Chapter Text
Being in a gang wasn’t unheard of. Matter of fact, it was more popular than one would imagine.
Isaac knew his Pa was in a gang, his Ma eventually broke and told him so. He expected to despise his Pa after finding that out, but he found himself feeling no different than before. He never saw his Pa much, the man coming when he had the time, and Isaac now knew why.
Getting to see his Pa at all meant that the man wasn’t dead and wasn’t thrown in jail, so he was thankful more than anything.
What Isaac didn’t expect was to be in a gang himself. And at the age of eleven, no less. After his Ma died, everything came crashing down for him. His routine life was thrown off balance, if it had any in the first place. He heard his Ma die and he didn’t do a damn thing to help because she trusted him to stay hidden like she had asked.
Those robbers took everything from him. And he wasn’t talking about money. They took that too, but he’s talking about his Ma. It was by fate that the one who killed his Ma ended up being the one Isaac killed to escape.
Isaac knew she didn’t do a damn thing to those robbers. So either they were evil people or they knew of her relation to his Pa. Either way, Isaac hated them to his very core after everything was said and done. The days following the attack, everything moved like bugs through molasses. His Ma was buried, but he didn’t attend the funeral.
He was busy packing a bag and saddling the horse to leave. Don’t get him wrong, he wishes he went to the funeral to bid his last farewell to the woman who raised him. But his Ma said to him a long while ago, after the truth of his Pa stumbled out of her mouth, that if something were to happen to her with no reason, then run and don’t look back. Isaac knew she was referring to his Pa’s ‘profession’.
Isaac listened. He always listened to his Ma when it counted. So most of the time. He packed a bag full of things he may need on the ride. Some food for him and his horse. He packed the cattleman revolver his Ma kept loaded and stashed away under the floorboards, along with the money she built up over the years for him. It seemed like she knew this was gonna happen. He packed the brown jacket that he always wore during winter time, and he packed the nice looking hat that had the initial ‘A’ carved out.
It stood for Arthur, Isaac knew that much. He may be young, but he’s not stupid. His Pa visited them when he could, up until Isaac was five years old. He knew his Pa’s name was Arthur Morgan, hence how he got his own last name.
Saddling the horse took longer than he expected, being only five years old at the time. He had to do it in the middle of the night when the women were sleeping and the men were drunk out of their minds to even notice the child entering town. Isaac and his Ma lived a little off from Annesburg, which is where they got the clothes and extra stuff they needed.
It worked in the end. He got his horse, his Ma’s horse, but his horse now, saddled up and he flung himself on the saddle with the help of the rickety fence of their house. He left home without a second glance back.
The lonesome ride was long and boring, his horse, Bucky, the only living thing to keep him company. Eventually, he found himself in a town called Rhodes. He turned six over the course of his ride from his Ma’s small cottage to Rhodes, he celebrated with Bucky by splitting an apple and chasing birds. The town was bustling when he arrived, and he spotted many drunk people in broad daylight.
Nonetheless, he moved forward without seeming suspicious to these people. He could hear arguments getting heavier between people in the far distance, but he ignored it. These people and their issues with each other have nothing to do with Isaac, so he moseyed along without blinking an eye.
What he did blink an eye at, were the two girls who sat on their horses, guns tucked away on the side. They couldn’t have been adults, Isaac figured. They weren’t tall enough and when he got a good look at them, their faces still had that ‘baby face’ look to it. Much like he did. They caught him looking and grilled him to hell and back on what he was doing. He asked them for directions to the nearest town, and after even more grilling they yielded and answered.
After they offered to go with him as that was where they were headed next.
Isaac agreed in the end. He didn’t mind some company other than his horse, who doesn’t respond to his long complaints of the uncomfortable saddle he sat on. When they started their journey, they fell into a long conversation on who they all were.
As it turned out, they were in the same boat. Their uncle was killed just like Isaac’s Ma was killed. The two girls were twins, Isaac found out, and they were twelve years old. Isaac figured it was only fair that he shared his information with them.
