When I woke up I was half in the water, totally amazed I hadn't drowned. I coughed up a lot of water and couldn't find the strength to pull myself out of the mud. My arm pulsed and I felt the warm string of pain where the rest of me was cold down to the bone.
"Hello?" I heard a small voice peep from the distance. I opened my eyes and saw Clementine slowly walking away from the waters edge shivering with her arms wrapped tightly around her.
"Clem!" I croaked but she didn't hear me slowly I pulled my boots out of the water with the rest of me. Everything was wet. I slowly brought myself to my feet which I couldn't feel. My fingers were so cold they were blue and I tucked them under my arms. Clem saw me standing and came racing over to where I stood wrapping her quivering arms around me. She didn't say anything and I couldn't choke any words from my dry throat. I just hugged her tightly.
"Are you okay?" I finally managed. She nodded between ragged breaths.
"I'm just really cold." She said stepping back. I nodded. "Me too." Putting one hand on her back as I looked around. There wasn't much to see, a set of old wooden stairs lay in ruin that not fair and there was a canoe crashed into the rocks near where I had been laying. If this had once been a camp there could still be food and shelter near by. We started walking toward the broken stairs, I helped Clementine up onto the wooden platform the struggled up myself. Pain shot through my arms as I pulled myself up onto the old rotted wood.
"Oh my god, Scarlett your bleeding!" She exclaimed as I came to stand next to her. I looked down at my arm, the knife had cut swift through my leather jacket. Blood pulsed out from the cut and ran down the light brown fabric in dark red. I through my hand over it and looked down at the little girl who was filled with worry.
"It's just a scratch, nothing." I told her zipping up the front of my jacket in the hopes to get warm. We wondered the woods both freezing, I put one arm around the frail girls shoulders and pulled her closer to me in hopes to get warmer. It helped a little but when a sudden sound came from behind a bush I shoved Clementine behind me. Slowly I stepped closer to the sound keeping Clem as far behind me as I could. When I came around the side of the bush I put my arm back down. A filthy orange-ish brown dog was nuzzling around in the dirt. It spun around fast it took a step back growling at the two of us. I glared down at the animal but Clementine spoke up.
"It's okay, boy, it's okay..." The dog barked and wagged its tail happily I looked down at her still not comfortable. She moved to check the dogs caller, I grabbed her arm and she looked back at me.
"It's okay." She said and trustingly I let go of her arm. She read the name and smiled.
" 'Sam' Well, nice to meet you, Sam." She said looking down at the happy dog. I smiled at her, she was so gentle and trusting. I looked around the brush, there was nothing to see but trees and brushes. The dog began to sniff around near the end of a clearing.
"What's he doing?" Clem asked and I turned to watched but the dog just nudged around the dirt. I walked around a little more, trying to find anything. The dog suddenly barked and at the loud sharp noise I turned just in time to see the dog take off, good. Normally I liked dogs but, now, here in this world it was dangerous because the dog didn't know the danger of it's noise.
"Sam. Sam! Where are you going? Wait up!" She quickly began to follow the dog, I could hear the sloshing of water in her shoes.
"Clem!" I said sternly before following after her. She walked quick even soaking wet and when I caught up with her I found myself in front of a old camp site. There was an old rusted van there and two torn up tents. It looked abandoned and run over, there probably wasn't anything there.
"Hello?!" I asked as we slowly stepped out from the woods into the clearing. The dog walked the camp with some familiarity, maybe this was his people camp at one time.
"Looks pretty run over, but you never know." She said as I began digging through old boxes. I heard a low growling sound and I quickly turn to Clem. She was holding her stomach as the gurgling got quiet.
"Let's look around for some food."
