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azombiewritesTitle: Look to your right, Mr. Standish
Sequel to Look to your left, Mr. Larabee
Author: Bernadette
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Category: OW
Main Characters: Ezra and the rest of the seven
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Notes: My third story for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
10_hurt_comfort challenge. The original table can be found here.
Table: Injuries
Prompt: No. 8 – Unconscious
Summary: Ezra’s quiet, distracted and the rest of the seven are afraid that he’s losing his mind
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Part Two
Ezra’s head rolled toward his left shoulder and he opened his eyes. He didn’t see Josiah who sat on the bed next to him. He didn’t see anyone but the man who stood in the far corner of the clinic. The stranger’s face was angelic, his eyes a dark blue, his smile non-threatening. He wore brown trousers, a white shirt and a black duster.
“Who are you?” Ezra whispered.
“Stop fighting me.”
Ezra frowned and grimaced at the pain behind his eyes. He realized the words he heard had changed and the voice had softened. There was no threat in the tone and there was no insistence that he look to his right.
“You need to stop fighting me, Mr. Standish.” The man moved slowly and gracefully to the side of the bed and sat on its edge.
Josiah, who felt a sudden chill tear through him, stood up and moved away from the bed. He continued to watch Ezra, and listened to the conversation Ezra was having with a man who wasn’t there.
The stranger reached out and lightly brushed Ezra’s forearm with his fingers. “You need to listen to me, to accept what I tell you.”
Ezra flinched from the chill of the touch but he didn’t pull his arm away as the man began to trace a path down the forearm toward Ezra’s fingers. Ezra stared into the dark blue eyes and again asked, “Who are you?”
“Someone who’s trying to help you and your friends, but you continue to fight me, Ezra Standish. That’s why you’re here. You are causing yourself a lot of pain that you need not suffer.”
“Is this my fault?”
The man lifted his hand from Ezra’s arm and placed a forefinger against Ezra’s lips to stop him from speaking. “No, this isn’t your fault, but you need to stop fighting me and start listening to me. Relax, Ezra. Listen and obey me.” His hand lifted further and then he began to wipe the damp hair from Ezra’s forehead. Ezra could feel the pain behind his eyes retreating as calmness began to fill him.
“I don’t know who I’m supposed to help.”
“You’ll know when the time comes, Ezra. Just listen to my voice and to this,” his hand moved down to rest over Ezra’s heart, “listen and you will understand.”
“I’m so tired,” said Ezra. “I can’t keep doing this.”
The stranger nodded, “Yes you can.” He then smiled. “Rest Mr. Standish, and when you wake up, go to the Saloon and wait. And when the time comes, listen and obey me.”
“Listen and obey,” Ezra repeated.
Ezra’s eyelids became heavy. He closed them and felt the pressure of the stranger’s touch move back to his forehead. A fog swirled within his mind, spreading down through his body as it continued to calm him further. He forced his eyes open. The stranger was gone. His body continued to relax, the pain now completely gone and his eyes closed as sleep claimed him.
“Look to your right, Mr. Standish. There is danger to your right. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. There is danger to your right. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. There is danger to your right.”
Thunder and lightning blended.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ezra grimaced when his breath caught in his throat. His bare chest lifted off the bed then dropped back down as he struggled to breath. He began to panic, but then, just as quickly, his throat relaxed and he took in a deep calming breath. When he felt the gentle touch of a hand on his forehead, he shifted his head closer to the pillow, and then rolled onto his left side and opened his eyes. He stared through a watery haze at the man kneeling on the floor next to the bed. Nathan. Ezra closed his eyes and listened, not sure, if he would hear the voice or the words spoken by the stranger he’d seen in a dream. Had it been a dream? His eyes flashed open.
“Did you see him?” Ezra struggled to an upright position, leaning back on elbows that didn’t have the strength to keep him upright for any extended amount of time and searched the room. There was no stranger, only his fellow lawmen. Six of them watched him with fear and curiosity and hope.
“See who, Ezra?” Nathan stood and rested his hand on Ezra’s shoulder and easily pushed the gambler back down onto the bed.
