Sadie I.
Shit was so far up creek she could honestly see it with both eyes closed and deep in her sleep. The moment the ship broke apart was surreal for her and of course for everyone else who made it safely to this beach. It was a miracle, no other word could describe it, a plain old miracle that they all survived that terrible shipwreck. Almost all of them, Strauss was no more among the living. That was a shame, not for her, she held no real bond with the man, but despite his line of work he was still a prominent member of the gang. His death was felt by them all. For now, they all had to stick together and face off against the unknown.
XxXxX
Morning came by and Sadie could not feel more sluggish at getting up from the hard, rock-ridden ground she was forced to sleep on. Stretching her back and relieving some muscle tension she groaned in satisfaction at the sound of a few bones popping off. Now awake she grabbed her rifle and dragged herself towards the center of camp where the others were currently gathered about. Obviously engineering a plan to get them all out of this dire predicament they all found themselves trapped in.
"Morning Sadie." Arthur was the first to greet her. She flung her rifle over her shoulder as she took a spot next to Charles.
"Morning Arthur. Morning guys." Sadie greeted the ones present; Arthur, Dutch, John, Charles and Hosea."
"Mrs. Adler, it's always a great pleasure to see you ready to help out." Dutch acknowledged her, clearly grateful to have someone so loyal and eager to lend a hand.
"What's happening Dutch? Are we moving out?" Sadie was sure itching to find a much more hospitable spot for them all, but at the same time had to wait for Dutch's final say in the matter.
"That's exactly what we are currently discussing with great debate." Hosea explained.
An empty barrel had been set up with a plain wooden board to serve as a makeshift table and on that table was where Dutch was crafting his latest master plan. As the discussion carried on between the two senior members, Sadie looked around to see what the others were up to. Abigail was with Jack as always, never too far apart from her boy. Pearson was roasting some small animal over the fire, a squirrel or rabbit perhaps? Not enough meat for them all, but she had no problem pushing aside her hunger so the others could eat more. Maybe Charles and her could go out hunting later on and bag themselves a proper meal for the whole camp. Grimshaw was already at work ordering the girls around, Sadie figured that after such a traumatic incident the older woman would lay off a bit, nope, Susan had a reputation to uphold. Micha, Bill and Javier were keeping watch while also conversing with each other. Sadie figured that everyone was well rested enough for this new day.
"If you two are planning on scouting, take Javier with you. The locals may speak his language." Dutch spoke directly to Arthur who nodded in agreement.
"What about me Dutch?" John asked.
"I think your place is here with Abigail and little Jack, John. Let Arthur handle this one. You will all get the opportunity to venture out once they come back with some reliable information understood?" Dutch looked at all present who agreed without question.
Sadie departed from the group to speak to the others. This was the best plan they got, the only one available at the moment. Arthur and Charles can handle themselves, Javier too, she was not worried a bit for her boys, no harm would come to them, on the contrary they would be the ones dishing it out. Sadie chuckled to herself, she marched over to the supplies spot where Hosea was already doing inventory alongside Pearson. Not much had been salvaged aside from the prized weapons that would serve them tremendously. It was a pitiful sight, the worst this gang had been in many months since she joined back in May.
"There's not much to count, all of this is practically worthless. The ocean gave it all a real beating." Pearson notified them of all the gathered supplies. Besides the three crates of guns, they had a single small barrel of oil, a bag of rice and so many other smaller items like binoculars, knives, other essentials that could be found on a ship and whatnot, but nothing of serious necessity. Just a pile of accessories with minimal usage.
"None of this will do. We need a real base camp, we're too exposed out here." Hosea sighed.
"It's okay Hosea, once Arthur and the others search this place, we'll be back on our feet soon. We still have one bag of gold to use as currency." Sadie reassured their second-in-command.
"All that gold…so much have we struggled, only to lose it all over again." Hosea's saddened countenance reflected the very sentiment that they were all feeling, "It's Blackwater all over again and I'm not sure if I have the strength to carry this weight anymore."
Seeing the man's distress, Sadie placed a hand on his shoulder and fondly smiled at him, "It's all going to work out Hosea. I'm not Dutch, I can't be as optimistic and full of dreams as he can, but this is my new family and I'll be damned if I lose you guys too. This time we are all going to put in our part more than before and figure our way out of this godforsaken mess."
