Rena, Olivia and Lloyd The way was quick and the way was mostly void of undead. As they half ran, half power walked, Lloyd made his introductions and explained where they should head. His name was Lloyd Mathews. He was a young man in his twenties and lived at the Mathews Farmhouse a mile away from the town of Karn. He explained how he and a group of survivors were living at the farm ever since the outbreak started, living off the land and the large supply of items his father always kept on hand for emergencies.
"Though he never imagined an emergency such as this," Lloyd told the group.
The supplies came in handy all the same. His father had been on of the first of Lloyd's family to die. Lloyd did not elaborate as how he died or how the rest of his family soon followed. He did tell them that soon the farmhouse became full of travelers and villagers who knew of the farmhouse. It was fine living for a time, but somehow one of the fences broke. There had been no time to inspect the fence to find out why it broke, because the undead were on the property before anyone had realized it. A lot of their people were attacked. In a panic, Lloyd and the others still alive ran for it, hoping to make it to somewhere safe.
"Long story short," Lloyd told the group, "I'm the only one who made it. I ran out of ammo and hid in that store case. If not for you guys, I would be gone."
Olivia was in some guy's arms. The woman had told him to look out for her, but she did not like a strange man touching her. She had her fair share of strangers and their potential danger. She looked around, hoping Mercy would come to her side again, but she was being led around by the woman. Olivia pulled her arm out of the man's grasp and looked up at him as they made their way through the forest. He looked normal enough, but it was hard to judge who was normal and who was mental. A memory was trying to force it's way into her head, almost making her walk into a tree.
"No..." Olivia whispered. 'I do not want to think about this again,' she thought.
“Let me go, please.”
“It’s okay Melissa. It’s me, your daddy.”
Olivia shook her head. “No, I’m not your child. Can I go back to my friends, please?” She winced when he slapped her across the cheek. Tears spilled out of her eyes. They were inside a house near the main road. From the pictures on the walls, this used to be his house. He and a little girl were in most of the pictures. The girl did not even look like her. She had dark black hair, long and straight, nothing like Olivia’s curly red hair.
“What are you going to do with me?”
“Oh Melissa, daddy’s sorry, but you know how he hates when you misbehave.”
He had her in a back room, on a chair, with her hands tied behind her. Not exactly the picture of a loving father. Deranged maybe.
Would Gideon come rescue her? She sighed, a tear falling from her cheek and landing on the man’s hand as he grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him.
I don’t want Gideon to come. I need to be brave. She did not want to be the reason Gideon left Joey, Lex and the baby unguarded. Could Lex really protect Joey by himself? Then there was the possibility that they would all come. What if they were attacked by the undead? It would all be her fault.
“I’m sorry.”
Of course she had not been talking to the man, but he took her apology as such. He grinned at her. Olivia’s stomach turned over. Sweat trickled down her face and her body started to tremble.
I’m scared. He thinks I’m his daughter, but he's crazy. What kind of relationship did he have with his daughter? She squeezed her eyes shut. Not like that, not like that, please.
A puff of air left her lips when the man stood up and left her. He came back with a cup of what looked like water and a plate of something. Olivia eyed them almost eagerly. It felt like she had not drank or ate anything in ages. The last time had been at the lodge, some moldy bread and hard cheese.
“Drink darling. We need to stay strong,” the man said, holding the cup to her lips. He forced the liquid inside her mouth. Dirty, but not poisoned. Olivia swallowed and despite the taste, she felt more at ease. This man, he may be crazy, but he wanted to feed her at least.
“Can you untie me? I promise I’ll be good now.” Olivia smiled at him. She had to play the part of his daughter until he let his guard down.
I hope they don’t end up leaving me. Please let me escape in time.
The man moved her to another room in the house. It used to be a bedroom for a girl, she could tell. There were dolls on shelves, and pink wallpaper. The room screamed “Disney Princess” Olivia’s family had never had enough money to give her a room as fancy as this. She never minded. Olivia had never liked girly girl things. She was her father’s daughter, always following around in his footsteps.
