Chris wrapped his arms around Ezra and held him as he sobbed uncontrollably. His overwhelming relief at finally being rescued released a flood of emotions that were literally tearing him apart inside. His hands clutched frantically at Chris' shirt, afraid to let go lest his friend disappear and he awoke to find his rescue to be just a cruel dream.
"It's all right, Ezra. You're safe now... you're going to be okay..." Chris continued to murmur softly, trying to reassure the gambler that the nightmare was finally over. Glancing over Ezra's shoulder, he could see the others moving slowly forward, not wanting to startle the man crying in his arms, but needing to be near him. And every one of them had the same stricken look on their face... an overwhelming sadness mixed with a bitter anger at what had been done to their friend.
"Ezra? We're all here for you, pard... no one's gonna hurt you anymore." Buck knelt down beside Chris and reached out to lay a comforting hand on Ezra's leg. He felt him flinch away and pulled his hand back thinking he'd scared him until he glanced down and saw the blood on the palm of his hand. He looked closer at the gambler's legs and was shocked to see that his pants were practically shredded and that blood had soaked the material and pooled on the floor beneath him. "Nathan... you better get over here." Buck spoke quietly so as not to frighten Ezra and moved around to the side of the chair to give the healer room to check out his injuries.
"Sweet Jesus..." Nathan swore when he saw the amount of blood covering his friend's legs and the floor.
Chris leaned over to see what had Nathan so upset and immediately looked away as he felt his stomach roll at the grisly sight that met his eyes. He'd been so focused on comforting Ezra that he'd never noticed the blood, now he wondered where the gambler was finding the strength to endure the unending flood of emotion that still had him in its grip. Glancing up, he noticed the stricken look on JD's pale face and knew it would probably be best to get him out of the cabin while Nathan worked on Ezra.
"Vin... why don't you and JD get Nathan's medical supplies and then see to the horses. There's a small barn out back, should be big enough to hold 'em all." Chris caught Vin's eye and nodded slightly at the boy.
Vin shot a quick look at JD and seeing the whiteness of his face, nodded back at Chris. He turned and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Come on, JD... help me with the horses." JD tore his eyes away from the still sobbing gambler and allowed the tracker to push him gently out the door.
Nathan walked around behind the chair and grimaced when he saw the condition of Ezra's back and arms. They were covered with dozens of small cuts and puncture marks that were swollen and red, probably most of them were infected, but it could wait until after he took care of his legs. He bent over and put his hand gently on the back of Ezra's head, smoothing his hair soothingly as he whispered softly in his ear. "Ezra? Can ya hear me?" He could feel the smaller man shudder as he fought to get control of himself, but the sobs continued to wrack his body and all he could do to let Nathan know he'd heard him was nod weakly against Chris' shoulder. "It's all right, Ezra... this is the best thing for ya, don't ya even try to stop until ya feel you're ready. Now I just want ya to know everythin' I'm doin' so's I don't startle ya none. I'm gonna have Chris shift over here to the side a little bit so's I can get to your legs and see how bad they're hurt... he's not gonna let go of ya, he's just gonna move over a little, okay? Just nod if ya understand what I'm tellin' ya." He felt the almost imperceptible nod of Ezra's head under his hand and after one last comforting touch to his shoulder, moved back around to kneel in front of the chair.
Vin came in long enough to hand Josiah Nathan's saddle bags and after a worried glance at Ezra, hurried back out to help JD bed down the horses.
Buck moved around and stood behind the chair to give Josiah room to help Nathan while Chris shifted around to the side. The gunslinger could feel Ezra's fingers tighten their grip on his shirt and he hurried to reassure him that everything was all right. "Easy, Ezra... I'm not going anywhere, I promise." He felt the smaller man shiver slightly in his arms and glanced up at Buck who had seen it too and was already headed toward the fireplace to build a fire.
Ezra could hear Chris' words of reassurance, could feel his arms holding him and knew that he was safe now, but he just couldn't seem to stop crying. All the hateful words Parker had continually spouted, all the pain he'd inflicted, all the fear he'd instilled in him had come crashing back to replay themselves in his tortured mind. "Can't... stop...." Ezra gasped for breath, his chest heaving as the sobs continued unabated. "S...sorry..."
