Chapter Text
“I think she knows we’re following her,” Sam whispers to Five through labored breaths. Between the injuries he sustained in the escape from Abel two days ago and the five or so miles they’ve trekked through the woods behind this random woman, Five is surprised he’s holding up. He seems to agree. “I’ll never understand how you runners manage this.”
Five wants to say something about the fact that they’re uninjured and better trained, but the words clump with the others lodged in their throat like marbles in a bottle. Even thinking of the words is hard when they’re honed in and stressed like this. They know Sam doesn’t take it personally when they don’t respond.
The woman takes them in another loop through the forest, likely testing to see if they’re really following her or not. Five can see that she’s talking, though they can’t make out the words from the distance they’re keeping from her. From her physique, they wouldn’t be surprised if she were a runner as well, so the most likely answer is that she’s talking to her radio operator about how to get them off her tail.
Regardless, they persist behind her mostly quietly, though Sam does crack a few branches and stifle a few yelps as he almost trips several times. Five figures she’s getting tired of trying to throw them off as they approach a large field of tall grass as a large concrete wall with strange blue stripes sits on the other side. The twists and turns they were forced to take are throwing off Five’s sense of direction, so they have no idea what settlement this is, looking to Sam expectantly.
“Armistead, if I recall correctly,” Sam answers their unasked question. Oh, great, the notoriously reclusive ones who refuse to work with any other settlement or let anyone in that doesn’t already have connections to someone within their walls. Surely they’ll be open to taking in two strangers with targets on their backs. They break through the treeline shortly after the woman and duck into the tall grass, slowly army crawling their way behind her. It’s thoroughly unpleasant, and Five is almost relieved when the woman calls them out.
“I know you two are following me,” she calls into the field. A distinctly North American accent, though they can’t quite place where.
Five swiftly rises to their feet, holding up their hands in anticipation of some sort of threat, and notices that Sam doesn’t come up with them. They look over to see him struggling to right himself and quickly go over to him to help him up. They use one arm to tuck under his shoulder and keep him upright as he sways, holding out a hand as well. The woman’s face shifts minutely, pity gleaming in her eyes while the rest is set stony.
Five notices a distinct lack of guards around the gate, and the woman doesn't even have any visible weapons, so they drop their arm, though Sam keeps his extended.
“They’re injured,” she remarks quietly, probably to the headset resting in her ear. It’s similar to the ones they have back in Abel, though maybe a little less beat up. Now that Five has a good look at her, the woman seems relatively well off. She has minimal scarring, and her red hair is braided neatly behind her. She has an athletic build, like she was active before Z-Day, and seems to have a good amount to eat as she lacks the signs of near starvation that most other runners they’ve seen have. Either they treat their runners like royalty or they’re just incredibly well supplied overall.
“You’re from Abel, right? Why are you all the way over here?” she asks after a moment, taking Five out of their thoughts.
“We were attacked and driven out,” Sam answers, not questioning how she knew that. Their dog tags flash in the sunlight as they turn to him, the answer suddenly clicking. “We ran in a random direction and followed the first person we saw.”
Five tries not to think about that night, the sound of gunshots and screams fresh in their mind. They briefly flick their eyes up to see that there is now a blonde woman in a sniper tower by the gates with a nice looking rifle and try not to tense their muscles too much.
“Why not go to New Canton? Aren’t they… friendlier?”
“They went into lockdown right before we got attacked and wouldn’t have let anyone in,” he explains.
The woman pauses to listen to her headset.
“Did anyone follow you? And is anyone after you specifically?”
Five and Sam share a brief look, Five urging him to tell the truth through a look. He doesn’t seem to get the message.
“No.”
There’s another brief period of silence, the woman looking more and more frustrated, despite the brief look of distrust that flashes over her face.
“I’ll vouch for them, even if only for a little while. Just enough to where he can stop looking like he’s on death’s door.” She hisses into the microphone, “they don’t deserve to die if we can help them just because they’re strangers, X.”
Five schools their expression, not wanting to get their hopes up.
She sighs, running her hands over her face.
