So�This Is Montana� Ch. 30
Dr. Parrish and Dr. Granger, along with off duty paramedics Carlton Michaels and Jack Dearborn, who just happened to be passing through the clinic getting supplies for the upcoming shift, were all well prepared by the time the ambulance transporting an unconscious Justin arrived at the county clinic.
Pete hopped out of the back of the stopped vehicle and helped paramedic Grady Simpson push the gurney carrying the young man into the clinic while the other paramedic, Jerry Price drove the ambulance to a nearby gas station in the event that they had to transfer Justin to a larger hospital in Billings, 100 or more miles away. Although Justin�s wound was serious, the true severity of his injuries would dictate whether or not he would need to be moved. No one would know anything more until the doctors had a chance to form their own preliminary judgments after examining him closely. Pete had already determined in his mind that he would stay with Justin no matter where the young man ended up being treated. If he were to be transferred, Justin would need a familiar face nearby�at least until or if, for that matter, the rest of his friends could join him. At that thought, Pete quietly hung his head and said a silent prayer for the young men that were still in imminent danger. It was his hope and prayer that Thomas and Donald, along with law enforcement officers would be able to reach them before it would be too late.
�Pete�I need you to move for me,� Dr. Parrish said interrupting Pete�s thoughts as he placed a hand on the ranch hand�s shoulder and gently pushed him to the side.
�Sorry,� Pete mumbled as he moved to the foot of the Justin�s gurney and quietly put a hand on one of Justin�s bare feet, letting the young man know that he was there. Although Justin was still unresponsive, he couldn�t help but want to convey the message that he was now safe and among people who were concerned for his well-being and would take good care of him.
�You got that blood sample, Grady?� the doctor asked while motioning for the paramedic to hand it over to Dr. Granger who quickly took it and headed out of the room with Carlton behind him.
Pete turned his attention from the retreating figures to Dr. Parrish, Grady and Jack, who were hovering over Justin, taking his vitals and taking a first glimpse at the wound in his side. Hushed words were exchanged between the three and Pete zoned out momentarily since the medical jargon being used meant nothing to him. He instead focused his attention on Justin�s pale features, which were hidden under an oxygen mask. He could see a little color slowly beginning to creep back into the pinched cheeks and that relieved him to no end. As the three men continued to care for the young man, Pete�s thoughts once again wandered, but this time to the long ambulance ride.
He and Grady had clung to the side of Justin�s secured gurney as Jerry maneuvered down one bumpy section of the main highway. On one particularly bad jar, Justin had cried out as his pain became greater than what the morphine could control.
His features were suddenly pale and beads of sweat could be seen glisten on his forehead and his hands weakly reached out to what was causing him such great discomfort. Immediately, Grady, seated behind Justin�s head, stood up and grabbed the young man�s hands and pulled them up away from their intended goal. Being mindful of the IV in Justin�s left hand, he strengthened his grasp on the trembling hands while shaking his head in disgust as the ambulance once again flew over another series of potholes. It was if the vehicle was seeking for the roughest possible ride for the young man to endure and, as far as the paramedic was concerned, even Pete could be doing a better job driving.
�Take it easy up there, Jerry!� he shouted while bending over Justin�s torso to see that fortunately the stick had not shifted.
�Can�t be helped�there�s a lot of construction on this route!� he replied, his voice as equally frustrated as his partner�s. �It looks like it�s going to be that way for a while longer too�another 10 miles according to some signs!�
�Geez,� Grady commented as he bent over Justin once again and spent a minute or more taking his vitals, noting that although the young man had lost quite a lot of blood, his blood pressure seemed slightly elevated from what it had been minutes earlier, his pulse and respirations rapid and he realized that it was from the pain. Options as to what he could do to help Justin raced through his mind as he watched the young man�s head move feebly from side to side as yet another series of bumps jarred the vehicle�s occupants.
�Pete�keep a hold of his hands�gonna get him some more morphine to knock him out completely,� the paramedic said, his mind made up for him, when he saw tears begin to flow steadily down Justin�s pinched features and heard his feeble moans. He turned to some overhead glassed cabinets and pulled out a few items before once again bending over Justin�s now slightly writhing form. He made quick work of injecting more of the pain medication directly into Justin�s IV and second�s later, the young man�s features slowly relaxed, while his breathing, which had been shallow and harsh, began to deepen and even out.
