"Anytime, Cowgirl." : Arthur Morgan X OC

Chapter 5

"Jane, wake up," said a gruff voice with warm hands. They shook her awake, and she opened her eyes to see Arthur standing there. His hair was ruffled, and she noticed that big bags rested underneath her eyes.

It was early morning, and it was still pretty dark out.

Sitting up, she tried the rub the sleepiness out of her tired eyes. "What... what is it, Arthur?" She asked groggily, her voice still not awake all the way.

He grabbed her hands and helped her stand up. "We're gonna go rob a stage coach. We need a woman as a decoy, and I figured you'd be happy to get out of chores for a day."

That woke her up. "Oh, yeah. That sounds like fun." Shivering in the brisk morning hair, she grabbed the cream shawl off of Mary-Beth's chest.

Arthur chuckled. "Fun? You nearly hurled your lunch after a twenty five dollar bounty."

"Shut it," she said, wrapping the shawl around her shoulders tightly.

She followed him to the campfire, where two other men stood. She recognized them from around camp, but couldn't recall their names.

"Jane, this is Bill," he introduced, gesturing to a big, chubby man that spat on the ground.

Charming, she thought.

"That's John," He said. John was thin, and had a big scar across his face. His hair was long and scraggly.

He nodded to her.

"So what's the plan?" She asked, yawning.

Arthur handed her a cup of coffee that he had just poured and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Bill got a tip for a stagecoach that had a lot of cash and valuables in board. You're a damsel in distress that they happened to come across, who's horse has tragically died. When you have them stopped, that when we come in."

She sipped on the hot coffee as she thought it over. It seemed simple enough. "Alright. I'm in." She paused. "I get part of the cut, right?"

That made the three men laugh.

"I like her," said John. He directed his gaze back to her. "Yeah," He finally answered in his raspy voice. "Half goes to the camp, and the other half gets split between us."

Bill rubbed his hands together and rocked on his heals. "Alright, guys, and girlie, let's get going. I've got a cravin' for gold."

They crossed camp, trying to stay quiet as to not wake the others. Slipping onto their horses, they rode off into the quiet morning.

Not so quiet for long, she thought.

As the sun slowly began to creep its way over the far mountain, casting red and orange hues into the sky, the gang rode across the hills. Eventually, they ended up on a ridge, overlooking the valley.

A few deer and stray birds created a peaceful scenery, which they all knew would be disrupted soon.

"When's this coach comin' in, Bill?" Arthur asked impatiently.

Bill scanned the terrain. "In a few minutes, I think."

Arthur nodded. "Alright. Jane, come with me. Let's get you ready."

She trailed after him, down the rocky hill and into the valley.

"Alright," Arthur called to her over his shoulder. "You'll stay here- I'll take your horse- and when the coach comes through, play 'damsel in distress,' or whatever, and get it to stop. That's when me, Bill, and John will come down." He stopped where two roads intersected. "This should do."