Chapter 3
"People were surprised by my actions yesterday, I hear their whispers about how have I changed. I wasn't the cowardly and lanky boy they knew five years ago. But it was not my desire to change this way, what happened in New Dawn I must admit, had changed me dramatically. Since day one we set foot in the town, Marie and I experienced something we had never seen before. Chaos ensued but also we met important people of our lives."
The train finally arrived at its destination, its powerful brakes had awoken the duo from their five-hour slumber. Edd and Marie slowly get off the Railcar, they crouched and did their best not to be seen by the security. They quickly hid under the railcar as security was walking towards their direction, as he was doing routine checks on each car. The sight of security complete with body armor, combat helmet, and goggles and balaclava made them unsettled, what made them fear the most is that these securities were wielding assault rifles. They slowly crawled under the railcar as Marie pointed the exit. Edd was already shaking in fear while Marie was also worried. But she never let it slow her down.
"Marie!" Edd almost shouted as she quickly grabbed his mouth.
"I know. That is why we need to be quiet!" she hissed.
They continued their crawling, the muddy soil gave Edd much discomfort. Even living as a homeless in the city, he was still lucky to find a decent bath, apparently some homeless managed to illegally tap the water pipeline.
"Filthy… filthy.. microbes…germs." Edd whispered frantically.
"Double D… Shut… The… Fuck… Up…" Marie whispered angrily but a little louder.
Edd complied but he was still grossed out, they continued their crawling. They were almost at the edge of the railcar, and the plan was to run straight to a nearby forest. The station was an open one, there were no fences and with only a single warehouse on the side.
Marie pointed to Edd the nearby forest, much to his dismay. He didn't like the idea of venturing the forest, he knew that venturing to a forest of an unknown town would be dangerous. He knew the forest back on Peach Creek is much safer than this, he whispered to Marie about the ideas of wolves and bears. But Marie just assured him that they will be alright.
Suddenly a loud voice had snapped the two from their conversation, they quickly glanced from the opening to see what was happening. They saw three security personnel pointing their weapons at a man. Judging from his tattered clothes, he was also a homeless man.
"Please, I just want to.." he was cut off when one of the security had his rifle butt smashed his face.
"Sir, we have stragglers." the second security contacted through the radio.
"We have two… no three… two men and a woman. About thirty to fifty years." he continued.
The second security was listening to the reply from his radio, while the first one was still pointing his rifle to the now bloodied homeless man. The third one was at ease.
"Copy." the second security replied and he nodded to the first one.
The wounded man was about to plead when the second security shot him through the head. There was an unseen scream of a female soon followed. Marie, in a nick of time, grabbed Edd's mouth as he was about to scream. She grabbed his body while her hand was still on his mouth, to avoid being detected. The three securities rushed inside and another gunshot was heard, but the scream of the woman is still going. Soon they went outside with a woman in tow, she was struggling as she was dragged by the hair. Her struggling only ceased when an injection had pierced on her neck. It took ten seconds for the woman to lose consciousness.
"Home-base, this is Charlie One, two males are eliminated, the female is ready for pick up over."
The security again made contact on his radio. There was an inaudible reply.
"Copy, bringing the woman now, all inspection will put on hold." the security replied, he turned to his comrades and nodded at them.
The three dragged the woman's body as they went to Edd and Marie's direction. The Marie held her breathe and tightly holding Edd's mouth and his body as the security passed them. They waited for a few good minutes before Marie finally let go of Edd.
"Marie… they.. they…" Edd was breathing badly.
He couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. People being murdered in cold blood in front of him.
"I know.. but we need to keep our shit together, ya hear me. Listen we are few feet away from this shithole and that forest." Marie pointed to Edd in the forest.
Edd looked at her and he nodded. He reminded himself they need to escape to avoid the same fate.
"It is still dark so we are at an advantage. When we count to three we ran," she instructed.
Edd couldn't think straight but he felt Marie's hand on his.
"Hey, we got this.. on three."
Edd nodded and waited for Marie's signal.
"Three!" She said as she quickly stood up dashed toward the forest.
Edd was a bit shocked, he was supposed to hear one and two. But the sight of Marie already running, he followed suit with never looking back at the yard station. They kept on running without any direction. As long as they are away from the place. They went to the forest as they dodged any obstacles in front of them. Edd was able to catch Marie.