“Oh, well, m’name’s Isaac Morgan. M’ six years old.” He replies with a raspy voice. The two girls considered his introduction with curious faces. They looked at each other before nodding.
“M’name’s Anna, but I prefer Annie, and my last name’s Adler.” The first girl responded, her hair a dark brown. Isaac took in her appearance, trying to find some way to tell her apart from her twin sister who sat next to her on her own horse. He finally noticed that Annie’s eyes were blue, while the other’s were green. Her twin nodded her own confirmation and peered over to Isaac with an open smile.
“M’name’s Alice Adler. Me n’ her are twelve years old. We’re twins, if you couldn’t tell.” Alice grinned at Isaac with an open expression, and he quickly realized that she was the nicer twin. He nodded, trying for a small smile.
“I noticed.”
Annie snorted from the other side of her twin, Alice being in the middle on her own horse.
“So, what’re you doin’ out here by yourself? ‘Specially at six years old.” Annie pushed. “You’re young, y’know? You ain’t got no folks?”
Isaac thought that was ironic, given they’re young themselves, “My Ma was killed. Gotta run like she told me too. And I ain’t too sure where my Pa is. He wasn’t ‘round much.”
Annie nodded, not responding. Alice sighed tiredly, her eyes downcast when she glanced at Isaac.
“We’ve got the same problem. Our uncle was killed. Parents been dead a long time. We got an older brother, but he don’t talk to the family no more.” Alice explained to him, filling in for Annie’s silence. “Me and Annie decided to run as well, goin’ to our brother’s house anyway. Our uncle was killed by a gang, y’know.”
Isaac nodded, “I don’t know who killed my Ma, but I don’t wanna be next.”
It wasn’t a complete lie. He knew the men had to be in some gang, at least before Isaac shot one of them and escaped. He just wasn’t sure what gang. He sure ain’t wanna be next, though.
Annie huffed at his words, “We feel the same way.”
“How ‘bout we stick together, huh?” Alice proposed. “None a’ us got folks to run to. Why not stick together like those gangs like to do?”
“We got folks to run to, Alice.” Annie argued. “We’re goin’ to Jake’s.”
Alice sighed, “Thas’ gon’ be a long time, Annie. Plus, no way are we gon’ let this child run off on his own.”
“I can handle myself, y’know?” Isaac cut into their debate. “I don’t wanna cause no trouble for you two.”
Annie’s tired sigh earned a wince from Alice, “Ya ain’t causin’ trouble for us. Alice is right anyhow. You should be with someone.”
Isaac thought it over before shrugging, “When y’all find this Jake person, I can go from there.”
“If that’s what you want, kid.” Annie shrugs as well, gazing over Alice’s horse to Isaac, “You got a gun?”
“Yeah, cattleman revolver.” Isaac responded with a small glance to his side where the revolver lay.
“You know how to shoot a shotgun?” Alice probed. Isaac tucked his lips into a thin line and sighed.
“M’sure I can figure it out.”
From then on, the three traveled together. They had each other's backs like they figured those in a gang would. It was nice, in Isaac’s mind. He didn’t have many friends back in his hometown. His neighbors were older people, the age where their kids would’ve already started their own families, so they never concerned themselves with Isaac and his Ma.
A lot of his hometown were older people, and if there were children around, they were just born. Isaac minded himself with house chores, and walking until his legs got tired. His boredom was part of the reason he looked forward to his Pa’s visits.
It didn’t take long for Isaac to catch onto the two girls’ dynamic. Annie was the headstrong twin, the one who was a bit louder and ready to argue with good points. She was stubborn and fought for what she wanted. Though when it came to her twin, she seemed to not be able to fight with her. And then there’s Alice. She was the quieter of the two, the voice of reason more often than not. She kept herself busy with planning out their next stop for food and where to stop to get sleep.
While they traveled, Isaac understood what their different roles were.