"Already looking." I told her with a chuckle as I further inspected boxes. I came up empty there wasn't a thing to be found but I watched Clementine through a frisbee for Sam. It was good to see her smiling, it was all to rare a thing anymore. I had only known her a short while but it didn't take long for us to become close. It was obvious she had trust issues something happened with her old group. Everyone had something now days. I was surprised at myself for trusting her and Christa so easily and for them to trust me. Some roughed up girl who had been alone in the woods for mouths. I was on the brink of dehydration when they found me, crazy-eyed and frightened. Christa wanted to leave me, but Clem convinced her to help me. I owned this kid my life, I was going to repay that for her anyway I could.
"Oh my god, thank you!" I heard Clem exclaim as she pulled her arms out of an apparent garbage with an unopened can. She turned and looked at the dog,
"Look, Sam, a can!" She then came running over to me. Wide eyed I took the can looking it over.
"No freaking way!" I said with a wide smile as a pit of hunger opened up in my stomach.
"Now all we need is something to open it with." I said handing the can back to Clem who looked sourly down at the sealed tin. I further dug through the van, looking for anything we could use to open the can. I came up short unable to find anything I dropped my head into my cold hands taking a breath. Damnit, so close. I thought still so tired and cold, things weren't going well. I looked up fast when I heard the dog bark again. This time he wouldn't shut up, he kept barking and I ran over to him.
"Shush, no! Be quiet Sam!" I scolded terrified that he would draw walkers, when I heard the mousing my heart nearly burst. But I saw the walker tired up to the tree, he had a knife stuck in his arm, it aimlessly clawed at us. I picked up a tree branch and hit the thing over the head a couple of times until it finally stopped moving. I checked it's pockets and pulled the knife free of the arm and wiped it off on my pants, it was still sharp, perfect. I smiled and handed the knife to Clementine who took it and sat down an a log. She began prying the can open as I sat down next to her. She lifted the lid off to reveal a can of brown and red beans. She smiled up at me and I couldn't help but returned it as she pour some of the beans into my hand. She was spooning mouthfuls for herself with her fingers, when the dog began whining. I didn't even noticed it was so caught up in my food. I wished I had though. She offered the dog a handful and he hit down the can, when she tried to pick it up the dog lunged grabbing hold of her arm. She shouted out in pain and kicked the dog off her. I was on her in a split second grabbing her gently looking her over in a panic.
"Shit! Shit! Oh God Clem, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" I asked flustered looking at the girls pained face.
"Yeah, it's, my arm." She said and I looked down. Blood soaked through her sleeve, slowly I pulled it back and looked at the ragged mess of flesh. It was bad. I looked up quick when I heard a walker coming.
"One second," I said more fearful than ever before. I picked up the knife and ran over to the walker and plunged it into its head. When I came Clem was standing, over the dog. He was dead. He had been impaled by several tent poles. One had gone right trough his head, it had been quick. I dropped to my knees in front of Clem. Taking up her arm again.
"Okay, we're going to find you help. I said tearing off the bottom of my shirt the hung out from my coat. It came off easy and I slowly and gently wrapped her arm with it sliding her sleeve over it. She I sae her fighting back tears for it must have really hurt, she was so damn brave for such a young girl. We started off into the woods again.
The further we got the worse Clem looked. Her face was drained of all color, her eyes droopy and she was closer to stumbling than walking.
"Scar?" She asked.
"What's up?" I asked to worried to sound calm.
"Can we, uh, rest for a little. I just want to sit down." She said and I stopped,
"Of course," I said scanning the area. I saw I big rock that would provide cover just a little way ahead. "Can you make it to that rock over there?" I asked looking at the drowsy girl. She nodded and hobbled over to the stone and sat down quick. She leaned into me and I wrapped an arm around her. She rested her head in my lap and put my hand on her side.
"Thanks." She said just before she fell asleep.
