A/N: Hey guys. There's a poll that needs to be done on my profile page. Voting ends at the end of 2015. If it's a tie, I will cast my own vote and decide.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. All rights reserved to their respective owners.
I do not own Madeline Carver. She belongs to FanFic Productions.
"Kenny, Sarita, Doug, Carley, Adam, Lizzy, and Danielle have been staying with us for several weeks. Used to be a ski lodge obviously, so there is plenty of food." The man in the red sweatshirt said as he walked up the stairs. "And believe it or not, we still get power from that wind turbine out front. Of course, Doug had to help us with it at first. We tend to keep the lights off at night to avoid drawing attention." It was true. The ski lodge was well decorated with Christmas lights around the columns and Christmas tree.
Kenny turned around and began mock the man with a nagging hand gesture as the man continued, "But after we found this stuff in storage, we couldn't resist making an exception." The adults rolled their eyes at the older man's antics. "Is something funny?" The man asked when he noticed that the group members had smirks.
"Oh nothing Walt." Kenny replied. He walked up the stairs to introduce his friend to Zach and Natalie. "Walter here is one smart son of a bitch. He also makes a good can of beans." Kenny finished as he patted Walter on the back.
"Well, why don't you guys catch up while I get dinner started?" Walter suggested. Suddenly, the cabin members entered the ski lodge. Keith and Madeline walked up to Zach and Natalie. Both seemed nervous and unsure.
"What's wrong?" Natalie asked the two children.
"I… uh…" Keith said but he trailed off. He shook his head in a gesture that he didn't want to talk. Zach looked to the two children with concern. He had never seen them act this way.
Walter interrupted his thoughts when he said, "Please, make yourselves at home. You can leave your things over there." He made a gesture to the bench near the door. The group looked over but no one made a move to place their weapons or equipment on the bench.
"The hell we will." Rebecca said.
"Yeah, I'm holding onto my rifle, thanks." Nick said.
"You are our guests here, there's no need to worry." Walter said.
"Then tell them to put their guns down." Nick said as he gestured to Kenny and Carley.
Kenny looked to Zach with a questioning stare and asked, "Are these people trustworthy enough? I know that you're sticking up for that asshole who took our boat, but I don't know why."
"Hey, we're cool. We're cool." Luke said as he raised his hands in the air.
"Kenny, I told you already that I didn't have a choice." Clive said. "If I didn't do what Vernon told me to do, I would have been swallowed up by that herd."
"So, instead you left us to die to that herd." Doug said with a glare aimed at the older man.
"It's not completely his fault. I told Vernon that he needed to start stepping up for himself or he would die." Zach said. His old group members looked to him with shocked looks. "He took my advice. He knew that he and his group were going to die if they didn't do something."
"What the f***?" Kenny spat. "The boat was our ticket to freedom!"
"Not really… Vernon might have done us a favor. That boat was very small. It couldn't fit the whole group anyway." Doug said.
"I knew it wouldn't." Zach said. "Besides, getting on a boat would have been a bad idea. We have no idea how bad the rest of the coast is."
Kenny grumbled to himself before he released a defeated sigh. "Alright… I'll let it go for now but what about the rest of them?""
"You can trust them. I've been on the road with them for a couple days now." Zach said.
Zach stopped upon hearing a gasp. "A Christmas tree!" Sarah exclaimed. Zach turned to see the nine year old run up the stairs to get to the well-decorated tree.
"Wait, Sarah!" Rebecca said but she was too late.
Zach smiled to see the girl's enthusiasm before he turned to Kenny. The older man was also smiling to see how excited the girl was. "Alright. I guess they can't be that bad since you trust them." Kenny said. He walked down the set of stairs along with Carley. Both placed their weapons on the bench and looked back to Luke and his group.
Zach and Natalie were next. They headed down the stairs and placed their backpacks and guns on the bench as well. Soon, Luke followed the procedure and placed his gun and machete on the bench. He turned to his group to see Alvin, Rebecca, and Clive place their weapons and supplies on the bench.
Nick was the last person to do place his weapon on the bench. He released a defeated sighed and obliged in placing his weapon on the bench.
