Giving Up the Ghost
Warning: Death of major canon character.
It all happened too fast. It happened fast, but it felt as if Vin was moving in slow motion. "JD!" he called. He watched in horror as a volley of bullets tore into the young man. JD looked over at Vin, a shocked expression on his face. Then he collapsed in the dusty street and suddenly Vin was able to move again. But life as he and five other men knew was over.
The other five came out of nowhere as Vin dragged JD out of the street.
"JD, can ya hear me? JD? Dammit!" Vin swore, knowing that JD would never hear him again. He stood with his fists balled up, looking down at the pale face. He became aware that Nathan and Buck were running up behind him and then Chris was there, in front of Vin.
"What the hell happened to you Vin?" Chris demanded angrily. He'd never seen the tracker hesitate to shoot. Chris looked down at the body-that wasn't JD anymore. "If you hadn't hesitated he wouldn't be dead!" He shoved Vin and the tracker stumbled backwards.
Buck was crying over JD, Josiah was saying a prayer, Nathan was shaking his head, Ezra was standing back unsurely, but there were tears in his eyes, and Chris was glaring at Vin. Vin suddenly felt like a mangy dog that everyone had gotten tired of and now they were going to take him out and shoot him. He felt separated from himself, like he was watching from far away. He felt numb. Buck stood and lunged for Vin, but Josiah and Nathan caught him. Vin knew it was time to skedaddle and didn't waste anytime doing it.
He hid in his room for hours. He heard hammering and knew that it was the pine box being built for the youngest member of the seven. Except that JD wasn't a member anymore and neither was Vin. He jumped when there was a pounding at the door and sat trembling on the bed. He made no move to unlock the door. It might be Buck or Chris coming to kill him.
"Vin? Are you in there?" It was Josiah's voice and it sounded weary. But Vin was no fool. Buck was so angry now that he might be all too happy to shoot Vin and collect the bounty. He waited for the ex-preacher to go away. Even if Josiah was alone and wanted to talk, Vin didn't feel like talking.
He stayed in his room during the daytime and only left at night, moving silently through town and out into the plains at night to hunt. He wouldn't take the risk of letting one of the others see him in town and shoot him. He felt hunted now. Like they were just waiting for him. JD haunted his dreams-when he was able to sleep, anyway-asking over and over why hadn't Vin stopped those men from killing him? At the end of the dream JD always pulled out one of his well kept Colt's and shot Vin right in the heart.
He heard voice outside his room. He had been fixing to leave for the night, for good this time. There was no way he could stay now, not with so many memories and with the others hating him.
"He must be gone Josiah. We ain't seen him in days. Nobody can stay in a room that long," Nathan said.
"It isn't like Mr. Tanner to run from his tribulations, Mr. Jackson," Ezra replied.
"Ezra is right. I'd be willing to bet Vin is still in there," Josiah agreed. There was the sound of a key rattling the lock and Vin leapt from the bed and hurried to the window. He pushed it open and as the door opened Vin escaped, the other three men saw only a blur.
"Vin!" Nathan called. It was too late. Vin was gone.
In his panic to get away he went through the alley past the saloon. Chris was there, looking haggard and very drunk. He saw Vin and a mean light came into his eyes.
"Well look at the chicken shit who finally showed up," he sneered. "Buck, hey, Buck!"
"Chris . . ." Vin whispered. "Chris, I didn't mean to let the kid get killed. It was an-"
His words were lost as Chris's fist connected with Vin's jaw. Vin staggered, but didn't fall.
"You could have saved him. Why didn't you save him?" Chris growled, grabbing Vin by the collar. Vin choked, but Chris wouldn't let go.
"What's goin' on here?" Buck asked, seeing Chris. "Chris, let 'im go. You're gonna kill 'im!"
"That's the idea, Buck," Chris said shortly. Buck reached for Chris's hands and pryed them off of Vin's throat.
"That's enough. It wasn't Vin's fault. You know it wasn't Chris," Buck said sadly. He looked at Vin. "You better get out of here Vin. With Chris this way it ain't safe for you. I've got no fight with you. JD wanted to out bravely. He did. Now get."
Vin felt like his heart had been crushed. Ezra, Nathan, and Josiah joined Buck and they all stood looking at him. He no longer had a place with them. He had thought they were his friends, but he guessed he was wrong. People like him, if there were more like him, didn't have no friends. He supposed deep down he's always known that, but this little town had him fooled for a little while. He turned and went down to the livery to get his horse.
Chris spent the better part of the following month drunk. When he wasn't drunk thoughts of JD and Vin plagued him. JD had done a foolish thing by jumping out in front of men with guns in the first place, Vin had been right next to JD though, so why hadn't he stopped JD? Chris admitted that it was partly his and the other's faults too. They had as much hand in JD's death as Vin did, yet they had driven Vin away. God only knew where the tracker was now. As long has he was drunk, Chris didn't care either.
