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mag7fansTitle: Seven Men Against One Destiny
Author: Wolf and Boar
Rating: PG13 just for a little salty language
Summary: Vin is getting bored just sitting around a quiet town so he decides to go for a ride. One by one, the other six men decide to join in but the leisurely ride in the countryside becomes something of an unintended adventure.
Author’s note: I wrote this specifically for the Challenge and have never written a challenge fic before so I hope it fits.
Seven Men Against One Destiny
Vin Tanner was restless. Maybe it had to do with those winds a-blowin’, Maybe it was just because nothing much had happened lately and a town at peace was a boring town for a man used to being on the run and being a target. Saddling to go out on what Ezra called a ‘reconnoiter’, he was not surprised when Chris Larabee ended up leaning on the post next to him, coffee cup in hand, asking, “Where you headed?”
“Just around.”
“Bored, huh?” Chris hid his grin behind the porcelain mug.
“You know me, Chris, nothing happens, I get to feeling sleepy which, next thing I know, could have me feeling dead.”
“Want some company?”
“Wouldn’t complain about it,” admitted Vin, just the hint of a smile breaking through the sour mood.
“Give me a few minutes.”
“Take your time,” he drawled, gazing into the distance. Of course Chris knew he meant just the opposite.
As Chris stalked off, Ezra strolled by, pausing to look up at Vin from behind his hand shading out the bright sun. “To where are you gentlemen off, may I ask?”
“You may ask. Don’t mean I’ll tell.”
“Ah, I see you’re in one of those moods, Mr. Tanner. Carry on, oh Homer of the desert!” With a languid shooing motion, Ezra haughtily dismissed the man on the horse and started to walk away. Vin could not see the slow grin which spread across the gambler’s face as his guaranteed tracker-baiting move drew a bite.
“Just gettin’ out of town for a bit. Can join in if ya want.”
“I suppose I could use the exercise and fresh air.”
“Hell, Ezra, come or not, just shut up.”
Playfully smacking Vin’s thigh with the back of his hand, he grinned. “I’ll certainly take you up on your generous offer. I will rejoin you in mere moments.”
“Leave without you, you take too long.”
“That, I don’t doubt.”
Rolling his eyes, Vin decided there was no use sitting out here in the sun while he waited so he dismounted and had himself a seat on the sidewalk. He wasn’t alone for long.
“Where you going, Vin?” JD’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he squatted down. “Any trouble coming?”
“Nah, no trouble. That’s just it. Sleepy.”
“It’s that whole one eye open thing, isn’t it?”
“Kid, I don’t mean it like that.”
Nodding sagely, JD agreed. “Yeah, I know. I’m feeling a little antsy myself. Mind if I come too?”
“No. Not as long as you’re not going to get all chattery.”
“Oh, I’ll control myself. Don’t worry none, Vin. I can be quiet as a mouse if need be.”
“Mite unnatural for you, might hurt yourself you try too hard.” Tapping the younger man’s knee to show he was teasing, Vin gestured toward the stable. “Go saddle up. Daylight’s burning off while we’re flapping our jaws.”
“Oh, I’ll be quick all right. No way I’m getting left behind on a day like this!”
Still shaking his head over JD’s enthusiastic sprint to the stables, he looked up at Josiah and Nathan who’d just come from breakfast where they had apparently become engaged in a friendly argument. “Mornin’ boys.”
“Hello, brother Vin. Riding off to something or just from?”
“Neither, ‘siah. Just ridin’.”
“Now see, Josiah? Told you there wasn’t anything afoot. Just some itchiness to get away for a bit.”
“I don’t suppose you’d object to some more company?” grinned Josiah.
“Well, hell, join the party.” Vin threw up his hands in joking frustration. To be honest, it would be nice to ride out with the boys for no reason other than that they just wanted to. Couldn’t beat freedom like that. Days like these were the best reasons in the world not to be tied to some store or farm.
Companionably slapping one another on the shoulder, the two long-time friends strode off, finding something new with which to engage their friendly arguments. Vin’s previous bad mood was slowly turning around proportionately to the size of their unplanned party and their convergence on the stable. Wouldn’t be long now.
One by one they all returned, exchanging grins when Buck showed up too, eyes shining with mischief.