"Good. Will you all please follow me? I'll show you where you can sleep." Sarita said. She headed up the stairs with Luke, Alvin, Rebecca, Clive, and Nick following behind her. Walter went back to the kitchen and tried to get something made for the new additions as Kenny, Carley, Doug, Zach, and Natalie headed for the living room where a nice, warm fire was. Keith and Madeline followed Zach and Natalie. Both children were acting rather strange.
Kenny took a seat on the couch with Zach and Natalie sitting next to him. Doug and Carley sat in a set of chairs that faced Zach and Natalie. However, both adults could see Keith and Madeline. Neither wanted to get too close. Kenny followed their line of vision to the children who started to backpedal.
"Are they yours?" Kenny asked.
"Yeah, we adopted them recently." Natalie said. "Come here you two. You don't have to be nervous. These people are just old friends of ours."
"They aren't going to hurt us?" Keith asked.
"No, sweetie. They don't know who you are." Natalie said.
"Come here. You're both alright." Zach said and he gave the two children an encouraging smile.
The two children were hesitant but they approached the two adults. Zach picked up Keith and placed him on his lap while Natalie did the same with Madeline.
"I never would have thought to see you with a son, Zach." Kenny said.
"Yeah, it's not so hard." Zach said as he wrapped his arms around the boy's waist. "I had some experience before Keith."
Kenny hummed to himself before he looked to the fire. "Been a year and a half since we last seen each other."
"How'd you get out of there?" Zach asked.
"It wasn't easy… It was even harder after I got out of Savannah. I gave up… I didn't want to do it anymore. We put up with all this shit and for what…" Kenny said with a saddened look on his face.
"We found Kenny a couple days after Savannah." Doug said. "It didn't look good."
"Yeah, but then I found Sarita… thank goodness. And after that we found Lizzy and Adam. I have to admit… that really helped especially when they started to call me dad." Kenny said as a smile formed on his lips. "It's unlike any feeling in the world to hear some child you care for call you that."
"I hear you." Zach said with a smirk. He knew that feeling especially since he had three children calling him that name.
"So what happened to you guys?" Carley asked.
"Well, I got Clem back." Zach said.
"I sure hope you made that f****** pay." Kenny spat.
"I did. I made sure that he would never hurt anyone again." Zach said. "After that, we kind of bounced around. We tried to find some place safe until we heard about Wellington."
"Us too." Kenny said. "We're heading there as well."
"I see. So, you're going to wait out the winter in the ski lodge, right?" Zach said.
"Not my preference. I think we should get there immediately, but Doug and Carley insisted on staying." Kenny said with a glare aimed at the couple.
"Oh come on, Kenny." Carley said. "The kids wouldn't make it through that weather."
"It's safer if we try during spring or summer." Doug said. "We could die trying to head up there from the cold. I know you wouldn't want that to happen to your family."
"I'm afraid Doug's right. The weather in Ohio is too unpredictable. Let's just wait it out here. You guys got everything you need. You got food, water, and shelter. That's something we didn't have for five days." Zach said.
Kenny released a grumble and said, "Alright, I know when I'm beat."
"So what about that one guy from Vernon's group?" Carley asked. "Why is he with you?"
"His name is Clive. He told me what happened." Zach explained. "You remember that herd that showed up in Savannah?" The three adults nodded in response and Zach continued, "Vernon saw it too. He didn't give his group any other choice. It was either stay and die or help him steal our boat."
"And you're just going to trust him?" Kenny inquired.
"He saved my life." Natalie said which shocked Kenny, Carley, and Doug. Natalie sighed before she continued, "A herd snuck up on us and… Clive risked his life to save mine."
"Plus, Clive has information I need." Zach said. "There's a man named William Carver chasing us. The other group members don't trust me enough to tell me the whole story, and I can't talk to Keith and Maddie about it. So, Clive is my only option."
"Alright…" Kenny muttered. "I'll trust that shitbird for now, but if he does one thing out of line, I'm killing his ass."
"I guess that's fair." Zach said.
Zach soon heard footsteps approaching him and Natalie. The two adults turned to see Sarita next to them. "Hello. I was wondering if these two would like to help decorate the Christmas tree. The other children are already helping out."
Zach smirked and said, "I think that would be a good idea." He looked down to Keith and said, "Go play with the other kids for a little while." However, the boy was very nervous and unmoving. Zach looked over to see that Madeline was also unmoving.
