It Wasn't Me

By Rebecca K. Rush

It's 3 years after the Civil War and John awakens one night to suddenly find himself a captive and he doesn't know by whom or why. You will sympathize with John as he struggles to find the answers. Does he ever find them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rebecca K. Rush
• Release date: Aug 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466070288

Book preview

It Wasn’t Me

by

Rebecca K. Rush

Published by Rebecca K. Rush at Smashwords

Copyright 2011. Rebecca K. Rush

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Author’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Chapter One

John was startled awake by the rustling in the brush and the nervous prancing of his horse.

Living alone on the range had made him aware of all of the sounds of the night, so he became alarmed that a mountain lion might be lurking nearby. He reached for his rifle while laying there watching the nervously erect ears of his horse for some clues. John slowly began to realize that it wasn’t a mountain lion out there in the dark as the faint sound of footsteps was all around him. He lay still with the faint glow of his campfire providing clues to his location. As he looked around for some dirt to cover the dying coals, he heard the words that changed his life.

Freeze you son of a bitch

Suddenly, he was surrounded by six men, but all that he could discern in the dark was the gleam of rifle barrels aimed at him.

John started to slowly rise to his feet when he felt the blow to the back of his head.....then...

John began to discern some light through his eyelids. Slowly, though still dazed, he began to take note of his surroundings. He was lying on a dirt floor in a room barely large enough for the canvas cot and chamber pot placed for his comfort, but his captors had just dumped him on the floor. As he lay there peering up at the sunlight trying to pierce the ill-fitting wood boards of the roof ten feet above his head, the pain in his head became intense. He reached to the back of his head and felt the dry, matted blood from the savage blow.

Slowly, John began to come to his senses. he was a big man for his day, every bit of 6 ft 2 inches and 235 pounds, but he gradually managed to pull himself up to his knees and onto the edge of the cot. There was a very small opening in the wall to his right with two iron bars set in the opening and a heavy wooden door on his left with no openings at all.

As he regained his consciousness, he slowly arose and stumbled over to the window. There was no clue to his location. All that he saw was the scrub of the range for miles. There was no activity to be seen and not a sound except the distant barking of a dog. Where the hell am I? he thought.

As he stood there, he realized that he had been hauled away without his hat or his boots. None of his belongings were to be seen. Bastards

He also realized that he was more than a little hungry. He wasn’t sure how long that he’d been lying on that filthy floor, but he did know the pain of hunger suddenly beginning to overwhelm him. John walked over to the door and realized there was no handle. What have I done to deserve this? was beginning to take over any thoughts of hunger and without thought of consequences, he began pounding on the door. His pounding brought him no relief; however. All that he managed to do was to increase the throbbing in the back of his head. The pain became overwhelming and he barely managed to make his way back to the cot before he