I.C.2014-Sorry to make you wait so long for another.
KyleVindicate13-I figured that a lot of people have been planning Ben just to take Allen's role completely since I switched their parts in the very start of the rewrite, but I've planned for the surprise of Otis for a long time, glad it seem to get you!
Whitetiger789-Hope this chapter would be worth the wait as well.
Thedarkpokemaster-Kenny and Ben will always have a rocky relationship, but Kenny eventually realizes that his group is his family, and he always protects his family.
smeake-Glad you like CarLee, I'll be adding more soon.
Don 77-Sophia being mad at Michonne is an interesting thought, but I think it was mainly due to the fact that she shut down after Carol's death and pretended she wasn't even real to deal with it. Plus, as harsh as it seems, I never saw Carol as a very good mother in comics she didn't seem to care for her daughter as much as she did for herself.
Worker72-A bigger group is always good because more minds can make better results, also glad you like Billy and Molly, it's fun because both their characters were so underused that it's gratifying to pair them and create a more fleshed-out version.
Pyrojack25-Hope you're still around to check out what happens now and in the future!
Guest-The fun part about writing post season 4 is that there is a new set of characters I can add and Louis will definitely be one of my favorites once he is introduced!
Guest-There is finally more, sorry to make you wait!
Enjoy
Chapter 13: Trust Issues
Kenny and Mark slowly scanned the generator room with their flashlights while Doug stepped inside, "Wow, this must be the main generator for the whole prison, if it works...well, if we can get it running this whole place will have electricity," Doug explained as he made his way to one of the consoles,
"Can you make it work?" Axel asked while scratching his head, "A whole lot of buttons on there, and I don't have a clue what any of them fucking do,"
"Hmm, neither do I but I think I could figure it out, besides, there has to be a manual somewhere in this room, for the new hires," Doug replied as he began to look around, moving to different consoles and desks, "Ah-ha! I got it," The nerdy man smiled while quickly picking up a thick yellow book, "I'll go through this when we get back,"
"Good shit, Doug, if you can get power going, I'll never stop thanking you," Mark smiled before the four men froze at the sound of screaming once again, only this time it was the distinct sound of Otis,
"C'mon on!" Kenny yelled out as he spun around, taking off back to Rick's group with the others in tow,
"Shit, that sounded like Otis!" Mark exclaimed,
"I know, those shots we heard...if that fucking kid did something stupid…" Kenny grunted back as the group rounded the corner entering the main hall, moving closer and closer to the sounds of Otis's pained yells.
Meanwhile, Tyreese and Rick dropped down next to Otis who continued to writhe on the ground, "I'm dead! I'm fuckin' dead!" Otis screamed out, his face contorted from the searing pain in his leg,
"Otis, just relax. Please," Rick begged as he looked down at the man's ankle. Rick could instantly tell that the walker his bit right through Otis's tendons and there was no possible way he could walk out of the cellblock,
"It's fuckin' over for me, tell Patricia I'm sorry, please, you gotta tell her!" Otis begged the three men around him,
"N-No, you're gonna be o-okay, right guys? He-He isn't gonna die!" Ben stammered out, his eyes wide with fear and even a touch of guilt,
"You tell er boy, make sure she knows I did somethin' good at the end. I coulda treated her better I know it! I was selfish! Tell her I love her, son, you gotta!" Otis pleaded; the gingers mans face now a mess of tears, sweat, and snot,
"Otis, please calm down," Tyreese said while kneeling next to him before looking back over to Rick, "Y-You'll be okay, we can figure something out," The athlete said as convincing as he could,
"Yeah, he's right, we don't know anything for sure," Rick nodded, though the sheriff knew he didn't believe the words he was speaking, "Right now we just need to get you out of here and to Hershel so he can fix your foot,"
Otis continued to cry and shake his head, "Fix his foot?!" Ben exclaimed, "He's bit! The-The fucking infection gotta be spreading through him right now!"
"Ben!" Tyreese exclaimed, "Relax, and shut the fuck up!"