“You boys didn’t think you were going on some grand adventure without ol’ Buck, did you?”
“Figured you might have had a late night,” winked Vin.
“That I did but now I seem to have all this renewed energy!”
“He’s just trying to pretend he ain’t getting old,” stage-whispered JD, drawing hearty laughter from the others while Buck didn’t even try to hide his smile behind his denials.
~~~~~~~
Leisurely riding along for a couple of hours, they stopped for a break among some scrub by a tiny stream surrounded by some gnarled old trees. The bottomless pit named Buck began foraging in his saddlebags for a snack when Ezra whipped out a bag which had been wrapped around his saddle horn.
“Gentlemen, I’ve had a little repast prepared for us.”
As they munched on some buttery biscuits and chicken legs, they talked of what each had been up to over the past few days. None of them were prepared for the shots that peppered the ground around them.
“Take cover!” shouted Chris but they were all already diving behind trees and rocks.
Silence stretched over them.
“Anybody hit?” came Vin’s soft voice.
A chorus of no’s and not me’s assured them all that none were injured.
“Came from those rocks to the west,” observed Vin and they all looked that way. “But he could be moving around to get behind us.”
Without being told, Josiah and Nathan moved to protect their right flank while JD and Buck moved to their left, none of them breaking from cover long while Ezra faced his guns toward their rear. Then they waited.
When nothing happened, Vin fished up a stick and put his hat on the end, rising it above the tree stump. When no shot came, he lowered it, looking puzzled and worried. Obviously, their shooter was aware of the ruse.
“He knew,” was all he had to say to Chris.
“We’re pinned down. Do we know it’s just one man?”
“Sounded like one gun but I don’t know.”
“Chris!” warned Buck. “Something moving over there in that brush.”
Firing once to the side to flush out the gunman, Chris was startled when a goat naaahed and ran from them in a panic. “What the hell?”
A shot rang out, chopping a chunk out of the tree trunk beside Chris’s head and he ducked back, pissed off that a piece of wood had cut his cheek, just missing his right eye. “Son of a bitch!”
“He’s drawing us out, Chris. Don’t fall for it!”
Ignoring Vin‘s concern, Chris ground out, “Cover me. I’m gonna get behind that bastard.”
“Not smart, pard. We have no idea if it’s one man or ten.”
“At this point, I don’t give a damn how many.”
Frustrated but nodding acceptance, Vin began to lay down some cover fire as Chris bolted in a zig-zag pattern toward the rocks. The others added their fire-power to the effort.
A heavy silence weighed down the air once Chris had disappeared behind the rocks...
Broken by Chris shouting something, sounding like he was in a struggle. With no concern for their own safety, six men ran toward the rocks, and stopped dead at the sight.
Buck looked bewildered. “Eudora?”
Chris had apparently captured what appeared to be a girl of about eleven with long blond hair. A rifle lay on the ground where Chris had kicked it away. The flesh at the hand end of his thumb had a neat but bloody pattern of teeth marks.
“Who in the world is Eudora?” wondered Ezra, amazed at the sight before them.
Shaking off his stupor, Buck tilted his head, keeping his voice gentle. “Nothing. What’s your name, honey?”
“I don’t have to tell you!” Stomping hard on Chris’s foot, she bolted when he let go of her, snatching up the rifle as she avoided the six pairs of manly hands reaching out to stop her. Taking advantage of the fact that none of the men wanted to cause any harm to a little girl, they were left coughing in the dust of her wake.
Ezra was laughing so hard he doubled over but Chris’s face was red with anger as he leaned against a rock and pulled his boot off. Nathan had climbed up on a rock for a better view of Vin and JD who’d given chase after the girl.
“You all right, Chris?” Buck stood far enough away to avoid any angry outburst. Still puzzling about the girl who was the spitting image of the daughter of his dreams, he was looking to Chris to come up with a plan of action.
Having put his boot back on, Chris was flexing his hand where he’d been bitten. “When Vin and JD catch her, we’re going to have to get her back to town and start asking and telegraphing around to see who she belongs to. Let’s gather our things and get ready to ride.”
Following Chris back to their picnic site, the men prepared to leave.
