Outlaws for Life (Red Dead Redemption 2)

Chapter ThirtySix: Fix Things

"Wait a second, I have to stop here" says Arthur pulling the reins of his horse.

"Would you mind telling me why we are here?" I ask doing the same.

After he returned with the vaccines, Arthur and I left the reservation and decided to camp halfway between Ambarino and New Hannover. This morning we dismantled the camp in a hurry after he told me he had to stop in Annesburg before returning to Beaver Hollow. The problem is: he didn't tell me why he needs to stop in Annesburg. It seems he's playing at the mystery man now.

"You just wait here" he snaps dismounting.

I roll my eyes and then suspiciously follow him as he walks inside a little side alley. What is he hiding? Why can't he just tell me? Is it something he is doing behind Dutch's back?

I lean forward on the saddle to watch him. He isn't alone, next to him there is a boy I've never seen before. The young man speaks gesturing a lot, from his furrowed brow he seems to be angry, and at a certain point he even points his index to Arthur's chest in an accusatory way.

Curious as a monkey to know what's going on, I get down Isabella and reach them. The strange thing is that Arthur isn't reacting at the boy's behavior. I have seen him being accused or threatened a lot of times, and all those times, or most of them at least, he always answered with violence and aggressiveness. This time he is particularly meek.

"I told you to wait by the horses" he says as I reach them.

"What's going on?" I ask ignoring him.

"My mother, she... she keeps working. She ain't be back for a few hours. She left with some feller down the railway tracks. I did not like the look of him" answers the boy.

His mother? Who are these people?

"Which way you say?" inquires Arthur.

"That way, around the woods, towards Willard's rest." "I'll see what I can do. You, stay here" Arthur adds to me.

I scoff and look at him go away. I don't have the strength to argue. Looking at the boy, studying his face and his appearance, I keep trying to understand if I've seen him somewhere.

"Who are you? What happened with your mother?"

"Archibald Downes" he quickly says. "My mother..."

"What did you say?"

I open my eyes wide and I feel my guts twist so suddenly that the little coffee I took this morning threats to come up again.

"My name is Archibald Downes. My mother is working as... she..."

"You're Mr. Downes' son. Thomas Downes?"

There is no need to ask the question, but I need to say it out loud to process the information. I can't believe it. I can't believe Arthur is helping Downes's son and widow. "You knew my father?"

"We better sit down" I say putting a hand on his shoulder and leading him to a staircase.

Sitting one next to the other on the steps, I tell him how I met his father in Valentine some months ago, how I knew about his debts and how I tried to help them paying the debt he had with Strauss in their place. In turn he tells me what happened to them in these weeks, how his mother has to 'work' to gain some money and how Arthur has been helping them, or at least how he's been trying, because they promised not to accept anything from him.

Of course, he is part responsible for what happened to them. If the killers of my family came to me with some money to repay the wrong they have done, I probably would kill them without thinking twice.