"No! He's fuckin' right, I can feel it! I'm turning! I'm turning already!" Otis babbled,
"The two of you, enough, we don't know a lot, but everyone here knows that's not how it works!" Rick snapped out as he reached down to grab Otis's legs, just as Tyreese and Rick got Otis up something clicked in his head, "That's not how it works…" He muttered under his breath,
Rick's eyes darted between Otis's face and foot rapidly causing Tyreese to finally ask, "Rick, what the hell are you doing?"
"That's not how it works!" Rick finally exclaimed, "Ben shine that light and lead us out! Come on; we need to get him outside now!"
Ben surprisingly jumped right into action, not wasting a moment leading Tyreese and Rick up the hallway back to the entrance. Only a few moments later did the group nearly collide right into Kenny's. "What the fuck is going on over here?!" Kenny exclaimed, his eyes locked on Otis who writhed in pain,
"No time, we gotta get him outside!" Rick yelled in response, not stopping for a moment.
Kenny looked back to Mark, Axel, and Doug in confusion before the four men followed suit, making their way back outside of the cell block. As they emerged back into the light they saw Rick and Tyreese now putting Otis down, "Rick you're losing me here, we need to get him to Hershel, and at least into a cell,"
"We don't have time for that Tyreese, we have to do this now," Rick retorted,
"W-What are you doing?" Ben stammered, completely lost as he watched Rick take off his belt,
"Something drastic," Rick grunted back, pulling his hatchet off the belt,
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell, Rick?!" Mark jumped in, trying to snatch the ax from Rick's hand,
"Let go of me, Mark!" Rick ordered, ripping away from Mark's grasp, "I have to do this!"
"Jesus Christ, someone throw me a fucking bone here! What the fuck happened!" Kenny nearly pleaded,
"Otis is bitten, but we can save him!" Rick quickly replied, "If we can cut it off before the infection sets in, it'll stop the process!"
"Oh god, I'm gonna be sick," Ben groaned while stumbling back and cupping his mouth,
"Fuck, Rick...I don't know, this doesn't seem right," Tyreese mumbled, backing away as well,
"It's not right; he's already a dead man, now you want to mutilate him!" Mark screamed out, "I won't let that happen!"
"Mark, Rick could be right; it seems to make sense. The bite kills but if we get rid of it...if we do nothing, he dies anyway," Doug rationalized,
Mark stared at Doug before glancing back to Otis, torn on what he should do, "I have to do this!" Rick screamed out one final time,
"Then fucking do it, Rick!" Kenny snapped back only to hear the thunk as Rick's hatchet slammed down on Otis's leg. The ginger man thrashed around while letting out an ear-piercing scream. Kenny quickly jumped down onto Otis, holding him in place as Rick continued to hack away, separating his lower leg. "Shit...he dead?" Kenny grunted as Otis suddenly went limp,
"P-Passed out from shock," Doug stammered back, his cheeks turning green from the grisly scene,
"He won't stay alive for long if we don't stop the bleeding," Rick stated in an eerily calm voice, "We need Hershel," The sheriff added while tying his belt around Otis's leg causing Mark to sprint away,
"Jesus man, I...I can't believe you just did that," Ben merely replied,
"It had to be done," Kenny said in Rick's defense,
"That's only if Rick was right, he could have just cut his leg off for nothing," Tyreese retorted with a frown,
"It wasn't for nothing, Tyreese," Rick snapped back, "It was his best chance,"
"Doing nothing was a death sentence," Doug surprisingly interjected, "If we never try something like this, we'd never know,"
Just then Hershel and Mark approached the group, the old farmer's eyes widened then narrowed as he saw Otis laying on the ground, his leg still spitting out blood onto the ground. "Good lord, Mark, you were serious. Jesus what is going on here?!"
