II - Looking Back
-Five Months Later-
-November 4, 2019-
-Day 1252-
Crows flocked into the roof of a warehouse as they could smell burning bodies nearby. Some continued to fly across the sunny sky, looking for something in the city to feed on.
Many survivors had masks, bandanas, or clothes wrapped around their lower faces to keep themselves from smelling the decaying corpses as they dragged them from the trucks to the front of the warehouse where they burned the corpses. These survivors were not from Royal Woods, however. Less than a mile away from the warehouse was the RenCen, their community led by Christopher Buchanan. Chris himself was there, though not by the warehouse.
"Campus Martius Park used to look a lot more beautiful than this— especially in the winter," said Chris. "It's a shame what happened to the buildings."
"Yeah," agreed Lori, reminiscing about the events of Day 10.
Survivors walked around the remnants of the former Detroit Safe-Zone. Lori looked up at the buildings, seeing moss and vines growing out of the windows and on the outer walls. Some of the potholes that were created from the napalm explosions now had plants and weeds growing out of it. The chilly wind blew against her arms, prompting her to roll down the sleeves for her denim jacket.
Luna felt the wind blow against her hair as she was situated on the roof of Building C, watching the survivors below with her binoculars while chewing gum. Her purple sweater kept her warm.
Bobby wore a fleece jacket to keep himself warm from the cool air as he walked around the buildings, patrolling the area from roamers. Carol was walking next to him, tying her shoulder-length hair into a small ponytail while her windbreaker jacket kept her from feeling the wind chill throughout her body.
Luan wore her hair in a long ponytail as she carried around a suppressed pistol, using it to kill the roamers that were creeping outside of the former Safe-Zone. It was great target practice for her. However, the smoke from Fiona's cigarette was distracting her— though Fiona didn't seem to notice as she kept smoking.
Tim put on a hazmat suit while Clyde put on a gas mask with his hazmat suit. After strapping oxygen tanks on themselves, they both picked up their flashlights and gallon-sized bleach cans attached to sprayers. Then, they walked out of Building A.
"We're ready," said Tim.
"Both of you?" asked Lori.
"Y-Yeah," said Clyde.
"You don't have to if you don't want to."
"I need to do this. All these years… I need to see them for myself."
"Okay."
The door to General Black's station in the small park opened before Tim and Clyde walked inside. They pointed their flashlights around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. The display for the Luger pistol and the katana— both now in Bobby and Luan's possession— were empty. The AK-47 display was also empty, and the rifle it used to display now lay in an abandoned patio back in Ann Arbor.
Another door opened— this one leading downstairs to the basement. Before even taking a single step downwards, the flashlights already revealed a huge number of spores floating around. They looked like snowflakes floating around the air, attaching themselves to whatever they could touch.
Tim and Clyde continued to look around until they found a body strapped to a table. Its skin was almost completely decayed away, leaving behind a skeleton. A large hole can be seen in the front of the skull. Tim recognized the clothes that the skeletons were wearing. It was the remains of his best friend— Gerald Brooker.
"Damn…" muttered Tim. "Shitty world we live in, right? Man."
Clyde then stumbled upon something sturdy in the ground. He pointed the flashlight downwards and saw two skeletons in the ground. One of them stared upwards with empty eye sockets and bare teeth. Its clothes belonged to Howard McBride.
"Oh no…" whimpered Clyde. "Dad…"
Clyde crouched as he placed his hands— covered by thick gloves— on Howard's chest. He sniffled softly as his trembling breaths echoed out his gas mask. He then moved his flashlight on to the next body before feeling a sharp chill go up his spine followed by his stomach churning. As he dropped his flashlight and stumbled back, Tim quickly turned around and pointed his flashlight at Clyde before moving it to the second body in the ground. His eyes went wide open.
"Jesus…" groaned Tim.
Two large fungal plates— which looked like toadstools— curved outwards from the second body's face, causing it to look severely deformed as multiple fungal shells wrapped around the body. Spores were puffing out of the hole created by the two large fungal plates.
"Is that your other father?" asked Tim.
Clyde cried softly as he nodded. Tim aimed his bleach sprayer at the body and pressed the trigger, disinfecting the body and killing off the fungus.
Meanwhile, on the roof of the parking garage outside of the former Safe-Zone, Lynn and JuJu were now heading back to the stairwell after patrolling the entire building. Lynn couldn't help but keep looking out into the buildings inside the bombed Safe-Zone, ignoring the wind making her ponytail fly around.
"Brings back a whole lot of memories, don't it?" asked JuJu.
"Bad ones," said Lynn.
"At least General Bitch is dead."
"Yeah. Sounds like you hated him pretty bad too."
"You have no idea…"
"That's right," said Lynn, now turning to JuJu. "I don't really know a lot about your past. I mean, besides the fact that you're from San Diego and that you came to see a Lions game here in Detroit. Don't know much after that though. Like… how'd you get that big ol' scar in your eye?"
