Three kids surrounded a young boy. They were pointing and laughing at him, while he held a stolen piece of bread in his hands.

"I didn't see you pay for that… thief!"

"Let me see!"

One of the children tried to get close, but he slapped their hand away. He was then pushed to the floor in retaliation. The bread flew out from the child's hands and fell near him. He quickly picked it up, but those other boys picking on him weren't going anywhere.

"I bet he's abandoned, like a dog or something!"

"Stop it!" a low, but stern voice then yelled. "Now!"

The three boys turned around, seeing a tall man standing before them. The bullies locked eyes with him and suddenly ran off at the realization that he was an adult.

The poor lad locked eyes with man, as well. When the man tried to approach the boy, he yelped and ran for his life. Of course, the child was thankful, but he just didn't have the courage then to talk to him, let alone thank him.

Little did he know that he would see that man again, very, very soon…

Arthur sighed, blinking away his own thoughts that he found himself lost in, when he felt a weight on him from behind. Sam was resting his forehead on his shoulder, his breaths still heavy as they rode back towards camp. Clearly, he was still in pain. So, for the time being, he didn't mind.

"Who goes there?" It sounded like Charles.

"It's me!" said Arthur. "I've got Lenny and Sam!"

Sam didn't expect any less of the scolding he got from Miss Grimshaw when he got back to camp. It was mostly for being reckless, but before Lily could tend to him, the older woman demanded that he and Arthur wash the mud off their clothes. The same went for Lenny, too.

About three days passed after that. Turns out Benedict Albright, the man Arthur was asked to hunt down, wasn't too hard to find. Sure he gave him a chase and he fell down a river, but after that, Arthur just lassoed the guy to safety and took him in. He got fifty dollars, minus ten which paid off the drunken violence fee he and Lenny got.

Lily had barely let Sam get any time to wander around the camp much. His chest was bruised up pretty bad, and they ached something fierce. At least none of them were broken. Despite being told to rest, he'd have trouble doing just that. Arthur, Lenny, and sometimes John had stopped by to visit, but when they weren't around, Sam was visibly dazed, staring at the ceiling of the roof with his eyes half lidded.

Arthur and Sam talked for a while when he visited. The night before, however, Arthur told him that he would be gone for a few days for something that needed doing in Strawberry.

Dutch hadn't gone to see him once.

Sam remembered Arthur explaining to him what happened, but he didn't seem angry or disappointed. If Dutch was any of those things, he would have scolded him accordingly, but had done neither. What was wrong? Did he do something wrong?

Sam knew he shouldn't blame himself for not being able to hold his own back there. He had come to town to get Arthur and Lenny out of jail and nothing else. He's had his ass handed to him before, but this felt different. Everything was different. He wasn't just some delinquent hanging around his uncle's clinic. He was with a gang now. A gang that lied, deceived, stole and killed for money. Sam had to pull his weight, protect his cousin, and find the man who decided to end the peaceful life he had.

Sam felt absolutely helpless in this whole mess. The only comfort he had was his cousin, his horse, and the memory of Arthur's words.

He called him "friend."

But how long would that last? The last time anyone called him that was when he was a child.

And now, he was gone.

"Archie…" It came out from his mouth in the softest voice. He hoped no one heard him. Lily was in the tent not long after, giving him something to drink to ease the pain. They made eye contact, but didn't say a word. It didn't stop the small stream of tears that flowed down from his closing eyes, as Lily's gentle fingers, now stained with the blood of having taken lives, ran through his hair. Yet, they were still just as comforting as before. He wouldn't leave her, no matter what.

He drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

There was much hesitance to return to West Elizabeth. It was home to at least two towns, and one of them was Blackwater, the city where everything had gone to hell. It had been a rough few weeks, and the last thing anyone wanted was to go back there, but of course, it was Micah who would cause Arthur to go.

At least it was Strawberry and not Blackwater.

Strawberry was up in the mountains, where the air was fresher from the higher altitude. A river ran through the town, which had forced the people who lived there to build two sets of bridges to get around. The further you went into town, the higher up you would be. Most of the houses were built standing off of the ground to keep the place level, and the whole town was surrounded by cedar trees, and some of them were still growing by the buildings. There was the rich smell of the river water, wood and grass in the cool and calming air. For the most part, the town was quiet.

The jail was all the way in the back of the town. In fact right next to it was the gallows. Arthur didn't see an idiot hanging, so hopefully, Micah wasn't dead yet, but to be honest, he kind of hoped he came here to see he was too late. Next to the gallows was a road that led right out of town.

He thought it wouldn't hurt to ask around, so he made his way to the police station.

"Yep?" the deputy asked as soon as Arthur knocked on the door.

"Hello, sir, I've er… I've come from Blackwater…" That wasn't entirely a lie. He did flee from there with the gang after being chased by Pinkertons. The deputy allowed Arthur to step inside. "I'm on the trail of a dangerous gang… Colm O'Driscoll. Heard you had some sort of incident."

The sheriff was at his desk, filling out some papers. He hadn't even raised his head to look at him yet.

"We don't really deal with bounty hunters round here, son."

"I-I was just wondering if I could get a description."

Finally the sheriff sat up and looked at the outlaw. "Well they weren't friends. They got in a fight… two men got killed. Now one of 'em's an idiot… the other's some kind of dumb mick… so maybe them's your boys. You can look right enough… when we hang 'em."

Arthur just nodded. Seeing that other deputies were armed, there was no way he was gonna get any information, or even get close to the cells, so he headed to the door. The officer was kind enough to open the door for him to leave.