“Thank you,” she whispers, then addresses the two of them. “They’re going to let you guys in— for a week, just so you can get medical attention and rest— but then you’ll have to find somewhere else to stay, I’m sorry.”
“Oh, no, that’s more than fine, thank you so much,” Sam says. An alarm blares as the gate begins to open behind the woman, making Sam jump.
“I’m Gem, this is Armistead, and you are…” she introduces as they walk up to her.
“My name is Sam Yao, and this is my— this is Five,” he replies. Gem doesn’t so much as blink at Sam’s reference to their name, which they silently appreciate.
“Oh, you’re the radio operator, aren’t you? You talked to ours a few months ago, a woman named Pearl, right?” she asks conversationally. Sam flushes at the memory of the discussion, though Five still hasn’t gotten the full story on how allegedly terrible it went. He clears his throat, avoiding her gaze.
“Yeah, yeah, that was— that was me,” he says with a sigh, prompting a giggle from Gem.
“Don’t worry, it’s just me and Pearl who were there, and X, but he doesn’t really count,” she assures him, but it only makes him look more miserable. “Like, he’s technically our leader, but everything goes through a vote with everyone in the settlement anyway, and he’s more like a poster on the wall than a person when he comes to observe us.”
Five knows they probably shouldn’t, but they sort of tune her rambling out as she guides them through the gate and off to a large building to the right. It looks to be a small hospital, probably only slightly older than Z-Day if not unfinished and co-opted the day of. Either way, it’s impressively kitted out, and they even do bite checks with X-ray technology. The team of medics find the bullet fragments lodged in Sam’s shoulder and quickly triage him to prepare him for surgery, and Five can see as the medic doing the X-ray spots the old bite scar as well.
“Wait,” one of them says, stopping the movement of the others. “He’s got a bite.”
They quickly move the sleeve of his shirt up to reveal it, though the team looks confused at the age of it.
“I’s old,” Sam manages to slur as the sedatives begin to kick in. “‘m ‘mmune.”
The team seems to take the explanation, though they do quickly check him over to make sure he’s not going gray, and wheel him back into the operating room after that.
Another medic finds the old bullet in Five’s shoulder, but they reject the offer to remove theirs as well as it had yet to cause them any problems— that they would admit to. Their stomach flips at the thought of not having Sam with them while they’re mute, but they put on a brave face about it as they check them over for any other injuries. Luckily, they had managed to get out unscathed, so the medic releases them back to Gem with a clean bill of health. She leads Five back out of the building, asking them a few questions, or at least they assume through the static in their mind.
Their passive question of how they keep such a large building operational is answered when they notice a small field of solar panels and some water wheels on the far right end of the beach just past the buildings. The buildings themselves though are the true stars of the show, beautifully constructed and decorated, some with bold colors and interesting shapes and others with a more muted palette and classic styling. None of them really look like they belong next to each other in isolation, yet they somehow seamlessly flow together.
Gem catches their attention again, now in front of them with concern clear on her face. They hadn’t even realized they had just stopped in their tracks in the middle of the street. The static in their mind recedes enough to finally hear what she’s saying.
“Hey, are you— No, that’s a dumb question— Is there something I can do for you?” she offers.
Five waffles with their hands and kind of moves their mouth like a fish out of water for a moment, trying to force the words out.
“Can you talk at all?” she asks instead, but it’s genuine, not judgemental. Five shakes their head desperately. “Ok, that’s a start. I know BSL, do you know BSL?”
They do know some, but not enough to express what they need right now, so they simply shake their head again.
“Gotcha. Are you able to write?”
Five nods, and Gem is off like a shot, promising them she’ll be right back. She returns quickly with a pad of paper and pen in hand, gently handing it over to them.
I just need to sit somewhere quiet for a moment , they write sloppily, only caring for it to be legible. Gem nods sharply, leading them over to a cabin made of light wood with a dark purple roof. Five watches as a man with bright blue hair does a double take on the way out of the door of the cabin next to this one at the sight of them. They sneer involuntarily, and he quickly averts his gaze, and soon Five is inside. It’s incredibly cozy, they’ll give her that, with lots of comfortable looking furniture and various knick knacks scattered around shelves and bookcases. And then Gem drags out the holiest of holy grails— A Papasan.