Vin and JD didn’t come back in the next few minutes. Or even the next fifteen minutes.
“Reckon we should look for them?” ventured Nathan.
Glancing down again at his hand, Chris nodded. “Let’s be careful though. Don’t underestimate that little weasel.”
“She’s merely a little slip of a girl,” chuckled Ezra.
“Trust me, Ezra. That was no little girl. That was a hell-spawn.”
Laughing uneasily, they began walking the horses in the general direction the three had fled. Soon they came upon signs of a scuffle. A muffled noise caught their attention so they cautiously made their way over to investigate.
A red-faced JD and nearly foaming at the mouth Vin were entangled in some kind of netting that looked suspiciously like it had been fashioned from fancy lace curtains. Having Vin walk into a trap like that struck horror into the hearts of the others. The girl was nowhere to be seen.
“And oh, how the mighty have fallen,” intoned Josiah. “Surely this small David cannot successfully go up against all these Goliaths for long.”
Nathan shook his head in disbelief. “You fellas hurt in more than your pride?”
“That little brat is fast!” JD reluctantly admired. “Like a deer. She bounded right over this trap.”
“Cut me out,” gritted Vin through clenched teeth.
“My, my,” scolded Ezra although he was obviously far too gleeful at his comrades’ misfortune. “Beaten by a mere scrap of femininity. OUCH!” As the stone bounced off the back of his skull, Ezra suddenly found their situation a little less amusing as he shouted up into the rocks. “You get down here right now, young lady!”
“Yeah, that’ll work,” mumbled Vin as Buck used his knife to cut their two friends down.
Unfortunately for the men, while their attention was on Vin and JD, a yowl which sounded exactly like a screeching wild-cat spooked the horses who all stampeded off in the direction of town. Seven very angry young men looked up into the rocks with murderous looks in their eyes.
“If that don’t just beat all!” shouted JD, who was finally free.
“Some relaxing ride out of town,” groused Ezra, no longer amused in the slightest and glaring at the cause of the whole problem: Vin Tanner, who‘d roped them all into this little enterprise.
Vin glared back. “Thought she was a little scrap of a girl? Pretty good aim even though she picked the biggest head here to hit.”
“Enough,” growled Chris. “Spread out. Find her. Without the horses, it’s going to take us until tomorrow to get back. I don’t want her out here by herself once it gets dark even if the hellion doesn‘t deserve our help.”
Unhappily, the men all did as Chris had said but now all were much more wary than they had been. Switching their thinking from hide and seek with a child to hunting a dangerous criminal, each of the men staying low to the ground and looking carefully into any place the girl might be hiding.
“Over here!” came Nathan’s call.
“Come on, now, I won’t hurt you,” assured Nathan, holding his hand out to the girl squeezed into the crevice.
“You’re not taking me back!”
Buck joined Nathan. “Take you back where, honey?”
“Hand over that rifle,” ordered Chris.
“NO!” howled the little blonde. “Not going to shoot you, mister. I’m all out of bullets. But I’m going to go work for Miss Annie Oakley on account of my good shooting so you can‘t have it.”
Frowning, Chris shook his head. “You need to stop this nonsense and go back to where you belong. On account of your actions, we’re all going to have to walk back to town. You think that’s fair?”
“I don’t care! I was just trying to scare you off and you hunkered down instead of running off like any idiot with brains woulda done!”
Finding his sense of humor again, Ezra grinned. “She does have a point.”
“Anyways,” interrupted Vin. “It’ll be dark soon. Best go back to that spot we stopped at and rest up for the long walk back tomorrow. Need to get an early start to avoid some of that heat.”
Reluctantly, the girl followed, walking between Nathan and Josiah, as she tried to hide her sniffles of misery. Politely, the men all pretended not to notice the proud little girl who was trying not to cry.
“How long you been away from home?” Nathan made an adjustment to his long stride so she could keep up.
“I’m not going back.”
“Don’t you miss home?”
“Probably burned the place down,” grumbled Vin under his breath.
Before Nathan could scold him, they made it back to the stream where they’d earlier camped. Without discussion, each broke into a different chore to set up a camp so they soon had a fire going and Ezra doled out the small amount of remaining food he had since forgetting to pick up the burlap sack it had been in when they’d come under the girl’s shooting.
