Chapter 6: Monsters & Cowards

"How do you know something bad happened when he hasn't told you anything yet?" Jake questioned as he walked alongside Rone who told him that Bear was on the radio and things sounded bad while Jase trailed behind them as they headed over towards the CB where some of the others of the group had gathered, but nobody moved to use the mic.

"He sounded pissed, like the time when that guy was trying to grope and force his tongue into Amy's mouth pissed" Ty told his longtime friend who turned and looked at him with slightly widened eyes letting the almost Engineer know he remembered that night well. After all, Jake did spend the night in the same with their best friend after that incident. This resulted in the former SFC jogging over towards the CB as people part for him and picked up the mic.

"Bearm it's Jake, what's going on?" J quickly questions before releasing the talk button. His eyes scanned the faces of everyone around him to see various expressions.

"The son of a bitch left us!" His oldest friend literally growled into the mic and Jake looked over towards Amy who looked worried about her fiance and what had him so angry.

"What are you talking about? Who left you?" He asked, but for some reason felt as if he already know though wanted to be sure before saying anything.

"Shane, he got into a fight with Rick over Glenn in which he took the keys to the SUV then when we went to make the exchange the coward left us and took the other half of the guns" while he didn't understand what his brother meant about Glenn or some exchange, but that currently didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that Officer dickhead left his best friend and the others to their unknown fates.

Jake's eyes then went to Lori who looked shocked at the information then down to Carl who also looked shocked, but he could tell it was mostly because of the child hearing the man who helped save them hit his dad more than the fact that he left him behind.

"It'll take him half an hour to make it back to the SUV then another hour before he gets back to camp. We would've caught up to him by now, but we came across a small herd and had to double back and take the long way around. We've been meaning to hotwire another car and get out of here only problem is that herd is still on our asses and doesn't leave us much time to do so" Bear explained and now that he wasn't growling the man's quick breathing from the continuous running he was doing could be heard over the radio.

"Listen, I got to go, but Jake before I do... His ass is mine!" The radio went silent after that and the former SFC tried a couple times to see if he could reach his friend, only to get no response. Those around him had begun to talk amongst one another and none really believed that Shane, their friend and group member, would do such a thing. Though in a world where the dead walk, anything is possible.

"Son of a bitch!" The ex-Ranger exclaimed after his attempts before throwing the mic at the CB then walking away back to his tent. Everyone quickly moved out of his way though others like Lori, the Harrison sisters, the Peletier girls, Rone, and Jase followed after him with each wanting to know what was going to be done about the situation.

For the time being it seemed everything Jake did earlier that day to Ed was forgotten and replaced by what Shane had done and whether it was true or not. If it was indeed true then whatever his reason for doing what he'd done better be good or he's gonna end up in a hole with a bullet in his head.

-x-

The girls watched Jake pace back and forth in his tent from either his or Jase's cot while his brothers stood in the open space between the flaps where they on occasion looked over their shoulders at the others of their camp who would throw constant glances their way every once in awhile. Nobody had yet to speak, each waiting for to hear what the former SFC was going to say about the situation. That is until Jase appeared to have had enough of the silence and decided to speak up.

"So, what're you going to do when Shane gets here?" The question caused J to stop in his tracks and look over those gathered around him before staring at the younger Gonzalez with a glint in his eyes that both Jase and Rone had ever seen twice before.

"What do you think?" Jake questioned his cousin sarcastically and the teen only nodded not needing more to be said.

"What does that mean? Are you going to kill him?" Lori, deciding that wasn't enough of an answer for her, stood up and walked up the male who towered over her by a few inches. "He's still a member of this group, he deserves a chance to explain his actions" the Grimes woman tells him while staring up into his eyes with a hard glare.

"And he's going to get that chance, but only after I show him the consequences of his decisions" the former Army Ranger tells the brunette woman firmly letting her and the others know that his mind has been made up and there was no changing it.

"Just like you did Ed?" She questions which caused the tent to once again become silent as the grew tense.

"Ed, got less than what he truly deserved. I could've killed him right then and there if I wanted and not lose a wink of sleep, but didn't. That monster is alive and breathing instead of in a hole in the ground" Jake replied to her without any hesitation and with a voice that was neutral of any emotion though his eyes and body showed he was holding in his rage. He glanced over to Carol who was looking at Lori with her own anger.

