So�This Is Montana� Ch. 18
An unseen figure watched from a safe distance the young man being overpowered and quickly bound. He inwardly winced as he watched the figure visibly shaking, although he didn�t know if the trembling was more out of fear or anger since it had been his enraged shouts that had first caught his attention. The older man knew what needed to be done once the other ranch hands had left, but somehow he would have to remain anonymous to the young man. He didn�t want his identity known by anyone�most of all by this young man or his friends back at the ranch�not until the proper time.
With concern, he watched as the hands spun their victim around in dizzying circles until he was no longer had the ability to stand up�his obvious dizziness causing his feet to become tangled with themselves. He then bristled at their loud, mocking laughter when the young man fell to the ground, moaning through his thick gag.
The older man watched as the young man was jerked roughly to his feet and pushed into the center of the ring that the hands had formed around him. He was roughly pushed back and forth between the five pairs of hands. Several times, the young man fell heavily to his knees, skidding harshly along the ground only to be pulled back up to his feet to be pushed about again.
Even from his distant hiding place, the older man could hear the terrified and painful grunts that the young man managed to emit through the cloth bound about his mouth. These sounds only seemed to further spur the hands in their amusement and relentlessly, they continued to harass the helpless figure.
Finally, after several more minutes of cruel, rough play, the five ranch hands mounted their horses and left the bound figure lying slumped over in the tall grass, his moans quiet and shaky.
The older man watched and waited in his hiding place for at least five minutes not wanting to chance being found out before mounting his own horse to ride over to the young man who was now slowly struggling to his knees.
With much effort, JC was finally able to bring himself up to his knees, all the while wincing at the pain radiating from, what seemed, every part of his body. He could tell that the knees of his jeans were tattered and he could also sense that his knees were bruised, torn and bloodied. The ropes bound about his elbows had pretty well protected them each time he had fallen to the ground, but he could tell that he was going to be black and blue from this experience.
With only one thought in mind�to somehow get rid of the blindfold so that he could find his way back to the ranch, he drew in as deep a breath as he could through the cloth bound tightly about his mouth, as he prepared to raise himself from his knees to his feet. He gritted his teeth against the cloth and grunted with the effort he was using in order to make it to his feet.
Without his being able to use his arms for balance, JC nearly fell forward but he used his stomach and back muscles to help control his movements. For a brief moment, he felt his world slightly tilt with dizziness�the amount of energy he was putting out causing him to feel slightly lightheaded, but he managed to stay up right on his feet, although wobbly at best.
The stranger watched JC�s tremendous effort, admiring it, but at the same time fearing for the young man too. This is what the hands wanted their victim to do�to wander about helplessly. That would only lead to his being injured if he didn�t put a stop to it quickly. The man nudged his horse forward as he continued to watch JC�s progress.
Seconds later, after he made it to his feet, JC heard what sounded like a horse slowly approaching him. Thinking that the ranch hands were returning to play more games, he wanted to run, but knew that that would be a foolish move on his part with the blindfold blocking his vision and, besides that, he would surely be caught anyway.
So, instead of running he slowly lowered himself back to his knees and nervously anticipated what would happen next.
�That was a wise move,� a deep, detached voice said from somewhere above JC. The voice startled him and then feeling the hot breath of a horse on his neck startled him even further. The only sound that JC heard next besides his own ragged breathing through his gag was the creaking of leather and the landing of a booted foot to the hard ground that was followed by the sound of the other foot hitting the ground.
�I�m not here to hurt you, but I�m not here to help you too much either,� the voice said, this time by JC�s side.
JC jerked as he felt a hand on his shoulder and he began to mumble into his gag.
�Save it son,� the voice said. JC continued to mumble until he felt a handful of his hair being grasped and yanked. He gave a muffled yelp and tried to jerk away from the large hands but found that he couldn�t. Hot tears of pain and fright began to flow from JC�s eyes only to be soaked up by the cloth tied over them as he began to tremble as possible scenarios of what might happen next raced through his mind. He immediately became quiet and steeled himself for what might be done to him.
�Now�I want you to listen to me real good, boy�okay,� the voice said as he jerked JC�s head in emphasis of each word.
JC painfully nodded his head and was grateful to feel the hand painfully holding his hair release him. He uttered a small, inaudible sigh of relief and waited to hear what would be said as he slightly bent his body forward as he fought against a wave of dizziness that washed over him.