"You were supposed to count one and two!" he wailed as he dodges a branch.
"I just said we run in three! And I said three so we run!"
"That is not the proper countdown!" Edd complained as he was breathing hard from running.
"Seriously?! even at this time?!" Marie couldn't believe it.
Even at this critical moment, Edd would never fail to correct anything. They continued their running, even with the darkness they continued to run ahead. They didn't care as long as they are away from the train station.
The duo was walking on an empty road, both were disheveled and hungry. They were fortunate that they found a road after hours of running, the sight of those security killing innocent people gave them enough strength to run for hours. But the adrenaline rush soon wears and they both become more exhausted and hungry. The sun was setting high and the weather was hot, Edd calculated that it was ten in the morning.
"Marie, what are we going to do?" Edd was now getting worried.
"To be honest I don't know, but the important thing is we are far from those people," Marie admitted.
"I am hungry," she added as she heard her stomach rumbling.
They forgot to bring any food from Dalton's place, except for extra clothing.
"Well all we do is to find any safe places, we could find any house and ask for help."
"I don't know Edd, they might be suspicious of us."
Edd gave a thought for a moment, Marie was right. His experience from the big city gave him awareness about how suspicious and how people mistrust others. But he knew they would give it a chance anyway.
"We will try Marie, we will convince them that we are trustworthy people in society," Edd assured Marie, he gave her a warm smile.
"Alright oven-mitt, well find some house and ask for help," Marie replied trying to hide her blush.
"And we might even tell them what was happening at the station. We should report it to the proper authorities, Marie."
Marie looked at Edd, she was unsure. The idea of calling the cops and report about the murder by the security personnel would be very bad. They kept on walking until something caught Edd's attention,there was a small road connecting to the main road they were walking. There was a mailbox on it written "Crave Residence".
The two started to walk into the small road until something caught their attention. They turned their head when a vehicle was coming towards them, the duo stopped as the vehicle passed them and stopped. The door opened and a slender woman sporting an old t-shirt and brown cargo pants. She was in her early forties, with long auburn hair tied to a bun.
She didn't smile at the two nor greeted them instead she made a warning.
"From what I see you're not from here, better go home kids. This place is not safe."
"Sorry lady, but we are not going anywhere," Marie said.
"I like your guts girl, but I'm serious here. This place is dangerous." the woman added.
"Ma'am pardon for being impolite but we need to find any house, we need to report a murder incident at the train station. We saw the security personnel are killing people. And do you have spare water to give?"
The woman was visibly surprised by Edd's statement but kept her silence, she observed the two, the teens were both dirty and disheveled. Their clothes were in tatters. She went to her car and gave the duo two bottled water.
"As I said, you two should go home. I could bring you to my house and let's see how we could sort this out." the woman offered.
Marie glanced at Edd, she doesn't trust the woman at all. Edd didn't say anything but the woman's offer is good enough for him. Despite Marie's protest, Edd agreed, but he insists on contacting the authorities when they arrive. While Marie kept saying they would not go back to their home and send them to any nearby town instead. The woman just raised a brow but she was still adamant to return the kids.
When the duo was about to enter the car Marie saw something in the woman's car, she pointed it to Edd and the two looked at each other. They saw a similar uniform from the security personnel earlier, and the sight of the handgun lying on the back didn't give any good sign either.
"Edd… the uniform…" She whispered.
"She's one of them.." Edd panicked.
The duo glanced at the woman, she was busy looking through her compartment.
"I think we should head to the house. We don't know what she will do to us or what will those securities will do? Torture?" Edd continued, he was now visibly shaking.
"Hey, we need to come up with a plan."
They took another look at the woman who was still busy until she finally found what she was looking for. Their fear comes to worse as the woman found a walkie talkie. They had to act fast.
"Sorry, but we are going now," Marie said casually as they passed the woman in the driver seat.
"Yes, apologies. We are heading towards the house now. We bid you adieu." Edd added as he followed Marie. The woman attempted to open the driver's door but Marie swiftly kicked the door close.
"What? Hey!" the woman protested.
The two dashed to the smaller road, the house was not very far as they saw an old two-story house. they looked behind them and the woman was chasing them but stopped in her tracks. Good. They felt a big relief as they saw three figures outside the house, as they stopped their work when they saw two teens running towards them, screaming for help.
