Well, Dear Readers, You've made it past Chapter 1…but there's so much more to Arthur's story. Including everyone else around him. Seems Micah had a change of heart…for now. But suppose that's not the point of this moral alternate story of how the tragedy had actually perspired. Dutch had loved a woman dearly…now, his love for Molly grows stronger. Of course, that doesn't mean that women can't get out of trouble so easily…As for Sadie Adler…well, things are looking rather pleasant for her…other than the fact of her husband's death. But it was meant to be…Could it be that she was meant for ole' Arthur Morgan here? You'd think, right? Guess that would depend on our, Dear Hero of The Story now would it?
A Story of Love and crime, what a phenomenon that would be. But of course…the name of this story wasn't always about love…the name itself can tell you. Monsters Inside Us. Now, this doesn't mean like an internal force or something of internal conflict. With Arthur killing innocent folk and not knowing why…no, no, my dear readers…there is more to this than meets the eye. Stick with us, and you'll see why.
-Chapter 2- You call it madness, but I call it love
Arthur had been walking for a little bit, he was following tracks left by Molly. Or he believed that these belonged to Molly. They sure looked like hers. The Sun wasn't even up. Arthur wasn't so sure why Dutch had gotten all overly worried for Molly. Molly had always loved Dutch but Arthur wasn't quite sure if Dutch felt the same about Molly. Sure, Dutch cared about Molly, but they had just never shown actual affection as of yet. Granted, they slept with one another. Granted, they've danced with one another. But not once in all the time since Molly had joined the gang, had Dutch and her connected lip to lip. At least not that Arthur saw. But Dutch seemed more worried about her now at the moment. He wasn't sure why. Arthur guessed Dutch needed all the help he could get. Even if it was Molly.
"Molly! MOLLY!" Arthur shouted her name, hoping that he would get a response or hear her. He followed the tracks which were slowly leading up a cliff.
"Ah Shit," Arthur said as he quickened his pace. Moving faster, hopefully, he wasn't too late.
He walked up the slope, taking longer strides.
"MOLLY! Molly, where are you?!" Arthur shouted, trying to see if she was nearby.
He then saw some gentlemen sitting by a fire. There were at least two of them, they seemed to be laughing hysterically. They had Whiskey in their hands.
"Scuse me, Gentlemen, Have you seen a young woman near here, red hair, probably looked drunk, nightgown, the works," Arthur asked as he walked up to them.
They both looked at Arthur, they had immediately stopped laughing and their expressions turned from sober and drunken joy to nervousness and fear.
"Uhmmmm…no mister, haven't seen any ladies at this time of night," One man said.
"Y-yeah, no women out here," The other feller said. Arthur started to arouse suspicion towards the men.
"You boys lying to me?" Arthur said. He looked at their single tent, and suddenly, something had moved a small part of the tent and knocked over a container.
The Fellers seemed to grow nervous. Arthur knew exactly what was happening.
"Whatcha got in that Tent of yours?" Arthur asked, slowly moving his hand to his belt, feeling for his revolver.
"It's nothing, kind sir, please, go and be on your way," One of the Fellers said as he got in the way of the tent.
"You better move, boah, before I do something I won't regret," Arthur said threateningly. The Fellers stood there without saying much of anything, they only stood there, their feet spread out.
One of them pulled out a Double-Action Revolver and aimed it at Arthur. Only Arthur was much quicker. Arthur quickly shot the man in the skull before he even had the chance to pull the trigger. The other man pulled out a knife and tried to stab Arthur in the gut. Arthur on the other hand, wasn't too keen on getting stabbed tonight. He grabbed the man by the arm, stopping the blade from skewering his gut. Which was followed by Arthur smashing his Revolver down on the man's face, forcing him onto one knee. Arthur then rammed the knife into the man's throat. The man still had his hand around the knife as he started gurgling for air. Arthur released his grip on the knife as the man fell backward on his back, gurgling and gasping for air.
"I'll kill you in hell all over again, my friends," Arthur said, putting his Cattleman Revolver back in its holster. He turned to the Tent.
"Molly, you in there?" Arthur said. He heard some muffled noises from inside the tent. Arthur opened up the tent and found Molly, gagged and hogtied.
"Shit, I knew it," Arthur said, Molly was still in her nightgown. The sight of Arthur relieved her greatly.
"Hang on, Ms. O'Shea, I'll getcha outta there," Arthur said as grabbed Molly, by the waist and pulled her out of the tent. He pulled her out into the open, removing the gag from her mouth.
She took a heavy breath of relief.
"Thank you, Arthur, I don't know what I would do without you," Molly said with relief. Arthur pulled out his knife and cut the rope around her arms.
"You can thank Dutch too, He's the one that was all worried aboutchu," Arthur said, quickly cutting the rope that tied her feet.
"Dutch? Worried about me? That doesn't sound like him…" Molly said surprised as she got on her feet.
"That's what I said, but believe it or not, he was so worried that he couldn't even take a joke," Arthur said as he helped Molly to her feet. Molly pondered this for a moment. Since when had Dutch been so worried and concerned about her?
