I felt bad for leaving off with a dull chapter, especially when I was late to posting so I decided to give you guys another chapter which is hopefully more exciting. I also will be taking a hiatus from now until April 12th for Lent, since fanfiction is one of my favorite things to do I give it up for the season. It's always difficult but it also forces me to work on other things. So I hope you all enjoy the chapter! I'll see you in April!

S4E01 & S4E02

Third Person POV

TWO YEARS LATER

"Now is the time for all good men to kill some puppies and kittens." Doc said as he swung his hammers as the pack of Z's charged at him. He hit one after another until he swung so hard one Z's eyeballs popped out before he grabbed his bag and head off into thicker woods trying to lose the rest of them. He didn't get far before he was hit in the side of the head by something hard and fell over. He felt someone grab him and he turned and pushed them over onto their back while he pinned them. Only then did he notice how familiar they looked.

"10K? It's Doc!"

"Doc? What the hell, I could have killed you." He said sounding a bit disoriented from the hard shove but before they could have a real swell reunion they turned at the sound of more snarling. Doc grabbed 10K by his shirt and hauled him to his feet.

"This way." He said leading him away from the Z's.

"We've got to circle back." 10K said holding his rifle as they ran, "I've got a shelter, come on."

His shelter turned out to be a tent he'd secured up in a tree, it had a hard floor that rested right where the thick branches all spread out and each corner of the tent was tied to a branch. Turns out 10K wasn't the only one living there, when they climbed the tree he saw Red inside the small tent and she smiled at him. Her hair was no longer in its side braid twisted with red ribbon but instead hung loose around her face and ended far down her back. 10K quickly explained what happened and Red got to work helping the cut Doc now had on his head.

"Sorry about that Doc." 10K apologized as they sat down.

"Aw, that's okay Kid, it's gonna take more than a head-but to bring this old billy goat down." He said gesturing to his long overgrown beard that ended at his knees. "Ya know I've never been tree camping. Pretty nice little set up ya got here." he said looking around.

"Thanks. We call it home." 10K said smiling at Red who picked up an eye dropper of distilled Z-weed sap.

"Hold still. I don't want to get it in your eye." She said as she tended to him.

"Hey can I get a little bit of that, just a squeeze?" he asked and he opened his mouth as she shot some sap in, "Just one more?" she chuckled at his request and gave him another few drops. "Thank you darling. It sure is good to see you both. How long's it been? About a year?"

"Um, almost two?" Red said doing the math quickly in her head.

"Time flies while you're killin Z's."

"So what brings you out here?" 10K asked.

"Well, actually I've been looking for you two."

"If this is about some mission to find Murphy. . . " 10K trailed off shaking his head already refusing if it was.

"Oh no, no. Hell no." Doc said shaking his head.

"That bite still hurts." 10K said, his tone harsh from the memory alone.

"Mmm." Doc nodded understanding 10K's anger.

"Let him finish." Red said softly, putting a comforting hand on 10K's knee.

"I'm here to talk to you about Newmerica." Doc said.

"You selling something?" 10K asked.

"What? No."

"Some kind of religion thing?" Red questioned.

"Have we just met? No. I'm not selling insurance and I'm not thumping the good book. Newmerica is a place, it's a safe zone in northern Canada. Where it's too cold for the Z's."

"Red and I have it pretty good here." 10K said dismissing the idea.

"Well I see that. But for how long? You saw those Z's after me, something's got them on the war path."

"There's been so many rumors and false hopes. . . it's hard to believe anything." Red added clearly thinking along the same lines as 10K.

"I know, but something about this. . . feels right. The U.S. government's involved."

"The government?" 10K asked, "I thought the last of the government collapsed after the nukes."

"Well apparently there's a few fed's left. There's some scattered platoons of marines and they're trying to get everybody to Newmerica before the new snowfall. That's how I found 'em, one of their teams saw me and picked me up." Doc explained.

"How are we supposed to get to northern Canada?" Red asked.

"They set up a refugee camp for the survivors that want to go. A convoy of trucks is gonna pick 'em up."

"I dunno." 10K said still not convinced. "This is a good spot. It's defensible, fresh water, fish, didn't see another human until you."

