AN.: Thank you for reading my story :)
I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Prey

He was furious. This whole thing started to become ridiculous. Wright had patiently waited for the brothers to go to sleep only to realize that for some reason, the youngest brother was on watch while the other two were sleeping. Why on earth would they set up a watch if they didn't expect someone to attack them. They do know!

Wright gripped a handful of his own hair, pulling hard and waiting for the pain to ground his nerves. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath. There was no way Wright was going to delay his plan for revenge any longer. The longing to cut that tan throat was driving him mad. He felt like that man was taunting him. Every action Adam took, every second he lived on seemingly carefree, tortured Wright. That scum had stolen everything from him and lived a life that did not belong to him. Opening his eyes, he started to pace around as much as his small hiding spot allowed him to. Tonight, Wright was going to act. If that meant he'd need to cut three throats instead of one, then so be it. Those brothers deserved no better. They were loyal to that lying garbage. He sharply went down into a crouch, slowly moving closer to the little camp. He was in trance, animalistic instincts kicking in and drawn to his pray like a moth was drawn towards a source of light. He sought cover, trying to think of the best way to attack the youngest Cartwright, Little Joe, without waking the other brothers up just yet. Wright was a slim but tall and strong built, muscular man but he feared that that bear of a brother, Hoss, would rip him apart with his bare hands if he'd catch him doing what Wright planned to do with the youngest brother. And Adam wasn't a wimp either.

A yawn brought Wright back to the present and he squinted his eyes to look past the dancing flames of the campfire to sneak a peak at the figure leaning against the rock. Little Joe Cartwright was on the brink of falling asleep. His heavy eyelids drooped leaving small slits of only the white of the eyeball for Wright to see. He'd snap them open again only to fail miserably at leaving them open as they began to close again. He sank further and further against the rock supporting his back, his heavy head lolling to the side and his shoulders slumping until Little Joe was just a heap of limbs and soft snores.

Wright held his breath, while changing his plan yet again. He decided to stay in his hiding spot a few heartbeats longer to assure that the three men were properly asleep. His eyes darted over to the dark figure to the campfire's immediate right his flank slowly rising and sinking. Wright had to suppress the crazed laughter which tried to rise to his throat from his insides, the anticipation enhancing his senses. He patted the side of his worn out pants to reassure himself that the cloth for muffling screams and his sharpened knife were in place. Now.

He slowly rose from his hiding spot, floating closer to the camp as a sharp movement caught his eye, making him freeze in place. Adam's long limbs had twisted sharply under the brown, weathered blanket. He continued to twitch, spreading from his legs to his arms, which were almost flailing by now. Oddly enough, There were no sounds coming from Adam. Then, the movements died down, but as soon as they did, Adam's upper body rose, putting himself into a sitting position. Wright was quick to disappear in the shadows again to shield himself from Adam's sight. Said man started to get up, standing on wobbly legs, the blanket still draped around his feet, were it had sunken to the floor when Adam got up. He took one step, or rather tried to, because his feet were caught in the blanket and he landed face first on the rough ground. Wright's gaze wandered to the other brothers who were still asleep before it snapped back to Adam who was currently trying to get up on shaky legs. Wright caught a glimpse at Adam's face: His eyes were half-lidded and had no light in them. His mouth was slightly agape and his chest was rising and sinking evenly, almost as if...

What is going on? Wright asked himself. He continued to watch the spectacle of Adam walking a few steps aimlessly only to almost stumble again, unfold right before his eyes, curiosity gnawing at his insides. Adam was walking away. Away from his camp, from the safety of the fire and away from his protective brothers and Wright was right on his heels. Wright watched as Adam took one unsteady step after the other into the darkness that welcomed him. Left, right, left, right... The predator right behind him felt like a child on Christmas morning. After they both walked a good distance away from the makeshift camp, Wright caught up to Adam and stepped in front of him, putting on the most devilish expression he had to offer.

"Remember me, Cartwright?" Wright roared. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you alone." He'd been expecting everything. Since the moment he had left the wagon and made the journey back to his paradise, since he started imagining getting revenge on Adam for what that man had done to him. He imagined all kinds of scenarios for this confrontation: Adam crying, begging for mercy, Adam screaming for help, trying to run away, even him fighting to the death with Wright but he had certainly not expected Adam to simply ignore him and walk past him.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Wright shouted, out of his mind because of the disrespect. With long strides, he was back in front of Adam, gripping a handful of Adam's rumpled red shirt, his arm and fist shaking with rage.

"How dare you." He repeated, his voice lower now but more intense and more deadly than every before. Adam made no move to resist or to fight back. Wright's enraged gaze sought Adam's eyes, longing to spot fear in them but looking at Adam's eyes finally told Wright that the man in front of him was someplace entirely else. The man right before him was just an empty shell. Wright nodded as he stared at the freak before him, new doors already opening up inside his head, showing him how he could deal with the situation when one particular idea flooded his mind, making a snarl appear on the killer's face. There was a chance for everything to turn right again, a chance for him to return to his paradise, an opportunity in form of a senseless man he was still holding by the collar of his shirt.

"You." Wright said and tugged at Adam's shirt. In response, the Cartwright followed Wright's movement and took a step towards his enemy, as if he was a stupid animal on a leash. Wright's expression turned to one of wonder as he tilted his head and regarded the puppet whose strings he currently held in his hand. Almost softly, he raised his hand and grabbed Adam's chin to forcibly turn his puppet's head from side to side and without resistance of any kind, Adam complied. Letting go of Adam's shirt, but not of his chin, Wright pulled out a strong rope he had secured at his belt just in case he'd needed it. Finally letting go of Adam's chin, Wright roughly grabbed Adam's wrists and bound them together in front of him, leaving enough rope for Wright to have an actual leash. With one last glance at his captive, Wright turned and set course for the hideout he'd been using as a home for the last couple of weeks. With a non too gentle tug at the rope, Adam mindlessly trotted along, away from his family.

AN.: Oh no! Someone called it before that Wright might find Adam while he is sleepwalking. Even though you predicted it before, I hope I could still interest you in the development of this little story. As always, Thank you for reading ^^

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