The Dead Live (Book 3)

Chapter 47: Trust Issues (Christians POV)

I looked at Ben for quite a bit of some time, as I could tell that he was not too sure as to what he should do at this very moment in time, as I could tell that he had not a clue as to what it was that he should say back to the lady that had just spoke to us in the first place as well, which I did not blame him for of course, as it had been my own decision to track them.
Perhaps this was a very bad idea too, as I began to think back on it, as I was not quite all too sure as to what it was that I was even thinking at that very moment when I had found out from Ben, that there had in fact been some people that had been with us, whilst I had been asleep in one of the rooms that was in the gas station.
I still was not too sure as to how I had not woke up when I had heard some sort of noise, as that was not normal for me at all. I knew that Ben was not making it up how ever, as it would not make sense for him to lie on some thing such as that, and also the fact that I had seen the foot prints just as he had as well.
That was besides the point though, as I was trying to think of some sort of response to what the lady had asked of Ben in the first place, as if Ben was the leader for us at the very moment in time. It was rare for Ben to step up like this, and I was not too sure as to what all was going on with me right now.
I could tell that Ben had not a clue as to what it was that he should say back to her at all right now, which I did not blame him for either, as it was not a normal thing for him to step up like this in a situation like this one for one thing, but for another, I could also tell that he just did not know what to say, and it was causing a lot of stress on him.
Ben suddenly looked back over to me, as he kept his hands in the air. I felt like it was a very bad decision by him, as I flinched, expecting to hear a shot from the other side of the woods, and then see his body fall to the ground, but luckily that was not the case, as I let out a bit of a soft sigh of relief, all at the same time too.
He stared at me for a few moments, as he tilted his head at me, to let me know that he was not too sure as to what it was that he should say back to them. I felt like I was more to blame right now than he was, as he was in fact making a lot of stupid moves at this very moment in time, but also, I knew that I should be the one standing up to speak.
I blinked a few times, as I looked down at the ground, where I had left my gun at, and I suddenly then got the balls all of the sudden, to step up, just as Ben was doing right now, and I stepped in to the front side of the tree, still worried that it would scare them, and that they would shoot at either one of us at any moment now.
It was a bit strange to me, how at first, I felt like they were the ones that needed to answer questions, but now I felt like it was us that needed to do as such, as we in fact, were the ones that had been tracking them through the woods in the first place. I shivered, as I shook off all of those thoughts all at once at the exact same time too.
Based off of the tone of their voice, and the fact that I could tell that they were quite a bit scared of us, I had to assume that they were not bad people, and that they were simply just afraid of us, and were wondering how there was any sort of good intent in the fact that we were tracking them, which I could not lie, was a bit suspicious.
I breathed in heavily to my self, as I was drawing a bit of a blank, just as Ben had done a few moments ago, as I was not all too sure as to what it was that I should say to them. There was also the problem that I did not have a clue as to where they were right now either.
I felt like, I could not speak to some one, if I did not know where they were, and did not have my eyes on them at all times, as it built up quite a lot of anxiety in me, to be having those kinds of thoughts roll through my head, as I continued to ferociously look for them in quite a bit of a scramble.
I then suddenly spotted some thing from the corner of my eye, move in the woods, as I turned my head, and my eyes right over to them, to see that it was a lady with a pistol pointed right at us. She was about 200 to maybe 300 feet away, which made sense as to why the voice seemed to be coming from so far away, as she was a fair distance away.
There was no way you would be able to get a good shot on me from a distance this far away, and even if it did some how hit me, I do not think that it would do all that much damage in the first place any ways. I shook my head, as I let out a bit of a soft sigh to my self at the exact same time too, as I saw the man with her, also with simply just a pistol on him.
They were of no threat at all to us, and if we wanted to right now, just based off of the fact that I saw that there were a couple of kids with them, than we could just go and run off, and they would not be able to chase us, as I was sure that there was no way that they would leave any one of each other behind.
I shook off all of those thoughts at the same time as well how ever, as I knew that we should not do that. The whole reason that I had even planned on tracking them in the first place, was to see if they would be fit to join our community, and the fact that they had kids with them, felt like it would be perfect for us.
