Summary: Little Joe has an unsettling night.\u00a0 Written for the October 15 Pinecone challenge (prompt: Oh Joe, Little Joe, give it a rest. We all know Pa likes you the best. — Bob Lee, Phil Visher, Kurt Heinecke), and expanded a bit for the Halloween Challenge.<\/p>\n
Rating: G\u00a0 Word Count: 633<\/p>\n
The Dead of Night<\/strong><\/p>\n The forest was black, lit in patches by the watery moonlight.\u00a0 The trail flew beneath his horse\u2019s hooves, dark before them and behind, the pinto\u2019s pace impossibly smooth and fast for the circumstances.<\/p>\n Pa is dead.\u00a0 Pa is gone.<\/em><\/p>\n The words drummed inside him, keeping cadence with the even\u2014so even\u2014hoofbeats.<\/p>\n Pa is dead.\u00a0 Pa is gone.<\/em><\/p>\n He was unprepared when Cochise dug his hooves in.\u00a0 Keeping his seat was impossible, but his arching flight over the black and white head was \u2026 graceful.\u00a0 Slow.\u00a0 He barely felt the landing, though it did seem like the ground was farther away than it should have been.<\/p>\n A clot of dirt hit him in the face.<\/p>\n Joe looked around, catching his bearings and his breath.\u00a0 He was in a rectangular section of dug out earth, sides smooth, corners perfect, walls about six feet high.<\/p>\n Six feet deep \u2026<\/p>\n A trickle of dirt fell onto his shoulders.<\/p>\n He looked to the left, and found himself face to face with his pa.\u00a0 Oh, Pa.<\/em>\u00a0 Ben looked so peaceful in death.\u00a0 Asleep.\u00a0 His arms were folded across his chest, hat tucked into his hands, hair arranged just so.\u00a0 His good white shirt glowed almost blue in the pale light, the string tie a dark slash down his chest.<\/p>\n Pa is dead.\u00a0 Pa is gone.<\/em><\/p>\n More dirt showered down from above.<\/p>\n He looked up and saw them.\u00a0 Their faces were clear, sharp\u2014though they should have been in shadow, backlit by the moon.<\/p>\n \u201cHelp me!\u201d\u00a0 Joe reached out to them.\u00a0 Adam lifted a shovel and shook down another cascade of soil.\u00a0 \u201cWait!\u00a0 What are you doing?\u201d\u00a0 He looked to Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cHoss?\u201d\u00a0 His big brother\u2019s scoop was larger\u2014a snow shovel to Adam\u2019s spade\u2014and the damp, heavy dirt covered his hips.\u00a0 \u201cHelp me!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, brother.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss shook his head sadly.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA piece of us will be buried with him.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s voice was calm, patient\u2014like he was explaining a tough math problem or why he\u2019d assigned the hands the way he had.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll never be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut why me?\u00a0 Why am I that piece?\u201d<\/p>\n His brothers exchanged a long glance, then both tossed in another shovelful of dirt.\u00a0 Joe frantically brushed it from his hair.\u00a0 Above him three more men appeared, nebulous and faceless in the weird, shifting light.<\/p>\n \u201cThere!\u00a0 There they are!\u201d<\/p>\n More dirt.<\/p>\n \u201cThey killed Pa!\u00a0 We found \u2018em!\u201d<\/p>\n His legs were covered now.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me outa here!\u00a0 Grab \u2018em, we found \u2018em!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Joe.\u201d\u00a0 Adam sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cLittle Joe,\u201d Hoss added.<\/p>\n \u201cGive it a rest.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA rest.\u00a0 Give it a rest, Little Joe,\u201d the unknown faces jeered.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it makes you feel any better, little brother, we all know Pa liked you the best.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe best,\u201d Pa\u2019s killers echoed.\u00a0 The moonlight filtered around and through their faceless forms.<\/p>\n Adam cocked his head curiously toward Hoss.\u00a0 \u201cYou really think so?\u201d\u00a0 More dirt across his shoulders.<\/p>\n \u201cNaw.\u00a0 But maybe it\u2019ll calm him down.\u00a0 He sure is puttin\u2019 up a fuss.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe kicked frantically, freeing his legs from the ever-growing pile.\u00a0 \u201cLet me out!\u00a0 There they are, don\u2019t you see \u2018em?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll get to them later, Joe.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019s voice was soothing.\u00a0 Kind.\u00a0 \u201cWe gotta finish up here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u00a0 Let me out.\u201d<\/p>\n He started to surge to his feet, but a pair of strong arms wrapped around him from beneath, holding him close.\u00a0 Tight.\u00a0 \u201cStay with me, Little Joe.\u00a0 You didn\u2019t stay last time, and look what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n He screamed, and kicked \u2026<\/p>\n And woke.\u00a0 The light from his low fire flickered.\u00a0 An owl hooted.\u00a0 Cochise snorted drowsily.\u00a0 Joe ran a trembling hand across his sweat-soaked face.<\/p>\n He\u2019d slept longer than he planned.\u00a0 Pa\u2019s killers were still out there, and he was getting behind.<\/p>\n Joe rolled to his feet and broke his meager camp.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n (Missing scene for ‘The Legacy’)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright, Ben Cartwright, Hoss Cartwright, Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: Little Joe has an unsettling night.\u00a0 Written for the October 15 Pinecone challenge, and expanded a bit for the Halloween Challenge.<\/p>\n Rating: G\u00a0 Word Count: 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