Aaren's POV
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I twirl my crowbar as we walk, having slowed down a few hours ago from our running. The horde is long behind us, so we should be safe for at least a little while.

I bite my tongue, having this burning urge to say something. An itch appears on my face and before I can stop myself, I scratch my left cheek then jerk my hand back.

Holding back a wince at what I just did, I occupy myself with scanning the area around us. Éloïse tells us about this old man she had met not too long ago, explaining that she had asked him if she could draw his property.

He agreed to it and welcomed her to come back whenever she wants or if she ever needs anything.

Walking past some trees, I spot a little ranch in the distance, and Éloïse informs us that this is the place. The small farm is quite a ways out from the town, so it's secluded from most of society.

Forestry scatters along the place, but there's enough open space to be able to see a horde of those flesh eaters coming from miles away.

"I have no idea if Mister Harvey is still here or not," El states, seemingly a bit worried for him as she picks at her busted lip anxiously.

Jane softly slaps her hand and says, "Stop that. I'm sure he's fine."

Éloïse drops her hand and holds herself back from her nervous habit, nodding at my sister thankfully.

Leon and I stay silent, occasionally giving each other short looks of distrust or boredom. We've been walking for a while now, and sure listening to conversations can be interesting, but not always.

It's been fairly quiet amongst our little group, tensions still high. That's not just from the horde we managed to get away from, either.

We reach the cabin-like house and Éloïse stands in front of us, knocking on the door. My fingers tighten around my crowbar as the doorknob begins to turn, steady.

A man with wispy gray hair, kind eyes and glasses on the tip of his nose answers the door. He smiles generously at El, proclaiming in a slight frail yet bright voice, "Ah, Éloïse! It's a pleasure to see you again! Are these your friends?"

She grins up at him and nods, "Hello, Mister Harvey! You too, and yes. These are my friends. This is Jane, Leon, and Aaren."

"Well, welcome! Oh, come in! Come in! It's not safe out there," he ushers is inside, shutting the door behind us.

He has us sit down in the living room as he goes to the stairs and calls up, "Abigail! We have guests!"

"Coming!" an eager voice of a child came from upstairs, and pounding footsteps come rushing down the stairs.

"Did I hear that we have guests?" a woman appears from what looks to be the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee in her hands.

The little girl we had heard previously jogs into the room, hopping up in down in excitement. "Guests! We haven't had those since not too long ago!"

Mister Harvey pats her head, "Yes, so be nice to them. I'm sure they've been through a lot."

"Okay, father!" Abigail exclaims in agreement, then bounces over to us. "Hi! I'm Abby! Who are you guys?"

She takes everyone's hand and repeats the same question to all of us, except for Éloïse as they've already met before.

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

I thought there was just going to be one guy here, Mister Harvey, not an entire group.

Abigail comes to me last, as I'm sitting to the far end of the couch. She grabs my hand and asks me that question, but I struggle with a response as I tense up.

I swallow back my discomfort and answer her, tone void of emotion, "I'm Aaren."

"Aaren?" she tilts her head at me and I nod slowly. She smiles, "I like it!"

"It's nice to meet you all," the lady from earlier speaks up. "My name is Zaina Ramirez."

"It's good to meet you as well," Jane pipes up, being polite.

"We have a few of our group members out on a supply run at the moment," Mister Harvey mentions. "Four of them. They shouldn't be back until sometime tomorrow. For now, we'll give you folk some food and let you rest in our guest room."

"Thank you, sir," Éloïse says gratefully.

"We might not stay long," I state, unsure. All eyes turn to me. "A few days tops at the moment."

They nod at my words, and my group agrees with my statement. Éloïse looks slightly disappointed, but understands where I'm coming from.

None of us know this group too well, and I'm not willing to risk my family again with strangers. Not after what happened because of Leon, and not even before that.

"We appreciate the help, though," Jane adds with a smile.

"You're quite welcome," Miss Ramirez replies. "You may stay for as long as you need."

"We appreciate it," Éloïse speaks up, clasping her hands together.

I notice Abby still holding my hand, so I ask her, not sure how to talk to children, "Uh, kid, you mind lettin' me go?"

Abigail releases me and apologizes, and now I feel guilty about how I spoke to her. Sighing at her teary eyes, I scoot to the edge of my seat to pick her up, setting her on my lap as I sit back.

She sniffles before grinning, wrapping one of her arms around my neck. She then reaches out and takes Jane's hand, who's sitting next to me, and plays with her fingers.

"Wow, I'm surprised that you care so much," Jane teases me, referring to Abby.

"Shut it," I groan out in response, Abby giggling at us.

I spot Leon eyeing my sister and give him a look, daring him to try anything. He simply smirks at me and looks away, but not before glancing at Jane one final time.

After some time, Abby goes to help Mister Harvey with the garden outside, despite the sky growing darker, while Miss Ramirez starts cooking dinner.

"Jane," I stay tersely, "may I speak with you?"

"Yeah," she replies, arching an eyebrow. "C'mon."

We go to a separate room to talk, and I try to keep myself calm, but my voice fails me and gets more and more frustrated.

"What was that back in town?" I demand, crossing my arms.

"What do you mean?"

"When you went to check out the alarms. Why'd you go alone?"

"Because I didn't want you guys to be put into danger," Jane defends.

"Sis, you cannot just go do these things alone! You either go with one of us, or all of us. Splitting up is never a good idea, and quite frankly I don't give a shit if you're just trying to protect us. I'll be damned if I lose you, Jane. I can't allow it."

Jane and I have a stare down, but her eyes soften and she pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around her after a moment, holding back the tears threatening to spill from my eyes at the thought.

"I can't lose you too, Jane," I mutter into her shoulder. "I can't do this without you..."

Her grip tightens around me, us both wary of her arm injured arm.

"I'll always be here, Aaren," she whispers softly. "I'm right here."

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-CastrarWolf