JuJu touched his right eye briefly before looking out into the buildings. He felt the wind blow against his black hoodie, though it didn't bother him.
"I was watching my favorite team— the Lions— play in that stadium all the way over there," said JuJu, pointing out the stadium in the distance. "Those rogue motherfuckers then interrupted the game and told everyone inside the stadium to go downtown to the Safe-Zone. Me and my pops took a bus here. Bus smelled like crack, by the way."
"Shut up, you don't know what crack smells like," giggled Lynn.
"I don't? Heh, anyways, we got here and we met the motherfucker himself— General Black. Sorry, I mean, General Bitch. After hearing all about the roamers, my pops thought this ugly place was the safest place in the world. But this place gave me bad vibes. I don't know— must've been the way the rogues acted or somethin', 'cause somethin' was up in this place. But then I met you guys. You and your siblings… just knowing there were people like you around here made me feel a bit more hopeful. Hope don't last too long in this world though, right? I think the day before the place got bombed, my pops went missing. He never even came back. Never even got to say goodbye to him."
Lynn felt sorry for JuJu. She knew too how it feels to lose her parents without ever saying goodbye to them.
"Well, I just had enough of this place," said JuJu. "I got my pops's pocket knife, snuck around, did some eavesdroppin'. I heard these two rogues talk about putting all kids inside a bunker while killing as many adults as possible. Then, they talked about bombin' the place— yeah, you know all about it. Couldn't let 'em get away with it, so I killed the rogues. That's how I got this Honey Badger and this .357 Magnum revolver. Don't know what it is but it's not like Lori's gun. It's a bit different."
"I don't know either," said Lynn.
"Anyways, at that moment, I knew I had to get out of there. When I was leaving the place, I saw a rogue blocking the exit, so I took my Honey Badger and shot him right in the head. Easy. I missed the brain apparently because he turned into a roamer right after that. I stabbed the hell out of that roamer… and then I left. Can't help but think about that a lot."
"And the scar?"
"Oh, that happened way later. Maybe another time I'll tell you."
"I had no idea all this happened to you. You always seemed so… optimistic and sporty. Playing football and basketball without a care in the world."
"I mean, you're pretty sporty and lively yourself," smiled JuJu. "Everyone's got a tragic past. Some let it change who they are. But not me. I'm still the same guy from before the apocalypse. Just with a hell of a lot more survival skills."
Lynn smiled softly as she grabbed JuJu's hands.
"And I'm still the same girl from before the apocalypse. Just with a hell of a lot more survival skills too."
JuJu smiled softly too. They stared into each other's eyes, though Lynn's hair was now getting in the way. JuJu placed his hands over her hair and moved it behind her ears before they leaned close to each other. They then closed their eyes and tilted their heads. Then, they quickly moved away from each other as they heard a voice call out to them.
"Guys, it's time to regroup," said Carol, standing by the stairwell.
"Okay," said JuJu, blushing softly.
"Uh huh," nodded Lynn, turning beet red.
"You guys, alright?" asked Bobby. "Are your sweaters on too tight?"
"We're fine, Bobby. Let's just go."
Lynn and JuJu began to walk towards the stairwell as Carol squinted in suspicion. She then opened her eyes and pretended like nothing happened.
"Why don't you go ahead, JuJu?" asked Carol. "I gotta borrow Lynn for a little."
"Sure," said JuJu, feeling a little nervous now.
"What's wrong?" asked Bobby.
"Nothing, just go ahead," smiled Carol. "We'll meet you downstairs."
"Okay!"
Bobby walked downstairs with JuJu behind him, who managed to sneak a worrying glance at Lynn before moving out of sight.
"Uh oh, am I in trouble?" asked Lynn.
"Listen, Lynn," said Carol, still managing to speak in a gentle voice. "This is not gonna end well for you."
"What do you mean? I didn't do anything."
"I think we both know what we saw."
"Right. You're not oblivious like Bobby."
"You have to break up with Clyde."
"But I still like him. Can't I like two guys at once?"
"I think we both know you can't."
Lynn glanced sideways.
"Yeah, I guess not," said Lynn, remembering Francisco. "Ugh, this sucks. I don't want to hurt his feelings."
"I know. But an affair is only going to lead to both guys having their feelings hurt."
"Yeah. Okay, I'll break up with him. Do you know how I can tell him without hurting his feelings too much?"
"Tell him that you two should see other people and that you just don't have the same feelings towards him that you used to have. Be honest with him."
Carol then began to walk downstairs, forcing a nervous Lynn to follow her. Both girls caught up to Bobby and JuJu as they walked back into the former Safe-Zone where they saw the rest of the group. Tim and Clyde were getting sprayed on by Miguel's bleach sprayer. Chris's men were also regrouping in the middle of the former Safe-Zone.
"Bodies are all incinerated," said one of Chris's men.
"Alright, start packing up," said Chris. "You guys did a great job today."
