As night set in he walked, he was always walking through the dimly
lit streets. He was searching for something that had for years eluded him.
It was then that he saw her standing not twenty feet in front of him, bathed
in the hollow moonlight. She walked toward him, not seeing him standing there
in the shadows. His breath quickened as she drew closer. That smell, that
sweet, delicate smell beckoned him to draw closer to her, still hidden under
the veil of darkness that surrounded him. She passed within a foot of him.
He could have sworn that he could feel her warm breath on his icy skin. He
felt desire wash over him with a warmth that he had not felt in a long time.
It was then he felt a hand grab his arms.
"What are you doing here?" Buck asked.
Jimmy looked at him anger smoldered in his eyes, as he tore his arm from Buck’s grasp. "Leave me alone."
"Jimmy," Buck called softly.
Jimmy stopped and walked back, stepping within only inches of Buck. "You did this to me," he accused.
"I was trying to help you," Buck tried to explain.
"Help," Jimmy snapped back. "By turning me into a monster?"
"No," Buck said, hurt lilting in his voice. "You would have died."
"You think this is better?" Jimmy demanded. "Do you enjoy this?"
"Should I have let you die?" Buck asked.
"I did," Jimmy said walking away from him.
Buck watched as Jimmy’s form disappeared into the night. Buck had not seen
his friend since that fateful in Deadwood South Dakota when he had watched
a group of people push past him carrying his friend toward the doctors with
the blood pouring from his head. Buck closed his eyes for a moment and the
memories flooded his mind.
"Oh my God!" Jane cried as she cradled Jimmy’s
head in her hands watching his blood seep though her tiny fingers. "Jimmy,"
she whispered.
The doctor shook his head as he shooed the group that had brought Jimmy
from the saloon out of the room. There was nothing he could do, James Butler
Hickok would die that night and nothing any man could do would prevent that.
"Son," the doctor said, trying to push Buck from the room.
"Please, he’s my brother," Buck whispered.
Suddenly the door to the office flew open and a young man stood there. "Doc,
please you gotta come quick. It’s Lily… the baby’s coming and something ain’t
right."
The doctor glanced at Buck standing next to his dying friend. Buck nodded
to him, the doctor had to go.
"I’ll be back. Take your time," the doctor said leaving quickly.
As Buck stood there he knew he did not have
much time. Buck grabbed Jimmy pulling him close as he felt his teeth tear
the surprisingly tender flesh of Jimmy’s neck. Buck felt the warm blood explode
in his mouth and realized that Jimmy was closer to death than he had imagined.
He quickly pulled back and taking the scalple from the doctor’s tray sliced
his wrist holding it to tightly to Jimmy’s mouth. As the blood trickled down
Jimmy’s throat he felt him begin to move again. Buck watched as Jimmy’s wounds
quickly healed and his eyes opened.
Jimmy struggled to sit up, his eyes darting wildly about the room then came
to focus on Buck.
"Where am I?" he asked glad for the friendly face.
"You’re in the doctor’s office," Buck said. "You were shot."
Jimmy looked at his clothes that were soaked with his blood. His hands searched wildly for the wound. When they came up empty he looked back at Buck with a fear in his eyes that Buck had never seen before. "I’m dead," he said his voice hollow.
"Not exactly, but we have to get out of here," he said pulling Jimmy off the table and heading toward the door.
"Where are we going?" Jimmy asked confused by everything that had happened.
"Trust me," Buck said as he continued to pull Jimmy through the darkness of the town.
Jimmy’s mind wandered back to the first time he met Buck. He had not been sure what to make of the Kiowa that had been given the job working with the Express. He had decided to make the best of it but had never in his wildest dreams believed that he and Buck would be come fast friends.
They had just reached the cave when it started happening. A horrid retching pain that radiated through Jimmy’s body, Buck watched as Jimmy’s body convulsed violently.
"It’s almost over," Buck whispered gently to him, as he watched Jimmy’s body die.
When it was over Jimmy was lying on the floor of the cave, unconscious. Buck quickly came to his side, peeling the blood soaked clothes from him. Buck gently cleaned Jimmy’s body and wrapped him in the blanket to let him sleep. They both rested until the next night when Jimmy woke in the cave. Rolling over he looked at Buck sleeping on the other side. He sat up realizing that he was sorely lacking clothes.
