Godead

XLVIII

As the four stood in the clearing, Claude looked over at the parked campers.

"I wonder if there's any supplies we can use here," he asked, approaching the RVs along with the others. Upon entering, they found a small cache of rations and weaponry. Claude picked up one of the pistols, looking it over as Elsa watched him handle the gun.

"Can you use that?" she asked.

"Kind of. I learned how to use one of these from Blair, a female police officer we used to travel with," Claude said, thinking fondly of her.

"We?" Elsa asked.

"Yes. For awhile, it was Blair, Abby, a girl named Misty, and myself all traveling together. Then at some point, we came under attack and lost track of Misty. Then Blair took off to search for her relatives up north, leaving Abby, Zoe, and myself to fend for ourselves," Claude explained.

"Zoe?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah. She was the one staying at the house with me when you first came knocking. Abby killed her when we recently reunited with Abby, though...," Claude said somberly.

"You mean, Abby left you at some point?" Elsa asked, warily looking out the RV window at Abby and Reuben searching the other two camper vans.

"Yes. She recently went through some kind of transformation, making her far stronger than she was before. I can't be sure, but I suspect the same thing happened to Reuben, as well," Claude explained.

"I see," Elsa replied. "Well I don't know about Reuben, but Abby certainly seems dangerous. Are you sure it's really safe to trust her?" Elsa asked. Claude weakly smiled.

"Blair used to ask the same thing. At first, I gave Abby the benefit of the doubt. Now that she's killed Zoe, though, I barely even trust her anymore. I'm afraid we have little choice, though. Abby seems to like me, and we can probably use that to our advantage. But we should definitely keep an eye on her," Claude said. Just then, Abby entered the RV.

"There's plenty of food in that tacky little camper in the middle," she said.

"...There's some in the one at the other end of the clearing, as well," Reuben said, entering the RV soon after.

"That's good. We were running low on food back at the house. We might consider staying here awhile," Claude said.

"You're kidding, right? I'm not living in a miserable, cramped place like this!" Abby exclaimed. "I'll have a look around. There might be a house we can stay at somewhere nearby." As Abby went outside, she took off, flying away as the others warily turned to each other.

"...That girl seriously scares me. She'll be the death of us all if we don't get away from her," Elsa said.

Claude fell silent. He knew Elsa was probably right, but was lying to himself to think he didn't still have feelings for Abby. Even after everything she'd done. Even after murdering Zoe right in front of him, Claude still cared for Abby. He sighed, looking to Elsa and Reuben moments later.

"...You two can go if you want. I'll stay here with Abby," he said. Elsa and Reuben looked to him in surprise.

"Are you sure?" Reuben asked.

"Yeah. Abby and I have been together for awhile, now. Looks like we're stuck with each other," Claude said with a light smile. "I can't be certain Abby won't track you down, though, if you escape. She seemed to be able to sense your presence earlier, and like I said, we stand a far better chance if we stick together. If you really want to go, though, I can't force you to stay." As she listened on, Elsa sighed, slowly closing her eyes moments later.

"...Heh. You're a good man, Claude. Honestly, you and Abby together are like yin and yang. Still, I have a good feeling about you. I don't know why, but something tells me we'll be alright if we stick with you. We're not going anywhere," Elsa concluded with a firm smile.

"I agree," Reuben added. Claude blinked, smiling soon after.

"Thanks, you two," he said warmly. "Here. Hold onto this." As Claude handed Elsa one of the pistols, the woman looked it over.

"A .357 Magnum, huh? Not bad. It only has six shots, though. We'll need to make them count," she said, popping the barrel open before snapping it back.

"Looks like you can handle that pretty well," Claude said.

"Yeah. My dad and brothers were all gun nuts. I learned a few things from them," Elsa replied.

"Now that you mention it, I don't know much about the two of you. What's your story, Elsa? Are any of your relatives still alive?" Claude asked. Elsa sadly shook her head.

"No. I was the only one of my family who didn't turn into a zombie. I lived in Calbury my whole life, and was actually thinking how nothing exciting ever happened in that town. I never pictured anything like this would happen, though," Elsa explained.

"Yeah, me neither. I'd say this is excitement enough for one lifetime," Claude said. "What about you, Reuben? You mentioned you lost some of your memory, but can you recall any of your past?"

"Yes," Reuben replied. "I lived in a town called Berkfield not far from here. On the day things turned strange, father changed into a zombie and tried to kill me. I escaped the house, and noticed things were crazy all over the place. I ran from a bunch of zombies, and later ran into a group of survivors. We traveled together, and eventually settled in these woods." The boy briefly paused, looking to the bloodstains on his hands. "...Did I... really kill all of them...?" Claude frowned.

"Reuben," he said, approaching before crouching to his eye level. "Don't blame yourself. No one knows what's happening, and even if you did, you weren't in your right frame of mind." Reuben looked to Claude, surprised by the young man's concern.

"Claude...," he said quietly.

"Don't worry, kiddo. We'll be alright, especially with a tough guy like you around to protect us!" Claude replied, rubbing his hair as Reuben gave a small blush.