But I’ve always wanted a doll like that. Her mind was distracted from her situation as she looked across the room at a beautiful doll that looked alive; it could be a little person. It had red ringlets for hair. Part of Olivia imaged the little doll looked a lot like her, as it had been made for her. It’s body was made out of what looked like resin and it was ball jointed. The dress it wore would have normally made Olivia throw up because it was so flowery, but on the doll, it looked perfect.
I love it. I want it. Olivia struggled against her bonds. A tear fell down her cheek and a grumble came from her stomach. Despite the food he gave her, she was still hungry.
“Daddy, why are you keeping me tied to a chair?” Olivia cried. This man was beyond help, but Olivia knew she should try to please him. “I want my doll, daddy. Let me play with it.”
The man came running into the room. He was beaming. Olivia looked at him and tried to pretend this was her father, hoping her expression looked like adoring love.
“Please, let my hands free so I can play with the doll.” She pointed at the shelf that had the dolls, but instead of pointing at the resin doll, she pointed to a doll made out of glass. It was a big and sturdy. She had never liked dolls made from glass. They were creepy, always seeming to stare at her, even if she moved, the eyes followed. This one was ugly and looked nothing like her dream doll, but she needed that doll.
“Oh Melissa, you’re better!” The man ran across the room, grabbing the doll. The pride in his eyes almost made her feel guilty. He was just a crazy man. Before the outbreak, he had probably been a very loving father to his little girl.
He untied her arms, but left her legs bound. “Here you go, darling. I’m making supper for you and mommy.”
“M-mommy?” Olivia asked, her voice quivering. For a moment, she thought of her own mother, but she was long gone. Who did this man think his wife was? Did he have his real wife trapped somewhere or another poor person like herself?
“Yes, silly, your mother. Remember she’s sick, so daddy’s doing the cooking.” He chuckled. “I swear I’m not going to burn the house down.” He leaned toward Olivia and kissed her on the cheek. She squeezed the doll in her hands, waiting for the right moment. When he started to pull away from her, she hit him with all her strength. The doll shattered against his head, a big piece sticking into his temple. Blood trickled from the man’s wound as he crumpled to the floor.
Olivia started to cry. She was not sure why. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, but I’m not your daughter.” She let go of the remaining part of the doll she held and struggled to bend over and untie her legs. The man twitched and she froze, but afterward he was eerily still.
Still crying, she started to tie his hands and feet up, using the hunting knot her father had once taught her. It would hold, but the rope probably wasn’t needed, as she could not see any signs of breathing.
“I’m so sorry,” she repeated. “I’m sure Melissa loved you very much.” She ran across the room and grabbed the resin doll, found a Sleeping Beauty backpack and started to put some things into it. Clothes being the main thing since she and Melissa were more or less the same size. She also found a glittery purse that would be the perfect size for the doll. She blushed slightly at what her companions would think of her.
Screw it! I’m thirteen. I’m supposed to play with dolls. She put the purse over her shoulder and put the doll inside. She ran back over to the man, looked down at his body and sighed. Had she really killed someone who was alive? What kind of person did that make her?
Not a damsel in distress, that’s what kind of person. I saved myself. What really happened to his daughter?
It scared her, but she decided she better look in the man’s bedroom to find “mother” because what if it was someone alive?
She went to the back of the house, opened door after door, finally finding the one who turned out to be the master bedroom. What she found inside made her thankful not having ate that much yet and not as guilty for killing the man. There was someone inside all right, and she had no doubt that the person was the man’s wife.
The lady lay on the bed, her arms and legs bound. Her cheeks were sunken in and her dark hair stuck to her face in big tangles. She thrusted, growling and snarling when Olivia entered the room.
Olivia looked from the thing on the bed to what was on the floor around her. Bodies. Dead bodies of little girls. They all looked similar to Olivia's age and build.
“He tied his own wife up after she turned and...” Olivia gulped. It was all too clear. The man really was a nut job.
These poor girls were failed Melissa replacements.
They were all missing limbs. The man had been feeding the woman while the poor girls were still alive and bleeding to death. There were blows to their head evident. The man having killed them when they died and started to turn.
“How did he find you all?” Olivia knelt down next to one of the limbless girls. “Were you classmates of Ben? Did you live here once or was your family just passing through at the wrong time?”
