Better Days
Chapter 372
Author's Note: I wish the writers would stop stealing my ideas and giving them to other characters. I don't read the comics so I have no idea what happens, so ideas I have and see on the show ticks me off. LOL. I guess I'll let them 'borrow' them since they are letting me borrow the characters from them. So I have a David, and the show had a red shirt named David, and both will be appearing in this chapter or the next. Sorry about that, I had named my David before I got to that part of the show! New stuff is coming, since I have my OC's. Please review.
Axel and Jes' POV:
Jes armed her rifle as Axel drove the car. "We're not going to be able to take the car through the woods to get to the herd. I'm going to get out and I want you to turn around and get on the main road. Try to see if you can get Summer's group and make sure they get to where they need to go."
Axel looked at Jes. "You're not going to do it alone. That's just not going to happen," he said.
"It doesn't make sense for both of us to try to get ahead of the herd when you can be of help to David, Summer, Emily and Nikki. They have to get to where they can distract the herd on higher ground," Jes told him.
"They probably already are on the move," Axel said. "Look I know I'm not Merle, but I'm all you have right now. We don't do things separately, that's not how we do things. So, we can either both stay in the car together, or we both get out of the car together, but the key word is together," Axel told her.
Jes looked at him. "Damn, Axel, you grew some balls. Didn't expect you to stand up to me. You know I could just hit you."
"You could, but then I'd probably wreck the car and that wouldn't do either one of us any good, would it? We'd be down a car and both of us could get injured, or worse," Axel responded. "We both know where Rick needs us, so we can try to go parallel of the rail road tracks with the car and try to head them off there."
"We'd be wasting valuable time," Jes said.
"We'd be wasting more if we went by foot," Axel pointed out. "Right now half of the herd isn't even coming anywhere close to where we are, they are heading in the other direction, the wrong direction. If we run into Summer and the others', then we can help them. But right now we have to try to help RIck, we have to do what we can. Both of us," he said.
Jes picked up the walkie talkie. "Rick, it's Jes. Axel and I are going to drive the car parallel to the railroad tracks as far as we can, then we're going to try to distract them into following us until you can meet up with us."
"Understood," Rick answered as he ran.
Jes looked at Axel. "Let's go," she said.
Summer and David's POV:
David stopped and looked back at Nikki and Emily who were lagging behind. "Summer," he called ahead.
Summer turned and ran back. "What?"
"They are lagging behind again. We need to leave them behind.
"We aren't leaving anyone behind," Summer said.
"This is the 2nd time that we've had to stop, they can't keep up," David said.
"It's not an option," Summer stubbornly said.
"Then what do you suggest?" David asked.
"You help Nikki, I'll help Emily. We all head to the spot together," Summer told him as she went back to where they were. "Hey, we've got to keep moving, we've got to be ready when dad is in position."
"It's her asthma," Emily told them as she nodded to Nikki.
"What the hell are you doing out here with asthma?" David asked.
"David," Summer warned. "Do you have an inhaler?"
Nikki shook her short blond head. "I usually don't do anything like this. I didn't think we'd be running like this," she responded honestly. "Leave me," the young woman told them.
"You heard her," David said as he started to turn.
"That's not happening," Summer told her as she grabbed the back of David's coat and pulled him back. "Four of us came out here, four of us are going to get back."
"Or four of us are going to die," David told them.
"I sure hope his brother isn't like this or I'm seriously going to have to question your choice in boyfriends," Emily said.
"David isn't house trained," Summer said. "Wait here," she told the two women and nodded her head for David to follow her. "Change of plans, you're going to rendezvous with Jes and Axel and get them in the car. Nikki can't keep up, and Emily isn't going to leave her."
"You think I'm going to leave you? What about the whole thing about that's not how we do things?" David asked her.
"Look, we've got a jobs to do, and right now, I need you to make sure they get home. I'm not going to lose another person, I can't," Summer said.
"Look they aren't part of our family, they just happen to be living in the same community," David told her.
"Emily's brother brought us into Alexandria, Nikki volunteered to be out here, to risk her life to save everyone. We live together or we die alone, simple as that," Summer told him.