“You didn’t see him?” Ezra felt the little amount of strength he had flow from his body like a wave from a beach. For a moment, he saw himself as a child where, on a rare occasion, he had lived the summer of his seventh year with his mother on the coast. They had spent a day at the beach but at first, he had been too scared to go near the water. He had stood and watched, memorized, as the small waves moved toward him then away. Then he had gathered his courage, chasing one of the waves and then running when a wave chased him. He had laughed and screamed. His mother had laughed with him.
Ezra frowned at the memory and wondered where it had come from. It had happened, the memory was real but he couldn’t understand why he was thinking about it now. A feeling of comfort and love overwhelmed him, causing him to gasp in surprise. He loved his mother and he knew that in her own way she loved him. He closed his eyes to keep the tears hidden.
“Ezra?” Nathan was frowning at him.
The memory quickly left him, leaving him with another more recent one. He felt empty of emotions, except for the lump of fear in the pit of his stomach.
“Go to the Saloon and wait. When the time comes, listen and obey me. Go to the Saloon and wait. When the time comes, listen and obey me. When the time comes, listen and obey me. Listen and obey me.”
The words had changed, but the tone held a strength that assured him if he did what the voice told him, everything would be all right.
Ezra didn’t fight it. There was no pain, no pressure to look to his right. It wasn’t time yet but he knew that he had to obey the voice. Go to the Saloon and wait. Be ready when the time did arrive. The life of one of his friends depended on him. He knew what he had to do. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and struggled against Nathan when the healer began to push him back down.
“You need to rest, Ezra.”
From out of nowhere, strength filled his weakened body and he pushed Nathan away. “No, I have to do what he says.”
Nathan stepped back in surprise and looked at Chris who shook his head. “Leave him be, Nathan.”
“Chris, he needs to--”
“We’ll watch his back, Nathan.” Chris stepped forward, ready to help Ezra when he needed it.
Ezra, who ignored the words the two men spoke, threw the sheet off his body and stared down at his naked form. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them to glare up at the healer. “Where are my clothes?”
They watched as he put on his clothes, the weakness his body held before now gone. When Ezra was dressed in his trousers, boots, shirt and jacket, he pulled his Remington from its holster and holding it in his right hand, he walked away from his friends and out of the clinic. Ezra didn’t notice the six men following him, one of them so close they were almost tripping over the heels of Ezra boots. He moved quickly down the stairs, his body’s movements a contradiction to the way he looked. He was still pale, the sweat glistening on his skin. His eyes bloodshot, the dark shadows beneath them making his eyes look hollow and sunken in the surrounding flesh.
Ezra ignored the townsfolk who stared at him with surprise as he made his way across the main street toward the saloon. He bounded up the few stairs and stopped in front of the saloon doors. He frowned, listened and then turned his head to the right. He saw the small table and chairs. Ezra stepped toward them, sat down with his back to the saloon window and began to wait, his gaze looking to the right. He didn’t acknowledge the person who sat down at the table next to him.
“Ezra, you need any help with this?” Chris asked him.
“No ... I don’t think so. He didn’t say...”
Chris followed Ezra’s gaze and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, asked, “Ezra, what’s going on?”
Ezra tried to gather his thoughts into some sort of logical order but he couldn’t; they were warped and tangled into a knot so tight, he couldn’t separate them.
“Shhh ... do not tell him, Ezra. They can’t interfere in this. They would do more harm than good. You can do this on your own. We have confidence in you, Ezra.”
The voice calmed him and brought a small amount of order to his thoughts.
“I can’t.”
Chris nodded. “Okay. Just so you know we’re here when you need us.”
Ezra nodded and out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Vin and Buck joined them on the boardwalk in front of the saloon. He couldn’t be sure where the others had gone and he didn’t want to look for them, not when he needed to keep his gaze to the right. He had to be ready when the time came.
Vin and Buck took a position near the table; each man ready and prepared to die to protect Ezra Standish. But it wasn’t Ezra who needed the protection.
For nearly an hour, they sat, stood and watched as the thunder and lightning continued to fight each other creating a frightening and yet beautiful visual sound. Every time the thunder boomed, Ezra flinched and every time the lightning flashed, he blinked.
A soft breeze breathed against his flushed skin.
