Back at the apartment building Marie and Matthew sat alone in the girls' place, not sure of what to do. Matthew looked at the radio on the table and after thinking about it for a few minutes, he got an idea.
"Maybe I could be a DJ?"
"What?" asked Marie, "how?"
"Del has control over the radio station that broadcasts on the frequency all of our radios listen on" said Matthew. "If I ask him, maybe he'll let me use the frequency to play music from Tori's iPod or something. Just on the weekends for a few hours."
Marie smiled and turned towards him in her seat. "That would be awesome. I'd like to hang out at the station with you if he lets you do that."
"Sure thing" said Matthew, turning a little red in the cheeks. "How come we never hung out before all this?"
"I don't know. Probably because we used to tug-of-war with Tori on who got to spend more time with her and who was her real best friend."
"Yeah, look how that turned out" Matthew joked, laughing at the thought of Tori finally having a girlfriend. "I'm really glad she's happy."
"Me too" said Marie. "And what perfect timing." She laid sideways on the couch, putting her head in Matthew's lap and getting comfortable. Matthew put his arm over her shoulders and smiled, staying still so she would be comfortable.
They sat like that for maybe half an hour before there was a knock on the door. Before Matthew could get up Dom came in quietly, shutting the door softly behind him to muffle the click. He saw that Marie was sleeping and didn't want to wake her. Matthew looked up at Dom, wondering why he'd come back when he said he was probably going to turn in early. Dom took a knee by the edge of the table.
"I think if we're going to scavenge some things we're gonna have to do it by cover of darkness" said Dom. "They seem to like getting their hands in everyone's cookie jar as often as possible so I'm sure there's a rule that says you can't scavenge the houses in the city."
"Do you want to go now, then?" asked Matthew.
"Yeah. I got the radios ready and everything, just need you to change into something darker."
"Alright." Matthew slipped off the couch and picked Marie up in his arms, carrying her to her room so he could tuck her in. Marie's room was clean for the most part, aside from the bunches of clothes all over the place. Matthew stepped over everything he could see so he wouldn't trip and laid Marie in her bed, grabbing the covers and pulling them up to her chest. He made sure she was secure and wouldn't fall off the bed before turning to leave and Marie grabbed his arm, pulling him down to her. She kissed him lightly on the lips, hovering for a second before wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Be careful, OK?"
"Always" said Matthew.
Dom led the way out of the apartment building towards the direction they came. The detour cut off some major roads that looked like they held some nice sized houses and that's where Dom figured they would find some stuff. The night sky was very dark, much darker than they ever remembered it being before the conflict. The absence of electricity in all of the cities around them cut out light pollution almost one hundred percent, and the stars shined brightly overhead. They turned the last corner of the Wanagi town line and quickly had to find a place to hide. Three cars, very quiet ones, filed one after the other down a street that was blocked off for the detour. They casually drove around the barricade and off into the blackness almost as if they were trained wheelmen. Dom turned to Matthew and back to the cars until their tail lights couldn't be seen anymore.
"What do you think that was about?" asked Dom.
"Your guess is as good as mine, but I think speculation in this situation is dangerous."
"Good point. Let's go."
They decided to backtrack and go the opposite direction instead of following the cars, hoping that they wouldn't run into anymore on their journey. The first house they came to was a big red brick place with white columns holding up an awning over the front entrance. Dom waved Matthew over and they checked the side of the house for unlocked windows, getting lucky on the first one. Dom pushed it open and Matthew hoisted him up, then headed back around front since Dom unlocked the front door. The inside of the house didn't look as great as the outside but it was obvious this place wasn't looted. Papers were scattered across the floor and the hallway closet was mostly in the hallway itself, but these were signs of a family looking to leave quickly, not of scavengers looking for valuables.
