“I was living in Pittsburgh when it started. My fiance and me...we decided to get out of the city to where we thought it would be safer. We had some companions...Derron and Megan. We holed up in a cabin that Derron owned for a day...but some nut jobs tried to break in, steal our supplies, kill us...I had to kill one of them. It was them or us.”
Peaches blinked several times in shock. “Well...that is terrible, of course. I’m sorry that happened to you. But that’s only one group of people...most people aren’t like that. They don’t go around and just go off shooting people...that’s only for crazy people.”
Aby shot Peaches a dark look. “That’s not all. I wasn’t finished.”
Peaches swallowed nervously. Aby wasn’t sure she dared to tell Peaches the rest. If she did, she might terrify her to death. But she’d started her story now and she had to finish it. Besides...how could Peaches assume the story ended well when Aby started out with other friends and was now on her own?
“We carried on. Our friend, Derron...he was killed by a gang on the road. We found his body beaten to a pulp. But we had to carry on. We were on the run because the police found out that we were responsible for killing the raiders. But we made it to a town called Dent…”
“Hey, I’ve heard of Dent...it’s not too far from here. It’s a weird little place...full of people living off the land, right?”
Aby swallowed. “Well...it was. Now it’s gone. Everyone who lived there...they’re dead, Peaches. Some city folk came and turned everything upside down. They brought guns and cars and tried to destroy the town. We managed to defend ourselves and I guess we thought for a moment that we’d won...but then a second attack came. We weren’t prepared in the slightest. The first group were just desperate scavengers trying to survive. But the second lot...they came from the local prison. They came to kill. They came just for the fun of it. We didn’t stand a chance…our friends died there.”
Peaches chewed her lip. “And your fiance?”
“We got out. We hit the road. But on our way we were almost shot down. My fiance got trapped in a burning car...we barely made it out alive. And then...from there, it gets hazy. I woke up alone in the middle of the woods. I don’t know what happened to Megan and Jake, or to myself. It’s like I lost my memories.”
Peaches gave Aby a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, honey. That’s terrible. It really is.”
“I went looking for them...and I ended up being chased by a group of men who wanted to hurt me. I didn’t do anything to them...I just wanted to see a friendly face. But they were ready to hurt me...ready to kill. You’re the only person I’ve met since this all began that hasn’t gotten me into trouble yet. Everyone out there is for themselves. It just seemed suspicious that some guy is out there trying to get us to share around our supplies for the hell of it. Don’t you see, Peaches? You think people are good, but they’re not. Every stranger I’ve come across has wanted to end me.”
Peaches folded her arms. “Look...it sounded like you’ve been to hell and back. I can’t deny that. But these things always die down. It’s like rioting...the first few days are crazy, and then only the really committed ones stick at it. I think that people out there are making the most of the chaos of things...but it won’t stay this way. Being a part of a community will keep us safe, especially until the craziness dies down.”
“I disagree. From my experience, Peaches, groups are an easier target. Being in a big group gets you noticed. It’s hard to maintain in terms of resources too. We’re better off by ourselves, trust me.”
Peaches stuck her nose in the air. “Well, you can do what you want, Aby, but Tex seems like a nice man. I like that he’s trying to bring everyone together. Haven’t you heard of the benefit of the doubt, honey? You said that every person you’ve met has been intent on killing you. Did Tex see like he was one of those people?”
Aby opened her mouth to argue back, but nothing came out. The truth was, Peaches was right. On the surface, Tex did seem like a decent guy. He was one of the few people she’d come across that hadn’t immediately resorted to violence. He had even left his weapon outside without them asking him to. Didn’t that speak volumes about the kind of person he was? Or at least the kind of person he wasn’t?
Aby sighed to herself. She was torn between feeling like she was being unreasonable by assuming the worst of Tex and feeling like she was being sensible for being wary. In hindsight, she probably should’ve treated Peaches with the same wariness, but Peaches had seemed completely incapable of being a threat, even when Aby was at her most vulnerable. Even so, Peaches had turned out differently to how Aby had expected. How was she supposed to trust Tex just from their brief meeting?
“I think I want to hear what Tex has to say for himself,” Peaches declared, continuing to tidy up. “You can stay here and mope if you want. I’ll go with him and tour the houses, meet the neighbors, see what deals we can make with them. I just think it makes so much sense, Aby. Our supplies won’t last forever, and there are still things we need. Wouldn’t it be good to have people on our side?”
Aby pursed her lips. “We can take care of ourselves.”
“By stealing from other people’s houses?” Peaches asked, raising her eyebrow in a condescending manner. “Sure. How far will that get us? If things are as bad as you say they are, then we need real weapons, real defenses...I
