100% of readers chose to [A. Tell the truth.]
"Yeah, I know what happened to them..." Grace answered softly. She barely had the heart to … moretell her what they found when they discovered this house last night. But she was going to tell her, Natalie was going to learn the truth.
"Well...?" She asked, expecting an answer.
"Yeah, we found them when we got here last night." Grace told her. "Noah and I hauled them out back. We buried them... we thought that's only what they deserved, though we never even said a word to them. I'm sorry..."
Natalie's eyes became full of disbelief. "They're dead...?" She looked to the woman on the other side of the couch, wanting with all of her heart and mind that the words she was speaking were not true. "Are they dead? They can't be."
"Dead as a door nail. You don't believe it, you can go back in the backyard and see for yourself." Noah replied, standing up from the wall and perching himself on the arm … [view original content]
Wait if it's been a week, was Ashley dead that whole time? :O
Laura seems like a nice enough person...she is nice enough to hold up a civil conversation with the rest.
100% of readers chose to [A. Tell the truth.]
"Yeah, I know what happened to them..." Grace answered softly. She barely had the heart to … moretell her what they found when they discovered this house last night. But she was going to tell her, Natalie was going to learn the truth.
"Well...?" She asked, expecting an answer.
"Yeah, we found them when we got here last night." Grace told her. "Noah and I hauled them out back. We buried them... we thought that's only what they deserved, though we never even said a word to them. I'm sorry..."
Natalie's eyes became full of disbelief. "They're dead...?" She looked to the woman on the other side of the couch, wanting with all of her heart and mind that the words she was speaking were not true. "Are they dead? They can't be."
"Dead as a door nail. You don't believe it, you can go back in the backyard and see for yourself." Noah replied, standing up from the wall and perching himself on the arm … [view original content]
Hey guys, what's this? An update? Wow! Sorry it's so late, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things now. Anyway, here it is.
Chapter 12: The Miracle
Grace Peters
The sunlight of the afternoon rushed through the window of the cabin, lighting up the dust particles in the air. Grace found it very pleasant; the feeling that ran down her spine actually seeing the rays of sunshine in the air. This feeling in a time such as this felt...dirty. Everyone was dropping dead around her. Leo was injured... No one knew where Jared was... Ashley was dead... And Grace almost felt happy.
Winston set a few paper plates that he had found around the dining room table, without a look of worry on his face. He gazed back to the rest of them, sitting on the couches around the room. Sebastien was still clutching his cheek. Katherine could only be seen staring blankly at the wall across from her. Noah was pacing back and forth next to the bookshelf next to the window. Laura was sitting next to Sebastien, asking him over and over if he wanted something for his face. He denied it every time.
"You know, it's dinner time." Winston spoke up, setting another of the plates on the table. "I found a bag of pretzels and some fruit roll-ups in the cabinet. The milk is all spoiled and the fruit is rotten, but most of the food is good." The only response he lifted out of anyone was a tender smile from Kate. Winston sighed. "Just because everyone's going crazy don't mean we don't get hungry. Come eat something guys!"
Surprisingly, Noah was the first one to approach the dinner table after a few seconds of waiting. He grabbed the bag of pretzels and poured a few of them out onto a paper plate, sitting down at the side of the table. As he shoved a few of them past his lips, he gave a glance to the rest of the people in the room.
"How many plates do I gotta set out?" Winston asked to anyone who would respond. "How many of us are there? Eight? Nine, I suppose...with Jared."
"Ten." Grace replied, getting up and approaching Noah at the table. She sat down beside him and could see the faintest of smiles on his mouth. "We have Leo too. And Natalie's probably not in an eating mood."
The boy smiled. "They'll all come back. I know it." He ran to the cupboard and set the ninth and tenth plates down on the table.
Gradually, one by one, the other members of the group stood up and approached the dinner table as their hungers increased passed the point of comfort. First Kate, then Laura, and finally Sebastien.
Grace, in a show of friendship, picked up the bag of pretzels and began to set a few of them on each of the peoples' plates. When Sebastien received his, he turned slightly to the side and sighed. "Sorry I called you a bitch. I was just angry."
"I forgive you." She replied, leaning in closer to him.
"That's good to hear." He said, turning back to his food. "It wasn't that great of a first impression."
Grace grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around again. "I'm letting it slide this once, but don't do it again. Regardless of what you think, I can hold my own."
He looked a bit angry once again, but passed it off and fought to pull himself away from her. "Aye aye, Cap'n."
When she sat back down, Winston called attention to the table before they all began to eat from their plates. "Ain't we gonna say grace?" He asked them all.
Grace was caught off guard for a moment, as she always was when her name was used as the word it came from. She raised her plate in the air, trying to compensate for the boy's misunderstanding. "Grace!" She exclaimed, trying to help him. Most likely, he was too young to understand that not everyone said grace.
"Grace." A few of them repeated, with Katherine among them. It was the first word Grace had heard the woman say. Her voice was weak, as if it were about to break. Something about her expression made her want to help the woman.
The few of them around the table actually ate the food presented. The others simply sat in each other's midst to humor the boy. They didn't know what to do with themselves otherwise. "So... What do you all do for a living?" Grace asked the people at the table, trying to initiate a conversation that wasn't there.
"I'm a cop." Sebastien answered, having a bit of difficulty making his jaw work the right way. "Or I was a cop. Didn't enjoy it, but I got to put some of my high school rivals in the slammer... That made it worth it... I was on that bus like all of these guys were when this all went down. Our driver... He got a heart attack the moment he saw the first body. We tried to carry him to a hospital, but lurkers broke in and got a bite out of him. We had to throw him out." He pulled his handgun off his belt and held it in the air. "We're damn lucky I was carrying my gun in my bag."
"Wow..." She replied to his story. That explained how the group came together, and how they survived. If they had a bus, they could probably get through any blockade of those things if they wanted to. Too bad it was down in the city with Jared. She turned to the woman sitting next to him. "And you? What do you and your husband do, Kate?"
She spoke very quietly, but grew louder word by word until she became comfortable speaking in front of the group. "I was a housewife... But Jared was a Professor of Architecture."
"Really?" Asked Grace, trying to keep the conversation going. Winston and Laura began to speak quietly to each other, having become bored of the conversation.
"Yeah... The two of us have been together for over thirty years... I hope he's all right."
