Life seemed to take a completely different pace the day after Kieran's death and the botched Trolley job. Dutch seemed more on edge than ever, often pacing by himself and pouring over written out plans. He rarely smiled any more and had stopped his idle chatting. Arthur had voiced his concerns for the man after they returned from assassinating Angelo Brontë.

"His eyes were blank with rage and an odd sort of satisfaction as he held Bronte's head under the water. We're bad men, Evelyn, but to hold a man's head underwater then feed him to the gators? We ain't that bad. Not usually." He'd confided in her when he recalled the nights events to her. She'd shivered, an odd cold chill racing down her spine and settling into her stomach. She couldn't imagine seeing Dutch the way Arthur had described him. John had noticed too, and had apparently voiced his concerns to Dutch. Arthur said the way Dutch looked at John then was just as unsettling.

Evelyn shook her head at the memory. It was the day after said events and Dutch was restless. The heat of the O'Driscoll's knowing their location and the lawmen crawling ever closer to them had everyone on edge and on the tips of their toes as they scurried around camp. Dutch had everyone preparing to rob the Saint Denis bank, nearly all of the men save for Swanson, Strauss, and Pearson, were arming up and suiting up. Of course, the women weren't coming with for this venture besides Abigail who had set up a crucial distraction with Hosea. Evelyn was tasked with taking care of the children until everyone got back.

For now she sat in her room, nervously ringing her hands in her lap as she silently watched Arthur get dressed. The men and Abigail were getting dressed in their best clothes, Abigail donned in a beautiful expensive evening gown with her hair tied back elegantly and Arthur wearing his three-piece suit from the riverboat job. Evelyn idly watched as he equipped his holsters and guns.

"Is this a good idea?" She asked. Arthur sighed and ran his hand through his shaggy hair.

"Dutch thinks it is. He says the money from this job will be enough to set us up and get everyone away from here." He answered. He sounded unsure.

"That's if everything goes according to plan, though." She urged. "If something happens to you..." She trailed off, her throat tightening. She stood from her seat on the edge of the bed. Arthur grasped her hand in his and held it to his chest. They looked into each other's eyes.

"If something happens to me, or to all of us, I want you to take this," he paused to hand her his satchel. In it was his journal, a few health tonics, and all of his money that he had accumulated throughout their journey. "And take you and your girl far away from here. I trust Sadie would follow you to help keep you safe." Evelyn begrudgingly accepted the satchel and clutched it tightly to her chest. Arthur leant down and kissed her gently before they both had to go back outside.

Waiting outside was a small party of men atop their horses. Abigail and Hosea sat atop a wagon, posed as an innocent pair of maybe a father and daughter just going about their day. Dutch greeted them energetically.

"Arthur, everyone is ready. Miss Grimshaw, Mr. Pearson, I trust you two will hold down the fort while we're gone?" He called out. While they talked Evelyn watched as Arthur mounted his horse, Annabell and Jack had taken hold of both of her hands. Atop Annabell's head was Arthur's worn hat that he was rarely seen without. He'd perched it onto the little girl's head and tasked her with keeping it safe for him until he got back. Annabell was all too happy to step up to the task.

With a flick of his imaginary hat Arthur nodded goodbye as they all rode away. Evelyn watched them as they rode off until they were out of view, unable to shake off the dread that grew stronger with each passing minute.


Evelyn watched over the two children as they sprawled out on their stomachs and doodled together on pieces of paper. She held Arthur's hat in her lap, her fingers idly rubbing back and forth across the leather brim. Try as she might; she couldn't stop her anxious thoughts from racing. She sent up silent prayers that everyone would come back home unharmed. Realistically she knew that was unlikely to happen, though. They'd only been gone an hour or two, she wasn't too sure as it felt like a lifetime had passed by already. Sadie kept close to her which she was thankful for, the strong woman always knew how to keep Evelyn grounded and confident.

"Sadie, don't you think they should be back already?" Evelyn asked. The woman snorted.

"It hasn't been that long, Evelyn." She responded.

"How long does it take? The bank I robbed with them only took maybe half an hour." Evelyn chewed her lip anxiously. Sadie's brows furrowed and her expression grew slightly uneasy. She didn't want to worry Evelyn but she herself was beginning to grow worried as well.

"That was in a small town. I imagine this bank would take longer, bein' in a big city that is." Sadie tried reassuring her. Evelyn sighed and stood from her seat, stretching. The kids continued oblivious to the adult's conversation and kept coloring. As time continued to pass, and the sky began darkening, everyone was visibly on edge. Evelyn had gotten dressed in a pair of pants and had Arthur's satchel slung across her chest. She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling she needed to be dressed for action tonight especially since the men and Abigail hadn't returned yet. Everyone stood on edge as they went about their day, periodically looking out to the entrance of camp hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone.

Everyone looked up in hope as they heard a horse at full gallop approaching. Abigail pulled her steed to a jarring halt before she jumped down. Evelyn's heart skipped a beat when she realized the horse Abigail was riding was Arthur's horse, Midnight. Abigail struggled to catch her breath as everyone ran up to her. Evelyn rushed to her side, offering her arm for the woman to hold onto which she did.