Pete slowly relaxed his hold on the now still hands then gently lowered the lax limbs to either side of the young man�s still figure.
�He is going to be okay, isn�t he, Grady?� Pete asked, his voice almost foreign to his own ears since he had remained silent during the ride. He had already asked the same question some time earlier, but he needed to be reassured once again.
�Yeah�he�s going to make it, Pete�he�s going to make it,� Grady replied absent mindedly as he rechecked Justin�s vital signs.
�Were you there when he was found, Pete?�
Dr. Parrish�s words caused Pete to slight shake himself out of his thoughts and he cleared his throat before speaking.
�Um�I came up a few minutes after he was found, doc. He wasn�t awake, but he was still in pain. It�it took some�um�work to get him to wake up. We had no idea why he was out in the eastern pasture dressed the way he was�we needed answers�kinda fast.�
�Yeah�I can see that,� the doctor commented as he brushed one of his thumbs over the obvious pinch marks marring Justin�s pale features before carefully lifting Justin�s left eyelid. He quickly shined his penlight into Justin�s eye and was pleased with what he saw.
�Did you find out what was going on�why he was out there�in the eastern pasture, you said?� Grady asked incredulously, wanting to make sure he had heard right.
�Yeah�we didn�t get much information from him, but we were able to get out of him that the rest of the boys are in grave danger. Donald Crater and Thomas Claire are working with state troopers and the locals to get the boys to safety.�
Dr. Parrish looked up from Justin and gave the ranch hand a hard look, which Pete returned with equal intensity, knowing that the look was out of nothing more than great concern for the young men. The gaze was held for a second or two before the doctor then turned his attention toward Grady.
�I want you to call the state patrol�let them know that I need information on how many I might need to expect here and that I�m going to need some help.�
Grady nodded his head and quickly left the room, brushing shoulders with Dr. Granger as he walked briskly back into the room with two units of blood in hand. He passed one over to Jack, who walked a short distance to what looked like a refrigerator and placed it inside. It only took a few moments for the doctor to prepare the bag of blood and in a short amount of time the unit being given to the young man was replacing what blood he had lost out in the pasture.
For several minutes Pete stood back and watched as Jack and Carlton assisted the doctors in examining Justin, who remained mercifully unconscious throughout the prodding and poking that was taking place.
�Doesn�t look as bad as it could have been,� Dr. Parrish said moments later as he carefully moved the stick minutely to the side in order to get a better glimpse all without Justin even moving. �We�ll know more when we x-ray the area, but if my suspicions are correct we might not have to transfer him after all. I don�t think the stick went in very far�but we�ll know more in a few minutes.�
Pete let out a sigh of relief at the good news and the others nodded their heads in agreement. If the necessity to transport Justin to a larger facility arose, they would do it�but it would be done with a certain amount of risk. With each opportunity taken to move the young man, there could be possible underlying consequences, all of which the doctors wanted to avoid if at all possible.
�Let�s go ahead and get some antibiotics going�2 more mg of morphine�keep a close eye on his blood pressure. Let�s go,� Dr. Parrish said as the gurney was quickly prepared then rolled out of the room leaving amid the discarded bandages and the like on the floor, a multitude of scattered blood splatters sprinkled it�s white tiles.
Ranch hands John Williams and Steven Cartwright lead the small entourage on horseback through the night toward the far western pasturelands. They, along with veterinarian Charlie Reynolds and five others that had been called in, surrounded the horses carrying the young men that they were intent on killing. Ranch hands Mitch Warden and Troy Garner were still unconscious due to the chloroform soaked rags that had been pressed to their faces and their limp bodies were tied awkwardly to their horses while the others were in various seated positions on their animals.