They were ushered inside the house by the three men, they called their mother who came out from the kitchen door. She was holding a pot of soup and settled it on the table. The old woman listened to their story, she just smiled as she offered the food at the duo which they happily receive.
"Do not worry kids, we will take care of you. No one is going to harm you now," she said as she smiled. She motioned her three sons to sit with them on the table. Edd queried about contacting any authorities but the old woman insisted to eat first.
Edd felt uncomfortable with the old woman's smile, but he didn't want to be rude. He smiled as he took a sip on the soup. the food was delicious. He hadn't had anything to eat since they left. He took a sip again and again until he felt a piece of meat in the spoon. He smiled as he was able to consume some protein, but much to his horror, the said protein was a finger. A human finger. He dropped the spoon as he looked at Marie who vomited as an eyeball was rolling on the plate. He heard manic waves of laughter from four people.
"Oh.. don't like my cooking? Too bad." the old woman made a vicious smile.
Her three sons slowly stood up from their chair as they went to the still horrified teens.
The woman's mind was still occupied by the thought of those two teens, they will be dead. She already warned them to go back where they came from, but they instead ran away without knowing why. She gave chase but she stopped seeing those three freaks. But the sight of those two running to the old hag's home gave her a pang of guilt. This was not the first time she saw random people or outsiders went to that direction, she knew it was not her business. But the last time she let someone walked into that direction was a kid on his bike who lost his way, she warned him not to go but did nothing. The last time she saw him was his severed head lying near on the road. She took a cigarette and lit it up, she inhaled and blew the smoke out from her nose. She had to do something. She took her walkie talkie and gave it life.
"Hey.. there is something we need to do."
There was a big commotion in the "Carver residence", the three brothers didn't expect that the two teens would give them too much trouble. Marie had flipped the table to distract the three and she grabbed the still stunned Edd. They tried to head for the front door but the big man had blocked their path, he smiled manically as he wields a kitchen knife, he was the eldest son. soon the second man who came out from the kitchen door was slightly chubby was the second son, he was also wielding a knife while the third man who was the shortest was the youngest. He didn't wield any weapon but he was the most muscular from the three. The old woman came
"Well, boys it looks like our food wants to play a little, well. Let us give them a nice play before we eat them."
"Fuck you old hag!" Marie screamed as she grabbed the nearest vase and threw it to the old woman.
The vase smashed on her face, she screamed. Her sons roared in anger as they gave the duo a death glare. Without any word, Edd grabbed Marie's arm and they quickly fled upstairs. The three men run in pursuit of the teens. When they reach upstairs, Marie quickly took the nearest table and threw at their pursuers. It landed on the second son and he stumbled along with his brothers.
"Edd! Do something!" Marie screamed as the men quickly recovered and started to run upstairs again.
Edd made quick thinking, he felt a deja vu as he remembered the time they were chased by his peers a few years ago. He quickly went inside to the nearest room and found interesting items, bottles of human body parts preserved in brine. But there was a taser nearby and an idea had struck him. The men weren't wearing shoes. He took four bottles and the taser and hastily went to Marie, she recoiled at the sight but quickly understood what Edd is going to do.
"Marie quick open the bottle!" he ordered as he tried to open his own to no avail. But Marie had another idea.
She smashed the bottle at their feet and let the liquid flow downstairs when the liquid came in contact with the men's feet. And with full voltage they electrocuted them, it gave them time as they retreated further. They went to the farthest door, which revealed to be the bathroom. They closed the door and locked it.
Outside the men were staggering, their mother calmly walking over them and heading towards the bathroom door. She made a knock and tried to plead.
"Children, please be good kids and would you kindly open the door?" she asked in her sweetest tone
"For the second time. Fuck you! Old hag!" Marie screamed
The old woman's face contorted in rage as she gripped her machete, with a force The old woman smashed the door with her machete, it tore a hole in the middle. The blade nearly missed the duo as they made a mistake of resting their heads on the door. Another strike was made and this time the hole grew large,r until the old woman who was cackling madly she put her face on the hole.
"Here's Granny!" she cackled madly.
Marie stood up and took a broken piece of wood and jabbed it on the old woman's right eye.
"And here's Marie Kanker," she said.
