The mixed mumble of distant voices soon rumbled closer and closer to the door. The familiar tone of Dex could be heard as it rambled off through another one of his little monologues. He liked to do most of the talking. Hell, he liked to just hear the sound of his own voice. The rise and fall of his monotone bravado was suddenly interrupted by a set of thick coughs and then a quicker cadence of an unfamiliar voice. After, there was the rare but unmistakable rumble of Anthem.<br/><br/>By the time the door was pushed open and the thud of Dex's boots echoed against the tin roof, the voices had been joined by Jake and it could be made out that he was apologizing for something. That seemed to be one of the only things he did around Dex other than taking orders.<br/><br/>"Right, well, see now, mister?" Dex asked with a smile as he looked around the cabin before turning back around. He walked backwards a few paces as Jake came stumbling in, awkwardly trying to support the weight of a stranger who was not much better off than the girl upstairs- his hands were bound behind his back with the same green chord. Judging by the way he was mostly doubled over, and the dark stain that seemed to turn his jeans a wet shade, it was a safe assumption his situation was even worse. Dex tilted his head to watch, "He apologized and everything. Hell, we even thought about taking our boots off before we came in but I didn't really get that 'boots off' sort of vibe."<br/><br/>Jake was trying to make it to the chair that was back a ways and under the railing a little bit. One arm was around the man, the other on a shoulder to try and keep him from slumping forwards. The stranger was an odd angle of a shaved head and a dirtied tan shirt, the arms tied backwards were a mess of black ink that was hard to discern from so far away. They disappeared under the railing and there was a grunt and a pair of legs kicked out a bit, the heel of one black boot digging against the wood with a squeak. A muted sound of pain followed along with the groan of the chair.<br/><br/>Dex waked forwards. "Now, there you are, all comfy and the like. Want anything? Jake'll fetch it for ya. Won't ya, Jake?"<br/><br/>"Y-yes, sir."<br/><br/>"See? He's a good kid. You'll find, after all, that we're all pretty good people here. Didn't mean to encroach on you but, well, you know how things are now. Better to ask forgiveness than beg permission on most things. So, here we are, begging your forgiveness and hoping you'd be kind enough to suffer us a bit. Besides, this is an awfully nice set up you've got up here. Out of the way, well secured and, man, you're one hell of a G.I. Joe or something because I ain't never seen traps like this. And the stock room, too. You sure-"<br/><br/>"What," came the gruff, labored tone of the stranger, "do you," he had to take a breath, "want?"<br/><br/>There was a little tension in that fake smile of his, a sort of twitch. He hated to be interrupted.<br/><br/>A few more steps went forward and he crouched down, forearm resting on the butt of his pistol.<br/><br/>"Now look, mister," Dex sighed, "I know you ain't feeling too good, but here I am trying to be all friendly and neighborly and you've been nothing but piss and vinegar. Now that ain't no way to treat someone who's gonna save you, hmm? That fellow you met with the big gun? Name's Anthem, and he's a hell of a field medic and I'll send him right on in to clean you up once I know that you ain't going to try anything stupid with me and my boys." He fixed the other up and down with an appraising gaze. "Now, by my estimates, you wouldn't last the night without a bit of help, so how about you just, well, extend your hospitality out a little bit to us, and we'll see to it you get fixed up alright. Just...you sharing your house and us getting you sewn all shut. Sound like a deal?"<br/><br/>Dex's idea of deals were funny things. They were the sort that were only made when the other party had no other choice and he had everything to gain. The type that you couldn't refuse. There was no point to it, other than to ensure that Dex felt good about himself. He liked that. Having people admit how fucked they were. Having them give in. It was like waving the white flag with their pride. Just the sort of thing that made his night.<br/><br/>"I think...," came the tired, worn tone before it paused for a breath, "I'll sleep on it."<br/><br/>The smile on Dex's face slowly began to fade, those eyes lifting up to meet the stranger's gaze.<br/><br/>There was a thick, wet cough.<br/><br/>"Get back to ya in the morning."<br/><br/>There was a deep breath, a thick inhale to mask the thin veil that concealed Dex's rage before he was suddenly up and making a motion with his hand. There was another pained sound, and the labored grunts of Jake.<br/><br/>"Right, well, you just do that. Jake, why don't you take our boy here up to his room, hm? Sure the man would like to sleep in his own bed a night. His last for sure." He looked over him and backed up, looking up. The quick reflexes instantly had him gazing towards where he left her. That thick jaw clenched before he looked back down as the younger man struggled to drag the owner of the house back across the floor. "In fact, why don't you go ahead and see if you can get him laid down and toss our new friend in for some company, hm? That way, he goes and expires before he comes to his senses, he's as least got himself a little snack."<br/><br/>And something that would let them all know of the risk. Anyone who died now, regardless of the cause, turned. It was wise to ensure it didn't catch you off guard. Dex was quite sure her screaming would be enough.<br/><br/>The struggle went up the stairs though, to be fair, it all was on Jake's side. The man who he was attempting to haul around was vastly taller than him, and thicker in build. He had the look about him that somehow fit with the estate: resilient, and sturdy were it not for the obvious deep wound that had his shirt plastered to his side. The slick fabric seemed out of place, not unlike the intruders rifling their way through the grounds.<br/><br/>The younger man somehow managed to haul him into the room (after having to search around for it and lean its owner up against the wall a few times), before he finally came back out into the hall and looked around in search of Lilly. Once he found her, he made his way over. His entire lower half was slicked with the strangers blood.<br/><br/>"Come on. Don't you give me no trouble, you hear?" He tried to sound firm, but it lost its gusto past his panting. The poor guy was winded. Still, he seemed more than capable of moving over and making a few hasty swipes for her tied arms. Once he had a hand on the rope, he proceeded to drag her across the wood floor and into the bed room. Dex's tie job was enough to hold as he thudded her against the door frame by accident, muttering a half-hearted apology before he drug her to the middle of the floor.<br/><br/>With a glance over the both of them and a few deep breaths, he turned and stalked past her and shut the door behind him. His tired steps slowly faded, and the distant voices of below were no doubt him and Dex when he confirmed it had been done. The other sound in the room, past the strangely serene white noise of the wilderness beyond the window, was the ragged and wet breaths of the stranger.<br/><br/>He was on his side. His good one, too. The kid had at least enough presence of mind not to drop him on the leaking one. A set of tired blue eyes stayed half lidded, the dark circles under his eyes doing them no favors in the way of looks. Judging by the bit of scruff on his face, it had been a solid set of days since he'd been able to shave. It had grown out to about the same length of his hair. At the moment, it was impossible to tell if the gauntness of his face was due to his state or bone structure. Luke had, after all, seen better days.<br/><br/>A dry tongue tried to wet chapped lips as his half-lidded gaze stared up at the window. He wasn't hitting on all sixes at the moment, but he had the presence of mind to gauge the time. There was still a few hours left, and what long ones they were gonna be. Still, he told himself with what distant conscious he had left, that he could make it.<br/><br/>Just a few more hours and then, well, they'd see.<br/><br/>Men like that? He had no problem with remembering the sound of their screams.