EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
[ chapter two—haunted ]

Nick followed after his older sister, "Adaline!" He exclaimed, following behind her. "Adaline, stop!" The girl stopped in her tracks, turning swiftly to face him. "What?" She hissed.

A familiar truck came to a slow stop as it approached the older siblings. Troy leaned out the window. "I'm supposed to be going hunting. you can join. If you're not..." He paused, chuckling lightly. "...too busy watching old folks bone."

Adaline furrowed her brows looking behind her and her brother at the house on the hill, An old couple danced the night away inside. Their shadows were lit up by the candle-lit flame behind them. Her eyes lay back at the boy in the truck. "In the middle of the night?"

Troy raised his eyebrows. "Boars are nocturnal, you catch em' sneaking around in the dark." Nick cut in, turning to face him. "Nah, we don't hunt." Troy gave a half-shrug to the siblings. "It's uh.. more maintenance than hunting. More cultivating, than killing. Could be fun." A pistol clanked against the truck window, catching both siblings' attention.

Nick looked down at his sister, "Come." He tapped the pistol against the side mirror. "Earn your keep." Nick nudged his sister, walking around the front of the truck.

"Nick, are you kidding?" Her older brother shrugged, grinning at his sister. "As he said, could be fun." The blonde glanced back at Troy, who extended his arm out of the window.

Nick tilted his head, waiting for his sister to agree before getting in the truck. "Fine." She muttered, treading toward the truck. Troy offered the pistol to her. Adaline stopped, shaking her head. The image of the gun sent chills down Adaline's spine, a gunshot ringing through her ears. "No, thank you." She mumbled, Nick opened the passenger door, waiting for his sister to get inside.

The dogs barks echoed through the trees as they made their way down the dirt path. Nick glanced back at his sister, who kicked at the dirt beneath her feet.

The dogs' barking grew louder and more directed toward the trees. "Fast, fast, fast!" The men exclaimed, unclipping the lead from their vests.

The men chased after the dogs, their flashlights and silhouettes being their only source of identification.

Adaline and her brother followed after the men and their dogs into the trees, although it didn't take long for Adaline to lose the group and her brother.

The girl had been wandering through the trees and found a clearing. The wind whistled through the trees, making the darkness of the night scarier than it needed to be.

A low growl of the dead hidden in the sounds of the night. The girl clenched her jaw, turning her head in every direction to find the dead.

A branch snapped, from behind, and the girl turned to face the dead only to fall back as it lunged at her.

The dead growled and hissed as it tried to tear into her warm flesh. Adaline held the walker's throat tight, searching for her knife.

Her hand wrapped around the blade, and everything went quiet, the wind, the distant barks of the dogs, and the cries of the boars.

It was just her staring death in the eye. The sounds of the trees rustling in the wind the dogs barking in the trees, all came back and the dead fought harder, as if a rush of adrenaline had rushed through its body.

Adaline pulled her knife from the waist of her pants and pressed it into its head. She pressed her eyes shut as she pulled the knife from the dead's head cold red blood splattering down onto her face.

Troy stood in the tree line, slowly lowering his gun back to his side. "You good?" The girl froze, screaming at herself at the possibility he saw her contemplate letting the dead bite into her skin.

"He's a little heavy." She mumbled, looking down at her shaking arm. Troy ran over, pulling the dead of her by its collar and helping her to her feet.

The two walked in silence, Troy saw her, and she knew he saw her.

Troy held his arm out across Adaline's chest, stopping her in her tracks. "Wait here." He whispered, handing her his machete from his belt.

The girl sighed, looking around at the tree line, and noticing her brother sitting behind a dune of dirt waiting to pounce on Troy.

Nick jumped up from behind the dune and jumped down onto Troy, The two rolled around in the wet grass, Nick eventually getting on top and pressing a gun under his chin.

"Jesus Christ." Adaline hissed, her jaw dropping ever so slightly. "Nick."

"Grounds soft. Could dig a grave real easy." Adaline shook her head glancing behind her in the direction of the rest of their group. "You know, people would suspect you but..." Troy shrugged. "They really wouldn't know for sure."

