Early in the next morning, Davison got up in a hopeful mood. He needed to wake up Blake so she could get back with the gang. He stood up and said aloud, "Wonderful morning, miss Thuuman! I suppose you would wake up now?"
No answer.
He shook his head yet smiled a little, thinking she was still asleep. "You can't possibly still be sleeping especially at this hour?" It was a little past 7 o' clock. He walked up to her cot and shook her. "Come on, you little rascal!" Still no answer.
Now was beginning to concern him. His cheery smile gradually went to a frown. "Blake? Are you awake?" he asked. She didn't budge. Eyes wide, he slowly put his two fingers under her chin to check her pulse.
Nothing. His mouth dropped and he felt his heart skip a beat.
Blake... Blake was dead.
He backed away from her body and dropped his cane.
What happened? How could she die? He thought he checked every wound and stitched her up. "Wha- How did this happen?! I checked everything! An' nothing seemed to be too fatal except for-"
The knife wound!
He completely forgot to tend the place where Joe had slashed her. Davison looked to where the blood was staining her chest. He figured that he was so focused on quickly getting the bullets out of her, he didn't get to the knife wound.
Davison didn't want to see Butch's reaction to the news. He didn't want to see a man like Butch break down over the loss of a child, but he had no choice...
...
...
...
Butch was the one to wake up first. Then a few more got up. Then soon, all the men were up, waiting for Blake to join back. He ordered the men to gather whatever belongings they had when they fell off the train. Butch turned around and saw Davison slowly approaching the gang. He smirked and said, "Yer up kinda early, ol' Doc. How's Blake doin'?" The men turned to the old doctor with hopeful looks on their faces. However, they notice that Davison looked like he was going to keel over, but that didn't bother them.
Davison looked up to the men with a somber look. He bit his lower lip and gazed his eyes to the ground and slowly removed his hat. Butch and the men immediately put it together that something was wrong. "Doc...?" Butch murmured. Davison pursed his lips and said softly, "I... I'm sorry. But Blake... She didn't make it to morning..."
A wave of shock hit the men harder than anything. How could she be dead? She's just a kid. She can't die... Right?
Butch felt speechless and unresponsive. The only thing he did was look at Davison and mutter, "Thank ya..." He turned away from the doctor and stood there. Moments later, he began to walk away from the camp; Frank stopped him. "Wh-where ya goin', B-Butch?" he asked. Butch could hear his voice go hoarse when he spoke. He responded, "Somewhere a lil' private... Don't even follow me." And he walked off; he never heard Frank cry.
Once Butch was far away from the camp, he looked up to the sky. He felt tears welling up in his eyes, his breathing staggered. 'First Angela...' he thought. He clenched his fists tightly. 'An' now Blake...' His knees felt weak and he fell onto them. "I just can't win, can I...?!" he mumbled. The tears that collected in his eyes began to fall. Not too soon, he hit the ground with his fists, and screamed. That's all he felt like he could do.
In between yelling, cursing and breathing for air, he bawled like crazy and the tears came down like a waterfall. Inside his heavy cold heart, he felt as though another part of it was taken out. Sure he has killed some women—girls included— in the past; but he felt that Blake was a part of his life the whole time. He would never think of hurting her. He wouldn't even have the guts to do so. He calmed down a little and remembered the ones that took her away from him: Joe and Latham. He clenched his teeth and his expression became fierce. "Swear to God... I'll kill 'em both...! I'll make 'em burn in Hell for this!" He ended his sentence by pounding the ground with anger.
...
...
...
Freighter clasped his hands together and rested them against his forehead and stared at the ground. Scuzz buried his face in his hands in frustration and confusion; he had to experience another "father" grieve for his "child". Jake leaned against a tree, arms crossed with a bottle of smuggled booze in his hand. Out of his anger and frustration, he turned and smashed the bottle against the tree, turned back around, sat down and put his face in his arms. Edgar noted that Walliwitz didn't seem to be affected as much by the news of his boss's death. He assumed Walli had heard that sort of news enough that it didn't have any effect on him.
In the distance, they all heard someone scream; Butch. Freighter didn't turn to the direction of the sound, for he had heard it way too often in his time as a slave. As the silence returned in the air, the gang remained silent.
