I know that my updates are weirdly spaced out, but I still am doing the story as well as my other idea for a story that sort of branches off of this one. Fear not my beautiful readers!
I eventually joined the group downstairs and could tell the annoyance everyone was feeling at the moment. Rick told me that Guillermo didn't think the deal was sweet enough for his tastes. Now he and Daryl were going back and forth about whether it'd be good to give them guns or not, while Miguel was sulking in the corner and T-Dog was keeping a close watch on him. I really was starting to feel bad for the kid; it must really suck to know you're not worthy enough for a simple prisoner exchange. Makes me hope that I never have to be in this kind of situation…
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Daryl slap Miguel right across the face, still yelling at him.
"Come on, man, hitting him won't do a damn thing." T-Dog stepped in the way before continuing, "Do you guys trust that man's word?"
"No, question is what are you willing to bet on it? Could be more than guns, could be your life. Glenn really worth that much to ya?" Daryl asked.
"What life I – no, we have we owe to him." Rick replied, "He didn't have to save us, we don't mean anything to him. He could've walked away but he didn't."
"He's right, Daryl." I added, "He could've said 'fuck it' and left us there to die. We can't just leave him here," I nodded to the kid, "'Sides, what are we gonna do with him?"
Daryl sighed, "So you saying we hand the guns over?"
"No." Rick said, "I didn't say that."
He paused and Daryl nodded, reaching for the shotgun that lay out on the desk. T-Dog shook his head and dragged Miguel off the floor and I grabbed a rag to gag him. Surprisingly, Rick didn't lecture me on joining them, hopefully now he's starting to get the idea that I can handle myself.
Hopefully.
Daryl led the way with the shotgun pressed against Miguel's back while the rest of us followed. The guards didn't hesitate in letting us in, guess they knew we were coming back. What they didn't know is that we weren't going to give up our guns that easily. I could hardly keep the smirk off my face, even though I was scared shitless.
I kept my gun aimed high and my grip tight, even though the last thing I wanted was a shootout between us considering the chances were not really in our favor.
Guillermo and Rick went back and forth, with Guillermo claiming the guns were his and Rick telling him we weren't going down without a fight. Another man, I believe his name was Felipe tried to convince him to just gun us down but fortunately Guillermo was smarter than that.
My grip tightened when Guillermo moved closer and Daryl, T-Dog, and Rick cocked their shotguns – with everyone in the room following. Oh wow was I getting that sinking feeling in my stomach again. Don't get nervous. Don't get nervous. Don't. Get. Nervous. Shoot if you have to, because they won't hesitate to shoot you, Isabelle.
The silence was pretty deafening – that is, until we heard some shuffling. Followed by a frail, old woman shouting "Felipe! Felipe!"
I nearly dropped my gun. I don't think this is the place I thought it was.
"Get that old lady out of the line of fire!" Daryl warned with his shotgun still aimed.
"Abuela, listen to your mijo right now. This is not the place for you right now." Guillermo ordered, but the woman stayed put.
"Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing," she began with her voice breaking, "he needs his asthma stuff. Carlito couldn't find his medicine." She pleaded but Felipe kept his gun aimed.
I holstered my gun and moved out of our group towards the woman and Felipe. I could feel the guns on me but I kept my hands where everyone could see him. I realize this is a stupid decision but I'm not going to sit here wasting time when someone is having trouble breathing because we're not grown enough to talk things through.
"Isabelle!" Rick called out but I ignored it. They wouldn't shoot me if I didn't have a gun out…least that's what I hope.
"What are you doing?" Guillermo asked…almost baffled. Okay, he wasn't going to shoot me at least, I could tell by his tone. The others, well fuck if I know.
"My grandma had asthma." They weren't having it, so I slowly pulled out my gun and handed it to him carefully, "Here, take the damn gun, I don't care. Just please let me get by so I can help."
He obliged. "Let her pass. Go with her, Felipe." Guillermo ordered. I moved past with ease.
We entered a courtyard and I realized that this was most likely some sort of hospital or maybe even a retirement home. Well that's interesting. I paced ahead of them, knowing from past experience that it was critical to act quickly. I passed several rooms with other elders and adults taking care of them, boy do I hope Rick and Guillermo are having some sort of understanding right now.
I finally passed a room and peeked inside to see a large group of people around a man in a wheelchair, this must be it. I moved past the small crowd and saw someone shaking the inhaler to prepare it for use.
I kneeled beside him, "Take slow and deep breaths, Mr. Gilbert." The man beside me (who I assumed to be Carlito) looked really confused but handed me the inhaler. "I'm Isabelle. Just here to help." I explained briefly before giving him the inhaler.
Mr. Gilbert took several puffs of the inhaler and followed my directions of just taking deep breaths, he already looked calmer, which was really good. I asked him, "Are you breathing better, Mr. Gilbert?"
He cleared his throat and nodded. I turned to Carlito, "Just, uh, stay near in case his breathing worsens again." I placed my hand lightly on his shoulder, "You'll be fine." He quietly thanked me after I gave him a reassuring smile and I let Carlito take care of him.
"Isabelle?" I turned around to see Glenn coming towards me.
"Glenn!" I ran to him and hugged him tightly, "Jesus, what the hell happened?"
"How did you get in here?"
"Long story." I turned back to Mr. Gilbert, "Glad to see you breathing better, sir. Sorry about any confusion." I dragged Glenn away from the crowd and lowered my voice, "What the hell happened? One moment you were getting the bags and then the next you were gone."
