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Loner sat up -- too fast. Her head spun. Apparently Aaron's little drug hadn't worn off yet. But she ignored the dizziness and reached for her gun belt. It wasn't there. She looked around for it frantically, as well as she could with her vision so blurred...If he killed Blue...God only knows what he did to Kramor...

She looked outside the tent. She had no idea where she was. Aaron was nowhere in sight...but his horse was.

Trying her best to be stealthy, she crept out. Night was falling. Terrified, she approached the horse. It shied. Aaron's voice, not too far off, speaking in Cherokee, telling the horse to be calm...Loner seized the reins and jumped on. The horse took off like a shot. Aaron screaming. Loner huddled down cloe to the horse's neck, vainly hoping that she would be a harder target that way...

She rode into the encroaching night, and swore not to stop till she reached a town, even if she had to die in the desert...

***************
She rode hard all night, with no sign of Aaron. But she knew he wasn't far behind. He had always been the tracker in the group...She wondered if Kramor missed her by now, if he was worried, if he was looking for her...

Just after dawn, she finally arrived in a town...just in time to see a man gunned down in the street, a hole shot through his head. She had no weapon. The killer turned and laughed like a loon, firing his gun into the air. He pulled a bottle out of his vest pocket and drank deep. Every shade in town was drawn tight. Loner rode behind the saloon, dismounted, and went shakily into the back entrance.

The bartender saw her. "Get down, Miss!" he hissed.

"Give me a gun," Loner choked out. When the bartender looked at her quizzically, she merely seized his own rifle from behind the bar. This terriffied the patrons hiding within, and some let out a shriek, which drew the attention of the gunman outside. He turned. Loner burst out the door and blew his chest wide open.

She dropped the rifle, and turned back to the astonished crowd in the saloon. Her heart felt like it was going to give out. "I've been -- could...could I have some water, please?"

Then she collapsed, as if dead.

Encircling Gigi in his arms, Kramor gently kissed her. Suddenly, she broke away from him, guiltily. He stroked her hair. "What is it?"

Her eyes studied his, despairingly. "Kramor, this... it's wrong," she sighed. "I love you, you know I do... but I won't share you. I may be down, but I'm not as low as that."

Kramor gently touched Gigi's face.
"I'm sorry, I..I..wasn't thinking. God, what hit me? I feel like I was tossed from a horse, into a brick wall. What happened?"

"As far as I know, you were shot... and your horse tossed you into a brick wall." Gigi got up, and found the whisky. "Here. For the pain."

Darkpoet got out of the tub, he got dressed. T, still had the small smile, glued to her face. He went over and picked her up, telling her about that he lost the trail. And that Tsai, was going to continue looking in the morning.

"So, what did you find out about Bessie?"

Darkpoet then dropped Ms. T, in the tub.

Kramor took the whiskey.
"Blue is dead, I don't know where Loner is. Right after I buried Blue, something hit me in the head. Now, I woke up next to you. Good thing I had my clothes on, I would hate to try to explain this."

"I wasn't next to you until after you woke up," Gigi reminded him. "I should go and tell the sheriff you're awake. Stay here, ok? I'll be in trouble if I let you get yourself killed."

"I'm not going anywhere right now."

"Good. You'll probably collapse if you try. I'll be right back." Gigi ran down the stairs to find Darkpoet. Yet again, she knocked on the door of the jail.

[ 06-07-2001: Message edited by: Georgi ]

Ms. T came up sputtering, when there was a knock at the door. Darkpoet unlocked the door and opened it. Gigi, told him that Kramor was awake.
"I'll be right behind you."

Darkpoet went in got his hat and tipped it to T. Then left to see Kramor.

About to open her door, Gigi thought, and then knocked first. "Kramor, it's me. Don't shoot me, ok?" Then opened the door, to see him, as she had suspected, lying in bed with a gun trained on the door. "Come on in, sheriff." She closed the door behind them.

"Thanks Gigi. How you doing Kramor?"

"The head hurts. I think Loner has been taken by Aaron. Blue is dead too. That's all I know."

"I know. I backtracked your trail, and I met up with Tsai. He told me, we followed the tracks. But, we can up empty. Tsai said, he was going to keep looking, if he found anything, he would let me know. How long you going to be here?"

"I'll be in town, til the head stopps hurting. Then I'm going back to the ranch. I will be looking for Loner, myself. Thanks sheriff."

"Anytime Kramor, just keep in touch. I'll see you later."

Darkpoet returned to the sheriffs office.

Gigi turned to Kramor. "You can stay as long as you need to. I'm sorry, about Loner. You really think she was kidnapped? Why would Aaron do that?"

Looking at Gigi. "Thank you. I don't know why, must be something from the past. She never really talked about it. I'll find her if it kills me."

"At this rate, it just might. It happened to Blue. That could have been you, Kramor."

Loner awoke, head still pounding. Again, she didn't know where she was; and the thought that Aaron might have her somewhere...She sat up, frantic...

"Whoah, now, hold your horses there Loner," said a very red-haired woman, rushing over with a glass. "Drink this, it's the medicine the doc left for ya."

Loner didn't touch it. "Where am I?" she asked. "How do you know me?..."

The woman smiled. "Sure you remember Dodge, honey. You run Doc Waverly outta here few years back. We all remember you."

Loner fell back onto her pillows. "I...I'm in Dodge?..."

"Heck yeah, sugar. You come runnin' in here yesterday dawn, and shot Billy Marlowe clean through. We're all grateful to ya."

"Yesterday?!" Loner cried.

"Mmmm-hm. We thought you dropped dead right at the door of the Twisted Pony. You were in bad, bad shape, and you still ain't outta the woods."

Loner closed her eyes. "Listen," she said. "I was being pursued by a man, that's why I came here, I escaped."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Runnin' from a man? Hmph..."

"No," said Loner, "it's not...he kidnapped me, he killed a friend...and I have to get back. I have to get..."

The woman's face grew concerned. "Back where, honey?"

"To Shadow."

The woman shook her head. "Never heard of it."

Loner was on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry honey. Drink this. I need to let the doc know you're awake. You'll be all right. My name's Mae. If you need anything while I'm gone, one of my girls will help you out. I'll be right back in a jiffy." Then she was gone.

Loner lay back with her hands over her face. Had Aaron tracked her here? Was Kramor all right?...

And the next question, which Loner spoke aloud to the empty room, with a growing sense of unease:

"Her...girls??..."

[ 06-07-2001: Message edited by: loner72 ]

Ms T climbed out of the tub and locked the door. She changed into dry clothes and started thinking about what she'd seen in Bessies storeroom. She walked over to the telegraph office and sent a message out to St. Louis. She figured she'd ask her friend in the Winchester company a few discreet questions.

Darkpoet was going to go to the saloon. But, he remembered who owned it now. So he went back to the office, T. was gone. So he sat at the desk and started to clean his guns.