Chris hugged him tighter, his own voice choked with emotion as he spoke. "You just let it all go now, Ezra. Take as long as you need." It made him sick to think about what all Parker must have done to the gambler to have destroyed his usually indomitable spirit so completely. And it made him even sicker to realize that they might have been able to prevent the whole nightmare if they had only taken the insane man's threat seriously and protected him.
Buck got the fire going and then moved back to Ezra's side. One glance at Chris' face and he knew he was thinking the same thing... they should have ignored the southerner's stubborn pride and set up a watch over him sooner. They'd let their friend down and the guilt of that was burning in every one of them. He knelt down beside the chair again and began stroking Ezra's hair while murmuring softly in his ear. "We're all sorry we weren't here for ya, Ezra... we tried to find ya sooner but the weather made it impossible for Vin to find your trail. But you need to know that we never gave up lookin'... not once since you've been gone." Buck heard the intensity of Ezra's sobs finally lessen as he shifted his head on Chris' shoulder to turn and look at him... the pain and doubt radiating out of those glistening green eyes hit him like a blow, bringing an instant flood of tears to his own eyes. "I swear, Ezra... Parker lied to ya... we never said those things he told ya we did. We never once gave up on you!" Ezra stared intently at Buck for a few seconds and then nodded slowly before untangling one hand from Chris' shirt and reaching out to him. Buck latched onto his hand and gripped it tightly and continued to soothingly stroke his hair as Ezra buried his face in Chris's shoulder and began to cry again... but it wasn't the wrenching sobs of before... now it was simply a gentle sound of release.
Nathan was relieved to hear the change in Ezra's weeping... it would be much easier to take care of his injuries now that he was calming down. He wanted to get him moved onto the cot, but he still didn't think he was ready to relinquish his hold on Chris yet. He'd placed a basin of water with some healing herbs mixed in, some clean cloths and what medical supplies he'd be needing on the floor near the chair and he and Josiah were ready to take a look at Ezra's legs. He decided to start on the left leg because he wanted to see if the ankle was actually broken and get it splinted if it was. After warning Buck and Chris to hang onto him, Nathan slowly straightened the leg out, resting it on his own leg to keep any weight off of the ankle. He felt Ezra jerk slightly and heard him cry out as he repositioned the leg but he quieted as soon as he had it settled.
Josiah carefully pulled the blood-soaked material away from the skin giving Nathan room to slide his knife slowly up the pants leg until they had it completely removed. Both men gasped and felt tears well up in their eyes as the damage that had been done to Ezra's leg was revealed. Deep, still-bleeding gouges and long narrow bruises ran up the front and back of his entire leg and Nathan was amazed that the gambler was still conscious considering the incredible pain he must be in.
"Josiah, would you take these herbs and boil them in some water? I want to give Ezra somethin' to help with the pain before I start workin' on 'im." Nathan handed Josiah the packet of herbs and then looked up at Buck who was staring at Ezra's wounds, anger burning brightly in his eyes. "Buck, see if ya' can get 'im to tell you what Parker used on his legs."
Ezra heard Nathan's words and whimpered softly as the memory of the whipping tore through his mind once more. Buck and Chris felt him begin to shake as he relived every agonizing burst of pain that came with each blow. "His belt... it was his belt...." he moaned through clenched teeth as he buried his face deeper in Chris' shoulder trying to escape the pain of his memories. Buck winced as the smaller man's fingers tightened around his and he began gently rubbing Ezra's neck in an effort to calm him.
"Shhh... it's all over now, Ezra... just hang on to us... you're gonna be all right." Chris whispered soothingly in his ear as he shot a warning look at Nathan... the gambler was definitely still in too fragile of a state of mind to answer any questions about his ordeal.
Vin and JD had come back in just as Nathan asked the question and Vin nodded when he heard what Ezra said. After setting down the bedrolls and saddlebags he was carrying, he walked over and picked up the discarded restraint that had been buckled around Ezra's waist and examined it closely. Carrying it over to the others, he squatted down by Nathan and showed him the strap, pointing out the bits of bark still embedded in the leather. "Must have been what was fastened to that tree branch out in the woods."
"Damn..." Buck swore softly and leaned his head against Ezra's as he began to realize just what his friend had endured... the image of him being strung up and whipped like that burning in his mind until he could almost feel the pain of every lash himself.
