《A Dead Man’s Calling》


 Chapter 0: Prolouge

    ;;


    My beloved Martha.


    How long have I been away from you, my beloved? After all these years, the war has seemingly come to an end. I have come to realise that this war has brought nothing but misery to me, I should¡¯ve listened to you when you wrote all those letters to me.


    The war was cruel to me, I have faced death many times but I managed to escape him. My comrades¡­ They were not so lucky. My brother Davidson died in a siege, but his death wasn¡¯t in vain as they secured the river and won the war.


    My love, I have been feeling down lately. I¡¯ve been having thoughts that I shouldn¡¯t be having. Was this war really worth it? Was the blood of my enemies worth it? Did they deserve to die? I''ve been pondering about this every night. I feel like a dead man walking, not knowing what to do next. I was close to pulling my flintlock, but my beacon of light shines bright every night as I look towards the West. I know that I must continue on.


    I am writing to let you know that I am returning home. However, I cannot say for certain when I will return. But I hope to return as soon as possible.


    I hope the wait was worth it because I am coming home with a ring in my hand, a ring for us to finally be together.


    That is all from me, see you soon, my beloved.


    With love,


    Daniel.


    ;;


    I walked into the post office building with the envelope in hand. I waited for a while before I handed my envelope to the officer who was manning the front desk. As I was waiting for him to process my envelope, the officer a conversation with me.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Let me guess, you have a lady back home?¡± The officer asked with a smirk on his face.


    I was surprised by his sudden comment and a deep shade of red filled my face. I wasn¡¯t expecting him to suddenly ask me this question.


    ¡°Heh, I would be lying if I said it wasn¡¯t.¡± I chuckled slightly.


    ¡°Must be nice to have someone you love dearly waiting for you to return home. I know my wife doesn''t!¡± He sarcastically said to me.


    I chuckled slightly, feeling a bit flustered by his words. The officer looks up at me again and inspects my attire before commenting.


    ¡°You must be part of the military. What was war like for you?¡± The officer asked.


    The question made me take a few steps back as my mind began filling with horrifying images of the war. I began slightly panicking until the officer noticed me frozen still and muttered to me.


    ¡°War was hell right? That was what a few soldiers has told me when they came in here.¡± The officer said to me with a serious expression.


    I regained my composure and I looked at him with a straight face.


    ¡°War is hell. There was only blood, death and gunpowder that filled the air. I lost my friends and brethren in that war. The only thing keeping me sane is my fianc¨¦ at home, that is all I care for.¡± I told him.


    The officer looked at me as if I was a crazy person, but he soon calmed me down.


    ¡°At least there is still one thing to look forward to. I hope you find peace, my friend.¡± He told me.


    I nod slightly, my mind clearing up for a bit. He soon processed my letter and placed it in a box, piled with other letters inside it.


    ¡°Your envelope has been processed, that will be a few cents, sir.¡± The officer told me.


    I placed a few cents on the counter and the officer took it. I nodded slightly and made my way out of the post office. I looked around the street and began making my way to my horse where I pet her mane.


    ¡°We will have a long journey ahead of us, I hope you¡¯re ready.¡± I said while petting the horse.


    I mounted my horse and began making my way out of the city. As I got to the outskirts of town, I looked behind one more time to capture the scenery of the town I protected before slowly moving westwards. I knew the journey ahead would be a grueling 7 months but it will be all worth it once I get to see my Martha. I reached into my pockets and pulled out a golden ring.


    ¡°I will be there soon, my love. Please wait for me.¡± I muttered to myself, smiling as I held the ring in my hand.


    I began heading West on a road that led to West Virginia, the first state that I¡¯d have to get through for my journey towards Kansas. The sun was shining over me as I rode my horse, hoping to see my beloved as soon as possible.

 Chapter 1: The journey ahead

    A few hours passed and the sky began to darken. I guided my horse towards a lone tree a few distance from the main road and dismounted.


    ¡°This place should do the trick, stay put Lucy.¡± I muttered to my horse before tying it to a branch of the tree.


    I began pinching up a tent and gathered nearby sticks to use as fuel for the campfire. I grabbed a box of matches from my bag and began making a fire. The match ignited in my hand and I carefully placed it into a ball of cotton before placing sticks on top of it. The fire began becoming bigger and was enough to keep me warm.


    I sighed a sigh of relief as the flame¡¯s light bounces off my face as I sat down near it. My gaze was soon redirected to the big blue above me, seeing thousands and thousands of stars in the sky.


    ¡°Hmm, the sky is quite beautiful tonight.¡± I muttered to myself.


    I pulled out an old photo that was folded from my pockets and inspected it. The picture displays a photo of a young lady, in her early 20s, blonde hair and blue eyes, freckles scattered across her nose as she sat down on a wooden stool smiling. There were also some written sentences on the other side of it.