"I'm sure he'll be fine." Laura told her, smiling. "He's following the plan. He won't get hurt if he follows the plan."
"What is the plan?" Noah asked, through a mouthful of pretzels. He seemed to be eating the most out of any of the people at the table. "You guys have been here for hours and we still don't know what exactly you meant to do by honking the horn like a damn idiot."
She seemed offended for a moment, but then began to explain the plan she had crafted. "The plan was to get to Savannah. We were told there was a safe house there. We found that minivan, but it didn't have a good horn, and it wasn't that tough. We sent Jared down to the city to secure a place in the safe house and gather supplies, preferably a safer place than this cabin. The biters are drawn to sound. We figured that out the first day. He honks the horn so the dead pass by us, and we find a place to stay for the night."
"That's a good idea." Noah said. "But not good enough. If your guy's honking his horn, the dead will find him eventually. It's only a matter of time."
Kate looked worried by this, but Laura patted her on the shoulder and reassured her of the plan. "We found a grenade."
"Where the hell did you find a grenade?" Noah laughed.
"There was a military base that was overrun with lurkers." She continued. "Most of the weapons had been taken, but we found one last grenade on a body. But that's not important. Once Jared finds a good place to stop and find supplies, he waits til the horde shows up, and chucks the grenade as far as he can in the other direction. He locks the doors up tight, lets the dead follow the grenade blast, and finds a way into this safe house. Tomorrow, we'll send a group out to find him, come back here, and bring us over there."
"You got it all figured out, don't you?" Noah laughed, seeming impressed. He couldn't see any flaws in the plan and neither could Grace. It was a very smart idea. She was surprised it could have come from a sophomore in high school.
"Yeah..." She chuckled back. "Well, what's you guys' story? We've told you all about us. We hardly know anything about you."
"I got in a car accident with my friend." Grace told her, trying as hard as she could not to think too hard about it. "She turned, and Noah here saved my life. Our man in there that Quentin is working on... His name is Leo. He was the guy that hit us."
"And you're not mad at him?" Sebastien asked her, clenching his fist. "He killed your friend. I would walk in there right now and knock that fucker out cold right now if he wasn't already out."
"It was an accident." She said. "I forgave him."
"Ah, forgiveness. Doesn't seem to be anything tangible with you." Sebastien frowned.
"Shut it." Noah spoke, making him cower back down into his seat.
"Where did your scar come from? The one on your neck?" Winston asked, not aware that the question cut just as deeply as the bullet had.
"Oh, I just cut it on a fence when I was a kid." Grace lied. She'd grown accustomed to telling this to people she didn't trust. Especially a ten-year-old kid. "It's nothing, really."
"Okay." Winston replied, satisfied with her answer.
Sebastien shot her a skeptical look, while realigning his jaw, but passed it off as nothing and ignored it. "Well, I guess it's time to start putting this plan into action." He said, glancing at Laura. "We gotta send a group out there to find Jared out there. He has to be at the safehouse already. Every minute we waste on this fucking rock is a minute our guy could get killed. I'm leading a team down there right after we finish eating. Who's going with me?"
For once, Noah didn't object to travelling down to the city. He instead, opposed something else. "We can't leave right now. You'll get there in the middle of the night. You don't want to be out when it gets dark. That's when they can creep up on you..."
"We can't just leave Jared in the damn cold!" He shouted, slamming his fist down on the table. "I don't know how you do things where you're from, but at the police department, we follow a saying. 'Don't leave a man behind.'"
"You ain't gonna be any help if you're dead." Noah replied. "I'll go with you to find your man, but only if we leave in the morning. I'm not gonna die with you."
"We have to go now!" He replied, quite loudly. "Jared's not gonna spend a night alone in a city full of dead guys. Would you like to take this up with her?" He gestured to Kate behind her, yet she only gazed in the other direction, trying not to reveal her opinion. Grace didn't understand this. It was her husband they were talking about, and she didn't seem like she wanted them to do what was best. Then again, Grace didn't know what was best either.
"Shut up, both of you." Grace spoke, putting a halt to their bickering. "You sit there arguing, when you should be organizing your little search and rescue team. I'm going with you. Is there anyone else who'd like to go? I imagine Winston and Katherine will stay here... Laura?"
"Someone's gotta watch him." She replied, pointing to the child sitting next to her. He didn't hear her comment, as he wasn't paying attention. The only thing he seemed to care about at the moment was tattooing his tongue with a fruit roll-up. "Plus, we need people back here too. I'll stay behind and defend the house."
"Okay." She responded, turning to the rest of the group. "Quentin's in there working with Leo. Do you think Natalie would go with us?"
"Natalie will go with us." Sebastien told her. "She's just outside sulking like she always does. A little bit of reason will snap her out of it."
"Well, alright then. That's our group." Noah smiled in a sort of beefy, rural way. His smile made Grace feel oddly secure. "Now we discuss when we go. Leaving now would give Jared a better shot at making it through the night, but leaving in the morning would be the much wiser option. We ain't gonna help anyone dead. What do you think, Grace?"
Hey guys, what's this? An update? Wow! Sorry it's so late, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things now. Anyway, here it is.
Chapt… moreer 12: The Miracle
Grace Peters
The sunlight of the afternoon rushed through the window of the cabin, lighting up the dust particles in the air. Grace found it very pleasant; the feeling that ran down her spine actually seeing the rays of sunshine in the air. This feeling in a time such as this felt...dirty. Everyone was dropping dead around her. Leo was injured... No one knew where Jared was... Ashley was dead... And Grace almost felt happy.
Winston set a few paper plates that he had found around the dining room table, without a look of worry on his face. He gazed back to the rest of them, sitting on the couches around the room. Sebastien was still clutching his cheek. Katherine could only be seen staring blankly at the wall across from her. Noah was pacing back and forth next to the bookshelf n… [view original content]
Hey guys, what's this? An update? Wow! Sorry it's so late, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things now. Anyway, here it is.
Chapt… moreer 12: The Miracle
Grace Peters
The sunlight of the afternoon rushed through the window of the cabin, lighting up the dust particles in the air. Grace found it very pleasant; the feeling that ran down her spine actually seeing the rays of sunshine in the air. This feeling in a time such as this felt...dirty. Everyone was dropping dead around her. Leo was injured... No one knew where Jared was... Ashley was dead... And Grace almost felt happy.
