Damaged Child

**Damaged Child** is the fourth episode of *Violent Hearts: A Western Epic* season two, the fourth part of the Blackwood Butcher Chapter, and the fourteenth episode overall.

## Summary

### Cold Opening

The scene opens with darkness, until a voice tells says to journey to Devil's Canyon. The sound of thunder, and the flash of lightning then occur, revealing that Damien Smith was dreaming. He awakens, realizing he is still on his horse as it rides through the thunderstorm, away from Blackwood.

### Present

Terminus VII, 881 AE. The group rides after Damien Smith on horseback, entering the thunderstorm and travelling to Devil's Canyon. After entering, the group passes the town of Kalder, heading south. Eventually, the group sees Damien Smith and chase after him and his horse. The group corners him in a dead end, and demand an explanation as to why he assaulted Kinta.

Damien reveals that Kinta was the one who attacked him, while he was sleeping. Kinta attacked him, as she was possessed by a demon. He fought back against her until she stopped fighting, and then he fled out of town. He journeyed into Devil's Canyon, as he was drawn there by an unknown force that influenced him in his dreams.

The group debates with Damien, demanding evidence, until a mysterious and shady man approaches the group, implying he knows Damien. The man introduces himself as "Saul", and offers Kinta to remove the demon from her body. She agrees, much to the dismay and protests from the group. Saul rips the bearded demon from her body, and disappears, leaving the demon there for the group to handle.

The group then fights the demon after Damien shoots it. The demon sustains many gunshots without showing any signs of distress, but is destroyed upon Damien's well-landed "Guiding Bolt" spell. Saul returns, now at a high elevation, and teases Damien about his past. This prompts Damien to remember the night his family was killed by a shady figure. Realization strikes Damien, and the memory reveals the shady figure to have the pale smile he saw in his dream. Filled with hatred and anger, Damien lashes out, attempting to shoot Saul. This instinctive action causes Gwen and Frankie to also fire at Saul. Gwen's bullet is shot down by a mysterious sniper. After looking around, she sees that it is none other than the Observer who had shot her bullet down. He simply stares at her from several hundred yards away, shaking his head and then walking out of view. Frankie's shot hits Saul in the shoulder, wounding him. Damien then initiates a standoff with Frankie in anger for stepping into a private feud.

Amaru Dorian talks Damien down from his rage, and convinces Damien to fight Saul another day, when he is not wounded. Saul accepts Damien's demands, and promises to see him again soon. Saul then disappears in a flash of lightning, and the group prepares to head back to Blackwood. As Damien mounts his horse, he falls unconscious.

Terminus X, 881 AE. The group rides back into Blackwood the following morning. The thunderstorm from the night before has since broken up, revealing the warm sun. The group changes hotel rooms, and spends the rest of the day recuperating after the eventful last 24 hours.

## Characters

### Protagonists

* **Adam Andrews**
* **Gwendolyn S. Blackwood**
* **Amaru Dorian**
* **Kinta Gardner**
* **Frankie Mitchels**
* **Damien Smith**

## Insert Songs

One insert song played in this episode, playing over the transition from Damien's collapse and the stormy night, to the group's return to Blackwood the following morning, as the sun began to shine.

* "Take Me Back to Yesterday" by Darrell Scott

## Poem Coda

**"Damaged Child"**
*What is it that keeps you up at night,*

*Those misty dreams drenched in blood?*

*What is it that claws deep within you,*

*The demon that you long since swallowed?*

*I know what troubles you,*

*But I have my own troubles to bear.*

**—M**

## Trivia

* This is one of the six episodes that contain a special post-credit poem.
* This episode aired on Friday the 13th.
* The thunderstorm in this episode and "Future Sins" symbolized the 'oncoming storm' of Damien's past, as well as what is to come in the Blackwood Butcher investigation.