Family in Shambles

Chapter 50

That night, Helen was woken up to distant yelling from outside her room. She groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as the yelling grew louder.

Who the hell is awake? The door to her temporary bedroom was suddenly slammed open, revealing an out of breath Sadie. "They're back! I heard the horses!"

Helen was immediately up and out of bed, nearly bowling Sadie over as she raced down the stairs and burst out the front doors. The rest of the gang was gathered near the entrance as the sound of horse hooves grew louder and louder.

Sadie appeared next to Helen as the former bounced excitedly on the spot. The first horse appeared through the threshold, and Helen nearly leapt for joy when she recognized Charles.

Her happiness was short lived, however, when she realized he was alone. She hurried forward towards him as his horse came to a stop, but he suddenly rolled out of his saddle and hit the ground.

"Charles!" Helen raced over to his side, dropping on one knee; Charles was clutching his bleeding shoulder, his clothes were soaked through, and his arms and face looked bruised.

"Hey, talk to me, Charlie!" she said, gently grabbing his face. His tired eyes landed on her, and his look of pain was replaced with a look of anguish and defeat.

What? "Helen...." he mumbled out. "What happened?" Sadie called. "Where are the others?" Abigail added, sounding frantic. Charles ignored them, his eyes never leaving Helen's. "I'm sorry...Hosea and Lenny are dead."

In that moment, everything around her had melted away into darkness. The distressed sounds from the others faded away into silence. The feeling of holding Charles became numb, and Helen scrambled away from the ordeal.

Her eyes were wide, her breathing was fast, her heart was pounding, her mind was racing. Hosea...Lenny...my dad...dead? She felt hands grab her by the shoulders, but she couldn't see who it was.

He can't be...he said he would come back. Whoever had grabbed her was now shaking her, but Helen still refused to focus. Dad...my dad isn't dead. She suddenly felt her body begin to tremble, her hands shaking furiously and her knees feeling weak.

She opened her mouth to say something, but she could only manage to make one sound - an ear-splitting scream.

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Charles was riding the wagon back to Shady Belle, his head down as he held onto the reins loosely. He had been immediately dragged away by Strauss the night he returned, no matter how much he protested that he was fine.

His only focus had been on Helen, who had curled up in a ball on the ground and let out a screech that made his blood chill. She was swarmed by the other women in camp, who had blocked his view of her, but with Strauss tugging on his arm, there hadn't been much he could do anyway.

He crossed through the threshold, directing the horses to the side before coming to a stop. "Hey." He looked down to see Sadie approach slowly, her usual hat now held in her hands.

"Did...did you find them?" she asked quietly. Charles didn't reply, he merely nodded as he stepped down from the wagon. His eyes scanned the forming crowd quickly, but he soon realized that Helen wasn't present.

"Where is she?" he asked, looking to Sadie. The blonde woman pursed her lips and angled her head towards the manor. Without another word, Charles headed straight for the manor, his only thought being Helen.

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There's so many emotions going on in this chapter, imma go cry😭