Josiah brought over a cup of the herbal mixture and handed it to Buck, then turned to Randall who stood quietly off to the side. He was desperately trying to think of a way to escape since he knew once they were through caring for their friend they'd remember he was there and take their anger out on him. He'd done all he could for the gambler by bringing them here and now he just wanted to get away before he ended up in jail... or worse.
"Come on, Randall... you can help me bring in some firewood before it gets dark." Josiah grabbed him by the arm and jerked him toward the door when he didn't move quick enough to suit him. He needed to vent his rage over what had been done to his friend... his brother... at someone... and since Parker was dead, Randall would have to do.
"Ezra? Can you raise your head up for me, pard? Nathan wants you to drink these herbs, it'll help ease some of the pain." Buck smiled sadly at the smaller man as he slowly raised his head, releasing his grip on Buck's hand to wipe the tears from his face. After several shaky breaths he nodded that he was ready and Buck held the cup to his lips while he slowly sipped the herbal brew. Nathan had him stop after every few sips to make sure the liquid was going to stay down, not wanting to touch off a bout of vomiting from putting too much too soon into Ezra's empty stomach. Chris held a steadying hand at the back of his neck and as soon as the gambler had finished he gently eased his head back down against his shoulder, resuming the gentle stroking of his hair to help him relax.
Buck set the empty cup down and took hold of Ezra's hand again, then nodded at Nathan that they were ready. He noticed how warm the smaller man's hand felt and glancing down at his face lying against Chris' shoulder, saw the rosy flush of fever beneath the bruises and streaks of dried blood. "Vin... ya' want'a wet one of those cloths and give it to me?"
Vin soaked one of the cloths, wrung it out good and handed it up to Buck. He then picked up the handcuff belt and the blindfold, opened the door of the cabin and threw them both as far as he could out into the snow. He didn't want Ezra to ever have to see the damn things again. He turned to go back inside and caught a glimpse of something moving around the side of the cabin. "Josiah!" he exclaimed as he saw that it was the preacher staggering across the yard, holding his head.
Back in the cabin, the others heard him call out the preacher's name and JD ran to find out what was wrong. Seeing Vin struggling to support Josiah as they made their way to the cabin, he hurried down into the snow to help. Nathan was waiting at the door when they finally got the big man up on the porch and he took the preacher's arm and helped him the rest of the way into the cabin, sitting him down on a chair near the fireplace.
"Josiah... what the hell happened? You all right?" Chris demanded in a low voice, trying not to disturb Ezra who had drifted off into a restless sleep. "Where's Randall?"
"I'm fine, just got a knot on my head. I didn't figure he'd try anything with the storm picking back up the way it is, but he surprised me and nailed me with a chunk of wood." He winced as Nathan ran his fingers over the lump, jerking his head away and scowling up at the healer.
Nathan grinned and patted him on the shoulder before moving back to Ezra. "He'll be all right. His head's too hard for a little thumpin' like that to hurt him much."
"Vin, you and JD go look around, see if you can find any signs of Randall." Chris ordered and then turned his attention back to Ezra who stirred restlessly in his arms. "Shh... it's all right... just go back to sleep now."
Buck ran the damp cloth lightly across the gambler's face trying to wash off the bits of dried blood without pressing too hard on the deep bruising on his temple and cheek. "Easy, Ezra... everythin's okay... just rest now." He reached up and stroked his hair, soothing him back into sleep.
Nathan knelt back down in front of the gambler and gently eased his leg up into his lap again. Taking one of the cloths that had been soaking in the water, he carefully began cleaning out the lacerations. He was relieved to see that only a couple of them were actually deep enough to need stitches, but they all were an angry red and beginning to swell with infection. Glancing up to make sure Chris and Buck had a good hold on him, Nathan quickly stitched up the deepest gashes and then covered all of them with a thick coating of salve before wrapping them tightly with bandages.
Vin and JD came back in and hurriedly shut the door against the blowing snow. "He's gone, Chris. Took one of the horses and lit out," Vin explained as he brushed the snow off his clothes and then moved around by Buck to look down at Ezra's face. "How's he doin'?"
"Finally fell asleep." Buck was holding the cool cloth against the back of his neck, trying to bring the fever down some.
"You notice that?" Vin asked pointing to the small perfectly round bruise on Ezra's right temple.
"Yeah... what's it look like to you?" Buck asked as he saw Chris lean forward slightly to see what they were talking about.
