Realistic or Modern The Dead Hills - IC

[Rui]

RIN:

Rin was exhausted.

Her very bones ached.

When the car’s time blew, she released the tiniest squeak, and jumped a bit. She readjusted and calmed her racing heart, ‘It’s only a tire. We’ll move again soon.‘
She worried for the wait; what if someone happened upon them? Or something?

Yet, a small smile lingered on her chapped lips as the car stopped. She pulled her wool cap lower onto her forehead, her ragged bangs, having grown out with time, peeping just below the line of the stocking hat.

It would feel rather good to stand up. The journey had been long, and her skinny little legs needed a stretch.
She hopped out of the car to join the others, indiscreetly positioning herself closer to him.

Tesla.

Ever since the day in the woods, shit show as it may have been, she’d felt, well rather attracted to him. Despite his threats on her life and obvious disdain for her, she followed like a lost pup. Poor bastard.

She heard his comment to Jen and quietly giggled. It was cliché, her childish adoration of him; like a middle school crush. However, in this world, what else was there to look forward to? Another day of driving, of shoveling thick mud to get through an impasse, worrying about those creatures lurking and stalking them around every corner?

She’d settle for unrequited adoration.

As she sat rather obviously oogling Tesla, Domino was released, as glad as she to be freed, clearly. This captured her attention for a moment. She really was a beautiful animal; all dark and full of energy, insightful, practically human with her range of emotions. Rinn sighed to herself, watching the horse gallop off to wherever pissed off horses went, and observing Zelda in her wake.

Odd pair, those two.
Rumble Fish Peacemaker .45 idalie

​

 

[Peacemaker .45]

The cautious eyes of Jennifer seemed to catch the attention of Tesla. The comment he said noticing her looking at him, as a result, made her roll her eyes.

“We’ll be in Missoula soon enough,” she replied to him, ignoring his earlier comment for a moment. “Once there, you’re free to go and let all the women examine the ‘fine art’ you are.”

It was at this moment that Archie said something to Milly. Jennifer didn’t initially hear it, but she could make some of it out. Whatever he said, however, it seemed to bother Milly to some extent. While Jennifer and Archie had some lingering problems, the Mountaintop seemed to change him. And this was especially evident by the way Milly reacted to his little comment to her. He’s changed, and Milly clearly didn’t like it. But with everything they’ve been through, it’s only natural that Archie would undergo change, for better or for worse.

With Jennifer’s attention now back on Milly, Milly signaled that her that she was hungry. Understanding what she meant, Jennifer reached into her pocket and pulled out an energy bar. While she was saving it for herself, she knew that Milly needed it more than she did. Milly was looking awfully skinny to Jennifer. She was worried about the girl, and was willing to give up some of the rationed food for herself to Milly if she needed it. Milly was skinnier than Jennifer, and what mattered was that she didn’t get too skinny that it became dangerous.

“It’s not much, but” Jennifer started, as she shifted her crouched stance to one knee to retrieve the energy bar from her pocket and put it in front of Milly, “I have this. It’s strawberry flavored, and it’ll help that stomach,” Jennifer tapped Milly lightly in the stomach for emphasis, “feel better. What’d ya say? Strawberry sound good,” she finished with a smile.

Milly stayed quiet as Jen offered her an energy bar. The younger girl blinked a few times, looking up at Jen with her one eye. The woman did not seem too well herself. She was thin too, so the girl could not help but feel guilt towards taking the food. But as the woman seemed insistant, Milly simply sighed gently before taking the bar.

“Thank you,” Milly responded softly before looking back towards the barren wasteland with a sad gaze. “I like strawberry…” she added before opening the bar, taking her time. The youngster’s hands shook slightly, consumed with fear and worry. “You… think there will be more food where we’re going?” she asked the woman, the scarf still over her mouth and nose.

With a sigh, Jennifer replied to the girl. “Honestly, Milly, I won’t lie to you. I’m not sure what to expect. Every promise of civilization seems to be a lie. And I’m as skeptical of this place as everyone else is.” Shifting her weight to one knee and putting a hand on Milly’s shoulder, Jennifer went on. “But, there is a silver lining in all of this. Out there, in Montana, we have the Rocky Mountains. It’s rich and full of wildlife and low on populations of humans, which means less bad people - dead or alive. If this promise of civilization in Missoula is a lie, we have the land of the Rockies to live in.”

Milly sighed lowly as Jennifer admitted to uncertainty about where they were going. It seemed that no matter where they went, there were too many bad people that would ruin that promise of safety. Even when Jennifer tried to save face and propose the cautiously optimistic notion that they could still live in the mountains. The younger girl looked behind her to glance at the rest of the group before turning to Jennifer again.

“There aren't any good people.” She sighed ruefully, “They're all bad… The same.” she turned to glance at Archie again worryingly, her fingers still running down the barrel of her little firearm. Of course those words did not apply to this group, but Milly could not stop these misanthropic thoughts from spreading. After everything the group had been through, what else was there to think?

As Milly finished speaking, Jennifer glanced at Archie when she noticed Milly looking at him. This once again reminded her how he has changed, and the way it clearly bothered Milly. “I know Archie is…,” she stopped, searching for the right words, “different right now. But, he’s been through a lot. We’ve all been through a lot. Just know, Milly, that no matter how much he changes, he still loves you. He’s just lost right now. We all are… lost, in our own ways.” Milly gave Jennifer a sad smile and her eyes lowered again.

The weight of Jennifer’s own words began to sink into her own mind, however. It had been awhile since she herself began to think of what happened to her, how she herself was lost like the rest. Jennifer had to kill her own father, the hardest thing she had ever done in her life. After losing him and regaining him throughout her life, she lost him again, but this time at her own hands, ending his life. It may have been what needed to be done, but it didn’t make the pain hurt any less for her. She began to try to accept it, and while she could in ways, many more ways she couldn’t. So, she did the only thing she knew how to; push it to the back of her mind, only for it to inevitably eat away at her until she collapses. That’s the price she learned she had to pay as a leader. It wasn’t about her, but about the collective survival of them all as a group, the duty she reminded herself constantly in the midst of times she wanted to quit and care for herself only. But when that day finally did come that she collapsed from the mental decay of her own mind, she doesn’t know who will be at her side. The tensions of everyone in the group slowly ripped the fabric of what held them all together. It was only a matter of time before she-or all of them together-collapse.

But, with these thoughts once again shoved to an already overcrowded back of the mind, her focus was back to Milly. A tear slowly slid down the skin of her right cheek, prompting Jennifer to wipe it, though ignoring it as if it never happened. As she rationalized to herself in her mind, a leader can’t show signs of weakness like that. So she pretended it never happened. Smiling at Milly, she posed her a question. “Have you ever seen a herd of bison? Montana has them, and their herds are huge, in the thousands, all stampeding with a thunderous roar of hooves. I hear it is a sight to behold. And you might get to experience it.” Noticing Milly’s progress on the energy bar, Jennifer pointed to it. “Go on, Milly. Finish it, it’s okay. I’m not that hungry, you need it more.”

“No, I haven't in real life. Only on documentaries. Mum would-” Milly squeaked and instantly stopped, her frame seeming to shrink at mentioning her mother. She rubbed an arm and slowly resumed in eating the strawberry bar. She rubbed her almost non-existent abdomen with one arm as she did so. The group was low on food, and all they had most of the time was meat, something Milly had struggled to cope with. All she could hope was that the roughage from this bar would help in some way.

Milly’s reaction to mentioning her mother clearly showed to Jennifer the pain she felt still about missing her mother. Jennifer understood it all too well. Regardless of whatever her father was or became, Jennifer’s mother was always one of the most beautiful and caring people she had ever met. Her mother died when she held onto Jennifer’s arm when they fled their old community in Indiana. She was eaten alive by the dead. Jennifer could never forget the way her mother screamed as she was torn apart, or the look on her face as she told her to go. While she didn’t know much about the relationship Milly had with her mother, or the circumstances of their separation, she understood the pain of missing them. Jennifer began to open her mouth, but upon hesitation, closed it. She didn’t want to say anything that would bring back Milly’s pain of her mother. Adjusting her baseball hat, and fixing her ponytail, Jennifer put her hand on Milly’s shoulder once more.

“I promise you that I’ll do my best to make sure that I can get you, and everyone else here, a better place to live to provide you a better life. We just need to get to Montana first.” Getting off her knee, Jennifer stood up, and held her rifle just in front of the mag well with her left hand. “Now, I’m going to check out the area and make sure nothing’s coming our way, and see if maybe there are any supplies in these cars. Hang in tight, Milly. We’ll be up and out of here in no time.”

With that said, Jennifer started to walk up to the cars in front of her, but making sure that she still had them all in sight. She wouldn’t go far if no one could keep an eye on Tesla. She made sure she could see him, and everyone else, when she was a hundred or so feet away, looking at a car to see if there was anything useful. And as the light of day began to slowly change into the darkness of night, she didn’t want to be too far from them unless she was needed.

Milly stayed quiet and simply nodded as Jennifer went about her business. She had finished the bar, but she still felt empty and hollow, figuratively and literally. The youngster, not wanting to approach anyone else with the knowledge of the tension within the group, stayed where Jennifer had left her. She watched Domino as she frolicked and played, without a care. Milly sat down and simply observed, ensuring her blind side was towards Jennifer, Archie and the rest. She just hopes they knew what they were doing. She hadn't for so long.

Rumble Fish idalie Rui

 

[Rumble Fish]

Dutch watched his girl run and buck like a carefree child, clearly relieved to be free from the confindment of the horse box. She snorted and threw herself to the ground, rolling and creating a hurricane of dust around her. Dutch smiled warmly with a chuckle. His attention then turned to the forlorn doctor, who just stood and stared into the horizon. The man sighed heavily. The tension between herself and Archie was clearly having an effect. Not just on her, but the group as a whole. He just wished they would mend the bridge already. However, it was for them to do.

In the meantime, he could do something to ease the tension. Watching Zelda, he thought back to a conversation they had shared after retrieving Rin and Milly alongside Tesla. Zelda did not want to leave the truck or speak to anyone and it had taken him some time to convince her to leave the vehicle and speak to him. They sat away from the cabin in the meadow where he attempted to creek the door open on the topic of Zelda’s drinking. The doctor kicked that door right open and at first, refused to speak and attempted to storm away. He couldn’t blame her but stuck to his guns. She insisted she wouldn’t do it and she didn’t care. However, after a brief back and forth, the doctor slipped in her words…

Spoiler: flashback

“I don’t care! I can’t be sober!” Dutch paused at her words, something clicking in his mind.

Spoiler: flashback

“…You ‘can’t’ be sober?” he asked, to which Zelda darted her bloodshot eyes anxiously.

“I mean I won’t.” she answered abruptly, clearly aware of her slip-up.

“No, you said ‘can’t’ that time.” Dutch firmly retorted before his features softened once more, “What do you mean by that?”

“Won’t, can’t, same thing!”

“Zelda, there’s a world of difference. Okay, let me ask again. Why can’t you?” There was a silence that lasted between them for several minutes. Finally, probably out of the realisation that there was no escaping this, the woman finally sighed. Heavily and in defeat.

“Fine… I dunno why I am telling you. But you can’t tell the others.” She sat down again, clasping her hands together nervously, “If you do, you’ll lose an eye.” She growled afterwards, to which Dutch could only nod. Zelda was already in a dangerous mood, he would rather keep his full vision.

“Right… Well… After the hotel, I went on the road. I don’t remember much. But I was picked up by this group. Not like the Mountaintop, smaller but still. Guess they wanted to give me a chance since I don’t freak out at blood. While I was there, the leader made me go cold turkey. It was the only way I could stay.” She took a moment to breathe, finding the will to keep going, “So I did. And… well, it was terrible. Every day I felt cold and shaky, like I was about to have a heart attack every other second. I didn’t sleep, I couldn’t keep food down, I was seeing people who weren’t really there, I’d think it was raining when it was actually sunny and warm. Nobody could help me. I was their only medic.” She paused and looked up methodically towards the grey sky with only a strip of orange as a light source.

