#RDR2xColdWar

[guigz1-coldwar]

'New faces' : an new chapter for "Redemption of a Bell" is out !

Chapter Summary : After waking up and been explained what happened by Dutch himself, Bell, still recovering, has no choices but to stay at Horseshoe Overlook, prompting her to make talks with the others....

To read it on AO3, click here !

Taglist : @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart

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An job to do.....an job to do....Yeap, I definitely got an job to do and I have to make contacts with the others for the first time in my life. Dutch told me that I couldn't leave like that with the Pinkertons looking for us and since, it was since an long time that I didn't actually talk with someone. Maybe after all, staying here is maybe going to be better & perfect than wandering away without nobody to talk with but now....where to start ?

That was the only thing that was preoccupying me after Dutch left the cliffside : it was like the easiest thing to say but the hardest to do in reality. To who I could talk first in this whole camp ? I have no idea....so after taking an deep breath and making sure that I will not stupidly fall on the ground like I did minutes earlier because of my wound, I decided to finally move away from the cliffside to get myself back into the camp....

This place were now getting into life but each time I was passing near someone, there were like an moment of discomfort of me to be near those peoples, trying to open my mouth to say something, to present myself to them but there were something blocking me to do so. I was almost going to make another turn around the camp until I saw Hosea, drinking an coffee at the table that was near the place where everyone saw him, getting Williamson's head inside that barrel. Without any words, I moved to get sit in front of him.

"Bell." He smiled at me, his iron cup in his right hand as I was sitting, without speaking any words.

"Hi, Hosea." I finally spoke up, sounding like an shy girl....was it something I am ? Shy ? "How you've been doing ?" I asked him, fully stressed to talk to him as my hands went together under the table, trying to look away.

"I'm fine, enjoying an good coffee while I was going to read an book very soon." He replied with great enthusiasm, his eyes looking around the camp as me, it was the table I was looking. "What about you ?" He demanded, gesturing with his head towards my torso, seeing the bandages over my white shirt.

"Well, I thought that I was hit by an horse at full-speed when I woke up but since, it's getting better." I responded, taking an look too before passing my hands towards the three places I was wounded but that little move on the one in the shoulder, maked me moan silently in pain. "Actually, not so better." I corrected myself, causing him to break an little laugh.

"Next time, don't touch them too hardly." He advised half-serious & half-joking.

"Yeah, I will try to." I raised my left shoulder, the one that wasn't hurt before making an little grin before an silence came between us...it was weird for already 20 seconds. "So....uhm...Dutch told me about what happened." I broke the silence as I couldn't resist anymore...I needed to make talk.

"I hope that you were too much frightened by the news." He suggested and honestly, I was hesistating between saying yes or saying no because I was still alive and well but also trying to recover from 3 bullets that I receive.

"I was just surprised in fact about the days I spent to sleep." I told him clearly.

"You were not opening your eyes when we healed you and we couldn't let you die like that." He said to me and it was obvious for them to do that. "And I think that Dutch must have say it to you but you got lucky that him & the others find you in the mountains." He added.

"He told me that." I muttered in an happy tone before putting my arms on the table, looking around. "Now, it's all feeling weird for me." I stated, seeing those peoples living an normal life despite hiding from the authorities. "I don't know these peoples and...it seems that...well, I think I'm shy."

"If you were shy, were you going to talk to me ?" He smirked at me before putting down his iron cup on the table, he got an point. "I know that you aren't the type of person to be around people but it's better that you find an way to integrate yourself here." He argued about that, saying the same thing like Dutch before.

"In here, I only know you, Dutch & Arthur." I exclaimed, trying to find Arthur around but he wasn't looking to be here for the moment. "But now, wandering alone isn't really an option." I contended myself about that choice....staying here is better.

"You understand everything, Bell." He commented that before his look was focusing behind me as he started to spread his arms, like if to greet someone. "Hi, Arthur." He spoke up, turning around to see Arthur in his usul clothes : blue shirt, his light brown west.

"How's things, Hosea ?" Arthur started, making an sign with his hat to Hosea.

"Very good, been talking to Bell about everything." Hosea responded, causing Arthur to look at me curiously before repeating what he did with Hosea to me.

"Nice to see you back up, Bell." Arthur offered his hand to me and I accepted it, shaking hands with him. "You got some strenght in you, lady." He scoffed, an smile on his face.

"All I've got for the moment." I said, pointing at my torso before breaking an laugh out of us.

"I think you should get along with the others, Bell." Hosea suggested as I was getting up from my chair, to let him enjoy his coffee and an book he was getting out of his jacket. "Arthur, if you can help her...." He told him and Arthur nodded.