"Thank-you, Sheriff," Arthur said, simply. He stepped back outside and was unsure of where to go next. From what he heard, there was a chance Micah was still alive, but he was up for being hanged soon, which was matching Lenny's description.

"Let me outta here, you maggots!"

Arthur recognized that obnoxious voice anywhere. He checked around the building and then found the barred window that probably belonged to one of the jail cells, because he unfortunately found Micah yelling behind it.

"Arthur? Arthur?" He piped up as soon as he saw him outside. Begrudgingly, he walked over to him.

Micah looked rough. His eyebrows were furrowed as gazed up at Arthur approaching him. There were terrible bags under his blue eyes, and bruises on his face. His long blonde hair was more messy than usual. His mustache that was so long it connected to his beard was dirtied up by dirt and grease. As he put his dirty hands on the bars, Arthur could see his knuckles were bruised and bloody from whatever mess he got himself in.

In Arthur's eyes, this was probably the happiest he had been since they were forced to flee into wintery mountains.

"Hello, old friend. Had a good time, did you?" Arthur said, approaching the window with a smile.

"You gonna get me outta here?" Micah asked.

Arthur leaned against the stone wall of the lockup and sighed. "I ain't decided yet."

"Real funny."

"Oh, I ain't joking, cowpoke." Arthur, one hand on the higher part of the bars, leaned into the window and locked eyes with Micah. "I heard so much bluster out of your mouth these last six months… and now I got an opportunity to watch you be silenced."

"Well you gotta do something," Micah hissed.

"Why?" Arthur asked, his voice low, anger being held back by just barely.

"I always looked up to you, Arthur."

And like that, Arthur backed away from the window. "Well that's your first mistake. Listen, there's one little problem… there's only one of me and there's a whole town full of people… wanting to see you swing."

"You gotta do something, Arthur…" Micah pleaded.

Another sigh left from Arthur's mouth. He looked around. This wasn't the first time he's busted someone or himself out of a jail cell.

"You got any dynamite?" Micah then asked.

Dynamite could work, but could also be explosive. He wanted to go quietly. There were deputies in the station and probably more around town, given that whatever Micah incited was fairly recent. His sight suddenly caught on to the nearby steam donkey. If he could hook it to something on the wall, he could pull it off and get Micah out.

Arthur walked up to the machine, briefly glancing at Micah before he grabbed the hook. The locked up outlaw immediately caught on to what Arthur was doing.

"Yes, hook that over the bars, see if you can pull them off," he said.

Despite Dutch's orders, Arthur took his sweet time pulling the line from the steam donkey to the bars. He hooked it onto one of the horizontal bars and then took a step back.

"What a modern disaster this is going to be."

"Just pull that lever," said Micah, "come on."

Arthur turned away and walked over to the machine. He put his hand on the lever and looked up, seeing storm clouds gather. He wished he could use the quake of thunder to try and cover up what he was about to do, but he doubted it would work, and there was no time to wait.

Never had he disobeyed Dutch, but every cell in his body was telling Arthur not to do this. The escape itself was stupid, but it was freeing Micah that was telling him that this was even dumber. He couldn't lie to Dutch. Ever. He disliked Micah even being in his presence, but he just had to remember that this wasn't about him. It was about the gang and making Dutch happy.

So, he pulled the lever with all of his might. The wheels on the steam donkey turned and the hook was strong enough to practically pull the whole wall off the jail cell. Rocks, bricks and dust flew everywhere, and Arthur lowered his head to avoid getting hit.

Once the dust settled, he pulled his bandana over his face, ran up to Micah and handed him a gun.

"Feelin' better?"

Lenny ran into him as Sam returned to his tent after walking around giving hay to the horses. He was finally feeling better, so Miss Grimshaw had him get back to work.

"Guess so…" said Sam. He sat back down in his cot and reached under it, knowing what Lenny had come for. He handed the book back to him. "Thanks for letting me read it, by the way. Hosea won't let me finish his, until I find him a new book to read."

Lenny bit back a laugh. "It's the least I can do for the man who bailed me out. Where's Arthur, anyway?"

"He left to go rescue Micah." The young man shrugged. "I hope he's okay."

"He will be," Lenny said, reassuringly. "He's been by Dutch's side longer than anyone, except for maybe Hosea."

"Really?" said Sam.

"Hey, Sam!"

Javier ran over to him quickly. He was just with Charles at the horses. They were about to leave for Blackwater to make an attempt at rescuing Sean.

Sam grunted a bit to himself, rubbing his sore ribs. "Hello, Javier."

"Mornin'," said Lenny.

"Feeling better?" said Javier.

Sam nodded. "Just dandy…" His hand was still rubbing his chest, though. "Nothing's broken at least."

"Listen, Lily told me about your poisons."

"Poison? You mean the stuff I use to keep vermin away? I've been using it around here, too."

"¡Sí, eso!" said Javier. "And I'm very thankful for that, but, uh… Do you think you can make more?"

"More?" Sam said, raising a brow. His heart beated a bit more rapidly against his aching chest. He already didn't like where this was going.

"Yes, and I need it stronger… enough to-"

"Kill a man…?" Sam then stuttered. It was one thing if Sam killed to protect people he cared about, but he had never even met Sean yet. Granted, if he was part of the gang, he was probably a killer and thief like the rest of the gang… and now he was one of them.

"Dutch said that you owe him," said Javier. "He wouldn't say what, but it sounded important. You'd be doing him a favor, amigo, as well as myself."

