Eliza walks as silent as possible behind Parker, watching the muscles work in his arms. She couldn't get over how big he was. He wasn't exactly a giant in height, but the muscles in his body were a bit startling. She didn't think he would be able to carry the six-point buck alone, she had even asked if he wanted her to help him, but he actually laughed in her face. She was starting to understand why he laughed though. He had picked the deer up without any struggle or grimace. He picked it up as it was the weight of a roll of paper towels. She could tell it was in fact heavy by looking at how much his muscles were working in his arms. She had never met a man like him before. She had spent her life in the suburbs, her father was a car salesman. He never did any heavy lifting like this.
Eliza knew right from the start that this man was dangerous. He might have been nice enough to lend a helping hand and promised to lead her to safety, but she could see the dangerous glint in his eyes. This man was capable of doing horrible things if he so wishes to. Apart of Eliza knew it was stupid to be going with this man, who she knew was dangerous, but her chances were worse without him, so she chose in favor of the killer and did everything she could to keep on his good side. She had offered to carry his string of squirrels and hold his couple of raccoons he had gotten so that he didn't have to carry those and the buck. Her clothes were already ruined beyond repair, so adding more blood to the cloth was nothing.
She had also taken to stepping where he stepped in order to prevent making as much noise as possible. She positioned her feet as he does, places her feet where he does, put as little weight into her feet as possible just like him. She was doing pretty well so far. Only made a bit of noise, nothing to get Parker's real attention.
Still, they've been walking for hours and by now it was pitch blackout. She could no longer see the ground beneath her feet, so she had to just trust that she was stepping in his prints. She had no idea how he could still be so quiet or how he even knew where he was going. For all she knew, he could very well be leading her far into the woods to kill her like Hansel and Gretal. Eliza was too afraid to ask.
So, she just followed. She followed him as best as she could in the dark and just prayed that he was truly leading her to safety.
Hunter stares out into the dark night. They had shut off all the lights outside, leaving the surrounding area in darkness. They also had little light inside. Doc didn't like them leaving too many lights on, it could be seen down the mountain by walkers and living alike, so they only the light from the kitchen on. Doc was making dinner with the help of Noah, while Tommy was in the garage tinkering away with a flashlight. Hunter had left the kitchen long ago and wandered into the front foyer to stare out the window. He was waiting for his brother to come home.
He didn't like when one of them was away from the others. It made him nervous. They already had his and Tommy's dad M.I.A. He was constantly afraid that one of them would also go missing. He never admits to his fear in front of his family, fear was for pussies his father always said, but that didn't take away his fear. It was a childish fear. Pathetic, really, but it was there. As strong as a rock sitting in his tummy. He knew Parker could handle himself, they all could, but Parker especially. Still, it was late and Hunter was worried. He wouldn't relax until they were all together again.
The touchpad on the wall by the door lit up, catching Hunter's attention. Front gate open, it read, causing Hunter to look out the window again. Front gate closed, it now reads. "He's back, I think." Hunter calls as he flicks on the porch lights on and off three times in a quick session before turning them off completely. Hunter waits with bated breath before he sees the same order of lights flashing down the hill.
He's back.
Parker made his way around the back of the house to the slaughterhouse. He wanted to skin his kills now and get it over with instead of risk leaving it for the morning. Wild animals had been known for sneaking in and getting to his kills.
Parker was a bit impressed with how good the girl got at being quiet. If it wasn't for her occasional break of a twig then he would have forgotten she was even there. He could feel the fear coming off her, like a doe in the woods sensing a predator. He knew she'd relax once Doc got here, the man could tame a dragon if possible. He just knew how to put people at ease.
Parker felt for the hooks before thrusting it through each limb. "Shine the light on the buck." Parker orders as he got out his knife once he had the deer situated. Eliza did as she was ordered and flicked on the flashlight. Parker got to work skinning the deer. Parker glances over his shoulder to see if Eliza was disgusted by this, but she had her eyes off him and the buck and on the door. Parker pauses long enough to hear the footsteps. No doubt Hunter, the fidgety fuck could never sit still when one of them was out in the dark. "Keep the light on it." He says when the light started moving off him and towards the door.
"It sounds like-" Eliza gasps when Parker's bloody hand grabbed hers.
"Light on deer. Simple." He says, turning her hand so the light was back on the deer. He lets her go and gets back to his buck. "Ignore the noise. It's just Hunter's loud ass footsteps." Parker tells her.
"Hey, fuck you." Parker smirks when Hunter's booming voice was heard. Parker knew he was close. "Who the fuck is this?"
"Get Doc." Parker says.
"What-"
"Hunter." Parker says as he finishes skinning the deer, throwing the skin down on the ground before turning back to Hunter. "Get Doc." Hunter looks from Parker to Eliza, eyeing the girl over before huffing and walking away. "Little brothers." Parker mumbles under his breath. "Pain in the asses." He cuts the deer open and begins to take out the insides.