"Come on, let's make you meet the boys." He ordered as I started to follow him away from Hosea to get on another part of the camp...at another table that was this time an circled one where there were only person near it, alone and seemingly playing with an knife, he was looking mexican. "Javier !" Arthur greeted him.

"Oh, Arthur, you already come back here." Javier expressed his joice to see Arthur back here before his eyes went right on me, full curious.

"Javier, this is Bell, you remember ?" Arthur presented me back to him before turning around to look at me. "Bell, this is Javier Escuella, been with the gang for almost 4 years now." He added as I moved to shake hands with the man, keeping his knife in his hands.

"You could also say that I'm the singer and musician of the group." Javier joked, gesturing to an direction behind him with his head and it was surely pointing at an small tent with an guitar near it.

"I would like to see that." I exclaimed with an smile, curious about it.

"Yeah but we ain't fleeing the Pinkertons because of Javier's voice." Arthur scoffed him too, an small laugh out of his mouth. "Where's the others, Javier ?" He demanded.

"Well, Bill is back to sleep after he tried to shot her down while been totally drunk before Hosea make him drink water, Lenny is in Valentine to buy something and Micah...for him, I don't know." Javier replied, raising his shoulders about the last one. "I was thinking that we have now 2 Bell in here." He stated, causing me to narrow my eyes.

"Wait, there is another Bell in here ?" I questioned Arthur, looking around me because I was thinking that it was maybe an brother....

"Yeah....must forget to tell you that." He started, scratching the back of his head. "By the odds, we got another member also named Bell but for him, we prefer to call him Micah...or 'rat'" He clarified to me, whispering the last word not so loud to me. "Hopefully, you two got nothing in common except your name." He added, somehow sending an feeling of relieve in me...mostly because of the word he used.

"And not like him maybe." Javier suggested but I raised my shoulders, not fully knowing this Micah Bell perfectly to make an opinion and by hearing both of them, that wasn't pleasant for an start.

"I didn't see John, where is he ?" Arthur demanded.

"At your guess, he's with Lenny in Valentine." Javier replied in an low voice as Arthur put his hands on the table, not sitting on the chair near by, still standing up.

"Damnit, can he be just an father for Jack for good ?" Arthur muttered, looking down before he put his head, watching in an direction where this little boy I saw earlier, sitting with his mom on an tree trunk....so he's named Jack.... "Since we arrived here, he's always volunteering to go away from the camp."

"I can't tell you, Arthur." Javier complained, looking at his knife in his hands.

"This John...what is his problem ?" I asked both as I was nearly lost about that story nonetheless.

"It's hard to explain but he got an child with Abigail but he still thinks that Jack isn't his." Arthur answered to me, still looking at their direction away before he removed his hands from the table to put them on his waist. "If you want to know more, wait and since, you can go talk to her." He proposed

"Why not ?" I whispered, mixed about this idea before he was going to walk away until Javier stop him.

"Arthur, why don't we make an little Five Finger Fillet game ?" Javier suggested, showing his knife to Arthur and it was enough for Arthur to come back and to get sit in front of Javier, removing his gloves away on the table.

"Let's see if your knife isn't going to hurt yourself." Arthur exclaimed, getting out his own knife on the table.

"Well, my time is up, I'm leaving you both." I said, wanting to let the two play their game on that table and not actually wanting to see blood for the day.

Now that I was back alone, having let Arthur & Javier at that table, it was suggested that I go talk with this Abigail, still sitting on that tree trunk while she was watching her son near her, his hands on some flower to grab them in his hands. I was hesitating at first to go see them, not wanting to scare the little Jack again after what happened earlier this morning but Hosea was now peacefully reading an book, Dutch was in his tent near by, resting an little so it was my only option....I walked slowly towards the two.

"Hi." I started, slowly waving at Abigail and as I thought that Jack was going to run away, he wasn't paying attention, still in his things.

"Oh, hi, miss Bell." Abigail waved at me back, her voice sounding very pleasant to hear. "How are you ?" She asked me.

"Well, I can say that I'm fine." I replied, trying to move my right shoulder an little, putting my left hand on it to ease the pain in case. "Uhm....I think that we didn't get the chance to present ourselves."

"I already know you but you don't know me." She said in an clear and happy voice. "I'm Abigail Roberts Marston." She presented herself, offering her hand to me and like Javier & Arthur, I gladly accepted it, feeling that nice touch on my hand. "For the moment, it's just Roberts." She added in an normal voice.

"Oh ?" I breathed.