"A monster has many definitions and forms" the Grimes woman claimed and this caused everyone to grow tense at the accusation she had just unsubtly made.

"So, I'm a monster? Me? The guy who's been helping keep this camp fed, supplied, and protected? Who made sure a portion of this group had a chance to come back to those who care about them while Shane wanted to leave them behind? A man that unlike the other so called men of this group actually put a stop to Ed's reign of terror over his family? Who made sure your husband didn't walk into hell on Earth with nothing but a six shooter? Yeah, I'm a real monster" responded the former SFC making Lori's eyes widened at how angry he sounded he before he side stepped his accuser then exited the tent and walking away though not before Rone handed the male his rifle knowing his longtime friend needed time to cool down and would more than likely head into the woods to do so, but didn't want him going unarmed.

"You know, he's not wrong. I don't hate Shane though other than creating this camp with you, fetching the water, and acting as the groups glorified body guard and leader he hasn't really done anything for us" Rone spoke up causing everyone, except for Jase who was staring in the direction his cousin disappeared in with a somewhat saddened expression, to look at him though said male's gaze was on his boots while his arms were crossed. Everyone present, even Sophia, knew that the man's words were directed at Lori only looked down in shame.

"He's also the one who came up with the idea for Glenn to take a group with him into town as well as made the decision to live them all to die" Amy added before getting up and walking out of the tent. Andrea followed after her sister though prior to that she gave the Grimes woman a nasty sneer.

After everyone else cleared out leaving the brunette all alone in a tent that belonged to the man who gave her emotional comfort, sexual satisfaction, who had over time become a friend which she trusted above all others, and the one person she knew that if she were in trouble would do what he could to help without any hesitation. Lori Grimes was currently feeling like the biggest asshole in the world.

"Go, go, go!" Bear shouted as he threw his a frag into the herd of walkers that were still following them, which he was very much fed up with already, as the others climbed up the fire escape of an apartment complex. The grenade went off killing several walkers and sending body parts flying everywhere and causing others to get pushed back by the explosions force knocking them down giving the group a couple minutes.

Was it a bad idea to run into this dead end alley? Sure, but it would pay off in the end seeing as the apartment building was connected to another one which would allow scale down the other side and finally escape these undead motherfuckers.

"Come on, Bear, let's go!" Rick shouted as he and T-Dog unloaded their magazines into the next wave of walkers who crawled/walked over their fallen undead comrades. They managed to take a few down as the former SSG began climbing up the ladder and escaping the herd. Once he was atop the first level and gave the others a nod they all began their journey to what they hoped was their escape.

It had been an hour since he left camp and came to this small cliff he'd discovered a couple weeks ago that overlooked the city he considered was definition of hell on Earth, at least until he found a worse one. The trip had taken a half hour to get there and he'd sat for another half hour thinking over everything that had happened since he, Bear, Rone, and Jase arrived at camp. Especially the events that had occurred within the last couple days and while he knew most of the group somewhat feared him, it hurt when one of them insinuated he was a monster even after everything he'd done for them. It was even worse that it came from someone the male considered a friend.

'Time to go' Jake thought to himself as he looked towards the sun which was only a few hours from setting and covering the world in darkness. It also meant that by the time the former SFC made it back to camp Shane would've either arrived already or not depending on whether he remembered the way back.

Getting up off his ass and sparing the view one final glance he turned on his heel and made the journey back to camp.

Jase had sat atop the RV where he couldn't help but on occasion spare glances in the direction his cousin disappeared in and worry for the older male, who he knew could take care of himself, while he was suppose to watching out for walkers or any vehicle coming up the road. Ever since the older Gonzalez left the camp it had been extremely quiet, the only time people made noise was when they cheered for Amy and Andrea who had gone down to the Quarry to fish and had come back successful with two lines full of dinner or when Jim sorta lost it. After that though everything went back to being silent.

