Arthur's Redemption [Red Dead Redemption 2]

Chapter One: That's The Way It Is

When he left Abigail and Sadie, Arthur knew he was going to die.

It would be a gunshot wound, probably from Micah. Or even Dutch, the way he had been acting. The Pinkertons could finally catch up to the gang and hang them all, no matter how many he killed there just seemed to be more. And even if he managed to escape all of that, the disease he had caught from Thomas Downes would destroy his body from the inside, slowly stealing his air until finally, he stopped breathing altogether.

If he was being honest with himself, he deserved it.

He deserved the burning in his lungs for beating Thomas Downes to death. He deserved it for ruining Edith Downes' life, for forcing Archie into the mines. Whatever help he gave them in the end was nothing compared to the suffering he had caused.

But what happened at the end of his ride, well, he hadn't wanted to die because of Micah. And his family didn't deserve any of it.

First, Miss Grimshaw. Arthur should have never taken his eyes off Micah, even for that one second. But Javier had run over, yelling about Pinkertons, and Miss Grimshaw had been shot. Then, Javier and Bill had chosen Dutch, leaving Marston and himself alone. His loyal horse, who had collapsed from a bullet right under him.

I wonder if Javier and Bill made it, he thought, body failing as he gasped for air on the side of the mountain. He had stopped feeling pain, not exactly a good sign. But his heart ached, thinking about what happened at the end.

"I gave you all I had… I did."

And yet Dutch walked away. Away from him, away from Micah, away from all of it. He wondered if Dutch would make it.

But in the end, Dutch surviving didn't matter do Arthur. In the last few weeks of his life, he had focused on John. All he wanted was for John, Abigail, and Jack to survive. In the end, the only thing he could give was a chance. A chance for John to escape, to make it to Copperhead Landing to be with Abigail again. Sadie could protect them until John's shoulder healed. John surviving the train had been a miracle all on its own. Hopefully, there was room for another.

The sun was slowly rising. His last sunrise. It would make Arthur laugh, if he could bring enough air into his lungs for it. It was ironic. He had been beaten to death, just like Mr. Downes.

Arthur wished he could save them. Sean, who had always called him 'English' and wanted to be the better gunslinger than any of them. Lenny, died too suddenly and too young. Kieran, an unlikely friend. What happened to Kieran had haunted his dreams. Karen, who disappeared one day, and Molly. And of course Hosea, the man he loved like a father. None of them deserved what happened, either.

His sight was growing dim, but he could have sworn he saw a stag to his right. He turned his head away from the sun, taking in the sight of the stag standing over him. It looked straight through him, like it was looking into his soul.

I wish I could have saved them, he though. I wish I had seen what was happening and stopped it.

The sight of the stag was his last, as his eyes drifted shut for the final time.

Or, at least that's what he thought.

His eyes fluttered open again, and the stag remained in front of him. But the background had changed. Instead of the cliff that he knew would be his grave, the stag was surrounded in a field of white. Cold wind whipped past his face, snowflakes striking his cheeks like tiny daggers. His positing had changed. No longer was he leaning against rocks that dug into his back, the minor discomfort nothing in comparison to what Micah had done. In fact, he was sitting upright, drowning in a large wool coat. His hands held the reins of a horse, a dark bay stallion with splashes of white that hadn't been his in a long time. As he breathed in, the cold air stung, but didn't leave him gasping as his illness had done.

Where am I? he wondered, his vision growing blurry at the edges, with only the stag in focus. As he watched, the stag met his eye for a brief moment, before turning and running into the trees that he hadn't noticed until now.

"Arthur?" a voice behind him asked.

He thought he knew that voice. That voice had been a comfort to him in his last months. But Charles hadn't been on the mountain with him!

"Arthur? What's wrong?"

It was his last thought as his vision went black and his body slipped from the saddle.