Eliza couldn't breathe, couldn't move. She was completely frozen with fear. Had been for the past five hours, but it felt like forever. She had watched her family be eaten alive by the walkers, while she had gotten lucky. She had opened her eyes by chance. She had heard what sounded like the crunching of bones and the sickening sound of brain and juice. She hadn't expected someone coming upon the clearing, but when she opened her eyes she met the most intense blue eyes that she had ever seen. They were absolutely breathtaking. The two eyes were like ice being struck by blue lightning in the middle of the ocean. Three shades of blue, battling for dominance and mashing together to create what is now looking down upon her. It was truly stunning.

The man cocked his head to the side and stared her down. He was like nothing she'd seen before. A solid body of muscle with not a an ounce of fat on him. Dressed in ripped jeans, bloodied boots, and a muscle shirt that exposed his burly arms. His hair was combed back and drenched with sweat. His entire body was covered in drying mud. He was a complete mess. He looked savage and monstrous. Eliza didn't even have to think about it. If this man wanted to, he could kill her with just a flick of the wrist. He still held his very large knife above her head. Her eyes stared into his, fearful and sad. She didn't want to die, but she had nothing to really live for. Her family was dead and even if this man spared her, she had nowhere to go. Her supplies were low, her car was useless, and she was suffering from heatstroke. She wouldn't survive. It'd be a mercy kill if the man took her life. With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and gave into the uneditable.

"You're just gonna lay there all day or are you going to get your ass up?" Eliza's eyes snapped open at the sound of his deep husky voice. He raised a dark eyebrow and pulled his eyes finally off her and scanned their surroundings.

"You're not gonna kill me?" She whispers, causing his eyes to snap back down to hers.

"I don't kill what doesn't fight back. Ain't much of a hunt if they just lay there accepting death." He stood and held a hand out. "Either get up or take yourself out. I don't got much time for weaklings." She took his hand and allowed him to help pull her out from under the walker. His hands were calloused and rough from years of hard work. He wasn't any city man, he was a country boy through and through.

Eliza lets his hand go and scanned around them, her heart ripping right apart in her chest. She couldn't even recognize her family from the walkers. She had no clue who was who. "How'd you live?" Eliza looks back at the man only to see he was no longer standing in front of her, but by the car, searching through her family's things. How did he move so fast and quiet?

"I…" Eliza swallows. "My father told me that the walkers don't go after their own. If you smell like a walker than they think you are one. I pulled the walker on top of me when the horde came. They left me alone." The man hummed in response and continued to dig through the bags. "What's your name?"

"Parker." He held up Louis' stuffed bear with a raised eyebrow before tossing it into the car.

"Hey, that's my family's things. You could at least show some sympathy." Parker turned and looked at her. She didn't like the look in his eyes. It seemed cold and empty. It scared how indifferent he truly seemed. It was gone within a second though. A mask slipped into place and his eyes filled with warmth and sadness.

"I'm sorry." He says and he sounded completely sincere. If it hadn't been for his earlier slip then she wouldn't even question him. "It sucks to lose family. What happened?" He asks, leaning against the car. His mask was very well in place. Eliza couldn't tell if he truly wanted to know or was just asking because it was expected of him.

"My family was heading to Birmingham to find the rest of our family. The car ran out of gas and so my dad decided we would camp here."

"Out in the open? In the middle of nowhere?" He asks before scoffing. "That was a good idea." He mumbled under his breath before getting back to searching.

"In case you were wondering, all of my family is dead. We never made it to Birmingham, but I know they're gone. None of them could have survived."

"At least you ain't as stupid to believe in pipe dreams."

"I…" Eliza swallows and looks away. "I don't have anything to give you. We ran out of supplies. We have a couple of water bottles and a bit of food, but just enough for a day or two. Dad used the last of his bullets." She could feel his eyes on her, but she wasn't looking at him. She was too busy trying not to cry. Her family was gone and she was all alone. She had no one. She bit her lip, trying to not show any weakness in front of this man. She could tell he would only think less of her if she cried.

