A/N: Because the last chapter and this were so short, you may have another update. Reviews are welcome - and enjoyed quite a bit. *Hint hint*
Their first five attempts at finding somewhere to stay backfired dangerously and in the process they came close to losing both Glenn and Sophia. But when Rick, Daryl and Shane slowly approached the white farmhouse in front of them it did look promising. Evan stood with her hand shielding her eyes from the sun, following every move of the men on the other side of the yard. In order to get in they had climbed a tall wooden fence, leaving the others with the cars all ready to go. From where Evan was standing she could spot a few still living crops in front of a relatively well-kept barn, but no sign of anyone dead. Or undead. No living either, for that matter.
Evan felt a smaller hand grasp hers and she looked down to see Sophia holding on tightly, and she smiled at the girl. When she looked back towards the house the men had disappeared out of sight and sweat started forming at the back of her neck. Not only because of the gazing sun. When it felt like hours had passed, although Evan knew that wasn't the case, they heard a low whistle. Seconds later Shane turned around the corner of the house, a wide smile on his face. He didn't need to say anything for them to know what it meant. They had found somewhere to stay. At least for the time being.
"Rick and Daryl are checking the fence now, to make sure it's secure," he informed them as he reached the wooden gate. Together with Glenn he opened it fully. "Drive the cars up to the back of the house," he instructed and no one was wasting any time. Hope was written on their faces once again.
As the day went on they cleaned out everything that didn't belong in the house and brought their own supplies in. The house had been empty and as far as they could figure no one had even died there. It seemed strange, but the owners seemed to have left, which didn't make sense since there was a high enough fence to at least give some protection towards the walkers. But instead of focusing on that everyone pulled their weight to make the house livable. Because of the well they had found on the grounds there was running water, albeit no hot water. That didn't faze them though, not after how they'd spent the past few weeks. There was a fair sized kitchen that had clearly been relatively cleaned out, but in the pantries Carol had found enough canned goods to keep them going for a little while. On the ground floor there was the kitchen, a living area, a bathroom and two small bedrooms. Upstairs there were another four bedrooms – all relatively small – as well as one and a half bath. When Evan opened the bedroom at the back of the house, next to the kitchen, her heart skipped a beat. The sight of an actual bed made her skin itch in anticipation. Without having to argue with anyone she claimed that bedroom as her own, as it was the smallest and she didn't need much room seeing as she was just one person.
When she dropped off what little possessions she had in there she took a good look around, enjoying the single bed with its blue sheets and covers. The walls were painted white just like the floors, and except for the bed there was a small wooden dresser and a bedside table. And that was it, except for a dark rug placed neatly on the floor. Without a word Evan had opened each of the drawers to look inside, and realized quickly that the room had belonged to a woman. Maybe an aunt, judging by the style of the clothes. But they seemed to be close enough to her size that she could make use of them, and there was nothing wrong with them. Her hands stroked the soft fabrics gently, smiling to herself as she did. Once upon a time she would have hesitated to wear the clothes of a most likely dead person, but now that was long forgotten.
After checking out her room she helped settle everyone else in, and noted with an amused look that Daryl had claimed the couch in the living area for himself rather than picking a bedroom. Although he would never admit it, she suspected it was to give others the comfort. Glenn dropped his things in the room next to the living room, while the others made their way up the stairs. Evan helped Sophia carry some things into the room they had claimed on the second floor, and saw Lori and Carl pick another room at the other end of the hall. Dale and Andrea seemed to have chosen the remaining two bedrooms, and it was confirmed when Evan reached the ground floor again to find two worn down mattresses placed in the living room. No doubt for Rick and Shane, although Evan strongly suspected that the sheriff would continue his streak of never – almost never, at least – sleeping.
"The barn is empty," Daryl said when he walked in the door. "Lots of boards, looks like maybe they were going to add something else to the house, but that's about it."
Evan was struck by an idea and raised her hand, causing the others to pause. "We should definitely board up the windows on the ground floor, right?"
Rick studied her features before answering, "Yes, we should do that."
After that order was given out, tasks were handed around, and soon everyone had something to do. Daryl was to keep watch at the gate and Dale at the back of the house. Shane, Rick and Glenn would board up the windows and Evan volunteered to entertain the kids while Lori and Carol tried to sort out something edible for everyone. Andrea appointed herself the task to take yet another walk along the entire fence to make sure it was secure everywhere. As far as Evan could tell, the area inside the fence must be at least two or so acres big, which gave them quite a bit of room. The barn stood to the left of the main house when you were facing the front gate, which you could barely see from the porch of the house. The entire house and the surrounding areas reminded Evan of a farm she'd visited when she was younger. Her own family had always lived a suburban life, but she had always been fascinated with the vast outdoors. The large oak that grew in front of the barn looked like the perfect one to hang a tire swing in, and the scent of summer and wild flowers made the smile on Evan's lips impossible to stop.
With Carl and Sophia following her closely she chose a spot in the middle of the yard to sit down, ready to start another calm game with them. This time she opted for a simple word game.
"So," she said, "these are the rules. I'll say a word, and we'll have a theme, let's say animals. And when I've said a word, for example dog, you have to come up with a word starting with the last letter of the word I said. So I say dog, and then you must say an animal starting with the letter g, perhaps giraffe."
The game was simple and not the most entertaining one in the world, but it did keep the three of them occupied for the better part of an hour, with the animals getting more and more out of hand as time went on. Soon they found themselves making up their own animals, and decided they counted as long as they could give a long description of their appearance and characteristics. None of them could keep the laughter contained at the thought of the unlikely animals and their traits taking form. Evan leaned back, her hands resting in the soft grass. For now they were okay, because it was only July, but once winter came they'd be in a lot more trouble. Sure, they weren't likely to get covered in snow, but even cold nights without snow could be a problem. When Sophia brought Evan back to the present by describing her latest animal, a snork, she ignored all worries. That didn't need to weigh her down yet.
"Okay, let me think," Evan said, concentrating. "Kawout," she finally concluded much to the entertainment of both children. "It's a distant relative to the anteater, but it's blue and when it moves it only walks backwards."