“This is where they live?” she wonders. All five of them are sitting around the campfire conversing and laughing. They definitely all know each other well. Their situation seems nice, as nice as it can be these days. She wonders what it’s like to have friends, to have a companion. Her stomach growls again. Damnit. She watches them for far longer than she’s comfortable with. She’s not sure where they keep their food. She’s so hungry it’s difficult to concentrate. “What the hell am I going to do? They don't seem like bad people, I don't want to hurt them if I don't have to.”
She doesn’t know why, but she feels the sudden urge to show herself. She knows that is not the wisest move to make. “Maybe these people will be different than all the others. It'd be good for Mikey to have someone else to talk to, some friends-” She shakes her head, frowning at her own thoughts. “Stop that. Stop it right now. You’re just hungry. You’re not thinking straight.”
She tries to stifle this feeling, but it is not to be. It’s not a feeling. It’s a sensation. She believes these people could be good people, but is it in her head? Is it just the hunger? “Good people help others, don’t they? Wouldn’t I?” She...doesn’t know if she would. Protecting Mikey has been her number one concern these past few years. “If I were them would I really take that risk?”
Her stomach growls again. Louder than before and during a break in their conversation. The bigger one, the tree chopper, jumps to his feet. She frowns again, “Shit! He heard that.”
“Did you hear that?” he says to his group.
He picks up a rifle and points it at the woods. “This is not good.” Rosaline thinks.
The girl closest to the trees rises to join him.
“I did.” she replies.
“Hear what?” the other girl asks.
Another of the guys gets to his feet and picks up a rifle. He hushes the group, as he slowly takes a few steps toward the woods. Rosaline takes a deep breath and draws her handgun. “This is it. Damnit.”
She steps out from the tree line into full view, her gun drawn on them just as theirs are on her. “They didn’t shoot, thank God.”
“What do you want?” the guy closest to her asks.
She doesn’t answer.
“You lookin’ to steal from us?” the biggest one interjects. His tone is firm, but he is rattled.
“NO!” Rosaline responds.
She answered with haste. She lied. She’s sure they know it.
“What do you want?” the closest one asks again.
Rosaline takes another deep breath. Her face stretches, her stomach growls again, her mind wonders, “For their sake I hope this is the right move.”
“My name is Rosaline. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I-I...” her thoughts fade.
She’s so hungry. She can see these people are afraid. That’s smart. “Fuck it Ros, be honest with them. Either they accept it and help, or you kill them. Damnit.”
“I lived in a community once. Really nice with gates-”
“What?” the largest one says, interrupting her.
A fleet of confused looks greet her story. The young people glance to each other, none of them knowing what to think.
“Why are you telling us this?” the closest one asks.
“Just listen, please, I need to say this.”
He peers over his shoulder to one of the women. They share a held look for a short moment. He shrugs his shoulders, she nods to him, then steps forward, joining him by his side. She squints her eyes and regards Rosaline for a moment, then bobs her head.
“Okay, tell us.”
Rosaline takes another deep breath, her eyes beginning to well.
“When the disease spread they locked up in it. Made it like a little town. I was younger when I found it, fifteen, and in bad shape. They took me in and I lived there for two years. It was nice and peaceful for a while. It was like none of this ever happened.”
She pauses, taking a short beat to gather herself, then continues.
“One day some other strangers showed up. They let them in and they lived with us. Everything was fine for months. The strangers helped out, did chores, and chipped in however was needed. Then one night, out of nowhere, the strangers killed a bunch of people, stole a lot of supplies, and left. Everything changed after that, everyone changed. The community turned mean and bitter.
“They went looking for the strangers. They were determined to find them. They searched for weeks. One day the search party came back. They found the strangers. They took them to the middle of the community and killed them, but it wasn’t quick. They tortured them for days. Made them suffer. Everyone saw it, most even took part in it. They enjoyed watching it. They made the strangers suffer until their last breath. Even, even the little child that was with them. When the strangers killed those people and left, a little boy’s parents were some of the people they killed. He was two years old and left alone.”
The group before her exchange more unsure glances among them. They’re confused, and rightly so. Rosaline partially turns her head back to the woods, never losing sight of the group.
“Mikey! Come here.” she yells out.
A few moments pass. No one says a word. The only sound to be heard is the rustling of the fire, then a patter of feet walking over leaves. It’s faint, but in this silence it can be heard. A young boy exits the woods. Upon seeing Rosaline he hurries over to her, wrapping his arms around her leg.