"I do hope so. I'm getting too old for this world." Hosea began to walk away, "I'll speak to Dutch about our weight of gold, it may be the only thing that could keep us alive if we do discover civilization out there. We need to protect it at all costs."
Hosea left to congregate with Dutch who was sitting on a rock, gold sack next to him, listening to Micha who was speaking to him over something. Sadie shook her head at the sight, even in times like this Micha was still attempting to gain favor over everyone else. Actually, now that she thought about it, it made all the sense in the world for that annoying crazed bastard to start getting in Dutch's ear. As long as Arthur is around to keep order and people in line then that won't be happening.
Once they were ready to go, Arthur, Javier and Charles began to walk out of camp, ready for their scouting mission. Sadie caught glimpse of them and raced forward calling out to the leader of the pack, "Hey Arthur, wait up!"
Arthur looked back at her and nodded at the others to carry on without him, "Sadie, everything alright?"
"Aside from the obvious, I just wanted to wish you good luck out there. All three of you of course." She told him.
"I very much appreciate it, but I don't expect much to occur out there. Hopefully the locals do speak either English or Spanish, anything else and then we truly are doomed." Arthur mused.
"I'll keep an eye on things, John and Hosea too. You can count on us." Her reassurance was a strong one and she meant it.
Her words meant even more to the world-weary outlaw, "Every day you continue to amaze me Mrs. Adler. Not too long ago you were a helpless, scared woman, but now...you are a true wolf ready to defend the pack to the last ounce of blood."
"Stop making me blush you silly old bastard you!" Sadie grinned back and punched him on the shoulder playfully.
"Make sure that Micha doesn't do anything stupid that could jeopardize our safety. I don't like how that little weasel so easily grovels to Dutch and whispers sweet malice to his ears." Arthur glared daggers at the man in question, who was leaning on a tree cleaning his guns with a rag.
"Don't worry about Micha, I got him in my sights at all times. Now go and find us something!" Sadie gently pushed him away and back towards the trail that Charles and Javier had taken.
Once he was gone from sight, Sadie walked back to the others to help in whatever capacity she could offer. It had been a really rough night and she was feeling it, not just her, but the entire gang as well. It was a nightmare plain and simple, one that they were all simultaneously sharing and unable to wake up from. The type of terrible dream where all your hopes of success vanished into thin air and you were left alone with no chance of ever escaping, forever trapped in that personal living hell. She refused to view it as such, for her personal hell had already come and passed, she had already been dragged to a hell like no other and thanks to the kindness of others had managed to escape. This…this was just another rock on the road for her. Personally, it would have been better if she had been the one to drown at sea instead of Strauss. Maybe then the pain could finally go away, she could finally rest and not be plagued by the events of that horrific night and the ones that followed, constantly on repeat, unable to look away and witness her husband's death on loop.
Sadie paused momentarily, unaware of the death grip she was applying on that rifle of hers, unaware of the scowl that had morphed on her face. Hateful thoughts consuming her thoughts. No, no…only a weak person would think as such. Only a coward would desire death's embrace as a means of escape. After leaving her home, after leaving Jake up on that mountain she had already sealed her fate. She was going to move forward and kill them all, even if she can never get to them again, she would kill them all. But as of now she needed to protect them all. Looking over at the others, her features softened as she admired them all. They may be crooks and killers, but they were her saviors and now are her family. She would protect them all.
XxXxX
Two and a half hours had passed by since Arthur's scouting group took off and not much had changed around camp since their departure. Everybody was still resting from their ordeal. Bill who was designated patrol duty was keeping a sharp eye for any possible intrusions upon the camp, Micah was being Micha and doing his part as the camp bully and overall pain in the ass. Hosea and Dutch were together discussing plans and speaking honestly. John was on patrol duty as well, but he would spend more time checking up on Abigail and their son, making sure that they were alright and feeling comfortable, it was actually starting to annoy Abigail the amount of care he was suddenly displaying, but the woman would be lying if she said she didn't secretly appreciate every ounce of it. As for the girls they were being herded around by Ms. Grimshaw like usual, back to routine as if nothing had changed at all.
"Damn it Ms. Jones, did you already…for-forget how to dry clothes?' The old woman yelled out her frustrations at the rudest woman of the bunch. Sadie, stared at them with mild annoyance, there they went at it again for the umpteenth time. She could never understand their silly routine, she found it pointless especially now of all times.
