The four survivors stared over at the men in awe. Time seemed to stand still. They had found people, two of them. The taller and more built man had scruffy facial hair and wore an old Stafford Sharks shirt. His counterpart, who was shorter and more on the heavier side, stood with a newsie hat on his head and a shotgun tossed over his shoulder. He had beady eyes that stared back in shock at the set of new and living faces.
"Son of a bitch… they're alive," The taller man scoffed. He looked back at his comrade with an amused smile. Slowly, they took a few steps further into the bar, the larger man shutting the doors behind him. Kei looked over to Rick. His jaw was tight and apprehensive. No words were spoken between the two groups. Kei looked back over to Glenn. He shook his head and shrugged, not knowing what to say or do.
"What'll you have?" Rick asked, breaking the silence. Kei and Glenn looked to the men. The taller one sat at a table, the fatter one sitting next to Hershel at the other bar.
"How bout a shot of the good stuff, huh?" The taller one offered, "Got any whiskey?"
Rick nodded and turned, seeing Kei who had already pulled the bottle out from behind the bar. She set out six shot glasses and handed the bottle over. He took it with a nod and uncorked it, tipping it over and beginning to pour into each shot glass.
"My name's Dave," The taller man spoke, a faint jersey accent in his voice, "That scrawny lookin' douchebag over there is Tony."
"Eat me, Dave," Tony scoffed.
"Hey, maybe someday I will," Dave warned with a smirk.
Kei watched closely as they conversed with desirable humor back and forth. They've been together for a while, she deduced, just them two. Perhaps it was still just the two of them, she thought; or they were with a larger group now, and they were sent to go scouting.
"We met on the 995 comin out of Philly," Dave explained with a sigh, "What a damn shit show that was."
There was still a bit of apprehension on Rick's side, but Glenn smiled and tried his best to ignore the tension,
"I'm Glenn," He introduced with a half wave and a smile, "It's nice to finally meet some new people."
"Rick Grimes," Their leader spoke as he continued pouring shots for everyone. Seeing that he missed Hershel, Dave was the first to acknowledge it,
"How bout you pal, have one?" He asked the old man on the barstool.
"I just quit," The old farmer answered.
"You got a unique sense of timing my friend," Dave said with a smile and a faint laugh.
"His name's Hershel," Rick explained, "He lost people today, a lot of them."
"Well, I'm truly sorry to hear that," Dave replied, holding up his shot glass, "To better days and new friends, and to our dead. May they be in a better place…"
The four men took their shots, Kei ignoring hers completely. She eyed the men up and down. Her nose wrinkled in distrust. Dave dropped his glass to the table and then looked over at her. His eyes scanned her up and down, smiling and definitely liking what he saw.
"And how bout you, hun. Got a name?"
She didn't answer. She merely stared, her dark eyes boring into his own. She didn't trust him one bit, and he could see that.
"Her name's Kei," Glenn answered for her.
Dave's smile grew bigger. He scoffed lightly and nodded his head to her.
"Well it's nice to meet you there, Kei. Don't drink either?"
Again, she didn't reply. She just kept her cold look on him the entire time. Dave didn't seem the least bit phased by it. If anything, he found it cute, and even more appealing. He always favored the more dark and mysterious type.
"Alrighty, just tryin to make friendly small talk," He reached over to pour himself another glass when he noticed Rick staring at the pistol rested on his hip. He pulled it out instead and looked at it with a smile,
"Not bad, huh?"
Kei's dark eyes darted over to Tony. He was staring over at her for far too long, and with a far-too familiar look in his eyes. Her lips pursed into a thin line, and she stared at him dangerously. Her look was viscious, and it warned him not to try anything.
"You fellas are a long way from Philadelphia," Rick mentioned, his voice getting Kei's attention once more.
"Feels like we're a long way from anywhere," Dave sighed.
"What drove you south?" The Sherriff asked, taking another sip from his shot.
"Well I can tell ya it wasn't the weather," Dave griped, "I must've dropped 30 pounds in sweat alone down here."
"I wish…" Tony scoffed, giving the men a slight laugh.
