The afternoon sun sat high in the sky when the two teens returned to camp.

"Guys!" Amelia called to the others, grunting as she dragged the heavy buck. "We got dinner!"

Marie and Todd sprang up from their seats by the campfire. "They're back!" Marie said. She glared over at Leland then, who was still glued to his notebook. "Dammit, Leland, get off your ass and help us!"

The old man rolled his eyes and snapped the notebook shut as he reluctantly stood up from his chair and made his way over to the others.

Todd let out a low whistle as he looked over their kill. "Good job, you guys. We're gonna have more than enough venison stew for everyone."

"Don't thank me," Amelia grinned, gesturing to Ben. "Couldn't have done it without him. Plus, he saved my ass out there."

Todd raised his eyebrows at Ben. "You caught dinner for everyone and defended my daughter?" He smiled and clapped the younger man on his shoulder. "Shit, I like you already."

Ben smiled sheepishly.

"Look, I hate to interrupt," Leland cut in, reaching down to grab the buck's antlers. "But we should probably dress this guy fast before the meat goes bad."

"Now comes the fun part," Amelia said, taking her knife out of its holster. "All we need is a sharp knife and a strong stomach." She turned to Ben. "Ever done this before?"

Ben shook his head. "No. And honestly, I might pass out."

"I feel that." She gave him a sympathetic smile. "I get squeamish, too. You'd think we'd be used to seeing shit like that by now, right?"

"R-Right..."

Amelia shrugged. "But hey, we gotta eat. And if you could take down that creeper like you did, then you can do this."

~~

It took hours, and a great deal of effort to stay conscious on Ben's part, to gut the animal and get it ready to be made into a meal. Marie did her best to make the stew taste as best as it could with what limited resources they had.

Meanwhile, Ben and Amelia were tasked with gathering the firewood. Admittedly, Ben actually enjoyed the time he spent with her. She was... interesting, to say the least. It had been a long while since he'd been around someone about his age, someone he could relate to.

Night had already fallen by the time dinner was done. Everyone sat around the fire as they ate and talked, and Ben had to admit, it was the best time he'd had since this whole thing started. He felt as though he actually belonged, and yet at the same time, he had that same feeling deep within him that sooner or later, these people would see him as a burden, too, and leave him behind.

"Soon enough, I found myself surrounded by creepers, when suddenly, I heard whispers all around me." Leland paused for dramatic effect as he finished his story. "It was the creepiest damn thing I'd ever heard. I thought I was goin' mad at first. But it turned out, they weren't creepers at all, but people...wearing dead skin masks. I barely made it out of there with my life."

Ben's eyes widened. "That's terrifying."

Leland nodded. "You don't want to tangle with those folks."

"That's just ridiculous." Marie looked at the old man incredulously. "You mean to tell me there are people out there who actually go gallivanting around with those things?"

"Hey, I didn't believe it, either, until I saw it for myself."

"So you ain't ever been hunting before?" Todd asked Ben from the other side of the campfire, effectively changing the subject.

"No. Never." Ben shook his head. Not even before all this started."

Leland chuckled. "Could tell by the look on your face. Boy was a pale as a sheet the whole time we were dressin' it."

Amelia sat down next to Ben, setting her bowl in her lap. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I never went on hunting trips, either, until pretty recently. Don't let these guys give you a hard time."

"So, Ben," Marie began slowly. "Are you going to stay with us?"

Ben froze. He was caught a little off guard by the question. Did they want him to stay? Or had they finally seen through him and were going to throw him out? He swallowed nervously as everyone stared at him, awaiting his response. "Y-Yeah. I think I'll stick around."

"I sort of figured that once you were feeling better, you'd go your own way, maybe try to find your people," Marie continued. "But it's so dangerous to go out there alone. You're welcome to stay with us as long as you need to, though. You seem like a nice young man." She cast a teasing smile over to her daughter then. "Mellie needs a good influence."

"Mom!" Amelia cried, her cheeks burning red.

"He should come with us up to Wellington," Leland said. "It's a community up north in Ohio. They have food, clean water, and it's protected. Gets pretty cold up there, too, so the creepers don't move much."

Todd's head snapped up. "For fuck's sake, Leland, we've talked about this."

Marie ran a hand down her face. "Oh, here we go again," she groaned.

"We don't even know if that place exists." Todd glared at the man. "Who the hell knows what's out there? I'm not putting my family at risk chasing a pipe dream."

"We're taking a risk by staying out here!" Leland countered. "You know we have to leave eventually!"

"We've been doing just fine here."

"Sure, but what about when we run of supplies? Huh? What then? Do you even think about this shit, Todd?"

"We'll figure it out when the time comes. We're staying." Todd jabbed a finger at him. "That's final."

Leland scoffed. "If we're not all dead by then."

"Leland, you're testing my fuckin' patience right now," Todd growled, getting up from his seat.

Ben shifted uncomfortably. "Should we do something?" he whispered cautiously to Amelia.

The girl sighed and stood up from her spot by the fire, getting between the two men. "Guys, please! Can we just not fight right now?"

Leland threw his hands up and stormed off to his tent. "Fuck you all, I'm going to bed."

Todd scowled in the direction the other man had gone, then shook his head, muttering something under his breath as he went to collect everyone's empty bowls.

"Amelia, it's your turn to keep watch tonight."

~~

Ben was about to retire to bed for the night when he heard Amelia's voice outside his tent.

"Hey, Ben! Ya decent?"

"Yeah. What's up?" he called back to her.

Amelia sauntered into the tent with her hands behind her back, an impish grin gracing her features. "I was thinking... it's my turn to keep watch tonight and it's gonna be super boring..." She brought a hand from behind her back, revealing a bottle of whiskey. "Would you care to join me for a drink and a chat by the fire?"

"Where did you get that?" Ben asked her, picking up on her mischievous demeanor.

"Oh, let's just say I borrowed it from Leland," she told him, smirking.

Ben smiled and shook his head, getting to his feet. "Heh. You're bad. I'm in."