-Chapter One-

"Sadie!"

Arthur jolted awake as Mary-Beth called out the woman's name. "Sadie!" Mary-Beth said, her voice hushed but pronounced. Arthur peered out from under his blanket, blinking harshly. The young woman paused by Arthur's tent, her body outlined in an orange haze from the dying campfire behind her. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and she stood in her nightgown. It was early in the morning; too early. The sun hadn't even peeked over the mountains yet.

She sounded worried. With an inward groan, Arthur tossed aside his blanket and sat up in his cot, swinging his bare feet to rest on the cold grass. "What's the matter?" he asked her, pulling a shirt out and buttoning it up.

Mary-Beth turned her head to give him some privacy as he dressed, her cheeks flushed. "Sadie. She's missing. She was so distraught last night - Karen convinced her to drink, maybe too much - and I think she's wandered off. Karen's passed out and not much help. And I'm pretty sure she went on foot."

"Mm," Arthur mumbled, pulling on his boots. The air was chilly. Spring was on their doorstep, but winter still lingered in the crisp morning air. He put on his hat and pulled on a jacket, then motioned for Mary-Beth to follow him. The two of them headed to the horses.

"Good mornin', Ole' Grumpy," Arthur said in a low voice to his horse, a tall brown horse speckled with spots. "Let's get you saddled up."

"Thank you, Arthur," Mary-Beth murmured.

"You best follow me." Arthur set the saddle on the horse and began buckling it tight. "If the lady's distraught, well, you're better at words. I'll saddle up Ali here. He's a bit new, but he'll do you fine."

Mary-Beth didn't argue, only nodded her head. She wrapped her blanket tighter around her shoulders and shivered. "She's been through so much, I just hope she's alright, you know?"

"I'm sure Mrs. Adler is survivin'," Arthur said. He patted Ole' Grumpy and saddled Ali quickly. Once Mary-Beth was on the horse, he followed suit and the two headed off toward Valentine.

A light mist started as they rode, putting a dour mood over Arthur. Not even the birds were awake. They'd been in this location for a few months now, ever since they escaped the snow and Pinkertons from the mountains. Valentine was a charming little town, though it only felt temporary to Arthur.

The whole gang had been restless and uptight ever since the Blackwater incident. They'd pick up Sadie Adler along the way, her husband recently murdered, and her a captive in her own home for who knows how long. She was a bitter and angry lady. Downright depressed, of course. Arthur had been silently waiting for her to explode. He guessed this was the start of it.

"This way," Arthur said, motioning toward Valentine. "I think she went into the town. Best we check the local bar. You said she'd been drinkin'?"

Marth-Beth pulled down her blanket over her hair, blocking out the rain. "She usually doesn't, but, yes. Karen was only tryin' to help but Sadie's not a happy drunk like Karen, that's for sure."

"Perhaps a drink ain't the answer she needs."

"I don't think so."

Arthur could hear the tiredness in Mary-Beth's voice. He had always wondered why she's stuck with the group, as her head was in the clouds most of the time, being a writer as well. Despite her reasonings, she had always pulled her weight. She'd been with the gang through thick and thin the past few years - she was a con artist with her hands, a master thief of unrivaled skill.

"Hold up," Arthur said, looking to the road in front of them. He had been following a certain set of footsteps, easy to do when the road was a pile of mud. The steps began to wander off the main road toward a small bridge. "This way."

The two of them went off road and he heard Mary-Beth take a sharp intake of breath, and a second later he saw why. He felt his stomach churn as he saw a form hanging from the underside of the bridge, arms spread apart, the head and legs missing. Innards dripped from the torso to the ground and the smell was fresh. Very fresh. He motioned for Mary-Beth to move back as he stepped off his horse. Even Ole' Grumpy was unsettled by the smell.

He looked around for the missing limbs, seeing an endless amount of blood as if the limbs had been dragged and thrown around. He avoided the hanging body, stepping around it while holding a hand to his face. Lord, it smelled.

"Arthur?" He looked up the bridge and saw Sadie standing behind a post, a paper in her hand, her face pale.

"Christ, Sadie, what are you doing here?" He said, moving to her side. He noticed the poor man's head by Sadie's feet.

"I was… needin' some air. I came across him," Sadie sputtered, her voice shaking. "This map was in the guy's… mouth."

"Whoever this sick creature is, we should get out of here." Arthur took off his jacket and placed it around Sadie's shoulders; she was only dressed in her nightgown and looked ready to collapse. "How drunk did you get to be wanderin' around by yourself?" He led her toward the horses where Mary-Beth waited.

