An: I just want to start off and say that this isn't my story. I got permission from the author to take it and repost it. The other author didn't want to finish it. They abandoned it, so I asked if I could write it and they were cool with it, so I am taking this story, editing it, and continuing the story my way. I hope you enjoy it.
Noah leaned against the roof as he stared out at the rising sun, a lit cigarette between his lips, a mug of coffee in his hands. It was going to be another hot day, already the humidity was rising. It's been a month since all this started. He's been staying at his uncle's old plantation house with his family. The place was very secure. It was surrounded by a giant wall with two ways in and out, all locked with a passcode. The house was located up in the mountains with acres upon acres of nothing more than woods. You could only find it if you already knew it was there and the only way inside is if you know the code. Still, as safe as it was, Noah couldn't help but feel trapped.
Before all this started he had been a medic in Iraq with his brother. He got sent home the week the outbreak happened. An explosion went off and part of the ceiling of the house that Noah was in gave way and landed right on his leg, trapping him and crushing his leg. He's all but a crippled now. His right leg was fucked. He couldn't put his weight on it for long and he was constantly in pain. The nerves in his leg were pretty badly damaged along with his bones. He was healing, but the doctors already said that he would forever have a limp and pain. That was still better than losing it in his mind.
That didn't stop his family from suffocating him. It was as if he was constantly walking on eggshells around them. One wrong thing said and he'll be forced into his bed for the remainder of the day. Noah was about ready to punch someone. So, Noah did what he always did. He escaped. He couldn't leave the house and take off to the woods like he would have done before his injury, but that left one other place he could go. The roof. It was his and his cousin's place. Whenever one needed space they went up there. Thankfully, Noah got the place to himself. He didn't mind Tommy. He was the only one not driving Noah crazy, but Noah didn't trust himself not to snap at Tommy with how bad his temper was boiling.
Noah took a drag from his cigarette, leaning his back against the white fence, his head against the chimney. He sighs, closing his eyes in exhaustion. He was beginning to feel worn out from his family. He barely slept these days due to his pain and during the day he was only getting mothered, bitched at, and scowled. He felt as if he was losing his mind.
"There you are. Fuck, you're like a goddamn eel." Noah huffs, opening his eyes and glaring at his brother. The second Noah relaxes, one of them shows up.
"What do you want?" Noah asks, gruffly, looking away from his twin and back at the sunrise.
"Looking for your ugly ass." Noah rolls his eyes.
"We're identical twins, Parker."
"Yeah, but I'm the better-looking twin." Noah glances over at his brother with an exasperated look. They were identical to the tee. Both had the same radiant blue eyes, the same tan skin from hours under the sun every day, the same dark brown hair. They both were tall and burly like their dad. The only difference between them was that Parker grew his hair out. It reached his shoulders now, he has to constantly push it back out of his face. Noah preferred to keep his hair cut short. Their hair had been the only thing that people could use to differentiate them. Now, Noah's limp and Parker's scar helped that cause. Parker had a long scar that ran from the right side of his forehead, through his eyebrow, and stopped just beneath his jaw.
Parker frowns, nudging his brother. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. What did you want?" Noah asks tersely.
"Doc got breakfast made. He wants us down there."
"What's the plan for today?" Noah asks.
"Doc says we need to stock up more supplies. We have plenty of meat in the freezer, but with winter coming, he wants us to hunt while the deer are still out and about. He also wants to go down to town and check those stores we never got around to doing."
"Who's going where?" Noah asks, hoping that he wasn't going to be forced to stay here.
"I'm hitting the woods and going hunting. Hunter's going to do the same, but I'm faster on my own and you know if I was forced to hunt with that bastard that I'd end up killing him. He's going to go the opposite direction from me. Doc's staying here to do whatever the hell he does when we aren't around. Tommy's not leaving the compound either, obviously, he'll probably find something to keep himself busy."
"What about those stores you mentioned? You sending Tommy down there later?"
"Nah, that's all you. If you're up for it." Noah stood up straight, still keeping his weight off his right leg.
