Snake Skin | John Marston

It All Makes Sense Now

By sunrise, the woman managed to set up camp somewhat near Saint Denis but in a very swampy area. Well, not camp, more like a hiding spot. The fire was barely lit, the branches and leaves weren't protecting her from the sun. She couldn't go into town to seek medical attention, she was barely surviving off the bird meat and bullets were vanishing as quick as her health.

She was leaning against a tree, holding her shoulder with one arm and drawing stick figures in the dirt with the other. She looked at the two stick figures she drew and chuckled, "I guess this is it, John. Now you can worry about your family,"

She glanced at the swamp water and got up, struggling against the tree. She couldn't keep up not because of the wound, but how much strength she lost due to the wound. The pain died down in the early morning, but the fatigue never went away.

After a while of moping around her hideout, inspecting all sorts of herbs, and watching out for gators, she heard galloping in the distance. She quickly hid behind a wide tree and awaited for the riders to either pass or stop. The anticipation was dragging the time out, but finally, the riders stopped near her camp.

"This way. Footprints," one of the men said.

"Good," the other said. Y/N could hear them dismounting and she crouched down even lower, still holding her revolver up.

Y/N held her breath and got out of her cover, she pointed the gun at one of the men and immediately recognized him. One of those men was her savior.

"What?" she spoke up. "Are you here to finish the job?"

The bearded man flinched and raised his hands in defense, "Hey, don't. I'm not here for that. Instead, we have a proposition,"

Y/N looked at the other man and he nodded.

"What proposition?" she asked as she cocked her gun at the men.

"Colm wants to see you," the bearded man said sternly.

"Colm?" she questioned, clearly not knowing who was this Colm.

"Our boss, Colm. Colm O'Driscoll," the other man spoke, slowly lowering his arms. Some memories spun around her mind, but she did not know Colm.

"Hey now!" Y/N exclaimed as she pointed at the other man for the attempt to lower his hands.

The bearded man slowly approached her and Y/N nervously pointed the gun in the air and shot up. She gave a warning but wasted a bullet.

The shot echoed across the swamp and sooner or later would bring attention.

"Who the fuck is Colm O'Driscoll and what does he want with me?" she asked bitterly.

"Boss just wants to speak to you. He knows who you are and what you've done. We've been sent to track you down. Lower the gun, you're in a bad state and clearly been through too much," the bearded man tried to calm the woman down as he looked at her wound.

"How about I just shoot you and-" Y/N was threatening the bearded man but she couldn't finish the sentence as the other O'Driscoll behind him got shot with an arrow. Without hesitation, she lunged at the bearded man and knocked him out with her gun.

She got up and looked around her. A little paranoid she pointed the gun in the air and turned to each side to check her surroundings. Then she heard the bushes rustling and two figures stepped out. She instantly recognized them - Charles Smith and John Marston.

She couldn't help but stumble back when she saw them. John rushed to her and captured her in an embrace. She dropped her gun and hugged him back as tight as her shoulder would let her before it started hurting again.

"You're alive!" John exclaimed as he cupped her cheeks.

Y/N nodded and a tear slipped from her eye, almost invisible. John took another look at her and hugged her again. They could hear Charles chuckling in the background. Y/N and John parted, then turned to face Charles.

Charles noticed Y/N flinch in pain and examined her, "Y/N, are you alright? Did they do that?" he said as he pointed to her wounded shoulder.

"No," she shook her head, "I got in trouble with the law and got hurt pretty bad. Last night, actually. I lost my horse too, that's why I'm stranded here. I can't go to the city because they'll hang me on sight,"

"He was a good horse," John spoke softly as he looked at Y/N. The woman nodded and looked at Charles.

"Wait, but what are you two doing here? It's so far from Rhodes..." she asked as she held her shoulder lightly.

"Trouble. The law, the O'Driscolls. We had no choice but to run," Charles explained.

"Oh, those two were Colm O'Driscoll's boys too," Y/N said as she pointed at the dead bodies.

"What did they want with you?" John asked as he looked at the bodies.

"Colm sent them. Said something about wanting to sit down to have a pleasant chat with me,"

"Colm's men attacked Arthur not long ago, but Arthur managed just fine. He's still recovering from his injuries," Charles added.

"Thank God you two showed up. I don't know if I'd be able to take 'em both. I barely have any bullets left and I'm running on the small game here," she smiled as she spoke.

"I went to Armadillo, Y/N. People thought I was a bounty hunter because I asked everyone if they seen you there," John revealed and looked at Y/N.

The woman was in shock. He did that for her? Did he go that far for her? She mentioned Armadillo to the boys just once in the past.

"I would've gone to Armadillo but the law didn't let me breathe for even a second," Y/N sighed.

"I heard the price on your head has increased because you're associated with us," John crossed his arms, "I heard while I was in Armadillo,"

"Did you like Armadillo? Ain't it heaven?" Y/N spoke sarcastically.

"Oh yeah," John rolled his eyes, "I loved the dead, dry cactuses and the constant sandy winds,"

"...you don't look so good, Y/N," Charles stated with a worried look.

Y/N nodded, "Oh, you've noticed? I'm starving and bleeding out, of course, I don't look good. In fact, I thought I'd be dead by now," she spoke scornfully.

"We have to bring her back with us, look at her. She won't make it on her own," John spoke to Charles as he held Y/N's back.

"We can't. Dutch and Micah will shoot her the moment she appears in camp. We have to-"

"Look at her, Charles!" John exclaimed as he looked at Y/N and back at the Native American man, "She full of jokes but that doesn't mean she's alright,"

"John..." Y/N started, "I'll stay here. You two go back and don't tell anyone about me...I just need to rest,"

"That wound ain't gonna heal on its own, Y/N. Don't be senseless," John spoke with pure hurt in his voice.

"Oh yeah," Y/N looked at John's facial scars, "you would definitely know,"

"John, we have to go back and report the gunshot. We'll come up with something to tell Dutch, don't worry. But for now, you can have the food I brought with me," Charles spoke as he opened his bag and pulled out a few canned goods.

"...thank you. You two should go before it becomes suspicious. I'll manage just fine," Y/N spoke as she accepted the supplies.

Charles waved John over to follow him. Y/N watched the men walk away but John stopped and turned around, "I'll be back. Tomorrow. Don't go anywhere. We're gonna figure this shit out,"

Y/N nodded and John resumed to follow Charles.

Y/N turned around, looked at the bodies, and sighed, "It all makes sense now. You want me close because I'm closer to the Van Der Linde gang than you, don't you, Colm?"