Natalie smiled to the four year old on her lap and said, "Baby go play. Those other kids aren't going to hurt you."
"But… what about Carver?" Madeline asked.
"You let us worry about that." Zach said. "You two don't need to worry about him."
The two were still hesitant until Sarita offered her hand. Keith hesitantly accepted it, but Madeline remained close to Natalie. "I got her." Natalie said as she got up. She adjusted the four year old and carried her over to the Christmas tree. Sarita followed with Keith looking back to Zach. Zach gave the boy an encouraging smile until the two disappeared from view.
"They seem really attached. Did you adopt them recently?" Kenny asked.
"Yeah. I adopted them almost a week ago." Zach said.
Kenny chuckled and said, "It shows."
The cabin group walked down the stairs and the four at the fire place turned in their direction. "So, is there anything we can do to help?" Luke asked.
"Well, there's still a few supplies outside. We need to bring them in before the storm hits. Zach can help us." Kenny said.
"Yeah, I'm in." Zach said. He got out of his seat along with Kenny and the two headed outside. The cold wind whipped around the two and left both men shivering.
"Damn… It gets colder each time I'm out here." Kenny muttered as he went for a box of supplies. Zach followed him and picked up a box as well while Luke and Nick exited the building. "Hey there." Kenny said. "There ain't much left as you can see."
"Alright." Luke said as he went to grab a box.
It took the four men a couple of trips outside and inside, but they soon finished. "Whew… glad that's done." Kenny muttered as he walked up the stairs.
"It wasn't that bad." Zach teased.
"Yeah, maybe not for you, Mr. Marine." Kenny said. "Some of us aren't made out of the tough shit that you're made out of." He looked off to the distance. Zach followed his line of vision and saw the Christmas tree. "Well, they've been busy."
"Yeah, they have." Zach said. The two men headed over to the children, Natalie, and Sarita. Zach was pleased to see that Madeline and Keith weren't as shy as they were earlier and they were even talking to Adam and Danielle.
Clementine smiled upon seeing her adoptive father approaching her. She ran to him and hugged one of his legs. "Hey sweetheart." Zach said. "You and the other kids are doing a good job on the tree."
The girl smiled looked up to Zach with a smile and said, "Thanks."
Zach looked up to see Elizabeth run to Kenny. The older man picked up the small girl and hugged her. "So did you kids do all that?" Kenny asked in a kind tone of voice. Zach had never heard that tone in his life. Something about the red-haired girl must have brought out his compassion or something he had before the apocalypse.
"Do you like it, daddy?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yeah, y'all did a good job on it." Kenny said as he placed the seven year old back on the ground.
Kenny looked over to Sarita who was gathering the boxes for the Christmas decorations. "I got it hon." Kenny said as he reached for the box.
"I think I can manage it, Kenny." Sarita said.
"Well alright. Let me know if you need help." Kenny said as he walked back. Sarita smiled to the older man before she left with the boxes.
Zach sniffed the air and could tell that dinner was almost ready. Whatever they were going to have, it was going to be good.
"Smells like Walter is almost done with dinner." Doug said. Zach turned to the stocky man and he continued, "How about you go get your people together."
"Sounds good." Zach said. He headed for the stairs but he could hear the pitter patter of a pair of shoes following him. Zach turned around and saw Clementine with a big smile on her lips. He knew that she wanted to spend some time with him. He had spent a lot of his energy on all three of the children over the course of the last few days. It probably hasn't been easy for Clementine to adjust to having two other siblings. After all, she was an only child for eight years. "You want to help me round up the others?" Zach asked with an encouraging smirk and his hand out to take her hand.
Clementine nodded and placed her small hand into his. The two then proceeded upstairs. "How are you holding up?" Zach asked. "I know it can't be easy to be trying to get my and mommy's attention since you now have two siblings."
"It isn't easy." Clementine said with a frown. "I really liked it at first, but now, I feel a little lonely. I'm just not used to it yet."
"Right, you'll get used to it as time passes on." Zach said.
"I… I don't want to become like my friends at school. They would always say that I was lucky for being an only child and that they hated their siblings. I'm not like that, right?" Clementine said.
