Lonesome | Arthur Morgan

Chapter 4

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It wasn't a dream. Lilian woke to a cold breeze being tickled against her and a pain in her arms. She slowly looks up and her vision is blurred from the haze she was breaking out of. She could hear shuffling and muffled talk, rapidly bringing to make not of her surroundings. By the guess of things, it was early morning with the sun not at its peak and the air not so stuffy. Many busy bodies were rushing about in the camp she appeared to be in. She attempted to move slightly and looked down to her stomach where her wrists had been tied together with old rope, the same for her waist where a rope had been wrapped around and she was tied to a small tree. She looks to one side of the tree and notices a deep woods that would be perfect to hide into if she got the chance to run.

Lilian's mind began to run over the events of last night and her body began to wrestle at the ropes. The rope began to rub and sting at her skin the more she moved. She let out a defeated sigh and looked over to the camp where she noticed a few of the busy bodies stop and watch her for a second. "The girls' awake, Dutch." A husky voice spoke. Her eyes widen with fear as they don't talk, just analyse.

Dutch was sat in his tent before he heard this and soon after Arthur spoke to him, he closed his book and made his way over to the girl they had kidnapped. Many of the camp mates holding a smirk over their face, becoming excited about the new capture. "Fetch her some water." A young girl named Tilly, nodded quickly to Dutch's order and held the cup to her mouth. Lilian could only look at her lap, embarrassed as to what had become of her and her family. How small she felt as these outlaws looked down on her.

"Miss Jackleson. We are sorry for these circumstances." Dutch cleared his throat, wanting to catch Lilian's attention. "Welcome to your lovely new home where you shall be staying for a while, please we do hope you enjoy your stay." Dutch joked with the other campmates, crouching down to face her. Lilian didn't reply, just a scowl firming on her face. She wanted to find ways to get out of this rope when they weren't looking but it was going to be hard due to how many people that were part of this camp.

"No escaping, makes our lives harder and your daddy does want you pack in one piece eventually." Micah looked down at her as his unsettling tone went through her skin, making her bones shiver. "Be very sad if a pretty little thing like you got herself hurt."

"Now we know you won't tell us where our money is and quite frantically I don't blame you after what we've done to your family." Dutch stood up, his arms crossed but spoke as if he was talking to the rest of the group so they could agree to what he was doing what was right. "..but your father double crossed us. Now these are his consequences. Taking one of his most prized possessions."  Lilian felt like nothing but a badly placed pawn in a game of chess.

"Let's leave her be for now. You only give her food and water when you want to. Not on her little rich girl terms.." Dutch takes a few steps forward with his hands behind his back. He leans down, placing his mouth close to her ear. "You see those woods?  They may seem like your ticket out of here but if I find out you've attempted escaping then I'll be sending my men out on you. They won't be as kind as me." Dutch snickers. "Arthur hunts the food for camp and he'll have fun trying to hunt you."

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Lilian woke up at very early morning, no longer being able to sleep in the uncomfortable position. She could only think she fell asleep after the tiresome couple of days she had. She begun to get frustrated from how constricted she was. She shuffled a little to make herself as comfortable as she could, leaning her head back against the tree and her thighs trying to get rid of the cramp in her legs that had begun from sitting all day in the same position. Her thigh shifted slightly to the left, stopping when she felt a sudden sharp sting at the side of her leg. Lilian hissed, lifting her thigh up slightly, her skirt revealing a few shards of broken glass.