A/N: Hey. Some guy self deletes near the end of the fifth scene. So… trigger warning.
Everything he did….
"I've made a decision."
He killed so many…
"My purpose in life - I will find the man who killed Cliff Hawkeson!"
Figured out many new medicines, weapons, and poisons.
"The O'Driscolls attacked our home! Killed Cliff!
He fell in with outlaws and even found his father.
"I never found out who killed my mother, but damn it! I ain't a child no more! I will find the man who did this. Find him, and kill him! Destroy them all!"
And now, he knew the identity of his mother's killer, as well. Even if Cliff's killer wasn't an O'Driscoll, his actions were not in vain. He had cut down their numbers and even saved people in the process. He knew the truth.
And yet, Sam still felt like he was sitting at the bottom of an endless abyss.
"Andrew Milton," said Dutch. He and Hosea were outside of Sam's tent, while Lily and Arthur were busy trying to calm Sam down. The gang leader shook his head. "I almost don't believe it."
"What the hell would Milton want with his uncle?" said Dutch.
Hosea sighed. He already knew the answer. "You, Dutch."
"What?"
"The doc had all kinds of information on you and everyone here," Hosea said, gesturing to the rest of the camp. "Especially you. And now that we know about Sam, it all makes sense."
"Milton wants me," said Dutch. He looked at the mess that was Sam in his tent, and gripped the cigar in his hand so hard, he swore it would have snapped. "And he doesn't care who he has to destroy to get what he wants. Now was I wrong about what I said about this so-called 'civilized' land?"
"Right or wrong don't matter right now, Dutch. We gotta find that boy and we need to leave."
The gang leader nodded. "Get everyone packing. Jack will have to wait a bit longer. Right now, we need to go somewhere safe. I'll send Arthur or John to go look for a place."
"Right…" Hosea cleared his throat and walked towards the camp. "Everyone, get your stuff put away! We're moving out of this place!"
Dutch walked inside of Sam's tent. Sam seemed to have calmed down, as he sat on his cot and while he was staring at the ground, his mind seemed to be thousands of miles away.
"It'll be alright, Sam," said Dutch. "We've fought people much worse than him. You fought Colm's forces… and lived!"
And for the first time in an hour, Sam finally spoke clearly.
"How…?" he said.
"Pardon?"
"How the hell am I going to fight the United States government?" Sam said, raising his head slowly. "Why would they do this?!"
Dutch hesitated to answer, because he already knew.
However, Sam had already pieced it together, as well. He remembered the room, the letter, the tabs his uncle had been keeping on the gang members… he wasn't trying to turn in the gang. He wanted to find Dutch or someone who could get him in contact with Dutch.
Cliff probably had that opportunity when Arthur walked into their clinic, but couldn't act on it because Sam and Lily were present.
"He was… how do we…" Sam was still at a loss.
"We need to think about this later, Sam," said Dutch. "Right now, we need to get everyone out of here."
"He's right, Sam," said Arthur. "We gotta pack and move, and focus on getting Jack from this Angelo Bronte feller."
Sam could only nod in agreement.
"Know anywhere we can go?" said Dutch.
"I know a big old house hidden in the swamps outside Saint Denis," said Arthur. "I know they'll find us, eventually, but it should buy us some time."
Dutch grinned. "Then that's all we need."
"Lenny and I met some of them Raiders up there, though."
"Then go make sure there's no stragglers and don't go alone. Take someone with you."
"Alright," said Arthur. He held Sam by his shoulders when he tried to stand and forced him to sit back down. "No, stay put. You ain't in the right space right now. I'll take someone else."
Sam didn't even fight back, not even with words. "Okay."
Arthur got on his hat and ventured out of the tent. One way or another, they had to get out of here. Everyone was packing, and while John was also not in a good head space, he was the first person he saw. He sighed and walked up to him.
"Let's go, John."
John looked up from sharpening his knife. He wasn't sure he heard that correctly, but Arthur was gesturing at him to come along, so he did.
"Where we headed?" said John.
"Gotta find a new place to set up camp, before that bastard, Milton, shows up with an army."
"We should be looking for Jack," the younger outlaw growled.
"I know, but gotta move these folks, first."
They made it to their horses. Arthur and John mounted up. He looked back at Sam's tent before taking the lead and making their way out of the camp.
