The little town of Cedar Ridge was in a state of pandemonium in the pre-dawn hours of May 5, 1865. Someone had just ridden into town to give the alarm that the Skyler place was on fire. The valley echo with thundering hoof beats as twenty horses ridden by the bucket wielding fire brigade barreled toward the Skyler farm at break-neck speed. When they arrived they found that the cabin was already engulfed in flames. Mrs. Skyler stood sobbing into her husband's shoulder and crying that their son Sean was trapped inside.

A few of the braver men started toward the house totry to rescue the boybut the intense heat beat them back. Suddenly as the smoke cleared away Jack and Maddie Skyler saw the most amazing thing they had ever seen in there lives. They saw their 5 year-old son com walking out of the house passing right through the wall of flames without even seeming to notice then. Maddie rushed over and scooped up her son clutching him to her. The doctor came rushing over to examine the boy. To his shock and the shock of Jack and Maddie he didn't find one burn the boy's skin wasn't even red. Not knowing just what to make of it all the three swore themselves to secrecy about what they had discovered.

Ten years later…

Sean Now a young man of 15 sat next to his father up on the bench of the buck board wagon as it bounced along the road toward town. Sean looked down at the floorboards of the wagon. he had often wondered about himself. why he never got hurt or sickor how at the age of tenhe had been able to lift the family wagon off of his father's leg it seemed that his bodycould generate whatever level of strength he needed for the task evena superhuman one. What made him so different.

Suddenly the sign for the town ofCedar Ridge brought him back to reality.He and his father were on their way to Bricker's store to buy supplies for spring planting. It was about mid-morning when the reached the town many of the town folk were already well into their morning routines. As they approached the general store they saw Jim Bricker the proprietor turn the sign in the window from open to closed.

"Did you see that, Pa?" asked Sean, "What is going on?"

"I don't know son," replied his father reigning in the horses in front of the store, "But I'm sure that Jim has his reasons. What those reasons are I don't know." Hopping down from the wagon they two of them walked around the corner to the side door that served as front door of the house that was built into the back of the store.

Jack walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. After several seconds with no answer Jack knocked again a little louder this time. Still there was know answer. Finally Jack double up his fist and pounded on the door.

"James Matthew Bricker," He hollered, "you get down here and tell me what this is all about!!"

Finally the door opened a crack.

"Jack," whispered Jim, "Please go away. If Jake Decker sees me talking to you there is not telling what he'll do!"

"All right Jim," said Jack, "We'll go." Sean and his father had ridden most of the way back to their farm when Sean finally slammed his fist on the seat the wood cracking slightly under the force of the blow.

"Whoa, Whoa, son," Said Jack, "Don't break the wagon it's the only one we've got." Sean didn't seem to hear his father as he sat there fuming.

"Pa," he said finally, "How long will the people in this valley Keep letting Decker walk all over them and tell them what they can and can't do?" Jack shrugged

"Probably for as long as he holds most of the money in the valley, pays the sheriff's salary and employs the surliest bunch of hired hands north south east or west of the Pecos."

"How long are we going to put up with it," Said Sean, "Decker has cut us off from out supply of seed for the season, he's cut us off from our friends, and if it wasn't for that underground spring he would have probably figured out someway to cut off our water supply by now. Pa we can't last forever without a cash crop and Decker knows it."

"Yes I know," said Jack Grimacing, "I've known that Decker has been anxious to get his hands on our farm for some time, but I didn't really think that even a Crooked snake like him would go this far."

"Maybe we can do something when that Marshall comes back through this way," Said Sean, "He's paid by the government not Decker."

"Yeah," said Jack, "that's a good Idea."

