Hey y'all, and welcome back! I've had some time off to start another SYOC but man it's so good to be back with this – I've missed it so much and it's surprising how easy it is to slide back into the saddle.
Now, you all know me – I don't have many rules for my readers – reviews and whatever don't affect whether I use your character. BUT, that being said, I'm going to introduce one rule…
Please don't give away details about your characters in reviews. I understand if you want to defend your character's actions or explain why a character may or may not do something, but I'm asking you to trust me as the writer to reveal all of this in time. If it's not clear why a character has done something, trust that it will be in time. This is purely because if I've planned out my story to reveal something at the end, and a creator does it at the start… well, I might as well throw out the storyline and start again.
Anyway, I know you didn't come here to listen to me bang on about rules – you want to see our lovable rulebreakers. Enjoy this tasty chapter.
Roanoke Ridge, New Hanover
7th September, 1907
Sam fell onto the thick planks wooden floor with a thud, rubbing the side of his head as he groaned. The train rumbled through the forest, whistling as Sam touched his temples and found blood on his fingertips.
"You alright, Sam?" Luca shouted from his horse, Caesar, as he galloped alongside.
"I'm fine!" Sam shouted back.
"Aiden! You look after him, you hear?"
Sam looked over to see the stocky Aiden gripping a double-barrelled rifle in his left hand as he grabbed Sam by the shirt, hoisting him to his feet. "Alright, Sam, you just put your feet up, let the rest of us do all the work…"
Aiden pulled Sam along the bed, quickly throwing Sam behind a crate as a guard appeared in one of the carriages, firing his rifle at them. "You see him?" Aiden asked as he flinched at the metal clanging with a bullet.
"Is it just one?"
"Chrissake…" Aiden muttered from behind his red-and-gold bandana as he loaded a couple of shells into his shotgun. "You really are something, ain't ya?"
"Where's Jay?" Sam muttered.
"Probably doing more than you…" Aiden cocked back the hammer and fired his shotgun, blowing the man's leg off. The guard collapsed, grabbing his knee and trying to clutch onto Aiden's leg as he stepped over him. Another guard appeared at the end of the carriage, fumbling as he tried to load rounds into his repeater. Aiden fired his second shell and the man's throat exploded for a brief second before the corpse fell off the train.
Up ahead, a sun-kissed man was being throttled by a guard, pushed onto the railing and nearly forced off the side of the train. Sam watched as Aiden drew his revolver and fired a bullet into the guard's head. The corpse slumped beside the darker man, who had a fresh scar carved along his left cheek. He swept his brown hair back form his face and gave a lop-sided grin to Aiden.
"Taking your time, hermano."
"Shut the hell up," Aiden growled as he pushed his way past the man.
Sam went to follow, but Jay put a hand on his chest and walked in front. "Should be a couple more up ahead," he told Aiden, "I counted five."
"You can count?"
"You're a funny man. Like a clown."
"A clown that just saved your life…" Aiden reloaded his shotgun. His hazel eyes found the man as they paused outside the door to the carriage. "Jay, where's your mask?"
"I forgot it."
Aiden turned around, eyebrow raised. "You forgot it?"
"I left it at camp." Jay shrugged.
"Well, what's it doing there?"
"About as much as little ñino here." Jay jerked his head to Sam.
"At least he don't talk a big game…" Aiden muttered as he walked back to the one-legged corpse and stripped the blood-stained neckerchief from his neck. Aiden tossed it to Jay and pulled the shotgun over his shoulder.
"Hermano, I can't wear this, it's got bits of bone and-"
"Shut your goddamn mouth," Aiden said loudly – not out of anger or frustration, but out of pure exasperation.
Aiden kicked open the door and fired his revolver up into the air. Inside the carriage, two dozen passengers began to panic; husbands clutched wives, brothers clutched sisters… the screams still didn't sit well with Sam.
"Gold!" Aiden barked, "Money! Valuables! We ain't here for blood, but we'll spill it if we gotta…" Aiden handed a sack to Sam.
A woman whimpered at the bench at the front, and her husband stood up, speaking in a thick New York accent. "Now, listen here, I don't know where you're from, but thuggery and intimidation is not-"
Aiden slammed the butt of his revolver into the man's nose, watching him fall back into his seat with a groan. "Money!" Aiden barked. "Gold! Else I'll kill every last one of you…"
Sam licked his lips and moved forwards with the sack, taking the watches and earrings, rings and necklaces – everything that was worth anything. After five years of running with the gang, it still felt strange for him. He didn't have the same joy for the job as Jay, nor did he have the same anger inside that Aiden did, but he did have something else – he wanted to repay his debt to Rune. Taking him in when no-one else did… who else had that same drive in the gang?