He felt bad for Sam, but he told him so…
"Put that book down, Mary-Beth, and hurry up and pack!"
Miss Grimshaw's voice echoed throughout the camp. They were quick. Food went into Pearson's wagon, weapons were packed in Arthur's, and the medicines were in the medicine wagon. Everyone's belongings were grouped in their individual piles before being packed away.
The tents were taken down. Sam soon went from sitting in his cot, to just sitting on some crates where his tent used to be. His hands were on his pocket watch. His fingers continued to trace over the engraving and the dent left by that bullet.
"Never leave love aside."
Sam had repeated those words out loud and in his head for what felt like his whole life. What good would that do, though, if everyone was out to take everything he loved away? The law failed to protect his family.
Because they were busy trying to kill it.
"You got a letter."
Tilly wasn't sure if she should bother Sam at the moment, so she just handed him the letter and left. It was already opened, but it was probably so Tilly could know who got what. After all, the letters were all addressed to the same alias.
Dear Sam,
If I'm right then this letter meant for a "Tacitus Kilgore" reached you in the end.
You were once kind to Beau and myself and it pains me to ask you to show us further kindness, but I have nowhere else to turn and nobody else upon whom I can impose. I will of course pay you handsomely for your trouble. My family have turned quite mad and are threatening to sent me away, to stop my work, which they say is disgracing them.
As if their history of absolute moral depravity, utter debauchery and perpetual drunkenness did not disgrace them enough! I must escape, yet I am kept prisoner here. Can you help? I am to be found at the cabins on the Plantation. The main house and all it stood for are thankfully no more.
Yours, faithfully,
Penelope Braithwaite
Sam sighed. He felt responsible for what happened to both houses. Sure, their families were both horrible, but from the looks of it, Penelope and Beau only had each other. So, he willed himself to stand and walked over to Dutch's tent.
"So we're really moving again?" Sam said, peeking in. He paused when he saw that Dutch and Hosea were looking at some maps together. "Oh. My bad."
"Not at all," said Dutch. "We're just checking one last time about the two properties."
Sam shook his head. "Well I don't think we'll be able to approach any of them for a while."
"I know," said Hosea. "Just can't help but feel like we missed something. I remember Micah uncovering something about a tree."
Sam crossed his arms. "I think it was on the Braithwaite property. 'Where the death adder spits.' Didn't Arthur and Javier check already?"
"They turned up empty," said Dutch. "It was right around here…" He pointed to the shores of Copperhead landing. Sam walked over and had a look himself. Surely enough he could see that it did look like a snake. "They searched all day and didn't find a single thing."
Hosea squinted a bit. An adder was a snake and there it was. Then suddenly, it came to him.
"Oh my God! Dutch you fool!" he exclaimed, giving him a playful slap on the arm. "We were searching the wrong place." He pointed down south on the map to a mess of tiny little bits of land that were surrounded by water. "That's where the adder spits!"
Dutch chuckled and patted his old friend on the back. "Well then, Old Girl, I guess we gotta send someone to check it out."
"Nope." Hosea's knees cracked as he stood up. "We might as well go ourselves. The others should get to the new place while we're gone and we'll meet them there, fortune or not."
"Sure." Dutch folded up his map and stood up, as well. "Now, what is that you wanted, Sam?"
"I got a letter," said Sam. "That couple having that Romeo & Juliet thing going on wants my help."
"With what exactly?"
"They just want to escape. That's what we're doing anyway."
"I don't know," said Dutch. "It'd be a fool's game to go anywhere near them, after that whole mess."
"Ah, let him go, Dutch," said Hosea. "It's the least we can do after all the trouble we've caused. He's packed his stuff, so he can meet up with us at this house Arthur mentioned."
Dutch nodded. Actually, he was happy that Sam seemed to be following what he wanted from him as per their agreement regarding his punishment for disobeying. Still he looked the young man in the eyes.
"I would tell you to not go alone, but it looks like discretion is your friend for this one. If you're not at the new place by sunrise, I'm sending someone looking for you."
Sam nodded. "Yes, Dutch."
"Good. Now get going and be careful. We have work to do when we're settled at the new camp."
