"Sooo," my sister's drawling tone immediately makes me suspicious of her following words as she walks beside Dani. "You're gonna be our bodyguard, huh?" 

Dani glances down at Octavia as we head towards the front gate, exhausted already. Her eyes flick to mine for a brief moment of what I can only assume is a silent plea to end the conversation prematurely, but her mask of indifference slips perfectly into place as she blinks, staring dead ahead, answering with, "Evidently. Though I don't doubt your survival skills, I'm here to make sure no one puts a knife to your throat." 

I snort, smirking. "No one besides you?" My snarky remark earns an irritated look laced with guilt, and I feel bad almost instantly after seeing her face, the scar on her cheek and nose from our scuffle in the woods still angry and red. I bite my smile away as we continue towards the gate. "Sorry," I mumble. "I'm still getting used to the whole 'not having to run for our lives constantly' thing. Thank you for being willing to look out for us." 

Dani snorts, casting me a sideways look, saying, "Who said I was willing? Someone has to make sure you don't go tearing off into the woods all by yourself." 

The barest hint of a grin graces her face, just enough for me to know that she's only mostly kidding, and my shoulders relax as I grin back. Octavia and Felix glance between us, my sister looking annoyed, while Felix smirks and whispers something to Sparrow, who snorts in return and whispers something back, and the pair not-so-subtly shake hands. Sparrow, in turn, elbows Josh and whispers something into his ear, and Josh gets an impish grin on his face that makes me nervous. 

"What are you boys plotting back there?" I huff, suddenly feeling targeted. 

Felix's grin only widens, but he shrugs. "Don't worry about it." 

Though I feel as if my brother is plotting against me, seeing him genuinely smile and try to connect with the others is uplifting, even if whatever he's planning leads to a humiliating end for me. Meanwhile, my sister appears to be sulking, dragging her feet as we approach the main gate, where a handful of guards are directing the demolished armored vehicle to block the entrance. 

Maybe I'm paranoid, or perhaps I simply have an issue with arrogant people in power, but the longer I 'collaborate' with Ethan at the front gates of Cottonwood, the more I wonder if I genuinely am a bad person deserving of being shunned. Everything went well for the first hour of deciding how to position the vehicle, and we eventually flipped it onto its side just inside the gates and rolled it into place with some spare logs, but that's about where the niceties with Ethan ended. At every turn and suggestion I make in an attempt to make sure the upturned blockade is positioned correctly, the more Ethan fights on where it needs to go. 

Every "a little to the left" is met with "no, more to the right," leaving small enough gaps around the destroyed vehicle to peek through. So far, the only thing Ethan and I have agreed on is to have the massive hole the Titan punched through on top to dissuade any raiders from climbing over in a hurry. 

I gave up halfway through attempting to collaborate and decided it would be best to just help the gate guards fill in the gaps between the truck and the gate posts with slats of wood and sheet metal from the old gate. Sparrow was carted off to help with getting the escape vehicles ready for the big plan, and Josh was called away to help Butch in the kitchens for lunch. The general labor for fortifying the gates is hard enough work, though, to my astonishment, Ethan had allowed Dani, me, and my siblings to take a break to eat, seeing as how Dani was currently fighting to stay standing. 

Just in time, Josh meets us at a shady picnic table with a tray full of bowls of stew and a bag of bottled water. "Here," he greets, setting the tray down in the middle of the table. "Butch had some venison left over from last night and made it into a stew for everyone." We help set out the utensils and eat happily, albeit exhausted and sore, and it's not long after that Ethan steps over to our table. 

Suppressing an inward groan, I ignore him as he grabs a bottle of water from the bag, opens it, and dumps it on his head, rubbing it on the back of his neck. Some of his buddies join him and mimic his actions. 

Once satisfied with his makeshift bath, Ethan leans against the picnic table, eyeing me as I eat. 

"Can I help you with something?" I demand after an uncomfortable stretch of being glared at. 

Ethan snorts. "What's your story, huh?" 

I blink. "Pardon?" 

"Your story. You know why you're out here, what you're doing," he leans in, his gaze hardening. "Why Leon is being so lenient with the lot of you." 

"It's a bit late for an interview, don't you think?" I return, pointedly ignoring him. 

Ethan settles back into a more comfortable position, unwilling to let the matter drop. "Just find it interesting. This strange sequence of events that is. Cottonwood isn't just someplace you can happen upon, yet you three show up out of the blue, and bam," he slams a fist into the table to emphasize his point, and I jump, nearly spilling my lunch. "The Widow's on our asses suddenly attack. Now, we're having to pick up roots once more and dive deeper into the state because all of Hell and most of Georgia know where we are. So yeah," he takes a drink of what remains of his bottle of water, setting it down next to him. "I'd like to know your story." 

