June 6th, 1899

Horseshoe Overlook, New Hanover

It started like any other day. Well, that's not entirely true. It was a lot more peaceful now that Micah wasn't bitching and moaning anymore. And I felt lighter than air after my night with Mary-Beth. In fact, I felt like nothing could ruin the day for me. And boy was I wrong about that.

I did my usual morning routine as usual. But because Micah wasn't there anymore and because of the incredible night I had, I was just so happy to do everything. I had a stupid grin on my face throughout the morning. Everyone was noticing just how happy I was looking. Arthur said to me:

"Well look at you, Thomas. You look as if you just found yourself either a lost treasure or just collected a whole lot of cash from a bounty."

"Let's just say that I had some private riding lessons."

He immediately knew what I meant and said:

"I can see that enjoyed your "lesson" from the very lovely Mary-Beth."

"I did."

"Well, good for you, Thomas."

"Thanks Arthur. Before I get back to my routine, I have a question for you."

"Sure. What is it, Thomas?"

"You ever think about Mary? Mary Linton, I mean?

He looked at me stunned. Like he wasn't expecting that. Least of all from me. He asked me:

"How do you know about Mary Linton?"

"I overheard one of the girls talking about her and I was curious. I'm sorry if that's a sore subject."

"It's fine, Thomas. But to answer your question, I do think about her. Not every day but enough for me that I do miss her and what we had."

"Do you think that she would have ever followed you in this life?"

"As an outlaw? No way. She was too honest for this kind of life. She'd never settle for a life on the run from the law."

"You're probably right. But what would you do if something happened to her and she needed help? Like what if she lost her home and everything she owned? What would you do then?"

"I'm not sure, Thomas. Of course I'd help her. But I just don't how I'd be able to do that."

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Thanks for being honest, Arthur."

"No problem, Thomas. And thanks for asking. It feels good to talk about it."

As I continued with my daily routine, I realized that a couple of the gang members weren't around. I noticed that Charles, Lenny, Jenny, Kieran, and Tilly were no where to be seen. So I asked John where they were. He said to me:

"They went into town. Wanted to know if there was anymore work that we could use."

"Any special work in particular that Dutch wants us to do?"

"Nothing really. Just the usual. Rob banks, stagecoaches, trains. Steal livestock and sell them to auctions as our own. Anything really."

Then I remembered that there was one thing that hadn't happened yet. Arthur hadn't taken little Jack fishing yet. And I figured that the Pinkertons wouldn't be around this time since they would still be looking for Micah or any trail, he may have left for them. So I said to John:

"Hey John. Have you ever thought about taking Jack fishing?"

"Actually, no. I hadn't thought about that. You really think he would go for it? And do you think that he'd want me to take him?"

"Why not? I'm sure he'd be happy to get away from the camp for a while. The river's not far and you can always take Ace with you."

John looked like he was still contemplating the decision. So I continued.

"If It makes you feel any better, you can always take Arthur with you as well."

He looked at me like I had 3 eyes on my face. He said to me:

"Why would I want to take Arthur Morgan fishing with me and my son? He's made It very clear that he still has a grudge on me."

"Think of it as an opportunity to start over with your relationship with each other. I'm sure there's something that you two could bond over. If nothing else, do it for Jack. I'm sure he would love to have a fishing trip with his father and uncle. Who knows? Maybe might give you some swimming lessons."

"Oh very funny, Thomas. But you make a very good point. Maybe this is something that Arthur and I can do together. But how can I get Arthur to come with us?"

"Leave that to me. You just go get Jack and Ace. Just give me 10 minutes and you'll be on your way."

"All right. And Thomas? Thank you."

"Happy to help, John."

So I walked over to Arthur and asked him if he would like to go fishing with Jack and John. He wasn't too thrilled at the idea of spending some time with John but when I told him that this was an opportunity for them to start over again, he gave it some thought. He said yes after I told him that he ever needed someone to do him a favor, I told him that I would do it. No matter what it was.

