PENNY M. AND SHELLIE W.
PART 5
The white washed boards of the two-story house showed briefly through the branches, and Vin held up his hand for the others to stop. He gestured with his chin to the wagon next to the porch. "There it is."
"Let's go." Buck stepped forward, but Vin held his arm.
"Wait, Buck. Don't go rushin' in halfcocked."
"There's the wagon you been trailing for the last hour and half, so J.D.'s got to be in there!" Buck's voice was tense with worry and it was taking every ounce of self-control he had to keep from storming the front door.
Vin shook his head. "Yeah, and maybe men with guns, holding him against his will." His jaw sharpened when he ground his teeth together. Blue eyes usually soft and friendly turned hard as he looked past Buck's shoulder to the house.
"No sense puttin' the boy in any more danger, brother." Josiah's logic cut through Buck's impulse and he reluctantly nodded in agreement.
"Come on Buck, we'll check inside, Josiah you might wanna make sure nobody else is lurkin' around out here."
"Ok." Buck agreed and quickly took the lead, carefully making his way through the underbrush. Dried leaves and shaggy bushes crackled underfoot, but the three men did their best to keep quiet. They reached the house without incident and watched as Josiah circled around back.
Vin pushed open the front door, both men stood ready, pointing their weapons inside, but saw no one. "I'll check upstairs."
Buck nodded at Vin's whisper. "Yell if ya need me." Not waiting for an ok from Vin, Buck stepped into the house and followed a windowless corridor to his left. He spread his arms out and touched walls and felt his way down the hallway until it abruptly ended in a door. His hand shook as he reached for the handle and Buck drew his pistol as he eased it open.
*******
After leaving the others, Josiah made his way to the back of the house. He saw an old barn off to the side, nearly covered with overgrown weeds and bushes. Signs of neglect layered the grounds, giving the place an eerie feeling of abandonment. The old home and the stables were probably once considered regal judging by their size and he wondered how it had fallen into such a sad state.
Cautiously moving forward, he searched through the old stalls, but found no one. The smell of manure and livestock still permeated the air, and the sight of two draft horses grazing in the mostly dirt paddock let him know the stable was still in use. A whinny of greeting met him as he moved farther inside and his eyes stopped on the gelding, still wearing its saddle, standing patiently waiting for his rider. Josiah suppressed a shudder when he recognized it as J.D.'s.
Josiah's heart hammered in his chest as he grabbed the reins and led the animal quickly out through the barn and back toward the house. His sharp eyes caught sight of a crude wooden marker just inside the tree line and he stopped for a closer look. His mind began to wander as he scanned the grounds and counted seven markers.
"Graveyard." His voice whispered quiet through the small glade, his solemn air lending reverence to the place of death.
What killed these people? Sickness? Madness? Were they all family? He knew they couldn't have been buried long because the wood hadn't rotted. A sick feeling washed over him and he searched for signs of a freshly covered mound, finally letting out a sigh of relief when he saw none.
*******
Pale yellow light bloomed into the hall, revealing a narrow staircase leading into a basement room. Buck cautiously took a step down and was instantly assaulted by suffocating heat and the stench of human fear. Buck's heart pounded in his ears as he continued his descent and he gasped breathlessly when he ducked his head and peered into the room. Perspiration broke out around his face as the flickering candles and hissing kerosene lamps shone their light on an indescribable display of inhuman agony.
J.D. lay stretched full length on a table, his wrists and ankles caught with rope and tied to each corner. The kid's hair was matted to his head and his eyes were wide with undisguised fright. J.D.'s limbs strained and his body arched as the old man standing over him grinned like a maniac, his wrinkled hand clasped around a syringe buried deep in the boy's belly.
What in God's name? Shock froze Buck for a heartbeat as the vision of fear on J.D.'s face tightened into pain and the boy's mouth opened wide and he let loose with a hoarse scream that sent ice plunging into the gunslinger's heart. The syringe was withdrawn and J.D. collapsed back to the table but his body remained in motion; the trembling in his muscles sent shivering ripples down the boy's form. The old man put one hand on the kid's chest and Buck watched in anguish as J.D.'s heaving breaths lifted and expanded his rib cage.
It wasn't until the man reached for another syringe that Buck was jolted out of his trance and realized he'd stopped halfway down the staircase. His gun, almost forgotten in his hand, aimed straight at J.D.'s tormentor.
A primal moan escaped both Buck and J.D. at the same time as the old man lifted the needle tipped vial and prepared to stab again.
