Jack bit down on the cloth gag in his mouth, his wrists twisting in the rope bindings behind his back. His heart was thundering so loudly in his ears that he could barely hear what the people around him were saying. He felt like he was going to pass out but the rope around his neck encouraged him to stay standing. Unable to look at the gathering crowd, he found himself looking down at the trapdoor beneath his feet. He could see the ground far below in between the cracks. The corners of the trapdoor bowing slightly under his weight. The Marshal stepped past Jack to lock eyes with Bob, telling him sternly. "It didn't have to be this way, boys. You just picked the wrong side." Bod lifted his chin defiantly, staring off into the distant horizon. Beside him, Wade shifted uncomfortably but kept glancing down at the trapdoor with perplexed curiosity. The Marshal stopped at the end where Nathan stood on weary feet. Tipping his hat to him, the Marshal smirked to him and uttered out soft enough for only them to hear. "Happy trails, Partner. You're the last of the past." Nathan glared at the Marshal, forcing himself to stand up straighter.

The Marshal then turned to the gathering crowd and addressed loudly. "Good people! Your sheriff is dead and before you stand those that did it! As your new sheriff. I offer swift justice! Hang them high until their feet quit kicking!" The crowd cheered and hollered at them, causing another tear to streak down Jack's cheek. How could they believe him just like that? It wasn't right and it wasn't fair. He'd never down anything to deserve this. The Marshal pointed to the wagon where their horses were hitched up, flashing them all a smirk as he told them. "They'll take you to your grave, boys. Any last words?" None of them could answer. The Marshal then gestured his hand across his neck and one of his young deputies grabbed the lever. A whimper left Jack as he helplessly watched the young man yank the lever back. One by one the trapdoors fell out from under them, and the people gasped. The first to fall was Nathan's trapdoor. Nathan jumped to adjust his tied hands from behind him to in front of him. Giving him the ability to grab the rope of his noose and swing his legs up to wrap his legs around it too, keeping him from falling into the hole beneath him.

The second to fall right after was Wade's trapdoor. Wade was so tall, that as the trapdoor fell, he braced his feet off the sides of the trapdoor to keep himself up over the hole with a gagged chuckle. The next to fall was Bob's trapdoor. Bob had been working his tied wrists with the small knife hidden in his thick steel ring. With a soft snap as his bindings came lose, Bob reached up to grab the noose around his neck, losing it mere seconds before he fell through the trapdoor. His head coming free of the noose before he landed on his feet beneath the trapdoor with a relieved exhale. Jack shook in place as his trapdoor clicked. Was he going to be the only one that died? Seconds before he felt the trapdoor give under his boots, a loud gunshot rang out over the crowd. Jack closed his eyes, falling through the trapdoor and to his surprise... stumbling into the dirt from the jarring sensation of his legs hitting ground. Bob helped him up, allowing Jack to straighten up enough to see the people in the square scattering like roaches. Sitting onto a horse farther down the road was a man with a rifle in his hands.

The Marshal called out to his deputies to deal with the man, then ran to shove Wade into the hole. Bob released Jack, rushing to Wade's aid. As Wade fell in, Bob grabbed his long legs to keep his neck from snapping. Wade tried to regain his footing, while beside him, Nathan finally loosened his noose enough to pry his head free. Gripping the noose, Nathan swung his legs down and kicked the Marshal clear off the gallows. Landing on solid wood, Nathan yanked off his gag and reached out to loosen the noose around Wade's neck. The Marshal rolled up to his knees with a groan, removing his gun to aim at Nathan. Bob helped Wade down, and Jack acted quickly. Dashing up, he kicked dirt into the Marshal's face to blind him. As more gunfire started up, Jack's heart leapt as Mark's voice called out from across the road. "SKIN OUT, BOYS!" Bob and Wade ran for the wagon with their horses and Jack turned to join them. The Marshal cleared his face, adjusting his aim to shoot Jack as he fled. The gun went off and Jack let out a muffled scream as the bullet clipped through his thigh.

