[Word count: 3,777]
| chapter - five |
\ trouble in paradise, part-one /
> episode - three <
"Philadelphia." Murphy cooed, as he watched a woman get mauled by Zombies. "Ah, the city of brotherly love."
Linnett sat against her feet in the bed of the pickup truck, waiting for anything to happen. As Doc stood up on the bed leaning his hands against the truck, as he scouted out as well. Mack on the right side of him, sitting on the rim of the bed. And 10K sitting on the left of the man, also on the rim.
She noticed a Zombie getting uncomfortably close to the truck, as they began to slow down a bit. She pulled the string of her bow with a loaded arrow as she waited for it to strike, but she kept waiting as it seemed to do almost nothing.
10K looked back at her, "Li-" He caught himself before he could say her nickname. "-X, do you ever actually use that bow? Or is it just for show?"
She was going to answer his question, only for the Zombie to make up it's mind and growl. She let the arrow fly, taking it down.
Looking up at him with a side smirk and a raised brow, "Yes." 10K didn't answer back, the only thing he did was give her the expression that he was impressed. And she felt as though that was a small achievement. Mentally patting herself on the back.
And that's when they came to a full stop. "Is that really the liberty bell?" Mack wondered, almost seeming to be amazed.
Garnett hopped out of the truck, and walked closer. "'Proclaim liberty throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof.'" He read it out loud. "Yeah, that's it."
Doc got closer as well, "Three years of Zombie Apocalypse, you think you've seen everything."
Warren added to mix, "Well when everything went bad, they probably tried to save a little history." As she then began to check if there was gas in the tank of the white truck that the bell stood on.
"Yeah, well they should've known the only thing you can save is yourself." Murphy complained. "Let's go!"
"Hang on!" Warren sighed. "If this thing still has fuel - and it does." She then spoke to Garnett. "If we get this thing started, they won't have to ride in the open like that." She referred to Doc, Mack, 10K and Linnett. And it got Garnett thinking.
"Well I'm all for that," Doc hummed.
Mack perked up, "I'll grab the jumper cable."
"God bless the human race," Doc sighed, as he looked at the bell. "ninety-nine percent of them dead, but there's still that one jacka** alive with a spray can."
Warren took the mini tube out of the gas tank of the white truck, as she went to open the driver door. Only for a Zombie to come popping out still with his seatbelt on, Warren jumped back as it growled and bit nothing but air.
Linnett didn't even have time to think, as 10K had already taken it out with his slingshot like it was an everyday occurrence - which, it probably was if she had to be honest.
"One-thousand-seventy-five," The boy added to his counter. As Warren signaled the boy a 'thank you' and came back to the pickup.
It wasn't long until they got the pickup connected with the white truck with jumper cables. Linnett felt sort of excited. It wasn't like she hated staying in the bed, in fact she didn't mind it at all. But it would be nice being inside for once, so she wouldn't have to worry about wasting her arrows continuously.
She already found a few more while traveling. She was on her last one now, as they go by fast. She would have to try being creative for once and start making her own arrows, if she's gonna keep this up. Otherwise she may have to ask Garnett for a gun soon.
Garnett gave order's, "Alright, that's let. Let's go, Murphy. You get in here with Warren and me. Everybody else, follow in the pickup. Stay close!"
Linnett looked at the man she called father, as he looked back. He nodded, and she gave a small smile. She was the second one to go inside the back seats. Sitting in between the new girl - which she still has yet to know the name of - and Addy. Doc drove, and 10K was in the passenger, looking around.
"We're not really going all the way to California with this Murphy guy, are we?" She asked.
"Finally, someone I can agree with." Linnett nodded, with raised brows. The new girl glanced at the blonde archer, and gave her a side grin. They'd get along, and they knew it. As the new girl looked forward once again.
"That's the plan," Doc nodded.
"That's crazy." The girl stated without hesitation. "What's so special about him anyway?"
Doc shrugged, "His blood."
Linnett didn't know whether to be disgusted, or weirded out. She shook her head, "Alright, I'm sorry if this is off the subject, but I really need to know. What's your name? It's been nagging my brain since we met."
The girl looked back at her, "Cassandra."
Linnett nodded this time, as she soothed back into her seat, relaxing. Now that she knew what the girls name was, her mind was at ease.
Doc quickly stopped the truck, causing Linnett to hold onto the back of the passenger seat to stabilize herself from hitting it with her head and causing a horrible accident upon her own actions.
"God!" Doc inhaled excitedly, seeming like he enjoyed the show.
