A/N: Hope all y'all are being safe during this quarantine time!
Episode #03:
Too Little, Too Late
"There's nothing worse than too late." –Charles Bukowski
Merle's blood was splattered against the pipe and ground in a mess of dull red. I slowly pulled my bag back on. It's not like I needed the first aid kit anymore. There wasn't much I could do with a severed hand. As messy as the area looked, from the blood splatter, I couldn't help but think that it should've looked a hell of a lot worse.
Merle sawed off his own damn hand. Not only should there be a hell of a lot more blood, but he should also be lying here blacked out. The only answer I could come up with was the usage of a tourniquet and a shit ton of luck. Another thing that caught my attention, something good that worked in all our favor, was the fact that the blood wasn't entirely dry. There were damp splotches and smears and that meant he was still in the vicinity.
"Daryl", I began, but the statement died in my mouth. Daryl looked livid. Anger seemed to seep off him in waves. He suddenly whipped around with a growl, bringing his crossbow up in T-Dog's direction. The moment the crossbow leveled at T-Dog, Rick stood on the opposite side of Daryl with his handgun pressed against the man's temple. I hadn't seen Daryl's reaction coming, but apparently Rick had.
"I won't hesitate." Rick spoke calmly, his eyes narrowed in determination. Daryl's arm shook while holding the bow, either out of heartbreak or anger, but Rick's outstretched arm and gun didn't quiver once. "I don't care if every walker in the city hears it."
A hand was slowly trying to pull me back a step. Glenn was trying to keep me out of the way if some sort of fight did occur, but I knew there wasn't going to be one. He must not have seen the look on Daryl's face, the one I could see clear as day. There had been anger, and frustration, and grief on his face earlier, but now all that remained was the latter. His lips quivered slightly, his face scrunched up as he blinked back tears, and finally his features crumpled as he let the crossbow fall from its ready position.
Rick hesitated a moment before uncocking his gun and placing it back into its holster. Glenn let out a sigh of relief. I glanced over my shoulder to give him a quick smile.
Daryl took a moment to collect himself, but continued staring T-Dog down for a moment. When he spoke, his words were steady and soft despite his earlier outburst, "You got a do-rag or somethin'?"
T-Dog matched his gaze, a look of regret still lingering there, before shoving his hand into his side pocket and bringing out a dark blue bandana. He offered it without hesitation and Daryl took it without another word. Everyone watched as Daryl turned and walked back towards the hand. He leaned his crossbow against the pipe then with a shaky sigh he knelt down and spread the bandana against the blood stained ground right next to the severed appendage.
I stepped closer, alongside Glenn, so I was now standing right next to T-Dog and Rick. Daryl carefully picked up the hand by the pinky, "I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs." He slowly twisted the hand some, keeping his gaze on it. His next words were said under his breath, "Ain't that a bitch."
Daryl placed the hand on the bandana and folded it up nicely before rising and placing the wrapped up hand into the book bag that Glenn wore despite the look of disgust on his face. Glenn's features morphed into defeat as he just stood there and allowed Daryl to pack it away. As Daryl walked back over to his crossbow, Glenn glanced at me with a grimace and I only offered him another smile in return.
Better him than me in this case.
"He must have used a tourniquet –maybe his belt."
It was Daryl who had made that outward note of the situation and I quickly nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I noticed the same thing. There'd be a hell of a lot more blood if Merle didn't." Daryl shot his gaze toward me, but this look wasn't a glare. His features were still raw right now. Daryl was still in a lot of pain. I stepped past him and studied the blood, "It's also still damp in some spots. This couldn't have happened that long ago."
Without waiting to hear anyone else's opinion on the matter, I began to curiously follow the drops of blood across the roof. The trail of blood led to an already open door on the other side of the rooftop. There was a dried smear of blood against the doorframe as well. I went to take a step in when a hand grabbed at the top of my book bag and yanked me back. A startled cry slipped from my lips as I watched Daryl pass me by with a shake of his head. He raised his crossbow and walked into the small office with cautious steps.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Rick and Glenn only a step behind. T-Dog was still on the other side of the roof and if I had to guess I'd say it had something to do with Dale's bag of tools. Rick gave me a small smile and a light clap on the shoulder before following after Daryl. Glenn motioned for me to enter first so I hurried through the door. The tiny office had only a desk and a dark blue locker and it led into a small, open stairway.
"Merle? You in here?" Daryl called out rather loudly. When no one offered a response to his question, he began to head down the stairway. Rick went after, his gun drawn, and I kept close to Rick hesitating only to reach down and pull out my knife. The sound of an extra pair of footsteps made me realize T-Dog had joined us.
The base of the stairs was only a couple flights down, we were still on a higher-level floor, and it opened up into an area with more offices and a waiting area. Daryl and Rick peeled off to the right, checking the nearby offices and it was by pure coincidence that I looked to the left. A walker turned the corner leaving the waiting area and stepping into the hallway we were in. It was the most human looking walker I had seen so far with no outward injuries and only foggy, white eyes and twitchy movements to show he was dead. He stumbled forward quietly, his feet made no noise and I lifted my arm with the knife in it.
All I had to do was exactly what I did before. My hand tightened around the handle and I threw it forward, but the moment the knife left my hand I knew it hadn't been the same.
The proof of my mistake was shown when the knife clipped the side of the walker's head, making it stumble, then hit the wall behind the walker before falling to the ground. An arrow immediately pierced the walker's temple sending it to the ground.
"Uh, you kinda missed." T-Dog voiced. The top of my ears burned hot in embarrassment and I was sure I had a matching blush across my cheeks.
"I noticed, thanks." I mumbled. At least I had tried right? Although, if I had been alone the dumbass move of throwing my only fucking weapon away from me would've surely gotten me killed.
Daryl walked out in front of me to yank the arrow out of the walker's head. He moved to the right and grabbed my knife as well before approaching me. Daryl wiped the light blood residue covering the edge of the blade against his pants leg before handing it back to me handle first, "Don't think so hard 'bout it."
His comment took me off guard, I had expected mocking from him, and I forgot to thank him for bringing me back my knife. I kept my eyes on his back as he walked away and they slowly drifted to Rick who gave me nod, "Nice try, let's keep moving."
Suddenly the embarrassment was back again and I bit back an unhappy grimace. Maybe it'd be easier if I ditched the knife and went with a gun or crossbow? I glanced over at Daryl who was using both arms to pull back the string and reload his bow. His muscles flexed from the tension and I quickly marked 'crossbow' off my list of possibilities.
We continued forward without encountering another shuffling geek. The lot of us entered a receptionist area where two dead walkers laid on the ground motionless.
"Had 'nough in him to take out these two sum'bitches. One handed." Daryl nodded toward the bodies as if it wasn't the first thing any of us noticed. "Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed 'im a hammer, an' he'd crap out nails."
"As impressive as this is, anybody could pass out from blood loss." I gently reminded him, "Regardless of how tough they are."
Blood loss was no joke. Even now I could still feel that I wasn't at 100% and I was sure that was due to the side effect of my various injuries. The good news was, my shirt wasn't bleeding through right now and my sock didn't feel damp with blood, which I'd take as a small win at the moment.
We continued through the receptionist office, following the continuing trail of blood, which led all the way back to a tiled off area that was beginning to look like a kitchen. There were shelves of pots and pans and other various kitchen utensils.
"Merle!" Daryl yelled out again.
Rick closed the space between the two of them and the tone of his voice made it clear to me that he must have had some sort of glare on his features, "We're not alone here. Remember?"
Daryl scoffed nonchalantly and didn't even look in Rick's direction, "Screw that." He continued forward, "He could be bleedin' out. Doc said so herself."
The two of them entered deeper into the room and I followed right behind them. The moment I stepped into the main portion of the room the smell of burning flesh entered my nostrils. It was a familiar smell to me, and I prayed it was because of my medical background rather than some other creepy, unknown reason.
