Chapter 10

"The guys and I were talking and we thought it would be best if we stored these in the main lodge. Is there a spot we can lock them up?"

Daryl whistled under his breath. "Where the hell did you find all this?"

He and Rick were in the cabin Thomas shared with Matthew and Nathan. They stared at the impressive display of weapons and firearms propped against the far wall.

Thomas shrugged, "We believe in being prepared."

"You got ammo for all of this?" Daryl asked.

He shook his head, "Not everything. And we're getting low in ammunition for a lot of it."

"Seems like a waste to carry it around if you haven't got ammo for it." Rick said. "Especially since it's getting harder and harder to find ammunition."

Thomas regarded him steadily, "It's out there – you just need to know where to look."

"And I suppose you do?" Rick said softly.

"We have a better idea than most."

Daryl picked up a black vest from where it was piled with others on the floor next to the couch. "Bullet proof vests don't do much against Walkers."

"You'd be surprised. They're harder to tear through than just a t-shirt. And I don't think I need to remind you that the Walkers aren't the only thing we have to worry about." Thomas replied.

Rick frowned, "You feel like sharing what happened to you? I only ask because you and your friends seem to be more concerned about the living than the dead. I know you've seen your fair share of Walkers and by my guess, at least half the population has been wiped out by the dead. But you seem to think we have more to fear from the living."

"When the outbreak happened, we were living on base." Thomas paused, "Our base was hit hard and fast by the – the epidemic. In less than 24 hours three-quarters of us were Walkers and the ones who were left were trapped in the cafeteria. Within a week, despite rationing, we had no food left, no water. It didn't take long before they turned on each other."

"They?" Rick said softly.

"We." Thomas met Rick's gaze bluntly. "But we didn't start it and everything we did in that cafeteria was self-defense."

He looked from Daryl to Rick, "There were good men trapped with us. Men who lost their lives, not from Walkers but from their friends and what happened that day will haunt us for the rest of our lives. I know you can't understand that but trust me – we need to fear the living as much as we do the dead."

"I understand it better than you think." Rick replied quietly.

He looked at Daryl, "We can clean out the front closet in the lodge. We'll put a combination padlock on it; you and I and Thomas and his friends will have the combination. That's it. We don't need everyone in the group allowed to just help themselves to a weapon whenever they want. We need to conserve ammo."

"We were thinking of leaving for awhile. Do some scavenging and see if we can find ourselves more ammo. There's a place we know of that might be useful." Thomas said.

"You don't think it'll have been picked clean by now?" Daryl frowned.

"Not many people know about it. It's worth looking for."

"How long will it take you?"

Thomas calculated quickly in his head, "Assuming we can find enough gas to get us there and back, and assuming there aren't road blocks or herds we'll need to detour around, we would be gone 3, maybe 4 days."

"Just the three of you?" Rick asked.

Thomas nodded, "And Hannah, if she wants to go."

"No." Rick said immediately. "Hannah stays here."

"Since we're sharin' stories Rick, how about you tell me why you think you have the right to tell Hannah what she can and can't do?" Thomas said softly.

"That's none of your goddamn business Thomas." Rick said harshly, "Hannah stays here – end of discussion."

Thomas stepped closer, "No, it isn't. This is twice now you've tried to make decisions on Hannah's behalf. In case you haven't noticed, she's not a little girl and she's more than capable of taking care of herself."

"You think just because you've taught her to shoot a gun and fight that she's invincible." Rick snarled. "You say you're her friend but all you seem to be doing is trying to get her killed."

"Hannah's not the person you knew before. She can take care of herself and she can make her own decisions."

"I know Hannah better than you ever will." Rick glared at him.

Thomas looked Rick up and down, "Really? Because I gotta tell you – Hannah talked a lot about your little group here in the camp but she never once mentioned a Rick. You sure you're as important to her as you like to think you are?"

When Rick didn't answer, Thomas smiled coldly at him, "Believe me, I know Hannah just fine. In fact, I've spent plenty of nights getting to know everything there is to know about your Hannah."

His face twisting with rage, Rick pounced on Thomas. He shoved him to the ground, pinning him down and landing a blow to his face before Daryl could haul him off of the younger man.

"You touch her again and I'll kill you!" he shouted as Thomas stood up and wiped the blood from his lip.

"There you go again - making decisions for Hannah. Maybe we should ask her if she wants me to stop touching her." Thomas said mockingly.

With another roar of fury, Rick lunged forward but Daryl yanked him backwards. "Rick, knock it off – he's just trying to make ya angry. Let it go man."

He dragged Rick to the door of the cabin and shoved him outside. "Go to yer cabin and cool off for fuck's sake. I got this."

Shaking with anger, Rick stalked to his cabin, slamming the door behind him. Daryl turned back to Thomas. The triumphant sneer had faded from his face and he looked tired and sick.

"Yer a real asshole ya know that?" Daryl grunted.

"Yeah, I know." Thomas replied.

"Okay, now remember – the goal is not to flip me but to help me flip myself." Nathan said. He was standing in the middle of the clearing surrounded by Maggie, Beth, Amelia, Carol, Tonya, Melissa and Hannah. Matthew and Ethan stood behind him.

He nodded to Hannah who backed a few feet away from the other women. "Watch it once more and then you can start practicing."

"Ready Hannah?"

She nodded and Nathan sprinted across the clearing towards her. As he reached for her, Hannah grabbed his wrists and turned to the side, socking her hip into his body. The move worked like a charm – Nathan's momentum sent him sailing over her hip like it was a ball-bearing and he landed flat on his back on the ground with a loud grunt.

Hannah danced around the clearing, raising her arms in the air like she was Rocky. "Take that Nathan!" As he rolled on to his chest and started to lift himself she ran forward and jumped on him, sitting on his back and knocking him back down to the ground.

Grinning, Nathan began to do push-ups with Hannah sitting on his back. After five of them, Hannah jumped off and swatted him on the ass, "Show-off."

"I know what the ladies like." Nathan leaped to his feet with an easy grace and flexed, winking at Tonya as he did.

She rolled her eyes but there was a small grin on her face and Hannah noticed she made sure to be the one who got Nathan as her practice partner.

"Remember ladies," Matthew was standing behind Carol and had his arms around her loosely. They had practiced the flipping for the last 20 minutes and now it was Matthew's turn to play instructor.

"You want to go for the most painful parts of the bodies. Midsection –" he took Carol's arm and brought her elbow back into his stomach, "the top of the foot," at his nod Carol gently stomped her heel down on the top of his foot. "the groin – careful there Carol." He winked at her as she pretended to drive her fist back into his crotch.

"And last but not least – the nose. If your hands are free, use the heel of your hand and drive it into the bridge of his nose. If they aren't, your head can be an effective fighting tool. Headbutt him hard enough in the nose and you'll break it. He gushes blood, starts crying like a little baby and you run like hell. Got it?"

The women nodded solemnly.

"Great! Everyone grab a partner and practice your "how to fuck a person up" moves." Matthew grinned cheerfully.