Chapter One
Jed POV
It'd been about eight weeks since we'd come to the mountains. It was the day after our dad, and other's in the group, had been killed in a mass shooting. We'd decided to fight back. We hadn't done it yet, but we were planning it. It was around sunset, and me and Matt were walking around the camp keeping watch.
"Matt, you hear that?"
We stopped in our tracks.
"Run!"
We started running, when I heard Matt trip and fall. I turned just in time to see a soldier holding a gun up pointing at him.
"Matty!"
I heard a gunshot, and my heart sank.
Matt POV
"Run!"
We bolted, running as fast as we could. I tripped over something and hit the ground hard. I turned and saw the soldier stop and raise his gun before I could've even picked mine up. I closed my eyes and jumped when I heard the gunshot.
Nothing. I didn't feel anything. I opened my eyes to see the soldier fall forward, and after adjusting my eyes, saw someone standing behind him with a rifle. It was a girl, not one of our's. She slowly lowered the gun.
"Matty!"
Jed was beside me, looking me over.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
I nodded and drifted my gaze back to the girl. He followed my gaze. She nodded and turned to walk away.
"Hey, wait!"
I scrambled to my feet and caught up with her. She looked at me with big hazel eyes, face stony.
"What's your name?"
She didn't answer. We took her back to camp, but Jed was losing patience.
"You can't stay here if you don't tell us who you are."
She just sat there and shrugged.
"Come on, she saved my life."
"She could've done that to get in with us. We don't even know if she speaks English, she could be one if them!"
She rolled her eyes, which made me smirk.
"Get out if you won't talk!"
She was gathering her stuff when He'd grabbed her rifle. I gawked at him, he shrugged.
"Can't chance it."
She started walking away from us, when Robert and Aardvark walked out of the woods.
"Hey, who's the..."
The question died on his lips and she stopped in her tracks.
"Beth?!"
Her face was still stony. Jed and I walked towards them. Robert and the girl were having a stare down. Jed got Robert's attention.
"Robert, you know her?"
He looked at Jed and nodded.
"How good?"
He looked at her again.
"Good enough."
Jed looked at me, nodded, and handed her back her rifle. She started to walk away, when Robert caught her arm.
"You out here alone?"
Responding for the first time, she nodded.
"Then, you're not going anywhere."
She glared and tried to get out of his grip. Jed grabbed her other arm.
"Listen, if Robert knows you, you can stay."
"No, you have to stay. You ain't living out here alone."
She glared again, but when Aardvark and I stood in front of her, she sighed in defeat. We took her to the rest of the group.
"Guys, this is Beth. This is Aardvark, Erica, Danny, Matty, Daryl, Toni, and Jed."
She nodded, but didn't say anything. When we handed her a sleeping bag, she curled up and went to sleep. It looked like she hadn't really slept in a long time. Eventually, only myself, Jed, and Robert were awake.
"So, how do you know her?"
He shrugged.
"Used to be friends."
"Used to be?"
"Look, I don't wanna talk about it. She was a friend, now she's not."
Ever since his dad had died, Robert had been different. Consumed with hate.
The next few days went by without a hitch, and we'd just did our first "mission" by having Toni bomb a tank and us hide and kill the guys chasing her. Then, we killed soldiers who were about to do a mass murder.
All through this, Beth never talked, and Robert ignored her. She took orders, that's all Jed cared about.
Even though she didn't talk, she stuck close to the girls and they would talk to her and at least get her to smile. Erica seemed to really like her, maybe because she didn't say much herself.
The only way she communicated was by nodding or shaking her head. She also didn't eat much.
"Do you think she'll ever talk?"
I was watching her and the other girls across our camp for the night. They were talking, she wasn't, but she was included.
"I don't know, Danny."
Jed walked over with more sticks for the fire.
"She's a hell of a shot. That's for sure."
"She's a hunter."
We turned to Robert, who was marking his gun again after that day's stakeout.
"She is?"
"Yeah. Her dad used to take her all the time."
He left it at that.