as if in a dream.
Ezra did dream. He dreamt of a world full of pain and anger. He dreamt of lying against a tree with a branch protruding from his side. He couldn't move. He heard laughter and looked up to see his friends standing before him. They were pointing and laughing at him.
"Don't just stand there, help me." He yelled at them. They didn't help him. Instead, they continued to laugh and then they began to walk away from him, leaving him where he was, leaving him alone.
"Help me." He yelled at their retreating backs.
Chris and Nathan looked at each other and then at Ezra as they listened to him yell out to someone to help him. They were not sure, if he was dreaming about what just happened to him or if it was something from his past. "He's becoming delirious," said Nathan. "I didn't think all of this would happen so quick. It's only been a couple of hours since it happened." He lifted the bandage away from Ezra's wound and saw the yellow mucus already leaking from the wound. "I must have left a lot of dirt in there," he said to Chris.
"You said it yourself Nathan that you would not be able to clean it enough until you got him back to your room. Don't start blaming yourself." Chris had to talk over Ezra as he voice was getting louder.
In his dream, Ezra started to try to get himself off the log as his friends had left him there to take care of himself. Nathan and Chris tried to hold him down as he began to struggle. They heard him count to himself and wondered what was going on. As he tried to push himself off the tree, he also tried to push Chris and Nathan away from him but they held on firm. In his dream, Ezra could feel something trying to hold him against the tree as though it didn’t want him to get away from it. He pushed harder and whatever was holding him pushed down harder as well. He couldn't get off it. He was stuck there and his friends had left him, there was no one to help him. He actually started to get scared as he felt that if he couldn't get the branch out of his side he would die here. He would die alone. The idea of him dying alone scared him even more and he started to cry out for help. There fear in Ezra's voice shocked both Nathan and Chris. Ezra cried out once more and jerked himself awake. He rolled over onto his side and lay there gasping for breath, waiting for the fear to subside.
"It's okay, Ezra, you’re going to be all right," said Nathan.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
Master Fan Fiction List
Nineth story in 'The Continuing Ezra Standish Saga'
Rating: PG
Warnings: Bad writing ahead!
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: The bank of Four Corners is robbed and when the seven hired gunmen go after them, the robbers set a trap and two of the lawmen are injured. The hunters then become the hunted.
Main Characters: Ezra, and the rest of the seven, and some OC's
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Beta: Not betaed – written in the early days when I didn’t know what the words grammar and edit meant. *is ashamed*
Notes: Nineth story in the ‘Continuing Ezra Standish Saga’.
Spoilers: None.
Total Word Count: 24,041
Part Two
"Shit," said Chris.
Buck was shortly forgotten as they ran to Ezra's side. Nathan tried to get him to lie down so he could see what his injuries were but Ezra resisted.
"Get away from me!" He yelled at Nathan as he tried to push him away. In one way Ezra was glad that they were alright but he couldn’t believe that, they hadn’t come looking for him. He was so angry at them now that he actually felt sick to the stomach. He had never really lost his temper at them before but this time he was not going to hold back.
"Ezra, you have to lie down so I can see if you’re badly hurt," argued Nathan.
"I don't have to do anything." Ezra spat at him. He continued to try to push him away. Ezra couldn’t even believe it himself that he was this angry.
"Lie down Ezra and that’s an order," growled Chris. They would have to argue about what happened later. Now was not the time. However, he knew that it would be Ezra doing all the arguing.
"Don't you even think of giving me orders?" Ezra was starting to feel weak and he felt himself fall onto his injured side. He screamed out at the pain that went through him. They tried to roll him onto his back but he still struggled, he still pushed them away but his struggles started to weaken even more as waves of pain continued to flow through his side. His face was contorted by the pain. He had no choice he had to roll onto his back. He allowed them to roll him over but continued to try to push them away. Even though he was getting weaker, his anger was building.
"Ezra, will you stay still please, you will have plenty of time later to be angry at us," said Josiah. He couldn't believe that they had forgotten him.
Ezra didn't listen to him. "Why wait till later." The anger was evident in his voice. "I thought that you were all either dead or badly injured but no, all of you are fine. So what was it, you were perhaps hoping that I died out there so you wouldn't have to worry about me anymore." He was staring at Chris.
"You're wrong, Ezra." Chris could see that he was getting weaker. He grabbed Ezra's left arm and pinned it to the ground. He felt Ezra struggle but just like he thought, he was weak and he was not able to get his arm away from him. "We'll talk about it later, Ezra." He nodded to Josiah to grab Ezra's other arm. As Josiah did this Ezra cried out again at the pain that went through his shoulder.