"At first it was D.C.," Dave explained, "I heard there might be some kind of refugee camp, but the roads were so jammed, we never even got close. We decided to get off the highways, into the sticks, and keep haulin ass. Every group we came across had a new rumor about a way out of this thing."
"One guy said that there was the coast guard, sitting down in the golf, sending ferries to the islands," Tony spoke.
"The latest was a railyard in Montgomery," Dave griped with a shake of his head, "It's running trains to the middle of the country; Kansas, Nebraska…"
"Nebraska?" Glenn quoted.
"Low population, lots of guns," Tony explained.
"Ever been to Nebraska, kid?" Dave asked, watching as Glenn shook his head no, "A reason why they call 'em 'flyover' states."
Tony gave the man an earnest laugh while Rick merely smiled and took another shot of alcohol. Kei continued to watch the two men as they exchanged knowing glances with each other, having their own mental conversation. Tony was pressing Dave to ask something, something vital. Dave's Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed, his eyes looking over to the group.
"How about you guys?" He inquired, looking to each member with a faint and friendly smile on his face.
"Fort Benning eventually," Rick stated simply. The leader furrowed as the scruffy haired man sighed and shook his head,
"Hate to piss in your corn flakes there, officer, but we ran across a grunt stationed at Benning. Said the place was overrun by lame brains,"
Kei's eyebrows furrowed together. Her heart suddenly dropped deep into to the pit of her stomach.
"W-Wait…Fort Benning is gone? Are you for real?" Glenn asked nervously. Dave nodded.
"Sadly, I am," He admitted, "Ugly truth is...There is no way out of this mess. Just keep goin from one pipe dream to the next, prayin' one of these mindless freaks don't grab a hold of you while you sleep—"
"If you sleep." Tony added.
Kei tuned them out for a second, trying to comprehend what Dave had said. Fort Benning was gone. Maybe Sen got out. Maybe he saw there were too many of them and he moved. Where did he go, though? Where did the people in charge go? If they moved, where would they go?
The two men shared one final glance before Dave finally got to what he had been waiting to ask,
"It don't look like none of you are hangin your hats here, you holed up somewhere else?"
Kei snapped out of her thoughts and looked to Rick. The man closed his eyes, letting his head hang low.
"Not really,"
"Those your cars out there?" Dave asked. Glenn nodded lightly,
"Yeah...why?"
"We're uh, we're livin in ours," The man answered slowly, "Yours are kinda...empty, clean. Where's all your gear?"
"We're with a larger group," Hershel spoke, "Out scouting, thought we could use a drink."
The old farmer swayed in his seat as he stared at Dave. The man smiled brightly back at him.
"A drink? Hershel, I thought you quit!" He teased.
Kei was starting to get frustrated. Fort Benning was gone, her plans had gotten shot to shit and these two idiots were trying to impose on their group. Here they were, clearly trying to keep the two of them out of their business, and they just kept trying to push themselves in. She just wanted to leave and get back to Beth and the others. She didn't have time for this!
"Well we're thinkin about settin up around here," Dave mentioned, "Is it safe?"
"It can be," Glenn reasoned, "Well, I've only killed a couple Walkers around here."
"Walkers? That what you call them?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck, "Oh, that's good. I like that better than lame brains."
There was another moment of awkward silence before Dave got back to business. He turned his head and stared over at Rick,
"So what, so what you guys set up on the outskirts or something? A new development?"
Tony lifted his large self off the barstool and walked over to the wall of the room, passing Kei in the process,
"Ya got a trailer park or somethin?" He asked, "Farm?"
It wasn't intentional, but Glenn, Hershel, and Kei all shifted at the same time.
"Ol McDonald had a farm…" Dave sang as he trailed off, looking over at Tony. The large man laughed lightly, unzipped his pants, and started to pee on the wall. Dave looked back to Rick, a sudden glint in his eye. He caught on quick.
"You got a farm?"
Rick furrowed when heard the trickling and looked over at Tony in disgust. Kei did as well, slightly scrunching her nose and looking away.
"Is it safe?" She heard Dave ask out.
"It's gotta be," Tony spoke.
"You got food, water?" Dave inquired.
"You got any more cooze?" Tony asked as he zipped himself up, "Haven't had a piece of ass in weeks."
