By Joanna
Chapter III
Believers
"Well where are we going to spend the night now?" Cody asked dejectedly as they once again found themselves in the cold night air.
Noah shook his head and glanced at Lou, "Sorry, Lou, but it looks like it's one of the brothels."
Lou planted her feet firmly, and the others took a few steps without her before turning around to see the stubborn set of her jaw they knew very well, "No! No way am I going into one of those places!" she nearly yelled and fought the urge to add "again" onto the end of her sentence. She'd lived in one for nearly a year, although she'd never told the boys that, and had made a vow to never set foot in one again. She'd broken that vow once or twice. When she went after Jimmy when he was working for a cat house owner named Grace, she'd been sorry when surely enough, a bear of a man had hoisted her off her feet with a fierce hold around her neck. Before that, Kid's brother Jed had all taken them into a brothel and gambling hall, placing her in the very awkward situation of avoiding the ladies' attentions. She would never spend another night in one of those places. On that point she wouldn't budge.
"Lou, there ain't anywhere else to go," Cody whined, "You want to spend another night out in the open?"
"It'd be better than one of those places!" Lou fired back, crossing her arms protectively over her chest, a self-conscious gesture she'd adopted as a result of her first encounter with one of the places they were discussing now.
"I didn't see you complaining the night Jed took us out drinking!" Cody snapped.
"Then you didn't look very hard, did you Cody?" Lou replied angrily.
"I think I may have to agree with Cody on this, Lou, much as I hate to admit it. We've got a whole week of sleeping outside ahead of us, and I for one would like a soft, warm bed tonight," Noah said quietly.
"You can go right ahead, Noah Dixon! All of you can! But I ain't gonna do it!" Lou growled.
Kid studied Lou closely. He knew there were things about Lou he had yet to learn, and he had a good idea that whatever her reason for being so insistent, it was a good one. He recognized the nearly desperate tone of her voice and interceded, "There has to be somewhere else in town to stay. It wouldn't be right for Lou to go in one of those places anyway."
"Right has nothing to do with it, Kid!" Lou snapped at him, not liking the subject, but liking him talking about right and wrong in connection to some of her old choices even less, "I just don't want to!"
Jimmy, his thoughts parallel to Kid's, nodded, "It's alright Lou. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to. Cody, if you want to stay at a brothel, go ahead. Myself, I think the peace and quiet of the livery stable will do for me."
"And me," Kid nodded, glad that Buck and Ike agreed as well.
Noah studied Lou for a moment then nodded, "Me too."
Cody glared at Lou, then softened, "Oh, all right. I got better ways to spend my money anyway...although right now I can't think of what they could be."
And so they settled into a large, empty stall in the stable and rolled out their bedrolls. The stable shielded the biting wind and the deep, clean straw proved to be soft and warm.
"This ain't so bad," Noah commented as he pulled his blankets up and sighed in contentment.
"All right Jimmy…what were you going to tell us about the horse? What was that woman talking about?" Buck wondered.
"Well, you see," Jimmy began awkwardly, "there's tales around these parts that the stallion really is Satan."
"Well of course he is. That's his name, ain't it?" Lou shrugged from beside Jimmy.
Jimmy shook his head, "No. Not Satan as in the horse. Satan as in the Devil, like Mrs. Bedford was saying."
There was a moment of silence as the boys and Lou looked at each other, then back at Jimmy.
"Come again?" Kid asked, raising his eyebrows and hiding a smile.
Jimmy sighed, feeling the stirrings of humiliation beginning in him. "Promise not to laugh?"
"No," Noah, Kid, and Lou said at the same time.
"But tell us anyway," Ike signed and Buck laughed.
"Oh, all right. But I swear this is true, and there's proof."
"Fair enough," Cody sighed, "Now get on with it Hickok."
"Okay, here goes," Jimmy began, "Well, you see, as long as there's been tales of this black stallion around these parts, there's been tales of strange things happening. Several people say that Satan is really the devil in disguise and that he carries souls to hell on his back. And the way he does it, is he looks into his victim's eyes, which paralyzes them."
"I thought no one could even get near this horse," Kid pointed out.
Jimmy shook his head, "They can't, unless he wants to get close to them. He seeks people out. Just like that drunk man that came into the marshal's office, people say that Satan comes in the houses and stands over their beds and if they wake up and look in his eyes, he carries them away."
"That's a bunch a..." Noah started.
"Whoa," Jimmy shook his head and raised his hands, "I'm telling you, people have seen and reported this for years."
"You saying you believe that hogwash?" Cody wondered.
Jimmy shrugged, "I'm saying that too many people have seen the horse over their beds. Hell, you heard that man from Sweetwater, and Mrs. Bedford just said she'd seen Satan last night...how can you deny that?"
"It's just people with overactive imaginations! They hear the stories then have nightmares. That's it," Lou murmured sleepily, sinking lower against the wall by the minute.
"Maybe, maybe not," Buck responded slowly, "The stories had to start somewhere."
"Ike's right," Cody nodded after Ike had finished signing in the low light of the stable, "If he steals souls, then why did that drunk get away, and why did Mrs. Bedford? It's all in their heads."
