chapter 4 : Witch

The next day, Harper returned to the gang with a covered wagon pulled by two big horses , it was the wagon with which Colm took the equipment with his men but they had abandoned it.

The others immediately came out to see him with curiosity for some but mostly disbelief for those who knew where he had gone and why.

 Dutch: Harper! You're safe, son. That means-(interrupted)

 Harper: They fled. I took their explosives, the plans, the weapons they left behind and one of them is tied up in there. You can query him for more detailed information about their future activities.

 Dutch : MAGNIFICENT! WONDERFUL !!

 "I'll let you unload..." He said getting off the wagon under the impressed eyes of the others, the girls didn't really know what he had gone to do so Lenny explained to them then impressed, they started giggling while talking about him.

 "Those you killed, their deaths were horrible? » Sadie asked him in a neutral tone and he nodded before continuing towards his cabin. He wasn't sleepy but he wanted to close his eyes and sleep.

 *knock knock knock*

 In the afternoon, someone knocked on his door and according to his sense of smell, it was a woman. Harper opened the door to find Mary-Beth whose cheeks were completely red, Harper was a very handsome young man and from what she heard about him, he is very resourceful and courageous.

 Harper: Miss Gaskill...

 Mary-Beth: You can call me by my first name.

 Harper: That's very kind of you. Can I help you ?

 Mary-Beth: The stew is ready, we were hoping you would join us.

 "Very well, I'll follow you…" They arrived near the others and they greeted him with smiles.

 Dutch: Aaaaaaah the young hero of our little gang is here. How are you Mr. Franklin?

 Harper: I needed to get some sleep and it worked wonders. Has our guest spoken?

 Arthur: He sang like a nightingale. Only, he says he no longer knows what happened there.

 Harper: It's completely normal since I knocked him out very early (He compelled him) . So, this robbery plan ?

 Dutch: The train of a certain Leviticus Cornwall is due to pass in three weeks and it's this train that they were planning to attack.

 Hosea: I know that name, Dutch. Leviticus is a railroad, oil and cattle tycoon, he is not someone to play with because he is very dangerous.

 Harper: There were a lot of these guys, too many for a simple robbery .

 Arthur: What does that imply?

 Harper: They had preparation plans and information, their leader brought all these men together for a logical reason. There will be many men to face.

 Javier: That makes sense.

 Micah: Dutch, what do we do?

 Dutch: First, we eat. We have several weeks to think about it.

 Harper ate with the others and was asked questions about himself to get to know him better and he made up a ready-made story to answer them.

He looked towards little Jack who was staring at him and smiled at him before getting up and heading towards his cabin to return with a very well carved wooden horse.

 "Here, this is for you big guy…" Harper handed the sculpture to Jack whose eyes were very excited looking at the sculpture, he looked at his mother Abigail and she allowed him to take the toy he s is eager to seize.

 Jack: Thank you very much...

 Abigail: Thank you Mr. Franklin.

 Harper: Don't mention it...

 Karen: This place is really the height of boredom, there is absolutely nothing to do here.

 Tilly: Mr. Franklin, what are you doing here to take your mind off things?

 Harper: I hunt, i skin, I'm exploring And sometimes I just observe nature, it's more alive than you think. I learn to play new songs on my guitar, I sculpt and if all that isn't enough for me then I sleep.

 Javier: My friend, you live a very sad life.

 Pearson: Have you ever thought about having company? A woman would change your days.

 Harper: I don't know, I never considered that. I doubt I will be able to please in the long term...

 Susan: Nonsense! Mr Franklin, you are a very handsome young man with many qualities. (points to the girls) I'm sure that one of these three has already melted her heart for you.

 The girls giggled at this and it made Harper smile who made eye contact with Tilly who turned her face away smiling shyly.

 Harper: What's the plan after all this train business? I joined your group but I still don't know anything about your long-term plans.

 Dutch: We'll go east, to quieter lands to make us forget and later when we have enough money, we'll go west and buy land where we can rebuild peaceful lives.

 Hosea: If we have to leave these mountains for the East, I know a quiet place to settle. There will be good game, a clean and close stream and above all very green spaces, a little paradise.

 Charles: Hoping that it lasts and that things don't go astray as usual.

 Dutch: I'm here and everything will be fine, keep the faith and let's do whatever it takes to line our pockets.

