Without Guilt

Chapter XXVI: Peace

A/N: I know I have several ghost readers but owed to the general silence of the platform, this story will no longer be continued here. If you want to continue reading it, visit me on AO3.


"Hey, T!" Fenton called as he swaggered up towards the platform where the man was currently working.

Otis finished hammering the nail into the board before turning his head to look towards Fenton. He had to squint against the glare of the sun.

The heavy rain over the course of the week had melted most of the snow to ice, a bright sunny morning taking care of the rest.

"Heard you brought in a big haul." Fenton grinned, climbing up the ladder balanced precariously against the makeshift scaffolding. "That honey would go mad good with my apples. Make a honey roasted apple pie and it'll sell like crazy."

Otis scoffed lightly, reaching for another nail. "You got time to be baking pies, Fen?"

"Time is what you make of it." Fenton replied easily, sitting down and dangling his legs off the scaffolding. "You got things you think you need to do and then the things you want to do. You got time for all of it if you want to, people just like to prioritise."

"Think you could make some time and yourself useful?" Otis countered.

Fenton laughed. "I guess I could, since you asked so nicely." He'd take one last big bite out of his apple before standing up and leaning over the wall to pelt the remainder at a stray Clicker. "Boom, baby!" He celebrated as he hit it dead on, the Infected creature snarling and running straight into the barbed wire protecting the perimeter fence.

Otis sighed, casting him a disappointed glance.

"Lighten up, T." Fenton just gave him a wide grin, brushing his hands on the thigh of his jeans before grabbing the other side of the board to steady it. "Least I ain't climbing over the walls no more."

"I'd thank God, but I think He'll get tired of hearing me soon enough." Otis replied.

"Hey, you taught me street smarts." Fenton reassured, though Otis didn't think it was smart considering Fenton's constant near misses.

"Kid, I met you dangling over a fucking pit of Infected from 'phone lines." Otis reminded him. "You're lucky it wasn't live."

Fenton laughed. "I'm a cat with nine lives!" He bragged. "Besides, I had a good grip, and hell, I'm not Mason Anslow."

"You need a cat 'o' nine across that ass of yours to tone down your ego." The older man countered before sighing heavily. "Do I have to box your ears in for you to take me seriously? You don't make fun of people for what they look like, Fen."

Fenton laughed, getting a light kick to the back of his shin. "Easy for you to say," He retorted. "I see why the ladies down at laundry are always gossiping about you and Mace."

"The fuck you know about any of that?" Otis clicked his tongue at him. "You watch your mouth."

"It's just gossip, relax. They all fancy you down there anyway." Fenton claimed.

"If you listened in school half as much as you listened to gossip…" Otis shook his head, hammering in another nail.

Fenton was barely 16 and he had the exact kind of energy that tired Otis out. He talked a lot, did reckless things (usually by accident), and followed Otis around like a lost puppy.

What more, he'd stopped taking Otis' scolding seriously after the first year.

"You keep threatening to beat me but I know you ain't gonna do it." Fenton gloated. He knew it was in good nature rather than disrespect.

"I ain't about beating people up."

"That's not what I heard." Fenton countered, eagerly releasing the board as soon as it was nailed down.

Otis paused, turning to look at him. "Yeah? What did you hear?" He asked, resting his bandaged hand on his utility belt.

Fenton fidgeted in his pockets in search of some other snack probably. "I hear wild good stories, T. Apparently you bit a fucking FEDRA's throat right out!" The light in Fenton's eyes was like an excited kid talking about a comic book story. "Did you actually?"

It unsettled Otis, even if he knew that children didn't stay children for long, especially if they made it this far. "Why do you care?" He shook his head, moving to clamber up into the watch tower he'd been fixing. He lightly stamped on the flooring to check for weak spots, frowning at the state of the wood. "Hand me that metal sheet." He told Fenton.

The young man obliged happily. "I think it's cool. I also heard you saved the Boss."

"People exaggerate all kinds of shit." Otis dismissed, carefully shifting the metal slab over the flooring. It wouldn't fix the structural issue with a wooden tower against the elements but until it gave out and they had enough metal, it was just regular patchwork.

"The Boss himself told me." Fenton said.

Otis stilled, briefly surveying the other Hunters working near the wall. They were out of earshot.

"Said you saved him from the Fireflies after they tried to take the place from you guys?" Fenton wanted to know more about this story.

"Let it go, Fen. Don't go repeating that to no one, you hear me?" Otis warned.