"I wonder how long it'll take for you to turn," Nick spoke, his sister slowly approaching him.

Troy grinned. "Eighty-seven minutes." Adaline furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly her death fantasy from only minutes ago felt like nothing compared to whatever this was playing out to be. "You know, if you do it, you should time it."

Adaline tilted her head, genuinely concerned for both of them. "Journals in my pocket." Troy continued.

"You are not a scientist." Nick hissed, his voice almost a whisper. "Time it, Nick. Please." Nick glanced at his sister and back at Troy. "What's wrong with you?"

"Newton stabbed his eye to understand the nature of light, I just- I need to know, how we spoil." Nick loaded the gun aiming it between Troy's eyes.

"Nick, don't," Adaline warned, wincing as a shot fired, Adaline's jaw fell with it, though it quickly closed as Troy turned his head back to Nick and the bullet hole beside him.

Adaline continued over to her brother, stopping as he grabbed Troy's journal and ran. "What the fuck-" Troy jumped up, chasing after him. "Hey, hey!"

Nick laughed like a crazy person as he pulled pages from the spine of the book, throwing them onto the wet grass. Troy began to mumble jumping up to collect the pulled pages. 

Adaline winced as Troy tackled Nick to the ground, attempting to pull the book from his grip. The girl looked at the two as if they were insane, though they lay in the grass laughing. "I think we can be friends, now."

The blonde gaze fell to a page pulled from Troy's book as it fumbled through the air toward her. She bent down taking the page between her pointer finger and her thumb.

She gazed over the sketch of an older woman, most likely to be his mother. She lifted her eyes meeting Troy's horrified ones, Adaline folded the paper, only getting a glance at the research notes on the back of the page.

⭑ ⭑ ⭑

Adaline lunged up from her sleep, gripping her chest as her breathing quickened. "Again?" Alicia mumbled, half asleep in the bed next to her.

"I'm alright," Adaline mumbled, glancing down at the bed beneath her sister. Her mother lay fast asleep. "I'm gonna go for a walk." She muttered, climbing as quietly as she could of her bed.

"Take my knife." Her sister mumbled reaching under her pillow for the switchblade. Adaline nodded, slipping the blade into the pocket of her jacket.

"Christ." She hissed, The cold air of the night whistled quietly with the crickets. The blonde pulled her Converse high tops over the heel of her foot, glancing up at the night.

Adaline walked through the ranch to the front gate, slipping past the sleeping patrols. The blonde sat beneath a tree just outside the gate.

A boy with dark brown hair wandered toward the girl beneath the tree. "It's not safe to be out here after dark." He spoke out as he approached the tree.

"You are the only danger here." She muttered back.

Troy chuckled, sitting in the dirt beside the girl. "You've done this a lot. Going for a walk in the middle of the night." He mumbled, glancing over at the girl. "Who haunts you, Clark?"

Adaline turned to the boy, "I'm not haunted, Troy." She spat, staring straight ahead again. "Who haunts you?" Adaline pressed her head against the tree behind her.

"What makes you think I'm haunted?" Troy asked, leaning his head back against the tree. Adaline pressed her lips together, glaring at the boy beside her, shaking her head slightly.

"You're changing the subject." She stated, pressing her hand to her forehead, in an attempt to get rid of the headache the boy beside her had given her.

Troy glanced at the girl and back at the land before them. "Who doesn't haunt me." The boy's face softened as he noticed the flames that engulfed the house on the hill.

"No." He mumbled, jumping up from beneath the tree. "No, no, no." Adaline stood up, a soft gasp slipping through her lips.

"Wake up, idiots!" He exclaimed as he charged through the gate, Adaline following close behind. "Fire!" One of the civilians exclaimed as they filled a bucket with water and headed toward the house pulling more and more people from their homes.

Adaline poured a bucket of water onto the fire. "We need more water!" She exclaimed throwing her bucket to her brother and grabbing another.

"Crap," Nick muttered running over to help with the water.

As Nadia approached the front of the crowd her face softened, A little girl who clung to her mother spoke, "Martha and Russell are dead now, aren't they?" The girl looked up at her mother, who covered her mouth as she sobbed.

