Just as I'm driftin' off, one arm sprawled lazily across Ro's chest, the door gits a poundin'.

"Ro? May?" It's Vern callin' to us. "Tegan says she saw some people approachin'. Maybe three or four."

Ro is already out of bed, buttonin' his fly, grabbin' fer his boots. "Where?"

"Comin' up from the pass."

"I'll check it out," Ro tells me. Just like that we are back to our state of vigilance. I hand him Frank and search the floor fer my undergarments while Ro throws on a shirt. "Get all our stuff together, May, and meet me downstairs."

He slips out the door. Two sets of boots echo down the corridor and then I'm left with nothing but the howlin' of the wind. I run to the window, but it looks out to the north, not the west. There ain't nothin' but dust on the glass and more dust on the landscape beyond it.

'Fore long, everything's packed again and ready to go, in case we have to make a run fer it. I'm just about done strappin' closed Ro's pack when he surprises me by comin' back sooner than I expected.

"Well, Ro?" I secure a final buckle. "What's the word? We got anything to worry about?"

"No, dear, nothing to worry about." Low, cold voice. Ain't my Ro.

I swing 'round, but only git part way 'fore a big burly hand clamps down over my mouth. The stranger's other arm wraps 'round my waist, cinchin' my arms to my sides. I squirm as best I cain to try to wriggle my way free, but this man—he's strong. I let out a scream but not only is it muffled by his big meaty palm, he works his fingers over my jaw and squeezes it shut, hard. He keeps the pressure on, till I cain tell he's givin' me finger-shaped bruises on the lower part of my face.

"You've already said all you need to." He sounds like he just won a prize at the town fair, like manhandlin' a woman half his size is the most fun he could be havin' with his day. "There's no point in straining that voice of yours. Now, do as I say and you may just walk away from all of this. I'm going to take my hand off of your mouth and you're going to keep it shut. No noise. Nod if you understand me."

I don't know what else to do. Ro has Frank, so I ain't got no weapon. My attacker's standin' behind me and all he'd have to do is twist my neck just a little too far and that'd be the end of May June Stebbins. What cain I do?

I nod.

Slowly, the man lowers his hand. "Good girl." He steers me towards the door. "I'm going to assume when you called out for Ro that that is your pet name for a young man named Rordan." His hand is an anchor on my neck as we walk slowly forward. I keep my mouth shut just like he wanted me to, but now he gits a bit miffed about it.

"Rordan. Is that the name of your—companion?" His hand grips my neck now, pressin' into it until I wince. I don't respond, so he says, "Tell me now, girl!"

I won't. Now that I know he's here fer Ro, and not just to attack travelers at random, I got me an inclination to be as obstinate as possible. We reach the top of the stairs.

"Go to hell!" I cry and then stomp on his foot as hard as I cain.

"Bitch!" He's angry, but I've surprised him enough that he's loosened his hold. I jab my elbow back into his chest and then I run, takin' the stairs two at a time.

No sooner have I reached the first landing, then the man has recovered and is on me again. He flies down the stairs, slammin' me into the wall 'fore I cain turn the corner and keep goin'.

I cry out, catchin' myself with my arms to spare my head the worst blow. Then he's turnin' me 'round, grabbin' my wrists, and I think, Orin, that's how Orin got me. I start breathin' real fast and I cain't shut up with the screamin', even though he's orderin' me to, cuz all I cain think of is Orin on top of me, Orin with his tar-stained teeth and good-fer-nothin' grin. And here's another just like him. By the way he talks I know he's from the Regions, brought up real nice and proper, but he's still a brute, willin' to git what he wants by force. Ain't no difference 'tween the two.

Finally, this man, this proper speakin' version of Orin, decides just like Orin did, that he don't have to put up with me no more. He turns me to the stairs and pushes me down. I fall, tumblin' tumblin'. Cain't spare my head, nor any other part of me this time. I land on the lobby floor, all the air pounded out of my body. 'Fore I cain pick myself up and assess my injuries, the man is on me again, doin' the pickin' up fer me. He grabs me by the neck like he's a mama cat carryin' her kitten and yanks me to my feet. That's when I realize we ain't alone.

I search the room, dimly lit from the passin' of the day. Our trader friends, all three of 'em, are backed into one corner bein' frisked by two armed strangers. Apparently, while I was upstairs gettin' coerced by my oversized captor, his friends and mine were havin' it out. Gina's leg is bleedin', and Tegan's got a bruise formin' on her forehead. The strangers look less impaired. And not only that, they're nicely dressed, cleaner, and they got better weapons. Plus, two of 'em took out our three. These is folks with proper trainin', with fundin'.

Lawfolk.

The only person missin' from this equation is Ro. I say a silent prayer that he got away and that he'll keep goin'. It's him these lawfolk want anyhow. He should use the fact that they're distracted by the rest of us as an opportunity to escape. But I know Ro. He ain't leavin' me here with 'em, nor the traders who risked themselves to help him. That's why I'm not surprised when he comes 'round from a room behind us, holdin' Frank steady.