    ;;


    Always remember that I will always be with you.


    Love,


    Martha.


    ;;


    I looked at the photo and silently smiled before folding it back into my pockets. My eyes were becoming heavier and heavier and I let out a loud yawn.


    ¡°I guess I should hit the hay. I¡¯d get back on the road at dawn.¡± I muttered to myself.


    I grabbed a few more things from my bag before lying down inside the camp, where I began wondering what my fiance was doing back home. My eyes began feeling heavier and heavier, until eventually I fell asleep.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Clop


    Clop


    Clop


    The sound of hooves of several horses disturbed my sleep and I slowly opened my eyes. The sound was coming closer and closer. There, I realized I was in great danger. I rushed outside to look around and there my biggest fear came true.


    ¡°B-Bandits!¡± I muttered in a frightened tone.


    I noticed that around 5 people who were on horses were rapidly approaching my location. I rushed towards my horse and began searching for my rifle. Once I found my rifle, I pulled it out and began reloading it.


    ¡°Fuck, fuck!¡± I said to myself as I tried to reload my rifle.


    They were fast approaching and I continued to reload. In my panic, I dropped the bullet on the floor. That¡¯s where I realized that I didn¡¯t have enough time to load the weapon. I soon grabbed a sabre from my horse and stood my ground.


    ¡°Come get me you fuckers!¡± I screamed from the top of my lungs


    Bullets were beginning to rain down on me but I stood my ground. One of the bandits came in with their horse and charged at me. I held my sword high and positioned myself to attack. Once he was in striking position, I swung my sword hard and hit his abdomen, causing him to be dismounted from the horse.


    ¡°Anyone else?¡± I screamed at them, challenging them to face me head on.


    The four other riders stood in front of me. They were armed with rifles but they didn¡¯t shoot. Two of them dismounted off their horses and approached me with their daggers in hand. I held my sword high and didn¡¯t flinch as they came near me.


    ¡°Leave this place at once!¡± I told them sternly.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    They didn¡¯t seem to be backing off but instead, they steadily approached me. They were speaking a foreign language that I didn¡¯t know and felt confused by what they were saying. One of them soon ran at me and I began backing off. He swung his dagger but I managed to dodge his attacks. The attacker kept pressing his attack on me while I kept backing off to avoid his attacks. The attacker was beginning to tire out and tried to force a blow into me, but once his right hand was lowered down, I swung my sabre hard and it decapitated him. His body fell to the floor with sprays of blood covering my body. I was petrified, but also blood thirsty. I grabbed the head of the fallen man and lifted it to show the rest of them what I''m capable of.


    ¡°I''m holding one of your buddy¡¯s heads here. Don¡¯t challenge me if you don¡¯t want to end up like him.¡± I told them.


    The other bandit who had dismounted earlier was hesitant to attack me. My face was determined and the blood of the bandits were all over me. Then out of nowhere, I heard a gunshot and I felt a warming sensation coming out of my stomach area. I looked down and noticed blood coming out of my stomach and my face became blue. I looked towards the bandit on the horses and noticed the man holding up his gun, smoke still coming out of his barrel.


    ¡°M-Motherfucker¡­¡± I muttered slightly after feeling a bit dizzy.


    With all my strength left, I held my sabre towards the horseman before kneeling to the floor and my vision turned to darkness.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Not fair! Let me have a turn!¡±


    ¡°No way, this is my toy!¡±


    The sound of children¡¯s voices filled the air. There, my eyes opened slightly and I noticed that I wasn¡¯t inside my camp.


    ¡°W-What the hell?¡± I muttered slightly.


    I soon sat up from the floor and looked around. I noticed that I was inside a tent with old fashioned medical equipment surrounding me. The tent was a bit spacious and was big enough to fit a table inside.


    ¡°Damn, what hell happened? Where¡¯s my stuff?¡± I asked myself.


    I quickly checked my wounds and I noticed a white bandage has covered my entire stomach area. I touched it slightly and it hurts like hell.


    ¡°O-Ouch¡­ Damn that hurts.¡± I muttered.


    As I was touching my wounds, a little girl peaked her head inside the tent and saw me awake. She was surprised to see me, she smiled brightly before running out and yelled.


    ¡°Mommy! Mommy! The man is awake!¡± The little girl yelled.


    I didn¡¯t know what was going on and tried to stand up, but the wound was making it difficult. As I was struggling to stand up, a woman in her 30s rushed inside the tent and saw me trying to stand up.


    ¡°What are you trying to do? Are you trying to get hurt?¡± The women screamed at me.


    I was a bit dumbfounded by her sudden outburst and immediately sat back down.


    ¡°Good, now stay there until I get some medicine for you.¡± She told me.


    I stayed in my bed, following her orders but I was still confused on who she was. There, she came back with a bottle of medicine and kneeled beside me.


