Soulen followed the little girl closely as Molly dragged her along the road. Whenever there was an infected, she would guide Soulen through the broken buildings to avoid contact with them. Though Soulen wasn't going to be affected by them noticing her, Molly was.
As Molly dragged her through, Soulen stared at her for a few minutes, amazed by how exposed this little girl was. It seemed pitiful. But Soulen didn't feel that at all. After all, she too had to go through such experiences and pain while growing in this harsh world..
After a few hours --probably 2hours or so-- of running and hiding, They finally approached a barely stable building. It looked like those average eight-storey office buildings. As they got into the ground floor of the building, Molly went towards the stairs and led Soulen all the way to the 6th floor.
Upon reaching their final stop, Molly let go of Soulen and went towards one of the barricaded doors where she knocked three times, then twice, then four times.
After a few seconds of silence, the metal hatch at the left side of the door opened and out came a man that looked around his 40s.
His brown hair blew to the side gently as his navy blue eyes stared at Molly happily as a smile formed. His eyes shifted to Soulen however where his hand grabbed the Glock on his hip instantly.
"Molly, stay back! One followed you" Her father said as Molly instantly went Infront of Soulen and spread her arms out to stop her dad.
"No! Don't shoot her. She's not like them!" Molly shouted as her dad stared at her confused, his hands still on the gun as sweat slowly trailed down the left side of his face.
"Molly.. get away from that...thing.. NOW!"
"NO!!" Molly shouted as it threw her father off-guard. Soulen simply stared at him then at Molly who was pouting, tears slowly forming at the side of her eyes as she stood still and disobeyed his orders.
A Tch sound could be heard from his direction as he lowered his gun and heaved a sigh. Just because his gun was down doesn't mean he dropped his guard and wasn't wary of Soulen.
Molly smiled and then turned to Soulen where she ushered her to bend down to her level. Confused, Soulen knelt down as Molly placed a Rose on her hair.
"She saved me from an infected when a big scary man tried to bite me" she stated as her fathers eyes widened.
Molly smiled then ran to her father as he opened his arms and hugged her. He was relieved she was fine and nothing happened to her. Soulen could understand. He didn't want to loose his daughter. She understood that well enough.
While they enjoyed the embrace of each other, Soulen placed her hand on the flower that was on her head for a few seconds.
It felt... Warm.
A warm feeling In her heart just from the kind gesture of the child. She wasn't sure what it was but she felt relaxed because of it.
"What....what ARE you..?" A voice asked as Soulen snapped out from her own thoughts.
She turned to the man who was now carry Molly on one hand. Now that she looked at him properly, he had wounds and scars that had dried up over time, she wasn't sure if it was from the war a few years ago before she was born or the fights with the infecteds. He wore a military attair and another gun was on his back. It was a Trevor gun that rested nicely on his back. He had a built feature and was tall. Around 6.5ft tall.
Soulen not able to converse didn't reply but instead stood up and looked down at her hands.
"....are you human?" He asked as she shook her head; signifying a no, "..I see... So are you an infected?" He asked again. Soulen replied with shaking her head side to side.
Instead she joint her hands together. Showing her normal eye and then showing the infected part of herself.
"....Are you saying you are half of both? How is that...even possible?" He asked as Soulen shrugged a bit before he heaved a sigh.
"....Ha... I don't think I want to know about it anyway... Come inside, we can't stay outside for too long." He would say with a serious yet concerned look.
He opened the hatch once again and gently dropped his daughter which she proceeded to crawl into. Next he went in before calling out for Soulen to enter.
Soulen contemplated for a few seconds; Her mind fighting with itself to just leave or stay. But in the end decided to accept his invitation inside.
Once inside, the atmosphere completely changed as the room they were in was vastly and visibility different from outside.
Unlike the outside that had rusted materials, destroyed walls and furniture or decaying substances, the inside of this office space was well maintained. Granted the walls were a bit dirty, the air in here was better.
There was a section with 3 bags which Soulen concluded was where they sleep.
A section similar to a kitchen with a fridge, utensils, a microwave and plates. Another section were chairs they could rest on as well with a workstation for guns and crafting. A medical table with medicine, games and books they could read to past time and probably their phones.
They had managed like this for quite a while she presumed.
Infront of the fridge was a woman around her late 30s. She had a nice busty appearance but her skin had some marks and bites. Probably from past encounters with the infected.
She turned around to welcome her daughter and husband only to freeze up when seeing Soulen. Her body shivered as she locked contact with Soulen which the man quickly walked Infront of her to calm her down.
"Hold on! It's okay. Hey, it's okay. She's not gonna hurt you." Her husband said as she exchanged looks with Soulen and him.
"B-but... But that's a--"
"...yeah I was also surprised but...I think we can trust it... I mean her.. no offense" he would say as Soulen just stared blankly at them.
The woman heaved a sigh before giving a concerned smile as Soulen's attention was shifted to Molly who was showing her all her toys.
"Honey.... You are sure this is a good idea..?" She spoke as she held her left arm while staring at Soulen and Molly who has decided Soulen was the best subject to decorate her hair with different accessories. Soulen just stood their blankly like a doll and stared at the girl.
".....I don't know.... The fact she isn't attacking us is shocking in itself." Her husband said while scratching the back of his head.
"I'll take responsibility. Just... Just focus on dinner. I'm sure Molly is hungry." He would say with a small smile before turning to Soulen then at his wife.
"From what Molly said. She saved our daughter." He said gently which caused his wife's eyes to widen in shock before looking at Soulen.
"Is....is that true...?" She asked as her husband shrugged gently.
"I don't think our daughter would lie about this.....so it's most likely.." The husband replied as both of them slowly approached Soulen who had her haid covered with different types of flowers
"We Once again want to thank you for helping our daughter...Ah My name is Elliot Thomson. This is my wife, Bel Thomson." He would say as the wife smiled sheepishly before molly ran towards them to embrace them.
Soulen stared at them for a few seconds before standing upright as she looked at her hands. she turned to face them before forcing her voice out. at first it was grunts and growls which caused them to take several steps back. few seconds after, her growls switched to stammers as she forced herself to say a word.
"S...S....."
"So...en..."
The couple relaxed a bit as they leaned in to hear what she was saying. molly smiling gently as she left her parents and grabbed the cold fingers of soulen to encourage her.
"So....n....Soul....."
"My....n...name...So....Soul....en..." She finally said as she looked up towards them, her left blue eyes slowly glowing as the couple looked at eachother; The husband rubbing the back of his neck while the wife smiled gently.
"Soulen huh.... thats a lovely name." Bel said as she walked towards soulen and stared at her briefly; hesitant at first. she soon moves closer to hug soulen which caught the half infected off-guard
Her eyes widen for a bit but she didnt respond. instead she stood still as bel hugged her before letting go. she could feel the cold sensation from her skin despite the current temperature in the room as bel smiled gently.
"Alright, you can stay with us as long as you want." Bel said as her husband Elliot rubbed the back of his neck, his face showing a hint of concern before heaving a sigh.
Soulen stared at the three of them as they smiled at her, her chest felt warm causing a small smile to form.
"Ah! mama she smiled! she finally smiled!" Molly says happily as she danced around Soulen's leg.
This sure was going to be an interesting time with this humans