Ro and Frank, they do make quite a team. Unfortunately, one of them lawfolk has tossed my captor a gun, and by the time Ro comes into view, it's pointed at my gut.

"Put the gun down!" Ro shouts at him.

My captor, he's real calm, real scary calm. Every word out of his mouth is measured.

"When a hostage-taker points his gun at his captive, the traditional choice is to aim it at her head. But, I don't know, call me a free thinker. I prefer a gut shot. One blast to the head, and it's over and done with, practically before it's even begun. But if I shoot her here," he jabs me below the ribs, "well that gives her days to think about how things could have gone differently. That is, if she's able to think at all through the immense pain she'll be experiencing. Three, four days and if you're still here, you'll get to experience all of it with her. By the second day, she'll be begging you to end her life, and by the time her end does come, you'll barely be able to stand being near her, what with the overwhelming stench."

"I will kill you," Ro growls.

"Not before I shoot her, I assure you. However, there is a way to spare her life, to save her all of the agony I just described."

I already know what he wants, of course, and Ro does too, cuz he squeezes his eyes shut, and then holds his hands in the air, one of 'em still clutchin' Frank, now aimed harmlessly at the ceiling.

"No, Ro." I cain't believe he's givin' up. "Please no, don't do this!"

But it's already done. One of the lawfolk holdin' the traders steps over to Ro and takes Frank from him, then holds Ro's hands behind his back.

My captor drags me over to the traders so he cain be freed up to arrest Ro all proper-like. "Good job, Sargent Callan," the lawfolk now holdin' me along with my friends smiles at him.

Callan relishes every second as he coils rope around Ro's arms. Cuz if Ro ain't the biggest prize at the fair, I don't know what is. "Rordan Bennett Farnes, you are under arrest for crimes of treason and law evasion. You will be brought before the Council to stand trial. May the gods have mercy upon you." He moves to take him outside.

"No!" I yell again, tryin' to run forward, only to get struck by the butt of a lawfolk gun.

Callen stops to give orders to his two subordinates. "If she or any of the others move again, kill them all. If they cooperate, spare them." Then he looks at me directly. "Do not try to follow us. You will only bring trouble upon yourselves. Remember that I was merciful to you. I could kill you easily, and no one would ever find out. I have chosen to let you live, but only as long as you cease to interfere with the transportation of this fugitive. If you do not comply, I will enjoy watching you die as much as I will relish the sight of Rordan Farnes swinging from the gallows."

My muscles tense, urgin' me to attack again. Why, out of all the lawfolk in the land did Ro have to be apprehended by one crazier than Orin and his pa put together?

"Calm yerself, girl." Tegan takes my hand and pulls me back to her. I search fer Ro's clear blue eyes 'fore he gits marched over the boardin' house's threshold. There they are, starin' at me just like on the day we met. I remember there was something I couldn't place in them eyes back then. But I cain now. Now they tell me everything—everything I need to know.

If there's a force of good remainin' in this world it is cuz people like Ro exist. That's why the desert, sich a despicable foe fer most folks, does Ro's biddin'. That force he's got, it cain't help but be felt wherever he goes, on whatever land he sets foot upon. What I saw in his eyes that first day and didn't yet recognize—that was vision. Vision beyond seein', beyond words printed in a tiny booklet, beyond time. His vision is fearless.

Ro, he knows to do this. To let himself be taken. That's what I think as he slips away into the night. He knows his decision saved my life, saved Tegan's and Gina's and Vern's too. But there's something else beyond that lifesavin'.

Ro, he lives in hope.

Don't matter what that Sargent Callen says, we will come fer Ro. We will free him. Cuz what Callen don't know is that we got a powerful force on our side. They got a few guns, some fancy clothes, and the right of law. But we got the desert—the dust of folks who lived and breathed this land fer generations, all their lives, their deaths, their hopes and despairs. The total accumulation of life lived side by side with death. That's our force, that's our strength. I'm gonna wake the desert with every footstep I take till the dust rises up against Callen and his men.

And when that dust settles, the deserts gonna spare the fearless, the good, the just.

I no longer doubt it.

A/N: Oh no! Ro has been apprehended by lawfolk!  As you can imagine, this is bad... very, very bad.  If Callen succeeds in getting Ro back to the capitol, it's all over for our handsome hero. What do you think May's plan is?  Is she right in thinking the desert, of all things, will help them?

Thank you for all of your vote donations!  New votes will go to the Get Ro Back Fund! Help a poor farm girl get her love back, please!

Today's dedication is for TEJJohnson, ever talented author of the incredibly imaginative story, CATAINDAR: THE DISCOVERY. A girl finds herself in an underground land inhabited by cat-like beings.  You have to read it to believe it!