"No problem, kiddo," I whispered as I leaned my head back against the stone, doing my best to stay awake. I was snapped to my sense quite suddenly, I didn't know whether it had been five minutes or five hours but I had fallen asleep to. I looked around the area and saw nothing, but directly beside us, there was a walker. It saw and was coming in as fast as its rotten legs would let it. I shook Clem awake and she struggled to just get out. She wouldn't make it far. I scooped her up in my arms and started running as quick as I could. Unfortunately, I didn't make it, my foot caught on a root and I feel Clem shot out of my arms and landed a few feet in front of me. I didn't see what happened to her because the second I turned onto my back a walker was falling on me. It was heavy and fat, I felt it's rotten skin peeling away under my fingers. It teeth biting down hard in front of my face. I kept trying to keep it off when but as fail. Suddenly an arrow shot into the walkers head making it go limp and I through it off me. I scrambled to my feet a quickly as I could as saw Clem fight a walker of her own. A man standing over her, and with one swift swing from the man's machete the walkers head tumbled off. A second man shot an arrow into a walker that was coming up behind me.
"I'm out! Grab her and let's go!" Said the man with the crossbow. The first man I saw grabbed Clementine and picked her up.
"Come on!" The man with the crossbow shouted at me and I ran up to the and the second I got close the two took off running, I was right with them.
We didn't stop for a long time but slowly the men came to a slow.
"I think-I think we're safe." Said the man who has saved me. Looking at him now I felt my heart stop. Pete. He was alive. He looked over his shoulder at my wide-eyed look, it took him half a second to realize who I was.
"Holy shit." He said in a dumbfounded breath. I ran up and hugged him before, still unable to bring any words to form.
"You know whats going on?" An unfamiliar voice asked. I pulled away from Pete to see the man holding Clementine looking down at her confused. She shook her head, no. She wouldn't know.
"Luke, this is Scarlett. She uh," he paused looking over at me again. "She helped us escape Carvers, she was the girl who was supposed to come with us." The other man, Luke looked surprised. He didn't know me and I didn't know him. I helped get him and all the others out, but I had never seen him before now, in truth I only really knew Pete. Luke's surprise faded to a sweet smile.
"Nice to meet you, Scarlett," he said with a nod as we began walking again.
"Who might you be?" Pete asked nicely to the small girl that Luke carried.
"Clementine." She said and looked at me confused, I gave her a reassuring nod to tell her it was okay.
"Nice to me you Clementine, I'm Luke and this is Pete." Introduced Luke. We walked for a little while longer, I looked over Clementine and she seemed okay. But this did little to settle the deep and total fear I felt for the girl, the bite on her arm still pressing heavy on my mind.
"Are you two on your own?" Pete asked breaking my train of worried and frantic thoughts.
"There was three of us but, we were attacked. We got separated." I said tugging at the bottom of my jacket.
"The people who attacked you, they weren't," Luke paused to met my eyes. "You know, them, we're they?" I shook my head knowing fully well what he was asking.
"No, they were just scavengers,"
"Okay good." He said. I caught a hint of some kind of accent but I couldn't place it.
"If you two don't mind, we'll be taking you back to our group." He started and looked down at Clem.
"We've got a doctor with us and you look like you could use some- Oh shit!" Luke stopped suddenly and threw Clementine from his arms. I dropped to my knees fast doing anything I could to help the fallen Clementine.
"What? What is it?"
"She's-she's been bite. Man. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck. What are we going to do here?"
"No she's not, it was a dog!" I said close to a shout.
"We saw you with those Lurkers back there!" Said Luke quite defensively.
"No! It was a dog!" Clementine said her tiny voice shrill as she feared the worse.
"I didn't see a dog, Clementine." Pete said. I stood up and he looked at me.
"Pete, I was there it was a dog. Honest." I said looking him hard in the eyes.
He sighed and looked down at Clementine, then back to me.
"You're tellin' me the truth?" He asked
"Yes." I told him with out fault. He sighed and helped Clementine up.
"Alright, that good enough for me."
"That's it? You're just going to take her word for it?" Luke asked panicked. I glared at him sharply.
"Hey, don't look at me like that, she's the one that's bit here, okay?"
"I trust this girl, Luke, you should too. Besides I've got a good bullshit detector. That's why you can never beat me a poker." Pete said and I smiled just a little bit.
