Chapter 4

Vatos

They all stared for a few seconds at the severed hand on the ground, a pool of blood near the saw Merle had used to cut it off.

Daryl was obviously trying to fight off tears but then his pain turned into anger and he pointed his crossbow against T-Dog. Rick, in answer, aimed his python against him.

"Come on, guys. Now it's not the time. Put down your weapons." Charlie intervened but they didn't listen.

"I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears it." Rick said instead. Daryl, probably realizing Rick wasn't bluffing, put down his crossbow so Rick lowered his gun as well.

"You got a do-rug or something?" Daryl asked T-Dog, like he hadn't just pointed a weapon at his head. T-Dog sighed and took a bandana out of his pocket.

"I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs. Ain't that a bitch." Daryl commented before picking the hand off the floor.

Daryl laid the bandana on the floor before putting Merle's hand over it. He wrapped the material over the hand and then put the package in the backpack on Glenn's shoulders. Glenn grimaced at the idea of carrying around a severed, decaying hand but didn't protest.

"He must have used a tourniquet… maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't." Daryl continued, almost casually. Charlie admired the way he could be so lucid in such a situation. She didn't know she would be able to do the same if she were him. She would probably being having a panic attack right about now if she had found Evan's hand on the floor.

Daryl noticed that the drops of blood led towards another door on the roof and followed them. The others exchanged a look but followed after him without saying anything.

Charlie was feeling sick with guilt. It was one thing knowing that Merle had cut his own hand to get free from the cuffs, another, completely different thing was watching the aftermath of such a thing with her own eyes, especially with Merle's brother right there to suffer for her actions.

"Hey, you okay?" Rick whispered in her ear, seemingly always attuned to her moods.

"Not really. But you shouldn't be asking me this question." She whispered back. "Poor Daryl. I have no idea how he's dealing with all this so well. If I were in his shoes I would have gone bat-shit crazy by now."

"Well, I wouldn't say he's handling it too well but I guess, given the circumstances, there's no right or wrong way to deal with it." Rick said, looking sad.

"No, there isn't."

They walked in silence after that, walking through the door and down the stairs, Daryl's voice calling for Merle the only noise in the building.

A few moments later Charlie heard the unmistakable sound of groaning from around the corner but once they reached the walker, they found it already dead on the floor, an arrow in its skull.

Daryl was a few steps ahead, inside an office. There were two other bodies inside, though these two had been taken out by Merle.

"Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches. One handed. Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails." Daryl commented while reloading his crossbow.

"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is." Rick said in reply, his voice even.

They kept walking, this time with Rick in the lead.

Daryl kept shouting for Merle but Rick reprimanded him this time, reminding him that they weren't alone.

"Screw that." Daryl said in reply. "He could be bleeding out. You said so yourself."

They entered a kitchen and immediately the smell of burned flesh hit Charlie's nostrils. She gagged. Now, every time she would smell bacon, she would be reminded of this, great.

The stove was still on and there was a belt with blood on it sitting on top of it. Rick picked up a hot-plate that had still remains of skin on it.

Charlie turned her head around and put a hand over her mouth and nose, trying not to vomit.

"What's that burned stuff?" Glenn asked.

"Skin. He cauterized the stump." Rick explained.

"Told you he was tough." Daryl commented, sounding proud. "Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."

"Don't take that on faith." Rick said, trying to be realistic. "He's lost a lot of blood."

"Yeah?" Daryl asked, derisively. He walked to the broken window at the end of the room. "Didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap."

"He left the building? Why the hell would he do that?" Glenn asked, sounding confused.

"I don't think he's in a rational state of mind at the moment." Charlie said.

"Why wouldn't he leave?" Daryl answered Glenn. "He's out there alone as far as he knows, doing what he's got to do. Surviving."

"You call that surviving?" T-Dog asked rhetorically. "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 turned around from his perusal of the broken window and the fire escape just outside of it to glare T-Dog. "You couldn't kill him. Ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard."

"What about 1,000 dead dumb bastards?" Rick asked. "Different story?"

Daryl didn't look in the mood to listen. "Why don't you take a tally? Do what you want. I'm gonna go get him."

