Rough Draft.....

FIRE...................

Saddling up Sheol, Michael took the short cut back to his farm, darkness was all around them as they rode in quiet.
Michael love the nights when he was alone away from town, He could see so many stars that it was uncountable.
The night sky was so big making him feel at home during these night rides.
His past invaded his worried mind, he thought of things he had seen and done for the first time in years.
The shootings, the death, the price he now readily pays for everyday of his life, it strips him bare by taking away his ability to have a normal life, to have a wife, kids,, to grow old.
The light in the sky was man made, Kicking Sheol into a run, Michael felt the old fire begin to burn in his soul and it only made him more angry by the minute.
Michael knew before he even crested the hill that it was his farm that would be burning, How could they do this he thought, how could they unleash his fury that he had tried so hard to bury.
"Goddam them to Hell" he screamed into the wind as he rode hard...Shoel seem to understand and went faster, snorting with the look of a crazed animal.
Michael pulled Sheol up when they reached the top of the hill that over looked the valley his farm was in.
Firer was bellowing high into the night air, his home was totally engulfed, his Barn looked to had been saved but not for long, the fire was stretching across the barn yard as if it wanted to consume the barn also.
Michael kick Sheol into a run.

Tom Steven's
One lone figure was pumping water from the well hand pump into a trough and taking buckets of water and throwing it on the fire..
Michael was hopeful it was Ben, but he knew better.
Tom Stevens had known Michael since the first day they camped on the plot of land he bought from an old timer that had lost his wife to the winter they had just got through.
He didn't want to sell but with his wife gone and his advanced age, he just couldn't see spending another winter there alone, so he decided to sell and move closer to his Son and his family in San Francisco.
Tom Stevens just happened to be passing through with a wagon train that was headed to California.
He had seen the for sale sign at the General Store they had stopped at to get some supplies
It didn't take much coaching to get his wife to stay here, She hated the dust, the rough riding wagons, and cooking by campfires.
They both had big grins when they waved goodbye to their newly found friends that were still on the wagon train. 
Tom Stevens was tired, he had been fighting the fire on his own for a couple of hours, he had sent Mary his wife to town to find Michael and get help..
When Michael burst into the court yard, Tom felt relief but something else...Dread
He wasn't sure why he felt "Dread" but it was right there in the pit of his stomach and he almost wanted to run from it but Michael was a friend and he had spent the first year with them, showing them how to grow vegetables, and how to farm really.
 Tom was a green horn and Michael knew it but never once said so..never once try to embarrass him in front of his wife.
Tom Stevens thanked him for that..
No, he would stay to help a friend.

The only thing that Michael Thought about is that he failed.
It wasn’t bad enough that he didn’t keep Ben safe until he healed up or that his farm was burning to the ground.
It was the failure to keep his dark side inside him, because he felt it welling up and bubbling over, drenching his soul with a hatred for the men that did this.
Michael and Stevens did what the could with the fire and making sure that it didn’t spread to the barn.
Finally, the dawn started to bring light into the valley, and with it, the exhaustion of fighting the fire all night overwhelmed both Stevens and Michael and they collapsed next to the horse trough.
“Michael, I’m so sorry, I got here as soon as I saw the light from the fire”
“ Stevens it’s OK, you did the best we could”
Putting his head under the water pump that filled the trough, Michael washed away some of the smoke that blackened his arms and face.
Handing a metal cup full of water to Stevens he asked “Did you see anything, anybody?”
“No, but it looked like someone dragged something from the barn to the back door, I noticed when I first got here”
Michael thought for a moment “Why would someone drag something from the barn into a burning house?”
“Unless”
Michael jumped up and ran into the barn.
That’s when he saw the blood trail crossing the floor leaving bloody straw in the path.
Michael followed it to the last horse stall.
There in the middle of the stall was Ben, propped up against the back wall,
He had Michaels shotgun that had hung over the fireplace laying in his lap.
The sun had raised high enough to pierce the darkness of the stall, Michael could see that Ben’s Shirt front was matted to his chest with blood.
Ben’s head was drooped down with his chin resting on his chest.
“Ben” Michael whispered.
Moving to Ben’s side, Michael gently started to remove the shot gun so that he could lay him flat, when Ben yelled and tried to hold onto the shotgun.
Surprise stunned Michael for a second, who would think Ben would be still alive “Ben, It’s Michael, I’m here now”
“Stay still Ben” Michael opened Ben’s shirt and what he saw, told him that Ben didn’t have long.
Coughing up Blood, Ben said “Michael,  They have killed me”
“Your not going anywhere Ben, what happened?”
“They came to find the Deed I had for the land” 
“What Deed?”
“The one my Ma gave me”
“What is so dang important about that land”? Michael asked
Ben coughed up more blood, straining to talk he said “Water and grazing rights, without that land Big John would be done”
“So he has been using it for free all these years?” Michael asked
“Michael, They are after Sue now, I heard them talking after they left me for dead”
“Michael please stop them” Ben pleaded
Michael heard Tom Stevens behind him
“Michael, Mary here, knows a little about Doctoring”
Mary knelled next to Ben, She looked him over and looked up to Michael.
Michael nodded and looked back to Ben
Mary stood up and Tom noticed tears in her eyes as he followed her out of the Barn.
“Ben did they get the Deed?”
It took a minute for Ben to answer
“No, it’s hiding in your saddle bags over there” Ben attempted to point but couldn’t raise his arm.
Michael knew where they were and he said “Ben I need to know where Sue is”
“It’s all there Michael, address and all, please get it to her”
“I will Ben”
Ben closed his eyes for the last time.