Felix and Octavia glance over at me, looking worried, while Dani eyes Ethan, seeming more irritated at him rather than suspicious of me. For once, I'm genuinely glad to have her around. 

"Well," I start slowly. "Leon claims he knows my family." 

Ethan blinks, glancing at Dani for confirmation, but all she does is shrug. Unsatisfied still, he presses further. "It's a pretty big world. Your family famous or something?" 

"Pfft, no. Supposedly, he used to work with my uncle, mother, and father." 

"You don't sound like you believe him." 

I groan, growing tired of the constant interrogations. "Look, my family and I left our home state for safety; we lost our map and ended up here. I'm unsure what my family's connection with your leader is any more than you do, so why don't you grill him for answers?" 

Ethan's expression is blank as he watches me for a long moment until I notice his eyes squint ever so slightly, as though a thought occurred to him. He huffs out a chuckle and straightens up, stretches, and starts to walk past, ruffling my hair the way someone would do so to a toddler. "You know what? You got guts, kid, and I can appreciate that. Keep up the good work with the gate; I'm gonna take lunch." 

With that, he wanders off, taking his buddies with him and leaving me to stare after him, more confused at the whiplash of attitude than anything else. Sparrow leans across the table towards me, also watching after Ethan. "I think Ethan approves of you." 

Josh snorts. "That's a new record. It took him, what, a week before he approved of you, Sparrow?" 

Sparrow chuckles dryly. "Almost two, but yeah. What's this about Leon knowing you guys, though?" 

I shake my head, gulping down the last of the stew. "Beats the Hell outta me; you people are positively confounding as far as I'm concerned." 

Dani chuckles as I stand to stretch. "He's ex-military, same as Leon," she explains. "They're hardasses just for the sake of being hardasses, but they mean well. Leon was Ethan's direct commanding officer before the infection broke out, the way he tells it." 

I blink, glancing between Dani and Josh. "Then why are you two Leon's lieutenants instead of him and his crew?" 

Josh shrugs. "He only calls us that because we're the three that brought most of these people to Cottonwood from-" Dani shoots Josh a glare that makes him hesitate for a moment before he continues, thinking better of his word choice. "Er, from a refugee center in the city. Ethan came about a week later with some of his guys and other civilians looking for a safe place to set up camp." 

"Ethan is Leon's second in command," Dani adds. "Josh and I are his confidants and go-to runners when he needs a job done because he knows we'll do it." 

"Yeah," Josh reiterates. "We don't make any of the big decisions; we just follow orders and give our two cents when asked." 

I hum, interested in their group's strange dynamics. "It sounds like Leon trusts you guys a lot, then." 

"And we trust him," Dani adds quickly, taking me aback. 

I clear my throat and glance back in the direction where Ethan retreated. "Well, regardless, Ethan's mood is all over the place, so I'd rather keep a wide berth from him."

Octavia pipes in, glowering in Ethan's general direction. "Honestly, what an asshole. He didn't even apologize for trying to blow your head off last night." 

"I don't really care about that, if I'm being honest," I grumble. "I understand his distrust, believe me, but his attitude could use a little rearranging." 

"His face could use a little rearranging..." Octavia growls. 

Dani eyes my sister at her comment. "Hey, now," Dani warns. "You're not going to antagonize anyone else, are you?" 

"Anyone else?" I ask. "Who have we antagonized?" 

Dani casts me a knowing look, eyebrows raised, and I roll my eyes, waving her off. "My humblest apologies then, Your Majesty; we'll ever endeavor to keep your feelings in mind in the future." 

She rolls her eyes in response, standing to stretch and piling up our empty stew bowls for Josh to take back to the kitchens, though I can see the hint of a grin in the twitch of her lips. 

The next several hours after the break are spent listening to every wood and nail joke that Ethan and his buddies know, mainly consisting of various innuendos and copious amounts of dad jokes. Sparrow adds his own spin on some, urging the boys to spout the most profane and raunchy quips I've heard from anyone besides Uncle Tommy. Though the tension between Ethan and my family hasn't diminished much, I can see why Dani and the others don't mind him. 

He almost reminds me of Uncle Tommy sometimes, much more gruff and with humor more dry than the Sahara in a drought, but he takes ample care in his work and makes sure that everyone stays hydrated and no one questions his judgment too terribly. Of the five or so older men and women that comprise his crew, the tall, bald man who came to Leon's office with us earlier is the one closest to Ethan. I believe Leon said his name was Jones. A large man with biceps the size of my head, Jones looks almost like a character straight out of Breaking Bad, with a perfected 'resting bitch face.'