Chapter 4: Brief Respite
Clarissa watched as the world zoomed past them. They were in a car they rented. On their way to Atlanta. Hopefully they would have some answers there. Her sister really was troublesome. When she found her she was going to throttle her.
"You're thinking about her?" His smooth voice a gentle distraction to her darkening mood.
"I'm going to kill her when I see her." She says and tries to laugh it off. She's not looking forward to seeing her sister. Dreading it more like. They used to be really close back when they were kids and then everything changed when they had the accident. Clarissa became more like their dad and Evelyn well she just lost her way.
"I meant your mum." He says after a pause and takes one hand off of the wheel to pat her hand softly. "She was a good woman."
She's silent for a while as she thinks back to those last moments in the hospital. She should have said kinder words. She should never have made that promise. Her mother was a kind and caring person but she was a little too free spirited. She didn't take responsibility and well Clarissa has ended up blaming her for things she probably shouldn't have. "She was." She whispers and the atmosphere in the car sinks like a tonne of bricks.
Sometime later he puts on the radio trying to lighten the mood. But what they hear sounds rather disturbing.
"The woman who was bitten by a deranged individual died a short time ago from her injuries. The suspect was shot down by police. This is the latest case of people being attacked by so called cannibals. An investigation is ongoing to see if these are connected."
He switches it off again and they share a look. "What's wrong with people these days?" He asks incredulously and shakes his head in disbelieve.
Clarissa gets a knot in her stomach after hearing the news. "I don't know Dorian." She straightens up in her seat when the city comes into view. She just wanted to locate her sister and drag her back home.
She takes in the sight of the guns and crossbow aimed at her head and inwardly sighs. Terrific. She's managed to outrun four of the dead only to risk getting shot in the face by living breathing people. Typical. She grips her bow painfully tight but she knows she can't out manoeuvre bullets. She's not a superhero or anything. She doesn't know what to do for they just look at her with uncertainty and caution and she returns the favour.
The silence and tension keeps building as they continue their standoff.
Clarissa wonders why they haven't said anything but then catches the dark skinned man's eyes and realises they don't know what to make of her. She wants to grin but resist the urge. She instead turns her face to the man closest to her. From the looks of it he might be their leader.
"Who are you?" He asks her finally though doesn't loosen the grip on his gun. He's looking at her with the scrutiny of law enforcement. Makes sense that the police officer would be in charge.
They already have her at a disadvantage. Revealing her name feels like surrendering to them. She refuses to be anyone's prisoner. So she remains silent and can see them all tense at her lack of cooperation.
"I asked you a question." His tone a warning and he moves his gun that little bit closer to show her he's not messing around. His eyes narrow at her and she wonders if she'll feel anything if he pulls that trigger.
She opens her mouth to speak but her mouth feels like sand paper. So she swallows thickly and tries again. "Clarissa." Her voice is hoarse and her throat hurts from having shouted just moment ago. She's used her voice more in the last few days than she has in months.
Sophia's crying distracts her and she glimpses between their legs the sight of the girl wrapped in what must be her mother's arms. The image stirs something in her and her lips twitch into a slight grin.
"I'm Rick." He offers and lowers his gun as he catches her watching the mother and daughter reunion. What he sees is enough for him to gesture to the others to lowers theirs too. "You saved her?" He says though it's more of a statement than a question.
She nods her head anyway and very slowly reaches down and pulls out her knife where she imbedded it in the dead woman's brain. They watch her with anticipation but she sheathed it and notices them all relax a little bit. She slings her bow over her shoulder and places her hands in front of her to show she's not a threat to them.
"Oh my baby girl!" The woman cries and places her hands on Sophia's cheeks and just drinks in the sight of her alive. "Are you hurt at all?" She wipes the tears gently from the girls face and smiles with pure joy.
"Clarissa saved me Momma!" She declares excitedly and turns her head to the woman in question. "She came running out of the bushes and took one out just as he almost got me!" Sophia's voice is light with excitement rather than fear as she recaps the story. "She's so fast!" She adds and beams up at her.
The group all stare at her and Clarissa mentally groans about Sophia revealing her survival skills. Not that she can make herself be mad at the girl because she just looks so alive and happy. Still she doesn't like their attention of her and she feels threatened by their number.
"You're leg what happened to it?" A blonde woman points out at the pink scarf that is now loosely hanging from where she cut it.
"I fell and hit it against a rock." Sophia says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. She then realises she's still got Clarissa's backpack and quiver on her shoulders and drops them. "Here." She says and goes to give them back.
