Carlos, Sarah, Alyssa, and Jackson then all climbed back into the car so that they could get to the house back in the woods quickly. Carlos just hoped that he wasn't making a big mistake by doing this. All in all, he just wanted safety and stability for his daughter, and hopefully with Jackson and Alyssa's help, they'd be able to establish those things. He didn't want to keep traveling on the road, not knowing where they were going. And even though all of this had only been going on for a few days, it didn't feel like it was going to stop anytime soon, and Carlos needed a place to stay for Sarah. "It ain't too far back." Jackson said, pulling Carlos out of his thoughts.
"What?" Carlos asked, looking back at the man as he drove.
"The house ain't too far away." Jackson repeated. "It's just a little deep in the woods."
"Okay." Carlos nodded and paid attention to the road. In his gut, he had a good feeling about this. They had another kid there, for Sarah to play with... They had food, shelter, and most importantly, they were safe from those things, and Sarah could rest easy knowing that.
Sarah sighed, "So, the other lady at your house... Is she nice too?" She asked Alyssa.
Alyssa nodded, "She is nice. Don't worry hon, you've got nothing to be afraid of."
"I just don't like mean people." Sarah explained.
Alyssa chuckled, "None of us are mean around here."
Sarah smiled back at the young woman, "Okay." They new group then continued to drive until Carlos saw a small house coming up in his vision. It was a very small house, made of wood, but it didn't look like a cabin. It looked quaint and cozy enough though, and big enough for everyone to stay there, and Carlos was more than thankful for that. "Your house is nice." Sarah commented as she took in these new surroundings. Of course, in the back of her mind, she was curious as to why they had to stay with strangers, and she made note of that to ask her dad about it later. They needed to have a serious talk, and soon.
Carlos parked his car and they all got out quickly, looking around to make sure that there were no walkers in sight. "Well, this is our home." Jackson said in a welcoming manner.
"Seems cozy." Carlos replied.
"Come on, I'll introduce you to Nikki and her son." Alyssa said, leading Carlos and Sarah into the house. "And then I'll show y'all where you'll be sleeping." The new group then entered the house, and Carlos was a little surprised as to how clean and nice that it looked. It seemed as if they still had power too, because Nikki and her son were sitting in the living room watching a movie.
"Oh, you're back." Nikki said as she stood up from the couch. She was a very pale woman with black hair, and a round face and body. Sarah thought that she looked friendly. "And I see you've brought some company." She said, looking down at Sarah. "Hi sweetie, what's your name?" She asked.
"I'm Sarah." The teen girl answered shyly.
"I'm Nikki." The new woman introduced herself. "And over there's my son, Trevor. He'll be happy he has someone else to play with." She gestured over to the sofa to where Trevor was sitting. He was of mixed complexion, and had dark brown hair. Sarah didn't know if she'd get along with him or not. "Trevor, come over here and say hi." Nikki ordered, and he got off the sofa. "This is Sarah, and..." She looked over at Carlos.
"Carlos." He answered in reply.
"Hi." Trevor said smiling slightly.
"Sarah, why don't you and Trevor go play?" Carlos suggested.
"Okay daddy." She obliged and the two went over to watch the movie that played on the screen.
"Nice to meet you." Nikki said to Carlos.
"You too." Carlos nodded. "I'm glad Jackson and Alyssa brought us here."
Nikki sighed, "Me too. The world really is going to hell."
"Okay, okay, y'all can talk later." Alyssa interrupted. "I'll show you your room Carlos." She said, and led the hispanic man up the stairs to one of the guest bedrooms. "That's mine and Jackson's room." She said gesturing to one of the doors. "That's Nikki's room, and this will be your room." She stopped in front of a closed door. "I hope you guys really like it here."
"Thank you really." Carlos said. "I will try to be as much of a help as I can."
"Oh, don't worry about that." She waved off. "Jackson and I, we just like helping folks."
"Well thank you anyway." Carlos said again.
"Alright, I'm gonna go get started on dinner." She smiled, and headed back down the stairs with Carlos following behind her. His eyes immediately landed on his daughter, who was sitting cross legged in the floor, watching the movie. Trevor was sitting beside her and he was engrossed in the television as well.
"How old is your girl?" Nikki asked out of nowhere, approaching Carlos on the steps.
"She's twelve." He answered. "And your son?"
"Ten." Nikki sighed. "It's a shame, really, they have to go though all this."
"What do you tell him?" Carlos asked.
"I tell him that there are bad things in the world, and there is nothing you can do about it..." She explained. "And of course he has questions, but what can you tell him?"
"I know that feeling." Carlos sighed.
"Let's just hope this all blows over soon... I had a house here nearby, but we had to leave because of those things." Nikki said. "Jackson said you came from the city, and lost your wife... Must be hard losing folks."
"Yeah, well, I just want to keep Sarah safe." Carlos answered. "What happened to Trevor's dad?"
Nikki laughed, "He's been out of the picture for a while."
"Sorry to hear that." Carlos said.
"Daddy! You've got to come watch this movie!" Sarah almost yelled, getting up and running over to her dad.
"Okay sweetie, I'm coming."