JC and Lance were still fighting to remain conscious after heavy blows to their heads while Joey and Chris, although alert, were struggling to comprehend the dire situation that they were finding themselves to be in�it all seemed as a nightmare�something that they would awaken from at any given moment, but that anticipated moment remained ever elusive. All six of them, Mitch, Troy, JC, Lance, Joey, and Chris, were bound, their hands tied tightly behind their backs and they were gagged as well, preventing any form of communication. And although their situation seemed entirely hopeless, Joey and Chris strained to hold onto that tiny glimmer of hope�that Justin would somehow manage to find help in time.
Periodically, with each bright bolt of lightning that shattered the darkness or the with the aid of a waving flashlight, the pair was able to catch a glimpse of each other. It was at those times that they were able to give each other unspoken encouragement�something that they were desperate to hold onto. During those brief flashes of light, both Joey and Chris would also strain to catch glimpses of JC and Lance who were on horses just ahead of them.
�Were they okay?��
�Had they been hurt badly?��
�What had John and Steven done to JC when they took him out to the ranch hand�s house?��
�How can we get out of this?��
Their questions swirled about in a confused maelstrom�seemingly without any hope of being answered. Quiet talk was heard amid the thunder and raging wind�uneasy talk among the men who had been called in to the situation. Joey and Chris, along with the others, including John and Steven, were totally unaware of how ill at ease some of the men were. Nor were they aware how close some of them were to bolting and leaving everything and everyone behind.
�The ranch should have been mine, you know,� a harsh voice cut through the darkness, startling Joey and Chris as John�s horse came between theirs as well as those in control of their horses�those grasping the reins. Joey made no effort to hide his disgust and urged his horse to move away by nudging it with his left knee, but John followed the movement as his hand snaked out and grabbed Joey�s shirt, nearly causing the young man to slide off his mount. The ranch hand handling Joey�s horse made adjustments to the harsh jerks, while John kept a steady grip on Joey�s shirt, all the while ignoring the young man�s muted, indistinguishable words.
At the same time Chris, alarmed at what he was seeing, grunted loudly into his gag in protest, hoping to redirect the ranch hand�s anger, but his efforts went largely ignored.
�The ranch should have been mine�all mine,� John repeated in a low voice dripping with venom as he roughly released his hold on Joey�s shirt causing Joey to nearly fall off the back of his horse.
Joey narrowed his gaze at the man in a determined effort to show his lack of fear, but his sudden trembling betrayed him and John laughed at him before shouting out.
�The ranch should have been mine!�
The sounds of the thunder and lightning only added to the anger in John�s voice and Joey and Chris couldn�t help but tremble in fear. Neither had ever found themselves in this type of situation before and both were wondering how they were going to get themselves, along with JC, Lance, Mitch and Troy out of it.
�This is nuts,� one of the strangers said after hearing John�s words and seeing the bound figure he had grabbed shaking in his saddle. Seconds later, he repeated himself just within earshot of JC, who was bent awkwardly over the pummel of his saddle. Through eyes squinted against dizziness and pain, JC watched as the man shook his head before speaking to another man riding beside him.
�I mean�this is just crazy. I thought we were just going to scare them a little,� he said quietly, gesturing toward the six bound men that he and the others were surrounding.
�No one said anything about murder.�
After hearing those words, JC�s eyes opened wide. Somewhere in the back of his hazed mind he realized that he was listening to someone who could possibly be swayed into helping them rather than harming them. With a shallow groan, JC mustered enough strength that he could pull himself up in his saddle and his movement gained him the attention of the speaker. A sudden flash of lightning lit up the night sky, giving JC the opportunity he needed. In that instant, he gazed intently at the stranger in the hopes of conveying his need�their need for help. For a split second, the pair locked eyes before JC limply fell forward again too spent to remain in an upright position. Having bent back over, he missed the look of apprehension and regret on the strangers face as well as the one on his companion�s.
At the ranch house Selma sat stiffly in the kitchen chair, surrounded by a multitude of law enforcement officers. Several minutes ago while preparing to leave the ranch in order to meet her son, she had been surprised outside when swirling bright red and blue lights flooded the ranches yard cutting off her avenue of escape. More than a half officers surrounded the woman and lead her back inside the house then began questioning her on the whereabouts of not only her son, John and Steven Cartwright, but that of the two junior ranch hands, Mitch Gardner and Troy and Lance Bass and his three companions.