Winston set a few paper plates that he had found around the dining room table, without a look of worry on his face. He gazed back to the rest of them, sitting on the couches around the room. Sebastien was still clutching his cheek. Katherine could only be seen staring blankly at the wall across from her. Noah was pacing back and forth next to the bookshelf n… [view original content]
Hey guys, what's this? An update? Wow! Sorry it's so late, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things now. Anyway, here it is.
Chapt… moreer 12: The Miracle
Grace Peters
The sunlight of the afternoon rushed through the window of the cabin, lighting up the dust particles in the air. Grace found it very pleasant; the feeling that ran down her spine actually seeing the rays of sunshine in the air. This feeling in a time such as this felt...dirty. Everyone was dropping dead around her. Leo was injured... No one knew where Jared was... Ashley was dead... And Grace almost felt happy.
Winston set a few paper plates that he had found around the dining room table, without a look of worry on his face. He gazed back to the rest of them, sitting on the couches around the room. Sebastien was still clutching his cheek. Katherine could only be seen staring blankly at the wall across from her. Noah was pacing back and forth next to the bookshelf n… [view original content]
Two reasons actually. First it gives Jared a better chance of survival. And second, I am probably the only person who thinks that going in the middle of the night has it's advantages. The walkers and the group have to rely on their respective sense of hearing at night. However, unlike the group, the walkers can't move in silence, which could give the group an advantage. Of course, they have to be super careful, but it might work better than going there in the morning. In broad daylight the group can see the walkers, sure, but they can be seen just as well.
Two reasons actually. First it gives Jared a better chance of survival. And second, I am probably the only person who thinks that going in t… morehe middle of the night has it's advantages. The walkers and the group have to rely on their respective sense of hearing at night. However, unlike the group, the walkers can't move in silence, which could give the group an advantage. Of course, they have to be super careful, but it might work better than going there in the morning. In broad daylight the group can see the walkers, sure, but they can be seen just as well.
Hey guys, what's this? An update? Wow! Sorry it's so late, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things now. Anyway, here it is.
Chapt… moreer 12: The Miracle
Grace Peters
The sunlight of the afternoon rushed through the window of the cabin, lighting up the dust particles in the air. Grace found it very pleasant; the feeling that ran down her spine actually seeing the rays of sunshine in the air. This feeling in a time such as this felt...dirty. Everyone was dropping dead around her. Leo was injured... No one knew where Jared was... Ashley was dead... And Grace almost felt happy.
Winston set a few paper plates that he had found around the dining room table, without a look of worry on his face. He gazed back to the rest of them, sitting on the couches around the room. Sebastien was still clutching his cheek. Katherine could only be seen staring blankly at the wall across from her. Noah was pacing back and forth next to the bookshelf n… [view original content]
I'm pretty sure Jared's going to be dead if they leave in the morning. And I think the group will turn against each other if they went with what Noah said, only to find Jared dead.
Hey guys, what's this? An update? Wow! Sorry it's so late, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things now. Anyway, here it is.
Chapt… moreer 12: The Miracle
Grace Peters
The sunlight of the afternoon rushed through the window of the cabin, lighting up the dust particles in the air. Grace found it very pleasant; the feeling that ran down her spine actually seeing the rays of sunshine in the air. This feeling in a time such as this felt...dirty. Everyone was dropping dead around her. Leo was injured... No one knew where Jared was... Ashley was dead... And Grace almost felt happy.
Winston set a few paper plates that he had found around the dining room table, without a look of worry on his face. He gazed back to the rest of them, sitting on the couches around the room. Sebastien was still clutching his cheek. Katherine could only be seen staring blankly at the wall across from her. Noah was pacing back and forth next to the bookshelf n… [view original content]
Hey guys, what's this? An update? Wow! Sorry it's so late, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things now. Anyway, here it is.
Chapt… moreer 12: The Miracle
Grace Peters
The sunlight of the afternoon rushed through the window of the cabin, lighting up the dust particles in the air. Grace found it very pleasant; the feeling that ran down her spine actually seeing the rays of sunshine in the air. This feeling in a time such as this felt...dirty. Everyone was dropping dead around her. Leo was injured... No one knew where Jared was... Ashley was dead... And Grace almost felt happy.
Winston set a few paper plates that he had found around the dining room table, without a look of worry on his face. He gazed back to the rest of them, sitting on the couches around the room. Sebastien was still clutching his cheek. Katherine could only be seen staring blankly at the wall across from her. Noah was pacing back and forth next to the bookshelf n… [view original content]
Hey guys, what's this? An update? Wow! Sorry it's so late, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things now. Anyway, here it is.
Chapt… moreer 12: The Miracle
Grace Peters
The sunlight of the afternoon rushed through the window of the cabin, lighting up the dust particles in the air. Grace found it very pleasant; the feeling that ran down her spine actually seeing the rays of sunshine in the air. This feeling in a time such as this felt...dirty. Everyone was dropping dead around her. Leo was injured... No one knew where Jared was... Ashley was dead... And Grace almost felt happy.
Winston set a few paper plates that he had found around the dining room table, without a look of worry on his face. He gazed back to the rest of them, sitting on the couches around the room. Sebastien was still clutching his cheek. Katherine could only be seen staring blankly at the wall across from her. Noah was pacing back and forth next to the bookshelf n… [view original content]
70% of readers chose to [B. Leave in the morning.]
"We'll leave at first light." Grace stated decisively. "I don't want to go down there tired, and I've actually seen a biter in the dark. That's an experience I don't want to live through again."
"That makes it two-to-one." Noah smiled, knowing his side had won the argument. "Any questions?"
"Pfft." Sebastien scoffed. "It wouldn't even be one-to-one it we didn't pick up you guys' asses earlier today."
"It looked to me like we picked up your asses." Grace replied. "It was your group who was easing along the street in the minivan, not us."
He frowned and crossed his arms. He changed the subject because he knew he was wrong. "Who's gonna go out to get Natalie? I can't be me. She hates my guts."
"Well, it can't be the kid either." Noah chimed in. "It should come from one of us."
"I'll go." Grace suggested. She knew with the direction the discussion was heading, it would inevitably be her. "I'll find a way to talk her into coming. It's kind of my thing."
They stared at her for a moment before Sebastien said, "Well, what are you waiting for?" She stood up and brushed off her pants, prepping herself. She didn't even know where Natalie was, let alone how to talk to her.