"Let's just say that my husband....John....ins't really present to take care of his son." She muttered, her eyes on her son, an little grin on her face. "Some must have told you that as I maybe heard."

"Yeah...uhm...Arthur told me that with Javier." I explained, looking at the two far away, still in their game of 'Five Finger Fillet'. "Uhm...I wanted to say that I'm sorry for having scared your son." I apologized to that event, feeling an bit bad for that.

"That ? Don't worry about it." She reassured me, gesturing that it was nothing with her hands. "He couldn't know that you were awake." She added.

"Look mom what I did !" Her son...Jack...spoke up, almost surprising me on the spot as he moved to get back to her mother, holding an made necklace with flowers on it. "Do you like it ?" He demanded to his mom that was taking the necklace in her hands.

"It's beautiful, Jack." She affirmed with an smile, saying the truth as me too, I was finding the necklace very nice.

"How do you like it, miss ?" Jack moved to look at me, asking me the same question.

"I like it too, kid." I smiled at him, telling the whole truth to him before he turned around again.

"I'm gonna see what we're eating, mom." He told her before he got an kiss from her on his forehead and then, she let him go away to the direction I was coming from, an big smile on her face to see him.

"That's my little boy." She exclaimed, talking to herself before she looked away at the horizon. "If only his father could be an real one...." She whispered, now sounding sad.

"It must be hard." I commented about that situation she was facing and she nodded. "I'm not the expert here but I hope that you will be okay." I said, not knowing anything about that type of thing....been lonely in my life must have done something to me....

"There's better men than John here but he's his father." She told me as I was looking around, trying to spot the others but I could only see Javier & Arthur, still playing and by looking at it, Arthur was winning, seeing Javier not so happy. "And you ? You ever got someone ?" She asked me.

"No, never was." I responded, passing my hands through my face. "Been wandering all of my life alone." I added but before I could speak more, I was interrupted by someone making loud noises in the camp.

"The strew is ready, you can come eat now !" It was the voice of an man shouting but I couldn't recognize it at all.

"Must be Pierson." Abigail said as she got up from the tree trunk she was sitting on, giving me the name of the person who was yelling at everyone in camp. "It was nice to meet with you, miss Bell." She affirmed, nodding at me before she start to walk away, leaving me alone and going to where this 'Pierson' was yelling and me...I was quite surprised of all these talks I had went well....

But I guess that this day is far to be done !

[guigz1-coldwar]

'Awakening' : an new chapter for "Redemption of a Bell" is out !

"Awakening"

Chapter Summary : After an few days since the experiment Dutch did, the woman now know as 'Bell' awake in camp.....

To read it on AO3, click here !

Taglist : @snowgoldwaylon , @clxudtea , @efingart

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I didn't know what was happening to me but I wasn't able to open my eyes for days, only hearing some voices around me while it was impossible for me to do something, to move or to open my eyes like if I was powerless and an uncomfortable pain was getting felt on my torso at 3 precises places of it, not even knowing what did happen to me but it was sure hurting me an lot.....but I wanted to know....where the fuck I am ?

Suddenly, I was now able to open my eyes but it was very slowly and painful to do like if someone was forcing me to keep my eyes shut for good but that wasn't the case at all, seeing that I was alone near I was maybe sleeping for an long, long time. As I can see while my eyes were getting fully opened, it seems that I was sleeping inside an sort of wagon, not even having something on the floor for my back, already feeling an back pain.

"Where I am ?" I muttered, my voice very low after all these days spent to maybe sleep as I was holding my head with my right hand, an damn headache, slowly getting up before I tried to check what was causing me the pain in my torso. "Aw shit." I whispered when I saw bandages all over my chest, small part of blood of where it was hurting me : near my right kidney, my left lung and my right shoulder. It was sure that someone did shot me but I was here and alive, still wondering how I managed to survive those supposed gunshots. I was just wearing an shirt and man pants and all around me, it was the complete silence.

I tried to look around me to see if there were something belonging to me and the only thing I could see was an light brow hat on an small box and to me, I could recognize it as it was mine, prompting me to take the hat and to put it on in slow moves as each movements were either hurting me because of these wounds I had with me on my chest but I could still move for the moment. When I opened the wagon cover, I realized that I was in the middle of an camp that I couldn't.....

"Aw shit !" I started to curse when I, unfortunately caused myself to lose my balance in the wagon bed and to fall out of the wagon to land on the ground....very badly on my chest, now finding myself with dirt on my face.... "Fucking hell." I insulted myself to be this stupid to fall from an wagon like that before going back up on my feets. "Hello, is there anyone ?" I demanded, seeing no one coming to see who was this woman who almost yelled but it was looking n the early morning, the sun rising up over the place.