"Oh, god." Parker glances over in time to see Eliza turn green.
"Flashlight." He held out his hand and Eliza tossed it before turning and throwing up. Parker shined the flashlight with one hand and pulled out the intestine with the other.
"Parker?"
"Back here." Parker calls as he hears Doc's voice. "I got a buck, a string of squirrels, and a couple of raccoons." He tells his uncle when he hears him in the doorway.
"And a girl I see. What's your name darling?" Doc asks, his voice gentle and soothing as if trying to calm a frightened deer. At least that deer had finally stopped puking.
"Eliza." She says in a quiet voice.
"My name's Bow, but I go by Doc more times than not. Feel free to call me either." Parker rolls his eyes. He never did understand why Doc was always so friendly to people. Parker only did it because it was expected, but Doc did it because he was just genuinely a friendly person. "How about we leave Hunter and Parker to take care of the kills and you come inside with me. We'll get you cleaned up and fed." Parker could feel Eliza's eyes on him, why she felt the need to check in with him was beyond him, but he gave her nod anyways.
"Okay, thank you." Eliza says only after Parker gave her a nod.
"Alright, follow me." Doc and Eliza walk off, leaving Hunter with Parker.
"So… who is she? Did you fuck her?" Parker rolls his eyes. With Hunter, the first thing in his head is always sex when it comes to women. He was a pig at the best of times and a whore at the worse.
"Found her surrounded by the remains of her family. Walkers took them out. She only survived because of her quick thinking."
"And so you brought her back here?"
"If I left her Doc would have complained for weeks. Rather not deal with the headache."
"Yeah, well, never harm a woman or child, right?" Parker looks at Hunter, his mask slipping for a second to reveal a dark look in his eyes before his mask slips back up.
"Right." Parker could feel Hunter's eyes on him as he worked, but thankfully for once, Hunter remained quiet.
Eliza follows Doc inside the house, using a flashlight to guide their way. She could hear noises coming from further inside the house. It wasn't loud, but rather soothing. It was the sound of some old country song playing along with the sound of cooking, clanging of pots, scrapping of the spoon, the sizzling of meat. The place almost felt homey despite the darkness and the danger that lurks just outside these walls. It was almost as if this place was untouched by the madness of the world. A small slice of paradise in the storm.
As they moved further into the house, Eliza could see a light glowing from down a ways. It almost looked like light from a light bulb and not from candles or a flashlight. That was when Eliza noticed the alarm system on the door, which was very much working. "You have electricity." Eliza whispers, as if too afraid to speak above a whisper in case everything before her would suddenly disappear.
"Yes, we do, but at night we don't like to have too many lights on. We want as little people to know about this place as possible. We are up in the mountains with a forest surrounding us, but if this place is lit up like a Christmas tree then everyone down below will see it. We have one rule, only have a light on at a time at night. If you need a light then use a flashlight." Eliza nods. It made sense. It was dangerous in this new world. One could never be too safe. It was best to alert as little attention as possible. "Up this way." Doc says before starting up a flight of stairs. "Watch your step. Do you need a light?" He asked this just as she tripped on a step. His quick reflexes helped her not face plant the step as he grabbed her arm to steady her. "Here, take this. I know this place like the back of my hand. I don't need to have a light."
"Thanks." Doc continued up the stairs and Eliza followed dutifully behind him. She knew she probably shouldn't trust this man nor any of these men, but if Parker had wanted her dead then there was no doubt in her mind that she'd be dead. So, surely, she was safe enough right now. Parker seems like the type to handle things himself. He wouldn't have Doc kill her for him. Plus, Doc seemed like an alright guy so far.
"We have running water." He tells her as he leads her into a room. It was a bathroom. "You can take a shower and get cleaned up. We have heavy curtains in here, so you can have a light on if you want. We have to have a light in here. Hunter tends to make a mess of himself when he's half asleep, constantly getting cut on things. He's a waking hazard." Despite everything that has happened in the past two days, Eliza smiled.
"Thank you." Doc nods once he had flicked the light on.
"I'll leave you to get cleaned up." He tells her before walking out of the room. "Towels are in the closet." He calls over his shoulder before he disappears. Eliza shuts and locks the bathroom door before moving towards the shower. She turned it on and let it run before going to the closet for a towel.
Now with the light and the mirror, Eliza could see what she looked like and she was all too happy that it was dark outside and the only people who really got a look at her was Doc and Parker because she was a mess. Her hair had been in a ponytail, but now pieces were all out of it and going into her face, the part still held by the elastic was now a rat's nest. Her entire body was covered in dried blood and dirt. Her clothes were torn beyond repair. Walking through the woods hadn't helped.