Fenton shrugged. "I don't see why not. I mean, hell, you saved the guy, right? But you're out here doing manual labour while pricks like Ethan Murphy are lounging in the County Hall drinking tequila."

Otis grabbed him firmly by the scruff of his jacket, yanking him dangerously close to the ledge of the watch tower. "Fenton, you fucking listen to me," He hissed lowly. "This ain't an action hero movie, I done things before, I ain't proud of them, I'm here because I want my fucking peace. If you're smart, and I mean really smart," He emphasised. "You learn to keep your head down. You hear me?"

Fenton stared at him wide eyed, his face a little pale as he studied Otis' features. He nodded slowly, uncertain of the slight fear he experienced just now.

"Do you understand?" Otis questioned.

Fenton gave another nod. "Yeah. Yes- I understand." He exhaled when Otis released him, slowly smoothing out his jacket. "Is that why you and Layla are Hunters now?"

Otis ignored him. He'd ended the conversation and he wasn't planning to continue it. He set about packing his tools.

"I saw your picture before." Fenton admitted. "It's why I followed you here."

Otis turned his head to look at him. "What?"

"You were on them military posters of the Fireflies." Fenton debated on how much he should say. He'd never told anyone this. "I was in school, you know, one of them military ones," He slowly moved to sit down. "They rounded up all the kids early, I was sent to the Denver QZ."

Otis turned away again, rubbing his face as he exhaled.

"Joe told me about you one time in a letter," Fenton went on. "Joe? He's my brother, he was stationed at Colorado University-"

"Hell, Fen…" Otis cursed. "I didn't know."

"I know." Fenton assured. "I guess he's dead though, right?"

Otis gave a solemn nod.

"Figured." Fenton managed a smile still. "I tried to find the Fireflies but I didn't even know where to start looking. I saw you at Denver once with your wife, I think. You probably don't remember me, she gave me a cookie."

"She wasn't my wife."

"Well, you looked close." Fenton shrugged. "Who was she?"

Otis didn't want to talk about this. "Mary… she was uh… my sister-in-law."

"She dead too?"

Another short nod. "Look, Fen, this ain't stuff we should talk about." Otis told him quietly. "The Fireflies are just… a by-gone era. They've been losing ground, now all you see of them are painted signs on walls in cities that turned to graveyards."

Fenton absorbed this information in silence. He'd thought his brother was dead anyway. He'd grieved and was past it. Wherever his brother was, it was probably better than here. He could rest.

Fenton shifted to lean lightly against Otis. "Joe said you smoked a lot."

"I did."

"You want a smoke? I got some good stuff." Fenton offered, retrieving the slightly warped packet he'd been looking for earlier. "I still can't get used to it, I coughed my lungs out, tastes like shit."

"Boy, who gave you these?" Otis slipped the pack from his hand, holding it out of reach when Fenton tried to grab it.

"I traded for it, c'mon, T!" He complained.

"You're too damn young to be fucking up your lungs." Otis declined, standing to hold it further out of reach. "Your brother hated this shit."

"What's the fucking deal? You smoked, everyone else smokes! I'm not a kid!" Fenton protested, settling for frowning at him when he realised he'd never reach it.

"Yeah I fucked up my lungs and it took me years just to be able to run without feeling like my heart's gonna stop." Otis pointed out. "You don't need this shit."

Fenton glowered at him.

"Stick to apples and pie, Fen. I'm serious." Otis emphasised. "Now tell me who gave you this."

Fenton sulked for a minute longer before giving in. "Stella down at the armoury."

"What did you trade for it?"

Fenton shrugged. "Some magazines."

Otis gave him an incredulous look. "Magazines?"

"Porno ones. You know the ones with-"

"Alright. I don't want to hear the rest. We're going to the armoury, and you're going to give Stella her cigarettes back." Otis stated, pushing the cigarette pack back into Fenton's hands before collecting his tools.

Fenton turned the box over in his hands bitterly. "You're not my dad, you know."

Otis sighed. "I sure as hell would've died of a heart attack if I was."

Fenton laughed. "You don't have kids?"

"Do I like insane to you?"

They would make their way down to the street, following the pavement along the road. A door opened just as they were passing it, an older woman sauntering out with a heavy laundry basket. She supported it expertly against her hip, smiling at them broadly as she stepped on the porch.

"Hey, T!" She greeted. "Next time you go out, think you can find me some chocolate?"

"Ain't a miracle worker, Janet." Otis replied. "Why don't you ask Gavin? His group are due for the next run."

They would stop by the picket fence as she met them down the path. "Gavin only brings back garbage, rotten turnips last time. They turned everything in the storehouse bad." She claimed. "I'm really cravin' me something good and sweet."