"Listen, he continued as they arrived at home, "the chores are already done so why don't you go fishing this afternoon it will take your mind off of things,"

"Alright," said Sean. He jumped down from the wagon and went to get his fishing pole out of the barn. A few seconds later he emerged from the barn and headed down toward the creek. When he reached the creek bank he turned and started to walk upstream toward his favorite fishing spot. When he got there he dropped his line in the water then sat down in his chair as he called it. It was actually a smaller rock with a flat top that was sitting against the sloped side of a much larger rock. Sean leaned back against the bigger rock and closed his eyes. Just when he was getting good and relaxed he heard a twig snap in some bushes on the other side of the creek. He opened his eyes and looked at the bushes for several seconds. Finally he shrugged,

"Probably just a raccoon or something," he said to himself. He laid back and closed his eyes again. A second or two later there was another snap except this one was bigger and louder. Sean opened his eyes and slowly rose to his feet reaching for his hunting knife which hung at his belt.

"If that's a raccoon," he said to himself, "That's a big Raccoon!" using the rocks in the creek he made his was silently across the creek and cautiously approached the bushes. He switched his grip on the knife to a dagger like hold. With one hand he slowly took a hold of one of the branches and he raised the other hand to strike with knife if he had to. Then in one fluid lightning fast movement he thrust the branches and reared back with the knife ready for anything. However the sight that met his eyes was far different than he had expected. There on the ground behind the bushes was an Indian girl who looked to be about the same age that he was. She sat there looking up at him with fear in her eyes. Sean lowered his arm and stuck his knife back in its sheath. Then letting go of the branch he walked around the bushes to where she was sitting. As soon as he did the he could see by the designs on the dear skin clothes that she wore that she was part of the nearby Tiowaka tribe. He also noticed that her left ankle was swollen. There was a Tiowaka Chief named Running Bear who was his father's blood brother. Jack had learned to speak their language fluently and had in turn taught Sean. However, Sean had not needed to speak it and was out of practice, so he started speaking slowly to her in her own language.

"Let me take you over to the cold water it will help your ankle." He said. He watched for a response praying that he had said it right. Was he looked at her face he couldn't help but be taken with her beauty. Her Black hair hung down to her waist in two braids. Her eyes were dark like her hair, Dark but soft. She nodded in response to what he said. Stepping forward he gently lifted her off the ground and carried here over to the water's edge sitting her down on a rock. Then kneeling next to her he took of her deer skin boot and lowered her swollen foot gently into the water. When he turned to look at her again he found her smiling at him.

"You have very gentle hands," she said in English.

"You speak my language!" said Sean

"Yes," she said, "But where did you learn to speak mine?"

"My father taught me he learned it from his blood brother who is one of your chiefs," replied Sean, "Chief Running bear to be exact." The girl eyes widened.

"You are the son of Jack Skyler," she said

"You've heard of my father," said Sean surprised. The girl nodded.

"I am Whitecloud the Daughter of Running bear," she said, "My father speaks of your father often."

"How about that?!" said Sean with a smile, "Oh by the way my name is Sean, and if you don't mind my asking what are you doing here in the first place? This is at least five or six miles from your home."

"Two men on horseback grabbed me when I was out gathering herbs for the medicine man," replied Whitecloud, "I got away from them about a half mile away from here but I hurt my ankle running from them so I ducked into those bushes to hide." While Whitecloud was talking Sean knelt down and lifted her foot out of the water to check on it. As soon as his hand touched the water he flashed to vision of two men riding up the shallow area of the creek toward them.

"Whitecloud," he said turning to her, "These men that grabbed you, did one of them have a scar running down across his jaw and on to his neck and the other one did he have an ugly black birthmark above his left eye?"

"Yes," she said surprised

" Then those men were Horace Barton, and Zachariah Platt," said Sean, "they work for Jake Decker the most ruthless cattle rancher in these parts and of all the unsavory skunks that work for him, those two are the worst, and they're headed this way!"

"How could you know that?!" asked Whitecloud as Sean picked her up and headed for the bushes. Already they were beginning to hear the sound of hoof-beats in water down stream.

"Um, Whitecloud," said Sean, "I think we'd better save the explaining for later!"

TBC: Please Review!!!!