“How long did you last?” Dutch asked, hoping to prompt her to continue.

“About… six weeks. I think.”

“What happened after six weeks?” Zelda ran a hand through her black hair with a sigh, keeping her eyes shut as she continued.

“One day one of the hunters was brought back. He had been attacked by walkers and had been bitten on the neck.” She paused again, “I tried to resuscitate him. But… Well, it wouldn’t work. And, well, he died… at least I think he did.” she stopped again.

“…What? You think he died?” Dutch asked, the woman didn’t open her eyes, clearly struggling to keep going with her story. He really did not like the sound of where this was going. He was about to assure the woman she could stop but before he could, she spoke again.

“I was losing my mind. I kept trying to revive him. Eventually… he turned… I think… While I was on top of him and doing compressions. I had my gun close to me so I shot him and…” she stopped again, for quite some time, “I-I-I don’t know- I think he turned.”

“Zelda-” Dutch raised his hand, seriously not liking where this was going.

“I looked around and… I… I was surrounded by them! They were looming over me! Snarling at me! Trying to grab me! I thought they were trying to kill me! So, I… I…” her breathing was growing frantic and rushed, her face becoming flushed and she was shaking violently. “I shot them. All of them.”

Dutch froze, her eyes were wide and unblinking, reliving those terrible memories.

“When I finally came to… they were all dead. Men, women… kids… I couldn’t see. I couldn’t tell if they had turned or not. I just…” she shut her eyes again, not opening them again. Dutch did not know what he could say. He had no idea how she had been living with that.

“Do… Archie or Jennifer know?” he asked slowly to which Zelda slowly shook her head.

“They can’t know… I… I almost did it again. In the Mountaintop. Jen stopped me though. I’m dangerous, Dutch. I can’t be here. I’ll just hurt them. Or kill them.”

“No, no-! Hey!” Dutch sprang to his feet, “Stop that, you can’t think like that. Listen. That happened because you quit cold-turkey and it had an extreme effect. That second time, how long had it been?”

“Five days…”

“Five days, okay. So that obviously does not work. Zelda, I promise, getting you sober does not mean you are going to turn into a monster. We just… need to find a way.”

“Like what?” she sighed miserably, clearly not open to any suggestions.

“Hmm… Well… What if we tried to wean you off. Slowly.” The woman gave him a look of ‘seriously?’, “That’s how they get babies to give up the bottle.”

“I’m not a fucking baby, Dutch.” She growled angrily.

“Okay wrong words- Look, my point is, if we can slowly lessen your intake, then eventually you’d stop altogether. Or at least have it at a level where it isn’t a problem anymore. So… first things first, how much would you say you drink a day?”

“You know damn well-!”

“Okay, okay, okay… ooh here’s an idea.” He quickly jumped up and ran into the cabin, rummaging through his bag. He returned a second later with a medium sized mug. “Right, take this.” He shoved it in her hand. Zelda gripped onto the mug, trying to remember how to hold it. It had been a long time since she had actually drank out of a mug, years in fact. Dutch noticed her struggle to hold it and he lowered his brows a little.

“Right… so… rather than drink right from the bottle, put it in that mug. When do you drink during the day?”

Zelda shuddered, “Um… every chance I can.” Dutch sighed, seeing her forlone face. His black beard creased in a smile and his gentle gaze met her tear-filled and bloodshot hues, using one finger, he gently lifted her chin.

“C’mon. Let’s figure somethin’ out. I promise I’ll be with ya the whole way. Deal?” There was a long pause.

“…Okay.”

“Good girl.”

It had been weeks since then. It was hard given Zelda’s lack of will to converse with the rest of the group. But he could see she was trying. As he thought, he watched her as she measured out an amount of wine into a mug before drinking it. He could see in her face and within the deep sigh that it was hard. But she was doing it. She had already managed to reduce, it was not much but it was still a development. Dutch hitched up his jeans and approached the doctor with a gentle clear of the throat.

“Hey. How y’keepin’?” he asked. The doctor just glanced at him without an answer, “You managing?” Zelda just huffed and sat on the ground. Dutch looked down at her, unsure what else to say to her. He turned to walk away, when her gruff voice caught his attention.

“I hate it.” He turned to face her once again, “I hate all of this.” Dutch sighed and joined her in watching Domino.

“Hmm… well, we’ll get the truck fixed and we’ll be on the road again. Y’mind watching Domino for me while I help Archie?” all he got was a grunt in response and a shrug. Must be a yes. The man stood up, groaning from his knees and turned to the truck. He just hoped they could fix their relationship soon. It was no good to anyone.
idalie Rui Peacemaker .45 ​

 

[idalie]

Archie McKeegan & Zelda Williams​

With the truck elevated on the jack, Archie had set about loosening the hubcap and jostling through the selection of tools by his downed knee. Selecting a wrench after some consideration, the tool was weighty to his cracked and beaten hands; brow glistening as he breathlessly began to unwind the lug nuts. The muscles in his neck pulled taut like coiling snakes beneath the flesh, tense as he yanked the wheel away from the axle and immediately regretted the action with a muffled string of curses. Nursing his abdomen and running a motor oil palm through his hair, adding to the musky scent of labour. The only area dirt hadn’t managed to gather was the growing craggy wrinkles which gathered at the corners of his eyes, survival took its toll.

Of all the things he’d preached in his time, Archie wasn’t sure any of it helped. Was it him, a false prophet of good tidings that had only given optimism for cold reality to tear away. What was there to cling to? There were no bedsheets to quiver beneath, lost children - every last one of them.

He lifted his head, gesturing to Dutch who appeared to return from speaking with Zelda. “Takin’ yer sweet time,” The Scotsman drawled, “As if we have any.” His tone bordered on insulting, thinly veiled as he leant against the truck for support. Watching like a hawk down the bumps of his uneven nose, his gaze eventually drifted again to Milly. He was so tired these past few days, it wasn’t fair on her catching his spiteful tones but his eyes were sore and his body ached. The worst moments he found was when he slurred his words, some irony in it thinking back to what he’d said to the Doctor.

His twitchy fingers pulled the lit cigarette from his dry lips, smoke drifting up, caught on his tache as it split into various tendrils caressing his face. To be caught willingly in a vice was as stupid as it was unwilling, he could recognise that at least. And detested himself for it. Fuck the world, fuck this place, fuck everything that had ever breathed and would breathe. And fuck the very God that had given them some sort of forsaken hope.

Zelda was still stuck in her trance after Dutch had spoke to her. The doctor stood up and her gaze followed him as he then assisted Archie, muttering something under his breath about clearing more than just this mess. She frowned a little but still felt no desire to speak to him. So she turned back towards watching Domino.

What good was she aside from giving that dumb bastard his antibiotics? More than once she had thought of simply leaving instructions on how to administer those things but she doubted any of them would listen or attempt it. She had seen Archie nursing his wounds. Her lower eye twitched from the pain in her own wounds. Her default position was no longer simply slumped but most of the time, she was fully doubled over, both arms wrapped around her abdomen and chest.

While Zelda sulked, Dutch was pulling his weight in fixing the truck. He glanced back to her, “Hm… Y’know. Maybe you should talk to her.” But the realisation of what this comment could cause, he quickly deflected, “About Milly. She seems… not too well, maybe the doc would know what’s up.”

Archie narrowed his eyes at the fellow man, teeth grinding side to side in thought. “Maybe I should ask ye, since yer a fuckin’ doctor now too, huh?” His brow arched in confrontation. The idea of people telling him how to raise his … no. She wasn’t his. At night she cried for another kind of comfort. Truth hurt more than it healed and yet he slipped back and forth between the mentality of fatherhood and guardianship. Still, Milly had taken to calling him ‘Pa’ these days and it felt like he was some odd puzzle to her fractured family. His fractured family.

Dutch was right. The labourer had been planning to ask Zelda about it, but there was never a right time. He supposed there never would be either unless he took the initiative. Flicking the stub of a cigarette in a small shower of sparks, he pressed his heel into it and glanced down on the cowboy.
“But aye, I have eyes for that sorta thing.” Tucking his free hand in a pocket, the other supported his abdomen and occasionally grazed his dressings to check if they needed changing or had come loose.

He always liked to prove a point with that confident stride, where his shoulders swaggered and soles planted themselves firmly. Still managed to keep it up, even then, if not without its interruptions. Arch sought the Doctor out where she watched Domino, her features contorted in their own discomfort. Perhaps in their own way, there was some level of peace to the frustration - or was it a trick of the light? Nevertheless, peace wouldn’t last long with his approach.

“Doc,” A gruff, recognisable voice; thick with Scottish brogue and ragged from nicotine. “S’bout Milly.” He didn’t dare use her name, nor would he breach the subject that surrounded their silence to one another, “I know yer busy, I won’t hang around long, but I’d ask that you check her up. She’s seen a lotta bullshit, lotta fucked up stuff like the rest of us but I know it don’t carry easy - an she’s only wee. I dunno whether shes gettin’ skinnier or what. People been noticin’ anyhow.”

The tall man disguised his sore sides by crossing both arms, assuming some impartial expression as he refrained from wavering in the company of the Doctor. One might call it a form of masculine pride, others stupidity. His was surely fuelled by pure spite alone, guessing from the glazed look which drifted away every so often. Whether or not daydreams came to whisk him away or the feverish lack of lucidity in spattered moments - it was certain his motivation for such a show of feigned strength was failing.

"Don't bother, it probably did something to deserve it." That was the first thing to travel through Zelda’s broken mind at that first grunt of “Doc.” The aforementioned medical personal kept her skinny shoulders turned to the Scotsman as he spoke to the back of his trucker’s cap. She knew he did not know it, the thick-headed moron, but all he was doing was digging himself deeper by not even mentioning her by name. It seemed the Mountaintop was not truly gone. Some of its cruelty still lingered. And it was standing right behind her and it had a Scottish accent.

Zelda only turned to look up the more he spoke, his words turning onto Milly. The doctor had been concerned for the youngster for some time now, but did not dare encroach on his space. She did not know if one of the cigarettes would end up in her eye or not. But now he was asking? That was different. It took him long enough to figure out that something was amiss with his “child.” Prying into her buried and almost forgotten maternal instincts to get what he wanted. Was there no end?
With a gruff sigh, Zelda placed both thin hands on her knees, using them to hoist herself onto her feet with a suppressed groan. Not only did Archie think of her as useless and nothing but a waste, but now he thought she was stupid too. His groans, his posture, it all screamed in pain.

“Yup.” She answered before turning to the Scotsman fully for the first time since that day. “Might be the meat. Stress. Somethin’ else. I’ll find out.” She answered, tipping her cap further to cover her eyes, hoping to hide her own twitching from the pain in her chest and abdomen. Frankly, she did not even want to wear this stupid thing anymore. She didn’t have him anymore. So what was the point? It was cold. That was the only reason.

He paused, his attention retrieved from whatever abyss it’d been lost in, “Thanks. She’s a good kid.” He would’ve walked to the ends of the Earth for her, as awful and cliche it made him seem. Still, there was a reason he got up in the morning and went to bed early. He was optimistic about his recovery, having broken his fevers overnight and retained movement. It was still too early to say but he wasn’t about to give up the ghost just yet, not with Milly as his motivation.

Yet he knew Zelda, Doctor, whatever she was called. And the apathy between the two of them was palpable to the point it was almost something worth noting. It was easier to blame others than it was to see yourself as the root of all evil, she hadn’t done anything wrong per se, but silence had bred thoughts that remained unanswered by her voice and was replaced by a pale imitation dredged from his mind.