So Arthur headed for his horse, Boudicca, while John and Jack headed towards Old Boy. (Not a name I would choose for a horse but that's just me).

Ace followed them out of the camp when Jack called him. Buck wanted to come as well, so they let him. It was good that the wolf pups were going out more. Soon enough, they'd be old enough to go hunting with us. And not just for animals. I'm training them to be guard dogs, trackers and loyal companions.

The fishing trip didn't go as I would have hoped but I'll explain that after I tell you what happened next.

So throughout the day, I stayed in the camp with everyone else. After everything I've been through, I just wanted to relax and take it easy. And there's nothing more relaxing than playing games and telling stories with the people you love. I mostly played blackjack and poker with the guys while listening to stories from Hosea, Dutch and Pearson. Of course Uncle had a few stories of his own, but they sounded like something out of a dime novel, so I didn't really pay attention to his stories.

I didn't realize it, but at this point, it was the calm before the storm. And things were about to get bad.

Around 3:00 PM, we all heard the sound of heavy hoof beats coming towards the camp. They were coming in so fast that they flew right past Bill and Sean. Since they didn't announce themselves, everyone was getting their weapons ready for whoever it was.

Fortunately, we realized that it was Kieran and Jenny riding on Branwen. He was also accompanied with the horses, Taima, Maggie and Hero. But that's when I realized something was wrong. If Kieran and Jenny were here, then where were the others? Why had only he and Jenny returned with the other horses? And why were they in such a rush to get here? I was about to get my answer and I wasn't going to like it.

Kieran got off of Branwen and was carrying Jenny into her tent. She was unconscious and looked like she had been in a fight. After Kieran laid her in bed, he said that he would tell us what happened after he had something to drink. Mr. Pearson gave him a mug of ale. After washing it down, Kieran told us what happened.

After they had went looking for work in Valentine, Kieran, Jenny, Lenny, Charles and Tilly were heading back to the camp. After about a mile or two from Valentine, they were ambushed. At first, they thought that they were being attacked by O'Driscolls, but soon realized that their attackers were all wearing white. Even their faces were covered. Their attackers were wearing pointed hoods.

I immediately knew who Kieran was talking about. The Ku Klux Klan. Just thinking about those racist mother fuckers was enough to make my blood boil.

Kieran continued. It was obvious that they didn't want to kill them. Otherwise they would have just shot their horses and then shoot them while they were down. No, they wanted to capture them alive. Th shooters from the distance were just to distract them from the bastards who were sneaking up behind them and knock them out.

Lenny and Tilly were easier to take down because they weren't as big as Charles. Charles wrestled with his attackers but even he was overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. Jenny and Kieran tried to save them, but they were also trying to not get shot from the attackers in the woods.

Jenny charged at the men as they were putting Lenny on the back of his horse like he was some dead animal. She charged at them with a knife in her hand and I was suddenly remembering what happened to poor Luisa Fortuna from the first Red Dead Redemption game. Fortunately, she didn't meet the same fate as her. As the cock sucker only backhanded her as she was getting closer to him. They then punched her until she was out like a light. As soon as Kieran saw this, he ran over to get her and carried her away from them. When they tried to grab him, he shot them with his sawed-off shotgun. He placed her on Branwen and shouted at the KKK:

"YOU FUCKERS AREN'T GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THIS! MARK MY WORDS! WE WILL DESTROY YOU FOR THIS!"

The bastards only laughed and said:

"We'd like to see you try and stop us, traitor!"

They called him a traitor because he wasn't what they thought of as "true Americans". The fact that he was friends with people of different races made him look like a traitor in their eyes. I guess all of us would be considered traitors by those racist pricks. He then told us that he called the other horses to follow him and the rest was history.

Everyone was just in complete and utter shock from everything they've heard. Dutch and Hosea just couldn't believe that members of their gang/family had just been kidnapped by a supreme racist group. For many, Charles was a pillar of strength and wisdom. Lenny was a little brother to many people and Tilly was always a joy to be around.

