DISCLAIMER: The Young Riders is the creation of Ed Spielman, and the property of Ogiens/Kane productions in association with MGM/UA television. This Story is created for entertainment purposes only, no infringement intended. Not to be copied without permission from the author.
The gate guard looked up with a frown as the scout came back, this time holding two Indians firmly in a rope, a bandanna covering his face. The two squealed to get free, but the blonde scout struggled against them with a grin.
"Are you gonna open or what?" he asked the guard, who this time decided he had to ask what he should've done before.
"You have permission to take these two?"
Cody swallowed, then went on with his scam.
"Of course I do! The colonel ordered these two moved to the sick prisoners. They have some disease, they're all covered in red marks," he lied.
"Some disease? Red marks? Says who?!" the guard spat in disbelief.
Cody took a step closer, whispering into his ear.
"I would love to show you the rash, but there's a too big risk with that, see. I may already have their disease, and in case you don't want it too, you better let us through and not say anything. 'Cuz if you do, all hell breaks loose, and we don't want that, do we?"
The guard took a reluctant step back, letting the three pass him.
"Good work, soldier. Remember, not a word to anyone!"
The guard shook is head, closing the gate, waving in the air to scatter possible bacteria.
Cody grinned under his hat, content with the result of his lie. Gray Moon and Wild Buck smiled at each other, then followed Cody through the Fort. No questions were asked, too many Indians and slaves were moved around already. They just blended in, heading for Cody's tent.
Buck woke slowly, hearing the words spoken by his wife. He looked up, her smiling face by is side.
"Gray Moon?"
"Running Buck, don't talk," she whispered, stroking his feverish forehead.
Cody looked on from across the tent, a faint smile on is face. Wild Buck sat by his father's side, evidently scared to death, but he didn't say anything. He wanted to be brave, just like his father had taught him.
Buck wanted to sit up, wanted to know where he was and what had happened, but his wife made him relax and kept soothing him with her soft words. He was about to close his eyes, when suddenly he saw someone standing behind Gray Moon.
"Cody?"
"Hi, Buck. Slept well? That bed isn't the most comfortable in the world, but it's better than the bunkbeds on the post stations," he grinned, Buck again forcing his tired body to move.
He still couldn't sit up, his arms and legs not obeying, so Cody took a few steps closer to the bed.
"I was wondering when I might see you again," the Kiowa mumbled, realizing he couldn't keep himself awake any longer.
"Me too, but maybe you shouldn't talk now. You look like you could use some rest," he said, giving his friend's hand a quick pat.
Buck nodded, though he wanted to stay awake. His eyes closed and thanks to his wife's soft caress he was soon asleep, dreaming of his Kiowa brothers in a reservation, tortured by the army soldiers and starved to death.
He awoke with a heavy moan just an hour later, his family instantly by his side.
"How are you, my husband?" Gray Moon asked, noticing how Buck was looking around for Cody.
"He isn't here, he had to help a few bluecoats with the prisoners. Again, how are you?"
"Better, I think. Listen, we have to get out of here, all of us. We can't go to a reservation, they'll kill us!" he spoke, his heart pounding hard in his chest, breathing fast and short.
"Running Buck, you must calm yourself. This isn't good for you," Gray Moon spoke sincerely, stroking his hair.
"You have to trust me, Gray Moon. You must warn Red Bear and the others, they have to escape!"
Beads of sweat trickled from his face and neck, eyes wide open and on fire with desperation.
"Wild Buck, get me that bowl of water over there," Gray Moon said to her son, who obeyed immediately.
He handed her the water and she soaked a cloth from the bedside table, placing it on her husband's forehead.
"Please, Running Buck, calm down. I will do what I can for the others, but you are and always will be my first priority. Lay back and rest now," she spoke silently, wiping at his pale and clammy face.
Buck took a few deep breaths before doing like she asked, closing his eyes for a moment. The images of the starving Kiowas rushed through his head, making him nearly scream. He could see Red Bear and his family among the prisoners, begging the soldiers for help but receiving none.
He drifted off to sleep again, his wife carefully trying sooth his dreams, but she wasn't very successful. She also appeared in them, pale and scrawny, holding their son in her arms. As he walked through the dream he didn't know if Wild Buck was dead or not, but the despair in his wife's eyes gave him all the answers he needed. He wanted to hug her, but she was too far away, and he seemed to be floating past her, unable to stop himself. As he came closer and closer to a soldier with a rifle aimed at him, he screamed waking both himself and his family.
When Cody returned, he was informed of Buck's troubled sleep. He wanted to call on the army doctor again, but knew it would be a fatal mistake. Sooner or later someone would ask questions about his visit and it seemed smarter not to return for yet a couple of days. It was anyway little McKinley could do.
Gray Moon and Wild Buck stayed in Cody's tent, silent as mice, instinctively listening for a possible visitor outside. Cody brought them food whenever he could, but he constantly has to be on a keen lookout for suspicious eyes.