 "Can you teach me…?" Sadie spoke as she moved closer to Harper.

 Harper: I beg your pardon miss Adler ?

 Sadie: What you do, your dexterity with firearms and how to fight alone against several men like you did with those bandit dogs. Can you teach me?

 Harper : You want revenge on the O'Driscolls, right?

 Sadie : It's none of your business...

 Harper : Then go see someone else.

 She took a deep, angry breath before walking away.

 Susan: Don't hold a grudge against her Mr. Franklin, she lost a lot in one go.

 Harper : A deep sadness combined with hatred eats away at his heart, these are Toxic emotions which poison those around individuals.

 Hosea: These are very beautiful words, son…

 (1 week later)

 A little further from the camp, Harper was returning to camp with his game when he saw Tilly in the distance below, her back to him and sitting on a stone.

Leaving his loot, he moved closer towards the girl.

 Tilly had both eyes closed and a book also closed with her right hand open while snowflakes gathered there, it was magic and it greatly surprised Harper.

 "You are a witch…!!!" Harper said next to Tilly who immediately flinched as she sat up.

 Tilly: Harper?! I...I didn't even feel you coming. What you saw...that...that's not what you-(interrupted)

 Harper : You don't need to put yourself in that state, I'm gifted with magic too.

 Tilly : Huh ?!

 "I didn't know both of my parents but apparently one of them was a witch, I have abilities that I can't control..." He crouched down and took some snow in his hand and the little pieces of ice started to float in the void.

 Tilly:…

 Harper : I can only do this kind of thing or light a few candles with a little concentration.

 Tilly looked at him and started laughing, laughing at herself but especially at this totally unexpected situation. It was the first time she met a wizard, her mother had taught her that even for witches who were already rare, wizards were even rarer.

 Tilly: I'm sorry for reacting like that, it's...it's just that this situation was terribly improbable and...you're not afraid of me?

 Harper: For what reason? I'm like you although I don't know anything about magic. I am sincerely happy to meet you Tilly Jackson, this discovery makes me feel less alone.

 "Me too...it makes me so happy that you're not afraid of me and that you're like me...I was afraid you'd think I was monstrous..." Tilly said with a mixture of relief and sadness.

 Harper: Far from it, you have no idea what I think of you right now miss Jackson. I'll keep your secret...our secret.

 Tilly: Thank you so much, Harper. Maybe I could teach you what I know about magic...that will allow us to do something together.

 Harper: I would really like that miss Jackson. Should I call you my pretty teacher from now on?

 Tilly started laughing at his antics and they went back to the others who saw them coming with the two chatting with smiles on their lips.

Harper lied to Tilly a little but it was necessary because he wanted to learn magic and the last witch he met knew he was a vampire before he showed his magical abilities, that's what had shocked this witch who immediately considered him a great threat.

 Tilly didn't know he was a vampire so he immediately introduced himself as a young wizard and it was much better than that. He would now be able to learn magic from the girl.

Over the next two weeks the gang saw Harper and Tilly growing closer and closer, isolating themselves to chat while Harper learned magic with Tilly and one thing was more than obvious to her, Harper was learning very quickly and his potential was quite impressive especially with the almost infinite source of magic that he could siphon into himself.

 Harper had seriously taken a liking to magic and understood better why Zakaria liked to mingle with humans, there was always something to learn and it made him feel truly alive.

He loved magic and he loved learning it from Tilly even if the young woman's knowledge was limited, strong feelings were beginning to arise between them but if Tilly had to teach him magic, he had to teach her something else as well, use a firearm correctly.

 Magic was an incredibly powerful force but Tilly wanted to live a normal life in general and those times were dangerous, Harper wanted her to learn how to defend herself and others without magic as well so he taught her proper gun handling .

Seeing this, the other girls also wanted to learn and Sadie had to be extra polite for him to learn it too.

Sadie knew how to shoot but she wanted to improve and be both fast and accurate so he taught her.

 Susan didn't really agree with all of this and complained to Dutch but Harper quickly made them understand that these women were going to die if they didn't seriously learn how to survive and defend themselves.

They condemned them to a life of danger by being outlaws in this gang so sooner or later things will turn into a nightmare and it only takes one bullet to kill each of these girls (That's not the game anymore , these are no longer shootouts where Arthur and the others face dozens of other shooters without being hit, death is not an effect of the scenario. One well-placed bullet and it's over.)