The Walking Dead

Tales of Crawford Part I

Thank you everyone who has left feedback on The Walking Dead: Season Two so far. I hope you all enjoyed the conclusion to Episode One and I would hope that you'll all be glad to hear that Episode Two is currently being edited and is on the way! To help with the wait, however, and as a big thank you to all of your kind comments and favoruties/follows, I present a new short story: Tales of Crawford.

This is a story set within the world of The Walking Dead (taking place between Episode One and Two of The Walking Dead: Season One) that gives us a better look at the Crawford, the town that Lee and his group find overrun by walkers in Episode 4 of The Walking Dead. But how did Crawford come to fall? And who were the people who lived there? Tales of Crawford will show you the fall of Crawford and its infamous leader and how it affected some of the characters that will soon play a major part in The Walking Dead: Season Two. So, I hope you enjoy this story. If you want Episode Two soon, feed me some reviews!

On that night, the halls of Crawford seemed darker than ever before. The gloomy hallways of the old school building sent a chill down Jerry spine as his footsteps echoed through the building, sending mice scurrying back to their holes and Crawford's delinquents back to theirs. Jerry held a tight grip on his 9mm pistol, though he didn't expect to find anything worth using it on when he turned at every corner. Crawford was a safe zone; humans were the only thing that plagued the town. The walkers were kept at bay by the town's fences and the many gunmen that sat atop them. It was Crawford's strict rules and policies that threatened the townspeople the most, all of whom had been brainwashed by the words of their fearless leader: Oberson. Once upon a time, Jerry had trusted the man, but those days had come and gone. As he began to see other people less as human beings and more as liabilities, Oberson's laws had become tighter and tighter, eventually disallowing children, elderly or sick people to live inside Crawford's walls. The thought often made Jerry cringe and tense his muscles – sometimes even physically ill, as it made him think back to the people he had been obliged to remove from the town. Families of four, elderly married couples, mothers with sick children; all Oberson had made leave the town to meet an uncertain fate outside their walls, and it had been Jerry, the Sheriff of Crawford, who had been the one to force them out of their homes and out into the walker-infested streets of Savannah.

Being an officer of the law before the walker outbreak, Jerry was soon dubbed 'The Sheriff' of Crawford by Oberson, and quickly became one of his most trusted supporters; though the feeling was becoming less and less mutual. The extreme cautions that Oberson had taken to protect Crawford and its people haunted Jerry every day, as did the punishments Jerry had been made to dish out. Oberson called it "justice", but Jerry often wondered if Oberson got some kind of sick satisfaction from seeing people and their families suffer as the rest of Crawford kneeled before him. He sometimes wondered if one day, the time would come when Oberson himself needed to be made a lesson of. But Jerry always bit his tongue. In Crawford, that was the kind of talk that got you killed. When he turned the next corner, the sudden appearance of a figure in the darkness caused Jerry to frantically pull his 9 mil from his holster which he then pointed in the face of the walker. But when the figure emerged further from the darkness, Jerry could see that the figure was no walker, but a young resident of Crawford with clips in her beautiful golden hair. She wore a grey tracksuit, zipped all the way up to her neck. Jerry could see that she was sweating. She came closer to Jerry with her hands raised in the air mockingly.

"Am I under arrest or something?" the girl asked him sarcastically.

"No. Sorry. I thought you were a walker is all," Jerry apologised as he holstered his pistol again.

"Wow, I look that bad without makeup, huh?" she joked, though Jerry didn't seem so amused. "It was a joke…"

"I haven't seen you around here before," Jerry told her, studying her suspiciously. "What's your name?"

"It's Molly. You're The Sheriff in this town, right? I've heard a lot about you." The girl seemed friendly enough, though she didn't offer a handshake. She seemed as though she was holding something back.

"Good things, I hope," Jerry replied. Oberson had made Jerry out to be some silent protector who, if you misbehaved and broke the rules, would sneak into your room at night and take you away without making a sound. But that was all a charade to keep the people of Crawford in their places. As a matter of fact, Jerry was one of the kindest folks you could meet around Crawford.

The door behind Molly then swung open, and Dr Logan stepped out of his office. He was an older gentleman who would never be seen around Crawford out of his doctors scrubs. The only hair on his head was grey, as was his unshaven beard that made him look more like the town drunk than the only resident of Crawford with an actual PHD.

