Wild Horses

As soon as Brian hit the ground, Treva took off in a sprint toward him, her heart pounding harder than it ever had before. It seemed like ages before she reached him, and when she finally did, Treva didn't know if he was alive or dead. Slowly she crouched down in the grass next to him.

"Brian," she said, her voice coming out no louder than a whisper, and Zach appeared beside her in that instant. Gingerly he reached out and touched Brian's shoulder, trying to move him onto his back. As soon as he had Brian lodged on his side in the grass, Zach saw the wide dark eyes, pain and feat etched into them as Brian stared back.

"Zach..." His voice sounded shattered, scratchy, and Brian began coughing. Turning to Treva, Zach gave his orders.

"I've got to get these arrows out of his back. Run inside and get our mothers. We'll need help carrying him in," Zach said, trying to keep his voice steady and calm though he didn't see much hope in the situation.

Nodding, Treva took one last look at Brian, his face contorted in a grimace, and then stood. As soon as her back was turned she could hear Zach trying to pull the first arrow out of Brian's back, Brian screaming out in agony. She closed her eyes tightly, hurrying into the house before she could hear much more. It didn't even occur to her that with the death of that last Indian, the others had fled, leaving them to pick up the pieces.

"Treva?" Maria asked, her concerned voice bringing Treva to her senses. She didn't even realize that she was stood in the doorway. Nor did she realize that she was crying until Maria took her face in her hands, wiping away her tears. "What's happened?"

"Br--Brian," Treva stuttered. "He was...he's...he's hurt. Zach needs help bringing him in," she finished, eyes shutting tight as another of Brian's screams entered through the open door. Without a word Maria and Clarisse were out the door, dashing toward where Zach and Brian were situated in the grass, Treva following behind.

Maria fell to her knees next to Brian who was now lying on his back, his face and neck drenched in sweat as his breathing came hard and labored. She placed her hand on his forehead in a motherly way, forcing a smile down at Brian.

"We're going to move you inside. It might hurt," Maria warned, "but you're going to be okay."

Swallowing hard, Brian nodded in understanding. Zach, Treva, and their mothers huddled around him on all sides, debating how to move him.

"Two of us get him around the shoulders, the other two get his legs," Zach said, and he and his mother found a way to cradle Brian around his back and shoulders, being careful not to hit his bleeding wounds as Treva and Clarisse each took a leg. It didn't take long to get Brian inside and situated on the couch in the living room, wrapped in blankets as he had started to shake, his skin clammy.

"Zach, you need to go tell your father what's happened, and then you need to get into town as soon as you can and find the doctor. Tell him it's an emergency and that he needs to come quickly. We'll work on dressing the wounds and stopping the blood loss," Maria ordered her son, staring him in the eye as she took him by the shoulders, making sure he heard every word she said.

With a sharp nod Zach quickly left. It didn't take long to find his father and John out by the barn, working o putting the last licks of fire out and salvaging as much as they could. He quickly told his father and the other man the predicament Brian was in, and then mounted Shadow who was waiting along the edge of the pasture.

The ride into town seemed to take only seconds, yet dragged on at the same time. When Zach entered Billings and saw the smoke rising from houses and stores, a few bloody bodies littering the ground, he knew the task he'd set out on was going to be daunting.

At this rate, Brian would be lucky to last the night...

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the women had gotten to work trying to patch Brian up as best as they could. Treva didn't know much about first aid so as Brian was laid on his side on the couch, she crouched by his head, taking one of his hands in hers. She lightly ran her thumb over the back of Brian's hand in an attempt to soothe him as Maria and Clarisse tended to his wounds, using some kind of clear liquid to clean out the punctures of Brian's back. From the way Brian was hissing in pain and gripping her hard, Treva had a feeling it wasn't water.

Using some clean pieces of cloth, Maria soaked them in the antibacterial solution she'd made herself, pressing them to Brian's back once they'd gotten his shirt off. Using another piece of cloth, she wrapped it around Brian's torso a few times to keep the others in place over the wounds.

Treva tried to give Brian a grim smile when it was all over, when suddenly his eyes rolled back into his head and his grip on her slackened.

"Brian?" she asked, shaking him gently. "Brian?!" Her voice was panicked when he didn't respond. A fresh wave of tears leaked from her eyes. "Maria, I think he's...."

