January 21, 2011

~*~ Jesus ~*~

Jesus stays with the Georgians for the next couple of days, traveling as they track along the map. The first location they find is abandoned, either due to whim, walkers, or actual intelligence when their attack group didn't return. But subtle movement isn't among these Wolves skillset, which he thinks makes their chosen namesake inappropriate. It doesn't take long for Elias and Honey to determine their likely routes and the third potential location hits paydirt.

He ends up partnered to Honey as she climbs the fire escape of a building that overlooks the old impound lot the Wolves are currently using as a home base. He's more than willing to follow her direction as she stretches out on her belly on the roof, using the decorative attempts at edging as cover. She's geared up enough to pass for military, like the rest of her group. With her helmet and balaclava on, he wouldn't even be able to peg her as female, because she's as tall as most of the men in her group. He reluctantly accepted the body armor vest they offered him, but he really likes the throat radio that keeps him in the loop.

"What do you need me to do?" he asks softly.

"Just keep an eye out. It can be hard in the scope to see the bigger picture. I'm not as experienced as Tim is yet."

He uses the binoculars to help her keep track of movement below. These guys didn't think this location through, because the big front windows make them visible. The windows curve around the building on the west side, which is where Tim is set up similar to Honey, with Andrea acting as spotter. The rest of the team is scouting the property on the ground, including the two dogs.

It takes an hour of observing before Tim, Honey, and the ground team all agree on the Wolf count - fourteen. It's still not set in stone, but they know enough to plan more. The ground crew wait at the only back exit, which falls easily to Danny's lockpicks. There's a skill he wouldn't have attributed to a Marine, but when it came up last night, the younger man just grinned and said there were benefits to an ill-spent youth.

He trades his binoculars for the rifle he's been loaned, catching Honey's eye. She smiles before telling him, "Let me take the first shot to take out the glass."

When Abraham's order comes, she fires, and glass shatters, along with a Wolf dropping to the floor. He can't tell if it was a kill shot, but he does his part as he can hear firing from Tim and Andrea's direction. Within a couple of heartbeats, he hears shots from within the building too.

The snipers all stop shooting as Abraham calls a ceasefire. The four on the ground move into sight, dragging the still-living separate from the dead and making sure the dead stay that way.

"What'll he do with the living?" he asks, mic off, although he knows the answer.

She glances at him, blue eyes made more prominent by the dark balaclava covering most of her features, and arches a brow. "They'll be questioned and put down. There are some things people can't come back from, and these are only going to escalate with no law to imprison them."

The contrast between sweet, girlish Honey and the matter-of-fact sniper next to him saddens him. This isn't a world where she should have this second side, probably wouldn't have ever had it, but he's glad she does. It makes her a survivor, and better than that, it makes her a guardian of other survivors. Gregory would never agree to systematically eliminate a threat like this, for fear they might miss part of the group and invite a vendetta.

Abraham keys the radio. "Four survivors all identify one of the dead as the leader. It's possible there's a stray out there, but all four give the same numbers even questioned separately, so I think we're done here."

"We're going to clear the building we're on," Honey replies. "Bring the bus over here. Looked to be a good amount of pet supplies left."

He can see the wisdom in that. Even he knows that veterinary medications can be used for people, and they've got dogs to feed.

As Honey demonstrates that Danny's not the only lockpick in the group, they switch rifles for knives. Rattling the door doesn't produce any walkers, but they're both experienced enough to understand they can be trapped in small offices or be immobile. They proceed carefully through the entire building, finding it actually clear other than an obvious 'opt out' person in the back office in scrubs. From the looks of the back office, which is barricaded from the inside, the woman lived here for a while before deciding to end her life on her own terms. The obvious bite on her arm is a giveaway as to why.

The exam offices all have remnants of supplies.

"Ah, hell." The whimpering growl of a dog comes from the kennel area, along with the stench of months of excrement. "I hate it when these fucking places didn't set the animals free," Honey mutters.