"I can take care of myself," Sadie huffed, though her words were slightly slurred. "And it's not my fault he's dead-"

"I know that-"

"-and if only Karen hadn't challenged me to a drinking game, I'd be just fine!"

"Oh? And who won that one?"

"I… don't remember," Sadie said with a concerned look.

Mary-Beth stepped off her horse and hurried over. "Oh, Sadie! I was so worried." She grasped the woman in a tight hug. "I wasn't too sure if you had run, or been kidnapped, or-"

"Thank you, Mary-Beth," Sadie said, pulling out of the hug. "I'd like to go back now."

Arthur took that as his cue. "Here we go." He grabbed Sadie under the arms and lifted her to his horse, then quickly hopped on in front. Once Mary-Beth was situated, the three of them headed back to camp, their mood somber.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Sadie choked into Arthur's back as she held on. Before Arthur could protest, he heard her hack and he tried not to flinch as he felt something land on his side and leg.

"Oh my lord!" Mary-Beth said and reached out to catch Sadie as she began to slide.

"Shit," Arthur cursed and quickly caught her. As Sadie had been riding side saddle she was easy to pick up and swing to sit in front of him, awkward as it was. She was out cold. "Let's get back quick. Giddy-up!" Ole' Grumpy, one of his fastest horses, didn't let him down. Mary-Beth trailed behind him as they approached the camp.

He stopped the horse and hopped off, letting Sadie dangle before he was able to lift her off. Instead of taking her to the tent she shared with the other women, he took her to his tent, setting her down on the cot. She was a taller woman, though thin in stature and easy to carry. Her dress was covered in vomit, as were his own pants and shirt.

"Mary-Beth, would you mind cleanin' her and gettin' her settled in?" Arthur asked the young woman. "I'll go get cleaned up myself."

"Of course," Mary-Beth confirmed. She ran off towards the wash bin, most likely to grab a clean bucket and rag.

Arthur grabbed a change of clothing and headed to his horse, thinking he would head to the nearby river. It was early enough there shouldn't be any traffic and easy enough to find a secluded place to bathe. He usually spent the extra money and bathed in hotels when he could - the outlaw life did not allow a luxury such as a bath basin and privacy. So he made sure to treasure those baths when he could.

Ten minutes later he had found a spot and bathed as fast as he could. The water was biting cold, sending unbearable shivers up his legs. He rinsed out the clothing and set to drying and dressing himself. He supposed he could spend an hour hunting; it'd had been a bit since he had brought a deer back to camp.

An hour later, the sun was rising, warming the hillside blissfully. Arthur made it back to camp and unloaded the deer from his horse, careful not to get the blood on his fresh clothing. He left it for Pearson by his wagon, not bothering to skin it. It didn't have the best looking coat, but it was sufficient enough for food.

"Uncle Arthur!" Little Jack ran up to him, a wide smile on the child's face. He was up early, Arthur thought. Jack held a half eaten piece of a chocolate bar in his hand. "I saved this for you!"

"Good mornin' to you too!" Arthur laughed, grabbing the chocolate from him. "What's this for?"

The boy had chocolate smeared across one cheek. "Mama said to give you somethin' 'cause you got me that book!"

"Why, thank you!" Arthur grabbed a hanky he kept in his pocket and wiped off Jack's cheek who struggled against it. "You wanna stay clean else your mama is gonna get angry with you."

Jack stuck a tongue out at him, broke away and ran off, giggling as he did so. Arthur had only managed to wipe half the chocolate off. "Hey, let's go fishin' again sometime, Jack!" Arthur called out after him.

"Okay!"

Arthur chuckled to himself as he went to the campfire, intending to get coffee. It was still early and people were mostly still asleep, though Mrs. Grimshaw was beginning her usual set of chores. He noticed Mary-Beth still sitting by Sadie's side and changed course.

"Mary-Beth," Arthur said quietly as he put a hand on her shoulder. She was sitting in a chair, falling asleep, her head rolling to one side. "You head off to bed now, okay? You took good care of Sadie. Get some sleep before the camp completely wakes up."

Mary-Beth blinked blearily in affirmation and made her way to her own tent. Arthur gave one more look over Sadie - a bit pale, but cleaned and resting peacefully - and went to grab his coffee. He said a few greetings to Charles, grabbed his coffee, then settled down in the chair at his tent. He took the quiet time to write in his journal, documenting the body they had found near Valentine.

His thoughts were interrupted by loud voices belonging to John and Abigail. With a sigh he set aside his journal and his nearly empty coffee cup, and made his way towards the commotion.