"I was raised to never just leave a girl to die." He spoke up, surprising her. "You got anyone or did they all die?" Her eyes flickered to his briefly before looking back down at her shoes.

"No. I'm all alone." He sighs and slams the trunk of the car, startling her.

"Then it looks like you better stick with me. You're as good as dead out here. Ain't nothing for miles. You'd be dead before you made it to the nearest structure or waterhole." He put his crossbow on his back. "Get what you want, but nothing more than you can carry. I ain't carrying your shit." She blinked owlishly at him as he started back towards the treeline. He turns and looks at her. "Are you coming or not?" Eliza quickly moved in gear. She grabbed her duffle and stuffed a few of her family's mementos in it before hurrying up after Parker.

"Where are we going?" She asks.

"I got to get this buck and then I'm taking you back to my camp. Try not to sound like a hippo in these woods. I rather not have you scare off the game."

Tommy leans against the chimney working on the walkies. He had a screwdriver hanging from his teeth as he put the gears into place. It was only noon and so far nothing had really occurred, not that he expected anything exciting to happen. Being this far up the mountain and in the woods leads to very few threats. Still, he made sure to keep his ears out, his gun loaded, and his eyes scanning the area every few minutes. He could hear Doc down below working on the firewood. It hadn't taken his uncle long to take care of the animals and reinforce the pens and coop. He had just started on the firewood. They wanted to get as many stacks set up as possible. Winter could be harsh and the more wood they had the better.

Tommy leans over and picks up his burning cigarette, spitting out the screwdriver and taking a drag from his cigarette. He blew out the smoke and pushed the gears in. He reached over and screwed the cover of the walkies back on. He put his cigarette back down and turned the walkie on. The walkie turned on with not a problem. He hit the emergency alarm button, causing a quick burst of beeps to come from the other walkie that he had turned on. He did the same to that one and got the same response.

Tommy turns the walkies off and stood up. Tommy made a zipline on the roof that connected to each end of the property. He made it mostly so he could send messages to people below. There was a bucket resting against the pole that he hooked up to the line and sends down.

Got the walkies working.

Tommy wrote in his notebook, ripping the page out and putting it in the bucket. He hooked the bucket up and sent it down to Doc below him. He gave a sharp whistle, which had Doc looking up and collecting the bucket. It only took him a minute to respond. He gave Tommy a thumb's up and motions him down.

Tommy took one last sweep of the area before climbing down into the house. It was only noon, so it was only Doc and Tommy at the house. The others weren't due back for some time. Tommy was used to them leaving for long periods of time. None of them did well with standing still for long. It made them feel caged and you never wanted them feeling caged, even Noah. Tommy was different than them in a lot of ways. He was okay staying behind, he didn't feel caged by the walls or location. He knew he was safe inside and he was okay with staying there for as long as he needed to. What made him feel trapped was people in his space. Here, he had all the space he could want. His family knew better than to burst his safety bubble.

Tommy rubs his arm as he walked outside. It was very warm outside, but Tommy still had on long sleeves and jeans. He didn't feel comfortable revealing any part of him. It made him feel vulnerable, so he never revealed any skin except his face and hands, even his hands were mostly covered by leather fingerless gloves. Tommy was a very awkward and timid kid around other people. He wasn't comfortable with a lot of things.

"You okay, Tommy?" Tommy's dark green eyes lifted up to his uncle's blue ones. All of his family members have the same shocking blue eyes except for Tommy. Tommy looked nothing like his family. While they had blue eyes, he had emerald green ones. While they were tan from spending hours out in the sun, Tommy was as pale as a ghost and unable to tan no matter how long he is outside. While they have dark chestnut hair Tommy's hair is like the feathers of a raven, black and wild. He was also very thin and lean compared to his family. He didn't look like he had much muscle on him despite the fact that he was indeed strong and tall. Simply put he looked like a beanstalk. All arms and legs with no real mass. One more thing to make him an outsider in his family. "Tommy?"