"Looks like the barrel of a gun t'me... must've been pressed against his skin a long time t'leave a mark like that." Vin ran a finger lightly across the bruise and frowned as reasons for it being there teased at his mind... none of them very pleasant.
"Vin... could ya help me here, please?" Nathan asked as he finished tying off the last of the bandages.
Vin ran a hand lightly across Ezra's head before going to kneel down across from the healer. "What do ya need, Nathan?"
"I need ya to try and keep his ankle from movin' around too much while I cut his boot off. His foot's swelled up so bad I don't dare try just pullin' it off." Nathan waited until Vin had a firm grip on Ezra's foot and then began carefully cutting through the leather until he finally could ease the boot off. He cut away Ezra's sock and he and Vin both winced when they saw how swollen and bruised the ankle was. There was no longer any doubt in his mind about whether it was broken or not. He ran his hands lightly over the foot, relieved to feel the warmth radiating from it. At least the circulation hadn't been cut off by the break. He pressed a little harder around the ankle itself, trying to find the exact location of the fracture and knew he'd found it when Ezra moaned sharply and tried to pull his foot out of Vin's hands. Chris and Buck quickly tightened their grip on Ezra and began talking softly to him, trying to calm him back down as he struggled in their arms. "Easy, pard.... just hang on... Nathan's fixin' up your ankle so it won't be hurtin' so bad." Josiah and JD hurried over to help, placing their hands firmly against Ezra's shoulders to keep him from throwing himself back against the chair and doing more damage to his back.
Chris glanced down at the healer and scowled at him. "Hurry up, Nathan... you're hurtin' him!"
Nathan tried to ignore Ezra's cries of pain as he quickly and expertly manipulated the bones until he had them lined back up. He then took the splints Vin handed him and wrapped the leg tightly until he had it completely immobilized. It took longer than usual because he had to be careful to pad the wounds where the splints might rub, but he finally had it done and lowered the leg back down to the floor. He stood and went around to where he could see Ezra's face cradled once more on Chris' shoulder. The healer's eyes filled with sadness when he got a look at the pain and exhaustion evident in the green eyes staring back at him. He reached out one large hand and ran it lightly down Ezra's cheek, tenderly wiping away the tears that were slowly running down his face. "I'm sorry, Ezra... the worst of it's over now. I'll let ya catch your breath before I bandage your other leg, okay?"
Ezra struggled to push back the pain so he could speak and finally managed to gasp out a few words of reassurance for his friend. "It's... all right, Nathan... do what you've... got to... do. I'll be... okay."
Nathan closed his eyes for a second against the ache that settled around his heart with the knowledge that he'd added to his friend's pain, and then nodded at Ezra before moving around to kneel by his other leg. He and Vin worked quickly to remove the boot and then the pants leg, groaning softly when they saw that this one was in even worse shape than the other. Most of the gashes would need stitches and practically every inch of the leg was bruised. Nathan felt someone looking at him and glanced up to see Ezra staring over the top of Chris' shoulder... his eyes huge as he took in the incredible damage that had been done to his legs. Nathan saw the emerald eyes fill with tears and spoke softly. "Chris..."
The others were so busy watching Nathan that they hadn't realized that Ezra had raised his head up to see what they were staring at. "Aw shit." Chris cupped his hand around the back of Ezra's head and pushed his face gently back down against his shoulder. He blinked back tears of his own as he looked down into the gambler's face and saw his eyes squeezed tightly shut against what he'd seen, the tears flowing freely down his cheeks. He moved his hand down to gently stroke the smaller man's tear-stained face as he spoke softly to him. "It's all right, Ezra... Nathan'll fix 'em up good as new. Don't you worry now, okay?" Chris felt him trembling but he did finally nod and the tears slowly stopped falling.
Nathan cleaned and stitched the wounds as fast as he could, but there were so many of them that it still took him twice as long to finish as it did with the other leg. About half way through, Buck looked down at Ezra and saw that his face was paler except for two bright spots of color on his cheeks and his eyes were half-closed. "Nathan... you better hurry it up. He's not lookin' too good."
The healer had Vin start spreading the salve over the wounds while he rose to check on Ezra. He took his pulse and then felt his forehead, frowning as he felt the fever burning even hotter beneath his hand.
"Nathan...." Ezra spoke so softly, the healer had to practically put his ear to the smaller man's lips to understand what he was saying. "I'm not feelin' very well..."