"Daryl, stop and think for a second, okay? I know you're worried about your brother but now it's not the time to be rash. You can't go out there, searching for him alone. You don't even know where he went." Charlie said. Daryl looked at her for a second, seeming to being thinking about it but then he shook his head, intent on going.

Rick stood in his way then and gave him a push to physically stop him from leaving.

"Get your hands off me! You can't stop me." Daryl protested.

"I don't blame you." Rick said, looking serious and understanding at the same time. "He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel. He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head."

"I could do that." Daryl immediately agreed, looking pacified.

"Only if we get those guns first." T-Dog added. "I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?"

"T-Dog's right." Charlie said. "We need those guns. And if I get my backpack back as well, that would be a bonus."

A few minutes later they were holed up inside another office, Glenn on the floor with a marker and the picture of some Atlanta alleys drawn on the floor. He was trying to explain his plan to the rest of them but neither Rick nor Daryl seemed very keen on the idea.

"You're not doing this alone." Rick commented.

"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much." Daryl added.

"Maybe we should let him explain." Charlie said in Glenn's defense.

Glenn nodded at her before saying, "It's a good idea, okay? If you just hear me out. If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast." He took a piece of rolled paper and a stapler to indicate the point where the tank and the bag of guns were. "Look. That's the tank, five blocks from where we are now. That's the bag of guns. Here's the alley I dragged you into when we first met. That's where Daryl, Charlie and I will go."

"Why us?" Daryl asked.

"Well, both your crossbow and Charlie's bow are quieter than Rick's gun. While you two wait here in the alley, I run up the street, grab the bag."

"You got us elsewhere?" Rick asked, meaning him and T-Dog.

Glenn pointed down the street. "You and T-Dog, right. You'll be in this alley here."

"Two blocks away? Why?"

"I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut me off." Glenn answered Rick. "If that happens, I won't go back to Daryl and Charlie. I'll go forward instead, all the way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me. Afterwards, we'll all meet back here."

They all looked at each other, impressed with Glenn's plan.

"Hey, kid, what'd you do before all this?" Daryl asked.

Glenn looked at him confused. "Delivered pizzas. Why?"

"Because that is a very impressive plan." Charlie answered. Glenn blushed slightly at her comment but didn't say anything in reply.

Once outside the building, the three of them crawled down the ladder she and Rick had climbed when Glenn had saved them.

They hid behind a dumpster and made sure the coast was clear. Daryl loaded his crossbow and commented, "You got some balls for a Chinaman." He almost sounded like he was giving Glenn a compliment if one ignored the racial slur.

"He's Korean." "I'm Korean." She and Glenn said together.

"Whatever." Daryl replied, completely unbothered.

Glenn ran down the street then while she and Daryl stayed put, waiting for him to come back.

"I still haven' seen ya using that thing." Daryl said, throwing a look at her bow. "You sure it ain't there just for show? To make ya look tough?"

"Do you make it a point of insulting everyone you meet or is that just your natural charm?" Charlie replied back.

Daryl smirked at her. "Just me charm, I guess."

Charlie snorted, the beginning of a grin showing on her lips. "To answer your question, I didn't need to use it, did I? You took care of the two walkers we met and your brother did the rest. When I'll need to use it, trust me, I'll use it."

Before any other word could be exchanged between them, a young Mexican man walked down the alleyway from the back.

Daryl spotted him and immediately pointed his crossbow at him. "Whoa, don't shoot me! What do you want?"

"I'm looking for my brother. He's hurt real bad. You seen him?"

The man didn't answer, instead he started to scream. "Ayúdame!"

Daryl pushed him to the ground and tried to cover his mouth with a hand. "Shut up! You're gonna bring the geeks down on us. Answer me."

"Ayúdame! Ayúdame! Ayúdame!" The young man kept screaming.

Charlie was so distracted by the scene happening in front of her that she didn't notice two other men coming into the alley from behind her. One of them pushed her with strength against the trashcan, her head colliding against the hard surface.

The blow left her dizzy, her eyes fighting desperately to see and feeling like her ears were suddenly filled with cotton. She brought a hand to the side of her head and she noticed she was bleeding. Even her mouth tasted like iron – she had probably bit her tongue without noticing.

