Chapter Text
The dull pang in his leg seemed to be nullified by the harsh cold, the wagons seemed to barely get through the snow as the horses were tired and cold. Wilhelm felt as if his pain wasn't worth voicing, especially as one of his comrades was barely hanging onto life and multiple other people had lost their lives after the tragedy of Blackwater. The incident was a blur to him, all he remembered was the shooting. The bullets whizzing past him, grazing him and leaving a hot burn and the draw of blood in their wake. Wilhelm remembered the sharp burn in his leg as he ran, causing him to fall. Wilhelm didn't remember anything after that, only short bursts of being dragged to safety and being put on the back of the horse. When he had finally come to, he had been told he hit his head. He was lucky he had even woke up at all, but Wilhelm thought maybe it would've been better if he hadn't woken up after seeing the state the gang was in. Now, Wilhelm was sat feeling sorry for himself in the back of a wagon, his grey coat pulled firmly around him as he used his bandana to keep his face warm. He had been exhausted, as was expected from the constant running and from the injury he had sustained. One thing that has concerned him since his injury was his hearing. Everything from the left side seemed so muffled, it scared Wilhelm. Was this a normal thing to happen after a head injury? He wasn't sure. Medicine was never his strong suit.
When the wagon came to a halt, Wilhelm let out a quiet sigh, he opened his eyes only slightly, realising he had been led on Lenny's shoulder for who knew how long. The german man adjusted himself, leaning his back against the wooden walls of the wagon and letting out a groan. Everything in his body hurt.
"Sorry, Lenny." He murmured, his voice slight raspy from lack of use and german accent thick.
Lenny said something back, Wilhelm not catching it as his attention had been brought to what was going on infront of them. Before Wilhelm could figure out what was going on, the wagons started to move again, leaving Wilhelm confused and left to his thoughts as he did not feel like talking. No one had spoken much since Blackwater from what Wilhelm recalled. No jokes were spoken, only little pieces of a makeshift plan. Wilhelm wasn't even entirely sure where they were, the only thing he knew was that they were stuck in a storm somewhere in the mountains.
A moment seemed to go by and the wagons came to a halt again, Wilhelm wasn't sure if they were going to move again until Lenny jumped down from the wagon, Wilhelm couldn't tell exactly what Lenny had said but he knew he had offered help. Before Wilhelm could say anything, Charles appeared from another wagon.
"I'll carry him in, his stitches are still fresh." Charles spoke, Lenny giving him a nod in response and quickly making his way inside.
Wilhelm moved himself to the edge of the wagon. "I'll be fine walking." Wilhelm argued, Charles shooting him down and lifting him over his shoulder.
"And have to get your stitches redone?" Charles questioned, walking towards the old cabin where everyone else had flocked into.
"Less humiliating than being carried indoors." Wilhelm mumbled, almost going unheard as they entered the cabin and were met with the slightest bit of warmth from the newly lit fire.
Charles set Wilhelm down on a chair as Abigail turned to the gang and spoke solemnly. "Davey's dead."
It was expected, but it didn't make the words feel any less harsh or brutal. Davey was a friend, he had become apart of the strange family that the Van der Linde gang was. Wilhelm hadn't become too close with Davey, but he had ridden alongside him multiple times and had done multiple robberies with him. The loss of the man left a hole within the gang, and that hole was one that Dutch would try stitch up with his words.
"What are we gonna do? We need supplies." Hosea voiced his concerns to Dutch, catching Wilhelm's attention as he listened in to what the man had to say.
Wilhelm pulled his bandana from his face, letting it rest around his neck as the cold didn't bite as harsh inside as it did outside. It was a relief being in the cabin, although he could still hear the aggressive winds beating against the wooden cabin. Maybe the gang would be safe for awhile and would be able to rest as much as they could before the law came after them again.
"Well, first of all you’re gonna stay here… and you are gonna get yourself warm." Dutch always seemed to have something to say, and his way with words always impressed Wilhelm. Everytime the man spoke, it seemed to instill hope into him. "Now, I sent John and Micah scouting out ahead. Arthur and I, we’re gonna ride out see if we can find one of ‘em."
"You're gonna go out in that?" Wilhelm questioned, his chair positioned not too far from where Arthur, Hosea and Dutch stood. The three of them turned to look at him, they all looked tired. "We all need to rest Dutch, even you."
It was a surprise to hear those words coming from Wilhelm. He was notorious for getting up after being injured and attempting to go on with his life as if nothing happened, not giving himself time to rest. But, this time the entire gang was beaten up and quite a few of them had fallen. A rest was needed.
"Yeah, it don't seem a good idea goin' back out in that, Dutch." Arthur spoke, his attention falling back onto the said man.
"Just for a short bit… I don’t see what other choice we have." Dutch reassured, glancing at the two younger men who he had practically raised.
Dutch paused for a moment, falling silent, before turning to his gang and catching the attention of everyone. "Listen, listen to me. All of you, for a moment." Everyone was silent. "Now, we’ve had… well, a bad couple of days." Even that seemed to be an understatement. "I loved Davey… Jenny… Sean, Mac… they may be okay, we don’t know. But we lost some folks."
Wilhelm thought about each and every one of them. Wilhelm felt lucky to even be alive, but in a way those who had died had gained freedom. The early days of being with Dutch seemed so simple. So fun. Now, Wilhelm could see that time was running thin. Soon, each and every one of them would either be locked behind bars or underground. If neither of those things happened to some of them, they'd be lucky.
"Now, if I could throw myself in the ground in their stead… I’d do it… gladly. But… we’re gonna ride out… and we are gonna find some food." Dutch continued.
Wilhelm had seemed to forget how hungry he was, his exhaustion and the dull pain in his foot seemed to take his mind off of the undenying hunger. He wondered how the others felt.
"Everybody, we’re safe now. There ain’t nobody following us through a storm like this one… and by the time they get here… well we’re gonna be… we’re gonna be long gone. We’ve been through worse than this before. Mr. Pearson… Miss Grimshaw… I need you to turn this place into a camp."
Wilhelm hoped that no one had followed them through this. If anyone had, he was sure he'd be terrified of them. Anyone who was to follow them through this storm had to be some sort of madman.
"We may be here for a few days. Now all of you.. all of you." There was an emphasis on the second 'all'. "Get yourselves warm."
Wilhelm hadn't noticed, but at some point Charles had slipped out. It made him wonder what the man was doing and how he could subject himself to another moment outside.
"Stay strong, stay with me! We ain't done yet." And with that, Dutch's speech ended and he turned to look at Arthur. "Come on Arthur, let's go."
Wilhelm watched as the two left, shivering as the cold air hit him when the door opened. His head hurt and he was exhausted, his eyes drooping shut every now and again.
It seemed as if someone noticed him gradually falling asleep as there was suddenly a hand on his shoulder. Wilhelm jolted awake, his eyes landing on Mary Beth. He immediately relaxed and gave her a tired smile.
"You look exhausted, Will. Why don't you lay down?" Mary Beth did not seem to let him answer and instead guided him towards an old bench, making Wilhelm realise that this was probably once a church.
Wilhelm led down, keeping his bad leg up while the other hung off the bench and rested on the ground. His eyes quickly fell shut and he invited sleep, the sound of saddened silence around him as the wake of death filled the small cabin.