Under the door frame a figure appears. The hunched body before them is dirty, unkempt, and its hands tremble. This is not a person, it's a Talker, or an Adapted, as Rosaline calls them. The two men freeze in place, unsure of their next move. They don't keep any guns in the house, they're all stashed away in the barn. The only weapons they allow are a single hunting knife for each of them.
Neither man is skilled with a knife. It's been a long time since Rad had to use one to defend himself, and unfortunately for Hawaii he never has. They know they can't let this monster get past them.
Before either of them can react a voice from outside the house screams to the Adapted.
"Hey, fuckhead! I'm right here."
The voice is Rosaline's, and she's yelling at the top of her lungs. She is somewhere in the front of the house, beyond their sight. The Adapted swivels around, its back now to them, and tilts its head.
"Are you alone?" it asks.
"Just you and me you ugly fuck. I killed your buddies in the woods."
Suddenly, in a storm of violent aggression, the Adapted bursts from their view. The two men quietly hurry down the stairs to assist her. They cover the distance from the bottom of the steps to the doorway in a matter of seconds. They pass through the entrance just in time to see the Adapted swing wildly at Rosaline, only for her to duck the blow and swing her hammer. Her attack connects with the thigh of the Adapted. The creature jerks to the side, the force of the blow altering its path. She rises up, swinging her hammer in an uppercut. The Adapted throws its arms forward, smothering her rising attack, and leaping onto her.
She stumbles back, the creature laying all its weight onto her. It bites at her neck, but she's already wedged her knee in between them, creating just enough space for her to lean back and keep the monster from latching onto her.
The two bewildered men rush from the porch and onto the grass. They halt for a moment, stare down at their knives, then back to each other. Not wanting to risk stabbing Rosaline, Hawaii distraughtly shakes his head. His eyes wide and his brow raised, he offers no proposal for their next action. Rad stares at him for a quick beat, then his eyes widen just the same.
“Guns!” he exclaims.
Without any further hesitation the tall man bolts off for the barn.
Rosaline extends her leg, pushing the Adapted further away. Just as she is able to position her foot on the pelvis of the monster, it grabs her hair and yanks her forward. She jerks violently toward the morose open mouth. The beast throws its other arm wildly at her, a haymaker meant to dismember. She gives into the forceful pull, lunges with it, pivots to the side, drops to her knees, and swings her hammer. The strike impacts the kneecap of the beast with great intensity.
The Adapted buckles, falling forward, onto its hands and knees. It pushes itself upright almost instantly, but Rosaline is already on top of it again. Her hammer connects viciously with the back of its head, the claw end wedging deep into its skull. Her hunting knife already in hand, she pulls the hammer back, tilting the disgusting head, then slams the knife under its jaw. The struggling Adapted falls limp, then she kicks it to the ground.
She dislodges her knife and hammer, then turns around to see Hawaii staring at her in an amazed horror. The young warrior woman's clothes are covered in blood, her hair is a tangled mess, she's drenched in sweat, and breathing heavily. Rad returns, sprinting madly, almost out of breath himself.
"Are there-" Hawaii begins to ask.
"No." Rosaline says, cutting him off.
"You killed them all?!" Rad's question comes off almost as an exclamation.
"Yeah.” -she kneels down, panting- “There was a diseased by the barn, two Adapted in the woods with another diseased, and this one."
The men exchange curious glances to each other.
"How did you know where they were at?" Hawaii asks.
"Adapted need sightlines. When they travel with diseased they send them out to cause chaos, to make their kills easier. It was by the back of the barn, so they had to be seeing it from that angle."
"And they just, what, waited for you?" Rad's question is filled with suspicion.
"They saw me coming, they don’t avoid their prey. They hide to create an advantage, but they don’t run from a kill."
The men share alarmed glances once again, before Rosaline continues.
"Get the others, I have something to say."
Rad looks to Hawaii, who motions for him to do as she asked. Rad disappears back into the house to get the rest of The Family and Mikey. Hawaii and Rosaline await their arrival in silence, the wind singing lightly under the bright sun. The silence isn't awkward, there's a level of determination to Rosaline that he hadn't previously noticed from her.
It's less than two minutes from Rad's leaving until he returns with the others in tow. Mikey immediately bounds down the stairs of the deck toward Rosaline. She holds her hand up at him.
"Woah, woah buddy. Don't touch me."
He stops a few paces in front of her, examines the scene for a short moment, then walks to her side and turns to face The Family. Rosaline takes a deep breath.
"Listen, here it is plain and simple, you need me. None of you knew the diseased were here. Sweetie could've been killed. Sure, anyone could've seen it through the window and done something about it, but would any of you have known