"Take it easy with that arm Josiah, Ezra, is still having trouble with his shoulder, it's still giving him some pain." he spoke as he tore Ezra's shirt open, he didn't bother about the buttons. "That's why he wasn't there to help this morning. I gave him something last night to help him sleep, that's why it took him so long to wake up."
"Shit," Chris said again. He said this for two reasons. One was because of what Nathan had just told him and secondly because he saw the wound on Ezra's side. He was shocked for a moment and he let his hold on Ezra's arm loosen. Ezra managed to pull his arm away and tried to get up. Chris quickly grabbed it again.
"Chris, roll him onto his side I want to see if there’s an exit wound and then we’ll take his jacket and shirt off." Chris pushed Ezra onto his side again and heard him moan in pain. They then pulled his arm out of his jacket and shirt. They left his right arm in his jacket.
"You think that he was shot, Nathan?" asked JD. He had been watching Ezra. He felt terrible about what they had done.
"No, a bullet didn't do this." Nathan answered him as he looked at Ezra's side. He was worried about the wound. He could see that it was dirty. "Ezra what did this?" he hoped that he was going to answer him.
Ezra had finally stopped struggling as it was only causing him more pain than he wanted. "A fallen tree. The explosion threw me against it and one of the broken branches went through my side. I sat there for ten minutes hoping that someone was going to help but when no one came I thought that you were dead or hurt so I had to get myself off it."
They let what he said go for the moment. Nathan gently rolled him onto his back knowing that lying on his shoulder was causing him more pain. He started to go through Ezra's jacket pockets.
"If you’re looking for my flask it is still in my room." Ezra smiled but his smile was full of sarcasm. "Chris would not have approved if I brought it along on this trip."
"JD, go and get the canteens and Vin, could you see if there’s anything that we could use as bandages in the saddle bags."
JD returned with the canteens, one of them was only half-full as they had used some of it to clean Buck's head wound. Vin also returned with some shirts from Ezra's saddlebag as one of the horses he had found was Ezra's. Vin knew that he always carried extra clothing in case he needed it. Buck had also made his way over to see how Ezra was.
Nathan had no idea how he was going to clean Ezra's wound. He knew that whatever he done it would not clean all the dirt or any bits that may have broken off the branch. He had no alcohol to clean it with and he knew that Chris would not let him boil any water in case the bank robbers were still around. He had no instruments to help him get into the wound, he only had his hands, they would not be enough, and they were dirty. He knew that the wound was going to become infected. Once he had done what he could for him he was going to have to get him back to town.
There were two horses here now. He would ride one and he would put Ezra on the other. He watched Vin tear one of Ezra's shirts into strips. Vin handed him one and Nathan soaked it with some of the water.
"Turn Ezra on to his side again, Chris, and hold him down." Nathan watched again as they forced Ezra onto his side. He had begun to struggle again as he knew what Nathan was about to do.
No one had thought about Ezra's legs. They only thought about holding down his arms, as they were what he used to try to push everyone away. As Nathan came, forward Ezra brought his leg up and kicked out at him. Ezra was so angry now that he didn’t want anyone touching him and if he couldn't use his arms then he would use his legs. His boot caught Nathan in the chest and it knocked him backwards, the wind gushing out of his lungs.
Vin moved to help Nathan. "I'm alright Vin, just grab his legs." They were all shocked that Ezra had done that, as it was such an unexpected thing for him to do. As Vin moved towards Ezra, he could see him watching him and he thought that he saw hatred as well as the pain in his eyes. Vin was careful just in case Ezra tried to kick out again but he didn’t have to worry as that one kick drained what little energy he had left. He now just lay there, too weak to struggle anymore.
JD helped Nathan get up. He rubbed his chest, surprised that Ezra had any strength in him at all. He had dropped the wet cloth on the ground and it was now useless, as it had gotten dirty. It meant that he would now have to use more water to wet another one. Once he had done that, he moved back towards Ezra. He could see Ezra watching him; he was now squirming under everyone's grip.
"Ezra, I’m going to be as quick as I can." Nathan said to him.
"Why don't you take your time, I'm sure that you’ll enjoy yourself." Ezra looked from Nathan's face to the damp cloth that he held in his hand.