"You don't always beat me at- Alright, how can you be sure?"
"Well, I'm sure I ain't willing to leave two girls out in the woods to die when we got a doctor with us that can make a call. We can have Carlos take a look at it first."
"Nick ain't gonna like this, not after what happened to-"
"You don't have to remind me of that, boy."
"Right. Sorry sir."
"Come on." He said and we began walking again. I saw a building very close, it was just down the hill in front of us. I checked Clementine over until she pushed me away. I walked ahead with the two men until Pete stopped and looked back at Clementine.
"Clementine, you feel on' all right?" Pete asked and I began to worry. Just like before she was slugging along, eyes barely open.
"I'm fine. Just, tired." Her words were broken up and slurred.
"Well you better be fine. 'Cause I ain't carryin' you anymore with that bite on your arm." Luke said and I shot him a glare.
"It's okay Clem. I can carry you the rest of the way." I said walking over to her.
"No. It's okay, I can walk." She said lifting one arm to stop me. I was between Clem and the others. "Don't worry about..." Was all she got out before her bright eyes shut and she passed out.
"Clementine!" I shouted running to her aid Luke right in my heels. She hit the ground before I could reach her. I scooped her up in my arms and stood fast.
"You said you got a doctor?" I asked my notice filled with concern.
"Yeah yeah, just over there. Come on." Luke said before us three of ran the rest of the distance to the cabin. We stopped just short of the house Pete shouted for Luke to go get a doctor and seconds later a man with a rifle burst from the house. He had black greasy hair the was stuffed back into a red cap.
"What's going on?" He asked alarmed as he looked between me, Pete and injected Clementine.
"Nick," Pete said sounding relieved. "This is Scarlet, she was with us back at Carvers. Her friend got hurt, needs are help."
"Yeah yeah, I remember you," he said turning to looked at me "You saved my ass once when Troy keep asking me questions." I hardly remembered that, I was surprised he did.
"What happened to your friend?" He asked seemingly calm. I looked at Pete who gave me a warning look.
"She was bitten by a dog." Pete told him and the boy who I knew to be his nephew spun around. He started yelling at Pete and gently I put Clementine down. My arm has really begun to hurt. I started to walk over to them when the door flew open again. This time a largely pregnant lady stormed out a man of darker skin tone hair behind her.
"Whats going on?" She asked angrily starting at me. Neither Pete nor Nick acknowledges her even though she was standing right beside them.
"Don't you tell me that!" Not with what Fuckin' happened." Nicked shouted at his uncle. The rifle was very close to Clementines head but I wasn't about to go asking a very angry to move his rifle.
"Would someone mind telling me what the fuck is going on here." I didn't like this woman she looked form me to Clem the back to Pete.
"Now hold on, Rebecca."
"We got this, don't worry." Said Nick and it took everything I had not to stepped in.
"Like hell you do. Did anyone even think to ask where they came from? For all we know they could be working with Carver!" I opened my mouth to say something but Pete beat me to it.
"Hey! She's one of the reason we even got out of Caver's alive. Besides she already told us that they were attacked. Then the little one was bitten by a dog."
"What? You just believed them? You should've put her out of her misery right there. Dog bite my ass."
"I was there," I said sternly. "It was a dog."
"What makes you think your word means a damn thing?" I felt rage bubbling beneath my skin.
"It was a dog, we've got no reason to lie to you!" This came out in a shout.
"Only the girls life, but as far as I'm concerned she's dead already."
"I need a do-" bam, a rifle shot silenced Clementine. The girl scrambled a few inches away from where the shot went into the ground. I felt to my knees in front of her.
"Are you okay? Did anything hit?" I asked panicked, feeling up and down her arms. She looked past me horrified. Nick stood there studied as though he thought she was dead.
"Keep your finger off the trigger, boy!" Shouted Pete as he ripped the rifle from Nicks' hands. The door flew open again and Luke rushed out.
