Chapter 43: Parents and Cannibals.
"Okay, be careful," Austin helped Ally down the porch steps, and her grip tightened on his wrists. She was firmly pressed against his chest, and he was guiding her back to their cabin. After a few days of bed rest, and emotional conversations with her family, she was ready to move back into the cabin.
She could see Jess, Nevil and Billy playing outside one of the cabins, and Dean was sat down on the cabin steps, holding Nathan. She had been overwhelmed when they were allowed to come and see her. The three of them had cried, whilst Nathan rested on her chest.
Austin hadn't left her side, and she was glad. He would lay in bed with her, being careful of her stomach, but he'd hold her against his chest, and bury his face into the crook of her neck. It made her feel safe, and she was just glad Craig was dead and gone.
They slowly made their way down the embankment, and over to their cabin. Jess, Nevil, Billy, and Dean spotted them, and made their way over. Ally smiled at them all, and Austin walked her into their bedroom, and sat her down on their bed.
"Mama, are you all better now?" Jess asked, curling her fingers around the teddy bear in her arms.
"I'm all better now," She replied, and kissed her forehead.
"Are we gonna' go swimming?" Nevil asked, jumping up and down.
"Your mama needs rest," Austin said.
"But, I promise we will go soon," She assured them, and Dean handed Nathan to Austin. "Why don't you go back outside and play with the others."
"Okay," The three of them left, and Ally thanked Dean for watching Nathan, and he soon left. Ally looked up at Austin, who was rubbing the back of his neck.
"What's wrong?" She asked, and she brushed her fingertips against Nathan's rosy cheek.
"Wayne's asked me to go on a supply run. We need some more medical supplies-"
"You can go. You've taken care of me well enough. I'll be fine," She flashed him a smile, then he crouched down in front of her.
"The last time I left you alone, you got stabbed," He whispered.
"He's dead...I promise you. I'm going to put Nathan down for a nap, then I'm going to go to sleep myself. I'll be here when you get back," She explained, and he rested his forehead against hers.
"I wanted you to tell me not to go," Ally kissed him quickly on the lips, then smiled.
"I know you did, but the rest of our family needs you-"
"But-"
"Austin, I'm not going to let my injury stop you from doing what you normally do...go, I'll see you when you get back," She kissed him again, and Austin cupped the back of her head, deepening the kiss. He pulled away, then kissed her forehead.
"Once you're all better, we're going to really work this new bed in," He smirked, and Ally giggled.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
...
They pulled up outside the pharmacy. Austin smiled as he remembered this was where he and Ally had first kissed, then met Nevil. He got out of the car with Dez, and they glanced through the pharmacy windows. It was all clear, and Dez went in first. They did one quick sweep of the pharmacy, then placed their bags on the counter.
"Have you got the list?" Austin asked, and Dez pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket.
"Is Ally doing okay now?"
"Yeah, she's doing great," Austin replied with a smile, and they both walked down one of the aisles.
"I'm glad you killed Craig. I would've done it myself," Dez said, and Austin nodded his head. "He deserved it...I've got a feeling Michelle might be next."
"Jaime's mom?" Austin questioned, as he rummaged through the shelves.
"Yeah. I've seen Jaime giving her the evil eye for some time now. I feel like she might lose it," He explained.
"It wouldn't surprise me. Ally told me that she was as crap as mom's could get, and I know what is like to have a shit parent," Austin muttered.
"Same here," Dez glanced at the list, and he searched the shelves. "Are pregnancy vitamins on the list?"
"No," Austin said. "But grab them anyway. Sarah will need them."
Dez returned to the counter with some boxes of pills. He put them in his bag.
CRASH!
Austin walked up next to Dez, and stared at the back door. Austin pulled his crossbow off his back and loaded up a bolt. Dez pulled out his gun, then walked over to the back door, and rested his hand against the handle.
He looked back at Austin, and he nodded his head. Dez opened the door, and Austin walked out, his crossbow raised. He immediately froze when he saw the two people standing by the dumpster.
"Mom...dad."
...
Ally's eyes fluttered open, and she could hear Nathan stirring in his makeshift crib. She slowly got out of bed, wincing slightly. She padded over to the box, and picked Nathan up.
"Are you hungry, sweetie?" She asked, and he cooed in response.
Ally walked out of her bedroom, and into the kitchen. She immediately saw the blood, which had stained the wooden floor. She swallowed the lump in the back of her throat, and focused on making Nathan his bottle.
Once she was done. She walked out onto the porch, and saw a rocking chair. She sat down, and cradled Nathan in her arms. She placed the bottle in his mouth, and he began to suck on it. He kept bringing his hands up to grab the bottle, but he didn't have a strong enough grip.
