Jessica

It was wet and damp. The treehouse they had been sleeping in kept the worst of the rainstorm off them, but a lot of water still blew in from the open sides. Before winter came, they were going to need a better place to stay. For now, there was a stream nearby for water and fish. And there was a small town nearby that they had been sneaking into when they were feeling brave enough. The dead were always there, but Jessica and her girls had begun to think of them like bees or hornets. If you stayed quiet enough and left them alone, they would usually leave you alone.

Desiree was still asleep but Cassie was up. Once she saw that her mother was awake, she got up slowly so she wouldn't wake her sister and climbed down the ladder to use the bathroom. She thought again about how she wished they could go back home, even though she knew it was wishful thinking. Those men knew where the place was and might be back at any time to gather more supplies. They could never go home again. Cassie wanted to go look for her Aunt Ricky, but they had already tried that.

Jessica and the girls had found a camp in the mountains by where they used to go camping where they thought RickyJo might have been staying at one time, but wherever she was, she was long gone from that spot. It had been comforting to know that she was alive when she had last been there, and now they knew that Daryl and Merle were probably with her. If the three of them were together, there was a good chance they were all still alive. Cassie wished one of her Uncles were with them, it didn't seem fair that they were both with her Aunt and she was stuck alone with only her mother to protect her.

There was a noise on the ladder, and Cassie turned to make sure it was only her mother. Jessica felt beat down and hopeless and from the way her daughter looked at her, she knew she wasn't looking much better than she felt. As the end of summer was approaching, Jessica had been thinking more and more about where they were going to stay for the winter. Making a fire at night made them visible, but not making one meant they might die of cold and exposure. This treehouse was not going to cut it. There were buildings in the small town that looked like they might be able to be fortified somehow, but none of them had water this close, which meant leaving to go get water, which meant the risk of being seen. She had been weighing the risks over and over in her mind, and she had not been able to decide what to do.

"I think we better go into town today and start looking for a place to hole up for the winter," Jessica told her daughter. Cassie nodded. Since the nights had been getting cooler, she had been thinking they were going to need another place to sleep. It was really too bad that the prison they had seen was full of so many boogies. That place looked safe and solid inside. Guess they were going to have to settle on something less secure.

"What about that gas station?," Cassie asked. It had a big metal walk in freezer that had a thick ass door that latched. "We could sleep in the freezer."

"No window and no air flow," Jessica reminded her, "and people are more likely to come to a gas station looking for gas." They had talked about this before. "I still think we ought to pick out a house with a fireplace and board the windows on the ground floor up." Cassie nodded. She didn't think it sounded like the best idea her mother ever had, but it wasn't her worst either.

"What about those closed up stores downtown, big brick buildings without a lot of windows," Cassie suggested. Jessica made a silent wish that a roll of toilet paper would appear, and then pulled her pants up. She thought about her daughter's idea. It wasn't a bad one. They might be less easy to spot in one of those old shops than in a boarded up house.

"We will take a look there first," she told Cassie, making her smile. Smiles from either of her girls were hard to come by these days. Jessica felt bad about it, and responsible for their situation. She never should have driven directly back home after those men spotted her. RickyJo never would have been that stupid. What happened to Nana had been her fault. It still hurt too much to think about Nana, maybe she would think about her tomorrow, but not today.

Desiree woke up and found herself alone. She was in a panic. Jessica heard her rustling around then her head popped up over the side of the treehouse, eyes open wide with fear. Cassie called up to her, telling her they were just having a morning pee and to stop being such a scare baby. Desiree had such a look of relief on her face, it made Jessica laugh.

"We would never leave without you Dezzie," she called up softly to her daughter, who was flopping back down on what passed for her bed in a huff. Then Jessica climbed the ladder and sent the girl down so she could pack up their things. Once Cassie saw her mother was packing up everything, even the bedding, she knew the woman was serious this time about finding another place to live.

"We really aren't coming back here tonight?," Cassie asked. Jessica shook her head, her curls bobbing with the motion.

"Not if we can help it," she told her daughter. She expected some complaint from her youngest, but it seemed the thrill of living in a treehouse had worn off. The wet rain and swarms of mosquitos might have a little something to do with that, Jessica thought. They had put up some netting, but the terrible little creatures just found another way in. All night every night they were buzzing in their ears, flying into their mouths and otherwise making sleeping unbearable.

A few hours later, they had hiked it into town and found a spot that looked like it might serve their purposes. The building had only tiny high windows on the ground floor, and two door they could easily block off. Upstairs was a little messy, but better than a wet treehouse. There were a few couches they could drag together for the night. And some of the stores had apartments above them, so they might be able to get a few mattresses or cots to bring up without having to go too far to get them. There was a big water cooler with an extra bottle of water. It wouldn't last forever, but at least they were not going to go thirsty in the next week or two.

