By 1899, the age of outlaws and gunslingers was at an end. America was becoming a land of laws... Even the west had mostly been tamed. A few gangs still roamed but they were being hunted down and destroyed.

Arthur Morgan's Journal: Blackwater

I bought this new journal, after the last one got destroyed in that fire all those months ago, whenever it was.

Haven't written or drawn much in the past few months, but I was missing it more than I thought I would, and finally near a store, so here I am. I guess.

After all that business up North and the fire, we spent a few months in the wilderness, traveling down from the Nothern Grizzlies, stuck mostly in the western foothills of the mountains during the worst of the winter. Food was easy to find and life was good.

Dutch had a lead for some land we were going to buy, but the land did not match up to his criteria, or he got spooked we were being watched by the law and that somebody knew who he was, and we never bought it and we are wondering still.

We picked up a couple of new folk in the Grizzlies.

Jenny, a sweet young girl we met abandoned on the roadside, and Micah - an outlaw Dutch met in a bar someplace. Dutch seems very taken with Micah, who is pretty hot-headed, argumentative and full of himself. Hosea and I are less sure. Guess we shall see.

Eventually, we came out of the wilderness and are now holed up outside of Blackwater, although sometimes I stay in town, hunting for opportunities.

I might be on to something. We got plenty of money, and the trail we took was so tortuous and slow nobody could have followed us south and east, or figured out where we were heading.

We was thinking about California, but then Dutch and Hosea brought us down to Blackwater.

Blackwater has apparently grown a whole lot since any of them was last here - I was told to expect little more than a trading post.

But the place is growing fast, and it's almost a small city. The town seemed to be riddled with corruption, there's certainly plenty of money here.

It's good to be sleeping in a bed from time to time and living a more civilized life after so long under canvas, but I do not particularly like being this near to a town.

We are living here, camping outside town mostly, hidden in plain sight. I guess. Life seems pretty easy.

Abigail and Marston keep arguing. I wonder why exactly he came back. He cannot seem to decide if he wants to be a father to that boy of his or not.

I should have married that woman. I love her so.

The arguing is exhausting. I heard talk of a man sounded like Trelawny, but we haven't seen him for many months.

Hosea and I are onto something. Something pretty big - might be a lot of cash coming in to do with a real estate scam Hosea thinks he may have discovered. I am not sure yet. The perfect crime, we think - one where we rob crooks. We are being real careful.

It's fun working with Hosea again. The man is an artist of nonsense. Even if nothing comes of it, we are having an amusing enough time.

it's good to be running scams again. Hosea is a born huckster. He is getting anxious, worried that by lingering in town, we are going to bring undue attention on ourselves.

But Dutch thinks he is also onto something big, his words, not mine, bank money being brought in by boat, apparently, so for now, we are working on both things and seeing what happens.

Plan is to flee west into the desert country someplace if we can.

Micah and Dutch are planning to rob the ferry in town. They think it's laden with riches - cash coming in for the banks, coming in by boat.

For once, I am not getting involved in the job. Hosea and I are too taken up with our business, which I believe could go very well, and Dutch seems confident with the group assembled, all will be okay.

Plan is for them to carry out the job, then flee into the wilderness out to the West. The next day, Hosea and I carry out our scam and join them.

Dutch seems happy and excited. He's talking again about California, but he's also talking about a lot of other places.

I was almost suffering from the cold, brutal snowy flakes that brushed along the side of my beard. The wind was not helping the matter whatsoever either. I was in charge of looking ahead of the caravan, making sure everything was okay for the wagons to cross over the blanket of snow that buried the ground. We've been running for weeks but it all felt like years to me. I had the thought in the back of my head that everyone might die, especially in this sort of weather. How was it snowing though? It was May, after all. - I was lucky enough to wind a little place where everybody could get some shelter, so I rode back to duTCH, who was sitting next to Hosea Matthews.

"Arthur! Any luck?" Dutch screamed out.

Everything was so unfocused. I could not see Dutch's face, or even behind him for that matter. My lips almost felt like they were frozen shut but I finally managed to squeeze out my words through the brutal winds. "I found a place where we can get some shelter. Let Davey rest while he...," He was dying. There was no way he was not going to die. The cold weather was not helping his condition either. "you know."

I grabbed the reins of my horse, guiding the caravan. "An old mining town, abandoned, it ain't far."

