Daryl drew on T-Dog, his cross bow aimed between his eyes. Rick pulled his gun and held it to Daryl's head, "I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears it."
Evelyn's heart lurched at the possible bloodbath before her. Quickly, she stepped over and put her hand on Daryl's arm, urging him to put it down, "Daryl…" he looked at her and blinked back his tears before finally deciding to lay down his weapon. Rick lowered his too. Evelyn stepped back to give him his space. "You got a do-rag or somethin'?" was the only thing he said to T-Dog who quietly obliged. "I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs," he said, picking up the hand by a fingertip, "ain't that a bitch." He wrapped the hand up and stuffed it into Glenn's bag. Evelyn wasn't really sure what he planned to do with it, but no one questioned it for fear of setting him off. Besides, it almost felt wrong to leave it behind. "He must've used a tourniquet," Daryl observed.
"There'd be much more blood if he didn't," Evelyn confirmed, the adrenalin seceding from her head, allowing her to think more rationally. They followed the trail of blood into the other side of the building. "Merle! You in here!?" Daryl hollered as they made their way down the service stairwell, their footsteps echoing against the metal walls. When they reached the main floor a walker greeted them next to the doorway, but Evelyn shot it through the eye before it had time to make a move and Daryl had time to aim.
They found two more walkers already down with their heads knocked in. "Had enough in him to take out these two sons of bitches. One handed. Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother," Daryl said while loading his crossbow. "Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."
"Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is," Rick told him as they carried on to the next room which resembled a kitchen.
"Merle!"
"We're not alone here, remember?"
"Screw that," Daryl told Rick, "he could be bleedin' out, you said so yourself." There was a very distinct smell in air and upon closer examination they found the gas stove burning, bluish yellow flames dancing next to blood stained countertops, Merle's belt hanging over the side. Evelyn picked up a metal paddle and examined the other side.
"What's that burnt stuff?" Glenn asked.
"Skin," she told him, "he cauterized the stump." Evelyn sat the paddle back down. Glenn looked sick.
"Told you he was tough," Daryl said. "Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."
"Don't take that on faith," Rick replied, "he's lost a lot of blood."
"Yeah? Didn't stop him from bustin' out of this death trap," Daryl said, making his way over to a busted window that Merle most likely had used as an escape.
"He left the building?" Glenn asked, sounding shocked, "why the hell would he do that!?"
"Why wouldn't he?" Evelyn asked. "He didn't know when or if we would be coming back and he didn't know if that door would hold. He did what he thought he had to do to survive."
"You call that survin'?" T-Dog spoke up, "Just wandering about on 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 snapped. "You couldn't kill him," he told Rick, "I ain't so worried about some dumb, dead bastard."
"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 him." Daryl took a step towards the broken window but Rick put his hand on his chest to block him. "Get your hands off me! You can't stop me!" Instinctively Evelyn wrapped her fingers around one of the arrows at her back, ready to draw it if necessary. She saw T-Dog look unsteadily in her direction, but she kept her gaze focused on the conflict between Rick and Daryl. She had no desire for it to come to that, but if it did, she knew whose side she would take.
"I don't blame you. 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."
After a tense moment Daryl nodded, "I can do that." Evelyn dropped her hand with an inward sigh of relief.
"Only if we get those guns first," T-Dog said, "I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?"
Evelyn shrugged, "if we find him on the streets we're probably going to need to haul ass out of there pretty quick. Makes sense to pick up the guns first."
"I agree," Glenn said. "but we're going to need a plan."
"Any ideas?" Rick asked.
"Just…let me think," Glenn said, rubbing his temples and walking off. Evelyn and the rest of the group followed him into a lab area, where he sat his bag down atop a desk and paced about the room. Evelyn sat cross legged, with her bow in her lap, on a desk across from the door so she could keep an eye on it. As she was tying up her thick, black hair, Daryl came over and leaned against the side of the table, his arms folded. "Hey."
"Hey," she responded evenly, her eyes lingering on the doorway.
"Thanks."
She looked up at him and offered a tired smile, "no problem. I just hope he's okay. I mean, besides from the obvious."
"Yeah." They sat there in silence while Glenn thought to himself. Evelyn found her gaze shifting between the door and Rick more often, trying to read him and get a sense of his place in everything. It was clear he was holding a position of authority, but it didn't much matter to her. She didn't take orders from anyone- she simply did what she had to. And right now she had to find Merle. There was certainly a bitterness that she felt towards Rick for what he had done- even though she knew Merle had likely started whatever it was that caused him to get handcuffed to the roof.
