Chapter 10:

Breaking Down

Hannah was getting sick of waiting, she wanted to just go outside and shoot the walkers so badly so they could leave this hellhole but she knew she couldn't, if she did then walkers would be attracted by the gunshot and they would have a full scale walker feeding frenzy on their hands.

"They still there?" Jamie asked out loud in an irritated voice.

"Yes!" Hannah said a bit too loudly; this had been the third time in 10 minutes someone had asked.

"Ok! Jeez calm down Mom…" Jamie said under her breath but Hannah caught it.

"What was that?" she asked quickly.

"Nothing…" her daughter replied even quicker and Hannah smirked, for all the smart-ass her daughter was she would never openly mouth off her mother.

Hannah looked back at the road and saw the walkers continuing to lumber around, they didn't really go anywhere though, just wandering back and forth and back and forth… Hannah was beginning to think that they were never going to leave unless someone distracts them.

Hannah turned to Morgan who was sat next to her and pulled a face, judging by the look on his face he was thinking the same thing… They needed to take the walkers on by themselves.

"Morgan…" she said quietly looking at him, she saw the regret but the acceptance in his expression.

"I know I know…" he said and looked outside towards the walkers; he then looked back at Jamie, Billy and Duane. Hannah didn't want to danger them either but this was the only way…

"I'm sorry but we can't spend the night here." Hannah said and the man waved her off standing up withdrawing the revolver from his waistband.

"We do this then we risk it all. We can't risk them getting us here though." He said darkly and Hannah saw the shift in the man's demeanour.

Hannah was getting scared of him; he had changed ever since Jenny… She had barely seen him speak to Duane since Jenny's death, he had become like some sort of robot who did nothing but give orders and look out for them.

True it had only been around 20 hours since her death but he had changed…

"Morgan wait maybe we should try some kind of strategy…" she said but Morgan seemed set, he had this wild and crazy look in his eye.

"You wanna get there?! Then we gotta take initiative!" he said and the wild look grew, Hannah cast a worried look to her children who were looking at her with a concerned look, Duane was still staring at his father.

"Won't that draw walkers Dad?" he asked innocently, Hannah was surprised when Morgan just looked at his son and his face softened then hardened.

"Don't interrupt Duane." He dismissed the child with a wave of his hand.

Enough.

"Morgan. Kitchen. Now!" Hannah seethed as she pushed Morgan into the kitchen; she shut the door behind her to block their voices from the children's. She spoke in a hushed voice.

"Ok Morgan you need to calm down and think about what you're doing." She spoke quietly; Morgan looked at her sweating with anger.

"I am thinking and I am sick of doing nothing." He spoke so harshly that Hannah nearly recoiled. She stood her ground however and stared the man down.

"No Morgan you aren't thinking, you are putting your son in danger and you won't even even look at him" she replied and she saw the man lose face, she knew she had hit him hard but she needed to… It needed to be done.

"You don't know what you're talking about…"

"Yes I do. You won't even look at your own son because every time you do you see your wife…" Hannah took a step closer to him, she needed to hammer the point home, as brutal as she needed to.

"You shut up right now!" Morgan said loudly but Hannah wasn't going to let him walk out like this. It was time to sort it out.

"No Morgan, you shut up and listen! Listen to your son! He needs his father and all he is getting is 'G.I Jones'! You need to stop thinking about what just happened and what will happen if you don't stop and just THINK!" she yelled, the need for quietness gone in the urgency of the moment. They both breathed heavily for a moment before she saw it.

She saw the way his face contorted in pain, the way his eyes welled with tears, the way his body doubled over as he let it in. The truth. It would be 100 times worse than the moments after his wife's death; the acceptance would be so hard… But he needed to do it… He needed to do it if he stood a hope in hell of ever finding his way back from the dark abyss of this new world.

He sat back and spoke in a chocked voice.

"I can't do it Hannah… I can't keep going without her, she was my everything; she was the mother of my child! I can't do it… I can't do it…" he all but whimpered, Hannah knelt in front of him as tear stained her eyes.

"I know that feeling Morgan. I came around 20 seconds after I realised that my ex-husband wasn't coming back. I thought he was my only chance in this world but here I am, wanna know what kept me alive? ... It was the knowledge that without me my kids would never make it." She said and she saw Morgan look her in the eyes, they were bloodshot. He was being put through hell but he needed to stay strong, she couldn't afford him to be damaged.