"But there's been more Z's lately." Red pointed out.

"I tell ya these marines mean business. They set up this camp with medical supplies and communication. A year from now there's not gonna be much in the way of humans left. You guys, I – I just don't know if we're gonna get another chance like this." Doc said rubbing his beard seeing 10K still looking skeptical, "Ya got any scissors?"

That diffused the tension instantly as both Red and 10K laughed. Red got a pair of scissors and told Doc she could give his beard a long overdue trim outside. When they were back on the ground Red started cutting away as Doc asked some questions he knew were better said away from 10K's ears.

"Hey, how's he been?" he asked glancing up at the tent where 10K still was.

Red gave a sigh as she kept cutting, "Better. He was pretty broken up at first. Then there was the silent depression phase. . . "

She remembered it even though it was so long ago, probably because it was the first time Tommy really started to try and live again after Bailey's death.

The dark circles under his eyes were getting better and he hadn't suddenly stopped breathing in his sleep which led her to believe that Sun Mei's idea to kill 10K to save him had really worked. She'd had her doubts, of course, after losing so many people she wasn't about to celebrate 10K's recovery until she was certain he wouldn't relapse. But just because his body was fine didn't mean his mind had healed. 10K was still in mourning and it didn't help that he was wracked with guilt, the only reason Red knew was because sometimes he mumbled in his sleep as he tossed and turned. He'd say Bailey's name, say Murphy was controlling him, said he couldn't get free. He'd repeat things like 'should have left' and 'my fault'. Some nights he didn't say anything, he'd just cry silently while he dreamt about her. Red knew what he felt like, after all 5K had just died too, but at least he'd died trying to help people, he hadn't been murdered by a madman trying to create a new race that obeyed his commands. 5K had at least been free and his death would have been so quick he may not have felt it at all. But Bailey, she shuddered, Bailey died the way no one wanted to go, eaten by Z's and all the while 10K had been a prisoner in his own body, Red couldn't imagine feeling that helpless. Tonight though, months after they'd been separated from the group, things were different. Something in 10K's mind had shifted and he'd been acting differently, he'd been trying. He'd offered to collect firewood which surprised Red; since Mount Casey 10K hadn't really talked at all, he just shot zombies, helped set up and take down camp all while essentially being silent. That day he'd even held a conversation for a few short minutes after his offer saying they'd have to find a town since their food supply was starting to run low. Red thought carefully before each response not wanting to say something that might trigger 10K and make him revert to his silence.

This continued for at least a month until Red felt comfortable enough to not tip toe through their conversations. She was glad he was making progress until randomly one day he went quiet again. They had been walking through a town scavenging for supplies, there was a house that looked relatively untouched so they tried there first. She cleared the first floor while 10K checked the second. There were no Z's on the first floor but a jackpot in the kitchen, no one had checked under the sink – probably assuming it was all pipes – and Red found a good amount of non-perishable food that would last her and 10K a while. He came back from clearing the upstairs not long after she'd gotten her haul moved to the table and the smirk on her face fell when she saw the emptiness in his eyes.

"10K what's wrong?" she asked but he didn't answer, he just moved forward and started looking at the cans of corn and beans she'd found. Red wasn't someone who took well to being ignored and she strongly supported the concept of 'tough love' and she wasn't stupid.

"What was up there?" she asked and again got no answer. Well then, she'd go get the answer herself. She grabbed her weapon and headed upstairs.

"Red." 10K called after her trying to make her stop but she kept going. She marched up the stairs and found the only room with a closed door.

"Red!" 10K shouted again as he followed her. She knocked quickly and when she heard no snarling or growling she opened the door and looked around the room. It looked normal, it wasn't coated in blood or had a pile of bodies, in fact there was only one body, a lone Z that had been mercied on the floor. Oh, she thought as she realized what had triggered 10K's change of attitude. She heard his light footsteps as he came up behind her seeing what she saw. The Z had a hatchet in its skull. It wasn't Bailey's, this one had a different handle but it was enough to bring back memories she knew 10K had been trying so hard to shut out. She turned and looked at him only he was leaning against the wall looking at the floor. She shut the door and walked over to him bringing her hand to his arm and rubbing up and down soothingly.