The wall to the right had a line of stoves, and one stove in particular had an open flame still burning. Bright red blood was smeared across the once silver handles of the stove and there was a worn down brown belt resting on top of the stove. Next to it was a flat, cast-iron plate that Rick walked over and picked up by the handle. On the metal was a clump of burnt skin and blood. My nose scrunched up at the smell, but I couldn't help but feel even more impressed. Daryl wasn't kidding when he said his brother was the toughest guy around.
"What's that burned stuff?" Glenn asked from behind me.
"Skin." Rick answered in a rough voice. He tossed the iron aside, "He cauterized the stump."
"He cauterized himself?" Glenn questioned in disbelief. There was more disgust on his face as he tore his eyes away from the stove, "That would be so…so painful."
Daryl shot each of us a look, "Told you he was tough. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."
"Don't take that on faith." Rick replied, shooting him a look of his own, "Victoria's right, he's lost a lot of blood."
"Yeah?" Daryl turned and walked across the room toward the right. In the corner was a row of frosted windows, one of which had been busted open. "Didn't stop him from bustin' out of this death trap."
Everyone walked over to see for themselves. Glenn passed me, his eyes wide in shock and confusion, "He left the building? Why the hell would he do that?"
"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl snapped, walking away from the window, "He's alone out there as far as he knows. Doin' what he's gotta do." He shot Rick a glare before brushing past him, "Survivin'."
T-Dog shook his head and gave Daryl a skeptical gaze, "You call that surviving? Just wandering out in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?"
"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks!"
Daryl had bit back his anger, pain, and frustration from the roof very well, but only a fool would've actually believed it was gone. Now, he was lashing out again. There was rage in his eyes. Rage that caused Glenn and T-Dog to look away at his statement. Rick kept his gaze ahead in thought, but Daryl didn't leave him be. He marched toward him with a glare, "You couldn't kill 'im. I ain't worried 'bout some dumb, dead bastard."
Rick didn't so much as flinch at his tone or gaze, "What about a thousand dumb, dead bastards? Different story?"
"Why don't you take a tally? Do what you want. I'm gonna go get 'im."
Daryl tried to get past Rick, to go through the window same as Merle did, but Rick lifted his hand and pushed him back, "Daryl, wait."
"Get your hands off me!" Daryl barked and I couldn't help but glance around nervously. Glenn hissed in annoyance as well. If the two of them kept up their loud argument, then who knew what kind of trouble would fall down on us. "You can't stop me!"
"I don't blame you." Rick hissed, "He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine." A pang of guilt hit me out of nowhere. What if I was supposed to be doing something for my own family? Was someone out there waiting for me to find them? "I know exactly how you feel, but he couldn't have gotten far with that injury. We can help you check a few blocks around here, but only if we keep a level head."
There was a pause of silence before Daryl nodded in agreement, "I can do that."
Rick looked over at the three of us who had stood back during this last argument. His gaze seemed to be questioning whether or not we agreed with his earlier statement. Glenn nodded briefly with his hand resting on the back of his neck. I offered Rick and Daryl a smile, "I came all the way out here to show off my doctor skills. Can't do that until we find my missing patient, right?"
T-Dog sighed, "Fine. Fine…but, only if we get those guns first." He shook his head, "I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, ok?"
Rick nodded and I didn't bother arguing against the guns. It wasn't that I thought we didn't need them, it was more along the lines of I knew they couldn't be that much help. In a city like Atlanta, if the situation got bad enough that we were resorting to guns the chances were we were all goners. Still, unlike Merle, we knew where the guns were so at least by deciding to go grab the bag we had something concrete to rely on.
We left the kitchen area to head to another small pack of offices. The one we settled on was a large room with tile floors and at least four different desks scattered around. The door to the side led straight out to a fire escape that emptied out into a side alley.
"We need a plan." Rick stated. T-Dog took a seat on the floor with his back leaning against one of the desks. I went to the desk across from him and sat on top of the smooth surface with my back to the side door.
"I think I have an idea." Glenn replied as he came to kneel down on the tile floor between T-Dog and I. Daryl grabbed a seat on the desk that was next to the one I sat on while Rick leaned against the edge of desk I was on.
We all watched and listened as Glenn dug a marker out of his book bag and began to draw lines on the floor. It didn't take long to figure out that the lines were the alleys and road of the area around us. Glenn hadn't been kidding when he said he knew these streets well. He briefly explained his plan, which had the main point of him running out to the street alone to grab the bag of guns.
I bit my bottom lip in worry, "Alone? Are you really sure you want to go alone?"
"It's better that I do it alone." Glenn replied. His eyes locked with mine and he gave me a reassuring nod, and his slight smile made me feel like he was saying thanks for the worry. The conversation I had with him earlier in the day was all about how he used to come to Atlanta by himself and nothing ever went wrong until he brought a group. The guy seemed confident in this decision so I chose not to argue for my worries.
Rick didn't agree though, "You're not doing this alone."
"Even I think it's a bad idea an' I don't even like you much." Daryl added with a scoff.
Glenn sighed, "It's a good idea, ok? If you just hear out my reasoning." Rick pushed himself away from the desk and knelt down, physically showing that Glenn had his attention. He took a deep breath and began, "If we go out there in a group, we're slow and drawing attention. If I'm alone then I can move fast. Look." Glenn glanced around the ground and picked up a ball of trash. He continued looking for something else, but the floors were relatively clean. I reached across the desk and grabbed one of those black, jumbo paper clips.
"Hey." I said and tossed it.
He looked up in time to catch it with a quiet thanks. Glenn set the black paperclip in the middle of one of his drawn intersections, "That's the tank, five blocks from where we are now." He set the paper ball an inch or so away, "That's the bag of guns beside it." Glenn used the marker to point to an alleyway, "Here's the alley I dragged you into, Rick, when we first met. That's where Daryl, Tori, and I will go."
"Why me?" Daryl and I voiced at the exact same time. I looked over at him in amusement at the coincidence, but he rolled his eyes at me and gave me no more time of day.
"Your crossbow is quieter than Rick's gun." Glenn pointed to him then looked to me, "And you have your knife which is quieter too. Plus, I honestly like the idea of having a doctor waiting for me just in case." I couldn't help but chuckle at Glenn's words. "Now while Tori and Daryl wait here in the alley, I run up the street and grab the bag of guns."
"You got us elsewhere?" Rick reminded him.
"You and T-Dog, right." Glenn nodded, "You'll be in this alley here."
Rick's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I had to admit that the decision to put them in a different alley confused me as well, "That's two blocks away. Why?"
"I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut me off. If that happens, I won't go back to Tori and Daryl, I'll go forward instead." Glenn motioned the path he would take, "All the way around to the alley where you guys are." He shrugged nonchalantly, "Whichever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me. Afterwards, we'll meet back here."
There was silence as everyone let the plan sink in. There was no way Rick or Daryl could argue against a plan like this. Glenn had thought every action through and had even included a back up plan as an option.
I was seriously impressed.
"Hey kid", Daryl spoke up, "What'd you do before all this?"
I watched as Glenn's face morphed to one of confusion. He furrowed his eyebrows, "Delivered pizzas. Why?"
With another chuckle, I slid off the desk to get ready for the plan. The others began to move about while I slid my book bag off and set it on one of the desks. We'd come back here eventually and just in case something happened I didn't want to be running around with my book bag slowing me down. I slid my knife back into my boot just as Rick walked up to me. He motioned with his head for me to follow.
Rick took a few steps away from the group before giving me a serious look, "Are you sure you're up for this? Maybe it'd be best if you just stayed here. No one would look down on you, you're injured."
I smiled at his concern, "I'm fine, Rick. Honestly. I really want to help, and I can't do that sitting in this room twiddling my thumbs waiting for you guys to come back."
"I had a feeling you'd be stubborn about this." Rick chuckled and I playfully rolled my eyes. He nodded, "Seriously though, be careful out there. Don't push yourself too hard."
"I'll play it safe." I agreed before lightly patting him on the stomach with the back of my hand then pointing at him, "You be careful too. Take care of yourself and T-Dog."
Rick and T-Dog went down the fire escape since this path was closest to their alley, but the three of us went up to the roof. There was a set of bridges from this roof to the building two down that had a ladder that led straight down to the alley Glenn, Daryl, and I needed to be in. Glenn was familiar with it because this was the same path he took to save Rick.