The man's wife growled, though to her ears, it sounded more like a pitiful cry, a beg to free her from misery. Olivia stood up and looked down at her She had once been beautiful. Why were none of the photos on the wall of her? They were only of the man and his daughter? She shook her head.
I’ll never know. Olivia left the room, but came back moments later with a knife from the kitchen. It sickened her, but she could not leave the woman like this.
Olivia glanced back at the large backpack on her back. Her doll, the purse and all of Melissa's clothing were still inside. She had never found the group of people she had been with at that time. Maybe they were still alive? She hoped so. She looked at the man again and bit her lower lip.
"I can walk on my own, thanks though. It's better for both of us to have use of our hands free, don't you think."
They came to the cornfield. It was massive. Olivia looked at it in awe, imagining all the corn on the cob feasts she could be having soon. No sooner had she started to imagine all the dishes that corn could go in, did something stumble from behind the tree and head toward the unsuspecting group.
Rena was the first to notice. She was quick with her shovel, having used it as her main weapon since she left her ballet studio when this all started. The first swing did not kill the undead. She kicked him in the chest with her pointe shoe and bashed it on the head again when it fell to the ground.
"Ballerina Girl, the killer of the undead," Olivia joked, trying to make light of the situation. "I hope that was the only one." She looked at the cornfield. "Are we really going through there? It will be like the blind leading the blind!"
"I've been doing this ever since I was old enough to walk," Lloyd assured. "I know the way, just follow my voice. Hold hands if that makes you feel more comfortable."
Rena offered Olivia her hand and she took it.
There had been some screaming and sounds of fighting as they made it through the cornfield, but Olivia and Rena did not face any undead.
"Everyone okay?" Rena asked. Someone asked that after each fight and it seemed everyone was okay though nobody would truly be able to know until they got to the other side. With all the adrenaline, someone might not realize they were bitten.
"Hold up, the fence is almost within touching distance. I can see some undead." Lloyd said in a whisper, loud enough for only Olivia and Rena who was right behind him. They passed the message along and one by one everyone knew to stop moving forward.
Olivia pulled Rena up toward Lloyd. She parted the corn and looked toward the fence and the farmhouse. It was very impressive, and scary. There were undead everywhere, but not as many as she had been imagining. The farmhouse was made from brown wood, and seemed to be at least three stories high, maybe more if it had a basement. There was a large pond on he grounds and nearby that there was a well and a water pump. Behind the farmhouse, she could see some crops that were in full bloom, though she could not tell what was being grown.
Closest to them, there were six undead shambling by the fence near where they were. She wondered how the fence got broken, but did not have to wonder for long when she noticed the true problem had not been a break at all. Someone had left open what looked like a gate.
"Who would have done that?" Olivia whispered, seeing Lloyd notice it the same time she had. He shook his head, seeming at a loss for words.
"It's a gate that gives us easy access to the cornfield," Lloyd muttered. "Had to be an accident. Just had to."
"Okay long range melee up front," Rena said, trying to get the girl with the bow's attention. "We need to pick some of these guys off before we venture any further into the property."
Remy With Luka and Ash in tow, Remy helped them track the other group of people toward the woods. He was currently crouched in front of the wooden entrance looking at a footprint in the dirt. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know they were on the right track. The footprint was child size or from a woman with very small feet. He stood up and nodded at the other two.
"Quietly, this way," Remy said. "Be careful."
Their trail was easy to follow once they got in the woods. There were broken twigs, footprints and the most helpful clue... a trail of dead bodies. The bodies were few in numbers and Remy was glad the group had not came across too much trouble. He would enjoy meeting up with them and being able to catch his barrings again. It had been a while since he was part of a group. It was hard to tell who could be trusted, but sometimes he knew that the risk had to be taken.
"The cornfield should be there. It was on the map."
Sure enough, they stumbled upon the cornfield. "Oh look, somebody left us a path of broken corn stalks."
Hopefully they were far enough behind the others that the two groups would not come upon each other and think the other group was undead. Remy winced at the thought.
"Go slowly, keep voices low, try not to make any unneeded noise. I'll whistle, follow it." He went first, crouching low as possible. After every few feet, he whistled to show his position to the other two. There was no undead attacks, but he did trip over a couple bodies. The first group had been busy.