"Why? You pregnant?" Fenton asked, receiving a nudge from Otis but Janet seemed to find it hilarious.

"Why, boy, I'll take that as a compliment." She laughed. "I'm a lil' old for that kinda rompin'." She lightly smacked his arm in good humour.

"If I get you that chocolate, could you do me a favour?" Otis asked after a moment.

Janet's smile turned a little more implicit. "I'd do you any favours you want, T. I might be a lil' old to be on my back, but I'm still good enough to ride a beautiful stallion."

"Janet, please…" Otis covered his face.

Fenton just looked between the two in confusion. "It wouldn't be so bad if we had horses. It's mad hard to find any working cars or fuel anymore."

"Fen, why don't you start walkin' on to the armoury?" Otis suggested, gently redirecting him to start walking again. "It's the city, horses ain't going to work 'round here. Every road is a fucking mess."

Janet again laughed. "What about that favour, Otis?" She called after them.

"I'll come by if I get your chocolate, Spencer." Otis replied.


"Do I really have to give it back? It's not like she's going to give me anything for 'em." Fenton made another futile attempt at reasoning.

"What you can get back for them is a lesson, Fen." Otis replied.

Fenton paused just as they reached the entry way to the armoury. "Were you the younger brother or the older brother?" He asked as he turned to Otis, shading his eyes against the reflecting puddles of water stretched out across the tarmac.

Otis tilted his head at him. "Older. Why does it matter?"

"I can imagine how your little brother felt. You're such a nag, T." Fenton grinned, chuffed at his comeback.

Otis clicked his tongue. "Matter of fact, I didn't scold him enough. Now go on. I'll get you that jar of honey you wanted if you get it done in three minutes."

Fenton brightened up again, yanking the building door open and nearly running into someone. He managed to duck under the man's arm and slip inside, his footsteps receding.

"Well, well, if it isn't the heart throb, Otis Meyer." Ethan Murphy stepped out, carrying a box of ammunition under his arm.

Otis ignored him.

Ethan grinned, slowly moving around him. "Been a long time since I last seen ya. Thought you skipped town after that nice last meal I gave ya."

He was met with more silence, Otis idly checking his watch. He was considering visiting Layla before he reported in for patrol. Well, he had to pass by the warehouse anyway to get Fenton the honey.

"Still can't talk?" Ethan finally stopped in front of him again.

"You done slobbering on my dick, Murphy?" Otis questioned, raising his chin at him in challenge.

Ethan's brow twitched despite his best efforts to keep his smile. "Just wanted to say, I was wrong about you." He raised a hand to clap Otis on the shoulder but thought better of it when his wrist clicked. It was never the same after Otis twisted his arm. "It's a shame I couldn't see it before and all, but you know Ashton. Big guy who liked to bully everyone and all, I was just going with the flow."

Otis just stared him down. "I'm sure Carlo would agree with you there."

"Carlo was unfortunate… collateral damage." Ethan claimed. "But you know, can't have him running to Hisayuki and making up shit to save his own hide. We've all done things… taken care of people that might get a little too loud, you know how it is."

Otis looked away, bored with the conversation.

"But you did take out Ashton, so we're not exactly even. Now I could've said to Hisayuki that Ashton wasn't crazy when he was yelling 'bout you doin' him in…"

"Don't know what you're talking about." Otis denied.

Ethan's smile faltered for a minute before he put it on again. "Yeah, sure you don't." He sneered. "Just thought I'd pay Mason's place a little visit. Y'know, since my place burned down and all. Heard he's got some nice rooms, cheap." His dirty grin spread when those silver eyes returned to him. "But like I said, I was wrong about you. And about Mason too. Word is, he got himself a cute little girlfriend over there. So, yeah, my bad. It just tasted bad in my mouth not to say anything 'bout the way Scarlett was sneaking in and out of your place doing… laundry."

"Well, if you weren't so busy measuring my dick," Otis rumbled. "You would've listened when I told you to go fuck yourself."

Ethan laughed dryly. "I missed your voice." He remarked sarcastically.

Their one-sided conversation was interrupted by Fenton returning in a huff. "She said she wouldn't take it back with one missing-" He paused as he spotted Ethan, making a face at him.

Otis prompted the boy to his side. "Give it here, we'll trade it for something else."

"What's that you got there, boy? Want me to buy it off ya?" Ethan interrupted.

Fenton cast him an unpleasant look over his shoulder as he walked beside Otis, the two choosing to ignore him.


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