"Of course you're not, sweetheart." Zach said. He stopped and looked to the girl with caring eyes. "Clementine, you are one of the most loving people I have ever met. I don't think there's a mean bone in your body."
"That's good." Clementine said with a wide smile forming on her lips. "I was a little nervous that I was becoming mean."
"Why would you think that?" Zach asked. The eight year old shrugged and Zach chuckled before he continued up the stairs. "Don't worry. You're doing a good job."
"Thanks." Clementine said.
"You're welcome." Zach said. The two finally reached the top of the stairs to see Alvin, Rebecca, and Clive talking amongst themselves.
"It's crazy. Why would they follow us this far?" Rebecca asked.
"They have a lot of reason to be still chasing us." Clive said as Zach and Clementine approached them.
"It has been a week man. We got to be out of the woods." Alvin said.
"We can't be too sure." Clive said. "They might be tracking us."
"Tracking? Who do you think they are, ninjas?" Alvin inquired as he panicked from the thought of Carver's men hunting them down.
Rebecca looked down with a frown before she looked up to Zach. "Zach do you or Luke know if Carver's still on our tail?" Alvin and Clive looked to Zach with equal curiosity.
"I don't know… We might have lost him. Either way, we won't be heading anywhere any time soon. We need a couple days to recuperate." Zach said.
"Yes. I agree. This is the best break we've had in days. It's warm here and they have water." Rebecca said. "It'll be perfect for the baby."
"Carver may find us if we stay put." Clive said.
"We'll have to take that chance." Zach said. "I don't think we have another day left in us."
"Everyone dinner is served. Come on over and have a seat." Walter said from downstairs.
"We'll discuss it after dinner." Clive said as he headed downstairs.
"Here hon. I'll help you." Alvin said as he helped Rebecca to her feet. The two walked past Zach. The marine followed the couple and headed downstairs with Clementine next to him. Zach joined Natalie, Keith, and Madeline. The three must have wanted to wait for Zach and Clementine.
"Hey, where do you want to sit at?" Natalie asked. Zach looked to the two tables and saw that one table consisted of Luke, Alvin, Rebecca, Clive, Nick, and Sarah while the other table consisted of Kenny, Sarita, Adam, Elizabeth, Carley, Danielle, Doug, and Walter.
"I haven't been around Kenny and them for a long time. How about we go over there." Zach said.
"Sounds good." Natalie said.
The family of five walked over to Kenny's table; however, Zach could see that his old friend, Luke, was distraught by Zach's choice. Zach sat down with Clementine and Keith sitting next to him and Natalie sitting across from the children. Madeline was placed on Natalie's lap.
"Here you go." Walter said as he handed Zach a couple of bowls. Zach passed it down to Clementine and Keith while Walter gave Natalie two bowls of a mysterious concoction. One was for her while the other was for Madeline. "Here Zach." Walter said as he handed a bowl to the marine.
"Thanks." Zach said. Zach looked back over, and just as he expected, Madeline didn't want anything to do with the food. She looked into the bowl with a questioning stare. "You want to try some?" Zach asked.
Madeline looked up to Zach and she looked back down to the bowl. "It look funny." Madeline said.
Doug, Kenny, and Carley chuckled at the toddler's description while everyone else ate. Natalie also chuckled and said, "Can you try it, baby?"
"It may look funny, but it does taste really good." Clementine said to the toddler.
"It does?" Madeline asked.
"Yeah, we eat it all the time here." Adam said. "Walter's a really good chef."
"What's a chef?" Madeline asked.
"A cook, basically." Zach said.
"Hmm… otay." Madeline said with a smile forming on her face. The toddler picked up her spoon and took a bite of the concoction. At first, it looked like she didn't like it, but she got over it rather quickly and took another bite.
"Do you like it?" Zach asked.
The toddler nodded her head with a smile. It was a surprise to Zach and Natalie. They did have her try new things but she usually didn't like a lot of food anyway. Zach figured that she was still a baby and she needed normal things that kids would eat. Clementine wasn't willing to try venison until a few months after she turned six. So, Zach considered it to be normal for Madeline to be somewhat picky.
Zach looked down to his own food and started eating as well. It was a few minutes later until Kenny spoke up, "So Zach, what's the deal with the kid? What's his name? …Luke? It seems like he knows you or something."