CHAPTER I

COLTER

Once we got to Colter, the old mining town that was now abandoned, Hosea took the lead by inspecting the shacks. Everyone was clear to enter when Hosea gave the okay. There was a lot of us but we always turned to each other. We were family. Losing Davey was going to be hard. I know that Abigail Roberts was not too fond of the term death. She absolutely hated it but yet she stuck beside all of us. My head spins every time she talks about John Martson. Do I think she loves him? Sure, I guess, but every time I think that way, my heart breaks.

Abigail and I were once deeply in love. She was introduced to the gang in 1894 by the help of Uncle. She was a prostitute at the time, sleeping with almost everybody but I was the last to touch her. I ultimately fell in love with her. I wanted to marry her but she got pregnant and came to the conclusion that the child she was bearing was John's, even though she told me she loved me dearly and that I was the last man to feel her completely. - Was little Jack really John's father? I don't know. I still treated Jack like he was my own son, something John never seems to bother to try. I wish Abigail could forget about him. My heart is cracking for her.

We sometimes kiss each other. It's been a hard couple of days where we only exchange glances but we do care for one another. When she had feelings for John, I had feelings for another woman by the name of Mary Linton, who I was in love with in my youth, way before Abigail, but she never seemed to care about me. I even sprung out and asked Mary to marry me but she ended up leaving me. Once Mary left my world, Abigail and I started to see each other romantically, especially when John got up and left her when Jack was born. She needed someone. I needed someone. We needed each other. I need her now.

Soon everybody was gathering around poor Davey. Susan Grimshaw, the mother of the gang, pretty much, was settling down, chanting out requests to make this new settlement a home. It was temporary, after all.

It was too late to save Davey though. "Davey's dead," Abigail said. Her beautiful face fell to the floor, a shadow covering it up.

"There was nothing more you could have done." Reverend Swanson said. He was right. He was already on the track of passing away when we pulled him in the wagon. Abigail knew that but it was still a sad deal.

Hosea lifted his lantern to see the eyes of Dutch Van Der Linde. "What are we gonna do? We need supplies."

"Well, first of all, you're gonna stay here... and you are gonna get yourself warm," Dutch explained. "Now, I sent John and Micah scouting out ahead. Arthur and I, we're gonna ride out see if we can find one of 'em."

I turned to face Dutch in a flash. "In this?" The weather was getting worse by the second.

"Just for a short bit... I don't see what other choice we have."

He was right. He was always right somehow. I turned to face Abigail, who was still in emotional pain from not saving Davey. We needed supplies.

Dutch went on. "Listen... listen to me all of you, for a moment. Now, we've had... well, a bad couple of days..." He stopped. A beat went by.

"I loved Davey... Jenny... Sean, Mac... they may be okay, we don't know but we lost some folks. Now, if I could... throw myself in the ground in their stead...I'd do it... gladly.

"But... we're gonna ride out and we are gonna find some food. Everybody, we're safe now. There ain't nobody following us through a storm like this one... and by the time we they get here... well we're gonna be... we're gonna be long gone.

"We've been through worse than this before... Mr Pearson... Miss Grimshaw... I need you to turn this place into a camp. We may be here for a few days. Now all of you... all of you... get yourselves warm. Stay strong. Stay with me. We ain't done yet!"

Dutch always had a way with words and I believe that the gang was going to make the best of it. He quickly grabbed his lantern, "Come on, Arthur."

We both stepped out in the freezing cold, our feet buried in the deep snow. "Well, we ain't run into them yet. So... they both must have headed down the hill."

"Sure..." I answered. "Hey, I ain't had time to ask..." I hesitated the next few words that spilled out of my mouth. "What really went down back there on that boat?"

"We missed you, that's what happened." Dutch answered. "Come on."

Dutch and a few others attempted to rob a ferry that had bunch of money stashed for the banks. I was not present as I working on a job of my own with Hosea but from what I heard, the ferry job turned into a massacre.

After the shootout, Blackwater and the area surrounding it is now into lockdown. Every Pinkerton in the goddamn country patrols the area with a high necks. I thought we were done for but now here we are, a town named Colter. I don't particularly blame Dutch for what happened. Micah Bell had more the tongue on the job than Dutch.