Before she left the room, Grace grabbed the paper plate Winston had set out for his mother and filled it with pretzel sticks. She took a deep breath, and opened the door a crack. The night was slowly creeping up on the cabin, and it was getting harder and harder to see the yard in front of her. She ran around the side of the house to find Natalie kneeling on the ground just above the two graves where they had buried the dead couple.
She leaned against the wall, and held out the plate of pretzels to the woman in front of her. "I brought you some food." She said. "Winston found it in the-"
"Do you believe in miracles, Grace?" She asked, with her eyes locked on the ground between the two graves.
"What do you mean?"
"Miracles. You know what miracles are. Do you believe in them?"
"Well, when I was seven, my dog was hit by a car, lost both of his hind legs and got back up on wheels to live eight more years by my side." She smiled. "Yeah, I believe in them."
"Well, you shouldn't." Natalie said. Grace moved closer, so she could make out her face. She had dried tears etching into her cheeks. She had stopped crying a while back and was now staring blankly at the two graves. Grace couldn't see clearly into this woman's mind. "These two were my best friends in high school. We were never apart. I thought it was a miracle when they were married. They were gonna be together forever... Now they're dead... And for them to come back...that would be a miracle; a real one. But it won't happen like that. Miracles don't happen."
"I don't think it works like that." Grace disagreed, setting the plate of pretzels down beside her and sat down. "Miracles do happen. Every day. We can't see them most of the time, but they're there."
"What do you mean?"
"Take a look around you." She took a leaf from the ground she knelt on and held it up to their eyes. It was brown and frayed. "This leaf fell from the tree. Right? I'm sure the tree misses it, but every leaf falls eventually. Where that leaf fell, the tree uses the space it freed to grow a few more leaves. Without autumn, how beautiful would spring be? Everything happens for a reason. I think that's a miracle in itself."
Natalie sighed for a moment, long enough to gaze in her general direction and wipe a tear away with one of her fingers. She then continued in her staring at the graves. "He's not actually my son." She stated.
"Winston? Why do you say so?"
She heaved a long sigh and turned to face the forest, glaring out into the fog that would soon turn to darkness. It frightened her just as much as Grace. "It was a year ago, and I had a son of my own. He was really sweet...Harry was his name... He had cancer. I'd only found out a couple weeks before. When he...moved on...there Winston was in the lobby of the hospital, waiting for his mother. His real mother anyway... The doctors came away from their rooms looking all sorry for themselves. They told him his mom passed away in surgery, just like my son. The way he reacted...reminded me so much of who my son was...and who I am."
She paused for a moment, giving Grace a chance to respond. "I'm sorry." She replied, trying to comfort her. "I wouldn't know what that's like."
"When they asked him who could take him he said he didn't have anybody and they said he would be taken to an orphanage. I acted on impulse. I told them I was his godmother. We've lived together ever since."
"That's very noble of you." She nodded. "You must have sacrificed a lot to help the kid out."
She chuckled through the tears. "You'd find it easier to sacrifice what you have if it feels like you already lost everything. Nothing to lose..."
Grace shared a moment of silence with her, trying to empathize with her pain. She felt the loss like it was her own. It made it easier remembering she was not alone. There were others who had lost people. It seemed like here, amongst these people, she was in the minority.
"Hey listen, Natalie..." She started. "Noah, Sebastien and I are heading out in the morning to find Jared in the city and maybe find this safe house he's looking for. We thought maybe you would come with us."
"A trip into the city?" She asked, her face lighting up a bit. "Who's idea was that?"
"Sebastien was the one who brought it up." Grace replied.
"That sounds like him." She scoffed. "Wants nothing more than to get his ass down to this city. He makes it sound like its Shangri-La or the promised land. I'll go with you, but just to find Jared. We're not staying in the city. There's too much death there."
"We won't stay there. I promise." Grace lied. She wasn't sure of the motives for plan, but she knew one of them was to find this safe house they were talking about. And when they got there, they definitely weren't just stopping by to say hello. "We're just heading down to get supplies so we can live up here."
Natalie laughed. "You're a bad liar, Grace. You're going down there to look for the safe house. That's what Laura said... Don't make promises you can't keep."
She sighed. "Yeah, we're going to look for the safe house, but you don't owe these people anything. You can come up and live up here on the mountain if you want to. No one's stopping you."
"I don't owe them?" She looked up into Grace's eyes and stood up. She began to storm back into the cabin dramatically. "I owe them everything. I'll go with you to find Jared, but only for his sake. He's the only one here who hasn't done me wrong."
Once she was gone, Grace looked at the two small branches Noah had placed in the ground over the mounds where the bodies were buried. This piece of land had been owned by these people only a few nights ago. They lived here. Now it was the earth's turn to claim them. That would be where their bodies lied forever. But she had hope their souls would be in a better place; One that didn't quarter death like its own relative. Wherever they were, they wouldn't have to deal with any of this any more. They were free.
"Hey Grace!" A voice called from the right, where they had come from. Grace turned her head to find Quentin with a smile on his face. "You're gonna want to see who's up."
Relief washed over her as she stood up. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"His bleeding stopped. He'll be fine." Quentin smiled. "I have to admit... It seems like a miracle to me."
She ran past the man and into the cabin. She found it strange to see most of the group at the table, not waiting to greet Leo as he woke up. The only one who stood up to greet him seemed to be Winston. But she didn't care. She wanted to talk to the man she saved on the street.
When she strode into the room, she laid her hands on the door. She half-expected Quentin to be lying. Leo looked pretty bad when she left him, but seeing him lying on the bed with a bandage wrapped widely around his chest cemented her wishes. However, she felt a twinge of jealousy when she realized it had been him that lived and not Ashley. She tried to push it out of her mind for the moment.
"What's going on?" Leo asked with a certain fear in his eye. "Grace right? What the hell is going on? Who are you people?"
"Does he not know?" Winston asked, confused.
Grace sighed. "He doesn't know much. He's been asleep longer than I have." She sat down beside the tbed, feeling relieved that the man was alive.
"How long has it been?" He asked, perching himself on his elbows. "I don't even know you..."
"It's been about a day." She replied.
The truth began to sink into his face. "And how long has it been since this all started?"
"About a week."
He bit his lip for a moment and ran his hand through his blonde hair that had moved out of shape from his sleep. His eyes fell on the ten-year-old beside him. "Who are you?"