Sam nodded. He walked out from the tent. It was a simple escort mission and most of the Grays and Braithwaites were gone. Despite everything, he was glad Penelope and Beau weren't caught in the crossfire.
Sam smiled when he approached Aurora. He petted her snout before mounting up and headed out towards the ruins of Braithwaite Manor.
"I don't even know what to think no more," John said, as he and Arthur rode through the plains and into a forested area. They made sure to go around the town of Rhodes and definitely avoid the Gray and Braithwaite houses.
"Just gotta keep our cool, be smart about this," said Arthur.
"Smart?" John practically balked. "Are you joking? We made too much noise again. We drew 'em right to us. I mean, how many people we killed the past few weeks?
"Far too many…" Arthur admitted with a sigh.
"It's Dutch playing his games, Hosea too. Getting involved with those two families. The master con men working their magic…" John shrugged, his arms going up a little, but his hands remained on the reins.
"They thought there was a lot of gold…" Arthur started.
"Yeah, they thought there was money," John interrupted. His head snapped to look at the man he practically grew up with. "Ain't there always?"
"Look, Marston, I don't know what to tell you." Arthur raised one hand up to adjust his hat. "Things don't always work out, that ain't nothing new."
John looked at the trees soaring above him for a moment. "Jack's gone, we lost Sean, Mac, Davey, Jenny… and for what?"
Arthur just kept looking straight ahead. "We can't change what's done. We can only move on."
"But one day we need to start learning from our mistakes."
"Come on, it ain't all bad. We've had a rocky run, but we'll be okay. We'll get through it."
John rolled his eyes. "Dutch'll fix it," he said, almost mockingly. "Dutch'll come up with a big plan. Right now, every plan gets us into worse trouble."
"Now you can't put all this on Dutch," said Arthur. "You're worked up and rightly so. Just don't get too far into your head with all this, or you'll never get out."
John shook his head. "It's a goddamn mess." He still wondered about how Arthur could defend this man after what happened to him and his shoulder.
The two rode on the dirt path and into the wilderness. The house Arthur spoke of was not far south from the Braithwaite Manor. It wasn't surprising, considering that the Braithwaites were suspected to be in cahoots with the Lemoyne Raiders.
It was an old dilapidated two story plantation house. However, it still looked stable enough to house people in it. There was a trench in the front dug out for either warfare, or for the Raiders when they moved in and took over the area, but a bridge had been built to go over it with ease. There were still sandbags and barricades set up for defense on the front in case of an attack. There was a gazebo just off to the side of the house, but greenery was growing all over it from lack of maintenance and the paint was fading away. The same could be said for the house. Most of the windows were cracked or broken and the fountain in the front wasn't working. The property was surrounded by tall trees with lots of foliage and swamps. All that could be heard in the distance were the birds, bugs, and the faint roaring of nearby alligators.
"Four walls and a roof!" said John. "We're moving up in the world!"
"You ain't seen inside it yet," said Arthur.
"Come on… sooner we get this done, the better. You sure this place is empty?"
"I ain't sure of nothing."
Arthur dismounted his horse first and then John followed him up ahead. Despite the situation right now, John was at least a little happy that Arthur was talking to him again. They had their hands on their guns, safely in their holsters, but they weren't even completely off the wooden bridge to the fountain before someone yelled.
"Aw shit! It's them again! Boys, get ready!"
A Lemoyne Raider was sitting at the porch and stood up immediately, only for Arthur to put a bullet in him. John pulled out his cattleman revolver and shot another one who swung the front door open.
"Damn it, still some here," Arthur growled.
"I can see that!" said John. "You think there's more of 'em?"
"I'll check the house, you keep watch out here."
John nodded. He refilled his gun chamber and followed Arthur up to the door before the older outlaw continued alone. The dark-haired man pressed his back to the wall and faced the other way.
Braithwaite Manor was really no more.
Sam rode up the path, the tall trees were still standing, but the manor was gone. All that was in its place was a pile of rubble and debris… The sun was setting, so it was hard for Sam to be seen approaching. He decided to look around a bit, while he was here, slowly realizing he was being a prime example of a suspect returning to the scene of the crime. Something was hidden under the floorboards. There was also Catherine's burned up body, just left where it was.
But a nice looking brooch survived the flames.
Sam kept close to the water, just walking, while leading Aurora with her reins. It was close to how he snuck in last time, but the amount of guards around the place seemed to have dropped.
