Once Bitten: Twice Mad

America 1887

Times have changed. The country that was once booming, growing and thriving is now a wasteland of death and destruction.  A sickness has swept through the land and the results have been devastating. The war fought just over twenty years ago may have caused father and son to pick up guns against one another, but this sickness has caused father to eat son’s face off while daughter gnaws on mother’s leg.

Those that have avoided the sickness refer to those sick as ‘rabid’. The ‘rabid’ are mad. Crazy. They are rotting, mindless, killing machines that want only one thing; to sink their teeth into those that are not ‘rabid’. And in doing so cause their prey to catch the sickness and join their rabid mob.

As if hiding from the ‘rabid’ weren’t enough of a struggle, survivors must also worry about one another. Decency, honor and helping thy neighbor are a thing of the past. Now it’s survival of the fittest and only the strong will make it out alive.

Then an old man arrives, recruiting survivors to help him on a quest. A quest to the far west and the salvation that is said to lie there.

Join Colt, Ox, Silas, Comanche, Katherine, Charlotte, Frankie and Evangeline as each of them fights their own battle for survival, somehow ending up together on a journey to peace, redemption and possibly….. a cure?

Chapter One: Colt’s Nightmare

March 1887

                “Colt, the baby is crying.” Sarah whispered sleepily in the darkness of the bedroom. Colt grunted, his face smashed tight against his pillow.

                “Yep.”

                “Please, Colt… She’s not hungry just fussy. I’m so tired.” 

                Colt sighed and pushed himself to his feet. He fumbled in the dark for his trousers and pulled them on, nearly falling over sideways in the process and hearing Sarah laugh lightly when he grabbed the wall to regain his balance.

                “You’ll pay for that laugh just as soon as I get her quiet again.” Colt warned and Sarah pulled the blankets tighter around herself.

                “Promise?”

                Colt grumbled under his breath and left the bedroom, entering the den just out the door where his seven month old daughter was currently gripping the bars of her homemade crib and screaming for all she was worth.  

                The wood oven kept the inside of their tiny cabin warm, though Colt could feel the coldness of the wind when it blew and came through some of the tiny cracks between the logs. Tomorrow he would have to mud those walls up a little more.

                “What’s the matter with you, little Loralie?” Colt asked gently as he picked the girl up and cradled her against his bare chest. She looked up at him, a grin spreading across her chubby , round face. Colt smiled back and then gasped with pain when she buried her fists in the dark hair of his chest and yanked.

                “Why you little..!” he growled and then his daughter laughed, doing away with any anger he might have felt seconds ago. With a sigh, Colt carried Loralie to the rocking chair he had crafted the fall before  and sat down in the dark and quiet room.

                “Alright now, little Loralie, you gotta go to sleep or else your mama and your pa arent’ gonna be no good for nothin’ tomorrow.”

                Loralie tried to look around but Colt put his hand on the side of her head and held her against him, beginning to hum lightly as he rocked the most precious angel God had ever created.  Colt loved both the beautiful women in his life, though it wasn’t in his nature to say so, they knew it was the truth.

                Colt and Sarah had been married for just over two years and while their marriage had been more out of convenience than love it had slowly turned into love and that love had been solidified with the birth of their daughter. Little Loralie. The love of Colt’s life.

                He sat there humming and rocking for a long while, listening to the clock ticking on the wall and the sound of Loralie’s tiny breaths. It wasn’t’ until her body twitched a little in his arms that he realized she was sound asleep.

                Colt, stood and walked back to the tiny crib, laying his daughter down gently and covering her with the quilt that Sarah had spent all last summer making.

                Eager to get back to bed and get to paying his wife back for that laugh, Colt strode into the bedroom, sliding out of his pants as he moved. He climbed into the bed and crawled beneath the covers, chuckling when Sarah moaned grumpily in her sleep and tried to steal the cover back.

                “Sarah….” He whispered, allowing his breath to blow against her ear. She squirmed, bringing up her shoulders to try to block his advances. “Sarah I believe I made a promise to you.”

                “Colt…..” Sarah moaned as Colt’s lips danced across her bare shoulder and his tongue danced over the freckles that dusted them. “I’m tired….”

                Colt sighed with defeat and settled for wrapping his arm around her waist and snuggling his bare body up against hers.  Sarah mumbled a sleepy ‘I’m sorry and I’ll make it up to you’ and Colt simply kissed her hair and told her to go to sleep and it didn’t take long before sleep claimed him as well.

                The sound of his horses and chickens going crazy had him jerking awake a short time later.

                “Colt, what’s going on?!” Sarah demanded with fear as Colt jumped to his feet and looked out into the darkness. He couldn’t see anything but something was bothering the animals.

                “I don’t know.” Colt replied, pulling on his pants and his gun belt. Sarah hated the gun belt since it reminded her of Colt’s less than honest past and the outlaw side of himself that he had worked hard to bury since settling down with her.

                He checked to ensure his .45 Colt was loaded and then grabbed his rifle from beside the bedroom door.

                “Just stay in the house, Sarah, I’ll go check around. It’s probably just a coyote or somethin’.” Sarah nodded and Colt left the bedroom, glancing at Loralie sound asleep in her crib before opening the cabin door and stepping onto the porch.

                He hadn’t said anything to Sarah and she hadn’t said anything to him, but he knew they were both worried about the same thing. Worried that Colt’s past had come back to haunt him. It seemed once you were an outlaw you were always an outlaw and you constantly had to watch your back.

                He pulled a match from his pocket and lit the lantern hanging on the porch before pulling it down and holding it toward the barn. Faintly he saw the shadow of a man through the open barn door and he yelled out angrily.

                “Hey!” he growled, setting the rifle down and pulling his revolver as he strode angrily toward the barn. He would be damned before he let someone steal his horses in the dead of night.

                He entered the barn and froze. “What the hell…………” he gasped when he saw the man laying atop Colt’s finest mare. The horse was dead and sprawled out in the hay and the man was chewing on her neck.

                “What the hell are you doing?!” Colt demanded and then he wished he hadn’t spoken. The man stood and turned and Colt nearly cried out at the sight he was met with. The man’s face was covered in blood and fur as well as open sores. His eyes were clouded over and looked much like the eyes of a dead man.

                The mans’ movements were jerky and uncoordinated as he took steps toward Colt and his arms reached for him, his fingers clawing and stretching.

                Colt stumbled back several steps, the lantern  crashed to the ground quickly igniting the dry hay.

                “Gnaaa!!” the man yelled as he kept coming for Colt. Colt raised his gun and fired a shot as he continued to back away.

                The bullet ripped through the man’s chest in a shot that would have dropped any living man dead. This man simply let out an ear piercing, blood curdling scream and then began to run at Colt.

                Colt jumped out of the way, rolling across the dirt as the flames picked up energy and began to lick at the walls of the barn. Colt had to kill…whatever the hell this was… and then get his horses and milk cows out of that death trap.

                Colt fired another shot into the man’s back but still the man just screamed and then turned back toward Colt. Colt caught a flash of metal on the man’s hand and recognized his neighbors ring.

                “Wallis?!” He demanded. “Wallis what the hell happened to you?!”  Wallis simply let out another one of those muffled ‘Gnaaas!’ and stumbled toward him, gnashing his teeth.  

                “COLT!!!” Sarah’s voice cut through the night and Colt looked toward the cabin to see more jerking, stumbling figures entering through the open door.

                “Sarah!” Colt cried. He felt something tug on his leg, as he lay on the ground and realized that Wallis had grabbed his pants leg. Colt kicked out with his other foot, catching Wallis in the face but if it fazed the crazed man then it didn’t show.

                Wallis lowered his face toward Colt’s calf and Colt realized with horror that the man was trying to bite him.  He fired a shot into Wallis’s head and the man released his hold on Colt and fell into the dirt.

                “Note to self: aim for the head.” Colt mumbled and then he heard Sarah scream again and he jumped to his feet and raced toward the cabin. He shot a woman on the porch in the head, showing no hesitation before putting a bullet into her blood covered, gnashing mouth.

                Sarah’s pain filled scream came from inside and Colt grabbed up his rifle and burst inside, his heart skittering to a stop when he saw the teenage boy on top of his wife. Sarah was fighting and struggling beneath him as he sunk his teeth into her bare shoulders and ripped out chunks of her tender flesh.

                “Sarah!” Colt bellowed as he fired a shot quickly into the back of the boys head and the boy fell to the ground. Colt turned toward Loralie’s crib just in time to see a child sitting in the crib with her…A young child. A jerking, sore covered child.

                “Loralie!” Colt ran for the crib but not in time to stop the child from biting his screaming daughter’s leg. Colt grabbed the three year old, he recognized him as Wallis’s son, knowing that the teenaged boy biting Sarah had been Wallis’s other son and the woman on the porch, his wife.  Colt hated to do it but he tossed the child on the floor and fired a single shot from his rifle into its head when it snarled and lunged for him.

                Colt scooped his screaming daughter into his arms, shaking and trembling as he tried to comfort her. He crossed the room to Sarah to find her fevered and shivering on the floor, blood pouring from the gaping wounds along her shoulders and neck.

                What the hell was going on? Was he dreaming? God please let him be dreaming!

                Colt heard more noises coming from outside and he held his daughter tight as he looked out the window and saw more jerking, slow moving figures heading toward his cabin. It seemed the whole damn town had somehow turned into these mindless killing machines hell bent on eating his family.

                “Gnaa….” Colt turned slowly when he heard that soft feminine voice behind him and then saw his wife rising from the floor. Her movements were slow and jerking, uncoordinated, as she reached out her arm for him. Her soft brown eyes were clouded and gray as she took a shuffling step his way.

                “Sarah….” Colt whispered with dread. “Sarah, you gotta snap out of it…”

                “Gnaa!” she screeched and suddenly she was rushing his way, her teeth bared and her face contorting in ways that made her unrecognizable. Colt’s stomach turned as he fired off that shot and watched his wife’s beautiful face disappear. He had to save his daughter.

                Rushing out the back door of the cabin, Colt raced into the darkness, hoping he could escape the townspeople  and get his daughter to safety and find out what in the hell was going on. Try to find out what kind of sickness had caused this…..

                Loralie began to twitch in his arms and Colt looked down at her, feeling how hot and fevered her skin was against his bare chest. Her lips curled back in a snarl as he looked down at her blue eyes now clouded and gray.

                “No….” the word was little more than a choked sob as it escaped Colt’s lips, tearing out of his chest. Tears filled his eyes as his daughter tried to sink her teeth into his flesh and he dropped her to the dirty ground.

                Everything Colt loved was gone. His daughter continued to try to crawl her way to him, letting out shrieking screams of rage as her teeth gnashed together.

                Colt let out a bellow of anger, rage and desperation and turned. He reloaded his revolver as he ran toward the cabin and began to fire shots into the throng of monsters currently surrounding the building.

                He could hear his horses and livestock screaming in pain as the flames consumed his barn. Soon his revolver was out of shots and Colt raised the rifle, killing more. 

                Still more came and Colt wanted them all to die. They had ripped his life away from him and he had no idea why. No idea what was going on. No idea what had caused this. Colt was enraged, angry, desperate and heartbroken. Not caring if he lived or died, just wanting to send as many of these monsters to hell as he could before they took him with them.

                He picked up a shovel that had been leaning against the porch and began to swing, taking off heads and limbs as the monsters swarmed around him.

                Colt knew he was going to die; was almost welcoming it, when gun blasts sounded and the monsters began to fall away from him.

                Colt saw a woman wielding guns and riding atop a huge black horse and she cried out in anger as she rode through the monsters leaving them dead or crawling in her wake.

                Colt was shoved down, cracking his head against the porch steps, when a monster grabbed his leg, and the last thing heard before he lost consciousness was the woman screaming for the monsters around them to rot in hell.

Chapter Two: They’re dead, they eat folks and ya shoot ’em in the head

Frankie watched the man sleeping restlessly beside the small fire she’d built to try to keep him warm. What kind of man spent his nights fighting off the ‘rabid’ with a shovel while wearing nothing but a pair of trousers? Apparently this man. It didn’t seem he was going to wake any time soon and so Frankie let her mind wander.

                Born Frances Wynamier Valgred, Frankie had quickly doused her parent’s hopes that she would ever continue in her politician father and proper homemaker mother’s footprints. At the age of three she had killed her first squirrel with her hand made slingshot and had had it frying on her mother’s stove when the woman had come into the kitchen for tea with the other ladies from the garden club.  Then at age five she had been punished soundly when it was discovered that she had replaced her older brother’s coffee with ink and the ten year old had sported black teeth for a month.  At eight she’d been temporarily kicked out of school for sticking tacks on the schoolmarm’s chair and at nine she’d been kicked out permanently when she had knocked out the teeth of a boy much older than herself for making fun of her name.

                It was then that her parent’s had given up and sent her to live with her uncle. Uncle Gibbs had been different from her parents. He’d always been the black sheep and so Frankie fit in with him perfectly and he had understood her. As a matter of fact it was he that had given her the name Frankie after stating that it wasn’t right for a runt of a girl to have a name bigger than she was. Frankie had grumbled at being called a runt. She was five and half feet tall but no matter how much she ate she couldn’t gain weight. She had a thin, willowy frame that drove her crazy since people seemed to think that meant she was weak.  

                Uncle Gibbs had raised her right and while she wasn’t always the most honest of folks and she tended to have sticky fingers when the situation called for them, she knew how to take care of herself. That was why she’d survived so well when the ‘rabid’ had appeared.

                She’d been in New York City at the time, visiting mother and father dearest. They’d wanted to discuss her inheritance with her since she was now twenty-one years old. They had let her know she could have the ten thousand dollars upon her wedding day and she had laughed at them. Marriage and a wedding were something that Frankie had never wanted and hadn’t been able to see ever happening.

                The ‘rabid’ had been created in that city. A new drug, an elixir, said to cure all chances of the catching the fevers and illnesses that seemed to take so many lives so often, had had some unforeseen consequences.  Folks had been so eager for a ‘cure all’, a ‘miracle drug’, that they hadn’t paused to think that it sounded too good to be true.

                Her parents had taken the elixir as well, though Frankie had refused it. She wasn’t foolish enough to think that every sickness in the world could be cured and prevented by one drink of a thick, foul smelling elixir.

                That had been exactly one month ago and within a week every single person that had taken that elixir had changed. They had gone mad. Rabid. They only wanted to kill. They seemed to have no memories of their families or friends. Frankie had seen a mother turn on her own child and begin to chew the toddler’s cheek. Frankie had shot that mother but then had been forced to shoot the child as well when it had gone ‘rabid’ and attacked her.

                So Frankie had fled the city but the sickness had followed. It seemed that anytime a ‘rabid’ bit someone the sickness spread.

                A moan from the man beside the fire had Frankie jerking from her memories and coming back to the present. She didn’t like having a fire since the ‘rabid’ could smell the smoke and were sometimes drawn to it, but she figured with all the blood and death in the air around this strangers home, a small fire would more than likely remain unnoticed.

                “Are ya gonna live?” she asked as she stoked at the fire with a stick. The man shot bolt upright, his muscled torso gleaming in the firelight. He pulled his gun from the holster on his hip with an ease and grace that told Frankie he had a lot of experience at using the thing.  

                Frankie didn’t bat an eye when she found herself staring down the barrel of the .45 revolver. It wasn’t the first time she’d been in that position and with the way the world was quickly going to hell it wouldn’t be the last.     

                She barely fought the urge to let out the long ‘gnaaaa’ sound that the ‘rabid’ seemed so fond of making just to see if the man would really shoot her. Instead she held out her canteen of water and grinned. “Seein’ as how I saved your life back there, it’d be real shitty of you to pull that trigger.”

                The man blinked several times and then lowered his gun, sliding it back in the holster and taking the canteen from her hand. Frankie took a moment to study him as he drank deeply. He had a body that made it clear he’d lived a hard life. Bullet scars and knife scars marred his tanned torso. His face was rugged and sculpted. High cheekbones, firm lips, a straight nose and dark eyes. He had a dusting of stubble across his face and he looked sad. Tired and sad. Frankie wasn’t a real deep thinker but she would even say the man looked bone deep sad. Haunted even.

                It was a look she’d seen often on the faces of living folks she’d come across in the last three weeks. The sickness had spread far and wide and it had spread quickly. It had taken a week for the elixir to fully change all who had taken it and in that time those people had traveled, carrying their rabid sickness with them. There was no longer a single safe place. And that kind of thing led to a lot of haunted faces.

                “Can I ask you a question?” Frankie asked the man and he stared off into the night and nodded.

                “What the hell were you doin’ fightin’ off a bunch of the ‘rabid’ with a shovel?” The man raised a brow and looked at her. It was clear from his expression that he didn’t know what she was talking about.

                “You did know about the ‘rabid’ didn’t you?” The man shook his head. “Don’t you know how to talk?” Frankie asked with annoyance and the man nodded but didn’t speak.

                “Well since you seem to be a bit out of touch with the ‘rabid’ that have been takin’ over, I guess I’ll fill you in. Some folks, lots of folks, took some medicine that was promised to keep them from ever getting’ sick again. This medicine made them ‘rabid’ and caused them to want to do nothin’ other than eat those that weren’t ‘rabid’.”

                The man nodded, his jaw tightening. “Right…” Frankie continued, wondering why this man wouldn’t speak. “When the ‘rabid’ bite someone it causes the sickness to spread and it’s quickly spreading across the country.”

                The man nodded again, took another drink and handed her back her canteen. Frankie snorted.

                “Ain’t ya gonna thank me for savin’ you?”

                The man shook his head. Frankie saw that the sun was beginning to brighten up the sky, though it was still hidden behind the mountains around them.

                “Well I tend to not stick around one place too long so I gotta go.” Frankie said as she pushed herself to her feet. “You’ll find that sack there that I’m givin’ ya is full of some jerked beef and hardtack and an extra canteen of water. I gave you a couple of bullets too. You’ll want to stay on the move and get out of here soon.”

                The man gave her a questioning glance and Frankie rubbed the back of her neck. “Look, I don’t know a damned thing about you and I feel kinda bad leavin’ ya like this but I’ve learned that it’s best to be alone with the things that are goin’ on. … I hope you can understand me since you seem a bit off in the head… There are a few things you need to know and if you know these things then you should make it okay. So are you listenin’?”

                The man nodded but made no other response. Frankie sighed as she loaded up her few belongings into the saddlebags of her waiting horse.

                “Alright then. Once a person is ‘rabid’ they ain’t the person they were before and they never will be again. That’s somethin’ you gotta learn and ya gotta learn it quick. Here’s three things to go by, little gems of Frankie wisdom just from me to you. The rabid, they’re dead, they eat people and ya shoot ‘em in the head.”   

                The ghost of a smile pulled at the strange, quiet man’s lips and Frankie hopped on her horse and tipped her hat to him before galloping off into the thick forests on the tight mountain path. She had quite a few miles to cover before she reached her uncles cabin and she was hoping against hope that she’d fine him just as alive and un-cannibalistic as she’d left him a couple of months before.

---

                Colt didn’t bother getting up as he listened to the thundering hooves of the woman’s horse fade into the distance.

                His life was gone. His wife… His daughter…  Colt had worked so hard to become a man who deserved them over the last two years and now they were gone. They were gone simply because some yuppy city folks had wanted a quick fix for the common cold. He wished people with money, privilege and wealth had some brains to go with it.  All he saw when he closed his eyes were those ‘rabid’ bastards sinking their teeth into Sarah and Loralie.

                He wanted to go back and kill any of those monsters he had missed but he wouldn’t because he was too scared by what he might find… He didn’t want to see Loralie like that again. The strange woman, Frankie, had told him that once a person caught the sickness they didn’t get better and she had seemed to know what she was talking about so he trusted her word.

                Frankie had seemed to think he was soft in the head because he didn’t speak but Colt had no urge to speak again. He had failed his family, he hadn’t kept them safe, and a vow of silence was the least he could offer them. Until the day something made him feel alive again and he felt comfortable moving on he would never utter another word.

                It might seem a strange thing to some but the man who had raised Colt had been half injun and had instilled in Colt many of the beliefs of his people. When you lost something you had to grieve, had to mourn. A vow of silence seemed a fitting way to do that.

                Life as he’d known it was over. Colt pushed himself to his feet slowly and rubbed the lump on the back of his head. He wished that woman hadn’t saved him. He’d rather be dead than left to live without his wife and daughter.

                But alive he was and Colt hadn’t ever been a man who sat down and gave up without a fight. He’d teach these fucking ‘rabid’ a lesson. He had no horse but he had two good feet and there was a town not too far away. Colt was smart enough to know what he would probably find there but along with the ‘rabid’ monsters there should be supplies and hopefully living horses as well.

                Frankie had seemed surprised to learn he hadn’t known about this sickness but Colt hadn’t been off his farm in months. With town nearly a full days ride away, Colt only went two or three times a year whenever necessity required. The Wallis’s had been his closest neighbors and even their claim had been three hours away. How would Colt have known what was happening in the rest of the country? All he’d cared about was the little world he’d built with Sarah.

Colt slung the sack Frankie had given him over his shoulder and started into the woods. His shoulder’s thrown back and his spirit renewed with his new purpose.  He was alive for one reason now and one reason only. Vengeance.

Chapter Three: Whatever the hell it is, it ain’t right

Chapter Three: Whatever the hell it is, it ain’t right.

March 1887

                Charlotte pushed her heavily pregnant frame from the large four-poster bed and slid into her thin satin robe when she heard the front door to the home she shared with her husband slam closed. She let out a sigh when she realized that her husband was obviously not happy. She glanced out the window at the rain and wind currently battering their farm.

                It was the middle of the night and Jackson was just returning home from his trip into town which meant things had not gone well with the tobacco buyer. She lay her hand over her stomach. They had desperately needed things to go well with the tobacco buyer. Charlotte’s hand was trembling as she opened the bedroom door and walked down the hall toward the staircase. Jackson was sure to be in a terrible mood and whenever Jackson’s mood went south he took it out on her.

                Jackson had once been a wealthy man. The grand house they still lived in could attest to that fact, though if anyone took the time to really study their home, they would realize that everything was beginning to show its wear and age.

                Charlotte’s parents had forced her to marry the rich Tennessee tobacco grower nearly eight years before when she had been nineteen and he thirty-five. He had wanted a pretty, quiet, meek woman to give him an heir while tolerating his temper and his affairs, and Charlotte’s parents had wanted the money that came along with giving her to the man.

                It had taken seven years for Charlotte to finally get with child and Jackson had roared with rage and accused her of waiting until he was a pauper before giving him another mouth to feed. Not that there was ever much to eat here as it was…..

                Charlotte came down the stairs but Jackson was not standing beside the door in the foyer. Strange. He usually waited right there for her to join him. As a matter of fact it was clear that the man had kept his muddy boots and wet coat on as he walked back toward the dining room and kitchen.

                Charlotte cursed under her breath, knowing she have to clean the mess before she’d be able return to bed. She put a hand on her aching back, she was due any day now and her body seemed to hurt all over all the time. 

                The crashing of dishes in the kitchen had Charlotte all but running in her bare feet toward the sound. Was Jackson so drunk that he had fallen? She burst into the kitchen and then skidded to a stop on the cool tile floor.

                Jackson had his back to her, but she recognized his coat. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood all around him and the drops steadily dripping from his hands into the puddle that was forming on the light colored tile. Had he been attacked? Had her husband been shot?

                “Jackson?” she asked cautiously and instantly his movements stilled. Charlotte’s heart was thundering in her chest and she covered her large stomach with her hands, as if shielding her unborn child as Jackson turned slowly.

                His movements were… twitchy. He kept pausing and starting again and it seemed as if it were hard for him to make the motion.

                Then Charlotte saw his face and her legs nearly gave out beneath her. That was not her husband!  It was his body but those were not his eyes! Those were gray lifeless orbs staring out at her from a face that was bloody and covered in sores and…. Were those bites?   There was a gaping hole in Jackson’s chest and that was where the blood was coming from, covering the floor.

                “Jackson….” Charlotte managed to gasp. “What happened? You need a doctor!”

                “Gnaa…!” Jackson moaned and he began taking choppy steps in her direction. His thin, pale lips pulled back in a sneer and Charlotte saw his blood covered teeth snap together. Jackson had always had a temper and he’d been heavy handed with her on more than one occasion but right now he looked…. Monstrous. He looked like a walking dead man and he looked like he wanted her to join him.

                Charlotte screamed then. She turned on her bare heels and ran as quickly as her bouncing belly would allow her to. She could hear Jackson behind her, his boots pounding on the polished wood and that horrible sound coming from his lips.

                Why was he trying to kill her? What had happened to him? What in the hell was going on?

                Charlotte ran into the den and realized that in her panic she’d reached a dead end and backed herself into a corner. She was panting for breath, her heart was racing and the pains were intensifying in her low back. She turned and saw Jackson standing in the door. His arms reached for her. His long thin fingers were stretching and grasping toward her as he stepped forward.

                Charlotte wasn’t even aware of what she was doing as she grabbed the coal shovel from beside the fireplace and swung, catching Jackson in the arm and causing the man to scream as he stumbled to the side, tripping over his feet and tumbling to the floor.

                “I’m so sorry, Jackson!” Charlotte exclaimed, stepping toward him to help her husband. Clearly he was sick and needed her help. Tears poured down her cheeks as she neared him and then he hissed and leapt to his feet, coming toward her again with a rage on his face that made him unrecognizable.

                Charlotte sobbed as she backed away and gripped the small iron shovel in her hands. His arms stretched out, his fingers closing around the fabric of her robe. Charlotte screamed and swung the shovel again, catching him in the head. He fell sideways again but this time Charlotte did not try to help him. Instead she ran. She ran from the room and then from the house, going out into the night, the rain quickly soaking through her robe and nightdress and plastering her dark hair to her face.

                “Help!” She screamed, her voice drowned out by the rushing of the wind and the thundering rain. She could hear Jackson behind her. He was stumbling through the house and letting out that God awful ‘Gnaaaing’ sound.

                “Charlotte? Charlotte what’s going on?” Britton asked as he stepped out of the servants quarters that attached to the side of the house. He was the only servant still left in their employ since the money had begun to run out.

                “It’s Jackson!” Charlotte screamed running to the old man and seeking comfort in knowing she was no longer alone. “He’s gone crazy! Something is wrong with him and he’s trying to bite me.”

                Britton appeared as if he worried that she was the one who was crazy but then Jackson stepped from the house and the old man let out a cry of shock.

                “What in the world….” Britton gasped, shielding Charlotte’s body with his own as Jackson started toward them with those shuffling, jerking steps.

                “What is wrong with him?” Charlotte sobbed with desperation and clung to the back of his robe.

                Britton shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. Whatever the hell it is, it ain’t right.”  He took the shovel from Charlotte’s trembling hand. “I’ll protect you and the little one, Charlotte, you just go hide yourself now.”

                Charlotte wanted to argue but the pains were getting worse and a gush of wetness between her legs told her that her water had broken. She ran to the servant’s quarters, turning just in time to see Britton swing at Jackson with that shovel, missing and slipping on the muddy ground. Charlotte screamed in horror as Jackson fell upon the old man and sunk his teeth deep into his neck, twisting roughly and rending out a large chunk of flesh.

                Blood gushed from Britton’s neck and Charlotte vomited on the rock steps. She saw Jackson lower his head again and this time she turned her face away and ran into the servant’s quarters. She wasted no time before engaging the lock on the door and locking the shutters on the one window as well.

                She prayed that would be enough to keep Jackson out. Charlotte stumbled to the fire, trembling, crying and hurting both physically and emotionally. Her husband had just tried to kill her. He had killed Britton, a man who had been in her husband’s employ for over twenty years.  He had bitten him! Eaten his throat! Charlotte felt her stomach roll and she vomited again on the worn rug.

                She fell to her hands and knees as pains racked her body. Slowly she crawled closer to the fire, slipping out of her soaked robe and nightdress. She grabbed a worn green blanket and wrapped it around herself as she settled herself down beside the warm glow of the fireplace.

                She let out a scream as the pains intensified. She was going to have to do this alone. It was time for her child to be born.

                It seemed to be hours that Charlotte writhed and moaned in pain. She could hear Jackson beating against the wall and while it had scared her terribly, she had relaxed upon realizing that he couldn’t get in. She was safe…. For now.

                Sweat slicked her skin and she trembled and shook with the force of the birthing pains.

                When the tiny cries of her child finally filled the air inside the tiny servants house Charlotte wept more tears. She was spent as she lay her beautiful daughter upon her breast. She had no energy to clean either of them up just yet. She did reach out and grab a fire poker from beside the fireplace, holding the cold piece of iron in her hand as a defense just in case Jackson found his way in here.

                Charlotte felt her head begin to spin as her eyes felt heavy. She needed rest. She looked down at the innocent sleeping face of her daughter and that was the last thing she saw before her eyes slipped closed.

Chapter Four

Chapter Four: A flesh eating husband or a colored man savior?

Silas was whistling a tune as he rode his mule down the winding mountain trail. It was dawn and the rain had finally stopped though his mule's hooves were sloshing and squishing in the thick mud. Silas had never wanted the daylight to come as badly as he wanted it to come right now. He wasn't whistling the tune because he felt lighthearted or happy, no he was whistling the tune just to hear something other than the quiet...  

Honestly he had no real idea of where he was at the moment. He had been wandering for days, searching... hoping. Born the son of a slave and, having been one himself until just before his tenth birthday, Silas had seen some terrifying and horrific things in his life and yet none of that had even compared to the horror and sickness currently sweeping across the country.  

They were called 'rabid', he had learned that when he'd stopped in Crockett Tenessee and met up with a man who seemed to know a thing or two. He'd come from the east and said the sickness had started there.  Some sort of medicine had been given to the folks that way and instead of making them better, it had turned them into flesh eating monsters. And they spread their sickness by biting folks who hadn't taken the medicine.  

Folks like Silas's brother Samuel whom Silas had been forced to kill. That had been the hardest day of his life so far but Silas had a sinking feeling that times were going to get harder. A lot harder. Five days had passed since Silas had killed his brother, three days since he had spoken to that old man in Crockett and Silas was losing hope that there was anyone else left. It was a scary feeling, an oppressive feeling, this loneliness. The knowledge of being alone pushed down on a man from all sides making him feel desperate.   

Sure most folks were probably hiding, too scared to come out especially just to speak to a colored man whom the white folks around here tended not to trust anyhow. But Silas had a sinking suspicion that the reason he wasn't finding anyone was because they were all those monsters and they were wandering the woods, roads and town and looking for the same thing he was: survivors.  

He just wanted to find one piece of land untouched by this madness.  

His mule let out a frightened snort and Silas tightened his hold on the reins in his hand when he saw the barn come into view at the edge of the rolling fields on the left of him. Silas pulled his double barrel shotgun as he rode closer to the barn and called out. There was no response and while he'd been hoping to hear a survivor reply, it was better to hear nothing than to hear 'Gnaa!'.  

Silas rode on further, hoping that perhaps the family that had lived here was perfectly fine and simply up at the main house.   

Any hope of that left quickly when he rode through the open wooden gate and saw the jerking man clawing at the walls of what appeared to be a servant's quarters beside the large grand house.   

"Gnaa!" The man called out as he turned and started toward Silas. Silas could still make out several tufts of white hair on the man's blood and sore covered head. He was wearing a blood covered nightdress and robe and half of his throat was missing.  

"Lord be with us all...." Silas gasped and he pulled the trigger of his ten gauge causing the man's head to practically explode at such close range and the 'rabid' fell to the ground. Silas slid from his horse, deciding that he'd check around the house. Even if he couldn't find any living folks, there may be some supplies that would be useful. He was running low on food.  

Silas reloaded the spent shot in his gun from the bandolier around his chest and then began to walk slowly toward the house. It was then that he heard a mewling cry from inside the servant's quarters.  

"Hello?" he called out and he heard the cry get louder. Damnation, that was a baby! Silas ran to the servant's quarter door and beat on it when he realized it was locked. There were bloody handprints streaked all over the door and surrounding wall. Clearly the 'rabid' had been trying to get in for a while.  

"Is somebody in there?!" Silas called out, the babies cries louder now that he closer. It sounded like a small baby.  

"Who's out there?" a woman's weak voice responded.  

"My name is Silas, ma'am. Do you need some help?"  

"Are you sick?" the woman replied and Silas shook his head, though he wasn't sure why since the woman couldn't see him.  

"I ain't rabid if that's what you mean."  

"Rabid?"  

"I ain't gonna try to eat you like that other fella was."  

Silence reigned for several long moments and Silas wondered if she was going to open the door. After what felt like an eternity, the lock disengaged and the door opened slowly. Silas's breath caught when he saw her... She was beautiful. She looked like some kind of angel, all wrapped up in green fabric with tired circles surrounding her eyes and her brown hair hanging loose around her face.  

Silas's eyes were drawn down when something appeared to be wiggling beneath the green fabric at her chest.  

"Is that a baby, ma'am?"  

Silas's pa had been a doctor among the colored folk and Silas could smell the blood in this room. He could also tell that this woman was naked beneath that green swatch of cloth. Her hair was lying in clumps and sticking to her drawn face. If he were a betting man he would say she'd had this child not too long ago.  

"You're...." she bit her lip and stared down at his feet. "You're colored...." 

Silas nodded, hating that that had to be the first thing she noticed about him. Though of course it was and it didn't surprise him. This was the south and his kind were still looked down upon by most and even hated by some.  "Yeah, God made me that way, ma'am. Do you need some help?"  Before the woman could reply she swooned and would have fallen if Silas hadn't reached out and caught her in one strong arm. He felt her shaking against him and at first he assumed it was because he was a colored man and she was frightened of him but then he realized just how hot she felt.  

The woman had a fever.  

"Did you kill them both?" she asked, struggling to remove herself from his arms and stand on her own two feet. Silas helped her stand, though he made sure that she and the babe were close to the wall in case her legs began to feel weak again.  

"Both?" Silas asked. "I only saw one. He had white hair..."  

"Jackson is still out there!" the woman exclaimed, fear shining in her eyes. And what beautiful eyes they were... Light green surrounded by brown rings. 	

"Who's Jackson, ma'am?"  

"My husband. He came home last night and tried to.. he tried to..." The woman's voice broke and she stumbled backward.  

"It's okay, ma'am. I can explain some of it to ya but first I think you need a bath and some rest...."  

"I can take care of myself." She argued with a sharp shake of her head. Silas sighed. He was about to bid her farewell, knowing it was the color of his skin that had her backing away from him, when a loud 'Gnaa!' came from behind him.  

"It's Jackson!" the woman screamed, her baby beginning to cry again beneath that cloth. Silas turned and threw the gun up, shocked when the woman grabbed his shoulder.  

"No don't!" 

Silas looked away from the approaching 'rabid' and looked down into the woman's eyes. She was confused, scared, sick and horrified. It was a hard pill to swallow, Silas knew, acknowledging that your loved ones were no longer who they had once been and realizing you had to kill them in order to survive.  

"Make up your mind, ma'am. It's either a flesh eating husband or a colored man savior. Which do you want?"  

The woman clung to the child hidden from Silas's eyes and released her hold on him as she took a step back and closed her eyes tight.  

"Kill it." 	

Silas didn't need any more permission than that before his finger was squeezing the trigger of his shot gun and the 'rabid' who had once been a man named Jackson, fell dead, for good this time, to the ground.  

He turned to check on the woman and cried out, barely managing to catch her before she hit the floor. He scooped her up into his arms, realizing she was truly unconscious this time and the green cloth she'd been wrapped in fell away, revealing her body and the tiny little baby curled up to her chest.  

Now Silas had been raised to be a good Christian man and so he tried hard not to look at the pretty woman's bare flesh all laid out for him. What he did notice was that she was covered in blood and sweat.  

He needed to get her cleaned up, dressed and hopefully get this fever broke. He'd just bet she'd have  a fit and a half another one once she woke up and realized a colored man had been caring for her but he didn't care. He was just damned glad to know that he wasn't the last living person in the world.  

---

Charlotte groaned and swatted at the bug currently flying around her face. She snuggled up deeper in her blankets, enjoying the warmth and softness. 

"Ma'am...." Charlotte's eyes flew open at the sound of that voice and she found herself staring into the deep brown eyes of the man who had come to her rescue.  

"My baby...." Charlotte gasped and the man smiled, the gesture so pure and good that it made Charlotte's heart feel a little lighter. It had been a long time since she'd seen a man be anything other than harsh or mean. Jackson had been stern that she was to have no contact with anyone other than him. He had kept her locked up in the big house and he was all she knew.....  

Jackson. Jackson was dead now. This man had killed him. This man had saved her life and the life of her daughter.  

He laid the sleeping girl against her chest, and it was then that Charlotte realized she was in a sleeping gown and she was in the house, in she and Jackson's bed as a matter of fact.  

"You cleaned us...." Charlotte whispered, realizing that she and her baby were both clean and smelled much better. She flushed red when she realized that meant this man had seen her naked, had touched her body with those big hands......

The man appeared uncomfortable as he stood and rubbed at the back of his neck with his dark hand. He gave her a sheepish grin, his full lips pulling back at the corners. "Well you was unconscious ma'am and you had a fever. Now I'm a good Christian man and I can promise you that I didn't do anything improper while you was asleep. I had to care for you is all. I just did what I had to...."  

"Thank you." Charlotte cut off his nervous rambling. "Thank you for saving me and my baby."  

"You're welcome ma'am."  

"Charlotte. My name is Charlotte. I was certain that we were going to die.. I was so sure that Jackson and Britton were going to find their way in or that we would starve to death in that tiny room... You were like a miracle."  

"Never been nobody's miracle before, ma'am."  

"What's your name?"  

"Silas."  

Charlotte watched him as he crossed the room and picked up a steaming bowl of soup. He carried it toward her and sat down in a chair beside the bed, blowing the soup and stirring it with a small silver spoon. Charlotte couldn't get over how dark his skin was against the white sheet and he caught her staring.  

"Does my skin bother you, ma'am?" Silas asked and Charlotte took a moment before answering. Did it? Honestly she'd never been around anyone that was colored. Her parent's hatred of those they called terrible names had kept Charlotte from speaking to people of his color in her younger years and she'd been a prisoner of this house for eight years now and hadn't ever been around a man like Silas.  

Those names, (Charlotte would not even do them the honor of thinking them), that her parents had always called people of color didn't seem to fit Silas. He seemed a good man, a man who had risked his life to save she and her daughter. A man who had obviously taken care of her during her time of need and kept her daughter safe as well.  He certainly didn't seem like a man who deserved her hatred or her fear simply because he was darker skinned than she. 	

"No. No it doesn't bother me."  

A smile split Silas's face then, his teeth contrasting sharply with his dark skin. "Glad to hear that, ma'am. Here's your dinner." He sat the bowl on the bedside table. "Why don't you eat and see to that little girl there and I'll go patrol around and make sure things are still quiet then I can try to answer any questions you have about what happened to your husband."  

"Silas...!" Charlotte called out and the man stopped in the doorway and turned to look at her. He raised one thick black brow expectantly. "Just... be careful."  

Silas tipped his worn brown leather hat and winked at her, his brown eyes sparkling. "I do believe you're the first person ever took the time to be worried about me."   

With that he slipped from the room, closing the door behind him. Charlotte laid her sleeping baby on the bed and scooted herself up against the headboard before taking up the bowl Silas had laid on the bedside table and sampling the soup.  

Her eyes widened as the delicious concoction washed across her tongue and she moaned, her stomach growling eagerly.  

She looked at her daughter and marveled at how much life had changed since she'd gone to bed the night before. Her husband had turned into a monster and he was dead now. She had given birth to her daughter and there was a man, a stranger, but somehow not a stranger, here taking care of her. Sometimes life threw you for loops that you would have never imagined in your wildest dreams.....   

"Thank God for Silas." Charlotte whispered to her sleeping daughter. She knew if not for that man they would have both died. "He was truly our saving grace."  

The little girl's eyes opened wide and Charlotte smiled. "You like that name? Grace?" The little girl yawned and kicked out a leg causing Charlotte to laugh lightly. "Okay then, little one. Grace it will be."

Chapter Five

Chapter Five: I may not be a smart man but I know when something’s wrong

Joshua Gilcrest, better known to the folks in southern Georgia as ‘that dumb big ox of a son those Gilcrest’s have’ or ‘Ox’ for short, rode beside his pa in the wagon, his concern growing for the other man.

They had left home before dawn this morning to go pick up the suitors that his pa had in mind to make Evangeline choose from. Evangeline was Ox's younger sister, twenty-two years old and the prettiest damn woman in the state of Georgia, and yet still unmarried. She said she didn't want to get married just to get married, she wanted to fall in love first. She admitted to Ox that she wanted to feel 'tingles' but he had grumbled under his breath and let her know that she shouldn't tell her overprotective brother things like that because if he ever caught a man giving her 'tingles' he'd kill him before the man could draw another breath.  

Ox shook his head and turned his attention back to his pa. What had Ox worried was the fact that his pa seemed to be shivering and a sheen of sweat was covering the man's stern brow. Ox glanced around at the few ranch hands that had come to town with them to help with supplies and realized that they looked to be in the same shape as his pa was.  Every man was very tired looking and all their shoulders were slumped.  

Ox rubbed the back of his neck. "Pa, you feelin' okay?"  

"I'm fine, Ox." Augustus snapped. Ox nodded and closed his mouth. His family hated him, it wasn't a secret and so everyone knew. Ox was a disappointment.  At first glance Ox was exactly what every parent could wish for. He was tall, roughly seven feet, and he had thick muscles and broad shoulders, which had helped to earn him the name 'ox'. He was good looking, he knew that much was true because women flocked to him and rode him good and proper quite often, but they were always gone just as soon as the ride was over because Ox was dumb. His brain didn't work quite right.   

His mama liked to say that God was so busy making Ox handsome that He forgot to fill his head up with anything other than hot air. It wasn't that Ox was dumb like people thought he was it was just that it took him a while to learn things, a long while. Long enough that his teachers and tutors had quickly given up. And he had a hard time turning his thoughts into words.  

The only person in the whole world who seemed to like Ox and defended him was his sister Evangeline. She had taken the time, night after night, to teach Ox his numbers and how to read a little. He still couldn't read very good but he knew more words than he had before she'd begun their lessons. It was sad that he, a twenty-seven year old man, needed lessons from his younger sister.  

"Are you sure, pa? Did y'all eat somethin' rotten? Ya look a bit ill."

"We ate the same things you ate, Ox and you're just fine so think before you ask me such ignorant questions."  

"Yessir." Ox replied meekly as he looked down at his big hands folded in his lap. He hated that he always seemed to say the wrong thing to his pa. Every boy just wanted to make his pa proud but Ox had learned a long time ago that he never would.  

"Sir..." A hand, Daniel, said with a groan as he rode closer. "I ain't feeling too good......"  

"I bet I know what it is pa!" Ox spoke up suddenly and Augustus blew out an irritated breath before swiping his jacket sleeve across his sweaty brow.  

"What, Ox?"  

"That medicine. I'll just bet it's that medicine you all took. I didn't take none, nope I didn't, and I ain't a bit sick."  

For once his pa didn't tell him he was wrong. Instead the man appeared thoughtful for a moment and then nodded.  

"You might be right, Ox."  

Ox smiled proudly and sat up a little straighter. Almost a week ago his pa had gotten a shipment of elixir in from up north. The box had come all the way from New York City according to the label and it had been a medicine. An elixir guaranteed to keep you from ever getting another cold, fever or illness again in your life.  

Ox hadn't taken it because he'd never been sick a day in his life and hadn't figured he needed it and he knew that Evangeline hadn't taken it either. She'd refused just for spite since she was angry at their ma and pa, but right now Ox was glad she'd been childish. He sure would hate to see his sister looking like his pa and the hands looked right now.  He and Evangeline were the only people, out of the twenty that lived at or worked on their plantation, that hadn't taken the elixir. Ox wondered if everybody was this sick come today? Was that why only these men had been willing to even get out of their beds this morning.. maybe they were the healthier ones. Ox chewed on the inside of his cheek hoping he was wrong. That wouldn't be good at all.  

"Pa, maybe you should go see the doc." Ox offered as they rode onto the first dusty streets on the outskirts of Hagatha. Hagatha was a booming town at the center but the outskirts were all rickety buildings and dirt streets full of holes that jarred the cart Ox and his pa were riding in.  

"I..I might..." Ox's head turned quickly toward his pa when the man began to stutter and then Ox nearly screamed when his pa began to shake violently. The reins fell from his hands and Ox was quick to grab them as his pa convulsed on the seat beside him.  

Thuds around Ox had him realizing that the ranch hands had all begun to do the same thing as his pa and they had fallen from their horses.  

"Pa!" Ox called when the man's face began to turn blue and it became clear that he wasn't breathing. He was just shaking, drool pouring from his mouth.  

Ox cried out and then urged the horses into a gallop. The cart jarring and jumping along the bumpy dirt road. Ox held on to his father's jacket to keep the man from falling from the cart and he shouted for people to get out of the way as he raced down the streets and then turned onto the brick main street, nearly toppling the fast moving cart as it went up on two wheels. 	

He yanked up on the reins bringing the horses to a stop outside the docs and yelled for the old man as he jumped from the cart and pulled his pa down into his arms. His pa was convulsing so hard in his arms that it was hard to hold him, but luckily Ox was big enough to simply clutch the sick man to his chest.  

He burst into the docs, causing the doc's wife who had apparently been filling the tea cups on a tray in the sitting room, to scream and drop her tea kettle, shattering it and sending pink and white ceramic shards scattering across the polished wood floor.  

"Help my pa....!" Ox begged, tears filling his eyes and emotions clogging his throat as his pa continued to shudder in his arms. His pa's eyes had rolled back in his head, leaving nothing but white visible as he shook and his swollen tongue hung from his mouth.  

"Vernon!" Clarice screamed and her husband came running into the room on his aging legs and gaped at the sight of Augustus in Ox's arms.  

"Bring him in here and lay him down!" Vernon ordered, leading Ox into the bedroom he used for treating patients. Ox laid his father down on the bed, his father's body thrashing violently as his fingernails dug into his clenched hands so tightly that blood began to drip from his palms.  

"What's wrong with my pa? Help him please!" Ox begged, ripping off his hat and clutching it tightly in his fists. Vernon pointed at the door.  

"Get out. Go sit with Clarice." He ordered. Ox wanted to argue but Clarice grabbed his arm and tugged and he was too scared to fight her. His boots dragged on the floor as he made his way to a tiny arm chair and Clarice closed the door to the patient room.  

Ox looked down at the tiny arm chair and realized there was no way he was going to fit there, instead he sat on the ottoman beside it, his knees bouncing as he squeezed his hat with all the strength he had and fought hard to hold back his tears.  

"I'm sure things will be just fine, Ox." Clarice whispered gently as she patted his broad shoulder. Ox didn't bother replying and his gaze went to that bedroom door when silence fell behind it. The sound of his pa's thrashing ceasing suddenly.  

Seconds ticked by and still that silence remained and the door stayed closed. Then suddenly a scream filled the air from inside that little room and Ox leapt to his feet when a crash sounded.  

"Vernon!" Clarice cried as Vernon's blood curdling, pain filled scream came from behind that closed door.  

Ox threw the door open and Vernon shoved past him and ran from the room.  

"He bit me! That bastard bit me!"  Vernon's arm was bleeding heavily and it did indeed look as if a giant chunk had been bitten out.  

Ox looked into the room and saw his pa... .or at least it looked kind of like his pa... Gone were his pa's brown eyes that had always looked at him with such disappointment. They had been replaced by lifeless gray orbs. His father's face was covered in blood, the doc's blood? He was pale and his movements as he started toward Ox were jerking and hitching.  

"Gnaaa!" his pa groaned, stretching out his arm toward Ox.  

"Pa? Pa, what's wrong with you?"  

Ox jumped backward when his pa let out a screech and then lunged for him.  

"Pa!"  

"Gnaa!" his pa said again and he grabbed Ox's arm. Ox stared in shock as his pa lowered his mouth toward his forearm and at the last moment Ox's instincts overrode his horror and he shook his father off, sending the man stumbling and staggering away from him.  

Ox slammed the door to the patient room closed and then moved a chair in front of it to keep his pa locked inside.  

Then he turned his attention to the doctor as Clarice backed away from the man. The doctor was beginning to shake, sweat was covering his brow. He looked the same as Ox's father had looked just before he'd went into convulsions on that cart.  

"Doc, what's going on?"  

"Nothing." Vernon insisted. "Your pa has something loose in his brain obviously."  

Ox shook his head as he looked at the docs arm. How had his pa bit out a chunk that big? Ox could see the man's bone shining beneath the blood and torn muscle.  

"Doc, you're not okay. You need a.... a doc." Ox insisted. His mind was racing but he was working hard to focus on one thing at a time. If he thought about his pa any more he was going to break down and cry.  

"I'm fine, Ox!"  

"I may not be a smart man but I know when something's wrong." Ox countered. It was then that the doc's eyes began to roll back in his head and he went into convulsion's, falling to the floor. It was also in that moment that Augustus burst through the closed door, shattering wood and screeching as he stumbled across the room and came upon Clarice, taking the sobbing woman to the floor and tearing into her with his gnashing teeth.  

"Pa!" Ox exclaimed. He had to get his pa off that woman before he killed her! It was clear to Ox that his father was beyond saving. Something bad had happened with his pa's mind and Ox had to stop him. Without even thinking about what he was doing, Ox picked up the small armchair beside the fire and swung it, catching his pa in the head and shoulder and knocking him off the doc's wife. It was too late to save her, Ox realized, when he saw that the front of her throat was missing.  

Ox felt bile rise in his own throat but swallowed it down and swung the chair again when his pa came for him, the chair splintered apart as it crashed into his pa's head, crunching against his skull.  

Ox swallowed hard when his pa fell to the ground and didn 't move. "Pa?" he whispered. Still no movement. Blood ran from the man's ears and Ox realized he had crushed his pa's skull. "I'm so sorry, pa!!" Ox cried out as he fell to his knees beside the man and big tears squeezed from the corners of his eyes and slipped down his cheeks.  

A movement behind him had him turning his head and Ox felt his blood freeze when he saw the doc and his wife both jerking and twitching as they fought to stand. Their eyes were gray and lifeless... sores were covering Clarice's face... How was she standing when her throat was gone?!  

Ox knew he had to go... he had to get out of here. The medicine! The medicine had done this to his pa and everyone at the plantation had taken that medicine. Everyone except Evangeline!

Ox ran from the docs, startled when he heard the screams from the townspeople and realized that the ranch hands had become what his father had become and they were chasing the panicked people, biting, clawing and spreading whatever sickness that medicine had caused in them.  

Ox saw a hitched horse in front of the tiny clothing shop beside the docs and didn't think twice before stealing it and hopping on. He had to get to Evangeline. He had to save his sister!

Chapter Six

Chapter Six: Who needs a gun? We’ve got an Ox.

A thudding sound in the room below her had Evangeline moaning with displeasure and snuggling deeper into her feather tick mattress and warm, soft blankets. This bed felt so deliciously, sinfully good that she was loath to leave it.

The sunlight was shining dimly through the window onto Evangeline's face and she knew it was going to be a beautiful day once that sun was able to burn through the early dawn fog. A day full of sunshine, singing birds and... suitors. The good mood Evangeline had been feeling was quickly doused with the frigid cold remembrance of that fact.  

Ever since her twenty-second birthday just a few short months ago her father had been pushing her more and more toward marriage. Sometimes being the beautiful daughter of the richest man in the county was quite simply a pain. And it wasn't that Evangeline was trying to be difficult. As a matter of fact she had always done everything she could, (within reason), to please her uptight parents. She was highly educated and knew how to cook, sew, plan a party and had all the manners and grace that a well-bred southern belle was expected to exude.... She simply had not ever met a man she wanted to marry.  

And she wasn't opposed to marriage! On the contrary she wanted it. She saw the way her father looked at her mother and the way her mother's face lightened every time her father stepped into a room... Evangeline wanted that, what woman wouldn't? Evangeline simply had not yet met the man that she wanted it with.  

None of the men her father wanted for her were what she wanted. Now Evangeline was as innocent as a woman could possibly be when it came to men but she had heard enough about what went on between a man and a woman was hot, passionate, tingle inspiring.... Evangeline had yet to meet a man who made her tingle.  

But now her father was tired of waiting and had let her know yesterday that he would be leaving before dawn this morning and returning with a handful of suitors and she was to pick one of them for her wedding that would take place in just three months time whether Evangeline was ready or not. As her mother had so eloquently stated, 'there could be no old maids in the family'.  

Evangeline threw her blankets off of her and sat up, sliding her feet into her soft slippers before standing and sliding into her light purple silk robe. She realized that it was awfully quiet outside this morning. As a matter of fact the only sounds she could hear were those thumping sounds from below her.  A glance at the gilded clock on her wall told her it was nearly eight in the morning and the plantation should be bustling by now.  

Evangeline walked to the French doors that led to her balcony and pushed them open just as that thudding sound occurred again below her. It sounded as if someone kept hitting the wall below her with something and she wondered if perhaps her mother was forcing the poor servants to rearrange her heavy English furniture yet again. Poor servants.

Stepping out onto the balcony, Evangeline frowned as she looked around. Where was everyone? She looked toward the servant’s quarters and her frown deepened. It appeared that the door had been broken. She dreaded to see the fit her father would throw over that. The man was not known for his patience when it came to his servants. He missed the days of slavery and most of the servants here were his former slaves and their children, though now they were paid a wage for the work they did.

The thumping was louder out here and Evangeline walked to the edge of the balcony and looked down, her breath lodging in her chest and her eyes widening at the sight she was met with.  

A couple of ranch hands were beating on the bright walls of the grand plantation home, running into them and hitting them with bloody fists.  

"What are you doing?!" Evangeline demanded and then she realized that hadn't been a very good decision when they stopped what they were doing and, with jerking movements, they moved away from the wall and their necks snapped as they looked up at her.  

Evangeline screamed then. She screamed as loudly as she could. Their faces were bloody messes, with bits of flesh hanging off as if something had been chewing on them! Their teeth, visible behind their snarling lips, were bloody as well. The ranch hands eyes were gray and cloudy and they began reaching up as if desperate to grab her.  

"Gnaa!" One of them moaned loudly and when they bumped into one another they let out a screech and ran for the balcony.  

Evangeline stumbled backward, nearly tripping over her long robe as she quickly went back into her bedroom and slammed the French doors closed, locking them and pulling the curtain. She knew that if they climbed the trellis they would reach her balcony and her bedroom.... What was going on? What was wrong with them?  

That thudding continued downstairs and suddenly Evangeline wondered about her mother. Where was she? Was she okay? Knowing she had to check on her, Evangeline glanced around her room for anything that could be used as a weapon.  

Her pa had a strict no guns policy at the plantation. As a matter of fact the only gun they had was a rifle her father used for hunting which was underneath he and her mother's bed and the stash that her older brother Ox kept hidden between his mattresses. A derringer, a shotgun and a .38 revolver. Evangeline wondered if she could get to Ox's room and decided she'd need to try.  

She wondered about Ox and her father then. Were they okay? Ox was Evangeline's whole world and she prayed like crazy that he was okay. She knew he had gone with their pa that morning to pick up her suitors, though Ox had said he was going because if any of those men didn't meet his expectations he was going to convince them real fast not to come.  

Evangeline smiled faintly as she went to her door and laid her hand on the handle. If anyone could be convincing it was her giant of a brother. Most people thought he was dumb or that his brain didn't work good but Evangeline knew that wasn't true. Ox was very smart, he just wasn't book smart. Though with her help he was learning.  She swallowed hard and then let out a long breath. Ox was strong so she had to believe that he was fine wherever he was.  

Right now she needed to find her mama and get to Ox's guns. She could still hear the thudding coming from downstairs and when she threw open her door she heard the moans and groans.  

It was clear that there were more than just a couple people downstairs, thumping and moaning around.  Instinct told Evangeline that those downstairs were like those men outside and she started to cry, though she continued out into the hallway, praying that the monsters, (she didn't know what else to call them), wouldn't hear her.  

Every thump caused her heart to skip beats and every moan had her head whipping around to ensure that those monsters weren't coming after her. She just kept breathing deeply as she walked down the hall, her slippered feet making no noise on the fancy rugs her mother kept down to protect the polished wood floor.  

Evangeline had not been raised to be brave by her parents. She'd been raised to be a proper lady and depend on others to care for her. What kept her legs moving toward her mother's room despite the thuds she could hear behind doors that she walked past, was the lessons her brother had given her. Ox hadn't wanted her to be helpless the way their parents had. While he said he hoped he was always there to protect her so she never had to protect herself, he had still wanted her to know how, just in case.  

Evangeline came to the bedroom door to her parent's room and grabbed one of her father's heavy wooden canes from the brass bucket near the door frame. Her father didn't need a cane but instead had one because 'every proper gentleman should carry one'. At least that's what he told everyone. Evangeline knew that inside the cane was a saber sharp enough to split a mouse hair with.  

Evangeline chose not to remove the saber just yet, she didn't want to accidently hurt herself with the sharp blade. Instead she just held the cane up and knocked on her mother's closed door gently. A moaning sound followed the knock and then a thump and Evangeline's heart fell to the bottom of her dainty feet.  

"Mama...?" she whispered and the moaning grew louder, followed by a scratching sound, akin to fingernails on the wall. Evangeline wanted to run. She wanted to run back to her room, lock her door and curl back up under her covers so she could pretend all of this was a dream.  

She didn't know what 

this was but she knew it was bad. It was the end of life as she had known it. Those ranch hands had been dead, their eyes had been dead, but they had been walking, jerking, twitching, making those horrible groaning noises and coming for her with bared teeth. Evangeline did not want to see her mama like that.

But she had no choice. What if her mama was fine but there was a monster in there with her?  

‘Then she would have answered you when you said her name.’ a voice inside her head replied but Evangeline swallowed and squared her shoulders. Her mama might be hurt and need her help. Evangeline was going to help her.

She threw open the bedroom door and her worst fears were realized. Her mama was one of them. She was like the ranch hands. Her dark hair, the same dark hair she had given to her daughter, was a mess atop her head and chunks of it were missing revealing bleeding sores on her scalp. Her eyes, once dark green just like Evangeline's own, here now gray and lifeless. Her hands were bloody and her nightdress was as well. Her face was covered in peeling skin and she screeched when she saw Evangeline and lunged for her.  

Evangeline was sobbing as she jumped out of the way. "Mama, what are you doing?!" she gasped between her tears. "What's wrong with you?"  

Instead of speaking her mama simply let a moan and grabbed the sleeve of Evangeline's robe. Evangeline tried to yank away but her mama held fast and then gnashed her teeth together and lowered her mouth toward Evangeline's shoulder.  

"Mama stop!" Instinct took over. It was fight or flight and Evangeline chose to do both. She swung the cane and caught her mama in the head. It was enough to give Evangeline the time to yank her arm away and then turn and run for it.  

She screamed again when she saw more moaning, jerking, twitching, blood covered servants and ranch hands coming up the grand staircase to get her. She wasn't going to be able to get to those guns of her brothers.  

A hand grabbed her hair from behind and Evangeline cried out in pain and pulled the saber from the cane. Turning and swinging at the same time, Evangeline felt her stomach turn when the blade sliced through her mother's arm, removing it from her body.  

Blood oozed from the hand and forearm still stuck in Evangeline's hair, soaking her robe as her mother screeched with pain, her face contorting and her teeth gnashing. She came for Evangeline again and this time Evangeline hit her mama in the neck with the saber just before her mamas teeth would have closed on her shoulder.  

Evangeline saw her mother's body fall to the ground, unmoving, and headless as her head bounced and rolled across the fancy rugs her mother had always been so strict about keeping clean.  

The moans behind Evangeline reminded her that more of those monsters were coming and she ran into her bedroom, closing and locking her door before using every ounce of strength in her tiny body to move her dresser across the polished floor and block the door as the moaning, thumping, clawing and screeching intensified on the other side.  

Evangeline threw the bloody saber across the room and then tore at her hair to remove her mother's severed arm from it. It landed on the floor with a plop and Evangeline let out an animalistic sob and fell to the floor, scooting on her backside across the floor as far as she could away from that piece of bloody flesh.... She felt her back hit against the wall and she pulled her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around them and rocking back and forth as she sobbed.  

She had killed her mother!  

What was going on?! The fancy schools. The tutors. The hours upon hours of lessons on etiquette and proper manners. All the music lessons, dance lessons, cooking lessons... nothing she'd ever learned could have prepared her for what she had woken up to this morning.  

Dead people walking around covered in sores and blood. Moaning, reaching for her, trying to bite her.. to eat her.... Her own mother coming at her with dead eyes and gnashing teeth. Ignoring her tears and her pleas for her to stop.   

That saber slicing through her mother's neck, cutting through the bone as if it were nothing.. Her mother's head rolling...... Evangeline quickly leaned to the side and vomited violently on the floor.  

The banging was getting louder and the moans more insistent. Evangeline could hear blood filled tearing sounds coming from the hall followed by shrieks and she wondered if the monsters were attacking one another. Fighting over their prey... Fighting over her.  

Desperation began to sink in. She was going to die. She saw that bloody blade lying on the floor and thought about crawling to it and ramming it through her own heart. Surely it would be better to die that way than to let those monsters have their way with her.....

"Evie!" A voice came from outside. A familiar voice. A voice that had her heart filling with hope as she sobbed and ran for the balcony door. She ensured that those two ranch hands from earlier hadn't managed to climb the trellis and then threw the doors open and saw Ox leaping off a brown mare and running for the house.  

"Ox! Don't go in!" Evangeline screamed. Ox skidded to a stop and Evangeline screamed when she saw the monsters heading toward him. The ranch hands. Ox gave her a reassuring smile and then ran back to the mare, pulling a rifle from the scabbard attached to the saddle.  

Evangeline watched him take aim but when he squeezed the trigger nothing happened. The gun wasn't loaded. She saw those monsters getting closer to her brother and she screamed at them to stop! Yesterday they would have listened to her. Yesterday they wouldn't have been trying to eat her brother. Yesterday they wouldn't have been bloodthirsty, flesh eating monsters.........

Evangeline wanted to squeeze her eyes shut. She didn't want to see her brother killed. Not Ox. Ox never pressured her. He understood the side of her that hated being 'the Gilcrest's perfect child'. He understood that she wanted to find love and a life of her own. He knew things about her that no one did. He was her best friend. She couldn't lose him!

And she didn't. 

Ox was big. Seven feet of solid muscle;  a virtual oak tree of a man. He gripped the barrel of that rifle tight in his hands, let out and animalistic cry of rage and began to swing.   

Evangeline watched in a state of horrific shock as the ranch hands were both quickly dispatched, their heads smashed in by the stock of that rifle her brother was wielding like a club. Evangeline couldn't help but smile, just a little. Who needs a gun? We've got an Ox.

Ox jumped away from the dead monsters and ran back toward the balcony.  

"You can't come in through the door Ox! The house is full of them!" Evangeline warned. "They're trying to get in here to get me!  

"Shit this is a mess, Evie! Climb down that trellis and we'll get out of here." 

Evangeline nodded and then ran back in the room to grab the bloody saber, making a point to not look at her mother's arm. She put the saber back into the cane and went back out onto the balcony. Evangeline was scared of heights, frightened very nearly to death of them and as she threw her leg over the railing of the balcony her nightdress became tangled up and she nearly fell.  

She clung to the railing, fear paralyzing her as she sobbed.  

"I can't do it, Ox...."  

"Sure ya can. Just drop yourself down. Old Ox won't let you hit the ground." Her brother insisted gently but Evangeline was beyond reasoning. She was terrified, nauseous and trembling. She just wanted to wake up and find this all a dream!  

"I can't Ox. Just leave me.. I am going to die!"  

"No you're not and I don't wanna hear you say something like that again. Now just hold on and I"ll come get you."   

Evangeline felt the trellis shaking as Ox's weight tested its limits to the max. She felt his big arms wrap around her and she clung to his neck, taking in the safe scent of him. Evangeline closed her eyes as he carried her back down and then he cursed and sat her on her feet.  

"Just a minute, Evie." He said and Evangeline saw him turned and swing that rifle, she couldn't see the monster but she heard the crunching of bones.  

Miraculously the horse hadn't run off at the scents and smells and Evangeline let Ox lead her to it and then they took off into the woods.  

Evangeline knew where he was taking her. She snuggled up closer to her brother, feeling safe now that he was here.  

---

Ox saw his cabin come into view and breathed a sigh of relief. He and Evangeline would be safe here. At least for a while. She was shivering in his arms but it wasn't the same kind of shakes that his pa had had. This was different. This was scared shivers.... Ox knew because he was doing the same thing.  

He didn't want to leave the horse outside but had no choice, it wouldn't fit in the cabin. He slid from the saddle, keeping Evangeline held tight in his arms. He wrapped the horse's reins to a low hanging branch and carried his sister into the cabin, laying her across the small cot that he had to sleep on here and covering her with a scratchy wool blanket.  

"What's going on, Ox?" she whispered, saying the first words since they'd left the plantation. Ox sighed as he looked around the cabin. This place was his safe haven. The place he came when the world got too mean.  

"I ain't for sure, Evie... You know I ain't real smart.."  

"Stop that. You have some idea I can tell by the look in your eyes. What's going on?"  

"I think it was that medicine pa had everybody take." Ox replied, rubbing his hands together and busying himself by getting a fire started. It wasn't that it was real cold but Ox needed something to stay busy doing.  

"Pa.....?" Evangeline asked and Ox broke down. Sob's wracking his body and his big shoulders heaving up and down as he kept his back to his sister.  

"I killed him, Evie.. .. I had to! He went crazy! He was biting everybody and he tried to bite me. I'm sorry Evie. Don't hate me...."  

"Ox, I don't hate you."  Evangeline whispered and Ox turned to face her, seeing that tears were on her face as well. "I killed mama, Ox..... "  

Ox nodded and his tears fell harder. He hated this but he knew he could be weak in front of Evangeline and she wouldn't make fun of him. She patted the cot and Ox sat down beside her, feeling comforted when she curled up against him.  

"Get some rest, Evie. Old Ox won't let nothing happen to you. I'll keep you safe while you sleep."

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven: Dynamite, ‘rabid’ hordes and wild injuns

April 1887

One week. Roughly one week had passed since Frankie had last seen another living person. She had purposely stayed away from towns since leaving that strange quiet man beside that fire and she found herself wondering now and then how he was getting along. Though it wasn't no concern of hers and she certainly wasn't worried enough to go back after him.  

Her main concern was finding her uncle. She had arrived at his cabin two days before but the man hadn't been there. Instead she had found a note saying he'd gone to town to get supplies and was leaving the note just in case she returned during his absence. His horse and cart had been gone as well.  

Frankie had felt a sinking ball of dread enter her at the knowledge that her uncle was alone out there with those monsters. Those 'rabid'. But if Frankie had survived them then so would her uncle. He was after all the one who had taught her how to fend for herself.   

So Frankie had waited at the cabin for a solid day before deciding that she was no good at resting. She knew the route her uncle always took to the town which was nearly a full days ride away and she would just follow it and either run into him on the way or find him in town.... She just prayed she found him in the same shape as she had left him in.  

Frankie smiled as she saw the outskirts of town coming into sight and checked to ensure all three of her revolvers were loaded. She already knew the rifle on her back was loaded and was fitted with a bayonet just in case she wanted to get personal.  

It wasn't that Frankie enjoyed killing the 'rabid'.... Okay so it was. She had seen them do terrible things and was eager to rid the earth of them. She just thought, or hoped, that if she killed enough of them eventually there would be no more.  

She rode her horse down the deserted streets of town and felt her heart sinking lower and lower with every step. She didn't see anybody. Not anyone that was living anyway. She saw several 'rabid' fighting over the half eaten remains of a corpse beside the bank and another small group simply wandering .  

Frankie knew that as soon as they realized she was here they would come for her and she didn't really feel like fighting so many at once. That could get a person killed. She had nearly gotten killed going after the giant horde that had been attacking the quiet man but something had made her help him anyway..... She still wondered what his story was. She had seen the crib in his home and yet she hadn't seen a baby.  

Her horses hooves sounded as loud as hammer falls in the silence and Frankie dreaded the moment the 'rabid' would sense her. She was trying to avoid them the best she could but it was hard when they just wandered aimlessly. Suddenly the silence was shattered when gun shots sounded. 

The 'rabid' heard the noise and their heads turned quickly toward the sound before they went off in that direction with hurried, jerking steps. Frankie was surprised. She hadn't realized they were drawn by noise. That was a piece of information she knew she needed to tuck away.  

Frankie followed after the 'rabid', staying a safe distance away and the gun shots grew louder. Then she saw the group of men on top of the gun shop roof.  There was a ladder leading to the top and the men were shooting at a massive horde of the 'rabid' that had gathered around the building. Good for the men the rabid couldn't climb ladders.... Their disease made them too uncoordinated and, well, twitchy.  

Her eyes narrowed and then her heart soared when she recognized her Uncle Gibbs. But how the hell was she supposed to get through the horde to him?

"Well I'll be damned!" she heard him yell above the moaning of the 'rabid'. "That's my damn niece! There's my Frankie. Hold on, kiddo, and I'll clear a path."    

Frankie quickly had her horse backing up when her uncle tossed a hissing stick of dynamite down into the 'rabid' horde and the explosion rocked the midday air. Body parts filled the air and Frankie didn't even give the dust time to settle before galloping quickly toward the ladder, firing bullets of her own as her uncle and his friends provided cover fire.

She leapt off the horse's saddle and onto the ladder, sacrificing what meager belongings were in her saddlebags. She'd run out of food and water and all that was in them was a thin hole filled blanket and a shirt that was just slightly less dirty than the one she had on and her cooking ware that she'd used while camping.  

All of her ammunition was in her pockets and in the pouch attached to her belt and that's all she was really worried about keeping with her.  

She started up the ladder, and then growled when she felt a tug on her leg and looked down to see a 'rabid' clutching at her pants leg. She tried to shake the young child off of her, but the little bastard had a death grip on her leg and her gnashing teeth were getting closer and closer to latching onto the unprotected flesh above Frankie's boot.  

Keeping her grip on the ladder with one hand, Frankie pulled her revolver and fired off a shot into the little girls face. What had once probably been a sweet, angelic cherub face, became a splattered mess of blood and flesh and the girl's grip fell away from her. Frankie swallowed her bile, shooting 'rabid' children was never something she enjoyed and she holstered her gun to continue up the ladder.  

Before she had regained a good grip on the ladder another 'rabid' grabbed her leg. His hand slipped off but it was enough to cause Frankie to slip and she knew she was going to fall. So this is how she was going to die.....  

At least she wouldn't have to worry about becoming a 'rabid'. A horde this big getting hold of her would mean there wouldn't be enough of her body left to turn 'rabid'.  

Her hand slipped loose and she closed her eyes but before she fell into the horde she felt a big hand grip her forearm and with one fluid motion she was lifted into the air and then dropped onto the roof of the gun shop.  

"Damnation girl, are you okay?" her Uncle Gibbs demanded as he ran to her. Frankie nodded as she got to her feet and dusted off her backside.  

"Yeah..." she mumbled without looking at the older man. Her eyes were glued to the tall, copper skinned, half naked, incredibly well muscled injun who had rescued her. His hair was cut short in the more 'white man' style but his face was clearly that of an indian, or at least more than half indian. He had high cheekbones, firm full lips and a long straight nose. His upper body was covered in lean rolling muscles and he had leather bands tied around his upper arms, emphasizing their thickness. Frankie found her eyes traveling south and wondering what he looked like out of those buckskin pants. 	

Frankie was not an innocent woman and had had several men but something told her that this injun could show her things that those other men couldn't have even imagined.

"What are you doing here girl? I left you that note at the cabin, why didn't you wait for me to come home?"  

Frankie tore her eyes away from the hard bodied man with eyes as black as coals and scoffed at her uncle. "You know damned well I ain't never been any good at waiting." Frankie looked at the stockpile of weapons covering the roof and the impressive pile of spent shell casings. "How long have you all been up here?"  

"Since yesterday morning."  Uncle Gibbs admitted with a snort. "The damn critters won't let us down."  

"That's because you keep shooting at them and they're drawn to the blood and the noise."  

"How do you know that?" A man probably in his fifties the same as her uncle asked as he stepped forward and ran his hand over his thick black mustache.  

"Because I saw it start." Frankie replied with a shiver as those memories flooded back. Had it really only been a little over a month since the terrible day when folks had started eating each other. It felt as if it had been a lifetime. "It was an elixir, a medicine that promised to keep you from ever gettin' sick again if you took it."  

"Sure doesn't look like it worked out...." Uncle Gibb's stated drly as he looked over the edge of the roof at the horde of 'rabid' who were now beginning to drift away, going back to wandering and searching for new prey as they realized they weren't going to get a feast out of those on the roof quite yet. "I had no idea any of this was goin' on! Imagine my surprise when I ride into town to see my favorite lady of the night.... She was happy to see me, 'course that was just because she was hoping to munch my damned face off."  

"Who are your friends?" Frankie asked, though her eyes didn't go to the mustached man instead they went straight back to that half naked picture of perfection.  He was staring at her as well she noticed, his dark eyes making trails up and down her body almost like a lover's caress. Frankie knew right then and there that he and she would have to find some place to be alone and she hoped that it would be soon!  

"We ain't exactly friends. We just ended up on the same roof with the same problem." Uncle Gibbs replied, looking down at the smaller group of 'rabid' still moaning and clawing at the stone walls of the gun shop.  

"My name's Matthew, miss." The mustached man said as he stepped forward and held out his hand. Frankie raised her brow but then shrugged and shook his offered hand.  

"Nice to meet you, Matthew." She turned her gaze back to the indian and stuck her hands into the pockets of her stained and torn trousers, rocking back on her heels. "And who might you be?"  

The indian studied her a moment longer and then his tongue shot across his lower lip before his mouth curved into a lazy smile that had Frankie feeling much hotter than she had been moments before. "The name's Phillip."  

Frankie nearly laughed out loud. "Phillip?" she demanded with amusement. The man frowned as he nodded. "Awful civilized name don't you think?"  Frankie asked. Tact and manners had never been her strongest points.  	

Her Uncle Gibb's chuckled as Matthew looked at her with shock. Frankie was amused at the lack of temper in the indian's eyes. Instead that lazy smile broadened and he nodded.  

"I have always thought so. Unfortunately my adoptive parents were quite civilized people."  

"Darn." Frankie stated with a click of her tongue. "And here I was hopin' you were some wild injun who could show me a wild time. Now I find out you're just a Phillip."  

"Leave the man alone." Uncle Gibb's warned as he stepped forward and came between Frankie and this 

Phillip . “I ain’t seen you in a long time, girlie. What about your mama and your pa?”

Frankie shrugged. "Last I saw they were busy trying to eat each other." She replied. She wasn't any more saddened by that than she was by all the innocent people that had been turned 'rabid'. Frankie had not had any real fondness for her parents. They had abandoned her after all.  She was just glad that she still had her Uncle Gibb's. If she had lost him.... Frankie shook her head. She hadn't lost him and that was all that mattered.  

"I'm damned glad you made it here safe, Frankie." Uncle Gibb's sighed as he stepped forward and wrapped her in a tight, bone-crushing hug which Frankie returned. He pulled away with a sniff and busied himself by reloading the revolver he'd been shooting earlier. "Though I guess it shouldn't surprise me seein' as how you've always been tougher than jerked beef."  

Frankie smiled. "You taught me well." She replied. Her stomach growled and she remembered then that she hadn't eaten since the morning before. "You got any food up here?"  

The words had barely left her mouth and a sack of biscuits was being shoved under nose. She grunted and glared up at Phillip. "Thanks." She muttered, taking the sack away and digging out three biscuits before tossing the bag back at him.  

"You have room for all those?" Phillip asked with a raise of his sculpted brow. Frankie snorted, used to hearing such things. Folks assumed that just because she was on the skinny side it meant she didn't each much. Which wasn't true. Frankie out ate most men that she knew.  

"Don't you worry about me none, injun." She replied as she moved to the side of the roof and sat down, leaning her back against the two foot stone ledge. All in all her uncle and these men had picked a good roof. Flat with a ledge around it and plenty big enough for everyone to have plenty of firing space.  

She began to munch on her biscuits and she saw her uncle and Matthew wander to the other side of the roof, fully engaged in a conversation about which gun was better for killing 'rabid', a Smith and Wesson or a Colt. As far as Frankie was concerned the brand of the gun didn't' much matter just as long as it went boom when you needed it to and left the 'rabid' lying dead. 	

Frankie was fully aware of the indian as he came to sit beside her, crossing his legs much like she had expected an indian would. He handed her a canteen.  

"To wash those down. They are a bit dry." He stated simply. Frankie shrugged. She wasn't sure why he was feeding and watering her but she sure wasn't going to argue. She took the canteen and swallowed a big swig. He hadn't been wrong when he'd said the biscuits were dry but her stomach was still damn glad to have them.  

"So, Frankie, huh?" he asked and Frankie wiped her mouth with her tattered duster coat sleeve and nodded before taking another bite of biscuit.  

"That's right." She replied around the mouthful. Damn but this man was attractive. Ever lean muscle of his body was perfectly sculpted and of course she could see them all and watch them flex and twist with every movement he made.  

"Awful manly name don't you think?"  

"It's better than Phillip." Frankie responded with a snort. "You sure don't look like a Phillip."  

"It is just a name."  

"You need a better one."  

"A better name?"

"That's what I said." Frankie replied, wondering if maybe he was hard of hearing. Though he appeared to be as amused by the conversation as she was and she figured he was just playing along to have a reason to talk to her.  He scratched at his arm with those big calloused hands and she watched his forearms flex. Yep, she was certainly going to have to get this man alone at some point.  

"And what would you have in mind? Injun?" There was a bit of sharpness to his tone when he said that last word and Frankie shook her head.  

"Now when I call you an injun I don't mean nothin' bad by it. Far as I'm concerned you injuns got every right to want to put an arrow into every one of us pale faces backs. We sailed right on in and threw y'all out on your asses."  

"I was born on a reservation. My parents told me tales of what life had once been and I wanted it so I ran away. I was found by a family when I was half starved to death. They raised me and called me Phillip. I hated the name and I hated them. They are gone but the name stuck around." 

"What were you called before that?" Frankie asked, not caring to go into any more detail about his life. She wanted to bed him alright but that didn't mean she needed to know his life story before she did so.  

"Little River."  

Frankie let out a loud snort of laughter, spewing biscuit crumbs all over Phillip's shoulder. He raised his brow and brushed them away and Frankie wiped her mouth. "Are you serious?"  

"Yes." The indian replied with a nod.  

"Well that certainly ain't no better than Phillip."  

"Can you do better at naming me than both my families?"  

"Sure can." Frankie replied without thinking and that lazy smile spread across the indian's face again.  

"Let's hear it then."  

Frankie studied him as he turned his gaze to the horizon. She pictured him then, his bronze skin shining in the sun as he rode atop a big paint stallion. Letting out a war cry as he loosed arrows from his bow into the hordes of 'rabid'.  

"Comanche."  

"I am not a Comanche...." He began and Frankie smiled.  

"You are now." 

"Why because you say so?"  

"Exactly."  

He nodded and shrugged. "I suppose it is better than Phillip." 	

"It's either Comanche or Little River. You are far too wild looking to be a Phillip."  

"I can assure you I do not just look wild, Frankie."  

Frankie found her body heating deliciously under his gaze and she looked at him from the corner of her eye, aware that her uncle was watching them from across the roof.  

"You'll have to prove that to me sometime, Comanche."  

"I agree." He replied, his voice dropping lower as he shoved himself to his feet. Frankie looked up, finding her eyes locking on the front of his buckskin pants. "Soon." He added and Frankie was left sitting there, shifting and attempting to ease the heated arousal currently burning between her legs as Comanche walked to other side of the roof and joined her uncle and Matthew in their conversation.  

Leave it to Uncle Gibbs to make life even more exciting than it had already been. She’d only been here a matter of minutes and already there had been dynamite, ‘rabid’ hordes and wild injuns. Frankie smiled. Suddenly the hordes of flesh eating rabid didn’t seem so bad. She had a feeling Comanche would provide a nice distraction.

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight: I’ll let you know when you can touch

"So how long we gonna stay up on this roof?" Frankie demanded impatiently as she paced the rooftop several hours later.  

Comanche looked up from the knife he was sharpening and watched her slender body move. She had removed that oversized duster coat and Comanche had found himself unable to look away from her long, lithe frame for longer than a few moments at a time. Yes he had actually adopted the ridiculous name the woman had given him. Truthfully he liked it better than Phillip. Names were not important to a man who avoided people at all costs. He had never had much use for a real name, it had been his so-called white family who had thought he needed one.  

Comanche was a loner. Life had turned him into one. Truthfully he had accidently wound up on this building with these men. He had simply been passing through to buy what little supplies a man like him needed and that horde of flesh eaters had come out of nowhere. It hadn't been his first time meeting the flesh eaters.  

He was a hunter of them. He enjoyed killing them.  It broke the dull boredom of the existence he'd been living since the death of all he loved and his own imprisonment.  

"I reckon we'll be having to get off of it soon. We've just got a handful of them biscuits of Phillips left and I ain't wanting to starve to death." Matthew grumbled.  

"Comanche. My name is Comanche." Comanche spoke up. "It looks as if the flesh eaters have spread out a bit and lost some of their interest in us. We may be able to get down and away without too much trouble."  

"You got the man to change his name?" Gibbs demanded of Frankie and the woman stopped pacing and shrugged as she put her hands on her narrow hips and smiled.  

"What can I say? I'm just good." She winked over at Comanche and he smiled lazily at her. She was beautiful. Perhaps not in the traditional sense of the word but there was something about her that Comanche found irresistible. Her confidence, her spunk, her spark were all things that Comanche could appreciate.  

"That remains to be seen." Comanche replied and he saw the spark in Frankie's dark eyes and it heated his blood. She was the first woman he'd come across to cause this undeniable desire within him. He was not an innocent man by any means but all the women before he had bedded simply because he 'wanted' to. He knew that he would bed Frankie and he knew he wanted to but he also knew it was more. He needed to. If he didn't then that lean willowy body and bright smile would haunt his dreams for many nights to come.  

"Hey now!" Gibbs grumbled. "I might be a open minded uncle and she might be a grown woman but I won't have you speakin' about that stuff right there in front of me."  

Comanche was about to apologize when Frankie laughed and strode across the rooftop, wrapping her uncle in a side hug and kissing his bearded cheek.  

"Don't be jealous, Uncle Gibbs, he's just for fun. You'll always be the only real man in my life."   

Comanche was certain he saw Gibbs blush beneath that beard and Frankie laughed more loudly before walking to the edge of the roof and looking over.  

"What is that?" she asked. Comanche was on his feet in one fluid motion and at her side in an instant. She seemed started as she looked up at his face.  

"Personal space there, Comanche.... I'll let you know when you can touch."  Comanche looked into her eyes for several long moments, tempted to show her that he was the type of man who did what he wanted but she shoved him back and pointed at the road.  

"Look! Is that a woman?" she demanded.  

"And youngin's." Matthew spoke up with a nod.  

Comanche felt that blackness enter his soul in that moment. That blackness that came around whenever he knew something bad was going to happen. Easier to turn off and go dark than to feel the fear, the panic, the dread......  

This woman, on foot and leading a horse that her two young children, a boy and a girl both appearing to be under the age of ten, was walking into town. A town full of flesh eaters. Chances were they were going to die. Comanche knew from experience that if you saw enough death you could learn to become numb to it... at least in your waking hours.

"If we can signal her over here without making a sound they might just make it." Gibbs stated hopefully and Frankie shook her head.  

"Why in the hell would a woman be wondering alone with her kids with what's going on?!" she demanded.  

"Food is the best guess. Many poor people around here without much extra. The flesh eaters have had people hiding out for weeks now and she obviously is desperate." Comanche replied.  

Frankie stepped up onto the ledge suddenly and Comanche's heart nearly stopped beating when he was certain she was going to fall. He reached out quickly, his big hands closing around her tiny hips and holding her in place.  

He felt her tremble beneath his touch and without thinking he brushed his thumb along her hip bone.  

"We'll have to have another talk about that personal space thing I suppose." Frankie warned and Comanche merely shrugged and continued to hold her. He wasn't sure why he had to but he had to keep her safe. He had to keep her near him. He didn't know her and yet he already knew that he would do nearly anything to have her as his own.  

His father, his Cherokee father, had told him many times that while many men were in the custom of taking more than one wife, it was his belief that each person only had one true mate and that person would awaken something within him when Comanche found her..... Comanche wasn't saying that Frankie was his true mate, he hadn't known her nearly long enough to know that, but he was saying that he seemed more awake ever since he'd grabbed her arm and kept her from falling to her death among that horde of flesh eaters mere hours ago.  

Frankie began to wave her arms but the woman was clearly not paying attention. She kept looking around her, keeping her eyes on the surrounding alleys and buildings, obviously watching for flesh eaters.  

It was then that one of her children, the youngest, probably no more than three years old began to cry.  

"No. No. No." Frankie gasped when the moaning began and the flesh eaters all began to make their way toward the sound.  Comanche watched the woman trying to quiet her child and then she screamed when she saw the flesh eaters heading their way.  

"Over here!" Frankie screamed suddenly. "Come over here, lady!" The woman's head whipped around and her eyes fell on the rooftop the four of them were standing on.  

"She'll never make it." Matthew warned as the horde quickly assembled in the streets. Their shuffling, stuttering steps were carrying them closer and closer to the woman and her children with every moment that passed. The woman pulled a gun and fired a shot but this only seemed to excite the flesh eaters.  

"She could make it we just have to help her!" Frankie countered. She jerked from Comanche's grasp and then jumped for the ladder.  

"Where are you going!" Gibbs shouted but Frankie was gone from sight as she jumped from the building.  

---

Frankie shouted, fired shots, anything to get the horde to notice her as she ran toward them. She saw most of them start her way but many were still too occupied with that crying baby.  

Frankie wasn't sure what had gotten into her. She was too smart to be taking a risk like this for people she didn't know and yet she couldn't just abandon them to death. There had been too much death. She had to save those children.  

Frankie was a fast runner, much faster than the slow rabid but the rabid did have an advantage. They could run for hours and never tire. Frankie made a wide circle around the larger group of the horde, shooting any stragglers that got in her way.  

"Come after me you damned demons! Follow me to hell!" she screamed. The woman was across the street from her now with her horse and Frankie pointed toward the gun shop. The woman had a clear path there now, other than two or three straggling slow rabid but Frankie knew the woman's gun would handle those.  

"Go that way!" Frankie told her. "Get to that building!" She saw her uncle sliding down the ladder, clearly coming to help and she glanced around for Comanche but didn't see him. She fired a shot at a rabid wearing a top hat, of all things, and he fell dead to the ground.  

It was in that very next moment that Frankie lost all hope for the human race to survive this sickness. She saw the woman look at her children and then look at her nearly clear path to safety and then the woman ran for it. She abandoned her two frightened, innocent children and ran for safety.  

Frankie let out a desperate scream as the horde neared the children. She pulled her rifle and began firing shots as she ran toward the children, not taking the time worry about herself. She let loose her spring loaded bayonet and speared a rabid just as it reached the frightened children.  

"Grab them! I'll cover you!" Comanche's deep voice was suddenly behind her and she saw that he had a long double ended spear in his hands. Her uncle Gibb's was behind Comanche with his revolvers.  

The rabid were all around them, closing in on them with moans and gnashing teeth. Frankie grabbed the children from the horse, holding the screaming three year old in her arms while she gripped tight to the older of the twos hand.  

And then Frankie lowered her head and simply ran. She felt rabid's hands trying to grip her. Several times she was tugged and nearly fell. The children kept screaming and Frankie was aware of Comanche swinging that spear, clearing the path the best he could while her uncle fired shots.  

Closer now to the building with every step Frankie ran. They weren't going to make it. There were too many rabid.  

"Keep running!" Uncle Gibb's shouted and Frankie looked back at him just in time to see him take a stand with his rifle and begin swinging at the rabid that fell upon him. The rabid lost interest in the other humans as they focused on the prey right in front of them.  

"No!" Frankie screamed but Comanche would not allow her to stop. The indian kept her moving forward and she pushed the older of the children up onto the ladder, the boy quickly climbing.  Frankie tossed the younger over her shoulder and climbed the ladder as well, aware of Comanche behind her still swinging that spear as he made his way to safety.  

Once Frankie had the children on the roof she turned, fully prepared to go back down and save her uncle but Comanche grabbed her.  

"It's too late." He stated and Frankie smacked his face.  

"Shut-up!" she bellowed desperately and she jumped around him only to see her uncle being ripped apart by the hungry rabids. "Uncle Gibb's!" she screamed as she tried to leap from the roof, not even fully realizing that she was leaping until Comanche's long strong arms closed around her and held her firmly against his bdoy.  

"Let me go!" she ordered as she kicked, elbowed and hit for all she was worth against him but he held her firm and then forced her face into his chest so she could no longer see what those rabid were doing to her uncle. But she could still hear it. She fell apart then. The strong, never back down, never let 'em see ya cry woman that her uncle had raised fell apart and began to sob right there in the arms of an indian who stood there still as a stone and held her.  

---

Comanche stood and held Frankie as she sobbed, shuddered and clung to him with desperation. He could feel her hot tears scalding his skin and surprisingly enough Comanche felt his heart breaking for this woman. His heart which had died the day those pale faces had ridden in and slaughtered his family before taking him captive, forcing them into their home, naming him Phillip and trying to ‘civilize’ him, was suddenly coming alive again as Frankie’s own heart broke.

She was his true mate. He was sure of it now. His father had told him that one day he would find her. Comanche had only been seven at the time and hadn't believed him but it turned out the man had known what he was talking about. When he had seen her surrounded by so many of the flesh eaters he had known for certain and he had been desperate to do anything to save her life, even risk his own.  

"I'm sorry, Frankie. So very sorry." He whispered against her dark hair hoping she would hear the sincerity behind his words.  

"It was my fault.. If I hadn't jumped down there he wouldn't have followed me and he wouldn't have...." Frankie's shoulders heaved as her sobs intensified.  

"I thank you for what you did." A feminine voice stated and Frankie's movements stilled suddenly. She pulled herself out of Comanche's grasp and turned to face the mother of the two children who were huddled together in the corner. The mother was standing on her own, ringing her hands, strands of her blond hair lying across her face.  

"You left them!" Frankie hissed. "You left your children!"  

"I... I was scared." The mother replied,tears filling her eyes.  

Comanche heard a whimper and looked over at the children, his blood freezing when he saw that the children were beginning to sweat and shake. There was blood on their jackets and Comanche knew... They had been bitten.  

"We need to get off this roof now." He said slowly. Frankie looked at him questioningly and then followed his gaze as the children began to convulse, their eyes rolling back in their heads. 	

"No!" Frankie exclaimed angrily as she clenched her fists. "Dammit it's not fair!"  

"What's wrong with them?!" the mother exclaimed. Frankie sneered.  

"Comanche can you toss them through the window below this wall?" Frankie asked pointing toward the back of the gun shop. Comanche nodded. He knew they could slip down the back wall, the distance wasn't so great that the fall would hurt them and then they could slip around the outside of town and away from the hordes to relative safety.  

"Why?" he questioned and Frankie shook her head.  

"Just do it." Comanche grabbed the convulsing children. The mother screamed and ran at him but Frankie punched her jaw hard and the woman stopped in her tracks as her head snapped back and she clutched at her face.  

Comanche quickly went to the back wall and launched himself over it, rolling with the impact to keep from breaking any bones. He said a quiet prayer before tossing the convulsing boys through the open window. He saw that the door to the gun shop had been barricaded from the inside.  

He caught a movement from above him and then there was a flash of gingham skirts before the mother was suddenly flying over the side of the building. She did not prepare herself for the impact and Comanche didn't feel obliged to catch her.  

The snapping of her leg could be clearly heard and Comanche winced at the cracking of bone. He heard her muffled screams but realized that someone, probably Frankie, had used a bandana to gag the woman and keep her voice from being heard by the flesh eaters still distracted at the other side of the building.  

His spear, bow and arrows and sack were the next to come over the wall followed by Frankie's rifle. Then Comanche realized that Frankie was jumping and he caught her in his arms, setting her down when she glared at him.  

"Don't go thinking I'm weak and need your help." She warned and he held his hands up in surrender but said nothing. "Now put her in there with her children."  

"But they'll eat her." Matthew gasped from atop the building and Frankie nodded. 

"Yep. That's what I'm counting on. The bitch was so eager to get to safety that she abandoned those youngins. As far as I'm concerned they owe her one."  

Comanche saw the mother's blue eyes widen with shock and fear as she fought to crawl away, though there wasn't much she could do with her broken leg. Comanche just nodded and picked up the struggling woman.  

"Gnaa!" a childlike voice moaned from inside. Comanche saw the children. They were changed now. Flesh eaters. Moaning and shuffling. Comanche tossed the mother inside, forcing himself to be just as cold as she had been. She had abandoned her children to those monsters and it was only fair that now she was going to die at her children's hands... or their teeth.  

Comanche looked at Frankie then and saw that she once again looked to be near tears.  

"Comanche..." she said quietly and he took a step toward her as the sound of ripping flesh filled the space inside the gun shop. "Get me the hell out of here."  

Comanche needed no more urging than that.  

“Are you coming?” he asked Matthew and the other man shook his head.

“Reckon not.”

Comanche shrugged, gathered up the dropped weapons and then took Frankie by the hand and led her out away from town and into the wilderness. Once they were out of sight of the town and the flesh eating horde they’d left behind, Comanche let out a sharp whistle and his faithful paint gelding galloped over a rise to them. Comanche smiled at the creature.

"When I was thinking of what your name should be I imagined you on a horse just like this one." Frankie admitted, though Comanche could hear a hollowness in her words that he did not like. That spirit he had been so drawn to seemed to be gone.... It had obviously died with her uncle.  

Comanche didn't' speak, he'd never had much use for a lot of words. Instead he slid up into the saddle and reached for her hand. Frankie took it and Comanche lifted her into the saddle, feeling a strange peace that he had never felt before as she sat behind him and slid her arms around his waist.  

"Promise me something, Comanche."  

"Anything." Comanche replied honestly.  

"Promise you won't tell anybody that I cried or ever mention those tears again." 

Comanche thought that an odd request given the tragedy she had just witnessed. He figured tears were to be expected but he nodded and patted her hands which were clasped together over his bare stomach.  

"Your tears are safe with me."  

---

Frankie felt as if she were in a daze and there was a numbness in her heart as she held onto Comanche and his horse carried them steadily through the forests and across fields and streams.

Her uncle was gone.... She had led to his death. How was a woman supposed to move past that? She had no idea. She didn't even know if she could. She almost wished that Comanche had let her jump from that building so the rabid could have killed her as well.  

She didn't even have the energy to process Phillip... or Comanche as he seemed to want to be called now. Why would he adopt that name just to please her? Why had he leapt from that building and into a throng of rabid just to save her? Why had he held her so tenderly while she'd cried and where had that sincerity come from in his voice as he'd whispered soothingly to her? Her head began to hurt and she decided to let it drop. It was too much.......  

Her uncle's face entered her mind as he'd yelled at her to go one and Frankie nearly began to cry again. Comanche must have noticed her arms tighten around him because he rubbed her arm gently with his free hand and glanced over his shoulder at her.  

"You are safe for now, Frankie."  

"I'm not worried about the rabid, Comanche. I can handle the rabid." Comanche nodded.  

"I am sorry about your uncle and those children."  

"I guess it was bound to happen eventually. These monsters have been around for a while now and I had yet to lose someone I really cared about losing. So many have lost so much, I suppose it was my turn. And I should have known better than to try to save those children. People die.. That is the truth of this new world we're part of."  

"It may not seem like it now, Frankie, but life will go on. It always does."  

"I'm not so sure."  

Silence fell over them and Frankie went on high alert when a homestead came into view. They rode in and Comanche called out but no one answered, rabid or otherwise.  

"It must be abandoned." Frankie whispered blankly. She was so tired. So numb. She just wanted to curl up and sleep a while. Frankie realized then that it was nearly sunset. "Could be a good place to sleep." She added.  

Comanche slid from the saddle and then helped Frankie down and she was too out of it to even argue that she did not need help. He led her into the tiny home with his gun drawn. After ensuring that there were no rabid or survivors here, Comanche led Frankie to the abandoned bedroom.  

"Don't you get any ideas, Comanche." Frankie warned as she pulled off her weapons and boots and slipped beneath the covers.  

That lazy smile again curved Comanche's lips. "I wouldn't dream of it, Frankie."  

Frankie was so mentally exhausted that she quickly closed her eyes and fell asleep, never feeling Comanche's lips brush against her brow tenderly before the indian stood and left the bedroom, closing the door softly behind him.

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine:

April 1887

‘Colt!’ Sarah’s screams pierced the night and Colt ran for the cabin but it was as if his legs were stuck in a muddy bog or a pit of quicksand and no matter how hard he tried to get them to work, how quickly he tried to run, they were being held back and bogged down.

'Colt help!' Sarah's screams became more desperate as did Colt's thrashing movements. The sounds of his daughter's tiny screams mingled with his wife's and with a scream of desperate rage, Colt finally broke free of whatever was holding him back and ran for them. 


He was running through a sea of those rabid monsters. They were coming at him from all sides. Clawing, biting, ripping, tearing. The pain was unbearable but still Colt kept going forward. They might kill him but he would not allow these monsters to kill his family. Not again. 


He burst into the cabin and his boots skidded to a stop on the uneven wooden floorboards when he saw that he was too late. His thundering heart broke apart yet again. They were rabid. His beautiful wife and his precious baby girl had turned into monsters.  They were coming toward him. Their bodies were bleeding from bite wounds and their eyes were gray and lifeless. Their hands were reaching for him. 


"Dada!" Loralie's little voice called out and this time instead of running Colt fell to his knees and held out his arms for his daughter as fat tears rolled down his cheeks. 


Loralie climbed up into his lap and Colt wrapped his arms around her, holding her tiny body tight against his chest and not caring when she sunk her teeth deep into his throat........

Colt shot bolt upright, his gun in his hand as he quickly looked around the cave he'd camped in. He hadn't built a fire because he had learned they attracted the rabid and while it was April and becoming a little warmer, it was still damp and chilly with all the mud and rock around him.  

It was still the middle of the night, Colt realized, though the full moon cast plenty of light outside the cave to see by.  He figured he might as well be on his way. He wasn't going to be sleeping any more tonight. Not after that dream.  

He grabbed his sack of belongings and his saddlebags from the ground. He'd managed to get a change of clothes, some extra weapons, ammunition and a bit of food from an abandoned homestead he'd come across but he knew he'd have to go to a town soon. He hadn't yet been to a town. He was somewhere in Tennessee would be his guess but he didn't know or care exactly where. That didn't seem to matter when all you ever found were more and more rabid.  

Colt hadn't seen a single other living person since that woman who had rescued him from his cabin. There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't want to punch her in the face for rescuing him. Things would be so much easier if she had just let those rabid have him.... At least then he wouldn't be living this non-existent life.  

He felt nothing. He was no longer sad but he wasn't happy either. He was numb. He simply was. He didn't laugh, didn't cry. He didn't get angry and yell, as a matter of fact he had yet to speak a word. He wasn't even sure how long it had been since the days had all seemed to run together but he thought it was getting close to two weeks.  

Colt wanted to die and yet he was too much of a fighter to just lie down and do it. Maybe going into a town would get it done. There may be a lot of rabid there.. too many for him to get away from. He had killed his fair share of rabid already. Dispatching them with a calm cold indifference. He knew it wasn't their fault that they were doing what they were doing and yet he couldn't stop himself from killing every single one he saw.  

He stepped out of the cave and stretched his aching back and stiff legs before walking over to the hitched brown mare that he had also stolen and taken for his own. Of course it wasn't really stealing when the previous owners had just gotten done trying to eat your face, Colt didn't suppose.  

Colt secured his saddlebags and put the strap of his sack over the saddle horn before climbing onto the saddle. He knew it wasn't good to leave a horse with a heavy saddle on its back all the time but it was even worse to be caught by a horde of rabids and not have a saddled horse to ride away on. He figured the horse would just have to get the hell over it.  

This wasn't the first time Colt had lived on the run. He'd been a wanted man from the age of fifteen on up to twenty-five. He'd been on outlaw. He took what he wanted to take, robbed who he wanted to rob and killed anyone that he felt needed killing. He'd spent many a night sleeping with only the earth for a bed and a rolled up coat for a pillow.  

Then at twenty-five he'd very nearly been killed. He had the scar on his right side against his ribcage to prove it and when the weather was too cold his lung still pained him. It was then that Colt had decided he wanted out of that kind of life.  

He'd had a friend in the government and that friend had told him that a pardon was possible but that Colt would have to prove he was a changed man. That was where Sarah had come in. She had been getting older and past the age most men wanted for their new wife and Colt had needed a woman to make him appear settled down.    

The two of them had had nothing in common and disagreed on just about every part of life. From the best way to eat eggs in the morning to whether or not it was okay to steal to survive. Sarah's family saw black and white with no in betweens, no grays, and Colt was definitely what he would call a gray. He wasn't good, he wasn't bad, he was gray.  

The two of them had damn near hated each other until the day that Sarah had come to him and told him that their child was growing inside of her. That had been the day that Colt had seen her in an entirely new light. She was giving him something greater and more precious than anything he'd ever had before and so he decided the least he could do was make sure she was a happy wife.  

Love had soon followed. Not an all-consuming fiery passion kind of love but a love born of mutual fondness and respect.  

Colt had no doubt that if they'd been given more time their love would have only grown and surely one day it would have been one of those all-consuming loves that the bards and poets liked to carry on about. 

He'd never know for sure however because those rabid bastards had taken it all away. His wife. His daughter. His future. His every hope for happiness was gone. Colt knew he'd never be happy again, not without them, but hell he'd settle for at least feeling halfway alive. Or feeling anything at all.  

Colt looked out across a field he was passing and saw the deer filling it. For a moment he thought about taking one but he knew that was far too much meat for him alone and he currently had no way to cure the meat. Colt had never been one to kill a creature and waste its sacrifice. If he was starving to death he figured he'd be feeling a little different but his stomach wasn't that empty just yet. It was pretty damn empty but not quite empty enough for that.  

Colt had seen a horse just the day before that was covered in bite marks, human bite marks, rabid bite marks, and he had taken note that whatever sickness was raging in the humans blood didn't seem to pass to critters and for that he was grateful. He could only imagine the ways a man would shit his pants if he ran across a rabid grizzly.   

He continued on his way, his shoulders slumping with his exhaustion. He hadn't gotten a good night of sleep since he'd lost his family. All he could ever manage was an hour to two before those dreams awakened him. They were always a little different but they always ended the same. With him losing his family to those damned rabid.

It was dawn when Colt saw the town come into view ahead of him. It was a small town nestled at the edge of the mountains with the flatter land stretching out to the west of it. Colt hadn't realized he'd come this far... He supposed that subconsciously he was hoping that if he went far enough west he could find a place untouched by all this madness.  

It had rained just yesterday and his horse's hooves splashed in the fresh mud covering the bottoms of his pants with dark splotches. Colt ran his hand over his jaw which was covered in thick dark stubble... closer now to a beard.

He saw several rabid feasting on the dead body of a horse but he kept moving past them. He didn't know how many were in this town and he needed to get a lay of the land before he began to rid the town of them.  

 This town was surprisingly quiet. He could hear the moans of rabid and the occasional thud as they ran into things. It seemed they suffered from extreme clumsiness, every last one of them.   

The silence was then shattered by angry feminine shouts. "Get away from me! I said no!"   

"Bitch you'll give me what I want! You're a goddamn whore!" A man yelled back. Colt saw the rabid turning toward the raised voices and he quickly spurred his horse into a gallop to get to the big blue building they'd come from before the rabid did.  

The door and all the windows on the bottom floor were boarded up but Colt circled around the back and saw the rope ladder hanging down. He jumped from the horse, threw his sack and saddlebags over his shoulder, pulled his gun, swatted the horse on the rump to get it run off and then headed up the ladder toward the sound of the voices. He might not have been able to save his wife and child from the rabid but he'd be damned before he let some no account bastard force a woman against her will.  

---

Kathleen glared at the two big men standing in front of her. They were dirty, unkempt and stunk terrinly and Kathleen didn’t think it was simply because the world had turned upside down. She had a feeling that even when things had been good and normal these men had been much the same.

"You're a whore and you'll lay with us!" the fatter of the two grumbled as he stepped toward her. Kathleen clutched the wooden club tighter in her hands and shook it warningly at him.  

"You're right, I'm a whore. Which means I lay with men in return for something else. You have nothing to offer me!" Kathleen was pissed at these men as it was. She had lain with both of them mere hours ago with the understanding that they would give her supplies in exchange for her services. They had lied. The only supplies they had was a single glass jar of canned pears. Good but not exactly worth the rutting she'd had to endure from the two dirty fat men.  

Kathleen had been born to be what she was. Her mother had been a whore at this very brothel and Kathleen had been raised here. It was impossible to say who her actual father was but the man who had helped raised her had groomed her from a young age to be as beautiful and desirable as she could be.  

Kathleen was alone in the brothel now though she had made it as safe as she could against the monsters that had taken over. She'd enlisted the help of several men in town to board up the windows and door the moment the monsters had begun to appear. Then she had put the rope ladder in her window. She'd chosen rope so she could keep it put up while the monsters were around but she no longer worried about that. They couldn't climb.  

The man who had raised Kathleen, the man she considered her pa, had died three years before from a gunshot. Her mama had been killed two weeks before by the monsters when she'd tried to sneak to the mercantile for food.  

Kathleen had watched in horror as the monsters had attacked her mother, ripping the woman to shreds and then feasting on her body. There had been nothing Kathleen could do to help her... It had all happened too fast.  

So now here she was trying to make the best of a bad situation. There were a few townsfolk left though everyone seemed to stay to themselves in the safe havens they had created. Survivors passed through town quite often and Kathleen used them.  

She gave them a release, a chance to forget the horror of the world for a while, and in exchange they gave her food, weapons, ammunition and other supplies. The least often that she had to go down onto the streets and into town the better off she was.  

"I got something to offer you alright. A big throbbing cock is what I have to offer you." Kathleen rolled her eyes as the fat man struggled to release said desire from his pants.  

Then she heard a movement on the side of the building and saw the rope ladder move. She said nothing since the fat men didn't seem to notice.  

"Im not interested in having that dirty cock." She countered. She gripped her club tighter and then a face appeared in her window. A bearded, dirty face with eyes such a dark blue it took her a moment to realize they were indeed blue instead of black.  

He launched himself into the room, his boots landing with a thud. Kathleen saw the fat men reach for their guns as they turned but they quickly moved their hands away from their holsters when they realized that the man already had his gun drawn and looked pretty sure he wanted to shoot them both.  

Kathleen was relieved that her next customer was at least lean and muscular and she was sure he was probably handsome beneath all the hair on his face.  

"Who the hell are you?!" the fattest of the men demanded. Kathleen was surprised when the man didn't reply. He looked sad. Very sad. His face was blank, his eyes dull. All he did in response to the fat man's question was step to the side away from the window and motion toward it with his gun.  

"You want us to leave?" the other man asked with a chuckle and the newcomer nodded.  

"Listen if you want a ride on the whore than you're gonna have to wait your turn. We had her first." The fattest growled and Kathleen gasped and covered her mouth when the newcomer's gun hand shot out and he caught the fattest in the nose.  Then the newcomer calmly stepped back and pointed at the window once again.  

"You son of a bitch!" the man currently not sporting a broken nose bellowed and he went for his gun. Kathleen stared in shock at the newcomer when he fired a shot into the other man's chest and the man fell dead and bleeding to the floor.  

The man with a broken nose stared in wide eyed shock and horror and Kathleen nearly laughed when he ran for the window and then dove out head first.  

The newcomer holstered his gun and poked his head out the window before looking back at her.  

"Thank you." Kathleen said. "Those men just wouldn't take no for an answer." Kathleen could hear moaning and thumps all around the downstairs walls of the brothel. She knew that the monsters had been drawn to the sound of yells, gunshots and now the scent of blood. "Can you toss him out the window?" she asked, pointing at the dead man.  

Still the newcomer said nothing. Instead he just dropped the saddlebags and sack he was carrying to the floor and then hoisted the dead man over his shoulder and tossed him out the window. The shrieks and moans were instant, as was the sound of tearing flesh as the monsters tore in to the fresh meat.  

Katherine didn't look out the window as she lifted the ladder and then closed the shutters. She turned and faced the new man who was staring at her with those cold eyes. They didn't look mean just..... lifeless. Dull.  

She shrugged, knowing the role she'd be expected to play. It was the only role she had ever played, the only one she'd ever been wanted for. "Well normally a man's gotta give me supplies of some sort before I'll  get into bed with him, sir, but seeing as how you just helped me out with those two brutes, I guess I could give you one for free." With that she loosed the tie on her robe and slid the swatch of satin off her shoulder to reveal the soft skin of her naked body to him as the robe pooled at her ankles.

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten: If you’re gonna shoot me with something I’d just as soon it wasn’t your gun

Holy shit, mother of Mary, dear sweet baby Jesus! The damned woman was naked and even Colt was alive enough to notice that much. Colt cursed under his breath when he felt his cock twitch.  

He didn't want this woman. Colt didn't want any woman. He just wanted to get back to killing rabid and sleeping on the ground until the day he was lucky enough to die.  

"You gonna stare all day or come on over here?" the woman purred. Colt looked down at her feet, then followed her long legs up and up to the juncture of blond curls between her thighs. She had well rounded, feminine hips, a lean stomach and her breasts were some of the fullest and firmest he'd ever laid his eyes on.  

Her face was beautiful too. Full, heart shaped lips, upturned nose, big green eyes and a thick head of sandy colored waves that hung down her back and over her dainty shoulders.  With that all naked skin and beauty in front of him Colt knew that his body should be trembling with lust, his mind clouded with it, but instead he felt nothing.  

His pecker certainly seemed to be feeling a few things but the rest of him still felt numb. Dead. Colt turned to walk out the door and find a room to be alone when the woman grabbed his arm and stopped him.  

"Where you going? Don't you want me?"  Colt swallowed hard and shook his head slowly. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand off of him before walking around her and grabbing her robe off the worn rug.  

He held it out for her and saw the confusion in her green eyes as she reached for it quickly. Her cheeks flushed red as she pulled the robe around herself and secured it tightly.  

"What do you want then? Why did you help me?" the woman asked with confusion. Colt just shrugged. He'd helped her because he'd needed to. He'd needed to make a difference to someone since he'd failed his wife and daughter. That didn't mean he wanted a damn thing from her and he certainly didn't want her body, no matter how nice it might have looked.  

Colt walked over and picked up his saddlebags and sack. He couldn't leave just yet, not with those flesh eaters in a frenzy below the window as they feasted on their meal, but he certainly didn't want to be in this room anymore.  

Colt only wanted to be alone. Forever. Until whenever it was God saw fit to just let him die.  

"Can you talk?" The woman asked, coming to stand in front of him. Colt shook his head.  The woman scratched at her thick sandy hair and frowned. "Thank you for what you did with those men. I am a whore but they were trying to force me after I'd told them no..."  

Colt nodded because he had heard. He had nothing against whores. People were born into the life they were born into. Some rose above it and some didn't but that didn't make one any better than the rest. And a man had no right to force any woman, even a whore, if she wasn't willing to lay with him.

He opened the door and stepped into the dark and dirty hall. "There are plenty of rooms if you'd like to rest a while." The woman said quietly, still looking very confused and Colt was certain she appeared ashamed though he had no idea what she'd be ashamed about.  

He nodded again and then walked away, the sound of his footsteps echoing off the surrounding walls. He rounded a corner into another long hall and tried a door. It swung open and Colt stepped into the small room. It was complete with a fireplace, wardrobe, dressing curtain, brass bed, two arm chairs and a tiny table.  He shut and locked the door behind him and let out a long breath.

Colt looked at that bed longingly. He was so damned tired..... Tossing his belongings to the floor and slipping off his guns, boots, pants and shirt, Colt climbed into the bed wearing only his white long johns, stained from so many weeks of wear.  He collapsed against the lumpy mattress and closed his eyes, willing sleep to come.  

---

Katherine didn't know whether to be angry, embarrassed or ashamed. She did know that she was damn confused. Since when did a man do something nice for a woman without wanting anything in return for it? Since when did any man refuse her?  

Katherine had always had men falling over themselves and emptying their pockets to get a chance with her. Ever since her father had announced her employment in the brothel at the age of fifteen that was all she'd been. Now at age twenty-three Katherine had a lot of experience with the other sex. She knew how to seduce them and use them to get what she needed. Though they were using her as well for their own release. 

But this man had walked away from her. Hell he'd all but thrown her robe back at her! She had seen his cock stir in those stained denims of his but his eyes had remained dull and uninterested. Maybe he hadn't been coming into her window for a romp in the bed after all. Maybe he had simply heard the arguing and wanted to help her....

Katherine had made a fool of herself. A complete and utter fool. A good man, a decent man finally rides into her life and she had to scare him away! With any luck she would never see him again. He would rest up and then be gone.... She didn't know if she could look him in the eyes again knowing that she had offered herself to him and he had refused. 

She pulled on a long blue gingham skirt with tiers that danced and twisted with her movements. There was a long slit in the side so that she could better access the .38 revolver in the holster tied around her thigh. Her blouse was white and hung off her shoulders, showing off her tanned skin and the bottom of the shirt tended to ride up revealing a bit of her stomach as well.  

Katherine had never bothered with underclothes, finding that they just got in the way when it was time to work. Men didn't usually appreciate having to take the time to undress her when all they wanted was a quick rut. 

She could still hear the monsters outside, moaning and screeching for all they were worth. Katherine pulled on her dark brown knee high boots and then left her bedroom and made her way downstairs to the kitchens. She had worked up quite an appetite with those men in the night and it was well past time for breakfast.  

Using what meager supplies she had left, Katherine prepared oatmeal with canned peaches and cut off a few chunks from the loaf of bread she'd baked the day before. Using some of the little bit of butter she had left, Katherine slathered the pieces in them and then sighed.  

She could hear that man upstairs moving around in the room he'd chosen. Clearly he wasn't sleeping and so Katherine wondered if perhaps he might be hungry. As badly as she would like to never see him again, the fact remained that he had helped her out and they were survivors in this crazy world. There weren't very many survivors left and Katherine hadn't had conversations with those that were left.... .She'd been too busy letting out moans when it was expected in exchange for bread and bullets.   

She put some oatmeal into a bowl for him and laid all the food plus two glass of water onto the tray before making her way back upstairs. She propped the tray against her hip and used her free hand to knock on the door. 

The door opened almost the instant she knocked and she nearly swallowed her tongue at the sight of that .45 revolver pointed at her face.  

"If you're gonna shoot me with something I would just as soon it wasn't your gun." She managed to choke out around her fear, while giving him a coy brow raise. She had expected him to laugh or at least smile but there was nothing. No expression at all on his tense fence as he holstered his weapon and looked down at her. Katherine cursed her shortness. She stood only five feet two inches tall and this man was much taller than her, as were most men.  

"I made you breakfast." Katherine said holding out the tray. "I was hoping maybe we could eat together and talk. Or I guess I'll do the talking and you can do the listening....." The man let out a long sigh and then moved aside to allow her to enter.  

Katherine sat the tray down on the small table while the man moved the armchairs so they could sit on them while they ate.  

She was happy when he grabbed up the food and began to gobble it eagerly. Clearly it had been a while since he'd had a fresh cooked meal.  

"My name is Katherine. It would be nice to know what yours is..."  

The man frowned and then pulled his gun, laying it on the table and pointing at it. "Gun?" Katherine asked with a raise of brow. "Your name is gun?"  

The man shook his head and pointed at the words written on the barrel. One word in particular. "Colt?" The man nodded. Katherine thought that was an odd name and wondered if it was short for something else but knew she would never know. Not if he couldn't speak and tell her.  

"It's nice to meet you Colt." If the man returned the sentiment it was impossible to tell. Those dark blue eyes of his really were blank. Katherine wondered if he was dumb as well as mute... though he certainly didn't act as if he were.  

The meal was eaten in silence and yet it was the best meal Katherine had eaten since her mother had died. It was the first meal she'd eaten with someone else. It felt nice to just have another living, breathing person around that wasn't trying to rut with her or chew her face off.  

Katherine was about to gather up the dishes and leave the room when she noticed Colt's nostrils flaring as he sniffed. Katherine mimicked his movements and that's when she smelled it. Kerosene and smoke.  

"Rot in hell you dirty bastards!" Katherine recognized the voice of the man who had run from Colt and jumped out the window hours earlier. She saw Colt jump to his feet and look out the window and she let out a cry of shock when he pulled his gun and fired off a shot.  

"Did you kill him?!" she demanded and he shook his head. Katherine ran to the window as well and saw the man trying desperately to crawl away as a rabid made its way toward his injured and bleeding body. She swallowed heard. Maybe Colt wasn't such a nice man after all.  

Then she realized what that fat monster snack had been doing. Her home was on fire. The brothel that she had been born and raised in, her one safe place in all this madness was quickly going up in flames and there was nothing she could do to stop it.  

---

Colt knew he had to get out of this building and he had to get Katherine out as well. Colt wasn't the hero type and never had been but he couldn't very well let the woman who had fed him breakfast burn up in a fire or fall prey to the rabid outside.  

"What are we going to do, Colt?" Katherine asked. Colt put his rifle over his back, grabbed up his saddlebag and sack and went to the door, motioning with his shoulder for her to come with him. He stepped out into the hallway and already he could feel the heat beneath his feet from the flames. Clearly that fat bastard had used a lot of kerosene on the rickety wooden building to ensure the flames would spread.  

Colt knew the fire would draw the rabid. Not just the rabid in the town but the rabid in the countryside for miles around them.  

He untied his bandana from his neck and put it over Katherine's mouth and nose. Her eyes widened and she held it in place. Colt took one last breath of decent air and then headed down the stairs, Katherine right behind him.  

The boards that were blocking the door from the outside were also blocking their escape. Colt handed the saddlebags and sack to Katherine and then ran at the door using his shoulder as a battering ram. He felt the wood crack as his bones jarred. Colt took a few steps back, prepared himself, though his eyes were burning and watering thanks to the smoke filing the space, and then ran for the door again.  

The boards broke free on the outside and Colt drew his revolver before stepping out. He felt Katherine's hand clutching the back of his coat as they walked through the smoke, flames licking at them. Colt knew it those flames were probably singing Katherine's bare skin but they 

had to stay in this smoke for as long as they could. Colt could hear the moaning hungry rabid all around them and he could see their figures through the haze.

He went to the corner of the building already knowing that he was heading straight across the street to a side alley that led out of town. Colt was good at memorizing escape routes with just a glance. It had been important in the life he'd lived before Sarah and he was glad it was a skill he'd developed since it had suddenly become important again.  

He threw a glance at Katherine threw his burning, watering eyes and she nodded, knowing that they were going to have to run fast. They left the cover of the smoke and Colt was surprised at the amount of rabid but he more surprised by the way they were acting.  

They were standing still, for the most part, almost as if the smoke and the growing flames had them in a trance. As a matter of fact only a few noticed Katherine and Colt as they ran past and those didn't seem to want to leave the fire to look at them.  

"They're like bees." Katherine said, her voice raspy and her lungs clearly burning from the amount of smoke she had breathed in despite the bandana Colt had given her to breathe through. He raised a brow as they slid around the back of the alley and stopped to catch their breath for a moment. "Haven't you ever seen bees around smoke?"

Colt nodded and realized that Katherine was right. Those rabid had acted much like bees in smoke. A good piece of knowledge to save away for later.  

Soon he was once again leading them around town, though this time he stopped at the jailhouse when he saw a shadow move inside the bars.  

He frowned as he went to the door and knocked. It was opened by a man with a shot gun and Colt sighed with relief. Clearly this was a safe building and he could leave Katherine here. He wouldn't have to worry about taking her with him. Colt was not wanting a partner or a ward to look after. He liked being alone. Being alone with his failures and his memories was what he wanted.  

He grabbed Katherine, took his saddlebags and sack from her and shoved her toward the door.  

"What are you doing?" she demanded angrily, her voice still raspy. Colt nudged her further into the building and the man with the gun frowned.  

"I aint' got no room for her." He warned. Colt glared at the man and then pulled his gun and put it to his forehead, which quickly became slicked with sweat while his throat bobbed. "I guess I could always make room." 

Colt tipped his hat to Katherine before holstering his weapon and then turning to walk away. He stopped in his tracks when a revolver cocked behind his ear.  

"I ain't staying here. My home is gone and this town is running out of food. You seem like a man who can take care of himself and help me stay safe. I'll take care of you, you take care of me.... It sounds li a winning situation for us both."  

Colt turned and looked down the barrel of a .38 and past it to Katherine's face. One look in her green eyes told him she wasn't joking. She'd pull that trigger if he refused her.  

"I'll be coming with you." She assured him and Colt's jaw tightened as his fists clenched. Damn. Looked like he'd just gotten himself a rabid killing buddy. Whether he'd wanted one or not.

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven: I’m so tired of the monsters

April 1887

Charlotte cringed when she heard the gunshots outside her window. She quickly left her bed and walked to the window, peeking out through the shutters to see Silas standing in the sun with his shot gun clutched in his hands and the bright sunshine shining on the muscles of his arms. He had ripped the sleeves off of his chambray shirt because they had been tattered and stained with blood and Charlotte found herself staring quite often at those hard muscles beneath that dark skin.  

Silas had been working outside, trying to gather what few eggs he could from the chicken coop for their breakfast, though they weren't laying well because food was scarce. Clearly his egg fetching mission had been interrupted by the two rabid lying dead.  

Charlotte glanced over at Grace sound asleep in her cradle. How sad it was when a newborn babe could sleep through gunfire. Grace's short life had already been filled with gunfire. Charlotte smiled lovingly at her angel and then left the bedroom to go check on Silas, locking the bedroom door behind her. As far as she knew the rabid could not open doors but it made her feel better to know her daughter was safely locked away. She slipped the iron key into her pocket and made her way down the stairs.

They had been here together at the house for nearly two weeks and in that time Silas had been doing everything to keep she and Grace safe and fed. Charlotte longed to talk to Silas, to really get to know him, but the man seemed to have been working hard to keep a wall between them. Charlotte didn’t know why that was and she didn’t like it. Silas was so different than any other person she had ever known and she wasn’t referring to his skin color. He was kind, gentle and soft spoken. There was a true tenderness and goodness to him that intrigued Charlotte. She had only ever known men to be harsh and cruel. They’d always been heavy handed and temperamental.

Charlotte stepped into the foyer just in time to meet Silas walking in the door. "Well hello there, Miss Charlotte."  Silas said as he handed her the basket of eggs. Charlotte felt her heart sink when she realized there were only three. Three tiny eggs to feed them both.  

"It ain't much I'm afraid." Silas admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. Charlotte had had a lot of practice in making the best of a bad situation and she smiled brightly at Silas and propped the basket of eggs on her hip.  

"They'll go wonderfully with the biscuits from last night and I do believe there may be a jar of canned apples in the back of the cellar."    

Silas smiled back at her. A handsome, gentle smile that made Charlotte's heart beat just a little faster. Which was absurd of course. This man would never fall for a woman like her. Her husband had not even been dead for two full weeks and she had a sleeping newborn upstairs.  She simply hoped that she and Silas could remain friends and help each other survive this terrible tragedy going on around them.  

"Sounds like a real good meal to me, ma'am. Where's Little Grace?"

“Sleeping soundly.” Charlotte replied with a smile, marveling at how Silas always seemed to be genuinely concerned about she and her daughter. A smile tugged at his full lips and he nodded,

“I’ll go get those apples…” Charlotte shook her head and laid her hand on his bare forearm. She saw his deep brown eyes instantly go to her touch and his nostrils flared. Charlotte marveled at how pale her skin seemed against the brownness of his.

Quickly she pulled her hand away, embarrassed that she'd touched him. She quickly pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. "I'll get the apples." She managed to somehow mumble out, avoiding meeting Silas's eyes.  

"You be careful down there, ma'am." Silas warned and Charlotte thought she heard a tension in his voice. Though when she tried to look into his eyes he quickly turned away and grabbed a rifle that was beside the door. He placed the rifle in Charlotte's hand and Charlotte looked up into his eyes.  

Something passed between them that Charlotte could not name. She saw the flicker in the brown depths of his gentle eyes. "I'll be careful." Charlotte assured him.  

Silas nodded and took a step back away from her. "I'll go take care of that mess outside." With that he walked back out the door and was gone.  

Charlotte sighed with frustration and confusion. What was it that she was feeling toward Silas? Was it simple gratitude because he had saved the life of she and her daughter? Was it simply desperation for human affection since he was the only other person around? Or was it something more?

Deciding that her mind was dwelling on things that were pointless, Charlotte made her way to the kitchen, feeling that familiar fear and unease work its way down her spine when she remembered Jackson and the way he had looked when she'd walked into this kitchen that night....... Silas had cleaned all the blood from the house and he had boarded up all the windows and all the doors to the outside, except the front door, but nothing was going to erase the memories of desperation and terror from Charlotte's mind. Those were permanently etched and she saw them all every time she closed her eyes.  

Charlotte sat the basket of eggs on the counter before walking to her oven and lighting the coals. She would need the top burner to be hot in order to scramble up their eggs for breakfast. Once that was heating, Charlotte made her way back to the front door and stepped out into the sunshine.  

Silas was nowhere to be seen and neither were the bodies of the rabid he had killed. She knew he was dragging them away from the house and would set fire to them to try to get rid of their smell. They had learned after Jackson and Britton that the other rabid could smell death and blood and it drew them in like vultures.  

Charlotte clutched the rifle tight in her hand, though she honestly had no real idea how to use it... She hadn't told Silas that she didn't know and she knew she would have to. He would probably be more than happy to teach her how to shoot.  She made her way to the side of the house and looked at the closed cellar door. She hadn't been down here since Jackson had turned into one of those rabid. There wasn't much down in the cellar ever since the money had begun to run out and they'd been running out of food but Charlotte remembered seeing a jar of canned apples the last time she'd been down there.  She remembered because she had planned to make a pie for Jackson to celebrate the tobacco buyer's good news....  

God that seemed like it had been a lifetime ago instead of only two weeks.  

Charlotte grabbed the metal handle, slicked with dew, and pulled open the heavy cellar door. The rusted hinges let out a long mournful creaking in the quiet morning air. Charlotte shivered at the sound and then descended the rickety staircase into the dark. Her senses were on high alert listening for any of those horrible moaning sounds the rabid made and watching for any sign of movement in the dark.  

She lit a kerosene lamp hanging by a hook on the wall at the bottom of the staircase and it illuminated the wide damp cellar. Charlotte made her way past the empty crates that used to be full of food and to the shelves that contained a variety of empty jars and tools.  

She reached through the dust and cobwebs to the back of the shelves and smiled when she found that jar of canned apples she had remembered being back here. She picked them up and felt her mouth watering at the thought of biting in to their sweetness.   