Staggering to the ground, Jack rolled onto his side to see the Marshal getting to his feet to chase after him. As he passed under the gallows though, Nathan jumped down onto him. Punching the Marshal across his face to knock him out, Nathan snapped out angrily. "Lights out, Marshal!" Nathan reached for the Marshal's gun but yelped as a bullet shot into his hand. The deputies were rushing out into the open now. Cursing, Nathan retreated reluctantly. In passing, he grabbed Jack's arm and hefted him up. The horses charged by, and Nathan shoved Jack up into Wade's awaiting arms. Bullets peppered the walls and ground around them as they rode by. Jack worried about Nathan but smirked as he saw Mark ride in fast. Riding close enough to Nathan to let him swing up behind him. Taking the rifle from Mark's hand, Nathan began shooting deputies with aced precision. Laying back in a coffin in the wagon, Jack groaned from the pain in his leg but couldn't help feeling relieved at his turn of fate. He was still alive. Bob encouraged the horses to run faster, leaving the town in the dust.

Mark eventually caught up to the wagon, calling out to them. "Ya'll alright?" Bob exhaled out in a tense tone. "I don't know! I'll tell you later! Are they still following?!" Jack sat up to let Wade cut his bindings, catching a glimpse of a group of riders chasing them, until Nathan fired a shot that appeared to take out the leader. The man went down, and his horse stumbled as it tripped over the body, causing the other horses to scramble and scatter to avoid the falling horse. Lowering the rifle, Nathan smirked to himself as he uttered out calmly. "Not anymore." Wade shifted to ask Mark over the noise of the cart. "How did you escape the people they sent for you?" Mark huffed, stating out flatly. "Those boys, you mean? Come on, Wade. I'm not THAT rusty." Wade snorted, uttering out to Jack with amusement. "He ran. I'd bet on it." Jack rubbed his wrists, then shakily held onto his bleeding leg that was throbbing like crazy. Wade leaned over the coffin to look at his leg, telling Bob seriously. "Where are we going? This kid needs stitches." Bob glanced back at them, then looked to Mark. Mark looked nervously between them but said nothing.

Nathan waited, then butted in seriously. "Keep heading north into the mountains. There is a secluded shack on the ridge. We won't be able to stay long... but it should give us enough protection to gather ourselves." Bob looked to Mark to hear his thoughts. Mark glanced back at Nathan with worry. Nathan locked hard eyes over Mark's shoulder, adding dryly. "You don't have to trust me... but from the look of you lot... you don't have a choice." Nathan tapped the rifle barrel against the bicep of the arm that Mark was favoring. The arm of his jacket was starting to stain a dark red. Jack flinched when he saw it. The recoil from the rifle had agitated the wound, causing it to bleed again. Now that he was looking at him, he saw that Mark wasn't using his arm. It was resting over his lap and covering the blood leaking from the previous wound on his leg. Mark had pushed himself and had probably ripped his stitches. Mark turned his eyes to the horizon, grumbling out. "I'm fine." Nathan scuffed, muttering out darkly. "Ya. Sure. You can't grip for shit. You almost dropped your rifle back there."

Wade removed his belt, slipping it under Jack's leg while he was distracted and tightened it. A sharp scream tore from Jack, causing them all to jump. Wade tightened it more to stop the bleeding, asking Nathan nervously. "How close are we? He's bleeding pretty bad." Nathan leaned closer to see, then risked sliding from the horse to the wagon. Pulling himself in, Nathan padded Wade's arm, telling him seriously. "Fetch me a shotgun shell and my knife from the bag there. I got him." Wade fetched them, mumbling out perplexed. "What are you going to do with these?" Nathan took the shell and used the knife to pry the end off. Pouring the pellets out, he told Wade calmly. "We're an hour out from the shack. We'll have to slow the bleeding. I know a trick that should help." Nathan pointed to the belt, telling Wade bluntly. "Take that off and put it into his mouth." Jack's voice came out shrill and shaky as he shrieked out. "WHAT?!" Wade obeyed uneasily, taking the belt off and bringing it to Jack's mouth. Jack refused to open his mouth, until Nate deliberately pressed a thumb to his wound, prompting him to scream.

