Pieces pt 1
Read Dead AU - Jack Reeds
~2 Years After events of Prospect~
A ever so small part of Jack had hoped that they would be there. His mom and dad. He had hoped despite all of Allen's insistent claims that they were dead. So when he returned home and saw it as empty as it was when they left, Jack was devastated.
He jumps off his horse and heads to the front door. He opens the door and it opens with a creak. "Ma?" he calls out. "Dad?" There was no answer.
Jack steps inside and looks around the main room. It looked very much the same with the exception of 2 years worth of dust and spider webs. His mother did not tolerate spiders, his dad did not tolerate dust. They both would have kept the place clean.
He walks down to the bedroom and opens the door. His parent's bed was made but both his and Allen's were a mess. They never did make their beds. Guilt hits him and he walks to his and straightens it out.
Jack should have done this 2 years ago. He should have done this when his mother said to. "It's all my fault," he mutters to himself.
A noise startles him out of his thoughts and he goes quiet. It was outside. It sounded like a horse. His heart skips a beat when he hears the whinying. He races out the bedroom door to look out a window.
It was a man on a horse.
It was dad.
"Dad!" Jack cries out when he races out the front door. He slows to a stop when he realizes his mistake. Jack recognized the man, but it was not his father.
"Your brother's been looking for you, Jack," Arthur says. Jack could feel himself start to breath quickly as despair fills his chest. Jack didn't want him. Jack wanted his dad. He wanted his mother. Not this stranger, this outlaw.
"Why you!" Jack yells at him.
"Jack, I need to get back to camp."
"No!" Jack backs back towards the house. "You can't tell me what to do!" He slams the front door shut and runs to the bedroom and slams that one, too. Arthur wasn't his dad. He couldn't tell him what to do.
There's a loud crash that sounded like it came from the front door. Jack backs away from the bedroom door. "Jack! Get out here!" Jack runs and hides under his parents bed. He hears Arthur stomp around the main room before heading towards the bedroom.
Jack closes his eyes and covers his ears. "Dad," he whispers to himself. "Dad, please save me." He repeats it to himself several more times before he starts to sob.
"Please be alive. Please be okay."
It was the cold that had woken Jack up. He was unsure how long he had been asleep but it was dark in the room. He slowly crawls out from underneath it. He walks over to Allen's bed and pulls the blanket off and wraps himself in it. He opens the door and peers out. There was a dim light coming from the main room.
Following the light, Jack finds Arthur sleeping in his father's chair. The light was coming from a dying fire. Rubbing his eyes, Jack wonders into the kitchen to look for some food. There wasn't much. It was pretty well emptied in the time that no one was here to watch the place. Jack pulls the blanket around him. He turns around and spots Arthur's bag.
Without hesitation, Jack walks over to it and starts digging through his bag. Jack finds a can of beans and some jerky. Unable to open the can, he grabs the dried meat and bites into the biggest piece.
Jack wakes up again leaning against his father's chair. He rubs his eyes and looks around. Arthur was gone but noises outside made Jack assume that was where he was currently.
He takes the blanket back into the bedroom and makes up Allen's bed. Once Jack had finished it, he wonders to himself what the point of it was. Arthur wasn't going to let him stay. Allen wasn't going to want to return. No one cared about his home anymore. No one but himself.
"Kid." Jack turns around and sees Arthur standing in the doorway. "Follow me." And he walks away. Jack hesitates, but eventually does as he's told. Stepping outside, Jack immediately notices a small cart and a 3rd horse.
"Who's that?" Jack asks.
"It's mine."
Arthur leads him to a wood pile, but Jack keeps looking at the horse. "It looks like Edgar." Arthur puts several chunks of wood in his arms. "Mr. Ramsey's horse." Arthur doesn't respond to the comment.
"Put that in the wagon," Arthur says after filling his arms and starts to pick up wood himself. Getting closer to the wagon, Jack can see that the horse is Edgar. Jack had been told that Edgar and Bardain, Allen's horse, are brothers. Mr. Ramsey loves Edgar.
Jack drops the wood into the wagon and climbs up into the seat. Before he could grab the reins, Arthur runs up and yanks them out of his reach. "What do you think you're doing?" Jack hesitates, finding it difficult to find words.
"I want to bring Edgar home," he answers and trying not to let his voice crack. "You stole him."
"And how do you plan to do that when I have the reins here in my hands?" Arthur asks. Jack didn't have an answer. He did have an advantage over Jack. He was bigger than Jack which meant he was stronger than him.
"Well-" An idea comes to his mind. Jack stands up. Arthur smirks and, in response, stands up on the wagon to meet Jack's eye line. "I'll report you to the Sheriff."
Jack closes his eyes before he can see Arthur react and brings his head forward. His forehead connects with Arthur's nose. Jack stumbles backward and his foot slips, causing him to tumble from the wagon.
Jack rolls on the ground in pain for a few seconds before he gets on all fours. Hearing Arthur curse causes ice to run in his veins. He scrambles to his feet and starts to run.
Exploration of the area when he was younger made him automatically know where the far roads were. He needed to find someone, anyone, to help him get to town. Help him get to the sheriff. To help him get away from those men.
Jack reaches the road and he stops. He tries to catch his breath but a sharp pain grows in his side. "Help!" Jack yells out as loud as he could, his voice wheezy. He looks down both ways and sees no one. He holds his side. "Help me!"
A noise makes Jack look back the way he came. He had over estimated his lead he had on Arthur. He had already caught up with him. Jack takes off down the road, but the pain in his side is too much. He moves so much slower then before. "Help! Please!"
"You little shit!" Arthur says as he grabs the collar of his shirt. Arthur pulls back and it causes Jack to fall backward. "You are a lot more trouble then your worth, kid." He lets out a whistle, and pulls out his rope.
"Let me go!" Jack pleads as Arthur starts to wrap his hands up with the rope. "Please! I don't want to be here anymore!" Arthur's horse races up next to them and Jack is picked up. He's placed on the horse, his hands then tied to the saddle horn. Arthur starts to lead the horse back to the house and a pain grows in his chest and throat. "Let me go!"
Jack wanted to go home. He wanted his mom and dad. He wanted to go back to where the biggest threat of his day was whether or not he made his bed. He didn't want to be with these men anymore.
Jack tests the knot around his wrists. It was good and tight. He was stuck. He couldn't wipe the tears coming down his cheeks. "I don't want to be here anymore!"