"Come on Morgan you're my rock. You are the person I can rely on to help me, I don't want you to crumble because if you do then so do I Morgan!" she continued and she saw his face break into a smile, without needing words he leant forwards and hugged her reassuringly as she herself began to tear up.

Hannah broke the hug first and sat back, she and Morgan just looked at each other for a few moments until they heard a deep rumbling noise, rather like an engine.

"What the hell…" Morgan said as they both strained their ears; however it was soon unnecessary as Hannah heard Jamie and Billy scream from the living room.

Hannah was on her feet before the sounds of her children's screams had even finished, she kicked the door open and saw all three kids looking out the window with a look of shock and disgust on their faces.

"What?!" Hannah asked loudly as she rushed to their sides, she heard Morgan right behind her. As she looked out of the dusty window she saw what the commotion was about.

"A van came through and killed two of the people!" Billy yelled as Hannah saw the corpses, the engine noise had died away so the van must be out of range but on the road lay the ruined bodies of two walkers, the third lumbering stupidly in the direction the car must have been going.

"Now's our chance." Morgan said defiantly, Hannah looked at him and saw nothing but trust in his eyes; it seemed the breakdown had been good for him.

And really, it had been good for her as well.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Paula. Put the gun down." Lori said calmly moving to her best friends side, Paula was still in the same comatose state as before, the same faraway look in her eyes as she clutched the long cloak they had thrown around her, except she was holding the pistol tightly, finger on the trigger, it wasn't aimed in any direction, but Lori still wanted her to drop it.

"Paula…" she said again but she was cut off by the distraught woman, she spoke in an uncharacteristic harsh and rough voice.

"You know what had kept me going? The thought that my husband and child would be at home waiting for me." She said quickly, she was shaking badly and still not looking at Lori, "I thought they would be there for certain, that they would be waiting for me, hidden away in some bedroom waiting for rescue." She mumbled the last few words and began to rock as she gripped the gun tighter, Lori made to take it but the woman moved away, looking at her for the first time.

"Paula please…" Lori tried to beg but the woman spoke over her again.

"No Lori. You don't get to talk. You don't get to tell me things will be okay because they just won't!" she said loudly and Lori cast a glance over to Carl's room where he and Sophia probably were, she didn't want her son to see this.

"Carol…" Lori said looking at the frail woman and she nodded, receiving Lori's silent message immediately and walking off to find the children. Paula snorted.

"Don't tell me you are trying to keep Carl out of this. You know you can't keep him safe forever Lori." She said bluntly, Lori sat in a state of shock, Paula had lost it.

"Okay Paula you really need to just think."

"I am thinking. I am thinking that I can't do this. I can't do this without them." She said quickly looking Lori straight in the eye again; they were red from all the crying and bloodshot. Lori had never seen Paula like this before; she had always been so strong when Lori needed help…

"Sweetie…" Lori tried to console her but Paula stood up this time, the cloak falling from her shoulders as she lifted the gun to her head.

"No! Just be quiet! I don't want to suffer anymore Lori! It has only been a week tops and I am already losing it! I have lost all I hold dear and you want me to stay here! You are stupider than I thought…" Paula looked broken, Lori saw the strong shell this woman always wore break away to reveal the frail inside, the inside that had loved her husband and daughter so much.

"Paula don't please… Please you don't have to do this." Lori begged tears forming in her eyes; tears were also in Paula's.

"Please Lori… Let me go… Just let me go…" she wept and Lori saw her finger loosen on the trigger, as she began to fall to the ground, Lori almost dove to catch her but Paula kept her grip on the gun, as she hit the floor she kept the gun to her head. Lori knelt beside her and put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Paula… You gotta understand… You can't go like this… We need you here… I need you here. I don't want to be in this world without my best friend…" she began to cry as she hugged Paula to her. Paula sobbed and wailed loudly as Lori saw her let go of the gun, she pushed it across the hardware floor and it disappeared under a cabinet as Paula clutched onto her, Lori saw Carol poke her head around the corner and she nodded towards the gun, Carol snuck over to the cabinet and withdrew the gun before walking back over to the master bedroom.

"Lori… I'm so scared… They were all I had left Lori…" she wailed as Lori supported her up, the day had been too much for her herself but for Paula it had been overwhelming. Lori guided her to the guest bedroom as she helped Paula into bed.

The woman was a shadow of what she was a mere 3 hours ago, but as she slept in the bed to where Lori sat she looked peaceful…

Lori wondered if it was worth it… Wondered if it was worth staying in this world...

She had lost her husband, most likely most of her friends and neighbours and her family… She couldn't help but wonder if Paula had the right idea.