"Yeah, I used to go to high school with him. He's a good kid, but he tends to overdo it." Zach said.
"What do you mean?" Doug asked.
"What I mean is that he's too concerned for everyone else's well-being and he spreads himself too wide." Zach said.
"Like you have room to talk. You do the same thing." Natalie said.
"So, what about these guys chasing you?" Carley asked.
"I met Carver already. He seems pretty strong and he's definitely very smart." Zach said. "It didn't take him long to figure out that I was lying about not knowing the group."
"Shit, how did you get away? Doug asked.
"I got lucky. He wasn't expecting to find anyone in the cabin. He must have thought it was another dead lead." Zach said.
"I'll say." Kenny muttered.
"Hey daddy, we're done." Clementine said. Zach looked over to Clementine and Keith and saw that both of their bowls were empty.
"We're done too." Adam said to Kenny.
"Alright, how about you five go play for a while. Just make sure you stay inside." Kenny said.
"She's done too." Natalie said as she gestured to Madeline. Natalie placed Madeline on the ground and looked to Keith and Clementine. "Can you two make sure to keep an eye on your baby sister?"
"Yeah, we'll look after her." Keith said.
"Good. I'll come and check on you guys every so often." Natalie said.
The six children headed upstairs which left the adults in silence. It was weird when the children left. It was as if they had the energy to keep the conversation going. However, it didn't take long for a new conversation to start. Luke and Nick went to the table that Zach had chosen along with his family. Meanwhile, Sarita, Doug, and Natalie went to check on the children. Zach noticed that Sarah was walking close behind the adults. She probably wanted to join her friends as well. Walter also left the table, but it was clear that he was going in the opposite direction. More than likely, he was going to clean up.
Luke sat down in front of Zach and gave him a saddened look; however, Zach was unaffected by the stare. His eight year old daughter gave a better sad look than the young man.
The stare was broken off when Kenny said, "I hope you enjoy the food."
"Oh yeah…" Luke said. He was caught off guard by the question since he wasn't paying attention. "It's great. Thank you."
"It's peaches and beans." Kenny explained. "Great for nutrition. Not too great on the way out though." The older man then busted up laughing at his own joke while Luke and Nick glared at him for the inappropriate joke. Carley and Zach rolled their eyes and smirked at the older man's delight. They knew how Kenny operated, so the joke wasn't a surprise for them.
Kenny's laughter came to an end and the two men went back to just staring at him. "So it's Luke and Nick? Luke and Nick. You two seemed to be quite the match." Kenny said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick inquired.
"I'm just saying you two look like good friends, that's all." Kenny replied.
"So what was your plan here? Hold out for the winter?" Luke asked.
"Well, if I had it my way, we would be on our way to Wellington." Kenny said as he sent a scowl toward Carley.
"We already told you that going to Ohio with the kids would be too risky. I've heard the weather up there can be really awful." Carley said in defense.
"Ohio? Where the f*** is that at?" Nick inquired.
"Right below Michigan and next to Pennsylvania." Zach explained. "I was up there for a little while for training."
"There's supposed to be a big camp near Michigan." Kenny explained. "It's called Wellington."
"Michigan?" Nick inquired.
"You have a hearing problem, kid?" Kenny snapped. "Yeah, Michigan. Think about it: fresh water, lots of land, and cold ass winters so that the walkers get slow."
"Sounds like a lot of bullshit." Nick said.
Kenny jumped at the man's arrogance and said, "Listen, Vanilla Ice, I don't know what your deal is but you are more than welcome to take off in the morning."
"Well that sounds just fine by me." Nick snapped.
"Don't let him bother you Kenny. There's always something wrong with that kid." Zach said.
"Hey, f*** you Zach." Nick spat and he turned to the former marine. "I knew you were going to leave us again."
"Gentlemen, please, there is no need for this." Walter said as he approached the squabbling adults. "We've all had a long day. Now please eat."
Kenny grumbled to himself and said, "I'm going to go check our defenses." He stood up from his seat and headed for the front door.
"I'll join you, Kenny." Walter said as he followed the older man.
Zach huffed and said, "Look, I know Kenny can be difficult to get along with, but you'll have to get used to him." He got out of his seat and headed for the door as well. He wasn't sure how the two groups were going to mesh together. Kenny didn't trust Clive and he wasn't getting along with Luke or Nick.
