Arrows and Scars
To My Reviewers:
daisynaruto909: lol? Which part are you lol'ing? (Is that a word? I feel like it should be.)
Spastic Freak: Heck yea! That girl got skillz. And yes, Kagome would empathize with the way the Dixons were treated since she saw and heard what Inuyasha went through his entire life.
Guest: Wow, this will be a lot to cover, but if I must then I must. First, I agree. The Tenseiga would be the perfect weapon for her to use during a zombie apocalypse, but unfortunately it wasn't her original weapon so she won't have it in this fic. Second, we all wanted and still want to hug Daryl when he was first introduced and learned what happened to Merle. But honestly he seems like one of those people that as soon as you hug him he'll freeze up and think 'Why are you touching me?'...I'd still do it though, lol. Third, Lori is one of my least favorite characters in the Walking Dead. Actually, it's a tie between her and Andrea. I have to keep rewatching the seasons to write this fic, and every time I see these two people I think 'what is their purposes in this series?' All I can come up with is to bitch, complain, and cause trouble for others. And I think Kagome would be the kind of person who will disprove and point out their ridiculous behavior. Fourth, to answer your question, yes. Souta will speak again when he does have something he desperately wants to say. It won't happen in this chapter, but it will happen soon. Finally, I graduated already and I'm currently working at my first "grown up" job, so there's nothing to worry about.
CK (Guest): I'm glad you like it. I do love Kagome pairing fanfics but I think it's important that Kagome interacts with everyone, not just her love interest.
MyworldMyImagination: You're preaching to the choir about Andrea. To answer your questions. 1) Yes, that is my plan. That's why I'm updating every month instead of every week like I usually do. This way I'll get a good idea of where the show is going and how to work it with my fic. 2) I'm not gonna lie, yes they do find out. When and how? You'll have to read and see. 3) *Insert Blush* Yes. But again, when and how I cannot say. *Insert Intense Blush* Don't judge me!
AnimeAngel240: Thank you, I tried my best to keep Daryl in character. I'm not saying that I'm trying to keep this story realistic, (Because being stuck in a zombie apocalypse with a girl that either befriended or killed demons five hundred years ago is totally realistic *wink wink*) but Daryl isn't the love at first sight kind of guy. Nor is he the kind of guy to pin a woman against a tree and have his way with her...*insert blush here* No matter how much we wish he did.
GreenHoneyTea: Wow, thank you so much. I'm glad you like it. Hopefully I can keep you interest throughout the whole fic...However long that may be.
: LOL I'm glad you liked that line.
yourworldismine: I'm so happy that you like it.
Mylla-chan: Thank you so much. Well, here ya go.
Vertigo Venom: Maaaybe *wink wink*
GiggleboxGirlie: I'm glad and of course I will.
ONE UPDATE A MONTH FOR THIS FIC! THAT'S A PROMISE!
Thank all of you for all of your lovely reviews and I hoped I answered most of your questions without giving too much away. Also a huge thank you to: JessiexDKuroNeko, kerumi22, kirahigurashi, YukiYukina, reicheru-hime, keotaka1, chibi-no-baka, ComicsToo, eBeth093, , LCluvanime, sephchipmunk, save the sharks, Sonea66, Inuyashainy, DigitalSorceress, yourworldismine, Nova. , gurlygenes, Sarr, Punkettie, Mylla-chan, I'mSufferingOfCerealBoredom, Blue-Huntress, Nymphadora Jackson, bexi2010, Vertigo Venom, shika93, misamiania, keykeybaby6, HolyCheesus, Nutcase4690, xDarakuxShitaxTenshix, the golden fox, Witch Priestess, Strike-Lord, mo111, DoubtReality, freak4myanime, MoonTigress, Nonie Redd, MysticWolf71891, Animelover5689, GiggleboxGirlie, Maka09, and all of you are awesome and I hope to keep you interested for many more chapters to come.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Walking Dead...I'd be set for life if I did though...Which would be awesome!
Chapter Four: Never What They Seem
There wasn't much talking in the van as they journeyed for their rescue mission to Atlanta, until the group actually reached the border near the city.
"He'd better be okay," Daryl warned to T-Dog, "It's my only word on the matter."
"I told you. The geeks can't get at him," T-Dog reminded the hunter. "The only ones who are going to get through that door is us."
"We just need to have a little faith," Kagome told the both of them, as she sat next to Daryl while sitting behind the driver seat.
Rick snorted, couldn't help but overhearing the conversation, "Wouldn't bet on faith."
She shrugged, "Doesn't matter. I have enough of it for everyone here."
Rick couldn't help but turn around in his seat to look at Kagome, "You one of those overly religious types?" he asked her.
Kagome half smiled at him, "I don't know about the overly part, but I am religious. Kind of happens when you live in a shrine."
"A shrine," Glenn repeated from the driver's seat, "What kind?"