The scrawny, shivering dog is guarding one of the kennels. He thinks the only reason the dog survived this long is the automatic feeding systems on the kennels. With none of the kennels latched, the dog's been able to access food meant for other animals. He wonders if there were others, or if the woman filled the feeders for the dog rather than set it loose or kill it before herself. Plastic pools meant for cooling have collected water from rainfall. Surprisingly, all the dog poop is in one kennel in the far back.

"Hey sweetie, why don't we take a look at you," Honey croons. She lays out a bit of jerky just outside the dog's reach.

He's not so sure approaching the animal is wise, but she's the one who knows canines. He's aware that the two dogs with the group are actually hers.

It creeps forward, still anxious, but snaps up the bit of meat and gives a hesitant tail wag. That's when he realizes that Honey's attention is only half on the dog. The rest is on the kennel behind it.

A kennel too large for a dog that looks to be some sort of mixed breed, whose ears and curly tail make him think it's mixed with a husky breed or similar.

Another bit of jerky has the dog a little closer to Honey. It takes a third from her hand, although he notices she's careful in how she offers it. He keeps an eye on the kennel, where the flap moves a little.

Honey reaches up to loosen her helmet, laying it on the ground and tugging her balaclava down to reveal her braids. She feeds the dog another strip of jerky and speaks softly, telling it how good a puppy it is.

"Are you in the Army?" comes the small voice and Jesus wants to sob. A child, alone with nothing but a dog for companionship, for who knows how long.

"Not officially," Honey replies. "My older sister is a Marine though. She was ordered to find people and take them to safe places. I help her with that."

"There was a lot of shooting." The child still hasn't moved the flap enough for either of them to see, so Jesus isn't sure if they're talking to a boy or a girl.

"There were some bad men who tried to hurt a village near here. We followed them to make sure they can't hurt anyone else." Honey slides the package of jerky past the dog to the flap. "My name is Hannah, sweetie, but everyone calls me Honey. What's your dog's name?"

"Stella." The bag of jerky disappears in a swift move by a grubby hand. The dog seems to have decided they're welcome, because it slips past Honey to greet Jesus with a hesitant wag of its tail. He kneels and offers a hand to the dog, petting it when he accepts. He supposes with a name like Stella, the dog is a female.

"Were you here with your mom?" Honey asks.

"My sister. She got bit and locked herself in the office. She never came out and never growled." The child whimpers a little, on the cusp of tears. "She gave me the keys to unlock the doors to leave, but every time we tried, the dead things found us. I let the other dogs go, though."

Honey moves forward to sit next to the entrance to the dog house. "We can keep you safe from the dead things," she assures the child. "All my people will keep you safe."

"Do you have kids with you?"

"Not right here. But there are communities with children you can go to." She glances at Jesus, who nods and kneels where he'll be visible from the dog house.

"My home has several children. I was travelling with Honey's people for a few days to help with the bad men, but then we are helping others to go to my home."

The flap moves at last, revealing a boy that Jesus thinks might be around ten or eleven. His complexion falls somewhere between Jesus and Honey's, from what he can tell through the grime of a child with limited access to bathing. And he doesn't think he's ever seen eyes so green. "You promise?" he asks.

Jesus nods. "If you don't like it there, I can take you to other communities with children."

"Or you can go back to my home with me. I have a niece your age and a cousin," Honey adds. "But I live a lot further away than Jesus does."

"Jesus?" the kid sounds rightfully skeptic.

"My name is actually Paul. What's yours?"

"Logan."

"Like Wolverine?" he asks and the boy manages a wavering smile.

The sound of the bus arriving can be heard and the boy shivers. "That's our people. We were hoping to find supplies for our dogs, but I'm glad we found more than that here," Honey explains. She offers a hand to the boy, who creeps out through the opening of the dog house. Jesus sheds his coat and offers it to Logan. The boy's actually dressed fairly warmly, in grubby sweats and good sneakers, with a windbreaker with the vet clinic logo on over everything, but he just can't stand the thought he's been alone in the cold. Honey wraps the long garment around Logan and coaxes the boy into her arms.