Even though Abigail begged him not to go, John was shot but it was minor injury. He didn't complain about it all that much as he was scouting out in the blizzard.

Young Jenny was shot and we had to bury here not that far from Colter. Poor Jenny. She was always a nice girl.

It was bad outside. It was coming down pretty hard. My entire body felt frozen. It was almost impossible to see.

"You need horses?" Charles Smith asked, walking up to Dutch and I while he was leading two horses.

"Oh yeah... and Mr. Smith, get yourself indoors. You need to rest that hand." Dutch got on his horse while I did the same.

"I'll live." Charles said.

"Get indoors, son!" Dutch said louder. "I... we, need you strong."

It took longer than a minute for my eyes to adjust to the snow hitting down on Dutch and I. My lantern was almost frozen to my fingers while we rode out further away from our new camp. By following Dutch, I felt confident with the freezing matter.

"Alright. Let's head out." Dutch explained, breathing hard from the cold air.

It was a type of coldness that reached into one's bones, leaving someone in pain. My blood rushing through my body almost felt frozen but I knew it was the only warm thing I could think of. The only thing to do is keep moving, following Dutch as we went out in search of Micah and John.

"Ain't sure what we're gonna find out here, Dutch." I warned him.

"We have to try. Stay close, we'll do our best to stick to the trail."

"This goddamn weather." The snow became so thick that the trees looked like they were going to fall over on us. The land was dark, the almost ice pellets bouncing from my winter coat and hat. In the blizzard, there was no way to know which direction to go but following the trail was a better idea.

"Been two days or more like this now. oh, it has to blow over soon." Dutch had a lot of faith into his words.

"Can't believe we lost Davey too." I said. The death of Jenny was not going to leave my mind anytime soon, especially since she was just a young woman.

"He's the last one, Arthur. No more." Dutch answered. He was a little unsure but yet confident. "We need to get those people warm and fed."

"Least we don't need to worry about Pinkertons tailing us in this."

"A couple more days, we'll be on the other side. You need to help me pick the others back up. You're the only one I can rely on to stay strong right now."

"We got fire and shelter, that's a start."

Dutch and I noticed a light up ahead the gloomy path. "Hey, I think I see something up the path."

He was right. I noticed the light too. I was hoping it was Martson, even though he was a goddamned fool, but it happened to be Micah, a man that I do not have a lot of respect for.

"Found a little homestead down thataway." Micah announced, his eyes darker than the blizzard.

"Okay. Anyone home?" Dutch asked.

"Place is blazing with light and noise. Sounded like a party."

"Let's go see." Dutch proposed.

"Follow me." Micah smirked, leading Dutch and I. "How's Davey doing?"

I shook my head. Like he cared for the man. Micah only cares about himself.

"Ah, he didn't make it." Dutch said. "Nor did little Jenny."

"That's too bad. Davey was a real fighter. both of them Callander boys is, or... was... And Mac and Sean?"

They didn't know if they were alive or not. I was hoping, if they were dead, that it was a peaceful passing but with all the noise we made up in Blackwater, peaceful was not a part of the equation.

Abigail came back into my mind, which was no surprise as I was always thinking about her. Little Jack was on my mind was well. Then John. "Ask him if he's seen John." I told Dutch, my voice reaching up towards him.

"Hey, have you seen John, Micah?" Dutch asked.

"Didn't see much of anything once this storm came in." Micah yelled back.

"He hasn't seen him." Dutch called back to me.

I chuckled, snow building up on my lower lip. "He'll be fine. Things always turn out right for that boy."

John was the luckiest man in the world to have a son with Abigail. I was not that lucky in that department. Once things sizzled down with Mary and I, I met a young waitress named Eliza and I went to bed with her one night, resulting in her becoming pregnant with my child. His name was Isaac. Eliza knew who I was and what kind of life I lived. She didn't like it all that much but I was glad that she let me be in Isaac's life. I would visit her every few months but one day, when at arrived back to their home, I saw two crosses outside. I knew they were both dead and I was later notified that they were killed by robbers, who robbed them for ten dollars.

I never truly got over this. I never get close to anyone romantically anymore. Abigail is the only person I can really trust with my feelings.

Seeing John leaving Jack ever so often only made me irritated with Marston. Abigail and Jack deserve so much better... Though I'm not sorry I'm better. I could love and cherish them. I wish she could let me in entirely.