The old woman screamed in pain, this prompted her sons to rush on the scene.
"Mama!" they both screamed
"Any plans Marie?" Edd said.
"How about you?"
Edd took his time to look at his surroundings, an idea struck him. He quickly went to the cabinet under the sink and found what he was looking for. Hydrochloric acid, it was labeled as Muriatic and bleach, he also found an empty bottle and mixed the two chemicals. The nauseating smell of chemicals assailed the two teens but they endured it. Edd ordered Marie to cut the towel into a small strip, which she hastily complied with. Next Edd did is that he put the piece of clothing in the jar and lit it with Marie's lighter.
"Marie! Window!" Edd screamed as Marie quickly opened the window for them to escape.
The two hastily went to the window, as the hurried footsteps of the brothers were heard outside with the screaming of their mother. As Edd and Marie were finally outside on the roof. The brothers smashed the door. Only to find the mixture of the bottle in front of them. As soon the flame came in contact with the surface of the liquid, there were a loud bang and screams.
"What the fuck was that?!" Marie was surprised.
"Chlorine Bomb," Edd muttered.
The youngest brother emerged from the window, now with his face contorted and burnt from the chemical fire. he screamed with a mixture of rage and agony. His left eye was gone but his right was still functioning. He desperately crawls from the window with his functioning arm tried to grab the duo. Marie stepped forward to protect the shocked Edd and tried to kick him. But the youngest son caught her foot and yanked her towards him. Seeing this Edd was out from his shock as the past images of Marie in danger flooded his mind. He stood up and lunge towards the man. He tried to punch the man but with vain, it didn't hurt him and instead gave a backhand blow to Edd. Marie saw this and was enraged. With her free foot, she kicked the man on his face, this time he released Marie as he clutches his face.
"Are you okay Marie!" Edd rushed towards her.
"I'm fine, we need to jump!" Marie said as she struggled to stand up.
They find the best spot to jump from the roof, they know it was dangerous but it was the only way. Their hope of escape, however, was crushed as they saw the eldest son and the second one dragging their still screaming mother outside, their faces burnt and their faces were filled with rage. The old woman looked at the duo with the wood still lodged on her eye. She pointed a knife on the two.
"I will skin both of you alive, then I will let you watch as we slowly eat your flesh. You will scream in pain as my sons and I will enjoy eating you." She screamed. Drool coming out from her mouth as she relished the thought of the duo's demise.
The youngest son soon re-emerged from the window slowly creeping at the two. Edd and Marie tried to back up but it was a dead end. With nowhere to run. Marie quickly took Edd's hand and squeezed it tightly. Edd looked at her and saw the fear in her eyes, he was terrified too. But he made a vow that nothing would happen to Marie. In a last-ditch effort, he stepped forward so Marie was now behind him.
The youngest man smiled, showing his deformed teeth. The sight of his contorted face gave a wave of fear on Edd, But he will hold his ground. He could hear Marie's screams behind him, but everything was blurry. He knew this was adrenaline rushing to his body. He knew this was a futile attempt but he knew he had to do this. From this day he will confront whatever trouble will face him. He thought. The last thing he saw was the man was about to lunge at him before a loud crash distracted them.
A car suddenly appeared and slammed on the eldest son to the tree. He died instantly. The second son rushed towards the car. The door opened and revealed a man on his forties, brunette hair with traces of white. He sported a beard and armed with a 2x2 wood tied with a sharp blade. He swung his weapon and smashed the head of the second son. The death of the boys made the woman scream, she charged towards the man but the woman suddenly appeared from the opposite side of the car and drew a gun. The old woman didn't see this and was still screaming and still charging but a shot to the head had silenced her.
The youngest son screamed in rage and jumped from the roof. He landed badly and rolled to the ground. The man saw this chance in hastily ran towards him. He raised his right leg and smashed his foot to the youngest child's throat. The sound of gurgling echoed throughout the area but soon was silenced with a single gunshot.
Much to Edd and Marie's surprise, it was the woman they meet before, she came back for them with help in tow.
"Come on kids. It's not safe here." the woman told the kids as she checked the surroundings.