It took only a minute or two to get to the ladder and another to climb all the way down. I clung to each rung in fear that I'd slip up and fall through the safety bars to my untimely demise. Glenn reached solid ground first, followed by Daryl and then me. The moment we got into the alley, I became aware of the groans and moans drifting through the humid, warm air. At the mouth of this alley were two large garbage bins and a fence that separated the alley from the road. On the other side of the fence was a walker that stumbled out of sight. It was quickly replaced by another in a pattern of disappearing and reappearing dead.
The three of us hustled down the alley with Glenn in the lead and Daryl taking up the rear. We hid between the garbage bins for a brief moment. Daryl pulled the string on his crossbow back, reloading an arrow, and I pulled the knife out of my boot.
"You got some balls for a chinaman." Daryl commented. Had he honestly just said that backhanded compliment aloud?
"I'm Korean."
"Whatever."
I rolled my eyes and reached forward to wrap my hand around Glenn's wrist, "Hey, please be careful. Come back safe."
Glenn nodded with a brief smile before shrugging out of his loose button up shirt to hand to me. I took it with a nod then he sprinted out into the road. Quickly, I pulled the short sleeve button up shirt on so I didn't have to hold it or wrap it around my shoulders. Worry filled my mind to the point where I was probably beginning to sweat it out. What if things went wrong? What if Glenn got cut off both ways and didn't have an escape?
"He'll be fine." Daryl commented gruffly from behind me.
"I'm glad you're so confident." I replied without looking back. There was a snide tone in my voice that I didn't mean to express.
Daryl spoke again, "He went on runs for the camp all the time. Never got eaten before."
"Your words truly set my worried heart at ease." I whispered back, not bothering to hide any sarcasm. The sound of footsteps filled the alleyway. They weren't the shuffled, slow steps of a walker though. The steps sounded alive. I turned around just as Daryl whipped around the garbage bin behind us with his crossbow raised.
I stepped to Daryl's side so I could get a clear view of the person who had stumbled across us. It was only a young boy, a teenager at the most. "Whoa, don't shoot me!" He yelled in panic. His head was shaven in a light brown buzz cut and he wore a white wife beater with baggy light jeans. He was also extraordinarily loud, "What do you want?!"
With a backward glance to the deadly walkers, I shushed him as quietly as I could. Daryl took a step forward, "I'm lookin' for my brother, he's hurt real bad. You seen him?"
Rather than answering the question, the boy screamed, "Ayudame!"
"Daryl." I said in worry, glancing back again at the walkers that were beginning to grow restless.
"Shut up!" Daryl snapped at him.
"Ayudame!"
"Shut up!" Daryl repeated. I grabbed the back of his shirt and tugged lightly on it in fear that any word I said would just add to the already high noise level, "You're gonna bring the geeks down on us. Now, answer me!"
"Ayudame!"
Rather than repeating himself, Daryl lunged forward and hit the kid across the face with his crossbow. The boy flew back and hit the side of the building before slumping to ground. The boy began to scream even louder.
"Daryl!" I cried, but he ignored me and knelt down to cover the boy's mouth with his hand while continuing to whisper 'shut up' at him. The boy struggled against Daryl with muffled cries. The fence behind us rattled and I spun around expecting to see walkers barreling down at us. Instead, there were two angry, gruff men. One was empty handed, but the other had a metal baseball bat. Both were Hispanic and both sprinted toward us while yelling something I couldn't quite catch.
The first shoved me aside making me land on my bad shoulder with a cry of pain. I sat up quickly to see them kicking and hitting Daryl across the back with the baseball bat.
"Stop it! Leave him alone!" I yelled and rushed forward.
I jumped onto the back of the guy who had the bat and stabbed my knife into the front portion of his shoulder. It was in a place that wouldn't kill him, but boy would it hurt like a bitch. He howled in pain and scrambled back, trying to shake me off of him. Hands grabbed me around my own shoulders and yanked me off his back, throwing me to the ground. I hit the ground hard, rolling toward the front of the alley way and the force of the impact made me lose my knife. I had no idea if it was on the ground or still in the guy's shoulder.
"What-?!" I glanced back to see Glenn come to a screeching halt at the mouth of the alleyway. He had the bag of guns in one hand and a very familiar hat in his other.
"That's it! That's the bag, vato!" One of the men barked.
Glenn grabbed me by the arm and began to drag me out of the alleyway. I tugged him back slightly, "We can't leave Daryl!"
There was no argument to be had though because the man I had stabbed leaped forward and tackled us both to the ground. My chin hit the concrete hard making my teeth snap together painfully. I could taste blood in my mouth as I tried to regain my bearings.
"Tori!" Glenn yelled and I could feel his hand wrap around mine.
An arrow was fired, I recognized the sound of the crossbow's string snapping, and the man I didn't stab let out a loud cry of pain. I was pulled up by Glenn and I looked over the alley just in time to see Daryl on his knees, the boy behind him, while he tried to quickly reload his crossbow.
The screeching of tires filled the air behind me and suddenly Glenn's hand was ripped away from mine. I tried to turn and find him, but the silver bat jammed against my throat as I was pressed against someone's chest and lifted up to be used as a human shield. I struggled against them, but they just tightened their hold on the bat making it harder to breathe.
"Daryl!" I screamed in panic as I realized I was being dragged back to whatever car had pulled up seconds before. I was roughly thrown into the interior of a car and the left side of my head landed on what felt like someone's knee. The car door slammed shut and the car sped forward as something on the outside began to hit the exterior of the car.
"Tori." Glenn spoke in worry. I was being pulled up into a seat, but it was hard to focus on anything. My vision had blurred at the impact. Before my eyesight could fully correct itself a different set of hands were roughly grabbing at me. With a cry, I began to throw my arms and legs out to get away. My foot connected with something and the satisfying crunch of a nose being broken could be heard. Whoever I had kicked howled painfully.
My satisfaction only lasted for seconds though because a bag was thrown over my head as someone else forced my hands behind me and duct taped them together. I was roughly thrown to the empty back of the car. Glenn cried out just as something heavy landed on my stomach.
"Shit, Tori, are you ok?" Glenn asked and I could feel him roll off of me. I hadn't gotten a good look at the car, things had moved too fast, but considering we had been thrown back into an open space of the car I was thinking it was some kind of van with the backseats taken out. The people in the front, maybe three or four based off the voices, were arguing loudly in Spanish.
"I'm fine." I breathed. The bag was made of burlap. The rough texture rubbed against my skin and there were flickers of light that could be seen from the space between threads. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, what the hell happened?"
"I don't know." I whispered, "Everything was fine and this kid showed up, he started screaming, and then…"
Things had happened so fast. My head was still spinning from it all. Glenn shifted beside me so his side was pressed against mine, "It's gonna be ok. You don't happen to have your knife do you?"
"No, I stabbed a guy then lost it." There was silence as I tried to catch my breath. The car was going fast and I could feel every jarring bump on the road. The men in the front were still arguing loudly and fear began to grow in the pit of my stomach. I let out a shaky breath, "They'll save us, Glenn. We'll be saved." I refused to believe that this was the end of us. "Rick'll find us. I know he will."
Rick didn't know what to expect when he sprinted down the alleyway, T-Dog only a step behind him. The two of them had heard the distant, strange screams and had abandoned their post immediately. Something had obviously gone wrong and they were needed elsewhere.
As soon as he turned the corner, he saw Daryl slinging the fence at the mouth of the alley shut as dozens of walkers threw themselves against it. On the ground by Daryl's foot was a new addition, but there were two people missing entirely. A random boy was pushing himself off the ground, but Rick wasn't the only one to notice him. Daryl lunged toward him and Rick sprinted down the alley to get there first.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rick yelled as he threw his arms up to keep Daryl back. The seething man fought against Rick's grip, "Stop it, Daryl!"
"I'm gonna kick your nuts up your throat!" Daryl roared at the boy behind him in response. Rick glanced over his shoulder. The boy had finally gotten up, but T-Dog had him pinned against the wall.