"Okay, let's keep it down now, gentlemen. It's just up ahead." Micah blurted out.

"Snuff and stash those lanterns, boys. Best you two lie low on this." Dutch suggested.

I turned my lantern all the way off, clipping it to the side of the horse saddle. Once Dutch gave the okay to start heading down to the lit up cabin, I followed Dutch and Micah down the slope. The walkway down was slippery and I went as slow as I could as we approached the hitching posts. I climbed down from the horse, following Dutch, who still had his lantern bursting with light.

"You two, get yourself out of sight..." Dutch supported. "One lonely man is a lot less intimidating than three nasty looking degenerates."

I chuckled every so softly.

Dutch continued. "Arthur, in that cattle shed on the left. Micah, get down behind that wagon in front."

I did what he told me to do, taking cover in the cattle shed. Dutch walked up to the front wooden door of the cabin. I could already hear voices before Dutch opened his mouth. The voices didn't sound so pretty. One of the guys were named Billy. Was it the guy that opened the door to take a long look at Dutch? Who knows. I should not care, anyway. It's not like their names matter at this point.

"Oh well, hello friend." Dutch knew how to play people.

"What you want?" The grunt man asked.

"I am very sorry to disturb you. Uh, my friends and I, well we got into, some... trouble up the way. Lost in the storm." Dutch kept on but more boys came out. "Ah gentlemen."

"We can't help you, mister."

I was trying to listen but Micah got my attention. He was looking in the back of the wagon that was not that far from the cabin. "Arthur... Arthur, we got a problem... There's a corpse right here."

I sighed, realizing that these men that Dutch was talking to were not friendly. "Arthur. There's a body in the wagon."

"Yeah, I hear you, just... keep yours eyes on Dutch." I whispered, taking out my Cattleman Revolver out of my side holster.

"I think you should go now, buddy." One of the men said. Possibly the same one that opened the door.

"Now, friend... I ain't asking for much. please, I am... kinda desperate." Dutch was not lying out of teeth. We were desperate.

"hey... I don't believe it. Come here, partner. Come here!"

Before Dutch could walk up to the man, I took the aim to the man's head, shooting him without a second to think. I shot so many men that the snow didn't bother me all that much anymore. I could see with the light coming from the cabin. I never liked killing people, especially the ones that needed killing. It just puts me in a deeper hole with my honor and how I see myself. I'm not a good man.

I shot the last man who was trying to dart away from the scene. I ran back towards Dutch. The cold wasn't bother me all that much anymore.

"That's my boy, Arthur. Good shooting. Goddamn O'Driscoll's boys here? Why?"

"I don't know, maybe same reason as us." Micah answered Dutch. Dutch then ordered him to bring the horses closer to the house. "Arthur, let's go search the cabin."

I walked up the stairs towards the cabin with Dutch. "Smells like a party in here." I said.

"Turn the place upside down, grab as many supplies as you can." Dutch ordered. "We need the essentials. Food, medicine... whiskey."

I nodded, chuckling. I searched a few cabinets, putting canned vegetables in my satchel. The cabin was small but it felt lived in. Maybe it was a beautiful home before the O'Driscolls ruined it.

"O'Driscolls! I don't believe it." Dutch went on.

"It's a strange one alright. Maybe they're hiding up here too." I wondered. "There's a big price on Colm O'Driscoll's head... nearly as big as the one on yours."

"Wanting Colm dead is about the only thing me and Uncle Sam agree on."

I chuckled once again, feeling my stomach turn. They were in knots almost. "I'm starving."

"You should eat something now. Get your strength up for the ride back."

I opened up the my satchel, taking out the canned vegetables I picked out of the cabinet. Munching on it as I looked for the medicine. "Place is dry and warm, we could maybe move the women and Jack down here."

"Maybe. We'll see how they are when we get back. I don't really want us to split up."

I walked over to the fireplace, looking at the pictures that were placed above. A man and a woman. The man could have been the victim in the wagon. I have not seen the woman yet. I hope she was not killed as well.

After a few minutes, Dutch and I walked out of the cabin. He told Micah and I to keep looking for things, most preferably in the barn that was not far from the house. Micah went in the house to look for more things.

