About an hour later, we arrived at an old factory building with the surrounding walls broken and grass and weeds overgrown in some places. It had taken a while until Miguel was able to speak again and he was rather eager to spill the beans. Apparently my little comment about his feet had shaken him almost more than Daryl throwing his brother's hand in his lap. T-Dog had raised his brows in surprise when I had spoken up and I honestly had to wonder how he and Rick didn't catch on to what the redneck was doing.
"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, I can always…"
"I'm fine T. I have better aim than you do if it goes down that road." I gave him a smile and squeezed his hand. I appreciated his concern. The spot we had picked for my position with the rifle was up quite high, with no way of anchoring myself as I scaled or descended the crumbling brick wall. It had been a while since I went rock climbing, but there were so many missing bricks and cracks in the mortar, I would have plenty of hand and footholds. I pulled my bow from my shoulder, intending to leave it inside one of the bigger cracks in the wall, just in case something didn't go the way we planned it.
"I'll be holdin' on to that for ya." Daryl had come up beside me and took my bow with determination.
"You break it and I'll break something else, Dixon," I replied but couldn't suppress the smirk when he rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Just don't fall off that bloody roof and crack your skull… Would be a shame to lose the only other sane person 'round here."
"And who would that be?" Before the hunter could come up with a reply, a snort interrupted.
"Oh please, get a room! I'm gonna throw up over here."
Daryl turned on the kid with an annoyed expression. "One wrong move, you get an arrow in the ass. Just so you know."
"You know, the little white boy got a point there."
I snorted, missing out on the conversation in front of me. "Give me a break. There is nothing even worth talking about." I quirked an eyebrow at T-Dog, who just held up his hands in surrender and gave me a big goofy smile.
"Just sayin', girl. The two of you got weird chemistry," he kept on going while walking me to the spot where I intended to climb the wall.
"Sure we do… Because I have nothing better on my mind in the apocalypse than getting laid. Remind me to kick your ass for that when we make it back to camp." I smirked and started to climb the wall.
"Awww… I love you too, honey." I had to bite my lip in order not to laugh. I liked how easy it was to talk to T and actually forget the disaster we were in every once in a while. Still, his comment about Daryl and me bothered me a little. I pushed the thought aside. I had to focus on keeping our group covered from afar.

It was colder up on the roof. The slight breeze wafting over the top of the building and the wall was a tad on the chilly side. I quietly set up my rifle with practiced ease and felt the familiar tingle in my neck. Brushing up my sunglasses, I settled my face so I was looking through the scope. I could see my companions moving at the broken gate, but the wind and distance made it impossible for me to hear anything. So back to the basics… Shooting on sight rather than sound…
The doors to the building on my left opened and a single man walked out, addressing the boy. There was some back and forth between both parties. Things got a little heated when another man exited the building.
"Oh, shit…" It was the guy Daryl had shot in the behind after I extracted myself from him. Of course he immediately drew a gun and pointed it straight at the hunter. Rick tried to somehow get a hold of the situation and after some more back and forth between both parties, he made a gesture in my direction. All heads turned my way and I gave a short sign, indicating I had my aim and was only waiting for the go to shoot. Even from this distance, I could see the asshole that grabbed me smirking as if he didn't believe I'd really be able to shoot.
I'm gonna regret this… Just as previous incidents had proved, my temper was my biggest enemy at this point. I just wanted to see that idiot realize his error. Without warning or permission, I fired a shot right in front of his feet and with a loud curse he jumped back.
"Puta!" Whatever followed didn't reach my ears and I quickly reloaded. I couldn't help the smirk, even when I knew what I just did was plain stupid. Some movement to my left on the rooftop caught my attention and I let out another string of curses. Two men were pulling along a third, who'd been bound and head covered with a bag. Even though I couldn't see his face, I knew it was Glenn.
"Holy fucking shit!" I bit my tongue and I knew my mother would ask if I had been raised in a barn at the more colorful words that followed. I knew I would be able to take out at least one of the two men holding the Asian. At the same time, I was sure I wouldn't be able to do anything about the second man in time or prevent Glenn from being pushed off the rooftop if the corpse was going down.
Apparently I wasn't the only one to think like that. Glenn was pulled back and taken inside the building again. Looking down into the courtyard I saw the rest of the group retreating inside, the idiot giving me another glare. With a frustrated sigh I unloaded my rifle and put it back over my shoulder before descending back to the ground.