Jimmy defended his theory, "They didn't look him in the eyes then. There's been plenty of tales about folks disappearing when Satan is around."
"I don't believe that for a second!" Noah replied cynically.
"Well, whether it's true or it ain't doesn't change the fact we're gonna have to get up awful early and chase him, whether he's stallion or devil. And whatever or whoever it is, he's got our horses and we've gotta get them back," Kid pointed out practically, "So why don't we get to sleep?"
Everyone nodded and eased back into the straw.
It was silent for a minute and Jimmy closed his eyes thinking the boys and Lou had taken the story better than he thought they would.
The silence proved misleading, because in a minute from the far corner of the stall where he guessed Kid was he heard a badly imitated neigh followed by a deep, snort and a voice he guessed was supposed to resemble a demon-possessed horse, "Jimmy...I want your soul."
Other horsey noises sounded around the stall and beside him, Lou exploded into a fit of giggles.
"Very funny. What are you supposed to be, goats?" Jimmy growled before rolling over and pulling the blankets over his head, thus shutting out the others' laughter.
Lou stirred and shivered in the cold morning air, burrowing deeper into her bedroll and the straw. She heard the soft snores of the boys all around her and refused to admit the light coming in around the corners of the blanket could be morning.
"Will you look at this?" A rough voice Lou didn't recognize suddenly boomed down on them.
"Ain't that sweet! Hey, Gene, come see what we got here!"
By that time the other boys were stirring at the less than quiet intruders and Lou contemplated staying under the blankets and letting them handle whoever it was.
"Who the hell are you?" Jimmy's customary morning growl rang out from nearby and she heard the straw rustling as all the boys sat up.
"Might ask you the same question, boy."
Jimmy's eyes narrowed as he gauged the bearded man in front of him. Several other stubble covered, dirty faces appeared at the stall door.
"I ain't a boy," Jimmy shot back in a low voice.
"What are you doing here? You a bunch of orphans run away from the nuns or what?"
"We're pony express riders," Kid explained, pressing the heel of his hand into his eye and twisting it back and forth to dislodge the sleep.
"Pony Express trail is a long way from here, sonny," another of the older men pointed out.
"We're here on special business," Jimmy replied defiantly.
"What business is that?" the same older man wondered.
"None of yours," Jimmy answered smoothly, his eyes glittering.
"You got a smart mouth," Jimmy's antagonist growled.
"Well," Jimmy smiled back sweetly, "So far, nothing that you've said leads me to believe the same is true for you."
Four guns were suddenly pointed into the stall, straight at Jimmy. Hearing the hammers being cocked back, Lou decided it was time to make an appearance. Pulling on her glasses and shoving her hat low, she stood by Jimmy.
"We don't want no trouble," Kid was saying, raising hands and coming forward in order to put himself in front of Jimmy, who looked like a bowed string, just waiting to snap. "We're moving out this morning, all right? Going into the high country and then you ain't got to worry about us anymore."
"High country did you say?" The oldest of the men, who looked to be around fifty asked, "Wait a minute." The riders could almost see the thinking process of the man before them, "You're them riders looking to bring back the mares from Satan, ain't you?"
"What if we were?" Cody answered cautiously.
The men all broke into bawdy laughter, doubling over and slapping their knees.
"Is there something funny about that?" Buck asked in a quietly angry voice.
"Hell, it is to us!" one of them gasped, "We were worried about our competition!"
"Competition?" Noah wondered innocently, and was rewarded by more laughter.
"You boys shouldn't even bother going up in those hills. We'll get Satan for you, don't worry. And all the horses he's stolen are fair game now! We'll collect our reward, and your horses, and then maybe we'll sell them back to you!"
"Why you…" Jimmy snarled and started forward but Ike and Buck secured holds on his elbows.
"Reward?" Lou questioned.
"$700 to the man who brings in that stallion's head…dead or alive. Preferably dead," one of the men explained, "Not that it matters to you, you'll never catch sight of him."
"I don't know Gene," another one insisted, lowering his voice, "Satan likes to steal young souls from what I hear. They may see him over their bedrolls at night…assuming the injuns don't get them first."
"We'll see about that, mister," Cody growled, "We're gonna go up there and get that horse, and our horses, and there ain't a thing you can do about it!"
The men exchanged glances, much like the riders did and they stood faced off, glaring at one another for a few seconds before the one they called Gene stuck his hand out. "Looks like it's a race then. May the best men win."
"Oh, they will," Jimmy muttered as Kid reached out to take Gene's hand, "Don't you worry none about that."
With that, the hunters turned to continue leading their horses and pack horses out of the stables.
"Did you hear that?" Cody exclaimed excitedly, anxiously rolling up his blankets and urging the others to do the same.
"Yeah, those are the most arrogant bunch of no good…" Jimmy's voice trailed off as Cody met his eyes with a mad gleam.
"I ain't talking about them…I'm talking about the reward! $700! That's $100 each if we bring him in! You were right Hickok! He does have a price on his head!"