"Shinto," she replied, "I was... I am the shrine's priestess."
The men didn't know how to respond to that. Luckily, Glenn had reached their destination and turned off the car, "We walk from here."
Sneaking into the city was tricky, but not impossible. 'Especially with Glenn navigating,' Kagome thought gratefully for her Korean friend.
"Merle first or guns?" Rick suddenly asked Glenn.
"Merle," Daryl snarled, "We ain't even havin' this conversation."
Rick glared at the hunter, "We are."
"Merle's been exposed to the sun for too long already," Kagome told Rick, "We have to get to him now."
"Merle's closest anyway. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first," Glenn said, ending the discussion.
After they made that decision, the group made their way to the department store where the first group had been trapped.
The place had been overrun by Walkers when they had left, but now there was only one Walker in the entire store.
"Damn," Daryl whispered as he pointed his crossbow at the female Walker, "You are one ugly skank." He shot the bolt, piercing the Walkers skull right between the eyes.
"And you called me the show off," Kagome whispered loudly over to the hunter.
Daryl gave deep chuckle as he pulled the bolt out of the Walkers head.
Quickly, but quietly, the group rushed up the buildings stairs up to the roof door. It was still chained with the pad lock still intact. T-Dog used the bolt cutters they brought with them, curtesy of Dale, and broke into the roof.
"Merle!" Daryl called out to his brother, "Merle!"
Nobody answered.
The group searched the roof to find any sign of the oldest Dixon.
Unfortunately, the only sign they found was discovered by the youngest Dixon.
"No!" Daryl cried out, "No! No!"
Kagome walked over to what Daryl had seen and gasped in horror, "Oh my Kami."
A metal pipe bolted to the room held bloody handcuffs while a dismembered hand was lying on the ground.
A hand that once belonged to Merle Dixon.
The rest of the oldest Dixon was nowhere to be found.
Kagome let a sad tear fall down her face. 'Oh Merle,' she thought in dreadfulness as she stared at the missing Dixon's dismembered hand. But that suddenly led to another thought, 'Wait, if it's just his hand, then where's Merle?'
Daryl allowed his emotions to get the better of him and quickly aimed his crossbow at T-Dog's face.
T-Dog's eyes widened in fear, thinking that the hunter was going to shoot and kill him.
Rick retaliated by pointing his gun at Daryl's head, "I won't hesitate. I don't care if every Walker in the city hears it," he cautioned, keeping his finger on the gun's trigger.
"Oh for the love of Kami! We don't have time for this," Kagome scolded before she walked over to stand next to the three men. "Merle's not up here. So that means he's got to be in the building somewhere and he needs help."
With that in mind, Daryl lowered his cross bow. He looked over at the discarded hand and then back at T-Dog. "You got a do-rag or something?" he asked muttering.
Confused by the request but still wanting to oblige, T-Dog reached his pocket and pulled out a bandana. Daryl snatched the bandana from T-Dog's hand and went over to Merle's discarded hand. "Guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs...Ain't that a bitch," Daryl commented as picked up the hand and wrapped in the bandana.
No one commented on the action.
'He's doing what makes sense right now,' Kagome figured as she watched Daryl stuff the hand into Glenn's bag.
Daryl looked over at her, and was secretly grateful that she held no judgment in her eyes.
Kagome gave a single nod before she gestured to the ground, "There's not a lot of blood. There would have been a lot when Merle cut his hand off."
"He must have used a tourniquet," Daryl figured, "Maybe his belt."
Kagome rolled her eyes, "He was probably delirious when he decided to do it. Otherwise he would have just cut off his thumb and slip out of the cuffs. Even breaking his thumb would have been a better idea." All of the men glanced over at her with a raised brow, "What? It would have been."
Daryl looked at the pool of blood and saw the bits of blood trail going to the direction of a different door on the roof. The group followed the bloody trail through the building. Quietly calling out Merle's name every so often. Taking down a few Walkers as they did so.
This continued until they found a few Walkers that looked like they've been killed recently.
"Had enough energy to take out these son of bitches," Daryl commented as he gestured the dead Walkers. A bloody tool was sitting next to the bodies. The obvious 'murder' weapon.
"He did this all one handed?" Kagome asked impressed. 'Sesshōmaru fought Inuyasha with just one arm with no problem. But Merle is only human and was able to do this much damage...That's amazing.'
Daryl nodded, "Toughest asshole I ever met my brother," he praised as he reloaded his crossbow, "Feed him a hammer and he'd crap nails."
"Any man can pass out from blood loss," Rick stated to the hunter, "No matter how tough he is."
"You'd be amazed what adrenalin and self-preservation can make you do," Kagome commented as she picked up the bloody tool and placed it in the tool box that T-Dog was carrying. 'We promised Dale we'd bring them back.'
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Souta looked over at Sophia, who was sitting quietly underneath a tree as she read a book that he couldn't see the title of.