So that was Dutch's game, then? Sam thought to himself. He wouldn't expect anything less from a gang leader. Was he going to out what he did to the whole gang if he didn't comply and let the men have at him?

More importantly, what would happen to Lily? He could take a beating, but it was Lily he worried about.

She was sitting with the other girls, chatting and sewing.

"I don't…" Sam could only mumble.

"This is Sean we're talking about!" said Javier. "Now, I know you don't know him, but this is for the gang, and Arthur did save you, right?"

"Javier," Lenny started. "If he doesn't want to-"

"I… I'll need more Oleander Sage," said Sam. "Bring it to me… and I'll show you how I make it. So, sorry. You'll have to save Sean without poison."

The Mexican nodded. "That's okay. We'll still need it for other things. I'll see if I find any on the way to Blackwater and back." He waved to Sam and the rest of the camp, as got on his horse and rode away with Charles. "We'll be back in a few days. Hopefully, with Sean!"

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. At least he didn't need it now.

"You know," said Lenny. "You could've just told him no."

Sam stared at his feet and shook his head. "No, I couldn't…" He stared up at the sky as soon as heard the sound of water falling on the roof of his tent. Lenny decided to join Sam inside to escape the rain.

There was a small rumble of thunder. Lily was already running over to her cousin's side.

Arthur and Micah managed to lose the law in the wilderness. The rain was pouring down as their horses galloped down the dirt road, as they tried to avoid going to the southern part of West Elizabeth.

"That was some good shooting, Morgan," said Micah. "I gotta hand it to you."

Arthur was still staring at him. A stern glare was on his face. "What the hell was that you pulled back there?"

"Got a bit wild alright." Micah was shrugging it off like it was nothing.

"Wild? Making a house call in the middle of all that?"

"Ain't much I care about more than those guns."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "That much is clear. Who was that feller?"

"Skinny? Yeah, we ran together for a while. Did a bank job down south, didn't end well."

"I saw how it goddamn ended."

"He was gonna let me hang."

"I'm starting to wish I had… and you owe Lenny, too. If he hadn't found us in time…"

"Yes, you will all be thanked profusely, I promise."

"Yeah, well… You're lucky Dutch has got your back, for some unknown reason."

As soon as they were in the clear, they stopped for a moment. It was then that Micah handed Arthur a holster. It was able to be attached to his current gun belt which would give him room to hold another gun on it.

"Here," said Micah. "My way of saying thank you."

"And thank you…" Arthur huffed, "there I was having a dull day only for you… to liven it up by letting me help you shoot up half a town."

Micah just laughed. "You're a funny feller, Arthur. Real funny. Why you act all sour all the time?"

"Yeah, well, you ain't funny at all… so why you gotta act like the court jester?"

"Alright, listen…" Micah lowered his voice, and sounded stern, but calm. "I'm sorry, but we're family now, Arthur."

Arthur took a second to spit on the ground. He'd say that about him when pigs could fly.

"You and me…" Micah continued, "sons of Dutch. Makes us brothers… and sometimes brothers make mistakes."

Mistakes? In Arthur's eyes, letting Micah into the gang was a mistake. They rode around for a bit to make sure they weren't followed. The rain was still pouring down pretty hard, but Arthur didn't want any risks.

He had enough of those.

Sam was running for his life.

His limbs felt like they were weighed down by the rain that pounded him. His sore chest was on fire. He heard the growls and the barking and climbed a tree. Flinching from the jaws of a wolf that tried to get him, only tearing off a bit of his pants. His fingers burned from the friction of grabbing the bark, but he made it onto a thick branch where his cousin was and they looked down at the wolves barking and growling at them. Some were making attempts at jumping at him.

"Archie, help us!" Lily pleaded.

Archie was riding down the road in the distance. He stopped at the scene of the wolves trying to attack the two. Almost mechanically, he shook his head.

"I can't," he said. "Momma said, you folk ain't moral." With that he turned and rode away, without even a second thought. He headed where the clouds were part, and the sun shone through, leaving the two in the dark and stormy night.

Lily began to sob, clinging to her cousin. Sam reached for his gun, only to see that it wasn't in his holster.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out and the wolves were dropping dead. Blood was pooling around them, and the two looked down to see their uncle with a shotgun.

"You two okay?"

"Daddy!" Lily exclaimed.

Sam was the first to climb down. He hugged his uncle tightly and they were careful as they told Lily where to watch her footing as she climbed down from the tree, as well.

Then, Sam's sight caught on to the light of a lantern heading towards them. He saw a figure holding it. He was tall, his coat was long, and he had what seemed to be a bowler hat on his head. His vision was too hazy and it was too dark to see anything else specific.

Wait… he then thought. His mind and everything around him was suddenly operating in slow motion. This was just like…

"UNCLE!" Sam suddenly rushed forward as the figure held out a gun. The young man stretched his hand out, the lantern shining like the sun, blinding him as he heard the gun fire.

Sam awoke, curled up in his cot and sweating. His whole body was shaking, and he stayed still while he tried to calm down from his nightmare.

"Guess who's back?" an obnoxious voice bellowed. There was just silence and only a very few audible groans as Micah entered camp with Arthur.

"Micah!" Dutch said, excitedly. He hurried out, shaking off the sleepiness from his eyes. "There you are!" Arthur walked up from behind him begrudgingly. "Well done, Arthur!"

Arthur just let out a soft groan of annoyance. "Yep." And he wandered off to his tent, tired from today's events.