Wary but relaxed, the men leaned against stumps and rocks around the fire.
“It’s actually kind of nice out tonight,” admitted JD before he broke into a grin. “And we aren’t bored anymore are we?”
Murmurs of slightly amused agreement circled the crackling blaze until a small female voice complained, “Well, I am.”
“Hey, Josiah, tell that story about that place where they have all those old people wound up in pieces of sheets buried in those funny brick buildings full of gold statues and stuff.”
“All right.” Never shy with advice or a parable or a story, Josiah was now in his element.
Silently signaling to Vin as the story went on, Chris indicated how the watch would be set up with hand motions. Vin nodded, then unfolded himself from the ground to walk around their camp on first watch.
~~~~~~
Buck noticed when the girl dozed off. Gently covering her with his jacket he made a shushing motion and all grew quiet, settling down for the night. Taking turns watching, the seven men also got some rest even though the grey predawn found all of them awake and ready to go.
At first, Josiah and Nathan, who seemed to be instinctively trusted by the girl, took turns carrying her. A couple of hours after dawn, she insisted on walking by herself. Ezra tried to entertain her with some card tricks but she just gave him a tired smile or two. Next, JD told her some jokes which seemed to take her mind off things for a while until he ran out and she just shook her head sadly when he asked if she knew any. For some reason, she then decided to walk by Vin who gave her a small smile when she tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and leaned against him while they walked. When she began to droop, Buck took her up into his arms and cradled her against his chest as she dozed. Later, indicating she wanted to get down, she then marched alongside Chris who seemed to amuse her with his ignoring her.
But the nearer they got to town, the more her feet dragged and a look of dread made her face grow long.
When the town was in sight, she stopped altogether. “Can’t you just let me go?”
“Where would you go with no horse and no food or water?” asked Nathan.
“Will I have to go back home? I told everyone I was going to join Miss Annie Oakley and shoot like her. I’m sure they won’t want me back.”
“Sure they will,” reassured JD. “Just tell ‘em you made a mistake and you’re sorry.”
“They’ll kill me.”
“Now, honey, your folks ain’t gonna kill you for wanting to follow your dream.” Nathan patted her on the back gently.
With seven men surrounding her, the sad little girl entered town. As soon as they were spotted, Mary came running toward them, a worried looking blonde woman in tow crying out, “Sweetie! Did those men hurt you?”
Ezra snorted. “I don’t think Old Scratch himself could hurt this little one.”
Tears in her eyes, she turned and gave each of the men a hug around the waist, pressing her face to them. Surprising them all, she sobbed, “I will never forget any of you! Come see me when I’m in a shooting show!” then ran to the woman coming toward them.
“Sure wasn’t boring.” JD stood, hands on hips watching the reunion.
“Have a feeling she’ll give Annie a run for her money soon,” grinned Vin.
“No doubt in my mind,” agreed Ezra.
“Just missed my head,” griped Chris, but then he gave them that half-crazy, look-what-we-survived grin.
Slapping Chris on the back, Buck laughed. “Good thing you’re so quick, old man.”
“Hope those folks can keep her home this time.” Nathan squinted, watching the woman dusting at the girl’s clothes with her hands.
“Amen.” Dusting off his own hands, Josiah winked. “All’s well that ends well. Now, we’re parched and starving. Let’s go feast the feast of the righteous.”
Mary approached them once the woman and girl, with one last wave to them, walked off. “Well, gentlemen. I hear you are all heroes.”
Eyes sparkling, Buck wondered incredulously, “That what she said?”
“Yes. She said you all rescued her from wild mountain men. Are you all all right?”
Laughter rang in the street as a bewildered Mary wondered what she’d said that they all found so funny. As they began to file past her, she grabbed Chris’s arm questioningly. “Chris?”
“Tell you all about it later, Mary.” Chris just shook his head and followed the others, but stopped and turned back. “She never told us her name.”
“Destiny Jones.”
Chris continued on to the saloon with a chuckle, thinking to himself, “Son of a bitch. Seven men. One Destiny.”
Author: Wolf and Boar
Rating: PG13 just for a little salty language
Summary: Vin is getting bored just sitting around a quiet town so he decides to go for a ride. One by one, the other six men decide to join in but the leisurely ride in the countryside becomes something of an unintended adventure.
