By 1899, the age of outlaws and gunslingers was at an end.

America was becoming a land of laws...

Even the west had mostly been tamed.

A few gangs still roamed but they were being hunted down and destroyed.

The snowstorm had hit the gang suddenly. For days they had been avoiding the law, for days they were freezing. They needed shelter, they needed food, and they needed to tend to their wounded.

Reverend Swanson jumped from the back of the wagon, wrapping his arms around himself to keep himself warm in the knee deep snow.

"Abigail says he's dying, Dutch," Swanson shivered, keeping pace with the front wagon. "We'll have to stop some place."

"Okay," Dutch nodded, closing his eyes as he grimaced. The leader of the Van der Linde had lost many members in the past few days. "Arthur and Ellis are out looking, I sent them up ahead," Swanson nods and headed back into the wagon behind. Dutch looked back at the wagon briefly while Hosea spoke up from bedside him.

"If we don't stop soon, we'll all be dying," the older man said. "This weather, it's May... I'm just hoping the law got as lost as we did," Hosea pointed into the distance at something ahead.

"There," Dutch said relived. "Arthur! Ellis! Any luck?"

Two figures approach the wagon, a man dressed in all black and a man with a blue fur coat. The man in all black pulled down his mask and lifted his hat to speak clearly over the storm.

"Arthur and I found a place where we can get some shelter!" Ellis shouted over the storm, both men turning their horses around to follow either side of the wagon. "Let Davey rest while he... you know."

"An old mining town, abandoned, it ain't far. Come on," said Arthur, watching Ellis pull his mask back up over his nose.

"I told you I already checked all the buildings," Ellis said irritably, setting his lantern down on the table. Mary-Beth came up beside him, hugging herself to his right arm.

"You might've missed somebody, son," said Hosea, causing Ellis to roll his eyes. Mary-Beth giggled slightly at her partner's annoyance, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Bring him in here," Hosea said.

Abigail then entered the cabin, followed by Bill and Arthur carrying Davey's body on a stretcher. Dutch walked up to the entrance and showed the rest of the gang members in before eventually going in himself.

"Miss Gaskill... get that fire lit quick," Miss Grimshaw started ordering the girls around. "Miss Jones, bring in whatever blankets we have. Mr. Pearson, see what we've got in terms of food."

Mary-Beth sent Ellis a look, rolling her eyes at Miss Grimshaw, which made Ellis cough to cover his chuckle.

"Davey's dead," Abigail announced sadly.

"There was... nothing more you could have done," Swanson comforted her, placing coins over Davey's eyes, signifying his death.

"What are we gonna do? We need supplies," said Hosea, looking between Dutch, Arthur and Ellis for an idea.

"I'm out of ideas," said Ellis, sliding down the wall and bringing his knees up to his chest. He brushed the snow off his hat, before leaning his head back against the wall, closing his eyes.

"Well, first of all you're gonna stay here... and you are gonna get yourself warm," Dutch told Hosea. "Now, I sent John and Micah scouting out ahead. Ellis, Arthur and I, we're gonna ride out and see if we can find one of 'em."

"Dutch, please," said Ellis tiredly. He wasn't usually one to question Dutch or go against his orders, but he was drained. Physically and emotionally drained. Sean McGuire, Mac and Davey Callander were his best friends, and now Davey was dead and Sean and Mac were captured by the law.

"Please, son," Dutch pleaded with him, bending down so he was eye level with the boy he saw as his own son. "Once more tonight, and then you can rest up."

Ellis nodded silently, taking the hand Dutch offered him and with Dutch's help pulled himself up from the floor. Ellis put his hat back on his head.

"Are you sure, in this?" Arthur asked. Dutch and Ellis looked outside, Arthur referring to the storm.

"Just for a short bit... I don't see what other choice we have," said Dutch irritably, before looking out to the rest of the gang members. "Listen... listen to me all of you, for a moment," Dutch now had the attention of all the gang members in the cabin. "Now, we've had... well, a bad couple of days. I loved Davey... Jenny... Sean, Mac... they may be okay, we don't know. But we lost some folks. Now, if I could... throw myself in the ground in their stead... I'd do it... gladly."

Dutch pinched the bridge of his nose, glancing at Arthur and Ellis before continuing, "But... we're gonna ride out... and we are gonna find some food. 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. We may be here for a few days. Now all of you... all of you... get yourselves warm. Stay strong. Stay with me. We ain't done yet!"

Dutch walked over to a lantern, grabbed it and walked back.

"Come on, boys."

"Stay safe," said Mary-Beth, wrapping her arms around Ellis' neck. Ellis squeezed her waist, placing a kiss to the side of her head, her cheek and finally her lips.

"I'm always safe, I promise," Ellis told her, smiling when Mary-Beth kissed him again. "I love you, alright?"