Nobody looked up when they heard the sound of spurs clicking. Butch collected himself and stopped at the foot of the camp. His hat covered most of his face which hid his eyes that were tinted with pink from crying. His breathing was choppy as well. His eyes glanced up to see that none of her gang had moved from their spots since he left. The first to look at him was Scuzz. He never said anything but he knew Butch would want to see Blake one more time before departing. Butch found the path to the tent and walked it until he found the tent. He entered the tent after hearing someone crying in there. He recognized the person who was crying: Frank. In the tent, he was right about his thought when he saw Frank hunched over and shaking by Blake's cot. Frank was too caught up in grieving for Blake that he never heard his boss' footsteps right behind him.
Butch stood right behind him and hesitated to put a hand on Frank's shoulder. Frank felt it and looked up to his boss. The two didn't say a word until Butch told him, "Why don'cha get back out there an' join them fer a while...?" Frank didn't move or say anything; he just stared at his boss in sadness. He then looked back at Blake, scooted closer to her, leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, "'Till we meet again..." and lastly, he gently placed his lips on her cheek. Frank's eyes filled with tears again as he stood back up, bumped into Butch and left.
Taking Frank's spot, Butch took his hat off and hung his head low. He bit his lip to stop it from quivering. He took a hold of her hand and never let go. He soon felt Davison's presence in the tent lingering behind him. "...Why didn' ya do it?!" he uttered aloud. Davison raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" he asked. Butch raised his voice repeating, "I said, 'Why didn' ya do it'?! Why didn' ya save her life like ya said you would?!" Davison sighed heavily and replied, "I did all I could, Cavendish. But some things are just unexpected."
That only made Butch stand up angrily. "Why the hell did you expect me ta believe that you would save her?! You fuckin' expect me to believe she's dead?!" Butch's throat tightened up as he spoke. His eyes watered as well. "Cavendish! I am a doctor, not a miracle worker! I cannot purely gurantee my belief on saving a life when they're between life and death!"
Butch and Davison kept arguing on the subject, completely unaware the Blake had slowly opened her eyes and saw them arguing. She passed out again.
"I can't predict the future, either, Butch! It's just something that happens! I-"
"What you can do is be a little fuckin' more relieable!" Butch's voice may be rising, but it was also cracking from how much he was yelling at the doctor.
"I am too relieable! You have to understand that I cannot save all the lives in the world! I have failed others in the past, too, but they were right on the verge of death and there was nothing I could do!"
"All you are is jus' a goddamn asshole! You ain't no doctor-"
Suddenly, Davison pulled out his knife and pointed it to Butch's neck. "Test me. One more time, Cavendish. Just do it!" he threatened through his teeth. Butch didn't say a word after that. He backed off, turned back to Blake and lowered his head. Davison put his knife back and slumped back in his seat. He sighed heavily and said, "I'm sorry, Cavendish. It's just that... Sometimes, things just happen. Sure, I have let people die, but they were expected to die. I couldn't do anything about it. Blake's was completely unexpected. I thought she would be alright by today, but... She just... Didn't make it..."
Butch just listened to what Davison had to say. He felt a little guilty for yelling at him and not letting him explain himself. Davison further explained, "Being what I am is extremely stressful. Again, I apologize for this." He looked up and saw that Butch was still standing over Blake. After some time of silence, he spoke up saying, "I'll let you be with her for the last time." Butch looked over to Davison. "It's okay," Davison said quietly. Butch nodded and sat back down.
He pushed back the hair covering her eye and noticed the scar over her right eye and the other two scars on the right side of her face. He then took a hold of her hand and gently squeezed it. He hesitated to lean in and place his lips on her forehead. "Tell Angela... I said 'hi'...," he muttered. Butch straightened up in his seat before actually getting up from it. He tipped his hat to Davison and muttered to him, "Make sure she get's a good burial..."
He left the tent without another word.
He arrived back to the camp, the men turning their heads to him. Butch stared at the men knowing that they were waiting for him to say where they'll go next. Butch stared off into space then looked off into the direction where Joe and Cole's train were. He figured it wasn't too far off where they had jumped off last night. Next thing he saw was the rising sun in the horizon. His mind was now lost somewhere, not caring about had just happened over the course of these dark seven hours. A voice made him snap back to reality. "Wh-wh-wh...Whaddo we d-do now...?" He looked towards the source of the sound: Scuzz.