Every now and again he would look over at Carol who was cooking the fish with Sophia and Carl as her helpers while Rone was talking with Amy and Andrea. Every now and again both the Peletier mother and daughter would both scan the woods hoping to catch sight of the Jake only to be disappointed when they hadn't caught one. Lori had retreated to her tent and hadn't been seen since and while he was pissed at the woman for insinuating his cousin was a monster, the teen couldn't help but be slightly concerned for the woman who he knew felt guilty and sorry for her words.

The sound of an engine in the distance reaching his ears caused the former high school senior to turn his head away from camp and towards the dirt road where a familiar looking SUV was hauling ass towards them.

"Shane's back!" Shouted causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look up to the teen then all began moving to gather at the top of the dirt road, even Lori who seemed to have heard him came out of her tent and moved to join the others. Climbing down from the RV he began to do the same and pushed his way through the group towards the front where he stood between Rone and the Harrison sisters.

When Shane parked the SUV he quickly cut off the engine and reached towards the passenger seat before climbing out of the vehicle and walked over to them while limping. Jase saw right through it knowing from experience what a fake limp looked like having done it so many times over the years so that he wouldn't have to run in P.E and sometimes when he hadn't felt like practicing for one of the various sports he'd participated in. When he looked over at Rone he saw that the older male had also seen through the act.

"Where's everyone else?" TJ asked adding a hint of concern into his voice and that's when the teen knew the older male was only 'acting the part'. Others had also spared the former engineering student a glance, but none had made any move to say what they'd heard over the radio.

"Dead" the former Sheriff's deputy said without hesitation and Jase had to hold back from calling the man a liar and moving to strike him. Instead, he too 'acted the part' and put on a horrified look on his face and even began to 'tear' up at the 'loss' of the man who was an older brother in all but blood and the guys he'd come to think of as friends.

"No" Amy whispered before hugging her sister and 'crying' into her shoulder while Rone looked shocked. Honestly, he felt if the world hadn't gone to shit then they all could've been acted, shit Amy definitely deserved an Oscar for her part, hell they all did. Everyone who hadn't caught onto what they were doing just looked stunned and somewhat confused at their actions.

"What-what happened?" Lori softly asked as tears began to fill her eyes while she held Carl against her who looked like he was really crying. Jase supposes the twelve year hadn't really made heads of tails of anything and had believed the man who had sorta been a father figure to him

"We found Merle or at least what was left of him before deciding to get the guns and come back..." he started and even adjusted the bag of weapons over his shoulder before continuing "when other survivors came out of nowhere and took Glenn. We managed to capture one of theirs and make him take us to their hideout where Rick tried to negotiate to get Glenn back, but it all went wrong. We were ambushed, I was barely able to grab the guns and make it out of there alive" God it seemed like lying just came naturally to the shaggy haired male as he looked sad and even had the sense to start tearing up.

Unaware to the group Jake had arrived just as Shane did and heard everything that was said from his spot just beyond the tree line, far enough to be hidden from sight. When the explanation was done he quietly emerged from his hiding spot and noticed how everyone's eyes quickly move over towards him and widened though nobody made a move to inform the former deputy of his presence.

"It's funny, I heard a different story" he claimed when he was only a couple feet away from the lying sack of shit who J noticed tensed before turning on his heel to face him only to have the stock of Rone's gun strike the side of his face knocking him unconscious. "Fucking coward" the former SFC muttered before looking up at everyone else to see they were shocked at his actions prior to him picking up the bag of guns. "TJ, Jase hog tie his ass and throw him in his tent" his two brothers nodded then went about picking up the man and walking away to do as they were instructed.

"Dale, put this inside the RV" he said while handing the guns towards the oldest member of their camp who took the bag of guns and headed for his vehicle. "The rest of us will wait for the others to arrive before anything else is to be done" his tone sounded every bit the soldier he use to be.

After that he headed for his tent though stopped beside Lori momentarily and muttered "I'm not a monster" then continued on his way with Sophia quickly running after him and grabbing his hand which he let her hold as they walked away.

{A/N: Alright, so here's the next chapter. Hopefully, you all enjoyed reading it and once again I apologize for any change of events, dialogue, grammatical errors, and lack there of action. Leave a comment and tell me what you guys think.

Also, if you guys look at my profile you'll notice my other TWD fic has been deleted that's because I just wasn't feeling it and am thinking of giving it another try and cut down on the OCs.}