What was left, was the cracked charcoal skin of each bridge they’d set alight in anger. He’d seen what men could do, but when there was a woman involved it seemed on a level beyond physical result. There wasn’t that aggression which could solve a stalemate, in his mind stagnancy made the waters muddied. This frigidity was none of his concern, even though it be him caught up in the eye of a hurricane. Until the first victim suffered from his presence, there could be nothing done to enlighten such irrational ways and irrational thoughts.

Archie took a step back, twisting away from the Doctor as he looked toward the horizon. They still had some hours yet, although these days the sun went quicker than usual.

Zelda was relieved that he did not snap at her, though she doubted that “thanks” held any real merit. You were taught to say that as a child. It was customary. Her gaze glanced back down. Just standing in front of him was making her nerves jump. If he honestly wanted her to cut back, acting this way and causing her brain to perform backflips to understand him or avoid his potential wrath (she hadn’t seen any but who really knew?) was honestly not making anything easier! Even Dutch with his support did not help.

“...Anti’s helping?” she asked finally. Despite their silence, she always routinely made sure that the Scotsman did indeed take his antibiotics. Which he did. But despite her best efforts, nothing seemed to be improving. “...Nevermind.” The doctor sighed, “Stupid question.” she looked away from him. She hoped that Archie would answer. She wanted to talk to him. Hear his voice. Her mind drifted back to their interaction before the fall of the mountain top. Him holding her under her desk as she told him everything. Zelda could not stop her shoulders from shaking at the memory. At this point, she just wanted to collapse in tears but knew she couldn’t. What would it do? Nothing.

“As well as they can,” He was slow off the mark to respond, something in the back of his head wishing to keep his silence and a strange twang in his chest which demanded there be some words exchanged for the favour of reconciliation. Maybe it was just the fever speaking. “... I can tough it out.” His gaze landed on Zed’s turned face, finding the shadowed silhouette of gaunt cheeks and pale complexion. Her lips were chapped but in some amusement Arch supposed they’d always been that way. The rough texture never granted it’s touch but equally frustrating to see for its truth as a symptom.

Her shoulders shook. “You should get some rest.” He spoke from that aloof position of surprising nonchalance, withdrawing before he could allow himself to offer another slice of hurt in that instinctual desire to see others happier than him. His sights set themselves on the distant face of Milly, starting to shift the weight from one foot to another as he strolled himself past the Doctors bowed form. These would be dark days until the dawn broke winter and thawed the frost between the pair.

As he spoke aloofly towards her concerns, the doctor’s shoulders visibly slumped. Seems he was just going to keep going like this. Even as he walked past her, saying she should rest, she did not allow her gaze to follow. He would have seen the leakage from her hues. With a vicious swipe, she rid her face of the droplets. No, she was not going to let him do this to her. But even that thought made it worse. That day at the lake, where she had openly cried for the first time after losing everything, he was there. But now?

“No.” She grunted at his response despite him no longer listening. She wanted to see to Milly. For the girl’s sake. Not his. She cursed herself for even caring at this point about him. What had he done? Nothing. Not even a whisper of an apology and acting as though she had killed his child. Maybe Mark was not actually gone.

This world was shattered, the one they’d known - it made sense for its denizens to follow suit. Archie hung his head to the blues sung on a whining wind; followed by a shrill coo of a lone bird sitting placidly in the high branches. Civilisations rose and fell, but come downfall it bore the brunt on generations to come before peace could be reached. This epidemic might have started from some suitably forbidden knowledge, yet it’d either burn itself out or they’d find out suffering wasn’t the worst thing left in store.

Archie moved off in the direction where not only Milly sat but nearby the other young gal and the greasy polack. He’d not liked the look of him since the slimy fella joined, never offering a hand in helping unless it concerned him. Talk about his apocalypse A-Team, shame was he’d either lost contact or they were an ocean away.

Nearing the small form of Milly, he would come around - looking to the horse with some suspicion. Didn’t like horses. Too many hooves to the head, temperamental, judgy bastards. He’d seen enough of those injuries on A&E shows back home. The Scotsman put a hand on his hip, “Holdin’ up?” Archie managed a smile, genuinely pleased to see her. These days it might’ve not reached his eyes but it meant something. He wasn’t so drastically different. But there was more of the man who’d pummelled a face into the dirt, rather than the man who had been a force of good to be reckoned with. “The Doc said she’d give you a check-up, I know you ain’t feelin’ so good. But I got my eye out for your vegetarian stuff.”

Rumble Fish Peacemaker .45 Rui

 

[Rumble Fish]

Milly & Zelda

Milly was broken out of her thoughts as Archie approached her, telling her that Zelda was going to give her a check-up. She did not know what to answer with. She knew she was not feeling well, and it seemed to be clear to everyone else. She looked from Archie to Zelda and back again, her hands stimming around the gun in her grip. The Scotsman, despite everything, was still as tender as he had ever been to her but… even then there was a difference and it was worrying her sick.

“Okay, pa. Thank you,” she answered finally before walking over to Zelda, who was fishing what little medical equipment they had before leading her a little away. The doctor turned around to face the skinnier youngster with a sigh.

“Sit down.” She instructed her, which Milly obeyed almost instantly with no protest. Before beginning, the medic took off the trucker’s cap that had been keeping the sun out of her eyes and put it to the side. She did not know why she still wore it. All it did was hurt her more. Wordlessly, she took out her stethoscope and a few other things to start her examination, “How’ve ya been eating, sleeping, etcetera?” she asked bluntly, not looking up at the girl as she put the device around her neck.

“Um… not much, miss-”

“Please don’t.” Zelda visibly bristled, “Please-just… call me Zelda.”

“But miss-”

“Please.” She gave the younger girl a pleading look. It was bad enough Archie was not calling her by her actual name, she did not want that from Milly too. It seemed to rub off on her. The youngster seemed to sense this as she glanced down a little.

“Okay. Sorry, Zelda.” She mumbled quietly. Zelda did not like the shift in nature she had seen in Milly. But it was not a surprise. After everything she had seen and done, it had clearly broken the youngster. She still needed to sleep with her teddy bear and needed a story before going to sleep. A child stuck in a world she did not deserve. The doctor sighed heavily and got started.

“What’s wrong?” she asked to which Milly gulped.

“Um, whenever I eat it just… races through.” She told the doctor quietly before looking away, “I’m cold all the time and I just feel sick. It makes it really hard to sleep.” She still looked down, Zelda could see that she was hurting internally as well as externally. With a slight nod, she continued. Using the stethoscope, she listened to Milly’s heart-rate, breathing and then sat back.

“Hm… okay. Don’t hate me for this, but you need to roll your top up. I gotta listen to your stomach.” The doctor instructed, to which Milly simply obeyed her. As she did, Zelda was upset to see the youngster’s ribcage and concave abdomen and her joggers were hanging loosely on her bony hips. The doctor put the stethoscope against her stomach (Milly jumping a little at the coldness) and listened. After a few moments, the doctor removed it.

“Yeah, it doesn’t sound good in there. It must be the meat.” The doctor explained. Milly blinked and kept her gaze down.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked the doctor, who simply nodded in response. “When are you and Pa going to… talk again?” she asked quietly. Zelda stopped and looked at the girl who was looking up at her with tearful whale eyes. Zelda sighed deeply.

“That’s bothering you?” she asked, maybe that could give her another insight as to why she was unwell. All she knew was that stress could easily compromise an already weak immune system which Milly clearly had. The smaller girl nodded at this. Zelda scratched the back of her neck anxiously.

“I… don’t know.” She answered finally. Milly sighed and stood up, as it was finished. “I don’t want him to be so angry.” She added. She did not know what had transpired between them to cause this rift in their relationship, but she really hated it. “He-he doesn’t act angry with me but… I know he is. And it… well… I’m just really, really worried about it.” She admitted. Zelda sighed and rubbed the back of her neck unhappily.

“Have you told Archie this?” she asked, only to receive a glum shake of the head as a response. The doctor was stuck on what to say. She couldn’t tell Archie herself, what if he became angry with Milly for saying that behind his back? But it was one of the causes to her poor health so he would want to know. She did not know what to do. The doctor sighed, “I’ll… think of something.” She added. She looked to Milly before going into the bag and finding a protein bar. “Here. It’s full of roughage. It should help.” She said before sighing and walking away, leaving Milly with the bar. The youngster sighed and sat down, looking back out to the horizon. What else was there to hold onto?

With a deep sigh, the melancholy doctor approached Jennifer, tapping the woman on the shoulder. "Hey." she said before clearing her throat slightly, "I looked Milly over. It's not looking good. Seems that... me and Archie not talking is really affecting her. As well as meat and stuff, she's just generally in a bad way. I'm... gonna see what I can do." she said before looking away. How did she know Jennifer didn't hate her too? Knowing how the gunwoman felt about alcohol, it wouldnt shock her. With a sigh, Zelda looked to the woman, waiting for her response. The cap was still on the ground.
Peacemaker .45 Rui idalie ​

 

[Peacemaker .45]

As the day turned to dusk, Jennifer took out her headlamp, and put it over her baseball cap. Though, in order to wear both, she had to reverse the cap so that the brim was backwards. This, of course, didn’t matter, as light was becoming scarce, and the use of the brim became a disadvantage in the dark. With her headlamp on, the woman leaned against a car, putting her rifle leaning up against it. The surrounding area seemed vacant, she used this time to think. They all had been through so much, and the fact that they are a group right now, even if the strings that held them together were close to breaking, was remarkable. They all had issues, issues that sometimes popped up and got in the way of their group cohesion. But somehow, they were still together and alive, despite what seemed like every factor trying to tear them apart. But as she thought more, an eerie feeling overcame her, that the cohesion wouldn’t last, and that things would get much worse again. Jennifer shock off the feeling, after realizing her thoughts took her attention off scanning for hostiles in the area near her.

While the cool air of night was creeping on her skin, the woman could hear footsteps behind her. She said nothing and waited for whoever was behind her to say what they wanted. She felt a tap on her shoulder, to turn around and see Zelda. She could smell the alcohol in her breath, which repulsed Jennifer. Though, she tried to ignore it for now. Any sort of drama isn’t worth it now. As her reflections reminded her, the cohesion of the group was growing thinner and thinner. She had to try and repair cohesion as opposed to tear the remaining fibers of the rope holding it together.

There had been a considerable gap since Jennifer and the Doctor spoke. Zelda has her demons, and her problems with Archie right now. She felt this was partially why she decided to be in the trailer with Domino, as opposed to in the truck with the rest. Jennifer assumed that Zelda had important health related issues to discuss with her. And sure enough, she did, and it was about Milly. Zelda explained what is going on with Milly. A number of factors contributed to her shrinking body fat. She was becoming too skinny, and a big reason was because of the rift between Archie and Zelda, and the absolute change in their relationship they encountered. The Doctor said she would see what she could do, but she knew this would do more harm than heal the mend between her and the haggard appearing Archie.

“I’ll speak to Archie about it, okay,” Jennifer said as she put her hand up to signal Zelda to stop and let her handle it. Jennifer grabbed her rifle, and attacked the sling to it. “Thanks for bringing this to my attention though. Milly’s is too damn important to us all for her to be hurt,” she said to Zelda as she walked away from her and to Archie.

Arriving at Archie, she cleared her throat. “Archie, we need to have a talk.” Jennifer glanced at Milly for a moment, before turning them back to Archie. “We need to have an important, serious, talk right now. Would you follow me?” Jennifer walked away from the group, enough so that if spoken quietly enough, the rest (Milly in particular) wouldn’t hear. Once getting far enough away from the rest, she leaned up against a broken lamp pole on the side of the road and crossed her arms.