The older man gave JC a moment or two to gather himself before he slowly drew JC into an upright position and reached for his blindfold. He pushed it up onto JC�s forehead and watched as the young man blinked rapidly against the sudden invasion of light. JC moaned into his gag and bent his head to shield his eyes from the sunlight. The older man sensed what JC was doing and moved so that his body caused a shadow to fall over JC�s face. Realizing what the man was doing for him, JC raised his head to look at the face before him.
�I want you to listen very carefully to me�I�m not going to remove your gag. I can�t�not without being found out and that can�t happen. Do you understand?�
JC looked at the man with eyes full of confusion but he nodded his head.
�Now�I�m sure you�re probably wondering why you should even listen to me, but you need to trust me��
The man looked at JC and saw the inner struggle that he was going through.
�Do you trust me?� the man asked in a low voice.
JC looked into the man�s eyes and saw that he was going to have to. He slowly nodded his head and slightly trembled with fear when the man lowered his blindfold back into position. Once again as JC�s world was plunged into darkness, he came to the sickening realization that this man might possibly stand between him and survival.
�The object of their game is for you to walk around and become either lost or injured so�we need to make sure that won�t happen.�
JC felt large hands gently guiding him to lay face down on the ground and the change from harsh hair pulling to the gentleness of the man�s words and actions further confused him. His feelings of confusion gave way to relief when he felt the ropes holding his arms to his sides being untied, but those feelings left as quickly as they came with the words that were next said to him.
�I�m not going to untie your hands�just your arms. My doing this is dangerous enough for me,� the voice explained as JC felt the ropes give way. JC turned his head toward the sound of the voice as a questioning gesture that was apparently picked up by the owner of the voice. �How could his helping cause danger?� JC questioned in his mind.
�I can�t explain anything to you at all,� the voice said. JC felt the man�s body move his position from near JC�s upper body, down to his lower legs as he continued to speak. �I can only tell you that I�m on your side, but I have to remain on the proverbial fence right now until the time is right.�
JC raised his head and tried to turn toward the voice. Everything that he was saying was only confusing him more. Someone wanting to help, but unable to�an apparent witness to his attack, but a less than enthusiastic rescuer� JC�s thoughts were interrupted when the voice once again spoke.
�I�m going to tie your ankles together so you�re not tempted to stray away.�
JC immediately began to slightly thrash about under the man�s hands and grunt into his gag as fear and frustration quickly took over. Having his hands tied behind and being gagged and blindfolded was frightening enough, but his inability to move about was even more terrifying to him.
�Be still there,� the voice said firmly. JC briefly ignored the command and continued to struggle as his muffled protests became louder. JC felt the man�s large hands turn him over to his back then he was pulled back up into a sitting position. He became quiet when the man placed his hands on either side of JC�s face and shook him.
�Calm down�calm down son,� the man said in strong tones.
JC took deep, hitching breaths and the man waited until he was sure that JC had regained control of himself before once again speaking to him in an effort to alleviate his fears.
�Now listen to me,� he said quietly. �I know you�re confused and scared. I can�t help you anymore than this�do you understand?�
JC nodded his head slowly.
�Someone will be out here shortly for you�I�ll make sure of that,� the man promised before lowering JC back down to the ground then turning him to lie on his stomach. He made quick work of tying JC�s ankles together, feeling great guilt as he felt the young man�s form trembling with what he guessed was fear, beneath his hands. He stood up and glanced about him and saw that he and JC were still, thankfully, the only individuals around before he mounted his horse. He couldn�t afford to have any witnesses.
The older man looked down at the figure on the ground and shook his head. Having five young men around the ranch was going to make his job difficult indeed. With that thought in mind, the man nudged his horse forward and the pair headed off toward a back trail that would eventually take them back to the ranch house.
�Well�what happened here?� Dr. Granger said as he watched ranch hand Pete Cowen carry Lance�s still body into the clinic�s emergency entrance with Joey right on his heels.
�He was thrown off Skitty about an hour and a half ago,� Pete said as he lowered Lance onto the gurney that the doctor pointed to.
�Has he been unconscious the entire time?� the doctor asked as he began examining Lance.
�Um�no sir,� Pete answered. �He came to about 5 minutes after he was thrown and kinda drifted in and out�you might want to check his right arm too. Troy seemed to think it might be broken.�
As Pete continued to answer the doctor�s questions, Joey stood on the opposite side of the gurney and held Lance�s left hand in his own shaky hands. He felt so helpless. First, Lance is brought back to the ranch after his horse stumbles and falls, taking him to the ground with him. Then, before they even leave the ranch to take Lance to the clinic, they all hear that JC has been taken to a pasture as a joke. By the look on the ranch hands� faces, it was a pretty cruel joke at best. By the look on the ranch hands� faces, it was a pretty cruel joke at best.