"STOP! You son of a --" Buck had already reached the last step when the old man turned crazed eyes on him and moved the syringe from J.D.'s abdomen to a point just over the boy's chest.
"Don't come any closer, I'll kill him!"
Buck's body swayed forward, but he kept his feet planted and tightened the trigger on his drawn pistol.
"Drop the gun now!" The old man bent forward over J.D., making a smaller target of himself as he scraped a path up the kid's skin with the sharp needle.
Buck kept his eyes drilled into the stranger, but his ears caught every hitching breath billowing out of J.D. He wanted to look at the kid, to reassure him, but the fear of what would happen if he looked away held his gaze on the demon in front of him.
"I will sink the needle into his heart and there's nothing you could do that would save him."
Buck swallowed hard, seeing the reflected candle light dance like fire in the man's dazed eyes. Insanity grew from those dark orbs and his heart skipped a few beats as he realized just how far gone their situation was. The gunslinger still refused to drop his weapon, instead he holstered it quickly and held his empty hands up in front of him.
J.D. began to whimper, the pitiful sound moaned through the room like the cry of a wounded child. Instinctively, Buck glanced at his young friend. The kid's body was drenched in oily sweat and his agony drawn face seemed ghostly white under the flickering lights. The smooth surface of his skin rippled as muscles spasmed and drove the already blood smeared rope deeper into the ripped flesh of his wrists.
Grief and fury simultaneously contained Buck's tenuous control. "He's comin' with me or we'll all die here." His threat broke through the silence. "Put it down and I won't rip your heart out through your teeth!"
The old man laughed and nodded behind him. "Elmore, take his guns."
Buck jerked in surprise when he noticed the huge man standing in the shadows and his heart sunk at the realization he was desperately overpowered. His mind raced trying to come up with an alternative plan, knowing he wasn’t leaving this place without JD.
"Ah, I have every intention of allowing you to join us. This young one is not cooperating to my satisfaction, perhaps your presence will inspire him to indulge this old professor." The old man's gloating voice reverberated through the room, but Elmore still hadn't moved. The simple expression on his face remained unchanged, but his eyes grew moist as he stared at J.D.
"Boy! Do as I say! He wants to take him away from us!" The words were obviously meant to scare his helper into action, but instead, Elmore turned his nearly blank eyes up to look at Buck before turning to face the professor.
"No."
"Don't make me have to discipline you." The quiet threat sent chills down Buck's spine as he watched the old man try to hold onto his composure. Elmore moved forward and the gunslinger sucked in a panicked breath as the giant stepped out into the light.
The professor turned back to face Buck, but the man's self-satisfied grin disappeared as Elmore grabbed the hand that gripped the syringe. The giant yanked him away from J.D. and the professor's eyes widened in shock. The old man struck at his attacker with his free fist. "Stop! You're ruining everything!"
Buck immediately lunged forward and reached the boy in two long strides. He tried to set his emotions aside, but his hands shook so badly he couldn't release the knots in the blood slick ropes. To make matters worse, J.D. began to fight him.
"J.D., it's okay. It's Buck." He tried to calm his friend but the panic in his voice belied his comments and the kid continued to pull away.
Buck risked a quick glance at Elmore and the old man as they continued to struggle, the huge man holding the professor in the far corner of the basement, the older man's screams of rage echoing off the thick walls.
"Pleeeaaase. No more, please!" Buck returned his attention to J.D. as the boy's pleas faded into hitching breaths and he cupped the young man's face between his hands.
"J.D., nobody's gonna hurt you again." His voice broke as he tried to get through to his friend. "Open your eyes, kid, please."
Tremors ran through the boy's body as he opened his eyes and his resistance tapered off. Buck paled when he stared into J.D.'s glazed and terrified eyes, and saw no recognition in their depths.
A loud clattering boomed across the room and Buck jerked his head around to see. The professor had been shoved into the wall and had landed on his knees. The old man pulled himself to his feet, insanity glowing brightly from his eyes as he lunged at the giant, stabbing the syringe he still held toward the younger man like a knife.
Buck didn't have time to yell out to him, and watched as the big man turned gracefully with the attack, allowing him to sweep past him, then grabbed the old man's bony wrist and pivoted, thrusting the needle into the professor's abdomen.
The professor grunted with the impalement and his eyes bulged in pain as he stumbled back into the wall. His expression slackened and he looked down at his body, then he smiled at his attacker and curled his slim fingers around the holder and carefully depressed the plunger.
