"Up and down the King's Road. In and out the Eagle, that's the way the money goes- Pop! goes the weasel." A very terrified Ren met Sophia's eyes. Scared into silence. "A penny for a spool of thread. A penny for a needle- That's the way the money goes, Pop goes the weasel." And then, the crack of a whip, followed by a short bark. "Jimmy's got the whooping cough. And Timmy's got the measles. That's the way the story goes, Pop, goes the weasel." A low chuckle, followed by a wild laugh. "A wind turbine? A fucking wind turbine? You mean to tell me, all this time, I could have been sleeping here, instead, I'm sleeping under an oak tree?"
"Actually, it's called a windmill. Go on inside." Bella appeared in the window, her pistol pointed over the fence. The last bit was directed to Ren and Sophia, who grabbed the knives, before running inside.
"Ooooo. Lookie there. Got ourselves a scholar." His voice was deep, much deeper than Sophia would have expected. And as they reached the top, Sophia and Ren pushed the crates over the hatch. "Now Missy. You're the one who raided me? Who else ya got there with you? Anything short of an army, you've got another thing coming." Bella beckoned for the kids to come closer, and so, they listened, shivering as they did so.
"Got more manpower than you do, Weasel." Ren and Sophia peaked around the brick, eyes falling on the stranger. A man, skinny, stood outside of their fence. He was ragged looking, hair all oily, clothes too big on him. A permanent sneer on his face. Two dogs, one a pit bull, the other some kind of mutt. They were both foaming at the mouth, and flinched when the whip moved.
"Two kiddies is barely an army Miss. Now, why don't you come on down here, return what you stole, and I'll make it quick." He grinned before whistling lowly, the two dogs rose up, growling could be heard from the second story. "Pop goes the weasel. That sounds quick, doesn't it?"
"Fat chance. Now, get outta here, before I kill you." Proving her point, Bella fired the pistol. The tree behind the stranger got hit, sending toothpicks everywhere. He just laughed.
"Fine. Fine. So be it. I'll be back though." The man relented, and god, Bella could have taken the shot. She should have. But, he was still a person. He was breathing, and what about the two children behind her? They were just kids. This was a full grown man. An ugly one at that, but he was still human. They all did shit in order to survive. And, death by gunshot isn't something that Bella wished on anyone.
"Come back, and, I won't miss." Her voice radiated around them. She wouldn't miss. Should kill him, and make the first move. The two men in the woods were different. So very different. They were there, pointing guns in their faces. Ready to do, terrible, despicable things to her. But, Weasel. Nothing more than threats. As far as Bella knew, empty ones at that.
That night, Sophia dreamt of monkeys.
***Sophia***
They spent the next few days in a quiet ignorance. Bella didn't mention the fact that somehow overnight, Sophia stopped complaining about missing with the knives, and instead landed a few. Ren didn't say anything about Bella, who was fortifying the fences. And, Sophia tried to ignore the way that Ren stayed up all night, watching. Listening. Waiting for an attack that may never come, for something that would break the peace.
They talked even less. Thump. Wack. Wack. Wack. Ren gave up with the knives, seeing how Sophia managed to stick a few in the trees, he stayed with the slingshot.
"You're getting pretty good. Didn't even take you years." Ren smirked from above. He sat on a low hanging tree branch, hitting apples off of a tree twenty yards away. Thump.
"You're just jealous." Murmuring back, she let her hand slip to the blade. She wasn't sure if this was how you were supposed to do it, but after messing with them for so long... this was the way that worked.
"You're right, all kinds of jealous. Especially with that way you manage to sink the knife in 10% of the time." Ren laughed, and Sophia was about to scream in fake annoyance, when he tossed an apple at her, smiling. "Although, I am jealous of your voice. You should sing more." The words seemed way out of place, and she just stared dumbfounded at him.
"You're kidding, right?"
***Sophia***
Across the forest, a man sat with his back to a tree. He smirked, running his fingers along the silver of a whistle. Oh damn did he love this thing. He had picked it off of a walker awhile back, one that was cornering a dog kennel. Bing bang boom, now he had some loyal shit eaters. One of them was chewing on a bone, being obnoxiously loud.
"Get the fuck outta here, don't you got somewhere to be?" Even moving his hand toward the whip gave him all the power he needed, and the dog scrambled away. How amazing that felt, all this power at his finger tips. All of this. Even at the end. Now, just had to get his own castle, and he would be golden. Just so happens, that he knew where to get one. It even had a few subjects inside for him to control.
A castle, a garden of eden, subjects of his own rule, and god damn, there had to be other things too. Just waiting inside those gates. Perhaps they would obey the sound of a whip as well.
"Come along little doggies. We got some work to do." Picking up the whip, dogs came with him, following, "I've no time to wait and sigh. No patience to wait 'til by and by. Kiss me quick, I'm off, goodbye!" Ripping open the last chocolate bar, he hated this, they took his stuff. "Pop goes the fucking weasel."