"Where are the others?" He asked nervously.
"They're-" Footsteps echoed down the hallway. Well at least now I know that they didn't all shoot each other.
Our group didn't see us when they entered the room; instead they were too shocked at the fact that this was just a retirement home being protected by Guillermo and his men. Rick looked speechless, Daryl looked pissed, and T-Dog looked confused.
"Yeah, we didn't get the best welcome, Glenn." Guillermo was now speaking with Rick, I overheard some things, like Rick calling him the "dumbest son of a bitch he's ever met" and how he was "ready to load into him". I also heard some of Guillermo's explanation, how the staff left the patients here to rot and that he and Felipe were what was left of the staff.
Well on the bright side, nobody got shot.
We'd met with Guillermo in a separate room for a better explanation of what was going on. I'm pretty sure that I wasn't the only one who was really confused.
Guillermo explained everything to us, slowly and clearly. He told the rest of us about how the staff abandoned the place, how the families of the residents visited and decided to stay to help them out. He talked about how his men either work on the cars, watch the perimeter, or go out in the city to scavenge – hence why they claimed the bag of guns back in Atlanta.
"They all look up to me now. I don't understand why." He admit, and I could see the weight of all this responsibility already begin to take its toll on him.
"Because they can." Rick replied and reached into his duffle bag. No one seemed to have a problem with it, it went to a noble cause. Besides, if anyone had spoken up I don't think Rick would've really listened. He had the habit of being stubborn.
"Listen…" Guillermo began, but I don't think he knew Rick's name.
"Rick." He answered.
"Rick, thank you for the guns, and thank you for not being so quick to shoot." He reached his hand out and Rick firmly shook it. Hopefully our future encounters with groups can be just as peaceful.
"I'll walk you guys out." Guillermo led us out the hallway and into the courtyard, and I stayed silent. Part of me wished to stay here to help, but I knew the people back at the camp could use me for some medical help or anything really. The "vatos", as Guillermo liked to call it, made me feel a lot better about leaving this place though.
He led us to the garage near the entrance and the group was ready to leave but I noticed something oddly familiar. Strikingly familiar, actually.
So familiar it could just – huh. That's interesting.
It looked just like my baby. You know, my baby.
My El Camino.
Same black sheen and contrasting racing stripes. Beautiful.
"Wait!" Everyone turned to me, "I forgot something. Just…uh w-wait for me outside. Or here. Preferably outside."
"We don't got time for this." Daryl said, annoyed, but Rick shrugged. Once I shooed them outside I began to speak to Guillermo, "That car over there," I pointed to my baby, "where'd you guys find it?"
"My men found it abandoned in the city. She's a beautiful one." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Why do you ask?"
"That's funny. That was my car. It was stolen from me a couple weeks back." I tried to keep a calm tone, but the question of his men being the ones who attacked me kept running through my head.
"Really now?" I was hoping he believed me. Well I suppose he was since he hadn't dismissed me yet.
"Yeah really. I was attacked at a gas station and when I woke up my gun and ride were gone – no, stolen. To be honest, I don't think it was any of your men, so don't think I'm accusing you. I think the asshole left the car somewhere and your men came upon it." I felt warmer than usual but I was going to ask for it back anyways, "I really hope I'm not asking much if I ask for it back. It seems ridiculous, I know, but at camp we just stripped our best car apart and it'd help having another one that was in good shape."
He thought about it for several moments before walking to the car and opening the door to take a seat inside. "This one's my favorite," he paused before rubbing the seats, "but we do have others."
I gulped, hoping he'd say what I wanted to hear. "How many other cars do you guys have?"
"Several that're in good shape, actually."
Is he dodging the question? As hard as it was, I held my tongue.
"You guys have done a lot, I'll admit." He reached into the glovebox and pulled out the keys and tossed them to me, "As a token of my gratitude."
"Holy shit." I breathed, "This is unbelievable. I can't thank you enough, Guillermo."
He shrugged, "Don't worry, it's not a big deal. We found another El Camino in better shape the other day so it shouldn't be that big of a loss." He chuckled a bit and I couldn't keep the smile off my face.
"Good luck out there." He said before stepping out of the car.
"Take care of yourself, Guillermo. I hope we run into each other again."
I started up the car and asked for him to open the garage door for me. The looks on their faces were just priceless - if only I had a camera.
I had Glenn sit in the middle, between Rick and I, while T-Dog and Daryl stayed in the back. They really didn't believe my story, and to be fair, it didn't sound credible anyways. That didn't bother me though, I had a car and it didn't matter how I got it. I was a bit shocked that Rick didn't freak out on me, but it was probably because Glenn was plopped right in between us.
"I have to make a quick stop in Atlanta."
"You're kidding, right?" Glenn replied, "We just had a near miss and you want to go back?" He turned to Rick, "She's kidding, right?"
He shrugged in response and Glenn turned back to me, "Glenn, I really need to pick up my bag. It has all my belongings."
"I don't like it…but I guess I can sort of understand and –"
I cut him off, "Good cause I wasn't going to listen to you anyways," and slammed on the gas pedal down the empty freeway.
Oh fuck how I missed this car.
I apologize for such a short chapter you guys, I've been so busy lately but my favorite shows are coming back on soon and so hopefully I can get back on track with chapters. Thank you for reading and being patient with me.