Sam felt the train shudder and come to a halt. At the end of the carriage, the door crashed open and two guards entered, brandishing their rifles. Jay reacted first, tugging on the pearl grip of one of his blue Schofield revolvers and fanning the hammer as he emptied four bullets into the guards.
Jay twirled his revolver back and forth as he eyed the passengers. "Now you know what we're capable of…" Jay grinned, holstering his revolver once more.
"Jay, get to the front and rob them folk," Aiden ordered. He glanced out of the window to see Luca cantering by, a rifle drawn. Sam wondered if he was watching for escaping passengers or do-gooders that might happen upon them.
"Kid, carry on with this one, I'll check up ahead…" Aiden moved through the train, leaving Sam alone in the carriage as he collected valuables.
A minute or so had passed and the sack was getting full until Sam reached an old woman at the back of the train, who stared determinedly out of the window as her husband handed over his watch.
"And the ring," Sam gestured to the gem-studded band the woman wore. "Ma'am, we ain't here to kill you…"
"Well, you shall have to," she declared. "It was my mother's ring and her mother's before her. I'll be damned if I let some vagrant come and rob me of it and leave me breathing."
Sam opened his mouth to respond but the look on that old woman's face… it had him at a loss. Instead, he walked to the end of the carriage and opened the door, calling to Aiden. "Hey! I got a lady here who don't understand the situation!"
"Does little ñino need someone to hold his hand?" Jay chortled from behind his mask.
"Chrissake…" Aiden stormed through the carriage, holstering his revolver as he arrived beside Sam. "What's goin' on?"
"You'll have to kill me if you want my ring," the woman said sternly. Aiden's hazel eyes glared into Sam's brown.
"You brought me here for this?" Aiden growled as he grabbed the man beside the woman and collided a fist into his face, his nose cracking. "Money!" Aiden punched him again. "Gold!" The woman tried to stop him, but Aiden drew his black revolver once again, pointing it at the woman's face. "Valuables," he snarled. The woman fumbled to remove her ring, handing it to Sam.
Up ahead, gunshots fired. Aiden and Sam moved towards the next carriage to see Jay standing there, a woman on the floor, holding her stomach as Jay swept a hand through his hair, twirling his revolver.
Aiden moved towards Jay, but Sam kept his eyes on the woman. She crawled along the floor, leaving a trail of blood from her pretty blue dress. He blonde hair curtained her grey eyes as her lips quivered, her hand reaching out to Sam.
"The hell is wrong with you?" Aiden snapped.
"She went for my gun!"
"So you shot her?"
"No-one touches my guns, hermano…"
Aiden's jaw clenched as he turned to Sam. "Tell Luca," he said lowly. Sam turned and left, hearing Aiden's loud voice as he did so. "Now y'all know who we are and what we do! If I see any of you hiding something, we'll do the same to you!"
Sam came outside the train and saw Luca there, a Litchfield repeater in hand as he hid his face behind a silk scarlet bandana. He looked so out of place – clad in a purple paisley-patterned vest and a white cotton shirt, a sky-blue necktie loosely wrapped around his neck. Flecks of grey peppered his dark hair beneath his large grey hat.
"What's going on in there?" He asked in his Southern twang.
"Jay shot some woman for taking his guns…"
"Goddamn Jay…" Luca muttered. "I ain't fond of hangin' round here…"
"Hey y'all!" A voice bellowed from between the trees in the distance. They looked to see two men appearing, barefoot, dressed in stained denim overalls. Blotches and boils riddled their faces as they came closer, rusted rifles over their shoulders. "Y'all havin' trouble with ya train?"
"Get Aiden…" Luca murmured before turning his horse towards them. "Well, good day, fine gentlemen!" Luca shouted to them in a fine English accent.
Sam ducked inside the carriage and waved Aiden over. "There's some fellas outside- Luca told me to get you."
Aiden moved past Sam, taking two shells from his vest pocket and loading them into his shotgun as he stepped outside.
"How many of y'all're in there?" One of the strangers asked.
"Any more of them?" Sam heard Aiden ask Luca quietly.
"Not that I can see…"
"Alright then, go get the horses…" Aiden snapped the barrel of the shotgun back into place and raised it to his chest as Luca's horse reared up and galloped away. "You fools better clear the hell outta here 'fore we decide to kill you as well!"
The two men immediately leapt for cover behind the nearest rocks and trees. "Shoot 'em! Shoot them sons a' bitches!"
Bullets clanged against the metal carriage as Aiden fell back inside, unscratched as he crawled along the floor to grab the rifle from the dead guard.
"Decided to have some fun, eh, hermano?" Jay grinned from the other carriage.
"You wanna help now?" Aiden shouted over the gunfire. "Or do you only shoot women?" Jay's face hardened as he stood up, kicking a rifle up into the air and grabbing it before walking towards the carriage door and firing at the treeline. Aiden's eyes fell on Sam, who was ducked behind the carriage window, loading his revolver. "Don't wear yourself out now, Sam…" Aiden muttered as he checked the rifle chamber and fired back at the treeline with Jay.