Cassie was sweeping up dust and garbage when she looked out the window and saw them. It was a boy about her age and a man who she guessed was his father. She hit the ground under the window, shaking in fear and hoping they had not seen her. Desiree was on the floor as well, not needing to be told. If her sister was afraid, she was afraid, she didn't need to know why. Jessica crawled over and took a quick glance.

It was just one man and a boy. She found herself still a little afraid of the strangers, but they didn't look that bad. And she and her girls had guns and they outnumbered the men. Jessica leaned against the frame against her daughter's advice and tried to get a better look at the man. He was tall and very dark skinned with dark hair that was cut short. The boy with him was around Cassie's age. She could tell by the way the boy stuck very close the man and minicked his movements that the boy trusted the man and cared for him. After what had happened back at her Nana's farm, Jessica was reluctant to trust anyone. But she was going to have a hard time getting by with just her and her girls. If this man was protecting his son, maybe he wasn't bad like that other group of men that had attacked them. Not everyone left alive could be bad, right? There had to be some normal people left.

"I am going to follow him and see where he goes," Jessica told her daughters.

"No, stay here Mom," Cassie said, grabbing her mother's pant leg like she was no more than a small toddler again. Desiree didn't say anything but she looked terrified.

"If he is staying around here I need to see where," Jessica told them, "I won't let him see me." Cassie looked at her doubtfully. Her Aunt had been the one who was good at sneaking around quietly. Her mother stomped through the woods, sending rabbits and squirells bounding away and out of her path. Jessica did not like the doubtful look in her daughter's eyes. Why couldn't Cassie just have a little faith in her. Certainly she was capable of following one man and his son without being spotted. "Stay here and be quiet," she told her girls firmly. Then she dashed down the stairs.

The man was passing by on the other side of the street. Jessica stayed out of view until he was further down the block and then she slipped silently out the door to follow him. She stayed as far back as she could without losing sight of him, ducking behind buildings and abandoned cars. The man poked inside a few buildings, leaving his son outside the door. From the places he was looking, Jessica guessed they were looking for food. The stores were getting more spaced out and a few houses were up ahead.

The man went into a house, again leaving the boy on the sidewalk outside. Jessica usually kept her girls with her, but it was a gamble either way. Take them in, a stray boogie might get them. Leave them outside and a person might try to grab them. Jessica usually took her chances with the boogies. And right now a stray one was heading for the boy. It used to be a woman and what was left of its hair was standing up in crazy chunks.

Jessica wasn't too worried for the boy, she had seen him take out a boogie down the street easily with the shovel he was carrying. But this time he seemed scared. He was crying and shaking and backing up towards the stairs. Jessica wondered what was wrong with the boy. Then his foot caught on the staircase behind him and fell backwards, dropping his shovel. Jessica cringed. That kid had better get up or the thing was going to get him. She had not planned on revealing herself to these people, but the motherly instincts she often wondered if she had kicked in and she beat it out of her hiding place like someone lit a fire under her ass. Hollering at the thing to get its attention away from the boy, she ran at it with her bat held high. She hit it hard in the side, knocking it away from the boy. Then she bashed the monsterr's head in, hitting it a few extra times to make sure it wouldn't get back up.

The boy finally recovered and started yelling for his dad. Jessica backed up, trying to commit herself to staying and meeting the man, or running away and hiding. She gripped her bat and decided to hold her ground. If the man and his son were living around here, she was going to have to deal with them sooner or later anyway. The man came running out of the house, his gun up. When he saw Jessica, at first he thought she was the reason his son was yelling. Then Duane pointed to the body on the steps next to him. Jessica watched the man. He looked at the body, then knelt down beside it and started crying. Now it was all making sense. The boy being so upset and afraid. This must be someone they knew.

"I'm sorry," Jessica stammered, "it was going to kill him if I didn't get it." Apologizing for saving someone's life felt wrong somehow, but the man seemed so upset she didn't know what else to say. The man collected himself and pulled away from the body, hugging his son to his chest. Then he stood up and moved towards Jessica. She took a few quick steps back. The man stopped and held out his hand. He could tell the woman was scared. She was looking at his hand like it was a poisonous snake. Her hair was the brightest shade of red he had ever seen. The sun was shining through it, lighting it up like it was on fire. She had full hips and a thin waist. Her shoulders and the bridge of her nose were sunburnt and the rest of her was covered in freckles. For a moment, he thought she might bolt and take off running. But then she shouldered up and closed the few steps between them, taking his hand in hers. She felt a shock when she touched him that hit her all the way to her toes. She licked her lips, which were all of the sudden feeling very dry.

"Jessica," she said. The man repeated her name. He had a soft gentle voice.

"Thank you for saving my son," he told her, still holding her hand. The skin of his palm felt rough but his touch was soft. He smiled a little at her and then spoke again. "My name is Morgan."