The Outbreak

Chapter 4: Stranger From The Shadows

A few weeks have passed, and Leslie has finally recovered enough to be walking around again. She and Gwen have been talking a lot over those few weeks and they've become good friends, surprisingly. Now that Leslie is physically able to walk again, Gwen invites her to a community tour so she knows her way around. Gwen left Leslie a note saying that she can meet her the main building in the center of the town when she wakes up.  Leslie reads the note and stands up slowly. She then makes her way out of the building to see people. A lot of people. For a second, Leslie becomes overwhelmed but then she hears Gwen's voice, and she instantly calms down. "Leslie? Are you okay? You don't look so good" She says, approaching Leslie. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just, I didn't know exactly where to go. That's all" she says, as she starts following Gwen to the biggest building. Gwen and Leslie enter the building, and Gwen leads them to the council room. Leslie sits down as Gwen's father enters the room. "You seem to be feeling better. I am terribly sorry about all the trouble my people have caused. Next time I'll be sure to send out my best" he says, looking at Gwen in disappointment. "Leslie notices that what he said hurt Gwen, as she sees her looking down at the table in front of her. "Oh it's no trouble at all, really. I'm okay now so everything's fine. You used your medical supplies on me anyway so it's okay, really" she says, trying to make Gwen feel better. "Very well. Gwen has agreed to show you around and she has even chosen a room for you to stay in while you're here. I know she has told you about why we brought you here, and it's completely up to you whether or not you stay. The only reason we brought you here by force is because we didn't think you would come if we asked. We wanted you to see what we have to offer before you make your decision. Keep in mind that unlike my daughter, you will be working and doing tasks if you decide to stay. Everyone that's qualified for a job needs to contribute, otherwise", he looks over at Gwen, "well then it's not much of a community, now is it?" he says, looking back at Leslie. "That's all I wanted to say for now. Please let me know what you've decided to do by next week. Thank you for your time" he says before standing up and exiting the room. Gwen is holding back her sadness as she walks out of the room, gesturing for Leslie to follow her. "What was that all about?" Leslie says as she stands up. "Oh, that's just my father being himself" she says, rolling her eyes. "You just let him treat you like that?" Leslie says in disbelief. "It's not my place to say anything," she says as she hands a map to Leslie. "It's fine, really. Don't worry about it" she says as she leaves Leslie behind, walking towards the exit.
 
(Flashback with Leslie and Jesse)"What the fuck?" Leslie says as she checks the chamber of her gun for ammo, then dropping the magazine down stopping, it with the palm of her hand, before pushing it back into the gun and looking up at Jesse."You wanted me to trust you, so you took my fucking bullets? Oh, and left me a useless gun.", she says, getting in Jesse's face and holding the gun up in the air in front of him, pointing it to the ceiling angrily, with her finger off the trigger. "What if you had died with my bullets on you? What if those things broke in here and I had nothing to defend myself? You could have gotten me killed! Do you understand that?!" she says, backing him into a wall as he puts his hands back down to his sides."I-I understand if you're mad, but-", Leslie cuts him off. "Ha, mad? Mad? You think I'm mad? I'm fucking pissed." She says as she's now pointing the gun to the ground. "Okay, now that I think about it, it probably wasn't the best idea to leave you defenseless, but then again, if I had left the bullets in the gun-", she cuts him off again. "MY bullets, in MY gun", she says pointing to herself. "Right. If I had left YOUR bullets, inside of YOUR gun, I would be dead right now." She takes a step back, realizing he's right. "I-.....I can't say that you're wrong, but I still could've died because of you" She says looking at him, angrily. "Well if it helps, I'm sorry" He says looking at her, hoping she'll accept. "I don't forgive you, though now that we've established that you still have my bullets, how about you hand them over?" Jesse looks at her in amusement. "What?" She says, confused. "You're a very stubborn person, aren't you?" He says with a smirk. "You could say that", she says, putting her hands on her hips. "I'll tell you what. How about we make a deal, you and I?" He says, crossing his arms. "How about I kill you, and take my bullets anyway?" She says, also crossing her arms to mock him. "I guess that could work too, but I think making a deal could be more fun for the both of us. You wouldn't want to kill an unarmed man, would you?". He says leaning in a little closer. "Unarmed? I saw heard shots when I was by the car outside. I know you have a gun" She says, now uncrossing her arms. "You're very observant too. I'm starting to like you more and more", he says, leaning down to her level. She takes a step back. "Uh yeah". Jesse stands up straight before speaking again. "Let's go on a little adventure, shall we?", he says, gesturing for Leslie to go first. "After you, Casanova", she says, also gesturing for him to go first. He understands and starts leading her out of the room. They walk down the stairs and Leslie grabs her bag of belongings before they leave the house.