Charlotte stood at 5"2. A little on the skinny side, as the gang did not eat truly well, but she looked well enough. The one thing she didn't like was her blonde hair – it made her stand out from everyone…
The old woman, Paloma, tottered by slowly, adding chunks of hare to the pot of stew. She glanced up to see Charlotte reading her book as usual and rested her hands on her hips. "Ñino, put it down and help."
"Help how?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow
"Well… come cook with me- you used to love cooking…"
"What do you need help with?"
Paloma hung her head. She didn't miss this part of children. She'd turned seventy almost two months ago and felt what little remained of her patience being sapped by the thirteen-year-old girl. Still, Paloma could understand – she'd been her age once. "Check in with Enzo."
Charlotte slowly closed the book; Did she mind checking on Enzo? No, of course not. But she didn't want to do it because she was told to…
Finally, Charlotte rolled her eyes and stood up. "Fine, Abuela…" She drawled before walking away. Abuela never bothered anyone else to help… except, maybe Jay.
Charlotte arrived at the lilac tent, where Lana sat. Thirty years old, Lana's small scars on her face and hands had healed. Her skin had become thicker around her neck, her bronzed skin had turned lighter, her breasts heavier and her smile brighter and wider than Charlotte could ever remember.
"Abuela says I have to come here to help you."
"I don't need help, ñino, but I would appreciate the company," Lana nodded to the rickety wooden chair outside the tent. Then, Lana turned back to the third person in the tent – on her knee was bouncing a young, olive-skinned toddler. It was hard to say who exactly he looked like more – both his parents had dark hair and brown eyes. Of course, Luca said the toddler looked like Lana, who said it was the other way around. For Charlotte, Enzo just looked like Enzo.
Then, she realized something. Why would Enzo look like either of them?
"Lana, where did Enzo come from?"
Lana's eyes grew wide for a moment as she turned to look at Charlotte, wholly and utterly taken by surprise. "I…" Lana blinked.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's…" Lana looked around the camp. "I don't think I should be the one…"
"Is it do with the screaming?"
"Screaming?" Lana frowned.
"You were screaming when Enzo was born."
"It's…" Lana bit her lip. "It's to do with the screaming… amongst other things." Lana patted Enzo's back as his tiny fist grabbed her shirt, his honey-brown eyes watching Charlotte. Who else was going to tell her? Alice MacKenzie didn't see it as a way to produce children, but rather a way to relieve stress. Anna, well, Lana was afraid talking about it would make her remember that darkest moment of her life. Paloma had given Lana a sour look until she and Luca were married… "Why don't you ask Ellie?"
"Because I'm asking you?" Charlotte's face scrunched up in confusion.
Lana glanced across camp to see the only other options: The greying priest, Elijah King, and the kindly old man, Near Simmons.
"Well…" Lana looked back to Charlotte. "Your bleeding. Every month out of…"
"Yes, yes, I remember," Charlotte snapped, her cheeks burning red.
"Well… the bleeding stops after a man… delivers his seed into you."
"His seed?" Charlotte asked slowly.
"Well… A man has… one of the differences between a man and a woman is that men have a… a member. And this goes inside you until a… seed is spilt."
Charlotte frowned. "Why?"
Lana shrugged. "I don't know. That's just how it works."
Charlotte looked up to see four horsemen return to camp. Sam ambled forwards on his Morgan beside Luca, Aiden and Jay.
"The men are back!" Jay dismounted, hoisting his saddle bags over his shoulder. "No-one will go hungry – Jay Gonzalez takes care of his own!" He said, walking forwards.
"He really thinks he's king of the castle, don't he?" Luca mumbled to Aiden.
"Let him think what he wants…" Aiden muttered before giving Luca a slap on the shoulder. "Go on, go be with your family."
Luca walked over to Lana, taking her into a hug and holding his cooing son. Aiden stood there, watching his old friends, holding their baby together. Man and wife. Pa and momma. It was strange, seeing them like that – they were that kid's world. He couldn't understand how they could be so calm – they could die at any minute. If he were in their shoes…
Aiden shook off the thought and walked towards his tent, sitting down on his fur cot and rolling himself a cigarette.
"Any problems?"
Aiden looked up to see Near hobbling over with his wooden cane. It was a marvel the man was still walking – the man was eighty Goddamn years old! Aiden gave the slightest grin as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Not much…"
"Meaning?"
"Well…" Aiden moved up so Near could sit beside him. "Some folk turned up. Real inbred hillbilly types. There were a bunch of them – all armed."
Near rubbed his jaw. "Hillfolk?" Aiden nodded. "Could be the Murfree Brood."