Clyde removed his hazmat suit and his gas mask as Miguel handed him a handkerchief. He wiped his face with it as he sniffled, getting a reassuring hug from Lori. Chris watched Lori rubbing Clyde's back softly as she whispered a few things into his ears. Clyde nodded before she released him.
Clyde then saw Lynn coming and began to walk towards her, sniffling as he opened his arms. Lynn instinctively opened her arms up as well, feeling sorry for him. As they hugged each other, she couldn't help but feel guilty as well, knowing what she had to do. She then looked at JuJu, who stared at the two of them while clenching his teeth, trying his hardest to hide his jealousy.
Chris walked up to Lori and stood next to her as they both watched Lynn and Clyde hugging each other.
"You're a very empathetic person," said Chris. "You treat that kid like he's family. Like you're his big sister— always there for him and for anyone else. It's the one quality that Melissa had going for her, but even that trait is fading away in her. That's why I support you, Lori. I just have strong confidence that you'll be a great leader."
"T-Thank you," smiled Lori, feeling swayed by Chris's charm.
"He's not the only one," said Angel Bell as she walked up to Chris and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "My sister and I support you too. We both love badass warrior women like you. I would love to see another female community leader besides my sister and Queen Miriam."
"Melissa being a woman isn't something only I noticed, right?" asked Chris.
"Yeah, but Lori's more of a feminist heroine, right? Young, brave, active, and not afraid of men. Melissa stood by her intolerant husband for almost her entire life. Lori set her free from him. I think she's the hero Royal Woods needs."
"That's quite the way to describe me," Lori chuckled nervously. "But you know… I'm no hero."
"Said by every hero ever."
"If you want, I can do some last-minute campaigns over there," said Chris. "Nothing like hyping up the voters before Election Day."
"I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to cause you any trouble… I mean there's a lot of people who are unhappy with me. I wouldn't want people to resent you just because you support me."
"I faced intense scrutiny from more people than you can imagine. It would be no problem at all."
"I don't know, Chris," said Angel. "She doesn't seem too comfortable about that."
"Oh, my apologies. You're too modest of a person— I respect that, Lori."
Lori looked at Angel and smiled. She then saw one of Chris's men whispering into his ears. Chris nodded before clearing his throat.
"That was a message from the Queendom," he said. "They found your friend Becky."
Lori took a deep breath as she looked away, wondering where Becky had been all this time.
An hour passed and the weather remained sunny yet windy. Birds sat atop a stone wall, watching a camper van come closer. The red camper van resembled Vanzilla, though it held no sentimental value to any of the Louds inside it.
A guard sitting in the attic of a brick house with a missing rooftop covered with sandbags looked out with her binoculars, seeing the van approaching.
She was wearing a white bulletproof vest with a minimalist logo in the center— a diamond with a crown on top. It was the logo for Queen Michigan Inc., the company that Queen Miriam founded and owned before the outbreak. The community itself consisted of small towns protected by thick stone walls, some of the walls decorated by the official flag of the Queendom— a flag with the Queen Michigan logo in the center. In fact, many of the survivors inside the Queendom were former employees— from executive positions all the way down to entry-level jobs. It was almost as if the company itself was still alive— only instead of dealing with jewelry and other luxurious beauty items, it focused on survival for its people.
The guard zoomed into the van and looked inside. As the van slowed to a stop, she noticed that Tim Crowley was in the driver's seat. She then removed the binoculars from her eyes and looked down.
"Open the gates!" she exclaimed. "It's them!"
The group exited the van as the gates opened. Luna and Carol stared at the stone walls with wonder, seeing them connect from the edge of one lake to the edge of another lake. The lakes themselves acted as an extra layer of defense. And with so many lakes leaving only narrow roads, it was easy enough to enclose the large community with stone walls.
Lynn and JuJu wondered how it looked inside. They only saw the community from the outside from their recent adventures outside the walls of Royal Woods. They had a tendency to leave their community often just to explore outside together.
The group walked past the gates and inside the community. They saw many large houses and gardens and crops in their front and back yards. Some people were riding horses along the streets while others were riding boats in the large Orchard Lake. A few people were carrying plastic jugs filled with water back to their home while others were carrying empty ones to a nearby public well. Windmills could be seen in the distance.
The group then heard the sound of horseshoes and wheels approaching. They turned towards the main road that went along Orchard Lake and saw a few horses carrying decorated carriages. One of the horse-drawn carriages carried Queen Miriam— who held out a scepter in her left hand and a knightly sword inside a scabbard on her back— and a couple bodyguards. Her tiara—the one she wore at Oscar's thousandth-day party— was on her loose brunette hair flowing with the direction of the wind. Her fashionable brown overcoat kept her warm from the autumn wind.
"Good morning, everyone," said Miriam.
"Your Majesty," said Tim before giving a small bow from the neck.
Lori, Bobby, Luan, Fiona, Miguel, and Clyde all bowed their heads as well. Luna and Carol soon followed while Lynn and JuJu struggled to mimic their actions.
"We heard the news," continued Tim.