Wade jammed the belt into his mouth, holding Jack close to his chest to keep him from moving as much as he could. Nathan then poured the gunpowder into Jack's wound, causing Jack to let out a muffled squeal as he tried to scramble away from him. Nathan wrapped an arm around his wounded leg, removing a match from his boot. Jack's eyes widened in horror. Nathan struck the match, the firelight highlighting Nathan's dark eyes. He looked like a demon in the shadowy landscape. Giving him a neutral expression, Nate told him swiftly. "Brace yourself, kid. This is going to hurt worse than getting kicked in the jewels." Jack watched the match go down to his wound, before a searing burning exploded from his wound. A bloodcurdling scream tore from Jack as he arched his back and bit hard into the belt. The smell of burning flesh and the loud sizzle assaulted Jack's senses. The pain eased so slowly that Jack's eyes rolled back, and he passed out in Wade's arms. Wade patted Jack's cheeks, cooing out nervously. "Kid...?" Nathan looked over the sizzling wound that was cooling quickly, telling Wade confidently. "He's fine. Probably the most pain this kid has ever felt. Wound looks good. Bullet went through cleanly. Wrap his leg tight until you can stitch it."

Bob slowed the horses a bit, snorting out with a slight cough. "Fuck, that smells horrible..." Nathan smirked, shrugging out innocently. "That's human for ya." Nathan then reached out to take the kids hand, running his thumb over his hands. Shaking his head, Nathan looked at the rest of them, uttering out uneasily. "A farmer. How did he get into this?" Mark avoided Nathan's eyes, stating out in a guarded tone. "How did you get mixed up with the Marshal?" Nathan tsked his tongue, wiping fresh blood from his lip before stating aloud. "It's personal. And lawmen like yourselves wouldn't understand that. Wanna tell me why you rescued me?" Mark shot him glare, retorting smugly. "Sorry. That's personal. An outlaw like you wouldn't understand." Nathan flashed him a slightly amused look, until he hardened himself up and growled out. "Then there is no need for me to stay." Nathan got to his feet on the wagon, triggering Mark to reveal a pistol in his good hand that held the reins. Clicking the hammer back, Mark growled out to him firmly. "Sit your ass down. You're not going anywhere until I say otherwise."

Stiffly sitting back down, Nathan chuckled out to him smugly. "Well, now I'm curious. You don't want me to die, but don't want me to leave. What do you think I have, Sheriff?" Mark ignored him, riding back behind the wagon to keep his pistol on Nate. Propping his boots up on the side of the wagon, Nathan chuckled out to himself. "This is going to be one long day of awkward silence." Wade eased the bag of their gear out of reach from Nathan. Shaking his head, Nathan rested his head back and rubbed his throat where he felt the rope burn. Mark watched him closely as they made their way through the mountains under Nathan's lazy instruction. Eventually, they rode up a dusty rocky mountain side and came across a little worn wooden shack. The shack was built into the top of the mountain side, allowing anyone inside to see anyone approaching them for miles. At the same time, the worn wood matched the tan and rocky mountain color so well that upon first glance no one would even see it. Pulling the wagon to a stop, Bob asked Nathan gruffly. "Nice place... but where do you put the horses? The wagon? We're sitting ducks like this."

Sliding off the back, Nathan pointed to the sliding barn door set just out of sight, upon answering coolly. "It's a cave. We built the shell to hide it. The horses can go in. Break down the wagon. We'll use it as firewood." Nathan pointed to the small fireplace vent above the shack that filtered smoke into a rocky hole above it, adding quickly. "No one will see the smoke. It seeps into the mountain and is dispersed through small holes along the mountain top. Keep the shutters closed at night and no one below will see the light." Dismounting his horse, Mark moved up beside Nate to ask cautiously. "An outlaw shack? Should we be worried about your gang showing up to ambush us." Nathan locked eyes with Mark, telling him in a dead tone of voice. "You're looking at the last of my gang, Sheriff. And I wouldn't be too picky if I was you. Because last time I checked... They were shooting at you too." Mark didn't say anything and looked away. Which allowed Nathan to suddenly grab the collar of his shirt and add in a slightly bitter undertone. "Don't think this makes up for you putting me in jail, Sheriff. You robbed me of my vengeance. And I will take it out of your ass."

Mark pointed his pistol at Nathan's chest and behind Nathan, both Wade and Bob clicked the hammer back on their guns. Releasing Mark, Nathan shrugged out to him without a care in the world. "Your safety is still on, Sheriff. Might want to change that." Turning away, Nathan told the others curtly. "Come on. Bringthe kid inside. I'll stitch him up before he wakes up. Then one of you can watch me while the others work. Right, Sheriff?" Mark released the breath that he'd been holding, gesturing to Wade as he told him nicely. "Take Jack inside. I'll keep an eye on him. I'm no good to you with my arm like this." They nodded and Mark used his thumb to slide the safety off his pistol before following Nathan inside. To Be Continued...