She heard, like from far away, the sound of struggling and Glenn's voice calling for help.

She got up on trembling knees and blinked a few times until everything came into focus again. The first thing she noticed was Glenn being dragged inside a car by two men and Daryl cursing before closing the grate to stop the walkers from entering the alleyway.

In an instant he was dragging the young Mexican man back to his feet and pushing him hard against the wall, a murderous look on his face. That's when Rick and T-Dog arrived.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop it." Rick said, trying to come between Daryl and the young man. Daryl struggled against Rick's grip and said in a raised voice, directed towards the boy, "I'm gonna kick your nuts up in your throat!" Then he turned towards Rick. "They took Glenn. That little bastard and his little bastard homie friends. I'm gonna stomp your ass!"

"Hey, hey! Calm down! We're gonna get him back!" Charlie screamed back at Daryl, still feeling unsteady on her feet. Rick let Daryl go and put his hands on her shoulders, his face concerned. "You're bleeding. What happened?" He asked, looking her in the eyes.

"One of those jerks pushed me against the dumpster. I hit my head. But I'm fine. We should worry about Glenn, not me."

Rick nodded.

"Guys! Guys! We're cut off!" T-Dog said while trying to restrain a still struggling Mexican boy.

"Get to the lab. Go." Rick ordered and both T-Dog and the boy started to run. Rick, Charlie and Daryl tried to keep the grate closed against all the walkers pushing on the other side.

"Come on. Damn, let's go." Daryl shouted.

Rick picked up the bag of guns and his hat while Charlie retrieved her backpack from the floor, happy that Glenn had taken that as well. Then together the three of them ran towards the mall they had come from.

Once inside the building, Rick started questioning the boy. "Those men you were with, we need to know where they went."

"I ain't telling you nothing."

"Jesus, man. What the hell happened back there?" T-Dog asked both her and Daryl.

"I told you, this little turd and his douche bag friends came out of nowhere, pushed Charlie against the dumpster and jumped me."

"Yeah, thanks for that, dick." Charlie added, dabbing at the blood on her forehead with a rag she had found lying around.

"You're the one who jumped me, puto, screaming about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault." The Mexican boy said in his defense.

"They took Glenn. Could have taken Merle too."

The boy chuckled at hearing Merle's name. "Merle? What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle." Daryl jumped on one of the desks to get at him but Rick held him back. "Damn it, Daryl. Back off."

Daryl calmed down and rummaged into Glenn's bag, pulling out Merle's hand from it. "Want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" Daryl said, throwing Merle's hand into the boy's lap. Once the boy realized what it was, he stood up quickly, a freaked out look on his face.

"Start with the feet this time." Daryl continued, coming closer to the boy again to intimidate him. Rick held Daryl back once again.

"The men you were with took our friend. All we want to do is talk to them, see if we can work something out." Rick said to the boy who finally looked ready to talk, probably thanks to Daryl's intimidating tactics. Charlie almost laughed at the whole thing.

The boy – who Charlie learnt was named Miguel – explained to them where his friends' hideout was.

The five of them were crouched on the ground, looking through a broken window at the courtyard and building in front of them.

"You sure you're up for this?" Rick asked T-Dog, giving him one of the rifles. T-Dog was going to go up the roof of the next building, as their lookout sniper.

"Yeah." T-Dog answered and Rick nodded, 'okay'. T-Dog walked away after that.

"One wrong move, you get an arrow in the ass. Just so you know." Daryl warned Miguel.

"G's gonna take that arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know." Miguel replied, completely unconcerned.

"Careful, kid. Because if your friends hurt Glenn, you're going to be the one who's gonna pay. You understand?" Charlie said to him in a frosty tone.

Miguel nodded, looking properly intimidated.

"What she said." Rick agreed, before asking, "G?"

"Guillermo. He's the man here."

"Okay then. Let's go see Guillermo." Rick said before the four of them got up from the floor and started walking, Miguel in front of them and their weapons pointed at his back – Rick in the middle, Daryl on his right and Charlie on his left.

The doors in front of them opened and a man that Charlie presumed was Guillermo walked out.

"You okay, little man?" 'G' asked.