"Come on. We'll eat something then pack up the rest of the food."

He nodded and followed her back to the kitchen. They ate slowly and in silence, Red sitting at the table and 10K leaning back against the counter. It was quiet but not a peaceful quiet, it was the kind of quiet that drove you mad desperate for some sound to penetrate the nothingness.

"She was my first." 10K finally said making Red turn to look at him surprised but he wasn't looking at her, he was looking into his can pushing beans around with his spoon. "She was a lot of firsts. First girlfriend, first kiss, first. . . "he trailed off with a slight blush coloring his face. A small smile even appeared on Red's face as he talked, then his look turned sour and he stopped playing with his spoon. "She was the first thing in the world I ever cared for that much. . . and Murphy took her away." He said his jaw clenching as he spat Murphy's name. Red got up and moved to his side resting her hand on his shoulder as he went on, "If it was a Z that'd be different, we've all lost a lot of people to the Z's. But Murphy. . . there's this feeling in my gut telling me he's still out there. He's still alive, he's still breathing and Bailey. . . isn't. And I. . . I feel like I should be hunting him down but something in me just. . . isn't motivated enough to do it."

"Maybe it's because you know there's nothing left to find." Red told him moving her hand to rub his back, "Mount Casey is nothing but rubble, if Murphy died there he'd be obliterated and if he lived. . . there wouldn't be a trail left to follow."

"Still. . . I feel like some part of me should be desperate to check under every rock until I find him. When she thought I was dead nothing stopped her from trying to avenge my death and kill Murphy. Instead of feeling the same I just feel like curling up and dying – I mean if I saw Murphy I'd shoot him without a second thought but there's nothing in me motivating me to go after him. I feel like. . . why am I not trying harder?"

"You're mourning." Red told him still rubbing his back, "Everyone grieves in their own way and in their own time."

"But why? Why can't I get justice for her?"

"Hey, hey." She said pulling his chin so he'd look at her. "You are not failing her." she said seeing through him and to the real problem, "She'd be happy you're not Murphy's puppet anymore, she'd be glad you're free of him and the only way you can fail her now is if you throw away your second chance." He stared at her for a long time before he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, hugging her in a silent thank you.

"How long did that last?" Doc asked pulling Red out of her flashback.

She shrugged, "Six months give or take. Then another six months after that before he started showing any positive emotions again."

"And you guys are. . . " Doc asked trailing off with a smile.

A small smile made its way onto Red's face as it seemed harder for the girl to keep eye contact now. "Yeah. Another month will be our one year."

"Congrats." He said and she thanked him. "You know this Newmerica place is probably the last good bet left right?"

She gave another sigh, "I know, but 10K might be hard to talk into it. He's not really a people person, it might be more about giving up the privacy than the safety for him."

"Yeah, the biggest crowd he was ever around was Murphy's blend community, and they weren't exactly a positive experience for him." Doc agreed.

"I think he still worries about the bite too. That if people see it, the scar, he's afraid they won't understand, that people might see him as a threat."

"Tell ya what, you two come check out the refugee camp the marines have, if you don't like it you can always come back here."

She nodded finishing up with his beard, "Okay, let me see what I can do." She said returning to the tree tent. An hour or so later and a lot of endless convincing on both Red and Doc's end and they finally wore 10K down. They packed up what they'd need and headed off to the camp. The whole way there they could see 10K's eyes watching their surroundings, his mind memorizing the path if he needed to take it back to his tree.

"Yo doc!" Doc shouted as they walked through the gate of the camp he'd become familiar with these past few days, "Doctor Mei Mei!" Then a woman came out of a tent smiling at them.

"Doc!" Sun Mei shouted happily giving him a hug happy to see him returning safely.

"I made it! And hey look who I found."

"Sun Mei!" Red shouted joyfully giving her a hug.

"Hey." she said returning the hug then holding her fist out, "10K." Sun Mei said fist bumping him.

"Yeah we all made it." Doc said looking around at his post apocalypse family.

"What happened to you?" Sun Mei asked seeing the red bump on his head.

"Oh, 10K thought I was some kind of Gandalf zombie and he cold cocked me."

