Red River Blue

Chapter 3

Luke wasn't sure how eager he was to follow the small group of strangers through the woods. They seemed harmless enough. Just a young couple and two kids. Not overly threatening. But they also didn't seem eager to offer his group their assistance. Which made Luke hesitant to accept it. But Yumiko was hurt. All of them were winded. They were out of bullets. Out of water. And out of options. It was either follow these people wherever they led or die.

The young man led them to the outskirts of a lake where he had two horses already tethered to a wagon. Two more horses were grazing nearby. The woman lifted the younger child up onto the back of one of the horses and then swung herself up behind her. The older child mounted the second horse.

"One of you can ride with me," she offered. Luke glanced at his companions, waiting to see if anyone was going to volunteer. He knew he wasn't eager to climb onto the back of an unfamiliar horse.

"You," the young man said, pointing at Kelly, "...get on that horse. The rest of you get in the back of this wagon." Kelly moved her hands, signaling to Connie before she nervously approached the horse. The little girl smiled encouragingly, explaining to Kelly the easiest way for her to swing up behind her on the horse. Kelly moved awkwardly, her body stiff. But she managed to swing herself up behind the girl without a problem. The horse snorted and lifted its front hooves, stamping them down onto the ground. Kelly gasped, holding onto the little girl in front of her for dear life.

"It's okay," Judith said. "But it's time to go. The dead are coming. The horses can them and they don't like it."

With that the young man cracked the reins and got the wagon moving. He took it slow until they got out onto the road where it was safe to increase their speed a little. The girl that Kelley was clinging to rode beside them, keeping up a steady stream of friendly conversation without much help from anyone in the wagon. Luke learned the names of his rescuers. And that they were from a town called Alexandria. He didn't even know towns still existed anymore. And he wondered how they kept that many people quiet enough to keep them hidden from the dead. Luke got his answer when he saw the tall metal walls looming up in front of the wagon.

The small group was allowed inside without issue. But the people that were guarding the gate stared at the back of the wagon with their mouths open. A pretty young blonde woman holding a large rifle offered her loud opinion on the situation.

"Yer all about to get in soooo much trouble," she announced.

"Shuddup Mika," Wren hollered back, rolling her eyes at the girl.

Luke wasn't sure if he liked the threat of trouble. But the large black man guarding the gate with the blonde just offered them all a friendly smile. The man Luke saw next had an air of authority about him. His arms were heavily muscled and he looked like he might have been handsome once. Now there was an eyepatch covering one of his eyes. A long jagged scar snaked out from under it and down that entire side of his face. There was a woman walking slightly behind him. She had a messenger bag over her shoulder and a chubby baby braced on her hip. The baby was handed off to Wren before the woman approached them and began checking Yumiko over to see how badly she was injured.

"I'm gonna go round up the rest of the council," the man said. The woman nodded and waved him off.

"I got 'em," she assured him. Once he was hurrying off down the street, the woman turned back to Yumiko and introduced herself. "I'm Rosita," she said. "Is anyone else hurt? Or just you?" Yumiko confirmed that she was the only one of her group with an injury. Judith and Monroe were sent to fetch some water and food. They tore off down the street, returning quickly with a few large water bottles and a bag of homemade granola bars. Luke and his companions took the food and passed the water around, thanking the girls and the woman that sent them to fetch the items.

Luke noticed that while the streets were fairly quiet when he arrived, more and more people were filing out of their homes. Some just took a look at him and his group before hurrying back inside. Others started heading in their direction. And quite a few seemed to be heading for a building down the street. Connie tapped his shoulder, signing to him. She wanted him to ask a question for her.

"What's going to happen now?," Luke asked.

"We have a council of leaders here that runs things," Rosita explained. "Aiden went to go get the rest of them. Then they'll decide what to do. Are you asking for safe haven?" Luke wasn't sure how to answer the woman's question. He wasn't sure what she meant by safe haven. But he wanted to be safe. And behind these high walls seemed like the best place for that.

"Are you asking to stay here?," she clarified. "...or are you going back to your own camp?"

"Our camp was overrun," Yumiko said. Rosita nodded. She asked Yumiko if she could walk. Yumiko nodded, though Luke noticed she still let Magna shoulder up under her arm to keep her steady on her feet. Luke and the rest of his small group followed their new acquaintances to the building he saw people heading for. Yumiko was given a chair. But Luke and the others were just ushered towards the center of the room. From the inside, the building looked like it might double as a church. But there was no praying going on today. Unless his silent pleas to the creator counted.

