Hi guys!
Welcome back to Above Snakes!
The reviews for the last chapter were great, I really enjoyed reading them all!
There was so much sympathy for poor Jasper!
Chapter Seven
"Hey Bee, load that up on to that wagon for me please?" Isabella collected the items that Jasper had pointed to, carried them to the rear of the wagon and tried to neatly stack them together. When the pile began to tip over, her hands were not the only ones that reached out to save it.
Peering over her shoulder, she recognised the tall figure and long, glossy black hair that belonged to Jacob. He was smirking as he helped her right the tower of books, once they were stable, she stepped out from between the small gap his body had created.
"Don't stare at me like that, I wasn't the one that knocked you out." He grinned mischievously, his bubbly disposition was infectious; if Isabella had not been so suspicious of him, she might have given in to the urge to smile. "That was Madsen." Her eyebrows drew together as she thought back to the man that had rescued her.
"Speaking of Madsen, where is he?" Jasper materialised beside the two. Jacob jolted slightly having not anticipated his sudden reappearance.
"He left before dawn, went out with Clay, George and Connie to look for our next camping spot." Jacob replied.
"Sounds like he just didn't want to do the hard work of packing away the camp." Jasper rolled his eyes, he winced as he attempted to lift a chair into the back of the wagon. Jacob quickly offered his assistance and Jasper disappeared to collect the last of his items.
As Isabella's gaze followed her brother, she noticed that multiple people were all gawking in her direction, she supposed they were trying to be discreet, but most of them were failing. Her cheeks heated at the unwelcome attention she was receiving.
"Don't mind them, they're just not used to seeing a new face around here. Since your brother, we have only had two newcomers. Besides little Louisa over there, but she doesn't really count." Isabella looked to where he was indicating with a tilt of his head. She spotted the young girl from earlier, her sun-kissed blonde hair glistening as she threw herself around after her father.
"Before I forget, I have something for you." Isabella focused her attention back on Jacob, he patted the pockets on his trousers, then the ones on his vest, searching for something. When he found the small object, he carefully removed it and presented it to her in his open palm.
Isabella's breath hitched in her throat as she recognised her mother's gold comb, the emeralds sparkled at her wistfully. Meeting Jacob's eyes, she hesitated to reclaim the treasure, when he nodded encouragingly, she plucked it from his hand. The heavy metal felt comfortable between her fingers, she brushed her thumb over the green gems.
"It doesn't match my eyes." He shrugged casually. Isabella giggled, feeling giddy at having the precious comb back in her possession. "For what it's worth, I am sorry. This gang is family, and you were a threat."
"Jasper said the same, I don't understand this 'family', but thank you." Isabella whispered.
"Bee, you're going to ride with me, Rosie and Louisa. Jacob; Carl wants you down the back, watching our six." Jasper huffed as he finished packing the last of his possessions away.
"She's not getting on my wagon," a ravishingly voluptuous blonde appeared beside Jasper. Her slender eyebrows were arched high over alluring, jade-green eyes. Her soft, flirtatious lips pulled up at the corners into a smirk, Isabella felt positively dull in this woman's presence. "No offence darlin' but you kinda stink."
Isabella focused on the toe of her boots, shifting nervously as the three of them laughed lightly. Her cheeks flamed red but she was grateful for her hair as it shielded her embarrassed face.
"Don't worry, I'm not judging ya, I know what you've been through, let's just get you washed up and some fresh clothes before we set off. You'll feel much better for it." Rosie reached out to seize Isabella's hand and towed her away from the group, the small girl, Louisa quickly joined them as they wandered away from the camp.
"I don't have any clothes with me," Isabella mumbled awkwardly.
"You can borrow one of my dresses," Louisa offered sweetly.
"Baby, I don't think she'll fit in your clothes. You can borrow some of mine though, they might be a bit big, but you can just use your belt to pull it all in. Louisa, go grab one of my dresses from the wagon." The little girl spun away from them as she rushed to follow her mother's orders.
As they reached the edge of the clearing, Isabella could feel the heaviness of someone's eyes following her, peeking over her shoulder curiously, she noticed an older man scowling in her direction. His intense, vivid blue eyes narrowed and she quickly looked away.
"Don't mind Carl, he's just... Carl. He's protective of this gang." Rosie reassured her.
"I don't think I'm much of a threat," Isabella insisted.