One of the first cabin looking places was by the water, with the dock Sam hid underneath the first time he approached the property. There didn't seem to be anyone around, but Sam rounded the corner to the side where the lake was and there Penelope was sitting in a chair underneath the shade. She was wearing a blue skirt now and a matching coat with a lacy yellow shirt underneath. A blue ribbon was wrapped around her neck like a bowtie and her top had a matching band.
Sam looked around one more time for other people, before speaking. "Um, Penelope?"
Penelope suddenly looked up and gasped. "Sam! It's you!" she exclaimed. The girl stood up immediately, opened the door next to her and grabbed her purse. "You came! You really came! Oh, thank goodness." She raced out and shook Sam's hand with hers that were under white gloves. "Oh, come on, let's go, we ain't got a minute to lose."
"Go where?" Sam said, tilting his head.
"The train station," said Penelope. "Beau will be waiting."
"So you're finally taking off and leaving?"
"We have no choice. Our families are crazy! Animals! Not even animals. More like monsters. We can't stay any longer. If they found out, they'd lynch him, and send me to a nunnery, or lynch both of us! I ain't quite sure."
Sam sighed. He had spent the past few months learning how to not run anymore and to stand and fight, but here he was.
"Sure," he said. He turned away and whistled for Aurora. "It's kind of what I'm good at, anyway."
"Pardon?"
The young man shook his head. He patted Aurora as she approached and hopped into the saddle. "Forget about it. Let's go." He held out his hand. Penelope ran up without hesitation and was hoisted up to ride behind Sam. She put her arms around his waist.
"Okay, let's get out of here," she said.
Sam hated that they were leaving, and he didn't even know them that well. He hated goodbyes, but they, like everyone and everything else in his life, weren't giving him a choice. Aurora turned around and Sam gave a small "hyah" while flicking the reins and a small kick with his heels and the horse galloped away. Penelope gave one last glance to the lands of her home and then turned away. She'd be lying if she said she would miss it here.
"Where are you even going?" Sam asked.
"Up to Boston," said Penelope.
"Yeah, maybe I should've headed up there instead…"
"What?"
Sam shook his head. "Nothing. Just… don't worry." Aurora rode down the long road out of the Braithwaite property. Sam turned his head enough to see Penelope behind him. "Trust me. You don't want to get caught up in the mess I'm in. You have yours."
Penelope nodded. "You're probably right. I would stay and fight, but this is something that's too much for me."
"I see…"
"Sometimes, there's no use fighting," said Penelope. "But you can't just give up."
"So you run…" Sam said with a sigh. They were out of the property and Sam took a left. "Let's make this quick in Rhodes."
"Not a problem," said Penelope. "We ain't far from it now."
Sam swallowed hard. He hated feeling powerless, but how was he supposed to fight the government? How were Penelope and Beau supposed to fight their big families that want to lynch the both of them for falling in love with people that weren't their cousins?
"Whenever there was trouble, I used to always run home," Sam confessed. "It was where I was safe. Or, at least I felt like it was. Now I realize, I've always just been running."
"Sometimes it's all we can do," said penelope. "Protect what you love and run. All that matters is being with who or what makes you happy."
Sam nodded. "Happy?" He saw some buildings up ahead and approached a set of train tracks.
"There it is!" he said.
"You fools should've left when you had the chance," Arthur shouted as he entered the house.
The floors on the first floor were wooden, and an old carpet was set near the fireplace. There was even an old grand piano. The paint on the walls was faded, just like it was outside. The windows on the inside had been boarded up, and the doorway to the stairs had been blocked by a mountain of old furniture. It would take too long to just move it all, so Arthur had to find a way around.
He went into the room to the left where another doorway led him to the back, but a Raider from behind a table.
"Die!" he yelled, holding out his gun. Arthur bolted behind a wall just as the Raider pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. "Oh shit!" The grunt threw his jammed gun at Arthur, but he just watched it miss him. The outlaw didn't see the point in harming an unarmed opponent, especially one this pathetic.
"Get out of here!" Arthur yelled. "Go!"
The Raider didn't say another word. He bolted past Arthur to the front door.
Then there was a gunshot.
