Translations

shao bing- sentinel

Sentinel Part Two

Zoe waited until she was sure that the men were gone before she pulled the razor blade Jayne had given her out from beneath her wristband. She immediately got to work cutting through the thick ropes binding her to the tree at her back. Not far from the camp were the two horses Mal and Zoe had ridden into the mountain. One of the animals had been killed, its throat slit to leave a messy blood scent in the air to lure predators to the camp. The other horse was still tied to the tree, fresh bait for predators.

When the gray gelding began to pull at its rope and neigh in fear, Zoe moved the blade faster. Finally it cut through the rope and using her free hands she pulled the hidden knife from her boot and easily severed the ropes binding her ankles just as a snarl came from the nearby trees and the horse whinnied in terror.

Zoe rushed over to Mal and cut his rope freeing him. Together, captain and first mate went over to where the tied horse was lashing out with its hooves and a cougar was stalking it. The sound of two people shouting and crashing through the underbrush frightened the cougar away from them, and Mal was able to calm the horse.

The gray horse had only the halter holding it to the tree. Mal untied the rope and laid it over the horse's neck then vaulted onto the animal's back. With Mal's help, Zoe climbed up behind Mal on the horse's bare back and the captain guided the animal away from the encampment back down the mountain toward the mining camp where Serenity was waiting for them. Zoe said nothing as Mal guided the horse in the opposite direction from where the men had taken their crew. She knew that were not armed beyond the knife Zoe had in her boot, and they had no supplies and only the gray horse, and they would need help finding the missing crew members.

Jayne kept his eyes on the litter where River lay beneath the blankets protecting her from the cold mountain air as the group guided their horses through the forested mountains. The leader whom Jayne had heard on of the men call Terrence had noticed that Jayne wasn't paying attention to anything beyond the girl on the litter and used tugs on the makeshift leash to warn Jayne to duck any low lying branches that they passed beneath. Jayne thought it strange that the man didn't seem the least bit bothered by Jayne's inattention to his surroundings, or the fact that he was being somewhat considerate of his captives. We must be worth a lot a money,Jayne thought.

Eventually the party began descending out of the mountains, the trail heading in an easy downward slope. It was the smell of winter wheat and cattle that brought Jayne's attention away from the girl and to their surroundings. They were just in sight of a valley in the foothills of the mountains. In the distance Jayne could see a ranch complete with a house, barn, stable, and bunkhouses. Around the ranch cattle grazed on winter wheat that was fenced in with barbed wire. The party rode down into the valley and found a dirt trail that led all the way to the ranch.

What Jayne had took for bandits were actually ranch hands who immediately upon entering the yard of the ranch began to dismount and see to their horses. Terrence and the red-haired man that Jayne now knew was Roger dismounted as well. Terrence still holding Jayne's leash walked over to where Jayne's horse waited patiently. Terrence helped Jayne out of the saddle. When Jayne tried to use his weight to pin Terrence, the man just calmly tightened the noose causing Jayne to fall to his knees unable to breath. Terrence then loosened the noose and pulled Jayne to his feet.

"None of that, shao bing." Terrence said as Jayne coughed. Terrence waited a moment, then turned to look at three men who had waited with him and Roger. Other men had taken the horses leaving the litter lying on the ground.

"Bring the girl." He ordered the men who nodded at him and picked up the litter.

Terrence led the way to the stable pulling Jayne along with the leash while the men followed with the litter and Roger walked beside the litter. Inside the stable, Jayne looked around noticing the stable was quite large. The individual stalls were made of steel. The ceiling itself was only ten feet high even though the stable itself was twice that in height, but Jayne noticed a ladder that led to a trap door no doubt leading to the loft of the stable probably used for storage of hay and supplies.

They made their way to an empty stall that had walls of steel that came up to Jayne's neck and the rest of the way to the ceiling it was steel bars. The third man who had followed them inside unlatched the stall and opened the door. Terrence untied Jayne's hands, then removed the loop from around Jayne's neck and lightly shoved Jayne inside the stall. The hired hand then shut the stall door, and re-latched it then used a padlock to lock it up tight. Then the hired hand moved to open the stall next to Jayne's and the two men carrying the litter stepped inside the stall, lowered the litter to the floor and then carefully picked up a drugged and sleeping River and laid her on the straw that covered the stall floor leaving the blanket over her. They then picked up the now empty litter and came out of the stall which was then shut and padlocked like Jayne's. Another man came into the stable carrying blankets which he handed to Terrence. Terrence the pushed the blankets through the bars of Jayne's stall to where they dropped on the hay. Then with a satisfied nod, Terrence left the stable with the men following him.

Jayne watched the men leave the stable shutting the door behind them leaving them in darkness with the only light coming from a small dark paned window just above the door of the stable. It was plenty of light for Jayne to see in and he walked over to the wall that adjoined the stall next to his and peered through the bars at the sleeping girl.

"River wake up." Jayne called to her. The girl didn't even stir. "River girl ya gotta wake up. Ain't time to be sleeping."

"Jn." Came the sleepy reply. The girl shifted a bit beneath the blanket.

"Yeah baby girl, its Jayne. Gotta wake up now, come on wake up." Jayne called to her wishing he could touch her.

"Slpy." the girl mumbled.

"Yeah I knows ya are, but its them drugs keeping you asleep, need ta shake'em off and wake up."

"Trd." River's eyes opened slightly then closed again.

"River, wake up!" Jayne shouted.

The girl flinched and her eyes opened a bit wider, but closed again. Then opened a second later, blinked a few times then focused a bit better on Jayne. The girl smiled and Jayne couldn't help but smile back.

"Jayne." She said more coherently.

"Yeah baby girl its Jayne. Gotta get up." He said.

The girl frowned and looked around. "Where?"

"You gotch yerself kidnapped again, crazy girl. Only they ain't planning on lighting ya on fire even though they know yer a witch."

"Not a witch." River mumbled as she slowly got to her feet. "Everything is fuzzy, cotton balls sticking to my brain."

"That Rogers been messing with yer head, he's some kinda reader himself." Jayne explained.

River nodded, "Shields, blocking, fuzzy white cotton, don't like it."

"Aint' nothing bout this to like." Jayne answered.

River looked up at Jayne noticing the bars that separated them. "Kitty is out of the paper sack."

It took Jayne a moment to understand, "Yeah I guess so. Didn't know it was a secret."

River nodded. "Sssh, not suppose to tell. Too many things different, too many secrets." River then looked around the stall. "Stable, hay, stall, not a horse."

"Yeah well neither am I."

"No man resembles a mule not a horse. Stubborn." River giggled.

"Hey now, I ain't no mule." Jayne said affronted that he was being called yet another animal.

River seem to sense that, "No not a mule, not a dog, just Jayne."