Tommy blinks owlishly at Doc. 'I'm fine'. He signs before looking away, his thumb going up to his mouth and his teeth biting down on the tip.

Doc chuckles and swats at Tommy's hand. "You're too much like your dad. Knock that shit off before you make yourself bleed. You already have scars on your thumb from biting it." He did indeed have little scars going all over his right thumb from the amount of time he bit down on it.

'Sorry'. He signs.

Doc sighs and looks Tommy over. "Your dad will be here soon, Tommy. I know you miss him, but he said he'll be here and he will. He wouldn't lie to you or abandon you." Tommy flinches before he can stop himself. "Tommy-"

"Stop." His voice is barely above a whisper and it is deeper than one would expect from the scrawny sixteen-year-old. "'M fine." He mumbles, his thumb going right back into his mouth. Doc opens his mouth but then shuts it. Tommy can tell he wants to say something but isn't sure. "If you got somethin' to say then say it." Doc barks out a laugh.

"You sound like your damn dad." He says, a grin on his face. "Little shit is always saying that. Ain't one for holding his tongue and jumping around any damn bush." Doc hesitates before brushing Tommy's hair out of his face. "You might not take your looks after him, but you sure are his damn son and don't you go forgettin' it."

'Did you need something?' Tommy sighs, taking a big step away from Doc.

Doc clears his throat and lowers his hand. "Yeah, now that you're done with those walkies, why don't you go give the bikes a tune-up and check them over. You can check the trucks over tomorrow after Noah has his truck back." Tommy nods and starts over to the garage without another glance or word. The garage was big and filled with all their vehicles. Each of the men had a motorcycle, Noah also had a black extended cab chevy, Hunter had an old black 67 impala, and Doc had a small dark green dodge pickup. Tommy didn't have his license, so he didn't drive anything. Technically you had to be eighteen for a motorcycle license, but Hunter still had a bike that he has been driving since he was fourteen, his dad never really gave a shit about laws. Hunter's the same age as Tommy, although he acted older at times and younger during other times.

Tommy made sure to leave Hunter's bike and car alone and focus on the others. Hunter was the type that didn't want his shit messed with. He did it himself or killed anyone who dared try doing it for him. Tommy took his time checking all the bikes out and fixing what needed to be fixing. He changed the oil and gave them all a nice cleaning. The whole process took him a couple of hours, which he happily allowed. He let his mind wander as he worked. He had always enjoyed getting his hands dirty and working on things. He did shit in school, but things like this he did outstanding in. It just came easy to him. He never had to learn how to change the oil of a vehicle or how to fix the radiator. He just knew how to do it. It was as if he was born with the knowledge to fix anything he could put his hands on.

He liked getting his hands covered in grease and oil. He liked working new callouses into his skin, roughing up his hands, and spending his days working a bolt into place. He was always the most relaxed when he got a new project to work on. He could feel all the tension of early bleed away and a sigh of relief escapes his lips.

He didn't even notice the sun was setting until he looked up from the hood of Doc's truck and heard the sound of Noah's truck pulling into the garage. Tommy blinks and stood up, putting down his tools and grabbing his rag from his back pocket. He wiped his hands off and shoved the rag back in before making his way over to his cousin.

"Got you what I could. There were plenty of gears, bolts, and tools, but when it came to engines you were shit out of luck." Noah tells him when he reached him.

'Even broken ones could work. I want to use them for parts.'

"Someone else got the same idea because there weren't any engines, broken or not." Tommy frowns but takes the box from Noah. "I got about three boxes worth of stuff for you, so you'll just have to make do with what you got." Tommy nods and carried the box off to his workbench. His workspace took up an entire wall and he had five different workbenches, all of them covered with shit. None of them commented on it though, there weren't many things that made Tommy happy. They weren't about to take away one of the few things that did make him happy. They would let him tinker away to his heart's content as long as he kept it to his part of the garage.

"How'd you do?" Doc asks as he walks into the garage.

"The clinic was a big hit. I got a ton of meds, bandages, needles. All the works really. Nothing big like any machines or heavy meds, but enough that we could use for simple injuries and problems."

