[b]Eli - Haywood: The Arrival - Jessalyn[/b]

The road was bumpy, the van's tires did not smoothly glide through the street. There were holes and cracks all over the dark tinted road. The line that divided traffic was completely faded, nearly invisible. The girl's rant about Floyd and life in general only made Eli laugh at her. She was so open to strangers, it was hilarious. The dark skinned man signaled his two soldiers to let go of her arms and they abide to his command. Eli was sitting in front of Jessalyn, listening to her questioning words as he entire expression changed to one of fear. That look fit her perfectly, she looked like a frightened puppy or something of the sort. 

The two men sitting next to the girl turned to their commanding officer as they wondered whether he'd answer her question or not. Since from the creation of Haywood they've been given an authoritative order to keep quite about the underground business that takes place, they weren't sure if Eli would speak of it. But then, their question was answered. "Who the heck is Tyler?" the black man asked her, acting confused. "I don't know what you think we do, but Haywood is merely a trading post for survivors. People who have survived the apocalypse and are looking for a place to live come to Haywood. We supply them with food, water, and everything we can. All they have to do, is work for it. The people help plant crops. They spend days at end working in the hot summer days pumping water from our wells. Do you really think were some kind of bandits or something? Look here. We took you from Floyd because HE is a bandit. He's a monster, like it or not. Sooner or later, he'd throw you aside, just like he'd done everyone else. You don't see it because you're young, but don't worry about it. At Haywood, we have instructors to teach you to survive. We'll show you to use weapons, we'll help you get started. Of course, we'll help you bare that child. I am truly sorry if I offended you in any way, I did not mean to make assumptions." 

Suddenly, the van came to a stop. After what seemed to be half an hour, they had reached their destination. "We're here!" the driver called out as a loud shriek could be heard from inside the van. It was the shriek of the opening of a gate. The drivers could see it, but since there were no windows where Jessalyn sat, she yet couldn't see where she was. Eli then stood up within the van as it came to yet another halt. "Are we clear?" he asked the driver, in which was answered with a nod. Then the door of the van was pushed open by Eli. He hopped off the van first, extending out his hand to Jessalyn in order to aid her out. "Welcome to Haywood miss" he smiled. 

Once she stepped out the sun had already returned, she would then see five different buildings all next to each other. There was a gate encasing the entire perimeter guarded by a pair of armed men every fifty feet. A giant sign that initially said, 'Welcome to New Orleans' was completely faded and edited to say 'Welcome to Haywood'. There were stations where crops were being planted. Beside that where three wells, all mounted by workers. Kids were running down the streets playing tag, actually laughing. Since it was basically a two story apartment complex, people sat on the porches drinking and chitchatting. Four of the five buildings were apartments, each having about sixteen rooms in total, but the fifth building was different. It was more like a courthouse rather than a apartment building. It seemed that the entire place had been an apartment complex, and the last building was like the administration office. But an apartment complex has more than a five buildings, that is correct, but all the other ones burned down in a fire caused by a rebelling group of survivors. They used the bricks to enforce the perimeter in order to keep the walkers out. Other than the overwhelming armed men, the place was actually pretty clean and neat. Everything had a place, it was organized perfectly to make everyone comfortable and adapt quickly to it. 

"Alright kid, I'll take you to your new home. There are plenty of available rooms, so you'll be getting your privacy. Just follow me" Eli said as he started to lead the way. The men guarding Jess had left to focus on their next duties. Eli then started to explain the rules of Haywood. "Alright, so basically we set up a schedule for everyone that lives here. We try to-" 

"Hey Mr. Eli, nice to have you back!" one of the many survivors called out with a smile. The old lady waved despretely as she continued to wash the stack of clothing with other aged people. 

"Hello Ms. Johnson, it's nice to be back. I see you've got cleaning duties today. You're a lucky lady!" Eli called back, his smile also wide and clear. "It beats the kitchen, haha. You know, the windows don't open no more" he old lady said. "They don't huh? I'll get Billy on it right away Ms. Johnson, don't you worry. Okay, see you later" Eli finished. 

He then turned his attention back to Jess. "Now where was I............." he paused for a second, trying to recollect his thoughts. "Oh yeah, the schedule. Like I was saying, everyone has duties to fulfill here. We try to give everyone equal working hours so nobody feels like their doing more for the same payment. Basically, we all keep each other running. You help around and fulfill your given tasks, we provide you with water, food, cloth, and whatever other materials we can get our hands on. But we'll fill you in on the details later. You bare a child in that belly, you need your rest, you've been awake for basically an entire day." Eli then took out some keys from his pocket and opened up one of the many apartments. "This will be your new room. We've actually managed to get hot water in a couple of rooms, this one has it, so don't waste it now. We had a few pipe guys get the propane system from the administrative office to a couple of rooms here. You're fortunate to have hot water, not even my room gets it. We try to give the ladies and the old folk along with the children the rooms with hot water, they need it more than us men. Anyhow, when you get settled in, just roam around, meet a few people, we'll assign duties to you tomorrow, for today, just rest" he finished, closing the door after she entered the room. 

Without further ado, Eli had entered the administrative office. He walked passed the guards, showing his identification tag, which was actually just a library card that only a few people had, and entered the main office. "Eli, is nice to see you're still alive partner. How was the hunt?" The speaker was sitting on a leather chair behind a large wooden desk. He had papers in front of him with the Haywood's schedule. He had the name of every tenant laid out on that sheet. He even had a name plate on the table titled Levi. He was a decently sized man, about six, six-one in height. Eli was actually taller than him, but did not present himself as educated or strong as the man sitting in the chair. 

"We found a woman sir" Eli started. "She's quite short and is baring child, I'm not sure if that will help Haywood's progression. I don't know if she will be able to follow the schedule in her condition, I mean, she-" Eli stopped because he was cut off by the man in the leather chair. 

"Look Eli.........You already know how these things work. Business was and still is your number one strength. Haywood's been around for about three months now and it'll continue to run because of people like you and I. We make the hard decisions to better the chances of all our tenants. Without people like us, they'd have no leadership, not a single survival opportunity, but we, together, changed that. I know you've made many sacrifices in the beginning. I am truly sorry about your wife, and her memory will always remain with me. But she sacrificed herself for the advancement of Haywood. So do not worry about this girl, she will not be here long. She won't be here long enough to cause us any trouble." 

"Understood sir" Eli said, his eyes staring at the ground as images of his wife ran through his mind. He took a deep breathe and exhaled quietly to calm down. "Do you want me to follow procedure like I have for everybody else?" 

"Of course. Make her feel welcome. Give her everything she needs because after all, she will be a new mother. She needs more attention because she will be more profitable. Like I said, you know how business works in this new world. You give someone a scarce artifact and they give you something of equal value. This girl is our goldmine Eli. Nowadays, nobody breads children because they fear for its life. If she is pregnant, then she will be worth more than any other artifact that's ever been sold. You've done good partner. You are dismissed, take the day off, for your good work." 

"Thank you Mr. Levi." 

"Mr. Levi? C'mon man, how many times do I have to tell you? Call me Bruce"