Ezra turned his head into his own shoulder as Nathan began to wipe his side. The pain was excruciating. His scream was muffled by his own shoulder. He tried to struggle but he was to weak. Nathan pressed the cloth into the wound trying to get as much of the dirt out as possible. Ezra screamed one last time and was then quiet. Chris and Vin no longer held him down as he had lost consciousness. Josiah though continued to keep one hand on his shoulder and he began to wipe Ezra's forehead with the other. He felt so bad about what they had done he felt that he needed to comfort Ezra in some way.
As Nathan continued to clean, his wounds Ezra still tried to move away but he was that weak that Josiah's one hand on his shoulder was enough to keep him still so Nathan could continue. Ezra also tried to move his head away from Josiah's touch but Josiah continued to run his hand along Ezra's forehead. He then placed his hand on his head and gently moved his thumb across his head from left to right. Ezra soon began to accept the touch as he stopped shying away from the human contact.
Once Nathan had finished he sat back and looked at the wound, it was an angry red and already beginning to swell. He then placed his hand against Ezra's forehead and felt the heat that his body was already beginning to generate. He then used more of the strips to bandage the wound. He pulled it as tight as he dared and he heard Ezra groan at the pain that he caused by doing it. When he had finished that, he had Josiah help him remove Ezra's jacket and shirt from his other arm and then put the jacket back on to keep him warm.
"We have to get him back to town, Chris. The wound is already becoming infected. I have to get him back to my room so I can clean it properly." Nathan stood up and looked down at Ezra. He looked so pale against his red jacket.
Chris nodded. "Vin, get the two horses." Vin was already on his way.
Buck and JD were now sitting next to Ezra. They hadn’t taken their eyes off Ezra. His head was now lying against his left shoulder. He didn't move anymore. They knew that there was nothing they could for him. Buck looked up as Vin returned with the horses.
"Nathan, you ride Vin's horse and I’ll ride with Ezra on his horse." Nathan nodded; he wasn’t going to give Chris an argument.
"What about Buck?" asked JD.
"I'm fine JD, we have to get Ezra back to town." Buck said from his position next to Ezra.
Chris got up on the horse and watched as Vin and Josiah carefully lifted Ezra off the ground and then walked towards him. He helped them lift Ezra up onto the horse placing him in front of him so Ezra could lean against Chris's chest, which also allowed Chris to hold onto him so he would not fall off. They then rode off towards town.
The others watched them leave hoping that Ezra was goin to be okay.
"Vin, JD why don't you go and see if you can find any more of our horses." suggested Josiah. As they also left to find the horses, they heard a gunshot come from the top of the hill.
Silvers had been watching the edge of the tree line when he saw two riders come of out the trees.
"Steven, get over here."
"What is it boss?" He followed the direction that his boss pointed in and saw the two riders as well. He squinted trying to see better. "There are two riders on one of those horses."
"Really. Well it's about time we showed them that we’re still here. Do you what your best at, Steven."
He watched as he lifted his rifle and took aim. He waited a few moments until he heard the gunshot. Instead of seeing a rider fall he saw the horse with the two riders on it fall. Steven had shot the horse out from under them. Oh well he thought, they will still know that we’re here.
Chris was worried that the bank robbers were still around but the further they got from the tree line the better he felt about it. That was until he heard the gunshot and felt Ezra's horse begin to go down underneath him. He quickly pulled his feet from the stirrups so his leg would not be caught under the horse. As it went down, he tried to pull himself and Ezra away from it.
Nathan had heard the gunshot and turned around to see Chris and Ezra go down. He rode back to them hoping that he didn't hear another gunshot. When he reached them, he jumped off his own horse. "Chris, are you okay?" He saw Chris nod and pull himself up. He had managed to get himself and Ezra out from under the horse. Nathan checked both of them though. Chris seemed fine and Ezra didn’t have any extra injuries but his side was bleeding heavily again. He also remembered to check his shoulder but that was okay as well. He must have landed on his left side.
"We can't get out of here now, Nathan, if we try they’ll just shoot us. We'll have to get back to the others and then go after these guys so we can then get Ezra back to town without getting any of us killed in the process."
Nathan nodded his agreement and he went to pick Ezra up. "It's alright, Nathan, I'll carry him." Chris bent down and lifted Ezra up into his arms and they began walking back to the others and with each step they expected to feel the force of a another bullet.
Silvers watched as the two men - one of them carrying another - walked back towards the woods.
"Steven, fire another shot but don't hit anyone, just scare them so they won't think twice about doing that again," he laughed as he really was enjoying himself.
Steven fired again aiming close to Nathan and he watched as all three of them fell to the ground. He listened, as his boss laughed not being able to stop the smile that crossed his own face.