He sat next to her and made a head gesture towards the book.
"It's the first Harry Potter book," Sophia told him the title, "You ever read it?"
Souta shook his head no.
"It's pretty good," she commented while smiling at him. Souta responded by nudging her shoulder and turned his head to her family's tent.
Carol and Ed were inside of it, the obedient wife tending to her abusive husbands wounds.
Sophia understood Souta's unspoken question: He was asking her how she felt about her father being injured.
Sophia wrapped her arms around herself as a reflex. Her father was very angry after Shane had beaten him up earlier that afternoon for slapping her mother in front of everyone.
Her mother was frantic.
Sophia was terrified...And yet she was kind of relieved.
Seeing her father's weakened state made Sophia realize that her father may have been older and taller than her, but he was still mortal. Her mother must have seen it too. She had snapped at her dad for a rude comment he made, something she wouldn't have dared done in the past. 'Maybe we can leave Daddy for good this time,' Sophia hoped.
Souta nudged Sophia, since she didn't answer his question.
"I'm okay," she finally answered, "He hasn't hurt Mama or...Done anything to me."
The youngest Higurashi fists clenched, 'I don't want that bastard to touch her,' he thought bravely to himself. He cared about Sophia a lot, and he want to see her get hurt.
"Oooh, lookie here," Morales praised as Andrea and Amy walked into camp carrying dozens of caught fish. Lori began applauding for the delightful treat. "Ladies, because of you my children will eat tonight. Thank you" Morales said to the blonds in appreciation.
Amy smiled at the compliment and walked over to Souta. "You okay, little guy?" she asked him. Sophia giggled at the nickname making the young Higurashi blush before he nodded yes. He didn't like being referred to as 'little', especially in front of Sophia.
Amy couldn't help but chuckle at the action.
Dale suddenly came walking to the group of people.
"Dale when was the last time you oiled those reels? They're a disgrace" Andrea said trying teasing him.
Dale didn't respond to her question, having more important issues to discuss. "I don't want to alarm anyone...But we might have a problem." He gestured to a ridge that shielded the Quarry. On top of the ridge, Jim's figure was digging big multiple holes into the ground.
They looked like freshly dug graves, ready to accept the bodies.
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The group continued to follow the bloody trail until they reached a kitchen.
A stove burner was lit to full blast.
Kagome gaged at the familiar smell of burnt flesh, and covered her mouth to keep herself from being sick.
"You okay?" Glenn asked her in concern.
Kagome eventually nodded but kept her mouth covered, not wanting to risk puking.
Glenn looked back over at the burnt plate, "What is that burnt stuff?"
Luckily Rick was the one who answered, "Skin...Merle cauterized the stump."
Glenn looked from the plate, to Kagome, then back to the plate in realization, "Oh."
Daryl looked at the scene with a hint of relief, "I told you he was tough. No one can kill Merle but Merle"
"No kidding," Kagome said while regaining her composure back.
"He's lost a lot of blood," Rick stated to Daryl.
The hunter took one look around the room and saw a busted window with blood dripping on the edge, "Didn't stop him from getting out of this death trap."
Glenn widened his eyes at the window, "He left the building," he loudly whispered, "Why would he do that?"
"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl replied, "He's out there alone. As far as he knows."
Kagome looked over at Rick, "We have to go look for him. He can't be that far in his condition."
Rick thought it over before looking at her and the hunter, "Now look."
"Ah hell no," Daryl snapped at the officer, thinking that he didn't want to go after Merle. "I'm goin' to get him!" he yelled trying to head out the window.
Rick pushed the hunter back stopping him, "Daryl wait."
"Get your hands off me!" Daryl warned him.
"Calm down," Kagome told Daryl, placing her hand on his arm.
"Neither of you can stop me!" he snapped at her, but didn't shove hand off of him.
Rick tried to keep his tone even, "I don't blame you," he told Daryl. "He's family, I get that. I fought through hell trying to find mine. I know exactly how you feel." Daryl didn't comment on what the officer said. "Like Kagome said, Merle couldn't get very far on that injury. We'll help you look around a couple of blocks. But we need to keep a level head."
Daryl took a moment to consider the offer, "I can do that," he finally replied.
T-Dog tilted his head back in frustration before sighing heavily, "I'll do it only if we get those guns first. I ain't going out there on those streets with just my good intentions."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
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"Are you out of your mind?!" Kagome questioned Glenn after he explained the plan to get the bag of guns off the street.
"You're not doing this alone," Rick stated.
Daryl snorted, "Even I think it's a dumb idea. And I don't even like you much."
Glenn rolled his eyes, "It's a good idea, just hear me out," he replied before looking at the diagram on the floor to explain the plan again. "If we go out there in a group, we'll be slow and cause attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast. Look," he pointed to a paper clip, "Here's the tank, five blocks from where we are. And this is the bag of guns," he threw in a small crumpled piece of paper. "That ally where I first met Rick, that's where Kagome, Daryl and I will go."
