As soon as Jesus had stopped the bleeding and wrapped Sofia's wound, Riley was ready to part ways. It would take a day or two to get back to the firehouse and she was worried that the wound would become infected if Kyle didn't look at it in time. She hadn't expect Jesus to play nice after and introduce himself like they were at a cocktail party. She'd learned from previous experiences that small groups of people didn't look as clean or have the lack of desperation that Jesus's trio had. They were part of something bigger, like Riley and her friends, and had had some sort of safe house some where. This new situation made the brunette's stomach churn. Could they just part ways and be done? Life was all about survival now, and survival meant supplies. Riley was positive they were as curious about her and her supplies as she was about theirs. The brunettes hesitation to respond to his introduction and outstretched hand didn't anger or offend Jesus it seemed. The long haired man seemed to sense her trepidation about him as he retracted his hand and offered an option of his own.

"Allow us to take your friend to our camp" he said with a kind smile. "We never meant to injury anyone, just scare you guys off. We're not like... others. We aren't violent. We just wanted the supplies we weren't able to take with us last time. As an apology, let our doctor patch your friend up. We know how valuable ever person is."

Riley didn't said anything. She continued to stare at Jesus, mulling over his idea but still not completely convinced. Jesus continued anyways, "our camp is most likely closer than yours since we've never seen you in these parts before now."

The whole situation was too bizarre. No one was that nice. She tried to think if she would be offering the same thing if the situations were reversed but she couldn't say for sure. She was brought back to reality by Sofia's fingers tightening around her arm, obviously not liking the thought of going away with strangers. "How close?" She asked.

"Less than a few hours" Jesus replied.

The brunette frowned. "She's wouldn't go alone. I'd come too." The man simply nodded. Riley still found the situation hard to believe. She ran a hand over her pulled back hair and let out a sign through her nose. "How do we know this isn't some kind of set up? You have no reason to help us."

The man's eyes filled with a dark emotion Riley hadn't been expect as they flickered to the ground for a moment. "I'd like to say I'm pretty good at reading people, and I feel like you and your friends are good people. Our group has had some run ins with another recently and they aren't like us. I think in this world good people need to stick together." Riley could tell there was more to the story but she didn't pry. Instead she offered an alternative to his offer.

"I'll come with you and our injured member. The other two will go back to our camp and tell the others where we went. They'll come collect us and we'll be out of your hair."

The man named Clive grabbed Jesus's arm, "Gregory will be furious if we tell a bunch of strangers where the Hilltop is."

"I'll deal with Gregory. These people need our help right now Clive, and we may need theirs in the future" Jesus replied, his eyes never leaving Riley's.

The brunette nodded, not entirely sure what he had meant but was content with the present situation. She held out here hand as she said, "my name is Riley. The two men are Tyson and Jeremy and the woman you shot is Sofia."

Jesus flinched slight at the woman's jab but kept his smile on his lips. "A pleasure to meet you all. I do apologies again, Sofia."

The redhead gave a tight smile in return. Jesus seemed unfazed as he instructed Clive to assist with getting Sofia into the truck and the other nameless man to start the vehicle. Jeremy stood next to Riley as the long haired man began to explain where his camp was located.

"Tell me more about this other group. You said they weren't like us. What do you mean by that?"

Riley's question hung in the air for a moment as she sat with Jesus in the back of the pick up truck. The pair swayed with the movement of the vehicle, the others safely inside the cabin.

Jesus's eyes got dark again as he looked out at the passing fields beside them. "I think this world brings out the true nature of people. Good people tend to find each other, as do the bad. This other group is a lot of bad. They don't care about consequences or moral values. They're not like us. We didn't shoot on arrival. We tried to get you guys to lower your weapons with the intention of letting you leave unharmed just without supplies. You could have killed me instead of trying to reason with us. Its about survival, yeah, but we still value life. This other group..." he turned to look at Riley, " they don't care. They believe everything is theirs for the taking. If you disagree or tried to take something back, they'd kill you without hesitation. I mean some people in the group don't like it. You can tell when they come around that they're uncomfortable with his violence, but others are just as bad as their leader. They feed off the fear and blood. I've never seen a man who loved violence so much." The brunette did nothing to hide the displeasure in her face. Jesus still continued. "Gregory made a deal with them the first time they showed up, and we haven't always be able to hold up our end. When we don't, the kill one of us at random."