She had always loved cooking and eating and watching others enjoy what she cooked. Jackson had always praised her cooking skills. That had always been the one and only thing she had ever done right in his harsh eyes.  

Charlotte was about to turn and make her way back out the cellar when she heard a chuckle behind her and the rickety staircase squeaked.  

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"  

Charlotte felt her heart begin to pound at the sound of the man's voice. Her legs were heavy as she forced herself to turn. Standing there at the bottom of the staircase was a man. A dirty, bearded man and he was leering at her. His pale blue eyes were narrow and full of an evil light as he leered at her. A sneer bulled back his lips to reveal his rotten, broken teeth.  

"Who are you?" Charlotte whispered, her voice shaking.

"That aint' important." The man replied with a shrug as he took steps across the muddy ground toward her. "I heard gunshots and came to join the party, never thought I'd find me a pretty woman all alone...."  

Charlotte raised the rifle, hating the way it shook in her trembling hands. "Stop right there!" she warned. "I'll shoot you."  

"I don't think you will." The man said without fear as he grabbed the barrel of the rifle and then jerked it from Charlotte's hands. "Are you as lonely as I am?" he asked as he stepped closer and his foul breath washed over Charlotte's face. She took quick steps backward but soon she was pressed against the shelves and could move no further.  

The man closed in on her. "Stop!" she ordered as tears filled her eyes. Charlotte's blood froze as he chuckled. She had been so worried about rabid monsters that she had forgotten about this kind. He grabbed her arm and jerked her to him, throwing her body against his and pressing his arousal into her stomach.  

Charlotte gagged as she fought in vain against him. He was big and strong and she had never been a fighter. This is what men did. This is what they really were. They took what they wanted without asking and with no concern for who they hurt to get it. Men were rough, mean and controlling.  

He lowered his mouth to hers and Charlotte screamed against his lips as his hand closed around her breast and squeezed roughly, her swollen, milk filled breasts filling with pain.  

The man shoved her to the ground, covering her body with his as his foul tasting tongue was thrust into her mouth. Charlotte punched him in the temple and he roared with anger and swung his fist, connecting hard with her mouth, causing her head to explode with pain and stars to fill her eyes. Charlotte could taste the blood filling her mouth as the man shoved her skirts up and ripped down her underclothes.  

She found her voice then, while she was helpless to stop him she could scream and pray that maybe, just maybe, Silas would hear her and come.  

"Help! Silas! Help me!!" she screamed and the man growled and covered her bloody mouth with his dirty hand.  

It became hard to breathe as his hand was large and also covered her nose. Charlotte fought against him, fighting to get even one good breath as the man free his arousal from his stained trousers and then stuck his hand against the curls between her legs.  

Charlotte's struggles were in vain but she struggled anyway, only wanting this to end. To close her eyes and open them again to find herself back in her room with her sleeping daughter.  

Suddenly a roar of rage that Charlotte was certain hadn't come from her attacker filled the cellar and the man on top of her was suddenly gone. Charlotte saw him fly through the air, landing with a thud against the wall, knocking down the shelves that had been there.  

Silas had come. He had his gun trained on the chest of her attacker as he stood protectively over her, shielding her trembling body.  

"Who the hell are you?" the man demanded, his fists clenching.  

"I'm the man that's only gonna ask you one time to get out of here."  

"Now dammit, it's getting harder and harder to find a pretty woman that ain't one of those monsters and I'm gonna have her. Ain't no nigger gonna tell me I can't."  

Charlotte sat up and pushed herself to her feet, staying behind Silas and the comfort that knowing he was here provided, though she was still terrified. Sure he had his shotgun but that man had a pistol on his side. And Silas was a kind and gentle man...this man was not.  

"I said I would ask you one time to leave. Now I'm telling you to leave and not ever come back here again."  

"Dammit!" the man said angrily, his ugly face contorting with rage. "I won't have some nigger standing between me and what I want." The man lunged them, grabbing the barrel of the shotgun and causing the shot to go wild and spray across the ceiling. He stepped in close and hit Silas hard in the side of the head and then shoved him backward.  

Silas fell to the ground, the man falling with him as they wrestled over the gun. Charlotte's heart was frozen with fear as she watched them. Each time the man punched Silas, Charlotte felt the pain herself.  

After several tense minutes of struggling it was the other man that rose up, the ten gauge held tight in his hands. He grinned as he pressed the weapon tight against Silas's chest.  

"Say goodbye to your little nigger, darling, because I'm fixin' to send him straight to hell." The man growled. Charlotte didn't even think about what she did next, it seemed the only time she could find bravery was when she didn't think about it.  

She grabbed a metal drill press that had fallen onto the floor when Silas's body had knocked over the shelves and she leapt for the man, swinging that heavy hunk of iron as hard as she could and feeling it connect with a resounding thudding crack against his skull.  

With a grunt the man's legs crumbled and he collapsed to the ground. Silas quickly shoved him away and grabbed the shot gun, firing a quick shot into the man's back as he lay there on the dirty ground.  

Charlotte's bravery was gone. Her body hurt from the man's abuse, her head was pounding, her mouth was still bleeding and she felt move violated and vulnerable than she had ever felt before. She dropped the drill press to the ground and wrapped her arms tight around herself, squeezing her eyes tight and willing the horror of the world to just go away.  

---

Silas stared down at the dead man and felt his stomach turn. He'd just taken a human life. Silas had never done that before. While Charlotte's hit to his head might have been enough to kill the man it hadn't been enough to satisfy Silas. He'd wanted to kill the man himself.  

Silas said a quick prayer to God for forgiveness and then turned his attention to Charlotte. He was about to speak when he saw the way she was holding herself tight and mumbling with her eyes squeezed shut and his words died on his tongue.  

Damn this world they were living in to the fiery pits of hell. No woman as soft and good as this one should have to endure what she'd had to endure in the last few weeks. From rabid monsters to men who thought they could do as they pleased to her body simply because she was a woman. It made Silas's blood boil.  

He slid the sling on his shotgun over his shoulder and gently reached out his hands for her, caressing her arms gently with his fingertips. She jumped and her light green eyes widened with fear as she looked up at him, but then her eyes filled with tears and she flung herself into Silas's arms, clinging to him with what could only be described as desperation.  

Silas lifted her up, cradling her against his chest the way a husband would his new bride and he kissed her dark hair tenderly as she wrapped herself against him.  

"It's okay now, Miss Charlotte. I'm here. As long as I live and breathe I won't let anything else bad happen to you."  

It was a promise he meant with all his heart even if it wasn't one he knew for sure he'd be able to keep. His heart had been lost to this woman the first time he'd laid eyes on her and while he knew they couldn't be together, that wouldn't stop him from taking care of her and that angel Grace.  

Charlotte said nothing, simply buried her face in his chest and Silas carried her up and out of the cellar. He used his foot to kick the cellar door closed, hoping that would keep the smell of blood down until he had time to dispose of the man's body.

Silas carried Charlotte into the house, hating the way she was trembling against him. He stepped into the house, closing and locking the door behind him. Silas carried her up the grand staircase to her bedroom and realized the door was locked.  

"Miss Charlotte, ma'am, I need the key." Without saying a word and without pulling her face away from his chest, she slid her hand into her pocket and deposited the key into his waiting hand. Silas opened the door and stepped into the room, glancing at Grace who was still sound asleep in her cradle, swaddled in a soft blanket.  

"Grace?" Charlotte whispered, her voice muffled against him. Silas gave her a squeeze and kissed her hair gently.  

"She still sleeping soundly just the way you left her." He assured her. Silas carried Charlotte to the bed and tried to lay her down but she clung to him and whimpered.  

"Please! Please I need to feel you holding me...."  

Silas felt that little voice clear down in his soul. God how he longed he could be her man. He would keep her safe. He would never hurt her the way she'd been hurt in her life. He didn't know the details but he knew an abused woman when he saw one. He would make sure that she and Little Grace knew only the good a man could bring for the rest of his life.... But he couldn't.  

He was a black man, Charlotte was a white woman, that alone was an immense barrier between them. He was a poor man, a former slave, and she was the widow of a rich man.... Silas knew that the desires of his heart could never be made real and that made him incredibly sad.  

"Miss Charlotte, I can't.. It wouldn't be proper."  

"I don't care about proper." She whispered, her face pulling back and her eyes looking into his, pleading with him. "I want you to hold me, Silas, please.... You are so different from what I've always known before... Just hold me."  

Silas knew he couldn't refuse her. Not with those pale green eyes looking into his so deeply. He kept her body pulled against him as he got into the bed and slid beneath the covers. Charlotte laid her body long against his, her arm wrapped around her waist and her head resting on his chest. He knew she'd be able to hear the way his heart thundered and he wondered if she would understand why.  

"I'm so tired of monsters..." Charlotte whispered in a broken voice. Silas stroked her long brown hair and swallowed hard.  

"I won't never let another monster hurt you, Miss Charlotte. You or Little Grace. Now get you some rest."  

"Will you stay while I sleep?"  

"I'll be here."

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve:

Charlotte snuggled up closer to the warm pillow she was curled against, wrapping her arm tighter around it. The gentle drum beat beneath her ear picked up tempo as she moaned and the blankets around her tightened their hold.  

She had never felt so warm, so safe, as she felt in this very moment. Charlotte tried to remember ever having felt safe and secure before. Had she? Abusive parents who had no concern for her welfare had led to a husband who had been cold and indifferent at the best of times and just plain mean and heavy handed at the worst.

Her pillow shifted a little beneath her head and Charlotte found herself frowning. Since when did pillows move of their accord? Slowly she opened her eyes and then swallowed hard when she realized she wasn't wrapped around a pillow..... Her head was resting a chest, a broad chest and it was two strong dark arms that were squeezing her tightly, not a blanket.

"Miss Charlotte, you waking up now?"  Silas's gentle voice washed over her and Charlotte found her lips curving into a smile as she looked up into his brown eyes. "Now there's a nice sight." He said, though she noticed that he swallowed hard and his voice sounded a bit tighter than it did normally.

Charlotte tried to remember how they had gotten here.... Silas had blood on his lip... Blood from what? A flash of memory came back to her then. The man in the cellar. The horrible things he had said to Silas and the way he had touched her.....

She stiffened as fear filled her and Silas shushed her patiently. "It's okay, Miss Charlotte, you're safe now."  

"Thank you for staying with me." Charlotte whispered, turning her gaze back to his chest to avoid his eyes.  

"I said I would. I'll always keep my word to you, Miss Charlotte."  Charlotte wanted to reply and ask him why that was, why he cared so much, but Grace chose that moment to awaken with a loud wailing cry.  

Charlotte pulled away from Silas and tried to sit up but pain filled her body. Her arms and legs were sore from trying to fight off her attacker, her breasts hurt from his painful squeezes and her face was aching from his punch.  

Silas slid away from her and stood. "I'll get her, Miss Charlotte."  

Charlotte watched him walk around the bed and she couldn't help but smile as his eyes lit up when he picked the screaming infant up from her cradle.  

"Now what seems to be the matter, Little Grace?" he cooed gently. "You just tell Silas all about it and I'll see what I can't do to reconcile the problem."  

Charlotte tried to imagine Jackson being so sweet and loving toward that little girl as Silas cradled her against his chest and rocked her gently, never taking his brown eyes off the now quiet infant. She couldn't imagine it and she knew that was because it never would have happened. Jackson had been angry at her for getting with child and he had already hated Grace without ever having met the beautiful angel. She had no doubt that his resentment would have only grown with every cry the infant made and every outfit she dirtied.  

Charlotte fell tears fill her eyes when Silas began to sing quietly to Grace. It was as if the man had simply forgotten there was anyone else in the entire world as he looked down at the baby and rocked her gently in his strong arms.  

“Swing low sweet chariot coming for to carry me home….”
Charlotte sniffed as she fought back her tears and Silas stopped singing as a smile split his face and he turned his gaze toward her.

"This little girl is an angel, plain and simple." he admitted and then his smile turned downward. "You're crying." He stated. "I don't like the way those tears look in your eyes, Miss Charlotte, ma'am."  

Charlotte felt the tears she'd been trying desperately to hold back break loose then and slip down her cheeks. Silas looked horrified and he wasted no time in crossing the room, circling the bed and kneeling beside her with Grace still held in his arms, though the infant was once again becoming restless.  

"Now, Miss Charlotte...." Silas pleaded. "Please stop those tears now...."   

Charlotte tried but she simply couldn't seem to. She had managed to hold them back since Jackson had tried to kill her and she'd given birth to their daughter alone but she couldn't hold them back any longer. Stress, fatigue and then the longing for whatever this was she was feeling for Silas to be named... This urge to know what this was between them.... The wish that Grace could have a father like him.... Charlotte had heard that women sometimes jumped from mood to mood and got worked up over everything after having a baby and she guessed that she had become one of 

those women.

Grace began to cry loudly and Charlotte felt her breasts respond to the sound as milk filled them. "She's hungry." Charlotte stated with a sniff as she held out her arms. "Let me feed her."  

Silas nodded and laid Grace in her arms though he seemed loathe to do so. "I'll just go on out and clean a bit." He responded. "And I'll get to cooking those eggs too, Miss Charlotte. I'm sure you're just as hungry as Little Grace."  

All Charlotte could manage was a nod and Silas pushed himself to his feet and backed away toward the door. "I didn't cause those tears did I, Miss Charlotte?"  

"No..... No, it wasn't you." Charlotte sniffed, stroking her tiny angels light hair. Silas nodded and then walked out the door, closing it quietly behind him.  

Charlotte unbuttoned the front of her blouse and while Grace eagerly suckled, Charlotte wept. "The world is mean, Grace. It is a hate filled place full of disappointments and those that will hurt you. There have always been monsters but now there is a new breed of monsters for you to grow up in fear of. I'm sorry my angel. Mama will do her very best to shield and protect you and we have Silas....... He is different. He is kind and gentle...." Charlotte's voice trailed off as she thought of Silas and his quiet strength over the last couple of weeks.  

Boarding windows, hunting, cleaning, cooking when needed and simply always being there. Always defending her against all the monsters, (both human and bloodthirsty), that came around. He was a blessing; the biggest one that Charlotte had ever been given outside of her daughter.  

She smiled down at Grace, her tears drying in her eyes. "We're going to be okay, Grace."  

---

Silas balanced the tray of food and cups of water on his hip as he knocked on Charlotte's bedroom door an hour later.  He was nervous.  There was so much he wanted to say to Charlotte but none of it was right. The way he felt about that woman wasn't right. But no matter how many times he tried to tell his heart that, it just would not listen.  

"Come in." that quiet voice called from the other side of the door. Silas let out a breath before squaring his shoulders and opening the door slowly.  

Charlotte was sitting in the armchair beside the window with Grace swaddled and lying in her arms. Charlotte had changed out of her stained and torn clothes and into a pale blue gingham skirt and cream blouse with a high neck and long sleeves. Her hair was all pulled back but several soft strands were free and laying over her shoulders and across her cheek.  

She was so beautiful. So soft. Silas just wanted to protect her and keep her safe from the harsh world they lived in. He was happy to see that her tears had been dried.... Those tears had ripped his heart out, each and every one. Silas had never been a man that could stand to see a woman's tears.  

"I brought your food, Miss Charlotte. I'm sorry it took so long."  

"It smells delicious, Silas. Thank you." Charlotte replied as she stood and carried Grace to her cradle. Silas watched her lay that little angel down and then make her way back to the chair.  

"Pull that other chair over here and eat with me, won't you?" Charlotte asked and Silas nodded. He'd been hoping she would invite him to do so. He sat the tray on the small table beside Charlotte and then slid his gun off his back, propping it against the wall before sitting down himself. 	

"This is delicious!" Charlotte exclaimed as she bit into a chunk of warm apple and the sugary juice it had been canned in ran down her chin. Silas smiled as he pulled his bandana and leaned forward, wiping the juice away.  

He saw the way those brown rings around her green eyes darkened as he ran that bandana over his chin and he quickly averted his gaze as he sat back and got busy eating his own food. Silas had tried very hard in his thirty years of life to never be a lustful man. He was a good Christian man who had only ever been with one woman. They had been engaged to be married when she had given herself to him, only to die of fever a few days before their wedding.  

Silas had been sure that he was done with love and relationships and had managed for eight long years until the day he'd ridden in here and seen Charlotte's pale, tired face. Not only did his body want her but his heart did too and Silas cursed them both for wanting what they could not have.  

"I'm afraid that the only way we're gonna have dinner is if we sacrifice one of those chickens out there." Silas finally stated after several long moments of their chewing being the only sound in the room.  Charlotte sighed and looked out the window with a nod.  

"They've not had proper food in weeks so they won't provide us with much meat, I'm afraid....." Her voice trailed off and she licked at her lip as her eyes became lost in some far away memory. "But I'm sure they will taste delicious." Silas smiled at her ability to see the silver lining around every storm cloud. She looked over at him then. "When I first married Jackson this place was different. He was a wealthy man then and we had more then we could use. The cellar was bursting with food as was the kitchen. The barns, coops and corrals were full of fat, happy animals..... Plenty of clothes and trips to fancy cities. Then Jackson made a couple of bad investments, there was a few years of droughts and well..... He lost everything."  

"Not everything." Silas countered. "He had you and you were giving him Little Grace."  

Charlotte let out a sad little snort. "That did not matter to him. We did not matter. Jackson and I did not love one another, Silas. It was not a marriage of love, friendship or even fondness.... My family was poor and he offered quite a bit of money for my hand. They were very eager to make the trade." Silas saw her cheeks flush as if it embarrassed her to share that truth with him.  

Silas had heard of such marriages before but he'd never understood them. He knew that if the Lord saw fit to ever bless him with beautiful daughters, he would let them marry for love, not for money.  

"I'm sorry, Miss Charlotte. A woman as soft and gentle as yourself deserved a husband who would have worshipped the very ground you walked upon." 

Charlotte laughed lightly. "Men don't worship anyone but themselves, Silas. Jackson was angry when I became pregnant with Grace. He said I waited until he was a mere pauper on purpose just to pour salt in his wounds."  

"Not all men are like that, Miss Charlotte." Silas stated in earnest and his heart thundered when she looked into his eyes and a soft smile curved her full heart shaped lips.  

"You're right, Silas. I apologize. You certainly are nothing like the other men I've known."   

"I ain't anything special, Miss Charlotte. The Lord tells me to love others and to help where I'm needed so that is what I do."  

"Is that all that makes you help us?" Charlotte asked and then her face flushed red and she bit her lip and looked away from him quickly. "Just.. I mean...." She stuttered several times and then simply fell silent, her fingers picking at a loose thread in her skirt.  

Silas swallowed hard. Could it be that she felt the same pull toward him that he felt toward her? That he had felt toward her from the moment he had first seen her? But it wasn't right. The world would not accept a black man and a white woman being together....

Do you really care?

His heart seemed to ask and the answer to that was simple. No. No, Silas did not care what the world thought of his feelings toward Charlotte but he did care about how they would judge her…. Then again it didn’t seem like much of the world was left and surely they had bigger things to worry about than the color of skin…..

"Miss Charlotte...." He began but still she refused to look at him and he saw another fat tear balancing precariously on her lashes. That tear broke free and rolled down her cheek and Silas found himself sliding from his chair and falling to his knees in front of her. He heard Charlotte's sharp intake of breath as he slid his thumb gently across her soft cheek. "I think I might just be falling in love with you."  

Silas saw her green eyes widen and fill with shock. "Love?" she asked quietly.  

"I'm sorry Miss Charlotte." Silas said with true regret. "I know it ain't right for me to love you. I'm a colored man and you're a white woman and they say it's wrong for me to love you... I tried to tell my heart it ain't right... but it turns out my heart is colorblind since it met you."  

Silas wondered what she was thinking. Her eyes were so wide and confused as they looked into his that it was impossible to say what was going through her mind. Had he just crossed a boundary that would be too much for her? Would she not trust him anymore and want him gone?  

"Why?"  

"Why what?" Silas asked with a frown.  

"Why are we both feeling this for one another?"  

Silas nearly cried out with the relief that filled him at her admission of feelings toward him. "Maybe God is as colorblind as my heart, Miss Charlotte. Maybe I am the one he made for you...."  

Charlotte looked hopeful for a moment but then she frowned. "Or perhaps I'm simply the first woman you've spent time with since this all started and I'm simply grateful for all you've done...."  

Silas sighed. He doubted that she was right but understood that she'd need time. The good thing was that he didn't have anywhere better to be than right here.  

"Miss Charlotte, I meant what I've said. I am falling in love with you and I love Little Grace. I'll do everything I can do to keep you both safe and happy until I ain't got a single breath left in my body."  

"I...." Tears filled Charlotte's eyes again. "No one has ever loved me before, Silas... I don't know what I am supposed to do now or how to respond...."  

Silas smiled comfortingly up at her and leaned forward. He saw her eyes widen and she stiffened, clearly unsure of what he was doing. Thankfully Silas was a patient man.  

He brushed his lips against her cheek in a feather soft touch that lit his blood and filled his heart. As he pulled away and stood Silas was aware of Charlotte's fingers lingering on his arm.  

"I'll be going on downstairs now and take care of this mess, Miss Charlotte." Silas said, tilting his head toward their empty plates.   

"I should be doing that!" Charlotte argued quickly. "You've been doing far too much around here..."  

Silas just shook his head. "I like being busy. It ain't no trouble."  He gave her one last smile, picked up the tray of dishes and then walked out the door closing it quietly behind him.  

---

Charlotte sat there in a bit of a daze as she let her fingertips dance across the cheek Silas's warm lips had just caressed. Had the last quarter of an hour truly happened? Had Silas just told her that he loved her?  

Was it possible that he did love her? Did she love him? Charlotte simply could not be sure. There was so much going on around them and they were isolated here together.... Would he be so sure that he loved her if there was a single other woman around to look at and talk to? Charlotte doubted it. She wasn't the type of woman to turn a man's head. ... not anymore.  

Surely another woman would come around eventually and then Silas would realize he did 

not want to spend the rest of his life tied to a scared widow woman and her infant daughter. Charlotte was fairly certain that what she felt toward Silas was the beginnings of love, though she had never felt it before… She felt her world brighten just with the knowledge that he was in it and that had to be love, didn’t it?

Charlotte was still trying to figure things out in her mind when she heard a terrible moaning from beneath her window. She jumped to her feet, trying to ignore the pain in her body, and ran to the window to see the rabid moaning and jerking, beating his hands and body against the door of the house.  

Then much to her horror, the door broke open and the rabid stumbled into the house. Charlotte's first thought was Silas. Where was he?!  

She saw his shot gun leaning against the wall and grabbed it. She had seen him fire it enough times to know how to fire it. She opened the bedroom door and ran out to find the rabid making its way up the staircase toward her. 

"Gnaaaa!" it groaned as its eyes locked on her and it snapped its teeth together and reached for her.  

Charlotte screamed even as she put the shot gun to her shoulder, pulled the hammer back and squeezed the trigger, just as Silas came around the corner from the kitchen and yelled her name.  

The rabid fell back as Charlotte fell on her backside on the stairs from the force of the shot. Charlotte ignored the pain as her body jarred on the hard wooden stair and instead focused on the rabid, cursing herself for missing its head.  

She was about to take another shot when she saw Silas come running forward, wielding a cast iron skillet. With a resounding crack that Charlotte knew she'd hear for years to come when she closed her eyes, the rabid's skull was crushed and it crumpled to the ground, its moans forever silenced.  

"Miss Charlotte!" Silas exclaimed as he ran forward and scooped her into his arms. "Damn but I'm tired of seeing you hurt!" Then he bit his lips. "Sorry about cursing...."  

Surprisingly enough Charlotte found herself laughing. She supposed it was stress but clearly the laugh was infectious because Silas began to chuckle quietly.  

"Silas, this world is a mess."  

"I agree, Miss Charlotte."  

"I told you once that the color of your skin doesn't bother me and I meant it. I still do. I want to apologize for being so frightened upstairs. I think I might be falling in love with you as well."  

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that." Silas admitted as he sat her on her feet and stroked her cheek with his thumb. Charlotte bit her lip.

"I just want you to know that no matter what happens, if we find other survivors and you realize that you don't want to be tied to a woman like me with a small baby then I will understand......." Charlotte saw the first flash of temper in Silas's soft brown eyes as they looked at her and it startled her.  

"You bite your tongue and don't speak things like that. Now I might be a colored man but that don't make me a monster, Miss Charlotte, and it certainly don't make me a man who says things he doesn't mean. I won't meet someone else and change my mind. God sent me to this house for a reason and that was reason was you and Little Grace."

"Okay..." Charlotte managed to squeak around the shame in her throat. "I wasn't trying to make you angry...." His eyes softened and he kissed her forehead tenderly. Charlotte had never been kissed with a tenderness like this... As a matter of fact every touch Silas had ever graced her with had been full of this sweet tenderness that stole her breath.  

"I know you didn't. You are the sweetest and best woman I've ever met. You know how to make the most out of things that go bad and you don't complain, you simply carry on. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, Miss Charlotte."  

Charlotte was uncomfortable talking about herself so instead she pointed to the dead rabid. "That makes three in one day. We've never had that many."  

"There was a bit more than three, Miss Charlotte." Silas admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I ran into a few while I was taking care of the first two."  

"Silas we can't stay here..... There are more and more of those things every day and we're out of food."  

"I know." Silas admitted as he sat down on the step and she sat beside him.  

"Where are we going to go?"  

"I don't know.... West I guess."  

"West?" Charlotte asked. "Why west?"  

"Because I came from the east and it's no better that way."  

"And you're thinking it will be better west?"  

Silas looked down at his hands and shrugged. "All we have is hope, Miss Charlotte."  

Charlotte pushed herself to her feet and nodded. "Can you get him away from the house without getting hurt?"  

"Yes, ma'am." 

"Are you sure?"  

"I'll come back to you, Miss Charlotte. I'll be just fine." Silas assured her gently. Charlotte smiled, still so unfamiliar with having a man speak to her so nicely.  

"I'll begin to pack and we'll stay here one more night. We'll have to secure the door a bit better so no more get in before morning. We'll leave out at first light."  

"I'll keep you safe while we travel, Miss Charlotte. You and Little Grace."  

"I trust you, Silas."  Charlotte admitted and as she turned and went back to her room to begin packing she wondered if Silas knew just how much that meant.

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen: I Don’t Trust Them

April 1887

Evangeline watched her brother pacing the tiny interior of the cabin. He’d been doing so for an hour as he mumbled quietly to himself. Evangeline had tried to follow his words for a short while but had quickly given up. When Ox got caught up in one of these spells there was no following him and there was no calming him. It was how he dealt with things.

Pacing and mumbling.  

They had been hidden in this cabin for days and days. Their food had run out. They had no weapons other than the unloaded rifle and a stick that Ox had crafted into a spear.  

"We gotta get out of here, Evie." Ox stated simply as his pacing ceased and he looked at her for the first time in over an hour.  

"Yes, Ox, we do." Evangeline agreed. "Is the horse still outside."

Ox nodded. "Yeah but it's hungry. There was a bit of oats in those saddlebags but not much else."  

"Yeah well we are getting awfully hungry ourselves."  Evangeline reminded him and as if in agreement, Ox's stomach rumbled.  

"Shit, Evie, I just don't know which way we should go. Can't go home cuz them things were crawling everywhere and they were crawling all over town too!"  

"I wonder if they are everywhere." Evangeline stated quietly and the siblings shared a look of horror.  

"Reckon we could go to Aunt Rachel's?"  

"Up in Tennessee?" Evangeline asked, scrunching up her forehead in a way that would have had her mother smacking her hand sharply and letting her know she'd get wrinkles. Thinking of her mother caused a sharp pang of pain to hit her heart so Evangeline forced the thoughts from her mind.  

"Yeah!" OX said his voice becoming more animated. "Maybe there won't be none of those monsters there."  

Evangeline had her doubts though she didn't voice them to her brother. She couldn't voice them. It was too horrible to imagine that this sickness was everywhere. To imagine that everyone in the world other than she and Ox were those flesh eating monsters.  

"Ox we have to go to town before we can head that way." Evangeline warned. "That horse will not be able to carry both of us for very long and we are going to need better weapons." She glanced down at her stained nightdress and robe. She had worked hard to scrub the blood out of them but the faintest trace of that horrid substance still lingered. Her mother's blood.    

"We can't go back to that town, Evie... Please...." Ox croaked and Evangeline saw the pain enter his green eyes.   

"Is there another town close by?" Evageline offered, hating the sheltered life she'd lived in that plantation house and how it made her ignorant to the rest of the world.  

Ox seemed to think hard for a moment and then he nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. Probably a day that way.' He pointed toward the corner of the cabin and Evangeline sighed.

"That's where we need to go then... With any luck we'll get there and things will be just the same as they have always been and this horrible nightmare will not have spread."

---

Ox knew his sister's hopes had been useless the moment they rode toward town and he saw the moaning, shuffling monsters wandering around the streets.  

He heard Evangeline's gasp and followed her gaze to see a group of those monsters ripping apart the body of a woman who didn't appear to have been dead for very long.

"Close your eyes, Evie." Ox warned, knowing that his pa would want him to shield Evangeline from as much as he could.  

"I will be okay, Ox." Evangeline assured him as she sat behind him in the saddle and kept her arms tight around his waist. "I refuse to close my eyes and let one of those monsters sneak up on you."  

"Gnaaaa!" as if on cue a long moan sounded to their right. Ox turned his head to see the woman stumbling toward them. She was one of them. A monster. Her jaw was crushed as if someone had tried to end her life. They had clearly failed. Ox would not.  

He pulled the rifle, let his horses reins drop for a moment and gripped the barrel tight. As soon as the snarling monster was close enough, Ox swung the gun and the stock caught the side of the monster's head, crushing her skull and sending her crumpling to the ground.  

"Ox, there's another one." Evangeline warned as a monster, this one a man, came toward them with gnashing teeth. Evangeline realized that Ox was having trouble maneuvering the rifle and controlling the horse so she raised the spear her brother had crafted and hit the monster in the eye, sinking it deep into the creatures brain before yanking it back out.  

The monster slumped to the ground as Evangeline shivered and swallowed vomit. She hated this!  

"Shit, I'm sorry, Evie. I'm supposed to be takin' care of you. Pa wouldn't want you havin' to kill these things."  

"Pa isn't here, Ox. We have to do what we have to do in order to survive. I refuse to allow one of these monsters to kill me when I am perfectly capable of killing it first."

"Just the same, I'm gonna get you somewhere safe. I swear it." Ox promised and he meant it. Even if he had to take her plumb across that big ocean to England he was going to get his sister somewhere safe. He wouldn't lose his sister to these monsters. She was all Ox had left.  

"Ox, look! Those are people!" Evangeline exclaimed.  Ox followed her pointing finger and saw the group of people atop an old saloon. They were waving for Ox and Evangeline. The people slipped from view as Ox quickly led the horse toward the building and an old man opened a wide back door while another man stood guard with a gun to stop any of the monsters that might try to come in.  

"Bring that horse in here, son. If you don't them critters would be glad to eat her."  The old man warned.

Ox led the horse into the saloon and couldn't help but laugh when he saw the horses already hitched to the bar. He sure hadn't never seen anything like that before! All the downstairs windows and doors, (other than the back one they had ridden in through) were boarded up tight and Kerosene lamps lit up the dusty gloom inside the saloon.  

"Who might you two be?" The old man who had opened the door for them asked as Ox jumped to the ground and then helped Evangeline down as well.  "Damn you're a big'un!" the man exclaimed as he looked up at Ox's face a good foot and a half above his own.  

"Yessir." Ox replied with a respectful tip of his head. His mama had always told him to respect those older than himself.  "My name's Ox and this is my sister, Evangeline."  

"Ox, huh?" the other man asked as he walked over with a rifle cradled in his arms. "Is that cuz you're so damn big?"  

"Naw, it's cuz I'm dumb like an old Ox. Everybody thought it was funny and I reckon it stuck."  

"Ox, you should not say things like that!" Evangeline scolded him as she crossed her arms over her robe and nightdress. Ox lowered his head, his shoulders slumping a little.  

"Sorry, Evie. It's just the truth. Pa always said...."  

"Yes well pa is dead, Ox. I do not truly think that what he always said really matters now."   

Ox was shocked to hear his sister speak that way though he knew he shouldn't be. Evangeline had never much cared for their pa. He had always been a bit distant with her and too busy to spend much time getting to know her. He always only worried about marrying her off to some wealthy man from an important family and never took the time to realize that Evangeline wanted more.   

"Only good that might come from all this madness is that who we were yesterday don't rightly matter anymore." The old man said with a nod as he glanced between the brother and sister. "Hell, I was a wanted man. I robbed banks for a living... Guess those rich folks ain't so worried about their money now that they're too busy getting turned in to monster shit."   

"Yeah and I was a lawman over in Virginia but law and order are damn hard to maintain when people are being eaten by other people and going crazy."  

"I had to kill my pa." Ox admitted sadly and he saw the two men share a strange look and then the older man nodded with sympathy.  

"It's rough on everybody."  

Ox simply nodded and then Evangeline cleared her throat.  

"Would it be possible for my brother and I to get a meal since we haven't eaten in over a day and possibly get some supplies from town before we continue on our way?"  

"And just where are you going?" the ex-lawman asked as he stepped forward, his dark eyes traveling up and down Evangeline's body.  

"We're heading to Tennessee." Ox replied, not noticing the way the man was looking at his sister. Ox was too busy looking up at the balcony where a woman wearing only a corset and skirt was leaning over the rail and watching him. Her full breasts all but spilling out and her lips painted and curved into a smile.  

"What's in Tennessee?" The old man asked.  

"Our.... Our aunt Rachel."  Ox mumbled as the woman waved at him and he tossed his hand up in response.  There had always only been one thing that Ox was truly good at and that was bedding women. And the women in the town he'd grown up in had known that. Though as soon as the bedding was done the women took off running or forced him out and they had made it clear to him to keep his mouth closed about who he bedded. The women, even the whores, hadn't wanted anyone to know that they'd actually laid with 'that big dumb Ox'. Which was fine with Ox. He didn't see the bad in it since that had simply always been the way it was.  

Ox knew when a woman was wanting to lay with him and it was clear that this one did.

"Well good luck with that." The ex-lawman stated. "We heard tell that Tennessee is even worse off than we are. Chances are your auntie will probably bite your face off when you show up at her door."  

Ox frowned as his heart broke a little. He didn't know much about his aunt Rachel but the thought of her being one of those monsters made him sad. He didn't' want to see anyone else that he cared about turned into one of those things! He felt Evangeline's hand on his arm.  

"I'm sure our aunt is fine." She stated pointedly. The ex-lawman shrugged and took a step back.  

"I'm just trying to let you all know what you'll more than likely find. This damn world has turned upside down. These critters have been running around here for nearly two months now, eating every living thing they can get their teeth on and if you are lucky enough to get bit and get away then you turn in to what they are. This town used to be booming, mind you a lot of folks just took off hoping to find someplace better, but we're all that's left of the ones that stayed." He motioned at himself, the old man and the woman on the balcony.  

"I had to kill my pa. He killed the docs wife and tried to kill me." Ox said sadly as he kicked at the dirty floor, the woman on the balcony forgotten as memories came back. He didn't have time to worry about bedding her just now anyway. He had to worry about keeping his sister alive and getting her somewhere safe.  

"Sorry about that, big fella." The old man said and Ox thought he sounded like he meant it. "We've all been forced to do some horrible things since all this began."  

Ox saw the haunted look that the two men shared and then the ex-lawman stepped forward. "I'm sure Lita's got some clothes that you can wear, Miss. You got the same pretty little body that she's got."  

"What did you just say?" Ox growled, his fists clenching. He glanced down at Evangeline and saw that she had moved herself to be nearly completely behind him.  

"Well.. I.. Uh..." the ex-lawman rubbed the back of his neck and the old man laughed.  

"Don't mind him!" he stated, waving his hand. "He's just a bit neglected as of late. With only me and his sister up there for company, every time the man sees a pretty woman that's all he can think about and it gets him in trouble. He's harmless really."  

"Ox..." Evangeline tugged on Ox's shirt sleeve and he turned to look down at her.  

"What is it?" She pulled him  a few steps away and he bent down so she could whisper in his ear.  

"I don't trust them."  

"Why not? They seem awful damn nice to me. Shit, Evie, that man didn't mean nothin' by what he said I'm sure. You know you're pretty. Prettiest woman for five counties at least."  He saw her blush at the compliment but then she stuck out her chin.  

"Ox, there's something off about them. You trust everybody too easily. It's always gotten you in trouble."  

Ox rubbed at his neck and felt shame fill him. "Just cuz I trust folks don't make me stupid, Evie."

"I never called you stupid, Ox. You know I'd never do something like that. I just said you trust people too much and that I don't trust these people."  

Ox's brow screwed up into a furrow as he looked at the three folks watching them with curiosity. He just couldn't see why Evangeline didn't trust them. But he loved his sister and he respected her feelings. She was loads smarter than he was so if she didn't trust these folks than Ox would respect that.  

 Ox brought himself back up to stand his full height and turned to face the men. "I believe my sister and I will just head to the mercantile and get some supplies. What direction is that in?" he asked the men.  

"Now y'all ain't gotta run off. Clint didn't mean nothing by what he said." 

"That's right." The ex-lawman, Clint, said as he stepped forward. "Thompson's right when he says I'm just a bit lonely around here. I sincerely apologize, Miss Evangeline, for what I said if it offended you or made you uncomfortable."   

Ox looked down at Evangeline and saw that her ruffled feathers seemed to be a little eased with the man's apology but she still looked as if she was ready to leave. "We really should be going." Ox sighed and pointed toward the door. "We'd like to get to Tennessee, you know, before it's too late.."  

"It's already too late," Clint said with a shrug. "But the mercantile is down that way next to the bank. There ain't a whole lot left there I'm afraid but you're welcome to try to get what you can." He snorted.  "Just as soon as you don't wind up as flesh eater shit."  

"It sure would be a shame for that good looking man to become food for those flesh eating devils." Lita called from the balcony.  

Ox smiled up at her. "Don't you worry none, ma'am. I might not be a smart man but these flesh eaters are even more dumb than me."  

"Watch how you look at my sister if you want me watching how I look at yours." Clint growled and Ox snapped his eyes away from Lita's full breasts.  

"Calm down, Clint." Thompson scolded. "Ya'll can go to the mercantile and there's a gun shop a ways down from it too. You'll probably want to see about getting something better than a stick and an empty rifle. Your horse can stay here since it'd be better to go on foot and they'd eat your horse if ya left it outside of the stores."  

"Evie, you should stay here while I go...."  

"Ox, you'll need me with you to help watch your back." Evangeline argued and Ox shook his head.  

"No. I can watch my own back just fine but I'll screw it all up if I'm worried about you. Shit, Evie, you're all I got. Just stay here where you'll be safe."  

Evangeline looked like she wanted to argue more, which didn't surprise Ox. She had always been one to argue and want to get her own way all the time. It wasn't her fault, it had just been the way she'd been raised. Most folks had given her her way 

all the time. Even their pa had been guilty of it until it had come time for her to marry.

He fixed her with a sad gaze that he knew would get to his sister, who was a bit of a pushover when it came to pleasing Ox. She sighed and her shoulders sagged with defeat.  

"Fine." She grumbled. "But you had better be very careful, Ox. You are all that I have too."  

"We can watch him from up on the roof." Clint offered. "That way if it looks like he needs help we can provide him with cover fire."    

Evangeline nodded and Ox watched her make her way up the stairs with Clint behind her.  

"You be careful out there." Thompson warned. "And if you can bring back a few extra supplies we'd appreciate it." Thompson walked over to the bar and pulled out two empty sacks, each of them big enough to hold quite a bit. He placed them in Ox's hands and Ox nodded.  

"I'll be back." He assured the older man.  It was with quite a bit of fear that Ox held his empty rifle in his hands, opened the back door just a crack and made his way back out into the warm air and sunshine.

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen: This Town Is Plumb Full of Crazies

Ox did his best to simply avoid the monsters. He was pretty sure that they could smell blood and death and he knew that if he killed one more would come. Clutching the empty sacks and his rifle tightly, Ox went to the gun shop first.  

It took his eyes several moments to adjust to the dark and dusty interior and then he walked to the back counter and eyed the small selection of guns that were left. It was clear they'd been picked over but he grabbed a stub nosed .38 that he figured would be easy for Evangeline to handle and then he grabbed a ten inch barreled .45 for himself.  

He figured with a gun that big, even if he ran out of bullets, it would make a real good club. Next on his list was to fill the bag with every bit of ammunition he could find for both guns.  

His pa had always been strict about not allowing guns on the plantation but Ox had kept them anyway. It was the only thing he had ever done against his pa's orders and Ox had done it because he had been good at shooting. It wasn't often that Ox found things he was good at and so when he did he tried to do it as often as he could. Guns and rutting, those were his two great talents.  He wasn't much good for much else.  

Ox saw a boot knife and a bowie knife lying behind the counter and he quickly scooped them up and dropped them into the bag as well. He figured the more weapons they had the better off they'd be.  

"Gnaa..." Ox's head swung around and he saw the little boy entering the gun shop. The boy's jawbone was clearly visible on the right side of his face as his skin was rotting. The boy's clothes were torn and covered in blood and dirt and he was reaching for Ox with his thin arms, his dead gray eyes focused on Ox's face.  

Ox let out a groan. He didn't want to kill a little boy. The boy lunged for him, his fingertips nearly closing around Ox's shirt sleeve before Ox manage to twist out of his grasp. Ox knew he'd have to kill the boy. If he ran out of here the boy would chase him and keep making those moaning sounds and that might alert more of the monsters.  

Ox hated that this was how it had to be and he prayed that God would forgive him as he tossed down his sacks, grabbed the unloaded rifle and swung it with everything he had causing the boy's skull to cave in before his small body fell lifeless to the wooden floor.  

Ox was shaking and he forced himself to swallow down the vomit that had risen in his throat. The monsters had turned Ox into a monster. He'd killed his pa, several women, men he'd once been friendly with and now a small boy. Ox had thought that the old world was hard but this new one was quite simply a nightmare.  

Quickly Ox found a gun belt for himself and Evangeline, though he was sure he'd have to make a couple new holes in hers to make it fit her slender form. He slung his around his lean hips, loaded the .45 he'd picked for himself and holstered the weapon. He then loaded the rifle, threw the sacks back over his shoulder and left the gun shop, sliding around the edges of the buildings and moving slowly. He hoped that maybe if he jerked around like the monsters did then they wouldn't notice him quite so much.  

Ox made his way to the mercantile, stepping over the tattered and rotting remains of what appeared to have once been a man, and entered the dark and dingy building. He used the butt of the rifle to quickly kill the two monsters that came around the counter, moaning and twitching toward him and then he busied himself stuffing as much canned fruit, beans and jerked beef as he could inside the sack.  He saw the barrels of candy and couldn't stop himself from grabbing several handfuls. He was real fond of peppermint sticks and he knew that Evangeline liked the cinnamon ones.  

He threw some extra food into the second sack for Thompson, Clint and Lita before throwing some matches and two blankets into his and Evangeline's sack. Their sack was nearly bursting and Ox knew it wouldn't hold much more. He did grab a lantern, holding it in his hand. He could always loop it around the saddle horn of their horse and it would provide them with a bit of light at night if they couldn't light a fire.  

Now all Ox had to do was find the tailor shop and get some clothes for he and Evangeline. Especially for her. She couldn't very well keep running around the country in a bloodstained nightdress and robe.  

He saw the tailors across the street and embarked on a jerking, twitch path in that direction, glancing over at the saloon and seeing his sister and their three new friends up on the roof watching him. He fought the urge to wave, worrying that that sudden movement might alert the monsters, and simply continued on his way.  

The door to the tailors shop was locked but Ox was strong. He turned the knob extra hard, pushed just a bit and the door popped open.  

"Don't take another step, no sirreebob you better not!" an excited voice exclaimed from behind a mannequin. "Who you might be?" it added.  

Ox frowned at the skinny man with wild hair and sat down the heavy sacks. "My name's Ox." He replied. "I need a change of clothes for myself and my sister."  

"Well go on then... but do it quick! Quick. Quick. Quick. You broke my door. You did. You did." The man came around the mannequin and Ox bit back a laugh when he realized that the man was barely five feet tall. He was very skinny and his clothes were little more than tattered rags that hung off his thin frame. He had crazy eyes, that seemed to be looking in every direction at once and his face was covered in scratches. Ox figured he'd scratched himself since he was currently digging at his face with his dirty fingernails as he studied his broken door.  

"Sorry about that, sir." Ox said politely as he quickly went about picking two simple dresses out for Evangeline. He hoped they would fit her good but either way they'd be better than what she had now. He wondered what she'd think about dresses that weren't covered in satin and lace. She probably wouldn't like them.  

"That's okay, it is. A piece of wood and a nail will make it good as new!" 	

Ox had never in his life seen a man like this one and he found himself chuckling with amusement as the man  bustled quickly from one side of the shop to the other, words leaving his mouth with every breath he took, though none of them were clear.  

Ox stuffed the dresses into the sack and then blushed furiously as he shoved some underclothes in there as well. He grabbed some long johns, the only pair he could see that would fit him and then began to look through the pants. Sometimes being so big was just a lot of trouble.  

"Where is your sister that you mentioned? You left her alone out in that mess? Bad bad brother!"  

"No, she's over at the saloon with those nice folks there." Ox replied, grabbing a pair of pants from the bottom of a pile and holding them up to himself to see if they looked big enough.  

"What?!" The skinny man exclaimed as he ran up to Ox and stared up at him with shocked and scared brown eyes. "No. No. No. You left her with those crazies? They are crazy crazy crazy. Might as well tell her goodbye you should! They love the women. Rut and sacrifice that's what they do!"  

"Huh?" Ox asked as unease washed down his spine and he shoved the pants into the sack, along with a shirt that seemed large enough.  

"The men will rut with her and then sacrifice her to the monsters! That's what they do. They are crazy crazy crazy. They believe if they sacrifice the living then the dead won't eat them." The skinny man waved his hands in the air. "Crazy I tell ya."  

"Sacrifice?" Ox asked, his forehead screwing up tight as he racked his brain to understand what the man was saying and then it came to him and his blood froze. "They're going to kill my sister?!"  

"Rut her first, yep. Yep. Then kill her. Hope ya said goodbye cuz she's gone like the good mayors face!" the skinny man cackled as he began to nail a piece of wood to the door to secure it closed.  

Ox hadn't ever felt a desperate angry rage like the one that came over him in that moment and then he heard his sister's ear piercing scream followed by silence and that that desperate angry rage only intensified.  

Letting out a roar that was more animal than human, Ox took off at a run, plowing through the newly repaired door and onto the street. He looked up at the roof of the saloon just in time to see the rifle aimed in his direction. He barely had time to dodge before the shot was fired and the bullet thudded against the wall of the tailor.  

Ox saw Thompson aiming the rifle again and he could no longer see his sister or Clint. Ox was surprised when Lita jumped at Thompson and grabbed the gun and the two began to argue.  

"Evie!" Ox cried out and then he ran fast for the saloon, fully aware of the attention from the monsters that the commotion was drawing.  

---

Evangeline knew something was wrong the moment Ox entered the tailor shop and Clint turned to her. She had told Ox that she didn't trust these people but her brother was innocent in a lot of ways. In his eyes everyone was good. There were no bad people, no evil in the world. He genuinely liked, trusted and cared about every person that he met.  

Evangeline wasn't quite so open minded.  

And that was why when Clint stepped toward her with a gleam in his eye, Evangeline held out the spear that Ox had crafted for her.  

"You need to simply remain over there." She warned. "I do not want any trouble. My brother will be back soon enough and trust me when I say that you do not want him angry with you."  

"I ain't afraid of your brother. We're gonna kill him anyhow." Clint replied with a grin and Evangeline gasped while Lita huffed and put her hands on her hips.  

"I wanted to have some fun with him first. I'm tired of taking all my rides on Thompson. He's old."  

"I don't hear you complaining when I'm riding you, sweetheart." Thompson countered with a snort and Lita sneered.  

"That's because I'm too busy swallowing bile to speak."  

"Lita, the answer is no. He's too big and we can't control him. We have to sacrifice him before he gets back. We have to appease the appetites of the flesh eaters or they'll come for us." Clint informed his sister patiently and Evangeline glanced toward the door that would lead back into the saloon and away from these brain addled crazies.  

Sacrifices? Appeasing the appetites? They were going to use Ox as monster food and she couldn't allow that to happen.  

"I still say it's not fair." Lita pouted with a stomp and Evangeline tried to edge toward the door but Clint moved between her and the exit.  

"Going somewhere?" he asked.  

"Away from you." Evangeline replied, though her hands were shaking and she felt sick. She wasn't cut out for this! She just wanted to go back to the way life used to be. She had had it made on the plantation. Why had she ever complained about the pampered life she'd led? She'd be more than happy to go back in time and marry any stuffy man her father paraded in front of her if it would mean there would be no more monsters and fighting for her life.  

"I don't think you are." Clint's hand shot out and he grabbed the spear. They wrestled over the spear for several tense moments but Clint was far stronger than she was and soon he was jerking it from her hands and sinking splinters of wood into her palms. "I'm gonna enjoy your body real good and proper and then let Thompson have his fill and then we'll feed you to those same monsters we're about to feed your brother to."  

Evangeline backed up until she was pressed tight against the wall. There was no escaping Clint. She tried to kick out when he grabbed her, catching him in the shin but doing more damage to her own bare foot than his leg. She used her hands to claw at him but he laughed when she caught his face and then he maneuvered her body so her back was pressed tight against his chest and he was holding her completely immobile.

"Time to shoot me an idiot." Thompson said with a grin as he sighted the rifle toward the tailor. "Just gotta wait 'til he sticks that big 'ol head out. Least we got one that makes a real big target this time." 

"Noooo!" Evangeline screamed. She was going to warn Ox to stay hidden but Clint clamped his hand tightly over her mouth and while she continued to scream, the sound was muffled and couldn't be heard. Then she felt the cold barrel of his revolver against her temple.  

"Might as well quit fighting." He warned and she snorted. No way was that going to happen!  

Evangeline struggled in his grasp but to no avail as he led her into the door and back inside the saloon. He took her to the nearest bedroom door and pushed her into the room, laughing when she cursed him and tried to get around him.  

Clint grabbed her around the waist with one arm and tossed her to the bed. He pulled off his gun belt and tossed it in the corner just as a rifle shot from outside filled the air.  

"No!" Evangline gasped as tears filled her eyes. Thompson had shot her brother. He had killed Ox! No she refused to believe that. She had to get out. She had to help him!

Thankfully her older brother had taught her a few things about fighting and it was time she used them. She had to stop being so scared and begin to pull her own weight. She couldn't depend on Ox to save her when he might very well be hurt outside and need her help.  

Clint tossed his revolver down onto the table and then came toward the bed, pulling off his clothes as he moved. Evangeline watched him coming, that leering sneer on his mustached face making her stomach clench. She gathered up her strength and prepared her legs, pulling them into her chest and then kicking out with all her might when Clint came close enough.  

His half naked body went flying backward, his arms wind milling in the air as he fought to catch himself. He was unsuccessful and his back crashed into the wall. Evangeline heard his breath rush out of his lungs in a rush. She jumped to her feet and ran for the table, but Clint recovered slightly and grabbed her by her dark hair just before her fingers could close around the handle of the gun he'd placed there. 

She let out a screech of frustration and rage as she whirled around and clawed at his eyes, eliciting a cry of pain from him as she made contact. Breaking free from him once again, Evangeline went for the gun only to be grabbed by her hair once more and flung back onto the bed.  

"Stupid, whore bitch!" Clint sneered, blood dripping from three long cuts along his cheek. Evangeline prepared herself for another fight when the splintering of wood filled the air followed by a primal bellow of rage from below them.  

"Evie!" Ox's voice carried up to her.  

"Ox!" Evangeline yelled back, relieved beyond measure to hear his voice. Clint jumped away from her and quickly went about buttoning his pants just as Thompson and Lita came bursting into the bedroom.  

"Why the hell is that brute of a man in here and not dead?" Clint demanded.  

"Your sister wouldn't let me kill him!" Thompson shot back. "She insisted she was going to ride him first."  

"It's only fair, Clint." Lita whined with a loud pout.  

"Evie!" Ox called again. "I'll kill them all if they've hurt one hair on your head!"   

"Great going, Lita." Clint snapped before slapping his sister in the face.  

"I'm sorry, Clint!" Lita whimpered, covering her cheek with her hand and grasping for his chest. "Forgive me."  

"You stay." Clint growled at Evie as he shoved Lita back away from him. "We gotta go kill him..... He's too damn big to control, Lita! Surely you realize that."   

Thompson went back out the door with Lita behind him and Clint went for his gun. Evangeline lunged for him, jumping onto his back, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms tight around his neck.  

"Get the hell off!" he bellowed angrily as he tried to reach for her. Evangeline used the fingernails of one hand to go at his eyes, desperate to keep him from getting to her brother.  

"Ox, watch out!" Evie cried just before Clint slammed her back against the wall causing all the breath to squeeze from her lungs.  

Clint grabbed his gun, while Evangeline clung to him. She knew he wouldn't be able to see enough to aim with the way she continued to tear at his face.  

Clint stumbled out into the hall and Evangeline screamed with surprise at the sound of the gunshot that rang out loudly.  

"Thompson!" Lita wailed and Clint growled as Thompson's dead body fell to the floor and Ox stood holding a revolver tight in his hands.  

"You stupid bastard!" Clint roared.  Evangeline knew she had to get off of Clint so Ox could shoot him. The sight of her brother the most welcome sight she had seen in a long while. It seemed Ox had always been good at showing up when she needed him to.  

Evangeline jumped off of Clint then and ran for Lita who had grabbed up Thompson's rifle and was trying to wrench the lever to ready another shot.  

Evangeline grabbed Lita by her long hair and then slammed her face into the banister, causing the woman to slump unconscious to the floor as Evangeline picked up the rifle. She turned back to Ox just in time to see him fire a bullet from that big revolver into Clint's chest. Clint let out a shocked gasp which quickly turned into a wet choke before the man fell face first onto the worn carpeting.  

Evangeline ran to her brother and he hugged her tight. "Shit, Evie, I'm sorry... Dammit I'm so dumb sometimes! I should have listened to you!"  

"It's okay, Ox, you're not dumb. You saved me."  

"Shit, Evie, I just killed people... they wasn't monsters like the rest..."   Evangeline could hear the disgust and pain in her brother's voice. She laid her hand on his stubble covered cheek and nodded.  

“They were monsters, Ox. They might have been a different kind of monster but they were monsters just the same.” A terrible moaning came from downstairs and Evangeline looked over the banister to see several monsters making their way through the door that Ox had crashed through. “You came through a boarded up door?!” Evangeline demanded and Ox shrugged.

"I just used my shoulder." He replied. Evangeline found herself smiling and then realized that the monsters were slowly making their way toward them.  

"We have to get out of here, Ox." She stated and Ox nodded. Evangeline looked down at Lita and sighed. She couldn't just leave the unconscious woman out in the open for the monsters to eat... no matter how crazy the woman had turned out to be.  

She handed Ox Thompson's rifle and then grabbed Lita under the arms and dragged her across the floor and into the bedroom before coming back out and closing the door.  

Evangeline realized in that moment how much she was changing... A week ago the things she had just been through and seen would have had her paralyzed with fear and disgust. This sickness was going to change them all.... It was going to turn them all into monsters and animals. Fighting for every second of life they could manage to hold onto.

Ox had picked up Clint's gun from the floor and stuck in the waistband of his pants when she returned to him. "Stay behind me Evie. Shit, this could get rough but I gotta get us back to the tailor shop. I left all our stuff there."  

Evangeline put her hand on Ox's back. "I trust you." She saw the guilt in his green eyes and she knew it would take him a while to get over what had happened. Ox was a sensitive soul.  

Then her giant of a brother began to lead her quickly down into the saloon, swinging that rifle of Thompson's like a battering ram and knocking the monsters out of their way. Evangeline was happy to see the sunlight outside and even happier to realize that there weren't too many of those flesh eating monsters being drawn to them. They were all being drawn into the saloon and the scent of fresh blood that filled the place.  

Ox led her a short distance down the dusty road to the tailor shop and a voice cried out from inside. "Don't break my door no more, no don't!" 

"Who is that?" Evangeline gasped and Ox shrugged.  

"Turns out this town is plumb full of crazies."  

Evangeline shook her head and smiled up at her brother. "How about we get our things and then get far away from crazy town?" she asked.  

"Sounds good to me." Ox replied. "Aunt Rachel's is looking better every damned second."

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen: I Must Say that You Have My Attention

Rachel’s Plantation

Tennessee

April 1887

Rachel swept furiously at the dirt on her porch as sweaty strands of her red hair clung to her cheeks. She shoved those strands back into her bonnet and swiped the sleeve of her white gingham dress across her brow. The world might very well be falling apart but that was no excuse for letting her house fall into disrepair. Her husband, God rest his cheating, unfaithful soul, would be horrified to see the state of this porch.

It wasn't entirely her fault. She'd been rather preoccupied with the chaos going on in the world around her peaceful little plantation. It seemed that every other person in the world other than herself had gone stark raving mad.   

She had actually been forced to kill several people that had tried to come into her home and, (the thought was nearly too terrible for a proper lady such as herself to think), had tried to 

eat her.

Never in her life had Rachel been forced to take the life of another human but as soon as she had seen those demon possessed monsters coming at her with slobbering mouths, bleeding bodies and snapping teeth, she had known it was either she or them, and she hadn't been in any hurry to die.  

She had wondered often over the last month since the sickness had first arrived at her plantation home about her family in Georgia. Was the sickness there as well? Had her sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew already fallen victim to these monsters? Or had they themselves become monsters such as the ones she had seen?

She truly hoped not. While she had not seen them in many years, she could remember how beautiful little Evangeline had been and how much of a gentle giant Ox had been turning into. Pity filled her as she thought of Joshua. The boy hadn't gone by that name in nearly twenty years. Ever since it had become clear that his body was going to continue to grow while his brain was not he'd been known as Ox. The only person that had not called him Ox was his mother. Rachel's sister had always insisted that she had given her boy a good name and that was the name she was going to use.  

Rachel kept one eye on the surroundings and both ears alert for any sign of those moaning shuffling monsters. They certainly were no good at sneaking and that, at least, was something to be thankful for. That was why when she heard the sound of horse's hooves and the creaking of leather she thought for sure she was hearing things. Dear God, those monsters hadn't mastered horse riding had they?

Quickly she grabbed up the .45-70 buffalo rifle from beside the door and leaned her broom against the wall, fully prepared to shoot whoever was coming should the need arise. Up until these monsters had come Rachel had never killed a soul but now she had killed many and she would kill more in order to ensure she herself remained alive. She was nowhere near ready to die.

 "Sure would be a shame if you shot me, ma'am." A man said with amusement in his raspy voice as he rode into view and Rachel was taken aback by his appearance. He was long and lean, maybe even thin though it was hard to tell with his body all wrapped in worn and stained skins the way it was. His dirty blond hair, streaked with white and gray was hanging long around his bearded face and the hat on his head was tattered with a red twine wrapped round it stuffed full of feathers.  

"Who are you, sir?" Rachel demanded knowing that in desperate times such as those they lived in now monsters were easily created, and they could take any shape and form. They did not have to simply be of the moaning and flesh eating variety.  

He pulled his sleepy looking gray mare to a stop and slid from the saddle before taking his hat in his leathery hands and offering her a broken toothed smile that creased his wrinkled and age spotted face. The man's pale blue eyes sparkled with a good nature that instantly had Rachel feeling more at ease.  

"My name is Jedidiah Gray, ma'am, and I don't mean you any harm."  

"Forgive me for not welcoming you more openly, sir...." Rachel replied, still unsure if she should put her gun down.  

Jedidiah waved his hand. "Nonsense! You can't be too careful in this day and age."  

"I'm glad you understand. Is there something you need or are you going to be on your way now? I'm sorry I have no room for you here." Rachel knew the man would know she was lying. Her plantation home was quite large and she was the only person currently living here.  

"I was hoping I could wait here, Rachel. I have some friends that will be joining me soon."  

Rachel took a step back and her grip on the rifle tightened. "How do you know my name?" she demanded and Jedidiah chuckled. It was a good natured, full bodied chuckle that had a smile wanting to pull at her mouth despite her confusion and uncertainty.  

"I know lots of things about lots of things." He replied vaguely. "I don't mean any harm to anyone though. I've just gotta wait here for my friends so we can take a trip together."  

Rachel frowned. Was this man crazy? Or was he a member of a gang that planned on taking advantage of her?  "Who are your friends?"  

"There's quite a few of them, actually." The man replied as he swiped the dirty sleeve of his shirt across his face. "They are all on their way here even if they don't realize this is where they are coming. Ox and Evangeline are coming as well."  

"What... How... How do you know Evangeline and Ox?"  

"We're gonna go on us an adventure together." Jedidiah replied. Thunder sounded in the cloud filled sky above their heads. "Would you really leave an old man out in this coming storm?"  

"I would." Rachel replied honestly. "I want to know how you know my niece and nephew. How did you know my name?"  

"You won't believe me, Rachel. No one ever does."  

"Try me." Rachel replied. Her mind was very open these days. That tended to happen when you found yourself surrounded by flesh eating monsters intent on eating your face.  

"Truth is, Rachel, that I am a prophet of sorts. I know things that have happened in the past, I see glimpses of what is going to happen in the future and I am going to lead a group of folks to a sickness free land to the west full of promise and healing."  

Rachel sat the butt of the rifle down on the wooden porch boards, gripping the barrel in her hand and leaning against it much like a cane. She ran her free hand over her skirt and blew a long strand of red hair from her face.  

"Well, Jedidiah, I must say you have my attention. Lock your horse up in the barn and then come on in and get a cup of tea. I have some water heating."   

---

Tennessee

April 1887

Comanche was very concerned about Frankie. It seemed she had either been sleeping or sitting and staring at nothing for the last four days since her uncle had been killed and they had found this cabin.  

Thankfully their cabin had so far remained nearly flesh eater free. Only a couple straggling flesh eaters had shown up and Comanche had easily ended their lives and then dragged their bodies a good distance from the cabin before burning them. He had a feeling more would be coming soon however. They could only stay here so long before their scent would draw the flesh eaters in.  

There was still a decent amount of food in the cellar and Comanche had managed to trap a few animals for fresh meat but he was getting eager to move on. Staying in one place had never been something he was good at, not since he'd gained his freedom after being prisoner to those white captors for so many years.   

And he suspected that Frankie needed to be on the move as well in order for healing to happen. It was too easy for her to remain quiet and lost in sorrow when she had that big bed to lie in all day and night.  

He poured the freshly made stew into a bowl and carried the steaming dinner to the room where Frankie still remained. Knocking once, Comanche walked in without waiting for a response and he found her standing at the window and staring outside. She turned slightly, her dark hair falling across her face as she looked back at him.  

"You need to eat." Comanche said gently as he sat the bowl of stew on the small table beside her. Frankie nodded.  

"Yeah I know. I ain't some baby that you gotta coddle and tend to, Comanche. I'm a grown woman who just happens to be hurting a bit right now."  

Comanche nodded, happy to hear her speaking more than one or two words at a time. Though he would have preferred she hadn't used scolding him as an excuse, he had been desperate and would take whatever he was given.  

Without another word Frankie sat down and began to eat. Comanche stood there awkwardly a moment longer and then left the room, closing the door behind him.   

Darkness was already falling outside and Comanche did a quick security check to ensure all the windows and doors were secure before going into the sitting room and lighting a small fire in the fireplace.  

He pulled up an arm chair, grabbed his knife and sharpening stone and stared into the dancing flames as he sharpened the trusty blade.  

Comanche was surprised when a short time later, Frankie made her way out of the bedroom and he was shocked when she pulled up another arm chair and sat down beside him at the fire. Comanche did not speak a word as he continued to sharpen his knife and it was Frankie who finally broke the silence.  

"So what do I call you? Comanche or Phillip?"  

"Comanche." Comanche replied with a shrug and he was aware of Frankie's eyes narrowing as she stared at him.  

"Why?"  

"Why what?"  

"Why did you change your name, you crazy injun?"  

Comanche couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his lips. It seemed the woman he had met on that rooftop was slowly coming back.  

"Names have never much mattered to me and Phillip reminds me of a bad time. I like Comanche. When people think of Comanche they think of a wild, lawless, savage killer and that is what I am to these flesh eaters. It is a fitting name."  

"You're a strange one." Frankie stated and Comanche simply shrugged one shoulder and continued sharpening his knife. Frankie shifted in her seat and tugged on her pants leg. "Thank you for keeping me from jumpin' off that roof. I don't know what came over me."  

"I do." Comanche sighed with a nod. "Loss is hard, even for the strongest of people."  

"Uncle Gibbs raised me." Frankie said quietly, her eyes never leaving the glowing orange flames. "My parents could not be bothered with a girl that had no dreams of marriage or fancy dresses. Uncle Gibbs understood me."  

"It is good that you had him." Comanche stated with a nod. "We all need to have that one person who understands us."  

"What about you, Comanche? Who do you have?"  

"No one." Comanche replied simply. He was surprised by the sadness that entered Frankie's brown eyes as she looked over at him.  

"Who did you have?" she asked, obviously assuming that he'd lost the ones important to him to the flesh eaters. Comanche shifted in the chair and slid his knife back in the sheath on his leg. 	

"No one. Not in a long long time."  

Frankie was quiet for several long moments and then she sighed and looked back at the fire. "I reckon we're just two poor souls left alone and lonely in this hell on earth then aren't we?"  

Comanche's head tilted to the side as he studied her face glowing in the flickering firelight. "I am not alone, Frankie. I am with you."  

She smiled, though the light in her brown eyes remained a dark one as she looked at him once more. "Not for long, Comanche. If this curse on us all has taught me anything it's that I don't ride along with anybody. I'll be heading my own way in the morning."  

Over Comanche's dead body would she be leaving alone in the morning. Now that he had found her he sure as hell wouldn't let her go. Comanche had not cared about anyone since the age of eight when those white monsters had ridden in killed his tribe and kidnapped he and several other children, but he cared about her.   

"On foot?" Comanche questioned and Frankie shrugged.  

"I'll find a horse somewhere along the way."  

"I know that you are sad about your uncle but I wish you would reconsider..."  

"This has nothing to do with my uncle!" Frankie snapped. "And you'll do well to not mention him like that again. You have no idea what he met to me and what I feel now that he's gone."  

"And what do you feel?" Comanche questioned.  

Frankie was quiet for a moment and Comanche saw her throat bob as she swallowed hard. "Nothing. I feel nothing......"  

She pushed herself to the feet and Comanche was at a loss as what to say to comfort her. He was not good at expressing himself. He had spent a very long portion of his life being taught not to let emotions show and he had never truly learned how to turn that habit off.  

"I'm tired." She stated and then she walked away, going back into the bedroom where she had spent the biggest part of the last four days and closed the door behind her.  

Comanche sighed as he looked back at the fire. He remembered how it had felt when everything he had known, trusted, loved and believed in had been ripped away from him. He remembered how it felt to feel nothing.... Hell until he'd seen Frankie's face on that rooftop he had still been spending much of his time feeling nothing.  

She would be okay given time. At least she had left the room and had a conversation with him today. She was a strong woman and simply needed her time to grieve.  He would give that to her just so long as she understood that she was not going to leave him... Wherever she went he would follow. He'd be a fool to let the one thing that made him feel again slip away.

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen: We Smell Like Food, Paleface

Frankie was confused and Frankie did not handle confusion well. As a matter of fact confusion pissed her off completely. It made her angrier than a riled up bull at branding. For so long all she had ever wanted or needed out of life was the simple freedom of riding the plains with her uncle. Learning everything she could from the man from poker lessons to weapons. He had been her everything but he was gone now...... 

What was she supposed to do now? How did she move on without her Uncle Gibbs? Where would she go? She couldn't go back to that cabin, not without him there, and that had been the only home she'd ever truly known.  

She supposed she could wander and simply be a nomad as she waited for this sickness to end and searched for a place that would somewhat resemble what had once been normal....

She felt so empty inside.... She just wanted to forget for even a few minutes that all of this was real. She wanted to pretend that life was still the way it always was. There were no monsters. No one she loved was dead. Mothers weren't abandoning their children to bloodthirsty monsters. And she wasn't' ordering crazy injuns to feed said mother to her children as a form of payback.  

She thought of Comanche in the next room and knew that he could help her forget a while. She knew he wanted her and she wanted him too.... Despite her sadness her body hungered for him. Would it be so bad to give in? She had had men before. A good roll between the sheets often helped to clear her mind and relieve stress. Comanche was certainly a desirable man and she had a feeling that being with him would be something memorable.  

And it would certainly be enough to make her forget, even if just for a while, the terror that was going on in the world around them. Her mind made up, Frankie went to the window and pulled back the blanket they'd used to block the candlelight from being seen outside. The night was dark and clear and Frankie couldn't see any rabid. There hadn't been more than a couple the entire time they'd been here and for that Frankie was grateful.  

She let the blanket fall back across the window and walked to the closed bedroom door. She wasn't nervous about bedding Comanche. She just hoped he wouldn't say no since she truly needed the distraction that his body would provide.

Slowly she opened the door and stepped out into the sitting room, frowning when she realized that Comanche was no longer sitting in the arm chair. As a matter of fact she couldn't see him anywhere in the cabin. She walked quietly, her boots falling silently on the wooden floor boards as she made her way to the kitchen and realized he wasn't there either.

Where was that damn injun? Frankie hated to admit that she was a little concerned about him. She didn't want to care whether he was okay or not. She had cared about Uncle Gibbs and had had her heart ripped out because of it. She didn't want to care about anyone else.  

"Gnaaaaa....." Frankie heard the long mournful sound come from outside the cabin and her heart froze. Was Comanche outside with a rabid? There was no other place that injun could be......  Damn his copper skinned hide! 	

Either way, Frankie knew that the rabid needed to die. Leaving one alive would only spread the disease. Frankie glanced around the room for a weapon that would be quiet and not attract any more of those damn rabid. They seemed to be more active at night anyhow without drawing them with noise.  

She grabbed the iron fire poker and then went to the door, realizing it was unlocked, she opened it and stepped out into the night, her eyes peeled for the rabid she could hear moaning. Frankie saw it stumbling around, walking in a slow circle around the bush out in the yard.  

Frankie whistled and the rabid's head snapped around, his cloudy gray eyes landing on her. Blood dripped from his chin and it was clear he had fed recently as his shirt was slick with the redness.  

Comanche? Had this bastard gotten the indian the same way those others had gotten Uncle Gibbs? Frankie hated these rabid! Kill. Kill. Kill. That’s all they did. They took everything that mattered and they gutted, ripped and chewed until it was gone.

Frankie wanted them gone!

Letting out a scream that was more that of a primal animal than a human being, Frankie ran for the rabid, raising the fire poker as her legs carried her across the dusty ground. The rabid let out a wet hiss and began to shriek as she neared it but she silenced its terrible cries with a swing of that fire poker.  

The cracking thud sent the rabid to the ground and while Frankie knew it was dead, it wasn't enough. She wasn't satisfied. She went down with it, straddling its body, before stabbing it over and over and over again through the face and forehead.  

The rabid's head became nothing but a pile of unrecognizable mush. Her arms began to ache from the effort she was putting forth and her thrusts became less and less intense. Frankie's shoulders began to burn and throb and finally she could no longer lift the poker.  

She sat there, straddling the dead rabid's body, her head hung low and her dark hair falling across her blood splattered face. She was too tired to move. Too tired to think. Uncle Gibbs was gone. Comanche was gone. All she had left in the world was herself.  

Then she heard the moans. They were excited moans, hungry moans. Moans of rabid who smelled blood in the air and were eager to have a taste of it themselves.  

Frankie lifted her head and saw them, at least a dozen, seeming to materialize out of nothing. Coming out of the trees like shadows and staggering quickly toward her on stiff legs. Frankie went for her gun but then realized that she'd left it inside......  

She rose to her feet but couldn't lift the heavy iron poker..... Staggering backward, Frankie knew her only hope was to reach the cabin. She tried to turn and tripped over the dead rabid's foot.  

Frankie knew it then... She was going to die. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain she knew she would feel as the rabid tore into her body but instead something entirely different happened.....  

"Ai! Ai! Ai! Ai!" A battle cry pierced the air and a lean copper body suddenly flew through the night air, buckskin wrapped feet landing with a thud in front of Frankie, coming between she and the advancing rabid.  

Arrows were suddenly flying. Filling the night with a whizzing sound as they pierced the night air and sunk themselves inside the foreheads of the rabid.  

Frankie's eyes widened when she realized it was Comanche. He was alive! And he had just killed five rabid in less than a minute. The remaining five were too close for Comanche to use his bow and Frankie watched him pull the long bowie knife from the strap on his leg.  

"Are you harmed?" he asked before swinging out and dropping another rabid. Frankie found her strength again and shook her head as she swung her poker at another, caving in the young boy's forehead.  

"No. I ain't hurt."

Comanche gave her a look that was full of concern and then he pulled his gun and quickly killed the remaining rabid. Frankie turned quickly and headed back to the cabin, embarrassed by what had just happened.  

Yet again, Comanche had had to save her life. Frankie had never been the type of woman to be overcome by emotions and put herself in situations where she needed to be saved by a man. Frankie had always taken care of herself! What was wrong with her lately?

---

"What were you thinking?!" Comanche demanded calmly as he closed and locked the cabin door, securing it in place by placing a board through the slats on either side. What he wanted to do was beat some sense into her stubborn head, though he suspected that would probably not go over well.  

He had been doing a security check along the river when he had heard her scream of rage and he had come running…. The sight of her looking so defeated, so broken as those rabid had gotten closer and closer had caused his blood to run cold.

He glanced over at Frankie and saw her standing there with her fists clenched angrily before he turned away from her and added another log to the fire, waiting for her to speak.

"I was thinking that I was killing a rabid." Frankie finally snapped.

Comanche shook his head sadly and turned to face her. Her face and clothing were splattered with blood. Her dark hair was a tangled mess as it fell over her shoulders and across her face. She looked so broken that it made Comanche's heart cry out for her. "Frankie, I know you are upset about your uncle. I know that losing those you love hurts. And I know that this world is a mean and ugly place but suicide is not the answer to that."  

Frankie's dark eyes flashed with temper just as he knew they would. "Don't pretend that you know how I feel, Comanche. What do you know? You yourself said you haven't lost anyone!"  

"I lost everyone!" Comanche roared, his temper flaring to life. Stress, fatigue and worry all proving to be too much and causing him to reach his own breaking point. "Not to these flesh eaters but many many years ago when the white men road in on their horses thundering hooves and took my entire family away! Slaughtering my father and the other braves. Raping and mutilating all the women including my mother and sisters. Taking me and several other young boys prisoner and then separating us so we never saw one another again. I was eight! And I was a prisoner. Tortured, broken and then trained. Taught how to act, how to speak, how to be 

civilized like my new family. Do not speak to me as if I don’t know about loss, Frankie! I know exactly what loss feels like because I have lived it but making foolish choices that will end with you dead will not solve anything and will only serve to hurt those who care about you!“

They stared at each other for several long moments. Comanche could see the glowing flames of the firelight dancing in her brown eyes. He knew he shouldn't have said all of that but it was too late to take it back now. He wondered what was going on inside that mind and then she took a step away and shook her head.  

"I can't do this.... " she whispered with disgust and then she turned on her heel and went back into the room she'd spent so much time in lately, closing the door behind her. Comanche stood and stared at the door and then he heard her sob and growled under his breath.  

Damn her! This was enough. He knew she needed time to mourn but time was a luxury that they simply didn't have anymore. Four days was plenty long enough and all she was going to get. The flesh eaters were coming... the small group tonight proved that. Comanche knew that the longer they were here the more they would be drawn. It was almost as if they could smell the living and they were drawn to them.  

It was time for Frankie to once again become that strong woman he'd met on that rooftop and it was time that the two of them left here together and stayed alive... stayed ahead of the danger.  

Comanche strode to the door and threw it open. Frankie gasped and turned to face him, swiping her sleeves across her face roughly. Comanche closed the distance between them and then grabbed her arm gently and forced her to sit on the edge of the bed.  

He was surprised when she did without a fight and he quickly wet a rag in the wash basin and began cleansing the blood from her face gently.  

"We cannot remain in this cabin any longer, Frankie. I know you're hurting but we must move on."  

"We?"  

"Yes." Comanche replied. "One person alone is vulnerable. Two is better seeing as they can help protect one another."

Comanche slid the rag along her jaw and wished it could be his fingertips instead of the rough cotton cleaning her skin.  

"I want to feel better, Comanche.... I think you can help me." Frankie's voice was confident and the sudden assurance he heard in it caused Comanche's hand to still as he looked into her eyes.  

"What do you need?" he asked, knowing he would do anything for her. He wasn't sure why he cared so much for her so quickly but he was a smart enough man to know better than to deny it.  

Frankie laid her hand over his and stilled his movements as their eyes locked. "To forget a while."  

"I think I can do that." Comanche replied, surprised by the trembling in his hand. 

"I ain't looking for settling down, Comanche." Frankie warned.  

"Whatever you say." Comanche replied as he stood straight and slid from his buckskin shirt, letting the fabric fall to the floor. He saw Frankie's eyes roam over his body in the candlelight and instantly his body hardened and tightened.  

"I'm serious now, Comanche. I ain't lookin' to be tied down."  

"I'm fresh outta rope."  

---

Frankie knew this was wrong. She could tell by the look in Comanche's eyes when he looked at her that this meant more to him than it did to her. It wasn't like Frankie to take advantage of anyone but dammit she needed Comanche to make her forget and if that meant taking advantage of him than that is what she would do.  

Frankie let Comanche take her hand and pull her to her feet. His big calloused hands were hot and hungry as they quickly removed her from her shirt. Frankie heard Comanche's sharp intake of breath as the man realized she wore nothing beneath it.  

"Come on, Comanche... You talked a big game up on that rooftop about how wild you are... Prove it." Frankie challenged. She saw the flash in Comanche's dark eyes and then the man was on her.  

His hungry lips devoured her own, his tongue delving into her mouth and battling her own tongue for dominance. It was a battle that neither tongue seemed able to win and yet neither wanted to end.  

Comanche moaned against her mouth as Frankie's hands quickly undid the button on his buckskin pants and slid them down his legs. Comanche broke contact with her long enough to slide off his boots and pants. Frankie's eyes widened at the sight of him standing there. He certainly looked every inch the wild indian as his chest rose and fell rapidly his tight jaw twitched. Her gaze fell lower and took in the sight of that long, thick throbbing piece of him that was all masculine male. Frankie felt herself trembling with anticipation as wetness slicked her thighs and she felt that pulsing heat and longing deep in her core. God she needed this.  

Before she could speak Comanche was sweeping her into his arms yet again.

Frankie had planned on being in control of their joining. She hadn't planned on simply giving in to the indian and following his lead, but that is exactly what she found happening as he guided her to the bed and tossed her down.  

Frankie felt out of control and overheated as Comanche pulled off her boots and then slid her out of her pants. She saw his eyes rove over her and then she gasped and buried her hands in his thick dark hair as his mouth wen to her chest and his lips suckled at one of her tight nipples. He pulled the hard peak into his mouth, nibbling at it hungrily while his hand closed around her other tiny breast, kneading and caressing until Frankie could no longer breathe.  

Comanche knee pushed her legs apart and Frankie eagerly wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles behind his back. Comanche's lips trailed up her chest, his tongue darting out and lapping at the tender skin behind her ear.  

Frankie had lain with her share of men but none of those had ever filled her as perfectly and completely as Comanche filled her when he slid his large manhood deep inside of her. Frankie clung to him, certain that she could never feel better..... She 

was certain of that fact until the man began to move.

Their eyes met and Frankie saw the depth of what Comanche was feeling as he stared down at her and she cursed under her breath. Tenderness was 

not what she wanted! She wanted hot! She wanted hungry! She wanted to forget!

Letting out a growl, Frankie tightened her legs around Comanche and then shifted her weight and flipped the man onto his back.  

"I thought you were a wild one, injun?" she asked with a grin as Comanche stared up at her with shock. Then his dark eyes narrowed and his big hands gripped her waist, his fingers nearly connecting as they circled her. 

"Are you wanting to prove you're wilder, paleface?" Frankie raised her hips, nearly sliding him completely out of her before slamming herself back down and causing his fingers to tighten, his grip almost painful on her as his eyes slid closed and he groaned loudly.  

"Oh I'm wild, Comanche."  

His eyes opened and he returned the wicked grin that she had given to him. "Prove it."

Frankie felt as if her body was going to self-combust as she rode Comanche as quickly and as roughly as she could. She felt herself rising higher and higher and knew that she was reaching her release.  

She knew that Comanche was nearing his as well as his groans became louder and his hips thrust upward to meet hers.  

Frankie felt that tightening band of pleasure snap and she cried out as she tumbled over the edge, feeling Comanche tense in that same moment, her name slipping from his lips as he shuddered deep inside of her.  

Frankie laid her head against his sweat slicked chest and listened to his heart thundering beneath her. His beating heart lulled her sated and satisfied body into peaceful relaxation and before she had even realized it was going to happen Frankie drifted off to sleep.  

---

Comanche wrapped her tightly in his arms, knowing his body had never felt as satisfied as it felt in this moment.  Any doubt he may have had about her importance to him and her being the one true  mate his father had always told him that he would find, was gone.  

Frankie was all he wanted and all he needed and he would do anything, take on anything this world had to throw at them, to keep her safe.  

He knew she'd put up a fight.. She seemed stubborn that way, but Comanche didn't care. He'd certainly faced tougher opponents than Frankie in his life and he was still going strong. He would win the battle with her as well.  

---

Frankie was peaceful as the sun shone on her face, letting her know it was morning. For the first time in as long as she could remember she felt no fear as she began to awaken and then that reprieve quickly ended when she heard the terrible gurgling moan, followed by a wet thud and a grunt that she recognized.... Comanche!  

Frankie jumped to her feet, scooped his buckskin shirt off the floor and slid it on, the stained fabric falling nearly to her knees. She grabbed her gun and ran out of the bedroom. The cabin door was open and she saw Comanche currently locked in a battle with a group of rabid.  

She did a quick count and realized there were at least ten of them and he was fighting them with nothing but a shovel.  

Frankie fired a quick shot into the forehead of a rabid that had been inches from biting into Comanche's shoulder. The indian nodded his thanks and then swung the shovel, taking out another rabid.  

Frankie and Comanche took out the rabid quickly and then Frankie threw her hands in the air.  

"What the hell, Comanche!? All these days here with almost nothing and now we've had two big groups of rabid in less than twelve hours?! What is going on?"  

"They can smell us, Frankie. I think for the most part these groups just wander but if they catch a whiff they are drawn to it."  

"Smell 

us ?“ Frankie demanded. “I know they are drawn to fire and loud noise but….”

"We smell like food, paleface."  

Frankie swallowed hard as she realized Comanche was right. "Well then we need to get the hell out of here."  

"We?" Comanche asked with the raise of an arched brow. "You want me to come with you?"  

Frankie shifted her feet and then shrugged. "Sure. Last night was the best night of sleep I've had in a while and I might want to forget again."

Truth be told, she wasn't in any hurry to be alone again. She was realizing that having someone else around that was able bodied and strong wouldn't be such a bad thing.  

Comanche studied her for a moment and then a smile split his face. "Well let's go then." He urged.  

Frankie trembled as she felt his eyes roaming down her legs as they walked back into the cabin. "Like what you see?" she asked.  

"Yes I do. That shirt seems to look better on you than it ever did me."  

"I would have to agree." Frankie replied with a wink. "It feels good too."  

"Keep it then." Comanche urged. "I don't much like wearing a shirt anyhow."  

"Well at least one thing will certainly improve now that I'm riding with you." Frankie stated as she pulled on her pants and tucked the buckskin shirt into them. Comanche tilted his head and scratched at his hair.  

"What's that?"  

Frankie let her eyes go over the broad planes of his smooth chest and the tight muscles in his stomach. She licked her lips, remembering the way that body had felt pressed against her own the night before. Frankie's eyes went back to Comanche's and she smiled.  "The scenery."

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen: There Ain’t Really Much of a Comparison

April 1887

Colt shook his head as he watched the man leave the barn of the house that he and Katherine were taking shelter in. He knew damn well what that man had been in there doing and when he saw Katherine step out of the barn moments later, adjusting her blue skirt it only confirmed his suspicions.  

Once a whore, always a whore apparently.  

Two weeks they'd been riding together. Colt had yet to speak to her and she seemed to have given up speaking to him. They would travel by day and hole up at night. Always moving. Always running. Always just looking for more food, ammunition and living souls.  

They had found this house two days ago and had decided to stay here longer than just one night.... Well Katherine had decided. Colt had been thrown by his spooked horse when they'd been under attack by a pair of rabid. He'd damn near been bitten before Katherine had shot the rabid in the head. All should have been just fine after that except that Colt's ankle had gotten messed up pretty bad when he'd fallen.  

When they had come up on this empty house, Katherine had insisted that they stay here and let him rest his ankle for a few days. Colt had grudgingly agreed, both because his ankle had hurt like hell but also because he could tell how tired the woman was.  

Then this man, J.B., had shown up the day before and while Colt didn't much care for him, Katherine obviously liked him quite a bit.  

"Hey there, Colt." J.B. called when he saw Colt standing on the porch of the house. Colt tipped his head in greeting and then looked at Katherine as she walked past him toward the door, stubbornly avoiding meeting his gaze. Colt could see the straw stuck in her hair and it made him mad.  

He wasn't sure why... He had no interest in Katherine himself but he didn't want this man having her either. He didn't trust this man and like it or not he was fond of Katherine and felt responsible for her.   

"Why don't you talk, Colt? Are ya a fucking retard or somethin'?" J.B. asked.  

Colt hadn't uttered a word since his wife and daughter had died, taken from him by those monsters. It had been a long time since then.  A month.. though it seemed more like a lifetime. Strange how a month with his family would have flown by in the blink of an eye but a month of life in this new world of survival without them had crawled... each day a fight and each night sleeping with one eye open and just praying to see the sunrise.  

He still missed his Sarah and his Loralie more than he had ever missed anything in his life but he knew he had to move on without them. Life had to go on.... Sarah would not have wanted him to curl up and say quit and Loralie would be watching him from up in heaven, (an innocent beautiful angel like her was sure to be there), and he wanted her to be proud of her daddy.  

His vow of silence could end.  

"No, I ain't no fucking retard and you'd do well to mind your tongue, stranger. There ain't no call for bad language like that."  

J.B.'s eyes widened in surprise and then he chuckled and ran his hand over the mustache on his upper lip.  

"Is that right? By God the bastard speaks and turns out he's a know it all little prick."  

Colt pulled off his hat and wiped his arm across his sweat slicked forehead. He's spent the morning chopping wood and the weather was getting warmer even here in this mountains.  

"I don't know it all, J.B.," Colt countered as he put his hat back on his head and glanced up at the sun, squinting in the glare. His thumbs slid through the loops on his stained and worn out denims as he shrugged. "But I know a good for nothing, cocky, little boy when I see one."  

Anger flashed in J.B.'s pale blue eyes and he spit in the dirt before taking a step closer to Colt. Colt wasn't worried or scared as he stood at the top of the porch steps and leaned against the banister. Hell he'd been cutting his teeth on 

men like J.B. since before he could even grow whiskers on his chin.

"Is that right?" J.B. asked, his voice low and angry.  

"Right or wrong, it's just the way I see it."  

"Well I'll be darned..... Colt? Was that you talking?" Katherine's voice was shocked as she stepped back out on the porch.  

"Yes ma'am." Colt replied as he turned to the side, not willing to turn his back completely on J.B. and yet not afraid enough of him to worry about keeping his eyes on him completely.  

"I was starting to think you really didn't know how." Katherine admitted as she put her hands on her hips. Colt shrugged.  

"I know how." 

"Yeah he does.... He runs off at that mouth pretty good." J.B. grumbled. Katherine looked back and forth between them and then shrugged.  

"Well you two done comparing the size of your peckers?" she asked, shocking both men. "Because if you are then we need to talk about where we're going from here. That cellar is empty, there's no food in the kitchen and so we can't stay here."  

J.B. stuttered several times and then grunted as he pushed his way past Colt and took Katherine by the elbow. "I can assure you we weren't comparing pecker sizes, Katherine." J.B. stated and Colt nodded.  

"Sure weren't." he agreed. "There ain't really much of a comparison."  

J.B. grumbled under his breath while Katherine laughed. "So not only do you speak but you're a smart ass?" she asked with amusement.  

Colt shook his head. "Naw, I just don't like him."  

"Yeah well I don't like you neither!" J.B. exclaimed as he came toward Colt with his nostrils flared and his fists clenched. Colt crossed his arms calmly over his chest and raised his brow.  

"Easy boy."  

Katherine shook her head and came between them, pushing J.B. back. Colt caught the flash of anger in the younger man's blue eyes and thought for a moment he was going to go at Katherine but instead J.B. slung his arms out and snorted.  

"Are you both done?" Katherine demanded impatiently. "Because all of this yelling isn't going to do anything other than draw those rabid here. Is that what you all want? To have a big group of snarling rabid eating those peckers you're both so proud of?"  

When neither Colt or J.B. spoke Katherine nodded. "Alright, now it's midday so we might as well spend one more night here but then we'll be moving on." 	

"Together?" Colt asked and Katherine nodded.  

"Yes together. I trust your ankle is better and J.B has agreed to ride with us and provide an extra set of eyes, an extra gun and share what supplies he has."  

Colt shook his head. He didn't have to ask why J.B. had agreed to all of that. That was what Katherine did. She rutted with every damn man they came across in order to get something from him. Food. Ammunition. Weapons.... Whatever the man had to spare.  

"We have enough eyes and guns." Colt countered. He didn't like J.B. He didn't trust him. Probably because Colt had been J.B. Loud, cocky and arrogant. With no respect for anyone and no real concern for what was right or wrong. Nearly dying, growing up, marrying Sarah and being given Loralie had all changed him but he remembered the man he'd been before..... He knew the kinds of things that J.B. would be capable of.

"I disagree." Katherine countered. "I don't think there can ever be enough guns or eyes, not anymore."  

Colt knew that J.B. would end up being nothing but trouble but he also recognized that stubborn light in Katherine's eyes. It was the same light that had been in them when she had pulled that gun on him and informed him that she was coming along. It was either accept J.B. riding with them or leave Katherine behind and Colt knew he couldn't leave her...... Over the last two weeks they'd seen a lot of hell together and he wouldn't leave her alone with a man like J.B. for protection.  

J.B. was the kind of man who would throw her at a group of rabid just to buy himself a little time. Colt wasn't sure how he knew that since he didn't really know J.B. but he knew it just the same.  

"Whatever you think is best." Colt ground out and then he walked off the porch and around the house to bring in some firewood.  

He didn't like J.B. and he didn't trust the man either but Colt wasn't going to turn his back on Katherine now just because she was determined to keep the man around. Eventually J.B. was going to turn on her and Katherine would need Colt when that happened. Seeing as how she had saved his life a couple of times in the last couple weeks and the way she had begun to depend on him, Colt knew he couldn't turn his back on her.  

---

"Oh God yeah!" J.B. grunted as he shoved Katherine's face down into the mattress and rode her hard from behind. Katherine moaned and felt herself rising higher. Normally she only laid with a man once but J.B. was an exception. This man had talent when it came to bedding a woman and since he had agreed to help look out for the group and travel with them, Katherine knew that he'd expect more than just one rut in exchange for that.  

Katherine was nearing her own release but quickly realized it wasn't going to happen when J.B. let out a loud groan and pulled himself out of her, spilling himself on the mattress. Katherine sighed..... All men were the same and only really concerned with their own release.  

"Damn, woman, am I glad I rode up on y'all. You are something else." J.B. stated as he pulled up his trousers and went about buttoning them.  

Katherine stood straight and smoothed out her clothing. "You aren't too bad yourself." She replied with a wink.  

Katherine had meant to sound flirtatious but J.B. clearly took her words differently. Anger flashed in his light blue eyes and he clenched his fists.  

"I'm not 

too bad? Just who have you had that was any better? That damn jackass downstairs?!“

Katherine was surprised by his sudden show of jealous temper. But then she sighed. Men were sensitive that way. They each wanted to believe that they were the best thing a woman had ever had.  

"J.B. I was just attempting to sound coy. You are one hell of a man." She winked and this seemed to calm him down. "Now why don't you get on outside and do a check around."  

J.B. nodded and left the room. Part of the agreement when he'd come into her room wanting attention tonight had been that he would have to take first watch outside.  

Katherine walked to the wash basin and cleaned herself up before leaving the room and finding Colt in the sitting room, staring into the fire as he cleaned his revolver with some oil and rags.  

"Did J.B. go out?" Katherine asked as she settled down in a chair beside him. It was strange to speak to Colt and actually expect him to answer. For so long he'd been the quiet man who was simply always there. He confused her greatly. He helped to ensure she ate, had saved her life numerous times, looked out for her and had yet to turn his back on her and yet he hadn't asked for a single thing in return. Katherine had thought for sure he would have attempted to bed her by now but he had not.

"Yep." Colt replied without looking at her. "He seemed to be in a good mood." 

Katherine frowned when she was sure she heard disapproval in his voice. But then again how would she know... she hadn't heard him speak at all before today.  

"It was strange to hear you speaking today. I was beginning to think you couldn't." Colt simply grunted but said nothing. "If you could speak all this time then why didn't you?"    

"I had taken a vow of silence."  

"Really?" Katherine laughed lightly. "I've never heard of someone actually doing that... other than monks... You aren't a monk are you?" Katherine didn't think he was but hell it would certainly explain his lack of sexual interest in her given how hard she had tried to get him to bed her. And she had tried hard several times... always finding herself turned down and feeling burned and undesirable in the end.  

Colt snorted and shook his head. "No. No I ain't a monk. It was a way to mourn." 

"Mourn what?" 

"Nothin' I'm gonna talk about just now."   

Katherine harrumphed and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked back at the firelight. "So you took this great vow of silence and you decided to break it just so you could piss of J.B.?"  

"Naw. I broke it because I figured it was time." Colt replied as he slid his loaded cylinder back into place with a click. "Pissing of J.B. was just a bonus."  

Katherine shook her head. "Why? Why was that a bonus? Why don't you like him?"  

"I don't trust him." Colt replied, rubbing the rag in his hand over the barrel of his big revolver.  

"You don't know him." Katherine countered. "He seems a good enough man and he's agreed to help us."  

"I don't have to know him to know what kind of man he is, ma'am. I used to be him so I know he can't be trusted."  

"I think you're wrong." Katherine countered. "I think he's a good man." So she was pushing the truth a little but she wasn't going to tell Colt that. He was acting like a judgmental ass just now. Though she assumed she was finally seeing the real him now that he was speaking.

"He's only helping us because you're bedding him. Explain to me how that makes him a good man?"  

"It's none of your business what I do behind closed doors with men, Colt." Colt nodded as he slid his gun into his holster.  

"We agree on that much, Katherine. But a good man, like you're saying that J.B. is, wouldn't have to have a peek under your skirts in order to help you. A good man wouldn't need to have you ride his cock in order to look out for a woman who needs his help."    

Katherine was angry and she was angry because he had made her feel ashamed. Ashamed for what?! This was what she was! This was how she'd been raised! She didn't know any other way to be!

"And I suppose you're saying that you're a good man?!" she snapped and Colt shook his head.  

"Not at all. I've done some damn bad things in my life....." his eyes became haunted and his voice trailed off leaving Katherine to wonder just what he was seeing in his mind. "But I sure as hell wouldn't have taken advantage of a woman who needed help."  

Katherine stood up and clenched her fists at her sides. "And who says these men are taking advantage of me?!" she demanded. "No one takes advantage of me! I take advantage of them first. You men are so eager to have your peckers played with that you will agree to anything, give anything, to have that happen. I take advantage of that and get whatever I need out of it."  

Colt shook his head. "You're a victim, Katherine. Whether you want to admit it or not."  

Katherine narrowed her eyes and then walked toward him, swaying her hips and tugging down her blouse, revealing her full breasts to him. She saw his dark blue eyes stray to them before he quickly averted his gaze and looked back at her face.  

"Come on, Colt... You know you want me.  All you have to do is stand up and come get me, Colt.. I'm right here."   

Katherine let her hands trail over her exposed breasts and she bit her lower lip as she swayed her hips back and forth, never had a man refused and she wouldn't allow Colt to keep it up. She could tell he was interested as his nostrils flared and his fingers gripped the arms of the chair tightly. She didn't like being made to feel guilty for what she was and dammit she was going to make sure Colt realized that while she might be a whore, she was a damn good one.

Colt stood then and Katherine felt her breath catch. He was so handsome. So strong. So capable. She could only imagine just how good he'd be in bed... Just how well his body would feel moving against her own.  

He walked toward her, closing the distance, his dark blue eyes never leaving hers. Katherine's body warmed deliciously as he stood over her, his breath washing over her face as he stared at her so intently.  

Then she was suddenly cold as he grabbed the top of her blouse and pulled it up, covering her. He shook his head and stepped away, his eyes sad. "I won't do that, Katherine. I might be a bad man who's done some bad things but I won't do that."  

He sat back down in the chair and Katherine was left standing there feeling a million types of a fool. She didn't know what to say and she felt tears burning behind her eyes.  

"Get on up to bed now, ma'am. It's back to our new reality tomorrow."  

Katherine turned and ran as fast as she could away from him, sobbing as she slammed her door shut and then flung herself on her bed, tugging the covers around her tightly. She trembled as hot tears spilled down her face.  

Damn Colt and his self-righteousness! Who was he to turn her down and make her feel as if she was wrong? She wished she still had her mama..... Her mama would know something to say to make her feel better and her mama would have put that damn Colt in his place real fast.  

Katherine pulled her knees into her chest and tried desperately to fight off the waves of sadness, guilt and shame that kept threatening to overtake her.

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen: One Big Happy Family

Tennessee

April 1887

Charlotte tossed the final sack of supplies into the back of the cart that she and Silas had been loading up that morning. Since deciding yesterday that they had to move on they had both been working extra hard to insure everything would be packed up and loaded just a couple hours after dawn and as Charlotte glanced up at the sky, she realized they had succeeded.  

She blew out a long breath and laid her hand over her stomach which was once again flat beneath her dress. At least near starvation was good for one thing... losing the baby weight. Not that she had gained much weight in the first place. Jackson would have beaten her soundly for getting too fat and there hadn't been enough food around here in the last year or two to get fat on.  

Charlotte heard Grace let out a squeal from the front of the cart and she smiled and walked around. She picked up the happy infant and held her close to her chest, breathing in her sweet scent.  This world had gone to hell but Charlotte had managed to bring a tiny piece of heaven into it and she loved this precious baby. Grace had not been made in love but she was going to be raised with it, Charlotte was going to make sure of that. She would 

not let these flesh eating monsters nor the human monsters of this world destroy her baby.

"That's just about the prettiest sight I've ever seen in the sunrise, Miss Charlotte, ma'am." Charlotte smiled when she heard Silas coming up behind her and she turned to see his handsome face which was smiling right back at her.  

And he 

was handsome. He was strong too. And kind. Sweet. Caring. He was so much different from everything Charlotte had ever had before and he was all she wanted in the whole world. She wanted a life with him and with Grace. She loved him.

"You don't have to call me ma'am, Silas." She assured him and his big, dark hand reached out caressing her cheek, his touch as light as a feather as his brown eyes looked into hers.  

"It's just the way I was raised, Miss Charlotte." He replied honestly, his thumb stroking her jaw. Then with a long sigh he pulled his hand away and took a step back, his eyes going to the loaded cart.  

"Are we ready?" he asked. Charlotte nodded.  

"I believe we are. I only wish I had something to help me carry Grace....." Her voice trailed off when she remembered the papooses that the servants had worn when they'd had small babies. "Silas, can you hold Grace for a moment?" she asked as she placed the baby in his arms.  

"Sure that ain't no trouble but where are you going?"  

"I just remembered something." Charlotte replied and she dashed away toward the barn. Jackson had been a pack rat of sorts and Charlotte knew that he had kept many of the servant's old things in the back stall of the barn, just in case the need for them ever rose again. That particular habit had always driven Charlotte crazy but right now she was grateful for it.  

Charlotte made her way to the back stall and sighed before diving into the pile of things her dead husband had insisted on keeping. It was junk mostly and before long sweat was trickling down her back and chest as she dug through it all. She crouched down and sank back on her heels, blowing out a breath to move a few strands of hair that had fallen out of her bonnet.  

Defeat filled her as she realized that the papoose she was hoping to find probably wasn't here any longer. She supposed they may be able to find one in the first town they came to. Charlotte was about to push herself to her feet when she heard the footsteps behind her.  

Fear gripped at her heart as she glanced around for a weapon. Her hand closed around a heavy iron spike covered in rust. As the footsteps grew closer, Charlotte rose to her feet and charged out of the stall with the spike held high.  

"Whoa there!" Silas called as he twisted his body to shield Grace and held out one hand toward Charlotte. Charlotte skidded to a stop, her heart thundering against her ribs as her arms dropped. The iron spike suddenly felt as heavy as lead and it fell to the floor with a clatter.  

"I am so sorry!" she exclaimed, guilt filling her when she realized she had nearly bashed Silas's head in like one of those monsters. Silas's full lips curved in a smile and his brown eyes sparkled with amusement.  

"As much as I wish it didn't have to be this way, I'm proud that you nearly whacked me a good one. And it's my fault, next time I'll call out before sneaking up on you that way."  

Charlotte found herself laughing lightly and then surprised them both when she stepped closer to him and threw her arms around his middle and buried her head against his chest, hugging him tightly. Silas free arm closed around her as well and Charlotte breathed him in and enjoyed just how broad and hard he felt against her. He was so strong and yet he was gentle as well as his lips pressed against her cream colored bonnet.  

"I could stay like this right here all day and be a happy man." He stated as he gave her a squeeze and adjusted Grace in his other arm. "But we gotta get a move on, I'm afraid."  

Charlotte was loath to move from his arms. While she and Jackson had been married for years, Charlotte had never known what it felt like to be truly held until Silas had held her. His strong arms wrapped around her so tenderly and she fit inside of them so perfectly that it was as if they were made to be together. She knew that while this world had gone to hell and monsters now roamed the earth, meeting Silas, having him in her life, would be the one good thing that came from the horror.  

"Come on now, Miss Charlotte, we gotta get a move on." Silas sighed, though he didn't seem very happy as he moved himself out of her grasp. "What was you looking for so hard in here?"   

Charlotte took a moment to collect herself and gather her thoughts. Being held so close to Silas's hard body and feeling his heart beating against her ear caused her to feel strange... Tingly... Hot... A million different sensations that she had never felt before.  

"I.. I was searching for a papoose. The workers, back when my husband could afford them, had families and when their babies were little the mothers would carry them in a papoose so they could have their hands free..."  

"I have seen those." Silas cut in with a smile. "But I don't see one here. I have an idea though." Charlotte followed Silas from the barn, squinting as they stepped into the sunlight. She noticed Silas's shoulders tense as he glanced around, clearly checking for rabid. She wondered if the day would ever come when they could simply relax and take a walk with Grace without worrying that a rabid was going to jump out of the woods and try to eat them.  

They got to the cart and Silas laid Grace gently on the seat before grabbing a sheet and tying it around Charlotte's waist and neck like a sling. She frowned at him.  

"What are you doing?"  

"I was a slave for a while, Miss Charlotte, and when I lived on the plantation there were several mothers of young babes there. Our master was a cruel man and not the kind to help his slaves so the women would use sheets like these to hold their babes while they worked."   

Silas gathered up Grace, kissed the baby's round cheek and then smiled as he lowered her into the make shift sling. Charlotte realized that it served as a sort of pouch. Grace was resting down inside, shielded from the sun and secure while Charlotte had the use of her hands.  

Charlotte beamed up at Silas. "My hero." She teased and Silas chuckled as he pulled off his hat and rubbed the back of his neck.  

"I'm no one's hero, Miss Charlotte." Charlotte nodded and laid her hand on his cheek, feeling her heartbeat begin to race.  

"You're mine and you're Graces. We would have been lost without you, Silas."   

Charlotte's breath caught in her throat when Silas stooped down and his lips caught hers tenderly. It was a feather light caress of lips on lips that had her groaning with disappointment when he pulled away. Then she cried out when Silas raised his shotgun and fired a shot so close to her head that pain shot through her ear drums and caused her to cover them and nearly fall to her knees. Silas caught her arm before she fell and he smiled apologetically.  

"Sorry, Miss Charlotte."  Charlotte's ears were ringing so loudly that she could hardly hear him but she glanced to the side and saw the rabid lying dead and bloody less than two yards away.   

Charlotte was trembling as Silas helped her into the wagon. That kiss had rocked her to the core and then the rabid had shown up and reminded her just how dangerous life had become. Just how hopeless their situation was truly looking......  

But she had never been the type to dwell on the negative. She and Silas were together now. They were alive now. One thing this new world was teaching Charlotte was that 

now was all that mattered.

Silas settled himself onto the seat beside her and after adjusting Grace and ensuring the infant was comfortable, she reached over and took Silas's hand. He glanced down at her and she saw the nervousness in his brown eyes.  

"You're not angry at me, Miss Charlotte?"  

"Why would I be angry?" Charlotte asked with confusion.  

"For.. uh..." he cleared his throat as he flicked the reins with his free hand and the cart lurched forward.  

"I enjoyed the kiss..." Charlotte whispered, her cheeks flaming red. Silas squeezed her hand, kissed her temple and then they both settled back onto the cart and headed toward whatever the future held, content with the knowledge that in this moment they had each other.  

---

Colt was not happy with this plan. He wasn't happy with it at all. He watched Katherine making her way toward the road and the cart that was currently moving slowly down it, and his grip on the rifle in his hands tightened.  

He hated J.B. Hated that man more than he'd ever hated another living person before. Sending a woman down to get the cart coming their way to stop? Sure they were more likely to stop to help a woman alone than a man but that did not mean Colt was happy about sending Katherine down there. What if the man and woman sitting on that cart just shot her and went on their way...... Gone were the days when anyone could trust anyone. It was survival of the fittest and surely those in that wagon had realized that as well.  

But it was J.B.'s idea to stop this wagon and try to haggle for supplies. They were low on food, as in they hadn't eaten in two days, and they were getting low on ammunition as well. Colt had a feeling that J.B's idea of haggling was going to be to steal whatever they needed, which Colt was fine with. What he wouldn't be fine with was killing this man or woman and he would protect them if the need arose.  

Colt tensed and focused on Katherine down in the road as the cart came to a stop. "Can we help you, ma'am?" the colored man seated on the wagon asked. His voice was kind but Colt noticed that his free hand was resting just a little more tensely on the shotgun in his lap.  

"Yes." Katherine said as she limped forward and then tossed aside her skirt and pulled the .38 revolver from the holster around her thigh. "You can give me any food and ammunition that you two might have on you." 

"Now there ain't no reason I can see to pull a gun on us, ma'am." The colored man said without fear. "If you need some supplies we'd be glad to share what little we do have...."  

"Share, nigger?" J.B. asked with a chuckled as he stepped out of the woods with his rifle. Colt cursed under his breath and rushed to come out of hiding as well. "Who said a damn thing 'bout sharing?"  

"Silas!" the woman gasped as she clung to the sheet wrapped around her. The colored man licked his lip and glanced around, his eyes passing over Colt and returning to J.B.  

"You can have whatever it is you need. All I ask is that you don't harm the woman."

"Hurt the woman?" J.B. asked with a sneer. "Now what makes you think we're those types?" He stepped toward the wagon, his hand reaching out and brushing against the woman's skirt.  

Colt tensed and saw Katherine gasp when the colored man, Silas, raised his shot gun and aimed it at J.B.'s head. "You'll take your hand off that woman." He warned.  

Colt saw the look in J.B.'s eyes and knew that this man and woman were in danger. He quickly stepped forward.  

"There's no reason why anybody needs to get hurt." Colt stated. "There aren't very many damn people left in the world and we don't need be to killing what few of us are left."   

J.B. glared at Colt and then took several steps back as Colt advanced, taking over the situation. "Now if y'all have anything to spare it would be appreciated." Colt told the people on the cart.  

Silas relaxed slightly and his eyes went to Colt. "We don't have much to offer..."  

A whimper reached Colt's ears and his head whipped around to the woman and the sheet wrapped around her. He saw the sheet squirm and pain filled his heart. A baby. That was a baby.  

Images of his Loralie filled his mind and Colt stepped back. "Come on, you two. They ain't got nothin' to spare."  Colt just wanted to get away, leave, have nothing else to do with these people. A baby? 

Shit! He would not, could not, be around a baby.

"Colt, we need supplies." Katherine argued and Colt shook his head.  

"They don't have what we need......" Colt stopped when he heard J.B.'s voice. 

"I say we just kill us a nigger and take that woman and whatever they got... She can't be with that nigger cuz she wants to be. He probably kidnapped her from her husband."  

"Don't speak that way about, Silas." The woman snapped. "We've already said we'll give you what supplies we have to spare."  

"Woohoo!" J.B. exclaimed. "We got us a nigger loving woman! Maybe she needs to be shown what a real man is....."  

Colt's fist slammed into J.B.'s face, silencing whatever else the cocky bastard had been about to say. Katherine gasped while Silas trained his gun on J.B.'s chest.  

"What the hell was that?" J.B. demanded before spitting blood and gripping his rifle tighter.  

"You had a bit of shit on your lip." Colt replied with a shrug. "I was just taking care of that for you... And while I'm at it, I'm gonna lay down some rules."  

"Rules huh?" J.B. asked with a snort and Colt nodded.  

"Yep. From here on out, I'm the boss. What I say goes. If you don't' like that then you're welcome to get the hell on out of here and head on. These folks here, are gonna be with me..." Colt pointed at the cart. While he wasn't too damn eager to tie himself down to a woman and a baby he knew he had to protect them. He had to do what he could.... He had been unable to save his own wife and daughter, he had failed them, but maybe if he helped this woman and child, if he kept them safe from J.B. and men like him, it would begin to make up for that. "..... Now this world has gone to shit in a real big hurry but I think we all stand a better chance if we band together instead of going at this alone."  

"The woman and I weren't looking for protection.." Silas began but Colt silenced him with a glare.

"Colt, have you lost your mind? We don't need more mouths to feed..." Katherine began and Colt shook his head.  

"I'm staying with them. I'd like for you to stick with me too, Katherine, but if you can't then I understand."  

"And what about me?" J.B. demanded. Colt shrugged.  

"You do whatever you feel is right, J.B. But if you make one move to wrong these folks then it's gonna get real tense between us in a real big hurry."  

J.B. and Colt faced each other for several long tense moments but Colt wasn't worried that J.B. was going to buck up against him just yet. Colt was sure it would come eventually but it wasn't going to come today. J.B. wasn't stupid. He knew just as well as Colt did that survival was going to come from numbers in this new world. The more bodies were around to take the flesh eaters attention the less likely you yourself were to get eaten.  

J.B. snorted and wiped a bit of blood from his lip before tossing up his arm in surrender. "Well I guess we'll just be one big nigger lovin' family then."   

"Colt are you sure this is....." Colt met Katherine's eyes and she quit speaking. He nodded.  

"I'm sure. It's time we all started banding together." Katherine nodded her acceptance of Colt's word. "Now you and J.B. go get the horses." 

"Yes 

boss .“ J.B. sneered and he stormed off into the woods with Katherine behind him.

"Sir..." Silas began and Colt turned to him.  

"My name is Colt and you can trust me."  

"Why?" Silas questioned. "Why would you want to help us?"  

"My reasons are my own." Colt replied. "But believe me when I say you are better off with me than you would be without me. Especially with men like J.B. running around."  

Silas studied him a moment and then nodded as he jumped from the wagon. "The woman is Charlotte. She's mine." There was a warning tone in Silas's voice.  

"I have no interest in taking your woman or the child." Colt replied as the baby, still hidden from his view, let out a cry. "I'll help you get wherever it is you're wanting to go and I'll help you get there alive."  

"You seem a good man, Colt."  

"Not really." Colt replied with a shrug. "Though I'm better than some." His eyes went to the woods where J.B. had disappeared and Silas nodded while the woman shifted in the seat.  

"I don't feel comfortable riding with that other man." She stated and Silas smiled up at her. It was clear to Colt that these two were in love with one another. A black man and a white woman seemed a strange combination and Colt knew that in the old world it would have been a taboo and frowned upon union.... Maybe in the new world ignorant people would be too busy running for their lives to be worried about judging others.  

"Miss Charlotte, I don't like him much myself but as  a Christian man it's in my nature to give him the benefit of the doubt."  

"He don't deserve that." Colt countered. "But it's better to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Better him here under our noses than out there sneaking around behind our backs."  

"Alright then, Colt. I'm not sure why you're helping us but you have my gratitude and we'll share what little we have with you." Silas said with a nod as he held out his hand. Colt shook it firmly and then the baby let out another cry.  

"You should feed that youngin' ma'am. Sounds like it's hungry."  

With that Colt walked ahead to wait on the horses and let Silas and Charlotte talk among themselves. For a man who had wanted to spend the rest of his life alone Colt sure was making a lot of new friends here lately.

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

April 1887

Charlotte was not happy with the new living arrangements that she, Silas and Grace found themselves in the last two days. That man, J.B., glared at them and had taken to calling Silas a 'negro' since the word 'nigger' had earned him several harsh and painful reactions from Colt....  

And Colt was something that Charlotte didn’t understand.

He wouldn't speak to her and he almost seemed to be in physical pain whenever he saw Grace or the child made a noise.  And yet he and Silas had formed an almost friendly alliance and Silas seemed certain they could trust Colt and since Charlotte respected Silas's opinion, she trusted the tall man with haunted blue eyes.  

And then there was Katherine. Now Charlotte had worked hard in her life to never hate but between J.B. and Katherine it was a hard way of life to maintain. J.B. hated Silas and his harsh treatment of the man Charlotte loved caused her to want to hate him, and Katherine.... Well she seemed to like Silas too much.  

Brushing up against the man, flashing her long tanned legs and awarding him far too much of her chest to view. Silas, true to character, had been kind to the woman and nothing more but Charlotte still felt that green monster of jealousy deep in her gut.   

Charlotte glanced over at Silas as Grace nursed her breast beneath the cover of the sheet. Silas was staring into their small fire and Charlotte wondered what he was thinking.  

"Silas..." she whispered and he looked over at her, a smile tugging at his lips as he did.  

"You've been very quiet since we joined these people. Are you okay?" he asked. Charlotte smoothed out her skirt and nodded, her eyes automatically going to Katherine as the blond came out of the woods followed closely by J.B. who was adjusting his pants.  

Charlotte realized that Silas had followed her gaze and when she looked back at the man he appeared angry.  

"You're worried about that woman." He stated as Katherine waved at him and he turned away from her in response.  

"No, I'm not." Charlotte lied. Of course she was! Katherine was beautiful, desirable and clearly open to lying with any man who wanted to lay with her. She had long legs and thick golden hair, no stretch marks were visible on her tight tummy and her breasts wouldn't be full of a baby's milk.... And she had no child for a man to worry himself with taking care of. What woman wouldn't worry if a woman like that came after her man?

"Have more faith in me than that." Silas grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet and slid his shot gun over his shoulder.  

"Where are you going?" Charlotte asked guiltily and Silas sighed.  

"To patrol." Silas replied. "It is my turn."  

"Be careful." Charlotte urged and Silas smiled comfortingly. He crouched down and laid his hand against her cheek.   

"I love you, Miss Charlotte. Only you."  

Charlotte was ashamed of her own jealousy and insecurities. She bit her lip as she nodded and felt tears burn her eyes. She had never been with a man who was loyal, faithful and actually 

cared about her.

Instead of replying, she feared she may cry if she tried to speak, Charlotte turned her head and kissed his palm. She saw his dark eyes narrow in the firelight and his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.  

"Alright then." Silas stated hoarsely and then he turned and headed off into the woods, nodding at Colt as he went.  

Charlotte felt a shiver pass over her spine and she turned to see J.B. watching her from the second small fire about twenty feet from the one Silas had built for him to share with Charlotte and Grace.   

She met J.B.'s eyes and could recognize evilness in them. It was the same evil nature that had been in the eyes of the man who had tried to rape her in the cellar. Why was a man like Colt, a man who seemed mostly good, riding around with a man like J.B.? It just didn't seem right.  

Charlotte realized that Grace was done feeding and she moved the infant off her breast and redid her dress, keeping herself covered with the sheet until she was done. She gasped with shock when she looked back up and realized that J.B. was now standing in front of her.  

"Sorry, 

ma’am .“ J.B. sneered with a snort. “I didn’t mean to scare you none.”

"You didn't scare me." Charlotte lied as she used the sheet to wipe a drip of milk from Grace's cheek. She glanced around and saw that Katherine had perched herself in a nearby tree so she could watch for rabid and Charlotte didn't see Colt any longer. Did that mean she was alone down here with J.B.? That thought was enough to terrify her.  

"That's a pretty baby you got there, Charlotte." J.B. stated, crouching down and rocking back on his heels beside her.  "Where's her papa? I can tell it ain't that negro."  

"I won't speak to you while you're talking that way about Silas." Charlotte stated firmly as she turned away from the horrible man. She reached down and let her hand close over the handle of the knife that Colt had insisted to Silas that she wear in her boot. The thought of killing someone with that knife, of sinking that sharp blade into living flesh, caused her stomach to turn but she would do it if she had to. Charlotte was finding that a person would do nearly anything in order to survive.  

"Easy does it now, sweet thing. Don't be hateful. I got eyes and it's clear that girl ain't got no negro in her. So tell me, where's her papa?"  

"Dead." Charlotte snapped. "Now I'd really rather be left alone."  

"You know I've always wondered something." J.B. said, leaning in so close to Charlotte that she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. Her stomach rolled as her grip on the hilt of the knife tightened. "I've always wondered what makes a perfectly good white woman such as yourself suddenly love her some nigger cock."

Charlotte was so shocked by his words that she released her hold on the knife, turned and smacked J.B. hard across his face.  

"Why you stupid bitch! I'm gonna show you what a real man is." J.B. growled as he grabbed her arm roughly.  

"Leave me be!" Charlotte exclaimed, trying hard to tug her hand away as Grace began to whimper, sensing her mother's tension.  

"I'm gonna......"  

"You're gonna listen to the damn woman and leave her be." Colt's voice suddenly came from behind J.B. and the man released his hold on Charlotte instantly and turned to face the other man. Charlotte stared up at Colt and was certain she was looking at knight in shining armor. A dirty, angry, bearded knight in shining armor.  

"Colt, I wasn't...."  

"Swear to God, J.B., I ain't in no mood to hear that mouth. Get on over there and keep an eye on that stew. Do somethin' useful with yourself." Colt snapped and J.B. stood up, standing toe to toe with Colt. Charlotte looked back and forth between the men. Colt was more than likely around thirty years old though it was clear by the lines around his eyes and the scar on his lip that he had lived a hard life. He was six and a half feet tall and seemed to have been built for living on horseback and surviving. J.B. was younger, probably only around twenty, and he lacked the rough edges that Colt had and was a good few inches shorter.  

The most major difference was in their eyes. Colt's dark blue eyes held intelligence and a goodness that Charlotte could see... J.B.'s light blue eyes lacked both.  

"I'm getting real damn tired of you thumping your damn chest, Colt. Who the hell died and made you chief?" J.B. demanded loudly.  

"Pretty much the whole world as far as I can tell." Colt replied with a calm shrug. "And you should keep your voice down before you let every damn flesh eater from here to Georgia know we're around."

J.B.'s fists clenched and a muscle in his jaw twitched. "Your damn day is coming, Colt."  

Charlotte had no idea how Colt kept so calm with this man threatening him but he didn't bat a lash as he stuck his thumbs through his belt loops. "I reckon we all gotta die someday, J.B., but today ain't my day. Now get on over there and tend to the stew. There ain't no point in all of us starvin' to death just because you let dinner burn."  

J.B. turned and stormed away across camp to the other fire where pot of soup was cooking. "Thank you, Colt." Charlotte said quietly.  

"I apologize." Colt replied, surprising Charlotte. He normally made it a point to 

not speak directly to her. “A man like that shouldn’t be around you women.”

"Why are you running with him?" Charlotte asked. "You seem to be so different."  

Colt shook his head as he sat down on the log beside Charlotte and she saw his blue eyes lock on Grace's face. He seemed to be in pain as he looked at the infant and his fists clenched against his thighs.  

"Not so different." Colt countered. "Wasn't too long ago when I was a lot like J.B."  

"I don't believe that." Charlotte argued. "I don't see you threatening a woman the way he did me."  

Colt looked away from Grace suddenly and focused on the dirt at his boots. "Naw I never did that." He conceded. "Just steer clear of that man. I don't like him being here with us but dammit it's better than him being out there where I can't keep an eye on him."  

"Katherine seems to like him."  

Colt sighed and pushed himself to his feet. "Katherine is a product of her raising, ma'am, just like the rest of us I reckon. You shouldn't judge her to harshly for that."

With those parting words, Colt walked away toward the tree Katherine was perched in leaving Charlotte to wait for Silas to return.  

---

Katherine sighed when she realized Colt was standing at the base of her tree and seemed to be waiting for her to come down. She had seen his confrontation with J.B. and she knew he was probably going to lecture her again about bedding the other man.

Dreading the scolding, Katherine jumped from her branch and landed on her feet in front of Colt, adjusting her blouse to cover a bit more of her stomach as she stood there.  

"What is it, Colt?"  

"You need to stay the hell away from J.B. No more sneaking off in the woods together." Colt warned. Katherine glared at him and put her hands on her hips.  

"It really ain't none of your business who I take into the woods." she reminded him and Colt nodded.  

"You're right, it ain't. And to be honest with you I don't rightly care who you spread your legs for just so long as it isn't that man."  

"And what's so wrong with that man?" Katherine asked, trying hard to act as if his words hadn't hurt her feelings. She wasn't even sure why her feelings were hurt. She was a whore so why would it hurt to be talked to and treated like one?  

"You know what's wrong with him. He don't care about you or anybody else other than himself. You deserve someone who cares about you, Katherine."  

"Not your business." She snapped, tired of the way Colt seemed to like to tell her what she needed and yet he wasn't willing to be that man for her. Colt grumbled under his breath and then pointed back toward Charlotte.  

"Do you know what that man was doing over there?"  

"No."  

"Threatening Charlotte."  Katherine's eyes widened with surprise as she glanced over at J.B. who was stabbing furiously at the stew with a dented metal spoon.  

"What do you mean threatening her?"  

"Surely I ain't gotta spell that out to you." Colt said with a shake of his head. "Now like it or not I care about you Katherine and I don't want to see you hurt. That man right there ain't nothin' but trouble and trouble is all he's gonna bring with him. I don't want to see you caught in the middle when it happens."  

Katherine watched Colt walk away to the other side of camp and she looked at J.B. and suddenly saw him in a new light. Colt was not a liar. If he said that J.B. had threatened Charlotte then the man had threatened Charlotte.  

Katherine never had liked J.B. but she had figured she needed to lay with him in return for the help he was giving the group but now....... Now she was going to take Colt's advice and stay clear of him. J.B. was a loose cannon and loose cannon's tended to do a whole hell of a lot of damage.  

---

Silas was almost finished making his rounds outside of camp and was preparing to head back in when he heard the moaning in the distance and the sound of branches breaking.  

Instantly he crouched down and scanned the darkness and what he saw out in the trees had fear clawing at his chest.  

Rabid, countless rabid, wandering aimlessly through the forest around him. Any thoughts of how he was going to show his love to Charlotte tonight vanished from his mind and instead all he could think about was how in the world he was going to protect his woman and Little Grace from all these rabid.  

There was no way they could fight this many. There was easily one hundred rabid walking all around him now as he crouched beside this tree. It was like a big lumbering herd of cattle all around him, only these cattle were bloody, rotting and moaning as they searched for a meal.  

As of now the group of rabid didn't seem to be heading toward camp but Silas knew that all it would take is for one to catch a scent or hear a sound and the entire horde would be on their camp within minutes and Silas knew if that happened then he would lose Charlotte and Little Grace.  

Silas had to get back to camp and he had to do it quickly and quietly.  

Staying low and slipping through the shadows Silas made his way back, wincing every single time his foot cracked a twig and nearly peeing in his pants several times when he nearly ran into the backs of rabid.  

Somehow though he remained unnoticed and the instant he entered camp he went straight to Colt who stood and looked concerned as Silas neared him.  

"We gotta get out of here." Silas whispered. "And we gotta do it quickly and quietly."  

"Why?" Colt questioned. Silas was aware of Charlotte coming to stand next to him and he licked his lips nervously and glanced at her.  

"Rabid. At least a hundred of them."  

"A hundred?" Katherine exclaimed as she walked over and Silas shushed her.  

"Quiet!" he whispered sharply. "They are close... They're just wandering around like a herd of cattle or something but if they hear us or smell us...."  

"We'll shoot 'em!" J.B. yelled as he too walked over. "I ain't afraid of no damn rabid."  

"You should be." Silas replied simply and then he turned away and led Charlotte back toward their small fire to gather up their belongings.  

"Are there really that many?" Charlotte whispered with fear and while Silas would have loved to have been able to lie to her and sugarcoat the truth, he knew that now was not the time for that.

"Yes there really are." He replied. Keeping Charlotte close to his side, Silas went to the cart and quickly hitched his mule to it. His attention suddenly going back to the camp when he heard J.B. laugh.  

"Look at you all running scared just cuz the negro tells you to!" he called out.  Silas saw Colt and Katherine gathering up their few belongings and bringing their horses toward the cart.  

"Shut up, J.B." Katherine warned and J.B. laughed.  

"I ain't scared of no stupid rabid!" he declared. "Bring it on, rabid!" J.B. pulled his revolver and fired a shot into the air before anyone could stop him. "I ain't scared."  

"You should be." Colt growled as Silas quickly helped Charlotte and Little Grace onto the cart. Katherine gasped and Silas realized that Colt had drawn his gun and had it aimed at J.B.'s head. "You goddamned fool. You probably just killed us all."  

Colt squeezed the trigger and J.B. cried out but instead of the bullet striking him, it slammed through the forehead of the rabid that had been coming up behind him. J.B. turned and let out a scream when he saw the wave of rabid coming out of the trees.  

"Run. Run. Run." Colt cried, and Silas needed no further urging as he snapped the reins and sent the cart on a wheel rattling pace down the dusty road they'd been camped beside.  He was aware of Colt, Katherine and J.B. firing shots as they rode their horses beside the wagon.  

"I've never seen so many!" Charlotte cried out as she looked around them. Silas nodded in agreement and sent up a million prayers that somehow they would all live through this.  