Also the fact that they had kids, and they did not have any other guns besides a pistol in their hands at the same time as well too. I let out another sigh of relief, as I suddenly feeling a lot more safe, but much like I saw Ben doing still, I too kept my hands in the air, as I still did not want to scare them away.
I closed my eyes for a few seconds, as I shook off all of those thoughts that were going through my head all at once, at the exact same time too. I had practically found out at this point, that these were not scary people, and that they were okay, so there was not all too much to worry about, as it was clear that they were just as scared as any other good person would be out in this world like this.
There was just one question that I felt like I needed to ask them, which was of course, how had they made it this long on their own with all of those kids? That was the only suspicious part on all of this to me of course, as I was not too sure as to how that could be possible, as surely it meant that they had a place to stay, and some where to live nearby, right?
If that was the case, than how come no one had ever found them out here, as I knew that there were plenty of people that had gone this way. I had a lot of questions that were going through my head all at once, but I began to remember that it was not us that should be asking the questions right now, as I knew that we were the ones that needed to be answering theirs.
I let out quite a loud sigh, which I knew that only Ben could hear, as the others were too far out in the woods, as it was hard for me to see them, even with my eyes squinted, that was how far away they were at. I shook my head, as I kind of gave up on seeing what they looked like, as I was simply only trying to look to see if they had a scar, to see if they were spying on us from the other community.
It was too hard to tell from back here how ever, so I kind of gave up on that after just a few more seconds, and I then nodded to them. To my surprise, I could tell that they had seen it as well, as I got a nod back to them. It made me feel a little bit more safe at the same time as well, as I then began to yell to them, quite a bit loud, as I was not worried about the dead hearing us this far in to the woods.
"Well... We were in that gas station that you went by earlier, hiding out there, and Ben here, and we heard you guys and decided to follow you." I said at first, as I looked over to Ben at the same time too, to make sure that he was okay with the fact that I had given up his name, which I felt would not be all that big of a deal at all any ways.
Ben did not seem to be all too worried about that at all, as he did seem to be worried about the fact that the people might shoot us still, for some odd reason or another, even though I knew that the bullet drop would be far too immense them to possibly hit us at all any ways.
I shook off those thoughts all at once how ever, as I shook my head at Ben, trying to get him to relax him self, as I could see a lot of stress, and a lot of tension building up in him all at the exact same time too. Ben looked at me for a bit of some time too, as he then dipped his head a bit low to the ground.
I felt like I should not be all that much bothered by it at all right now, as I felt like he did in fact need some bit of time to think to him self. I let out a bit of a soft sigh, as I then looked away from the kid all at once as well, as I felt like I needed to have my focus on the people that I had just spoken to any ways.
I could tell that they were that they were still a bit suspicious about all of it still, which of course, I did not blame them for it either, as it was a cruel world that we lived in, and 2 men that decided to follow them for some odd reason or another, as most people would likely hide if they heard people, which was not the case for us, well at least this time at the very least.
I saw that the both of them no longer had their eyes on us at this very moment in time, as it seemed like they already had at least gained a little bit of trust in us, as I saw that they were looking to one another, and they were speaking to each other a bit quietly, so that neither I, nor Ben, could hear a word as to what they were saying.
This felt like it was our perfect time to run off, as for some reason I was still tempted to do as such for some odd reason or another, even though I felt at least some what safe for the time being at the very least, as I very well knew that they could simply be tricking us to get us to trust them, to then kill us and steal our supplies.
Would they do that in front of their kids though? Hell... For all that I knew, they could be using them as decoys, though I did feel like I was kind of over thinking all of that right now, as I let out quite a soft sigh, as I did my best to just try and shake off all those thoughts from my head, as I figured that I should still get a little bit more information from them, before I let us get any closer.
I was sure that they were thinking the same thing how ever, as I was sure that I really was just over thinking all of that at the same time too. I shook away all of the thoughts that I was having at this very moment in time, as I just kept my eyes locked on the wife and husband, I had to assume at least.
They continued to speak quietly to one another for a bit of some time, until finally the husband then turned his head back over to us, and he began to speak back to us, after what it was that I had just said to them in the first place. I nodded to them from a fair bit away as well, as I then began to listen as to what it was that the man had to say to me and Ben in the first place.