"I'm Winston." He smiled.
"There's a lot of people out there like him who are really happy you're up." She said. "I don't know if you're ready to stand yet, but when you can, we'd like it if you joined us."
He laughed for a minute and then coughed under the stress it put on his lungs. He cleared his throat. "I have no idea what the hell is going on, but okay. You're the only one I sort of know here. I guess I'll follow you."
Grace smiled as she put her arm under his shoulder that had been cleaned of its wound and helped him up onto his feet. At first, the ground creaked under his weight and he almost fell to the ground, but eventually straightened himself. The two of them hobbled into the main room.
When the group laid eyes on Leo, most were apathetic as Grace assumed they would be. Right as she was about to introduce him to the rest of the group, he uttered the words, "Oh...my god..."
Natalie's eyes went wide and she scrambled to wipe the tears from them. "L-Leo...?" She rushed up and wrapped her arms around him, crying tears of joy into his shoulder. "How can it be you? How the fuck can you be here?"
Leo fought to keep his own tears within his eyelids. "Angel... What are you doing here? I was coming to find you!"
"I fucking thought you were dead!" She cried.
"I'm right here." He wrapped his own arms around her. "You know it takes more than a bloody car crash to take me out."
"I didn't even know it was you! I never... I never came in to check. " Natalie yelled.
Everyone else was in so much shock, they only gaped at the reunited couple. Grace was among them. "You two know each other?" Noah asked her.
"Of course we do..." She replied, doing nothing to wipe the copious amount of tears on her face. "He's my ex-husband."
"If you're exes, why are you so all over each other?" Sebastien questioned. Grace frowned, thinking he was a bit rude in asking this.
Leo let one of his tears slide down his face before wiping it away with his sleeve. "Because, after my brother and sister died in Atlanta... She's all I have left."
Natalie sniffed. "You're all I have left too..." Winston looked a bit hurt, and Kate attempted to comfort him with a soft pat on the back. "Leaving you was a mistake..."
Grace gazed upon them in wonder. From what she had seen, finding people they'd lost seemed near impossible, yet here they were, hugging tightly in front of her. It would likely be a scene she'd never be able to witness again.
It only proved what she had said before. Miracles do exist.
70% of readers chose to [B. Leave in the morning.]
"We'll leave at first light." Grace stated decisively. "I don't want to go down ther… moree tired, and I've actually seen a biter in the dark. That's an experience I don't want to live through again."
"That makes it two-to-one." Noah smiled, knowing his side had won the argument. "Any questions?"
"Pfft." Sebastien scoffed. "It wouldn't even be one-to-one it we didn't pick up you guys' asses earlier today."
"It looked to me like we picked up your asses." Grace replied. "It was your group who was easing along the street in the minivan, not us."
He frowned and crossed his arms. He changed the subject because he knew he was wrong. "Who's gonna go out to get Natalie? I can't be me. She hates my guts."
"Well, it can't be the kid either." Noah chimed in. "It should come from one of us."
"I'll go." Grace suggested. She knew with the direction the discussion was heading, it would inev… [view original content]
70% of readers chose to [B. Leave in the morning.]
"We'll leave at first light." Grace stated decisively. "I don't want to go down ther… moree tired, and I've actually seen a biter in the dark. That's an experience I don't want to live through again."
"That makes it two-to-one." Noah smiled, knowing his side had won the argument. "Any questions?"
"Pfft." Sebastien scoffed. "It wouldn't even be one-to-one it we didn't pick up you guys' asses earlier today."
"It looked to me like we picked up your asses." Grace replied. "It was your group who was easing along the street in the minivan, not us."
He frowned and crossed his arms. He changed the subject because he knew he was wrong. "Who's gonna go out to get Natalie? I can't be me. She hates my guts."
"Well, it can't be the kid either." Noah chimed in. "It should come from one of us."
"I'll go." Grace suggested. She knew with the direction the discussion was heading, it would inev… [view original content]
Comments
Wait if it's been a week, was Ashley dead that whole time? :O
Laura seems like a nice enough person...she is nice enough to hold up a civil conversation with the rest.
No, Ashley had died a while before Grace woke up. When Grace felt her heart beat that wasn't her heart, but the beginning of her turning.
Alright, so she was knocked out the whole time.
Well, yeah, for a while. Grace was too. The actual time she was out was about 3 days.
Awesome Chaper!!!
Thanks haha
I don´t like Laura. She is too Mary Sue
Who is Mary Sue?
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue
Being smart doesn't make her perfect. She has flaws, she's just smart enough not to reveal them to total strangers.
I still don´t like her. It my third most hated fight now , after Janet and Oberson
Well I suppose you don't have to like her, but I don't think she's not really on the level of Oberson. She's actually on their side...
Oops, sorry just noticed. GrEat chapter
Thanks
c:
Lol I've been on vacation. I'm back now though. The next part is your username.
-=^-^=-
hehehehehhee
Woop, woop, woop!
B3
B;3
B3
woo
http://www.telltalegames.com/community/discussion/92912/the-hunger-games-only-one-gets-to-live
Hey guys, what's this? An update? Wow! Sorry it's so late, but I'll try to get back in the swing of things now. Anyway, here it is.
Chapter 12: The Miracle
Grace Peters
The sunlight of the afternoon rushed through the window of the cabin, lighting up the dust particles in the air. Grace found it very pleasant; the feeling that ran down her spine actually seeing the rays of sunshine in the air. This feeling in a time such as this felt...dirty. Everyone was dropping dead around her. Leo was injured... No one knew where Jared was... Ashley was dead... And Grace almost felt happy.
Winston set a few paper plates that he had found around the dining room table, without a look of worry on his face. He gazed back to the rest of them, sitting on the couches around the room. Sebastien was still clutching his cheek. Katherine could only be seen staring blankly at the wall across from her. Noah was pacing back and forth next to the bookshelf next to the window. Laura was sitting next to Sebastien, asking him over and over if he wanted something for his face. He denied it every time.
"You know, it's dinner time." Winston spoke up, setting another of the plates on the table. "I found a bag of pretzels and some fruit roll-ups in the cabinet. The milk is all spoiled and the fruit is rotten, but most of the food is good." The only response he lifted out of anyone was a tender smile from Kate. Winston sighed. "Just because everyone's going crazy don't mean we don't get hungry. Come eat something guys!"