"What happened out there, Micah?" said Dutch. "Lenny was telling me you was getting into something?"

Micah held out his arms. "There were some folks I used to run with, and… things went sour. I'm sorry, Dutch. I feel like a fool. I owe Lenny and Arthur a great deal. I couldn't have escaped without them. I will do everything I can to thank them and you, as well."

Dutch sighed. "Well, at least you're safe now. Get some rest. We've got a lot to catch you up on."

"Sure thing, boss!"

Dutch watched Micah walk over to his tent and grumbled to himself, asking about where his stuff was or who stole what. He was about to head back and get some more sleep, when he saw a figure wandering around the camp in the dead of the night. They sat by the trees, where the horses slept.

Molly stirred a little in the cot they shared together. "Dutch, what is it?" her tired voice was loud enough to snap him out from his trance.

"Nothing to worry about, my dear." He patted the top of her head gently. "I'm just gonna see what it is."

Panting, Sam slid down the bark of a tree to a sitting position. His hands trembled before him as he held them in front of himself. The darkness of the night added to it, bringing him back to the night he met Arthur, seeing the dead O'Driscoll, holding the weapon that did the thug in.

Suddenly, his hand was met with the snout of his horse, who had seemed to wake up from Sam walking around in the grass. Aurora was still laying down, but Sam some soft nudges. The young man smiled a little and petted her mane with his shaky hands, hoping she didn't mind how sweaty his palms had become.

Aurora laid on her side, seeming to relax, with her head in Sam's lap. Already, his breath was getting more and more calm, but he still shook whenever he moved.

"Sam?"

Sam lifted his head and saw Dutch approaching him.

Hosea couldn't sleep. The cold air from the storm wasn't doing his cough any good. He heard voices that didn't sound like Bill or Charles who were out patrolling for the night.

"I'm not a little kid, you know."

"We don't have time for revenge, Sam."

"Didn't you lose someone to Colm, too?"

Hosea quickly sat up. Oh no. Someone was bringing up the A-word. He didn't want Dutch to be aware that he was around.

"Yes, I did."

Using Dutch's tent as cover, he kept his quiet to prevent waking Molly. He saw Dutch sitting by Sam. Surprisingly, even though he was stern, he seemed generally calm.

"But do you think if I just dropped everything to go after him, it would be better?"

"Arthur said that you killed his brother."

"Of course he did. He's a blabbermouth when it comes to wondering what's wrong with old Dutch."

And for the first time, he was actually able to elicit a small laugh from the young man. Hosea stared on and smiled, vaguely recalling a moment when the same thing happened with another young man. But the young man in his memories was still but a child back then.

"I know it isn't what we're looking for, but the O'Driscolls are everywhere around here," said Sam. "If anything, I can at least thin their numbers… and stop their operations from spreading."

Dutch thought to himself. "You know… even if you find the man who shot your uncle, it won't stop your nightmares…"

Aurora had stood up, but was still quite affectionate, nudging Sam head gently. He decided to thank her by giving her a small sugar cube, which she ate immediately.

"It won't bring your lover back, either…" Sam said. "But, I can't let him get away with it. The person knew my uncle's name." He crossed his arms, his gray eyes sparkling with the threat of tears. "My aunt was taken from me from sickness… and I never knew who killed my mother…"

Dutch's heart skipped a beat.

Sam's hands shook and gripped his arms tighter. "I can't stand by and let terrible people continue getting away with doing horrible things to people… to me… to Lily… I steal, but only from people who deserve it."

The gang leader just stared as the younger man struggled with his own thoughts and feelings. "Only from people who deserve it"? That saying was almost similar to their own code.

"Then if I must kill, then it's only to people who deserve it!" Sam concluded. "Scum like O'Driscolls… They killed my uncle and had their fingers dipped in the only other clinic in town. I don't want to put anyone in the gang in danger, but I have to do this. It could help you move around the area much better if the O'Driscolls numbers were thinned or if they were busy with something else…"

Dutch smiled. "Like a crazy young man taking them out."

Sam, despite still shaking, made a little smirk. "They don't know I'm part of your gang, now…"

"Then, we'll make sure it stays that way for as long as possible. Micah's fairly new, and so is your cousin and Sadie looks like she'll kill someone just for looking at her funny. If what Kieran tells you is the truth then keep looking into it. The sooner we get them out of the way, the sooner we can just focus on getting more money."

"Yes, sir," said Sam.

"You ain't doing this alone," said Dutch. "It's crazy, but it has to work, because we're already pushing Cornwall's buttons. Be careful."

Sam suddenly remembered about that man. He wasn't sure how they would stand up to the might of Cornwall's power, but somehow, felt more confident with Dutch near him that they could.

Dutch patted Sam's shoulder. "When you're ready, get back to bed. I want you to get all you can from that Kieran."

"I will, Dutch." He laughed a little when Aurora nudged him with her nose again. "As soon as this horse here stops distracting me..."

The gang leader smiled, seeing Sam relaxing after the nightmare, despite the dire situation he was getting into. He had his doubts, but if he dwelled on them, he'd be like Arthur and Hosea. Sam was one of them now, and that meant getting into danger.

Even if he's… Well, he wasn't sure… yet.

He would at least make sure he wasn't alone when it came to the O'Driscolls. All Colm cared about was numbers.

Once Aurora had settled down, Sam got up and headed back towards his tent to try and sleep some more under the leader's orders. Hosea had snuck back to his sleeping area, before Dutch made it back to his tent. He laid down, and Molly, who must have sensed Dutch near her, snuggled up next to him.

