The van der Linde gang has taken shelter deep in the snowy mountains in an old mining camp known as Colter, following their botched robbery in the town of Blackwater. They are cold, hungry and unsure of what their futures hold. As Arthur Morgan is o...
It was early afternoon when Arthur finally came pushing through the snow back into camp. He managed to track down one decent sized buck that was now stowed on Horse's rump and a couple small rabbits that hung off of his saddle.
"Here Pearson, make yerself useful." Arthur stated as he dropped the buck from his shoulders onto the camp cooks table, followed by the two rabbits.
"Thank you Arthur! Excellent! That should last for at least a couple days hopefully, if we stretch it out."
"I know it's not much. Game is pretty scarce out there right now. Here, maybe you could turn this into some jerky or somethin'." Arthur mumbled as he tossed some scraps and chunks of meat from his satchel onto the table "scavenged that off a what was left from some wolfs breakfast."
"Well, beggars can't be choosers my friend. We'll take whatever you manage to bring to the table. Hard times and all that." The portly man said as he got to work on the buck.
"All right Pearson, you better not mess that up or you're gonna have a mob of angry, hungry folk that'll be looking to string you up for dinner next!" Arthur warned the cook as he headed to the little cabin he was set up in.
Arthur stomped the snow off of his boots as he came in the door while taking off his thick blue winter coat and hanging it on a hook.
"Arthur! Welcome back. Have any luck out there?" The older, gray haired man inquired as he closed the book he was reading on his lap. Arthur joined him by the fire and held his hands out, rubbing them together in front of the warm flames.
"Hello, Hosea. I managed to finally snag a couple rabbits and a decent sized buck. Barely. It's pretty slim pickens out there. Everything's still hunkered down in their nests and burrows trying to keep warm I suppose."
"Mhm. Perhaps. We'll survive. We always do. Charles said his hand was feeling well enough to head out and see what he can track down. You alright son? You look like you have something on your mind." Hosea questions the brooding outlaw.
Arthur stared in a trance at the dancing flames as he replayed the earlier events of the day out in his mind. "I met this woman this morning when I was out hunting. Somethin' different about her. I mean besides the huge black wolf she keeps as a traveling companion." Arthur trailed off, not breaking his trance from the fire. Hosea gave Arthur a puzzled look, not sure what the younger man was going on about.
"Come again? Did you say a 'wolf'?" The old man questions. The conversation was cut short when the door swung open, letting in a blast of cold air with it as the gangs leader, the man who raised Arthur alongside Hosea since he was a boy, stepped into the cabin.
"There you are Arthur! Where have you been? We've got a train to rob! Are you coming or what?" The dark-haired man asked, although it was more of a demand than a question. Hosea rolled his eyes but it seemed to go unnoticed. Arthur grabbed his coat as he followed Dutch out the door.
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"Gentlemen, it is time to make something of ourselves! Get your horses ready! We have a train to rob!" The charismatic leader announced to the gang as they mounted their horses to blindly follow him out of camp.
"DUTCH!" Hosea shouted in protest but his call went unheard over the pounding of hooves on the ground. Hosea sighed and shook his head as he turned back into the cabin. All of his reasoning and plea's that he'd expressed to Dutch as of late had fallen on deaf ears. The old man sat back in front of the fire as a brief coughing fit rattled his chest and lungs before giving way to labored breathing. Hosea knew his time was growing short and his greatest fear was that the gang would not be settled and taken care of before that time came.