I walked to the barn to investigate it. It was dark, only a few lights lit up the place. I started to walk towards the back but something fell from the sky. Oh, I mean, someone fell from the heavens. They tackled down to the ground. I kicked him in the stomach.

"You bastards shot my cousin!" The man cried.

"Well, he started it!" I explained, struggling to get up.

"I'm gonna break your neck!" The man went on.

Before he could do that, I punched him straight in the face. Stomach. Shoulder. Leg. I punched him everywhere. Dutch walked up to the barn, asking what was going on. What do you think? The man just jumped me!

I grabbed the man, throwing him to the ground. He looked up to me while I looked down at him. "Sneaky little bastard... should I kill him?" I asked Dutch.

"No... Not yet... Find out what they're doing here, and where Colm is."

"Oh, this son of a bitch'll talk..." I punched him several times in the jaw. "Where's Colm O'Driscoll?"

The man was struggling. "With the others... at an old mining camp southwest of here, near the lake."

I punched him again. "What are you bastards doing? Why are you up here?"

"We're fixing to rob some train, gonna blow the tracks. I don't know more than that, I swear!"

Dutch was now laughing. "Well, I would say it looks like you have this, Arthur. Do what you want with him, I don't care but bring that horse when you're done."

I could have killed him but I spared him. He did tell us everything, after all. "Get out of here!" and so the man sprinted off in the snow.

I cleared my throat, picking up my hat and walking towards the horse in the barn. I calmed the horse, patting him on the side. "You're alright, boy." I said with a smile, leading him out of the barn.

"That looks like a decent horse, you should keep him." Dutch said as he noticed the horse I was leading. "You need to hitch him, he's already skittish."

I hitched the horse on a pole but loud sounds came from the house.

"Get away from me!" A lady screamed.

"Micah, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Dutch asked.

I ran in the home, investigating what was going on. Micah was running around, trying to catch the woman who was trying to get away from him.

"Oh, look what I found in the cellar. Wild thing ain't you?" Micah yelled out, proud of himself.

The woman was now throwing things at him. He dodged and tried to grab her.

"Leave her alone!" Dutch yelled.

"I wasn't doing nothing." Micah said back, dodging yet another bottle that was thrown by the woman. "She's one of them O'Driscolls."

"No she ain't, Micah. Look at her." Dutch pointed at her. Now I was really looking at her. She was the woman in the picture above the fireplace. "Miss, miss, are you..."

Micah then picked up the table and threw it. The lantern that was on the table flew, setting the wooden planks on fire.

"Oh, you fool, Micah." Dutch pulled Micah away from the woman. I pushed him away from me.

"Miss, now it is gonna be okay. We mean you no harm." Dutch tried to calm her down.

I noticed the flames getting bigger by the second. I tried to warn Dutch but he was too focused on the woman.

"Miss, miss! Come on, it'll be okay." Dutch said, putting an arm around her. "We need to get out of here, and quick. Come on now."

We got out of the home that was going up in flames. "You okay, miss?" Dutch asked the woman, putting a blanket over her shoulders.

"They came three days ago..." She finally belt out a few words. "and my husband, they..." She was crying now.

"Okay, miss. You are safe now... and you can't stay here." Dutch looked back, which made the woman look back at well. Seeing the flames in her eyes only made her look sadder. "You come with us. Arthur."

Dutch gave me the lantern that was in his hands. "Miss, it's okay, alright." I put an arm around the woman. "We're bad men, but... we ain't them, so... it's okay."

I handed the lantern back to Dutch when he was placed on his albino horse. I helped her up on his horse. "We'll keep you safe until you figure out... what you wanna do." We were now riding away from her home.

"What's your name, Miss?" Dutch asked. She didn't answer. "Miss?"

"Adler." She answered finally.

"Adler?"

"Sadie Adler. Mrs... I... he... he was my husband."

Once we rode back to our new camp, I heard young Lenny Summers call out to everybody that somebody's coming. He jerked his gun up, getting ready to shoot if it was somebody he didn't know but once he noticed who it was, he put his gun down. "Looks like it's Dutch... Hey everybody. Dutch is back."

"How did you get on?" Hosea asked in the windy snow.

"Micah found a homestead, but... he weren't the first." Dutch answered him, leading the horses closer to the fire. "Colm O'Driscoll and his scum, they beat us to it."

Everybody around us sighed.

