Chapter 12: Rotten Meat

Authors Note: Hey everyone I am back. Sorry for the delay, I was busy playing that new Spiderman video game and it is freaking awesome I love it so much then Red Dead Redemption 2 came out and I have been playing that and it is freaking epic. I have also been preoccupied with other B.S. but no bother I am here now, and I am ready to deliver a new chapter I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the walking dead.


Marty and Ann were out in the fields away from the ranch with a few other parents as Gregory and Tripp taught the kids and a few adults how to shoot. A few parents were strongly against the idea of their children shooting guns, but after what Ann told everyone about how the bikers had Olivia hostage they were a little more willing to have the adults teach everyone a few new tricks.

Trippy and Gregory set up some bottles and cans on their fence as they handed out handguns to each of the settlement members. A lot of them did good for the most part, while some were lucky enough to hit one bottle on the fifth try.

Olivia was a natural while Marty's wife Donna and Drew were a little off, but they would get better with time. Olivia was making friends with another girl her age by the name of, Mary. They were cracking jokes and laughing as they fired their guns and hit their targets.

"Great job!" Olivia exclaimed. Mary nodded and emptied the shells from her .38 as she smiled at Olivia.

"Thank you for helping me learn how to shoot, Olivia." Mary said.

"I think that is enough for today." Trippy said. "We only have so many bullets to spare, but ya'll did very good today."

"Thanks." Olivia said as Trippy smiled and patted her head. Ann noticed that the smile was a false gesture as he looked back to his meat locker.

"I'm sure they will be back soon." Ann assured. "This isn't the first time that they have been out on a scavenger hunt."

"I believe you, but I am still nervous." Trippy said as he ran a hand through his grey hair. "That cooler has been down for almost seven hours, the meat inside has maybe until the end of the day, before it all spoils."

"I know you are worried, but we still have the veggies we harvested, and Aaron and his wife Olivia are out hunting right now with Mac'carty." Marty explained as he took his .45 revolver back from his son.

"Have either one of them ever hunted before?" Gregory asked him. Marty shrugged.

"They wouldn't have offered if they didn't know how."

Suddenly, their attention was drawn to the dust road that lead to the ranch. Both Jessie and Lester's vehicles road down the dirt road, towards Trippy's house. Everyone was excited to see both vehicles back in one piece and they quickly started crowding around them, but they noticed that something was wrong. Everyone who stepped out of the vehicles had red tear stained eyes or solemn faces.

"What happened?" Marty asked. That's when he noticed they were one person short. "Where is Leila?"

"Where do you think?" Paul snapped as he stormed past everyone. Johnny stepped out of Jessie's SUV and Marty quickly embraced his young friend. The two pulled away and Marty was confused at what had happened.

"Those fucking bikers, they came out of nowhere and we were forced to take cover in the store. Then the walkers started swarming in and one of them bit her. She managed to hijack a vehicle and draw them away. She saved us all."

"Did you get the generator?" Ezra said. "At least tell us the trip wasn't a total loss."

"Yeah, yeah Ezra we got the fucking generator and food and water, and I also got this." Johnny snapped as he pulled out baseball bat. Without another word, Johnny lunged at the young man, causing a small riot in the group.

"All you do is bitch and whine, while the rest of us work to keep everyone safe and fed, what the hell do you do to help?" Johnny snapped as Marty held him back. Ezra spat at the boy as Jessie restrained him from pulling out his Glock.

"I look after my girlfriend you, fucking dick!" He shouted back. "Hell, all you, assholes ever do is start fights and bring those undead bastards' home, hell the whole reason those bikers are after us to begin with is because Paul fucking killed a bunch of them and then you guys killed them at that supply store."

"Yeah, and who killed some back at the diner, I think it was you if I recall!" Johnny snapped. Jessie managed to grab Ezra's glock and get it away from him as Marty took away the bat. That's when Ezra gave Johnny a smug grin as he lowered his hands to his belt, near the grip of his Raging Bull revolver.

"What was I supposed to do, just let my girl die like you let your mom die?"