Butch gave him a good hard look for a few seconds before looking away from him and the rest of the men. He couldn't get himself to say anything; he actually never thought about what they'll do next.
In fact: What are they going to do? Their boss is dead, half of his own gang were dead as well thanks to that 'lone Ranger' and his Indian friend, and Cole back stabbed him by helping Joe kill Blake.
He finally came up with an answer: "We're goin' back to the plan me an' Cole set up."
The Sinners looked at Butch like he was a mad man—which he probably was. Jake was the first to protest. "Ya gotta be outta yer damn mind, ya walloper! Do ya even remember who just killed ou' boss?!" Butch glared at Jake and replied, "He thinks we took care o' Blake. Cole wanted her dead if I ever came across her path." Jake looked at him disgustedly when he turned towards the direction of the tycoons. "By hell doncha dare walk away fro' me, ya bastart!" exclaimed Jake as he quickly approached Butch and grabbed him by the shoulder. "If wese ta be outlaws, then by hell we'll stay-"
Jake wasn't prepared for Butch's sucker punch. Jake fell to the ground and put his hand on his bloody nose. Jake muffled his scream of pain with the same hand. He looked to where Butch's boots were and looked up to him angrily. He gave Jake his best death glare and growled, "We stick to th' plan, ya dipshit. You can either get off yer ass an' do it, or you'll wind up dead like yer boss...!" Of course, he truly didn't mean to say that last part; he was just upset.
Jake couldn't think of a reply and stood up, gave Butch a glare of his own, and asked for a cloth. Edgar pulled out his handkerchief and gave it to him. Butch watched him before turning around and saying, "Let's go..." The gang followed without argument.
...
...
...
Davison slowly paced back and forth replaying the argument between him and Butch. He came to the conclusion that they weren that they were both right. He knew that he could have saved her life quicker like Butch said; but at the same time, he couldn't predict a sudden death so quickly. "Butch was upset when he found out about your death, Blakely...," he said out loud. He looked right at her and continued, "Death, though, can't necessarily be such a bad thing. I'm sure he believes you're free from the suffering of all these years." He paused, grinned and finished, "It would be funny if you were to hear all of this nonsense I'm just blabbering about."
He heard footsteps coming from outside the tent. Surprised, Davison called out, "'Ello?" A voice called back, "Uh, doc? You still in there?" Even though Davison knew he should not let any people he was not familiar with in his "office", he allowed whoever was outside in. The tent flap opened and John Reid and Tonto entered. John took his hat off and asked, "I- erm, we, heard some commotion in this area. Everything alright?" Davison hesitantly nodded and replied, "Well, the storm has passed now." John asked, "Wh-What exactly happened?"
"The girl-" he pointed to Blake's body. "-just died not too long ago. Been gone for a few hours, actually."
"So who was it that just-"
Tonto did not want to take part of the conversation and decided to examine Blake.
"It was Butch...," Davison finished. John didn't know how to respond to this. He knew Butch was the one that killed his brother and ate his heart, but to think that he cared for a teenage girl? How could he? That didn't make sense to him. "Why does he care for her?"
Tonto took out a feather, held it up and placed it over her heart.
"I'm not entirely sure. But the two seemed very close when they arrived a few days ago."
Once Tonto felt the offering was good enough, he looked back to John and Davison and sneakily went for Blake's feather in her hair. Davison noticed Tonto taking something from her. "Hey! Don't touch her! I was about to-"
One second later, Blake grabbed Tonto's wrist. Davison caught his breath, John gasped to himself, and Tonto was just fazed. Blake slowly tried to sit up, groaning in pain. Tonto quickly looked around and found the tray with the small surgical equipment, grabbed it with his free hand, and slammed it across her face. She was quickly knocked out again.
Not one of them said a single word. Tonto turned to John and Davison, shocked.
"WHY THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU DO THAT?!" Davison yelled at Tonto, breaking the silence. Tonto then pointed to the dead crow on his head and replied, "Bird told me to." The old doctor did not know how to respond to this. He turned to John with a look on his face in which John shrugged and said quietly, "...Long story."
...
...
...
