Marlene sent another glance to the truck's backseat. Despite her planning, things had very quickly gone awry. Susan, the strongheaded woman, had stood in the middle of the path and forced the truck to stop, then wouldn't let them through until they agreed to take her in with the first group to Sanctuary. Apparently, she'd been entirely out of sorts the entire march through the woods, and 'needed' to see Reid with her own two eyes. No, she wouldn't wait. No, she wouldn't listen to reason about potential dangers.

The conflict reached a point where Marlene felt herself losing the approval of those around her, so she caved and let Susan in the truck. There wasn't much of a logical basis that defeated "I need to see my husband, I can heal him if he's injured." Trying to convince Susan otherwise would've only made Marlene look heartless. So the truck, still overfull, had one new member that spent the entire ride staring directly ahead. Susan was rigid and tense. Marlene felt bad for her, honestly. She'd asked for this, but it was easy to tell Susan was worried and dreading what she was going to find when they did make it into the camp. Marlene nearly let out a sigh. Today was going to be complicated.

#

One of the men in the bed of the truck was gagging. Another let out a long, impressed whistle. Marlene noted which of her people had each reaction, even as she took in the view. Sanctuary's front gate was impassable. A tangle of dead bodies littered the ground, some more intact than others. It was crude looking work, almost animalistic, and that was further influenced by the fact that the bodies were simply left in the dirt. Marlene's nose twitched, but none had started to smell. She wanted to make sure that didn't happen. The last thing they needed was for their home to start filling with the stench of cadavers.

Marlene barked orders. A few men were set to work digging a mass grave and transporting the dead over to it. There was no need for the children in their camp to see this. Not yet, at least.

She sent another trio, together, to search the tent site out to her left. The enemy camp was bound to have something worthwhile in it, and they needed to gather strength and intelligence as quickly as possible here. She gave an extra warning to keep an eye out for hiding survivors, just in case. There had been one attacker left alive, but Marlene couldn't know where or what state that person was in. She asked Susan to wait outside while she did an initial sweep. The woman refused, and Marlene cursed inwardly.

She'd have to rig things in her favor.

#

No one spoke about the carnage. A trail of violence left their campground home looking like a butcher's shop, or some terrible horror film. It was simply gory. All the way to their beacon, limbs, crushed skulls and body parts, half-torn and mangled bodies littered the way. Marlene shuddered and felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. This wasn't just defense and it wasn't just a battle. This was a massacre. She found herself idly wondering why more didn't survive - why they hadn't tried to run.

Marlene caught the worry in Susan's eyes. Good, the woman needed to doubt. No one caused this much violence without being affected by it. She needed to see the possibility that her husband might have something wrong with him - something to worry about. They didn't find Reid amidst the corpses, so the search continued.

#

She finally found Reid in the rec hall. They'd all fanned out to search the houses, and Marlene had taken a gamble. Susan went off to search their accommodations, assuming Reid went home. Marlene figured he would instead be where the food and water stores were kept.

Marlene was right on the location... but she wasn't quite sure what she was seeing. Reid was a weird, weird man. She'd seen him in many compromising and awkward positions. But she wasn't expecting what was in front of her. The shock left her motionless for a few seconds.

Reid looked haggard, and wore nothing but a pair of bloodstained boxers. He was singing, using an empty bottle of whiskey like a microphone. His audience was an equally-disheveled and sick looking man that was locked in a cage sitting in the middle of the floor.

When Reid noticed Marlene, he let the bottle shatter on the floor and snatched a bone knife off the table. Marlene put a hand on the pistol on her back and half drew the gun.

Reid was waving the knife in the air like a game show host before he finally started talking. His voice was hoarse - and overly excited.

"Look! Marlene, look! It was broken, but I fixed it! I healed my dagger! Because it's bone, and I'm bone, and I can heal bones!"

Marlene was about to speak when the doors crashed open behind her. Susan dashed in and took stock of the situaion - including Marlene's ready stance. Her eyes flicked to the gun, and to her husband, then back at Marlene herself. Reid was still going on about fixing his knife.

Oh shit. Salvage this. Sow doubt. Turn it around.

"Stay back, something's wrong with Reid!"

Susan gave Marlene a glare, then stomped over to her very confused-looking husband, and guided him by the arm to a chair. As soon as he was seated, her hands slid around his head and glowed green. She shouted while she worked.

"Look at this - dammit Marlene what the fuck were you doing?" Marlene started to answer but was cut off. "Don't say anything. You weren't doing shit. I'm the healer - I'm the one with actual medical training, and my first reaction to someone that's obviously suffering from sleep depravation isn't to pull a fucking gun. What were you going to do, Marlene? Were you going to shoot my husband?"

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Marlene's head spun. "You saw what it was like outside. Look, he's even got someone in a cage. We needed to-"

"Marlene, none of that means jack shit." Reid started snoring as she pulled her hands away. She squared herself at Marlene. This was new. Defiant. Bad. "Reid was acting loopy here because he was essentially hypomanic. His head, just now, was like he'd gone a full week without sleeping. People get stupid happy or they get mean when that happens. Reid was stupid happy, and it was a medical problem - not one to solve with a fucking gun."

Marlene raised her hands and took a step towards Susan. She needed to de-escalate, show she cared. "Susan, I'm sorry. But I do need to talk to Reid about what happened here, or talk to his prisoner. The man's in a cage, after all."