"Emily can take Nikki, we'll contact Jes and Axel, and I'm going with you. That's the deal," David said. "Look, if Joey was out here instead of me, would he let you send him away with the two of them and let you go out on your own?"
Summer shook her head. "No," she said.
"Neither am I," David told her. "Give me the walkie talkie," he demanded as he held out his hand.
Summer looked at him and sighed as she gave him the walkie talkie.
"Jes, where are you?" David asked through the walkie talkie.
"By the railroad tracks. What's up?" Jes asked.
"Summer and I are going to proceed to the hill, we're going to send Nikki and Emily your way. Nikki has asthma, doesn't have an inhaler," David said.
Jes looked at Axel and sighed. "Copy, we'll be expecting them," she said as David handed Summer the walkie talkie back.
David walked over to them. "You two are going to head North, toward home, you're going to meet up with Axel and Jes. The car will be easier on Nikki, and you'll still be able to help."
"I'm sorry," Nikki said.
"Don't be, you should have told us, but like you said this was unexpected," Summer told her. "We need to go," she told David.
David nodded as both of them started to run.
Glenn's group:
"We're ahead of it, ten minuets, twenty minuets, maybe," Glenn said as they were walking through the woods toward home.
"We all keep up the pace, we all get back home," Michonne told them.
"So if we don't? That's it huh?" Heath asked.
Quinn exchanged glances with Beth. "Heath, what's up with the attitude?" Quinn asked.
"It's nothing," Heath answered as he walked.
"It sounds like something," Beth answered.
Quinn glanced over at Heath and started to say something before Sturgess spoke. "We don't even know what's waiting for us," he said nervously.
"It'll be OK, we have walls for a reason," the older David said.
"That sound, maybe someone plowed right through, maybe we're heading back to nothing," Sturgess answered.
"Shh, my wife's back there," David told him.
"Mine too," Brad said as he took Annie from Glenn.
"So is mine," Glenn answered. "Look don't worry about what's gone wrong, figure out how to make this go right," he told them.
"We've all got family waiting for us back home, we're going to make it," Beth said.
"Some of us are," Heath said.
"We're moving in the same direction everything else is, we're gonna catch up with something," Scott told them.
"We're gonna catch up with a lot of things and we're gonna end them. We have no choice, we have to keep moving forward," Michonne told them.
"We all have to step up," Quinn said, as she heard walkers'.
"Stay here, don't shoot unless you have too," Glenn told Nicholas who took Annie from Brad. Glenn, Michonne, Beth, Brad, Heath and Quinn ran out to kill walkers'.
Scott looked at David. "Come on, that's us," he told the other man as they went to help. Scott struggled with walkers' and tripped over a tree route. Sturgess struggled with his gun and fired before running away.
"Sturgess!" Glenn yelled as David got bit on the shoulder from behind, he turned and killed the walker.
Everyone stayed quiet as they looked at David. "I know what it means. We got to keep moving right?" he asked.
Quinn squeezed his opposite shoulder in support as Brad and Nicholas helped Scott up. "Yeah, we got to keep moving. Heath and I are going to take the rear," she said.
Heath looked at her before joining her. They waited as they let the group get a little ahead of them.
"Mind telling me what's going on?" Quinn asked.
"What do you mean?" Heath asked.
Quinn looked at him then looked forward at David talking with Michonne and showing him her bite. "Don't play stupid or I'll go tell your mom and you Aunt that you were misbehaving out here. What is up with your attitude toward Michonne?"
"I heard Rick tell her, Glenn and Beth that if we fall behind to leave us," Heath told her.
"So, you're blaming Michonne for something Rick said? Exactly how does that make any sense?" Quinn asked.
"He's there leader, we're not part of there group. He wants them to get home, he doesn't care about us. So, we need to watch out for each other, let them worry about themselves," Heath said.
"I don't think the dead ones are going to care who is who, Heath. Out here, right now, we're all together. They know what they're doing, I've seen it myself. I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for Glenn," Quinn told him as they entered the town. She walked up to David. "How are you feeling?"
"Good for now. You have to tell Betsy, you and Michonne," David said.
"We will," Quinn said as she squeezed his hand. "We will," she repeated, more for her benefit then his.
"Check these cars, see if they can get us back," Michonne said.
"I'll stay with them," David said nodding to Annie and Scott.
