"Spit fire, he called me spit fire," Helen grumbled in annoyance. She rode with Charles and Arthur out in the woods, investigating a possible new area for camp. Arthur laughed from his horse ahead of Helen. "That's what he told me. Take that as a compliment, there ain't many people who stand up to Dutch like that," he called to her.
She didn't reply, instead spurred her horse on when they neared Dewberry Creek. "This seems very open," Charles commented with uncertainty. "Yah, it does. Ain't sure it'd be the best in the rain neither," Arthur added.
"Could get a herd of bison runnin' through camp freely,'' Helen concluded. 'Course this was Micah's idea. "Let's take a look around." The three of them split up as they searched up and down the dried creek. "My side's empty!" Helen called, galloping back to the men.
"I see something over there! Someone on the ground!" Charles announced. The three of them regrouped and approached the body, scaring away the feeding vultures.
"He's been shot - looks like trouble got here before us," Arthur observed as they stood over the body. "Oh, please give me an excuse to go shootin' today," Helen said, her hand on her revolver as she looked around.
"Easy, spit fire, let's try to figure out what happened first. There's a camp just up ahead," Charles cut in, sending a teasing smirk Helen's way. Stupid man.... The three of them walked forward, guns in hand as they surveyed the seemingly empty camp. "I don't like this," Helen muttered to herself.
There were a few tents scattered about, each one unoccupied. "Let's have a look around," Charles said, walking off in one direction. Helen peeked through each tent, spotting some discarded cans of food.
"Looks like they left in a hurry," she commented. "Maybe they heard us coming - be careful," Arthur warned, taking a couple of cans. A thud made the three outlaws freeze, and a plank of wood fell off the bed of a wagon.
Helen held her gun up as she advanced slowly, both men appearing on her either side. She spotted movement under the wagon as Charles and Arthur moved the crates.
Surprised gasps were then heard, and Helen saw two children cowering behind their armed mother. "It's okay...." Charles said, holstering his gun. "It's okay...you can come outta there."
The small family crawled out, a shotgun being pointed at the three outlaws. Helen sighed as she held her hands up in surrender. "Y'all okay?" she asked, trying a smile. The mother suddenly said something in a foreign language, stuttering out the word, "G-German?"
Helen exchanged an uncertain look with Charles when Arthur attempted to chase off the German family. "They took our father!" the little girl suddenly cried. Helen stared at the terrified family with wide eyes before making a decision.
She turned and hurried to her horse, glancing back to see Charles had decided the same thing.
YOU ARE READING
Family in Shambles
FanfictionShe had been going it alone for three years, since her mother had passed away. She had been learning to survive and doing what she NEEDED to do to survive, no matter the consequences. She knew how to lie low and hide from the law, and she became a v...