The living room held a forty inch flatscreen that Dom figured he'd be able to carry himself. He picked it up and tested the weight, pleasantly surprised at the lightness of it. The cords were all present so he wrapped them around front and left the TV so he could scour the rest of the place. Matthew headed upstairs and started checking bedrooms, stepping on DVD cases on his way into one of them. He guessed the first one must have been a teenage boy's room due to the pictures of girls on the walls as well as some bands. There were still clothes hanging in the closet so Matthew grabbed a hoodie and tried it on, smiling when he realized they were the same size. He grabbed a workout bag from the floor and filled it up with hoodies and t-shirts then zipped it and threw the strap over his shoulder. On the way out his flashlight skipped over an Xbox 360 and a mountain of games, and he knew instantly that he couldn't leave it behind. He pulled the bag to his front and unzipped it, stuffing the console and all of its accessories inside before zipping it again and readjusting.
Dom checked the kitchen and found a lot of food still left. A ton of junk food, cluing him into the teenager whose room Matthew had just raided, but also a lot of canned stuff that would last them a while. He unzipped the bag he brought with him and filled it up with everything he could find, including some of the drinks in the fridge. Matthew appeared next to him and signaled that the house was clear and he had grabbed what was worth it so they headed back into the living room to grab the TV. Matthew took Dom's bag and tucked it over his other shoulder, trying to find balance with two bulging dufflebags pulling him down. Dom stood with his back to the TV and wrapped the cables around his waist and shoulders, tucking them into his pants and tightening his belt so would have a little leniency with the weight. When they were ready he hoisted the TV up onto his back and scooped his arms under the bottom, heading for the front door to go back home.
Luckily, they didn't encounter anyone on the way back. By the time they got back to their apartment Dom nearly dropped the TV onto the living room floor, ecstatic to be rid of the extra bulk. After a bit of a rest he lifted the TV onto the empty stand and plugged it in. To his relief the panel flickered on and snowed due to no cable connection. Matthew dropped his bags by the door as he was equally winded with the heaviness of canned food and electronics.
"Now we just have to get a DVD player or something to plug into it" said Dom.
"Way ahead of you bro" said Matthew, pulling the Xbox out of his bag with the games and controllers.
"Nice going, looks like we picked the right house."
"As long as no one comes snooping we should be fine" said Matthew, putting the game console onto the TV stand shelf and feeding the cords through the hole in the back. "I wonder what they would do if they found this stuff in here."
"I would just tell them that we had it in the trunk of Tori's car. We scavenged it from a supermarket we stopped at before we made it here and we grabbed the TV since we were thinking of settling down somewhere for a while." Dom carried the games over to the shelf and stacked them up then plugged the controllers into the console to charge.
"Hopefully they go for that cause I really don't want to see what Del's idea of justice is."
Diana walked around the lower levels of the YMCA, looking for the girl Sarah she had met earlier on work detail. It was late so most of the kids had gone home but a few still remained in the lounge areas. A sign on the door said the hours were eight until ten, and it was well after that so Diana assumed that they were just a guideline and sometimes they were bent either way. She reached the end of the hall and looked to her left, noticing a smaller room tucked into the corner that had a bunch of bright multicolored items in it. She heard laughter so she headed in that direction to see what was going on. Sarah was playing with a bunch of different colored foam blocks with letters and numbers on the sides, apparently trying to teach some of the younger kids how to spell basic words. Diana entered the room quietly and sat on the couch against the wall and watched.
It only took a minute for Sarah to realize she was there and stand up, letting the kids she was watching reign free over the toys within their reach.
"Hey, I was wondering if you would show up" said Sarah.
"Yeah I ran into some kids at the park on the way in, took me a minute to get through."
Sarah made a face and picked up some of the blocks. "It's best to go the other way and avoid the park if you can. A lot of the kids there are no good."
"So I noticed. I don't see any of those people in the apartment building, so where do they stay?" asked Diana.
"There's another building like yours behind here and to the...right." Sarah looked around pointed. "Yeah, right. It's already full though since it was the first one to open when the town got started."