She pats the seat with a large grin, and Five quickly sinks into the fluffy cushion. They let out a contented sigh as they do, trying to think back to the last time they sat in one— Nothing in particular comes to mind, probably sometime before Z-Day.
When they open their eyes again, the lighting in the room is lower and Gem is sitting with a book in her lap on a large couch in the back of the living room. There’s a mug of something steaming balancing precariously on the armrest. Five realizes they must have dozed off as golden light spills through the window. Gem glances up briefly and sees them awake, smiling warmly.
“How are you feeling?” she asks quietly.
“I’m—” they clear their throat, hoarse from disuse and thirst, “I’m okay.”
Gem’s smile grows larger, closing the book in her lap and setting it aside as she stands.
“Are you hungry? I can make you dinner,” she offers. Five’s stomach gurgles cartoonishly as she does, and Gem, to her credit, only smirks a little.
“Uh… yeah, I could eat. Could— Could you make something vegetarian?” Five requests nervously. Something sparkles in Gem’s eyes at the question.
“I thought I was the only vegetarian left alive,” she jokes as she moves toward the kitchen, mug in hand. “I’ll whip something up real quick, what are your thoughts on tofu?”
Five shoots her a quick thumbs up, ignoring the thoughts nagging at the back of their brain. They stand and stretch, immediately drawn to the large bookshelf by the couch. It’s filled mostly with classics, though there are a few items and picture frames scattered in empty spaces. There’s a gorgeous string of pearls plant on top of the bookshelf cascading down the right side, along with the abundance of other plants strewn throughout the living room, all extremely well taken care of. One title in particular catches their eye, causing them to rock slightly on their feet. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.
They delicately pluck the book from the shelf, admiring the hand-bound and carved leather cover. They haven’t been able to find even a paperback copy of the book since Z-Day, so seeing it in person is a dream come true. The irony of the plot compared to their life isn’t lost on them, but they have a dark fascination with the author’s works. They skim through the pages, finding it well-loved but well-maintained as well.
“Oh, you read McCarthy?” Gem asks conversationally, suddenly behind Five. They suppress a flinch, turning toward her.
“Oh, uhm… Yeah, I read just about anything, really,” they respond lamely.
“I haven’t read much of his work, to be honest. That copy’s Pearl’s, she just keeps forgetting to take it back with her.” There’s a distinct fondness in her voice. Five vaguely wonders if Pearl is one of the people whose photo is on her bookshelf. “Oh! The real reason I came out, food is ready! We can eat in the kitchen.”
The smell of whatever Gem cooked suddenly hits their nose, and… Man, they can already tell it’s going to be delicious. The kitchen is very old country style, with some nice appliances and a small wooden table with five chairs. There are painted handprints on the surface of the table, with names underneath each. The only two they have time to read as they sit are nearly illegible, in the distinct scrawl of a child; Tilly and Froggy. Five quietly hopes that “Froggy” is just a nickname.
Gem interrupts by placing a steaming bowl of vegetable and tofu curry and rice in front of them, and it takes all of their restraint not to immediately down the whole thing. She also offers them a glass of water and a mug of green tea, which she proudly announces that she grows the leaves of herself. It definitely tastes homemade, in a good way, and Five tells her as much. After they down the entire glass of water, of course. She smiles giddily as she refills their water glass.
“It’s weird, no one else here has the taste for it. They’re all ‘give me black tea or give me death’ here. So it’s just me and Pearl who drink it, and hopefully the girls when they’re older,” she comments, looking at the table wistfully. As Five is about to pause shoveling food into their mouth to say something, she suddenly exclaims. “Oh! Something you probably actually want to hear, your friend got out of surgery an hour or so after you fell asleep and they said he should recover well. I can take you back to see him after we get done eating if you want.”
A ten ton weight lifts from Five’s shoulders at her words, and they have to resist the urge to sprint out the door that instant. They finish their food faster than they probably should, sure they’ll regret it later but not having it in them to care. They can’t help but notice the town looks even more gorgeous in the golden light of the setting sun as Gem guides them back to the hospital. She keeps a quick pace, Five will give her that, but it’s nothing they can’t keep up with.