Three days passed, Buck gaining some strength and color, but still too weak to get out of bed. Cody came running into the tent on the fourth morning, a big smile on his face.
"You can never guess what the Captain just told me!" he said, three pair of curious eyes meeting his.
"What?" Gray Moon asked, Buck trying to rise in his cot, but couldn't.
"The Fort doesn't need my help until Friday, so I have five days off to spend anyway I want!" the blonde man smiled wider, the three looking at him not really understanding what he meant by that.
"So?" Buck asked, voice hoarse, not used to talking again.
"So, I can help ya'all get out of here! I could take you to a white town somewhere, the sooner we start planning, the better!"
Buck bit his lip. He knew now what Cody spoke about, and it mean leaving Red Bear and the other Kiowas behind. They would no doubt end up in a reservation, while he and his family would be free and he wasn't too sure he could live with that on his conscious. Cody noticed how the two adult faces fell and their eyes met in a wry way. Gray Moon had the same thoughts her husband had, and she wasn't too happy about leaving her friends and kin in a reservation either.
"What's with you?!" Cody cried, sitting himself down on a chair.
"It's a great opportunity, Cody, but I don't know if we can do that. Maybe you should just help us back to the Kiowas…?" Gray Moon spoke, carefully caressing Buck's hand, eyes moist with tears.
"Buck?" Cody tried, his friend hesitantly shaking his head.
"Alright, if that's what you wish, but you're forgetting one important thing here. What about you freedom? Don't you think your son and his family has the right to be raised in a free place, instead of in a reservation? You gotta think about the future," the scout said, his eyes too filling with unwelcome tears.
Buck noticed the sudden emotions in his friend's look, sighed deeply with doubt. Cody was right in a way, bus still they belonged with the Kiowa, didn't they?
Buck's thoughts drifted to the memories of his dreams, dreams he still couldn't get rid of. He saw his wife hold their son, the rifle pointed at his head, heard the screams and pleas of his family and friends. No, a reservation is no place for me, he thought, hoping his wife would agree. She looked into his absent eyes, calling back his attention with a soft voice.
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
The scout was just as eager to know what Buck was thinking of, wanting to help his friend and his family. No matter what, he said to himself, I'll get 'em wherever they want to be.
"Alright," Buck started, eyes lingering between his wife, son and Cody.
"I don't want to see what I already know. I can't take you to a reservation," he said to Gray Moon, who nodded in approval.
It was getting mighty dark, Cody sneaking with some blankets and food from the mass. He made it to his tent unseen, where Gray Moon was helping her husband to stand up. He was dizzy, weak and stubborn. Gray Moon wanted him to stay in bed for at least one more day, but the former warrior wanted to get going right away. Cody was right, the sooner the better.
"I'll take you to a hideout near the Fort. Then I'll sneak into Laramie and get a horse and a wagon. I'll follow you for as long as I can, but I only have till Friday."
Buck nodded, another wave of fierce dizziness striking him. Gray Moon held him by the shoulder, her son on the other side, both of them supporting him the best way they could.
"I can never repay you for this," he mumbled, Cody shaking his head.
"Nope, you got that right!" he smirked, taking a leather strap from under his cot and tied the blankets together into a roll.
He placed the meat and bread he had 'borrowed' in a backpack, handing it to Wild Buck. The boy took it with a hidden smile, well knowing what was happening and loved the few moments of excitement.
"You're gonna get cold," Cody pointed out, taking out a shirt and handed it to the barely standing Buck.
"Are we all set otherwise?"
They were on their way, sneaking in the shadows of the Fort, watching out for bluecoats and other hindrances. The big problem would be getting out of the gate, Cody thought, taking a firmer grip of Buck's arm as the Kiowa nearly fell over in exhaustion already.
"Come on, Buck," he whispered, leading him and the others toward the big gate ahead.
"We won't make it out," Buck mumbled, closing his eyes to fight both pain and weakness.
"Sure we will," Cody insisted, moving closer to a nearby building.
Securely in the shadows he let Buck down on a bench, his wife immediately wiping at his forehead with her sleeve, talking to him and her son in Kiowa. Buck just barely replied with a tired grin.
"I'm gonna confuse the guard a little, when he's gone you hurry like hell was on your tail out the gate," Cody spoke, Gray Moon nodding.
"You hear that, Buck?" Cody asked, noticing how his friend was about to fall asleep or something.
"I hear ya. Just do what you have to do and quick," the tired Kiowa brave spoke, not knowing he stumbled over the words.
"Okay, you hang in there now" Cody said, looking down at Buck's abdomen.
He was bleeding through the shirt, but so far it wasn't so bad. But it soon would be, he thought, nodding once at Gray Moon before he headed toward the gate guard, a plan forming in his head.
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