At Sunset

Stalked

The whole area was in an uproar, and not because of the ongoing feud between the Hatfield's and the McCoy's. For the moment, that issue had leveled out, but no one was foolish enough to hold their breath and wait for a declaration of peace. No, the real cause of the ruckus was the two new comers that had settled in close to Mate Creek, passed the woods and close to the mountains. Though no one had heard any whisper or caught sight of the folk, they were a topic that most had invested their time in discussing. It was only for the simple fact that they were from the North, Yankees, and that hadn't settled well with the masses on the border of Kentucky and West Virginia. All that was known was they were a supposed wealthy father and daughter pair, no matriarch with them, and they had come down from New York. No one could get past that they were Yankees, and that was the only word anyone cared about. The two of them would have likely been driven out by the harsh words being spewed about them by now, but as it remained, they had yet to be heard from other than by word-of-mouth.

Most members of the Hatfield clan hadn't bothered themselves with matters pertaining to that, though they could have been given more cause than most, considering the proximity of the Yankees property with their Uncle Ellison. He hadn't seen them either, though his boy Cotton had been adamant on catching a glimpse of the strangers, and day in and day out he had sat outside under the shade of a tree, waiting. The rest of his family hadn't seen him around as often because of it, but his father wasn't worried, and so the rest of them had no reason to be either.

It was getting dark and the hour was late. The sun was nestled just above the trees of the wood, making the ground orange where William "Cap" Hatfield was walking. He had gone out hunting with Johnse in the afternoon, though the effort had been more to mend their strained relationship seeing as the pickings were slim for any real game. Ever since the McCoy bitch had disrupted the peace in their home, Cap had not wanted to be close with his brother. Blame it on his loyalty, or whatever it was, but it just didn't sit right with him, what Johnse had done. There were plenty of girls out there, and Lord knew his older brother never had trouble getting them. Keeping them was another matter, and that's what seemed most important to Cap, if ever he was to get married.

He was alone now while walking, after having both decided they would double their chances of finding anything if they were to split up. It was more likely that the awkward silence had been too much, and Johnse wanting to get away from it, had come up with the suggestion. Cap didn't mind the silence, but he wasn't going to force his brother into it as well; after all, he had been the one to make things tense when he had barely acknowledged Johnse's talk with grunts for responses. There just wasn't much to be said those days. He did feel a flicker of worry though; because their Pa had advised everyone to stay in pairs should they get jumped by some of the McCoys. Jonse had quick reflexes, and Cap trusted in his own abilities with a gun, so he could let the guilt subside just this once. It was unlikely any McCoys would be coming in close around the property at this time anyway.

Cap was certain he wasn't alone now though, and that he hadn't been for a while. Sometimes a twig would snap or the fallen leaves would rustle, and it was too coincidental to be the wind because it kept happening to his left. He couldn't spot any tracks, and he had crouched down more than once to get a look at the ground. Only some leaves had been disturbed, but there was no clear path on what had torn through the area. His eyes narrowed, the one good one seeing everything of use as he tracked after his prey.

The brush was dense, low branches pulling at his clothes as stepped quietly between bushes and trees. All of his wandering had led him out to the creek, the water dark and murky as the sun continued to fade. He really needed to be getting back home, but the sight of blood stains over the gravel close to the water gave him pause. A whimper resonated up ahead, and his eyes did a quick scan of the creek before settling on the little overhang of dirt. It was too small to be a cliff, but below, dug into a dirt recess was a person, all limbs huddled together, feeble and frail. They were hardly moving, and Cap would have thought he'd stumbled upon a corpse if it wasn't for the small sounds coming from that direction. The blood on the rocks was still wet, so he assumed it belonged to them, and so for the moment he was driven by a need to help the defenceless, all while keeping his guard up for an attack.