People were already gathered inside the building. Most of them clustered around the edges of the room. There was an empty table at one end with five chairs behind it. Aiden, the man with the eyepatch, took a seat. From his mannerisms, Luke already assumed he was part of this community's leadership group. An older man took the seat next to Aiden. His head was shaved down to stubble and he looked like he was missing a hand. There was a metal sleeve over his right arm. It was early to make assumptions about these people. But from what Luke could tell, they had all been through some serious shit. A woman took the seat on the opposite end of the table from Aiden. If Aiden had to guess, he would say she was in her mid-twenties. She was tall with a large chest and long blonde curly hair. If her face wasn't twisted up into a scowl, she might even be beautiful. Monroe, the little girl he met earlier, was tagging along behind the woman tugging at her shirt. The woman sent Monroe over towards the edge of the room and warned her to stay there. They bore a striking resemblance in the face. Luke guessed the young woman must be Monroe's mother.

Another man came in next, his cowboy boots clicking against the hard floor. He took the seat next to the blonde woman. She scowled harder and moved her body away from him, scraping her chair legs loudly against the floor. Her obvious distaste for the man didn't seem to deter him. He leaned further into her personal space and spoke quietly into her ear. And whatever he said must have pissed the woman off even more than his presence near her. Because she lifted her leg and stomped down hard on his foot, making him yelp. Another chair scraped across the floor. The man with the arm sleeve rose from his seat and gave the woman a pointed glance as he pointed toward the chair he just vacated. She got up and took his seat. And he took the seat next to the man she just stomped on. The two men spoke quietly. But Luke was close enough to the table that he could hear what they said to each other. Should know by now to leave her alone when she's in a mood. She's always in a mood. Maybe you better leave her alone altogether then.

The only empty chair was in the middle of the table. Luke assumed that spot must be reserved for the leader of this council. And he was curious to see what the leader of such a formidable group looked like. The door swung. And another man walked in. He was heading for the table, so Luke assumed he must be the person everyone seemed to be waiting on. He was heavily muscled and there was a crossbow slung across his back. Like the others, he looked ready for a fight. Luke was surprised when the man didn't take the empty seat at the table. He only pulled it out. A petite woman with short grey hair walked in behind him. Luke didn't even see her come in. He was focused on the intimidating man that he was sure must be the leader of this place. The woman sat down and introduced herself. The man took up a protective stance behind her, staring at the newcomers with his arms crossed.

"I'm Carol. This is Aiden. Harley. Rick. And Merle." As she went down the table, saying each of their names, they either nodded their heads or lifted a hand. "We'll get to you in a minute," she told Luke and his group. Then she glanced around the room, clearly looking for someone. "Carl! Wren! Get your butts up here."

Carl and Wren approached, standing in front of Luke's group. They were holding hands, looking only slightly concerned about whatever reprimand they were about to receive.

"What?," Wren asked.

"Explain yer fuckin' self," Merle hollered. "That's what!"

"I made a judgment call," Carl spit back, meeting Merle's gaze and practically daring the man to curse at his wife again.

"Bringing outliers back here is against the rules," Carol said, trying to keep the meeting on track rather than entertain another argument between Carl and Merle. "You should have alerted the council to their location and let us decide what to do."

"If we waited there wouldn't be anything to alert you about," Wren argued.

"They were about to get ate up!," Judith hollered from the edge of the room.

"Yer not supposedta talk in here unless yer on the council or in the hot seat," a little boy yelled from the other side of the room. The two children argued back and forth, both telling the other one to shuddup. Finally, Rick yelled at both of them to quiet down. Luke stifled a laugh when he noticed the boy stuck his middle finger in the air, directing it towards the council table. A woman that Luke assumed was the boy's mother cracked him in the back of the hand and warned him to knock it off or else.

"You're both confined to town for a week. And you won't have time to go out anyway, because you're both going to be mucking out the horse stalls," Carol announced, eager to end this part of the meeting before anyone else started fighting or flipping the bird. By the time they all got done fighting with each other, maybe they would get lucky and these people would be ready to leave on their own.

Wren groaned and Carl shrugged. Harley pointed at Monroe and informed the girl that the punishment went for her as well. Rick said the same to Judith. Judith crossed her arms and gave him a hateful stare. With Wren and Carl dealt with, Carol turned her attention back to the group of newcomers. There was only one man. Which was unusual. She wasn't sure if they ever met a group that consisted of more women than men. But that didn't mean they were trustworthy.

"Are you asking for safe haven?," Carol asked, "...or do you want supplies and a ride back to your camp?"

"Our camp was overrun," Yumiko said. "There's nothing to go back to. So I guess we are asking to stay here. At least for now." Carol nodded. That was the answer she was expecting. No one just walked into a group of strangers the size of theirs. Not unless they had no other choice.

"How many walkers have you killed?," Rick asked. Carol waited for each of them to answer. Again, their answers were about what she expected. Most people didn't know anymore how many of the dead they killed. Most just said a lot or as many as they had to. She was taken by surprise when she noticed that the shorter black woman was deaf. The woman talked in signs to the taller black girl, who was speaking and translating for her. She intrigued Carol. To make it this long with a disability like that. One that put her at a distinct advantage. She was a survivor. That was certain.

"How many people have you killed?"