The girl turned around to Madison. Jeremiah excused himself as he walked through the crowd, "Stop!" He exclaimed, his sons turned to face him from the burning building. "They're gone. Save the water."

Madison wrapped her arm over Nadia, Troy throwing his bucket at the ground. "Let it burn," Jeremiah mumbled walking back through the crowd.

Nick walked up behind his sister pulling her into his arms, and running his hand over her head.

⭑ ⭑ ⭑

Jake tapped the back of Adaline's elbow, the girl turning to face him. "Hi." She smiled, turning back to the horse paddock. "Hey." Jake leaned against the fence looking back and forth between the horses and the blonde.

"I just wanted to see how you were settling in." Adaline nodded, a short chuckle leaving her lips. "Troy asked me that yesterday. I'm fine."

Jake sucked in a deep breath, wanting to get something off his mind but failing to speak. "You're making me anxious, say it."

Jake chuckled, "Troy." And there it was. The real reason he was there. "I just don't want him to suck you in."

"He isn't. But if we're watching out for each other. Watch out for my mother, she tends to take over." Jake raised his head to nod, lowering his chin slowly. "Bug!" Madison exclaimed, lowering her voice as her eyes met Jake.

"Hi, Madison." Jake began, receiving a nod from the women. "Hey, Jake." Her gaze shifted to her eldest daughter. "We're, uh..." she paused, dashing her eyes to the side twice. "We're getting ready to go."

The girl nodded, "We'll talk when I get back?" Adaline muttered to Jake leaning down to grab her gear. "Yeah..." Jake mumbled, turning back to the horses within the fence.

Adaline followed behind her mother, removing the bag from her shoulder as they approached the last truck along the ranch's main gate road.

Her mother walked past her as she slowed her pace, swooping up her bag as she did. Adaline clenched her jaw tight, stepping back as her mother took charge.

Cooper stood against his own truck wiping the oil off from the end of the oil stick, "You sure you're up for this?" He asked, glancing at Adaline as she turned to face him, whereas her mother hadn't.

"Don't worry." She muttered, Coop raised his brows. "Im not worried." Adaline inhaled a deep breath, picking up her mother's bag from the ground beside her. "I know the terrain, know what I'm doing."

Madison stepped toward her daughter, taking her bag from her grasp. "You?" Adaline twisted the rings on her fingers, eyes darting between Cooper and Madison. "We'll find out, won't we?"

Cooper grinned as he placed the oil stick back into the stump, "If you can't hump with us, your ass gets left behind." Adaline knitted her brows together, screwing her face up. "Hump?" She asked.

Cooper cleared his throat turning back to the engine bay, pulling it out again, and examining where the oil sat on the end of it. "It's an expression." He stated.

"Yeah, whose?" Cooper stepped out from in front of the truck, leaning against the tray of the truck Madison tightened the ratchets. "You should be scared."

Adaline's eyes fell on Troy as he stood with his father across from them. His gaze was set on the ground, tightening his fists as his father spoke sternly down on him. "If you're not, you got no idea what you're getting into, sweetheart."

Her wide eyes shifted back to the two in front of her. Madison stared at the man for no longer than a second. "I survived the wasteland without you and your guns."

Adaline's facials softened, and her eyebrows raised slightly. "I know exactly what I'm getting into... sweetheart."

"Mom!" Alicia exclaimed, making her way to her mother. "Feelin' a little rough, Licia?" She asked, continuing towards her. "Party all night, gonna pay the price."

Lee snickered as he followed behind two of his older siblings. Nadia leaned over, nudging the boy as they walked down the hill. "Never again." Alicia groaned wrapping her arms around her mother.

"Mom, you don't have to do this," Nick spoke up, reopening the topic they'd spent all night arguing about. "We need to contribute," Madison spoke, almost whispering.

"There are other ways," Lee pointed out, rolling his shoulders back as Adaline forcefully hugged him. "I should be the one to go." Nick offered.

"You need to stay here and look after Luciana, make her feel safe." Troy pressed down on the horn, the Clarks glaring at the boy in the truck. "Looks like you with me." He exclaimed, his gaze met Adaline.

