Chapter 11
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Hannah murmured to Thomas.
He nodded and she slowed down until there was some distance between them and the others. It was early in the morning; Daryl and Tonya had gone hunting and she, Thomas, Nathan and Matthew had joined them. After a night of rain, the air was heavy with moisture and the ground squelched beneath their feet. Hannah zipped up the flannel jacket she had borrowed from Paul.
"What's going on with you?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" he said innocently.
"Every time you look at me the guilt is practically written across your forehead, and what's with the tension between you and Rick the last two days? I thought you were becoming friends."
He snorted. "Rick doesn't have friends, he has underlings. He says "jump" and we're supposed to ask "how high"."
"That's not fair Thomas and you know it. Rick's had to do a lot to keep this group safe and you need to respect that. He's a good man."
He didn't reply and she pressed her lips together irritably, "Are you sure you're not just angry because there's already an alpha male in this group?"
"That isn't it Hannah. Don't insult me like that." Thomas scowled.
Faintly, from ahead of them, Hannah could hear Rick's voice and then Glenn's voice replying over the radio Daryl had clipped to his belt.
"Then what's your problem?" she said exasperatedly. "Rick looks like he wants to murder you every time you're within five feet of him."
"What did he tell you?"
"I haven't asked him. I'm asking you."
"We were talking about making a trip for ammunition and I suggested you might want to come along with us. He flat out refused to let you go. I argued with him about it."
"Thomas..." Hannah gave him a disappointed look.
"Don't look at me like that Hannah; the guy acts like you're his property; it drives me crazy. What's the deal between you two anyway? Isn't he married to that pregnant chick?"
"It's a long story and I'm not getting into it with you. Just do me a favour and stay away from him. I'll talk to him about boundaries." Hannah said firmly.
"Fine by me." Thomas said darkly. They walked in silence for a few minutes, the others were about 10 feet in front of them, and Hannah was about to suggest they catch up to them with Thomas cleared his throat.
"Um, there's one other thing you should know Hannah."
"What's that?"
Thomas gave her a sideways look, "I may have, sort of, insinuated to him that you and I were having sex."
"Thomas!" Hannah hissed quietly and whacked him as hard as she could on the arm. "You asshole – what were you thinking?"
"I'm sorry! He was just pissing me off and you know how I get. He obviously wants to climb into your pants and stay there, and when he told me he knew you better than me I saw red. Telling him we were sleeping together was the easiest way to get him riled up."
"I am so mad at you right now Thomas. You have no idea." Hannah glowered at him.
"I know." He tried to take her hand but she pulled it away angrily. "You have every right to be angry with me."
"Damn straight I do. And just for the record – I would never have sex with you. Blecch." Hannah made a gagging motion.
"Okay, there's no need to be mean about it." Thomas said, trying to make her laugh.
When she continued to glare at him, he sighed, "I'll make it up to you, I swear."
"Yes, you will." Hannah said fiercely. "By telling Rick the truth – as soon as we get back from hunting." She hurried towards the others, leaving Thomas to stare contritely after her.
"They've been talking about building some type of fencing around the perimeter of the camp." Rick pointed to behind the main lodge. "They want to start it at the lodge."
"It's a good idea, in theory." T-Dog replied. "But you'd need a hell of a lot of fencing plus there's the noise. You know how it attracts the Walkers."
Ethan rubbed the scar on his face, "But if we could put up some type of barb-wire, it would go a long way to making this place secure."
Melissa left their cabin and wandered towards them. "Hey baby, what's going on?" she kissed T-Dog's cheek and linked her arm through his.
"Just talking about fencing this place in." T-Dog replied.
"The better idea would be to find a place that was already fenced in." Allan said thoughtfully. Both David and Allan were quiet and kept mostly to themselves. Other than Scott and Beth, David hadn't spent much time with anyone else in the group and Allan didn't go out of his way to talk to anyone. Rick had an idea that Allan was suffering from mild depression. Not surprising as the man had lost his wife less than two months ago.
