We Still Exist [Arthur Morgan x Reader]

Revenge is a dish best served cold

The mask covering half of her face was making it harder to breathe, the Schofield revolver in her hand had never felt heavier even though she was no stranger to the feeling of a gun in her hands.

Staying as low as possible to the ground and keeping an eye on the man guarding the place, Grace cursed herself for not thinking this through. All she kept focussing on these past few weeks was finding his location, never worrying about the actual execution of her plan.

She could just kill the man guarding the place, but she was never one to actually kill someone. It went against everything she stood for even though, at this moment, she wasn't sure if she really cared about those standards and values anymore.

Grace always expected herself to have a husband and a few lovely children when she reached the age of 27, but she had nothing. No place to call home, no man to call her husband and no children to care for. It was only her, her horse and the few items she needed to survive. With just a few dollars left, Grace knew she had to confront him now, or else she would probably be dead in a few months. There was no place in this world for a lonely and vulnerable woman like her.

Noticing the man keeping guard was walking away from her, Grace decided it was now or never. Still keeping as close to the ground as possible, she snuck closer to the camp.

"Who's there?"

She felt all muscles in her body tensing up and her breath got caught in her throat. Grace heard his footsteps getting closer and grabbed her knife. She didn't want to kill, but with the adrenaline pumping through she veins it was hard to think straight. If she got caught now, she was never going to get what she came for.

"You heard something?" another man called from just a little further away.

"Nah, I think it was just a small animal or something. Thought I heard some leaves rustling," the man closer to her called to his companion. She heard his footsteps moving further away from her and finally Grace was able to release the breath she didn't know she was still holding.

After waiting for a few more minutes to make sure the guard was really gone, she moved closer to the camp. Through the trees and bushes she saw horses standing just outside the camp. Between the tents and wagons there was a glow caused by the dancing flames of the campfire.

The closer she got, the more people Grace noticed. Most were sleeping, some were still sitting at the campfire. Surely she'd expected one or two of them to still be awake for it was only the beginning of the night, but she didn't expect this many people. How come he was part of such a big gang, while being one of the most despicable human beings on earth? The fact that they hadn't kicked him out yet quite surprised her.

While looking around she recognized some of their faces. She had seen them around town with him. A heavyset man with a bushy beard was sitting at a campfire next to an older, thinner man. 

In front of a big tent, close to the water, she saw the infamous Dutch van der Linde. She heard so many stories about him, but in person he looked even more intimidating than she expected him to be. Maybe it was the way he was sitting there, like nothing could hurt him. Or maybe it was the way he didn't let his guard down, like the rest of the gang did when nighttime fell.

Grace knew she had to make sure Van der Linde didn't spot her while executing her plan, because she had no doubt he would put a bullet between her eyes before she could even make her move. 

After scanning most of the camp her eyes finally landed on him and Grace immediately felt the anger inside of her flaring up. It took every cell in her body to stop herself from running up to him and strangling him right in front of his gang. How dare he sit there like nothing's wrong while he ruined her chances of having a normal life? 

Grace felt her hands getting even sweatier than they already were and her grip on the revolver tightened to stop her hands from shaking. The only thing she had to do was wait for him to walk away from the fire so she would have a change to do this in silence. 

She knew she wasn't the smartest person to be alive, but she also knew not to attack an outlaw while being surrounded by members of his gang. That was straight up suicide and Grace was quite aware of that. 

So the only thing right now, was wait. Grace sat down behind a few bushes and made sure she wasn't seen from anywhere in the camp. Her nerves were making it very hard to sit still and not make any noise. 

Luckily for her, it took only a few minutes before she saw a silhouette moving towards the beach that surrounded part of the camp. The chances of that person being him was quite big since he was one of the few people still awake at this hour, so she felt the need to check out if she was right. She stood up and made her way towards the beach, making sure she kept her distance and wasn't seen. 

Grace was glad she had chosen this exact evening, because the light reflected by the full moon made it quite easy to see his facial features. He walked closer to the water, probably to pee. 

She waited until he was finished and made sure, one last time, that no one was looking. He still had his back turned towards her and was not aware of her presence creeping closer towards him. Right before he turned around to walk back towards camp, she closed the gap between the two of them. 

She pushed her revolver against the back of his head and the clicking sound of the hammer being thumbed back was the only sound filling the silence of the night. Grace saw his shoulders tensing and she leaned in closer towards him. 

"Micah Bell. Keep quiet and put your hands behind your head or I will not hesitate to put a bullet in your brain" she whispered angrily in his ear. For a few seconds it was silent, then she heard a chuckle coming out of his mouth.

"Well, hello little sister. Haven't seen you in a while."