"Give me a break, woman! We don't even have the right equipment; shit we don't even have an official camp at all!" Karen yelled back, sizing Ms. Grimshaw up, a typical show of dominance between the two women.
"I don't give…" Susan began to cough, but kept her composure, but the coughing continued on "... a single damn about your childless…bitching…"
"Ms. Grimshaw you are not feeling well, are you?" Mary-Beth was the first to notice the symptoms engraved on Grimshaw's features, Tilly began to notice too and both young women cautiously approached her.
"...Oh be…quiet, yo-you two…" Grimshaw failed to finish the sentence as she broke down into a violent fit of coughing, so bad that she lost her balance and collapsed on her knees, her throat and lungs hurting painfully as Mary-Beth kneeled next to her.
"Dutch! Hosea! Ms. Grimshaw is ill, she needs help!" Tilly yelled out and soon enough the others fast approached, ready to assist their elder in need.
Against her wishes, Ms. Grimshaw had been ordered to rest. A canvas that had been washed up and dried up was used as a means to keep her body from making contact with the cool air as she laid closely next to the campfire. She was shaking and sweating, Sadie was no doctor, but it looked very bad from her perspective.
"She's running a fever and her body is shivering cold. This watery encounter has given her hypothermia if those medical books I read taught me anything. I feared this would end up happening to one of us." Hosea explained to those gathered around.
If there wasn't enough trouble, they just got smacked blind by this new development. No more than fifteen hours ago did they become stranded and lose Strauss, now they had to prepare for the fact that Grimshaw may pass too. There was no medicine available whatsoever, the best they could do was to keep her warm and even then, at her age her body is much frailer. Sadie said nothing and tried to focus on other tasks, anything to keep her mind preoccupied. But if she wasn't thinking about those in camp then her thoughts would wander off to Arthur and the others still out there. Being cooped up in here was beginning to irritate her and she did not want to gain a headache and become an intolerable nuisance to others.
"Hey Pearson! How are we with food?" The cook looked at her with a defeated frown which was all she needed to know.
"Terrible Mrs. Adler, absolutely god-smack terrible! I just have this rabbit that Charles managed to fetch this morning, but that's good enough for one person only." He checked on the rabbit, which was almost ready for consumption, cooked over the fire and turned back to her, "We need more food. Charles and Arthur are our best hunters, but they took off. Could it be possible if you…?"
"Why the hell do you think I'm even asking in the first place." Sadie replied. She was already eager to do some exploration on her own, lazing about was just not good for her head. She was now a woman of action and hopefully while out hunting she may stumble upon something useful herself.
XxXxX
Armed with a rifle, her pistol and knife, Sadie was trekking through the dense forest in search of wildlife. The forest was desolate and eerily quiet, only the chirping of nearby birds and her own footsteps kept her from experiencing absolute silence. She didn't mind it; some peace and alone time was good for her mental well-being. Now she could have time to breathe and not feel so suffocated as she was over at camp. This time alone was a good time to reflect on it all.
"There's got to be something nearby, it's a big forest by the looks of it." Sadie muttered, keeping a low profile as to not alert any nearby game.
It was almost midday, she better bag something soon. She's already ignored a dozen squirrels and a few rabbits in hopes of killing a deer or boar. Their ammo was on reserve so she wasn't going to be shooting at everything she saw, they needed to conserve as much ammunition as possible. Hence why she was focusing on using a single bullet to take down something big. So far not much, that is until she finally spotted something up ahead. It would have been great if Charles had crafted a bow and arrows for the hunt, but she had to do with what she had.
A whitetail fawn peacefully grazing in an open area, it looked healthy and meaty. She would have preferred a buck, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Crouching Sadie silently approached her prey until she was at a good distance for her rifle's range. Good thing the weapon already had one in the chamber or risk spooking the animal with the metallic noise of the reload.
"Steady now…" Sadie aimed down her sights, breathing slowly and aiming for the head, a quick clean kill.
Except that kill did not come from her nor did her rifle open fire and release said bullet out in the open for her finger never did pull the trigger. An arrow struck the deer from the other side of the open patch of land. The animal fell down immediately, her kill having been stolen. Alerted, Sadie scanned her surroundings, searching for any other signs of movements and humans in general. Hiding behind a wide tree she held the rifle firmly in place and waited for the other hunter to make their appearance first. The fact that the arrow went for the deer instead of her is a clear indication that she had yet to be spotted, therefore she currently held the element of surprise, and she would not waste it.