"Is that where you stay?"
"Yep."
"And all these bad kids, they just congregate in the park?"
Diana watched Sarah pick up the rest of the toys in the room and put them all in a box in the corner then shut the lid. The younger kids crawled around and chased each other until someone showed up in the doorway. Two of them ran to the woman and Sarah waved, making Diana assume that she was the childrens' mother. Sarah picked up the last kid and set him on a chair by the door, turning back to face Diana.
"Mostly. My sister tells me they are bad people and they just sit around do drugs and stuff all day. I see them smoking a lot and sometimes they have bottles of alcohol, and people always wonder where they get it. I heard they have scouts that leave town to go scavenge nearby areas."
Diana raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Do they now?"
"Yeah but it's against the rules. Del says once you're in town you should leave the scavenging to them. He doesn't like people leaving town and coming back."
"Interesting" said Diana. "And what happens if you do leave and come back and you get caught?"
"I heard they take the stuff you found, or make you pay to keep it. Something about the items from the surrounding areas going to help everyone in the town, not just whoever wants to go out and take it."
"I'll have to remember that."
Sarah wiped down the bigger toys with a disinfectant cloth and stacked them in the corner by the toy box. Diana watched and eventually heard a couple more female voices coming their way from down the hall. The two women entered the room and one of them ducked to pick up the little boy in the chair, kissing him all over and squeezing him before setting him back down so she could talk to Sarah.
"Thanks for staying late, kid. I owe you."
"No problem, Darc. Have a good night."
The woman left with her son and that left Sarah and Diana as the last ones, along with the dark skinned girl that waited by the door.
"You ready to go, Sarah?" the new girl asked.
"Yeah, just a sec. Cora this is Diana, Diana this is my sister Cora."
"Nice to meet you" said Diana, extending her arm for a handshake. Cora stepped forward and took it and shook with a smile on her face.
"You too. So how did you meet Sarah?"
"Work detail. We were cleaning up the same house today."
"I see. I like her working with responsible people, someone that will look after her you know" said Cora. "I know she doesn't really need it since she's smart and pretty self sufficient but I like to have eyes around just in case she gets lumped with any of the riff raff from the park."
Diana nodded her head and looked over at Sarah, watching her write something down on a notepad and then close it and lay the pen on top. She looked so small and fragile, she wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight against any of those kids.
"OK, I'm ready. Thanks for stopping in, Diana. I'll probably see you at work on Monday if I don't see you before that." Sarah checked her watch before they headed out of the room, counting on her fingers. "Lights will go out in a few minutes so make sure you're out before then. Don't wanna get locked in in the dark."
"Alright kiddo, be good" said Diana.
Cora smiled and nodded a goodbye as they left the room. Diana explored the building a little before she left, taking a right out of the door instead of a left to see what was at the other end of the hallway. The teen room was a couple doors down and much bigger than the room she had just left. It had two billiards tables, a ping pong table and a few couches and chairs scattered here and there. The clock on the wall read two minutes to eleven so Diana high tailed it to the front door, wanting to get out before the hallways got dark and she got lost. She passed the pool on her way out and noticed it even had a slide. The group would have to get some use out of that during the summer.
Back at the apartment Diana slipped inside quietly since the lights were off. She kicked off her shoes and tiptoed to the bedroom, noticing Tori was already in bed. She changed, a little difficultly, in the dark and then got into bed. Tori stretched and rolled over so she was facing Diana, reaching out and laying a calming hand on her hip. Diana took a deep breath and closed her eyes, snuggling in close to Tori for warmth and comfort. It had been a long day and all she wanted was to be in Tori's arms, and lucky for her, that was exactly what she got.
