Lucas awakes in the rubble of the slowly flaming barn. The sun has faded and the night is illuminated by the burning embers of fire while being clouded by smoke and ash. Lucas' eyes look around as he slowly regains his strength. He lifts himself up only to find a few chunks of wood flooring along his legs and back. He shakes them off slowly and attempts to stand.
"Mr. Gray?!" Lucas calls out to the barn, as his eyes dart around, unable to see them. With no response, Lucas stood up as he bled from his arm, he wiped the dirt off his chest and breathed slowly as he put his hand to his chest.
Lucas leaned against a piece of one of the stables. He walked slowly to rest on the next one, he laid his arm on it and as he did, it broke under his weight sending him forward. Lucas caught himself quickly before he could hit the floor. He moved forward slowly and spotted a pair of legs, buried under some rubble.
Lucas shambled over and fell to his knees before removing the bits and chunks of wood There was a box of ammunition that lay atop them, he pulled it off and tossed it to the side. He fumbled around and reached through, pulling out an arm. He pulled harder and dragged up the body of the farmhand from earlier. His body slumped against Lucas', his heart stopped and lungs empty. Almost cold. Underneath the body was the Earl, Lucas laid the rancher aside and gripped the earls shirt. He rubbed him out from the rubble and pulled him by his legs.
As he did, a plank from above fell down onto Lucas. The spike of adrenaline shot through his body as he shrugged the drowsiness off and lifted the man out of the rubble. He laid him down and opened his shirt to examine him. Mr. Gray slowly opened his eyes as Lucas held his head up.
"Mr. Gray? Are you alright? How do you feel?" Lucas asked frantically but calmly as he examined Me. Gray. His shirt was ripped and torn all over. His shoulders and neck had small splices and cuts from rubble, along with bruises all along his body. He had muck and grime along with blood from a cut on his forehead and check running down his face.
"I don't feel that good, what's it looking like out there..?" Mr. Gray asks. Lucas looks out through the small breaks in the bottom floor wall as he hears noises come from outside.
"I think we're ok Mr. Gr-" before Lucas can finish, an axe head breaks through the wooden wall and breaks a hole in it. As it bashes the bottom open and a man in a coat steps in. Along with a few more behind him.
"Well, well, well, if it ain't the old southern turncoat" the man said, as he kicked Lucas in the stomach and pushed him to the side the man behind him quickly puts his boot on Lucas' back as he slides Lucas' revolver out of holster and tosses it aside. The man then grabs the Earl by his shirt.
"You slimy, rotten, bastard! You know how many of us died because of your little chase for money!" The man said as he spit in the Earls face. He had a scar along his cheek down to his chin, he wore a long black turncoat with light red shirt and kalki pants. He pulled the Earl up more and before he could respond, he cracked his fist along the bleeding man's face. As the Earl gasped for breath, the man hit him again, and again. The hits were meaty and heavy. Lucas' winced at each hit as the Earl groaned, growing lucid in his gaze.
"You bastards…you enslaved those poor men..they di-" The man gripped the earl's chin and cheeks as he growled. Lucas' eyes grew watery
"Oh don't start! You know damn well this was about control! The government didn't care about no slavers, they just didn't like us southern state boys having our own state rights!"
"You just wanted money, you didn't really care about us, as we bled and died for our families! Our rights! You Snake!" He yelled at he punched the Earl in the gut before standing up, and stomping on his leg. He unbuckled his revolver and slowly cocked it at the ground.
"Any last words you rat?" The man asked, as Mr. Gray looked away, he looked down at Lucas with tears streaming down his cheeks. As he went to speak. "I hope when they hang you, your mother does not bear to look you in your ey-"
BAM
The man shoots the Earl in the shoulder before he can finish.
"AAGH!" Mr. Gray groans as the man chuckles,
"Missed, sorry, finger slipped" The man laughs at the Earls pain. But before he can cock his hammer back.