"We found some fo them there... but there is more about apparently... scouting a train."

"That's the last thing we need right now, Dutch." Hosea answered him. He was right. We were already in a mess with the Blackwater incident.

"Well, it is what it is... but we found some supplies, some blankets... a little bit of food... and this poor soul, Mrs. Adler. Miss Tilly, Miss Karen, would you warm her up... give her a drink of something. And Mrs. Adler, it's gonna be okay... you're safe now... They turned her into a widow... animals. I need some rest. I haven't slept in three days." Dutch looked like he needed rest.

"You're over here..." Grimshaw said, pointing towards the other shack. "Miss O'Shea will show you the way. Mr. Morgan, we put you in a room over here."

I smiled. "Thank you, Miss Grimshaw." I needed to warm myself up somehow.

"Mr. Bell, you're with the fellers over there."

"How come Arthur gets a room... and I get a bunk bed next to Bill Williamson... and a bunch of darkies?"

Hosea was not having it. "Get yourself to bed."

I needed the sleep but I know the worries around the camp won't go away so easily.

The snow hitting the wooden planks on the side of the cabin woke me up. I believed I needed to sleep but sometimes it takes me a while to drift off. I'm always so worried. I care so deeply about everybody in the camp, especially Abigail and Jack. Marston has not been found yet. Maybe he left again. Wouldn't be surprising if he did. He did it once, he could do it again. Poor Jack.

I stepped out, my eyes adjusting to the white powder that keeps falling from the sky. I decided to check up on the folks in the other cabin. I walked through the doors, immediately sprinting towards the fire.

"Hello, Arthur." Abigail breathed out.

I looked over at her. "Abigail."

She stood up, getting closer to me. "Arthur... how you doing?"

This was weird. We never spoke out about our feelings for each in other in front of folk, especially when it comes to our feelings. I know she wanted something from me and it wasn't anything to do with our we felt. I answered her anyway.

"Just fine, Abigail... and you?" I was on edge what she was going to ask.

She was hesitant about her words next. Her eyes trembled to the ground, her lower lip quivering. She finally grasped her words, "I need you to..."

I sighed heavily. This was about John. Of course it was.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry to ask but..."

"It's little John... he's got himself caught into a scrape again."

She got furious with me this time. "He ain't been seen in two..." but she stopped herself, shimmering down her voice. "two days."

I turned towards her, making sure my eyes caught hers. "Your John'll be fine." I made sure to say 'Your John'. That always struck a nerve with her. "I mean... he may be as dumb as rocks and as full as rusted iron... but that ain't changing because... he caught in some snowstorm."

Hosea bumped into the conversation. "At least go take a look... Javier?"

Abigail looked back towards Hosea. I was still not one hundred percent okay about risking my life to save John's. Especially if it's for Abigail. She knows how I feel about their messed up relationship.

"Yes?" Javier asked.

"Javier, will you ride out with Arthur... to take a look for John? You're the two best fit men we've got." Hosea was trying to make the matter almost enjoyable... Trying.

"Now?" Javier asked.

"She's... we're all... we're pretty worried about him."

I glared at Abigail, shaking my head. I was not happy about this. I had to look away to truly hide my feelings for her. Especially in this exact moment.

"I know if the situation were reversed and... he'd look for me." Javier passed me a gun. I hope it was plain obvious to Abigail that I was not happy with this entire situation.

"Thank you." Abigail admitted.

I hissed under my breath, walking out of the cabin without speaking another word with her. I love her so but she can get under my skin sometimes. Should I be so addicted to her, even though she wanted me to find John? I really don't know.

Javier and I rode out in search for John. I was hoping he skipped town rather than being dead somewhere. I may hate him at times but he was truly a brother in my heart. I also think Abigail and Jack deserve so much better than him, but that besides the point right now.

Neither of us spoke to each other when we were riding up the snowy slopes towards the mountain that John said he was going. I was silent because I was just so mad about the situation, especially when it was Abigail who asked me. She knew I didn't like talking about John when it came down to her feelings for him.

She told me that she loved me on every occasion she could. Mostly away from the folk. We usually spent a lot of time away, not that far because of Jack, from the camp. I told her I loved her back. I thought we were in a good place when John left but once he came back, our relationship has been confusing. We still had time to slip away with each other but not that much like before. It's been weeks since I brushed my lips against hers. I was addicting and craving for her touch. I don't know how she was feeling... She was thinking about John right now, not me, and that really hurts.