"Why us?" Daryl asked him.
"Because your crossbow and her bow are quieter than Rick's gun," Glenn explained, "While they both wait in the ally, I'll go grab the bag of guns."
"What about me and T-Dog?" Rick asked.
"You'll be here," Glenn pointed on the diagram on a different street.
Rick raised a brow, "Two blocks away? Why?"
"I might not be able to go back the same way I came. I could be cut off by Walkers," Glenn explained, "In that case, I'll go forward instead of back. No matter what happens, I'll have you in both places to cover me. Then we'll all meet back here."
"Hey kid, what'da used to do before all this?" Daryl asked curiously, wanting to know how someone like him became an expert about something like this.
"Delivered pizzas," he answered, "Why?"
The priestess rolled her eyes before she remembered how she was only a middle school student when she traveled in the feudal era. 'Who am I to talk?' she thought to herself. "I still think you're crazy," she couldn't help but voice out to Glenn.
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Glenn, Daryl and Kagome went from the roof of the building to the ally way where Glenn first ran into Rick in Atlanta.
"You got some balls for a Chinamen," Daryl stated as he readied his crossbow.
Glenn looked at the hunter hesitantly, "I'm Korean."
"Whatever," Daryl replied, not really caring.
Kagome rolled her eyes at the exchange. 'He's trying so hard to be just like his brother...I wonder how long I'll be until he realizes that's not going happen,' she thought before she hid behind a few garbage cans, while Daryl and Glenn hid behind a big dumpster. Kagome pulled an arrow from her quiver and placed it on the bow, ready to fire if necessary, "It's now or never Glenn." The Korean boy nodded before he ran into the streets. "Kamis protect him," she muttered under her breath.
Glenn wasn't gone a full minute when everything started to go wrong.
A young Hispanic man was walking down the alley where Kagome and Daryl were waiting. Kagome could sense that he wasn't a threat, 'But he will be if he attracts Walkers,' she concluded as she aimed the bow and arrow at the boy. "Stop right there," she warned him, noticing he was a lot younger then her.
"Hey, whoa," the unknown young man held up his hands in surrender, "Don't shoot me."
Daryl came out of his hiding spot and pointed the crossbow at the boy.
"What do you want?" the young man asked in terror.
"I'm looking for my brother," Daryl stated, crossbow still aimed and ready to fire, "He's hurt real bad. Have you seen him?"
Instead of answering, the young man began to scream, "Ayudame! Ayudame!"
"Shh," Kagome shushed him, as she turned and pointed her arrows at a few Walkers that heard the unknown Hispanic yell. "Moron," she muttered in Japanese as she shot an arrow at a Walker coming into the ally way. The Walker fell to the ground as the arrow went right through its eye, stabbing it right in the brain.
"Ayudame!" the young man screamed again in Spanish.
In frustration, Daryl smacked him in the face with the back of his crossbow. The young man collapsed to the ground. "Shut up," he warned the young man while he covered his mouth to keep him from screaming anymore.
"Daryl!" Kagome yelled as two living men came running into the alley way. 'There friends of the boy,' she realized at the way they came at her and Daryl. One of the men tried to hit her but she managed to dodge him, and kick him at his side causing him to kneel down. The second man got lucky hit and punched the priestess in the face and then her stomach, causing Kagome to fall to the ground.
Daryl saw Kagome in distress and rushed over to help her. Unfortunately, the first man recuperated from Kagome's attack stood in front of the hunter and began beating to the ground with an aluminum bat.
Suddenly, Glenn ran into the ally with the bag of guns in hand, and his eyes widened in horror as his friends were on the ground groaning in pain.
"Vato, that's the bag," the man with the bat told his friend once they spotted Glenn.
The large man rushed over toward Glenn, causing him to instinctively run in the opposite direction.
Suddenly, a car drove into the street. More men got out of the car and surrounded Glenn, but not before he dropped the bag of guns.
Daryl managed to shoot his crossbow at one of the men, hitting him in the ass.
Regrettably, it didn't stop them from taking Glenn captive.
"Daryl! Kagome!" Glenn begged for them to help him, but they were too disoriented to rescue him in time.
The car drove off, taking Glenn with them as their hostage.
"Come back here, you sumbitches!" Daryl yelled after the group of men, pressing against the gate of the ally way. He would have gone further but the Walkers, who were drawn by all the noise, started going into the ally way. Daryl had no choice but to close off the ally with the gated fence door.
Kagome groaned as she got up from the ground, leaning against the wall to stand up straight. 'Oh no. They have Glenn,' she thought of her friend with worry, as she winced from the pain.
The hunter's eyes went to Kagome, taking a good look at her beaten form. Daryl and his brother may have been assholes, but they never hit women and considered anyone who did as scum of the earth. And seeing Kagome beaten and bleeding, made Daryl glare at the boy who started all this.