Joe started chatting with Marty and Sid. "Seeing that you two have done your jobs-"
"Y-You gon set us free?!" Marty interrupted. Joe chuckled and replied, "You two earned it!" The two mechanics smiled big and gave their thanks to Joe. They reported back to the engine before Butch and the remaining gangmen arrived. Joe turned to the somber men and fakely exclaimed, "Oh! Didn't expect all of you to come back already! I, uh, I was, admittedly, taken off guard by your arrival!"
Butch gave Joe an unreadable look and muttered, "Ta be honest wit' ya, we really don' wanna hear it. We're all really shittin' tired..." Joe nodded and said, "We'll have lunch ready soon enough for you all." He left.
Butch motioned the men to just sit down. Every one of them slumped as soon as they sat down. When Butch sat down, he leaned his head on his hand and let out a heavy sigh.
They heard the door open again, and it was Cole who came in. "Good afternoon, gentlemen!" Jake and Freighter lifted a hand as a greeting. Cole soon noticed the men's gloomy looks. "What seems to be the problem…?" he asked. "Blake…" Butch quietly replied.
"What about her?"
"She died…"
Cole figured Blake would die slow, but he did not think her death would have that big of an impact on all of them. "Oh…," he replied, "Well I do hope she's in a better place." Walliwitz raised his hand. "Yes?" Cole answered. "Uhm, d-do you 'ave 'ny food?" the Aussie asked. Cole gave him a smile and said, "We are serving lunch outside if you want to join!" Walliwitz happily got out of his seat and bolted to the door.
'How the hell can a sap like him be so damn worried 'bout eatin'?!' Butch thought as he watched the hunchback leave the gang.
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...
...
"What do you think you are doing?!" Davison exclaimed as Tonto tied Blake to a toboggan. Tonto didn't turn to him but he replied, "She Spiritwalker." Davison raised an eyebrow and he heard John say to the Comanche, "What makes you say that? I thought you said I was the only one."
"Yes. But I meant to tell you of a second Spiritwalker."
Davison and John kept listening to what he had to say. "In my vision, there were two Spiritwalkers. One being you, Kemosabe. The other-" he pointed to Blake, "-her!"
Davison was so dumbfounded by the Indian's talk. He whispered to John, "What even IS a so called 'Spiritwalker'?!"
"One who has been to the other side and back," Tonto replied making Davison's heart stop. "One-" he turned to Davison. "-Who cannot be killed in battle."
He gave John the same look from earlier. He said the same thing from earlier, "Again, long story..."
…
…
…
Later that night, the table was still quiet. Rebecca and Danny could sense the emptiness in the air around them. Not a lot of the men were hungry; even Butch hadn't touched his dinner. Walliwitz, however, did not seem to feel the somber air created by the rest of his gang. He scarf down his plate in no time. He heard Cole chuckle. "My, Louis! You seemed to take that down easily!" Walliwitz looked up to the mayor with a mouth full of food but he quickly closed it and smirked.
Joe offered to take his plate and put it in the sink but the Aussie insisted on seconds. Walliwitz got up and searched for the food again. Cole placed his napkin on his plate, got up and excused himself, Joe followed suit. "We'll just... Leave you all alone for now," said Joe, leaving.
Silence filled the train again before Walliwitz returned with more food on his plate. He returned to his spot next to Jake who gave Walli a dark glare for no reason. He shuddered and returned to his food. Jake fiddled with his food before he angrily slammed his hands on the table. "This is all YOUR fault!" he said pointing at and calling out Scuzz. Confused, Scuzz looked around the others, back to Jake and pointed a finger to himself. He raised an eyebrow. "M-Me?" Scuzz asked dumbfoundedly.
"Yeah you, ya stank dodger git! Yer th' one who led our boss ta her death!" he yelled getting out of his seat. Scuzz then raised his hands up in defense and replied, "I-I-I was d-doin' m-my job! I-I had n-no-no... Nothin' ta do w-wit' her death!"
"Guys seriously, arguin's not gonna solve anythin'. Jes' drop it," Butch muttered. Jake snapped at Butch saying, "Jes' keep yer mouth SHUT, ya ol' bastart!" Butch kept quiet after that. Jake then turned back to Scuzz and continued, "If it weren't fer you an' yer damn watch, we woulda been better off! We woulda carried on wit' our lives-" He started to walk over to Scuzz in the middle of his talk. "-AND we wouldn't've had ta deal wit' such a Godforsaken ordeal!"