The questions came fast and furious, but throughout the steady barrage, Selma remained quiet and stoic. She was determined to remain that way�even at the expense of the young men whom her son was bent on destroying.
An officer entered the room and read the looks on the faces of those men around him�he instantly knew that they were getting no where, wasting precious time. Taking a deep breath, he decided to play a different card with the woman.
�Mrs. Marshall?� he said as he stood in front of the woman. He hadn�t expected her to acknowledge his presence and wasn�t surprised when she didn�t. He knelt down in front of the woman and gazed at her evenly before speaking.
�Mrs. Marshall�my name is Mike White�I�m an investigator with the FBI in Billings.�
That bit of information caused a flicker in her eyes, but Mike found himself to be rather amazed at the woman�s capacity to remain poker faced. He could only hope that what he would say could cause her to change her mind.
�What I�m about to say is to be taken will all seriousness, Mr. Marshall. Your son, John Williams has made some choices that will have dire consequences for four young men.�
Selma looked straight ahead, her attention focused on the wall across the room. Investigator White noted where her gaze lay and stepped into her line of sight as he continued speaking, his voice lower, and his message more ominous.
�Mrs. Williams,� he began slowly as he knelt down before the woman. �Your son, John�if he succeeds in murdering in cold blood, four innocent young men, he won�t be facing just jail time. He�ll be facing the death penalty�times four.�
With those words he saw what he was looking for�a glint of fear in the woman�s eyes.
�If you don�t let us know exactly where John has taken Joshua Chasez, Joseph Fatone, Christopher Kirkpatrick and James Lance Bass and he succeeds in killing those young men, your son�s life will end with the death penalty. It�s your choice, Mrs. Marshall. Either you let us know where he has taken them, or you will outlive your son. No parent wants that to happen.�
For several seconds, the pair stared at one another, all others in the room forgotten. The silent tension was thick, almost palatable�until Selma first cleared her throat then finally spoke.
�He took them�Mitch and Troy too,� Selma said quietly as she looked down at the floor beneath her feet. �He and Steven�Charlie Reynolds and five others took them out to the far western pasture�to the gullies for the rains to wash them away.�
For a split second there was silence as her words sank in before the level of activity in the room suddenly multiplied tenfold as officers and investigators scrambled to prepare to leave. Orders were shouted out as additional patrol cars were called as well as ambulance units that were directed to move toward the western pastures.
�Take her in,� the investigator said stepping back when a pair of sheriffs stepped forward, one with a pair of handcuffs in hand.
�Miss Selma,� one of the men began causing the investigator to realize that probably most of the men knew this woman. �You need to come with us��
Several minutes later, the sheriffs� patrol cars lead those cars being driven by the other investigators as they raced toward a dirt road that would take them parallel to the western pastures and hopefully to the young men whose lives were being threatened while a lone car slowly drove in the opposite direction with the most unlikely accessory to, hopefully, attempted first degree murder.
Joey struggled to see through the rain that was now steadily falling. The fat drops partially blinding him as he searched about him to find his brothers as well as Troy and Mitch, whom he hadn�t seen for a while. His horse slightly stumbled causing him to pitch roughly onto his saddle horn and he groaned into his gag as a wave of pain washed over him causing his vision to slightly gray. A hand tightly grasped his right bicep and attempted to pull him upright in his saddle, but fierce determination welled up inside the young man and he made a move to pull away from the hand but only succeeded in nearly falling off his horse.
�Whoa there, boy,� the stranger�s voice said as he tightened his grip on the young man�s arm. �Don�t want you falling off the horse before we get there, now do we?�
The man�s voice was taunting and in a mixture of fear and disgust, Joey once again with a muted grunt against his gag as he attempted to pull away from the stranger�s hand and this time, the man released his hold. His hands being tightly bound behind Joey left him without the full ability to keep his balance and he suddenly found himself sliding off the back of his horse. Behind him, he heard muted, fearful shouts coming from his friends as they watched him lose his frantic battle against gravity. A split second later, Joey was lying in a dazed heap on the ground desperately, albeit weakly attempting to pull his body into as small a ball as possible in the fear that the horses looming above him would crush him under their hooves. He heard angry shouting overhead and felt the hot breath of one or more horses wash over him, causing deep fear to race through him, as he remained helpless on the ground below.