The boy was struggling to get off the ally floor and noticed the hunter was staring at him with murdering eyes.
Daryl began to charge at the boy, and started beating him, 'I'll kill the sumbitch!'
And he would have, if Rick and T-Dog didn't run into the ally way at that moment.
"Hey hey," Rick warned Daryl, pushing him away from the boy, "Stop it."
"Oh shit," T-Dog saw Kagome's appearance, "You okay?" he asked, trying to keep the boy from running anywhere by pinning him against the wall.
Kagome nodded but was still wincing, "I'll be fine." She would have stopped Daryl but was finding it difficult to even stand.
"It was him," Daryl told the others, as he pointed to the boy, "It was him and his little bastard homie friends that did that to her! They took Glenn too! I'm gonna stomp your ass!" he threatened the boy.
"Guys," T-Dog pointed to the growing herd of Walkers, "We're cut off on that end."
"Back to the building," Rick ordered as he grabbed the bag of guns.
T-Dog dragged the young man in the direction of the office building.
Kagome struggled to walk, but was able to move faster once Daryl came to her side and helped her run.
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Back at the Quarry, the group managed to calm Jim down. He ended up getting heat stroke from being in the hot sun too long when he dug all those holes.
What he had said and did, frightened the group.
Luckily, they managed to subdue Jim long enough to bring him back to camp and got him in the shade and gave him some water.
Carl, Sophia, and Souta were all doing their school work books as some of the grownups helped Jim.
"I'm sorry if I scared your boy," Jim told Lori and Carol, who were with the children. "And your little girl...You too, son," he said the last part to Souta.
The young Higurashi wasn't particularly scared of what Jim was doing. After seeing a flesh eating mask back in Japan and watching your mother being torn to pieces, a man digging holes for no reason didn't seem all that scary.
"You had sun stoke," Lori replied in understanding, "Nobody is blaming you."
"You're not scared now are you?" Jim asked the children.
Souta shook his head as his answer.
"No sir," Sophia answered politely.
Jim nodded in relief, "Lori's right. Sun just cooked my head, is all." Dale asked Jim why he had been digging the holes. He replied by saying that he honestly didn't remember, but it had something to do with a dream that he had last night. "Your dad and your sister were in the dream," Jim admitted to the boys. "You both were worried about them. Can't remember the rest...You worried about them?"
Carl nodded, "They're not back yet."
Lori didn't want the children to worry about their loved ones not being back yet, "We don't need to talk about that."
"Your dad is a police officer, son," Jim continued, "He helps people. He probably just came across some folks who needed help, is all...Your sister's a good person too," he told Souta, "Wouldn't turn her back on people who need help...There ain't nothing that's going to stop them from getting back here."
Souta couldn't help but fiddle with the Jewel around his neck, 'I hope he's right.'
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Rick glared at the young man, "Those men you were with, we need to know where they went."
The young Hispanic snorted, "I ain't telling you nothing."
Daryl was pacing back and forth in the small room occasionally glancing at Kagome's injured face, which was being treated by T-Dog with a ripped damp piece of Kagome's shirt. The fact that they were only talking to the boy was pissing him off.
"What the hell happened back there?" T-Dog asked Daryl and Kagome.
"I told you," Daryl yelled in anger, "This little turd and his douchebag friends came out of nowhere and jumped us. Who the hell hits a woman like that anyway?! Huh?!"
"I'm fine," Kagome told him, taking the piece of cloth from T-Dog, "And you're hurt too." She didn't want the men to worry about her, especially with Glenn missing. Kagome didn't understand why Daryl was so mad about her getting hurt, 'He was the one that was beaten with a bat.'
The boy glared at both of them, "It was the both of you that jumped me, puto. Screaming at me about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault."
"All he asked is if you'd seen his brother," Kagome corrected in annoyance, "Then you called out for your friends, bringing every Walker in the street on us, instead of answering a simple yes or no question. His friends wanted the guns too."
Daryl nodded, "These people took Glenn. They could've taken Merle too."
"Merle?" the boy said the name as if it were the stupidest thing in the world. "What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle."
Daryl tried to punch the boy in the face, but Rick stopped him, "Damn it, back off!"
Instead, the hunter thought of a tactic to scare the boy into talking to them. "You want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" he asked the boy as he reached into Glenn's backpack, bringing out Merle's severed hand. Daryl tossed the hand to the boy, who shrieked away in fear. "I'll start with the feet this time," he stated as if he'd made up his mind.
Rick pushed Daryl away from the young Hispanic man again.
Kagome grabbed Merle's discarded hand and wrapped it in the bandana again. She couldn't say she agreed with the tactic, but it sure scared the boy enough to tell them where his friends were hiding. Before they left, Kagome rewrapped Merle's dismembered hand and put in her backpack.