They go back through the lobby of the hospital and are directed through a series of halls that feel endless, until they reach what must surely be the farthest corner of the hospital. At least it’s a full room and not just partitions, but they can't help but think it’s probably meant to feel isolated on purpose. The door opens to a man in a gas mask and military gear, who Five assumes is smiling by the creasing of his eyes.
“Well, you must be Five, then, my name is Xisuma. I’m head of the settlement, or more like the head problem solver when no one else feels like it,” he introduces with an awkward laugh and sticks a hand out to shake. Five politely returns it, trying very hard not to push him out of the way to get to Sam. He must notice their restraint as something softens in his eyes and he steps deeper into the room to let the both of them enter. “He hasn’t been awake for long so he’s still a little out of it.”
Sam immediately straightens upon seeing Five, a bleary excitement clear in his face. The equipment around him is in astonishing shape, though most of it is powered down, and he’s hooked up to a bag of fluids. A small tray table with some dirty dishware sits off to the side of the bed, and they silently let out a sigh of relief that they fed him. Gem is nice enough, and has been a good host to Five so far, but they don’t exactly trust anyone here yet to have their best interests when it sounds like she had to beg to let them in anyway. There’s a nagging fear at the back of their mind— though they know it’s unrealistic— that the food was tampered with or poisoned in some way. They wouldn’t waste the resources they’re using on the surgery and recovery if they were just going to kill him, no matter how well off they seem to be.
There are tears forming in Sam’s eyes, soon to become pitiful, shiny streaks down his face. Before they can really think better of it, their arms are wrapping around his head and holding him to their chest. A flash of self-loathing crosses their mind as he reaches up with shaking hands and tries to pull them closer. He’s obviously still under the influence of whatever anesthesia they had him under and not thinking straight. Nausea hits them as they try to avoid thinking about how nice this is.
A moment passes, and Five is pretty sure he’s trying to pull away, so they quickly right themself. They try to ignore what they think is a flash of disappointment over his face and turn to Xisuma, who clears his throat awkwardly.
There’s now a new man with short dark hair and brown eyes. He’s wearing scrubs and has his hand resting on a wheeled cart with different medical supplies.
“He’s just here to take your vitals now that you’re awake,” Xisuma explains to Sam. “And then we’re going to discuss a few things.”
The air is incredibly tense as the nurse records the results on a battered tablet and assures the two of them that everything looks good and this is simply a precaution. His accent sticks out to Five, definitely from the Chicago area. They try not to tense as they think what else medical was in that area. He’s quick to leave the room after saying goodbye to Xisuma and Gem, closing the door behind him. Five tries not to let their anxiety run wild, feeling a bit like a cage-trapped animal.
They watch Xisuma’s eyes carefully, but they never drop.
“So, we’re obviously not expecting you to do anything while you’re healing, but we try to have everyone pull their weight here, much like I expect Abel is like,” he clarifies. “I was thinking with your role back home you could assist our radio operator in the comms room here in the building, something that would keep you close and let you rest when needed.”
“I’m more than happy to, but I’m not an expert or anything, so please don’t expect that of me,” Sam says with an awkward laugh.
“Pearl will be doing most of the legwork, you’d be closer to an intern, I guess,” Xisuma assures, turning to Five. “I was talking a bit with Sam before you arrived, he said you were a runner for him, a pretty reliable one at that, so I figured it’d just be easier to have you do the same thing here.”
Five nods, wanting to speak but finding their words stuck to the sides of their throat like a fly trap once again.
“As for the matter of where you’ll be staying…” Xisuma looks at Gem expectantly.
“Joe has an extra room Five can use, I already talked to him. We were going to meet up after this,” Gem answers with a nervous smile. She turns back to Five. “Sorry, I would take you in myself, but I don’t really have the extra space.”
Anxiety ties their stomach in knots at the thought of being away from Sam and away from the one person who they’re sure has good intentions for them. Xisuma says something quietly, hard for them to hear— muffled by his mask— and earns a slap on the arm and a loud throat clear from Gem. Five looks to Sam to see his reaction, but he seems just as lost, so it’s likely he didn’t hear either.