"Okay guys, I think I've got it," Glenn said, taking a black marker to the floor to draw out the surrounding area. "If we all go we're going to attract too much attention. If I go, I can run in and out quickly while you guys cover me."
"You're not doing this alone," Rick said.
"Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much," Daryl offered.
"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." Evelyn wasn't sure how she felt about that and judging by the look on everyone else's face- neither did they. "Look," he said, setting a paperclip down onto his map, "that's the tank, five blocks from where we are now," he dropped a piece of paper next to it, "that's the bag of guns. Here's the alley I dragged you into when we first met," he told Rick, "that's where Daryl, Evelyn and I will go."
"Why us?" Daryl asked.
"Your bows are quieter than his gun," he explained. "While Evelyn and Daryl wait here in the alley, I run up the street, grab the bag."
"You got us elsewhere?" Rick asked.
"You and T-Dog, right. You'll be in this alley here," he sat an eraser down to indicate their position.
"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 Evelyn and Daryl. I'll go forward instead, all the way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I've got you in both places to cover me. Afterwards, we'll all meet back here."
Evelyn had to hand it to him, it was a pretty good plan. She knew Glenn could get the bag and back before he could get swarmed but it still worried her that he'd be on the street by himself. "Hey, kid, what'd you do before all this?" Daryl asked.
"Delivered pizzas. Why?"
Evelyn grinned, "can't judge a book by its cover," she slapped Daryl on the shoulder playfully without really thinking about it first.
"Says the librarian," he mocked, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. Evelyn felt pleased that she was able to get something out of him that was almost friendly, but their banter was put on hold as Rick and T-Dog headed for the other side of the building in order to get into their assigned positions. Glenn, Daryl and herself quickly made their way to an escape ladder that would drop them down to where they needed to be. They crouched behind a dumpster and Daryl loaded his crossbow while Evelyn nocked her arrow. "Got some balls for a Chinaman," Daryl told him.
Glenn quickly threw off his jacket, "I'm Korean."
"Whatever." Glenn sped out through the gate while Daryl and Evelyn hung low behind the dumpster. Her heart was pounding and all she wanted was for this to be over and everyone be safe.
So when Daryl placed his hand over her mouth, she became startled. He held up a finger for her to listen and then she heard it. Footsteps. Human footsteps. Her eyes went wide for a moment, but she quickly relaxed herself. He removed his hand and they both got up and turned quickly, facing down a young Mexican boy in dirty white tank. "Whoa, don't shoot me! What do you want?"
"Lookin' for my brother. He's hurt real bad. You seen him?" The boy screamed. "Shut up," Daryl hissed, "you're gonna bring the geeks down on us. Answer me," he demanded, "answer me." The boy started screaming again and Evelyn's pulse raced. There was no way the walkers couldn't hear him. Daryl quickly knocked him down with the butt of his crossbow and jumped on top of him to try and shut him up. Evelyn quickly shifted her attention to the fence to make sure no one was coming and when she looked back again at the boy on the ground she felt something hard impact into her stomach, knocking all the wind from her lungs, while something simultaneously collided with her mouth, the force of the blows sending her back against the wall, her head smacking hard against the brick. Her vision went dark and she lost her balance. She gasped for air only to gag on her own blood. She could hear Daryl- could hear them beat him. She had to do something. She had to get up. But she couldn't breathe- couldn't see.
"That's it! That's the bag, Vato! Take it!" She could hear them running away from where she lay beaten next to Daryl, going after Glenn. She heard him scream, "get off me! Get off me! Daryl! Daryl!"
She heard a thwunk and one of the men yelled in pain. "Come back here, you sumabitches!" She heard Daryl yell a moment later. Suddenly there were hands on her and she screamed, flailing around, trying to make contact with anything.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," she recognized the voice. She stopped swinging and blinked her eyes, rapidly. Slowly, she began to see shadows and then the world seeped back into her sight. T-Dog looked back at her with concern, but she clumsily darted toward the gate, trying to figure out which way they had taken Glenn, but she was too late. With her balance still offset, she had to lean against the wall to keep from toppling over. Daryl charged the young Mexican boy, but Rick got in the way. "I'm gonna kick your nuts up into your throat!"
