Chapter 31: The Camp

Chapter 31: The Camp

"Fuck! I'm starving, what is taking them so long?" Bella complained as the ladies waited for the men to return.

The time was ticking away but the ladies knew that this was a good time to bond and get to know each other on a deeper level.

"Say Bella, how did you end up with those guys?" Rachel asked, this was an important question because they didn't know Bella's circumstances but she was hanging out with shady people.

"I'm not proud of what I have done but everything I did, I did to survive. I joined them on my own, they offered me protection but I had to carry my weight," Bella said.

"They?" Rachel asked, this implied that there was more than one.

"That is right, Randy and I were sent to scout the area but then we ran into you guys," Bella said. Clementine found this sketchy as she was a cautious individual.

"Yes, they have a camp set up not too far from here," Bella said and this was where Clementine intervened.

"A camp? Why didn't you return to them?" Clementine asked and Bella hesitated for a brief moment before Clementine continued.

"It is a branch, they recruit the worst of the worst but I have heard that they have a main camp elsewhere. A strange man came every week to cart off the goods that we had gathered." Bella spilled information she had no business spilling but this was her way to show them that she was trustworthy.

"I couldn't return because I abandoned one of my own. The members aren't allowed to return alone, this was to prevent people from killing each other." Bella confessed.

"That is smart... If they cannot return without one another then they are forced to have each other's backs on the run. The supplies, how much are we about?" Clementine questioned.

Rachel noticed that Clementine's questions were a lot better than hers as this had turned into somewhat of an interrogation.

"There are a lot of supplies, everything you would need," Bella said but Clementine wasn't interested in the branch.

He hated the way it made him feel, Jason pride himself in being the only participant in his world and this was why he avoided human interaction as much as possible.

But now he had stained his hand and Jason couldn't help but think that something inside him had broken.

"Haha! I'm not hungry, I will eat that later," Jason responded awkwardly and Rachel didn't pressure him into anything.

"I will keep it for you then," Rachel said and Jason expected her to go back inside after this because her objective was done but she instead stood beside him, joining him in looking into the horizon as both rested on the rails that acted as a safety measure to stop people from falling over.

The silence was loud and Jason was visibly uncomfortable with it, he felt like he had to say something or she might get the wrong impression about him.

"You don't have to say anything, let's enjoy the silence... Together," Rachel said and Jason felt a huge weight lift off his shoulder.

He briefly remembered Rachel comforting him after that phone call with his brother and now she was doing the same thing right now.

She saw when he wasn't himself even without him uttering a word and Jason knew he needed to let it out or it might eat him up.

"I-I killed a man today..." Jason said; he looked at his hands, horrified.

"It was nothing like a video game..." Jason said and all he felt was a gentle hand on his back.

Rachel began stroking it, she knew this was a delicate matter and she only wanted to talk if he needed her to.

"You did what you needed to do to return to us, Jason. As long as you return, any choice you make is the right one," Rachel said and for some reason, these words were enough to keep Jason ground. It offered him a different perspective on things but before he could fall deeper into his thoughts.

The bag of chips was shoved in his face as Jason noticed that Rachel wasn't backing down.

"Now, eat something. I can't have you dying on me," Rachel said with a smile, this was the first time that Jason saw her smile. She looked like a goddess.

"Thank you... Rachel,"