Arthur ducked back outside and saw the same person lying dead in the dirt, a gunshot in his chest. John came around the corner with a smoking gun.
"I caught one that was making a run for it."
"I was letting him go!" Arthur snapped.
John just shrugged. "Too late now."
Arthur just rolled his eyes and went back inside. The first floor was cleared and Arthur even spotted a closet where they could store things before making his way around to the stairs.
"Any more of you upstairs, I'm coming for you! You hear me!" Arthur shouted.
Just as he was almost there there was the sound of a shotgun that almost made Arthur fall backwards down the stairs. He stood where he was for a moment, catching his breath with a hand on his previously injured shoulder, before continuing.
"Didn't you get the message last time?"
"Where you creeps hiding?" said a voice, as Arthur made his way up the steps. "Come on out where I can shoot you!"
Arthur's trained and sharp eyes saw the next man hiding behind a collapsed wall on the second floor, and shot him before he could react.
"You're the one who was hiding," Arthur said, as he reloaded the chamber and continued into the second floor. With all the rooms in the house, a good chunk of the gang members could sleep indoors for once.
There were double doors to what Arthur could only guess was the master bedroom. They were jammed shut, but Arthur gave them a good kick and they swung open.
There was one last Raider in there,saying down on a double bed. He sat up slowly. His hair and beard were gray and his clothes looked about as dirty as the damn house.
"I knew you'd come soon enough," the Lemoyne Raider said. "You, or some other coward like you." Slowly, he reached for the gun, sitting on the nightstand. "The bounty hunters, the freedmen, the carpetbaggers," he loaded only a single bullet into the chamber, "the army of criminals who stole our land and our government. I survived them all." He looked Arthur dead in the eye. "Our fight will live on!"
Arthur watched in utter disbelief as the man blew his own brains out. He stepped back as blood splattered the wall behind the bed.
"Jesus!"
"Everything okay up there?" John called from downstairs.
Arthur nodded and stepped back. "Yeah…" he said, his voice a bit shaken, "didn't even have to kill the last one."
"Okay…" John sounded about as confused as he was. "Let's clear the bodies. We don't want anyone walking into this."
"Right…" All the outlaw could do was shake his head as he picked up the body. The shit they had to do to survive…
"Beau!"
Penelope was the first one off the horse and she embraced her beau immediately. Sam hadn't planned on riding into Rhodes today, so he and Penelope had to improvise a little. He wore his hair down, and Penelope let him borrow her coat and top hat. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would do at least something. Though, people would be aware that it was a woman's top hat. Sam could only untie the girly ribbon to save at least some of his dignity.
"You came!" Beau exclaimed as he hugged his darling. "You came, at last you came!"
Penelope sighed as she let go of him. "Beau… my sweet… my best of men…"
"I'm hardly a man at all…" said Beau, "but I love you, Penelope Braithwaite." He turned to Sam. "Thank-you. Thank-you ever so much. How can we ever repay you?"
Sam shrugged. "I don't know. I just… feel like I owe it to you."
"Uh… owe us for what?"
"Let's go, so I can take off these girly clothes."
"Will you buy the tickets for us?" Penelope asked. "We can't chance being seen together."
"Sure…" Sam walked into the station first and up to the teller. Seeing as he was inside, he removed the hat he had on. There weren't that many people inside, anyway. Then, he made his way to the clerk. "Can I get tickets, please?"
The man who walked up to him had dark hair. He was kind of middle aged, with a beard, but a styled mustache. He was wearing a suit and tie, had black hair and a conductor's hat on.
"Hey…" he spoke softly. "It's you, ain't it?"
Sam remained silent. He raised a brow.
"Brandon told me," said the clerk. "You're one of those… discouraged men, aren't you?"
The young man sighed. The sudden knot in his stomach at first just disappeared. He nodded.
"Name's Alden. One of your friends was here a few weeks ago. Listen, if you're ever in need of a job for a… discouraged man, such as yourself, come and see me. I have friends at the other stations, as well."
Sam smiled a little. "Thank-you." He took the tickets and walked out with Penelope and Beau. Alden didn't even charge him.
"I guess this is it," the girl said. She could barely contain her excitement and giggled. The train eventually pulled in and people started boarding. She took her coat and hat back from Sam, who then leaned against the wall behind them. Beau had a smile grow on his face. He surely hoped he could do much more of that, where they were going.
