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Description

A man sat beside a hospital bed, his light brown hair and emerald green eyes peering at the small girl laying in the bed. He absent mindedly scratched the scar on his upper left arm.
The blonde streaks of hair managed to escape the blanket as the girl laid in her bed. Her breathing was shallow and ragged, as she had only recently broken a 105 degree fever. A sheen of sweat was spread across her skin.
After a while, a new male nurse entered the room, proclaiming, “Hello, I’m Chad, I’m your new nurse that’ll be replacing Debby.”
“Uh, why are you replacing her? She and Marigold got really close,” the man sitting on the chair questioned suspiciously.
Chad looked at him, and informed, “She had been caught stealing cans of food from us.”
“Mmh,” Mark nodded, as he gazed back at his daughter.
A knock was heard from the door. “Hey, can I come in?” a young female voice sounded.
“Yeah, come in, Amara,” Mark said loud enough back, so she could hear him.
Amara walked in, looking over to Marigold. “Hey, still alive?” She asked, a soft smile upon her face.
“She’ll survive, just resting up,” Mark answered for his sleeping daughter.
“Ah. So ah, feel better soon, Mari.” Amara says, then looks to her father, who had entered the room shortly after her.
“She’ll be alright.” Jack says, with a reassuring smile.
Outside in the halls, walked Preacher, who was slowly and silently making his way to Mari’s location. After what had happened, he had been, somewhat worried for the young girl. The six foot tall man stood outside her room, a gloved hand knocking on the door frame and drawing the attention of the people within. “May I enter?”
“Yeah, come on in.” Jack called out. He recognized the voice from somewhere.
Chad looked at them all, “Lots of visitors, huh?” he looked at the girl in the bed.
“I suppose so.” Jack stated. He looked hard at Chad, his piercing dark eyes filled with suspicion. “What happened to Debbie?”
“If her other friends hear of what happened, then she will be getting more visitors, I would think.” Preacher turned to Jack, hazel eyes peering out from behind his sunglasses. “I don’t believe we’ve met.“
“Debbie was caught stealing food, so I’m her replacement,” Chad answered Jack, with an eerie smile.
“So what was the consequence for her actions?” Jack retorted. His suspicion only arose at the smile.
Chad shrugged, “I told ya what I know, they didn’t get into details.”
Amara put her hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’s fine, Jack. Just got reformation camp like the others.”
“So ah, Mark, how did you even manage to find Marigold?” Amara asks.
Mark gave a small chuckle, “Long story, let’s just say I happened to come across the tavern she was recovering at.”
“I knew you looked familiar,” Preacher mused, looking at Mark. “You’re her father, correct?” He asked, his tone… almost monotonous. “What happened to young Marigold?”
“Well, we went on a mission with them,” he pointed his thumb towards Jack’s group, “and I had been warned ahead of time that Mari’s immune system was practically nonexistent. So long story short, we got caught in a storm, drenching her, and getting her sick.”
Preacher nodded, turning his attention to Kiev, Jack and Amara. “May I ask, who you three are?”
Marigold stirred slightly, and Chad looked at them all, “Okay, not to be rude or anything, but I need to take her vitals, so Mark is able to stay, but can the rest of you just step out for a bit?”
Jack and Amara led the way out. Jack turned to Preacher. “Name’s Jack. This is my daughter Amara.” he introduced.
Preacher nodded, “I am Preacher, survivors faction.”
Jack gave a nod in return. “We’re survivors as well.”
“Interesting,” Preacher placed both of his hands in his coat pockets, his covered eyes looking at the two and giving them a curious gaze. “How did you come to meet Marigold?”
“We went on a mission with them!” Amara chimed in.
While the four were talking outside of the room, Chad was doing his job, after having woken the 15 year old girl up from her restless sleep. She groggily let him take her temperature, blood pressure, and her heart rate. “Well, looks like you’ve still got a tiny fever of 99.8, but everything else is fine,” Chad smiled.
“That’s a relief,” Mark smiled at her groggy daughter, who smiled back.
