Retribution

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- 7 -

Heyes slept late, after his disturbed night, and he was very withdrawn when he emerged from his room as Lom and Curry ate an early lunch.

"Hi." Lom said cheerfully, a chunk of bread in his mouth.

"Hi." Heyes replied, absently, without looking at either of them.

Curry looked up at him over the rim of his coffee mug, "You O.K?" he asked, taking a swig.

Heyes gave a vague nod, pouring himself a mug of coffee and going over to the window, standing with his back to them, gazing pensively out as he drank.

Lom and Curry exchanged glances. Curry raised his eyebrows in a question. Lom shrugged.

They made idle chit chat, watching Heyes as he continued to stare out of the window, deep in thought, as he finished the coffee.

After several minutes, Heyes put down his cup, and, leaving Lom and Curry with puzzled expressions, went outside, wandering out through the meadow at the back of Lom’s cabin, feeling the need to be alone to think.

He strolled along, not consciously thinking of where he was heading, enjoying the feel of the warm sun on his shoulders and watching how the light dappled through the leaves of the trees. He came out into a little clearing and sat down by a narrow brook, stretching out and folding his arms behind his head, flexing his leg, which still ached a lot. He guessed it would for good now.

He supposed he should be grateful that was the only after-effect of his physical injuries. He could easily have been crippled, maimed or killed. Yet the thought didn’t give him any satisfaction. He was still too full of resentment, too humiliated, the pain of his injuries still too fresh in his mind for him to be glad just to be alive. At the moment, being alive was hell.

A look of anguish came to his face as he recalled his nightmare the previous night, the memories it brought back to him, and the way he had behaved, crying like a baby in front of Lom and the Kid.

He spent most of the afternoon there, chewing it over in his mind, trying to rationalise his thoughts and feelings.

Heyes was normally a very logical thinker, but he couldn’t seem to be logical about what Felton and his men had done to him, and it’s effect on him. No matter which way he tried to look at it, anger and resentment rose up in him, cutting off all rational thought.

He thought of all the advice Lom had given him. He’d been a great help. Without him, he’d have gone bananas. He hoped Lom knew how grateful he was. He couldn’t begin to put it into words. And what about the Kid? They hadn’t talked much, not really talked, but Heyes knew it wasn’t because he didn’t care, he just didn’t know how to express it. But he was there, close by, quietly supporting him, like always.

He was a good friend. The best. He may not be as articulate as some, but Heyes would trust no-one else with his life, not even Lom. Hell, if it hadn’t been for the Kid, he would have been dead now, or worse… He shuddered at the thought. The Kid had taken a tremendous risk, taking Felton’s men on, alone, with just a hand gun, and he hadn’t thanked him. Not really.

"Where do you suppose he’s gone?" Curry looked worriedly out across the meadow while Lom puffed on his pipe, rocking gently in his rocking chair on the porch.

"He needs some time to think." said Lom, "Don’t worry, he’ll be back."

"How do you know? What are you, a mind reader?" Curry snapped irritably. He was doing it again, he thought angrily. It was like he could predict Heyes’ every action.

Curry had no idea where Heyes had gone, and he was churning himself up wondering if he was going to do anything stupid, especially after the state he’d been in the previous night. Yet Lom was sitting there so calmly, confident that he knew what Heyes was doing, and it drove Curry crazy.

"No." Lom said matter-of-factly, "But it’s what I’d feel inclined to do in his place."

Curry sighed, "Well, I’ve tried putting myself in his place, and thinking wouldn’t be top of my list of things to do."

Lom looked up at him, taking the pipe out of his mouth.

"Don’t give me that crap about thinking alike." Curry cut in as Lom opened his mouth to speak, "Maybe you do, sometimes. But not over this. You have nothing to compare it with, so how do you know what you would do in his place? Or what he’s going to do?"

"Funny." Lom smiled, "He said the very same thing."

"Huh?"

"I told him I understood what he was going through, and he said I couldn’t."

"There, you see!" Curry wagged a finger at him, "Well I can. I was there. Hell, it was almost as bad for me watching it. I know what I’d feel like doing." He turned away from Lom to scan the horizon for a sign of him.