The next morning Tori woke up first, as usual. She set out into the kitchen and grabbed water and an apple before sitting back down on the couch, staring at the floors and the walls since there was nothing else to do. She ate her apple slowly, reflecting on everything that had happened in the past week. Meeting Diana. Learning of the conflict. The explosion on the way back from Diana's. The car bomb. The man on the side of the road. The bridge full of bodies. The packed highway where the man was killed in his car. The boys in the supermarket. So many things had happened in such a short amount of time, big things that really pulled on them emotionally and physically. Tori was tired and it had only been a week. She shook her head and blew out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding, perking up when there was a knock at the door. She got up and unlocked the deadbolt, opening the door to reveal a freshly showered Dom standing in the hallway.
"Hey Tor, anyone else up?" asked Dom.
"Nope, just me. What's up?"
"We went out last night" said Dom, leaning in so he could talk more quietly. "You should come over and hang out."
"I would," said Tori, "but I have to work. Remember?"
"Ah, that's right. Well come by later when you get out and hang with us if you want."
"Sure, I'll see you later."
Tori finished getting ready for work and headed to the produce stand to open up. The streets were calm and almost completely dead since the field, cleanup and construction details didn't work on weekends. The produce stands were open every day under order from the Honovi, as well as the shops, but that was mostly because the owners wanted to make money. Tori reached the storefront and unlocked the door with the key she'd been given by Ralph, stepping inside to prop the door open. She heard a low rumbling sound and thought it might be another car so she looked out towards the street, realizing the sound was coming from behind her. She looked around inside the store and found Ralph sleeping on the floor behind the counter.
"Ralph, wake up" she said. "It's morning. Why aren't you at home?"
Ralph stirred and came to, wiping sleep from his eyes and coughing. "Well I was doing inventory last night and I just got so tired, I didn't think I'd be able to make it home."
"Do you want me to help you to your place before I open up? I don't want you to have to try to stumble home on your own." Tori noticed a paper bag on the ground next to where Ralph was sleeping and picked it up.
"I'll have that" he said, reaching for the bag. Glass pieces clanked together and Tori realized they were alcohol bottles.
"So you got drunk and couldn't manage to make your way back, is that it?" asked Tori, her hands on her hips.
"Now don't look at me like that" said Ralph, setting his bag on top of the counter and making his way to the closest produce table. "You know as well as I do that I'm dying, I'm just trying to have some fun before I go. Now help me move these tables."
Matthew was sitting on the couch playing a game when someone knocked on the door. He paused and looked over at Dom, wondering if it could be someone from the tribe. Dom looked through the peep hole and waved Matthew on, telling him there wasn't a threat. Marie and Diana stepped inside and stopped in their tracks, admiring the new TV and games they boys had acquired.
"Busy night last night?" asked Marie, a wicked smile in pointed in Matthew's direction.
Matthew smiled but didn't take his eyes off the game. "Yeah well, gotta keep ourselves occupied you know."
When everyone was sitting down and comfortable Diana cleared her throat to talk. She decided to tell them what happened the night before with Tori and the kids at the park, wondering if maybe one of them would have a different perspective on the situations.
"Last night when we tried to get Tori's iPod out of the car a guard stopped us and was harassing us pretty hard."
Matthew paused the game and Dom looked up from the Atlas he'd scavenged from the rest stop. Marie turned in her seat to face Diana and tilted her head, waiting for Diana to continue.
"He wanted proof the car was ours and he wanted to see ID, but Tori didn't have it on her." Diana smiled at the next part of her memory. "She got pretty confrontational with the guard."
"Sounds about right" said Marie. "Did she get herself in trouble?"
"He called Del in his radio and told him what was happening and then said Tori had to go with him. I tried to go too but she waved me off, saying that she would be able to take care of it."
"Still sounds right" said Matthew.
"I'm not sure what happened with her after that. I went to the YMCA to look for someone I met during work detail, and I happened to pass the park on my way there. The kids were all shady and looked like they were looking for trouble. Some of them had alcohol and they were smoking, and by the looks of some of them it wasn't just cigarettes."