Ezra could feel the fear gathering in his stomach, gripping, pulling and twisting his insides. His eyes shifted their focus as he noticed Nathan walking across the main street toward him. Ezra could tell by the look on Nathan’s face that the healer was going to insist that he go back to the clinic, lie down and rest. Ezra wanted to stand up, to go to Nathan and tell him to go away and leave him be. Did the healer not understand that one of the seven was in danger, their life threatened? Ezra had been the one chosen to stop what was about to happen and he couldn’t allow Nathan to stop him.
Thunder exploded.
Just as he was about to yell out to Nathan, the voice spoke in the back of his mind. At first, it was only a whisper then it became more urgent, and finally it yelled at him.
“Now Ezra, look to your right now! Stop him, Ezra. Listen and obey me. Go now!”
Ezra cursed himself as he turned his head to the right. His eyes widened. He had almost allowed Nathan to distract him. What he saw was JD walking toward him, his steps echoing on the wooden boardwalk. Where in the hell had he come from? Ezra hesitated.
“Now Ezra! Go now! Go!”
Ezra stood up, the chair falling to the floor behind him. He dropped his gun – a feeling told him he that the weapon would only hinder his movements – and he ran to JD. He watched as JD’s eyes widened in shock more than fear. Ezra ignored the emotions and threw himself against the smaller man, tackling him to the sidewalk. He then raised himself to his feet, grabbed JD under his arms and began to pull him away from what he felt was the danger that threatened his young friend.
“Ezra!”
Ezra looked up as he continued to drag JD off the sidewalk and onto the main street and saw the others running toward them.
“NO!” Ezra yelled at them. “Stay where you are!”
Without hesitation, the five men did as Ezra ordered and stopped where they were.
Ezra could feel JD struggling within his grip.
The thunder boomed and the lightning flashed.
To everyone’s shock the lightning struck the spot JD had occupied only moments earlier. Wood exploded. Splinters flew into the air, hitting everything in their path; including JD and Ezra.
Ezra watched as the lightning seemed to grow from the splintered wood, separating and travelling into a different direction. It punched into the window beside it, the glass melting and fusing together around the hole it had created. The feeling of danger was still strong, the emotion causing his grip to tighten around JD’s arms. They had to get further away.
“JD! Get up and run.” Ezra pulled JD to his feet and pulled him away from the danger heading toward them. They stumbled and fell and then began to crawl on all fours.
The fear quickly left Ezra and he knew the danger had passed.
“It’s okay now, JD.”
Ezra, still on his hands and knees, fell onto his side and rolled onto his back. He looked up into the darkened sky and felt the rain on his face. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. The tremors began in his feet and moved up his body. Soon his entire body was shaking, his fingers digging into the flesh of his palms, and his jaw clenched. He didn’t feel it when tremors turned into a seizure. His body arched off the ground and then fell flat. It was over in a matter of seconds.
“Ezra.” JD was kneeling next to Ezra with his hand on the gambler’s arm. “Ezra?”
Ezra blinked. He turned his head, his gaze finding JD’s worried expression. Ezra could see the cuts on JD’s face and wondered if he had suffered the same injuries. He lifted his hand, running it across his own face and felt the sting of numerous cuts.
“Are you okay, Ezra?”
Ezra frowned. “I think so. What about you?”
“Yeah. You saved my life, Ezra.”
Ezra nodded and then tried to sit up. A wave of dizziness flooded the inside of his skull and he tipped over onto his side. He could feel JD pulling at him, trying to help him get up. “JD, give me a minute.”
“Ezra?”
Ezra looked up at Chris who knelt down beside him.
“I just need a minute.”
“Sure, take all the time you need,” Chris smiled down at him. “You’re only lying in the middle of the street in a downpour.”
Ezra couldn’t help but smile at the thought. He licked his bottom lip, feeling the rain on his tongue.
Nathan, joining the small group in the middle of the street, knelt down on Ezra’s other side, grabbed the gambler’s arm and tried to pull him to his feet. Ezra watched as Buck pulled Nathan away. “Leave him be for a minute, Nathan.”
Nathan, forever the healer, said, “He’s going to get sick if he stays out in this weather. He should be in a warm bed, resting, not getting sicker, what if--”
“He’s not sick,” Chris reminded Nathan.