"Why would you do that though, if you did not mean ill intent on us... Any other normal person would go hide and run if they heard some one else... For all we know, you could be tracking us, to bring us back..." He said to us, as I was a bit lost on what it was that he had meant by that in this first place as well, especially at the end.
I had not a clue as to what it was that he had meant by the fact that he had said 'bring us back' as that was kind of a bit suspicious to me, due to the fact that I had not a clue as to what it was that the guy was talking about. Surely he was not talking about our community right? I had not ever heard the voice of either of them before, and there was not all too many kids left in our community any ways.
I shivered at the thought of it, as it was a bit hard for me to just simply get it out of my head all at the same time as well. I had my head dipped a bit low to the ground, and my eyes closed, which I knew were 2 things I had told Ben to never do while you were out side of the walls, as I knew that you always needed to have your eyes and ears open.
Luckily enough for us how ever, we were out in the woods, so I felt like I was not too worried about all of that at the exact same time too. As I felt like Ben would have my back for once any ways, as I really did feel like I needed some time to think about all of this. I had a lot of thoughts going through my head, and I was not too sure as to what any of them were, as I could not get a grasp on any of them.
I shook my head at the same time too, as I knew that I should have my mind focused on a decent response to what the man had just said to me, as I could tell that we were viewed more suspicious than they were right now, as we were in fact the ones that were tracking them, as they were right when they said that most of the time when some one did that, it was not in any sort of good intent.
I felt a bit bad for it too, as I was sure that we had scared them quite a bit, when they had found out that a grown man was following them out in to the woods, and if I had been them, than I would have for sure shot us on sight, rather than give us a chance to speak, as for all that they knew, we could be the ones that were trying to kill them, and steal their stuff.
It was not the case at all how ever, and I felt that both of our sides were having a bit of a mis understanding, as I blinked a few times, and looked back up at them. I hoped that I was not doing any thing all too suspicious to them, as they did in fact seem to be decent people, and we needed people like that in our community right now.
I kept my eyes on them for quite a bit of some time, as sadly I could not look either of them in the eyes right now, to gage their intent on us, which I usually liked to do, as they were too far away from me to do as such. I let out a bit of a sigh at the same time, as I felt like I would just have to trust my natural instinct, and hope that they were not going to do any thing to us if we were to get any closer to them.
As I had all of those thoughts rolling through my brain all at once, I then shook my head, more at my self, as I felt like I needed to calm my self down a bit right now, as I was sure that things were going to end up fine now, and that there was nothing for either of us to be all too worried about either.
Once I got my head clear, I then got my focus fully back on to the husband and the wife that I felt were quite a bit scared still, due to the fact that they had not a clue as to what our intent was right at this moment. I had to tell them what it was, and try to sound as truthful as possible whilst doing so, as a made a bit of a soft nod to my self, and I then in fact did begin to speak up to the both of them at the exact same time too.
"We are a part of another community, I do not know which one you are talking about, as we are kind of solo out here, but we are looking for new people, and when Ben told me that there were kids in the gas station with us..." I said, as I looked back over to Ben once again, and I nodded to him, to let him know that I was giving him all the credit for all of this. Ben did not seem to care all that much how ever, as I remembered that the kid was quite a bit humble as well. Ben did in fact nod to me, to let me know that he was well aware of the fact that I was giving him credit where credit was due. I then looked away from Ben once again, as he was not all that much to do with this conversation, other than that point, as I then looked back over to the people, and I let out a soft sigh to my self, and I then began to speak up to them once again, after a few seconds more of silence. "I had to assume that you were at least decent people if you had kids with you... But you never know... Like you said your self... That's why we stayed a bit further behind..."
I was still a bit worried about them, at the same time too, as to what it had meant by the fact that they had said that they were in another group, as they kind of ran away from them, as I had as to not a clue as to who they were talking about, as I was starting to get a bit worried for the people that had once lived up in the mountains.
I was not sure if they had run away due to the fact that they had gotten attacked, as Shannon had said that she had not heard from the walkies for several months now, as the last she had heard, they had said that they had moved to a whole new place, due to the fact that they were worried that their old place was going to be attacked.