Soon enough the person in question made his appearance, or 'they' to be more accurate. Two men came out into the clearing, both of them wielding bows with a quicker full of arrows and if her eyes were not mistaking her vision, they appeared to have swords dangling from their hips. The long blades aside, Sadie found their attire to be not so modern looking, leather shirts with a mixture of fur garments they must be fur trappers, proud dwellers of the wilderness.
"Good shot, Tobin another for the cart." One of the hunters congratulated his companion.
"Aye let's just hurry up before a bloody Frey catches us. Old Man Walder is a massive proponent of dismemberment for us thieves and poachers." The one named Tobin replied back.
Removing the arrow from the fallen animal Tobin placed it back on his quiver as his partner took out a flask and drank from it before speaking back, "At least be happy we ain't dealing with the fucking Boltons. Especially Roose's crazy fucking bastard. Better a lost hand than being flayed alive."
Sadie was surprised at the conversation she was hearing. Both of these men spoke proper English, but it sounded like Old English from England. They must be British, having established a base of operations on this Caribbean Island and poaching wildlife from the local government. Looking around for any more of them she began to weigh out her options at this discovery of hers. These two spoke a common language and would know the lay of the land and give out directions. That was a pro, but the con was that they were criminals and being one herself she knew just the type of mentality they could possess. Especially around her, being a woman. That didn't bother her, she killed her large share of men in cold blood, if they did try something she would add them to the tally list.
Sadie counted her blessings and broke cover, walking towards the pair, "Hello there, gentlemen! Looks like you got to my prey before I could ever react."
"Where the fuck did you come from?" Tobin eyed her suspiciously.
"Don't matter. Listen, I'm kind of lost, my friends and I to be exact, if you kindly point me to the closest town, I would be grateful." Sadie wasn't necessarily playing a role but was at least not threatening their lives with bloody murder.
Their demeanor quickly changed to one that she was all too well acquainted with as they lowered their guard and slowly encircled her with a predatory gaze, "How did you find yourself lost in these woods? It can be dangerous for a lone woman."
"Yes. Very dangerous." Tobin snickered.
"Come now fellas, can't we just get along?" Sadie halfheartedly raised her hands; she saw the situation and was already ready to strike. Men, they were very predictable creatures, pathetic too when their urges got the best of them. She took quick notice of their weapons now at a closer stance and neither were carrying guns at all, just their bows and a small blade, machetes perhaps, this would be easy for her.
"Oh, we will, our cocks will take pleasure knowing your cunt." The hunter gleefully eyed her.
"You're gonna regret that in a second." Sadie glared at him.
"What're you gonna do? Whack us to death with that long stick of yours?" Tobin laughed at her. The widow raised an eyebrow at that remark of his, was he talking about her bolt action rifle? Did he really just call it a stick, was he blind or is it possible that this moron had no idea what it actually was? It's eighteen-ninety-nine, what kind of clueless moron didn't know about guns?
Before they had a change to pounce her, Sadie quickly drew her revolver and shot the scumbag in the face. The loud cracking noise of the gun and the spitfire it shot out of the small barrel alongside his friend's face exploding intoa heap of blood and dropping dead immediately terrified Tobin who fell backwards on his ass. Sadie whipped her gun and aimed it at the shocked man. He yelped at the foreign metal object aimed at his face, and begged for mercy, "Seven fucking hells, Jory! You're a witch! Was that thunder and fire you summoned from that club? Are you a red priestess?"
To say that she was greatly confused would have been the understatement of her current life. The more she listened to him speak the more and more confused she was getting. He was speaking gibberish, at least to her ears, rantings of a mad man, but the pure fact that none of this was adding up any solid questions to her was part of the mystery. Feeling a headache, she chose to not waste any more time idling around with this man.
"Listen up dumbass. If you don't want a bullet in the skull like your stupid friend here, then you will do exactly as I say. I can kill you right now and send you straight to hell, so don't you dare try anything, understood?" Tobin furiously nodded in agreement to her orders and slowly stood back to his feet, hands raised to show submission.
"Pick up that deer, I have a camp that is starving. Also, whatever your pal here was carrying I want it too." Sadie kept her gun trained on Tobin as he quickly began to strip his dead companion of any items worth taking, "I need directions, but more than that we need answers, and you will answer every single damn question we ask. Hold information from us and you will be begging us to grant you death instead, now let's go!"