As the white truck swirled to the right and made a quick stop, causing the liberty bell to detach from the back as it rung and echoed down the street, taking out multiple Zombies and other victims. Linnett let out her breath as the pickup made a full on stop, she wasn't expecting something like that to happen.
"Yeah! I'd pay money to see that again!" Doc laughed.
Addy and Cassandra laughed as well, as Linnett looked between them. Their smiles were contagious, as this caused her to give a small one back. She even saw 10K grow a small side grin of his own.
"The axel's broke," Warren stated.
Garnett sighed loudly, "Alright, everybody get into that truck!"
They did so as Linnett hummed, "Well, that didn't last long..."
"I'm driving." Warren motioned to Doc. As the man listened, switching with her.
Linnett just hoped she didn't have to move again. She sort of liked it in the backseat, and wanted to have more time to relax, not having to be on guard twenty-four-seven.
***
"Enjoy, that's the last of the food." Warren said.
Everyone chowed down on twinkey's, but not Linnett.
"How come we get these, and she gets an orange?" Murphy grumbled, watching the blonde archer peel her precious fruit with her last arrow.
Doc chuckled, "It's Linny, man."
Addy nodded while adding, "The daughter of Charles Garnett get's special treatment, we don't question anything." She smiles.
Linnett balanced her feet on the front of the pickup, as she sat against it. "I don't like twinkey's. I much prefer an orange."
After the peel was off, she carved an 'X' into it. "Here's another gift for your invisible jar of memories." She tossed it over to Murphy, as he caught it.
The dirty man then grumbled in annoyance, "... Thanks... not really..."
This caused 10K to grin ever so slightly, but not enough to make it obvious. Though, Linnett sort of caught the gesture.
Murphy then began to lick the inside wrapper of what was once a twinkey, "God, I'm so hungry. My big guts are eating my little guts."
Murphy looked at the boy, "You gonna eat all of that?" As he went to grab it.
Only for 10K to shove the whole thing into his mouth. Which made Linnett stifle a chuckle. It was funny to her because, she would do the same. And that was being honest.
Murphy grumbled some more as he looked forward again, "Selfish little bastard..."
"We need to split up and look for food and water." Garnett suggested, Linnett easily agreed.
"Oh," Addy spoke up. "If we can find a two way radio or even like a satellite dish, I can try to contact that Citizen Z guy."
Linnett knew she had the radio Garnett gave her, which was still hooked to a belt loop on her pants. But, it was only for emergencies.
Garnett pointed at Addy, "That's good. Okay, you and Mack do that. The rest of us will look for food."
Garnett then added, "Doc, you take Cassandra, 10K and Linnett." Normally he wouldn't let Linnett out of his sight, but since she will be with Doc the whole time he felt soothed with the thought. Doc was a trustworthy guy, and so he allowed it.
And then finally, "Warren and I will take Murphy." He crossed his arms carefully. "Stay close. Meet back here in an hour." And with a steady breath, "All right, let's go."
10K and Doc gathered up their weapons as the boy hopped off the bed of the pickup. Doing the same, Linnett put her last arrow in an empty belt loop, and began to follow them to find more food and water. And maybe even a few arrows if she can.
Although, Cassandra stayed in one place for a little while. Which caused Linnett to question the new girl again. She felt Cassandra had good intentions, but there was something she was hiding. And Linnett intended to find out, eventually. She was too curious to just drop the case like it was nothing.
But sometimes being too curious wasn't a good thing.
***
"Hey, kid." Doc groaned whilst attempting to fix what seemed to be a sort of satellite. "Give me a hand with this, will ya'?"
10K didn't hesitate as he went up to help the man. When Cassandra began to complain, "I don't know why we stopped here in Philly." She shrugged and shook her head. "We should've kept going."
"Going where?" Doc asked. "We need to find a way to communicate with that Citizen dude. And I think Addy can do something with this dish."
Linnett caressed the hilt of her bow over her torso, balancing on one leg giving the other one a break. "He's right, you know."
Cassandra glanced at the archer, only to cross her arms and look back up at Doc. It wasn't a nasty glance, so Linnett didn't find any offence to it.
"Who knows," Doc continued with a shrug. "maybe we'll get lucky and pick up p*rn."
Linnett widened her eyes a little bit, and gave a face that said it all. A face of disgust. "Ugh, Doc." She spoke under her breath with a shake of her head. As he gave a dark chuckle.
10K seemed to be confused though, "Never seen p*rn."
Doc then stood up fully and let the satellite go, "You never seen p*rn?!"