"Looks like it." Madison retorted, her eyes shifting between her daughter and the Otto boy in the truck as they held eye contact. "Mom, this doesn't feel right."

Adaline rolled her shoulders back as she met her mother's cold gaze, gasping as she was pulled into her friend's arms.

"You cannot trust him." Lee intervened. Nadia's gaze softened as she was met with Adaline's uneasy ones. The blonde stepped away from her friend, glancing at her family as they continued.

"You don't have to go, it's not too late to change your mind," Nadia assured the girl, Adaline shook her head. "Someone needs to be there for her. Watching out for her..."

Nadia tilted her head, lowering her voice. "watching out for her or watching her." Adaline lowered her gaze, stepping away from the redhead and toward her brothers.

"We'll be gone a day, two at the most." Madison continued, arms wrapped around Adaline. "Don't worry about us." Nick shook his head against Adaline's head. "Lee's right. You cannot trust him."

Adaline glanced up at her brother, stepping away. "The more we understand about this family, the safer we are--" Eyes bore into Troy as he honked again, The men previously scattered around the other vehicle, now retreated inside them.

Madison opened the truck door for her daughter, Blake stood at the passenger's side door, opening it to get in. "Nah man, Ladies in the front," Troy spoke.

Blake stared at the boy, realising he was serious he stepped back, holding the door open for Madison.

⭑ ⭑ ⭑

"They're potheads," Lee whispered, not very well. Nadia gazed up from her plate. "What?" Her gaze followed the younger boys.

Lee and Nadia turned simultaneously to the table across from them. The bible study group. The redhead nodded, turning back to her plate. "I figured." She spoke, raising her eyebrows.

Alicia sat beside Nadia, groaning. Lee pushed his tray over to his sister. Alicia shook her head taking Nadia's cup of coffee, with no protest from the girl she brought her lips up to the rim of the cup.

Lee leaned forward, "Where's Nick?" He asked, looking over the tables around them. Nadia shrugged, taking a piece of fruit from the tray.

"I'm thinking we take a couple of those buggies and get the hell out of here for the day," Lee spoke up, the girl across furrowed her eyebrows at her brother.

"Buggies?" She repeated, leaning forward.

Lee raised an eyebrow, "While everyone was tending to the fire I had a look around the place." He shrugged, throwing a grape into his mouth.

Alicia sat up straight, "what fire?" She interjected.

"The old couple, on the hill. Their house caught on fire." Nadia began. "They were one of the founding families." Alicia stood up searching for someone in the crowd. "I'll um... see you guys later."

Lee stood up after his sister watching what direction she'd headed in. "Okay, I'm going to scout the buggies." Nadia furrowed her eyebrows, shaking her head lightly as the boy rushed off.

"Actually, could you not get us kicked out? I have a bet on Nick doing that for us." Nadia exclaimed, the surrounding tables turning to look at the red-headed girl.

⭑ ⭑ ⭑

Adaline spun the rings around her fingers, bringing her gaze up to the front as the truck came to a rolling stop. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Troy pointed past Madison, "Check it out, down there." 

Blake leaned across the middle seat tilting his head at the scene below. Adaline followed his gaze. Troy took his walkie from the cup holder beside him. "Cooper, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Beside the road lay a deep ditch, an old prison transport van lay on its roof the dead stumbling aimlessly around it. "We got a party to attend."

Coop disagreed over the walkie-talkie, Blake's grin left his lips. "It's out of our way, Troy. We need to get to the Huey and back. Over."

Troy furrowed his brows, "No, no, no." He spoke, his eyes darted between Madison and the prison van. "We leave them, they could migrate on the highway toward the ranch. We can't risk that."

Adaline met Troy's gaze, shifting in her seat as his eyes wandered over her. "Not on our to-do list." Cooper pressed through the radio, "We're on a clock, man."

Madison turned to Troy gaining his attention as she spoke. "Im with you." Adaline glanced at Blake, her facials softening as she stared back out the window, her fingers twisting the rings on her fingers around.

Troy hid his grin behind the radio as he made it clear to Coop that they weren't leaving the dead to migrate onto the highway. "We're not making this someone else's problem, Cooper."

