Between Two Trees (Mush Meyers x Reader)

XVI

The first thing you thought was that you could just play out like you got lost and get away with it, but the way the five men were looking at you two quickly put a stop to that idea. 

"Boss said ain't anyone allowed down in the caves." One of them said, cementing that feeling. 

"So what do we do with them?" Another asked. None of them seemed too bright. 

"Run." Mush whispered in your ear, pushing you behind him. 

"Are you gonna run? Because I'm not leaving you," You whispered back, peeking over his shoulder. 

"Just run, Y/N, go tell my Pa we're in the caves." Mush said firmly, giving you a soft nudge. 

"Hey, no runnin' for you two." One said, reaching for Mush's arm. 

The next few moments were a blur. Mush socked the one aiming for him directly in the nose and he recoiled against the wall. Another grabbed at Mush's shirt, who drove an elbow back into his gut. You stood frozen for too long, before remembering you were supposed to get help. Turning to go, you were stopped by a big hand on your shoulder that tugged you backward. You flailed as you spun, landing a glancing blow on the man's shoulder that he shrugged off. Remembering your friend's instructions back in the city for "if advanced upon without your hat pin", you brought your knee up, hard, connecting in the spot that would put the man out of commission for a while. He let go, doubling over, and you sprinted up the passageway again, turning left, then right, barely able to see, the candle you'd previously had dropped at some point, and then-- 

a dead end. That hadn't been there before, you were sure of it, but now there was another rustler behind you, fencing you in and grabbing your arms. You twisted but couldn't get a good angle as he pushed you down the tunnels back to the group. 

"Here." One of the other men said, tossing a grubby piece of fabric to the man behind you. "Blindfold 'em." 

You had only time to see a glimpse of Mush sitting on the ground, blindfold on and hands behind his back, before the cloth folded over your eyes. 

*

You tried to keep track of the twists and turns as the robbers led you through the caves, but after a while you gave up, only aware that you were headed downward. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the hand on your shoulder pushed you down to the ground. You sat, catching yourself with your hands. Somebody landed next to you, heavier sounding-- it had to have been Mush. The blindfold was ripped from your eyes, tugging at your hair slightly and causing you to make a face. 

Your eyes shot to the left; yes, Mush was there. His lip was split, and he was generally roughed up, but he didn't look too badly injured. His eyes ran over you quickly, reassuring himself you were okay. 

You scooted closer until you were right up next to him, shoulders brushing. His hands were tied behind his back with some sort of cord, and it looked painfully tight. Your fingers itched to untie it, but a warning cough sent you looking back up, where the men still stood. There were six, now; one must have joined them, or been waiting here. Glancing around, waiting here seemed likely; there were eight old straw mattresses scattered around the cavern, quite a few candles burning and set up to provide light, and random things scattered around that couldn't have grown there. It had to have been the rustler's main camp. 

According to your count, two were missing, a fact confirmed by the man who had chased you down- "We'll keep 'em here 'til the boss an' Randy get back, see what he wants to do with 'em." 

Four of the others were glaring at the two of you; well, three at Mush and one at you. They looked more worse off than Mush, which made you a little bit proud. The fifth and final one, who had been in the cave already, looked younger, close to your age. He was a little more scrawny than the men, and the boys you'd seen since moving to the farm, and looked to be on the quieter side. You wondered what he was doing with the rustlers. 

"Is it just the two o' you?" One of the men asked, glaring at Mush still. 

You nodded quickly. 

"Ain't you seen how we found 'em?" The one who'd caught you said with a laugh. "I believe it was just them." 

You blushed, scooting slightly closer to Mush, who was glaring at the men. There was a lot of glaring happening in this cave. 

"Here, you, Johnny, watch 'em will ya?" One of the men called, shooting a final nasty look at you before limping over to a mattress. "I'm gettin' some rest." 

The other men dispersed as the younger boy sat down on the mattress closest to the two of you. Three of the men started playing cards and smoking in a corner of the cave, the foul-smelling aroma soon filling the air. 

Mush pulled on his ties, hard, but the knot refused to budge. After a few tries, he frowned. 

"All that's doing is making your muscles flex." You whispered to him, poking his bicep and hoping the light was too dim for him to see your blush. 

"Bet you like that, huh?" He asked with a soft smirk. Apparently the light was bright enough. 

"I'd like it more in other circumstances." You said, raising an eyebrow. "Now back up, slowly, leaning against the wall." 

"Why?" Mush mumbled, but did as you said. You moved with him, until his hands were shielded from view. You rested your head against his shoulder to fully ensure that, one hand behind him as you started picking at the knot. It wasn't too tight, luckily, but it was more complicated than knot (pun definitely intended, thank you for reading)

"Hey, um, are you trying to untie him?" Johnny said, furrowing his brow. "Because I don't think that's a very good idea." 

You ignored him, unwrapping the cord. "Don't move your hands." You muttered to Mush, not wanting the men to know he was free. 

Mush inclined his head ever so slightly, and you rubbed his wrists gently to hopefully help with the biting sting from the rope. 

"When we get the chance, we need to run." You whispered softly to Mush. "Before Peggy and Blink stumble into them." 

He nodded again. "Be ready."