Johnny lunged at Ezra, his switchblade in hand as Ezra's revolver flew out, but Johnny had tackled him to the ground before he could get a shot. Everyone quickly swarmed in and managed to tear the two apart from one another as Jessie grabbed the gun from Ezra.

Marty grabbed Johnny and dragged him back to his cabin. Everyone started to calm down as Ann Mac'carty came back from her hunting trip with Aaron and Olivia, they were dragging a wagon with a dead deer in the back when they came upon the ruckus.

"What the hell happened?" Ann asked as her sister Angela embraced her.

"Leila's dead." She whispered as she fought back the strong urge to cry.

"Shit…" Ann snapped as she hugged her sister.

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened, truly." Trippy said. "But we have to get the generator up and running. Gregory, you rig it up for us while I get this deer to the barn for skinning."

"You got it, Pa." Gregory said as he grabbed the generator and made his way out into the fields. Trippy grabbed the deer wagon and made his way to the farm as everyone else prepared for dinner.

Clary Evans and Harper Smith helped set up the plates and silverware on the tables when Clary broke down sobbing. Rose sat her down at the table and just let her cry until the sun nearly set over the hills.

"I thought it would be easier when my brother disappeared, but here I am. Another person is dead, and I am still here doing nothing. Just crying." She whimpered. Harper said nothing as she stood up and grabbed her Winchester Model 70 rifle.

"Then I think it's time we do something." Harper said. "I am an orphan. I have no brothers or sisters. No one would miss me when I die, but these guys have been taking care of you and me since we showed up at that diner and I am not gonna sit down and cry while some assholes keep trying to kill us, dead or otherwise."

"What do you think we should do?" Clary asked.

"Tomorrow, we go out and practice how to shoot, how to fight, hunt and whatever else it is we need to do when danger comes. Are you in or out?"

Clary said nothing and reached into the back of her pants and pulled out a HK45 V-1 handgun.

"I found this on the bikers back at the diner." She said as she held the gun loosely in her hand. "I didn't want to give it up, but I didn't want to use it either, but in a world where the dead rise and the living kill I don't think being a victim is a choice anymore."

"No, but if you kept it then that must mean you were done being a victim." Harper said.

"Tomorrow?" Clary asked to which Harper nodded.

"Tomorrow."

Meanwhile, Trippy had finished skinning and gutting the deer for any meat he could as his son fixed up the generator. He bagged the rest of the meat just as he heard the cooler running, the generator was up and running.

"We're all set down here, Pa." Gregory said from Trippy's walkie talkie. The hold man unclipped the radio and spoke into it with a tired voice.

"Okay, I'll get some of the steaks out of the freezer and get some super ready."

"Are you okay, Pa?" His boy asked from the other end.

"Yeah, just a rough day is all." Trippy said as he unlocked the freezer door and carried the meat inside. He shuddered from the cold as he made his way to the back. That's when he heard the growling.

"Honey, you know you're not suppose to be moving around in here." He called out to the darkness. He reached into his belt and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "I knows it's been rough, but I just need you to hold on a little while longer, okay?"

The growling was faint as he moved into the back of the freezer, but he knew she was back there behind the shelves. He slowly crept behind the shelves, only to be tackled by a female walker.

The deer meat packages scattered all over the floor as Trippy struggled to keep the woman from biting at his face.

"Darlin', it's okay." He grunted. He grabbed her by the throat to keep her from biting at him, before pressing his boot to her stomach, kicking her off him. She flew into a shelf and knocked a few jars on the floor. Trippy watched as she slipped around on the icy floor, her palms recklessly sliding around on the broken glass of the jars.

"Darlin', you're bleeding all over the place." He reached out on the floor and picked up the handcuffs he had dropped and moved closer to the walker. "We just have to wait until our boys in Washington fix up a cure and get you taken care of, but until then."

He quickly tacked her to the ground and he managed to cuff her hands together, before binding her feet with his belt.

"It's okay, I got you I love you."

He said, holding her from behind and rocking her back and forth.

