The Story Of Red Dead Redemption

Chapter 8: John Marston

Arthur and Dutch returned to the camp after dark. Before they could even dismount, Abigail was waiting anxiously for Arthur. She didn't know what to do or who else to turn to for help.

Seeing Arthur return, Abigail rushed over, anxious. "Arthur, I'm sorry to bother you again, but John has been missing for two days."

In this snowstorm, being missing for two days likely meant he was trapped somewhere.

Nearby, Hosea approached with Javier. Hosea had also heard the news about John's disappearance. Regardless, as a member of the gang, John's two-day absence warranted a search. Moreover, in Hosea's heart, John was like a son he had raised. Even if the boy had made mistakes, Hosea couldn't bring himself to blame him, unlike Dutch.

Hosea said to Arthur, "Take Javier with you to look for John. It's dark now, so be careful and keep an eye out for smoke and fire. Even though we're all worried about him, if you don't find him, don't push yourselves too hard. Come back, and we can plan a larger search with more people tomorrow."

Javier nodded and mounted his horse. "Let's go, Arthur. If it were me missing, he'd come for me too."

It was surprising that Javier was willing to help search for John, considering John's strained relationships with most of the gang. It was probably because of Hosea.

Abigail kept thanking them as Arthur and Javier set off again, with Arthur turning his horse around and taking the food and hunting rifle handed to him.

Javier led the way and shared what he knew. "Go this way. As far as I know, John headed upstream." Javier had already asked around the camp.

Arthur adjusted his cowboy hat and said, "I only know he headed north without looking back. But I think we should be able to find him in the snowy mountains."

Javier thought John had probably abandoned his family again, as he had done before. Although Javier didn't understand why Arthur was so confident they would find him, he didn't think much of it and decided to make a cursory search before returning.

In the snowy night, the two followed the river upstream. The snowstorm limited their visibility, and without the river as a guide, they would have been lost in the vast white mountains, relying only on the light of their lanterns.

After a long ride, just as Javier was about to give up and turn back, a column of smoke from a distant campfire caught his attention. He called out, "Hey, I see smoke. Let's check it out."

Arthur also saw it and said, "Be careful. It could be the O'Driscolls."

They approached the smoke and soon found an abandoned campfire. Javier dismounted to check and said, "Someone was here but left some time ago."

"The tracks are faint but lead in that direction."

Arthur nodded. "Okay, let's follow them."

Judging by the size of the campfire, it was probably just one person, most likely John.

"The tracks lead towards the river. Let's cross it."

Arthur soon found more tracks on the other side of the river. Javier examined them closely. "We can't be sure it's John, but these are definitely horse tracks. And there are some that look like wolves'."

Arthur also noticed the beast tracks. Yes, it was John. Arthur remembered now. John had been attacked by wolves, fallen off a cliff, and was trapped on a ledge. The exact timing was unclear, but it was around the time he had been missing for two days. Arthur wondered if anything had changed.

To confirm his memory, Arthur decided to ask Javier about the robbery, as Javier had been on the boat and could provide a comparison to Arthur's recollection.

Arthur said, "By the way, Javier, you were on the boat too. What exactly happened on that boat?"

Javier replied straightforwardly, "At first, everything went smoothly. We got the money, but then enemies appeared from all sides."

Arthur asked, "Pinkertons, right?"

Javier didn't find it odd that Arthur knew the Pinkertons had ambushed them and simply replied, "Yes, damn Pinkertons. Gunfire everywhere, it was chaos. It was bad and confusing. Dutch had to kill a girl. It was brutal, but you can't blame him. Everything was out of control."

Everything matched. Arthur's expression was complex. Suddenly, he thought he saw something moving in the periphery, and his horse became restless.

Javier, unaware, continued talking. Since no one had discussed it much, he was grateful Arthur asked and unconsciously shared more, "Davie was shot, and Mac too... We never saw Sean again. Honestly, I still don't know how I escaped. When you appeared on the other side of town to rescue us, we were almost done for."

Arthur stroked his horse's neck and whispered comforting words. He wasn't really listening to Javier anymore, instead carefully observing his surroundings. The snow had intensified, worsening visibility.

Arthur rode forward to be alongside Javier and said, "We need to hurry. The tracks are almost gone, and there are beasts watching us."

Wolves, white wolves. Arthur's sharp eyesight allowed him to see them despite the bad weather. There were more than one.

They continued for a bit, and the horses calmed down but began to show signs of fatigue.

Javier warned, "Be careful. The path narrows here, and there's a deep pit next to it. The snow is fresh, so be careful not to slip."

At this point, they could no longer see any tracks, just wandering aimlessly, trying to remember where Arthur had found John. Fortunately, not long after, with Arthur's careful observation, they spotted a horse carcass covered in snow lying on the ground ahead.

Javier dismounted again and brushed away the snow to examine it closely. "It's wolves. The horse has been gutted. This is John's horse. I remember he rode this one when we left Blackwater."

Arthur dismounted and patted his old partner. "It should be around here. Let's give the horses a rest and make some noise. Maybe he'll hear us."

Arthur took out his revolver and fired two shots into the air. As soon as the gunshots echoed, they heard a loud cry for help from nearby.

"Here! Help! I'm here!"

Arthur and Javier quickly led their horses towards the sound, not daring to leave them alone.

"Is anyone there? I'm here!" John couldn't believe he could still make a sound. He had been prepared to die there, but now there was hope.

***

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