Heartbroken at losing the man she loved and being a single mother, Sadie accepted Jake's proposal of marriage. It was then she realized she was pregnant.
Sweet Arthur.
Jake was a wonderful man but he had one fault which lead to his death.
He was too goddamn trusting. He let complete strangers into the ranch house and got such a kindness they slit his throat.
They only took her.
Sadie.
They threw Bea and her little baby boy in the cellar and kept Sadie pinned to her bed.
"You've done your service for the night, get in there." The big O'Driscoll said as he threw her into the cellar and pinched her ass as he did so.
"I'm okay Bea, we're okay." She whispered, gently stroking the young girl's hair.
"Found a cracker box with some chocolate too and some rum for you Mama. Please eat it."
"We'll share it, sweetheart. They didn't hit you or Hosea did they?"
They lay underneath a lone horse blanket and Bea stayed close to her mother. Beatrice had fashioned a small swaddle for the baby and held him close.
"Z's okay, Mama. Still crying, give him a small amount of chocolate. I got a tiny scratch and the fat one was staring."
The bastards ate the rest of their food and provision they been stocking up on to see them through the winter.
One of the men upstairs fired a gun and Beatrice flinched, curling into her mama.
"No but they hit you. I hate them-
"Me too, sweetie. Listen, you remember that little satchel we kept in here. Keep the food there and the first chance you can run—I, god."
"I ain't leavin you or little Hosea. It's-
"It ain't up for debate. You go to that old mining town and head straight down to Valentine— carry my boy with you if there's any luck left, you'll find Kieran."
"Tommy's here-grab the whore up."
Beatrice shrieked and tried to swat them away. Sadie stood up and let the man take her as Beatrice screamed.
"I like em' young. She's just as pretty-
"Not my daughter-you'll have to take me."
The two men yelled and dragged her away, slamming the cellar door shut.
Arthur and Charles rode into the snow storm for a few miles before someone came out of the darkness towards them. Both men drew their weapons in case there was trouble.
"Gentlemen you mind putting them guns away we're all the same side here." Micah slowed Baylock to a halt in front of Arthur and Charles.
"You find anything Micah" Neither Charles nor Arthur where Bell's biggest fans. Nor where a lot of the other members of the gang. Micah was on Dutch's shit list for shooting that girl on the ferry.
"Sure, did found a little homestead down ways."
"Anyone there?" Arthur asked.
"Sure, lights and noise sounded like a party." Micah answered turning Baylock around and fighting the snow around the hooves.
They rode further into the snowstorm. Arthur and Charles quizzed Micah on few things. If he'd seen John or anyone else out here. The answer to both questions was the same no.
"Hey, Arthur, you reckon Dutch would miss old Micah if he was 'accidentally' killed while we're out here. No one's going to miss the son of a bitch."
"Nah I doubt it, sides' we can eat him after Pearson." Arthur chuckled as they rode through the snowstorm.
"What are you two talking about back there?"
"Nothing you need to worry yourself about Bell." Arthur dismissed as they slowed their horses to a ridge overlooking the ranch Micah had found.
"We best turn off those lanterns don't want to announce our presence just yet." Charles advised.
The three men rode down the hill. Hitching their horses and dismounting.
"How you want to play this?" Charles turned to the two older men.
"I'll go up to the house see who's about. Charles, go to cattle shed on the left, Micah that wagon beside the shed." Arthur relayed his orders.
"Who said you was in charge cowpoke?"
"Seeing as Dutch isn't here and I've been in gang longer than you Micah. I give the fucking orders. Either do as your told or me and you settle this right now what's it going to be?" Arthur challenged his hand rest on the butt of his Cole.
"You're the boss." Micah did as he was told.
"Hello is there anyone here?" Arthur hollered as he walked slowly up to the door.
"What you want mister?" A lanky fella asked as his friends came out of the ranch house.
The lanky gunslinger dangled his loosened gunbelt and revolver towards Arthur.
"I am very sorry to disturb you fellas it's just my wife and our wagon are a way down the trail. We were robbed by the O'Driscolls." Arthur began to try sell it, just like Hosea had taught him.
"We can't help you get lost. Wife is sleeping."
"Charles we've got a problem." Micah lifted a tarp covering a dead body and crawled over to Charles.
A man to them. Jake to Sadie and Papa to the kids in the basement.
"Fuck I think these fellas are O'Driscoll's." Charles swore.
"Please we just need a few supplies."
"I said get gone. " The head O'Driscoll drew his pistol aiming at Arthur.
"Oh come now, not this. We can talk this over-" Arthur dropped the lantern and drew his pistol. He killed the O'Driscoll standing in the doorway.
All hell broke loose. The gunfire was deafening. Arthur fired off round after round from his Litchfield till it was empty before switching to his Navy Revolver.
"One of them running:" Micah called over the gunfire.
Charles jumped over the wall of the cowshed. In hot purist of the fleeing O'Driscoll. Charles flung a tomahawk and landed right in the man's back. He dropped to the ground. Dying but it would a slow death.
The smell of burnt gunpowder and blood hung heavily in the air. Picking up his dis-used Litchfield from the ground.
"Micah bring the horses closer. Charles and I'll check out the house. " Arthur ordered reloading his Cole from his gun belt.
Micah didn't argue going to retrieve the three horses.
Arthur re-holstered his gun as they entered the now empty homestead.
Excitement, fear, and anger rushed through his veins.
"Smell like a party in here." Charles observed a large, dried pool of blood in the corner of the room.
"Sure does. Search the place see what you can find we take back to the others." Arthur began to search through cupboards.