Life had a way of moving on and so everyone but Chris fell back into their usual routine, with a few minor problems. Buck was quieter now. He still sought after women, but not with as much zest as before. Ezra greatly missed playing poker with JD. He always expected to hear JD whining about how he had lost again, but was going to win next time. As each one took his shift in the jail, they expected to see the boy sitting asleep in the chair behind the desk, feet propped up, an open dime novel on his chest.
Vin sat in the jailhouse of Tascosa waiting for his hanging. He looked at the marshal and the marshal glared. But Marshal Dale Woodwick was thinking that there was no way the young man behind the bars could be a murderer. The young man was haggard looking, he looked troubled, but he was without a doubt Vin Tanner. Jim Wright had brought Tanner in two days ago, he said that the murderer hadn't been a lick of trouble, which came as another surprise to Woodwick.
"Hungry, Tanner? The deputy is coming to relieve me in about twenty minutes, he could get something for you," Woodwick offered. Vin shook his head. "Hell boy, you'll starve to death before we hang you."
Vin shrugged. He laid back on the hard cot and reached into his pocket. He fingered the harmonica there, and then brought it out. He looked over at the marshal. The marshal cocked an eyebrow and every so slowly Vin began to blow on the harmonica. It was noisy and almost immediately the sound got on Woodwick's nerves, but he didn't say anything. If the man was happy with his mouth harp, let him play. The deputy could put up with it.
The day before the hanging as Woodwick relieved the deputy, Tanner stood and walked to the bars. He held out his hand and in it was the harmonica.
"What do you want Tanner?" Woodwick asked.
"Want to know if you could see that a friend of mine gets this. His name is Chris Larabee, over in Four Corners," Vin said. The tone of his voice told Woodwick that maybe this Larabee wasn't such a great friend.
"Whatever you say Tanner," Woodwick replied, taking the harmonica. He sent it out that day on the stagecoach. It bothered him to think that the young man in the jail was sending something he obviously valued to someone who didn't like him so much. Something was funny about this whole case.
"Hey Chris, got somethin' here for ya," Buck said, tossing the little package to Chris, who was for once off a drunk.
"What is it?" Chris asked.
"Got your name on it, why would I open it?" Buck asked. Chris just looked at his friend and opened the package. Buck watched impatiently and knew that if JD was still around, he would have been even more impatient and curious.
Chris shook the box and opened it. A harmonica dropped into his hand and he dropped it as if had burned him. "Oh shit," he said, backing away.
"That's Vin's," Nathan said recognizing the mouth harp.
"Where the hell did it come from?" Chris asked Buck.
"Driver said he came from Tascosa," Buck said levelly. "Guess you know what means." He looked at the others.
"Damn him," Chris groaned.
"I think you did just that Chris," Buck said coolly.
They rode to Tascosa. It was Chris's idea, because he felt that Vin deserved the apology. Even if Vin was dead and six feet under, he still deserved to know that Chris was sorry, that it wasn't all Vin's fault. The others followed Chris because they were still a team.
It was a long haul and they were surprised that Chris managed to stay off the liquor as long as he did. When they arrived they saw a scaffolding with a rope dangling from it. Chris hung his head. He felt like a real bastard. They rode to jail and dismounted. Woodwick met them outside.
"Something I can do for you gentlemen?" he asked.
"We're looking for a grave. Vin Tanner's," Chris said.
"What for?" Woodrick asked.
"We want to take it back to Four Corners," Josiah told the marshal.
"You fellas are from Four Corners? Is one of you Chris Larabee?"
"I am," Chris said.
"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here," Woodwick said, shaking his head.
"What?" Buck wanted to know.
"Tanner's said a lot about you boys. Not all of it was good either. What do you want here?"
"We told you. We come for Vin's body. We thought it ought to be buried beside another friend of ours," Nathan said.
"You really think he'd put up with that? You only come crawling back when he's dead, hmm?" Woodwick asked, glaring.
"Stop playing these damn games. Hell, you act like you knew Vin. We just want him so we can make things right. Can we just have the damn body?" Buck demanded.
"Stop messin' with 'em Dale. I don't know about Chris, but I know the rest of them mean it," Vin said, stepping out of the jail house. The others gazed at Vin in amazement. There was a silver star pinned to his shirt.
"Mr. Tanner? We assumed that you were had left his mortal coil, had . . . given up the ghost," Ezra said.
"Nah, I'm innocent. Got my name cleared," Vin said with a smile.
"How?" Chris asked.