"The only way to truly know." His soft voice held satisfaction as he fell to the floor and curled in on himself, half-screaming, half-laughing as the poison took effect.
Buck watched in fascinated horror as the old man's feeble body flopped like a dying fish and his guttural wail of agony was muffled as he convulsed face down on the floor. Suffer, damn you. Suffer 'til I can kill you.Buck's thoughts of revenge were put on hold as he looked from the professor to J.D., his heart squeezed tight with grief as he realized the extent of the boy’s suffering in the madman’s hands. He absently stroked J.D.’s wet hair, relieved the simple gesture had managed to quiet him down enough to stop his struggles.
The sound of heavy footsteps drew Buck's attention and he looked up to see Elmore standing behind him and automatically reached for his gun. Buck stopped when he realized the big man was untying the ropes around J.D.'s ankles and kept silent, watching, as Elmore moved to release the bonds from the boy's battered wrists.
When J.D. was free, Buck carefully picked him up and cradled him in his arms like a small child. Elmore reached out and placed his wide hand atop J.D.'s bare midsection and looked at the boy's rescuer.
"No more." The big man's soft tone surprised the gunslinger.
"No more," Buck repeated, tears of conviction in his dark blue eyes. "No more." He said louder, the second time for both himself, and for the semiconscious boy in his arms.
Leaving Elmore behind, he carried J.D. up the stairs and out of the house.
*******
"Vin! Josiah!" Buck screamed for his friends as he bolted from the house. Vin met him at the front door, immediately watching for anyone who might be following. Josiah caught up to them, J.D.'s mount trotting at the big man's heels.
"Let's get outta here." Buck ran another yard, before his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees, still holding the kid tight against his chest.
Vin and Josiah stopped beside him. "What happened?" Vin's voice was edged with panic as he touched the boy's fevered face.
"We..gotta...get him...outta...here." Buck gasped, his body spent.
Josiah handed the reins to Vin and took J.D. from his exhausted friend's arms. Buck tried to get up, but the events he'd just witnessed had drained his energy and his spirit. Josiah had J.D., he was safe, that was all that mattered.
"Git up!" Vin's voice shattered Buck's thoughts and he felt himself being roughly pulled to his feet. Buck started to comply when a loud boom shook the earth beneath them and all were thrown to the ground.
He felt someone touch his shoulder and looked up. Vin was beside him, but the tracker's gaze was locked on something behind them. "You all right, Buck?"
"Yeah. What was that?"
"The house. It just exploded."
Buck turned to find a wall of fire where the house had stood. Old dried boards acted like kindling and a wave of heat billowed outward as the flames grew. "Let's get out of here." He let Vin help him up again and was relieved to see Josiah still holding onto J.D. and made his way over to them.
"He's OK." Josiah's deep tone calmed Buck's unspoken fear.
"Anyone else in there?"
Vin's voice sounded distant to Buck's ears and he looked back over his shoulder at the house and shook his head. "It's too late for them. Just let 'em be."
The tracker looked at him with a question on his face, but Buck ignored it. He felt unspeakable evil in this place, and destroyed or not he wanted to be far from it before nightfall.
PART 6
The men reached the thicket where the horses were hidden just as the sun began to sink into the horizon. J.D. struggled in Josiah's arms and the ex-preacher quickly found a soft spot to lay him down. Moans vibrated deep from within the boy's chest as he instantly curled into a tight ball, his gasping breaths disturbing the long hair that fell across his face. Buck swallowed a lump in his throat as he reached out to finger away the strands from the kid's eyes, then dropped his hand to J.D.'s shoulder.
"He's shivering. We need to get him out of this night air."
Vin knelt beside them and carefully rolled J.D. to his back. "J.D.? Can you hear me?" The boy's arms were wrapped tight around his middle and his pants were still open enough to reveal the dark bruises and dried blood on his lower abdomen. "What the hell?"
Buck's eyes met Vin's and he quickly looked away from the tracker's puzzled gaze. Buck leaned over the kid, subconsciously sheltering his abused body from Vin and Josiah's questioning stares.
"The old man had one of those needle contraptions full of somethin', and he..." Buck caught his bottom lip with his teeth as the chilling memory resurfaced and another wave of sorrow threatened to take over his words. "He was stickin' J.D. in the stomach with it."
"In the belly? Why? Nathan's never given a shot there before."