"They're gonna cut off my feet, carnal." Miguel answered in a whiny voice.

"Cops do that?"

"Not him. This redneck puto here. He cut off some dude's hand, man. He showed it to me."

"Shut up." Daryl said, pushing Miguel a little.

Another man came out then, pointing his gun at Daryl. "Hey, that's that Vato right there, homes. He shot me in the ass with an arrow. What's up, homes, huh?"

"Chill, ese, chill. Chill." Guillermo said. "This true? He wants Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick, man."

"We were hoping more for a calm discussion." Rick said back, appearing completely calm.

"That hillbilly jumps Felipe's little cousin, beats on him, threatens to cut off his feet, Felipe gets an arrow in the ass and you want a calm discussion? You fascinate me." Guillermo seemed almost amused.

"Heat of the moment." Rick said, chill as ever. "Mistakes were made on both sides."

"Who's that dude to you anyway?" Guillermo asked, looking at Daryl. "You don't look related."

"He's one of our group, more or less." Rick replied. "I'm sure you have a few like him."

"Yeah? And the blonde? Is she your woman or something?"

Charlie smiled at him. "Is that your business how?"

Guillermo smirked at that. "Just wondering. A piece of ass like you should fit well here, if you'd like to stay. My guys could use some entertainment."

"Nah, thanks. I think I'll pass." Charlie replied, smile firmly in place. She was nothing if not polite.

Rick looked angry now, furious in fact, even if he was trying to hold himself back but with obvious effort. Daryl, strangely enough, didn't look much better, though Daryl was often angry so maybe that was just his reaction to everything.

"You got my brother in there?" He asked, probably in part as a way to change the subject.

Guillermo smirked. "Sorry, we're fresh out of white boys. But I've got Asian. You interested?"

"I have one of yours, you have one of mine. Sounds like an even trade." Rick replied, regaining his air of tranquility.

"Don't sound even to me." Guillermo said back.

"G. Come on, man." Miguel protested but Guillermo ignored him. "My people got attacked. Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where my bag of guns?"

"Guns?" Rick asked, voice even.

"The bag Miguel saw in the street. The bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag of guns."

"You're mistaken."

"I don't think so."

"About it being yours. It's my bag of guns."

Guillermo laughed a little at that. "The bag was in the street. Anybody could come around and say it was theirs. I'm supposed to take your word? What's to stop my people for unloading on you right here and now and I take what's mine?"

"You could do that." Rick replied before looking up and on his left, at T-Dog's position. "Or not." T-Dog had his rifle pointed at Guillermo's head.

"Oye." Guillermo called out and two men appeared on the roof, holding Glenn between them. He had a bag over his head that they immediately took off once he was standing on the ledge. He looked scared.

"I see two options. You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks. Or you come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood." Guillermo finished his speech and then, as one, the vatos got back inside.

Back at the building, they were once again in the same office and Rick was unzipping his back and taking out rifles and guns, obviously getting ready for a fight.

"Them guns are worth more than gold. Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table. You're gonna give that up for that kid?" Daryl asked him.

T-Dog concurred "If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree. But you think that Vato across the way is just gonna hand him over?"

"You calling G a liar?" Miguel intervened but Daryl shut him down. "Are you a part of this? You want to hold onto your teeth?" He asked Miguel before slapping him slightly.

"Question is, do you trust that man's word?" T-Dog continued like the display between Daryl and Miguel hadn't happened.

"No, question is what are you willing to bet on it? Could be more than them guns. Could be your life. Glenn worth that to you?" Daryl asked Rick.

"What life I have I owe to him." Rick said. "I was nobody to Glenn – we were nobody to him," He added, pointing towards Charlie. "just two idiots stuck in a tank. He could have walked away, but he didn't. Neither will I."

"What Rick said." Charlie concurred. "Glenn saved us and he didn't have to. We're not leaving him behind."

"So, you're gonna hand the guns over?" Daryl asked, not looking completely convinced.

"I didn't say that." Rick said, a determined expression on his face. "There's nothing keeping you two here. You should get out, head back to camp."

"And tell your family what?" T-Dog said, looking defeated.

"Come on, this is nuts. Just do like G says." Miguel protested but they ignored him. Daryl didn't give an answer verbally but he took one of the rifles and started to load it.

