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The day grew hotter. Heat shimmered in the distance and blistered his shoulders despite the shirt and jacket JD wore. A smudge of shadow nudged in beside some huge rocks called him like a siren’s song. He pulled his horse close beside the outcropping and gratefully dismounted. His pants clung to the insides of his legs with sweat, and foam lay splattered across his horse’s quivering sides.

"Sorry, girl." Whispering the apology through his parched throat, JD reached for his nearly empty canteen. Dancing reflections on the rocks’ rusty colored surface let him know a small waterhole lay just beyond the shadows.

He circled the rocks and found it. The shallow, water-filled hole in the ground looked inviting. He dropped to his knees and dipped his canteen into the luke-warm liquid, quickly filling the container to the rim. Lifting it to his mouth, he tipped his head back and took long, deep swallows. An unpleasant aftertaste stung the back of his throat and wafted through his nose, but he ignored it in favor of the relief from his thirst.

Rivulets leaked out the sides of his mouth and streamed down his arched throat onto his chest. His collar quickly became wet. He finished drinking and bowed his head to pour the liquid onto the back of his neck. The water ran through his hair and tracked down to drip from the ends of the dark strands. The tepid liquid felt cool against his sun warmed back. He smiled, soothed from the smothering heat and unbearable thirst.

With a deep sigh, he stood up. "First things first." Ignoring the fact that he’d taken care of himself first anyway, he refilled the canteen and corked the top, then turned back to bring water to his horse.

He rounded the rocks and found the animal where he’d left her. The reins hung down to the ground and he realized he’d forgotten to tether her. Quietly cursing under his breath, JD gently reached for the long leather strips. When he leaned over, his shoulder brushed against the horse’s nose. She blew out and took a step back. JD straightened in time to see her ears flatten back against her head. Her eyes rolled wide and he put his hand under her chin, hoping to quiet the distraught animal.

"What’s the matter, girl?"

She blew again in answer and tossed her head, backing away from him. Accustomed to an animal’s sense of danger, JD looked around over his shoulder. "You smell something?"

She shook her head and the uncanny feeling that she’d understood him made JD smile.

She jerked her head, pulling the reins out of his hands. JD stumbled forward, surprised at the pain that stung across his palm. When he drew closer, the horse stomped her foot once in annoyance. Turning, she took off, her hooves stirring the dirt into billowing clouds of dust at JD’s feet.

"What the hell?" Disbelief held him frozen for an instant. Awareness brought panic and he couldn’t help but shout uselessly, "Hey, come back!"

A distant whinny reached his ears as the pounding hoofbeats grew fainter. "Dammit, now what?"

At least he still had his canteen. Hugging the filled container to his chest, JD walked back around the rocks to the waterhole. He had been so close. So close to getting through a simple assignment without messing up. So close to finishing the job – more like an errand – his mind whispered cruelly, Chris had given him without suffering any mishaps.

He sat with a thump on the ground and stared morosely at the muddy water lapping near his boot heels.

An hour of brooding later, he had a plan. He would wait until it had grown cooler, then head for Four Corners. JD figured he’d rather take his chances with the heat and predators than endure another round of ‘I told you so’. His weakening ego just couldn’t take much more.

He slumped to his side and curled up around his canteen. Might as well grab a few hours of sleep before starting off. Chris had trusted him with getting to and from Eagle Bend and JD chose not to think how he’d failed. He shut his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

The sun seemed to swell in the heavens, glaring so brightly it smeared the blue from the sky and turned everything white with heat. His horse came back and contritely hung her head with regret of abandoning him. JD smiled and stayed on his side, wondering what she would do. She pawed the ground near his hand, reminding him of a favorite dog he’d had when growing up. He’d taught the pup to beg and shake his hand. He’d been so proud when the grown ups around him had expressed delight in the trick.

The horse lifted her foreleg high above him. Before he could get out of the way, she brought her hoof down into his stomach. The shocking pain jolted him awake.

JD sat up with a gasp, hugging his belly tight. The dream disappeared but the pain in his gut tightened and grew worse. He looked around frantically, hoping that if the pain was real, then the horse would be, too.

The animal was no where to be seen. With a groan, JD stood up. He leaned against the rocks, gasping and wheezing with the pain shooting through his stomach. Nausea roiled through him and sweat broke out on his brow. He shivered with a sudden chill and doubled over. His abdominal muscles cramped. He clenched his teeth together so hard his jaw hurt, and he waited for the spasm to pass.