Rick shrugged, "There aren't that many places around that would be secure and big enough for all of us."
"An army base maybe?" T-Dog wondered as they started back to the lodge.
There was a low whistling noise and Melissa made a soft strangled sound in the back of her throat and clapped her hand to her chest.
"Mel?" T-Dog glanced down at her.
"T?" she whispered. She pulled her hand away from her chest and looked in shock at the bright bloom of blood seeping through her shirt.
"Mel?" T-Dog said in a panicked voice and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Hurts." She whispered. Her face was very pale, the freckles standing out in stark relief against her skin. She sagged forward and T-Dog picked her up.
"Rick, something's wrong – Mel's hurt."
As Rick started towards them, there was another soft noise and Ethan shouted in pain. He fell to the ground, blood pouring from a gunshot to his leg.
"Fuck!" Rick ran to Ethan and hauled him to his feet. "We're being shot at! Back to the lodge NOW!" He drew his revolver and fired in the direction of the shots. It was pointless, the thick canopy of trees effectively shielded anyone from his view, but he fired anyway, hoping the noise would draw Daryl and the others back to the camp.
T-Dog ran to the lodge as Allan slipped his arm around Ethan's waist and he and Rick dragged him towards the lodge. T-Dog ripped open the door and charged into the lodge as Rick and Allan pulled Ethan up the steps. There was another gunshot. This one wasn't muffled with a silencer and the sound was loud and jarring in the still air. Allan cried out once and collapsed on the steps. Blood gushed out of the gaping hole in his back and Rick dove for the open door, dragging Ethan with him.
"What the hell is going on?" Hershel slammed the door behind them and squatted next to Rick and Ethan. He took one look at Ethan's leg and unbuckled Ethan's belt, pulling it free and buckling it up high on his leg, near his groin.
"Ethan!" Carol rushed over.
"I'm fine." He groaned. "Melissa – check on Melissa."
"Where's my dad? Where's my dad? Dad!" David screamed. He ran for the door and Scott tackled him to the floor. He and Beth dragged him to one of the chairs by the fireplace and held his squirming, shaking body down.
"Carl - help us!" Scott shouted. Carl ran over and grabbed one of David's legs as Lori placed a cool hand on his forehead.
"Honey, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
David stopped shaking and began to cry.
"Let him go." Lori motioned to the others and when they did, she tucked herself in beside him, her belly sticking out awkwardly in front of her and wrapped her arms around him. He buried his face in her neck and sobbed.
Paul dropped to his knees beside the couch that T-Dog had put Melissa on.
Blood was soaking through her shirt and he ripped it apart. Blood poured steadily from a hole just above her left breast.
"Oh Jesus, no." T-Dog moaned.
"Aaron – towels! I need the towels from the kitchen!" Paul shouted. Aaron ran for the kitchen as Paul pulled off the shirt he was wearing and pressed it firmly down on Melissa's chest.
"T-Dog, I need you to apply pressure. T – pressure now!" Paul yelled at the large man standing motionless beside him. T-Dog knelt on the floor and pressed down on the t-shirt. Blood was already beginning to leach through the material and he could see thin lines of blood dripping down Melissa's side. Amelia appeared at the end of the couch and she stroked Melissa's hair softly.
"Hang in there baby. Please." T-Dog whispered. "You're going to be just fine. Paul's going to fix you up. Stay with me okay?"
She stared at him, her eyes wide and dark with pain and shock. She opened her mouth but only a soft wheeze escaped.
Aaron shoved a pile of towels into Paul's hands and as he placed another towel over the blood-soaked shirt and pressed firmly, T-Dog picked up her hand and placed his other on her forehead.
"Please Mel. Please don't leave me. I can't live without you." He begged.
She opened her mouth again, gave one final shuddering gasp and died.
"NO!" T-Dog screamed and shook her roughly. "No Mel! NO!"