"Or-Ordeal?! We didn' h-have ta d-d-do anyhtin' b-but follow B-B-Blake's orders! Y-Yer th' o-o-one who's c-c-allin' th-this whole sh-sh-shit an o-o..ordeal!"
"Oh look 'o's talkin' ya limey bastart!"
"Yer th-th' one wh-wh-who's a limey b-bastart!"
Scuzz shoved Jake away and into Freighter. Scuzz immediately realized what he had done. "Uh oh…" he muttered under his breath. Jake gritted his teeth and clenched his fists growling, "Ya really wanna go, ya dobber?!" A hand grabbed Jake by the hair. "Easy there, pretty boy!" Freighter said. Jake angrily turned to the African man and hissed, "Wha' de hell ya call me?!" Freighter rolled his eyes and calmly said, "Arguin' aint gonna solve 'nythin', so why you-"
He got cut off with Jake's fist meeting his face.
Rebecca pulled the scared Danny closer to her, and Walliwitz cringed. The men kept yelling at each other. Butch eventually had had enough of the argument and pulled out his gun. Danny covered his ears when-
BANG!
Everyone turned to who had pulled the trigger. It was not even Butch.
It was Walliwitz.
"STOP IT! ALL OF YOU!"
The whole gang was in shock to see the shy, quiet hunch back Australian raise his voice like this. "I'm tired o' all o' you arguin' 'bout lil' details! Blake died because she tried ta fix up her past an' she failed! There's no point in arguin' about THAT, is there?!" Nobody wanted to say a word to him. Walliwitz continued with tears of stress forming in his eyes, "Why can't you all jus' get o'er this?! Do ya honestly think woulda tolerate this?! NO! She woulda killed us!" The tears flowed down as he pounded the table with his fist. "I hate it! I hate it! I HATE IT!" He looked at every one of them angrily and said quietly, "Can y'all just shut up an' get over it?!"
Walliwitz took his plate and sat in a corner in the car. He didn't want to make eye contact with the gang; he knew they deserved it. Jake eventually let go of Scuzz and muttered, "Eh... Sorry, mate... I- I git kinda worked up sometimes..." Scuzz shook his head and replied, "N-No. I-I-... I unders-stand..." It was then that everyone knew that Walliwitz was right.
Butch's chair scraped the floor as he got up from his seat and decided to leave them. "Wh-Where ya goin', Butch?" asked Frank. He opened the door and replied, "...I kinda need ta be alone fer a while." and he exited the car and went to his office Cole had set up for him a while back.
As soon as he thought he was alone and that everything was quiet, he pulled out a photo of a woman from his coat pocket. He gave a good look at it before he put it gently against his lips and muttered, "I'm sorry, Angela... I really am..." and he put it back in his pocket.
He stood in the office in silence.
Visions blurred through Blake's head. She saw different people; many of whom she does not even know. Events spun around her that either had not happened yet or that had hapened and that she does not remeber them, such as a monsterous cross of a spider and a scorpion tearing through the roof of a train car, a black demon entity, her uncle Joe's eyes glowing blue, and a black, red eyed monster grinning demonically.
Then she saw visions of Butch. "...D-Dad...?" she muttered. The next few visions were of Frank; and somehow, she felt relieved to see him and to know that he was alright. "Frank..." she muttered happily.
There was another vision. This time, it was of a woman. She seemed to be a young woman of no older than twenty-five. She had beautiful maroon eyes with the exception of her right eye being a quarter blue, her face was round and Blake could see that her smile was just as beautiful. She wore gold hoop earrings on both ears. Her hair was long and the color was identical to Blake's. She wore a white off-the-shoulder blouse with long puffy sleeves, a brief v-cut neckline, and a slit through the arms; her skirt was long and black tinted with purple. Around her waist was a purple sash. Her skin was fairly tan.
