Chapter 49
On the morning of the battle, Sean was feeling conflicted. He had developed what he believed to be an iron-clad plan of attack, and the members of the Chain Gang had been briefed on what was expected of them.
In a matter of minutes, Sean would be riding out with the bulk of Chainz’s forces, with all of them sworn to follow his every command. It was going to be a slaughter, and by the end of it, Sean fully believed that every last man and woman who walked into battle behind him would be changed for good.
Some might find horror in the violence they were to inflict on a defenseless and stubborn populace.
However, it was possible that others might find some form of twisted joy in the bloodshed.
In battles like these, people show you who they truly are, and Sean was slightly curious as to what was going to transpire on his watch.
Vin and the Natives had no chance at turning back a force this massive, but still, Sean felt anxiety eating at him. Vin didn’t walk into no-win situations, so there was something going on here that he just couldn’t see, couldn’t predict.
Sean had pondered endlessly over the last five days, trying to figure out what it might be.
But try as he might, he came up aggressively short of the mark.
He had, however, convinced himself that whatever Vin was planning, they’d overcome it with sheer numbers.
After all, how could a force of only a few hundred people hope to withstand the onslaught of nearly a thousand trained killers?
There was only so much strategic maneuvering his old friend could muster.
Eventually, the onslaught of numbers would overwhelm him.
Sean would fulfill his promise to Chainz on this day, and he would return to the ranch a conquering hero.
This victory would wash away the stain of his past failures.
He was more certain of it the more he thought about it.
However, before taking off and marching toward victory, Sean needed to do one thing.
It was the earliest hours of the morning, as the first rays of dawn sunlight peaked over the horizon.
The ranch, however, was not peaceful or quiet.
It was filled with just about every able-bodied soldier Chainz was able to muster as they loaded guns, sharpened blades, saddled horses, and prepared for battle.
But Sean wasn’t headed for any of them. Instead, he was moving toward the horse barn, determined to make one last desperate plea to Deb before heading out into the unknown.
He banged on the door with his flat palm. “Deb,” Sean cried out through the door. “Honey, it’s me.”
There was no answer. Sean wasn’t sure whether Deb and Jimmy were still asleep or if she was purposely ignoring him.
He was sure they were all right in there.
Members of the Chain Gang had been making regular food deliveries to the barn and reporting back to him on the state of his wife and son.
Based on what he had heard, they were doing fine, though they looked a little worse for wear.
“Deb, I’m just letting you know that we’re heading out today toward the reservation,” he said, pausing to see if she’d respond, but again, she said nothing. “I thought maybe you’d wanna talk before I left.”
The silence that filled the space between his ears and the door deafened the cacophonous noise rising from the members of the Chain Gang as they prepared for war.
“Deb, come on,” he said, desperate for anything.
Even a single word of encouragement. But nothing came. She was stubbornly silent, and her refusal to acknowledge him just made Sean even angrier.
“Fine!” he screamed through the door. “You just sit in there and fucking pout. But when I get back, you’re gonna have concrete news that Vin is finally dead, and then we can put all of this shit behind us! We’re going to be a family again, Deb! We will!”
Sean slammed his hand down on the barn door one more time, feeling a wave of emotion that nearly pitched him off to the side. How could she still be holding this grudge? Why couldn’t she see what he saw?
Didn’t she know he was heading off to a warzone? Yes, their victory was assured, but there was still the off chance that Sean could die out there. How could she be so cold as to leave silence hanging between them, knowing that her husband could be going off to his death?
She was such a selfish, spiteful woman. Sean was livid with her and had half a mind to tell those who remained to conveniently forget to bring her meals today.
But he couldn’t do that. Jimmy was in there.
His son was a growing boy, and he needed to eat.
He wasn’t going to punish his innocent son for the sins of his mother, no matter how deep and horrifying those sins might be.
Sean walked off toward the ranch’s main gate, seething as he moved. He saw his assembled force, not standing neatly in line as a true army should but clumped together, talking loudly with one another and showing not an ounce of decorum or military training.
It didn’t matter. They were going to be facing armed civilians. Decorum be damned.
There was a horse waiting for him near the rear of the gathered sea of humanity. It was Buttercup. Though he was no longer known by that name. Since Chainz had taken control of the ranch, he had renamed the horse something more “manly,” according to his official word on the matter.
Buttercup was now known as Phlegm. Sean hated the name and still quietly referred to the horse by his original title.
“Hey, boy,” Sean said, patting his trusted steed on the side of the neck.
Buttercup closed his eyes in happiness as Sean scratched him up behind the ears and then swung up onto the saddle.
He pulled the horse into action, galloping around these sorry excuses for soldiers to stand at the front of the company.
Chainz was there waiting for him, with Jessie and Legion flanking him.
“Sean,” Chainz said, with a big smile on his face, showing off the metallic glow of his grill. “You and Phlegm all ready to go net us a victory?” The horse jerked a bit as if it understood the name and loathed it.
“Victory is assured,” Sean told Chainz.
“Good,” Chainz said. “You bet your life on it?” The threat in his words was obvious, and Jessie smirked at him from behind one of Chainz’s muscled arms.
“I do,” he said, looking over Chainz’s other shoulder at Legion.
The big man had healed up as well as Sean, but there was no more approving nod of a shared plight in the behemoth’s face. His eyes smoldered with anger and hate, and Sean found looking at Chainz to actually be more comforting, even as he threatened his life.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Chainz said with a smirk.
“I do worry about the number of people we’re leaving you here with,” Sean said. “You really think two hundred is enough to hold down the fort?”
Chainz barked a laugh. “I could hold this place with half that number. A quarter of it. Those gates ain’t coming down unless I order them to open. You should be less focused on this place and more focused on getting me that reservation.”
“Of course,” Sean said with a sigh. It was foolish to question Chainz on that, but Sean was concerned since he was basically leaving Deb and Jimmy in the care of this madman.
“Enough talk!” Chainz screamed at the top of his lungs. The Chain Gang roared behind Sean at the sound of their leader’s booming voice. “Go kill some fools!”
Another massive cheer rose up from the assembled barbarians, and Sean nodded in agreement. It wasn’t exactly William Wallace’s speech from Braveheart, but it was something, and it seemed to work.
“Move out!” Sean screamed, kicking Buttercup into gear.
The mob surged behind him, and they were on their way.