The group looked over at him as he walked back over to the bar and stepped closer to Kei. Dave rubbed his forehead with an agitated sigh, shaking his head,
"Listen, pardon my friend here. These city kids, they have no tact, no disrespect. So Glenn, Kei—"
"We've said enough," Rick cut off, firmly ending Dave's pointless inquiry.
"Well hang on a second, this farm, it sounds nice," Dave chirped, "Don't it sound nice, Tony?"
"Yeah, real sweet," The large man cooed.
"How bout a little southern hospitality, huh?" Dave suggested, "We got a few buddies back at camp and we're havin a real hard time. I can't see why you can't make room for a few more. We could pool our resources, our manpower-"
"Look, I'm sorry but that's not an option," Rick said firmly, striking the two men down once more. Dave looked to the ground and fiddled with his fingers.
"…Doesn't sound like it'd be a problem…" He muttered.
Rick looked directly at the man and shook his head.
"We can't take in anymore,"
Dave laughed to himself and rubbed his head,
"You guys are something else…" He sighed, "I mean, I thought we were friends. We got people we gotta look out for, too."
"We don't know anything about you," Rick remarked.
"That's true… you don't know anything about us," Dave replied solemnly, "You don't what we had to go through out there, the things we've had to do...I bet you've had to do some of those things yourself, am I right?...Ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same…So come on let's...Let's take a nice friendly hay ride to this farm to we'll get to know each other."
"Yeah," Tony spoke, "Get to know each other."
Kei felt a hand trail down her lower back and onto her right cheek. Her dark eyes widened and her face went dark. She jerked her hand around, slamming her fist into his pudgy cheek and causing him to tumble back. As he flew back and hit the wall, she swiftly reached back and pulled her sword out, pressing the tip of her blade at his throat.
Rick whipped out his pistol as well and Tony growled, pulling up his shotgun and aiming it at her.
"Fuckin' bitch!" He spat.
Kei pressed the blade even further and stared at him viciously. Her face was almost animal like with her upper lip trembling and her teeth flaring. Glenn stared at her in complete shock. She looked positively feral, like a wolf.
"That's enough! Back off, right now!" Rick shouted at Tony, making him look over at the cop. Dave jumped up and put up his hands,
"Woah, woah, woah, woah!" He called out calmly, "Just relax here…"
Kei let out a deep breath through her nose, but kept her sword to the man's throat. There was nothing she hated more than a man touching her and looking at her like some fuck toy. She got enough of that in her childhood, and those sick men who tried to lay a hand on her got what they deserved. She didn't take it from them then, and sure as hell wasn't going to take it from this waste of space now.
"Take it easy… nobody's killing anybody," Dave said in a surprisingly chill tone, "Nobody's shootin' anybody, right Rick?"
Rick put his pistol back in his holster, his jaw tense and his body on edge,
"Don't touch her again," He warned.
"Or what, cheif?" Tony seethed at him. Rick merely ignored him and looked at the girl with the Katana still pressed up to the man's fleshy neck.
"Kei, put your sword away," He spoke, his harsh tone softening when the girl didn't comply right away, "Kei, your sword…"
Kei's dark eyes looked over at him, his commanding tone the only thing managing to get past the noise in her head. With one last menacing glance at Tony, she lowered her sword and swiftly re-sheathed it in one fluid motion. She felt a hand on her arm and saw Glenn tugging at it. He pulled her to the other side of him, and huddling close to her and eyeing Tony at the same time.
Dave jumped up and over the bar, turning back towards Rick. He heard Tony reach for his gun and Rick's hand hovered over the holster of his pistol, staring menacingly at Dave. Dave put his hands up and slowly pulled out his own pistol, putting it down on the bar with a smile,
"We're just friends having a drink… that's all," He assured, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, "Now, where's the good stuff, huh? Good stuff, good stuff, good stuff, let's see…"
He leaned under the bar and Rick's hand swiftly landed on his pistol's grip. Dave took notice with a smile and pulled up another bottle of tequila.
"Hey, look at that…. That'll work,"
He twisted off the cap and began pouring his drink.
"You gotta understand," He reasoned, "We can't stay out there. You know what it's like."
