This Night

Chapter 225

Author's Note: Alright, I have a confession. I've never seen Slabtown. I missed the episode and I made the mistake of going online before I watched it and went, great another group of baddies. I'll skip that episode. So, I watched it today. I really hate these people. So, my OC idea totally changed and I spent the last fifty minutes finding another actress to play her. I won't be redoing the whole episode, just parts that Riley fits into. Anyway, please review.

OC:

Annalise Basso as Riley Hanson

Grady Memorial Hospital:

The teenage red head looked at the picture of her father and Dawn on Dawn's desk and shook her head. "Hypocrite," she mumbled as she turned her head to the door as it opened. "Saw Gorman and Bob bring in a new person. How far did they go this time? Did they run her over?" she asked.

"Riley, I've asked you not to come into my office without me being here. Plus, you know better then to badmouth what we do here. If some of the officers had there way, you'd be working to keep up your keep or a biter now. It's loyalty to your father that I've protected you this far," Dawn told her.

"You know what Gorman is doing, and you're turning a blind eye. What happens if he decides to try again with me?" Riley questioned.

"Riley, you know I wouldn't let him. I respected your father, but you know that he made bad calls, got people hurt. I did what I had to do. We're still here, we're still breathing," Dawn told her.

"The patient they brought in, she gonna make it?" Riley asked ignoring her.

"Her injuries aren't severe," Dawn told her. "You've been working on the roof garden again? Got a green thumb like your mother."

"We've all got to pull our weight right?" Riley asked.

"I can get one of the patients to do it, you don't have to," Dawn told her.

"I like it, plus it keeps me out of the way," Riley told her. "I better go."

"Riley, I want you to stay away from the new girl, until she gets used to our ways," Dawn told her.

"Whatever you say, Dawn," Riley said as she went out the door.

The next day:

Riley ducked behind a corner of a door as she kept an eye on the new girl. She started to turn away when she heard footsteps.

"Hey! Why are you following me? Are you spying on me for Dawn?" Beth asked.

"No, I'm not spying on you for Dawn. Dawn told me to stay away from you, until you learned the system. I'm not very good at listening. Come on, we shouldn't be talking out here," Riley told her as she went to walk away. She turned and looked at her. "Are you coming or not?" she asked as Beth followed her. Riley opened the door to a room. "Home sweet home. I'm Riley and your Beth right?" she asked.

"Are you one of the people they are making work off there debt?" Beth asked.

Riley gave a small laugh. "I wish I was that lucky," she said. "When this all happened my dad, Dawn and some of the other officers were assigned to clear out Grady. It was just my dad and me, so him and Dawn picked me up from school, thought we'd be safe here while they were evacuating. Didn't work out to well, we got stuck in here. Dad tried to keep order, but Dawn decided that he was making mistakes. At least that's what she tells herself to justify her killing him."

Beth looked at her. "Why are you telling me this? Is this so I'll trust you?"

Riley shook her head. "This is still a hospital. A hospital is supposed to a place people can be helped without being afraid for there safety and lives. Even now that's what it should be, but it's not. Have you looked around and saw the patients here? Older, or weak. People that they don't think will fight back. But I think, they're underestimating you. They underestimate me too."

Beth looked at her. "I'm sorry about your dad. I just lost mine a few days ago," she told her.

"I'm sorry about yours. I'm not working for Dawn, for any of them. Most of them knew my dad, most of them see me as a little sister, someone who they look out for. Most of them anyway. They'll have conversations with me in the room and they think I'm not paying attention, that I'm not someone to be messed with. You have people out there that care for you, don't you? Dawn said that you asked about the men you were with," Riley pointed out.

"I have a group, we just got separated. Jewel, she was close to giving birth. I was with her brother and a friend," Beth told her.

"You had someone about ready to give birth? A baby? Out there?" Riley asked.

"We already had a baby in the group. Judith. Her mother didn't make it, but Jewel will, she's strong," Beth told the other girl.

"Dawn always talks about people not surviving out there. How everyone is turning into bad people, and that we have to be here to keep order. Then I hear stories like that and I wonder if maybe we're the ones living in hell," Riley told her. "My doors always open. I'll do what I can," the younger teen told Beth.

Later that Night:

Riley rolled her eyes as Gorman passed her with other officers as they were holding Joan. "Joan!" she called as she ran after them. "What happened?"

"Riley stay out of the way," Gorman told her.

"Joan, hey, you've got to let us help you," Riley told her as they got her in the room. "Get Edwards!" Riley yelled at Gorman.

"I don't take orders from you," Gorman told her.

"But you do from me, get Edwards," Dawn told him.

"Joan, you've got to calm down, let us help you. Please," Riley begged as she struggled to keep her on the bed.

"She's lucky we found her. Whatever you were thinking, it wasn't worth it," Dawn told her as Gorman held down her legs. "Okay you have two choices. Either we cut off your arm or you do," she told the other woman.

Riley rubbed Joan's hair as she made eye contact with Beth. "Joan, come on, please," she begged.

"Screw you and you're little bitch!" Joan yelled at Dawn.

"Smart ass whore!" Gorman yelled as he moved and tried to go attack her.

"Get him out of here Dawn! He's the reason she ran, you know it!" Riley begged.

"Gorman get out of here!" Dawn ordered him.

"He's gone, he's gone, Joan. Come on, please," Riley begged as she rubbed her hair.