"I love you darlin', I love you." He said as he got up from the ground and started to collect the bags of deer meat off the floor. He set them on the shelf and collected the steaks he promised everyone for dinner. He took one last look at the walker on the floor and let out another sigh, before exiting, never once noticing the black blood on one of the torn bags.

The next morning everyone had a small memorial service for Leila, but the only people who did not show were Ezra, Mercedes and Paul. No one said much of anything, other than how brave she was and how she kept everyone safe. No one knew what else to say about a woman they had only known for a week, but despite all that her death left hole in a lot of people's hearts.

After that, the day went on as normal. Harper and Clary went to gun training with Jessie and Ann Nixon while Ann Mac'Carty went out hunting with Eli. Everyone else either tended the garden, kept patrol or worked on the cars.

Clary held her handgun and lined up the sights with the can on the fence as best as she could. She squeezed the trigger and jumped when the gun fired and ended up dropping the gun into the dirt.

"Clary," Jessie sighed while massaging his temples. She blushed in embarrassment and picked up her gun, brushing off the dirt. "Here let me show you."

He moved behind her and placed his hands over hers, guiding them into the proper aiming position. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Take a deep breath and let it out when you pull the trigger, but don't lock your elbows either and line up the V with that little peg at the front of the barrel. Then shoot."

Clary let out a deep breath and aligned her sights with the tin can on the fence once again. She let out one last breath and fired. The can went flying off the fence and she couldn't help but giggle.

"I got it." She said in a shaky tone.

"Great job." Jessie chuckled.

"Yeah, great job." Harper chuckled as she pulled the bolt on her rifle and fired a round into a glass bottle. She chuckled as the glass popped and shattered all over the place.

"Nice," Jessie cheered. "You two are getting better."

"Yeah, but these are just bottles." Clary sighed. "What if we come across Walkers or people like those bikers, they aren't just going to sit still and let us shoot them."

"Yeah, I know, but I trust you guys to do what is right when the time comes, hell you already have when you went with Paul to help get the big rig and save us from the diner."

"Well, here's hoping we keep getting luckier from here on out." Clary shrugged as she looked around at all the other people that took refuge at the ranch. She watched as Jason, one of the last soldiers at camp, teach Mary how to shoot properly as her parents watched in concern.

"You know, if this were an average day, she would be in school, her parents would be at work and Jason would be running drills at his base." Clary sighed. "And me and my brother…I don't know what we would be doing right now. Why did this bullshit have to happen?"

"I don't know, we must have screwed up at some point and the big guy upstairs must have deemed us unworthy." Jessie sighed as he fumbled around with his grandfathers watch, his thumb rub over the smooth side of the bullet that was permanently indented on the watch.

He was broken from his trance when Harper and Clary approached him. He handed Clary his watch.

"My grandfather's lucky watch." He stated. "That watch was the only thing keeping that bullet from reaching his heart."

"Awesome!" Harper chuckled.

"Yeah, he took part in one of history's greatest battles and lived, only for this to happen." Jessie let out another heavy breath as Clary handed him his watch back. "I'm gonna go find Paul and Eli and see if they have any more booze."

Jessie stormed off leaving Harper and Clary behind. Clary looked at Harper confused at what had just happened, the teenager just shrugged and slung her rifle over her shoulder.

"I guess after all that fighting and surviving, he's never had the chance to let it sink in that the way we lived our lives are over and this is our new way of life now."

"Yeah, I can relate." Clary sighed.

"We all can."

(!)

It was dinner time once more and Trippy had made some venison for the community with the deer that Aaron had caught yesterday. Everyone ate in silence with only a few whispers and the scratching of knives and forks against plates.

"This is very good, thank you Trippy." Eliza complimented. Trippy smiled and waved it off.

"Thank Angela, she's the one that helped cook it too."

"And don't forget to thank my sister and Aaron for getting the meat." The young woman chuckled as she bumped her shoulder against her sister.

"And maybe we should thank Leila for helping everyone get the generator." Ann Mac'Carthy suggested.

A lot of people immediately went tense as they all stopped eating. Paul looked down at his plate and he almost threw his food up all over it. After a long silence Marty raised his glass of iced tea.