"Yeah, I do," Rick spoke, his words cold and slow, "But the farm is too crowded as it is. I'm sorry, but you'll have to keep lookin."
Dave set the bottle down on the counter and hung his head.
"Keep looking," He quoted, lifting his head to look at the officer, "Where do you suggest we do that?"
"I don't know," Rick answered with a shake of his head, "I hear Nebraska's nice…"
Dave only laughed at his response and stepped back from the bar a bit. He shook his head lightly, a smile on his face.
"Nebraska," He scoffed, "This guy…"
Dave suddenly jumped for the pistol, but his hand never made it. Rick fired a precise shot to the guy's neck, sending him to the ground with a loud thud. He turned just as Tony readied his shotgun and fired once into the man's shoulder. Tony tumbled backwards and hit the wall as Rick fired one more bullet into the man's stomach. The large man slid to the ground and toppled over onto the floor. Rick walked up and pointed his weapon out, sending another bullet through the man's brain without hesitation.
Kei's ears rang as she stared down at the large man. He had fallen in his own puddle of urine. Rick walked towards him and stared down at the body, Hershel walking up behind him. Rick turned and looked to Glenn and Kei, Glenn refusing to look at him, and Kei only staring expressionlessly down at the body.
Daytime slowly turned to night as the moonlight poured through the windows of the bar. Kei and Glenn walked over to Rick and he looked over at them, a strange look in his eye.
"We should probably get out of here," She suggested in a low voice. Rick looked over to the old farmer.
"Hershel?"
There was no debate from him as he looked down to the floor. The leader looked to Glenn and Glenn nodded at him reassuringly,
"She's right, we should head back now before it gets too late..."
Kei headed for the door while Rick leaned down and grabbed the guns off of Tony's body. Glenn went to get the pistol from Dave's. The girl peeked out the windows to see if there were any signs of Walkers, but something else completely different caught her eye.
"Car! Car!" She hissed.
A sudden flash of light shone through the windows and the group slid down the front of the store, sitting on the ground. Kei leaned up and glanced out the window, seeing three men stepping out of the vehicle,
"There's three of them," She whispered to Rick sitting next to her. They heard voices outside the door, calling out the names of Dave and Tony as they walked around the area. Three seperate shadows danced among the windows of the bar as they moved about. Kei leaned her head back against the wall.
"What's the plan?" She asked.
"We have to get to the truck and get out of here while we can," Hershel spoke. Rick took a deep breath and looked down. After several minutes had passed, Kei slowly looked back out the window, seeing no one but still hearing their voices. Rick tugged on Kei's arm and he nodded towards Glenn and Hershel. They crouched down and huddled in a circle,
"Why won't they leave?!" Glenn whispered desperately.
"Would you?" Hershel asked back.
"We can't sit here any longer," Kei whispered firmly. Rick gave her a light nod, looking over to Glenn and Hershel,
"Let's head out the back and make a run for the car,"
The four rose to their feet, but just as they did, gunshots cracked through the air. They jumped back to their original spaces, keeping their backs pressed against the wall. Kei looked out the window and saw them regrouping near the bar, hearing their voices once more, but louder.
"They're coming," She whispered sharply. She quickly sat back down and pulled out her handgun. The four of them heard the enemy's footsteps coming in close. Everyone readied their weapons. Just as the door was beginning to open, Glenn suddenly dove for it and slammed the door back shut. The four of them could hear someone stepping back, no doubt in shock.
"Someone pushed that shut," They heard one of the guys say, "There's someone in there!"
Kei screwed her eyes shut, mentally swearing at herself.
"Hey, is someone in there?!" She heard another man yell, "If someone's in there, we don't want no trouble! We're just lookin for our friends, Dave and Tony."
The three looked over to the bodies with wide eyes and racing hearts. They were in for it now.
"We don't want to cause any trouble," The man repeated, "We're just looking for our friends! If something happened to them, just tell us! This place is crawling with corpses! If you didn't get us killed, we'd appreciate it!"
Kei turned and saw the strain on Rick's face as he struggled to find something to say or do. He raised his head, lying against the wall.
"They drew on us!" His voice echoed through the bar. Hershel looked to Rick in dread as the men outside all whispered rapidly amongst each other.