"He doesn't know that, just because you don't wield a gun doesn't mean that you're not a threat to us. Which reminds me," Rosie suddenly stopped and tugged Isabella so that they were face to face, her grip around her hand tightened to the point where it was almost painful. "If you ever bring harm to this gang or my family, it's not the men you'll need to fear." She left the rest of the threat unsaid but Isabella understood loud and clear.
She maintained eye contact with Rosie, and nodded her head, appeasing the fiery blonde. Louisa reappeared beside them, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere.
"I picked this one, it's my favourite." The small girl could barely hold all of the material in her littles arms. Rosie transformed her features as she turned to her baby and took the dress from her.
"Thank you, Louisa, why don't you go help daddy for now? We won't be long." Louisa silently agreed, racing back towards camp. As they began walking again, Isabella discreetly tried to clear the lump that had formed in her throat.
"We do bad things, but we aren't bad people. Well, most of us aren't, there are a couple that I wonder about." Isabella found it hard to believe that people that murdered and stole for a living were not bad people but she did not voice her opinion.
Madsen tightened his hold on the reins, Nexus responded by circling tight before coming to a complete stand still. Everyone fell in behind him, waiting for him to proceed.
He had been restless all night, passing in and out of sleep. When he had overheard Clay and George preparing to head out, he had informed them that he planned to join them. Connie did not give any explanation, but suddenly she was just there, ready to go.
Clay and George had been in and out of the gang for the past three years and Madsen had never fully grown to trust the men, his confidence in them was zero. Besides that, Madsen had a rough idea of where he wanted to lead the camp; it had to be somewhere safe and quiet. He owed it to Carl too, after failing with Sullivan's sister.
"What do you see Madsen?"
"The tracks," he pointed to the large paw marks on the ground just off the trail. "There's a bear around here, and she's big."
"Well, let's kill the bear and just set up camp around here." Clay snorted to his brother. Madsen shook his head in disgust.
"No, she's a mother," he glanced at the much smaller paw prints that followed the trail. "And this isn't far enough, we've only been riding for about five hours, we need to put more distance between us and Reno."
"Where are you taking us Madsen?" Connie asked as she scratched at her horse's neck.
"I'm thinking cross back into California territory, head for the Sierra Nevada mountains and find somewhere there to lay low for a while. There's a place called Mono County, I passed through there a few years back with Jacob." Madsen looked to the midday sun.
"Connie, ride back to the last town we passed and wait for Carl and the rest to catch up, then let them know where we are heading, Jacob will know the way and lead you all. We will go on ahead and secure a spot to set up camp, scope out the surroundings and make sure it's safe. I'll find you in Mono town and take you the rest o' the way."
"Sure thing, good luck boys."
"See you in a few days." Madsen called after her as she began to head back towards the first meeting point.
"We better keep moving, it will take us at least another day to get there." Madsen informed the others. He took up the front position, setting the pace as they continued on.
It did indeed, take them over a day to finally reach the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The serrated mountains loomed up on their right as they followed the trail that led them deep into Mono County. The leaves on the tall conifers rustled, the insects hummed and the birds sang as the horse's hooves kicked up the loose rocks on the path, sending them tumbling down the slanted hill-side. The dense trees towered around them creating unusual shadows as the sun lowered behind the mountains. It was still not four-o'clock in the afternoon yet, but the mountain gave the impression that it was much later as the natural daylight began to fade.
"So, what's so great about this place?" Clay asked, he took in their surroundings with apparent disgust marring his features.
"As I said it's remote, Carl wants us to lie low, let the last few months blow over a little; our faces are plastered in every sheriff's office north of here."
"We shouldn't be trying to lie low, we should be taking advantage of people's fear and targeting some more banks right now!" George interjected.
"This is our chance to spread the Clayton gang name, the more people that hear of our ruthless reputation, the better." Clay added.
"You ever hear the story of the mountain lion and the hunter?" Madsen began.
"No."
"There was a mountain lion, he was great at killing things, had a high successful kill rate; well after eating an entire bull one fine day, the mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept that up 'til a hunter came along and shot him. The moral of that story; when you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut. Got it?"
Both men glared at Madsen's back.
"You need to stop roaring before you attract any more attention. All you boys are doing is racking up a bigger price to go over yer heads" Madsen barked.
"We-"
"Quiet." Madsen threw his arm out to stop the men and their horses, stopping his own with a sharp tug of the reins.
"What-"
"I said quiet." Madsen meticulously scanned the area, his eyes taking in every little detail as the hairs on the back of his neck raised. The leaves continued to rustle in the gentle breeze; the horses kicked at the ground restlessly, but further out; the natural sounds of the dense forest had gone eerily silent. The dancing shadows flickered on the floor as they continuously cast new shapes, making it difficult for Madsen to detect any irregular movements.