Lom eyed him thoughtfully. Maybe he was right. Perhaps last night had been too much for him. He had been very upset. Lom thought for a moment. No, Heyes had fought so hard to stay alive, out there, with Felton, and since, as he’d tried to preserve his sanity, and what was left of his dignity. He wouldn’t give up now, of that he was certain, and he said as much to Curry.

"Don’t torture yourself. Do you suppose he fought so hard to survive, to give up now?" He shook his head, "I appreciate your point, but he’ll be O.K. Trust me. He’s not suicidal. Just… confused. He just needs to sort it out in his head, that’s all."

Curry sighed deeply. "You’d better be right, Lom."

                                                                                                        *  *  *

The sun was just beginning to dip below the tree tops when Heyes finally appeared, walking slowly across the meadow, chewing on a piece of grass. He hadn’t got it all sorted out, but a few things had become clearer in his mind, and he felt a little more settled that he had that morning.

Curry looked at Lom, who shrugged. He wanted to go and meet him, question him, but refrained. Lom puffed nonchalantly on his pipe, watching Heyes though narrowed eyes.

Heyes reached the porch, throwing away the piece of grass as he stepped up onto it.

Curry turned to face him, his eyes full of questions, "Heyes?"

Heyes suddenly embraced him, "I didn’t thank you for what you did." he told him.

Curry looked confused, "You did." he said.

"No, not really. I didn’t realize what a risk you took to help me. Thank you."

He pushed Curry to arms length, looking intently into his eyes. His gaze was steady, and Curry knew that Lom had been right. He’d been trying to sort things out in his head, and he seemed to have made considerable progress. That tormented look was fading, and a new determination creeping into his eyes.

Curry nodded his acceptance and Heyes turned away, stepping over to Lom.

"I can never thank you enough, Lom." He told him,"Without your help, I’d never have got through it all." He extended his hand to Lom.  Lom got up and shook it. Heyes had said this before, but now his words had new meaning.

"I’ve let this thing with Felton get the better of me for far too long." Heyes told them, "It’s time I put it behind me, and got on with my life. So," he looked at Curry now, "if it’s alright with you I’d like to forget about what we said about finding work here, and move on."

"It’s fine with me." Curry nodded.

"It’s not that I’m not grateful for what you’ve done, Lom." Heyes turned to him now, "I just think… a change of scene will do me good."

"I understand." said Lom.

                                                                                                       *  *  *

And so, two days later, they bid Lom goodbye and mounted their horses.

"Take care now." Lom told them.

"We will." said Curry, "And thanks again."

Lom waved his thanks aside, "Keep in touch."

"We will. Thanks, Lom." said Heyes, gazing intently at him. Then, with a cheeky grin that Lom hadn’t seen in a long time, he spurred his horse, Curry following at a gallop.

Lom watched them go with a smile. Heyes would be O.K.  It would take a while, for the pain and humiliation to fade from his mind, but he would make it.



Lom had loaned them some money to tide them over, and after a few days they arrived in the small township of Alcova.

They checked into the hotel, intending to stay a few days and see if they could find some work.

They took a bath and then went out for some supper, enjoying the meal all the more for not having had to catch and cook it themselves.

When they’d finished, Curry leaned back in his chair patting his full stomach.

"Fancy a drink in the saloon?" he asked, glancing across at Heyes who was sitting in a similar pose, smoking a rare cigar.

An odd look came into Heyes’ eyes. He hadn’t been in a saloon since the day Felton had abducted him. In fact he hadn’t been anywhere other than Lom’s cabin. Curry's  suggestion brought memories of that day, and Josie, flooding back. Memories he’d been trying hard to bury. A shudder ran through him now as he remembered the events of that day. Even though he had been powerless to prevent what had happened, it didn’t ease the guilt he felt that an innocent person, and a woman at that, had died, brutally, just for having been unfortunate enough to be in his company. He felt he hadn’t tried hard enough to help her, that if he hadn’t been so scared for himself, he might have been able to save her. Lom and the Kid knew nothing of it, and Heyes hadn’t been able to bring himself to tell them, believing that they thought him weak because of the way he’d reacted to Felton’s treatment of him, and that if he told them what had happened to Josie, they would be even more disgusted at his cowardice.

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