"Buck?" Jimmy called to him across the darkness, listening to his own voice echo in the cave.
"What?" Buck called sleepily.
"What happened?" Jimmy asked. The night before was a completely blur and he had not seen his Kiowa friend in many years.
"You died," Buck said softly.
"I what?" Jimmy bellowed, as he looked around the cave. "Am I in hell?" he asked.
"No you’re still alive," Buck replied.
"You said I died," Jimmy snorted.
"You did. Just sleep. I’ll explain things later."
That’s when it hit Jimmy. It was a pain that
felt like hunger only different. The pain was more intense, with a haunting
feeling that Jimmy had never known. Buck looked over and recognized the look
on Jimmy’s face.
"Alright," Buck sighed as he moved quickly around the cave to find a couple
of rats. Once he had caught them, he brought them back to Jimmy. He handed
one to Jimmy who stared back at him confused. He watched in horror as Buck
sunk his teeth into the rat and drank the blood that exploded into his mouth.
"Go on," Buck said encouraging Jimmy to do the same.
Jimmy felt the world tilt as he stood up throwing the rat away from him.
"Jimmy," Buck chided him softly. "You have to feed."
Jimmy’s world continued to tilt and whirl. He felt his legs buckling and darkness over took him. He felt Buck’s strong arms grab him pulling him to the floor safely. As he felt his face buried against Buck’s neck he smelled it. It was a faint sweet wonderful odor that made the pain feeling radiate strongly through his body. He tore at Buck’s neck feeling the blood running into his mouth. It was sweet and warm and it made the pain inside of him fade. Jimmy felt Buck struggling beneath him.
"Stop," Buck cried as he broke from Jimmy’s grasp. "Are you trying to kill me?" Buck saw the look of confusion and horror in Jimmy’s eyes.
"You know now what you are," Buck said.
Jimmy sat there in silence for a moment. He quickly grabbed his blood soaked clothes dress and then without warning he stood and ran out of the cave into the night. He didn’t know where he was going he just kept running, until he found himself outside of Jane’s house. He looked into the window to see her sitting by the fire weeping. He felt that pain welling inside of him again. He had to tell her he was alright, before he could stop himself he was standing there in front of her. She looked up at him and he watched the fear dance in her eyes.
"I’m okay," he said to her pulling her into his arms.
"Oh Jimmy," she cried, throwing her arms around him.
Jimmy’s head was spinning again as that haunting
pain crashed into him like waves. Jimmy ran his hand into Jane’s hair pulling
it back into his hand as his lips found her neck. He kissed her softly, listening
to her sigh. He couldn’t contain the lust that came over him and his kisses
quickly turned violent as he realized that blood was trickling down her neck
and he could feel her heartbeat as it sent pulses of her sweet blood into
his mouth. He closed his eyes as he felt her heartbeats slow. He sighed feeling,
warmth and contentment. Jimmy gasped as Buck pulled him away from her and
he watched as her body crumpled to the floor.
"You have to let go before death comes," Buck said softly.
Jimmy searched Buck’s eyes finding nothing. Jimmy glanced around horrified at the scene that lay before him. He knelt down beside this woman a friend whom he had known for months. He felt nothing, no pain, no guilt, no remorse, nothing. Frozen inside he reached out and closed her eyes.
Buck pulled him up by the arm. Jimmy swung around quickly punching Buck in the face.
"What the hell have you done to me?" Jimmy screamed.
"I saved you," Buck said quietly.
"Saved me?" Jimmy hissed. "I killed her." Jimmy’s mind was racing. He had run for years from the reputation of being a cold-blooded killer and now- that is exactly what he had become, only there was no pain, no guilt that accompanied this death. He knelt back down and stared at Jane’s body, willing himself to feel something. Nothing.
"Jimmy, it’s not as bad as you think," Buck said touching Jimmy’s shoulder.
"You stay the hell away from me." Jimmy said as he pushed past Buck. Jimmy stopped in the doorway.
"It’s a gift Jimmy. You are a dark angel
now."