The Ballads of Rebirth (Arthur Morgan x Reader)

To Your Thoughts I'll Soon Be Listening

A/N: I made a discord server! Feel free to talk (or lurk), I'm always excited to talk to you guys, please message me for the link.
•••

The first thing you thought of was candy. Peppermints, licorice, chocolate, kettle corn, butterscotch, brittle, saltwater taffy, gumdrops and wafers. The ice cream parlor on the pier, the fudge store with the owner who always remembered your name no matter how many years had passed since your last visit. What you thought was death, in reality quite sweet. The bliss of unknowing, weightlessness was comforting. Fog had been veiled over your eyes, you could nearly taste the candy now.

Just a bit closer, like floating on a cloud. It was welcoming, intoxicating, a stark contrast to the heartbreak of the mortal world.

But only candy was on your mind as you lay in the back of a wagon, blood covering your clothes, hay poking your sides, straw in your wild hair. Scratches littering your arms and a continuous stream of blood falling over your skin from the large puncture wound in your chest.

Candy.

The sugary taste that children screamed and cheered for, that brought smiles to the faces of the consumers. Candy. Only candy.

It could have been minutes or hours, but the sugary treat was only on your mind. You were knocking on death's door, but it seemed the Reaper wasn't home. You were waiting for that final push into either side, living or death, waiting to be out of limbo.

The owner of the wagon you lay in had found you on the dirt road, right on the main path, in a pool of your own blood, barely breathing. He wondered who you were and what your story was.

So now you lay, unconscious, covered in hay, bloodied and battered, thinking of candy. What a strange thing, you thought.

•••

Lee received the news first from Officer Clark. It was around three in the morning when he woke to the rapid sound of knocking at the general store door. He could barely hear it, but he was up sick with worry and couldn't sleep.

Lee opened up the door to a tired Officer Clark. Dread filled him, Clark looked worried.

"A woman was found in the woods. She fits your wife's profile. She's heavily wounded, she's in the hospital now, outside of town. Please come with me, Mr. Rinascita, she's in a very critical state." Officer Clark told him urgently. Lee was snapped out of his groggy state and pulled on his coat that hung next to the door.

Lee was unsure of what to say, so he followed Officer Clark to his horse. It was cold out, colder than it had been recently, the streets were deserted, barely a light on. Lee was even more worried than he had been. Lee was terrified, you could have severe damage, robbed, raped, terrible things could have been done to you while you were gone. Lee was beyond scared, but he couldn't wait to see you.

Arthur would have to wait, it was selfish of Lee to not tell Arthur but they had to act quickly and Lee had no time to seek out Arthur. Your life was on the line, he would never risk it.

Officer Clark helped Lee onto the back of his horse, they darted through the empty streets towards the hospital. Lee felt sick, emotions bubbling inside him didn't help with the quick motions of the horse.

It felt like an eternity. The ride to the hospital was long as it was in the outskirts of the growing city. It didn't help with his nerves. You had so much placed onto your chest, but you shouldn't have acted so rashly, there would be time for that talk later, he was already dreading it.

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Lee hopped off the horse and ran in. Officer Clark was close behind him.

"I- I.. someone came in earlier, a woman. I'm her husband," Lee told the man at the desk. Lee looked wild, disheveled hair, more so than it always was, wrinkled clothes after he couldn't bring himself to change clothes for bed. There was a frantic look in his eyes.