Blaine had already turned in two rabbits, a fox, and a buck, and was tracking another deer, when he heard footsteps behind him. He tensed, but didn't move, knowing that if it was another competitor, they were a terrible tracker and would leave in embarrassment once they saw that Blaine was there, and if it wasn't a competitor, he wanted the element of surprise.

Twigs were crunched and branches whipped behind him noisily and he realized that no competitor, stupid or not, would risk making that much noise and scare off the animals. He put a hand on a revolver in the holster and kneeled down to make it look like he was studying tracks.

The crunching had stopped and Blaine knew they, whomever they were, were now close enough to see him and hadn't retreated back into the forest. He heard a snicker and a voice spoke, "Look what kind'f prey we got here boys. The wild fag. Should look nice mounted beside that buck I got in my living room."

Blaine narrowed his eyes and slowly turned his head to look at who was making threats at him. There were three of David's men there, Kyle, Azimio, and one other he had seen around but didn't know the name of. All three had their guns pointed at him. Blaine didn't say anything, staying in the kneeling position with the hand turned away from the other men on his revolver while he just watched them and waited for them to make their move.

Kyle snorted and looked at the other two, "Damn injun blood must make him slow in the head. Hey half blood - stand up! We got our guns on you, not the other way around."

Blaine remained in place and stayed silent, playing the part of the foolish native since that's what they thought of him. He arched an eyebrow in question to them.

Azimio stepped forward and shook his gun at Blaine, "He said - get up!" As Azimio shook his gun and it pointed away from Blaine, Blaine took the opportunity to draw his gun and shoot the big black man in the thigh in one swift movement.

Azimio fell in front of Blaine, giving him protective, and noisy, cover. Azimio screamed and grabbed at his thigh, "Mother fucking asshole indian!" As the other two rushed forward to devoid Blaine of Azimio's cover, Blaine rolled on the ground behind the cover of a large tree trunk, backing against it and calculating their locations by listening to the movements on the ground.

Blaine drew his other revolver, so he was armed in both hands and prepared for when they came. But instead of hearing them continue to move forward, they stopped at where Azimio had dropped. The one Blaine didn't know started speaking, "You'd better get out here injun or your pretty little ass back in town will be the one paying for it!"

Kurt. Blaine's triangular brows pressed together in worry and he began recalculating his moves, knowing he needed to get out of there as soon as possible so he could get back to town and make sure Kurt was alright.

"We know he likes cock n' all, so we thought maybe he'd like a taste of real men's cocks. Give it to him until he realizes just how much of a lady he is and how pathetic you are."

All the calculating was tossed aside then and Blaine rolled out from behind the cover of the tree, firing all his rounds at their location in fury, too enraged to care about accuracy.

He was accurate though, and stupidly so, too blinded by his anger to see that they had each covered their chests with banking trays, big enough to cover their chests with several layers of separated metal - enough to absorb the shock of the bullets. His aim had been too good because none of the shots went outside of the chest area.

The men laughed while Azimio groaned and grabbed at his leg below them, cursing about the pain.

Blaine dropped his empty revolved and moved his hand to reach for the shotgun on his back when one of them fired a shot right beside his head as a warning, and he stopped.

"Now... get up asshole, before we just decide to kill you here and now and take out our rage on your little boyfriend."

Blaine swore in both his known languages but slowly got to his feet, keeping his hands up by his head, hoping for a chance to given so he could grab his shotgun, which wouldn't be stopped by a banking tray.

Kyle seemed to figure out what he was thinking and stepped over to Blaine while the other one kept his gun pointed on him. Kyle grabbed the shotgun off his back and picked up the revolvers on the ground, before moving behind Blaine, leaving him sandwiched between two guns aimed at him.

Azimio whimpered and the man by him tossed him a handkerchief from his pocket, "Stop your bitchin'. We're out in the middle of nowhere. You walk or you wait until we're done with this faggot to carry your ass back."

Azimio grumbled, but seemed to keep himself together, pressing the cloth to the wound and holding it down there to stop the bleeding. Behind him, he could hear Kyle moving around, but he couldn't keep his eyes on both of them without moving. He tried to calm himself, breathing rhythmically, he needed to regain his calm so he wouldn't make any more mistakes. He needed to get back to Kurt.

He heard Kyle moving up behind him and he braced himself, preparing to have a gun barrel in his ribs, instead he was punched in the back and Blaine fell forward onto his knees with a small cry. The force of that punch was too much. He looked back at Kyle and saw the man had left his guns behind and was wearing a set of knucks on his hands.