Ally began to slowly rock backwards and forwards. She glanced over to the barn, and saw all the children sat on a blanket playing. Billy looked over and waved at her, and she smiled back.
"I thought you need to get some sleep?" Grace appeared and leaned against the wooden railings.
"Nathan needs his bottle," She replied.
"I would've done it," Grace retorted, and Ally glanced at Erica in her arms.
"I think you've already got you hands full," Ally nodded at Erica, and Grace smiled.
"If you ever need any help, you know where to find me."
"Thank you," Ally watched Grace walk off, and she smiled to herself.
She began to hum a soft tune to Nathan, and she felt herself relax. Her wound was now numb, the pain had been pushed to the back of her mind. It wasn't that bad, but it was still apparent if she moved to drastically.
Ally looked over at the farmhouse, and she could see Frederick talking to Tess. He was clearly unable to wipe the smile from his face, happy that he was back on his farm. Ally knew that it had been hard for him to abandon the place which he had grew up on, and had been passed down his family for generations. She was glad he was happy, and she was glad she was back on the farm, a place she could call home.
She heard the sound of an engine, and after a few minutes she could see Austin walking up to the farmhouse. She stopped rocking on the chair when she saw two new people standing behind him.
Austin began to talk to Frederick, and he pointed down to where everyone else was by their cabins. Austin began to make his way down with Dez, and the two new people behind them. Ally watched on in curiosity, and Austin came to a stop in front of Wayne, who was by the barn.
Ally saw the stress, and the slight anger on Austin's face, and she immediately wanted to race over and see if he was okay. He shifted his crossbow on his back, then he turned around to talk to the two new people.
Ally shifted her gaze to Nathan, and he was continuing to suck on the bottle. She heard the wood creak on the porch steps, and she looked up to see Austin was standing there. His shoulders were slumped forward, and he dropped his crossbow on the ground.
"W-What's wrong?" Ally stammered, and she got to her feet, and walked over to him.
"Here, let me take Nathan," Sarah appeared out of nowhere, and took Nathan from her arms. She walked off giving him his bottle.
"What's going on?" She asked, and Austin reached out and pulled her against his chest. She winced slightly, then Austin wrapped his strong arms around her. He buried his face into the crook of her neck, and she gripped the back of his top. "Austin, what's wrong? Who are the two new people?"
"My parents," He whispered, and Ally pulled away, reaching up to cup his face.
"Seriously?" He nodded his head. "Are you okay?" He paused, then shook his head. Ally pulled him in for another hug, and she rubbed a soothing hand up and down his back.
Ally kissed his shoulder, then the side of his head. She moved, and rested her forehead against his. She moved her hands up his chest, and placed them on the sides of his neck.
"I thought you were sleeping?" He questioned.
"Nathan woke up and needed his bottle," She whispered, and she brushed the strands of hair away from his face. "Now, I want to meet your parents, and maybe have a very stern word with you dad," She stepped around him, but Austin reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"Ally don't," He growled.
"Why not?" She asked. "Austin, I want to meet them," She shook her wrist out of his hold, and she began to walk over to where they were talking to Wayne.
She glanced back and saw Austin running a hand through his hair, then he began to follow her. She walked up to them and Austin's mom turned to look at her. Ally stood next to Wayne, and he sighed.
"Ally, back to bed," He scolded.
"I'm fine. Nathan needed to be fed, so I woke up and gave him his bottle," She explained, and Austin appeared next to her. "Hi, I'm Ally," She held out her hand towards Austin's mom, and she glanced at Austin.
"This is Ally," Austin said, and she shook her hand.
"I'm Mimi," She smiled, and Austin cleared his throat.
"Ally is my...wife," His dad's head whipped in her direction, and Mimi immediately let go of her hand.
"Your what?" His dad asked, his voice sharp.
"I'm his wife," Ally said, and moved into Austin's side.
"Your kidding, right?" Mimi asked, and she glanced at Austin's dad. "Mike, he's joking, right?"
Ally glanced at Mike to see his face was scrunched up in...disgust. "I just thought I'd come over and meet you," Ally squeaked.
"I see you picked the first whore you could find," Mike growled.
"Whore!?" Ally shrieked, and Wayne reached out and grabbed the front of Mike's shirt. He pulled him close to his face, and narrowed his eyes at him.
"Listen here, Mike! I'm in charge around here. If you call my niece a whore, ever again! I will kill you quicker than you can blink, understand!" Mike slowly nodded his head, and Wayne released his shirt.
"You can't be married," Mimi said.
"And why not!?" Ally snapped, and Austin's hold tightened around her waist.
"He's not-"
"He's not what? Man enough? Capable enough? I'll have you know he is the best man I've ever met. Yeah, he has his faults, but so does everyone else! He's the best dad he could ever be to his three children! He's the capable Uncle to another! You can leave right now if you think I'm going to let you disrespect him like that!"