Blake took his pistol from his belt, removing the clip and gazing down at the bullets. "We'll be in and out in five minutes. That's it." Adaline exhaled a breath, glancing at Blake as he slammed the clip back into his pistol.

Adaline opened the door, throwing her legs outside the vehicle. "Oh, no, no, no," Troy mumbled, taking a new machete from the back tray as he let Adaline have his.

"No guns. That's too much noise." Adaline leaned forward in her seat. "Not enough sport." Troy gazed up at the axe he'd pulled out from the back of the truck.

Troy stepped out from behind the truck handing the axe to Madison. "It's a good weapon." Adaline stood up from inside the truck, closing the door behind her.

Her mother glanced back at her daughter as the men began their journey into the ditch, Adaline sighed as her mother followed after them.

Adaline stood to the side as Troy moved past the dead near the front of the van, taking on the dead at the end of it. Adaline held her own blade in her hand, jamming it into the skull of one of the sheriff's deputies who stumbled toward her.

She stepped back, her eyes wandering over Troy's men. More or so glued to Troy as he took on five of the dead. Cooper set himself up on the road lining his arrow up with the dead below.

Troy retracted the blade from the gut of a prisoner, following it through his skull and out again through a much larger infected skull.

Adaline grunted as a walker stuck on his knees grasped onto her ankle, pulling her to the ground. Her blade coursed through the infected skull, clattering against the ground as another one of the dead sat over her.

Her hand searched her surroundings for something sharp, finding a large rock with a sharp edge. Adaline took the rock slamming it into the dead's skull, and rolled on top of it to finish the job.

Madison stood watching the men around them, Mike slammed his hammer down repeatedly into the infected, Cooper shot arrows into the others while Troy stood over the dead on his knees.

Adaline rolled over into the dirt, exhaling as she closed her eyes beneath the son. Madison exhaled just as Troy threw the infected beneath him into the bus, shattering the glass as he fell through.

Troy's eyes fell on the others, and he exhaled a deep breath as he leaned back. "Oh, it's a beautiful thing," Adaline grunted as she sat up on her elbows. "It's a beautiful, beautiful thing."

Adaline glared at the man as he turned to Mike, aiming the tip of his blade at the group. "Who timed that?" Adaline pushed the dead off her, her horrified gaze shifting between the group to the right of her and back at Troy to the left.

Troy continued toward Adaline, holding his hand out for her to take as Blake answered him. "It was just under a minute." Her eyes darted from his hand up to his face, "Eh, it's good work."

Troy raised his brow, sucking air in between gritted teeth as she turned over onto her knees standing by herself refusing his help.

"Short work." He sniffled. Adaline shrugged off her mother as she went to speak, walking past the others.

⭑ ⭑ ⭑

Troy led the men onto the ridge, quickening his pace as the helicopter wasn't where Jake left it. Adaline felt tears cloud her eyes, her pace slowing as she lay eyes on the missing chopper.

"What the hell?" Blake hissed, Adaline glanced at the spot where she'd stood after it all went down. "Are you sure it was here?" Coop asked, turning to Adaline.

Her gaze lifted to meet his, sighing as she spoke. "Yeah, pretty damn sure." She seethed, running her hand through her hair as she stepped past the group to the rocks they'd used for shelter from the rain.

"Somebody hauled it away," Madison spoke as she gazed upon the tire tracks where the helicopter should be. Troy glanced at Adaline as she knelt before one of the rocks.

Adaline ran her fingers over the words carved into the stone.

Travis Manawa
1968--2010

Her gaze lifted back to the group as Jimmy spoke, gazing down at the bullet between his fingers. ".223. There was a gunfight."

Adaline tucked the hair in her face behind her ears. Tightening her jaw as she looked down at the bullet casings scattered in the grass. "This is bad. This is--"

Troy tilted his head, "Keep it together, Mikey." Blake furrowed his brows turning to Troy. "What was Phil firing?" Troy thought for a moment, "He was fond of his AR. .223 caliber." Cooper spoke.