"What's going on out here?" He asked having heard the two's chatter. If there was one thing Dr Logan was not a fan of, it was a conversation he was not a part of. Always fearing that Oberson was trying to get rid of him, Logan tried to remain in the loop. He always asked Jerry if Oberson ever spoke of him and if he did, whether the things he said were good or bad. As he stepped out into the hallway, Jerry could see that Logan was zipping up his trousers. When he noticed that the doctor was sweating frantically too, Jerry finally figured out what was going on, and it disgusted him.

"Jesus, Walter," was all Jerry could think to say. He turned away from both of them in disgust, giving Molly the opportunity to skulk away in the dark hallways of the school and disappear. Jerry rubbed his forehead. He had a headache.

When he finally turned back around, Jerry saw that Molly was gone. But Dr Logan still stood with his tail tucked between his legs. Jerry had always trusted the doctor, but he always knew he wasn't one for charity. Though he had heard rumblings of some of the doctors "arrangements" with some of his clients, Walter rarely failed to repulse him.

"Dammit, Walter. What're you thinking? She's just a kid," Jerry said as his head thumped.

"What does it look like?" the doctor replied in a cold, raspy voice. "Money is no good here. But there are other ways they can repay me for my services. I'm only human after all."

You're not even that, you're a sick old pervert, Jerry thought to himself and wanted to say aloud to the disgraced doctor, but unfortunately he needed this sick old pervert's help.

"So? What do you want?" Dr Logan asked finally, making himself sound busier than he really was. These days, the doctor's schedule consisted of nothing much more than signing prescriptions, ripping off clients and masturbating. But apparently, he had added conning women into sleeping with him to that list. The thought made Jerry feel sick. Walter began to tap his foot against the floor repeatedly, waiting for an answer from Jerry, who was still thinking about Molly and how desperate she must have been to come to this scumbag.

"It's my wife, doc," Jerry explained. "She needs help."

Dr Logan seemed to finally understand the gravity of Jerry's situation. He looked around him, making sure that none of Oberson's many eyes around Crawford were not watching them before he looked back to Jerry. He held the door to his office open as he said: "Step into my office." Jerry followed Walter into his office, and the door slammed behind him. The sound echoed through the halls of the school, but was heard by no one still.

Earlier that same day, Jerry Winters had come home to some big news. It was the kind of news that, under normal circumstances, would be followed by parties and other festivities. But in Crawford, this kind of news was followed only by pain and misery. When Jerry opened his door, the first thing he noticed was his beautiful wife sat atop their bed. Usually, Jerry would be welcomed home form his shift with a hug and a warm kiss on the cheek, and maybe even a cup of coffee if he was lucky, as though nothing had ever changed. But today, Jerry found his wife sat with her head in her hands, her red blouse wet with tears. Jerry hung his hat and coat up where Lillian usually hung it when she exchanged them for a warm cup of coffee. Today, Jerry had to do it himself for the first time in weeks. Something was wrong. He approached his wife and cupped her cheek. Her cheeks were hot from the tears that still ran down her face. Lillian pulled her hands away to look at her husband. She still wept even when Jerry sat beside her and held her in his arms. He rocked her slowly as she sobbed into his arm, wetting his work shirt with more hot tears. Jerry could see the pregnancy tester in her open hand now. Two pink lines filled the circle next to the text that read: TWO LINES = PREGNANT. Jerry's heart sank. His old self wanted to jump up with joy, but he knew that the only sane thing to do right now would have been to join his wife and weep endlessly. Even still, he sat emotionless, his mind flooding with ideas of what their future held, if they even had one now.

"What's wrong, honey?" Jerry asked innocently despite already knowing the answer.

"Oh, Jerry, sweetie," Lillian finally said after a long silent pause, fighting back her tears. "I'm pregnant," she finally said as she broke into another round of whimpering and sobbing.

"Hey, shh," Jerry said to Lillian, holding her tight. He didn't know what to say. "This is good, Lilly. This is great!" He tried to reassure her, though he knew he wasn't fooling anybody – including himself.

"Good?" Lillian asked, taken aback by Jerry's response. "How is this good? You know Crawford's laws. You know what Oberson will do when he finds out."

The thing that worried Jerry the most was that, as a matter of fact, he didn't know what Oberson would do if he found out, or what he would make Jerry do. Oberson had become more and more unpredictable by the rise of the sun. Even so, Jerry tied to remain positive.