Miriam smiled and nodded.
"I brought carriages for everyone," she said. "We're going to the hospital."
"Cool! I never rode on a carriage before!" exclaimed Lynn.
"That makes the two of us," said JuJu.
"It's kinda relaxing," said Fiona. "It's so easy to get lost in your thoughts when you're in one of them."
"You know what I don't understand about carriages?" said Luan, stifling a laugh. "If horses can't hold pencils, how are there horse-drawn carriages? Hahaha!"
"Ugh…" groaned Lynn.
JuJu laughed awkwardly as he got on a carriage with Lynn and Luan. Clyde looked out into the distance before Lynn looked down at him.
"Dude, you're alright?" she asked, before realizing her blunder. "Oh, umm, don't answer that. Let me help you up."
Lynn offered a hand, helping a quiet Clyde up to his seat. He sat next to Lynn and leaned onto her, causing her to feel even more guilty as she looked away at the lake on the side. JuJu stared at Lynn and Clyde intensely before looking away as well, confusing Luan.
Tim, Fiona, and Miguel sat on a different carriage with two other survivors. Luna and Carol sat next to each other on a fourth carriage. They looked at Bobby and Lori who seemed as if they were going to get on it as well before Miriam called out to them.
"That carriage is a little full," said Miriam before showing them empty seats in her carriage. "Please, sit with me."
Lori and Bobby got into the carriage before the horses began pulling the carriages along the main road, passing by houses and people.
"So what exactly happened to Becky?" Lori asked.
"She almost drowned," said Miriam. "We found her by the Cass Lake— that's the lake on the north border of the Queendom. We don't know what exactly happened to her or how she ended up at the lake, but we did find a lot of cuts and bruises on her. Her entire back was covered in scars that looked like they came from lashes. If you ask me, she was trying to escape from people— not oozers. My people have been trying to talk to her, but… she doesn't talk much."
"Doesn't talk much? Doesn't sound like her. Something must've happened to her…"
Luan watched as the carriage began to pass by a field of archers and swordfighters. Arrows were shot at targets while swords were swung at dummies and mannequins. Among the fighters, Luan spotted Vonda and Benny. She smiled brightly before noticing Benny laughing with another one of their friends, Ruby. While she was laughing, she flicked her hair and touched Benny's arm.
"Hi, Benny!" exclaimed Luan.
"Oh, hey, Luan!" smiled Benny, causing Ruby to back away from him. "Where are you guys headed?"
"Hospital!"
Benny nodded before he looked at Vonda and Jane, who was standing there fiddling with her fingers.
"You guys comin'?" he asked.
"Us?" asked Jane.
"Of course, Benny boy," said Vonda.
"Glad to see you made a friend, loner," scoffed Benny.
Vonda smirked as she began taking the arrows off her target. Jane smiled as she glanced away, trying not to stare at either Benny or Vonda for too long.
"I'm gonna go see what Spencer's up to," said Ruby, setting a bow and arrows down. "Bye, Benny."
"Bye, Ruby."
Jane placed her sword into a scabbard on her right hip. She then began to follow Benny before Vonda grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.
"Wait for me," said Vonda.
Jane nodded as she blushed softly, watching Vonda's hands move away from her. She then looked at her shoulder, rubbing it softly as she watched Benny walked away.
"You should probably focus more on your sword-fighting skills than staring at Benny all morning long," chuckled Vonda.
"W-What?" nervously laughed Jane. "I'm just… impressed by his sword… fighting."
"I bet. Maybe you should pick up archery. Then you can be impressed by my bow skills."
"I am impressed… by your bow skills…"
"Ah, so I do catch the princess's attention as well?"
"Come on, Vonda…. stop being silly," smiled Jane, trying to hide her red face and trembling hands. "Let's go to the hospital."
Vonda smirked again as she put all her arrows inside her quiver. She and Jane followed Benny, who was already outside of the field.
The horse-drawn carriages arrived outside the hospital. Lori rolled up the sleeves for her denim jacket as she prepared to step outside the carriage. She then felt Miriam place her hand on her shoulder.
"Do you plan on taking her back to Royal Woods?" asked Miriam.
"I kinda have to, right?" asked Lori. "If not… you'll have to extradite her, right?"
"Royal Woods has no control over the Queendom," said Miriam. "We can keep her here if we want to. At least until you win the election."
"You're… supporting me too? This is the first time I heard you were on my side."
"I don't want to be on Melissa's bad side if she wins. Sorry, but I can't be vocal about my support. I have to do right by my people and that often means remaining neutral to not get caught up in any unnecessary conflict."
"I see. If you can keep her… then that'll be great."
Miriam nodded. "Go on."
Lori stepped down from her carriage. She grabbed Bobby's hand as she looked at the hospital building, seeing just how wide it was. She was surprised as to just how much space there was when she entered. Although not the most populated community— that honor would go to the RenCen— it was easily the largest in size. The Queendom was even bigger than Royal Woods— not the community— the town itself. So it should not have been surprising that most of their buildings were large as well, including the hospital. Yet, Lori couldn't contain her astonishment.