"Ai! Ai! Ai!" the sound of an indian battle cry pierced the air and suddenly an indian brave on a paint horse and a skinny woman wielding two guns at once while holding her horses reins in her teeth rode into view, firing shots at the rabid all around them.  

"Damn y'all stirred up a hornets next." The woman exclaimed around the reins in her mouth.  

"We realize that." Colt shouted over the sound of gunshots.  

"Well come on then! There's a house up ahead and we can take cover there." The indian assured them and Silas nodded at Colt's questioning look and the group followed after the indian and the woman.  

Farmlands spread out on either side and then they rounded a bend in the road and a house and barns came into view.  

Instead of heading for the house, Silas drove straight into the barn and everyone else followed suit. Colt and the indian slammed the barn doors closed and secured them by sliding a wooden beam through the iron supports.  

"What now?" J.B. demanded and Colt sighed as the rabid pounded on the wooden walls, moaning and hissing with their irritation.  

"Get up high, Miss Charlotte." Silas urged, helping Charlotte from the wagon and leading her to the ladder that led to the loft.  

"I'd say we should all head up there." Colt stated. "Just in case."  

Everyone settled up high in the loft, though Silas noticed that J.B. remained as far from everyone as he could. Silas worked hard in his life to avoid hatred but hatred was sometimes hard to keep from feeling. And right now he was feeling the beginnings of hatred toward the other man.  

"Frankie?" Colt suddenly asked and the skinny woman who had helped lead them here stared at him a moment before her dark eyes widened.  

"Well I'll be damned! Never thought I'd see you again! Nice beard."  

"Thanks." Colt muttered. "Good to see you've made it this long."  

"The feeling's mutual." Frankie replied with a nod. "This is Comanche."  

"I'm Colt." Colt replied. "And this is Katherine, Silas, Charlotte, baby Grace and that son of a bitch over there is J.B."  

J.B. grumbled but said nothing as he stared out the window at the angry rabid horde.  

"Well we might as well try to rest. I reckon we ain't gonna be going anywhere 'til this herd wanders off." Frankie stated and Silas agreed. He led Charlotte and Grace to a back corner of the spacious loft and pulled off his coat to give Charlotte something to lie upon on the hay.  

"Hold me, Silas." Charlotte asked and Silas knew he wouldn't turn her down. She was scared, trembling as he stretched out beside her and she laid Grace on his chest before curling herself around him as well.  

"I thought we were going to die...." She whispered and Silas kissed her dark hair, her bonnet had come off somewhere during their wild ride in the dark.

"I wouldn't let that happen, Miss Charlotte. Now get some rest. Tomorrow is probably going to be a pretty long day."

Chapter Twenty

C

hapter Twenty: Perhaps I Broke It?

May 1

st

1887

Comanche woke to the sound of flesh hitting flesh. He opened his eye just a crack and saw something that had him leaping from his bed of hay on the barn loft and swinging down the ladder.  

"You stupid bitch!" J.B. exclaimed, blood flying off his lips as he staggered and fought to stay on his feet. Frankie swiped her bloody knuckles against her shirt and shook them as she grimaced.  

"No, you're the stupid one so far as I can see!"  

"Dammit, I had my eyes closed!" J.B. growled. Comanche was aware of everyone else stirring up on the loft. Colt and Katherine were making their way down the ladder while Silas and his woman were watching the confrontation from above. "I thought you was somebody else."  

J.B.'s eyes strayed to Katherine but Comanche was more worried about what J.B. had done to Frankie to earn that bloody mouth and swelling eye.  

"He touched you?"  

"Don't you worry about it none, injun." Frankie shot back. "It ain't no concern of yours who touches me."  

Comanche took a step back and swallowed back his anger and hurt. Frankie was simply in a temper and Comanche had learned in the weeks they'd spent together that when Frankie was in a temper she tended to get mean.   

"Hell I didn't mean to touch her!" J.B. insisted, as he took a step forward and then backed up quickly when Frankie's fist clenched.  

"What did you mean to do then, ya bastard! Cuz it felt an awful lot like you mean to grab my......"  

"That's enough." Colt stated as he grabbed J.B. and shoved the man away from Frankie. "Now, I got a few damn things to lay out to you and if you don't like them then you can just get on down the road and see how long you last out there alone."  

"You ain't no better'n me, Colt." J.B. growled and Comanche had a feeling this was a conversation that had been a long time coming. It made the indian wonder just how long J.B. and Colt had been riding together.  

"That's where you're wrong, J.B., but that's beside the point." Colt shot back and Comanche found himself chuckling. He liked Colt. The man seemed cocky and arrogant but he also seemed more than capable of backing those traits up. J.B. seemed more like a cocky and arrogant weakling who was simply blowing hot air.  

"Colt, now really isn't the time for fighting." Silas urged from above them. "I can still hear some of those rabid out there."  

Comanche could hear them too though it sounded like it was barely more than a few. The majority of that horde, or herd, whichever you wanted to call them, had moved on during the night.  

"Now is the perfect time, Silas." Colt countered. "This bastard is pushing things too far. Now I'll turn a blind eye to most things since I ain't nowhere near perfect myself but when you threaten women and touch them without permission, that's when I have a problem."  

"Dammit, I thought Frankie was Katherine, Colt, I had my eyes closed."  

"I told you last night that we couldn't do 

that anymore,“ Katherine whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself and looked down at the hay strewn dirt at her feet.

"Come on now! You can't just turn it off like that." J.B. argued.  

"She can and she did." Colt snapped. "You'll keep your hands off the women and you'll stop with your threats. Lay hands on Katherine or Frankie again or speak to Charlotte the way you did last night at the camp and I'll feed you to a rabid myself."  

"Just what did he do to Charlotte?" Silas demanded as he glanced at the woman up in the loft with him. Comanche saw her blush and offer a guilt laden shrug in response.  

"I was just gonna show her a real man, negro but don't worry none. Colt got to her first." J.B. turned to Comanche. "You better keep an eye on your filly there, injun, or else that bastard will claim her as his too."  

There was a collective rush of anger as everyone seemed to lunge for J.B. at once. Even Silas, started down the ladder with a look of pure rage on his face.  

Colt beat everyone to J.B. however and threw the man to the ground before slamming a fist into his face.   

"You've overstayed your welcome." Colt ground out as he yanked a bleeding and addled J.B. back to his feet. "It's time you hit the road." 

"You can't toss me out with nothing."  

"We can and we will." Silas vowed. "Now I'm a good Christian man and it's in my nature to turn the other cheek when a man wrongs me and that's why I have bitten my tongue and not said nothing against your constant insults about my skin color, but I won't turn the other cheek to anyone who wrongs my woman,"

"I don't even have my gun!" J.B. shouted desperately as Colt dragged him toward the barn door. Colt nodded at Silas to open the door and J.B.'s struggles became more frantic when the sound of a rabid bumping against the wooden walls filed the barn.  

"Men that live the way you and I do often learn lessons the hard way." Colt stated without concern. "If you live through this then I guarantee you'll never sleep without your damn gun again."  

Silas slid the wooden beam from the supports and began to open the door and Comanche saw the wild light in J.B.'s frantic blue eyes just before the man swung out and jerked himself from Colt's grasp.  

Katherine reached for him but J.B. managed to twist and avoid her grasp before lunging for the ladder and scrambling up into the loft where Charlotte was alone with the baby. He slid from sight as did Charlotte.  

Panic was thick in the air as Silas, Colt and Katherine rushed for the ladder. "You better not put a hand on her!" Silas called. Comanche and Frankie shared a look.  

What in the hell had they gotten themselves in the middle of?

"Get your hands off her!" Charlotte called and then suddenly she and J.B. both came into view at the edge of the loft and every single person on the ground below froze when they realized that J.B. held the tiny baby, Grace, in his hands.  

Charlotte lunged for him and J.B.'s fist came hard across her temple, knocking her backward out of sight.  

"Please...." Silas held his hands up and stepped back, as did Katherine and Colt. "Please don't hurt that babe." Silas's voice broke and Comanche wondered why. It was clear that baby wasn't his... her skin was far too pale.  

"I'll throw this baby right out this window and make her rabid lunch if y'all don't give me your damn supplies and let me ride on out of here with 'em."  J.B. warned as he edged toward the side window with a wild and crazy grin on his face.  

Comanche had seen a lot of terrible, evil men in his life but this man was one of the worst. It was clear, to Comanche at least, that this man was very serious in his threats. There was a cold light in his eyes that made it clear he meant what he said.  

Comanche wasn't sure what all had happened to lead to this point but he knew good men when he saw them and Silas and Colt were good men. He also knew innocence when he saw it and that little babe J.B. was threatening was the definition of the word.  

This world had become a place where survival came from numbers and while Comanche would rather be alone with Frankie, it was clear that in order to survive they would all need to band together. Comanche wanted to do that with Colt and Silas. This was Comanche's tribe now and he would be damned before he let another man come in and harm his tribe. 

"Put my baby down." Charlotte's voice squeaked from somewhere out of view in the loft.  

J.B. shook his head and then gripped the infant in one hand by the back of the white dress she was wearing and dangled her out the window.  

Silas cried out, pleading with J.B. to stop while Colt pulled his gun. "Nope, don't shoot me, Colt.. If you shoot me this here baby goes to the rabid." J.B. warned. "Now you'll give me all your damn supplies. Food, weapons, ammunition, matches, I want it all. In return I won't kill this baby."  

Comanche knew he was too busy watching Colt to pay any attention to him and Frankie and so he led Frankie by the arm to the door and they slipped outside. 	

Several rabid started their way and Comanche allowed Frankie to focus on killing them as silently as possible as he rounded the barn and looked up, shocked at the sight of that babe dangling from the window. What kind of man tried to sacrifice a baby to save himself?  

Comanche could see the back of J.B.'s head and he slid his bow from his back and loosed an arrow from the quiver.  

A rabid came staggering Comanche's way and he quickly stabbed it in the head with the arrow before readying his bow.  

He would have to be fast in order to ensure the babies safety but Comanche knew he could accomplish his task.  

"Give me what I want or this baby will......" J.B. never finished his statement as Comanche's arrow flew true and lodged itself in the back of the man's head.  

J.B.'s precarious position in the window had the man falling backward out of it though Comanche ignored him and focused instead on the baby, catching her safely in his arms before she hit the ground and cradling her against his bare chest.  

"Grace!" Charlotte screamed as her torso shot out the window. Comanche looked up and saw that the woman was sobbing and clutching the windowsill as she looked down and Grace chose that moment to begin to cry.  

Comanche stared down at the baby with confusion. Why was it crying?

"It cries." He stated blankly. "Perhaps I broke it?"  

"Comanche, inside now!" Frankie called from the corner of the barn and Comanche turned and realized that rabid were quickly approaching, hungry and gnashing their teeth at the scent of J.B.'s fresh blood. 

Comanche thought for a moment about dragging the man's dead and broken body to safety but then decided it would be a waste of effort and time. He held the crying infant to his chest and ran around the barn, slipping in the barn door after Frankie. Colt slammed the door closed and slid the board in place while Silas quickly pulled the baby from Comanche's arms.  

"Little Grace, shhh, now don't you cry. Silas is here... Ol' Silas is right here, baby." The baby continued to scream as the colored man tried to comfort her.  

Katherine was standing in the corner looking quite confused, lost and haunted. Frankie was cleaning her bloody knife on a sack in the corner. Colt was watching Katherine closely and Charlotte was making her way down the ladder, her sobs blending with the loud piercing cries of her babe.  

“Swing low, sweet chariot… Coming for to carry me home. “ Silas sang out and Comanche watched in shock as the baby stopped crying and looked up into his eyes. “That’s right, Little Grace. You’re safe in my arms now.”

"Is she okay?" Charlotte asked as she ran up and clung to Silas's arm and the man nodded and kissed her brow tenderly.  

"Just fine, Miss Charlotte." Then Silas led Charlotte toward the back of the barn and into an empty stall. Comanche knew it was privacy they sought and he turned his attention to Frankie.  

"You saved that baby, injun."  

"Yes. You helped." Comanche replied. "I want to speak to you about staying with this people."  

"Staying with them?" Frankie demanded, her dark eyes flashing with disbelief as she slid her knife back into the sheath on her leg. "I thought we were doing just fine on our own."  

"Survival in this new world is going to be in numbers, Frankie." Comanche countered. "One person is more powerful when they are part of a larger tribe."  

"A tribe?" Colt asked from behind him and Comanche turned.  

"I sense you are the leader among these people and that is fine with me." Comanche accepted with a tip of his head. "You will get no argument from me on that."  

"I'm no leader." Colt argued with a sigh. "I just said what I had to in order to put that piece of shit, who ironically is now being turned into shit, in his place."  

"These people look to you for guidance and leadership. I saw it for myself." Comanche argued. "I will do the same."  

Colt sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I was afraid I'd get stuck in this position. I led a gang for a while... I"ve been told I have a take charge personality, whatever the hell that means. Y'all are welcome to ride with us. You helped us last night and you probably saved that babe just now. A group certainly stands a better chance out here than one or two folks by themselves."  

"I'm not sure I'll be sticking around." Frankie argued. "No offense but I don't do well in a group."  

"You saved my life once, Frankie... and while I wasn't real grateful for it at the time and still have moments when I wish you hadn't come along that night, I would be happy if you stuck around. You're a pretty decent rabid killer."  

"Decent?!" Frankie scoffed. "I'm the best damn rabid killer you've ever laid your purty blue eyes on." Comanche felt a jealous knot form in his gut and he realized quickly that he did not like that emotion.  

"Purty blue eyes?" Colt asked with a frown and then he chuckled. "Well just think on it. Sounds like there's a fair amount of rabid out there so you've got time to think it over before you'd be able to leave anyhow."   

Colt tipped his hat to both of them and then climbed up into the loft where Katherine had hidden herself.  

"We should stay here." Comanche urged Frankie. "We will be safer with a group."  

"First off, there is no we. We just happened to be riding together but don't start thinking that we're a couple or nothin'." Frankie warned and Comanche straightened his back and raised his chin as he looked down at her.  

"Noted." He ground out.  

"Good." Frankie turned and headed toward the stall that the brown mare she'd found for herself was currently standing. Comanche watched her feed the horse a handful of oats and wondered what was going on in her mind. He wanted her and only her forever but she seemed to be intent on keeping a wall between them. Only when he bedded her did that wall come down and just as soon as their bodies separated she would throw it right back in place.  

Comanche was glad he was a patient man. He had a feeling that he would have to call on every reserve of patience that he possessed in order to deal with that stubborn, harsh, guarded woman.  

---

"You okay?" Katherine sniffed and quickly turned her body away from Colt when the man crouched down beside her and held out a bandana.  

"I'm fine." She replied quickly and she knew instantly that she'd replied too quickly and he would know she was lying... as if the tears on her cheeks wouldn't be proof enough.  

She was ashamed of herself. Not only ashamed of the tears on her face, since she was not a woman who had been raised to cry, but also ashamed of the person she had been for so long.  

She had trusted J.B. all that time despite all of Colt's warnings that the man was bad news. She had spread her legs for him countless times and that was enough to turn her stomach. It had been  because of her stubborn insistence that J.B. had come along with her and Colt and it would have been her fault if J.B. had dropped that baby today......

Her stomach rolled and she rushed to the window before losing the meager amount of biscuits that were inside it.  

"Whoa there." Colt whispered gently as he rubbed at her back. Katherine could see J.B.'s body from here or at least what was left of it as the flesh eaters ripped, tore and ate at him. Blood covered everything and the sound of it splashing and sloshing had Katherine dry heaving violently.  

Colt urged her away from the window and sat her down on a bale of hay before sitting next to her.  

"Go ahead and say it." Katherine said hoarsely. Colt's dark blue eyes were unreadable as he used the bandana he still held to clean her chin.  

"Say what?" he asked, shoving the bandana back in his pocket.  

"'

I told you so’ “ Katherine replied and Colt shook his head.

"I ain't gonna say that."  

"I don't want to be what I am anymore...." Katherine whispered. "I don't want to feel like I have to bed a man in order to deserve kindness..." 

"Then stop." Colt replied simply. Katherine blinked several times as she stared at him. Could it be that easy? Was it as simple as just 'stopping'?  

"You make it sound easy."  

"It is easy." Colt replied with a shrug. "I did my share of things that I'm ashamed of now. Hurt people. Took things. Failed the ones I loved..." Colt's blue eyes were suddenly haunted and Katherine watched his lip tremble beneath the beard on his face. He cleared his throat and scratched at his hairy cheek before continuing. "All you gotta do is decide that you don't want to be that person anymore and then stop being her."  

"Colt, you are different from any other man I've ever known..." Katherine wanted him.  She wanted him to love her. She had a feeling that Colt would be good at loving someone. He seemed the faithful type. She wanted him to teach her how different life could be with a man who truly cared...  

Colt's eyes locked with hers and she felt her heart break when she saw the pity and sadness in them. "Don't do that, Katherine. I ain't got no heart to give you. You'll find somebody someday, don't you worry."  

Katherine snorted. "Unless my somebody has already been turned into a snarling, flesh eating rabid who'll do nothing but try to bite me. That would make an awkward wedding night."  

Colt chuckled again and Katherine was surprised. She hadn't known he knew how to chuckle. And while she had yet to see him smile it was nice to hear a sound that was happier from him. She had tried to ask him several times what made him appear so haunted and sad and he refused to answer. She wondered if she'd ever know....

"You're gonna be alright, Katherine. Just let go of the past."  

"No one here knows what I was before you found me.... I'd like to keep it that way." Katherine whispered and Colt nodded. He stood up and wiped the hay off his backside, and Katherine found herself looking at his long lean legs and tight backside all wrapped in denim. She just couldn't help herself....  

Colt seemed oblivious to her appraisal as he adjusted his hat. "Your secret is safe with me." He assured her and then he walked off, slipping down the ladder and leaving Katherine alone in her back corner of the loft with only her thoughts for company.

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One: If it Weren’t For the Rabid

Frankie was pacing the barn, waiting for something to do. She did not do sitting idle well and it had been hours since the confrontation with J.B. that morning. Hours since anyone here had said much of anything... Hours since the door had been locked and they had all taken refuge once again inside this damned barn.  

Strange how a building so large could feel like a tiny, crowded prison. Colt was sitting on a hay bale beside the door with his back against the wall and his hat pulled low. Most folks would probably believe him to be asleep but Frankie could tell by his breathing that he was very much awake and alert. That blond twit in the revealing clothes was still up on the loft and hadn't yet come down. The colored man, Silas, and that whimpering woman who did nothing but cry so far as Frankie could tell were still in the back stall with that baby.  

"I think you are very close to digging a ditch in that ground with your boots." Comanche warned her from where he stood propped against a stall door. He'd been in that same spot since Frankie had put him in his place that morning. 	

She didn't want him thinking that they were 

together . Frankie would not attach herself to anyone. Not now. Not in this world. It was too dangerous. Life could end in a heartbeat and Frankie would not have anyone else’s death on her conscience. She already had Uncle Gibbs death there, she certainly would not be able to handle the load if Comanche’s were added.

She already cared about the man more than she would ever admit. The bedding between them had only gotten more intense and all-consuming as time had gone on. He was able to make her forget everything with only a single touch. His quiet calm often infuriated her when she was trying to piss him off. He seemed to have endless patience and never lost his temper. The only time she had seen him less than cool, calm and collected was when he was taking out rabid.  

In those moments he was all wild savage. All deadly, dangerous and more than Frankie could resist. She could still feel the trembling in her thighs and the dull ache between her legs from the fast and furious love they had made just the day before.... It had been after they'd battled a small group of rabid and Comanche had been covered in sweat, blood splatter and dirt. His bronze chest had been rising and falling rapidly and his hair had fallen over his brow.  

Frankie had lost all control of herself, giving in to the feminine urges inside of her and jumping on him right there in the middle of the forest surrounded by dead rabid...... Probably not the most intelligent of places to be caught with your pants down but Frankie was becoming accustomed to losing all control of herself where Comanche was concerned.  

"Don't you worry about my ditch diggin' skills none, Comanche." Frankie countered, though her smile took the edge out of her words. It wasn't his fault they were cooped up in here.... And he was going to be angry enough when she let him know she was leaving this group, and him, just as soon as the coast was clear, without her saying anything to anger him sooner.  

Frankie couldn't stay any longer. She was getting attached to Comanche and now he was wanting to settle in with a group.... Their temporary pairing was beginning to feel permanent and Frankie had always said she would 

never give a man a permanent position in her life. Settling down hadn’t been the life for her before the rabid apocalypse and seemed even less practical in the new world they lived in.

Uncle Gibbs had taught her that alone was the best way to be. They had depended on one another and no one else. She intended to follow his lessons.  

"It sounds as if the flesh eaters have wandered off." Comanche said quietly as he walked to a crack in the wall and peered out. Colt pushed himself off the hay bale.  

"I reckon you're right." He agreed. "We'll go ahead and make our way out of the barn at least. Check out the house. It looks like it's a good sized place. Might have a bed for each of us for the night and we can scavenge up all the supplies we can and leave out in the morning."  

Frankie thought about mentioning now that she wasn't staying but then decided to wait. A night spent fairly safe in a real house with a real bed was just too tempting to pass up. Besides if she played this right and earned them, Colt might just fork over some supplies for her to take with her when she left.  

"Alright everybody, it's time to get out of this barn and into the house." Colt called out more loudly and Frankie saw Katherine coming down off the loft and Silas led Charlotte from the back stall. Charlotte's face was splotchy and it was clear she'd spent much of her day crying as her eyes were red and swollen. She also had that sheet she seemed attached to, wrapped around her like a sling.  

"You hurt?" Frankie asked and she shook her head.  

"Silas showed me how to use the sheet to hold Grace so I can have my hands free." Charlotte replied and Frankie saw the sheet squirm a little. Though it was unclear to Frankie why the woman needed her hands free when she had no weapons in them.  

"No gunshots unless we have no choice." Colt warned as he grabbed up a pitchfork and tested the weight of it in his hands.  Frankie nodded as she pulled the hatchet from the holster she'd crafted for it from her hip. This little thing was quiet, light and handy.  

Comanche had his bow and arrows and his long knife that Frankie knew he was damn dangerous with, Katherine held a short shovel firmly in her hands and Silas had his shot gun held like a club while Charlotte had..... Well she had the baby, Frankie supposed she could always throw it if need be... though she doubted that was the woman's plan.  

From what Frankie had seen of her she would probably just scream and cry and cling to Silas begging him to keep her safe.  

Colt looked around at everyone and then nodded before sliding the wooden board from between the slats and pushing open the large doors of the barn. The door creaked open and Frankie felt her body pulsing with anticipation. She loved killing rabid. She hated these monsters that had taken so much from her and killing them brought her more satisfaction than anything else in the world.  

Frankie was pulled from her thoughts when Colt let out a low growl and charged forward, sending the sharp tines of the pitchfork in his hands through the head of a snarling rabid before spinning, with the rabid still attached to the sharp end of his pitchfork and slamming the other end into the temple of a second rabid, crushing the monster's skull.  

"Wow...." Frankie said with a nod as Colt kicked the first rabid off the long tines with a wet squelch. "I'm impressed."  Colt just grunted in response and Frankie smiled. "You've come a long way from your shovel swinging days that I remember."  

Frankie swung her hatchet, taking off the head of a rabid before stomping her boot against its face and smashing its skull.  

"Shit." Colt grumbled.  

"It's about to get interesting." Comanche added and Frankie followed his gaze to see the small group of rabid coming from the woods, drawn by the commotion. Frankie didn't have time to do a headcount but she figured it was around twenty rabid, and she hoped the herd wasn't coming back and that these were only stragglers from this morning's feeding frenzy on J.B. It was only luck that had kept the herd from tearing down the barn the night before and Frankie wasn't all that sure they'd get that lucky again.  

Soon the rabid were upon them and life became surviving instead of thinking as they all fought against the advancing monsters.  

Frankie heard a scream and wasn't surprised to realize it was Charlotte. Frankie swung her hatchet, splitting open the forehead of a female rabid before turning her eyes to Silas and realizing what had Charlotte screaming.  

Silas was surrounded by four rabid and he was swinging his shot gun desperately and Charlotte watched on with horror. Frankie grumbled under her breath. Maybe the damn woman should have brought out a weapon instead of coming empty handed. Then she'd be able to help her man instead of just becoming a screaming spectator to his death.  

Then Frankie was shocked nearly speechless when Charlotte picked up a large stone from the ground and ran at the rabid. She brought that rock down like a club and crushed the skull of one before swinging her arm out and catching a second across the temple.  

"Damn." Frankie stated with surprise as Silas took out the other two rabid and then delivered a quick kiss to Charlotte's brow. "She 

can do something other than whimper and cry.

As Comanche dealt with the last of the rabid, Colt clutched his bloody pitchfork and clicked his tongue as he headed up the porch steps. Everybody followed after him and he knocked on the door several times.  

"Anybody in there?" he called out. Frankie saw that Charlotte and Silas were keeping a watch for more rabid so she walked down the porch a ways and peered in a window. The sight she was met with had her covering her mouth quickly with the back of her hand and turning away.  

"They aren't gonna open that door." Frankie assured Colt as the man raised his hand to knock again.  

"Why not?" Charlotte asked and Frankie looked back in the window, feeling bile rise in her throat.  

"Looks like the pressures of the new world were just too much for 'em to handle."  She replied. Colt tried the door and it swung open, the creaking of the hinges echoing loudly throughout the empty foyer. 	

Frankie heard Charlotte gag as the scent of the inside floated out onto the porch. Frankie would have liked to have scoffed at the other woman's discomfort but she was too busy fighting back her own vomit and covering her nose with her shirt sleeve.  

"Oh dear Lord, have mercy on them." Silas whispered as everyone stepped into the sitting room and the bodies came in to view. Frankie could hardly bring herself to look at the sight.. What had once been a happy family; mother, father and three young children; was now a pile of rotting corpses with bullet holes in their heads.  

It was clear that the father had shot them all and while he'd had some distance between himself and his family members when he'd pulled the trigger, he'd obviously had that rifle in his own mouth when it came time for his turn because the back of his head and whatever small brain he must have had were splattered against the wall behind him.  

"He killed them..." Charlotte gasped and she buried her face in Silas's chest as he wrapped his arm firmly around her. Frankie stared at the dead children on the floor, her heart breaking as she thought of those two boys she had tried desperately to save in that town.......  

She felt a hand on her shoulder and realized it was Comanche. He moved to kiss her head and Frankie quickly moved away from him and busied herself opening drawers on a small chest in the corner. She wasn't about to let the man think she needed his comfort.... No matter how good it would have felt. She was not a woman like Charlotte and she would not let herself need anyone.  

"Alright." Colt stepped forward. "This is gonna be home for the night so let's get these bodies out of here, we'll bury 'em and burn the rabid outside. Katherine why don't you, Charlotte and Frankie check the upstairs out. We'll handle everything down here."  

Frankie could argue that she wasn't a damn babysitter to the other women in the group but figured that probably wouldn't help her case come morning when she was asking for supplies so instead she shut the drawer she'd been rifling through and wrapped her hand tight around the handle of her hatchet.  

"Well let's get on up there then ladies. Might be some rabid that need killin'." 

"I hope not." Charlotte replied with a shiver as she patted the bulge in that green sheet comfortingly.  

"You're not scared of rabid are you?" Frankie teased and Charlotte shook her head as they started up the staircase leaving the men behind them.  

"Not any more than you are. "  

Frankie snorted and looked at the other woman's soft and innocent face. "I have a feeling you're wrong about that."  

---

"Suicide." Comanche said with a shake of his head.  

"Such a waste of life." Silas added as he pulled off his hat and wrung it between his hands.  

"Well all we can do for them now is give them a proper burial." Colt stated. "Whether we feel their decisions were right or wrong."  

"What decisions?" Silas asked harshly. "That man slaughtered his family and then killed himself. Hell fires are burning for him."  

Colt felt an ache in his chest. A dull ache that he had gotten good at ignoring though it burned constantly, eating a hole straight through his heart that Colt was damn sure would be visible from the outside soon.  

"Better his family to die like this than to become one of those." He whispered quietly as he glanced out the window at a rabid that was wandering slowly through the yard. An aimless, soulless monster with only one desire... flesh.  That is what his Loralie was now, though she was crawling aimlessly since she had not yet learned to take her first steps.  

Colt, in a giant act of ultimate cowardice had left his daughter that way instead of putting her out of her misery. At least this man had saved his children and his wife from a similar fate.  

"You can't really mean that." Silas argued with quiet disbelief. Colt waited for Comanche to voice his own argument but the indian simply studied him a moment, shrugged and then walked over to the bodies, tossing a child over his shoulder and heading out the door without a word.  

"I could never kill my child." Silas said as he and Colt worked together to lift the dead man from the chair, the smell causing both of them to gag and the maggots crawling around in the dead man's mouth nearly enough to have Colt vomiting right there on the blood soaked wooden floorboards.  

"Me either." Colt croaked, his eyes burning, not from the scent but from the tears that were suddenly building behind them. Tears from the breakdown that he had not allowed himself to have since his life had been ripped to shreds. He'd been too busy to breakdown. Too busy seeking vengeance and then too busy keeping Katherine alive and now keeping this group alive....... Colt Masters was far too tough a man to suffer from a breakdown.  

"Let's get these bodies out of here." Colt grunted, blinking away the tears. "The women sure as hell don't need to see them again."  

---

Silas knocked on the closed bedroom door with his knuckles and smiled when he heard Charlotte's voice from within.  

"Who is it?" 

"It's Silas, Miss Charlotte."  

"Come on in, Silas. You don't have to knock."  

Silas entered the room and felt his heart swell with so much love and pride at the sight of Charlotte sitting on that bed with Little Grace cradled against her chest that he was afraid it might just burst.  

"I've never been looked at quite that way before, Silas." Charlotte whispered, a deep blush covering her cheeks and making its way down her throat before disappearing beneath the neckline of the clean white nightdress she had found for herself.  

Today had been a definite victory in terms of supplies. This house was full of them. These people had chosen death, or at least the man had chosen it for them,  before they'd been trapped here for too long. The cellars and the kitchen were full of food and the home was full of clothing, ammunition, oil... All the things they had so desperately been in need of.  

It had taken the better part of the afternoon to bury the family and burn the rabid. Then it had taken another couple of hours to get the windows and doors of the lower half of the house all secure.  

Silas and the men had been starving, hot and getting on the grumpy side by the time the work was done and they had come in to find something none of them had had in a long long while.... A home.  

Silas had smiled and fallen even more in love with Charlotte when he realized that it was she who had made the house into a home. The blood had been scrubbed as well as it could be from the sitting room and a fire had been burning in the fireplace with a pot of fresh stew cooking over it.  

Freshly baked biscuits smothered in butter and cooked beans had also been served for their supper and a fresh baked peach cobbler with cream had been served for desert.  

Not only that but Charlotte had also heated buckets of water to ensure the men would have hot water to clean themselves with after all the work they'd done.  

Silas was sure that even Colt, who seemed a good but hard man, had sighed at the feeling of hot water against his aching muscles.  

"You're looking real pretty tonight, Miss Charlotte." Silas said as he stepped into the room and closed the door quietly behind him to keep from disturbing the peaceful sleeping baby in Charlotte's arms.  

"The bath felt nice. I am certainly happy you insisted upon me taking one."  

"Of course I did. You worked hard here today to make this place as much like home as you could. Cooking and cleaning and making sure we were took care of. The least I could do was heat you a bath of your own."  

"I suppose cleaning was a waste of time but I needed a bit of normalcy." Charlotte admitted and Silas nodded as he crouched down beside the bed and ran his dark knuckle against the pale pink skin of Little Grace's cheek.  

Silas wasn't sure, since he had no children of his own to compare Grace to but he was fairly certain that he couldn't love this babe any more if she was his flesh and blood. He would die for this tiny girl and for her mother.  

"It was a bad morning." Silas agreed, remembering the raw terror and helpless fear he had felt when J.B. had been dangling Little Grace out that window. "I thanked Comanche so many times today that the indian threatened to cut out my tongue if I offered another word of appreciation."  

"That must be why he simply grumbled and bit rather angrily at his biscuit when I thanked him over supper." Charlotte said with a light laugh.   

"You are quite a woman, Miss Charlotte."  

"A coward and weakling if you ask that Frankie woman and Katherine doesn't seem to like me either. She scowls at me a lot."  

"You are no coward or weakling. Why would Frankie think that about you?" Silas asked with a frown and Charlotte sighed.  

"Because I don't cuss and spit and my idea of fun is not going out and bashing in rabid skulls all day."  

"We need people like Frankie to survive this world." Silas replied after several moments of quiet thought. "But we need women like you as well. Women who can hold things together. God made women stronger than us men because He knew you'd have to bear the bigger lodes." 

"What lodes are those?" Charlotte asked as she adjusted Grace in her arms.  

"Men for one." Silas replied with a chuckle, enjoying the way the Charlotte's pale green eyes lit up when she smiled. "Cooking. Cleaning. Babies. Being able to still take care of all that and give the world a bit of serenity even in the middle of a rabid apocalypse. A man could never handle all of that."  

"I don't really help." Charlotte argued stubbornly. "I can't even shoot."  

"Something I'm gonna fix." Silas assured her quickly and then he slid his hand across her soft cheek. "And you do help, Charlotte. Men need the softness or at least I do... I need you. The world has gone crazy but you and Little Grace; the two of you are my safe place."  

"I love you, Silas." Charlotte whispered, the proof of that emotion shining in her eyes.  

Silas kissed her tenderly. "I love you too."  

"I am sorry I cried so much this morning. I suppose I need to work on being a bit stronger."  

"That's what I'm here for, Miss Charlotte. You can be as weak as you need to be and I'll take up the slack."  

"You are a better man than I thought existed, Silas.  You say things that I have never heard a single man on earth say before."  

Silas licked his lip and offered a nervous smile. He saw concern fill her eyes as she reached out and caressed his freshly shaven cheek. "Are you okay?" she asked.  

"I want to marry you, Miss Charlotte."   

Charlotte's eyes widened and her bottom jaw dropped as her hand fell away from him. "Marry me?"  

"Yes." Silas replied, his gut twisting. Charlotte looked down at Grace and adjusted the blanket around the slumbering baby.  

"Silas... that's not allowed." She whispered.  

Silas rocked back on his heels and cleared his throat as he felt his hands shake. "Is that all? That's it?"  

"Silas, you're colored, I'm not, that means we couldn't get married even before the world was taken over by monsters. Now... I'm sure the preachers are too busy dealing with the rabid to concern themselves with performing marriages."  

"Miss Charlotte, I love you. Black and white doesn't seem to matter much anymore. You and that little girl are all I want in the world." Silas moved onto the bed and once again placed his hand upon Charlotte's cheek. "I have nothing to offer you. Even before the world seemed to end I would have nothing to offer you. No fine home. No money. No connections. Nothing. Only these arms that want to hold you and this chest that loves to feel your head against it. Only these lips that want to kiss you every single day. And this heart that wants you to own it.  

"As far as I'm concerned you and Little Grace are my miracle, Miss Charlotte. Now I intend to see to you and Little Grace for the rest of my life. Be that sixty years or just 'til tomorrow. I can't legally be your husband, I understand that, but I can be your husband in every way that matters."  

"Silas..." Charlotte's tear-filled voice whispered as her bottom lip quivered and she stared at him with disbelief. Silas wished he could read her mind because he hadn't been this scared ever in his life. What would he do if she didn't like what he'd said? If her heart wasn't on the same page of this book as his was?

"We got a big house full of folks to serve as witness, Miss Charlotte, and we can have God's blessing. That's all we need... Will you marry me? Will you let me your husband? Will you let me be Little Grace's daddy?"  

Charlotte's mouth worked up and down but no words came out as a tear fell down her cheek. Silas tried to read her eyes but could not..... Disappointment and sadness filled him and he stood quickly.  

"Sorry." he whispered, looking away from her and rubbing roughly at his cheek. "I'll leave you alone.."  

Silas walked to the door and had his hand on the knob when he heard a rustling of fabric and caught a rush of movement out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly Charlotte was throwing herself between him and the door and had her hands on his chest pushing him back so his hand slid from the door knob.   

"Stop." She ordered and Silas nodded, his eyes going momentarily to the bed where Little Grace lay before going back to Charlotte. "I didn't mean to clam up on you." Charlotte assured him before swallowing hard. "You surprised me is all it was. You have to understand, Silas, that I have 

never had a single person that spoke to me the way you just did. No one has ever cared . I don’t understand why you love me or why you want to marry me. I don’t think I deserve you…“ Silas opened his mouth to argue but Charlotte put her hand on his lips to silence his argument. “Yes, Silas. Yes, I will marry you. I will take you as my husband before God and I will do my best to make you happy for the rest of my life. Be it sixty years or just ’til tomorrow.”

Tears slipped from Charlotte's eyes as she smiled happily up at him and Silas whooped loudly, wincing when he remembered that Little Grace was sleeping, and then wrapped his arms tight around Charlotte, lifting her feet from the ground as he spun her around and around.  

"You won't regret this, Miss Charlotte. I'll be a good man to you."  

"I know you will." Charlotte assured him. Silas sat her down, kissed her brow and reached out once again to open the door.  

"Where are we going?" Charlotte asked.  

"To get married.... Did you change your mind already?" Silas asked, only half joking. Charlotte gave him a dry look that had him laughing lightly and she shook her head.  

"Not tonight, Silas. It's late. Most of the house has already gone to bed. Let's let everyone get a good night's sleep and in the morning I'll become your wife."  

Silas let out a long breath and nodded. Never before had he had a problem with patience but he was more than ready to become Charlotte's husband. Had wanted to have that title for nearly a month now.  

"Okay." He conceded. "First thing in the morning." He added with a pointed look and Charlotte kissed his cheek.  

"First thing in the morning."  

Silas led Charlotte back to the bed and slid his gun off his back and then removed his gun belt and knives. He slipped off his boots, put out the lamp and began to climb into the bed.  

"Aren't you going to take off your clothes?" Charlotte asked and then she blushed furiously when Silas raised his brow. "I mean... wouldn't you be more comfortable that way? We are engaged now..."  

"Exactly. Engaged, not married. I'll keep my clothes on."  

"Suit yourself." Charlotte whispered and Silas couldn't help but chuckle at her discomfort.  

"What kind of woman are you? Trying to seduce a man before the wedding night...." 

"Hush now!" Charlotte scolded with a playful slap to his arm. Silas pulled her down onto the bed and she willingly obliged, curling herself against his side and laying her head on his chest. Silas kissed her hair as he brought the blanket over them and glanced over at Little Grace still sleeping soundly beside them.  

"I want to hate the rabid but it's hard." Charlotte admitted.  

"Why is that?" 

Charlotte raised up her head just enough to look into his eyes and he smiled down at her as she whispered, "Because if it weren't for the rabid, I wouldn't have you."

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Heartbroke Injun, a Weed Bouquet and A Broken Leg

"A wedding? Honestly? You wanna waste time gettin' married instead of hitting the road?" Frankie demanded as she stared at Charlotte and Silas with shock and irritation.  

She glanced around the kitchen where everyone was currently eating the pork and gravy that Charlotte had cooked for them that morning and waited for someone else to argue.  

"I don't see it as a waste of time."  Charlotte stated in her quiet, meek voice that drove Frankie crazy.  

"Neither do I. I'll stand witness." Colt spoke up before taking a sip of his steaming coffee. "I don't see any reason to rush off from here. We can stay a few days or a week or so... as long as the supplies hold out."  

"You all go ahead and do what you need to do then but I'm moving on." Frankie said as she stood from her chair and swiped some crumbs off her shirt.  

"We are?" Comanche questioned with a slight raise of his brow. Frankie swallowed and shook her head, not meeting his gaze.  

"No, not 

we , me. I. Singular. Alone. I’m leaving.“

The dining room fell silent as Comanche got to his feet, his movement slow and fluid. Without even looking her way he left the room, stopping just outside the door.  

His voice was low when he spoke and he kept his back to everyone in the room. "You will come speak to me now."  

Frankie sighed. She'd like to tell him to kiss her ass seeing as how he was ordering her around but she couldn't. While she'd never admit it out loud, her heart was hurting a little at the knowledge that she'd be leaving Comanche behind. He was good at helping her forget and she was going to miss that... she refused to acknowledge, even to herself, that she was going to miss him for any other reason.  

She spared a glance at Colt but the man wasn't paying any attention to anything other than the pork and gravy on his plate. Frankie had hoped he'd offer supplies but clearly she was going to have to ask if she wanted them.  

"Colt, I'll need some supplies...."  

"Paleface, come with me now." Comanche growled from the doorway and Frankie realized that he was now looking at her. His dark eyes were flashing with temper and muscles were jumping in his tense chiseled jaw. He had placed a thin white cotton shirt on but left most of the buttons undone so his broad copper chest was still clearly visible. Frankie wished it wasn't. It would be much easier to walk away from him if she couldn't see what she was giving up.  

"Alright then, injun." She muttered as Comanche turned quickly and strode from the room, leaving her scrambling to keep up. "Slow the hell down." She grumbled and Comanche came to such an abrupt halt in the sitting room that Frankie ran directly into his back and barely had time to right herself before he turned on her.  

"What have I done?"  he whispered harshly and Frankie could see the pain in his dark eyes. She cursed his soul to hell and clenched her fists beside her thighs.  

"Damn you, Comanche, I told you I wasn't lookin' to get tied down and you said okay. Don't you act as if I'm surprisin' you now that I'm ready to move on!"

"You can walk away from me so easily?" Comanche demanded, his jaw tightening so drastically that Frankie worried his bones would pop.   

"Comanche, you weren't never anything other than a distraction and I told you that from the beginning." Frankie informed him, ignoring the nagging gnawing sensation in her gut that told her she might not be being completely honest. "Now I know you wanna stay here with these folks, I ain't got no urge to settle in with them, so I believe we've reached the end of our ride together."  

"What happens the next time you need to forget?" Comanche asked, his voice low and quiet, laced with pain.  

Frankie avoided his gaze, but she could feel those dark eyes on her. Watching her; seeing inside of her and waiting for her answer.  

"I'll find a new way." She replied, forcing herself to sound cold and indifferent. This wasn't fair of him to do to her. She had told him in the beginning that this was just for fun. Just a distraction. This had never been a serious relationship between them. She had told him she wasn't looking to get tied down and he had agreed with her.  

She was supposed to change her way of thinking simply because the man had changed his mind? She hated to tell the damn injun but life just didn't work that way.  

Without another word, Comanche turned and walked away from her, heading through the foyer and out the door. Frankie felt an ache in the pit of her stomach but quickly pushed the feeling away. It was better this way. Getting attached only led to pain. It was best to simply cut your losses and run.  

Frankie also chose to ignore the disappointment she felt in realizing he was going to let her walk away.  

She let out a growl when she realized that her head seemed to house two separate people. One who wanted freedom and one who wanted Comanche. Deciding that the side that wanted to settle down with Comanche needed a swift kick in the ass, Frankie strode back into the kitchen.  

"I'm going to be leaving now, Colt." She said and the man nodded and pushed himself to his feet.  

"You and Comanche will need some supplies....."  

"He's staying with you." Frankie cut in quickly. "I'll be going alone."  

Colt looked surprised but then he nodded. "Sure."  

"Colt, you can't give her supplies!" Katherine argued as she stood up quickly. "We need the supplies we have! It's her choice to go off on her own."  

Frankie was about to put the blond twit in her place but Colt spoke up before she could. "She saved my life, Katherine, and we have more than enough to spare."  

"I think leaving is a mistake." Charlotte stated as she shifted the tiny babe in her arms.  

"Well I don't reckon I recall asking you what you thought. What would you know about independence? You got you a big strong man to take care of you while you whimper and cry and hide behind him. 

Pathetic .“ Frankie shot back.

"I don't see why insults are necessary." Silas spoke up, fixing Frankie with a warning gaze. For a so called peace loving, Christian man, Silas sure did seem awful eager to fight anyone who had anything bad to say about his little soft woman.  

"Katherine, go into the kitchen and put enough food for three or four days in a sack." He said and while Katherine still didn't seem as if she liked the idea, she nodded and walked out the back door of the dining room. Colt turned his attention to Frankie. "Follow me and I'll get the rest of your supplies."  Frankie followed after him feeling awkward with all the eyes watching her leave.  

"Don't you have an opinion about me leaving?" she asked Colt as they stepped into the sitting room and he grabbed a jar of kerosene and handed it to her.

"You are a grown woman, Frankie, and don't need to hear what anyone else thinks about your decisions."  

Frankie nodded and grabbed the sack she'd packed her old belongings into that morning, along with a clean change of clothes.  

Colt grabbed some ammunition for her forty-four revolver and handed it to her and Frankie smiled gratefully as she dropped it into the sack.  

"There's some extra blankets in the cart in the barn and you should grab you one. There's also some cut up firewood in there and you should grab a bundle of it too. It still gets pretty cold once the sun goes down."   

"I don't need to be told how to take care of myself."  Frankie assured Colt and Colt rubbed at his bearded cheek.  

"Call them little Colt pearls of wisdom." He replied and Frankie found herself laughing with amusement.  

"Well I'll be damned. You remember Frankie's little gems of wisdom that I gave to ya that night?"  

"Yes ma'am." Colt replied with a nod. Frankie laughed again and laid her hand on his arm. The slamming of a door had her jumping and turning and she saw the flash of Comanche's dark hair through the cracks of the boards on the windows.  

Colt cleared his throat and pulled away from her before heading back toward the kitchen. "I'll see what's taking Katherine so long with that food."  

---

Comanche sat in the barn loft and watched his mate, his one true love, ride off into the woods. Never had there been a stubborn, hard-headed, pain in the ass that was her equal.  

Comanche's heart felt as if it had been ripped up and spat upon and then tossed back at him with a laugh. Comanche had lived the largest part of his life feeling nothing and training himself to need no one. Life had taught him that people were ripped away far too easily.. What he hadn't prepared himself for was to have someone he loved simply ride away from him as if he didn't even matter.  

"Aren't you going to chase her?" Comanche turned to see Silas standing in the doorway of the barn. Comanche shook his head and moved away from the window, unwilling to have this man watch him pining for someone who cared so little.  

"No. She made her choice. I will not force her hand."  

"Did you tell her that you love her?"  

"You would do well to mind your own business, 

negro .“ Though the final word was spoken without venom.

Silas's eyes sparked with amusement and Comanche's eyes narrowed as the other man spoke. "And you, 

savage , would do well to tell the woman how you feel. Life was too short for wasting time before hell came to earth. Now wasting time is complete foolishness.“

Comanche shook his head and rubbed his face with his hand. Silas was a good man but a nosy one. He liked to offer his opinions about everything and it was a habit that already annoyed Comanche even though he'd known the man for less than two full days. It did not bode well for the future of their relationship.  

"Do not trouble yourself with my troubles." Comanche stated with a tip of his head and Silas studied him a moment before nodding.  

"Alright then, Comanche. I only came out here because Miss Charlotte wanted me to ask if you wanted to come in and stand as witness."  

"She wants me?" Comanche asked with a frown.  

"Yes." Silas replied. "You saved our daughter and you seem a good man."  

"I am a copper skinned savage. Not the type that most folks want to have as witness to ceremonies." Comanche countered and Silas chuckled.  

"Yep and I'm a poor colored man and a former slave to boot but Miss Charlotte don't seem to trouble herself with facts such as those. Will you come on in or do I have to disappoint her?"  

Comanche sighed and nodded. He'd rather stay here alone for a while and think on the loss of Frankie, though she did not deserve his time. He had already given her so much of it. He had saved her life countless times just as she had saved his. She had given him her body and he had given her his heart and now he had lost both those things.  

His heart wasn't broken in his chest, it was broken in her hands. She had ridden away with it and Comanche knew he would never get it back. Not unless she brought it back and given her stubborn nature, he wasn't too hopeful for that.  

"I do not want to disappoint Charlotte." Comanche admitted as he came down off the loft. "She may decide to not let me share in the meals she cooks." 

"Miss Charlotte is a real good cook." Silas agreed with a nod as he patted his belly.  

"You are a good man, Silas. Albeit a nosy one." Comanche stated as they walked out of the barn and into the sunshine, both of them scanning for flesh eaters... something that they did without even thinking about their action. Gone were the days when anyone could simply stroll around without vigilance.  

"I've been told that a time or two." Silas laughed. "But I don't see it as nosiness. I've lived a lot in my years and I try to help my friends when I can. I'd want them to do the same for me."  

"Friends? We're friends?"  

"Of course we are." Silas patted his back and Comanche stiffened, unsure what to make of the brotherly contact. Because of his skin color, most people did not trust Comanche enough to call him a friend and even fewer risked physical contact for fear his 

savage would rub off. Maybe Silas wasn’t as annoying as Comanche had first thought.

---

Charlotte could not remember a time when her stomach had been tied in so many nervous knots. She stood in the upstairs hall dressed in a brown wool skirt and a white blouse with long sleeves and a high neck. She had pulled all her hair up on her head, leaving only a few loose tendrils to curl around her ears and cheeks.

While they couldn't have a true ceremony, she and Silas were going to stand together in the sitting room and share their own vows in front of their new companions and they were going to declare themselves husband and wife before God.  

Charlotte still was not entirely sure what Silas saw in her or why the man would want to tie himself to a widowed woman with such a small child but she was eternally grateful that he did. She knew that Silas would be a good husband and an amazing father. He had already proven that with his unfailing devotion over the last month.  

"Ma'am?" Colt's voice snapped Charlotte from her thoughts and she looked up to see him walking down the hall toward her. "Everybody's downstairs now." He added.  

"Thank you." Charlotte replied, her voice shaking just a little.  

"I was nervous too." Colt said comfortingly and he slid his hand from behind his back to reveal a bouquet that was more green weeds than flowers. "It was the best I could come up with."  

Charlotte smiled brightly and felt a tear fill the corner of her eye as she took the bouquet and breathed in the scent of the clover. "Thank you." She whispered and then she studied his bearded face. "You're married?"  

Pain so deep it stole even Charlotte's breath entered his dark blue eyes. "I was." There was a finality in his tone that made it clear the topic was not open for further discussion. He cleared his throat and held out his arm. "You ready?"  

"You're going to walk me down?" Charlotte asked with surprise.  

"From what I've seen of weddings the woman is usually walked down the aisle isn't she, ma'am?" 	

Charlotte smiled again, felt some of her nerves melt away and looped her arm through Colt's. He patted her hand comfortingly before leading her to the staircase.  

---

“Shit, Evie, there ain’t no food to eat.” Ox grumbled as he tore through the saddlebags and sacks.

"I'm starving, Ox. We haven't eaten since yesterday morning and it's already closing in on the evening." Evangeline complained. "And I know that if I'm this hungry then you must be worse."  

"I'm just fine, Evie. Don't you worry 'bout me none." Ox assured, even as his stomach let out a terrible growl and clenched painfully. He laid a hand over it and willed it settle down as he glanced around the forest.  

Weeks they'd been traveling and while Ox knew they had to be getting close to their Aunt Rachel's, he honestly had no real idea where the place was at. He had only been there one other time and he had been ten. That had been seventeen years ago.  

He had thought for sure they'd be there by now but here they sat in the middle of the woods, a few feet off a dusty trail with no food, no oil and barely any ammunition left for their guns. If Ox was being honest he was running out of hope as well. It seemed that instead of seeing less of those monsters they were beginning to see more and he had a terrible suspicion that they weren't going to find Aunt Rachel alive and well.  

"Ox, we have to find something tomorrow." Evangeline said from where she sat on a moss covered fallen log. "A town, a house, something. We're going to starve to death out here."  

Ox nodded, he knew she was right.  

"You have your gun?" he asked and she nodded and lifted her skirt to show him the hand of it sticking out of her ankle boot. "Alright then, Evie, I'm gonna go walk around and gather up some wood, maybe I can even find something to eat. I'll stay within shouting distance. You go ahead and try to get a fire started. There's matches......" Ox looked around at their belongings scattered on the forest floor and stooped to scoop up the pack of matches. He opened it and cursed. "Shit. One match."  

"One is all I need to start a fire." Evangeline assured him. "I've gotten rather good at fire starting."  

Ox tossed the matches to her and felt his heart hurt. His beautiful sister was not faring well. She looked pale, tired, worn down. Dark circles surrounded her green eyes and she'd lost all the color in her cheeks. Her clothes, a worn wool skirt and stained pink blouse were filthy and torn from all their time making their way through forests the last couple of weeks.  

Evangeline was not built for this kind of life. She was made for elegance, not fighting tooth and nail for survival. Ox was desperate to find her an easier way of life somewhere. She needed a nice roof over her head and three hot meals a day and Ox was going to see to it that his sister had that again. .... He simply wasn't sure how he was going to see to it.   

"Be careful, Ox." Evangeline said quietly as she pushed herself to her feet with a wince.  

"Are you okay?" Ox asked quickly and she nodded, holding up her hand to stop him from coming closer.  

"Just sore, Ox."  

Ox knew she meant her legs. Evangeline had gotten her own horse but Ox had been unable to find a sidesaddle, even though he had looked hard for one. Riding the horse astride for hours upon hours so many days had caused Evangeline a great deal of pain, though he knew she was trying hard to hide the discomfort. That was one reason he had called a stop to their travels a little earlier than usual today.  

"Shit, Evie, I'm sorry about all this." Ox whimpered as he pulled off his hat and clutched it between his hands. "I'm supposed to be taking care of you."  

Evangeline smiled reassuring and laid her hand on his thick forearm. "You are, Ox. None of this is your fault and no one would be able to take care of me as good as you are. Now go find us some firewood for the night while I get us a fire started."  

Ox nodded and walked off into the woods. He knew Evangeline was lying about him taking care of her but he'd let her lie because it was what he needed to hear. He wished he'd been born a smart man. He figured a smart man would have been able to find a sidesaddle and would have found a quicker way to get to safety than this constant wandering.  

Ox gathered up firewood under his arm and kept a look out for anything to eat. He saw several squirrels he could have shot but he didn't want to draw any flesh eaters by firing his gun. But he could always set a trap or two and hopefully have something to eat for the morning.  

Finally happy that he'd had a good idea, Ox sat down his bundle of wood and set to work on his trap.  

---

Evangeline was miserable. The burning, searing pain between her thighs was nearly unbearable and when added to the ache in her muscles from holding onto the horse and the throb in her core from constant pounding against the saddle and Evangeline was beginning to think that death might not be so bad.

She and Ox were starving. They were thirsty. They were wore down and exhausted. She knew Ox was feeling guilty since he saw it as his responsibility to take care of her and honestly Evangeline was getting tired of trying to make him feel better.  

Truth was he might have kept her safe from the flesh eaters but they were both going to die of exposure and hunger if he didn't' get them to a town or Aunt Rachel's soon. Evangeline had no idea how to find her way through the woods, she'd never had the need to learn and she had assumed Ox would have an idea on how to get where they needed to go.... She'd been wrong. He was just as clueless about getting around out here as she was.  

They were just a couple of spoiled, rich folks with no idea how to keep themselves alive... and it was going to cost them their lives.  

Evangeline whimpered as she gathered up tiny twigs and dried leaves from the forest floor. She arranged them in a pile and lit their final match, touching it to the leaves which caught flame quickly.  

Evangeline was proud of how well she'd learned to start a fire as she blew gently at the glowing flames and continued to feed them twigs, building them bigger and stronger.  

The flames grew to a strong height and Evangeline sat several larger bits of woods on top of them and settled back on her heels, wishing her body could be pain free for just a moment. One single second of blissful pain-free existence would be a moment spent in heaven.  

A twig snapped to her right and Evangeline immediately pulled her gun from her boot and whirled around, scanning the woods.  

"Ox?" she asked in a voice barely more than a whisper. There was no response and Evangeline caught a glimpse of movement, a flash of hair and a moan...

A flesh eater!  

Acting on instinct alone, Evangeline pulled the trigger on her tiny thirty-eight and heard the flesh eater let out a cry of pain from behind the dense brush and cover. Evangeline didn't know where she had hit the monster at and she wasn't about to go into those thick bushes and find out.  

Instead she kept her gun drawn and kept her eyes and ears both alert for any other signs of flesh eaters.  

"Evie! Shit, Evie, answer me!" Ox's frightened voice called out and Evangeline heard his big boots crashing through the woods toward her.  

"I'm okay, Ox!" Evie replied quickly, her voice shaking. "It was a flesh eater! I shot it but I don't know if I killed it."  

"Where is it?" Ox questioned as he came into view and Evangeline pointed toward the bushes.  

"Over there." 

Ox nodded and headed toward the bushes with his forty-five drawn and aimed steady. Evangeline's stomach was tied in knots as she watched her brother push his broad frame through the dense tangle of brush and then Ox called out and fell to his knees.  

"What is it?!" Evangeline all but screamed.  

Ox came back out of the bushes with a woman held in his arms. She was skinny and armed to the teeth with weapons. Her dark hair was full of leaves and her eyes were closed, her face drawn. Evangeline could see the dark blood soaking her shirt, just above her waist.  

"Shit, Evie, this is a real person!"  

"I shot a person?" Evangeline gasped. "A woman?"  Bile rose in her throat and she heaved, though nothing was in her stomach to spill out on the grass.  

Ox said nothing, instead he laid the woman down on the grass and dried up leaves and lifted her shirt. Evangeline breathed a small sigh of relief when she realized her bullet had done little more than graze the woman's side.  

Suddenly the woman moaned and before Ox or Evangeline could react, she had her gun drawn and her dark eyes were wide and jumping back and forth between them.  

"Just who the devil are you?" she demanded.  

"My name's Ox and this here is my sister Evangeline. She didn't mean to shoot you, she thought you was a flesh eater."  

"I really did. I'm so sorry." Evangeline replied as she wrung her hands. The woman sighed and lowered her gun.  

"My horse spooked and threw me. I busted up my leg real bad and was trying to make my way back to some folks I know but it was slow going and my ankle kept swelling. I smelled the smoke from your campfire...."  

"I heard you moaning and I saw how strangely you were moving... I just shot at the bushes. I did not mean to hurt you!"  

"No harm done. It's my leg that hurts me most and that wasn't your fault." The woman assured her.  

"What's your name?" Ox asked as he stood straight and rubbed the back of his neck. The woman's eyes widened and Evangeline knew it was Ox's size that shocked her. It shocked most people when they first saw him.  

"Uh.. Frankie.. My name's Frankie."  

"You said you were heading back toward some people you know... where are they?" Evangeline asked, hoping that this was the break she and her brother had so desperately needed.  

"A couple of miles that way." The woman replied, pointing into the woods, though Evangeline had no idea what direction 

that way was since she had never learned to tell her directions in the woods. “We found a house with lots of supplies and plenty of rooms for all of us… Y’all help me get back there and I’m sure they would find a place for you.”

"What do you think, Evie?" Ox asked, looking down at her. Evangeline knew that he no longer trusted his own judgment after what had happened with Thompson, Clint and Lita back in that town.   

"I don't see that we have any choice but to trust her." Evangeline replied with a sigh.  

"'Course ya can trust me. Y'all look like you're just about on your last leg."  

"We're hungry." Ox replied as his stomach rumbled loudly.  

Frankie grinned. "Well you're in luck, big guy, there's a woman in our group that lives to play homemaker. She'll take real good care of that stomach of yours."

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

Darkness was quickly approaching before Silas and Charlotte were able to slip up to their room. Charlotte’s stomach was a mess of nerves as she laid a sleeping Grace into the chest drawer they’d lined with blankets.

Charlotte felt her heart swell and her body heat as Silas's strong dark arms wrapped around her waist from behind and his chin rested on her shoulder. His warm breath breezed against her neck, tickling her ear. 

"She looks so peaceful. So unaware that there is any evil in the world and perfectly content in the knowledge that her mama and her pa will be here when she opens her eyes."  

"And we will be." Charlotte vowed, trembling when Silas's full lips brushed tenderly against her ear and she felt him smile as his arms tightened around her.  

“I love you, Miss Charlotte.”

She thought about telling him that he didn't have to call her 'Miss Charlotte' any longer but she liked the way it sounded when he said it. Some men called their wives honey or love but 'Miss Charlotte' was Silas's love name for her and it made her heart swell each time she heard it.  

"And I love you." Silas pulled her back several steps and stood with her in front of the window, her back pulled firmly against his chest and his chin still resting on her shoulder.  

"The sunset is beautiful." Charlotte whispered, as she gazed out at the pink sky. Silas nodded and then Charlotte felt as if she'd been struck by lightning when Silas's full, warm lips were pressing against her throat, sliding across her skin before moving to her ear. She clung to his arms and leaned into his embrace when his mouth moved to her ear and she felt his teeth gently grazing against her skin, as his tongue tasted her.  

"Silas...." Charlotte gasped and his warm, comforting voice vibrated against her skin.  

"I want to feel your skin against mine, Miss Charlotte."  

Charlotte wanted that too, she wanted it so badly, but what if she was still sore from the birth of her daughter? She knew that love making could cause her pain and yet she did not want to turn him down. What if turning him down angered him....?

"Silas..." she began uncertainly and he loosened his hold, turning her in his arms and smoothing the loose tendrils of hair from her face.  

"I know, Miss Charlotte. My pa was a doctor, remember?"  

Charlotte flushed red with embarrassment and looked at his chest, picking at the buttons of his shirt. "I don't want to disappoint you..."  

"Impossible. You could never disappoint me."  

"But you said you wanted..."  

"To feel your skin on mine." Silas finished, putting his finger beneath her chin and tilting her head up so that her eyes were once again looking into his. The love shining out of those deep, soft brown eyes stole her breath and made it impossible for her to speak. "All I want is to lay in that bed with your skin on mine and hold you in my arms."  

"Are you sure, Silas?" Charlotte questioned. Turning Jackson down for love making would have had the man turning violent and taking what he wanted... but Silas was 

nothing like Jackson and Charlotte knew that.

"I'm sure, Miss Charlotte.  When you're ready to take it further, you let me know. Until then just let me hold you. That's all I need."  

Charlotte smiled up at him and then her shaking fingers began to undo the buttons of his shirt. Silas pulled it out of his pants and Charlotte finished undoing the buttons before sliding the shirt off his broad shoulders. 

She took in the sight of his body and swallowed hard as desire filled her. Silas's skin was dark as midnight and his body was hard and covered in a lean layer of muscle, created by hard work. Jackson's body, which was the only other body he'd ever seen, had looking nothing like this. It had been pale and soft and covered in thick dark hair. 	

"You're so hard." Charlotte whispered as she laid her palms on the hard planes of his chest and spread her fingers wide. She felt a tremble wash over Silas and when she looked into his eyes they looked darker and full of passionate desire.  

Charlotte felt sensations she had never felt before. An ache was forming between her legs that had nothing to do with the birth of her daughter. There was a pulsing, throbbing need forming in her core and moisture was soaking into the underclothes she wore beneath her skirt.  

Silas's hands were shaking as he untucked her blouse and slowly undid the buttons before sliding it off as well. Charlotte stood there in her thin satin shift, knowing that her breasts would be clearly outlined beneath the fabric. She saw Silas's eyes roam down her and she heard the moan in the back of his throat when his eyes landed on her chest.  

Without warning, he pulled her body tight against his own and his lips found hers, devouring her hungrily.  

Charlotte felt as if she were drowning. Sinking lower and lower in a raging whirlpool with no desire to try to swim to shore. Silas's big hands roamed over her body, his calloused fingers caressing her breasts through the fabric of her shift.  

And then suddenly her shift was gone and his hands were on her skin, burning her, searing her, branding her as his own with a tenderness that stole her breath.  

Never had Charlotte been touched this way. With this sweet softness that let her know that he truly cared about what she was feeling instead of simply rushing after his own release. Charlotte felt him leading her toward the bed and she went with him, lost in all the new sensations he was awakening within her and getting lost in the waves... Drowning was incredible.  

So lost was she in Silas's kisses and touches that she was surprised when he laid down beside her in the bed and stretched his body long against her own and she realized that neither of them were wearing any clothes.  

Charlotte blushed as she looked at him, marveling in every line, muscle, scar and mole. Learning the dips and bulges in arms and the tight muscles of his stomach. Her eyes widened when she saw the proof of his arousal resting heavy against the pale white skin of her stomach.  

"Sorry Miss Charlotte." He whispered gruffly as he tried hard to twist his hips away from her. Charlotte bit her lip before gathering her courage and looking up at his face.  Silas's face was drawn as if the man was in pain but his brown eyes were just as warm and loving as they always were when they gazed upon her.  

Charlotte was certain that is what gave her the bravery to do what she did next as she reached her hand down and gripped his pulsing arousal in her hand. Silas's jaw dropped and his eyes slid closed.

His eyes quickly shot back open when Charlotte guided the tip of him toward the wet juncture between her thighs.  

"Miss Charlotte, are you sure?" Silas ground out, even as he flipped her onto her back and braced his body over hers. Charlotte laid her palms on his chest and nodded, never taking her eyes from his.  

"I'm sure." 	

"If I hurt you, Miss Charlotte, you be sure to tell me to stop. I don't ever want to hurt you."  

"You won't hurt me, Silas. I love you and I want you to let me know how good it feels to be with a man who loves me back."  

"I can certainly be the man to show you that." His lips caressed her eyelids as he slowly slid himself inside of her, filling her more completely than she had ever been filled before.  

And as he began to move, suddenly Charlotte was once again drowning. Drowning in the sensations and the emotions that he was stirring inside of her. Drowning in the pleasure that was coursing through her veins as she gripped his shoulders tight and thrust her hips in time with his.  

Charlotte felt something tensing inside of her. A delicious twisting knot of heat coiling and bunching low in her belly and then, quite suddenly, her body exploded. White light blinded her eyes as her body stiffened and shuddered and she cried out Silas's name only to have his lips close over her own and catch the sound.  

Then suddenly he was tensing as well and his moans filled the room, as he buried himself as deeply inside of her as he could go and shuddered.  

Charlotte slowly felt herself coming back to shore....Coming off of the whirl pool that Silas's touch had sent her on. Her heart was thundering and her legs tingling as Silas moved off of her and stretched out on his side next to her, running his finger up and down her stomach and staring deep into her eyes.  

"I love you, Miss Charlotte. Thank you for all you've given me today."  

"Given you?" Charlotte asked, her mind having trouble focusing on anything other than how satisfied her body felt.  

"A daughter, a wife and what we just shared her in this bedroom. I hope you know that I will never take any of those three things for granted."  

Charlotte smiled and kissed him tenderly. "I know you won't."  

Grace whimpered from her makeshift bed and Charlotte was about to rise when Silas shook his head and held her down.  "I'll get her." He insisted. 

Silas stood and slid into his pants but Charlotte's eyes were locked on the crisscrossing scars covering the man's broad back. He walked to Grace and patted her back gently, covering her with the blanket and humming to quiet her whimpering.  

Charlotte knew there were tears in her eyes when Silas came back to bed and she also knew that he would see them in the low lamplight.

"Miss Charlotte, what are those tears for? Did I hurt you?" Concern laced his voice and his hand went to her low belly and dancing over her skin.  

"No." she replied quickly, squirming below his touch, which somehow made her blood begin to heat once again despite the release she had just found merely minutes before.  

"Then why are you crying?"

"Your back." 

Silas smiled and brought her fingertips to his lips, kissing them tenderly. "Don't you worry none about that."

"But how..." 

"I was a slave, Miss Charlotte."  

"You were whipped?!" Charlotte was outraged to think of someone whipping her husband. Why would anyone want to hurt a man so pure, loving and caring? "Weren't you only a child?"  

"Yes but that didn't seem to matter to our master. But don't worry none about it. That was the past and all I care about is right now."  

"How on earth did I get lucky enough to find you?" Charlotte asked quietly, tracing his jaw with her fingertips.  

Silas smiled and pulled the blanket over their bodies before kissing her temple. "Actually, Miss Charlotte, I believe I'm the one that found you." 

---

Colt had to think of some way to change the direction his one track mind seemed to have taken before he went completely insane. Since watching Silas and Charlotte share their vows this morning all he had been able to think of was Sarah and Loralie.  

Looking at Silas, Charlotte and baby Grace and the picture of a happy family they painted, caused a pain so damn deep in Colt's chest that he was sure it would be the death of him.

He had never been the type of be jealous of what others had but he’d be damned if he wasn’t envious of Silas and Charlotte. He just couldn’t see the fairness in it all. Why were some people finding their happiness in all this new terror on earth when it was this terror that had ripped every damn bit of his happiness away?

"You sure do brood more than any other man I have ever met before." Katherine's voice cut through his thoughts and he turned to see her standing at the open door. "It's time to lock down for the night... You coming in?"  

Colt nodded, though he made no move to rise from the rocking chair that his backside had been calling home for the last hour or so. Everything was so peaceful and quiet this evening that he was almost able to pretend the world hadn't gone to hell and been filled with flesh eating monsters......

Almost .

Colt was hoping Katherine would take the hint and simply walk away but instead she walked toward him and sat down on the porch banister in front of him, blocking his view of the woods. Colt sighed and looked up at her face. She was a pretty woman but she did nothing for him. His heart and his body just weren't ready... probably never would be.  

"What's wrong with you, Colt? You never have been a ray of sunshine but you seem a bit sadder than normal today."  

"The world ended, Katherine, am I supposed to be out dancing in the rain and spoutin' sonnets?"   

Katherine smiled as she gave a small shake of her head. "You don't strike me as the sonnet spouting type."  

"Naw, I reckon I never was. Even before the world ended."  

Katherine studied him a moment, her wide green eyes boring into his as if trying to see his soul. Colt shifted uncomfortably in his chair and looked down at his worn and stained denims. "We're all still alive and this rock is still spinning. The world didn't end, Colt." 

Colt nodded and swallowed hard as he studied an oddly shaped rust colored bloodstain on his thigh and wondered where it had come from. "Mine did." He ground out between his tightly clenched jaws.  

"Are you married, Colt?"  

"Why would you ask that?" Colt asked, looking up and meeting her gaze again.  

"Because you've turned me down time and time again. Of course I guess that doesn't have to mean you're married. Plenty of married men have bedded me."  

"And they deserve to have their heads stomped. A vow's a vow and should be treated as such."  

"So you

are married?“ Katherine pressed and Colt sighed as he shoved himself to his feet and walked over to the banister to stand beside her. He placed his hands on the rough wood and leaned over the rail, enjoying the feel of the evening breeze on his face.

"I wish you'd just let this go."  

"I can't." 

"Why the hell not?" Colt demanded as he took off his hat and shoved his hand roughly through his dark blond hair.  

"Because like it or not, I care about you. You mean a lot to me, Colt. More than any other man ever has."  

"Katherine...." Colt started warningly and Katherine sighed as she looked down at her fingernails.  

"I know. You're not interested." She sighed and then jumped off the banister and turned, pressing her shoulder to his and leaning her forearms against the banister, matching his posture. "But I want you to know that I'm here for you, Colt. And I think opening up with somebody might help you...."  

"Nope."   

"I want to help you, Colt." 	

"Katherine, I don't want to be rude to you, ma'am, but I've done told you to leave this alone and I've done told you that I ain't interested in having you..."  

"Fair enough." Katherine sighed as she stood straight and patted his back, causing Colt to stiffen and growl beneath her touch. She quickly pulled her hand away and smoothed out her blue skirt.  

"You need to be coming on in soon, Colt. You know the rabid get more active at night and we need to have this place sealed up tight."  

Colt just nodded and felt relief fill him when the woman finally walked away.  

He sighed, knowing she was right about the lockdown. He could see a rabid slowly wandering around the edge of the woods. A man, his chest full of bullet holes and one side of his face caved in... Someone had obviously tried to kill the monster before learning the 'aim for the head' rule.  

Colt made his way into the house, closing the door and sliding the three wooden slats into place. He knew that Silas, Charlotte and baby Grace were upstairs, safely tucked into their bedroom, warmly cocooned in their loving family. Jealousy bubbled once again in Colt's gut and he hated the feeling. He didn't want to feel it and yet was helpless to stop himself.  

Comanche was in the sitting room, staring into the dancing flames of the fire and Colt made his way to the second armchair and sat down as well. Colt knew Comanche was in roughly the same dark mood that he was after having lost Frankie that morning and it seemed nice to simply sit in silence with a kindred spirit.  

"It will be a long night." Comanche finally spoke and Colt nodded in agreement.  

"I might be able to help with that." Katherine spoke up as she stepped into the sitting room. Colt was about to lose his patience completely with the woman until he saw the two large bottles of whiskey she held clutched in her hands.  

"I think our night just got a hell of a lot better." Colt said with a nod. It had been years, a good three, since he had had a taste of whiskey but whiskey had always helped him be loose; free. And tonight he wanted to be those things. He wanted to forget, if only for a couple of hours, that he was a complete failure that had lost everything.  

"I have never had the paleman's firewater." Comanche admitted with a raise of his brow and Colt chuckled.  

"Get ready to taste heaven then, Comanche, cuz those bottles that woman's holdin' are full of Ambrosia."

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four: Stop Being So Serious

"Shit, Evie, it's a good thing you shot her cuz we wouldn't have found this place if you hadn't." Ox whispered in the night as the large farmhouse came into view.  

"Glad I could be of assistance." Frankie mumbled.  

He heard Evangeline whimper in response and glanced over to see her barely holding onto the saddle horn to keep herself in the saddle as she lay draped over it.  

"Your sister's a bit too soft for this life, don't ya think?" Frankie asked from behind Ox as she kept her arms wrapped tight around his waist. Ox had heard her wince only a handful of times and he marveled at how damn tough she must be. A bullet wound in her side and a busted up leg and she hadn't complained about either one.  

"Evie's tough. We've just been a while without good food and water." Ox countered, rushing to his sister's defense.  

"Sure." Frankie replied without interest. "Let's take the horses to that barn over there and get them settled in and then we'll head up to the house. I think I see a bit of firelight coming from the sitting room so somebody must be sitting up."

The trio quickly entered the barn Ox sat Frankie on a bale of hay before helping Evangeline from her own horse. "Shit, Evie, you okay?" he whispered, gripping her upper arms tightly when she stumbled sideways.  

"Yeah." She tried to send him a reassuring smile but Ox thought it was more of a grimace. He led her over to Frankie and leaned her against the same bales of hay before going back to the horses.  

Knowing he had to work quickly, Ox unsaddled them both and then tossed the saddlebags, with what little supplies they had left, over his shoulder. He turned back to the women and paused.  

He could only carry one of them and neither of them looked as if they could take a single step alone. Loyalty had him wanting to help his sister and yet Frankie was the one with a hurt leg and a bullet wound.....  

"Carry her, Ox." Evangeline spoke up as she stood straight and forced her shoulders back. "I am not nearly as helpless as she seems to keep insisting that I am."  

Frankie opened her mouth, clearly ready to argue, but Ox cut her off by hefting her up into his arms, cradling her against his chest like a new bride.  

"Damned man. What are you doing?" Frankie demanded and Ox shrugged.  

"Carrying you." He turned his attention to Evangeline. "Evie, you go ahead and pull your gun. I got my hands too full to be much help if we see any of those monsters."  

"Rabid." Frankie spoke up.  

"Is that what you call them?" Ox asked with a frown as the trio left the barn and Ox kicked the big doors closed before Evangeline locked them from the outside to keep the horses safe.  

"Yep. They sure act like a bunch or rabid humans to me."  

"Guess that makes sense." Ox conceded and they fell into silence as they made the slow walk to the house. Ox could have gone faster seeing as how Frankie couldn't weight more than one hundred and ten pounds soaking wet with rocks in her pockets, but he could tell that Evangeline was in a lot of pain and didn't want to rush her.  

"Something isn't right." Frankie whispered as they stepped onto the porch. "Someone should have noticed us by now."   

Ox glanced at Evangeline and saw her grip tighten on the gun in her hand before he reached out and rapped at the door with his knuckles.  

---

"What are they doing down there?" Charlotte whispered when another loud thud and then a burst of laughter came from downstairs. Silas sighed as he rubbed his face.  

"I don't know but I do wish they would stop so we could get some sleep before dawn."  

A feminine squeal filled the air next followed by yet another loud thud and then a painful moan.  

"Maybe we should go check on them." Charlotte urged and Silas nodded. He was annoyed at having his night in Charlotte's arms, feeling her warm skin against his own, be interrupted.

He slid his pants back on and then helped Charlotte from the bed and helped her slide into her white nightdress and robe. He loved the way she gathered up her loose dark hair and pulled it from beneath her robe before letting it fall long down her back.  

Silas reached out and caressed her cheek and then there was another moan and thud beneath them. Charlotte's light green eyes widened.  

"Silas, what if a rabid got in?"  

"Colt and Comanche are more than capable of taking care of themselves, Miss Charlotte. I'm sure it's nothing quite that bad."  

He spared a glance at Little Grace, happy to see that she was still sleeping peacefully, before taking Charlotte's hand in his and leading her out of the room. When they stepped downstairs and Silas saw the whiskey bottle clutched in Colt's hand and the Comanche gathering himself up to run yet again at the wall, he could not believe his eyes.  

"What is going on down here?!" he demanded, feeling very much like a father scolding his children.  

Katherine, who was hanging off of Colt's arm, whirled around to face him and Colt laughed loudly as Comanche ran forward and hit the wall with his shoulder, (explaining what the thudding sound had been), and then moaned painfully as he stumbled back.  

Colt took a swig of whiskey from the nearly empty bottle and pointed at Comanche with a wide grin splitting his face. "You can get that drunk ass injun to fight with anything!"  

Katherine giggled and took the bottle from Colt's hand. "Even the wall."  

"I only need one more time." Comanche growled as he tightened his red cloth headband and nodded slowly. "I can defeat it."  

"Drinking yourselves stupid does not seem like the wisest decision to make when there are rabid monsters roaming around." Silas stated as he took the whiskey bottle from Katherine and she stuck out her lip and put her hands on her hips.  

"That's my whiskey." She whined. She tried to reach for the bottle but Silas moved it and she lost her balance, nearly falling headfirst into the wall before Charlotte caught her and steadied her.  

"Well thank you very much." Katherine stated very seriously. She put her hands on either side of Charlotte's face and for a moment Silas was worried the woman was going to kiss her. "You saved my life. You are such a good person."  

Charlotte glanced over at Silas but he just shrugged. He had never been very tolerant of those that drank themselves into idiotic states. He had no problem with a shot of whiskey or mug of beer now and then but clearly Colt, Comanche and Katherine had overdone things. The bottle of whiskey in Silas's hand was nearly empty and there was another empty bottle tipped over on the side table.  

Another thud signaled Comanche's next attempt at attacking the wall and Colt laughed loudly, clutching at his stomach while tears ran down his cheeks. His white shirt was untucked and more than half the buttons were undone and at some point this evening the man had lost one of his boots.  

Katherine stepped away from Charlotte, stumbling across the room to a chair and plopping herself down. Silas thought that she was beginning to look a little green and he had a feeling she was going to be regretting all that whiskey very very soon.  

"Foolish. Every one of them." Silas mumbled but Charlotte laid her hand on his arm and smiled.  

"Take it easy on them. Colt looks happy. I never have seen him smile or laugh before."  

"Drunken happiness is not happiness. I guarantee he won't be nearly so cheerful come morning when his head is pounding and his stomach churning.  

"Quit hoggin' the bottle!" Colt said with a sloppy grin as he grabbed the whiskey bottle from Silas's hand.  

"What kind is that?" Charlotte asked and Colt grinned, leaning in close to her. Silas could smell the alcohol on his breath, the scent nearly enough to knock a full grown buffalo unconscious with a single blast.  

"Liquid Ambrosia."  

"Colt, I think it's time you all quit drinking and head to bed. I'll keep watch." Silas urged.  

"Watch for what?" Comanche snapped as he walked over, his naked torso covered in streaks of wood ash and lines painted with the same ash across his face.  

"The rabid." Silas stated, trying hard to hold on to his patience when what he wanted to do was throw these two men into the tiny cellar and leave them there until the liquor wore off. 	

Colt laughed. 

“The rabid” he imitated in a deep, gravely voice. “Silas needs to stop being so serious .”

Colt took another swig of whiskey and Silas let out a long sigh and rubbed his neck. "You don't think the rabid are anything to worry about then?" he questioned.  

Colt shook his head and made a big point of flourishing his arm toward the wooden slats across the door. "I locked the door." He leaned close again and laughed. "Relax. Have some fun. I'm about to see if I can get the drunk injun to battle the sofa next."  

"I could fight it." Comanche agreed with a curt nod before taking the whiskey bottle from Colt and downing what was left. Colt jerked the bottle away and let out a laugh that sounded suspiciously like a giggle as he tipped it upside down.  

"Damn you, Comanche. You drank the last damn drop!"  

"Alright, since the whiskey's gone let's get you three to bed." Silas urged. He was sure that they were actually going to listen to him until a knock came to the door.  

"Shit!" Colt exclaimed, followed by a fast laugh. "Those damn rabid sure are polite nowadays! They knock and everything."  

"Let it in." Comanche urged, clenching his fists and throwing back his shoulders. "I will fight it."   

Colt nudged Silas in the gut with his elbow. "See what did I tell you? That drunk bastard will fight anything!"  

Silas nodded and then grabbed Colt's revolver from the holster. "Hey now! What are you doing with that? Don't you know you gotta ask 'fore ya just grab a man's piece." Colt waggled his eyebrows and Silas saw Charlotte blush furiously. He grunted and nudged Colt back, causing the other man to stumble and simply laugh even more loudly.  

"Are y'all in there!?" Frankie's voice suddenly called from outside the locked door.

“Ai! Ai! Ai! Ai!” Comanche called out loudly. He leapt over the sofa and ran to the door, shoving aside the wooden boards and jerking the door open in a rush.

Silas's eyes widened when a stream of words, spoken in a language that Silas did not understand flew from Comanche's lips. Silas pushed his way past Comanche, trying hard to ignore Colt's laughter. For a quiet, hard man he sure did loosen up and get awfully annoying when he had whiskey in his blood.	

"Frankie, are you injured?" Silas demanded as he took in the sight of her being held in this new giant of a man's arms. She looked pale and he was sure that was blood soaking her dark shirt.  

"Yep. My horse threw me and then this woman decided it would be a good idea to shoot me."  

Another loud burst of laughter from Colt followed that admission and Comanche slashed his hand through the air in a cutting motion. "I will kill her. No one hurts my paleface."  

"I ain't your paleface and why the devil is Colt laughing...... Are they drunk?!"  

"As a skunk!" Colt agreed with a nod as he walked up and laid his arm on Silas's shoulder, leaning against the other man. He let out a low whistle and looked up and up and up some more at the face of the man holding Frankie. "Damn, you are one big son of a bitch!"  

"I can take him." Comanche growled as he held up his hands in a boxing stance. "Bare fisted."  

Silas rolled his eyes and then a quiet feminine voice came from behind the big man. "Ox... Ox I need to lie down...." A woman stepped around and just as quickly her eyes rolled back and she fell forward. Silas was going to catch her but Colt beat him to it. He caught her in his arms and lifted her up, cradling her against his chest, the same as the big man was holding Frankie.  

"Ain't she a pretty one." Colt whispered and Silas frowned. Pretty? She was pale and seemed half dead with dark circles around her eyes, colorless lips and a tangle of dark hair. Her skin was coated with dirt and sweat, her pink blouse and brown skirt were ripped, tattered and stained. The tall man looked much the same, only with better color to his face. It was clear these two had been wandering for a long while. 

The doctor's son in Silas roared to life and he quickly stepped back to allow the big man to enter. "My name is Silas." He said.  

"Ox." The big man replied and he glared over at Colt. "And my mama wasn't no bitch and that's my damn sister you're holding that way."  

"Would ya rather me drop her on the floor?" Colt asked with a grin and Ox shook his head quickly.  

"No, please don't."  

"We have one spare room left, Colt, carry her up there and I will be there as soon as I see to Frankie." Silas ordered.  

"He can't be alone in a room with my sister." Ox argued.  

"Hey now, I'm just about the most trustworthy man you'll ever meet." Colt countered, though the sloppy grin never left his face. He used his finger to gently smooth some of the sleeping girl's hair from her face and she moaned and curled herself around him.  

"It's true." Katherine spoke up from the chair. "He's similar to a saint or a goddamned monk."  

Silas glanced over at her just in time to see her raise from the chair and then vomit on the wooden floor boards at her feet. He shook his head and went about securing the door.  

"You know a wild drinking binge is probably not real smart right now." Frankie scolded and Ox nodded, obviously in agreement as he glanced around. Silas spared a glance at Comanche whose nostrils were flared, his eyes looking wild and somehow more intense with all that dark ash surrounding them. 	

"I still say I can take him."

"Why does the indian want to hurt me?" Ox questioned, sounding almost nervous. Silas shook his head.  

"Because he is a drunk fool. Now let's get Frankie to a bed and see how badly her wounds are."  

Frankie snorted, though she looked awfully comfortable in Ox's arms. "It would be damn decent of you all."  

---

Charlotte wasn't sure where to start! Colt was upstairs in a room alone with an unconscious woman and still hadn't come back down. Silas and the new big man, Ox, were busy in Comanche's room with Comanche standing over them threatening everyone that moved, (and even a few things that didn't), and tending to Frankie, Grace was beginning to whimper in her room causing Charlotte's breasts to throb in response and on top of all of that, Katherine was sobbing and vomiting, though at least now she was doing so into a bucket instead of adding to the puddle on the floor.  

What should Charlotte tend to first?   

Seeing as how Grace was not yet screaming, Charlotte would see to Katherine first. "Come on now, let's get you to bed, Katherine."  

"Why doesn't anyone love me?" Katherine cried as she looked up at Charlotte with sadness filling her eyes. Charlotte sighed, knowing the woman's drink clouded mind was responsible for the current conversation.  

"I'm sure someone loves you, Katherine." Charlotte whispered as she helped the woman to her feet, and picked up the bucket.  

"You have Silas. Frankie has Comanche. Why can't Colt love me?"  

"Perhaps you should just have patience." Charlotte replied comfortingly as she struggled to help Katherine up the stairs. Katherine's legs were shaking and she seemed more concerned with throwing her head back and cursing her bad luck than focusing on the task at hand.  

"He's made it clear he doesn't want me. He tells me I deserve a good man and yet he's not willing to be that man!" Katherine complained, before veering sideways and nearly taking them both over the stair railing before Charlotte managed to right them.  

"Let's just get you to bed, Katherine and it will all look better in the morning."  

Charlotte cried out with shock when they reached the top of the stairs and Katherine let out a whimper before losing consciousness and falling to the floor.   

"Help!" Charlotte called out and the big man came into the hall just before Silas joined him. Silas's hands were covered in blood and Charlotte felt her stomach roll.  

"Is Frankie hurt bad?" she gasped and Sials shook his head.  

"Not too bad, Miss Charlotte."  

"Is she okay?" Ox asked looking down at Katherine who was splayed across the floor, her hair a wild mess and a bit of drool on her chin.  

"She passed out and I can't carry her." Charlotte replied and Ox nodded. He picked Katherine up as if she weighed nothing and Charlotte marveled at the size of him. Easily seven feet, if not more, and solid muscle. "I'll lead you to her room." She said, shaking her head. "I have too much to do to be dealing with this."  

---

 It was only a couple of hours before dawn when Silas finally collapsed into the bed beside a sleeping Charlotte and Grace.  

He knew that Charlotte had only gotten to bed a short while before himself and so he didn't disturb her, simply gazed at her as she slumbered peacefully.  

God love that woman. She had tucked Katherine into bed, cleaned the vomit from her face and then the sitting room floor. She had then tended to Evangeline, cleaning the woman's face and neck and making her as comfortable as she could in the bed, though she had told Silas that Evangeline had never once awaken and seemed to be more than just a little exhausted.  

Then Charlotte had gathered up all the bloody and dirty towels and rags from the house and carried them into the hall closet to be washed in the morning before coming up and seeing to Grace. Charlotte seemed to be born to tend to others and Silas found that a natural endearing quality.  

Frankie was going to be just fine but she wouldn't be walking without crutches for a good week or two. She hadn't broken her leg but she had stubbed it up real good and sprained her ankle. Silas knew that he'd have a hard time crafting crutches for the woman but it would have to be done. The bullet wound had been barely more than a graze and hadn't needed many stitches. Comanche had been passed out in the chair beside Frankie's bed when Silas had left and it was clear the indian wasn't going to wake up until well into the day.  

Colt had at least managed to get himself to his own bed though he kept mumbling about the pretty girl and laughing about 

crazy drunk injuns .

Silas truly hoped this was a one-time occurrence with the whiskey because he wasn't too sure that he and Charlotte had the energy to deal with it all again.  

Deciding to get what little sleep he could before the house woke up, Silas curled up to his sleeping ladies and let himself drift away.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Frankie groaned with pain as her eyes fluttered open and were assaulted by the sunlight coming through the twisted white curtain. She moved her leg and felt a bolt of pain shoot through it causing her to wonder if that damn Silas really knew what he was talking about. He claimed she’d just stubbed her leg up real good when she’d landed on it and that she’d sprained her ankle.

All Frankie knew was that it hurt damned bad.  

And her side? She groaned. She didn't even want to think about her tight, burning side.  

She glanced to her left and nearly cried out as she flung out her arm, reaching for the gun on the side table. Her heart was beating out of her chest as her hand slowly relaxed and she realized that the ash covered indian in the corner was Comanche.   

Tenderness filled her at the sight of her injun and then she mentally slapped herself and pushed herself up on the headboard until she was sitting up. Just that simple movement had sweat slicking her skin and pain radiating through her side and leg.  

Frankie took in a sharp suck of air through her teeth and Comanche's eyes flew open and landed on her.  

The man looked confused and lost. He had all that ash covering his chest and face and a red headband with what looked like several chicken feathers stuck in it, around his head. He wore only a pair of buckskin pants and he was barefoot.  

"Paleface?" he whispered quietly as he rolled his shoulder and rubbed at it painfully. "What are you doing here?"  

"I came back last night because I got hurt, Comanche, don't you remember? You threatened to fight Evangeline, then Ox, then the bed, Silas a couple of times and I believe you even had a vendetta against the wardrobe." 

This simply seemed to confuse Comanche more as he pushed himself to his feet and his brow furrowed. "I do not remember any of that."  

"No you wouldn't. You had a good full bottle of whiskey in you."  

Comanche appeared thoughtful for a moment and then nodded, once again rubbing his shoulder. "Liquid ambrosia."  

Frankie snorted. "Liquid foolishness." She countered. Anger flashed in Comanche's dark eyes at her words and he headed toward the door, stopping on the threshold.  

"How badly are you injured?"  

Frankie would be lying she said her feelings weren't hurt. His tone was so cold. He hadn't smiled at her or seemed happy she was back. And now he was simply leaving the room instead of staying around to try to tend to her like he would have done in the past.  

"My ankle is sprained and I got grazed by a bullet but neither is real serious just damned painful."

"I am sure you will be fine then." He replied without looking at her and then, just like that, he was gone leaving Frankie to wonder what that ache was deep in the pit of her chest.  

---

Comanche was angry as he made his way down the staircase. How dare Frankie just reappear and act as if he should be happy to see her. 

Happy? The woman had told him he meant nothing and then walked away from him. The only reason she was back now was because she’d been injured or else Comanche had no doubts he would have never seen her again.

Happy.

Ha! He wasn’t happy to see her at all.

’“Good morning, Comanche.” Charlotte said brightly as Comanche walked into the kitchen, his stomach growling hungrily at the sight of the steaming pot of stew in the center of the table.

"Good morning, Charlotte." He couldn't help but notice that while she appeared tired she was also glowing this morning and he knew that it was because she was now a married woman. As if on cue, Silas came into the kitchen with Grace held gently against his chest.  

"How are you feeling this morning, Comanche?" Silas asked and Comanche sat down at the table, before ladling some soup into the bowl. The clock on the wall told him it was after eleven in the morning and he wondered what had made him sleep so late. He had always been the type to be up with the dawn.  

"Strange." Comanche replied before taking a bit of that steaming stew into his mouth. At least the food was good at the end of the world.  

"How is your shoulder?" Charlotte asked, amusement coloring her voice. Comanche rolled it painfully and frowned.  

"It hurts." He admitted. "What happened last night?"  

"You, Colt and Katherine decided to down two bottles of whiskey and wound up drunk. Katherine then proceeded to vomit all over everything, Colt laughed like a hyena all night and you were determined to show the wall that you could fight it." Silas informed him.  

"I don't remember...." Comanche replied, his brow wrinkling as he fought hard to remember something from the night before... A flash of a giant standing at the door went through his mind and he shook his head.  

"Where is everyone else?" he questioned.  

"Ox is outside, Evangeline is still up in her room resting and neither Colt nor Katherine have woken up yet today."  

"Ox and Evangeline?" Comanche asked. "Who are they?"  

"You really don't remember anything about last night, do you?" Silas asked with what sounded like annoyance. Comanche shook his head.  

"No, truly I don't."  

"Comanche, you should probably get to the water closet and wash yourself off when you finish eating." Charlotte urged and Comanche glanced down at his chest which was covered in what appeared to be ash. Had he fallen in a fire? No, that couldn't be it because he had no burns. He ran a finger over his cheek and it came back black with soot as well.  

Comanche gave another roll to his shoulder and vowed to never drink the paleface's firewater again. Clearly Colt had been mistaken and it was hell in a bottle instead of heaven.  

---

Colt cursed the sun to hell as it shined on his face and hit his closed eyes, causing the pain in his head to intensify one hundred fold. There was a churning in his gut and a pounding in his skull which could only mean one thing...

He'd drunk a bit more of that whiskey last night than he had meant to. Memories came back to him. Comanche, all decked out in fireplace ash and chicken feathers, fighting with the wall. Katherine dancing and trying to hang off of him, at least up until she began to vomit all over the sitting room floor, and Colt.... Laughing and having fun. Forgetting for just a while.  

He figured those few hours of peace were well worth the headache and nausea this morning.  

Then a memory of a giant and a pretty woman came to him. He had caught the pretty woman when she had fallen... He remembered that much plain and clear.   

Colt shook his head. Pretty woman? He wasn't interested in any woman. Last night had been fun but today it was back to reality. Back to the memory of his wife screaming for his help and him failing to get to her in time. The truth of his daughter turning in to one of those monsters right there in his arms and then him leaving her like that and running off scared, just like a damned coward.  

Whatever good mood he may have been in thoroughly doused, Colt managed to get to his feet and realized that he was wearing one boot and the other boot was nowhere in sight.  How in the hell had that happened. He was also missing his revolver.   

The details of the night before were too fuzzy for him to know where both items were, his boot and his gun, but he figured somebody in the damned house would have them.  

Blowing out a long breath and pressing his fingers into his temples, Colt walked to the door and opened it slowly. Sitting in the hall, leaned against the wall were his gun and his boot. After reuniting with both of them, Colt made his way slowly down the hallway. He had to walk slowly because he could not open his eyes more than a crack. Any more than a crack caused unbearable pain to lance through his head.  

He was heading for the stairs when the door he was walking past flew open quickly and smacked him directly in the face.  

Colt went down hard on his backside as a blinding pain filled his head and he let out a string of curses that would make Satan himself blush.  

"Oh my goodness!" A feminine voice exclaimed. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" Colt held his hand up and shook his head, swallowing hard with his eyes squeezed shut tight, combating the pain and nausea with everything he had.  

"It's okay." He replied, wondering who the voice belonged to. He knew it wasn't Katherine, Charlotte or Frankie. That only left........

......

The pretty woman.

"I truly am very sorry! Are you alright? I didn't know that you were outside my door."  

"I wasn't outside your door!" Colt snapped, finding that while her voice was pleasant, his pounding head didn't appreciate hearing it and the apologetic tone it held. "I was walking down the damn hallway. Maybe you shouldn't throw your damn door open and come barreling out like a charging buffalo!"  

"Look here, I apologized to you and there is no need for your rudeness. Next time I will be sure to whack you just a little harder!" that voice snapped and he could hear a huff before her quick footsteps walked off and faded down the stairs.  

It wasn't until she was out of his sight that Colt opened his eyes a crack once again and used the wall to help pull himself back to his feet.  

If his head was hurting before, it was damn near splitting now. He made his way down the stairs and the scent of food reached his nose, causing his rolling stomach to clench violently. Deciding the dining room was 

not the room he wanted to go to, Colt opened the door and stepped outside, determined to let the fresh air ease his head and clear his mind.

---

Evangeline's growling stomach had her following the scent of food to a dining room and then her eyes widened and she came to a quick stop when she saw those sitting inside.  

A colored man held a sleeping infant as he sipped at stew and gazed lovingly at a woman with soft angelic features beside him. If the sight of a colored man, (her father had had a strong hatred for colored men and saw them as property refusing to see them as anything else despite the freedom they'd been granted by the government), and white woman appearing to be in love wasn't odd enough, there was an indian sitting at the table also. Evangeline had been raised to fear his kind but this indian did not look scary. He looked quite... amusing.  

His bare torso, (which made Evangeline blush as she had never spent time around shirtless men), was covered in what she thought was ash as was his face and he was wearing a headband with...

chicken feathers?

"Good morning, Evangeline." The woman said with a friendly smile as she stood and ladled some stew into a bowl, motioning for Evangeline to sit down.  

Evangeline did as the woman wanted because she was too hungry to do anything else, wincing and moving as gingerly as she could with that soreness and burning pain still plaguing her between her legs. A whiff of the stew in front of her reached her nostrils and while Evangeline knew it was unladylike she began shoveling spoonful after spoonful of the delicious meal into her mouth, slurping at her spoon.  

"Your brother said it's been a few days since you've had a real meal." The colored man said with a smile as his warm brown eyes looked her over. Evangeline ran a hand over her hair, feeling embarrassment fill her when she realized how messy and dirty it was. She knew she probably looked a mess and it made her want to hide. Her entire life she had been groomed to always be at her best.  

She supposed it was foolish to be vain given the circumstances but old habits were hard to break.  

"Where is Ox?" Evangeline asked, deciding that she needed to slow down on the stew before she made herself ill. She glanced at the indian sitting at the other end of the table but he was staring down into his stew and seemed lost in his own thoughts.   

"Outside."  The woman replied. "Let us introduce ourselves. My name is Charlotte. This is my husband Silas," she pointed at the colored man. "And our daughter, Grace." Evangeline could tell that the little girl was not any blood relation to Silas but chose to not mention that. It wasn't any of her business.  "And that is Comanche." The woman added as she pointed at the indian.

"I'm Evangeline." Evangeline smiled. "But I suppose you all already knew that." She shifted painfully in her seat, wishing the pain could simply end and Comanche's sudden voice shocked her into gasping and nearly choking on her spoonful of stew.  

"Are you in pain?"  

She glanced over at him and nodded, unsure what to make of the man. While part of her was afraid of him, another part couldn't get over how dangerously handsome he looked even with all that ash on his face. And his dark eyes, while nearly black, did not seem to be evil holes the way her father had always stated that an Indian's eyes were. Instead they seemed friendly enough, if perhaps a little sad.   

"My brother tried to find me a sidesaddle but was unable to and so I've been riding astride for a couple of weeks without stopping." Evangeline blushed and looked down at her stew. "I'm quite sore."  

"I will make you a cream that will help heal you. There is a rash, yes?" Comanche asked and Evangeline's blush deepened.  

"Yes." She squeaked. Comanche got to his feed.  

"I will go make your cream now. There are plants around that will sooth the burning and begin to heal the redness, though you will need to rest for a few days and stay off of horseback in order to heal completely." 	

"Looks like I'm not the only doctor." Silas stated with amusement. Comanche turned and Evangeline shook her head.  

"You don't have to go now! Finish your meal."  

"I am finished." Comanche assured her with a small smile.

"Why are you so eager to help me?"  

"I just like to keep busy." He winked then and grinned, catching Evangeline off guard. "It's the 

savage in me.“ With that he turned and left the room and Evangeline stared after him for several long moments before going back to her stew.

"This entire house has lost its mind." Silas mumbled and then he smiled down at the baby in his arms. "But not you, Little Grace. You're still just as perfect as you've been since the day you were born."  

Evangeline was nearly finished with her meal when she decided to bring up the rude, bearded man from upstairs. He'd looked awfully rough with his untucked shirt half buttoned, his heavily bearded face and his forehead wrinkled as he had squeezed his eyes shut tight.  

"There was a man upstairs and I am afraid I may have hurt him." She stated.  

"Colt?" Charlotte asked and Evangeline shrugged.  

"We didn't share names." She admitted. "I was in a rush to get out of my room and figure out where I was and I'm afraid I hit him with the door and caused him to fall. I apologized but he was awfully rude and angry....."  

"It isn't like Colt to be rude." Charlotte said thoughtfully and Silas chuckled.  

"I told you he wouldn't be feeling cheerful this morning." Then Silas looked at Evangeline. "I'm sure Colt is just fine. He drank a bit too much, along with Comanche and Katherine, whom you haven't met yet."  

Evangeline nodded and turned her attention to Charlotte. "Thank you so much for the meal. I will assist you in making supper tonight if you'll let me."  

Charlotte smiled. "I would like that very much. Frankie has no desire to cook and Katherine has no real talent for it."  

"I have always been a good cook. It was required."  

"Required?" Silas and Charlotte asked at the same time and Evangeline blushed.  

"A good southern bred, high class wife has to know how to do certain things even though the hired help is usually who ends up doing the work."  

"Well that's one thing about the new world we live in, Evangeline." Silas said with a happy smile as he kissed his daughter's forehead. "A former slave with nothing to offer can marry the widow wife of a plantation owner. A whore gets a second chance at being something different. A former gang leader gets to show that deep down he's a good man. An indian gets the chance to prove that he is not an evil savage. A wild woman who shoots better than most men is finally seen as an asset instead of simply an oddity. And a quiet, meek widow woman gets the chance to prove that she is stronger than anyone ever gave her credit for. Whatever you were in the past is gone. You, and that brother of yours, are now free to be whatever it is you really are instead of just taking whatever life birth gave to you."  

Evangeline smiled at the wisdom in the man's words and then a terrible smell filled the dining room. "Shew! And a newborn babe is free to stink her papa clear out of the house!" Silas exclaimed. "On that note I believe it's time for me to go change a baby."  

"Silas you don't have to do that! I'll do it." Charlotte countered and Silas grinned before standing and silencing her with a kiss.  

"I'm more than capable of taking care of this, Miss Charlotte, but you're welcome to come with us."  

"You enjoy the rest of your meal, Evangeline, and make yourself at home here." Charlotte said warmly and then Evangeline watched she and Silas leave the room and she sat there alone at the table and felt the first bit of hope filling her since she had been forced to take her mother's life. Maybe things were going to be okay now that they'd found this group of survivors... Maybe she and Ox were going to make it.  

---

Ox was standing in the middle of the yard staring into the woods and thanking God for the new group he and Evangeline were with. It seemed they were good people and that Charlotte made real good stew. They certainly didn't seem like the same types of people as the last group of survivors had been. Ox was hopeful that he and Evangeline would be safe here and he would finally be able to give Evangeline the easier way of life that she needed.  

"Who are you?" a voice asked from behind him and Ox turned and saw the bearded man from the night before who had called him a son of a bitch and carried Evangeline up to her room.  

"We met last night." Ox replied and the man frowned.  

"I remember... vaguely. But I don't recall your name."  

"Ox. That's what folks called me."  

"On account of how you're damn near as big as one?" the man asked, squinting as he too scanned the woods around them. Ox wondered if the man had a headache as he rubbed at his temple.  

"Actually...." Ox had been prepared to tell the man it was because he was as dumb as one that he'd earned the nickname but then he thought twice. Why tell this man that? Ox didn't really like being big, dumb Ox anymore and while he liked the nickname and wouldn't want anyone calling him Joshua, he figured he'd say he earned the nickname by being so big. "Yeah, that's why."  

"My name's Colt." The man reached out and shook Ox's hand and Ox felt some of his dislike of Colt disappear. He honestly wasn't the type to dislike anyone and while this man had been inappropriate last night, it wasn't in Ox's nature to hold a grudge.  

"Has Evie woke up yet?" Ox asked and Colt frowned.  

"Evie?"  

"My sister. The one you carried to bed."  

"I carried her to bed?" Colt asked seeming confused.  

"Yeah and you called her pretty."  At that statement Colt's nostrils flared and he seemed genuinely surprised.  

"I actually said that out loud?"  

"Yep."  

"I apologize." 

"You don't think my sister's pretty?"  

"Whether I do or I don't doesn't really matter. I ain't got no interest in your sister." Colt crossed his arms over his chest and rubbed his chin. "This group has unofficially named me the leader so I wanted to let you know that you and your sister are welcome to stay with us if you choose to. However if you choose to, then know that all final decisions on where we go and what we do are mine. I'm trying hard to keep as many people alive as I can and there just ain't much room for democracy when it comes to survival."  

"Uh.. sure." Ox replied, not understanding exactly what Colt was saying but understanding enough to know that Colt was boss and what he said went. Which Ox was fine with. He sure as hell wouldn't want to be responsible for keeping so many people alive and safe.  

"Now you and your sister are welcome to leave at any time if you choose to but while you're here no doing anything that could risk our group and if you mean this group any harm, I will kill to protect it."  

Ox looked over at Colt who was looking at the trees instead of him but Colt's dark blue eyes and stern gaze told Ox that he was dead serious.  

"Me and Evie don't mean no harm, sir."  

"Colt. Don't call me sir. I can't be but a couple years older than you."  

"Yes, sir... I mean Colt."  

"Were you and your sister heading anywhere in particular or just wandering when Frankie found you?"  

"I was trying to get us to our aunt Rachel's but I'm afraid I ain't real good at making my way through the woods. I never had to do it before. I guess when it comes to that I'm pretty damn dumb."  

"And I'm pretty damn dumb when it comes to cross stitch.. We all have our talents." Colt replied with a shrug. "Where does your Aunt Rachel live?"  

"On the Franks River somewhere around here..... It's a real big plantation house." 

Colt seemed thoughtful for a moment and then he nodded. "What's her last name?"  

"Gibson. Rachel Gibson."  

"If it's a big plantation then Charlotte might know of it since her husband owned a plantation here in Tennessee. We'll all talk about it tonight at supper and if Charlotte knows about where that's at, after we've had a while for Frankie to heal a bit, we'll head out and go check on your aunt."  

Ox smiled brightly and nodded. "Thanks Colt! Damn am I glad you're a hell of a lot different from the last group of survivors we found! They were crazy and tried to sacrifice us to those flesh eaters."  

"Well this group ain't exactly normal." Colt said with the smallest ghost of a grin. "But I promise not to throw you at a rabid to save myself... Even though you'd probably keep them busy eating for a good long while."  

Ox laughed, content that he'd finally found a safe place for he and his sister. "Thanks for taking us in, Colt."  

"Don't' thank me yet, Ox. Thank me once the monsters are gone and we're all still breathing." Colt patted Ox on the back and then strode away toward the barn, rubbing roughly at his temples as he went.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

"I'm fine to travel." Frankie argued as she stood in the sitting room, her crutches that Silas had fashioned for her braced under her arms. "Charlotte herself said that we're probably only a day or so from their Aunt's plantation so it won't be too long of a trip."  

"I'm not positive though. It could be further." Charlotte spoke up.  

Silas shook his head and Colt sighed. Why couldn't everyone just agree on something for once? Three days it had been since Frankie had been injured and Ox and Evangeline had come to be with their group.  

Evangeline. Temptation. Beauty. Spoiled, rotten, rich girl who had had everything in her life handed to her on a silver platter and paraded herself around this damn house as if she was the queen of Sheba and everybody oughta just move out of her way, bow at her feet and do as she says.

Okay so she truly wasn't 

that bad but Colt chose to believe that she was. It made resisting her easier. She stirred something in him that he had never felt before. When he had walked into the house for supper that evening three days ago, his stomach finally calmed and his head no longer throbbing, and had seen that dark haired beauty sitting at the table, his cock had tightened instantly and his heart had started beating so damn fast he’d worried for his health.

Obviously Colt had felt desire before in his life but this feeling was different. He wanted her. All of her. He liked hearing her voice. He liked watching her move. He liked that dusting of freckles on her tiny nose and the single dimple she had in her left cheek. He even liked how small she was. Barely over five feet with curves exactly where a woman was meant to have them. He felt like a giant horse's ass every single time his eyes landed on her and that lust roared to life within him. He had made a vow to his wife, a vow he had honored throughout their short marriage, despite the fact that there hadn't been any real love between them for a long while during the beginning.  

It was his fault Sarah was dead and Loralie was....

worse … and the least he could do was honor his vows.

"Frankie, you need a few more days for your side." Silas insisted and Frankie snorted.  

"I've been shot worse than this before!" she exclaimed. "And I didn't stay laid up in the bed for days those times. Now dammit, we should just load up what supplies are left and get to their damn aunts house!"  

"As much as Ox and I are grateful for this place and the kindness you've all shown us..." Evangeline paused, her emerald eyes locking with Colt's momentarily and he could see the anger in them. She didn't like him. He didn't blame her. He'd been an ass to her since she'd arrived but dammit he had good reason. At least in his own mind. ".... We are very worried about our Aunt and desperate to know if she is okay."  

"I have faith that she is." Comanche stated comfortingly and Evangeline graced him with a smile that showed that dimple in her full left cheek and lit up the damn sitting room like fireworks on Independence Day.   

Colt felt his fist twitch with the urge to knock that comforting smile from Comanche's face and he saw that Frankie didn't seem happy about it either as she growled and stepped forward.  

"More than damn likely she's rabid bait but they deserve to find out the truth sooner rather than later." She stated.  

"You shouldn't say things like that." Ox argued quietly and Colt nodded.  

"That's right. You shouldn't. There's been enough loss handed out to each of us without creating loss that ain't happened yet."  

Frankie looked put in her place and unhappy about it, as she took a step back and Colt sighed. It seemed it was impossible to please everyone at once and he was fixing to just quit trying altogether.  

"Alright well it's damn near noon so how about we spend the rest of the day gathering up supplies, that'll give Frankie just a bit more healing time which should make the good doctor happy," Colt tipped his head toward Silas and the man nodded in agreement. "And we'll head out at first light and hopefully make it there by nightfall."  

Colt glanced around at everyone to see I there were going to be any more arguments but everyone seemed to be on the same page, even if they were grumbling a bit about it.  

"Charlotte, why don't you and Ox's sister go get supper started while the rest of us start gathering up supplies and loading the cart." Colt stated, preparing to walk away.   

"I have a name." Evangeline snapped, stopping him in his tracks. He was learning that the spoiled rich girl had one hell of a temper and sharp tongue when she chose to.  

"I am aware." Colt grumbled without looking at her. She had green eyes that were so damn deep and vivid that he found it hard to look away from them once they met with his. Without another word Colt walked away and strode out the door, eager to be away from that damned woman.  

---

Katherine walked over to the arm chair and plopped down with a sigh as the sitting room began to clear out. Charlotte and perfect little 

Evangeline had gone to the kitchen and everyone else was making their way outside.

Katherine cursed her luck. She truly did feel something special for Colt, something she was sure could be the beginnings of love, but she had a sinking suspicion that she would never have him. While he was friendly with her and always polite, (just as he was with nearly everyone else), he was the opposite with Evangeline. 	

He would hardly meet the woman's eyes though Katherine had caught him watching the little princess several times over the last few days. Colt liked her. 

Katherine wondered if she would ever find her own man. Someone who would love her and treat her the way Colt said she deserved to be treated.  

"Are you alright there, Miss Katherine?" Katherine swung her head around to see Ox standing there with his hat clutched in his hands.  

She hadn't paid much mind to him in the last few days, her attention had been diverted by the obvious attraction between Colt and Evangeline, but now she took the time to give him a proper once over.  

He was handsome... and huge! Seven feet, or taller, and solid muscle. He was built much like an oak tree but his green eyes were friendly and his posture seemed almost nervous as he stood behind her. He had a strong jaw and it was clear from the small bump on his nose that it had been broken at least once.  

"I'm just fine..... 

Ox? “ she replied, unsure if that’s what she should call him. It seemed an odd name.

"My mama named me Joshua but I always hated that name. Once folks realized I was gonna get so darn big, they started calling me Ox."  

"So what should I call you? Joshua or Ox?" Katherine asked, enjoying having a nice conversation with someone. Colt was friendly enough but kept a wall between him and everyone else. Charlotte didn't seem to like her,  though the woman hadn't said as much and Frankie was damn near hostile, of course the woman had been hostile with everyone since she'd come back so Katherine hadn't taken that too personally.  Comanche, when he wasn't glaring at Frankie, was chasing Evangeline skirt tails and Silas was too busy with Charlotte and Grace to pay much attention to anything else.  

Ox was the first person to actually act as if he wanted to speak to her in days.  

"Ox, Miss Katherine. There was only one person to ever call me Joshua and that was my mama and she usually was angry when she did."  Then he shifted his feet uncomfortably and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I don't mean to stick my big nose where it don't belong, ma'am, but you seem awful sad."  

"I'm okay." Katherine replied, still unsure of how to communicate with a man in a way that wasn't sexual. For so long every man that came to her wanted her to bed them and she always had in return for either money or supplies. But Katherine wanted to turn over a new leaf and not be that person any longer—she simply wasn't sure what person she wanted to be. Who was Katherine? She just didn't know.

"I ain't never had the chance to speak to you before........ Okay that's not true.... I could have...." A blush colored Ox's cheeks and he twisted his hat so tightly, Katherine feared he might rip it. What was wrong with him?

"Ox, are you okay?" Katherine asked quietly as she got to her feet and stepped toward him. She gasped with shock when the man nearly tripped over his boots as he backed away from her.  

"Uh.. Yeah... I better go help get the cart ready, Miss Katherine. Sorry I bothered you."  With that the giant of a man sped off and disappeared out the door.  

Katherine watched the now empty doorway for several moments before plopping back down in the arm chair and slumping as low as she could go. She was now all alone and left to wonder why she was running with a group of people who didn't seem to care if she was around.  

What she needed to do was make her own place in this group and be herself but.... 

who was she ?

---

"Ox!" Comanche called loudly when he saw the man staring off into space as a flesh eater limped toward him from behind, its jaws gnashing together, eager to bite into the large man's flesh.  

Ox's head whipped around and he cried out when he saw the flesh eater already less than four feet from him and closing in fast.  

Comanche was sure the man was going to be bitten, and he probably would have, if a large bowie knife had not come hurtling through the air and sunk itself deep into the flesh eater's temple, dropping it instantly.  

"Godammit, Ox!" Colt stormed angrily to the dead flesh eater and yanked his knife from its head. "You gotta pay attention out here! I damn near had to fire a shot to save your ass and that would have put us all in danger. I won't risk this whole group just because you're staring into the woods like an idiot and not paying attention!"  

Comanche frowned as he watched Colt storm off toward the woodshed. Ox was standing there staring down at the dead flesh eater at his feet and the man looked rattled. Comanche did not want to involve himself in whatever was wrong with the big man. It wasn't in his nature to butt into someone else's business but he knew that Ox was Evangeline's brother and Comanche had a soft spot for that tiny woman.  

It was nothing romantic, Comanche loved only one woman even though he hadn't spoken to that particular woman since he awoken in her bedroom covered in fireplace ash. No what he felt for Evangeline was something much more innocent and sweet. She reminded him of his sister. Dove had been older than him by four years and she had always been so gentle. She had cared deeply for everyone in their family and she had been soft spoken most of the time, unless those she loved were being harassed or anyone treated her in a way she felt she didn't deserve. Evangeline was roughly the same size as his tiny sister had been and had the same dark hair and spirit.  

But since Comanche felt this tenderness toward Evangeline he knew she would want someone to speak with her brother. Ox looked confused and a little sad as he walked with slumped shoulders back toward the cart they'd been loading with oats and hay for the horses.  

"Ox, is something troubling you?" Comanche asked the other man. Ox sighed and rubbed his neck as he kicked at the dirt.  

"Naw, I'm alright."  

Comanche studied him closely. He was not fine. Ox was a simple man and a man who normally wore a smile and had a lightness in his step that made his good nature plain for anyone to see. Those things were missing from him now.  

"We are a tribe, Ox. A family. In this time of uncertainty we should lean on one another. Your sister would not do well if something were to happen to you because you were distracted or upset."  

"I said I'm alright. It ain't nothing you can help me with." Ox assured him, a forced smile spreading across his face.  

Comanche shrugged, not caring enough to push any further. "If you will not speak to me then perhaps to Evangeline."  

"What's going on between you and Evie?" Ox asked suddenly and Comanche was caught off guard.  

"Going on?"  

"Yeah. I've seen the way you look at her and she talks about you all the time."  Ox squared his shoulders and placed his hat back on his head. "I think you should know that I look out for her and any man that plans on getting to her is gonna have to pass through me first."  

"This is the last time I attempt to help someone." Comanche snapped and he too stormed off, heading to the barn to check the hooves on each of the horses and ensure they were all ready for traveling tomorrow.  

---

Charlotte bit her lip as she looked out the kitchen window and watched Comanche storm into the barn. Katherine was still in the sitting room staring off at nothing. Evangeline was washing clothes on the back porch. Charlotte had seen Colt storm off from Ox after killing a rabid that had been close to biting the man while Ox had seemed to be in some sort of sad haze. And Frankie? Frankie was upstairs slamming things around, or packing, as she called it.  

Charlotte let out a sad sigh and then she felt Silas's strong arms circle around her waist and his chin rested on her shoulder.  

"What's wrong, Miss Charlotte?" he asked quietly.  

"Something bad is happening to our group." Charlotte replied. "Everyone is either very sad or very angry."

"Emotions are funny things, Miss Charlotte. There is really nothing we can do other than be here if someone wants to speak to us."  

"I just hate this." Charlotte replied honestly. "It makes me feel guilty."  

"Why?"  

"Because we have found so much happiness."  

Silas turned her around and put his hands on her cheeks. "Never feel guilty for your happiness, Miss Charlotte. You have earned it."  

"Yes but while we smile and laugh and are so in love; Frankie and Comanche are not speaking. Katherine wants nothing more than Colt's affection and he will not give it, and Colt..... Colt has some bad demons and hurts that are eating him alive."  

"Miss Charlotte, none of that is your fault.  Now I happen to love your caretaking spirit but this is one time when you have to try to let it go. Let them figure things out for themselves. If they come to you for advice or an ear, then give that to them, and then come on to me and Little Grace and be happy. Life has always been fragile and time fleeting; this new world we live in only serves to make it even more so."  

Charlotte smiled up at him, resting her hands against his chest and enjoying the feeling of his heart beating beneath her palms.  "I just want everyone to be as happy as you have made me."  

"And I just want to continue to make you happy, Miss Charlotte. Don't worry yourself about everyone else. They will all find happiness in their own time."  

Charlotte nodded and Silas kissed her brow lightly. Grace cried out from the upstairs bedroom and Charlotte pulled out of Silas's arms.  

"I had better go feed her." She said. "Thank you, Silas. Thank you for loving that little girl and me."  

Silas shook his head and ran his hand over his head as he smiled. "No, Miss Charlotte, thank the two of you for loving me."  

---

If Frankie heard Evangeline let out one more cute little highly annoying giggle she was going to shoot that annoying twit directly in the face.  

Evangeline was everything that Frankie had been expected to be. Proper, spoiled lady. Soft little woman with nothing to offer other than polite conversation and a talent in the kitchen.  Not only was Evangeline everything that Frankie had been expected to be but now that pain in the ass, waste of air had Comanche; or at least she had his attention.  

"I want to thank you again, Comanche, for that ointment you made for me. It worked wonderfully." Evangeline said and Frankie stood in the doorway of the dining room and watched them. Everyone else had gone to their rooms for the night except for Charlotte and Silas who were in the kitchen cleaning up and Evangeline and Comanche who were gathering up the dirty dishes from supper. Frankie had been going to head to bed until she'd heard Comanche and Evangeline talking and had found her boots carrying her to the dining room instead.

"I was glad to make it, Evangeline. I made more today so you would have some to take with you for the journey. Just don't overdo it. Ride in the cart when you need to."  

"Yeah, don't be ashamed." Frankie spoke up as she limped into the room on her crutches and Comanche and Evangeline turned to look at her. Evangeline looked a little afraid, which Frankie was happy about, but Comanche simply seemed uninterested in her presence and that hurt worse than Frankie cared to admit.  "It takes one hell of a woman to be able to ride with the men."  

"Yes well some of us women spent our younger years learning to care for our families and homes instead of simply riding around like and outlaw and living like a mindless, uncivilized barbarian."

"Is that right?" Frankie ground out as she started toward Evangeline, hating the way the crutches slowed her down. Comanche quickly came between the two women.  

His voice made it clear he would not tolerate argument as he glared down at Frankie. "You will stop now. She has done nothing. You are angry at yourself and are taking it out on everyone else around you and it's time for you to stop."  

Frankie snorted and adjusted the crutches under her arms, wincing when they rubbed against the patches of raw skin that were getting worse every day she had to use them. "No, I just don't like her." She spat, tipping her head to indicated Evangeline who was mostly hidden behind Comanche's broad back.  

"I have done nothing to you." Evangeline spoke up as she tried to come back around Comanche but the indian blocked her with his elbow and a look. 

"You....." Frankie stopped quickly when she realized she had almost accused Evangeline of taking her man out loud. Instead of finishing her statement she growled, turned and made her way back out of the room, cursing these crutches, and the way they slowed her down, right to hell.  

Frankie was nearly to the staircase when she felt a strong hand clamp around her arm and pull her to a stop. She didn't have to turn to know it was Comanche. She could feel his presence and his heat and she knew his touch.  

"What do you want?" Frankie ground out as she stared at the carpeted staircase in front of them and tried hard to combat the tears gathering behind her eyes. Why was she about to cry?

"To tell you to stop being so hateful and spiteful toward Evangeline. She is a good person and does not deserve it."  

Frankie winced again as she turned, the pain under her arms nearly unbearable. She glared up at Comanche, cursing when she knew he would see the tears behind her eyes.  

"Go back to the kitchen with your new love and leave me be, 

injun . I’ll play nicer from now on.“

Frankie forced her eyes to look into Comanche's and she felt her heart skip several long beats when she saw the tenderness in his dark eyes. It was like old times, the times she hadn't realized would mean so much to her and the times that she wanted back, as Comanche raised a hand to her cheek and caressed it tenderly.  

"I do not love her, paleface." he assured her. Frankie wanted to speak. Wanted to tell him that she thought she might just feel something more for him than she had ever let on; but before she could he pulled his hand away and took a step back.  

"Comanche..." Frankie began but then stopped, unsure what to say. What if she opened up to him and he walked away from her? What if he did to her what she had done to him? Frankie was tough but if these tears gathering in her eyes were any indication she wasn't that tough.  

"Will you be leaving again once you are healed?" He asked, that tenderness in his eyes now gone. Frankie hadn't given any thought to leaving again, having taken it as a sign when she'd been injured so quickly the last time that she was supposed to be here with this group.  

"I hadn't thought about it a whole lot either way." Frankie replied, trying to sound just as indifferent and cold as Comanche sounded, yet failing miserably with the tears clogging her throat.  

"You should get up to bed, Frankie. It will be a long day tomorrow."  

Frankie nodded quickly and then turned as fast as her crutches, throbbing ankle and burning side would allow. That was another thing! How could Comanche be such pals with the woman who had shot her? Even if the woman hadn't meant to shoot her; or at least hadn't known she was shooting a living person.  

Frankie winced at the pain under her arms and as she started up the steps her side tightened, causing her to let out a hiss and fall sideways into the banister, crying out some as her stitches collided with the unforgiving wood.  

Instantly Comanche's hands were on her. He yanked away her crutches with one hand and lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his broad chest, though that chest was covered with a thin cotton shirt. That didn't matter to Frankie who knew what every inch of his powerful, warriors body looked like beneath those clothes. She knew every angle, every sharp edge, every powerful curve and every scar of that body.  

"I can get myself up to the room just fine, 

injun .“ She stated, though it wasn’t as forceful as she had hoped the statement would be. Instead she was a little breathless and caught up in the feel of his heart beating against her. She spared a glance toward his face and saw his lips twitch with amusement, though his eyes looked straight ahead instead of at her.

"You are a strong woman, paleface. But this pride and stubbornness is going to be your downfall."  

Frankie didn't reply. She didn't want to tell him that it had already been her downfall. It had cost her her injun.  

"I noticed you seem to be in pain from the crutches. Are  you?"  

At first Frankie thought about lying but deep down she knew she couldn't. She wanted Comanche back. She wanted what they had had before and yet she wanted more as well. She wanted to be able to be weaker with him, more open. Honest about what her heart felt for his bossy backside.  

"Yes. They are constantly rubbing and it hurts."  

"I will give you something that will help with that." Comanche said as he carried her into the bedroom that they had shared the first night here but that she now slept in alone.  

Carefully he sat her on the edge of the bed and then walked out leaving Frankie to wonder if that was it and he was gone now. Just as she was preparing to accept that he was gone and get up to shut the door, Comanche came back with a small jar.  

"This cream will help you, though staying off your crutches will help you the most."  

"Thank you." Frankie said softly.  

She saw the confusion in his eyes as he studied her. He laid the cream on the bedside table and headed for the door.  

"Comanche, where have you been sleeping?"  

"There is a study downstairs with a large sofa." He replied without looking at her.

"You could stay here with me."  

For a split second Frankie thought he was going to say yes and then he let out a sigh and shook his head.  

"No, paleface. I don't think that would be a wise choice." With that he was gone and the door closed behind him.  

Frankie cried then. Those tears she had been trying so hard to hold back suddenly proving too strong. She had only ever cried one other time that she could remember and that had been the day her uncle had died. Losing Comanche hurt in a different way but the pain was just as intense. Frankie hated herself for the decisions she had made that had cost her his affection.  

What in the hell was wrong with her?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Seven:

May 1887

Colt's emotions were beginnings to wear on him and he knew damned well they were beginning to worry some of the others. Colt had always been the calm, cool and collected type. He had stared down the barrels of loaded guns held by trigger happy murderers and never flinched. He'd hidden deep in thorn bushes while posses of lawmen and angry townsfolk had ridden less than a foot past him, hooves thundering and angry voices calling out, searching for the man who had robbed their bank.  

Sum it all up and Colt was not a man who became rattled easy. But Evangeline, her soft beauty and his attraction to it, had him plenty rattled.  

He looked around at his group, his friends, as they rode along the tiny trail in the direction that Charlotte had suggested they go. Colt was fairly certain he knew where the small Franks River was and he thought he might have even seen this house they were going to once. As a matter of fact, Colt was fairly certain he had stolen a few things from Ox and Evangeline's Aunt Rachel and her now deceased husband.  

That should make for a fairly interesting reunion if the woman recognized him. He wondered if she still carried that damned buffalo rifle she'd damn near killed him with all those years ago. He hadn't ever been so scared as he was to see that tiny red haired woman come out of that house waving that thing as he and his pals had ridden hard to get away and she'd sent a bullet straight at Colt that had come so damned close to his head, he'd felt the air off it blow against his cheek.  

"Hey Colt...." Comanche rode up beside him and Colt turned to the indian.  

"What is it?" he asked, scanning the woods around him for any sign of threat.  