Ezra began to laugh. He couldn’t help himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ezra sat on the stairs leading up to the boardwalk in front of the saloon. His knees were apart, his forearms resting on his thighs and he was staring down at the ground. He was finally alone and he was grateful for the privacy. He had spent the last twelve hours sleeping, his body gathering the strength it required to take on the most simple of tasks. He knew the others hadn’t left him; they had stayed the entire time, worrying, and their fear growing. When he did wake, feeling refreshed and hungry, he lied to them, telling them that he remembered nothing of what had happened.
When he heard the distant thunder in the clear blue sky, Ezra looked to the right and saw the stranger standing a few feet away. He couldn’t help but smile at the man with the angelic face and dark blue eyes.
“Who are you?”
The stranger smiled back, “I can’t tell you, not now. The time isn’t right,” he paused then continued, “You did well, Ezra.”
The simple statement caused the smile to fall from Ezra’s face. The sudden anger felt like a punch. “You know, I’m starting to believe that if it wasn’t for you, JD wouldn’t have been in that position yesterday. He wouldn’t have been in danger, and I--”
“Trust me, Ezra. JD would have been there, and if I hadn’t interfered he would have died.”
“Then why me? Why not one of the others?”
The stranger shrugged and said, “Right time, right place.”
“Is there a particular reason why can’t you do this yourself? Why are you using me, putting me through all of this?”
Sadness filled the stranger’s eyes and he took a step closer to Ezra. “I can’t physically do it myself, Ezra. Believe me, I would if I could but I can’t. The only thing I can do is influence others, influence you.”
“Listen and obey me...” Ezra nodded in acceptance but not in understanding. He turned his gaze away from the stranger. “Will it happen again?”
“It might.”
“Why?”
“We can’t risk anything happening to the seven of you.”
Ezra narrowed his eyes and looked back toward the stranger but he was no longer there.
A voice spoke softly in the back of his mind.
“Ezra, the seven of you have a destiny that needs to be fulfilled.”
The End
Part One | Part Two
Master Fan Fiction List
Sequel to Look to your left, Mr. Larabee
Author: Bernadette
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
Category: OW
Main Characters: Ezra and the rest of the seven
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Notes: My third story for the
10_hurt_comfort challenge. The original table can be found here. Table: Injuries
Prompt: No. 8 – Unconscious
Summary: Ezra’s quiet, distracted and the rest of the seven are afraid that he’s losing his mind
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Part Two
Ezra’s head rolled toward his left shoulder and he opened his eyes. He didn’t see Josiah who sat on the bed next to him. He didn’t see anyone but the man who stood in the far corner of the clinic. The stranger’s face was angelic, his eyes a dark blue, his smile non-threatening. He wore brown trousers, a white shirt and a black duster.
“Who are you?” Ezra whispered.
“Stop fighting me.”
Ezra frowned and grimaced at the pain behind his eyes. He realized the words he heard had changed and the voice had softened. There was no threat in the tone and there was no insistence that he look to his right.
“You need to stop fighting me, Mr. Standish.” The man moved slowly and gracefully to the side of the bed and sat on its edge.
Josiah, who felt a sudden chill tear through him, stood up and moved away from the bed. He continued to watch Ezra, and listened to the conversation Ezra was having with a man who wasn’t there.
The stranger reached out and lightly brushed Ezra’s forearm with his fingers. “You need to listen to me, to accept what I tell you.”
Ezra flinched from the chill of the touch but he didn’t pull his arm away as the man began to trace a path down the forearm toward Ezra’s fingers. Ezra stared into the dark blue eyes and again asked, “Who are you?”
“Someone who’s trying to help you and your friends, but you continue to fight me, Ezra Standish. That’s why you’re here. You are causing yourself a lot of pain that you need not suffer.”
“Is this my fault?”
The man lifted his hand from Ezra’s arm and placed a forefinger against Ezra’s lips to stop him from speaking. “No, this isn’t your fault, but you need to stop fighting me and start listening to me. Relax, Ezra. Listen and obey me.” His hand lifted further and then he began to wipe the damp hair from Ezra’s forehead. Ezra could feel the pain behind his eyes retreating as calmness began to fill him.