Rick handed a rifle to her as well and asked her, "Have you ever used one of this?"

Charlie shrugged. "Only in a shooting range, not on anything alive." Then she amended, "or dead for that matter. I'm more comfortable with guns to be honest but I guess rifles are better in this situation."

"Better take it. You're going to need it." Rick said and Charlie nodded.

They walked back to the Vatos' hide out, Miguel in front of them with his hands tied behind his back.

The door opened and Rick pushed Miguel in.

"I see my guns but they're not all in the bag." Guillermo commented.

"That's because they're not yours. I thought I mentioned that." Rick replied.

"Let's just shoot these fools right now, ese. All right? Unload on their asses, ese." Another man, the one Daryl had shot in the ass, said. He was still probably pissed about that.

"I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation." Guillermo said, looking fierce but also like he was stalling. He didn't look like he actually wanted for them to end up in a gun fight.

"No, I'm pretty clear." Rick said before cutting Miguel free. "You have your man. I want mine."

"I'm gonna chop up your boy. I'm gonna feed him to my dogs. They're the evilest, nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?" At Guillermo's words Charlie was more and more convinced that he was trying to scare them so that they wouldn't resort to shooting at each other.

"No, my hearing's fine. You said come locked and loaded." Rick said and everyone in their group cocked their rifles, like Rick's words had been an order.

Rick pointed his gun at Guillermo. "Okay then, we're here." The Vatos replied by pointing their own weapons at them but before either group could start attacking each other, an old lady appeared from the back of the Mexican group.

"Felipe! Felipe!" The old woman said, talking to the man Daryl had shot.

"Abuela, go back with the others… now."

"Get that old lady out of the line of fire!" Daryl said.

"Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay? This is the not the place for you right now." Guillermo said, trying to stir the woman away but the woman wasn't complying.

"Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing. He needs his asthma stuff. Carlitos didn't find it. He needs his medicine." She said instead.

"Felipe, go take care of it, okay? And take your grandmother with you."

"¡Abuela! Ven conmigo por favor." Felipe said, he too trying to direct the woman towards the inside of the building – the one they were standing in looked more like a garage.

"Who are those men?" Abuela asked.

"Por favor, ven conmigo."

"Don't you take him." Abuela said to Rick, looking scared.

Rick looked back at her, confused. "Ma'am?"

"Felipe's a good boy. He has his trouble but he pulls himself together. We need him here."

Rick looked undecided on what to do but then he said, "Ma'am, I'm not here to arrest your grandson."

"Then what do you want him for?"

"He's… Helping us find a missing person. Fella named Glenn."

Abuela nodded. "The Asian boy? He's with Mr. Gilbert. Come. Come, I'll show you."

The old woman took Rick's hand in hers and started to lead him forward.

"Let 'em pass." Guillermo said, looking both relieved and exasperated. The Vatos let them pass and together, Charlie, Daryl and T-Dog followed Rick and the old woman.

They found themselves inside what was – or had been – a nursing home. They noticed a lot of patients still there, with people taking care of them in every room.

"Abuela, por favor. Take me to him." Felipe said to the woman, asking him about the man who Abuela had said was having trouble breathing.

They crossed the door to the gymnasium and noticed a group of people around an elder man in a wheelchair, Glenn among them. Felipe gave the man his inhalator and the man started to breathe normally again.

The four of them looked at each other completely bewildered.

"What the hell is this?" Rick voiced the question everyone was thinking.

"An asthma attack. Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden." Glenn answered, looking completely relaxed and unharmed.

"I thought you were being eaten by dogs, man." T-Dog said. Glenn looked confused and threw a look at the basket behind him with three little Chihuahuas inside.

Charlie burst out laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation, completely relived that Glenn was okay and that nobody had gotten hurt.

"Could I have a word with you?" Rick asked Guillermo.

"You're the dumbest son of a bitch I ever met." He continued, once the two of them had gotten a little away from the others. "We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you."

"Well, I'm glad it didn't go down that way."

"If it had, that blood would be on my hands."