Quickly and unexpectedly activity from the left drew Madsen's attention towards a man that emerged from behind the trunk of a moss-covered, fallen tree. One arm was raised to shoulder height, in his hand; a sawn-off shotgun aimed directly at Madsen. As he advanced on the three riders, a couple more men appeared from the forest on foot, and two more on horseback.
"Good afternoon boys. Now I don't know if you is aware, but you are passing through Chacon territory and there is a fee to pass through these woods."
"Is that so?" Clay enquired. Madsen slowly eyed up the five Chacon's, surveying them for any potential weaknesses or an opportunity to strike. As Clay diverted their attention, Madsen reached for the handle of his Litchfield Rifle, his gaze never straying from the confrontation before him; his eyes constantly flicked between the five outlaws. When he held the rifle firmly in his hand, he removed his feet from the stirrups to ready himself for the imminent battle. No one had noticed his subtle movements, except Clay, who deliberately began to antagonise the men. For once Madsen was glad that they seemed to be in the same mindset.
Madsen inhaled, cleared his mind and then dismounted in a flash. His manoeuvre was so smooth and lithe that nobody had registered it until he had landed effortlessly on his feet with his gun trained on the first Chacon. The sharp crack of gunfire ricocheted off the mountains as the bullet travelled through the air; Nexus bolted away much to Madsen's relief as he dived towards the closest tree for shelter.
He came to a halt with his back pressed against the tree, his iron pulled close to his body as gun fire broke out behind him. Madsen took a calming breath before rotating out from his cover and rapidly choosing his next target. His finger squeezed the trigger, the shot fired, the next man fell to the ground as his blood splattered spectacularly in a crimson arc.
A bullet whizzed past Madsen's head, his eyes registering the movement and narrowing in the direction it had originated from; he returned the shot, watching as the man fell from his horse, the body thudded as it met the ground. The horse sprinted away leaving behind the scent of gun powder, blood and death lingering in the air.
"That was fun." George laughed as he rode out from between some trees, he still held his gun loosely between his fingers. Madsen did not share his enthusiasm though the adrenaline thundered through his veins, as he studied the disorder around them. There were four dead bodies, he assumed the fifth was lying out of sight as Clay also returned to the glade seemingly unharmed.
"Let's see what they have for us." Clay jumped from his horse and began hunting for anything worth stealing from the corpses. He smirked as he revealed a few dollars and a gold pocket watch. "Well, that's real pretty." He let the body flop lifelessly back to the ground, before moving on to the next.
Madsen turned away as he searched for Nexus. He whistled and within seconds the horse came trotting towards him, the corner of Madsen's lips turned up slightly as Nexus knocked his shoulder with his snout affectionately.
"If you're done, we need to move these bodies somewhere else. Carl and the rest will be travelling through here at some point and we don't need the kids seeing this. Or worse; a deputy riding past and deciding to look for the culprits."
Madsen stowed his gun away and removed some rope from Nexus' saddle. He looped it around the closest man's feet, and then tied it securely to the horn of his saddle before guiding Nexus away from the violent scene, the body trawling behind in the dirt.
When they were a fair distance from the main path, they dumped the bodies and retrieved their rope.
"Shall we burn them?" Clay asked.
"No, we'll let nature deal with them." Madsen nodded towards the bottom of the hill they were currently perched on, as he began to steadily back away with Nexus. A great, grey wolf was sniffing around the base of a tree; oblivious to the three men above. Around her hind legs, a couple of pups wrestled, kicking up dirt and leaves as they playfully rolled around.
The sunlight had completely faded beyond the mountains by the time they reached Mono City, the temperature decreasing a little so that there was a slight chill in the air. Madsen welcomed the slight change after spending a few months in permanent, over-bearing heat.
Mono City was small, with a population of no more than 300 the last time Madsen had passed through, he expected that the number hadn't grown much over the years. The county was named for a Native American Paiute tribe that inhabited the Sierra Nevada from north of Mono Lake to Owens Lake.
"I thought we were finding a spot to set up camp?" George whined.
"We are, we just need to pick someone up first." Madsen snapped. After the ambush, his patience had all but evaporated.
The town consisted of four streets that all joined to make a square and you could enter or exit the town from any of the four corners. As they entered from the north, Madsen led them right, towards the saloon which was situated on the far side. Most of the town was made up houses, there was only one store that sold pretty much everything, a butcher and the saloon. If you needed anything else then you would need to travel either to Lundy or Crestview near Mammoth Mountain.