“I don’t know who I’m supposed to help.”
“You’ll know when the time comes, Ezra. Just listen to my voice and to this,” his hand moved down to rest over Ezra’s heart, “listen and you will understand.”
“I’m so tired,” said Ezra. “I can’t keep doing this.”
The stranger nodded, “Yes you can.” He then smiled. “Rest Mr. Standish, and when you wake up, go to the Saloon and wait. And when the time comes, listen and obey me.”
“Listen and obey,” Ezra repeated.
Ezra’s eyelids became heavy. He closed them and felt the pressure of the stranger’s touch move back to his forehead. A fog swirled within his mind, spreading down through his body as it continued to calm him further. He forced his eyes open. The stranger was gone. His body continued to relax, the pain now completely gone and his eyes closed as sleep claimed him.
“Look to your right, Mr. Standish. There is danger to your right. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. There is danger to your right. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. Look to your right, Mr. Standish. There is danger to your right.”
Thunder and lightning blended.
Ezra grimaced when his breath caught in his throat. His bare chest lifted off the bed then dropped back down as he struggled to breath. He began to panic, but then, just as quickly, his throat relaxed and he took in a deep calming breath. When he felt the gentle touch of a hand on his forehead, he shifted his head closer to the pillow, and then rolled onto his left side and opened his eyes. He stared through a watery haze at the man kneeling on the floor next to the bed. Nathan. Ezra closed his eyes and listened, not sure, if he would hear the voice or the words spoken by the stranger he’d seen in a dream. Had it been a dream? His eyes flashed open.
“Did you see him?” Ezra struggled to an upright position, leaning back on elbows that didn’t have the strength to keep him upright for any extended amount of time and searched the room. There was no stranger, only his fellow lawmen. Six of them watched him with fear and curiosity and hope.
“See who, Ezra?” Nathan stood and rested his hand on Ezra’s shoulder and easily pushed the gambler back down onto the bed.
“You didn’t see him?” Ezra felt the little amount of strength he had flow from his body like a wave from a beach. For a moment, he saw himself as a child where, on a rare occasion, he had lived the summer of his seventh year with his mother on the coast. They had spent a day at the beach but at first, he had been too scared to go near the water. He had stood and watched, memorized, as the small waves moved toward him then away. Then he had gathered his courage, chasing one of the waves and then running when a wave chased him. He had laughed and screamed. His mother had laughed with him.
Ezra frowned at the memory and wondered where it had come from. It had happened, the memory was real but he couldn’t understand why he was thinking about it now. A feeling of comfort and love overwhelmed him, causing him to gasp in surprise. He loved his mother and he knew that in her own way she loved him. He closed his eyes to keep the tears hidden.
“Ezra?” Nathan was frowning at him.
The memory quickly left him, leaving him with another more recent one. He felt empty of emotions, except for the lump of fear in the pit of his stomach.
“Go to the Saloon and wait. When the time comes, listen and obey me. Go to the Saloon and wait. When the time comes, listen and obey me. When the time comes, listen and obey me. Listen and obey me.”
The words had changed, but the tone held a strength that assured him if he did what the voice told him, everything would be all right.
Ezra didn’t fight it. There was no pain, no pressure to look to his right. It wasn’t time yet but he knew that he had to obey the voice. Go to the Saloon and wait. Be ready when the time did arrive. The life of one of his friends depended on him. He knew what he had to do. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and struggled against Nathan when the healer began to push him back down.
“You need to rest, Ezra.”
From out of nowhere, strength filled his weakened body and he pushed Nathan away. “No, I have to do what he says.”
Nathan stepped back in surprise and looked at Chris who shook his head. “Leave him be, Nathan.”
“Chris, he needs to--”
“We’ll watch his back, Nathan.” Chris stepped forward, ready to help Ezra when he needed it.
Ezra, who ignored the words the two men spoke, threw the sheet off his body and stared down at his naked form. He closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them to glare up at the healer. “Where are my clothes?”
