Outlaws - An American Youth - [Charles Smith x OC]

Chapter 3 - My destiny shifts

As expected, the first conflicts with the newlyweds soon arrived. I no longer remember what subject prompted me to flee the ranch that day. But the excuse was found to go to the saloon. The place was rather quiet on this spring afternoon, as a few regulars haunted the place. I sat at the bar and ordered a whiskey.

I had already drunk up several glasses when two men entered. One of them was Arthur Morgan, accompanied by a massive man. Obviously, what I noticed first about him was his skin color. Although the city attracted visitors from all walks of life, most of them were white. I was not used to seeing people with dark skin, and I stared at him probably a bit longer than I should have.

They settled at the other end of the counter, so I was able to see them without much effort. Arthur met my gaze, and I touched my hat to greet him. With a chin gesture, he questioned me about the delirious man next to me. Mack Anderson had been talking my ear off for the past 10 minutes. Drunk, he made obscene remarks to me. I shrugged and asked Eddie, the bartender, to serve the two newcomers.

"Come on, you're the last sister left. I could never have catch one of the others, but I could have my way with you. Don't be picky, you're the ugly sister, you should be grateful someone wants you."

I remained stoic. He was far from being the first to have given me this speech.

"Come on girl, you know you want it. You've been with losers in the past, you won't say you're too good for me now. You'll see, you'll like it."

He never shut it. I rolled my eyes looking at Arthur, then told Eddie to fill my glass, which I drank in one go. Suddenly, a scream burst in the room. I had planted my hunting knife in Mack's hand, pinning him to the counter. After throwing a coin at a bewildered Eddie, I calmly walked out, clamoring:

"Take him to the doctor before he bleeds out like a pig. The sheriff knows where to find me."

I smiled discreetly while getting back on my horse. It was bad, but I was pretty proud of myself. I couldn't say why, but I was happy that my impulse took place before the eyes of the two men of Van Der Linde.

----

Of course, the sheriff didn't lock me up. He had enough to do with the vermin the city attracted. I was treated with a weak sermon. On her side, Angeline did not have this delicacy. She broke my ears for several days about this incident. She thought of her reputation with the "ladies" of the city, as if we were in the high society of New York or I don't know where.

To escape her shrill reproaches, I went hunting that day. I don't know what reason pushed me to go through Valentine. Of course, it was not an unusual path for me, but it was far from being the only one. Maybe ... Maybe I wanted to meet one of them again, without daring to admit it to myself?

Entering the city, I froze. The streets were empty, except for the bloody bodies on the ground. I did not recognize any of them. An unhealthy curiosity made me move towards the main street. Shots were fired near the stable, as men pushed a wagon. It was not the first time that I witnessed a confrontation on the streets of Valentine. As usual, I should have turned around towards the train station and the road leading to our ranch, waiting for the event to pass.

But this time, some madness made me decide otherwise. Going straight, I went around the main avenue and the stable. Hiding behind it, I analyzed the situation. I recognized Arthur and Dutch Van Der Linde, as well as the man with the scar. Another, looking very different, was injured. The latter three mounted their horses, leaving Arthur to face the guns alone.

In front of him, many men. Valentine people but also strangers. Without thinking, I grabbed my rifle and started shooting. There was no more reason, no more logic. I shot people I had known all my life, my neighbors, to save the skin of a man I had only met a few times. An outlaw.

He got on his horse and I ordered him to follow me. I knew every corner of the region. We were galloping at full speed, him shooting at our pursuers while I was leading our mad breakaway. My goal was to reach the Dakota River to change state and lay low there for a few hours. The bullets continued to whistle but I couldn't turn around to reply. All that mattered to me was to flee. 

As far as possible from my life.

---

We stopped in a clearing, getting off our horses to get some rest. He thanked me and handed me a bottle of whiskey. I took a sip as my heart rate returned to normal. I was slowly starting to realize what had just happened. I remained stoic, drawing out the balance of events aloud.

"I just shot my neighbors, my community. 

- Looks like it. 

- It's gonna be weird next Sunday at church. 

- What are you going to do?"

I didn't answer. I used to think before I act, to build up all kinds of plans, this was completely new to me.

"For now, I'll wait. Then I'll help you go back to your camp. After that... After that I don't know. I've never left this area. I got a sister in New-York, but she'll end up knowing what happened. Don't know how she'll react."

Now seated, I gave him back the bottle. We stayed silent for a while.

"You could come with us. You're a good shooter, you know how to handle yourself. I'm sure we could find a place for you. At least until you get things straight. You helped me good up there, I owe you that."

I nodded. Here's how, from simple daughter of a farmer, I found myself enlisted with outlaws.

----

The night was already far advanced when we came out of our hiding place. We moved silently through the undergrowth, until we were finally able to cross the river again. I was guiding him to the ancient village of Limpany.

"Well, that's cozy. What happened here?

- It was one of those cities that took advantage of people traveling between states. Everything burned when I was little, I never really knew why. People avoid coming here, which makes it a great hiding place. I stashed a few things there when the O'Driscoll started squinting too much on our farm."

I showed him the way that led directly to his camp. He had to go there and see what the plan was while I got my belongings. After watching him ride away, I headed for what was once the sheriff's office. There, under old charred planks, I had hidden some things. A change of clothes and a dress, a pistol that belonged to my father and of course, money. My sister knew nothing about this hiding. She had never been involved in the management of the farm and therefore did not know the simple value of these green bills.

Since my father died, I "preserved" part of the farm profits and hid it. I started long before the arrival of the O'Driscoll. The official reason was that I feared my brother-in-law's appetite and preferred to keep a safety cushion in the event of a bad year. But the truth ... Hadn't I been planning in the back of my mind, unconsciously, my near departure?

After putting away my things, I sat on what used to be a porch. I was on the lookout. There were two hours left before sunrise and the wait seemed endless. What if he had used me? What if he never intended to pick me up? After all, what did I know about this man and his gang? They had helped with my sister, of course, but in the end, I had very little discussion with them. I did not know them.

Anxiety began to gain me, so I did what I do best: planning. I could have gone up to their camp, I vaguely knew where it was. But I was not sure I would have been welcomed and I knew that they were armed to the teeth.

My plan B, the only achievable, was to rush to Valentine and throw myself at the feet of the sheriff. There, crying all I can, I would have explained: "They threatened to kill Angeline if I did not help them. I did everything to avoid hurting someone, oh my God, tell me I didn't kill anyone, please, I'm sorry." Again, I was a bit of a drama queen.

Obviously, if he had agreed to leave me free, I would have become an outcast. So far, they always accepted my particular condition and my few misconducts, out of habit. But now, the situation was way more serious. It would have taken them a lifetime to forgive me. And what a life. My sister would probably have thrown me out of the house.

As the minutes passed slowly, I prayed with all my might to never have to execute this plan...