When the Devil Cries (Arthur Morgan X Male OC)

13. Two Truths and a Lie

From Arthur's POV

THE NEXT MORNING

CLEMENS POINT

Picking up on the scent of cooked meat, I gradually rose back into consciousness as my eyes fluttered open to the morning sunlight, revealing a scene I did not expect.

Not too far away from me, Eddie was roasting something over a newly-lit campfire as Bullet chewed on a clump o' grass behind him, the two of them already wide-awake while I hadn't even moved from my bedroll yet.

When the hell did they go hunting? The sun wasn't even that high in the sky yet, and judging by the freshness of the campfire, I assumed Eddie returned just recently. That must've meant he'd been up ever since dawn.

Well, someone was certainly excited to start the day.

Letting out a fatigued yawn, I stretched my arms out and sat up from the ground, causing Eddie to jolt his head in my direction as I dragged a hand down my face.

"Morning, Arthur," he greeted with a smile, offering some of the food he was cooking. "Rabbit?"

I glanced around the camp for a minute, still trying to get my bearings.

"You caught somethin' already? Heh. Looks like I taught you well." I stood up from the bedroll and took a seat beside Eddie, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

"You certainly did," he agreed. "Though, I don't think I'll ever get used to the skinning part."

I took a sip. "Oh, I hope you do. There'll be lots of skinnin' today, after all. 'Parently, these Arlington Twins are no joke. Plenty o' folk gone after them already, but none have succeeded. They're wanted alive, too."

Eddie raised a brow. "And you think it's a good idea to hunt them down?"

"None of this is a good idea," I replied. "But it's the only option we got right now. Unless you wanna earn money by shovelin' pig shit on a ranch instead."

The pianist chuckled. "Well, when you put it that way..."

I gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "You'll be fine. Just stay alert, and don't hesitate to shoot 'em if things go south. I know they're wanted alive, but I'd rather you be broke than be dead."

Eddie nodded. "I'll do my best. So, what was this plan you mentioned before?"

I stared at the fire in thought, pondering the multiple ways we could approach this.

"Well, like I said...there's a good chance they're targeting the trains coming from New Hanover, so I think it'd be best if we figure out when the next one rolls in. See if we can't catch them along the way."

I downed the rest of my coffee, stuffing the mug back into my satchel as I prepared to leave. "I know a feller over at the Rhodes train station could help us out. A peculiar man by the name of 'Alden,' but he's effective in his own way. He'll know the trains' schedule."

Eddie paused for a moment, briefly falling silent before agreeing to my plan.

For a second there, it looked like he wanted to ask me something, but dropped the subject and refrained himself from doing so.

Was everything alright? I wondered. Maybe I should've taken a step back and checked on the boy for a damned minute before runnin' off to hogtie some outlaws.

After all, Eddie had been through hell this past week. With Middleton's death, the gala shootout, and being forced to survive in the wilds -- I had no idea how this was really affectin' him.

I forced myself to slow down for a moment and simply sat on my horse, peering over at Eddie with a concerned expression.

"...You alright there, Eddie?" I asked. The musician unhitched Bullet from the post, putting his hat back on as he climbed on top of the beast.