"Dumb bastard got himself bit in there, Rick cut his leg off hoping it'd stop the bite from killing him," Kenny replied with a slow exhale,
"I tried to tie off his leg, but it just won't stop bleeding," Rick lowly admitted,
"You've gone about this all long," Hershel chastised like a parent to their child, "You cut the leg too low, his arteries are still pumping out blood." The old man knelt down by Otis's stump and slowly ran his thumb and finger across his chin while he thought, "The belt slowed it, if not for that, he'd already be dead," Hershel muttered under his breath before his eyes snapped up, glaring right at Axel, "Axel, come here," The farmer ordered while pulling out a small pocket knife.
Before the aged biker could even try to ask why, Hershel reached over and yanked on his long white hair, cutting off a significant portion roughly, "The hell?!" Axel exclaimed quickly rubbing his head,
"It's not horsehair, but it'll do," Hershel merely replied as he took a few stranding in his second hand, beginning to tie off Otis's arteries,
"Why do that?" Doug asked with interest,
"Arteries won't clot without help, you see?" Hershel explained, "Now Axel's hair here is coarse enough that if I tie it tight, like so, it will close them up enough to close up without fear of slipping off the arteries themselves,"
"So we had the right idea but not everything we needed," Doug stated with a nod,
"Nor the right technique, the cut is roughly mangled," Hershel let out a small grunt and stood up, "Doug, grab his arms, we need to take him back to the cell and clean this wound before it becomes infected,"
"Do you need help? Mark swiftly offered,
"Gather up the medical supplies from my cell, Mark, gauze, and disinfectant," Doug grunted while he helped Hershel lift the limp ginger man,
"On it!" Mark declared while sprinting off a second time.
Rick simply continued to stare at Otis's amputated foot that laid on the ground by his knees. The old county sheriff could scarcely believe what he had just done. In his head, it all made sense but now, in the aftermath, knowing that he took a mans leg had shaken him to his core. Nearby Ben couldn't stomach the sight of Otis's leg either, though the young teen felt he had much more of a reason to be ashamed of himself. Without a word, Ben turned and rushed away from the scene, causing Tyreese to call out, "Ben?! You alright?!"
"Let him go, the damn kid can't handle this shit, never could," Kenny muttered,
"Damn it, Kenny, get off his fucking back, he's just a fucking kid! He's been through so much shit for his age; he shouldn't be prepared to "Handle this shit" asshole!" Tyreese barked back protectively of the teen,
Kenny sat in a moment of stunned silence while Tyreese took off after Ben, "Me and my fucking mouth…" He groaned before heading after the duo,
On the other side of the prison, Clementine, Carl, Sophia, and Duck all stood by the fences staring at the swarm of walkers. The rotting corpses snapped their jaws and yanked on the fence, desperate to get inside to feast on the children. Carl stood with Duck on one side, having become a bit more protective of his friend since the loss of his mother. "What are you think?"
"How different it is," Duck replied,
"What? Like all the normal stuff?" Carl curiously asked, "Like no school?"
"No, how different it was to shoot that man," Duck hardly admitted, "He killed my mom, and he was going to kill Particia next," Duck explained, "It scared me when I shot him, but I couldn't stop shooting, I couldn't let him live, I needed to save everyone," Carl stared sympathetically at Duck for a long minute, "I know, you think I'm weird and don't want to be my friend anymore…"
"I killed my dad's best friend," Carl simply stated, "It scared me too, but he was gonna hurt my dad, and I couldn't let that happen either," Duck looked over to Carl in shock by what he was saying, "It scared me to shoot him too, but I knew that I had to," He firmly stated, "And I don't regret it, it's our job to protect people,"
"Yeah, it's what our dad's do when there's something bad coming...we kill it," Duck nodded before staring back at the walkers,
Just next to the boys Sophia and Clementine had their small conversation, "Are you still scared of them?" Clementine asked the short blonde girl,
"No...I used to be, but now, I just feel sorry for them," Sophia sighed, "They were people like us, and now they're...monsters,"
"Sad monsters," Clementine softly agreed only for Sophia to turn and stare at the girl, "Don't they look sad to you?"
"Yeah," Sophia thoughtfully nodded, "They really do,"
The kids all suddenly heard Mark yell out, "I'll hold the door; you get him inside!" The four stood in stunned fear as they watched Doug and Hershel carry a one-legged Otis into the prison.