"What were you doing out here anyway?" Arthur asked as he started looting some of the men.
"I just felt like taking a late-night stroll, when these bastards hogtied me. I overheard them talkin' about sellin' me to some other bastards that would take me for a price," Molly said. Arthur gave a slight chuckle.
"Well, we won't have to worry about them, not any time soon," Arthur said as he grabbed a few pieces of ammunition from a lockbox.
"Serves them right for kidnapping a lady in the middle of the damn night," Molly said.
"You picking up rhymes or something?" Arthur asked as he finished looting.
"No, why?" Molly asked.
"Never mind, Let's get you back to camp, Dutch is probably waitin' for us," Arthur said as he started walking back to camp, with Molly following not far behind.
"So, Dutch sent you right?" Molly asked.
"He sure did, woke me up from beauty sleep, screaming my name," Arthur said.
"Right...I hear you've been rather busy, how's it going with that Adler girl thatcha found in the mountains?" Molly asked.
"There really ain't anything going on with her, least not be between me, she's just trying to get over her husband, after becoming a widow," Arthur said. Molly gave a slight laugh under her breath.
"I heard from Micah you were cradling her in your arms, Said "Ole' Cowpoke wouldn't let go of a woman's gentle touch"...His exact words," Molly said laughing a little more. Arthur let out a small sigh.
"Who else knows about this?" Arthur said, slightly annoyed.
"Everyone," Molly said with a little more satisfaction.
"Great, just what I need," Arthur said.
"You know, Arthur, that Adler girl seems to like ya," Molly said.
"Me? She hardly knows me, and she just lost her husband, she wouldn't have an interest in being with anyone at the moment," Arthur said.
"She trusts ya, Arthur, more than anyone else in the camp. She talks with Abigail every now and then. I'd say she and her are already good friends. But all the other men she don't like being around…except you," Molly said with a hint of trying to trigger Arthur. Arthur let out another sigh.
"Let's just, get you back to camp, we're almost there," Arthur said as he and Molly walked up the slope.
"Who's there!?" A voice called out.
"It's Arthur and Molly!" Arthur shouted. Bill then came out from the brush with a rifle in his hands.
"Ah, you caught little Miss O'sheep here now did ya, Morgan," Bill said.
"Oh Shut up ya big buffoon," Molly said back to Bill. This earned a chuckle from Bill.
"Good to see you too, Miss O'Shea," Bill said as he walked past them to keep guard.
Dutch was currently waiting near the large tree at the front of the entrance, waiting patiently for Arthur and Molly to return. Once he got a glimpse of them, he expression sprang with relief and joy.
"Molly! Arthur!" Dutch said. Molly jogged to Dutch and the two of them embraced in a caring hug. Arthur couldn't help but smile as he kept walking forward.
"Where did you go, little missy, I was worried sick," Dutch asked looking at Molly.
"Oh, you know, someplace exciting," Molly said, earning a laugh from both her and Dutch.
Dutch looked at Arthur.
"Thank you, Arthur," Dutch said with a grateful smile.
"Course Dutch, probably should keep a better eye on your woman," Arthur said with a small chuckle.
"I'll keep that noted," Dutch said with a smile. Arthur smiled and walked back up to camp. The sun was beginning to rise. Dutch then looked at Molly. And she looked at him, eye to eye. They both gently pressed their lips to each other. Holding each other tight.
Arthur noticed and gave a warm smile once more. He continued to walk to camp. Some of the members were already up. Charles was heating up the fire. Javier was playing his Banjo. Pearson was cutting up some meat, and Reverend was already drunk again, singing away. Abigail was up and about. Drinking some coffee to help with the tiredness. Her hairstyle was no longer a bun on the top of her head, but now, some of her hair covered her ears, and her bun was lower, this time closer to her neck. She and John hadn't been getting along very well, not since John had left for a year and came back out of nowhere. Not to mention how he had treated Abigail and Jack. His only son.
Arthur walked over to clean his Cattleman Revolver. He brought out some gun oil and spread it out on a cloth. Soon after, he started to wipe his Cattleman Revolver. Cleaning it off.
"Well, well, well, Ole' Cowpoke has done it again," The voice of Micah was heard. Sure enough, Micah came around Arthur's tent and leaned against a wagon. Arthur let out a small sigh of annoyance.
"Why'd you tell everyone about Mrs. Adler and me?" Arthur asked. Micah chuckled a little, not evil but rather humbleness.
"I couldn't not tell them, Arthur, it was just…the way you were holding her. The way she wouldn't let go of you is all, So obviously I was gonna tell everyone if you weren't. Gotta entertain the gang with a few stories of mine, ain't that right Arthur," Micah said acting all friendly.
"Whatever you say…Why are you in such a good mood, Micah?" Arthur asked.
"I'm glad you asked, cowpoke, I got a lead if you're interested," Micah said.
"What kind of lead?" Arthur asked as he finished cleaning his Revolver.
"O'Driscoll business," Micah said. Arthur looked at Micah.
"And how exactly did you come by this?" Arthur asked.
