(Chapter 3: So it begins…)
After about an hour of solid travel and avoiding the law, Jack Marston had safely managed to flee into the Annesburg area. He was on the same mountain side, the same side that Arthur had succumbed to Tuberculosis and fell from this world, facing the sunrise. Jack sighed as he was on one knee on the edge of the cliff, looking out and into the wilderness of the forest.
"What will I do now?" Jack asked, he expected an answer. He would go here from time to time almost as an emotional therapy and it would boost his confidence, he felt a strong connection with Arthur Morgan from the past, even stronger than his father's connection.
He would hear the voice of Arthur in his head in this exact spot, almost as if the spirit of Arthur got into his head and gave him advice. Advice is what Jack needed, his home was gone, his money was all burned away. Jack had nothing else to do but to resort to robbing banks, it is what his parents feared he would be forced to do.
Jack's Arabian horse stood on the bottom of the mountain as the young gunslinger got up from his kneeling position. He took in a deep breath and looked out into the wilderness once more, he would head down into the actual town of Annesburg that night. He expected law enforcement to be all around after the Saint Denis Fighting Pit was attacked by the four members of the BlackJacks.
The good thing was, Jack had knowledge of who burned down his old home and who destroyed the graves of his parents. He knew there was a gang roaming around the state, he didn't know how big it was though. Jack sat on a nearby rock and thought to himself, he wanted, and he needed a gang. The lightbulb went off in his mind around five minutes into his thinking session, he thought of Bill Pierce and Rebecca McIntyre, the best fighters of the brawling show back at Saint Denis. Jack felt that he could get the chance of the two into his gang, three members already would be a good start. After all, it is how the Van Der Linde gang started. Dutch, Hosea, and a young Arthur Morgan.
Jack was often told the success of Dutch's Boys, before the gang came to a vicious end in 1899. The gunslinger swore to himself that if he ever grew up to start a gang, it would not end up how the gang of Dutch Van Der Linde did.
So it was set, he would try to confront Bill Pierce about the gang and possibly Rebecca. He felt slightly uncertain about Bill though, the champion of the Fighting Pit seemed to enjoy the lavish lifestyle that the society had given him. Rebecca seemed to enjoy it too, Jack was never the motivational speaker, but he needed to open the eyes of people he needed near him now.
(That Night)
Annesburg had grown in size, almost a city as Saint Denis. The railroad company had constructed a large bridge in which crossed the Lannahechee River, with the bridge going across the river, new land was found to explore and settle in. Annesburg would be the first to do so, Blackwater would eventually have a bridge constructed in the far reaches of the future. It would be made in the 30s, it was only in the 1910s currently. The town had many homes and even a good few banks on the other side of the river, including a bar.
Jack Marston made his way past the Van Horn Trading Post and up the path, eventually leading into Annesburg. The cool air of the night giving him slight goosebumps, he was tired though. He hadn't got any sleep as of late and it was quite hard to get some, he was forced to sleep in an abandoned room in an apartment in Saint Denis from the night before. He had to sleep on hard floor, there was nothing in the room.
The gunslinger lit a cigar and began to smoke as he seen the lights from the railroad/mining town began to appear in the fog, it had grown cloudy as the day went on and a heavy rain come through. The week had been quite rough with rain, with a violent thunderstorm early from the other day and from heavy rain all throughout the week. Mud was everywhere, and the rain stained the wood of the buildings and made some recent painting slip away.
"Wow, Annesburg surely has grown. Proud of these folk." Jack said to himself as he seen the lights on the bridge from afar, he had never been to the town of Annesburg. He was told stories by it or heard about it from others, he continued to make his way further into Annesburg and then he took a right turn on Arthur, he patted his horse on the side and made his way across the bridge.
Now he was across the river into territory he never even stepped on, lands his old uncles and aunts from the Van Der Linde gang, they never stepped on this land either. The land across the Lannahechee River was brand new, all wilderness and only one percent of it was Annesburg property. He looked around and seen the saloon to his right, he smiled and hitched Arthur on a fence near by.
