Unshaken

Who Is Not Without Sin

Arthur woke up early that morning. He was headed to Blackwater to rescue Sean from the bounty hunters and get Micah out of Strawberry. Liam watched as he rode off through the trails leading out of Horseshoe Overlook. He knew he was going to be gone for a couple of days.

Liam remembered his bow that Charles had made him and immediately went to his tent. The morning dew was still in the air. He picked up his bow and decided to head out for a bit and practice his shooting. He grabbed his hat and climbed on Colter. The horse grunted and started off. "Morning, boy." Liam said as they headed off to the Cumberland Falls. He had a map in his satchel incase he couldn't find his way. He had heard some hunters in Valentine say the deer were coming from the Grizzlies West into northern Big Valley and The Heartlands. He rode past the brush fire just outside of camp. Anytime he made a fire, he was sure to put it out.

He rode up through Caliban's Seat which brought him outside Valentine. He rode west and saw a trail leading into the woods. He rode Colter in the trail and came across a deteriorated structure that he'd assumed to be a cabin. He checked his map. "Lucky's Cabin" it was labeled. There was an entrance to an underground space, but it was locked. He then heard something move under the ground. He had a pit in his stomach and something was telling him to leave. He raced back onto Colter and took off.

Not sure why he left, he rode on. He then passed a small ranch. He decided not to snoop and get on with his day. He then came onto the Cumberland Falls area. He grabbed his bow and jumped off his horse. He checked for tracks of deer, and easily found some. Liam trailed north on the river and found a secluded spot. He waited and watched for any movement. After a while of waiting, he spotted two doe's in his line of sight. He held the bow just as Arthur had taught him, slowly breathed out, and let the arrow fly. It pierced through one of the deers' necks. The other deer took off into West Elizabeth. He stood there for a moment in shock. He couldn't believe that he'd made his first kill for the gang. He was excited. He walked up to the doe, retrieved his arrow, and strapped the carcass to his horse.

It was midday and Liam was ready to get back to camp. He rode eastward and passed the ranch again. Only this time, he heard a rough cough coming from behind the house. He rode up and climbed off Colter. He got to the back of the house to find that same man from town, the one who'd stopped Arthur from killing Tommy. "You alright, sir?" Liam asked. The man jumped, startled by his presence. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." The man replied with low coughs. "Don't mean to intrude, but is that TB?" Liam asked. "Unfortunately, yes." The man replied. "I'm sorry, sir. It's a hell of a thing." He said. "I'll be fine. Thomas, Thomas Downes." The man said. The pair started talking.

"I see you in town, all the time, doing good for others, when you obviously got a lot to worry about. Why?" Liam asked. Thomas looked at the sky for a moment, sighed and then looked to Liam. "I guess... I just want to do good for people with the time I have left." Thomas said solemnly. Liam felt bad. He started thinking about the choices he had made in the past few weeks. All the pain he'd caused. He drifted off for a moment in thought. "But that's the thing, you know? I'm grateful that for the first time, I see my life clearly. Helping people always makes me feel better." Thomas said to Liam. "I can see that. And you're doing a damn good job at it, mister. But I best be on my way. You have a fine day, mister." Liam told him. "It was good talking with ya." Tommy said as Liam rode off.

Liam rode slower than usual back to camp. He arrived at around six p.m. He took the deer off of Colter and walked to Pearson's wagon. Receiving oohs and ahhs along the way, he smiled softly. He met eyes with Pearson. "Mr. Parker! I- I-You killed a deer?" Pearson asked in astonishment. "Yes sir. It's the least I could do." He said, skinning the deer. "And you even know how to skin! Miss Grimshaw will be mighty proud, young man." Pearson said with pride. Liam hung the deer up and headed to the wash barrel to rinse the blood off. "Mighty fine work, Mr. Parker. And you even take the time to clean yourself too. Most of the men around here don't know what washing is!" Susan said to him. He laughed. "Thanks, Miss Grimshaw."

That night he climbed into his tent. He lit his oil lamp, grabbed his knife and his bow. He started to carve. He didn't know exactly what he was doing but went along with it. After an hour passed, which had only felt like minutes to Liam, he examined the bow. It was a buck. Not any normal buck, though. The deer head had fire in its eyes. Eyes a thousand years old. With many stories to tell. Liam longed to hear what message it created. He then carved his initials below the deer and placed it down and went to sleep.