For all we knew at the same time too, that group could have been just as bad as the ones that had attacked us, as I felt like we could not be all too sure, as the world was quite a bit of a cruel one. I kind of was starting to get a little bit of trust in these people how ever, as I felt like they were at least some what trust worthy.
I still felt like I could not trust them all too much how ever, as I felt like I was going to have to be the one that needed to be asking questions soon, as I did not want to bring in bad people in to a community at this time. I also did not want to bring in lazy people either, as we already did not have enough people working some of the jobs that we needed them to work.
I let out quite a loud sigh, as I really could not help the fact that I was so scared, and I was not sure as to what it was that I should do. It was as if I was a small child, and I was in the arms of my father, and I needed him to guide me. Sadly that was not the case at all how ever, as my father had passed away a long time ago, before the world went to shit like it was right now.
I did not ever treat him all too well, as he kind of was an ass to me, so I was an ass back to him. As I thought about it a bit, I realized that he was simply just trying to teach me how to be a man, and I did not want to listen to what it was that he had to say to me in the first place, as I had been far too stubborn.
I was still quite a bit stubborn to this day, if I was not going to lie, as I did not know when to quit, and I would not let my self quit, until it felt as if I had won in a certain situation, even if I had not, a small win counted as a win to me, as I was not a man to easily give up when things went down the drain for me.
It was how I had made it this far, as I could say for a fact, there were plenty of things that had just about ended me, even before the world had got to the way that it was now. This just made me realize how tough I was as a man if any thing, as I knew that I was a tough man, and I prided my self on it, as many people had aspired to be the way I was for some odd reason.
Besides Ben of course, as he had told me more than once that he did not want to be like me, because I had no sort of emotion, and that was not the way that he wanted to live. Little did he know how wrong he was in the first place, as if any thing, I often felt like I let my emotions get the best of me at often times, as it tended to make very irrational decisions.
I shook off all of those thoughts at the exact same time as well too, as I was not  too sure what was going on with me at this very moment in time, as I knew that I should not be letting all of these thoughts go through my brain at once, especially when I was talking to people that I had never met before, and we were out in the woods.
They could easily kill us, and leave our bodies to never be found, for all that I knew. I felt like that was not the case at all, as the people seemed to be some what decent people for all that I knew, but at the same time as well, I had learned to never be all too safe with the people that you trusted.
I did not know these people at all either, and I had to keep those thoughts in my head, before I got in to any sort of thing with them. I lifted my head up at them at the exact same time too, as I squinted my eyes at them. Mainly due to the fact that they were hard for me too see, but also the fact that I still was not too sure about them yet, though they seemed to be some what decent people from as far as I had learned at this point.
I shook off all of those thoughts from my head all at the exact same time too, as I then heard the woman finally begin to speak this time, as I suddenly looked over at her, even though she was too far away for me to even see her mouth open, as I then began to listen as to what it was that she had to say to me in the first place as well.
"You have a bit of a fair point... You come closer to us, so we can get some sort of gage on you... Keep your guns behind you, or we will be forced to shoot..." She said to us, as I looked at her for a bit of some time, as I was starting to get a bit more suspicious, and a little bit scared at the same time too, as to the fact that we were going to have to leave our guns behind.
It was not due to the fact that I was afraid of the dead coming on us, as it was more the fact that I still did not trust them enough for that just yet, even if they seemed to be acting like at least some what normal people, who of course very well should be just as worried about us, as we should be for them.
If not more about us, as they were the ones that had kids with them, and I was sure that they were being quite a bit over protective for their kids at the exact same time too. I let out a bit of a sigh, as I was at a cross in between the roads, and I was not all too sure as to what it was that we should be doing at this very moment.
I heard some noise come from behind me all of the sudden, as it scared me quite a bit, as I was worried that it was one of the dead coming after us, though they did not sound like foot steps, I still felt like I could not be all too sure if that were the case, as the dead were every where, and the ruled the world now a days.
As I looked behind me, ready to pull out my dagger, I saw that it was simply just Ben moving around like crazy, for some odd reason or another, which confused me quite a bit as well. I tilted my head, a bit lost on what he was doing for a few moments, when I suddenly saw him drop his bag down to the ground, as it was clear that he was giving in to the needs of what the man and the woman had asked of us.
