A/N: A special thanks to my one reviewer! I'm really surprised there is not more of an audience for this show but regardless I plan to continue writing this story because I love Pope. But for my few readers out there, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

Captain Weaver lined Bingham and his men against the wall of one of the nearby building. Each man was bound by rope with their hands behind their back.

"Where's Pope...I wanna make a deal..." Bingham demanded.

Weaver laughed to himself a little. " Looks like he's not buying what your selling..."

Bingham grew agitated. "He's gonna be sorry...HE'S GONNA BE SORRY! SHE'LL ROT OUT THERE AND I HOPE SHE SUFFERS EVERY MINUTE OF IT!"

Weaver shook his head. He stepped off to the side where Tom and Ben were standing. "Well...what do you think?" Tom asked.

"We'll move the group through and once they're a safe distance from here, we'll cut them lose." replied Weaver.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Tom asked.

"What else are we going to do with them? In essence they are just defending their camp so I don't see the justification in keeping them as prisoners...do you?" Weaver told him.

"No...no I don't...but what about what he's saying about Pope's wife..." Tom insisted.

"What about it? Pope said he's lying..." Weaver replied.

"That may be so but Hal and Maggie are searching the surrounding area for where they were camped out. I don't feel right about leaving without knowing for sure." Tom insisted.

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John Pope stood outside the building stewing over what Bingham said. There was no way she was alive. No way she had made it all the way up there from Florida. She was dead, they were all dead and he knew it was better that way. He didn't need to worry about anyone but himself. If he was constantly chasing after his family he'd turn into someone like Tom Mason and that was the worst thing that could happen in his mind. He wasn't cut out to be a family man anyways. He had learned that way before the invasion. All they would be now is a weakness he didn't need.

Pope heard a noise behind him and turned to see Tom coming out of the building. "Come on...let's go already...leave those fuckers tied up and let's blow this joint..."

"As soon as Hal and Maggie come back, we will..." Tom replied. "This would go faster if you were out there looking too."

Pope smiled as he shook his head. "Look for what? A ghost? No thanks...if I'm going to be wasting my time today, I'd rather be doing it with a bottle of whiskey..."

"Your wife could be out there...who knows what state he left her in but he seems pretty adamant that if she's not found soon she'll die out there...if not her, aren't you at least concerned about what happened to your kids?" Tom asked.

"Shut your mouth Mason...I already told you...they're long dead...now you want to waste time looking under every rock for something that's pointless then that's up to you. ...I'm heading back to camp and getting them ready to move with the rest of the Berserkers...have fun chasing your tail." Pope started to walk off. He heard Mason call after him but ignored him.

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"We've looked everywhere...there's no one here..." Hal insisted.

Maggie continued to look around at their surroundings as if she wasn't convinced.

"Maggie...come on...we've looked...let's go..." Hal repeated.

"Do you hear that?" Maggie asked.

Hal stopped and listened for a moment. "Hear what? There's nothing to hear..."

Maggie raised one hand as a gesture for him to be quiet. "It's faint...come with me..."

Maggie rushed off towards one of the areas they had already searched. She got close to the building and kept turning around as she looked frustrated.

"I don't know what you're doing...we already searched this building." Hal stated.

"Sssshhhhh! Listen...can't you hear that?" Maggie questioned.

Hal stopped and listened for a moment and finally heard what she had been hearing. A steady tapping sound. "Sounds like something against metal..."

"I swear it started after we searched the building...I wasn't sure at first but I keep hearing it...we need to find the source." Maggie insisted.

Both of them cautiously continued to slowly walk the area while listening. They approached a dumpster just outside the building. "Let's check in there...that's got to be it..." Maggie stated.

"Alright but be careful lifting the lid...it could be a trap..." Hal warned.

"Just be ready..." Maggie grabbed the edge of the lid and looked at Hal. He nodded he was ready and she flipped the lid up. Hal immediately pointed his gun inside.

"Oh my God..." Maggie remarked as she looked inside.

A woman inside the bin squinted her eyes from the light. She was bound with duct tape around her hands and feet. Even a strip covered her mouth, preventing her from speaking out. Her long dark hair was tangled and dirty, along with the rest of her. She was pale and thin. The dark circles around her eyes looked as if she hadn't slept in days, maybe longer. She was practically naked, only wearing undergarments and her body was covered with various cuts and bruises. She kicked the wall of the dumpster again, almost as if it hadn't registered they had found her.

"Give me a boost...I'm going in..." Maggie told Hal as she reholstered her gun.