Back on the opposite side of the field Tyreese finally caught back up to the now exhausted Ben, "J-Jesus Ben, you can really move…" Tyreese huffed while wiping the sweat from his brow, "Now talk to me," Ben simply stared back at Tyreese with a near quivering lip, "Ben, what were you running from back there? And don't say you just panicked because of Otis's leg, because you wouldn't have stayed for the amputation if that was it," The ex-NFL player sharply stated,
"I-It's my fault, man," Ben said in near anguish, "It was all my fucking fault, I fucked up!"
"Whoa, whoa, just relax Ben, Otis got bit by a roamer, that's no one's fault," Tyreese attempted to reassure the teen,
"No, you don't get it, it was supposed to get me!" Ben exclaimed, "It had me, and Otis pulled me away. He saved me, and now his leg is gone because I'm too fucking stupid to notice a walker!"
"What?!" Kenny suddenly exclaimed while approaching the duo, "You're the reason he got a chunk taken out of him?!"
"Back off Kenny," Tyreese growled as he took a step between him and Ben, "It was an accident,"
"This stupid fucking kid probably got the fucking guy killed!" Kenny yelled back enraged,
"He's a kid!" Tyresse snapped back,
"He offered to help! He said he was up to help us and all he fucking did was screw up and kill one of us!" Kenny growled, "How can you defend that,"
"Kenny, I am so so sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I didn't-" Ben attempted to explain,
"Can it, dipshit! You are done with helping us; you can stay in the garden or babysitting!" Kenny nearly demanded,
"A walker bit Otis, that's not his fault! It could have happened to any of us, cut him some slack Kenny! He was trying to help, and you know it!" Tyreese continued to argue in support of Ben,
"Just because you warmed up to this chicken shit doesn't mean he's immune to consequences Tyreese! He's incompetent and a fucking danger to the rest of us. He does not take a step outside unless it's to the garden's or to watch the kids! That's all he's fucking good for!" Kenny spat back while Ben hung his head in shame.
The argument caught the attention of the clearing crew on the fences, "Jesus, what do you suppose all that's about?" Molly asked in some confusion, "Thought you guys were all lovey-dovey?"
"Uhhh, yeah, I don't know, but Kenny looks fucking pissed," Billy replied as he turned around watching the men argue intently, "Shit, so does Tyreese,"
"Why's he yelling at that youngster?" Chuck muttered with a frown, "If he's trying to make a point a tongue lashing ain't gonna solve nothing,"
"Maybe someone should intervene?" Lee asked while peering to the others,
"I think you might be right," Carly nodded in agreement. Just then Tyreese's arm cocked back and swung forward socking Kenny in the jaw in and dropping the man to the ground like a bag of rocks, "Holy shit!" Carly exclaimed,
"Glenn!" Lee quickly yelled while running around the fences towards the now tussling pair,
"On it!" Glenn said with no hesitation sticking only a foot behind Lee.
Lee and Glenn reached the two men in mere moments, though not quickly enough to stop the duo from getting off half a dozen punches on the others face," You old miserable bastard!" Tyreese hissed as he rolled Kenny onto his back and cocked his fist once again,
"You know I'm right; kid needs to fucking learn!" Kenny grunted as he struggled to stop Tyreese from completing another strike.
Without warning Lee dove forward tackling Tyreese off of Kenny, Glenn just as swiftly dragged Kenny back and to his feet. Unfortunately for them both, Tyreese and Kenny were far from finished fighting, and the men did the best they could to hold them away from one another, "That's it! It's over, guys!" Lee exclaimed,
"Fucking piece of shit!" Kenny howled,
"Enough's enough! Stop it!" Glenn said in agreement with Lee,
"You redneck, piece of fucking trash," Tyreese spat, "Just cause your dad beat and treated you like shit doesn't mean you can do it to Ben!"