"Yeah, I'm up for it." Parker smirks and leans against the fence.
"Good, once we eat then we're all leaving. Hoping to be back by nightfall, but if I find a buck I'm tracking it until I kill it." Noah nods and drains the rest of his coffee.
"Best to do that while the meat's around." Parker nods in agreement before making his way to the trap door that leads inside the house to the attic.
"Come on before Doc starts sulking." Noah chuckles and climbs down the latter after Parker. The house was giant. Doc had been a surgeon before the world went to shit. His late wife was a nurse, it was how the two had met. Part of the reason Noah became a medic was because of his uncle and aunt. He had always had a close relationship with them. He was closer to Bow than he was to his own father. Parker was the same way. Hunter was the only one out of the three brothers that had a good and close relationship with their father. He had it easier growing up, while the twins hadn't. Their father had learned from the mistakes he had made with twins and made sure not to repeat them with Hunter. That's not to say Hunter didn't come equally as fucked, but at least that could be blamed solely on genetics and not bad parenting.
They all had their demons, especially Parker. On the outside Parker seemed a lot like Noah. Laid back, easy going, rational, quiet. But that was just a mask. He was a wolf beneath sheep's clothing. The devil in the dark. If you looked beneath the mask he protracted you saw the true evil within the man. The killer behind the smile and soft words.
"There you two cocksuckers are." Hunter greets them as the twins walk down the stairs. "Thought you two went off to some dark corner to jerk it." How the twins could be related to Hunter was beyond Noah. Sure they looked alike, but Hunter was completely different from the twins. Hunter was more like their father; Foul mouthed, short tempered, reckless, loves to stir shit up, and craves a good fight. Hunter was trouble and one day he was going to get himself killed. Noah found it was best to just ignore whatever came out of Hunter's mouth because it was always something crude.
"Fuck off, dicklips." Parker says, slapping Hunter upside the head as he walks by him.
"Ow, you fucken asshole." Noah sighs and heads for the kitchen, not wanting to get caught up with the two fighting. Hunter was the gasoline and Parker was the fire, the two were explosive when together. Stick around and you go up in flames with them.
"You fucken cocklicker!" Noah huffs, chancing a glance over his shoulder to see Parker punch Hunter straight in the face, but Hunter was too much like their dad to go down. He was a beast. He could take a hit like a brick wall. Noah would swear on his life that Hunter couldn't feel pain that he simply absorbs anything that could be considered painful. There was also no slowing him down once he got started. He would keep fighting until the other is unconscious or dead. He had no limit to his energy. He was completely insatiable. If it was anyone, but Parker that Hunter was fighting then Noah would declare Hunter the winner, but Parker was a monster. You didn't fight Parker, period. Not when he really fights. This was just him messing around. If it was a real fight then Hunter would be dead in a second.
"Boys, enough fucking around, come eat before it gets cold." Bow calls, causing Hunter to huff. He goes to spit the blood out of his mouth when Bow calls again. "And even think about spitting on my hardwood floors then I'll kick your ass myself!" Hunter swallows his blood, causing Noah to grimace.
"Disgusting fuck." He mumbles, limping his way into the kitchen.
Tommy hands a towel to Hunter, who just grins and presses it against his nose. "Thanks, T.J." Noah ruffles Tommy's hair and takes his seat. Tommy was another strange member of their family. He didn't really fit, much like Parker. Parker fakes it, but Tommy was just… Tommy. The kid barely talked. When he was a kid, getting him to talk was like pulling teeth. The family all had to learn sign language for Tommy to communicate with them. He was also not a fan of touching. He hated anyone getting in his space and skin to skin contact made him either have panic attacks or react violently. The kid was also pretty much a genius. He had a natural gift for inventing things. One day he's building solar panels and the next he's building his own motorcycle. Anything involving his hands, he can do. All these things are why so many people believe he's artistic, but he isn't, he's simply Tommy. Only his family gets a pass when it comes to touching him and even then they have to tread carefully.