Dutch stared at the ceiling not realizing his eyes were closing until they were already shut. He fell asleep holding the red haired woman in his arms…

But his thoughts as he drifted off were only of her…

Sam was shaken awake by Lily the next morning. She immediately had breakfast for him, which he was thankful for.

"Wh-What?" he said, sitting up before rubbing his eyes. He took the canned food and spoon she gave him and started eating. "Something wrong?"

"I was just wondering if I could take Aurora to go hunting today…" said Lily.

"You?"

"And Sadie," said Lily.

"What about Charles?"

"He's still out with Javier, meeting up with someone named Trelawny to rescue Sean."

Sam briefly glanced at the closed and locked up box full of poisons to keep pests away. "Yeah, Javier…"

"So, can I take Aurora?" said Lily. "Sadie's getting antsy again from just being near Pearson's presence again." The two looked over towards his wagon, already the man and Sadie bickering.

"What about Brandon?" said Sam. "I'm feeling better. We can go see him tonight! I wonder why Seamus never told us about him…"

"Well, he's busy running that fence. He's gotta keep things on the down low instead of making new friends. Or, maybe they're new in the area?"

"Maybe…"

"Besides, should we really trust some bounty hunter that you just met?"

"He could be one our only leads," said Sam. "But, no, I don't trust him. Not yet."

"Then we shouldn't just rush in without a plan. Let alone one horse."

"What's wrong with Aurora?"

Lily shook her head. "No, she's fine, but if we're going to be staying here, we should each have our own horse. I know Aurora likes you more, so… Maybe we can get another one for me?" She held her hands behind her back, tilted her head down, but looked up at Sam innocently with her eyes.

Sam smiled. When they got Aurora, Lily wanted another horse for herself, but they only needed one, with the exception of occasionally renting some to move their wagon.

But now, things were different.

Sam nodded. "Take Aurora. I'll… see what I can do."

"Yes!" Lily practically leapt through the tent and hugged. "Thank-you!"

"Just be careful," said Sam. "Arthur told me about this huge bear he and Hosea ran into by O'Creagh's Run."

"Okay… I'll stay away from there. It's far away, anyway." Armed with a repeater, she ran towards Sadie. "Hey, Sadie!" she cheered excitedly. "We can go!"

The rookie outlaw still had some money from robbing the doctor and from taking from the farmlands in the Valentine, but he had given most of it to the camp to earn Dutch's trust. With what he had, he wouldn't be sure he could buy a new horse for her, and he wasn't sure if the man running the stables would even let him at this point.

Sam was thankful Lenny let him borrow one of his books about horses. Sure he had seen some Tennessee Walker and Kentucky Saddler horses nearby in the fields, but he didn't just want to grab any old horse. They had to be strong, fast, and reliable. Able to sense danger at a moment's notice.

Able to protect Lily when he wasn't around.

"What're you up to?"

Sam was still sitting down on his cot when Arthur showed up. "Oh, hey. I was just reading up on some horses."

"Really?"

"Lily was reminding me of how we should get another one so we could each have our own." He stood up and closed the book. "I don't have a lot of money, but I read of one called a Nakota that's in the wilderness somewhere. Hopefully, I can find it."

"Well, it's not near Strawberry, I hope," Arthur said. He laughed, but sounded more worried.

"No," said Sam. "It's near some body of water under Bard's Crossing."

"Do you know how to tame horses?"

"Kind of… I've lassoed a few back in town to help other ranchers tame them, but I've never tried to break one myself." He shrugged a bit and set the book down on the table. "You want to come with me? I could use some help."

Arthur thought to himself for a moment. Pearson was good with food for now, Charles and Javier were off hoping to save Sean, so if they did run into trouble in West Elizabeth they could find them, and all the chores seemed to have been done for now. He nodded.

"Sure. I was thinking of getting another horse, myself," he said, as Sam put on his gunbelt and gathered some ammo. "I need a break from this place with goddamn Micah back." They walked out towards the horses.

"What about the one you have?" said Sam.

"Well, this one's fine," Arthur said, gesturing to the horse he had, "but ain't no Boadicea."

Sam nodded. "I get it. I'm real sorry. She must have been quite a horse."

"Hosea said the stables tend to have the best ones, but I don't have much on me and this seems like a good opportunity."

"Can you tame horses?"

"I've done it a few times here and there. Now-"

"Where you going?"

Arthur turned around just in time to see John walking up to them. Sam was climbing onto Arthur's horse, but moved to the back, thinking that Arthur would want to take the reins on his own horse.

"John," Arthur greeted simply. "We're just… heading out? Shouldn't you be resting that little scar of yours."

John just rolled his eyes. "Don't have something better to do than insult me?"

"Don't you have somewhere to run off to again?"

"You're impossible!" John then yelled, before storming off angrily.

"Did he want to come with us?" Sam asked.

"Don't matter now…" Arthur grumbled to himself. He climbed onto his horse, sitting in front of Sam and grabbed the reins. "Let's go."

Sam, carefully placing his arms on Arthur's sides, they rode out of the camp and hit the road. After a little while, Arthur let out a sigh.

"Sorry you had to see that," he said.

"What? You mad at him?"

"I just ain't over it yet, is all…" Arthur grumbled. "John ditched us for over a goddamn year. Hosea keeps telling me that he knows he did wrong and wants to put it behind him, but John keeps trying to act like nothing happened. That boy has never been one for talking, but… I don't know."

"I guess I get it…" said Sam.