Annie was the leader, pretty much. She mapped out where they were to head to next, and who they would need to talk to in order to gain the information they needed. She carried a gun, a revolver a bit more simpler than Isaac’s own. Annie’s horse, Minnie, was fairly young and good with speed, so the other two horses seemed to follow that one’s lead.
Alice fell into the ‘caring’ role. Annie cared too, but it fell to Alice to plan out what would be safer for them to do. She planned out when they should do something based on how they’re holding up. Alice also carried a gun, the same type as Annie’s. Though she always hesitated when grabbing for it, as if she hated the idea of using it, but she’d use it if she had to. Alice’s horse, Elmer, is the oldest of the three animals. He belonged to their uncle, apparently. But Isaac thought he fit her quite well.
Then there was Isaac. His Ma taught him to earn his keep a long time ago, which is why he always shuffled around the house doing chores while she was away at work. That, and his boredom. So, Isaac decided that he would take care of the horses while the two girls planned their next moves. He fed the animals, gave them water, and gave them warmth when he created a fire. His own horse, Bucky, seemed to get along with the other two horses, which made his job easier.
Annie gave him the shotgun a while back, when their journey first started, and since then he’s had it slung across his back with his cattleman revolver tucked away on his side. Between the three, they didn’t have much ammo.
It wasn’t like they could walk into a general store and buy more, not without being raked over the coals about who they were and why they looked so young. Isaac was the one who split the ammunition up between the three. Alice having the least, with her reluctance to use her gun. Isaac got the most, considering he had two guns to carry.
They had good operations going for themselves. They worked around each other smoothly and with mutual understanding. It was only natural that a sibling-like dynamic grew between the trio. Isaac figured it was nice. Him being an only child, unlike the girls, hadn’t ever thought about having siblings before his Ma was murdered. He didn’t question a lot about his upbringing, in hindsight.
But he liked the mock arguments they started with each other for mere entertainment. It was a breath of fresh air from all the constant traveling and asking around for their older brother.
A year into their travels, however, leaving Isaac at ten years old and the twins at sixteen, did they get the dreaded answer. The weeks leading up to it Isaac had this feeling of impending doom, like he weren’t gonna like what he found once they reached one Jake Adler. The twins either were feeling the same thing and refused to acknowledge it, or they were blissfully unaware.
Either way, when they reached Adler Ranch to find the house, or what was left of it, covered in ash and not a soul around, the twins had to face it. Any clue to where the couple could’ve gone were buried beneath the ash and grief.
The twins barely talked on the walk back. Isaac assumed the temporary leader role in order to give the girls time to come to terms with what they found. He knew better than anyone around, which wasn’t all that many, what it felt like to come to the barren realization that a person you loved ain’t never coming back. He’s just glad that neither of them had to see their loved one die in front of them. He’ll never forget the grunts and ear piercing screams of his Ma as she was gunned down for a pesky ten dollars.
Isaac clenched his jaw each time the thought blared behind closed eyelids in the darkness of the night.
He’d led the girls to a station, Wallace Station, close to a town called Valentine. He hadn’t been there before, but he knew of it through muttered conversations his Pa had with his Ma. It had to be good enough considering the girls weren't all that willing to help find a safe place to stay.
They, of course, couldn’t stay at the station, and he wasn’t planning to, but the people there had the best knowledge of the area surrounding them. The least he could do was gather information from them on where to set up a temporary camp without causing any trouble. There wasn’t any civilization, Isaac knew, not for miles, but he had heard several stories about men who hadn’t gotten lucky due to their lack of carefulness.
It was at that station did Isaac and the girls learn of the fate of Jake Adler and his wife, Sadie.
The news served to crush the girls harder. It was up to Isaac to get them settled somewhere safe, somewhere not in a big city or a populating town. Gang violence had been in the news the past weeks, the simmering tension getting hotter. The twins had nowhere to go, much like Isaac. His Ma was dead and heaven only knew where his Pa was. The girls’ parents were dead, their uncle too, and now their brother and his wife.
At least, that was what the station clerk said.