"Nice hey?" Kyle asked as he circled around Blaine, who was keeping his eyes trained on Kyle now and ignoring the other man who still had the gun aimed on him if he tried to run. Blaine remained kneeling, hands braced against the ground. "So David told me to spend a good little time making you hurt. He's mad at you for cheating at cards you know. You don't cross Karofsky's - or didn't your little butt buddy tell you that?"

Blaine knew that wasn't the real reason, but it did little good to tell them that. Another punch was landed against Blaine's side and he exhaled as the hit was made to reduce the shock on his body, though it still hurt like nothing else. He dug his fingers into the dirt below him.

"And of course, we can't have fags like you and Hummel threatening the moral climate of our good town either. Holding hands, kissing, what the hell are you boys thinking. You must have a death wish." Another punch to the opposite side this time. Blaine ground his teeth together and kept himself from yelling out.

Kyle began circling again, looking for a new place to hit so he could draw out this process. Nearby Azimio had stood up and was hobbling away, using the trees to brace himself as he went back to get his wound taken care of while Blaine was being taken care of.

"I personally intend to get back the money you cheated off me in cards, plus interest - even if that means I need to strip your dead ass down to sell your clothes, leaving your body as wolf food." Blaine jerked forward as a hit was landed on his left shoulder, popping it out of place and sending electrical shocks of pain through his body from that central point. He nearly bit his tongue keeping the scream in from that hit.

Azimio was now well out of sight and hearing range. Blaine dug his hands deeper into the earth as Kyle placed a punch to his cheek, leaving Blaine with two teeth sitting in his mouth that had become separated from his gums in the process.

Kyle laughed and stood back to admire his handiwork, looking over at his accomplice who nodded in approval, and then, just for that instant with the man holding the gun looking away, Blaine took his opportunity.

He stood up sharply and threw the dirt, leaves, and twigs he had gripped in his hands into the face of the gun holder, and also spit the blood and teeth in his mouth at him, causing the man to sputter and take a few fumbled steps backward, during which Blaine shot forward and pounded his fists into that man's face.

Kyle yelped and watched in shock for just a moment before making a run for the guns he had left behind.

Blaine kept bearing down on the man until he was sure he was knocked out, grabbing the gun from his unconscious hands and turning to aim it at Kyle, who had reached the guns but hadn't grabbed them yet, "Hold it!"

Kyle snarled, but stopped in place, looking at Blaine. "You show up in town and any and all lawmen that see you there have orders to kill you on sight."

Blaine didn't respond, standing up and keeping his aim on Kyle as he moved closer to the man.

"So here's what we'll do. I'll tell them I killed you and you run off and don't come back. You don't get killed, and I don't get killed. Win-win!" Kyle offered.

Blaine snorted and Kyle's shoulders drooped as he realized that the offer wouldn't be accepted. "Where's Kurt?"

Kyle shook his head, "How the hell would I know? I was sent here after you."

Blaine forced Kyle away from the guns by maneuvering between them, "Where's David Karofsky?"

Kyle looked over his shoulder at his fallen comrade, and then back at Blaine, "He stayed in town.... Look. They put a bounty on your head. You're best just to leave."

Blaine shook his head, "Not without Kurt."

Kyle shrugged up his shoulders, "Well I can't give you him from out here man! What the hell do you want me to do?!"

"Drop the knuckles on the ground for starters."

Kyle grumbled, but removed the knucks from his hands, throwing them on the ground at Blaine's feet. "There? Happy?"

"Drop your handcuffs too."

Kyle raised an eyebrow, but took the handcuffs off his belt and threw them down by the knucks.

"Now lay on your stomach."

"What the fuck man! I did what you wanted!" Kyle said exasperatedly, throwing his hands up in the air. The movement made Blaine fire off a shot that flew just to the side of Kyle, a warning.

Kyle gulped and first knelt to the ground, then laid himself down, arms over his head, "Please man, come on... I'm complying...."

Blaine huffed and reached down to grab the handcuffs, using one hand to keep the gun aimed at Kyle while the other opened the cuffs. He put a cuff on Kyle's left wrist and then pulled Kyle's right leg back to put into the other cuff. "If you weren't such an ass, you'd make a good hog."

Kyle swore up at Blaine and tried to pull his stretched hand and leg loose to no avail. Then with a quick movement, Blaine brought the butt of the gun down on Kyle's head, knocking him out cold.