Jack entered the saloon and looked around, it was a very fancy saloon but most of the people looked rough. After all, Annesburg was very close to a mine and the other side of town was a large railroad company. The young gunslinger noticed a man in a tuxedo and had a decent amount of black hair in which had been slicked back, it had to be Bill Pierce. Jack knew that Bill had loads of money, he approached Bill with caution and sat down next to him. Bill looked into the corner of his eye and seen Jack, he smirked and then turned his head to face him.
"You, you would have been killed. You're lucky, you outlaw dog." Bill Pierce said in slight aggression, trying to intimidate Jack. Jack wouldn't be afraid so easy, he had a strong heart.
"I'm no outlaw Mr. Pierce, I'm trying to do the best I can to earn some money and live a peaceful life. You misunderstand my intentions."
Bill raised an eyebrow, almost as if he didn't believe what Jack was telling him. Jack then continued to speak.
"My home was burned down, my old home at that, by some gang known as the BlackJacks. I had only killed the man, the man who killed my father. If anything it was redemption, my family was innocent after the Van Der Linde gang broke up back in 1899. We lived on a peaceful ranch close to Blackwater, called Beecher's Hope."
"And then what?" Bill asked with a cocky smile, Jack sighed and asked for a shot of whiskey before he continued.
"Edgar Ross, hired John Marston to seek out and kill the last remaining members of the Van Der Linde Gang. My father drove Dutch off a cliff, he had Bill Williamson killed, Javier was dead. My dad did what the law wanted him to do, but it just wasn't enough. After a couple of weeks and maybe a month later, the American Army stormed my home and shot my last uncle, they killed my father in cold blood. I had to live with my mother, a woman I loved with all of my heart, for just a remainder of three years."
Bill Pierce nodded as he took a sip of his wine, keeping his eyes on Jack the entire time.
"Then my mother fell from this world, at least she is with my father now. So once I gave her a proper burial, I inherited the clothing of my father. The same hat, the clothes and all. I did what had to be done, I killed Edgar Ross the same way we met. Right by a river."
There was a silence between the two before Bill Pierce spoke up again.
"Well, that doesn't explain why you still need to be an outlaw."
Jack growled and took the shot of whiskey as it was slid over to him by the bartender, he then looked at Bill Pierce with a fierce yet determined look in his eyes.
"I planned to leave for Tahiti after living by Lake Don Julio for about a year, I would return to Beecher's Hope. The whole ranch was in flames, the money was gone. Then you've got the fool, the son of Leviticus Cornwall, running a corrupt fighting company over in Saint Denis. You was blinded by all the money he gave you. Cornwall, he gave no shit for the poor and for the ones in poverty. Society jerked his dick and he enjoyed every second of it, he loved the fame and the money. Now word has gone out that I am some outlaw, which is a lie. I was tracked down by four members of the BlackJacks, now I am forced to travel away from Saint Denis before they kill my ass."
Bill Pierce widened his eyes in fake intimidation, he was being sarcastic. Jack could tell.
"Easy now, no need to get so pissy about it."
Jack sighed and then looked at his reflection in the shot glass, the reflection of his father appeared before his eyes. John Marston, a man who tried to live a peaceful life, had society play him like a puppet, and he was disposed of when he was of no use. Jack was infuriated of how the law killed his father all for no good reason, he chucked the wine glass off the bar and it shattered to shards.
"America is going to change, Pierce. Not for the good, but for the worse. Government will play apart in all of our lives, law enforcement will be more brutish and harsh on us. They will be more strict, society and the government will favor the rich and wealthy, and they will piss on the poor and the weak. As the government grows, society will too. Making the situation a whole lot worse, there will be no justice for what the law does, that is once a new century shows it's head. America was founded on freedom, how are we free if the government looks at everything we do? How are we free, if the law enforcement beats up poor people and arrests them for no reason? The rich, if they break the law, they just get a slap on the wrist. Whites and the colored folk, if they are rich then nothing can go wrong. The same can be said for the poor, the people who aren't as wealthy, all people of different kinds will be shit on by the government."
