Bad Beginnings (A RDR2 Fanfic)

What now?

Arthur Morgan had just turned 11 years old. Arthur couldn't read or write but he kind of knew his numbers. He had managed to figure it out when he would go to the store and had to count money.

He was now allowed to walk down from the cabin the 5 miles down to the nearby town. He couldn't read the name but he damn well knew that their baked beans from the general store were by far the best. Baked beans and Copper were the main positives in Arthur's life.

It was now back to the summer time. He walked down the path with Copper down to town to get more food. He wasn't sure how they were still getting money, since his dad didn't work, but between his father's mysterious source of income and the odd jobs an 11 year old could do, they got by.

Arthur could tell he was getting close to the town as the density of wagons going down the path grew. He finally made it to the worn sign with the mysterious symbols sprawled across it.

He went into the general store, leaving Copper outside to bark at a house cat. He hoped Copper wouldn't kill it because the dog's breath always stunk whenever he got into a dead thing.

The store owner was a tall, dark man with a shiny head and a thick mustache. He had deep set, yet welcoming, eyes that Arthur thought were very light for a man of his coloring. Like a light brown, or 'amber', Arthur would later learn.

"How's it going, boy?" the man said to him in his deep, booming voice.

"I'm doing okay, sir," Arthur replied, respectfully, grabbing some cans of food from the shelves. He also grabbed a wedge of cheese for him to snack on for breakfast this morning.

"Is your father doing okay, boy?" the man asked. He knew who Arthur's dad was, but not the whole extent of what was going on at home. Arthur never let the bruises on his body show and Lyle never went for the face, because he wanted to keep it a secret, too.

"It's going okay, sir," Arthur replied. "I weren't sure I was gonna go down here today, with it being so hot and all."

"Yes, it is a hot day today. Unusually so."

He remembers he only has $10 in his pocket, so he grabs his 10 cans of assorted vegetables and his cheese wedge up to the counter.

The price rings up to $10.50 on the register. Of course, Arthur was oblivious to this and slid the bill across the counter to the store owner.

The man raised his bushy eyebrows. "I'm sorry son, but just this won't cover it."

Arthur gulped nervously. He needed this, or he was going to be met with hell when he got home.

The man seemed to see the anxiety in the kid's eyes. He sighed. "You know what..."

Arthur looked up from his boots nervously. He didn't know what the hell to say.

"it's covered. Take your stuff and go."

Arthur's face broke into a massive grin. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it, sir," he said, rushed, as he gathered his stuff into his bag.

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it, boy. Now get!"

Arthur rushed out of the store, stuffing the cheese into his mouth. He found Copper, such a loyal dog, just outside the door of the store.

"That's my good boy," Arthur murmured, scratching the dog behind its brown, floppy ears.

He wasn't ready to get home, so he sat on the stairs of the store and observed the world around him.

It was, indeed, sweltering hot outside. The hottest such a village has been a years. Tension was so high, even a blind man and an oblivious boy like Arthur could tell.

Dogs sat on wooden porches among wilted plants, panting from the heat. Men just sat, sweat dripping from their brows. A man hammering a fence together just laid down in the grass. Women with worn dresses and dirty white aprons fanned themselves, their laundry momentarily abandoned.

With such tension, it was no wonder Arthur heard shouting down the road, and deputies riding down the dirt path to the commotion. Arthur had always wanted to learn how to ride a horse, but Lyle never let him.

He got scared, however, when he heard gunshots, and a familiar voice yelling and getting closer. His father.

He quickly ran to the alley behind him, dragging Copper with him and hiding behind a barrel. Arthur kept quiet while Copper panted into his ear.

He stared as his father ran away on horseback, his once proud brown steed getting worn out from the chase. Before it knew what hit it, it got shot out from under him, sending Lyle sprawling to the ground.

Arthur's eyes widened as his father's tan hands got tied behind his back, his feet tied together, and hauled onto the sheriff's horse.

"You can't do this you bastards!" Lyle yelled. Everyone along the way stopped and stared at the commotion. "Let me go, right now!"

Arthur stood and exited the alley, staring as his father was dragged off. Their eyes met, and the look he was given was furious.

"You better come and get me boy," his father said angrily to him.

Arthur turned and ran, his shaggy brown hair blowing from his face, Copper following, as they ran all the way home.

What are they going to do now? With his father gone, there was no way that they were going to make enough money to survive.