Epic Zombie Mayhem of Doom and Stuff (also known as Z-Day)

Ferris nodded. He was used to machine shops. Before he joined the marine corps, he would run errands for his dad, who owned a repair shop back in Mesa. He entered before Himiko, and the starling familiarity took him slightly aback. Abandoned parts littered the ground, sparks shot from the front of the van where Bobby and Talon were working. "Hey!" Ferris called, and the welding abruptly stopped.
"Who goes?" called one of the men.
"A new recruit. I'm Ferris."
A couple of heads peeked out from the front of the van. "Oh. Hey! I'm Bobby." A man came around to meet them. He was of average build, and a thin goatee. "This is Talon." The other guy was definitely a kid. About 5'10", thin as a rail, with an angsty expression and a few acne scars.
 
Himiko was glad to see that Ferris was getting along with everyone. "Its looking good guys," Himiko said, with a smile on her face, "Is there anything you are missing? I'm planning on heading out next week."
"Hmmm... No I don't think there is anything else that we need," Bobby said, "What about you Talon? Do you think she needs anything?"
Talon looked over the machine, "Nope."
"Good that makes my trip one stop," Himiko said with a sigh of relief.
 
Ferris was pleased to see the respect that these men held for Himiko. "You guys need any help? I know a fair bit about cars."
"No!" Talon said, a bit too roughly, then cleared his throat, "We're almost finished."
Ferris shrugged, but Talon's reaction was not lost on him. "Well, you make sure to let me know."
 
A bell sounded in the distance. "Dinner's ready!" Himiko said cheerily. "I wonder what they made today."
"Its probably the rabbits you caught this morning," Bobby said, taking off the welding mask and gloves. He wiped his hands on a towel and opened the door holding it so the other could leave. Himiko skipped happily out the door.
 
Ferris nodded to Bobby and followed Himiko across the field. The moment they entered the house, a pretty young woman pointed at Bobby, "You! Go get washed, right now." Bobby grinned and chased the woman with his greasy hands outstretched. "Bobby!" she yelled, laughing. Ferris watched, amused but bewildered by their happiness and nonchalance. It really was as though there was nothing happening outside. No danger of the undead.
"So you're the new guy," said a deep male voice behind Ferris. He turned to see a man, a couple inches shorter than him, broad shouldered, with thin wire-rimmed glasses.
"You must be Molly's husband," Ferris said, extending a hand.
"Molly's slave, you mean," he grinned, "Sean Matthews, nice to meet you."
"Something smells delicious. It must be Justine's rabbit stew." An older gentleman entered the room, his hair mostly gray, a rotund belly protruding from beneath a thin jacket. "Oh, hello. I'm Father McMarsh. You must be Ferris."
"Guilty," Ferris said, smiling.
"Enough chatter. it's dinner time."
 
Himiko was helping Jennifer set the table, "Come sit," She said, smiling.
"Oh, so you're eating with us today?" Jennifer said when her and Himiko were alone in the kitchen.
Himiko paused, the plate of roles in her hands, "Would it make you more comfortable if I left?" Himiko asked, setting down the plate.
"It would make everyone more comfortable if you left," Jennifer said, coldly.
"Alright," Himiko said, trembling, "I'll leave." She left out the back door and when she was out of site from Jennifer she ran into the barn.
 
Ferris approached the table as Jennifer came back into the dining room with a pile of plates, "Where's Himiko?"
"She decided she wasn't hungry." Jennifer smiled.
"Well that doesn't sound like her..." Molly mused, and Ferris didn't miss the significant look of disapproval Molly gave Jennifer. She seemed unaffected, however.
Ferris dished himself a bowl, then filled another bowl with the stew, then wrapped a couple of bowls in a towel, placing it between his teeth. "I' be 'igh 'ack," he muttered, and shouldered the door open, heading across the field to the barn, as he was sure Himiko would have gone there.
 
Himiko sat in loft fletching arrows and making arrow heads from stone. Basco nudged Himiko's hand trying to comfort Himiko. "Don't worry I'm going to be ok," She said, patting his head, "I'm ok...." She wasn't really ok, she felt horrible and useless. She wasn't quite sure why she felt that way, she knew better, but Jennifer's words hurt her especially hard today.
 
Ferris glared at the ladder. Dang it... he thought, cursing his full hands. But a glance to his left revealed Basco's ramp, and Ferris almost laughed. He scrambled up the ladder and attempted to speak, "I 'could uth thon hel'."
 
Himiko jumped up and grabbed the towel from his mouth. "What are you doing?" She asked, eyeing the soup bowls.
 
"You left... Jennifer said you weren't hungry. But if you weren't hungry, you wouldn't have been excited about dinner... So I thought I'd come bring you something. What did she say to you?" Ferris knitted his brows together in concern and sat, holding a bowl of stew out to Himiko.
 
Himiko took the bowl and sat down with a sigh. "I'd rather not talk about it," she said quietly. She tossed a roll at Basco who caught it out of the air and munched on it happily. Himiko hugged her knees and stared down at her soup.
 
Ferris reached out to stroke Himiko's back, but hesitated. "Himiko, you can't please everyone. And if you try, you're just going to make yourself, and everyone who truly cares about you, miserable. Don't do everything Jennifer says just because she's got a stick up her ass. That's just going to make her feel more powerful. What does she do for the group?"
 
Himiko thought for a moment, "Normally the things she says don't bother me and I can ignore her." She swirled the soup, suddenly not hungry. "I'm not sure what she does, besides nag and insult everyone, usually I'm only here a week at a time." She looked up at Ferris and seeing the concern in his eyes, looked quickly back down at her soup.
 
"Well, if you ask me, you do much more. You hunt, scout, shoot new recruits..." Ferris chuckled. "can I join you on your next trip?"
 
Himiko was surprised Ferris wanted to go, no one ever asked to go. She shot up and looked at him to see if he meant it, "You sure? My next trip is to the city." She was suddenly very happy, "But in the end it depends on your leg and if it is healed enough for a long trip."
 
"Well... when are you leaving? I'll work really hard to heal." Ferris couldn't help but grin at Himiko's eagerness. He ached to have something to fight for again. He'd been tempted, before Himiko found him, to allow himself to be taken by the ghouls. "My trigger finger's been itching."
 
"Speaking of triggers," Himiko said setting down her soup bowl and getting up, "You probably want your weapons back." She walked over to a large chest and opened it.
 
"So that's where you've been hiding them." Ferris chuckled. He watched as Himiko pulled firearm after firearm from the trunk, accompanied by holsters. He felt like part of his body was being returned.
 
"I'm not quite sure which ones are yours," She said once the trunk was empty, "I tend to just pick them up as I see them. I'd rather have them then someone who is going to shoot me have them, you know?" Himiko shrugged and motioned for Ferris to look at the guns.