Surprisingly, Noah was the first one to approach the dinner table after a few seconds of waiting. He grabbed the bag of pretzels and poured a few of them out onto a paper plate, sitting down at the side of the table. As he shoved a few of them past his lips, he gave a glance to the rest of the people in the room.
"How many plates do I gotta set out?" Winston asked to anyone who would respond. "How many of us are there? Eight? Nine, I suppose...with Jared."
"Ten." Grace replied, getting up and approaching Noah at the table. She sat down beside him and could see the faintest of smiles on his mouth. "We have Leo too. And Natalie's probably not in an eating mood."
The boy smiled. "They'll all come back. I know it." He ran to the cupboard and set the ninth and tenth plates down on the table.
Gradually, one by one, the other members of the group stood up and approached the dinner table as their hungers increased passed the point of comfort. First Kate, then Laura, and finally Sebastien.
Grace, in a show of friendship, picked up the bag of pretzels and began to set a few of them on each of the peoples' plates. When Sebastien received his, he turned slightly to the side and sighed. "Sorry I called you a bitch. I was just angry."
"I forgive you." She replied, leaning in closer to him.
"That's good to hear." He said, turning back to his food. "It wasn't that great of a first impression."
Grace grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around again. "I'm letting it slide this once, but don't do it again. Regardless of what you think, I can hold my own."
He looked a bit angry once again, but passed it off and fought to pull himself away from her. "Aye aye, Cap'n."
When she sat back down, Winston called attention to the table before they all began to eat from their plates. "Ain't we gonna say grace?" He asked them all.
Grace was caught off guard for a moment, as she always was when her name was used as the word it came from. She raised her plate in the air, trying to compensate for the boy's misunderstanding. "Grace!" She exclaimed, trying to help him. Most likely, he was too young to understand that not everyone said grace.
"Grace." A few of them repeated, with Katherine among them. It was the first word Grace had heard the woman say. Her voice was weak, as if it were about to break. Something about her expression made her want to help the woman.
The few of them around the table actually ate the food presented. The others simply sat in each other's midst to humor the boy. They didn't know what to do with themselves otherwise. "So... What do you all do for a living?" Grace asked the people at the table, trying to initiate a conversation that wasn't there.
"I'm a cop." Sebastien answered, having a bit of difficulty making his jaw work the right way. "Or I was a cop. Didn't enjoy it, but I got to put some of my high school rivals in the slammer... That made it worth it... I was on that bus like all of these guys were when this all went down. Our driver... He got a heart attack the moment he saw the first body. We tried to carry him to a hospital, but lurkers broke in and got a bite out of him. We had to throw him out." He pulled his handgun off his belt and held it in the air. "We're damn lucky I was carrying my gun in my bag."
"Wow..." She replied to his story. That explained how the group came together, and how they survived. If they had a bus, they could probably get through any blockade of those things if they wanted to. Too bad it was down in the city with Jared. She turned to the woman sitting next to him. "And you? What do you and your husband do, Kate?"
She spoke very quietly, but grew louder word by word until she became comfortable speaking in front of the group. "I was a housewife... But Jared was a Professor of Architecture."
"Really?" Asked Grace, trying to keep the conversation going. Winston and Laura began to speak quietly to each other, having become bored of the conversation.
"Yeah... The two of us have been together for over thirty years... I hope he's all right."
"I'm sure he'll be fine." Laura told her, smiling. "He's following the plan. He won't get hurt if he follows the plan."
"What is the plan?" Noah asked, through a mouthful of pretzels. He seemed to be eating the most out of any of the people at the table. "You guys have been here for hours and we still don't know what exactly you meant to do by honking the horn like a damn idiot."
She seemed offended for a moment, but then began to explain the plan she had crafted. "The plan was to get to Savannah. We were told there was a safe house there. We found that minivan, but it didn't have a good horn, and it wasn't that tough. We sent Jared down to the city to secure a place in the safe house and gather supplies, preferably a safer place than this cabin. The biters are drawn to sound. We figured that out the first day. He honks the horn so the dead pass by us, and we find a place to stay for the night."
"That's a good idea." Noah said. "But not good enough. If your guy's honking his horn, the dead will find him eventually. It's only a matter of time."
Kate looked worried by this, but Laura patted her on the shoulder and reassured her of the plan. "We found a grenade."
"Where the hell did you find a grenade?" Noah laughed.
"There was a military base that was overrun with lurkers." She continued. "Most of the weapons had been taken, but we found one last grenade on a body. But that's not important. Once Jared finds a good place to stop and find supplies, he waits til the horde shows up, and chucks the grenade as far as he can in the other direction. He locks the doors up tight, lets the dead follow the grenade blast, and finds a way into this safe house. Tomorrow, we'll send a group out to find him, come back here, and bring us over there."
"You got it all figured out, don't you?" Noah laughed, seeming impressed. He couldn't see any flaws in the plan and neither could Grace. It was a very smart idea. She was surprised it could have come from a sophomore in high school.
"Yeah..." She chuckled back. "Well, what's you guys' story? We've told you all about us. We hardly know anything about you."
"I got in a car accident with my friend." Grace told her, trying as hard as she could not to think too hard about it. "She turned, and Noah here saved my life. Our man in there that Quentin is working on... His name is Leo. He was the guy that hit us."
"And you're not mad at him?" Sebastien asked her, clenching his fist. "He killed your friend. I would walk in there right now and knock that fucker out cold right now if he wasn't already out."
"It was an accident." She said. "I forgave him."
"Ah, forgiveness. Doesn't seem to be anything tangible with you." Sebastien frowned.
"Shut it." Noah spoke, making him cower back down into his seat.
"Where did your scar come from? The one on your neck?" Winston asked, not aware that the question cut just as deeply as the bullet had.
"Oh, I just cut it on a fence when I was a kid." Grace lied. She'd grown accustomed to telling this to people she didn't trust. Especially a ten-year-old kid. "It's nothing, really."
"Okay." Winston replied, satisfied with her answer.
Sebastien shot her a skeptical look, while realigning his jaw, but passed it off as nothing and ignored it. "Well, I guess it's time to start putting this plan into action." He said, glancing at Laura. "We gotta send a group out there to find Jared out there. He has to be at the safehouse already. Every minute we waste on this fucking rock is a minute our guy could get killed. I'm leading a team down there right after we finish eating. Who's going with me?"