"I still trust Oberson, and he still trusts me. I could try and work something out."

"NO! You can't tell Oberson! Not him, not anyone. Please, Jerry." Lillian pleaded.

"Of course I won't, baby. Of course," Jerry comforted her as he pulled her close. The two had had their fair share of problems, but they had survived for this long together, so they must have been doing something right. "I won't tell a soul," Jerry lied to his wife.

Lilly pulled back and kissed her husband on the lips. His hands reached under her blouse and squeezed her soft breasts. Lillian snapped back, pushing away Jerry's hands. "No," she said. "This is what got us into trouble in the first place," she joked with a half-smile. "Besides, I'm not exactly in the mood right now." Lillian laid on her back on the bed and turned to face the wall, her head laid on the pillow. Jerry got on his feet and went for the door.

Before he left, Jerry turned back to his wife. Although she could easily have been asleep, Jerry said one last thing to her. "We're going to have this baby, Lilly," he told her. "And he's going to be beautiful." Jerry turned to swung the door open and left the room, a smile planted across his tired face.

On his way to the office of Dr Walter Ashe (known better as Dr Logan to the residents of Crawford), Jerry found Anna outside the doors to the school. She leaned against the wall wrapped up in a trench coat meant for a man twice her size, and a scarf that hid her neck. Jerry approached her and saw her face light up when she finally recognized him. They exchanged the same pleasantries they always did before they disappeared together for a couple of hours, only this time Jerry had somewhere to be. Jerry said his goodbyes to Anna, his breath turning to vapour in the cold night air, and was about to grab the handle of one of the doors to the school when Anna pushed his arm away.

"Where are you going?" Anna asked him, wondering why their time together was ending so early.

"I'm sorry, Anna. I have to go," Jerry tried to tell her, though he knew he could only tell her so much. "I have some things going on right now, and there's somewhere I need to be."

"Rough day?" Anna asked sarcastically. Every day was a rough one in Crawford.

"You don't know the half of it," Jerry replied with a smirk.

When Jerry's smirk disappeared, and he began to look worried, Anna began to realise something was wrong. She took his hands and kissed one of them as she saw a tear begin to fill Jerry's eye. "What's wrong?" She asked him, only much more seriously this time.

"Everything," Jerry replied. It was the most truthful thing he'd said all day. He pulled his hands out of Anna's grasp and moved them to her face. Jerry grabbed Anna's soft, freckled cheeks and pulled her lips to his. The kiss was warm and soothing in the air of that cold night and, just for the few seconds that kiss lasted, all of Jerry's troubles seemed to be non-existent.

When Jerry woke up beside Anna, his arms wrapped around her slender, freckled, naked body, his first thoughts were of his wife. The wife he'd lied to, cheated and abandoned when she needed him most. That last thought struck Jerry the most, and he sat up sharply, the bed sheets sliding off him and revealing his sweaty, muscular bare chest. He put his head in his hands and scrunched his hair until it swept back over his head. Beside him, Anna sat up. She kissed his shoulder and leaned against him as she softly stroked his arm.

"We have to stop this," Jerry finally said. Anna slowly pulled away from Jerry and went quite in the awkwardness that followed. Eventually, she pulled herself out of bed. She didn't hide away her naked body, instead she took her time to pick her underwear from the floor and slowly dressed herself. "It's my wife," Jerry went on. "She's pregnant."

Realising she was pulling a vest over herself as he said those words, Jerry became unsure as to whether or not Anna had actually hear him. But when she turned around, he could see in her cold, hateful eyes that she had heard him loud and clear. She picked up another pair of underwear, this pair belonging to a man, as well as a pair of trousers and a shirt, scrunched them into a messy bundle and tossed them at Jerry. She raised her arm, pointing in the direction of the room door and simply said: "Get out."

It was all that needed to be said. Jerry leapt out of bed and jumped straight into his briefs. He was about to pick up his jeans and shirt when Anna spoke again. "No," she said, still pointing at the door. "You can put those on outside."

"You've got to be kidding me," Jerry asked, but he already knew very well that Anna wasn't joking. He carried the pile of clothing to the door, where Anna let him out. He stood in the hallway where he began to dress himself. When he finally had his jeans back on, he begged Anna again. "Please, Anna. Just let me-" he tried to say before the door slammed in his face. When he looked around him, he saw that Anna's neighbours were watching, their heads peering through their open doors, and Jerry left.