As Joey stood there, he replayed his conversation with Pete about what could possibly be happening at the south pasture with JC.
�Why do you think those ranch hands took JC like that?� Joey asked in a voice strained with anger as he tightened his grip over Lance�s body when they hit several potholes in the road.
�They were just wanting to play games,� Pet answered. �I know that�s not much of an excuse but it�s all I�ve got.�
�What kind of games?� Joey asked not knowing if he really wanted an answer or not. �I mean�they don�t even know us�why would they do that?�
�Like I said, Mr. Fatone�I don�t know why they did it. As far as what they do, they usually just tie the guy up and leave him out in the open then someone will go looking for them a couple of hours later,� Pete replied, looking into the rearview mirror to see Joey visibly pale.
�Don�t worry�Mr. Chasez will be okay�believe me,� the older man said with a smile. �It was about 8 hours before anyone came looking for me.�
Joey glanced up and saw the older man wink at him through the rear view mirror.
�What will happen to the hands?�
�Hopefully they�ll be fired,� Pete answered. �They stepped over the line when they took your friend.�
Joey nodded his head with satisfaction at the answer before looking back down at Lance.
Dr. Granger�s voice broke Joey free of his thoughts. He listened to the doctor�s preliminary diagnosis then watched as the doctor continued with his exam. As he watched, his thoughts once again wandered to another conversation with Pete.
�How did it happen?� Joey asked as he looked down at Lance, who had once again drifted off. �Lance had always done well riding horses before this.�
�Well�Skitty was a different kind of horse,� the older man answered as he glanced at Joey over his shoulder. �Skitty was short for Skittish�she could shy away from something faster than anything I had ever seen.�
�What do you mean �was�?�
�I had to shoot her. We were coming into a clearing and Lance rode past a hollowed out tree that resembled a bear. Skitty saw it, sidestepped and lost her footing. When she went down, she broke her leg. Lance rode her all the way down.�
�It�s a wonder he didn�t break a leg then,� Joey said quietly as he ran his hand over Lance�s sweaty head.
�Yeah�it was a small wonder for sure,� the hand said.
�What will you do with the body?�
�The vet will have to come out to take pictures for the insurance company then we�ll either bury her or burn her. Someone will have to stay with her tonight to keep animals away from her until the vet can come out tomorrow morning.�
�Oh,� Joey answered, not exactly knowing what to say after hearing all of that information. He did know that Lance was going to probably feel pretty guilty about the whole thing once given the chance.
�We should be at the clinic in just a few minutes Mr. Fatone,� Pete said as he glanced again in the rear view mirror.
�Good,� Joey replied. �Thanks for taking good care of Lance for us.�
�No problem.�
Joey�s thoughts were interrupted when Dr. Granger again spoke.
�I�m pretty sure there�s nothing to worry about,� the doctor said in a reassuring tone of voice. We�ll take a few pictures of his arm and clean him up. He might need to stay here for the rest of the evening, but that would be for us to watch him.�
The doctor watched as Joey numbly nodded his head at the news then made a split decision.
�Pete�you can leave if you want and come back in the morning to pick Lance and Joey up.� The doctor nodded his head at the ranch hand and he was able to read the doctor�s intentions.
�Sure doc�I�d like to stay around for a little while though, if you don�t mind,� Pete said as he looked at Joey. Joey looked a little lost and he wanted to make sure he was okay before he returned to the ranch.
Dr. Granger looked at Joey and nodded his head in understanding before stepping away to join an assistant in rolling Lance�s gurney out of the room toward x-ray.
�Listen�I feel like a cup of coffee and you look like you need one�� the older man said as he stood beside Joey and watched as Lance�s gurney was pushed around a corner and out of sight.
Joey nodded his head and the pair headed into the waiting area knowing that their night was only beginning.
Back at the ranch, horses were being saddled to use in the search for JC. It had been decided that Troy and Mitch would ride out to look for JC while Justin, Chris, John, Steve and Stan would remain behind to await word on Lance�s condition and JC being found.
Justin and Chris had protested against the idea of not going out with Mitch and Troy, but had ultimately given in when they realized that they would only be slowing the rescue down if they did go. It was growing dark and their being unfamiliar with the terrain could possibly cause not only JC needing help, but one of them too.