Her voice was slightly hoarse from nonuse as she said, “I’m gonna be okay then?”
Chad nodded, “Yup, you should be able to leave here either by tonight or tomorrow morning.”
The girl gave a small smile, then stretched her arms above her head, the scars showing from the torture she had received a while ago now. “I hear voices outside, I’m guessing visitors?” she looked over to her dad.
“Yes, you’ve got four so far, bet you’ll have more soon here,” Mark chuckled lightly.
Marigold smiled at that, “Cool.”
Chad then reopened the door to where the four were talking, “Okay, all is done, you may come in again.”
Amara led the way, walking briskly up to her newfound friend. “Hey, Marigold. Still alive, eh?” She says, with a small smile.
“Yup, getting better,” Marigold tried to brush her hair out with her fingers, not making much of a difference with the hair.
Preacher walked back into the room, taking off his hat and running a hand through his hair before placing it back on his head. “Feeling well, Marigold?“ He asked her, wondering if she was alright.
The girl nodded, the smile fading slightly upon seeing Preacher, “Y-yeah, I’m feeling better.” She quickly averted her eyes, looking down at a fold in the blanket covering her waist and legs.
“So, you gonna be good to go on a mission soon?” Amara inquired
“Well, not ‘til tomorrow, at least,” Marigold answered.
Chad walked out of the room, as an alarm rang out through the Survivor's camp.
Preacher calmly looked towards the window. “Seems there is trouble...” He muttered just loud enough for the other survivors as his hand crept into his coat, gripping the handle of his pistol.
“What’s out there?” Marigold asked, looking curiously over to Preacher.
Preacher made his way over to the window, peeking out. “I see infected… a lot of vine infected… most troubling.”
“Uh oh,” Marigold muttered.
Mark looked at his daughter, reading her mind and saying in a harsh tone, “Don’t you even think about it Marigold.”
“But they may need my help!” Marigold complained, trying to be able to go.
“No!” Mark growled, making her go quiet, and looking down at the blanket again.
“I would suggest staying, Marigold, you are in no shape to be fighting right now.” Preacher informed her, pulling out his pistol.
Jack drew his pistol, and Amara pulled her knife from her boot. “Stay close to one another.” Jack ordered everyone. “We can’t let them swarm us.”
Mark stood up, pulled out his .22 pistol, and walked to the door, “Marigold, you’re going to stay here, the rest of us, let’s go.”
Preacher didn’t make any move to show he acknowledged what Mark said, instead only moving over to the door before flicking the safety on his pistol off.
Mark waited for everyone to exit the room, before turning to his daughter and saying, “Stay safe.”
“Always,” She smiled towards him, then watched as Mark closed the door and headed out to take care of the infected.
Preacher followed Mark closely through the Survivors medical bay. Headed towards the exit so they could handle the infected that were outside, along the way, he idly wondered if Joel and Kevin, along with their respective teammates will show up.
He got his answer, when he heard the sounds of a chainsaw sounded outside, along with screams… they were not of agony however. They were of enjoyment, and Preacher sighed internally.
“The hell?” Mark looked towards where the screams were coming, looking confused as he realized who it must be. “Oh god…”
“What? What’s ‘oh god?’ Should I be worried?” Jack inquired.
“You’re about to meet someone very… interesting…” Mark said quietly, glancing back at Jack.
“What kind of ‘interesting?’” Jack responded. “Is it any danger to Amara?”
“I suggest you don’t get her angry, it’s the best advice I can give,” he said, as Mark continued forward.
“Ah. So, she’s a psychopath, essentially?” he responded.
Preacher nodded his head, adding, “she’s… a bit unstable.” He recalled the remnant’s extremely violent tendencies, and an involuntary shudder ran through his body.
“I suggest, Jack, that you and your group just wait to see how to react with her,” Mark suggested, glancing back at them.
“Wait to see how we react? Oh man.” Jack says, shaking his head. “Well, I suppose we should get this over with.”
Mark then lead the way, shooting at a viney that started to run at them, killing it with one bullet to the skull.