    ¡°Here ya go darling, open wide.¡± She said as she poured the medicine onto the spoon.


    I looked at her, still dumbfounded by her friendly gesture.


    ¡°I-Its okay, I don¡¯t need it.¡± I casually told her.


    The lady looked at me with a stern look. Seemingly giving me a look of disapproval.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you go against me, open wide before you die.¡± She told me.


    I was surprised by her stubbornness and decided to reluctantly follow her orders. I closed my eyes and opened wide. The women soon fed me the medicine and it tasted bitter. I endured the bitterness and the women laughed at me.


    ¡°You sure do act like a kid for someone your age.¡± The lady said.


    I felt a bit embarrassed by her comment but I decided to ask her a question.


    ¡°Hey Maam, where am I?¡± I muttered to her.


    The woman looked at me, with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Why, you¡¯re in my tent Son.¡± She said to me.


    ¡°I-I meant where in the hell am I?¡± I said with a slightly serious tone.


    ¡°Why, we¡¯re in the home of the mountains, West Virginia.¡± The woman said with a smile.


    I rubbed my forehead, feeling like a headache was arising. The woman was still kneeling beside me whilst smiling, there, I decided to ask her.


    ¡°W-Why am I here? Who are you people?¡± I asked her.


    The woman looks at me with a slight annoyed look, seemingly offended by what I said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a rude thing to say after we saved your goddamn life!¡± She said in a sassy tone.


    I felt an instant regret forming and I began to apologise to her.


    ¡°S-Sorry, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m still confused about what has happened.¡± I told her.


    The women looked at me, still having a look of discontent from my previous comment. But she answers me anyway.


    ¡°We found you lying face down on the ground next to a dead horse whilst bleeding out. We thought you were a goner but once I checked your pulse, it was still beating. We dragged your body onto the caravan and I began threatening ya. You should be thankful that we saved ya boy.¡± She told me.


    My eyes widened when I heard that I could¡¯ve lost my life, but the thought of my horse being killed by the bandits made me frustrated. I felt my blood boiling but I kept my cool. I soon kept my composure and looked up to the woman.


    ¡°I-I see. T-Thanks for saving me by the way.¡± I told her.


    The woman nods slightly, seemingly accepting his thankfulness.


    ¡°It¡¯s all in the day''s work. You should rest and let your body heal. You wouldn¡¯t want an infection right?¡± She sarcastically said.


    I nodded slightly and she began making her way out of the tent. After she left, I breathed a long sigh. There, I searched for my belongings and it was nowhere to be found. I soon began panicking as I might have left the ring inside the backpack and tried to find it. I soon felt something inside my pockets and pulled it out. I breathed a sigh of relief seeing that it was the ring.


    ¡°Thank God I still have my ring with me. As long as I have this, I¡¯ll be good.¡± I muttered to myself.


    I looked around the tent for a few seconds and noticed it was already daytime. I slowly got up from the bed and made my way towards the exit and lifted the flap of the camp to reveal the scenery. Outside, there was a community of caravans that had parked beside the main road. The men were doing work, the women were chatting with each other, while the children played around the caravans. I rubbed my eyes seeing the community of people right outside my tent. After a few minutes, I gathered my courage and walked out of the tent.

 Chapter 2: A New Community

    I stepped out of my tent and began exploring my surroundings. A couple of the onlookers looked at me with a suspicious look. They noticed that I was limping as I tried to endure the pain in my stomach area. I soon came across a group of men who was just sitting by the table and I began approaching them. One of the men got up and began approaching me.


    ¡°My friend, come here. Come take a seat.¡± The man generously offered.


    He guided me to a chair and sat me down with them. The man who was sitting by were curiously staring at me as I tried to get comfortable on the seat. There, one of the men asked me a question.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be around here. Did you just join our group?¡± The man asked.


    I looked up to him, inspecting his features. The man seems to be in his early 30s and has a clean moustache.


    ¡°N-No. I¡¯m not from around here, I came from Washington DC on the way to Kansas. I was on a solo trip until a couple of bandits robbed and shot me. From what I¡¯ve heard, the lady rescued me and I¡¯m now here.¡± I told him.


    The man looked interested in my story, they soon brought up another question.


    ¡°So you¡¯re going to Kansas huh? This Caravan is moving through there and headed for the golden state.¡± The man with the mustache told.


    I looked at him with a surprised look on my face. I felt a bit lucky knowing that this caravan would soon be moving through Kansas.


    ¡°Is that so? Then that¡¯ll be great news! Seems like I could tag along with y''all on this journey.¡± I said with an enthusiastic tone.


    The three men look at me with a serious look on their faces. Suddenly, one of the men from the group who was the only one with glasses spoke up.


    ¡°We still don¡¯t trust you. How can we know if you ain¡¯t some bandit that¡¯s waiting to raid us at night?¡± One of the men asked.


