Chapter 25

"There is no reason to be nervous. Your friends are very nice people, and you have all been through so much," said Melanie with care, as they walked up the stairs together.

Melanie led Amanda to a room that looked like an office, but the room seemed to have a comfortable feeling to it. There were plush floral couches, yellow curtains hanging in the windows, and the walls had lots of pictures hanging on them.

"Wow, this is a nice place you have," said Amanda, as she looked around, and Melanie smiled at her.

"Thank you. I have to say, you found yourself a good man. He told me how you saved his and his family's lives, and the crazy stunts you pull just to survive. Amanda, you really have intrigued me," said the woman, and Amanda looked at her oddly, as she sat on the couch.

"Why?"

"Well, your group looks to you. You are a leader, and have come a long way to keep you and your people alive."

Amanda nodded, and Melanie looked at her with care.

"You and your people are more than welcome to stay with us. I believe that we can help each other," she said, and Amanda looked at her thoughtfully.

"But what about our group? We cannot walk around unprotected. Listen, you may think that you have this all figured out, but we have seen what the mutants and the other people out there are capable of," stated Amanda, and Melanie put her hands up.

"We have survived this long with the things the way they are, and as of right now, we will keep things the way that they are," she said, and Amanda sighed a frustrated sigh.

"You can have them when you go out, but when you are inside these walls, they either have to stay in your vehicle, or turn into the armory."

Amanda thought for a moment, and then she sighed.

"Alright. Your house, your rules, but if things get out of hand, we will take matters into our own hands," Amanda said, and Melanie looked at her proudly.

"I wouldn't expect anything different. You may come and go as you please. We have teams that go out looking for food and supplies. You are more than welcome to join them," she said, and Amanda nodded.

"Now go, and enjoy yourself. Take your time and mingle with the community," she said.

Amanda nodded, and then Melanie showed her out.

**************

"So, do you think Amanda is going to like the fact that we can't carry our weapons with us at all times?" asked Josh, and Megan looked at him thoughtfully.

"Give it some time. Amanda will eventually convince that woman to let us carry," she said, and Joe looked at them as he smiled.

"That girl could move mountains if she was given the chance," he said, as he smirked, and his cousin looked at him.

"You have got it bad for that girl, and you haven't even made a move on her," he snickered, and Joe laughed as he put his hands up.

"Like your girl said, give it some time. Watch the master hook, line, and sinker," he said, as he pretended to hold a fishing pole, and casted the imaginary line.

Megan and Josh laughed as he acted like he was reeling the line in. Suddenly, they heard screaming coming from the next house over, and they immediately ran out onto the porch.

"I told you to pick that up!" a man shouted, and then they heard a crash.

"I'm sorry Bruce. Please, don't hit me again. I will pick it up," yelled a woman in terror, and Joe's head snapped towards Megan.

"That's Tara's voice," he said, and Megan looked at him oddly.

"Who's Tara?"

"The woman who came over last night and gave us the basket of baked goods," he explained, and then he ran down the steps.

"Joe, wait!" called Megan, as she and Josh ran after him.

Quickly, Joe walked up the porch steps and he knocked on the door. Megan and Josh stood behind him, and a man that looked like he was in his mid-forties with thin brown hair answered the door.

"Yes?" he grumbled, and Joe eyed him suspiciously.

"Is everything alright? We heard screaming," said Megan, and the man glared at them angrily.

"Stay out of our business," he yelled, and then he slammed the door in their faces.

They didn't move as they listened, and after a few moments, they heard the man yell, and Tara screamed again.

"So you want to make friends with the new people, huh? Are you planning on leaving me for one of them? Is that why they are here?" snarled the man, and Tara screamed louder this time.

Joe looked at Josh and he nodded. Before Megan could utter a word, Joe smashed through the door, and he and Josh ran inside. Megan stared after them, frozen in shock.

"Hey," she heard Joe yell, and then loud noises of struggle filled the air.