Preacher fired his pistol at a viney that shot out of nowhere, ending its life with a headshot. Blood spattering the wall behind it, and falling to the ground in a heap.
A sudden roar sounded, followed by the appearance of a large Vine infected, and before anyone could get a shot off, its head exploded in a shower of gore. Automatic gunfire sounding as it fell to the ground. When Preacher turned to see who fired, he saw Kevin approaching from nearby, followed by David. Sally was absent, no doubt slaughtering infected to her heart’s content.
Mark glanced over at the duo, “Hello again,” he waved at Kevin.
Kevin nodded to Mark, looking at the others before asking, “Hey guys… where’s Mari? Is she alright?” His tone was mildly frantic, as his worry for the young survivor grew by the second.
Mark nodded, “Yeah, she’s just at the sick bay, no worries there.”
Jack walked up behind them, covered in the blood of infected. “Who are all these guys?” he asked, directing the question toward Mark and Preacher.
“Friends of Marigold’s. I swear, the year I spent away from her she’s made friends with just about everyone she came across,” Mark chuckled
“Ah. Well, fair enough.” Jack replied. “Name’s Jack.” he said, after a pause, outstretching his hand.
Kevin sighed in relief, taking Jack’s hand and giving it a hearty shake as David made his way over. “I’m Kevin, this is David,” he pointed to the younger man, who was looking at the medbay worriedly. Kevin knew he was worried for his young friend.
A young female voice chimed in, “I’m Amara.” She stuck her hand out toward Kevin, taking him by surprise.
Shocked, but nonetheless pleased to meet new people, he took her hand. “Nice to meet you Amara.”
“Hey David, she’s in room 103,” Mark told the younger man, “Just remember, if I find out you do anything when she’s in this state. My hatchet will be in your skull,” He warned David.
With another insane cackle of glee from nearby, Kevin and Preacher turned towards the noise, followed by everyone else, save David who nodded to Mark and made his way inside. Nearby, they saw an extremely bloodied woman making her way over, covered head to toe in blood, gore, bits of torn flesh and baring a toothy grin fit for a psychopath. In her hand, she held a chainsaw, droplets of blood falling from it and splattering onto the ground.
Beside the woman, walked a tall dark haired, blue eyed man, that looked like he really didn’t want to be there right now. He had a bow in his hand, and a quiver of arrows on his back. He looked everywhere but the woman.
“I take it this is that woman?” Jack whispered to Mark.
“Yeah, that’s her, but I’m not quite sure who the other man is…” Mark answered, looking at the duo.
“Hello!” Jack called to them. “The name is Jack!”
The archer nodded to Jack, then walked over to Kevin, glaring slightly at Sally, “can’t believe I got dragged into this…” He mumbled to himself, as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair.
Amara walked up to Aaron curiously. “So, ah, you use a bow? Why not a gun?” she asked.
“My accuracy is terrible with a gun,” He answered, looking at the girl with almost bored eyes.
“Hey there Markimoo~” Sally greeted Mark with a bloody grin, then the sound of a dog barking drew her attention to the gate nearby. Looking over, she saw Riley was making his way over to the group, stopping by Kevin’s side and sitting down.
“Hey Riley~” Mark said, smiling as he bent down to pat the dog’s head.
Riley gave a happy yip in reply, content to get head rubs.
Mark chuckled a little, and pet the dog a little longer. He straightened up, and looked around, looking at all the vineys. “Where did they all come from…?”
---With Marigold and David~~~
Chad had come back in the room, with a little cup with a pill in it, and a cup of water, “Here you are Marigold, this is just a fever reducer.”
“Okay, thanks,” the small blonde smiled, then asked, “Wait, is it daytime or nighttime?”
“It’s nighttime, you’ll need to sleep to recover quicker,” Chad answered.
The girl let out a small sigh, “Alright, I’m just tired of sleeping is all.”
Chad nodded, “I understand, but you need the rest.”
“Yeah yeah yeah,” Marigold said, then took the fever reducer.