"I love you too, cowboy," Mary-Beth said back, laughing as she flicked his hat off his head. Ellis shot her a playful look as he picked his hat off the ground, following the two men outside.

"Well, we ain't run into them yet. So... they both must have headed down the hill," said Dutch, on about Micah and John.

"Sure," Arthur nodded. "Hey... I ain't had time to ask. What really went down back there on that boat?" Arthur noticed how Ellis froze at the question, but didn't mention it.

"We missed you, that's what happened," Dutch replied shortly. "Come on," Ellis, Dutch and Arthur walk away from the cabin into the blizzard.

"Hey!" A voice called to them. Ellis could just make out Charles walking towards them in the snow, three horses following him. "You need horses?"

"Oh yeah... and Mr. Smith, get yourself indoors. You need to rest that hand."

Ellis, Dutch and Arthur mount the horses that Charles had found.

"I'll live," said Charles.

"Get indoors, son!" Dutch commanded. "I... we, need you strong," Charles agreed, heading back to the cabin with the others while the three rode out.

"Sweet Jesus, it's cold," said Ellis as he wrapped his coat tighter around him.

"Is that all you do is complain?" Arthur asked him.

"You'll complain when my fist knocks out your teeth," Ellis shot back, causing the older men to laugh.

"Leave him be, Arthur!" Dutch called over the storm as they continued riding in formation. "Ellis has had a rough few days, he's earned the right to complain."

"Ain't sure what we're gonna find out here, Dutch," said Arthur after a moments silence.

"We have to try," said Dutch, almost solemnly. "Stay close, we'll do our best to stick to the trail."

"This goddamn weather," Arthur moaned.

"Look who's complaining now," Ellis said sarcastically.

"Shut up," Arthur rolled his eyes. Ellis tried to listen as Arthur and Dutch tried to talk, but couldn't pick up much over the storm. He picked up their conversation about Davey, which made him clench his fists in anger, and a small conversation about the storm, until Ellis rode closer to them.

"-about the money?" Ellis had managed to hear from Dutch's right side. "Please tell me you at least got the money before it all went to hell on that boat?"

"We did... it's stashed with the rest of the money in town," said Ellis before Dutch could speak. Ellis was the one who had stashed it there personally. "It'll be safe for now... but we sure can't go back there to collect it any time soon."

Ellis then asked the question that had been playing on his mind, but he thought he might already know the answer.

"So... do you think it was a trap? In Blackwater?" Ellis asked, and that caught Arthur's attention too.

"That many men? Oh, they knew we were coming," said Dutch, and Ellis nodded silently. That was the answer he was expecting. "But there was money on that boat alright, lots of it."

The men spot a figure coming towards them. Arthur and Dutch lift their lanterns while Ellis pulls out his cattlemen revolver just in case.

"You up ahead! Who's there?" Dutch called ahead. Out of the snow, the person coming to them is revealed to be Micah.

"Micah," Dutch said in relief.

"I thought you might've been killed out here!" Ellis shouted. Micah and Ellis hadn't got along since Micah's first day in camp. The older man said something misogynistic about Mary-Beth and Ellis had beaten the man to a bloody pulp.

"You wish, cowpoke," Micah grinned sadistically at him, and honestly Ellis should've shot him right there. "Gentlemen," said Micah, nodding at the other two

"Found anything?" Dutch asked, Micah leading them.

"I think so. Found a little homestead down thataway," said Micah, pointing ahead of him.

"Anyone home?" Ellis asked,

"Sure. Place is blazing with light and noise. Sounded like a party," Micah shrugged.

"Well, let's go crash a party!" said Ellis with a fake cheer, holstering his revolver.

"You sure about this, Micah?" Ellis asked, moving up to ride next to him.

"Mr. Jenkins, I never thought I would be so pleased to see your face," said Micah.

"Be careful, this might be the last face you see before a bullet is put in your head," said Ellis, and Micah barked with laughter.

"I have missed your humour, Welshy," said Micah, still chuckling. "Been kind of... lonely out here. Where's everyone else?"

"Old mining camp, back up the hill," said Arthur before Ellis could shoot him a smart remark.

"Huddled around a fire waiting for daddy to put food on the table," said Micah, and Ellis shot him a dirty look. "I've said it before, we've got too many mouths to feed."

"Well we got a few less now, so you should be happy," said Ellis, hand on revolver.

"That ain't fair, Ellis. I earn my share," Micah argued back. "You think it's unreasonable to expect others to do the same? What about-"

"Enough, Micah," said Dutch firmly, riding up alongside Ellis. The last thing he needed was Ellis putting a bullet in Micah's head. Not now, at least.

The gang conversed a little more, before the gang finally reach a cliff near the homestead.

"Okay, let's keep it down now, gentlemen. It's just up ahead," said Micah as the group overlooked the homestead, Ellis looking through a pair of binoculars.