“X, they really do not need to hear that,” Gem chastises him playfully. Xisuma, to his credit, seems bashful.
“Right, sorry,” he apologizes, and Five and Sam shrug in unintentional synchronicity. They share a look and Five can’t help the small smile that rises to their face, before Xisuma gets their attention again. “We do have a few rules, mostly for your safety. No one goes out past the border after sunset— no matter the reason— don’t go into the armory unless you’re instructed to, and we don’t have a curfew, but do try to be respectful of your neighbors. You’re welcome to ask any questions at any time, to anyone here.”
Xisuma goes through a few more rules that unfortunately go in one ear and out the other for Five, but Sam seems to be comprehending them, at the very least. He looks significantly better already, no longer dehydrated and covered in blood and dirt. It looks like they took the time to tend to the smaller wounds that littered his body as well, which Five silently appreciates. A hospital gown replaces the worse for wear pajamas he was wearing when they left Abel, and they can see the bandages covering his shoulder and chest peeking through. He looks over at them briefly, giving them a reassuring smile. They quickly look back to Xisuma and Gem, pretending to go back to paying attention.
“Well, I think that’s about everything. Like I said, any questions you have can be directed toward anybody you come across. If you meet back here in the morning, I’ll get the two of you where you need to be and to whom you will be working with,” Xisuma finishes lamely, nodding to himself before excusing himself from the room. Five releases tension in their shoulders they didn’t realize they were holding. Gem lets out a soft sigh.
“That was a lot shorter than the orientation I got, you guys are lucky,” she says lightheartedly. “I swear he talked at me for 3 hours straight.”
“He seems…” Sam starts, suddenly unsure if he wants to proceed.
“Incredibly awkward?” she supplies with a grin. Sam returns a guilty, tight-lipped smile. “Yeah, he’s definitely the shy type. But he can put his foot down when it matters, and we all sort of respect him for that.”
“Will he be around a lot?” he asks, briefly flicking his eyes over to Five.
“He’s honestly really hands off. We only call him head because we needed someone to fill the role when it comes to interacting with outsiders. You probably won’t be seeing much of him at all” she says with a shake of her head. Something mischievous crosses her face. “Unless you two are going to be troublemakers.”
Sam laughs awkwardly, assuring her that they plan to strictly follow the letter of the law around here. He follows his statement up with a stern look to Five, who sticks their tongue out playfully. They both know they aren’t going to do anything stupid, but the chance to mess with each other was right there, and they couldn’t just not take it. He and Gem engage in some light small talk that they don’t quite have the mental capacity to pay attention to until she notices that the sun has officially fully set, and quickly ushers Five out the door to meet with their gracious host for the week.
Their heart aches as they wave goodbye to Sam, trying not to let their panic show as they leave the building. Gem stops just outside of the doors, turning to Five with sudden concern.
“Hey, do we… need a minute? Joe isn’t going to mind if we’re there a little late if you need somewhere to sit for a moment,” she asks, attempting to gauge their reaction. “We can go back to mine and you can keep reading that book if that would help?”
Five shakes their head resolutely, despite how tempting the offer is. The logical part of their brain knows they should give themself a chance to decompress before being thrown headfirst into another stranger’s home, but the rest wants to shrivel up and die at the thought of further inconveniencing this mysterious Joe.
The house they stop in front of is innocuous, one of the few that are just sort of plain compared to the others. Gem confidently approaches the door and knocks loudly twice, causing a cartoonish series of clatter-bang-cat screech from inside. There are audible footsteps up to the door, which opens to a deceptively ordinary looking man. He glances over green-tinted, angular glasses and smiles a bit too wide.
“Gem, you’re here!” he exclaims, grabbing her hand and pulling her into a tight hug.
“You act like we haven’t seen each other in months,” she chuckles, patting his back solidly.
“Every day we get to see each other is a good one, my friend,” he says with one final squeeze before pulling away, locking eyes with Five. “And you must be my guest for the week.”
Five nods sharply, receiving a warmer smile in return.
“Joe Hills from Tennessee, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he introduces, sticking a hand out to shake. Five grabs it probably harder than they should have, given the slight wince he tries to suppress.