"We've been riding hard for hours, Colt. I think it is time for a break so everyone can stretch their legs and get something to eat."  Colt glanced up at the sun and realized Comanche was right. They'd left out at just after dawn and it was now a little after noon. He nodded and then held up his hand and whistled to bring the group to a stop.  

"We'll take a break. Thirty minutes." He called out. He was desperately hoping to make it to Rachel's before nightfall but if the house was where he remembered; he didn't think they would. It would more than likely be tomorrow around noon before they arrived; which meant that after this break they could ride a few more hours and then try to find a place to camp.  

Colt watched as Silas helped Charlotte and Grace from the cart. Frankie and Evangeline had been riding together on the wagon they had taken from the home they'd stayed in. All day long the two had snapped at one another and driven Colt crazy. He had no idea what their problem with one another was but he was thinking of separating them when they started back out.  

Colt didn't stay any longer than that. He was fairly sure he could hear running water so he clicked his tongue and urged his horse toward the sound, eager to have some time alone.  

---

"Shit, Evie, I'm sorry!" Ox exclaimed as he helped her off the wagon and nearly dropped her. Ox hadn't meant to but Katherine had breezed past him and he'd caught her scent and his body went all twitchy whenever she did that!

"That's alright, Ox." Evangeline reassured him. "Do you want to go talk to her?"  

Ox realized that his sister had followed his gaze and realized the cause of his sudden clumsiness. Of course she had! Evangeline knew him better than anybody. Ox kicked at the dirt and shook his head enthusiastically.  

"No, I couldn't do that!"  

"Why not?"  

"Cuz I'm just the big dumb Ox. I couldn't never get a woman as pretty as her to waste her time on me."  

"Ox, you are not dumb." Evangeline said with a smile. She rose up on her toes and could just barely manage to press a kiss to the bottom of his jaw. "You should talk to her. She might just want to talk to you too."  

"But shit, Evie. All the women ever want from ol' Ox is a quick romp between the sheets and then it's 

‘don’t’ talk to us in public and we’ll pretend we’ve never seen you. Can’t have anybody knowing we bedded the dumb son of that Gilcrest man.’ “

Temper flashed in his sister's green eyes and Ox winced. "Joshua Franklin Gilcrest!" she exclaimed, and Ox knew that every head around was going to be turning in their direction. "I won't stand to hear you speak nonsense like that around me!  You are the single best man that I know. Kind, gentle, sweet and yet plenty able of defending those you love. Any woman should consider herself lucky to have you and you are the fool headed one for allowing those other women to treat you that way!"

"Shit, Evie...." Ox whispered as his cheeks flamed red and he glanced around to realize that yes indeed eyes were turned in their direction, including a set of brown speckled green ones that he'd really been hoping wouldn't notice the scolding his sister was dishing out. "Keep it down." He added.  

Evangeline blushed as well and then tugged on her skirt. "Well perhaps if you'll stop saying fool headed things such as what you just said, I won't have to scold you."  

"Yes, ma'am." Ox flashed her a grin that had always managed to soothe her temper and he realized it still had the desired effect.   

"Now I need some privacy." Evangeline urged and Ox nodded.  

"You have your gun?"  

"Yes." Evangeline assured him, waving her hand. 	

"Don't go too far." Ox called out as she disappeared into the forest.  

"I won't." 

Ox sighed and then his eyes were once again drawn toward Katherine. She was so beautiful. Her hair was a deep golden color and her skin dark and tanned. Those eyes all green with brown flecks inside of them were the prettiest eyes that Ox had ever seen and when she smiled, (which wasn't very often), her face lit up like Christmastime.  

Suddenly Ox's heart stopped beating when Katherine's eyes met his and she gave him one of those smiles. Should he go talk to her like Evangeline said??? No he couldn't!! What if she was like those other women and would be ashamed to be seen with him.  

Ox just couldn't take that. He'd never felt pulled toward a woman the way he felt toward Katherine. Those other women had just been fun, Katherine would break his heart if she was ashamed of him. He couldn't take the chance.  

Quickly Ox turned away and busied himself getting something out of a sack for him and Evangeline to eat before they rode back out.  

---

Frankie swallowed down her pride and her hurt feelings and walked to Comanche who was currently standing guard at the back of the wagons. His sharp dark eyes scanning the surrounding woods for any sign of danger and his strong arms crossed over his broad, bare chest.  

"I think everything's clear." Frankie said as she came to stand beside him. She didn't look over at Comanche but she could feel his dark eyes fall on her.  

"It's been quiet today." He replied and she could hear the slight unease in his voice.  

"We've had quiet days before, Comanche." Frankie reminded him and he sighed, nodded and turned to look into the woods again.  

"Yes, you're right."  

"But you feel like something bad is going to happen?"  

"Yes."  

Instantly Frankie became more alert as well. She had learned that when Comanche had a feeling something was going to happen, something was usually going to happen. "Do you think there are rabid?"  

"My ability to see into the future does now allow for details." Comanche replied dryly and Frankie saw the grin pull at his lips.  

They stood there in silence for several moments and then Frankie adjusted her crutches and turned to face him. "Look, 

injun , I think you and I need to talk.“

Comanche nodded. "You talk. I will listen."  

Frankie wanted to scream at him for acting as if being around each other all the time and yet being apart at the same time didn't bother him. Surely it did! It had to! Didn't it? Because it was killing her. All she wanted was to have him back. She had cried more tears last night than she had ever cried in her entire life. They had continue to pour from her eyes, running in rivers down her cheeks until finally her eyes had simply run dry with no more moisture to continue letting her emotions pour from them.  

"Thank you for the ointment. It's helped my arms quite a bit." She began, knowing she was dancing around what she really wanted to say to him and yet unable to just jump right in and say the words she longed to. 

"You are welcome." Comanche replied with a tip of his head.  

"Comanche, I'm sorry............" Before Frankie could continue a scream pierced the air. A feminine scream for help, followed by a primal roar of rage that was most definitely male and the loud booming sound of gunshots.  

"Evie!!" Ox bellowed and took off into the woods, followed by Katherine and Silas. Charlotte was sitting on the cart with her gun in her hand and Grace on the seat beside her. Frankie knew she couldn't go running into the woods on these crutches and she was surprised when Comanche stood where he was as well.  

"Comanche, go!" Frankie urged and Comanche shook his head.  

"If there is danger I will not leave you, paleface."  

---

Evangeline knew she had promised her overprotective brother that she wouldn't go far but the sound of running water and the temptation of washing off her face and hands was simply too strong.  

It was much like seeing heaven when she saw that clear, fast running stream and she crouched down beside it and splashed her face. It wasn't until she was raising her head and blinking the water droplets from her lashes when she saw the group of rabid.... It was only three but they were less than five yards from her and they were standing on the leaf strewn ground staring up at the sky as they rocked slowly back and forth.  

On instinct, Evangeline went for her gun, but her wet, shaking hands slipped on the smooth wood and metal and the thirty-eight splashed into the stream.  

Instantly three pairs of dead, gray eyes turned to look at her, drawn by the sound. Evangeline saw her gun but had no time to lunge for it before the rabid were limping quickly toward her. Lurching, twitching and jerking as they moaned and hissed. Evangeline looked to the side and saw a thick stick lying on the ground. It was big enough that she hoped it would make a decent club.  

Standing straight, Evangeline twisted around and went for the stick, wrapping her fingers around the rough bark just as hands closed around her skirt and caused her to fall. Somehow she managed to twist her body and land on her back and the rabid fell with her, its gnashing teeth and ripping claws tearing into the wool fabric.

Evangeline saw the other two rabid quickly approaching as well and without hesitating she swung the club as hard as she could and then cried out, screaming in terror and frustration, when the stick splintered against the rabid's skull without fazing it.   

She was going to die. Just like that, her life was going to end.  

She brought her free leg up and kicked with all her might, knocking the rabid back. As it reared up to have another go at her and the other two rabid prepared to fall on her as well, Evangeline searched desperately for a weapon and found none.  

Admitting defeat, she closed her eyes and prepared herself for the terrible pain she would no doubt feel as all those teeth and claws ripped her flesh open.   

"Evangeline!" Her eyes flew open when she heard that voice... Colt's voice. She opened her eyes and glanced to the side just in time to see him come bursting from the other side of the stream, and that forty-five he carried fired off three quick shots, leaving three dead rabid in their wake.  

Evangeline pulled herself away from their dead, rotting bodies, kicking them off of her legs with a whimper as she scooted back and pulled her knees into her chest.  

Wrapping her arms around her legs, she buried her face in her skirt and cried. Her tears burned as they poured from her eyes. Tears of shame. Embarrassment. Fear. Relief.  And worst of all, of all the people that could have come to rescue it had to be Colt. It had to be the man who hated her guts and treated her terribly. Doing nothing but scowling, yelling or grunting at her anytime they got around one another.  

Maybe that was why her heart stopped beating and her body seemed to freeze in place when she felt her head lifted up and pulled against a broad expanse of hard chest.  

"Shhh.... Easy now, Evangeline. You're alright. I've gotchya."  Evangeline wanted to pull away and tell him to leave her alone after how awful he'd been for days, but she couldn't.  

Instead her arms slipped around his neck and he continued to hold her tight, his big hands stroking her back and her hair.  

"Stop that crying now. You're okay. I got here in time. They didn't get you." Then he stiffened and pulled away from her, leaving Evangeline reeling from the close contact and by its sudden absence.  

His dark blue eyes looked into hers and they were wide with worry. "They didn't get you did they?" His eyes narrowed. "Are you bit?"  

"Evie?!" Ox called from the road, which was clearly far away judging by the sound of his voice. She really had wandered further than she should have.  

"Dammit, Evangeline, did they bite you?" Colt demanded, his hands going to her skirt and trying to lift it to check her legs. Evangeline shoved his hands away as a flush colored her cheeks.  

"No, they didn't bite me!" she assured him. "You got here in time."  

Colt seemed relieved but then he stood and walked toward the stream, fishing her gun out of the water and talking as he did so. "I guess we'll know soon enough if you're lying. I've seen the change a few times. Sometimes it takes hours. Hours of fever, shivering and dying before a person becomes one of those flesh eaters...." Colt's eyes were sad and he wouldn't meet her gaze as he tossed her dripping gun onto her lap. "And sometimes it's just minutes. They don't even have time to fully die before they're trying to sink their teeth into you... forgetting any bond you may have once shared...."  

Evangeline had a feeling Colt was trying to open up to her. That he was sharing something personal, something painful, that perhaps he hadn't shared with anyone else.  

"Colt..." she began but Ox chose that moment to burst onto the scene with Katherine and Silas behind him.  

"Shit, Evie!" Ox exclaimed as he pulled her to her feet and held her tight under his arm. "I thought I told you not to go too far from the road?"  

Evangeline winced at the temper in her older brother's normally good natured voice.  

"I was just..." 

"Being a foolish, stupid girl." Colt snapped as he kicked at one of the dead rabids. "You need to teach your damn sister how to not be such an idiot." Colt finished before storming back across the creek the way he had come when Evangeline had been being attacked.  

"What has crawled up his backside lately?" Katherine asked and Silas shrugged. The two of them turned and headed back toward the road.  

"Should I kick his ass, Evie?" Ox questioned and Evangeline shook her head and patted his arm.  

"No. He's right. I was being foolish and stupid. I wanted to wash my face and I ignored the danger I would be placing us all in. He had every right to be angry. If he hadn't gotten here when he did, I would have died."  

Ox nodded and then began to lead her toward the road. As much as Evangeline wanted to be angry at Colt for his harsh words, her mind was on the pain in his voice as he'd talked about people changing and forgetting. And then of course there was the other thing that was on the forefront of her thoughts.... When Colt had held her Evangeline had felt those things she'd been waiting her entire life to feel.... 

Tingles .

---

Camp that night was a tense affair. No one spoke much as they kept one eye and both ears glued to the forest around them for any sound of a threat.

Charlotte hated the tension and when she and Silas slid into their makeshift bed of grasses and blankets that night with Grace tucked safely between them, Charlotte couldn't help but notice that Silas seemed to be on edge as well.  

"Are you okay?" she whispered, not wanting to disturb the sleeping baby or the others around them. Colt was wide awake, and perched in a tree keeping first watch but everyone else had slid into their own beds.  

"Just fine, Miss Charlotte. Get you some rest now." Silas urged, kissing her head gently. Charlotte sighed, knowing he wasn't fine and yet knowing she couldn't help. It was this constant threat of danger and death out here in the woods that weighed heavily on everyone. They had managed to almost forget just how dangerous the world had become when they were safe in that house together. Out here it was an entirely different story.  

"I love you, Silas." Charlotte whispered in the dark and she felt his big hand caress her cheek.  

"And I love you." He replied, a smile in his voice. "Now sleep."  

---

The plantation began coming into view at close to noon the next day and Charlotte noticed that Evangeline and Ox became silent when it did. Clearly they were scared about what they were going to find.  

The tobacco fields were rolling around them and the outer barns seemed empty as they passed them by.  

Colt positioned himself at the head of the group and set the pace, which was slow and methodical. Clearly he wasn't in any hurry to rush into a mass of rabid or a trigger happy group of survivors.  

A big red barn came into view then and Charlotte nearly cried out with relief when she saw the horses with their heads poked out the small stall windows. Chicken were squawking and pecking at the dirt in the coop and there were even a few hogs rolling in the mud in a pen beside the barn. This place was still very much alive.  

"Shit, Evie!" Ox gasped. "I told you Aunt Rachel would be okay."  

"Quiet." Colt snapped harshly. Charlotte had noticed that Colt seemed more tense and on edge ever since Evangeline's brush with death yesterday and she couldn't help but wonder just what had happened in those woods before Ox, Katherine and Silas had shown up.  

"Hello the house!" Colt called out loudly, one hand holding the reins of his horse loosely and the other resting on the handle of his gun.  

The door to the house opened and an old man, dressed all in skins with a floppy stained hat, broken toothed smile and leathery skin stepped outside.  

"Well hello, Colt! I was wondering when you all would finally show up. It's nice to meet you. I'm Jebidiah."

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Utopia? Or just another crazy ass?

Colt frowned as he studied the eccentric old man. He was fairly damn certain that he’d never met him before.

"Do I know you?" Colt asked slowly and Jebidiah chuckled and shook his head.  

"Not yet. But you will... Or do now, I reckon, since you know my name and I know yours." Colt nodded slowly.  

"Riiight.... We're looking for Rachel..." Before Colt could finish, Jebidiah clapped happily and swept past him toward the cart where Evangeline still rode with Frankie.  

Colt pulled his gun, fully prepared to shoot the old man in the back of the head if he so much as tipped a finger to a thread on Evangeline's wool skirt.  

"Evangeline! You are just as beautiful as I thought you'd be! Just as beautiful as your aunt said you are!"  

"Where is our aunt?" Ox questioned as he rode between Jebidiah and Evangeline and Colt slowly holstered his revolver, ignoring the knowing glance that Silas sent his way.  

"Your aunt should be out in a moment." Jebidiah assured the huge man.  

"She's okay?" Evangeline asked hopefully and Jebidiah nodded with a kind smile that creased the deep wrinkles in his leathery face.  

"Of course she is!" he stated jovially. Colt shook his head. This was one weird damn man.   

"Ox! Evangeline! Oh am I happy to see both of you looking so alive and twitch free!" A woman cried out from the porch and Colt glanced behind him slowly to see Rachel standing there with a big smile and that same damn buffalo rifle she'd nearly shot him with five years ago.  

"Aunt Rachel!" Evangeline exclaimed and without warning she was leaping from the cart and rushing past  her brother and Colt to jump onto the porch and throw her arms around the red-haired woman. While they didn't look anything alike, Colt could tell by looking at the two of them together that Evangeline had gotten her small stature from Rachel's side of the family.  

"Hi, Aunt Rachel." Ox mumbled as he too walked to the porch with his hat in his hands. Rachel's eyes widened as she followed his huge body up to his face.  

"You are even taller than I remember!"  

"Yeah." Ox agreed with a nod. "Pa said I had about fifteen growth spurts in the last ten years."  

Rachel's eyes passed over the group, pausing momentarily on Colt before moving on without recognition. Colt breathed a sigh of relief and scratched at his hairy chin. Thank God for beards. Then again she may not even recognize him without it since she hadn't gotten a real good look at him and had mostly just seen him from the back as he'd ridden for his life.  

"Where is your mama and your pa?" Rachel asked and Colt saw tears fill Evangeline's green eyes though it was clear she was trying hard to blink them away.  

"They're gone." Evangeline whispered. It was Rachel's turn to fight back tears as she covered her mouth with her hand and took a step back.  

"My sister...." 

"I'm sorry Aunt Rachel.... I didn't want to kill her...." Tears began to pour from Evangeline's eyes as she choked out the words. Colt didn't even have time to think about what he was doing. He didn't have time to even realize his legs were moving until he was already standing behind Evangeline with his hand resting on her shoulder.  

Colt was about to jerk away, realizing that he was once again comforting her, until she leaned back against him and he froze in place. He couldn't have moved away from her then if God himself had ordered him to. Colt had never heard her open up about what had happened to her family and he could tell by the look on everyone else's face, including Ox's that she hadn't opened up much about to them either.  

"She came at me..." Evangeline whispered, her back pressed against Colt's chest as he gripped her upper arms gently, his thumbs stroking her bare skin. "I used papa's cane saber and I swung at her hand, she had it wrapped in my hair and was trying to bite me...there were more of those 

things coming up the stairs to get me and I had to get away… Mama’s hand came off in my hair…“ Colt felt Evangeline shiver against him and his grip on her arms tightened as his own memories replayed themselves in his mind.

"It was stuck there -- her hand -- and I tried to get away but she kept coming and I didn't want to die so I .... I swung at her neck and then her head...." Evangeline stopped and laid a hand over her stomach and Colt knew the nausea and sickness she was fighting because he felt the same thing every time he remembered sending that bullet into Sarah's head.  

"Shit, Evie... you never told me that." Ox whispered as he took her arm and pulled her away from Colt, wrapping her tight in his arms. Colt felt cold suddenly and wanting her soft warmth back against him.  

Instead of admitting that out loud or yanking her back into his arms the way he wanted to, Colt walked back to his horse and held the reins, ignoring the way Charlotte was studying him.  

"Evangeline, honey, I am so sorry you had to go through that." Rachel said comfortingly as she leaned her rifle against the wall and rubbed Evangeline's back.  

"That's not the half of it, Aunt Rachel. I screwed up in a town we came to and I nearly got killed and these men were nearly able to take advantage of Evie before I got to her. Hell the one already had his pants undone .."  

"Ox!" Evangeline scolded loudly.  

"Colt!" Charlotte exclaimed and Colt realized that he had such a tight grip on his horse's reins that he was causing the poor beast a good deal of pain and it was beginning to stomp and fight against him. Instantly Colt relaxed his hold and tried hard to breath. The thought of any man taking advantage of a woman, but especially a man taking advantage of Evangeline, was the instant sure-fire way to cause Colt's blood to boil.  

"I believe you've all had quite a taxing journey so far." Jebidiah spoke up. 

"Yes." Rachel agreed. "Why don't you put your horses up in the barn and then we can all relax in the house and we can discuss things. We've been expecting you all."  

Colt frowned. "How is that exactly? How have you been expecting all of us when we didn't even know we were coming here until less than a week ago?" 

"I know things." Jebidiah replied with a friendly smile that Colt didn't trust. Jebidiah's pale blue eyes looked into his and Colt shifted his feet with unease and yet refused to look away. He wasn't the type to back down. "I know a lot of things from the past and I can see bits and pieces of the future. Each of you was meant to come here."  

"This man's off his damn rocker." Frankie snorted.  

"He's not." Rachel spoke up. "Trust me, I thought he was at first too but now I think you all should give him a chance. Hear him out. Put the horses up and come on in and talk. All it will take is a few minutes of your time."  

"I don't...." Colt began but Silas's hand on his shoulder caused him to stop speaking.  

"What could it hurt, Colt?" Silas asked. "I don't have any place I'm in a real big hurry to get to. Do you?"  

---

"A journey west to the promised land?" Frankie demanded with a laugh. Katherine bit her lip and looked around the table but it didn't seem that anyone was buying the particular lines that this old man was selling......  

"I think it sounds nice." Katherine admitted quietly. A promised land. A land untouched by this sickness. A place where she could truly start a new life as anything she wanted to be.....  

"Well of course it does!" Frankie replied. "All things that are too good to be true do."  

"I promise that I am not trying to mislead anyone." Jebidiah assured them all. "I don't know exactly what lays out west but I do know that this group, all of us, are meant to journey there together and there is 

something there waiting for us. A virus free land, a cure… something!“

"Something? That's all you have to offer? You claim to be some great prophet and all you can offer us is that it's 

something ?“ Colt asked.

"It does not seem like much to go on." Comanche agreed.  

"Faith never does." Silas spoke up. "But oftentimes it is all we have."  

Katherine offered a quiet 'thank you' to Rachel as the woman refilled her cup of tea and then she cleared her throat, turning the attention of everyone at the table to her.  

Katherine found her eyes looking into Colts since she knew that was who she had to convince. Everyone else here would be loyal to him and follow his lead. "I'm going, Colt. I think it's a good idea."  

"You do?" Colt questioned, his dark blue eyes narrowing as he raised a brow.  

"Yes." Katherine replied. "Wasn't that where we were going anyway? All of us were heading west. We all had that tiny hope that maybe somewhere out there things were better. Or that we could outrun this sickness and find a place untouched. Now we have a man here telling us that we just might have been right. Why would we stop now?"

The table fell silent and Colt scratched at his chin and let out a long breath through his nose. "I think we all just need some time to think about things. How about we take the rest of the day and night to think on it and we see where everybody stands come morning?"  

Katherine sat back, satisfied with that at least. Grace chose that moment to cry out, clearly hungry and tired of the conversation between the adults. 

"I'll just be taking her up to our room..." Charlotte said as Silas rose quickly and pulled out her chair. Katherine felt a pang of jealousy as Charlotte stood and Silas took her arm, kissed her temple gently and led her from the room. What would it feel like to have that? Katherine would probably never know.  

"The rest of us will get out of the dining room too." Colt stated, standing quickly. "I'm sure the three of you would like to catch up and have time alone as a family." Katherine didn't miss the grateful smile that Evangeline flashed at Colt, nor did she miss the way his eyes softened a bit as he tipped his head in response.  

She looked away from that and her gaze became trapped on Ox as he looked straight into her eyes and offered a hesitant three fingered wave. Katherine fought back a light laugh as she waved back in response.  

"Colt." Jebidiah called out, stopping Colt in the doorway. "I really hope you'll think about what we've talked about today. I know you lack faith in what I say, truth is after what you've been through, all you have lost, you do not have faith in much at all....."  

"Don't!" Colt snapped and Katherine gasped with surprise at the barely controlled rage in his voice. He pointed a finger at the strange man's face and Katherine realized his hand was shaking. "Don't you dare act like you know..." Colt's voice broke. "Don't you dare act like you know what I've lost or what I believe in."  

"Colt...." Evangeline whispered and he didn't even look at her before turning and all but running from the room. The sound of the front door opening and then slamming shut, filling the large plantation home.  

"I'll check on him." Katherine said with dread as she stood up. She wasn't looking forward to dealing with Colt's temper or the way it caused him to lash out at anyone within lashing distance. "You should leave him alone." She warned Jebidiah. "I don't know the details about his past but I do know that he's not someone you want to mess with, old man."  

"I was messing with no one." Jebidiah countered as he rubbed his lightly whispered jaw. "And I do know the details." Jebidiah tapped on his temple and Katherine nodded slowly as she stood and headed out the door. It sure would be easier to convince the group to go with Jebidiah if the man would stop pretending that he could see the past and the future and all that other nonsense.  

Katherine found Colt on the porch. The man was sitting in a chair, tapping his foot quickly and picking at a tear in the leg of his denims.

"You alright there, outlaw?" she asked as she propped her hip against the banister and crossed her arms over her chest.  

"Just fine. Now leave me alone." He snapped without looking up.  

"It seems to me we're both running from something, Colt. I'm running from what I used to be and you're running from ... whatever it is you won't tell anyone about. I say we head west to where Jebidiah leads us. And if worst comes to worst and something goes wrong between here and there we could always use him as rabid bait to buy ourselves some time."  

Colt didn't reply—didn't give any indication that he had heard her at all and Katherine sighed. She pushed herself off the banister and patted his back. "Whenever you're ready, Colt, you actually do have people here that care about you and would be happy to listen to your story. We've all got one."  

Katherine turned to walk back into the house and stopped at the last minute. Her gaze again when to Colt and she felt her heart break when she saw the large tears gathering on the tip of his nose. She watched as that big droplet fell, plopping without sound onto the wooden floorboards.  

Suddenly his head snapped up and he realized she'd seen his display of weakness. Before Katherine could speak, Colt stood, launched himself over the banister and stormed off toward the barn. Katherine wasn't ready to go inside yet; she didn't have anyone waiting inside for her anyway. She flopped herself down in a rocking chair and simply tried to enjoy the feel of the spring breeze on her face.  

---

Frankie took a deep breath through her nose and then blew it out slowly through her mouth. She had stood in that full length mirror in Rachel's water closet and rehearsed what she wanted to say to Comanche for damn near forty minutes and now standing in the damn injun's temporary bedroom and seeing him standing in front of her waiting for her to speak, had every single well thought out word vanishing from her memory.  

"Comanche.. I... When I said that you were nothing more than a distraction...." Her voice trailed off as he scratched at his bare stomach and her eyes followed the movement.  

"I am up here, paleface." He stated dryly and Frankie cursed the knowing smirk that curved his lips when she jerked her eyes back to his face. She licked her lips nervously and wiped her shirt sleeve across her brow. When had it gotten so damn hot in here?

"Comanche I..." Frankie hated this! She had never been an open person. Admitting her feelings had never been something she was good at. Hell she was practically an emotional cripple and yet she had to let Comanche know that he meant more to her than she had ever let on before.  

Growling with frustration and hating the twisted satisfaction the bastard seemed to be taking from her obvious discomfort, Frankie tossed her crutches aside, limped painfully several steps and then flung her arms around his strong neck before pressing her lips to his.  

She felt him stiffen against her, obviously unsure of what to make of her sudden affection. Frankie molded her body against his the best she could and slowly caressed his lips with her own, with a gentleness that she had never before shown.  

Always before it had been fast and furious with Comanche, and while Frankie liked it that way, she knew that to show him that he meant more, she needed to let this tenderness she felt for him show.  

Then his strong arms were wrapping around her and his lips were pressing back against hers. Gently she urged his mouth apart and let her tongue dance against Comanche's. Frankie felt her heart filling with something...... 

She pulled her mouth away and tipped her head toward the bed. "Lay me down, Comanche."  

"Paleface..... I won't be your distraction." In that moment Frankie saw the amount of pain in his dark eyes; pain that she had placed there; pain that she had caused; and she felt a shame like nothing she had ever felt fill her. How could she have done that to this man?

"I don't want a distraction, Comanche. You have always been so much more than that. I need you, injun. Please.... Please don't take this away from me, even if it was I deserve."  

Comanche smiled then and smoothed her hair from her face. "I have been here all along. You never lost me. I was simply waiting on you."  

"Comanche... I... I think I might love you." Frankie felt her cheeks flame as she blurted out those words. That had come out differently, a bit more poetic, in that mirror downstairs.

"Paleface, you are my one. I have no doubts that I love you too."  

Frankie wasted no time in pressing her lips back to his and this time there was heat and fire just as there had always been between them. She nearly cried out with shock when he turned her around and lowered her to the bed, lowering his body over hers with a hungry growl.  

"Easy there, 

injun , I do have a bum ankle and a gunshot wound.’ She reminded him with a smile and Comanche’s laughter was rumbling deep in his chest as he took over the kissing and devoured her mouth with his.

---

Evangeline was confused and didn't know what to make of Colt. He was hairy, short tempered and downright rude most of the time but then at other times he had been—well still hairy, but different. Kind, gentle and comforting.  

She threw her covers off of her and slid into the slippers her Aunt had leant to her before lighting the lamp on the bedside table and walking to the window. The yard was dark, the clouds too dense in the sky for the moon to offer any light. Evangeline wondered what was out in the darkness. Were their rabid wandering the yard, just searching for a meal? Or maybe coyotes or bears? Threats that no one seemed to mention anymore but threats that Evangeline was sure still existed.  

Evangeline knew her mind was wandering but that is what tended to happen when she had too much to process at once. Colt was one thing. The fresh pain from her mother's death that she had seemed to relive today was another. And now there was this man claiming to have a place for all of them out west. A place where things would be better if they could only get there.  

Knowing that sleep wasn't going to come, she decided to walk downstairs and talk to whoever was awake keeping first watch. While Jebidiah had insisted that they were safe here, Colt had refused to break the rules he had set for the group. Rule one was no one went into the woods alone. Rule two was that no one went anywhere unarmed and rule three was that someone always had to be awake at night keeping watch.  

She slid on a clean robe, loving the smell of lavender clinging to the soft fabric and then grabbed the lamp, carrying it with her out into the hall.  

She heard Silas and Charlotte talking quietly inside their bedroom as Grace made gurgling noises. Evangeline smiled. That baby was certainly beautiful and it was nice to see two people as in love as Silas and Charlotte were during all this madness.

Evangeline walked past Comanche's room and flushed bright red when she heard the moans coming from inside. She was sure she heard Frankie's voice and while happy to see that the two people who had been scowling at each other for days, were finally making up, she had no idea how she'd look them in the eye come morning without turning red in the face.  

Dread filled Evangeline as she realized that the people who could be waiting in the sitting room keeping watch were only a few and the list was getting smaller. She knew Ox was in his room. She knew that Aunt Rachel had retired early. That left either Jebidiah, Katherine or..... Colt.  

Tingles filled her belly when she saw him sitting beside the fire. She couldn't help but wonder what he would look like without all that sadness in his eyes and all that hair on his face. She was sure he'd be handsome since he was already quite handsome with it.  

He looked over and caught her staring and Evangeline managed a small smile. "Sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."  

"You didn't." he replied, his voice seeming somehow deeper and more intimate in the dark sitting room with only the flickering of light from the lamp she was holding shining on them both.  

"You looked to be pretty deep in your thoughts."  

"I reckon I was."  

"I'll leave you alone then...." Evangeline turned to go but his voice stopped her.  

"Evangeline?" 

"Yes?" she replied and then she walked to the chair beside him and sat down when he motioned for her to do so.  

"What do you think about this Jebidiah?"  

"You want to know what I think?" Evangeline asked with amusement.  

"Yes. Why is that funny?" Colt questioned, a small smile tugging at his lips.  

"Honestly?" she asked. Colt nodded. "Well, other than my brother, no man has ever asked me what I think about much of anything."  

Colt nodded and pulled off his hat. "Well I'm asking you now, ma'am." He replied, running his hand through his thick dark blonde hair.  

Evangeline thought for a moment before responding, though that was mainly to give the dancing butterflies in her stomach time to settle, and then she shrugged one shoulder.  

"He seems an eccentric old man simply looking for something to believe in while living in a world that seems to have lost all hope."  

Colt nodded and tossed his hat onto the table beside him. "Nicely put. Do you think we should go with him?"  

"You want my opinion? Aren't you the leader?"  

Colt smiled at her and Evangeline wasn't sure what to make of the action, though it brought those butterflies back to life with a renewed vigor that made her unsure if she was going to hyperventilate or simply vomit.  

"I am." He conceded. "But even the great leaders have their right hand men, or women in this case I reckon."  

Evangeline beamed with pride at being named as someone he could talk to. "Well, I honestly don't believe that Jebidiah means any harm. Would I like to believe that he is right and there is some sort of Utopia waiting for us out west? Yes I would. Do I? No, not really. But since west is where we were going to begin with I can't see the harm in having a couple extra bodies with us."  

Colt thought on that for a moment and then nodded. "Thank you for the advice, Evangeline. Now you should get on back to bed. We'll probably be heading out soon and you'll be missing a soft bed soon enough."  

Evangeline didn't know what to say and just as quickly as Colt had seemed happy to see her, he now seemed just as eager to be alone, as he put his hat back on his head and turned his gaze out the window, staring out into the dark and seeming to become lost in his thoughts.  

Evangeline turned and made her way silently back up the stairs, knowing that sleep was probably not going to happen, but wanting to do as Colt had told her. She hadn't been lying when she'd said he was the only man beside her brother to ever ask her what she thought.  

She wondered if he realized just how much that meant to her.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Ever Ridden A Train?

Silas was whistling a happy tune as he entered the dining room the next morning. He took his seat, cradling Grace in his arm as he looked at those already there. Comanche seemed to be in just as good a mood as Silas was and had a smile on his face as he sat beside Frankie and leaned over now and then to whisper intimately into her ear.

Colt shook his head and scratched at his bearded chin. "It ain't natural to be so damn happy in the morning." He grumbled.  

"A good woman's love will do that for you." Silas replied, kissing Grace's forehead.  

"So far in my life there's one ever been one female that could put a smile like that on my face first thing in the morning." Colt admitted.  

"Secret lover?" Frankie asked with a teasing raise of her brow and Silas watched Colt's eyes fill with a mixture of love and pain as he seemed to be seeing into the past.  

"My daughter." He replied quietly just as Evangeline, Charlotte and Katherine came into the dining room, carrying steaming plates of bacon, sausage, egg, biscuits, gravy and fried apples.  

"You have a daughter?" Silas questioned and Colt grunted before beginning to fill his plate with food, clearly done speaking.  

"Good morning." Jedidiah exclaimed brightly as he entered the dining room. "I trust you all slept as well as could be expected after the whopper I laid on ya yesterday."  

"I didn't sleep worth a darn." Ox mumbled as he staggered into the dining room and scratched at his messy dark hair. Silas found himself chuckling as the man gave them all a sleepy wave. "I'm real glad you have enough room here for all of us, Aunt Rachel, but have you got any beds that are just a bit bigger?"

"I'm sorry, Ox, I don't." Rachel replied regretfully. "Was it a tight fit?" 

Ox flopped down in a chair and Silas saw him smile nervously at Katherine as she sat down across from him. Silas thought these people were wasting too much time. Clearly Ox was interested in Katherine and it was clear that Katherine was lonely so what was taking them so long to at least speak to one another? And then there was Colt and Evangeline! While it was clear that Colt had demons and more than likely a rather tragic back story, Silas could tell the man was interested in Evangeline and Evangeline seemed just as interested in him, however neither would act on those feelings.  

Silas hated to see such precious time being wasted when time was a commodity that seemed to be rare and vanishing quickly.

"That bed was at least three feet too small." Ox admitted with a sigh.  

"Why don't you simply nail a few boards to the end of the bed to rest your feet on?" Comanche asked with a grin and Ox seemed to think on that a moment and then nodded.  

"I reckon that would probably work!" He frowned. "Why didn't I ever think of that?"  

"I wanted to let you all know that I took the liberty of preparing the horses this morning and packing up quite a few supplies. It shouldn't take long once you finish eating to get the rest loaded up and be on our way." Jedidiah said happily as he sat down at the table.  

Silas frowned and adjusted Grace in his arm. "When did we agree to leaving?"  

"We didn't." Colt growled. "What do you think you're doing, old man?"

"Were you not just about to tell me that you'd talked to several in your group and thought on it last night and decided that coming west with me was a good idea?"  

Silas could see the surprise on Colt's face. It was clear the man lacked faith but Silas didn't. He didn't know if this man was a prophet or not but Silas believed that Jedidiah believed in his own abilities and honestly having something to believe in and follow would be good for the group. It was good for all humanity.  

"The words 'good idea' never once crossed my mind." Colt mumbled.  

Jedidiah seemed quite amused at Colt's expression which could almost be considered a pout. Jedidiah flashed a wide, broken toothed grin and nodded.  

"Sure it did. Now weren't you just about to let everybody know y'all were coming along with me?"  

"I hadn't talked to everybody yet." Colt countered stubbornly and Jedidiah spread his arms.  

"Then talk to them. We're all here together and I cannot think of a better time." 

Silas saw Colt take a deep breath and then his dark blue eyes looked over everyone at the table. Silas was pleased to see that he seemed to be coming out of whatever high strung, temperamental mood he'd been in the last few days. It would certainly make being in close quarters with the man easier—and safer.  

"Alright, y'all. Let me hear it."  

"I already told you I want to go." Katherine replied and Colt nodded.  

"I told you I wanted to as well." Evangeline replied and then when Colt turned toward the next person she held up her hand and his eyes went back to her as his brow rose. "But I want to add that I'll respect any decision you make and follow it."  

"You barely know him." Frankie snorted. "Why so loyal?"  

Silas groaned and laid his free hand on Charlotte's hand on top of the table. Frankie and Evangeline wouldn't know how to simply get along if you stuck them in a room and forced them to at gunpoint. Of course most of that blame lay on Frankie. Her sharp tongue caused more than a few headaches.  

"It doesn't take long to realize a good leader when you meet one." Evangeline replied. "He actually asked for my opinion, that alone earns him a good deal of my respect and add to that the fact that he saved my life and I will gladly go along with whatever choice he makes here this morning."  

Frankie stared at Evangeline as if she had a third eye and then nodded slowly. "Well alright then."  

"Thank you, Evangeline."  Colt said quietly and the tenderness in his tone clearly didn't miss Ox's ears who sat up a bit straighter and sent a very territorial glare in Colt's direction.  

Colt turned to Comanche and Frankie. "What do you think?" he asked them.  

"I go where she goes." Comanche conceded with a tip of his head in Frankie's direction and Frankie rolled her eyes.  

"Little shadow." She replied, though Silas saw the way she laid her hand gently over his arm as she did. "I'm not really the settling down in one place type so I'm up for a little adventure." She replied with a nod. "There will be rabid to kill along the way won't there?" she asked Jedidiah and the man laughed loudly.  

"The entire world seems to have gone rabid; I think it's pretty safe to say that we'll see a few."  

Frankie smiled. "Then I'm in for sure."  

Colt then turned to Silas and Charlotte. "And the two of you; how do you feel?"  

Silas met Charlotte's gaze and then squeezed her hand urging her to speak. They had talked about this long into the night and had agreed on their decision. Charlotte nodded.  

"We want to go west. Faith is all we have left. It's all we've had for a while now. And Jedidiah has helped to give us just a little more of that." 

"Alright then, old man." Colt said as he turned to look at Jedidiah. "You heard them. We're going west. But there is one condition."  

"I don't want to take over, Colt. You are more than welcome to continue to be the boss and I will simply guide your path a little."  

"I don't think Colt likes Jedidiah's insights into his mind." Charlotte whispered to Silas and he nodded in agreement. Colt looked confused and that confusion quickly seemed to be becoming temper.  

"So I'm the boss and yet you went ahead and made plans for us to leave today?"  

"Yes." Jedidiah agreed. "And I suggest you eat with haste. We only have a couple of hours...."  

"A couple of hours for what?" Ox asked, frowning around the bite of eggs he had just shoved into his mouth.  

Jedidiah glanced out the window. "Before another—what did y'all call it—herd? Yes that's it. Before another herd of rabid pass through. This one a whole lot bigger than the last."  

The dining room filled with a loud chorus of 

‘Whats!?’ and Colt shoved back his chair, leapt to his feet and went to the window, yanking back the heavy curtain and scanning the yard.

"I reckon I said you have a couple of hours, Colt. They ain't here yet." Jedidiah stated and Silas saw the look in Colt's eyes when the man whirled around that said he was at his breaking point.  

Without warning, Colt drew his gun, took three long strides and aimed it directly at Jedidiah's forehead. The table seemed to gasp in unison and Rachel called out, jumping toward Colt, only to be stopped when Ox's big arm looped around her waist and held her still.  

"I've had about all I'm gonna take of this, old man. You can come with us west and hell I'll even humor you and let you take us to this so-called 'promised land' but I won't have you pretending to be some kind of mind reading future teller the whole damn time and scaring everybody."  

"Scaring anyone was not my intention." Jedidiah replied calmly as he looked up at Colt unblinking. "Though a bit of fear is a healthy thing now and then. This herd will be massive and if we are still in this house....." Jedidiah sighed. "I have seen what will happen if we stay and it isn't anything that any of us want to have happen."  

"Why should we believe that?' Colt ground out, not lowering his gun. "Just because you say so? Who the hell are you?"  

"Jedidiah Gray. Prophet of sorts. You should have more faith than what you're showing, Colt. Sarah and Loralie would want you to trust in the belief of a...."  

"You're gonna shut the hell up right now." Colt snapped, cocking the revolver and pressing the cold metal against Jedidah's head. "You won't mention either of those names again and if you do I'll be giving you one more hole to breathe out of. Don't you question my beliefs either. I believe in plenty but what I don't believe in are old men using scare tactics to try to get what they want."  

"Colt, step back a little and put your gun away. No one needs to be shot today." Katherine urged as she walked to Colt and put her hand on his arm. Without breaking eye contact with Jedidah, Colt slowly lowered his gun and then strode to the corner where he leaned against the wall, pulled his hat low and seemed to raise a thirty foot wall around him. 

"I know that faith is a hard thing to have in a man like me." Jedidah spoke up, offering a smile. "But I wish you all would simply trust. I knew you were coming. I knew your names. I know your stories. Is that not enough? We are meant to go west. There is a place there where 

something is waiting for us… It’s over those mountains and we just have to get to it.“

"We have already said we are going." Comanche assured him and Silas nodded.  

"That's right."  

Jedidiah held his arms out and shrugged. "Then if you believe enough to follow me than believe me when I say there is a herd of rabid coming. Hundreds. They will tear this house apart, brick by brick once they smell the fresh meat inside."  

Silas felt Charlotte shiver against him and he kissed her temple comfortingly.  

"I won't leave my home to be torn apart." Rachel argued as she pulled herself out of Ox's grasp.  

"Why should we even believe there's a herd coming?" Frankie asked with a shake of her head.  

"If you don't believe me then by all means stay. You will die if you do but you will die believing me."  

"We're going with you, old man. We already agreed. I guess you don't know the past quite as well as think you do." Colt ground out from the corner.  

"I'm not leaving my home to be destroyed." Rachel repeated and Evangeline stood up and clutched her arm.  

"Aunt Rachel, didn't you hear him? You'll die if you stay here!"  

"Then I'll die defending my home." Rachel replied, throwing her shoulders back and raising her chin. "I worked too hard to build this home to have it destroyed by those bastards."  

"But Aunt Rachel you can't do that to us! To Ox and me! We came all this way because we wanted to be with you. We've lost everyone....."  

"You'll be just fine, Evangeline. You are a strong girl; stronger than that idiot brother-in-law of mine ever gave you credit for; and Ox is a tough grown man."  

"You're one hundred kinds of selfish ain't ya?" Frankie demanded of Rachel and Silas's eyes widened in surprise. Frankie was taking Evangeline's side? That wasn't something he had ever thought he'd see happen.  

Rachel fixed her with a glare. "Excuse me?"  

"You heard me." Frankie replied, pushing herself to her feet and adjusted her crutches under her arms. "Those two lost their whole family except for you and now you're gonna leave them too? All for a house?"  

"I have given my entire adult life to this home; this plantation. This place is my home."  

"Not anymore." Silas said gently.  

"That's right." Charlotte agreed as she took a squirming Grace from Silas's arms. "Home is a thing of the past right now. A memory."  

"We've all had to leave our homes to stay alive." Katherine agreed. "Why should you be any different?"  

"Dying for a piece of wood and stone does indeed seem the thing a fool would do." Comanche added.  

Rachel had tears in her eyes as she looked around and then she walked over to Jedidiah and took both of the man's hands in hers.  

"Are you sure about this? You know I trust you but..... Are you sure?"  

Jedidiah stood and offered her a gentle smile. "I wish I could say no but truth is, Rachel, I'm positive. We have to leave here. Those rabid are going to tear this house apart and no amount of wood on the windows or guns will keep them out. There will be too many."  

Rachel's breath hitched in a sob but then she nodded and swallowed hard. "Okay then. Let's eat quickly and get everything packed up. We have a journey to start."  

"Where we going first?" Frankie asked as everyone but Colt sat back down.  

Jedidiah grinned as he looked at her, his forkful of gravy covered biscuit hovering in front of his lips. "Have any of you ever ridden a train?"  

---

Once everyone had eaten and the women had gone upstairs to pack all the clothes they could find, Silas walked outside to find Colt tossing the sacks of food they were taking into the wagon.

"Colt, is there anything wrong?"  

"Wrong?" Colt asked without looking at him. "No. Why do you ask?'  

"Because you pulled a gun on an innocent man this morning."  

Colt sighed and rubbed his face. "I don't like him."  

"Why?" Silas questioned patiently.  

"Can't say for sure." Colt replied, going back to loading.  

"Could it be because he knows things you'd rather nobody know? About your past? About your wife and daughter....."  

"Don't, Silas." Colt snapped without stopping his work. "Now I'd like to think us friends, but don't go prying into something that ain't no business of yours."  

"I lost my brother to this madness, Colt. Evangeline and Ox lost their mother and father. Katherine lost her mother. Charlotte....."  

"It's not the same." Colt argued. "Now go find something useful to do."  

Silas wasn't ready to give up yet. Stubbornness was one trait that the good Lord has blessed him with more than enough of. "Pain is like a sickness, Colt. You keep all that locked up and it's gonna eat you alive a little more every day."  

Instead of saying anything in response Colt simply tossed a sack of flour extra hard. Silas scratched at his chin.

"Colt...."  

"Silas!" Colt yelled loudly, pausing with his hands on sack of potatoes and looking up at Silas from his crouched position. "I appreciate the effort, I do. But there ain't nothing wrong with me that I'm gonna talk to you about. I'll be just fine."  

Silas would have pushed farther, knowing that doing so was risking serious injury, but at that moment Charlotte called from the upstairs window needing his help. Silas sighed and watched Colt hoist that sack of potatoes into the wagon before turning and heading back into the house.

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty: A Train Full of Rabid

The group rode into the tiny railway town only about an hour before nightfall that same night. The buildings were rickety at best and it was clear this town was a ghost town. There didn't appear to be any rabid wandering the streets, though the rotting piles horse fur and bones littering the street, and the picked over bodies of humans made it clear there had been rabid here before. Colt scanned every visible building as they rode past but couldn't see any evidence of living people either.  

"Well I'll be damned..." Frankie muttered, looking at the long black train pulled up at the station.  

"How did you know that train would be sitting here?"  Colt asked Jedidiah. Jedidiah scratched at his old gray mare's mane and shook his head.  

"You will not believe me if I tell you so why do you even ask?" he questioned. Colt grumbled and held up a hand to bring the cart and wagon, and everyone on horseback to a stop.  

"It's damn near dark. I think we need to be getting on that train and locking it down for the night." He said.  

"And in the morning we can search the town for supplies to stock the train up before we go." Katherine added. "I'm  sure this town doesn't have much..."  

"... but it's bound to have something. I agree." Colt said. He started off toward the train, everyone else following slowly and as quietly as was possible behind him. Colt thought the town was abandoned but that didn't mean he wanted to go making a bunch of noises and alerting anything that might be here.  

"That's a nice train." Frankie said with a quiet whistle from atop the wagon seat. Evangeline nodded beside her.  

"A big one." She agreed.  

"I do not think we'll need so much room." Comanche added as they neared the giant mechanical marvel of black iron and steel.  

"We'll probably only keep the first five cars. Usually that'll be the engine, the kitchen car, dining car and bedrooms. We'll need the fifth car for supplies." Colt replied. He jumped from the saddle and walked to a closed door on the third car of the train. He wondered why someone had chained and locked it from the outside.  

"Colt stop!" Evangeline cried out and Colt's hand froze on the handle of his gun that he'd been preparing to draw and use as a hammer to break the lock.  

"Dammit, Evangeline, you're supposed to be keeping your voice down." He growled without looking at her.  

"Go ahead then and open the door." She shot back indignantly. "But you'll want to look in that window before you do."  

"She's right, Colt." Silas replied slowly. "That train is full of them......"  

Colt took a step back and looked in the window to see the rabid that filled the inside. Rotting, salivating, lurching rabid. Some were sitting in seats and some were wandering aimlessly up and down the narrow aisle. 

"Shit." Colt stated simply. He jogged up to the next cart and saw that it was locked and full of rabid as well.  

"It's a rabid museum." Comanche marveled.  

"Why are they all just piled up in there?"  Charlotte questioned.  

"Probably got sick along the way.... The townsfolk locked 'em in good and tight." Frankie replied, using her crutch to point at the chained lock on the engine car as well.  

"How come you didn't warn us that the train would be full of rabid, old man?" Colt grumbled at Jedidiah and the older man shrugged.  

"My mind didn't show me that minor detail."  

"Minor detail?" Evangeline gasped. "That's an entire train full of rabid!"  

Colt shook his head. "We'll have to find somewhere else in this town to sleep tonight and then we'll figure out what we're going to do from here in the morning."  

"We have no option but to move on and find another train." Silas spoke up and Comanche rolled his shoulders and laid a hand on the strap that held his bow on his back.  

"There are always options."  

"Are you insane?!" Rachel demanded loudly from atop her roan mare. "You want to battle an entire train full of those things?!"  

"He ain't insane, he's the only one thinking clear. This is the train we need to travel halfway safe out west. And a comfy train seat is a hell of a lot nicer to sleep on than a thin bedroll on rocky ground." Frankie exclaimed.  

"This is simply a good way to end up dead." Charlotte countered adjusting the sheet around her that held a slumbering Grace.   

Very soon there were so many voices arguing loudly that Colt's head began to pound. 

"Enough!" he bellowed and every voice fell silent. "First on the priority list is finding somewhere to sleep for the night. This discussion can wait until we're all tucked in safe."   

"Uh... Colt..." Katherine whispered, her arm pointing past his head. Colt didn't have to turn to know that something had changed behind him. He could hear the intense moans and hungry growls and the sound of bodies thudding against the glass windows.  

Slowly Colt turned and the sight he was met with had his blood running cold. The rabid in the cart behind him had clearly noticed that food was near. They were crying out with desperation and beating against the windows, streaking blood and gore on the glass as they moved.  

Rotting faces and bullet riddled chests were pressed tight against the windows and Colt heard a woman, he wasn't sure which one, gag behind him.  

The train carts began to rock as the other rabid heard this car full and joined the hunger-crazed frenzy.  

"Get the women back." Colt whispered.  

"Colt, what are you going to do?" Evangeline asked and he shook his head.

"Silas, Comanche get everybody somewhere safe. I'll make sure the train is secure and I'll be along."  

"You'll need help." Evangeline argued. Colt turned to see that everyone other than her and Ox was listening. She had jumped from the wagon and was walking toward him while Frankie drove the wagon away. "Let me help you check."  

All Colt could see was one of these rabid breaking through a window and getting his teeth and claws on all of her pale skin... tearing her apart the way Wallis's children had torn into Sarah and Loralie.  

Colt shook his head forcefully and pointed at Ox. "You get her out of here now. Take her with the others. Y'all get locked up somewhere, the livery would probably be best so there's room for the horses and wagons." 

"You probably will need help." Ox admitted slowly and Colt's patience snapped.  

"Damnation I'm not taking on the entire train of rabid by myself!" he yelled angrily. "I'm just gonna check the windows and the doors."  

"But Colt....." Evangeline began and Colt strode toward her, silencing her. He grabbed her upper arm, probably a little too roughly and looked down into those deep emerald green eyes of hers that were so damned beautiful.  

"If one gets loose while I'm looking around, the last thing I want to worry about is that it's going to get you. Now go with your brother." 		

Evangeline moved her eyes from his and looked down at his chest instead. "Will you promise me that you'll be careful?" she asked quietly, her fingertips brushing lightly against his bare forearm as she swiped away some dirt.  

Colt nodded, swallowing hard around the lump of emotion in his throat. Emotions were complex things and Colt had never been the type to want to sort through them. He wasn't going to bother now.  

"I'll join you at the livery." He promised just before a rather loud bang sounded from the train. Colt shoved her toward Ox who was watching them with brotherly outrage that made Colt roll his eyes. "Go with your brother now."  

Evangeline nodded and then Ox pulled her onto his horse and led her quickly away.  

Colt didn't watch her leave, choosing to turn his head instead and focus on the train cars full of rabid. He drew his buck knife and held it loosely in his hand, just in case a rabid happened to break free and he needed to quietly take it out in a hurry.  

Colt made his way around the train, checking every window and door to ensure that they were secure. He tried to ignore the faces beating against the glass, the long fingers and sharp nails clawing at the panes, desperately reaching for him and the meal he would provide.   

Colt came to the last cart and frowned. There were no rabid in this cart but the doors were chained and locked. Why would they bother locking the doors if they weren't trying to keep anyone in?  

Colt grabbed a wooden crate from the station platform and carried it to the side of the train car. Climbing up on it he looked in the dusty window, squinting to see what was inside that they could have been trying to keep in.  

When Colt saw the bodies he prayed like hell that he was seeing things. Those were families. Men. Women. Children. They were dead. Their bodies were all huddled together as if trying to offer comfort.. Women's dead arms were still holding tight to the tiny babies and children.  

Had they been locked in here alive? Why would anyone have locked innocent people in a train car alive? Colt didn't even think much about the danger he might be putting himself in as he put his knife away, pulled his gun, walked to the locked back door and used the handle of it as a club to break the lock.  

The chains rattled loudly as he pulled them from the handles and swung open the door. The smell of death and rotting flesh that assaulted his nostrils had him gagging and yanking his bandana from around his neck to cover his nose and mouth.  

Colt's eyes burned as he stepped inside and took in the gruesome scene. Quickly his eyes took in the reality of what had happened here. None of these people appeared to have been shot or injured. There was no blood. No bullet holes in the wooden walls. There didn't even appear to be a single weapon among them and Colt figured there wasn't. If one of them had had a gun they would have shot the windows out and escaped.  

Had they died of thirst? Colt had nearly died of thirst several times in his life and he wouldn't have wished that on anyone, but especially not on children such as these.  

Babies, toddlers, school age boy and girls...  Women were cradling the children and men were cradling the women. Had this been families? Or just random townsfolk that the other townsfolk had, for whatever reason, locked up?  

Colt figured he'd never know. But he also knew he wouldn't let the women see this. He could only imagine how a scene like this would scar them.. Hell it was taking a toll on Colt himself and he had seen some terrible things in his life.  

He quickly stepped over bodies, trying to keep from looking at their faces, which were gray and rotting. Quickly Colt undid the ties on the curtains and let them fall over each window to keep anyone else from seeing in. He then left the train car as quickly as he could and shut the door behind him.  

Once out in the open, Colt squatted down and braced his hands on his thighs, taking several deep breaths of the fresh air. His stomach was churning so he swallowed hard several times, willing the contents to stay put. 	

The sun was setting now and Colt had no desire to be out here after dark. The rabid were still thumping against the windows and Colt was worried that there may be more rabid hidden somewhere in town that would be drawn out by the noise... Colt sure as hell didn't want to be standing out on the street in the dark when they were.

The livery was a good stretch down the road so Colt shoved his bandana in his pocket and took off at a jog, dreading the debate he knew the group would be eager to have and the way they were all going to want him to take their side. Why the hell did he have to be the leader?  

---

Ox saw that Katherine looked scared as she sat on a hay bale in the loft and rubbed her arms slowly with her hands. He wanted to climb that ladder and comfort her. Heck, he just wanted to speak to her, but surely she would laugh at him.

"Quit being such a coward and go speak to her." Evangeline whispered from behind him and Ox whirled around to face her, grinning sheepishly as he did so.  

"I ain't a coward." he assured her. "And..uh.. who are you talking about?" 

Evangeline rolled her eyes at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Honestly? You know you can't lie to me, Ox. You want to talk to Katherine and you have been wanting to for a week now, so go talk to her!"  

"Shit, Evie, I don't know what I'm supposed to say."  

Evangeline laughed lightly. "Most conversations start with one simple word." 

"And what word is that?" Ox asked, his brow furrowing.  

"

Hello .“ Evangeline replied teasingly and Ox chuckled as he rubbed at his neck.

"That easy, huh?"  

"Yes, Ox. Now go." Evangeline put her hands on his chest and tried to push him back but he stood fast.  

"What about you and Colt?"  

Ox knew he'd hit a sensitive spot when Evangeline blushed and immediately began picking at her skirt. "What on earth are you talking about?"  

"Shit, Evie, you can't lie to me either. Now what's going on with the two of you?"  

"Nothing." Evangeline replied and Ox fixed her with a gaze that he knew their father had used countless times. He also knew that Evangeline hated that look. She glared at him and then sighed. "There's nothing, Ox. He's the single most closed off human being that I know. He doesn't say much of anything at all and he's always either one extreme or the other. Either he's really angry and rude or he's thoughtful and sad. I'm not sure what to make of him."  

"He's not a good man for you, Evie."  

"That's not your decision to make, Ox." Evangeline snapped. "And besides—" she added with a single shouldered shrug. "--Who said I was the least bit interested in having Colt be my man?"  

"Evie..." Ox began warningly but she pointed a finger up toward the loft. Ox couldn't help but laugh whenever Evangeline got grumpy and bossy with him. She wasn't more than five feet tall and her head barely came to the top of his stomach and yet Ox was more scared of her in a temper than he was anyone else.  

"Go Ox. Talk to that woman and quit worrying about me and Colt. There is nothing going on for you to be concerned about."  

Ox doubted that but he knew when Evangeline was done with a conversation and right now it was clear that she was done. He could also tell that she wasn't going to leave him alone until he climbed that ladder to the loft and spoke to Katherine.  

He glanced around at everyone else. Rachel, Jedidiah, Comanche and Frankie were locking all the windows in the stalls as well as the big back and front doors. The smaller side door was still open so that Colt would be able to come in quickly when he finished at the train. Charlotte was feeding Grace in a back stall while Silas saw to all the horses and his mule.  

"Time is wasting, big brother. Don't make me talk to her myself."  

"You wouldn't!" Ox exclaimed nervously, though he knew full well that Evangeline would. The woman seemed to have no shame. Evangeline quirked up one dainty brow, put her hands on her hips and then took a deep breath. Ox knew she was about to call out to Katherine and he quickly clamped his hand over his sister's mouth.  

"Shit, Evie!" he whispered with near panic. "Don't do that, please. I'll go talk to her!"   

He felt her smile beneath his hand and he narrowed his eyes at her as she pulled away from him, waved her hand with amusement and then walked away to help Silas with the horses.  

Ox couldn't decide whether he was going to vomit or simply shake right off the narrow ladder as he climbed up into the loft. What was he going to say? What if she didn't want to talk to him?  

He took a deep breath and tried to swallow his doubts. He wasn't innocent with women so what was he so worried about? He was worried because he'd never actually walked up and tried to 

talk to a woman. He’d never been given the chance to get to know one. They just wanted a quick roll between the sheets and a discreet goodbye.

Katherine was going to be different, or at least Ox hoped so. She seemed so innocent. So unsure of herself. She was a proper lady and one Ox wanted to spend time simply 

talking to.

Ox hauled his big frame up onto the loft and Katherine turned her face from the window and looked at him with surprise.  

"G..good evening, Miss Kate." Ox stammered with a nervous smile.  

"Kate?" Katherine asked and Ox smacked his head.  

"Sorry 'bout that, ma'am. I guess I should have asked you if I could call you Kate. Of course I can't. You probably don't even like it. I won't....."  

Katherine cut him off with a smile so bright Ox worried the hay itself was going to burst into flames. "I do like it, Ox" She replied assuredly. "I've simply never had anyone call me that before."  

"Do you mind if I call you that?" Ox questioned and she shook her head.  

"I'd like it if you did."

"Shew.. that's a relief. I was worried you'd be angry."  

Ox was sure he saw confusion on Katherine's face and then she motioned at a bale of hay across from her. "Do you want to sit down?"  

"Yeah!" Ox exclaimed and then he realized that he'd probably sounded a bit too eager. "Uh.. sure, Miss Kate. If you don't mind." he added much more stoically.  

Katherine laughed lightly and shook her head, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "No, I don't mind."  

Ox wasn't sure how, since his legs were shaking like a couple of leaves in the middle of a raging twister, but he somehow managed to make it to the hay bale without falling flat on his face; which was probably a good thing since the livery was a bit rickety and he was a heavy man. He probably would have went plumb through if he'd crashed down on the weathered boards.  

"Why were you up here sittin' all alone, Miss Kate? " Ox asked once he'd taken his seat. He'd noticed more and more over the last few days that Katherine seemed to be off by herself most of the time. It made him sad to think of her lonely when everyone else had someone. Well all except for Colt but that man seemed like the kind of man who didn't want or need anyone else.  

"I was just thinking." Katherine replied, her gaze going back to the window.  

"About what?" Ox questioned, scratching at his itching shin.  

Katherine sighed wistfully and Ox became transfixed by the way the setting sun cast an orange glow over her face.  

"The past.. the future.. Don't you ever think about it all?"  

"I'm not much good at thinking Miss Kate. Never have been the type of man who does much of it." Ox meant what he was saying. He'd been told by his pa more than once that thinking just wasn't his strong point and he needed to avoid it whenever he could. No one had seemed to ever disagree with that statement, except maybe Evangeline, but Ox knew that was just because she was so fond of him. His little sister would say anything just to try to make him feel good.  

It seemed though that Katherine thought he was joking as she threw her head back and laughed. Her laughter wasn't the mean or condescending laughter he'd heard his whole life whenever he spoke; instead it was happy and good natured and Ox found himself mesmerized by the sound.  

Katherine smiled as she looked at him, her green eyes sparkling. "This world would probably be a better place if we all tried to think a little less." She shrugged. "We'd all probably be happier anyway."  

"Yes, ma'am, Miss Kate. I'm usually pretty happy so I'd say you're right about that."  

"I don't believe I've ever met anyone quite like you, Ox." Katherine admitted and Ox grinned.  

"That's a good thing I hope."  

Katherine simply smiled. Ox liked that she wasn't acting like a woman who simply wanted to jump into a bed with him—of course up here it would be a hay bale. He wanted to think and hope that Evangeline had been right and he didn't have to be that man he'd been... He hoped that Katherine would be the woman to want more from him than that. Though truthfully he had no idea how to be more.  

Before either of them could say anything else the side door slammed shut and Colt came into the barn.  

"He looks upset." Katherine stated and then Ox watched as she scurried off the loft and down the ladder. Ox felt his stomach twist a little. Looked like Katherine wasn't interested in him after all.... She sure had left him in a quick hurry just as soon as the other man had stepped in.  

Ox watched as Katherine walked to Colt and while he couldn't hear what Katherine said, he saw Colt shake his head and walk around her, striding to a stall with his horse in tow. Ox shook his head. Colt didn't even realize that a good woman was interested in him.  

Then Ox's temper rose when Evangeline walked to the stall that Colt was currently inside of. He saw Evangeline say something and waited for Colt to turn her away the way he had Katherine but instead Colt lowered his head a little and said something in return that had Evangeline nodding and laying a gentle hand on his forearm.  

Ox wasn't happy. He didn't want to be like their pa, trying to tell Evangeline who she had to marry but Colt was not the type of man he wanted for his sister. He didn't know everything about Colt's past but he knew the man had been an outlaw. A law breaking man who did what he wanted and didn't care if it was right or wrong. Surely that kind of man would hurt Evangeline.......  

"Everybody, let's finish securing everything here for the night. Colt said the train seems secure enough and he is not too concerned about any rabid getting loose from it." Evangeline called out as she walked from the stall. "And I think we can all agree that we need to have a long discussion about what we're going to do come morning."

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One : I’ve Robbed A Few

    “You honestly think this is our best choice?” Silas questioned the next morning as the group finished up the small breakfast Charlotte and Evangeline had prepared for them and discussed the train. 

    “Yes.” Colt replied simply and Charlotte shook her head while holding Grace a little tighter against her chest. 

    “I don’t like this idea. Why can we not simply gather up what supplies we can, load up the cart and wagon and try to find a different train?” 

    “I see no other train.” Jedidah countered, to which Colt rolled his eyes.  

    “There has to be a second train somewhere!” Charlotte exclaimed. “Opening those doors and setting God knows how many rabid loose cannot be the answer. We’ll be killed.” Charlotte felt Silas’s hand on her arm and knew he wanted her to calm down. But how could she when everyone here seemed to have lost their minds!?

    “We’re not going to just set them loose.” Colt assured her. “We’re going to kill them.” 

    “What?!” Katherine, Ox, Rachel, and Silas all exclaimed at once. 

    “You can’t be serious!” Katherine argued. “There are probably over two hundred rabid on that train. We can’t hope to defeat that many!” 

    “They’ll rip us all to shreds.” Rachel agreed. 

    Colt shook his head as he stood up. “I thought about this all night and I think I know a way to make it work.” 

    “You think you know a way?” Charlotte questioned with disbelief. 

    “I never was the type to make guarantees about anything.” Colt replied calmly. “I know you’re worried about your little girl and that’s why I’m gonna put you on a rooftop with a gun and you’re not going to be anywhere near the rabid when we let them off the train.” 

    “On a building?” Charlotte asked, feeling foolish for her sudden outburst. She had never been the kind to see the worst side of a situation. She had always tried to find the silver lining to every cloud but this new world was making that increasingly more difficult.

    Colt sighed as he pulled his revolver and unlocked the cylinder spinning it slowly and staring down into it with concentration. 

    “Will y’all listen to my plan now without interrupting every few minutes?” he questioned and Charlotte looked around at the group. Everyone remained silent and simply waited for Colt to continue speaking. 

    “Alright then. The rabid are drawn by small fires but it ain’t enough to take their attention away from dinner. But now a big fire… Now a real big fire draws their attention and puts them in a kind of trance. Katherine and I saw it firsthand once. She compared them to bees when you blow smoke at them and she was right.

    “Now I checked out the train yesterday and the first car is the engine, followed by the kitchen/dining car. Then there are three passenger cars, a bunch of storage cars and a couple more passenger cars are on the end. I reckon those were for the low income passengers.”  There was a darkness in Colt’s voice when he said this and Charlotte wondered what caused it. 

    “We’ll keep the first seven cars and leave the remaining eight. The first seven are the only ones I’m worried about clearing out. There is no need to waste any more ammunition than that or risk letting any more rabid loose than those in the first seven cars. First thing we’re going to do is gather up every bit of supplies this town has to offer and pile them up beside the storage cars. Then we’re gonna set fire to the building on the right side of the street and put several rifles up on the rooftops on the left. We’ll go car to car, clearing one before moving to the next. I’ll be the one opening the doors…..”

    “Why you?” Evangeline spoke up and Colt locked the cylinder in place on his revolver and slid it into his holster. 

    “Why not me?”

    It seemed Evangeline had no response to that question and Colt took a step back and looked around at the group. “I will be opening the doors because I am the leader and that is what leaders do. I wouldn’t ask any of you to do something that I wouldn’t be willing to do myself.” 

    “I still don’t like this idea,” Charlotte admitted quietly. “But I understand that this is how it has to be. I’m not very good with a gun….” 

    “That’s okay, Miss Charlotte. You just keep you and Little Grace safe and we’ll deal with everything else.” Silas assured her. 

    “God forbid she actually does something useful .” Frankie snorted and Charlotte glared over at her. She didn’t understand where Frankie’s harshness toward her and Evangeline came from. 

    “What is your problem, Frankie? Were you not hugged enough as a child?” Katherine demanded and Charlotte covered her mouth quickly to hide the smile that curved her lips as Frankie glared over at Katherine. 

    “Probably not as often as you did being raised in that brothel.” 

    “Hey!” Ox bellowed, standing up and clenching his massive fists. Charlotte was frightened then and that fright increased when Comanche put himself between Frankie and Ox. Was there going to be a fight? 

    “Enough!” Colt yelled loudly, snapping everyone’s attention back to him. “Goddammit, y’all, we got a train full of fucking rabid to worry about and instead y’all are too busy fighting with each other!” 

    “Sorry, Colt.” Katherine whispered as she took a step back. 

    “We’ll play nicer, pa.” Frankie added and Colt shook his head. 

    “Armed teams of two. Search every single room of every single building, home and shack in this town. We need all the supplies we can get because the less we have to stop and restock the better.”    

    “Who’s on each team?” Rachel questioned. 

    “Frankie and Comanche. Silas and Charlotte. Rachel and Jedidah. Ox and…….” Colt trailed off and Charlotte saw him looking at both Evangeline and Katherine. Both women looked hopeful that he would choose them. The man sighed. “Ox and I’ll be a team. Katherine and Evangeline will be the final team.” 

    Charlotte saw Evangeline and Katherine share a look and she wondered what those two women were going to be talking about as they did their search. 

---

    “This must have been a doctor’s house.” Katherine said as she and Evangeline stepped into a back room of the ramshackle yellow home they’d entered and saw the shelves full of medicines, powders and equipment.

    “Good. Let’s gather up all of this we can. Even if we don’t know what some of it is or what it does, Silas probably will.” Evangeline replied. The two women began filling the crates they held with the glass jars and bottles. 

    “Katherine, can I ask you a personal question.” Evangeline asked finally, breaking the silence. Katherine glanced over at her and then put her attention back on gathering some clean rags from a cupboard. 

    “You can ask.”

    “I am not trying to judge you so please don’t think I am but… Were you truly raised in a brothel?” 

    Evangeline knew that it was not truly a question that she had any right to ask and yet she felt that she had to ask it. She loved her brother and didn’t want to see Ox hurt. 

    “Yes I was.” Katherine replied without hesitation. Evangeline nodded and then before she could stop herself blurted out, 

    “Did you work in it as well?” 

    Katherine’s movements stilled and she stood up straight. Evangeline cursed her petite stature when she realized that Katherine was a good seven inches taller than she was. Still Evangeline stood her ground. 

    “Are you asking if I traded sex for money?” Katherine questioned. 

    Evangeline blushed and glanced around the room. There were dried pools of blood on the floor around the rusted metal table and bloody handprints were smeared across the old clapboard walls.  “Yes, that’s what I’m asking.” She replied quietly. 

    “Yes, Evangeline. Yes I was a whore. I was born and raised in that brothel. The man who was like a pa to me owned the brothel and my mama worked in it every day of her life until these damn monsters killed her. It was all I knew.” 

    “I didn’t mean to make you angry….” Evangeline began and Katherine laughed harshly. 

    “No you simply meant to judge me. You and your rich fancy life. How can you possibly understand what it’s like to have no choice but to trade your body for money or supplies? You are nothing but a spoiled girl who is only alive now because Frankie happened to find you and your brother in those woods.” 

    “Ox would not have let me die!” Evangeline argued. “And I might have lived a rich and, some would say, spoiled life but I did not have it as easy as you seem to think. Every single day of my life was spent learning something that proper women were expected to know so that I would be a good wife to whichever man my father chose for me to marry. I had no freedoms. I could not simply wake up in the morning and say what I was going to do that day because each and every day of my life was planned and laid out for me from the time I woke up until I fell asleep. I was not asking about your life in an attempt to judge you, Katherine! I simply don’t want to see my brother hurt.” 

    Katherine blinked several times and then frowned. “Your brother? Why would Ox get hurt because I was raised in a brothel?” 

    Evangeline cursed under her breath, (something that would no doubt have her mother rolling over in her hallway grave), and quickly picked up her loaded crate. “There’s no reason.” 

    “Stop.” Katherine called out, grabbing Evangeline’s arm. “Answer my question.” 

    “My brother has simply been hurt enough by women who presented themselves as ladies and turned out to be nothing better than whores. I just hope to protect him from any more women like that.” Evangeline knew her words were harsh but they needed to be said. She did not want Ox being hurt by a woman who would lay with him in one moment and then someone else in the next because ‘that was all she knew’. 

    Katherine opened her mouth to speak but stopped when a thud sounded above them. The women shared a look of concern and the thud sounded again followed by a shuffling noise. 

    “There’s either a rabid or a person up there.” Evangeline whispered. She sat her crate down and pulled her thirty-eight from her boot. Evangeline led the way up the stairs and pointed at a closed door just as a long moan came from other side. 

    “Gnnnaaaaaaaa.”

    “I was hoping we’d found people.” Katherine admitted with disappointment and Evangeline shook her head. 

    “People can trick you. At least with this rabid we know exactly what it wants from us.”

    “Should we open the door and kill it or just leave it and tell Colt it’s here and let him decide what he wants done with it?” Katherine questioned. 

    Evangeline was about to suggest they leave it when a crashing and crunching of wood filled the air and the door bust open a bloody, snarling rabid lunging with the falling door and grabbing Evangeline’s arm taking her tumbling down the stairs headfirst. 

    She and the rabid were a tangle of arms and legs when they finally came to a stop at the bottom of the staircase and Evangeline screamed as the rabid’s gnashing teeth nearly closed on her neck. 

    Disentangling the arm that held the revolver, Evangeline bashed the rabid’s head in rapid succession as hard as she could. She gathered up her legs and threw the still moaning and snarling creature off of her with one hard shove. 

    Katherine screamed above her and Evangeline looked just in time to see two more rabid come out of the room this first one had been in. Katherine fired a shot and killed one of the rabid but they had burst from the room too quickly and the second lunged for her. 

    Katherine jumped out of the way causing the second rabid to fall headfirst down the stairs, directly toward Evangeline. 

    Evangeline cried out and dove out of the way, turning in the air and firing a shot to kill the rabid she had tumbled down the stairs with just before it attacked her again. She was about to turn her attention to the rabid that had just fallen down the stairs but Katherine was there, firing a shot into its head before it even managed to get back to its feet. 

    Evangeline’s heart was racing and she felt as if she was going to be sick as Katherine held out a hand and helped her to her feet. 

    “Thanks.” Evangeline gasped and Katherine nodded. 

    “Sorry that one almost fell on you.” 

    “No problem.”

    “Evangeline!” Colt’s voice rang out as boot steps pounded on the porch. 

    “Evie?! Miss Kate?!” Ox’s voice chimed in. 

    Evangeline turned to Katherine just before the men rushed in. “Don’t hurt my brother.” She whispered and then Colt was there first, grabbing Evangeline’s arms and holding her out, checking her up and down. 

    “Did they get you?” he demanded as he looked down at the dead rabid with disgust in his dark blue eyes. Evangeline shook her head, trying desperately to ignore the tingles and the heat coursing through her as he continued to touch her arms, his thumbs now gently stroking her. 

    He seemed to realize what he was doing then and quickly released his hold on her before taking a step back. Evangeline noticed that her brother was busy checking on Katherine who was assuring the giant of a man that she was fine. 

    “It was a closer call for Evangeline than it was for me. She tumbled down the steps with one of them.” 

    “Shit, Evie, are you alright?” Ox demanded turning his attention to his sister.

    “I’m fine, Ox. I shot it.” 

    “Evangeline, I want you to go back to the livery.” Colt ordered and Evangeline shook her head. 

    “I won’t.”

    Colt glared at her but she glared right back. She’d spent too long being told what to do with her life and she wasn’t going to be that woman anymore. She was plenty able and was going to be a working member of this group. 

    “Fine. You’ll stay with me and Katherine can go with Ox.” 

    “She should come with me….” Ox began but Evangeline shook her head and looped her arm through Katherine’s as the two women stood side by side. 

    “Katherine and I are doing just fine and we had the situation under control before you men burst in. Now go back to searching your buildings and leave us to do the same.” 

    Colt and Ox both looked taken aback for a moment. “Is she always that damn stubborn and outspoken?” Colt demanded. 

    Ox shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah pretty much. Though it’s gotten worse since the rabid showed up.” 

    Colt shook his head and looked at Evangeline and Katherine in turn. “Y’all be careful. And no more searching for rabid. Get the supplies and get out.”  Colt turned and left the house and Ox paused a moment. 

    “You two really should be careful. I… uh… that is the group wouldn’t want to lose either one of you.”  

    Quickly Ox turned and all but ran out the door as well. “Has your brother always stuttered so much?” Katherine asked. “Every time he speaks to me, he stutters.” 

    “No he hasn’t.” Evangeline replied, though not willing to tell Katherine the reason for Ox’s stuttering. That was something that was up to Katherine and Ox to work out together. 

    “I think Colt might just be in love with you.” Katherine said quietly. 

    “Oh I don’t think Colt is ready for anything quite so deep as love.” Evangeline countered, though there was no denying the rise in her pulse or the hope that blossomed in her chest at those words. 

    “I think he’s getting close and I think that’s because of you. I had hoped it would be me but he doesn’t look at me the way he does you…. I suppose I don’t love him either. It was gratitude I was feeling. Colt was the first man to ever look at me like I was more than just a whore. He treated me as if I was a person. I took that for more than what it was.” 

    “You’ll find love, Katherine. If there is one thing that we all need to have hope and belief in, it’s that good things are still waiting out there for us because if we don’t believe that then what in the world are any of us fighting to survive for?” 

    Katherine and Evangeline got back to searching and before they left the doctor’s Evangeline found a tiny handwritten book. It appeared to be a journal of some sort and while Evangeline knew it was more than likely something personal and private, that didn’t stop her from slipping it into her pocket. 

    Something inside of her just wanted to know what had been going through these people’s minds as the world had begun to crash down around them. 

---

    Colt glanced up on the roofs to ensure that everyone was in position there. Charlotte, Katherine, Rachel, Jedidah and Evangeline all waited atop the buildings with rifles in their hands.  Colt had been relieved that the old man had decided to stay up high. He didn’t want to be responsible for any broken hips out here today. 

    The buildings to the right were burning nicely, the supplies were waiting beside the supply cart and the train had already been unhooked from the cars they weren’t going to be using. All that was left was to rid them of the rabid, bring the horses from the livery, load up in the train and get gone. 

    “I sure hope those women up there are decent shots. If not, we’re liable to get shot in the ass.” Frankie mumbled. 

    “I will stand behind you, paleface. I would hate for damage to come to that ass.” Comanche assured her with a grin. 

    Colt found himself chuckling quietly at their antics and then he nodded. “Alright.” He walked to the engine car knowing that there were only two or three rabid inside it. He used the butt of his revolver to bust the lock and he yanked the chain from the door with one hard pull. 

    He could hear the rabid beating against the door and feel the vibration of their movements in his hands as he gripped the handle. 

    “Everybody ready?” he asked and without waiting for an answer, he opened the door and jumped back, firing three quick shots that killed each of the rabid before they even had a chance to exit the door he had just opened. 

    Without waiting to see if any more would come out, Colt stepped over the dead bodies and entered the engine. Satisfied that there were none left inside, he walked back out. 

    “Well hell, Colt, you make us all feel worthless.” Frankie mumbled. 

    “You should not take risks like that.” Silas warned. 

    “What risk?”

    “What if more of those things had been inside?” Ox questioned and Colt shrugged. 

    “I would have shot those too.” He replied simply. “Now quit your whining. There are plenty more rabid left. You’ll all get a turn.” 

    Colt opened the second car the same way he did the first but this time he took quick steps back as he fired shots at the advancing rabid. Soon rabid were pouring from the car and everyone was firing shots. The fire seemed to be working fairly well at distracting them and as Colt and his group finished up the third, fourth and fifth cars, he was sure that things were going to work out and his plan had been a good one. 

    That was until he opened the door to the sixth car and a crashing filled the air from one of the back passenger cars. Rabid began to pour from the broken window at the same time as they began to come from the door Colt had just opened. 

    He fired shots quickly but soon was out of ammunition in his gun with no time to reload as the herd advanced. Some were too distracted by the fire and smoke to care much that the group was there but most were not. 

    Colt had underestimated just how hungry these rabid were. They had been locked up all this time and they were starving. No horses and animals to feed on. No humans. They’d simply been locked up in these cars growing hungrier and hungrier with each passing day. 

    “Colt, the fire ain’t working!” Ox yelled as he swung his gun like a club and took a rabid’s head clean off. 

    “I noticed.” Colt mumbled as he pulled his knife and sent it into one rabid’s skull before slashing another through the neck, knocking it down and bashing in its skull with his boot. 

    Rifle shots sounded as the group fought back to back against the advancing threat.  Silas fired off another shot from his shot gun, taking out two rabid at once at such close range. 

    “Colt there are too many.” Silas stated and Colt shook his head. 

    “Don’t say that, Silas. Just keep fighting ’em. If we don’t Charlotte, little Grace, all the women up there are dead.” 

    This seemed to give renewed vigor to the group. Comanche had saved his last arrow and was now using it to stab and slash at the rabid. Frankie stood beside him, wielding that hatchet.  Colt sunk back into the protective circle and reloaded his revolver before stepping forward and taking out six more rabid. 

    Gnashing teeth and moaning bodies surrounded them. Closer and closer they moved in and Colt cried out with surprise when on grabbed his arm with long clawed hands and nearly bit him before a rifle shot sounded and the rabid fell dead to the ground. 

    Colt glanced up and saw Evangeline aiming that rifle at the dead rabid. Colt tipped his hat in thanks and then swung out his buck knife and took out another rabid. 

    He was panting and covered in blood and sweat when he realized that everything seemed to have calmed down around him. Keeping his knife ready, Colt turned in a slow circle taking in the sight of the dead rabid littering the ground. Well over one hundred rabid and this group had just taken them all out without a single loss of life. 

    “I have to say this is the best damn gang I’ve ever led when it comes to a fight.” Colt muttered, wiping his knife clean on his pants before sliding it into the holster. He waved at everyone on the rooftops to come down before turning to face the others on the ground. 

    “I know you’re tired and I am too but we gotta get this shit loaded up quick before those rabid down there break another window.” 

    “Colt, I just thought of something.” Silas asked several moments later as the group was still recovering their breath. 

    “What’s that?” Colt questioned. 

    “How are we going to drive this train? Do any of us know a thing about trains?”

    Evangeline and the others walked over then and Colt chuckled as he glanced around at the group. 

    “I reckon I do.” He replied. 

    “How is that? Were you a train operator?” Charlotte questioned and Colt laughed loudly, surprising everyone, even himself.    

    “Uh.. no.” he replied. 

    “Then how do you know how to drive one?” Evangeline questioned and Colt winked. 

    “I’ve robbed a couple in my time.” He saw the look of surprise on everyone’s face and it amused him. “Now let’s get this work finished up boys and girls so we can relax and ride in style for a while.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Two: Poker, Coffee and Warm Muffins

Katherine lay awake late that night still confused by her conversation with Evangeline. The other woman was concerned that Katherine would hurt Ox but that would have to mean that Ox was interested in her! A handsome, well-bred southern gentleman interested in a ‘woman of the night’ born and raised in a brothel? And now thanks to Frankie’s outburst early this morning, Ox would know of her past.

Surely whatever attraction he had felt for her would have been quickly doused by Frankie's words... But then again he had seemed awfully concerned about her when she and Evangeline had been attacked by those rabid.  

Was Katherine interested in Ox? He was charmingly sweet. He was handsome. He made her smile and laugh. Maybe what she needed was to talk to Ox. Get to know him better. She stepped out of her tiny room looked up and down the empty hall of the train car.  

She wasn't sure what room he'd taken for his own but it was just becoming dark out and she hoped perhaps Ox would still be awake and either in the dining car or engine room.  

It had turned out to be a good thing that Colt knew how to operate a train because no one else had. Colt had quickly taught everyone how to stop the train and how to feed it just enough coal to keep it at a steady pace. He also insisted that there be at least one person in the engine room driving at all times because the tracks could very well be blocked somewhere along the way.  

He had also insisted that they run all night tonight to put as much distance between them and the rest of those rabid left on the train cars in that town as possible. Katherine figured he would take first watch while he let everyone else rest. Colt wasn't the type to put a responsibility off on anyone else if he thought he could handle it himself.  

"Hi, Miss Kate." Ox's voice came from behind her and she turned to see him just stepping into the bedroom car. Clearly he'd been back in a storage car until now.  

"Hello, Ox." Katherine replied, wondering why she suddenly felt nervous. She had never in her life felt nervous around a man.  

"What are you doing up, Miss Kate? I figured everybody would done be in bed by now. All except Colt of course. He's up there a drivin'.  I told him I'd do it since I ain't a bit tired but he said no. I don't reckon he trusts me up there by myself... " Ox blushed and rubbed at his neck. "Sorry, Miss Kate, I guess I'm rambling a bit. I tend to ramble when I get nervous."  

"Why are you nervous?"  Katherine asked and Ox let out a shaky laugh.  

"Well.. You.. That is.. Uh..."  

"Do you want to come in my room and talk, Ox?" Katherine asked suddenly and Ox seemed surprised.  

"You wanna talk to me?"  

"Sure. And there's a place to sit in there. It would probably be much more comfortable than standing in the hall."  

"Uh.. well.. maybe we could go to the dining cart instead...." Ox mumbled as he pulled off his hat and clenched it tightly in his hands. "We could play some poker... that is.. I mean if you know how."  

Katherine wondered why Ox wouldn't want to go to her room. He liked her, Evangeline had told her as much. Didn't most men want to sleep with women they were interested in?

"Sure, Ox... We can play poker."  

Ox nodded and without another word he led her down the hall. They hopped across the gap to the next car and Katherine enjoyed the breeze on her face for a moment before she quickly followed after Ox, pulling the door closed behind her.  

The dining car was empty but Katherine could hear voices coming from the kitchen. It sounded like charlotte, Silas and Evangeline if Katherine had to guess.  

Ox pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and Katherine found herself laughing lightly. "Did you have this planned all along?" she teased.  

She saw his cheeks flame red and realized he had also shaved his face this evening and his stubble free skin was smooth, showing even more clearly how strong his jaw was.  

"I wanted to think of some way to spend a bit of time with you, Miss Kate." He admitted as he dealt out a hand of five card stud.  

"It's amazing that we found this train." Katherine replied. "We can all relax and know that we are safe. And I can lose horribly at poker without worried about being eaten." She added, tossing her cards down.  

"I wouldn't let you get eaten, Miss Kate."  

Katherine smiled brightly. "My big, strong hero."  

Ox's blush and his embarrassed grin was the single most endearing sight that Katherine had ever seen.   

“I just wish we could have found a train with bigger beds. I’ve got a bedroll stretched out on the floor in my room. Tomorrow I’m gonna take Comanche’s advice and find some boards somewhere and make my bed a few feet longer.”

Katherine squealed with excitement when she won the next hand. "You are really tall." She acknowledged once she was done bouncing in celebration. "Do you take after your pa?"  

Ox amused smile faded and he looked sad as he shook his head. "Naw. Pa wasn't even six feet tall. I reckon I take after my papaw. Got his big body and little brain; least that's what my pa told me."   

"Small brain?" Katherine asked with a frown, pausing in her dealing of the cards. Ox stuttered several times and then sighed.  

"I reckon I might as well tell you the truth." He mumbled, looking at a chip in the polished wooden table. "I like you, Miss Kate, and you deserve to know the truth about me."  

"What truth is that?" Katherine asked, her stomach tied up in knots so tight that it was difficult to breath. She had never felt this way in the presence of any man before and she hated it yet loved it all at the same time.  

"I ain't a real smart man, Miss Kate. Folks like to say that my body kept growing long after my brain stopped. That's how I really got my nickname. I'm '

the big dumb ox of a son them Gilcrest folks have’ . I guess I should’ve told ya that sooner.“

"They didn't call you Ox because you were big?" Katherine asked and Ox shook his head as his face colored even more.  

"No, Miss Kate. It's because I'm dumb."  

Katherine studied him and thought back over the last week. Ox was quiet and didn't speak up very often but he surely didn't seem dumb. He was warm, kind and sweet. He was also strong and brave if the way he had faced down those rabid that day was any indication.  

"Joshua, I don't think you're dumb."  

"Shit, Miss Kate, don't call me Joshua..."  

"I won't call you a name that makes you feel dumb." Katherine countered and Ox shook his head.  

"But I... Well truth is... I like it when you call me Ox. I like the way you say it."  

"The way I say it...?" Katherine was confused. She felt herself drawn to Ox. She wanted to touch. Kiss him. Feel him hold her. But surely that was wrong wasn't it? That would make her the same woman that she'd been all along......  

"Are you gonna deal those cards, Miss Kate?" Ox asked, obviously eager to change the subject.  

"Okay, Joshua."  

"Miss Kate..." Ox all but whined. "Call me Ox. I really don't like Joshua and it don't bother me to be called Ox by my friends."  

"Friends?" Katherine asked without looking at him as she finished dealing out the cards. She cursed herself. Was she fishing for more? Since when did Katherine fish for more with a man? "Are we only friends?"  

 "Miss Kate, I wouldn't ask you to be no more than that." Ox mumbled quietly, his eyes locked on the cards in his hands. "You're a proper lady. Kind and good. Beautiful and smart. I'm just Ox....."   

Katherine reached across the table and laid her hand on his forearm and she saw his green eyes widen though he didn't look up at her.  

"You're a good man, Ox, and I'm not......." Katherine stopped and swallowed hard. "Frankie was telling the truth this morning, Ox. I was raised in a brothel. I grew up in that brothel and I worked their most of my life. I was still working there when Colt found me...."  

"You're a whore?" Ox demanded as he shoved himself to his feet.  

"Ox..shh..please.." Katherine whispered, embarrassment and shame filling her. "Someone will hear you..."  

Ox threw his cards down on the table and Katherine was horrified to see that his eyes were red rimmed.  "Don't worry, Katherine, ma'am. I won't tell nobody you played cards with the dumb ox."  

Katherine sat there in a state of shock long after Ox had left. What the hell had just happened? One moment they had been playing cards, talking, smiling and enjoying each other's company and then she came clean about her past and he had stormed off acting, not angry, but hurt.  

“Don’t hurt my brother.” Evangeline’s words came back to Katherine. Katherine hadn’t meant to…. She shouldn’t be surprised though that he had walked away from her. What kind of man wanted to fall in love with a whore?

Katherine felt the tear that slipped down her cheek and she quickly sniffed, wiped it away and silently dashed back to her room before anyone could walk into the dining cart and ask her what was wrong.  

---

"I'm going to take a cup of coffee to Colt." Evangeline said as she filled a ceramic cup with the hot brew. "I'm sure he's tired after insisting he take first run of the train."  

"Take your time then, Evangeline." Silas replied with a knowing wink that had Evangeline blushing. 	

"Leave her alone, Silas." Charlotte scolded with a smile. Then she grabbed a fresh baked muffin from a basket on the counter and placed it in Evangeline's palm. "No better way to a man's heart than through his stomach."  

Evangeline's blush deepened and she quickly left the kitchen with coffee and muffin in tow. She stopped between the engine and dining car, feeling the cool night breeze on her face and staring at the stars dotting the clear sky.  

Today had been a long day and everyone was exhausted but standing here listening to the thundering train and feeling that breeze—seeing those stars—it was so easy, so tempting, to pretend that things were once again normal and she was simply on her way to Savannah for the summer season. Oh how wonderful that would be....... Then she remembered the man in the engine driving the train and realized that if the world was still the way it had once been, Colt would never have entered her life. Maybe it wouldn't be so wonderful after all.  

She entered the engine car to find the driver's seat empty. She walked through a door into the boiler room and was instantly shocked by the sweltering heat beside the furnace and then left breathless by the sweltering heat Colt himself caused in her blood when she caught sight of him.  

Colt was shirtless and covered in sweat and coal dust as he shoveled coal into that glowing furnace. Evangeline had never seen a sight such as the one he created. His body was hard and lean. Tight rippling muscles covered every inch of his torso and worked beautifully in his long arms as he hefted that shovel time after time.  

Colt's dark blond hair was damp with sweat and had fallen over his brow as he worked. Evangeline knew she should let him know she had entered the car since he was obviously unaware of her and yet she didn't do so..... Not yet.  

She wanted to enjoy the sight of him like this just a bit longer. She could see scars on his flesh and wondered what had caused them. There was one that looked to be close to his heart and she had a vivid image flash through her mind of Colt shot in the chest and bleeding..... Horror filled her. Had that been what had caused that scar? Had Colt been shot in the chest at some point in his life?  

"You might want to step back away from the furnace." Colt's voice suddenly filled the space and Evangeline gasped when she realized he was looking at her with a shovel full of coal suspended in the air.  

"Why?" she managed to mumble, swallowing hard.  

"Because your skirt is on fire."  

Evangeline gasped and jumped when she looked down and realized that Colt was right. He tossed the shovel he was holding down, took two long strides and crouched in front of her, gathering up the bottom of her skirt and patting the tiny flames out.  

"Th...Thank you." Evangeline stammered as she looked down at him. He was so handsome from this angle... who was she kidding? This man was handsome from every angle. Something flickered in his dark blue eyes and then he let out a long breath and stood straight.  

"What are you doing up here?"

Evangeline held up the coffee and muffin sitting all but forgotten in her trembling hands. "Bringing you something to eat and drink."  

Colt nodded and turned, waving for her to follow him and she was more than happy to obey. His back gleamed with sweat and the tight skin worked as his hips moved with every step he took. Looking that good should be a crime punishable at the gallows.  

He led her back through the doorway and up into the much cooler and cleaner operators area. Evangeline somehow managed to look away from Colt and out the front window of the train at the scenery laid out before them.  

"How far have we come?" she asked.   

"One hundred miles or so. I'm not running her very fast. I don't want to run her out of water or get the speed up too much and run up on something in the dark." Evangeline turned her eyes back to him and realized with a bit of disappointed that he was once again wearing a shirt, though he had only buttoned the bottom few buttons, leaving much of his broad, coal streaked chest visible.  

Evangeline all but shoved the coffee cup and muffin into his chest. "Here you go." 

Colt blew on the coffee a moment before taking a sip and Evangeline turned her eyes away from the sight his lips made curved around the edge of that cup. The only thing that would possibly make him more irresistible in this moment would be if that beard were suddenly gone.  

"Thanks for the coffee and food." Colt said and then a frown curved those lips that Evangeline's eyes seemed to be magnetically drawn to. "Did you bring anything for yourself?"  

"Um.. no.. Actually I was going to head back toward the kitchens and make sure everything is ready for breakfast in the morning...."  

"Oh." Colt's voice was flat.  

"Or I could stay and keep you company for a while?" Evangeline offered. She was sure she saw his eyes brighten a little as he looked out the window of the train.  

"It's up to you."  

Cursing the man's foolish stubbornness and her own apparent willingness to do anything for him, Evangeline lifted her skirts a bit and settled down on the small seat beside him.  

The coffee cup was sat on the control desk and Colt used both of his dirty hands to break the muffin in two and hold one piece out toward her. Evangeline smiled gratefully as she took it from his grasp.  

"Thank you." 

"It might crunch a little. I'm kinda dirty."  

Evangeline had been in the process of taking a bite when Colt said this and the mischievous light in his eyes had laughter bursting forth from her and muffin crumbs spewing out of her mouth—and of course all over Colt's chest.  

"I'm sorry!" she gasped with horror and Colt surprised her when he laughed and brushed at them with his free hand.  

"Don't be. You have a nice laugh."  

He seemed just as surprised by the compliment as she was and they fell into an awkward silence for a moment. Both of them munching at their muffins and seemingly lost in thought.  

"The way you led the group today was impressive." Evangeline finally broke the tense atmosphere. "I'm sure no one else could have come up with a plan and kept everyone alive the way you did."  

"I didn't keep anyone alive. They stayed alive because they're good fighters and they wanted to live."  

"You don't like anyone saying good things about you, do you?" Evangeline questioned with a tilt of her head and Colt tilted his own head, mimicking her.  

"No I don't."  Then he smiled. "I want to thank you for saving my life. You're either a very good shot or I got damned lucky it wasn't me whose head got blown off."  

Evangeline laughed and wished she had brought something for herself to drink as bits of muffin seemed lodged in her throat. Colt somehow noticed her discomfort and knew what it meant as he grabbed the coffee cup and handed it to her.  

The jostling train nearly sent the liquid sloshing over the edge and he winced when it nearly spilled out on her skin.  

"Careful now. I don't need you getting burned."  

"How thoughtful."  

"That's me. Mr. Thoughtful."  

"You sure you don't mind drinking after me?" Evangeline asked, her lips pausing just before they reached the rim of the cup.  

Colt cleared his throat loudly and shook his head, his eyes going out the window. "I'm sure." He ground out. 	

"Where did you learn to lead a group the way you do?" Evangeline asked as she brushed a few muffin crumbs from her skirt.  

"I led a gang for a while." Colt replied. "That was years ago." He added quietly.  

"And that would be where you became train robber extraordinaire?"  

Colt laughed again. "I never was no... whatever the hell that big word was you just used. I didn't know any better than that life and didn't care to learn. Then I got shot and nearly died..." Evangeline saw his hand absently rub against that scar on his ribs. "That woke me up. I didn't want to live like that anymore."  

"A man like you had to have a reputation." Evangeline pressed, happy to have him opening up. She could sit and listen to this man talk for hours and never grow bored.  

"I did." Colt admitted with a nod as his eyes took on a faraway look. "I had wanted posters in four states and three territories. Luckily I had a friend who was able to pull some pretty high up strings for me and I earned myself a pardon." 	

“Earned?” Evangeline asked with a quirk of her brow. “How does one earn a pardon?”

"By completely changing himself." Colt replied tightly. Evangeline could see that wall going back up and realized that this conversation had begun to enter that territory that Colt guarded so closely. Should she push it? She decided against it. This was the first true conversation the two of them had shared since that night by the fire so long ago, and Evangeline was not in a hurry to push him away.  

"Well I for one am sure glad we have gang leading, train robbing extraordinaire Colt on our side."  

"Glad I could be of service." Colt grinned and twisted in his chair as if stretching out his back.  

"Are you in pain?"  

"I'll be alright. I guess I just ain't as young as I used to be." Colt assured her. Evangeline wasn't sure where her bravery to be so forward came from but she stood, laid the coffee cup back in his hand and walked behind him.  

The heat from his skin seemed to sear her even though his shirt as Evangeline began to rub at his tight shoulders. All moisture left her mouth when Colt moaned beneath her touch and sunk back against the chair.  

Evangeline slid her dry tongue across her lower lip and moved her hands further to the front, letting her fingertips brush against that bare exposed skin of his chest. She could feel the hard muscles, the sweat, the dusting of hair.  

Never had she felt a jolt of awareness and arousal like she felt in this moment, all alone with Colt in this train car with her hands touching his bare skin as he moaned his approval.  

Evangeline wondered if he would stop her if she pushed this further. Would he make love to her here in this small room if she urged him to?  She thought he probably would. She glanced over his shoulder and saw the bulge in his denims and the precariously tight grip he had on the coffee cup.  

"Evangeline...." Her name was a moan as it left his lips. Full of longing and desire, proving he was feeling what she was feeling. Evangeline's thighs were quivering and her hands were beginning to shake. She had to end this.... It was too soon for where this moment was heading.  

Colt was barely beginning to speak to her; allowing him to lay with her now would be a mistake that would more than likely end with Evangeline's heart broken. She would not give her innocence to any man unless that man was ready to say he loved her and she knew that Colt was nowhere near ready to say that.  

She pulled her hands off of him and he caught her wrist in his grasp and held her tight. Evangeline came around him and the hunger in her eyes nearly had her resolve failing.  

"I have to go, Colt."  

Colt swallowed hard and stood up, towering over her much smaller frame. His heat and power seeming to surround her.  

"I...." he cleared his throat and his thumb stroked the wrist he was holding, sending shockwaves of awareness to run up her arm. "Thank you for keeping me company."  

"Thank you for allowing me to." Evangeline replied. She rose on her toes and laid a gentle kiss to his cheek, wincing when the coarse hairs of his beard poked her tender skin.  

She rubbed at her mouth as she pulled away and Colt slowly, loathe fully released his hold on her arm. "I'll see you in the morning, Colt."  

"Yeah." He quietly agreed, his dark blue eyes never leaving hers. Evangeline backed out of the room, closing the door and leaning against it for several long moments to regain control of both her emotions and her overheated body.  

The night air helped with that at least a little. Evangeline stared up at the clouds and knew that her father was probably screaming at her from wherever it was people went when they died. She knew that his head would explode with knowledge that his well-bred, highly educated, properly trained daughter was head over heels in love with an ex-outlaw who had a less than honest past and dark demons that seemed to plague him.

Chapter Thirty-three

Chapter Thirty-Three: Smooth Cheeks and A Fever

Charlotte moaned as Silas's big hand moved slowly up her bare leg. His fingertips danced across her skin and Charlotte's body trembled under his touch.  

His lips traced her jawline, moving to her neck and then her hear. "I love you, Miss Charlotte."  

"And I love you." she whispered as Silas shifted beneath the blanket on the tiny bed and covered her body with his own. "Silas... It's morning." Charlotte whispered with a blush as she glanced back at the sunrise shining through the window.  

Silas smiled warmly. "And you look beautiful in the sunlight." His lips once again found her neck and then moved lower still to gently caress one of her bare breasts, teasing and licking as her back arched against the mattress.  

"Everyone will be wanting breakfast." She gasped, though her hands locked on her head, holding his mouth in place. She felt his warm breath wash over her in a rush as he chuckled.  

"They all ate just fine before you began cooking for them, Miss Charlotte. They'll make do this morning."  

Charlotte's further argument died on her lips as Silas slid himself inside of her. "There are plenty of muffins." She agreed breathlessly as her arms looped around his neck.  

Silas's warm brown eyes sparked with amusement. "Let them eat muffins." He agreed.  

Charlotte pulled his face down and kissed him hungrily as he loved her. Filling her body and taking her deeper into the raging whirlpool the way only he could. His touch reached her soul in a way that no other touch ever had and none ever would again.  

She loved this man completely. Her husband. Her soul mate.  

Charlotte felt herself nearing her peak and just as she tumbled over that edge, Silas stiffened as well and their moans of pleasure mingled and mixed as their lips and mouths remained in a hungry embrace.  

"I've never done that before." Charlotte blushed as Silas lay on his back beside her and she curled up on her side against him, resting her head on his chest and enjoying the sound of his pounding heartbeat.  

"I seem to remember doing just that a time or two." Silas argued with a smile and Charlotte laughed lightly, spreading her fingers wide on his dark stomach and loving the contrast of their skin.  

"I mean that I have never done it in the morning."  

"What about the afternoon?" Silas asked with a grin and Charlotte shook her head. "Well that will be my next plan of attack."  

Charlotte laughed again and snuggled up closer to him. She was surprised when she found herself drifting off to sleep in his arms until Grace let out a whimpering cry.  

Charlotte smiled as Silas instantly rose from the bed and slid into his pair of pants on the floor before walking to the crate that they had lined with blankets to serve as Grace's bed. He picked her up and gave her cheek a loud popping kiss, causing the infant to nuzzle his face, searching for something to eat.  

"Mama, I believe your services are needed." He laughed. "Now I would gladly do anything in the world for both my girls but old papa Silas just don't have the right equipment to satisfy Little Grace this morning."  

Grace let out a squeal and kicked her arms and legs for all she was worth causing Silas to laugh. "Alright. Alright, Little Grace! Right here's your mama." Silas turned back to the bed and laid Grace into Charlotte's waiting arms.  

Once Grace was latched on and feeding happily, Charlotte smiled up at Silas. "I'm hungry."  

"I hear this train has delicious muffins."  

Charlotte smiled brightly and Silas chuckled as he slid into his shirt and boots. Then he kissed Charlotte's cheek and headed toward the door.  

"Tea goes nicely with a delicious muffin." Charlotte called out, stopping him with his hand hovering over the door handle.  

Silas bowed his head as he turned to face her. "Whatever you want, Miss Charlotte, it's yours. All you have to do is ask."  

"I want you, me and Grace to always be this happy." Charlotte replied, her heart swelling at the look of love in Silas's soft brown eyes as he gazed at her.  

"I think that's pretty much a guarantee, Miss Charlotte." He assured. "Now I'm off to the kitchen for some tea and a delicious muffin."

Charlotte smiled down at Grace once Silas was gone and kissed her suckling angel on the brow. "Your pa loves us very, very much."  

Charlotte laughed lightly as Grace's chest worked hard, her breathing labored. "Slow down there, Little Grace. I know you're hungry but you have to breathe."  

Charlotte rested her back against the wall and smiled as she thought about the perfect little family this terrible new world had given her.  

---

Colt stood in the tiny water closet in his room and stared intently at his reflection in the mirror. His hand rubbed against the smooth skin of his chin, passing over the small pail scars he'd earned in fistfights over the years.  

It had taken nearly an hour to remove every bit of that thick beard from his face but it was gone now and Colt had to admit that his face was noticeably less itchy without its presence. Why had he shaved it? Because Evangeline hadn't seemed to like it when she had kissed his cheek the previous night. Would he tell anyone that that was the reason he had gotten rid of the beard? Hell no he would not.  

Damn but that woman was like a poison that had invaded his blood. She filled his mind and he couldn't seem to go more than a few minutes at a time without some thought of her entering his head. Before he made any decision, (even shaving his face), he gave thought to Evangeline and what she would think. But it wasn't her mind that had had him up all night, tossing and turning and unable to sleep... No it was the way her tiny hands had felt as they'd rubbed his sore muscles and the way those dainty fingertips had left behind flames and burning embers in their wake as they had caressed the bare skin of his chest. 

Hell, Colt had never felt anything like this in his life. That damn woman was under his skin, in his blood, filling his head. Growling he shoved himself away from the mirror and left the water closet. Donning his vest and gun belt, Colt strode from his room and down the hall, making his way through both passanger cars before he came to the dining car and found it full of passengers.  

Including 

her . Evangeline.

"Damn Colt!" Frankie exclaimed with a snort from where she sat perched on a table, her feet resting in Comanche's lap. "You sure do clean up nice.' 

Colt rubbed at his jaw and shrugged. "It was too hot." He scratched at his hair free chin and glanced over at Evangeline. "And itcy."  

"Did you here that, Comanche? It was 

itcy. I wonder who he was itching with it.“

Colt would be damned if he didn't feel a blush rise to his cheeks as he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Who the hells driving the train?"  

"Paleface, I do not believe Colt appreciates your insights as to what he and Evangeline spoke about in the engine room last night."  

"Oh I didn't accuse them of talking." Frankie assured with a wink and Colt spared another glance in Evangeline's direction to see that she had suddenly become very interested in the muffin sitting on the table she was sitting beside, her face and neck flushed with color.   

"That's enough." Colt snapped. He saw that Katherine was sitting at a window staring out at the rainy day but no one else was in the room.  "Where is everyone else?"  

"Ox hasn't come out of his room yet." Evangeline finally spoke up. "Silas and Rachel are in the kitchen and Charlotte is in her room. Jedidiah is up front."

"Charlotte needs to get out here and cook some damn breakfast." Frankie mumbled.  

"Why don't you cook breakfast?"  Evangeline demanded, sitting up a little straighter. Colt knew he needed to be gone soon. He had no desire to be in the middle of a cat fight.  

"Trust me, Evangeline." Comanche shivered. "You do not wish that."  

"Go to hell, 

injun .“ Frankie declared with a shove to Comanche’s shoulder, which simply served to make the man laugh. “I don’t cook because I don’t have to; I’m good with a gun and that’s my gift to this group. Why don’t you get on in there, little woman, and whip us up a meal?”

Evangeline stood and Colt couldn't help but be amused at her petite stature as she squared her shoulders and glared at Frankie. "I will cook but only because I believe the men deserve to have a good hot meal. If women need to do the cooking then why don't you join me? I trust you do have all the working parts that make you just as much a woman as I am, correct?"  

"You would be correct." Comanche spoke up with a wink and for the first time in Colt's memory of the woman, Frankie seemed flustered and speechless. She shoved herself from the table, careful to keep from putting too much weight on her healing ankle.  

"I'll butter some damned bread but that's it."  

Evangeline put her arm around Frankie's shoulders and smiled comfortingly when the woman stiffened. "Buttering bread is a good start, Frankie. We all must start somewhere."  

Colt shook his head as Evangeline led Frankie to the kitchen, turning at the last minute and throwing him a smile that damn near put him on the floor.  

"You've got a nice face, Colt. You shouldn't cover it with that beard again." 

"Uh...sure." Colt mumbled and then Evangeline and Frankie were out of sight.  

"Frankie may have met her match in Evangeline." Comanche mused and Colt nodded.  

"Oh I will guarantee that she has. I need to go relieve Jedidiah though it is Ox's turn to drive. "  

"You would trust him?" Comanche asked with interest and Colt shrugged.  

"Why the hell wouldn't I?"  

Comanche said nothing and Colt shook his head. "Katherine?" he called but the woman didn't turn away from the window. "Katherine!" he snapped loudly and her head whipped around.  

"What?" she demanded, clearly angry.  

"Go wake Ox up and tell him it's his turn to drive."  

"Why?"  

Colt rubbed his face and suddenly wished he had a bottle of that damn liquid ambrosia again. The women on this train were driving him to be a drinking man in a real quick hurry.  

"Because everyone else is busy."  

"Comanche isn't busy."  

"Goddammit!" Colt growled. "Stop being so damned difficult and go get Ox.  

"Is that an order, 

captain ?“ Katherine sneered as she stood up and smoothed out her black skirt. Colt nodded as he stepped closer and looked down his nose at her. She sure was an annoying brat when the mood struck her.

"Yes it is. Now. Go."  

Katherine strode past him and back toward the passenger cars. Colt was still shaking his head and heading toward the kitchen, which would lead him to the engine car when Rachel came out with a plate of muffins in her hands. 

Her eyes met his and Colt saw it then.... Recognition. Real fear shook deep in his bones.  

"

You! “ she shrieked loudly. “Colt, you’re a thief, a liar and an attempted murderer!”

"Hold on now...." Colt urged calmly as he held his hands up and took several steps back, scanning the room for that damn buffalo rifle the redhead was so fond of. Rachel tossed her muffins down with a crash on a table and Silas, Evangeline and Frankie all joined them in the dining room.  

"Don't tell me to hold on. It was 

you !“ Rachel hissed. Colt was just damn glad the woman didn’t have her rifle just now.

"Aunt Rachel?" Evangeline asked. Her green eyes turned to Colt. "What is she talking about?"  

"It was a long time ago...." Colt replied and Rachel snorted.  

"Five years. It has been right around five years since you and your gang robbed my home, taking jewelry, silver, money and food."  

"You robbed my aunt?" Evangeline demanded sharply and Colt shrugged.  

"Hell I didn't know she was your aunt...." Colt reminded her. "I didn't even know you existed back then."  

"I'm surprised this man hasn't already killed us all." Rachel ground out.  

"What the hell are you talking about?" Colt demanded, growing irritated. Everybody was pissed off at him for robbing someone five years ago? They sure hadn't seemed upset that he'd robbed trains since that one worked in their favor.  

"You shot at me!" Rachel accused and Colt shook his head with so much force his neck popped as Evangeline strode forward and stuck her tiny finger in his chest.  

"You shot at my aunt?"  her eyes were narrow slits as she glared up at him. Colt sighed.  

"I shot in her general direction."  

"Colt!" Evangeline exclaimed and Colt threw his arms up.  

"What?! She shot at me first!"  

Evangeline whirled around on her aunt. "You shot at Colt!?"  

"He robbed me blind."  

Evangeline let out an angry grumble, which Colt couldn't help but find to be the cutest damn thing he'd ever heard, and plopped herself down at a table. "I don't even know which one of you to be angry at."  

"No one needs to be angry at anybody." Colt stated pointedly. "It happened five years ago and I was a different man back then. I think we can all agree that a lot has happened in the last five years."  

"It took me years to recover from everything you took from me." Rachel informed him and Colt sighed.  

"If it'll even us out, I'll stop in the next town and empty the bank vault in your lap."  

Evangeline let out a burst of laughter which had Colt smiling at her while Rachel frowned. "You find him entertaining? Do you have any idea what he took?"  

"It wasn't just me." Colt replied with a shrug. Evangeline stood up and walked to Colt, looping her arm through his and he was too surprised to pull away.  

"Aunt Rachel, it was a long time ago and no lasting harm was done. I think we have bigger things to worry about these days than a few stolen belongings...." Colt thought back to the bags full of silver that he had taken from the dining room and smiled. "Now surely you have to agree, Aunt Rachel, that it's time to let the past stay in the past."  

Rachel sighed. "Fine, I suppose." She mumbled though Colt could tell she wasn't happy about it. Slowly the dining car cleared out and Colt found himself alone with Evangeline, even Comanche had wandered into the kitchen, probably to talk about him, Colt thought.  

"You should have told me what you had done to my aunt." Evangeline scolded and Colt shrugged.  

"It was a long time ago." He insisted. "And, you know, it's not the easiest thing to just bring up in conversation."  

Evangeline smiled and laid her hand on his cheek, causing his jaw to tight and his muscles to jump and bunch beneath her touch.

"Son of a bitch that's hot!" Frankie exclaimed from inside the kitchen just before a pan clattered.

"I had better get back to her." Evangeline sighed, letting her hand fall. Colt nodded.  

'I have to relieve Jedidiah." He agreed and then he walked away from her, striding through the kitchen without looking at anyone else or hearing the whispers as he passed. He was happy for the rain falling outside as it cooled his blood and gave him a moment to wonder just how Evangeline was able to make him feel so damn overheated with simply a touch to the cheek.  

---

Katherine stopped outside the door that she knew was Ox’s room and took time smoothing out her skirt and gathering her courage. She did not want to face him after last night. Damn that stupid Colt and his bossiness straight to hell!

Taking a deep breath, she rapped her knuckles against the door and waited impatiently for him to answer. When the door flung open she was taken aback.  

Ox looked like hell. His green eyes were tired and sad with dark rings around them. His strong jaw was covered in a dark shadow of stubble and his cheeks looked a big gaunt. His massive shoulders were slumped and his rather nice lips were turned down in a frown.  

"Miss Kate?" he asked, surprise filling his features. "What are you doing here?" 

"Um... Colt sent me." Katherine said quickly, rubbing at her arm. "He said it's your turn to drive."  

"He trusts me to drive?"  

"Of course he does." Katherine played with the end of her hair for a moment and then met his gaze again. "Why did you storm out on me last night? Was it because I used to be a whore? Because let me tell you something, Joshua Gilcrest, I didn't know any better than to be what I was and I'm a different woman now. I'm not proud of the fact that I have laid with so many men I didn't care about but......." 

Katherine's voice trailed off when Ox clamped his hands over his ears and shook his head. "What are you doing?" she asked, her hand firmly on her hips as she cocked them to the side.  

"Not listening to you say stuff like that."  

"But then what...."  

"Miss Kate..." Ox lowered his hands and pulled off his hat, wringing it tightly in a gesture that Katherine was beginning to realize meant the man was nervous. "Miss Kate I don't care that you was a... a.. 

soiled dove .“ Ox whispered the last words, causing Katherine to smile. “Truth be told I’ve been with lots of women that I didn’t really care about and they didn’t care about me neither.”

"Then why were you with them?" Katherine questioned, knowing the jolt of jealousy that shot through her was both completely unfair and pointless.  

Ox looked ashamed as he stared down at the floor and shifted his bare feet. "Cuz they told me to. They'd come lovin' up on me and pretend to care and then once we, you know,  

got done , they would order me to never speak of it to anyone.“

"Why?"  

"Because they didn't want anybody to know they'd been with the big dumb Ox."  

Ox's words from last night came back to Katherine. 

‘Don’t worry, Katherine, ma’am, I won’t nobody you played cards with the dumb Ox.’

“Ox, last night…”

"Miss Kate, I'm real sorry I acted that way after you told me what you did about your past. I reckon that wasn't real fair."  

"Tell me the truth, Ox."  

"About what, Miss Kate?" Ox asked in earnest as he plopped his hat back on his messy dark hair. "I wouldn't never lie to you about anything. I swear that to you."  

"You thought I was going to be just like those other women didn't you? You thought I would what? Make you lay with me and then send you away? Be ashamed of you?"  

"Shit, Miss Kate, every other woman I've ever known has been. Now I'm nice to look at and I guess I'm.. well 

good at things —“ A blush colored his cheeks. “But no woman ever wanted anything more than that… I guess when you said you were a— you know –I thought that’s all you would want from me too. And then you told me to be quiet…..”

"Ox, I told you to be quiet because you were yelling out that I was a whore for the entire train to hear." Katherine reminded him and he winced.  

"Sorry."  

"Ox, I won't lie to you. I have no idea how to be in a relationship. I've never had the chance to be in one before and honestly I never thought I would be, but I can tell you this right now; I will 

never be ashamed of you. I think you are a kind, strong, caring, sweet man and I will stand beside you no matter who’s around….“ It was Katherine’s turn to blush. “…that is if you would want to be seen beside a woman like me.”

Ox smiled down at her. "I would be the most proud man in the world to have you standing beside me, Miss Kate."  

"Oh, Ox..." Katherine rose on her toes and she saw Ox's eyes slide closed as his arm slipped around her waist. Their breath mingled in the air between them and then suddenly a door down the hall slammed open and Charlotte burst into the hall wearing only a thin cotton robe, with baby Grace clutched against her chest.  

"Silas! I need Silas!" Charlotte exclaimed, her gold-rimmed, green eyes wide and shining with panic. Katherine and Ox shared a look of confusion and Katherine took several steps toward her.

"Charlotte, what's wrong?"  

"It's Grace!" Charlotte sobbed, clutching the whimpering baby against her.

"What's wrong with her?" Ox asked cautiously and Charlotte looked at both of them with desperation.  

"She.... She has a fever."

Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four:

“Paleface, never have I sampled better buttered bread.” Comanche said with a smile before shoving half a piece of it in his mouth. Frankie rolled her eyes.

"I have to get this tea and muffin back to Miss Charlotte." Silas stated as stepped into the dining room from the kitchen. "She'll be thinking I got lost somewhere.'  

Suddenly the train began to slow, there was the screeching of the brakes engaging and every pair of eyes in the dining car glanced around them with confusion.  

"It's raining and we're in the middle of nowhere. Why in the world would Colt and Jedidiah stop the train?" Evangeline questioned.  

"I will go find out." Comanche said as he stood up. Before he could exit the dining room, Jedidiah came racing in, his breathing rushed and his eyes wide.  

"What's wrong?" Rachel demanded, rushing forward and taking Jedidiah's hands in hers.  

"Something bad is going to happen....." Jedidiah whispered. Comanche took a step back as Colt came striding into the room with rage contorting his features.  

"Dammit, old man, I warned you not to be pulling this future seeing shit and having everybody half scared to death!" Colt growled as he grabbed Jedidiah by the back of the shirt and spun him around.  

"What the hell's goin' on?" Frankie asked with curiosity form her table top perch. 	

"Colt, let go of Jedidiah...." Evangeline urged as she stepped forward and laid her hand on his arm, though Comanche noticed that Colt's grip did not lessen.  

"I want to hear what he has to say." Silas spoke up. "What's going to happen, Jedidah?"  

Jedidiah's eyes were sad as they locked on Silas. "Death of the little one." 

The dining car fell silent. The tea sloshing over the side of the tiny cup Silas held, was the only indication of what the man was feeling as his hands shook. Comanche looked at Frankie but she was staring hard at Jedidiah.  

"Dammit, I warned you!" Colt roared as his fist drew back. Jedidiah's eyes closed, obviously preparing himself for the hit, but Colt's arm froze in place when Ox burst into the dining car.  

"Silas!" he exclaimed, panting and out of breath.

"Little Grace? Charlotte?" Silas whispered and Ox rubbed at neck and shifted his feet.  

"Charlotte's okay but Grace...  Grace has a fever."  

The dining room fell silent. No one moved. No one blinked. Comanche swallowed hard. A fever. Fevers had been bad in the old world; they were worse in this one. Had the girl been bitten? Was she turning?  

Silas was the first to come out of his daze, the tea cup and muffin fell to the floor and he ran from the dining car. Comanche watched with surprise as Colt was the next to chase after him, followed by Evangeline and Ox.  

"Should we go?" Frankie asked, sounding confused. Comanche put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her dark hair.  

"I see nothing we could do to help." He replied.  

"There is nothing anyone can do." Jedidiah offered sadly. "I saw her death."  

"Just like you 

saw the train but left out the rabid infested part?“ Frankie spat. “I don’t exactly have perfect faith in your abilities.”

"You are welcome to leave if you don't believe in Jedidiah!" Rachel urged. "We wouldn't even have this train if not for him."  

"No, we have this train because Colt came up with a good plan and all of us kicked some rabid ass. That's why we have this train." Frankie countered angrily.  

Comanche reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Paleface, perhaps fighting now is not the best use of our minds. I think prayers are needed."  

Once again silence fell over the dining room as everyone sat there lost in thoughts and hoping against hope that Grace would be okay.  

---

Colt stepped into that bedroom and glanced over Charlotte as she stood at the window with her arms crossed tight over her chest, tears streaking her cheeks. Silas sat on the edge of the bed with the bag of doctor supplies. Stethoscope, syringes, needles....   

Colt's eyes landed then on Grace and deja' vue so powerful it stole his breath washed over him. He gripped the wall to keep from falling as he took in the sight of her glassy, fevered eyes. Her mouth was wide open as she struggled to breath and Colt could see her tiny ribs heaving up and down as her lungs struggled to breath.  

Loralie . And image of his baby girl, his miracle, his angel, came so vividly to Colt’s mind that he nearly cried out from the pain of it and his fists clenched tightly.

Silas sighed heavily as he shoved his stethoscope back into the leather bag and then slowly bundled the tiny infant back up. She was agitated and whimpering and he hummed quietly as he lifted her into his arms and kissed her brow.  

"What's wrong with her?" Charlotte whispered. "She's going to be fine, right?"  

"Miss Charlotte..." Silas began, his voice thick with emotion. Charlotte cried out then and grabbed Grace from his arms, clutching the infant desperately against her breast. Colt turned, he had to get out of here.  

In the hall he ran into Ox and Katherine first. "What's going on?" Katherine asked him but Colt was in no mood to speak. He just wanted to go. Go. Go. Go. Tears were coming. That breakdown he couldn't have, didn't have time to have, was about to rear its head if he didn't get away.  

Grace began to cry then. Her voice raspy and her lungs wheezing as she wailed and coughed at the same time.  

"No! Silas! No!" Charlotte called out from within the bedroom. "You just promised the three of us would be happy always! No! Not my Grace!"  

"Colt, are you okay?" Evangeline asked, stepping between Ox and Katherine, but Colt didn't hear her. His mind was in the past.  

"Colt, what if your past comes back to haunt us? What if someone came and....." 


Colt pulled Loralie's covers up over her back and then turned to his wife, taking her hands in his and smiling down at her. "Sarah, I can't say that nothing bad will ever happen but I can say this, no one will ever take you and Loralie away from me. As long as I have a breath left in my body no one will ever touch either one of you." 


"Promise?" Sarah whispered and then she laughed lightly, ruefully. "What a silly thing to ask." She scolded herself. 


Colt smiled and wrapped her in a hug. "I promise." 


But he had failed. He was still breathing and his family was dead. He had shot his wife and he had left his daughter... Grace's wails grew louder and Colt covered his ears with his hands trying desperately to block out the sound.  

Loralie was bleeding in his arms as he walked to the window and looked outside to see the monsters closing in. He heard that moaning behind him and he turned to see his beautiful wife, her eyes gray and lifeless just before she lunged at him.....

Colt turned and ran. He ran as fast as he could. He ran outside and jumped off the parked train. The warm rain hit his face but he didn't care. He had known all along that having a baby around was a mistake! Babies died. Babies died and Colt was no good at keeping them safe.  

His thoughts were irrational and completely uncharacteristic as he slipped in the mud and fell to the ground. So this is what a mental break felt like. 

So many thoughts jumbled up together and Colt couldn't make sense of any of them. Images flashes. Happy times with his family and then that damned night! Loralie's tears. Loralie's fever. Her labored breaths. Her shaking. Her lifeless eyes staring up at him as she snarled and gnashed her jaws together, eager to sink her teeth into his flesh.  

Colt got to his knees and vomited on the grass and mud before crawling forward several feet and then collapsing onto his side. Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the raindrops, making it impossible to tell which was which. In that moment all Colt wanted was to be left alone to die.

Footsteps sounded in the mud behind him and he caught the swishing of brown skirts in his peripheral vision just before Evangeline's face suddenly appeared only about a foot above his own.  

"This seems a ridiculous thing to ask given the situation and the state you're in but, are you okay?" she asked quietly.  

"Just fine." Colt replied, sitting up quickly and swiping his arm across his face, only to realize he'd accomplished nothing other than to spread mud across his skin.  

"No you're not." Evangeline countered as she stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest, her green eyes looking him up and down. "You look a fright."  

Colt grunted and thought about getting to his feet only to think better of it when his head swam. "Go on back to the train now, Evangeline. You don't need to be out in this rain."  

"And neither do you." Evangeline agreed pointedly.  

"I'll be fine. It's a warm rain."  

"My thoughts exactly." Evangeline looked around her and Colt was sure he saw her nose curl just before she sat down in the mud across from him.  

"What the hell are you doing?"  

"Getting comfortable. It seems like we may be here for a while." Evangeline replied, her voice tight, making it clear she was not happy in the least to be sitting in mud.  

"You're a spoiled little girl." Colt shook his head. "Get on back to the train and I'll be along."  

"No. You made the rules, I'm following them. No one goes out alone, remember?"  

"I'm the leader. I don't have to follow the rules." Colt grumbled.  

"I'll go back when you go back. If you don't have to follow rules than neither do I."  

Colt glared at Evangeline. It was clear she was used to getting her way and not being questioned often. "Honestly?" he demanded. "Are you five years old?"  

"Give or take seventeen years." Evangeline replied with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "The way I see it we have three choices. We can either sit out here and continue with our back and forth bantering , or you can tell me what's wrong, or we can just sit out here nice and quiet until you're ready to go in. You tell me."  

Colt's first instinct was to tell her to get lost since that's what he would say to anyone trying to pry into his life and emotions. Hell he had never opened up about a thing in his life to anyone. He hadn't opened up to the men in his gang, to his friend that had gotten him the pardon, to his wife.... Colt was the single most closed off son of a bitch that he knew, but for Evangeline........ Hell for her Colt was realizing that he'd do just about any damn thing the intriguing, quick witted woman wanted.   

"What's wrong with Grace?" he asked.  

"Silas was not positive." Evangeline replied, biting her lip and looking incredibly sad. "But he thinks it's pneumonia."  

"Shit." Colt rubbed at his soaking wet hair, having lost his hat when he'd fallen down. 

Pneumonia? They’d been so damn worried about rabid for so damn long that no one had given a second thought to all the other ways people could die. Pneumonia and babies were a bad combination. A deadly combination.

"Is there anything he can do?"  

Evangeline didn't speak, just shook her head and picked at her wet skirt as the rain continued to fall on them. Colt watched the rivers of water running down her cheeks and her neck before slipping into the front of her dress. Her dark hair was plastered to her head and she looked like a drowned damn rat but she was still the most beautiful woman that Colt had ever laid his eyes on.  

"Maybe she'll pull through..." Colt offered.  

"Maybe."  

"Shit!" Colt slammed his fist into the mud, sending it splattering across Evangeline's skirts and blouse. A droplet even plopped onto her cheek. "Sorry." He mumbled.  

"I hear it's very good for your complexion."  Evangeline shifted and tilted her head as her eyes caught and held his. "What's wrong, Colt? What had you running out of there so scared?"  

"When I saw Grace like that and heard Charlotte reminding Silas that he was supposed to keep her safe, it reminded me of...." Colts jaw tensed and he rubbed at it painfully. Opening up hurt. "Of my daughter and of my wife."  