"To Leila," He said as he a few other raised their glasses. "For saving us and helping me find my family."

"To Leila," A new voice called out. "For killing a hell of a lot of men, even in death she managed to kill one of my men."

Everyone looked at the man before them as he had a raised a flask in the air. He had long, straight black hair, followed by a neatly trimmed beard. His ice blue eyes pierced through everyone like a knife every time he glanced over at them.

Paul recognized the biker vest over his leather jacket, and he saw the president badge on the right side of his chest. He was the leader of the Proctors.

Paul stood from his chair and aimed his .45 at the man, who aimed his Sawed-Off at Paul.

"Everyone calm down and listen and I'll be out of your hair in a few seconds." The man said. "My name is, Crow. I am the Atlanta chapter of the Proctors and I need you all to listen to what I have to say."

No one said anything, but Olivia noticed that her friend Mary was looking a little sick.

"Are you okay?" She whispered to her friend. Mary slowly shook her head.

"My stomach hurts." She moaned as her mother wrapped and arm around her.

"It's okay, baby." Her mother whispered. "You just ate too fast, we'll get you in bed soon enough."

"Now, you assholes from the diner have been fucking me for almost a month and I am quite agitated." He said in an obnoxious voice. "You've killed my boys, stole our fuel and our guns."

"And you tried to rob me, assault my new friends and led a hoard of undead at us and not to mention killed my friend. You brought this on yourself." Paul snarled.

"Well, unfortunately for you guys I don't play to get even I play to win." He chuckled, nodding off to the woods. "We've been watching you guys since last night. We missed you at the military checkpoint. We were busy scavenging that grocery store, we just didn't plan on running into you in the process."

"So, it was you who set up that blockade." Paul sneered.

"Oh yes, we had great set up there, dumbasses drive through, we rob them and that was that, but thanks to you assholes, we're down in number and we were running low on food, that's why we didn't meet at the road block and now once again we're down even more numbers. I'm bragging, I'll make you people a deal. The people who showed up from the diner, you let me, and my men take them and some of your meat and we will leave you all alone. I swear on the cross."

He flipped an automatic rifle that was slung on his shoulder into his hand and grabbed it by the grip. Paul narrowed his eyes at the small golden cross that dangled from the handle on top.

"That was, Leila's gun." Paul growled through his teeth.

"Mine now."

"Mary!"

Everyone, but Paul, had turned to see Mary fall on the ground as her parents hovered over her. Her mother was going ballistic as her father tried to give her CPR.

"She's not breathing." Her father gasped.

"She said it was something she ate." Olivia said from her mother's embrace.

"Mary!" Her mother screamed as blood started pouring from her husband's face. He let out a horrific scream as Mary pulled him down and sunk his teeth into his face.

Jessie pulled Mary off her father as her mother went in to her daughter. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she called out her daughter's name in broken sobs. She reached a hand out to her daughter who stared back at her with her colorless eyes.

"Stay back!" Ann Mac'Carty shouted, but it was too late as Mary sunk her teeth into her mother's hand, ripping a good chunk out.

Ivory quickly wrapped a bundle of paper towels around her hand as everyone started to panic.

"How the fuck did this happen?" Eli shouted.

"The meat, it's the fucking meat!" Johnny shouted.

"Hey Crow, check this out." Another voice called out as a big guy walked out from behind the house with something slung over his right shoulder. "We were raiding the fridge like you said and these crazy bastards had this tied up with the meat."

The man dropped the object on the ground, and everyone gasped when they saw it was a walker, with its skin peeling off.

"They had that in the freezer?" Crow asked, cringing when a chunk of its hair fell off from its thrashing.

"Yeah, it was bleeding all over the place, the freezer smelled like shit. We just left the meat, we don't trust anything in there."

"And with good reason." Crow chuckled as he nodded to the girl and her family. "Wow, I thought you guys were smart and here you are eating rotten meat. We'll leave you guys to grieve and clean up, but for those of you who haven't eaten the rotten meat you have until sundown tomorrow to give me the diner crew or I feed all of you the rotten corpse of, Leila Watson."