"Mine too. We'd have fought back. Wouldn't be the first time we've had to. Protect the food, the medicine… what's left of it. These people, the old ones… the staff took off, just left 'em here to die. Me and Felipe were the only ones who stayed." Guillermo said, leading Rick and his group towards a room near the gymnasium so they could talk in private.

"What are you, doctors?"

"Felipe's a nurse… a special care provider. Me, I'm the custodian."

"What about the rest of your crew?"

"The Vatos trickle in to check on their parents, their grandparents. They see how things are and most decide to stay. It's a good thing too. We need the muscle. The people we've encountered since things fell apart, the worst kind… plunderers, the kind that take by force."

"That's not who we are."

"How was I to know? My people got attacked and you show up with Miguel hostage… appearances."

"Guess the world changed." T-Dog commented.

"No. It's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken." Guillermo replied.

"Ain't that the truth." Charlie commented under her breath.

"So we do what we can here." Guillermo continued. "The Vatos work on those cars, talk about getting the old people out of the city. But most can't even get to the bathroom by themselves; still, it keeps the crew busy, and that's worth something. So, we barred all the windows, welded all the doors shut except for one entrance. The Vatos, they go out, scavenge what they can to keep us going. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait. The people here, they all look to me now. I don't even know why."

Rick looked at him in understanding, one leader to another. "Because they can."

Rick laid the bag on a table and started to take out rifles and guns alike, his intent obvious. He left Guillermo with, at least, a third of their guns but Charlie was okay with that. These people deserved a fighting chance.

Before leaving Guillermo apologized to her. "Hey, sorry about what I said. Didn't mean them. Just…you know…"

"You were just trying to look tough and intimidating. Yeah, I get it. You're not the first man who said this kind of stuff to me, you won't be the last. Still, you should consider yourself lucky. I usually kick the ass of anyone who talks to me like that."

G grinned at her. "Consider me lucky then."

They left after that, walking back towards where they had parked their truck.

"Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat." Glenn made fun of Rick.

"Oh, he loves that thing." Charlie said, pushing Rick's shoulder with her own in a friendly gesture.

Rick laughed. "Don't tell anybody."

"You've given away half our guns and ammo." Daryl commented, putting an end to the light moment.

"Not nearly half." Rick replied.

"For what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got?"

"How long do any of us?" Rick answered Daryl, not expecting an answer.

They came to the spot where the truck was supposed to be but there was nothing there.

"Oh, come on." Charlie complained. Why nothing ever went as it was supposed to?

"Oh my God." Glenn commented.

"Where the hell's our van?" Daryl asked.

"We left it right there. Who would take it?" Glenn again.

"Merle." Rick said, looking certain.

Daryl seemed to agree with him. "He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp."

They immediately started to run. It would be a long and tiring way back to camp.

When dusk approached they were just starting climbing up the hill that led towards the quarry. Charlie was exhausted and sweaty, her legs were burning and her shoulders hurt because of the backpack on them. She passed the back of her hand against her forehead to dry the perspiration that had accumulated on her skin and kept going, focusing on breathing in and out to slow her heartbeat as much as possible.

They were just outside the trees that covered the camp when they heard the gunshots. They started running again and what met their eyes as soon as they reached camp was utter chaos.

There were walkers everywhere. Charlie didn't stop to think, just started to shoot at every walker she saw, finishing the shots in the rifle first and then using her gun.

Rick screamed Carl's name, desperate to make sure his son was okay. Carl came running towards him from in front of the RV where he was standing, Lori and Shane near him. The two of them hugged.

The worst seemed to be over, all the walkers were dead.

Charlie watched with tears in her eyes as Andrea tried to stop the blood from a badly bitten Amy. Andrea had just the time to tell her sister that she loved her when Amy exhaled her last breath.

For the first time Charlie realized the real stakes at being in this world. Sure, she had been dealing with walkers for a few weeks now but somehow it hadn't completely sunk in yet how dangerous this world really was. Now it finally did and it terrified her. She didn't want to be here. She wanted to return home, to her old life, to her uncle and Evan and classes at Uni. Why was she there?

One of the group, Charlie was rather sure his name was Jim, commented in a rather ominous voice "I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes." They all took in his words and looked at all the bodies piled up around them. It was going to be a long night.