Author’s note: I wrote this specifically for the Challenge and have never written a challenge fic before so I hope it fits.
Seven Men Against One Destiny
Vin Tanner was restless. Maybe it had to do with those winds a-blowin’, Maybe it was just because nothing much had happened lately and a town at peace was a boring town for a man used to being on the run and being a target. Saddling to go out on what Ezra called a ‘reconnoiter’, he was not surprised when Chris Larabee ended up leaning on the post next to him, coffee cup in hand, asking, “Where you headed?”
“Just around.”
“Bored, huh?” Chris hid his grin behind the porcelain mug.
“You know me, Chris, nothing happens, I get to feeling sleepy which, next thing I know, could have me feeling dead.”
“Want some company?”
“Wouldn’t complain about it,” admitted Vin, just the hint of a smile breaking through the sour mood.
“Give me a few minutes.”
“Take your time,” he drawled, gazing into the distance. Of course Chris knew he meant just the opposite.
As Chris stalked off, Ezra strolled by, pausing to look up at Vin from behind his hand shading out the bright sun. “To where are you gentlemen off, may I ask?”
“You may ask. Don’t mean I’ll tell.”
“Ah, I see you’re in one of those moods, Mr. Tanner. Carry on, oh Homer of the desert!” With a languid shooing motion, Ezra haughtily dismissed the man on the horse and started to walk away. Vin could not see the slow grin which spread across the gambler’s face as his guaranteed tracker-baiting move drew a bite.
“Just gettin’ out of town for a bit. Can join in if ya want.”
“I suppose I could use the exercise and fresh air.”
“Hell, Ezra, come or not, just shut up.”
Playfully smacking Vin’s thigh with the back of his hand, he grinned. “I’ll certainly take you up on your generous offer. I will rejoin you in mere moments.”
“Leave without you, you take too long.”
“That, I don’t doubt.”
Rolling his eyes, Vin decided there was no use sitting out here in the sun while he waited so he dismounted and had himself a seat on the sidewalk. He wasn’t alone for long.
“Where you going, Vin?” JD’s eyes sparkled with mischief as he squatted down. “Any trouble coming?”
“Nah, no trouble. That’s just it. Sleepy.”
“It’s that whole one eye open thing, isn’t it?”
“Kid, I don’t mean it like that.”
Nodding sagely, JD agreed. “Yeah, I know. I’m feeling a little antsy myself. Mind if I come too?”
“No. Not as long as you’re not going to get all chattery.”
“Oh, I’ll control myself. Don’t worry none, Vin. I can be quiet as a mouse if need be.”
“Mite unnatural for you, might hurt yourself you try too hard.” Tapping the younger man’s knee to show he was teasing, Vin gestured toward the stable. “Go saddle up. Daylight’s burning off while we’re flapping our jaws.”
“Oh, I’ll be quick all right. No way I’m getting left behind on a day like this!”
Still shaking his head over JD’s enthusiastic sprint to the stables, he looked up at Josiah and Nathan who’d just come from breakfast where they had apparently become engaged in a friendly argument. “Mornin’ boys.”
“Hello, brother Vin. Riding off to something or just from?”
“Neither, ‘siah. Just ridin’.”
“Now see, Josiah? Told you there wasn’t anything afoot. Just some itchiness to get away for a bit.”
“I don’t suppose you’d object to some more company?” grinned Josiah.
“Well, hell, join the party.” Vin threw up his hands in joking frustration. To be honest, it would be nice to ride out with the boys for no reason other than that they just wanted to. Couldn’t beat freedom like that. Days like these were the best reasons in the world not to be tied to some store or farm.
Companionably slapping one another on the shoulder, the two long-time friends strode off, finding something new with which to engage their friendly arguments. Vin’s previous bad mood was slowly turning around proportionately to the size of their unplanned party and their convergence on the stable. Wouldn’t be long now.
One by one they all returned, exchanging grins when Buck showed up too, eyes shining with mischief.
“You boys didn’t think you were going on some grand adventure without ol’ Buck, did you?”
“Figured you might have had a late night,” winked Vin.
