Gareth's POV

"...So, where do you suppose Mommy is, anyway?" I joked aloud to Alex, who'd been playing on the floor with some toys Theresa had found in one of the bedrooms while I scavenged through the pantry nearby.

He just turned to stare at the front door as Theresa, who appeared to be by herself at first glance, came in toting a bag I didn't recognize.

"Hey."

"Hey." I gave her a quick onceover as she came in the door. "...find something out there?"

"...in a manner of speaking, you could say." She answered somewhat ominously. "Hi, Alex!"

Alex gave her a little wave, one of his newest things right now.

I did another onceover, this time of the general vicinity, when I didn't see Sadie come in behind her as expected. "Where is…?"

"Oohh, believe me, you're gonna wanna hear this one." She sort of chuckled, glancing at the door herself.

"What do you- " But before I could say anything else, I started to notice the increasing sound of Sadie's voice barking orders at someone.

I looked to Theresa, then back to the door, as it just about sprang open and in walked some guy I'd never seen before, followed closely by Sadie who was holding her trusty knife to the back of his neck.

I quickly scooped Alex up off the floor as I made my way somewhat closer to them.

"Hi, Honey!" Sadie greeted, as if this was completely normal. Gotta love that about her.

"Hi…" I started to answer as she nodded towards Alex, who seemed remarkably unimpressed by the encounter.

"That is my kid." She warned the man, who she was now guiding toward the nearby couch. "...you try anything funny around him, anything at all, I will cut through this pretty little neck of yours until I feel bone, do you understand?!"

"Loud and clear." He answered.

"Good…" She nodded toward the couch they were now standing in front of. "Now sit."

The man quietly did what he was told as Sadie pulled up a chair just across from him and sat down herself.

"Now…..talk."

The man, who called himself Aaron, then proceeded to give us what seemed to be some prior rehearsed little spiel about some camp that he'd come from while Theresa continued to look through his bag, passing photos between herself and Sadie which she had pulled out of an envelope found in one of the pockets.

Sadie gave Theresa a nod toward me and Alex. "Show 'em to Gareth…. NOT you." The last order, directed at Aaron when he started to stand. He put his hands up as he quickly sat back down.

"Good boy." Sadie stated as she crossed the room to take Alex from me while Theresa handed me the stack of pictures to look through. "Aww..yeah, come to Mommy." She cooed to the small toddler as his face started to light up in her arms.

Aaron gave him a little smile, which he quickly dropped when Sadie pointed a gun at him with her free hand. "Nothing funny." She reminded him as she pulled her chair a little further away from Aaron before sitting back down.

Aaron nodded as I made my way over to stand closer to Sadie.

"How many others did you say he had with him?" I asked her.

"Didn't." She corrected. "...just one though…..or so he claims, anyway."

"However many are actually out there, he had this on him. Presumably to signal them." Theresa added, handing me a solitary flare gun.

"Not that you have any reason to trust me, believe me, I get that….I wouldn't trust me either. Not on my word and a few faded pictures alone, anyway." He tried to defend. "...but...I was telling the truth when I told your wife and…"

"Theresa." Theresa offered when he glanced toward her.

He nodded and turned back to me. "...Theresa...that there's just one other person with me."

"Why?" I finally asked.

"...I'm sorry?"

I gently put a hand on Sadie's shoulder to stop her from drawing another weapon on him. "Not yet…."

She shot him another glare as she accepted my response.

I then turned my focus back to Aaron. "...Why do you and your supposed one friend do what you do?" I elaborated. "...and what are you proposing we do?"

"...As I said before, people are our most valuable resource." He explained. "...and because of that, I'd like to ask you all to come back with me."

I shook my head slightly. "...No, I meant what are you proposing we do about getting us to trust you if you know you won't accomplish it on your word and pictures alone, like you say? I mean….you can't really expect the three of us, with my wife's and my two year old son, to just get in a car with you and your little friend to drive us to your little camp before we've even seen it….right?"

"...and just how would the four of us even fit in a car you and your one friend drove here, even if we did trust you?" Sadie pointed out.

"...both very good points." Aaron agreed. "...like I said before, I would be skeptical too."

I held my glare at him as I waited for him to go on.

"...well, to answer that, and hopefully put your minds a little more at ease…" He explained. "...we drove here separately. We wanted to have more than enough room to drive a group back if we came across one who agreed to come back with us." He looked briefly around the room. "...and you wouldn't have to all come back with me right away…."

Sadie glared at him once again, putting her free hand to her knife.

"...What I mean is…" He chuckled nervously. "One or two of you could come back with us, see for yourself that it is what I say it is, while one or two of you stay behind with the kid, before you make your final decision."

Sadie and I exchanged some looks, and then again with Theresa, nodding to each other.

"...just one more question…." Sadie stated. "...before we discuss this any further, amongst ourselves…"

"Shoot…..ah...heh..not literally...please." He joked.

Sadie, increasingly unamused, held her glare to him as she nodded for Theresa to come take Alex from her and pulled the knife off her belt to hold in her lap.

"Why do you trust us?" She asked. "...you claim to understand so well why we should be leery of you. How can you trust us then?"

"Well...also like I mentioned earlier, we've been in the area for a little while, watching you to some degree…..and we do take our own precautions." He explained. "...and it's not up to us anyway, not the final decis- "

"How long?" Theresa interjected.

Aaron turned to look at her.

"...I've been here for a good bit longer than they have, how long have you and your friend been watching this place?"

He shrugged. "...probably for about a few days before they drove up?"

"Are you asking us or telling us?" I asked.

"...I was guesstimating." He answered. "...my apologies."

I nodded, accepting his answer, but Sadie shot him another glare before looking to Theresa.

"T, which of these rooms has a door that locks?" She asked.

"Hall closet, the bathrooms…..although, I don't trust the master bed's bathroom door all that well…." She listed before Sadie cut her off. "...the master bedroom itself- "

"Hall closet'll do." Sadie stood from her chair, gesturing at Aaron with her knife. "You, UP."

He cautiously did what he was told as Sadie then proceeded to drag him over to her own backpack, pulling some handcuffs I'd never seen before out of the main compartment.

"When did you…?" I started to ask.

"Wouldn't you like to know…?" She said with a smirk and a wink in my direction.

I gave her a little smirk back as she put the cuffs on Aaron before ordering him into the closet and locking the door. "...one of us will be back for you when we've made our decision."

"Fair enough." He chuckled nervously. "...although, would it be in very bad taste to point out there's probably some jokes to be made here?"

"Immensely." Sadie answered, unamused, as we met back up with Theresa in the living room. "...He mentioned earlier that the person he was traveling with was his boyfriend." She explained with a chuckle when she presumed we were out of earshot. "...although believe me, that was purely an unfortunate coincidence."

"I'm sure it was."

"Are you implying I'd let him get any amusement out of this on purpose?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." I chuckled.

"Better not."