In Sickness and in Health
Chapter Two
by Alias
e-mail: [email protected]
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Disclaimer: See chapter one for the boring legal stuff that you don’t
want to read any ways.
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Josiah struggled to keep the frightened horse under control, and
turned back to his two companions.
"Doesn’t look like we’re gonna get much farther tonight boys." Nathan
nodded, as Ezra squinted into the wind, trying to get a better look at
their surroundings.
"Any suggestions?" The conman asked.
"Head back to town." Nathan said. "Least that way the three of us
won’t be laid up from exposure."
"Besides," Josiah commented as the three started heading back towards
town, "It might do those two some good, havin’ some time alone
together."
Ezra bit his tongue, literally. Unlike the others, he could think of
reasons for Vin and Laurie not to spend the night alone together, no
matter the reason. Specifically, the girl had been raped by her
classmate when she had been fourteen. Physically, the years had
healed her. Emotionally, she had scars that were only now healing.
He knew that Vin was the reason her scars were beginning to heal, but
being forced to spend an entire night together, alone, wouldn’t help
her. He just hoped that Vin had been able to find her, and the two
were safe and back in town.
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"Waddaya mean they went that way?"
"I mean that’s the way they went Buck."
J.D. covered his ears as Buck and Chris’s argument grew louder. How
had he ended up with these two? Sure, they always argued a bit, but
never this bad. They’d been fighting ever since the three of them had
split ways with Josiah, Ezra, and Nathan to look for Vin and Laurie.
He didn’t know what the fuss was about, Vin had probably already found
a safe place for the two of them to stay the night.
"OH WOULD YOU TWO JUST STOP IT!!!!" He shouted, tired of listening to
them fight. "They went that way." J.D. pointed in the direction
Chris had been tying to get them to go.
"And how would you know that?" Buck asked.
J.D. pointed to the tree beside him, specifically a low hanging
branch. The smaller, twig like branches that stemmed off from it had
recently been twisted off. "Vin marked his trail. He went that way,
so Laurie probably went that way to." They stared at him
incredulously. "Vin’s been showing me a few things." He offered by
way of explanation. J.D. quickly turned his horse and started down
the path so that Buck and Chris wouldn’t see how out of place he
suddenly felt.
"Well will wonders never cease." Buck muttered as he went down the
way Chris had been trying to get them to go, and J.D. had just told
them was the right way. J.D. wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw Chris
hiding a smile as he turned.
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"VIN!!" Laurie threw herself flat on the fallen tree, trying to catch
him, but he was already out of reach. She scrambled the rest of the
way across the ’bridge’, almost falling in several times herself.
Vin caught hold of an exposed root a few yards downriver, using it to
anchor himself, and started pulling himself out. He felt Laurie’s
small hands close over his arm and try to pull him out, pulling at the
back of his shirt when he’d managed to get both arms on solid ground.
Eventually, Laurie managed to haul him out of the water, and he fell
on her.
Shivering violently, he rolled off of her. Laurie scrambled up and
leaned over Vin.
"Vin? VIN!!" Laurie shook him, and he blinked up at her, confused.
She started pulling him up. "Come on. We have to find some sort of
shelter."
He leaned against the tree behind him, and she started to pull off his
jacket to give it to him, but he stopped her, and she saw that his
eyes were clear again. "No, won’t…won’t do any good at this point."
"But—" He stumbled towards her, falling against her when his legs
wouldn’t support him.
"Like…you said. Shelter. Not…not gonna make it to village tonight.
Gotta find something."
She wrapped her arms around him as he huddled closer seeking her
warmth. She looked down at the drenched tracker. He was barely on
his feet, and she realized that he was colder than he would let on as
he tried to control the shivers that wracked his body. It was going
to be a long night, provided they both survived it.
