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...
Everyone tightened their reins. Everyone understood. They were close, very close. And then gunfire cracked through the air, it was loud, rapid, and frantic. Much louder than the firefight Caleb and John had just escaped. Sadie's voice tore through the chaos, distant but unmistakable. "YOU SONS OF BITCHES!! COME ON THEN!!"
Arthur's eyes widened. "That's Sadie!"
They pushed their horses harder.
The trees opened.
And another battlefield exploded into view—
Charles, Sean, and Sadie were crouched behind a massive boulder, firing desperately from behind its broad curve.
Four Pinkertons and guards lay dead in the dirt.
The other thirteen remained, rifles, revolvers shotguns, and repeaters aimed, moving aggressively, firing nonstop into the stone shield protecting the trio.
Seventeen total.
Just like the way Caleb had predicted from the pattern.
Another deliberate attempt by Pinkertons to overwhelm and isolate.
Sadie spotted Caleb's group the instant they burst into the clearing.
"ABOUT DAMN TIME!! HELP US OUT ALREADY!!"
The Pinkertons whirled toward the new arrivals, scrambling to redirect their rifles—
Too late.
Caleb stood up on Morgan's stirrups, breath sharp, body aligned perfectly.
Dead Eye took over.
Three red marks lit up across the bodies of three Pinkertons.
He fired.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Three headshots.
Three bodies fell.
Caleb didn't wait.
He holstered his repeater, leaped off Morgan at full sprint, hit the ground, rolled, then slid into cover behind a tree.
Arthur, John, Hosea, and Lenny dismounted instantly, using trees and boulders for cover as a fresh volley of gunfire erupted around them.
The shootout began in earnest.
Sean's voice rang out, loud and bright. "About damn time y'all showed up fellas! We was gettin' killed for sport over here!"
Sadie shouted back while reloading, "Shoot first, talk later!"
Charles didn't say anything, he was too focused, firing arrows with deadly accuracy even under the hail of bullets.
A Pinkerton tried to flank right.
Caleb saw him.
Dead Eye flashed again, two quick red X marks, two quick shots.
The man collapsed.
Another Pinkerton rushed forward with a shotgun, Arthur blasted him back with his revolver.
Two government guards peeked from behind a fallen tree, John nailed one in the chest and Lenny hit the other in the neck.
Charles caught another in the gut with an arrow, forcing him back into the open, where Sadie's rifle finished him.
Nine left.
Eight.
Six.
Four.
Each one fell harder and faster as the gang found its rhythm.
Caleb slid behind a new rock, firing low shots to keep the Pinkertons pinned while Sean flanked left, shouting Irish curses the entire time.
Sadie stood up fully at one point, firing downhill like a madwoman until Arthur yelled at her to "GET YOUR DAMN HEAD DOWN BEFORE IT GETS TAKEN CLEAN OFF!"
She didn't listen.
But she didn't get hit either.
Two more Pinkertons retreated deeper into the brush.
Caleb marked them both in Dead Eye and dropped them, fast and clean.
Three remained, one behind a wagon, two behind a cluster of trees.
John blind fired to keep the wagon man occupied. Charles shot an arrow that hit him in the knee. Sean ran up and shot him twice in the head while screaming "STAY DOWN!"
The last two tried to escape.
That was their final mistake.
Arthur shot one in the back.
Caleb shot the other in the spine.
Silence fell across the clearing… again.
Sadie breathed hard, teeth bared, adrenaline pumping. "Bastards… that all of 'em?"
Charles nodded slowly. "For now."
Sean wiped sweat from his brow. "They nearly got us pinned for good."
Arthur scanned the tree line, still tense. "Anyone hurt?"
Sadie scoffed. "Not enough to matter."
Charles nodded once. "Scratches only."
Sean shrugged. "Got grazed a bit. Still handsome."
Caleb stepped out of cover, lowering his repeater as the rest of the gang regrouped in the center of the clearing.
He examined the scene, thirteen dead Pinkertons and guards, four slain earlier, seventeen total.
All gone.
Exactly as intended.
No survivors. No information leaking. No warnings carried back to Milton and Ross.
Arthur approached Caleb first. "Good shootin'. Again."
John nodded. "He lead us to save many asses twice today."
Caleb waved it off. "You would've done the same."
Hosea approached next, slower than the others, eyes narrowing at the sight of how many bodies lay scattered around the clearing.
"It's getting worse," he said quietly. "Much worse."
Arthur sighed. "And Dutch is walking right into the last one."
Sean grimaced. "Then we best hurry up, eh?"
Sadie spit into the dirt. "Damn right we better hurry."
Charles tightened the strap of his quiver. "Dutch, Javier, and Bill might be facing twenty or more."After saying that, he goes to retrieve the lock box form the government stagecoach and strap it against his saddle.