I squinted my eyes at him, as I felt like he was being a bit of an idiot at this very moment in time. I was not so sure how he could not view it as a bit suspicious as to the fact that they some how expected us to just drop our guns, and go over to them, as if we were not worried as to what it was that they would do to us.
Ben looked right in to my eyes for a few seconds too, as he then shook his head at me, as if he was saying to me at the exact same time too 'Its like what you said to me... It's time for me to make my own decisions...' I blinked just a few times as I shook off all of those thoughts from my head at the same time, as I all of the sudden saw Ben shake his head at me.
I still had my head tilted a bit, as I still did not have as to a clue as to what was going on at this very moment in time. I then all of the sudden, watched as he kept on walking ahead, right over to where they were standing, as I was a bit worried as to the fact that he was about to get shot.
They were the ones with the guns, and we had nothing to defend ourselves. For all that we knew, the shot that they had fired earlier, had been in the intent to kill us, and they had just missed at that time. They could be just trying to get a better shot on us, so that they could in fact steal our stuff.
I shook my head, as Ben was too far ahead to stop him at this point, as I felt like I did not have a choice but to follow him now. If I did not do as such, than it felt like his blood would be on my hands, and I cared about the kid, so I did not want to get the kid killed, and live to tell the tale.
I sighed, as I shook off all of those at the exact same time too, as I felt like there was not much I could do now, but to join him on the short path that led to where it was that they were standing at right now. I then turned my head around, and I pulled the backpack off of my back at the exact same time too.
As I did so, I kept my dagger in my belt, as if it was going to do any thing, as I figured that they would not be too worried about that, and it would be a good last second weapon if we in fact did need a way out of this situation. Once I felt a little bit more safe, I then nodded to my self, as I looked back ahead of me, to see that Ben was nearly 50 feet ahead of me.
I looked at him for a few more seconds, as I then all of the sudden began to run over to him, that way I was able to catch up to him, before we got over to the people that were a fair bit ahead of us right now. If they were going to shoot at us, than I wanted them to shoot at my first, that way the kid actually had some what of a chance to get out of the situation that we were in.
I shook my head, as I let out quite a bit of a sigh at the same time too, as I felt like I was still over thinking of of it, as I had found out from them so far, that they were by no means bad people at all, as they seemed to be afraid, and were trying to protect the lives of their kids at the same time too.
If any thing, we were lucky that we had not gotten shot, as any normal person would have shot us on sight, if they knew that there was some one following them. Luckily these people seemed to at least have some what of a heart at the very least, as I shook off all of those thoughts, and I suddenly stopped, as I saw Ben stop in front of me for some odd reason or another.
I looked at the kid, as I was a little bit lost as to what was going on with him at this very moment in time, as I saw a bit of a look of fear on his face, as he had all of the sudden stopped. It was not normal for him to be acting that way, as if he did act that way as well, I had also told him that he needed to jump on to the ground and dodge.
He was looking right at the man, and I turned my head over to him, as I was a bit lost for just a few seconds, as I could simply see that he was putting the guns down, just as he had asked us to do, as that should be the opposite of some thing that Ben should be freaked out about right now, as it made me feel a bit safe.
That was, of course, until I saw the man lift up his head, as it suddenly made sense as to what Ben had been so afraid of in the first place, as my heart began to stop. The man had put the guns down, but that was not what I was worried about right now, as there was some thing on his face, that was an all too familiar sign.
I was about to look over to Ben, to give him the go ahead, to let him know that we were about to run, but for some odd reason or another, I stopped my self at the same time too, as I felt like I was a bit interested in what the guy had to say about the thing that was on his eye, as I still felt like he was an actual decent guy with the kids and his wife with him right now.
I let out a bit of a loud sigh at the same time as well, as I then squinted my eyes at the man, which I could tell confused him just a bit, as he tilted his head at me. That did not bother me all that much how ever, as I felt like I needed to clear the air before I got in to a conversation with him at the very least as well.
"Hold up! That scar... Those are the same people that attacked our community over a year ago... You are a part of them?" I said to the man, as I could see from the the massive scar that was right on his eye, as it was the scar of the other group that had attacked us a while ago at this point.