Evangeline's wet hand reached out and laid gently against Colt's arm. The heat of her touch, scorching him and the comfort he felt in his soul something new he had never felt before.  

"What were their names?"  

"I don't talk about this with anybody."  

"Is that what I am? Anybody?"  

Colt drew in a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. "No, Evangeline. No you're not just anybody."  

"Then tell me." She urged softly, scooting closer to him, their legs brushing together. "What were their names?"  

"My wife's name was Sarah. She was a stern women and set in her ways. She didn't like me very much because we came from two pretty damn different ways of thinkin'. But together we made little Loralie and while we weren't madly in love there was a love that grew out of mutual respect and acceptance." Colt paused and reached out to wipe the dot of mud from Evangeline's cheek with his thumb, a ghost of a smile curving his lips when she leaned into his touch. He didn't even think she realized she was doing so.  

"Loralie was the light of my life. She was everything to me. I lived and breathed just to get to hold that little girl at the end of a hard day of farming. It's been about two months since they were taken from me by those monsters. They came at night and I didn't know what they were--All I saw was a man in my barn eating my horse. I was busy with him and I heard Sarah scream for me and dammit, I tried to get in time...."  

"Of course you did, Colt." Evangeline comforted, laying her hand against his cheek. "You don't have to say anything else..."  

"I want to. I need to and you're the one I want to do this with."  

"Okay."  

"By the time I got in the house, Sarah was already as good as dead. The rabid was ripping chunks out of her chest, shoulders and neck. I killed him and I turned to get my daughter... I just knew she'd be safe in her crib... she wasn't. One of those bastards was in there with her. She was only seven months old for Christ's sake! Why her?"  

Evangeline was about to speak but Colt shook his head and continued. "The monster bit her leg and I shot it and scooped her up in my arms. I remember feeling so relieved that it was just her leg. I knew she'd be fine just so long as I got the wound cleaned up. She was crying so I shushed her and comforted her the best I knew how. I could see out the window that there was a whole herd of them things coming and so I knew I'd have to take Loralie out the back.... That's when I heard the moaning behind me.... It was Sarah, but it wasn't Sarah. She lunged for us and I had to protect Loralie so I shot her in the head. I shot my wife in the head. Honor, love and protect kinda leaves your memory when somebody's trying to eat you."  

"What happened to Loralie?" Evangeline asked gently and Colt closed his eyes, replaying the scene in his head for the millionth time. He knew he had tears falling from his eyes but he hoped that with the raindrops, Evangeline wouldn't notice.

"I ran out the back of the cabin. I just ran and ran. I'd gone a good short distance and she was burning up with fever against me and shaking something horrible. I didn't know what from. I didn't really understand. Then suddenly she stopped. Hell it wasn't like she even had time to die all the way, or at least it didn't seem like she did, before she was turning her head and looking up at me... Her eyes were the only thing she got from me. They were deep, dark blue just like mine. But when she looked at me they weren't my eyes anymore..... "  

"Oh my God, Colt......" Evangeline gasped as she shook her head and covered her mouth with her hand.  

"I'm ashamed of what I did next. A good man, a good father, would have ended his daughter's suffering but not me. I laid her on the ground and I left her there. I couldn't kill my sunshine. I called her that sometimes. 'Daddies Little Sunshine' I'd say and she'd smile up at me and laugh. So I pulled my gun and I ran back to the cabin to kill every damn monster I could before they killed me.... Frankie saved my life that night. And I hated her for a while afterward."  

"Colt.. I can't imagine how hard it's been for you to be around Grace at all after what you went through...."  

"I wasn't sure I could but that other man they had with them..."  

"J.B.?"  

"Yeah him. I knew he'd hurt  'em all if I didn't keep an eye on them.  I guess since I failed my family I wanted to protect theirs... Looks like I failed again."  

"Colt, what is wrong with that little girl is not your fault, do you hear me?" Evangeline demanded and Colt was surprised at the anger in her voice. He shook his head.  

"You just don't understand. You're only a...."  

"If you call me a little girl again I will personally smack you upside your fool head."  

"Fool head?! Dammit woman I just got done reliving the worst damn night of my life with you and you're going to call me a fool?'  

She put her hands on his cheeks. "Yes I most certainly am. You're a fool for blaming yourself for things that weren't your fault! You tried to save them, Colt! You tried! None of us knew what in the world was going on when this all started! I killed my mother. I chopped her head off with my father's saber! Now granted that's not as terrible as what happened with your little girl but now you gotta quit blaming yourself. "

"Why, because you say so?" Colt questioned ruefully and Evangeline shrugged one dainty shoulder.  

"Isn't that reason enough?"  

"Thank you, Evangeline."  

"For what?" she asked, her hands still firmly on his cheeks.  

"For letting me fall apart and not making me feel like a weakling for it."  

"We all have to fall apart sometimes, Colt.  That doesn't make us weak, just human." Evangeline let go of him and then rose to her feet, holding out her hand to help him up.  

Colt took her hand in his but then gripped it tighter once he was standing and she tried to let go. "I'm not quite ready to let go yet." He admitted.  

A blush colored Evangeline's cheeks and she nodded and pushed some soaked strands of hair from her face. "Let's get back to the train, Colt. I would say it is going to be a very hard couple of days and I for one would like to at least have a dry backside before I begin to tackle them."  

Colt chuckled, something he would have thought impossible after the pain he had just felt and the story he had just told. "A dry backside sounds real good to me, ma'am."

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

June 1

st

1887

The atmosphere in the train had been suffocating for three days. No one spoke. No one seemed to want to look anyone in the eye. Hell everyone seemed damn near afraid to breathe.

Frankie tapped her foot impatiently as she used the wooden spoon in her hand to stir the eggs she was scrambling. Never in her life had she thought she would be cooking but right now having anything at all to do was better than sitting around with everyone else on this goddamn train and waiting for that baby to die.  

It was too much for Frankie. She'd spent the better part of her life avoiding attachments for this very damn reason! The moment you got attached to something it ended up dying. Not that Frankie was attached to the baby but hell everybody had grown fond of the little thing. Not only that but, (and she would die before admitting her next thoughts aloud), she had a bit of fondness for Charlotte and Silas. Two people who had been through hell just like the rest of them but had somehow remained true to who they were; good, honest folks, who seemed to genuinely care for everyone. Now those two people were hurting.  

And they weren't the only ones. Colt seemed strange lately. Whenever Grace would cry, which was often since her fever had been staying high and her trouble breathing made it difficult for her to suckle and eat no matter how patiently Charlotte would sit for hours, Colt would go to the engine even if he had only just come from there.  And then Evangeline would follow him. Frankie knew they didn't even talk when they were in there, not that she had spied or anything, she had just happened to be within hearing distance several times. They just sat there together. Colt in one seat, Evangeline in the other. Colt would stare out the window or shovel coal while Evangeline either watched him or read out of some little diary she was carrying around.  

Ox seemed worried about his sister who had become Colt's shadow and Katherine seemed worried about Ox. Comanche seemed overwhelmed with it all and paced the train like a caged animal. While Rachel and Jedidah were rarely seen and seemed to be staying locked up in one of the bedrooms; not that it was any of Frankie's business what they were doing behind closed doors. That left Frankie to attempt doing the cooking herself and try to make sure everyone ate, which was difficult considering everyone seemed too distracted to eat.  

Frankie dished out ten plates of eggs and grumbled under her breath when she realized how watery they were. Yesterday she'd burned then and today she'd undercooked them. Frankie shrugged. They could either take it or leave it but dammit she was trying!

Frankie hadn't ever been a care taker. She was a loner. It had always been just her and her Uncle Gibbs. Now she had a train full of people to care for and dammit she really did care! She might hide behind insults and somewhat cruel jokes but that was simply a cover. She had never been taught to show her true feelings.  

Frankie carried the plates to the dining car, set them out, ensured the coffee was ready and then rang the bell, knowing it would sound throughout the train and let everyone know breakfast was ready.   

Comanche was the first to come into the dining car and he took her in his arms, his body tense.  

"You alright, injun? You've been acting so tense...."  

"I am losing my mind, paleface. I need air."  

Frankie nodded, she wasn't sure what was wrong with Comanche other than the obvious tension that was wearing on everyone, but she would do anything to help her Indian, especially given how patient he was with her emotionally crippled backside.  

"Come on then." Frankie urged as she took his hand and led him back through the cars to the storage car. Their they climbed the ladder that ran up the outside of the cart and found themselves on the roof, the air blowing through their hair and the sunlight shining on their faces.  

"Here's your air, Comanche." Frankie stated as she leaned her back into his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. They both looked out over the passing scenery. They were now in Kansas and the plains stretched out for miles around them.  

"I apologize for being so distracted lately." Comanche whispered, his warm breath washing over her ear. Frankie tried hard to ignore the urge to turn and have her way with him right there on top of the train car. That was what 

she wanted and Frankie was trying hard to think about what others needed before she thought about herself.

"Things have been pretty rough 'round here the last few days." She admitted and Comanche sighed.  

"I should have been helping you."  

"What has been wrong with you, injun? You've paced around here like a caged animal."  

"That's what I've felt like." Comanche admitted. "I haven't spoken much about my past...."  

"Because I'm selfish and never asked." Frankie shamefully cut in. "I reckon I'm sorry about that. I haven't been real good to you."  

"You are what I want, paleface."  

"But I want to be what you 

need too.“ Frankie argued, turning in his arms. “So talk to me. Tell me what’s been wrong with you, besides the obvious with what’s going on with Grace……”

"I don't do well being enclosed and this train is wearing on me. Add to that the tension and sadness and it is all a bit too much."  

"You mentioned your past—" Frankie urged and Comanche nodded as he ran a finger over her cheek and she turned back around quickly so she would no longer be looking at him. A woman's strength could only be tested so far and she was nearing her breaking point. This injun lit her blood on fire like no other man ever had before.  

"I was a prisoner. I was kept in cellars, cages, barred cells. I would go months without ever seeing sunlight and ever since then I've had a hard time being cooped up. Add to that the tension the last few days and—" Comanche's grip on her tightened.  

"I should have noticed before now and I'm sorry that I didn't." Frankie whispered. "I know I'm not very good at all this comforting and—you know—being there to lean on business, but truth is, injun, I love you and I want to be here for you."  

"You have been working hard to take care of everyone, Paleface. I am proud of you. I think your eggs are nearly edible today."  

Frankie laughed as she turned and poked him hard in the chest. "Hey, at least I'm trying!"  

Comanche nodded and captured her lips beneath his. "Can we agree to at least take a short time each day while we are on the train to come up here together? I need this time in the open alone with you."  

"I think we can arrange that." Frankie assured him.  

"Good. Now that's enough talking, don't you agree?" Comanche asked, his eyes flashing hungrily. Frankie felt that jolt of lightning flash through her body and nodded, her tongue darting across her tingling lips. 	

"Yes, I agree."  

---

Ox glanced over at Katherine and smiled. She was the prettiest damn woman he knew. Her golden hair was all pulled back and sweat streaked her face and caused her arms to glisten as she scrubbed dirty clothes on a washboard. Soap suds covered her hands and Ox chuckled when she swiped her hand across her face, leaving bubbles on her nose.  

She looked over at him and smiled brightly, causing Ox to damn near fall out of the side of the storage cart as he raked out the dirty hay from the horses makeshift stalls. Then Katherine stood up, tossing the shirt she'd been scrubbing down into the water, and started his way, swinging her hips as she moved.  

"You know, Ox, we haven't had much of a chance to be alone or—

talk —the last few days.“ She stated in a low passion-filled voice that damn near had Ox throwing his rake aside and grabbing her up right then and there.

"Things have been a bit busy lately, Miss Kate." Ox agreed.  The train had been a tense place ever since Baby Grace had gotten sick. Charlotte hadn't left her room and Silas had only come out a handful of times, and hadn't spoken to anyone those times he had. Colt had been pretty on edge, and seemed to want to stay as far away from the baby and the sound of her crying as he could and Evangeline had been spending all of her time with Colt up in the engine car. Ox wasn't real happy about that but had finally come to terms with the fact that his sister was a grown woman and could love who she wanted.  Comanche had done little more than pace for days and Frankie had been 

trying to feed them all…..

Ox had been working hard to keep the horses taken care of and keep up with the supplies while Katherine had been working hard to keep up with all the cleaning and laundry. The train had gone from feeling like a sanctuary to feeling like a prison and Ox was ashamed to say that he'd cried more than once as he'd listened to that poor baby crying... It just didn't seem fair that somebody who hadn't even had a real chance at life yet was now waiting to die.  

"Ox, you aren't still nervous about me are you?" Katherine asked as she approached him and laid one gentle hand on his chest. Ox knew she'd be able to feel the way his heart began to thunder and pound against his ribs.  

"Yeah, Miss Kate, I reckon I am." Ox replied with a nervous laugh before swallowing hard and gripping the rake a little tighter.  

"You know we are alone in here, Ox, and I don't think anyone is going to be bothering us for a while...."  

Ox took several quick steps backward and shook his head quickly. "Miss Kate, I don't think we should—"  

"I'm just talking about kissing Ox...." Katherine teased with a wink. "You haven't even kissed me yet and well, honestly, I'm not good at waiting."  

Ox shoved the rake out in front of him when Katherine tried to walk closer, and blocked her path. "No, Miss Kate, I ain't gonna kiss you."  

Her bright smile faltered. "Is there a reason you don't want to kiss me?"

"Shit, Miss Kate! You see, I'm covered in horse manure and the horses are standing right there and they're—you know—watching us and they stink real bad... And you're covered in soap suds and got all them clothes that still need to be hung up..."  

Katherine's face fell and she took several steps away, her green eyes filling with sadness, which caused those brown specks inside them to stand out even more sharply.  

"Yes, okay. Of course." She mumbled, turning away from him. "I understand."  

Ox groaned and shoved his hand through his hair. "Shit, Miss Kate, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings!"  

"Then what did you mean to do then, Ox, because I'm damned hurt right about now!" Katherine exclaimed as she whirled back around and her loud tone and cursing caught him completely off guard.  

"I..uh..."  

"You.. uh.. what?" she snapped. "One moment you say you would be proud to be with me but now you won't even kiss me. If you're ashamed of me then the least you could do is...."  

Ox tossed the rake to the side and strode toward her, silencing her as his large frame dwarfed hers. "Miss Kate, I ain't never had a woman that actually wanted to be with me for anything more than a quick roll between the sheets and, well, I just want things to be special...." 

"Special?" Katherine asked, her brow screwing up with confusion.  

Ox nodded in earnest. "Yeah, you know, romantic."  

Katherine stared up at him a few moments longer and then laughter bubbled out of her throat, leaving Ox confused but grateful that she at least no longer seemed angry or hurt.  

"Well I blundered that very nicely, didn't I?" she asked with disbelief. Ox frowned and she sighed. "I've never once had a man that wanted to be 

romantic , Ox.“

"Well I do, Miss Kate. I want to make sure that everything's just perfect the first time I kiss you."  

"Ox, in case you hadn't noticed, the world as we knew it ended a few months ago. I don't really think there is time for romance and perfection anymore."  

Ox nodded and fixed her with the sternest glare he knew how, the same glare his pa had used countless times on countless people when the man had wanted to be taken seriously. He could tell by the way Katherine's eyes widened that she was paying attention.  

"Oh yes there is, Miss Kate. Now I'm gonna be real honest with ya and let you know that chances are the first time I kiss you I'm gonna end up wanting to make love to you and I sure as heck want to do that in a place a bit nicer than a hay and horse manure filled storage car."  

"Is that right?" Katherine asked with amusement as a smile tugged at her lips. Ox fought back a laugh and nodded, trying to remain as stern as he could.  

"Yeah, that's right."  

"Well, alright then." Katherine replied with a nod. "I'll just get back to that laundry then."  

Ox felt a blush color his cheeks and he grinned. "Okay, Miss Kate."  

Katherine knelt back down at her washtub and then looked up as she pulled the dirty shirt back out of the soapy water. "And Ox?"  

"Yeah?" Ox asked, looking over his shoulder at her.  

"If you plan on taking things that far the first time we kiss then I think you need to make sure that it's one hell of a first kiss."  

Ox's face flamed red and he stuttered several times, rubbed furiously at the back of his neck with his free hand. "Uh... I'll do my best, Miss Kate."  

She winked and went back to washing clothes and Ox went back to cleaning out the stalls, though his mind was no longer on the task at hand.  

---

Evangeline was lost in the journal she had been reading for the last three days. It was a slow read because this doctor had obviously not cared much about his penmanship, but it was interesting to hear form his point of view what this sickness had seemed like. 	

"What are you reading?" Colt asked, his voice interrupting the doctor's narration of a young boy who had come down with the sickness and killed his entire family before being put down.  Evangeline shut the journal quickly and looked over at him.  

The last three days had been tough on Colt. His jaw was shadowed with stubble and the dark circles around his eyes made it clear he hadn't been sleeping well. Evangeline knew that was because anytime he entered the passenger car he would hear Grace crying. Grace seemed to cry all the time and her raspy voice carried quite far.  

Evangeline hated this waiting.. It was clear the baby wasn't going to make it so why did God have to drag things out? The wait and the tension were taking a big toll on everyone.  

"A book." Evangeline replied quickly. Colt hadn't spoken much the last few days. Honestly they had just spent most of their time quietly sitting together here in the engine room. Evangeline wasn't sure if the man appreciated her nearly constant presence or not but she thought it a good sign that he hadn't yet asked her to leave. 	

Colt's brow rose and he put his arms over his head, stretching out his muscles. And what muscles they were.... Evangeline was busy watching those muscles in his arms work and nearly didn't hear him ask, "What's it called?"

"What's what called?" she whispered.  

"The book." Colt replied, a smile tugging at his lips. Evangeline would swear that the man knew the reaction her body had to every little move he made and worse, it seemed as if he took some sick and twisted satisfaction in that knowledge. "What's the book called?"	

Evangeline flushed and laid the journal in her laps, covering it with her hands. "You never struck me as a reading man."  

Colt shook his head. "Nice try. What is that book? You've barely taken your nose out of it for three days."  

Evangeline swallowed and shrugged one shoulder, looking stubbornly down at her folded hands instead of into those dark blue eyes that seemed to always see too much.  

"It's a book of a personal nature."  

"A book of a personal nature, huh?" Colt questioned slowly. "So I reckon that means it's a journal of some sort?"  

"It might be." 

"And just where did you get this book of a personal nature that might or might not be a journal?'  

"I took it from the doctor's house."  

Colt's disbelieving snort had Evangeline looking at him and he was shaking his head with amazement. "You stole a journal?"  

"No..."  

"Yes you did! You shouldn't steal journals, Evangeline!"  

"Don't you dare." Evangeline warned, her finger pointing sternly at Colt's face. "I don't think that train robbing, silver thief, Colt has any room to scold me about stealing." 	

Colt laughed. "I might have stolen a thing or two in my time but I never took a journal."  

"Then I guess that means I'm a better thief than you." Evangeline replied with a grin. "Don't be jealous, Colt, it does not become you."  

"You're right, Evangeline. I reckon you caught me. I'm so damned jealous that you stole the little doctor's journal that I can hardly contain myself."  

It was Evangeline's turn to laugh. "You can stop with the sarcasm now." 

"But I was getting real good and into it." Colt countered with a wink that had Evangeline's heart thudding against her ribs like a caged bird. She wasn't sure what to make of this new Colt. She'd seen bits and pieces of him throughout the last three days and it was a side of him that she was finding herself more and more drawn to. The ease with which they could laugh and talk shocked Evangeline. She had never thought she would find that with any man though she had always hoped for it.  

"So what does the book say?" Colt asked, turning his attention back out the window.  

"I couldn't possibly tell you that." Evangeline replied. "That would, in essence, cause you to be an accomplice to the crime."  

"I am no stranger to crime, Evangeline." Colt assured her and then he gave her a wicked smile that stole her breath. "And I've never had an accomplice quite as pretty as you."  

"You think I'm pretty?" Evangeline teased, twirling the ends of her dark hair around her finger. Colt chuckled and tipped his head toward the journal in her lap.  

"What's the journal say?"  

Evangeline sighed. "So far it's simply stories about patients with the sickness and the doctor's desperation in knowing there's nothing he can do for them."  

Colt appeared thoughtful for a moment and she wondered if he was going to ask her something but then he nodded and rubbed his neck.  

"Probably was confusing for the man."  

Evangeline was about to ask him what was on his mind when the bell from the kitchens sounded and she sighed. "Sounds like breakfast is ready."  

"If the rabids don't get us then Frankie's cooking will." Colt shivered.  

"I suppose I should be doing the cooking—" Evangeline admitted.

"Frankie can handle it." Colt cut in quickly, though he didn't look at her as he spoke. "—I need the extra set of eyes up here."  

Evangeline knew he was lying but she wasn't about to argue. Not when his lies gave her an excuse to spend more time with Colt.  

"Well I'll go get us both some breakfast. I'm sure it will be better this morning. Why dinner last night was darn near edible."  

Colt laughed. "Darn near." 	

---

Rachel felt relief fill her as Jedidiah sat up in the bed and his eye were clear and wide open for the first time in nearly three days.

"Why look at that smile!" Jedidiah exclaimed jovially. "Is that for me?"  

"Yes it's for you." Rachel assured him. "What happened to you?"  

"I'm sorry, Rachel. I suppose I should have warned you that I have those spells from time to time. Sometimes with my visions I have side effects."  

"Side effects? You were out of reality for days. You just lay there and moaned and thrashed and scared me very nearly to death."  

"I didn't worry anyone else did I?"  

"No." Rachel promised, filling a small glass with water and handing it to him. "I didn't let anyone know you were ill. They have enough to worry about."  

"The babe has not passed on yet?"  Jedidiah asked sadly and Rachel shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes.  

"No, she has not." Her eyes narrowed. "You say that was a side effect of a vision. What vision?"  

Jedidah's eyes became haunted and he shook his head. "Nothing for you to worry yourself with."  

"Don't lie to me." She said angrily. "Now I have nursed you for three days, I deserve the truth!"  

Jedidiah shook his head with a finality that told Rachel he was not going to tell her a thing. "There are some truths, some visions, that are better left for only me to know. Don't worry yourself with them."  

Rachel snorted and moved away from him. "If that's the way it's going to be then you can just find someone else to care for you next time."  

Jedidiah sighed and took both of her hands in his. "Don't be that way, Rachel. I thought you were fond of me."  

Rachel smiled and caressed his whiskered cheek with her lips. "Don't worry me like that again, Jedidiah. I was so afraid you were dying right in front of me."  

"I can promise you, without a doubt, that you'll have me around quite a bit longer, Rachel. You'll never be without me."  

"Good." Rachel whispered as she climbed into the bed beside him and curled her body against his chest. "I've lost enough. I'd rather not lose you. You are a crazy old man, but I've grown rather fond of you."  

"And I of you." Jedidiah agreed, though Rachel could hear a sadness in his voice that made her uneasy. "I could use a bite to eat." He added and Rachel nodded.  

"Come along then. It will be good for you to make an appearance. They'll only believe that you're in the water closet so many times before they begin to doubt you are still breathing."  

---

Silas's heart was heavy and the broken pieces seemed to be tearing apart his chest as he listened to Little Grace's breaths.  

There was a certain way a person breathed in the twilight of their lives. There was no clear description of the sound that would convey it to those who had never heard it for themselves but Grace was breathing that way now.  

It would only be another hour, maybe a little more, perhaps a little less, before that beautiful baby drew her last breath and found death. Silas could not let that happen while Charlotte held the babe in her arms.  

Charlotte would never make it through that. The poor woman hadn't eaten, had barely even slept, in three days. She just sat in that chair beside the window and rocked Grace. Silas had been helpless to stop his own tears on the occasions that Charlotte had tried desperately to get Grace to eat. The infant hadn't taken to her breast no matter how patiently Charlotte had worked with her and the broken expression on his wife's face had been more than Silas could stand.  

"Miss Charlotte..." he whispered and Charlotte turned away from the window and looked at him, her pale green eyes expressionless.  

"Yes?"  

"You need to sleep. You've been awake all night."  

"I don't want to sleep." Charlotte replied with a shake of her head. She managed a ghost of a smile. "Her breathing sounds different and I think her fever is going down.... Maybe she's going to get better." 

Silas couldn't bear to shoot down his wife's hopes. Hope was all Charlotte had left and Silas would 

not be the one to take that away from her.

"Maybe she will, Miss Charlotte. Why don't you let me rock her a while and you rest?"  

"Are you sure, Silas? You haven't slept either.... I really shouldn't leave her."  

"You're not leaving her." Silas urged, standing from the bed and holding out his arms. "You'll be right here in the bed and besides I'm her pa and I'd like to rock her a while."  

"Okay. I am so sleepy." Charlotte stood and laid Grace in Silas's arms, the movement causing the babe to become restless and whimper hoarsely.  

Silas kissed Charlotte's brow and watched her slide into bed. "Rest, Miss Charlotte."  

Silas settled down in the chair, Grace still whimpering against him. He looked down into her blue eyes and saw the cloudiness in them. The look of death his father had taught him to recognize. That combined with Grace's breathing told him that he had been right.... Silas had never been more disappointed. Never before had he prayed so strongly to be wrong.  

"Don't cry, Little Grace. Your pa has you now." He whispered comfortingly. She still whimpered and he began to rock in the straight backed chair and began to sing; the words to 

Swing Low Sweet Chariot leaving his lips in a soothing gentle timbre.

---

Charlotte moaned softly as she woke some time later. She rolled over to face, Silas, keeping her eyes closed and trying to enjoy just a few more moments of rest before taking over in caring for Grace.  

Silence. It was the silence that alerted Charlotte that something was wrong. Yes, Silas's voice was still lightly singing the lyrics to Grace's favorite lullaby, but there was no other sound. No whimpering. No raspy breaths.  

Charlotte's eyes flew open and she sat up quickly, covering her mouth with her hand when she saw Silas sitting in that chair, rocking and singing as tears streaked his face and he stared down at Grace, who was lying still and lifeless in his arms.  

Her daughter was dead.  

The reality of that hit Charlotte like a ton of bricks and it took her a moment to even remember how to breathe.  

"Silas?" she whispered, but if he could hear her he gave no sign. He simply continued to sing quietly, rock and cry.  

Charlotte swallowed hard. She'd been so weak the last three days. She had broken completely upon learning she was going to lose her daughter and she had remained broken. Crying and refusing to eat. Not sleeping well and causing Silas so much extra worry.  

That was done now. It was time to be the strong woman that she knew was in her. She took a deep breath and stood from the bed, her legs trembling. She crouched in front of Silas and laid her hand on his cheek, snapping him from his daze.  

"Silas, she's gone." Charlotte whispered, somehow keeping the tears gathering in her eyes from falling down her face. Silas looked so broken. So sad.  

"I'm sorry, Miss Charlotte."  

"Shhh.. Silas, it wasn't your fault." Charlotte replied, swallowing hard.  

Silas nodded and lifted Grace, kissing her cold, pale cheeks and causing those tears to slip free from Charlotte's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Little Grace. Your pa is so damned sorry."  

Charlotte kissed her daughter's hair and kissed Silas's head before standing and drawing in a deep breath. It was time to go tell everyone that the wait was over. Her daughter had lost her battle and it was time to lay her to rest.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six: Sad Clouds, Stolen Kisses and…. A Survivor?

Even the sky felt the sadness as ten people stood around the tiny make-shift coffin they had lowered into the freshly dug hole in the ground. The clouds could not hold back their tears and rain was soon pouring down, soaking the grievers as they stared down into that hole and at the wooden crate that held Grace.  

There was nothing fair about this moment. Nothing right. Katherine did not want to question God but why would an all-powerful being who claimed to love humanity, take away such a new and innocent life?

She glanced over at Ox and saw the tear hovering on his lashes. Her hand reached out and clasped his and he squeezed it tight before sniffing and clearing his throat. Ox was a different man than Katherine had ever known. He had a very sensitive soul and he seemed to genuinely care about everyone he met and love them as if they were his own family. Grace's sickness and now her death were taking a toll on him.  

"Lord, we won't question your ways and we understand that you only call the best of us home early." Jedidiah stated as he bowed his head and folded his hands in front of him. Katherine glanced around. Ox was also bowing his head in prayer, as were Rachel, Evangeline and Colt. Frankie was biting furiously at her lip and glaring down at the grave while Comanche simply stood there staring out over the horizon. Katherine had no idea what the indian believed in... they didn't believe in God did they?

Silas was crouched down, tears streaming down his cheeks as he covered his head with his hands and Charlotte stood beside him, her shoulders back but her face full of pain as she looked down into the hole that was her daughters resting place.  

Katherine closed her eyes and bowed her own head, feeling her own heart breaking for Charlotte and Silas.  

"We may not understand why we had to lose such an innocent and sweet soul as Grace but our children are only ever borrowed from you, Lord, for they are truly your children. Now she is in a better place and will no longer have to see the horrors of this new world." Jedidiah stopped speaking and looked around the group. "Would anyone else care to say a few words?"  

"I would." Charlotte whispered, everyone's heads whipped up to look at her, except for Silas who seemed completely lost in his grief. "I want to thank all of you for loving and caring for my daughter the way that you did. Grace would not have known that kind of love in the old world so at least this new world gave her a life full of love, even if it was a short life."  

Once again silence fell over everyone and Katherine blinked away the rain falling in her eyes.  

"We should all retire back to the train..." Jedidiah urged.  

"I'll stay behind." Ox whispered down to Katherine. "To help cover the body."   

"I should go in and help cook a meal. I'm sure Frankie will be grateful for the help."  Ox nodded and Katherine, Frankie, Comanche, Rachel and Jedidiah all made their way back to the train. Katherine felt the hurt in her heart intensify when Silas cried out with anger and sadness at the sight of Colt grabbing a shovel to cover the box and fill the hole. 	

"Don't you dare cover her yet!" Silas bellowed and Colt lowered his head and took a step back as Charlotte crouched beside Silas and tried to comfort him. Katherine and Ox's eyes met and he swallowed hard. Katherine was glad that she was getting away..... There was too much pain in the air around that tiny hole.  

---

Colt was growing uneasy. The longer they sat here in the rain the greater the chance that someone else would fall ill. He wanted to be away from the tears and the pain and lock himself back up in the engine car, hopefully with Evangeline by his side.

He glanced down at her and saw the tears running down her cheeks and mixing with the raindrops. Ox was holding her hand and Colt was surprised to see the big man was fighting back tears as well. He had already known that Evangeline had a big heart and it seemed the trait ran in the family. 

Colt couldn't hear what Charlotte was whispering to Silas but finally the man rose to his feet and swiped his hand over his face while he nodded. Colt stepped toward Silas, knowing he had to say something yet unsure how he'd find the strength to. Evangeline was suddenly at his side, her tiny hand slipping into his palm and Colt took a deep breath.  

"Silas, Charlotte, I want you both to know how sorry I am about your loss, even though I know me saying that doesn't make you feel a damn bit better." He began and he nearly lost his resolve and took off running like a coward when both of them turned their sad gazes to him, their tear filled eyes looking into his.  "I..uh.. I ain't much of a talker but I'm a fair listener so if you ever need to talk then I can listen. I want you to know that I know the exact pain you feel right now. The feeling of failure, anger, hurt and agony. Feelin' like you had your heart ripped clean outta your chest and it's been tossed down in that hole.... I wish I could tell you that it goes away—and maybe it does given time—all I can say for sure is that you get used to it and you adapt. At least you have each other, don't forget that."  

"Thank you, Colt." Charlotte whispered and Colt nodded.  

"Now why don't you all go on up with Evangeline and get out of the rain. Ox and I will finish up here and we'll take good care of her."  

Colt watched as Charlotte wrapped her arm around Silas and led the man back toward the train. Damn but women were strong. Honestly Colt had no idea how they did it.  

"Are you sure you don't need me to stay out here with you?" Evangeline asked quietly and Colt nodded, brushing her wet hair from her face.  

"I'm sure, Evangeline. The last thing in this world I want is for you to get sick out here in this rain with me. I don't reckon I could stand something like that happening."  

She flashed him a sad little smile and he gripped her upper arms as she rose on her toes and kissed his jaw. Colt knew his fingers dug into her skin but he couldn't help himself. The heat from her lips caressing him damn near had the rain drops turning to steam as they fell against him.  

"Are you okay Ox?" Evangeline asked, moving away from Colt and turning her attention to her brother.  

"Yeah, Evie, I'm alright." Evangeline rose on her toes and Ox stooped so she could kiss his cheek as well before Evangeline walked off to the train, quickly catching up with Silas and Charlotte.  

Colt sighed and picked up the two shovels, handing one to Ox. "Let's get this over with." Colt mumbled.  

In silence the two men filled the hole with dirt, the mud thumping hollowly against the wooden box.

"I want to talk to you about something, Colt, but I don't think now's probably the best time." Ox admitted after a long while of quiet.  

"No time like the present, Ox. What do you want to say?"  

"Well it's about you and my sister." Ox replied.  

Colt stopped for a moment and leaned against the shovel, wiping his wet shirt sleeve across his rain slicked head. "What about Evangeline and me?"  

"Well," Ox paused as well and rubbed at his neck. "What are your intentions toward my sister?"  

"Intentions?" Colt questioned with disbelief. "What in the hell are you talking about?"  

"I mean—well—I realize you have been spending a lot of time alone together."  

"Yep." Colt replied.  

"Well... do you love her?" Ox asked. Colt grunted and went back to filling in the hole.  

He was quiet for several long minutes and could feel Ox's eyes watching him closely. Finally he looked over his shoulder at the other man and met his eyes. "I'm not ready to answer that yet."  

He could tell Ox wanted to say more and Colt decided to turn the tides on the man. "What about you and Katherine?"  

"What about us?" Ox replied, his cheeks flushing as he quickly got back to work.  

"Katherine is a friend—you could even say she is like a sister—and I'd like to know what your intentions are toward her? You've been spending a lot of time alone together."  

"Shit...." Ox mumbled with a nervous laugh. "Okay, I won't poke my nose in no more."  

"Good." Colt stated and the two men got busy finishing up their morbid task.  

---

The next morning proved to be a sharp contrast to the day before as it dawned brightly. Evangeline made her way through the dining car and kitchen to find them both empty. She slipped into the engine car, expecting to find Colt there and was surprised to see Comanche and Frankie instead.  

And boy did she see them! Evangeline's eyes instantly squeezed closed as she squeaked and all but ran out of the room. Had they no shame?! They were making love right there in the engine car! Evangeline didn't know if they'd seen her or not and she wasn't about to stick around to find out.  

Evangeline all but ran back to the passenger car, unsure how she would ever look Frankie or Comanche in the eye again. She was paying no attention to the doors she ran past and nearly let out a scream when a hand closed around her arm and pulled her in through an open one.  

Her eyes widened as she looked up at Colt, who appeared concerned. "Evangeline, what the hell are you running around here for?"  

"Exercise." Evangeline replied, her cheeks flaming bright with embarrassment. "It is quite good for you."  

Colt's concerned expression transformed into one of amusement as his brow rose. "So is the truth." He shrugged. "Or so I hear. A hardened criminal such as myself has no experience with such things."  

Evangeline's blush only deepened as she tried hard not to picture the way Frankie had been wrapped around Comanche's lap with her head thrown back.  "It is nothing, Colt, I was just going back to my room."  

"Uh-uh." Colt crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. Evangeline looked down at his narrow bed, realizing the sheets and blankets were still tangled and she could see the indention from his head on the pillow. A strange and delicious heat filled her body. "And just where were you going back to your room from?"  

"The engine car." Evangeline squeaked, tugging on her skirt and refusing to look at him.  

"And why did you go there?"  

"I was... I was looking for you."  

"Me?"  

"Yes." Evangeline snapped. "I've grown rather attached to your criminally hardened backside."  

"Well thank you, ma'am." Colt teased with a grin. "I've grown rather attached to your pampered backside as well." Evangeline felt her heart flutter at his words. "But that still doesn't answer my question."  

"And what question was that?" Evangeline replied, feigning ignorance.  

Colt was the picture of patience as he leaned there against the wall and smiled at her. "Why were you running through here like a bat out of hell?"  

"I wasn't running." Evangeline lied. "And if I ever did run I would certainly not look like a bat out of..... 

the bad place .. as I did so.“

Colt laughed loudly, gripping his stomach and squinting at her. "The bad place?!" he gasped. "Damn woman you are something else."  

"Don't have your laughs at my expense." Evangeline scolded, though the smile tugging on her lips harmed her argument.  

"I apologize, ma'am." Colt replied, not looking the least bit sorry. "You gonna tell me why you running quite elegantly through the train then?"  

"You were not in the engine car so I was returning to my room."  

"Frankie and Comanche had driving duty last." Colt replied, appearing thoughtful.  

"Yes, I am aware of that now." Evangeline informed him, her face reddening once again. A knowing light appeared in Colt's eyes.  

"You and Katherine are supposed to be getting breakfast around. I'm sure Comanche and Frankie are hungry after being up most of the night."  

"Oh I don't think that they are giving any thoughts to their 

stomachs just now.“

Colt laughed once again and while Evangeline was mortified that he now knew just what she had seen this morning, she was also feeling more than a little excited to hear his laughter. It was a good sound. A deep, lighthearted and happy sound and it was certainly a sound that she had never thought she would hear come from Colt who only a few short weeks ago had seemed so far down in a depression that he would never come out.  

It appeared time truly could heal all wounds.  

"So 

that’s what has you so flustered.“

"I am not accustomed to walking in on something like that." Evangeline stated defensively even as she focused on the frayed string hanging off her skirt.  

She was so focused on that string that she didn't notice Colt moving toward her until the man's calloused hand took one of her long dark curls and wrapped the soft tress gently around his finger.  

"So I take that to mean you're innocent." His words were a spoken as a statement, not a question, but Evangeline treated it as a question in spite of that fact.  

"Of course I am." Her lips were trembling as was every other part of her body as Colt's intense blue eyes gazed over her face.  

"It's perfectly natural, Evangeline." He informed her, his breath washing over the tender skin on her throat as he stooped down and placed his mouth close to her neck.  

"What is?" she managed to squeak, though she was not sure how she drew enough air to do so when every part of her body seemed to be forgetting how to function.  

Colt's lips brushed against her ear and Evangeline clung to his arms, sure that her legs had disappeared beneath her. "A man and a woman."  

Evangeline could only moan in response as Colt's lips caressed her ear and his teeth grazed against the hollow just below on her neck. "When a man and woman are attracted to one another, their bodies crave to be joined." 

Evangeline's entire body was on fire. Those tingles that she had always craved to feel were currently coursing through her blood like living breathing creatures. Colt's hand fell on her waist and his mouth continued to taste her throat.  

Quite suddenly, Evangeline pulled away from him. Her breaths were ragged and her hands were shaking as she smoothed out the front of her blouse.  

"What of love?" she managed to whisper.  

Colt's passion clouded eyes met hers and he shook his head. "What are you talking about?"  

"Love, Colt. Should not love be something included in what goes on between a man and a woman?"  

"Evangeline, don't do this." Colt begged, his voice still thick with longing.  

"Do what?" Evangeline asked. "I am a lady, Colt."  

"I am aware of that.' Colt replied, his deep voice causing her legs to tremble.  

"I want love, Colt, and I will not settle for less."  

Colt took a few large steps away from her and threw his head back in frustration as he rubbed his hands over it roughly. "I had a similar discussion with your brother just yesterday."  

"Ox?" Evangeline frowned. "What did you say to him?"  

"That I'm not ready to speak on that particular emotion or word just now."  

Evangeline nodded even as tears gathered in her eyes and she blinked them back. "Then I am not ready to further investigate what goes on between a man and a woman."  

Colt sighed as he grabbed his hat off the bed and plopped it onto his head. "Then I guess you can get the hell on outta my room now."  

"Colt, don't do this...." Evangeline begged. She was so deep in love with this man that her heart would shatter if he suddenly pushed her away. She wanted to be with him but she would not give him her body without some vow of love and commitment. Was that so wrong of her to want?  

"Do what, Evangeline? I want sex and you don't so I'm doing the honorable thing and having you leave my bedroom. A 

lady would never be alone with a man in a bedroom.“

Evangeline winced at hearing the word sex spoken so harshly. She didn't want to have sex with Colt, she wanted to make love to him She wasn't well versed in nighttime encounters but she knew very well that there was a difference.  

"It's not that I don't want you, Colt, because I do..." Evangeline replied, her voice shaking nearly as much as her hands.  "I only want...." 

"Love? Marriage?" Colt demanded and Evangeline nodded slowly.  

Suddenly Colt was laughing again, but it was a dull and hollow sound and Evangeline hated it. He sat down on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands.  

"Get out, Evangeline."  

Evangeline shook her head, though he couldn't see the gesture with his face covered as it was. "No, Colt."  

"Yes." He ordered harshly.  

Evangeline's heart broke for him and suddenly she felt stupid. Guilty, stupid, immature and ridiculous. The man had just lost his wife and child only a few short months ago and here she was being the rich pampered Gilcrest daughter and demanding love and marriage from him. What was wrong with her?  

"No, I won't leave like this."  

"Evangeline...." He began sharply but then a throat cleared behind them.  

"Sorry for interrupting." Comanche's voice stated apologetically and Evangeline turned quickly but did not look at the indian's face. She couldn't just yet, not after what she'd walked in on such a short time ago.  

"You're not interrupting anything." Colt assured him as he stood up and adjusted his hat. Evangeline shook her head.  

"Give us a moment." She insisted and then shut the door in Comanche's face. She turned to Colt and the man seemed a little shocked.  

"What are you doing?"  

Without a word, and without giving her better judgment or her shaking body time to change her mind, Evangeline closed the short distance between them and rose on her toes, placing a tender kiss against Colt's lips.  

Colt seemed stunned momentarily and then his arms snaked around her waist, encircling her in their powerful hold and pulling her body tight against his.   

Evangeline had wanted to be in control of this kiss but her inexperience kept her from leading the way she would have liked and Colt quickly took over. His lips devoured hers, molding, pulling, tasting of her until Evangeline was sure the room was spinning wildly.  

It took every ounce of will that Evangeline possessed to pull away from the man and break the hold of his arms.   

Colt stared at her with a mixture of hunger, passion and surprise that had Evangeline feeling a bit more powerful. She had done that to him. That was a powerful thought. He blinked several times and Evangeline knew he was about to speak and would no doubt ruin the moment so she turned quickly and threw open the door.  

Comanche was still standing there and she admired the effort that the man was putting into keeping a straight face. "Everything okay?" he asked.  

"Just fine."  Evangeline replied with a nod as Colt simply stuttered several times and scratched at his arm. "Now what did you need?"  

"I'm sure you've noticed that the train stopped." Comanche began and Colt went quickly to the window and pulled back the curtain.  

"Sure... yeah... we'd noticed." He stated, though Evangeline knew he was lying. "Why did you stop the train?"  

"Frankie and I noticed a big group of abandoned stage coaches beside the tracks. It appears they were making their way somewhere when the flesh eaters attacked them. I noticed there are still many flesh eaters in the area but I also knew those coaches could be full of supplies so I wanted to stop and discuss with you whether it was worth the risk to retrieve them."  

"No." Colt shook his head. "Nobody's head is in the right place for risking our lives just for a few supplies this morning."  

Comanche bowed his head with acceptance but then sighed. "You may change your mind when I tell you the next bit."  

"You should have just told me all the bits to start with." Colt growled and Evangeline couldn't help but laugh lightly, though she tried her best to hide it behind her hand.  

"Frankie is sure she saw a person in one of the stage coach windows.  A living person."  

"A survivor?" Evangeline gasped and Comanche nodded.  

"Well that changes things." Colt stated simply and he strode past them both and out of the room, bellowing as he strode down the train car. "Wake up everybody! We got rabid and possible survivors and we're having a meeting in the dining car!"

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Shooting A Dying Man is Murder?

"We need to go on out there and search for that survivor. We can't leave someone stranded out there in need of help." Frankie stated to the group gathered in the dining car. Everyone was there except for Catherine and Silas. They had not come out of their room, though Colt had not expected them to; not after the day they had just endured.  

"Since when are you so concerned about others?" Katherine questioned. "I think that risking this group for a 'person' who may or may not even exist is a pointless risk."  

"Are you calling me a liar?!" Frankie snapped and Colt let out a long exhale and pinched his nose between his fingers.  

"I'm just saying that I don't want to risk anyone's life just because you 

might have seen a person hidden in a stage coach. Those coaches are surrounded by rabid and they’ve been torn apart. I’m sure any person you saw is already dead.“ Katherine argued.

"No they weren't." Frankie snapped, stepping forward and looking ready to fight. Colt was relieved when Comanche's arm wrapped around Frankie's waist, stopping the woman from advancing any further on Katherine. The last thing Colt wanted right now was a cat fight in the dining car when there were rabid surrounding the train, a possible survivor in the stagecoaches and a kiss still burning on Colt's lips.  

"Well, Old Man," Colt began, his gaze going to Jedidiah. "What does that mind of yours have to say about this?"  

"Are you truly interested in my thoughts on the matter or are you hoping to hear that I have 

seen these stagecoaches and know how this day will go?“

"You know I don't believe in your particular brand of crazy, Old Man. I was just asking for your opinion."  

"Well sadly, my brand of crazy as you call it, has not told me anything about this current situation. I don't get to pick my visions or what I see and I have not seen this coaches. All I can offer to help your decision is this: if I were that lost person stranded in a stagecoach surrounded by rabid, I would hope that a train full of folks with a talent for killing rabid, would take pity on me and help me out of my sticky situation."  

"This is ridiculous." Katherine exclaimed. "Look out there!" she added, pointing out the window at the rabid wandering between the stages and peering at the train, clearly interested in this new object and the scent of living blood inside of it. "There is no proof that there is anything alive out there!"  

"My word is the proof." Frankie argued. "I know what I saw. There was a living person, a small person, looking out of one of those stages." 

"A child?" Colt's head whipped around to see Charlotte and Silas entering the dining room. "Is there a child out there?" Charlotte asked again. 

"There might be." Rachel spoke up.  

"There is." Frankie amended sternly.  

"We have to go help them." Charlotte insisted.  

"I agree." Silas added and Colt could hear the hollow quality of the man's voice. Colt knew that well because it was a quality that had been in his own voice for a long while after losing his wife and daughter. A quality that had only begun to disappear since meeting Evangeline...... 

Colt's gaze went to her where she stood only a few feet to the side of him. Her kiss had shocked him and so had the feelings it had stirred within him. Not the lust, lust was a purely honest male reaction to the kiss of any beautiful woman... No, it was the tug in his chest that had surprised him. The click in his brain that had told him that moment was 

right . That it was meant to be. That they were meant to be.

Colt shook his head. He'd never had those feelings toward his own wife but he was sure as hell having them toward Evangeline. But now was not the time to dwell on them. There would be time enough for that later.  

"I know you all probably think I'm a monster but we've all looked at that same stage coach that Frankie says she saw the person in and there is no person looking back at us now. I don' t want to risk one of our people just to save a person that we can no longer even see!" Katherine continued.


"Miss Kate," Ox spoke up quietly. "People are people and I don't reckon there are very many left so we gotta at least try to save the ones that are. I know if it was my sister—or you—stuck out there in that mess, I'd do just about anything to get you out and I'd hope that anybody else would do the same."

"I think we should at least take a look out there." Evangeline spoke up. "Could you imagine how afraid a child must be?"  

"We aren't going to leave anyone out there." Colt assured everyone. "We're going to go check around, or at least I am. Any of you that want to come along can and anyone that isn't willing can sit up on the roof with rifles and provide cover."  

"You will not be going alone" Comanche assured him and Frankie nodded in agreement.  

"Ox, go to the storage car and fill a crate with weapons and then bring it back here. We aren't using guns unless we have no other choice. I'm not interested in wiping out all the rabid, I just want to check for survivors and then get back to safety as quickly as possible." Colt stated and Ox nodded before taking off toward the storage car.  

Colt walked to the window facing the stage coaches and peered out. There were at least ten coaches, most were toppled over but a few still stood. Rabid were wandering aimlessly around; their shuffling footsteps carrying them in endless circles as they searched for food. There were too many and they were too spread out to get an accurate count.  

"What's going on with you and Evangeline? Are you fighting?" Katherine asked as she walked over to him. Colt's eyes quickly went to Evangeline who was speaking softly with Charlotte and then he glared back at Katherine.  

"The train is surrounded by rabid and we have a possible survivor out there in one of those stages and you want to stick your nose in my damn business now?"  

Katherine shook her head at his harsh tone. "Nope, sure don't." she assured him and then walked quickly away. Colt sighed and looked back out the window. His eyes going to the stage that Frankie had assured him the person had been inside.  Colt's eyes widened when he caught a flash of movement through the window. Shit.... There 

was somebody inside.

"I am coming with you as well." Silas stated, stepping up to Colt. Colt frowned. 

"Are you sure? I don't need anyone distracted out there and getting hurt or causing anyone else to be harmed."

Silas nodded. "I am sure. I'm fit to fight and I 

need to do something . This sitting makes me feel useless.“

Colt tipped his head in acknowledgement, understanding completely. "You're welcome to come then."  

Ox returned moments later with a crate full of weapons. Comanche already had his knife and bow and seemed quite content with those. Frankie was testing the weight of the hatchet she kept on her hip in her hand and didn't seem interested in the crate either.  

Colt had his knife but grabbed up a shovel, eager to have something to keep the rabid a little further away. Ox grabbed up the second shovel and Silas chose a pick ax while Jedidah picked up a heavy sledgehammer.  

"Alright then. Everyone else on the roof with rifles but no gunshots unless you have to, we don't need to get these things riled up unless there's no other choice....." Colt's voice trailed off when Evangeline stooped, grabbed a wooden club from the box and then rose back to her tiny height.  

"What in the hell are you doing?" Colt demanded.  

"I'm going out too." Evangeline replied, meeting his gaze full force. Colt growled and turned to face her, fixing her with a glare as he towered over her much smaller frame.  

"The hell you are. You'll keep your ass in this train."  

Behind him Ox groaned. "That was the wrong thing to say and the wrong way to say it." He whispered.  

Evangeline put her hand on her hip and waved the club, nearly hitting Colt in the nose, though he refused to step back. "I am a grown woman, Colt, and therefore I will do as I wish. Besides, I couldn't possibly let any harm come to my accomplice in crime. I need you to have my back." 

Colt stared down at her and then let out a whoosh of air and a laugh as he shook his head. "Fine." He relented "But you better keep your grown woman, criminal ass right next to me."  

---

Silas, Ox, Frankie, Comanche, Jedidiah, Colt and Evangeline stayed tight together per Colt's orders as they jumped from the train.  

"Don't separate." Colt warned. "You get alone and you'll make an easy target."  

"Okay, pa." Frankie replied with a grin. Comanche smiled down at his woman. She was perfect for him. They were each warriors.  

The flesh eater's reaction to them was instant. Their moans grew louder and their arms reached out for them, their long-nailed fingers clawing the air, eager to sink into a fresh meal.  

Comanche readied an arrow and sent it through the head of one flesh eater while Frankie swung her hatchet and sunk deep into the skull of another.  Comanche found amusement in the fact that Colt and Ox seemed determined to keep Evangeline behind them and the tiny woman appeared more than a little angry by their actions. It was clear that she wanted in on the action.  

Silas swung the pick axe in his hands and it sunk deep into a flesh eater's eye. Blood splattered across Silas's cheek, and suddenly Evangeline's face turned a slightly green shade and she no longer seemed so eager to get past her bodyguards.  

"Frankie, Comanche you take the lead and let's head to that stage. I ain't worried about supplies, just people." Colt ordered.  

Frankie nodded and Comanche followed her to the front of the group, though they stayed in a close group with at least one set of eyes pointed in every direction. Flesh eaters were still coming and when one got close enough, someone in the group would quickly dispatch them. Comanche glanced at the train to see Rachel, Charlotte and Katherine atop it with their rifles ready and he loosed another arrow when he realized that a flesh eater had been sneaking up behind Ox.  

There was a momentary lull in the rush of rabid and Frankie led them to one of the few standing stage coaches. She knocked against the door. "Come on out now and we'll get ya somewhere safe."  

"Go away!" a child's voice replied.  

"Now dammit, get your ass to the window and we'll lift you out. The door is chained up, we got rabid trying to eat our assess off, the least you could is make this as easy as it can be." Frankie spat.  

Comanche looked over her head and through the window to see an elbow and a knee sticking out from under the coach seat.  

An elbow jabbed Comanche in the ribs and he moved aside as Evangeline came between he and Frankie. "The poor child is frightened, Frankie. The last thing it needs is you yelling and cursing at it."  Evangeline stepped up to the window and Comanche saw her frown with frustration when she was too short to see inside. 	

Colt dropped to his knee and grunted as he held out his hands, cupping them together. Evangeline frowned at him and he shook his hands. "You seem to be in need of a boost."  

A flesh eater approached, clawing at the air in front of Comanche and he pulled an arrow in his fist and slammed it through the drooling, snarling monster's mouth.  

"We may want to hurry." Comanche urged, as he caught sight of another wave of rabid heading their way.  

Evangeline quickly stepped up into Colt's hands and gripped the side of the stage as she peered into the window.  

"Sweetheart, you can trust us. We're here to help you. Come on over here to me now and we'll take you inside the train. I'm sure you're hungry and we have lots of food inside."  

"You do?" a small voice asked, and Comanche thought it sounded like a little girl.  

"Yes we do, but you have to come on now before those monsters get us all."  

Comanche loosed an arrow from his bow into an approaching flesh eater just as two skinny arms wrapped around Evangeline's neck and a dirty face surrounded by two brown braids popped up over the window.  

"There 

was a child…..“ Ox whispered.

Frankie snorted. “I told you there was.”

“Let’s get her back to the train.” Silas spoke up.

“Quickly.” Colt agreed. Comanche saw the second wave of flesh eaters getting closer. Comanche helped hoist the child out of the window, though the girl clung to Evangeline.

They headed back toward the train, swinging their weapons at the moaning and jaw snapping attackers. Comanche felt a tug on his pants leg and looked down to see a flesh eater, or at least half of one, clawing at his buckskin trousers.  

Evangeline let out a scream at the sight of the torn flesh eater and Comanche felt his own stomach turn at the sight of its entrails hanging out the end of its torso.  

"Damn it." Frankie growled as she lifted her foot and then slammed her boot down hard on the flesh eaters head, crushing its skull and ending the attack on Comanche's leg. Frankie glared at Evangeline. "When something goes wrong you take care of it, not sit there and scream like a baby until someone else does."  

"Back off, Frankie." Colt ordered as he swung his shovel, catching one flesh eater in the head before twisting and catching another flesh eater in the chest with the handle, knocking it back and causing it to trip over another dead flesh eater lying on the ground.  

"HELP!" a voice called out and Comanche turned to see a man standing on top of another stage, kicking at a flesh eater trying to attack him.  

"Shit." Colt stated blankly. Comanche glanced around and realized how desperate their situation was becoming. Too many flesh eaters stood between them and the train and there were more between them and this new man. 	

"Get your guns out!" Colt yelled. "I reckon there ain't no point trying to sneak now that we got the whole damn herd coming down on us!"  

No one needed any more urging than that before shots filled the air. "Evangeline, Frankie, Silas, Ox, jedidah, get that girl onto that train. Comanche come with me and let's go help that man." Colt ordered and while Comanche could see the displeasure on both Frankie and Evangeline's faces at Colt's words, neither argued.  

Comanche followed Colt and Colt shoved his long buck knife through the skull of the flesh eater trying to get the man on top of the stage. "Jump down." Comanche called to the man, who was quick to obey.  

Rifle shots sounded and Colt shoved the man into Comanche's arms as two more flesh eaters approached. "Take him!" Colt shouted. Comanche didn't want to leave Colt but the man in his arms seemed weak and panicky and Comanche knew he had to get him to safety fast.  

"Go now!" Colt exclaimed as three more flesh eaters joined the first two. Comanche nodded and did as he was told as Colt fired off his last three shots. Comanche heard Evangeline scream Colt's name and turned to see the last remaining flesh eater take the other man down, though Colt had shoved the handle of the shovel between he and the flesh eater and its slobbering mouth and blood covered teeth were latched onto the splintery wood.  

Comanche was fresh out of arrows and with no time to get more he knew he would be no help to Colt. The loud booming of Rachel's buffalo rifle echoed in the air and a bullet narrowly missed Colt's temple before slamming into the flesh eaters head.  

Colt tossed the dead flesh eater to the side, jumped to his feet and raced toward the train, reloading his revolver as he did so.  

He caught up to Comanche at the train doors as even more flesh eaters seemed to materialize in the distance. "It's another of those damned herds." Frankie grumbled.  

Comanche was about to toss the man up into the train when Frankie stepped into his way. "He can't come in!" she stated.  

"Why the hell not, Frankie? Let us in so we can shut the damn door before we get ate!" Colt exclaimed, glancing over his shoulder.  

"You and Comanche are more than welcome, but not him. He's been bitten."  

"What?" Evangeline appeared in the doorway, that girl still clinging to her skirts.  

Colt grabbed the man who fought against him. "I'm fine!" the man insisted. Colt pulled the man's arm and Comanche saw the bite. A large chunk of missing flesh, yellowing and oozing blood.   

"We can't just leave him out there to be eaten alive!" Evangeline countered.  

"I'm fine!" the man said again. "I'll be alright."  

Colt put his hand on the man's brow and winced. "Get on the train, Comanche." He ordered.  

"What are you going to do?" Evangeline demanded but Colt put a hand on her shoulder and shoved her back into Ox's arms.  

"On the train! These things are going to overrun us all if you don't just do as I say!" The man was struggling in Colt's arms, fighting for all he was worth, though it was clear he was weakened and he was beginning to shiver and convulse, a sure sign of the sickness raging in his blood.  

Comanche jumped on the train but stayed in the door to help Colt when he finished with his task.  

"What's your name?" Colt demanded of the sick and struggling man.  

"What?" the man asked, his eyes becoming glossy.  

"Your name! What is it?" Colt bellowed.  

"Theodore."  

Colt nodded. "Sorry, Theodore."  

Colt placed his gun against Theodore's sweat slicked brow and the man's scream of terror was silenced by one quick gun shot. His neck snapped back and his blood splattered Colt's face.  

Colt shot two close flesh eaters and then jumped onto the train, Comanche slammed the door closed behind him just as the women who had been on top of the train entered the dining car.  

The child was clinging to Evangeline and wailing loudly. Colt stepped over but Evangeline shrank away from him. "You just killed a man..."  

"He was already a dead man." Colt countered, swiping at the blood on his face to clean it but only succeeding in smearing it across his cheeks. 	

"But you... you shot him. He was begging you for his life and you just killed him with no hesitation. You don't even seem bothered by it..."  

"I'm not. Those monsters killed my wife and child. As far as I'm concerned they're animals and he was becoming one." Colt stated coldly, his first time admitting in front of the entire group, what had happened to his family.   

"I have to get her some food." Evangeline whispered and she turned away from Colt and led the sobbing child into the kitchen with Katherine, Charlotte and Rachel close behind her.  

"She's not mad, Colt." Ox assured the other man. "That wasn't her mad voice."  

"I'm going to the goddamn engine to get this hunk of fucking metal moving again." Colt snapped and he quickly strode through the kitchens, the sound of the door slamming echoing behind him.  

"Well I believe that 

was Colt’s mad voice.“ Frankie said with a shake of her head.

"I told Evangeline that Colt was a cold-blooded murderer but she didn't want to listen to me." Rachel sniffed.  

"He shot a future rabid and as far as I'm concerned that's not murder." Silas countered.  

Comanche walked over to Jedidiah who was staring out the window at the carnage they'd left behind. He put his hand on the man's shoulder and sighed.  

"It would be wise to have a talk with your God about these visions of yours. Things might have gone a bit better if you'd seen this all coming." 

"They went good. No one in our group was bitten and we saved a child." Jedidah countered.  

The child let out another wailing scream that caused Comanche to wince. "I guess it all depends on your definition of good." Comanche amended as the train lurched forward and slowly continued them on their trek to the west.

Chapter Thirty-eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Understandings, Visions and Bad Dreams

Evangeline stared down into the cup of coffee she had only taken several sips of in the last hour. The child, Susette, she had said her name was, had finally quieted down and was eating the potatoes and biscuits that Charlotte had prepared for her.

Susette had taken up with Katherine quickly saying that the woman's golden hair reminded her of her mama. A mama that was now dead.  

Evangeline fought back the tears that wanted to fall. She was having doubts that she could survive in this new world. There was too much blood. Too much death. Too much constant terror. A person no sooner got over one life threatening or heart breaking situation and they were thrust directly into another.  

She was no warrior. No fighter. No 'tough guy' the way everyone else here seemed to be. While she could cook and clean, she lacked the motherly quality that Charlotte possessed. She was a pretty face, that's all she'd been raised to be. Lord knew she was trying. She had saved her own life several times and killed a few rabid but today she had frozen.  

Fighting one or two rabid was drastically different than being surrounded by so many of the snarling, terrifying beasts. She had wanted to prove to everyone that she could fight and impress Colt by letting him see her 'tough' side and that had done nothing other than backfire and cause her to look a fool as she had screamed and tried desperately to hide behind the men and keep away from the rabid attacking them.  

And then to watch Colt kill that man...... Evangeline was no child. She understood that the man was going to die with or without Colt's bullet and she understood that putting him out of his misery quickly was better than allowing him to finish turning or allowing the approaching rabid to eat him alive. She had even seen men be shot before when she and Ox had nearly been killed in that first town they'd come to....... But that had been different.  

Those men were bad men. They were trying to kill her and her brother.  

The man Colt had killed had been innocent. He'd been scared to death and sick. He'd been crying for his life; begging Colt for mercy and Colt had pulled that trigger with no hesitation; no second thoughts.  And it hadn't bothered him at all.  

Or had it?

Evangeline let out a frustrated growl that surprised her. Since when did she growl? Apparently she was picking up on Colt's habits.  Why did he have to be so closed off and hard to read? Evangeline had grown accustomed to her father and Ox. Her father had always just been either angry or disdainful so it was easy to pick up on how he was feeling.  And Ox was an open book when it came to emotions.  

But Colt....? Colt covered emotions with other emotions and then wrapped it all up in a hard stone shell decorated with the occasional joke.

Evangeline rose to her feet. She knew what she had to do. She had to make a peace offering and talk to Colt about what had happened that morning. There was no way that she was going to give up all the ground they had gained simply because he was closed off and she was too soft and weak for her own good.  

She ignored the glances cast in her direction and went into the kitchen. She filled a clean cup with coffee and grabbed two biscuits before heading through the train to the engine car, struggling to open and close the doors with her hands full.  

Evangeline could hear the sound of the shovel scraping against the coal and knew that Colt must be feeding the furnace. She was careful to keep an eye on her skirts as she stepped up into the furnace room and saw him.  

He was once again shirtless and covered in sweat and coal dust. She had seen him this way several times in the last few days and yet it was a sight she knew she could see a million times and never tire of.  

As always, Colt seemed to sense that she was there before she had time to alert him and he leaned against the shovel before swiping his forearm across his face and smearing the sweat and black soot across it.  

"I come bearing food." Evangeline stated as she held up the biscuits and coffee. She studied Colt's face, praying that she would not see the anger that she knew she deserved.  

Relief flowed through her when his firm lips curved in a slow smile. "Well then let's go eat."  

Evangeline followed after him to the room they had spent much of the last few days in together. Colt took a large bite of the biscuit that Evangeline handed him and Evangeline tapped her fingers on her knees as she stared out the window.  

"Colt—I'm sorry for the way I acted before."  

"I won't apologize for killing that man, Evangeline. Leaving him alive that way would have been the cruel thing to do." Colt stated unapologetically before taking a sip of coffee. "Those monsters would have ripped him apart and if they hadn't, he would have turned and become one of them. I won't leave anyone else to that fate, Evangeline. Not again."  

Evangeline nodded, understanding dawning as she gazed out the window. Of course. He had left his daughter as a rabid after she'd been bitten. Colt had been unable to bring himself to shoot her and end her suffering and he blamed himself terribly for that and remained full of guilt. It only made sense that he would be determined to keep anyone else from suffering the same fate that his daughter had. He had more than likely felt as if he was atoning for the past when he had ended that man's life.  

"And I 

was bothered by it, Evangeline.“ Colt added unexpectedly. “I risked my life to save that damn man and I was too late. I’m always too late.”

Evangeline heard the pain in his voice and suddenly she forgot all about her own insecurities. Colt was hurting and all she wanted in the world was to help take away his pain.  

Colt let out a disgusted groan and shoved himself to his feet, laying his coffee and biscuit down on the window sill and yanking off his hat. He shoved his hand through his thick dark blond hair and stared hard out the window. "What is it about you that has me feeling so goddamned turned inside out and vulnerable?"

"I make you feel vulnerable?" Evangeline asked with surprise.  

"Yeah and I don't like it." Colt grumbled, scratching at his still bare torso and causing Evangeline's eyes to be drawn to the tight muscles of his stomach. "I don't open up, Evangeline. I never have, not to a single other person in my life."  

"I don't believe that." Evangeline countered.  

"It's the truth." Colt vowed firmly. He tossed his hat in the corner and rubbed at his chin. "I never had family, the men I was friends with weren't the kinds you wanted knowing your inner thoughts and feelings and...." He paused. "...I reckon it became a habit to keep it all locked up. Hell I never even opened up to my wife."  

Evangeline felt both surprised and flattered by his admission and her heart soared. He said he wasn't yet ready to talk about love and yet he had just admitted that she made him feel turned inside out and vulnerable, and that he was able to open up to her when he had never done so with anyone else. To Evangeline that sounded very much akin to love.  

She got to her feet, laying her biscuit beside his, and pointed back at his chair. "Sit down." She ordered.  

Colt looked at her, his brow rising nearly to his hairline as his lips curved with amusement. "What?"  

"There was no stutter or mumble in my words, Colt. You know full well exactly what I said. Now do it."  

Without a word, Colt sat down in the chair, appearing very amused at being bossed around. Evangeline took a deep breath to still the dancing nerves in her stomach and then very quickly sat herself down in his lap.  

"Woman, what are you doing?" Colt ground out, shifting his hips beneath her and staring at her with eyes that were quickly darkening.  

"Comforting you." She replied, laying her head on his sweaty shoulder and tracing patterns on his bare chest with her finger.  

"I'm filthy, Evangeline. You're gonna get dirty."  

"I don't care." She replied, and she was trying very hard not to. A few months ago the thought of being covered in sweat and dust would have horrified her but things had changed quite a big since then. As a matter of fact Evangeline had changed quite a bit since then as well. Not too long ago she would have found herself unable to put aside her own problems and worries in order to help someone else.  

Maybe she was good for something other than just her pretty face. Her presence in Colt's arms sure seemed to be helping the man. Already he seemed more relaxed.  

Evangeline nearly cried when she felt his lips brush against her hair and his arms wrap around her, holding her securely in place.  

"I may just find myself in need of comforting a bit more often." He whispered with a smile in his voice.  

Evangeline tipped her head up so she could look at him and she found herself staring into those dark blue eyes that stole her breath.  

"Do I need to kiss you again or would you like to......" Before Evangeline could finish her coy question, Colt's lips were on hers.  

This kiss was different. It was full of more raw hunger and passion. Evangeline felt herself become swept away on this kiss.  

Colt's hands gripped her hips and turned her on his lap so she was straddling him. She gasped with surprise but that gasp quickly became a moan as Colt took advantage of her parted lips and slid his tongue into her mouth. 

Evangeline suddenly wished she had more experience. She had no idea how to kiss this way, however Colt's fingers tightening on her waist, the hardness she could feel pressing against her inner thigh and his throaty moan against her mouth told her that she was doing something right.  

The air around them seemed to be catching fire and Evangeline knew it had nothing to do with the furnaces burning nearby. Her blood was pumping fast and hot. Her body was tingling and her thighs were trembling. A delicious pulsing heat gathered between her legs and Evangeline wanted more. She had told Colt no that morning, she would not tell him no again.  

"I hate to interrupt once again." Comanche's voice had Evangeline scrambling from Colt's arms and flying off his lap.  

"Dammit, Comanche!" Colt growled as he got to his feet and clenched his fists. Evangeline's eyes were drawn to the bulge in the front of his trousers and she wondered if he realized Comanche would be able to see it as well as she blushed and forced her gaze away from it.  

"Locked doors should be something that should become more commonplace on this train." Comanche stated solemnly, though Evangeline saw a smile in his eyes when they met hers and she suddenly knew the indian had noticed her presence that morning when she had intruded on him and Frankie.  

"Scalping injuns is gonna get a lot more commonplace too." Colt assured him. "Now what the hell was so damn important that you had to bother me with it now?"  

"Jedidah says he needs to speak with you. He is on top of the second storage car. He apparently had quite the episode in the dining room and scared everyone before perching himself up there."  

"An episode?" Evangeline asked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "What kind of episode?"  

"A vision." Comanche replied with a tip of his head.  

Colt shook his head and grabbed his shirt from the back of his chair. As he slid it over his shoulders he threw an apologetic glance in Evangeline's direction and headed for the door. "That old man better hope somebody's dying."  

---

"Someone is going to die."  

Shit . Colt stared at Jedidiah and prayed like hell that the old man was talking out of his head. “Old Man, you’re gonna have to be a bit more specific than that.” Colt grumbled.

"I'm afraid I can't be much more specific than that." Jedidiah stated apologetically.  

"Let's start with you telling me exactly who is gonna die."  

Jedidiah sighed and squinted into the sun for a moment as the wind blew against them on top of the storage car. "I don't know."  

Colt had spent many years perfected his built in bullshit detector and just now it was going off with all the bells and whistles. "Tell me the truth." 

"What makes you think I'm not?" Jedidiah asked with a placating grin and Colt took a deep breath to calm his temper. He had no patience just now. His body was still burning with need after sharing that kiss with Evangeline in the engine room. Her tiny body had felt so good pressed against his own and all he had wanted was to make love to her.  

But instead he was up here on this goddamn roof talking to a man who was clearly crazy, about a vision that Colt didn't even believe was real and trying to figure out who was supposed to die because Colt had obviously gone a little crazy himself.  

"I've spent my life learning to tell when someone is keeping something from me, old man."  

"If I tell you then you cannot tell her. People do not handle that news well."  

Colt's blood froze. "Her? Dammit, old man, get to telling me which 

her it is!“

"Not her!" Jedidiah said quickly and Colt remembered how to breathe. "My vision did not show me any detail on the how or the where. It only showed me the gravestone with Rachel's name on it."  

"Dammit." Colt stated blankly. Evangeline's aunt? That would devastate her.  "Is that all of it?" Colt questioned.  

"Yes." Jedidiah said far too quickly.  

"Out with it." Colt urged.  

"Something is going to happen soon and while it was Rachel's gravestone I saw I simply don't believe she's going to die in this next crisis we are going to face."  

"And what crisis is that?" Colt asked, finding that his head was beginning to hurt.  

"I don't know. A town... something in a town... Gunshots...Something bad is going to happen, Colt. I feel a black cloud."  

"Yeah but if someone was going to die then you would see that wouldn't you?"  

"No, not always. I only see what is shown to me. "  

"So, what you're saying is that Rachel is going to die soon but before that happens we're gonna run into some kind of trouble and possibly lose someone else?"  

"Yes." Jedidiah appeared sad. "Yes, that is what I'm saying."  

"Sure would be helpful if you could tell me what town and what trouble so we could avoid it."  

Jedidiah nodded. "I know."  

"Could you be wrong about when Rachel is going to die? Could it be her that is the black cloud is hanging for?" Colt felt ridiculous even asking that question and entertaining these ideas but hell what other choice did he have?

Jedidiah sighed. "I could be."  

"How often are you wrong?"

"Never. But there is a first time for everything is there not?" Jeiddiah sighed. "Trust me I would like to be wrong. I don't want to lose Rachel."  

"How many people have you lost?"  

"Everyone I have ever let myself love."  

"You'd think you'd quit."  

"Loving?" Jedidiah chuckled sadly. "Love is far too good and powerful and emotion to let pain scare it away.  

Colt nodded and they were both quiet a moment before Colt laid his hand on his gun and sighed. "You know I don't put much stock in your visions, old man, but I will make you a promise right here and right now. This group is mine and everyone in it is my responsibility and I take my responsibilities damn serious. Now I couldn't do nothing about little Grace and if Rachel get sick like she did then there won't be anything I can about her either, but if she's supposed to die because of trouble in town then you need to know that this won't be my first time finding trouble in a town. I won't let anybody die--not anybody else--not on my watch."  

"Colt, your nobility is very fool-hearted. You cannot possibly keep everyone safe at all times." Jedidiah scolded as he scratched at his whiskered face.  

Colt nodded. "I can. The only way a bullet or a rabid is taking out anybody in this group is if it takes out me first."  

---

"Where is Susette?" Charlotte asked Katherine when the woman returned to the kitchen where Frankie, Rachel, Charlotte and Evangeline were busy cooking supper for the group. It had surprised Charlotte that Frankie had insisted on helping but she hadn't been about to tell her no, even though her cooking truly left something to be desired and Charlotte was having to work extra hard to keep Frankie from ruining the meal.  

"Sleeping." Katherine replied, leaning again the wall with a sigh. "I ain't cut out for this kid raising business. She wouldn't let me out of her sight until she fell asleep."  

"Did she talk to ya anymore?" Frankie questioned.  

Katherine shook her head. "Not much. The most I got out of her was that she is six years old and her whole family died back there at the stage coaches." 	

"Where's Ox?" Evangeline asked.  

"Feeding the horses." Katherine replied. "And Colt and Jedidiah are still up there on that roof."  

"Still?" Evangeline questioned with a frown. "They've been up there close to two hours."  

"I'm sure it's nothing, Evangeline. Jedidiah is probably trying to save Colt's soul after he murdered that man this morning."  Rachel assured her.  

Charlotte was surprised when Evangeline rose up to her full height of barely more than five feet and stuck her finger in her aunt's face. "You will be quiet about things you do not understand." Evangeline warned. "I don't want to hear another bad word about that man come out of your mouth."  

"Well okay." Rachel replied, holding her hands up in defeat.  

The kitchen fell silent for several long tense moments before Charlotte glanced out into the dining room and saw Silas sitting at a table with his head in his hands. Her heart broke for him yet again and she laid down her spoon, wiped her hands on her apron and walked into the dining room to join him.  

She slid into the seat across from Silas, yet if he noticed her appearance, he gave no sign. Charlotte reached across the table and touched his arm gently, causing him to jump and jerk away from her.  

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." She whispered and Silas's brown eyes wouldn't meet hers as he stared over her shoulder at the wall instead.  

"You didn't." 

Charlotte felt her heart hurting. He was keeping a wall between them and she had no idea how to break it down. "Supper will be finished soon. Are you going to eat?"  

"No." Silas rose to his feet. "No, I'm not hungry." Without another word, or even a look at her, Silas strode from the room, through the kitchen and to the engine car, slamming the door behind him.  

Charlotte buried her own face in her hands and breathed deep, fighting back her tears with everything she had. She let out a squeak and jumped when a hand fell on her shoulder.  

She was even further shocked when she realized it was Frankie standing beside her with sympathy on her face. "The rest of us can handle supper if you want to go with him."  

Charlotte wiped her face with her apron and smiled as she stood. "Thank you for the offer, Frankie, but he seems to want space."  

"Are you sure?"  

"Yes.' Charlotte nodded. Her heart could only take so much rejection in one day. "Yes, I'm sure."  

---

The rabid were everywhere. They were closing in on her every second, no matter how quickly she ran. Evangeline could hear their groans and hungry growls. She could smell the rotting flesh of their decaying bodies.

Suddenly she tripped over something on the ground in the darkness and before she could get back to her feet, long fingers were closing on her leg. She looked and saw the half-bodied rabid clawing at her, its hungry teeth closing around her skirts. It had no legs and its entrails were dragging along behind it as it pulled itself across the ground. 


More rabid were closing in even as she kicked and screamed. They were getting closer and closer. She recognized her mother among them and her father. The rabid that had nearly bitten her at the river so long ago was there as well. Evangeline's screams of desperation quickly became screams of pain when the half-bodied rabid sunk its teeth deep into her leg.............

---

Colt had been drifting off to sleep when the sound of Evangeline’s screams had reached his ears. Sure that something terrible was happening and he was once again going to be too late, Colt leapt from his bed, grabbed his gun and ran out the door.

Ox beat him to Evangeline's bedroom door but Colt hit the bigger man with his shoulder and knocked him out of the way before throwing open the door and rushing in.  

Relief flooded through him when he realized that there was no danger. Nothing in Evangeline's room trying to take her away from him.  She was only having a bad dream. Just a dream.  

Colt tossed his gun onto the tiny sofa across from the bed and sat beside Evangeline. "Wake up, Evangeline." He whispered but she didn't seem to hear him. She continued to kick and moan. Colt touched her cheek and felt her tears. He put his hand on her shoulder and shook her roughly.  

"Wake up, Evangeline!" he yelled and her deep green eyes flew open in the darkness.  

"Colt?" she whispered and he gave her a reassuring smile.  

"It's me, sweetheart."  

Without warning her arms were around his neck and she was clinging to him, pulling him down on top of her. Colt felt her shaking against him and knew she was crying. While he'd never been good with emotions, he would make an exception for Evangeline. After all, she had seen his tears and been good enough to never walk away. Colt wouldn't walk away from her now.  

"I was so scared." She whispered against his ear. "The rabid were ripping me apart."  

Colt felt his blood freeze at her words.  

"Colt, you're hurting me." She gasped and Colt realized he'd been squeezing her far too tightly. He relaxed his hold and Ox cleared his throat behind them.  

"You can go back to bed, Colt. I'll take care of Evie." Ox insisted.  

Colt was about to argue but Evangeline beat him to it. "Ox, please, I want him to stay with me—at least until I fall back asleep." She looked into Colt's eyes in the darkness. "Will you do that?"  

Colt tipped his head. "Of course I will."  

"Shit, Evie, it's just we ain't spent much time together here lately and it was always me that took care of ya—"  

Evangeline smiled at her brother. "Ox, if you'll let me lean on Colt tonight, then I promise that tomorrow we'll spend time together, just the two of us."  

Ox sighed and nodded as he rubbed his cheek. "Shit, Evie, alright." Then his eyes narrowed on Colt. "Just remember that she's 

my sister and I’m duty bound to defend her honor.“

Colt nodded and when he saw Evangeline about to speak, no doubt to give her brother a piece of her mind, he placed his finger over her lips to silence her. 

"My intentions with your sister are true, Ox. I don't plan on hurting her anytime soon."  

Ox seemed satisfied with that answer and he stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Colt removed his finger from Evangeline's mouth, smoothing it across her jaw.  

"Did you mean what you told my brother?"  

"Yes, ma'am, I did."  

Evangeline smiled so brightly that Colt would have sworn the sun shone in the middle of the night.  Then she shivered against him.  

"Sweetheart, don't you worry about that dream." Colt said comfortingly as he smoothed his hand across her cheek. "I won't ever let those monsters have you."  While something inside of Colt rebelled at making those types of promises since he had failed in keeping them before, something else inside of him knew he wouldn't fail this time—not with Evangeline.  

"I'm not strong enough for all of this." Evangeline whispered, her eyes going to his bare chest.  

"What's that nonsense about?" Colt asked, as he stretched out into the bed and pulled her body long against him. 	

"I'm not, Colt. I was raised to be a southern belle, a rich wife to a wealthy plantation owner. I wasn't raised for this."  

"I don't think any of us were." Colt assured her, smiling against her dark hair. "Our parents weren't too concerned with preparing us for flesh eating monsters."  

"I'm serious, Colt."  

"Sweetheart, you are tougher than you give yourself credit for. You're gonna make through all of this just fine." 	

Evangeline snuggled closer to him and Colt heard her yawn in the darkness. "Sleep, Evangeline."  

"Only if you'll stay so you can wake me if I have that dream again...."  

"I'm not going anywhere." Colt promised. "I reckon I'll be here 'til you tell me to go."

Chapter Thirty-nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine:

Charlotte woke the next morning to find herself staring at Silas's back. This was the second morning in a row that she had awoken to his back. Before Grace had fallen ill, Charlotte had always slept wrapped tight in Silas's arms. He had always held her close and whispered words of love in the dawn.  But now..... Now he seemed to avoid touching her, looking at her and speaking to her at all costs.  

Charlotte knew he was hurting and she wanted to help him. She reached out an arm but the moment her skin touched Silas he rose from the bed as if scalded and slid on his boots.  

"Where are you going?" Charlotte questioned quietly, swallowing back the tears that were trying to form.  

"It is my turn in the engine." He replied quickly, his voice void of any emotion.  

Charlotte felt something inside of her give under the pressure and her emotions suddenly snapped. She tossed back her covers and threw her feet over the side of the bed.  

"Silas, stop!" she called out loudly, and his hand froze on the door handle. Charlotte knew the volume of her voice had more than likely startled the man and it had startled her as well. Charlotte was not the yelling type and yet she was desperate to reach him and nothing else she had done so far had worked.  

Charlotte got to her feet and slid into her robe, crossing her arms over her chest and staring hard at her husband's broad back. "Silas, please talk to me."  

There was a long sigh as Silas's shoulders drooped and his hand fell away from the door. "What do you want me to say?"  

"Anything." Charlotte whispered. "Say anything. Just don't shut me out...." 

"I don't have anything to say, Charlotte."  

Charlotte felt her heart break. She was no longer 'Miss Charlotte', she was now just plain Charlotte. Something so simple shouldn't hurt as badly as it did.   

"Silas, I need my husband."  

He turned then and looked at her for the first time in two days. The sadness in his eyes stole Charlotte's breath as tears fell freely down her cheeks. 

"I have work to do."  

"Work that is more important than me?" Charlotte asked. When Silas said nothing in response and looked down at his feet, Charlotte strode toward him and laid her hand against his arm. "I need you, Silas, and I believe you need me too. We should be leaning on one another now and instead you are pushing me away."  

"You don't understand." Silas snapped back as he stood a step away from her. "I watched her die—" his voice broke. "—I held her in my arms as she took her last breaths."  

Charlotte closed the distance between them again and put her hands on his cheeks. "Silas, please, I need my husband back. I need...."  

"I cannot be what you need, Charlotte. You will have to be strong for yourself because I cannot be that for you just now."  

Charlotte clenched her fists, not liking the way he made her sound weak. This was not Silas. This was not her husband. Silas had always taken care of her. Had always been patient, strong and kind. She needed that man now, not this new man who seemed too wrapped up in himself and his own pain to let her in or attempt to help her through her own.  

"I am the one who lost a child, Silas! My heart is shattered and I cannot even break down the smallest bit because you refuse to be even the least bit strong and supportive for me!"  

Anger flashed in Silas's eyes. "I lost a child as well and for you to imply anything different is pure nonsense! If not for me you and Little Grace would have died in those service quarters months ago! You were both in need of a doctor when I came upon you."  

"Yes and some fine doctor you turned out to be. You weren't quite good enough were you?"  

Charlotte instantly covered her mouth, as if hoping she could swallow back the words she had already spoken. Lord knew she hadn't meant them. Silas's brown eyes filled with tears and he truly looked as if he had just taken a punch to the gut.  

"Silas—I'm so sorry...." Charlotte gasped as she reached for him. He jerked away from her and threw open the door.  

"I have things to do." He ground out between clenched jaws, before slamming the door shut in her face, the sound of his boot steps pounding away down the hall.  

---

Evangeline bit her lip as she lay in Colt's arms and studied his face, his bare shoulder and his broad chest. He truly was a work of art. Perfectly sculpted and breathtaking. The scars on his skin only added to his rugged attractiveness.  

Lifting her hand, Evangeline traced Colt's strong jaw with her finger before brushing her trembling fingertip across his lips and nearly crying out in shock when his hand wrapped around her wrist, locking her hand in place before his lips pressed a gentle kiss to her palm.  

"Good morning." He whispered sleepily, his eyes never opening.  

Evangeline smiled. "Good morning. I have never woken up with anyone in my bed before."  

"Is it something you could find yourself growing accustomed to?"  Colt asked.  

Evangeline felt butterflies fluttering inside her stomach and smiled brightly, unable to hide her happiness. "Well I am not certain. A hardened criminal cannot let anyone in too close."  

Colt's eyes remained closed as a smile spread across his face, those creases around his mouth adding to his handsomeness.  "Yes but I am not just anyone, I am your accomplice in crime."  

"You're more than that." Evangeline couldn't believe those words had actually left her mouth and she swallowed hard and gave a nervous laugh as she waited for him to reply.  

"Am I?" Colt questioned, his voice sounding much more tense than it had seconds before.  

"Aren't you?" Evangeline replied, wishing she could take her words from a moment ago back. Of course she'd had to open her mouth and ruin what should have been a perfect morning waking up in the arms of the man she loved.  

Colt's eyes opened then and Evangeline felt her breath leave her at the wealth of emotions shining in the dark blue depths.  

"I'd like to be, sweetheart."  

Evangeline's smile returned and the two of them simply lay there staring into the other's eyes and smiling for several long moments.  

Suddenly the sound of yelling reached their ears followed by the slamming of a door.

"What was that about?" Evangeline gasped as she pulled away from Colt and sat up.  

Colt sighed and threw his legs over the bed. "It sounded like Charlotte and Silas." 

"They don't fight and yell at each other...."  

"They just lost a child. That changes you and it takes a while to get back to who you were before, if you ever get all the way back to that person again." Colt assured her.  

Evangeline sat beside him and laid her head on his shoulder. "But they should be leaning on each other if they're hurting, not fighting with one another." She glanced up at him. "Maybe you could...."  

"Nope." Colt stood up.

"But, Colt, you know a little of how they are feeling..."  

"No, Evangeline. I won't stick my nose in. I told you I don't open up to anyone but you. I don't share my feelings and, quite honestly, I'd just as soon not play feelings hour with anyone else."

Evangeline sighed and laid her chin in her hand. "Fine."  

"Are you pouting?" Colt questioned, a smile curving his lips.  

Evangeline flushed. "No, of course not."  

"Yes you are and it's adorable." Colt tweaked her nose and then headed for the door.  

"Are you leaving?" Evangeline asked as she stood quickly.  

"Yes."  

"No kiss?" Evangeline asked coyly and Colt chuckled.  

"No. I don't reckon I'm too eager to see Comanche yet this morning  and you just know he'll come bursting in that door the minute I get started on you." Colt sighed. "And your brother is a big man and I'd just as soon not give him a reason to kill me just yet."   

"Ox is harmless." Evangeline assured him with a wave of her hand.  

Colt laughed. "I'll not test that theory just yet."  

Colt opened the door and stepped into the hall and Evangeline burst out laughing when Comanche was there.

"I was just coming to find you." Comanche stated and Colt looked over his shoulder and Evangeline and threw her a 'told you so' glance followed by a wink.  

"What's the problem?" Colt asked the indian as Evangeline crossed her arms on her chest and walked to the doorway.  

"We are going to have to stop at the next town we come to. We are low on water, coal and feed for the horses. Also the horses need to be let out to exercise and graze or they will soon be useless to us."  

Colt was quiet and Evangeline looked up at his face to see that his jaw was so tense it appeared to be causing him pain.  

"Are you okay?" Evangeline asked gently and he seemed to snap from his dazed state as he nodded.  

"Yes, of course. Alright then, Comanche. I'll head to the engine and stop the train at the next town."  

Without another word, Colt walked away, though he back to the second passenger car instead of toward the engine. 	

"What is wrong with him?" Comanche questioned and Evangeline shrugged.  

"I'm not sure. He's a hard one to read and keep up with at times." She admitted.  

"Were you able to rest after that nightmare you had last night?"  

"Does everyone know about that?" Evangeline demanded.  

"It's a small train and none of us have much to talk about. Word gets around." Comanche stated with a shrug.  

Evangeline laughed lightly. "Yes I slept well. Now leave and let me dress. I believe Frankie is the jealous type and she might just get the wrong impression if she sees you standing in my doorway while I'm wearing only my nightdress."  

"I would keep you safe." Comanche countered, flashing her a mischievous smile.  

Evangeline rolled her eyes and pointed down the hall. "Go." She stated firmly.  

Comanche laughed but obeyed her order and Evangeline closed the door and wondered what was wrong with Colt and why he had acted so bothered by learning they would need to stop soon to restock their supplies.  

---

Frankie was tapping her feet impatiently in the engine room and waiting on Comanche to return. Not too long ago Frankie would have said she preferred being alone but now that she had Comanche in her life and they were truly together and in a strong, stable relationship, Frankie found that she craved his presence and when he was not around her, she grew impatient waiting for him to return.  

Frankie felt her heart skip a beat, (yes she was now prone to such girlish ailments), when the door opened and felt disappointment when she realized it was Silas—and Silas seemed very angry.  

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Frankie asked as Silas flopped down in the chair beside her.  

"I'm taking over driving duty so you can go and find something else to do." Silas grumbled.  

Frankie frowned. This wasn't the Silas that she knew. The Silas she knew was calm, kind and usually annoyingly sweet.  

"Where is Charlotte?" Frankie asked and she saw Silas wince and knew she had touched a nerve. He simply shrugged in response and Frankie sighed. Enough was enough.  

She rose from her seat and left the engine room in a rush. Striding past Comanche who was coming through the dining room, Frankie entered the first passenger car and went straight to Charlotte's door.  

Without taking the time to knock, Frankie threw the door open to find Charlotte sobbing on the edge of the bed.  

"Come with me." Frankie ordered and Charlotte squeaked with surprise as she wiped her face and looked up.  

"Go away, Frankie."  

"No. Now dammit, you're going to come with me."  

Without giving Charlotte any more time to argue, Frankie grabbed her arm and quite literally dragged her out of the room and down the hall.  

Charlotte fought against her at first but quickly gave up as Frankie smiled at a confused Comanche and then took Charlotte to the engine car and tossed her inside.  

Silas looked up with surprise as Charlotte stumbled into the room and Frankie realized quickly that she had shoved the woman too hard.  

Charlotte was going to fall and smash her face on the controls.  

Before that happened, Silas jumped to his feet and caught the wind-milling woman in his arms.  

"Were you trying to hurt her?" Silas demanded of Frankie as he righted Charlotte on her feet and then released his hold on her.  

"Of course not but if hurting her causes you to pull your head out of your ass then so be it." Frankie spat back.  

"Um... Paleface, what are you doing?" Comanche asked from behind Frankie and Frankie simply shook her head in response.  

"Y'all are killing me with this pushing each other away nonsense. I get that you're hurting and I know I ain't an expert on love but it seems to me that when you're hurting you should lean on each other not on yourself! I've always respected the fact that no matter what you've gone through in your lives the two of you have remained sweet, open, loving and caring." Frankie shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "So get back to being that damn way or else I'm gonna kick your ass."  

Not giving anyone time to argue with her or question her actions further, Frankie walked out of the engine room, pulling Comanche with her. Together they went to the top of the second storage car and Frankie let out an angry growl once they were there.

"It is strange to see you so concerned about someone else, Paleface." Comanche admitted.  

"Am I that much of a bitch?" Frankie snorted and Comanche winced.  

"No, and you know I do not think anything like that about you." He assured her as he took her in his arms and smoothed her hair from her face. "You simply do not normally express your feelings this way. You really seem bothered by Silas and Charlotte's troubles."  

"I am. They are the stable ones of the group. They can't be falling apart now." 

"We are not stable?" Comanche asked with the raise of brown and Frankie laughed.  

"We're crazy and you know it."  

Comanche flashed her one of those grins he was so good at. The same grin he had flashed her on that rooftop so long ago that had caused her to want to jump on him then and there. It had the same effect now.  

"You wanna?" she asked, winking at him and pressing her hips against his. Desire flashed in Comanche's dark eyes as he gripped her backside and pulled her even tighter against him.  

"Are you saying I have a choice?"  

"No." Frankie replied dragging her teeth across his neck and feeling him tremble. "I plan on having you either way."  

Comanche let out a growl that made him sound every bit the savage. He loosed the tie on his buckskin pants and Frankie slid her hands inside them and gripped his arousal in her hand. As she stroked him Comanche threw his head back and held onto her shoulders for support.  

"Hey, Injun," Frankie whispered in his ear, loving the reaction he had to her touch.  

"What is it, Paleface?"  

Frankie pointed at a group of rabid roaming the plains. "Let's give those rabid a show."  

Comanche laughed nodded before covering her mouth with his and pulling her down on the roof.

---

Colt pounded on Jedidiah's door, not caring if he woke the man up.  

"Come on, old man, you and I need to talk!" Colt ground out. The door opened and Jedidiah stood there in his bare feet, adjusting his pants while Rachel sat up in the bed with the sheets wrapped tight around her body. Her bare shoulders were shining in the morning sunlight coming through the window.  

"Is there a reason you insist on acting like a barbarian, Colt? Robbing hardworking people, killing innocent men,  spending nights alone with my young, innocent niece and then barging around here yelling and demanding attention?" Rachel asked harshly and Colt took a deep breath, counted to three and tried to remind himself that he would be upset when this woman finally died.  

"It was just the way I was raised, ma'am." Colt replied with forced politeness. Then he looked at Jedidiah. "Could you step out in the hall so we can talk privately?"  

Jedidiah nodded, gave Rachel a soothing smile and then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. "What seems to be the problem, Colt?" 

"We're going to be stopping in the next town we come to and it'll probably be today." Colt replied.  

"And you want to know if this is the town where trouble lies?" Jedidiah asked with a sigh.  

Colt nodded. "I reckon that would be a useful piece of information."  

"And I already told you that I cannot tell you that because I don't know."  

Colt growled with frustration and nearly slammed his fist into the wall before managing to stop his arm. "This is bullshit."  

"I agree." Jedidiah nodded and smiled. "A big steaming pile of the stuff."  

---

Silas stared at his wife and the tears streaming down her face and was struck with the strongest sense of guilt that he had ever felt in his life.  

Those tears were his fault. He had failed in keeping their daughter safe. He had not kept his promise to Charlotte and her heart was broken because of it. 

Without a word, Silas reached out, took Charlotte's arm and pulled her into his chest. He wrapped her up tight in a strong embrace and swallowed hard as her shoulders shook violently and her hot tears soaked through the fabric of his blue chambray shirt.  

"Oh, Miss Charlotte, I'm sorry I ain't been there for you the last couple of days. I love you so much."  

"I love you too." She replied, her voice muffled against him.  

"I'm sorry I couldn't save her. I'm sorry that your heart had to break like that."  

Charlotte sniffed and pulled away just enough so she could look up into his eyes. "Silas, your heart broke too. I know you loved her. She was your daughter and you were the only father that she knew." Charlotte wiped her hand across his cheek and Silas felt the wetness she was attempting to dry. "And it is not your fault that she's gone, Silas. I never should have said that..... I didn't mean it. Can you forgive me?"  

"There is nothing to forgive." Silas assured her, loving this woman with everything he had. Putting a wall between them had been wrong. He just hadn't known how to be the strong one for her when his heart had been so completely shattered.  

"I can't be strong through this, Miss Charlotte. Every time I think about what happened—" Silas's voice broke and Charlotte rose on her toes and pressed a tender kiss to the corner of his mouth.  

"Silas, I can be the strong one; I can do that for you. But I can't live with that distance between us. I need you too much. Don't you understand that?"  

"Yes I do." Silas replied, smoothing her hair and laying his forehead against hers. His eyes slid closed as he breathed her in. "I won't ever do that to you again. You have my word on that."

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty:

Katherine was sleeping peacefully and dreaming of Ox. Imagining the way it would feel when he finally felt the time was right to kiss her; touch her; make love to her.....  

She moaned as she woke up, wishing she could stay lost in her dreams just a little while longer and then let out a scream when she opened her eyes and found a face less than six inches from her own.  

Susette jumped backward, falling on her backside while her eyes filled with tears. Katherine quickly sat up and held out a hand for the girl.  

"I'm sorry I scared you, Susette!" she exclaimed, pulling the tiny girl to her feet. Katherine released her hold on the girls hand and rubbed her tired face. "But you scared the life out of me too. You can't just stare at somebody like that while they're sleeping."  

"Sorry, ma'am."  

"And stop calling me ma'am." Katherine scolded. "I told you to call me Katherine."  

Susette simply nodded and sat down on the small sofa, folding her hands in her lap and staring down at them.  

Katherine knew she shouldn't be so cross with the girl but she had never been much for mornings. She 

had been born and raised in a brothel, after all, and was accustomed to sleeping most of the day.

"I'm hungry, Katherine." Susette whispered.  

"Go to the kitchen and get something to eat." Katherine urged. "I'd like to sleep a bit longer." Katherine knew that everyone else was probably already awake but she had not gotten much sleep the night before. Susette had had several nightmares and Katherine had been forced to comfort her through them.  

Katherine cursed the fact that this girl had taken to her so quickly. Katherine did not have a mothering bone in her body. She had never been 

mothered herself. Her mother had always been too busy to deal much with her young daughter and Katherine had all but raised herself.

"Won't you please come with me? I'm scared."  

"Scared of what?" Katherine snapped. "I assure you there are no rabid on the train!"  

"Please, Katherine?"  

Katherine looked into those innocent blue eyes and sighed. "Come here and let me fix those lopsided braids first and then we'll go find some breakfast." 

When Katherine and Susette entered the dining room a short time later, Ox stood quickly from his seat and walked toward them with a happy smile on his face.  

Katherine felt her heart skip a beat at his obvious joy. It was strange to think that just her presence could make the man so excited. Katherine had never had anyone whose face lit up at the sight of her but Ox's did.  

"Good morning, Miss Kate."  

"Good morning, Ox." Katherine replied, smiling back. She then rolled her eyes when Susette tugged on her skirts and tried to hide behind her. "What are you doing?"  

"Hiding," came the muffled response.   

"Why?" Katherine questioned.  

"Because he is big and he scares me."  

"Well gosh, Miss Susette, ma'am—" Ox said quietly as he crouched down, bringing himself closer to the girl's level. "—I ain't nothing for a lady such as yourself to be scared of."  

"But you're so big!" Susette countered, poking her head around to look at him. "And your voice is deep. And your hand is bigger than my whole head."  

Ox spread his fingers wide and placed his palm in the air close to Susette's head. Katherine smiled behind her own hand when she realized that Susette was right. Ox's hand was indeed bigger than her head.  

"I was just born big, Miss Susette, but that don't mean I'm gonna hurt nobody." Ox stated comfortingly as he stood back up.  

Katherine sighed. "We're looking for something to eat. Susette here says she's hungry."  

"I think all we have are some biscuits from last night. Silas and Charlotte are driving. Colt's with the horses. Frankie and Comanche are—somewhere." A blush colored Ox's cheeks before he cleared his throat and continued. "Evangeline, Aunt Rachel and Jedidiah haven't come out of their rooms yet."  

"Oh yes I have." Evangeline's voice came from behind them and Katherine saw the happiness on Ox's face at the sight of his sister. It only made Katherine more certain that this was a man she wanted to be with as more than just a bed partner. Ox was a 

good man and those were rare.

"Evie! Did you sleep better the rest of the night?"  

"Yes I did." Evangeline replied, throwing Susette a little wave.  

"And..uh..." Ox pulled off his hat and wrung it in his hands. ".. was Colt a gentleman?"  

Katherine saw a blush color Evangeline's cheek as her eyes widened. "Ox, that's hardly your business! You've got the man scared to death to touch me. He thinks you'll kill him."  

"I told you he was scary." Susette mumbled.  

"Shit, Evie, I just worry about you. You're my baby sister."  

"And I'm not a baby anymore." Evangeline reminded him.  

Katherine looked down at Susette and saw her blue eyes studying Evangeline and Ox carefully. "What is it?" Katherine asked.  

"They are brother and sister?" Susette questioned.  

"Yep we are, Miss Susette." Ox replied.  

"And he's harmless." Evangeline added, smiling at the girl. "You don't need to be afraid of him."  

"Yeah, I wouldn't hurt a fly." Ox agreed.  

"Nice to know." Colt spoke up as he walked into the dining car.  

Katherine saw the way Evangeline lit up at the sight of him and she saw the look in Colt's dark blue eyes as well as the man took in the sight of the other woman. Katherine was happy for Colt. Everyone deserved someone who 'lit up' whenever they came around them.  

Then she saw the protective glint in Ox's eyes as he glanced from Colt to his sister. Colt seemed oblivious as he pulled off his hat and ran his hand through his thick blond hair.  

"I gotta head to the engine." Colt said.  

"Why?" Evangeline asked. "Where did you run off to after Comanche talked to you this morning?"  

Colt shifted his feet and appeared uncomfortable. "Just had to talk to Jedidiah."  

"About?" Evangeline pressed.  

Colt plopped his hat back on his head and threw her a smile that Katherine knew was only meant to placate her. It seemed Evangeline knew it as well because her gaze remained stern.  

"It's nothing for you to worry about." Colt assured her and without another word he headed toward the engine.  

"Sometimes that man is so evasive and closed off I could smack him right upside his head." Evangeline muttered.  

"That doesn't help." Katherine replied with a shake of her head.  

"You've tried it?" Evangeline asked and Katherine nodded as she let out a sigh.  

"Katherine, I'm really hungry...." Susette whined.  

Katherine counted to three under her breath and then smiled down at the girl. "Well then let's go get you something to eat." She threw an apologetic glance at Ox, knowing the man had been hoping to spend time alone together. She would have liked that too but apparently she had a kid now. She shuddered at the thought.   

"Well that's alright, Miss Kate." Ox replied, rubbing his neck. "Evie and me were gonna spend some time together today anyhow. Weren't we, Evie?"  

Katherine glanced at Evangeline and saw the tiny woman nod. "Yes, we were." 

Katherine sighed and rose on her toes to press a light kiss to Ox's cheek. She nearly laughed when the man stuttered several times, flushed red and began to wring his hands as he grinned sheepishly.  

"Will you make time for me later?" Katherine asked him.  

"Aww shit, Miss Kate. Of course I will."  

"Alright then, I guess today won't be a total loss." Katherine threw Ox a wink and then led Susette into the kitchen to silence the girl and her never ending requests for food.  

---

Ox could feel his little sister's eyes staring hard at him as he settled down on the tiny sofa in her bedroom with an old newspaper they'd taken from the last town they'd been in. Evangeline had insisted that while they spent time together today, Ox might as well practice his reading. 	

Ox would rather pluck out his own fingernails rather than practice his reading. "Shit, Evie, the world pretty much ended. Do I really need to worry about reading newspapers?"  

Evangeline laughed as she pulled one of her skirts from a drawer and opened a tiny pouch, pulling out a needle and thread.  "No you don't have to read the paper. You could always read this."  

She tossed him a small leather book and Ox caught it quickly. He flipped through the pages and saw the messy scratches of ink inside that he had no hope of ever reading himself.  

"Haha." He mumbled, tossing the book back to her as she laughed quickly. "I'll stick with the newspaper."  

Ox read aloud from the newspaper, stumbling over several larger words, though Evangeline was quick to patiently correct him and help him along.  

Ox stopped reading suddenly and looked at his sister as she sewed up tears in her worn skirt. "Evie?"  

"What is it, Ox?" Evangeline asked, laying the skirt in her lap. Ox hated that his sister was being forced to patch old clothes. Evangeline had always had the best of the best and a new outfit to wear every day. Now here she was rotating two skirts and having to sew the rips and scrub at the stains.  

He had expected Evangeline to whine and whimper about toughness of her real life but she had surprised him. She had not offered a single word of complaint to anyone. Ox figured his sister was truly growing up and changing from a spoiled southern belle to a tough frontier woman.  

Their mama and pa would pitch a real fit if they could see their little girl now.  

"I told Katherine the truth about me not being real smart—"

"Ox, I refuse to listen to you when you are speaking nonsense." Evangeline snapped. She tipped her head toward the newspaper in his lap. "Now get back to reading."  

"Shit, Evie, listen to me."  

Evangeline sighed and glanced up from her needle and thread. "Talk then. I'm listening."  

"I told her I wasn't a real smart man but she's a lot like you when it comes to not wanting to hear me say that."  

"I knew there was something I liked about her." Evangeline cut in with a smile.

Ox smiled back and rubbed his neck. “Just don’t tell her about our reading and arithmetic lessons okay? I’d just as soon she not know I can’t read, write or add things up too good.”

Evangeline laid her sewing in her lap and met his gaze. “Ox, something tells me that she wouldn’t care.” She assured him comfortingly. Then she winked. “And what do you mean you can’t read well? You were certainly showing that newspaper who its boss was.”

Ox chuckled and loved his sister even more in that moment. She had always been his biggest fan and the only person in the world who always treated him like he was worth something.

“Can I ask you something about Katherine?” Evangeline spoke up and Ox frowned.

“I reckon you can ask.”

Evangeline gave him a droll look and rolled her eyes. “Will you answer?”

“Can’t tell you the answer to that until I hear your question.”

“Alright then.” Evangeline sat up a little straighter and despite Ox’s reservations about what she might be about to ask him, he couldn’t help but smile. There was one thing that could be said about Evangeline and that was she sure as hell wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. “Why are you so nervous around her and have you—” She blushed. “—have you been with her yet?”

“Shit, Evie! You shouldn’t ask me that.” Ox exclaimed, his cheeks burning red.

“You haven’t have you?” Evangeline frowned. “Why are you holding back? You act different when she’s around. Nervous and unsure….”

“Evie, I don’t feel right talking about that with you.”

“Don’t try to start that shy business with me, Ox. I happen to know nearly all there is to know about your sordid past, big brother.”

"I'm scared." Ox mumbled, looking back down at the newspaper to avoid Evangeline's gaze.  

"Of?"  

"Of the past repeating itself." Ox rubbed furiously at his neck. "It's different with her, Evie. I think I might just be falling in love with her and what if she gets to know me real good and decides she was wrong about me being a good man for her? What if we 

lay together and she’s rushing off once it’s over and telling me to keep it to myself and not let anyone know she laid with the big dumb ox?“

Evangeline was quiet for several long moments and Ox glanced over at her to find her staring at him with tears in her eyes. "Ox...." Words seemed to fail her and she tossed her sewing aside and launched herself to him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tight.  

"You okay, Evie?" Ox asked awkwardly.  

Evangeline pulled away and sat beside him on the sofa, swiping at her wet eyes. "Katherine won't do that to you, Ox. I think she might just be falling in love with you as well. Spend time with her, Ox. Kiss her. Hold her close. Share your heart with her. And then, when you all take that next step, I promise you that she will not be ashamed of you, Ox. She won't be like the past."  

"You don't know that for sure," Ox countered stubbornly and Evangeline glared at him and pointed her finger at his nose.  

"Yes I do." She assured him. "And even if you doubt me, the only way you'll ever know for sure is to take my advice and give it a try."  

Ox wanted to believe it was the truth. He wanted to believe that Katherine would be proud of him even once she really got to know him but he'd been wrong so many times before......  

"You better stop with those doubts, Joshua Gilcrest!" Evangeline scolded. "Just take my advice and things will work out just fine." She rose from the sofa and settled herself back down on the bed with her sewing. "Now get back to reading that paper. I want to hear more about the growing economy."  

Ox chuckled as he picked up the newspaper. "I think it done stopped growing, Evie."  

---

"Silas there's a town up there." Charlotte said as she lowered her binoculars and pointed ahead.  

"Go get Colt. He said to let him know when we saw a town."  

"Maybe this town will be empty enough that we can actually stay a night or two. A nice hot bath and a bed that isn't jostling as we sleep does sound awfully nice." Charlotte said with a sigh.  

"Having a few days of not being right on top of everyone else sounds nice as well." Silas agreed.  

Charlotte smiled at her husband. While neither of them were okay and probably would not be for a while, their relationship was once again solid and strong.  

She stood up and kissed his jaw, loving the way his arm circled her waist and squeezed her tightly. "I'll go get him."  

Charlotte made her way through the empty kitchen and found Colt in the dining room sharpening his knife while he watched Katherine and Susette.  He was frowning as he stared at the little girl and Charlotte followed his gaze to see her smiling as she played cards with Katherine, before glancing out the window as if looking for something. She certainly did not act today like a girl who had just lost her entire family and nearly been killed by rabid herself, but then again everyone dealt with pain in their own way and children were resilient.  

Charlotte shrugged off the girl's strange behavior and walked over to Colt. The man was so focused on Susette as he methodically slid his knife across the sharpening stone that he didn't seem to notice her presence.  

"Colt?" she whispered.  

His head whipped around to face her and he raised a brow. "What is it, Charlotte?" 

"We're approaching a town." Charlotte replied as Jedidah and Rachel entered the dining car. Charlotte noticed Colt and Jedidiah share a look and she was certain she saw dread on Colt's face.  

"A town, huh?" 

"Yes, Colt. Did you want us to stop?" Charlotte asked, wondering what was going on with everyone on this train today.  

"I'm coming." Colt grunted with a sigh as he pushed himself to his feet. "Nobody leaves this train until I say, is that clear?" Colt asked loudly and everyone in the dining room nodded in agreement.  

Charlotte glanced at Susette and realized that the girl now appeared nervous. She kept glancing out the window and then back at Colt. Charlotte followed the girl's gaze outside but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe she was only concerned that when they stopped the rabid would attack once again. 	

"Charlotte, why don't you go find everyone else and let them know not to get off this train when it stops until I say it's okay to."  

"Is there something going on that we should all know about?" Katherine spoke up.  

Colt shook his head and adjusted his hat. "No. I just want to keep everybody safe and we don't know what we might find in this town. It could be overrun and I don't want anybody gettin' attacked."  

"I think we're all smart enough to know how to deal with rabid by now." Katherine assured him and Colt merely shrugged and then walked away toward the engine.  

Charlotte suspected that Colt wasn't being completely honest and that perhaps something indeed did have him worried about stopping in the next town.  There was nothing she could do about that just now. Now she just had to find Frankie, Comanche, Ox and Evangeline and warn then that something bad may be about to happen very soon.  

It seemed that the horrors of this new world wouldn't even allow themselves just one day off.

Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-One: A New Town, A Man Down and An Angry Savage

I don’t want to stop!“ Susette exclaimed as the train jerked and stuttered to a stop.

Katherine frowned at the girl. "Why not?"  

"Because they'll be there!" Susette replied, wringing her hands staring out the window at the town they'd stopped beside. "Something bad will happen with them there!"  

Katherine was impressed by what she could see of the town. It was certainly larger and more promising supply-wise than the town they'd taken the train from. And while she could see a few rabid wandering around, it didn't seem to be overrun, unless they were all holed up in a building.  

However that simple statement from Susette had Katherine's attention jerking away from her assessment of the town and falling completely on the little girl. "Who is going to be there, Susette? What are you talking about?"  

Susette's blue eyes were terrified as she pulled her knees up into her chest and wrapped her thin arms tight around them. "They'll kill you or someone else. That's all I know."  

"Kill me....?" Katherine sighed and reached across the table to lay her hand on Susette's shoulder. "Honey, are you worried about the rabid?"  When Susette didn't answer, simply continued to stare down at her knees, Katherine smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry about those monsters, Susette. This group has faced them down many times and we haven't ever lost anyone to them. They're not that dangerous if you're careful and smart, and our leader, Colt, he is both of those things. We won't let anything happen to you."  

"It's not me I'm worried about."  Susette whispered and Katherine felt sorry for the girl. She had lost so much and now was worried about losing more. It was strange though..... She acted much older than six at times like now. Then again, living in this new world probably had a way of growing a child up and killing their innocence fairly quickly. 

"What's wrong with her?" Charlotte asked quietly as she walked over.  

Katherine sighed and stood up from the table. “She’s scared to stop the train and get off. She thinks that the rabid are going to kill me—kill all of us.”

“Oh, Susette, honey, it’s all going to be okay.” Charlotte encouraged comfortingly. “Colt will make sure that everything is okay.”

“That’s what I told her.” Katherine stated. Charlotte smiled but their attention was soon directed toward Silas as he entered the room.

"Alright everybody—" Colt began, as he too stepped into the dining car which was full  of the entire group simply waiting on orders from their leader.

Katherine watched Evangeline walk over to Colt and stand beside him as if she were the queen bee…. Katherine didn’t want to be bothered by the action but couldn’t seem to help herself. As far as she knew Evangeline had done nothing to earn the respect of the group other than to become the woman Colt chose. Katherine wasn’t interested in having Colt, she knew now that she never really had been, but she did want respect and she’d killed more rabid than Evangeline had. She’d been by Colt’s side the longest. She deserved to be the lead woman. Not Evangeline.

"—I want to leave most of you on this train, preferably up top with rifles, just in case. I'm only taking a few of you into town with me to check it out. Comanche, Jedidiah, Frankie and Silas: you four will come with me. The rest of you will stay here."  

Immediately protests filled the air, Katherine's among them. Colt shook his head and held up his hand to silence them all.  

"Katherine, that girl seems attached to you. You might as well stay here with her and keep her calm." Colt began, and Katherine wanted to protest further but Colt turned to Ox who had seemed upset by his decision as well.  

"Ox, I need to keep at least one man here with the train and I'd like it to be you. I trust you to keep everyone else safe if things go wrong."  Then Colt turned to Evangeline. "And I ain't letting you go anywhere near danger. You want to be mad about that then you just go ahead and be mad but it ain't gonna change what is."  

Evangeline looked up at him and shook her head. "Colt, I can do this. I won't let you down today...."  

Katherine was surprised when Colt laid a gentle hand on Evangeline's cheek and bent down low so their foreheads were touching. She hadn't imagined Colt as being an open display of affection type of man.  

"You never have let me down, Evangeline. Not one single time. Now please, do as I say cuz I plan on doing my best to not let you down either."  

Colt turned to face the group once again. "No more discussions. Y'all named me leader and I'm just playing my part. Now let's get some weapons and get out there."  

---

Colt took a deep breath and headed out onto the street with Comanche, Frankie, Silas and Jedidiah all close around him.  Evangeline, Rachel, Ox and Charlotte were on the train, prepared to provide cover fire if it was needed. Katherine was inside with Susette who had seemed quite near scared to death at the idea of anyone leaving the train.  

It was time to end this town's rabid problem and take it for themselves. Thankfully it didn't seem as if it was too badly overrun, which was odd considering the size of the town itself. Thought Colt could see the fresh construction and half-finished buildings. Clearly this west Kansas town had been developing when the sickness hit it. Most folks had probably made a run for it had the first sign of trouble.  

That and it had been a few months now since the sickness started. Colt had a hunch that most of the rabid had banded together in those giant herds and were now wandering in search of food.  

"They seem a little slow." Frankie stated when the rabid didn't notice them right away.  

"Well let's wake them up." Colt replied.  

He ran forward, leapt into the air and slammed the fire poker he was holding through the head of an unsuspecting rabid as he came back down.  

Colt freed the poker from the rabid's skull with a yank and Frankie laughed. "That worked."  

The rabid in the area had noticed them now and while Colt would like to say he was dreading the fight, he wasn't. He still remembered the sight of these monsters ripping apart his wife and biting into daughter. He enjoyed killing them. He supposed that made him a bit of a monster himself.  

"Let's get them taken care of shall we?" Jedidiah offered, hoisting up the sledgehammer he held in his hands. "I'm getting far too old for this."  

---

Evangeline did not draw an easy breath until she saw the last visible rabid fall. She hated watching Colt and the rest of the group, her family, in danger. But at least there hadn't been an overwhelming force of rabid in this town.  

Evangeline never wanted to see another of those herds again.

True they would have to be careful when they searched the town for supplies and watch for rabid that were hidden indoors but it could have been much worse. 	

Colt swiped his hand across his blood splattered face and turned to look up at her on top of the train. He waved his hand and flashed her a smile which Evangeline returned.  

"Y'all can come on down now. It's clear enough." Colt called up.  

Evangeline headed toward the ladder which led off the storage car roof with Ox close behind her. All she wanted was to feel Colt's arms wrapped around her and reassure herself that once again the man had made it through the danger safely.  

A sudden gunshot filled the air stopping Evangeline in her tracks.   

The world stopped turning. Evangeline swore that the air itself ceased to move as she saw the bullet slam through Colt's shoulder, ripping out the other side and sending blood splattering across Frankie's face and chest.  

Colt took a single staggering step forward and reached up toward Evangeline. Through her tears and her fear, Evangeline saw his lips moving as he tried to speak to her but she was unable to hear his words from this distance. Then a second gunshot sounded and Colt's hat was knocked off as he took the bullet in his head and fell to the ground.  

"COLT!" Evangeline screamed. She screamed his name again and again, unable to force her mind to think of anything else to scream.  

She could see the blood on his head and the puddle of the dark stuff was soaking the dirt below his shoulder. He was lying motionless on the ground and everything had suddenly become silent—dead silent.  

Evangeline lunged for the ladder, intent on getting to her man but Ox's arms closed around her waist and pulled her against his chest.   

She kicked and screamed desperate to get to Colt, but Ox held her firm as another gunshot filled the air, echoing off the surrounding buildings.  

"Shit, Evie, we gotta get inside! I gotta get you inside!" Ox shouted as he dragged her toward the ladder.  

"No, I have to get to Colt! Someone shot Colt!" Evangeline cried desperately. Tears soaked her face as she fought against her giant of a brother and cursed her small size.  

"I'm sorry, Evie." Ox whispered, as he carried her down the ladder as if she was nothing more than a feather. "I think he's dead."  

---

The third bullet tore into the dirt at Frankie's feet. "Who the hell is shooting at us?!" She exclaimed angrily.  

Comanche saw Silas run to Colt and crouch down beside the man. "Is he dead?" Comanche asked.  

"Not yet.... There's too much blood for me to assess this right here..." A fourth bullet blew so closely to Silas's head that it knocked his hat into the dirt.  

Comanche followed the sound of the bullet, which was hard given the way it was echoing off the surrounding buildings and the sound of Evangeline's screams filling the air.  Comanche caught a flash of movement and felt his blood boil.  

"Paleface, cover Jedidiah and Silas while they moved Colt to that building, it's the closest cover." Comanche stated loudly, so that Silas and Jedidiah would hear him as well.  

"Where are you going?" Frankie demanded.  

"I see the man who shot Colt. No one will take my tribe from me again."  Without another word, Comanche ran toward the building where he had seen the movement.  

He had lost far too much in his life. There was a good chance, more than a good chance, that Colt was dead or dying. Comanche would not allow this man with a gun to harm any more of his tribe—his family.  

He entered the saloon and a bullet slammed into the wall behind him. Comanche saw the man that had fired it take off running back up the stairs. It seemed he was facing down a coward.  

Comanche followed after the man. Crossing the dusty saloon and dodging the scattered tables while jumping over the overturned chairs. Broken shards of glass crunched beneath his deerskin shoes and his heart beat at a slow and steady rhythm as he pulled his knife.  

His bow and arrow would have been quicker—his gun a more safe choice—but Comanche wanted to feel this bastard's blood on his hands. 	

Colt had been a good man. One of the best, if not the best, that Comanche had ever met. He had kept this group together and kept everyone alive after overcoming a terrible tragedy of his own. He had not judged Comanche or Silas because of the color of their skins and he had risked his life to keep them safe. Comanche would avenge him and he would avenge him savagely.  

Comanche entered a long hall with many closed doors. Comanche knew the man would be in one of these rooms. He would not have gone back to the roof, not when everyone with rifles down below now knew where he'd been shooting from.  

Walking silently down the hall, Comanche kept his ear close to the doors, listening for any signs of life from within them.  He stopped suddenly and a smile curved his lips when he heard the heavy breathing coming from inside the fourth room down.  

There were two things that caused a man to breathe so heavily; a good woman and heart-pumping fear. Comanche would just bet it was fear that had the man on the other side of this door breathing heavily.  

"You made a mistake." Comanche spoke calmly. He wasn't surprised when a bullet slammed through the door. Now he knew for a fact this was his man behind the hunk of wood.  

Without giving thought to the 'could be' scenarios trying to play through his mind, Comanche threw open the door and burst inside. The man was so startled by his sudden presence that his shot went wide and Comanche leapt for him.  

"Ai! Ai! Ai!" Comanche let loose a war cry as he jumped onto the man's back slamming him to the floor.  Comanche grabbed the man by the hair and jerked his head up before sliding his knife across the bastards scalp and removing his trophy while the man screamed and writhed in pain beneath him.  

---

"Let me go!" Evangeline screamed as Ox tried to force her into the storage cart. Comanche had just run off toward a building and Silas, Jedidiah and Frankie were carrying a limp, bloody and seemingly lifeless Colt toward another building. The closest one to where Colt had fallen on the dusty road.   

"Evie, I gotta get you in where it's safe." Ox urged, dodging a wildly swinging fist that nearly caught him in the eye.  

"No!" Evangeline exclaimed angrily. "I have to get to Colt!" Without warning she swung her foot back and caught Ox hard between the legs.  

Now Ox was a big man, a strong man, but no man could withstand a crushing blow to his groin. Ox's grip on Evangeline slipped as he fell to his knees just outside the storage cart door and Evangeline leapt from his arms with a whimpering sob and took off after Colt's body.  

Ox blew out a long breath and used the metal railings to pull himself to his feet.  

"Ox, what is going on?" Katherine demanded as she threw open the door and ran her hands over him as if checking for injuries. "Is Colt dead? I saw through the window of the dining car and came back this way...." 

"I think he is, Miss Kate. He took one shot in the shoulder but the other shot went to his head. I don't know of many folks that can live through a thing like that."  

Ox hadn't been prepared for Katherine to swoon and he barely had time to catch her and keep her from hitting the floor of the storage cart.  

"Not Colt... Please not Colt!" she sobbed as she threw herself against Ox's chest. "He was too good a man."

Ox blinked back his own tears as he held her close and stroked her hair. He felt the same way. What would they all do without Colt? What would his little sister do without Colt?

Tiny footsteps approached them and Ox looked over Katherine to see Susette walking their way through the storage car. The stained and tattered skirt of her light pink dress clutched in her hands and her blue eyes wide and full of tears that were slipping down her pale cheeks.  

Before Ox could say anything to try to comfort the girl or explain what was happening, her eyes met his and the sadness in them had his words dying on his tongue and her words had Ox's blood freezing in his veins.  "I warned everyone not to stop here."  

---

“Colt!” Evangeline screamed as she ran into the mercantile and dropped to her knees beside his bloody body.

"Get back!" Silas ordered but Evangeline ignored him as she laid her hand on Colt's bloody cheek.  "The shoulder wound isn't life threatening as long as I can stop the bleeding but I haven't had time to assess his head wound." Silas told her. Colt's hair was too bloody and matted to be able to see the wound just yet.  

"He can't die..." Evangeline whispered, her green eyes pleading as she stared down at Colt's pale, drawn face.  "Why didn't you see this?!" She demanded of Jedidiah as she looked up at the old man.  

"I warned Colt that something bad was going to happen in a town but I didn't know it was this. I didn't realize it would be him.."  

"I need medical supplies. There should be a doctor's office somewhere. I need sutures, disinfectant and laudanum for pain." Silas ordered.  

Evangeline stood and went out the door without speaking another word. Silas looked at Frankie. "Go with her." He urged. 	

"Why?" Frankie demanded.  

"Because," Silas replied. "If by some miracle Colt lives through this and pulls through, would you want to be the one that explains to him how we let something happen to that woman?"  

Frankie swallowed hard and shook her head. "Point taken." She mumbled. "I'll go babysit the princess."

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Two:

Evangeline felt as if she was having an out of body experience as she rushed down the boardwalk toward the building with a sign that read 'Apothecary' and boasted of medical care and medicine.  

She was aware of Frankie behind her but Evangeline didn't attempt to speak to the other woman. Evangeline couldn't focus enough to speak. That didn't stop Frankie from attempting to make conversation.  

"I saw Jedidiah head toward the train right after I walked out of the mercantile.  I'm sure he'll tell everyone else what is going on."  Frankie was quiet a moment. "I wonder what's taking Comanche so long....."  

Evangeline went into the apothecary and before her eyes had time to adjust to the sudden change of light, a moaning shuffling rabid grabbed her arm.  His hungry jaws gnashed together as bloody drool ran down his rotting chin.  He tugged on Evangeline, attempting to bring her arm toward its eager mouth.  

Evangeline felt no fear in that moment, only anger and rage consumed her. Damn this new world straight to hell! A new world where monsters lurked behind every closed door and good men like Colt were gunned down in the streets for no reason!  

Evangeline swung out her free hand and caught the rabid hard in the temple, causing its grip on her arm to loosen. She pulled away, took the knife from her boot and in one fast motion, sent it deep into the lunging rabid's eye before yanking it back out with a wet squelch of blood. 

"Maybe you aren't such a princess after all." Frankie stated with pride in her voice. Evangeline was too numb to feel the same pride.  Put her bloody knife back in the sheath tucked into her boot and rushed into the tiny shop. She began looking through the medicine for the jars that Silas would need.  

"He'll need water, I reckon." Frankie said as she grabbed a wooden bucket. "I saw a hand pump out front..."  

Evangeline's hands were trembling as she found a burlap sack beneath the counter and filled it with medicines, sutures, scissors, clean rags... everything she could think of to stuff inside.  

She rushed back out the door, stepping over the dead rabid and nearly running into Frankie who was standing there on the boardwalk with a full bucket of clear water.  

"Watch where you're going, Evangeline, or I'll have to fill this bucket all over again."  Frankie scolded and Evangeline was about to give the woman a piece of her mind until Comanche came jogging across the street toward them and Evangeline saw some of the tension melt out of Frankie's body.  

"What the hell took you so long?!" Frankie demanded of him as the three fell in step beside each other, heading back toward the mercantile where Silas was waiting with Colt.  

"I had to deal with the threat." Comanche replied swiping his hand across his bare, blood covered chest.  

"Was the threat alone?" Frankie questioned.  

"He says he was."  

"Do you believe him?" Evangeline asked, the sound of her voice surprising even herself.  

Comanche tipped his head. "I do. He may have been lying but I don't think so. When you put a coward in a certain amount of pain they will tell you all their secrets."  

Evangeline shivered, not even wanting to imagine what Comanche had done to the man and yet glad that the indian had done it. Whatever pain that bastard had been put through, he had deserved every agonizing second of it.  

They were approaching the mercantile when Evangeline froze at the sounds coming from within.  

"Dammit, Silas, I'm fine!" Colt bellowed. "Where the hell is everybody! Where's Evangeline? Is she okay? Did anyone else get injured?"  

Evangeline dropped the sack she was carrying, lifted her skirts and ran as fast as she her legs could carry her. She burst into the mercantile and her eyes fell on Colt. He was sitting up against the counter, his shirt was off and his shoulder wound was still oozing blood, but he was alert and his blue eyes lit up and filled with relief when they met hers.  

"You're alive?" Evangeline gasped. Without waiting for him to reply she ran to him and threw herself into his chest. She was careful to stay away from his bad shoulder as she clung to him and sobbed against his neck. "I thought you were dead."  

"No, ma'am." Colt replied gruffly. "No, I ain't gonna die just yet." 	

"But you got shot in the head." Evangeline stated with shock, her voice muffled against his skin.  