"How many have you lost to them?" She asked slowly.

Blue eyes flickered to the floor of the truck. "Two", Jesus replied.

The brunette frowned. "So this Gregory, is he in charge then?" Jesus gave a small nod as an answer to the question, so she asked another. "Why did he even make a deal with this group?"

The man shrugged. "They can be a persuasive bunch. Made a few threats and Gregory caved. Although now we've seen that they do follow through."

They were silent for a moment, both people absorbing the weight of the state of affairs. They watched the scenery go by, the sun causing the shadows of the trees to stretch across and cover the road. A strong wind blew over them, strands of brown hair fluttering around. Riley couldn't imagine being in such a situation. Ryan would never put their group in something like that, she thought at least. While she didn't have the greatest first impression of this Gregory, she had to believe that there was some good reason as to why the man would put his people in this situation. The woman reached up and pulled out the elastic holding her hair, the wind having pulling strands free. She left it down as another wind blew through, letting her hands rest in her lap. Despite trying to think of something else to talk about, there was one question kept plaguing her mind.

"What was the deal?"

Jesus replied without taking his eyes off the passing forest. "Half of our stuff. Any time they visit. Although they choose what is considered half and what stuff they want. Mainly supplies."

Riley blinked in surprise. That wasn't a deal, that was submission. A group like that obviously had weapons and some loose moral. It was probably evident from the beginning that Jesus' group couldn't simply refuse. At least that what she told herself to make sense of why they would agree to something like that. A voice in her head told her to keep quiet until she spoke with Ryan, but she felt her heart clench at the look in Jesus' eyes. They needed their help.

"Maybe we could help you guys out. You seem like nice people. Nice people need to stick together right?" She offered a small smile with her words.

Jesus finally turned his bright eyes to Riley again, a small glimmer of happiness back in them. "I'm not going to pretend I wasn't hoping you'd offer. Gregory... he talks big but doesn't really contribute. He always talks about finding a solution or something but really just waits for others too. I'm worried for the people of our community. We can't keep up with the Savior's demands and we can't continue to lose people for it. I doubt they'll ever change their tune so it'll be like this until we're all dead."

Riley let out a sharp breath through her nose. "You're kidding me with that name right? They don't actually call themselves the Saviors?"

"Yup. And their community is called the Sanctuary, can you believe that?" Jesus answered with a small laugh. "Well... this is us."

The trucked slowed in front of a gate that was starting to creak open. It pulled through and was met with a few gathered faces, one in particular that looked quite angry. As they came to a stop Jesus stood, followed by Riley. He hopped out of the truck bed and offered his hand to the brunette. Once they were both on solid ground they turned to face the approaching angry man. Before he wad upon them Jesus leaned into Riley.

"Don't judge the people of Hilltop based on Gregory. We're good people here." All Riley could do was nod as the man before them started shouting.

"Who are they?" he bellowed. The man didn't even bother to introduce himself but Riley already knew who was in front of her. He was older than she expected, probably around Ryan's age. His hair was grey and thinning minus his goatee which was a dark blonde. His brows seems to be in a permanent furrowed state given the deep set lines at his nose. While his grey-green eyes seemed angry, Riley could see a glimmer of fear in them. "What the hell, Jesus? You leave for supplies and come back with strays? I didn't authorize this!"

Brown eyes narrowed at the man. Did he just call her people strays?

"Gregory please" Jesus said in a tone that was more exasperated than pleading. "They helped us fed off a large group of walkers that had blocked the road. We injured one of them by accident, we had no choice. It wouldn't have be right to leave them after that."

Riley was surprised by the man's lie, but more so at how his fellow members nodded in agreement with the claim. Gregory seemed to relax a bit as the wheels in his head started to turn.

"They helped you, hmm?" Gregory turned to Riley, "do you have weapons?"

"Enough" the brunette replied. It was a small lie but she didn't think it mattered at this point. She was catching onto this game quick enough. "Anything we lack in that department we make up for in skill."

The older man nodded in silence, his mind formulating an idea. "Clive, Bobby, take the injured one to medical. Jesus, you and the woman come with me."

Thank you everyone for the follows and favs. A big thank you to QuirkyRevelations and belladu57 for your reviews. It's a great feeling to hear that you guys like the story so far. This will probably be the last update for 2016, so see you all in 2017!

xox