No… No! She did not! Lori couldn't let herself think like that. She was not going to leave Carl alone in this world. She wasn't going to let this world claim her son; she would fight to her death to ensure that wouldn't happen. She couldn't bear the thought of Carl being by himself here…

She would never let that happen.

Never…

NEVER.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Shane pried the doors open carefully, he was relieved when he heard no alarms blare or saw nothing lunge for him. This could actually be a successful run…

"Right let's get this shit done…" Ed slurred beside him as he pushed through brandishing the axe. Shane nearly chastised him for doing so but decided if Ed found a walker he could probably deal with it.

"You take canned foods and I will take drinks and whatever is on the floor." Shane ordered as he saw Ed split off to one side of the store. Shane was annoyed by the slim pickings in the store, bottled water and canned ham were all that he could find, he also found small cans of soup and some beans. Would have to do…

"Hey man what about this?" Shane heard Ed echo from the back of the store, Shane walked around to see Ed handling some dog food and looking at Shane.

"Whaddya think? Maybe we could cook it or something?" Ed asked and Shane scoffed loudly.

"Ed, fuck's sake, that's for dogs. Come on man be serious." He said as he turned, he quickly turned back when he heard the can smash into the floor loudly, Ed was doing that thing with his eyes again, they were bluging out of his head.

"How 'bout some respect ass-wipe? I break my back for you sometimes and I get shit all in return." He raged holding the axe tightly, he raised his voice loudly but Shane took no notice. He had had enough.

"Okay you listen to me you sack of shit. You do barely anything for the group, what is your job exactly? Hold an axe, smoke cigarettes and scare your family?" Shane accused as Ed's eye twitched as he started to turn away.

"You don't know what you're talking 'bout…" he mumbled but Shane pressed on.

"They hell I don't. I know what you do to your wife Ed and Lori told me what she thinks you do to your daughter. I gotta tell you fat-ass I have seen worse people than you in my line of work but the people like you… They don't usually last long under my eye." Shane threatened, it was a complex threat but Ed seemed to wrap his head around it.

"You gonna kill me? Hell you don't have the motherfucking balls! Go on then pop me one!" He shouted and Shane raised the shotgun and aimed at his face.

"I might just!" he shouted as he looked into Ed's shocked face, there were a few moments of silence as Shane held Ed in his sights.

"You're lucky I ain't some goddamn murderer." Shane muttered as he lowered the gun, Ed however looked even more scared as he glanced over Shane's shoulder.

"What?" Shane asked as he turned to see a walker lunge for him, a freakin' massive son of a bitch. Shane raised the shotgun and fired as Ed moved beside him, the walker falling as its head exploded.

Shane turned to the man to see him scoop up the axe as another walker appeared from behind a shelf behind him.

"Ed!" Shane yelled but it was too late, even as the man turned with the axe ready the walker caught hold of one of the man's flabby forearms and bit down hard.

"AAAAGH FUCK!" Ed yelled as he was caught in the walkers grasp, blood spurted from his arm as another walker appeared from a Staff Only door, Shane raised the gun to fire but Ed fell in his line of fire and into the walker, beneath Ed the second walker bit into his neck, splitting open the jugular and showering both walkers in blood.

Shane stood in shock for a moment as Ed was eaten alive, the blood loss cut off his voice as he just stared at Shane, it took Shane only a few moment to regain his focus but in that time more walkers had entered the store.

"Shit!" Shane yelled as he dodged a nearby walker, he swung the shotgun and battered the walker who flew into a nearby shelf falling over; another few walkers joined the feeding frenzy that used to be Ed obscuring him from view. Shane winced when he saw the limp man's arm fall and be set upon by a smaller walker.

"Sorry man…" Shane muttered before running out of the side door, there were several walkers surrounding him but he jumped on top of a nearby pick-up and used it to get over the wall separating the parking lot from the thrift store next door.

Cut off from the packs view Shane sat for a moment to regain his breath. Ed was dead and gone… Shane had managed to keep a hold of the backpack and its somewhat lousy contents. He looked around the dank and smelly alley and took a moment to stop and think.

He had to get back to Lori and Carl.

He turned on his heel and marched down to the main road.

He needed to be quick.

I've wanted to kill him for many chapters now :-P Big thanks to SilverSun09 once more and to my readers. I welcome feedback and urge you to help me where necessary

The next instalments may take a while since I uploaded this after I checked it over so you guys have read all I have written so far.

Stay with me :-P