Edd without any word took Marie's hand and went back to the window, he still manages to retrieve their bags and headed to the nearest exit. When they managed to exit the house, the man quickly took a can of gasoline from their car and poured it on the house and lit it on fire. The bodies were thrown inside and they left quickly after making sure nothing was left. The whole ride was silent, Marie and Edd were both huddled on the back seat. Marie took comfort on Edd's shoulder while Edd unknowingly wrapped his arms around Marie.
"I'm glad we made it in time. By the way, the name's Teresa and this is Noel."
Edd and Marie didn't reply nor made any sound, they just looked at the two old people in front of them.
"we're not bad people okay, I don't know why you ran away earlier?"
"You have those uniform same to the security on the train. We thought you were one of them."
Teresa's eyes widened in surprise, she finally realized why the kids were seemed to be terrified at her. She placed a hand on her head in disbelief.
"Fuck... I forgot you told me about those securities right. You saw the uniform back at my car didn't ya?"
Edd nodded.
"Listen, kid, I'm not one of them and were not the bad guys here. You need to trust us. We will bring you to our house. You will be safe there I promise." Teresa assured the duo.
Edd just nodded and slowly closed his eyes in exhaustion, Marie was already dozing. The two sleeping teens sleeping together made Teresa smile.
"Isn't it cute" Teresa muttered. But Noel didn't say anything.
They finally arrived at Noel and Teresa's place. It was an old two-story house, the place was surrounded by nothing but woods. But behind it was a large lake with a shed that can house a boat. They let the two young teens inside and gave them water to drink. Noel and Teresa gave them time to recover behind asking some questions. But it was Marie and Edd who asked first.
"What are those people!" Edd asked in almost a scream.
Marie slightly recoiled with Edd's outburst, but she couldn't blame him.
"Cannibals. They kill random strangers on the road. Eat on them." Teresa said nonchalantly.
"Why not the authorities were informed about this madness?! they could hurt more people!" He said as he flailed both of his arms up in the air. Noel didn't say anything but couldn't hide his amusement.
Teresa just cackled madly.
"Authorities? This is a private property kid. Let us just say someone owns this town and the law of the great US of A don't apply here." she said.
This surprised the two. Private property?
"This town was purchased by a local billionaire. Harry Smith. This place was once a ghost town, almost. He bought this land and the remaining residents were allowed to keep their land, including this house. He reborn this place and the next thing you know different assholes came to live here." Noel explained
"And those family belong to a group kid, there are more of them, besides no authorities is one is going to bother this place. Not the cops, nor the FBI or the government. Many fucking weirdos are living here. So don't be surprised when you see out of the ordinary."
'You mean like a cult?" Marie asked
"More complicated than that." Noel shook his head.
"Then why didn't you leave this place?" Edd asked.
"We were born and raised here before this town was sold. We choose to stay. Besides this house was from my ancestors."
"Besides we don't have anywhere to go and the business here is good, it helps us earn more than what we earn in those cities," Teresa added.
"So what you mean when this Harry Smith guy bought this town he brought odd people in?"
"Let's just say he made a place where people living with taboo could live without anyone looking with disdain. Cannibals live here knowing no one is going to bother them, they don't kill the locals here, only outsiders. Do you want a place where you can experiment with people with no ethics complaints or government? Well, this is the place. You can freely do what you want, no rules to bind you, as long as you don't bother what your neighbors do they won't bother you."
"How could this place exist?"
"Like I said this is private property, you can do what you want in your property. Besides Smith has politician friends so no one is going to do anything."
"Is this real?"Edd asked.
He lowered his head, he couldn't believe such places exist and such people can do what they want. He believes in the Rule of Law and Rights. But he also knew that people with too much freedom can be chaotic. Law, after all, separates Man from Beast, and what he saw earlier is the prime example of men acting like a beast. He lowered his head in defeat, Marie just looked on her glass.
"Better you go home kids" Noel grunted
Edd and Marie raised their heads and both let out a sigh.
"We don't have a home. Not anymore." Edd said.
"We ran away. We wanted a new life." Marie added.
"We made a vow that whatever the town we find, we will stay. And we will find a way to start a new life there. And this is it."
"Are you two sure? And your reason is just plain stupid. Now you see the town is fucked up by its standards, we could give you a lift to another place. But from what I see, you two had seen shit enough. How about you two stay here. You could start a new life with us." She asked then she glanced at Noel.
Noel groaned. He knew this was a bad idea.
"Are you two sure?"
"Yes.." the two replied I unison.