“Have you noticed anything about Milly lately,” Jennifer started to speak, trying to keep her voice low so it wasn’t too loud. “Have you noticed changes in her normal behavioral patterns? Because I just spoke to Zelda, who was checking on Milly. She’s not doing well at all. She’s too skinny, the meat isn’t settling well in her. But one of the biggest things that is contributing to her weight loss, and her doing bad in general, is how you and Zelda are acting. Milly loves you, and she loves Zelda. She loves you both. But with how y’all are acting towards each other, and how you in particular are acting, she is losing too much weight. If she keeps losing more weight, her body will start eating the muscles. And that includes the most vital one, the heart. You need to change, or something. Milly can’t take this. She’s doing physically worse, and if it continues, she could die. You’re not yourself, Archie, and it’s really getting to her.”

Jennifer was going to say more, but she felt that saying more would make things worse. Biting her tongue, she looked down and sighed, kicking some debris with her feet. “Look, Arch, I know we have a lot of problems. I know you and Zelda do have problems as well. But we both love Milly. We both don’t want to see her doing worse. I’m not blaming this on you, or am I accusing you of anything. At least, I’m trying not to. If I did, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. But, Milly needs you to be the old Archie she knew, or similar to it. Her health is failing, and you can stop it from getting worse. She listens to you. You can help her. Just try to change. I know it’s not easy, believe me, I know it myself. But Milly needs you. You’re the only person she needs. Be there for her. Talk to her like you used to. Just be your old self for her, or a fragment of it. Milly needs it for her own.”

idalie Rui Rumble Fish

 

[idalie]

Archie McKeegan​

Archie wasn’t a fan of how Jennifer approached him, letting out a grunt of displeasure as he pushed himself up to his feet in an unsteady fashion. Ambling after the elected strategist of the group, he briefly brushed his fingertips across the top of Milly’s head. Comforting himself and likewise proffering a small goodbye rather than speak. When they were a sufficient distance, the lumberjack leant himself opposite Jen. Feverish brow glistening gold in the sunset, circles about his eyes sunken; smaller. Even his shadow stretched, long out before him as if to mock to the man he’d become. That lass crossed her arms, barring herself as she began to talk whilst the labourer's brow sunk and creased.

He interrupted almost immediately, “Jennifer, whatever the fuck this is, don’t start askin’ me what I have and haven’t noticed. You don’t think I’ve seen it? You don’t think I lie awake shittin’ myself about whats gonnae happen to that girl? You know why Zelda was checkin’ on her, huh? Because I asked.” The tone was biting, albeit willing to engage in conversation. Nose flaring as the younger woman continued to speak, his expression dropping slightly as she mentioned his icy behaviour, that and the rift between him and Zelda.

“I know what happens if she loses too much weight. I know. It doesn’t take an eejit to work it out, sweetheart.” McKeegan drew a hand across his face, dragging the haggard wrinkles down. “But you know you’re right, me an’ Zed have fuckin’ problems. I can’t catch a rest. You ever stop an’ think maybe I do my best around Milly? That I get exhausted of all that bullshit of havin' to smile on a rainy day. You keep sayin’ you’re not blamin’ me and yet every word tha’ comes outta your mouth is tellin’ me I’m the reason my girl is dying. That I’m the one who needs to try harder, even though I worked my ass off for you, for your pa, and for every person here in this camp. You don’t think I’m tryin’? Give me a fuckin’ break Jennifer, you ain’t fuckin’ bothered with me. Don’t give me this bullshit sympathy, gimme the straight truth. That truth is me and Zeld need to kiss an’ make up. That's it. All you had to say and I woulda got up outta here and told her to marry me if it made a difference.”

He got up to his feet too quickly, doubling over in a hiss as he gripped the nearest tree to support himself. Glaring at Jennifer from his slightly hunched position he shook his head. “Talk to me like I’m blind and I’ll treat you like you’re deaf. Why would you have to tell me what's right in front of me? Just the damn reasons. I’ll fix ‘em myself like I do every damn thing.” He was more insulted than angry, it showed in his eyes the way he regarded Barnett. Hurt. That he would’ve been so self-centred to have missed the deterioration of the one thing he had left.

Stumbling away, one foot after another he heaved and barely balanced himself against what trees stood sturdy. What came next was making up with Zed. He wasn’t sure how she’d react, whether he could manage it after the weeks of no contact. He’d try, for the sake of Milly and nothing else. He had his fonder memories of the doctor, but where did they stand these days? Where did he stand?

Peacemaker .45 Rumble Fish

 

[Peacemaker .45]

Around One Year Later...

The wind ripped through the valley, causing the timber the sway and creak. The mountains on each side of the valley were steep and tall, their peaks jagged. Boulders were sat on the slopes and in the valley, lines of trees missing and piled up from where the rockslides brought them both down. The sound of snow lightly being crunched by footsteps was subtle from a distance. A bull elk sounded his call. Not long after, a gunshot echoed through the valley, the sound bouncing off of the mountain slopes. A woman appeared from behind the timber.

Snow lightly covered the ground, the cold nipping at her neck. A hundred yards in front of her, her kill lie in the ground. “Finally,” the girl exclaimed quietly. With her rifle in one hand, the woman maneuvered the fallen timber and inclines, making her way to the kill.When she finally made her way to the animal, she leaned her rifle on it, and took off her pack, putting it on the ground beside her.

“I finally got this beautiful boy,” Jennifer said to herself with joy. The woman had been tracking this elk for awhile now. Getting this elk was a journey. Kneeling beside her kill, she began to pray.

“Thank you, Lord, for this animal. It will help us have food on the table. I thank you for your grace in this food.” Doing the sign of the cross, Jennifer pulled out her knife and began to skin the animal.

It had been around a year since things happened at the Mountaintop. Since then, they moved west, finding themselves somewhere in Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho. They weren’t sure exactly where. But, they knew they had made it to the Rocky Mountains. The decision to move there was one to avoid the congestion of the cities out East. Out west, towns were far apart. Population density was far less. The threat of undead, therefore, was less. Combine that with less living people, and rough terrain With plentiful natural resources, and they had found a place to stay. One safer, more remote. Though, while their small group left with five people, not everyone made it out.

Things had changed from then. Life was easier, in a sense. The new location was remote. Undead were almost nonexistent it seemed. The resources of the land were plentiful, and the beauty of it was unfathomable. For the first time in a long time, Jennifer felt as peace. She felt one with nature, one with herself. The darkness that clouded her was gone. Jennifer was full of light. The new location healed her through ways she did not understand. But while this place was like heaven, it had its problems. But the severity of them were still new and unknown. But Jennifer has seen some of them before. And she was aware every second in the outdoors.

As Jennifer was cutting the meat off of the bull, the trees fell silent. The wind was no more. A pin dropping would sound like a gunshot in the small valley. Jennifer began to feel an overwhelming feeling as if she were being watched. The woman stood up from her activity, and looked around. She couldn’t see anything. But she knew what it was. She’s dealt with them before.

“I know you’re here,” she said looking around, her voice calm, yet stern. “I do not seek any conflict. I come to harvest my food. Let me finish in peace, and we’ll go our ways.” Jennifer looked around once more, before lowering her head and whispering, “and Lord, protect me.”

Jennifer stood there for a tense moment. The knock of wood from her left echoed through the valley. The feeling of being watched intensified. Jennifer’s gut told her what to do. She knew her sixth sense. She trusted it more than anything. It screamed at her to go. Jennifer picked up her rifle, and threw whatever meat she got in her pack, and began to leave. As she walked out of the valley, she heard footsteps on both sides of her. Jennifer didn’t run. She learned a long time ago not to run in this situation. Instead, with her rifle ready, she walked out of the valley. Once she existed, the footsteps stopped. The sounds of nature were around her. She felt that sensation no longer there. When things returned to normal, she carried on her hike, a mile or so from the cabin they were hunkered down in.

After crossing two streams, going up a small mountain, then down on the other side and following a river in the valley and over another mountain, Jennifer finally made it back to the cabin. With a knock on the wooden door, Jennifer entered.

“I got that bull I was trying to get,” she said loudly when walking in so everyone could hear her. The cabin was large for one in the middle of nowhere. It had two stories to it with a few rooms on both the top and bottom floor.

“Zelda, you know what that means,” Jennifer said with amusement, “you finally get to try elk heart!” Jennifer walked into the kitchen and got the meat off of the frame pack. “Anyone want to help prepare the food and preserve the rest?” Jennifer looked around the kitchen for her knife. “How’ve things been when I was gone?” Jennifer asked that out loud for whomever would reply to her.

Rumble Fish

 

[Rumble Fish]

I’m dangerous, Dutch. I can’t be here. I’ll just hurt them. Or kill them.

Even after a year, those words still swirled around as the doctor stared out across the carpet of forest, her feet planted firmly on the roof tiles, stopping her from slipping down. Zelda spent more and more time up here, more than she liked. But even with their lessened numbers, she still felt the need to escape other humans and the roof was the best place. A lot had changed in the year she had spent on the road, but one main thing stuck out more than others. And that was the absence of the woodsman and the teenage girl. Almost a year now they had parted ways, and despite the good terms they left on, it left a void that the doctor simply could not fill; not even with alcohol. She still had his trucker hat, though it had been a while since she had even looked at it. Even with it perched on her head and out of sight, it sent a melancholy weight down her spine.

Things had changed, but those inner demons that perpetually gnawed at any decision she made simply could not be drowned. But there was less death and less carnage, it was just them and the wilderness. It was sometimes strange to think back to the Mountaintop, where they had all met. Those were memories that Zelda, truthfully had never wanted to revisit. Everyone seemed to have moved on, and she had too. But the doctor still had persistent nightmares; of Dave, of the massacre, her inability to save her patients and fellow medics...

"I got that bull I was trying to get,” A voice jumped Zelda out of her melancholy stupor and she craned her neck down to watch Jennifer walk in, announcing that night's dinner. Below, she heard the baritone laugh of Dutch at her quip about her trying elk heart. He had a reason to, she never did ever dream that she would be eating heart of all things. Zelda had done many things to the heart over the years, but eating one? She could not say that was an experience of hers.

"Oi, doc!" Dutch called up, "When yer done with yer rooster act, git down 'ere and help!" He rolled his shoulders and got to work, as Jennifer asked how things had been, the man wiped his brow and rolled up his sleeves, "I took Domino around the woods, didn't see anything much, thank the Lord." He chuckled, remembering his experience with the demonic puma that almost tore his head off. He glanced back up, as if towards the roof before turning his attention outside where Domino, the faithful black mare grazed contently without a care in the world.

"She's bin up there a few hours. Dunno why." He shrugged, "I offered to bring her along with me on the patrol but she wasn't keen-"

"Or maybe I just don't wanna hear any more Johnny Cash for a short time." The doctor's voice cut him off as she walked in, looking at Jennifer. Even though things were different between the two women and they had been able to put whatever antagonism felt towards one another aside, Zelda still could not help worrying. Thankfully now, it was reduced to an annoying niggling at the back of her head as opposed to the vicious self-hatred that once coursed through her veins. Now it was more like a self-dislike. After a moment, the doctor cleared her throat and got out a knife to help prep the food, "I'll need to count our supplies again." She rubbed an itchy eye as she said this. Even though this had been a safe haven for some time, she still could not shake off those worries. Maybe she was just getting old.

Peacemaker .45

 

[Peacemaker .45]

The atmosphere of the cabin was lighthearted at first. But, once Zelda came down, her struggles reminded everyone of what they’d dealt with. Things were quieter around the place now. No longer was innocence there like before. It was just the three of them there, plus Domino. While the loss of two of their companions weighed heavily on their minds, it especially hit Doc. For awhile now, both Dutch and Jennifer tried their hardest to see if they could help her. But some things left wounds that took longer than others to heal. Doc was still trying to heal hers.