"Whoa! Whoa! What the fuck?!" He shouted as he ran out onto the porch.
"You idiot! Every lurker for five miles probably heard that!" Rebecca said,
"You're the one tellin' me to fuckin' shoot her!" Nick argued I jumped to me feet.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" I shouted
"Everybody just calm down for a second!" Said the man who had come out with Rebecca.
"Clementine, you okay?" Luke asked her. I was relieved someone acutely gave a damn about her other than me. I stepped close to her.
"I just need a doctor." She whimpered. I put one arm around her shoulders.
"We'll leave as soon as Clementine it taken care of. Trust me, I don't want to stick around." I said casting glare in Rebecca's direction.
"We got a doctor right here, okay. He'll have a look." Luke said before turning back to his group.
"They're just scared. Now Scarlett helped us out back at Carvers, the lest we can do is give them some help."
"We're all scared, Luke. Don't act like we're the one's being irrational cause we don't buy this bullshit story."
Suddenly a man stepped between Luke and Rebecca, he looked Spanish and wore a yellow flannel shirt.
"Let me take a look." The others stepped out of his way and the man walked straight to Clementine. He held out his hand so he could look, Clem kept her and close to her chest. She looked at me, I looked to Luke.
"It's okay," he said looking from myself to Clementine. "Go ahead. He's a doctor." With a small nudge from me Clem rolled up her sleeve and unwrapped my shirt from around the wound. The bloody wound visible now. The doctor kneeled down and inspected the gash.
"Hmm. Whatever it was, it got you good." I put a hand on the trembling girls shoulder I'm hope to reassure her.
"This isn't how we do things, man. When you're bit, you get put down. End of story. I'm not going through this again." Nick said angry, Clem looked up at me frightened. I gripped her hand and ran one hand down her back in hopes to calm her.
"No one's suggestin' that," Luke said trying to calm his friend.
"We could take her arm off," Pete suggested Clem grabbed my hand tight with a gasp.
"I won't let them," I whispered to her, hold her cold fingers in mine.
"I know that worked for a cousin down in Ainsworth. We could try that." Luke looked back at the frightened Clementine. I gave him my own looked for worry before I looked down an met Clementines terrified eyes.
"Please, please, Scar. Don't let them take my arm off." She begged.
"I won't, I swear it," I said gripped her hand tight and wrapping one arm around her shoulders so I was hugging her. Suddenly the door to the house opened for a fourth time. But instead of another angry person a small girl stood ducked down.
"Who are they?" She asked curios.
"Sarah? What'd I say? Stay inside." The doctor ordered turning around and standing up. He watched as the girl retreated into the house. He knelt back down looking over her arm.
"Whatever help you can give us will be more than enough. Once I know Clementine is alright you people will never have to see us again." I told him watching closely as he looked at the torn skin.
"And where exactly would you go?" He asked I felt his question odd. What did he care?
"Somewhere else, anywhere we can find help." I said holding the girls shoulders. He passed and removed his hands from Clem's arm looking up at her now.
"I understand you're scared, and I feel terrible delaying treatment, but we've gotta be sure." I dropped to my knees again trying to calm down Clementine. I was caught off guard by what I heard.
"By tomorrow morning, if the fever's set in, we'll know if she's gonna turn. In the meantime we can lock her in the shed." I jumped to my feet, no way I would allow this.
"She needs treatment! You can just lock her in a shed. That's as good a killing her!" I shouted at the group. "The girl is in bad shape Carlos." Luke said I looked at Pete pleadingly.
"I'm not wasting supplies on a lurker bite. If it turns out she's telling the truth, I'll clean it and stitch it up for you in the morning." Without another word Carlos left walking back inside house. I looked at looked.
"You can't do this. She's a little girl. She'll bleed out by the time you people are convinced." I said.
"I'm sorry. It's the best we're gonna get." He said, Clem grabbed my sleeve.
"It's okay. I'll be fine." She said. I was dumbfounded by her bravery. I hugged her then we went off toward the shed with Nick and Luke but Pete caught my arm.