Zach exited the ski lodge and felt the cold wind across his body. It reminded him of the cold conditions of his training in Alaska, although the current weather was not as grueling or as cold.
Zach noticed Kenny and Walter and headed toward them. They seemed to be wrapping up with a conversation as Zach made his approach. "I'm starting to worry about him, Kenny." Walter said. "He usually calls in by now."
"It's probably just the fact that his radio died." Kenny said. "I'll go down there and look for him before the storm hits."
"What's going on?" Zach asked.
"Oh hey Zach." Kenny said. "Matthew hasn't come back, so we're thinking of sending some folks down to check on him."
"Well, wait a minute." Walter said. "You guys had to have passed the bridge to get here. You had to have ran into him."
Zach's eyes widened. At that point, he knew who Walter and Kenny were talking about. He was almost unsure of telling the two men. However, before he could speak, the three heard a twig snap. Kenny whipped around and aimed with his rifle. There was nothing nearby, but it was better for them to be cautious.
The three men turned the corner and saw a young, red-haired woman peeking through the window of the ski lodge. She wasn't armed, but that didn't mean that she wasn't dangerous. Kenny raised his gun and aimed it at the woman, but Walter stopped Kenny by placing a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Kenny obliged and lowered the hunting rifle. "Miss?" Walter said to get the woman's attention.
She looked over and jumped upon seeing the three men. She raised her hands in surrender as she stared wide eyed at Kenny's hunting rifle. "Please, do you have any food?" The red haired woman asked.
"Are you okay?" Walter asked as he approached the woman.
"I saw the house and… I have a family. We're starving." The woman explained. "We live down there." The woman gestured to the bottom of the mountain.
"Of course." Walter said. "Why don't you come in miss…?"
"Bonnie." The woman replied.
"Walt, I don't know. You're just going to let her in, like that?" Kenny asked with a glare towards the woman. "We have kids in our group."
"It's fine, Kenny." Walter replied.
"We don't know this girl." Kenny said.
"Then we'll just have to get to know her, right Zach?" Walter asked.
"This can't be a coincidence. My group is being chased by some madman and now we have a woman scooping out our defenses." Zach said with a glare aimed at Bonnie.
"Please, I wasn't going hurt anyone in there. I just needed something for my family." Bonnie pleaded.
"Zach, she needs help." Walter said with a frown on his face. "What kind of people would we be to turn her down?"
"Thank you, really, but that storm'll be on us soon and I have got to get back to my family." Bonnie said.
"Alright, I'll bring something out to you then." Walter said.
"You don't have to do that." Bonnie said.
"No, no, it's fine." Walter said as he raised his hand up. "Just give me a couple of minutes, and I'll be right back." Walter headed back towards the front doors of the lodge leaving Bonnie with Kenny and Zach.
"We can't trust this girl." Kenny muttered.
"Keep yourself armed and ready." Zach said.
"So, y'all have family?" Bonnie asked.
"Yeah, we do." Kenny said. His voice left no room for the woman to say another word. Instead, she stood by and waited for Walter to return. Fortunate for her, the plump man returned a few minutes later.
Zach could tell that she was uncomfortable, but he didn't care. He kept his eyes aimed at her until he noticed Walter coming around the corner. He carried a box of food which he handed it to Bonnie. "Here you go, miss."
Bonnie took the supplies and her eyes widened in surprise. "This is too much." Bonnie said.
"Don't mention it." Walter said.
"I don't know how to thank you." Bonnie said.
"Just help someone else down the line." Walter said.
"Thank you so much." Bonnie said with a smile. "Well, I'll be going now."
"Take care." Walter said.
"You too." Bonnie said and she headed down the hill. Zach kept his eyes on the woman. He knew that something about her wasn't right. She acted too nervous around him. It was as if she knew him or knew what he was like.
Walter turned to Zach and Kenny with a sincere smile but neither of the two approved of his actions. There was no doubt that Zach liked his caring and kind attitude, but the plump man was too naïve with his approach. It was obvious to him and Kenny that Bonnie was there for another reason.
"Zach, why don't you go inside? Walt and I need to talk." Kenny said.
Zach simply obliged and headed for the entrance of the ski lodge.
…To be continued.