may i stand unshaken [Arthur Morgan × OC]

Chapter 4

1892

I'm eighteen years old, and I already know how to shoot. Of course, I'm not sure that this was something to be proud of, because Arthur and John learned to use firearms at an even younger age. I'm sure Marston and Morgan came out of their mother's womb with a revolver at the ready and a cigarette in their gums. It was definitely in their robber blood to intimidate people, but they were not the only ones with such a quality.

Each of these male members of the Van der Linde gang taught me what they could do perfectly: defend myself, hunt, steal and cheat. But after repeated attempts, I realized what kind of lifestyle life inclined me to. I think I could thank Hosea and Bessie for that. Their couple was distinguished by wisdom and intelligence, they approached their work differently from everyone else, came up with complex, but effective schemes without resorting to violence.

"Immerse the victim in a distractingly favorable atmosphere, drag him into beauty and fun, and he will be left penniless".

Among other things they taught me to stay in society. Make small talk, dance, wear dresses, learn foreign languages, and it turns out I sang well. Even though we didn't end up in social, Hosea thought I should have known how to behave among people above us. In general, I was a pretty girl distracting the victims of ruthless robbers. Bessie, Annabelle and Susan taught me how to use my beauty and femininity so that different types of men would follow one sweet smile and end up with empty pockets. Others just robbed, threatened, using fists, knives and revolvers. At first I couldn't get used to this, some kind of wildness. But we didn't kill, we just robbed, and Dutch helped us understand many things in the world. His gaze was wide and intent, and he promised us changes, and promised me not to change. We had to influence people. At eighteen I didn't think we were bad, and good too. All members of our family were bandits and swindlers, but honest and fair. Should not have forgotten about the high-profile bank robbery and a huge reward for the head of our leader. But I loved them. At least they were definitely better than those who proudly beat chests and were called good.

"We shoot those who need to be shot, save those who need to be saved, and feed those who need to be fed."

The Van der Linde gang became my new family. They accepted me and taught me how to survive side by side. Dutch met Annabelle and, surprisingly, fell head over heels in love, forgetting about Susan. I'm not sure if there was any love between them. It turned out that Hosea had a wife, Bessie. Despite his criminal disposition, she remained with the gang, which was slowly replenished. The adults were busy with their personal lives, which no one tried to get involved in, but each of them replaced my mother and father. Lately, O'Driscoll's guys have started to strain. Some time ago, Dutch concluded a dubious truce with them, which has been slowly developing into a rivalry until now. Colm O'Driscoll's gang was famous for recruiting newcomers without counting and did not care at all about saving their lives. They were true to the principle of "easy come, easy go": robbed banks, and then indulged in unrestrained entertainment in the company of whores. Dutch didn't like the way Colm treated his people, while Colm ridiculed Dutch for his philosophy about trying to make a "better world". But, as it seemed to me, the relations between the gangs were heating up.

To be honest, I tried to perceive Arthur and John as brothers, but the attempts were in vain. We grew up with each other, especially with Marston. At first he was taciturn, a little harsh, but soon our relationship warmed up. John cheered up, became simpler. Perhaps the past prevented him from fully opening up, just as I could not finally come to my senses. The boy was only a year older than me, but he liked to turn up his nose, often used sarcasm, tried to be clever and show himself. Together we often ran away from the camp to wander around the nearest town and arrange a small performance there.