"Maybe thirty," Lenny added bleakly.
Caleb didn't deny it.
He couldn't.
Because he remembered the pattern.
Each group had more resistance than the last. Dutch's group would surely take the brunt of it, if it follow the pattern.
Dutch, Javier, and Bill were either already knee deep in hell or about to be.
Caleb inhaled sharply, then motioned toward the north.
"We should mount up," he said. "We ride now so we aren't to late."
Arthur nodded. "No time to lose."
Sean clapped his hands together. "Right, you heard the man! Let's save Dutch from himself!"
Sadie muttered, "Could leave him to learn his lesson…"
Arthur shot her a look. "Sadie."
"…Fine," she grumbled. "Let's go save 'em."
Charles simply mounted his horse with quiet resolve.
Hosea climbed onto his with a wince. "I'm getting too old for this."
Lenny chuckled humorlessly. "Ain't we all?"
Caleb mounted Morgan once more, gripping the reins tightly, direction already fixed in his mind.
Before he kicked off again, he spoke firmly:
"This next one will be the worst. Stick close. Stay sharp. Don't break formation. And if youwe see Dutch do something stupid, ignore it. Keep focusing on staying alive and make sure Dutch, Javier, and Bill get out save and we are also unharmed."
Arthur sighed slightly. "When have we ever seen Dutch not do somethin' stupid now?"
Hosea sighed deeply. "Don't start that now…"
Caleb didn't smile.
He looked toward the trees, the shadows, before turning his focus to his map interface, to see the path leading to the last ambush point.
Caleb then flicked his reins and the others immediately followed suit, the entire group shifting seamlessly into motion as their horses surged forward through the forest path. Hooves thundered over dirt and roots, breath clouds forming in the cold evening air as they rode fast and tight as a single unit.
"Make sure your guns are loaded and ready," Caleb called back over the wind, voice firm and loud enough to cut through the gallop. "We don't know what surprise is waiting at this last location."
As he said it, he pulled his Litchfield from its holster, cracking the lever just enough to visually confirm every chamber was full. Satisfied, he snapped the lever closed and slung it back with smooth familiarity.
Arthur followed the instruction without hesitation, checking both his revolvers. Lenny reloaded his repeater. Hosea double-checked the rounds in his Lancaster. John quickly reloaded his sidearm and rifle. Sean replaced a near empty cylinder with a fresh one. Charles tested the tension of his bowstring, then looked over his remaining arrows, ensuring none were cracked or warped.
Sadie, riding beside Arthur, shoved shells into her shotgun with quick, sharp movements. "Wasn't expectin' to see you leadin' us," she shouted toward Caleb with a smirk. "Figured it'd be Arthur or Hosea takin' point. You preparin' to make yourself leader of this whole outfit now?"
Caleb let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "Don't get any ideas, Sadie. I have no plan to be any kind of leader. I just know this area. That's all. Makes sense I take the front when I know where to go."
"Ohh, listen to him now," Sean chimed in with his thick Irish accent, grinning. "Wouldn't mind it meself, fellas! Caleb leadin' us, sounds fine, aye? Man knows where he's goin'!"
"Sean, shut up," Caleb shot back without looking over. "Don't add anything with that loud mouth of yours."
Sean laughed even harder. "Aww, c'mon now, don't be like that! I'm complimentin' ya!"
Arthur snorted. Hosea smiled faintly. Even Charles cracked a grin. The fierce tension in the air loosened, just a bit, enough for everyone to breathe.
As they continued riding, Lenny urged his horse up alongside Caleb's. "You really do know this area, huh?" he said, sounding both impressed and slightly curious. "You knew where to find me, Arthur, and Hosea before. Then you found Charles, Sadie, and Sean. And now you're bringin' us straight toward Dutch, Javier, and Bill."
Caleb shrugged lightly. "Like I said before, I rode around this place long before I ever met you all in Valentine. And when I was in Saint Denis, I took the chance to scout the surrounding areas. Just habit that I make use of the time. I track the land. I map it. I learn it."
John let out a sharp breath, disbelief in his tone. "You're busy as hell, then. Odd jobs for money, gatherin' information, ridin' inside and outside Saint Denis… and God knows what else."
Caleb flicked the reins again, pushing Morgan slightly faster. "Just trying to maximize my time. Do whatever I can."
They rode another minute in silence.
Then suddenly—
Two riders appeared ahead on the winding trail.
Horses moving fast.
The shapes grew clearer.
Dutch.
And Bill.
Both looked disheveled, dust on their coats, sweat matting their hair, faces tight with adrenaline and panic. Dutch's hat was gone. Bill's sleeve was torn. Neither had noticed the gang yet. Most alarmingly, Javier was nowhere to be seen.
