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Micah finally showed up at camp, and for a few days things stayed calm with no big problems coming our way. Dutch was still upset about what happened back in Strawberry though. I tried to explain that it was Micah’s fault because if he hadn’t started the bloodshed we could have slipped out of there nice and quiet. But it was done, and now we were wanted in Strawberry too, with a fresh bounty hanging over our heads.

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Dutch pulled me aside one bright morning and told me to ride out to Valentine and meet John, who needed a hand. Dutch and Strauss were headed that way too, and he wanted me to help John first, then check in with them later.

When I got to Valentine I found John near the auction yard. He told me he had a new job lined up, something involving sheep, and asked me to come along. I teased him a bit about turning into a shepherd, but he ignored it and said we needed to collect something first then he said that we still needed more money, that the train job wasn’t enough.

John told me to head over to the gun store and pick up a scoped rifle. I went there and purchased it. I asked John why he could not do it himself and he explained he had already clashed with the shopkeeper.

I demanded to know what I was actually getting dragged into. He finally admitted there was a herd of sheep coming down from Emerald Ranch, headed for auction, and he planned to steal them and sell them off by pretending to be a ranch hand.

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We rode up to a ridge where I fired a couple warning shots to scare off the ranchers and scatter the sheep. Once they ran, me and John rounded up the animals and started driving them toward town. Since John was useless at herding, I took charge while he kept watch for trouble.

We got the sheep into the auction yard, but the auctioneer was no fool and spotted something off. He demanded twenty-five percent of our earnings to keep quiet about the sheep’s real origin. I nearly threatened to shoot him right then, but John stepped in and bargained him down to eighteen percent. That settled it, and we agreed to come back later for our money.

After that, we headed to the saloon to find Dutch and Strauss. Dutch then sent John and Strauss outside to make sure we were not being followed. Perhaps he wanted to tell me something.

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We had barely settled in when some drunk fool out in the street started yelling Dutch’s name. Turned out it was Leviticus Cornwall, furious because we kept robbing him, and he had taken John and Strauss hostage to force Dutch to come out.

Dutch, being Dutch, strolled right outside and started working one of his long-winded speeches, trying to calm Cornwall down while I quietly lined up my shots. As soon as I saw a chance, I opened fire and all hell broke loose.

Bullets flew everywhere, and Strauss got wounded. We put him in a wagon. Dutch shouted for me to help push the wagon up the street as a rolling cover while we fought our way clear. Strauss was losing his mind, wailing about the madness of it all, but John and I kept dragging him along through the hail of gunfire.

Dutch told me to grab Strauss and get to the horses, that we had no choice but to flee Valentine now. I hoisted Strauss onto the back of John’s horse and then we slipped out of town. Another day, another bloody mess, and the law breathing down our necks even tighter. I guess there was no rest coming for wicked men like us, no matter how hard we tried.

(to be continued...)

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Disclaimer

^{Arthur Morgan and the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 might be fictional creations by Rockstar Games, but my love for this game? 100% real. This is a new kind of adventure I wanted to bring to Steemit. I’m narrating the story of RDR2 from the perspective of its protagonist, Arthur Morgan, offering a fresh and immersive take on his journey. Rather than directly copying the game’s dialogues, I’m weaving Arthur’s emotions and experiences into a creative and fictional retelling. You can also experience this story in a cinematic way. I play the game, record my gameplay, edit the footage in the best possible way, and upload it to my YouTube channel. This way, after reading each story episode, you can watch it unfold like a movie.}

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