Choices

Written by Wendy

Disclaimer: This story is in no way meant to infringe on the rights of the creator of the series The Young Riders, Ed Spielman and Ogiens/Kane. All other characters are copyrighted by the author.

Buck reined Racing Moon to a stop beside the swiftly flowing stream that Lou had rested by earlier that day and dropped lightly to the grassy bank. He crouched down and searched the ground for more of Lightning's tracks. He had followed Lighting's almost up to the stream, but had suddenly lost them ten feet from the bank. The suddenness of their disappearance had alarmed them, but he had brushed aside the panic he had felt until he could do a thorough search of the surrounding area.

Ike, Kid and Jimmy dismounted and led their horses down the embankment to the water's edge, Ike taking Racing Moon's reins from Buck and leading him along with Thunder. Carefully Buck scrutinized the grass-covered ground for hoof prints and was relieved when he found another set a short distance away heading toward Ft. Kearney. Almost instantly his relief faded away when he realized that two of the hoof prints were located near what appeared to be a body sized indentation in the grass, a petite indentation to be exact. That indentation alone told him what he had already feared, that Lou was injured and seeking help in Ft. Kearney. As much as he hated to be the one to tell Kid and Jimmy what he suspected, he knew that he had to. They needed to be prepared in case it was serious.

With some reluctance, Buck stood up and made his way down the embankment to the water's edge. His fellow riders turned toward him with questioning looks on their faces. He ignored the looks they gave him, dropped to a crouch beside the stream, cupped his hands and drank thirstily of the refreshing water.

Ike pounded on his chest to get Buck's attention and asked him the question they all wanted to know the answer to. (Is Lou still heading for Ft. Kearney?)

"Yes," Buck answered. He paused a moment before he continued, "I also found a body sized indentation in the ground at the top of the embankment. It looks like it could have been made by someone as small as Lou."

"What are you trying to say, Buck? Do you think something's happened to Lou?" Kid demanded.

"No, I'm just telling you what I found. Besides, she must not be hurt too bad because she's still heading into Ft. Kearney," Buck replied.

"We're not going to find out what's wrong with Lou standing around here," Jimmy said, starting up the embankment with Sundancer.

Kid, Buck and Ike followed behind him and once up top, all four riders quickly mounted their horses and kicked them into motion, each filled with even more determination to find the missing female rider.

Chapter 54

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