The Outlaw's Path

by CastorRage

Fallen Sky and his best friend and father figure Clive LeClerk are two members of the notorious outlaw gang "The Untamed." After getting a lead on some well-known bounty targets, their hunt leads them across the U.S. and uncover some deep, well-hidden secrets. Follow their story from November 1898 to May 1899, as they travel across the States and form a deeper bond than ever before

4. Barfight

November 27, 1898

Valentine, New Hanover

15:45 PM

The trio rode into Valentine as fast as they could, and skidded to a halt in front of the hotel. Fallen Sky slid off Fortis' saddle and helped Kelso get down, and the group walked into the hotel. Clive pulled out a stack of dollar bills and handed them over to the owner of the hotel, saying "Four rooms for one. And make sure they're quiet." The owner shook his head and said "I'm sorry, but we only have two rooms available. Would you be fine with sharing?" Clive sighed and looked around. He turned to the group and muttered "Alright then. Hugo, you're roomin' with me. Fallen can stay with Kelso." The owner handed them the keys and the men walked up to their rooms.

Fallen Sky unlocked the door to his and Kelso's room, and sat the injured man down. Kelso put a hand to his face and looked at his blood-coated fingers. He looked over to Fallen Sky. "Thank you for getting me out of there. I don't know what they would have done to me otherwise" he said, and Fallen Sky turned around. He nodded and pulled a roll of cloth from his satchel. He unwrapped the roll and began to wrap it around Kelso's head. "You'd better be thankful they didn't hurt you more. This injury will only take a few days to heal, but you could have been out of action for month" he said, cutting off the rest of the bandages and storing the roll back in his satchel. Kelso laid down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. Fallen Sky pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.

"Clive wants to go to the saloon and get some drinks before we go see the sheriff. You two want to come?" Hugo said, opening the door and walking into the room. Fallen Sky nodded but then looked at Kelso. "I'm okay with going, but I don't know about Kelso. He's just been saved from torture, I reckon he would want to sleep it off." Kelso sat up and shook his head, then said "No, I'm alright. A few drinks might make this injury heal better." Fallen Sky chuckled and stood up, putting his hat on his head and walking out of the room, followed by Kelso and Hugo.

17:30 PM

The sun was slowly descending into the horizon, and the group of four was in Smithfield's Saloon. Clive had drunk 4 bottles of whiskey, Fallen Sky was on his second bottle of Guarma Rum and Kelso and Hugo had both drunk 2 bottles of beer. Fallen Sky could tell Clive was getting to his limit, because Clive's remaining eye was darting around the room, almost as if he was looking for threats. His hat was resting on the counter,revealing his greying brown hair. Fallen Sky was leaning against the counter, slowly sipping his Guarma Rum, his other hand near his gunbelt in case a fight broke out.

A drunk limped over towards the group and stared at Clive, who looked over at the man's disheveled state. The drunk spat and muttered "Oi, you! One-eye! What you lookin' at?" Clive's eyes narrowed, and the drunk limped over to the counter and pushed Clive out of the way, then turned to Fallen Sky "And you, savage! What you doin' in our town?" Fallen Sky looked over to Clive, who nodded, and Fallen Sky grabbed the drunk's wrist and slammed his hand down onto the table. Clive pulled out his knife and stabbed it into the middle of the drunk's hand, nailing him to the table. He grabbed his hat and he and Fallen Sky pulled on the drunk's shoulders, nearly ripping his hand in half and making him fall over and land on another man, spilling his beer. Fallen Sky quickly downed his Guarma Rum and rolled the bottle onto the counter.

"Barfight!" someone at the poker table yelled, and Clive reached behind the counter and threw a large glass bottle to Fallen Sky, who smashed it on the counter. Clive smashed his bottle of whiskey and charged at a man, while Fallen Sky ran towards the poker table and slammed the shattered bottle into a player's head. The man wobbled and fell off his chair, and Fallen Sky stamped on his nose, before picking up the chair and throwing it at another drunk approaching him with a knife.

Clive ran towards a man standing in the corner of the bar and plunged the sharp edges of the shattered bottle into his stomach, then pushed his head into the wall with his fist, knocking him out cold. Hugo took the opportunity to grab an approaching fighter and throw him into the counter face first, then kick him in the ass, which rolled him over the counter, letting Kelso kick him in the face and knock his teeth out. At this point there were only 4 more people still conscious, and Clive grabbed another bottle from behind the counter and threw it at a man who was trying to leave. Fallen Sky ran over and grabbed a drunk by the collar, then pushed him through the window and jumped out, landing directly on the drunk's face. Hugo followed him through the window, and Clive walked out of the door, carrying a bruised and unconscious Kelso.

The men walked into the hotel, and Clive immediately looked at the owner and growled "Don't speak a word of this to anyone." The owner whimpered and shrank back, and they walked up the stairs to their rooms. Clive set Kelso down on the bed in his and Fallen Sky's room, then walked out. "You take care of him, boy" he muttered through the keyhole. Fallen Sky sighed and removed his hat, placing it on the bedside table, then took a spare bedsheet from the wardrobe and laid it down on the ground. He took off his coat and laid down on the bedsheet, then threw the coat over himself like a blanket, and soon he was asleep.