"We wanted to start a new life, we ran away because I need to prove I can live with my own and oven-mitt here left his family because they are always fighting."
"There is more shit in here than in your home." Noel did his best to dissuade them. But it proves to be hard.
"Please." Marie pleaded.
Noel just groaned as he rubbed his face with his hands. But Teresa put her hand on his back and rubbed it.
"No Teresa, it will not be going to convince me." Noel groaned.
"Hey, these kids wanted to start a new life. And you could see they are determined. Reminds me of both you and me back in the days. Besides we were needing a few hands so this may be it." she said.
"Alright." Noel finally agreed. Much to the teen's delight.
Two months have passed since they started to live with Noel and Teresa. Edd and Marie quickly learned about the two, they were smugglers. They bring any stuff from outside the town and delivering it to the residents, but it was mostly black market items they usually deliver and the risks were great, especially to those people who were hiding from the authorities. And the pay was really good. The price of the product they bring cost triple, in short for bottled water they pay you $30 when the original price s just $10.
It was Teresa and Marie's turn for delivery while Noel and Edd went to the woods for hunting, it was also a good chance for Noel to teach Edd about survival, not to mention helping the boy to improve his body. Noel fought the urge to laugh hard when Edd attempted to chop the wood, he could not believe how did Edd end up being injured when he attempted to chop a wood that is only a foot tall.
The other side is his constant habit of making things in order, he would freak out when things are little messy, not to mention his seemingly fear of being dirty. Not to mention of never removing his beanie, Marie told him he doesn't like it. So the best way to train him is to meet him with the elements. The first month was difficult, he constantly mumbling about the filth and nonstop spraying of any cleaning products to himself. He couldn't believe they endured three months being homeless in the city, but Marie again told him that Edd managed to salvage any cleaning products in the trash and he managed to make their place a comfortable one. He also sees the potential of Edd being a good inventor as he made few repairs on his home.
But now he saw little improvement to Edd as he didn't flinch being in the mud as he usually does, nor he heard any complaining from him. He even managed to carry a few firewoods and he can lift a little, he can even now pull the bowstring with little ease, he was struggling, but improvement is improvement after all. But Noel's thought was gone when he heard a familiar sound.
Noel grabbed Edd by the collar as they hid under the boulders before Edd could ask what was happening, a stray arrow landed in front of them. Soon hundreds of silhouettes of two groups emerged from both opposite directions, Edd could see the group from the left were wearing medieval armor with a symbol of sun painted on them, while the group from the right were wearing outfits that resembled that of Vikings.
The groups clashed with intense violence, Edd could see the blood from their swords and much to his horror, decapitation. One man with a Viking garb was clutching where his left arm was supposed to be before being stabbed by a knight. But in an instant, the knight was brutally bashed by an ax on the head by a large man donning a wolf's pelt. Archers from both sides fired a volley of arrows on the combatants in the fields, hitting both of their allies and foes alike.
"What is happening?!" Edd screamed
"Their fights are getting common these days." Noel only grumbled under his breath.
"Are these people emulating medieval combat with an intensity of realism?!"
"Let us just say they took cosplaying too far, Let's go kiddo before they would see us here," he said as he slowly retreated, Edd soon followed.
Edd and Noel's travel became more exhausting an hour after encountering a real medieval battle they went on a detour and went further in the woods.
"You have very low stamina kid and this is the eight-time since you've rested. You cannot survive out here."
"Forgive my lack of stamina. But may I inquire, are those people?"
"Order of the Sun and Scions of the Wulfen. Yeah, they are one of those people kid. If you wanna live hear you should be prepared.."Noel stopped talking when something caught in his eye.
This was the second time Edd was thrown to the dirt by the collar, they were hidden under the boulders. Edd wanted to ask but this time he kept his mouth shut.
"Fuck, I didn't notice. We are in some Bandits territory. Kid, just keep your head down and follow me." Noel said as he started to move while crouching. Edd followed.
Noel signaled Edd to stop, as he saw four men walking out from the woods. They wear camo pants and hunting jackets. They have a variety of weapons from an assault rifle to a hunting rifle. They soon crawled under the bushes to hide from the bandits.
"Alright kiddo, this will be your survival lesson. Try not to disturb the bushes as we crawl and no sudden movements. try to anticipate their moves and go slowly." Noel whispered.