Blaine gasped then and leaned against a nearby tree, the pain overwhelming him. He could only take a moment though, collecting the guns and knucks once he had caught his breath and hobbling away, determined to get back to town and to Kurt.

He was dizzy though, and regretted leaving all his herbs behind, since he had one that would dull the pain and make it easier to push ahead. Every now and then he would have to stop as spots danced in his eyes and he lost his balance. It was on one such stop that the light spots in his eyes were joined by spots on a horse.

"Minnie..." Blaine groaned and reached forward for the horse who had appeared before him like something out of a native american folktale.

She whinnied and nudged her nose under Blaine's bad shoulder, causing him to whimper softly. He accepted the offer though, and pulled himself up on her saddleless back with his good arm. "Go Minnie..." He murmured, slumping forward on her, fighting unconsciousness. "Go..."

So Minnie carried him, and somewhere between the forest line and the horizon, Blaine blacked out.

Kurt wouldn't respond to the questions being asked of him by the officers outside his cell. He had sat in the corner of the stinking cell, hugging his legs to his chest and hiding his face between his knees. The cell was about as big as his room, but certainly less homey. There was a pile of straw on the side opposite him meant to serve as a bed, but it looked and smelled like it hadn't been changed in quite awhile. A piss bucket was sitting in the corner opposite him, and it definitely needed to be washed out.

Out of his cell was several of Sebastian's and David's men, who were trying to goad him into talking, no doubt so they could get him riled up for their amusement. He was lost in himself though, knowing that every minute Blaine didn't show up, was a minute longer confirming to Kurt that something had happened to him, something he didn't want to think about.

He had earlier heard Quinn arguing with one of the guys in the front room, demanding that she be able to see him. He wouldn't let her pass by though and in the end she had called out that she has sent word to Kurt's family and that he should know she and her girls had his back.

Mike had also tried to get in, also to no avail, trying to insist that he needed to make sure Kurt was physically alright given that he was still healing from his attack. The guys in the front again turned Mike away, saying that Kurt deserved any pain he was experiencing, and that spending time and money fixing him in any way would be wasted.

Kurt already knew, before that was ever said, that he would be used as an example. He would be hung or shot, or worse. Somehow though, he wasn't all that upset about that. He wasn't crying over it, or fighting to get out. Kurt just sat and waited, letting himself daydream back to time spent in Blaine's arms, the most peaceful place he knew. If Blaine had been killed, then he didn't want to think about living without being able to spend time in those arms again. It was almost preferable to die instead.

He was numb. He was numb to the thought of death, and numb to what was going on around him. He didn't know if David was alive or dead, and he didn't care. He didn't care that he was going to be killed. He didn't care about his dad's disappointment. He didn't care that his friends were trying to help him. All he cared about was that Blaine was gone, and had taken his heart and hopes with him.

When Blaine awoke, he was no longer on Minnie and he wasn't in town. He was laying down near a fire pit in the centre of a forest clearing. He shot straight up, ignoring the shooting pains traveling through him from the places where he had been hit. He didn't know where he was and needed to be back in town.

"Whoa. Calm down there man. You look like you took a bruising." A voice spoke from nearby and Blaine looked to find its owner.

Across the fire sat a man dressed in a tanned leather vest, over a white top. He wore similar leather chaps over dark trousers tucked into tall dark boots with spurs. He didn't a have a hat on and Blaine could see that the man shaved his head down on the sides, leaving a short Mohawk Indian style cut on the top.

"Where am I? Who are you?"

The man held his palms out, "Calm down boy. My name is Noah. I was riding through these parts with my posse when we saw you and your horse by the river bank. She came up to us with you. Smart horse."

Posse. Blaine looked around and saw that they weren't alone at the camp. A couple other men were minding some horses tied to a nearby bath of trees and another was setting up a tent. Minnie was by the other horses, but not tied up, munching on some oats that had been put out for her.

"I need to get to Lima." Blaine said, still looking over the area and not looking directly back to Noah until he internally mapped out the situation he was in.

Noah made a thoughtful cluck of his tongue in his mouth and then spoke, "We try to avoid Lima. We've had some run-ins with the "law" there."

Blaine pulled the blanket off him and pushed himself up to stand, "I appreciate you watching over me and feeding my horse, but I need to get back there. That "law" you've had run-ins with is going to hurt the person I love."

Noah cocked his eyebrows both up and stood up as well, "Really now?"

Blaine nodded and scanned around for his guns, seeing them in a pile by the horses. "They just tried to kill me." He started walking toward the guns.

