Tattered Pages

End of a Legacy

WARNING: Violence, Torture,Death

Dutch sat at the little table cleaning his gun mourning the loss of his Anna. His mind fractured and broken between memories of the past and memories of the present. The sorrow he felt weighed on him heavily like being under water unable to breathe. It had pressed lines in his once vibrant face, aging him with grief. They were falling apart, he thought, turning the gun over continuing to clean it.

So many gone now, so much loss. John, Arthur, Charles, Molly, Hosea, Lenny, Keiran,... and so many more are gone or dead. Now his Anna and even Micha, gone. Maybe Micha was out looking for her for him? His mind refused to think the worst of the once trusted brother-n-arms. He hadn't seen Pearson either, the evening stew left unmade. The girls were talking of heading into Strawberry now and finding permanent work. He guessed he understood, what point was there now with her gone. Dutch took the tiny brush to clean the long barrel of the gun, pondering his gang, his life, and all that he had accomplished so far. A match struck behind him somewhere in the darkness and he paused only for a moment then further continued cleaning his gun.

"Evening Arthur." he said, now starting to wipe down the handle. Outside shots being fired could be heard now along with the whinny of horses and the growls of angry men. The planned chaos had begun.

*****"You take the women down into Strawberry Samantha." "I'm not leaving you! Not till I find my sister!" "Damn it woman I am trying to keep you safe!" Arthur walked up to separate the two motioning for John to walk away and cool off. Samantha was pacing back and forth furious. She knew how to handle herself, always had. A little gunfight didn't scare her if it meant she got her sis back safe and sound. Pearson had said Micha had taken her away, the slimy bastard. She would kill the man with her own hands. Now John was trying to be a hero and take her out of the equation all together. Arthur sauntered slowly up to her cautiously putting on a face of understanding and starting to speak. "Samantha.." "What!..I'm not leaving without her Arthur.." she continued to pace. "Samantha listen ta me." He reached out to stop her pacing and took hold of her arm so she'd face him. Her face was screwed up in anger, she slashed away the tears from the corner of her eyes becoming even more pissed at crying. Her jaw was tight with stubborn determination. He put his other hand on her opposite shoulder, squaring them off to face each other and holding her there so she couldn't pace anymore. "Honey, listen.." "Don't honey me, Arthur Morgan! Y'all are gonna leave me behind and I can handle myself,,I can!" she insisted, her eyes turning from anger to pleading, her betraying voice cracking slightly. "I know you can sweetheart." He spoke softly now, almost fatherly as he talked to her. "But there's women in this camp that need help to get somewhere safe. And me n John, well we aint gonna have time to do that and get to Sarah in order to git her outta the situation she's in. If you can take them to Strawberry, you can pick up some medical supplies and meet us to take care of her once we get er back. That heathen Micha, there's no telling what evil he's been up to...She's gonna need you to pick up the pieces and make it ok...do you understand?" He stooped a little then, catching her eyes willing her to hear him. She knew he was right, even though every fiber of her being wanted to be the one to go in and rescue her and personally beat the hell outta Micha. "But we don't even know where he's taken her yet...How will I know where to meet you??" Her voice wavered, a sob just on the edge of her words. Arthur looked around the little makeshift camp now and walked over to a small storage box nestled at the back corner of Javier's tent. He opened the crate and inside he found four sticks of dynamite, a box of rifle bullets, and a flare gun with two shots. He shoved the sticks and box of ammo into his satchel and snatched up the gun walking back over to her holding it out for her to see. "You head into town with those girls and get um safe and the minute we have her, I mean the very minute, I'll shoot this off and you can come running with those supplies. You should be able to track the direction from the distance of the flare. Please darlin, I promise I'll bring her back to ya." Her eyes tried to water again, and she slashed a stubborn fist at them. "You better Arthur Morgan you hear me...you bring her home." Her voice hitched then, and he could tell under all the mouth and bravado she was terrified for her sister and what that bastard must surely be putting her through. He wrapped his big arms around her then, in a rare show of gentleness, and squz her tight, kissing the top of her forehead gently. "We got her, don't choo worry. Now go on n get ready to take em girls down to Strawberry." John had slowly crept back closer to them upon seeing the embrace, tentatively wanting to hold her before the mayhem started. Arthur turned to nod at John. Marston stepped quickly to Samantha as she opened her arms to him, pulling her close in an embrace and kissing her softly on the lips. "I'm sorry.." he whispered, his eyes downcast. She shook her head no to quiet him. "You come back to me John Marston." She held his face in her small hands and he reached to grasp her wrists, leaning to kiss her softly once more before touching his forehead to hers. Arthur stepped up quietly, hating to have to interrupt the intimate moment. "Ok John, she's gonna take the women down to Strawberry. I need you to take care of Cleet, Joe, and Bill. You can kill em other fellas for all I care but see if you can talk some sense inta Bill and get him to just move on and be done with this. As for Dutch...he's mine." Arthur growled the last word, gritting his teeth in anger and cocking his rifle and replacing it on his mount. The plan was made. ****************