Jenna could feel James's eyes burning a hole in her back; he was blaming her for their current situation. In that moment, she would have welcomed an arrow from the man who had now taken them prisoner. Though she found it hard to believe that they wouldn't have been found if she hadn't left the barn, she knew that they would have had some sort of warning of a foreign presence, and that was why James was feeling so much disdain toward her. The lengthy and silent walk through the trees wasn't really helping her anxiety either.
When they reached where the forest ended and a large clearing began, Jenna could feel her heart about to jump out of her chest. It wasn't long before two other men and a blonde woman ran over to see what their apparent guard had brought them. A gruff sigh came from behind her and as soon as she met the blue eyes of the man in what looked to be a cop's uniform, she knew there was nothing to worry about anymore.
"I found 'em wanderin' 'round the woods out by the old barn. After what that little shit" he pointed at a large barn across the field, "and his friends pulled in town, I didn't wanna chance 'em bein' with his old group."
"Good thinkin', Daryl" the cop replied grabbing zip-ties from the other man. Jenna scanned their surroundings while they were binding their hands.
"You guys were the ones who fired that gun last night" she whispered in a matter-of-fact tone. James was moving to tell her to be quiet when the cop nodded. Jenna furrowed her brow as he moved to bind James's hands and continued, "Was it a roamer? Are they as bad out here as they are in Atlanta—"
"Jenna, shut up!" James's sudden outburst startled everyone.
"What happened to your hand?" the cop asked when after he had already tied James's hands together. James just shrugged and looked away.
"He asked you a question!" the man with the shaved head shouted making Jenna cringe. She didn't know what the guy in the barn did to them, but it seemed to have left a bad taste in their mouths when it came to newcomers.
"He punched a wall." Jenna said softly, "In the barn we were sleepin' in. He had a nightmare and punched the wall."
The night was pitch dark and the sounds of the boy they had come to know as Randall's heavy breathing. From the looks of his face and maimed leg, he hadn't had a good time since meeting these people. Her curiosity of what they had done to him was peaking and it seemed that James was feeling the same way.
"What the hell'd they do to you anyway?" James asked suddenly when they were all made aware that none of them were sleeping. She heard Randall draw in a breath which was followed by a violent cough and a wheeze. He spit out whatever it was he hacked up and cleared his throat.
"That psycho with the crossbow laid me out" Randall answered with a humourless laugh, "They were gonna kill me but I was lucky enough to have the sheriff's kid walk in right when he was gonna shoot me. He didn't want his son watchin', so they're tryin' to figure out what to do with me."
"They said somethin' about you and your old group in town" James replied as soon as Randall was finished, "What happened?"
"Don't matter."
"Yes, it does" Jenna interjected, "Whatever it is that y'all did, they're still feelin' raw about it and that's why my brother and I are stuck in here with you."
There was a still silence as Randall stared into the darkness trying to find the dark silhouettes of his company. He wanted to know who he was talking to before he started in on the story, but it was done in vain; he couldn't see a thing. Deciding that if he was going to die, it didn't matter what people thought of him anymore. Whether these new people would think badly of him after telling them what happened in town or not, wasn't any concern of his anymore. So, he told them what had happened: how he was with the men who were shooting at Rick, Glenn, and Hershel, how he had been left for dead by his own people, and now the group just didn't know if they could trust him. Even in the pitch black of the night, Jenna could feel that James shared their concern.
"But, I would never do Maggie or her family like that. Ever." Randall finished off, "It wasn't my idea to shoot at 'em, I swear it. I've seen alotta shit since the world went to hell, but I ain't changed. Just felt like I needed to stick with the people I's with to survive, ya know?"
Neither replied and the silence was excruciating for all three of them. None knew what their fate would be in the morning. It seemed that Randall had more to fear from them than James or Jenna. But, with James's newfound temper, Jenna figured that it was only a matter of time before he pissed someone off and doomed them both to end up like Randall. After a long while, Randall and James were fast asleep and Jenna followed soon after. Her peaceful slumber seemed to only last a moment before Jenna felt someone shake her. She opened her eyes slowly to see the blonde woman from the day before leaning over her.
"Get up, you're comin' with me" the woman said in a hushed tone as she helped Jenna to her feet. Mind full of confusion, Jenna stood up and glanced back at the still slumbering James wondering if she would ever see her brother again.
"What's goin' on?" Jenna murmured when she felt the woman kid the binds on her wrists.
"It's been decided that you're not a threat."
"What about my brother?"
The woman seemed taken aback at the fact that James was her brother. Her bright blue irises met Jenna's green hues; she seemed to be rethinking the decision to let her go.
"It's nothin' to worry about" Jenna said quickly, "James and I had never seen that boy in there until yesterday. We came here from Texas; we tried to get to our mom in Atlanta."
"Save it for tonight" the woman replied soothingly, "So happens, we have an extra tent."
From the way she had said that last bit, it sounded like there was a story behind why the tent was free. Not wanting to push the matter, she just pursed her lips and nodded.
"My name's Andrea, by the way"
"Jenna."
Andrea smiled a little at the introduction before walking toward a camper near the farmhouse. Jenna looked around for a moment; this was the first time she was able to take in the scenery in its entirety. A smile almost found a way onto her face for the first time in months until her eyes met those of her original captor. She tripped over her own feet trying to back away from him, but he caught her by the arm before she could fall.
"Watch where you're goin'" he grumbled letting her go and walking toward the barn.
"I know what you did to Randall" she blurted. The man turned to face her and shrugged before turning back as she continued, "You better not mess my brother up like that. James ain't done anythin' to you and yours."
"Listen up, Little Red" he grumbled walking back over to her, "I ain't 'bout to take orders from some ginger bitch I don't know. Your brother ain't done nothin' to me yet, but the second he gives me lip, I'm gonna make 'im regret it. Just be happy my word ain't shit to these people. If it was, we'da left y'all out on a country road miles from here."
Jenna knew when she needed to be quiet and this was one of those times. Not wanting to really leave James alone with a man like that, as soon as he was in the barn, she snuck around the side to find another way in.