The woman whispered, "Rose... Rose you were so loved. Mommy loves you." The woman looked down from her and continued, "Your father would have loved you, too, puer meus. I wish he were here to see you." The woman looked back at Blake with a smile. "Wh-who are you?" Blake asked. The woman spoke as if she didn't hear her. "Rose, you have to live. You must escape from this damnation, find your father, and free our souls all together." A tear fell down her face, a glow appeared behind the woman as she finished, "I give you my final words: Et aliter seni, et securus, Rose..."
A voice much deeper cried out, "MORS MIHI AD TE!" A bright flash consumed the whole room and the last thing Blake heard was a scream.
Blake snapped her eyes open as she awakened with a start. She was sweating like crazy and breathing hard. She sat up straight but cringed from a shot of pain on her side. She grunted once she was up. She rubbed her head and felt something that probably wasn't supposed to be there; horse poop. She muttered, "Eew" and rubbed it off on whatever was cushioning her. She slowly stood up and took a look around her, wondering where she was. Just as she took a step forward, she stopped immediately and gasped. "Oh my God!"
Blake found herself on some sort of platform looking over a canyon. As much as she wanted to know where she was, she just wanteed to get down from there; heights were another one of her fears.
She looked around and found a ladder. She scaled down it and examined the area around her. She then spotted a pilar of smoke coming from the west. So she took off towards the smoke.
Blake scurried down the small slope and at the foot of a camp. She examined the camp and noted the dying flames, her coat all laid out along with her hat, her guns and knife placed neatly on the rock bed, and some... Native American items right next to her stuff. Blake then spooted a canteen from the corner of her eye and immediately dashed towards it, gulping last every drop of refreshing water. Blake felt relieved as she pourd some of it on her. The water was a little wam due to the heat, but that didn't matter right now.
Suddenly, she heard someone chanting in the distance. She turned to the sourse and saw an Indian (Comanche, she assumed) with a dead crow on his head. His face was painted white except for the black stripes going from his forehead, around his eyes and down his jaw, the lines went around his lips she noticed. She saw that he had numerous other Comanche totems and items. The Comanche looked like he was talking to her bird.
Blake slowly grabbed her knife and decided to approach the Indian while he was distracted. Blake set her knife in her hand. She was just half a yard away from the Indain when he stopped talking to Japhet and started talking directly to Blake. "If you are going to sneak up on an Indian, best do it down wind," the Native said. Blake dropped her gurad and replied, "The hell's that supposed ta mean? Why are ya talkin' to m' bird?" The Native turned is head to her and said, "Like coyote, it is best to sneak up on buffalo quietly, and with stealth." He answered her second question, "As for bird: My grandfather once spoke of a time when Man could speak to Animals. I spoke to Bird-" he turned to Japhet, "-...And I cannot tell if Bird is stupid... or pretending to be stupid." He then muttered, "Nature... Seems to be out of balance."
She raised her eyebrows and muttered, "Alright..." She spoke up again, "W'll... Can ya explain why I'm covered in dirt an' horse shit?" The Comanche man replied, "Doctor almost buried you. I- ... I recovered you. The horse just did his business." Blake noted his hesitation but ignored it and asked, "W-W'll then why am I alive?" The Native man took a while to answer. When he thought of his answer, he told her, "Bird has told me that you are a Spiritwalker-"
"A... What?" Blake interupted.
Tonto continued as if he didn't hear her, "One who has gone to the Other Side... And returned."
Blake didn't know what to say about that. Just then, another voice spoke up from behind. "It's kinda hard to explain," the voice said. Blake jumped and turned around and found the same man in the black mask from earlier. She looked up to him after noting his badge; the star of the Texas Rangers. But the last thing she heard from Butch was that he and the gang had killed them all. But that wasn't what came out of her mouth. "What's with th' mask?" she asked. The man rolled his eyes and replied, "You asked me that two nights ago."
Blake gave him a confused look and tilted her head. The masked man said, "W-We'll explain later."
...
...
...
Later that night, the Comanche, the masked man, Blake, and Davison gathered around the fire. Davison got to explain to Blake that he had to pack his tent and his belongings and had excused himself for his absense for the majority of the day. Blake accepted his apology.
Tonto spoke up to the group, "There come a time when one has to face their past and fears, and destroy them. I spent twenty-six years finding Wendigo."