Jennifer glanced a concerned looking at Dutch, then back to Zelda. At this point, she had nothing left in the book to try and cheer Zelda up. Lord knows she tried. But nothing worked. With nothing really to say, Jennifer lowered her head and sighed quietly. Following that, she took a deep breath and began to get out some meat to cut for dinner. She signaled at Dutch to come and help with butchering the meat and cutting out all of the waste.

“You know...,” Jennifer said after an awkward silence, “to be fair, I’d get sick of hearing Cash all the time too.” It was an attempt at a playful jib at Dutch for conversation sake and easing the mood. “You need a little variation. At least get Merle in there too, maybe Strait and Alan Jackson too. We could use a fun song like Chattahoochee or something. I mean anything, so long as it isn’t that ‘Bro-country‘ or ‘pop’ country.” Jennifer shivered jokingly at the mention of those sub genres.

Taking the back strap of the elk, Jennifer carefully cut through it and cut out any parts she didn’t personally like on the meat. As she was cutting through the meat, little white cysts appeared in it. “She’s this here,” Jennifer pointed her knife at the small cyst, showing Dutch and Doc, “that’s tapeworm larva. Gross, but it can’t infect us. Still, make sure to cook it properly to kill it.”

As Jennifer continued to cut meat, she spoke up again. “I ran into those things again today.” Dutch looked at her. “You know what I’m talking about, Dutch.”

Dutch scoffed. “Bigfoot? Here we go..”

“Look, I know what I saw!” Jennifer lowered her voice for a moment. “Or at least the little bit I did... BUT, I know there’s something out there, something hostile. Or I at least think it is. I don’t know. I just got that... feeling again. It’s different than any of the other stuff we encountered. Undead, freak mutated ones, strange beasts back in West Virginia. This thing is different. It’s more intelligent. It follows you. It watches you. It only reveals itself to you when it wants to. One second it’s there, the next it isn’t. I’m telling you, there’s something like that Bigfoot, Sasquatch being. And I think we need to be careful.”

“What feeling for you get, exactly,” Dutch asked her.

Jennifer put down the meat and the knife, and turned around and leaned on the side of the countertop. “It’s this weird feeling. It’s like my body starts to warm up, I feel my heart sink. I get this weird... pulling feeling. Almost like their eyes are pulling me to them. But not physical me, almost like a spiritual sort of ‘me,’ I don’t know. I feel my head vibrate, my muscles tense up. My senses feel heightened. My ears almost feel sensitive to any sound, they hone in on sounds around me. But in a weird way, it feels like my ears are physically collapsing. It doesn’t hurt, but I don’t know how to put it.”

The woman stared off into the ceiling, trying to put her thoughts together. The sensation was like that of nothing she’s ever felt before. After e writhing she’s been through, nothing quite compared to that sensation. “All I know is I felt that, then I heard a wood knock. As I was leaving, I heard footsteps all around me. Then they just suddenly stopped, the feeling went away. I could hear nature again.” Jennifer shook her head, the experience making her uneasy in retelling.

“None of you had this feeling before here? I’m telling you, there’s something here we need to watch out for that’s u like anything we’d ever seen before. Unlike the rest, this thing, it’s intelligent. Don’t fool yourself thinking we’re the apex predators here in terms of intelligence.”

Jennifer finished cutting some of her meat. Putting the knife down, she cleaned her hands and pushed the meat to a sauté pan for cooking later. “I’m going to go see ole Dom if you need me.” Jennifer walked out the door and outside to where Dom was eating some hay. She approached her carefully, grabbing her brush.

“Hey girl, hey Dom,” she said softly, as she began to pet and brush Dom. “The hay’s good, huh? Well I sure don’t like it, but I’m glad you do.” Jennifer had begun to love Domino when they arrived here. The connection she made with her was partially one that helped her heal. She didn’t understand how, but she knew Domino was a part of it.

The woman brushed Domino for a little longer. She sat down and rested on a tree right near Dom. There was an oddly calming sensation when listening to Domino eat her hay. And what’s more, Domino exerted a peacefulness onto her. That, combined with the sounds of the timber and the sight of the jagged peaks of the mountains nearby, she was truly calm. Jennifer sat there in bliss, taking it all in. Though, in theback of her mind, she still felt as if these things might be there, they might be watching.

Rumble Fish

 

[Rumble Fish]

Zelda felt the atmosphere fall when she made her appearance, but chose to stay quiet and assist the pair in cutting up the meat, only making a comment far below her breath about knowing what tapeworms were. While not a huntress, her history as a doctor and surgeon made her dextrous with a knife. She used to tell children, including her own that she got that good through playing video games as well as studying hard. It wasn’t entirely untrue. What some people did not understand was they actually did a lot of good for a person’s hand-eye coordination.

She was content to let the pair talk, but her head did turn to watch them as Jennifer once again talked about the Sasquatch. Now, while her own head the doctor wanted to deny any possibilities of the supernatural breaking into their own realm, she believed Jennifer. If the dead could rise, this was a possibility. But then again, it just seemed too far out of the realms of reality for them to exist. Dutch seemed to think so too as he dismissed the notion. As the woman left, the man sighed and continued cutting away.

Heh, maybe she’ll now be saying there’s a Wendigo or one of them Siren Head things.” He said with a slight chuckle. Zelda rolled her eyes and stayed quiet, but only for a second until Jennifer was out of sight.

“I wouldn’t be too quick to say that.” She finally spoke, going to a cupboard in the kitchen and reaching in to pull out a half empty bottle of red wine. The woman shuddered slightly as she got it out. Everything about that bottle sent nothing but bad memories to flood back into her head. But things were different now. This would be the first time she had even thought about it all day. As she poured it into a mug, Dutch snorted behind her.

“C’mon doc, you don’t believe it do you?”

“I…” she took a methodical sip from the mug, shuddering again, “I don’t know. All I am saying is, well, don’t totally disregard it.”

“Oh give me a-”

“Dutch! You encountered the supernatural before! Remember that cougar?!”

“Oh.” His face turned into one of annoyance, “Um… Well, that was different. That cougar was undead, affected by the same affliction as all those undead that used to be around. Not… well, Bigfoot for God sake!”

“Hm. Still, I wouldn’t be so quick to deny it.” She sighed, “Anyway. I um… I’m gonna get some air.” Zelda sighed, tipping her head back to drink the contents of the full mug before refilling it and making her way to the door, “Um… Are we still on for go fish later?” Dutch smiled at this, his eyes creasing into familiar looking crows feet, much like a certain woodsman.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself from last night.” A slight snort escaped the surgeon’s nose. He was too good at that game but it did help the doctor mentally. It was practically a nightly ritual and it helped to settle her frazzled nerves. With that, Zelda left the cabin, leaving Dutch to sing some off-key Hank Williams as he danced with a broom, continuing his own chores within the cabin. she walked over to Jennifer and Domino. Domino, freshly brushed, was munching her hay constantly and she saw Jennifer resting against a tree.

Zelda was relieved to see Jennifer get better. Despite everything swirling around in her head, she worried about the younger woman so seeing her in a better headspace was a great reassurance, and she knew Dutch felt that too. The man had lost sleep with worry before. With a long groan, Zelda slid down a tree onto the ground, looking out to the pointed peaks of the faraway mountains. She took a small drink from her mug and did not break her gaze from the view.

“You know, I can’t say I know what you mean about feeling nature.” She spoke, not looking at the woman in fear of losing her nerve and drive to talk, conversing with Jennifer was still difficult for her, even after everything they had been through. “But you’re right about us not being the apex predator. I can’t stop thinking about that day at the creek. What Dutch said about that cougar. It could think and lure him. I dunno why he won’t think about it but…” she let out a long sigh and sipped more from her mug, “Look if you’re sure that something’s out here then… I believe you. Can’t say I know anything about the woods. But you do. And I’d be an even bigger idiot than I already am if I don’t at least think about it.” She went quiet as Domino mosied over with a gentle chuff, seemingly happy to see two of her three favourite people with her. Zelda reached out and allowed the mare to sniff her hand before stroking her nose.

Peacemaker .45 [/font][/border][/border][/bg]

 

[Peacemaker .45]

The wind softly blew the branches of the timber, causing the sound from it to mix with Domino eating. The two sounds together were peaceful to Jennifer. Being back in nature like she was now was something that made her feel better about life, all things considering with how the world ended up. Jennifer moved her knees closer to herself, resting her chin on them. She slightly tilted her head, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly.

Peace. She’d finally found peace in her life.

The road in which Jennifer traveled in life was the opposite of peace. Hardship, loss, death, despair, betrayal, and pain were all symptoms of the environments she found herself in, starting at a young age. She lost her brother, her family fell apart, her father abused her and her mother. Then she had to get a heart transplant. Then the world changed. She was abused by so called “saviors,” abused by the leader. She lost her parents, suffered on what to do. Each day she watched a bottle of pills go down. Then she found a group, was captured, saved. She began to develop a family of sorts. But she lost them, and found new family along the way. She found her father and lost him in the process for good, ending him herself. Then they moved and lost more family.

But now? Now there is calm. There is beauty. There is serenity. There is the earth, the mountains and peaks, their valleys and creeks. The flora and fauna lived virtually untouched by the disasters that draped the world in darkness. Light shone through the thick clouds and let life flourish while the world around it decayed and collapsed. These places held the peace she needed.

Of course, this isn’t what Jennifer wanted. She wanted a husband, a house in the middle of nowhere, a ranch, and children. But those dreams died long ago, a fate sealed that she had no choice to accept. Her life was unfulfilled in this sense. It brought her much pain and turmoil for very long. But, she made peace with this reality. And this area gave her the healing she needed to cover up the wounds and find peace.

Her guard down, concentrating on the bliss of the beauty around her, she almost didn’t hear Zelda approach her. A small jolt of surprise, she turned her head towards the Doc. She could feel her burdens. But she didn’t change her demeanor to exasperate any issues. Instead, she looked up at the woman as she approached. “Hey Zelda,” she said softly. “Come out to see ole Dom?”

Zelda began to explain that she believed her about these beings lurking in the mountains. Jennifer cocked her head for a moment, unsure what to make of it at first. For once, someone didn’t think she was crazy. It was... unexpected. But it was welcomed.

“Thanks,” she said, still leaning against a tree. “I know there’s more out here. We may have left many of the undead behind. But more... curiosities, if you will, lurk here. I’m not so sure those things, the Sasquatch, are the only thing here. I have, as you know, spent a lot of time out there in those mountains hunting and gathering food and supplies for us. I’ve come across other things that I can’t explain.”

Jennifer got up, brushing any dirt or debris off of her pants, and crossed her arms. A look more of concern came across her face. “We have been lucky. We’re sheltered from the undead. But if we let our guard down...” Jennifer paused, trying to think of how to word this.

“Other things lurk in the shadows here and usually dwell at night, but not always. They prey on those who let their guard down. There’s more than Sasquatch things out here. I’ve experienced other things I’m not too sure about or comfortable talking about yet, because I’m not quite sure what it is I experienced.” The woman straightened her posture. “We aren’t the highest intelligence here. These things know we’re here. They’re watching. They’re listening. They’re gathering information. Good or bad, I don’t know. But there’s a chance that if we let our guard down, they will strike. The undead aren’t here. But something, or some things, are. And I’m not sure yet. But they might be worse.”

Just as she finished this, Jennifer felt a headache suddenly pulsate in her head, above her right brow. She moved her hand to rub it. The headache grew more, and she winced. In the midst of it, a voice popped into her head. She couldn’t make out what the voice was. But it didn’t feel like her own internal voice. It felt external, forcing itself into her mind. But the process caused a headache that hindered the ability to make out what was said. Just as the voice finished, the headache ceased.

Jennifer jolted slightly, wincing at the release of this being’s grasp on her mind. She looked at Zelda. Anticipating a question on the matter, she immediately spoke. “I’m okay. Just got a sudden migraine.. it came as fast as it went. Jennifer took a few moments to recover, before reverting to a normal stance and demeanor.