"Dave and Tony in there?!" One man yelled, "They alive?!"
"No," Rick admitted, his voice shaking a little. Hushed voices rapidly conversed with each other. The men were refusing to leave now; all because of what they had done to their two best men.
"Your friends drew on us!" Rick repeated, "They gave us no choice! I'm sure we've all lost enough people! Dumb things, we wish we didn't have to but it's like that now, you know that! So let's just chop it up to what it was! Wrong place, wrong-!"
Gunshots shattered the windows above their heads. Kei let out a yelp and put up her hands for protection. Rick jumped up and fired his pistol,
"Get out of here!" He shouted out. Glenn and Kei jumped to their feet, running to the back of the bar. Glenn hid behind a piano and Kei leapt over the bar, landing on the ground flat as Rick and the enemy's gunshots went in sync with each other. She pulled back the slide on her gun, making sure it was loaded before putting her finger on the trigger.
Just as she was about to get up and retaliate, the gunfire finally stopped. Kei slowly sat back up, hearing the eerie silence around her. She peeked her head over the side of the bar, sitting up on her knees, waiting for something else to happen. She saw Rick emptying his gun and reloading it,
"We all know this is not gonna end well!" He shouted, his chest rising and falling heavily, "There's nothing in it for any of us! You guys just back off, and no one else gets hurt!"
Kei turned when she heard something fall over in the back. It sounded like a trash bin getting knocked over. Her heart began to race a mile a minute. She heard footsteps and saw Glenn running to the back door, his gun ready in his hands. Kei jumped up as well, watching his back as he opened up the door slowly, peering in through the darkness of the room. Glenn raised his gun and Kei put hers above his shoulder as he moved down the steps, hesitating once he heard a painfully loud creak come from the wood.
The two finally made it to the floor and began scanning the room. It was so cold, dark and it gave Kei's skin goose bumps. Glenn stopped in his tracks, making Kei almost bump into him. She heard soft squeaks coming from the door at the end and noticed the door handle jiggling and turning. A shadow appeared through the fogged glass window, and before she could react, Glenn raised his gun and fired a shot. Kei flinched and covered her ears as the glass exploded, most of it falling to the ground in shambles.
The two young adults both turned when they heard Rick's frantic voice calling out their names. Glenn opened his mouth,
"We're alright!" He called back, "We're alright…"
He looked to Kei. She took a deep breath and let it out shakily, nodding her head at him.
"I'm okay …" She whispered out. He nodded and the two ran to opposite sides of the door, Glenn's breathing was erratic as he held his gun up to high. Kei carefully looked out the window, and then to over Glenn, shaking her head and signaling that there wasn't a body outside the door. Glenn raised his gun and pointed it at the door as his hand neared the handle to open it. She then saw a body out of the corner of her eye. She turned around sharply to see Hershel approaching. He grabbed onto Glenn's shoulder, frightening him and causing him to whip around, pointing his gun at the farmer. Hershel slowly pushed the barrel away and Glenn brought it to his chest.
"Sorry… sorry…" He breathed, closing his eyes and trying to slow his racing heartbeat.
"Rick wants you to try for the car…." Hershel whispered.
"Try?!" Glenn hissed.
"Try, and succeed," Hershel added with firm determination, "We're both here to cover you."
"That's a great plan…" The dark haired boy stated sarcastically. He took one last, large breath, and headed to the door. Kei and Hershel exchanged glances before raising their guns and prepared for cover. Glenn slowly opened up the door and moved down the steps, Hershel and Kei standing in the doorway above him. Glenn carefully moved about, taking slow and cautious steps as he neared the dumpster. He leaned further out and looked for the car, scanning his surroundings for dangers at the same time.
A gunshot suddenly came through from the left and Glenn fell to the ground. Hershel moved around Kei and shot once at the culprit, sending him to the grass with a bullet to his chest. Kei whipped around and looked towards the dumpster, only seeing Glenn's denim clad legs sticking out. He didn't move a muscle.
"Glenn!" She whispered loudly, but no response. Groans and cries of pain came spilling out from the man on the grass. She heard footsteps rush up behind her and turned around, seeing Rick fast approaching,
"What happened?!" He asked in a harsh whisper.