Troy nodded, "Yeah, Phil engaged someone and then obviously retreated back up to the outpost." Adaline stood from beside the rock. "We need to go now."

He tossed the bullet between his fingers into the grass, the shell clinked with another. "Im gonna go after whoever shot them down and whoever killed Charlie." Adaline pressed her eyes shut, looking down at her blood-stained hands.

"And Travis," Madison spoke, all eyes fell on her as she turned away from the ditch, waving her daughter over to her as she hurried back to the trucks.

Troy waited behind for Adaline as everyone else hurried after the woman. "You sure you're ready for what comes next?" Adaline stopped before the Otto boy lifting her gaze to the ridge as their group disappeared over it.

"It's gonna be living, not dead." Adaline brought her glossy eyes back up to his. He stepped closer to her, "You're gonna need more fight than that."

Adaline shook her head stepping past him, stopping as he gripped onto her wrist. "I've killed before, I'll be fine." Her eyes clung to her wrist hoping her confession would be enough.

"Who?" Adaline looked back at the ridge. "I-- I thought we needed to go." His eyes narrowed down her. "Someone you were fond of?" The girl exhaled a breath, clenching her jaw.

"Someone my sister was fond of." Troy's eyes wandered over her face as she spoke. "It's a..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed his eyes wandering over her. "...long story."

Troy grinned, "I'd love to hear it sometime." Her brows raised and fell again, shifting her gaze to the helicopter. "There's no room for grief."

Adaline shifted her gaze up to his, furrowing her brows at him. "If it was your father, you wouldn't mourn him?" She asked, lowering her hand to her side alongside his.

Troy chuckled, tilting his head with a grin. "Big Otto is immortal." Adaline raised a brow, nodding. "Im sure he is." She exhaled, glancing around her. "Someone's dead, theyre dead, you know?"

Adaline furrowed her brows, her thumb twisting the ring on her pointer finger as he continued. "There's no point dwelling. All you can do is take out the assholes who did you wrong."

The blonde raised her chin to face him, "Eye for an eye." Troy grinned proudly, "Ah, a tooth for a tooth, amen." Adaline nodded slowly. "I knew you'd get me," Troy spoke lowly, his grin still spread across his lips.

"The last time I was here," She began, her eyes set on the tracks in the mud, eventually lifting her eyes to his. "I wanted to kill you..." Troy smiled, "Now we're friends, right?"

Adaline looked down at her hand, narrowing her eyes at the taller boy. "You ever grab me like that again and we won't be." Troy loosened his grip, running his thumb over the skin he'd been gripping onto. "Yeah, fair enough."

⭑ ⭑ ⭑

Madison shifted in her seat to look at her daughter, The truck they sat in came to a stop, and the men on either side of them practically jumped out before the engine was even shut off.

Adaline took her pistol from the seat beside her and climbed out of the truck. Madison turned to her daughter and Mike as Troy waved them toward the barn.

Madison glanced at her daughter as they walked around the side of the barn. Mike checked ahead of them, and the older blonde woman leaned towards her daughter. "What were you and Troy talking about?"

Adaline furrowed her brows glancing at her mother for a split second before checking a white pickup truck, "I don't know, grief, an eye for an eye." Her voice was nothing but a mumble, keeping her voice low.

"Adaline..." She warned, tugging her by her wrist to face her. "Remember what he is, what he's done." Adaline winced at her mother's grasp on her wrist.

Clenching her jaw closed tight she felt eyes on them. "The more we know about this family, the safer we are. You said that." Madison let her daughter go, her gaze averting to the group at the end of the house watching closely.

Troy tilted his head at the women, slowly continuing toward the back of the barn. Adaline inhaled deeply as she stepped away from her mother, following after Mike toward the others.

The group stopped in their tracks gazing around as they smelt something horrific in the air. Troy turned to Adaline nodding at her subtly.

He turned again sniffing in, "What's that smell?" He exhaled a deep shaky breath, rolling his eyes. "Son of a bitch." Troy hissed, raising his gun again as he continued behind the barn.

Mike glanced at the smaller blonde beside him, following after the others ahead.

Adaline brought her hand up to her face, pressing her hand to her nose as they approached a smoldering pile of bodies. The route of the horrific smell.