A knock sounded at the door, and the door creaked open, followed by a voice Marigold knew all too well. “Hey, Mari?” David asked, wondering if he remembered the room number right or not.
“David~!” She exclaimed very happily.
A sigh of relief came from the young man as he pushed the door open, heading inside to see his young friend. “Glad I got that room number right,” he chuckled, stopping once he set eyes on the nurse. He looked Chad up and down, frowning slightly. “Who’re you?”
“I’m Chad, I’ve replaced Debbie, since she stole some food,” the nurse explained with a small smile on his face.
“Okay...” David felt his gut telling him something, but ignored it in favor of seeing Marigold. Walking over to the girl, he brightened up his face with a smile. “How are you feeling?” He asked, a bit of worry in his tone.
Marigold nodded, “I’m feeling better now, I mean, I’ve got a teeny fever yet, but that’s it.”
“She just took a nighttime fever reducer, so she’ll start to feel groggy soon,” Chad informed David.
A nod was David’s reply to the nurse, turning back to Marigold he sighed. “Well, I’m glad you’re alright. It’s been awhile since we last talked to one another.”
Chad smiled, then walked out of the room, leaving them alone, “I know, you really need to visit more.” Marigold laughed a little.
David chuckled, sitting down in a chair next to her bed after setting his shotgun aside. “Yeah, I do. I’ll be sure to visit you when I can.” He told her, seriousness in his eyes. “That’s what’s family for, eh?” He said, smiling.
She smiled even brighter upon hearing the word family, “Yeah, it is, I mean I would come visit you, but I doubt you’d want me to travel alone, well before my dad was here.” She then yawned, a small squeak coming with it. “Ahh, sorry, I can feel it kicking in.”
“Hehehe, no worries, Mari,” He told her. “Kevin and Sally are downstairs with the others, and I heard Joel and them were coming too. So, maybe we can all talk later, when you rested up if you want.”
“But I don’t want you to leave,” Marigold countered, smiling at him.
David bit his lip slightly, then slowly placed his hand on hers and said, “well… I can stay here if you want me to.” He suggested in a quiet voice. “Make sure the infected don’t get inside, protect you and stuff… ya know?”
She smiled, “Or just stay until I fall asleep, but we both know I’m gonna try and stay awake to talk with you.”
The young man nodded with his own bright smile. “I’m not going anywhere, and we’ll always have time to talk, Mari.” He said, looking into her eyes as his smile got just a little bigger. “Legit.”
Marigold laughed at that, and David could tell that Marigold was getting more and more drowsy. “I wish there was an infinite amount of time.”
David nodded with his own laugh, “I feel you on that one, I wish that too.” He sighed, looking down at the covers on the bed. “Sometimes, there’s never enough...”
Marigold nodded, then held out her arms, wanting a hug from him, “Don’t be sad, hugs shall fix all.”
Taking the invitation, David stood up and leaned over, wrapping his arms gingerly around Mari and accepting her hug. He held her with the right amount of pressure, but not enough to hurt her.
She buried her face in his shoulder as she wrapped her own arms around him, “I like hugs.”
David rubbed her back, resting his head beside hers and saying softly, “I like hugs too.”
She closed her eyes, and just breathed him in for the longest time, never wanting to let go.
David likewise felt the same way, but he knew all good things had to come to an end sooner or later.
And from outside, he heard the tell tale sound of gunfire, automatic, along with the sound of a high powered rifle firing. He knew who used that kind of rifle, and knew right away the bandits had arrived.
Marigold pulled away slightly and looked towards the door, and let out a small sigh. “It’s getting harder to keep my eyes open…” She smiled a small smile up to David.
“Get some sleep Mari, I promise,” he told her, pulling away as well but keeping his hands on her shoulders. “We can talk for as long as you want afterwards.”
Marigold smiled to that, and laid herself down on the bed, still looking at David, “You’ll stay here til I fall asleep right?”
David sat down in the chair, nodding his head. “Of course.” He smiled softly.
Marigold smiled, closed her eyes, and her breathing quickly became deep and rhythmed.