The boy struggled against T-Dog's grip, but T-Dog simply readjusted his hold and pushed him harder against the wall, "Chill out!"
"They took 'em!" Daryl yelled and Rick's attention snapped back to the man he was holding back. "They took Glenn and the doc. That little bastard and his bastard homie friends!" Daryl shoved against Rick again and pointed at the boy, "I'm gonna stomp your ass!"
Rick shoved the murderous looking Daryl back again. The guns were here, but apparently the boy's friends had kidnapped Victoria and Glenn. This news made him far from happy. The walkers made the fence bend forward as more arrived. Rick shook his head, "Get back to the office now. Go!"
T-Dog roughly grabbed the boy and began to drag him down the alley with Daryl just a few steps behind. Rick grabbed the bag of guns and wrapped it around his shoulder. As he was bent over, his eyes caught sight of a bloody knife half sticking out from under the closest garbage bin. That was Victoria's knife. He recognized the blade's shape, but the blood was a new addition. Was the blood from an attacker or had one of them used the knife against her or Glenn? Rick couldn't picture Victoria actually stabbing someone.
"Rick, let's go!" Daryl yelled from down the alley. Rick glanced up to see him waiting by the ladder as look out. He grabbed the knife and rushed over.
T-Dog and the boy weren't in sight as Daryl and Rick climbed to the roof and began to jog over the bridge to the building were the office was. Daryl glanced over at him, "You grab her knife?"
"Yeah. Did she get hurt? Glenn?"
"Hell no." Daryl replied. "She stabbed the jackass that was hittin' me with a damn bat. Jumped on his back and got 'im in the shoulder."
Rick's steps stumbled in surprise, but Daryl continued onward. He had no idea Victoria was capable of something like that. She just seemed so…soft. His surprise gave way to slight admiration before he shook it off and continued to follow on Daryl's heels. No level of shock or admiration was going to matter if he couldn't get her and Glenn back.
Daryl breezed into the office and Rick slammed the door shut as he came in behind. T-Dog was leaning against a desk with his arms crossed as the boy was forced to sit in a desk chair in front of him. The boy didn't look remotely scared. He was slouched over in the seat with his head leaning against the knuckles of one hand. His brown hair was short, a buzz cut, and his bottom lip was broken open and it looked like his nose had been bleeding. There was a tattoo of a single marijuana leaf on the side of his neck, he wore a silver chain, and his white tank top had splotches of dirt and grime.
Rick already had a feeling where this was going. This kid was part of a local gang, Rick would bet money on it. He glanced at Daryl who was pacing a few feet to the side of T-Dog. Rick leaned against the desk by T-Dog, "Those men you were with. We need to know where they went."
"I ain't telling you nothing." The kid snapped.
"Jesus, man." T-Dog groaned with a bob of his head as he pushed himself up so he was actually sitting on the desk, "What the hell happened back there?"
"I told you." Daryl replied sharply as he continued to pace, "This little turd and his douchebag friends came out of nowhere and jumped us!"
The kid scoffed, "Man, you're the one who jumped me, puto." He rubbed the top of his head, "Screaming about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault."
"They took Doc and Glenn! Could've taken Merle too!"
"Merle?" The kid raised his head with a sneer, "What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle."
Daryl stopped pacing and rushed forward in a wild attempt to kick the boy in the chest. Rick rose and caught Daryl at last minute so his leg just flailed in the air. They struggled for a moment before Rick shoved him back, "Damn it, Daryl. Back off."
The kid didn't even seem to react at the attempted attack. Daryl came back around and Rick stiffened in response, waiting for another attack to occur. Instead, Daryl calmly went over to where Glenn's bag was resting on top of a desk. Rick watched as Daryl dug out his brother's severed hand.
"You wanna see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" Daryl slowly turned and tossed the hand into the boy's lap. The boy paused in shock before it truly dawned on him what had just happened. He let out a cry of disgust before leaping out of the chair and scrambling back towards the wall until he fell onto his ass. Daryl followed him and grabbed the front of his shirt with a growl, "Start with the feet this time!"
Rick marched forward and pulled Daryl back without a word. As unorthodox as his methods were, Rick knew they needed something to scare this kid. It reminded him of the days back when Shane and him had to deal with those they arrested. He played good cop and Shane played bad cop. Although, Shane typically didn't throw limbs at people.
"The men you were with took our friends." He knelt down in front of the boy, "All we want to do is talk to them, see if we can work something out."
The boy, who was all calm and collected moments ago, had finally broken. His lips were pressed together in worry and there was fear in his eyes. He bobbed his head slightly and Rick stood up to offer him a hand up. The boy took it and Rick turned around to start grabbing their belongings. There was no question in going after the two people taken. Rick owed Glenn his life. Without Glenn, Rick would be a corpse sitting in that tank, and Victoria… He made her a promise. He hadn't expected this promise to be so hard to keep, but he intended to keep to his word.
The car ride was realistically probably around five minutes long, but it felt like I was in the back of that van forever. Glenn and I continued to whisper calming words to each other, but it only helped my anxiety by a little. I couldn't tell if it was doing Glenn any good, I couldn't see the expressions on his face, but by the tone of his voice I would bet he was in the same boat as me. Movement came to a halt as the car was parked.
"Now what?" Glenn whispered. Sliding doors opened and there were new voices but it didn't sound like any of them were getting closer to you. "Why did they even take us?"
That had been the golden question this entire car ride, and it was finally beginning to dawn on me. I shifted even closer than I already was in hopes that no one would be able to hear, "They weren't after us."
There was pause that was filled with the sound of the car doors sliding shut. The van was now filled with silence. Glenn cleared his throat, "You're right. They were after the guns, the guy freaked out when he saw me holding them."
"Did they get them? I hit the ground and didn't see."
"No. I dropped them and then Daryl shot one of them with an arrow. They grabbed us and left the bag there."
I tried to recall bits and pieces from the scene, "They left the kid there too. The one that snuck up on me and Daryl."
"So…we're hostages?"
Suddenly, the back of the van, the one I had been leaning against with my whole weight, swung open and I began to fall back with a startled cry. Glenn cried out for me in panic and I braced for impact, but two hands caught me before my back hit the ground.
"Whoa, whoa. I got you." An unfamiliar voice said as the rest of my body was pulled out so my feet hit the ground. Gravel crunched beneath the bottom of my shoes, the stale smell of Atlanta air still hung around me, now mixing with the musty bag, and a variety of people were talking in Spanish. They must have been at a distance though because the voices were faint. "Get that guy, we're taking them into the storage room for now."
The shock from falling wore off and I thrashed in the guy's hands, "Let us go!"
Someone yelled something in Spanish, much closer than the other voices, and the same hands tightened around my arms, "Hey, hey. You need to be quiet, cariño. The dead will come."
Glenn was struggling against them as well, but he let out a grunt of pain like the air had been knocked out of him. "Glenn!" I cried. Were they hurting him? The person holding me snapped at someone else before dragging me away. I dug my heels into the gravel, trying to throw him off, but he simply mumbled to himself in annoyance and continued to drag me.
Eventually, we got pulled into a building and the floors became tile. The guy dragged me a few more feet before pushing me suddenly to the left. I bumped into someone's chest and the familiar startled cry made me realize it was Glenn. The door slammed shut behind us and we were suddenly alone.
"Are you ok? Did they hit you?" I worried.
Glenn moved away, but he didn't go far, "Yeah, I'm fine though. He just knocked the wind out of me."
I still couldn't see, but I could tell that there wasn't much space around us. The room felt stuffy and this thought was confirmed when the two of tried to walk around only to take a couple steps and hit a tiled wall. Apparently, the room was completely empty as well. Were we the first prisoners to stuck in this storage room or had there been people before us? Maybe that's why the room was left bare. Maybe this wasn't the first time these people have played kidnappers.
"Hey, sit down." I turned so my hands could feel Glenn's side, "Maybe I can use my fingers to pull your bag off."
"Alright." Glenn knelt down and after fumbling for a second my fingers brushed against the rough burlap. I tugged on it a few times and felt it come loose in my hands. "You got it. Thanks, now you sit too."