Eliza moves away from the mirror and strips down before going into the shower. She couldn't help, but to sigh aloud as she went under the spray. She hadn't had a shower, a real shower, since all this began. This was complete heaven. It was like a dying man in the desert finding water. The hot water soothed all her muscles and washed away the many layers of grime. She closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and let herself get lost in the pleasant sensation of the water hitting her skin. She stood under the water for a while before finally giving in and trying to fix her hair.
It took three handfuls of conditioner to untangle the mess. She almost felt bad because she had to have been in the shower for close to an hour. She hated to get out, but eventually she finished and had to get out. She dried off, wrapped a towel in her hair and another around her body. She used some deodorant from beneath the sink, it was Irish Spring, men deodorant, but she didn't much care about that. She was just happy to not have to smell like B.O all day. She even found an extra toothbrush, it was in its package still, and got to brush her teeth. She felt so good after taking care of everything. She ran a brush through her hair before going to her bag and searching for clothes. She didn't have much in her bad. She only had three sets of clothes, a second pair of shoes, a few family momentos, and some supplies. She changed into her cleanest pair of jeans, a dark blue t-shirt, one of her hoodies, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail with an elastic she found.
She took a minute to look herself over, deeming herself appropriate enough to greet the rest of Parker's family. She heads out of the bathroom, ready to try to converse through the dark house, only to find Parker waiting on the other side. "Oh." She says, a bit startled to see him standing there.
"You done? I need a shower." He was drenched in blood and sweat. He looked like a crazed monster right about now.
"Uh, yeah… sorry." He just shrugged and moved around her to go into the bathroom. She makes her way out of the bathroom, figuring it is the end of the conversation.
"Here." She turns and sees Parker holding out a flashlight.
"Don't you need it?"
"I don't need light to find my way around here."
"Thanks." She says, taking the flashlight from him. She clicks it on just as he closed the bathroom door. She turns and begins to make her way back the way she came from.
She moved silently down the hall, the wood flooring feeling cool beneath her now warm feet. She walked down the stairs and could see lights down the hall and smell something delicious cooking. She could hear voices, but couldn't make out what was being said. She made her way cautiously towards the light source and the noise. Doc was inside, cooking on the stove. There was another man helping Doc cook, slicing up vegetables and putting them in the pot. This man had his back to her, so she couldn't really make out much with him, she could see he favored his left leg over his right one.
"You must be, Eliza." She glances over to see a beautiful girl sipping a beer at the island. "I'm Josie." She holds out a hand and Eliza takes it, shaking it with a gentle smile.
"Nice to meet you."
"That's my brother Noah, Parker's twin." The man in question turns and gives her a smile, holding out a hand.
"Hey, nice to meet you." He was identical to Parker minus the long hair and the scar, in its place was a limp and short hair. "You've met Doc, right?" He asks once Eliza shook his head.
"Yes. Thank you again for letting me shower."
"Not a problem." Doc smiles. "Parker told me you're all alone. Lost your family to walkers. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you." She says quietly, looking down and trying to fight back the tears that wanted to come forward.
"You can stay with us, if you want." Josie says, causing Eliza to look towards her.
"Oh, I don't want to overstep-"
"It ain't overstepping if we invite you." She looks behind her and sees Hunter coming in. Now that she can see him in the light she saw that he did indeed look a lot like his brothers except he was a tad younger, shorter, and not nearly as muscular.
"Hunter." Noah sighs. "Ignore him. He's not the best at conversations. You're more than welcome to stay with us. We have plenty of room and we aren't the type to turn people away." Noah reassures her. "As long as you agree to help out and do your part around here then we shouldn't have any problem."
"Thank you, really." She beams at him.
"Great, you can start by washing Hunter's sheets. I do not want to touch that toxic silk." Josie says, causing Eliza's eyes to widen.
"Now, that's just cruel." Noah says, causing Hunter to scoff.
"My sheets aren't that-"
"Don't finish that sentence." Josie says, disgust on her face. "Let me put it this way, Hunt. I disinfected your room. There is not an inch of stink or mess left. If you want to jerk off do it in the shower or I'll be the one to chop your dick off and feed it to the chickens."
"Seriously, Josie? You're going to make her think we're more fucked up than we are. Ignore them. I promise we're not all like them." Noah tells Eliza. She can't stop herself from laughing. She was unable to stop as tears rolling down her face as she laughed so hard her stomach hurts.
"Is she okay?" Josie asks.
"She looks like she's having a fit." Hunter mumbles. Doc gave them a look and put his spoon down.
"Poor thing's had just been in shock. It's all catching up to her." Doc made his way over to her just in time for her laughter to turn to sobs. He pulls her into his arms as she breaks down. He rubs her back, whispering soothing things to her as she clung to him. Josie gave Noah a sad look, causing him to sigh. They forget just how bad it is out there for some people. They live in safety and seclusion from the hell outside those gates. They were lucky enough to not have lost many people.