Safe Haven

Fresh Faces

The escaped prisoners make it to the distant house, finally able to take a breather.

"I..." Nathan drops his hands to his thighs, pausing to catch his breath. "I think we're safe for now." He wipes his brow, and quickly looks around to make sure Chloe, Jillian, and Griffin made it.

"We should be, I didn't see any of those things following us," a survivor says. He extends his arm towards Nathan. "The name's Rob. Are you the leader of this posse?" He asks, gesturing his hand towards Nathan's group.

"Not really, it's more of a democracy I suppose," Nathan smiles.

"Well, this is what remains of my group," Rob says, pointing towards a few people. "I wasn't able to save them all, and some tripped while we were so close to escaping. It breaks my heart, but life goes on, you know?"

Griffin's eyes dart around nervously, but nobody seems to know that it was he who got them killed.

"This right here is Valerie," Rob points to a slim twenty-something with long, black hair. She waves, and begins to introduce herself, but Rob cuts her off.

"My main man over here, Bradley," he gestures towards a toned thirty-something man. His shirt hugs his fit torso, it's a wonder that it hasn't ripped yet.

"And this right here is my dog, Hunter." He pats his thighs, and Hunter, a grown Australian Shepherd, runs up to him, hopping up to lick his face.

"Holy shit, he's such a cutie!" Chloe exclaims, becoming visibly excited.

"You can pet him if you'd like," Rob laughs. "He's no guard dog, but he's survived this long. He's a fighter if I've ever seen one."

"Hunter! Come here boy!" Chloe calls to him in a high-pitched voice. "Come here you handsome little guy!"

Hunter wags his tail and prances over towards Chloe, licking her hands and face as she loses herself in his fluffy hair.

"I haven't seen her this happy since before the world went to shit," Nathan whispers to Rob.

"Hunter has that effect on people. He's what keeps us all going, if I'm being honest," Rob walks over towards Hunter, petting his back while Chloe accepts his extraordinarily wet kisses to the face.

"I don't know why you're all just standing around awkwardly," Nathan announces to both groups. "We just made it out of that hellhole with our lives! Celebrate amongst yourselves! We're all friends here now!"

The groups talk to each other all night, speaking out about their pasts, their interests, and what they think about the other members.

The next morning, Nathan talks to Rob about their plan.

"So what were you guys up to before you were captured?" Nathan asks.

"We were on our way to a rumored safe haven in Fairview-" Rob is interrupted by Nathan.

"Missouri? That's where we were heading!"

"No shit?" Rob smirks. "I think we could all get there alive if we combine our groups into one."

"For sure, we could use the company, and the additional protection," Nathan looks at his friends, still asleep. "Jillian is the little brunette I was cuddled up with. I met her after things went to shit, and we really hit it off. We want to have children if this all blows over. Chloe is the blonde one. She's my sister, and I'll fight tooth and nail to keep her safe. Griffin is as close as I've had to a best friend since, you know. He's got a bad temper, but he's pretty smart, and he's an excellent fighter. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of his outbursts, ever."

"He sounds unhinged," Rob remarks. "I had someone like that in my group. They lost their temper and became reckless; tried to fight two of those pouncers at once. They got him down and fought over his body, and eventually tore him in half while he was still breathing."

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry to hear that Rob."

"Don't be sorry, like I said, he was reckless. It was bound to happen, and I hate to break it to you kid, but Griffin will most certainly end up like my friend if he doesn't get his temper under control."

"He'll be fine. He's saved my ass multiple times, and took some serious risks to protect the group."

"That's even worse, he's putting himself in unnecessary danger because all of you are reckless. Maybe it won't be his fault when he finally croaks."

"Hey now," Nathan becomes annoyed by Rob's statement. "We know what we're doing."

"I'm sure you do, kid." Rob reaches inside his pocket, then throws his hands in the air. "God dammit, those fucking bandits took everything, even my cigarettes. Do any of you have a cigarette I could bum off of you?"

"No, I'm sorry. We don't smoke," Nathan replies monotonously.

"Damn, no worries kid. We should start heading towards Fairview when everyone else is awake. I looked around while we were running, and I saw some street signs pointing towards it. We're less than two days away if we keep a steady pace."

"Sounds good to me, Rob."