“So,” she started, clearing her throat and cracking a smile now, “I hear you and Dutch were going fishing. And you weren’t going to invite me? I‘m sure Dutch didn’t mention it to me after the last three times I whooped his ass in getting the bigger steelhead’s than him.” Jennifer leaned in and whispered. “He doesn’t want to admit I’m better at fishing then him.” Jennifer gave Zelda a playful nudge with her elbow. “Well I’ll be coming this time, and there isn’t a thing Wyoming man can say about it.”

Rumble Fish

 

[Rumble Fish]

The doctor just hummed in response to Jennifer's initial question, scratching Domino between her eyes as the mare stooped her head down low, her velvet muzzle wiggling in contentment at being groomed. The strain in her shoulders started to relax as she could almost feel the stress lift off of them. There was something about horses that seemed to have that effect on people and Zelda knew it from watching how Jennifer and Dutch interacted with and around Domino. After a few quiet moments, Domino chuffed and turned away to graze, leaving the two women sitting.

Jennifer spoke again, going into a monologue about what she was thinking. Zelda chose to just listen, since she herself was unsure of it all and if anything being said was true. But she was right about one thing; letting their guard down would be suicide. The doctor's wine-stained and ultimately troubled head thought back to when Archie had been attacked by the undead. Granted, Dutch had been in the right place at the right time to save him, but it all came from letting their guards down. The stress once lifted from her shoulders came crashing back down as the doctor remembered that, well, that entire thing had been her fault. If she had just been able to reel it in for a short time and keep her stupid emotions under control, that kid, Dennis, Donald whatever his name was would not have ran off and Archie would not have gotten hurt... Already she could feel the pressure build up behind her eyes but she was not going to cry. Not now. Zelda took the hat off of her head, running her fingers along the rim of it. She turned her attention back onto Jennifer and nodded slightly before drinking from the mug.

"Hm. I see what you mean. I can't say I know much about this stuff, but I've heard stories and you seem so sure so-" She stopped as she noticed the subtle expressions and movements from Jennifer, indicating some kind of head pain. Maternal and doctorial instincts surfaced and the woman got up and started walking towards Jennifer, but before she could ask if she was okay, Jennifer insisted she was, saying it was a sudden migraine. Zelda's thick brows furrowed a little at this, unsure if she could believe that. She knew better than to pry though. "Hm. Well, we got water and asprin if that happens again." She sat back down with a grunt. But after a few seconds, she felt Jen sit next to her and started playfully ribbing her about going fishing with Dutch. Despite everything surging perpetually through her head, the doctor could not help but crack a small smile as she quite rightfully called out Dutch for not telling her about their plans.

"Heh... well... if I know anything about males, they don't like their pride being bruised." She chuckled slightly, "Tell him you'll go easy. But then don't." She added, jumping slightly as Jen playfully nudged her. She smirked slightly but her face lost its smile for a second as her mind went back to that fishing trip at the Mountaintop. Just before everything fell apart, Jennifer was teaching Milly to fish and letting her swim while Archie sat alongside her, just watching. She missed them. Terribly. But... she still had Jennifer, Dutch and of course Domino. And she had to remember that. She let out a deep sigh.

"We all know I'm shit at fishing. So I can just sit back and watch you two duke it out." She chuckled a bit, slighty forced but also not in a way. It was true. Zelda was the least prepared out of the three of them for life in the woods. Granted she was now more useful than she had been before, but not with fishing. The doctor could not get rid of the swirling anxiety in her system and took another sip from her mug. This was still an improvement against even just a month ago. Still, the urge to just grab that bottle and down its contents in one go was still extreme and the doctor did have that fear that something would push her over that edge.

Peacemaker .45

 

[Peacemaker .45]

Some time later....

“I am 100% going to get the larger fish, Dutch,” Jennifer said to Dutch jokingly, preparing her pole for steelhead.

Dutch huffed. “Yeah, okay.” He turned to Zelda, still preparing his pole. “Remind me again why we invited her?”

“If you didn’t, you’d be coming back empty handed,” Jennifer immediately chimed in.

Dutch glared at her. He adjusted his hat, and spoke softly. “Game on.” He was serious this time.

Jennifer turned towards Zelda, and smiled at her, winking. She hoped she’d catch that she was testing Dutch’s pride playfully. “Alright, Dutch. If you’re the better fisherman, go ahead and start. I’ll join you in a few.”

“Why,” Dutch said, casting his first one of the day. “Scared?”

Jennifer laughed, turning to him and looking at him with a questioning face. “No, because you need a head start.”

“Oh yeah, okay, sure...,” he huffed, shacking his head, smiling slightly.

Once her pole was set, Jennifer tested it on the ground. She walked over to her backpack resting against a log, and pulled out a piece of jerky she’d made from an elk she harvested awhile back. Resourcefulness was the key to survival, especially in places like they found themselves, where scavenging buildings and stores wasn’t much a possibility. She didn’t know everything she did now. Instead, she learned through much trial and error. There was no manual, no guide, no experienced person to teach them. Instead, they had to do things, seeing what worked and didn’t. Jennifer put aside considerable time to do this, as the new terrain demanded it. She didn’t know everything, but she knew a good little chunk thus far.

After some time eating, she grabbed her pole, and distanced herself from Dutch a bit. In a spot where she felt was good, the began to cast, reel in, and cast again. She did this for about five minutes or so, until she felt something hit the bait. Setting the hook, she began to reel in. The fish fought, but it wasn’t the biggest fight she’d had before. With the fish close by, she reeled it to the shore and picked it up. “Juvenile brooky? Hm.” Jennifer took the brook trout off of the hook. It was too small to use. She threw the fish back into the water, and cast again.

Reeling in, she immediately felt another bite, this one much more pronounced. She set the hook. And the fight began. The fish fought, going back and forth. Every inch reeled in, the fish fought twice as hard to get back. Jennifer started to pull The fish in with more strength. “C’mon now,” she said to herself. The fight between the two was long. For ten minutes or so, the fish fought. But finally, it lost its strength. Jennifer reeled it in, and the fish came into view. “Holy crap,” she said, as she knelt down, and grabbed the fish. “Holy crap,” she said again. The steelhead she reeled in was huge. Pulling out a tape measurer, she measures it. 34 inches. Jennifer has to check again to make sure she read it correctly. it was correct. That was a big steelhead. Taking the hook out, she walked over to Zelda and Dutch.

“Dutch, I think I just cemented the largest steelhead catch today,” she said running over, joy on her face. “34 fricking inches! 34! I’m going to clean this thing out. See if you can catch a bigger one,” she said as she walked away from him, winking.

Jennifer took the fish over to her pack. Pulling out her designated ‘fish club,’ she held the fish up, whacking it a few times until the fish was dead. From there, she began to gut and clean the fish. Once done, she stored the fish away and walked over to Zelda. She wasn’t sure if the woman had fished or not yet.

“I honestly am so satisfied with that fish, I think I might retire for the day and see if Dutch can get close to mine,” she said to Zelda, still on the high from the fish she caught. “I don’t know if you did, but you should try to fish. I can try teaching you, if you’d like. It’s not too hard, you just to get the technique down. What do ya say, want to give it a shot?”

 

[Rumble Fish]

Zelda leant against one of the many thick tree trunks, arms folded and with a stoic expression. She did not react much to the banter between Dutch and Jennifer, only releasing a soft "Hrmmph..." at Dutch's teasing. It seemed that the man could not accept defeat. When Jennifer gave her a wink, the woman responded with a raised eyebrow and a return smirk, albeit a very slight one but a smirk nonetheless. Seeing Dutch's pride take a bit of a prodding. Her attention was temporarily removed from the pair as the sound of scrambled hooves and a squeak from Domino caused her to turn and look at the mare. It seemed that she had gotten a slight fright from something before quickly calming down. But instead of grazing, her head stayed erect and her ears perked. Maybe something had jumped from a tree and startled her. Still... something seemed a bit off. But before the doctor could go and check out what could be worrying the mare when Jennifer piped up, celebrating her catch. She could not help but smirk again as Dutch sulked and stayed at the river-side, flicking his rod every now and again as if that was somehow going to get the fish to bite.

Zelda kept pretty quiet as Dutch quite childishly mimicked Jennifer with a nasally "See if you can catch a bigger one." in a mock voice that sounded nothing like the woman. But she could see in his face that it was mostly for banter, even though he clearly did not like being upstaged. Zelda's head was still struggling to push out the memories of that day and unfortunately, being at the river with Dutch and Domino there weren't helping. Part of her just wanted to retreat into the cabin and go to sleep. She never got enough sleep lately. Even the wine did not help. Speaking of wine, the bottle was there at her feet, thankfully just out of sight as if that was going to make it easier. It didn't. With a sigh, she reached down and grabbed it, but before she could open the thing, Jennifer approached her asking her if she wanted to try fishing. The doctor shrank slightly at being approached and quickly dropped the bottle back onto the grass. Jen was right, she really did not know how to fish. Having been brought up in a very urban environment, it was quite alien. Zelda took a second before taking in a deep breath. It could not hurt right?

"Hm. Sure, about time I pulled my weight around here." She forced a smile, trying to make it seem like it was some form of banter. She pushed herself from the tree and followed Jennifer. Meanwhile Dutch had given up and stretched his back out with a slight crack.

"Well, I'm gonna see to ol' Dom, that's what I'm good at." He chuckled, trudging away from the women to approach the horse. Zelda did turn her head to try and tell him how Dom was acting but he was already gone. The doctor turned back to Jennifer, she rolled her shoulders. She had to get her head in a better space. So, with a slight growl and a flick of her hand, the trucker hat came off of her head and onto the grass. The woman fluffed her greasy hair before turning to Jennifer.

"So. Fishing." She tried again with that shift in tone, "How do you go about that?"

Meanwhile, Dutch hummed as he approached Domino, "Hey there girl, how's my-?" he stopped as he watched the mare snort and pace in a tight circle, her tail flicking and slashing at the air, her eyes were wide as if she had seen a ghost, "Hey woah, woooooah eeeeeasy girl, easy Dom," he put his hands up as he approached her. Domino grunted and her front hooves lifted off the ground in a half rear as he approached. Unfazed, Dutch continued to 'shhhh' softly through his teeth as he got closer. Finally, he was close enough to cup her chin and stroke her face as the horse flinched a little.

"Steeeeady old girl, steady..." Domino's hurried breath began to slow down at his voice but her muscled still twitched, "There there... Now, tell yer ol' dad what's got ye so spooked, hm?" He took that moment to have a look for himself. Nothing seemed amiss, but he hadn't seen the mare that spooked for a good while. It would have been the final time their small group had encountered the walking dead, and that was some time ago. The man hummed under his breath as he continued to massage her neck and calm her with a carrot in his back pocket. He may not quite believe what Jen had been saying; but Domino? Her instincts were never wrong. He made a mental note to stay awake tonight. Just to be sure.

Peacemaker .45

 

[Peacemaker .45]

Jennifer smiled with excitement when Zelda said she would let her teach the doctor how to fish. In the world they live in, happiness has to come from the smallest, most mundane things. It was a good strategy for making sure you didn’t lose your mind amidst the horrors of the external world. As she got her pole ready, she saw Dutch walking away. He decided to throw the white flag up.

“See, I am the best outdoors person in the group,” Jennifer said softly to Zelda, before raising her voice and saying to both Dutch and Doc, “patience is the key to outdoors.” Jennifer laughed, and walked up beside the river.