"Running off on the boy is one thing, but with the gang, there's a code. No one else would've been welcomed back that easily, after being gone for that long."

Slowly, Sam was comprehending what he was saying. John left. So, maybe it had hurt him in a way that he didn't want to say.

"And we was… family, you know?" said Arthur.

But hearing it made Sam understand it better than what Hosea and Dutch were looking at the situation. For some reason, John leaving hurt him more than anyone.

Because John had abandoned him.

Whenever Dutch felt confused, lost, sad, or any other meaning of the word, he could always find some kind of comfort in his books. Not just any, of course. It was the kind written by a soul he thought was wiser than even he: Evelyn Miller.

Molly was out chatting with girls, but of course not helping at all with the chores. When he was with Annabelle, she and him, along with Hosea and Arthur, would share all of the work. Even Bessie pitched in.

He turned back to his book. He should know better than to compare Molly to Annabelle. Things were different now. The gang was different now.

"So, Dutch."

Hosea didn't even ask before he came in. He closed the tent flaps behind him. "Are you ready to talk yet?"

"About… what exactly?"

The older man sighed. "I've known you longer than anyone, Dutch. It's your strange behavior with the boy since the funeral.'

"I don't know what you mean."

"I've been watching you, Dutch, and I ain't as delusional as you. You said you was looking into Sam's family, and you haven't done any of that since the funeral."

"I didn't find anything else. That's all, no need to get concerned."

"Are you sure? Because it looks like you did find something. Otherwise, you wouldn't be acting in such a way."

Dutch shook his head. "It doesn't matter. We've got other things to worry about."

"I'm not gonna stand by and let whatever connections Sam may have affect us," Hosea then spoke up. "Keeping your lip tight about Heidi McCourt is one thing..."

"Hosea!" Dutch's voice suddenly went stern at the mention of that woman.

"But we've got enough on our plate with Pinkertons and the law after us. We're heading east, Dutch! We've lost Jenny and the Callendar Boys. Wake up and use your head. What's more important? Your secrets, or everyone lives?"

Dutch stood, locking eyes with the old man. He didn't care how ominously close they were standing.

"I am just trying to make sure we survive, Hosea."

"Then prove to me you care," Hosea replied just as coldly. "You're gonna sit down. And. Start. Talking. What happened at the funeral?"

"I…" For once, Dutch barely had any words. "It's…" He paused, and wandered over to the other side of his tent to lower the tent flaps there as well.

It had been too long since he had talked about her. He tried not to dwell on it. He still chased Colm to this day because of her, even though he had to wait for the sake of his gang. His selfish desires had to wait for their sake.

He turned back to his oldest friend, and willed his mouth to move.

"Hosea…" He was shocked at the sound of his own voice. It was shaky, like for once in a long time, he actually sounded nervous. Even Hosea seemed surprised. What happened to his dear friend?

"Yes, Dutch?"

"What I'm about to tell you cannot leave this tent. Are we clear?"

Sam and Arthur stayed near the water, following the Dakota River. They were far below a bridge of train tracks known as Bard's Crossing. Below it was the river and they rode around the support beams, continuing their journey. They soon got a look at the large body of water known as Flat Iron Lake. It was one of the biggest lakes Sam had ever seen, stretching out all the way to Mexico.

Arthur was still a little new to hunting, but he knew a thing or two about tracking thanks to Charles. They kept near the water, and all they could hear were the birds, the water, wind and the sound of horse hooves stepping in the dirt.

"See that there?" Arthur said, pointing at the ground.

Sam looked down in the sand, seeing the warm sun shining its light down on it. There he saw dips in the dirt.

"Horse tracks…" Sam then answered. "Is it nearby?"

"Not sure…" said Arthur. "But let's be careful. Wild horses spook easily like deer, probably because none of them have ever even heard a person speak before." They followed the trail, keeping the horse they were riding to a trot.

"How much did that bear spook you?"

"Oh, that again…" Arthur stifled a laugh.

"Did you even kill it?"

"Not exactly… It ran off after I shot it and it spooked Hosea something fierce. Gave me a map of where some other animals were."

"Think Charles can hunt it?"

"Maybe… Sadie might make them die with a stare."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, she's scary when she's not being sad. Hey, look!"

The tracks went towards the water and then continued a little down the way. The ones past the lake after nearing it were still slightly muddy water pocketed in the small dips in the sand.

"Guess they got thirsty…" said Sam.

"The tracks are still fresh," said Arthur. "It might be nearby. Let's continue on foot."

The two got off the horse and Arthur instructed him to stay. They continued walking through dirt, with Sam occasionally kicking the few rocks he found. Sam had to observe his environment before to find advantages and disadvantages, but being out there without an urgent task, like running away, was kind of relaxing.

Arthur then held out his arm, which Sam bumped into and he stopped.

"Look," he said, his voice lowered. Arthur dragged his friend to some nearby rocks and then he pointed forward, before pulling out his binoculars.

Sam could see the shapes of three horses. Among the two normal looking Kentucky Saddlers, he saw one straying from the others.

"Here," Arthur said shortly, before handing him the binoculars. Sam let out a tiny gasp once he looked through them. The one straying from the other horses was a blue coat, with black hooves, the mane was dark, and was shaking off some water it probably got from the lake.

"The Nakota…" Sam whispered. A smile grew on his face. He looked through the binoculars again. And then laughed as the horse rolled on the dirt for a dust bath. "He's beautiful… How do we catch him?"

Arthur pulled out his lasso. "I can get in close and lasso him in, but you'll have to break him."