Jack Marston delivered the speech to Bill, gaining some attention from other people in the bar. Rebecca then appeared from around the corner and took a seat next to Jack.
"Quite a speech, Jackie. I came here to embrace the beauty of what America could hold, you are right. America is killing itself a little more everyday, people are too blind to see it." Rebecca said, Bill seen that Jack had supporters in his cause.
"Join me Bill, I will start a gang. We will bring justice, we are the peacemakers and we are the ones that are blessed. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will take down this corrupt system one by one. We will persevere, by any means necessary. I don't give a damn if we have to take a life, we are doing the greater good. Join us Bill, you can still fight. You can fight alongside me."
Bill thought for a moment, Jack had extended a hand out to him. Bill Pierce had been brainwashed by the fame and fortune he had received, Sam Taylor was listening from the table he was sitting at and decided to get involved.
"No, you shouldn't Bill. Use your fame and fortune to make another fighting business, give the Saint Denis brawlers another chance. Don't waste it by joining this outlaw." Sam seemed to demand and all while giving Jack a hateful glare.
"As far as I'm concerned, I whipped your ass with no experience in the Saint Denis Fighting scene. For a two year veteran, you got shit on." Jack growled, getting up and looking Sam right in the eye.
Bill then looked back at Jack Marston and Rebecca McIntyre, he thought for a few more seconds.
"There is no justice in America anymore." Bill said before extending his arm out and giving Jack a handshake.
"There never was." Jack responded as he received the handshake, and so the Marston Gang was formed. All with a handshake, this gang would shock the rising system of American law enforcement.
(3 in the morning)
Douglas and his gang had searched almost all day and all night, they couldn't find Jack and thus, had left the Saint Denis Fighting Pit all littered with corpses.
"We've lost him Doug, the rest of the gang is probably searching for us." Shaw spoke in his raspy southern accent. Douglas turned his head and sighed.
"You're right, we need to hook up with the others. We need to find camp, somewhere."
"Then we should head on up to Ambarino, make our way into the Grizzlies again. They've probably already made their way down into West Elizabeth by now." Jake said, pulling the reins on his horse towards the direction of the large snow covered mountains.
"Brothers right Doug, I suggest we head in that direction too. We need to head towards Blackwater, I'm assuming that the gang followed the same path we did." Nicholas added on to what Jake spoke about. Douglas nodded and pointed towards the direction where Blackwater would be in.
"Let's ride!" Douglas shouted loudly, so he and the other three members of the BlackJacks raced out towards the town of Blackwater.
It would take Douglas, Shaw, Nicholas, and Jake around thirty minutes to reach Blackwater. Douglas wanted to speak with Archer Fordham, but it was too late at night and way early in the morning. Each of the members were extremely tired, especially Douglas.
"I need some damn rest, this leadership role is harder than it seems." Douglas groaned, his eyes were bloodshot and the dark rings were starting to show under his eyes as they drooped ever so slowly.
"Perhaps I should take up role, I dreamed of being a great leader." Jake spoke up, Douglas smiled slightly. Then Nicholas chimed in.
"A great leader? Maybe you can be the next president of the United States." Nicholas jokes, messing with his younger brother.
"I don't have time for that big of a role, especially in the sinful society we all live in."
The four made their way through the silent streets of Blackwater, everything seemed closed down and only the street lights remained on. Then the gang made their way up the dirt road path, a church was on the side of this path and overlooked the town. Including a small cemetery, to the East of the gang was the Grizzlies Mountains and to their West was the Flat Iron Lake. Shaw noticed orange lights far in the distance, coming out of the trees over in the Tall Trees area.
"Doug, I think that is the caravan up in the distance." Shaw announced, Douglas looked up and seen the glow of the lanterns on the trees.