Edd complied as he moved his arms and legs in a slow movement, he observed Noel how he has done it and did his best to emulate him. Twenty minutes of the grueling crawl, they managed to pass the bandits with being detected. Edd, on the other hand, slumped on the ground after realizing they were once again safe. Noel came and gave him bottled water.
"You did great kiddo. But like I said earlier if you want to live here, be prepared. You won't last a week if you're not careful." Noel warned.
"Thank you." Edd only manages to whisper due to exhaustion.
After finishing the bottle Noel told Edd that they have another hour before arriving back to their house. This made Edd groaned in frustration but he reminded himself he needs to be prepared if he wanted to live.
Marie and Teresa were driving towards their destination, an old Millhouse. It was a thirty-minute drive from where they pick up their goods, it was not very far but Teresa warned Marie that every corner of the town was a dangerous place. You could die and disappear by just walking a few hundred feet from your home.
"So what's inside those boxes?" Marie asked as she pointed the box sitting on the back.
"Medications, usually that requires doctors prescriptions. The old man had a weird habit with these medicines. Not that I complain. As long as we deliver and pay us well." Teresa replied.
They finally arrived at their destination but Teresa wasn't happy, Marie could sense it. Teresa stopped their car a few feet from the Millhouse. She grabbed her gun from the compartment and slid it under her shirt, she warned Marie to be vigilant.
"Old man Jensen should be meeting us here," Teresa said.
As she exit from the car, Marie followed behind. They slowly walked towards the Mill. Eyes observing the surrounding, Teresa was the first one to approach the door while Marie was behind her. She was about to open the door when she heard something. She quickly turned to Marie and put her finger to her lips. Marie nodded as she made a "zipped her mouth" gesture, Teresa crouched and went towards the window while Marie followed suit. When they approached the window Teresa slowly peered on it, much to her surprise she saw Old Man Jensen's body was hanged on the ceiling with a rope. Teresa cursed under her breath. But before she could do anything she heard a cry from Marie.
"Fuck" Teresa cursed.
Marie was held by a female figure, she was wearing a white mask with a drawing of a disfigured face. New Dawn Society. The female figure was wearing a casual white dress and wielding a small sickle, the way she was holding Marie indicating she was a newbie. A sickle on her neck and didn't even bother to hold any of her hands, her free hand just casually resting on Marie's shoulders. Teresa saw this a chance.
"Look, bitch, we have no business with you. Since we had a deal with Old man Jensen here. Let her go and there is no further trouble alright." Teresa raised both of her arms in the air.
The female figure didn't say anything but instead, she pushed the sickle closer into Marie's throat, but Teresa just walked to the female figure slowly.
"This didn't have to end violently alright?"
The female didn't reply, instead, she lowered her head to look at Marie with an intent to slash her throat. With this Teresa quickly took her handgun and shot the woman at the head, the figured dropped the weapon and Marie was freed. Before the could recover another female figure, this time a teen rushed behind Teresa armed with a 2x4 wood, Marie quickly charged at the attacker and both landed on the ground. Before Teresa could react another female appeared from the window grabbing Teresa's gun from behind, she desperately wrestled the female figure from behind but she was at a disadvantage.
"Fuck. Off.." She cursed. As she made a headbutt on her attacker.
This gave Teresa to recover as she spun around and shot the figure. She went inside from the window to make sure her assailant is dead, she made another shot and satisfied she turned to see Marie was still fighting. Marie covers her arms as her enemy was throwing punches on her face, she knows her enemy knows how to fight. But she won't give up as she made a few punches to her opponent, with a strong punch to the temple her opponent staggered. With this she was able to turn the tide and was now on top of her opponent, she gave four hard punches and her opponent was in a daze. With this, Marie was able to take off her mask and saw a girl same age as her, she was a dark-haired Caucasian girl. Her face was now bloodied, but what made Marie feel unsettled is that there is no emotion on the girl's eyes. She gritted her teeth as she gave another round of punches, Teresa grabbed Marie away from the girl and placed a single round on her forehead. It was over.
"Let's go," Teresa said as they return to their vehicle.
"Who are those people?" Marie asked.