"Leave me alone!" Joan yelled.

Edwards brought over a needle. "It's atheistic, you need it," he told her as Joan kicked out.

"Go to hell!" Joan yelled.

"She made her choice, do it," Dawn told Edwards.

"Dawn, let me try to convince her," Riley begged.

"We don't have time. Do it," Dawn yelled at Edwards. "We're not going to let you die, we're not going to let you turn," Dawn assured her.

"I want to die!" Joan yelled.

"Joan, if you die, he wins," Riley told her.

"Keep your hands off me! I'm not going back to him!" Joan yelled.

Dawn looked over at Beth. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I don't think I can help," Beth told them.

"Beth, please, help me hold her down. She doesn't deserve to die. We're a hospital, we're supposed to help people," Riley begged.

Beth looked at her and went to help.

"Keep your hands off me!" Joan repeated.

"You don't have to go back to him," Dawn assured her.

"You can't control them!" Joan yelled.

"I will," Dawn told her.

Riley looked at Dawn, keeping herself from saying anything. She closed her eyes as Dr. Edwards worked on the arm. When it was over, she leaned against the wall before straightening up. "We'll take the bedclothes to Noah," Riley said as she took Beth by the shoulders. "Come on," she said as she glanced back at the scene. "We'll get you some new clothes too," she said as she went with her. She opened the door to the storage room. "Hey Noah," she greeted.

"Riles, hey you two OK?" Noah asked. "I'm Noah. Of the lollipop guild," he greeted.

"Beth. Thanks for that," she said.

"Joan….she had enough of Gorman's shit," Riley explained as she sat on the floor.

"I should have brought the whole damn jar," Noah told them.

"If she stayed, worked a while, couldn't she had just left?" Beth asked.

Riley and Noah shared a look. "No one leaves Grady. No one pays off there debt," Riley told her. "

Noah nodded. "I haven't seen anyone pay off the debt. More you eat, more medicine you need, more you owe. I've been here about a year."

Beth looked at Riley. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked accusingly.

"You weren't ready to hear the truth yet. Noah wasn't either. It's easier to accept the fact when you see something like that," Riley told her.

"Riles is one of the good guys," Noah told Beth as he showed her his leg. "Dad and I were both pretty messed up when they found us. They said that they could only save one. For the longest time, I actually believed them. Now I get it. Dad was bigger, stronger. Would have fought back. Would have been a threat."

"They left him behind on purpose," Beth stated.

"Just like they said no one was with you," Riley told them.

"Dawn just looked the other way. See, she's in charge, but just barely. And it's getting worse," Noah said.

"Dawn doesn't see it, doesn't think that someone will do to her what she did to my dad. My dad made mistakes that got people killed. He wanted to leave this place, wanted to take me to my grandparents' on my mother side in Washington. He was getting supplies together, had a group going out with him. Dawn decided she just couldn't have that. But now, Gorman he wants to be in charge. If that happens, no one is safe," Riley explained.

"It's why I'm out of here when the time is right. I came looking for my uncle. Gotta get back to my mom," Noah told Beth. "Trying to convince Riley here to make the big escape with me."

"Where's home?" Beth asked Noah.

"Richmond. Virginia. We had walls. See, they think I'm scrawny. They think I'm weak. But they don't know shit about me, about what I am, about what you are, about what Riley is. Riley watches everything, she may be a red head but she's a chameleon," Noah told Beth.

"I'm going to sit with Joan, she should have someone when she wakes up," Riley said as she got up.

2AM

Riley sat beside Joan as Beth hummed and mopped the floor. "That's real nice," Joan told Beth.

"Joan, hey I was starting to get worried. Beth get Dr. Edwards please," Riley told her.

"No, please not yet," Joan told them.

"It should have been me Joan, not you. All this time, it should have been me," Riley told her.

"No, Riley, it shouldn't be any of us," Joan told the red head.

"I'm so sorry," Beth said.

"She can control them, but she doesn't, because it's easier, because she's a coward," Joan told her.

"What did he do to you?" Beth asked.

"It doesn't matter," Joan said.

"It does matter, it does," Riley said. "I may only be 15 but I know it matters. Gorman rapes the female patients and Dawn turns a blind eye. He tried…to rape me about six months ago, but Joan stopped him. Dawn reprimanded him for trying with me, but didn't say a word about Joan and the others."

"I guess it's easier to make a deal with the devil when you aren't the one to pay the price," Joan said as she drifted off to sleep.

"You know this isn't your fault, right?" Beth asked.

Riley looked at her. "I'm not doing anything to stop it, I'm no better then Dawn."

Beth bent down. "You are so much better then her. You are helping' in your own way. You are brave, and strong. You don't think you are, I know. I've been there. You've showed more fight then I did at first. You want to live, don't you?"

"Not if it means living like this. If it means becoming like Dawn, no. If it means staying in here being a prisoner, no," Riley told her.

Beth touched her face. "Then when Noah leaves, we leave with him. My family will love you. Judy will love having someone else to hold her, and the new baby. Can you just imagine holding a new little person, so full of life, so full of hope. Carl and Lexi are your age, you'll get along great with them. We won't be able to lose you in a crowd of walkers' with that hair," she teased.

"You mean rotters?" Riley asked.

"We call them walkers'. Don't give up hope, Riley, not like I did. You keep being the chameleon, we'll get out of here," Beth told her.

TBC