When it did he straightened up gingerly in deference to his sore muscles. He looked down at the small water hole at his feet. Realizing he’d drank tainted water, he angrily kicked his canteen away. Nothing to do now but make it back to Four Corners before nightfall. Stumbling forward, he left the shadows of the rocks and started for home.

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JD’s shirt hung limp and unbuttoned. Heat shimmered around him, coating his skin with moisture. The humidity soaked the air, making him feel as if he were breathing water.

He’d been sick twice and couldn’t count how many times he had stopped to relieve himself. How could there be any poison left inside him?

He reached inside his shirt and held his aching stomach. The pain was gnawing at him again, stealing his determination to make more progress before nightfall. He gasped and squeezed his eyes shut, reaching out blindly to brace himself against a tree.

A sharp spear of agony stabbed him, threading right through his navel and tunneling into his bowel. With a cry of pain, he fell to his knees and curled over, both arms wrapped tightly around his torso. He leaned heavily against the tree, indifferent to the rough bark biting into his skin through the shirt. He folded over and pressed the heals of his hands firmly into his hurting abdomen, kneading into tight muscles. The pressure seemed to help. The black red fog of pain lifted and he realized how heavily he was breathing.

His sigh of relief was cut off with a gasp when another spasm twisted through him. He collapsed to his side on the ground, his body locked in a rigid curl of pain. He clutched desperately at his stomach, fisting and tearing at his shirt, praying for relief, but his cries went unheard. Darkness tunneled his vision and just before the agony in his gut dragged him down to unconsciousness, a man leaned over him. An Indian stared down at him, his lips moving with the unfamiliar language of his people.

JD opened his mouth. I don’t understand you. He knew the words never made it past his lips and he surrendered to oblivion with a lopsided smile, wondering if he’d wake up in hell.

Running Deer gazed down at the boy in confusion. The pain racked face stayed frozen in a grimace, even though it was clear the young man had succumbed to unconsciousness.

He knelt down and carefully rolled the stranger to his back. Gently removing the boy’s arms from around his body, Running Deer felt his belly. Tender flesh depressed beneath his fingertips and the young man stiffened against the ground and moaned. The stranger lifted a trembling hand and feebly pushed Running Deer’s touch away. The Indian was surprised to see the reaction in a sleeping person. He removed his touch and watched as the young man rested his palm atop his stomach, protecting himself.

Smiling to himself, realizing he’d mistaken a boy for a man, Running Deer carefully slid his arms beneath the stranger’s back and knees and lifted him from the ground. A surprised grunt whooshed out of him when he hefted the young man more securely into his arms; he was heavier than he looked.

Years of hunting and hard work had built muscles capable of carrying a bigger load than the unconscious young man. Running Deer hurried back to his fire and placed the stranger gently onto a blanket. When he was sure the young man wouldn’t wake up, he turned to the fire and added wood. He was fairly certain what ailed the stranger, and he knew exactly what to do.

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Swirling heat surrounded him. JD pushed away the blanket smothering him and tried to sit up. A dark, unfamiliar face hovered over him and he shrank back. His stomach hurt and he drew his knees up, hoping to relive some of the discomfort.

A rough voice spoke to him, stringing together sounds he knew had to be words, but he couldn’t understand them. He opened his eyes. Glow from a fire’s light shimmered in the trees around him, dancing against bark and flittering around leaves high above. Wood snapped and sparks flew, floating up and escaping to play with the stars that looked so close he could reach out and touch them.

Pain grabbed him again, stealing away his dreams. He curled his shoulders from the ground and bent his knees to his chest, hugging himself through the agony. Hands pressed against his shoulders, forcing him back to the soft blanket. The touch moved to the back of his neck and cupped his skull gently. Something rough was pressed against his bottom lip. Warm bitterness flowed into his mouth, burning across his tongue and searing down his throat. He coughed and sprayed the fluid out, but most of it heated his gullet and drained down into his stomach.

He opened his eyes. An Indian stared down at him. Gasping breaths stole his voice and JD struggled to breathe, struggled to make it past the huffing bit of air blocking his throat so he could speak.

