These Different Times (Nick Clark FF)

59.

fuck me it's been a while, huh? soz about that. thanks if you're still here reading 

**

Nick came back to the cabin a little bit after me, a frown set on his handsome face as he fell down on the bed beside me. 

"What happened?" I asked, "What did he say?" 

"He says that the land is his," he mumbled, "Said that the Indians gave it up for beer money. But we'll see."

"They're coming, aren't they?" I whispered, "Walker and his people. They're coming for their land." 

He nodded, "So we'll see who can hold it then." 

 "Do you think people will die?" I asked, toying with my hands and he looked up at me, "I...I don't want this to end in bloodshed." 

"I can't promise that it won't," he said quietly, "Bu-" 

He shot up when his mom and sister came rushing into the cabin, "We have an idea that means we can get some leverage on Walker."

"Alicia has an idea," Maddie said quietly, "We're going to go to Black Hat. Tonight." 

"Well I'll come with you," Nick said, getting up off the bed but she shook her head. 

"No, you stay here. Rest up and if the ranch needs defending, you're here."

"You're taking Troy?" I asked and she nodded, "Okay." 

"Stay here," Maddie repeated, looking pointedly at her son, "And look after the ranch till we get back." 

Nick agreed and the two of them left again while I lay down, feeling his gaze on me, "Why are you staring?" 

"Do you know how to shoot a gun?" 

My eyes opened, "No." 

He nodded, laying down beside me, "Then I'd better teach you then, huh?" 

**

"Can't I just point and shoot? It seems to work." I asked, pointing the gun at the target Nick had set up. 

"No," he snapped, taking it from me, "I need you to take this seriously, Tay. Do you want to learn or not?"

"I don't want to shoot a gun, Nick. I don't like them. Never have." I shrugged, crossing my arms, "I'm decent with my knife." 

"That isn't about defending yourself against the dead, Taylor. It's about being able to defend yourself against Walker and his people. They're not going to wait for you to get to them before they give you a chance. They'll kill you straight away." 

"You don't know that," I argued, "None of us has ever met Walker." 

We both looked at the sound of approaching vehicles, seeing a cloud of dirt before the truck came into view, towing a massive trailer behind it. 

"Jesus," I whispered, "What the hell is that?" 

"Never mind that," Nick murmured, "We've got company." 

We followed the rest of the ranch as they approached the trailer, Jeremiah and Jake staring off towards the hills where we could see Walker's men.

They must have followed immediately. 

"What the hell is this?" Jeremiah demanded, "Huh?" 

"Bargaining power," Troy shrugged as Maddie came to make sure that Nick was still feeling okay, "So Jake can make a deal." 

"Something tells me that they're not going to be in a negotiating mood," I mumbled but Alicia heard me. 

"Look, Walker values these relics." 

"It's a trailer full of crap!" Otto snarled, "Wh-"

"You scared, Jeremiah?" Nick asked, not looking at the older man. 

"You'd better be careful, son," he said quietly, "You might not like my hospitality but I guarantee you that you'll find it better than theirs." 

They both stared at each other and not liking the way he was glaring at Nick, I moved to stand in between them and when I spoke, I make sure to keep my voice quiet this time and my eyes looking straight ahead, so he was the only one who heard me. 

"We need to tell your mom what he has done." 

I got a nod in reply, his hand slipping the gun into his back pocket before he was leading me towards where the two Clarks were standing, "Can we talk? Alone." 

**

"Does Jake know?" Alicia asked, staring down at the skull that her brother had placed on the table. 

"I think he suspects." 

She shook her head, running her hands through her hair before looking at her mom, "Are you hearing what he's saying? We're on the wrong side!" 

"Sides don't matter," Maddie said, "What matters now is a future." 

"A future built on this?" I nodded to the skull. 

"I get what they did to Travis, mom, I do." Nick began, holding up a hand when she tried to butt in, "And I get that you want to protect us from that, I do. And I'm with you. But...there has to be a line that we don't cross."

"Otherwise we're just like Otto." 

"Otto's alive," their mom said quickly, "Troy's alive." 

"Troy's only alive because we lied for him." 

Alicia and I shared a glance and I turned in my seat to look at Nick, "What are you talking about? What did he do?" 

"He killed the Trimbols." 

My mouth fell open, looking between him and Maddie, "Please tell me you're joking." When neither of them replied, I had my answer, "And you knew about this, Nick?" 

He wordlessly nodded. 

Alicia glared at her mom, "Gretchen was an innocent. And you covered for her killer?" 

I shrugged Nick off when he tried to place his hands on my shoulders, "Don't. How...how could you even think about defending him after this? It's messed up, Nick!" 

"All your talk about family," Alicia snarled.

"I know it's hard to understand,"

"It's impossible to understand!" she yelled, "You're just like them. You're worse. You're heartless." 

"Alicia," I placed my hand on her arm, "Come on, calm down." 

"No wonder dad was so depressed. He was living with a goddam corpse." 

"Enough!" Maddie yelled, standing up, "If I wasn't busy keeping people alive, I would have time for feelings. I'd love that luxury, to indulge myself but someone has to be strong. You have no idea what I carry." 

**

We all watched as Maddie took the skull up to Walker. 

She was going to attempt a negotiation. Give them back their trailer, share what we had between us and have peace between us all. 

"He's not going for it," I whisper as Maddie walks down the trail towards us, still holding the skull and Nick sighs and gets up from the log he's sitting on. 

He's still a little weak. 

"He doesn't care about the relics," she says when she gets to us, "He wants the ranch." 

"So what?" Alicia asks. 

"We have until sundown tomorrow to clear out. Or die."