Unshaken

Southfield Flats

Liam rose that next morning at around his usual time of six a.m. As he sat on a rock on the bank of the lake carving a stick into a spear, Arthur walked up behind him. "How'd you and Sean get on? Heard all the commotion with the Grays back in town." Arthur asked. Liam laughed. "It was madness, but the job got done." Liam said. "I'll be honest, when Hosea returned and told me you and Sean were on your way to burn their fields, I wasn't sure if the pair of you could do it." Arthur said. "That moonshine worked wonders." Liam told him. "That it did." Arthur said, making his way back into camp.

Arthur walked up to Dutch and they conversed for a bit, then Arthur walked up to Charles and they rode out of camp. He had heard Dutch say something about Trelawny. They must've went to go see what he was up to. He heard Jack and Dutch admiring a dog that had come around. Liam petted it softly. Dutch named it Cain. Jack was excited.

It was now midday and Liam joined John who was sitting at the main campfire, eating a bowl of stew. "How you been?" Liam asked. "Good. For the most part." He stopped to check and see if anyone was listening. "Abigail's just been getting on my damn nerves." John griped. Liam lit a cigarette and took a puff. "Don't worry. She's probably just trying to adapt to this weather is all." He joked. John laughed and the two sat in silence for a moment. Micah then walked up to the two.

"Scarface and Twerp. What a sight." Micah antagonized. "Do you need something?" John asked. "Are you even old enough to smoke? Wait a minute, you're from here. What did I expect? A southerner like you probably couldn't even count." Micah hissed. Before Liam could answer, Micah sat on the chair on John's right and started talking again. He laughed annoyingly. "Guess it's good for you to be the one doing the eating." Micah said to John. "Very funny." John replied, not amused. "You know, I been shot at a few times, nearly hanged, beaten, but the animals, they don't come nowhere near me." Micah boasted. "Don't surprise me." John said. "Why not?" Micah asked, confused. "Well... you know. No one wants to eat something that's already rotten." John shot at him. Micah laughed insecurely. "Very funny, big John, very funny." Micah said. John set down his bowl. "Excuse me, I've lost my appetite." He said, getting up and walking off. "Bye now... stay out of trouble." Micah told him, not happy. Liam pressed his cigarette against the log, putting it out. He laughed. "Don't you start too, cowboy." Micah hissed. "Don't dish it out if you can't take it." Liam said walking off. "You need to watch your tongue." Micah said loudly. "Likewise." Liam said. He walked to Colter and rode off.

He decided to go hunting since he had nothing else to do that day. He brought the bow Charles had made him along. He went to Mattock Pond this time. It was more humid than usual, so he was seeking shade. He went into the wooded area east of the pond to look for some game. After about an hour of seeing nothing but a turkey, which he shot with his bow and killed, he decided to move over to Southfield Flats, just up the hill from the pond. He went by the water on the flats and saw an eight point buck. He crept low and shot the deer in the chest. It ran for a moment but suddenly collapsed. He grabbed its carcass and threw it over the back of Colter, along with the turkey tied to the side of the saddle.

Proud of his kill, he turned to head back to camp. He then noticed Robard Farm. He approached the vacant house. He noticed a trail of blood leading through the front door. He pulled out his revolver and slowly opened the door. What he found next shocked him to no end. "Jesus." He said in horror. Two dead bodies and a ton of blood covered the inside of the house. He pulled his bandana on to cover the smell of the rotting flesh. Liam walked over to the bed where a dead woman was laying. Her body was hanging off of the mattress. He then looked at the man on the floor. They were both covered in stab wounds and blood. Their bodies had turned gray, rotting. Bloody footprints covered the floor. He searched the house for any valuables and walked back outside.

He followed a blood trail to the back of the house to investigate. He found another corpse of a woman who had shot herself. A butcher knife lied next to her. He then found a letter from her. He realized that she killed the couple and herself because the man was cheating on them. "May God have mercy on their souls." He said as he searched for anything else he could take.

The sun started to set and the place gave him the creeps. He climbed on his horse and rode back to camp. He pulled up and left the animal carcasses next to the scout fire, taking the deer head and removing the antlers. He put them at the top of his tent. Pearson was happy to see food being brought in. After he placed the antlers on the tent, he noticed another horse in camp that he didn't recognize. He looked around and saw Trelawny, who he'd first met in Valentine, talking to Karen and Mary-Beth. He walked to Arthur's tent to see what was up. Arthur was cleaning his repeater. "How'd you and Charles get on?" Liam asked. "Killed a shit-ton of bounty hunters that planned on taking him to the law. Luckily he didn't tell them nothing." Arthur replied. "Damn. What happened to your neck?" Liam asked, noticing the slight bruising and swelling around his throat. "Bastard tried to choke me, Charles got him though." Arthur said. "Well, I'm sure having him in camp'll improve the mood around here." Liam said. "He always seems to." Arthur replied. "Okay, I'll catch you later then." Liam said walking to the main campfire. He sat with Tilly, Uncle, Sean and Javier, who was playing his guitar. Liam and the rest of the gang around the fire sat in silence as Javier played his cultural tunes. When he finished, everyone was starting to head to sleep, and so did Liam.