"No, I got grazed in the head and knocked out cold. I got shot in the shoulder." Colt countered, kissing her hair. "And you're going to get covered in blood, sweetheart."  

"I don't care."  

"I need to get that wound tended to." Silas urged. Evangeline sniffed and turned her head to see Comanche and Frankie walk in. Comanche had picked up the sack she'd dropped and he tossed it to Silas.  

"Where is the man that shot me?"  Colt asked. "Is everyone else okay?"  

"Everyone is fine." Comanche replied with a tip of his head.  

"Except the man who shot you." Frankie cut in.  

"Yes he is dead." Comanche agreed.  

Evangeline knew she was in Silas's way as the man began to use the water and a rag to dab at Colt's shoulder. Colt hissed in pain and Evangeline laid gentle kisses to his jaw and gripped his hand in hers, wishing she could take his pain away.  

"What in the hell is that?" Colt demanded suddenly. Evangeline followed his gaze and fought back a gag when she saw the bloody piece of skin and hair hanging from Comanche's waist, bouncing against his leg when he moved.  

Comanche shrugged. "My trophy."  

Frankie laughed and winked at Comanche. "Nice scalp, injun."  

"Thank you, Paleface."  

Colt grumbled under his breath as Silas poked at the bullet hole in his shoulder. "Dammit, Silas, leave it be!"  

"You were shot, Colt." Evangeline reminded him. "Let Silas patch you up." 

"Y'all act like this is my first time getting shot." Colt stated. "These two bullets actually make times thirteen and fourteen."  

Evangeline blinked several times as she stared at him. "Fourteen times?! You've been shot fourteen times?!"

"Yep." Colt grimaced in pain, his one-armed grip on Evangeline tightening almost painfully as Silas poured a strong smelling antiseptic over Colt's shoulder, the nose-burning liquid coating both the entrance and exit wound.  

Colt's nostrils widened and Evangeline felt him trembling with pain as Silas began to sew up the entrance wound on his shoulder.   

Evangeline threw a glance at Comanche and Frankie and the two of them quickly slipped out of the mercantile.  

"Look at me, Colt..." Evangeline urged gently, hating to see the pain on his face and yet impressed by the way he kept himself from crying out.  

Colt's dark blue eyes looked deep into hers and Evangeline held his gaze. So much was written in Colt's eyes. Evangeline recognized the love she saw there. Colt looked at her in much the same way that her father had always gazed upon her mother.  Colt loved her and she loved him right back—fiercely.

They simply sat their staring at one another, lost in the other's gaze until Silas stood up straight and swiped his arm across his brow. Your shoulder is took care of." He stated. "Now I'll start on that head."   

"It can wait," Colt grumbled, grabbing onto the counter with his good hand. Evangeline moved off of his lap and helped Colt to his feet.  

"Colt..." Silas began and Colt shook his head, though he grimaced when he did so and Evangeline knew the man must have one heck of a headache.  

"It can wait. I'll need a good bath and Evangeline can help patch it up then and make sure it's clean."  

Evangeline swallowed hard as she looked at his bloody hair and then imagined his long, lithe body in a bathtub, dripping wet with hot water. "Sure." she nodded. "Yes I will help make sure he's taken care of."

Silas sighed. "Alright, but at least allow me to fashion you a sling for your arm so you don't tear those stitches right back out."

---

"Colt!" Katherine exclaimed and Colt braced himself as she threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. "Thank God you're not dead."  

"Thank God that bastard shooting at us wasn't that great a shot." Colt muttered as he slid out of her grasp and held on tight to the train wall beside him. He would swear that the dining car was spinning and his legs were weak.  

"Sit down, Colt." Evangeline urged as she led him to a table. Colt nodded and slid into a seat, barely having time to get halfway comfortable before a glass of water and a bowl of canned apples were sat down in front of him.  

Colt looked up to see Charlotte smiling at him. "You've lost a lot of blood and you need food." She urged.

Colt nodded and shoved a big bite in his mouth before realizing that everyone was looking at him strangely. He swallowed the apples and frowned. "Yes, I know, I'm filthy and I'm covered in blood and my head is still oozing a little but I'm fine. I promise."  

"We were so scared that we had lost you." Charlotte whispered.  

"Yes that would have been a shame." Rachel agreed, though Colt was sure he could hear sarcasm in her voice. Once again he tried hard to remind himself that he would be upset when the woman died.  

"Nobody lost me." Colt assured everyone, feeling his heart beat faster as Evangeline sat down beside him and laid her head against his shoulder.  

Colt was not accustomed to affection. He and Sarah had never been affectionate with one another. No one in Colt's life had ever just wanted to lie against him or hold his hand. And he'd never wanted to share that with anyone else. He was a firm believer in appearing tough and not openly displaying affection..... Or at least he had been a firm believer in that before Evangeline had come into his life. Now he lived for her tiny gestures and he didn't care who saw.  

"Colt, we must speak." Comanche said, from where he leaned against the kitchen door frame.

"Yes we really do." Ox agreed, glancing at Susette, who was wrapped around herself at a corner table and staring at him with wide blue eyes.  

Colt pinched his nose. "I'm really tired of hearing those words." He mumbled. His head was pounding, his shoulder hurt to high heaven, he was tired, sore, weak and just wanted to go lie down and sleep for hours—preferably with Evangeline lying beside him.  

"The man that shot you spoke to me—" Comanche began.  

"Was this before or after you scalped him like some kind of uneducated barbaric savage?" Rachel demanded.  

"You'll watch how you speak to him." Frankie warned, stepping toward Rachel with her fists clenched. "He got a lot of schooling. He sure as hell ain't uneducated."  

Colt laughed lightly as Comanche smirked. "Thank you, Paleface."  

"Just the same—" Rachel continued. "—I see no good reason why you should be carrying that bloody, disgusting piece of flesh around on your body! Get rid of it."  

"No. I earned this scalp and I will keep it. I thought my chief had been murdered and I was avenging him—savagely."  

"Chief...?" Colt mumbled. "Good Lord....." Colt rubbed at his eyes and pleaded with God to take this pulsing headache away. Of course it was better than the alternative which would have been a leaky brain. "Alright, Comanche, you first. What did the man say?"  

"He was alone in this town, guarding it, until his group returned."  

Silence fell over the dining car. "Group?" Colt asked quietly.  

"Yes. A very ruthless and bloodthirsty group. They are out hunting for both animal and—" Comanche paused. "—and women."  

"How big of a group?" Colt questioned, ignoring the gasps from the women.  

"There are six men other than the one I killed and he was expecting them back tomorrow evening. They keep very strict time schedules and he seemed certain it would be tomorrow evening when they returned."  

"Do you think his information is reliable?" Colt asked.  

Comanche shrugged. "It's always possible that he was lying. However I believe he was being honest. You cut off a man's scalp and then threaten to begin with his fingers and it loosens his tongue."  

"You scalped him alive?!" Rachel demanded with horror. "Great!" she threw up her hands. "I'm sharing a train with a murdering thief and a ruthless savage. That will certainly help me sleep better at night." 

"You're welcome to leave at any time." Colt snapped, his head pounding. "I don't remember pulling my gun and forcing you to stay."  

Rachel opened her mouth to speak but Ox stepped forward. "Aunt Rachel, that's enough. You won't say another bad word against Colt or Comanche. Both of them have risked their lives to keep you safe and you oughta be grateful instead of saying bad things about them."  

Colt tipped his head to Ox and the big man smiled.  

"Alright." Colt turned his attention back to Comanche. "Let's get the supplies we need and get the hell out of here before his friends come back. I would have liked to have stayed here a few days to stretch our legs but that's just not gonna happen now. Ox, Jedidiah, you both can let the horses out and put them over in the corral at the livery. They need to stretch their legs as well."  

"Colt, there's more we need to talk about. It's Susette..." Katherine began but Colt held up his hand.  

"Is this life threatening because my head hurts and I'm sore and we really need to get a move on."  

Katherine sighed as she looked at Ox and he shrugged. "It can wait until we get moving again I suppose."  

Colt nodded and rose from his seat, adjusting the sling around his left arm. "Alright then, let's get split into groups, get what we need and get the hell out of town."

---

"Shit." Colt stated as he looked at the nearly empty coal bin. There wasn't enough coal left to take them more than a few miles and they had searched this town up and down to no avail. There had been several rabid hidden in the buildings that they'd had to put down but there was no coal. They weren't going anywhere; at least not on this train.  

"We could still take the train just as far as we can. Get away from this town and those men." Charlotte said.  

"No we can't." Colt countered.  

"Those men are not dumb men. They will know something happened and they will see our tracks and know we came by train. It won't be hard for them to find us." Comanche agreed.  

"If this is gonna come to a showdown, I'd just as soon have it happen here. I don't want to be stuck inside a big box of metal with men gunning to get in to me." Frankie spoke up.  

Colt nodded his agreement with Frankie. While he'd rather not have a showdown of any kind, especially with him wounded as he was.  

"Alright. Everybody stays armed. Everybody stays at the hotel. If you have to leave the hotel, you check with me first and you don't' go alone. Silas and Charlotte, can you take first watch up high to keep an eye out?"  

"I thought we had until tomorrow before they come?" Rachel asked and Colt shrugged.  

"I don't take chances. There's no guarantee they won't come back early and even if those men don't come tonight, there could always be a herd or a different group of men."  

Rachel nodded and took a step back. Colt was glad she seemed to have taken Ox's words to heart and was finally shutting that big mouth of hers.  

"We'll take first watch." Silas spoke up.  

"I'll take the binoculars with me so I can hopefully catch them coming early." Charlotte agreed.  

"Alright. The rest of us need to get ammunition and weapons stockpiled at the hotel, as well as food and water. We need to barricade all the lower windows and entrances except one for us to get in and out of."  

"Yeah, we know the drill." Frankie spoke up and she looked at Colt. "You reckon we could take a little while and get a good hot bath for everybody?" 

Colt nodded, touching his stiff, sticky hair. "I reckon hotels have tubs."

Chapter Forty-Three

Chapter Forty-Three:

“Jedidiah?” Katherine called quietly, pulling the old man’s attention away from the gun he was cleaning.

It was early evening and the hotel was stocked, Silas and Charlotte were still on guard duty, Rachel was cooking in the hotel kitchen and everyone else, other than Jedidiah, Susette, Katherine and Ox were in the rooms upstairs.  

"What is it, Katherine?" Jedidiah asked, his sharp blue eyes going to Susette. His wrinkles deepened as he frowned. "Is something wrong?"  

"There's something that Susette needs to speak to you about. She doesn't want to but I believe it needs to be done."  

Jedidiah sat the rifle aside and smiled comfortingly at the girl, though there was something in her eyes that confused him. Something he recognized. "What is it, Susette?"  

The girl tugged at her skirt and bit her lip as she stared down at the floorboards. "Nothing."  

"Now, Susette, you need to tell Jedidiah the truth." Ox urged. "He'll understand and he won't think you're crazy."  

Katherine put her hand on Susette's shoulder and the girl nodded, swallowed hard and grabbed one of her braids in her fist. "I knew something bad was going to happen here."  

Jedidiah was hit with shock so hard he nearly fell off the chair he was seated on. "What do you mean you 

knew ?“

"I see things." Susette replied, her voice so quiet, Jedidiah had to strain to hear her. "I always have. I don't have normal dreams." 

"How old are you?" Jedidiah asked cautiously.  

"Six, almost seven."  

"And how long have you had these dreams?"

"For as long as I can remember."  

Jedidiah motioned for the girl to come closer and she glanced back at Katherine. "Go on." Katherine urged. Susette took three small steps toward Jedidiah and he grabbed her hands, holding them gently in his own.  

"Were your parents on that stage?"  

"No." Susette whispered, her bottom lip trembling. "They didn't want me. Not once they knew I was different."  

"And just what kinds of things do you see in your dreams?"  

"Things that are gonna happen." Susette replied, once again tugging on her braid. "I knew people were gonna get sick but nobody would listen. I knew our stage would get attacked by the monsters too."  

"And you knew Colt would get hurt at this town?"  

Susette shook his head. "I didn't know it would be him. All I saw was faces, everybody's faces, and blood. And I saw this town."  

"Susette, I don't think you're crazy." Jedidiah assured the girl and he smiled at the surprise in her eyes when they met his.  

"You don't?" 

"No, I sure don't.  As a matter of fact I know you're not crazy because if you are then that means I am too."  

Her tiny brow scrunched up for a moment and then she smiled. "You have dreams too?"   

Jedidiah smiled back and tapped his finger against his temple.  "I don't have dreams but I do see things. I saw a dark cloud hanging over a town but could not see clearly enough to know it was this town."  

"I saw the town clear." Susette stated, seeming a bit more sure of herself now that Jedidiah had shared what he was with her.  

"Is there anything else you've seen that you think we should know about?" Jedidiah asked.  

Susette shook her head. "Not yet."  

"If you do have another dream will you promise to tell me about it right away? Or tell Katherine and Ox about it?"  

"Yes sir." Susette replied with a nod.  

Jedidiah smiled and patted her cheek gently. "Now what do you say we let Ox and Katherine have a bit of time alone and you and I can sit down here and chat. We can swap tales of times our gift has helped us—" he winked at the girl. "—and even times it's gotten us into a bit of trouble."  

"Okay." Susette smiled and propped herself on the arm of his chair.  

Katherine stepped forward. "Should we tell Colt...?"  

"Naw." Jedidiah waved his hand. "At least not until tomorrow. He needs a night to recover and if this world has any mercy at all left in it, it will grant him at least that."  

"Miss Kate, would you like to go upstairs a while?" Ox asked, his voice shaking a little as he rubbed furiously at his neck. "I—We never did finish that poker game."  

Katherine nodded and let Ox lead her away, though if Jedidiah were a betting man he would say that she had more than poker on her mind—and Ox did too for that matter.  

"Mr. Jedidiah?"  

He smiled at the pig-tailed girl beside him. "Yes?"  

"How old were you when you had your first dream?"  

"Well let's see.... I reckon I was right around four."  

---

"Are there plenty of soap suds?" Evangeline demanded and the sound of water splashing reached her ears as Colt chuckled.  

"Yes, doctor, there's plenty of suds. Your eyes will be safe from the sight of anything below my navel."   

Evangeline felt her cheeks flame red. "Good." She gathered up a couple small rags and a bucket of warm water and walked to the tub.  

Colt was still filthy and covered in blood as he sat there in the copper tub, which was far too short for him to stretch out properly in. Evangeline's heart was racing as she took in the sight of him and knew that every inch of his body was bare. There was nothing covering him—well nothing other than soap suds. Evangeline had added enough soap to the bath that washing anything smaller than a grown man inside it would result in the bather becoming lost.  

"You know this isn't exactly what I had in mind when I thought of you helping me with my bath." Colt informed her with a raise of his brow.

Evangeline swallowed hard as she crouched beside him in her clean dress. She had bathed earlier while he'd been finishing up boarding the windows. She hadn't wanted to give the man any excuse to get her out of her clothes.  

"Colt you were just shot. I highly doubt that the good doctor would approve of what you had in mind." Evangeline scolded him.  

She pulled off the bandages that Silas has placed on Colt's shoulder and winced at the sight of those stitches in his skin. "Does it hurt?" she asked, gingerly touching the skin around the wound.  

Colt drew in a sharp breath between his teeth. "No, it feels great." He grumbled.  

Evangeline blushed and quickly moved her hand away. "Lean your head down, I'm going to pour some of this water on it."  

"Yes, ma'am." Colt tipped his head and Evangeline hefted up the bucket, pouring some of the hot water over his head.  

"Son of a......" Colt bellowed as his hands gripped the edge of the tub and he nearly stood up.  

"Don't you dare stand!" Evangeline exclaimed, closing her eyes tight.  

"That hurt." Colt grumbled as he settled himself back down.  

"Well it's going to hurt more. I have to get your hair and scalp scrubbed clean." Evangeline informed him. "I would think that after so many experiences with bullets, you would be used to the pain by now and not cry out like such a child."  

Colt glared at her and Evangeline was helpless to stop herself from laughing. Colt grinned. "You are an evil woman."  

"I am just happy you're alive." Evangeline replied, her voice lowering. "I honestly thought I'd lost you today. I've never been so scared in my life... and given the way the world is now, I would say that that's saying something."  

Colt laid his dripping hand on her cheek and smoothed his thumb across her trembling bottom lip. "After I lost Sarah and Loralie, I never thought I'd be happy again. I was living in a fog and all I wanted to do was die and kill as many rabid as I could before it happened. I kept hoping that one day I'd run into a mess of rabid big enough that I wouldn't be able to get away and they'd rip me apart and I'd be able to stop feeling so much damn pain."  

"Colt...." Evangeline felt tears gathering in her eyes and he laid his forehead against her as his eyes slid closed.  

"You've given my happiness back, Evangeline. I will be forever grateful to you for that."  

Evangeline kissed him lightly and pulled her face away. "A woman does what she can, fearless leader." She teased with a smile. "And that includes scrubbing your head."  

"I was hoping to distract you from that particular task." Colt grumbled with a pout.  

Evangeline laughed. "No such luck."  

Evangeline began her task of scrubbing Colt's blood from his hair. Clearly the tough man act this morning in the mercantile had been for Silas's benefit because Colt had no problem with wincing, yelling out and glaring at her every time she bumped the deep gash that ran along the back of his head.  

"You're a lucky man, Colt. Another half an inch and......"  

Colt silenced her by grabbed her hand and pulling his wrist to his mouth. He kissed it tenderly and Evangeline was glad that she was kneeling because she would have collapsed with the way her legs turned to mush.  

"I'm alive, sweetheart. I'm a little worse for wear but still going strong. You get to keep me around for another day at least."  

"I would like to keep you around forever." Evangeline admitted, her stomach fluttering inside of her. "I don't ever want to be without you, Colt."  

Evangeline stared deep into his dark blue eyes and drew a deep breath, building her courage. "I love you." She whispered.  

She saw his eyes widen and instantly wished she could take the words back. Embarrassment filled her and she tried to stand only to have Colt's grip on her wrist tighten and tug her toward him.  

Hungrily his lips found hers and Evangeline moaned against him as she kissed him back with every ounce of passion that this man managed to stir within her. She had gotten rather good at kissing, or at least Colt seemed to think so, as he moved his hand to her hair and tipped her head to deepen the kiss.  

Evangeline felt herself falling over a cliff... a sharp faced cliff that would doubt lead to pure pleasure at the bottom..... Quickly she pulled away and stood up.  

"No." she stated firmly.  

Colt's eyes were still closed and his hands were gripping the tub tightly. "No, what?"  

"You were just shot. Twice! You're supposed to be getting patched up and resting because God knows what's going to happen tomorrow. I will not hamper your healing by......."

"Marry me."  

Evangeline's jaw dropped and stuttered several times in a very unladylike fashion as she stared hard at Colt. He was staring at her intently, his knuckles were white as they gripped the tub and his chest was rising and falling rapidly. He was nervous.  

"Did you just tell me to marry you?"  

"I was asking but if you'll respond better to a command then, yes I was telling you to marry me."  

"You want to marry me?"  

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't."  

"But you said you were telling."  

"No, I said I was asking. You're the one who mentioned telling."  

Evangeline's head began to spin. "Are you only asking so I'll let you take advantage of me?"  

Colt appeared truly insulted, and a little angry, at her question. He rose to his feet in one fluid motion and Evangeline nearly fell over, before grabbing the wall beside her for support.  

Holy hell!  

This man was perfection. Even with stitches marring his left shoulder, he was the single most fabulous sight that Evangeline had ever laid her eyes on. 

Six and a half feet of lean, rippling muscles lightly dusted along the chest with tawny hair that trailed down his stomach to his.......  

Evangeline licked her lips and stared in wonder at the part of a man she had never before seen. It looked different than she imagined, though it was long, it just laid there...... Then suddenly it came to life. It moved right before her eyes. Growing and hardening as her eyes gazed at it. Evangeline's eyes widened and she tore her them away from 

that and back to Colt’s face.

"The fact that I want to make love to you has nothing to do with why I want to marry you, Evangeline. I have a feeling that you'd give in to me even without a marriage vow."

Evangeline was tempted to deny his words but what was the point? She would give him anything and he knew it....She suspecting he'd do anything for her as well.  

Her gaze once again dropped and Colt growled under his breath, grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and wrapped it around his waist. Evangeline bit her lip and looked back up into his eyes.  

"You really want to marry me, Colt?"  

"You asked me that already and I told you the answer."  

Evangeline wiped her wet hands on her skirt and let out a long breath. "Why then? Why do you want to marry me?"  

"You gotta make this difficult don't you?"  

"A lot of men have wanted to marry me, Colt. They wanted to marry me to have a pretty wife, a big plantation, money, status—"  

"I just want you, sweetheart." Colt promised, stepping forward and cutting her off. "My life was over until you came into it. I have 

never felt this way about any other person in my life. Marry me, Evangeline.“

For the first time in her life, Evangeline was completely and thoroughly speechless. Colt wanted to marry her. Somehow in this new world of monsters, fear, death and destruction Evangeline had found an incredible man and he wanted her to be his wife.  

She laughed as tears filled her eyes and she went to Colt, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tight with her face pressed against his wet chest, breathing him in.  

"Is this a yes?" Colt asked, his voice hoarse as his good arm wrapped tight around her waist and his other hand stroked her hair.  

"Yes." Evangeline replied, pulling away just enough to give him a teary smile. "When?"

Colt smiled down at her. "There's no time like the present."  

"Tonight?" Evangeline gasped.  

"Yes."  

"Colt, you need to be resting."  

"Plenty of time to do that once I'm dead." 	

Evangeline frowned and smacked his chest. "That's not funny."   

Colt caught her hand and brought it to his lips. "I don't want to wait, Evangeline. We've never been promised tomorrow but now the world is an even more dangerous place. Silas can stand over us as we say our vows and I'm sure we'll have plenty of witnesses."  

"I love you, Colt."  

Colt smiled and brushed his lips against her cheek. "You consume me, Evangeline, and I want to feel like this every single day I've got left."

"So do I..."Evangeline gasped as her heart fluttered against her ribs and her smile widened. She couldn't seem to stop smiling.  

"Not only that—"  Colt added, a teasing light coming into his eyes. "—but your brother won't have a reason to kill me now."  

---

"You're better at poker than I am." Ox admitted, tossing down his cards and smiling at Katherine.  

"I've had a lot of practice." Katherine replied. "Though I have to admit, this is not what I thought we would be doing the next time we were in a bedroom all alone."  

Ox flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. Lord knew he'd like to be doing something else with Katherine as well but it was too soon for that. He wanted to make sure she actually 

liked him before they took a step like that. Ox just couldn’t bear it if the past were to repeat itself.

"Shit, Miss Kate, I...." before Ox could finish, Katherine stood, sauntered around the table and perched herself on his lap.  

"Don't you want me, Ox?" she purred against his neck.  

Ox swallowed hard and he knew she would be able to feel just how badly he wanted her pressed against her rear where she sat. "You know I do, Miss Kate..."  

Katherine stood up and motioned with her finger for him to do the same.  Ox got to his feet, though his knees were shaking.  

"Now I know you wanted 

perfect, Ox, but there is no such thing as the perfect moment. I know you’re worried that I’m going to change my mind about you but I won’t. I want to kiss you, you want to kiss me and I think it’s about time you put a little trust in me and…..“

Ox's lips were on hers in a rush. He wasn't sure how it happened. One moment he was listening to her voice and in the next he had taken one big stride and pressed his mouth to hers.  

The kiss was gentle and slow. Katherine's hands went to his chest, clutching at his shirt. Ox held her slender hips in his hands and pulled her tighter against him, loving the feel of her body next to his.  

Ox had never kissed a woman like this before and had always wanted to. The women he'd been with before didn't want gentle loving. They wanted the quick, hot rutting that they claimed he was so good at and then they were gone. Ox had never been given the chance to be slow and gentle. Slow and gentle was what he wanted with Katherine.  

She moaned against his lips and Ox deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue between her lips and tasting her; breathing her in. Never before had Ox felt this way from a simple kiss.  

A knocking on the door had them jumping apart. "Ox, I need to talk to you."  

"Colt, go away." Katherine snapped.  

"Uh—sorry." Colt stated awkwardly. "But, I can't. I need to talk to Ox. It's important."  

Ox let out a long breath, untucked his shirt to hide the bulge in his trousers and made his way to the door. He opened it quickly and Colt was standing there. The other man looked like a tangled mixture of nerves and excitement. Ox found that odd when he happened to know that Colt worked hard to appear steady at all times.  

"What's going on, Colt? Those men ain't here are they?" Ox asked.  

"Colt shook his head. "No, actually I need to talk to you about Evangeline."  

"Evie?" Ox questioned, his brow furrowing. "What about her?"  

Colt shoved his hand through his damp hair and picked at a button on the clean white shirt he'd changed into. His left arm was back in the sling. Ox was surprised that other than the sling, it was impossible to tell by looking at Colt that anything had happened to the man today. His hair covered the wound on his head now that it was clean and he appeared healthy and fine.  

"Can we have some privacy?" Colt asked, glancing at Katherine.  

Katherine snorted and headed for the door. "Sure. We weren't busy or anything."  

"Miss Kate..." Ox began.  

"Don't worry about it, Ox. Our great leader has spoken  and I have been excused." 

"Sorry about that, Ox." Colt offered once Katherine was gone.  

Ox sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "She'll be okay. What did you want to talk about?"  

"I asked Evangeline to marry me and she said yes. We're going to get married tonight."  

Ox blinked several times. "Married? You're gonna marry my sister?"  

"Yes." Colt replied without hesitation.  

Ox rubbed at his neck and then pulled his hat off, clutching it between his hands. "Colt, you know I like you and I respect you. Hell you never have treated me bad just cuz I'm not real smart. And I know that Evie loves you. I can't tell you all the ways she has changed and grown up since meeting you...."  

"Why do I sense a but coming?" Colt asked.  

"Cuz there is one coming." Ox replied sheepishly. He didn't want to make Colt mad. Ox hated fighting and always had. When arguments got going his mind had a hard time keeping up.  "Well you see it's just that you—you just lost your family a few months ago, right?"  

Pain flashed in Colt's eyes and his fists clenched at his sides as he nodded. "Yeah that's right."  

"Well don't you think it might be too soon for you to be rushing off to marry my sister? " Ox wrung his hat nervously in his hands. "Do you really love Evie or are you just trying to replace what you lost?"  

Colt appeared tempted to turn and leave but then he squared his shoulders and looked Ox in the eye. "I don't normally do this kinda thing but since I'm marrying your sister that makes you and I family and I hear tell that families talk to each other about things. I don't think that my relationship with my late wife is any of your business but let me make this one thing clear to you; Evangeline could never be a 

replacement for anyone or anything. You know your sister and she wouldn’t play second fiddle to anyone. She is far too amazing a woman for that.“

"You didn't love your wife?" Ox asked and then he stuttered and took several quick steps back. Damn his loose lips and slow brain. He had to have a death wish to say something like that to a man like Colt!

No, not in the way a husband should love his wife." Colt replied quietly. "And I won't speak any more about that so don't bother asking."  

Ox knew the next question had to be asked. He had to look out for Evangeline even if it meant that Colt would shoot him for it. "If you didn't love her and married her anyway then how do I know that you love my sister?"  

Colt sighed and stuck his thumb through his belt loop as he stared hard at Ox. "It doesn't matter if you know how I feel. I know how I feel and your sister knows how I feel and since we're the only two that'll be in the marriage I reckon that's the only two people that need to know.  I only came to you as a common courtesy since Evangeline is your sister.  I won't hurt her, that's all you need to concern yourself with."  

Ox nodded and held out his hand.  As Colt shook his offered hand, Ox laughed lightly.  

"What's so funny?" Colt asked.  

"I was just thinking."  Ox replied, still chuckling.

"About?" Colt asked, a smile curving his mouth.  

"About how my pa's head would explode if he saw the man Evie chose. And about the way my mama would be carrying on and sobbing to the ladies in her church group."  

Colt laughed. "Yeah, I have that effect on mama's."  

---

Colt stared down into Evangeline’s eyes as Silas spoke about the joy of marriage. Colt wasn’t paying much attention to Silas, he was too caught up in the way Evangeline was staring back at him.

Never in all his life had Colt been looked at this way. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty now about his past. He and Sarah had done each other a great disservice by getting married and entering into a loveless union.  

Colt wished now that Sarah could have felt what it was to have someone love her the way Colt loved Evangeline.  Though he would never take back the years he'd spent with Sarah because they had given him Loralie. Her short life may have been cut tragically short, but that little girl had changed Colt for the better.  

"Colt, are you listening?" Silas asked and Colt glanced at the man quickly.  

"What?"  

"You're supposed to be repeating the vows...."  

"Right.. sorry." Colt looked back down at Evangeline. Tears of happiness were glistening in her eyes as Colt repeated Silas's words. Colt meant every one of them. Strange that he had shared these vows before but only now was he truly feeling what they meant.  

When it came time for Colt to kiss his bride, he did so with the absolute certainty that Evangeline was the one. Everything in his life had led him to her and he loved her.  

Cheers and clapping hands filled the room as their friends, (truly more like a family Colt supposed), celebrated their union.   

They ate a quick supper and then Colt was sweeping Evangeline away from the crowd and back up to their room for the night.  

He looked at her standing before him once they were alone. The white dress she had found for the ceremony was flickering in the glowing firelight. The flames were bouncing off her dark hair and reflecting in her dark green eyes as she gazed at him.  

"We're married." She stated.

Colt nodded. "Yes we are. Regretting it already?"  

"No." Evangeline replied quickly. "And I never will."  

Colt tipped his head. "I'll never give you a reason to, I promise you that."  

"Do you need help?" Evangeline asked as Colt struggled to unbutton his shirt.  

Colt nodded and took a step forward but his head began to swim and he fell, barely managing to twist his body in time to hit the bed instead of the floor.  

"Colt!" Evangeline gasped.  

"Sorry." Colt said quickly as he rubbed at his eyes. "I just got a bit lightheaded."  

"You've done too much today." Evangeline snapped as she slid his boots off his feet. "Now you need to get under the covers and rest."  

"Looks who's already being a nagging wife." Colt teased, though he found himself obeying her.  

Evangeline slid from her dress and Colt felt his body respond to the sight of her standing there in her shift dress and garters. He saw her hands trembling as she too climbed into the bed.  

Colt pressed a kiss to her shoulder and grumbled when she shook her head and rolled onto her side to face him.  

"No."  

"No what?" he demanded.  

"We're not going to do that."  

"But I'm your husband and you're my wife. It's perfectly okay for us to do 

that , Evangeline.“

"So is that why you married me then?"  

Colt's eyes narrowed. "You know it's not. What's wrong with you sweetheart? You were happy a moment ago."  

Evangeline buried her face in his chest. "I'm scared." She mumbled.  

Colt kissed her hair. "Of what?"  

"Of tomorrow. Of what's going to happen."  

"Evangeline....." 

"Don't you dare tell me that everything will be okay and I'm worrying for nothing, Colt." Evangeline snapped and Colt sighed, realizing that she was indeed scared to death and chances were he wasn't going to be making love to her tonight.  

Honestly he was a bit relieved. His head was still aching a little and his shoulder was killing him. He'd rather be feeling his best when he made love to her the first time, that way she wasn't left disappointed.  

"Evangeline listen to me..."  

"No, you listen to me." Evangeline spoke up, pulling her head away from his chest and looking into his eyes.  

"Okay." Colt replied, caressing her cheek with his fingertip.  

She leaned into his touch. "I can't lose you Colt McGreer."  Colt grumbled at her use of his last name. It wasn't a thing he was very fond of but he'd had to fess up to it in order for Evangeline to take his name. "You live through tomorrow for me—live through whatever this group is going to do to us—and then I'll give myself to you."  

"Conditional love then, huh?" Colt asked.  

"Yes." Evangeline replied. "The condition is that you have to live for me. You're not allowed to die."  

Colt chuckled and kissed her forehead tenderly. "Alright then Evangeline 

McGreer , I’ll do my best to meet your conditions. You have my word on that.“

Evangeline curled herself up against him and Colt listened to her breathing become more steady as she fell asleep. He stared up at the ceiling and prayed like hell that he'd be able to give this woman what she wanted. Lord knew he wanted to live for her because she was the one who had made him want to live again.

Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Four:

"Colt, I need to have a talk with you about something that has come to my attention." Jedidiah said, cornering Colt as he stepped out of his room the next morning.

Evangeline fought back laughter when she saw the look of dread that crossed her husband's features.  

Husband! Colt was her husband. A little thrill of excitement passed over her at that thought and a big smile curved her lips.  "I'll just leave you men to talk about things and I will go see about breakfast." She offered.  

"You don't have to run off." Colt countered.  

Evangeline smiled. "Yes I do. If I was to hear your discussions with Jedidiah then you would not find it so easy to keep secrets from me."  

Jedidiah folded his hands in front of him and took a step back with a grin tugging at his lips. Colt frowned, clearly confused. "What are you talking about, woman?"  

Evangeline sighed and adjusted the sling on Colt's neck. "Well while you were unconscious from your gunshot to the head, Jedidiah and I had a chat and it just so happens that he let me know that he warned you something bad was going to happen. I trust that since you did not feel the need to share that information with me or anyone else....." 

"Hey now—" Colt held up his hand to cut her off. "—I didn't marry you to be nagged at. Jedidiah said something was going to happen in a town but he didn't know what that was or even what town it was going to happen in."  

"Calm down, I'm not angry." Evangeline assured him before kissing his cheek lightly. "However, are there any other secrets that you'd like to share with me now. You or Jedidiah? Anything else you think that the group should know?"  

Colt and Jedidiah shared a look that Evangeline found awfully suspicious before Colt shook his head and looked down at her once again. "Nope." 

"Not as of now." Jedidiah agreed with a broken toothed smile.  

"And the news you're sharing this morning isn't anything that could end with someone harmed?" Evangeline asked Jedidiah.  

"No, I don't reckon it is." Jedidiah replied, seeming to be thoroughly enjoying the situation.  

 Evangeline tapped her finger against her chin several times and then nodded. "Well alright then." She shrugged. "I'll be in the kitchen. No more secrets, Colt. Not from your wife."  

Colt cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes ma'am."   

Evangeline shook her head and made her way down the staircase and through the lobby and sitting room to the kitchens. True she wasn't angry at Colt for not telling her what Jedidiah had warned him about, however she wanted to make sure the man knew that he had a partner now. He had someone to lean on. She had a feeling Colt was a man who only knew how to lean on himself and Evangeline could only imagine how hard that must be at times.  

Evangeline found Charlotte, Katherine and Aunt Rachel already in the kitchen, getting breakfast started. Susette was sitting in the corner playing with a deck of cards on the counter.  

"Good morning." Evangeline said as she walked in.  

"Good morning, Evangeline." Charlotte replied with a smile. "Did you sleep well?"  

Evangeline blushed. "Very well."  

"Yeah I'd say you did." Katherine snickered.  

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "The man had been shot twice less than twelve hours before we went to bed. I think that it is safe to assume there was none of 

that going on.“ She glanced at Susette and hoped the girl wouldn’t catch on to what they were talking about.

"I still can't believe you married him!" Rachel exclaimed. "I tried to talk you out of it last night--"  

"But I wouldn't listen." Evangeline finished for her as she grabbed the pan of biscuit dough from the counter and slid it into the oven. "And I won't listen to you say a bad word about him now either. He is the man I chose and I won't hear any more about it."  

"Not that there were very many to choose from." Frankie chimed in as she came into the room.  

"Where have you been?" Katherine asked, while stirring the potatoes that were frying.  

"On the roof." Frankie replied, stealing a chunk of potato and earning herself a glare from Katherine. "Comanche and I were keeping watch but Jedidiah and Colt came up and told us to come down." Frankie stuck her stolen food into her mouth and then drew in a breath and began fanning her hand as she chewed the hot piece of potato.  

"I love how we're all trying to act like this is just another morning." Katherine snorted. "There are men riding this way that could very well try to kill us all and yet here we are just cooking breakfast and chit chatting."  

"Perhaps we've grown so accustomed to people and monsters trying to kill us that we're simply not bothered by it anymore." Charlotte offered as she poured a jar of canned apples into a pan to heat.  

"That's kinda sad really." Frankie muttered as she hoisted herself onto the countertop to sit. She wiped her hands on her pants and smiled. "So, Evangeline, how is married life treating you?"  

"Colt was too tired last night." Katherine cut in with a wink.  

"No actually he wanted to but I said no." Evangeline spoke up quickly, even though her cheeks and ears both grew hot when she did so.  

"Look at that blush! You're as innocent as they come, ain't ya?" Frankie teased. "I'm surprised he took no for an answer."  

"Colt happens to be a gentleman." Evangeline informed them.  

Charlotte laughed. "No, he just happened to have two bullet wounds and severe blood loss. Try saying no on a night he's feeling a bit better."  

Every woman in the kitchen stared at Charlotte with shock. "What?!" the woman exclaimed. "I happen to be a married woman myself."  

Laughter filled the room and Evangeline was thankful for it. Even with the world the way it was, it was nice to know that women (even women as different as the five of them were), could still laugh and talk together.  

"I will admit that I never saw myself getting married." Evangeline said. "My father was always pushing all the eligible bachelors down my throat and each one was more gruesome than the next."  

"My first husband was someone my parents chose and he paid them nicely for my hand. He was an abusive drunkard who lost all his money and used his heavy hands to punish me for it. Sometimes parents don't truly know what is best for us." Charlotte admitted.  

"And what happened to your husband? Was he bitten?" Frankie asked.  

Charlotte nodded, though her eyes remained on the apples she was stirring. "Yes. He came home one night and he wasn't himself. I fought him off and barricaded myself in the servants quarters. I gave birth to Grace alone while he and our only servant beat against the walls, desperate to get in and have a taste of us. If it weren't for Silas showing up when he did, Grace and I would have died that night."  

Mention of Grace had everyone falling silent and filling with sadness as they thought about the tiny angel.  

"Those monsters are scary." Susette spoke up.

Evangeline nodded, "Yes they are."  Then she decided that they needed a change of subject smiled at Katherine and Frankie. "So when are the two of you going to get married?"

Katherine flushed and began to poke harder at the potatoes, obviously unwilling to answer but Frankie laughed loudly and slapped her hand on her knee. "I ain't never getting married."  

"But you love Comanche don't you?" Charlotte questioned.  

Frankie snorted. "Course I love my crazy injun but that don't mean we gotta get married. You throw words like married into the air and then they turn into words like stuck and children and I ain't wanting any of that!"  

"But, Frankie, you do know that you don't have to be married to get with child don't you?" Rachel asked, with a frown.  

Frankie's brown eyes widened and she shook her head. "No I didn't. Well shit, I guess me and the injun gotta quit doing that....."  

"You're so full of dung!" Katherine spoke up and Frankie laughed loudly.  

"How do you prevent it?" Evangeline whispered, hoping once again that Susette wouldn't catch on or ask any questions. The girl seemed lost in her cards once again so Evangeline was almost certain that she wouldn't. 

"Tea made from herbs."  Frankie replied. "Just drink two cups of it a day and you're good to go."

"Okay but what if you don't have the tea?" Evangeline questioned, finding this fascinating.

"Have him exit the building before the finale." Katherine replied with a smile.

Evangeline had no idea what the woman was talking about. "You can truly prevent getting with child simply by drinking a tea?"  

"Yep. I've been drinking it nearly every day for as long as I can remember.  If there's one thing I ain't gonna risk it's gaining me a husband or a baby."  

"Nice for me to hear that now, Paleface."  

Evangeline watched every ounce of color drain from Frankie's face as Comanche's tight voice filled the kitchen.  Evangeline turned slowly and saw him standing in the doorway. His sharp features were hard and angry as he glared at Frankie.  

Frankie slid herself from the counter and tried to laugh it off. "What's the matter, injun? Someone pissed in your wigwam?"  

"My people live in log cabins." Comanche growled and then he turned and strode from the room.  

Frankie rubbed her cheek and swallowed hard. "I better go see what's the matter with him." She mumbled before following quickly after him. The sound of the main hotel door opening and closing reached the kitchen. 

"Colt won't like that they left." Evangeline said as she chewed on her lip. "He wanted everyone to stay in the hotel."  

"Yes well—" Rachel began, stirring the oats she was boiling. "—savages are not known for following the rules."

---

Comanche could hear Frankie's boot steps trailing behind him and he clenched his fists. He loved the woman but right now he did 

not want to look at or speak to her. He had known from the moment he had realized Frankie was the one for him that she would be a challenge but this…..? Comanche had never imagined she would do something that hurt this badly. Even her leaving him had not caused his heart this kind of pain.

"Comanche, would you just stop for a damned minute and tell me what you're so pissed off about?" Frankie snapped.  

Comanche came to a stop beside an abandoned home and gripped the top of the porch railings with his hands, not turning to look at her.  

"I need breathing room, Frankie."  

Frankie blew out an exasperated breath, grabbed his arm and tugged him hard. Comanche released his grip on the railing and turned to face her.  

"What are you so angry about?"  she demanded.  

"Do you really not know? Are you so blinded to everyone else other than yourself that you can't see what would have made me angry?"  

"Did you just call me selfish?" Frankie asked with a frown. "I'm not selfish, Comanche. Sure I don't go spoutin' out sweet words of support to everybody but I care the best I know how."  

Comanche shook his head. "No you don't—not really."  

"Why don't I care, Comanche?" Frankie demanded, anger flashing in her dark eyes. "Because I said I don't want a husband?"  

"Is there a reason I am not good enough to be your husband?" Comanche growled. Truly he was hurt by that but it wasn't what had his blood boiling. 

Frankie laughed, clearly hoping to ease the tension and anger. "Come on now, 

injun . Do you savages even get married?“ she asked with a wink.

Comanche felt his fists clench tighter. "Yes, Frankie, we do."  

Frankie sighed and stepped toward him. "Alright, I'm sorry." She relented, laying her hands on his chest. Comanche felt his anger increase when he realized that even as angry as he was at her, her simple touch still aroused him.  

He took a step away from her. "Tell me about this tea I've been making for you."  Comanche felt his stomach clench painfully, knowing that he had boiled her that tea countless times....  

"Why?" Frankie asked, leaning her shoulder against the porch banisters and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tell me." Comanche ground out, working hard to keep from yelling.  

"It's a tea that I learned about a long time ago." Frankie replied with a shrug. "It keeps a woman from getting with child."  

"Just how many of my children have I helped you to get rid of?"  

"What in the hell are you talking about?!" Frankie demanded. "The whole point of the tea is to prevent getting with child, not kill ones that are already there."  

Comanche shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "And you did not think this was something we should have a conversation about?"  

"Are you serious?" Frankie exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "You would actually want to bring a child into a world like this?!"  

"I would like to at least have a say in the matter and not have my woman making herself barren without my knowledge."  

"Listen here, injun, just cuz I'm your woman doesn't mean you own me. I don't have to speak with you before I make decisions about my own body."  

Comanche slammed his fist into the thick banister beside the steps. "Damn you!" he shouted and Frankie's eyes widened with surprise at his outburst. "I have been here for you without fail and without question. I would give my life for you in an instant with no second thought given. I want to spend the rest of my life by your side, Frankie, but I won't do that if you aren't willing to as devoted to me."  

Frankie shook her head and pulled off her hat, smacking it against her leg. "I'm not going to have a baby, Comanche. I ain't the mama type, and what would you do with a kid anyhow? Would you make yourself a little papoose and slap it on your back with your arrows?"  

Comanche felt as if she had just taken one of his arrows and rammed it through his heart. "So I am good enough to rut with you but not good enough to be your husband or father to your children?"  

"How dare you!" Frankie snapped, tears filling her eyes and shocking Comanche out of his anger. "I love you and I've told you that! Marriage is not something I want! All my life my parents were on me to get married and settle down and be a good little wife. I will not ever be that! I won't be the woman my mother was! And children? What the hell would I do with a child, Comanche? This is not the world for a child! There are monsters behind every single door and even if the monsters don't get our baby, it could still die. Look at what happened to Grace!"  

"That does not excuse you keeping that secret from me. You should trust me enough to open up and tell me these things, paleface and if you do not then I don't see why we are even wasting time together."  

"Go then!" Frankie urged, shoving him backward. "I don't need you, anyhow. You go on back to the group and I'll go. I'd rather be alone."  

Comanche's anger came roaring back. He had used up his patience with her and the way she built walls up to keep everyone out, including him. He understood her but that did not excuse her treating him so badly; not when he would take on heaven and hell alike to make her happy.  

"Do what you must." He stated simply and then walked away, heading back toward the hotel.  

---

Frankie stared at Comanche’s broad shoulders walking away from her and felt her heart shatter.

What had just happened?

She didn't want to lose Comanche. She loved him and his temperamental possessiveness. He was everything to her. Why couldn't he just understand? Why couldn't he see? Marriage had never been a good thing in her eyes. Why did they need marriage? Weren't they doing fine without it? And children? The injun actually wanted children?  

Frankie leaned her back against the porch banisters and buried her face in her hands to hide the tears that were slipping down her cheeks. She didn't understand what she had done that was so wrong or why Comanche was so angry at her.  

She would give him time to cool off and then she was sure that the next time she approached him things would be fine. He would be calling her paleface again and smiling at her and he would make love to her and it would be just as it was before.....

Frankie took a moment to collect herself and stop the flow of tears from her eyes. She sniffed and was about to take her hands from her face when something closed around her ankle and pulled her backward.  

Frankie was caught off guard and a cry of shock left her lips just before she fell forward, coming down hard on her face. Blood filled her mouth and her vision went blurry. She could hear the groaning and hungry grunts of a rabid and she looked at her feet to see the rabid, with both hands latched around her ankle, trying hard to tug her under the porch as it snarled and drooled.  

Frankie crawled forward, dragging the rabid with her. She cried out again as her ankle twisted painfully. She reached down to grab her revolver but the rabid reached out a hand and grabbed her wrist.  

Frankie tried to kick at the rabid but it was only part of a body. Just a head, shoulder and arms... there was nothing below its chest and all her free leg was kicking was air.  

That bloody, rotting mouth nearly closed around Frankie's hand. Frankie jerked her arm, slipping it from the rabid's grasp. This rabid was the most rotted that Frankie had ever seen. Most still had some semblance of the human they had once been but this one did not. It was rotting decaying flesh over brittle bones and it very well could kill her.  

Frankie went for her gun again but again the rabid grabbed her. She beat at its head with her other hand, but she was too twisted up on the ground to bring her arm down with any real force and the rabid ignored her. She was going to be bitten!

Frankie swung her leg up and caught the rabid hard in the back of the head with her boot. She kicked it once. Twice. Three times. She could hear the brittle bones cracking with each hit and then suddenly the rabid fell away.  

It was still alive, its jaws barely snapping as its soulless gray eyes remained locked on her. Frankie pulled her knife and lunged forward, sinking the blade deep into the rabid's head and twisting. Frankie fell backward, panting as she lay on her back in the dirt and stared up at the sky.  

Her ankle was throbbing from being twisted, her jaw hurt and her head was pounding. She could taste blood in her mouth and feel it on her chin. Her heart was pounding and her nerves were on edge but she was alive and she was unbitten.  

After several minutes of catching her breath and calming down, Frankie got to her feet, keeping her weight off her sore ankle. She pulled her knife from the rabid's head and made her way back to the hotel, limping with every step she took.  

When she walked into the sitting room just beyond the entryway, Comanche rose from the chair and rushed to her. "What happened?!" he demanded, eyeing the bloody knife still clutched in her hand.  

"There was a rabid under that porch. It grabbed me....."  

"Are you okay? Did it bite you?" Comanche questioned.

"I'm fine. He didn't bite me."   

Comanche pulled off his shirt and used it to clean the blood from her face. "I am sorry. I should not have left you out there alone."  

"I wanted you to." Frankie replied with a shrug. "It wasn't your fault."  

"What happened?!" Katherine gasped as she entered the room.  

"I was attacked by a rabid but it's dead."  

"Do you still plan on leaving?" Comanche asked her. Frankie looked up into his eyes,  nearly as dark as the night.  

Before she could answer, Colt came rushing down the stairs. "No one is going anywhere."  

"Is something wrong?" Katherine asked him.  

"Yeah." Colt sighed. "We got men riding in."

Chapter Forty-Five

Chapter Forty-Five: So Much For the Plan

Silas entered the room in time to hear Colt’s words. “How many men?” he wanted to know.

"My guess would be six." Comanche replied. Silas glanced at him and Frankie. Frankie's face was pale and covered in blood, dirt and sweat, though it appeared as if someone had tried to wipe her clean. She was leaning against Comanche and keeping her weight off her ankle.  

"What did you do to your leg? Did you hurt your ankle again?" Silas questioned.

"There was a rabid but my ankle will be fine." Frankie assured them. "We got bigger things to worry about then my ankle."  

"I hate to agree but you're right." Colt admitted as the rest of the women came in from the kitchen and Ox walked down the stairs rubbing his eyes.  

"I overslept." He mumbled. "What's everybody look so worried about?"  

Silas walked to Charlotte and put his arm protectively around her shoulders.  

"There are six men." Colt stated. "They were too far off to get a clear view of their faces but they are definitely riding here. I ain't a betting man but it don't take much to know that these are the men that lookout was waiting for.  I want the women to stay in the hotel with rifles. You can shoot from the windows if there's a need for it but I'm hoping to settle this peaceably."  

"You honestly think that's possible when Comanche killed their man?" Silas questioned.  

"Comanche killed him protecting all of us." Frankie spoke up.  

"There's no time to get in a debate. What's done is done and I would have done the same—" Colt's gaze went to the scalp still hanging from Comanche's waist. "—well almost the same." He amended.  "Men, get rifles and come with me to the roof but stay low. Ladies, get guns and ammunition and set up beside a window but stay out of sight and don't fire a single shot unless we start firing shots, understood?"  

"I'd rather come up on the roof with you." Evangeline countered, stepping closer to Colt.

Colt shook his head. "No."  

Evangeline opened her mouth but Ox cut her off. "Evie, I don't want you up there either. Now you're gonna do what Colt says because he'll keep us all safe if we just listen to him." Ox smiled at Colt. "Ain't that right?"

Silas could see the flicker of doubt in Colt's eyes but Colt nodded. "Of course I will, Ox." Colt took a deep breath. "Now let's get back up there. I want to have eyes on these bastards."  

Silas gave Charlotte a quick kiss and her arms went around his waist, squeezing him tightly. "You be careful up there." She whispered.  

Silas laid a gentle kiss to her dark hair. "Of course, Miss Charlotte."  

He stepped away from Charlotte and headed up the stairs with Comanche, Ox and Jedidiah right behind him. Silas glanced over his shoulder and felt his lips curve in a smile when he caught Colt sharing a tender kiss with Evangeline. Silas was glad to see that Colt had found happiness, no matter how short lived it might prove to be in this new and dangerous world.  

Colt took the lead before the men walked out the door onto the roof. Silas and the others followed his lead and stayed crouched low as they made their way to the edge of the rooftop and Colt picked up the binoculars.  

The six men were just on the edge of town and yet still too far away for them to make out details of their appearance. Colt cursed and lowered the binoculars quickly.  

"I'll be a damned." He grumbled.  

"What's wrong, Colt?" Ox asked.  

"These aren't good men." Colt replied, rubbing his jaw roughly.  

"You know them?" Silas questioned.  

Colt's hand rested on the handle of his gun "Yep. I know those low down, no good, dirty, turncoat, sons of bitches."  

---

Jackal pulled up on his horse’s reins. “Hoss, somethin’s wrong.”

Hoss nodded in agreement, stopping his horse as well and raising a hand to alert the rest of the men to do the same. Clay should have been posted on the saloon at the edge of town and Hoss didn't see him there. Yes they were back a little earlier than planned but Clay had been under orders not to leave that roof for any reason. Not only that, but there had been biters wandering the streets when Hoss and the men had left and now they were gone.  

It was possible that Clay had decided to do a little target practice with Hoss not around to remind him to keep quiet but that wouldn’t explain his absence from the roof, the absence of any biter bodies and the just plain uneasy feeling that was hanging heavy in the air.

Hoss had lived a long time because he trusted his feelings. That’s how he and his gang of men had remained nearly completely intact even with all these damn biters around every corner. This town had been there home for nearly three weeks. Hoss had learned early how to live with the biters. He controlled the numbers but always kept them in the town because they provided good cover. Few survivors would enter a town full of biters and those that tried were taken care of without Hoss and his men having to lift a finger.

So where were all the biters and where the hell was Clay? His thoughts were interrupted by the sobbing of the woman they'd found out wandering the plains.  

"Can somebody shut her up?" Hoss demanded and he heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh just before the woman fell silent.  

"Hey, boss?" Jackal pointed at the edge of town. "Is that a damn train?"   

Hoss cursed under his breath when he saw the unmistakable glint of sunlight bouncing off metal. There was a train on the tracks at the backside of town.  

"Shit, do you think they got Clay?" Hargas, a weathered and past his prime outlaw that Hoss kept around out of sheer loyalty because the man had been a friend of his father's, asked as he rode up beside Hoss.  

"We don't even know who 

they are.“ Hoss assured the man, though that nagging inclination that something was wrong kept swirling in the back of his mind. “At least now we know what happened to the biters. I’m sure Clay is just laying low.”

"I don't know—" Jackal clicked his tongue. "There must be quite a fighting force on that train to have wiped out every one of those biters."  

"Well then how about we head on over to that train and check it out."  

"Boss—that could be dangerous..."  Franklin countered, swallowing hard.  

"You're right." Hoss tapped his finger against his chin for a moment. "Franklin, Timmons, Red, y'all ride on over to that train and take a look."  

Franklin, Timmons, and Red shared a look of dread but nodded. Timmons rode close to Jackal and the two men struggled to get the unconscious woman moved from Timmons' lap to Jackal's.  

"Go check that train." Hoss ordered again.  

Franklin, Timmons and Red started around the outskirts of town and Hoss glanced down main street and caught a flash of movement atop the hotel. His eyes narrowed as he stared hard at the place where he'd seen the movement and then he caught more.  

At least two people were on top of that hotel.  

Hoss let out a whistle and Franklin, Timmons and Red stopped in their tracks. "They aren't on that train." Hoss stated. "They're at the hotel." 

"You sure?" Timmon's asked and Hoss raised a brow at the man. "Of course you're sure, boss. Sorry."  

"There's a couple of horses at the corral." Jackal spoke up, pointing down the street.  

"Let's go say hello, shall we boys?" Hoss questioned.  

Red shifted uneasily in his saddle. "Boss, they killed all those biters—what's to say they won't shoot us on sight too?"  

Hoss called it gut intuition but he didn't think these newcomers would shoot them on sight. "Have I steered you men wrong in the last seven years since I took over?"

"No sir." Red replied and there was a general agreement from everyone other than Hargas.  

"Hargas, you got something to say?" Hoss questioned.  

"Well, I just seem to be recalling several times when your decisions didn't turn out so good." Hargas replied quietly.  

Hoss's jaw tensed to the point of popping as he stared hard at the other man. He knew he was referring to the way Hoss had gained control of this gang and the man he'd left for dead to do so. A man that many in this group had claimed to be loyal to until saddlebags full of money had changed their minds.  

"Hargas, you're more than welcome to just ride on out of here and be on your way. I don't reckon I put a gun to your head and made you ride with me."  

Hargas glanced around at the men all staring his way and sat up a bit straighter. "I'm loyal to you, boss. Sorry I questioned ya."  

Hoss spit into the dirt before clicking his tongue and heading slowly into town. He kept his eyes trained ahead but his senses were alert to anything that might occur around them. Everything was so still, so peaceful, and it caused the hair on his neck to stand straight.  

The horse's hooves sent dust swirling in the mid-morning air as the men rode closer to the hotel. When Hoss saw the barricaded windows on the lower levels of the hotel, it only solidified his belief that everyone from that train was now holed up inside.  

Hoss pulled his horse to a stop and raised his hand so the other men would do the same.  

"We don't want any trouble!" he called out loudly. "I guess y'all didn't realize you'd stopped in a town that had done been claimed. This here is my town!" Silence greeted his statement and Hoss sighed. He sat back in the saddle, folding his hands on the saddle horn. He stared up at the roof with a smile playing on his lips.  "Come on now, ain't anybody gonna come out and play?"  

---

"What are we doing, Colt? That man wants to talk." Ox said as the five men remained crouched and out of sight on the rooftop.  

"That man is Hoss and he's a murdering coward that won't hesitate to kill anybody he takes a notion to kill." Colt assured them.  

"How do you know these men?" Silas questioned.  

"I ran with them." Colt replied. "I was their leader for a long time 'til Hoss decided he wanted to take over and they left me for dead after we hit a bank."  

Ox rubbed the back of his neck. "My sister's married to a bank robber?"  

"Don't worry, Ox. Your sister knew who she was marrying." Colt knew they were going to have to be real careful. The odds of this ending without bloodshed were slim to none, especially now that Colt knew who these men were, but Colt was still hoping that blood free was how they'd be able to solve things.  

"They got a woman with them. She's either dead or unconscious.... We can't just leave her to her fate with those men." Silas spoke up.

"Yes we can." Colt countered. "That might make me sound like a cold hearted son of a bitch but I ain't willing to risk Evangeline's safety for a woman I don't even know. Are you willing to risk Charlotte?"  

Silas appeared uncomfortable as he moved back and then looked down at the dirty rooftop before shaking his head.   

"Alright, now I think it would be best for me to stay out of sight and not present myself as the leader. They won't respond well to seein' me again."  

"So who's going to talk to them?" Ox asked.  

"Now I'm a patient man—" Hoss's voice carried up to the roof. "—But I ain't got time for waiting around. We can settle this nice and calm. We'll allow you folks to leave that hotel and get on your train and continue on your way just as pretty as you please. We won't even come at you for the goods you stole from us while you've been here. All we want is you gone and our man back. Do you have him holed up in there with you?"  

Colt cursed under his breath and wondered who it was that Comanche had killed. There were several faces missing from the gang and it was impossible to know for sure which on had been on the saloon.  

"Ox, you have to do it. You have to talk to them. We want to leave if they'll let us."  

"Why me?" Ox gasped.  

"Why are we going to run?" Comanche added. "You are wounded, Frankie is injured and this town has enough supplies to last us a while. Why would we leave it behind simply because these men say so?"  

"Because they had the town first." Colt replied simply. "Ox can negotiate for some supplies can't you Ox?"  

"Shit, Colt, I don't know...."  

"It has to be you, Ox. I know Hoss and he ain't gonna listen to a black man or an injun and Jedidiah is too old. If they see me they'll start firing shots right off so that leaves you—" Colt put his hand on Ox's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I trust you, Ox. We want to leave but we need supplies."  

"And what do I tell them happened to that other man?" Ox asked, swallowing hard.  

"There was no other man here when we got here. His body was burned along with the rabid so they'll never know you're lying." Colt replied. He headed to other side of the roof and the ladder that led down to the ground. 	

"Where are you going?" Comanche questioned.  

"To slip down and get around behind them. If gunfire breaks out I want to have them surrounded. Comanche you get to the apothecary down the road. Don't be seen." Comanche nodded. "Ox get to talking. We want supplies. And Ox—Don't mention the women."  

Colt pulled off his sling, knowing this as going to hurt like hell but having no choice but to use both arms to get down this ladder.  

"You don't truly think we're going to get through this without gunfire, do you?" Comanche asked in a low whisper for only Colt to hear.  

"No." Colt replied honestly. "I know those men and Hoss is as crooked and evil as they come. If he learns we have women with us then he'll be determined to take them."  

"So what is the real plan?"  

"I don't have one." Colt sighed. "I just want Ox to keep them talking until I can think of something. The women have to remain unseen—" 

"We just need supplies for our trip and we'll be happy to leave!" Ox called out and Colt heard Hoss chuckle.  

 Comanche nodded and climbed onto the ladder. "Let's go, Colt. We probably do not have much time."  

---

Katherine, Susette and Rachel were together in a bedroom on the third floor, listening to the conversation going on outside. Ox was trying hard to bargain for supplies but so far he had only been laughed at. 	

"Why is Ox doing all the talking?" Rachel whispered. "I love my nephew but he is not nearly intellectual enough to handle something like this." 

Katherine glared at the other woman. "Ox is plenty intellectual enough." She countered, though inside she too was wondering why Ox was the only man from their side talking. Colt was their leader, why hadn't he taken lead?  

Rachel gasped as she glanced out the window. "That coward!" she exclaimed. Katherine followed her gaze and saw Colt making his way quickly around the back of the neighboring building. "He's running! He's leaving us!"  

"He is?" Susette asked with panic and then without warning she leapt from the bed and raced out the bedroom door.  

"Susette, come back!" Katherine called. She chased the girl but if there was one thing in the world nearly impossible to catch it was a six year old with a head start.  

Katherine was aware of Rachel behind her as she ran as quickly as she could down the stairs after Susette.  

Katherine's blood froze when Susette made it to the door, pulled back the lock and ran out into the blinding sunlight.  Without giving a single thought to her own safety, Katherine followed, determined to save the little girl.  

Katherine no sooner felt her hands close around Susette's arm and bring the girl to a stop than hoof beats thundered around them, swirling dust filled the air and laughter rang out.  

"Well now, what do we have here?" A man asked as he rode close to Katherine and she tightened her hold on Susette.  

Katherine stared up at the man. He was dirty and unkempt but so was everyone else in this day and time.  Underneath all that dirt and sweat, he was a good looking man with strong features and gray eyes. It was the coldness in those gray eyes that told Katherine that she, Susette and Rachel were in a lot of trouble.  

---

Colt cursed under his breath and looked up at the sky. “So much for the plan. Why God?” he whispered.

Rachel, Susette and Katherine currently surrounded by six of the worst men Colt knew. Not all of them had been bad men but Hoss had surely corrupted them because Hoss was the devil in disguise and they were still riding with him.  

He prayed like hell that the other women would stay the hell in the hotel and he knew that if he managed to get the entire group through this alive, he'd be kicking at least three asses once it was over.   

"Miss Kate!" Ox yelled from the rooftop.  

"That giant bastard failed to mention he had such pretty ladies with him." Hoss declared.   

"They ain't none of your concern. Let them come on back in now." Silas demanded as he stood up and made his presence known. Colt groaned and squeezed his nose between his thumb and forefinger. Truth be told he was a little uneasy about what was going to happen. His past, the one Sarah had always been so worried about, was finally catching up. He should have killed these bastards seven years ago.  

"Well look here, boys! He's hiding women and niggers up there!" Hoss exclaimed, seeming to be completely amused by the situation. "Well now, I reckon we'll just come on in there and see what else you've got—"  

Colt saw Ox shoulder his rifle and take aim at the men on the ground. That was the last thing that needed to happen! "No, Ox!" Colt called out as he slid his rifle off his back, held it firmly in his arms and walked out onto the street.  

Six sets of eyes landed on Colt and he lifted his hat, somehow managing not to wince when it rubbed the wound on the back of his head. He stood there with a wide-legged stance, cradling the rifle against him and smiled. "Hey there, fella's."

Chapter Forty-SIx

Chapter Forty-Six:

Hoss scratched at his bearded chin and shook his head. “Well I’ll be a son of a bitch…..”

"I've always thought so." Colt agreed.  

"Never thought you'd have the nerve to show yourself to me again after what you took from me." Hoss growled as he moved his horse away from the ladies and toward Colt. That still left five men standing guard over them however.  

"I just took my share." Colt replied with a shrug.  

"Your share!" Hoss shook his head and clicked his tongue. "You took a bit more than that I'm afraid. You snuck in our camp and took every damn dime we had in those saddlebags."  

"You're leaving out that little bit about you leaving me for dead just days before that, Hoss. It's funny how your memory always seems to block out any knowledge of how the bad things that happen to you are a direct result of what a screw up you are."  

"You're just has fool-headed and cocky as you've ever been." Hoss grumbled. Colt was surprised by how quiet everyone else in the gang was being. Most were staring at him with shock and it caused him to wonder if they'd even known he was alive.  

"Being cocky is only fool-headed if you can't back it up, Hoss, and I reckon I've proven I can sure as hell back it up." Colt looked at the other men. "What's the matter, boys? Didn't your boss tell ya I was alive? I left him a note when I took my share."  

"Your share my ass!" Jackal spoke up for the first time. Colt had always liked Jackal... well until Jackal and the men had left him lying in a pool of his own blood with no horse and a posse of lawmen closing in. "You took every damn bit of it!"  

Colt shrugged, trying hard to ignore the searing pain in his shoulder. Showing weakness was a death sentence when dealing with men like these. Colt knew that because he was one of them—or had been not too long ago. "I took my share plus a little extra for my pain and suffering."  

"You're right, Colt. I knew it was you that robbed us and I could have come after you—"  

Colt laughed loudly. "You're so full of shit, Hoss, that I'm gonna have to go get my wading boots if you keep talking."  

"You think I didn't keep up with you?" Hoss asked with a smile. "I happen to know that you ran solo for a couple years after robbing us and then you took a bullet to the chest and damn near died."  

"Were you concerned for me, Hoss?" Colt inquired with a grin as he let his eyes quickly fall upon Katherine, Rachel and Susette. The three of them were huddled together with men on all sides. Colt knew that Katherine had a gun but he was glad she didn't pull it. None of the men standing over them would hesitate before putting a bullet through her head. Colt also knew that nobody would be able to start firing shots at the men on horseback without risking hitting the ladies. All the bodies were too close together down here.  

"Of course." Hoss laughed. "I heard that after you took that bullet and came back from the edge of death you were a changed man. I even heard you got yourself a pretty little wife and a baby. You got them holed up in that hotel too?"  

Colt snorted and cleared his throat. Hoss had always enjoyed mind games and playing dirty.  

"Oh I see.. the biters got 'em didn't they?" Hoss asked, when Colt didn't respond. "Guess they learned about you the hard way, huh Colt? You never do come through for those that need you."  

It seemed that Hoss had gotten good at getting in people's heads in the last seven years. Right about now Colt was mad enough to strangle the bastard with his bare hands, but he wasn't going to let Hoss know that. Colt kept his posture relaxed as he spit into the dirt and rubbed his cheek.  

"Odd that you say that, Hoss, since I seem to remember saving every one of your asses at least once a piece while we all ran together." Hoss seemed a bit put in his place as the other men looked back and forth at one another, obviously remembering the times Colt had been there for them. Hoss wasn't the only one who knew how to get in someone's head.  

Hoss slid from his horse and approached Colt, stopping less than ten feet from the other man. He put his thumbs through his belt loops and looked Colt up and down. "You seem to have sprung a leak there, Colt." Hoss stated, tipping his head toward Colt's throbbing left shoulder.  

Colt could feel the blood soaking his shirt and dripping down his chest. Coming down the ladder had obviously pulled some stitches out. "Don't you worry yourself about me none, Hoss. I reckon I'll be alright."  

Hoss chuckled and spit at Colt's boots. "You reckon, huh?" Colt nodded. "Well then, what exactly is it you folks want and where is Clay?"  

"We want the town." Colt replied, his gaze flickering to Red. Red was Clay's brother and if it had indeed been Clay that Comanche had killed then this was not going to go over well. The brothers from Mississippi were well known for being extremely close and protective over one another.  "You know we have women and children with us and we need the safety here a bit more than you all do."  

"You have your train...." Hoss began.  

"It don't have enough coal to get us more than a couple of miles. I'll be generous and let you take it if that'll make losing the town a bit easier to cope with."  

"Dammit, Hoss!" Red spoke up angrily. "Colt, where is my goddamn brother?" 

Colt shrugged, his grip on the rifle tensing slightly. "He took a shot at me, Red."  At least that made sense now. Colt had wondered why a man would just start shooting at newcomers with no provocation. If Clay had recognized Colt then it made sense the man would want to kill him.. Clay had been the one to obey Hoss's order and shoot him in the leg seven years prior, and the other man would have known that Colt would want his blood.  

Red's face reddened as he yanked off his hat and threw it. "You killed my brother?!"  

"He shot at me, Red." Colt replied again, trying to keep his eyes on everyone at once. "Now why don't you men just ride on outta here. I've got enough guns trained on you to end your lives with just a snap of my fingers—" Colt glanced at Hoss. "Don't make me snap my fingers."  

"I'll snap your goddamn fingers!" Red shouted and Colt saw him go for his gun. Before Red could clear leather, or Colt could shoulder his own weapon, an arrow embedded itself deep in Red's temple and the man fell from the saddle. His body thudded loudly as it hit the ground and Susette screamed.  

Colt attempted to shoulder his gun but Hoss lunged forward and grabbed the rifle, slamming into Colt's injured shoulder and driving him to the ground. Gunshots filled the air.  

Colt grabbed Hoss's boot just before it made contact with his face and tossed the other man back.  

"No! Miss Kate!" Ox yelled.  

Colt pushed through his pain and got to his feet. He found himself staring at Hoss's revolver. Colt dove to the side hitting the ground with a thud that jarred his shoulder and caused nausea to twist his gut. A shot rang out and a bullet slammed through Hoss's leg. The other man bellowed in pain, turned and ran.  

Colt drew his revolver and fired off two shots, dropping Franklin as he ran along behind Hoss. He couldn't shoot at Timmons or Jackal as they used Katherine, Rachel and Susette has human shields and followed Hoss into the house across the road from the hotel and secured the door behind them.  

A rifle barrel stuck out the window of the house and Colt half crawled and half ran across the dirt to the hotel, jumping through the door and closing the door behind him as bullets continued to fill the air.  

"Colt!"  Evangeline all but screamed as she rushed to him and threw herself into his chest. Colt wrapped his good arm around her tightly and kissed her hair. He took several long seconds to simply breathe her in, thankful beyond words that she had stayed in the hotel.  

"Thank you for staying inside." He said as he pulled away.  

"Yes, well, you have Frankie to thank for that. I tried to run out and she held me in here at gunpoint. You should really talk to her about that."  

Colt walked a few short steps to Frankie and held out his hand in an offer of thanks. Frankie shook it. "Thank you for keeping her safe."  

"No problem." Frankie replied with a nod.  

A terrible thudding filled the air just before Ox barreled into the room. "We've gotta go get her, Colt! They got Miss Kate."  

"Ox, I know... Who's on the roof?" Colt asked as Silas stepped into the room as well with Charlotte pressed tight to his side.  

"Jedidiah." Comanche replied, coming down the steps next. "I took the ladder back up."  

"We need to keep someone on the roof to make sure no one comes out the back of that house."

Colt stated. He grumbled with irritation when Evangeline began to undo his shirt, fussing over his shoulder with every breath. He tried to smack her hands away but she simply glared at him and continued, causing him to give up the fight.

"We've gotta go over there, Colt!" Ox insisted, heading for the door. Colt shook his head and Comanche stepped in the bigger man's way.  

"Ox if you go storming over there, they'll shoot you just as soon as you step outside."  

"Help me!"  A pain filled voice called from outside. Colt glanced through a gap in the wooden boards on the window and saw Hargas bloody and shot on the dirt road. It was clear the man was going to die. The wound was through the middle of his gut, he wasn't going to make it. It would be a slow, painful death as he waited to bleed out in the harsh sunlight.  

"Damn." Colt grimaced. He had always liked Hargas.  

"We should bring him in here. Then we'll have something to trade. One of theirs for one of ours." Frankie stated.  

Colt shook his head and then growled with pain when Silas poked at his reopened wound. "Leave it be, Silas!"  

"You need to be stitched back up and keep your sling on this time." Silas argued.  

Colt wanted to tell the man no but the look on Evangeline’s face told him it would be a pointless argument. Instead he turned to Frankie. “That wouldn’t do any good. These men have no loyalty to one another unless someone is of use to them. Clay, the man Comanche killed, shot me in the leg seven years ago after I fell off my horse and busted my arm up. I wasn’t any good to them with a busted arm but with a posse closing in on us I was of big use as a distraction. They don’t care that Hargas is out there suffering.”

Hargas let out another pain-filled wail. “Colt! Help me, Colt! You know I didn’t have anything to do with shooting you back then! I was against it!”

Colt took a deep breath, grabbed a rifle from beside the door, ensured it was loaded and then threw the door open. He shouldered the gun, let out the breath he was holding and squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet into Hargas’s head and ending his pain.

He also realized that Hargas, Red and Franklin weren't the only people lying in the street. That woman that the gang had brought in with them was lying out there as well. She was unconscious but didn't appear to have been shot. There was nothing Colt could do for her just now.  

As he stepped back in and closed the door he found everyone staring at him with shock. He cast a nervous glance at Evangeline, knowing how odd the woman could be about killing. “He was going to die. That bullet tore through his gut. Instead of hours of agonizing pain, I ended him quick.” Colt informed the room.

Evangeline had paled considerably and appeared sickened but she swallowed hard and remained by his side. Colt figured that was a good sign.

"Colt, they got Miss Kate and they got Aunt Rachel!" Ox spoke up again, tears in his eyes as he squeezed his hat in his hands. "We gotta do 

something .“

"They have Susette too." Charlotte whispered. 	

"Why the hell were they outside?" Colt demanded but no one seemed to have an answer.  "We can't do anything until nightfall. If we step out there, they'll shoot us. We need the cover of darkness.  No one is to fire any shots toward that building. We don't know where they're keeping our people."  

"Colt come on upstairs and get that sewed up." Silas urged, pointing toward Colt's blood soaked shoulder.   

"Frankie can you get up to the roof with that ankle?" Colt asked.  

"I reckon."  

"Alright then. I want you, Comanche and Jedidiah up there. If there's any movement, any gunshots, any reason for you to think something is happening over there, you come get me."  

Comanche and Frankie nodded in understanding and left the room. Colt put his hand on Ox's arm. "I'll do everything I can to get her back, Ox."  

Ox had tears slipping down his cheeks but he sniffed and nodded. "I did what you told me, Colt.... Why did Miss Kate have to run outside like that? I couldn't save her cuz I was afraid I would shoot her."  

Evangeline went to her brother and hugged him tightly. "It's going to be okay, Ox." She turned to Colt. "Do you need me while Silas patches you up?"  

Colt smiled with understanding and shook his head. "Not my first time getting sewed back together, sweetheart. You go be with your brother."  

Colt watched Evangeline lead Ox toward the kitchen.  

"Colt, do you honestly think they'll be okay over there?" Charlotte asked.

Colt let out a long breath, wanting to lie but suddenly not having enough energy to. "No. No I'm not sure at all."  

---

Hoss slammed his fist into the wall of the house and glared at the huddled up women in the corner.  

Jackal and Timmons had disarmed them all and bound their wrists and ankles while Hoss had tied a strip of curtain around his bleeding leg. That had been two long hours ago according to Hoss's rants.  

"We gotta get out of this town, Hoss." Jackal spoke up. "Colt and his people done wiped out half our gang.  Clay, Red, Franklin and Hargas..... What's left of us just ain't no match for them."  

"And how we gonna do that, Jackal?' Hoss demanded. "I should have killed Colt while I had the chance to."  

"And why didn't you?" Timmon's inquired. "You know if you had then none of this would be happening."  

"You knew he was alive too, Timmon's. Why didn't you kill him?" Hoss spat back.  

"Because I figured he deserved the money he took from us after what you and Clay did to him and as long as he was getting on with his life I was gonna get on with mine as well."  

Hoss let out a humorless chuckle. "Well there's your answer then I reckon."  

Katherine watched the men having their back and forth spats and wondered what they were going to do. She knew that Colt and the others couldn't just storm the building. They didn't know where Katherine, Susette and Rachel were and wouldn't risk their lives.  

Katherine wondered about Ox. She felt tears fill her eyes as she thought about how he must be worrying and she quickly blinked them back. Tears would not help them now.  

"We have their women here." Jackal spoke up. "Maybe we can use them somehow to get out of here."  

"Let's go somewhere a bit more private and talk about this." Hoss agreed with a nod as he glanced at Katherine.  

Hoss and his friends left the tiny room they had tied Katherine, Rachel and Susette up in and closed the door behind them.  

"I'm scared..." Susette whispered, her voice trembling.  

"You very well should be." Rachel scolded. "If you hadn't run outside and forced us to chase you—"  

"Don't you dare blame this on her." Katherine warned. "You are the one who has her head so far up her own ass that she can't trust a man who has done nothing but keep those around him safe for months!"  

"Oh yes and what a positive influence he has had. If not for Colt's past none of this would be happening." Rachel sneered.  

"Yes it would." Katherine countered. "These are bad men, not the kinds that would have just let a group of intruders go calmly. And if not for Colt I would probably have been raped and murdered months ago. He saved my life."  

"Was this while you were working as a whore?" Rachel wondered.  

Katherine saw Susette's eyes widen. Katherine glared at Rachel and wondered how such a hate-filled woman could possibly be aunt to a kind and gentle soul like Ox. "Yes it was."  

"If we get out of this alive I want you to stay away from my nephew. He is too ignorant and soft headed to see what I can so clearly see when I look at you."  

"And what is that?" Katherine demanded, her hands itching to be let loose from the ropes binding them so she could strangle the very life from Rachel with them.  

"A used up whore looking for a strong man to protect her, and latching onto Ox because he is too stupid to know any better."  

"Stop fighting!" Susette pleaded with a sob. "This is all my fault but I had a dream and I knew that if Colt was gone we would all die! We have to have Colt."  

It's going to be fine, Susette. Everything's going to be fine." Katherine comforted the girl, scooting across the floor and kissing her head gently.  She had no idea if she was being truthful with the girl or not but she figured if the situation was reversed, she would want to be told that everything would be okay.

---

It had been hours since Katherine, Rachel and Susette had been taken and Evangeline knew the group was losing hope. The tension in the air was nearly thick enough to be cut with a knife. Evangeline had only been on the roof with the others a short time after leaving Ox in the kitchen with Charlotte, who was attempting to cook them all something to eat and keep Ox's mind off of Katherine.  

“Colt, we have rabid moving in.” Silas said from the edge of the roof.

Colt stayed low and moved closer. “Yes we do.”

Evangeline joined him at the side of the roof and saw the group of rabid jerking and stumbling toward town. It wasn't a giant herd but there were at least a few dozen.  

"The gunshots and the blood must have drawn them in." Comanche stated. "Those three dead men on the street have filled the air with the scent of blood."  

"Colt, that woman down there might be alive." Evangeline whispered and as if on cue there was a soft moan from the road below them and the woman shifted slightly, her first movement in hours.  

"Goddammit." Colt growled, rubbing his face roughly.  

"Those rabid will tear her apart." Silas whispered.  

"We have plenty of ammunition downstairs. Should we take them out?" Frankie asked and Colt shook his head.  

"We start firing shots, they might think we're attacking next door and they could kill their hostages. That and shooting will only bring in more rabid."  

"So will that blood." Comanche countered.  

"Yeah well there ain't a goddamn thing I can do about the blood is there?!" Colt demanded angrily.  

The rooftop fell silent and Evangeline laid a gentle hand on Colt's shoulder. "I'll go get her."  

"What the hell are you talking about?" Colt demanded.  

"I'll go help the woman inside. Those rabid are far enough away down the street that I have plenty of time and those men won't shoot me. They won't see me as a threat."

Colt's dark blue eyes narrowed and looked into hers. "No, they'll see you as something else."  

"I want to do this, Colt. If they see any of you men step out, they'll shoot you on sight and Frankie's ankle is too swollen for her to move fast enough."  

"I won't allow it." Colt argued stubbornly.  

Evangeline saw the rabid getting closer every second they wasted up here arguing.  

"I'm not asking for permission, Colt."  

"And what will I tell Ox if something happens to his sister?" Colt questioned, his voice strained. Evangeline knew he was working hard to hide and fight back his emotions in front of so many witnesses. "They already have his woman, he can't lose his sister too."  

"He won't." Evangeline promised. She kissed Colt's cheek and went to the ladder. "Could someone go open the door downstairs so it's ready for me?"  

With that Evangeline headed down the ladder. She glanced up once or twice to see Colt's face looking down at her full of worry and a touch of anger. Evangeline was sure she'd be hearing about this later but she had to do what she had to do.  

She would not let this woman be torn apart by rabid. No one deserved a fate as terrible as that.  

Her nerves nearly got the better of her as she jumped off the ladder but Evangeline forced her feet to keep moving.  

She ran onto the street, knowing that at any moment a bullet could very well slam into her. She saw a man watching her from a window of the house. It wasn't Hoss, but another man. He was tall and skinny and when he saw her approaching the awakening woman he tensed and raised his gun. Evangeline pointed down the street and surprisingly the man looked that way, his eyes widening at the sight of the rabid. When his gaze came back to Evangeline he nodded and his gun lowered.  

"Ma'am?" Evangeline called out as she crouched beside the woman and shook her shoulder gently. She was young, probably Evangeline's age or perhaps younger. There was a welt oozing blood on the woman's forehead and Evangeline knew that's why she'd been unconscious. Someone had hit her—hard.  

The moaning, shuffling sound of the rabid was growing closer but Evangeline didn't glance that way again. Her heart was already pounding hard and her stomach was clenching with fear, she did not need to see the sight of those rotting monsters coming closer to her.  

"Hurry up, Evangeline." Colt's voice came from behind her. She glanced at the hotel and saw him in the doorway.  

Evangeline turned back to the woman just as her light blue eyes flew open. "You have to get up now." Evangeline urged.  

The woman sat up, wincing and touching her fingers to her forehead. Her gaze went down the street and her ear piercing scream filled the air. Evangeline looked that way as well and saw that the rabid were almost on them, their clawed hands reaching out, grasping for the warm flesh of the women's bodies.  

"I do not want to die for you!" Evangeline yelled as she shook the woman roughly. "Now get up off the ground and let's go!"  

"Evangeline!" Colt yelled and then gunshots filled the air. Evangeline instantly feared she was being shot at but there was still only that one man looking out at her from the other house and he didn't have his gun raised.

She glanced behind her and saw Colt running into the street, shooting his revolver and Comanche and Frankie were firing shots from the roof. The sound of bullets sinking into rabid flesh had Evangeline's stomach turning. Tired of waiting, she grabbed the woman's arm and yanked her up.  

"We have to go!" Evangeline yelled. She dragged the woman who still seemed to be a bit out of sorts, probably from the hard hit she'd taken to the head. Colt was suddenly at her side. He pulled his second gun, handed it to Evangeline and tossed the woman over his good shoulder.  

Evangeline provided cover fire and the three of them made it back into the hotel. Evangeline shut and locked the door just as the rabid reached the building and began thudding against the wood, clawing at the boards and moaning with desperation.  

Colt tossed the injured woman quite unceremoniously to the floor and then grabbed Evangeline by the arm, shaking her roughly. "You won't ever do something like that again, understood?!" he yelled. "You won't risk your life for anyone. No one is worth that, Evangeline!"  

"Colt—" Evangeline tried to speak, as the room filled with people, however if Colt noticed everyone else it didn't show. And he didn't appear ready to give her time to speak.  

"Don't argue with me, dammit! I can't lose you too. I've lost too much, Evangeline, and if I lost you it would kill me. Do you understand that? It would kill me. Don't do that to me—" Evangeline cut off his rant by pressing her lips to his quickly.  

"I'm just fine." She whispered, barely moving her lips from his as she spoke.

"I'll take a look at the woman." Silas said as he knelt down beside the woman still lying on the floor and staring at everyone with fear.  

"What just happened?" Ox demanded, stepping into the room.  

"I think we should get away from the walls." Charlotte spoke up, as the rabid continued to moan and beat against the wood.  

Silas lifted the woman into his arms and the group headed toward the kitchens.  

"Evie, did you go outside?" Ox demanded again.  

"Yes, Ox. I had to save the woman." Evangeline replied, from where she was being held firmly against Colt's side.  

"Shit, Evie, don' t you do that again!"  

Evangeline spoke her mouth to respond but Colt beat her to it. "She won't." he stated assuredly as his grip on her tightened.  

"Maybe with the rabid here, they'll be more open to reason." Charlotte said hopefully.

"They did not shoot Evangeline." Comanche added.  

"No, Timmons didn't shoot Evangeline." Colt countered. "Timmons is a decent man. Not good but decent. Chances are he would have shot her if not for the rabid. Jackal and Hoss would not have been quite so nice."  

"Shit, Colt...... Am I ever gonna see Miss Kate again?"  

"I don't know." Colt replied and Evangeline could hear the desperation in his voice.  

She took Colt by the hand and pulled him back into the hall. "Colt--?" she began.  

Colt cut her off as he yanked his hat off and shoved his hand through his hair. "Hell, Evangeline, there's a good chance I'm not gonna get them out of there alive. I can keep us alive that ain't no problem, but I don't see how I'm gonna...."  

"Colt, you have to stop." Evangeline warned.  

"Your brother is counting on me, Evangeline. I always let down folks who count on me."  

"We're going to get through this, Colt. Katherine is smart and she'll figure something out... and if she doesn't then you will. We just have to wait until an opening."  

"I wish I had as much faith as you do." Colt admitted, laying his forehead against' hers.  

Evangeline smiled and laid her hand upon his cheek. "No matter what happens, Colt, you have me and that won't change."

Chapter Forty-Seven

Chapter Forty-Seven

Katherine, Rachel and Susette sat silently in that tiny room a long while before Hoss and one of his men, Jackal, returned. Katherine figured that Timmons was probably keeping watch. There had been an outbreak of gunshots and yells some time before and Katherine could hear the rabid now as they moaned and shuffled in the dirt out on the street. There was also the unmistakable sound of tearing flesh and feeding rabid and Katherine prayed that her friends were okay.

“We’re feeling a bit lonely.” Hoss stated as he limped across the room and stood in front of the three of them. Katherine recognized the look in the men’s eyes. She had seen that look before.

"I'd rather have you—" Jackal stated, pointing at Katherine and rubbing the bulge in the front of his trousers. "—but the boss done claimed you. So I'm taking that one." His gaze settled on Susette.  

"She's just a child!" Rachel exclaimed with disgust.  

Jackal chuckled. "Don't worry, old woman. I'll make sure you have a turn too." 

Katherine swallowed hard and knew she had to do something. She couldn't allow these men to touch Susette! But what could she do? She was tied and bound. She had no weapons. Nothing other than her body—and a whore certainly knew how to get what she wanted using her body.  

"I have a better idea." Katherine purred, knowing what she had to do. There was no other choice than to do what she did best.  She had wanted to be something other than what she'd been raised as but not at the expense of Susette's innocence.  Katherine licked her bottom lip suggestively and then grazed her teeth across it.  

"And what's that?" Hoss asked, sounding intrigued. Katherine pushed herself onto her knees and scooted forward until her face was mere inches from his crotch.  

"Let them go and I'll take real good care of both of you."  

"You think we're stupid or something?!" Hoss demanded with disbelief, though Katherine noticed that his hips pushed forward toward her mouth.  

Katherine shook her head and let her lips brush against the front of his trousers. Instantly she felt his cock spring to life beneath her gentle caress. "You let them go and I'll do you good and proper, Hoss, Jackal too."  

Katherine pushed her shoulders forward to push her line of cleavage up beneath her white shirt as she gazed longingly at Jackal through heavy lidded eyes.  

"What do you think, Jackal?" Hoss asked.  

Jackal grinned. “I don’t like young girls or old women as much as I love me a talented whore. Is that what you are?”

Katherine tossed her hair back and smiled. "There's only one way to find out how talented I am, boys. You let them go and I'll show you a good time."  

Hoss waved Jackal aside and the two men turned their backs on Katherine. They bent their heads together, whispering among themselves for several long moments.  

Those were some of the tensest moments of Katherine's life. She knew how desirable she was to men and she knew the power her body possessed over every man she chose to seduce (every man other than Colt she supposed). She could only hope that these men would fall for her charms as well.  

"You can get away a lot easier with just me to worry about." Katherine added. "No one in that hotel cares about me. It's this little girl and woman they're worried about. I haven't been with them for any more than two or three days."  

"Who's Miss Kate?" Hoss asked, glancing over his shoulder and shifting his weight off his wounded leg. "That giant bastard seemed awfully worried about 'Miss Kate'."  

Susette began to speak but Katherine cut her off. "The girl is. She's his daughter. And the woman here is his mother. If you let them go then Colt and the rest won't have any reason to come seeking y'all out. He'll let you leave."  

"You really think that?" Hoss asked. "You really think he'll just let us walk away?"  

"I do. Colt obviously isn't the type that murders for revenge or he'd have killed you all in your sleep instead of simply steeling your loot." 

"Why are you so willing to stay with us?" Jackal questioned suspiciously.  

Katherine bit her lip and gave him a sideways glance as she leaned forward, keeping her voice in a seductive whisper. "Because you are 

real men, not self-righteous bastards like Colt. He tries so hard to convince everyone that he is good—perfect even—while making everyone else feel badly for what they are. I think time spent with you two boys would be quite a bit more….“ She let her gaze stray to their trousers. “…entertaining.”

"I knew you were nothing but a little whore." Rachel spat and Katherine glared back at her.  

"That's better than being a bitter old woman who knows nothing of men." Katherine looked back at the men and flashed them a sultry smile. "I know how to care for a nice hard cock."  

Jackal and Hoss quickly went back to speaking again and then finally after several long moments, during which Katherine found herself unable to look at either Susette or Rachel, the men turned to face them once again.  

"You got yourself a deal, little woman. But you gotta take care of us one good time and show us you're worth it before we let them go."  

Katherine nodded, hoping it was really going to be this easy to get Susette to safety. She honestly could not care any less whether Rachel lived or died.  

"Let's go then. I'm ready for a little fun." Katherine teased with a wiggle and Hoss laughed. He untied the ropes from around her ankles, gripped her upper arm and jerked her to her feet.  

"You are honestly going to give yourself to these men?" Rachel hissed.

Katherine threw her head back with laughter, wiggling her hips against Hoss as she did so. “Yes I am, honey.” She purred. “And I’m going to do it with pleasure.”

Jackal laughed, rubbed at his crotch and then led her and Hoss from the room. Katherine wasn’t scared about lying with the men. This was who she was. A woman who used her body to get what she wanted. Honestly she saw nothing wrong with it. Rutting was simply rutting. It was nothing more and nothing less. She would lay with these men, get Rachel and Susette safely returned to safety and then she’d figure out a way to leave them herself…. Maybe even kill them.

Timmons frowned when the three of them entered the sitting room. "What's going on?" he asked.  

"We're going to have a little fun on a whore. She bargained for the other women's safety. She says that if we let those other two go, then their friends over there will let us walk." Hoss replied, grunting as he shifted his weight off his bad leg.

"And you believe her?" Timmons questioned suspiciously.  

Hoss nodded. "I know a whore when I see one. She says she ain't been with the group long and they have no loyalty to her. You know Colt ain't a murderer neither. We give him the two he wants and we'll slip out the back at nightfall."  

"Well can I have a turn with her?"  

"I'll give you all the turns you want, cowboy." Katherine assured him coyly.  

"You keep our weapons out here, just in case she gets any ideas." Hoss undid his gun belt and tossed it into a chair before tossing down his boot knife as well. Jackal added his own weapons to the pile and Hoss winked at Timmons. "Don't worry, Timmons, you'll get your turn."  

Hoss and Jackal led her into a back bedroom and Katherine bit her lip and smiled at them both. "Are you going to free my hands? My fingers are longing to touch you."  

Katherine turned her emotions off as Hoss undid her hands, slid down his trousers and sat on the edge of the bed. He yanked her to her knees in front of him shoved her face toward his cock.  

Katherine did what she did best and, using both her mouth and hand, began pleasuring the man. He threw his head back and let out a groan as his hand buried itself deeply in her golden hair.  

Jackal came to stand behind her. He pulled her to her feet, though Katherine was careful not to take her mouth from Hoss's arousal. She felt her underclothes being pulled down, her dress being shoved up and then Jackal buried himself deep inside her from behind.  

Katherine moaned. The men would think it was one of pleasure but truly it was pain. Jackal was driving himself roughly against her and his hands were gripping her hips so tightly, she knew she would have bruises.  

Thankfully neither of these men was long lasting and before long they were both grunting and panting with their releases. Katherine stood straight and smiled at them both in turn as they readjusted their pants.  

"I'm glad I chose you all. That was the best I've had in a long time." Katherine smiled.  

Jackal grabbed up the ropes and retied her wrists. At her frown he chuckled and put his lips to her neck, suckling hard enough to leave marks. It seemed Jackal was a man who liked it rough and painful. Katherine had always hated those.  

Without a word, Hoss led Jackal and Katherine back to the sitting room and the two men placed their weapons back on.  "What's going on out there?" Hoss asked Timmons.

"Damn biters are still feeding on the corpses of our men, though there ain't much left now. Other than that it's been quiet."  

"I still can't believe you let that damn woman come out and get our girl off the road without shooting her." Jackal spat.  

Timmon's shrugged. "I don't reckon anyone deserves death by a biter. Sure this world might be going to hell in a hurry but it don't mean we gotta go with it."  

Hoss laughed and smacked Timmon's on the back. "We're already going there. Hold her a minute will you?"  He shoved Katherine into Timmon's and then disappeared into the room where Susette and Rachel were locked up.  

He came back out with both women moments later.  

Katherine frowned. "What are you doing with them?" she asked.  

Hoss untied their hands and pushed them toward the door. “I’m doing what I promised I would.”

Hoss threw open the door and Katherine saw all the rabid. They were covered in fresh blood and flesh from their feast on Hoss's men. The rabid heard the door open and turned their heads in that direction.  

Susette began to scream. Rachel fought against them. Katherine felt herself being shoved toward the door as well.

“What are you doing?!” Katherine demanded. “You can’t just shove us out there with those rabid! What about our deal?”

“You’re cute, Miss Kate , and you must think I’m real damn stupid.” Hoss chuckled. “I figure your friends will be so busy trying to save you that we’ll have plenty of time to get away.”

Katherine felt panic fill her. They were going to kill them all. Sacrifice them to the rabid! Katherine had laid with these men for nothing. She had given them her body and was going to have nothing to show for it.

“You can’t throw her out!” Katherine exclaimed, trying to get to Susette as the girl reached for her.

Jackal laughed. “Sure I can.”

Katherine screamed as Jackal grabbed Susette by the arm and tossed her out the door and onto the porch with rabid quickly stumbling their way.  

---

"Shit! Miss Kate!" Ox yelled from the top of the hotel when he saw the door fly open and Susette being shoved out onto the porch. He could see Katherine inside. She was screaming, yelling, pleading and being laughed at in return. Her hands were bound and she was completely defenseless—and being tossed out to the rabid right behind Susette and Aunt Rachel.  

"What in the hell is Hoss doing?" Colt demanded with horror as the rabid drew closer and closer to the helpless women and Susette. Rachel and Susette were untied but Susette was clinging to Katherine's skirts and Rachel simply stood there panic-stricken.  

Colt, Frankie and Comanche began taking shots at the rabid. "Don't hit the women!" Evangeline screamed. Ox knew it was too dangerous. He had to save Katherine. He had to save his aunt and Susette as well. This group had Grace, they wouldn't lose another child.  

Ox stood and ran for the ladder. He wrapped his hands around the sides and jumped down, keeping his feet on either side of the metal bars and sliding to the ground quickly.  

Ox let out a roar that was more beast than it was human and ran into the road, pulling his long bowie knife and swinging at the rabid that stood between him and Katherine.  

"Miss Kate!" he yelled. He felt a rabid's hand close on his arm and sunk his knife into the monster's eye just before it could bite him. Another attempted to sink its teeth into Ox's shoulder but an arrow jammed into its temple and Ox nodded at Comanche as he yanked it back out.  

Together Ox, Comanche and Colt fought their way through the rabid. Thankfully there weren't many left and most were moving a bit slow having gorged themselves on the bodies of the dead men.  

"Ox!" Katherine screamed. Ox looked up in time to see one of the men from the gang, cut Katherine's hands free. Another man, the one named Hoss, yelled angrily and punched the other man hard, sending him flying backward out the door and crashing into Katherine and Susette. 

The women fell and Ox's blood froze as he watched Katherine putting her body between Susette and the four rabid closing in on them, while kicking her feet violently at them, trying to keep the monsters from falling upon their helpless bodies.  

Hoss and the other man, Jackal, disappeared from view. Timmon's let out screams of pain as one of the four rabid attacking the ladies turned to him and fell upon the man, sinking its teeth deep into his thigh.  

Ox ran at the rabid still surrounding the ladies and swung his giant knife, using the blade much like a machete.  

"Ox!" Susette cried out as he took out the last of the rabid around them and tossed his knife to the side. Susette jumped into his arms and Ox soothed the little girl, surprised by her actions.  

Ox held out one hand to help Katherine to her feet but she refused the offer, pushing herself up off the ground without help. Ox frowned as Katherine crossed her arms over herself and stared at the dirt instead of at him.  

"Shit, Miss Kate, are you okay?" Ox asked Katherine, even as he helped his Aunt Rachel to her feet. Katherine nodded but said nothing.  

"That takes care of the rabid." Comanche stated, wiping his hand across his blood splattered chest and sliding the gore covered arrow back into the quiver on his back.  

"Ox, get the women back to the hotel." Colt ordered.  

Ox nodded, adjusted Susette on his hip and offered his arm to Katherine. Instead of taking it, she kept her eyes focused on the ground and headed quickly for the hotel. Ox felt his heart break apart a little. What was wrong? Katherine probably hated him for not protecting her and for letting those men get their hands on her. Ox had never been more ashamed in his life. He wrapped his arm around his aunt's shoulder and led her across the body littered road.  

---

Colt shook his head as he walked over to Timmons. The man was on his back in the dirt and he was breathing hard, panting with pain. His eyes were shining bright with fever and the front of his thigh had a chunk of flesh missing. The wound was oozing and already yellowing with whatever sickness made the rabid what they were.  

"Help me, Colt...." He whispered. His voice was tight with pain. "Don't let me turn into one of those monsters."  

Colt nodded. He pulled his revolver and shattered the newly fallen silence of the afternoon with a roaring gunshot, ending Timmons suffering.  

"Where did the other men go?" Comanche questioned as the indian came up behind him.  

"My guess is they ran out the back." Colt replied and without waiting for a reply he strode quickly around the tiny house that Hoss had been holed up in. His angry, determined strides ate up the ground quickly and sure enough, Hoss and Jackal were running—or at least attempting to. Hoss's injured leg meant the progress was slow going and it also meant they were still within range.  

Colt drew in a breath, let it out slowly and fired off two quick shots. One caught Jackal in the back and the man fell dead. The other caught Hoss's good leg and the man buckled with a cry of pain.  

Colt reloaded his gun as he walked. It didn't take long to catch up to Hoss. The man attempted to pull his gun but Colt kicked his wrist, sending the piece of metal flying. Colt crouched low and grabbed Hoss's through, holding the man down in the dirt.  

"I always knew you were a coward, Hoss. And today you proved it."  

Hoss sneered and tried to punch Colt but Colt dodged the swing. "How did I prove it?" Hoss hissed, his voice laced with pain.  

"Only a coward would toss helpless women and a child into a sea of rabid so they could safely make a run for it. And Timmons? I thought he was your friend? You fed him to the rabid."  

"Timmons had grown soft. First letting you and that bitch save that woman from the road without putting a bullet in you and then cutting that whores hands free.... I see why you keep that whore around. She's got a nice mouth."  

Colt frowned but chose to ignore the comment. "I'm gonna kill you now, Hoss. It's something I should have done seven years ago."  

"Yeah, you should have." Hoss agreed, no fear showing in his gray eyes. Colt wasn't surprised that the man didn't show fear. He was tough. An outlaw. Colt knew if the roles were reversed, he wouldn't let this bastard see any fear either.

One final gunshot filled the air as Colt ended Hoss's life. He stood and turned to see Comanche standing behind him, the Indians face expressionless.

"Let's get these bodies back to town. We have a lot to burn before nightfall. We don't want to have any fire burning once night falls, that'll just draw in more rabid."  

Comanche nodded and without another word the two men got to work on their task.  

---

Jedidiah stepped into Rachel's bedroom to find that Ox was already occupying it. He was unnoticed and so he smiled and was about to slip silently back out of the room to give the aunt and nephew time alone when Ox's words and sad voice stopped him.  

"She won't even look at me, Aunt Rachel. I guess she realizes now what kind of man I really am. I'm too damn dumb to keep anybody safe and she knows it after today."  

"Ox, you shouldn't blame yourself." Rachel assured the boy. Jedidiah's smile grew. Most did not care much for Rachel but Jedidiah knew that deep down she was a good person and he loved her. "If that petulant child, Susette, had not run off into the street than none of this would have happened."  

Jedidiah frowned. Had she truly just said that?

"You shouldn't blame her, Aunt Rachel. Shit, she's just a little girl. Her, Evangeline and Charlotte are in the kitchen. The girl just keeps shaking and is scared darn near to death." Ox stated as he wrung his hat in his massive hands.  

"Yes, well, what she did was foolish and nearly got quite a few people killed." Rachel countered.  

"I don't want to talk about her, Aunt Rachel. Did Miss Kate say anything about me while you all was over there? Did she say she was mad at me or anything?"  

"She didn't think about you at all, Ox, and you'd do well to forget about that whore."  

Jedidiah feared Ox would throttle his aunt as his face reddened and he stepped forward, pointing one giant finger in her face. "You'll watch what you say about Miss Kate!" he warned. "I love that woman and intend to marry her one day."  

"You can't marry a whore, Ox. Even a man such as yourself deserves better than her."  

Ox seemed confused for a moment as he rubbed his neck and his green eyes looked at the floor. "What's wrong with her? And what do you mean a man like me?"

"Oh, Ox—" Rachel whispered gently, sitting up straighter in her bed and laying her hand on his forearm. "You know that I love you but you also know that you're not the—

brightest —of men.“

"Yeah, I know." Ox mumbled, kicking at the floor.   

Jedidiah couldn't believe what he was hearing. This was the woman he had fallen in love with? Before he could make his presence known she spoke again. "And Katherine is a whore, Ox. She gave herself to two of those men. She wasn't thinking about you when she did that. She took them to the other room, raised her skirts and gave them her body."  

"She wouldn't do that!" Ox argued loudly.  

Rachel nodded. "She did. You don't need a woman like that, Ox. You need a simpler woman. A good girl that will be satisfied with a simple life with a simple man."  

Jedidiah was horrified when he saw Ox break down in tears. The giant's broad shoulders heaved up and down as he buried his face in his hands. Rachel opened her mouth to say something else, but Ox turned and all but ran from the room, nearly trampling Jedidiah in the process.  

When Rachel saw Jedidiah she smiled. "I was wondering when you'd make your way in here."  

"I was on the roof keeping watch while Colt and Comanche cleaned the mess in the street."  

"You can come sit next to me." Rachel urged him when he remained in the doorway. "It's amazing that no one was killed today."  

"Yes. Amazing." Jedidiah agreed. "What just happened in here with Ox?" 

Rachel flushed and picked at her blanket. "I was simply telling the boy the truth—"

"You are not who I thought you were, Rachel."

"Jedidiah, I—" 

"I have nothing else to say to you." Jedidiah assured her and he turned and walked out the door, closing the door behind him.  

At least now he would not have to mourn her death so deeply when she met her end. He was glad he had seen the real Rachel and ashamed that he had not realized how harsh and judgmental she was sooner.  

---

Evangeline stepped out of the new woman's bedroom, closing the door gently behind her. Silas stood in the hall and he shrugged as Evangeline stopped beside him.  

"She doesn't remember anything." Silas stated with a sigh. "She doesn't' know her name, where she came from or how she came to be with those men."  

Evangeline was shocked. "Did they hit her that hard?"

"More than once." Silas shook his head. "But I don't think that's all it is. I think she's traumatized and shocked. Maybe she'll remember things later once she's had time to rest."  

"I took her in some dinner but she simply sat and stared at the wall. If she noticed me at all, it didn't show."  

"She just needs time—" Silas was cut off when Ox went past them, tears streaming down his face. He went into his own room and slammed the door closed behind him.  

"Um... Tell Charlotte I'll be back down to the kitchen in a minute to help get supper on the table for everyone." Evangeline said and without waiting for Silas to reply she went to her brother's door. "Ox?" she knocked. "Can I come in?" Sobbing greeted her question and Evangeline opened the door.  

"Go away, Evie." Ox sniffed, swiping at his face. 	

"Ox, what is wrong with you?!" Evangeline demanded, crossing the room quickly and putting her hands on her brother's cheeks.  

"Miss Kate don't love me, Evie."  

"Did she say that?" Evangeline questioned gently.  

"No." Ox's green eyes looked so sad that Evangeline felt her own heart breaking. "Aunt Rachel did. She said I'm too simple for a woman like Miss Kate. She said Miss Kate don't care about me and that she...she..." Ox's voice broke and he stopped talking.  

Evangeline felt rage fill her. Their aunt had said that?! "Ox, that's ridiculous! Katherine cares about you and you care about her. Don't you listen to Aunt Rachel!" Evangeline urged and then she turned and strode from the room.  

She ran into Colt in the hallway and made her way around him.  

"Where are you going?" he asked.  

"To see my aunt." Evangeline ground out. She could hear Colt following behind her but her mind was focused on one thing and one thing only.  

She burst into her aunt's room and Rachel cried out with shock. "Evangeline what are you—" Evangeline cut her off as she brought her hand down hard across her aunt's face.  

"Do not 

ever speak that way to Ox again, do you understand?“

"I only told the boy the truth." Rachel countered, her hand touching her red and welted cheek.  

"Bullshit!" Evangeline yelled, surprising even herself with her use of profanity. "You are a mean, hateful woman and I am not surprised that my parents had very little contact with you all these years. Colt is a good man. Ox is a good man. Comanche is a good man. Katherine is a good woman. You need to stop judging everyone around you, Aunt Rachel, because next time I hear a single bad word about those I love come out of your mouth, you'll get more than just a sore cheek!"  

With that Evangeline turned and strode from the room. Colt stopped her in the hall. "What was that about?"

"She's a bad person." Evangeline replied, her fists clenching at her sides. "She has been nothing but rude to everyone and now she's made Ox feel as if he's too dumb for Katherine."   

"You shouldn't hit people, Evangeline. You'll get scars on them pretty knuckles of yours." Colt teased, his dark blue eyes full of love.  

"Yes well a hardened criminal has to have a scar or two." Evangeline replied, smiling. She loved the way Colt always seemed to know how to make her feel better.  

"You're too beautiful to want scars." Colt countered. "Now let's go get something to eat and rest. Everyone is just stressed and tired. The town is secure for now and everyone is safe, just like you said they would be. Maybe we'll actually get a few good days of peace and quiet."  

"Wishful thinking?" Evangeline asked, as Colt slipped his arm around her shoulders and led her toward the staircase.  

"I sure hope not, sweetheart."

Chapter Forty-Eight

Chapter Forty-Eight: Tears, Truth Telling and Lovemaking

“Miss Charlotte, I can’t help but notice that you seem upset.” Silas said as he entered their bedroom that night.

Charlotte looked up from the mirror that she'd been staring into while brushing her hair. "I am, I suppose. I apologize that I cannot hide my emotions better."  

Charlotte felt herself tremble when Silas came up behind her and bent low, laying his chin on her shoulder and caressing her bare arm with his calloused finger. "You never have to hide your feelings from me. You know that." He whispered against her ear. "Are you thinking about Little Grace?"  

Charlotte felt her heart ache at the mention of her daughter's name. "Always. But no, that's not what I'm worried about."  

Silas took the brush from her hand and began to run it through her long chestnut hair himself. "What is it then, Miss Charlotte?"  

"I'm worried about everyone. I know that everyone lived through this most recent nightmare but everyone is most certainly not 

alright .“

"You can't be worrying so much about everybody else. They'll figure things out."  

"I don't like Rachel, Silas, and it's not in my nature to feel such a strong dislike toward a person who has never personally wronged me. Evangeline wouldn't say what was going on with her but she made Ox cry. Ox is too sweet a man to treat badly. And Katherine has not come out of her room since she returned. And poor little Susette is sleeping on the sofa downstairs with Frankie on the floor beside her because apparently Frankie and Comanche are no longer speaking....." Charlotte's voice trailed off at the amused look on Silas's face. 

"Miss Charlotte, you just focus on you and let everything else work itself out."

Charlotte felt tears fill her eyes and she broke down. Her sobs filled the quiet room as she buried her face in her hands. Silas scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her down gently and Charlotte curled her body as tight against his as possible.  

"Come on now, Miss Charlotte—I know these tears aren't for everyone else. Talk to me."

Charlotte sniffed and breathed Silas in. Almost everyone had taken baths tonight, needing them terrible after the last couple of days, and Silas smelled strongly of witch hazel. "I just miss her so badly." She whispered.  

Silas caressed her hair gently and kissed the top of her head. "I know you do. I miss her too." He replied, sadness coloring his voice. His dark hand took hers and he laced their fingers together. Charlotte found herself staring at the way their hands contrasted and yet fit together perfectly.  

"I'm sorry,  Silas. I wanted to be strong...." Charlotte said tearfully.

Silas released his hold on her hand and placed his finger under her chin, tipping her head up so she was looking into his eyes. "Any person who would call you weak because you cry while thinking about that angel has no heart, Miss Charlotte."

"I wanted to be strong for you." Charlotte admitted, seeing the tears filling Silas's deep brown eyes.  

That warm, tender smile that Charlotte loved so much lit up Silas's face and he kissed her tenderly. "How about we just be weak together?" he offered as he pulled away.  

Charlotte loved him more in that moment than she had ever loved him before. Gently she pressed her lips to his and as he pulled away, Charlotte felt his lips dancing across her cheeks, tasting her tears and kissing them away. 	

"You're an amazing man, Silas." Charlotte whispered with a smile.  

Silas smiled back at her and caressed her cheek. "I am the man you make me."  

---

Katherine stood in the full length mirror of her bedroom and let her eyes roam over her the reflection of her bare skin. Her naturally tanned skin was pale and her face was ashen and drawn. Dark circles surrounded her emotionless green eyes and her normally bright pink lips were nearly colorless.  

Bruises marred the smooth skin of her hips; Jackal's fingertips clearly etched into her flesh as a reminder of the pain she had endured. Her scalp was tender thanks to Hoss's big hands holding her hair roughly and yanking it as she Katherine had pleasured him.  Bruises marred her upper arms as well, from Hoss's calloused hands yanking her  

She turned her head slightly and tossed back her hair, revealing the pleasure mark that Jackal had left behind on the flesh there.  

How could she face Ox? How could she tell him what she had done? Ox had looked at Katherine as something other than what she was and how had she repaid him? By giving herself with the first two men that had come along.... Though if she hadn't done what she had done; if she hadn't thrown herself at Jackal and Hoss then Susette would have faced a much worse fait than even being tossed out onto a street full of rabid. Katherine had had good reason to do what she had done so why was she so scared to speak to Ox?

Katherine knew why. Ox mattered to her. His feelings mattered. The way that he looked at her mattered. What he thought about her mattered. No one had ever mattered that way to her before.  Once that evening he had knocked on her door but Katherine had been unable to move away from her window. She'd been unable to convince her feet to move across the worn carpeting and allow him into her room; to allow him to see her, judge her, know the truth....

Finally, after nearly an hour of simple staring at herself, Katherine moved away from the mirror and slid into a white sleeping gown. The gown had a high neck and long sleeves and it hid all her bruises from sight. The saying 

‘out of sight, out of mind’ played itself in her mind and Katherine wished it really was that easy.

She walked to the lantern and lifted the glass globe, blowing out the flame gently before replacing the globe and tip toeing to her bed. Just before Katherine slid beneath the covers she heard footsteps outside her bedroom door.  

They were heavy steps and they seemed to be pacing back and forth. Katherine wrapped her arms tightly around herself before walking to the door and looking through the tiny peephole and out into the dimly lit hall. It was Ox. He was moving his mouth as if having a silent conversation with someone. One hand kept rubbing the back of his neck roughly while the other motioned in the air with earnest as he 'spoke' to someone only he could see.  

Katherine knew he had to be faced. She had to do this. At least in this gown Ox wouldn't be able to see the bruises and the proof that Katherine had been touched by those two monsters. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the rejection that she might very well experience soon. With a trembling hand, Katherine reached out and pulled open the door.  

Ox stopped pacing and his green eyes looked straight into hers. Katherine felt her breath catch. Ox was everything she wanted. She knew that now more than ever before. He was kind, gentle, caring and warm. The single kiss they had shared had lit her body on fire and left her craving so much more; she had never truly craved any other man.   

The cold hard truth was that Katherine did not deserve him, and now he would know it.  

"Hello, Miss Kate." Ox mumbled as he pulled off his hat and wrung it in his hands. His green eyes were so sad and his shoulders were slumped. The man looked as if he had a ten ton weight on his massive shoulders.  

"Hello, Ox." Katherine whispered quietly in response. They both stood there, each seeming to be just as unsure as the other. Finally Katherine spoke again. "I'm sure you're wondering why I've been locked up in here all day."  

Ox shifted his feet and his gaze went to the floor. "Aunt Rachel told me."  

Katherine felt her heart skitter to a stop. He already knew? "What did she tell you?"  

"Shit, Miss Kate, don't make me say it." Ox mumbled. "I just want you to know that I understand and there's no hard feelings."  

"You understand.....?" Katherine questioned. What did he understand? Did he understand why she had given herself to Hoss and Jackal? If so then he was the single most understand man that she had ever met and he had gotten over it faster than any other man possibly could.  

"Yeah—I reckon I knew all along I wasn't good enough for you..." Ox's voice carried off as he picked at a knot in the wooden doorframe.  

Katherine frowned. "What are you talking about? What did your aunt tell you?" 

 Ox turned away from her. "Gee, Miss Kate, I don't wanna repeat it."  

Katherine grabbed his shoulder and yanked him back around. She knew that if he hadn't wanted her to turn him she wouldn't have been able to but thankfully he moved with her. "Joshua Gilcrest, tell me right now what she said. What did she say happened over there?"  

Tears filled Ox's eyes and he stuck out his chin, clearly fighting those tears with all his might. "She said you wanted to leave with those men. That you—uh—You 

gave yourself to them willingly.“ Ox swallowed hard, and Katherine noticed his fists clench. “But she explained that it was cuz I’m just not good enough for you. I’m a simple man and I need a simple woman who will appreciate how—well, how simple I am.”

Katherine could not believe what she was hearing. How dare that horrible shrew of a woman tell Ox that he wasn't good enough! Ox was an amazing man and any woman would be blessed to have him. And to pretend as if she did not understand why Katherine had thrown herself at those monsters was beyond cruel and cold!  

"Ox that's just not true!" Katherine exclaimed. "You are an amazing man!" 	

"Miss Kate, don't be mean. I just wanted to come in here to tell you that I understand and I'll leave you alone from here on. I ain't even mad about it....."  

Katherine could tell he was lying about the last part. His fists were clenched so tightly that Katherine knew they had to be paining him. She reached out and grabbed his thick forearm.  

"Ox, please, you have to believe that your aunt was lying. I love you, Ox."  

"Miss Kate, don't lie to me." Ox grumbled, yanking his arm away and swiping the back of his hand across his face.

"I'm not lying!" Katherine vowed. "I love you. I did 

not lay with those men because I wanted to. I was born and raised a whore, Ox. I don’t know any other way to reason with men other than to use my body…..“

"But dammit, you can't love me and lay with other men, Miss Kate. It just doesn't work that way. All the other women used me to be unfaithful to the men that they 

loved . I don’t wanna be one of those men.“

Katherine shook her head and wished she could take away the pain etched on his handsome face. "Ox, I did lay with those men but I had no choice...." 

"They forced you?" Ox growled.  

Katherine was shocked. She had never heard an angrier tone in her life. Ox's body was all but vibrating with rage. "Ox, calm down. They didn't force me...."  

"So you wanted to lay with them?" Ox demanded with confused rage.  

"No."  

"Why did you?" Ox asked, that sadness coming back to his voice.  

Katherine wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling cold. "I didn't have a choice."  

"So they 

did force you.“

Katherine sighed with frustration. This would have been so much easier had Rachel not opened her mouth and said what she had. "Come with me." Katherine urged, grabbing Ox's hand and leading him down the hall.  

Ox allowed her to lead him, though Katherine could sense his confusion. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"To talk to your aunt. I'm only going to explain this once and I want that old bitch to admit to her lies."  

Katherine didn’t even bother to knock before throwing open the door. Rachel’s room was still lit by a lantern and she was sitting in a chair beside the window staring off into the night. At the sound of her door crashing off the wall, she cried out with shock and jumped to her feet, whirling around to face Katherine and a bewildered Ox.

"Rachel, I believe you and I need to have a talk." Katherine stated firmly.  

Rachel looked back and forth between Ox and Katherine and seemed to be thinking very hard about jumping out the window beside her.  

"What is going on?" Colt's voice came from behind them. Katherine turned to see him and Evangeline standing in the hall. Both of them appeared to have been sleeping and Katherine wondered why a couple of newlyweds were spending their nights sleeping.  

"I need to have a talk with Rachel." Katherine replied. She turned her attention back to the hateful woman. "If you ever speak another ill word about Ox, or make him feel as if he's not worthy of something, then so help me I will punch you so hard it'll take your head a week to stop spinning around on your neck."  

"That's a pretty good damn punch." Colt mumbled.  

Rachel snorted. "I have already been smacked once today by Evangeline, but I refuse to apologize. I was only telling the boy the truth."  

"You smacked Aunt Rachel?" Ox questioned his sister.  

Evangeline blushed red and shrugged as she leaned into Colt’s arms. “She deserved it, Ox, and if she isn’t careful, I’ll do it again.”

"You won't have to, Evangeline." Katherine assured her and then she turned her attention to Rachel and Rachel alone. "How dare you tell Ox what you told him. You have no idea how I feel for that man. None. You and I have never really spoken and you don't know me. I may not be a gently bred lady but I do have a heart, contrary to what you would have everyone believe."  

"I never said you didn't." Rachel spoke up. "Are you honestly saying that my nephew who, although he is a good man, is quite simple, is enough to satisfy a woman of your—

upbringing? “

"Yes. I am." Katherine replied, reaching to the side and taking Ox's hand firmly in hers. "He is what I want. For you to tell him that I laid with those men because I 

wanted to and because he is not enough of a man to satisfy me is complete and utter ridiculousness.“

"But you threw yourself at those men."  

"Are you honestly that daft or is this just an act?" Katherine demanded, throwing her free hand in the air. She placed her finger into her own chest and glared at Rachel. "If I hadn't thrown myself at Jackal and Hoss then Jackal would have.... He would have taken Susette's innocence and you know that as well as I do. Then once he was finished with Susette, he would have come for you!"  

"But Susette is a child—No man looks at a child that way!" Evangeline countered from the doorway.  

"Jackal would have." Colt assured her quietly.  

Rachel stuttered several times and clutched at her own throat. "You acted like you wanted them. You acted like a whore...."  

"Yes. I 

acted like I wanted them! Do you not remember the deal I made with them? That in return for getting me they would let you and Susette go?“

"We almost died." Rachel argued. "You should have known you couldn't make a deal with men like that!"  

"I had to try! It was more than you did. You would have let them have Susette just so long as it kept them from touching you!"  

"Ox, are you honestly going to stand by and let this whore talk to your aunt that way? We're family!" Rachel exclaimed.  

Ox, who had been slumped shouldered and rather quiet through the entire exchange, brought himself to his full height at the word 'whore' and glared with narrowed eyes at his aunt. "You won't speak about Katherine that way again." He stated. "She's the woman I want, Aunt Rachel, and I don't care if you like that or not. You can forget about having a nephew if you're gonna treat her bad because I won't allow it."  

Without another word, Ox pulled Katherine out of the room. Katherine spared one last glance at Rachel to see that the woman's eyes were wide and her mouth was working rapidly, though no words were coming out.  

Katherine spared a quick glance at Evangeline and Colt before Ox yanked her further down the hall, around a corner and out of sight.

---

Colt shook his head as he stepped into Rachel's room. Evangeline was beside him and he could tell she was thinking about harming her aunt once again. Colt feared that if Evangeline got started, she wouldn't be satisfied with just a simple smack this time. While Colt wouldn't be too awful sad if Evangeline killed the woman, he didn't want his soft-hearted wife to have that on her conscience come morning.  

So before Evangeline could speak, Colt opened his mouth. "Rachel, I think we need to get something straight between us."  

"And what on earth would that be?" Rachel spat, though Colt could see tears in her eyes as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.  

"As badly as I might want to, I won't kick you out of the group over this and I won't leave you to fend for yourself. Not because I give a snowball's chance in hell what happens to you but because you're Evangeline's aunt and she's my wife—" Colt paused. "—which I reckon makes us family. And I saw that vein just about bulge from your head just now and trust me I ain't real happy about that revelation either but it is what it is."  

"Do you have a point?" Rachel asked, sounding tired.  

Colt put his thumbs through his belt loops and rocked back on his heels. "Yep. My point is that I don't know where we're going out west. I have no real idea what the hell I'm doing, but my only goal is to keep everybody alive until I figure it all out. I don't have time for bullshit. I don't have time for somebody within our group stirring up trouble, minding business that ain't hers to mind and running off at her mouth when she needs to keeping it closed. If that kind of behavior continues I'll get rid of whoever's causing it, no matter whose aunt she is."  

"I didn't mean to cause trouble, Colt.  I was looking out for my nephew."  

"You—" Colt cut off Evangeline with only a look.

He turned his attention back to Rachel. "Just the same, I wanted you to be aware of where I stand."  

Rachel simply nodded and Colt led Evangeline from the room and closed the door firmly behind them. He looked down into his wife's deep green eyes and knew he was in trouble.  

"Exactly why was I not allowed to speak in there?" she demanded.  

"Because you didn't want to speak, you wanted to hit her." Colt replied calmly.  

"And what would the problem with that have been?" Evangeline questioned, her hands going to her curved hips. Colt loved that spark of fire in her green eyes that flashed brighter when she was in a temper.... OF course it flashed even more brightly when she was consumed with passion.  

"I already told you that you're hands are too pretty to go around hitting people." Colt replied, stooping down to let his lips taste her neck, nibbling at the tender flesh.  

Evangeline moaned as she pressed her body into his. "Colt stop..." she whispered half-heartedly.  

"No." Colt growled. He'd been letting her turn him down for too long. Just a couple of hours ago she had turned him down yet again, claiming to be worried about his shoulder. Colt was no longer concerned with the state of his shoulder; his shoulder would be just fine. His cock on the other hand, well that was a different story.  

"Colt your shoulder..." Her voice was no more than a moan as Colt wrapped his arms around her waist and gripped her buttocks tightly, pulling her into him and molding them together. He nearly came undone as his growing arousal rubbed against her soft body.  

"My shoulder is fine, Evangeline." He assured her, his hungry mouth traveling up to her ear. What he wanted was to taste that flesh beneath her nightdress. He wanted to touch, lick and kiss every inch of her tiny body and listen to those moans grow louder. Her quiet moans in this hallway were already driving him wild and he could only imagine what they'd do to him as they grew louder.  

Evangeline tried to wiggle away but Colt held her firmly in place. "Colt, you've already been stitched up twice just today. If you tear it again then Silas is going to lose his temper. You can't have much skin left to stitch!"

"Silas said no ladders and no heavy lifting. You're a short woman, I shouldn't need a ladder and you don't weight no more than a feather so the heavy lifting isn't something we need to worry about."  

"Colt...."  

Colt moved one of his hands from her rear, stuck his knuckle under her chin and lifted her head as he looked down into her eyes. "I need you, sweetheart."  

Several long heartbeats passed by and then Colt felt a raging desire unlike anything he'd ever known come over him when Evangeline's eyes darkened and she gave him a little nod.  

Without another word, or wasting another second, Colt attacked her lips with his and enveloped her body in his arms. He walked backward, to their bedroom and pulled her in, turning and closing the door with his foot so he wouldn't have to break the contact between their bodies and mouths. 

All he wanted in the world was to devour her. Colt had never felt a feeling like this before. It was more than lust and it consumed him. Always Colt had been good at controlling himself. He couldn't have lived the life he had if he'd been impulsive or easily swayed. Evangeline did something no other woman in his life had ever done; she broke through that wall he had kept so carefully around himself.  

It was a wall that had always been there, though Colt had never been aware of building it up. He had kept it up to every single person he had ever met, even his first wife and his own daughter, but Evangeline was like dynamite and she had blasted that wall down the moment she had blasted into his life—or fallen into his drunken arms would probably be the better description.  

Colt could hardly stand to break their kiss, as the feel of her lips and the taste of her mouth was intoxicating him, but there were entirely too many articles of clothing standing between them.  

He raised her arms over her head and then held her gaze as he lifted her nightdress and slid it up her body, tossing it carelessly across the room. Colt's heart damn near gave out on him right then and there as he watched the candlelight flickering against her smooth, pale skin.  

His eyes roamed over her body. Evangeline had been blessed with the perfect feminine body. She was tiny in all the places that mattered and full and curved in all the others. Her breasts were perfectly shaped and the tight pink peaks gracing them seemed to be screaming out for his kiss. Colt was glad to give them exactly what they wanted.  

Wrapping one arm around her waist to hold her up, Colt tipped her back, stooped low and began to tease and taste her. Suckling her nipple into his mouth and rolling it across his tongue before grazing it gently against his teeth and then moving to the other.  

Evangeline cried out his name. Her fingers buried themselves in his hair (though he knew she was being careful not to touch the gash that Clay's bullet had left there), and her back arched, bringing her breasts closer to him.  

Colt lowered his free hand, brushing his fingertips across her hips and down her thighs. He felt her tremble and her knees buckled as Colt's hand settled over the soft dark curls between her legs.  

"Colt.... I've never... I don't know how and I don't want to disappoint you. What if—" Colt chuckled and cut off her rambling with a hard kiss to her lips.  

"Don't worry, Evangeline." He replied, smiling against her mouth as he realized how wet her curls were beneath his finger. "I could never be disappointed in you." Quickly he kissed her again as he slid a finger inside of her and she cried out his name against his mouth.  

Colt led her to the bed and lowered her down, bracing her head with his leaning on his elbow as he continued to kiss and stroke her.  

He moved his mouth down her neck, across her collarbones and back to her breasts, taking his time with each one as she moaned and writhed beneath him. He had been right about those moans—they were breathtaking.  

Colt wanted to introduce her to all the ways he could pleasure her but knew he couldn't just now. It had been too long since he'd had a woman and he couldn't deny himself any longer. As soon as she stiffened and then began to shudder around his finger, Colt pulled away, stood and removed his clothing, paying no attention to the pain in his shoulder.  

He could feel no pain just now, only trembling anticipation.   

Evangeline was staring at him with heavy lidded, passion-filled eyes. Her body still tensing with the release he had given her.  

"What was that?" she whispered, her hand tracing across her bare breast.  

Colt bit the inside of his cheek at the sight of that and prayed that he'd be able to hold on longer than a few minutes... he didn't want to disappoint her.

"That was pleasure, sweetheart. Something I plan on giving you a lot of." Colt assured her.  

"I didn't know you could do that to me....." she admitted breathlessly and Colt lowered himself onto the bed, bracing himself over her and nestling his throbbing arousal against her wetness.  

"There's a lot more I can do to you, Evangeline—a lot more that I am going to do."  