"Let me go!" the boy screamed, but T-Dog held him firmly against the wall.
"They took Glenn!" She exclaimed.
"That little bastard and his little bastard homie friends! I'm gonna stomp your ass!"
"We're cut off!" T-Dog yelled.
"Get to the lab! Go!" Rick told them, grabbing the bag of guns. Daryl grabbed her arm to make sure she didn't fall over as they ran through the alley. Her head pounded with every step, fearing a concussion and a bruised ribcage. She stumbled a few times, but Daryl didn't let her hit the ground. After a few blocks, she was able to run without the threat of falling, so Daryl released her as they continued on their way back to their checkpoint.
Evelyn was relieved when they got there. She sat down and put her head between her knees, the taste of blood still in her mouth. Daryl crouched down in front of her looking angry. Suddenly she felt guilty that she had not been able to do more to help him. "Are you okay?" she asked, noticing the bruises that had begun to spread over his skin.
"I've had worse… Saw you go down. Thought you might not get back up." Evelyn reached her hand to the back of her head, flinching when she felt the pain. She pulled her hand away to find blood stained on her fingers. Not a great deal or enough to be incredibly serious- thankfully. Besides the pain in her ribs and her throbbing bottom lip, she felt much better. "It looks bad."
"I've had worse," she said, teasing his own words back at him. She made her way over to where Glenn left his bag and pulled out a small medical kit. She poured disinfectant over a wad of gauzed and placed it to the back of her head, wincing. Once the bleeding stopped she did the same with the cut in her lip before downing a couple of aspirin.
"Those men you were with," Rick confronted the boy, "we need to know where they went."
"I ain't telling you nothin'."
"Jesus man," T-Dog groaned, "what the hell happened back there?"
"I told you," Daryl snapped, pacing, "this little turd and his douchebag friends came out of nowhere and jumped us."
"You're the one who jumped me, puto, screaming about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault."
"They took Glenn. Could've taken Merle too."
"Merle? What kinda hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle." Daryl lunged at the boy, trying to kick him, but Rick grabbed him and pushed him back. Daryl moved over to where she stood next to the wall with the bag and pulled out Merle's hand still wrapped in T-Dog's bandana. She gave him a questioning look, "you want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" He unwrapped Merle's hand and looked at her before turning and throwing into the boy's lap. The boy hollered and jumped out of his chair, backing up until he hit the wall, sliding down into the floor. Daryl grabbed him by the throat, "we'll start with the feet this time." Rick pulled him back once more and Daryl backed off willingly, pleased that his tactic had shaken the kid.
Rick crouched in front of him, "the men you were with took our friend. All we want to do is talk to them, see if we can work something out." Reluctantly the boy realized that there was no benefit to resisting so he told them how to get to their base, which wasn't very far from their current position. "We'll make an even trade," Rick told her, T-Dog and Daryl as they rummaged through the bag of guns. Evelyn took a handgun and tucked it into her waist. No one protested to her taking it, so she pocketed a couple extra rounds- just in case.
"You think that'll work? Just like that?" T-Dog asked.
"We have one of their men, they have one of ours," Rick responded.
"We also have the guns. Which is what they were after in the first place," Evelyn injected. "They seemed pretty willing to take Daryl and me out for it, we don't know that the boy is their priority."
"I agree," Rick said, "we need a backup plan." Evelyn rummaged through the bag of guns and found a scope, along with the rifle it belonged to. Rick looked at her and seemed to immediately understand what she was thinking.
"One of us could position themselves on a nearby rooftop. If things go bad…" she didn't need to say it for everyone to get where she was going, "if anything it can be used as a scare tactic. They might be more willing to cooperate if they know we've got 'em in the crosshairs."
Rick nodded, "that seems pretty solid. We don't want a fight, scaring them might just do the trick. But, which of us is going to be on that rooftop?"
"I'll do it," T-Dog volunteered.
"You sure?" Rick asked him.
"Yeah, I can handle it."
"Alright," Rick said, "you'll be on the roof and the three of us will take the boy." Evelyn handed the rifle over to T-Dog who offered her a nod of reassurance as he took it. She didn't really know much about how well T-Dog could fair in a fight or how well his aim was, but the job didn't seem too difficult. Plus, if things turned out their way, he wouldn't even have to fire it.
