The Stallion

Chapter Seven

Disclaimer: I do not own the Magnificent Seven

Chapter 7 – Comanche Wells

Three days of riding, and the two groups are finally in the same place again. Seeing Emma and Autumn, Elizabeth removes herself from Joshua's horse and into the waiting arms of the two other women. Teddy quickly joins them and they are all relieved that the others are alive.

"Follow me, we are going to find Jack Horne, a skilled tracker. He would be a great asset to the group." Sam tells the group. Teddy and Emma return to their horses. Autumn and Elizabeth choosing to walk next to the two men they have been riding with.

"So what happened? Who is this?" Elizabeth asks her gesturing to Vasquez.

"This is Antonio Vasquez, I call him Tony," she replies grinning up at Tony who rolls his eyes in response.

"Let me guess, you don't like Tony huh?" Joshua asks the man.

"She insists it would appear, I cannot get her to call me anything else." He replies.

"Don't sweat it man, this one," he gestures to Elizabeth with his index finger, "insists on calling me Joshua, I prefer Josh."

"I prefer Vasquez if it's any consolation."

"Women," Joshua replies shaking his head, looking down meeting Elizabeth's death glare, "...are wonderful, especially these ones," Joshua tries to save himself.

Elizabeth nods her head, and continues walking forward with Autumn. The two men follow behind them on the horses. The group approaches a house on a hill. The house is empty and everyone is standing around waiting for the next direction, when two men burst through the bushes.

"We did it! The Prewitt brothers have killed Jack Horne!" the shorter of the two shouts into the air. "We don't need no body all we need is something from his! I got his gun see, see!" he shouts shoving the gun into Elizabeth's face. Joshua slams the gun to the ground.

"Get that thing out of her face, goddammit what if it went off, and you blew her head off?" Joshua shouts at the man. But, the man is too happy about his murder of this Jack Horne fellow to notice.

"What did you do with the body?" Sam asks the two men.

"We smashed his head with a rock, there wasn't much left for even the birds!" the taller of the two shouts.

Suddenly a large man breaks through the bushes screaming about thieves. The two men try to grab their guns but it's too late. The man grabs the smaller one, and pushes him down the hill, and the taller one is thrown to the ground and has his head smashed in. The group on the porch of the house are in shock especially the women.

"They stole my things, knocked me in the head with a rock," the large man says disoriented and trying to collect his things from the two now dead men.

"Mr. Horne," Sam smiles at him, "We would like you join us on a mission to help the people of Rose Creek their town has been overtaken by a mining baron named Bogue who is killing their people and stealing their land...." Sam is cut off by Jack shouting.

"No! NO! NO!! I don't do that anymore." He walks away mumbling to himself.

"Well, I guess he's not joining us then." Joshua tells the group. Elizabeth slaps him on the shoulder letting him know it's not the time for comments.

The group sits there quietly and contemplates the next move. Elizabeth begins to hear a sob.

"Shhh," she tells the group around her, "I hear something."

Elizabeth gets up from her spot on the porch and looks around trying to follow the sound, Autumn who has also heard it begins looking as well. What the women find surprise them.

A woman no older than 19 is sitting under the porch naked and crying. The two woman look at each other, and then the men above them.

"Emma, we need you down her," Elizabeth tells her, "the rest of you I need you to turn away. This girl is not... decent at the moment."

The men do as they say, and the three women work together to coax the young woman out from her hiding spot. When they finally get her into the light they notice she is covered in dirt, scratches, and bruises. Emma sends up a prayer for her, and that the animals that did this get their justice. Autumn removes her outer layer of clothes and drapes her shawl around the young woman.

Autumn clears her throat towards the men, who turn around and gasp at the frail creature they have found under the porch. "Is there a creek or some type of water around here we can take her to get washed up?" Autumn asks.

The young woman looks around and notices the two men dead on the ground and shrieks turning into Elizabeth.

"Please don't let them take me! I don't want to go with them again!" she shouts at Elizabeth.

"Are these the men who hurt you?" She asks the girl.

"They purchased me from my tribe several months ago, and have been using me as their own personal slave." She sobs.

The women look at each other and then the girl. For the first time noticing she is darker skinned than them. "What tribe are you from?" Autumn asks.

"I am from the Apache people, my mother was white, and my father Apache. When she died, he could not bear to look to me anymore. These two men came to trade and he traded me to them." She tells the others.

Autumn cannot stand the look Elizabeth is giving her, and walks away from the group. Tears streaming down her face, reminded of her own imprisonment. Elizabeth looks to the group for help. Vasquez steps forward, "We passed a creek about ten minutes that way down the hill, I will go after the senorita. Will one of you guys escort the ladies?" Vasquez asks the group.

Joshua steps forward, "I'll do it."
Vasquez turns and runs in the direction Autumn went and the women lead the sobbing girl down to the creek remembering to grab some spare clothes from their knapsack.