by Janet
Disclaimer: The characters and
situations of the TV program "Big Valley" are the creations of Four
Star/Republic Pictures and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended by the
author. The ideas expressed in this
story are copyrighted to the author.
Written in response to a writing challenge by Linda, who wrote the first
paragraph.
Jarrod Barkley made one last futile attempt
to move and only broke off when the pain from his trapped leg became absolutely
unbearable. He leaned his back against
the shifting bank of earth and shook the sweat from his eyes. It was bitterly cold, but the effort to free
himself had made him sweat profusely.
He felt lonely and afraid and another emotion coursed strongly through
him too. Bitter fury, all self-directed
made him so angry that he trembled and could barely breathe. Stupid, he thought, of all the stupid things
to do! All his life he had criticized
his hotheaded brother Nick for his impulsive actions, now I’ve been a bigger
fool than either of my stubborn brothers Nick or Heath could ever be! As he lay there trying to decide how to free
himself from this predicament, he thought back to how he had gotten in this
position in the first place.
He had been on his way to Baker City to meet with a man, who had employed his
current client. As he was riding along,
he didn’t see the rattler that was coiled by the side of the road. By the time he heard it, it was too
late. His normally calm horse became
very agitated as it sensed the snake nearby.
“Easy boy,” Jarrod said. “What is it.”
He patted his horse’s mane trying to calm him.
As they got closer to the snake, the rattler coiled up ready to
strike. The horse reared, surprising
Jarrod. He lost his grip on the reins,
falling backward off his horse. He hit
the ground with a thud, rolling down an embankment. When he came to a stop, he was trapped in the loose dirt and
rocks that had been loosened by his fall.
He was buried up to his waist in the dirt and could feel the pain from
his left leg. He knew it was probably
broken.
“How could I have been so stupid,” he said aloud angry with himself. “I just wasn’t paying attention to my
surroundings and didn’t see or hear the snake until it was too late.”
Jarrod looked around for something he could use to dig himself out of this
loose dirt. He couldn’t find anything
useful.
“If only Nick and Heath knew where I was,” he said. “They could help me dig out.
The more I try to free myself, the more dirt falls in around me. No one will ever find me down here.”
He looked up at the top of the embankment.
He couldn’t see his horse or the road.
He began to feel a sense of panic rising inside of him as he thought
about his situation. The sun was almost
gone and the air was causing him to shiver despite the fact that he was wearing
his brown suede jacket. His blue shirt
was muddy and dirty. His breathing was
slowly getting somewhat labored from the cold air that choked him.
“Help!” he called. “Can anyone hear
me? I’m down here!
He didn’t hear anything but his own heartbeat pounding in his chest. He again tried to dig himself out but it was
no use. He was trapped and he knew he
would die if he wasn’t found or able to free himself.
Chapter Two
Back at the Barkley Ranch, Nick and Heath were working with a string of horses
they purchased several days earlier.
Heath was trying to break one when he was thrown to the hard ground. He climbed to his feet and looked over at
Nick.
“Don’t say it,” he said.
“Don’t say what?” Nick asked smiling.
“Don’t tell me that I didn’t get the job done,” he answered. “I know I didn’t. This is the ornery horses I’ve ever tried to break.”
While Heath was going on about the horse, Nick had stopped listening. He felt a pang of fear grab him. He tried to figure out what had caused
it. Then it hit him.
“Heath,” Nick said, “let’s go.”
“What are you talking about?” Heath asked.
“I’m still trying to break this horse.”
“Come on,” Nick answered, grabbing Heath by the arm. “Something’s wrong.”
“What is it?” Heath asked.
“I’m not sure,” Nick answered. “Let’s
go to the house. Maybe mother can
help.”
The two brothers packed up their gear.
It was dark when they rode up to the barn. Dismounting, they handed their horses’ reins to two of the
hands. Heath had a hard time keeping up
with Nick.
Walking in the front door, Nick looked for his mother.
“Mother!” he called. “Mother!”
Victoria walked out of the kitchen, looking slightly annoyed at her second born
son.
“What are you hollering about Nick?” she asked. “One of these days you’re going to break every window in this
house not to mention my eardrums.”
“Mother,” Nick said looking very serious.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Something is wrong,” he answered. “I felt
the grip of fear and it was so strong.
I know something is definitely wrong.”
“The only time you have that feeling is when Jarrod is hurt or in some kind of
trouble,” she said.
“I think that’s what it is,” he replied.
“I don’t know if he’s hurt or what but I need to find him.”
“He’s on his way to Baker City to interview a witness in his current case,” she
told him. “He won’t be back until
Friday.”
“He might not be back at all unless I find him,” he said.
“He went by horse,” she replied. “Are
you going after him?”