"Not you. You'll stay with us. We need to talk about some things." He said
"If your putting her in that shed you damn well better put me in there too." I said pulling my arm from his grasp.
"I'm sorry but I need to talk to you, plus if she really is bitten by a lurker I don't want you in there when she turns."
"She won't, it was a dog! This is unfucking believable!" I shouted running a hand through my tangled wet hair.
"Just humour me," he asked pleadingly. I sighed and met his kind eyes that were lined from years of worry and stress.
"This is just a waste of time. You'll see. And when she turns, I ain't gonna be the one cleanin' up the shed." Rebecca said and the calm defeat I was being to feel left me in a instant. I spun to her getting extremely close to her face. Alvin, her husband tried to calm her down but she looked me dead in the eyes.
"You need to back the fuck off before I lose my shit, because believe me I've been real fucking nice up until now." I growled behind clenched teeth. I could feel them grinding and the the joint in my jaw began to ache. Rebecca didn't say anything just looked at me.
"Rebecca please just go inside. Let's not make this any harder than it has to be." With a huff Rebecca started toward the stairs Alvin helped her inside. She might have been gone but the rage was still boiling over. I buried both hands in my hair, breathing hard as I tried to calm down.
"You gonna be okay?" Pete asked I took in another breath and nodded.
"Just a need minute." I said closing my eyes and walked back and forth.
"Everything okay here?" I heard Luke asked. I turned and opened my eye. He and Nick had already locked Clementine away.
"Rebecca got in her face," Pete said. Luke grimaced then looked to me as he spoke.
"I'm real sorry about that, Rebecca, she uh," he rested a hand on the back of his neck. "She can be a handful."
"No kidding." Mumbled Nick.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much," said Pete. "Besides you didn't back down, in fact, I think she got a good verbal slap in the face just now." I gave him a light smile of victory. The three of us stood there for a minute. My eyes wandering off toward the shed looking at the dark wooden structure, my heart sank to think of Clem all alone in there.
"Are, are you bleeding?" Asked Nick with a surprising amount of concern, probably thought I was bitten too. I followed his eyes to the bloody wound on my arm.
"Oh yeah, would you believe me if I told you it was a scavenger who cut me? Or do I go in the shed now too?" That hit hard and I watched the saddens pass over the three. Nick looked away Pete frowned but Luke still looked at me, eye full of regret.
"We got to look out for our group. I'm sure you at lest understand that." I met Petes gaze. He was right, completely and had the situation been reversed I would be have been far worse.
"I do, I'm sorry," I said feeling the rain drip down the back of my coat as I hung my head down.
"Let's get you inside, Carlos can have a look," Luke said nodding toward the cabin. I looked over the large wooden house and it wasn't nearly as inviting as I would have hopped but without anything left to say I nodded and went inside with the others.
I was shepherd into a kitchen and sat down at a table. Carlos returned and asked me to take off my coat. I complied. He looked at the cut and told me it was not serious and agreed to treat me.
It took some convincing from Pete but I let him clean and close the wound. I hated that I was inside this house getting medical treatment I didn't need while Clementine was in the cold bleeding. Pete brought me upstairs through the small living space, he opened the door to a room at the end of the hall and left it open a crake. He nodded for me to sit down, I remained standing.
"Sit down before you fall down." Pete finally ordered and I looked at him sharply, arms crossed over my chest.
"You looked as white as the sheets, you're making me worried," Pete said and with a sigh, I let my arms drop to my side as I took a seat, Pete sitting down beside me. It took his all of three seconds before he started to ask me questions.
"So start from the beginning. What happened? Tell me everything that happened after I saw you the night we left?" He asked adjusting himself to better look at me.
"Once I saw you guys were clear in the woods I made my break for it. Once I was on the other side of the wall the herd started to swarm closer. I barely got past it. I couldn't make it to our meeting spot so I just got as far away from that place as I could. I was on my own for a long time. I met people here and there, no one I really stuck with. Only a few months back I met Clementine and a woman named Christa." I paused thinking back to that day.