I quickly sat down where I was, dropping the bag, and I felt Glenn lean in close. A few seconds passed before the bag began to tug under my chin. I tilted my head and the rough burlap scratched my skin before I was free entirely, "Thank you." I quickly turned to see Glenn let the bag fall from his teeth, "You used your mouth?"
Glenn shrugged, "It worked, right?"
The room was just as small as I had pictured and just as eerie. There was a small porthole type window in the top corner that let in a few rays of light, just enough to see the outline of Glenn's face but not any details. It definitely wasn't large enough to use for an escape. We were stuck in that room for maybe another five minutes before loud footsteps began to approach.
"Push yourself back." Glenn said in a panicked tone, "Sit behind me."
"Glenn…" I began with a shake of my head, but it was too late for any sort of argument. The door swung open letting in a flood of light that briefly blinded me. A man groaned in annoyance and a voice spoke up.
"The bags don't matter and we don't need both." There was a pause and I blinked quickly, my eyes finally began to adjust. Standing in the doorway were two different men than the ones that attacked us, "Just grab the girl."
The larger of the two men stepped forward and grabbed my arm. Glenn lunged forward with his shoulder trying to throw the man off, "Hey, leave her alone!"
"Just relax." The guy snapped before dragging me to my feet and pulling me out before slamming the door shut. Both men pushed me down the hall and I felt a small bubble of relief. Better me than Glenn. That thought process might not be the most self-preserving, but no part of me wished whatever this fate was on Glenn. He was a good guy.
The halls I was being led down reminded me of some kind of hospital. There were random doors every few yards and the ones that were open showed patient rooms. Another thing that gave it away were the folder slots built into the wall outside every other door.
"Are we going out front?" The guy holding my arm asked from behind me.
The man a few steps in front of us turned, his dark hair was matted to his forehead with sweat, "No, we're taking her to the edge of the roof."
I threw my leg back catching the man holding me in the shin. He let out a cry of pain and I shook his hand off to try and sprint away. A pair of hands wrapped around my waist and picked me up as I screamed and fought against the hold. Like hell I was going to let them take me to the edge of the roof without a fight. They wanted to throw me off? They were going to have to work for it.
"Will you just stop!?" The man fighting against me barked. He readjusted me so I was thrown over his shoulder and began to climb the stairs. Despite the worry of falling from this spot and hitting my face against the corner of the stairs, I continued to wiggle in his arms to get free.
The building wasn't very tall. A few flight of stairs and suddenly they were walking through a door back into the warm air and bright light. I let out another scream and fought harder.
"If you keep moving I'll accidentally drop you off the edge." The man sighed. Accidentally. Yeah, Right.
"Oye!" A man yelled from somewhere below. I recognized the voice as the person who had pulled me out of the van. The man dropped me to feet, making me stumble, and the other guy grabbed my left arm while the man who had been carrying me grabbed the right. They dragged me right to the edge and held me there. A warm breeze hit me as I stood on the very corner of the building's roof. The drop was three stories into a closed off concrete courtyard that was overflowing with weeds pushing through the cracks.
Standing close to the building was a group of thuggish looking men and across from them were two faces I recognized with ease. Rick and Daryl were here. They stood in the middle of the courtyard staring up at me. Daryl had his crossbow at the ready and Rick was holding a rifle of some kind. My lips twitched up in a relieved smile, but it was short lived. The man on the left pushed me forward lightly and my foot slipped off the edge. A scream erupted from my lips, but I was pulled back immediately so both feet were planted on solid concrete.
My heart was beating in my chest at a million miles per hour and I could feel sweat pouring down my features. Out of all the ways to go in this world this seemed pretty shitty. Sure, being torn and eaten alive was definitely worse than this, but that didn't mean I was ok with being thrown to my death.
"I see two options." The man from earlier said loudly. He must have been the leader, "You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks…or, you come back locked and loaded. Then we'll see which sides spills more blood."
The men below turned and began to go back inside the building. Rick looked back up and caught my eye for a second before I was dragged back towards the middle of the roof. They dragged me back down to the first floor where the leader was standing by the stairway entrance waiting for us. He wasn't very tall and had a slim frame. Like many of the other men around here, he looked Hispanic and wore a dark blue button up over a white tank top and jeans. His dark hair was shaved close to his head and his brown eyes looked toward me in a friendly manner. This guy sounded rough and mean outside, but looking at him now he seemed like a different guy. In his hands was Rick's sheriff hat.
"I'm sorry about this, cariño." He shook his head, "You and your friend are safe here, I give you my word. No harm will befall either of you."
I glared at him, "You just threatened to push me off a roof."
"I had to put on a show. I couldn't have your cop friend causing a scene." He pressed his lips together and looked genuinely sincere in his regret. "We need those guns."
I shook my head, "He isn't going to hand them over. They're ours, and we need them."
The man chuckled and his lips curled into a small smile, "I'm hoping your friend changes his mind." He glanced to the men at my side, "Take her to the main room. I had her friend moved there already. Just keep an eye on them. There's no need for the bags or the duct tape." He looked to me, "Am I right?"
This guy didn't seem dangerous. He seemed sincere in his apology to me and just looked like a desperate person looking for a solution. Perhaps that's what made him dangerous though. Regardless of his own personal morals, desperate people would do anything especially. I stepped toward him and didn't let my glare waver. Two could play at the scare tactics game, "Rick Grimes is gonna kick your ass."
The leader nodded once and set Rick's hat on top of my head before the men started to push me down the hall. This time I didn't struggle and just let them lead me to wherever the hell they wanted me to be. The guy had said Glenn had already been moved there and I wanted to be with him while we waited for our rescue team.
"Keep walking." The guy behind me said, he suddenly removed the grip on my arms and began to peel the duct tape around my wrists. I cringed when he ripped off the last bit off my bare skin, but didn't let the cry of pain get past my lips. "In here."
Up ahead was a pair of double doors that were already open. As we stepped in I took note of the many empty tables surrounded by wooden chairs. There were candles and newspapers scattered about the room and the wall across from me was a large stage with fuchsia curtains and a cross hanging above it.
"Tori!"
I whipped my head to the left to see Glenn standing there with his hands free as well, "Glenn!" He met me halfway and we wrapped our arms around each other in a tight hug. If I really thought hard about it, it seemed strange. Glenn was a guy I met this morning. The only facts I knew about him were that his name was Glenn, he was Korean, and he used to deliver pizzas. I didn't even know what his last name was. However, I was sincerely happy to see him alive and well. The guy had already begun to grow on me. Maybe it was because of our precarious situation. Nothing bonded people together better than getting kidnapped during the apocalypse.
"Did they hurt you?" Glenn pulled back and let his eyes examine me, "I heard you scream."
"No", I shook my head, "They just used me to scare Rick and Daryl." Glenn's eyes widened in surprise and I grinned, "They're here! I'm sure T-Dog is around here too. They came for us!"
A slow smile spread across Glenn's features, "That's awesome."
"Sit against the wall." It was only then I remembered we weren't alone. Glenn glanced over my shoulder before leading me to a half tiled, half plastered wall where the two of us sat side by side. Glenn had one knee pulled up and I noticed a bloody splotch on his jeans.
"Is your knee ok?"
Glenn cringed, "That's not my blood. I'm pretty sure it's yours." He lifted a hand and pointed to the gash I had bandaged earlier, "You busted your eyebrow open again. The bandage is broken."
I reached up and ripped the broken butterfly bandage off. There was no wet blood dripping down my face so I assumed it was ok for now. The scratches on my arms were still scabbed over and my feet felt dry. However, when I reached back I could feel a damp spot on my shoulder blade and my fingers were red when I pulled them back.
"Your chin is scuffed up too." Glenn pointed. I lifted my other hand to touch my chin and felt the broken skin. It wasn't too bad. The skin was just rubbed raw, but it was sore and would probably only get more sore as time passed.
"Yeah, I hit the ground hard. I bit the inside of my cheek too." I shrugged, "You got hit with the bat though, are you sure you're ok?"
Glenn nodded, "My side is kind of sore, but I think I'm ok."