"Hell if I know! I didn't stop to ask him what his business was, Vin!" Anger stretched Buck's words thin as he desperately tried to mask the helplessness he was feeling. His voice carried harshly through the quiet surrounding them and J.D. flinched beneath his hand. The gunslinger squeezed his eyes shut in mortification and moved his touch to J.D.'s head.
"Shhhh. Sorry, kid." He smiled weakly and looked up at Vin. "Sorry, Vin. J.D.'s hurtin', and I just need to do something to make it stop."
" 'S okay." The tracker returned the smile and placed his palm on J.D.'s burning forehead. "Then it seems to me he's been poisoned, and the best way to get poison out of the body is to sweat it out."
"Yeah, that might work." Josiah's deep voice came from above them and Buck craned his neck to look up at his friend.
"Like a sweat tent? Wait, can't you just give him some roots or somethin'? Nathan always comes up with an anti -something?" He lifted his pleading eyes to his friends, hoping to spare J.D. from anymore suffering.
"Antidote." Josiah finished and Buck nodded.
"Yeah, if we knew what he gave him, but we don't." Vin's eyes glanced toward J.D. and Buck knew he was just as desperate to help the boy. "I don't know what else we can do for him."
Vin turned to Josiah. "How 'bout giving me a hand to help build it?"
Buck settled in next to J.D. as the two men went in search of what they needed. The boy lay quietly but his arms were still pressed to his belly and he frowned and jerked in his sleep every now and then. Buck kept his hand on the kid's head like a benediction and added his own prayer that J.D.'s salvation hadn't come too late.
*******
Josiah and Vin returned quickly, managing to put together a fairly accurate imitation of an Indian sweat tent.
Josiah helped Buck carry their young friend's unconscious form inside, his arms still clutched around his body. As soon as he was settled on the mat, Buck knelt beside him and began wiping his hand across the boy's brow as Josiah used his saddle blanket to bring in the steaming rocks. Buck's world had narrowed to this small space and J.D. was his focus.
Sticky dampness broke out around Buck's neck and face, reminding him that he was still fully dressed. He shed his shirt and boots quickly and tossed the extra clothing aside, then reached to close the flap, only then noticing that Josiah had left. He returned to J.D. and soaked a clean cloth with water, then tenderly ran it over the boy's forehead.
The kid shifted restlessly. Buck remembered Vin saying the poison would just have to work its way out and until then, bathing him in cool water was about the only thing they could do to make him rest easier.
J.D. muttered and turned his head on the makeshift pallet they'd made from Josiah's bedroll. Sweat already covered him like a second skin, glistening and dripping down his body. Softly bulging curves of developing strength in his arms and shoulders gleamed and flexed as the boy's muscles tensed and quivered. Beads of wetness gathered and trickled down the line of his ribs, then continued around the curve of his side to fall to the bedding.
The thought of what had been done to his friend drew Buck's eyes down to those horrible marks and he cringed in sympathy at the purplish bruises spread along the boy's belly. Glistening tracks against his pale skin lead to a pool of sweat that had gathered in the shallow hollow of his navel and Buck gently mopped the rag over J.D.'s abdomen, mindful of the painful area he was working on.
J.D. jerked away and half-rose from the ground. "Get your hands off me! Please!" His plea was all the more heart wrenching because of the hoarseness of his voice and Buck hurried to reassure him.
"Take it easy, kid. It's me...Buck." He pressed down on J.D.'s shoulders, urging the kid to lie down, but the young man was caught in a nightmare.
"NO. Leave me alone!"
"J.D.!"
Buck's frantic need to get through to the kid was interrupted when J.D. suddenly lunged forward, heaving on his friend's crumpled shirt. Buck knelt by his side and wrapped one arm around him as the boy convulsed in his arms and his back humped from the effort of being sick. Buck could feel muscles tighten under his palm where he held the boy around his abdomen, and he frowned with concern.
Finally spent from the illness, J.D. slumped into the older man's arms and wiped a shaky hand across his mouth. "Buck?"
"Right here, kid. I got you." Buck carefully pulled the boy back to the pallet and J.D. dropped wearily onto the bedroll, his limbs splayed out as if he had no control over them. After seeing him pulled into a tight ball for so long, Buck smiled at the look of relaxed slumber on his friend's face. He carefully rearranged the boy's arms and legs to make him more comfortable, then gently slid a hand under his neck and lifted him up. "Here ya go. Drink some of this."