"Sure is a party down there," Ellis whistled, stashing his binoculars.

"Okay... let's head down there," the four continue down the ledge as quietly as possible, still on their horses. They eventually make it down to the homestead, and spot a hitching post.

"Let me do the talking, we don't wanna scare these folks," said Dutch, unholstering his revolver and hiding it behind his back. "You three, get yourself out of sight... One lonely man is a lot less intimidating than four nasty looking degenerates."

"Micah, hide behind that wagon... Arthur, you take that old shed on the left and Ellis you go round the corner of the house, see if you can see who's there," the three men nodded, getting into their positions. "And stay low, all of you."

Ellis got into his position on the side of the house facing the barn, taking out his cattleman revolver and peering into the window.

"Oh fuck," Ellis whispered to himself, seeing the group of O'Driscoll's inside the house. "Dutch! Dutch!" Ellis tried to warn him, but the leader of the gang couldn't hear him as one O'Driscoll exits the house and stood on the front porch.

"Oh well, hello friend," said Dutch, holding his one hand out.

"What you want?" The O'Driscoll spat into the snow.

"I am very sorry to disturb you. Uh, my friends and I, well we got into, some... trouble up the way. Lost in the storm."

A few more O'Driscolls exit the house, some through the side door and some through the front.

"Hey, what're you doing?!" Three O'Driscoll raised their guns at Ellis, but before they can even shoot, Ellis shot all three between the eyes.

"Goddamn fucking O'Driscoll's, Dutch!" Ellis yelled when Dutch ran for cover beside him as more O'Driscoll's came pouring from the house.

"Goddamn O'Driscoll's boys here? Why?" Dutch yelled, shooting one through the window.

"I don't know, maybe same reason as us," Ellis said sarcastically, shooting one from an open window in the roof,

"One of them's making a run for it!" Micah yelled, and Ellis slowed his breathing as he watched the O'Driscoll jump the fence, letting off a single shot which hit the O'Driscoll in the back of the neck.

The group could faintly hear him choking on his own blood before eventually dying in the snow.

"That's my boy, Ellis. Good shooting!" Dutch patted him on the shoulder. "Micah, go bring the horses closer to the house. Arthur, let's go search the cabin. Ellis, why don't you take the barn?"

Ellis watched Micah bring the horses closer to the cabin before walking towards the barn. He pulled open the doors and entered, noticing a horse in one of the pens.

He looked around briefly before a O'Driscoll who hid here during the shootout dropped down on top of Ellis, knocking the wind out of him.

"You bastards shot my cousin!" The O'Driscoll yelled, punching Ellis in the face twice, until Ellis kicked him in the groin and stood up.

"You've got more, you inbred fuck!" Ellis shot back. "Besides, he started it!" Soon afterwards, Ellis is in the middle of the brawl when Dutch arrives to observe what's going on.

"What's the racket?"

"This guy just jumped me," Ellis grumbled, placing his boot on the O'Driscoll's chest and aiming his gun at his head. "Sneaky little bastard... should I kill him?"

"No... Not yet..." Dutch chuckled at his eagerness. "Find out what they're doing here, and where Colm is."

"Oh, this son of a bitch'll talk..." Ellis threw the gun up in the air and caught it by the barrel, knocking it over the O'Driscoll's head. "Where's Colm O'Driscoll?"

"With the others...at an old mining camp southwest of here, near the lake," the O'Driscoll mumbled, and Ellis could see the fear behind the man's eyes.

"What're you bastards doing?"

"We're fixing to rob some train, gonna blow the tracks. I don't know more than that, I swear!" The O'Driscoll cried. Dutch laughed.

"Well, I would say it looks like you have this, my boy," Dutch placed his hands on his hips. He began walking away. "Do what you want with him, I don't care. But bring that horse when you're done."

"I don't known anything else...Please...please, spare me," the O'Driscoll began to thrash around in panic. "I promise you, you won't see me again, partner," he began to cry hysterically. "They don't tell me nothing, I swear."

"Quieten down," Ellis hissed. He flipped the gun back around so he was holding it right and held it between the O'Driscoll's eyes. "You swear Colm will be at this camp?"

"I-I-I-" Ellis grew tired with his stuttering and just put a bullet in his eyes. Ellis stood up straight, sighing as he wiped the blood of his face and picked his hat up off the floor.

"Hey, boy," Ellis said quietly to the horse as he approached it. The horse was restless, and Ellis really didn't fancy having his head kicked in.

When the horses calmed down, Ellis fed it a carrot and patted the horse on the neck, whispering it praise before leading back to the others.

"That looks like a decent horse, you should keep him," said Dutch. "Especially after what happened to your old one. Tie him up over there."

Out of nowhere, a woman can be herd screaming in the house.