Nathan rested his forehead against Ezra's for a second and then raised up to look into his eyes. "I know you're not, Ezra... you just hang on though. As soon as I get your leg bandaged, we'll get ya out of this chair and lay ya down and then you'll start feelin' better."
"No..."
Nathan wasn't sure he'd heard him right. "What, Ezra?"
"I said... no." The gambler's eyes were opened wide now and he raised his head up to stare at them as his body began to shake.
"It's all right, pard... we're goin' to be right here with ya still... we're just goin' to stretch ya out on that cot over there so ya can get some rest." Buck spoke softly, trying to quiet him down, confused as to why he was reacting the way he was.
Ezra startled them by pushing violently away from Chris and leaning back in the chair. "No!" They watched in shock as his arms went rigid at his sides, his fingers gripping the edge of the seat tightly. Vin went sprawling backwards as the gambler jerked his legs in toward the chair, seemingly oblivious to the extreme pain the movement must have caused him.
Vin could see that several cuts on his leg had started to bleed again and reached out to put pressure on them, but stopped dead as Ezra began screaming.
"Ezra... what's wrong?" Chris tried to get the hysterical gambler to look at him, but every time he made a move to touch him, Ezra screamed at him to leave him alone. "Nathan? You got any idea what's going on with him?"
Nathan shook his head in confusion and tried once more to get close enough to get a hand on Ezra... he was worried that he was going to hurt himself if they didn't get him calmed down. "Ezra... listen to me now. You got to tell us what's wrong... let us help ya."
Ezra's eyes stared wildly around the room as if searching for something, finally settling on the door leading outside. The others watched in puzzlement as he seemed to focus his complete attention on it, his gaze never wavering, his eyes never blinking. It was as if he expected someone to come through it at any moment.
Chris motioned everyone back and knelt down next to the gambler, blocking his view of the door until Ezra's eyes shifted down to look at his face. He saw the frown come over the smaller man's face and knew he was getting ready to scream again. "Easy, Ezra... I'm not going to touch you... I just want you to tell me what's wrong. Please?"
Ezra stared at him in confusion until finally Chris saw a glimmer of awareness come back into his eyes. "Chris?"
"Yeah... it's me, Ezra... you gonna tell me why you're so upset?" Chris saw him shudder with the strain of keeping himself on the chair and thought he now knew what was happening. Ezra's next words confirmed his suspicions.
"Can't leave the chair." His voice shook as he spoke and Chris saw his eyes drift back over his shoulder to stare once more at the door.
"Why, Ezra?" Chris saw the southerner look at him questioningly. "Why can't you leave the chair?"
Ezra's emerald gaze fastened on Chris' and the gunslinger's heart ached as he saw clearly the absolute terror that his friend was feeling. "He'll beat me... said it would be worse than all the others..."
Chris stared at him in amazement. "Ezra... Parker's dead. He was shot and's lying dead out in the yard."
Ezra shook his head. "He's not dead! I shot him... but he just kept comin'... caught me 'n whipped me for runnin'... he's comin' back... gotta be in the chair..." His voice trailed off to a whisper as his eyes shifted to the door and back to Chris again. Chris saw the terror change for a moment to a deep sadness and watched Ezra's eyes flood with tears as he whispered softly, "I just don't want him to hurt me anymore."
Chris wanted nothing more at that moment than to bring Parker back so he could kill him himself. He was finding it almost impossible to control the anger that was raging through him as he realized just how much damage the man had done to Ezra... both physically and mentally.
Vin knelt down beside him and placed a calming hand on his shoulder as he saw him clench his fists in anger. "Easy, cowboy... you don't want to scare him more than he already is."
Chris took a deep breath and nodded his thanks at Vin. He looked back at Ezra to find his gaze locked on the door once more and motioned for Vin to follow him over to where the others were standing. "Did you hear him? He's absolutely terrified to leave that damn chair!"
"What the hell could that bastard have done to him to make him that scared?" Buck growled angrily.
"Shit... look at him, Buck... he's been beat half to death!" JD exclaimed as he stared at Ezra's bruised and battered body with tears in his eyes.
"It's more than that, JD." Vin said quietly. "Ezra's taken beatin's before and stood up to 'em. It would take more than the threat of another one to do this to 'im. Parker has to've messed with his mind pretty bad to put that look in his eyes."