“That I did but now I seem to have all this renewed energy!”
“He’s just trying to pretend he ain’t getting old,” stage-whispered JD, drawing hearty laughter from the others while Buck didn’t even try to hide his smile behind his denials.
~~~~~~~
Leisurely riding along for a couple of hours, they stopped for a break among some scrub by a tiny stream surrounded by some gnarled old trees. The bottomless pit named Buck began foraging in his saddlebags for a snack when Ezra whipped out a bag which had been wrapped around his saddle horn.
“Gentlemen, I’ve had a little repast prepared for us.”
As they munched on some buttery biscuits and chicken legs, they talked of what each had been up to over the past few days. None of them were prepared for the shots that peppered the ground around them.
“Take cover!” shouted Chris but they were all already diving behind trees and rocks.
Silence stretched over them.
“Anybody hit?” came Vin’s soft voice.
A chorus of no’s and not me’s assured them all that none were injured.
“Came from those rocks to the west,” observed Vin and they all looked that way. “But he could be moving around to get behind us.”
Without being told, Josiah and Nathan moved to protect their right flank while JD and Buck moved to their left, none of them breaking from cover long while Ezra faced his guns toward their rear. Then they waited.
When nothing happened, Vin fished up a stick and put his hat on the end, rising it above the tree stump. When no shot came, he lowered it, looking puzzled and worried. Obviously, their shooter was aware of the ruse.
“He knew,” was all he had to say to Chris.
“We’re pinned down. Do we know it’s just one man?”
“Sounded like one gun but I don’t know.”
“Chris!” warned Buck. “Something moving over there in that brush.”
Firing once to the side to flush out the gunman, Chris was startled when a goat naaahed and ran from them in a panic. “What the hell?”
A shot rang out, chopping a chunk out of the tree trunk beside Chris’s head and he ducked back, pissed off that a piece of wood had cut his cheek, just missing his right eye. “Son of a bitch!”
“He’s drawing us out, Chris. Don’t fall for it!”
Ignoring Vin‘s concern, Chris ground out, “Cover me. I’m gonna get behind that bastard.”
“Not smart, pard. We have no idea if it’s one man or ten.”
“At this point, I don’t give a damn how many.”
Frustrated but nodding acceptance, Vin began to lay down some cover fire as Chris bolted in a zig-zag pattern toward the rocks. The others added their fire-power to the effort.
A heavy silence weighed down the air once Chris had disappeared behind the rocks...
Broken by Chris shouting something, sounding like he was in a struggle. With no concern for their own safety, six men ran toward the rocks, and stopped dead at the sight.
Buck looked bewildered. “Eudora?”
Chris had apparently captured what appeared to be a girl of about eleven with long blond hair. A rifle lay on the ground where Chris had kicked it away. The flesh at the hand end of his thumb had a neat but bloody pattern of teeth marks.
“Who in the world is Eudora?” wondered Ezra, amazed at the sight before them.
Shaking off his stupor, Buck tilted his head, keeping his voice gentle. “Nothing. What’s your name, honey?”
“I don’t have to tell you!” Stomping hard on Chris’s foot, she bolted when he let go of her, snatching up the rifle as she avoided the six pairs of manly hands reaching out to stop her. Taking advantage of the fact that none of the men wanted to cause any harm to a little girl, they were left coughing in the dust of her wake.
Ezra was laughing so hard he doubled over but Chris’s face was red with anger as he leaned against a rock and pulled his boot off. Nathan had climbed up on a rock for a better view of Vin and JD who’d given chase after the girl.
“You all right, Chris?” Buck stood far enough away to avoid any angry outburst. Still puzzling about the girl who was the spitting image of the daughter of his dreams, he was looking to Chris to come up with a plan of action.
Having put his boot back on, Chris was flexing his hand where he’d been bitten. “When Vin and JD catch her, we’re going to have to get her back to town and start asking and telegraphing around to see who she belongs to. Let’s gather our things and get ready to ride.”
Following Chris back to their picnic site, the men prepared to leave.
Vin and JD didn’t come back in the next few minutes. Or even the next fifteen minutes.
“Reckon we should look for them?” ventured Nathan.
