The home looked perfect, which is why Carol didn't trust it. Everything in her wanted to see what was really underneath this neat, calm exterior, and she frowned up at the front of the home as though it might suddenly divulge its secrets.
"Don't like the color? Everything is a little bland around here, I suppose." Eric's voice startled her and she turned with a small jump. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He held up his hands as though to ward her off.
"It's hard to get used to, not needing to be so jumpy." Carol shrugged, "The color is fine. The house is just one more thing to get used to. I can't remember the last time we stayed anywhere for more than a night, it's been a while."
She glanced at him again, wondering. It was her part of the group that had found him after he used his flare gun, and they helped get him out from beneath that rusted up car. He was certainly looking better now that he had medical care and rest. "Can I help you with something? Shouldn't you be staying off that ankle for a while yet?"
He shrugged, "It wasn't far to walk. We're just four houses down that way." He pointed down the block, "Aaron went out to hunt for a while, and asked if I would stop by and see how you were all settling in. We feel a little responsible since we're the ones who brought you in."
"Are you responsible for us?" Carol frowned, "What happens if you bring in someone who doesn't fit? Aaron said that we were supposed to audition, but has anyone ever failed?"
Eric looked thoughtful for a moment, "We had a few people who didn't fit in a while back; caused trouble for the rest of the community. Deanna sent them away."
She nodded, "Well, we hope we fit in. It's nice here, peaceful in a way that we haven't seen in a long time. I wouldn't want to have trouble if we have a period of adjustment."
"I think that everyone here would recognize that it's inevitable for there to be adjustment. For us too; you bring in new ideas on how to survive. It's one of the reasons we wanted to recruit your group. You know how to get by out there, and the people here? Most don't. Most don't even understand why Aaron and I made certain requests for supplies when we'd be out on the road for days." He shaded his eyes and looked back down the road, toward the wall. "Most of the people here wouldn't live for very long without those walls, and their unwillingness to change is just as thick as that steel."
"You want us to help get through to them; show them that they have to change if they want to live." Carol nodded. "I think that might be inevitable. We can't afford to get weak, no matter how safe this place seems."
"Good. Aaron and I have worried for a long time. We even thought about leaving on our own for a while." Eric frowned, "We see so many Roamers out there and somehow they never seem to mass at our walls, not in the numbers we've seen on the road. They have to be going somewhere. One day it will be here and there won't be any place to run."
Carol's eyes narrowed and she regarded him with a little more respect. "You have given this some thought." She glanced down the street, "With your injury, it can't be easy getting around and taking care of things at your house. How about I walk back there with you, and help? We can talk more there, where no one else will wander by and hear."