They watched as he put on his clothes, the weakness his body held before now gone. When Ezra was dressed in his trousers, boots, shirt and jacket, he pulled his Remington from its holster and holding it in his right hand, he walked away from his friends and out of the clinic. Ezra didn’t notice the six men following him, one of them so close they were almost tripping over the heels of Ezra boots. He moved quickly down the stairs, his body’s movements a contradiction to the way he looked. He was still pale, the sweat glistening on his skin. His eyes bloodshot, the dark shadows beneath them making his eyes look hollow and sunken in the surrounding flesh.
Ezra ignored the townsfolk who stared at him with surprise as he made his way across the main street toward the saloon. He bounded up the few stairs and stopped in front of the saloon doors. He frowned, listened and then turned his head to the right. He saw the small table and chairs. Ezra stepped toward them, sat down with his back to the saloon window and began to wait, his gaze looking to the right. He didn’t acknowledge the person who sat down at the table next to him.
“Ezra, you need any help with this?” Chris asked him.
“No ... I don’t think so. He didn’t say...”
Chris followed Ezra’s gaze and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, asked, “Ezra, what’s going on?”
Ezra tried to gather his thoughts into some sort of logical order but he couldn’t; they were warped and tangled into a knot so tight, he couldn’t separate them.
“Shhh ... do not tell him, Ezra. They can’t interfere in this. They would do more harm than good. You can do this on your own. We have confidence in you, Ezra.”
The voice calmed him and brought a small amount of order to his thoughts.
“I can’t.”
Chris nodded. “Okay. Just so you know we’re here when you need us.”
Ezra nodded and out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Vin and Buck joined them on the boardwalk in front of the saloon. He couldn’t be sure where the others had gone and he didn’t want to look for them, not when he needed to keep his gaze to the right. He had to be ready when the time came.
Vin and Buck took a position near the table; each man ready and prepared to die to protect Ezra Standish. But it wasn’t Ezra who needed the protection.
For nearly an hour, they sat, stood and watched as the thunder and lightning continued to fight each other creating a frightening and yet beautiful visual sound. Every time the thunder boomed, Ezra flinched and every time the lightning flashed, he blinked.
A soft breeze breathed against his flushed skin.
Ezra could feel the fear gathering in his stomach, gripping, pulling and twisting his insides. His eyes shifted their focus as he noticed Nathan walking across the main street toward him. Ezra could tell by the look on Nathan’s face that the healer was going to insist that he go back to the clinic, lie down and rest. Ezra wanted to stand up, to go to Nathan and tell him to go away and leave him be. Did the healer not understand that one of the seven was in danger, their life threatened? Ezra had been the one chosen to stop what was about to happen and he couldn’t allow Nathan to stop him.
Thunder exploded.
Just as he was about to yell out to Nathan, the voice spoke in the back of his mind. At first, it was only a whisper then it became more urgent, and finally it yelled at him.
“Now Ezra, look to your right now! Stop him, Ezra. Listen and obey me. Go now!”
Ezra cursed himself as he turned his head to the right. His eyes widened. He had almost allowed Nathan to distract him. What he saw was JD walking toward him, his steps echoing on the wooden boardwalk. Where in the hell had he come from? Ezra hesitated.
“Now Ezra! Go now! Go!”
Ezra stood up, the chair falling to the floor behind him. He dropped his gun – a feeling told him he that the weapon would only hinder his movements – and he ran to JD. He watched as JD’s eyes widened in shock more than fear. Ezra ignored the emotions and threw himself against the smaller man, tackling him to the sidewalk. He then raised himself to his feet, grabbed JD under his arms and began to pull him away from what he felt was the danger that threatened his young friend.
“Ezra!”
Ezra looked up as he continued to drag JD off the sidewalk and onto the main street and saw the others running toward them.
“NO!” Ezra yelled at them. “Stay where you are!”
Without hesitation, the five men did as Ezra ordered and stopped where they were.
Ezra could feel JD struggling within his grip.
The thunder boomed and the lightning flashed.
To everyone’s shock the lightning struck the spot JD had occupied only moments earlier. Wood exploded. Splinters flew into the air, hitting everything in their path; including JD and Ezra.
Ezra watched as the lightning seemed to grow from the splintered wood, separating and travelling into a different direction. It punched into the window beside it, the glass melting and fusing together around the hole it had created. The feeling of danger was still strong, the emotion causing his grip to tighten around JD’s arms. They had to get further away.