When I made my way back to the guys, Rick gave me a disapproving glare.
"Was that really necessary? That could have caused some serious damage!"
I grimaced. I knew he was right. "Yeah… Should have maybe thought that through for a second." The cop shook his head and stomped off, dragging the boy behind and followed by T-Dog. I dug my hands into my pockets and kicked away a stone before I followed them. Passing by the gate I caught Daryl watching me while he still leaned against the stone wall with my bow casually flung over one shoulder. He pushed off the wall when I reached him.
"Nice shot." I took my bow back from him.
"Thanks. At least someone appreciates my good aim… Look, I know it was stupid but…"
"He asked for it. I don't give a shit what the cop says. You made a statement." I gave him a small smile as we followed the others side by side back to our hideout.
"Hothead."
I looked back at the hunter. He looked forward and bit the inside of his cheek. "Takes one to know one, Dixon." His only response was a low hum and we walked on in silence, mostly keeping our attention on our surroundings. It was a rather awkward silence, but I didn't mind. I was confused; the way he acted didn't make much sense at times. He seemed to be a good scout, a good hunter if one asked the camp members, but at the same time he seemed rather uncomfortable around people. Something I could relate to, to some extent. Growing up, I didn't have many friends besides my brother. I was tiny and skinny with braces, an easy target for bullies. That only changed when puberty hit, and by that time I was just so sick of people my age that I kept to myself.
"What's with the grumpy face?"
"Huh?" It took me a few seconds to realize T-Dog was walking beside me and Daryl had fallen into step next to Rick.
"You know Rick didn't mean to make you feel like an idiot?" I gave him a sideways glance and shook my head.
"It's not about that. I mean, I understand him. It was stupid and selfish. I shouldn't have done it."
"Then what were you thinking about?" We were almost back at our hideout and more walkers were now running around.
"Doesn't matter. Nothing I need to talk about." I took out a walker that had come too close to Rick's right side and retrieved the arrow when passing the body.
"If you say so…" It was obvious T-Dog had hoped for a different answer and not imagined me closing up, but I didn't want to talk about my childhood and my teenage years. Not now. Maybe not ever.

"Them guns are worth more than gold. Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table. You're gonna give that up for that kid?" Daryl was arguing while Rick separated the guns from the duffle bag into two piles. I looked back down in my lap and continued sharpening my knife, something I often did when I was nervous or at a loss for what to do. Or, like in this case, simply annoyed with everyone around me. Honestly, they were acting like children that had been told they needed to give up half of their toys so they would get something important back. That's rich, coming from the one who fired an uncalled shot at the Mexican's feet…
In front of me, a discussion broke loose on whether it was wise to give up the guns and if the leader, Guillermo, according to the boy, would even keep his end of the deal and return Glenn. It went on to the point where Daryl threatened to relieve Miguel of some teeth if he didn't keep his mouth shut.
"Honestly… What is the alternative? Go in guns blazing and hope to reach Glenn before they put a bullet in his brain?" All three men turned to me in surprise, and I realized it was the first time I had spoken since our return to our hold up. "What? I really like the guy. We didn't come all the way to just leave him behind, did we? I mean, it isn't like we would have use for all that ammo and guns. They draw too much attention anyways, and what do we really know about those guys? For all we know, they could be in the same situation as we are. Trying to survive in a world that doesn't apply to the normal rules of society anymore. What if they got families to protect? Ever think of that?"
"You know, she got a point there." I smiled at T-Dog for having my back on this.
"And if she is wrong? I don't trust that little snitch over there for one second. He could be lying no matter how many people he says they have. Could be more, could be less." Miguel paled a little when the hunter shot him another glare with his hunting knife twirling between his fingers.
"So far Rachel hasn't been wrong too often. We stick with the plan. Exchange the boy for Glenn and give them half of the weapons and ammo," Rick chimed in. The redneck still didn't seem keen on giving up the weapons and it took another ten minutes of arguing until Miguel was tied and pushed out onto the streets again. The remaining weapons had been hidden by the ex cop, just in case.