Megan was about to run in after them, but Josh and the man who had answered the door crashed through the front window and landed on the front lawn. After they had landed, Josh scrambled on top of the man, and began punching him in the face.

"How do you like it?" he exclaimed, as he continued to throw blows in the man's face.

The other survivors who lived in the community came out of their houses to see what all of the commotion was about, and Tara ran out of the house screaming for the men to stop fighting. Megan saw the bruises and scrapes on the girl and she wrapped her arms around her.

"Did he do this to you?" Megan asked, and the girl nodded.

Gently, Megan held her close while the men on the front lawn continued to brawl, and then Joe came out of the house and looked at her.

**********

"Amanda, I hope that you and your friends like it here," said Melanie, as they walked out of the common house together, and then her smile faded when she saw people running towards the back of the settlement.

"What is going on?" she asked, and Amanda looked around.

Noticeably, there were people running towards the house that was given to them, and her heart sunk.

"Come on," said Amanda, and she and Melanie ran towards the commotion.

When they reached the scene, Amanda saw it wasn't their house the people were running to, it was the house next door. Joe was holding a man up by the back of his neck, and Josh punched him in the stomach.

" How do you like being beaten?" snarled Josh, and Amanda saw Megan holding a girl who was sobbing.

Unfortunately, Amanda saw the bruises, and she told Melanie to look. Melanie looked at where Amanda was pointing to, and she sighed heavily. She put her hands up as she walked towards Joe, Josh, and the man.

"Alright. That is enough," she yelled, and Josh and Joe looked at her.

"Everyone, go back to your homes or whatever it was you were doing before this started. I will handle this," she added, and, obediently, everyone walked away.

"Now, what is going on?" Melanie asked, and Tara looked up at the woman.

"I'm sorry, Melanie. Bruce and I had gotten into an argument, and..."

She trailed off and began sobbing again, and Megan looked up at Melanie seriously.

"He was beating the shit out of her and we intervened," she stated, and Melanie sighed heavily, as she turned to Bruce.

"Have you been putting your hands on Tara again, Bruce?" she asked, and the man nodded.

Joe and Josh did a pretty good number on Bruce. His face was swollen, and one of his eyes was swollen shut. Also, his lip was bleeding and there was blood in his mouth. Josh had a few bruises and scrapes, as well as cuts on his arms from going through the window.

"Alright. Let's get Bruce, Josh, and Tara some medical attention, and clean this mess up. Bruce, if you ever put your hands on your wife again, I'm sorry, you will either have to be locked in a cell in the cellar or leave the community," said Melanie, and Bruce nodded sadly.

Unfortunately, no one knew about Bruce's drinking problem but Tara, and she knew it would be only a matter of time before he did it again, but she decided to keep that information to herself.

"Megan, will you walk Tara to the medical shed and get her medical attention?" Melanie asked, as Travis walked up to them, and Megan nodded.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, and Melanie nodded.

"Will you take Bruce to medical? I am going to help get this cleaned up."

Travis nodded and Joe let go of Bruce.

"Come on, let's go get you looked at," he said, as he and Bruce walked away, and Melanie waved for Josh to follow them.

Carefully, Megan helped Tara to her feet, and they followed the others to the medical shed. Heavily, Melanie sighed as she looked at Amanda and Joe, and Joe looked at her with an apologetic look.

"Listen, I am sorry, but when we heard that woman scream, we were not going to just sit here and let him do that to her," he stated, seriously, and Melanie only nodded.

"I am sorry that you had to deal with that. I knew that Bruce had hit her in the past, and he had stopped, but now, I see that he is back to his old ways, and Tara is so afraid of him that she will defend that man even if he is in the wrong," she explained, as she started to pick up large shards of glass.

At that moment, Joe and Amanda crouched down on the ground, and helped her pick up the glass and debris.

"Maybe it's a good thing you are all here," she said, and Joe and Amanda only nodded, as they helped clean up Tara's front yard.

Evidently, Melanie, Amanda, Joe, Josh, and Megan became really close as the days passed.

1706/5000