"Guys, that's it!" Lee continued to yell, nearly pleading,
"He fucked up and can't be trusted with shit no more! I ain't letting him go out with any of us and getting us killed!" Kenny screamed back
Suddenly a gun fired into the air causing all four to abruptly stop and turn, "R-Rick?" Ben gulped as he saw the cop holding a smoking gun,
"What the fuck is going on here?" Rick frowned,
"Ben is the reason Otis got bit, and this asshole is just giving him a free pass! He doesn't get that there are no second chances in this fucked up world! We need to do things right, or we die, and this kid can't do a fucking thing right!" Kenny gruffly replied,
"No, he's just taking out his anger on Ben because he won't fight back, all he's done since his wife is take his grief out on everyone else. Damn near killed Lee and now is using Ben as a new punching bag just because he made a mistake!"
"Hey! That was a mistake; you don't hear Lee bitching about it like some fucking baby. Unlike you he ain't out to coddle people, he knows a mistake from a complete fuck up!"
"Guys, just relax! We're all a fucking stressed out, with Thomas, Dexter, the fucking walkers, hell this god damn world!" Rick retorted in a dismissive tone, "We can't afford to be at each other's throats every time something goes wrong. Kenny, you can't just hate Ben because he made a mistake," Rick pointed out, "But Tyreese we can't act like Ben's incompetence is something we can freely ignore,"
Ben's head sunk in shame once more, "I didn't mean to…"
"Of course we know that Ben, but until you can be better trained and equipped for those situations it would be best that you stay suited to tasks that aren't dangerous,"
"Damn straight," Kenny nodded,
"But you stay off his back," Rick frowned, "And don't let me catch you harassing him over Otis again or next time I won't stop Tyreese," He warned before looking between each of the men in the group, "Now everyone go and cool the fuck off,"
"Yeah...yeah, I'll be in the gym if you need me," Tyreese almost growled out while rolling his head, "Need to burn some stuff off,"
"Glenn, make sure they at least keep the peace until they're out of each other's sight," Rick calmly asked,
"Sure thing," Glenn awkwardly agreed as he, Ben, Kenny, and Tyreese all walked back towards the cellblock entrance leaving only Lee and Rick.
"Jesus...good work," Lee praised,
"Something they taught us, a good way to get someone's attention is with a gun," Rick lightly joked before sighing and rubbing his eyes, "I can't believe that just happened, as if we don't have enough happening,"
"Didn't quite understand what they were fighting about, something about Otis?" Lee asked with a raised brow,
"He saved Ben from getting bit inside the cell block, but the walker took a piece out of his leg instead," Rick lowly explained,
"Man…" Lee sighed,
"I took his leg off," Rick abruptly added on,
"What?" Lee almost gasped,
"If the bite is gone, it can't get infected, and Otis has a chance to live," Rick explained, "The only thing is, now he has to survive losing the leg,"
"Jesus, what a fucking day," Lee said with a shake of his head, "You alright?"
Rick let out a half scoff, "Haven't been since the day I woke up in this fucking world. But thanks for asking,"
"Hey man, I know you're probably stressed out by all this, but you're doing the best you can, that's all that you can do in this situation. At least you got those two to put down their fists before someone got hurt. That's all you, and if you can handle them, then you're clearly fit for the job,"
"Never wanted to be Lee," Rick smirked while starting to walk away, "Thanks for trying to stop them too, the last thing we need is another death in the place,"
"I hear you," Lee agreed as he slowly made his way back to the fences.
Moments later, Rick made his way up to his cell where he found Lori and Carol sitting together happily talking. Their mood quickly shifted as they saw Rick's expression, "What happened?" Lori asked the phrase all too common for her to ask now,
"Something bad," Rick sighed,
"Oh god, are the kids alright?!" Carol gasped,
"Yes the children are fine, Otis was bitten, and I took off his leg to save him. Doug and Hershel are patching up now," Rick calmly explained,
"Y-you what!?" Carol yelled back in horror,
"I had to, it was for the best, he has a chance to survive now," Rick lazily replied, exhausted with defending his decision, "The other thing is, Kenny and Tyreese got into it. Punches were thrown, and I doubt those two are gonna be talking to one another for some time,"
"Where is he? I need to go check on him!" Carol demanded,
"He said he was going to the gym to...cool...off," Rick replied only for Carol to dash out of the cell as he said gym. Right dragged his eyes back to Lori, "You gonna go check on, Otis?"