She lifts him as if he were a smaller child and Logan allows it. Jesus figures it's not far off from his own reaction to being touched, and Honey Dixon is one of the most tactile people he's ever met.

He keys his mic. "Honey's coming out of the clinic with a child, maybe ten years old. We need Christopher."

~*~ MD ~*~

The day was cold enough to feel it today, but even after he called a halt on the almost completed warehouse and sent everyone to other pursuits, Merle ends up helping Jamie install the appliances inside his small cabin. All the sheetrock's hung, thanks to a variety of helpers who want Jamie's known building skills involved in their own projects, so all that's left is finishing the kitchen installation and then painting.

"Henry's starting his place up next. Wants a little more space with the two kids," Jamie remarks.

"Explains why he worked by spotlight to finish up your plumbing then."

Jamie laughs. "I'm sure as our local plumber, he'll have more help than he needs. Might set a record on putting up a cabin."

The layout isn't that much different in Jamie's cabin than Daryl's, with some variations due to it not being a kit. The loft's being left for storage at this point, since it'll likely be years before Jamie and Amy have a child even able to climb the ladder. The kitchen appliances need the most creativity, because just slapping in standard models with solar power isn't always the best. The cabins don't get the big arrays like he was able to do with the house or community center. They're installing appliances that remind him more of a houseboat than a cabin, but it works out, since the individual kitchens aren't meant for three meals a day, seven days a week use, just to give residents time to themselves.

"Throw a thermostat in there and make sure it's staying cool, then you're ready to go," Merle says, sliding the fridge into its nook. The advantage of the smaller appliances is having more counter and cabinet space, he supposes.

"Thanks, Pops. I know the apartments are plenty big enough with a baby, but as soundproof as they are, they aren't perfect."

Merle leans against the counter and nods. "Amy seems to be taking to pregnancy well." Honestly, if he hadn't been told already, he would never guess.

"Better than poor Maggie."

That's true. Morning sickness has not been Maggie's friend lately, causing her to have to drop off her supply run team even though the medical staff cleared her for continuing until her balance was affected. Scout and Shane agreed to treat any pregnant supply runners like women in the military or police force... letting the doctors and the women decide when enough was enough. It meant that unlike Amy and Cricket, Maggie's pregnancy was now common knowledge in the community.

"It'll pass, hopefully, and she'll be back to helping Glenn find all the loose critters in Georgia." He sincerely hopes it's as temporary as he's been assured, as he still remembers just how sick Lil was with Honey. But Maggie's morning sickness isn't that bad, thankfully, just prolonged and too inconveniently timed to risk being outside the walls.

"Carol wants to help Amy with the paint, since she can't do it herself." He thinks Carol still struggles a little with the adult children, who don't need her attention much other than being happy she's part of Merle and the younger kids' lives. It's a weird situation for his wife, going into a family with most of the children grown, and she's so attentive she can't stand to think she might be favoring the young ones.

"She's welcome to it. Plus, I imagine she needs a distraction or two while Honey's away." Jamie sighs. "I shoulda gone, Pops. Much as I like to think that they'll keep her safe, another Marine couldn't hurt."

Merle pulls him in for a hug. It's the irony he's often considered that his informally adopted son has spent more time here at home than Scout in the years since she brought Jamie home to become an honorary Dixon. He's been home for a lot of the big events of Honey and Jazz's lives, especially in the last year before things went to hell, because being in the MECEP program at college meant he had a little more freedom to come home to visit. It was luck that placed Jamie on leave with Scout and the kids, between his final classes and attending OCS summer training. Although to be honest, he's pretty damned sure the man would have fought his way home from South Carolina anyway.

"She'll be fine. Hell, out of all the people we sent north, I'm the least worried about her." It's mostly true. A year ago, he might worry about her having that feeling of immortality that plagues most teenagers. But after being stuck on that roof in Valdosta, whatever ideals his daughter had about her longevity were long gone. "Danny's with her, and Christopher, and Tim." And Christopher's as protective of the girl as Jamie, considering he's known her since he taught her to ride a bike as a kid.