"Poor bastard that owned this place was married had a daughter as well by the looks of it."
Bea overheard from below in the cellar as the two strangers rummaged through their house.
A body in the bed. Sadie lay deathly still as she watched the men.
"Arthur better eat to keep your strength up" The younger one threw a can of food to the older one called Arthur.
The two men ate the cans before continuing to search the cabin.
Arthur found a few unopened boxes of Repeater Ammunition. Arthur moved over to the table sitting down and reloading his Litchfield.
"Oh no, Arthur look. A baby's crib-the wife musta just given birth. Spirit guides them over from this life and into the next." Charles said as he stood near the baby crib.
"Charles there's some ammunition over in that box there. Go grab what we need" Arthur nodded over his shoulder to the box.
"Right, I'll grab that and then go load this stuff on Taima. Meet us outside when you're done."
Sadie watched the men as she lay on the bed. Hosea began to squirm, and she knew he was hungry. She opened her top and let him latch to her breast, gently holding his head.
Something about the older man seemed familiar.
Arthur placed the boxes of ammunition in his satchel before leaving the cabin.
"Micah do one last sweep of the cabin. I'm going to go and check out the barn." Arthur said in passing as he trudged through the heavy snow to the barn.
Arthur pushed the barn door opened. Three agitated horses where the only thing beside him in the barn. One was a pretty sooty bay paint-mare, the others where a dapple buckskin mustang and chestnut bridle thoroughbred stallion.
Arthur walked a few steps into the barn before he was jumped from behind. Arthur used his body weight against the person who jumped him. Reversing their positions. The O'Driscoll was the one on his back.
Arthur grabbed O'Driscoll by his shirt collar dragging him to his feet slamming him up against the barn wall.
"Where's Colm?" Arthur yelled placing his knife against the O'Driscoll's throat.
"I don't know. We split off from the main gang days ago."
"Bullshit six days up here. where's Colm and why are you up here?" Arthur stabbed him in the leg.
"Alright fuck. An old mining town near the lake. We're fixing to rob a train-" The O'Driscoll squealed.
"Thank you." Arthur said before slitting his throat.
"Arthur you alright in here?" Charles asked as he appeared in the doorway of the barn.
Arthur pushed the dead O'Driscoll to the side. Wiping the bloodied knife on his pants leg.
"Fine just dealing with the last O'Driscoll." Arthur put his knife back in his scabbard on his hip.
"That some fine horse flesh." Charles observed the three horses.
"That they are. Their owner anit going to be needed them. Will take them back with us to camp. I got the old paint."
Arthur and Charles moved to calm the horses before leading them out of the barn.
Arthur's blood ran cold at the sound of two blood curdling screams coming from the ranch followed by a baby's crying, then crashing and something breaking.
" Micah's afraid of rats. Or he's found the dead wife and daughter." Charles and Arthur shared a look as they ran to the homestead.
Barging through the door, they saw Micah on the bed and holding the woman down. A girl no more than eleven was hitting Micah.
"Get away from us you son a bitch." The older women screamed, reaching for the girl behind her and holding the bundle even closer to her breast.
Reddened scars covered her chest and a yellowing bruise made Charles try to grab Micah off the bed. Her shirt had been ripped off by Micah and Arthur moved in to calm her down, the girl hit him with an empty can of salmon.
"You ain't nothing but outlaws, don't you touch Mama." The girl yelled, armed with a tonic bottle and ready to throw it again.
"We ain't them, darling. Micah get the hell outta here—I gave you an order. what the hell are you doing?" Arthur asked as he pushed himself between the bed and the door.
"Look what I found in the cellar wild things the two of them are." Micah taunted as groped at the woman.
Micah groping and tugging her hair as she fought like a panther, cornered and ready to bite.
The younger one threw a bottle of whiskey at Micah but missed.
"Leave them alone." Arthur yelled as he pushed Micah back out the door.
He put himself between Micah and the women, causing the two to fight between him.
"Their O'Driscoll whores." Micah sneered as he pulled the hair of the older one who hissed at him.
"No they anit you idiot look at them." Charles cut in.
Arthur watched in horror as the older of the two women picked up knife from the table with every intention of stabbing Micah in the chest. She held the bundle tightly to her chest.
The bundle screamed and wailed, and the cacophony started to overwhelm him.
Arthur sat down on the bed and sighed. The woman charged but Micah side-stepped her and grabbed her by the waist, tossing her to the floor.
The woman had a wild look in her eye. Arthur had seen it before and knew anywhere it couldn't be, could it after all these years.
"Beatrice hold Hosea while I skin this idiot." she said, growling at Micah.
"Sadie. Sadie Lowell-you alive." Arthur uttered, softly grabbing her arm and the knife dropped.
Sadie turned wild eyes to Arthur. She was enraged and clearly traumatized but whatever had happened to her, the girl was no doubt Sadie's daughter, and son.
"Sadie it's Arthur. Your safe now just put the knife down." Arthur tried to reason.
"What this your old whore Morgan?"
Sadie's daughter threw another can of salmon at Micah and bolted straight to Arthur's leg and sobbed. Micah turned the table and screamed.
"You fucking idiot!" Arthur glared at Micah before turning his attention back to Sadie.
"I didn't do shit Morgan."
"Your safe sweetheart. I'm here, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to leave you broken-hearted. We'll get you safe. We're bad men but we're not them." Arthur said as he grabbed several blankets and draped them over the shivering widow.
"And for you Micah, you've done efucking nough."
"What's your name Ms? Charles asked
"Adler. Mrs. Sadie Adler
"We're bad men but we ain't them."