He summarized the whole incident that went on at Adler Ranch. The place burning down, some gang violence, and then the place was quiet. The twins weren’t shocked, apparently. The Adlers had been involved in gang issues for years, according to Annie. Isaac knew as much by connecting the dots through the Adler family and their closely connected deaths.
Isaac wasn’t sure if his Ma’s death was a result of a gang at the tine, but his young, naive self couldn't say he was shocked if that were to be true. As far as he knew, it was a robbery gone wrong. For his own sake, he went with that. He wasn’t much on sticking around to see what the town of Annesburg had to say about the killing of Eliza Bloom. But considering he was gone before any of the townspeople had a chance to scope it out, he’d say they figured he was dead too.
Worked in his favor, he had to admit. If that was true, of course. He hadn’t visited the town and didn’t plan to for another few years.
The twins eventually snap out of their stupor of grief long enough to start their trek back to Rhodes. Isaac wasn’t all that excited about revisiting that town. The tension between the two wealthy families that practically ruled the small town sounded simply exhausting.
Not to mention how red the town was with the red clay dust kicking up with each horse and carriage that passed through. But, he followed the girls. He figured sticking by them was a given now. It wasn't like he had people waiting to see him anyhow.
That was how Isaac found himself still in Rhodes months later, at his eleven years of age. The town hadn’t changed one bit in his time here. The same families that hated each other still hated each other, laying a thick unassigned border between the two. There were barely any new oncomers moving in to stay, he’d found out quickly. It was mostly just a few lonesome cowboys passing through for a drink or for information. It reminded him of his Pa, he had to admit. He hadn’t been in the saloon, of course, but he’d seen them on his way to the General Store.
A few months into spring, the air finally warmed up during the day. Isaac went through his normal day-to-day routine without a thought on his mind. He wore his black pants and black leather boots each day, his white striped top with brown suspenders and his usual dark brown jacket. His brown gambler hat sat atop his head comfortably while Isaac loaded up his fishing pole and climbed up onto Bucky with ease.
The twins headed into town, away from camp, for some extra supplies and some food for the horses. That left Isaac to his own devices, of which he preferred to spend fishing. It was his favorite thing to do, even if he didn’t keep everything he caught. It took up his time, allowed him to think, and it was by the flowing water. To him, there wasn’t much to not like about it.
But it wasn’t just that.
Fishing was also the most memorable thing he did with his Pa, aside from falling out of a tree and scoring him a white scar just beneath his ear, behind his jaw.
The tips and tricks his Pa taught him were seared into Isaac’s mind. The volume and gentleness of his Pa’s voice as he offered each tip to his son provided a comfort as Isaac repeated them in his head. He was four when his Pa taught him to fish. His Ma was busy serving at the restaurant in Annesburg, and his Pa was visiting their cottage on the outskirts of town. It was his favorite day ever. And, if he was being completely honest, it still was his favorite day. At least before everything went downhill.
Isaac hadn’t had a clue in the world that he was about to become an orphan. If he had, he would’ve paid extra attention to his Ma, catalogued each word she spoke to him, took in every detail of his home, and begged his Pa to stay at least a few more hours. But he didn’t have time to be thinking about what he wished he’d have done differently.
Not anymore, at least.
He let out a tired sigh as he climbed a rock to mount Bucky. The horse grunted and neighed at the new weight.
“You’re alright, boy.” Isaac soothed, mimicking his Pa from long ago. Annie and Alice went into town early in the morning, since they both took up temporary jobs at their respective establishments. Alice lended her hand at the General Store, hoping to give Mr. Banks any help she could provide while Annie took up selling newspapers to give the usual boy a break from all that hollering. Really, it should be Isaac selling the newspaper with the boy he didn’t know the name of. However, the girls insisted he stay at camp and fish whenever he got bored. He didn’t argue. He knew better. “We’re goin’ fishin’, then ya can rest by the water. Drink some to save me the hassle, will ya?”
