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chapter two, stick to the team
IT WAS ROUGHLY AROUND A FIFTEEN minute trot to this camp. The Thornhill siblings would soon spot it from a near distance and opted to go on foot from now on in order to be discreet. Departing from their horses, they quietly padded their way across the dirt, threading past any trees that got in their way. It felt as if they had nothing to fear nor anything left to lose at this point, that is, until they heard a voice . . .
"Who's there?" A stout middle-aged man called out once the sound of leaves crunching grew audibly, ready to shoot whatever threat was nearby.
Startled, Anna and Elijah immediately took cover behind the trees, their backs leaned up against the thick trunks. Elijah muttered curses under his breath, for he failed to consider the fact that someone would be up late to guard the camp and keep an eye out on intruders. It was a big camp, after all, with plentiful supplies that could last the Thornhill gang for weeks.
"What now?" Asked Anna with trepidation, her voice barely a whisper.
"I've got an idea; Leave it to me." Elijah mouthed, waiting for the right moment to make a move. But for now, the siblings continued to remain unseen.
"Show yourself!" The man snapped, his tone growing furious by the second as the grip on his rifle tightened.
When there was no response, he let out a grunt and proceeded to investigate the noise himself, slowly approaching the tree that Elijah happened to be hidden behind. Once he was near, Elijah rounded the trunk and stealthily snaked his arms around the man's mouth, muffling out any of his cries for help. He was knocked out minutes later and Elijah gladly seized the rifle after laying the unconscious man flat onto the ground.
"Let's take what we need and get out of here." He whispered to Anna, who nodded and ambled on into the camp.
From what she observed, nobody else in the camp seemed to be awake. Anna withdrew a breath of relief, knowing that this would definitely decrease the likelihood of her getting caught tonight. And so, in an inconspicuous manner, she began to search the camp, quietly rummaging through boxes and searching the back of every rusty wagon until her bag was practically stuffed with bottled medicine and tonics.
A box laden with bandages would then catch Anna's eye and she didn't hesitate to grab a handful of them; James was going to need it. Another wagon was standing metres away from Anna and for a moment, she considered investigating it. But then her attention was quick to linger at the bed that laid before it, as well as the man who happened to be sleeping in it.