"Thank-you," said Beau. "For everything."
Sam shrugged. He hadn't known Beau or Penelope for long, but he had a feeling he would remember them forever. Still, it pulled some cords to know that they were leaving his life now. He pulled down a gulp. He was sick of getting emotional.
"Well, I hate long goodbyes," said Sam. "So just… get on the train and go."
Penelope gasped as Sam put his own hat back on and looked away. She looked to Beau and he looked back at her. It was puzzling as to why Sam was suddenly so cold, but they tried to respect his wish and they turned to the train.
"Hey, cousin!"
Just before Beau could board, he saw two men coming towards him. He dropped the suitcases he had. His goddamn cousins!
"No," Beau said, stepping back, "hey no, you leave us alone!"
Penelope was about to step on the stairs onto the train when she saw what was happening.
"Penelope get back!" Beau called. "No, we don't wanna go!" He was suddenly grabbed by his two cousins.
"Hey, you leave him alone!" Penelope shouted, her voice piercing the ears of bystanders. She ran out and grabbed one of Beau's cousin's practically jumping onto his back. "You leave him alone, you philistine beast!"
Suddenly, from behind Penelope, Sam appeared once again and covered the mouth and nose of one of Beau's attackers with a cloth. A strong medicinal smell was coming from it. Penelope stepped back, and Sam's victim was rendered unconscious, falling backwards.
Sam rolled his eyes and just threw the man onto the ground. Just as he did, however, the other cousin of Beau raced up to him. He didn't have time to move and took a good hit to the face.
For a moment… everything was dark.
But then, there was a warm, inviting light. He remembered it well. It hung over the table that he would sit at with Lily… and his uncle when they had dinner. As he thought it, that very sight formed before his vision.
"Sam, you know your mother loved you."
"I just… wish I could do something in return."
"I want you kids to be happy."
That was what Cliff said during their last dinner together.
"That's all I want in return."
Sam opened his eyes, seeing that he had already raised his head. A fallen barrel had some blood on it. His blood. Bastard made him hit his head. Then that cousin of Beau's walked up to him, entering Sam's sight as he looked up.
"Get away from him!"
And then, Beau jumped in and grabbed him. The cousin stumbled, trying to get the smaller man off of him. That's when Sam kicked the bigger man in the ankles and he fell on to the ground making Beau tumble away. Sam climbed onto his attacker and smacked him hard on the head with the bottom end of his volcanic pistol.
Finally, Sam stood, his attacker unmoving and the other fast asleep from the chemicals. Beau pulled him along towards the train, before he could say anything else.
"Come on! Ride with us to the first stop. It should go to Saint Denis."
Sam climbed the steps with Beau. The outlaw whistled for his horse to follow the train before entering the passenger wagon of the train. Penelope stood up from her seat.
"Beau!" the girl raced to his side and embraced him. "That was so brave!"
"Hardly brave at all, Penelope," Beau said.
Sam could only hold his head as he sat down next to where Penelope was. The bleeding wasn't that bad, but still, he slumped into a seat before reaching into his satchel for a wipe.
"Here, let me," said Penelope. She grabbed the wipe from Sam's hand and started wiping his head for him. Sam winced at the pain, but other than that he stayed still. He handed her the bandages and she wrapped up his head and then gently put his hat back onto his head. Since there was no one sharing the seat with him, Sam leaned back against the window and let one of his legs rest on the seat, as the train started to finally move.
"Good bye, Rhodes…" said Beau.
"And hello future," said Penelope. The two stared at the station and then the town. Once they were far enough they turned back to Sam. "Are you okay, Sam?"
"Head's hurting," Sam mumbled. "But I'll live."
"I'm so sorry," said Beau. "My cousins are pleasant, aren't they? Then again, my uncle used to keep his own half-brother as a slave… so, what do you expect? Good manners?"
Penelope rolled her eyes. "My uncle used to say thing were better the way they were… when he can rape and kill with impunity and he didn't have to work a day in his life."
Beau sighed. "Both our families… there's good people in this county but our families bully them and drove most of them off, whites as well as blacks. All over this silly feud."