Noah stepped out in front of Blaine, "Hold up. If they already tried to kill you and failed, then running into town is certain suicide man. I get that they have someone you care about, but you won't help her by galloping in guns blazing."

"Him." Blaine corrected automatically and Noah arched an eyebrow but didn't respond. "And I can't just leave him there either. I won't."

Noah nodded and kept his hands up, palms out to try and keep Blaine from moving ahead, "Hear me out then."

Blaine paused and looked inquisitively at Noah.

Noah took that as a sign to make his offer, "Look, my boys and I, we're not angels or anything. We've been on the wrong side of the law plenty of times..."

"Talk faster." Blaine interrupted, not wanting to wait on a life story to get to Kurt.

Noah nodded, "Alright, alright. Long story made short. We help you get in, get your man, and use the opportunity to bring down some of the lawmen we have issue with."

Blaine looked at Noah's face as he spoke, and after as well, trying to determine if he could trust this man he just met. "I know I said speak quickly, but I need to know you aren't just going to turn on me when we get there and turn me in. What is your interest in Lima?"

Noah fidgeted with his hands nervously as he looked past Blaine to the other men and dropped his voice, "I'm not, we're not bounty hunters if that's what you're worried about. We all have ties to Lima and we just want to be able to see the people we've had to leave behind because of interference from the law there. I was booted out of town for knocking up a girl premaritally even though the Karofsky's and Smythe's do it all the time. I just want to be able to see my girl and her momma.... Jake there is my little brother and he got kicked out because of me. Punished him for what I had done and he misses his mom a whole bunch. Joe tried helping the poor and spoke up against the loan sharking which got him in bad with them, and Matt had a girl there that one of the Smythe boys liked so had him kicked out of town so he could get the girl."

Blaine frowned, "Why use me as a prompt then to go back? Why haven't you already fought your way back?"

"We were already planning too but were short on arms..." Puck looked back at the guns Blaine was heading towards.

"So you're using me for my guns." Blaine said and Noah nodded to him. "Well I appreciate the honesty and I'll take any help I can get, but I won't follow any orders. I'll take care of my man and you take care of whatever you need to."

"Fair enough. It's all I ask, though we should at least coordinate a little to make sure we don't end up shooting each other."

Blaine nodded in agreement and Noah whistled over the rest of the men, "Listen up. We're going back to Lima!"

Kurt shivered a little in his little nook of the cell. It was night now and aside from a guard in the front room, he had been left alone. It was cold though, and he had no blanket to warm him, and doomed to die or not, he was not about to lower himself to snuggling into that pile of straw.

He had fallen in and out of little naps throughout the day, refusing to talk back to the boys trying to irritate him, or show any response at all. He daydreamed mostly, fantasizing about the things that wouldn't happen now. He had created a whole fantasy in his head about living in New York with Blaine at his side and had lost himself happily in that vision.

"Motherfucker...."

Kurt looked up and saw Sebastian had walked into the room, standing outside the cell with a scowl covering his entire face. Kurt always thought that Sebastian looked like nothing impressed him, and right now was no exception.

Sebastian was seething, wrapping his hands around the bars of the cell as he addressed Kurt. "Just so we're clear, you were nothing more than a whore to him."

Kurt looked blankly at Sebastian, face expressionless, though understanding that Sebastian knew about what David had done to Kurt, and was clearly not happy about it.

"You meant nothing. Nothing." Sebastian continued, clearly trying to evoke a response which he wasn't getting.

Kurt set his chin back down on his knees, closing his eyes and trying to summon back his world, ignoring Sebastian just as he had ignored the boys before. However he heard keys in the lock of his cell and the door opening. When he reopened his eyes, Sebastian was in front of him, looking ready to throw a punch.

"You're just lucky he's going to live! If you had killed him... I would have made your death long and painful and excruciating.... now it'll be short and sweet." Sebastian hissed down at him.

Kurt watched the expressions going over Sebastian's face and a glimmer of recognition hit him, "You and him... were together..."

Sebastian's hand crashed to Kurt's face, and he winced, but didn't cry out. He had retreated so far within himself, that it was as if his body was separate from his consciousness. "You don't get to be the expert on this! You can't just flaunt what you have while I have had to hide what I had!"

Kurt didn't fight back as Sebastian hit him a few more times. It felt like his consciousness was hovering over him, watching what was happening to his body. Eventually Kurt's face was swollen and his nose and lip were both bloody, and Sebastian lost the energy to keep going, sinking to his knees and burying his face in his hands.