Miriam walked past the lobby and into the emergency unit, though there were almost no doctors around. Her heels clacked against the hard floor, echoing across the empty hall. The rest of the group followed her into a room where they found a girl with short red hair lying in a bed guarded by two guards holding spears.
"Here's your friend," said Miriam.
Lori and Carol walked up to the bed, seeing Becky awake and alert. Her short hair had choppy ends, and didn't go past her ears, allowing her scar-free face to be put on display. However, her arms were covered in bandages, both large and small. Only one specific scar was not new, and that was the scar on her right arm resembling a vulture. However, now the scar was tattooed with a beautifully-inked drawing of a vulture opening its wings. The vulture was not the only tattoo. In fact, her entire arms were covered in tattoos.
"Wow," smiled Carol. "Your hair looks great and your tattoos look... beautiful."
Becky's green eyes stared down at Carol's hands before turning to Lori. Her seemingly soulless eyes locked into Lori's shocked eyes. Then, she smiled.
"You found me," said Becky, opening up her arms.
Lori and Carol hugged her. Carol wiped away her tears while Lori still felt shocked. After a few seconds, they moved away from each other.
"I'm glad you're okay," said Carol.
"Me too," said Becky. "I'm glad you both are."
"Where… were you all this time?" asked Lori. "We went to look for you at the school… but you weren't there."
"I was in Hell… again," said Becky. "I have a knack for getting captured and tortured, apparently. Except this time… it was from someone I once called a friend."
"Who was it?"
"Hana. She tortured me for five months, Lori… because of something I did for our survival… so that Lily wouldn't starve…"
Lori sighed remorsely as Luan held her breath. She then felt Benny wrap his arms around her from behind before being kissed in the neck by him.
"Hey, Luan," whispered Benny as he looked into the room. "Who's…"
Benny gulped as he saw who was in bed. His fearful eyes met Becky's green eyes for a second before she looked back at Lori.
"She's back," whispered Luan. "Poor Becky… I can't believe Hana did that to her."
Benny began to feel a weight weighing down on his shoulder. He held Luan more tightly, now feeling guilty. Luan then gasped softly as she walked out of the room, exerting heavy breaths while trying to relieve her own nausea. Benny wanted to follow her but was curious as to what Becky knew.
"Hana has a group," said Becky. "Must be around twenty or thirty people. They cover themselves in roamer organs and blood. And they always wear masks and a yellow raincoat.
"Sounds a lot like the Yellowjackets that people have been talking about," said Bobby. "They carry swords around, right?"
"Swords, knives, bladed stuff."
"Makes sense," said Miriam. "They captured a large group of my knights a while back and took their swords. Luckily, they did not harm them."
"Yellowjackets, huh?" said Becky. "They always called themselves soo… zoo.. meh… bachi? I have no idea what it means though."
"My daughter here might know," said Miriam, walking over to her. "She's been learning Japanese since she was born. She could translate for us."
Jane gulped as she held her hands tightly together, trying to stop them from shaking too much.
"Well?" asked Miriam. "What's it mean, Jane?"
"Suzumebachi. Hornet. O-Or wasp— could be wasp too. Any vespids really."
"So, Yellowjacket makes perfect sense then," said Vonda.
"It does. It's… actually scarily accurate."
"Anyways, I managed to escape yesterday from these… Yellowjackets. They chased me and chased me and chased me and I was scared— so scared— I thought they were gonna kill me—"
"It's okay," said Carol, holding Becky's hand. "We're here now. You're safe."
Becky gulped as she nodded softly.
"I jumped into a lake to escape from them," said Becky. "But I was too tired to swim… I was too hurt…"
Carol leaned Becky's head against her chest to calm her down while turning towards the group, raising her eyes out of fear.
"The Yellowjackets may be encroaching into our territory," said Miriam. "This is bad news…"
"I want to go home now," Becky said weakly.
Miriam looked at Lori, seeing her distressed with the idea of taking Becky home.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," said Miriam. "Melissa and her police force may not take kindly to your return."
"I don't want to wait anywhere else any longer," groaned Becky. "Not anymore."
"Okay," said Lori. "You're coming home."
"Are you not concerned that the Yellowjackets may come and ambush your group?" asked Miriam. "They could be waiting for you to take off with Becky."
"If bladed weapons are all they have, then thirty people is nothing to me," said Carol.
"Oh, you better believe her on that," said Bobby. "Trust me, she's not lying."
Miriam took a deep breath and sighed. She then shrugged as she ordered the guards to allow Lori's group to take Becky out of the hospital.
Miles away, a crow flapped its wing and landed on a scarecrow before being spooked away by Sam. She groaned as she looked at the scarecrow, wondering why it wasn't working. She ignored it and continued to push the wheelbarrow filled with carrots forward.
