Javier's Chico

12.

The day started off nice and peaceful, and up until that day, camp had been quiet. Mateo and Javier settled in nicely, and most importantly, Mateo hadn't seen a single gun in weeks. But that day, all Javier was trying to do was feed Mateo his soup, when all the chaos started. "Everyone up! Now!" Dutch sounded frantic, tearing open the flap to Javier's tent. "You need to get the kid outta here, we got trouble."

"What's goin' on? What trouble?" There was shouting all outside the tent, the sound of chaos and panic. Almost immediately, Mateo started whimpering, pushing away the bowl of food to crawl into Javier's arms and cried. Dutch didn't respond, watching outside of the tent rather. "Tell me, what is happening?!"

"Trust me, Javier. You two need to get outta here, go help Miss Grimshaw."

~~~

Javier had no idea of what rivals faced the Van Der Linde gang. He thought it was just a gang of fellers looking after one another, but this felt like all out war. He remembered similar events in his village; fighting and shooting between the revolutionaries and the army. He was terrified, not for himself but for his sweet boy who was even more scared of the gunshots and the shouting.

Javier helped Grimshaw pack up camp in a panic, while he had Mateo strapped to his back with a cloth. The boy was crying and screaming down Javier's ear but he did his best to ignore it. Whatever was happening, Dutch was frantic and demanded they move quickly, now.

"Mateo, tranquilo..." He tried to soothe the boy, passing up one of his wooden toys that John made for him, but he wouldn't stop. What's worse, John, Arthur, Dutch and Hosea had left camp to defend those who were trying to move. He had no one to help him out and Mateo sure as Hell wouldn't go near Miss Grimshaw.

"Javier, need you to take down the tents." Grimshaw ordered, and he went straight to it. It wasn't easy when you had a three year old screaming and ripping at your hair, but he started by taking down Arthur's tent and loading it into the wagon, followed by John's tent, his own, and then everyone else's.

"What's happening? Who's Annabelle?" Javier was desperate for answers.

"Annabelle is a close friend of Dutch's. But he's been caught in this feud with a wretched man and his brother. I can only guess someone's been killed, they're out for Dutch's skin. We'll get you and the boy out of here."

Just then, shots were fired. Rapid, quick, one after the other and Mateo screamed louder. "¡Papá estoy asustado!" He screamed, pulling at Javier's hair harder now. "¡Por favor!, ¿dónde está John?!"

"John está bien, por favor cálmate.." The shots grew more and more frantic and Javier felt his heart pound in his chest. He didn't want to lose John the way he lost Antonio, and he sure as hell didn't want Mateo to see John's dead body.

"Papá.." The boy relaxed his grip in Javier's hair, holding on around his neck. He could feel Mateo's tears dripping onto the back of his head, and probably spit and snot too. "I'm scared.."

He made a decision quickly, the last three years of his life he swore whatever happened, Mateo would survive. He would put his son first, always. Javier untied the cloth that held his son onto his back and put him on the top of a wagon with his poncho, with a promise that everything would be okay. He grabbed the gun from his holster.

"Miss Grimshaw," He stopped in front of the woman, "Please, if I die, look after my boy.."

"Javier, no! Do not leave this camp! You need to stay safe!" She grabbed his arm, refusing to let him go.

"¡Papá!" His harsh cries made it even harder, but after everything Dutch and the gang had done for Javier, it would be wrong to let them fight this while he hid away. He was a man, and he was perfectly capable of holding a gun.