Rain started to pelt Ike as he entered the bunk house. Inside, the riders sat at the table in a heated discussion with Teaspoon leaning back in a chair and listening. When Ike entered, they all jumped to their feet.

"Did they leave yet?" Hickok asked.

Ike looked at them with a mixture of sorrow and anger. "Yes, they’re gone."

Hickok, Cody and Kid sat down, letting out a sigh of relief. "Now things will return to normal," Cody stated.

Ike shot a look at Cody. "What do you mean by that?"

"They’ve been causing a bit of trouble ‘round here, son, from what I’ve been hearing," Teaspoon said.

"They messed with Katie’s saddle," Kid stated. "I have to go buy a new one in town tomorrow."

"And they dropped all the hay out of the loft," Cody added. "It took Kid and me three days to get it all up there."

"And poor Buck," Hickok finished.

"What about Buck?" Ike asked.

Buck stood up from the bunk he sat in. Through his vest you could see his ribs wrapped in bandages. He tried to hide the pain he was in from his face. "They tried to kill me."

Ike looked at them in shock. "How can I believe you? They were nothing but kind to me."

"They were kind to you because you were like them, Ike," Kid pointed out.

Ike’s eyes opened wide. He gritted his teeth and turned to walk out.

"Ike…" Buck started to say, but Ike cut him off with a wave of his hand. Without another sign, he walked out the door and into the storm.

In the barn, Ike looked around at the damage that was inside. A saddle was water stained, and it was tossed in a large pile of hay in the middle of the barn. He also saw a few other things that were not normal in the barn. However, he could see answers for them. The hay loft’s railing had popped from the wall, and a hole was in the roof of the barn above Katie’s stall, in which dripped on her now. Sighing, Ike went over to Katie and took her out of the stall and into another dry one.

"Ike?" a voice called out. Ike turned and saw Buck standing in the barn doorway. Ike turned back around and got a blanket to put over Katie.

"Ike, they were only telling you the truth," Buck stated.

"The truth as they wanted it to be," Ike replied.

"No, the truth as it was," Buck stated. "Do you think I would make up something like this to get rid of a bunch of people?"" With that, Buck opened up his vest to show the full bandages. Some blood was seeping through on the right side, showing that the rib had broken through there. Ike looked at the ribs then shook his head.

"Ike, they were up to something here. I don’t know what they wanted, but they sure didn’t want to be friends."

"They wanted to be friends with me!" Ike signed. He turned to look at Buck, trying to hold back tears. "I finally had someone here who I could talk to, who understood me and what was going through my mind."

"I thought we were that close," Buck stated.

"We are, but they were close in a different sense…"

"Because they were mute, right?" Ike nodded. "Ike, they were using you. They knew that you had something in common, and they used that to accomplish whatever they wanted to do here."

"You think they came here to just mess up the hay, Kid’s saddle and hurt you?"

"I don’t know WHAT they came here for, but it wasn’t because of you."

Ike took a step back from Buck. His mind went to Julie and Adam. They hadn’t been lying to him. But Buck wasn’t either. Something was wrong. Who was telling him the truth? Ike picked up Kid’s saddle and examined it better. It didn’t look that damaged.

"Ike, let’s just go back to the bunkhouse. You need to rest anyway. Teaspoon wants you to cover my ride tomorrow so I can rest."

Ike turned his head. Furious, he threw the saddle to the floor. "And why do I have to take the ride? Can't anyone else?"

"Teaspoon thought you wouldn't mind --"

Well, I do mind!" Ike signed with such anger that Buck almost lost the translation. Looking into Ike's eyes, Buck saw a fire there that he had only seen once or twice before, and it scared him.

"Ike, what is wrong?"

"I'm tired of being treated like I'm not important. Wilson was right, all you guys do is take advantage of me, and I'm tired of it."

Ike stormed out of the barn and ran to the bunkhouse through the heavy rain. Buck tried to follow, but the mud his rib kept him from running. By the time he reached the bunkhouse, Ike stormed out again, a bag and bedroll in his arms. The rest of the riders ran out, watching him in shock.

"IKE!" Buck shouted over the rain. "What are you doing?!"

Ike did not even turn back. He went into the barn, and a few seconds later rode away on his horse. The rest of the riders looked at Buck, not knowing what had happened.

"What happened, Buck?" Kid asked.

But Buck did not answer. He just stared through the rain as Ike's form disappeared into the storm.

The rain was falling so hard that Ike had a hard time keeping his horse on the right path. He could faintly make out the wagon wheel marks in the mud from the wagon that carried Julie.

You were right, Ike thought. They were just using me. I was nothing more to them then a scape goat.

An image of Buck came to Ike's mind suddenly. He saw times from when they were kids, and how they stuck together through everything. Pushing back tears, Ike pushed the memory from his mind.

Another memory took its place. This one was of Ike and all the riders. They stood together in a room, all dressed up. They were all being buddies, keeping each other company. Then, one by one, the other riders started dancing with girls until it was Ike and Buck left. The two stood side by side. Then a young girl approached. She looked at Ike, and then at Buck. Ignoring Ike, she took Buck and swung him onto the dance floor, leaving Ike by himself.

From the memory, a vision of Julie came to his mind. He saw her, the smile of her face, the innocence and love in her eyes. Biting his lip, Ike urged his horse on.

Suddenly, a streak of lightning hit the ground close to Ike, and his horse bucked. Ike tried to hold on, but his saddle was slick and he fell off. As he landed, his head hit a rock, and he started to fade out. Just as he lost consciousness, Ike saw a pair of boots in front of his eyes, and a familiar looking hand reach down to him.