"Well, it was when we're up 'em mountains. You see when we was shooting up all them O'Driscolls at poor Hellfire's house. I went to go check the barn for Dutch, I saw him beating up an O'Driscoll. To an extent. And I thought, this guy must know something," Micah said.
"Uh huh, keep talking," Arthur said.
"So, As Dutch was bought to finish him off, I stepped in and said "Dutch, Why don't you let me handle this?" And so he let me, it was then, I started to make the O'Driscoll start talkin'. He told me, that they got a little business in Valentine, got something going on in the Doctor's Office apparently. Been there for a good month, doing business with the Local Law there too, doing things they ain't supposed to be doing," Micah said, explaining to Arthur what was going on.
"So you reckon that 'em O'Driscolls are sittin' on a pile of cash, right?" Arthur asked.
"My thoughts exactly, Arthur, We go into Valentine, masked completely so we ain't recognized, threaten the Doctor to open up the back, shoot up some O'Driscolls, and make us a little bit of money. Hell, we'd be doing the town a favor, O'Driscolls are like a plague to this country, we started it in em' Mountains, why stop now," Micah said. Arthur couldn't argue with that. It all sounded good. Not only would they get a stash of money, but they'd rid the town of Valentine of O'Driscols.
"You got a good point, Micah, But it gonna take more than just bandanas to cover our faces if we wanna show up in that town again," Arthur said.
"Oh, don't you worry about that, I got us some outfits and masks for this little operation," Micah said.
"Outfits?" Arthur said.
"Yeah, so we make sure they can't see our skin tone. Don't worry, cowpoke, I didn't choose a silly design of an outfit," Micah said.
"Alright, Sounds good, Think we should bring another man in on this," Arthur asked.
"I was thinkin', how bout a woman," Micah said.
"Alright, who?" Arthur asked.
"Oh, I didn't come to her, She volunteered," Micah said.
"You boys ready?" A Familiar voice was heard. A state of fear was instilled into Arthur. Arthur peaked out of his tent to see Sadie Adler in the supposed "Crime outfit" that Micah had chosen. It consisted of a Heavy Black Duster coat, With a black collared shirt. Tight black riding gloves. And Deluxe Boots with heavy spurs. There was a double bandolier around the chest. Sadie had her Carbine Repeater on her back and a Schofield Revolver around her waist. Her hair was free and let down that flowed freely down her back.
"Mrs. Adler?" Arthur asked, confused about what was happening.
"Yes, Hellfire here wants in on killing the O'Driscolls. This would be a good opportunity to see what she can really do," Micah said.
Arthur wasn't sure about this, but Sadie said she could handle herself quite well. It had been roughly a week since they had gotten settled in on Horseshoe Overlook. And already she was willing to go killin' and robbin'.
"I don't like this but…let's get on with it," Arthur said. Micah walked over to his horse tied up to a post and grabbed a bag of clothing.
"Here, boss, put these on, don't forget to put on both masks, we don't want 'em seeing our faces," Micah said as he shoved the bag to Arthur.
"Sure," Arthur said with a little annoyance.
Micah started to walk away to get his own Outfit on. Arthur then looked at Sadie. Who watched Micah walk away. The beautiful freckles on her face were easy to spot, her hair made it look good too, and the spots on her face were like daisies in a field. She noticed Arthur staring at her.
"What're you staring at?" Sadie asked. Arthur shook off his stare.
"Sorry, Mrs. Adler…I was just curious about why you would want to go out already," Arthur said.
"If there's business with O'Driscolls, I want in on any and all of 'em, they need to pay for what they did to my Jakey," Sadie said in a rather fierce tone.
"I ain't in the revenge business but, I got no problem with killing O'Driscolls. Just don't overdo yourself," Arthur said. Sadie just scoffed.
"I don't need your protection, Mr. Morgan," Sadie said as she turned her head away from him.
"Didn't say you need me, Just don't kill anybody that don't need killin'," Arthur said.
"If you say so," Sadie said.
"Cowpoke, how long you gonna talk with Hellfire?" The Voice of Micah was heard off in the distance.
"Just finishing up, mind your damn business, Micah," Arthur said. Sadie seemed to get a laugh out of that, it was small, but she tried to hide it rather quickly.
Arthur noticed it but didn't show that he did. He walked into the tent and began to change into his outfit. It consisted of the same clothing that Sadie was wearing. After a short while, Arthur had changed fully into the outfit. He pulled over an Executioner Hood on his head and then the Metal Mask. Pulling on his mask.
He grabbed his hat and put it on top of his head.
He walked out and saw Micah and Sadie, prepping the horses. They too had their masks on.
"Well, Cowpoke, you look pretty good in the outfit I bought ya," Micah said in a muffled voice. Both of them were wearing the same masks.
"If you say so, Micah," Arthur said as he mounted his horse. He too had his Carbine Repeater on his back, with his Cattleman Revolver at the ready.
"We ready?" Arthur asked.
"Yes, sir, boss," Micah said. Arthur looked at Sadie who nodded her head in response.
"Alright, giddy-up," Arthur said as his Horse started to gallop, with Sadie and Micah following behind.
To Be Continued…