After winding their way carefully through the city they finally reached the place the boy had told them about. It was a decrepit looking building behind a crumbling brink wall. "You sure you're up for this?" Rick asked T-Dog who reassured him that he was fine and took the bag of guns and went to get into position. Rick was in the process of loading his shotgun while Evelyn twirled an arrow between her fingers, sliding her tongue over the knot on her lip. The boy was sitting on the ground and Daryl stood over him like a watchdog, his crossbow loaded. "One wrong move and you get an arrow in the ass. Just so you know," Daryl told him.
"G's gonna take that arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know," he replied, plucking blades of grass.
"G?" Rick asked.
"Guillermo," he told him, "he's the man here."
"Okay then," Rick said, glancing at her and Daryl, "let's go see Guillermo." Rick went through a broken window in the brick wall first and Evelyn followed him, nocking her arrow. The Mexican boy followed behind her and Rick pushed him to the front as he led them to the back entrance. She stayed to the far right so she could see the majority of the yard, as well as Rick, Daryl and the rooftop where T-Dog sat. As the old rusty doors of the building creaked open she drew back, ready to release at a moment's notice.
Another Mexican man in an open striped button down and a gold chain around his neck came strolling out like he didn't have a care in the world. Evelyn couldn't help notice all the men who hung back in the doorway. She could feel her pulse rising, but she kept her face stoic and glared at them, aiming in their direction while Rick and Daryl focused on the man in front. "You okay little man?" He asked the kid.
"They're gonna cut off my feet, carnal."
"Cops do that?" The man asked, looking at Rick.
"Not him," the boy said, "this redneck puto here. He cut off some dude's hand, man. He showed it to me-"
"Shut up," Daryl growled.
A bald man with a voice that Evelyn recognized quickly came out with a gun, pointing it 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," the man said, pushing the other's hand down to lower his weapon. Evelyn wasn't sure if that was the one who'd beat her but she kept her arrow aimed between his eyes and he stared at her- recognizing who she was. Their head honcho looked over in her direction and back at the man before turning his attention back on Rick. "This true? He wants Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick, man."
"We were hoping for more of a calm discussion," Rick told him.
"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."
"Heat of the moment," Rick admitted. "Mistakes were made. On both sides."
"Who's that dude to you, anyway? You don't look related."
"He's one of our group, more or less. I'm sure you've got a few like him."
"You got my brother in there?" Daryl asked.
"Sorry," G responded, "we're fresh out of white boys. But I've got Asian. You interested?"
"I have one of yours," Rick told him, "you have one of mine. Sounds like an even trade."
"Don't sound even to me."
"G, c'mon man," the boy begged.
"My people got attacked," Evelyn felt her anger flare and held on tighter to her arrow to keep it from flying into someone's eye. "Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?"
"Guns?"
"The bag Miguel saw in the street. The bag Felipe Jorge were going to get. That bag of guns."
"You're mistaken," Rick told him.
"I don't think so."
"About it being yours. It's my bag of guns."
"That 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 from unloading on your right here and now and I take what's mine." The men raised their guns and Evelyn wasn't sure who to target as they all prepared to gun the trio down.
"You could do that," Rick told him, before looking back in the direction of the rooftop where T-Dog was perched, "or not."
G followed Rick's gaze without expression before turning back to them briefly with a smirk. "Oye!" he hollered, catching the attention of two men on the rooftop of their own building. They stepped forward to the edge, a man in between them. Before they even pulled the sack off his head, Evelyn knew who it was. Shit, she thought, grinding her teeth as Glenn locked down at them terrified, trying to yell but his voice was muffled through the duct tape over his mouth. "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 and his men retreated behind their metal doors and shut them without another word, but the three of them still backed out of the courtyard slowly, weapons raised, dragging Miguel with them.
Back at their makeshift headquarters everyone was frustrated that the deal didn't go the way they had wanted it to. Rick lifted the bag of guns onto the table and began sorting through and filling some with all the rounds they could hold. "Them guns are worth more than gold," Daryl told him, "Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table. You're gonna give that up for that kid?" In a way, Evelyn agreed with him. Guns were worth more than gold. Guns were probably the most valuable commodity in this new world. But, she didn't know if her conscious could ever let her abandon Glenn. Or anyone, for that matter. Anyone who had been good to her, anyway. Guns may be worth more than gold, but her humanity was worth even more.
