Fire and Water: a Red Dead story

7

Sheep herding, turned out, was a lot harder than Arthur had previously thought. He sat behind the herd frowning at the sway of sheep move and yelled again to keep them moving in a straight line. His voice cracked and he turned to get his canteen, needing water to soothe his dry throat. Hosea had given him the easiest part of the job, stay towards the back and herd any stragglers back into the group. Hosea was doing the heavy lifting. 

He sat back in the saddle and winced at the sore muscles in his legs. The slow up and down of the horse was taking its toll on him and he knew he would be limping later that night. Hosea looped back towards him. 

"We'll go a little farther, and we'll stop for the night. I think we're only a few miles out from Brolm, but I don't want to chance them to any sort of nightly terrors." He started racing back around the herd at the last part of the sentence, to keep the herd from turning right. 

"About damn time." Arthur muttered.

They drove them into a rocky enclosing, and Hosea instructed Arthur to watch the herd while he got dinner. Arthur sighed and sat down, legs aching from the past two days of just riding, and watched the sheep graze. He sat there for a while relishing in the feeling of not feeling the sway of the saddle under him until he noticed a man slinking down towards the sheep. Groaning he got up, and crept towards him. 

The man was dressed poorly, tattered clothing, and a well-worn hat jammed on his head. He brandished a long knife and was stealthily walking towards the sheep. Arthur flung himself towards the man, wrestling him to the ground. The man let out a shriek, and kicked, catching Arthur in the ribs. 

"Whatcha doin' near our damn sheep?" Arthur hissed as he held the squirming man down on the pebbly ground. "Tryin' to nab one?" 

The man hissed and swiped up, slashing his arm with the knife. Arthur hissed in pain as it tugged through his bicep and a sharp pulsing pain began to radiate in his arm. The man took advantage of his distraction and stood up. Arthur, recovering flung a punch at the man, connecting on his jaw. The man lashed out with his knife and Arthur barely dodged the blade. He rushed him again, and wrestled him to the ground, grinding his teeth against the man's furious attacks. Finally, he found the knife and threw it away, distantly noting the clang on the rocks as he began to beat the man under him. 

"What were you doing?" His voice was dangerous, and he shook the man. He laughed, despite blood gushing from his broken face. 

"Want'd some fresh meat, mister." His voice slurred, and his eyes unfocused. Arthur pulled him upright and let him stand up, watching him sway unsteadily. 

"Get the hell out of here, you piece of horseshit, and don' come back or I'll put a bullet in your miserable face." He kicked him, and the man scrambled away, having at least the sense to realize when he had been given a chance to live. 

Arthur watched him leave, before his attention was drawn to the pulsing sensation in his arm. The slash was still bleeding steadily. "Fucking damn it." Hosea was going to love this. 

Hosea was sitting on his bedroll, can of beans in hand, waiting for Arthur to show. Usually, the boy showed up as soon as he smelled food, a remarkable talent of his, but tonight he stayed hidden. Finally, he spotted him, looking rougher than he had only half an hour earlier. Frowning he stood as he walked closer. 

"What happened?" Hosea set the can down, worry starting to build. 

"Aw it's nothing, jus' found someone tryin' to nab a sheep. Scared them off." He motioned to his arm. "Got clawed though." 

Hosea sighed and pushed his sleeve up. It was a deep cut, and blood was still oozing through. "You have some bad luck, son." 

"Yeah, always have." Arthur was studying the stars, trying to ignore the pain that had suddenly doubled in his arm.