Walking back into the courtyard of the old factory, I felt exposed now that I was with my companions on the ground and not up on the roof again. The doors opened and Guillermo and his goons walked out to meet us, the one I almost shot was still glaring daggers at me and I couldn't help the sarcastic grin. I sensed more than I saw Rick's disapproving glance in my direction, but I chose to ignore it.
I almost rolled my eyes at the new discussion unfolding between Guillermo and Rick about the ownership over the guns and where the rest was. The result being that everybody was pointing their gun, in Daryl's and my case our arrows, at each other.
"Oh, please. You gotta be kidding me…" I scoffed when the other's leader bragged about his supposedly hellhounds he would let loose on Glenn.
"Got something to say, puta?" I was ready to give the Mexican some piece of mind when Rick pulled me slightly back and an elderly woman exited the building, heading straight for the asshole in front of me.
"'Felipe! Felipe!'" The Mexican turned towards his aunt and tried to persuade her to return into the building with little to no success. After a few seconds she switched to Spanish, and even though I haven't really spoken the language since high school, I understood that there seemed to be a problem with one of the inhabitant's breathing.
"Sorry, Ma'am? I don't want to interfere, but I could take a look at Mr. Gilbert if you would let me," I approached the elder lady in broken Spanish and everyone looked at me in surprise.
"Are you a doctor?" she turned to me and I nodded with a soft smile, but was cut short by Rick before I was able to answer properly.
"Rache, don't…" The Mexican's aunt now faced Rick, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the former cop's uniform. Immediately she asked what Felipe had done and tried to plead with Rick that her nephew was a good boy in general. I was taken a little aback by her reaction and asked myself if she was even aware of the fact that the world as we knew it didn't exist anymore, while Rick explained to her that her nephew was helping us find a friend.
"The Asian boy? He's with Mr. Gilbert. Come. Come, I'll show you." She reached for mine and the cop's hand and pulled a little with more strength than I had given her credit for. She started leading us into the building and the leader allowed us to enter with a sigh. Crossing to a dark entrance hall we were led into a vast room, filled with twenty or so people, most of them old and in somewhat impared condition.
"This is a nursing home…" I mumbled and saw Daryl turn towards me out of the corner of my eyes. Focusing back on what was ahead, I made out Glenn sitting at a table with a man whose breathing was more than labored. The woman leading us let go of Rick's hand and pulled me further along towards the pair and I quickly assessed the situation. Glenn stood up from the chair he was sitting in and breathed something along the lines of 'asthma attack'.
"Mr. Gilbert?" I crouched down in front of him, putting my bow on the table and gently taking one of his hands in mine. "Sir, I need you to breathe with me. Slow and easy, just follow my lead…" The man followed my instructions as I talked to him in a soft and monotone voice. When he slowly calmed down and his breathing evened out, I turned to Felipe who had come up next to me.
"Does he have an inhaler or anything?"
He shook his head in response. "Not anymore. Went out yesterday and the pharmacy was already raided… Thank you," he added, his hostility gone now that we were inside with all those people. I nodded at that and took a look around the room once more. Rick and Guillermo were off to the side and discussing something, T-Dog had been pulled along by Felipe's abuela and Daryl had his eyes on me and the Mexican next to me.
"Hey. Answer me one question, Felipe. What is this?" He scratched the back of his head and held his hand out to help me back to my feet.
"Most of these people are related to at least one of us. We came here to look for them when this mess happened, and most decided to stay and protect and care for these people for however long we can. There are groups out there that don't care if they have to kill to get what they want and these people… Who else would look after them and protect them?" I nodded, actually a little surprised by the kindness in the man that had put a knife to my throat hours before.
"That is a noble cause… Do you have any other people I should take a look at before we leave?" With a relieved smile he scurried off to get those in need of professional medical care while another young man escorted Mr. Gilbert away, but not before the older man thanked me again and pushed a piece of candy in my hand.

"Ya pretty good with this medical stuff." I looked up at Daryl who leaned against the table next to me. For the last hour I had helped change bandages, examined some chronic conditions, and treated some minor injuries.
"Well, I should be, given that I was a paramedic before all this." The hunter crossed his arms over his chest and hummed.
"Could come in handy at one point to have our own doc in camp. To be honest I can stitch someone up if needed, but I bet ya can do a much better job." I wanted to answer him when Felipe approached me again, a boy no older than sixteen years in tow.
"That's the last one, por favor. Tyler has a dislocated shoulder but we couldn't pop it back in. His fingers are losing feeling." I nodded at the boy to have a seat.
"Hey Dixon, I could use your help with this one." Daryl put his crossbow on the table with my compound bow and took a hold of the boy's arm like I told him to.
"Okay Tyler, this is gonna hurt like a bitch. On three. One. Two…" I nodded at Dixon and he pulled on the arm while I put pressure on the joint until I heard a loud pop. The boy let out a loud scream but still his features relaxed a little once the pain receded.
"Here we go. This should feel better now. I need some more bandages to keep the shoulder in place for a few days. Don't put too much pressure on it, and take some painkillers if you still have some. You're lucky, kid. You could have lost the arm if it had stayed like this." With some satisfaction I noticed that the pale blue tint in the skin around the shoulder was fading and turning a healthier color again.
I patted the boy on the other shoulder before grabbing my stuff and walking over to where Guillermo and Rick were still talking, the hunter following behind me.
"Thank you very much for your help, you didn't need to do that. Felipe is good at keeping this place running, but his medical knowledge is limited." I nodded at him and shook his hand before we made to leave this place to return to our camp, leaving behind the bag of guns Rick had packed for the group.

"You've given away half our guns and ammo," Daryl complained to Rick on our way back to the van.
"Not nearly half," was the cop's short reply.
"For what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got?"
I lightly slapped the redneck's arm for his comment. "A little more respect. At some point you're gonna be just as old and happy to be cared for, Dixon." He gave me a scrutinizing look and scoffed.
"Yeah, sure. Wouldn't count on livin' that long, princess." I pressed my lips into a thin line. I knew he was right with all that was going on now but honestly the thought of what the future might hold hadn't crossed my mind with trying to somehow stay alive.
"Oh my God." I looked ahead at hearing Glenn and stopped dead in my tracks. "Where the hell's our van?"