"Vin's right, JD... he's been torn up inside so bad that his spirit's broke... and he may never have the strength to tell us what exactly was done or said to him to make that happen," Josiah explained. But he truly hoped he was wrong since he knew Ezra's complete emotional recovery would depend on him being able to tell at least one of them what had been done to him... to release all the hurt and fear that was filling his soul at the moment.
"I don't get it though. Ezra said he shot him, he's got to know he's dead... why's he still act like he's comin' back?" Buck asked as he watched Ezra. His eyes never wavered from the door for even a second.
"He might've shot 'im, but that don't mean he knows he's dead. Ezra was still in the chair with that damn blindfold on when we got here and Parker died out in the yard." Nathan said. "The thought that he might be dead probably hasn't even crossed his mind."
"Well, what the hell are we gonna do then? We can't just leave him in that damn chair! We need to get him lying down so you can finish taking care of him." Chris struggled to keep his frustration under control, but he was finding it harder and harder to do.
"What if we wait til he passes out and then take him out of the chair? Look at him, he's not going to be able to hold on much longer." JD nodded at Ezra who was now slumped weakly on the chair, his white-knuckled grip on the seat the only thing that was keeping him from sliding to the floor.
"That's not going to solve anything though. Finding himself out of that chair when he wakes back up could be more than his mind can handle." Josiah was sincerely worried that Ezra's mind had already had more than it could take and didn't want them to do anything that might push it completely over the edge.
They were all quiet for a minute, watching Ezra and trying desperately to come up with a way to help him, when suddenly Vin stated softly but firmly, "He needs to see the body."
Five pairs of eyes turned to stare at him.
"You actually think he needs to be layin' eyes on that bastard again?!" Buck exclaimed. "He's already terrified, that would probably finish him off for sure!"
"Besides... he won't leave the chair... how the heck would we get him out there?" JD asked, shaking his head at the crazy idea.
But Chris, Josiah and Nathan were looking at Vin speculatively. "You might be right, Vin... it might be the only thing to make him believe he's actually safe now." Chris looked at Josiah and Nathan for support and saw they both agreed.
"I just don't think he's gonna believe Parker's dead unless he sees it with his own eyes." Vin told Buck and JD.
"Maybe you're right... but like JD said, he won't let us take 'im out of that damn chair. How the hell are we gonna show 'im the body? No way could we drag it in here!" Buck looked at Vin to see if he had any answers for that one.
Vin only shrugged, but Chris knew what they'd have to do. "So we carry him out there... chair and all."
They looked at each other and then at Ezra. None of them knew how the gambler was going to react to seeing Parker again, but something had to be done to get him out of that chair. So after a short discussion, it was decided that Chris would try to explain to Ezra what they were going to do and then Nathan and Josiah would carry him and the chair out of the cabin.
Chris walked slowly up to Ezra and knelt down in front of him. He reached his hand out slowly and laid it on the gambler's arm ready to pull it back if he started screaming again. But Ezra never even acknowledged his presence... his eyes stayed focused on the door.
"Ezra? Can you look at me for a second? I need to talk to ya." Chris waited patiently, his hand gently rubbing the younger man's arm to try and keep him calm. After a few minutes, Ezra finally tore his eyes away from the door long enough to glance at him and let him know he was listening. But the minute Chris started talking again, his eyes went right back to the door. "We're gonna take you outside..." he saw Ezra's fingers tighten their grip on the chair and heard his breath catch and hurried to add, "it's all right, you don't have to leave the chair... I promise. Nathan and Josiah are gonna carry you and the chair outside."
Ezra stared doubtfully at him, not sure if this was what Parker would want him to do. "Can't leave the chair."
"I know you can't, Ezra... we're not gonna make you leave the chair. We've just got something to show you outside and then we'll bring you right back in here, okay?" Chris held his breath as he waited for the gambler's answer. If this didn't work, he didn't know what they'd do.
Ezra stared at Chris for moment and finally nodded his head weakly. They were his friends and he trusted them not to get him hurt again. He wondered briefly what they wanted to show him, but couldn't quite find the strength to ask.
JD and Vin went quietly out the door to clear the snow off of Parker's body while the others gathered around Ezra getting him ready for the trip outside. Josiah grabbed one of the blankets Vin and JD had brought in from the barn and draped it around Ezra's shoulders before bending down to get a grip on the chair. As soon as Nathan was ready, they tipped the chair back slightly and then slowly stood up, lifting the chair and Ezra until he was suspended between them. Chris stood behind him with his hands on his shoulders to keep him calm and to make sure he sat still and didn't try to lean forward. He leaned his head in next to Ezra's and spoke softly to him. "You okay, Ezra? We're not hurtin' you, are we?"