It was like no other scar that I had ever seen before, so I knew that it was the scar of the people that were in the community that had attacked us. I was still a bit freaked out at first, but I did at the very least, remember that he had said that he had ran away from the last one that they were at, and he was worried that we were those same people that were tracking him down.
I looked at the man for quite a bit more time too, as I saw him all of the sudden dip his head a bit low to the ground, as it was clear that the man could not lock eyes with me, as I could tell that he had a bit of a guilty look on his face at the exact same time too. I continued to stare at him, even if he was not paying me any sort of attention.
His wife all of the sudden began to hold on to him, as I saw that she did not share the same scar as he did, as I could tell that she had a bit of a sad and a hurt look on her face too, as it seemed like what I had just said to him, had seemed to hit the both of them quite a bit deep.
His kids seemed to not care all too much, as one was a bit older than Ben, and the other was perhaps maybe 5 or 6 years old, as it was clear that she did not have much of a clue as to what was going on right now. I shook my head, as I shook off all of those thoughts all at once, as I felt like the kids did not matter all too much, though the looks on their faces told me that the had been through a lot too.
I let out quite a loud sigh to my self all at once, as I then kept my eyes squinted at the man, as he was the main guy that I felt like I needed to have my focus on right now, as it was clear that he was a bit of the leader out of all of them. As I stared at him for just a little bit longer, I then saw that the man finally lifted his head up to me at the exact same time as well.
He seemed to lock eyes with me, as I could still see that he had a bit of a guilty look on his face all at once as well. I could tell that he was quite a bit remorseful for some thing that he might have done, or perhaps multiple things that he had done whilst he had been with that group that had attacked us in the first place.
I had my head tilted for quite a bit of some time, as I heard the man let out quite a loud sigh at the same time too, as he then nodded to me, to let me know that he was in fact a guy of the group that I had just brought up as well. It made me feel just a slight bit better that he was at least willing to admit that to me, as it told me that the guy was a fairly truthful guy.
I nodded back to the man at the same time too, as I waited for him to speak to me, as I knew that he was going to do it at some point soon. After just a few more seconds as well, he in fact did begin to speak to me, as I let out a soft sigh to my self, making sure that Ben was paying attention from the corner of my eye as well, as I then listened as to what it was that he had to say back to me in the first place too.
"Yes... That would be us... Or rather just me... My kids and my wife were locked up for all of it..." He said to me, as it kind of let out a little bit of a back story at the exact same time, a lot of the times I really did not like to hear what it was that people had to say on things like this either, but this case was a little bit different, due to the fact that I was interested in what it was that he had to say about the fact that his group was evil, and why they attacked other groups like ours. Also the fact as to why and how he had managed to run away, if his family was in fact locked up. The man looked at me for just a bit more time, as he then nodded to me, as he then continued to speak. I nodded back to him, as I continued to listen as to what it was that he had to say to me at the exact same time too. "I went there thinking that it was going to be some good and safe place to raise my family, but that was not the case at all clearly... When I found the perfect time to run, I took that opportunity."
I looked at the man, just to make sure that he was in fact telling me the truth on all that he had just said to me. I squinted my eyes at him once again, which I could tell did not seem to bother him all too like it did when ever I did in to other people. I blinked a few times, as I let out a soft sigh to my self as well.
I was fairly certain that the man had in fact told us the truth, as the story seemed to back it self up. At the same time too, I also was starting to get my hopes up, that we might be able to fight back against this community, if he knew as to where it was that they lived at as well.
I nodded to my self, as I did my best to hide the grin that was wanting to come up on my face, as I then all of the sudden looked back up at the man at the same time as well, as I could tell that he was making sure that his kids and his wife were both safe, as he then turned his head back over to me, and he then nodded to me.
I nodded back to the man as well, as I now felt that it might be the perfect time for me to speak, now more than ever, as I looked right in to the man's eyes at the same time too, as I breathed in heavily at first, but I then did in fact begin to speak up to him, as I still felt a bit afraid to trust him for some odd reason or another, even after me knowing his story was true.
"I'm sorry... I have trust issues..."