"Can I check?" He nodded again and leaned away from me so I could pull his shirt up. The right side of his ribcage had already bruised and it would look twice as bad tomorrow. "Does it hurt to breathe?"
"No, just when I move."
"I don't think you have any broken ribs then." I lightly pressed my hand against his side to confirm. "It'll hurt like a bitch tomorrow though."
Glenn chuckled and pulled his shirt down, "Is that your official prognosis, doctor?"
"Damn, right."
His eyes darted up, "So how'd you get Rick's hat? I picked it up with the bag of guns, but I dropped it in the van."
"The leader had it when I came down the stairs. He put it on my head."
"Guillermo?"
I blinked in confusion, "What?"
"Guillermo." Glenn repeated, "That's the leaders name."
"Did you meet him?"
"No, the guys that let me out of that room said it. At least, the way they talked about him it sounded like he was the leader." Glenn said in an offhanded manner. "Was he crazy? Or an asshole or something?"
I thought back to Guillermo and slowly shook my head, "He wasn't an asshole. He wasn't even mean, but…jury's out on whether or not he's crazy." The hat, which was a bit too big for me, slid forward into my eyesight. I pushed it back up, "I can't believe you picked Rick's hat up though."
Glenn chuckled and shrugged, "I was already there. So, why not? It looks good on you though. Really matches well with my shirt."
I glanced down and realized I was still wearing Glenn's button up shirt, "Oh, shit. I forgot about this." Quickly, I pulled it off to hand back over when my eyes landed on the small patch of bright red blood. "Oh my God, I bled through your shirt!"
"Are you ok?"
I rolled my eyes at his concern, "I'm fine, Glenn. I just feel bad about your shirt. First, I bleed through Rick's jacket and now this. I'm a train wreck."
"Don't worry about it." Glenn took the shirt and folded it up, "Carol's really good at getting blood stains out of stuff." It was silent for a couple minutes before Glenn cleared his throat, "How's Rick gonna fix this?"
"Guillermo wants the guns and that kid. I think it's a trade type of situation."
"Do you think he'll make the trade?"
I paused in thought. The guns were heavily needed in camp, that was without a doubt. There was no telling what Rick or Daryl or T-Dog would choose to do. Maybe it was smarter for them to just hand over the guns? It'd save them a lot of trouble. "I honestly don't know if he will or not, but he'll do something." I smiled, "Rick is gonna come get us."
Glenn didn't reply, but there was a small smile on his face as well. Just knowing Rick had come in the first place conquered any doubts I originally had. It didn't make sense for either of us to put blind faith in any of the guys out there. The amount of time we knew each other was insignificant, yet I had faith in them. I had faith they'd come to our rescue. It all went back to having to survive this hellhole together. Trust and faith came easy when the person had already saved your life once.
"Do you hear that?" Glenn asked.
I opened my mouth to question what he was even talking about, but the sound of quiet barking cut me off. A few seconds later, three small Chihuahuas ran into the gym from the far door. The dogs were yapping at each other and running around. As if that wasn't surprising enough, a large group of people came through the door next talking to themselves in a relaxed manner. These people didn't look like they were part of whatever gang was hanging around here and I only thought that because nearly all of them were over 60 years old.
"Do you see the old people or is that just me?" Glenn asked slowly.
I bobbed my head in shock as a younger man jogged in after them, "G needs you two. We're getting ready for when the cop shows back up."
The guys watching us jogged away as the old people settled in the chairs and tables in the middle of the room comfortably. One of the older women laid down a dog bed and the tiny Chihuahuas went over to lie by her side.
"This is so freaking weird." I whispered to Glenn who agreed.
Another guy walked in, probably to keep watch, and I recognized him as the one I stabbed. His shirt was still bloodstained and it looked like a towel of some kind was wrapped around it tightly. He sat down next to an older man with a friendly smile and said something I couldn't quite catch.
"I don't think these guys are the bad guys, Glenn." I slowly stood up and Glenn followed my lead. Carefully, I crossed the room toward the man I had stabbed. His eyes shot to me and he stood up with a glare. His dark hair was held back with a blue bandana and his jawline had scruff along it.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Carlito, you do not speak to woman like that." The old man sitting next to him said with a shake of his head. He was one of the older men here, maybe in his 70s if you had to guess. He was African American with thick glasses, short white hair, and a yellow collared shirt. He also wore a blue cardigan over it and a gold cross around his neck. "Excuse him, ma'am. He's had a rough day. Got injured outside."
I smiled at the man, "I…noticed." Carlito scoffed and it probably had something to do with the fact that I hadn't just noticed his wound I had caused it. I cleared my throat, "Anyways, this is Glenn, and I'm Tori. I'm a…a doctor actually and I thought I'd offer my services?"
Carlito's eyes widened in surprise but they narrowed again in hesitance, "Really? What's the catch?"
"You don't turn down an offer of help from a woman either, Carlito." The old man said again with a sigh making me chuckle in amusement, "Honestly." He shook his head, "Go get some supplies for the good doctor to use."
"Fine. Stay here, Mr. Gilbert."
"I aint goin' nowhere."
Carlito rose and walked away. Mr. Gilbert motioned toward the seat beside him, "Please have a seat." I sat down with a smile and he glanced at Glenn, "Pull yourself a chair, son."
By time Glenn grabbed a chair and began to carry it over, Carlito came back with a small first aid kit. He also began to drag over another chair as he noticed the rest were occupied. I took the kit from him and twisted so I was facing him. Glenn began to talk to Mr. Gilbert as I took off the bloody towel. He unbuttoned the top portion of his shirt and pulled his arm out with a cringe.
"That looks like it hurts." I commented and grabbed alcohol swabs from the box to wipe the wound down.
He cringed and hissed, "Yeah, it isn't pleasant. You gonna apologize for stabbing me?"
I raised an eyebrow at him, "I guess I feel kinda bad, but you were hitting my friend with a baseball bat." I pressed the alcohol swab slightly into his wound and he hissed again in pain, "So probably not, no."
Carlito chuckled, "Fair enough."
"It needs stitches to prevent infection." I used the towel that had been covering it earlier to mop up some blood that was leaking out, "But I can't stitch it up right now, there's some foreign material in there. I can clean it out for you."
He nodded, "That's fine. I can have Felipe sew it up later."
I cleaned the wound once more, using the forceps to pull out the larger foreign objects, before using the towel to wrap it up. This time I wrapped it tighter than it had been so the pressure would remain on the wound. A chair scraped across the ground as Glenn quickly stood up, "Mr. Gilbert!?" Carlito jumped up as well and I turned around to see the older man gasping for air. Glenn was facing me now, "He was talking about his granddaughter when he just- this!"
The others in the room were beginning to surround him in worry. I cleared my throat, "Everyone needs to back up. We need to give him space." I shoved Glenn's chair away from so I could kneel down in front of him. He could barely breathe, he was having an asthma attack. "Does he have an inhaler? Where is his inhaler?"
Carlito shook his head, "Felipe should know but…" He rushed forward to check the pockets of the wheelchair Mr. Gilbert was sitting in. "Someone go get Felipe!"
"Carlito, does he have any medical issues?"
"Asthma."
I resisted the urge the groan and nodded, "Other than asthma?"
"I don't know!"
"Mr. Gilbert, I need you to stay calm. Take deep breaths and try to match my breathing rate, ok?" I slowed my own breaths into a deep steady pattern then leaned forward and pressed my hands against the front part of his inner shoulder in hopes to relax the muscles. Drinking caffeine would probably be a bigger help, but I didn't think he could calm down enough to drink a soda without choking. Luckily, my worries subsided as Mr. Gilbert began to calm and try and take wheezy, short breaths.
"What the hell is this?"
My head snapped around at the sound of Rick's gruff, southern twang. Him, Daryl, and T-Dog stood only a few feet away by a little old lady with curlers in her hair and the other guy that had attacked us earlier. He rushed forward pulling an inhaler out of his hand and I stepped aside so he could administer it.
"An asthma attack." Glenn replied simply. Daryl still had a shotgun half raised and a look of confusion on his face. "He couldn't catch his breath all of a sudden. Tori's been helping him."