As there were no one to come, I needed to know where I was actually and if someone in that camp was awake to give me more informations about the whole bloody situation. The wagon I was were located right next to two other one and as I continue to walk, I could see that it was just near the place there were multiples horses, maybe belonging to those people here but when I arrived at what I suppose to be where people could eat at an table, I saw an little kid, looking at between 2 tents.

"Hey, kid." I waved at this little boy whose expression were between scared & unsure to what to do with me, he was wearing an short and an blue vest and he was looking good so, I wanted to see him from up close but....

"Mommy !" The kid said scared before he start to run into an direction that I couldn't see, causing me to stop to move towards him, not wanting to scare further that little boy.

"Damnit, should clean myself up." I exclaimed, thinking that my state wasn't so presentable with an part of my face with dirt on it, along with my upper clothes too an by luck at an few meters of me, there were an opened barrel with water on it, useful to clean up my face in particular.

I walked to get to that barrel and I arrived, removing my hat aside for the moment as I wasn't going to only clean my face. To start, I put some water on my face to remove the dirt on its left part before I literally decided to pull my head inside the whole barrel, to clean up my mind and to try to feel better without that headache in me and when I pull out my entire head from the barrel, I was feeling on my smile, seemingly happy to have some water....until I heard the click of an revolver right behind my head.

"You came here to rob us ?" I slowly put my hands up as I heard the voice of an man behind me, impossible to tell who it was because I didn't know where I am and how I landed here. "Come on, answer me !" The man ordered in an clear voice, feeling the cold cannon of his revolver touching the back of my neck.

"Why would I ?" I asked back to the man, risking my own life to turn around to face the man, discovering someone wearing an dark brown coat, an blue & white plaid shirt, an big beard on his face and of course, pointing an revolver at my face now.

"I asked you....an question....la-la...lady !" The man demanded again, finding out that this man was like....drunk ? I can afford an sane man pointing an gun at me but an drunk man ? It's not the best thing to see and witness at all....how did I end up in this situation. "Say to me my answer." He spoke up before removing for an second the gun off my forehead.

At this moment and despite the pain of my own torso, I decided to make this man put his gun down. As he was removing his gun from me for an little second and that he wasn't looking at me, I managed to move my hand above his revolver but an bullet was fired in the air at the second after I moved my hand on it and with my other hand, throw an punch on his drunken face, causing him to release his own revolver off his hand and to fall back on his ass, now having his revolver in my right hand.

But instead of aiming him back, I decided to unload the 5 remaining bullets from the revolver on the ground before throwing the revolver back to him, knowing that he couldn't reload his gun properly and then, I moved back to the barrel to clean up the dirt that was still on my face despite having my head inside the water for an few seconds...looking though to remove, it's sure that I was completely forgetting the man that I just punched, now hearing the numerous clicks of his revolver, got lucky to have remove the bullets.....

"Mister Williamson !" I heard an voice yelled towards where I was, causing the clicks to stop and when I look at where it was, I could see an man dressed elegantly with people that I've maybe been awaked by the gunshot of his revolver, part of the looks were on this 'Mister Williamson' and another part also on me.

"Hey, Dutch." Williamson said, still sounding drunk as he look, waving at him as the man that yelled was coming to us with an man wearing an green jacket.

"What happened, Mister Williamson ?" The man asked curious, seeing perfectly that Williamson was an drunken man, trying to get up back on his feets. "You really drink this much last night, we didn't have an party as I remember !" The man clarified.

"I know but that woman....." Williamson exclaimed after he got up, pointing at me with his now dirty fingers. "She came here to rob us !" He shouted, using the same voice as before as the elegant man and the one with the green jacket were looking at me.

"Are you accusing one of us....Bell....to rob us ?" The elegant man questioned him before he shook his head in disapproval, not believing the words of this man. "Hosea, try to make mister Williamson forget about drinking." He ordered, causing this 'Hosea' to move and grab Williamson by the left ear, like an kid.

"Come on, you drunk, let's make you drink water instead !" Hosea scoffed, holding Williamson by the ear before he dive his head inside the barrel I used to have clean up my face, moving away as the elegant man was staying near me.

"Are you alright, Bell ?" He asked, worried, putting his hand on the only shoulder that wasn't wounded of me.

"Yeah....uhm...I'm alright." I replied with an smile despite been curious about everything around me, including this man, causing me to have an questioning face on me.

