"Helen." She looked up from her stew bowl at the sound of her name, and Sadie approached. "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while," Helen greeted, setting her plate down.
"I can say the same for you - you got a minute?" she asked. Helen stood up, following Sadie to the horses, where Arthur was waiting. Another job? "I need you to ride with me, to finish off them O'Driscolls," she explained.
"Shouldn't we bring more people? We can wait for Charles to come back from huntin','' Helen suggested. Sadie shook her head, stopping at her horse; "You're one of the only people here that I trust, 'long with Arthur and your Charles. I've gotta do this."
Helen sighed, looking between her two anxious friends, then nodded once. "Let's ride, Adler."
~~~~
"Help John escape? He said that to you?" It was dawn of the following day, and Helen and Sadie woke up before Arthur. "Yah...it ain't no secret he's sick. I think...he's tryin' to clear his conscious,'' Sadie muttered.
She turned to look at Helen; "He said to make sure you got out, too. He really cares, you know." Helen pursed her lips, glancing at her sleeping friend.
"Yah...I know. I feel a little bad, not returnin' his feelings, but he's been a great friend. I gotta stick with him, I can feel this gang comin' to an end," Helen replied.
Sadie nodded, lowering her head for a moment as she fiddled with her gun. "You've been a good friend, too, to a lonely widow. You best get out this alive, Matthews, or I'm gonna bring ya back to life just to kill you myself."
~~~~
From talking so calmly to being covered in blood, Helen was fascinated by Sadie's rage. She was kneeling over her husband's murderer after stabbing him in the chest.
Helen leaned back on the wall, wiping blood off her shirt. "We okay?" she asked. Sadie stood tall, panting; "Yah...he was a good man, my Jakey," she sighed.
Arthur gestured to a chair, and Sadie sat down with a huff. "We was always sweet on one another...." she rasped, her voice wavering. Helen stood behind her, placing her hands on Sadie's shoulders. "I miss him every day...every moment."
Helen sucked in a breath when her father's face appeared in her thoughts, and she looked down. "They turned me into a monster...but my memories of him...they still pure." Helen and Arthur exchanged a glance, and she stepped back from Sadie.
"I ain't even got that," Arthur muttered. It was silent for a few moments as the outlaws caught their breath. "Aside from my Jake...you're the best people I've known."
Helen just kept her head down, allowing Arthur to reply - she was far from being a decent person. It's nice to know I have friends who think differently, though.
"We...we should get away from here," Arthur mumbled. Silently, the three outlaws exited the cabin, each taking separate paths to return to camp.
YOU ARE READING
Family in Shambles
FanfictionShe had been going it alone for three years, since her mother had passed away. She had been learning to survive and doing what she NEEDED to do to survive, no matter the consequences. She knew how to lie low and hide from the law, and she became a v...