"Gandalf?" 10K asked scrunching his nose in confusion.

"Lord of the Rings, Gandalf." Doc tried to explain but the confused look didn't leave 10K's face. "Ya know long hair, pointy beard?"

He shrugged, "History was never my best subject."

"Yeah I know Kid, that's what gives me hope for the future." Doc said with a laugh, "A chance to start over from scratch. Cricket?" he offered pulling a tin from his pocket, "What? It's protein."

«»

Once they'd settled in a bit Doc and 10K went and sat on a cot overlooking the river laughing like there was no apocalypse.

"That is a true damn story man." Red and Sun Mei heard Doc tell 10K as they sat at a picnic table sterilizing medical supplies.

"Nice to see them laughing." Red said looking over her shoulder as she wiped a scalpel.

"They've been through a lot together." Sun Mei said following her gaze.

"We all have." Red said looking down at her task.

"Doc tells me you and 10K live in a treehouse." Sun Mei continued.

A small smile appeared on Red's face, "A tree tent actually. It was Tommy's – I mean 10K's idea. We had it all fixed up, very defensible. Hated to give it up."

Sun sighed, "It's hard to let go of any shred of security."

"Think this is real? Newmerica?" Red asked.

"Yeah, yeah I do. But maybe I just need something to believe in."

"I think that's why everyone's here." Red said looking around at the other refugees.

"Ya know, I was afraid to ask last time I saw you, what happened to the kid, 5K? I never heard." Red looked back down at her hands, "You don't have to talk about if you don't want, I just –"

"No, it's okay." She said, remembering when she'd parted with Sun Mei at Mount Casey when she wanted to search for her little brother, "We finally made it to the bottom of the mountain, there was this huge flock of crows swarming where he fell. I thought I saw him, in the middle of this cloud of birds but. . . he was gone." She said holding back a shudder at the memory, "Still hope I'll see him again someday. Crazy huh?"

"It helps." Sun Mei said in understanding.

«»

"Oh I got some ammo for ya courtesy of the U.S. government." Doc said passing 10K a small green box. "Lieutenant wants us to be ready in case the ship goes down."

"I'm more worried about some of our fellow refugees than I am about zombies." 10K said taking the ammo.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"What if we get there and it sucks?" 10K asked a bit harsh, still upset at leaving the tree tent he had with Red.

"Life's a crap shoot Kid." Doc told him, "Just look at the bright side. You're a young man, you got your whole life ahead of ya. Maybe you and Red might even want to start a family."

"Yeah, I dunno about that." 10K replied with a nervous smile shaking his head and looking at his lap.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"What? No, nothing like that. She just . . .doesn't want kids." He said a bit sad about it.

"Do you?"

10K gave a shrug and looked down at his hands as he played with a fraying bit of his glove, "I used to." He admitted, "Bailey and I we. . . we'd talked about it. It was something we'd both wanted."

"Is it something you still want?" Doc asked knowing anything regarding Bailey must be hard for the kid to talk about.

"It doesn't matter. Red doesn't want kids. And I can't blame her, not after what happened to 5K."

"What did happen, you never told me."

10K took a deep breath, "We went to go search for him, where he would have fallen. But there was this huge murder of crows, in a black cloud. Red thought she saw him standing among the crows. Then the flock cleared. . . and we saw him. . . he sacrificed himself to try to save Addy and Lucy."

Doc put his head in hand, "Damn, ya know for not being blood kin, that kid was an awful lot like you."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" 10K asked turning to him, his voice monotone.

"No. . . sorry." Doc said bringing his hand to the kid's shoulder trying to comfort him a bit.

Not far from them was Lieutenant Mueller and his Sergeant Czarnecki. Czarnecki was on a radio trying to contact the convoy that was supposed to be coming for the refugees.

"Rolling thunder one. Rolling thunder one." He said into the radio but got nothing but static, "Rolling thunder one, do you copy?" he asked again and still got nothing, "Rolling thunder one, rolling thunder one, this is rendezvous Poppa Whisky November, do you copy?" there was still no response and the two men shared a worried look before moving over to Sun Mei and talking urgently to her. She gestured over to Doc and 10K a bit while they talked before the Lieutenant turned to them and called them all into a tent.