Description

A man sat beside a hospital bed, his light brown hair and emerald green eyes peering at the small girl laying in the bed. He absent mindedly scratched the scar on his upper left arm.
The blonde streaks of hair managed to escape the blanket as the girl laid in her bed. Her breathing was shallow and ragged, as she had only recently broken a 105 degree fever. A sheen of sweat was spread across her skin.
After a while, a new male nurse entered the room, proclaiming, “Hello, I’m Chad, I’m your new nurse that’ll be replacing Debby.”
“Uh, why are you replacing her? She and Marigold got really close,” the man sitting on the chair questioned suspiciously.
Chad looked at him, and informed, “She had been caught stealing cans of food from us.”
“Mmh,” Mark nodded, as he gazed back at his daughter.
A knock was heard from the door. “Hey, can I come in?” a young female voice sounded.
“Yeah, come in, Amara,” Mark said loud enough back, so she could hear him.
Amara walked in, looking over to Marigold. “Hey, still alive?” She asked, a soft smile upon her face.
“She’ll survive, just resting up,” Mark answered for his sleeping daughter.
“Ah. So ah, feel better soon, Mari.” Amara says, then looks to her father, who had entered the room shortly after her.
“She’ll be alright.” Jack says, with a reassuring smile.
Outside in the halls, walked Preacher, who was slowly and silently making his way to Mari’s location. After what had happened, he had been, somewhat worried for the young girl. The six foot tall man stood outside her room, a gloved hand knocking on the door frame and drawing the attention of the people within. “May I enter?”
“Yeah, come on in.” Jack called out. He recognized the voice from somewhere.
Chad looked at them all, “Lots of visitors, huh?” he looked at the girl in the bed.
“I suppose so.” Jack stated. He looked hard at Chad, his piercing dark eyes filled with suspicion. “What happened to Debbie?”
“If her other friends hear of what happened, then she will be getting more visitors, I would think.” Preacher turned to Jack, hazel eyes peering out from behind his sunglasses. “I don’t believe we’ve met.“
“Debbie was caught stealing food, so I’m her replacement,” Chad answered Jack, with an eerie smile.
“So what was the consequence for her actions?” Jack retorted. His suspicion only arose at the smile.
Chad shrugged, “I told ya what I know, they didn’t get into details.”
Amara put her hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’s fine, Jack. Just got reformation camp like the others.”
“So ah, Mark, how did you even manage to find Marigold?” Amara asks.
Mark gave a small chuckle, “Long story, let’s just say I happened to come across the tavern she was recovering at.”
“I knew you looked familiar,” Preacher mused, looking at Mark. “You’re her father, correct?” He asked, his tone… almost monotonous. “What happened to young Marigold?”
“Well, we went on a mission with them,” he pointed his thumb towards Jack’s group, “and I had been warned ahead of time that Mari’s immune system was practically nonexistent. So long story short, we got caught in a storm, drenching her, and getting her sick.”
Preacher nodded, turning his attention to Kiev, Jack and Amara. “May I ask, who you three are?”
Marigold stirred slightly, and Chad looked at them all, “Okay, not to be rude or anything, but I need to take her vitals, so Mark is able to stay, but can the rest of you just step out for a bit?”
Jack and Amara led the way out. Jack turned to Preacher. “Name’s Jack. This is my daughter Amara.” he introduced.
Preacher nodded, “I am Preacher, survivors faction.”
Jack gave a nod in return. “We’re survivors as well.”
“Interesting,” Preacher placed both of his hands in his coat pockets, his covered eyes looking at the two and giving them a curious gaze. “How did you come to meet Marigold?”
“We went on a mission with them!” Amara chimed in.
While the four were talking outside of the room, Chad was doing his job, after having woken the 15 year old girl up from her restless sleep. She groggily let him take her temperature, blood pressure, and her heart rate. “Well, looks like you’ve still got a tiny fever of 99.8, but everything else is fine,” Chad smiled.
“That’s a relief,” Mark smiled at her groggy daughter, who smiled back.