"Get away from me!" Ellis and Dutch rushed inside the house, to see Arthur pulling Micah away from a woman with a crazed look in her eyes.

"Micah, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Dutch yelled out, standing in the doorway of the homestead.

"Look what I found in the cellar!" Micah chuckled, breaking away from Arthur and chasing the woman around the dining table. "Wild thing ain't you?" The woman grabbed a bottle off the dining table and threw it at Micah.

"Leave her alone!" Ellis snapped, pulling out his gun and aiming it at Micah. "Don't make me shoot, Bell."

"I wasn't doing nothing. She's one of them O'Driscolls," Micah chuckled. The woman grabbed a knife off the table and swung it at Micah.

"No, she ain't, Micah. Look at her, goddamn it!"

"Miss, miss, are you..." Dutch begins to say but is interrupted when Micah flipped the table and a lantern falls causing a fire to start and spread.

"You fucking idiot!" Ellis snapped, shoving Micah out of the house while Dutch and Arthur comforted the woman.

"I didn't do nothing!"  Micah spat. Ellis shoved Micah down the steps and into the snow, just as Dutch and Arthur walked out with the woman. Ellis mounted his horse and continued to glare at the back of Micah's head as they rode back the way they came.

"You okay, miss?" Dutch asked the woman, who was sat on the back of his horse as he rode.

"They came three days ago... and my husband, they..." she began to sob, clutching the blanket tighter around her.

"What's your name, Miss?"

"Adler," the stranger mumbled. "Sadie Adler. Mrs... I... he....he was my husband."

"Hey, somebody's coming!" Ellis heard Lenny shout as they rode back into the mining town. Lenny readies his Carbine Repeater and then see that it's the rest of the gang. "Looks like it's Dutch! Hey everybody, Dutch is back!"

"How'd you get on?" Hosea asked. Ellis dismounted, handing the horse off to Charles and wrapping his arms around Mary-Beth, who rushed to greet him.

"Micah found a homestead, but...he weren't the first," Dutch sighed. He handed his lantern to Lenny and Hosea helped Sadie off of Dutch's horse. "Colm O'Driscoll and his scum, they beat us to it."

"We found some of them there...but there is more about apparently...scouting a train," Ellis spoke up, causing his eyes to snap to him.

"That's the last thing we need right now, Ellis," said Hosea, but Dutch had other ideas.

"We'll sleep on it, alright?" He told Hosea, who shook his head in disapproval. "But we found some supplies, some blankets...a little bit of food...and this poor soul, Mrs. Adler," he turned to Tilly and Karen. "Miss Tilly, Miss Karen, would you warm her up...give her a drink of something, and Mrs. Adler, it's gonna be okay... you're safe now."

"They turned her into a widow... animals. I need some rest. I haven't slept in three days."

"You're over here..." said Miss Grimshaw. "Miss O'Shea will show you the way. Mr. Morgan, we put you in a room over here. Mr. Jenkins, you and Miss Gaskill are in the cabin next door."

"Thank you, Miss Grimshaw," Ellis tipped his hat to her. "Hear that, darling? We're moving up in the world! A cabin to ourselves," Mary-Beth giggled, hugging herself tighter to him.

"Mr. Bell, you're with the fellers over there," said Miss Grimshaw, pointing to another building where the others would be staying.

"How come Ellis gets a whole cabin... and I get a bunk bed next to Bill Williamson... and a bunch of darkies?" Micah asked, surprised and annoyed.

"Get lost, Micah," Ellis rolled his eyes. "If you don't like it, how about I put you in the ground to sleep?" Micah just grinned sadistically at him, before storming off towards his cabin.

"Well, ain't this cozy," Ellis whistled as he opened the cabin door for Mary-Beth. A fire was burning in the pit and two single cots had been pushed together in front of it with a dusty blanket Mary-Beth found and two other blankets Ellis had stored away on the wagon.

"I'm glad you're back," Mary-Beth smiled, stepping between Ellis' legs when he sat down on the cot nearest to the fire. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around the back of her legs and pulled her so she was sitting on his lap, causing her to giggle as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I always worry when you go out with the boys."

"I'm fine, darling," Ellis squeezed her. "Arthur and Dutch won't let anything happen to me."

"I know..." Mary-Beth sighed, reaching up to stroke his cheek with her thumb. "But one day Arthur and Dutch won't always be around to save you."

"And hopefully, that'll be eighty years in the future," Ellis said seriously. "I'll be a wrinkly old man."

"If I have to put up with you when we're one hundred and one, I might just shoot myself," Mary-Beth said sarcastically, breaking into laughter when Ellis poked her in the ribs.

Ellis laid back on the cot, his head resting against the pillows as Mary-Beth cuddled into the side of him, pulling the blankets over the both of them as the fire combined with their body heats and the blankets warmed them up.

"Night, darling," Ellis whispered, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."