"Me?"

"You want that horse, don't you?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Then you break him."

Sam lowered his binoculars and handed them back. He had to learn one way or another. It might as well be now. "Fine."

The younger man kept his distance as they stepped out from behind the rocks. The Nakota caught sight of Arthur and stood, whining as it saw him approach, but Arthur held out his hands and shushed it.

"Hey, it's okay…" he said, gently. "It's okay…" Once he got the lasso around the horse, the other two horses nearby started booking it, galloping away. The Nakota started struggling against the ropes. "You'll be alright. Come on! Easy!"

"You got him?" Sam said, walking up from behind.

"Seems like it…" Arthur grunted. "Hurry up, before it drags me across the dirt!"

"Okay…." Sam approached slowly. The horses looked at him as struggled. "Hey, friend," the young man said with a nervous but optimistic smile. He lassoed his own rope around the horse and hopped on. Arthur reeled in his own rope and the Nakota started jumping around trying to buck off Sam.

Arthur stepped back to avoid getting hit and laughed. "Now, hang on!"

The horse was screaming, and Sam struggled to keep his down as the horse kicked and jumped around with everything it could to get him off. Wild horses weren't used to a human riding on them, so this was a new, scary experience for the poor thing. The Nakota made a sudden turn to the right and the rope slipped from Sam's hand. He fell, being tossed into the dirt and it made a run for it. Luckily, Sam landed on his back, but the impact pushed the air from his lunge as he coughed a little before sucking in a proper breath again.

"Shit!" Arthur yelled, as he made his way to Sam. The young man struggled to sit up and saw the mare running off, while just sitting there dazed. "You okay?"

Sam just looked up as Arthur offered his hand. He took it and was helped onto his feet, while he used his other hand to rub his sore ribs. Then, he just started laughing, feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins. It was just like the familiar rush of when he stole.

"Oh… Now, it is on!" Sam then said. "Let's go! I'm not giving up!" He already started darting towards it.

"Alright, slow down!" Arthur said, running after him.

Sam was still new to breaking horses, but despite that, even when the Nakota tossed him off a second time and he landed in the lake by shore, he got right back up. He was determined to see his mission through to the end, and that didn't just include taming the horse.

"Come on…" Arthur said, as he lassoed the horse a fourth time. Sam was panting, still regaining his breath from tracking down the Nakota again and from being tossed a third time. There was dirt in his hair and clothes that were also damp from being in the water.

"Let's go," Sam said. He climbed onto the horse once again. The horse was already tiring out, but was also not giving up easily. This time Sam had the tightest grip he could. If this animal was a fighter, then he'd fight for Lily. He just had to gain his trust. "I'm not giving up on you! Come on…"

Finally, the horses calmed down, legs shaking from overuse, but stable. It whined and panted and Sam nearly fell forward from the sudden lack of constant motion.

"Yes!" Sam then yelled, excitedly. "I did it!" He leaned forward and petted the horse, trying to calm it. "It's okay, boy."

"It's a fine horse," said Arthur. He whistled for his horse, and while he waited, handed Sam back his hat that he dropped around trial number two. "You did okay for a first timer."

"Can we do it again?!" Sam then said, excitedly. "I'll help break a horse you want!"

Arthur just laughed. "Sure. But keep your voice down… Don't want to spook your new friend there." The Nakota was still a bit wary and snorted upon the outlaw touching his snout. He feared if Sam didn't calm down with newfound energy, he'd have to lasso him next. "We'll get this one here back to camp and get him cleaned up first." And with that, he climbed onto his horse. "Think you got him?"

"I'll try," said Sam. "Come on, boy!" He gave him a small squeeze with his heels. The Nakota whined a bit as it trotted forward, but the rookie outlaw was already giving him gentle pats to calm him. "Easy, boy. It's okay. You're my friend now. I know you'll look after Lily just fine."

Arthur kept up with Sam, who was still letting the new horse go slowly, not wanting to stress him out any more than he already had.

Once they were back under Bard's Crossing the horse seemed a bit more comfortable with a human riding on him. Any time he seemed stressed, Sam would try his best to soothe it, with Arthur encouraging him not to let the horse get the better of him. He was the boss, not the other way around.

They went up the Dakota River and were soon back on the road. The next arc of their travels was to cross the river back into New Hanover and head back to Horseshoe Overlook…

"There he is!"

Sam gasped. Arthur already turned to see some men hiding in the trees, with some of them on horses.

"It's Dutch van der Linde's right hand man!"

"Run!" Arthur yelled to Sam, waving him off. The outlaw was right behind him as gunfire started ringing out.

Suddenly, the two had to change course, not wanting to risk leading these men back to camp. From the looks of it, they were bounty hunters.

"What do they want?" said Sam.

"Probably for what happened in Strawberry." Arthur already had his gun out. Sam rode ahead while he tried to hold them off, trying to keep up.

The Nakota horse was obviously spooked from the gun fire, but Sam was trying his best to soothe it, to prevent himself from getting thrown off.

Suddenly the pair found themselves pincered, when more bounty hunters showed up. They were going the opposite direction that were running towards and opened fire. Sam managed to steer his new horse to turn right, but then he quickly realized that the bounty hunters were after Arthur, not him. He heard the cries of a horse, and turned his head, to see Arthur fall down. His leg was pinned under his injured horse.