Glancing down again at his hand, Chris nodded. “Let’s be careful though. Don’t underestimate that little weasel.”
“She’s merely a little slip of a girl,” chuckled Ezra.
“Trust me, Ezra. That was no little girl. That was a hell-spawn.”
Laughing uneasily, they began walking the horses in the general direction the three had fled. Soon they came upon signs of a scuffle. A muffled noise caught their attention so they cautiously made their way over to investigate.
A red-faced JD and nearly foaming at the mouth Vin were entangled in some kind of netting that looked suspiciously like it had been fashioned from fancy lace curtains. Having Vin walk into a trap like that struck horror into the hearts of the others. The girl was nowhere to be seen.
“And oh, how the mighty have fallen,” intoned Josiah. “Surely this small David cannot successfully go up against all these Goliaths for long.”
Nathan shook his head in disbelief. “You fellas hurt in more than your pride?”
“That little brat is fast!” JD reluctantly admired. “Like a deer. She bounded right over this trap.”
“Cut me out,” gritted Vin through clenched teeth.
“My, my,” scolded Ezra although he was obviously far too gleeful at his comrades’ misfortune. “Beaten by a mere scrap of femininity. OUCH!” As the stone bounced off the back of his skull, Ezra suddenly found their situation a little less amusing as he shouted up into the rocks. “You get down here right now, young lady!”
“Yeah, that’ll work,” mumbled Vin as Buck used his knife to cut their two friends down.
Unfortunately for the men, while their attention was on Vin and JD, a yowl which sounded exactly like a screeching wild-cat spooked the horses who all stampeded off in the direction of town. Seven very angry young men looked up into the rocks with murderous looks in their eyes.
“If that don’t just beat all!” shouted JD, who was finally free.
“Some relaxing ride out of town,” groused Ezra, no longer amused in the slightest and glaring at the cause of the whole problem: Vin Tanner, who‘d roped them all into this little enterprise.
Vin glared back. “Thought she was a little scrap of a girl? Pretty good aim even though she picked the biggest head here to hit.”
“Enough,” growled Chris. “Spread out. Find her. Without the horses, it’s going to take us until tomorrow to get back. I don’t want her out here by herself once it gets dark even if the hellion doesn‘t deserve our help.”
Unhappily, the men all did as Chris had said but now all were much more wary than they had been. Switching their thinking from hide and seek with a child to hunting a dangerous criminal, each of the men staying low to the ground and looking carefully into any place the girl might be hiding.
“Over here!” came Nathan’s call.
“Come on, now, I won’t hurt you,” assured Nathan, holding his hand out to the girl squeezed into the crevice.
“You’re not taking me back!”
Buck joined Nathan. “Take you back where, honey?”
“Hand over that rifle,” ordered Chris.
“NO!” howled the little blonde. “Not going to shoot you, mister. I’m all out of bullets. But I’m going to go work for Miss Annie Oakley on account of my good shooting so you can‘t have it.”
Frowning, Chris shook his head. “You need to stop this nonsense and go back to where you belong. On account of your actions, we’re all going to have to walk back to town. You think that’s fair?”
“I don’t care! I was just trying to scare you off and you hunkered down instead of running off like any idiot with brains woulda done!”
Finding his sense of humor again, Ezra grinned. “She does have a point.”
“Anyways,” interrupted Vin. “It’ll be dark soon. Best go back to that spot we stopped at and rest up for the long walk back tomorrow. Need to get an early start to avoid some of that heat.”
Reluctantly, the girl followed, walking between Nathan and Josiah, as she tried to hide her sniffles of misery. Politely, the men all pretended not to notice the proud little girl who was trying not to cry.
“How long you been away from home?” Nathan made an adjustment to his long stride so she could keep up.
“I’m not going back.”
“Don’t you miss home?”
“Probably burned the place down,” grumbled Vin under his breath.
Before Nathan could scold him, they made it back to the stream where they’d earlier camped. Without discussion, each broke into a different chore to set up a camp so they soon had a fire going and Ezra doled out the small amount of remaining food he had since forgetting to pick up the burlap sack it had been in when they’d come under the girl’s shooting.
Wary but relaxed, the men leaned against stumps and rocks around the fire.
