Chapter 3 : The blood Beast

Two days passed, two days during which Harper remained in his corner and was discreet, with his supernatural hearing he could listen to the distant conversations of his guests but they never established prolonged contact with them.

Even though he had been introduced to gang members, he preferred to stay away and avoid certain incidents. 

 He was sitting outside at night in the dark with his guitar while playing when some people approached him and it was Javier as well as Lenny and Charles.

He didn't stop but only looked at them and smiled.

 Javier: I have seen many excellent guitar players and I am quite talented myself but your skill my friend is extraordinary.

 Harper: Thank you very much…

 "Javier Escuella…" Javier introduced himself again and the others did the same.

 Lenny: So, you're also an outlaw in exile like us?!

 Harper: We can say that. 

 Charles: What did you do to be on the run?

 Harper: (Smiles) Let me guess, Dutch sent you to investigate me?

 Javier: I see you unmasked us amigo.

 Harper: I understand, there's no harm. Let's just say that I tended to lose control on certain occasions and there were always dead people around me.

 Lenny: (laughs) You would be in your place in this gang, there is never a plan that works as it should and in the end the bullets fly and there are dead people.

 Charles: Look, you gave us all this food over there and something to warm us up but you stay here all alone in your corner and the others want to meet you.

 Harper: I'm not sure they'll be comfortable with someone like me.

 Lenny: I understand what you mean but they are different there...at least almost all of them. Look at me and Charles, we're treated pretty well by Dutch and Tilly too, they don't really differentiate between us and we're all in the same boat.

 Harper: No, you don't understand, I-(interrupted)

 " You are there ! Mr Escuella, Mr Smith and Mr Summers, the stew is ready to be served. As for you, Mr. Franklin, you will join us in the warmth." A woman spoke behind them and they turned to see Ms Grimshaw.

 Harper: It's not necessary, the cold doesn't bother me and-(interrupted)

 "Come on Mr. Franklin, don't say anything stupid! A handsome and generous young gentkeman like you shouldn't stay so far away from others out of shyness. We are at your house..." She immediately took him by the arm so that he got up and he did not resist for fear that the woman would break her wrist, he was taken near the others despite himself and a smile was drawn on the girls' lips when they saw him. They greeted him warmly and Harper sat down with his guitar.

 Dutch: Good evening Mr. Franklin, have you finally decided to join us?

 Harper: Actually I-(interrupted)

 Susan: He's a little shy but I think he'll enjoy being in our little group.

 Harper: In the group?!!

 Dutch: My friends and I have noticed your skill and your speed with a gun, you are really very good. Where did you learn to shoot like that?

Harper : A friend taught me, people who are different like me must learn to defend themselves early on.

 Dutch: Lenny, Tilly, Charles and you are not really different from us you know? We are not so stupid as to be reduced to colors in our little gang.

 Hosea: You shouldn't stay in a corner and isolated so far from the world, kid. Our group would need someone of your talent to protect these women and the little one, you found his father and thanks to you he's not orphaned. Staying alone like this is killing you silently... 

 "…and we only feel alive because there is life around us, friends and loved ones like flames that warm us. » Harper continued thoughtfully.

 Hosea: You know the writings of David Greese (totally made up)!! You are a cultured young man.

 Harper: A friend gave me a taste for reading. He taught me a lot of things that I won't soon forget because he was one of the rare people who showed me kindness. (sighs) Maybe , I'll join your group for now.

 Dutch: FANTASTIC!! This evening we celebrate the arrival of a new member in our family.

 Mary-Beth: What if you played something for us?

 Karen: Something happy...

 Harper began to play his guitar and the shock was not small for the others as his dexterity was diabolical while a peaceful smile was on his lips.

 Later, while the others were happily chatting among themselves, Dutch and Arthur approached him with one of Harper's bottles of liquor and Arthur passed the bottle to him.

 Arthur: Buddy, I've never seen anyone shoot like you and I'm the best shooter in this bunch. It's going to be very useful to us and it's nice to have someone competent in the field, these guys shoot well but a bullet is a bullet and we can all die unless we shoot first like you.

 Harper: Do you have enemies?

 Dutch : The O'Driscoll boys…do you know them?

 Harper: (laughs) Colm and his men are terrors, they pillage, rape and kill but their greatest advantage is their shockingly large numbers. The Van der Linde gang will have problems facing them. They occupied another mining camp quite far away.

 Dutch: Did you know about our gang before ...?

 Harper: From the beginning. I sell fur and dried meat so even if I isolate myself I have to go to town to sell. I saw the posters and heard the rumors.

 Arthur:…

 Harper: Don't worry, I'm part of the gang now, right?

 Dutch: The O'Driscoll camp you mentioned, they're planning on robbing a train soon and I'm planning on stealing that opportunity from them. They must certainly have the necessary equipment as well as the plan.

 Harper: You want to attack them? It's crazy, there are nearly 30 men in this camp and we are not very far from being up to the task in terms of number.

 Arthur: Dutch, he's right. This is truly madness...

 Harper: If the group is on the run then wouldn't it be better to be forgotten rather than risk the lives of the gang members to rob a train?!

 "I told him the exact same thing, it's suicide…" Hosea moved closer with the other men.

 Micah: I support Dutch and anyway he is the leader, if he says we have to attack them then we will.

 Dutch: Thank you Mr Bell, you are the only one who has confidence in me lately.

 Hosea : Goddamn, Dutch you know very well that it's not about that. We lost members of our group recently, it's not a question of trust but of life at stake to rob a train when we're supposed to be forgotten for a while.