Her voice was slightly hoarse from nonuse as she said, “I’m gonna be okay then?”
Chad nodded, “Yup, you should be able to leave here either by tonight or tomorrow morning.”
The girl gave a small smile, then stretched her arms above her head, the scars showing from the torture she had received a while ago now. “I hear voices outside, I’m guessing visitors?” she looked over to her dad.
“Yes, you’ve got four so far, bet you’ll have more soon here,” Mark chuckled lightly.
Marigold smiled at that, “Cool.”
Chad then reopened the door to where the four were talking, “Okay, all is done, you may come in again.”
Amara led the way, walking briskly up to her newfound friend. “Hey, Marigold. Still alive, eh?” She says, with a small smile.
“Yup, getting better,” Marigold tried to brush her hair out with her fingers, not making much of a difference with the hair.
Preacher walked back into the room, taking off his hat and running a hand through his hair before placing it back on his head. “Feeling well, Marigold?“ He asked her, wondering if she was alright.
The girl nodded, the smile fading slightly upon seeing Preacher, “Y-yeah, I’m feeling better.” She quickly averted her eyes, looking down at a fold in the blanket covering her waist and legs.
“So, you gonna be good to go on a mission soon?” Amara inquired
“Well, not ‘til tomorrow, at least,” Marigold answered.
Chad walked out of the room, as an alarm rang out through the Survivor's camp.
Preacher calmly looked towards the window. “Seems there is trouble...” He muttered just loud enough for the other survivors as his hand crept into his coat, gripping the handle of his pistol.
“What’s out there?” Marigold asked, looking curiously over to Preacher.
Preacher made his way over to the window, peeking out. “I see infected… a lot of vine infected… most troubling.”
“Uh oh,” Marigold muttered.
Mark looked at his daughter, reading her mind and saying in a harsh tone, “Don’t you even think about it Marigold.”
“But they may need my help!” Marigold complained, trying to be able to go.
“No!” Mark growled, making her go quiet, and looking down at the blanket again.
“I would suggest staying, Marigold, you are in no shape to be fighting right now.” Preacher informed her, pulling out his pistol.
Jack drew his pistol, and Amara pulled her knife from her boot. “Stay close to one another.” Jack ordered everyone. “We can’t let them swarm us.”
Mark stood up, pulled out his .22 pistol, and walked to the door, “Marigold, you’re going to stay here, the rest of us, let’s go.”
Preacher didn’t make any move to show he acknowledged what Mark said, instead only moving over to the door before flicking the safety on his pistol off.
Mark waited for everyone to exit the room, before turning to his daughter and saying, “Stay safe.”
“Always,” She smiled towards him, then watched as Mark closed the door and headed out to take care of the infected.
Preacher followed Mark closely through the Survivors medical bay. Headed towards the exit so they could handle the infected that were outside, along the way, he idly wondered if Joel and Kevin, along with their respective teammates will show up.
He got his answer, when he heard the sounds of a chainsaw sounded outside, along with screams… they were not of agony however. They were of enjoyment, and Preacher sighed internally.
“The hell?” Mark looked towards where the screams were coming, looking confused as he realized who it must be. “Oh god…”
“What? What’s ‘oh god?’ Should I be worried?” Jack inquired.
“You’re about to meet someone very… interesting…” Mark said quietly, glancing back at Jack.
“What kind of ‘interesting?’” Jack responded. “Is it any danger to Amara?”
“I suggest you don’t get her angry, it’s the best advice I can give,” he said, as Mark continued forward.
“Ah. So, she’s a psychopath, essentially?” he responded.
Preacher nodded his head, adding, “she’s… a bit unstable.” He recalled the remnant’s extremely violent tendencies, and an involuntary shudder ran through his body.
“I suggest, Jack, that you and your group just wait to see how to react with her,” Mark suggested, glancing back at them.
“Wait to see how we react? Oh man.” Jack says, shaking his head. “Well, I suppose we should get this over with.”
Mark then lead the way, shooting at a viney that started to run at them, killing it with one bullet to the skull.