A man mumbled in the distance, eyes shifting to the ridge as they'd all heard the same thing. Adaline looked away from the ridge as an older man, probably around Jeremiah's age sat on a rock.

Cooper remained at the back of the group, nudging Adaline with the tip of his rifle when the group began to move.

When the two had arrived Mike was already emptying his stomach into the bush below the rock. "...I didn't see-- I didn't see the man--" Adaline's brows furrowed as her stomach turned.

The man in the chair mumbled to himself as a crow pecked into the back of his head. Troy held his rifle at his side, slowly approaching the man in the chair, enough to scare the crow away.

Jimmy raised his rifle at the man, which Troy was quick to lower. Adaline sighed as the men either vomited their breakfast up or stared at the man in the chair.

Adaline stepped past Jimmy, standing in front of Troy, her eyes searching his vest and weapons belt. She set her rifle strap over her shoulder, taking his hunting knife from his belt.

No one spoke, no one moved. their eyes just stuck on the main, too much clouding their eyes to think things through.

The blonde lined up her knife with the open head wound on the back of his head. Her eyes averted as she slowly brought the blade down through his brain.

Adaline stepped back, stretching the bottom of her shirt out to clean the blade. "We need to go now," Madison spoke, stepping toward Troy.

"But you only just got here." The group turned vastly to the man as he spoke, raising their guns at him another one of his people.

Adaline glanced at Troy, how his body language changed when he met the man before them. He recognized him, knew him.

Her eyes wandered around them, noticing eyes at the scopes, hidden behind boulders and the greenery of the earth. "Have you lost your mind, Walker?" Troy asked.

Adaline took the blade in her hand stepping closer to the corpse beside her, slipping the blade between him and the chair, keeping the handle within reach of him. "Have you any idea what you've done?"

"Defended our land." Walker retorted, almost shrugging. "This is barbaric." Her mother hissed, and Adaline's brows furrowed together. "McCarthy and I go back before you were born, boy."

Adaline glanced around them again, "He showed barbarism many times over. Took two of my men with him yesterday."

Blake raised his brows, "Yeah, and we're gonna take the rest." Troy stepped closer toward the man and lifted his arms from his sides as he spoke. "You know you're dead now, right?"

Troy's voice raised as he questioned him again. "You know that?"

"Lower your volume, Troy," Walker warned, lowering his voice. "And put down your weapons." Madison turned to the left of them seeing what her daughter had seen. "Troy.."

Troy shrugged the woman off, "Shut up! Shut up" Adaline stepped closer to the group, "Your woman's seen what you missed on your way in. You're surrounded."

Madison asked Troy to give the order, After moments of burying his pride and stubbornness Troy ordered the group to lower theyre weapons.

Walker continued, "We're gonna take your guns..." Adaline set her rifle on the ground beside her. "Your vehicles, supplies."

"My father's gonna kill you." Troy intervened, and another gun clattered onto the ground. "Your boots." Walker continued, ignoring the boy's threat.

Troy's eyes shifted to his feet and back at the man. "What?" Jimmy asked with a confused expression clear across his face. "Take them off,"  Walker spoke sternly, raising his eyebrows. "Now."

Adaline followed her mother down onto the rock, pressing her lips shut as she untied her laces. "Tell your people it's time for justice." Walker and the man beside him shifted toward the group, taking their weapons from beside them.

Adaline glanced at the pistol and rifle overlapping one another beside her. After months of using the same gun, she'd grown attached to it and wasn't going to hand it over just because some guy she just met said so.

"The land you've lived on needs to be returned." Adaline glanced at the two men, wrapping her pinky and ring finger around the barrel of the gun pulling it slowly toward her as her other hand worked on her shoes.

Adaline stared ahead at Walker and his man, though she could feel troy's gaze set on her and a second later he'd shifted to give her cover from walker and his men. "Abandon the ranch." walker demanded as Troy's gaze set back on him. "That's not gonna happen." Adaline slipped the pistol beneath her. "Too much has been sacrificed-"

"I know what's been sacrificed, boy." Adaline pulled her boots off setting them down beside her rifle. "That's why you'll leave. Or ill feed every goddamn one of you to the crows."