Standing at the edge of the river, Jennifer made sure her pole was all set. When Zelda joined her, she began to explain how to cast. “So we want to make sure we flip this thingy down, so the line can unwind and go far. With just a good little bit of your hook, and whatever else you have on your line, hanging out from the end of the pole, place your finger here, and go back. Then, in a fluid motion, swing forward, but not too hard. And at just about here,” Jennifer said pausing her swing to show where to let go of the line, “let go. Once you hit the water, start to reel in the slack. Then, reel in slowly, and jerk the reel slightly. When you feel a bite, set the hook with a small, yet firm jerk. From there, pull in, reel in the slack over and over until you have the fish in front of you.”

With the explanation over, Jennifer did a few demonstrations to Zelda until she had a good idea of what to do. With that, she gave Zelda the pole and watched her as she attempted to fish. “The hardest part of fishing is getting the casting motion down. You need to time it just right. Once you have that down, the rest is easy. I struggled for years with getting it down a hundred percent. So don’t feel embarrassed or discouraged if you can’t get it down right away.”

“But,” she began with one last tip, “the biggest enemy of a fisherman is impatience. Fishing is a game of patience. If you are patient, a fish will bite. But if you’re impatient, you will catch nothing. God gifts those with plentiful bounty if you are patient. Take that however you will, but it is the truth. “

As she was watching Zelda and giving her tips, Jennifer felt that feeling again. Something was there. Her body became tense. Her focus was gone. She felt intrusion into her mind, causing her to focus on guarding her mind. Silently, she prayed for protection. But the voice attempted to speak.

“... ... .elc... ..n ... .ea. ...”

Jennifer couldn’t make it out. But it was trying to say something. She fought the intrusion, continues to silently pray. She felt her mind tumble about. It felt like there was something draining her mind and replacing it with its own entity. The world felt heavy, the surroundings starting to elongate. Her head starter to feel pressure, it was growing. Headaches formed. It all started to tumble.

Then, it was gone.

The woman had to catch herself from losing balance. She looked at her surroundings. Her mind felt as if it was hers once more. But the presence still linger. She could feel it watching them. But this time, she didn’t feel threatened. Instead, it felt neutral, neither a threat nor a friend. She turned around, seeing Dutch with Domino, whose ears were perked up. Dutch and Zelda seemed oblivious to it all.Jennifer turned to Zelda, and came up with an excuse.

“Tachycardia, I guess? Or my heart’s failing. Not sure which,” she said somewhat awkwardly. Trying to make it seem less strange, she decided to make a joke, though it seemed like the antithesis of one. “Well if my donor heart’s going, I guess that’s the end for me. I don’t think we’ll find another donor heart or hospital that I can get it replaced. I’m heading out early in that case...”

Jennifer could tell that awkward attempt at a ‘joke’ was not even close to one. “I’m kidding, I’m being sarcastic here. So, um, how are you feeling with casting and, uh, stuff?” Jennifer was trying to divert the topic. The Doc has already seen two instances of her reaction to the attempted mental intrusion of the being. She didn’t want to talk to anyone about it. Nonetheless, she still felt the eyes of the creature looking at her. Still, it felt harmless.

Maybe these things aren’t all hostile? Even if it attempted to access my mind, maybe not all of them are something to worry about, she thought to herself. But how could I know? This mind... rape, I guess, isn’t warranted. But what if it’s trying to tell me something important. But how could I trust these things. What are they? Where do they come from? What do they want with meAnd most importantly, why only me and not Dutch or Doc? Maybe I should let them into my mind, maybe I’ll get answers then. Or, that’s a dumb and dangerous idea. Hm.

Rumble Fish

 

[Rumble Fish]

"Indeed you are. At least I am woman enough to admit it." Zelda snorted at her poor attempt at a joke as she settled next to Jennifer as the woman went on to explain the procedure for fishing. Patience was not an issue, the doctor had performed surgeries longer than most people's avarage waking-hours, even with Jennifer herself but Zelda knew better than to bring that up. It would just bring back awful memories for both of them. The doctor sat quietly, allowing the outdoorswoman to explain. By the end of it, the woman nodded.

"Gotcha." She nodded in understanding before taking her rod and casting her line. It was quite a clumsy attempt but ultimately successful. Now for the wait. As Zelda slowly began to reel very slowly while Jennifer gave her feedback throughout. With her mind now focusing fully on her fishing task and the voice of Jennifer floating through her ears, her body visibally began to relax. But that tranquility was interrupted as she suddenly noticed Jennifer losing her balance, making her jerk the line and more than likely, started the fish. But Zelda did not care about that as she went to ask Jen if she was alright. But before she could, the woman answered, mentioning her heart.

"Wait-what-?!" the doctor squeaked in distress, her heart? "Is it-?" she was halted when the woman then assured the doctor that she was joking. Still, Zelda watched her anxiously, now on edge. What was going on with her? What if it was her heart and she was just trying to put on a brave face? The woman sighed and looked away, choosing not to question it. She knew if she did, Jen would probably double down. Instead she chose to answer her question about casting.

"Think I'm doing okay. I mean... it's harder than it looks." She chuckled awkwardly, "It's cool though. It'd be fun if I caught a bigger fish than Dutch on my first proper session. Not likely though." The doctor added as she once again tried to cast. But as she practiced, she heard a commotion further away. There was a flurry of activity where Dutch had gone to see the horse Domino. There was lots of snorting, stamping and whinnies of frustration and worry from the mare, accompanied by Dutch's attempts to sooth the hose's frazzled nerves.

"Domino! Woooooah, easy darlin'- easy!"

"Uh, Dutch?" She looked over, just to see the rearing form of Domino, whale eyed and mouth open as she launched up into the air, the almost tiny form of Dutch with his arms up, trying to calm the equine down. "Is she okay?"

"I dunno what's wrong but," the man suddenly cried out, "DOMINO! DOM!" As the mare, with a final roar bolted from the clearing into the trees. "Domino! Domino!" Dutch cried, his voice reaching a wavering pitch Zelda had never heard before as the black mare vanished into the forest and out of sight. After a while, even her hoofbeats vanished into the air... It was clear from Dutch's distress that Domino had never displayed that kind of behaviour before as he walked back to the girls, looking behind him every few seconds. "I gotta go find her! I don't want her out there in the dark!" he said with the air of a father frightened for the life of his daughter.

Peacemaker .45

 

[Peacemaker .45]

Commotion from behind Jennifer took her focus off of herself and Zelda fishing. She knew what was there. She knew what was going on. “Ah shit,” she said to herself quietly. Turning around to try and get over to help Dutch, the mare took off without warning. The situation had escalated far more rapidly, and severely, than Jennifer anticipated. And Dutch was reacting as if he’d lost a child, though it was understandable to Jennifer.

“Dutch, we can’t separate. We have to stick together. You guys don’t know these areas as well. You go off by yourself, you might get lost...” Jennifer lowered her voice, “or worse...”

There were things about this area before the world had fallen that Jennifer was aware of. Disappearances were common in this area. It was known as a “cluster zone.” The disappearances weren’t something usual or explainable. They were highly unusual, extremely unexplainable. And the people who went missing often times never were found. There were dark forests in These mountains then, and they still would reside there. Jennifer knew what not to do. Point of separation was one of the keys to not end up missing.

Jennifer grabbed her backpack, and put it on, adjusted her waist belt. “We’ll get the fishing gear tomorrow. Lets find Dom the light fades on us.”

Pulling out a shotgun, the woman checked to make sure it was loaded and ready. “Bears won’t be out there now. But you never know what you’ll run into here.”

Walking up to Dutch, who still was frantic and antsy to get Dom, Jennifer reassured him, putting her arm on the man’s shoulder, speaking softly. “We’ll find Dom. I can track anything in these mountains here. But we have to stay together, okay? It’s far more dangerous out there than I’d like to admit. Dom will be okay, she’s a smart girl. But we have to stay together. Now, c’mon, lets go. She me where she went, and tell me what happened.” Jen paused for a moment. “We’ll find her. I promise.“ she gave him a reassuring smile.

Rumble Fish

 

[Rumble Fish]

Despite his fear, Dutch knew that the woman was right so he reluctantly turned back to regroup with them. "You're right... I just, what if something happens to her?" He turned to where the mare had ran. He ran a hand through his head as he felt himself begin to sweat from fear, "She-she's all I got-!" He squeaked. He may have only met the mare after the world fell apart, but to him, she represented everything pre-apocalypse. Having grown up around around equines, she was like a relic of a simpler time. And without that? Dutch did not know what he was going to do.

"Dom will be fine," Zelda answered bluntly, "She knows when to run from something. Still, what could have rattled her that much for her to take off like that?" She looked around. Things had now gone quiet. Very quiet. Now Zelda herself was not a naturalist, but she knew this much. When it was this quiet? It was never a good thing. Archie would have known what to do in times like this. The doctor shook her head, forcing that thought out of her head. She couldn't think about him. Not now. They had to find the horse. Regardless of what she had said to Dutch, the mare could still fall victim to a puma or a pack of wolves. However, as smart as the mare was, nature did not care about how clever a being might be. Sometimes it all came down to luck.

"Okay." Dutch breathed out anxiously before looking to Jennifer as she assured him the horse would be okay and told him to tell her what happened. "Okay, okay so she's been out of sorts all day. I went to check on her since she seemed panicky. Thought I managed to calm her down, but she suddenly started rearing up and shit before turning tail and running into those trees!" He pointed to where Dom had fled. Lo-and-behold, there were hoof-shaped scuff marks in the earth from the force and speed the mare charged off at. "Oh god it's going to be too dark for us to follow her hoofprints!" As Dutch was still worrying, he sighed over and over again and got his gun out. Zelda turned to the man.

"Dutch, it's going to be okay, we'll find her!" The doctor rolled her shoulders and walked to Jennifer until she was next to her, "Whaddya say, chief? How we tackling this?" she spoke to the younger woman, with an air of respect that almost three years ago did not exist. She knew more than the doctor did and she would be stupid to assume otherwise.

Peacemaker .45

 

[Peacemaker .45]

Dutch went on to explain his anxiety about losing the mere. Jennifer never felt a connection quite like that with a horse. But losing an animal can be something that can bring about much anxiety. In a sense, she did understand. But with what happened, she knew that it was pivotal to keep a cooler head here. Blowing a gasket wouldn’t help anything here. Dutch showed her where Dom ran off to. There were tracks in the dirt, much to Jennifer’s relief. Zelda reassured Dutch, and then turned to Jennifer and asked what was next. This felt strange to her. For so long, she’d been calling the shots. She didn’t enjoy it, she didn’t want to. But no one else really seemed to do that. Reluctantly, Jennifer always lead. And now, it was up to her skills to get them through.

“Well,” Jennifer started, glancing at the sun starting to set over the peak, “Dutch is right. We don’t have much daylight left for us. I’d say maybe an hour and a half of light where I can at least see the sights on my gun.” The woman lowered her head and sighed. “We have to find her, preferably before seeing light dissipates on us. We can try to camp out if need be, but we don’t even have the supplies. So... we gotta just go now.”

Jennifer walked over to her pack. She had a takedown Chiappa .45-70 lever action. She tossed it over to Dutch. “Take this, just to be safe.” Walking over to the track, she began to see the trail Dom left. “Alright, you two, follow me. Stay close and do not split up.” Though she didn’t want to say it, there was something out there that was watching them and caused this. She knew that it would be watching them. And if they weren’t careful, one of them might disappear.

Jennifer lead the group through the timber. The underbrush wasn’t thick, if existent at all. This left clear tracks on the ground, but also limited what they could use to follow. Tracks, tree branch snaps, and disturbed ground was about all they had to work off of. It wasn’t tough for Jennifer, as she’d hunted these valleys and mountains a thousand times. But with seeing light getting scarcer by the minute, this complicated what ease she could have picking up the trail.

The ground was mostly flat, with minimal inclines. This helped with energy levels, something that Jennifer was feeling lesser on that day. The tracks were still clear, but light wasn’t. They came to a point where the tracks seemed to just stumble around in circles, almost as if the mere was trying to change direction, but something spooked her and had her going around and around.