Flashlights were quickly passed out along with a first aid kit, water, and blankets since they had no idea what condition JC might be in once found. In years past, hands who had fallen victim to the game had been found in various conditions, including unconscious, cut up and bruised or not injured at all. It all depended on how stubborn the victim had been in his determination to walk around with arms tied behind their backs, blindfolded and gagged.
Justin and Chris shuddered as their imaginations ran absolutely wild with the possibilities of JC�s condition, but they did not have much time to dwell on those thoughts as they heard loud voices approaching from behind the barn.
�Go into the house Mr. Timberlake and Mr. Kirkpatrick,� Mitch said.
�That�s them�isn�t it�isn�t it?� Justin asked, in a voice that revealed the depth of his anger toward those men who had led JC into their trap. Chris laid his hand on Justin�s shoulder and it was quickly shrugged off.
�Get in the house�now,� Troy said in a firm voice. Chris once again put his hand on Justin�s shoulder and pulled him toward the house.
�Come on J�let them take care of it,� he said in a voice straining to keep his own anger in check. �They�ll do a better job of it.�
�We�ll take care of it,� Troy said, reassuringly. At the same time, John, Steven and Stan met with the five ranch hands, who had just ridden up and told them to go to the ranch hand�s bunk house for a meeting. Mitch, Troy, Justin and Chris assumed that during the meeting the ranch hands would be handed their walking papers, but unknown to them, John and Steven were the masterminds behind JC�s attack and they had no intentions of actually letting the men lose their positions. They were needed in order for their other plans to work smoothly. They would simply reprimand the men and let it go at that.
Chris and Justin watched all of the movement around them then turned to enter the ranch house to await word on Lance and for JC�s rescue.
The distant howls of a coyote brought JC back to wakefulness after a short, uncomfortable nap. For a moment, he did not fully realize his situation and was only aware of the incredible darkness and how dry and full his mouth felt. He attempted to push himself up with his hands off the ground but for some reason he was unable to. A flash of panic filled him when he suddenly remembered where he was and the reason why he was there.
He briefly struggled against the rope tightly binding his wrists behind his back and the rope tied around his ankles but gave up when a wave of dizziness washed over him.
�Gotta stay awake�gotta stay awake,� he thought as he fought against the dizziness. He stilled his movements and will himself to relax as the dizziness gradually began to fade away.
�Someone will miss me soon and will come looking for me,� he tried to reassure himself as he forced down his fears knowing that if he panicked, he would only make his situation that much worse.
JC lay quietly in the tall grass and tried to recall everything that his so called rescuer had said to him, but the full recall just wasn�t there.
A sudden heavy blanket of weariness began to descend upon JC. There was a chill to the air that was beginning to penetrate his sweatshirt and jeans. His teeth began to chatter against the thick cloth pressed between his teeth and his body began to shiver against the cool air.
It suddenly occurred to JC that it must be getting dark and darkness meant that he would be harder to find.
�How can I make it easier?� he desperately thought.
After a few moments of racing thoughts, JC realized that he needed to get up.
�Gotta get on my knees�gotta get on my knees,� he told himself.
With a deep breath, JC used his stomach and back muscles to push himself from his chest up to his knees using his forehead and left shoulder as leverage, scraping them painfully against the dirt as he slightly shimmied his body back and forth until he had raised his chest up off the ground.
The effort almost drained him but the fear of not being found helped him to find energy that he did not realize he had as he finally made it first to a kneeling position with his chest resting upon his thighs. He took several deep breaths before he finally raised himself completely up to his knees trying to find a position that would give him the most height.
His breaths were ragged and labored as he struggled to remain upright. He had to do this�this had to work.
�Please�God�help them find me,� he silently prayed as he waited for someone to find him.
�Okay�I�ll take the left side�you take the right,� Troy said as he and Mitch finally rode their horses through the northern most pasture of Hickory Creek Ranch.
�Right�yell if you see anything,� Mitch answered as he played his flashlight�s beam across the pasture as their search for JC began.
At the same time, JC had lost all track of time. It had nearly been two hours since he had struggled to his knees. As far as he was concerned, time was at a complete stand still.
As he waited for someone to arrive, JC had sang through a complete concert in his mind and had run through several dance sequences. His body was beginning to shake with cold and his knees were aching terribly as were his thigh muscles. Just as he was about to give into to the aches and lower himself to the ground, JC heard voices in the distance.
His throat was too dry to make a loud enough noise to gain attention and a whimper escaped at the thought that he might possibly be passed over.
He allowed tears of fear to flow only to be soaked into the blindfold, as the voices seemed to be moving to either side of him rather than toward him.