“JD! Get up and run.” Ezra pulled JD to his feet and pulled him away from the danger heading toward them. They stumbled and fell and then began to crawl on all fours.
The fear quickly left Ezra and he knew the danger had passed.
“It’s okay now, JD.”
Ezra, still on his hands and knees, fell onto his side and rolled onto his back. He looked up into the darkened sky and felt the rain on his face. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. The tremors began in his feet and moved up his body. Soon his entire body was shaking, his fingers digging into the flesh of his palms, and his jaw clenched. He didn’t feel it when tremors turned into a seizure. His body arched off the ground and then fell flat. It was over in a matter of seconds.
“Ezra.” JD was kneeling next to Ezra with his hand on the gambler’s arm. “Ezra?”
Ezra blinked. He turned his head, his gaze finding JD’s worried expression. Ezra could see the cuts on JD’s face and wondered if he had suffered the same injuries. He lifted his hand, running it across his own face and felt the sting of numerous cuts.
“Are you okay, Ezra?”
Ezra frowned. “I think so. What about you?”
“Yeah. You saved my life, Ezra.”
Ezra nodded and then tried to sit up. A wave of dizziness flooded the inside of his skull and he tipped over onto his side. He could feel JD pulling at him, trying to help him get up. “JD, give me a minute.”
“Ezra?”
Ezra looked up at Chris who knelt down beside him.
“I just need a minute.”
“Sure, take all the time you need,” Chris smiled down at him. “You’re only lying in the middle of the street in a downpour.”
Ezra couldn’t help but smile at the thought. He licked his bottom lip, feeling the rain on his tongue.
Nathan, joining the small group in the middle of the street, knelt down on Ezra’s other side, grabbed the gambler’s arm and tried to pull him to his feet. Ezra watched as Buck pulled Nathan away. “Leave him be for a minute, Nathan.”
Nathan, forever the healer, said, “He’s going to get sick if he stays out in this weather. He should be in a warm bed, resting, not getting sicker, what if--”
“He’s not sick,” Chris reminded Nathan.
Ezra began to laugh. He couldn’t help himself.
Ezra sat on the stairs leading up to the boardwalk in front of the saloon. His knees were apart, his forearms resting on his thighs and he was staring down at the ground. He was finally alone and he was grateful for the privacy. He had spent the last twelve hours sleeping, his body gathering the strength it required to take on the most simple of tasks. He knew the others hadn’t left him; they had stayed the entire time, worrying, and their fear growing. When he did wake, feeling refreshed and hungry, he lied to them, telling them that he remembered nothing of what had happened.
When he heard the distant thunder in the clear blue sky, Ezra looked to the right and saw the stranger standing a few feet away. He couldn’t help but smile at the man with the angelic face and dark blue eyes.
“Who are you?”
The stranger smiled back, “I can’t tell you, not now. The time isn’t right,” he paused then continued, “You did well, Ezra.”
The simple statement caused the smile to fall from Ezra’s face. The sudden anger felt like a punch. “You know, I’m starting to believe that if it wasn’t for you, JD wouldn’t have been in that position yesterday. He wouldn’t have been in danger, and I--”
“Trust me, Ezra. JD would have been there, and if I hadn’t interfered he would have died.”
“Then why me? Why not one of the others?”
The stranger shrugged and said, “Right time, right place.”
“Is there a particular reason why can’t you do this yourself? Why are you using me, putting me through all of this?”
Sadness filled the stranger’s eyes and he took a step closer to Ezra. “I can’t physically do it myself, Ezra. Believe me, I would if I could but I can’t. The only thing I can do is influence others, influence you.”
“Listen and obey me...” Ezra nodded in acceptance but not in understanding. He turned his gaze away from the stranger. “Will it happen again?”
“It might.”
“Why?”
“We can’t risk anything happening to the seven of you.”
Ezra narrowed his eyes and looked back toward the stranger but he was no longer there.
A voice spoke softly in the back of his mind.
“Ezra, the seven of you have a destiny that needs to be fulfilled.”
The End
Part One | Part Two
Master Fan Fiction List