Honors And Redemptions Of The Outlaw

Chapter 24: Jailed, Lost And, Dead?

Amber*

The ground shook causing the earth above to loosen creating dust as it willed itself not to fall. I looked around before hearing the earth start to give way. Peggy stood there, frozen in place as she watched the roof start to cave in.

"Move!" I yelled, pushing her back into the hidden room where she had been tied, quickly placing myself in between her and the door as the rubble crumbled before us. The door was quickly snapped off its hinges from the rubble falling ending in a loud, Snap, crack, BOOM. I couldn't make anything out as dusk and smoke swirled around the room before me.

The silence that followed was looming. I swatted the dust away from my face coughing a bit, looking back at Peggy. I could see her face was plastered in dust, aloomated by the oil lantern which was sat by her making the fear in her green orbs all the more present. Her hair was disheveled, going in all sorts of directions.

I sighed removing my hat from my head only imagining what I must look like. "You all right?" Peggy's gaze quickly fell on me at her words. She seemed to hesitate for e moment before nodding. "I-I think so."

I placed the hat back on my head before peeking out the from of the door. The dust was almost completely settled still visible in light. Light? I shuffled passed a few boulders, cautiously to not move anything that might cause another cave-in. I raised my head, the brim of my hat shielding my face from light that came from a gap in the earth above us. That's when I heard it, one, two, three.

Gunshots.

My heart sank at what followed. A scream that I only recognized too well. Elizabeth, did they- "Amber, what was that?" Peggy's small voice pulled me out of thought. I turned to her with a stone-cold expression. Peggy froze, looking at me with even more fear than what was displayed in the small room. All I could see was red. "A-Amber," Peggy said softly. I turned to her, keeping my head low. "Those smug fuckers better hope I'm down here. Otherwise, I'll kill every last one of them." My tone was laced with venom. Peggy nodded looking up at the light from the earth above us. "Where do we start?"

Some days later.

It's been a few days since all this shit happened. We've almost been able to get out from the gap above and had a few more boulders fall in on us a few times from our "moving around" Nothing broke, not yet anyway. I still can't shake the thought, Elizabeth. I can't think she's gone. Not yet anyway. I can't believe it until I can confirm it, even if that means going to heaven or hell myself. I can only think of how camp is, how Archie and Shea are. How Penny is, How the kids are. How Jameson is. He just lost Henry and now all this shit was poured on him. Me and Elizabeth, I can't imagine what he's going through. Hell they they probably think I'm dead, and whether that be true for Elizabeth or not. I don't even know. I trust I can prove them wrong, and I hope Elizabeth can prove me wrong.

July 17:1866

I closed the journal looking at Peggy who was still sleeping. Her face was very gaunt, with hollowed cheeks, even with her tan skin she had a pale face. I haven't eaten for four days and she's been down here even longer than I have. Luckily I had some bourbon in my satchel, which gave us a little hydration over the past few days.

I sighed standing up and tapping Peggy's knee which caused her to jump. She blinked a few times looking at me for a moment. "You ready to try again?" I held out my hand for her to take. Peggy looked at the gap before nodding, and taking my hand, standing up. I slowly walked up the pile of boulders we'd made, stumbling a few times as a small rock gave way from under my feet. Peggy cautiously followed behind me until I stopped. I looked back at her, gesturing for her to stand beside me.