"Maybe they are with the scary militia that Del and his guards are so worried about" said Tori.
"Where did they get their hands on that stuff?" asked Dom. "And wait, what about this militia?"
"No idea, but when I tried to pass they stopped me and one of them got in my face. I told them I just wanted to keep going but the supposed leader of the group grabbed my arm."
Matthew's expression turned dark and Dom's eyes went cold. "Did he hurt you?" asked Dom.
"No, I twisted his arm to make him let go of me and was about to run, but some Honovi woman came up behind me and told me to go. I didn't ask any questions and took off but it looked like the kids were worried about what she could do."
"Tori?" Dom directed his attention right at her, hoping to get an answer besides a haphazard guess.
"Del's guard said something them having militia activity around here lately" said Tori. "I don't know what he meant by it specifically but I do know when I said something to Del he didn't seem pleased."
Dom shook his head at the news and delinquent kids in their immediate area, and the possible threat of militia intervention. Of course Chicago was rampant with criminals before the conflict but their world was a much different place now. Any situation could turn deadly in the blink of an eye and every person with criminal intent became that much more dangerous. Desperation and survival instinct hiked up the probability of being harmed in some way during every waking moment. Matthew thought hard about what Diana had said since it struck a chord in his memory but he couldn't put his finger on it, and after a little thinking he gave up and unpaused his game, going back to shooting whatever was in front of him.
"Are you OK?" asked Marie, looking at Diana for signs of trauma.
"I'm fine, I was just a little shaken up by it last night. I didn't really expect it even though I should have."
"If we avoid that area I'm sure we won't have to deal with it again. If you need anything let me know, OK?" Marie smiled and Diana couldn't help but give her a hug.
"Hey Matty, save that and come with me" said Dom. He disappeared into his bedroom and came out a minute later as Matthew was turning off the TV. "Girls, why don't you head over to the produce stand and see Tori for a bit. Keep her company."
"Why, where are you going?" asked Diana.
"Just to scope out some shortcuts for our scavenging activities. We left in the dark last night but I think if we look around a bit we can shorten our trips next time."
The girls got up and headed next door to put their shoes on and grab a light sweatshirt, waving on their way out. Matthew shut the door behind them and turned to his big brother with one eyebrow raised in skepticism.
"Where are we really going?"
Dom smirked. "Can't put one past you, can I?"
"No you can't. Now what's the deal?"
"We're going to pay a visit to the park and have a chat with these local kids."
It was still early, around eleven in the morning, but it was the weekend so Dom assumed that the kids would be at the park. He and Matthew set out with a solid purpose; show the local kids who they need to stay away from to make sure their group stays safe. They didn't run into too many people on the way there since a lot of the citizens were sleeping in or relaxing at home. Before they reached the final corner to the park they heard the loud laughter of the kids and skateboards clicking off and onto the ground, alerting them that their target was indeed present.
Dom crossed the street with his hands in his pockets, Matthew following closely by his side. The park area looked like it may have once been a nice place to bring your family and spend some time outside. The area was large enough for something like a farmer's market, something that they both could safely assume happened regularly before the conflict. Now, the area was covered in graffiti and the stone benches were chipped from skateboarders. Trash littered the ground as well as broken glass in some areas. Cigarette butts, broken bottles and baggies pushed up against the fence on the far side, showing the boys in which area the group they were looking for mostly congregated. As they entered the park one of the boys from the other group noticed them over the head of someone shorter than him, tapping his friends on the shoulder and pointing. They entered a formation and walked towards Dom and Matthew with as much confidence as the boys had.
"Good morning gentleman, what can I do for you?" The boy smiled at his condescending statement and his friends laughed in the background.
"My name is Dom, and this is my brother Matthew. We're here to get some information about a group of kids that tried to attack a friend of ours last night."
