The price of Redemption
As he laid there, cold and beaten, waiting for the sun to rise, Arthur Morgan felt maybe for the first time in his life at peace, he was ready to accept his fate. But as soon as he was ready to succumb to his suffering the sun rose over the expansive and beautiful horizon and brought warmth to everything it touched. As the golden rays crept over his battered body something strange happened, a strange feeling crept over him. As soon as he thought he would be dead; he could, for the first time in weeks, breathe without discomfort.
"What is happening" he whimpered, his lungs and body still felt battered and broken but he didn't feel like he was dying anymore.
After watching the sun rise for what felt like hours, he found the strength to pull himself up against the wall of the crevice he and Micah had fallen into a short while before and proceeded to agonizingly walk down and towards the tree line. As he reached the first of the hundreds of trees before him he slumped against one.
"How on earth am I gonna get to John and Sadie, ah shit what about Charles?" he said out loud, the thought of his friends rushed through his head and even worse, the thought of Dutch. "Dutch, how could you believe Micah" growled Arthur angrily. As he scanned the area looking for any sort way out, he noticed something, towering above the trees, at the top of a hill he could see a black silhouette. Fearing it was the Pinkertons he made a decision to keep walking, every step was agony, he had his hand firmly glued to his side to try and cope.
As Arthur reached the road, he ducked and hid between some bushes, for now he would have to wait; as he sat there, he planned on how he was going to deal with Micah. Dutch and Hosea had taught him revenge was fools' game but the camp rules where clear, traitors needed to be dealt with. A counter thought went through his head, the enlightened view he had gained over the last few weeks, thinking he was going to die had also changed his view. He had told Charles as much after his conversations with Rains Fall, this made him think deeper and he made his choice.
'I could kill that bastard a thousand times' he thought. A bang suddenly shook Arthur out of his reviver, he turned to look at the road, a stage coach was being robbed by a single gunman. Without thinking Arthur pulled his knife from his pocket and lunged at the man, pulling him from his horse and jamming the blade to his throat.
"You better run boy, or I'm gonna give you some nasty scar's" growled Arthur, the young man looked barely eighteen.
"Of course sir, sorry sir" he managed to get out, his face had gone pale white and all of his clothes had been caked in mud. As soon as Arthur let go of him he climbed back onto his horse and galloped off into the distance.
"Thank you kindly sir" said the man sitting on the stage coach, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Don't worry about it" Arthur said with a hint of sarcasm.
"What ever can I do to repay you sir, money? A free ride perhaps?" replied the man, a smile crept across Arthurs face.
"Could I possibly get a ride please sir? Copperhead landing if it ain't too much trouble" asked Arthur
"For saving my life that is the least I can do!" cried the man "Climb on board sir" Arthur didn't need telling twice, he climbed in and almost instantly as his head rested on the window he was asleep.