"We have no information regarding its whereabouts or its position." Lieutenant Mueller said filling them in on the status of the convoy. "What we do know is that the convoy is overdue. It's possible they're lost or have run into mechanical difficulties. This however does not change our objective or our timeframe."

"You've been telling us to be patient, to standby, to stay put, but what if this convoy isn't coming? We're staying put wasting our resources, we could be –" another refugee, Burgess, said irritable and clearly afraid.

"I understand your frustration." Lieutenant Mueller said trying to calm him.

"How can you? We've survived this long by moving, hiding, trusting only ourselves. Now you want us to trust you. But here out in the open, exposed to the elements? We're sitting zombie bait."

"We don't have a choice. Now we can sit and complain about the state of things or we can be proactive and find a solution and that's what I intend to do." He said turning to a map, "The convoy was headed down this road based on our last contact, it has to be between here and here."

"That's almost ten miles." Burgess said.

"It is what it is. The convoy has enough ammunitions and supplies necessary to feed and protect us on our trek north. Without it, we are at a severe disadvantage. I am calling upon two able bodied volunteers to join myself, Sergeant Czarnecki and Private Lily on a search party to track down the convoy and lead it to camp." Mueller said as 10K turned to Doc and the two shared a look. "It's dangerous, but not acting is more dangerous –"

"We'll go." 10K volunteered and Red grabbed his arm, a worried expression crossing her face.

"Mm-hmm." Doc nodded in agreement.

10K turned to Red who was still clutching his arm, "It's okay, I'll be back, I promise." He reassured her softly.

"I'll see to it." Doc told her before he turned to Sun Mei, "Well we ain't got nothing else to do."

"Good, leave in ten." Lieutenant Mueller told them and they packed what they needed.

«»

They found the convoy along the route Mueller said they would. It was four large military trucks along the road by a small wooden cabin a bit further off in the trees. They all got out of their armored truck and scoped out the area. Everything was quiet, not a peaceful quiet, an eerie quiet that made them all cautious. There were no people, no signs of a struggle, no blood and no bodies human or zombie. They each checked a truck finding all the supplies there which was even stranger. 10K hopped in the back of the last one seeing the same thing the others did, piles of supplies left untouched.

"Clear." Czarnecki called.

"Clear!" Lily called after him.

"No sign of a struggle, like they vanished into thin air." Mueller said as 10K popped his head out of the curtain covering the back of the truck.

"Supplies are all still here, even ammo, it makes no sense." 10K told the Lieutenant.

"Why am I not surprised?" Doc asked.

"We need to get these vehicles started and get back to camp." Lieutenant Mueller said while Czarnecki walked closer to the cabin in the distance. He didn't get far down the dirt road before a gunshot went off and took him down.

"Take cover! Take cover!" Mueller cried as they all ducked behind the trucks as more shots were fired.

"Damn it! Where's it coming from Kid?" Doc asked as 10K peeked over the huge tire, he saw Sergeant Czarnecki on the ground rolling in pain as he bled but 10K needed a better view. He crawled under the truck, laid on his belly and focused his scope a few clicks until he saw a sniper gun in the window of the cabin.

"I think I got him." 10K called to the others.

"Son of a bitch." Doc cursed under his breath.

"Czarnecki can you stand?" Mueller shouted.

"That's a negative sir, I'm bleeding out." He called back his voice weak with pain as they took more fire.

"The Kid's a hell of a shot sir!" Doc called to Mueller.

"If you got it, take it." The Lieutenant ordered as Doc pulled out their radio.

«»

"Mayday. Mayday."

"Doc this is Red, what's happening over there?" she asked talking into the radio they'd left with her to maintain contact with the camp.

"We're pinned. Sniper. We got a man down. Everybody's gone. The trucks. . . there's no convoy."

"What do you mean?"

"Damn, Red everybody's gone. They left the trucks behind."

"What are your coordinates? We'll send help."

"Every –"

"Doc? Doc? 10K? We're coming to help, where are you?"

"Stay put, don't worry." 10K's voice came over the frequency, "I'll be seeing you soon."

Then the connection cut off as Burgess made his way over to her. "Is that the Lieutenant?"