"That's good. I'll bring all of that to my office. What about the other stores?"

"I got clothes that you guys can all fight over. I also got insulated workboots for the colder weather. Figured you could wear the old boots during the nicer weather."

"Yeah, that'll work. I'm guessing you picked out what you wanted already?"

"Yup, the rest is whoever gets to it first."

"I'll make sure to check through then. Tommy, you should look for stuff too. You'll need a heavier jacket than your dad's leather jacket." Tommy nods dismissively as he got everything where he wanted. "What about the grocery store?"

"That was the best hall." Noah tells them. "The worker locked the place uptight, but he must have gotten bit when he went out because I found him trapped in the fence with the keys on him. I pulled the truck up and just loaded up everything that I could find that was good. The place wasn't even touched. We have enough food to last years with just us."

"Perfect. We'll use this up and freeze what we can." Noah nods.

"That's what I was thinking. Has Hunter or Parker turned up?"

"Hunter came back about thirty minutes ago. He's in the butcher shop dressing and gutting his kills now. He got a small buck, only a four-pointer, and about a string and half of squirrels. Oh, he also got a raccoon and a possum from the traps we set."

"And Parker?"

"Not back yet, but I assume he's on the trail of something big if he hasn't come back yet."

"You don't have to worry about Parker. It's those who run into Parker that has to worry." Noah says, his words sounding haunting as night approaches. Tommy wouldn't want to run into Parker as a stranger. Especially in his domain.

Josie huffs as she walks through the house, collecting all the dirty clothes and piling them up in the basket. The boys were pigs. Total and complete pigs. Hunter's room looks like a tornado hit. He had clothes sprawled all across his floor with boxes of old food and empty water bottles thrown around. What was most disgusting was his sheets. Those were too disgusting to even mention. She has to have a bandana around her face in order to not breathe in the foul odor coming from the room. How he could sleep in a room like this is beyond her imagination. She gags as she folds up the sheets on his bed, trying to not touch the inside of the sheets. "Oh god, they do not give me enough to do this." She threw the sheets into the basket, rubbing her hands on her jeans quickly. "Ew, ew, ew." She whimpers as she tries to not let her paranoia run ahead. She picks up all the clothes, being a tad wary of the socks and boxers. Once that was completed she grabs her trash bags and picks up all the shit Hunter left behind. She moved the bag and basket outside the room and quickly dusts, sanitize the surfaces, vacuums, and then mops. She sprays disinfecting spray in the room and opens the window to ensure the odor leaves and the room smells fresh and clean once more.

She tosses the trash out in the dumpster before continuing to clean the other rooms. Noah and Doc's rooms were completely organized and clean. The two ex-military men weren't one for messes and disorder. She didn't even need to clean their rooms, simply grab their baskets of clothes. She walks downstairs to the laundry room and puts a load in before going back upstairs to Parker's room. She hesitates for a minute. Parker was a private person. He didn't like people messing with his space and things.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. The room was pretty plain and bare. There were no pictures or posters like in Hunter's room. No decoration at all. There was a bed and a dresser, along with two bedside tables with lamps on them. The room wasn't painted like the others and there was no real personal touch at all. His basket of clothes were right by the door, his way of telling Josie to grab it and go. She doesn't overstep, knowing Parker would know right away if she trespassed. She quickly leaves his room and heads back downstairs.

She spends the whole day dusting, vacuuming, mopping, doing the dishes, and doing as much laundry as she can do. By nightfall the house was clean, the beds all had fresh sheets (minus Parker's), the dishes were all done, and the pile of laundry was getting smaller. She set the table for Doc too.

"Looks good, Josie." Doc smiles as he walks in.

"I will never clean Hunter's room again, understand?" Doc smirks.

"Understood."

"I'm going to take a long shower and scrub off all the germs. I'm contaminated." Doc's booming laugh follows her down the hall and even once she was in the bathroom. She huffs and starts up the shower, undressing, and hopping in once she is sure it was warm enough. It's been a long day.