“Hm,” Jennifer said, crouching and trying to make sense of what the mere did. “Something spooked her here.” She extended her arm and pointed at the track she could see. “She tried to run that way towards the burned timber. But then something spooked her, made her come back this way. I’m guessing then she tried to run back towards our way, when something spooked her again. She stumbled around, then finally took off... that way.” Jennifer observed the tracks. “They’re pretty fresh. Odds are she isn’t far from here. C’mon, let’s go, lights fading by the minute. And trust me, you don’t want to be here when it gets darker.”

Following the tracks, the mere bolted towards the direction that would eventually lead to the cabin they were staying out. The mere was smart to do this, if intentional. But the fact Dom had seemingly stumbled around so much from being spooked raised many questions to Jennifer. What spooked her? Which of the beings out here did it? She had that invasive speech enter her head earlier. But Jennifer felt as if there was no harm in what the creature was trying to convey to her. She didn’t sense that from it. Was it possible that it was trying to warm her of something else?

After 10 or so minutes, with light starting to fade, Jennifer could hear the sound of a horse. In the timber some 20 yards away, Jennifer could see the mere, ears back, clearly timid and disturbed. “Would you look at that... There you go, Dutch. She’s right there. You know her better than us. She trusts you the most. Go try and ease her and calm her down. We need to get going ASAP. It’s getting far too dark.”

Rumble Fish

 

[Rumble Fish]

Both Dutch and Zelda remained quiet as they trudged their way through the tangled mess of branches and roots. Zelda lagged behind the pair, which Dutch noticed. He could not hold it too much against the doctor; despite everything they had been through, living rough in the woods was still a fairly fresh experience for her. Though what he did notice was her taking her flask out.

“Hey!” He hissed low enough for Jennifer to hopefully not hear, “Put that away!” Zelda glared back at him.

“I’m anxious, okay?”

“I know you’re anxious but now’s not the time!”

“Dutch! I can’t think straight-!”

“Uhuh and you’ll think less straight with that wine in your belly! Put it away!” There was a moment before the doctor, with a sigh, rolls her eyes and puts it in her pocket. Dutch smiles sympathetically, knowing it was difficult, “There you go. Look, once we’re back at the cabin we’ll split one of the bottles we got over a game of scrabble, okay? I found it under the stairs.”

“…I’d like that.” And with that they continued their trek. It was not long before Jennifer seemed to catch Domino’s trail. Dutch almost jumped ahead once they spotted her. When Jennifer expressed that he should grab her, the man nodded and slowly approached the mare. Uncharacteristically, the mare bayed angrily and lashed a leg out at Dutch, her ears pinned right against her head as she snaked her neck at him; an unusual and frightening display of aggression for any horse, especially this mare. At Jennifer’s prompting, the man breathed out.

“Dom?” He put his hands up and approached the agitated mare slowly and carefully, “Eeeeeeasy girl, easy.” The mare almost growled and slammed her teeth together at him with a frightening BASH! Dutch stops in his tracks, “Woah…” This was so unlike her. Zelda gasps at the mare’s display and took a step back and closer to Jennifer. Dutch tried to take another step closer, only for Dom to glare at him and paw the ground, as if daring him to approach. Suddenly, something seemed to change in Dutch as his posture suddenly squared up and he looked the horse in the eye.

“Al-RIGHT! That’s enough!” He snapped, his arms akimbo and looking Dom squarely in the eye. Domino chuffed and her ears perked upright, as if surprised at the man’s display. She squeals and lashes a leg again but Dutch is not deterred. Now it was a game of who moves first. Thankfully, this did not take long as Domino sheepishly lowered her head, licked her lips and her ears flicked to the side, avoiding his gaze. “That’s better…” His voice was back in his usual tone as he managed to gently slip the halter over her head and take her to the two women.

“Is she alright?” Zelda asked, still a bit unnerved by the horse’s previously aggressive behaviour.

“Seems like it,” Dutch patted her on the neck, “I won’t be able to give her a proper look over until we’re back at the cabin. But she’s walking and seems okay. I just wonder what got her so damn spooked and angry.” Domino, despite being calmed, kept raising her head with erect ears, looking back into the woods. But Dutch had a firm and reassuring grip of her lead-rope which helped her calm down.

“C’mon.” He breathed out, his breath like a fog in the wind, “These woods are… giving me the heebies.”

Peacemaker .45

 

[Peacemaker .45]

With the same eerie feeling, Jennifer agreed on heading back towards the cabin. The trio and Dom made it back to the cabin. It was uneventful. Though, that feeling was there. It seemed that Dutch had been aware of this feeling. He was, to a degree, in tune with that sense, which was more than most people. But he didn’t quite seem to get it entirely. Jennifer shrugged at this thought. She had worked on honing on this skill in her time out here. That, in conjunction with her experiences, made her see what the truth really was out here. In time, she hopes, both Dutch and Zelda would pick up on this. But, only those with an open mind could really learn this skill, and break the conditioning that made them lose it in the first place.

“Alright, fellas,” Jennifer said unlocking the door, “I’ll get started on our dinner here. I’ll let you know when it’s all done.”

Taking her boots off and leaving them by the door, Jennifer walked over to the kitchen. Resting her pack against the wall beside the stove, Jennifer pulled out the fish in her pack. Though she hated all the prep work before being able to cook. Not only this, but no electricity or gas to use for the stove was difficult for cooking. Instead, Jennifer used the fire place to cook the meat. Starting a fire there, she would place two flat pieces of wood in front of the fire place. When the meat was prepped and ready for cooking, she would lay the meat on the wood. With the food on a 45 degree angle facing the fire, the heat would cook the meat, all while giving it a slight wooden taste that proved to go well. At least normally.

After 30 or so minutes, the fish was filleted and seasoned, now ready for cooking. Placing the fish on the wood, Jennifer brought them over to the fireplace. Starting a fire, she propped the two pieces of wood on a metal prop that would hold them at just the right angle. While it was an effective cooking method, given the little supplies they had to properly cook, it did take longer to cook. But when there are limited supplies, working with what is available and improvising is the key to life and death in an unforgiving world.

Jennifer sat back on the chair near the fire place. Sinking into the cushion, she felt relieved. The woods had given her that feeling. She knew they wanted her and her friends out of there. And she knew they were watching them leave. It was odd, the trio of survivors had traded a life where the undead thrived to a wilderness where they seldom frequent. But in turn, they had other horrors lurking there. And some of those horrors were worse, and yet to be encountered. Jennifer often questioned whether or not where they were was really safer. She knew there were things out there that were beyond her imagination. But, she had knows she has yet to encounter them all. And, she has yet to know if they were worse.

Some time had passed as she sat there wondering about this. Getting up, she walked over and checked the fish. They needed just another minute before they’d be ready. Jennifer got up and started to get some plates utensils from the kitchen, and put them out in the table. By the time she got back, she fish were just about done. Taking them off of the wood, she placed them on a large plate, and brought them over to the table.

“Food’s done,” she yelled in the cabin to alert everyone.

Jennifer took her place at the table, and grabbed some of the fish and placed it in her plate. She then did the sign of the cross, bowed her head, and folded her hands. Silently, she prayed, thanking her Lord for the food. When done, she grabbed her fork and knife, and cut into the fish. Taking a bite, she could taste the wood’s impact on the fish. While not gourmet food, it was surprisingly good, given the circumstances and materials to work with.

Jennifer waited for everyone to be seated before eating anymore of the food. Once everyone was seated, she began to eat more.

“Hey, Dutch, I was looking to see if you could help me with something tomorrow or the next day. There’s a lumber yard about 20 minutes or so away. I really want to try and build some sort of fence or wall around this cabin. I know there isn’t many undead here, but God forbid they somehow make their way here, or anything else out in these mountains come close, I’d want to get some sort of wall between them and our cabin. Think you could help out?”

Rumble Fish

 

[Rumble Fish]

Dutch was relieved to get back to the cabin. When Jennifer said he would handle dinner, he gave her a nod as he led Domino around the back of the cabin where he had built a makeshift stall for her. He stood next to Domino as she grazed on the lush grass. She seemed far more relaxed than she had been even just a few moments. He stroked her black neck with a sigh and took out a hoof pick. He got to work picking out her hooves. He had to remember to take her horse shoes off, there was no real need for them anymore.

Dom heard a sigh as Zelda had clambored back onto the cabin’s rooftop to perch. She had a large notebook and pencil in her hands. Dutch blinked and left Domino to graze. He did not climb up himself but got close enough for her to hear him.

“Hey, whatcha doing up there?” He asked as casually as he could, putting his arms akimbo.

“Drawing.” The doctor responded bluntly, “Been sketching a lot lately. Helps to keep my mind off… things.” She put the pad away and folded her arms across her knees. Dutch sighs and shakes his head.

“Look, Zelda, I know you’re unhappy but-”

“I am not unhappy.” Zelda corrected him, Dutch did not say anything else, “I’ve got a shit-ton on my mind. Who doesn’t? And I’d rather distract myself than dwell on it so I would really like it if we could drop the subject, okay? I know I depress you two.”

“That’s not true-”

“Don’t lie to me.” Zelda glared down at him and sighed, “I can tell. And I’m sorry.” Zelda sighed heavily, not knowing what else to say or do. After a moment, Dutch coughed softly.

“You like doodling?” He asked to which Zelda nodded suspiciously, “You don’t suppose you could do a sketch of Domino for me?”

“I’ve never drawn horses.”

“Well maybe it’ll be like a challenge. You did say you wanted something to take your mind off things, why not this?”

Zelda did not have an answer for this. With an annoyed sigh of defeat, she climbed down from the roof and walked past Dutch to sit next to Domino. Almost immediately the doctor got to work with her drawing. The man felt like he could leave her alone for a bit, Lord knows simply being in a horse’s presence was therapeutic. Dutch walked inside and hung his jacket up at the door. He could already smell a good meal cooking. Flashing Jennifer a little smile, Dutch busied himself by setting the table for three. Every so often he poked his head outside the door to check on Zelda and Domino, they seemed okay.

After some time, dinner was set and Zelda made her way inside. Once the pair sat down, the doctor coughed a little and handed Dutch the drawing she did of Domino. The veteran blinked and inspected it.

“Hmmm…” he smiles, “Jeez doc,”

“It’s shit isn’t it? Story of my fucking-”

“No no! It’s great!” he traced his finger around a part of it, “You even got the little hole she has in her ear, you’ve got a knack for drawing!”

“I do?” Zelda blinked in genuine surprise as she took her flash and poured some of the wine inside it into a mug. She was having a meal, it was totally okay now right? “Never thought I was good at much.”

Dutch flipped through the notebook as Jennifer gave them their plates, “Hm. Hey Jen, she’s drawn the cabin, the view from the roof and that petrified redwood near the river. They look pretty great huh?” He smirked as he noticed the doctor’s embarrassed expression as she sipped from her mug. As the pair saw food coming, Dutch put the notebook down as Jennifer bowed her head and seemed to pray. Dutch was not a praying man so sat in respectable silence while Zelda kept her eyes down, at this point the surgeon believed in nothing so it seemed pointless.

Afterwards, the pair began eating alongside Jennifer. Dutch glanced at Zelda and smirked. He could recall a time where t would be a miracle if she ate once a fortnight, and yet now she was tucking into elk and fish quite happily. He was about to make a quip when Jennifer spoke up asking him to do something. A wall? Sounded like a good idea for their safety.

“Sure no problem, I’ve done a bit of building in my time.” He nodded, “Can either of you remember the last time we saw one of those things? Feels like ages ago.”

“And lets hope it stays like that.” Zelda quipped, making Dutch smirk a little. She fiddled with her utensils anxiously. She really did want to do more for the pair other than be a burden “Is there… anything I could do to help?”

Peacemaker .45