Sam just reached for a small bottle of whiskey in his satchel. It wasn't much, but it would take the pain away for a bit. It wasn't like he could sleep after hitting his head so hard, so he just relaxed, hearing the two lovebirds complain about their families as the train drove on.
His head hurt now, but he was kind of grateful for it. And sad…
"Arriving in Saint Denis! If you're getting off here, watch your step!"
Sam was sure he fell half asleep, but he saw the town up ahead. It was dark, but up ahead a giant city, illuminated in lights, like a beacon in the night. The buildings were made of brick and were really tall, people were everywhere, walking, riding horses, or going in or out of places, the roads were made of stone and there were fancy carriages everywhere. There were big vehicles for faring people around town, called trolleys.
Sam had never seen a city before. It was big, but he had yet to make an opinion. Still, this was where he had to get off. If everything had gone well, the new camp would be in Shady Belle.
"Will you be alright?" Penelope asked Sam as he stood up and got his things.
Sam nodded. "I was going to ask you two the same thing."
"Of course," said Beau. "You've done more than I can ever repay you for."
"Yeah…" said Sam. "I guess."
"I know it ain't much, but…" the girl reached into her bag. "This should be worth something." When she pulled her hand out of the bag, she was holding a golden bracelet, laced with sapphires. "Those sapphires should be worth something. It's a family heirloom of sorts."
Sam's jaw dropped. "Nah, I…"
"Please, I insist." She grabbed Sam's hand and practically shoved the thing into his hand. "Besides…" she turned to Beau. "I've got more in here for our new life."
Beau chuckled. "I hope you don't mind. I taught her some of the tricks you taught me."
Sam stared and made a mischievous little grin. "You little thieves." He stared down at the bracelet. "Thank-you." he reached into his satchel. "You should take this with you." He grabbed Beau by the wrist and placed his volcanic pistol into his hands.
"Wh-What?!" the young man almost shouted.
"Keep each other safe," said Sam. "I was given this by a man who only wanted me to be happy, and well… I've already broken what he wanted. But you two have the chance to be just that. Protect what you love and run."
Beau looked at the pistol and held it closer to himself. "Okay…" He turned and exchanged smiles with Penelope. "You are a gentleman, sir. Thank-you."
Sam was strangely sad, but he forced a smile. "Good luck," he said, softly. He waved goodbye and stepped out of the wagon.
The young man stepped onto stone pavement just as Aurora caught up to where he was. Through the window, he could see Penelope and Beau waving to them as the train started up again and moved, heading down the tracks and out of their sights. With that, he hopped into the saddle of his horse and started towards the new camp in Shady Belle.
Miss Grimshaw and Pearson got everyone to work, setting up the new camp as soon as the caravan arrived. Lily decided to use a room in the back of the main house as a little infirmary for their medical needs. She had Charles and John board up the windows to prevent Swanson's sticky fingers from touching the medicines.
The furniture that was barricading the doorway to the stairs on the first floor was taken down, and with the furniture, they were able to be cleaned up and used as sitting spaces and even makeshift beds, if need be. A village of tents were set up, off to the right of the mansion, but able to get a view from the property in case of intruders. There was access to water, but Lily insisted that it had to be boiled before being used for anything. There was a stable for the horses and way at the back of the property was a small cabin for fishing.
It was a long day of moving and unpacking, but John and Arthur helped everyone get settled. Even Kieran. They were on the porch, smoking cigarettes and having a couple of beers.
Still, Arthur could see it in John's eyes. He was still thinking about little Jack.
"I was thinking…" said John.
"Uh-oh…" Arthur joked.
"Shut up." He leaned forward in his chair. "If we need to find this Bronte feller, we should ask Brandon. He seems to know everyone around these parts, or at least know about people in these parts."
"It's our best shot," said Arthur. He held the cigarette up to his lips and took a deep breath, then let the smoky air leave through his lips. "I know Dutch don't like him, though."
"Well, it's that or it'll be harder to get Jack back," said John.
"He'll be fine, John."
"It's not him. Worry about Abigail. She'll destroy that whole damn city of Saint Denis to get to Jack if she has to."
"It's gonna work out, John," said Arthur. "We'll figure this out together."
John looked up from the floor. "Together?"
Arthur looked his "younger brother" in the eyes. It was silent for a moment, before the older man answered. "Yes."
John sighed. "Does this mean we're okay?"