“It’s actually kind of nice out tonight,” admitted JD before he broke into a grin. “And we aren’t bored anymore are we?”
Murmurs of slightly amused agreement circled the crackling blaze until a small female voice complained, “Well, I am.”
“Hey, Josiah, tell that story about that place where they have all those old people wound up in pieces of sheets buried in those funny brick buildings full of gold statues and stuff.”
“All right.” Never shy with advice or a parable or a story, Josiah was now in his element.
Silently signaling to Vin as the story went on, Chris indicated how the watch would be set up with hand motions. Vin nodded, then unfolded himself from the ground to walk around their camp on first watch.
~~~~~~
Buck noticed when the girl dozed off. Gently covering her with his jacket he made a shushing motion and all grew quiet, settling down for the night. Taking turns watching, the seven men also got some rest even though the grey predawn found all of them awake and ready to go.
At first, Josiah and Nathan, who seemed to be instinctively trusted by the girl, took turns carrying her. A couple of hours after dawn, she insisted on walking by herself. Ezra tried to entertain her with some card tricks but she just gave him a tired smile or two. Next, JD told her some jokes which seemed to take her mind off things for a while until he ran out and she just shook her head sadly when he asked if she knew any. For some reason, she then decided to walk by Vin who gave her a small smile when she tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and leaned against him while they walked. When she began to droop, Buck took her up into his arms and cradled her against his chest as she dozed. Later, indicating she wanted to get down, she then marched alongside Chris who seemed to amuse her with his ignoring her.
But the nearer they got to town, the more her feet dragged and a look of dread made her face grow long.
When the town was in sight, she stopped altogether. “Can’t you just let me go?”
“Where would you go with no horse and no food or water?” asked Nathan.
“Will I have to go back home? I told everyone I was going to join Miss Annie Oakley and shoot like her. I’m sure they won’t want me back.”
“Sure they will,” reassured JD. “Just tell ‘em you made a mistake and you’re sorry.”
“They’ll kill me.”
“Now, honey, your folks ain’t gonna kill you for wanting to follow your dream.” Nathan patted her on the back gently.
With seven men surrounding her, the sad little girl entered town. As soon as they were spotted, Mary came running toward them, a worried looking blonde woman in tow crying out, “Sweetie! Did those men hurt you?”
Ezra snorted. “I don’t think Old Scratch himself could hurt this little one.”
Tears in her eyes, she turned and gave each of the men a hug around the waist, pressing her face to them. Surprising them all, she sobbed, “I will never forget any of you! Come see me when I’m in a shooting show!” then ran to the woman coming toward them.
“Sure wasn’t boring.” JD stood, hands on hips watching the reunion.
“Have a feeling she’ll give Annie a run for her money soon,” grinned Vin.
“No doubt in my mind,” agreed Ezra.
“Just missed my head,” griped Chris, but then he gave them that half-crazy, look-what-we-survived grin.
Slapping Chris on the back, Buck laughed. “Good thing you’re so quick, old man.”
“Hope those folks can keep her home this time.” Nathan squinted, watching the woman dusting at the girl’s clothes with her hands.
“Amen.” Dusting off his own hands, Josiah winked. “All’s well that ends well. Now, we’re parched and starving. Let’s go feast the feast of the righteous.”
Mary approached them once the woman and girl, with one last wave to them, walked off. “Well, gentlemen. I hear you are all heroes.”
Eyes sparkling, Buck wondered incredulously, “That what she said?”
“Yes. She said you all rescued her from wild mountain men. Are you all all right?”
Laughter rang in the street as a bewildered Mary wondered what she’d said that they all found so funny. As they began to file past her, she grabbed Chris’s arm questioningly. “Chris?”
“Tell you all about it later, Mary.” Chris just shook his head and followed the others, but stopped and turned back. “She never told us her name.”
“Destiny Jones.”
Chris continued on to the saloon with a chuckle, thinking to himself, “Son of a bitch. Seven men. One Destiny.”
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Date: 2007-03-17 02:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-18 12:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-18 12:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-18 01:01 am (UTC)Never did a challenge fic before but I really liked the idea of the seven men and their combined destiny and wanted to try! Thanks for the challenge!
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Date: 2007-03-17 12:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-18 01:06 am (UTC)