"We'll hold on to these." Rick says and takes them from her before turning to Clarissa giving her a questioning look. "You understand of course." He says with no negotiation in his voice.
"We'll need that knife too." A man with shaven hair says and his brown eyes don't hide his distrust for her in the least.
"Don't hurt her!" Sophia calls out and tries to reach for her but her mother wraps her arms around her and sweeps her off the ground.
"You need to see Herschel." Her mother says and looks at Clarissa with a small shy smile. She doesn't seem happy with the men surrounding her daughter's would be saviour but she doesn't argue it.
"And a bath." A woman with long brown hair says and places her hands on the small boy next to her. "As for you, in the house. Now." She commands and the four of them head towards the farm house.
"No." She says and stares at the man in question. The way she looks at him is almost like a lion ready to pounce.
The one with the crossbow interferes before anything can happen. "We got guns. Let 'er keep it. She be dumb to try anythin' 'nyway" His voice seems gruff compared to the others though they all seem to have southern accents. Not that she knows which is the local accent.
Clarissa focuses her gaze on him for a moment. He looks more rugged than the others. His shirt isn't buttoned and has no sleeves so she can easily see the defined muscles of his chest, abdomen and arms. Holding his crossbow in front of him she can tell he's a hunter. Perhaps the only one in the group. His hair is messy and his blue eyes are hard as they look back at her. He holds himself with a strength she recognises all too well. He's a survivor. Just like her.
"Ain't happening." The shaven man says and reaches in to pull out her knife himself.
She holds her breath and bites the inside of her cheek to stop her from acting out. She could take him down, she's done it before. However she also knows that for the moment she's defenceless. As he takes her knife she feels practically exposed.
"Wasn't too hard." He sneers at her and walks away, following the others.
Now she's pissed off and has to clench her hands into fists. She's shaking with rage and forces herself to take deep long breaths.
As they lead her to the house the blonde woman introduces herself as Andrea and looks at her with respect. "You sure know how to handle yourself out there." Her voice is full of praise and curiosity but Clarissa has no interest in chatting or making friends.
"Not much of a talker huh?" Rick says and sighs heavily. "Look we ain't going to hurt you. We're just cautious folk is all. Can't be too sure these days."
The dark skinned man and the man with the crossbow leave them as they get to the steps. Clarissa takes in the sight of the house and is impressed and nervous by all the activity going on. She stops at the top and with the door open can see the house and how normal it looks. It unsettles her.
They must sense her unwillingness to enter the house because Rick walks past her and into the house. Andrea leans against the porch railing and keeps a vigilant eye on her. Knowing she's not going anywhere soon she turns round and sits on the top step. Now that she's actually stopped she can feel just how exhausted and drained she truly is. Her feet bother her the most and so she unties her laces and tugs her boots off.
The sight of her socks, once white are now yellow brown and red. She rolls up the ends of her jeans and hisses as she slowly peals them off. Her feet are filthy and bloody in places from the blisters and where her boots have rubbed from the constant wear. Looking down at them she grimaces as the air hits them. It brings pain but also relief. It feels so good to have them bare for the first since she can't really remember.
Rick comes back out with another blonde woman who holds a glass of water. They both frown at the sight of her feet and the woman hands her the glass before popping back inside. "You can rest and regain your strength for a couple of days." He says and then walks off without elaborating anything more.
Annoyed at the assumption that she wanted to stay that long to recover. Clarissa was about to protest when the woman reappeared holding a small bucket of water and a cloth. She placed it down next to her and looked at her feet. She picks up the socks and goes to leave again.
"Thank you." Clarissa says nods at the woman. She never expected such kindness to be left in the world. She may not want to interact with these people but she wasn't going be rude. The woman smiles and disappears into the house saying she'll find her some fresh socks.
After finishing her water and placing the glass down behind her she sets to work on cleaning her feet. She dabs the cloth into the water and almost coos at the feeling of cold water. She rings it out and then wipes her face first relishing the sensation. She then lightly pats down her neck before leaning forward and rubbing her feet. She has to breathe through her teeth but she wipes the blood and grime away and cringes at the now brown water.
She looks up and studies the camp around her. These people seem to be doing alright. Though her ears tingle at all the noise. She's been used to such silence that she it's like walking into a disco. She goes to stand up and ignores the pain that shoots through her feet up her legs. Her body aches and protests at the movement but she doesn't want to sit still.
She takes a step towards the house when her vision darkens around the edges. She steadies herself to try and remain upright. Andrea looks at her concerned and puts her weapon down and reaches out for her.
Clarissa tries to push her away but she collapses instead.