Preacher fired his pistol at a viney that shot out of nowhere, ending its life with a headshot. Blood spattering the wall behind it, and falling to the ground in a heap.
A sudden roar sounded, followed by the appearance of a large Vine infected, and before anyone could get a shot off, its head exploded in a shower of gore. Automatic gunfire sounding as it fell to the ground. When Preacher turned to see who fired, he saw Kevin approaching from nearby, followed by David. Sally was absent, no doubt slaughtering infected to her heart’s content.
Mark glanced over at the duo, “Hello again,” he waved at Kevin.
Kevin nodded to Mark, looking at the others before asking, “Hey guys… where’s Mari? Is she alright?” His tone was mildly frantic, as his worry for the young survivor grew by the second.
Mark nodded, “Yeah, she’s just at the sick bay, no worries there.”
Jack walked up behind them, covered in the blood of infected. “Who are all these guys?” he asked, directing the question toward Mark and Preacher.
“Friends of Marigold’s. I swear, the year I spent away from her she’s made friends with just about everyone she came across,” Mark chuckled
“Ah. Well, fair enough.” Jack replied. “Name’s Jack.” he said, after a pause, outstretching his hand.
Kevin sighed in relief, taking Jack’s hand and giving it a hearty shake as David made his way over. “I’m Kevin, this is David,” he pointed to the younger man, who was looking at the medbay worriedly. Kevin knew he was worried for his young friend.
A young female voice chimed in, “I’m Amara.” She stuck her hand out toward Kevin, taking him by surprise.
Shocked, but nonetheless pleased to meet new people, he took her hand. “Nice to meet you Amara.”
“Hey David, she’s in room 103,” Mark told the younger man, “Just remember, if I find out you do anything when she’s in this state. My hatchet will be in your skull,” He warned David.
With another insane cackle of glee from nearby, Kevin and Preacher turned towards the noise, followed by everyone else, save David who nodded to Mark and made his way inside. Nearby, they saw an extremely bloodied woman making her way over, covered head to toe in blood, gore, bits of torn flesh and baring a toothy grin fit for a psychopath. In her hand, she held a chainsaw, droplets of blood falling from it and splattering onto the ground.
Beside the woman, walked a tall dark haired, blue eyed man, that looked like he really didn’t want to be there right now. He had a bow in his hand, and a quiver of arrows on his back. He looked everywhere but the woman.
“I take it this is that woman?” Jack whispered to Mark.
“Yeah, that’s her, but I’m not quite sure who the other man is…” Mark answered, looking at the duo.
“Hello!” Jack called to them. “The name is Jack!”
The archer nodded to Jack, then walked over to Kevin, glaring slightly at Sally, “can’t believe I got dragged into this…” He mumbled to himself, as he ran a hand through his dark brown hair.
Amara walked up to Aaron curiously. “So, ah, you use a bow? Why not a gun?” she asked.
“My accuracy is terrible with a gun,” He answered, looking at the girl with almost bored eyes.
“Hey there Markimoo~” Sally greeted Mark with a bloody grin, then the sound of a dog barking drew her attention to the gate nearby. Looking over, she saw Riley was making his way over to the group, stopping by Kevin’s side and sitting down.
“Hey Riley~” Mark said, smiling as he bent down to pat the dog’s head.
Riley gave a happy yip in reply, content to get head rubs.
Mark chuckled a little, and pet the dog a little longer. He straightened up, and looked around, looking at all the vineys. “Where did they all come from…?”
---With Marigold and David~~~
Chad had come back in the room, with a little cup with a pill in it, and a cup of water, “Here you are Marigold, this is just a fever reducer.”
“Okay, thanks,” the small blonde smiled, then asked, “Wait, is it daytime or nighttime?”
“It’s nighttime, you’ll need to sleep to recover quicker,” Chad answered.
The girl let out a small sigh, “Alright, I’m just tired of sleeping is all.”
Chad nodded, “I understand, but you need the rest.”
“Yeah yeah yeah,” Marigold said, then took the fever reducer.