Pressing her fingers into the vein in Brian's neck, Maria felt the light thumbing against her. "He's just unconscious, probably due to shock. Give him some time and he'll come to," Maria said quietly. It was then that Zach burst through the door, John and James shortly following.

"The doctor can't come. There's already too many injured in Billings..." he said, and when he glanced over his mother's shoulder, Zach's heart nearly stopped. There was Brian, seemingly lifeless, Treva with tears in her eyes as she held his hand. "N-no...he can't..." Zach stumbled upon his words as he took a few steps closer.

"Don't worry, Zachary. He's in shock. He'll come to, just give him time," Maria quietly explained, soothing the terrified look in her son's eyes. Zach had already lost one brother; Maria knew it'd crush him to lose the next closest thing...

Leaving Zach to sit beside Treva, Maria slowly moved to the kitchen where the other adults were, worried looks upon their faces. Maria sighed as she took a seat at the table, feeling her husband's hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know if he's going to make it..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The day seemed to drag on to no end, stretching into a night that seemed even longer. Zach and Treva rarely left Brian's side throughout any of that time, even while Brian was still unconscious. Once he passed out, his body reacting to the possible toxic shock of his injuries, Brian didn't wake til well after dinner. It didn't surprise him in the least that Zach and Treva were there; he'd have done the same given he wasn't in his position.

"Hey," he rasped out, eyes catching the flames dancing in the fireplace. He noticed the room was a bit warm, but for some reason Brian was still shaking. His body felt cold, though he knew it shouldn't.

"How are you feeling?" Zach asked as Treva brushed away the hair from Brian's face; she could feel how clammy he still was.

"I don't know.... Alright, I suppose. Everything feels cold," Brian admitted, though he wasn't about to say that his outlook at that moment really wasn't the best. It was like Brian could feel it in his bones, in every muscle, with every slow, dull thump of his heart that the end was near.

"We saved some dinner for you," Treva said quietly, not realizing that she'd had Brian's hand in hers until he gently squeezed it.

"I'm not feeling very hungry..." Brian said. In fact, he was beginning to feel dizzy and lightheaded, like the world was spinning faster and faster around him. He couldn't feel his back, and while he knew that was a good thing because there would be a lot of pain involved, Brian also knew it was a bad thing. For he knew that the arrows of the Crow Indians were tipped with poison, spreading through his blood, and it would only be a matter of time before his heart seized up or he drowned in his own blood, which he could slowly feel invading his lungs.

Feeling the nagging tickle, Brian coughed, the movement wracking his body as he tried not to choke. He could feel the blood already speckling the back of his throat.

"It's getting late," he finally wheezed out, looking between Zach and Treva. "You two should probably get some sleep."

Sighing, Zach nodded and slowly got to his feet. "I'll be here, bright and early," he nearly threatened, a smile gracing his lips, and Brian shakily returned it, nodding his head. He wasn't about to tell Zach any differently.

"You coming?" Zach asked as he noticed Treva hadn't moved from her spot.

"I'll be up in a minute," she whispered, waiting until Zach headed up the stairs before she turned to Brian, still running her thumb along his hand.

"You two are good together..." Brian whispered, causing Treva to smile, a blush tingeing her cheeks. "I think the one thing that I'll always regret is...that I didn't get to you before he did..." Brian said, trailing off before taking a deep breath. "I don't know if you realize the actual hold you had on me, Treva. It was all physical at first...and then for some reason in those weeks leading up to Christmas, it turned into something deeper. But...I know that he's going to make you really happy, Treva. He really loves you."

Treva didn't care that her eyes were tearing up in front of Brian at the words he spoke, nor did she dare wipe them away. She didn't know he could be so sincere. And somewhere inside she knew this was Brian's farewell.

Late in the night the house quiet as everyone laid asleep in their beds, or Zach's bed, in Treva's case, Brian awoke. The embers of the fire had died down, leaving the room cold, his body colder. He couldn't help the involuntary shivers rocking his body, nor the hacking cough that rose from his lungs once more. Brian tried to raise his hand to his mouth to stifle the noise he was making, and in doing so he realized that his arms were immobile.

Fear overtook him, as paralyzing as the poison that was making its way through the last organs of his body. Brian could feel the solitary thud of his heart as the muscle tried to fight, only to lose.

And with one last shuddering breath, Brian was gone.