T-Dog scoffed and pointed at us, "I thought you two were being fed to Satan's evil dogs!"
"Satan's evil dogs?" I turned my head to look at the Chihuahuas who were standing up now with their tails wagging then slowly grinned at him, "I mean, I don't like Chihuahuas either, man, but I think that's a kinda strong description."
T-Dog rolled his eyes at me and my smile grew in amusement.
"Can I have a word with you?"
I glanced over to see Rick pulling Guillermo off to the side. The older folks surged closer to Mr. Gilbert, who was doing fine now, and I took a step away not only to give them room, but also so I could continue to hear the conversation.
"You are the dumbest son of a bitch I ever met." Rick said firmly. His jaw clenched then unclenched as anger tinged his words, "We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you."
Guillermo smiled and turned his head slightly to make eye contact with me, "Just like you said he would, cariño. You know your man well." I shifted awkwardly as Rick looked back at me as well. Guillermo continued, "I'm glad it didn't go down that way."
"If it had, that blood would be on my hands." Rick argued. He was still visibly pissed, but also relieved.
"Hey don't drop it man! We got fragiles!" A younger, female voice barked. On the other side of the room, two men and one teenage girl were walking through carrying random bags and various items. The girl had a duffel bag slung over one shoulder. It was dark blue with accents of white and light blue on the handles and pockets.
I turned back to focus on the conversation I wanted to hear, but I had missed a good chunk of it. Guillermo was speaking, "-staff took off. Left all the old folks here to die. Me and Felipe are the only ones who stayed."
"What are you? Doctors?"
"Felipe's a nurse. Special Care provider." Guillermo shrugged, "I was the custodian."
Slowly, I turned my head back to see the backs of those three people as they walked down a long hallway. I was thinking about that duffel bag again. Why did it feel so familiar? I didn't realize my feet were even moving until I reached the doorway of the hall. Then the urge hit me. I needed to see that bag.
"Hey! Wait up!" I yelled and sprinted down the hall. The three people turned to look at me, but none of them had hostility in their gazes. One man was tall and gangly with glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. His blond hair was a mess and his arms were filled with random electronic parts. The other guy was bald and thickly built with plain brown eyes. The girl stood out among them, not just because of her age, but because of the bright blue streaks in her hair. They had grown out some, I could see the black roots that matched the rest of her hair, but they were still vibrant in color.
The girl's brown eyes narrowed in distrust, "Can we help you?"
"That duffel bag…I…" I let out a slow sigh, "I think it's mine."
Now that I was closer, I could see that how beat up and empty the bag looked. It was heavily leaning toward one side, which meant something was in it. Her arms tightened around it making the bag twist, "How do I know you ain't lying to me?"
"What?"
"Maybe you just want it for yourself."
I stepped forward and pulled the bag towards me despite the girl's protests. Monogramed on the front were the initials 'VS'.
"Are those your initials?" It took me a few seconds to realize the tall, thin man was the one who spoke.
"Where did you find it?" I answered his own question with one of my own.
He nodded with his head toward the left, "Liza picked it up not far from here in the middle of an intersection. It was pushed off to the side with a bunch of trash and rubble."
"Can I see it?" I asked Liza directly and kept my grip around the edge of the bag that I had grabbed earlier. "Please?"
Liza narrowed her eyes, "What do the initials stand for?"
"Victoria Smith."
She rolled her eyes before handing the bag over. With a slight nod, I knelt down to zip open the duffel. Like I had suspected, there was next to nothing in the bag, but what I hadn't expected was the few items to be salt. In total, there were four cylinders of Morton salt.
"Were you a cook or somethin'?" Liza asked.
I shook my head, "Good question." After searching all the other pockets, I came to the conclusion that there was nothing else in the bag. I sighed and stood back up, "Why did you want the salt so bad?"
"I don't care about the salt. I just want the bag." Liza argued. She pouted slightly before crossing her arms, "So do you still want it or…?" Both men scolded her.
"Consider it yours."
"Thanks, you rock." Liza replied and scooped the bag off the ground. She pulled out a container of salt before zipping it up. I shot her a questioning look, but any question I had about her actions was answered when she tossed the salt to me. "A parting gift."
I shook the salt with a small, forced smile, "Thanks."
Liza whipped around and continued down the hall without a backwards glance. The men gave me brief nods before following after them. I just remained where I was with my eyes on the salt in my hand. Having a bag filled with just salt was weird as hell, but the biggest question I had was why my bag was sitting in some random intersection of Atlanta. Had I already been here? The possibility existed that Rick was wrong. Sure, my car front had been pointing in the direction of Atlanta, but maybe it just got turned around in the accident. What if I had already been to Atlanta and I was heading somewhere else?
A hand touched my uninjured shoulder and I swung around in surprise. Daryl stood there with a questioning gaze. He didn't ask me anything or make a snide comment about my jumpiness. He just stared at me with his eyebrows furrowed in thought. His eyes darted down to the salt in my hand and his eyes narrowed in further confusion.
"Salt." I forced an awkward chuckle, "To season your squirrels." Daryl didn't reply to my attempt at a joke. I cleared my throat, "Are we, uh, leaving?"
"Yeah." He mumbled and grabbed the strap hanging over his shoulder. He swung the bag forward and I recognized it as my own. Daryl had brought me my bag? He held it out to me and after getting over the surprise of seeing it I took it from him. He turned and said over his shoulder, "Hurry it up."
I quickly shoved the salt into my bag and jogged after him. We walked back down the hallway toward the big room with the rest of the group. Mr. Gilbert caught my eye, he was waving at me and I returned the friendly gesture earnestly. Guillermo was finishing his conversation with Rick and from what I could tell, Rick had given him a number off guns and matching ammunition.
"Stay safe." Rick reached forward.
Guillermo took his hand with a small smile, "You too, amigo." T-Dog grabbed the remaining bag of guns and left the room with Daryl a step behind. Guillermo stepped away from Rick and offered his hand to Glenn who shook it, "I'm sorry for the false pretenses. Hope there are no hard feelings."
"We're good." Glenn nodded.
"I'm sorry to you too, cariño." Guillermo looked to me, "It's a sin to make such a pretty face bleed. I'm sincerely sorry."
I chuckled, "Most of these injuries came before the whole misunderstanding. What you're doing here is good. You're a good man."
Guillermo smiled at my compliment, "I try to be. You and your group have safe travels through the city."
Final goodbyes were said and the five of us quickly left the building. It felt late in the day to me, but based off the sun in the sky sunset wouldn't come for another couple hours. Rick and Glenn were in the front of the group leading us through the city, but it was getting harder to keep up their quick pace. My foot was really starting to ache and my sock was beginning to feel damp again. I had no right to say anything about it though. Rick had told me I needed rest, but I had been determined to come to Atlanta. Not that this trip had really accomplished much for me. I guess I had found the sign I was looking for. My duffel bag had been here which meant at some point I had been here. Considering I had left Atlanta that must mean there was nothing left for me in this city, but where had I been going? My driver's license said I was from Alabama. Perhaps, there was a home for me there with people waiting for me to show up. I could always try and drive directly to the address on my license. That option wasn't very appealing though because it meant I'd have to drive there alone and as today so efficiently proved, trying to be on my own in a world like this wasn't the greatest idea. If I left and got kidnapped by a group of people, a group that was actually bad, there would be no one coming to save me. I'd be my own back-up and that was a terrifying thought.
"Victoria?"
My eyes snapped into focus. Rick had slowed down so he was now walking beside me while the others were a good ten or so feet ahead. I got so caught up in my thoughts that I forgot to keep up with the group, "Sorry, Rick. I'll try and keep up."
"Are you alright?" There was concern and worry in his light blue eyes.
"I'm fine." I said quickly with a smile, "My foot is fine. My shoulder started to bleed again, but that's from getting pushed and pulled around, I think."
Rick's gaze was skeptical, but he didn't press further. Instead, he shook his head, "Daryl mentioned you were jumpy when he went to find you earlier, and now you seem…distant. Is everything ok?"