But when they finally did, Dutch's tense expression burst into a wide, ecstatic grin.
"My boys and girl!" Dutch bellowed, riding straight toward them. "My dear boys and girl! You're safe, ALL OF YOU! Oh, this is a sight for sore eyes! What a mess… what a terrible, terrible thing Javier, Bill, and I have just endured!"
He even singled out Caleb, Caleb, who he'd spent many days half ignoring, half resenting.
"Caleb! Son! You made it through!" Dutch said, voice warm, too warm, a bit too close to desperate.
Caleb ignored the pleasantries entirely.
"Where's Javier?" he demanded.
Dutch blinked. "Oh… it's terrible. Terrible, I tell you!"
Arthur's face twisted. "Dutch… what happened? Where is he?"
Dutch placed a hand on his chest in exaggerated pain. "Javier was shot! He insisted, begged, that Bill and I ride ahead while he covered us from the rear. It was his request. His sacrifice."
Bill, unconvincing and visibly uncomfortable, nodded silently.
Everyone froze.
Sean's jaw dropped. "He WHAT!?"
Sadie's nostrils flared. "Hell kind of bullshit—"
Charles stiffened, eyes narrowing.
Hosea's heart sank, because he could hear the cracks in Dutch's story already.
Arthur stared at Dutch, shocked. "Javier told you to leave him?"
Dutch nodded gravely. "He insisted. Said he'd hold them back."
Caleb didn't budge.
Didn't blink.
Didn't accept a single word.
He remembered the game.
He remembered the pattern of Dutch's downward spiral, abandoning John after the train fall, abandoning Arthur later on the oil station and then the mountain, rationalizing betrayal as necessity.
Caleb heard the same tone in Dutch's voice now.
And he snapped.
"You LEFT him," Caleb said, louder than he expected, voice sharp as steel. "You abandoned him. You and Bill should've stayed put and waited for us to get to you."
Dutch's face reddened with fury. "I DID NOT ABANDON HIM!" he roared. "It was his choice! A noble sacrifice! How dare you question my loyalty, you—"
Caleb shot back instantly. "No. I don't believe it."
The forest went silent.
Dutch's eye twitched.
Caleb turned to the others, voice steady. "I'm going to save Javier. Anyone who wants to come, follow me."
And without waiting for Dutch's approval, permission, or excuses—
Caleb kicked Morgan into a dead sprint.
Arthur followed.
John followed.
Charles followed.
Sadie followed.
Sean followed.
Lenny followed.
Hosea followed, grumbling but determined.
Even Bill, despite everything, followed, because despite being shaken, he could not abandon Javier.
Leaving Dutch behind for a long, terrible moment. Dutch sat there on his horse, breath trembling, face twisting with rage, disbelief, and fear, fear of losing the group, fear of losing control, fear of being left out. His paranoia surged like fire through dry brush. And so Dutch spurred his horse, seething, and followed the others, though he hated every second of it.
...
Name: Caleb Thorne
Age: 23
Body Attributes:
- Strength: 7/10
- Agility: 7/10
- Perception: 8/10
- Stamina: 7/10
- Charm: 7/10
- Luck: 8/10
Skills:
- Handgun (Lvl 4)
- Rifle (Lvl 4)
- Firearms Knowledge (Lvl 4)
- Past Life Memory (Lvl MAX)
- Knife (Lvl 3)
- Blunt Weapon (Lvl 1)
- Sneaking (Lvl 4)
- Horse Mastery (Lvl 4)
- Poker (Lvl 4)
- Hand to Hand Combat (Lvl 3)
- Eagle Eye (Lvl 1)
- Dead Eye (Lvl 3)
- Bow (Lvl 2)
- Pain Nullifier (Lvl 3)
- Physical Regeneration (Lvl 2)
- Crafting (Lvl 3)
- Persuasion (Lvl 3)
- Mental Fortitude (Lvl MAX)
- Cooking (Lvl 4)
- Teaching (Lvl 2)
- Trilingual Language Proficiency - G, I, & C (Lvl MAX)
- Inventory System (Permanent - 10x10x10)
- Acting (Lvl 4)
- Alcohol Resistance (Lvl MAX)
- Treasure Hunter (Lvl MAX)
- Drugs Resistance (Lvl MAX)
Money: 3,655 dollars and 10 cents
Inventory: 104,669 dollars and 72 cents, 11 gold nuggets, 64 gold bars, 1 Double Action, 1 Schofield, 2 Colm's Schofields, land deed (Parcel), 1 Mauser, 1 Semi Auto Pistol, 1 Lancaster Repeater, 1 Old Wood Jewelry Box, 1 F.F Mausoleum small brass key, & 1 Ruby
Bank: -