"We're impressed with your math skills, Cody, but we ain't here to bring the stallion in. We're here to get our mares and go home," Buck pointed out.
"Well, whatever we do, we'd better do it before that bunch does," Jimmy agreed, "besides, if we're going after his herd, might as well bring in the stallion too, and make some extra money."
"Only if we can bring him in alive," Buck insisted and Lou quickly nodded in agreement.
"But…" Cody and Jimmy began.
"You can't kill something for money, you two. Especially not a horse like this," Kid agreed, "You'd be no better than that group of outlaws pretending to be bounty hunters."
Jimmy and Cody exchanged a glance and looked around to see Ike and Noah nodding in agreement. Jimmy gave in, "All right. We'll bring him alive or not at all."
They ventured into the wilderness not an hour later. The higher they climbed the more the temperature dropped, but they were warmly dressed and didn't mind. The party was privy to some beautiful sights on their climb. The snow that still rested in deeply wooded areas in the mountains, was melting on some of the barer spots, and the streams were full and cheerfully rushed all around. They stopped to admire several small waterfalls making their way down rocky cliffs during the day. The horses felt fresh in the chilly air, and they traveled a good distance up into the foothills, growing closer to the real high country, where Satan was rumored to reside.
Buck, as the tracker, informed them that they seemed to be the only ones taking the tiny trail and that the bounty hunters had obviously chosen another route. The riders spirits were buoyed to find evidence of many horses along the trail, and even more so when Buck announced that it seemed some of the prints were definitely pony express stock's tracks. They didn't pass another sign of civilization or human life the entire day, but there was much laughter among them. Finally, at sunset, Buck announced he could track the horses no further and they opted to make camp in a grassy clearing surrounded by huge pines and adjacent to a wide, shallow stream.
A while later, they sat around a blazing campfire, wrapped in blankets and clutching mugs of coffee.
"So do you believe it, Jimmy?" Kid finally asked after the conversation and banter had died down and the fire burned low.
"Believe what?" Jimmy wondered.
"The story of Satan," Kid replied, and his look showed he was seriously asking and not teasing, "Do you think those people really saw the devil?"
Jimmy shrugged and lay back on his elbow, "Well, I believe they saw something, and so do they."
Noah nodded, "Well, sure. But something and Lucifer are two very different things to be seeing, Hickok."
Buck leaned closer to the fire, his eyes shining brightly with the flames. "It is well known among my people that dark spirits do appear at night sometimes, looking for those that would do their deeds. And there is no mistaking one of these spirits for any thing else in the world or beyond when you see them. You just know."
At the dark tone of his voice, Lou shivered and pulled her blanket closer around her, "You sound like you speak from experience Buck."
He stared intently into the fire, then seemed to come back to the present, and gave Lou a wry smile, "Tales of Dark Medicine and Evil Spirits are told often to Kiowa children, to discourage bad behavior."
Thinking of a demon coming to take her in the night as a grown woman didn't appeal to Lou, and she couldn't imagine the terror she would have felt doing so as a child. "I guess it's effective," she murmured.
"You haven't answered my question, Jimmy, do you think this stallion is Satan?" Kid persisted.
"Well, I'll tell you the truth Kid. I don't know about that, but I do think that there's something about this horse that's…well, different, maybe even magic. I don't know if it's Satan or not, but I want to find out."
"Well, you probably will soon enough," Cody responded cynically, "But myself, I still don't believe it. I ain't saying I don't believe in Satan…I just have a hard time thinking he's in the Rocky mountains and stealing mares from Pony Express Stations. Surely he's got greater evil to cause than that?"
"Good point Cody," Noah agreed and Ike nodded.
Jimmy, Buck, Kid, and Lou exchanged glances, clearly the believers in the group.
The fire burned low but none of the sleeping riders paid it any mind, nor did the long shadow that fell over all of them cause them to stir. There was little sound on the springy grass of the meadow as the dark figure drifted around the outskirts of camp.
A low mumbling brought two sharp ears forward.
Cody tossed restlessly, finally deciding it was time to remove the sharp rock digging directly into his buttocks. He turned onto his back and reached under for the corner of his bedroll, forehead wrinkling in sleepy confusion when he brushed a solid, furry column with his hand. His eyes opened slowly and he blinked a few times before his heart leapt into his throat as he recognized a pair of powerful black forelegs and hooves inches from his face. His heart, still misplaced and resting much higher than his chest, began pulsing so rapidly that the sounds of terror that he meant to be screams only came out as squeaks. A spark of fire caught and played in a flashing eye above him and Cody jerked his head away to avoid looking into those horrible eyes again.
Finally, he was able to work around the knot of terror and screamed into the night, kicking and thrashing and shielding his eyes from the dark figure looming over his bedroll, feeling his body go clammy with horror.
The other riders jumped to their feet before their eyes opened fully, staring in disbelief, then fear. They stumbled backwards slowly, their eyes wide and full of panic as they saw the black horse that was hovering over their thrashing, screaming friend.
To be continued...Chapter 4
Copyright 1998-This work is not to be reproduced without the permission of the author
