The Story Of Red Dead Redemption

Chapter 4: Colter Village Camp

At Colter, a fire burned in front of the only relatively intact wooden house. Charles, despite being told to stay inside, sat near the fire with his gun, quietly leaning against the wall. A short distance away, Lenny stood by the roadside, carefully watching the distance through the snowstorm.

"Hey, someone's coming!" Lenny raised his shotgun, pointing it at the figure moving in the snowstorm. Hearing Lenny's call, Charles also picked up his gun and moved towards Lenny.

"Hey, everyone! Dutch is back."

Lenny stepped aside to let the returning group pass. The others in the house heard the call and came out, with Hosea leading the way, holstering his gun as he walked out.

The others also came with lanterns, gathering around.

Hosea asked, "What did you find?"

Arthur dismounted his horse, patting off the snow. "Micah found a farm, or rather, the Adlers' farm."

Dutch, breathing heavily, led his horse forward. "But... others have found it too."

"Colm O'Driscoll and his lackeys."

Charles took the lamp from Dutch. "We don't know their purpose yet, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." As he finished speaking, there was a thud as something was thrown onto the snow, catching everyone's attention.

Arthur dropped the man he had grabbed from the horse. "This guy's pretty heavy. Give me a hand."

"Mr. Pearson, take our guest to the kitchen. I'm sure he'll greatly alleviate our food shortage."

Arthur handed the reins to Charles and politely said, "Thank you."

Arthur had developed a habit of making darkly humorous remarks, a change from his previous silence.

Dutch showed direct curiosity but didn't say anything, just nodded for Pearson to follow Arthur's instructions. Dutch declined Hosea's offer for a private chat, saying he hadn't slept in three days and needed rest.

Susan pointed to a room for Dutch to rest in, where his lover was waiting for him.

"Mr. Morgan, we've prepared a room for you to rest in." Susan led Arthur with a lantern. "No matter what tomorrow brings, everyone needs a good rest tonight, including you, Mr. Morgan. We'll bring you food shortly."

"Thank you, Ms. Grimshaw." Arthur was indeed very tired. Recent events had made him reevaluate his past experiences, and he needed to think about what to do next. The uncertainty of the future and the routine of his current life had kept Arthur following Dutch, but recent events had made him realize he was different now.

As Susan led Arthur to his room, she looked back at Micah.

"Mr. Bell, you'll share a room with the fellers over there." Susan clearly didn't consider this unequal treatment, anticipating potential protests, she ignored Micah's possible objections and led Arthur away to his assigned room.

Sure enough, they could still hear Micah complaining from a distance, grumbling about how Arthur got a single room while he had to share a bunk with Bill and how there were "a bunch of black folks" nearby.

Arthur followed Susan to a small, dilapidated house. An old, discarded bed board had Arthur's old sleeping bag on it. His other belongings were still in the wagon, so the room was quite bare.

"Thank you, Ms. Grimshaw. I don't know what we'd do without you." Arthur had great respect for Susan Grimshaw. She treated him well in every way, and her fairness and decisiveness earned his admiration.

"It's us who should thank you. You've done a lot for this family, and I've seen it all. Get some rest. There will be many problems to solve tomorrow." Susan closed the door behind her and left.

Arthur took a quick look around. The thin walls let in the howling wind, but fortunately, the room had a fireplace that still worked. The flickering firelight danced as Arthur took off his hat and placed it aside, watching the burning wood in the fireplace and pondering his next steps.

His group had been on the run for weeks. This shelter could help them weather the snowstorm and allow for a brief respite.

First, the critical issue of food was solved. The meat and supplies bought from the Adlers should be enough for now, so there was no need to send others out hunting. They could rest.

Second, although the pursuers seemed to have temporarily given up due to the snowstorm, the bounty on Dutch and the others would soon be updated and spread to nearby villages and towns. Bounty hunters would come looking, so they couldn't stay here long.

Lastly, they needed a plan for the future. Endless, aimless flight was unacceptable. With such a large group, living day to day wasn't sustainable. Regardless of what others thought, this wasn't the life Arthur wanted.

Maybe it never was.

Arthur picked up his journal and started writing. "Waiting for the snow to melt, we'll see what happens after." He closed the journal and finished his meal, lying down for the best sleep he'd had in weeks.

As for what the thing he had eaten was, Arthur decided not to think about it.

***

The next afternoon, Arthur pulled open the door, facing the strong wind and snow. He had to press his hat down with one hand and shield his face with the other to keep his direction as he struggled towards the largest wooden house.

The weather was really terrible.

Inside, Hosea, the girls, and Javier were gathered around a roaring fireplace. Their own rooms were drafty, so they had all congregated here. Seeing Arthur enter, everyone greeted him.

Arthur approached Hosea, who was sitting in a chair smoking. "Hosea, we need to talk."

Arthur declined the cigarette Hosea offered and was about to speak when Abigail interrupted.

"Arthur, wait... Arthur..." Abigail looked very worried.

Arthur stopped and looked at her. This pretty girl usually only showed such concern for one reason: John had done something foolish again. John was Abigail's husband, and Arthur had a good relationship with him. Although Arthur used to tease John, he was actually soft-hearted. Their relationship had improved after Arthur stopped being so harsh, and John trusted Arthur the most in the gang.

To Arthur, John had been a well-behaved and obedient "child" since returning.

"What's wrong, Abigail? What trouble has John gotten into now?"

Abigail, looking very embarrassed, said, "I'm sorry, but John hasn't come back. I'm very worried... Arthur, I'm sorry to bother you, but…"

Arthur had forgotten about this. Forget John being well-behaved.

Arthur shook his head, though he had a rough idea of the situation. He tried to reassure Abigail not to worry too much. "Listen, John can be stubborn and reckless, but he has a good and brave heart. He'll be fine. Wait a little longer. If he doesn't come back by tomorrow, I'll go look for him."

Seeing Abigail still worried but not wanting to bother him further, Arthur thought that if it were the old him, he might have regretted not being with Abigail. She was a good woman. It was just a pity that John, in terms of family, was often unreliable.