You know how people should never say "At least things can't get any worse or what else can go wrong"? Well you're about to learn why you should never say that.

Because right after that Arthur, John, Jack and the wolves were riding into the camp. At first, I thought they were going to tell us that their fishing trip went smoothly. But it turns out that I was wrong. Not about them having a good time. They all had a wonderful time fishing. And they caught some fish. Even Ace and Buck had some salmon in their mouths.

But I was wrong about the Pinkertons. It turns out that they had a general idea of where we were after our little fiasco in Valentine. And they hoping to find another trail left by Micah. Fortunately, I took care of one of those problems. But it looked like I was going to have deal with the Pinkertons sooner than I was hoping to. Arthur told us what happened.

The Pinkertons saw John and Arthur showing Jack how to fish when they approached them. They wanted to know where the rest of the gang was, but John told them that they left the gang after a heist went wrong and a lot of people in the gang died. He knew they wouldn't believe him, but he had to come up with something to throw them off our trail. Ace and Buck were growling at them when they tried to get closer. They backed off a little but told Jack that he better not let wolves out of his sight, or he might have new coats instead of pets. Arthur and John didn't leave until they were sure that the Pinkertons were gone. Before returning to camp, they went in different directions to confuse them, just in case.

So on top of Charles, Lenny and Tilly being held hostage by the KKK, now we have the Pinkertons to worry about. It was a lot to take in at once. Everyone was getting freaked out and scared. Everyone was looking to Dutch and Hosea for answers, but it looked like they were still trying to figure out what they should do. So I decided that I had to come up with a plan this time. So I went over to Dutch and said:

"Dutch, I know you usually have a plan, but I think I know what we should do."

"Do you, Thomas? What do you think we should do?"

So I asked everyone to come over to the camp table. Once everyone was there, I unfolded a map that I bought over at Valentine. And throughout my travels, I've been marking down areas that would be ideal places to make camp if we had to be on the move again. Including Clemens Point (which was my favorite campsite in the entire game). I think everyone else was just more impressed with how detailed my map was. (The reason it took me so long to finish the game was because I wanted to do everything and explore everywhere in the game). So I said to everyone:

"Well, first things first. We're getting the others back. We're not going to leave them to die or be sold as slaves. So I'll head back to where the ambush was and hopefully, we'll find something or someone who will lead us to the rest of the bastards."

Hosea said to me:

"Are you sure that's wise, Thomas? There will most likely still be men there expecting us."

"I know. And I'm counting on that. But they'll be expecting at least one of us to return. Which is why I'll need some volunteers to come with me. I don't need everyone for this part of the plan, but I could use maybe 5 people at most."

Kieran was the first one to volunteer. He felt bad for not being able to save them before. So of course I let him come with me. Everyone wanted to come but I decided that it would be me, Kieran, Arthur, John and Dutch.

While we would head for the ambush site for clues, Hosea would have everyone pack up everything and be ready to go when we got back with the others. Once we knew where the others were, Dutch would return to the camp and get the rest of our fighters and bring them in once we made our move against these mother fuckers. Once we returned with everyone, we would leave for Clemens Point.

Dutch was very quiet while I was explaining the plan. But after I explained everything, he said to me:

"That's one hell of a plan, Thomas. Think you can pull it off, son?"

"You can count on me, Dutch."

"Good man. Now let's go find these bastards and get our people back!"

The five of us headed for our horses. Meanwhile, Hosea, Susan and Meanwhile, Hosea, Susan and Simon were busy getting everyone packing and getting them ready to go. I saw Mary-Beth grabbing White Fang and putting him in a wagon with the rest of the wolves. I looked at Mary-Beth in a way that told her not to worry about me. She nodded. I knew she would still be worried but at least she felt more reassured. Molly and Abigail said their loves and worries to Dutch and John. I felt bad that neither Arthur nor Kieran had anyone to wish them well. But I couldn't think about that right now. We had friends to save. Dutch said to us:

"Let's ride, boys! Hyah!"