"New Dawn Society. Cult, Killing random people as part of their ritual then wash their faces from their victims' blood. They help their members to become rich in exchange by offering the blood of somebody, they have a yearly ritual killing. Fuck those people. Those women out there, Carla and her daughters. her husband died years ago, didn't expect she would join the "Society"."
"This place is fucked up," Marie said, feeling sick from the event.
"Heh, tell me about it kid," Teresa said as she lights a cigarette, she offered one to Marie who happily took one for herself.
Night came and the four were eating together at the dining table, they talked about the events that had happened earlier. It took an hour for the old couple to explain the two about the people living in the town.
"Order of the Sun, a group of medieval knights wanna be, headed by a man named Artorias. Then, Scions of Wulfen, most of them came from a place called the old country, mostly immigrants brought their Viking culture with them. Brynwolf is their Jarl. Then, the New dawn Society, a group of wealthy people, they can recruit others who are not rich too as long as they have a member who can vouch for them. Headed by Calvin Maxwell. The Bandits, they control some parts of the woods, they were former survivalist enthusiast but ended up being assholes. Their leader is Anthony. I'm sure you already meet the family of cannibals, but I can assure you they are more of them. And lastly the Sure Kill Company, Military contractors, hired by Harry Smith as his Private Army." Noel explained
"So now you know the basics in this town, but I'm sure you will meet more friends in the future," Teresa added.
"So I am asking both of you again, are you sure that you want to live here?" Noel asked.
Edd and Marie both looked at each other, in two months since they lived in New Dawn with Noel and Teresa they felt like they had finally found a home and a good family. The old couple treats them well and they taught them everything they need to survive. But they have already decided.
"Yes, we want to live here with both of you," Marie said.
"Agreed, we already endured hardship but yet we still live. And we give you thanks for your aid on us." Edd added.
"Aww.. isn't it sweet, were a family now." Teresa teased Noel
"Sure kids, we are happy to be your new family." he gave smile at the two.
Outside the house, Edd and Marie both sat under the stars. They both sat side by side as Edd taught her the constellations, more than half a year they grew closer and comfortable at each other. There were ups and downs between them as they started to know their true self. Edd couldn't control Marie's temper and Marie still finds Edd's overreaction to any situation and being a clean freak. But they always find ways to sort it out.
Edd was concerned at Marie's bruises but she told him that she was fine, while Marie told Edd to be more careful and need more exercise much to Edd's embarrassment, especially when she reminded him about their wrestling match in their youth. They both laughed at their predicaments.
"Ya know, I'm glad we decided to stay with Noel and Teresa, I know this place isn't good as we thought but, I feel that they are good folks. And here we are, we had a place to live, some jobs that we help them with and they taught us things we need to survive."
"Agreed, despite we argued a month ago to leave this place but, you were right. I thought I was right about everything but, you fought it Marie, that argument between us, it gave me some light. I did learn something when we faced those cannibals. It gave me a chance to stood up for my self and you. I know I said a month ago that this place was hazardous and will be the death of us, but you said that despite what happened there are good things that happened. Like meeting Noel and Teresa and learning how to live. And I thank you for teaching me those. " Edd said as he slowly placed his hand on Marie's cheek.
Marie blushed but she didn't care, she was happy that her oven-mitt had finally seen her as a person. Not as a disease or a monster that gave him chills long time ago. But before she could say anything they heard Teresa made a giggling sound. Edd quickly removed his hand in embarrassment while Marie acted as nothing had happened.
"Sorry to disturb your sweet moment but we have a revelation," Teresa said as she trailed off to Noel.
"We already know about your argument a month ago, and Edd's ramblings were quite an earful, and we appreciate your decision to stay with us," Noel said
Edd grabbed his beanie and covered his face with it, while Marie laughed at the embarrassment of Edd. Teresa couldn't help but giggle, and Noel just gave a small smile.
"But we came here for something else," Noel said as he handed the two a brown envelope.
Edd and Marie opened the envelope, it revealed to be a document inside. They read the content and were surprised. they looked at the old couple.
"Yes kids, we are now your legal guardians, as a de facto parents." Teresa happily announced.
Edd and Marie both hugged the old couple. At last, they have laid a foundation on their quest for a new beginning of their lives.
A/N: The characters and the show are owned by Cartoon Network and created by Danny Antonucci except for the cover art, I drew it. Feel free to like and review. Thanks for reading :-)