Colt knew that entering her would hurt her. He had never had a virgin himself but he had heard enough to know that it hurt a woman for a moment the first time.  

Colt took a deep breath and then entered her in one swift rush, sinking all the way in, burying himself completely inside her tight core. Evangeline whimpered with pain and Colt gently kissed her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks, her lips. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "It will only hurt for a moment and only this time. I promise."  

"I trust you." Evangeline replied, her voice quiet. Colt remained motionless atop her, simply kissing her lips gently and waiting for her to urge him on—and it didn't take long.  

Soon her hips began to move beneath his, rocking back and forth against him. Colt's kisses grew more intense, hungrier, as he matched her movements, guiding her.  

It became hard to distinguish Colt's moans from Evangeline's as both of them climbed higher and higher. Evangeline clung to him and Colt suddenly wished he had more than just one set of lips as he couldn't decide whether to kiss her lips, her neck, her shoulders, her breasts—Evangeline had far too much smooth skin to pick from.  

Colt felt his release coming but he fought against it, though he lost that battle as Evangeline found her release and her fingertips dug into the hard muscles of his back and her walls tightened around him.  

Evangeline's name left his lips in a breathless rush as he collapsed against her, rolling to his side and bringing her with him. He didn't want to break the contact between their bodies and yet his shoulder was hurting too badly to remain braced over her.  

"I never knew... I had heard people talk about how amazing it could be but I never really knew..." she murmured. Colt smiled at the breathless and awestruck quality of her voice. A man felt twenty feet tall hearing something like that.  

He snuggled up closer to her and brought the blanket over their bodies. "Neither did I." he replied honestly.  

Evangeline snorted. "Don't attempt to lie to me, Colt."  

"I would never." Colt assured her.  

"Well I happen to know for a fact that you've had at least one other woman before me and I am sure that a roving, wandering outlaw such as yourself had many women in his life."  

"Yeah, I've had quite a few." Colt replied honestly. "More than I can remember to be honest."  Colt could practically feel the jealousy rolling off of Evangeline in waves, though she was staring at chest and tracing patterns in the dusting of hair there.  

"Sweetheart, look at me." Colt urged and she did. "You are more than any of those women ever were." She smiled and Colt felt his heart skip a beat. "I know no other way to explain what you mean to me, Evangeline... You are more."   

---

"Miss Kate, can you stop for just a moment?" Ox begged as they entered the short hall that would lead to the kitchen.  She had pulled her hand out of his and had begun to lead the way shortly after leaving his aunt's room. Ox was trying to keep his voice down to keep from disturbing Frankie and Susette who were sleeping only a short distance away in the sitting room but Katherine wasn't making that easy since the woman seemed to be ignoring him.  

Katherine stopped so suddenly that Ox nearly ran her over and nearly fell on the woman as she whirled around. "Did you mean what you said upstairs?" she demanded suddenly.  

"Huh?" Ox was still attempting to right himself after the near trampling.  

"Did you mean what you said to Rachel or were you simply out anger? Do you truly want to be with me even now that you know what I am? What I'm capable of?"  

Ox scratched at his neck. "You didn't do anything wrong, Miss Kate. You saved a little girl from something really bad. I'm the one that messed up." 	

"What did you do? You weren't even there!"  

"Exactly." Ox looked down at his feet and kicked at the floor. "I wasn't there. I should have been there. I should have kept you safe."  

"Ox there wasn't anything you could have done. You know that."  

"I should have... They were able to touch you because I didn't keep you safe."  Ox had never felt a shame as deep as the shame that thought caused him to feel. "I ain't smart enough. I didn't know what to say or what to do..."  

"Ox, you'll stop that right now." Katherine warned sharply. "As soon as there was a chance for you to do something, you did it. You saved my life and you saved Susette's life as well. You are a good man, a brave man—" she placed her hand on his cheek, "—you are my man and I love you, Joshua Gilcrest."  

Ox felt his face redden as his heart swelled and his head swam. She loved him? This woman who was so beautiful, so brave, who would sacrifice herself for the wellbeing of a little girl she had only known a matter of days was in love with 

him ? Ox had never, not once in his entire life, thought that a woman would say those words to him.

"Ox...say something." Katherine urged.  

Ox shook his head, unable to force his mouth to say words. Instead he placed his hands upon her cheeks, tilted her head back and pressed his lips to hers.  

This kiss was just as powerful, just as consuming as the first kiss they had shared. Ox felt his body shake with the force of what Katherine made him feel.  

He pulled his lips away as she looped her arms around his neck. "I love you too, Miss Kate." Ox finally managed to whisper. The following silence was broken by the rumbling growls of Ox's neglected stomach. He hadn't eaten since early that morning.  

"Are you hungry?" Katherine asked with a laugh. She was smiling so big that Ox feared she would cause her cheeks pain. He loved the way her green eyes seemed to light up and shine as she looked back up at him. Ox would never in a million years have thought a woman would look at him like that.  

"Yeah, Miss Kate, I am." He replied sheepishly as he rubbed his neck. "I couldn't eat all day and then after Aunt Rachel told me—" his face reddened. "—well I just didn't have much of an appetite." 

Katherine's eyes looked down at the floor for a moment but then she looked back up at Ox. "Well let's go get something to eat then, big guy. I'm pretty hungry myself."  

Ox suddenly felt shy, but he held his arm out and she looped hers through it. He led her to the kitchen and then stared with surprise at Jedidiah who was stirring a big pot of stew from the day before, warming it over a fire.  

Jedidiah smiled happily when he saw them, his crooked and broken teeth giving him that amusing appearance that instantly made people trust him.  

"I had a feeling we'd all be hungry." He stated.  

"Are you saying you had a vision about us wanting stew in the middle of the night?" Frankie questioned as she too stepped into the kitchen. "That seems like an awful big waste of your talents." The woman added, stretching her arms over her head before scratching at her stomach.

Jedidiah winked. "Call it intuition."  

"I thought you were sleeping?" Katherine said to Frankie as Ox grabbed several bowls from the cupboard. 	

Frankie snorted. "No one can sleep with the way that little girl in there snores." 

Katherine laughed lightly. "Yes she is a snorer." She agreed.  

"Well then, my dears," Jedidiah began as he put an arm around each woman. "It seems a good night for some warm stew and cheery conversation."  

As the four of them settled down at the table, Ox was surprised by just how content and happy he felt. Katherine was his. She loved him. For a day that had started out so terribly bad, it had certainly ended real good! Since it wasn't in Ox's nature to think of the worst, he chose to believe the future would be just as good.

Chapter Forty-nine

Chapter Forty-Nine: Jealousy, Maps and Making Plans

Frankie rolled her eyes and bit at a hunk of jerked beef, chewing it roughly as she glared at the staircase. The sound of Evangeline giggling reached her ears, followed by the the bedroom door to the room that she and Colt were holed up in slamming shut before Colt’s own laughter came roaring through the bedroom door and down the stairs.

"They've been up there goin' at it for nearly three full days!" Frankie grumbled, slamming a fist into the top of the sofa and standing up. 	

"Jealousy does not become you," Rachel stated from the armchair where she was sewing up a hole in several skirts. Frankie sneered at her. Ever since the other night when Evangeline, Ox, Katherine and Colt had put Rachel in her place, the woman had been working overtime to be as helpful as she could. She rarely spoke, kept her head down and simply cooked, cleaned and sewed her little heart out.

It was honestly pretty damn sickening—or at least Frankie thought it was. Then again no one seemed to care much what she thought. Or at least Comanche didn't.  

The man seemed to be avoiding her. It was as if she had some sort of monstrous disease that he was certain could be transferred simply by standing the same room together; though she noticed that he certainly didn't believe the new woman had such a disease. As a matter of fact he seemed quite attached to the brain addled woman.  

Despite days of rest and relaxation the black haired, blue eyed and tanned skin woman still had no idea who she was or where she was from. The only thing anyone knew about her was that she was at least half injun, though not full-blooded given the color of her eyes. It was in their shared heritage that Comanche and Lily (Comanche had helped her choose the name after she had admitted her love of the flower) had developed a kinship.  

They spent nearly every waking minute together, not that Frankie cared. If that stupid indian wanted another woman then Frankie wouldn’t beg for him. She refused to shed a damn tear over him either. She had told him she loved him what more did he want from her? She wasn’t a soft woman, she never had been and she never would be. If soft was what Comanche wanted then he could have the other woman. Frankie just wished it didn’t hurt so damn bad.

“I ain’t jealous of Colt and Evangeline.” Frankie assured Rachel. She saw Rachel’s eyes narrow and her jaw tighten at the mention of Colt’s name. “Besides, least I still got folks around here that like me. That means I got a bit more than you do.”

Frankie laughed at the shocked expression that crossed Rachel’s face before the redhead stood from her chair and made her way quickly up the staircase with her sewing clutched tightly in her hands. . Frankie shoved the rest of the jerky in her hand into her pocket and pushed herself away from the mantle piece.

Thanks to the damn rabid that had attacked her, her ankle was once again sprained, though not badly enough that Frankie had needed those godforsaken crutches back. Instead she just limped around feeling like a giant waste of space.

She was restless. The last three days had been nice and peaceful. Too peaceful. Sure the occasional rabid entered town, meandering around in search of a meal, but they were low on ammunition so shooting them wasn't an option and with her ankle still injured Frankie hadn't wanted to go at them alone with her hatchet. No one else seemed too concerned with going at them at all.  

Colt and Evangeline stayed locked in their room. Katherine, Ox and Susette spent all their time together like they were one perfectly happy family. Silas and Charlotte were glued to each other's hips as they kept the meals cooked and the cleaning done and Comanche spent all his time with his precious 

Lily .

There was nothing for Frankie to do and nobody to do it with.  

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Jedidiah declared jovially as he stepped into the sitting room.  

"Sure." Frankie mumbled with a shrug.  

"You don't seem too happy, Frankie." Jedidiah observed thoughtfully. "Why is that?"  

"What exactly is there to be happy about?" Frankie asked.  

Jedidiah shrugged and sat himself down in the armchair that Rachel had vacated moments before. "Oh lots of things." He replied with a happy smile. "I'm breathing, you're breathing, everybody in our little group is breathing. I'd say that's a pretty good thing to be happy about given the current state of the world."  

"Yep, everybody is good and happy in our growing group."  

"So that's what has you so upset." Jedidiah noted with a click of his tongue.  

Frankie snorted and glared at the nosy old coot. "What in the blazes are you talking about?"  

"You don't like Lily." He replied. "Or is it just her blooming relationship with Comanche that upsets you?"  

Frankie scoffed and limped over to the sofa before flopping herself down across it. "I think you've finally fallen off the crazy cliff, Jedidiah."  

Jedidiah laughed as he pulled off his hat and ran his hand through his thin and tangled white hair. "I've been told that a time or two." He admitted.

"And why would I be jealous of that little woman? She's just a confused, soft, little waste of air—Hell her name ain't even Lily, Comanche just gave it to her."  

Jedidiah nodded knowingly. "Yep, and Comanche isn't really his name. You gave that name to him."  

Frankie grabbed a small decorative pillow from the sofa and chucked it at Jedidiah’s head. The man laughed as he dodged. “Tell me, Frankie, what has this distance between you and Comanche?”

“That’s none of your business.” Frankie stated firmly, wishing suddenly that she’d thrown something a bit harder than a pillow at the man’s head; a hammer would have worked nicely.

“Talk to me, Frankie, I have nothing else to entertain me this evening.”

Frankie glared at Jedidiah and then let out a sigh. What the hell would it hurt? “That crazy injun is mad and throwing a temper just cuz I don’t want to marry him or have his babies.”

“He asked you to marry him?” Jedidiah asked with surprise.

Frankie opened her mouth to say yes but then stopped and thought back. “Well… no.”

Jedidiah nodded slowly and scratched at his whiskered chin. "Reckon it was the way you so assuredly vowed that you never wanted 

any husband? I believe that would offend any man who was in love with a woman and did everything he could to take care of and be there for her. I sure as hell would get upset and feel like I was wasting my time or even being taken advantage of….“

"I wasn't taking advantage of Comanche! I love him!"  

"Did you tell him that?"  

"Of course I did." Frankie mumbled, wishing she had her pillow back to smother herself with.  

"Okay then. Can I ask why you don't want marriage?"  

"You're a nosy bastard."  

"Been told that a time or two as well." Jedidiah agreed.  

Frankie grunted. "My parents always pushed me to get married. They wanted me to be an obedient little wife that would manage a household and take care of babies all day. Wear stuffy old dresses, style my hair and invite the ladies over for brunch on Sundays...."  

"Do you honestly think Comanche would wish that of you? I think he'd like a wife that would stand beside him with her bloody hatchet in her hand and the wind whipping her hair. I think he'd like a wife that could fight the hordes of rabid with him and sleep out under the stars with nothing other than a campfire, and a bedroll, if they're lucky.... Of course you know Comanche better than I do so perhaps I'm mistaken."  

Frankie stared up at the wooden planked ceiling. Was Jedidiah right?  She tried to picture Comanche, the wild untamed injun, married to a woman like Frankie's own mother had been and yet found it impossible.  

"What about the children you don't want?" Jedidiah asked, interrupting her thoughts.  

"Children die." Frankie replied quickly.  

"Yes and so does everything else that lives."  

"Yeah well, Comanche wants babies."  

"Did he ask you to have his child."  

A frown pulled Frankie's lips down. "No." she replied slowly.  

"He was merely upset that you were making yourself barren without talking to him about him first, correct? And even more upset when you insinuated that he would not make a good father."  

"How did you.....?"  

Jedidiah tapped his temple before continuing. "Comanche has lost a lot in his life. He sees hisfailure to protect his tribe as a boy to be his fault. He has never felt worthy of having good things in his life. You are the best thing to have ever happened to him and then you spat in his face and told him he was unworthy of your hand in marriage and unworthy of being a father to your children."  

"I thought Colt warned you about all that mind reading nonsense?" Frankie demanded as she shoved herself up onto her good foot, careful to keep her weight off her healing ankle.  

"I'm not mind reading, Frankie, I am merely observing."  

"Yeah well—" Frankie adjusted her gun belt and glared at him. "—knock it off." 

Frankie was about to head up to the roof for some fresh air and to relieve Comanche from guard duty when Ox, Katherine and Susette burst into the sitting room.  

"Mister Jedidiah!" Susette exclaimed.  

Jedidiah motioned for the girl to come to him and offered her a calming smile. "I have told you to not call me mister. Now what has you so excited?"  

"I had a dream! I wasn't even sleeping when I had it!"  

Frankie saw Jedidiah grow thoughtful a moment before the man took Susette's hands in his. "What did you dream, Susette?"  

"I know where we're going! I saw it!"  

"Do you still remember?"  

"Yes but I need a map."  

"Ox, go the land off down the road and get a map." Jedidiah said to the giant of a man.  

Ox scratched at his neck. "A map of where?"  

Jedidah glanced at Susette but she shrugged her tiny shoulders. "I don't know. I just know when I see it.. it's like a map picture in my head."  

"A map of the whole country, Ox."  

"I'll go with you." Katherine said as they headed for the entryway. "We're not supposed to go anywhere alone."  

"Frankie, go get Colt. He needs to be here for this."  

"I think Colt is busy." Frankie stated pointedly.  

"He'll want to be here for this." Jedidiah assured her.  

Frankie sighed and made her way up the stairs to the second floor where Colt and Evangeline's bedroom was. She could hear whispering murmurs coming from the other side of the door and would rather chew on broken glass than interrupt whatever the hell was going on in there.  

"Colt?" she called out as she knocked three times. "Colt, it's Frankie. Jedidiah wants you downstairs. Susette says she had a dream and knows where we have to go out west. Ox and Katherine are gone to the land office to get a map."  

Silence followed her statement and she knocked again. "Dammit, Frankie, I heard you the first time!" Colt growled as he flung the door open wearing nothing but a white sheet wrapped loosely around his lean hips.

Frankie glanced over his shoulder to see Evangeline looking quite tousled as she sat up in the bed with the covers pulled around her. “Y’all okay in here? We haven’t seen much of you in the last three days, other than quick glances as you run to the kitchen for food and dash back up the staircase.”

“Don’t you worry about what we’re doing.” Colt grumbled, while Evangeline flushed bright red.

"Alright then." Frankie grinned. "You might want to put some more clothes on before you come downstairs though, Colt. You might just cause a few feminine hearts to burst if you show up looking like that."  

Frankie laughed when she saw Colt's cheeks flush a bit before he slammed the door in her face. She was still laughing as she turned around but that laughter died on her lips when she saw Comanche and Lily standing behind her.  

"We saw Katherine and Ox leave. Is something wrong?" Comanche asked.  

Frankie couldn't get her mouth to form words. Her chest hurt and her stomach was twisting so tightly she wasn't sure if she was going to die from pain or simply vomit on the worn carpet of the hall. Comanche was hers, she loved him with everything she had but clearly he hadn't felt as strongly for her. He had already moved on to the next woman. One that was soft and ladylike and would no doubt love to be a homemaking wife who wore gingham dresses and baked pies for her husband and all the children......

"Frankie, are you okay?" Lily asked in her soft, meek voice.  

Frankie met Comanche's eyes and saw the concern in them as well but nothing else. She felt her lip tremble and fought the urge to smack herself in the face. "The kid says she dreamed something. Jedidiah sent Katherine and Ox to fetch a map so she can so us where she saw it at." Frankie let all that out in one quick rush of air and then turned and limped away down the hall and the staircase just as fast as she could.  

---

Comanche watched Frankie leave and fought the urge to rush after her with everything he had inside of him. This being apart from her was killing him slowly but it was for the best.  

He had done everything he could to show Frankie what she meant to him and she had still remained locked in her old way of thinking. Did the woman honestly think he would force her to have children if she chose not to? Of course he wouldn't! He just didn't like that she had hidden what she was doing with that tea from him.  And to be so adamant that she would 

never take a husband. What was so wrong with him that she wouldn’t marry him? She spoke of being a wife as if it would mean that Comanche would want to change everything that made her Frankie and that was ridiculous.

All Comanche knew for sure was that he would not beg for her. Frankie was not a woman who would appreciate a man groveling at her feet and Comanche had his pride.  

"You should go speak to her." Lily urged from beside him. Comanche shook his head as he looked down at the other woman. She was pretty with her light blue eyes, full pink lips, tanned skin and ebony black hair. Everything about her appearance (other than her eyes) reminded Comanche of his people. He knew that was why he had befriended her so quickly and he sensed that was what caused her to feel so comfortable with him as well.  

"Frankie is not a woman that can be talked to when she has her mind set on something. She is the most stubborn person I know."

"I may know one more stubborn." Lily stated pointedly.  

Comanche narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. "That's enough from you. Thank you for helping me keep watch."  

"I wanted to feel as if I was helping the group. You all have been so kind to me. I am going to help Charlotte with the breakfast in the morning."  

"You are fitting in fine." Comanche assured her.

The door to Colt and Evangeline's room opened and Comanche turned his gaze to the group leaders. They both appeared quite satisfied and happy. Comanche was pleased to see Colt looking so at peace. Gone was the tense set in his shoulders that had been there before Evangeline had gotten through to him. Gone was the sadness in his eyes. He looked like a happy man who loved his wife.  

"Are we gonna stand here and talk about our feelings or go downstairs and watch a little girl poke her fingers at some mysterious spot on a map?" Colt asked with a grin. "Either way I reckon it'll be just as painful of an experience for me."  

---

Colt stood at the side of the table opposite Susette and stared at down at the map the girl was currently studying intently. It was a map of the entire country, though Susette seemed focused on California.  

"I thought you said she remembered." Colt ground out as he fixed Katherine with an accusing glare.  

Katherine glared right back and then laid a gentle hand on Susette’s back. “Take your time, Susette.”

The little girl’s forehead wrinkled as she stuck out her tongue and held it between her teeth. Then suddenly she pointed at northern California. “There.”

“There?” Colt asked. As far as he knew there was nothing there other than maybe some abandoned gold mines.

“Yes. We have to go there.” Susette assured him.

Colt studied the map, fought back the urge to call all this a waste of time and then crouched down so he was on Susette’s level. He looked in the girls eyes and sighed. “What is waiting there for us?”

“I don’t know.” Susette replied, her lip quivering as her eyes began to shine with unshed tears.

"You did a good job, Susette." Ox assured the girl.  

Colt nodded in agreement and then stood. "It's early enough in the year that if we get a move on we can be over the mountains and to that spot before winter."  

"What's the plan, Colt? What route are we going to take?" Silas questioned.  

Colt rubbed his face and sighed. He hadn't rested much in the last few days (though he wasn't complaining) and just now making plans was the last thing he wanted to do.  

"This railroad would be ending soon so there's no point looking for coal for the train anywhere else. Luckily the rabid were too worried about the blood in the road to pay any attention to our horses so we still have those and a few of Hoss's men's horses as well. There's a couple of carts at the livery we can use to carry supplies. We head northwest, til we come to the union railway. Follow the train tracks and they'll take us all the way to California."  

"We're going to follow train tracks without a train?" Frankie asked with a frown.  

"Yep. We might get lucky and find another train and even if we don't, we'll come across more towns and more supplies along the tracks than we would if we made our own way."  

"Sounds like a good plan to me." Evangeline agreed. Colt looked around at the group and everyone else seemed to think it sounded like a good plan as well. If nothing else they didn't seem to be able to come up with anything better themselves.  

Colt looked through the cracks in the boarded up windows at the darkness outside. "Let's all get some sleep. No guards tonight and no fires.  I want everybody rested. Tomorrow we'll work on gathering up supplies, packing and making sure the horses and carts are in order and the next day we'll leave. It's a long haul to California."

Chapter Fifty

Chapter Fifty: Life Had Just Gotten More Difficult

June 1887

Charlotte dished fried potatoes onto plates as they were placed in front of her. The group had camped the night before beside a rocky outcropping that, thankfully, kept the roaring wind off of them a bit.

This weather was horrible. The heat was nearly unbearable already this morning and Charlotte knew it would only get worse the further into summer they got. Add to that the blazing sunshine that seemed to beat down from the moment the sun rose until the second it set and the gusting winds and it was safe to say that everyone was at least a little miserable. 

Charlotte missed their town. She missed her bed. She missed having a roof over their heads and food without dirt in it. She didn't voice any of this though, simply kept a smile on her face as she served everyone the meager breakfast she had prepared.  

They had been traveling for a week and were down to two small meals a day. With twelve people in their traveling party food had to be limited or it would never last. Everyone seemed to understand this but that didn't mean they were happy. Poor Ox was constantly clutching at his roaring stomach and Frankie, (the skinniest woman among them), was surprisingly the biggest eater and of course not afraid to voice her complaints about the lack of food whenever the occasion presented itself.  

"Potatoes again?" Frankie sighed as she began to pluck the greasy morsels off her plate.  

"I'm afraid so." Charlotte replied sadly. "I can heat some canned apples and boil some oats if you'd like."  

"Naw," Frankie shrugged. "We'll save that for another day."  

"Twelve people use a lot of food." Silas observed as he looked at the dwindling supplies of food stores in one of the two carts they'd brought along.  

"We should be to those tracks within the next day or two and then it shouldn't take too long to find some kind of little town." Colt assured everyone.  

Charlotte saw Colt slip a few of his potatoes onto Evangeline's plate while the woman wasn't looking and she smiled. Evangeline had insisted on Colt getting a larger portion than herself at nearly every meal. Colt had gone along with her suggestions but clearly it had only been to placate the southern belle as he'd been slipping food onto her plate every time she looked away for days.  

"I miss biscuits slathered in butter." Frankie spoke up again.  

"I miss meat." Katherine added. "It's been days since we've had any meat other than jerked beef."  

"I can fix that." Frankie assured as she pushed herself away from the tree she'd been leaned against, shoved her final chunk of potato into her mouth and handed Charlotte her empty plate. "Colt, can I have some time to go huntin'? I might just find us some good meet for dinner."  

Colt seemed as if he were about to say no but Evangeline leaned sideways and bumped his shoulder gently. Charlotte saw her nod discreetly when Colt glanced at his wife and then the man turned his attention back to Frankie and nodded.  

"You have an hour." He replied.  

"That's all I'll need." Frankie assured him. "I'll have to fire a shot." She added.  

"We haven't seen a single rabid all week." Ox shrugged. "And meat sounds real good."  

A half-smile curved Colt's cheeks and he nodded. "I reckon it should be okay." 

Charlotte was surprised as Frankie started off into the woods alone. Colt was usually very strict about everyone having partners.  

"Someone go with her." Colt spoke up as if on cue.

Immediately Charlotte glanced at Comanche, hoping he would offer to go with Frankie. The two had yet to speak more than a word or two to one another since the day that Hoss and his men had shown up in that town.  

Comanche did not seem in any hurry to offer and Charlotte rolled her eyes before taking a bite of her own potatoes. If prizes were awarded in stubborn pride than surely Frankie and Comanche would be standing on the winner's podium.  

"I'll go." Lily spoke up as she jumped to her feet. 	

Frankie's growl of annoyance was plain to hear and Comanche shook his head. "Are you sure you want to do that?"  

"Yes, I'm sure." Lily replied before running off after Frankie who seemed to have quickened her own pace.  

Silas laughed quietly as he came to stand beside Charlotte. "Lily was a nice girl. It will be a shame to lose her."  

"What of it, Jedidiah and Susette? Will Lily make it?" Colt asked with amusement.  

"I must say I have seen nothing." Jedidiah assured him. "Though my own visions have been few and far between."  

"Frankie won't hurt Lily." Susette said as she stole a potato off of Ox's plate and the big man's jaw dropped just before he scoffed and raised his plate high enough that the girl would require at least two ladders to reach it. "Frankie is nice." Susette added just before shoving her stolen prize into her mouth.  

The group all shared a look and their laughter filled the air. All but one person laughed, Charlotte noticed. Comanche simply sat and stared at the space where Frankie and Lily had disappeared from. Charlotte could only guess at what was going through the indian's mind.

---

Frankie's eyes went up to the treetops as she clenched her jaw with irritation. Her jaw tightened and her teeth ground together roughly when she heard the panting breaths and snapping twigs coming up behind her.  

She had been keeping a neck breaking pace through the woods, while still moving silently of course. It had been her hope that she'd be able to outpace Lily and leave the annoying twit behind but it was clear now that that wasn't going to happen. Lily had somehow managed to keep up with Frankie while creating a buffalo-sized ruckus as she did so.

"Frankie—" Lily gasped as she came up beside her. "—can we slow down a bit?" 

"We might as well head on back to the camp." Frankie snorted. "With all the noise you're making there won't be a critter within miles."  

"I see a squirrel." Lily countered, pointing at the busy-tailed rodent jumping from limb to limb.  

"One squirrel? Why there ain't enough meat on a squirrel to feed Susette, let alone a man as big as Ox."  

"Perhaps we could sit here and wait for something to come around?"  

Frankie grumbled as she squatted down and leaned her back against a tree. "Might as well." She muttered. "With all the noise you make when you move around you'll warn everything for miles."  

Frankie thought Lily was going to say something to defend herself but then the other woman shrugged a dainty shoulder and sat herself down on the ground, smoothing her skirt around her. Frankie shook her head. Lily was tiny. She was a bit taller than Evangeline, (who Frankie was certain had a bit of dwarf in her), but she was much more slender than Evangeline and lacked the full feminine curves.  

The two of them sat in silence for several long moments and then Lily cleared her throat. "Frankie, can we speak about something?"  

"Speak about what?" Frankie asked. "We're supposed to be hunting."  

"I want to speak about Comanche—"  

"Let's head back." Frankie stated quickly, pushing herself up to stand. "We aren't going to see anything now."  

"Frankie, he misses you." Lily called, stopping Frankie in her tracks.  

Her heart clenched painfully in her chest as she turned to look down at the other woman who was still sitting on the forest floor.

"We ain't gonna talk about me and Comanche. It ain't none of your business as far as I can see."  

"Frankie—" Lily began again but Frankie shook her head and turned, heading back toward camp.  

"You and Comanche are a perfect match." Lily called out, stopping Frankie once again. "You're both equally as hard-headed and foolishly stubborn."  

"You're insulting me now?" Frankie demanded with a chuckle. "You've got some nerve, I'll give you that much."  

Lily pushed herself to her feet. "You are both miserable and yet too proud to admit it to the other."  

Frankie sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Comanche and I don't work together." She admitted, her heart breaking as she spoke. "Sure we have a good time with the hot and passionate side but that's about as far as it goes. He's looking for things that I have no interest in giving him."  

"Shouldn't the two of you speak about that together?" Lily questioned.  

"Why do you care?" Frankie spat. "I thought that the two of you were getting awfully close."  

"We are." Lily shrugged. "As friends. I remind him of his family and he is a good, kind man. There is nothing more than friendship between us. Comanche is very much in love with you."  

"Like I said before—" Frankie adjusted her gun belt. "It ain't really none of your concern."  

"Really now! That's enough—"  

"Shut your mouth!" Frankie whispered harshly as she caught a flash of movement through the trees.  

"Excuse me?" Lily demanded, temper flashing in her light blue eyes.  

Frankie simply held up her hand and kept her eyes focused on the movement. Her heart thundered with excitement when she realized it was a deer.  

"Get down and be quiet. I just found us some dinner." Frankie urged. Lily followed her gaze and then dropped back to the ground.  

Frankie pulled her revolver, crouched low to the ground and eased herself forward. She crept along at a snail's pace as the deer grazed at a patch of grass.  

Frankie froze when the deer glanced her way but relaxed when it went back to grazing moments later. Frankie raised her gun, settling the sights just behind the deer's shoulder. She took a breath, let it out slowly and began to squeeze the trigger.  

Before Frankie could get the shot off, a rustling came from the bushes beside the deer and a rabid came crashing through, leaping on the animal and sinking its teeth deep into its neck.  

Frankie cursed under her breath at the lost meal and then Lily's screams joined the thrashing sounds of the deer and rabid.  

"There are more!" Lily cried. Frankie realized she was right. Rabid were stumbling through the trees, running on their jerking legs and heading straight for Lily and Frankie.  

"Come on!" Frankie yelled at Lily as she fired shots. A few connected with their marks, but most missed. The trees, twigs and branches and the rabid's unpredictable movements as they rushed Frankie and Lily's way made shots hard to make.  

Lily seemed frozen in place as she screamed. Frankie thought about leaving her. Frankie knew she had to get to the group and warn them. These rabid, at least a dozen of them were close enough to the camp that it was clear that was where they were heading.  But if Frankie left Lily that meant the woman would die.  

Frankie only hesisted one more moment before pulling her hatchet from the holster on her hip and rushing Lily's way. She couldn't let the woman die.... Not when Comanche cared so greatly for her.  

She reached Lily and sunk her hatchet deep into a rabid's head just before the monster reached the shock frozen woman. Frankie grabbed Lily's arm and yanked her roughly. "Come on now! We have to go!"  

Frankie swung her hatchet again, taking off a rabid's arm after it latched its fingers onto her shirt. "Lily, you better get to moving or else we're both gonna get ate." Frankie warned.  

The two of them began to run quickly across the forest floor with the rabid just behind them. Frankie kept yelling out warnings, hoping the group would hear them and be prepared. Lily let out a yelp as her skirt tangled in a fallen branch and she fell down hard.  

"Get up!" Frankie yelled, standing over Lily and swinging her hatchet as the rabid advanced and yet more appeared through the trees. Lily was sobbing and Frankie had a strong urge to kick her while she was down, though she doubted that would help the woman get up. She had to remind herself that Lily had no memory of this sickness over the last months. In her mind this was just starting and Frankie remembered how frightening those first days had been. 	

Lily got herself to her feet but Frankie knew it was too late. There was no way they could outrun all these rabid and make it to camp—unless...

"Go, Lily! I'll hold them off!" Frankie insisted, swinging her hatchet through a rabid's neck and splattering Lily's cheek with blood.  

"But what about you?" Lily cried, her face ghostly white.  

"I'll be just fine. It ain't my first go 'round with these things." Frankie kicked another rabid, causing the monster to stumble back and then swung her hachet into the temple of another.  

"Go goddammit!" she yelled at Lily and Lily seemed to snap out of her daze. She pulled her snub-nosed revolver, emptied it into the advancing horde and then took off at a run toward camp, screaming her little lungs out with every step.  

Frankie kept swinging, kicking, punching and hacking. Very quickly it became obvious that she'd bit off more than she could chew. Her only hope was that Lily would get to the group and they'd be quick in getting to her....

---

Colt was just securing the belongings in the second cart when gunshots rang out in the woods followed by the faint sound of screams and more gunshots.  

Without a word, Comanche shouldered his quiver full of arrows, grabbed up his bow and ran in the direction of the shots.  

The screams grew louder and Colt grabbed Evangeline around the waist, eliciting a cry of shock from her before tossing her into the back of the cart and shoving a rifle in her hands. He pulled his revolver just as Lily came into view.  

"Rabid! A big group of them!" she exclaimed, tears running down her pale cheeks. "Frankie was trying to hold them off alone but I'm afraid there's too many!"  

"Lily, Katherine, Rachel, Evangeline, Susette and Charlotte; stay here, get in the wagons and shoot any rabid that come around. Jedidiah, Ox and Silas come with me."  

Without waiting for a response, Colt took off into the woods. He wasn't ready to lose a member of this group, especially Frankie. She was one of his warriors and he needed her.  

---

Comanche let lose arrows, dispatching the rabid between he and Frankie. He could see her, his paleface. She was surrounded and swinging her hatchet with everything she had. Her clothes were bloody and he prayed it wasn't hers. Her hat had been lost and her hair was sweat covered and clinging to her cheeks.  

Comanche was out of arrows so he dropped his bow and quiver, pulled his hunting knife and fought his way toward the only woman he had ever loved—the only woman he would ever love.  

"Are you hurt?" he demanded, unable to get a good look at her as they battled the rabid horde. A child, no more than six, leapt at Comanche and he swung his knife in the air, catching the monster and slamming it down to the ground.  Frankie kicked over his back, knocking another rabid back before it came down on Comanche.  

"I'm just fine." Frankie snapped. "Less talking; more fighting."  

Colt, Ox, Silas and Jedidiah soon joined them and the couple dozen rabid left were quickly taken care of. Several gunshots sounded from camp, though they ended quickly and Comanche knew everyone was fine. More shots would have sounded had too many rabid made it to camp.  

Comanche took several moments to catch his breath and frowned when Frankie moved away from everyone and leaned against a tree, her back to the men.  

"Are you okay there, Frankie?" Silas asked. "Did you hurt your ankle?"  

"No—" Frankie replied, her voice tight. "My ankle's just fine."  

"Let's get back to camp." Colt ordered, sliding his bloody knife into the sheath on his leg. "We need to get a move on. There's no telling what's heading our way. We got too comfortable. Too many days without rabid made us let our guard down. We can't let that happen again."  

Comanche was only half listening to Colt. His attention was only on Frankie as she gripped the rough bark of the tree beside her. Her shoulders heaved silently and Comanche suddenly knew she was crying.  

He was to her in three long strides. He gripped her shoulder in one hand and spun her around. "What is wrong—" Comanche's voice trailed off as he looked away from her tear and blood stained face and down to her stomach.  

"Oh my God—" Silas whispered.  

"Shit." Colt stated blankly.  

Ox shifted his feet and rubbed his neck roughly. "She got bit." 	

Comanche's world stopped turning as he looked at the large, bleeding wound on Frankie's stomach. Her shirt had been ripped away and her skin had been shredded by the rabid's teeth.  

"Y'all don't let me turn." Frankie ordered, squaring her shoulders and standing straight. Comanche could see her body beginning to shake and it was clear from the sheen in her eyes that her temperature was raising. Comanche knew that death would follow and then sometime within minutes or hours she would awaken changed.  

"Leave us." Comanche said quietly, his eyes locking with Frankie's. Silas, Ox and Jedidiah headed back toward camp but Colt remained.  

"Comanche, I'll take care of things." Colt insisted.  

Comanche shook his head. "That won't be necessary."  

Colt studied him for a moment and then turned his attention to Frankie. "I'm sorry, Frankie. Reckon I should tell you now that I'm not sore at you for savin' my life anymore."   

"You take care of yourself, Colt." Frankie replied, her teeth beginning to knock together as she shook.  

Comanche knew that time was running out. Colt quickly turned and headed off in the direction that Silas, Jedidiah and Ox had taken.  

"Paleface—" Comanche began, his voice raspy with the emotion currently building in his throat.  

Frankie turned away from him and slumped against the tree, falling to her backside on the forest floor.  "Did Lily make it back?"  

"Yes." Comanche replied distractedly. "I am sorry, Frankie. I should have come hunting with you..."  

"I ain't got time for I'm sorry." Frankie replied quietly. She clutched at her stomach and blood oozed through her fingers.  "You'll be happy with her, injun. She'll give you things that I wouldn't have."  

"I have no interest, Paleface." Comanche ground out as he crouched and touched her cheek. He nearly winced when he felt the heat radiating from her skin. "You are all I want."  

"Comanche—" Frankie's shivering intensified as her eyes slid closed.  

"Frankie!" Comanche yelled, smacking her face.  

Her fever bright eyes opened and she snorted as she shook. "Hit me again and I'll kill you."  

"You were trying to die on me." Comanche stated unapologetically.  

"I g..got bit." Frankie stammered, her words broken. "D...death is gonna h..happen."  

"Why didn't you run?" Comanche demanded angrily. "Why did you stay and fight them?"  

"L...Lily f...fell." Frankie replied. Her back rubbing against the rough bark as she began to convulse more intensely. "W..we wouldn't h..have made it. I.. had to s..save her. F..for you."  

Comanche felt as if he'd been sucker punched in the gut. He shook his head roughly grabbed her chin. "Damn her!" he exclaimed." I care about her, yes. I care about the entire group but they all mean nothing compared to you! You are my one, paleface."  

"Y..you are t..the one who c..called me selfish. I f..figured I'd prove y..you wrong."  

"I never meant that." Comanche whispered as shame filled his heart. "I would have given you anything you wanted and never asked you for more than you were ready for. I only wanted your happiness and I wanted you to be able to talk to me. To open up to me. I wanted you to love me as I love you."  

Frankie raised a quaking hand to his cheek. "I do." She vowed clearly. Then she winced. "N..Now end th..this... it h..hurts s..so bad."  

Comanche placed a kiss to Frankie's burning brow and pulled his gun. Frankie's eyes met his as her body went into more intense convulsions and foam began forming at the corners of her mouth.  

"I love you, paleface. I am sorry."  

---

Colt heard the gunshot and at the sound of it, Evangeline threw her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. Colt wrapped her tightly in a hug and kissed her hair. "Colt?" she whispered.  

"What is it?" he replied gently, memories of that bullet he'd placed in his own wife's head coming back to him.  

"If I'm ever bitten, please don't let me turn." Evangeline's voice was muffled against his chest but her words were like razors straight into his heart.  

"Don't!" he growled angrily, his grip on her tightening and causing her to squirm. "You'll never be bitten. I won't allow it."  

Colt glanced around at his group. Everyone had fallen silent. Charlotte was crying while Silas held her. Katherine was staring into the woods. Ox had a tight grip on his gun and his eyes were red rimmed. Jedidiah was holding Susette's hand as silent tears fell down the girl's cheeks. Rachel was pale and off by herself near the first wagon.  Lily was also standing alone with her arms wrapped tightly around herself.  

Comanche strode back into camp. His shoulders thrown back and his eyes were expressionless. He walked straight to his paint horse and pulled himself up into the saddle.  

Colt pulled Evangeline off of him and jogged over to Comanche, grabbing the reins to stop the indian from riding away.  

"Where are you going?"  

"Away."  

"You can't leave." Colt countered and Comanche looked down at him, his dark eyes flashing with sadness.  

"I must. I am a poison to those I care about. My tribe, my paleface... It will only be a matter of time before I bring death to everyone here."  

"That is bullshit and you know it. You're running scared." Colt ground out. "I need you here, Comanche. I need you to help keep my wife safe."  

"No one is safe, Colt, and we should all be scared. The world has ended. We were fools to think differently. We were fools to think there was hope for the future."  

Comanche jerked his reins free, clicked his tongue and rode away. Colt simply watched for several long moments and then let out a breath and waved his hand.  

"Ox you stay with me and we'll take care of....We'll take care of the body." Colt said. "Everyone else get moving on. Ox and I can catch up with you easy enough. Don't stop for a damn thing until we catch back up with you. Nothing. Do you hear me?"  

"Colt I'd rather wait for you..." Evangeline began but Colt shook his head.  

"There's been too much noise here. There could be more rabid coming. You will all move on."  

Colt's tone made it clear there was no room for argument. Ox appeared at his side with two shovels while everyone else began to load up on the horses and wagons.  

Just like that the group moved on and Colt felt his heart hurt. Death was so common in this new world. It was such a commonplace thing to lose people and to see death that moving on from it had become easier. Though he knew the fallout from Frankie's death and Comanche's departure would eventually hit.  

He had just lost two good friends and his two greatest warriors. Life had just gotten a lot more difficult.

Chapter Fifty-One

Chapter Fifty-One: Changes

Silas knew the loss of Frankie and Comanche was a devastating blow to the group both emotionally and physically. They were fighters and Silas knew Colt was worried about their loss. But more than that Frankie’s death was a mental blow.

She had been seen as the most physically capable among the women and now she was gone. The first loss the group had suffered to the rabid. They had all been tricked into thinking that somehow they were safe from the rabid; that they could deal with any rabid that came along with no problem—they knew better now.  

He glanced at Charlotte who was still crying silently beside him on the cart seat. Lily, Rachel and Susette were riding in the back of the cart. Evangeline was driving the second card with Jedidiah seated beside her. Katherine was the lone rider on horseback.

No one had spoken a single word since leaving Colt and Ox. It was as if there was a tenuous thread holding everything together and everyone feared that the slightest noise could tear it and send them all spiraling.  

"There's a town ahead."  

Silas nearly jumped at the sound of Katherine's voice and he snapped out of his reverie to realize that she was right. There was indeed a town.  

"We should stop." Rachel spoke up quietly. "We need supplies and rest."  

"Colt said not to stop for anything." Evangeline countered. "We should keep going until he and Ox get back. If he agrees about the town we can always turn and come back."  

"I doubt that Colt meant for us to pass up a town if we came to one." Katherine argued. "We can't afford to pass up a chance to scavenge for supplies."  

"He said to stop for nothing." Evangeline reminded her.  

"We have to stop." Katherine replied stubbornly. "We all need a feeling of security tonight."  

"We'll stop." Silas spoke up. When Evangeline looked his way he smiled comfortingly. "We will tell Colt it was my idea to stop and you had no choice but to come along or continue alone."

Silas watched the fight go out of Evangeline and she nodded slowly. Katherine pulled her revolver as they rode closer to the town.  

Silence filled the air and caused a shiver to wash down Silas's spine. The outskirts of the large town appeared quiet and still. They rounded the stage depot and looked down the main street of town. Other than a few rabid staggering about and the rotted and decayed bodies of horses, dogs and people on the dirt road, the going seemed clear.  

"We'll take everything into the livery." Silas said, pointing at the large red painted building about thirty yards down the road. "We'll secure ourselves in there until Colt and Ox catch up and we can check for supplies."  

No one argued with him and the few rabid that ran their way as they headed for the liverly were silently dispatched with knives and the butts of rifles. No one in this group was in any mood for rabid just now.  

Silas jumped from the cart once they were inside the livery and he slammed the large double doors closed, securing the wooden board in place to keep the rabid out. He saw Evangeline and Katherine checking all the stalls and securing those windows closed as well.  

Rachel opened the door to the tack room. "There's hay and oats for the horses." She said, stepping inside with hesitation.  Her ear piercing scream filled the air when a bloody hand grabbed her arm and a rabid stumbled from behind the tack room door. 	

Before anyone else could react, Charlotte was there. She slammed the blade of her boot knife through the rabid's temple just before its teeth were able to sink into Rachel's arm. Charlotte pulled her knife from the rabid's head and wiped the bloody blade on her skirt.  

"You should know good and well by now that you cannot simply open doors and step in a room!" Charlotte scolded. "Now help me get this body out of here so we don't' have to smell it the whole time we're here." 

Everyone seemed surprised by Charlotte's sudden show of nerve and quick thinking but Silas wasn't. He had always known that Charlotte was a strong woman and had seen the evidence of it more than a few times. He was glad that now the others (who had whispered about the groups 

weak link ) were seeing what he had already known to be fact.

What surprised Silas was Rachel's tear filled eyes and bowed head. What shocked him yet further was her words, "I apologize for being careless. Thank you for saving me."  

Charlotte blinked several times and then grabbed the rabid behind the shoulders. "We all do things without thinking at times so there is nothing for you to be sorry for. And I would do the same for anyone in this group; we are family. Now grab his legs and Silas can get the door for us."  

---

"Hey Colt," Ox said, pointing ahead. "There's a town."   

Colt pulled his hat off as he nodded and shoved his hand through his hair. Burying Frankie had been hard but Colt was glad they had done it. It was better than leaving her to be rabid food and it had helped him say goodbye to the woman who had saved his life so long ago. She had pulled him out of the hell fires, given him food, water and advice and if not for her then Colt would have died that night along with his wife and daughter.  

"Colt, it looks like they stopped at the town."  

"I told them not to stop for anything." Colt grumbled.  

"Shit, Colt, I reckon it was good to stop here though wasn't it? We was all just saying this morning that we needed food and I'm sure—"   

"Yes, Ox. Yes it's good they stopped here." Colt spoke up quickly to silence the big man's rambling. They rode a bit closer and Colt caught sight of a figure on a roof, instinct nearly had him pulling his gun until he realized the figure was Evangeline.  

She waved and Colt raised his hand in response. He saw Ox wave his hand enthusiastically beside him and despite the pain in his chest and the worry about the losses they'd suffered, Colt couldn't stop the small smile from tugging at his lips. Ox had a way of causing those around him to feel better.  

"Well let's head on to the livery then." Colt said. There weren't many rabid wandering the streets and most were far enough away that Colt and Ox made it to the livery without incident.  

"Didn't I say not to stop for anything?" Colt demanded as he locked the door behind him.  

"We need supplies." Evangeline replied as she slipped down from the loft. "We decided not to pass it up."  

"It was my decision." Silas added quickly.  

Colt shook his head and pulled off his hat. "I'm too tired to be angry." He admitted as he shoved his hand through his hair. "Is everyone okay?"  

"Physically." Katherine whispered while holding Susette close to her side.  

"I think what everybody needs is a decent rest." Jedidiah spoke up with a comforting smile. "Colt, why don't us men go have a look around town and see if there might be a hotel or a house safe enough for us to hole up in tonight. We still got a few good hours 'til dark."  

Colt nodded. "Alright then."  

He knew that tomorrow things had to change. Tomorrow he had to make sure that everyone in the group could fight and shoot to the best of their abilities. He already knew that everyone in the group (with the exception of Susette and Lily) had nerves of steel and would stand up to the rabid. Nerves were a big part of being a fighter but they needed the talent and the know how to back up the nerve.  

"Are you sure that four of you can handle it?" Evangeline whispered, as she pulled Colt aside and the rest of the men found suitable quiet weapons.  

Colt sighed. "I won't lie to you, Evangeline. Without Frankie and Comanche here things are going to be a lot harder but we'll be careful checking around. I don't plan on trying to clear the town, it's too big. I just want to find a comfortable place for everybody to lay their heads. I'm sure we'll have some breakdowns soon—" his gaze went to Lily who was standing in the corner with her arms wrapped around her as she rocked back and forth. "—and I'd just as soon be able to close my bedroom door and not have to watch it." 	

"Colt! The leader is supposed to help his group." Evangeline scolded.  

Colt kissed her nose. "As the man it's my job to provide safety and food. You are the wife of the leader so the whole emotional side of things falls on your dainty shoulders."   

Colt saw the ghost of a smile tug at Evangeline's lips and he kissed her brow tenderly. "Besides, a well-bred southern belle such as yourself can't be sleeping in a hay and horse shit strewn stall. It just wouldn't be proper."  

"Colt I don't want you to get hurt." Evangeline countered, all pretenses of amusement fading form her voice.  

"I'll be okay."  

Colt turned away from her. He knew why she was so worried. Frankie's death had shaken her. Hell it had shaken him too. This was his first real failure.... She had been first of his group to die from a rabid attack.  

Colt hoped like hell that it wasn't a hint at what was to come. He didn't want to fail this group and he didn't want to watch them be picked off one by one either.  

"Alright, men, let's go." Colt urged. "Quiet in and quiet out. We only kill the rabid we have to kill. Main goal is to find a more decent place to sleep."

---

Katherine stepped into the shipping warehouse the men had chosen and frowned. There was plenty of room for the horses and carts but she couldn't see how their sleeping arrangements would be any better here than at the livery.  

"Miss Kate, don't look so doubtful. Colt has this all figured out. This is where we'll keep the extra supplies and the horses. There's an old brother right next door and Colt found a big wide board and I helped him carry it up to the roof and put it between the two buildings just like a bridge. Now we can go back and forth between the two places without stepping out on the street with the rabid."  

Katherine was surprised. That did sound like a good plan. "And is the brothel cleared out?" she asked.  

"Yeah." Ox rubbed the back of his neck. "Colt went to every single room, closet and cellar himself. He looked under beds, under tables, behind doors, everywhere."  

Katherine could tell Ox was rambling. She stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his chest. "Are you okay?" she whispered.  

Ox's big hand went to the small of her back and he pulled her closer. "Shit, Miss Kate, I don't never want to have to do what Comanche did today...."

Kate shivered at the thought of having to kill someone she loved. She knew that Colt had been forced to do so. Evangeline and Ox had been forced to kill their parents as well and Silas his brother—Katherine never wanted to have to make that decision.  

Night was falling outside as the group finished seeing to the horses and then made their way across the makeshift bridge and down into the old brothel. Katherine had the sensation of coming home. The scents were familiar. The perfumes, the candles, the incense; they all struck a chord with her.   

"I'm not comfortable being in a building that was used in the manner this building was used in." Rachel stated as they made their way downstairs. Katheirne noticed that the men had already secured all the lower windows and doors with wooden boards.  

"We got lucky, Miss Kate. The warehouse was full of lumber." Ox informed her.  

"I know no one here likes me but that does not mean you should ignore me." Rachel grumbled with irritation.  

Katherine rolled her eyes. It would seem Rachel's vow of silence had ended. If only it could have lasted as long as the one Colt had taken.  

At Rachel's irritated grumble, Colt stepped forward. Katherine was concerned for Rachel. Colt looked made enough to strangle the life from her with that hand he held out.  

"What I say is what goes. You don't like that then you're more than welcome to get the hell out and fend for your goddamn self. Hell, the rabid would probably leave you alone. Not very man critters like dried up and bitter food."  

Shock was the general expression on nearly every face as Colt glared hard at Rachel. Rachel appeared the most shocked of all. She blinked several times and tugged on her skirts.

"Gotta love a good family drama." Jedidiah cut in with that annoyingly good natured way of his.

Colt shook his head and took a step away. "I recommend everybody gets some rest. You're going to have a busy day tomorrow."  

It was nearly an hour later when Katherine fell into bed. Ox was already curled up beneath the covers and Susette was sleeping restlessly between them.  

Katherine frowned as she stroked the six year olds soft hair. This was no world for children. Of course many would say that the life Katherine had been raised in was no place for a child either so maybe Susette would be okay.  

"You should stop thinking so hard and rest, Miss Kate." Ox urged gently.  

"You need rest too." Katherine replied.  

"I can't close my eyes without seeing her, Miss Kate. I see her or I see my pa. I'd just as soon stay awake." Ox winced. "Shit, Miss Kate, you probably think I'm a big ol' crybaby sitting here carrying on about not being able to sleep...."  

Katherine reached across Susette's sleeping form and laid her hand gently on Ox's cheek. "No, I don't. You are a good man with a good heart. Only a cold hearted and evil person could go through what we've all gone through the last months and still close their eyes at night without being bothered by what they see."  Katherine smiled. "I can't close my eyes either—I see my mother being ripped apart when I do and all I can do is watch from my bedroom window and scream."  

"I'm sorry." 

"And I'm sorry for you." Katherine lowered her arm back to her side. "How about we just lay here, Ox? I don't see those things when I'm looking in your eyes."  

A blush colored Ox's cheeks and he nodded. "Sounds good to me, Miss Kate."  

Katherine had no idea of how long she lay there looking into Ox's deep green eyes but eventually sleep did claim her—thankfully it was dream free.  

---

Lily stared at her reflection in the dirty mirror. The shadows around her blue eyes were more pronounced somehow in the flickering glow of the candle on the vanity.  

Who was she? She wished she could remember. She wished she had memories. This sickness had been raging through the land for nearly four months. Lily should not have frozen when she'd seen those monsters but she had. Because as far as she could clearly remember those had been the first she had seen. And there had been dozens. They'd been snarling, half rotted and hungry as they'd come for her.  

She closed her eyes and swallowed down the self-loathing and disgust. Frankie's death was her fault. The woman's blood was on her hands.  Lily had not meant to get her way. All she had wanted was to talk to her. To try to convince Frankie to speak to Comanche since the Indian had been too stubborn to take the first step. They had been traveling for a week and had not seen a single monster. How was Lily to have known that herd of them would come at that exact moment?  

With all her heart Lily wished that Frankie would have left her. She wished the woman would have saved herself and simply let Lily die. Frankie had had a life that she could remember. She'd had happy memories to draw on and a man who loved her (even if she and said man had been stubbornly avoiding one another). Lily had nothing. She had no good memories and no bad memories. No one who cared. She'd been plucked off the street and rescued by this group and all she had done was cause the death of one of their own.  

Surely they would hate her just as strongly as she hated herself.   

Lily's gaze went to the dagger lying on the vanity in front of her. Its gem encrusted handle was glinting in the candlelight and looked quite beautiful. Lily closed her hand around it and lifted it in the air, studying the blade.  

She deserved to die—should have died.  

Lily laid the cool metal blade against her slender wrist and swallowed hard. The blade shook in her hands as tears gathered in her eyes. The pain in her chest was nearly unbearable as she thought of the dead expression that had been in Comanche's eyes when he'd come back from putting Frankie down.  

Lily let out a moan that was an animalistic mixture of rage, sorrow, guilt and desperation before pulling the knife away and throwing it across the room. There was a dull thud as the blade fell to the carpeted floor.  

Frankie had died to save her. If Lily took her own life then Frankie's sacrifice would be for nothing. As badly as she wanted to die she was cursed to live. Lily buried her face in her hands and sobbed.  

---

Evangeline woke the next morning to find that she was alone in the bedroom she'd shared with Colt. She wondered why had hadn't gotten her up so they could start the day together but in truth she was glad. She had needed the sleep.  

Colt had kept her up most of the night before though it wasn't his fault. Upon falling into bed, they hadn't spoken. Colt had simply wrapped his arms tight around her, buried his face in her hair and they had both fallen asleep.  

It hadn't been long after when Colt's nightmares had begun. Evangeline knew he had them most nights because he would often mumble and thrash while he slept but last night they had been different; more intense.  

He had called out names all night. He had cried out for Sarah and for Loralie and then for Frankie. At one point he had even cried out for Evangeline and she had tried to rouse him and let him know he was only dreaming but had not been able to.  

Evangeline knew Colt and she knew he would blame himself for Frankie's death, just as he blamed himself for Sarah and Loralie. Colt was the type of man who took responsibility for everything onto his shoulders whether it was his load to bear or not. It was that very trait of his that made Evangeline worry the most.  

She rose from the bed, still dressed in her clothes from the day before. No one had been in the frame of mind to worry about going through the supplies to find nightclothes.  

She ran her hands over her hair, knowing it was probably a rats nest of tangles, slid on her ankle boots and stepped out into the narrow hall. At least the brothel had plenty of rooms. There had clearly been a lot of women that had called this place home.  

She was one her way toward the staircase when Colt came striding out of a bedroom. Evangeline frowned as she approached him and glanced inside the room to see Lily standing beside the window and peering sadly out at the sunrise.  

"Why were you with Lily?" Evangeline asked.  

"I was talking to her about what happened yesterday."  

"You actually talked about how she felt?" Evangeline asked, feeling a bit jealous at the thought of Colt opening up to someone else.  

Colt snorted. "No. As a matter of fact I told her that if she sobbed on me I was going to jump out the window. I just wanted to know exactly what had happened with Frankie."  

"You can be a real mean man when you want to be, Colt! She probably needs someone to listen to how she feels."  

Colt laid a hand on her cheek. "That would be where you come in. But first we all have to get down to the sitting room and have a talk. I'm gonna be making some changes."  

---

Colt looked around at everyone gathered together. It was clear that no one had gotten much rest last night judging by their tired expressions.  

"Things are going to change." Colt stated. "The only way we're all going to make it is if each of us knows how to fight just as well as everybody else. We all have to be confident in what we're doing and brave enough not to freeze." 	

He saw Lily wince but he had no time to worry about her feelings just now. "First things first, you women aren't going to be wearing those damn skirts anymore. All they do is trip you up and give the rabid something to grab on to.  From here on out you're wearing pants." 

"I won't." Rachel countered and Colt had had enough. Gone was the patient man he'd tried to be over the last few years. He was Colt the outlaw once again because only that Colt was going to get everyone through this alive. He didn't have time for folks who went against him every time he made a decision to be riding with him.  

He grabbed Rachel by the arm and dragged her toward the door while she kicked and fought against him. Surprisingly no one tried to stop him as he yanked the three wooden beams from their slats across the door and threw it open.  

Sunlight poured in, blinding them momentarily. Colt let out a sharp whistle, getting the attention of several rabid across the road. The beasts began stumbling their way.  

"Listen here, Rachel, I've had as much of you as I'm gonna stand. You either do as I say and quit your goddamn arguing or I'll toss you into that road on your ass right here and now and we'll see how you make out."  

"Colt, you proved your point." Evangeline assured him as Rachel stared at him with wide-eyed shock and fear.  

Colt yanked her back into the brothel and slammed the door closed. He secured the boards in the slats and glanced at Evangeline. She seemed angry but he would have to deal with that later. He wouldn't have really killed Rachel (at least he didn't think he would have), he had only been teaching her a very important lesson about minding the boss.  

"I think wearing pants is a good idea." Evangeline admitted as she retook her place at his side. Colt was surprised that even as angry as she had seemed at him, she was still supporting him. She truly was a remarkable woman.  

"Shit, Evie, I never thought I'd hear you say something like that." Ox said .  

"I'm not the spoiled girl I used to be, Ox."  

"That's right. She's an outlaw's wife now." Colt added with a small smile. Then he pulled off his hat and ran his hand through his dark blond hair. "Alright next is that everyone is to have at least two guns on them at all times." His gaze went to Susette. "Everyone." 

"But she's just a little girl!" Charlotte exclaimed. "What if she hurts herself?"  

"I'll teach he how to handle one myself. We can't be rushing around trying to save everybody else all the time. Everyone here has to know how to defend themselves when push comes to shove and that includes children."  

"I want to learn." Susette spoke up, her voice sounding so much smaller and quieter in this big room surrounded by adults. Colt was not happy about turning an innocent girl so young into a rabid killing machine but there was simply no way around it. She 

had to know how to defend herself.

"This brothel and that warehouse are going to be home for the next few days while we gather up supplies and train."  

"Train?" Katherine asked.  

"Yep. With guns, knives, hands, feet, shovels, axes, big sticks—anything that can stop a rabid. I want everyone to be comfortable."  

"Yes but how will we train?" Silas asked. "I never knew much about killing until I had to."  

"That's right. The best time to learn is when you have to. I reckon this town has plenty of rabid to practice on."  

"You want us to fight with rabid in order to learn to fight with rabid?"  Charlotte questioned with a frown.  

"Yes." Colt replied as he slipped his hat back on his head. "That's exactly what I want."

Chapter Fifty-Two

Chapter Fifty-Two: Training, Broken Men and Opting Out

Colt held the lasso loosely in his hand as he slipped quietly down the alley toward the single rabid. The creature was currently walking headfirst into the brick wall again and again and again. Dull thuds echoed in the air with each impact.

Colt shook his head and chuckled silently. A dumb rabid would be the best way to start the training. Colt stood straight and began to twirl the lasso over his head, picking up speed quickly.   

The rabid saw the movement and turned to face him. "Gnnaaaa!" it moaned as it headed Colt's way. Its forehead was a bloody mess of shredded skin because of the bricks and its lips and chin had been nearly ripped off.  

Colt didn't hesitate before swinging the rope and tossing the loop over the rabid's head and around its shoulders. He pulled the rope tight and secured the rabid's arms at its sides.  

It kept coming, eager for a meal, but Colt unhooked the second rope from his belt and strode forward, delivering a kick to the monsters chest that had it falling backward to the ground. In one swift motion, Colt secured the rabid's ankles and rendered it helpless on the ground.  

He shook his head as it attempted to scoot across the dirt to him. Its bloody jaws gnashed loudly as it moaned and shrieked with desperation.  

"That's pathetic." Colt stated blankly as he glanced at Ox. The big man nodded in agreement, his face looking a little green.  

Colt grabbed the rabid by the ankles and began dragging it back onto the street and down the road toward the warehouse. Ox swung his club, protecting Colt from a few other wandering rabid that were close enough to pose a real threat. The moment the two men entered the warehouse with their catch, Susette hid behind Katherine while Lily took several quick steps back into the shadows.  

"Colt, it's still alive!" Evangeline exclaimed.  

Colt shrugged as he released his hold on the rabid and kicked its leg. "In a manner of speaking." He agreed.  

"What exactly are we going to do with it?" Katherine questioned as she tried to get Susette to come out from behind her skirts.  

Colt dragged the rabid to a post beside the wall and signaled for Ox to help him. Working together the two men stood the rabid up and secured it with a third rope to the post.  

"We're not fighting with this one." Colt assured the group. "I want you women to learn a few things fighting with us men and each other before you try it with a rabid. I know that most of you have killed plenty rabid in the heat of the moment for self-preservation and that's good cuz it means I got less work to do with ya, but there are two of you that have no experience with rabid."  

Colt knew this was a bit on the dark and morbid side however he knew of no better way to teach them about killing rabid than to let them practice on a rabid.

He looked at Susette who was peaking around Katherine's skirt and motioned her forward. Colt could see the fear in the little girl's eyes but he admired the way she walked forward with her head high; even if her steps were tinier than usual.  

Colt turned his gaze to Lily as well and she hesitantly took her place beside Susette. "Alright, you two, when you look at what I brought in here, what do you see?"  

"A sick person." Lily whispered.  

Colt shook his head and followed her gaze. He took in the sight of the rabid; the bloodied head, the shredded jaw and lips, the gray, lifeless eyes that held no evidence of humanity and the way it kept snapping the air and jerking against the ropes holding its body to the post.

"That is not a person, Lily, not anymore."  Colt assured her. When she still appeared doubtful he sighed. "My wife was bitten and turned."  Lily's gaze immediately went to Evangeline and Colt shook his head. "Not Evangeline; my first wife. She turned and I didn't understand what was going on. She was not a person anymore. She tried to attack me and our daughter."  

"What happened?" Susette asked quietly.  

Colt felt the pain in his chest but it was no longer crippling. It had dulled over the last months and no longer felt as if it would kill him each time it struck. "I shot her."  

"You shot your wife?" Lily gasped.  

"In the head." Colt nodded. "That's the only way to kill them."

"They ain't people no more." Ox spoke up. "I had to kill my pa and Evangeline had to kill our mama. They turn into these monsters and they don't remember anything about who they used to be or what you meant to them."  

Colt tipped his head to Ox and then looked back at Susette and Lily. Susette had moved a bit closer to the rabid and was studying it intently. Lily didn't appear quite so eager to get close.

"Now the only way to kill them is to take out the brain. If you cut its head off, it can still bite you." Colt informed them.  

"It can?" Charlotte sounded surprised.  

Colt nodded. "Yeah. When I lost my family I went on a rabid hunting rampage. I learned a lot about killing them."  

"But if I shoot it in the leg it won't be able to chase me." Susette stated. Colt frowned down at the girl. A six year old shouldn't sound quite so confident about shooting somebody. Then again, maybe a six year old who had spent the last nearly four months of her life living in this hell on earth was a lot different than your average six year old from before.  

“That would depend on how well you shot it in the leg.” Colt replied. He pulled his knife and used it to point to the rabid’s knee. “If you take out its knees then it won’t be able to walk or run after you but it can still crawl so you’re not completely safe. The only time you aim for the legs is if you’re being overrun and just want to get away and for whatever reason you can’t get to the head.”

"Can I kill this one?" Susette asked and Colt shrugged as he looked at Evangeline. Evangeline just shrugged back, though her green eyes seemed a bit horrified by Susette's eagerness to kill the rabid. Honestly it surprised Colt as well but he knew it had to happen. She had to be ready, willing and able to protect herself if the need arose.  

"Later when I'm ready for him to die he'll be all yours." Colt assured the girl. "But for now we're going to use our friend here to learn how to strike them with a shovel to get the best results." Colt patted the rabid on the shoulder, jerking his hand away as the monster turned its head and tried to bite him.  

A knife was suddenly thrust into the rabid's face, sinking deeply through its eye and killing the creature. Colt stared in shock at Evangeline as she pulled the knife back out and gave him a guilty smile. "Sorry—" she mumbled. "—I thought he was going to bite you."  

Colt found himself chuckling as he took her into his arms and kissed her head. "My hero," he whispered against her ear. He stood straight and addressed the group, most of which seemed amused. "I reckon we can practice blows just as easy on a dead one."  

---

Comanche sat in the hot midday sun beside a clear prairie lake. A bee buzzed around his head and aunts scurried over his buckskin clad feet as they rushed about their daily duties. None of that mattered. Nothing mattered. Not anymore.

His whole life Comanche had prided himself on strength. He had prided himself on never breaking; never crying; never letting anything get the better of him.  

He wasn't so strong anymore. Not now that he had lost his paleface. He had thought about getting rid of the name Comanche but had not been able to. Frankie had given him that name and he would wear it proudly for what time he had left.  

He was her Comache, her crazy injun, and it was his fault she was dead.  

Frankie had died to save Lily because the woman had thought he was in love with Lily. How very wrong she had been. If only Comanche could have swallowed his pride and gone to Frankie sooner. If only he told her what he knew she needed to hear then he would probably still have her.  

But instead he had held onto his pride and refused to appear weak. He had refused to crawl for her; refused to beg for her; refused to even be the first to break the stubborn silence between them. Because of that foolishness, Comanche had lost the one woman who had ever touched his heart.   

Comanche heard the twig snap behind him just before the moaning came to his ears. In one fluid motion, Comanche rose and pulled Frankie's hatchet from the holster on his hip. He turned to see the rabid stumbling toward him. It moved swiftly but Comanche was much faster. 	

Running at the rabid he let out a war cry and leapt upon in, driving the beast to the ground as he swung the hatchet again and again and again.  

Blood and chunks of flesh flew into the air. Bits of bone hit Comanche in the chest and face as he continue to rain down blows long after the rabid had died and become still beneath him.  

Over and over and over again, Comanche sunk the hatchet blade into the rabid's head and face. He ignored the aching in his arm; ignored the blood and gore splashing against his skin.  

He screamed with a primal rage as he gave several more swings of the hatchet until finally he could no longer raise his arm.  

Comanche fell away from the rabid and scooted away before drawing his knees up into his chest and swiping his bloody arm across his bloody face. The hatchet fell to the ground as Comanche buried his face in his hands and cried. It was the first time in his entire life that he had ever done so.  

---

Evangeline could not remember a single other time when she had been so tired. Colt had been very serious about training them and she had swung so many shovels, hammers, clubs and rifles today that her arms were hanging uselessly at her sides; voicing complete refusal to peel the potatoes she was supposed to be readying for supper.

"That man is going to kill us." Katherine gasped as she took yet another break from stirring the biscuit dough.  

"At least Evangeline was able to convince him we needed a break." Charlotte spoke up as she sat at the tiny table in the corner and went about doing the alterations to a pair of trousers. Colt had insisted that all the women wear them and so the sewing frenzy had begun to make men's trousers fit the women's more slender frames.  

Evangeline smiled when she remembered the way Colt had laughed that morning when he'd come back from going on a 'pant run' and had returned with a pair of boys pants for Evangeline. His laughter had increased when the pants had come close to fitting Evangeline yet still needed a bit of hemming on the legs to fit her short stature.  

"Where is Lily?" Evangeline asked as she glanced around and realized that the woman wasn't around. The men were gone into town for a run to gather up a few supplies. The town they were in was so large that it would take days to go through every building and because of the massive amount of rabid spread throughout the town, scavenging had to be done as stealthily as possible.  

"Upstairs." Katherine replied quietly. "She locked herself back in her room as soon as we came back."  

Evangeline chewed guiltily at her lip. No one had tried very hard to get to know Lily other than Comanche and now that he was gone Lily was alone. No one had tried to speak to her (other than Colt, and Evangeline knew that hadn't been to comfort the poor woman), and no one had bothered to ask her how she was after what had happened in the woods with Frankie.  

"I'll go check on her." Evangeline sighed and motioned for Rachel to come take over the job of peeling the potatoes. Her aunt, who had not said more than three words aloud since Colt had threatened to feed her to the rabid, stood up from her chair in the corner and walked over to Evangeline, taking the knife from her hand without a word.  

Evangeline walked out of the kitchen, not sure how she felt about her aunt any longer. She didn't truly know the woman and any love and loyalty she had felt simply because they shared blood had quickly been doused by her aunt's constant hatred and harshness toward those Evangeline cared about. Though that did not mean Evangeline was okay with what Colt had done that morning. She wasn't okay with it at all, but while Evangeline had not agreed with Colt's methods, she had to admit that they seem to have worked. And Evangeline knew that Colt would not have really let those rabid have Rachel—at least she hoped he wouldn't have.

Pushing those thoughts, and her worry about Colt and her brother being out in the town with the rabid, Evangeline lifted her skirts and climbed the staircase. She had no real idea of what she would say to Lily but knew that someone had to say something. Colt was the leader of the group and since Evangeline was his wife, it was her job to help. While she had never been a gang leader the way her husband had, Evangeline had been to plenty of brunches and teas with women who were heartbroken and needed a shoulder.  

Taking a deep breath, her hand rapped upon Lily's door twice. Evangeline heard something that sounded like metal clattering against ceramic.  

"Lily?" Evangeline called out as she knocked several more times. Nothing other than quiet sobs greeted her words and Evangeline felt a chill wash down her spine.  

Something was very wrong.  

"Lily!" she called out, beating harder at the door. She jiggled the knob but it was securely locked. "Lily!" she all but screamed when Lily's sobs became louder from inside the room.  

Evangeline cursed her petite stature as she threw her body against the door, desperate to knock it in and get to Lily, who sounded in bad need of help.  

She screamed for the other woman to open over and over again. Lily's sobs had grown quieter and much fainter. Boot steps pounded up the staircase and down the hall. Evangeline turned to see that the hallway was full of bodies but Colt was up front and center with his gun drawn. He was panting from exertion and his dark blue eyes were filled with a mixture of fear, confusion and anger.  

"What the hell is going on?!" he demanded, slipping his gun back in the holster. "I was two buildings away and heard you screaming. I about killed myself getting here!"  

"It's Lily!" Evangeline gasped with a wince. Her body was sore from slamming against the door so violently. "She won't open the door and I heard her crying..."  

"Maybe she wants to be left alone." Colt stated.  

Tears filled Evangeline's eyes as she shook her head. "Something's wrong, Colt—I just know something's wrong."  

Colt sighed and moved past her. He banged his fist loudly on the door three times. "Lily!" There was no response. Not even her sobs could be heard any longer. "Godammit, Lily, open the door."  

"Colt—" Evangeline whispered and he growled before taking a few steps back and kicking out, knocking the door in with a crunch of splintering wood.  

"Shit...." Colt stated. Evangeline looked past him and her heart ceased to beat as her stomach turn and bile rose in her throat.  

Evangeline was faintly aware of Colt telling everyone other than Silas to go back downstairs and keep Susette away.  

Evangeline stepped into the bedroom and glanced at the bloody dagger lying in the mauve washbasin. Droplets of crimson liquid led away from the basin, becoming larger puddles on the green and white floral carpet.  

Evangeline's eyes followed the growing droplets and puddles to the corner where Lily sat lifelessly propped against the wall. Her pale blue eyes seemed to be staring into Evangeline's, though Evangeline knew they would never see anything again.  

Lily had ended her life with two swift cuts to her inner thighs just beside her groin. Blood was pooled beneath her and long rivulets streaked her bare legs.  

"Come on, Evangeline.... You don't need to be in here." Colt urged as he grabbed her shoulder and tried to pull her backward.  

Evangeline's feet might as well have been nailed to the floorboards. She couldn't move; couldn't breathe.  

Silas slid past her and pressed his fingers to Lily's throat, checking for a pulse. Evangeline knew he wouldn't find one. There was no life in those blue eyes staring back at her green ones. 	

"Come on, Evangeline." Colt urged a bit more sternly as he tugged her backward, giving her feet no choice but to move with him.  

Once in the hallway, Colt blocked her view of the room. Ox was still standing in the hall, his face pale as a ghost. "Ox, take her downstairs and get her some water." Colt urged.  

"She...She took her own life..." Evangeline gasped. Colt nodded as he looked down at her.  

He laid a gentle hand on her cheek. “I’m sorry you had to see that, sweetheart. Go downstairs and I’ll be down as soon as I can.”

Evangeline nodded and swallowed hard. Her stomach was churning as she thought of all that blood.....  

“Come on now, Evie… I don’t want to be up here.” Ox urged and Evangeline could hear the sickness in her brother’s voice. She nodded and turned away from Colt, allowing Ox to lead her away with sickness, despair and guilt all raging in her heart.

Chapter Fifty-Three

Chapter Fifty-Three: Fights, Making Up and First Times

Colt was drained. Physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. Silas had stormed away and was no longer speaking to him thanks to what had happened in Lily’s room after everyone had left.

As the two men had stood there, contemplating what to do with the dead body, the rabid had come by the droves. Drawn by the scent of fresh blood filling the air, they had begun crowding the back wall and fighting to find a way up to the fourth story window.

Burying Lily was not an option. Neither was leaving her body in this room. The scent would only continue to draw more and more rabid and the monsters would get more desperate in their hunger, eventually tearing down the brothel walls.

Making the hard decisions had always been Colt’s least favorite part about being a leader but he supposed someone had to make them.

So he had.

He had cut the blood carpet around Lily's body (cursing the woman for choosing such a bloody way to end her life when surely poison would have been easier and cleaner),  and then he had wrapped her body in it before tossing her out the window with Silas staring on in shock.  

The other man hadn't spoken, simply shaken his head, turn quickly and walked away.  

Colt looked around the now mostly blood free room and shrugged. What else had he been supposed to do with her? There'd been too much blood.  

So now with a heavy conscience and a weary mind, Colt made his way to Evangeline. He had heard Ox taking her to the bedroom not too long before. Colt longed to hold her and feel her holding him.  

He knew that Lily's suicide had been hard on Evangeline and she would need him to lean on. Colt was more than happy to be her leaning post after all she'd done for him.  

He opened the door and stepped into their bedroom, which was dark with only one small candle lit for light. No doubt Ox had lit it before leaving the room since Evangeline was curled into a ball on the bed with her back to the door and the covers pulled over her.  

Colt kicked off his boots, pulled off his gun belt and hat and then slid into the bed behind her. He wrapped her up tight in his arms and kissed her temple as he laid his head against hers.  

"I'm here, Evangeline." He whispered as he felt her shaking.  

"I've never seen anything like that... " Evangeline's voice was quiet and broken and Colt squeezed her tighter.  

"I wish you hadn't seen it."  

"Me too."  

They lay there in silence a few moments before Evangeline spoke again. "I almost got bit saving her life that day on the street. Frankie did die trying to protect her—why would Lily do something so selfish? Why would she make Frankie's death be for nothing?"  

Colt sighed, wishing he had all the answers she needed. "I don't know. I reckon we never will."  

"I can hear those rabid. Are there a lot of them?"  

"Just a few." 

"Can they get in?"  

"Nope."  

"Thank you for lying."  

Colt's lips curved in the ghost of a smile against her ear. "That's what us hardened criminals are good for."  

He felt her relax a little against him and he took her hand in his, twining their fingers together. "Colt, we have to give her a funeral and a proper burial. I know she committed suicide but she still deserves at least that much respect."  

Colt stiffened. "No."  

"What do you mean 'no'?" Evangeline asked, turning her head to look over her shoulder at him. "We have to."  

"We can't." 

Evangeline looked confused. "Why not?"  

Colt swallowed hard and brought her hand to his mouth, kissing her fingertips gently. "Because I've already dealt with her body."  

Evangeline pulled herself out of his arms and turned to face him with a frown. "What do you mean when you say 'you dealt with her body'?"  

Colt sighed and sat up, putting his back to her as he rubbed his face roughly. "Sweetheart, she'd cut herself wide open. There was blood everywhere. That blood was drawing the rabid. I had to do something..." 	

Trepidation filled her voice when she asked, "Colt, what did you do?"  

"What I had to do. I wrapped her in the carpet she'd bled on and tossed it out the window."  

Colt was aware of the mattress shifting as Evangeline jumped from the bed. "You what?!" she exclaimed. "You fed the poor woman's body to the rabid?"  

"She was dead, Evangeline, and if I'd have left her bloody body lying there then the rabid would have gotten in and we'd all be dead too."  

"And that makes it okay?"  

Colt stood as well and turned to face her. His stomach turning at the look of disgust on her pretty face. "Nothing about any of this is okay, Evangeline, but we do what we have to do in order to survive."  

"Colt, that's revolting. How could you so something like that?"  

"It had to be done, Evangeline." Colt insisted as a dull ache began in his temple.  

"Colt, she was a person!"  

"She was a weak link and it's better that she's gone now instead of taking some of us with her later."  

Evangeline's jaw dropped and Colt regretted the words. He wasn't the type to take back what he said though and so he simply squared his shoulders and faced her disgusted wrath.  

"So is this the man I really married then?"  

"Yep." Colt held his arms out to the sides. "This is me, sweetheart. I do what has to be done to keep myself and those I care about safe."  

"You're a monster...." Evangeline swallowed hard and laid her hand over her stomach. "What you did—what you just said—both those things are monstrous." 	

Colt felt his temper flair. "Stop being a spoiled little girl!" he ground out, as his fists clenched at his sides. "Shit happens, Evangeline. Life ain't so pretty when you're not being spoon fed on some goddamned plantation."  

Evangeline's face paled and tears filled her eyes and Colt was nearly swayed by those tears until she opened her mouth again. "Go to hell, Colt. My aunt was right about you."  

Colt couldn't have been hurt more if she had doubled up her fist and slammed it into his gut. He took a big gulp of air and rammed his hand through his hair. "You married me."  

"Maybe I shouldn't have." Evangeline whispered as tears slid down her cheeks and she wrapped her arms tight around herself. "I didn't realize the things you were capable of."  

"Well the marriage ain't legal, sweetheart. All you gotta do is say the word and I'll leave you be."  

Silence reigned for several long drawn out moments in the small room that smelled too strongly of perfume from those that had used it before. Finally Evangeline looked down at her feet and nodded as tears slid off her nose.  

"Go."  

Colt heard her wrong... he had to of. She wouldn't do this to him. Would she? His Evangeline. His rock. His safe place. The one person he had ever been able to be weak around... she wouldn't just throw him away because he'd had to make a hard choice.  

"What?" he raspy voice asked.  

"Go away, Colt," she repeated, keeping her gaze on the floor.  

The clock ticked on the wall, the wind blew outside the windows and the rabid moaned and growled hungrily in the darkening night. Colt stood in that dimly lit room and felt his heart falling straight down to his feet.  

Without a word, he slid on his boots, plopped his hat on his head, grabbed his gun belt and strode from the room, slamming the door with so much force behind him that the walls shook.  

Colt went to the roof and quickly excused Jedidiah from watch duty, ignoring the old man’s questions about what was wrong.

He was happy to find himself alone, not wanting anyone else to see the pain he was working so hard to fight back.  

He stared up at the sky and cursed life. Damn Evangeline for making him out to be a monster when he hadn't done anything other than what had to be done to keep her, and everyone else, safe. She was angry, Silas was angry—everyone would be once they heard what he'd done. But what other solution had there been? Everyone was so quick to judge his decisions but yet no one ever offered decisions of their own.  

He wished Comanche were still here. Comanche would have understood Colt's decision and supported him.  

Now Colt had lost the respect of his group as well as the love of his wife. His heart broke at that thought and Colt shoved the pain away.  

Nothing mattered except keeping Evangeline safe and Colt's actions today had done that. Already the rabid were beginning to wander away once again, now that their feast was gone.  

Colt turned his attention back down to the road in the dark. He hadn't planned on leaving a guard out here all night but with the rabid just out a feeding frenzy and the tension in his bedroom, Colt didn't have anywhere else he could go.  

He settled back against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest and tried hard to ignore the pounding in his head.  

---

“Colt, we’re tired.” Katherine whimpered just after midday the next day. “I can’t lift my arms anymore. I’m done for today.”

"But we're—" 

"Colt, what good is this training if everyone is so tired they can't actually lift their arms to fight?" Jedidiah questioned.  

Katherine glanced at Evangeline who had yet to speak today. She seemed angry or sad or maybe a mixture of both. She'd nearly taken Colt's head off several times as she had violently attacked the rabid he'd brought in to train on. Honestly Katherine was impressed by the woman's talent for violence after spending so long thinking she was nothing but a pretty face—Ox however didn't seem quite so amused. 

"Fine. I'll scouting for supplies. Ox, Silas and Jedidiah you can go out scouting as well. Tomorrow the women can help and the next day we'll leave. We need to get to those railroad tracks and make our way west."  

"Colt, can we speak privately?" Charlotte asked quietly as she walked up to him.  

"Nope." Colt replied with a quick shake of his head before heading out the door.  Katherine gave Ox a quick kiss goodbye and then secured the boards over the door once all the men had gone.  

"Okay, what in the hell is going on?!" Katherine exclaimed.  "Evangeline, what's wrong with you and Colt?"  

Evangeline shrugged as she gathered up the weapons they'd used that day. "We're not together any longer."  

"What?!" Rachel demanded from the corner. "What are you talking about? Why would he leave you?"  

"I told him to." Evangeline replied, staring down at her armful of clubs.  

"Why on earth would you do that?" Katherine questioned with disbelief.  

"I am only guessing here—" Charlotte began when Evangeline didn't reply. "—does it have something to do with the way he chose to dispose of Lily's body?"  

"How did he?" Katherine asked.  

"He threw her out the window and let the rabid eat her." Evangeline spoke up, her face going green.  

"Of course he did. What else was he going to do with her?" Katherine shrugged. "She was covered in blood and drawing the rabid. She was dead, we were alive and Colt did what he thought was best to keep it that way."  

"Evangeline, as soon as that man gets back you need to beg his forgiveness and pray that he'll take you back."  Everyone stared at Rachel with shock.  

"Are you serious? You're the one that didn't want me married to him!"  

"I was wrong." Rachel replied sadly. "I was wrong and judgmental and stupid. That man loves you. He has done all he can to keep you and this group safe. For you to treat him so coldly and let him go over this—it's not right, Evangeline."  

Evangeline stared hard at her aunt and then the clubs tumbled to the ground as she released her hold on them and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders heaved in sobs and Charlotte was the one to wrap her in a tight hug.  

"I know it's not right." Evangeline gasped as she leaned against charlotte. "I was just so confused and scared and hurt and guilty and feeling a million things at once after the last couple of days and then to hear him say so coldly what he'd done and why he'd done it—It was like he wasn't sorry at all."  

Katherine sighed. "Evangeline, of course he feels bad for what he had to do. You know him better than any of us so you know it's the truth. You were just too upset last night to realize it. I'm sure he needed you to comfort him—"  

"And instead I pushed him away." Evangeline stood straight and wiped her face on the sleeves of her shirt. "I don't know how to do this...."  

"It'll be okay, Evangeline." Charlotte assured her. "Just make it up to him tonight." She winked and that was all it took to get Evangeline laughing lightly and snapping out of her tears. "It's been a rough couple of days," Charlotte continued. "But we're going to be okay. We're going to make it through this."  

Katherine looked down at her own legs and the new pants hugging them tightly. "And we'll look really good in these trousers as we do so."  

---

"What's going on with you and my sister?" Ox asked Colt as the two men made their way through an abandoned house, stuffing any food, weapons or other useful items into sacks as they went.  

Colt shook his head as he opened a drawer and rifled through some papers inside. "Nothing for you to concern yourself with."  

"It is my concern if you hurt her. You told me you wouldn't do that, Colt. I trusted you with her." Ox had his fists clenched and was fighting off an urge to hit the other man. He'd seen the tears in his sister's eyes all through the day as she looked at Colt. There was only one sure way to put Ox in a fighting mood and that was to hurt those he cared about.  

"Well then you need to talk with her, Ox, cuz I didn't do a damn thing. She told me to leave her and so that's what I did."  

"But why would she do that?" ox asked with confusion. He shoved a bottle of whiskey into the sack and watched Colt.  

"Because I threw Lily's dead body out the window and fed her to the rabid so they'd quit trying to get into the brothel."  

Ox shivered at the gristly image. "I don't understand why that would make her want you gone." He finally admitted.  

"Me either." Colt replied with a shrug and Ox could hear the sadness in the other man's voice even though it was obvious that Colt was trying to act indifferent.

"You want me to talk to her?" Ox asked.  

"Hell no, I want you to stay out of it."  

Ox blinked. "But..."  

"Ox—stay out of it." Colt warned and Ox sighed.  

"Alright.  Evie loves you, Colt." Ox paused as he pulled his knife and sent it into the temple of a rabid that had come lurching into the kitchen from the stairway. "I love my sister but sometimes she's still that spoiled girl our parents tried to turn her into."  

"I don't want to talk about it anymore, Ox." Colt ground out, slamming the drawer closed with a bang.  

"Okay... Who's on guard duty tonight?" Ox questioned.  

"I'll take it."  

"Again?"  

"Yep."  

'Okay. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't need me or Katherine." Ox blushed. "Jedidiah already agreed to watch Susette for me so that me and Katherine can—you know—have alone time."  

"Ox, I don't need to know that." Colt replied, amusement tugging one corner of his lips.  

Ox grinned. "Yeah, but it made you smile."  

---

Evangeline wrapped her robe tighter around her white nightdress and slipped into the hallway. She’d heard Colt agree to take guard duty for the night and knew she’d find him on the roof.

She had no idea how to make up for how she had acted. She supposed a good start would be hitting her knees and begging the man's forgiveness. There was no good excuse for what she'd done or how she had acted. And when she thought of what she had said to him...... She wouldn't blame Colt if he laughed in her face when she said she was sorry.  

Evangeline paused with her hand on the door to the roof. Her fingers trembled against the metal handle.  Tears pricked her eyes as she thought about what she would say.  

‘I’m sorry, Colt.’ Not good enough. ‘I didn’t mean a word I said. I love you more than anything in this world and I support you.’ A little better. ‘You are the single best man I know. Smart, strong and fair. I understand why you had to do what you did and I was wrong to question that. Please forgive me.’ Yeah she’d go with that.

She opened the door and stepped out onto the roof, closing it silently behind her. She could feel his presence and instantly her eyes found him, just as they always did. It didn't matter where they were or how many others were around, Evangeline could find Colt.  

She knew that he sensed her presence as well. She could see the tensing in his posture as he crouched at the edge of the roof and scanned the night.  

"What do you want, Evangeline?" His voice was guarded and cold and Evangeline didn't blame him for closing himself off after what she had done.  

Colt was strong in a lot of ways. He was the most able and capable man that she knew but yet there was a part of him that was very vulnerable.  And she had taken that part and stomped on it.

"I wanted to come speak with my husband."  

Colt was silent for a long while before spitting over the roof and swiping his arm across his scruffy face. "Last I heard I wasn't that man anymore."  

"Of course you are, Colt. I love you."  

"I won't apologize for what I did, Evangeline." Colt warned, still looking out at the night and keeping his back to her.  

"I don't expect you to. I was the one that was in the wrong last night, Colt. I was just tired and raw.... I had so much guilt, anger, hurt, fear and shock all tangled up inside of me and I took it out on you. I don't blame you if you hate me now after what I said and how I treated you."  

Colt didn't say anything and Evangeline felt the beginnings of panic filling her. She quickly closed the remaining distance between them and laid her hand on his shoulder.  

"Colt...." Before she could utter a single word further, Colt rose to his feet, turned and seared her lips with his in one fluid motion. 	

Evangeline all abilities to think as Colt devoured her hungrily.  Her fingers were trembling as she undid his gun belt and trousers. Colt growled against her mouth, his hands traveling down her back to her backside and squeezing it tightly, pulling her hips closer against him and grinding his freed arousal against her stomach.  

"I need you, Colt." Evangeline gasped. He stared in her eyes and Evangeline trembled at the hunger she saw staring back at her. But more than that she saw the love. How foolish she'd been to nearly throw this away!  

Colt gripped her waist, lifted her in the air and then brought her back down, sliding himself deep inside of her as she wrapped her legs tight around his lean hips and clung to him.  

Evangeline sought his lips as he led them to the wall and pushed her back against his, placing one hand between her head and the wooden surface.  

Higher and higher Evangeline climbed as Colt's thrusts picked up speed. She clung to him desperately. His hungry mouth and demanding kisses were stealing her breath just as surely as his lovemaking.  

Evangeline pulled her mouth away from him and buried her face in his neck as she felt herself falling over that peak. Her moans were muffled against his skin as he whispered her name hoarsely and began to shudder against her.  

Evangeline could hardly believe what they had just done out here on this roof with rabid moaning on the streets below them. The breeze was blowing against her bare legs as she remained all wrapped around her man.  

"Don't do that to me again." Colt whispered as he laid his head on her shoulder. "Don't you ever take this away from me again. I need you, sweetheart." 	

Evangeline felt her throat clog with emotion. Unsure what to say she simply stroked his dark blond hair and held him tight as he held her tightly in the moonlight. Though she would never admit to him that she knew he was crying; she felt Colt tremble and his hot tear scalded her skin as his face remained pressed against her neck and shoulder.  

---

Ox was pacing the room in his trousers and bare feet as he tried to figure out how a man went about romancing a woman when Katherine walked in fresh from her bath. Her hair was wet and hanging in ringlets down her back. Her white nightdress was clinging to her damp body, highlighting her feminine curves and driving any intelligent thoughts straight from Ox's mind.  

"Where's Susette?" Katherine asked as she walked to the fire and added several pieces of wood to the glowing flames.  

Ox opened his mouth to speak but no words came out as the firelight shone through the thin white fabric of her nightgown. Every inch of her body was outlined for him and Ox had never seen anything so temptingly perfect.  

Katherine turned to look at him with a smile on her face. "Ox, where is Susette?"  

"With Jedidiah." Ox replied quickly and a little too loudly. "I was.. well.. see.. aw shit, Miss Kate, I was hoping we could have some time alone together. It's just that she's been in the bed with us each night and well I was hoping..... Or, I mean I thought..well that is—" Ox gave up on speaking, cursed himself for being an idiot and turned his back on her as his shoulders slumped.  

What kind of woman in her right mind would want an idiot of a man who couldn't even string one full sentence together?  

Ox froze and every muscle in his body tensed when he felt Katherine's hands on his bare shoulders. "Ox, are you saying you want to bed me?" she asked gently.  

Ox shook his head roughly. "No." Her hands fell away and he cursed again. Turning quickly he looked into her gold flecked green eyes that were studying him carefully. "Shit, Miss Kate, I don't want to bed you. I've bedded lots of women." Her eyes went down to the floor. "Miss Kate—" Ox whispered as he put his finger under her chin her lift her head. "I don't want to bed you like I did those women.. I want to make love to you. I figure that's gonna be something one hundred times more special."  

"Oh Ox...." Katherine flung her arms around his neck and rose on her toes. Ox lost the careful control he'd kept hold of so far and attacked her mouth hungrily with his own.  

The room seemed to spin and the air grew thinner as Katherine molded her lips against his. Ox slid his tongue between her lips and she nipped at it with her teeth; eliciting a moan from deep in his throat.  

Ox moved her backward to the edge of the bed and broke their kiss. He stooped to grip the bottom hem of her nightdress and pulled it up over her head before dropping it all but forgotten to the floor as his eyes took in the sight of her naked body. 	

Ox had been with a lot of women in his life. He had thought he'd seen everything women had to offer but nothing, 

nothing , could have prepared him for the breathtaking beauty that was Katherine.

"Shit, Miss Kate, you are....damn pretty." He finished lamely, unable to put his thoughts into words.  

"Thank you, Ox." Katherine whispered. She laid her palms against his chest and Ox trembled beneath her touch.  

He wanted to throw her down right then and there and feel himself inside of her but he knew he couldn't rush this. Katherine had been with a lot of men but none of those men had cared about her or her pleasure. Ox did.  

Ox laid her down gently in the bed and pressed feather soft kisses to her lips, her eyelids and her cheek. Ever so slowly, he moved his lips south, taking the time to lick and taste every inch of her skin. He flicked his tongue against a mole on her right breast and she gasped as her hand dug into the back of his shoulders.  

"Hasn't anyone ever taken the time to taste you, Miss Kate?" Ox questioned as he glanced up at her face and caught her watching him with disbelief. Slowly she shook her head and Ox grinned. "Allow me to be the first then."  

Feeling more confident than he had moments ago, Ox continued his exploration of her feminine body. Giving a woman pleasure was something that Ox knew how to do and he knew how to do it well.  

As he twirled his tongue around her tight pink nipple, Ox brought a hand to the soft curls at the juncture of her thighs. Ever so gently, taking time to enjoy each sensation, Ox slid his finger inside of her wetness as she gasped and raised her hips.  

Her fingers were soon buried in his thick dark hair as his tongue continued to lash at her breasts and his fingers continued to draw gasps from her mouth.  

He could feel her getting close to her release and he quickly moved his mouth away from her breasts, dropped to his knees on the floor and replaced his hand with his mouth between her legs.  

Katherine cried out his name as his tongue lapped against her swollen clit and Ox moaned with pleasure of his own as she bucked her hips against him and her thighs tightened around his head.  

Knowing she'd found her release, Ox rose up and simply stared at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her mouth parted and her chest rising and falling quickly as she gazed at him through heavy lidded eyes.  

Ox stood straight and slid from his trousers, knowing he had to have this woman now. He'd waited long enough and denied his body what it wanted. He couldn't deny it any longer.  

Katherine's eyes widened as they fell upon his arousal and she gasped. "Ox.... I've never been with a man that big."  

Ox felt his chest fill with pride even as a blush covered his cheeks. "Shit, Miss Kate! You sure do know how to make a man feel good."  

"Well join me in this bed here, Ox, and I'll show you all the other ways I can make a man feel good."  

Ox was happy to obey.

Chapter Fifty-Four

Chapter Fifty-Four: Recon Missions and Rabid Brains

Katherine woke with the sunshine in her face the following morning and breathed in the scent of Ox’s skin as she lay with her head on his chest. She pressed her trembling fingertips against the tight skin as she thought about what they had shared several times during the night.

Katherine had been with man men; more men then she could possibly hope to count, name or remember but being with Ox—being held so tenderly in his arms as he loved her so thoroughly—was something she would never forget for as long as she lived.  And she knew that never again would she willingly give her body to any man who was not her Ox.  

He had seemed so unsure of himself when she had stepped into the room last night but his confidence had risen quickly and Katherine was not surprised why—Ox certainly knew his way around a woman's body.  

And he had adapted to her moans and responses, learning quickly what she liked. Katherine smiled to herself. Ox was certainly not dumb as his family tried to say—he was simply very wise in areas not commonly known to parents and bitter aunts.  

But now it was morning and Katherine had no idea what was going to happen. She had never before woken up in the arms of a man after making love with him the night before. What was expected? Would he still be looking at her with the love he had the day before? While she wanted to scold herself for thinking that he wouldn't, she couldn't help but think it none the less.  

Katherine had only ever been with men that wanted one thing from her but then again, Ox had only ever had women who wanted one thing from him. Katherine wanted him, all of him, forever. Even though in this new world, forever could prove to be no more than a week, a couple of days or simply a few hours.  

"Good morning, Miss Kate."  

Katherine looked up from Ox's stomach to find him watching her with those boyish eyes of his. Nervously Kate studied them, searching for any signs of regret and praying she'd see the emotion she longed to see.  

And there it was. Love.  

"Good morning, Ox."  

His big hand reached across his body and smoothed golden waves of hair behind her ear. "I never have woken up with a woman in my arms before, Miss Kate, not like this."  

Katherine snuggled her naked body against his, loving the way his hot skin felt against hers. She felt him harden against her inner thigh but the look on his face never changed. He didn't seem to be in any hurry to have his way with her again. Instead he seemed peaceful, content and happy to simply hold her. "I've never woken up in the arms of a man either, Ox."  

"I sure am glad I found somebody to watch Susette last night."  

Katherine laughed. "Me too."  

"It sure makes me feel good to know you're happy about what we did, Miss Kate. The women I was with before didn't want nobody to know they—"  

Katherine cut him off with a kiss. "Ox—" she began as she slowly pulled away. "—I am not those women."  

"Shit, Miss Kate, that's true." he grinned from ear to ear. "You're not." 

"You know what I just realized?" Katherine asked as she glanced out the window at the bright sky outside.  

Ox followed her gaze. "What's that?"  

"It's well past dawn and Colt hasn't been banging on our doors yet and demanding we all practice."  

Ox sighed. "I'd say that means he and Evie made up."  

"We should take advantage of his late start this morning and use what time we have to our advantage." Katherine urged, a smile tugging at her lips as she tried hard to appear serious.  

Ox wasn't able to fight his own smile, which widened still more. "You don't have to tell me twice, Miss Kate."  

Katherine's laughter filled the room as Ox grabbed her quickly and tossed her onto her back, though her laughter quickly turned to moans as his body picked back up where they'd left off only a couple of hours before.  

---

Colt stared down at Evangeline's sleeping form lying in the bed and felt his heart swell. He loved her. She was more than he deserved and yet she stood beside him anyway. She had seemed so worried the night before that he would not forgive her temper from two nights ago but there had been nothing to forgive.  

If anything Colt had been terrified that she really had realized the man she was married to and would truly never want him again. Colt was a survivor and did what was required to keep living even if that meant doing things that turned the stomachs of everyone else.  

He finished tightening his gun belt and then dropped to his knees beside the bed. Evangeline was on her stomach with her cheek smashed against the pillow and her lips parted. Drool was dripping onto the white fabric of the pillowcase and it made Colt smile.  

Her petite body was bare of clothes and the sheet she was tangled in was just barely wrapped around her backside before weaving between her legs and giving him tantalizing hints of bare skin.  

Gently Colt reached out a hand and let his finger trail across her cheek. "I love you." He whispered. She had no reaction other than to shift her head slightly, spreading her drool as she went. Colt fought back a laugh. Women were at their most beautiful while they slept.  

"Lord, You and I don't speak often—" Colt whispered as he continued to stare at his wife's sleeping face. "—mostly because You never have seemed to help me out and I wasn't real sure You even existed.. I know You do now. I hope You're takin' good care of Sarah and Loralie up there and I hope that they aren't too ashamed of some of the things I've had to do since these monsters came.  

"I want to thank You, Lord, for giving me Evangeline. A man wanders through this life, unsure of where he's supposed to go and just trying to do the best he can; never knowing what he's missing or what he needs until he finds it. She's my 

it , Lord, so thanks.“ Colt was about to stand when another through crossed his mind. “And, Lord, I reckon You don’t much like it when folks commit suicide but maybe You could take it easy on Lily. You didn’t give any of us much good to hold onto when this world went to hell and the way I see it, You gave her even less.”

Satisfied that he'd said what he wanted to say, Colt stood straight and grabbed his hat off the bedpost. He could wake Evangeline up and insist they get the day started but she looked too peaceful. The woman had been exhausted when she had come to him last night and he hadn't allowed her to do much in the way of resting until nearly dawn.

A happy wife made for a happy life, or so Colt had heard said before. He figured another couple of hours wasn't going to make much of a difference . 

He slid his hat on his head and slipped out the door without waking her.  

Colt made his way first to the kitchen. He was hungry yet also wanted to look through the food stores here. Most of the supplies were packed up over in the warehouse but it wouldn't hurt to take stock of what was here at the brothel.  

He stepped into the kitchen and instantly tried to back away when he found Charlotte and Silas wrapped in a passionate embrace beside the fireplace.  

"Colt!" Silas's voice called out, stopping Colt in his tracks. Colt took a deep breath and pulled off his hat before shoving his hand through his hair.  

"I didn't mean to interrupt anything." He mumbled.  

Charlotte's face was beet red as she went about stirring the potatoes she was frying up.  

"We need to talk." Silas said, obviously choosing to pretend as if Colt hadn't walked in on anything at all.  

"About?" Colt questioned, happy to follow his lead. Silas hadn't spoken to him since he'd watched Colt throw Lily's body out the window.  

"I'm just gonna get straight to it—" Silas began.  

"That's the way I prefer folks to do it." Colt assured him.  

"When you threw her out that window I was more than a little horrified. I didn't know what to say that wouldn't make things worse and so I walked off."  

"I won't apologize."  

"I know that and you don't owe me or anyone else here an apology. You've worked your ass off to keep us all safe. You've taken more watches, you've made the tough choices and you've let all of us fall apart when we needed to without ever falling apart yourself. I am sorry that I acted the way I did. I understand now why doing what you did with her was the only option there was. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad we have you with us. Without you, I doubt anyone in this group would still be living."  

Colt didn't know what to say and so instead of speaking he simply held out a hand and gave Silas's hand a firm shake.  

"Good, now that that's settled, I'm hoping that you and Evangeline made up? She was a mess yesterday worried that you no longer loved her. I told her that was ridiculous but she wouldn't listen." Charlotte spoke up as she poured some oats into a pot of boiling water.  

"Yes, ma'am, we're doing good." Colt replied simply, which only served to make her and Silas smile more.  

"I'm gonna go check out the cellar." Colt muttered, making a quick escape before there was any more talk of 

feelings and emotions .

---

“Colt, you’ve spent all this time training us—”

"It's been two days, Evangeline."  

"So! It's been two very long days of training on top of months of surviving these monsters. What was the point if you're going to babysit us women instead of allowing us to gather supplies on our own and cover a lot more ground." 	

It was nearly midday and Colt had been informing the women that they were going to accompany the men into the city. When he'd said they'd have to stay with the men in one big group Evangeline had known she needed to argue.  

"Evangeline..." Colt sighed as he rubbed his face.  

"Colt—" she laid her hand on his arm. "—you have to trust that things will be fine. Why don't we pair up in groups of two and go building to building? You know that's the most efficient way to do this, you just don't want to say so because you're worried one of women will get hurt and you'll fell like you're to blame."  

Evangeline saw the guilt flash in his blue eyes and knew that she'd been right. Colt spoke a lot of tough talk about the women needing to be in the middle of the fighting and pulling their weight and yet he didn't mean any of it. He was scared to death to risk their lives—or at least her life.  

"Fine." He finally relented. "Me and Evangeline. Ox and Katherine. Silas and Charlotte. Jedidiah and Rachel—"  

"But..." Rachel began and Colt fixed her with a glare.  

"Honestly nobody wants to be paired with you I'm sure. I'm sure Jedidiah isn't feeling all that blessed but I can't pair you with me because I'd probably use you as a shield in an attack and Katherine hates your guts. Silas is a colored man and I've heard you mumbling about them so you wouldn't want to be paired with him. Jedidiah's your only choice unless you want to go it alone."  

Evangeline just shook her head as her aunt took a step back and lowered her gaze. Colt could certainly be an ass when he chose to be and yet that seemed to be what worked on her aunt.  

"What about me?" Susette asked as she stood beside Ox and Katherine.  

Colt crouched down and poked her nose. "You can come with me."  

"We can...." Katherine began but Colt shook his head and stood up straight. 	

"The girl comes with me." He stated, making it clear there wouldn't be any arguments. Evangeline understood. Colt would feel guilty if anything happened to anyone but he'd never forgive himself if something happened to Susette. Better he kept her close to him so he could watch her better.  

"Alright then." Colt addressed the group. "I'll assign each group an area. Main focus is food, medicine and ammunition.  We've already got a few water kegs so we should be good on that count. We're not trying to eliminate the rabid so avoid them where you can. When you can't try not to use gunfire unless you have no other choice. Everybody ready?"  

Nods greeted Colt's words. Everyone was as ready as they would ever be.  

---

Jedidiah could finally not stand the silence any longer as he and Rachel walked through the abandoned old stage depot, searching for anything that might be useful. They had been assigned the north side of town which didn't include much.  Jedidiah knew Colt had probably done that on purpose, not trusting Rachel with any bigger responsibility.  

Simply wanting an end to this unbearable silence, Jedidiah glanced at Rachel. "You've been quiet for the last couple of days."  

"No one wants me to speak." Rachel replied simply without looking at him as they made their way up a rickety staircase. "And I don't blame them." 

"You brought the animosity upon yourself." Jedidiah reminded her, not liking the sympathy he could already feel growing in his chest for her.  

She nodded. "I know that better than you think. I've always been too harsh. It led to my husband spending all his time at the saloon and my servants leaving more quickly than I could replace them."  

"Haven't you ever heard you can catch more flies with honey?" Jedidiah questioned.  

Rachel gave a rueful laugh. "I never could seem to get the hang of that."  

Jedidiah was about to say something else when a long moan came from down the hall they'd just stepped into. A rabid was at the end of the hall and had yet to notice them. It was standing in the sunlight streaming through the window and weaving back and forth.  

Jedidiah frowned as he tried to figure out what the creature was doing. It almost seemed to be asleep standing up.  

"We should just go." Rachel whispered. "I don't think there's anything in this building we need."  

Jedidiah nodded his agreement but as he took a step back his foot landed on a piece of broken glass which of course shattered under his weight.  

The cracking sound had the rabid's head whipping around. It let out an animalistic screaming cry and rushed toward them.  

Jedidiah barely had time to swing the axe in his hand and send the rabid flying, with a nearly severed head over the landing and down onto the floor below. He was about to boast about his kill when more groans, and hungry wails filled the air.  

"Oh my God!" Rachel cried. 	

Jedidiah looked up to see rabid pouring into the tiny hall from around a far corner at the end. "Run!" he yelled. He went down the stairs first, knowing Rachel was right behind him.  

When he was almost at the bottom, he heard her scream. He glanced over his shoulder to find that he'd been wrong. She wasn't right behind him. She was still at the top of the stairs and had somehow fallen over the railing.  

She was gripping the rickety wood as her legs dangled a good fifteen feet above the ground and the rabid descended on her.  

Jedidiah thought about leaving. Perhaps this was the way Rachel was supposed to die—he couldn't do it. He could not just leave a person to their death. With an angry yell, Jedidiah went back up the steps, his old arms swinging that axe with everything he had as he hacked at the rabid.  

"You'll have either drop down or pull yourself up while I hold them off!" he yelled at Rachel.  

A rabid closed its teeth around the handle of Jedidiah's axe and he grabbed his knife and stuck it deep into the creatures temple, before swinging his hand in an arc and sliding his knife into another rabid's eye.  

All that helped him hold his own was the narrowness of this hall. The rabid were jamming it up in their hungry rush to get to their meal.  

"Just go without me!" Rachel sobbed and Jedidiah shook his head before taking off a rabid arm with the axe. The beast paused to glance at the blood oozing from the stump protruding from his shoulder and then screamed and lunged once again.  

"Drop down!" Jedidiah screamed again. He wouldn't be able to hold them back much longer. He was too old and his body was already growing tired. He knew he could use his gun but there was only six shots in it and there were at least fifty rabid clogging this hall. The gun wouldn't help much and the sound of the shots would draw more.  

"Come on, Jedidiah!" Rachel's voice sounded further away and Jedidiah realized that she had done as he'd told her and dropped down from the railing.  

Jedidiah began to back away toward the stairs, swinging his axe as he did so. Rachel was suddenly jumping in front of him, swinging the machete that she'd chosen from the weapons chest before leaving the brothel.  

"Go, I'll cover your back!" she urged him. Jedidiah felt the love he'd buried for this woman coming back to life as she so bravely arced that machete through a rabids head, slicing it clean in half. A section of the rabid's brain fell out of the top half of its skull and hit the floor with a thud but Rachel didn't seem fazed as she swung that hatchet again and ran it across the face of another rabid and it slumped to the floor minus its nose and jaw. 	

They made it outside and Jedidiah took her hand, racing to the ladder he could see on a saloon across the street. He let Rachel up the ladder first and he followed second. He nearly fell when a rabid grabbed his ankle, but he brought his other foot down on its face, shattering its nose. The grip on his ankle loosened just enough for Jedidiah to pull free. 

They fell into a bloody, panting heap on the edge of the saloon roof.  

"I'm getting too old for this." Jedidiah gasped, though he smiled at Rachel as she said it.  

"Me too." She agreed as she tossed her machete to the side.  

Jedidiah reached over and smoothed a bit of blood from her cheek. "Nothing left to do but wait for them to leave."  

"We could always go down into the saloon and look around." Rachel offered, though her eyes made it clear that wasn't what she wanted.  

Jedidiah smiled. "Or we could just wait here." He leaned closer and brushed a soft kiss against her parted lips.

Her eyes slid closed as she leaned in closer. "Sounds good to me."  

---

“I’ll go look for them…” Colt’s words were cut off when the subjects of the current conversation came limping through the cracked warehouse doors.

Ox quickly secured the doors behind Jedidiah and Rachel as Colt took in their disheveled, bloody and yet somehow happy appearances.  

"What the hell happened to the two of you?" he demanded.  

"Rabid." Rachel replied, tossing her big sack full of loot to the floor.  

"A lot of rabid..." Jedidiah added. "We took cover on a rooftop but it took a while for them to wander enough that we could get down and finish our search."  

"Are you both okay?" Evangeline asked with worry. Colt raised a brow when he saw Jedidiah's hand wrap firmly around Rachel's.  

"Just fine." He assured her.  

Rachel cleared her throat and looked around at the rest of the group which was all gathered together in the warehouse. "I want to apologize to all of you. I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness and I understand if you still hate me but I truly am sorry for the things I've said and done the last few weeks. I have no good excuse I can give, though I wish I did."  

"I'll tell you what, Rachel," Colt said stepping forward. "Apologies don't mean much, actions mean more. You gonna back up what you're saying and actually treat folks a bit nicer?"  

"Yes, Colt. I am." Rachel promised and he believed her.  

"Then it's all good." Colt glanced around at all the sacks piled on the floor. "Well let's get this stuff gone through."  

"Did y'all have any trouble out of rabid?" Jedidiah asked, taking in the sight of everyone. No one was quite as bloody and fatigued looking as he and Rachel.  

"Nope. There were a few here and there but nothing bad." Ox spoke up.  

"We must have come on a nest of them or something...." Rachel shivered. "It was horrible."  

"I would say so." Charlotte whispered. "They always are."  

"Enough chit chatting." Colt snapped his fingers. "We gotta get it all gone through and packed up because we're leaving at first light."  

He would love nothing more than to stay in their safe little cocoon at the brothel but knew that they couldn't. Susette's vision had pointed them somewhere else and he was going to listen to the girl. That meant they still had months of traveling to reach their destination. It was going to be a long haul but Colt was more confident than ever that they would make it.  

For the first time since all this had begun he was thinking that everything might just turn out alright. He just hoped he wasn't fooling himself.

Chapter Fifty-five

Chapter Fifty-Five camouflage

July 1

st

1887

Wyoming Territory

The days passed quickly and rather uneventfully which Colt was thankful for. There was not an overabundance of rabid and those they did come across were simply stragglers or small groups that were easy to deal with.

They reached the train tracks they'd been searching for only three days after leaving the brothel and for nearly two weeks they'd been following them. Colt knew he was pushing the group too hard, covering between twenty and thirty miles per day. The horses were wearing down quickly and so were the people.  

He could see the fatigue deep in their eyes and their postures, though no one dared complain. While Colt missed Frankie, he had to admit that things seemed more peaceful now without someone bitching nonstop. Colt grinned, Frankie had certainly been a good bitcher. Nowadays even Rachel kept her mouth closed and did as he said.  

Though that may have more to do with the fact that everyone was too exhausted to do much in the way of complaining. They were once again running low on food, the horses were out of oats and were living strictly off of grass and bits of hay. Water was low as well and while it was only midday every person and animal was bordering on heat exhaustion.  

"Colt..." Evangeline whispered as she sat behind him on the saddle and laid her head on his shoulder.  

"What?" Colt asked, hating the drawn quality of her voice. His wife was tired. Dammit so was he. He wanted to take a few days off but he didn't want to do that out in the open. His hope that towns would be plentiful along the railroad was quickly proving baseless.  

So far there had been nothing.  

"I don't want to complain but—"  

"You're tired." Colt finished with a sigh. "I know. I am too."  

"We all need a break, Colt. I've caught sight of a river over the horizon several times today and there's a patch of trees over that way too. Why don't we try to settle down and camp for a day or two?"  

"What about food, sweetheart? We're running low..."  

"Yes and it's summer. There are plenty of berries, wild onions and herbs growing and I've seen lots of critters running around—"  

Colt turned his head and kissed her nose as he smiled. "My proper lady just said the word critters."  

"Don't you mean hardened criminal wife?"  

"Yes of course."  

"So we can camp for a day or two and let everyone recover?"  

Colt felt his resolve waver as she pleaded with him and then it completely crumbled when her lips brushed his ear. "Please?"  

With a grunt, Colt held up his hand to bring everyone to a stop. He looked around at the group and felt a pang of guilt when he realized just how tired and run down everyone was. "There's a river and a patch of trees over that way," Colt pointed across the plains. "Evangeline here thinks we should stop and camp for a couple of days and let everybody rest up and I reckon I agree with her.  What do y'all think?"  

Colt couldn't help but chuckle at the hearty nods and the show of hands from the group. Ox must have wanted to ensure Colt saw that he agreed because the man raised both hands and waved them in the air.  

 Colt adjusted his hat and clicked his tongue. "Well alright then. Let's head that way."  

---

“I wish it was deeper.” Katherine lamented as she and the other women stood in the river which did not reach to any of their knees, not even Evangeline’s.

"At least it's water." Charlotte reminded her as she took a sip and moaned. "Nice cool water." She added.  

"It's cool because it's coming down off the mountains." Colt said as he walked by with an armload of wood he'd gathered. "We'll be reaching those mountains before you know it."  

"Have you been this far west before?" Susette asked as she plopped herself down in the water and giggled as the water soaked through her clothes.  

Charlotte smiled at the girl and then looked over at Colt who was watching Susette with an amused grin. "Yeah I have. I've been everywhere there is to be in this fine country. Been to parts of Canada and Mexico too." 

"A well-traveled man." Evangeline winked.  

"More like a man on the run." Jedidiah cut in with a laugh as he walked past them with green tinder.  

"Are we going to make a fire out on these plains?" Charlotte asked with a frown.  

"A small one." Colt replied. "You'd be surprised how much cooler it gets up here at night—that and there's wolves, mountain lions, coyotes and bears around. Mostly it's just gonna be smoke."  

"What if those monsters come?" Susette whispered.  

Colt crouched down and offered the girl a comforting smile. "Well then I'll kill 'em of course."  Charlotte studied Colt as he stood back straight. He would be an amazing father. He had all the qualities that made a man one. She thought of the daughter he had lost, which made her heart fill with sadness as she remembered her own angel.  

"You ladies enjoy your swim." Colt said with a tip of his hat.  

"We can't swim." Evangeline sighed. "It's not deep enough."  

Colt studied the river and the bank a moment and Charlotte wondered what he was thinking. "Hey Ox!" he called. The big man jogged over.  

"What is it, Colt?"  

"See them big ass rocks?" Colt asked. Ox nodded. "Move them into the river and dam it up a bit so they have a nice little wading pool here."  

"Colt, y'all don't have to go through that kind of trouble—" Evangeline began but Colt shook his head to cut her off.  

"Did I not vow to do everything I could to keep you happy?" he asked. A blush colored Evangeline's cheeks as she nodded. "And it'll make me happy too. You need a bath cuz you smell like a horse's rear."  

Laughter erupted as Evangeline gasped and stooped low to throw water at Colt's retreating back. "Yeah you had better run." Evangeline called out with laughter.  

"While Ox is busy why don't we go gather some berries, onions and anything else edible?" Rachel asked as she stepped out of the river.  

"That's a wonderful idea." Charlotte agreed. "I'll go with Rachel and Katherine and Evangeline can go together. Who do you want to go with Susette?"  

The girl instantly ran to Katherine's side.  

"Where y'all going?" Colt called from beneath the patch of trees as Evangeline and Charlotte each grabbed empty burlap sacks from the back of one of the carts.   

"To gather what we can to eat." Evangeline replied.  

"Weapons?"  

Evangeline rolled her eyes. "Of course."  

"Be careful and don't wander too far."  

"Yes daddy." Evangeline called back.  

"He takes so much worry on himself." Charlotte noted with a shake of her head. "It's really not good for him."  

"Well let's get these things gathered up and show him he has nothing to worry about." Katherine replied and the two groups of women went their separate ways.  

---

"So you and my brother seem to be closer these days." Evangeline said knowingly as she knelt beside a patch of wild onions and dug at them with her hands. She knew the girls at that fancy etiquette school she had attended would never recognize her—then again they were more than likely pretty unrecognizable themselves these days.  

"Your brother is an amazing man." Katherine replied honestly, joining in the onion digging.  

"I don't need to know all the ways he is amazing." Evangeline teased with a wink which made Katherine laugh.  

"Where are you going?" Katherine called out to Susette who was wandering a short distance away.  

"There's a berry bush." She replied. Evangeline followed her gaze and saw that the girl was right.  

"Don't go any further than that bush." Katherine warned.  

"I won't." Susette assured them with a grumble.  

"Instant motherhood." Katherine sighed.  

"She loves you." Evangeline noted, dropping several onions into the sack.  

Katherine smiled. "The feeling is mutual."  

"I'm glad that you've made my brother so happy, Katherine."  

"He's made me happier." Katherine countered, her eyes taking on a faraway look that had Evangeline laughing lightly. Then Katherine looked at her. "Thank you for talking Colt into stopping today. I don't know if I could have kept going at the pace he was keeping."  

"He's just worried." Evangeline admitted. "He's worried about making it out to California before winter hits the mountains. Hopefully we'll find a town soon and be able to restock some supplies—I know that will take a lot of the worry from his mind."  

Evangeline glanced at Susette who appeared to be eating the berries faster than she could fill her sack. ""Susette, you're supposed to be gathering some for the rest of us!" Susette flashed her a purple blackberry smile and Evangeline simply laughed.  

"What do you think we're going to find when we get to where Susette is sending us?" Katherine asked quietly.  

"I don't know." Evangeline replied, swiping her arm over her sweaty face. "A cure would certainly be nice."  

"Yes it would." The women fell silent as each of them thought about what could be waiting for them in northern California. The silence was shattered when Susette's ear piercing scream of pain split the hot afternoon air.  

---

Colt and Jedidiah were discussing setting up snares to catch fresh meat when Susette’s scream shattered the peaceful camp.

Colt saw Ox leap to his feet and take off running over the small rise that the women had disappeared behind and Colt raced to catch up to him.  

Susette was still screaming and they were loud, pain-filled screams. Evangeline and Katherine were crying out for help.  

Colt topped the rise and saw them. Katherine had Susette laid across her lap and was trying desperately to calm the girl. Evangeline was standing over something in the tall grass with her knife clutched in her hand.  

"What happened?!" Ox demanded.  

"She was bitten." Evangeline replied, just as Colt reached his wife and saw the half-bodied rabid dead at her feet.  

"Bitten?" Colt asked with dread and Evangeline shook her head forcefully as she looked up at him.  

"By a snake!" she replied quickly. She tipped her head toward the rabid. "He showed up just after and tried to get her but I stopped him before he could."  

Shit, a snake bit her?" Ox whispered as he crouched down beside Katherine.  

"All the monsters in this world and we still have to worry about snakes?" Katherine gasped with tears on her cheeks. "It's just not fair." 

Colt pulled his knife and walked to Susette. "Am... I.. gonna die?" the girl asked, sucking in huge gulps of air between sobs.  

"Not if I can help it." Colt replied comfortingly. "Where did it bite you?" 	

Susette held out her arm and Colt saw the bite on her hand. "I was trying to get some berries on the ground... I didn't see it until it started rattling and then it was too late."  

Colt smiled as he pulled his shirt out of his pants and ripped off a strip of fabric. "It's gonna be okay, Susette. I'm gonna take care of you." Colt tied the fabric tight around her wrist, ignoring the way she winced as he finished tightening it. He then removed his gun belt and put the leather against her lips.  

"What...?"  

"Put it in your mouth, Susette, so you can bite down on it. You can't be screaming anymore or you're gonna draw those rabid in."  

"Colt do you know what you're doing?" Katherine whispered. Colt looked into her scared eyes and hoped the look he gave her was one of reassurance.  

"Sure do. I've been rattler bit a time or two."  

Without wasting any more time, Colt pulled Susette's arm straight. "Hold her tight, Katherine."  

"I'm scared!" Susette whimpered as she tried to pull away from him.  

"Don't you do that, Susette! You gotta keep calm." Colt warned.  

"Rabid!" Ox yelled and Colt glanced over his shoulder to see a small group of rabid heading their way.  

"Deal with them!" he growled. "I'm busy."  

Colt held Susette's wrist tightly and then brought his knife blade down, slicing it against the bite wound twice and creating a cross over the top of it.  

A gush of clear venom ran from the wound and Colt pressed his lips against the cross he'd drawn with the blade before sucking deeply.  

He could hear the groaning of the rabid and the sound of the group fighting them off. He prayed that Evangeline would be okay but right now his focus was Susette.  

Colt spit the horrible taste of venom and blood from his mouth and then went back to sucking. He had to drain the wound, even though Susette was screaming and trying her hardest to get away from him. Katherine was grunting with the force she was using to hold the terrified girl in place.  

Colt spit out another mouthful and swiped his sleeve across his face. He untied the strip of fabric from around Susette's wrist and wrapped it around her hand to help stop the bleeding. 	

He glanced around just in time to see Evangeline deliver a kick to the head of a rabid and send it stumbling backward to where Ox was standing with his knife, ready to drive the blade into its temple.  

"It hurts!" Susette cried as Katherine tried hard to soothe her.  

"Ox, carry her back to camp. Everybody else let's drag these rabid to camp and tie them from the trees—"  

"Why?" Rachel asked.  

"Because they stink and hopefully that'll keep more rabid from coming. You know cuz it will camouflage our scent."  

"Colt, that's genius." Rachel admitted.   

Colt raised a brow as he looked at the woman. "I have my moments."  

---

"Colt, she doesn't look good." Ox whispered as he joined the other man beside the river that evening. Charlotte, Rachel and Evangeline were cooking supper. Jedidiah and Silas were keeping watch on the other side of the trees and Ox had been sitting with Katherine beside Susette but had needed to get away for a moment.  

"I know." Colt replied.  

"Shit, Colt, is she gonna make it?" Ox feared the answer but he figured if anyone knew it would be Colt.  

"I don't know." Colt replied. "She swollen and bruising bad. She might end up losing that hand."  

"Colt, shit, don't say that." Ox heard Susette let out a whimper from beside the fire. Colt had slipped the girl a small bit of laudanum so she could rest through her pain but clearly it was wearing out. "You said you got bit before and you're okay."  

"Yeah but I'm a bit bigger than her, Ox. She's just a child." Colt sighed. "Go get some rest now. It could be a long night."  

Ox sighed and stood straight. He stretched out his back and stared at the wide pool he'd made by damming up the river. No one had been able to enjoy the pool—it seemed they weren't allowed to have peaceful days. Not anymore.  

Ox went back to the fire, forcing a smile when Evangeline smiled comfortingly his way. He took a step on the ground next to Katherine who was lying on her side beside Susette. Katherine was smoothing the girls hair from her sweat slicked forehead.  

"I don't want to lose her, Ox." Katherine whispered. "I kind of like being a make-shift mama."  

"You're not gonna lose her, Miss Kate." Ox promised, hoping he wasn't lying. "She's gonna be just fine."

Chapter Fifty-Six

Chapter Fifty-Six: Did God Hate Them That Badly?

Silas fought the urge to gag as he shouldered his way past one of the rabids hanging from the trees the group had camped beneath.  

He walked only a few feet from camp, sought privacy behind a boulder and quickly went about relieving himself while keep both eyes scanning his surroundings.  

While they hadn't had any more rabid stumble upon their camp since just after Susette had been bitten, everyone was still intense and on edge. Though Silas suspected that was more due to the fevered little girl currently moaning, swollen and bruised back in camp.  

Silas buttoned his pants, readjusted his gun belt and straightened the strap for his shot gun across his chest. His bandolier was growing looser and he knew he'd have to tighten it soon. If the rabid didn't kill them all then the lack of steady meals and the constant traveling would.  

"What are you doing?" Charlotte's voice came from behind him just before her arms circled his waist and her head pressed against his shoulder. "I was worried about you."  

"I'm sorry, Miss Charlotte. I was just answering the call of nature."  

"Katherine is asking for you. She wants you to come look at Susette again."  

"I've checked on her three times this morning." Silas sighed.  

"Yes but she wants you to check again." Charlotte replied gently. "She sees that girl as her daughter so –"  

"I understand." Silas assured his wife as he turned in her arms and held her tight. "How are you?"  

Charlotte let out a trembling sigh but her eyes were dry when she looked up at him. "It's hard to watch... I see her fevered and shivering and all I can think of is Grace. It just isn't fair that children are still dying from sicknesses and snake bites when there is already so much new death."  

"Susette, may not die, Miss Charlotte. There' s a good chance she'll make it." 

"But lose her arm."  

"She might." Silas whispered sadly. "I pray that she doesn't."  

"Me too.' Silas and Charlotte sat there in the quiet and held each other a moment longer. "Katherine will be wondering where you are," Charlotte urged.  

Silas nodded and pulled away from her. He kept one arm wrapped around her waist as he led her back into camp.  

Katherine was sitting beside the fire, which had burned down to nothing now that everyone had eaten breakfast and they had no need for its flames. She was holding Susette in her arms and rocking her as she hummed quietly.  

Ox was pacing behind them, rubbing furiously at his neck and appearing tired, fatigued and heart broken. Rachel and Jedidiah were down by the river, talking quietly and Evangeline was putting away the dishes that she had just cleaned.  

"Where is Colt?" Silas asked.  

"I don't know." Evangeline replied with a shrug. "He said he was going to take a walk."  

Silas nodded and then walked to Susette. "Can  I have me a look at that arm?" He asked. Susette's eyes were glassy and unfocused. Her brow was hot to the touch of Silas's wrist and her skin ashen.  

But it was the sight of the poor girl's hand and arm that formed that rock to settle into the pit of his stomach. She was so bruised and swollen that skin appeared close to bursting and was such a dark color of purple and black swirls that it didn't appear natural.  