At the same time, several of the strangers were struggling to not only control their own horses but also those horses that three of the young men were riding. Although the young men were tightly bound, nearly immobile, they were giving their captors a run for their money. JC and Chris were being vocal�very vocal behind their gags causing their horses to slightly prance in place. While the men taking care of them were distracted in their attempts to control the horses, Lance decided to take advantage of the situation. Although he desperately wanted to help Joey, he knew that what he needed to do even more was get help. In the confusion, his horse had moved toward the outside of the group and the man holding the animal�s reins became further distracted when his horse avoided Joey�s curled body on the ground below.
�It�s now or never,� Lance thought as he took a deep breath, crouched forward on his horse before fiercely kneeing the animal�s sides, spurring it into action. At the same time, a tremendous flash of lightning, accompanied with the deafening roar of thunder caught the entire party totally off guard, throwing everyone into sudden chaos and the man holding the reins to Lance�s horse lost his grip as his own horse suddenly began rearing in fright. Horses leaped to and fro in terror while their riders struggled to remain seated. And, underneath it all, Joey remained unprotected from the dangerous, deadly hooves of the now frightened horses.
For a second or two, few of the ranch hands noticed that Lance�s horse was no longer within the confines of their group since they were focused on gaining control of the spooked horses. At the same time, JC and Chris were silently cheering the young man on as his retreating figure melted into the surrounding darkness, not knowing that at least two of the strangers, along with veterinarian Charlie Reynolds knew exactly what Lance had done, but were willing to allow the young man to go�they were no longer wishing to be a part of John and Steven�s evil plans.
As the nervous, scared animals pranced about, Charlie Reynolds, hoping to further distract those around him, he dropped from his horse to the ground and bent over Joey�s trembling figure in an effort to protect him.
�Be still, still�be still,� he said loud enough that he was sure that only Joey could hear�he didn�t want John to know that he was losing heart with what the man wanted him to do.
Joey tried to struggle against the older man holding him down and even glanced up long enough for the veterinarian to see a look of pure hatred appear on his face when a flash of lightning lit up the night, but it disappeared when he heard his words.
�I�m trying to help you here�I don�t want you and the others to die�please�trust me,� Charlie pleaded. �Play dead�just do it�play dead�now,� he hissed. He didn�t even give Joey a chance to acknowledge his words before he looked up long enough to shout out.
�John! Steven! Get down here,� the older man shouted, causing some of the horses to once again stomp nervously about in fear.
The ranch hands shouted in anger at the man, seemingly reluctant to get down from their horses but he remained insistent.
�He�s not going to be riding any further!� Charlie shouted above a sudden clap of thunder. �Looks like one of the horses may have got him!�
At those words, JC and Chris totally lost it. Both began doing their very best to see what was going on with Joey, frantically prodding their horses with their knees in an attempt to get closer to their friend, but their efforts were only creating more chaos for those trying to control their animals. It was at that very moment that John finally noticed that Lance was no longer with their group.
�Where is he?� he shouted angrily, twisting in his saddle as he gazed about, his eyes searching vainly for the young man that he hated so much, but was only met with disappointment.
�Where is he? Where�s Bass? Who had him? Which fool had him?� he roared in anger as he grabbed his gun from his belt then pointed it randomly at those around him. �Whoever had him is a dead man�I swear he�s a dead man!�
In the distance, Lance struggled to remain upright on his horse as it flew wildly through the trees and brush in the opposite direction from where the group had been heading.
�Help! Help!� his mind screamed out as he strained to duck low hanging branches that were rapidly flying overhead. For the most part, he was successful in avoiding the largest of the branches while his face, chest and arms were taking a beating from the smaller branches that were coming almost too fast for him to avoid. For a short time he was realized that he was probably going to be able to remain on his horse until a bright flash of lightning revealed a fallen log directly in his path. With little more than a second or two to prepare for the impending jump, Lance quickly laid down as far as he could over his saddle before feeling the horse fly through the air.