Javier spotted smoke in the air. "Come on, let's take a look."

"Let's hope it ain't more of O'Driscoll's boys."

Javier hopped off of his horse to inspect the campsite. "Well... seems somebody left... recently... and... that way."

"Sure, well, come on then." I said, following Javier, who explained that there were some tracks leading to the river.

"Do you think it's John?" I asked.

"You tell me. These are horse tracks for sure, but... could be anyone. Let's just see where they lead."

I decided to press Javier on the Blackwater incident because I was quite curious about what happened back on the boat. "So... you were there, Javier, what really happened on that boat?"

"We had the money, it seemed fine, then suddenly there were everywhere."

"Bounty hunters?"

"No, Pinkertons. It was crazy. Raining bullets."

I stayed quiet for a little while as he moved over a ridge. Javier continued on with his story. "Dutch killed a girl in a... bad way, but it was a bad situation."

"That ain't like him, though."

"Davey got shot, Mac and John... both shot too. Sean, we don't even know. I'm surprised we escaped at all. By the time you boys showed up from the other side of town, we were only just holding on."

I sighed. "Bad business alright."

We moved up the mountain once more, the snow hitting hard in front of us. We moved up further when we noticed something in the snow. It was a horse, which had its guts split open. John must have did that to keep himself warm.

"John was riding that horse when we left Blackwater." Javier admitted.

"Oh... that's..." I couldn't find the right words for what I saw.

"Let's see if he can hear us." Javier suggested, shooting up in the sky to try and alert John.

In the distance, we heard him cry for help. We rode towards his voice but we had to get off our horses to move around the cliffs. The snow was deep and cold. I grabbed my shotgun and walked towards John's voice.

"John!" I yelled out, hoping to hear him again.

"I'm here!" He warned. "Out on the ledge!"

"That's John! We're coming!" Javier and I sprinted towards his voice.

"Over here!"

"Alright. Pipe down, Marston!" I said, annoyed with his yelling. When I noticed that he had a big scratch on the side of his face, I had to say something. "That's quite a scratch you got there."

John looked up at me. His face did not look well. He was breathing pretty hard. "Never thought I'd say this, but... it's good to see you, Arthur Morgan."

I smirked, stepping down to where he was. "You don't look so good."

"I don't feel too good neither." He said while I picked him up over my shoulders so I could pass him over to Javier. "I'm freezing."

"Don't die just yet, cowboy." I protested.

"Come on, compadre." Javier helped him be put on my shoulders once again. We walked up the big slope once more.

"Well, we can't go back the way we came. Let's try this way." Javier addressed.

"Ain't you a sorry sight?" I laughed.

"Can't... argue with you there." John explained.

"See, I told Dutch you weren't the right man for this"

"I'm sure you did."

On our way back to camp, we were stopped by several wolves, who wanted revenge on John Marston, which is no surprise there. The main reason why he got that nasty scar on his face was because of a wolf. They just wanted to finish him off.

Once we completely reached the camp, Javier yelled out to the gang that John needed help off the horse.

Abigail came running out of the cabin, screaming, "You're alive. Oh you're alive!"

I kept my mouth shut and didn't look her way. Abigail told John that he needed to get warm to heal up faster.

"Thank you, thank you both!" Abigail was happy that she got her John back. Hosea said his thanks as well. He might be the only person that knows about my love for Abigail. I think he was quite proud about what I did for her.

"You got any lost maidens need saving?" I asked.

"Not today." Hosea chuckled.

"Have you and Dutch talked about... how we're gonna get out of this?"

"I was just discussing with Herr Strauss... when the weather breaks I... suppose we'll have to keep heading east."

"East? Into all that... that civilization?"

"I know... the west is where our problems are worse."

I nodded, sighing once again. I was not too happy about this plan. Hosea and Strauss walked back inside to get warm as I was left in the cold. Before I could walk into my cabin, someone pulled my arm.

It was Abigail. It didn't take her a second to jump on me, kissing my lips, whispering, "Thank you."

That was that. She didn't give me enough time to respond as she rushed back inside to sit with John. I blushed at the grace of her lips. I clapped my hands together and walked away smiling.