Lincoln wiped the sweat off his head as he came out of a wooden barn located where Liam's barn used to be before it burned down. This new wooden barn was spray-painted orange and looked completely new and impressive. To reconstruct the barn was Lincoln's idea, and to design it the exact way Liam's original barn was designed was his way of honoring his friend.
Jerry Kling then came out of the barn holding a shovel as he watched Sam push the wheelbarrow into the barn. She then turned around and looked out into the open farmland, seeing it completely harvested.
"That's all the carrots," said Sam, wiping her forehead. "You were right… farming is a lot harder than it looks."
"Didn't I tell ya'?" said Jerry. "It's honest work, but it's hard work."
"I'm just glad I can relax for the next few months," said Sam.
"The animals still need to be fed," said Lincoln.
"I could feed 'em," said Lana, coming out of the barn. "I would love to."
"What are you doing here, Lana? Shouldn't you be at school?"
"Shouldn't you?"
"I can miss a few lessons," said Lincoln.
"Are you sure?" asked Sam. "You've been missing a lot of class days lately. Liam's farm has been built. We harvested all the crops here. It's okay, you don't have to worry about the farm anymore."
"Doesn't matter. There's nothing they could teach me in class that's important."
"I thought you were old enough, boy. I don't wanna teach some kids playin' hooky," said Jerry. "I better not see you two out here in the fields during school hours."
"What about after?" asked Lana.
"After's fine. But you know… there are farmers who can feed the animals. Y'all don't have to do it. Relax, have some fun. Y'all still kids."
"I'm still gonna do it. Can I do it, Sam? I really wanna see the pigs and chickens."
"You shouldn't befriend them, Lana," said Sam. "You know they're gonna be on a dinner plate at some point, right?"
"Yeah… but I don't really have anyone else to hang out with…"
"What about Simon? You can hang out with him."
Jerry saw a car approaching from a distance. The car seemed to be heading towards the barn.
"Simon doesn't like me," said Lana. "He's never at school either. He's always sneaking out, going wherever the heck he goes."
"Really…? Dang, I gotta have a talk with him. Don't worry, Lana. I'll make sure he talks to you more. He needs friends his age too."
Lincoln reached for his M1911 pistol as the car passed him, Sam, Lana, and Jerry Kling. He did not keep his eyes off the car.
"Who's that?" asked Lincoln.
"That would be the leader of Huntington Manor," said Jerry. "Orlando Breckenridge. His mother leads your place. He's very much a hard-ass, so watch out."
Lincoln moved his hand away from his holster and took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm. He looked as Orlando took a step outside of his car. He then buttoned his black suit together and adjusted his tie before walking over to Jerry and the others.
"Nice to see you out here in the Farmlands," said Orlando. "Thinking of taking your business here?"
"I'm still loyal to the Queendom," said Jerry. "I'm just here to teach these kids a couple things about farming."
"Speaking of, I gotta borrow these kids for a bit."
Orlando walked along the field, looking into the empty farmland while Sam and Lincoln looked at each other. He then turned around and signaled both of them to follow him. Lana, however, was to stay with Jerry, who had no idea what Orlando had planned.
Sam and Lincoln walked over to Orlando. He continued to look out into the empty field with his hands behind his back.
"I always wondered why my father never put this land to good use," said Orlando. "I'm happy to see that someone revived its usefulness."
"You should thank Lincoln," said Sam. "He's the one who really pushed to make this place useful again."
"That so? Well, thank you, Lincoln. You did something my father was so afraid to do."
"It's no problem at all," said Lincoln. "I just felt obligated to do it."
"Obligated to whom?"
"A friend of mine."
"Still, all the hard work you put in— you deserve to be rewarded for that. That's what I came here for. I'm going to make a deal."
"A deal?"
"Huntington Manor owns this place… and Royal Woods gets 50% of all crops and animal products harvested and gained here. None of your people would have to work here anymore. They could be productive somewhere else— and the community still receives crops for all the hard work done at the start."
"No. No deal."
"Lincoln… I'm not offering this deal to you. I'm asking you to deliver this message to my mother, your leader. After all… you're in no position to bargain with me."
Orlando turned around as he began to walk back to his car. He passed by Jerry Kling, making a remark.
"Farm looks nice."
Orlando got back inside his car and drove it away from the barn. Sam and Lincoln watched the car leave the Farmlands while Lana walked up to them.
"What'd he tell you guys?" she asked.
Lincoln stared at the horizon in contempt, feeling the temptation to reach for his pistol. However, he didn't do so because there was no danger at the moment.
"Don't worry, Lincoln," said Sam. "I'll tell Melissa. Now, come on. Let's get back inside the walls."
The red minivan drove along the street with the fences of Ketcham Park to the left and the walls of the Royal Woods Community to the right. It then parked in an empty spot a few vehicles away from the main gate.
Becky came out of the minivan wearing a hoodie to cover her face. She walked in between the group members, keeping her eyes level with the cars.
"Welcome back, guys," said Sully, waving his hands while sitting in a lawn chair and holding a rifle. "Mazzy, they're here!"