Isaac grinned to himself and kicked his too big spurs into the horses side stomach to get him moving. Bucky gallops along the red dirt road, taking Isaac easily to the shore of Flat Iron Lake. It was his favorite fishing spot. It was closer, and much better than Kamassa River, which he would have to take nearly a whole day traveling to in the first place.
The first time he attempted going to Kamassa River, he got back too late to the point the girls thought he had been taken by O’Driscolls. That was an argument he wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon. He eventually yielded to their worried expressions and agreed to only go to the lake from then on.
Bucky came to a sliding stop, and Isaac huffed. The smell of the freshwater hit his nose and he inhaled greedily. He had been smelling dirt and dry grass for too long. Rhodes was very dry, too dry. It was clear they were in desperate need of some rain, by the look of the harvest this season.
He hopped off of the saddle and took his fishing pole with him. Alice bought him some good fishing bait at the General Store a while ago, though he never used it since his last fishing trip he got enough to last them at least three weeks. His poor satchel. This time, he was using it.
“Better catch somethin’ good too.” Isaac mumbled under his breath. Bucky chuffed and grazed the grass behind him as Isaac trotted off to the water. He stood just a few centimeters from the water and hooked his bait like he had been taught. As he threw the line into the water, he peered around him, taking in the spotty sky and chirping birds. It felt nice out, good for a spring at least. The water rippled and made soothing noises.
There were more reasons Isaac loved fishing, reasons much deeper than it providing a source of food. It allowed him to think, to slow down and ponder how far he had gotten. It also allowed him to think about his Pa, and his Ma asking him to go fish at their nearby river.
Fishing brought back memories, and each time he casted the line out, it was like he was about to reel in the time he missed.
He felt a bite and quickly maneuvered about to get the fish in without breaking his line or unhooking the thing. He successfully reeled the thing in and beamed at the medium sized fish he managed to catch. All he needed were a few more and he would be good. He wasn’t gonna make the mistake and catch as many fish as he possibly could, like he did last time.
Mr. Banks usually sent Alice home with some canned goods, which merged with their fish. They had enough for a long time without Isaac’s constant need to fish.
He spent a couple minutes casting and catching, his mind jumping to different topics the whole time. He faintly heard the sound of hooves connecting with dirt and rocks, a couple sets of hooves. It wasn’t unusual that some people joined him at the shore of the lake, and it wasn’t like Isaac owned the place. Though the presence tended to disturb his moment of peace. He shuffled in his spot and ignored the older sounding voices. Never did he ever make eye contact with the people that joined him.
It was a habit.
“Yes…Jack told me you were a good teacher when you took him fishing. I said he must have you confused with someone else.” A man’s voice sounded, and Isaac thought the person must be much older than the other two. He sounded almost like a grandfather, wise but funny. Isaac continued focusing on his line, waiting for the other two to speak as well.
“Very funny.” The second one rumbled. Isaac temporarily froze at the sound of his voice. It was familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The voice was older, and much older than what he remembered, if he had a clue as to what it was. The comparison was taunting.
“Awh, enough of that.” A third voice cut into the other’s bickering. The third one was older as well, though Isaac couldn’t exactly place an age range on the three, but they were definitely all men. The third one was almost raspy but deep at the same time. “Let’s fish.”
“Yes, let’s fish.” The grandfather sounding one agreed easily. “There’s boats over there. Let’s use those to go out deeper into the lake.”
“We can use those?” The familiar voice asked hesitantly. The crunching of rocks and dirt halted, silence falling over all of them. Isaac had the urge to peer over, but he pushed it down. He silently prayed that no fish would bite at his bait for the first time ever. For some reason, drawing attention to himself right now filled him up with pure dread.
“Well,” The grandfather sighed. “Ah! Let’s ask the boy over there. Maybe he can provide us with an answer, yeah?”
“Sure.” The third one sighed. Isaac swallowed as he heard the three pairs of footsteps approach his location. He reeled his line in, already preparing himself for a conversation.