"We were going to get married at Valentine's," Jamie says. "But now we're going to wait until she and Andrea are back, even if Amy has to waddle down the aisle."

"Her words and not yours, I hope?"

"Ain't that stupid, Pops."

Merle snorts and pushes away from the cabinet he's leaning on. "I'll let Carol know to meet up with Amy about what colors the place needs to be and let her gather her teenage art team."

"No superhero murals."

"I make no promises where your youngest sister is concerned. You best go do that begging yourself."

"Oh lord. She drives a hard bargain."

Merle only laughs, following Jamie out of the cabin to make it to supper. Jamie's right. In the safe, encouraging environment, Sophia's bloomed. No one would ever guess she was nearly terrified of her own shadow back in the early summer to see her now. In a better world, he would have met Carol sooner and been smart enough to recognize her hidden depths. But he'll take the one he has, because his family wouldn't be complete without Carol and Sophia.

He thinks about that letter, the insidious infection of it sitting in his drawer, lurking in his mind. He's actually read the damned thing and for the first time, he's actually grateful that his anger at Lilliana manifested in paying her to stay away. At least she had the funds to survive and to find her answers, even if the answers were as bad as the questions in the end. He doesn't know if he'll ever be able to forgive her - or himself - for what the kids went through. But there's a wounded part of him that feels like it's healing now, knowing she wasn't of the same ilk as his father or uncle. Instead of just being plain mean or uncaring, it's easier to breathe now, knowing she had no more choice than a cancer patient had about the disease in their body.

He wonders if he knew, before, if he could have accepted Lil's probable fate in this world and not gone to look for her.

When he's woken from nightmares about it, wondering if not going to look, not trying to contact her when the world started falling, if that made him something less than a good man, he remembers that despite her apologies and legitimate issues, she still made choices.

One of those was ignoring his plea to come to San Antonio when Scout lay dying. There's so much of Lil's past he is willing to try to forgive, from the time she didn't know and didn't have the help she needed.

But none of that applies when she wasn't willing to see their daughter as she lay critically ill.

He's not ready to read Scout's letter yet. He will, before he ever gives such a scrap of her mother's regard to his eldest daughter. The letters were written before Scout was hurt, because Cricket's held onto them for a long time.

He's not sure anything it says can overcome that one, irredeemable choice.

~*~ AF ~*~

"How's the boy doing?" Abraham asks.

The kid refused to let any of the Shirewilt ladies take care of him, insisting on being near his first set of rescuers. Christopher only got in an exam on the way back to Shirewilt because Honey stayed right there with him while they loaded up the vet clinic supplies.

Christopher sighs and takes a seat at the firepit. "Malnourished, but not as bad as it could be. Scared as hell. Clinging to Honey like a baby koala. Luckily he was old enough at ten to have a general idea about keeping himself fed and hydrated and reasonably clean whenever it wasn't too cold to bathe in the plastic pools outside."

"Kid got lucky we tracked those bastards there and they didn't spot him. He might've had another couple weeks of food left. No sign anyone's been raiding that little town either."

The mere thought of the boy makes all of Abraham's grief roll through him, although it's less overwhelming now. He wonders how many orphans like Logan fall to starvation or the walkers once they lose the adults who try to keep them safe. Or worse than the walkers, people like the Wolves they just put down or the supposed friends whose lives he ended after they attacked his family.

"How long's he been alone?"

"About six weeks, if he counted correctly. He thinks there might have been days he forgot to make a mark on his calendar after last year's calendar's ran out. Medically, he'll be okay. Mentally? I guess it's the same odds as the rest of us have."

Abraham supposes he's right there. And kids seem to adapt better to the horrors of the new world.

But Logan's safe now, and he'll stay that way as long as any of Abraham's people have a say in it.

~*~ CP ~*~

"Carol? Can you come to the watch room?"

Carol stiffens a little at the request. Eugene sounds stressed, and the man's normally rather calm when overseeing his watch duties. But the request is just for her, not her and Merle, so she supposes it can't be too terrible.