“Yes,” he told her. “If he is in some
kind of trouble, Heath and I will find him.”
“All right,” she said. “Be
careful. And bring your brother home
safely.”
“We will,” Nick replied.
The two brothers headed out the door to search for their brother, Jarrod.
Chapter Three
Jarrod was having a hard time resting in his current position. The temperature was continuing to drop and
he was now shivering. He looked around
but it was too dark to see anyone or for that matter anything. Fear gripped him, as he knew he would
probably be dead by morning.
“Nick!” he screamed hoping that his younger brother might somehow hear him over
the distance between them. But he knew
it was a futile gesture.
“At least I can die like a man and not a coward,” he said out loud.
He tried one last time with his last remaining energy to free himself with no
results. Finally, unconscious claimed
him.
Nick and Heath were traveling the road between Stockton and Baker City. It was dark but they could make out shadows
enough to stay on the road. As they
neared the embankment where Jarrod lay, both horses became jittery and
nervous.
“What is it Cocoa?” Nick asked.
“Charger is also nervous,” Heath answered.
They stopped, dismounting from their horses.
They looked around but didn’t see anything. Then Nick thought he heard something just ahead. He walked a little further down the road and
saw Jarrod’s horse grazing on the side of the road.
“Heath!” Nick called. “Over here!”
Heath joined his brother.
“It’s Jarrod’s horse,” he said. “He has
to be in this area somewhere.”
“It’s too dark to see,” Heath replied.
“We’ll never find him.”
“We have to,” Nick told him. “The temperature is continuing to drop. He’ll freeze to death if we don’t.”
Nick began to scout around the best he could in the dark. He came to the edge of the road, looking
down. He didn’t see anything. Then the ground gave way under his
feet. He slid down the embankment
landing on something soft. Looking very
closely, he realized it was Jarrod he had landed on.
“Heath!” Nick called. “I found
him! It looks like he’s buried under a
mound of loose dirt.”
“I’ll throw down a rope!” Heath yelled.
A few minutes later, a rope was beside of Nick. Nick quickly tied it around Jarrod securing it tightly. Then he pulled on it to let Heath know he
was ready for him to pull Jarrod to safety.
Heath had tied the other end of the rope to the saddle horn of Charger. He was sitting on the horse’s back, making
him back up. Nick climbed up as Jarrod
was finally freed from the dirt. Once
they had him up top, Nick checked him to see what injuries his brother had.
“Broken leg,” he said. “Bruised ribs
from the dirt caving off and possibly the fall itself. He’s also almost frozen. We need to get him warm.”
“I’ll find some wood and start a fire,” Heath replied.
“I’ll try to set his leg the best I can,” Nick told him.
An hour later, there was a roaring fire going.
Nick had Jarrod’s leg in a splint and he was trying to get him to drink
some warm coffee. Jarrod’s eyes shot
open and he jumped.
“Easy Jarrod,” Nick said. “You’re all
right.”
“Where am I?” Jarrod asked a little disoriented.
“You’re on the road,” Nick answered.
“We pulled you up a while back.”
“My leg,” he said.
“It’s broken and I splinted it,” Nick replied.
“Try to drink some more of this coffee.”
Jarrod relaxed, drinking the warm coffee.
He looked over at Nick with gratitude for they’re saving his life.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see another morning again,” he said. “I just knew I would die at the bottom.”
“I felt a pang of fear today at the ranch,” Nick replied. “I knew you were in trouble.”
“Thank goodness you did,” Jarrod told him.
“How did you wind up at the bottom of that embankment?” Heath asked.
“There was a rattler coiled up on the side of the road,” Jarrod answered. “I didn’t see it until it was too late. My horse threw me and I rolled down the hill
loosening dirt as I went. When I
finally stopped, I was buried in it up to my waist.”
“You’re going to be fine,” Nick said,
“once we get you back to Stockton.
Dr. Merrar needs to check that leg along with your ribs. I think you may have a broken one or two.”
“I don’t know if I can ride Nick,” Jarrod replied. “My leg.”
“We’ll get you up on the horse,” Heath told him.
“Heath’s right,” Nick said. “You’ll be
good as new in a few weeks.”
“I hope so,” Jarrod replied.
Chapter Four
The next morning, Nick and Heath sat Jarrod up on his horse and the three of
them returned to Stockton. Jarrod was
aided into the doctor’s office where Dr. Merrar examined him.
“Nick,” he said, “you did a nice job on setting his leg. All I have to do is bind his ribs.”
“How is he?” Nick asked concerned.
“Jarrod has a couple broken ribs and some exposure to the cold,” he answered. “But he’ll be fine in a few weeks. I want you to take it easy for a while.”
“Don’t worry doc,” Jarrod said. “I
will.”
THE END