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"You sure you're both up for this?" Rick asked T-Dog and Kagome. They both nodded, before Rick handed him the rifles from the gun bag.
Armed and ready, T-Dog and Kagome took their places on a building roof, near the entrance of the men's hide out. Rick ordered them to wait there just in case things went bad.
"You up for this?" T-Dog asked as he took a position to aiming the gun at the entrance.
Kagome gave a hesitant look, "I've never shot a gun in my life...But these men don't know that."
T-Dog snorted, "Can shoot a damn bow, but a gun's a big no no?"
"Sh-shut up," she said in embarrassment while sitting near him, mimicking his movements about aiming the rifle.
A group of men suddenly came out of the garage door, two of them Kagome recognized as the men who attacked in the ally way. The man in the middle came up to speak to Rick, 'He must be the leader,' Kagome figured. Rick wanted to make a simple deal: Trade both kidnapped men and walk away.
A few words were exchanged until Rick gestured to T-Dog and Kagome's position.
"Come on, man," T-Dog begged, "Make the trade. Please."
"Jorge," the leader called out to the roof of another building. Two men were holding Glenn on the edge, his hands were bound and his mouth was covered with duct tape.
"No," Kagome whimpered in distress.
That's when she sensed something.
These men...Their souls...They weren't the souls of cold blooded killers.
They felt far from that.
Their souls felt strong and protective...They had no intention of killing but they will if they have to.
'What is going on?' she wondered feeling very muddled.
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The Atlanta group retreated into the office building once more with the boy, whose name they learned was Miguel, in two.
The leader Guillermo altered the trade. They would get Glenn back for Miguel AND the guns.
"Them guns are worth more than gold," Daryl pointed out to Rick as he gathered half the artillery and put them in a separate bag. "Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table."
Miguel's body shifted at the last thing Daryl had said, which didn't go unnoticed by Kagome.
"You gonna give those guns up for that kid?" Daryl asked Rick. Not because he didn't think Rick shouldn't do it, but just to see just what kind of man Rick was.
T-Dog was contemplating the situation as well "If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree. But do you think that Vato across the way is just gonna hand him over?"
"You calling G a liar?" Miguel snapped at T-Dog.
"You shut up," Daryl warned the boy.
Kagome kept Miguel's words and actions in mind as she continued to study him. 'He's acting tough but he's very loyal. And he's defensive...But what are he and the others protecting?' she wondered before coming to a realization, 'Or maybe it's not a what?'
"You a part of this?" Daryl continued, "You want to hold on to your teeth?" he asked smacking Miguel across the head.
Daryl, Rick and T-Dog continued talking while Kagome walked over to where Miguel was sitting and kneeled down in front of him. She looked him in the eyes, studying them.
Miguel grew uncomfortable with her gaze, "What do you want?" he spat.
Kagome didn't respond.
"Get away from him," Daryl ordered and tried to drag her away by the arm.
Kagome yanked her arm back, never taking her eyes off Miguel. It was a few more moments before she spoke, "What are you hiding?"
Miguel raised a brow, "What'cha talking about chica?"
"You," she answered, "Your group. You're hiding something in that building. Whatever it is, you and those men were willing to go down fighting to keep it safe. Now what are you hiding?" Miguel turned his gaze over to Rick, Daryl and T-Dog, who looked confused by her questions. "Look at me, not them," Kagome ordered Miguel, "Look me in the eye and answer the question."
Miguel kept his mouth shut, refusing to speak.
That was all Kagome needed.
She stood up and walked over to her group. "Those men have family members inside. That's why they want the guns," Kagome stated.
"No we don't," Miguel spat out, responding a little too quickly and nervously.
Rick looked over at Miguel after his reaction. It made Kagome's theory more believable. But still, "You sure about that?" he couldn't help but ask.
Kagome nodded, "Would you act any differently than them if it were Lori and Carl?"
"Are you crazy?" Daryl snapped at her, "These sumbitches were gonna throw Glenn off the damn roof!"
Before she could respond, Rick interrupted them, "Either way, until we know for sure, we stick to the plan."
The men began to load the guns.
"Oh come on this is nuts," Miguel told them, "Just do what G says."
Kagome looked at Miguel desperately, "If there's something you want to share, now would be the time to tell us." Miguel once again shut his mouth. "Idiot," she mumbled before hoping that this is one of those times that she was wrong.
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The Atlanta group tied Miguel's arms behind his back and covered his mouth so he wouldn't scream. They all marched back to the Guillermo's hide out.
Rick kept a gun pointed to Miguel's back, to make sure he didn't make a break for it.
Kagome hated this. Carrying a gun. Gambling men's lives and possibly innocent ones too. 'There has to be another way.'
Guillermo looked at the Atlanta group, "I see my guns. But they're not all in the bag," he pointed out the ones the Atlanta group was carrying.
"That's because they're not yours," Rick told him sternly, "I'm sure I mentioned that."