'Hunter, you're going to get killed one of these days.' Tommy signs, causing Hunter to wave him off, his grin never leaving his face. He was a fucked up bastard, just like their dad. Noah was sure that he was a masochist, but only with the pain part, Hunter doesn't know the meaning of humiliation. Nothing embarrassed Hunter.
"Sit." Doc orders, causing them all to take their seats. "Fold your hands." He slaps Hunter's hand, stopping him from grabbing the food. Doc was another one that was different in the family. He was more like Noah, which is why so many people think Noah is Doc's. He was the calm, rational, level headed one out of his brothers. He was also religious. None of the others were really much of the praying type, but Doc always demanded they said grace before every meal whether they wanted to or not and Doc was the oldest so what he said goes.
Hunter huffs and folds his hands with the rest of the boys. "Thank you God, for this bountiful meal that you have provided-"
"He didn't provide shit. We hunted this meat, we grew these vegetables-" Noah slaps Hunter upside the head.
"Shut the fuck up and let Doc have his God. You don't gotta believe, just let him have this." Noah says, causing Hunter to huff and close his eyes.
"Have provided for us. Thank you for watching over my boys and keeping us safe during these hard times. And please continue to keep my boys safe as they leave these gates today. Amen."
"Amen." The boys say before grabbing their food. Doc didn't ask for much and they all have their ways of grieving. Losing his wife made him turn to God for answers. It was a better path than what his daddy before him chose. Noah would take it over the other option any day. Hunter was still too young to understand that.
"Still don't see the reason we have to go along with it." Hunter mumbles under his breath, earning a glare from Noah.
"It takes five minutes out of your day, you can handle it, Hunter, now shut up and eat." Noah whispers to him. Hunter scowls but does as Noah orders. Hunter wasn't one for doing what others wanted. He did what he wanted when he wanted. He didn't care about the consequences. He was carved right out from his daddy's ass leaving his brothers stuck disciplining him and protecting him from the trouble his mouth gets him into. One of these days he's going to say the wrong thing and get shot.
"I want you to hit the clinic first, Noah. It'll have medical supplies that we could use. It won't have as much as a hospital would, but it will have the basics. After that go to the grocery store and try to find as much food as you can. Stick to the can stuff, that will last longer, don't worry about the meat, the boys will handle that. I know we have the farm, but I'd like to freeze all that as much as we can." Noah nods as he takes a bite of his toast.
"I get it. Cans first, farm after." Doc nods. "What else?"
"Maybe go to the clothing store. It'll be getting colder and we could use with some heavier clothes. You boys don't have any of that here." They only ever spent their summers at the plantation house, so the heaviest clothes they had here were t-shirts and maybe a light sweatshirt. "And get an extra pair of boots for everyone, it never hurts to have extra." Noah nods.
"Anything else?"
'There's a garage in town. Maybe get some parts?' Tommy signs.
"Sure, Tommy, write up a list and I'll see what I can find." Noah promises.
"So, the clinic, the grocery store, the clothing store, and the garage, those are your focus stores. Have time for anything else then try for the others, but for now, focus on those four."
"Got it."
"Hunter, Parker, get what you can out there. If you find tracks for deer then go for it, but if not then try to get as many squirrels and little critters as you can. Don't forget to check the traps out there, we might have caught something." The two nod as Hunter shoves a whole piece of toast into his mouth. Pig.
"What time do we need to be back here?" Parker asks.
"I'd like Noah to be back here before sunset and you two after if you don't find any big game. If you find big game then go after it. We need all the meat we can get come winter."
"What are you planning to do when we work our asses off, old man?" Hunter asks, earning a look from Noah.
"I got to care for these animals that we have along with tending to the farm. I also have to chop firewood for the oncoming winter. There's also reinforcing and repairing the coops, finishing up that greenhouse we started." Doc answers. "Tommy's still trying to fix up those walkies that I found along with fixing up the CB."
'I also want to tune up the vehicles and make sure they're in perfect order just in case.' Tommy signs.
"I'm taking the truck." Noah says.