Glenn motioned for Beth and Michonne to follow him as he checked a car. "Listen, I need to get home, but I'm not leaving them behind. We patcch Scott up, we get going," he told them.
"I'm not leaving anyone behind. I used to be them," Beth said.
"Rick knows what he knows. We're ahead of the herd, maybe half an hour now. We can stop, we can make it," Michonne said.
Heath looked at them then at Quinn. "So you don't think they are planning on leaving us?" he asked.
"No, I don't," Quinn answered. "So this is where they died," she said to Nicholas.
"Yeah, I admit Aiden and I didn't know what we were doing," Nicholas said.
"You're still scared," Quinn told him.
"Yeah, aren't you?" Nicholas asked.
"I'd be stupid not too, but I'm not going to let that fear get someone killed. You shouldn't be here, but you are, so you're going to have to stay strong," Quinn told him. "We all have someone to get back to," she told him as Glenn, Beth and Michonne came over.
"This is half way home right?" Glenn asked.
"Yeah," Nicholas answered.
"None of the cars work, I wish we had Axel with us, he can get anything to go," Beth said.
"We have to stay on foot, Nicholas was here last, he can show us the way," Heath said.
"Um, ok," Nicholas answered.
Glenn and Brad looked at him. "Alright," Glenn said.
Nicholas led the group down the road stopping and bending down to pick up a hat. "Jesus."
"Sturgess?" Scott asked.
"Yeah," Nicholas answered.
"He left us behind," Annie said.
Quinn looked at her. "So when I have to tell his mother that he's not coming home, should I start with it's alright, he ran away?" she asked her. She stopped and looked at walkers' as they were feeding on Sturgess. "No one deserves that, just because they are scared," she said as she turned away.
"Herd's that way," Nicholas responded as he turned. "Shit," he said as he froze.
"Nicholas!" Glenn yelled.
Nicholas nodded as they started walking. "He's freezing again," Quinn said to Glenn.
"We won't let him," Glenn answered.
"I should have told him he couldn't have came, he should be back in Alexandria," Quinn said.
"You can't do that to yourself," Glenn said as they entered a pet store.
"I don't want to think about what happened to all the pets," Beth said as they walked around the store.
"We stay quiet, patch Scott and Annie up, get out of here," Michonne said.
"Those walkers in the alley and down the street, they're blocking the way out of town," Heath said.
"We can't take 'em on, not in the shape we're in. We'll have to lead them away if we have too," Michonne said.
"Because that's been working well latley," Heath said sarcastically.
"Heath," Quinn warned.
"I'm trying here, I'm not giving up," Michonne said.
"Yeah not yet," Heath said.
"Knock it off, Heath. We're all in the same place, stuck between a rock and a hard place," Quinn told him.
"Hey, I was thinking, if we can find a way to distract the herd coming in, then they won't make it back to the community," Glenn said.
How?" Heath asked.
"Set fire to one of the buildings, hopefully more. They'll get drawn to it, stop here," Glenn said.
"It'll take some time," Heath said.
"Time we don't have," Beth commented.
"I'll do it, you stay with them," Michonne said.
"It's my plan, it's on me," Glenn responded.
"No one is doing it alone, so whoever does it is going to have someone with them," Beth told them.
"You have a wife Glenn," Michonne told him.
"That's why I'm doing this. You and Beth got to get everybody back. You're the ones who can. If I take too long, you just go," Glenn said.
"Didn't you just hear what I said?" Beth asked.
"She's right, I'm not leaving with out you, that's not how this works," Michonne said.
"I'm not going home and facing Maggie and tell her that we left you behind," Beth told him.
"I will meet you there. If I get stuck out there, I'll find someway to show you guys I'm OK. We all have a job to do," Glenn said.
Beth looked at him. "Daddy would have said that."
"I know," Glenn said as he squeezed her hand.
"There's a feed store, it's old a lot of dry stuff inside, it should go up easy. I'll go with you," Nicholas said as he saw the hesitation on Glenn's face. "I can draw you a map."
"No you lead the way," Glenn said.
"I'll stay with the two of you," Quinn said.
"No, you get back," Glenn said. "I've got to contact Rick, then we'll go," he said.
TBC