"No...it's nothing I haven't seen before, and I'm just tired of seeing it Rick," Lori mumbled back.
Meanwhile, in the gym, Tyreese bounced a basketball in his hands a few times before taking a shot and sinking it into the hoop. As the ball bounced back, he scooped it back into his hands and prepared to take another chance, "Fucking prick...picking on that poor kid. Not gonna let it slide...yeah he's not mine, but I'm looking out for him…" Tyreese grumbled on his breath, thinking about Kenny still causing venom to course through his veins.
Just then, the gym door opened and shut as Michonne entered, sauntering over towards him, "Basketball, football, and now I hear you may be a hell of a boxer?" Michonne smirked,
"What, Kenny crying because I kicked his ass?" Tyreese scoffed,
"Nah, Ben's telling everyone, he's pretty upset but every time he brings you up in the story he talks like you're a fucking hero," Michonne said with a roll of her eyes, "You clearly got a fan,"
"I'm just doing the right thing, no one should treat a kid that way, and now Kenny knows he won't get away with it," Tyreese muttered while taking another shot, making the basket, "You know, you and Molly got here just into time to see it all go to hell, Michonne,"
"What do you mean?" Michonne asked with a simple cock of her head, still inching closer towards Tyreese each second,
"Kenny and I fighting, Otis getting bit and least of all, what Rick did to Otis after. God...the look he had in his eyes when he took off his leg...that didn't look like the guy I met a few months ago, it was someone else...something different,"
Suddenly Tyreese had Michonne's finger on his lips hushing him, "I know just what you need," Michonne whispered out,
"M-Michonne," Tyreese gulped as the woman knelt and unbuckled his pants. Tyreese struggled for a moment as he felt his pants become unbuttoned and pulled down, he knew he shouldn't let Michonne do this, he was with Carol, and he was happy but...she was right...he needed this. Unfortunately for Tyreese, as he shut his eyes and simply let Michonne do what she wanted to him, Carol reached the gym doors. The blonde woman covered her mouth, tears falling from her eyes as she watched Tyreese and Michonne, her heart snapped in two.
Back in the cell block, Molly tossed her hoodie onto the table by her bed and sat down with a sigh, relieved her day of work was finally over. "Don't get me wrong, this place is so fucking sweet, but god, I didn't think it'd be so much...manual labor." Molly said with a small chuckle, "But I do like it here, there are some trust issues with these guys, and I'm not even talking with just me and Michonne. Hell, I just saw two of them almost kill each other over nothing, and the fact that I'm disarmed and locked up every night doesn't exactly sell a picture-perfect scenario, but that's okay. It makes sense; people gotta be safe."
Molly lowered her head and felt her lips curl into a small smile, "Everyone here is pretty cool too, and they don't lack in the looks department either," She added on thinking of Hershel's son, "Dude obviously likes what he sees, how could he not," The blonde girl joked before letting out a sigh, "In the end though, this is about survival, and the question always has and will be, "Can I survive here?" And that answer is yes. So I'm staying, and that's final, got it? You know what, I-"
"Molly?" Andrea suddenly asked, shaking the woman from her conversation,
"Huh? Oh Andrea, y-yeah, what's up?"
"Who the heck are you talking to?" Andrea asked in confusion while looking around, "No one is here."
Alright, it has been such a long time since I updated this story. Honestly, I've always loved this story, and I still do to this day, but I got burnt out with writing about a year back and I just kinda stopped. I would occasionally think about adding to this one again because there are scenes I still have in my head that I want to create but I just never had the drive up until now. So I'm sorry for basically abandoning this story to all the fans of this one, I can't promise I'll update this a lot and consistently but I'll do have the urge to do it still so I'll try to keep it going. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter, it was a fun one to come back to, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the significant changes in the relationships of this chapter!