 Harper: Maybe I have a suggestion...

 Hosea: We're listening to you…

 Harper: Let's attack tonight.

 Others : !!!

 Harper: They have the advantage of numbers but don't know you are here, attacking at night and by surprise would be a significant advantage.

 Hosea: Kid, it's still too dangerous for us.

 Harper: You won't have to show yourself, I'll do everything myself. If it's to steal the plans and this heist then making them flee would be more effective than confronting them to kill them.

 Dutch: All alone ? Scare them ? How ?!

 Arthur: This is crazy.

 Harper: I have lived in these mountains for two years and there is a legend that sometimes terrorizes people, a beast is said to prowl the mountains at night and drain animals of their blood. It's a legend but animal carcasses have already been found drained of blood or decapitated…

 "The blood beast…" Sadie sitting in the corner said without emotion.

 Dutch: Do you believe in this legend Ms. Adler ?

 Sadie: Jake...my husband believed it...animals had already been found without a drop of blood and dismembered.

 Charles: What do you want to do? Dismember poor animals to scare them?

 Harper: I'm not going to attack the animals but their people. I know these mountains and alone, I would have more mobility. It's that or risk more lives than necessary.

 Lenny: What if it doesn't work and you get killed ?

 Harper: Then you won't have had any big losses and I'm new so I have to prove myself.

 Javier: It's really crazy! Are you sure you want to do this? It's an almost suicidal mission.

 Harper: I knew someone who liked this kind of dangerous mission, wait for me to come back with what I need and protect the women and the kid.

 Hosea: Dutch ? 

 Dutch: His idea is better, I got a glimpse of his talents and I have confidence.

 "You really are the craziest guy I've ever met. Good luck…" Arthur said patting him on the shoulder.

 Lenny: If it gets hot you run away, don't take big risks too.

 He went to his horse and Sadie moved in his direction.

 Sadie: If you kill them then do it as cruelly as possible, these monsters killed my husband and destroyed my life...

 "I understand…" He replied before leaving under the complicated looks of the others.

 Karen: Where did the new guy go?

 "Making sure we all stay involved in Dutch's damn plans" Javier replied as he continued on his way.

 Later, Harper came above the mountain wall and looked down at the O'Driscoll' camp. It was 2 a.m. and 5 sentries were keeping watch with their lamps while the others slept.

He looked at the place as the wind blew and he dropped into the void more than 70 meters high to land on his legs in the snow as if gravity no longer had any effect on him and black veins appeared below his eyes, Harper was hungry.

 The first sentry was smoking when, in the distance in the snow, he saw a human figure moving towards his direction. Intrigued, he directly held out his lamp as he moved forward to illuminate and see better.

 " WHO'S THERE ?" He asked but to his surprise, the figure had disappeared.

 Sentinel #2: What's going on ?

 Sentinel #1: Nothing, I thought I saw someone or something.

 Sentinel #3: Maybe it was the blood beast...

 Sentinel #2: Are you going to do that again ? How old are you to still believe such stories?! 

 "Hahahaha what an idiot! The blood bea-(interrupted)" The first sentry hadn't even finished his sentence when an extremely fast shadow carried him away with him.

Harper then bit his neck violently to drain it of blood while closing his victim's mouth to muffle his scream before ripping off the corpse's head with an emotionless face.

 A few minutes later, sentry #4 arrived where the first sentry was and found only the lamp in the snow.

 Sentinel #4: Hey Dave! DAVE! Where has this idiot gone?! (To the others) Guys, Dave is missing...

 (Silence)

 " Guys… ?" He called but no one answered, he moved to see where his friends were only to find four completely pale corpses with their heads next to the bodies.

 " FOR GOD SAKE !!!" He shouted cursing before alerting everyone, the horses were agitated and panicking as if a dangerous predator was roaming around.

22 men came out of the cabins and large tents, including Colm himself, and they checked the bodies.

 Colm: Who did this ?

 Sentinel: I-I don't know...we...we were talking and I went to see where Dave was but he was missing...when I came back to the others I found them like-(interrupted)

 "YAAAAAAAAAAHRGH" They heard a scream and turned around while this time the hair was at the peak of their panic and some broke away to start running away.

 Colm: Bring me back those horses and go see where that cry came from. Someone is attacking us and this person will pay dearly.

 Sentinel: Boss it's not someone but something, there are rumors that a monster is lurking in his mountains and-(interrupted)

 "Boss, it's Ray. He died too…" those who went to check found another corpse.

 " How it's possible ? He was right behind me…"

 "It's the blood beast I tell you, we can't stay here…"

 Colm: Shut up! The next one who tells me about this-(interrupted)

 In front of them, an extremely fast shadow took one of theirs, they tried to shoot but the shadow was much too fast and had already disappeared.

The men didn't need Colm's command to run to their horses with him and then saddle up and ride off with terror-filled eyes and their breathing completely ragged.

 In the distance, Harper bit the neck of his last victim as he watched the others flee and released the body, fortunately, to maintain control, he had drunk a sentence of vervain. He was originally a person of good morals but he became one with the monster in him and he no longer has any restraint when it comes to killing even if he now chooses his victims unlike his former murderous sprees.

 He got closer to the cabins but when he thought he was alone, he heard moans of fear in one of the cabins. He came in and the moaning became more uncontrollable under one of the old, dilapidated beds.

Nonchalantly, Harper lifted the bed to see a man in his forties and huddled under the bed, it was Kieran and Harper watched as panic overcame him as an apologetic smile played on his bloody mouth.