He pressed a cup to J.D.'s bottom lip and the kid opened his mouth and sucked at the water like a child. As carefully as if he were a newborn, Buck laid him back down again. "Go back to sleep. I'll be right here."
After an obvious struggle, J.D. opened eyes heavy-lidded with weariness. " . . . thanks . . ."
Buck smiled and wiped the cloth gently over the sick boy's mouth. "Any time, kid."
Josiah peeked into the tent and Buck handed him the soiled shirt, whispering a brief explanation. Buck ducked back inside and flipped his blanket over before sitting down and resuming his place beside his young charge. Weariness and worry sat on his shoulders like twin weights of lead and he continued to wipe his friend's face with cool water as his own body slumped with the heavy burden of guilt and regret.
*******
Josiah pulled back the tent flap and crawled inside carrying a fresh canteen. Buck had stayed with the boy all night and by the next afternoon he and Vin had finally forced the man to get some rest. The only argument that worked was telling him he'd be no use to J.D. when he finally woke up if he continued his grueling vigil.
Josiah sat down near the pallet and understood why Buck was so resistant to leave. J.D. was curled into a tight ball again, his earlier ease gone as he muttered incoherently. An occasional plea made it through as he begged to be left alone. The ex-preacher removed the tepid cloth resting on the boy's forehead and drenched it in cool water, then continued wiping his heated face and neck.
J.D. trembled when the chilly material touched his burning skin and his fever bright eyes opened. Josiah smiled at him, but the glassy stare confirmed that J.D. still wasn't lucid. The boy's face creased in a frown and he groaned as he clutched his belly and drew his knees up tight. Sweat broke out on his face as quickly as it was wiped off. Josiah watched helplessly as J.D.'s body grew tight with tension and muscles bulged as spasms wracked his slight frame.
The kid lifted an arm that shook with weakness and grasped Josiah's wrist. "Please. Make it stop!" The gravelly whisper brought tears to the big man's eyes and J.D.'s eyes filled and overflowed while he struggled against the pain.
"Try and relax, son." He leaned in and rubbed the wet cloth in circles on the boy's sweat-slicked back, praying he could take away some of the agony he knew the young man was suffering. Another spasm jerked through J.D. and he curled in even tighter, his forearms pressed to his abdomen.
"Uhhhhh -- can't live like this --"
The broken plea touched Josiah's heart and he lifted the suffering youth in his arms. Sliding one hand through J.D.'s hair, he cradled his neck and drew him close, gently massaging the knotted muscles at the base of the boy's skull. Josiah looked down into the pinched face as a mournful howl escaped from deep within J.D.'s throat and made it clear to the ex-preacher the struggle his young friend was going through.
"Don't fight it, John Dunne. Let it go. Just let the pain go." His words tumbled from his tongue and his heart. He knew the boy was wrestling with demons and was determined not to let them overtake his young friend's soul or mind.
"That's it, let it go. Don't hang onto the pain, son." His baritone voice rumbled through the small space like a lullaby and he felt the young man slowly relax at his words. The welcome release made Josiah smile. "That's it, J.D., let it out."
J.D.'s body gradually went limp and after assuring himself the boy was still breathing, Josiah sighed in relief. He continued to hold him like a baby, the sturdy youthful body sprawled out across the floor and in his arms. J.D's earlier pain-filled gasps were now the deep inhalations of sleep. Josiah looked heavenward and whispered a brief thank you as he pulled J.D. into his chest and rested his chin on top of the kid's head.
*******
Watery light broke through the thick covering of trees overhead and Buck blinked his eyes open as he woke up. Birds called to each other and fresh air filled his lungs as he drew in a deep breath. He raised his arms and stretched, then rubbed his fists into his eyes. As much as he loved civilization, and the pretty citizens of any town, he loved being away from the crowd and noise even more. He'd never told anyone that, and he doubted anyone would believe him if he did, but it was true.
Imagining himself trying to explain that to someone like J.D. who believed his only purpose in life was to satisfy and be satisfied by the ladies made him smile. J.D.
Oh god, J.D.
Memories returned with the new day's light and Buck lunged from the ground. He'd slept beside the tent. Josiah was still with the boy, but he wanted to be near in case J.D. called out for him. The flap was open and he dropped to his knees and crawled inside.