The boy looked pensive for a moment and crossed his arms over his chest. "And by 'friend of yours,' do you mean that prude little bitch that passed by here last night?" Matthew balled his hands into fists and the boy didn't miss the action. "Hey now, no need to get physical. We're just having a chat."
"What's your name?" asked Dom.
"I'm Shawn. This is Ernie, James, Morgan, Bekkah, Telly and Jake."
"Well our friend Diana came through this way last night and said that someone grabbed her and planned on doing something not so nice" said Dom, cracking his jaw as he spoke. "I'm assuming that was you by that statement you made before."
Shawn tapped Ernie and nodded his head with a smile, and Ernie responded with a snicker. "Yeah, I tried to get her to come hang out with us. She blew us off, and I didn't take too kindly to that."
"So you don't see how in this new country we're living in a teenage girl, walking by herself after dark, wouldn't want to stop and hang out with a bunch of shady looking people?" asked Matthew.
"Who are you callin' shady? You better watch what you say around here."
Dom stepped forward so he was almost nose to nose with Shawn. "Why? You seemed to be afraid of that woman that stepped to you last night, so you obviously adhere to some rules. What makes you so bad ass if you follow orders?"
The other group stood stone-faced but Shawn laughed. "You say that because you don't know. You wouldn't be runnin' your mouth to me right now if you knew who I was or what I can do."
"I'm standing right here. Show me who you are."
One of the Shawn's group members shouted a 'hoo' noise from the back, distracting Matthew from the situation. He took his eyes off of Shawn to look in the direction that the noise came from and instantly regretted his mistake. Shawn took out a switchblade and popped it open, shoving it deep into Matthew's side in one fluid motion. He jabbed with the knife again but Dom was on him this time, grabbing his arm before he could complete his swing. Dom had the advantage with being taller and having longer limbs. Shawn's group swarmed in and tried to swing at Dom the best they could but no one dared attack him directly while he had a hold of Shawn's arm. Shawn waved everyone back as Dom tightened his grip, twisting and pulling as he dragged Shawn a few steps away from the group.
"You OK, Matty?" asked Dom.
"I'm good, it was a clean puncture."
Shawn narrowed his eyes at Matthew and turned back to Dom, hardening his face. "Your brother's lucky he was standing where he was or I would have separated his ribs for him."
Dom twisted Shawn's arm the rest of the way and applied pressure to the bottom, pulling through when he heard the forearm snap into two pieces. Shawn yelled out in pain, not daring to move since the broken limb was still in Dom's hands.
"You made a mistake today, Shawn, and I promise you, you will regret it someday. Even more than you do now." Dom shoved Shawn away from him toward his group of friends, earning another yelp. Matthew held his hands to his side to try to keep the wound from bleeding too much. The blood had already soaked most of the bottom of his shirt and his hands, dripping down and covering his left pant leg as well.
"Dom let's get out of here before this gets worse" said Matthew.
"Tit for tat, Shawn. You hurt one of mine, I hurt you. This doesn't need to go any further. You leave my group alone and we'll leave your group alone." Dom backed up all the way to the sidewalk with his eyes still on the other kids.
"Yeah we'll see about that" said Shawn. "Your girl is a freak anyway."
Dom clenched his jaw and hurried Matthew back to the apartment as fast as he could. Matthew laid down flat on the couch and kept pressure on the wound while Dom retrieved his first aid kit from this room. He pulled out gauze and rubbing alcohol and an ace bandage, setting everything up on the coffee table next to them. Matthew lifted up and slid his blood-soaked shirt over his head, wincing in pain at the movement. The adrenaline of the situation had worn off and now the pain from the wound was settling in. Dom soaked a cotton ball in alcohol and ran it along the sides of the wound, cleaning up a bit of the dried blood. It was still actively bleeding so he got to work patching the gauze over the cut, letting the blood from the wound stick it in place. Once he unwrapped the ace Matthew lifted up his hips with great effort, holding it for as long as he could while Dom wrapped the bandage around his waist a couple times to make sure it was tight. Matthew tried to sit up but Dom pushed him back down, heading into Matthew's room to grab his pillow and blanket.