    As he said that, the same women from before appears out of nowhere and hits the man¡¯s head with a basin.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you go scaring away our guest. If he wants to tag along, let him be.¡± She said with a sassy voice.


    ¡°I was just joking honey, relax.¡± He said to her while he rubbed his head and nodded lightly.


    The woman gives him a stern look but soon leaves him alone. The man looks back at me with a small smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s your wife or something?¡± I said with a slight worried expression.


    ¡°Yep, she¡¯s one spicy gal. But that¡¯s what I love about her.¡± He said with a calm demeanour.


    I smiled lightly hearing his comment about his wife, feeling a familiar warmth from within me. Then suddenly, one of the men from the group who seems to be the youngest of the bunch held his hand out to me.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°The name¡¯s Darwin.¡± The young man told.


    I shook his hand firmly while making eye contact with him.


    ¡°Lawrence, Daniel Lawarence.¡± I told him.


    Darwin smiled brightly as we both shook hands. There, the two other men introduced themselves.


    ¡°The name¡¯s Liam. I¡¯m currently the one managing these caravans until we reach the Golden State.¡± The man in his 30-40s told.


    ¡°I¡¯m Jerome. I¡¯m the one who takes care of the people¡¯s needs here from medicine to basic needs.¡± The man with the glasses said.


    I nodded slightly and looked up towards them.


    ¡°It¡¯s nice meeting you folks. Thanks for bringing me in.¡± I said to them.


    Liam looked at me and chuckled slightly.


    ¡°It ain¡¯t free ya know? So we¡¯ll need you to be a helping hand while you¡¯re with us. We¡¯re about to get back on the road so go get my horse and tell the people we¡¯re going to leave.¡± He told me.


    After he said that, Jerome nudged Liam with his elbow.


    ¡°The man¡¯s hurt, you know? You shouldn¡¯t push him hard.¡± Jerome told him.


    ¡°Ah, I forgot about that. I guess you should go and get in the caravan and rest for a bit.¡± Liam told me.


    I raised my hand towards them, refusing his offer.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s a small wound anyways. I¡¯ll go tell them that we¡¯re going to leave.¡± I firmly said.


    Jerome was a bit cautious but seemed to let me go. I got out of my seat and made my way towards Liam''s horse. I carefully mounted onto his horse and began moving towards the back of the caravan. I began telling the children that we¡¯re about to move so I could get the message to spread faster. I began moving quickly to the back of the pack to begin moving. After a while, the entire caravan got the word and began moving one by one.


    ¡°Seems like everyone has gotten the notice, I guess I¡¯ll head back to the front of the pact.¡± I muttered to myself.


    As I was about to move to the front, I noticed Liam riding on another horse and began approaching me. I got off the horse and waited for Liam to arrive. Once he arrived, he got off his horse and walked up to me.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be escorting the caravan from the back just in case, so stick with me alright?¡± He told me.


    ¡°Alright then.¡± I simply said.


    They waited together for a bit before the final carriage began moving. Me and Liam got on our horses and began moving slightly behind the carriages. As we were riding, Liam started a conversation.


    ¡°Daniel, right?¡± He said to me.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s my name.¡± I said.


    ¡°Why are you heading for Kansas?¡± He asked me.


    I was a bit surprised by the question but I answered him anyways.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming back to my fianc¨¦ after the war. It¡¯s been 4 years since I last saw her.¡± I told him.


    ¡°4 years huh? Must be hell.¡± He said to me.


    I chuckled slightly hearing him say that.


    ¡°It sure was, I¡¯m glad I finally got to see the love of my life!¡± I told him.


    Liam nods as we slowly follow the caravan. There he asked another question.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there an event that happened there that caused this war?¡± He asked me.


    My face darkened when I heard the event he was referring to, I looked down for a bit before answering.


    ¡°I¡¯d rather not speak about it.¡± I said to him.


    Liam looked at me with a concerned look but we continued to ride on. As we rode, I decided to ask him a question.


    ¡°You¡¯re the leader here right? What will you guys do once you reach California?¡± I asked him.


    Liam thought for a while, finding the best answer to my question.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to settle there for a bit before finding work. I heard the gold rush there is still pretty active.¡± He told me.


    ¡°Gold huh? You must be a man who really loves money.¡± I sarcastically said.


    Liam chuckled slightly hearing my joke.


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t deny that partner. But I also want to settle in and find myself a wife.¡± He said to me.


    ¡°I hope you find the right person for you.¡± I told him.


    ¡°Thanks partner.¡± He casually responds.


    As we were talking, we heard the sounds of horse clamps coming from the front of the caravan. I looked towards the sound and saw Darwin coming at us with his horse. He soon came to us with a terrified look on his face.


    ¡°You two should really see this.¡±