"I'm so sorry mate." Paul said quietly.
Rick approached, his face haunted, and his revolver held in one hand.
"T, I'm so sorry." He said. "But you know what I need to do."
T-Dog shook his head, "Don't you fucking touch her."
"I have to T. You know that." Rick replied. He reached for the big man's shoulder but he shook him off angrily.
"Get away from her." He whispered. He pulled the gun from his belt and looked at Rick. "I'll do it myself."
"No mate." Paul said, "You don't want to do that."
"Go help Ethan." T-Dog said without looking at him. He was staring down at Melissa's face and with trembling fingers he swept her eyelids down. Both Amelia and Paul stood up and backed away as T-Dog leaned down and kissed Melissa tenderly on the mouth.
"I love you baby." He whispered. He held the muzzle of the gun to her temple, closed his eyes, and pulled the trigger. Without looking at her, T-Dog handed the gun to Rick and walked away. Amelia followed him and placed a hesitant hand on his arm.
He stopped and looked at her blankly, "I'm so sorry T-Dog." Tears were dripping down her face and as T-Dog began to cry she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close.
Aaron draped a blanket over Melissa's body as Paul helped Hershel and Carol place Ethan on one of the other couches. They began to examine his leg as Rick pulled the radio from his belt.
"Glenn, come in Glenn." He waited impatiently.
"Maggie, Glenn – can either of you hear me."
"Glenn and Maggie are a little busy right now. Can I take a message for them?" A strange voice said.
"Who the fuck is this?" Rick shouted.
"Why don't you come on outside and find out." The voice drawled.
"Everybody get down on the floor - now." Rick muttered. He ran to the front closet and quickly opened the padlock. He pulled out a small pistol and a rifle and handed them to Nikki who was crouched on the floor with all three of the kids.
"Nikki, take Sara and the kids into the pantry. Shut the door and do not come out until I say it's safe. Do you understand me? If someone you don't know opens the door, you shoot them in the head. Am I clear?"
She nodded grimly and herded the children and Sara into the kitchen. Rick looked around the room. "Carl – crawl to that far window. Be prepared to fire."
Carl nodded and crawled over to the window. He crouched under it and held his gun tightly with both hands.
The radio crackled again, "If you don't want Glenn and Maggie to be turned into the undead y'all might want to send your leader out. Just to talk of course. You've got 2 minutes."
Aaron shook his head, "Don't do it Rick. They'll kill you the minute you walk out there."
"If I don't they'll kill Glenn and Maggie."
Hershel stood up, "I'll go. It's my daughter out there."
Rick shook his head, "Stay here and help Paul with Ethan. I'm going."
He looked across the room at Carl, "I love you Carl."
"I love you too Dad."
Lori looked up from where she was lying on the floor, David still trembling in her arms. "Rick," she hesitated, "Be careful."
He nodded, holstered his gun and opened the door. He stepped out on to the porch and closed the door behind him, holding his hands high in the air and staring at the 12 men who had formed a loose circle in the clearing. Two of the men were standing behind Maggie and Glenn with guns to their heads. They had their hands duct taped behind them and more duct tape was plastered across their mouths.
Rick glanced down at Allan's body. The man hadn't turned yet and Rick walked slowly past him and down the stairs towards the strangers.
"Well hey there." One of the men, unlike the others who were wearing various camouflages he was dressed from head-to-toe in black, stepped forward and smiled jovially at him. "Nice place you have here."
Rick stayed silent, and the man's grin widened. "We thought maybe you'd like some extra company. You know, we could help out around the place. Seems like you've got a real sweet deal going on. "
Rick shook his head, "It'd be best if you moved on. Unless you want your men to die today, just turn around and keep going."
The man in black laughed and winked at his companions, "Oh now that's rich. Considering we've got guns and we've already killed or wounded three of your people, maybe you want to stop talking for a minute and listen to what I have to say."
