Katelyn awoke to the sound of motorcycle engines revving loudly. Sitting up in confusion, she saw lights shining through the window and then heard loud voices outside. Rushing over to the window, she peeked outside and saw twenty or so, men on bikes and pulled away from the window.
"Andrea!" Katelyn whispered, her voice near shouting.
Andrea sat up instantly, looking around to see Katelyn hurrying around the room, grabbing pants and shoes.
"Look out the window! Carol!" Katelyn rushed over to her to wake her up before hurrying across the hall to awaken Rick and the others.
When she got out into the hallway, they were already there, peering out the window.
"Everybody get dressed and get your guns. We've got trouble." Rick stated as everybody bolted for their weapons.
Andrea came out quickly, her gun strapped to her hip, and her machete strapped to her thigh. She had her emergency pack slung over her back just in case. Maggie and Glenn were just coming out of their rooms with their gear and Carol was bringing out the other packs.
Rick held up his hand for everyone to be quiet.
"Everyone's got a map in their packs. If something happens and we get separated, we'll meet up in La Forte. It's 30 miles northwest and out of the way. On Rt. 9, there's an old campground. No one can see it from the road and there's a high fence around it to keep deer from hopping it which means it might provide some protection from walkers." Rick told everyone as they started hearing hooting and hollering outside.
The group huddled together and began slowly walking down the stairs. Spreading out, they covered the windows and doors, watching to see what the bikers were doing. Rick could see the patches on the backs of their jackets and got a bad feeling.
This wasn't good.
There was a lot of noise from outside while the group inside waited with dread, then it got silent. Peering through the window, Rick could see a group of them coming toward the door and another group moving around back. Motioning for Tyreese to move toward the back, Rick then stacked the ammo box next to him on the table.
Calling out, Rick yelled through the door.
"I'm countin' twenty a you which is pretty darn near close to what we got. We ain't survived this long by being bad shots either and after running into that National Guard storage yard, we're armed plenty, so do yourselves a favor and turn around." Rick called through the door.
They heard someone laugh outside.
"You're driving mommy-mobiles that don't have the room for the kind of arsenal you're describing. Now why don't you open the door and let us take a look at your group. See if you've got who we're looking for. If you don't, then we'll be on our way…after you pay your taxes." A voice called from the other side of the door.
Rick looked down at his feet for a second, before yelling back an answer.
"You can test us if you want, but I think you'll find out that I don't bluff. I don't know who you're looking for, but our group ain't it. We're heading to Washington from the south and I ain't never met you folk before." Rick lied, so they wouldn't have any information.
"Well, we're lookin' for two boys from the south." The man called back.
"Not our boys. They been with us the whole time." Rick said, nodding at Glenn who was positioned with the sniper rifle.
"We don't want no trouble. We just wanted to rest, then be on our way." Rick finished.
"You come out and we'll look for ourselves, then you can pay and be on your way." They shouted back.
"We're not paying you shit. It might be a walker infested land, but its still the United States of America, son." Rick yelled, shifting his feet.
"We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Your choice." The voice said, after a pause.
Rick took a deep breath, motioning for everyone to get ready. He then nodded at Glenn and motioned for the group to crouch low so stray bullets didn't hit them.
Rick heard the shot and then saw the head of the guy he was talking with, explode.
All hell broke loose as gunshots exploded, glass went flying, and men started dropping outside. The group was besieged from all sides. Katelyn covered her ears as glass shattered right next to her. Hershel pushed her back against the wall so she was completely out of the way as he fired out the window, hitting one of the bikers in the leg.
Glenn and Michonne had the rifles and were picking off anyone they could see from the second story of the house. Tyreese had flipped the kitchen table on its side, hoping that the thick wood would provide some protection. Hiding behind hit, he poked his head up to shoot someone who was trying to come through the back door, hitting them in the face. His sister shot from the bathroom window which was high enough that they wouldn't be able to use it to climb inside. Standing on a stool, she shot two of the men outside before the third one dove for cover.
It quieted down for a minute, as the bikers regrouped, taking cover behind anything they could.
"Like I said. I don't want no trouble, but if you try to force the issue, we'll give it to you. We ain't worth your trouble though and it'd be to everyone's best interest if you'd just leave us in peace!" Rick called out, praying that they'd see reason.
He couldn't see what they were doing, but it was quiet outside.
"You killed one of ours and now you gotta pay!" He heard a voice yell from outside and he sighed.
"You tried to break into our house!" Rick called back.
"Don't matter now!" They shouted, and then started firing again.
He heard the window shatter somewhere and a yelp. Calling out to everyone inside the house, he was trying to figure out who'd been hit.
"Who's hit!?" He shouted, not looking away from the window.
"I am, but its not bad!" He heard Sasha yell from down the hall. "Just a graze!"
Rick nodded, feeling somewhat relieved, but then he heard a crash upstairs and a scuffle. Somehow, they'd climbed up to the roof and gotten into the house.
"Shit!" He swore, looking around the living room for someone to go check it out.
"I'll go." Carol said, and started to move up the stairs as another series of gunshots rang out. Carol was about to clear the landing so she could see what was going on, when a head came rolling toward her.
Screaming, Carol jumped, nearly falling down the stairs. She watched in horror as the head rolled, thudding on each step before finally coming to a rest at the bottom landing. Staring up at her was the face of an unknown man. Carol's face turned white and she began backing up the stairs, away from the head. She bumped into someone and turned, shrieking, to find Michonne standing there with her katana dripping with blood.
"Oh god." Carol moaned, trying to get ahold of herself.
Gunshots ripped the air again as they heard a door get smashed and a scuffle erupt from the kitchen. Michonne leapt down the stairs, racing to the kitchen. Rick was now firing at a small group of men who were hiding behind the group's cars, trying to suppress any move toward the house while the issue in the kitchen was being dealt with.
Tyreese had shot one man that came through the door and was now wrestling with another man. Just as large as him, the two crashed into the table before falling to the floor. Allen grabbed a knife from the butcher block and raced over to them. Waiting until he had a clear shot, he plunged the butcher knife into the back of the other man. Pulling it out, he stabbed him over and over again until they stopped moving. Unfortunately, he wasn't watching the door and didn't see the man rushing through it until he heard the gunshot and looked down at his chest to see a blossoming red stain spreading across his shirt.
"No!" Ben shouted, racing toward his father, catching him before he hit the ground.
Michonne acted fast, slicing her sword upward, severing the hands of the man holding the gun, then running him through the chest with her katana. Before the man dropped to the ground, Michonne then planted her hands on the counter and used both feet to kick him back out through the door.
All the men on the outside saw was their man run inside, only to come flying out backward, minus both hands and a penetrating chest wound that left him dead.
The men became spooked and took off running for the front to meet up with the others.
"If you walk away now, you'll be spared!" Rick shouted, trying to end the conflict, as Michonne slipped out the back door quietly to follow the men.
"Okay! Okay!" He heard them shout, as the gunfire died down.
"Get your bikes and get outta here!" Rick called out to them.
"We want our dead!" They shouted back.
"Ain't gonna happen!" He replied, snorting at their demand.
It was silent for a moment, then he saw a man moving slowly toward the bikes, his hands in the air. When he didn't get shot, others began to follow suit, climbing onto their motorcycles and starting them up. Turning the bikes around, they all started to pull out, but one stopped and turned to look back at them.
"You all are dead! You know that, right!? Breed'll hunt you down for this! He'll gut your babies while you watch, rape your women before he tortures them to death, and then he'll kill you slowly!" The man with the long brown hair called out eerily, causing the hair on the back of Rick's neck to stand up.
Then he turned and left.