A/N: Alright! Long time no see lovely people :)
Thank you for reviewing the previous chapter! I hope you are enjoying reading this story as much as I am enjoying writing it for you guys! :3
Disclaimer: I do not own GMW otherwise Maya would be kicking asses for real.
Billy leaned against his horse tiredly, keeping watch on the horizon for any possible riders in the night. And any possible riders who could very well be affiliated with Jed. They'd already had a couple false alarms and close calls, so they could never be too cautious. Especially now that they were bordering on the outskirts of their town. No doubt Jed would have people ready and waiting to capture them if they weren't careful sneaking around.
"You okay there, Katy?" Billy hiss whispered in that way one did when trying to stay quiet but be heard at the same time.
"Yeah." She called back from behind a tree, "I just wish these leaves weren't so prickly. What I wouldn't give for a real toilet right now…"
Billy chuckled, "Well, we're almost back."
Katy sighed as she walked out from behind the tree, buttoning the slacks they'd managed to snag for her at an abandoned campfire. She approached Billy, her expression a little perturbed.
"Billy, Jed's men are all over the place. Where are we even going to stay?"
"The Matthews' home." He responded, stretching his arms above his head to prepare for the ride back.
Katy frowned in concern. "But don't you think that's the first place they'll check for Maya?"
"The Matthews have already skipped town. The house has probably already been ransacked and searched so no one will think to look there now."
"Hiding in plain sight."
"Right." He nodded. "Plus their home is on the outskirts of town square, so less of Jed's men will be in the area, thus giving us time to prepare for the final step of our plan."
"Alright." Katy said with a smile, preparing to mount her steed, "I'm hoping you're right."
Billy placed his foot into the stirrup, intending to climb atop his horse, and then he heard it:
A low snarl behind them.
A dangerous growl accompanied by the heavy pants of a beast.
A coyote.
Billy sucked in a sharp breath and spun around, plastering himself to his horse, his eyes wide and heart racing wildly in his chest.
"K-Katy!"
"I see it…" she muttered, head turned backwards to stare at the feral animal. "Don't make any sudden movements."
"What the fuck do we do?!" he shouted, feeling every muscle in his body tighten to the point where he was unable to move even the slightest bit. He was gripped by his fear, paralyzed.
"Keep quiet!" Katy hissed, gasping a bit when the coyote took a couple ominous steps in her direction. "The louder you are the more likely it will attack."
"It's frothing at the mouth!" Billy said anxiously, his hands shaking.
"It is not frothing!" Katy snapped him a glare. "You need to snap out of it, Billy. I have a plan, but I need your help. Can you move?"
"I-I…" But he felt stiff and helpless, unable to do anything but blink widely in shock.
His heart was racing wildly in his chest, and his ears were blaring with internal sirens. The coyote took another step closer to Katy, snapping its jaws menacingly a couple times.
"Billy! You need to snap out of it!" Katy said earnestly, "Listen to me, okay? I'm going to distract it so it comes at me. I need you to attack it with one of your knives once it's distracted."
"Katy, I can't do that! And you can't put yourself in danger like that!"
"We don't have a goddamned choice!" she asserted, "This is happening. So either get on board, or you're going to have to explain to Maya why you let her mother get eaten alive by a coyote."
"I don't know what to do!" Billy took a few shallow breaths. No good. His breathing was getting worse. He was very quickly starting to hyperventilate. "I-I want to help, but I can't!"
Katy closed her eyes momentarily. "You're a master at throwing knives. So close your eyes. And once I distract it, hit it."
"Are you crazy woman?!" Billy said, his voice squeaking temporarily, "Do you know at what speed I have to throw these in order for them to hit a target that forcefully?! What if I miss?"
"Then you'll have to explain to Maya how you managed to hit me instead."
"Katy stop joking!"
"Billy. I believe in you. Now believe in yourself." Katy said, "Close your eyes and take a leap of faith."
"Katy…"
"Close your eyes."
Billy took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to ignore the growling and barking of the coyote in front of them.
"I'll count to five and then I'll make the distraction."
"Okay."
"One… Two…"
And then Billy heard Katy's heavy stomps as she dropped her foot from the stirrup and took off running. He heard a loud snarl and the bounding of paws on land, clearly chasing after Katy.
"You said five!"
"Billy, he's right on my tail!" she shouted urgently from a slight distance. "Throw the fucking knives! Billy, throw the knife!"
He didn't think about it. He didn't wait to deliberate. He didn't even try to calculate the distance.
Billy heard the barking of the coyote, slipped his hand in his holster, snatched out two knives and threw them as hard as he could in that direction. He heard the whistling of the knives through the air, heard their abrupt stop, heard the whimper of the coyote, and then a thud.