"You're gonna be here for a little while" said Dom. "I don't want you moving until that has time to settle."
"How long do you think?" asked Matthew.
"At least the weekend. We have some painkillers from the pharmacy that will get you through work for the first few days until it starts to heal."
"You're the boss. Can I have some water?"
"Sure thing man."
The afternoon was slow going after that. Matthew burned up and cooled down at an excelerated rate, making Dom worry that he might be catching an infection. He tried to keep him warm and cool when need be, tucking him into blankets but wiping his forehead down with a cool cloth so he didn't overheat. For most of the next few hours he was in and out of the bathroom refreshing the cloth and bringing Matthew little bits of food, seeing if he would be able to eat. It was a trying time for Dom, seeing his brother mortally wounded. The whole situation hadn't really been real in his head, even though he attacked all of his duties with vigor and understanding, but this really removed the film from his eyes.
Later on in the afternoon Dom was watching a DVD on their new TV, a horror movie that had been tucked in the case of the game that was in the Xbox when they picked it up. A knock sounded and he answered the door, letting Tori in and sitting back down. She shook her head in approval at the new setup and was about to ask where the stuff had come from when her smile quickly faded as she saw Matthew on the couch with his blood-soaked shirt on the floor next to him.
"Dom what happened?"
"I think we should wait til everyone gets here so I can get it all out at once."
It didn't take long for the other girls to show up and when Tori heard them enter their place next door she got up and went over there. The look of worry on her face was enough for them to follow without asking questions, and when they saw Matthew they knew something was really wrong. Marie hurried over to his side and dropped to her knees next to the couch, grabbing every part of him she could touch without hurting him.
"Dom wanted to wait to explain til we were all here" said Tori. "Let's hear him out."
The elder brother took a drink and set it down on the table, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "When I told you earlier that we were going to scout shortcuts for scavenging, I lied."
"No kidding genius" said Marie. "So what did you really do?"
"We went to the park to have a chat with the kids that went after Diana."
Diana's face turned pale and she looked like someone had died. "Oh no, you shouldn't have! Those people are dangerous, Dom."
"Yeah, we see that now." Dom fidgeted with his fingers as he looked at his younger brother. "Thing is, if we're going to live here, safely and peacefully, we have to have a presence. Not ruthless and shady like them, but we can't let anyone push us around."
"That sounds like schoolyard BS" said Marie, not taking her eyes off Matthew.
"Yeah it does, because that's exactly what it is. These kids are trying to intimidate us since we're a threat to them. They're trying to keep their territory and whatever grip they have on getting substances to themselves, and another group that rivals theirs is cause for concern."
Tori looked between each person as they talked, thinking about the potential damage down the road the injury could give to Matthew. "It's like dealing with a bully" she said. "If you snap back, they'll stop. Most of the time."
"She's right" said Dom, nodding gently. "There's a possibility that they might still come after us. All of us. But I doubt they'll do that anytime soon, if at all."
"Why's that?" asked Diana. "If they were crazy enough to stab Matthew in broad daylight who's to say they won't show up here at any moment?"
The ghost of a smile shaded across Dom's face. "Because I broke the leader's arm."
Marie looked triumphant while Diana looked scared to death and Tori looked pensive. Dom stood up and headed into the bathroom to wet a new wash cloth, setting it on Matthew's forehead to keep him cool with all the pain meds running through him. Diana crossed the room and brought Dom into a hug, pressing her face into his chest and squeezing hard so he would feel how appreciative she was.
"You know, I don't know that much about you but I can confidently say that I'd trust you with my life. Thank you for doing that for me."
Dom held her head close to him and patted her back gently. "Like I said when we got here, we're family. And you protect your family at all costs."