Mazzy got up from her chair and walked to the gate. She slid the gate open, letting the group inside of the community. She shifted her bangs away from her eyes and looked at each of the group members, causing Lori to get tense.
"Spencer and Ruby aren't back yet?" asked Mazzy.
"No," replied Benny. "They wanted to stay the night at the Queendom. They're really getting into archery and sword fighting."
"I bet. We could use more archers."
The group continued to move ahead before Mazzy called out to them again.
"Hold on— who's this?" she asked, referring to Becky.
Luna turned around and walked up to Mazzy before leaning close to her.
"Don't tell anyone she came here," whispered Luna. "As far as you know, she's invisible."
"Umm… what's going on?"
"Complicated stuff. Trust me, you wouldn't really understand even if I told you. But I promise we can talk about it… after tomorrow!"
"Sure thing, Lunes. You know I can keep a secret. I saw nothing."
"Thanks, Maz."
Luna turned around and threw up a peace sign aimed towards Sully before she jogged after the group. Sully made a peace sign as well before turning around and looking down at Mazzy, who was closing the gate.
"What was that about?" asked Sully.
"Nothing," said Mazzy, locking the gate.
Standing outside of the Loud residence was Officer Ravi, who looked at the main gate. He then noticed that the group that just entered were heading towards the infirmary.
"I'm gonna get us something to eat," said Benny. "Peanut butter sandwich?"
"Yeah," nodded Luan.
"All right. I really hope the line isn't too long."
Benny walked away from the group as they entered the infirmary. Clyde stood outside, hands in his pockets.
"Wanna get something to eat?" asked Clyde.
"Actually, imma' get some ice and chill here for a bit," said Lynn. "My legs feel mad sore from yesterday's football game."
"You want me to stay here?"
"Nah, I'm feelin' hungry. Think you can get me a PB&J sandwich?"
"My skin's gonna—"
"Right. Nut allergy. Umm… just get me a jelly sandwich then."
"Okay. Be right back."
"Okay, Clyde."
Clyde jogged away, hoping to catch up to Benny, who was already turning at a three-way street towards the main intersection. Lynn then turned around and walked slowly back into the infirmary before seeing JuJu come out.
"Yo, we gotta talk," said JuJu.
"I know," groaned Lynn.
"With the way you've been actin', I thought you and Clyde weren't together anymore. But you and him are."
"I already talked it over with Carol. I'm gonna end things with him."
"Oh, word?"
"Yeah, I've just been trying to find the right time to do it, ya' know? Can't exactly break up with him now— considering he just saw his… dads."
"Yeah, I got you. I just thought… that you should've stayed away from me."
"What? Why?"
"Look, Lynn… I don't want you to break up with Clyde because of me. He's a good kid, I can tell. He'd treat you right."
"Yeah, but… I don't… feel the same way he feels about me. Do I find him adorable? Yeah. Does he make me feel good about myself sometimes? Of course. But me and him… we're not compatible. It's like playing baseball with soccer balls. Just won't work no matter how hard we try."
"What are you saying then?"
"We're not in love," said Lynn. "We're more friends than anything."
Lynn grabbed JuJu's hands.
"I'm not saying I'm in love with you… honestly, I don't know how it feels to be in love in the first place… but I do know that I want to be with you. I deserve someone who wants me. And Clyde deserves someone who wants him."
Lynn paused briefly as she looked back, seeing if Clyde was anywhere within sight. He was not.
"You do want me, right?" asked Lynn.
"I-I guess…"
Lynn leaned in for a kiss before JuJu lightly pushed himself away from her.
"I can't do this. Not yet, at least. Not while you're still with him. I respect the guy."
Lynn nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"I get it," she said.
She then saw Ravi approaching from the distance. She let JuJu go as he also noticed Ravi coming down the street.
"Think you can stall him?" asked Lynn.
"Yeah."
Maria wrapped fresh bandages across Becky's arms. She then giggled softly as Tim whispered into her ears.
"Can you not do that behind my back?" asked Becky.
"Sorry," said Maria. "Tim just reminded me of something similar to this that happened three years ago. One time, Tim, Bruna, and I came across this group…"
Lynn came inside the infirmary as she quickly closed the door. Lori turned around with a cup of coffee in her hands.
"Ravi's comin'," said Lynn.
"There's a back door in the kitchen," said Maria, walking over to the kitchen.
Becky stood up from her chair and walked over to a closet in the side of the living room. She walked inside and closed it. Maria opened the kitchen door and looked back, confused as to where she went.
"What is she—?"
Ravi walked into the infirmary with JuJu following him, who sighed at his failure to stall him. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, knee pads, and elbow pads over his police uniform. He looked around the living room, seeing an empty infirmary bed placed against a wall and below a window.
"I happened to notice that you came back with someone suspicious," said Ravi. "Any idea where she is?"
"I don't know who you're talking about," said Tim.