Carol watched the newcomers, gauging their reaction to the question. They glanced at each other nervously before answering. Yumiko spoke up first, insisting she hadn't killed anyone. Magna was quick to repeat the same response. She had a worse poker face than her friend. It was obvious that she was lying. And even if she was the best liar on earth, there was no way Carol would ever believe that anyone made it nearly a decade into the apocalypse without killing another person. Even her body count was in the double digits. And after the war with the saviors, most of them couldn't answer the question for the same reason they couldn't answer the question about the amount of walkers they had killed; they no longer knew exactly how many.

Connie and Kelly didn't answer right away. They were arguing back and forth in sign language. Connie repeated the same sequence of gestures a few times, pointing towards the table. But Kelly shook her head. Finally, Connie pulled a small pad of paper from her pocket and scribbled away furiously. She approached the table and handed the note to Carol. It had the number six written on it. And a short note underneath.

Bad men came to our camp

killed 2 of our group

I killed 1

Magna and Yumiko killed others

"Thank you for your honesty," Carol said. Connie nodded and took her place back in line. She turned to her sister and made a few angry gestures. Kelly sighed. Then she answered.

"Two." Rick immediately asked her why. She looked down at her hands when she answered. "One because he tried to jump us when we were out gathering supplies. The other tried to rape me."

Carol nodded and glanced at Luke, the only member of their group that was yet to answer the question. He shuffled nervously.

"One," he finally admitted. "My friend got bit. He asked me to kill him before he could turn."

Carol ignored the fact that the first two women lied when they answered the second question. They were obviously the more skilled fighters of the group. And Carol guessed they killed more than just the few men Connie told her about. But she doubted it was done with malicious intent, which was their concern when they asked the question in the first place. Carol moved on, asking them to tell her what their jobs were before the turn. Deanna used to ask that, so she could determine how new people could benefit the group. Carol was asking because she wanted to know if any of them had any medical knowledge. That would make taking their group in worth the risk. But unfortunately, none of them did. Yumiko was a lawyer. Magna was a waitress. Connie was a journalist. Kelly was a student. And Luke was a music teacher.

"What instruments do you play?," Harley asked, suddenly interested in the interview when she looked ready to die of boredom a moment before.

"I can play almost anything," Luke said, giving her a curious look.

"Can you play a bass guitar?," Harley asked. He nodded. "If you had to pick between The Beatles and Elvis, who would it be?"

"The Beatles," Luke answered with a chuckle, surprised at the unexpected turn this interview had taken. Harley looked at Beth, making eye contact with her and giving the other girl a small nod. Beth stepped forward, sticking her hand up in the air.

"I'll sponsor him," Beth announced.

"I'll second," Harley hollered, sticking her own hand in the air. Rick looked back and forth between the two girls in disbelief.

"You girls can't just sponsor someone because you want him to join yer band," Rick insisted. Carol fought the urge to bury her face in her hands as total pandemonium broke out at the council table. Harley started yelling at Rick. Merle was yelling at both of them. Not because he agreed with one or the other, but because he couldn't stand to keep his mouth shut when other people were yelling. Several people who were not on the council were voicing their loud opinions, adding more chaos. Merle's son used the distraction to slip away from his mother. The boy ran over to the group of strangers and poked his hand into Magna's pocket, snatching a lighter from the woman and quickly dancing back out of her reach. He headed for the door, clearly intending to flee the building with his prize. But Merle caught him before he hit the door. Snatching the boy up by the back of the shirt like a naughty cat, Merle dragged his son back over to the middle of the room.

"Give it back!," he hollered. When the boy didn't immediately comply, Merle gave him a healthy shake. "Axel! So help me! Unless ya want yer ass beat right here in front of everyone, yer gonna give that back right fuckin' now!" Magna held her hand out of the item, which the boy returned to her with obvious reluctance. Once the lighter was in her palm, the boy flicked his arms up and dropped, slipping right out of his shirt. He scrambled to his feet and ran over to hide behind his mother. Merle looked down at his hand, which was now holding onto nothing more than a stained t-shirt. He balled up the garment and tossed it forcefully towards his son before returning to his seat at the council table. Carol pounded on the table with her open hand a few times, quieting the rest of the room down. She turned to Rick first.

"There's no rule about why or why not someone can be sponsored," she told him, holding up her palm to stop whatever argument he had before he could even start up with it. Beth moved from her spot on the perimeter of the room, grabbing at Luke's shirt sleeve and tugging. He shrugged and allowed the small woman to lead him into the crowd, relieved to be out of the hot seat. But once he took up position next to Beth, Luke glanced back at the rest of his group with some concern. It seemed the rest of them were not going to be so easily accepted. This surprised him a little. Magna and Yumiko were their best fighters. If people were calling dibs, he assumed they would be chosen first. Not him.

"Anyone else?," Carol asked, looking around the room to see if anyone wanted to take responsibility for the other strangers. No one spoke up.

"What's going to happen to the rest of them?," Luke asked, whispering to Beth.

"They can't stay here without a sponsor," Beth admitted. "But we know another community that will take them in."