For once, Noah didn't object to travelling down to the city. He instead, opposed something else. "We can't leave right now. You'll get there in the middle of the night. You don't want to be out when it gets dark. That's when they can creep up on you..."
"We can't just leave Jared in the damn cold!" He shouted, slamming his fist down on the table. "I don't know how you do things where you're from, but at the police department, we follow a saying. 'Don't leave a man behind.'"
"You ain't gonna be any help if you're dead." Noah replied. "I'll go with you to find your man, but only if we leave in the morning. I'm not gonna die with you."
"We have to go now!" He replied, quite loudly. "Jared's not gonna spend a night alone in a city full of dead guys. Would you like to take this up with her?" He gestured to Kate behind her, yet she only gazed in the other direction, trying not to reveal her opinion. Grace didn't understand this. It was her husband they were talking about, and she didn't seem like she wanted them to do what was best. Then again, Grace didn't know what was best either.
"Shut up, both of you." Grace spoke, putting a halt to their bickering. "You sit there arguing, when you should be organizing your little search and rescue team. I'm going with you. Is there anyone else who'd like to go? I imagine Winston and Katherine will stay here... Laura?"
"Someone's gotta watch him." She replied, pointing to the child sitting next to her. He didn't hear her comment, as he wasn't paying attention. The only thing he seemed to care about at the moment was tattooing his tongue with a fruit roll-up. "Plus, we need people back here too. I'll stay behind and defend the house."
"Okay." She responded, turning to the rest of the group. "Quentin's in there working with Leo. Do you think Natalie would go with us?"
"Natalie will go with us." Sebastien told her. "She's just outside sulking like she always does. A little bit of reason will snap her out of it."
"Well, alright then. That's our group." Noah smiled in a sort of beefy, rural way. His smile made Grace feel oddly secure. "Now we discuss when we go. Leaving now would give Jared a better shot at making it through the night, but leaving in the morning would be the much wiser option. We ain't gonna help anyone dead. What do you think, Grace?"
[A. Leave now.]
[B. Leave in the morning.]
And there's an offscreen one for [B. Leave in the morning.]
[A. Leave now.]
[A. Leave now.]
that's poor choices... [B. Leave in the morning.]
What's wrong with them?
Any ideas on why?
Any ideas on why?
Two reasons actually. First it gives Jared a better chance of survival. And second, I am probably the only person who thinks that going in the middle of the night has it's advantages. The walkers and the group have to rely on their respective sense of hearing at night. However, unlike the group, the walkers can't move in silence, which could give the group an advantage. Of course, they have to be super careful, but it might work better than going there in the morning. In broad daylight the group can see the walkers, sure, but they can be seen just as well.
Interesting ideas. Thanks for the feedback.
[B. Leave in the morning.]
I'm pretty sure Jared's going to be dead if they leave in the morning. And I think the group will turn against each other if they went with what Noah said, only to find Jared dead.
Leave in the morning
[A. Leave now.]
[B. Leave in the morning.]
70% of readers chose to [B. Leave in the morning.]
"We'll leave at first light." Grace stated decisively. "I don't want to go down there tired, and I've actually seen a biter in the dark. That's an experience I don't want to live through again."
"That makes it two-to-one." Noah smiled, knowing his side had won the argument. "Any questions?"
"Pfft." Sebastien scoffed. "It wouldn't even be one-to-one it we didn't pick up you guys' asses earlier today."
"It looked to me like we picked up your asses." Grace replied. "It was your group who was easing along the street in the minivan, not us."
He frowned and crossed his arms. He changed the subject because he knew he was wrong. "Who's gonna go out to get Natalie? I can't be me. She hates my guts."
"Well, it can't be the kid either." Noah chimed in. "It should come from one of us."
"I'll go." Grace suggested. She knew with the direction the discussion was heading, it would inevitably be her. "I'll find a way to talk her into coming. It's kind of my thing."
They stared at her for a moment before Sebastien said, "Well, what are you waiting for?" She stood up and brushed off her pants, prepping herself. She didn't even know where Natalie was, let alone how to talk to her.
Before she left the room, Grace grabbed the paper plate Winston had set out for his mother and filled it with pretzel sticks. She took a deep breath, and opened the door a crack. The night was slowly creeping up on the cabin, and it was getting harder and harder to see the yard in front of her. She ran around the side of the house to find Natalie kneeling on the ground just above the two graves where they had buried the dead couple.
She leaned against the wall, and held out the plate of pretzels to the woman in front of her. "I brought you some food." She said. "Winston found it in the-"
"Do you believe in miracles, Grace?" She asked, with her eyes locked on the ground between the two graves.
"What do you mean?"
"Miracles. You know what miracles are. Do you believe in them?"
"Well, when I was seven, my dog was hit by a car, lost both of his hind legs and got back up on wheels to live eight more years by my side." She smiled. "Yeah, I believe in them."
"Well, you shouldn't." Natalie said. Grace moved closer, so she could make out her face. She had dried tears etching into her cheeks. She had stopped crying a while back and was now staring blankly at the two graves. Grace couldn't see clearly into this woman's mind. "These two were my best friends in high school. We were never apart. I thought it was a miracle when they were married. They were gonna be together forever... Now they're dead... And for them to come back...that would be a miracle; a real one. But it won't happen like that. Miracles don't happen."
"I don't think it works like that." Grace disagreed, setting the plate of pretzels down beside her and sat down. "Miracles do happen. Every day. We can't see them most of the time, but they're there."
"What do you mean?"
"Take a look around you." She took a leaf from the ground she knelt on and held it up to their eyes. It was brown and frayed. "This leaf fell from the tree. Right? I'm sure the tree misses it, but every leaf falls eventually. Where that leaf fell, the tree uses the space it freed to grow a few more leaves. Without autumn, how beautiful would spring be? Everything happens for a reason. I think that's a miracle in itself."
Natalie sighed for a moment, long enough to gaze in her general direction and wipe a tear away with one of her fingers. She then continued in her staring at the graves. "He's not actually my son." She stated.
"Winston? Why do you say so?"
She heaved a long sigh and turned to face the forest, glaring out into the fog that would soon turn to darkness. It frightened her just as much as Grace. "It was a year ago, and I had a son of my own. He was really sweet...Harry was his name... He had cancer. I'd only found out a couple weeks before. When he...moved on...there Winston was in the lobby of the hospital, waiting for his mother. His real mother anyway... The doctors came away from their rooms looking all sorry for themselves. They told him his mom passed away in surgery, just like my son. The way he reacted...reminded me so much of who my son was...and who I am."