Susan looked livid.

"And?! Look around, Marlene! These people shot Louis! They would've killed the rest of us if we didn't escape. So yeah, if the guy is in the cage there, that's where he's supposed to be. I trust my husband, and you should too. He just saved your damn settlement from being wiped out, and you're going to stand there and question him? Pull a fucking gun? I've got half a mind to take my husband and my daughter right now and leave Sanctuary and you for good. You're essentially family, Marlene - but maybe we need to rethink that. Family doesn't pull guns out when someone is overtired." Susan shook her head. "You can leave now."

"Susan, I-"

"I said you can leave, but what I meant was I'm with a patient, who is also my husband, in my triage area, and I'm telling you to go away."

Marlene steadied herself. This wasn't good. Things were getting out of hand and she needed to do something. Compassion wasn't working, so maybe she just needed to reestablish hierarchy with the woman.

"I understand you're upset, Susan. But try not to be so reactive to those around you. I'll give you two some time together. Come and find me when you're back to normal."

Susan's eyes narrowed and she put a hand a bit above her hip. Marlene's attempt had backfired.

"Normal? Normal?! I've had to mourn my husband multiple times. I have a daughter that's learning how to scavenge instead of prepping for college. I spend every day wondering what person I'll need to regrow. I have to sit here, in my space, and worry about my daughter and my husband, because I KNOW this world is changed and they need to get stronger to survive it. Now have you telling me, in my space - my domain - what I can and can't do? In my medical wing. That I'm reactive? Respectfully, Marlene, fuck off."

#

There were plans to make, and Marlene found herself thankful that Reid and Susan were indisposed. Less thankful about how poorly her intention had gone with the two of them, but she'd figure out a way to salvage that later.

She looked at the quest message again. It hadn't changed, and was still telling her to wait. Fine, if there wasn't an indication on what they'd face, she would just prepare general plans.

Around the room, members of the core group chatted softly in their chairs. A map they'd found in the enemy camp was pinned to the wall - and a few of the students she trusted were hand-tracing copies onto other pieces of paper.

Bertrand's camp had ended up being a real treasure trove. The man was abominable, for certain, but he kept meticulous records. Marlene had information on each settlement they now owned, including the expected resources to be gained, the amount of people left, their levels, and expected durations of how long they would each last with no support.

There were caches of mundane weapons and firearms, a good quantity of ammunition, sleeping cots and camping gear made for traveling, and hard provisions. Marlene was honestly impressed that they'd managed to lug everything through the woods - even if they had multiple people with incredibly strong backs.

There was, of course, more violence and more bodies in the camp. They led back to the command tent, where the story of Reid’s escape became clearer. They'd heavily drugged the man, and somehow, he'd still broken free. But she wasn't questioning the morality of Reid's choices any longer. All the killings were justified.

Bertrand's journal turned her stomach. And that wasn't an easy feat. The man had been ritualistically killing members of his own settlements, out of a lust for power and a very severe psychosis. He'd picked out followers based on their willingness to partake and watch those killings, and only a few notes mentioned allowing less than enthusiastic murderers to join them. One happened to be the man in the cage. There was more to do there, later. A second healer would be a very valuable thing to have, so she wanted to keep the man alive.

Bertrand's last entry had been about timing and taking people off sanctuary's wall. Marlene was exhausted when she finished the journal, but had to press on. There was too much to do.

The mass grave was filled with the bodies, and the scraps. The other residents were being brought back in waves, and a few people had been sent to retrieve the other vehicles from the wood bridge. Mark repaired the hole in the wall, and the high level salamanders were processed so their claws could be made into weapons.

A simple truth hung over everything. There were settlements out there that had suffered under the thumb of a terrible tyrant, and Sanctuary was now responsible for. They only knew about the places on paper, and needed more information that wasn't written by a madman.

She called everyone to order, and laid out what they knew - to an extent. When she mentioned protecting and helping the other settlements, the response was immediate and genuine.

A few people volunteered to scout out the new locations, and started to plan on bringing some supplies and aid even before Marlene brought the idea up herself. It was good, she knew. Even without prompting, her people wanted to help and they wanted to protect. It was the kind of mentality they'd need to regrow a true society. Protecting those that needed it like they were family, and lifting each other up.

Marlene's mind spun. That was it, that was how she would keep Sara close and engender herself to the girls parents at the same time. Protection, family, and choice.

Marlene would convince the girl to tell her parents about the contract, earning more of their trust and appreciation for doing so. Marlene would then reveal the title, and make it Reid and Susan’s fault for worrying about what would happen if Sara wasn't ready for the responsibility. She was 17 and their daughter, after all, they would naturally want her to take things slowly.

Marlene's support for giving Sara the title would make the girl appreciative, bringing her parents into the decision would make them both feel involved and respected, and her offer to temporarily run things would be seen as protective. It would buy time while getting everything she wanted out of the situation.

#

A day later, Marlene sat with Sara across from Susan and a well-rested and recovered Reid. The fact that Marlene had to hold the conversation while Susan was still angry with her was sub optimal, but Marlene couldn't wait for much longer. If she did, she'd lose some credibility in the eyes of Sara and her parents.

All the pieces of her plan were ready. She had ideas on how to handle every twist of the conversation she could imagine.

It was time to make a deal.