The man’s mouth opened. Sounds emerged and somehow melted with the dancing flames and flying sparks. His voice soaked into the ground and floated in the air. The mumbled, unfamiliar sounds wove a spell and JD barely felt the Indian’s palm on his belly, pressing, rubbing, and kneading into his flesh.

Darkness closed over his head and he shut his eyes, free from pain.

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Running Deer tied the last knot in his bundle and stood up. He looked back over his shoulder. Dawn was just beginning to shade the sky. Daylight wouldn’t reach inside the thicket until later in the morning, giving the young man a few added moments of rest. He knew when the stranger awoke, he’d be weak, but he was whole again and would make it back home safely.

Smiling gently in satisfaction, the seasoned medicine man turned back to his path and disappeared into the surrounding trees.

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An insect buzzed by his ear, annoyingly loud. JD reached up to swat it away. The movement woke him up. He looked around himself in confusion and sat up. Sore abdominal muscles protested and he pressed a hand to his stomach. Smoking embers to his right reminded him of flying sparks and floating stars.

Rolling to his side, he made it to his hands and knees and slowly stood. His limbs shook with weakness but no pain throbbed deep inside his body. A roughly woven blanket lay crumbled against the ground. He bent to retrieve it and swung it over his shoulders to ward away the morning’s chill.

Impressions of a man’s voice and gently healing touch swam through his memory too fast to hold. Shrugging in confusion, JD stepped into the trees, heading for the open plain he could see through the branches.

When he cleared the woods he saw three riders heading toward him. He stiffened in worry until he recognized his friends’ familiar silhouettes against the early morning sky. Buck, Vin and Nathan pulled to a stop in front of him and dismounted. He noticed his horse tethered by its reins to Buck’s saddle.

"JD? Are you all right?" Nathan’s worried frown cleared the lingering fog from his mind. JD opened his mouth to reply but Buck cut him off.

"What happened to you?"

He blinked. "Got hold of some bad water."

Vin shook his head, a concerned expression on his face. "I told you how to figure out if water was bad or not."

"I know. Just wasn’t careful enough is all."

"You feeling sick?"

JD glanced at Nathan and shook his head. "No, I’m fine." He walked past the men, heading for his horse.

"Where’d you get the blanket?"

JD stopped and looked down at the wrap across his shoulders. Maybe it wasn’t a dream. He turned and looked at his friends. "I think – there was an Indian who helped me."

He saw Vin and Buck look at each other. Nathan stepped closer. "What do you remember?"

"I – I’m not sure, really. It was dark, there was a fire." The morning seeped away and dark night formed around him. "He gave me something to drink and it made me feel better, made me not hurt so bad."

"Was it bitter?"

JD abruptly became aware of where he was. "What?" He swayed, weakness and weariness conspiring together to drag him back to the ground.

Nathan reached for him but Buck touched him first. The older man supported him, kept him from falling. "Easy there, JD. Let’s get you home. You can tell us the story later."

Nodding his acquiesce, JD allowed Buck to lead him to his horse and help him into the saddle. The distance passed beneath him quickly and he found himself atop the bed in Nathan’s clinic. Sleep came for him before he could protest and he succumbed.

"You think he’s all right?" Buck gazed down at JD, worry knotting his brow.

"He’s fine, Buck. I don’t know if an Indian helped him or not, but whoever did knew what he was doin’."

"Running Deer."

Buck and Nathan turned to look at Vin. The tracker held the blanket JD had clenched tight around his shoulders until they’d gotten him into bed.

"Who?"

Vin looked up. "Running Deer. He was a medicine man around these parts a few years back. Some said he was powerful enough to heal the dead."

Buck shivered. "What makes you think he’s the one that helped JD?"

Vin lifted the blanket, displaying the stylized deer running across its length. "Just a hunch, really."

"Well, now." Buck adjusted his hat and pulled back his shoulders. "I’ll just hafta thank the man next time I come across him."

"That might be hard."

Buck frowned at Vin. "Why? ‘Coss I can’t speak the language? Hell, Vin, that’s what we got you around for." He grinned and winked at Nathan.

"Because he died last year."

The room grew still. Buck’s eyes widened. With an effort, he pulled his gaze from Vin and looked down at JD. The gentle rise and fall of the young man’s chest chased away the ghosts floating through his mind. No matter who it was that helped him, Buck was thankful JD had found his way back home. He looked back up at Vin and smiled.

"Sounds like a lot of hooey to me."

The End