#notdeadxyet

     Beth was content in knowing that this gunman had no    intentions of hurting her. In fact, it seemed as though    he wanted to help her. Quickly, her jitters had worked    themselves out and she picked her backpack up off of    the ground and settled the straps onto her shoulders.     He was right. That man very well could come back—    but it wasn’t as though Beth couldn’t take care of     herself if he did. Did she really want to just leave with    this complete and total stranger? 

     Her hesitation was a completely normal reaction and if she hadn't shown how weary she was about following him, Jake would have thought her as insane. Hurting her was not on his agenda, but she didn't know that. At least he could see she was smart. Jacoby unscrewed the silencer from the pistol, pocketed it, and placed the weapon in its holster then reached for his machete. Rarely was he seen without some kind of weapon in his grasp.

Maggie smiled, reassured. "I don't know about 'best' but I tried. I think everyone was just doing our best. I'm proud of you, you know. You've been really great. Especially with Judith."