"Touch my bike and I'll kick your balls so hard that you grow a virgina." Hunter says, causing Tommy to chuckle.
'Do that and I'll chop your dick off and I'll force you to swallow it.' Tommy signs, causing Noah to stare at the two of them. The two had a strange friendship. How the two could be best friends was beyond Noah. Half the time they were threatening to kill each other and the other times, Hunter is saying he wants to fuck him. It was hard to keep up with them.
"Bunch of fucken queers." Parker mutters, causing Noah to chuckle.
"You're just jealous because I got someone to suck my cock." Hunter says, causing Tommy to smile.
"Enough, boys." Doc says, shaking his head at his idiot nephews. "Finish your breakfast and get ready to head off. You're burning daylight."
Hunter shoves the last of his breakfast into his mouth. He was a trash compacter, eating anything that he could get his hands on. He also ate like a fucken animal. Shoving it in his mouth, not even bothering to chew, and wiping his hands on anything, but a napkin. As if to prove the point, Hunter wipes his greasy fingers off on Parker's shirt, earning himself another slap to the head by both twins. He leans over and gives a loud kiss to Tommy's cheek, causing Tommy to shove him away.
'Fucker' Tommy sighs before wiping his face.
"You two are fucken messed up." Parker says. "If I didn't know you then I'd have sworn you two really were sucking each other's dick."
"Not my fault he wants this." Hunter says before grunting as he thrusts his hips.
"Something ain't right with you." Parker says.
"Says the psychopath." Parker turns and looks at Hunter, a twisted grin on his face and a dark look in his eyes.
"Better watch it, Hunt, saying shit like that to a psychopath will get you killed." Noah shook his head as he watched Parker walk out of the room.
"Don't poke the monster, Hunter." Noah warns. "Brother or not, he is liable to slaughtering you." Only Noah could really keep a leash on Parker. Without Noah around, Parker is very dangerous. Family or not.
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Parker walks through the woods as silent as a mouse. He has spent his entire life in the woods. His family took him out there ever since he was born and he has been trained by the best. He made absolutely no noise out here. His steps were silent, his breath was steady, his heart was calm. The animals couldn't even smell him with the amount of mud he caked onto his skin. He was completely camouflaged into the forest. He is one with the wilderness.
Parker pauses, cocking his head to the side as he listens to the sounds around him. He pulls out his crossbow and aims, the bolt flying through the air and piercing right through the heart of the squirrel above him. The crossbow had been a gift from his uncle. He liked using it, but he always favored his knife. He liked getting up close to a person and watching the life fade from their eyes. He liked the blood and he felt the knife was much more personal than a gun or arrow.
Parker ties the squirrel to his rope and continues on. He would gut it and skin it when he got back to the house. He was tracking a buck and from the size of the prints, it was a good size one. It was walking casually, no sign of panic or hurry in the tracks, which meant it was likely in good condition. Things were looking promising.
Parker sniffs the air and catches a whiff of blood. He turned his head in the direction and sniffed again. It was strong and fresh. He shifted his feet and headed in the direction. Sometimes you could find good supplies among the dead. He kept his bow at the ready in case of walkers.
He stops as he comes through the bushes and enters the clearing. Before him laid many bodies of walkers and what once was living humans. He moves around carefully in case of any rose. He knelt down and stabbed each in the brain as he passed them. The clearing was drenched in blood. It looked as if the living had run out of gas for their car and tried to make camp here for the night, but walkers had come and ripped them apart. The smoke was still coming from the campfire. This happened last night.
He knelt down by another walker and lifted his knife up to stab it when suddenly a pair of clear chocolate brown eyes opened and met his blue ones. One was still alive.
An: The original author was planning on having Eliza be with Tommy, but I thought she'd be better with Parker. Then Noah will be with Sophia. I want to know who you think Hunter and Tommy should be. Also wether or not Doc should have somebody. Then of course Daryl will be with Carol. And should Merle live or die, should he have somebody special as well? Let me know what you guys would like.
