Author's Note: Jack belongs to Disney, the first and last lines of the poem are from a song by Lonestar, everyone else is mine.

Flaming Star
By: Echo

"Seven hundred head of cattle on an old forgotten trail, six cowboys, and one old man, and another day of hell..."

The new guy had been doing pretty good considering he was from the city. No one knew what brought him out here, he never talked much about his past. But all in all he dealt well with the wind, dust, blood, and the cold nights beneath the stars.

We were sitting around the campfire, staring at the sky. "Hey, Kelly." Joe said, his sunken eyes peering out of his rought leathery face sadly. "You ever heard about the flaming star?"

The New Yorker looked up slowly. "No, what is it?" He replied after a while. Judging by his tone of voice, I wasn't really sure he cared, and he probably didn't.

"They say that when a man sees a flaming star, his time is near." Joe started. "I've been expecting to see my star for a long time now, don't reckon I'll have ta wait much longer."

I flicked a lazy eye in Joe's direction. He had always thought he would die young, but anyone that had lived the life of a cowboy couldn't really blame him. "So, city boy," I said after a pause. "What brings you out on the prairie?"

"Call me Jack." He said numbly.

I twisted one corner of my mouth into a smile. "Okay, Jack. Why'd ya leave the city?"

"Nothin' ta stay for." He said simply and pulled his hat down over his face, bringing the conversation to a close.

Gus shook his head in disgust. "City folk." He muttered in annoyance and spat a brown stream of tobacco into some nearby sagebrush, leaving just a trace of the brown in his grimy white beard.

Bill looked up through his sandy blonde hair and narrowed his dark blue eyes at Jack. Bill was just Jack's age, and resented the competition. "Ya know, there's a reason city boys don't become cowboys. They don't got it in 'em... why, heck, I bet if anyone sees that flaming star, it's gonna be you."

Dave, the middle aged leader of the drive, shook a stern finger at Bill. "You'll do good to keep your mouth shut boy."

"I ain't no boy." Bill said in a sulking tone.

Jim grinned and sat next to Jack. "Ya got a girl back in the city?" He asked curiously. He was the youngest of the group by far, and his cheerful innocence along with his boyish looks were clear testimony to his age.

Jack sent Jim an aggravated glare. "No." He said shortly.

"I got a girl." He said proudly. A few of the guys groaned. We had all heard about Jim's girl a thousand times. He went on, ignoring the protests heard around the camp fire. "Jenny's got the most amazin' blue eyes an' this long perdy brown hair.. I'm gonna marry 'er some day."

"Good luck." Jack said emotionlessly and walked away from the campfire to sit on a little hill not too far away.

We bedded down not too long after that, all of us except the New Yorker and Dave, who was on watch. I woke up later that night and the boy was still sitting on that hill, staring acorss the flat prairie. I walked over and sat next to him, plucking some sagebrush and smiling at its pleasant scent. "Bet the nights were nothin' like this in the city."

The boy cracked a slight smile. "No, dey ain't even close."

I nodded. "Figures... what'd you do back east?"

He seemed annoyed by my prying, but answered anyway. "I was a newsie."

"One of them boys who sells those papers?" I asked and nodded a little. "Never have taken a liking to the news, but I do like a good yarn every now and then."

He shrugged. "It was somethin' ta do."

"I suppose yer right, a man's gotta have somethin' ta do." I said with a slight nod. "Ya leave any friends or family back east?"

He frowned a little. "No family. Maybe a few friends I sold papes wit."

"No girl though?" I asked after a short pause.

He looked up at the sky, maybe to avoid the question, or maybe just because he liked to look at the cloud of stars sprinkled across the sky. "What's a flamin' star look like?"

"Why? You think you've seen one?" I asked with a mocking grin.

He squinted his eyes a little, not sharing the joke. "Yeah, I think I have."

I frowned. "Don't let Joe's talk get to ya. It's all superstitious mumbo jumbo. He must have a hundred tales like that one, they don't mean anything."

The boy looked disturbed still but nodded a little. "Yeah, I guess so."

A shiver ran down my spine but I stood up and ignored it. "Mornin'll be here soon. I'm gonna go back to the camp an' get some sleep. You should do the same." He nodded a little but didn't make any move to stand up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, city boy!" Bill yelled as he galloped towards Jack. "Think ya can keep up?"

Jack glared at him. "Better den you."

Dave rode around the horde of cattle and brought his horse to a trot next to mine. "New guy's got some spunk. Not bad for a city boy."

I nodded. "Yep. Bill might eat his words soon enough."

"The days creep slowly by Lorena, the snow is on the grass again..." Across the herd Jim could be heard croaking out the sour notes of an old Civil War song.

Bill groaned. "Will somebody shut that love sick fool up?"

Dave laughed a little as he started to turn his horse back to the other side of the herd. "You aren't any better, Bill."

Bill glared a little but turned his horse to face the lagging supply wagon Gus was driving. "Hey! Can't you drive that wagon any faster old man?!" He teased and then spurred his horse toward the front of the herd.

The wind picked up a little and I noticed some clouds moving our way. "Well Jack, seems to me like we might have to make camp pretty soon."

He turned my way. "Camp? This early?"

I nodded my head in the direction of the clouds. "Storm's headed this way."

He squinted his eyes a little as he peered at the clouds which were quickly closing the distance between us. "What's that mean?"

"Storms make the cattle kinda restless. I think there's a waterin' hole not too far north of here. Why don't you ride ahead a couple of miles. Turn back if it's not there, but it if is rest your horse and we'll catch up. There's where we'll make camp." I said after a second or so. He nodded and spurred his horse a little. Bill turned and rode back as Jack passed him. "Hey!" He said in an annoyed tone. "Did you send that city boy to find camp?"

I nodded. "Yes Bill, I did. You gotta problem with that?"

Bill snorted indignantly. "Why, heck... that boy'll probably get goin' the wrong way an' we'll have to go look for 'im. Shoulda sent me instead."

"Won't have ta send no one after 'im, he'll find his way." I said as we drove the cattle on. After a mile or so it was startin' to rain as I smirked at Bill. "We're almost there.. seems to me like he must 'ave found the place."

Bill sneered. "Or got lost."

I shook my head. "Nah, don't think so. But you see that hill over yonder? If I remember rightly the place he's lookin' for is just beyond that hill. I guess we'll know soon enough if he found it."

Bill frowned. "He better have, these cattle are gettin' mighty skittish."

As he said the words a mightly rumble ripped through the moist air and in a matter of seconds the cattle were kicking up mud as they panicked and ran. My horse reared back but I held on as it took off at a dead run. I spotted Jack sitting by the water, holding his horse's reins in his hand as my old nag charged up over the hill. Over the thundering hooves of the cattle I could hear Dave holler the warning, "Stampede!" Jack jump up and in a flash he was mounted on his horse, riding like his life depended on it... and it very well might have. Once I saw Jack seemed to be safe I looked around for the others. It was hard to see anything in the mud, rain, and confusion but my eyes fell on Bill as he drew in a sharp breath. "Kelly!!" He yelled, barely audible above the noise of the stampede. I snapped my head back in front of me just in time to see Jack's horse stumble, and then he was lost in the trampling hooves of the panicking cattle.

"Seven hundred head of cattle on an old forgotten trail, five cowboys, and one old man, and another day of hell." (Cowboy's Didn't Dance, Lonestar)

The End


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