Felipe, the big man from the ally that Daryl shot, looked at Guillermo pissed off. "Let's just shoot these fools right now, ese."
Guillermo considered it, before looking back at Rick, "I don't think grasp the gravity of the situation."
"No, I'm pretty clear," Rick stated, as he freed Miguel and pushed him toward his group. "You have your man, I want mine."
Guillermo glared at Rick, "You know what? I'm gonna chop up your boy and feed him to my dogs. They're the meanest bitches you ever saw. Picked them up from Satan at a yard sale," he bragged, "I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?"
"G wait," Miguel spoke up after taking out the gag in his mouth, "The chica knows."
Guillermo looked at Kagome before he turned to his youngest member, "Knows what?"
"About the others," Miguel answered him.
Before another word could be spoken, an elderly woman's voice was heard.
"Felipe!" the old Hispanic woman with a thick accent came walking into the room. Unafraid of all the muscular men. "Felipe!"
Felipe looked at the woman nervously, "Abuela, go back with the others, now," he urged her.
Daryl glared at the men, "Get that old lady out of the line of fire!"
Kagome immediately lowered her gun. There was no way she was going to start shooting with an elderly woman in the room.
"Abuela," Guillermo spoke softly to the elderly woman, "Listen to your mi hijo, okay? This isn't the place for you right now."
The older woman looked over at Felipe desperately, "Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing. He needs his asthma stuff. We can't find it. He needs his medicine."
Guillermo cursed under his breath, "Felipe go take care of it," he ordered, "And take your grandmother with you."
That's when the elderly woman turned her gaze to Rick, noticing his police uniform. "Who are these people?" Felipe spoke to the woman in Spanish, trying to stop her form walking toward Rick. "Don't you take him," she scolded the officer, "Felipe's a good boy. We need him here."
The Atlanta group looked at one another in confusion.
"Umm ma'am," Rick spoke nonthreateningly, "I'm not here to arrest your grandson."
Kagome walked over to the elderly woman and gave her a kind smile, "We're looking for our friend, ma'am. His name's Glenn. Have you seen him?" she asked politely.
"The Asian boy?" the woman replied, "Si, he's with Mr. Gilbert. Come, come, I show you," she grabbed Kagome's hand and began to drag her through the group of muscular men.
All eyes turned to Guillermo, silently asking him what they should do.
Guillermo sighed, "Let'em pass," he said in defeat.
Daryl, Rick and T-Dog followed Kagome as she was being dragged by the elderly woman into a court yard
"What's your name, niña?" the woman asked.
"Kagome," she replied politely.
"You related to Asian boy, no?" the woman asked.
Kagome shook her head, "No ma'am. He's just a friend. Our group needs him just like you need Felipe."
The elderly woman nodded in understanding as they walked into a building that used to be a nursing home for the elderly.
The more Daryl looked around and saw Kagome speak with the elderly woman, the more amazed he was by it all. All around you saw young and tough looking people taking care of the elderly, who he assumed resided here before the world went to hell. 'You've got to be kiddin',' he thought in irritation, 'China Doll was right.'
They continued walking until they reached a group of elderly people surrounding a man in a chair who was having trouble breathing. Among that group was Glenn, safe and sound.
Rick looked at the group in confusion, "What the hell is this?" he asked Glenn.
"Asthma attack," Glenn explained, "He couldn't catch his breath all of the sudden."
"We thought you were being eaten by dogs," T-Dog stated.
Small barking came from the side of the room, coming from one of three chihuahua dogs.
Rick huffed out a breath of frustration before looking at Guillermo. "Could I have a word with you?" he gritted through his teeth.
Guillermo nodded as he guided the Atlanta group into a back room.
Before Kagome could follow them, she was stopped by the man who had punched her in the face in the ally. "I need to apologize," he told her, "I don't hit women. But when I saw my friend being attacked and you with the guns, we just."
"I understand," Kagome interrupted, giving him a forgiving smile before she went into the room with her group.
"What are you? Doctors?" Rick asked Guillermo.
He shook his head, "Felipe's a nurse. Me, I'm the custodian." Guillermo's gaze turned to Kagome after she walked in. "Miguel said you knew about the old ones. How?"
"It was a hunch," she said honestly, "I've seen what bad people look like. And I've seen what evil looks like too...You and those men were neither."
Daryl looked at Kagome, wondering what she meant. 'Does this have to do with the scars?' he wondered.
"The rest of your crew," Rick brought the attention off of Kagome, "Where did they come from?"
"The Vatos drop in to check on their parents and their grandparents," Guillermo explained, "They see how things are and decided to stay. It's a good thing too. We need the muscle...The people we've encountered since the world fell apart...The worst kind. Plunderers, the kind that take by force."
The Atlanta group winced at the thought.
Rick nodded, "That's not who we are."