“Excuse me!” The grandfather called out. Isaac straightened his back and successfully reeled his whole line in. He turned to face the three, correcting his hat as he gazed up at the three men. His eyes fell to the grandfather one first, his gray hair hiding beneath his black hat. He was dressed in an even mix between black, brown, and white. He dragged his eyes appreciatively over the pistol that was holstered on his hip. It was clean, something new. “Hello. I’m Melvin Jacobs.”
Isaac nodded politely and offered out his hand like his Ma raised him to do, “Isaac Morgan.”
He faintly registered the slight intake of breath from a little to his left, next to the gruff looking man with a black mustache and longer black hair. The man in front of him, Melvin, his eyebrows raised just a few centimeters and Isaac started to question what he did wrong to earn these reactions when his thoughts were interrupted.
“Well, it is certainly nice to meet you, Isaac. My friends here, Hoagy McIntosh and Arthur Callahan, and I were hoping to fish at this fine lake. We were curious if those boats were open for all to use?”
Isaac peered around the tall man’s shoulders to the brown wooden boats that laid across the shore of the lake carelessly. He sighed and shrugged.
“I haven’t used ‘em, but I’ve seen several different people use ‘em. I reckon it wouldn’t hurt no one.” Isaac said. Melvin nodded with a kind grin before turning to face his friends, Arthur and Hoagy. Isaac muffled a snort while saying that last man’s name. It was bad, and he felt for the guy.
During his travels, he had come across several horrible names, but none compared to that.
“Thank you, Isaac.” Hoagy nodded, and Isaac nodded as well, his blue eyes dragging over the man’s frame. He was wearing brown pants with a black vest and a white long sleeved undershirt. His brown hair that sat atop his head covered his black hair, but Isaac could see him just fine. “I guess we’ll get goin’ now.”
“Good luck.” Isaac announced for them. Hoagy and Melvin started to slowly break away from him, but Arthur remained in his spot. Isaac met his eyes before flicking up to see the man’s hat. It was so damn familiar and now he knew why. He had seen it on his Pa’s horse several times, and even on his Pa’s head. His Ma raised hell about it due to its somewhat dirty state. Though looking at the hat before him, it was way too dirty to be his Pa’s. The man loved the hat too much to let it get to that condition. “Nice hat. My Pa had one jus’ like it.”
“Did he?” Arthur said it in such a way that made Isaac knit his brows together out of confusion. Arthur stepped away slowly at the call of his name from Melvin. Isaac watched him go, feeling like he was missing something that would make him feel impossibly stupid later on. Arthur gazed over his shoulder straight to Isaac and they held eye contact for several minutes before Arthur shook his head and hurried to match pace with Melvin and Hoagy.
Isaac cleared his throat and shook his head as well.
He watched as the three men pushed the boat out into the water, but eventually went back to fishing like he was doing before they showed up. Throughout the rest of his time there, he gave them seldom glances, curiosity spiking at the muffled words he could barely make out from across the lake.
By the time he got tired of fishing and started to pack his things up, the men were sitting in the boat and rowing. Isaac had half the mind to call out to let them know he didn’t think they should be taking the boat, but it wasn’t his business. And he knew about as well as anyone else that minding your business is what prevented you from getting killed.
“Those were some interestin’ men, Buck.” Isaac snorted, mounting his horse. Bucky snuffed and shifted in his spot. Isaac patted the horse on the neck with a soft smile. He kicked Bucky’s side stomach and they got moving.
The whole ride back to camp his mind was on those men, but mainly Arthur. He had familiar eyes, the same looking hat his Pa had, and the man’s name was Arthur as well. Isaac figured his Pa would be dead by now. The movement of the law and the dying off of outlaws influenced that thought, of course, but the O’Driscolls were still out and about, so it never got too far.
He just assumed that since he never ran into his Pa or heard about him through the long train of gossip that the man was long dead. Arthur was a popular name so there was a small chance Callahan was his Pa, Isaac told himself as he hitched Bucky at the camp and settled by the campfire to start on some fish before the girls got back.