Madsen tied Nexus to the hitching post outside the saloon and made his way inside, the spurs on the back of his boots clinked as he walked. He removed his hat, holding it at his side as he scanned the faces of the patrons looking for someone specific.
"Madsen," he heard from the corner closest to the door. When he located the person that had called his name, his face broke into an uncharacteristic grin.
"Charles," Madsen accepted Charles hand and they half-hugged in greeting. "It's good to see you." Charles nodded at Clay and George who were stood awkwardly behind Madsen then pointed to the vacant chairs at his table. Madsen placed his hat down on the surface as they all claimed a seat.
"How was the journey?" Charles questioned.
"It was fine," Madsen began, he glanced around at the other customers ensuring that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation. "Had some trouble a few miles back, as we crossed the border into the county; the Chacons." Charles narrowed his eyes at the sound of the familiar name.
"I swear, every time ya pass through there, they've recruited more men."
"Well we killed five o' em," George stated proudly. Charles glanced at the younger man, he had only met the Minor brothers a handful of times, but he was not particularly fond of either of them.
"Hobble your lip boy, taking a life is never something you boast about." Charles moustache twitched with obvious irritation. He knew what the people he chose to surround himself with did for a living; they were unlawful men. However, he did not agree with lives being wasted but understood that sometimes it was necessary. In the thirteen years that he had known Madsen and the rest; he had yet to kill anyone himself.
Charles took a large sip of his whiskey; the man didn't even pull a face as the liquid washed down his throat. He waved at the bartender, signalling another round and indicating to the additional three men at the table.
"So, did my young friend make it home okay?"
Madsen's face screwed up slightly as he wondered who Charles was referring to.
"Do you mean the girl?"
"Yes, the girl; Bella." Charles accepted the drinks the barman brought over. Madsen followed suit, taking a large swig of his drink, drawing out the silence before he had to answer the question.
"Sorry, I just didn't know you had any friends Charles." Madsen snorted as Charles grunted.
"Yeah, yeah quit stalling Madsen, what happened?"
"Madsen fucked up, that's what happened. Turns out he ain't so perfect after all." Clay interjected. Madsen glared at the blonde-haired thug seated opposite him, before meeting Charles burning eyes.
The older man leaned back in his chair, both hands pressed against the table with his fingers spread as he eyed Madsen carefully, waiting for an explanation.
"She didn't go home. She's on her way here with the rest o' them."
"She WHAT?" Madsen internally winced at the aggressiveness in Charles tone but refused to show any physical response. "I asked you to get that girl to safety, not take her from one lion's den and put her in another."
"I did, I got her a train ticket to Bridgers Fort but she followed me to Reno. Before I knew anything, she had turned up at the camp with Jacob. She'd been asking around about us."
"That girl is too smart for her own good." Charles smirked as he played with the rim of his glass. "So that's why Carl decided to move camp so abruptly?"
"Yeah, he doesn't trust that the girl didn't make some sort of deal with the Sheriff of Placerville, we were going to be moving soon anyway, this just sorta sped that up."
"Speaking of, you shot the deputy and let him walk away? The boy was murderous when he finally made it back to town." Charles shook his head at the memory. "Boy was spitting about revenge as he hobbled around on his one good leg."
"He's lucky the girl was there to stop me."
"She's a good soul." Charles added.
"She won't be for much longer if she carries on sticking around with us." Madsen said. "Do you plan on sticking around for a while?"
"Maybe, I was thinking of heading to my saloon in Fresno, so when you sent word that you were heading this way, I figured I'd meet you here."
"You ain't going to burn this one to the ground are ya?" Madsen asked.
"Ha," Charles barked. "I needed a reason to leave that town without looking too suspicious, burning the saloon seemed a good way to do that. It was costing me more to run it than it was worth anyway."
"Maybe a heads-up next time then." They clinked their glasses together in a silent promise.
"I'm just glad you got her out of there, I saw what the Sheriff was going to do to her. It took everything I had not to react; a man that beats a woman, well, he ain't much of a man at all." Madsen nodded his head in agreement. "She's innocent in all of this," Charles finished.
Madsen glanced down at his hardened, calloused hands that cradled the delicate glass tumbler, the amber liquid swirled hypnotically as he tipped the glass from side to side before replying;
"We were all innocent once."
Thank you all for taking the time to read my story :)