"He fired…" Hershel explained quietly, "Must've hit Glenn, he's behind the dumpster…"
Rick shoved the door back open and carefully stepped out, his pistol in one hand and Tony's shotgun in the other. He moved slowly towards the dumpster as Hershel and Kei kept watch. More pained wails and loud cries came from the man on the grass. Kei and the farmer kept their eyes locked on the dumpster, waiting for some sign of life as Rick ducked down into the space next to Glenn.
Kei's heart and soul let out the biggest sigh of relief when the two men popped out. However it was cut short when two more gunshots were fired, making the two disappear behind the dumpster once more. Kei looked up at saw a man on the roof of a building across the street. A rifle was in his hands, and it was pointing right at them. Kei raised her gun with one hand, put him in her sights, and fired twice. He managed to duck out of the way just in time.
Kei furrowed when she heard the sound of an engine's roar growing louder by the second. A white truck pulled up and came to a screeching halt under the building the boy was standing on,
"Let's get outta here!" The man in the car yelled, "Roamers all over the place! Hurry up! We gotta get outta here!"
"What about Sean!?" The boy on the roof yelled out.
"They shot him, we gotta go!" The man in the car yelled back, "Roamers are everywhere! Jump!"
The younger man did what he was told and ran for it. He got to the edge and jumped off the roof of the building, trying to make it to the other. His feet slipped out from under him and he went tumbling off. He landed with a thud, a blood curdling cry, and shouts for help. The driver didn't leave his truck. He just kep apologizing over and over, saying that he had to go. He hit the gas pedal and the truck barreled down the road, leaving his comrade for the walkers.
The pleading cries of the wounded boy made Kei's skin crawl. She saw Rick run off and Glenn suddenly jumped up,
"Hershel! Kei!"
Hisses and groans suddenly rung in the air. They turned and saw Walkers emerging from the tree line, moving towards them quickly. They staggered towards the wounded man lying helplessly on the ground. He kept screaming and crying for help, and the dead were answering his calls. A small group of walkers began crowding around him. They crouched down and began tearing at his flesh, earning several tortuous cries of pain from their living meal. Hershel held his gun forward and pulled trigger, putting one of the Walkers out of their misery. He aimed again, but refrained from firing when steely fingers wrapped around his wrist.
"Don't!" Kei whispered harshly, "We can't save him, we have to go!" She jumped out of the doorway and kept her gun raised as Hershel grunted and followed suit. They moved towards the street and found Glenn waiting anxiously in the middle.
"The gunfire must have attracted the Walkers," She spoke out, turning every which way to scan for any more oncoming enemies.
"Where's Rick?!" Hershel asked as he sprinted for the driver's side of his truck.
"H-He went across!" Glenn answered, gripping his shotgun nervously as he pointed over to the Alley across the street. Hershel looked to him and then over to the alley between the drug store and the dentist office. Sure enough, Rick was standing right outside the fence.
"Well hell we can't leave without him!" He grunted, "Rick!"
"Rick!" Glenn called out.
Hershel ran across the street, Glenn and Kei following suit. The boy's painful cries began to attract more Walkers as Rick looked at him helplessly. The boy, looking no older than 17, had fallen off the roof, his leg landing straight onto a spike on the fence. The spike had gone clean through and stuck out of the boy's leg, making him writhe and howl in pain.
"Rick, we have to go!" Kei plead while Hershel placed a hand on the boy's knee,
"We have to go son, I'm sorry,"
"No, no, no! Please don't leave me!" The boy cried as he leaned up and stared down at the group.
"We have to go!" Hershel urged.
"We can't!" Rick bit back. Glenn pointed over to the boy,
"He was just shooting at us!"
"He's a kid!" Rick barked.
"This place is crawling with Walkers!" Kei argued.
"We can't leave him!" Rick let out.
Hershel leaned over and studied the wound, making a quick medical verdict.
"The fence went clean through," He assessed, "There's no way we can get leg off in one piece!"
Hershel moved the leg and the boy slammed against the dumpsters with unbearable pain, screaming bloody murder. Rick rushed up to him and pressed his pistol to the boy's chest.
