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

Chapter 19 - Abyss

A fear gripped my stomach. I had a bad feeling. Shouldn't they have returned already? How long does it take to rob a bank?

The others reassured me. Sometimes they stayed away from the camp for a while to avoid attracting attention. Surely, they were celebrating their success in some dirty saloon. And soon they would return with their arms full of money, our ticket to our new life under brighter skies.

To pass the time and distract myself from my worries, I was doing everyday tasks. When there were no more chores, I told a story to Jack, who was anxiously awaiting his mother's return. Soon we saw her running down Shady Belle's alley. It certainly wasn't normal.

"They got Hosea!" she screamed, panicked and breathless. We all rushed to meet her.

"They got Hosea. I ... I managed to sneak out, but they got him. I ran as fast as I could. But. I don't know what happened to them."

A wave of terror took hold of the troop. What should we do? Abigail hugged Jack. Mary-Beth was crying. Even Susan, usually a steadfast rock, was in shock. I was having trouble realizing, but as my gaze met Sadie's I immediately returned toreality.

We were the last comers, this status gave us a stronger detachment. We knew how to fight, hunt, and keep a cool head. This made us the best placed to manage this crisis. Away from the group, we agreed on the way forward.

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A few hours later, we still had no news of the others. I decided to speak up.

"Listen to me. I think ... I think we should start packing our stuff. We keep only the bare essentials for eating and sleeping. The rest, the others belongings, we all pack it up.

- And then what? Are we fleeing?" asked Mary-Beth.

"Then we wait. Sadie will go to town for more information. And if they come back, we'll have to leave anyway, we might as well get ahead.

- You're there for five minutes and you want to lead the group?" It was Karen, already well drunk, who dared to say out loud what the others were probably thinking to themselves.

"Listen. I'm not trying to take anyone's place. It's been a big shock,I just want you to rely on me, and on Sadie.

- That's enough." Susan got up. It was her first words since Abigail's return. "They are right. In the morning we will start to pack up what we can."

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I stayed up for a part of the night, patrolling. I was terrified that we might have been discovered, but that terror was overshadowed by my hope of seeing them return. With each sound, I thought I would see them appear, exhausted but happy to be back. But when day broke, no one had announced themselves.

As I was taking a coffee, Sadie offered me a cigarette. I questioned her.

"What now?

- We need to find a safe place to settle, at least temporarily. I'm not sure we're safe here ...

-But where?

-When you were going hunting with Charles, you never came across an interesting place?"

I started to think, when Strauss approached us too. He told us about a place the locals feared, over there, in the swamps. This could be a good solution for hiding. We decided to have a look.

From a distance, we watched the surroundings. The place was terrifying. Its occupants, real barbarians. Discreetly, we left. Sadie headed to town to try to get more information. As for me, I went hunting. Alone...