She paused for a moment, giving Grace a chance to respond. "I'm sorry." She replied, trying to comfort her. "I wouldn't know what that's like."
"When they asked him who could take him he said he didn't have anybody and they said he would be taken to an orphanage. I acted on impulse. I told them I was his godmother. We've lived together ever since."
"That's very noble of you." She nodded. "You must have sacrificed a lot to help the kid out."
She chuckled through the tears. "You'd find it easier to sacrifice what you have if it feels like you already lost everything. Nothing to lose..."
Grace shared a moment of silence with her, trying to empathize with her pain. She felt the loss like it was her own. It made it easier remembering she was not alone. There were others who had lost people. It seemed like here, amongst these people, she was in the minority.
"Hey listen, Natalie..." She started. "Noah, Sebastien and I are heading out in the morning to find Jared in the city and maybe find this safe house he's looking for. We thought maybe you would come with us."
"A trip into the city?" She asked, her face lighting up a bit. "Who's idea was that?"
"Sebastien was the one who brought it up." Grace replied.
"That sounds like him." She scoffed. "Wants nothing more than to get his ass down to this city. He makes it sound like its Shangri-La or the promised land. I'll go with you, but just to find Jared. We're not staying in the city. There's too much death there."
"We won't stay there. I promise." Grace lied. She wasn't sure of the motives for plan, but she knew one of them was to find this safe house they were talking about. And when they got there, they definitely weren't just stopping by to say hello. "We're just heading down to get supplies so we can live up here."
Natalie laughed. "You're a bad liar, Grace. You're going down there to look for the safe house. That's what Laura said... Don't make promises you can't keep."
She sighed. "Yeah, we're going to look for the safe house, but you don't owe these people anything. You can come up and live up here on the mountain if you want to. No one's stopping you."
"I don't owe them?" She looked up into Grace's eyes and stood up. She began to storm back into the cabin dramatically. "I owe them everything. I'll go with you to find Jared, but only for his sake. He's the only one here who hasn't done me wrong."
Once she was gone, Grace looked at the two small branches Noah had placed in the ground over the mounds where the bodies were buried. This piece of land had been owned by these people only a few nights ago. They lived here. Now it was the earth's turn to claim them. That would be where their bodies lied forever. But she had hope their souls would be in a better place; One that didn't quarter death like its own relative. Wherever they were, they wouldn't have to deal with any of this any more. They were free.
"Hey Grace!" A voice called from the right, where they had come from. Grace turned her head to find Quentin with a smile on his face. "You're gonna want to see who's up."
Relief washed over her as she stood up. "Is he gonna be okay?"
"His bleeding stopped. He'll be fine." Quentin smiled. "I have to admit... It seems like a miracle to me."
She ran past the man and into the cabin. She found it strange to see most of the group at the table, not waiting to greet Leo as he woke up. The only one who stood up to greet him seemed to be Winston. But she didn't care. She wanted to talk to the man she saved on the street.
When she strode into the room, she laid her hands on the door. She half-expected Quentin to be lying. Leo looked pretty bad when she left him, but seeing him lying on the bed with a bandage wrapped widely around his chest cemented her wishes. However, she felt a twinge of jealousy when she realized it had been him that lived and not Ashley. She tried to push it out of her mind for the moment.
"What's going on?" Leo asked with a certain fear in his eye. "Grace right? What the hell is going on? Who are you people?"
"Does he not know?" Winston asked, confused.
Grace sighed. "He doesn't know much. He's been asleep longer than I have." She sat down beside the tbed, feeling relieved that the man was alive.
"How long has it been?" He asked, perching himself on his elbows. "I don't even know you..."
"It's been about a day." She replied.
The truth began to sink into his face. "And how long has it been since this all started?"
"About a week."
He bit his lip for a moment and ran his hand through his blonde hair that had moved out of shape from his sleep. His eyes fell on the ten-year-old beside him. "Who are you?"
"I'm Winston." He smiled.
"There's a lot of people out there like him who are really happy you're up." She said. "I don't know if you're ready to stand yet, but when you can, we'd like it if you joined us."
He laughed for a minute and then coughed under the stress it put on his lungs. He cleared his throat. "I have no idea what the hell is going on, but okay. You're the only one I sort of know here. I guess I'll follow you."
Grace smiled as she put her arm under his shoulder that had been cleaned of its wound and helped him up onto his feet. At first, the ground creaked under his weight and he almost fell to the ground, but eventually straightened himself. The two of them hobbled into the main room.
When the group laid eyes on Leo, most were apathetic as Grace assumed they would be. Right as she was about to introduce him to the rest of the group, he uttered the words, "Oh...my god..."
Natalie's eyes went wide and she scrambled to wipe the tears from them. "L-Leo...?" She rushed up and wrapped her arms around him, crying tears of joy into his shoulder. "How can it be you? How the fuck can you be here?"
Leo fought to keep his own tears within his eyelids. "Angel... What are you doing here? I was coming to find you!"
"I fucking thought you were dead!" She cried.
"I'm right here." He wrapped his own arms around her. "You know it takes more than a bloody car crash to take me out."
"I didn't even know it was you! I never... I never came in to check. " Natalie yelled.
Everyone else was in so much shock, they only gaped at the reunited couple. Grace was among them. "You two know each other?" Noah asked her.
"Of course we do..." She replied, doing nothing to wipe the copious amount of tears on her face. "He's my ex-husband."
"If you're exes, why are you so all over each other?" Sebastien questioned. Grace frowned, thinking he was a bit rude in asking this.
Leo let one of his tears slide down his face before wiping it away with his sleeve. "Because, after my brother and sister died in Atlanta... She's all I have left."
Natalie sniffed. "You're all I have left too..." Winston looked a bit hurt, and Kate attempted to comfort him with a soft pat on the back. "Leaving you was a mistake..."
Grace gazed upon them in wonder. From what she had seen, finding people they'd lost seemed near impossible, yet here they were, hugging tightly in front of her. It would likely be a scene she'd never be able to witness again.
It only proved what she had said before. Miracles do exist.
End of Chapter 12
Great chapter!!
Thanks.
Awesome Chapter!! Natalie btw
Natalie x Leo = Natleo or Leolie