"Yeah, we got cut off."

"Did they find the convoy?" he asked.

"They're. . on their way. I gotta talk to the doctor." Red told him finding an excuse to leave.

"Wait did they say when?" he pressed on.

"We're fine. Don't worry." She called back as she went to find Sun Mei in the medical tent. She was tending to a patient in a cot but otherwise was alone. The person in the bed was running a fever and clearly wasn't going to be eavesdropping.

"I just heard from them, they're under attack." Red told her.

"Did you get their position?"

"It cut out. There's no convoy. They found the vehicles, they were abandoned. . . I can't tell the others, I can't let them lose all hope."

Sun nodded, "You did the right thing. Hand me that?" she pointed to a bowl of water with a towel in it. Red got the towel and rung it out before handing it to Sun who dabbed her patient's head with it. Red tried to distract herself by asking Sun Mei more about medicine, she'd always been a fighter but fighting only got you so far and when someone got hurt she was useless. She'd learned a few things from spending time with Dr. Teller - that's how she'd managed to make that Z-weed sap that helped Doc - but she'd always wanted to learn more. Now seemed as good a time as any.

"10K will be okay. I know it." Sun Mei said as they worked clearly still seeing the worry on Red's face.

"I know." She said taking a deep breath, "But it's hard to sit still here knowing what I know."

"Hope is contagious. So is the opposite." Sun told her.

"Doc said the people from the convoy disappeared. Like they were never even there. He sounded shook up."

"Nothing's worse than not knowing." She said and Red returned to her radio trying again now that some time had passed, maybe they'd have better news.

"10K? Doc?" she tried again, "Can you hear me, over? Anyone?"

«»

"How many kid?" Lieutenant Mueller asked.

"Just one shooter but I'm seeing movement, he's not alone." 10K shouted back. He lined up his shot and pulled the trigger. The sniper fired two shots back at him before 10K fired again.

"Turn that cabin into Swiss cheese Kid." Doc said beside him and 10K let loose firing one shot after another in rapid succession until the return fire stopped. For a moment 10K thought he may have gotten him, one of his shots had gone through the window right above the barrel of the gun, that had to be a head shot. Then another bullet was fired his way and he aimed to shoot again. The other sniper fired at the same time and their bullets collided in the air midway and fell to the dirt.

"Damn." 10K said impressed but also worried.

"That's enough." The Lieutenant said but he wasn't referring to the shooting, he was looking at Czarnecki, "Let's show him some mercy. Lily do you have a clean shot?"

"Roger that sir."

"Take it."

There was a loud bang and the shot hit Czarnecki in the center of the forehead. Then 10K saw black blood drip from his mouth, but he'd already been mercied. He thought confused.

"Look." He called to the others as Z-Czarnecki got up even with a bullet already to the brain. What the hell?

He got up snarling and charged for them, 10K shot him again in the head and he spun around from the impact and kept walking, now heading for the cabin. The other sniper fired turning him back, then 10K fired, then the sniper and as Z-Czarnecki charged their way Mueller, Lily, Doc and 10K all unloaded all the ammo they had but he just kept coming.

"Fall back!" Mueller finally commanded, "Fall back! Fall back! We're going to the trucks! Go! Go!" they ran and started what vehicle they could and retreated leaving Z-Czarnecki in the dust.

«»

When they returned to camp everything was quiet and there was no one in sight. 10K felt his stomach drop in fear as they rushed through the camp looking for the refugees. Everyone was gone, at first they thought they'd finally had enough and left but just like with the convoy none of the supplies were gone, just the people.

"Where the hell is everyone?" Doc asked.

"Red." 10K shouted still not satisfied until he'd checked everywhere in the camp. "Red! Red! Red!"

"They're gone." Doc said.

"All the gear is still here, just like the convoy." Lily said scoping out the place herself.

"Makes no sense." Mueller said as 10K came back and turned in a circle seeing if there was any tent he hadn't checked.

"Red?" he shouted now running to gate.

"Hey 10K!" he turned back to look at Doc who'd shouted after him, he hesitated one second before he took off into the woods still shouting for Red.

"10K! What are you doing man?" Doc shouted after him, "Damn!"