"It's about damn time, we need to find a camp. I have a plan about it too, for now we will rest in our stagecoaches." Douglas responded as the four made their way North towards Tall Trees.
(The next morning)
Bill, Jack, and Rebecca sat at the table. Bill decided to take the gunslinger and the Irish fighter in as guests, the good thing was, that Bill Pierce had a decent sized house. He was currently saving money for a mansion, the three were eating some breakfast stew.
"Again, much thanks Mr. Pierce, and thank you for joining me in my quest." Jack said, giving thanks to the champion of Saint Denis. The home of Bill sat on top of a hill on the other side of Annesburg, across the river.
"You are wanting to go to Tahiti? Can you tell me what it is like?" Bill asked, wondering how Tahiti was.
"I don't know how good of a place Tahiti is, I was in a gang many years back. Pretty sure you've heard the name of Dutch Van Der Linde, I was then a little boy. Dutch would always speak of Tahiti, he spoke of it as the gang came closer to its end. He described it as a tropical paradise, I'm taking his word for it. I'm wanting to leave America behind, I'm wanting to leave the corrupt government, and law enforcement, I'm wanting to leave it all behind." Jack explained,
"That sounds like something I can get behind. I think we both owe you Jack, all three of us need to get to Tahiti or wherever." Rebecca said with a polite smile on her face, Jack smiled.
"I think we all should know that this path isn't going to be the easiest one, we'll have the law on our tails. The FBI, to make matters worse, you've got an entire gang hunting you down." Bill reminded Jack, Jack raised an eyebrow at the last thing Bill said in his sentence.
"I do have a gang hunting me down, I won't leave any bad action against me unpunished. I've gotta settle the score with them Blackjacks, I cannot let my goals spiral out of control. I can't lose motivation so soon." Bill thought for a minute before speaking up.
"Well. How about you and I go see what has been left behind at Beecher's Hope? Maybe we can have some clues to where these BlackJacks are located."
Jack nodded his head, the three continued to eat their morning stew and talk amongst themselves. While the BlackJacks on the other hand, was moving on towards their new campgrounds.
Douglas and Nicholas asked some residents in Blackwater about towns nearby big enough for the gang, they didn't give any details about their gang. They just spoke of a "gathering," and nothing else. The two scouted around the shores of the Flat Iron Lake, and eventually they discovered the wreck of the Serendipity. The Serendipity was an American sternwheel steamboat in which was old and rotting away, it was partially sunk. The two had also discovered a town called Thieves' Landing, the town was abandoned. It was abandoned due to unknown reasons, a popular theory amongst civilians, was that with the new civilization expansion in progress, people thought that the residents of Thieves' Landing had left it behind for better quality homes.
The best members of the gang would hide out in the abandoned steamboat, while the others would live in Thieves' Landing for the time being. The caravan of the BlackJacks was on their way towards the locations for the camp. The elite four of the gang would lead the way, most of the gang had got a six hour sleep for the time they all settled. It was enough time for the gang to move just a little bit further.
"Alright, here is what I want to happen!" Douglas called out, ready to give the whole gang the announcement.
"Me and the elite three would hide out in an abandoned steamboat right up ahead and down the hill, the rest of you will hide out in a settlement called Thieves' Landing. Not all of you will fit in the settlement so a few more of you will need to set up tents for the time being before we find a new camping ground fit for all of us!" Douglas announced.
"Shaw, Jake, come up here. I've got something exclusive planned for you two."
Jake Lanza and Shaw moved up next to Douglas, to hear what Douglas had to say to them.
"I want both of you to head on over to Beecher's Hope once we all get settled in, first I need you two to see if this ship is even worth hiding in. Once you investigate this wreck, head over to Beecher's Hope to see if anything is left to take."
Meanwhile over towards Annesburg, Jack Marston, Bill Pierce, and Rebecca McIntyre, all were making their way towards Beecher's Hope. Jack figured that the BlackJacks would be somewhere in the area of his old home, or somewhere in West Elizabeth at least.