“Five has trouble speaking sometimes, if that describes it correctly?” Gem mentions, turning to Five for confirmation. They nod sharply once again, feeling their face flush in embarrassment. The partial mutism is hard enough to explain to people, and having it explained by someone else is all the more mortifying. Joe, to his credit, doesn’t have much of a reaction. “Having a pen and paper handy helps.”
Joe nods in affirmation, turning suddenly and marching deeper into the house.
“You two can come on in!” he calls halfway across the living room, disappearing into a doorway across the room. Gem strolls in casually, briefly glancing back to make sure Five is following.
The room is the very definition of organized chaos. The blue walls are covered sporadically in very different pieces of art, ranging from childish scribbles to full blown masterpieces. A lamp that seems to double as modern art casts soft light across the room, worn furniture scattering shadows across the tan wood floors. There’s a desk or workstation of some sort shoved into the corner covered in fabric and what they assume to be puppet parts, given the fully constructed ones strewn across the surface and hanging from the wall. There are at least four crates of miscellaneous art supplies in the room, ranging from paint to yarn to craft paper. It’s honestly a little overwhelming to look at. Gem sits down on a dark blue couch, lightly patting the cushion on the other side, leaving a respectful amount of space between them if Five sits. They shake their head minutely, feeling too on edge to relax just yet, and Gem silently nods in acknowledgement.
Joe is quickly back in the room to distract them, holding a classic composite notebook and a green pen with a fuzzy pom pom attached to the end. He offers the items to Five with a grin, and they graciously accept them, unsure how they should feel about it. The notebook is fine, whatever, but the pen carries a certain lightheartedness that feels a bit demeaning.
“I’m sorry, I don’t really have any normal pens,” Joe apologizes, scratching the back of his neck. Five silently questions if their face slipped or something. “Ah, I didn’t mean to surprise you, I’m just really good at reading people. I’m not, like, psychic or something.”
He laughs brightly, and Five is no less convinced otherwise.
“Either of you want coffee? I can get a pot brewing,” he offers, most likely just to busy himself and run away from the awkward air. Gem politely declines with a giggle, reminding him that the sun has been set for about ten minutes now.
“I figure I could hang around for a bit to make sure Five gets settled in, if that’s alright with you, Joe?” Gem offers, once again briefly glancing over to Five, though this time she doesn’t seem to be interested in getting their approval. Given her stature versus his, they wonder if it’s more a matter of making sure they don’t do anything stupid. Joe shoots her a thumbs up and the two of them talk casually for a few minutes, the tension slowly draining from Five’s body, quickly replaced by exhaustion.
They take a seat in a leather recliner by the far wall, crossing their arms over their chest uncomfortably and holding the notebook to their chest. Gem and Joe both look over passingly but otherwise continue their conversation without a hitch, leaving Five to nod in and out of consciousness.
“Well, I should probably get going,” Gem says suddenly, fully waking Five. Gem switches between a thumbs up and thumbs down, a questioning look on her face directed at Five. Five returns a thumbs up, which makes her smile slightly. “Joe, it’s been lovely as always. Five, I’ll come get you in the morning?”
Five nods in acknowledgement, still a bit groggy, and watches Joe wave Gem goodbye at the door. There’s a fleeting moment of tension as Five waits for the other shoe to drop, but Joe simply closes the door and sits quietly back on the couch.
“You seem tired, do you want me to show you to your room?” he asks softly after a moment. Five nods blearily, standing and following him into the hallway he disappeared down earlier. It’s similarly covered in various artworks, but besides a runner spanning the length of the floor, it’s just a hallway.
“I keep this room for when I find my sister,” he explains as he takes them a few doors down, opening to a mostly plain bedroom. Their heart pangs sympathetically, though something about his resolve as he says it makes them believe he’ll beat the odds. He lets them walk in first, turning on the light and beginning to close the door. Before the panic can strike them, he quickly demonstrates how the door locks, and then reopens it. “I’m in the one on the other end of the hall, if you need anything.”
With that, he leaves them to the room, and they fall asleep almost the instant they lay down.