"Arthur!" Sam yelled. He turned back, pulling out his own gun and shot the bounty hunters before they could shoot Arthur. The bounty hunters fell off of their horses and the animals ran off, terrified. The outlaw managed to work his way out, but the horse was terribly injured. They aimed for the horse to try and slow him down. There were gunshot wounds on the horse's neck and face.

Sam slipped down from his new horse and ran over to Arthur, who was trying to stop the bleeding. The younger man wasn't sure what to do. He had only ever healed humans.

"Come on!" Arthur grunted. Sam carefully knelt down beside him and felt the horse for a pulse. His jaw dropped slowly and despite barely knowing the poor animal, he teared up.

"He… He's gone." His voice came out soft.

Arthur shut his eyes tightly and sighed. "Damn it…" He patted the dead horse's mane. "I'm sorry, boy…"

Sam's breath was shaky. His heart was shattering to actually see Arthur a bit shaken up and saddened by this.

Then, he heard more hoofbeats.

"Goddamn idiots…" Sam muttered. He stood. "Hide."

"What?" said Arthur.

"I said hide. It's you they want."

"Sam-"

"It's fine." Sam continued staring ahead towards the sound of incoming people. "I've got a plan."

Arthur wasn't sure, but Sam was determined to see this through. He took Sam's new horses and led him towards the patch of trees near them.

Sam knelt down by Arthur's dead horse and petted his face, reaching his hand up for a moment to close the poor thing's eyes.

More bounty hunters came over the hill. Sam only turned his head, but didn't move.

"You, there!" one of them said. "Did you see a man ride through here?"

Sam nodded. "Y-Yes, sirs," he said, acting nervously. "H-He just shot my poor horse here and s-some of those m-men. I-I wasn't s-sure what he wanted. I thought I was gonna-"

"Okay, easy!" said the bounty hunter. "Which way did he go?"

"Y-Yeah, he went that way!" But Sam pointed north up the trail, past the trail of dead bodies so for the bounty hunters, it made sense.

"Alright, let's go!" They rode past Sam not even looking at him for a second thought. Sam smiled a mischievous, almost evil smirk. Once they were, he pulled out his gun, aiming at the bounty hunters. His cold, gray eyes narrowed as finger began to squeeze the trigger.

"Sam!" The younger man was shocked when a hand wrapped around his wrist and forced his arm down. Arthur had run out from hiding just in time to stop him."Leave 'em."

"But they…"

"The ones who did are already dead," said Arthur. "We need to leave, and you're the only one with a horse now." Sam flinched, trying to move his arm, but he wouldn't let go. "Shooting them won't solve anything. We gotta go."

The two locked eyes. Sam's glare was stern, but so was Arthur's. It was like that for a few seconds until Arthur felt the younger man's arm relax. Slowly, he let go and Sam just stood there, while Arthur went to take the saddle off his fallen horse. Sam's breath's were deep. As much as he wanted to chase and shoot those bounty hunters down, he knew Arthur would probably have him lassoed and hogtied as soon as he did.

Plus, those bounty hunters were far away now at this point. He holstered his weapon.

It sucked not being able to even bury the poor horse, but they had to move. Arthur put his saddle on the Nakota and, with Sam taking the reins, they rode away from West Elizabeth, heading back to New Hanover. They didn't head back to camp, not wanting to lead anyone who could be following them there.

"I'm sorry…" Sam said, after the long silence. They had crossed the Dakota River and were riding past the nearby train stop known as Flatneck Station.

Arthur just sighed. "Don't worry about it. We went out to find horses and, well… We found one."

"But now… you don't have one."

"Let's just go find a stable," said Arthur.

Sam nodded. "Sure. I dunno if Valentine is very welcoming of me now, but there's another stable by the border of Lemoyne. It's just past a place called Dewberry Creek."

"Sure. Let's go there."

Sam nodded. When they came up to a fork in the road, Sam turned to the right.

"I was a bit surprised back there," he then added.

"How you mean?" said Arthur.

"I mean, I thought you'd let me shoot those bounty hunters back there."

"You would've given us away."

"They killed your horse!" Sam was suddenly sounding outraged.

"We already killed who did it. Shooting them would just bring more."

Sam continued to focus on the road. He tried to concentrate on trying to get to Dewberry Creek.

"And killing the bastard who shot your uncle will just bring more people after you,"

Sam huffed. "So, what? I just let them get away with it? The police aren't doing anything, and the town accused me and Lily of being responsible for what happened. I thought we was outlaws!"

"Outlaws, not idiots!" said Arthur. "What you want ain't gonna bring your uncle back."

"I know…" said Sam. "But it doesn't matter…"

"Sam-"

"They attacked my home and killed him. It was personal…" He held his teeth tightly, his hands shaking as held the reins. "He was a good man. He raised me, when my mother wouldn't. He cared about people, and never gave up on them, no matter how sick, injured…" Sam paused briefly and stared at his right hand, "or how much they misbehaved. I have to know why. Why him? Why my mother? Why my aunt?" Part of himself blamed it on Valentine's supposed "curse," but another part of him was sensing doubt on that.

Arthur sighed. "I can't answer that. Sorry. I wish I could…"

"You don't have to help me…" said Sam. "I promised Dutch I wouldn't put anyone in the gang in danger. You should focus on protecting them."

The older man wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything. Obviously, Sam was still in pain. He wished he could tell him something to make him understand, but he didn't know how, without revealing too much.

"I, uh… I'll pitch in," Sam then said. "Get you a fine new horse."

"You sure?" said Arthur.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I want to. Think of it as thanks for helping me find this beauty."

Arthur smiled. "Okay. Let's get to the stable."