Then he felt sudden relief when he heard one of the voices yelling, ��there he is�there he is�off to the right!�
JC sank gratefully to the ground and gave into the weariness that he had been fighting.
Minutes later, JC heard voices calling to him from what seemed a great distance but in actuality were just within a few feet of him.
�JC�JC�it�s Troy and Mitch,� Mitch said as he quickly jumped off his horse and knelt down beside the trembling figure lying face down on the ground before him.
�Grab the stuff,� Mitch called out over his shoulder to Troy who quickly joined him on the ground with the first aid kit, blanket, and water filled canteen.
Mitch decided not to move JC until he knew how badly he was hurt and quietly spoke in calm tones to the trembling young man.
�We�re going to take this gag and blindfold off of you first,� he explained, trying to make JC aware of what was going to be happening to him. JC gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head and waited as Mitch began to carefully work on his bonds.
He felt hands gingerly untying the knots holding his blindfold and gag in place. Once the knots had fallen apart under his fingers, Mitch gently lifted JC�s head far enough off the ground so that he could pull the thick cloths from his mouth and away from his eyes.
JC blinked hard as Troy shone his flashlight toward his face to assess his condition.
�How are you doing JC?� Troy asked as Mitch used a knife to cut the rope surrounding JC�s ankles and wrists. JC nodded and blinked heavily in response the question while sensing what was being done to his wrists and ankles.
At the sudden release of his hands, JC groaned in pain as he cautiously brought his arms to his side while Mitch gently rolled him over from his chest to his back.
�Do you think you can sit up to drink some water?� Troy asked.
JC coughed and nodded his head as he brought his aching arms up against his chest. Troy and Mitch slowly lifted JC up into a sitting position and he reached for the canteen that was offered to him. Mitch held the canteen and allowed JC to drink his fill of water realizing that the young man had been out in the open field for at least 4 hours if not more without any water. As JC drank greedily from the canteen, Troy turned his flashlight to fall upon JC�s wrists and saw that they were bleeding and raw.
�We�ll have to wrap those wrists,� Troy said quietly. �Looks like he put up a pretty good struggle.� Mitch nodded in agreement and pulled out the gauze from the first aid kit.
A short amount of time later, JC finally pulled away from the canteen after drinking his fill of water and was lowered back down to the ground and allowed to rest while the other men checked him for further injuries. After finding that his knees were the only other matter that they needed to worry about, Troy stood up and made his way over to his horse and readied it for its extra passenger.
�Thanks�thanks for finding me,� JC whispered as he watched the activity going on about him.
�Hey�no problem�we found you faster than when Pete played the game a few years ago,� Troy said over his shoulder from his horse�s side. JC smiled weakly at the joke and shivered as a cool wind began blowing. Mitch grabbed a blanket and wrapped it about JC�s shoulders while Troy quickly wrapped gauze around JC�s wrists and within minutes, JC was finally ready to load up on to Troy�s horse.
Troy and Mitch carefully lifted JC up to sit on Troy�s horse then Troy swung himself up to sit behind JC.
JC immediately leaned heavily against Troy and fell into a deep sleep.
�Do you think we need to get him to the clinic,� Mitch asked as he nudged his horse forward to follow after Troy�s horse.
�No�I think he�ll be okay once we get him back to the house. He just needs to get him warmed up�� Troy said, his voice trailing off as he realized that JC was asleep.
�When we get back, I�m going to call Mr. Benson and let him know what�s going on�he needs to know,� Mitch said. �He needs to let those hands go.�
�Speaking of that�I wonder how that�s going,� Troy said quietly. �I hope John and Steve take care of that without any problems.�
�Humph�I just hope they take care of it,� Mitch said. �I�ve got a feeling that they�ll be around with just a little slap on the wrist.�
�Even after this?� Troy asked incredulously as he wrapped his right arm tighter around JC�s chest when he felt the young man shift slightly in the saddle as he fell into a deeper sleep.
�Yep�remember�they weren�t too happy about their visit,� Mitch reminded the young man.
�Yeah�I guess we just need to keep a better eye on all of them�Mr. Bass and his friends along with the rest of the hands,� Troy said quietly
�We had planned on that and look what happened in one day. Mr. Bass was thrown off a horse and Mr. Chasez is ambushed,� Mitch said regretfully.
�We need to be more careful�more watchful. We can do it,� Troy said.
For the rest of the long ride in, Mitch and Troy planned out how they would better watch over Lance and the rest of the group.