"That boy Sam Taylor looked quite pissed when you turned down his offer, Bill." Jack said with a smirk on his face, remembering on how comical it looked when Sam Taylor's offer was rejected.
"He's just annoyed that he has been defeated by me over and over, I don't see how he has a chance on winning my respect when I take him out with only one move. You've opened my eyes up about the government, Jack. I've been thinking about it and I agree with you."
Jack smiled at how Bill responded, feeling great at how he was getting others to join his cause. The gunslinger looked to his left and seen Rebecca riding along with him.
"So, Rebecca. What brings you to America? How was it over in Ireland?" Jack asked, feeling curious about how Rebecca was before and now.
"I came over to America to see how beautiful it was, I often heard stories about it from my parents. We moved over into America when I was around ten years old, now I am twenty four years old and I seen that the beauty of how life is here. It is fading away, live in Ireland was fine. You would love the country of it and the way we live life was fine too. I miss it greatly, however if you can take us to this Tahiti Island you speak of. I will be happy, at least we shall be able to live our lives freely." Rebecca responded, focusing on the dirt road path.
"I bet Ireland was beautiful, my father was part Scottish. Too bad he was an orphan, he also left me and my mother when we were all in the Van Der Linde Gang. It seemed he didn't care about me for those first few years of my existence, I cared about him. I always loved my father, John Marston was his name. Even if he did not love me for those first few years, I loved him anyways. Dutch taught me to not kill the innocent. I resort to love instead of war, I try to talk my way out of things instead of resorting to violence. I only kill when I need to." Jack responded.
"Is that why you tried to talk to me back at the Fighting Pit, Jack?" Rebecca asked with a slight smile on her face, she looked at Jack for a second before looking back on the path.
"Yes, I don't kill when people don't deserve to die. Even though you are called the war maiden, I don't like to use the word whore. I still tried to speak my way out, I didn't want you to kill me, and I didn't want to kill you." Jack responded with a nice tone in his voice.
Bill smirked, he could tell that Jack had a thing for Rebecca. They both just met yesterday and Jack was already trying.
"Why thank you, my nickname deceives me Jackie. I am actually a very caring person outside of all of this violence, we should all be treated kindly instead of being treated like gladiators. I liked fighting in the Fighting Pit, it was fun. I didn't like killing."
There was a pause before Jack responded to what Rebecca had said, something about her made Jack like her.
"You're welcome Ms. McIntyre, it is also good to have you join me in this gang. I don't like killing, I bet we all don't like killing, but when our back is against the wall by BlackJacks or the law. We kill, and we run. We run, and don't look back." Jack responded, now sounding serious. He remembered John and Arthur both used the saying "run and don't look back."
"Don't we have any rules, what do we kill or who do we kill?" Bill asked, looking at Jack for a moment.
"If the law enforcement is after us, we kill without remorse. If it is the BlackJacks that are after us, we don't hesitate to kill them. If we are robbing banks or preforming a heist, we harm no innocents unless they are clearly asking for death. There is one thing I don't like seeing, that is seeing the innocent die."
"Agreed" Bill and Rebecca both said at the same time.
"Now, let's ride!" Jack shouted, putting pressure with the reins. The three continued their ride towards Beecher's Hope. It would take them about an hour to get to the area.
(One Hour Later)
Shaw and Jake of the BlackJacks had arrived at the remains of Beecher's Hope, everything was burned. The brown house had been turned black from being burned, the parts that was still up at that matter. The silo had collapsed, the barn had collapsed but some of it still stood.
The two began to investigate the burnt remains, scouring for anything of use. Jake noticed two crosses a few feet away from where he was searching and he smirked, Jake Lanza approached the crosses, the crosses in which marked the graves of John Marston and Abigail Marston.
"Find a shovel, Shaw. We've got some graves to dig up." Shaw nodded his head and walked towards the barn to see if he could find a shovel, Jake looked down at the crosses and patiently waited for Shaw to come back with a shovel or a spade.
