Loyalties
The sweat from his palms was causing his gun to stick to his hand. Ezra glanced down at Nathan, who was kneeling beside him. Blood was running down his forehead, and a small cut ran across his left cheek.
Ezra heard a gun cock, and suddenly became aware of the other figure in the street. He saw the man raise his gun, and realized that his own gun was pointed at the man.
Even as he pulled the trigger of his gun, he heard the bullet erupt from the chamber of his Uncle Edward's gun. He yelled at Nathan to move, which he had already started to do, but he had just barely moved before the bullet touched his shoulder, sending him flying backwards.
Ezra looked at his Uncle Edward and realized that his bullet had hit its mark. He had just killed his uncle.
"Noooooooo!" Ezra screamed as he jerked awake. He was covered in sweat and was shaking. Not because of the nightmare he had just had, but at the realization that it wasn't a nightmare.
Two days ago his Uncle had come to Four Corners to visit. But when Ezra introduced him to Nathan, he realized that the two already knew each other. Nathan had once belonged to Ezra's Uncle, before he successfully escaped.
It was at that moment that Edward had tried to kill Nathan, and he almost succeeded. Nathan had barely survived, and Ezra felt that it was his fault that he'd even been hurt. He should have reacted more quickly, but he couldn't kill his Uncle until after it was too late.
Ezra sighed, wiped the sweat from his forehead and got out of bed.
The Saloon
The saloon was quiet, which Ezra was grateful for. He usually enjoyed socializing with others, but now he just wanted to be left alone. He poured himself another shot of the whiskey that sat before him. He looked up at the sound of the doors swinging open and saw Vin Tanner walking toward him.
"Mr. Tanner, care to partake in my drunkenness?" Ezra held the bottle out to Vin.
Vin took a swallow from the bottle, then settled into a chair. He leaned back and laced his fingers across his stomach.
"The doctor from up north came in today," Vin said as he took his hat off and placed it on the table.
Ezra's eyes brightened at the news. "And what was his diagnosis for Mr. Jackson?"
Vin shrugged. "Said he'll be fine. Just needs to rest."
Ezra let out a loud sigh. "I guess then that there is no reason for me to continue wallowing in self doubt." Ezra stood to leave.
"Don't you mean pity?" Vin asked in a cold tone.
Ezra was taken aback by the coldness in Vin's voice. The two had talked about different things in their lives the past few days, and Ezra thought they were friends.
"What is it you are saying Mr. Tanner?"
Vin shook his head. "You've been walking around the past two days, feeling sorry for yourself," Vin stood up. "I think it's time you laid it to rest." He placed a hand on Ezra's shoulder.
Ezra slapped his hand away. "I can't. I have betrayed everything I ever believed and destroyed everyone I ever cared about. So don't patronize me." Ezra grabbed his hat from the table and stormed out of the saloon.
"Whew," Vin sighed, and followed Ezra. Ezra had made it to the jail by the time Vin caught up to him. He grabbed the gambler by the shoulder and turned him around, paying no mind to J.D. or Buck.
"You can't walk away from it," Vin said.
Ezra shook off Vin's hand. "Leave me alone Mr. Tanner," he said through clenched teeth. He casually sidestepped Vin and headed toward the boarding house.
"That man is angry at the world," Vin sighed, leaning against a post.
Buck laughed. "Don't you mean just you?"
J.D. stifled a laugh as Vin peered at Buck from under the rim of his hat.
Buck cocked his head to the side. "All I'm saying is you've been riding Ezra awful hard since the shooting."
Vin pushed himself away from the post. "Somebody's got to," he replied dryly, before heading across the street.
J.D. leaned back in his chair and watched Vin go. He looked up when he heard Chris' voice.
"What the hell was that about?"
J.D. answered before Buck had a chance to. "Just a difference of opinion." Chris glanced at Buck then back to J.D. "How's Nathan?" J.D. changed the subject.
"Better. Josiah's watching him now. Have you seen Ezra?"
Buck nodded, pointing toward the boarding house. "Figure he went back to his room."
Chris pursed his lips. "I'll be right back," he said hoarsely, heading down the boardwalk.
Ezra's room
Ezra sat on the edge of his bed. He kept seeing the image of his Uncle lying in the street. He also kept seeing Nathan, covered in blood, laying still as dust swirled around him.
A knock at the door disturbed Ezra's thoughts. He threw his hat down on the bed and stormed to the door.
"Dammit Vin, I said leave me alone," he shouted, opening the door to reveal Chris. Ezra lowered his head and stepped aside to let Chris in.
"Ezra," Chris began, "Vin's just looking after you."
Ezra walked over to the window. "As you can plainly see, I am perfectly fine," he drawled.
Chris shook his head. "Your Uncle would have killed Nathan. He still saw him as his slave."
"He was his slave!"
Chris' eyes widened. "Don't say that, that ain't you talking," he finished and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him, leaving Ezra with his haunted thoughts.
Later that night in the Saloon
Vin, J.D. and Chris were sitting around a table, playing a hand of poker, when Buck came in. Buck took a seat next to J.D., who dealt him in.
"How's Nathan?" Vin asked, taking a sip of beer.