Rick stared at him as the man moved closer. Keeping the gun pointed at Rick's head, he pulled the revolver from Rick's belt. "Nice gun. I think I'll keep this for you." He tucked it into the front of his pants and stared broodingly at Rick. "Here's what you're going to do. You're gonna tell your people in there to come on out with their hands up. I'm going to explain to them the new rules. If anyone has –"
There was a low moaning from behind Rick and the man peeked behind him. "Oh for God's sake." He grumbled, "I keep telling you guys, it's gotta be a fucking headshot. Jesus, do I have to do everything myself." He glared at the group of men.
"You might want to move a bit to the left." He grinned at Rick who stepped aside as the man aimed and shot Allan, who had tottered down the steps and was staggering towards them, in the forehead. Allan dropped to the ground and the man smiled with satisfaction.
"Where was I? Oh right - you're going to have the rest of your people come out and we're going to have a talk about the new camp rules."
"I can't do that." Rick said quietly.
"Then I'll shoot you in the head."
The man rested the muzzle of his gun against his forehead. The hot muzzle burned his skin but Rick stared at him unflinchingly. After a moment, the man laughed and nodded at the two men standing behind Glenn and Maggie. They pushed them to their knees and held their guns to their heads.
Glenn stared at Maggie. Tears were dripping down her face as she stared back at him. He tried to smile at her through the duct tape as the man in black turned back to Rick. "Get the rest of your friends out here now or I'll execute these two right here, right now." He smiled gently at him.
"Boss." One of the men grunted. He pointed at the edge of the clearing and fear shot through Rick as Hannah, carrying a dead rabbit in one hand and a knife in the other, walked through the trees. She was staring intently at the ground as she walked and didn't appear to even notice the circle of men. The man in black cleared his throat loudly and she looked up, her mouth opening in shock.
"Hey there!" the man waved cheerfully at her, "Why don't you come join the party!"
Hannah took a step backwards and the man pointed his gun at her, "Now, now dearie, don't you even think of running. Drop the knife and that delicious looking bunny and step over here with your hands up."
Visibly trembling, Hannah dropped both the rabbit and the knife and took a few hesitant steps forward.
"That's right sweetie." The man in black said soothingly. "Just a little closer."
Rick started forward and the man shook his head, "No you don't hero. Stay right where you are." He pointed his gun at Rick who stopped, his hands curling into fists.
"Tape her." The man said cheerfully. One of the others, he was short and thin and had a pockmarked face covered with wispy facial hair, stood in front of Hannah and pulled a roll of duct tape from his jacket pocket.
He tucked his gun into his pants and tore off a piece of tape with his teeth, "Give me your hands princess."
"Please don't hurt me." She whispered and held her hands out. There was a loud cracking noise behind her. The man jumped a little and leaned to the left looking behind Hannah's small body.
"What the fuck was that?" He couldn't see anything through the trees and he straightened in front of her. "Give me your – "
Without a word, Hannah quickly reached up and grabbed the collar of his jacket. She pulled him towards her and headbutted him on the nose. It broke with a sickening crack and as he fell to his knees, yelping like a wounded puppy, she reached behind her, pulled out the gun tucked into the back of her pants and shot him in the forehead.
"What the fuck!" the man in black roared as more gunfire erupted from the trees and the two men standing behind Maggie and Glenn collapsed to the ground with large bloody holes where the back of their heads used to be.
Glen scrambled over to Maggie and threw himself on top of her, shielding her with his body as the remaining men began to fire into the woods.
Hannah sprinted towards Rick and the stranger in black. From the corner of her vision she could see a man aiming his gun at her and she turned and shot him in the kneecap. He buckled to the ground, screaming that his "fucking knee hurt." An arrow whistled through the air and pierced him in the skull, silencing his screams.
"No!" Rick shouted as the man in black aimed his gun at Hannah. He lunged for the man but it was too late. As she raised her gun, the man shot Hannah in the chest. The shot threw her small body backwards, the gun slipping from her fingers as she landed on her back and was still.