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.
Kid rode Katy as hard as he dared, his legs barely strong enough to grip her sides but he was determined to get to his wife's side. Sending her away when he was injured so she didn't have to cope with him in his incapacity was one thing, but having to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing if she would live or die was not something that he could stand. By the time he reached the old Sweetwater station, Katy was latherd and breathing hard, a think sheen of moisture covered Kid's face, his shirt soaked with his own sweat, the exertion of the ride almost more tan his fatigued body could take, but his love of his wife far outweighed his own needs.
He hadn't thought of how he would climb off Katy's back when he arrived but now that he had arrived he knew that he was going to have trouble getting from her back to whereever Lou was. Seated on Katy's bare back he looked critically around the waystation that had been his home so long ago. Knowing that even before his long ride his legs were practically useless he decided that he would need to dismount as close to the house, which is where he assumed Lou would be, as possible. He rode Katy as close to the porch as he could and using the increased strength he had gained in his upper body to grab hold of the banister and swing himself off his beloved horses back and onto the stairs. Emboldened by the fact that his legs did not give out beneath him, he used his arms to pull himself up the stairs practically dragging his semi co-operative legs as he moved. The strength of his love for Lou the only thing keeping him upright. Desperate to find the tiny woman who meant more to him than life itself he inched his way across the porch to the door and pushing it open, facing a new worry.
In his haste to get to Lou he had forgotten all about the internal staircase, taking a deep breath, he gradually made his way through the door and clinging to the sparse furnishings, he eventually reached the bottom of the stairs the already tortured muscles in his legs screaming with pain, each step feeling as though his lower limbs were made of jelly, his face a lather of perspiration. Knowing that the stiars were well and truly beyond his capabilities didn't stop him. He started to pull himself up the stairs using as much power as he could muster from his arms, but his face contorted in concentration, he realised that he wasn't going to succeed, he turned to drop heavily on to the step and dragged himself up, it took him some time to reach the top of the staircase, and pulling himself back to his feet he paused to wipe his furrowed brow, almost overbalancing in the process, clutching frantically at the banister for balance as he nearly tooppled head first to the bottom of the stiarcase.
Buck spurred his horse, trying to make it travel faster than he was already flying across the plains. He knew that he was pushing the animal too hard, but he had worked too hard with his friend to let him destroy the tiny amount of self confidence that he had gained in just one morning. He knew that he wasn't far behind Kid, but he also knew that Kid would not let the possibility of personal injury come before his love of Lou. Buck knew that he, himself would gladly take a bullet for Lou without a moment's hesitation but, in saying that he knew that Kid's protectiveness of his tiny wife was what had forced him to push her from him, and was in fact the same thing that was forcing him to race across the plains to save her.
Kid awkwardly clawed his way along the wall to Emma's old bedroom, knowing somehow that Lou would be there, and she would draw comfort from being in that room. The regret that consumed him when he thought of having sent Lou away was enough to make fresh tears spring to his eyes. The pain that burned through his soul when he thought that he had subjected Lou to the same pain that he was currently feeling didn't help either. He hadn't meant to make her feel the desolation and pain that he was now sure that she had suffered since his accident, he realised now that he was wrong to shield her from his injuries and his recuperation.
Back to the last chapter
Back to Ridingtall
Back to Tall Tales
On to the next chapter