"Doing fine. He was even able to sit up and eat something," Buck replied, looking over his hand.
"Josiah with him now?" Chris asked. Buck nodded.
"I'm out," Vin said.
"Okay, your loss," J.D. said.
Vin grinned. "That's what I'm afraid of."
They all chuckled a little, but deep down they were worried about Nathan and Ezra.
"Vin," Buck started, "Why have you been riding Ezra so hard these past few days?"
J.D. and Chris turned their attention away from the game and focused on Vin. He leaned back, lacing his fingers across his stomach.
"He mentioned once about how he was supposed to get his sister from school one day."
"I didn't know Ezra had a sister?" J.D. whispered.
Vin glanced at him, but continued the story. "He was late though, and she never came home. They found her 'bout two days later. They figured out that a renegade Indian had kidnapped her," Vin lowered his voice, "And killed her."
Vin was quiet for a moment. "Ezra said his family swore they wouldn't talk about it. No one was supposed to mention it again. I ride him hard because he's still angry at himself for that. He can't keep running." Vin almost laughed at the irony, thinking briefly about the bounty on his own head.
The others were silent for a moment. J.D. broke the silence by laying down his cards. "Full house."
"Damn," Buck said.
Chris threw his cards on the table, wearing an exasperated look on his face.
J.D. laughed. "This is the first time since coming here that I've actually won."
Buck shook his head. "Yeah, but you don't do card tricks like Ezra. He makes it interesting."
Chris gave a half smile and Vin let out a small laugh.
"But I do know a trick. See." J.D. tried to take a card from the middle of the stack, but instead ended up sending all of the cards into the air. The other three tried to keep from laughing as J.D. got a frustrated look on his face.
Chris took one last swallow of his whiskey. "I think I'll go to bed."
Buck also stood up. "Me too, got to get up early."
J.D. looked at Vin, who just smiled as he too got up and left. J.D. sighed, and began picking up the cards.
The next morning
Ezra sat on one of the benches in front of the boarding house. The town was quiet, few people were up at this hour. He was still deep in thought when Josiah and Vin came up. Josiah took a seat next to Ezra and Vin leaned against a post.
"You're up early," Josiah said.
"Bad dreams," Ezra replied.
Josiah nodded and looked down the street. Vin cleared his throat, getting both of their attention.
"Once I was hunting a bear," he started, "But one day the bear came up from behind me, and swung its arm towards my back," Vin winced at the memory. "I fell flat on my side and when I looked up, the bear was towering over me. And you know what I did?"
Both men shook their heads, enthralled in the story.
"I walked up to that bear, looked him in the eye and said, "Don't you know it ain't polite to play with your food."
Josiah immediately broke out in laughter, but Ezra sat there with a confused look on his face. Shaking his head, he said, "Tanner, what the hell does that have to do with me and my Uncle?"
Vin shrugged. "I just like the story."
Josiah continued to chuckle, as Ezra kept shaking his head. Vin went and knelt in front of Ezra. He stared into the gambler's green eyes.
"Do you believe me?" Vin asked.
"What?"
"Do you believe what I just said?"
Ezra was silent for a moment. Slowly he nodded his head. "Yes."
"Then believe me when I tell you, you had no choice but to kill your Uncle," Vin stated.
Ezra felt the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I do," he choked as Vin and Josiah consoled their friend.
The cemetery
Ezra glanced over his shoulder to see four of his friends standing near the fence. Chris, Josiah, Vin and J.D. had accompanied him to his Uncle Edward's grave, so he could say goodbye. They were all kind enough to let Ezra do it in privacy though.
Ezra looked back at the cross that stood at the head of the grave. He knelt beside it, reaching out to touch it with his hand.
"I'm at a loss for words," he whispered, feeling somewhat foolish, "but I needed you to know that I did... no I do still love you," Ezra paused for a moment, fighting back tears.
"You raised me, you were the closest thing I ever had to a father. And when you came to town, I felt a responsibility to you. But then you saw Nathan, and..." Ezra could feel the tears stinging his eyes, "And you couldn't think of him as anything other than your slave. And then you tried to kill him, I... I did what I thought was right." He stopped, wiping the tears from his eyes.
Slowly he stood up. "I'm sorry you died the way you did. But I'm not sorry that I protected my friend." He put his hat on and walked to the others.
"You okay?" Vin asked.
Ezra nodded. "Now if you gentlemen will excuse me, I believe it is my turn to check on Nathan." The others nodded, and Ezra led the way back to town.
Nathan's room
Buck was in the middle of telling Nathan about J.D.'s card trick when the door opened. Ezra stepped in and nodded toward Buck.
"I am here to relieve you Mr. Wilmington."
Buck smiled, as did Nathan, and got up to leave. "I'll tell ya the rest later," he told Nathan.
Ezra went and sat in the chair next to Nathan's bed.
"I thought you'd gotten lost," Nathan said.
Ezra laughed. "I almost did my friend, almost."
Ezra placed his hand on Nathan's arm. "So Nathan, might I interest you in a game of chance?"
Nathan smiled. "Why not."
Ezra pulled out his deck of cards and dealt himself and his friend a hand.
The End