"Really, it is. I just got…lost in my thoughts." I smiled in hopes that I could convince him that everything was truly ok. All things considering.
"Maybe we can come back down here another day. Spend the time looking for a sign for you?"
I was touched at the offer, but I slowly shook my head, "Thanks, Rick, but…I don't think there's anything for me in Atlanta. Call it a…gut feeling." These words made him narrow his eyes in confusion and I could understand why. I had been so adamant about coming down and finding a piece of myself and now I was turning down another opportunity. I wasn't sure I wanted to talk about it though so I settled on changing the subject. "Oh, hey." I pulled the hat off my head. For the longest time, I had forgotten it was even there. I just got used to the weight on my head, "I believe this is yours."
"I noticed you wearing it when I first came in." Rick laughed. He took the hat and placed it over his own head. "Where'd you get it?"
"Glenn picked it up with the bag. It just got taken with us is all. It's him you should thank."
Rick tilted his head slightly, "It seems I have a lot to thank him for."
His words sounded oddly distant so I lightly bumped into his side with my shoulder, a grin on my lips, "I know your secret, you know."
"My secret?" Rick questioned with a slow smile growing on his features.
"Yeah." I chuckled, "You came all the way back to Atlanta for a hat."
Rick let out a small laugh, "Don't tell anybody."
There was a beat of silence, and the two of us continued to linger a couple feet away from the others. I cleared my throat, "Thanks, Rick. For coming for us. I knew you would."
"Of course." He replied without hesitance, "I made you a promise I plan to keep, and Glenn…I owe him my life. I was no one to him when he saved me yesterday, just some idiot in a tank."
I recalled the story Glenn had told me. A lot of what happened between him and Glenn could be compared to what happened between him and me. I was a nobody to him too. Rick Grimes was a man I had known less than 48 hours, but it felt like there was so much I needed to thank him for already. I opened my mouth to try and express even a fraction of it, but words failed me. A sigh slipped out instead and I settled for a nod, "Just… thanks, Rick. For everything."
He reached out and gave my shoulder a light squeeze, his fingers careful to avoid my injury. Rick used his other hand to reach for his belt. He had my knife in his hand and offered it over, "I found this in the alley. Do you know what those symbols mean?"
I took the knife and flipped it over in my hand to look over the symbols again, "Your guess is as good as mine. It looks kind of like Arabic, but I know nothing about that language so that guess could be entirely wrong too." My hand tightened around the handle, "It's kind of a creepy knife, but I really like having it. It's a small part of my past, I guess."
"That's understandable." Rick replied. "Come on, we should catch up."
Rick picked up his pace and I followed step for step, biting back the wince that came to me every time my foot hit the ground. I recognized the area we were in, it wasn't far from the railroad tracks which meant we'd be at the van soon enough. Being at the van meant I wouldn't have to walk anymore and that was reason enough to push myself harder now. A five-minute half-jog got us to the railroad tracks. I was in the middle of the group again, hardly by choice, when we turned the past a group of stone pillars. My eyes shot to the van, or at least they went to where the van was supposed to be.
"Wait, guys?" I breathed as we all came to a halting stop.
The van was nowhere in sight.
"Oh my God." Glenn blurted.
Daryl spun around slightly, looking at the surrounding area, "Where the hell's our van?"
"We left it right there." Glenn's voice was panicked and shocked, "Who would take it?"
Rick was the one to answer, "Merle."
There was silence as I soaked in that answer. It was a possibility. Not only that, it was the possibility with the highest chances of being true. It wasn't like a walker committed grand theft auto.
"He's gonna be takin' some vengeance back to camp." Daryl said, his eyes were downcast and he even looked partly regretful.
Rick spun around to face Glenn, "Which way is faster for us to run, the forest or the road?"
"The forest is less distance." Glenn sighed, "But either way is long. It'll take at least an hour and a half."
"Then we need to get moving." Rick replied bluntly and began to job ahead. We followed after him at the same jogging pace. I wasn't entirely sure if my body was going to make it all the way back to camp. My foot was done, but I had to at least try. Merle wasn't going to be happy when he showed up in camp and nobody wanted to see what he would do.
It took as long as expected, cutting through the forest, and there was still a bit of a way to go. The sun had disappeared maybe twenty minutes ago making the woods around us dark and foreboding. My hands tightened around the shotgun Rick had handed me, but my clammy hands kept slipping. Sweat poured out from every pore I had and the agonizing ache that had been started at the bottom of my foot seemed to be radiating up my leg. I needed to sit down, to get pressure off of my foot, but there just was no time. The taste of blood covered my tongue as I continued to bite down on my bottom lip to avoid letting out a cry of pain.
"Tori, you good?" T-Dog suddenly asked. It was too dark out to see my pained expression and I hadn't uttered a single complaint since we left Atlanta. Did he hear one of my muffled whimpers of pain?
I wasn't entirely certain I could open my mouth and lie in a believable manner. If I separated my teeth from my bottom lip, I was positive that all that would come out were pained sobs.
Gunshots and screams filled the once quiet air.
"Oh God, no." Rick mumbled in horror. He sprinted ahead to the source of the screams. The pain I felt shot to the back of my mind as fear filled my body. We stepped into camp in the middle of a full out attack. However, Merle and the truck were nowhere to be seen. Instead, a small hoard of walkers stumbled through camp. Gunshots fired around me, but I remained frozen in place. The small campfires around camp cast an eerie glow on the surrounding bloodshed. Long, distorted shadows were cast from the geeks that knelt over once living people, gorging on flesh.
People were screaming all around, some in pain, some in fear, and one deep voice in particular was barking out orders. In all the noise, the faint sound of my name being called caught my attention and snapped me back into the moment. I spun around just in time to see geek reach out for me with its long, pale arms. My finger squeezed down on the trigger, a pure reaction move, but nothing happened. The trigger wouldn't pull back. The walker got closer, its dark features hidden by the shadows, and it continued to reach out toward me.
'Safety! Move, you need to get to safety!' The loud, involuntary thought flashed through my mind, but all it did was remind me of my error.
I used the thumb of my firing hand to shove the small safety button above the trigger then immediately fired. The walker was close enough that the shotgun pellets didn't disperse far. Instead, the concentrated blast hit the geek in the center of the chest creating a gaping hole. It flew backwards into the dirt and I stumbled back from the force of the kickback.
The walker began to push itself off the ground again, its ugly head rolling from side to side, undisturbed by the hole in its chest. It only sat up a few inches before someone ran over and slammed their foot into the skull.
"You good?" It took me a moment before I realized it had been Daryl that ran over and killed the walker. His crossbow was slung over his back and he held a shotgun.
I nodded, "Y-Yeah. I'm ok."
"Amy!"
I spun around again, looking for the person who called out so desperately, and my eyes landed on Andrea who was knelt on the ground outside the RV sobbing hysterically. They were close enough to a campfire that I could see all the blood. I could see Amy lying under her sister gasping for breath. I dropped the shotgun and tried to race forward, but Daryl grabbed my arm and yanked me back.
"Let me go!" I shook him off, but he sidestepped so he was still in my way, "I need to- I need to help!"
He shook his head and took a step toward me, "It got 'er in the neck. She's gone."
I stumbled back a step in exhaustion and fell to my ass. The night had calmed, the panic and terror that once filled the air was gone, but there was still a tenseness that lingered, a sense of dread that hung over everyone. Dead bodies lay scattered around the campsite. Some were walkers, unrecognizable creatures that were once human. Others wore faces I had seen just hours earlier around camp. They had been smiling, talking, and above all else they had been alive.
Now they were mutilated and torn.
The blood that pooled around them was muted by the dim firelight. How quickly things had gone wrong. It took less than a day for this camp to be upturned and left bleeding.
Daryl walked away, slipping into the woods with his crossbow raised, and a hand suddenly settled on my shoulder. I glanced up to see Glenn looking down at me in worry. His features held more than just worry though. There was grief and there was guilt as well.
I gave him a numb nod and lifted a shaky hand to rub at my features. If only I could rub away the exhaustion and pain. The night was silent minus the crackling of the campfires and Andrea's distraught, loud sobs.