Better Days
Chapter 375
Author's Note: Hmm, I'm going to be mean and make you all wait for Summer's proper introduction to Jesus and the Hilltop. We've got to check in with other people first. I'm not going to do everything that's happening in Alexandria, just mention the aftermath (like Ronnie and Denise talking) anyway, please review.
Quinn's POV:
Quinn stood up and followed Heath to the back of the pet store as he looked for something for Annie to use as a crutch. "Are you just going to continue giving Michonne attitude?"
"What else would you want me to do?" Heath asked. "You didn't hear Rick, I did. Please don't try to rationalize what he said Quinn, there's no excuse for it."
Quinn sighed. "You're right, there isn't and I'm not excusing him. But, the truth is, Rick and his people know what they are doing. None of us checked to see why we didn't have dead ones' at our gates. We should have been carrying guns the whole time, but we haven't. We've been lucky, and we're lucky that it held out. Can you imagine what would have happened if they hadn't seen those dead ones?" she asked.
Michonne came over with Beth and looked at Heath. "Do you have a problem with us?" she asked.
"I'm just looking out for my people," Heath said.
"And you think we're not?" Michonne asked.
"What do you think Quinn?" Beth asked.
"Heath tell them," Quinn ordered.
"Look, I heard what Rick said," Heath told them.
"Which part?" Michonne asked.
"How they wouldn't all make it, they meaning us and not you. How you should leave us behind if we can't keep up," Heath told them.
"Do you really think that we would do that?" Beth asked. "We are right here, trapped in this building with you. If we were going to just up and leave you, we would have already. But we aren't that type of people."
"Obviously Rick doesn't share that opinion," Heath said.
"Heath," Quinn warned.
"Glenn is out there risking his life for you and for everyone else and Beth and I are still here, so I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Michonne said.
"Do you think that Glenn would risk his life for everyone if we were just going to abandon you? If we were going to do that, we would have done it already," Beth said. "We would have just said forget about it, and went home and let you fend for yourself. But we didn't," Beth said as she poked him in the chest. "You don't have any idea what we've been through, so you have no room to judge. Quinn do you think we'd leave you?"
"No, I don't," Quinn answered.
"Things are gonna get worse and then we'll see," Heath said.
"Damn it, Heath, you heard what you heard, but look at the proof right in front of you. They are still here, with us. So instead of working against them, we need to work together, there is no us vs them. We're all depending on each other," Quinn said.
"Rick said what he said because sometimes you don't have a choice That is not how we do it," Michonne said.
"Because you've never had to do it any other way," Heath said.
"They came to Atlanta to get me, they could have left me, after we were all separated, but they didn't. They all risked there lives to come get me and Carol," Beth said.
"You were part of the group," Heath said.
"You know, I'm about ready to leave you behind and we've known each other since almost the beginning," Quinn warned.
"You haven't been through it, not really," Michonne said.
"Michonne," Heath started to say.
"Not like Rick. Rick was out there, I was out there, Beth was out there. We know, you don't. But if you don't learn, you will die, we will," Michonne said.
"I've been doing runs from the start, OK? I know what it's like," Heath said.
Beth scoffed. "No you don't. You were naive enough to think that nothing was ever going to harm you. There was a whole community of walkers' not that far your front door, and you were clueless. There's people out there that want what you have, there always is. I saw my daddy get his head cut off by a man who wanted what we had. And if he couldn't have it, we couldn't. You think that being out there, doing runs, is being out there? It's not, not at all. You want to live? You want your people to live? Then drop your holier then though attitude and open up your ears and listen to us, because we may be the only thing that stands between you and becoming a walker," she said as she crossed her arms.
Michonne looked at her not sure what to say. She wasn't used to Beth being vocal or that assertive. She focused back on Heath. "Beth is right. Have you ever had to kill people because they had already killed your friends and were coming for you next? Have you ever done things that made you feel afraid of yourself afterwards? Have you ever been covered in so much blood that you didn't know if it was yours, or walkers' or your friends? Huh? No? Then you don't know," she said.
Quinn looked at Heath and then at Michonne and Beth. "We understand, right Heath?"
"Yeah," he answered recuctantly.
Beth turned her head and looked toward banging noises. "Walkers'," she said as her and Michonne both went to kill the two that weren't behind locked doors.
"They heard that, there's no way we can wait it out," Heath said.
Quinn and Michonne looked out the door then looked back at them.
"What?" Heath said.
"They're coming," Michonne answered.
Beth grabbed her gun then looked at Michonne. "We're going to have to go out with guns blazing. David, Quinn, Heath and I stand in a line firing, you go first with your sword. Make sure you have full chambers. Annie and Scott stand behind us. We do this together. You don't have a problem with that do you Heath?" Beth asked.
"No, I don't have a problem with it," Heath said.
Quinn looked at Beth. "You surprise me, you know? You seem so quiet and not one to give orders."
Michonne gave a small smile toward Beth. "She's grown up," she said. "You all ready? We're only going to get one shot at this," she said as she watched for the nods. She opened the doors and took out a couple of the closest walkers' with her sword and moved out of the way while the others took shots. "Come on!"
"Where's the feed store?" Annie questioned.
"Other end of the street, we could try," David said.
"Glenn said we go, we go," Beth said.
"She's right, Glenn said we go, we go," Heath said as he lost his grip on Annie.
Quinn and Michonne turned to help the woman on the ground.
"No, run!" Annie said as she shot at the walkers' on top of her.
"Come on we have to go," Beth said as she pushed Quinn forward. Beth ran with them and came to a gate.
Michonne moved over a barrel over, then another one. "Quinn, Heath, you two go over first, we'll help David and Scott."
"No, they're coming!" Scott yelled.
"We're doing this," Michonne yelled as Quinn and Heath both went over the fence.
"Come on David," Beth said as she went to help him.
He looked over his shoulder. "No, you go, I'm already dead," David told Beth pushing her forward to the fence.
Beth watched as David was taken down by the herd.
"We have to keep going, we don't have a choice," Michonne told them as Scott fell. Heath and Quinn both helped him up.
"There's no smoke," Scott said.
"It doesn't mean they didn't make it," Heath pointed out.
"Glenn will die trying to keep the herd from Alexandria," Quinn told them.
"I hope it doesn't come to that," Beth answered.
"The herd is still coming, but the creek should slow them down some," Michonne said as they walked through the creek.
Heath fell back some, seeing his reflection, Michonne's words ringing true to him.
"I'm sorry about your friends," Beth told him quietly. "I wish I could say it got easier, but it doesn't. It shouldn't really," she said.
"You all risked your life to stay, even after Rick said to go," Heath told him. "Why?"
"Like Michonne said, we aren't that type of people," Beth responded. "Rick didn't mean it, he's a real good person. The man you are seeing, that Deanna is seeing, is the result of making the hard decisions, the decisions that no one else wanted to make. Sometimes that meant killing other people to keep us alive, and I truly believe that if it wasn't for Jewel, he would have lost it. But the two of them have kept us alive, they have kept us going this far. You got a taste of it today, but imagine that everyday. We knew Alexandria would be attacked at some point, because it always does, and it doesn't matter how safe you think you are. We didn't want this to happen, we wanted it to be safe. For Judith, for Hope, for Mitch and Mika. We wanted Lexi and Carl to be able to be teenagers without worrying about fighting and protecting others. But we knew it was inevitable. But at least we are here to help you, to make sure you survive," Beth told him. "Come on we're almost there," she told him.