The lost spark in your eyes //RDR2 // Arthur Morgan

Chapter 1

A couple of days later

Mac Callander groaned out in pain as his horse walked over the railroad. He was lying on an improvised stretcher that Katie had managed to build out of some branches and clothes. She then tied it to his horses saddle by using some leather straps. This way, he was able to be moved since he wasn't capable of riding his horse.

While fleeing from the Pinkertons some days ago, they both had left Blackwater when Mac had fallen off his horse unconscious because of his bullet wound. Katie had managed to pull him in cover behind some trees and bushes, bringing the horses along them. After the agents rode past them, she tended to his wound by taking out the bullet and stitching him up. She then had built the stretcher, so they would still be able to keep moving.

They had spent the next days avoiding towns and only traveling at night and in the early morning hours to keep moving while trying to avoid the agents as best as they could. Katie barely slept within those days. She was trying to find hidden spots for camps whenever they weren't traveling and keeping guard to ensure that they would be safe from strangers and possible pursuers. She was still trying to figure out where to go and worrying about the rest of the group and Mac.
He is unconscious most of the time and has caught a fever. Fearing that his wound got infected, he would need to see a doctor or at least get some medicine. Katie had managed to hunt some smaller animals, so they would have something to eat while resting for the day, but their supplies were also coming to an end.

Katie turned around in her saddle to take a look at her friend every time he groaned out in pain, hoping that he would survive his fever. With Mac's conditions getting worse with each passing day, she decided to look for an abandoned cabin that was located far enough from the next town, hoping to find some medicine and a bit of food that was left behind.
They had reached the southern parts of the Heartlands when the sun started to rise. With that, Katie started to look out for a spot that could be used as a camp for the day until they had to move on when the night would break in. Instead, she found a small cabin that was located between some trees and could offer a bit of shelter. The cabin looked abandoned with no lights burning inside or horses near the building. Katie rode up to the cabin with Mac's horse following behind her.

Patting her horses neck, she dismounted to walk up to the cabin. Satan let out a short snort while shaking his head. The past days have also been tiring for the horses, and she was thankful for them for pushing through. As she walked up to the small cabin, the front door started to open, revealing the barrel of a rifle that was pointed at Katie.

"I'm sorry to disturb you. I mean no harm, but my friend is injured. I just wanted to ask for some medicine," she said while taking a few steps back and raising her hands in defeat.

"You a bounty hunter?" asked a female voice. The door now fully opened, revealed a woman dressed in all black, except from a green blouse, who was still pointing her gun at Katie. She let out a nervous chuckle while still holding her hands up,
"No, I'm not. I just wanted to ask for medicine. My friend is hurt, and I think he caught a fever -"

"So these fellas don't belong to you?" The strange woman interrupted her while pointing the rifle at three riders that were coming towards them.
"No, they don't. But when you go inside, I can tell them that you aren't here and send them away."

"No, I'm not running away, and I'm surely not going to hide. Let them come. You know how to use this?" the woman asked as she pointed at the revolver that hung at Katie's hip. While nodding in response, Katie grabbed her Revolver and turned around so they could stand next to each other.
The bounty hunters came closer and stopped their horses a couple of feet away from them.

"Black Belle, we have come for you. You can surrender and come with us, or we shoot you. It's your choice," one of them called out while they readied their weapons.