"Did you forget your old Dutch Van Der Linde ?" He demanded and I shook my head, now remembering who was the elegant man....I was really feeling not still awakened to not have remembered him. "It's okay to forget, you've faced an lot."

"An lot ?" I repeated before realizing he was mentioning the gunshot wounds that I have on my chest, making me understanding that I 'faced an lot' but not how I got this.

"I can tell you more about what happened in private, come with me." He suggested, starting to walk into an direction and gesturing to follow him at me.

If I wanted to know, I needed to follow Dutch so I complied, not forgetting to take my light brown hat back near Hosea & Williamson where the latter were still having his head inside the barrel, making this situation an funny one for me like if this Hosea was acting like an father, grounding his kids. It was making me smile to see before I moved to join Dutch but there were something intriguing once I was getting away.

It was looking like everyone were having their eyes on me on the way to join Dutch, like if they were seeing an ghost in here and of course, I found that little kid again, his supposed mother & father with him as I was passing by, covering my face an bit of shame before I could join Dutch near an cliffside he was awaiting for me, almost at hidden sight of the rest of the camp...it was looking an beautiful spot to be honest.

"Where are we ?" I asked the first question to him once I was near him, my eyes looking at the landscape.

"Welcome to Horseshoe Overlook, Bell !" Dutch responded, spreading his arms like if he wanted to greet freedom in them, smiling at see him like that. "I know you must have an lot of questions about what happened and I'm willing to answer all." He added, putting his hands on his wait before pointing at me an small rock. "Sit, you will be better." He stated, knowing well of my state and I complied to his orders. "Before you start, what is the last thing you remember ?" He demanded from me once I was sit.

"Uhm..." I chuckled, starting to think inside my head about the last thing I could remember. "Well...that heist in Blackwater, I believe." I answered as it was the only thing I was thinking about....the only thing. "I remember an slaughter but then....it's an blackout."

"It's good, Bell." Dutch nodded before he got sit on an small rock near by mine. "I never thought that you will have to face all of this but here we are." He told me, joining his hands together as I was wondering what he was talking, he wasn't mentioning my wounds here. "It's been almost more than one week ago that we left Blackwater." He revealed to me, making me eyes go wide.

"More than an week ?" I muttered, looking at my hands trembling.

"We thought to have lost you to the O'Driscolls after the job when they captured you during the heist." He explained, getting my attention on him as he was giving my answers to me. "We got luck because you were hold in the same region up north in the mountains as we were fleeing the authorities." He added, his head pointing at the mountains that we could see from far away. "We saved you but those O'Driscolls put three bullets in you as we got you back."

"So, it was because I was out for more than an week, Dutch ?" He nodded to my question sadly....sleeping for an long period of time isn't the best thing to hear...."Shit...fuck." I cursed, thinking about it.

"It's okay to be like that, Bell." He admitted, understanding my pain of learning about it.

"And...the others, how did they feel about it ?" I asked, still wondering why everyone was looking at me like if I was an ghost. "It seems that I don't know them at all."

"That's normal." He affirmed in an normal & recomforting voice. "In here, you only know me, Hosea and Arthur." He continued, turning his head around behind him as I do the same, seeing the camp going alive while an few were still looking at us. "You were never into staying with the gang, always been discreet and wandering alone but sometimes, helping us in the shadows." He claimed, giving me the reason of why I wasn't able to remember those faces....I simply don't know them. "I think you will be used to ask everyone about their names and it's normal." He repeated the same words as before, adding the fact that I will have to know everyone here now.

"I guess that in my state, I can't really leave the place...." I guessed and he nodded to me, raising his shoulders.

"With the Pinkertons at our back, I can't let you wandering alone, you must stay here because it's the only way for you." He proclaimed and he was right, I couldn't left like that because where I would go exactly....where ?...."It isn't your type but you will have to get along with it."

"Seems that an little change isn't going to hurt me." I scoffed with an smile, reciprocated on his face as I was trying to see the positivity of the situation, I wasn't longer alone.

"Of course but you need to know that I can't let you leave the camp alone and for the moment, you have to take some rest." He suggested, maybe thinking that I could pass out in the middle of nowhere if I had the idea to leave the camp for something. "Talk with the others and soon, you will be back on the work with us." He added with an smile before he got up from the rock he was sit on. "Keep your faith up, I have an plan."

"Like you always do, Dutch." I grinned at him before slowly getting up too, not wanting to hurt myself.

"And Bell, don't forget something....." He started as he stopped himself to look at me an few seconds after he start to walk away off me, to maybe remind me of something instead of keeping the faith up like he always say.....

"We have an job to do !"