Chapter Text
Ezra’s eyes were getting worse, much quicker than he was expecting. Sitting in the crowd of children at the campfire he could hear the crackle of the fire, but only faint shadows moved in his vision.
“I wish I could see everything that you have,” one of the children remarked. Ezra stopped, suddenly the pain he normally felt in his eyes never felt more overwhelming. Yes, it was true that he had seen many wonders in his life, but to know that it was coming to an end weighed heavy in his heart.
“Someday, you shall see more,” Ezra said softly. “Well, children, you have a big day tomorrow. I believe it would be time for you to become reacquainted with the comforts of your beds.”
Vin watched as Ezra grew more quite after the children left. Ezra, by nature, was not quiet and these moments always scared Vin. Josiah joined Ezra before Vin could decide if he should try to combat Ezra’s sour mood.
Josiah laid a hand on Ezra’s shoulder as he passed and noticed a sharp intake of breath. “Clear night, wouldn’t you say?”
Ezra paused, he knew the other suspected something was off with his eyes. “Josiah, tell me, what do you expect to gain by joining Mr. Larabee’s crusade against injustice?”
Josiah described his dream and the crows he had observed. “If death is inevitable, I’d rather meet it head-on. When I was a preacher, the congregation expected me to see the world a certain way, but I soon learned that I saw the world differently from them. What about you?”
Ezra sighed, while he didn’t doubt the truth behind Josiah’s words, he also knew he was leaving the conversation open to confession. However, Ezra was not a spiritual man and he did not believe in the power of confession.
~*~
Vin watched the sunrise cast shadows over the horizon, when Chris joined him. “There’s a backwater town in the Texas panhandle by the name of Tascosa. It’s flatter than a felt-covered poker table. You know of it?”
“Heard of it.”
“I wind up getting killed, I want to take my body back there and get the five hundred bounty for it. The only thing I ask is that you give Ezra half of it.”
Chris’s eyebrows crinkled, “Why are you so valuable and what does Ezra have to do with it?”
As distrustful as Ezra was of the others, Vin trusted Chris. He knew he couldn’t betray Ezra’s trust in him, but he could put plans in place to protect Ezra if he didn’t walk away from this fight. “When I met Ezra, he was a lieutenant for the confederacy. He made a sacrifice that saved my life.”
Chris’s eyes steeled with anger, “Do he hold that over you? Make you think that you owe him?”
“NO!” Vin swiped his hat off in frustration. “I made a vow to protect him, but I did that on my own. If it were up to Ezra, he…well, he thinks he is a burden to me.”
“Is Ezra blind?”
“Chris, I trust you, but…”
“Ezra doesn’t. I understand. What I don’t understand is why you are so valuable.” Chris knew that Vin wouldn’t betray Ezra’s trust by telling him his secret, however, he all but confirmed the notion.
Vin chuckled, “Me and Ezra, we have been traveling together since the war. I began bounty hunting to help make us money. A man, Eli Joe, was wanted death or alive. When I found him dead, I turned him in for the bounty. Only it wasn’t him. It was a trap. Ezra helped me escape before they could decide to hang me. Now I’ve got a price on my head. The way I figure it, when I die, Ezra will have to fend for himself. I know he will never turn me in for the money, but if you turn me in and give him the money, I doubt you would take no for an answer from him.”
“Ezra means that much to you?”
“He’s the closest thing I got to family. He’s my brother.”
~*~
It was morning, or well, Ezra assumed it was morning. There were no shadows or even the faintest speckle of light. The only confirmation that morning had arrived was Mr. Wilmington’s boisterous bellow intent on waking J.D.
Ezra sighed softly, it was only a matter of time for his eyesight to degrade completely, but he couldn’t escape the pain he felt in his chest with the implications of losing his eyesight.
Vin must have assumed his eyes were worse as he hovered more than usual. When he finally pulled Ezra aside, Ezra’s eyes began to ache. “Ezra, you know the soldiers are going to be coming back, right?”
“I had assumed they wouldn’t accept defeat as easily.”
“Well, I got a feeling. Tomorrow, I’m going to set you on that path to the mine. Stay there till I come for you.”
“Vin, I think it’s time to accept that I am not only a liability in the fighting, but a liability to you. I think it would be best if we were to permanently absolve the vow you made to me.”
Vin snatched Ezra’s arm, “Stop. Not this, again. You will wait for me.”
Ezra hesitated, before doing something he had never done to Vin. He lied. “Alright I will wait for you at the mine, if you feel it is best.”
That night, his sight hadn’t resurfaced and the pain in his eyes made the world spin. When Vin finally retired for the night, Ezra remained by the fire, listening to the others each soon follow. He rubbed again at his eyes, but couldn’t relive the pain. It wouldn’t be long now.
“Have you tried an herbal press for your eyes?” Ezra’s hand instinctively reached for his gun as he turned toward the voice.
“Pardon me, Mr. Jackson?”
“To relieve some of the pain.”
“I don’t understand your accusation.”
“Look, Ezra, we all know that there is something wrong with your eyes.”
“I’m fine, just have a small headache.”
“No, I saw you putting drops in your eyes. Come into the light so I can see your eyes.”
“I said that I’m fine.”
“If you would quit being so stubborn and tell us, there might be something I can do to help.”
Ezra found himself wishing that Nathan could help. But if the shamans and healers that Vin had taken him to couldn’t help him, what could Nathan do? No there was only one thing that would help his situation now.
When the village finally began to quiet, Ezra crept to his horse. He saddled quickly and passed a sugar cube to Vin’s trusty mount. “Take care of Vin for me,” he whispered to the horse. Then Ezra did the hardest thing he had ever had to do. He left.