Somehow, Blake knew who he was talking about; "Butch..." she muttered. Blake looked up to the Indian and asked, "Why you after him?" Tonto replied, "Wendigo killed my people. Killed out of greed." Blake had never heard about this from Butch. "Butch never mentioned anythin' 'bout killin' off a whole tribe, let alone yours," Blake commented.
John turned to her and added angrily, "Did he ever mention that he killed an entire possee o' Rangers?" Blake pointed a finger to him and replied, "Look. I don' take no sympathy towards you Rangers, but I tol' him it was a bad idea ta kill off all ya Rangers!"
"So you knew about the attack?"
Blake rolled her eyes and replied, "Okay. Maybe I did, but I wa'n't involved in th' attack whatsoever!"
"But that still makes you a part o' the murder!"
Blake fell silent.
John felt like he wanted to give Blake a dirty look, but instead he muttered, "But you are right. You weren't technichally part of his scheme... But you are still an outlaw, kid." Blake looked right into his eyes and said, "Aren't you one as well...?" As Blake said that, he thought about himself.
Is he one...?
"What makes you say that?" John asked. Blake looked at him and said, "Cuzz I know what's really goin' on wit' Cole an' them Union boys... An' trust me, they ain't nothin' but a buncha backstabbin' corrupt liars..."
"She's right," Davison added. "I know first hand one of the most evil people I have come across with."
"My uncle Joe?"
"That's correct."
"Wait- Are you telling me that Cole an' this Joe guy are behind the whole mining operation?! In the Comanche territory?" John asked. Blake and Davison exchanged glances with eachother, looked back at John and nodded. Tonto glanced over in surprise. "The White Man is seemingly more cursed than expected," he muttered. John looked to the ground in disbelief. "Ta think that he would keep his word on stayin' outta Indian territory... Why would he do tha'?!" John said aloud. "Cuzz th' guy's a total greedbag," Blake replied.
"I suggest that you need assistance," Tonto said. Blake turned to him. "Whaddya mean?" she asked. Tonto replied, "You must take justice for what has been taken from you. But you cannot do it alone." The native took a necklace from his pouch and tossed it to her over the fire. She caught it without taking her eyes off of him. The necklace held a crystal encased in thin wire with a little red bead in the middle. The beads were different shades of brown with ivory bewteen every fifth sand colored bead. There were two feathers surrounding both sides of the crystal. "I am Tonto. The last of the Wendigo hunters. Kemosabe-" he motioned his hand to John Reid "-is also seeking justice for his brother's death."
Blake looked at Tonto silently before standing up and saying, "Alrigh'. Ya know wha'? I don' need yer all's help." She walked over to Tonto and returned the necklace to him. "I appreciate it, but I think I can handle it m'self!" She turned and started to put her boots back on. "Wha- Where do you think you're going?" Davison asked. "I'm goin' back, an' gettin' m' gang back together! That's what!" she replied rudely. Tonto warned her, "I would not do that if I were you." She turned her head and asked, "An' yer point?"
"They all think you're dead," John told her. Blake immediately realized what he said and slumped her shoulders. He was right. That didn't even come to her mind. She slwoly came back to the camp and muttered, "Then whaddya wan' me to do...?" Tonto then not only pulled out the necklace she returned but he also pulled out what appears to be a bandana. He tossed the items to her and watched her take the items apart. She saw that the bandana had teeth print on them. "The bandana keeps your identity hidden, as well as keeping true to your other name "Night Demon". The necklace was made by gypsies. They say it brings good luck to the bearer," Tonto told her.
Blake held up the bandana and uttered, "Ya want me- Ta were a bandana like a mask?" Tonto simply nodded.
She dropped her arm and held the necklace close to her. For some reason, it brought tears to her eyes. It was as if it was a long lost item of hers. And then she thought about Butch and her gang. "The mask will keep your identity hidden. The men you seek- and the ones you care about- think you are dead, as well. Better to stay that way," Tonto said to her.
Blake lowered her head; Japhet sat in her shoulder and nudged his head against her cheek to make her feel any better.
Blake grinned a little and rubbed her finger against his head. "What's your deal with Butch, Blake...?" John asked out of curiousity. Blake looked to him and quietly said, "He's... Kinda like m' father."
"...You miss him, doncha...?"
Blake nodded.
"Yeah..."