BLAM
An orange haired man raises from the stables, and blows the arm off the man standing atop of Lucas. The scatter shreds the other man's torso slightly. The Earl reaches for a revolver and blows a round into the man's stomach as he collapses.
BLAM
Before the man behind him blows half of Mr. Grays skull open with a shotgun round.
"NO!" Lucas screams as he scrambles in the dirt for his revolver. Frantically he picks it up and shoots the man with the shotgun in the shoulder as another man steps through the broken wall with a firebomb. Lucas cocks his revolver hammer back before the man leans back in preparation to throw the incendiary. Lucas shoots him in the chest causing him to fall and drop the fragile bottle. The flames break out as a shard of glass lands on Lucas. The fire engulfs the two men as the orange haired figure grabs Lucas by the collar and drags him out of the barn.
"Maguire?" Lucas asks confusingly as he stumbled upwards. The man standing before him wore one of the signature flat caps from the sniper team.
"We have to go mate, the estate is lost, we have to get out of here" Maguire says as Lucas looks to the manor and the estate grounds, the flames have engulfed the manor as it's already seemingly had holes blown through it from that cannon. Lucas looks to the burning manor with a tear as Maguire shakes him to reality. He loads his shotgun with two shells as he pushes Lucas forward.
"Get on the horse, I'll ride us out of here" Maguire says as two men round the corner, he hops onto the horse as Lucas goes to shoot.
Click
Lucas ducks down as his gun clicks empty. Maguire aims his shotgun and blows a hole in the barn wall and one of the men as Lucas climbs onto the horse. Maguire snaps the reigns and they speed off past the back entrance and sail out of the estate grounds. Lucas looks back at the manor in flames. As the smoke billows up and shrowd the moonlight.
"Where's your home mate? I can get you close" Maguire asked as Lucas starred in disbelief.
"That was my home…" he muttered as Maguire kept riding.
"Well then let's get you to a hospital yeah?" Maguire asked as Lucas kept starring.
"Hello?" Maguire shouts as Lucas snaps out of whatever trance he seemed in. He could've sworn he saw something looking back at him from the clouds, a figure staring down at him.
"Oh, yeah let's just get down to the northern docks, there's a proper doctor there" Lucas says as he looks forward. The forest ahead seems almost horror-like as he looks back to see two men tailing them on horses. Lucas clumsily looked down at his revolver and slowly lowered the barrel down to empty the chamber. He slowly slid each bullet into place. As he looked back and aimed his gun. He slowly tried to aim but the bounce of the horse and his wounds wouldn't let him steady himself.
BANG
He blew a round into the dirt, he cocked back the hammer for his next shot and aimed again. He looked out towards the men riding behind them. Now they were embalmed in pure white robes with metallic faces. They ran and ran, seemingly getting closer.
"Fight" A godly voice echoed.
Lucas blinked and suddenly they were back to as they were before. Gruff men on horseback chasing after the two to silence them.
Lucas raised his revolver once more and with a quick crack in the air, he placed a hole into the left man's face. He slid off his horse as it steered clear from the trail. He slammed his hammer back and moved his sights to the second man.
The man raised his gun to fire but Lucas was quicker, and shit him in the side. The man's side buckled as he rolled off his horse and was dragged on the ground with his foot still in the stirrup.
Lucas slowly lowered his gun, he holstered it back and almost immediately, his energy was gone. As quickly as the voice was there, his strength was. His eyes slowly drifted away as they rode along the beaten path.
They rode for miles before reaching the portside town. They pulled their horse up to the doctors cabin, Maguire helped hoist Lucas off the horse as he pulled him in. The doctor's eyes quickly darted up from his paper
"Woah woah woah, bring him in here" The doctor exclaimed as he stood up from his chair and opened the door to the backroom. Maguire carried Lucas into the room and helped him stumble onto the medical bed. Lucas lays down flat onto the bed and slowly slips away from consciousness again