"If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree. But, you think that Vato across the way is just going to hand him over?" T-Dog asked
"You calling G a liar?" Miguel hissed from his position on the floor.
"You part of this?" Daryl lashed, bending over in his face, "you wanna hold onto your teeth!?" he asked as he slapped him upside the head. It wasn't hard enough to hurt him, only to annoy him and to remind him to keep his mouth shut.
"The question is," T-Dog started, "do you trust that man's word?"
"No, the question is what are you willing to bet on it?" Daryl asked them. "Could be more than them guns. Could be your life. Is Glenn worth that to you?"
"What life I have I owe to him," Rick said, "I was nobody to Glenn, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He could have walked away, but he didn't. Neither will I." Evelyn wasn't sure what exactly he was talking about, since Evelyn and Daryl were on a hunting trip they'd missed all the details of Rick's appearance. But the sincerity in his expression and in his face came off as extremely sincere and Evelyn felt a little more respect towards the man.
"So you're gonna hand the guns over?" Daryl asked.
"I didn't say that," Rick replied. He looked at each of them seriously before continuing, "there's nothing keeping you three here. You should head out, get back to camp."
"And tell your family what?" T-Dog asked.
"How many times have we relied on the supplies Glenn has been able to single handedly bring to us?" Evelyn asked, looking between T-Dog and Daryl, "I'm not going to leave him behind." Her voice was even- defined and definite. She'd made up her mind and there was no changing it. Daryl held her gaze intensely for a moment before nodding in agreement and turning to Rick who began passing out guns.
"Come on this is nuts," Miguel said, standing up in protest, but Daryl merely pointed and the boy set back down, hanging his head in his hands, "just do like G says," he pleaded as they silently loaded their weapons.
Guns in hand, they made their way back to the familiar worn down courtyard. Miguel had been pleading for them to change their minds ever since they made their decision in the lab, so Daryl gagged him to keep him quiet and bound his hands to keep him from doing anything stupid. He held the point of his rifle in the boy's back as they made their way to the large doors. Evelyn could feel her heart beating hard against her chest, but she counted her breaths and kept moving. She tried not to think about the possibility of being shot. She kept her expression hard and unforgiving. Even if she died today, no one would know she was afraid.
They opened the doors for them and they made their way inside, pushing Miguel out to the front. Evelyn held a tighter grip on her rifle as they were being surrounded. Guillermo walked up to them, "I see my guns. But, they're not all in the bag."
"That's because they're not yours," Rick told him, "I thought I mentioned that."
The bald man who Evelyn was pretty sure had knocked her out (judging by the way he kept looking at her) stood beside G, urging him to take action. "Let's just shoot these fools right now, ese. Alright? Unload on their asses."
Guillermo held up a hand to silence him. "I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation," he said.
"Oh, I'm pretty clear," Rick responded, cutting Miguel's restraints, "You have your man. Now 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?"
"My hearings fine," Rick said evenly, "you said come locked and loaded-" He cocked his shotgun back and Daryl, Evelyn and T-Dog did the same. Followed by every other man in the room. "okay then, we're here." Rick held his gun pointed straight as Guillermo's head. Evelyn looked to their side and stared down every man at the end of her barrel who, in turn, glared back at her. Easily, she could tell they were afraid. They hadn't been expecting this and even though they outnumber the four of them greatly, some of them are still going to die and she can see running through each of their minds wondering who it was going to be and praying it wouldn't be them. Evelyn glared at each of them hard in the eyes, hoping to unsettle them enough to make them hesitate. She didn't want to die here, but if she were gonna- she wasn't gonna go gently.
Suddenly a frail voice sounded out from the crowd, "Felipe! Felipe!" An old woman came winding through the crowd up next to the bald man, "Abuela," he urged, "go back with the others now."
"Get that old lady out of the line of fire," Daryl told him.
"Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay? This is the not the place for you right now," Guillermo said.
"Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing," the old woman pleaded. "He needs his asthma stuff. Carlitos didn't find it." The old woman sounded so distraught that it caught Evelyn off guard. In fact, simply seeing her among the group of men ready to riddle them with bullets caught her off guard. The woman looked towards Rick, "he needs his medicine." Judging by the look on his face, this was nothing he expected either. Ever so slowly he began lowering his gun as he took in the situation.
"Felipe, go take care of it, okay? And take your grandmother with you," Guillermo snapped.
