As Dad, Farmer David, and I walked out of the creek, we all had a quick conversation in the middle of the soccer field. I wanted to keep my face towards the creek in case anybody tried to sneak up again, so I walked backward while staying close behind Dad.
"The right thing to do would be to tell everybody about what we saw, but then again, we don't want to invoke fear at all. What do you guys think?" Dad asked Farmer David and me. He caught on to what I was doing, walking at an angle while talking back to me.
"We shouldn't hide anything, ever. We should tell them we saw somebody and everything else that happened," I quickly mentioned. I didn't want any conflicting ideas to come out of Farmer David, in the case that he had more seniority and leverage because of his age.
"That's probably for the best. Dammit, are they going to mess with my farm at all? I don't want that if that little shit is going to sneak up on us over and over again," Farmer David exaggerated his worries, lightly kicking the grass with more power than usual as he continued forward.
"We'll figure it out, don't worry about it. We're not going to let a kid throw a wrench into our machine like that. We'll focus guards on the backside too, I'll get Niko or Skylar to cover it. Leon, you'll still watch the front, right?" Dad asked me. I nodded, shifting my body to face forward toward the school.
"So long as there are zombies around. Gosh, I just don't understand why Vincent is sending his people to go check us out, why not just mind his own business?" I asked Dad. It seemed rhetorical in my eyes, but he actually had an answer for me.
"Sometimes, people just want everything. A little bit of something isn't okay with them. And most of the time, that comes to bite them in the butt because of it. So, I wouldn't worry about him too much. If not now, he'll get what's coming to him. I'll make sure of it," Dad told me. I nodded happily accepting his answer with joy, and opened the door to the school.
"Wait, we should talk to Korin first. He might know Jack in the first place..." I said. As I explained, I started to think that maybe Jack showed up in the first place to get an eye on Korin. Maybe that knife was meant for him... Although, all it was at this point was just a theory. I kept my eyes peeled for any indication at all.
Over the months, Korin had significantly leveled off in weirdness. I couldn't forget about that one time he called me Leo when I left the gym, and then proceeded to never talk like that again. It always felt like he had an ulterior motive, but he became an integral part of our group as we went forward. I could even call him a friend at this point.
Cody and Connie, however, were still on the fence about him. Reasonably so, Korin was definitely a threat, and the two of them were being cautious around him. He sat at our table for lunch and openly talks about the past, so acknowledging it is a step to getting better, I think?
Everybody else, like Ernesto and Grace, Uncle Brandon and Tete, and Farmer David have all slowly been churning into the big mixing pot at the Elementary School. We have our strengths, we have our weaknesses and nobody bats an eye if we're bad at something. It's the simplest way I could explain it.
"Welcome back guys. How'd it go?" Mom asked us. She was walking down the hallway with Grace, Ernesto, and Korin when we entered, and Dad saw it as our perfect opportunity to explain the situation.
"Look guys, we ran into some trouble in the forest. One of Vincent's men showed up, a little kid like Leon's age. He said his name was Jack Waters, and Korin, sorry to bring up the memory, do you remember him?" Dad asked. He took a defensive stance as if Korin would attack him just for asking. His arms were out, putting a length between Korin and him.
"Yeah... we were friends for a little bit before everything bad happened. He was pretty innocent... he's out running for Vincent now?" Korin asked in surprise. He looked at Ernesto and Grace while nodding in conjunction with them, thinking about Jack.
"Poor Jack... that was it? He was just looking around?" Korin asked, which led Dad to the next part of the story.
He led us all into the nearby classroom and used some of the seats and tables for places to join together and talk in a group.
"Jack had a knife. Now, he tackled Leon down the hill and left him uninjured, didn't even attack with the knife. However, it was only when he talked to me that the knife came out. I wouldn't say my life is in danger, but I would say that he's challenging my boundaries as of right now. I don't want anybody to freak out as of right now. I'll handle it, and I trust you'll understand that, alright?" Dad explained to everybody.
I could tell Mom was disturbed by what she heard. Hearing that your child was in any kind of danger would make me upset too. I waved it off, trying to explain to her that I was fine, I didn't get a single scratch. She was my mom, so her concern would never end.
"You'll handle it...? It seems dangerous, are you sure? Do you need any help?" Mom asked Dad. He seemed puzzled, rubbing his short stubble while looking at the classroom carpet.
"Always, I could always need help, but we need to play it carefully. Let's see if we can handle this peacefully before we do anything else. Maybe Korin can help us out too, right buddy?" Dad asked Korin. He slightly nodded while looking at his parents, maybe to try and appease them from any trauma they had from his sister dying to Vincent and his ranks.