"Really?!" Cassandra cut in in shock. "Never?"
Linnett shook her head rapidly, "Don't encourage him." As she was the one who crossed her arms now, and balanced her head in one palm of her hand.
She hasn't seen it either, but she knew what it was about, and she didn't wanna think of it. But she had siblings, that's all she would tell you.
"Before my time," 10k looked back at Cassandra and Linnett, before he looked up at Doc. "is it good?" He looked between the small group of them now.
"Yeah!" This was Doc.
"Meh..." Cassandra waved her hand.
Meanwhile Linnett just shook her head. Once again, though she hadn't seen it either. She's only remembering from what her siblings in the past had detailed. But even then, she knew it would probably be too graphic. And she wasn't into that kind of stuff.
10K and Doc began to work on the satellite once again as Cassandra sighed with a shake of her head. Not knowing whether she was annoyed or worried, Linnett wouldn't know. But she would guess both.
Linnett was too busy rubbing her eyes from the gross thoughts, hearing a bunch of footsteps in the midst of her small action. She thought maybe 10K and Doc were moving around. But when Linnett uncovered her face from her hands and opened her eyes, Cassandra was gone, nowhere to be seen. The girl just, disappeared in an instant.
This caused the girl to be confused, "Um, guys... where did Cassandra go?"
Doc looked around and shrugged, "No clue. Maybe she had to really go?"
Linnett rolled her eyes with a huff of breath, "I close my eyes for five seconds, and she's missing. She's up to something, I'm telling you guys."
Doc looked back up at the satellite, "All I know is, when you gotta go, you gotta go."
Linnett looked to her right, only to see a flash of clothing disappear beyond the corner of a building at the end of the street.
"I'm gonna go investigate, stay put." She ordered, despite not being her father. She was curious.
"Aye, will do." Doc chuckled out with a little joke.
Linnett grabbed her last arrow, not her bow, just the arrow. If she was going to kill anything, it was going to be up and personal. The arrow will act like a knife, as she jogged down the street and headed to where she saw the flash of clothing. Down a small alleyway.
"Cassandra?" She called out, slowing down to a walk now as she looked around. "Cassandra?" She repeated, feeling a little nervous on how quiet it was at the moment.
But that was until Linnett's life flashed right before her eyes, as a couple of men had jumped out and grabbed at her. She assumed this was an ambush of some kind, and tried to slash them with her arrow.
One of the men grabbed her wrist, keeping the arrow away from his face. As she struggled to fight back. The other man grabbed her from behind, as she kicked out with her legs. Her legs collided with the first man's gut, causing him to let her wrist go and groan.
"Tough one now, are we?" The man behind her gave out a dark giggle, which caused her to be disgusted with his tone of voice. "You'll do just nicely. Tobias will be impressed."
Linnett slashed the point of her arrow back with fierce, as it sliced through the man's cheek. This caused him to howl and let her go, as she dropped to the ground. Quickly getting up, she tried to run only to not realize what was in front of her.
The other man grabbed her instantly from the front, as embraced her in an uncomfortable hug. "You ain't goin' anywhere." He shook his head with a tight grin.
The man from behind then quickly brought a cloth over her nose and mouth as Linnett let out a loud mumble, as she continued to struggle.
"Just breathe it in carefully, you'll be just fine." The one with the cloth suggested.
She didn't want to breathe, but she had no choice as she couldn't hold it much longer. Eventually she gave in, and whilst taking her breath through the cloth, she felt woozy, and the sensation of lightheadedness and extreme fatigue.
"That's it," The first man tilted his head. "you'll be fine."
It wasn't long until Linnett's vision turned into a black void, as she went limp. The last thing she heard were the two men laughing lightly.
***
Everything was a blur and melted echoes, as she heard someone beside her mumbling out in what seemed like fear.
"..." Linnett tried to speak, only for it to come out as a low mumble. That's when she noticed that she was gagged with another cloth.
And that's when the bag over her head was removed, and she squinted her eyes over the bright light that came after. Seeing as she was tied to a chair, and a man sitting across. She was confused. Addy was next to her, also tied and gagged with a cloth.
Linnett seemed to be more calm, as Addy was completely freaking out. This was probably because Linnett had just came to, after being knocked out for who knows how long.
"It's okay, you're safe." The man across from them reassured. "No-ones going to harm you."
The men behind both of them then uncovered their mouths from the cloth, allowing either of them to speak if they wanted to.
Addy breathed heavily as one of the men brushed hair from her face, "Touch me or I'll kill you!"