"Abigail! What's happened? Where are the men?" Miss Grimshaw asked. Abigail shakily clutched her chest. Her face was stricken with fear.

"They were caught. The law, it was like they been watchin' the bank just waitin' for them. They-" Her voice caught in her throat as tears pricked her eyes. She took a deep breath. "Hosea. They shot Hosea." She paused as gasps rang around the group. "And John, they got John. I don't know where they took him."

Evelyn lead Abigail to a table near the campfire and fetched her a glass of water. Jack, happy to see his mother back, ran to her side and she pulled him close. Abigail gratefully downed the water as she stroked Jack's hair anxiously.

"Well, what do we do? Pack up and leave?" Pearson asked. Sadie shook her head.

"'Course not, what if they come back? Plus we have to go get Hosea's body." She said. Everyone flinched at the reminder.

"I say we get ready to leave. Pack up, and if by late tonight they aren't back we find somewhere to go." Evelyn suggested. "If they get caught there's no telling what will happen. The Pinkerton's will find us in no time." Around her she saw nods heading in agreement. The group dispersed to begin packing. Evelyn sat with Abigail until the woman was clear-headed enough to go on her own to pack up.

Evelyn's heart pounded. They didn't know who was alive, who was caught, or who was dead. Without Dutch to guide them they were lost, but Sadie seemed to be the perfect substitute to get everyone up and going in an orderly manner. Evelyn ran upstairs with Annabell to get their, and Arthur's, belongings together and ready to be put onto the wagons. With Sadie's help she also got Arthur's ammunition supply and extra guns put up in a timely manner so that they could go outside and help the others.

When everyone was finished they all sat anxiously for nightfall. Finally, when the moon rose high in the sky, Charles returned. He was out of breath as he jogged up to the waiting camp members.

"Charles!" Abigail cried, rushing to his side. "John! They got John, Charles!" Charles acknowledged her grimly.

"I know. They shot Hosea, and Lenny too." He said. Evelyn and Abigail sucked in sharp breaths, tears pricking their eyes.

"No, not Lenny! He was just a boy." Abigail lamented. He wasn't even twenty years old yet, it felt like such an injustice for the boy to have died so young. Sadie wrapped a comforting arm around Evelyn who struggled to hold back her tears. Charles grimly looked across the camp.

"We can't stay here. The Pinkertons are crawling into every crack they can looking for us." He said, nodding to Miss Grimshaw and Pearson to begin preparing to move camp, which they did quickly. since everything was packed up it was just a manner of preparing the horses and getting the women and children loaded up into the wagon. Sadie and Evelyn stood with Charles who was restocking his ammunition.

"Charles, where are Dutch and Arthur? And the others?" Evelyn asked. Charles gave her an apologetic glance.

"They left on a boat. Dutch said they would come back after everything calmed down. I stayed behind as a distraction so they could sneak onto the ship." He explained.

Sadie scoffed. "So they just left us? You're sure they're coming back?" Sadie said, her tone angry as she kept a comforting hand on Evelyn's shoulder, who stood back shocked and hurt. She couldn't believe that they'd just left them behind. How could they?

Charles tried reassuring them. "I know Arthur wouldn't just leave us behind, Javier wouldn't either." He hesitated. Evelyn looked at him, hard.

"But Dutch?" She questioned. Charles looked away, rubbing his neck. Around them the gang was nearly ready to depart.

"Dutch... He's changed. Something in these past days has snapped in him, I think." He sighed heavily. "I don't know. But I do know Arthur and Javier wouldn't just run away. For now I'm going to trust that they intend to return." With that Charles turned away to mount his horse. Sadie and Evelyn followed suit, Sadie on her Gold Turkoman, Bob, and Evelyn on Athena with Midnight's lead wrapped around her saddle horn.

The three stood before the rest of the gang who all looked at them expectantly. They didn't know where to go, and without Dutch's guidance they were lost. Pearson and Swanson sat with Strauss on the provisions wagon, and Grimshaw lead the wagon with the women and children. Abigail sat curled up with Annabell and Jack, trying to hide her fear and the tears that barely held back. Tilly and MaryBeth sat huddled together, scared. Karin and Molly sat with themselves.

Charles and Sadie discussed their next move. They had to find somewhere temporary until the men returned, but with half of their gang missing it wouldn't be easy to stay safe just anywhere. They needed somewhere remote and forgotten where no one would suspect them to be.

They agreed to settle at Lakay, a remote and abandoned settlement deep in the swamp. It was perfect for lying low, having been rumored to be haunted and cursed. With Charles in the lead the gang traveled through the night until they arrived to Lakay. No one bothered to put as much effort into setting camp, since it was wholly intended to be very temporary, so they settled with just moving into the largest, least dilapidated building. Reluctantly everyone huddled together and tried getting some rest.

Charles called over Sadie and Evelyn. They needed to recover Hosea and Lenny's bodies and give them proper burials, knowing that they'd most likely be buried in a mass unmarked grave if they were to be left to the Saint Denis police force. Exhausted physically and mentally the three rode back to the city to retrieve their friends' bodies in the dark of the night.