person.
The chack-chack sound woke Mark up and he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Cindy was standing at the ready with her shotgun pointed at something across the road. Mark got up to investigate with his P220 in hand. “What’s going on Cindy?” he asked while he was walking up behind her so he didn’t startle her. “I think I saw something move in there just a second ago” she answered. “HEY” Mark yelled towards the bush, “Come out” he commanded. Behind him Kara and Joey stirred with the sudden loud outbursts.
The bush rustled for a second and a little girl, no older than 5 stepped forward. Her clothes were tattered and torn and she held a filthy doll in her left hand. She was deathly thin and pale as a ghost. She looked shaky just standing there. Mark wasn’t sure if it was because she was so weak or if she was scared.
Mark instantly softened and tucked his pistol into its holster. “It’s ok” he said as he motioned to her with one hand and pushed Cindy’s muzzle down with the other. The girl tentatively approached him but when she reached him she latched onto his leg with a bear hug. “Daddy!” she cooed.
Cindy laughed while Mark tried to unlatch the girl from his leg. “No, no, I’m not your daddy” he said softly but she just kept repeating it. “Is there something you need to tell me?” Kara joked from behind while Joey piled on with “I’ve got a sister?” Mark didn’t think it was that funny.
He finally got the girl detached and sat her down at the camp. Kara warmed up an MRE for the girl and she dug in with her filthy bare hands before the dish was even set down before her. She ate like an animal but nobody really blamed her as it was quite obvious it had been a while. When she was done she rubbed her belly and burped. The family laughed in unison at the cute gesture.
“Where are you from?” Mark asked the little girl hoping she would be able to answer with a full stomach. “Bush” she said and pointed at the bush. “Before that” Mark said, trying to figure out where her home was located. “Tree” she said and pointed down the road. It became obvious pretty quick that this girl was by herself. The thought of it broke Mark’s heart but he didn’t know what to do with her.
Kara pulled him aside and asked him what he was going to do and he honestly didn’t know. He couldn’t even consider bringing her into the nearest town because she would probably end up a slave. Cindy asked if they could possibly go to a church. Mark wasn’t sure. He had heard about a lot of cults that had sprung up, especially in the south. You name it and there was a new branch of religion to cover it. He had seen confirmation that there were even Aztecs and Mayans sprouting up in Georgia, Texas, New Mexico and such. These groups came complete with human sacrifice and pyramids built out of cinder block and leftover bricks from demolished buildings. Others just claimed to be of Christian decent but with quirks like requiring your first born to be drowned in holy water to prove your love for God. Mark really didn’t get a warm fuzzy feeling about dropping the girl off at a church. He also couldn’t justify leaving her out here to starve or be eaten by coyotes.
Everyone gathered together to vote and the consensus was to drop her off at the nearest church that didn’t appear too creepy. That seemed to be a good compromise so they packed the girl in the back on Joey’s lap and they headed out to find her salvation.
“What’s your name?” Joey asked in the sweetest voice he could muster. “Eve” she answered. Mark laughed to himself and thought it was mildly amusing and appropriate that they would be dropping an Eve off at church.
A little past Henderson they found a branch of the Mormon Church that appeared to be still operational. Everyone agreed that would be a good choice and they pulled in to what appeared to be an operational cannery. Kara got out and went inside and came back out with a
The chack-chack sound woke Mark up and he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Cindy was standing at the ready with her shotgun pointed at something across the road. Mark got up to investigate with his P220 in hand. “What’s going on Cindy?” he asked while he was walking up behind her so he didn’t startle her. “I think I saw something move in there just a second ago” she answered. “HEY” Mark yelled towards the bush, “Come out” he commanded. Behind him Kara and Joey stirred with the sudden loud outbursts.
The bush rustled for a second and a little girl, no older than 5 stepped forward. Her clothes were tattered and torn and she held a filthy doll in her left hand. She was deathly thin and pale as a ghost. She looked shaky just standing there. Mark wasn’t sure if it was because she was so weak or if she was scared.
Mark instantly softened and tucked his pistol into its holster. “It’s ok” he said as he motioned to her with one hand and pushed Cindy’s muzzle down with the other. The girl tentatively approached him but when she reached him she latched onto his leg with a bear hug. “Daddy!” she cooed.
Cindy laughed while Mark tried to unlatch the girl from his leg. “No, no, I’m not your daddy” he said softly but she just kept repeating it. “Is there something you need to tell me?” Kara joked from behind while Joey piled on with “I’ve got a sister?” Mark didn’t think it was that funny.
He finally got the girl detached and sat her down at the camp. Kara warmed up an MRE for the girl and she dug in with her filthy bare hands before the dish was even set down before her. She ate like an animal but nobody really blamed her as it was quite obvious it had been a while. When she was done she rubbed her belly and burped. The family laughed in unison at the cute gesture.
“Where are you from?” Mark asked the little girl hoping she would be able to answer with a full stomach. “Bush” she said and pointed at the bush. “Before that” Mark said, trying to figure out where her home was located. “Tree” she said and pointed down the road. It became obvious pretty quick that this girl was by herself. The thought of it broke Mark’s heart but he didn’t know what to do with her.
Kara pulled him aside and asked him what he was going to do and he honestly didn’t know. He couldn’t even consider bringing her into the nearest town because she would probably end up a slave. Cindy asked if they could possibly go to a church. Mark wasn’t sure. He had heard about a lot of cults that had sprung up, especially in the south. You name it and there was a new branch of religion to cover it. He had seen confirmation that there were even Aztecs and Mayans sprouting up in Georgia, Texas, New Mexico and such. These groups came complete with human sacrifice and pyramids built out of cinder block and leftover bricks from demolished buildings. Others just claimed to be of Christian decent but with quirks like requiring your first born to be drowned in holy water to prove your love for God. Mark really didn’t get a warm fuzzy feeling about dropping the girl off at a church. He also couldn’t justify leaving her out here to starve or be eaten by coyotes.
Everyone gathered together to vote and the consensus was to drop her off at the nearest church that didn’t appear too creepy. That seemed to be a good compromise so they packed the girl in the back on Joey’s lap and they headed out to find her salvation.
“What’s your name?” Joey asked in the sweetest voice he could muster. “Eve” she answered. Mark laughed to himself and thought it was mildly amusing and appropriate that they would be dropping an Eve off at church.
A little past Henderson they found a branch of the Mormon Church that appeared to be still operational. Everyone agreed that would be a good choice and they pulled in to what appeared to be an operational cannery. Kara got out and went inside and came back out with a
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