The man in front of them gave out a laugh, "Sweet child," He then frowned and shook his head slowly. "that won't be necessary. Please, the last thing we want is to harm you."
Linnett looked over and sitting next to him was a woman, she only assumed this woman meant something to this man. But the thing that haunted her the most was the fact that, this woman wasn't moving a single inch. Hell, she hasn't even blinked, at all. And it made her feel beyond uncomfortable.
"Our friends are looking for us, and when they find us they will kill you." Addy growled, gritting her teeth. "They will kill all of you!" She yelled this one out, as she struggled trying to get up. Only for the men to push her back into her seat. As she breathed out hard.
"I get it, you don't trust me." The man in front hummed. "Why should you? I know you're not ready to hear this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I'm sorry."
He then added, "Your friend here is being respectful right now, she's not making a single peep."
"Maybe that's because I'm too much in shock, I don't know how to react or what to say." Linnett explained, her breath being very light, but it was there nonetheless. "Seems like I don't need to." She referred to Addy doing all the talking for her.
The man didn't seem too pleased with Linnett speaking, which, she understood why.
"Who are you?" Addy asked. "What do you want with us?"
The man nodded, "Fair questions." He stood up from the table, and walked around. "I'd be angry too if I were brought here against my will." He then went over to sit at a piano. "Please, I don't want you to be afraid."
As he begins to play, Addy and Linnett both stare at the woman sitting across. The young archer sill felt uncomfortable, and she was afraid it wasn't gonna go away anytime soon. The woman hasn't blinked yet, and that caused chills to run down her spine.
"I, um." The man sighed. "I must apologize about my overzealous companions. They're good men, but sometimes we have to resort to less than civilized means. We live in a less civilized world. You know it, I know it." He explains. "So when we encounter strangers, the family need to take necessary precautions."
"What family?" Addy wondered, in confusion. Linnett was just about to ask the same thing.
"Ours." The man stated it, almost as a fact. As he brought his arms out, "This is our home," He stood up now. "and I am responsible for their well-being... I'm Tobias Campbell."
Linnett furrowed her brows. She remembered one of the men saying his name before she blacked out, as she quickly looked back up at the man that claimed this name.
Tobias continued, "I guess you could say I'm like a father to our little family." He sat down at the table again. "But, like a family, we take care of one another. Everyone contributes; everyone benefits."
He continues, "It's how we've survived the last three years; it's the only way we'll survive in the future. Don't you agree?"
Addy adjusted in the chair uncomfortably, staring at Tobias. He noticed this very well. As he then noticed Linnett grip the armrests of her chair tighter than before, his eyes almost seemed to squint ever so slight.
"Oh..." Tobias hummed. As he then motioned to what was on the table. "You both must be hungry, please eat. We have plenty to share."
They both looked down at a plate of what seemed to be some sort of meat. And it was like Linnett knew exactly what Addy was thinking. Neither of them trusted this 'food' and this man, or even this whole 'family', what-so-ever.
But that may not have been the right choice of mindset...
With an almost sarcastic voice, Addy spoke, "I'm not hungry."
Linnett was about to comment as well. Only for Addy to speak for her, "Neither is she."
Tobias tilted his head, "You will be."
And somehow, for some odd reason, Linnett found those three little words to be very haunting. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling she was going to find out very soon.
"Until then," Tobias pointed out, as two women came into the tent from outside. "why don't you go with Moonshade and Stormy. Ladies be so kind as to find some fresh clothes for our newest members."
One of the men grabbed onto Addy, as he pulled her out of the chair. She began to struggle. As the other man grabbed onto Linnett and pulled her to her feet as well. She thought of struggling, but knew it was best if she just participated for now. She wanted to be smart. Remain calm, and figure out her way of escape for both Addy and herself.
"We didn't say anything about joining your..." Addy looked between the men and Tobias. "... 'family'."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Tobias apologized, but Linnett had a feeling it was fake. "I don't mean to be presumptuous. It's just that once people see the love and bounty that we share, they never want to leave us."
Linnett could beg to differ on this one.
Tobias then looks at both Moonshade and Stormy, "Ladies?"
Linnett follows Addy, as they are brought by the two men and women to what seemed to be a trailer of some sort. Tobias mentioned new clothing.
And though, Linnett knew she could use some new clothing. She had a feeling this wasn't clothing she was thinking.
She had a feeling this clothing was gonna be way out of her comfort zone. And she wasn't going to like it, one bit.
------
Here's chapter five!
What was your favorite part of this chapter? :)
Xoxo <3