Josiah was curled against the wall, his compact body forming a large mound that rose and fell with the big man's easy breathing. One arm was tucked around J.D.'s body; the other outstretched, his palm offering a nest for the boy's smaller hand. J.D. lay on his side; a blanket pulled up around his shoulders to keep away the chill of the morning.
A muffled moan drew Buck's attention and he looked over to find Josiah looking at him. "He awake?"
Buck shook his head. "Not yet. I can take care of him, Josiah. Why don't you go stretch your legs?"
Nodding amiably, the big man untangled his limbs and slipped from underneath J.D.'s weight, carefully moving him back onto the bedroll. As Josiah stiffly crawled past him, Buck reached out to touch his arm.
"Thanks." Buck's eyes shone with gratitude deeper than mere words. Josiah answered him with a slight nod and a silent smile, then disappeared outside.
Buck noticed J.D.'s fever had broken and he was finally sleeping peacefully. He was reluctant to wake him, but couldn't stop himself from smoothing the hair from the boy's face, just to be sure. J.D. jumped slightly, and dark eyes looked up at the gunslinger. Buck immediately leaned closer to his friend. "J.D.? How you feeling, boy?"
J.D. blinked, his mind trying to comprehend what his eyes saw. He closed his eyes and frowned, then opened his eyes to look at Buck. "All right, I guess. I'm not sure -- where are we?"
Worry beat a steady cadence in his head as Buck settled back on his haunches. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"Uh . . . . I went to pick up those wanted posters." The youth's face contorted with concentration as he tried to remember what he was asked. "I came back early and I stopped to help this old man--" His eyes widened in obvious panic, then he quickly squeezed them tight to shut out the horrible memory. "Oh god!"
"It's okay, J.D. You're safe now. He's gone." Buck reached out and encircled the kid's arm and pressed gently to let him know he wasn't alone this time.
J.D. opened his eyes, the haunted look still there made Buck shiver, and he pressed his lips together as he shifted to sit up. Immediately he cried out and curled forward, both arms wrapped around his body.
"Take it easy! Come on, J.D., relax now." Buck came closer and put his arm around the boy's shoulders, offering support and J.D. leaned into him. He could feel the heat of J.D.'s panting breath against his chest, but the boy was still curled in tight, his arms pressed to his belly.
"Come on, J.D., let me see." The kid shook his head and pushed Buck away.
"No, I'm okay. It just all came back to me sudden like."
"Can you tell me what happened?" His quiet voice demanded no quick answers and Buck settled back to wait.
J.D. stayed slumped over, one hand resting on his abdomen as he pulled the other one through his hair. "I don't remember. I stopped to help that old man, someone hit me on the head, knocked me out, and the next thing I knew, I came to in that room."
Buck waited, but J.D. stayed silent. "That's all?" He gestured toward the kid's stomach. "Those are some pretty painful looking marks. Any idea how they got there?"
"No."
"J.D., you can tell --?"
"I said I don't remember!" The explosion seemed to leave J.D. breathless. Grunting with the effort he made it to his feet then straightened up as far as he could in the small tent. "I'm fine, Buck, and I'm ready to go home."
The pale, shaky figure before him was a thin imitation of the usually vibrant boy he knew, and Buck wanted to tell him he was far from fine, but the slumped shoulders and weary expression on the kid's face kept him from it. "Okay, J.D. I'll tell Vin and Josiah, and we'll break up camp. Just sit back down and I'll get you something to put on."
Buck reached out his hand, helping J.D. ease himself back onto the pallet. The kid looked like he was about to pass out, but Buck realized his need to get away from this place. Hell, he was itching to get home himself.
He stepped out of the tent and met Vin sitting outside the entrance. "How's the kid?"
"Better." The simple answer was bitten off, but Buck couldn't fight the anger gnawing in his gut. J.D. was hurting, and he felt nearly as helpless now as he did two days ago finding him tied to that demon's table. He wished there was a way to reach into the boy's head and take away the horror he knew he'd suffered through, but first he had to find a way to force it out of his own mind.
Accepting Buck's sour attitude, Vin nodded. "I went back to the house."
Buck's head snapped up. "What?"
"The place was burned down to the ground, but I found two sets of footprints."
"Any chance of tracking them?" Buck's eyes narrowed as he glanced over his shoulder at the tent behind him.
"No. I followed them out a ways, but there's a fairly good sized river about a mile east. I found scrape marks on the shore from a boat. They're gone, Buck."
Buck shook his head and tried to lock away the fear he felt clutching at his heart. "Let's pack up. The kid's ready to go home."
