Melissa was attempting to get the ropes around her wrists untied. She'd been trying for what felt like hours but was having no success. She stopped for a moment, rolling onto her side, trying to see through the dimness of the tent if there was anything that could help her get loose. The tent seemed bare except for the cot in the corner that had a nasty smell coming from it. Melissa looked closer at the cot, wondering if there were any sharp edges to cut the rope on.

She dragged herself closer to the cot, breathing through her mouth as the smell got worse. She ignored it for the moment, still searching. She sighed as she found nothing. She leaned up against the cot, staying there until she heard the tent unzip.

David stepped into the tent. He came in, zipping the tent up behind him. "Hello," he said cheerfully, as if he wasn't holding Melissa prisoner. He knelt in front of Melissa. "I never caught your name," he said, gazing intently at her face.

Melissa wanted to look away; his gaze made her skin crawl. "Melissa."

"Well, Melissa, I would say it is a pleasure to meet you, but under the circumstances, I don't think you'd agree." David leaned back, giving Melissa a bit more personal space. "So tell me Melissa, where were you and your friends going?"

"Nowhere really," Melissa hedged. She wasn't sure how much she should tell David.

David reacted by slapping her across the cheek.

"Ow!" Melissa yelped. "What was that for?"

David shrugged. "Tell me the truth. Now where were you headed?"

"South."

"You were travelling east though," David reminded her.

"Why does it matter to you?" Melissa asked him.

"I want to know why you were in my territory."

"Territory?" Melissa questioned.

"This is my land now," David said. "And I want to know what you're doing here."

"We're just passing through," Melissa answered honestly.

"You're weren't going to attack us?" David said suspiciously.

"No! We didn't even know you were here!" Melissa protested. The whole apocalypse thing has made him paranoid, Melissa thought to herself.

"How can I know that?" David asked, seemingly more to himself. "You stopped when you saw us. How can I know that you didn't mean to take all our stuff?"

"We thought you needed help, so we stopped!" Melissa said.

David's eyes were unfocused. "No one stops to help anymore. We had a man who was legitimately injured, and no one stopped to help. Three cars drove right by us. You didn't though." Now David's gaze was focused on Melissa. "No, you didn't. You stopped. You meant to rob us," he suddenly accused.

"You've lost your mind!" Melissa spat impulsively. She gulped, realizing what she'd said. You're speaking before thinking again, she thought nervously.

"Lost my mind, have I?" David asked angrily as he stumbled to his feet. Melissa wondered briefly if he was drunk. He drew a knife from a sheath on his belt, brandishing the blade in Melissa's face.

Melissa was cross-eyed trying to focus on the blade. David spoke again. "Lost my mind?" he repeated. "More like I'm the only sane one left!" he declared. "I'm the only one that can see," he pointed at his eyes, "I'm the only one that can see what needs to be done. I'm the one who can keep the rest of us sane."

He sat back down on his knees. He sighed, his gaze now unfocused. He reached forward, running a hand through Melissa's hair. It took all of Melissa's self-control not to shy away. "Melissa," David crooned, seemingly calm again. "Melissa, Melissa, Melissa. Don't you see? I can keep you safe," he murmured, his eyes now closed. "Not like those other men, no. They were leading you into a death trap. LA's gone."

"...How…?" Melissa interrupted.

"I got that man with the two hair colors- Seth, I think it was- to talk," David murmured. "He told me where you were all going."

Melissa trembled slightly. She hoped Seth was okay. David, however, took the shivering the wrong way. "See, you were scared of them. You don't have to be scared of me," he said softly, still running his hands through her hair. "No, I'll keep you safe." He opened his eyes. "Stay Melissa. Stay here and I'll keep you safe."

"What if I didn't want to stay?" Melissa asked boldly.

David looked outraged. He brandished the knife again, pointing it at Melissa's face. "You will stay, or you will die."

Melissa carefully thought out her response. "I thought I didn't have to be afraid of you," she said cautiously. "You're scaring me."

"I'm sorry Melissa," David suddenly said, his apology sounding sincere. "Here, I've got another option." He got up and left the tent, leaving Melissa where she was. He came back a few minutes later. "Close your eyes; it's a surprise!" he said gleefully, as if he was a small child.

Melissa closed her eyes, wondering what David had planned. She heard something hit the ground behind her, but didn't look. She heard the tent zip shut. David came over, cutting the ropes off of her wrists with his knife. "Open your eyes," he ordered.

In front of Melissa was Punk. His wrists were tied behind his back, and he had a gag on that prevented him from talking. She nearly jumped in surprise as David placed his knife in her hands. "Here are the revised options. Option A: Stay here and be safe, or you can have option B: you can walk free… if you kill him." He pointed at Punk.

"What?!" Melissa exclaimed angrily. "Those are my options?"

David nodded smugly, seeming awfully proud with himself.

Melissa glanced down at the knife in her hand. Was her freedom worth CM Punk's life?

"It's a simple choice Melissa!" David said in a singsong tone.

Melissa looked up, meeting Punk's gaze. He had a 'do it, I dare you' sort of look in his eyes. Melissa stared at the knife. She stood, the knife gripped tightly in her hand.

She took a step forward towards David and Punk. Punk had a look of disbelief in his eyes, as if he hadn't really expected this from Melissa.

Melissa stopped right in front of Punk. David stood directly to her left. His expression seemed to egg her on; he wanted to see if she had the guts to kill Punk. Melissa raised the knife. Punk closed his eyes, seeming resigned to his fate.

Melissa's heart was beating like crazy. She swung the knife down…right at David. She buried the blade of the hunting knife in David's stomach, all the way to the hilt. She yanked the blade out, watching as David collapsed to his knees.

David looked up at her in incredulity. "What…?" he choked out as his hands grasped at the wound in his stomach.

"Option C," Melissa said harshly.

David lunged upward in anger, tackling Melissa to the ground, his wound forgotten for the moment. "You bitch!" he growled. "I'll kill you for this!" He pressed his knee into Melissa's chest, which hindered her movement and breathing. He searched for his knife on Melissa's left, where she had dropped the knife when he had tackled her. He found the knife with an evil grin. He raised it up into the air, similar to how Melissa had done so a few moments ago.

He had forgotten about CM Punk, who had maneuvered himself to his feet. He kicked David in the head, causing the man to tumble sideways. Melissa leaped to her feet as Punk stomped on David's head. She reached down to take the knife from David.

David, despite receiving several hard blows to the head from Punk, swung upward with the knife. It grazed across her face, leaving a stinging cut. Punk kicked David in the chest this time, causing his arm to come back down and futilely grab at his stab wound from earlier, which was still pouring blood. Melissa managed to wrestle the knife from his grip. She took the knife, and her hands were steady as she brought the knife down on David's head.