His consciousness slowly slipped back into his body and the pain and soreness hit him then, but he begrudgingly welcomed his old friend pain and then ignored it, leaning forward towards Sebastian, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to..."

Sebastian made a little roar of anger and stood back up, glaring down at Kurt, "If I can't be happy - neither can you!" He stormed out and yelled to whomever was in the front, "Get the gallows prepped. He's done tomorrow!"

Kurt sighed and rubbed his face, blood coming off on his hand which he then wiped on his pants. He summoned back the image of Blaine he was keeping in his mind and shut his eyes again so he could return to those imaginary arms being held out to him.

At dawn, Kurt was woken to the sound of the bars of his cell being banged on, "Get up! Time to size out your noose!"

Kurt winced and pushed himself up to stand, walking obediently towards the cell door where one of the boys cuffed his hands behind his back and led him outside. Kurt had to squint as the sun hit him straight in the eyes and when his vision had adjusted to the light, he saw he was being pushed to the centre of town, where the gallows were set up and a crowd had been gathered.

His feet felt heavy, but he kept thinking about how if everyone was right and there was some afterlife, he could at least be reunited with Blaine, whether in heaven or hell - at least they'd be together and away from all this, so he dragged them along, looking ahead blankly, still in his own little world which kept the reality of his situation safely away.

"Kurt! KURT!" A voice yelled and it was that voice, the same voice he had his first memories with, that lulled him to sleep at night, and had taught him everything he believed in that woke him from his waking coma.

"Dad?" He looked around for where it was coming from, seeing his dad, Carole, Finn, and Rachel being corralled back by some of David and Sebastian's boys.

Kurt's eyes teared up, and he was brought fully back to reality. He tried to pull away towards his family, but was yanked back by whomever was behind him. "Dad!"

Burt struggled against the lawmen, trying to get around them with cursing and threats, and Kurt could see the frantic panic in his dad's eyes. Rachel was crying into Finn, who just looked confused, while Carole tried to hold Burt back so he wouldn't get hurt by the lawmen who looked like they were ready to snap.

Kurt looked at the scene for a moment longer and then took a long, steadying breath. He couldn't lose it now. He couldn't be weak at this point. He couldn't let his dad see him scared and crying. He needed to be brave. He needed to look away from them and look ahead. Face his fate with courage.

So Kurt looked away and gritted his teeth together to keep himself focused. He kept walking, up the steps of the gallows and before the somber crowd. Judging by the encirclement of lawmen around the crowd, they had been forced to come, made to watch the hanging as a threat to them all if they retaliated against the order that had established itself in Lima.

He caught glanced of Quinn, who was trying to look back at Kurt bravely, but he could see the tears in her eyes. He saw Santana who had her face hidden in Brittany's shoulder crying, while Brittany looked away and stroked Santana's hair. Mike and Tina were there, holding onto one another, Tina also hiding her face in Mike's chest while Mike looked worriedly at Kurt. Through it all, he could hear his dad calling his name over the silent crowd, the panic and pain in his voice rising.

Kurt swallowed and looked over all the people there he cared about, and many others who had just given him stares his whole life, who despite their intolerance, didn't look like they were pleased about what was about to happen to him. Whether or not they agreed with what he was, he was another person who was going to be brought down and made into an example so the Karofsky's and Smythe's could continue taking advantage of them all. He realized they were all just as trapped as he had been, each in their own way and for their own reasons.

As his adam's apple bobbed in his throat, he felt a rope being pulled over his head and an involuntary shudder came over him, realizing that this was going to be it. He climbed atop a stool and the rope was adjusted behind him. He had not been asked to say any final words, but before they could kick the stool, he felt the need to speak.

"You need to fight back! You and I, we all have blamed them for our problems, but we're the ones who've allowed it to continue. If you don't want to live in fear for yourself or your family anymore, you have to take the risk and fight back! Don't let this continue!"

He could hear Sebastian snarl nearby and yell at the man beside Kurt, "Drop him already!"

"Don't let them get away with hurting the people you love! Dammit! Fight back! Or you're just cattle being led to slaughter!"

"DROP HIM!"

The stool was kicked out while Kurt was still speaking and he felt the ground disappear under him, his body falling into the space below but being roughly jerked up a little as the rope caught his neck and the air stopped in his throat. He gasped, but the air flow wasn't working and he couldn't feel his lungs fill up. He could hear the sobbing in the audience and his dad screaming.

Kurt could see spots in his vision, and his eyes closed. This would all be over soon enough his brain told him, and he wouldn't have to worry or fear ever again.