Nathan was walking behind Chris leading Vin's horse behind him. He was unable to see Ezra's face as his head was in the crook of Chris's left shoulder. He picked up his speed to bring himself level with Chris so he could keep a better eye on Ezra. It was going to take them at least ten minutes to get back to the others. Nathan heard another gunshot and expected the worse. He dropped to the ground making sure that he didn’t let go of the reins. He saw Chris do the same but he was unable to keep Ezra from falling on his injured side again. Nathan noticed that Ezra didn’t respond to the pain it must have caused him.
"Chris, you okay?" Nathan asked again.
"I'm fine, Nathan, we weren't hit. You?"
"No. They must have missed us." He moved towards Ezra to make sure that he was still okay. He knew that he would not be alright for much longer.
"I think they missed on purpose," he watched as Nathan quickly checked Ezra. "They want us to know that they are still there and they don't intend to let us go anywhere." He looked down at Ezra knowing that they couldn't get him back to town in a hurry and that also meant that he was going to get a lot sicker before they finally could get him back. "Come on let's get back to the others." Chris picked Ezra up again. He could feel the heat from his body through his clothing and saw that his hair was now clinging to his scalp. His fever was getting worse very quickly.
"You don't think that they will shoot at us again," asked Nathan as he too got up off the ground.
"No." Chris had already begun to walk back to the trees and Nathan had to run to catch up to him.
The four hired gunmen who were left behind heard a second gunshot and they feared the worse. They wanted to go after them to find out what happened and to make sure that they were alright. Josiah held them back though stating that they too could end up in the same situation if they were not careful. Ten minutes later, they looked up as they heard a noise coming from the trees, their first reaction was to draw their guns. They quickly replaced them though when they saw Nathan leading his horse behind him and Chris carrying Ezra in his arms.
Buck ran up to them intending to help Chris with Ezra. He was shocked at the sight of him, it was as though he hadn’t seen what he had already gone through earlier. The sight of him made him react as though it was the first time he saw him in this condition. He saw Ezra lying limp in Chris's arms, he saw his sweat soaked head leaning against Chris's shoulder. He watched as Ezra's left arm, which was hanging from his side move back and forth with each step that Chris took. He wanted to take Ezra from his arms but he saw the determined look in his eyes. He could see that Chris felt bad about what happened - they all did - and that he wanted to do anything and everything to make it up to Ezra.
"Chris, take him over to that tree there, I don't want him lying in the sun." Nathan said to him and followed him as Chris did what he asked of him.
"What happened?" asked Vin. He had to wait for an answer.
Chris gently laid Ezra down on the ground and stepped back as he knew that Nathan would want to check him over again. "They shot Ezra's horse out from under us and then when we tried to get back to you they fired another shot, but it was their way of telling us they are still around and don't intend to let us go anywhere." He didn’t look at Vin or the others but instead watched Nathan as he removed the bandage. JD saw what he was doing and ran to get some more of the strips of cloth that Nathan would need.
"They shot Ezra's horse? He's not going to be happy about that," said Buck hoping that Ezra would be able to have the chance to get angry about it.
No one said anymore as they waited until Nathan finished with Ezra but he took longer than they expected. JD returned with the makeshift bandages. "JD, get me the canteen as well," said Nathan as he took the bandages from JD.
"What's wrong, Nathan?" asked Chris as he knelt down beside Nathan.
"I have to stop the bleeding and I'll clean his wound again."
Chris moved to Ezra's other side and turned him onto his side. They watched as Nathan cleaned his wound and then press against it to stop the bleeding. They listened, as Ezra moaned and watched again as he tried to move away from him but Chris was able to keep him still enough for Nathan. As Nathan then began to bandage the wound, Ezra opened his eyes. He blinked a few times to clear his vision and then looked at Nathan on one side of him and then at Chris who was on the other holding him down. Chris saw that Ezra had woken and expected him to start putting up a struggle but he didn't. He just lay there staring at Chris who could see that there was just as much anger in Ezra's eyes as there was pain.
Now that Ezra was awake Nathan finished up quickly and then leant back to inspect Ezra's side. Ezra noticed that he had moved away from his side. Only a small amount of blood soaked into the bandage. As Ezra was not struggling against Chris's hold he let go of him and as he did so Ezra quickly sat up and hit Chris as hard as he could, which was not very hard considering what little strength he had left in him. It was not even hard enough to knock Chris over. No one was shocked by what Ezra just did especially after he had kicked Nathan in the chest. Ezra fell back to the ground clenching his teeth against the pain that he had just caused himself.
