Ruby determined in her mind that she would not say a word to Ada about anything she thought about last night. When she awoke the next morning, she felt afresh, and little of the emotions she experienced the night before were as extreme now. Ruby suspected that late at night, feelings rage intensely.
That morning dawned cold and quiet. The entire forest around the Cherokee village reeked with anticipation. Waiting on something unknown to Ruby, and that unsettled her. A single, distant crow sent out a threatening caw, and in the silence of the woods, Ruby guessed it to be a mile away.
She rolled her eyes impatiently as she walked briskly past Ada and Inman smooching near the cabin. Lugging a saddle over to the horse, Ruby prepared the horse for her daddy to ride home. She noted that the horse most likely hadn't been brushed for two days in the very least, and she would have to see to that.
"Alright then, daddy, the horse is waitin'," she called into the cabin, now covered with a light frosting of snow that had fallen during the night. She tilted her head back and peered at the sky. Dense stratus clouds formed a grey blanket, impending snow some time during the day.
Stobrod made his first appearance out of the cabin since Ruby had laid him on his bed the day before so he could rest. A bit of colour was starting to return to his face on his cheeks and around his eyelids. His pace was shaky as he struggled to walk, and Ruby rushed to help him. Albeit he had had injured his shoulder, and not his legs, his movements were slow and lumbering from weakness. She aided him in climbing onto the saddle and made sure he was secure on the horse's back.
Ruby turned over her shoulder and called to Ada and Inman, "Alright then, this old man's ready," she tapped her daddy's leg to indicate him as being the one she spoke of. "Let's go then, Ada. Inman, you take my daddy home a different way."
"Can't we all just go together?" Ada whined. She glanced at her Inman and gripped him close.
"Ruby's right," Inman sighed, "it'd be less conspicuous."
Ada snuggled her head under his freshly shaved chin. "I just don't want to let you go again."
Inman planted a kiss on her white forehead and then dropped his arms to his sides. She still clung to him. After holding him another moment, she reluctantly loosened her grip until they broke apart and she walked unhappily over to Ruby.
A shotgun was resting against the side of a cabin nearby, and Ruby snatched it up and began down a rough path. She had almost disappeared from view before Ada put her back to Inman and followed after Ruby at a brisk walk to make up the distance Ruby had covered alone.
An hour of hiking. Most of their trek was downhill, and they found themselves running to save from losing their balance. Ruby walked mostly in silence as Ada chattered about many things. Then she spoke of Inman. "I presumed it would be strange to be with him all night. But after the initial unfamiliarity, I felt at home. I want to marry him, Ruby."
Ruby only half listened. She didn't want to let it bother her again, this talk of Ada's future without her. One good cry was enough. But at that current time, she felt the need to pay close attention to their surroundings and not to Ada's dreamy talk.
A bare shrub rustled. Ruby raised the shotgun, and a hare darted out onto the path. It stared at the two women, then flicked it's ears and fled into the underbrush.
"It's too quiet, Ada." Ruby said in a monotonous tone.
Ada seemed not to have noticed. They continued to half walk, half jog down the mountainside. When they came to a clearing, Ruby slowed her pace cautiously.
A horse snorted. Ruby readied her gun, but Ada whispered, "it's probably only Stobrod and Inman. They just miscalculated and ended up too close to us."
Ruby paid her no heed. Then she saw them. Ten or twelve horsemen, all began closing in on them from all sides of the clearing. It was the Home Guard. Teague urged his horse towards Ruby and Ada. "You know," he snarled, "aiding those who abandon the army, is a serious offence. You can thank your friend Georgia, here, for helping us find you."
That's when Ruby saw the bundle lying across Teague's horse, in front of him. Georgia feebly raised his head and coughed. Blood spattered the snow.
Just then, a horse whinnied from above. Ruby snapped her head in the direction and saw Stobrod racing down the hill, almost sliding off one side of his horse. Inman was sprinting behind.
"Is that man impossible to kill?" Teague bellowed from his abdomen as he raised his gun. He fired a few shots that missed by inches. Ruby rushed to Teague's horse and pulled him off, only to receive the butt of his gun in her face. Tears rushed to her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall.
"Ruby!" Georgia yelled weakly and jumped off the horse. He fell to his knees and couldn't get up.
Ruby wavered and fell to the ground as the world spun around her. The events that followed were dim.
Another shot was fired. Teague lay slumped against a tree. Inman and the blonde boy had raced off on horses. As Georgia crawled over to Ruby and touched her arm gently, Ruby only faintly heard the last gunshot and Ada's scream.
Sorry guys if this isn't according to the book or movie, I wrote it fast and I didn't remember exactly what happened. I'm just trying to get this part out of the way. Reviews would be most appreciated!