"They're still around?"
"Thing is with these types, they're hard to kill. Just like cockroaches… Tend to ambush folk on the road."
"Yeah, they look the type…" Aiden nodded.
"Anything else?"
Aiden glanced up to see Jay passing by Alice, stuffing fistfuls of dollars into the strongbox. "Jay shot a woman."
"He what?"
"She touched his guns, so…"
"So Jay did what Jay does." Near nodded.
"You going to tell Rune?"
"You reckon I should?"
"I don't know if it'll make a difference, but… well, Rune would want to know."
"Maybe he'll treat him like the prize pony as well," Aiden muttered darkly, his eyes flickering over to Sam. He knew he didn't mean it – he was just out of sorts. He breathed deeply and lit the cigarette, offering it to Near, who declined with a raised hand. "He ain't back yet?"
"Not yet. It's getting dark so… probably tomorrow." Near pushed himself up on his cane and looked down to Aiden. "You did good, son. Got everyone back in one piece and we've got more money today than we did yesterday."
Aiden shrugged. "Weren't me. Jay found out about the train, Luca ran point…"
"Ah, don't sell yourself short, Aiden."
"A woman still got shot, Near," he pointed out. "I thought we were done with that business."
Near sighed. "Me too, son. Me too."
Rune dragged the bottle of whiskey along the table and filled up his glass as he looked up at the young, copper-skinned man who swayed in his chair, leaning onto the rickety table as if his life depended on it.
"See, these folk," the young man slurred, rubbing the spilled whiskey from his stubbled chin, "these folk don't realize that we ain't so free of class- the British have got the upper class, the middle class and so on, but we have two: the proletariat…" he counted on his fingers, "and the bourgeoisie. The workers and the bosses. Poor and the rich." He poured himself a drink. "And all these… morons don't realize that's even how it works- mark me!"
"You're a learned man for Van Horn…" Rune commented, his eyes flickering across to Night's Hawk, who gave a smirk.
"Well, I grew up in Saint Denis," the man replied. "The jewel of the South…" he spat onto the floor. "Rich folk spat on me like that when I lost fights in them alleys."
"Boxing?" Anna raised an eyebrow.
"If you want," the man muttered, knocking back another glass of whiskey. "Then I turned fifteen – got to working in one of them Cornwall factories."
"What went wrong?" Anna asked.
"I think that is what went wrong…" Rune said. "Working for folk like Cornwall – get a cent for every ten dollars he makes, I'd wager."
"Exactly- shit…" The man had pointed at Rune and knocked over the bottle. He tried to pick it up, dabbing his shirt sleeve on the table.
Rune's grey eyes flickered to Anna with a smile. "And you still work there?"
The man scoffed. "Not for a while. There was an… accident…" He looked up at Rune with a grin. "Kerosene is very dangerous to work with."
Rune grinned back. "So I've heard."
"Well… anyhow, the Kings in their castles called me as a troublemaker. Next thing y'know, I'm wanted for three hundred dollars."
"Three hundred?" Rune grinned. "Maybe we ought to turn you in."
"Something 'bout you tells me you ain't exactly the lawful type."
"Depends on what law you're talking about," Rune replied, filling his pipe with tobacco. "The law of man or the law of nature." Rune struck a match and began to light his pipe, the tobacco burning brightly and illuminating his tired, weathered and scarred features. He waved the match until the flame died into smoke and placed it on the table, puffing on his pipe. "So, how do you get your money now?"
"I've a business a little south of here…" the man shrugged. "Down in the bayou."
"The bayou?"
"Gators make for the best guard dogs."
Rune and Anna chuckled with the man. "Guarding what?"
The man raised a glass of whiskey, holding it up in the light. "Something better than this swill."
Rune removed the pipe from his mouth and leant forwards. "What's say me and my friends come take a look? See if we can help you with anything?"
The man nodded, picking up his black hat and sweeping his light hair back before donning the large-brimmed hat. "After you."
First off, my internet history looks so weird after searching time-appropriate language pertaining to sex. I was tempted to have someone interrupt but, like… I figured it was more interesting to show the actual 'talk' rather than cutting back to Charlotte saying 'ewww'.
So, yeah, I'm glad I held off on writing this because Enzo was a new addition. I know some of you will be upset I didn't show Lana getting pregnant and being hormonal and so on with Luca and the gang helping her through it, but there's a reason for that, and it's purely narrative.
Also, I've decided that constantly saying 'I won't answer questions because of spoilers' is kinda unfair, because what if you all have questions that aren't answered until the end of the story? So, write down your questions, memorise them and so on and I promise you all that starting from now, at the end of each story, I'll do my up-most best to answer any and all questions you have.
Review, Favourite, Follow (if you want to, that is) and I'll see you guys for the next chapter.