Every Last One Of Them - Red Dead Redemption II

Act Seven - I'll Kill Every Last One of Them

| MAR. 23. 1878 |

"Ron!" Hugh shouted, looking around the forest for his brother. Why does he do this? Hugh thought to himself, Ron loved to disappear like they were playing hide and seek. Sometimes it'd take hours for Hugh to find him. It doesn't help that it's blistering hot outside right now. All Hugh wants to do is jump in a pile of snow.

He soon found Ron's satchel set against a tree along with a piece of paper.

40 steps west.

Hugh sighed but followed directions as the nuns had taught him to do well enough. He counted his steps, stopping directly at forty where he found another piece of paper lodged under a rock.

60 steps east.

"Ron I'm tired of this! Come on!" Hughie shouted, wading through waist-high foliage until something touched his leg. Hugh screamed as a raccoon nipped him and scurried off.
"Hugh?!" Ron shouted, running over with something held against his chest.
"I'm fine. What do you have?" Hugh walked closer to Ron with caution.
"Well it was gonna be a surprise, I found a cat!" Ron then held the kitty up with glee.

The orange tabby cat was held out with an unamused look on its face.
"That's great. Stop runnin' off like that. One of these days you won't come back." Hughie scolded his brother.
"Why can't you just lighten up?" Ron set the cat down, it laid down in the grass happily.
"Because if I do we'll die out here."

Although Hughie and Ron were born only minutes apart, Hughie has always felt like the older brother. Technically he's older by twelve minutes. But to Ron, it's irritating how much Hugh acts like he's smarter than him.
"I have somethin' else I wanna show you," Ron shouted,
"Fine, make it quick."

Ron ran off, seemingly at the speed of light as Hugh shouted a series of waits and hold-ups. Then he came across Ron standing near the edge to a cliff, he was hastily taking off his clothing.
"The hell'r you doin'?" Hugh asked as Ron stripped down to his undergarments.

He then watched as Ron stepped dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, overlooking a lake that was just too far down.
"Stop it's too high! Ron!" Hugh shouted, his brother scoffed before immediately leaping off the edge and plummeting into the water below.
"Ron!" He shouted, rushing over to see the water below. He hadn't surfaced. He very well should've.

In fear of his brother drowning, Hugh jumped down below as well. Hitting the water hard still in clothing, looking around for Ron in a panic.
"Ron? Ron!?" He shouted,
"I'm right here. Wait a minute you jumped?" Ron giggled,
"I thought you were gonna drown!"
"So you dived in so I wouldn't drown?"
"No, I dived in to make sure you drowned."

Ron splashed Hugh with abandon as his brother all but threw water at him, Hugh went in for a tackle. They wrestled in the water, grabbing each other all around to see who'd win.
"Bastard!" Ron shouted playfully as Hugh grabbed his neck. With a twist and a foot on his back, Hughie won the tussle and stood victorious.

Now out of breath and soaked the two took a minute.
"You could've killed me!" Ron shouted as he grabbed at his neck,
"No, I couldn't have."
"Sometimes I think you do wanna kill me."
"C'mon I'd sooner cut off my foot than hurt you, you know that. It's me and you. You're my brother."

"Hugh? Hughie?" Arthur shook Hugh awake, the boy coming to just barely as dried blood stuck his face to the ground.
"Hugh I'm so sorry," Arthur said, Hugh looking past him to see his brother's remains. The bloody corpse of his sibling. And as he began to cry he mumbled to himself,
"Ron? No... no... no..."

| ONE MONTH LATER |

Hugh sat on the floor, staring at Ron's empty bed. He sees him when he closes his eyes, he sees him around every corner. The blood, his fear. It's all Hugh can remember. And then there's a knock at the door,
"Hughie?" Arthur asks,
"Yeah?" The boy mumbles,
"Can I come in?"
"Sure." Hugh shifts his gaze to the door as Arthur carefully opens the door with a plate of some sort of food.

"Brought you some food. Hosea wants to make sure yer eatin'." Arthur handed Hughie the plate of beans, chicken breast, and grilled carrots.
"I'm fine," Hugh said, taking the plate and setting it down next to him.
"You still planin' on goin' through with this?" Arthur asks,
"I'm gonna find. And I'm gonna kill. Every. Last. One of them."

One month. Thirty-one days. Every day he's been growing madder, more and more bitter as he keeps seeing Ron's bloodied face. These people, they killed his goddamn brother. The only person in the world who was always there for him.

He wasn't even supposed to die, he was the one who was supposed to be at the end of that bullet. But for some reason, he wasn't. And they killed the wrong man. Maybe it's because they were twins, maybe it's because Ron was wearing Hugh's coat. Doesn't matter. He's still dead.

He watched the life drain from him, his brain splatter onto wooden floorboards. Watched his eyes grow cold and dry as he was left with a permanently damaged look on his face.

"We don't even know who they are," Arthur said, trying to get Hugh to stay in the least confrontational way possible. He's gonna get himself killed following after these people. They could be part of a gang. He has no idea what he could be walking into.
"We can find out. They don't get to get away with this." Hugh growled, immediately dismissing Arthur's attempts at getting him to stay,
"Of course not-"
"Well, they are. Right now, Arthur." Hugh shouted, standing up from his bed with anger.

Arthur, Hosea, Dutch, John. Nobody would be able to stop him, not even god himself. He has to do this, he can't let these people live. Ron deserves justice.
"Do you even know how many people there might be?" Arthur asks,
"I don't care. I'm doing this. If you want to come with me, great. If not, I'll go alone."  He wants Arthur there, he's beginning to really think he loves him. But since that day, it's all he can focus on.
"Dutch and Hosea aren't gonna let us leave."
"They can't stop me."