"I was near dead when the found me, I hadn't had water for days. Had it not been for Clementine Christa would have just shot me and taken my gun. But Clem convinced her friend that I was worth the trouble. I owe my life to that little girl." A pit opened up in my stomach at the though of her being stuck in that shed. Then another though pressed into my mind. About how Rebecca had mentioned Carver.
"Do you think he's still looking? For us?" I asked feeling a sick realization come over me, I hadn't thought about Carver or his place since I first left.
"Yes. We had a run-in with a few of his scouts." He said and a painful memory shot through my head.
"I wouldn't have thought he'd care after we left. That we were out of his reach now." Pete shook his head as a sad look passed through his eyes.
"He wants us back, now more than ever. We broke his rules. We insulted him."
"We're in trouble if he ever finds us then."
"Let's hope he never does." He said and as he was about to ask another question the door to the room opened. Luke walked in with a pile of cloths in his arms.
"Here, Carols said these are too big for Sarah. He thought they might fit you." He said setting the cloths on a dresser. I nodded looking at the cloths, the ones I wore were still damp and cold.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." He said with a warm smile. He turned and looked at Pete. "We should call a house meeting." I looked up at him frantically. "Don't worry, we're just going to try and calm some people down."
"Any and all decisions have already been made," Pete said putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder as he stood up. I nodded taking a breath trying to relax a little.
"Try and get some rest till then. It's no use sitting here worrying yourself." Pete said before walking out of the room.
"You got no reason to worry, everything should be fine," Luke told me before walking out. Now alone in the room, I raced over to the window and pried at the waited chipped wood. It wouldn't budge, the layer of white paint had hardened keeping a sharp seal around the window. I walked back over to the dresser where the cloths had been placed. I sorted through them, I found a black t-shirt that looked like it had been stretched out. It had a gray and white logo in the center. Along with that was a gray sweatshirt, it was missing strings around the hood and the right sleeve had a tare at the elbow. I looked down at the shirt I wore now, the bottom was torn and frayed. It clung to my skin with the damp cold from the water. I took it off and pulled the new one over my head. It was nice to wear something dry and warm. Along with the sweat shirt, I felt better. My jeans were still soaked but I was warmer. I rifled through the room. There was a desk and inside one of the drawers was a black leather watch. I slid the drawer back into place leavening it be. I continued to look through the room and found a few piece of male clothing and a few rifle shells. I thought about taking some but there wasn't very many to start with, who ever these belonged would know some were missing. I pulled the door opened and looked down the hall, there was no one there. I started down the stairs as quietly as I could I was in the sitting area now. Cloths were sprawled out on the couch and there was a half-played game of chess on the table. I could hear hushed arguments coming from the kitchen where I had been stitched up. I crept closer to the door so that the voice soon became clearer. I pressed my ear against the wood door, putting my hands on the wall of either side so that I didn't push it open.
"I don't trust her, even if she is from Carvers. What if he sent her to find us?" I heard Rebecca said sternly.
"She's not. She helped us get out. She was supposed to come with is but was a separated by the herd." I heard Pete say, I was glad he made this clear.
"Whatever I need to pee," Rebecca said and I heard footsteps coming from the door and I jumped back and raced for the stairs but the second my hand touched the railing I hear her voice.
"What are you doing out here?" She asked, voice harsh and angry.
"No one told me I had to stay in that room," I said defensively.
"Well you're supposed to, so go." She said coming up to the stairs herself. I looked at her confused them remembered the bathroom was upstairs. I tracked up the stairs, Rebecca just behind me. She watched me go into the room and shut the door. I heard her shut the door and waited to hear the flushing of the toilet but I didn't. I heard nothing. Then seconds later the door slammed shut and I heard Rebecca heading back downstairs. I searched the room again when suddenly I heard the door open.