As Dad pushed his body weight against the kid, he screamed out in pain as he suffocated against the tree.
"What... are you... doing...?" Jack muttered. Through the small gasps he had, he tried to advocate for his own innocence, but it was clear as day what he was trying to do.
"You want to explain to me what that was? I don't remember a knife being vital to a conversation like that. So, who put you up to that?" Dad asked him. Jack was now actually having a hard time breathing, so Dad let him go and he fell to the floor.
"Hah... hah... damn man! What are you so aggressive for?!" Jack yelled out. I was confused, it seemed like he thought he was the victim.
"Because I don't remember anybody knowing I was a leader besides my own people, and your unique choice of words gave you away. What does Vincent know about me?" Dad asked him. I was thoroughly impressed by how he caught on.
To me, Jack was just spilling words near the end when Dad pinned him against the tree. To think Dad picked apart each part of his sentence before he knew what was going on was simply impressive. I don't think I could have the mental capacity for that.
"I don't know what he knows about you! I was just going to come to say hi when I was chased through the forest and ended up at your backdoor!" Jack yelled out again. Farmer David broke into a laugh right after, chuckling loudly while slinging his gun over his shoulder on the strap.
"Kid, you are terrible at this interrogation thing. I'll explain this one to the poor lad, you shouldn't have known this is our backdoor, simply put. Looks like you know the location of our home, at the very least," Farmer David said out loud. Again, that was so quick and easy to pick up on... I didn't even catch when Jack said that for the first time.
"No! You're misunderstanding me!" Jack yelled out. This time around, I could even tell it was a lie. His eyes were darting back and forth, nervously searching for a way out.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay?! I wanted to do it my own way, and then that zombie got in the way, and now I'm here!" Jack yelled out to Dad again. He wiped his flying spit off of his face and picked up his knife, looking deeply into the blade.
"And this was for what, exactly? To injure somebody? To come back with proof, maybe?" Dad asked Jack. He threw the knife into the dirt and Jack cowered into the corner by two trees, holding his hands over his head.
"Wait! Please! Don't hurt me!" Jack shouted out. Dad, being the bigger and better man, held out his hand toward him, and offered to help him up.
"Don't be ridiculous kid, I don't want to hurt you. Just please, go back home, and tell him that we're not interested in being friends. Nobody wants conflict, and nobody wants to waste resources on the attempt right now. Just, for the love of God, please don't do anything stupid like that again," Dad explained to Jack. His eyes lit up, viciously nodded, and got back up to his feet.
"Can I... have my knife back?" Jack asked Dad before running off. Dad gave it to him, handle first, and Jack hit the road, running back into our old neighborhood, and disappearing between the fences of some burnt-down houses.
"Well, that went as well as possible, glad nobody got hurt at all. Super surprised he didn't stab Leon though. He just wanted part of you?" Farmer David asked. We all began to walk back after I jumped a few rocks to get back to the opposite part of the creek, and I started to ask several questions.
"How did you know he was here to do bad things? And, how did you pick up on so many of those things he said? And, why did we let him go? Why didn't he stab me?" I asked. With the onslaught of questions, all Dad could do was listen until he was ready to answer.
"Well, I knew he was fishy because you don't really run into people back here unless it's for a reason. Also, I'm always careful of people, especially nowadays. Finally, I let him go because he didn't want to hurt anybody, otherwise, he would've hurt you, Leon," Dad explained to me. I guess, all in all, he was right. I was the most in danger, and he did try to tackle me, but he never stabbed me.
"But... he didn't stab me but wanted to stab you. Why? What's the difference?" I asked him. Dad adjusted his shoulders, moving them back and forth, and then continuing onward.
"If I had to guess, it's because Vincent knows I'm the leader," Dad explained.
"Well now, that doesn't make a whole lotta sense, because how would he know what you looked like?" Farmer David asked, scanning Dad up and down.
Dad stood silent, moving past the light brush and bushes all around us, until we passed the fence line leading back to the school.
"Let's call it there for today, we don't want to be suspicious," He said. I didn't want to give up so early, but whatever he says goes. I trusted my Dad enough.
"Vincent knows where we are... is he going to be a problem from now on? Do we have to look out for him like we lookout for zombies?" I asked Dad. He looked at me, then smiled, looking toward the school.
"Son, not everything is so black and white. Vincent won't do anything for a little bit, but the time will come when he might try. And when that happens, I'll figure it out. We're not in some elementary book, this is real life. This is strategy he wants to play, and I'm following right behind him," Dad told me.