"Hm," Mike mused and Ally crossed her arms.
"Daddy," Jess came walking up holding a bunch of flowers in her hand. "Look what I found," She beamed up at him, her smile wide and bright. She held up the flowers, and Austin picked her up. "Look mama, they're really pretty."
"This is the type of child you've taken in," Mike grumbled. "Are you that desperate."
"Leave, now!" Austin yelled, and Jess jumped.
"Who's the scary man?" Jess whimpered, tears in her eyes.
"Why are you crying?" Nevil appeared, and he pulled on Jess's leg, and she pointed at Mike. Nevil pulled out his machete knife and he ran towards Mike. Wayne reached out and grabbed him by the back of his collar. "Let me go! He made Jess cry!"
"We're dealing with it," Wayne said, and he pushed Nevil behind him. "Let's get some things straight. We're all a family, every single one of us are family. We take people in, people who deserve it, but if you think for one second that I'm going to let you stay with us, you've got another thing coming. You can leave right now, because I'm not going to let you disrespect my family, especially when I'm standing right here!"
"Okay...we're sorry," Mimi whispered.
"I don't think I quite believe you," Wayne hissed.
"It's a shock for us...Austin never gave any interest in getting married and having children," Mimi explained.
"Things have changed," Austin said.
"You two can stay for one night, then tomorrow I want you gone," Wayne spoke sternly, then Mimi nodded her head.
...
"Hey Jaime, where are you going?" Lizzy stepped out of the trees, and Jaime looked over at her.
"Are you following me?"
"Nope," She sung, and smiled innocently. "My mama said to find something to do."
"I think you should head back, I've heard that you got lost in the woods before," Jaime said.
"That was one time," She grumbled. "I'm bored."
"I'm sorry Lizzy, but I'm busy," Jaime apologized, and Lizzy pouted.
"But-"
"Lizzy go back," Jaime ordered. "It's not safe."
Lizzy tutted, but she soon left. Jaime sighed, and she carried on walking. She kept thinking about where she was going, and her main thought was why? It was all to do with the dream she had, had last night. It was of her time with the cannibals...the things she had seen, but she wasn't sure why she was heading there now.
She knew their base camp was nearby, she remembered this part of the woods like the back of hand. She just needed to see if they were still there, whether they were a threat to the group.
She kept on going. She kept on walking, until she noticed the sun was beginning to set. Jaime stopped, and she looked around, maybe she didn't know the woods so well. It definitely wasn't this far away from the farm. Maybe she was lost. She didn't know, but she remembered the clearing she could see ahead of her.
She was dazed, her mind flooding with memories of what had happened when the cannibals had kidnapped her. She froze again in the middle of the clearing. She felt a shiver shoot down her neck. Someone was watching her.
That was when she remembered. She kicked herself for ever forgetting it. The cannibals had always caught their victims by hunting them. She had made that mistake last time, and she was pretty sure she had just made that mistake again.
She swallowed the lump in the back of her throat. She should never have left the farm, but she wanted to know if they were still around. She had her answer now.
A deep chuckle tore through the air.
"I thought you learnt your lesson the first time," Jaime slowly turned around, and her eyes landed on him. "I see you're back at the farm, and you brought more fresh meat with you...a lot of children...a lot of tasty women."
Jaime gritted her teeth.
"What nothing to say? I let you get away last time, I'm not going to be so careless ever again...shame...I did want to taste you."
"What?"
"I can't have you running back to your friends."
BANG!
Jaime's eyes slammed shut, but she never felt the bullet got through her. She opened her eyes slowly, and all she could see was the back of someone's shirt. Then she realized who it was.
Gregory.
"NO!" Jaime screamed, and she caught his body as he fell. She collapsed to the ground, clutching onto him. "No, no, no, no, no."
His eyes were closed, and his skin was covered in blood and sweat. She cried out, and looked to see he was gone. She glanced back at Gregory, then quickly took off her jacket, pressing it onto the bullet wound.
"HELP!" Jaime screeched. "HELP!"
Groaning filled her ears, and she looked to see creepers were heading over in their direction. She shook her head, crying out. She couldn't leave him. She had to do something. But she just sat their clutching onto him, and the creepers began to come into the clearing. Blood seeped through her fingers, and she whimpered.
She didn't know what to do.
AN: I'm back, and I hope this was worth the wait. This is leading up to my final major plot line, then Salvation will be coming to an end, which I'm sad about, because I enjoy writing it, but I will give you guys a heads up when this story is around three chapters away from finishing :)
Thank you for all your love and support. All your reviews made me smile for the last chapter, and I hope you review this one. I'm not going to be giving away what's going to happen anymore, because I want things to be a surprise :)
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