"How was I to know?" Guillermo pointed out. "You showed up with Miguel hostage and attacked one of my men...Appearances."
T-Dog shook his head, "Guess the world changed."
"No," Guillermo disagreed, "It's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken...The Vatos, they work on the cars, talking about getting the old ones out of here. Most of them can't get to the bathroom by themselves, so it's just a dream...Still it keeps them busy, that's worth something. So we bared the windows and weld the doors shut except for one entrance. The Vatos go out scavenge what they can and keep us alive. We guard the perimeter and we wait. The people here, they all look to me now...I don't even know why."
Rick couldn't help but contemplate the same thing about his own group at the Quarry, "Because they can," he said simply before handing over his rifle to Guillermo.
Kagome followed Rick's example and laid down her own rifle. 'It's not like I know how to use it anyway.'
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"Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat," Glenn began pestering Rick.
They had left the nursing home a half hour ago and were now heading back to the delivery van to search the city for Merle.
Rick snickered at the Korean, "Don't tell anyone," he joked as he put on his deputy hat.
Daryl glanced over at Rick as they walked, "You've given away half our guns and ammo."
"Not nearly half," Rick corrected.
"For what?" Daryl asked, "Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow?"
"He did the right thing, Daryl," Kagome pointed out.
The hunter was skeptical, "Still, how long do ya think they got?"
"How long do any of us have?" Rick questioned back.
"Okay," T-Dog spoke up looking at Kagome, "Be honest, how did you know about the old folks?"
"I didn't," she answered truthfully, "I just know bad people when I see them."
"How?" Glenn couldn't help but ask.
Kagome looked back at him with a serious neutral face, "Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Before they could question Kagome further, the group suddenly paused after they realized something was missing near the railroad tracks.
"Oh my God," Glenn said in a panic.
"Where the hell's our van?!" Daryl demanded to know, seeing their only ride gone.
"Who would take it?" Glenn questioned.
Kagome had an idea and so did Rick, "Merle," he muttered.
Daryl looked at the group hesitantly, "He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp."
Kagome's eyes widened in fear, "Souta," she said under her breath as she began to sprint past the gate and back towards the camp. The beating she took earlier that day was forgotten. All Kagome could think about was Merle possibly putting her brother and the other people at camp in danger.
Daryl, Rick, Glenn and T-Dog, followed quickly behind her.
It was nightfall by the time they got remotely close to camp.
That's when they heard it.
The screaming and gun fire.
"Oh Kami," Kagome muttered, as she paused to absorb what was happening.
"Go go," Rick urged the group to go on.
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Souta couldn't even remember how it happened.
It all went by so fast.
One minute everyone was enjoying a fish fry near the fire.
The next people were screaming.
Walkers had invaded their camp.
Amy, who was coming out of the RV, was bitten in the arm. She screamed in agony from the pain as a Walker began to chew a piece of her neck.
The sight made Souta freeze.
He couldn't see Amy anymore, all he saw was his mother's face being ripped apart by the undead things that were surrounding him now.
"Souta!" Carol called out to the boy, with Sophia in her arms. "Souta come this way!" she urged him towards the RV.
The young Higurashi didn't listen.
To terrified by this sight before him.
'Where's Kagome?' he thought, 'She's supposed to be here to stop this.'
Guns were shooting all around, along with the sounds of bats or other objects hitting the bodies of Walkers.
Andrea cried out for her sister and shielded her body from any more attacks.
Souta was so engulfed by the scene, he didn't notice a male walker coming towards him, ready to munch on his flesh.
Suddenly a bolt shot through the Walkers head, making it collapse in front of Souta. The thud of the Walkers body finally broke Souta out of his trance.
"Souta!" Kagome yelled out as she shot arrows at all the Walkers in her way. She rushed her way over to her brother and placed him behind her. "I got you," she told him as she shot more arrows at the Walker's heads.
Rick, T-Dog, Glenn and Daryl continued to fire on all the Walkers till they were all gone.
It was over.
But at a great cost.
Many of the campers were dead.
People looked at the ground of bodies in horror.
Kagome looked at the dead Walker that had almost claimed her brother and saw a familiar bolt sticking out its head. She quickly turned to Daryl and gave him an appreciative nod. 'He saved Souta's life,' she thought gratefully.
The hunter did nothing to acknowledge the action.
Kagome's gaze turned to her dying friend, Amy. 'No,' she whimpered inwardly as she fell to her knees in despair as the memories of Inuyasha and Sango's death came to her mind.
Inuyasha bleeding on the forest floor.
And the brutal murder of Sango.
'No,' she began to cry, 'Not my friend...Not again.'
Jim looked around the camp in ruin, "I remember my dream now...Why I dug the holes."
I hated not saving Amy. She was a good friend to Kagome, but my brain said it had to be done. And I obey my lord and master. So what do you think? Next Time: Burying the dead, saying good bye, and arriving at the CDC.
Till Then My Readers