A knock sounded at the door, and the door creaked open, followed by a voice Marigold knew all too well. “Hey, Mari?” David asked, wondering if he remembered the room number right or not.
“David~!” She exclaimed very happily.
A sigh of relief came from the young man as he pushed the door open, heading inside to see his young friend. “Glad I got that room number right,” he chuckled, stopping once he set eyes on the nurse. He looked Chad up and down, frowning slightly. “Who’re you?”
“I’m Chad, I’ve replaced Debbie, since she stole some food,” the nurse explained with a small smile on his face.
“Okay...” David felt his gut telling him something, but ignored it in favor of seeing Marigold. Walking over to the girl, he brightened up his face with a smile. “How are you feeling?” He asked, a bit of worry in his tone.
Marigold nodded, “I’m feeling better now, I mean, I’ve got a teeny fever yet, but that’s it.”
“She just took a nighttime fever reducer, so she’ll start to feel groggy soon,” Chad informed David.
A nod was David’s reply to the nurse, turning back to Marigold he sighed. “Well, I’m glad you’re alright. It’s been awhile since we last talked to one another.”
Chad smiled, then walked out of the room, leaving them alone, “I know, you really need to visit more.” Marigold laughed a little.
David chuckled, sitting down in a chair next to her bed after setting his shotgun aside. “Yeah, I do. I’ll be sure to visit you when I can.” He told her, seriousness in his eyes. “That’s what’s family for, eh?” He said, smiling.
She smiled even brighter upon hearing the word family, “Yeah, it is, I mean I would come visit you, but I doubt you’d want me to travel alone, well before my dad was here.” She then yawned, a small squeak coming with it. “Ahh, sorry, I can feel it kicking in.”
“Hehehe, no worries, Mari,” He told her. “Kevin and Sally are downstairs with the others, and I heard Joel and them were coming too. So, maybe we can all talk later, when you rested up if you want.”
“But I don’t want you to leave,” Marigold countered, smiling at him.
David bit his lip slightly, then slowly placed his hand on hers and said, “well… I can stay here if you want me to.” He suggested in a quiet voice. “Make sure the infected don’t get inside, protect you and stuff… ya know?”
She smiled, “Or just stay until I fall asleep, but we both know I’m gonna try and stay awake to talk with you.”
The young man nodded with his own bright smile. “I’m not going anywhere, and we’ll always have time to talk, Mari.” He said, looking into her eyes as his smile got just a little bigger. “Legit.”
Marigold laughed at that, and David could tell that Marigold was getting more and more drowsy. “I wish there was an infinite amount of time.”
David nodded with his own laugh, “I feel you on that one, I wish that too.” He sighed, looking down at the covers on the bed. “Sometimes, there’s never enough...”
Marigold nodded, then held out her arms, wanting a hug from him, “Don’t be sad, hugs shall fix all.”
Taking the invitation, David stood up and leaned over, wrapping his arms gingerly around Mari and accepting her hug. He held her with the right amount of pressure, but not enough to hurt her.
She buried her face in his shoulder as she wrapped her own arms around him, “I like hugs.”
David rubbed her back, resting his head beside hers and saying softly, “I like hugs too.”
She closed her eyes, and just breathed him in for the longest time, never wanting to let go.
David likewise felt the same way, but he knew all good things had to come to an end sooner or later.
And from outside, he heard the tell tale sound of gunfire, automatic, along with the sound of a high powered rifle firing. He knew who used that kind of rifle, and knew right away the bandits had arrived.
Marigold pulled away slightly and looked towards the door, and let out a small sigh. “It’s getting harder to keep my eyes open…” She smiled a small smile up to David.
“Get some sleep Mari, I promise,” he told her, pulling away as well but keeping his hands on her shoulders. “We can talk for as long as you want afterwards.”
Marigold smiled to that, and laid herself down on the bed, still looking at David, “You’ll stay here til I fall asleep right?”
David sat down in the chair, nodding his head. “Of course.” He smiled softly.
Marigold smiled, closed her eyes, and her breathing quickly became deep and rhythmed.