Arthur Morgan x Reader

Forty-Seven

Calmness filled your body.

A soft expression was on your face while not a single emotion could be read in your eyes.

This was a strange feeling.

You hadn't been this calm in years.

For the first time after coming to this godforsaken town, you felt like you could put your mind at ease.

And all that despite the fact that a gun was still pointed at you.

The warmth of blood still stuck to your fingers.

It smelled of iron and raw meat.

Wind chased through the branches and made the leaves tremble.

It was dead silent.

All that could be heard was some soft breathing of Karl who lay unconscious between some dirt and a puddle of blood that seeped out of his countless wounds.

At least he was still alive.

But it was only a matter of time until he'd find an unpleasant end as well. After all, he had said himself that wounds never stopped bleeding and needed immediate treatment or otherwise they'd get infected easily.

A clicking sound aroused your attention.

Slowly, you let your eyes wander back to the priest in front of you.

His sight was enough to make that thirst for blood return.

It was the same feeling that had made your blood boil as you had chocked Karl's father.

With his teeth clenched, McLean pointed the gun at you.

But it was still so easy to tell what a poor fool he was without that bastard dog barking in his stead.

His hand was shaking as if the small gun was already too heavy for him to hold.

An amused smirk tugged at the corner of your mouth.

"You've had all the time in the world to do it, father.", you spit the last word out as if it were venomous. "And yet here I am, blood on my hands, alive."

You took a step towards him.

He retreated.

Fear was burning inside his eyes.

But there was also something else.

The will to survive.

There was no doubt about him being a rat. And you knew very well that rats who were trapped in a cage started biting.

It was only a matter of time until he'd start biting to survive.

Taking a deep breath, you held it for a moment until the air started burning and released it again.

"I'll let you go.", you offered. "There's no business I have with you. Not in that way."

A shadow crossed his face.

For the hint of a second, it seemed like he was considering it.

But in the end, the intrusive thoughts won.

With new found courage, he straightened his back and pretended to be willing to shoot you in the face.

You didn't buy it.

But at the same time, you also didn't want to risk it.

Slowly, you raised your hands in a calming manner and took a step to the side, while your eyes were jumping between the armed priest and the unconscious boy.

McLean followed your movement.

It took him a moment to realise what your intentions were.

Threatening, he stepped closer to point the gun at you while blocking the way to Karl.

"That one's mine.", he hissed.

You took the threat serious and retreated.

"He has no one.", you said and brought so much distance between the two of you that your heels hit the corpse of the boys father.

"He's a citizen of this town. We'll keep him."

Sunlight hit something that was laying in the grass.

A shimmer caught your attention.

Your eyes jumped down for a brief second.

There was a knife strapped to his chest.

Knifes didn't have nothing on guns by no means.

But thanks to the element of surprise, you had been lucky enough to take the first hit and survive.

Maybe it would work a second time.

Or kill you.

Either way, doing nothing would mean defeat. And you just couldn't afford that. Not after coming further than you had ever gotten in life.

You had money and opportunities now thanks to an ally you would have never expected to be on your side.

Giving up now would have been foolish.

Father McLean followed your steps.

He hadn't noticed that your attention had been caught by the weapon.

His eyes were fixed onto the bag of money that was still strapped to your body.

It seemed like his greed was showing now.

"Gimme that.", he pointed at the bag. "This isn't yours anyways."

For a moment, you eyes him.

Calm and slow, you reached up to grab the strap of the bag and used the move to kneel down next to the corpse.

McLean took it as a sign that you were following his demand. His posture relaxed.

The barrel of the gun lowered to the ground, but he kept it in his hand.

One wrong move and he'd be able to shoot you in one quick action.

You pulled your head in to keep pretending you took off the bag.

As you did so, your hand moved to the corpse unnoticed.

Blind, you felt for the blade and took it into your possession in a smooth manner.

With a heavy thud, the bag dropped to the ground.

A few banknotes fell out. The wind took them to carry away up into the clouds.

You rose to your feet again.

"Move.", he gestured with the gun. "Don't you dare come close to me or I'll shoot the boy."

He pointed the gun at Karl, finger already on the trigger.

Without saying a word, you turned to the side to make way for him.

The knife was hidden behind your back.

He approached the bag.

The shimmer that lit up inside those eyes of his told of greed and the urge to sin.

Money really did things to people.

Your eyes jumped to Karl.

The boy started to breath more heavily. He seemed to struggle even though his mind wasn't present.

All your fingers moved one by one.

Father McLean turned his back on you.