"Shut up! Shut up or I will shoot you!" He shouted. Hershel pulled him aside. Kei jumped up on a recycling bin and pointed her handgun down at the hysteric boy,
"Shut the hell up!" She hissed, "I swear to god if you don't-"
He continued to cry out and struggle against the dumpster,
"Shut up!" Glenn growled and grabbed his leg. The boy cried out incredibly loud and Kei shot a nasty look at him,
"Glenn!"
"I'm sorry! Sorry! Just—please be quiet!" He plead meekly. Kei looked down at the helpless boy through his tear stained face.
"Listen I know it hurts, but you have to be quiet!" She urged.
"I can't, I can't!" He whined.
"I don't wanna see anymore killing," Hershel spoke out as he pointed to the boy, "But this is cruel!"
"Can't we just take the leg off!?" Glenn asked.
Hearing Glenn's words, both the boy and Kei looked over at him like he was insane. Rick and Hershel stared at him like he was a genius.
"That hatchet still in the car?" Rick asked.
Glenn shook his head and the boy shot up with wide eyes.
"No no no no, don't-don't! Please don't cut my leg off!" The boy yelped.
Rick ignored him and yanked out his knife.
"Will this cut through the bone?!"
"I'll have to sever the ligaments below the kneecap, cut above the tibia," Hershel spoke, "He's going to lose his lower leg."
The boy fell back and began whimpering and crying in hysterics. The four survivors ignored his wails, Hershel speaking hurriedly as he began unbuttoning his shirt.
"When we get clear of here, we're gonna have to find some tinder," He informed, "We need to cauterize the wound so he doesn't bleed out! "
"Alright. No choice, hurry up!" Rick demanded, "Kei, help me hold him down!"
Rick slammed the boy's torso back against the dumpster and Kei put her hands down on his chest, putting all her weight against him. Hershel tied his shirt tightly around the boy's leg to cut off circulation. The boy cried out violently and Glenn moved away from them, seeing a large horde approaching up ahead,
"Guys, Walkers!"
Kei slammed her hand down on the boy's mouth to muffle his cries. She perked up when she heard Glenn's shotgun go off,
"Oh God, they're everywhere!" She heard Rick groan beside her. The leader let go of the boy and walked down the alleyway, seeing more coming in their direction. He raised his pistol and Kei watched as he began to fire,
"How're we doing over there, Hershel?!" She asked out, turning her head to look back at the old man.
"I need more hands!" He exclaimed.
The farmer readied the knife and the boy shot up from Kei's grasp,
"Please don't cut my leg off!" He begged.
"Lie down!" She demanded. She slammed him down on the dumpster, sitting on his stomach and putting her hands down on his mouth.
"Come on we gotta go! We're almost out of ammo!" Glenn yelled.
"Hershel, do it now!" Rick barked.
Kei looked up to see Rick retreating back towards the fence as he became overwhelmed by Walkers. The boy flailed under Kei and she shoved her hands down harder on his mouth. She struggled to keep him secure, but turned her head when she heard Rick and Hershel argue,
"Hershel! Do it!" Rick yelled.
"There's no time!" Hershel yelled back, looking down at the boy with flustered eyes, "I'm sorry, but we have to go!"
"Kei, come on!" Glenn screamed.
Without missing a beat, Kei let go of the boy and jumped up and off the dumpster, following after Rick as Hershel ran for his truck.
"No! No! Please don't leave me here!" The boy cried out, "Please! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" Kei stopped, looking back at him as Rick and Hershel bickered rapidly at each other beside her. Glenn was yelling at the two from the truck, begging for them to get in while the boy on the fence wailed and screamed for his life. Kei screwed her eyes shut for a minute as a headache began pulsing through her brain. So much noise. It all meshed together in her mind and it made her heart race and her lips twitch and she just wanted it all to stop for one fucking minute!
The girl threw her hands up and yelled out "SOMEONE JUST TAKE IT THE FUCK OFF!" over the three men and their bickering. Hershel and Glenn turned around and looked at her with wide eyes. Rick, on the other hand, obliged without a second thought. He rushed over to the boy, grabbed his leg, and violently jerked it upwards, ripping it up and off the metal fence.