John stood in front of his tent, his scarred face angry. It had been several months since John had suffered a wolf attack, leaving his face injured. It was nearly healed over, save for some lingering redness around the marks.

John's face darkened even more once he saw Arthur. "And here he is! The man himself! The hero!"

"What's gettin' you all uptight?" Arthur demanded at the surprising attitude. He saw Abigail sitting inside their tent, her face buried in her hands.

John stormed up to him. "Talkin' about you, endangering my son-"

"The Pinkerton?"

"-Taking my son on a fishing trip-"

Arthur stood up taller, clenching his fists, trying to quell his anger. "You haven't been there for him-"

"He's my son! Not yours! You want to know what Jack said to Abigail last night?" John looked to his wife and to Arthur, his face desperate. "He wished you were his daddy. Not me."

Arthur took a deep breath, not knowing how to respond, but the anger kept rising in him. He took another deep breath before he spoke. "How come you care now, John?"

John's dark eyes flashed. "I'm here now, ain't I?"

"You were gone for a year!" Arthur roared. He pointed a finger at the man. "A year! We didn't know if you was comin' back! And why the sudden change of heart?" Arthur took a step back and crossed his arms. "You refused to say he was your son for the longest time."

The smaller man bit his lip. "I'm tryin' to change that."

By now, the camp had woken up and all eyes were on them. But Arthur wasn't done with him. "You want to know somethin', John?" he asked, his tone quiet but heated. "I was gonna marry Abigail. We talked about it while you was gone, because I was more a daddy than you ever was!"

"You were no better than I was! Look at Eliza and Isaac-" John halted as Arthur blindly unleashed a fist against his face, sending John sprawling to the ground.

Someone was holding him back, holding his clenched fist away from John. He shrugged them off. He stood over John, who held his cheek as he lay on the ground, guilt written all over his face "Abigail still chose you," Arthur spat. "Jack needs time to get to know you. Instead of sayin' you're his father, act like it." He turned on his heel and stomped off, ignoring Hosea who followed him. He took notice of Dutch standing a bit of a distance away, a cigar in his hand. He looked upset. Arthur didn't care at that moment. He stopped by his tent - Sadie had woken and left during the fight - and began pulling together his pack.

"Where are you going?" Hosea asked.

"Huntin."

Hosea nodded after a moment of watching Arthur throw his clothing into his pack. "Take care, son." Hosea knew better than to argue with Arthur when he was angry. He patted Arthur on the shoulder and walked away.

Arthur was fuming inside. He hadn't thought of Eliza and Isaac in years, or at least he hadn't tried to. Not everyone knew the story about them - Arthur had only entrusted it to several people. John had been one of them and he had turned around and blurted it out -

Arthur huffed, pausing his flurry of packing. He would be level headed about this. He had to be if he wanted to be smart about it.

A paper on his table caught his eye and he opened it slowly. It was the piece of the map they had pulled from the head this morning. There. Something to do. He could hunt for this place - he swore it looked familiar - and he would find what the map was leading to. He stuffed the map in his satchel. He headed out into the forest, taking one last look at the group. Everybody moved around slowly, trying to keep their eyes on themselves.

It wasn't news that Arthur and John had fought. Ever since John had left, Arthur had been struggling to forgive him. And this fight had pushed it.

He whistled for his horse to follow. Ole' Grumpy was still saddled and ready to go, neighing happily as she reached his side. He patted her head lovinging and got on. He traveled to the main road without much thought, headed toward the town of Strawberry. It was the only place he could think of to start his search.

An hour after traveling, he heard a horse gallop up behind him and slow down. He stopped his horse.

"Arthur," Sadie greeted him. She had her blond hair tied back, and rather than her usual clothing, she was dressed in a yellow cotton shirt and dark brown pants. The shirt was large and loose on her, as were the pants, which were held up by suspenders. Her face was grim and ghostly pale.

"Mrs. Adler." Arthur lightly clicked his tongue to let Ole' Grumpy know to start moving again.

"I wanna go with you. I saw you eyein' that map."

Arthur had been smoking a cigarette when she approached. He took a long drag and flicked the cigarette butt away, blowing out the smoke slowly. "I'm in a sour mood, I'll have you know."

"I understand. Let me come."

"How are you not hungover?" Arthur shook his head. "You were only just pukin' your guts out this mornin'! On me! And Ole' Grumpy here."

"Oh I am sufferin' the biggest headache right now." Sadie pulled her hat farther down. "I need a breather, Arthur. You keep to yourself, I keep to myself. We both have demons to deal with right now, I feel."

"Fair point, Mrs. Adler. Off we go, then."