Maggie climbed in and pulled the tape off the woman's mouth. "It's ok...you're safe now..."

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"Where's that whiskey bottle?" Pope asked as he say on the tailgate of his truck.

Lyle roughly shoved the bottle against his chest. "Here ya go Pope."

"What a day...Remind me not to go out with just Mason and his merry band of Masonettes...it's nauseating..." Pope remarked as he took a large swig.

Tom Mason approached the group of Berserkers. "Pope...I need to speak to you for a moment..."

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of my friends." Pope raised his arms out to his sides.

"I think it would be better alone...please..." Tom insisted.

Pope sighed deeply but hopped off the truck and followed Mason. "What do you want Mason?"

"You left before Hal and Maggie finished their search..." Tom stated but Pope cut him off.

"I was trying to get the camp together to move but since you guys dragged your feet we'll have to wait 'til morning." Pope remarked.

"They found a woman..." Tom blurted out. He knew Pope's patience was thin so getting straight to the point was best.

Pope just stared at him straight faced.

"She passed out before we got a chance to ask her who she is...she battered and bruised...bound and gagged and left in a dumpster in just her undergarments...Ann is checking her over now...thought you could come back to the medical tent and see if it's your wife." Tom explained.

"Ex wife...why does everyone keep forgetting that? So what if it is...she's not my concern..." Pope stated coldly.

"Aren't you the least bit curious as to where your kids are?" Tom furrowed his brow, frustrated by Pope's behavior.

Pope looked around for a moment. "Fine..."

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Ann removed the stethoscope from around her neck, making a few notes on a clipboard as Tom and Pope entered the tent.

"Is she awake?" Tom asked.

"Not yet but her vitals are good...she's dehydrated and has some injuries but they don't appear too serious...I'll have to wait and see about the rest once she wakes up." Ann told them.

"The rest of what?..." Pope looked confused.

Tom turned to face Pope. "She was found practically naked Pope, and bound...take into the fact of all her bruising...there's a good chance she was assaulted...sexually..." Tom looked at him surprised that he hadn't come to that conclusion on his own.

Pope was quiet and just stared at her.

"Is it her?" Ann asked.

"Yeah..." Pope stated emotionless as he turned and walked to the entrance of the tent. He stopped just before exiting and turned back to Tom. "What did you do with Bingham and his men?"

Tom gestured back towards Pope's wife. "Well considering how we found her, we thought it best to bring them back as prisoners. Weaver is with them just at the edge of camp...we have guards posted on them now, until we decide what to do with them."

Pope turned away and disappeared into the dark.

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Pope shoved the barrel of his gun in Bingham's mouth. "WHERE ARE MY KIDS." He demanded.

"Pope back off...he certainly ain't going to answer with your gun in his mouth!" Weaver said sternly.

Reluctantly Pope removed the gun and stepped back a few steps but his eyes were glued on Bingham.

Bingham struggle to catch his breath and slyly smiled. "Why don't you ask your wife!"

Pope clocked him with the butt of his gun, practically knocking him to the ground. "I'm asking you...you piece of shit..."

"You didn't want to listen to me before..." Bingham stated.

Pope stepped closer to him...their faces just inches apart...Pope's voice was quiet yet strong. "If something's happened to my kids and you've played any part in it in any way...you're going to wish you were dead."

Pope turned and stormed out, bumping shoulders with Weaver as he left.

"Pope..." Weaver called out to him. He turned back towards Bingham and his men lined up in the tent. "I have half a mind of letting him do what he sees fit.

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Pope's heart was pounding so hard he thought it was going to beat right out of his chest. A flood of emotions washed over him, practically knocking him off his feet. This was wrong...it was all wrong...she couldn't be here...she couldn't have made it all the way from Florida on her own...and where on earth were his kids. He felt sick to his stomach and the burn of stomach acid climbed up the back of his throat. He took a few deep breaths and he paced back and forth for a moment. Soon he heard footsteps coming up behind him and he turned to see Maggie approaching.

"You alright?" She asked.

Pope laughed a little to himself. He shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care. "I'm fine..."

Maggie looked at him confused. "I just talked to Tom...aren't you worried about..."

"The only thing I'm worried about is where my kids are...I'd rather they be dead than harnessed by one of those things..." Pope remarked.

"That's a horrible thing to say..." Maggie stated.

Pope started to walk past her but stared at her the whole way. "Well it's the truth...something you might want to try one of these days with your boyfriend...my kids aren't going to be like those Mason freak kids..."

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