Shaking slightly, Billy slowly opened his eyes and looked in that direction. Katy was leaning over the dead coyote, tugging out the knives he'd thrown from its head. She straightened and walked back over to him, wiping the blood off on her soiled bed robe.
"See? That wasn't so bad now was it?" Katy chuckled, handing him his knives.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again!" he shouted, his hands still shaking slightly, "Do you know how terrifying that was?!"
"Yes." Katy had an ear splitting grin on her lips. "Which is exactly why I did it. Fear is the best medicine."
"I'm pretty sure that is not how the saying goes." Billy frowned, slipping the knives back into his holster.
"Regardless," Katy got her foot in her stirrup and mounted the horse with a slight grunt, the process a little difficult because of her one unusable arm. "You did well. I'm proud of ya, kid."
"What the hell is wrong with you and your daughter?" Billy muttered, climbing onto his horse as well, "I swear you two are the craziest motherfucking people I have ever met in my life…"
"Thank you." Katy grinned, "I guess it runs in the family."
Billy rolled his eyes, the adrenaline pulsing through his veins finally subsiding, but leaving him more tired than ever and feeling like he'd just experienced an entire lifetime in just a few short minutes.
"Let's just go before we get caught by any other coyotes."
They hit the reins on the horses, galloping quickly toward the Matthews' home to get to some safety. Billy's knives weren't particularly loud, per se, but the whistling sound they made as the knives pierced through the air tended to echo or carry distances on occasion. There could very well have been someone who heard it and was on their way to investigate it. Or other wild animals interested in finding dinner. Which was all the more reason why they had to hurry up.
The ride to the Matthews' home wasn't a particularly long one, and Billy let out a sigh of relief when he was pleased to find that it was still darkened, deserted and the door was still ajar, left as it had been since they escaped a few days ago. He had made the right decision. This was the perfect hiding spot.
"Where do we put the horses?" Katy asked.
"We'll leave them at the side of the house." He responded. "They shouldn't be in plain sight."
She nodded and they slowed their horses to a walk, bringing them to the side of the estate and stopping them. Billy hopped off of his horse and then helped Katy to climb off, carefully making sure her arm wasn't jolted roughly in the process.
"Thank you, hun." She said gratefully, a little wobbly on her feet. "A little support would be nice too. I don't know if my body can move anymore."
He didn't blame her. They'd been awake for several days at this point with no rest and no food and aside from the obvious bath they desperately needed, they were haggard and tired and sore from riding so long out of the canyon and back to their town.
He wrapped her good arm behind his neck and stooped to her level, giving her support as they slowly trudged their way to the front doors of the home. Billy desperately wanted to sleep, but he knew that there would be no time for rest until he knew for sure that Missy was fine. He had to push through, no matter how exhausted his limbs were or how tired he was or how much sleep his body was craving and consistently demanding.
He carefully helped Katy through the threshold of the door, and slowly past the foyer. They dragged their feet to the parlor, and Billy gently helped her seat herself on a plush couch. She settled herself with a tired groan, giving Billy a grateful smile. The room was only illuminated by a bit of moonlight seeping in through the window, but it was enough that they could somewhat see.
As Billy straightened, a gun cocked from behind him in the shadows of the room next to the parlor. He stiffened and froze, slowly putting his arms up to show he meant no harm.
"Look, I don't know who you are, but we're two lowly merchants looking for a place to rest from escorting our cargo." Billy stated, utilizing the line he crafted if they were questioned on who they were near any towns they'd passed.
"Billy?"
The gun uncocked, and Billy turned around in surprise at the familiar voice. Lucas stepped out of the shadows with a candle, holstering his pistol with an elated smile on his face. Well, as much of an elated smile as Lucas sported. Which was really nothing but a small upward quirk of one side of his mouth. Lucas had a few scratches on his neck and one running across his cheek, but he otherwise looked fine.
"Lucas!" Billy exclaimed, clasping his arms around him and clapping him on the back happily. "You're alive."
"Yeah. Good to know you are too." Lucas said with a smile.
"Mama?"
There was a creak on the floorboards as Maya walked out of the shadows as well, hobbling unsteadily with a cane.
Katy sighed in relief.
"Maya, you're o… kay…?"
And Billy froze as he and Katy took in Maya's current state.
Her nose was a little swollen, and she had a small purple bruise under an eye. She was favouring her bandaged leg pretty heavily, utilizing the cane to even walk. But worst was her right hand, puffy, red, and rigid and looking like it had been severely injured and most likely infected. Billy glanced at Katy whose eyes had widened and whose face was starting to take on a dark look.
This couldn't be good.
"What the fuck did you do to my daughter?!"