Adaline's eyes widened as she covered the pistol with her legs. "Do you understand?"

"We need water," Madison demanded, Walker's eyes shifted to the woman as she stood. "You want your message delivered, give us water to get back."

Troy glanced behind him again, Seeing the pistol gone he turned back to Walker and Madison. "What's your name?"

"Madison Clark." She answers, Walker raises his chin slightly. "You bought into a lost cause, Madison Clark." Adaline's eyes shifted between the two.

"It became my cause when you shot down the helicopter." Her fingers dug into the palms of her hands, "You took one of mine."

⭑ ⭑ ⭑

Adaline's shoulder blades almost met as they continued, in no way halfway between the crash site and the ranch. Her feet were numb, every step causing more pain she'd feel later.

Her jaw had been locked shut since they left the outpost, the men around her grunted and whimpered as they walked. Mike held onto Coop for support. "God damn it." He hissed, groaning louder as he jumped around on the trail.

Adaline looked at the man with furrowed brows, continuing past him as he leaned against a boulder on the side of the trail. "You okay, man?" Blake asked, Mike's frustrated eyes met his. "No, im not okay. Indians, really?"

Madison held her hand out for her daughter, helping her to sit on a rock beside her. "We should stop," Madison spoke looking to Troy who stood a bit in front of them.

Troy glanced back at the woman shaking his head. "No. No way." Adaline leaned on her knees, caressing her feet. "Your men are tired."

"Yeah, well, newsflash-- so am I." Troy pointed out, his gaze darting between his men. "Listen, Walker and those assholes will make it back before us if we don't move double time." His gaze met Madison again. "You want that visit on your family?"

Adaline looked up at her mother and down at the C charm on her bracelet. "Huh?" The men further behind the three murmured amongst one another. "You really think Nick can handle something like that?"

Madison shrugged, "We're not gonna make it back." She hissed. "You're overstepping, Madison." The Otto boy warned, turning back to Mike. "Mike, will you pick your ass up?"

Mike and the other men around him stared blankly at Troy, asking each other if he was serious with nothing but their eyes. "Just wrap your foot and hoof it. Come on, let's go."

"You want them to follow you out of fear or respect?" Troy turned back to the Clark women, anger fueling his body. Adaline looked back up at her mother, "Mom.."

Troy's eyes darted to the blonde on the rock and back to her mother, thick tension washing over them. "What did you just say to me?"

Adaline's chest heavied much quicker, "Being a leader is knowing when to stop." Troy glanced at his men, turning to the trail ahead. He inhaled a deep breath through his nose, clenching his jaw as he hurried toward the older woman pulling her aside.

Moments passed, and Troy's hushed voice rose as Madison used what she already knew about Troy against him. Mike met Adaline's gaze as Troy demanded Madison shut up, his jaw clenching as she continued to speak.

"Who says we should rest up?" Madison asked, holding her gaze on Troy as she waited for the men to agree with her. Adaline glanced over the men, and every one of them raised their hand.

Her mother's eyes bore into her as she kept her hands around her foot. Adaline glanced at Troy as he turned to face the group, glossy eyes met hers.

Troy hesitated to speak, feeling his once strong stern voice breaking. "Im the only one who knows the way back." The group's hands rested back at their sides. "So you better pick your asses up at first light."

Adaline shifted her gaze to her foot as she listened to his shaky voice, "Because I will leave you. I'll leave you all for the wasted." Adaline lifted her gaze as Troy rushed toward her, pulling her shirt up and taking the pistol from her.

Madison returned to her daughter's side as Troy marched toward the trees on the side of the trail. Her furrowed brows and tired eyes met her mother's. "What did you say to him?" She asked, glancing back to where he'd departed.

Her mother knelt down, taking fabric from her undershirt to rewrap her foot. "He is a killer. Don't forget that. You can use a spear as a walking stick, but that will not change its nature."

Adaline hunger her head grinning widely. "You should write a book." Madison glared up at her firstborn, "Im serious, Bug." Adaline shrugged, "so am i."

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word count — 6456

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