She leaves supper, since she was already done and just hadn't cleared her dishes yet, realizing it's about the time that Honey normally does the evening check-in. Hopefully, it's just a need for Honey to touch base with family. She's asked for Merle, once, the night of the attack on Shirewilt. Merle didn't relay the discussion, but he assured her their daughter was okay.

Eugene is looking rather saddened as she enters. "I'll translate for you, but I'll summarize first. They did find the last of the murdering group and finished their task there with no issues encountered in eliminating the threat."

That's a relief, but probably not why she's been summoned. "That's good news."

"They found a little boy. Alone." Eugene looks rattled, and now Carol understands why.

"What does Honey need?" They have medical people with them, and Christopher's probably one of their best with children. And she has access to other parents, among the Shirewilt people.

"She wants to know if she can promise him a family here. He's afraid and doesn't want to stay with the Shirewilt people." Eugene looks like he understands the concept all too well.

Carol wishes her language skills were stronger, because she wants to reassure her daughter of every promise under the sun that can be made to this poor lost boy in her own voice.

But she's not there yet, so Eugene relays her words and promises. While Carol doesn't entirely understand at first why Honey would even seek permission, the reply that comes back is far more little girl than grown woman, and she understands.

Honey needs her mother to take in this child, not just anyone.

She feels herself tear up at the complete trust the girl has in Carol's ability to save this boy.

~*~ Jesus ~*~

Jesus shifts from where he took over the boy's care while Honey made her nightly radio message to her home. Logan's not asleep, but he's tired and he's been cold except for the warmth of the poor small dog for so long. Stella's curled up on the bunk opposite, watching her boy, where he's curled into Jesus on the dinette bed. Everyone else has made themselves scarce, even though he knows Tim and Christopher normally nap before watch.

Honey steps carefully into the camper and tiptoes to the bed. Jesus isn't surprised when she doesn't ask him to trade spots, but instead slides her slim form in the bed to lie nose-to-nose with their young charge.

"You're gonna go home with me, Logan. I talked to my mama and she's gonna have everything ready when you get there."

Logan's body tenses a little. "She won't mind? Or your father?"

"Oh, sweetie, I promise you. My family loves kids like crazy. My mama would adopt every kid left in the world if she had to." She takes the boy's hand and smiles. "She's only been my mama for a little while. I didn't have one for a really long time, just a daddy. But we found Carol and I got a mama and a new sister. It's safe there, Logan. We've got lots of family there."

"What about Jesus?" The boy twists a little, trying to look over his shoulder to his other rescuer.

Jesus gives him his best smile. "I don't live in the same place, and I can't come. There are people I help take care of. You'll be safer where Honey lives, you and Stella both."

Honey smiles too. "We've got a big farm. Cows, horses, sheep, goats, and a bunch of other dogs for Stella to play with."

"Like Augustus and Oso? They're kind of big."

"Well, there are several dogs like them there, but there are also smaller dogs. I bet Stella would like Bandit. He's an Australian shepherd and belongs to my cousin Abby."

"She's my age, right?"

"Eleven, so a little older, but close. And my niece is nine. There are a lot of other kids too. Over thirty at last count."

Thirty kids. Good lord. Jesus wonders if that includes teenagers or not. He's glad the boy seems open to the idea of going to Georgia. As much as he would love a little brother, the way Honey seems to have automatically decided to adopt Logan into her family, he's on the road too much and doesn't have the support system she does. It's why when the boy cried earlier, needing reassurance after realizing Jesus doesn't stay safely behind walls, he reminded the boy that Honey offered to take him home with her.

"Does that mean you have a school?"

"Yeah. It even looks like one of those places in the history shows on TV, back when all the kids went to one school." Honey goes on to extol the virtues of her home, and while Jesus once thought Hilltop and the Kingdom as the best examples of how to flourish in the apocalypse, he thinks if even half of the picture Honey paints is true, Homestead is living up to its name.

He kind of wishes he could go.