Chapter 7-Meeting the Gang
Colt and Arthur rode back towards camp. Colt turns and looks at Arthur. "Arthur, you can't tell anybody about them. Not Dutch, not Hosea. Nobody can know," Colt tells his brother, who nods.
"I won't. I promise," Arthur tells his brother, who nods as they go into the woods towards camp.
"Who's there?" The big man asks.
"It's Arthur and Colt Bill," Arthur says. They ride into camp and get off their horses before they hitch them. Dutch walks over to them.
"How was your trip, boys?" Dutch asks.
"Good Dutch. He showed me around, Valentine," Arthur says. Dutch nods and looks at Colt.
"We have set up a tent for you behind Abigail's if you want it," Dutch tells him.
"Thank you, Dutch," Colt tells the man. Dutch nods as he walks towards his sent.
"Abigail, could you show Colt to his tent?" Dutch asks Abigail, who nods.
"Come with me, Mr. Morgan," Abigail says. Colt nods as he follows Abigail to her tent. He looks at the small boy.
"Who's son is that?" Colt asks her.
"Mine," Abigail says. "His father is useless. He's the guy with the scars on his face," Colt nods. "You should be able to meet everybody pretty soon," Abigail stops in front of a smaller tent. "I hope this works for you,"
"It will do just fine. Thank you," Colt says to her. She nods as she walks away. Colt sits down and lays back for a moment before he hears footsteps in front of him. He opens one eye and looks up at the man Arthur described as Charles Smith. "Mr. Smith. How can I help you?"
"Just thought I would introduce myself. I'm assuming Arthur told you who I was," Charles says.
"Yeah," Colt says as he stands. "He said you didn't like Strauss's loan sharking," Charles nods.
"Yeah, come on, I can introduce you to the rest of the gang," Charles says. Colt nods as he stands up and follows Charles. Charles leads him over to Javier first. "I know you two kind of met. But this is better. Javier, meet Colt," Javier stands up and holds his hand out to Colt. Colt shakes his hand.
"Sorry about earlier," Javier says.
"You were protecting your friends. I won't blame you for that," Colt says. Javier nods as he lets Colt's hand go.
"Come on," Charles says as he leads Colt away. They walk up to an older man who Colt recognizes as Hosea.
"Mr. Morgan," Hosea says.
"Mr. Matthews," Colt says.
"Mrs. Alder has become better since you have arrived. It hasn't been easy for her. Poor woman," Hosea says.
"Sadie's a fighter. She'll be okay. I first met her fighting wolves," Colt tells Hosea, who smiles.
"I don't doubt that, Colt," Hosea says with a small chuckle. Colt slowly goes around the camp meeting, everybody. He met Mary-Beth, who was a sweet girl. Tilly Jackson was a tough girl. He met Miss Grimshaw, the woman in charge of the chores around camp, and Colt wouldn't lie. She scared the hell out of him. There was Mr. Pearson, the camp cook, and Colt could tell that Sadie didn't like him. He met Reverent Swanson, a drunk of the camp. There was Uncle, the parasite of the camp. Molly O'Shea. He met John Marston, Jack's dad, and he met Jack. He also met Karen Jones and Bill. Colt walks past Pearson.
"Mr. Morgan," Pearson says. Colt turns and looks at him. "Do you know somewhere we can get some meat? We need to finish camp and could use the help,"
"Do you have a wagon?" Colt asks.
"Yes," Pearson says.
"I know a guy, a friend of mine. I'll get the horses on the wagon, and I'll be back in a few hours," Colt says.
"Let me get you the money," Pearson says.
"I'll pay," Colt tells him as he goes to the horses and starts to hook them up to the wagon.
"Mr. Morgan," Abigail says as she comes up to Colt. "I heard you and Pearson. Would you mind if Jack and I came along? I could use some things from the store, and Jack could use some fresh air," Abigail says.
"Sure," Colt says. Abigail nods as she goes to get Jack. Colt sits in the wagon as Abigail comes over. She sits down by Colt and helps Jack in. Colt makes the horses start to move as they head out of camp. Colt looked back at Jack, who was reading a book.
"He plays by himself a lot. He doesn't have any friends his own age," Abigail says.
"I might be able to help with that," Colt tells her. Abigail looks at him for a moment before she looks forward. Colt gets to Valentine. He stops beside his house and climbs out.
"This is where your guy lives?" Abigail asks.
"No, grab Jack and follow me," Colt says. Abigail climbs into the back of the wagon and grabs Jack. She picks her son up and follows Colt to the door. Colt opens the door and walks in. Emily looks at him.
"Who did you bring this time?" Emily asks him. Colt smiles as Emily looks at Abigail.
"Emily, meet Abigail. They asked me to get some food and hide for the gang. This is her son Jack, and she mentioned that he didn't have many friends. Where are Walker and Lydia?" Colt asks.
"In their room. I'll show you," Emily says to Abigail.
"I'll be back in a little bit," Colt tells Abigail, who nods as he walks out the door. Colt gets on his wagon and goes down to Cripps, who looks at him.
"What are you doing here?" Cripps asks.
"I joined the Van Der Linde gang so that I could help them, and they need meat, so I thought I would buy some from you," Colt explains to Cripps, who nods.
"Okay," Cripps says. "How much meat?" Cripps asks.
"For 24 people," Colt says.
"Jesus, Colt. You'll have to pay for it," Cripps says. Colt nods as he helps Cripps load the meat onto the wagon. Cripps looks at him after they are done. "You know what you are doing right, son?"
"I'm good, Cripps," Colt tells him. Cripps nods.
"$100," Cripps says. Colt nods as he pulls the money out and gives it to Cripps before he climbs back into the wagon and waves to Cripps before he leaves. It took them about an hour and a half to load all the meat up. Colt stops outside his house and walks to the door. He walks inside and sees Abigail and Emily talking. They look at him.
"Are we ready to go back?" Abigail asks. Colt nods. "The kids fell asleep about five minutes ago," Colt nods as Abigail grabs Jack off the couch. "Thank you for the tea Emily," Abigail says. Emily nods as they leave the house.
"We can go to the store still," Colt says.
"It can wait," Abigail tells him. Colt nods as the horses start to move.
Camp
The sun was setting as they stopped the wagon inside the camp. Dutch walks over to him. Dutch looks at the meat. "This will be a huge help. Thank you, Colt. When we get the money, we'll pay you back," Dutch says.
"It's okay, Dutch. All I ask is that I can go to sleep," Colt says.
"Go rest, Mr. Morgan," Dutch says. Colt nods as he walks to his tent. He lays down and closes his eyes.
It has been a week since I last posted on any of my stories, but I am back now. I don't have much to say in this chapter. I do have a question. What do you guys think about Colt and Abigail? I kind of like it, so let me know. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.