Vin stared at Chris for a few silent seconds. "You look like hell Cowboy. Well, a bounty hunter, Jim Wright, brought me in. I never did put up much of a fight or give Dale any reason to think I was a murderer. When I figgered I was gonna hang Dale made me tell him all bout what really happened. He went out and found one of Eli Joe's men. He confessed everyhin' an' I'm off the hook now."
"Why didn't you come back?" Nathan asked.
"You made us feel like hell you inconsiderate son of a bitch," Chris growled.
"Maybe you can understand how I felt then Chris," Vin said, narrowing his eyes at his former friend. "I didn't come back 'cause no one wanted me there. Not till you all found out I was dead anyway."
"Vin we tried and tried to get you to come out and talk to us," Josiah said.
"With the exceptions of Mr. Larabee and Mr. Wilmington, the remainder of us endeavored to maintain your friendship," Ezra said.
"Well, it don't matter. I'm here now an' I'm happy here. I got a job that pays better an' Dale cleared my name. I reckon I owe him," Vin said.
"You could come back to Four Corners, if you really wanted to," Chris muttered.
"No thanks Cowboy. I'm doin' good here. Better than I ever was in Four Corners. I got to go on watch now. You boys stick around, maybe I'll see you over at the saloon," Vin told them.
Dale came along sooner than they expected and he looked grim. "It doesn't look good Vin."
"Figgered. That's why Buck, Nat, and Josiah are here."
"Do not overlook me, Mr. Tanner. I could by no means abscond when one of my compatriots requires aid in a brawl," Ezra said, removing his coat and rolling up his sleeves.
"What did he say?" Dale asked.
"He wants to help too," Vin answered with a grin. He'd forgotten how much he missed the gambler's talking. He looked out the window and wondered where Chris was. Surely his first friend among this mismatched group wouldn't abandon him.
"I don't think he's comin' Vin," Buck said softly.
"Well who needs a hot-head in a fight like this anyway?" Vin muttered. He checked to make sure he had extra cartridges and then the six of them went out into the street.
"Hey, this is uncalled for. There are men and women in this town trying to sleep. I'm asking you gentlemen to put your guns away," Dale said.
"That ain't gonna work," Buck mumbled, looking at Nathan and Josiah.
The drunken men just laughed. One of them fired off a shot at Dale and missed by a lot, but it was still enough to make Dale nervous.
"This guy ever been a marshal before?" Nathan asked.
"All right," Vin said loudly. "I let the marshal try his way an' now we're tryin' mine. Put the guns away or you'll all be sleepin' it off in the jail."
The same man fired a shot at Vin and his hat was plucked from his head. His friends watched as his eyes went wide.
"Fellas, that was just a little to close for my likin'," Vin said, pulling out his mare's leg. "Put the guns down." His voice was low and flinty. "Come over here and make us," the one who had shot at the lawmen slurred. Vin took at step forward. He heard the hammer of the pistol the drunk was holding click, but he paid no heed. He went closer.
Chris could see the drunk's finger ready to pull the trigger. He lifted his own pistol swiftly and fired, hitting the drunk's gun. The drunk yelled and dropped his gun. The other drunks started firing. Vin and the others ran for cover.
"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this," Dale said from around the corner of the jail where he and Vin were hidden.
"I figgered it would. Always does when Chris an' the boys are around," Vin said, flashing his grin. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you liked doing this."
"'Like' is goin' a bit far," Vin said.
Vin dashed from cover and ran up the stairs to the rooftop of the saloon. He could pick them off better from up there. He saw Chris and a drunk sneaking up behind the man in black.
"Chris!" he yelled, then swung his Winchester around and killed the drunk. Chris looked up at Vin, then touched his hat brim and smiled.
They met in the center of the street, surveying the damage to the town.
"You boys could be a little neater, don't you think?" Dale asked drily.
"Hell, 'messy' is Vin's middle name," Buck grinned.
"Me? You an' that animal magnetism pro'bly started this," Vin grumbled.
"On the contrary. The way the pair of you reek, I deem the desperados would have run in the opposite direction," Ezra drawled.
Dale didn't have a clue what they were talking about, so he let it go. "You did real good out there Vin. You're a good man to have in a situation like this."
Vin hung his head, surprised by the praise. "Would have done the same anywhere."
Chris cleared his throat."So I suppose you're stayin' on?"
Vin looked up, startled by the question. He looked at his five compadres, then at Dale. "Well . . . I thought I'd come back, if you all would have me. If it's alright with Dale."
"I told you before, nothing is holding you here," Dale said.
No one else said a word as they all looked expectantly at Chris. He grinned slowly. "Welcome back, Cowboy." "Thanks for havin' me back, Cowboy," Vin replied.
The End