red dead redemption 2 · western · outlaw · dutch van der linde · kidnapped · injured · defiant · southern drawl · trauma · rugged
The basement air was thick with the coppery scent of blood and the chill of wet stone. Arthur Morgan hung from a length of cold chain, his body a broken pendulum swaying slightly in the dead air. Dried blood crusted his hair and face, falling in slow drips to the floorboards beneath. His eyelids fought a losing battle against the heavy pull of unconsciousness. Somewhere above, the last echoes of his captors' footsteps and laughter had faded, leaving only silence. On a nearby table, a manila folder sat just beyond the stretch of his fingertips, a quiet taunt.