"I think we can use these wooden crosses for firewood, the gang needs a fireplace to tell stories around." Jake added on with a sinister tone in his voice, suddenly, he noticed three people riding from the up top the hill in which overlooked Beecher's Hope.
"We've got some company Shaw, damn shame we don't have our weapons." Jake said as he folded his arms, waiting for the three to arrive.
Jack, Bill, and Rebecca made their way over to Jake as he stood still in his dark grey clothing.
"You, are you one of them?" Jack asked in an angered tone as he hopped off his horse, Jake slowly nodded his head.
"You tried to kill me, are you the bastard that burned down this house? The house that I lived in."
Jake would respond to what Jack had just said, as Shaw approached from behind with a shovel.
"We are among the BlackJacks, I am not the one who burned down this house. Douglas Mulligan would be the man you're looking for, this is our yard now. Gone are the days of the Marston family and the Van Der Linde Gang, this state is not Marston territory anymore. Be it West Elizabeth, New Austin, Ambarino or wherever, those trends are dead now. We are the BlackJacks, we are trendkillers. You're an outlaw, Jack Marston. You will die, the outlaw trend will die along with you." Jake said coldly, trying to strike fear into the gunslinger in whom stood before him.
"I don't know what you're talking about sir, the outlaw trend has been dead. If you consider it to be dead already, then I must be a dead man walking." Jack responded in a smart tone of voice.
There was silence for a few seconds, the breeze blew through the air. Blowing the hair of Jack Marston and the ones with longer hair, Jake fixed his hat and gave Jack a cold stare before Jack would continue speaking.
"I would have words with Douglas Mulligan, give me five minutes alone with that demon. I want to have a private conversation with the man by Flat Iron Lake, you'll see his body float away by the end of the day."
Jake snickered at what Jack just said and sighed as he looked at the ground, there was silence for a few more seconds as Jack and his two crew members stared at the two BlackJack members before them.
"Answer me BlackJack scum, or I won't be responsible for my actions!" Jack said, raising his voice as he slowly drug his hand down to his gun holster.
"Kill me and you'll be wanted for more amounts of money, there's already a bounty on your head. The thing you don't realise, is that we are not as stupid as we look. Did you seriously think that I and Shaw, came alone?" Jake asked, his eyes looked behind Jack and to the top of the hill.
Fifteen riders slowly approached the edge of the hill, their silhouettes in the sun. All with dark clothing, all of them were BlackJack members.
"Isn't this how your father died, Jack? Gunned down and outnumbered?" Shaw asked, finally speaking up as Jack aimed a revolver at the head of Jake from about five feet away.
Jack gritted his teeth and growled in anger, Bill looked over at the angered gunslinger with a slightly concerned look. Rebecca put her hand on Jack's arm.
"Jack...Think." Bill mouthed the words to him, Jack noticed this out of the corner of his eye.
"If you value your life, and the lives of your two friends here. I would turn around, and get the fuck out of here. Or we can gun all of you down right on the spot and I will take your souls to Hell." Jake said in a voice of pure hatred and vicious American venom, Jack continued to have the same facial expression on his face.
Jack did not put down the pistol and kept his eyes on Jake, Shaw slowly looked up at the BlackJack members on the hill.
"We're giving you a chance at life, all three of you. The next time we see you, we will not be so soft. We'll leave your bodies for the buzzards." Shaw warned, Jack slowly lowered the gun down and sighed in disbelief.
"The next time you see us, there will be more than three. You are not going to kill me, you are going to try." Jack viciously responded as he got back on his horse, his two crew members did the same. The three began to ride away from Beecher's Hope, leaving it all for the BlackJacks taking.
"And so it begins Jake, there is going to be bloodshed coming soon." Shaw said, looking at Jake.
"There is going to be gang warfare, and Jack will be the first casualty." Jake responded darkly...