"Come on, man, you're a nice guy. I don't want to look like the bad guy here. Where's Becky?"
"Not here."
Ravi opened the kitchen door and looked around.
"I saw her walk inside this house," said Ravi. "If you give her up now, I'll see what I can do to make sure none of you get punished for aiding her."
"Don't you need a warrant to search this place?" asked Lori.
Maria shook her head and sighed as Ravi smirked.
"The infirmary is available for the public. No warrant needed."
Ravi then walked over to the closet, before Lori stepped in front of it. He opened his eyes in surprise, now feeling certain that the group was hiding Becky in there.
"Don't interfere with my investigation," said Ravi. "That's a crime."
"You need a warrant to search this closet."
"Maybe you didn't hear correctly—"
"Oh, I heard. I heard correctly. What's inside this closet is not available for the public. Only Maria, Haley, and the other infirmary workers have access to this closet. If you wanna search inside of it, you have to get a warrant."
"I've seen inside this closet before. It's just filled with medical supplies. It's not meant to be 'hidden' from the public."
"But it is," said Tim. "The infirmary is for the public but that closet is not. Even if you catch a glimpse of it from there, it doesn't make it available to the public. Think about how you can get a peek at someone's house when they have their doors open. Doesn't mean you have the right to go inside."
Ravi chuckled softly.
"So she's in there," said Ravi. "Fine. Wanna play hardball? I can play. I'll wait here. Go on… continue what you guys were doing."
Ravi then took out his walkie-talkie.
"Mrs. Breckenridge, I have a quick request. Melissa? Ma'am?"
Ravi sighed as he switched channels.
"Leo, do me a favor and walk over to City Hall. I need you to talk to Melissa and get us a warrant to search the closet in the infirmary. Arrest warrant for Rebecca Rhonda."
Becky listened in from inside the closet, holding a hunting knife with her right hand.
Ravi then placed the walkie-talkie back on its holster and leaned against a wall, looking straight at the closet.
"Smart of Becky to not go out the back door," said Ravi. "Leo would have been waiting for her."
Appearing concerned, Maria looked at the group members. She was now scared for herself as she wondered whether hiding a criminal was worth destroying her reputation. Miguel and Fiona shook their heads as they walked out of the infirmary. Luan wondered whether the Leo that Ravi was referring to was her former classmate from high school. Luna bit her nails. Bobby stared Ravi down while Carol tapped her fingers against an infirmary bed frame, trying to think of a way to get Becky out of this situation.
"I'm gonna go stop that Leo guy," said JuJu. "I'll beat his ass if I have to."
JuJu walked out of the infirmary. Ravi seemed clearly annoyed, but refused to budge.
"Well?" asked Lori. "Aren't you gonna go after him?"
"It's clearly a trick to bait me out," said Ravi. "Nice try."
Lori walked up to Ravi, giving him an intense stare.
"You need to do your job and arrest JuJu," said Lori. "Otherwise, after tomorrow, I'll have the authority to fire you for not doing your job. You respect the law, don't you?"
"What makes you so sure you'll win the election?" asked Ravi.
"People want change. Melissa can't give them that. Now, go. Your job depends on what you do right now."
"That's an abuse of power, Lori. Think about who you're protecting. She killed a police officer. She's an unhinged killer who thinks she can take justice into her own hands. She wants to play judge, jury, and executioner. But… we're supposed to be civilized. We can't let her do that."
Lori crossed her arms, not letting her eyes off Ravi.
"I better not see you waiting outside," she said.
He clenched his jaw and walked out of the infirmary. Bobby looked at his wife, concerned about her actions. Nevertheless, he stood by her side, not wanting to get in her way.
Outside the infirmary, JuJu whistled as he leaned against a wall. He then saw Ravi step down the stairs.
"I should probably be arrested right now, right?" asked JuJu, stretching his legs.
"Don't waste my time," said Ravi. "You seriously need to think about who you're supporting. What she is doing is wrong."
"Maybe. Doesn't make you right, though, pig."
Ravi shook his head and walked away, not taking a single glance back at the infirmary house. JuJu looked at him from the side before walking back into the infirmary.
"He's gone," said JuJu.
Lori sighed as she opened the closet, seeing Becky place her knife back into her holster.
"They're gonna be back soon," said Lori.
"I know," said Becky, taking out a walkie-talkie. "Is my dad… still in jail?"
Lori nodded. Becky handed her the walkie-talkie.
"Can you give this to him? I wanna talk to him later. Haven't heard his voice in a long time."
"Sure thing. Where are you going?"
"I don't know yet. I'm gonna stay here and let Maria finish up," said Becky. "Oh, and one more thing. What's gonna happen to me if you don't win this 'election'?"
"We're gonna try our hardest to convince Melissa to pardon you. A lot of people support you and your father. Maybe not a majority, but enough to make an impact."
"Hmm. All right."
Lori looked at the walkie-talkie. She then looked at the rest of the group, who all tried to hide their disapproving expressions. She then walked out of the infirmary.