Felipe, the bald man, spoke to her in Spanish, trying to get her away from the fight, but she pushed past him. "Who are those men?" Felipe tried to grab her, but she walked up to Rick, "don't you take him," she told Rick.
"Ma'am?"
"Felipe is a good boy. He has his troubles, but he pulls himself together," she looked over at Evelyn, "we need him here."
Evelyn glanced at Rick before looking over at Felipe, the man who had beaten her and left her and Daryl for dead in an alley. His face was no longer hard, but he held a definite worried expression- as if he feared she would kill the old woman where she stood. "Ma'am, I'm not here to arrest your grandson," Rick informed her.
"Then what do you want him for?"
"He's…" Rick paused, searching for the right response, "helping us find a missing person. A fellow named Glenn."
"The Asian boy?" the woman asked, brightening, "he's with Mr. Gilbert." She grabbed Rick's hand, "come. Come, I'll show you."
Evelyn looked at T-Dog and Daryl as the woman began dragging him away. Guillermo sighed, "let 'em pass," Evelyn followed after Rick, lowering her weapon but still keeping a cautious eye on those around her. They wound through a mess of buildings a courtyard before going inside. Evelyn passed a room where she saw a woman feeding another elderly lady. There was a mix of elderly folks and large men and the contrast was striking.
Felipe's grandmother led them to a large room with many tables where more elderly sat with bowls of food, walkers by their side. There was a small crowd at the front where a man in a wheelchair sat distraught, while those around him stroked him tenderly in an attempt to comfort him. Felipe took an inhaler and pressed it to the old man's lips, giving him gentle instructions.
When Evelyn looked away, she was even more astonished to see Glenn standing there, completely unharmed. "What the hell is this?" Rick asked him.
"Asthma attack," Glenn told him, "he couldn't get his breath all of a sudden."
"We thought you were bein' eaten by dogs, man!" T-Dog interjected.
Glenn turned around and they all followed his gaze to a pack of three Chihuahuas in a little pink leopard bed. Evelyn rolled her eyes and wanted to laugh at the situation and maybe would have if they hadn't been ready to kill each other only moments ago. "Can I have a word with you?" Rick hissed at Guillermo. Guillermo nodded and started to lead him away from the crowd, "you're the dumbest son of a bitch I have ever met. We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you."
"I'm glad it didn't go down that way," Guillermo told him sincerely.
"If it had," Rick said, "that blood would be 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."
"What are you? Doctors?" Rick asked.
"Felipe's a nurse…special care provider. Me? I'm the custodian."
Evelyn was taken aback by the whole ordeal. She looked back over towards Felipe and he caught her gaze and gave her an almost…apologetic look. She was still pissed about everything that had happened, but there was no denying the respect she had for these men just went up. She, herself, had never even given much of a thought about the elderly. She realized how sad of a fate so many of them must have encountered. She looked around the room and visualized how horribly these people would have met their fate had these men not stayed to take care of them.
Guillermo led them to what looked like a break room so they could talk freely. "What about the rest of your crew?" Rick asked.
"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," Rick told him.
"How was I supposed to know?" he asked. "My people got attacked and you show up with Miguel hostage."
"Appearances," Evelyn offered.
"Guess the world changed," T-Dog sighed.
"No," Guillermo said. "No. It's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken. So we do what we can here. 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."
"Because they can," Rick stated, handing him his gun before digging through the bag and offering him some more weapons and ammo. Evelyn walked out of the room and leaned against the wall outside the door. She rubbed her hands over her face and sighed- still slightly shaken about the whole ordeal, but relieved with the way it had turned out. Looking around the room, she wondered how many of these people relied on medication and how much of it they had left. She wished there was something she was able to do, but she didn't think roots and berries would help elderly people who relied so heavily on things like asthma medication and blood pressure medication. However, it could be of use to the younger men…
Evelyn bit her lip and made her way across the room where Felipe sat at a table talking to one of the patients. Seeing her come over, he excused himself and met her halfway. Before he could open his mouth she cut him off. "You're a nurse, right? Get me a pen and paper." The man looked confused, and hesitated for a moment before quickly walking past her and going to find what she'd asked for. Evelyn took a seat at one of the back tables in the corner of the room by a barred up window, away from everyone. She sat her gun and her bow down and rolled her shoulders with a long sigh.