The camp was silent. "Wonder how he an' th' boys 're doin'?" she wondered out loud.
...
...
...
"I'm sorry, Angela... I really am..."
Butch thought about this sentence after he had completely ransacked the office out of rage. He sat on the floor by the side of the desk, his hand covering his wet face. He was shaking uncontrollably as he was crying. He whimpered small apologetic sentences, knowing that his actions were not what Angela would have wanted fom him.
"I-I knew I shouldn've let th' both o' you inta this...! I-If I woulda k-known tha' y'all would end up dead..." Butch then proceeded to bury his face in his arms and his sobs became heavier. "Oh God, I'm so sorry! This whole thing's my fault!" he uttered. As he cried, he didn't catch the feeling that there was another presence in the car.
"Butch...?"
He caught his breath. He thought he was crazy when he heard the sound of a woman; but he wasn't. Butch could have sworn the voice belonged to whom he thought was his former lover; but it wasn't: it was Rebecca. "Butch. I know yer in here...," she said. Butch brought his knees closer to him and, with a shaky breath, asked her, "Whaddya want, woman...?!" Rebecca hesitated on her reply.
What did she want?
Why was she even trying to console him?
In fact, why would anyone want to comfort an outlaw like him?
Rebecca shook off those questions and gave her answer, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for your loss." Butch felt his heart skip a beat. He never heard a woman like her—or any person for that matter—say that they were sympathetic for a loss to a guy like him. "Why you sayin' tha'?" he asked. Rebecca replied, "I... I just felt like I needed to say somethin'."
The car fell silent.
"Why doncha come out?" she pleaded. Butch didn't move for a few seconds, but then he put his hat back on and lowered the brim to where it covered his eyes. He took a deep shaky breath, stood up, and turned to Rebecca. He kept his head low and turned his head away from her as she walked up to him. "Butch?" Rebecca muttered. She then cupped his face with one hand and brushed a tear that was rolling down his cheek. Butch impulsively placed his hand on top of hers. "Yeah...?" he replied.
"You know her death wasn't your fault," she said. The two sat down on the desk, Butch never making eye contact with Rebecca. "She's gone an'... There's just nothing you can do about it."
"I've heard tha' one time too many..."
The car fell silent again.
"It seemed to me tha' she was like your daughter." Butch turned his head and had his grey-blue eyes on Rebecca's blue-green eyes. "Am I right?" she asked. They looked into their eyes for quite sometime before Butch looked away and replied, "I found out from her tha' she was born on the same day tha' this woman I used ta love died. I though' tha' maybe she had some sorta connection to th' woman... But I guess tha' don't help much..." Upon hearing that, Rebecca didn't know what to say. "I-... I'm so sorry," was all that could come out of her mouth.
Butch shook his head and said, "That's wha' they all say. But it ain't gonna help shit..."
More silence.
"I know ya don' mean that," she muttered as she brushed a strain of black hair behind Butch's ear and rested her head on his shoulder. Butch blushed.
And he was speechless.
Sure he did say all sorts of harsh things- But she was actually right. He took a hold of her hand, grinned softly and said, "I say all sorts of crazy shit... But yer right." Butch scooted a little closer to her and finished, "Anytime I listen to the voices inside m' head, ev'rybody listens... It's not what it seems."
((A.N.: Oh my God, you guys! I completey apologize for not updating this as I thought! ;n; I've just been super busy with finishing high school finals, graduation, getting my house prepped up for the party and all that crazy shit! *face desks numerous times* But anyway-! 8D Seems as though we have a little ButchxBecca fluff at the end here because I am just that creative! *throws some pillow fluff to you readers* Here- Have some fluff! Oh- And what Butch said at the end is quoted from Alice In Chains's most recent song Voices that I kinda tweeked a bit. It's really awesome! I totally recommend it! (The song may most likely be used in an upcoming chapter. Stay tuned!)
Oh I almost forgot: There were some Latin in this chapter. Lemme give y'all the translations ^^
*Mors Mihi Ad Te: Death I do to you
*Et aliter seni, et securus: Be strong and stay safe
If there's anyone out there who knows Latin better than me (I used a translator app on my ipad so I'm not entirely sure if it's accurate or not) please tell me and correct me on the translations XD Thank you! Next chapter should be up hopefully soon!))