"Feel better now, Ezra?" asked Chris. He didn’t fail to notice how weak the blow was.
"It is going to take a lot more than that to make me feel better, Chris." Everyone heard the bitterness in Ezra's voice.
Ezra was enjoying the total blackness until he started to feel a pain coming from somewhere, he was not sure where. He just wished that it would go away. It didn't though so he tried to ignore it, as he didn’t want the darkness to leave him behind. The light started to break through though as the pain got worse. The light had become stronger as the pain became worse. He opened his eyes but had trouble focusing. He blinked hoping that it would help. He realised that he was on his side and he looked behind him to see what was causing the pain. He saw Nathan and it all suddenly came back to him.
He remembered what happened and how the others had left him out there to die. He turned his head back as he realised that there was pressure on his arms. He saw Chris looking down at him and felt the anger rise in him. He had never been so angry at this man before. He had reason to yes but he always held the anger down but for some reason he didn’t want to this time.
Ezra knew that if he struggled more hands would hold him down so he waited. He noticed that Nathan had moved away from him and as Chris removed his hands, he sat up fighting the pain that exploded in his side and he hit Chris with all the strength that he could muster. He knew that the punch would be weak but he wanted to hit him, he needed to hit him but it didn’t make him feel any better. If anything, he just felt more angry. Ezra was angry, the fever that he was suffering from was feeding that anger, and as the fever grew worse, his anger became stronger.
Ezra fell back to the ground and lay where he was and closed his eyes. He needed to rest for a moment and then he would tell Chris and the others what he thought about them but he felt the darkness coming back for him and he welcomed it. He could tell them later. Nathan put his hand on Ezra's forehead and felt that his fever was getting worse. When Ezra didn’t respond by pushing him away, he realised that he had lost consciousness.
"He's unconscious," he told the others.
"Vin, Josiah from what I could tell those two shots came from on top of the hill. I want you to go and scout around and then come back. I don't want you to try to do anything. Just get information and then come back and we’ll think of a plan then." They nodded and then left. "Buck, are you up to looking for the other horses with JD?"
"Of course I am. Anything to help Ezra get back to town quicker," answered Buck. He still had a headache but knew that it was nothing compared to what Ezra was going through.
"Good but don't go past the tree line, we don't need anyone else hurt," Chris warned them.
When the others had left to do what Chris had asked of them he went and sat back down next to Ezra. Nathan was wiping his face down with a dry cloth but it soon became wet due to all the moisture that Ezra was losing from his body through the fever. Ezra started to toss and turn as if in a dream.
Ezra did dream. He dreamt of a world full of pain and anger. He dreamt of lying against a tree with a branch protruding from his side. He couldn't move. He heard laughter and looked up to see his friends standing before him. They were pointing and laughing at him.
"Don't just stand there, help me." He yelled at them. They didn't help him. Instead, they continued to laugh and then they began to walk away from him, leaving him where he was, leaving him alone.
"Help me." He yelled at their retreating backs.
Chris and Nathan looked at each other and then at Ezra as they listened to him yell out to someone to help him. They were not sure, if he was dreaming about what just happened to him or if it was something from his past. "He's becoming delirious," said Nathan. "I didn't think all of this would happen so quick. It's only been a couple of hours since it happened." He lifted the bandage away from Ezra's wound and saw the yellow mucus already leaking from the wound. "I must have left a lot of dirt in there," he said to Chris.
"You said it yourself Nathan that you would not be able to clean it enough until you got him back to your room. Don't start blaming yourself." Chris had to talk over Ezra as he voice was getting louder.
In his dream, Ezra started to try to get himself off the log as his friends had left him there to take care of himself. Nathan and Chris tried to hold him down as he began to struggle. They heard him count to himself and wondered what was going on. As he tried to push himself off the tree, he also tried to push Chris and Nathan away from him but they held on firm. In his dream, Ezra could feel something trying to hold him against the tree as though it didn’t want him to get away from it. He pushed harder and whatever was holding him pushed down harder as well. He couldn't get off it. He was stuck there and his friends had left him, there was no one to help him. He actually started to get scared as he felt that if he couldn't get the branch out of his side he would die here. He would die alone. The idea of him dying alone scared him even more and he started to cry out for help. There fear in Ezra's voice shocked both Nathan and Chris. Ezra cried out once more and jerked himself awake. He rolled over onto his side and lay there gasping for breath, waiting for the fear to subside.
"It's okay, Ezra, you’re going to be all right," said Nathan.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
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