Arthur shrugged. "I don't know."
The young man looked to the side for a moment. "Look, I ain't good at this, Arthur. I…" He made to get up, but then stopped himself. "I'm sorry, Arthur. I told Hosea, but it's probably better that you hear it from me. I felt lucky that I was welcomed back so easily."
"Yeah, you were lucky…" said Arthur. He chuckled at John suddenly glaring at him. "But, I can't say I was being mature by pretending you didn't exist, like you with your kid, so… let's just call it even. There's a kid we need to get back and there's no time for petty squabbling." He finished off the cigarette and then tossed it aside.
John sighed in relief. He felt a knot in his stomach finally go away.
"And thank-you, John," Arthur then said, his voice going a bit more quiet. "For… helping Sam save me."
The younger man shook his head and smiled. "Well, I say Sam did most of the work. I just smashed a bunch of poison plants and held a rifle."
The two stared at the entrance as a half disoriented Sam rode into the camp. He slid off his horse and handed the reins to Kieran, who led Aurora away. The silver-eyed man held his head as he stumbled into the camp.
John patted his shoulder. "Go be with your 'woman.'"
Arthur brushed his hand away and stood. "Shut up," he said, as John grinned at him.
"Looks like you made it," Arthur called, as he made his way to Sam's side. Sam only nodded in response and tried to keep walking, but Arthur stopped him. "You alright?" He grabbed his chin and forced him to look at his face, lifting his hat slightly to reveal the bandages underneath. "Who did this?"
Already, Sam could hear the anger in his voice. It sent shivers down his spine, but it was sweet that Arthur wanted to beat the hell out of the man who gave him that dent in his head.
"One of Beau's stupid cousins," said Sam. I hit him back with the bottom of my gun, though.
Arthur grinned. "Good boy. Let's get you inside." He pulled him along and they walked side by side towards the house.
"Sorry if I worried you," said Sam. "Where's Dutch?"
"He went out with Hosea to look into something," said Arthur. "They won't be back 'till later."
The two entered the house and Sam looked around. He never thought he would ever go back to having four walls and a roof, even if the house had seen better days.
Sam saw his bed in the little makeshift infirmary, but before he could go to his bed, Arthur grabbed his arm and dragged him upstairs.
The master bedroom had been cleaned up and set up for Dutch, of course. Another big room was set aside for John, and in the end of the corner was another door. The room was a little narrow but big enough for Arthur and his status as Dutch's right hand man. All the ammo he was in charge of was there. There was a table with a map, a nearby shelf where photos of his parents and dog hung from, crates of ammo and explosives and in the back was Arthur's cot.
Sam was just relieved to be off his feet. He sat down on Arthur's cot. Arthur took Sam's satchel and took his time changing the bandages on his forehead.
"When did this happen?" said Arthur.
"Around sunset." Sam hissed when the cloth touched his forehead. Luckily the wound was in a corner, near the scar where Milton's hit cracked his head open. "I'm fine. Just let me sleep."
"In a bit," said Arthur. "You should stay awake a bit longer." Once Sam was all patched up, he sat down next to him.
"I'm okay, now…" said Sam.
"Yep."
"No, I mean about Milton," said Sam. "I still have to go after Colm."
Arthur looked at the younger man with a scowl. "Sam-"
"They want me dead, anyway," Sam continued. "And the Pinkertons want to string me up with a noose. Hell, both of them do, probably. If they go after us, it could be trouble." His head lowered, eyes hidden under his hat. He hated that he had to admit this. "You were right. I'm… sorry if what I did hurt you or anyone. If I see Milton or Colm, you bet I'm taking the shot. But… I have to help these people. They've helped me and… as soon as they're free…" He looked up at Arthur, "so are we."
Finally, Arthur smiled at him. He moved his hand and held Sam's in his.
"Then… you won't be doing it alone…"
"I can't ask you to do that."
"Then I ain't asking. I'm telling you."
"I can't let you get hurt again."
"And I'm not going to ignore that dent in your head. I'm helping you, and that's final!"
Sam sighed. He wiped the tears from his eyes and leaned against his outlaw. They took in the night, hearing the wind and the sounds of other creatures outside. Slowly, their hands met, fingers intertwining.
"Thank-you…" Sam finally whispered.