Suddenly Evangeline let out a sob and then took off out of camp and into the nearby field, dropping to her knees in the long grasses and covering her face with her hands.  

"Shit, Evie..." Ox muttered. "Miss Kate, are you okay for a minute?" Ox questioned and Katherien nodded while waving her hand absently.  

"I'll be back then."   

Silas turned his attention back to Susette. "Is she going to be okay, Silas? Does she look worse? I think she looks worse? Is she getting worse?" Katherine rambled.  

Silas offered her a comforting smile and shook his head. "She's no worse, Katherine."

"But she's no better." Katherine whimpered. Silas was surprised by the change in the woman from just a few short weeks ago but he understood the panic he now saw in her eyes. It was a terrible thing to watch your child suffer and be helpless to ease the pain.

"Give it time, Katherine." Silas assured her. "Now, Miss Charlotte here made some coffee. Why don't you give Susette to me and I'll see to her for a while so you can stretch them legs and get a drink?"  

Katherine gripped the girl a little tighter but then sighed and nodded. Silas took Susette into his arms, trying hard to keep from bumping her arm. Charlotte helped Katherine to her feet, and the woman winced in pain as blood flow returned to her legs.  

"I'll get you a cup of coffee and then we'll take a walk together. Does that sound good?" Charlotte offered. Katherine nodded again and left Silas to wonder if she even truly knew what was going on.  

He watched his wife pour some coffee into a small tin cup and then the two women walked out onto the plains, sidestepping the dead rabid hanging from the trees.  

"Alright now, Little Susette, you gotta pull through this." Silas whispered. He stared down at her fevered face and trembling body and couldn't help but think of Grace. His heart broke knowing that there wasn't much he could do for this child either.   

Silas did all he knew to do and sang gently. 

“Swing low, sweet chariot comin’ for to carry me home—”

---

"Evie?" Evangeline heard her brother coming up behind her and she tried desperately to dry her tears.  

"I'm okay, Ox. Just leave me alone." She whispered.  

"Shit, Evie. You're not okay." Ox sounded miserable as he stood behind her and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Talk to me."  

Evangeline couldn't do that. She couldn't lay her own troubles on Ox. It wouldn't be fair to him when it was his woman and their—Evangeline realized with a new wave of guilt that Susette was like her brother's child and she was close to dying or at least being maimed for life.  

She pushed herself to her feet and turned to face him, throwing her arms around his waist and burying her head in his chest so he wouldn't see her face. "I'm sorry, Ox. I shouldn't have run off like that and given you something else to worry yourself over. I promise I'm just fine."  

"Evie, you can't lie to Ox. I know you too well."  

"Yes you do." Evangeline pulled away and smiled up at him. Her brother's green eyes that were the exact same shade as her own were red rimmed. His face was drawn and his lips pale. Evangeline laid her hand on his cheek. "Everything is going to be okay, Ox. You just have to be there for Katherine and for Susette."  

"Evie, we don't get to talk much anymore but you know I love you right?" Ox questioned. Evangeline felt her heart twist.  

"I know you do, Ox. I love you too." She placed her hands on his chest. "Now go take care of Katherine and if you need anything then you know I'll be there."  

"But who's going to take care of you?" Ox questioned.  

"That'll be me." Colt vowed, his voice coming from beside them. Evangeline and Ox both turned to face him. Evangeline felt her knees nearly buckle at the sight of him. She needed him so badly to help deal with the pain and guilt currently eating her alive.  

Colt met her eyes and seemed to see her need. He laid a handful of bark into Ox's hand and then took one big step and pulled Evangeline into him. He laid her head against his chest and smoothed out her dark waves with one hand while pulling her tight against him with the other.  

"You can't just be taking off and leaving Evie, Colt. She needs to have you around."  

Evangeline was about to scold her brother but Colt held her head firmly in place. She suspected he did it on purpose.  

"I was getting some willow bark," Colt replied calmly. "Have Charlotte or Rachel boil it into some tea and make Susette drink it. It'll help lower her fever."  

"Oh.... Thank you, Colt." Ox mumbled, clearly embarrassed that he had just scolded Colt when the man had been trying to help.  

"It's no problem, Ox. Trust me, I know how you feel right now. Get on back to camp and get that tea made." Colt urged.  

Ox nodded and quickly jogged back toward the trees. Evangeline felt Colt's lips press against her hair.  

"Now what's wrong with you, sweetheart?"  

"I'm not cut out for this. I've told you that before and you don't seem to believe me."  

"Not cut out for what?" Colt asked gently.  

"This life. Every decision I make is the wrong one. Frankie died because I told you it would be okay to let her go hunting. Lily died because I didn't check on her soon enough. Now Susette could die because I insisted that we all needed some to relax."  

There it was out. He would now realize how everything bad that was happening was her fault. It was obvious to her and she couldn't believe that everyone else hadn't figured it out already.  

Evangeline waited for Colt's agreement that her statement was true. What she wasn't prepared for was to feel his chest shaking or to hear that deep rumble of laughter in his chest.  

Evangeline pulled away from him, put her hands on her hips and glared at her husband as tears filled her eyes. "Why are you laughing at me?!" 	

"Evangeline—" Colt's laughter stopped, though his lips were still twitching. "—I know you'll get mad if I say so but your age is showing."  

Evangeline wrapped her arms around herself. "Are you calling me young and immature again?"  

Colt sighed. "The more you live, the more you go through, you'll realize that not all bad things happen because anybody did anything. Too often bad things just happen for no reason whatsoever and we have to cope and struggle our way through them the best we can."  

"But Colt—" He cut her off by grabbing her arm and pulling her close to him again.

His hand caressed her cheek as he looked into her eyes. "Frankie died because she was too proud, too stubborn and too sure of herself and she went off into those woods alone with nobody but Lily. Yes she was a good fighter but that doesn't matter if you've got more pride than good sense. Lily died because she was too weak for this new world, Evangeline. Bad things happened to her and she just couldn't cope. I might sound harsh but I'm just telling you the truth as I see it."

"And Susette?" 

"People have been getting snake bit since the world began, sweetheart. The only way you can make that your fault is if you threw the snake at the girl."  

Evangeline buried her head in his chest again, rubbing her cheek against the stained leather of his vest. "Let's head back to camp." She finally whispered.  

"You sure, sweetheart? I'll stay out here with you for as long as you need." 

"I'm sure. We have to struggle through, right? I want to be strong for my brother."  

Colt nodded and pulled away from her. He reached down and entwined his hand with hers. "I'm sure he probably needs that." He agreed.  

Evangeline borrowed her strength from Colt and they walked back toward camp. Evangeline just prayed that God would not take Susette away. The group needed her. They needed the hope that a child could survive this new world.  

---

"She's waking up!" Katherine exclaimed as Susette stirred in her arms. The girl's eyes opened and Katherine nearly cried with joy when she saw how alert and clear they were. Two long days had passed since the snake had bitten her. They had been the most tense and on edge of Katherine's life. Everyone had tried to carry on with life as usual but it simply hadn't been the same. If Susette hadn't made it......

"Katherine?" Susette whispered. "I'm thirsty."  

"Here you go." Ox suddenly appeared, thrusting a tin cup of water beneath Susette's nose. Katherine smiled at his eagerness and took the cup from his shaking hand. She pressed it gently to Susette's lips and the girl took two eager drinks.  

"Not too much." Colt warned from across the fire. "She's been two days without much to drink and it'll cramp her stomach up." 	

"Two days?" Susette rubbed at her eyes with her good hand and turned her neck to look up at Katherine. "Am I okay?"  

Katherine smiled happily as she kissed the girls brow. "You will be now." She promised her. Ox's hand closed on Katherine's shoulder, squeezing comfortingly.  

"My arm is sore." Susette lifted her right arm and her eyes widened at the bruised and swollen flesh surrounding the white fabric tied around her hand.

"It's not as bad as it was." Ox promised. "Well the bruise is still pretty bad but you were swelled all the way to your shoulder for a while."  

"Are you hungry?" Charlotte stepped forward with a small plate of beans. Susette nodded eagerly and Katherine took the plate and began to help the girl eat.  

"Why can't I move my hand?" Susette asked around a large mouthful.  

"Because of the venom from the rattlesnake." Colt spoke up without looking up from the knife he was sharpening. "But you seem to be getting better so I wouldn't worry about that. You just need a bit more time."  

"Afraid we've just run plumb out of that commodity." Jedidiah came running up from the river where he'd been keeping watch.  

"What did you see?" Colt demanded, launching himself to his feet.  

"Rabid. A decent sized herd of them. Probably three hundred yards out and moving this way. I reckon they've finally caught our smell."  

Colt let out a stream of curses under his breath that would cause the most hardened of sinners to blush.  

Katherine nearly cried. Could they not catch a break!?  

"Alright!" Colt's voice boomed with authority. "Get the horses hooked to the carts and throw what you can in the backs. Quickly! We gotta go!"  

Katherine was trying to get to her feet with Susette in her arms but struggling. She hadn't moved much from this spot more than a few times in over forty-eight hours and her muscles were too stiff to allow much movement. She let out a cry of shock when she felt her body hoisted into the air and realized that Ox had scooped up her and Susette both at once and was running toward the cart with them.  

The carts were already hooked up. It was amazing how fast the group was working.  

Then she heard them. Moaning, screeching, groaning monsters topped over the small rise to the east and came pouring across the plains toward them.  

"Oh my god!" Charlotte exclaimed. "There's at least a hundred of them!"  

"All the more reason to get gone quick." Colt replied.  

Katherine clung to Susette who was crying and shaking with a mixture of fear and pain as they sat curled together in the back of the cart surrounded by what meager food supplies the group had left. Damn this world straight to hell! Katherine was angrier in that moment than she had ever been before. No sooner had Susette awoken from two days of raging fever then she'd had monsters thrown right back in her face. Did God hate them all so badly?

---

Gunshots filled the air as the group fled as quickly as they could. Colt remained at the rear of the pack, firing shots just as quickly as he could load. Though it was clear the he was going to run out of bullets before he ran out of rabid.  

He had been worried this would happen. He'd wanted to leave the day before but Susette had still been so sick and he hadn't wanted to push everyone when they were already so worried but now..... now it was one more mistake to toss into the ever growing pile he had under his belt.  

They couldn't outrun these rabid. Even if they managed to get ahead, the rabid never tired and the horses would. Eventually they'd be caught and they would all die.  

Colt's only hope, the groups only hope, was that they would come to a house or a barn—somewhere that they could hole up inside and control the flow of rabid as they took out the herd. You couldn't' take on an entire herd in the open... The second they began to flank you it became a suicide mission.  

Colt fired a shot into the forehead of a rabid nearly forty yards out and the bullet exited the back of the woman's skull, sending blood, brain matter, bone and hair into the head of the next rabid as the bullet passed through its head as well.  

"Nice shot." Evangeline gasped as she fired one of her own and downed a young boy rabid. "What are we going to do, Colt?"  

Colt glanced at the group. Katherine was firing shots the best she could from inside the wagon but most were missing. It was damn near impossible to hit with any accuracy when you were shooting from the back of a galloping horse or bouncing wagon. The only reason Colt could manage was because he'd had lots of practice.  

Charlotte was driving one cart while Rachel drove the other. Everyone else was riding horses and firing shots, though wasting ammunition was more like what they were doing since most of the shots were going either wide or high.  

"Keep your eyes peeled for a big enough building for all of us to get into." Colt replied, yelling to be heard over the thundering hooves, pounding wheels gunshots and screaming rabid.  

"The carts?" 

"Unless it's a big damn building we'll have to leave them outside."  

"But the horses attached to them...."  

"They'll be sacrificed. It'll keep the rabid busy at least. Make them easier to pick off."  

Colt saw Evangeline's face pale but then she nodded and fired another shot. He wasn't looking forward to losing horses either but he'd rather lose them then people. Of course if they didn't find that building soon people were exactly what he would be losing.  

Colt swallowed hard. He wouldn't lose Evangeline. Even if that mean sacrificing everyone else he would save her. Selfish and monstrous? Yes. Honest? Yes.  

"There!" Evangeline's exclamation brought Colt out of his dark thoughts and his gaze followed the finger she was pointing. His eyes landed on the farm house. He scanned for a barn but saw only a pile of burned ash.  

The carts and the horses pulling them were going to be sacrificed. And the rest of the horses would surely run away and be lost to the group as well.  

Colt urged his tiring horse still faster and came up beside the lead cart. He motioned for Rachel to go the house and she nodded, veering in that direction with Charlotte behind her.  

The rabid were closing in. Colt only had six shots left. Evangeline seemed to be out completely as did most everyone else. There was more ammunition but it was in the saddlebags and carts. It was no help to anyone just now.  

Silas's shot gun blasted loudly and a rabid that had been mere feet from the legs of Colt's horse fell headless to the ground. Colt nodded his thanks at the other man and kept his eyes fixed on that house.  

They came closer and closer. Rachel reached it first. She leapt from the cart and ran for the door, jerking it open and leaping inside. Charlotte was behind her with Silas on her heels. Ox came next carrying Katherine and Susette and then it was Jedidiah's turn.  

Colt was so busy watching everyone enter that he failed to notice how close the rabid had gotten to his horse. Without warning the beast spooked and reared back. Colt's eyes went to the herd only to realize they were feet away from him.  

Colt tried desperately to hold on to the panicked beast but the rabid came upon the animal and Colt was forced to leap down. He rolled across the ground and was about to rise when a rabid grabbed his boot.  

Swinging his other foot, Colt caught it in the temple and sent it reeling backward. He fired three of his six shots, taking out three of the monsters coming toward him.  

Seven more replaced them.  

"Colt!" Evangeline screamed.  

"Stay back!" he screamed right back at her.  

Colt pulled his knife and scooted backward, swinging at anything that was close enough. Rabid hands, feet, legs, arms, necks, heads...... Still more came. They were devouring his horse and the horses attached to the carts. The other horses had run off over the plains. The pain filled shrieks of the beasts would forever be burned into Colt's memory.... Not that that meant he'd be hearing them for long.  

He was going to die. He was faintly aware of Evangeline screaming threatening obscenities and he thought he glanced her running toward him wielding a hammer.  

A rabid came at Colt, he fired one more shot, killing it. Its body fell on top of him on the ground and before Colt could shove it off, two more rabid came down upon the first, their mouths opening and closing hungrily as they tried to get to the fresh meat beneath their fallen comrade. Colt could no longer aim his gun. The rabid were too heavy and pinning him down. He continued to kick his feet but he knew his struggles were in vain.  

It was his time to die.  

Colt pressed his gun to his temple, determined to keep himself from becoming one of these monsters, but before he could pull the trigger a hatchet was suddenly flying through the air and embedding itself into the head of one of the rabid on top of him.  

Colt had no time to wonder who had thrown it before a cry filled the air. "Ai! Ai! Ai! Ai!"

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Booming Rabid

Evangeline knew her husband was going to die. She saw the rabid fall upon him and despite his order for her to stay back she ran toward him, grabbing a hammer from the cart seat and swinging it with all her might.

Screams and obscenities left her mouth that would have made her mother's dainty toes curl. She had learned quite a few colorful ones since meeting Colt and she made up a few as she ran.  

She would not lose Colt; and, if she did lose Colt than she wanted to go with him. She wanted to go down fighting to save him. Living without him was not an option.  

Evangeline was nearly to the spot where he lay fighting desperately when she saw him place that gun to his temple. Her entire world ceased to spin. Seconds ticked on as long as minutes as Evangeline tried to prepare herself for the sound of the gunshot that would tear Colt away from her forever.  

It never came.  

Instead a hatchet was suddenly thrust into the head of one of the rabid on top of Colt and a loud war cry filled the air just before Comanche came galloping past on his paint horse and leapt into the fray of rabid, slinging a double ended spear.  

Evangeline snapped out of the temporary haze her shock at seeing Colt with that gun had sent her into and ran ahead again. She brought her hammer down on the head of the third rabid pinning her husband and then began to throw the rabid off while Comanche, Ox Silas, Jedidiah and Charlotte formed a line between them and the rabid, keeping the monsters from coming any closer to the groups fallen leader.   

Colt leapt to his feet and found Evangeline's lips in a hot, searing joining that stole her breath and shook her knees.  

Just as quickly Colt pulled away, took her hand in his and fired his last shot into the head of a rabid that had been attempting to bite into Charlotte's arm.  

"Let's get into the house!" he yelled.  

Just as Evangeline had known he would, Colt waited until everyone else was inside before closing the door. Comanche and Ox worked together to slide a heavy wooden cabinet in front of the door.  

"Check for more doors and open windows!" Colt ordered and Silas, Charlotte, Rachel and Jedidiah ran off to do just that.  

Evangeline busied herself ensuring the locks were secured on the windows. By some miracle this house has windows made of thick glass and the rabid were unable to get through them, though if they continued to assault the house they would no doubt find a way.  

"It was good to sacrifice those horses on the carts. The rabid are more concerned with their meal than with us." Comanche spoke up.  

"Still we need to deal with them." Colt admitted.  

Evangeline went to Comanche then and rose onto her toes so she could throw her arms around his neck. "I'm so glad you came back. Thank you."  

Thank you was so pitiful a statement to show the gratitude she felt toward the man. He had just saved Colt's life and that alone was a debt she could never repay.  

"I should never have left." Comanche replied quietly as he awkwardly patted her back.  

"How are we gonna get rid of them before they get in here?" Ox asked and Susette let out a cry of fear when a rabid hit the window hard enough to nearly crack the glass. Its face remained pressed against the clear barrier as more rabid piled behind it.  

The rabid's jaw was nearly fully dislocated and blood leaked from between his dirty teeth. Those gray lifeless eyes seemed to be boring holes into Evangeline and she shivered before feeling Colt's arms slide around her waist.  

"Quit looking at him, sweetheart." Evangeline leaned into his arms, knowing they needed to talk about what had happened outside but also knowing that it could wait until later.  

"We could shoot them all." Katherine offered. 	

"Not enough ammunition in those saddlebags y'all managed to grab. We'd end up using all we have." Colt assured her.  

The small crack in the window grew; splintering its way across the pane. "Colt, we have to do something!" Evangeline exclaimed, her grip on the hammer in her hand tightening.   

"I have dynamite." Comanche stated as he held up a sack that had been attached to his belt.  

"Why the hell didn't you say so?" Colt asked with a grin.  

---

“Dynamite?” Silas asked as he came back into the room. “What are we going to do with dynamite.”

Colt grinned as he took the pouch from Comanche. "Let's go on upstairs and I'll show ya." Colt started for the stairs. "Katherine, you stay down here and take care of Susette. Jedidiah, Rachel, y'all stay down here just in case those rabid get through so you can warn us."  

"You got it." Jedidiah said cheerfully as he grabbed a box of ammunition for Rachel's rifle out of a saddlebag and tossed it to her.  

Silas had no idea what the plan was but he trusted Colt. The man seemed confident so he would follow along.  

They entered an upstairs bedroom and Colt went to the window and pushed it open. Silas felt his stomach turn at the sight and sound of those rabid ripping the horse corpses to pieces. Intestines and blood were strewn across the dirt. The rabid were all soaked with red, drenched as they grunted, groaned and gorged themselves.   

Colt reached in his pocket and pulled out a pack of matches. Silas saw that the man still appeared to be shaking a little. The near death experience had addled him but in true Colt fashion, the man appeared to be shaking it off and carrying on. Silas was impressed to tell the truth. There weren't very many people who could bounce right back from the things Colt went through. It was amazing the man's brain hadn't snapped long ago. Silas knew Colt was probably the strongest amongst them and he was grateful to God that Colt had not been killed—without Colt the group would not survive for long.  

"Colt, what are you doing?" Evangeline questioned.  

"Here, you do the honors." He replied as he lit the stick of dynamite and shoved it into her hand. Evangeline stared at it for several seconds and Colt chuckled. "You might want to throw that fire stick there, sweetheart.  

Evangeline's face paled and her green eyes widened just before she tossed the dynamite out the window.  

The group watched with baited breath as the dynamite landed in the dirt and then Silas was shocked beyond speech when the rabid began making their way toward the hissing, smoking, sparking death trap.  

A large crowd of rabid gathered around the stick; clawing at each other and trying desperately to get to what they hoped was a meal. It was as if they were curious mice drawn right into a trap.  

"Cover your ears." Colt warned and Silas barely managed to do just that before a thundering boom echoed in the air, shaking the walls and sending rabid blood, bone and gore splattering against the house and through the open window.  

"That was terrible—yet somehow brilliant." Charlotte whispered.  

"Oh my God...." Evangeline gasped. There was a smile on her blood splattered face as she looked up at Colt. "There's more dynamite isn't there?"  

Colt held up the heavy sack and nodded. Silas glanced out the window at the much smaller herd of rabid still munching on horseflesh and hitting walls. 

"Do you think they'll fall for it again?" he asked.  

Colt glanced at Comanche. "What do you think?"  

Comanche shrugged one shoulder. "Only one way to find out."  

---

"When I saw you put that gun to your head—" Colt cut off Evangeline's words with a gentle kiss.  

"I shouldn't have done that," he admitted as he ran his calloused fingers up and down the softness of her bare arm.  

The herd of rabid outside the house had been dealt with. The few stragglers that were left were not going to make their way into the house. Thankfully the house was two stories and Colt had quickly claimed one of the three bedrooms for himself and Evangeline. Silas and Charlotte had taken another while the third went to Ox, Katherine and Susette.  

Comanche had perched himself on the roof, claiming he wanted to keep guard and Jedidiah and Rachel were in the family room, stretched out on blankets beside the empty fireplace.  

"I just didn't want to become one of those things," Colt added as he closed his eyes and shivered. He smiled when Evangeline grabbed his hand and kissed his fingers.  

She swallowed hard. "I almost lost you today."

"But you didn't," Colt assured her, his lips gently caressing her cheek before moving down to her throat. He let his tongue flit across her collarbones and then closed his mouth around the peak of her full breast. Evangeline's bare body arched off the bed and her fingers dug into the skin of Colt's back.  

She whimpered beneath him and Colt had mercy. He moved his mouth away from her breast, which was already swollen from the attention he had shown it so far tonight. As soon as he had gotten her alone Colt had devoured her body; laying her down more roughly and intensely than he ever had before. He had needed that release and reassurance that they were still together and still had one another.  

Evangeline hadn't seemed to mind.  

"I'm so tired, Colt—I'm sorry,"  

Colt grinned and kissed her pale shoulder. "Sleep, Evangeline. I'm going to go check around and I may wake up when I come back."  

Evangeline winked sleepily. "I'll be waiting."  

Colt slid from the bed and dressed himself. He chuckled quietly when he realized that Evangeline was already sound asleep and snoring lightly.  

He made his way toward Katherine and Ox's room and opened the door a crack when he heard Katherine singing quietly inside.  

Ox was sound asleep on the bed, lying on his stomach with his arms and legs spread wide while his loud snores filled the room. Colt smiled; apparently snoring ran in the family.  

Colt walked to the arm chair where Katherine was currently sitting with a sleeping Susette wrapped in her arms. "How is she?" he whispered.  

"She's alive," Katherine replied, her tired eyes meeting his. "If you hadn't done what you did when that snake had bitten her then she might not be... Thank you, Colt."  

"You don't have to thank me, Katherine." Colt gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I'm just sorry this happened to her."  

"It's strange, Colt—" Katherine whispered. She chewed on her lip and stared down at Susette's sleeping face. Ox grunted in the background; letting out a snort as he shifted on the bed and then renewed his snoring.  

"What is?" Colt asked quietly.  

"For so long I never truly loved anyone and I never had anyone that truly loved me. I thought I did. I thought my mother loved me and I thought the man I called my father loved me too but they couldn't have... If they had then they never would have turned me into what I was."  

"I'm sure they did their best." Colt countered awkwardly. He suddenly wished he hadn't come in. This was clearly going to be one of those 

feelings talks.

"Maybe," Katherine sighed. "I love this little girl, Colt. I honestly don't know if I could love my own flesh and blood child any more than I love her. When I think of how I almost lost her—"

"But you didn't lose her," Colt assured the woman. "She's in your arms and she's going to live. You've still got her."  

"What a family we make," Katherine smiled. "A whore, an orphan who sees visions and a giant."  

"The way I see it the families bigger than that," Colt amended. "You've got a half crazy injun who hasn't spoken more than three sentences since he came back. A colored doctor, a widowed homemaker, an outlaw, a southern belle, an addle-brained old man who calls himself a prophet and a bitter woman everyone tolerates but nobody likes."  

Katherine laughed lightly. "I guess you're right. Look at you, the big brooding man who doesn't let anyone close—Now you're calling all of us family."  

Colt smiled as he moved toward the door. "I reckon we've been through enough together. Hell time seems to count for more nowadays. A day in this new world is like a year in the old."  

"I agree." Katherine whispered.  

"Try to get you some rest, Katherine." Colt tipped his head and left the room.  

He paused in the hallway a moment to think about the situation the group was now in. They had no horses, very little supplies and would have to backtrack in order to find the railroad tracks once again. Hopefully they'd be able to find some food around this house at daybreak and just maybe they'd get lucky enough to have a few of the horses wander back once they killed the last of the rabid in the morning. It seemed anymore all a man could hope for was a little more dumb luck.  

Colt had one more person he wanted to see to before he called it a night. Moving silently down the hall, Colt climbed out the window and hoisted himself onto the roof. Comanche was there, leaned against the stone chimney and staring off into the night.  

"You communin' with the stars up here?" Colt asked as he sat down on the wooden shingles a few feet away and braced his boots to keep himself from tumbling forward.  

"Yes." Comanche replied without looking at him.

Colt curled his nose, grabbed the mangled remains of a hand from the roof beside him and tossed it down to the ground below. "They have anything interestin' to say?"  

"Not a word." 

"I guess most folks would ask you if you're okay but I reckon I've always thought that was a dumb question so I won't ask it."  

"Thank you." 

"I'm damn glad you came back when you did, Comanche."  

"I would say you are. You nearly pulled your final trigger." Comanche replied knowingly and Colt sighed.  

"You and Evangeline are the only two that saw that so if you could maybe keep it yourself, I'd appreciate it. I've got a fearless leader image to uphold around here."  

"Only the foolish are fearless in this new world." Comanche countered and Colt nodded his agreement. "I noticed that everyone seemed to fight a little better than I remember." Comanche added.  

"They had to learn. There wasn't much choice with you and Frankie gone."  

"I am sorry I abandoned you. It won't happen again."  

Colt shrugged and swiped at bits of flesh that were stuck to the toes of his boots. "You needed time. No one understands that better than me."  

"Just the same, I will not do it again."  

"I would appreciate that."

"I truly am okay, Colt. You can join your wife in bed and stop worrying about me."  

"I wasn't worried about you." Colt lied. "Didn't anyone tell you that I'm the brooder of the group? You're in my spot."  

"Colt, I'm fine. Yes I miss her but I 

will see her again one day. I am saddened to know that most of the time we spent together was wasted on fighting or avoiding one another but we did have good moments. Those are the moments that I will keep with me until we are reunited.“

"And that'll be the biggest hell-raising party those pearly gates have ever seen." Colt replied with a small smile.  

Comanche returned the smile, though the sadness didn't leave his eyes. "Yes it will."  

"Alright then." Colt pushed himself to his feet, remaining crouched to maintain his balance. "Get ya some rest, Comanche. In case you didn't remember it's damn hard work to be around these folks every day."  

"Colt—" Comanche's voice stopped Colt just before he dropped off the roof and into the window.  

"What?"  

"What happened to Lily?"  

Colt let out a breath and shoved his hand through his hair. "She didn't make it, Comanche. She uh.... She opted out."  

"Yet one more cross for me to bear." Comanche whispered as his gaze went back to the sky.  

"Don't feel too bad—I tossed her dead body out a window so the rabid would eat it instead of tearing the building down to get to it. I had to bear that cross and the judgments that came with it."  

"You did what you had to do in order to protect the living."  

"I knew you'd understand." Colt tipped his head. "I'll see you in the morning, Comanche."  

"In the morning," Comanche nodded and Colt slid back inside.  

He went back to the bedroom where he had left Evangeline and closed the door silently behind him. After he had slipped from his clothes, Colt joined her in the bed and kissed her bare shoulder; his body eager for more of hers.  

She grunted and pressed her face deeper into the pillow. "Haven't you had enough?" her muffled voiced asked.  

Colt's body shook with laughter, though he tried hard to keep it quiet. "Never." 

"Well go ahead then but don't wake me up."  

Colt surrendered the battle to laugh silently as laughed hard at her statement. Deciding that making love could wait until she was more willing, he curled his body against hers and wrapped her safely in his arms.  

"I love you, Colt." Evangeline whispered.  

Colt kissed her hair. "Sleep now, sweetheart."

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Who Said Life Was Easy?

"Alright, let's get out there and get our supplies off those carts." Colt said the next morning as everyone stood in the sitting room of the house they were temporarily calling home.  

Charlotte missed having a home. She missed having that one steady place to lay her head down at night and the knowledge that that same bed would be waiting in that same spot at the end of a hard day of work.  

"What are we going to do without horses?" Rachel asked and Colt sighed before sliding his hat back on his head.  

"Let's just take things one step at a time. Priority number one is getting all our belongings in one place."  

"Alright then. Let's get this done," Ox said, gripping his favorite pick axe tightly in his hands. Charlotte was happy to see that he was in better spirits this morning. Ever since Susette had woken up with a smile and eaten breakfast for the first time in days a lot of the tension that had been in the air had disappeared. Her arm was still bruised, her hand was still swollen, but it was clear she was going to live.  

"Susette and I will stay in here," Katherine spoke up.  

Susette whimpered in the arm chair. "But I wanna—"

"You heard Miss Kate," Ox warned her. "We love you and want what's best. You can't use that hand just yet so you don't need to be out there fighting with rabid."  

"Ox, you sounded just like a papa." Evangeline teased with a smile. The grin that appeared on Ox's face nearly split his cheeks.  

Comanche walked to the door with Frankie's hatchet in his hand. "Are we ready?" 

Colt inclined his head. "After you."  

Comanche threw open the door and ran outside, a war cry bursting from his lips. While Charlotte did not share in his enthusiasm for the fight, she tightened her grip on the knife in her hand and followed Silas out the door.  

There weren't many rabid. Comanche took care of most and Colt took care of many of the ones Comanche didn't. Charlotte noticed that Evangeline was right in there as well. Oh how this world changed people.  

Charlotte didn't like it but knew that's how it had to be. The world was hard and cruel now and so there a need for the people living in it to become the same.  

She stuck the knife in her hand deep into the head of a rabid that had run her way just as Silas hit another with the end of his shot gun.  

"That's the last one." Comanche said as he slid his spear back out of a young rabid's head and shook off the gore left on the wooden point.  

"Alright, hopefully that'll be the last we see for a while." Colt sighed. "Let's get these supplies unloaded."  

"Colt, there's a horse!" Evangeline exclaimed, pointing out over the plains. Charlotte followed her gaze and saw that the horse she saw was actually Silas's mule.  

"That's your mule, Silas." Charlotte smiled.  

"Well I'll be..." Silas smiled. "My faithful steed."  

Comanche whistled and his Paint was soon galloping toward them with Silas's mule and Katherine's brown mare in tow.  

"Well three is better than none." Charlotte said brightly. "The day is already looking better."  

"That it is, Miss Charlotte." Silas agreed as he kissed her hair. 	

"Comanche, Ox, why don't the two of you go clean out the smokehouse? We'll lock the horses in there until we're ready to ride out. No point leavin' 'em loose and risking them to those rabid." Colt ordered.  

Comanche and Ox quickly took off to do as Colt said. Colt began dragging the dead rabid bodies and parts into a pile and Silas went to help him. 	

"Well come on, Evangeline and Jedidiah, these carts won't unload themselves."  

Charlotte, Evangeline and Jedidiah made trip after trip, taking in the few changes of clothes, lanterns, oil, blankets and food the group had left.  

Charlotte laid her arms on the side of the cart and took a few moments to rest. The summer sun was beating down already, the hot rays burning the skin on the back of her neck, despite the fact that it was not even yet midday.  

She swiped her forehead against her arm and smiled when her eyes found Silas. So handsome he was. His kind brown eyes met hers and his dark cheeks curved in that loving smile she still found breathtaking.  

Charlotte was about to gather up the last load of blankets when she realized that her boot was untied. With a sigh she crouched down and grabbed the laces in her hands.  

"Got that took care of, Colt." Ox's voice called out. Charlotte looked up to see him and Comanche walking back. "Plenty of room for all the horses in there but they won't have a—"  

Charlotte lost her balance and threw out her hand to catch herself. Her arm slid under the cart and then Charlotte's scream of pain and terror cut off Ox's words.  

---

"Miss Charlotte!" Silas's voice rang out.  

Silas ran toward Charlotte with his mind racing. She was crouched down with her back to him and crying out with pain. Her cries were like daggers straight through Silas's heart.  

"Miss Charlotte, what's wrong?!" he demanded.  

Then his heart stopped, his stomach churned, and his legs nearly gave out when he came close enough to see over her shoulder.  

Charlotte used her free hand to drive her knife deep into the top of the rabid's skull but it was too late. The damage had already been done. Somehow no one had noticed this danger lying half hidden behind the cart wheel.  

It was a head and nothing more; yet it had just managed to take Silas's entire life away from him with one gnash of its jaw.  

Charlotte's screams fell silent as she tore the rabid off of her flesh. She stood slowly and turned to face the group with blood pouring from the gaping wound on her forearm.  

"It—" she swallowed hard, tears streaming down her face as she looked in Silas's eyes. "It bit me."  

"Shit," Colt's quiet, simply spoken curse came from behind Silas. Silas heard other things though he paid them no attention. He heard someone crying and he heard angry mumbling and cursing.  

All he could see was his wife's pale, fear and pain-stricken face. "Miss Charlotte...." He whispered.  

"Silas, it bit me," she repeated. "I didn't even know it was there. I was reaching down to tie my shoe and I lost my balance. I fell forward and it.. it...."  

Silas rushed forward and took her into his arms, collapsing to the ground with her. He leaned his back against the cart wheel and held her close, burying his face in her hair.  

"It'll be okay, Miss Charlotte."  

"No it won't. I'm going to become a monster."  

"Maybe you won't," Silas said desperately as he pleaded with God inside his head. "You're gonna be just fine."  Charlotte began to shiver in his arms and Silas cursed loudly. "Please no, Miss Charlotte. Please not you."  

Charlotte laid a trembling hand on his cheek and smiled at him, though her jaw shook so badly that her teeth were chattering together. "I l..love you, S..Silas. Thank y..you for showing m..me what a real m..man is. Thank you f..for loving m..me and my d..daughter,"  

"No, Miss Charlotte, thank you for seein' past the color of my skin and loving me."  

"Y..you made my h..heart colorblind."  

"Silas," Colt's voice came from in front of them. Silas looked up, clinging desperately to Charlotte's quaking body. "I'll take care of this, Silas. Why don't you go on inside?"  

Silas realized that only Colt and Comanche were still outside. He shook his head.  "Take care of what?" he asked. "She's gonna be just fine."  

"Silas, you know that's not true." Colt replied gently. He took another step forward and reached a hand down toward Charlotte but Silas stopped him by throwing up his revolver and aiming it at Colt's face.  

"You won't touch her," Silas warned.  

Colt sighed. "Silas—"  

Comanche laid a hand on Colt's shoulder. "Come, Colt. Let Silas deal with this.' 

Silas lowered his gun as the two men walked off into the house. He turned his attention back to Charlotte. "Miss Charlotte—" he began but his words died on his tongue when she began to shake more violently against him.  

Drool and foam began to pour from between her pale lips and her beautiful brown rimmed green eyes rolled back in her head. "Miss Charlotte!" Silas screamed desperately.  

Not her. Not the last thing he had had. God had cursed him to be born a slave. He had lost his mother during childbirth, lost his father twelve years later and lost a fiancée. He had been forced to kill his own brother, had buried a daughter and now his wife was.....  

Still. She had suddenly fallen very still. Silas laid his cheek against her nose but felt no breath on his skin. She was dead. The only thing he had left in the world had just died in his arms.  

Silas let out an animalistic roar of pain and heartbreak and clung to her body, burying his face in her hair as he sobbed.  

---

Colt and Comanche stood alone in the sitting room. They stared out the window and watched the scene outside. Nearly two hours Silas had been clinging to Charlotte's dead body. The sun was baking down on the man and Colt knew he had to be unbearably hot but he simply sat there, rocking back and forth and gazing down at Charlotte's lifeless face.  

"Why hasn't she turned yet?" Evangeline whispered, her voice hoarse from the tears she had cried.  

Colt turned to her and took the offered cup of coffee from her hand. “Sometimes it takes hours. I don’t understand it all. When Loralie and Sarah were bitten it was nearly instant. I don’t think Loralie every completely died before she was trying to….” Colt’s voice trailed off and Evangeline laid her hand on his arm.

“This isn’t fair, Colt.”

"What isn't?" Colt asked, wrapping his arm tight around her.  

"Life," Evangeline took a sip of her own coffee and leaned into him. "It shouldn't be so hard.'  

"Who said life would be easy?" Comanche questioned, his eyes never leaving Silas and Charlotte.  

Neither Colt nor Evangeline had any answer for that. Colt glanced down at his wife. She was upset but not distraught. She had cried but not hysterically. She was holding herself together better than he had expected her to. As a matter of fact, the entire group was holding up fairly well—and that made Colt sad.  

People were supposed to be shocked, appalled and devastated by the death of family and friends. Somehow this world had gotten so dark, so harsh, that seeing death had become something second nature. They had all become somewhat immune to the pain; disconnected from the heart break.  

"Colt...." Evangeline whispered and the dread and fear in her voice caught his attention. He looked back out the window and his own stomach clenched.  

Charlotte was stirring in Silas's arms.  

Silas had a look of pure desperation on his face. His hand shook as he laid his gun to Charlotte's temple and closed his eyes tight, his body wracked with sobs.  

Charlotte's hands began to reach out to him, her fingers closing around the fabric of Silas's blue chambray shirt.  

"Pull that trigger..." Colt urged quietly. He could feel Evangeline gripping his arm tightly as she too watched the scene unfold.  

Silas's eyes opened as Charlotte struggled to rise up and bring her face toward him. Suddenly Silas tossed his gun aside. He placed his hands on Charlotte's cheeks and pressed a tender kiss to her brow as she began to hiss and moan; gnashing her jaws.  

"What is he doing?!" Evangeline gasped.  

"No!" Colt yelled as he leapt out the window and ran... but he was too late. Silas did not hesitate before release his hold on Charlotte's face and bringing his neck to her mouth.  

Colt heard the tearing of flesh, the gurgling of blood and a moan of pain. Charlotte threw Silas's nearly lifeless body to the ground as she bathed herself in his blood and feasted on his throat.  

Colt covered his mouth with the back of his hand and fought the urge to vomit with everything he had. He pulled his gun and walked closer, keeping one hand over his mouth and nose. The coppery scent of blood was cloyingly thick in the air.  

Silas was dead. Charlotte was worse than dead. Colt pointed his gun at the back of Charlotte's head. "I'm sorry I couldn't save y'all from the monsters." He whispered and then he pulled the trigger. Charlotte's body was thrown forward. Silas's eyes flew back open, though now they were gray and lifeless. His head hung to the side, his neck too far gone to hold it up properly.  

Colt gave one last squeeze of the trigger and holstered his weapon. He stood there a long while, simply staring down at the dead bodies of his family. Because they 

were family. The family had just lost something that the group needed. Charlotte had been the one to make every place they camped feel a little more like a home and Silas was the doctor and the man of faith.

Now that was gone. Home and faith had just died in the dirt at Colt's feet.  

Finally he turned and walked back to the house. Comanche held the door open for Colt and Evangeline immediately wrapped her arms around Colt's waist and laid her head on his chest.  

"I'm so sorry, Colt." She whispered. Colt held her tight for several long moments, soaking in the comfort of her touch.  

"Let's get them buried." He said as he pulled away and realized the sitting room had filled with what was left of their group. "Then we'll load everything up and head out at daybreak tomorrow."  

"Colt, are you okay?" Katherine whispered as Susette clung to her leg.  

Colt nodded as he gripped Evangeline's hand firmly in his own. "I'm fine. I just don't see any good reason to hang around here any longer."

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Losing Hope

July 20

th

1887

Southwest Wyoming Territory

Ox kicked at the dirt as he watched Colt working with Susette.

It had been two weeks since they'd left Silas and Charlotte's graves behind. Susette's health had improved steadily though for some reason her hand didn't work the way it had before. Colt said that was common with snake bites and it may or may not be permanent. In order to ensure Susette could still take care of herself, Colt was teaching the girl to use a knife and gun with her left hand.  

Ox looked toward Katherine but just like she had for the last two weeks, she turned away from him and pretended he wasn't there.  

Ox felt his heart break. He didn't understand it. He had thought that they were a family. He had thought that Katherine loved him and that they would raise Susette together but now the woman was pulling away and acting as if she and Ox had never shared anything at all.  

"Ox!" Susette's voice called out excitedly. Ox pulled his mind from his depressing thoughts and focused his attention on the little girl he loved like his very own. Ox had never really given much thought to having children. He hadn't figured any woman would ever want to have a child with a man like him—now that Katherine seemed to have ended the relationship they'd been building, he realized he'd been right.  

"What is it, Sue?" Ox asked as he crouched down and braced his arms on his knees.  

"Watch what I can do!" Susette was glowing with pride as she quickly pulled her revolver and then holstered it several times in a row with her left hand, the movement was smooth and gained speed with each repetition.  

"Well shit, Sue, that's real good." Ox beamed.  

"Colt is a real good teacher!" Susette smiled.  

"Don't matter how good the teacher is if the student doesn't have talent." Colt assured her with a wink, "And you, my dear, have talent."  

"Hardly seems a thing to be so proud of," Rachel whispered as she walked by with an armful of wood. "Children her age shouldn't be so talented at violence."  

"I'd rather her know how to use that than end up being killed by these monsters."  Ox countered.  

"We're all going to be killed by these monsters." Katherine spoke up from where she was pouring canned beans into a pot.  

Ox glared at the woman. He wasn't sure what was wrong with her lately but Susette didn't need to hear such talk. "Sue, you wanna go to the lake with me?" Ox asked, pointing at the sparkling water thirty yards away.  

"Yeah!" Susette exclaimed happily. "Colt, wore me out!"  

"He's a regular slave driver." Evangeline agreed, sliding her arm around Colt's waist.  

"Katherine, do you wanna come?" Susette asked and Katherine didn't even look up from the pot of beans.  

Ox sighed. Not only had Katherine turned her back on Ox in the last couple of weeks but she had turned her back on Susette as well. As a matter of fact she seemed to have turned her back on all of them.  

"Come on, Sue, ya gotta help ol' Ox swim. I ain't no good at it." Ox said as he stood straight and held out his hand. Susette laid her weak right hand inside it. She was unable to squeeze or grip well with the hand but at least she hadn't lost it and she could still move her arm; that was more than they'd feared she would be able to do.  

"Ox—" Colt called out as Ox and Susette walked toward the lake,  

"What is it?" Ox asked, glancing back at him.  

"Just keep your eyes open."  

"Don't worry, Colt. I'll keep him safe!" Susette promised as she began to skip alongside Ox and Ox had to jog to keep up.  

---

Evangeline chewed on her lip as she looked from Ox's retreating back to Katherine standing beside the fire that Jedidiah was working to get started.  

"Uh-oh," Colt teased as he poked her nose. "I've seen that look on your face before. What are thinking about so hard?"  

"Something is wrong with Katherine. Something has been wrong with her since..... well since you know..."  

Colt nodded. "Yeah I know."  

Evangeline chewed her lip with renewed vigor. No one spoke much about what had happened to Charlotte and Silas. The wound was too raw; too fresh. "It's like Katherine has separated herself from everyone that cared about her. She's breaking my brother's heart and Susette's as well."  

"It is odd." Colt agreed thoughtfully. "The last time I really talked to Katherine, which was before, she was talking about the three of them were a family."  

"Ox and Susette still are. It's Katherine that seems to have taken herself out of that unit."  

"And I'll bet you're going to go talk with her about it, aren't you?" Colt asked with a knowing smile. Evangeline nodded as she put her arms around his neck and rose on her toes.  

"Of course I am."  

"Don't hurt her."

Evangeline grinned and kissed him quickly. "I'll leave her breathing; that's all I can promise."  

Colt sighed, "I guess that'll have to do."  

Evangeline pulled away from him and walked over to the small cook fire that Jedidiah now had burning.   She glanced around at the mesa's and plains surrounding them and marveled in the beauty. The world had gotten harsh and ugly in a lot of ways but the natural beauty was still around if you looked hard enough for it.  

"Katherine, can we talk?" Evangeline asked as she came to stand beside the other woman.  

"You're the one married to the boss so I guess you can do what you want." Katherine replied with venom in her voice that surprised Evangeline. What in the world had Evangeline done to her to deserve such animosity?

Evangeline glanced at Jedidiah and Rachel who were watching the pair with curiosity of their own. "I'd like to talk to her alone." Quickly the two of them rushed off toward the lake.  

"What is it, Evangeline?" Katherine asked without looking up from the pot of beans she had suddenly taken a very serious interest in.  

"Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting my brother and Susette this way?"  

"What way?" Katherine snapped. "I haven't done anything ."  

Evangeline crossed her arms beneath her breasts and cocked her hip to the side. "You could at least be woman enough to stand up, look at me when you speak and tell the truth instead of hiding behind evasive lies." 

Katherine rolled her eyes and stood, tossing her tangled blond hair over her shoulder. The last month of hard traveling west had taken an impact on all of them. They were losing weight, wasting away and exhausted.  Evangeline knew that's why Colt had stopped a bit earlier today when they'd found this lake. She was hoping to talk him into at least spending two nights here—though she wasn't sure he would after what had happened the last time they'd camped somewhere for any length of time.  

"Evangeline, what goes on between me and anyone else is no concern of yours."  

"It is when you're hurting my brother."  

"Your brother is a grown damn man; not some little boy who needs your protection." 

Evangeline felt her fists clench and twist. She breathed in deep through her nose, reminding herself that she was supposed to be a lady and had plenty of dead people to fight with; she didn't need to be fighting Katherine.  

"And Susette? You're hurting her as well. You were like a mother to her, Katherine, and now you've simply abandoned her."  

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Evangeline." Katherine tried to walk around her but Evangeline wasn't about to let her get away that easily. There was clearly something wrong with the other woman and Evangeline wanted to know what it was. They were family and like it or not Evangeline cared about Katherine.   

Evangeline grabbed Katherine's arm and stopped her. "Talk to me!" she exclaimed. "What is wrong?"  

"We're all going to die! That's what's wrong!" Katherine screamed. Just like that the attention of the entire group, (save for Comanche who was gone hunting for fresh meat),was on the two women. 	

"Why would you say that?" Evangeline asked, calmly. "We're still alive, Katherine—"  

"Not for long! You all are so blind to reality! You keep living your fake lives; trying to convince yourselves that at the end of this journey you're going to find peace and happiness—you're pathetic! You are going to die, Evangeline. Colt is going to die. Ox is going to die. Rachel, Jedidiah, Susette.... Everyone is going to die!"  

"Katherine, don't say that," Evangeline warned when she saw Susette clinging to Ox's leg and listening to the outburst. She and Ox had walked back from the lake when they'd seen Evangeline and Katherine arguing.  

"Why not? Does that mess with your little dream of your future with Colt? You have no future with Colt!"  

"That's enough." Colt stated as he walked over. "Katherine, if you're upset about things that's just fine but I won't have you stirring up panic and trouble."  

"That's fine, Colt," Katherine looked at the man as if he had slapped her. "I'm leaving anyway."  

"Leaving?" Ox demanded. "Shit, Miss Kate, where you going?"  

"Don't call me Kate. My name is Katherine." Katherine snapped. "And I'm leaving this group."  

"Katherine, I think you need to just take a few minutes and cool off," Colt urged gently. "You're acting a little addled."  

Katherine smacked his hand away when he tried to take her arm gently. "Don't tell me I'm crazy!" she screamed, causing Evangeline to take a step away. Everyone had a breaking point and clearly Katherine had reached hers. "Y'all are the crazy ones for thinking there's a future! There is 

no future! Silas and Charlotte were the ones with the most faith; so sure that there was something waiting for us out there and look at them! They’re dead! Grace is dead! Lily is dead! Frankie is dead! Our families are dead! Our wives, husbands, children, parents, siblings; everyone is dead!“

"Katherine—" Colt began but she smacked his face.  

"Don't 

Katherine me. You pretend like you’re something special; like you’re leading this pathetic group to some sort of salvation when really all you’re leading it to is death! If the rabid don’t get us all than sickness, starvation and exhaustion will. There is no hope.“

Evangeline saw Colt's eyes narrow and his jaw tense. She didn't know what to say or do and when she tried to lay her hand supportively on his arm, he jerked away.

Colt took a step toward Katherine and stuck his finger in her face. “If you want to leave then you go right on ahead and see how long you last out there without this pathetic group as you call it. I ain’t never promised nobody that I was leading them to salvation or better things. I’m just doin’ the best I can to take y’all where Jedidiah and Susette tell me to.”

Katherine snarled and took a step back. “Well I’m not playing this game anymore, Colt. I’m leaving.”

Colt shrugged. "Fine. Get a sack full of food and get the hell out of here. I don't need nobody with me that's gonna be scaring the shit out of everybody and losing faith in what we're trying to do."  

"And what exactly is it we're trying to do?" Katherine snapped with her fists clenched at her sides.  

Colt spit in the dirt and wiped his hand across his sweat slicked face. He looked down his nose at Katherin. Evangeline could see the determination written in his eyes as he met the angry woman's gaze full force. "Survive."   

---

“Miss Kate, you can’t just leave…” Ox whispered as he cornered her beside the cart a short time later. Katherine finished stuffing some food, a canteen and blanket in the sack and turned to face him.

"Yes I can, Ox, and I am." She would not stay here and watch Ox and Susette die. It was better to cut her losses now. They wouldn't miss her for long, they'd be too busy 

surviving as Colt called it. Dying was more like it but Katherine had decided not to tell him that again. Colt had appeared ready to throttle her and she hadn’t wanted to push the man any further.

"But, Miss Kate—" Ox had tears in his eyes. "—I love you."  

"Love isn't real, Ox." Katherine sighed, feeling no emotion. She hadn't felt any true emotions in weeks. Something inside of her had broken and she simply wanted to be alone. "It wasn't real before the monsters and it certainly isn't real now. Love is just something that the poets and play writes invented so they could sell sonnets and theatre tickets."  

"Miss Kate, how can you say that?" A tear slid down Ox's cheek.

Katherine turned away from him. "I told you my name is, Katherine, and it's better this way, Ox. You're just too simple minded to see it."  

Katherine's words had been meant to hurt him; meant to make him back off and let her go. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that his face was pale and he looked as if someone had punched him in the gut. Satisfied that she would be left alone, Katherine headed off over the plains, ignoring Susette's pleas for her to come back and all the eyes that were staring holes through her back.  

She walked for several hours and darkness began to fall. Katherine found a small outcropping of red rocks with just enough space for her to lie underneath. She ate a stale biscuit, wrapped the blanket tight around herself and lay down on her side in the tiny cave.  

Katherine felt tears fill her eyes as loneliness settled in but she pushed it all away. There was no point feeling lonely or sad. This was the world now and she was better off alone. Thinking things could be any different had simply been fantasy; a dream that couldn't come true.

Chapter Sixty

Chapter Sixty: We Have a Debt to Live

Colt shoved his hand through his hair and growled as he stared out over the lake. "Fine, y'all. But only one more night. I don't want to stay in one place out in the open any longer than that." He finally relented.  

"Thank you, Colt." Rachel managed to choke out, sounding as if the words themselves might kill her. "We really need one more day of rest." 

"Uh..sure." Colt mumbled. He was glad when Evangeline settled in beside him on the rock he had sat upon and everyone else wandered off, leaving them alone. 	

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly. "You haven't said much since Katherine's outburst yesterday."  

"You know she might be right," Colt sighed as he squinted into the sunlight. "This might all just be a pointless journey and we all could very well die before it's over."  

Colt wondered what Evangeline was thinking as she sat beside him with her arm wrapped through his and her head on his shoulder. They simply sat there in silence, breathing in harmony while Jedidiah and Susette splashed in the water. Finally Evangeline turned her head and kissed his arm.  

"Colt, even if we all die, I still can't see how this journey or any time we have is a waste. We are all alive today, right now, and that's more than what most of the world has gotten."  

"Who would have thought a spoiled little southern belle would be so wise?" Colt teased.  

Evangeline nudged him a little with her shoulder. "Stick with me, outlaw, and I'll take ya places."  

"You already take me places." Colt assured her with a wink and Evangeline laughed lightly.  

"Colt, I know we may not get a happily ever after where we grow old and gray together but that just means we have to live every single day we do have left to its fullest. We have to cling to each other, love each other fiercely and fight tooth and nail for every single moment we can get. We can't just give up hope the way Katherine did. We can't abandon one another and say it's no use. We owe it to all those who have lost their lives to live ours. We owe it to Loralie, Sara, Frankie, Lily, Silas, Charlotte, my mama and papa and countless other souls who don't have any more right nows. We have a debt to live."   

"You know I won't let anything happen to you, don't you Evangeline? Those monsters will have to kill me first."  

"I know." Evangeline smiled up at him. "And who knows, we all might be just fine. Bigger miracles have happened. You do realize that my aunt just thanked you for something, don't you?"  

Colt nodded and a small smile tugged at his lips when he remembered how it had almost sounded as if Rachel was choking on the polite word. "Yeah I reckon you're right." Colt pushed himself to his feet.  

"Where are you going?"  

"I'm going after Katherine.'  

"You are?" Evangeline asked, clearly surprised. Colt sighed and pulled off his hat before shoving his hand through his hair.  

"Yeah, I reckon I am. I'm hoping I can talk her into coming back. This group is a family and I'd like to keep what's left of it together."  

"Do you want me to come?" Evangeline offered.  

"No, you stay here and rest.  I won't be gone long. She left on foot and I'll take a horse and catch her quickly."  

Evangeline nodded and relaxed on the rock, lying on her back and letting the sun soak her face. "Whatever you say, Colt. You are the ruthless leader after all."  

Colt was chuckling as he walked away and began untying the brown mare from a shaded rock.  

"Where are you going?" Comanche asked, walking over from the lake.  

"To find Katherine. I need to see that she's okay and talk her into coming back if I can."

"I will go." Comanche offered.  

"That's alright." Colt countered. "You've been doing more than your fair share of the scouting, hunting and work since you came back."  

"I like to be busy." Comanche shrugged. "I honestly do not mind. When I am still, I think too often."  

Colt nodded because he understood completely. There had been many weeks after losing Sarah and Loralie that Colt had not been able to tolerate being still. And if being busy made Comanche feel better then Colt would gladly give the man work to do. "Alright then, injun. Thank you for bringing back that deer last night. It felt good to have some warm meat in my belly."  

Comanche nodded. "I saw many prairie dog mounds while out this morning and set traps for them. I will check them before I return with Katherine."  

"Thank you, Comanche. I told you before but I'm gonna tell you again, I'm real damn glad you came back."  

"I will be back after a while. It shouldn't be too hard to track her." Comanche whistled and his Paint horse came galloping across the plains to him. Comanche slid into the saddle and took off without another word.  

Colt saw Ox sitting alone a short distance from where Rachel was cooking up a bit more of the deer meat from the night before. While Colt hated any discussion that included feelings, he also knew that Ox was Evangeline's brother, his brother-in-law, and a good friend. Right now the giant of a man looked like he could use a friend that had a shoulder and an ear.  

Colt grabbed a chunk of cooked meat from the rock Rachel had the finished bits sitting on and munched on it quickly as he made his way to Ox.  

---

Katherine had been walking since just after daybreak. The night had been long, chilly and far too dark and quiet. She was used to hearing the sounds of others breathing, snoring and moving while they slept. The silence of being completely alone out here had nearly deafened her.

But it was daylight now and she was feeling more sure of herself. She would just continue to walk until she found a town and then she would set there just as she'd done in the past. She would make it in this world alone. No attachments and no dependency upon anyone else. When she died no one would know and no one would be hurt. 	

She had no doubts that she would die eventually; they all would. There was no hope and she believed that deep down in her soul.  

It was nearing midmorning, probably around ten or so if Katherine were to guess and she decided to stop for a short rest in a wide field full of long grasses and wildflowers. There were red mesas in the distance and the scenery should be beautiful and breathtaking but it evoked no happy feeling from Katherine.  

Happiness wasn't something this new world allowed and feeling it would only cause pain. Perhaps it wouldn't be today or tomorrow but eventually.   

She was sitting there in relative silence when she heard a grunt come from behind her. Instantly she pulled her gun and whirled around only to hear a tiny 'moo' and see a young calf trotting toward her. It seemed a little nervous about the woman sitting in his field, but more curious.  

Katherine glanced a few yard behind the calf and saw the cow standing there, chewing on her cud. She didn't appear to be too worried about Katherine and her calf as she lowered her head once again to the ground.  

Katherine crouched down to be more on the tiny calf's level and held out a hand. "Here boy..." she called gently.  

The calf came a few steps more and stretched its neck as far as it would go so it could touch its wet pink nose against her palm. Katherine smiled. "That's right. I won't hurt you."  

The calf moved closer and Katherine began to stroke the soft brown fur of its neck. It truly was beautiful and innocent and alive. It was young, clearly born after this world had gone to hell.  

Katherine chewed on her lip as she stroked the calf's back. Maybe there was hope. This beautiful creature had been born into this world and it was still alive and thriving from the looks of it. Maybe there was a chance that they could all survive this—maybe happily ever after's were still possible.  

The cow raised his head, mooed and began to walk away. "You better go with your mama." Katherine urged. She laughed lightly when the calf took off at a run toward its mother. It nearly fell three times in its excitement.  

Katherine remained crouched and watching them grow smaller as they wandered away over the plain. She had broken and she didn't like to admit that. Katherine had been so afraid of death—so afraid of losing Ox or Susette and of dying and leaving them that she had taken herself away... but was that really the answer?  

She had to go back. She didn't know if they would all forgive her for what she had said but she had to try. She loved Ox and he loved her. She loved Susette and knew the girl was hurt and confused by Katherine's behavior the last two weeks.  

Katherine stood slowly, adjusted her sack on her back and took one step back the way she came. The groan came without warning from right beside her ear. The hands were gripping her arm from behind before Katherine even had time to know the rabid they belonged to was there.  

Katherine screamed as teeth sunk into her shoulder and her flesh was ripped and torn away from the bone. She went for her gun but the rabid overpowered her and took her to the ground. She managed to pull her knife and drove it into the temple of the rabid before throwing the rotting, stinking monster off of her.  

Katherine could not believe what had just happened. She stared down at her mangled shoulder and saw the ripped and torn flesh. She'd been bitten...... She stared at the mother cow and calf, both of which were circling around acting curious about what had just happened.  

Katherine lay down on her back and stared up at the blue sky as the shakes began to wrack her body. A tear slipped down her cheek. No one would know she died. At least they wouldn't have to mourn her death. She wished she could speak to Ox. She longed to tell him that she hadn't meant those words she'd spoken out of fear, hurt and desperation.  And Susette—God she only wanted to hug the poor child one last time.  

The burning pain in her blood was nearly more than Katherine could stand and as her shakes increased she let her eyes slip closed.  

---

Comanche sat atop his Paint and stared at the scene below him with a mixture of sadness and horror however there was no surprise. He had suspected that he would find a scene similar to this one, perhaps not entirely like this one, but similar. That was why he had not allowed Colt to look for Katherine. While Colt didn’t speak on his emotions much, Comanche had known men like him before. Colt felt too responsible for everyone. He took every death personally and every bad situation they ended up in weighed heavily on the man’s soul—this would have been one more terrible sight Colt would never have been able to un-see.

Katherine had been changed. Comanche had ridden over the rise to find her on her knees, feasting hungrily on a dead calf while the mother cow mooed helplessly from several hundred yards away.  

Comanche dismounted his horse and left him on the rise, knowing the animal would run if danger came near but would return at the first whistle that Comanche let loose. Comanche walked down the rise with his bow in his hands and an arrow held loosely against the string.  

He stepped over the dead body of a rabid and knew that it must be the monster guilty of biting Katherine. Comanche wondered how it had managed to sneak up on someone who had lived with the rabid as long as Katherine had. He knew it was not an impossible feat however, he had learned during those weeks away from the group that life without them was deadly. If you lived alone; you died alone.  

"Katherine." Comanche called out and the woman stopped her feast and stood slowly. She turned to look at him and her head cocked to the side. Comanche could see the bite wound on her shoulder and his heart felt heavy.  

He and Katherine had never done much in the way of speaking. Calling them close would have been a lie, but that did not change the fact that she was part of the group; part of his tribe. It hurt to see her like this. It hurt to see her lifeless gray eyes and blood covered face. She had bits of gore from the calf hanging from her lips as she took slow, clumsy steps his way.  

Gone was the alluring, tempting, beautiful woman she had been and in its place stood a monster. Comanche readied his bow, pulled back the bow and took a deep breath. "I am sorry, Katherine."  

---

“Katherine!” Susette screamed as she jumped up from the nap she’d been taking. She was breathing hard and her chest heaving rapidly as her wide eyes searched the camp.

Ox ran to her and she jumped into his waiting arms, clinging to his neck with her skinny arms. "What's wrong, Sue?"  

"Katherine's dead," Susette whimpered.  

Ox felt his stomach turn. "Why would you say that, Sue?" he asked her with horror.  

She buried her face in his neck. "I saw it, Ox... I saw her dead. She was a monster."  

Ox nearly dropped Susette. He wanted to scream at her, shake her, call her a liar. He wanted to hate her, hit her, toss her away from him—he couldn't do any of those things.  

"Susette, will you come sit with me a minute?" Evangeline urged gently. She walked over and peeled Susette off of Ox and Ox simply stood there feeling as if his entire world had just been slid right out from under his feet.  

Miss Kate was dead? Ox had known she'd been upset and that's why she had left. It had broken his heart to hear her call him simpleminded and act as if what they'd shared at meant nothing but Colt had had a long talk with Ox only a few hours before. The other man had made Ox see things more clear and realize that Katherine hadn't meant what she had said.  

"I'm sure Katherine is just fine." Evangeline whispered soothingly as she held Susette and laid her free hand on Ox's arm. "Comanche went to find her and I'm sure they'll be back anytime and it'll be fine."  

"No it won't. I saw it!" Susette exclaimed with fresh tears running down her cheeks.  

Ox let out a choked sob but then froze when Comanche came riding into view. Time seemed to stand still as the Indian neared them.  

Ox kept his eyes on the other man's face and when Comanche's eyes met his Ox knew. Without caring what anyone would think of him, Ox collapsed to his knees as he covered his face with his giant hands and his massive shoulders shook.  

He felt tiny hands on his arms and quickly embraced Susette as the two of them let go of their pain together.

Chapter Sixty-One

Chapter Sixty-One: Taking a Break to Live

"What happened to her?" Colt asked Comanche a short time after the Indian had returned. Jedidiah and Rachel were preparing the prairie dogs that Comanche had managed to get and Evangeline was busy trying to comfort Ox and Susette the best she could.  

"She was alone with no one to watch her back. She was bitten and already changed when I found her. There was a cow nearby. I tried to catch it but it ran off and I did not want to waste time taking chase."  

Colt cursed under his breath and paced a few steps away only to pace back again. "Did you take care of it—Katherine I mean?"  

"Yes." 	

Colt slumped down on a rock and stared out over the lake. Damn this! They were all going to die. That fact settled down on Colt like a dark cloud. Quickly he shoved himself to his feet and strode back to camp. He grabbed Jedidiah's arm, ignoring the shocked gasps from Rachel and dragged the old man over to the lake where Comanche still stood.  

"Well, Colt, if you wanted ya some alone time with me all ya had to do was ask." Jedidiah said, forcing a smile.  

"Now is not the time for your jokes, old man." Colt warned. Jedidiah's mouth slammed closed. "Now, you have some serious explaining to do. Why the hell are my people dropping like flies without a warning from my great prophet? I mean, shit, I got two brain-addled crazies who claim to see visions and none of you saw a suicide, a head beneath a cart wheel or Katherine leaving... what good are you?"

"No damn good." Jedidiah offered in response. Colt felt his fist twitch and barely controlled the urge to rearrange the man's crooked and broken teeth.  

"Jedidiah, I'm serious. You told me Rachel was going to die but you never said nothing about all these other people—and Rachel is still alive!"  

Jedidiah sighed sadly as he sat down on the rock. Colt noticed that Comanche seemed surprised by the revelation but Colt was damn tired of being saddled with the load himself and he damn sure couldn't share this one with Evangeline. He trusted Comanche.  

"Colt, I wish I could give you a clear idea of what your journey will hold but I can't. That has always been the greatest curse of my gift. I have no control over what I see or when. Perhaps Rachel was supposed to die back in the town when she and I were attacked and I saved her life. There will be more death, Colt. I don't know who and I don't know when and I don't know where but the rabid have not taken their last victim."  

Colt swallowed hard and looked up at the sun. "Are any of us going to make it, Jedidiah? Is there some great promised land or was this all some damn joke from the Big Man upstairs to keep us running?"  

Colt wanted Jedidiah to assure him there was a purpose to all of this—that there was some great cure or sickness free land waiting on them. Colt wanted to hear that he wasn't leading what was left of their dwindling group on a pointless quest to nowhere—the old man did none of that.  

"I don't know." Was Jedidiah's only response. "I thought I was sure before but now—I don't know."

"I have heard it said that the destination is not the thing," Comanche spoke up. "The thing is the journey; the trip you take."

"So enjoy what life is left and quit racing to get somewhere that is really nowhere, is that what you're saying?" Colt asked, a dull ache beginning to build behind his temple.  

"You're the leader, Colt." Jedidiah informed him as if he didn't already know. "We'll do whatever you say."

"What about Susette's vision? The whole reason we're heading to where we're heading?" Colt added with a frown.  

"She's young." Jedidiah replied with a shrug. "Her visions are even less reliable and dependable than mine. I need time to work with her; time to help her understand them. And I think it will be some time before she feels well enough to work on meditating."  

Colt nodded and headed to his saddlebags. He searched through them until he found the map that he'd planned their trip by. Colt had been working hard to keep up with their steps and paces so he could mark their progress on the map each night.  

"What are you doing?" Evangeline asked as she came up behind him.  

Colt glanced over his shoulder and saw Ox and Susette walking toward the lake together. "They okay?"  

"No." Evangeline whispered, swiping at her wet cheeks.  

Colt sighed and laid a gentle hand on her cheek. "I didn't think so. And I'm taking out the map because I need to check something."  

Colt spread the map out and studied it carefully. He wasn't sure how long he stared down at the wrinkled bit of parchment but when he looked up he realized that the group was gathered around him and watching him expectantly.  

He stood up straight, folded the map and looked at them all in turn. "Yesterday Katherine said that I'm leading you all with some kind of false hope—some dream that we'll get somewhere new and things there will be just fine and untouched," Colt rubbed at his chin which was once again sporting a rather impressive amount of stubbly beard. "I apologize if that's the case. There is no untouched land and I'm not fool enough to believe that there is. Truth is I'm just as damn confused and scared by this new world as the rest of you.  

"All I know is that there are eight of us left and I'm going to do the best I can to make sure we live as long as possible.  I think what we all need after the last few weeks is a good long break. If we leave at daybreak and head southeast for about three days there should be a town there... I've been to it before."  

"But what about California?" Rachel questioned.  

"Me and Susette are gonna talk about that just as soon as she's feeling up to it." Jedidiah assured the woman. "We're not giving up on our plans, Rachel, we're just taking a break."  

"We're taking a break to do what?" Evangeline asked Colt and he looked into her deep green eyes, praying she would see how much he loved her.  

"To live, Evangeline. We're taking a break to live."  

---

Evangeline nearly cried out with relief when the town Colt had been leading them to for nearly three full days came into view. She had no idea how the man seemed to know exactly where he was going out here in the middle of nowhere but she was thankful for it. She supposed all those years he'd spent on horseback running from the law were coming in handy now.  

"There's no rabid." Ox stated bluntly from the cart where he sat with the reins held loosely in his hands.  

"That's strange." Colt admitted. "Y'all stay here. I'm gonna have a look around." He motioned for Evangeline get down from the brown mare. Silas's mule was hooked to the cart and the only other horses available to ride were Comanche's Paint and this brown mare. The Paint would not allow any rider other than Comanche on his back and so the rest of the group had been taking turns riding the brown mare or driving the cart.  

No one was allowed to ride in the back of the cart because Colt said it was too hard on the mule. Evangeline had noticed that in true Colt fashion, the man had not ridden more than two or three times in the last three days. Instead he chose to walk and allow everyone else the rest that he so desperately needed as well.  

She was going to make sure he rested well tonight; even if she had to tie him to the bed to get it done.  

Evangeline hopped down from the mare, hanging onto the saddle horn for a moment as the blood flow returned to her legs. "I'd rather you didn't go alone." She admitted.  

"I'll be just fine." Colt assured her. He stooped closer to allow his lips to brush her ear. "No point in more than one of us being in harm's way."  

Evangeline wanted to scream at him that she didn't want him in harm's way either but knew there was no point. Colt was going to do what Colt was going to do and Evangeline had learned the hard way over the months to pick her battles carefully.  

Without waiting for her to reply Colt swung himself into the saddle and motioned at Comanche. "Keep your eyes peeled," he warned. "And everybody else get in the back of the cart until I give the all clear. If I don't give the all clear and I come high tailing it back here then you need to be ready to high tail it as well."  

With those parting words Colt rode off toward town leaving Evangeline to sit, wait and pray that today wasn't the day she was going to lose him.  

---

As Colt rode slowly down on the main streets of this rather large town he felt as if he had stepped into a time machine and gone back to this same time last year. He had been in this town once nearly ten years before and it had grown some since then but other than that it appeared untouched.

Up until now every place they had gone had been full of death and destruction. Boarded windows, broken doors, dead animals and people alike littering the streets—none of those things were here.  

The streets were tidy, the buildings clean and orderly, the windows shining in the sunlight and curtains blowing in the light breeze—what the hell was going on?  

It was silent and not a single other live soul, rabid or otherwise, was stirring as he rode further into town.  

He pulled up on the reins and stopped the mare in her tracks when a sight met his eyes that had shivers running down his spine.   

Flowers.  

Perfectly groomed and trimmed flowers were growing in several boxes in front of a tidy yellow house with red checkered curtains and a bright white door. “Hello the house!” Colt called out, feeling a million kinds of a fool as he did so.

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to have happen. Did he want an actual living breathing person to respond or was he hoping for a rabid to leap out of nowhere and need killing? He glanced back toward where he’d left the group and could see them waiting expectantly for him in the distance.

His attention went back to the yellow house when the door was suddenly thrown open and Colt found himself staring at a giant of a man nearly the same size as Ox only a hundred pounds softer around his middle. The man had wild hair so golden it was nearly white, thin-rimmed glasses and a smile that seemed just a bit too happy.

“Hello there!” the man called back as he pulled off the white doctor’s coat he’d been wearing and tossed it over the banister of the porch. “Not very often we get newcomers here anymore. My name is Doctor Harris. What is your name sir?”

The man held out his hand and Colt slowly dismounted the mare and stepped forward, placing his hand in the doctor's. "Colt."  

Doctor Harris waved his hand around as his smile broadened yet more on his full face. "Welcome to Bathton, Colt."  

Colt took a step back so he wouldn’t have to look up to see the other man’s face clearly. “Uh—thanks.’ Colt mumbled in response. “I was here once before about ten years ago…. It was a bit busier then.”

“Yes sadly the current turn of events has put a damper on our population. But there are still folks here, they just don’t leave their homes often and I’m sure you can understand why.”

“Right. And they keep up on their landscaping?”

“That would be my wife, Judith. She never could stand to see a dirty porch or an unkempt flower bed. Some habits die hard I suppose.”

Colt wasn’t sure what to make of this man. He didn’t seem dangerous; maybe a little odd but then again most folks were nowadays. “My friends and I need a place to stay, Doctor. We’ve been traveling a long damn time and we’re mighty tired.”

Doctor Harris clapped his hands and rubbed them together excitedly. "Of course! We've got plenty of room here. Why the hotel over there has a bathhouse, stocked kitchen and cellar, dining hall, plenty of bedrooms and a smokehouse out back with a stable right next door for your horses. You're all welcome to it."  

"Uh.. Doctor, where are the rabid?"  

"Rabid?" the doctor asked with a frown.  

"Yeah—you know the cannibal people that are eating other people's faces off?" 

Something flickered in the doctors eyes. Temper? Indignation? Colt wasn't sure and didn't care. "The sick people you mean? They are gone. I take care of them as they come through here. Those of us that are left here are just fine."  

"What about supplies? Are there supplies here?"  

"Plenty! This town was booming and then the sickness hit." Just like that the doctor seemed cheerful yet again. Colt wasn't much for cheerful people. It was one thing to be calm and happy but cheerful and bubbly just weren't character traits he admired in a person.  

"It's just seven of us. We'll do what we can to pull our weight around here and help the town."  Colt assured the doctor.  

The other man just smiled more and Colt felt unease wash over him. Damn but he really didn't like this man. "I'm sure you will do just that." Doctor Harris replied. "Now go get your friends and settle on in over there at the hotel. You look plumb beat."  

"Thank you, doctor. I reckon we are." Colt replied with a tip of his hat. He slid back up in the saddle as the doctor looked down the street and waved at the group. Colt saw that no one waved back other than Ox and it made him chuckle. Good ol' Ox could always be counted on to be polite.  

"And you're sure the hotel is rabid free?" Colt questioned.  

"Cross my heart. There are no sick people in the hotel." Doctor Harris promised. "I have to get back in to Judith now. Y'all enjoy your stay here in Bathton, Colt. The folks keep to themselves so it would probably be best for y'all to do the same. If you need anything just come on back down here and I'll see what I can do to help you out."  

"Alright then." Colt clicked his tongue and edged the mare to the side. "Thanks Doctor." Colt rode down the street to the massive hotel and glanced at the board free windows and doors. No offense to the good doctor but Colt was going to check that place out himself before he had his family stepping foot in it. It looked like one hell of a normal hotel and these days normal was enough to make a man's skin crawl.

Chapter Sixty-Two

Chapter Sixty-Two:

"Colt, this doesn't feel right." Comanche said as the group made their way down the road toward the hotel. Comanche had never cared for towns. They were too neat, too organized, too controlled—in the old world. The new world had towns that were wild and untamed and he did not mind them so badly. But this town was like the towns of old. Neat, orderly, clean and.....strangely quiet.  

"I know it doesn't." Colt admitted.  "But it's just for a night. We'll gather up supplies and leave in the morning for someplace different." Comanche nodded. He knew there wasn't any other choice. They were too low on supplies to simply leave—the group would surely starve or collapse from exhaustion if they didn't get some decent rest soon. Morale was low and a bit of peace was needed desperately.  

Comanche could see the lines of fatigue on everyone faces, even Colt's. Comanche himself was exhausted as well—Meals had become whatever Comanche could hunt in a day and whatever the women could gather. Potatoes had become a staple but they were running out and those they had left were beginning to rot.  

Everyone was hungry and run down and without a good amount of rest soon the horses were going to begin to fall. Already the brown mare had a limp that Comanche knew Colt was concerned about.  

"Colt, we need longer than one night," Rachel argued, her voice barely more than a whisper as her feet dragged the ground with every step she took.  

"I know that, Rachel." Colt sighed tiredly. "But something ain't right about this place and that man. Now my instincts tell me that we'll be just fine here for a night but I'm not pushin' it any longer than that."  

"Does he live here alone?" Evangeline questioned, glancing at all the clean boardwalks and storefronts.  

"He says there are other people here but that everyone keeps to themselves and stays inside." Colt shrugged.

"Clearly there have been no herds through here. Even if he says he deals with the flesh eaters as they come, he could not have handled a herd without some part of this town being destroyed."  Comanche observed.  

"Maybe he's really alone here, Colt," Evangeline said. "Maybe he's just lonely and pretends there are other people here."  

"It's possible." Colt nodded and scratched at his bearded chin. "Comanche and I will take turns keeping watch tonight though. I don't trust this man."  

"You said he wasn't mean," Ox spoke up.  

"He wasn't." Colt admitted with a snort. "He was downright cheerful. If there's two things I don't trust nowadays it's cheerful and normal. He was cheerful and this town seems normal, other than the fact that it's empty; that means I don't feel real good about being here." 

"This man is no real threat, Colt. If he is indeed alone here I can end what worry you have of him quite easily." Comanche assured the other man as he ran his hand over the bone handle of his knife.  

"You wouldn't kill an innocent man!" Rachel exclaimed. "That would make you no better than a common murderer!"  

Comanche fixed her with a cool stare. "I would kill any threat to myself or this group."  

"There's no proof that this doctor is a threat!" Rachel argued angrily. "Maybe he is telling the truth or maybe he is lonely and sad and a little off in the head. Whichever it may be neither of those things means he is a threat to any one of us."  

Comanche looked down his nose at the woman. Comanche saw everyone in this group as his family, except this woman. She was harsh, judgmental and full of hate. It did not matter what image the woman now tried to put forth, or how often she bit her tongue; Comanche knew that inside she was still the same.  

"No one is going to be killing anyone tonight." Colt grumbled as he came between the two of them and urged them down the road once again. "I don't think the man is dangerous, but there's something about this place I don't like and I don't want to make this home for any length of time. Now let's get the hell to the hotel and get to work patching up the lower windows and doors."  

"Will this man be angry that we damaged his hotel? He seems to take pride in the appearance of his town." Comanche noted.  

Colt chuckled and shook his head. "How about if he gets mad we let him talk to the business end of my namesake?" Colt patted the gun on his hip and Comanche nodded.  

"That should work."  

---

"Colt, here's all the nails that Rachel and I could find upstairs." Evangeline said as she sat two jars of nails on the table in the hotels fancy sitting room.  

This place was fancier than Colt preferred with its heavy English furniture and gleaming, polished wood but Colt figured beggars couldn't be choosers. He also knew that Evangeline was appreciating the rich interior.  

It was a strange feeling to know that in another time before these monsters, Evangeline probably wouldn't have looked twice at a man like him; a man on the wrong side of the law more often than the right side with a tiny struggling homestead and barely a dollar in his pockets.

"That should be plenty." Colt acknowledged as he tossed the board he was carrying onto the floor. They had stripped out the floor of a few extra bedrooms in order to have the boards for the windows and doors. There was no way in hell Colt would allow his people to spend the night in a building with no protection. When they were outdoors it was different—everyone slept with one eye open. But inside they tended to let their guards down a bit more and Colt wanted to ensure that they could do so safely.  

Evangeline grabbed a hammer from the back of the small sofa as Colt held a board over a window. She placed several nails between her lips and began hammering those nails into the board. Colt's lips curved in a small smile. He had lost a big part of his group but those left worked well together.  

Rachel was in the kitchen preparing a meal, Susette and Ox were bringing in pails of water and filling several tubs upstairs, Jedidiah was nailing boards on the back door and windows and Comanche was on the roof keeping watch.  They already had the horses settled in at the stables and had secured the doors the best they could while still leaving small openings in the windows for the animals to have some air. The brown mare had had a rock caught in her shoe and Colt had gotten it out but the horses needed some good hoof care which Colt knew he'd have to take care of tomorrow.  

Colt moved down to the next window, wishing this sitting room didn't have so many, and braced a board across it. Evangeline began to hammer, sticking her tongue out and biting it as she did so. Colt chuckled but that laughter died when Doctor  Harris came bursting in the through the front door, his feet stomping loudly through the entryway before he strode into the sitting room and fixed Colt with an angry glare.  

"What are you doing?!" Doctor Harris bellowed, his full cheeks turning blood red as his chins shook.  

Colt shrugged and positioned his body in front of Evangeline's, the action more of an instinct than a conscious decision. "We're making this place secure."  

"Secure from what?"  

"From the rabid," Colt replied. He saw Comanche slinking silent through the entry way with Frankie's hatchet clutched firmly in his hand. The Indian crouched and seemed fully prepared to launch himself on the large doctor. His eyes met Colt and Colt shook his head. "You don't have to do that, Comanche."

Doctor Harris turned quickly and began to stutter when he saw Comanche rising back up. Comanche slid the hatchet back into the self-made holster and crossed his arms over his chest. "Is this the doctor?"  

"Yes, I am the doctor." Doctor Harris snapped. He whirled back toward Colt. "This is my town! I told you this hotel was safe and you have destroyed it! Where did you get these nails and boards?"  

"From upstairs!" Susette exclaimed as she walked into the sitting room, dragging her bucket along the best she could with one good hand and one not so good one. Water sloshed against the edges of the wooden pail and landed on the fancy rug. "It was lots of fun getting the nails... it was like a scav...sabenger....sacavenger.... it was lots of fun." She finally blurted out.  

Colt smiled at the girl. Katherine's abandonment and then death had taken a big toll on her but she seemed okay. Perhaps not as happy as she'd been before Katherine had left but Colt knew the girl would be alright. Ox played a big part in that. Colt had never seen a finer father. Ox was hurting but he seemed to have pushed that to the side and focused all his time and attention on Susette. Together they were healing and Colt figured that was the way it was supposed to be.  

"You are tearing down my hotel?" Doctor Harris demanded. Colt wiped his hands on his trousers and shrugged.  

"I'm doing what has to be done. I don't know how this town has gone without being torn apart but you ain't seen the rest of the country, doc. My family ain't sleepin' in a place that ain't safe."  

"Now see here--!" The doctor took a step forward and Ox was suddenly there, stepping between Colt and Doctor Harris. Ox and the Doctor were roughly the same height, both seven foot giants, but the doctor was soft and fat around his middle whereas Ox was all hard, solid muscle. 

"You'll take ya a step back now." Ox warned. "Nobody needs to be yelling and fighting in front of the ladies—" Ox looked back at Colt. "Ain't that right, Colt?"  

"That's right Ox." Colt nodded. "Now you and Susette get them buckets on upstairs."  

"Doctor, I am terribly sorry if we have offended you," Evangeline stepped around Colt and held out her hand to Doctor Harris. "We've been fighting to stay alive for so long that I'm afraid we did all of this purely out of habit without first considering how it would bother you."  

Colt snorted, but the doctor seemed soothed as he shook Evangeline's offered hand. "Can I ask what you all are so scared of?"  

"The monsters." Susette replied. Ox had taken her bucket from her and gone upstairs, leaving the girl in the sitting room.  

"You mean the sick people?" the doctor asked, his jaw tightening. 	

Susette shook her head and tugged on the ends of her tied back hair. "They aren't people anymore. They're monsters. They killed my mommy—well she wasn't my real mommy but I was hoping that she might be..." Sadness filled Susette's features and Evangeline went to the girl and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  

"They are not monsters," the doctor argued. "They are simply sick people who need to be helped."  

"I'll kindly ask you not to be spouting out your beliefs to the girl." Colt warned. He nodded at Comanche who walked back out the door to retake his place on the roof.  

"You would rather her see these people she loves as monsters?!"  

"They aren't the people she loved anymore. I'd rather tell her a horrible, heartbreaking truth than have her believing a sweet, sugar-coated lie."  

"Come on now, let's stop fighting," Evangeline urged as the doctor stepped forward and Evangeline came between he and Colt. "What's done is done and we cannot change it." Colt's hand instantly went to the handle of his gun when it appeared for a moment the doctor was going to force Evangeline out of his way.  

Finally Doctor Harris took a deep breath. "I want your group out of here in the morning."  

"We're tired, doc, and if this place is rabid free and quiet then we'll probably be sticking around." Colt replied.  

The doctor's brown eyes nearly bulged from his head and he let out a whoosh of air through his nose. "The townspeople will not be happy about this." 

Colt stuck his thumbs through his belt loops and shrugged. "Then have them come on over here and let us know that. I have to look out for my people and just now this is the best choice we've got."  

Colt stared the doctor down and knew that he had called the man's bluff. Colt was fairly certain that there were no other people in this town. He suspected that Evangeline was correct and the man was alone here; sad, lonely and probably more than a little crazy because of it.  

Without another word the doctor turned and strode from the hotel, slamming the door loudly behind him.  

"Trouble, Colt?" Jedidiah asked stepping into the room. Colt shook his head as he realized Rachel was now peering into the room as well.  

"No," Colt replied slowly. "But y'all ain't gonna be able to let your guards down quite as much as you normally do when we find us a place like this. I'll want two guards on the roof at all times once darkness falls. There's something strange that I don't trust—" 

"I think he's just a few bubbles off of plum," Jedidiah shrugged with a smile. "But then again I've been told I'm the same a time or two."  

"I would say you have," Colt agreed. "Now let's get back to gettin' this place locked down. I'm ready to rest a bit."

Chapter Sixty-Three

Chapter Sixty-Three: Pies, Cellars, Visions and an Unwelcome Guest

Evangeline sat in the sitting room, scrubbing clothes on the washboard. Colt had laughed when she had asked him to bring in enough pails of water for her to wash. He had insisted that by washing the clothes they’d been wearing for the last few weeks she was doing nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig. She had stuck her tongue out at him and sent him out to the stables to see to the horses hooves. Washing their worn out and stained clothing might be a waste of time but Evangeline wasn’t willing to simply leave them dirty. She didn’t mind stains and tears just so long as they smelled decent again.

Last night had been tense but uneventful. Everyone had been so worried that something terrible was going to happen the moment they closed their eyes but nothing had. It had been quiet and peaceful—two things that none of them were used to. Even in the towns they'd stayed in before the moans of rabid on the streets around them had managed to come through the walls and windows at times. To hear nothing but silence outside had been more unnerving than the sound of any monster had ever been.  

Evangeline was lost in her thoughts when a quiet rapping came upon the wall and her head flew up as her hand released its hold on the wet blouse and grabbed her knife from her leg.  

"I did not mean to startle you, miss." Doctor Harris said quickly as he raised one hand in peaceful surrender and smiled.  

"I apologize," Evangeline gasped as she put her knife away and rose to her feet. She dried her hands on her trouser legs and glanced at the pie the doctor held in his hands that smelled suspiciously like delicious apples and cinnamon. Evangeline's mouth began to water and her stomach rumbled at the thought of eating something so sinfully good after nothing but beans, potatoes and fire charred meat for so long.  

"It was completely my fault. I should have spoken sooner and not been so quiet. I didn't mean to seem as if I was sneaking," the doctor assured her.  

Evangeline shook her head. "It's a different world outside of this town, doctor, so you'll have to excuse my friends and I if we seem a bit paranoid at times. We have had to learn to view everything as a threat in order to survive."  

Doctor Harris laid his free hand over his impressive belly and tilted his head. "Have you lost members to your group out there?"  

Evangeline felt the sting of the pain as if it were fresh and new. She nodded and swallowed hard. "Yes we have."  

The Doctor gave her a comforting smile. "I am sorry for you losses, miss. I also want to apologize for how I treated all of you last night. Please know that it is not in my nature to be so rude. Judith, my wife, baked this pie and informed me that I was to come and offer it to you all as a token of peace."  

"You have a wife?" Evangeline asked, with interest. She craved contact with another woman. Now that Katherine and Charlotte were both gone, Evangeline had no other woman to bond with. She and her aunt would never again be as close as Evangeline had hoped they would become—too many harsh words and too much bad blood existed between them.   

"Yes," the doctor shifted his feet and averted his gaze. "But I'm afraid she isn't feeling very well today or else she would have come and greeted you herself."  

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Evangeline offered, though inside she was growing just as suspicious and apprehensive about this man as Colt and Comanche both seemed to be. "Tell her thank you for the pie. She didn't have to trouble herself with making it if she didn't feel well."  

"It wasn't any trouble." Doctor Harris assured her, his gaze once again meeting hers. "Can I take this in the kitchen?"  

"Oh I'll get it," Evangeline said as she walked around her tub of suds filled wash water and held out her hand. "I'm sure you have things to be getting back to." She wasn't sure why but something inside of her knew that Colt wouldn't want the doctor roaming around the hotel. They had no good or logical reason not to trust the man but that didn't seem to matter to her gut. Her gut was telling her that something about him was off.  

"Okay then," Doctor Harris smiled as he handed her the pie. "Remember if you all find yourselves needing anything, feel free to come down to the house and knock, I'm sure I'll be able to help. And before I forget, Judith wanted me to invite you all to dinner tonight around seven." 

"I thought she wasn't feeling well?" Evangeline reminded him and he waved his hand.  

"She'll be just fine. Entertaining folks makes her feel better."  

Evangeline doubted that Colt would say okay to the dinner offer but she nodded politely. "I'll be sure to tell the group about dinner."  

"Alright then, miss--?" his gaze became questioning.  

"Evangeline." 

"Alright then, Evangeline—that's a real pretty name by the way. I'll be on my way now."  

Evangeline watched the doctor leave and then closed the door and secured the board across it with her free hand. She wasn't sure how it had gotten left unlocked but knew she'd have to remind everyone to be more careful about locking it. She didn't like knowing that the doctor had snuck right in so easily.  

Evangeline made her way to the kitchen and sat the pie on the counter. "Where is that from?" Rachel asked with hungry eyes as she took in the sight of the pie.  

"Doctor Harris said his wife baked it for us. They also invited us to dinner tonight."  

"He seems like such a nice man." Rachel stated with a smile. "I can't understand why Colt doesn't trust him."  

"I don't trust him completely either, Aunt Rachel. There is something 

off about him.“

"You're just so used to running around with savages, colored men and outlaws that you've forgotten what a gentleman is." Rachel assured her with a snort.  

Evangeline felt her fists clench and she took several deep breaths through her nose and counted to ten to calm her temper. "You'll do well to watch what you say and who you say it about," Evangeline warned. Tears pricked behind her eyes, "Silas was a damned good man and one that I respected and loved very much."  

Rachel seemed taken aback and she quickly grabbed a knife and began to cut the pie into seven wedges. "Of course. I apologize," she whispered.  

"I'm going to get back to my laundry. Doctor Harris did say that if we needed anything we could go down to his house and he should be able to help. Since you're so fond of him I thought perhaps you'd want to go have tea and biscuits or something."  

Before her aunt could reply, Evangeline made her way quickly out of the kitchen and to her wash basin. She picked up the shirt she'd been scrubbing away at and began to scrub again with renewed gusto.  

"What did that shirt ever do to you?" Colt's amused voice asked from behind her. Evangeline turned her head and forced the sweetest smile she could manage as she batted her lashes.  

"I'm picturing my aunt's face on it. Better the shirt than her actual head against this washboard."  

Colt rubbed at his scruffy chin and studied the washboard for several long moments. "I think you might just be wrong about that."  

Evangeline laughed lightly and stood up, drying her hands once again on her trousers before walking to him. She rose on her toes and threw her arms around his neck. Bringing her lips to his, she paused just before they touched, "I don't think you are every supposed to tell your wife that she is wrong, Colt McGreer."  

Colt grinned as his arms snaked their way around her waist, "Is that right?"  

"Yes," Evangeline nodded and bit at his lip causing his grip on her waist to tighten and a growl to escape his throat. "I'm quite sure it is written somewhere."  

Colt chuckled quietly and then pressed his lips to hers, devouring her mouth in a hungry assault that caused Evangeline's toes to curl and her heart to race. When he pulled his lips away, Evangeline was left panting and breathless.  "I trust that made up for my slight oversight in the rules?" Colt asked with an arrogant smirk on his face.  

As badly as Evangeline wanted to put him in his place she couldn't. The best she could manage was a small nod as her heart thudded violently against her ribs. "Good," Colt pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.  

"What are you doing in here? I thought you were busy with the horses."  Evangeline managed to speak after several seconds of standing in her husband's embrace.  

"I am. I saw the doctor leave and wanted to know what he wanted so I climbed to the second floor and slipped in."  

"Have you slipped into many second story windows in your time, outlaw?"  

Colt shrugged, "A man does what he must."  

Evangeline found herself laughing. "He brought an apology and a pie that his wife baked. He also invited us to dinner at his home at seven tonight."  

"What do you think about this dinner?" Colt asked her and Evangeline still felt that little wave of surprise about a man asking her opinion on something. And she knew Colt wasn't just asking out of politeness. She knew that he would truly listen to what she said and take it to heart.  

"I'm not sure. Part of me yearns to trust him and find decent people still left and a safe haven we can rest in—but then there is another part of me that has been hardened by this new world and it says that some things are simply too good to be true and this doctor, this town, they fit into that category perfectly."  

Colt sighed and rested his brow against hers as his eyes slid closed. "I don't trust it either." Colt glanced at the washbasin. "I'll let you get back to scrubbing away your stress while I go finish with those horses. Ox is on the roof, Comanche is out scouting the town and I reckon Jedidiah and Susette are upstairs so you should have some quiet time for a while."  

"Alright then, outlaw. Are you going to use the door or slip back out the window?" 

Colt grinned as he headed for the stairs. "The window," he replied. "What fun is there in using a door?"  

Evangeline smiled as she watched him go and smiled. Colt was truly a blessing in this world. While she knew the chances of them having forever were very slim and one of them would eventually fall victim to this cruel new world, Evangeline was determined to love him with a fierce passion and soak up every moment she could with him until that time came.  

---

Comanche did not trust this town. It was far too quiet and peaceful for his tastes. He let his hand rest on the head of the hatchet on his hip as he walked down a back street, staying alert for any sign of motion or the sounds of movement. Comanche let his thoughts drift to Frankie as he touched the hatchet she'd been so fond of. Comanche would keep this weapon always; it was as if he carried a piece of his pale face with him just so long as he had it.  

A thud to his left jerked him from his sentimental thoughts and had his head whipping around. There was nothing in that direction except for a tiny shack that looked to be a woodshed and a cellar door beside it.  

Comanche walked to the door and tilted his head at the sight of the chains and lock around the metal handles. With hatchet in hand, he crouched down and tugged at the chains. As they rattled, a loud moaning and groaning chorus picked up from under the doors and his feet. The sound was faint and insulated by the ground but Comanche heard it.  

He grabbed the handle and opened the cellar door a crack, just as far as it would go with these chains around the handles. As he held open the door the moans and hungry groans were louder. A hand was suddenly thrust through the crack. It was gray, rotting and covered in dirt. Comanche looked down through the crack and saw the dead faces, the lifeless eyes, the gnashing jaws.....Flesh eaters. This was a cellar full of hundreds of flesh eaters. Their bodies were crammed together and the smell seeping through the cracked cellar door was strong enough to take down a buffalo.  

Comanche let the cellar door fall closed, the fingers of the rabid becoming pinned between the slabs of wood. Comanche stared down at the gray appendages and spit on them in disgust. He hated these flesh eating monsters.  

Rising back to his full height Comanche put the hatchet back in the holster and glanced around. He knew he had to continue his search. The question about where the flesh eaters were had been answered but Comanche suspected where there was one cellar full of rabid, there were probably more.  

---

Jedidiah smiled at Susette as the girl sat cross legged on the floor with her eyes closed and her brow all furrowed up in concentration.  

"You have to relax, Susette. Allow all the tension to go." Jedidiah urged. He reached out and rubbed at the wrinkles in her forehead and she giggled.  

"I'm sorry," she sighed with defeat. "I'm just not good at this."  

Jedidiah smiled comfortingly. "It takes practice. But if you can learn to meditate it might help your visions come more regularly."  

"Does it work for you?" Susette asked.  

"Not anymore. It used to though when I was younger." Jedidiah replied. Now that he was older, his body seemed to rebel against the visions. They had such a violent impact on his system when they came that he feared they could possibly take his life away from him as he grew older.  

"Alright now, Susette, why don't you lay down on your back, stretch out your legs and just relax." Jedidiah whispered. Susette did as he said and he smiled. "Breath deep through your nose. Relax your face, your arms your shoulders.....Now I need you to think about the group. Think about where we are supposed to go—Open your mind...."  

Jedidiah's eyes widened when Susette began to whimper and moan. Her body tensed and then she began to convulse on fancy rug. He quickly put his hands on her shoulders to restrain her though he remained silent and said nothing. He knew she would snap out of it when the vision was complete.  

The instant his hands touched her, Jedidiah felt light headed. His eyes rolled back and he too began to shake violently as a vision of the future thrust its way into his mind and then his world went black.  

Jedidiah had no way of knowing how long he had been out as he felt the world return around him and blinked several times up at the ceiling. He thought back on the vision he had just seen and felt tears fill his eyes.  

Slowly, he pushed his old bones up to sit and glanced around for Susette. He saw her on the bed with her knees in her chest as she stared at him with shock, fear and disbelief.  

"Did you see it too?" JEdidiah asked quietly.  

Tears ran in rivers down Susette's pale cheeks. "There is nothing left...." Her breath hitched in a sob. "We're all going to...." She seemed unable to finish the statement and Jedidiah felt his old heart breaking.  

"We gotta keep that between us," he warned the girl, rubbing at his aching left arm. "We can't let anyone know."  

"I thought we had to go to California.. I swear I did. I thought we'd be safe there—"  Susette's balled her hands into fists and rubbed at her eyes.  

"It's okay. The quest to California gave them all purpose and we're gonna pretend like that's still the plan, okay?"  

"You want me to lie?"  

"Yes, my dear." Jedidiah put his hand over his tight chest. "Better to believe a beautiful lie than to be dragged down by the terrible truth."  

"That's not what Colt says."  

Jedidiah grimaced in pain. He must have convulsed harder than usual because the pain in his chest and arm were quite terrible. He looked at the girl and forced a sad smile. "Colt doesn't know what we know."  

---

Rachel searched the kitchen for herbs but could find none. She wanted to make a good meal for the group for dinner; something that would be flavorful and hopefully encourage them to stay in this town instead of returning to an endless journey to nowhere with nothing but beans and potatoes.  

She remembered Evangeline's statement from earlier about the doctor saying to ask him if there was anything they needed. Rachel smiled to herself. His wife certainly seemed to be a good cook if the looks of that pie were any indicated; surely she would have some herbs.  

Rachel untied the apron and slid out of it before tossing it up onto the counter. She walked out through the sitting room and Evangeline looked up from the clothes she was scrubbing and blew several loose strands of hair from her face.  

"Where are you going?"  

"To see about finding some herbs."  

"You're not supposed to go out alone.' Evangeline reminded her.  

Rachel sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I am a grown woman, Evangeline, not some girl. If you are worried that your outlaw husband will be upset then you are welcome to come with me to Doctor Harris’s house.”

“I’m busy. Just be careful.” With that Evangeline’s focus returned to her clothes.

Rachel adjusted the gun belt on her hips and headed out the door. She hated this group. The only person who treated her like a human being was Jedidiah. Rachel knew that at times she could be judgmental and harsh but she had been raised with certain beliefs and those beliefs were not going to change simply because one outlaw, one savage and one colored man said they should.  

Rachel walked down the road, knowing that the doctor lived in a yellow house with flower beds. She came upon the cheerful house and smiled. She simply could not understand why no one trusted this place. Hadn't they all been traveling to a land that they hoped was sickness-free? Now that they had found one, the group acted as if it were pure evil.  

Rachel climbed the steps onto the quant and tidy porch. She knocked on the door and waited for several long moments but there was no answer. She tested the hand and the door opened freely.  

"Hello?" she called out. She knew it was rude to enter but she entered anyway. "Doctor Harris?"  

Rachel's feet carried her into the tidy home. It was small but clean, bright and airy with red checked curtains and polished wooden floors.  

"Is anyone home?" Her voice echoed in the small room and still there was no response. She was about to leave when she heard a thud on the other side of a door across the room. "Doctor Harris? Mrs. Harris?" The thud sounded again and Rachel frowned. Was something wrong?  

Quickly she walked to that door and knocked. "Is everything okay in there?" There was no answer.  

Rachel once again tested the handle and the door opened. She took a deep breath and then swung open the door.  

The sight she was met with rendered her unable to speak. Tied with ropes to the bed, her ankles and wrists fastened to the bedposts, was a woman..... A rabid woman. She was wearing a stained nightdress and her skin was rotting and covered in sores. It was clear she'd been rabid a long while judging by the flaky quality of her skin.  

The woman's eyes were gray lifeless orbs, staring with a desperate hunger at Rachel. The rabid fought against the ropes holding her and her jaw moved beneath the gag and bindings that covered her mouth.  

It was with a sickening twist of dread deep in her gut that Rachel realized Comanche, Colt and Evangeline had been right about the doctor and this town. Rachel felt bile rise in her throat as she pulled her knife.  

She couldn't leave this woman to suffer this way. Rachel walked to the bed, holding her free hand over her nose and mouth to try to block out the horrible cloying scent of the rabid's rotting flesh. Her eyes watered as it assaulted them and she raised her knife.  

The rabid fought against the ropes holding her, desperate to reach Rachel and the meal she would provide. "I'm sorry he did this to you." Rachel whispered.  

Just before she could bring the knife down into the rabid's head, a bang sounded behind her and Rachel froze. Fear washed over her spine and chill bumps dotted her flesh. She turned slowly and the doctor's huge, hulking form stood in the doorway, his face a twisted mask of rage.  

He took a step forward and shook his head. "You should not be here."

Chapter Sixty-Four

Chapter Sixty-Four:

“What’s going on here?” Rachel gasped as fear clutched at her heart. Doctor Harris had a revolver grasped in his meaty hand and aimed straight toward her. Rachel knew the knife she held in her own hand would be no match and she wasn’t nearly fast enough to hope to pull her own gun before the doctor could get a shot off.

"Why are you in my home?" the doctor demanded angrily, his gaze darting back and forth between her and the rabid tied to the bed.  

Rachel swallowed hard. "Why is there a rabid tied to this bed?" She pointed back toward the struggling flesh eating monster on the bed.  

Doctor Harris glanced over her shoulder and his gaze softened as he looked at the monster struggling against the ropes holding her down. "That is my dear, Judith."  

"Your wife?!" Rachel felt bile rise in her throat. This man was insane and this was the single most twisted and disgusting thing she had witnessed so far in all this madness. "Doctor Harris, please put the gun down—this isn't right. 

She is not your wife any longer. She’s a monster.“

"No!" Doctor Harris bellowed. He lunged forward and Rachel was so surprised by the motion that she stumbled backward and her knife slipped from her hand. The doctor's big hands closed around her arms and then he yanked her gun from her holster and threw it across the room. "How dare you!" he snapped, his cheeks reddening and his jowls shaking with his rage.  

"I'm sorry!" Rachel gasped but her meager apology seemed to have the opposite effect she had hoped. Instead of easing his temper it only seemed to aggravate him further.  

Doctor Harris moved one hand to the back or Rachel's neck and spun her around before shoving her toward the bed. Rachel couldn't manage to do anything more than whimper as her face was forced down toward the rabid's lying on the bed and panic caused her body to freeze.  

The rabid moaned and bit at the gag on her mouth and arched her back off the bed in a desperate attempt to reach the meal that was so close.  

"What do you want from me?" Rachel managed to ask as she trembled and a tear ran down her cheek.  

"Apologize to my wife." Doctor Harris hissed. Rachel could feel his soft gut pressing against her back as he pinned her down. She licked her quaking lips and frowned.  

"What...?"  

"You hurt her feelings!" The doctor's grip on her tightened and the pain shot through her body like a bolt of lightning through a tree trunk. "Now apologize!"  

---

"Colt, there is a problem." Colt dropped the mule's leg and stood straight as he turned to face Comanche. The look on the Indian's face told Colt more than his words had. Something was very wrong.  

"What is it?" 

"This town is not what it seems. There are rabid here but they are underground."  

Colt frowned. "What do you mean, underground?"  

"They are locked up in cellars. The cellars are straight drops down. He has obviously found a way to capture them or lure them into falling into the holes and then he closes the doors and chains them."

"Shit." Colt yanked off his hat and shoved his hand through his hair. "Can they climb out?"  

"Yes. The holes are not very deep—however they seem secure as long as the doors are chained." Comanche glanced over his shoulder. "That's not all though, Colt," he admitted as he turned back to face him. "There is a person here other than the Doctor but I think it is only one. I saw the tracks, a man judging by the stride though a much smaller one than the doctor. And I found some disturbing evidence that we may not be the first survivors that found their way here—the other groups did not make it back out."  

"Shit."  

"Colt we have to leave this town. Something is not right and there are hundreds of flesh eaters. More than we've seen in any herd so far. If they get loose—"  

"We're all dead," Colt finished. Colt was sick and damn tired of all this bad luck. Just once he'd like to have the sun shine on his ass. "Alright, you go ahead and get the horse and cart ready and I'll go get everyone. We'll leave immediately. Something has felt off about this place from the beginning and I got a feeling the doctor might just reckon we're food for his 

sick friends. Let’s make sure we prove him wrong on that one.“

Comanche nodded and Colt strode from the stables. He went to the hotel door and knocked. "Evangeline, let me in."  

It only took seconds before the door opened. "What's wrong?" Evangeline asked with a frown.  

"Get your things and let's go. We have to get everyone together."  

"Why?" Evangeline demanded.  

"Because this doctor has the 

sick people locked in cellars all over town and he feeds survivors like us to them to keep them alive.“

"Oh my god—" Evangeline gasped.  

"Yeah, now let's find everybody and get the hell out of here."  

"Colt, my Aunt Rachel—"  

"What about her?" Colt demanded, dread washing over him.  

"She went to the doctor's house a while ago to ask his wife for something."  

Part of Colt wanted to say to hell with the woman but another part, the part that was still desperate to save everyone knew he couldn't sacrifice Rachel that simply.  

"Evangeline, you get Jedidiah, Susette and Ox. Get your shit and get to the stables. Comanche and I will go get Rachel."  

"Colt, you better be careful." Evangeline warned with tears in her eyes.  

Colt kissed her lips gently and then took a quick step back. "I don't plan on dying, sweetheart; at least not for your aunt."  

---

Evangeline went to the roof first and warned Ox that they had to leave. He nodded, told her to get Susette and Jedidiah and then slid down the roof to help load the cart. Evangeline searched the second story bedrooms and finally found Susette and Jedidiah inside one of them…. Though the scene she was met with was not what she had been expecting.

Susette was crouched on the floor beside Jedidiah who was looking very pale, sweaty and in pain as he lay on the floor clutching at his chest and arm.  

"What's going on?" Evangeline demanded with shock as she dropped to her knees beside the man as well.  

"My...heart..." Jedidiah gasped.  

Evangeline glanced at Susette who was wide-eyed, pale and clearly scared beyond speech. Evangeline turned her gaze back to Jedidiah's pain-filled eyes. "What can I do?"  

"I'm dying." Jedidiah replied.  

Evangeline shook her head as she laid her hand on his brow. Not Jedidiah! Not another loss to their group! Why was this happening? "You have to get up, Jedidiah. We're leaving. I'll help you get to the stables."  

"I'm not going anywhere, Evangeline." Jedidiah replied quietly. "I... am dying."  

"But..." Evangeline began and Jedidiah shook his head to cut her off.  

"Go...Evangeline... Get out of here...Get the girl to California; that's where you have to go." Evangeline fought back tears, knowing that tears would not help Jedidiah nor the situation they were currently facing. Something about the sound of Jedidiah's voice and the way Susette refused to meet her eyes unnerved Evangeline.  

"Jedidiah, what aren't you saying?" Evangeline urged as she placed her hand gently over his cheek. His breaths had become more shallow and labored and his eyes were losing focus.  

"Just...go...fast..." he whispered. "There's...not...much... time..."  

---

"Uncle Harris, we have a problem!" Rachel was yanked away from the rabid as a young boy of probably no more than fifteen came bursting into the bedroom.  

Doctor Harris whirled around, keeping Rachel pulled tight against his shaking stomach. "What?"  

"They found the cellars and they're getting ready to leave."  

"They can't leave!" Doctor Harris bellowed. "The townspeople have to be fed! What about the pie?"  

"No one ate it. I checked."  

Rachel stared at the boy with shock. The pie? The pie was what? Poisoned? And how had this boy gotten in and out of the hotel without being noticed? It was Colt's fault for leaving someone like Ox in charge of keeping watch.

"This is not acceptable." Doctor Harris grumbled. "Gregory, go release the townspeople. They 

will eat today.“

"Uncle, two of those men are coming here for the woman. What are you going to do with her?" Gregory asked pointing at Rachel.  

Doctor Harris chuckled and tightened his hold on Rachel's arms. "Go Gregory and I'll worry about her." Gregory nodded and ran from the room. Doctor Harris turned once again and Rachel found herself staring at the rabid in the bed. "Gregory needn't worry. You and Judith were just about to sit down to dinner, weren't you dear?"   

As Doctor Harris reached down and removed the gag from his wife's mouth, Rachel did all she could think of to do.  

She screamed.

Chapter Sixty-Five

Chapter Sixty-Five: You Can’t Outrun Them

Ox stepped into the hotel kitchen and glanced around realizing instantly that it was empty. He had the cart ready and the mare and Comanche's horse saddled. Ox wasn't sure what was going on. Evangeline had come to him and told him trouble was brewing and he needed to get things ready. He had gone to the stable and Comanche had quickly exited with Colt.  

"Evie?!" Ox called out. "Sue?" No one answered. Ox was about to walk out when he saw the apple pie sitting on the counter and felt his stomach rumble. It rumbled so loudly and for so long that Ox was clamping his hand over it to ease the cramps.  

It had been a long time since he'd tasted pie and while his Aunt Rachel wasn't his favorite person in the world, the fact remained that she was a damned good cook.  

He used his hand to grab a chuck of the pie and it crumbled in his palm. The thick syrupy juices ran down his arm and he licked them up. He savored one slow bite of the pie, moaning at the deliciousness.  Life had lost a lot of its meaning for Ox since losing Katherine but he figured being able to enjoy the little things was the key to carrying on.   

Still munching on the pie in his hand, Ox stepped into the sitting room. "Evie! Susette! I have everything ready, let's go!" he called.  

Evangeline and Susette came quickly down the staircase and Ox frowned when he saw their tear streaked faces. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Shit, Evie, what's going on around here?"  

"There are rabid, Ox, and the doctor feeds people who come to this town to them....." Evangeline's voice trailed off as she eyed the small bit of pie still clutched in Ox's hand. "Please tell me you haven't eaten that pie."  

"Uh..." Ox dropped the remaining crumbs quickly. "Why?"  

"Because the doctor gave us that pie, Ox! What if it's poisoned?!" Tears filled her eyes anew as Ox's heart began to beat a bit faster and sweat slicked his brow.  

"Well I hope it ain't." he mumbled. "Now where's Jedidiah cuz we gotta go!"  

"He died." Susette whimpered and Ox groaned. Not again! He held his arms out and Susette ran to him. Ox scooped her up and glanced at the small sack that was tossed over Evangeline's shoulder.  

"Let's go to the—" Ox didn't have time to finish his statement because his words were cut off when a single gunshot echoed from down the street. Silence reigned as Ox, Evangeline and Susette stared at each other with expressions that were mixed with confusion, shock and fear.  

Then the sounds of the moans began making their through the open front door.  So many, so loud that it was like a rumbling thunder echoing in the distance. Never had Ox heard something so terrifying and in that moment as he stared at his terrified younger sister and held this trembling child that was a daughter to him in his arms, he realized for the first time what true fear and terror truly felt like.  

---

Colt had his gun drawn as he and Comanche silently crept onto the porch of the cheerful yellow house. His gaze met Comanche's and the Indian nodded. Colt grabbed the door handle and tested it, cursing when he realized it was locked.  

He tilted his head toward the door and Comacnhe stepped into place. Colt held his gun ready and Comanche swung out his foot, splintering the wooden doorframe and sending the bright white door swinging inward. It crashed off the wall and Colt burst inside, his eyes scanning every inch of the room at once.  

Empty.  

He listened close but could hear nothing. His eyes were drawn to a door across the sitting room. Aware that Comanche was right behind him, Colt made his way to that door and tested the handle. This one was not locked. 	

He stepped into the room and his stomach turned.  

Rachel was lying on a bed and a large chunk of her left cheek was missing. There was also a chunk taken from her neck. Blood was pooled around her body on the dirty and stained sheets.  

"Comanche, go make sure everyone is ready." Colt ordered.  

"Where are you going?" Comanche questioned.  

Colt pointed out the window at the doctor's large figure running in the distance. It was clear he had a body held in his arms though Colt had no idea who it could be. Comanche nodded and disappeared from the room.  

Colt walked to the bed and pulled his knife. He wouldn't let Rachel turn, no matter how tempting it was to let her become the monster that she had always seemed to be. "Sorry I couldn't protect you." He whispered and then he shoved his blade deep into her temple.  

After cleaning the blade on the leg of his trousers and placing it back in its holster, Colt went to the window and climbed out. He aimed his gun and set his sights on the doctors back. It was a shot that would render him unable to continue running but not kill him instantly. Colt needed to talk to the good doctor before the man died.  

He pulled the trigger and Doctor Harris fell. Colt's boots ate up the ground as he ran to the man, his gun still trained on him. The doctor was trying to pull his own gun, though his gut was getting in the way and Colt kicked him hard and yanked the gun from its holster.  

"Who do you have here?" Colt asked, pointing at the body that was thrashing on the ground. There was a sack over the head but it was clear the person was a woman.  

"My wife." The doctor smiled and Colt felt a shiver work its way down his spine. He stooped low and yanked the sack from the woman's head only to jump back quickly when he found himself looking into the eyes of a rabid. Her mouth was covered with a gag but she was covered in blood. 

"You let her bite Rachel?"  

The doctor's breathing was labored and he was bleeding hard in the dirt below him. "She was hungry." The doctor laughed, though it turned to a cough. "You rang their dinner bell with that gunshot. The townspeople have to eat."

"They're locked up." Colt countered.  

"My nephew opened their doors. Your gunshot is sure to get them stirred up. I might die but my loved ones will live another day by feasting on your people. You can't outrun them."  

Colt felt rage fill him. "Your loved ones, huh? Like her?" he pointed his gun at the head of the doctor's wife.  

"Don't shoot her!" the doctor cried out, though he was unable to rise to stop Colt.  

Colt shook his head. "I'm not gonna shoot her." He raised his boot and brought it down with all his might on the rabid's face, crushing her skull beneath his heel. The doctor let out a primal cry of rage and sadness.  

Colt pulled his knife and glared at the fat man on the ground. "Your sick townspeople might just kill my group but they're going to kill you too." He put his knife away and turned his back on the doctor.  

"Don't leave me like this. They'll...they'll tear me apart!"  

"They're not monsters, doctor, they're just sick people." Colt walked back toward the yellow house and his blood froze when he heard the moans begin. His pace quickened and his only thought was that he had to save Evangeline.  

---

Comanche knew it was hopeless the instant he saw the massive hordes of rabid coming from four different directions. There were hundreds of them and Comanche knew they’d all be killed and yet he was unwilling to simply lie down and give up.

He entered the hotel to find Ox, Evangeline and Susette standing there with fear clearly etched into their faces. "We must go." He called over the sound of the moans of rabid. Colt's gunshot had clearly stirred up the rabid, though Comanche did not know how they had gotten loose.  

"Where's Colt?" Evangeline demanded.  

"I'm here." Colt came into the hotel and Comanche could plainly see on his face that he too had realized the hopelessness of their situation. "Let's get the horses and go. Where is Jedidiah?"  

"Dead." Evangeline replied quietly. "Rachel?"  

"Dead." Colt stated.  

They stepped outside and Comanche stopped in his tracks, sending out his arm to stop the others as well. The horde had descended on the stable. The sounds of the horses screams were soon filling the air.  

"Shit." Colt mumbled. "Let's go out the back."  

---

Colt knew it was hopeless. He had failed the group. He had failed to keep them safe and now they were all going to die. They ran out the back doors of the hotel, swinging their weapons for all they were worth. The horde of rabid was massive.

Somehow they made it through them and ran for all they were worth. The moaning, stumbling, lurching herd was behind them. Pursuing them tirelessly as the group ran across the hills. Colt could see two rising mesa's not too far away. The space between them seemed narrow. If they could get there, they could climb up and control the flow of rabid.. maybe even wait out the herd.  

It was a long shot but it was the only choice they had.  

Colt saw Ox stumble and begin to fall behind. 'Comanche, keep Evangeline with you." Colt ordered. Comanche nodded and grabbed Evangeline's arm. She was having trouble keeping up with the men. Her stature was so much smaller that her legs could not compete with their long strides. 

"Where are you going?" Evangeline demanded and Colt smiled comfortingly.  

"I'm just going to check on your brother.'  

Colt's lungs were beginning to burn and his breathing was labored. There was no time to slow down. The rabid would not tire and the group couldn't afford to either. Colt fell in step beside Ox and noticed how pale and sweaty the man seemed.  

"Come on now, Ox, ya gotta keep up." Colt urged. He fired several shots back to take down a few rabid who had almost reached them. Looking back awarded him with a view of the sea of monsters bearing down on them. The earth seemed to move with their rotting bodies. Colt saw a man on the roof of a building back in town and knew that must be the doctor's nephew. Colt vowed right then that if he lived through this he would come back and kill that man nice and slow.  

"I..can't.. Colt." Ox nearly fell and Colt quickly grabbed Susette from his arms.  

"What's wrong with you?" Colt demanded desperately. He did not want to lose his friend, his brother-in-law.  

"I ate the pie...it was poison."  

"Goddammit!" Colt yelled. He fired two more shots behind him and bashed a third rabid in the head with the butt of his revolver, never once slowing his pace.  

"Keep Sue and Evie safe." Ox pleaded. "I'll hold off as many of them as I can."  

"Ox...." Colt groaned with dread and sadness.  

"Go, Colt." Ox stopped suddenly and pulled his gun, firing shots and swinging his fists.  

Colt had no choice but to run and when Ox's yells of rage began to turn into screams of pain, Colt was helpless to stop the tears that filled his eyes. Susette sobbed in his arms and Colt squeezed her tighter, hastening his pace and catching up with Evangeline and Comanche.  

"Ox?" Evangeline gasped between her labored breaths.  

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."  

Colt saw the pain etched deep in Evangeline's face but there was no time now to stop and mourn their loss. Instead they ran.  

Running. Never stopping. Trying hard not to look back. The sound of the moaning rabid still followed behind them.  Growing closer and closer. Their footsteps sounded like thunder and Colt imagined he could feel the earth shuddering and trembling with the force of them.  

"Keep running, Colt. I will hold them off or you will never reach that gorge." Comanche spoke, sounding like he was barely winded. Damn injun blood. 

"No. We stay together." Colt argued, unwilling to lose anyone else.  

"Run Colt. Be with your wife." Comanche shoved Evangeline toward Colt and he took her arm in his hand while still clutching Susette to his chest. "I will go be with mine."  

"Comanche!" Evangeline cried out but Colt forced her onward. He glanced back to see Comanche hoping onto a rock and swinging his hatchet. While a big group of rabid were gathering around that rock, more were still coming for Colt, Evangeline and Susette.  

The gorge was close now. Colt glanced back again just in time to hear Comanche let out a war cry and leap down into the herd of rabid. He forced himself to look away, not wanting to see his friend torn to pieces.  

Colt's legs were beginning to ache. His body was shaking and he could barely breathe. They entered the gorge and Colt's feet tripped over a loose rock. He went down hard, taking Evangeline and Susette with him.  

The herd of rabid came closer. They were grunting with eagerness as their hands reached for them; their fingers stretching.  

Colt fired his last shot and grabbed the other revolver from his boot. He fired shots from it as well and got to his feet. "Come on!" he yelled, jerking Evangeline up as well. She was sobbing and pale.  

"Colt, I can't..."  

"Yes you can!" 

He reached for Susette but a rabid got to her first. Colt yelled in rage and fired shots but he was too late. The rabid sunk its teeth into Susette's leg and the girl cried out with pain. Colt swallowed hard, aimed his gun at Susette's head and pulled the trigger.  

Evangeline wretched and vomited on the ground beside him. Colt grabbed her around the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. He had to save her!

He saw a cliff face ahead with rocks that he could climb up and get to the top of the gorge. From their he and Evangeline might just stand a chance of getting away.  

Colt made it there and was about to begin the climb when fingertips closed around the back of his vest and yanked him down. Colt fell and Evangeline fell with him.  

"Evangeline!" he screamed.  

She screamed his name and screamed for help. Colt kicked at the rabid descending on him for all he was worth, desperate to reach his wife. He could see her backed into the corner and then suddenly the rabid leapt. Colt heard her screams for help turn into screams of pain. Blood splattered against the rock wall behind her.  

"No!" Colt was a broken man. He had no reason to keep trying to escape. He had nothing left to live for. A desperate rage filled him and he leapt to his feet. He pulled his large knife and swung it left and right for all he was worth.  

He wanted nothing more than to kill as many rabid as he could. They had taken everything from him! Two wives, a daughter and countless friends.  

He swung that knife until he had no strength left and then he simply fell backward and let the rabid fall upon him. He felt their teeth and nails sinking into his flesh. Fiery pain filled his body and he closed his arms as his body succumbed to the bites and a rabid began to gnaw on his cheek.......

Chapter Sixty-six

Chapter Sixty-Six: Damn Tainted Meatballs

He swung that knife until he had no strength left and then he simply fell backward and let the rabid fall upon him. He felt their teeth and nails sinking into his flesh. Fiery pain filled his body and he closed his arms as his body succumbed to the bites and a rabid began to gnaw on his cheek…….

Colt jerked awake and yelled out as he shoved the rabid gnawing on his cheek off of him. Colt leapt from the bed and stared in shock at his ten month old daughter lying on the bed with drool hanging off her chubby chin. 

She smiled up at him and then stuck her fist into her mouth and began to gnaw on it now that her daddy's cheek was no longer on the menu.  

Colt's heart was beating fast as he looked around the bedroom. His bedroom. His bedroom that he shared with his wife Evangeline.  

A dream? It had all been a dream?  

"Colt, are you okay?" Evangeline asked with amusement as she stepped into the room. She wiped her hands on her apron and smiled as she pressed her hand against his damp cheek. "Looks like Loralie ate you up."  

Colt didn't speak. He couldn't. His thoughts were jumbled and his heart was racing. He looked Evangeline up and down. She was whole and well and beautiful and 

unbitten .

Colt threw his arms around her and pulled her tight against his chest. "I love you, Evangeline. God I love you, sweetheart."  

"I don't think you've ever said that before." Evangeline whispered as she hugged him back. "Did you have a bad dream?"  

"Yes." Colt kissed her hair and pulled away. He rubbed at his face. "It was terrible."  

"That's what you get for eating those meatballs Frankie made. I warned you not to eat anything she cooked but you wouldn't listen." Evangeline patted his bare chest. "Now get your clothes on and get out here. Everyone else is already awake and I'm expecting Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jedidiah to be here any time."  

"Okay." Colt mumbled. Evangeline pressed a kiss to his cheek and gathered Loralie up into her arms before breezing back out of the room and closing the door behind her.  

Colt fell back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.  

A damn dream. A tainted meatball inspired dream.  

Shit.  

He could hear his friends and family talking and laughing outside the cabin. Comanche and Colt had been friends since childhood when Colt had rescued him from a rich family that thought injuns made good pets. Comanche had met Frankie several years ago and while the two of them fought more than any other two people Colt knew they had been attached at the hip since.  

Charlotte's soft voice drifted through the open window and Colt smiled. She wasn't dead. Silas laughed and a baby cooed. Charlotte's husband, baby Grace's real father, had died of too much drink and Silas had found the woman nearly seven months along with Grace. Silas and Charlotte had fallen in love and been together since then and little Grace was nearly seven months old now.  Charlotte was Evangeline's cousin and the gentlest woman that Colt knew.  

Colt heard Ox calling out to Susette and smiled. Colt had met Katherine nearly ten years before in a brothel. She had been beaten nearly to death and Colt had saved her and taken her away from that life. They'd become fast friends and she was like a sister to him. She had been by his side five years before when that bullet had torn through his chest and nearly killed him. Thankfully they'd been close to a plantation home in George.... A plantation home that had an angel named Evangeline and a giant named Ox living in it.  

Evangeline had nursed Colt back to life much to her parents displeasure and somehow, Colt still wasn't sure how, she had fallen in love with a wandering outlaw that had nothing to offer.  

They had run away together, Ox and Katherine had run with them, and they had married and built this cabin together. Colt had changed his life around for Evangeline and now they had a small farm and a few more heads of cattle every year. Ox and Katherine had adopted Susette from an orphanage and the girl had been an instant hit with the family.   

Once a year the large group of friends gathered together at the farm to help with the harvesting and canning and also just to spend time together.  

Colt pushed himself up off the bed and slid into a clean shirt. He slid on his gun belt. He didn't wear it every day but his dream was still too fresh in his mind to allow him to go without it.  

He walked outside and smiled with relief at the sight of all his friends alive and well.  

"You look like hell there, Colt," Frankie smiled as she walked over to him. "Did ya sleep bad or somethin'?"  

"What the hell did you put in those meatballs?" Colt grumbled.  

"A little of this and a little of that. The injun had some peyote laying around." 

Colt shook his head and rubbed his face. That would explain that.

"There's Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jedidiah." Evangeline pointed to the approaching cart.  

"Great. The witch and the crazy ass old man." Colt sighed. Evangeline smacked his arm but a smile was pulling at her lips.  

"Be nice."  

Colt slid his arm around her waist. Rachel hated him. He hated Rachel. It was a well-known fact. "I always am." He assured her.  

---

That night, after darkness had fallen, everyone was gathered inside the cabin as rain fell outside. The children had fallen asleep and were in the one spare bedroom. The other guests would use the loft and barn for sleeping but for now they were sitting around playing cards, chatting and reading a newspaper that Silas had brought along with him.  

The paper was dated a month ago so the news wasn't exactly new but it was new to Colt. It took a while for information to travel all the way to east Kansas from New York and Colt didn't make it to town very often.   

"Really, Evangeline, if you'd married a more respectable man you might have a home more suited to guests." Rachel grumbled as she came down the loft ladder.  

"No one forced you to come here, Rachel. If the loft doesn't suit you I got a bull that awful lonely and would share a stall with you I'm sure." Colt informed her.  

Jedidiah laughed and Rachel glared at him.  

"Read this," Ox said handing the newspaper to Katherine. "Does it say what I think it does, Miss Kate?"  

"It says: 

A new Elixir to heal all that ails you. The Murphy Brothers have developed an elixir guaranteed to prevent and or cure all illnesses known to man. From the common cold to heart palpitations, nothing is too much for Murphy Brothers Elixir .“

Colt felt a shiver run down his spine. He kissed Evangeline's hand and then stood from the sofa. "When did you say that paper was dated?"  

"Nearly a month ago." Silas replied. "How ridiculous for folks to think something like that would work. I'm sure no one was dumb enough to fall for it."  

"I sure to God hope not.' Colt mumbled.  

Then he heard a thud. His horses began to kick up a fuss in the barn. Colt's feet felt as if he'd weighed them down with bricks as he walked to the window and glanced outside over the horizon.  

"Colt what's wrong with you?"  

Colt swallowed hard, clenched his fist and his eyes darted toward his barn. "Shit." 

                                        The End