Felipe was back in a matter of minutes with a ragged looking notebook and a pen with the name of a hotel etched into the side. "I'm going to be writing down recipes. Medicinal recipes. Not something you can use really for them," Evelyn looked up and gestured at the aged patients about the room, "Since I'm guessing most of them are on some heavier stuff, but it can come in handy for your guys."
"Are you a doctor?" he asked.
"Nope," she responded without looking at him, scrawling away on the notebook paper, "I'm a librarian."
"I'm sorry…" he said and Evelyn halted her movements, "I'm sorry about what I did. I ain't never hit a woman before."
She glanced up at him and could tell by the expression on his face that his words were genuine. "It is what it is," she told him. "Can't say I would have done anything differently in your place." She went back to writing down everything she thought could be relevant to Felipe's group in detailed step-by-step procedures. When she finished she slid the notebook in his direction and leaned back, folding her arms.
"This stuff actually works?"
"It works well enough."
He looked up at her in gratitude, "thank you," he said.
The rest of the group came back out of the room and she stood up, placing her bow across her back and picking up her gun, "don't mention it." Daryl caught sight of her first and made his way over, staring down Felipe.
"Is there a problem here?" Daryl snapped, glaring him down.
"Everything's fine," she told him. He didn't seem convinced and followed her back to where the group was huddled in conversation.
"So, what do we do now?" Glenn asked.
"We're losing day light," Rick said, "we've got to start heading back."
"What about Merle?" Daryl questioned.
"We can come back tomorrow and start the search fresh."
Daryl wasn't thrilled with that answer but it was better than nothing. The group gathered themselves up and Rick shook hands with Guillermo and they took off back down the hallway, escorted by a couple of guys. "Hey, hold up!" They turned and saw Felipe hurry up to them with a black bag in hand before holding it out to Evelyn. "It's not a lot, but it's what we can spare." Evelyn looked down in the bag and saw an array of bandages and compresses and disinfectants and other various medical supplies.
She looked back up and offered him a smile with the swollen lip he'd given her only hours ago, "thanks." He nodded his response and then they were off.
They made their way quickly back through the city, none of them speaking until they were further out and safe from immediate danger. "Admit it," Glenn spoke up, "you only came back to Atlanta for the hat."
"Don't tell anybody," Rick joked.
"You've given away half our guns and ammo," Daryl said.
"Not nearly half," Rick told him.
"For what? A bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got?"
"How long do any of us?" Evelyn retorted.
As they rounded the corner to where their van was parked, they stopped dead. "Oh my god," Glenn breathed.
"Where the hell's our van?" Daryl asked.
"We left it right there, who would take it!?"
Evelyn bit the inside of her cheek, "Merle."
Daryl looked over at her and seemed to agree with her theory, "he's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp."
They'd been running for quite some time back to camp. Evelyn could feel the sweat drip down her back. Thankfully, as night crawled closer, the temperature dropped, helping to keep them cool. They stopped every mile or so to catch a breath, but only for a moment- long enough to take a drink and head back out at an even pace. None of them wanted to be caught out here come nightfall. Despite the ache in her legs and the burning of her lungs, Evelyn pressed on. They all did.
As they started climbing familiar hill, the relief that they were almost home was overwhelming.
Until they heard the screams.
"Oh my god."
They hurried up the hill to find that their biggest fears had come true. There were so many of them and the smell hung thick in the air. Evelyn started firing at every walker she could see, trying to keep her accuracy in the midst of the chaos. She could feel her adrenalin kick in hard as they made their way through the camp, taking down the walkers, moving past bodies on the blood soaked ground. She could hear directions being shouted to get to the RV over the screaming. By the time she'd got there, she'd run out of ammo so she dropped her gun and quickly started firing off arrows. Daryl also had run out and started basing in heads with the butt of his rifle. "Daryl!" she hollered, "c'mon!" She shot down a walker right behind him and he made his way up next to her, pulling out his crossbow. They scanned the area, watching for any signs of movement, but there was none. With an arrow in one hand and her bow in the other, Evelyn paced, looking in every direction, waiting for more of them to come, her breathing reduced to hyperventilating. She told them. She told them. If they had just listened. Evelyn could feel the burning in the back of her throat and the sting behind her eyes. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and a sob unwillingly rose out of her throat. Her eyes were water and she couldn't keep her focus.
Daryl remained vigilant beside her as she finally broke down.