"What did you call me?" Tabitha questioned.
Her face glowed red in anger hearing people laughing at her.
Winter flatly responded, "A Judas."
Sage, Ava and Simon laughed even harder at his response.
Wiping her tears, Sage shook her head 'She's asking for it now.'
Tabitha glared at Winter but knew she could do nothing more. If the horde of walkers was truly cleared by him, she would be beckoning death with a smile.
Winter once again ignored her, turning towards Ava. "So how about it? Would you be willing to follow us?" He glanced at Simon, "Of course that means you too."
Without hesitation, they both swiftly nodded their heads in agreement. Choosing to follow strong with many resources was a no-brainer to them.
Winter smiled, throwing his backpack over his shoulder. "Alright, if we're gonna make it before nightfall, it would probably be best to start heading there now."
"And what about us?!" This time a deep, rough voice cut in.
His voice sounded heavy and demanding. "If you're going to take our nurse, at least leave your supplies. That would be a fair trade, no?" A sly grin crept on his lips as he ogled Ava's body.
"If you can't even do that much, forget about leaving with her." He stated.
Simon shook his head in pity. 'Did he not see the carnage outside?'
The blood stains on his clothing a subtle reminder—he wasn't one to be taken lightly.
Winter's face tightened with mild irritation. Though he was expecting this kind of response, the condescending tone in his voice irked him, reminding him of a character in a novel he once read.
"And how exactly do you plan on keeping us here?" His voice was flat, each word dripped with malice.
Ryan slightly flinched due to the 'pressure' but quickly regained his composure. "Just because you're able to kill some of those things, that doesn't make you a hot shot. Do you think you can take all of us here?"
Winter stood there motionless, many thoughts on how to deal with the situation passed through his head, but only a few stuck. He decided to go with the plan that would cause the least amount of bloodshed. Anymore would be unnecessary, leaving a bad image of him.
Winter approached Ryan, his spear gripped tightly in hand. The other members began to step up sensing the tension. But Sage shot an arrow, intentionally piercing one of their earlobes. The sudden shot halted their movements, her warning shot being more than enough of a warning.
Realizing his sudden predicament, Ryan frantically began patting his hindside. Cold sweat fell from his back as he backed himself up against the wall. Winter stopped 3 feet away from him, noticing the pocket knife he pulled from his back pocket.
No fear was seen in his eyes. A swift movement, all that was needed in order to disarm him.
Ryan's heart dropped. He hurriedly apologized afraid as his second line of defense collapsed. Afraid of what Winter would do, he held his hands out in front of him and shut his eyes.
Fortunately for him, the pain never came. Opening his eyes, Winter's back was turned towards him as he walked toward the exit. Sage, Ava and Simon followed suit. Malice flashed through his eyes, the thought of attacking him—now that he lowered his guard down—emerged, but he decided not to act upon it.
The group of four left the room under the envious gaze of the others. Tabitha silently vowing to get revenge in the future.
As they walked out the door, Ava stared at the corpses of walkers in shock. "Did you two do this?"
Shaking her head, Sage answered, "This is all him."
She pointed at his torso, adding, "The blood splattered over him should say enough."
Simon shuddered.
*******
On the way back home, the group encountered groups of walkers but they were easily taken care of by Sage and Winter. It ended with him mainly letting her kill the walkers to gain exp. They also made a few pitstops, collecting resources on the way.
By the time they reached the house, Sage had reached level 5, totaling her amount of free attribute points to 20.
With the house coming into view, Winter breathed a sigh of relief seeing it still intact. His main trouble while being away was someone breaking in and stealing all of their resources. Thankfully that wasn't the case.
Walking up to the house, Winter unlocked the door and stepped inside. The three followed him in. Sage placed her bow and bag down, walked over to the living room and collapsed onto the couch. Ava and Simon followed her into the living room and sat down comfortably.
Winter picked up her bag, walking into the kitchen he glanced at Sage's rag dolled body. 'Not surprised.'
He emptied out the contents onto the table gently, afraid of ruining any of the medical supplies in the process.
Poking his head out of the kitchen, he asked. "Hey Ava can you come here real quick."
Nodding, Ava got up and walked over. Entering the kitchen, the huge amount of supplies caught her eye before she turned Winter.
"Did you need my help with something?" she asked.
With a quick nod, he responded, "Are these supplies sufficient enough for you? Or do you think we're missing something?"
Sage inspected the supplies on the table before giving her answer. "These should do for now." Smiling she added, "If anything, I think this should be more than enough. Seeing how easy you two handle the walkers, there currently shouldn't be much of a need for them."
Satisfied with her answer, he agreed and began storing them away. She offered to help, which he gladly accepted.
He placed the contents back into the bag gently. Picking up the heavier bag, he gestured towards the lighter one. Grasping his intention, she grabbed the other bag and followed him into the basement—where most of their supplies had been relocated.
Winter led her into a small storage room, where they offloaded the supplies, sorting them into categories.
Ava slightly teased his systematic organizing. "You're a very organized person. Do you live alone?"
Smiling, he shook his head and responded, "I have Sage to accompany me. Used to live with my parents, unfortunately they got the short end of the stick."
The mood in the air slightly shifted. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me to ask." she said apologetically.
Quickly, he retorted, "There was no way you could've known that and it's a totally normal question. Don't beat yourself up about it."
A small smile surfaced her lips at the clarification.
"I understand the feeling of losing a loved one. So if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm your girl." she patted her ample chest with a smile, causing her breast to tremble slightly.
Realizing her actions, a subtle blush crept on her face glancing away.
Oblivious to her worries, Winter thanked her.
"I'll take you up on that offer sometime."
*******