Nathan knew Ezra's legs had to be paining him something fierce, but the gambler merely shook his head and reassured Chris that he was all right. They slowly started walking toward the door, Buck in front guiding them to make sure they didn't bang his legs on the door frame, and Chris in back keeping Ezra steady in the chair. Nathan glanced down at the smaller man's face to see how he was doing and saw that he had his eyes squeezed shut and his mouth clenched against the pain that their movements were causing him. "Just hang on, Ezra... we're almost there."
JD and Vin had moved back up on the porch and were standing on either side of the door, ready to help if needed. It took several minutes of careful maneuvering to get him through the door without hurting his legs but they finally got him outside. They stopped at the top of the steps where he could get a good view of Parker's body lying in the snow and waited for him to open his eyes.
Buck reached up and tightened the blanket around him to protect him from the wind and snow while Chris leaned in close to talk to him.
"Ezra? You have to open your eyes now... you need to see this." Chris smiled gently at the gambler as his eyes slowly opened. He kept his hands on the smaller man's shoulders as he watched his gaze travel haltingly from one face to another until he finally looked out over the yard. Chris felt him tense as his eyes fell on the body lying half-buried in the snow and tightened his grip on his shoulders as he began speaking softly in his ear. "Easy now... he's dead, Ezra... he can't hurt you any more." Chris could feel him trembling and heard his breaths coming in quick sharp gasps and knew he was in trouble. "Hang on to......"
But before he could finish the warning to the other men, Ezra screamed and virtually exploded out of the chair taking them all completely by surprise. Josiah and Nathan dropped the chair as the force of Ezra lunging forward jerked it out of their grip and then they and Chris were thrown backwards into Vin and JD. Buck stared in shock at what was happening, too surprised to react as Ezra ran into him, knocking him back against the railing. He never even noticed that the gambler had grabbed his gun until he saw him limping slowly down the steps with it held out in front of him, pointed at Parker's lifeless body.
Chris recovered his senses first and after waving everyone else back, moved quickly to stand behind the gambler as he staggered down the steps. "Ezra... easy now... you're all right... he can't hurt you now... he's dead, Ezra." But he realized Ezra was beyond hearing anything he said... his whole being was focused on his tormentor's lifeless body... and everything the man had put him through.
Chris put his hand on Ezra's back to steady him as he stepped down into the snow and moved with him as he slowly approached Parker. He could feel Ezra trembling beneath his hand as he screamed out every single thing the demented sadist had done to him... firing bullet after bullet into the corpse in repayment for all he had endured. Every one of the men paled as they heard the long list of abuse that Parker had put their friend through. Vin and Buck exchanged a knowing look when he mentioned the Russian Roulette, both thinking about that perfectly round bruise on Ezra's temple.
"That's for the beatings.... for the blindfold.... for the whipping.... for the lies.... for that damn chair...." Ezra's voice was hoarse and he was starting to sob hysterically as he got down to the last bullet. "And this... this is for your... little game of... Russian... roulette. You... lose." Chris reached around the smaller man and gently took hold of his arms, giving him the support he needed to aim the gun at his torturer... and place the final bullet right between Parker's unseeing eyes.
The surge of rage and adrenaline that had pushed Ezra from the chair and down the steps finally left him and he collapsed weakly back against the gunslinger. Chris wrapped one arm around his chest to keep him from falling and eased the gun out of his hands with the other. Buck hurried down the steps to take his gun from Chris and after putting it back in its holster, helped lift the gambler up into the other man's arms.
"Chris..." Ezra sobbed weakly against Chris' chest as he carried him across the yard.
"Shhh... it's all over now, Ezra... you took care of him... he'll never hurt you again." Chris could feel the gambler shivering violently from exhaustion and the cold as he hurried to get him back into the warmth of the cabin.
Buck watched as the others followed Chris and Ezra inside and then stalked up on the porch and grabbed the simple wooden chair that symbolized all the pain and torment Ezra had been through in the last few days. Carrying it out to the wood pile, he took the axe to it and chopped and cursed and cried until there was nothing left of the chair to remind his friend of the nightmare he'd just been through.