It was nearing 10 o'clock now. Jerry was still going through the many events of that day when he stepped into Dr Logan's office. From his wife's big announcement to his spat with Anna, today had been quite a day. He rubbed his forehead again, his head was pounding now. Noticing his pain, the doctor took a bottle of aspirin from his medical cabinet that screeched as Walter opened it. He grabbed Jerry's hand and forced the bottle into it. Jerry smiled back at the doctor, and hid the bottle away in one of his back pockets. Nobody needed to know that Crawford's only trusted law keeper was on medication. Dr Logan then took a seat in his leather office chair and waited for Jerry to explain the reason behind his visit. When he finally found the words, Jerry told the doctor everything. He told him about his pregnant wife, how she had asked that Jerry not tell anybody, and how he was betraying his wife just by being here. He told him how they had always wanted a son, how they had been trying even before the walker outbreak, and how he would do anything to protect them and their unborn child. Then, Jerry told Dr Logan something else. Something he had been thinking about since he left his apartment. Something that had been on his mind even when he was with Anna. Something he hadn't even been sure he trusted the doctor enough to tell him, but he did. Jerry told Walter of his plan. His plan to overthrow Oberson, take over Crawford and restore the town to its old ways. His plan left the good doctor speechless.

"Jerry," the doctor began, "I consider you to be my good, honest friend, so don't take this the wrong way, but I have to ask: have you completely and truly gone insane?" He asked without so much as a smile.

Jerry was the speechless one now. "What?" he asked between laughing hesitantly.

"I can't believe we're even talking about this. These are the kinds of conversations people have before they up and disappear," Dr Logan said, though he could see Jerry still wasn't quite getting it. "Oberson has eyes everywhere. So much as thinking about any kind of "revolution" is beyond foolish, and I never took you for a fool, Jeremiah."

Jerry cringed at hearing his Christian name that he hated so, although Lillian had always liked it. "I'm not a fool. That's why I'm here. Right now, the smartest thing I can think to do is to try and talk some sense into Oberson. Things have gotten out of hand, Walter."

"Don't think I don't know that," Walter replied quickly. He didn't want Jerry to even think for a second that he was in support of any of Oberson's policies. "Let me tell you, the smartest thing you can do now is take your wife and leave Crawford. There's nothing here for you but pain and misery." Jerry thought for a second that he could see a hint of remorse in Walter's eyes, but then he remembered who he was talking to. "Do you understand?"

Jerry thought about what Walter had told him long and hard. He wanted so much to show Oberson that his actions would not stand. He wanted so much to restore Crawford to its former glory, for it to be a place on the map for survivors to come and live in safety. He wanted so much to see his son grow old. But he knew that there was no life outside the walls of Crawford, so he would have to make a decision. Did he want to die inside the walls of Crawford as his friends and neighbours watched their fearless leader serve out what he called "justice"? Or did he want to die out in the walker-infested streets of Savannah (if he and his wife even made it that far), where he would be forces to watch his wife and unborn child be devoured by the walking dead. He made his decision. He was going to die inside Crawford, but not without a fight. "I understand," he told Dr Logan as he stepped out of his office, his face cold and grey in the dark halls of Crawford.

It was approaching midnight when Jerry was woken by a knock on his door. Before he got out of bed, Jerry checked to make sure his wife was still laid down beside him in their bed. She was, which slowed down Jerry's heart rate enough for him to get up and open the door. Tommy stood with his hands buried in his pockets, chewing the noisiest gum Jerry had ever heard, and smiled when Jerry opened the door, though he had to do a double-take of sorts when he saw that Jerry was wearing nothing but his briefs. Tommy pushed his glasses from the bottom of his nose back up to his eyes as he continued to chew his gum noisily.

"Hey, Jerry," Tommy said holding out his right hand. "How's it goin'?"

"I've been better," Jerry said as he shook Tommy's hand. He stopped there. There was no point in involving someone else in his plot. Especially Tommy, whom Jerry knew worked closely with Oberson. There had been a time when Jerry would have trusted Tommy with his darkest secrets, but since then Oberson had brainwashed Tommy just like he had the rest of Crawford. "What's up?"

"We've got a situation," Tommy said. Jerry could tell something serious was going down from Tommy's tone. "You're needed outside."

"When did Oberson stop being able to come and fetch me himself?" Jerry asked, keeping his voice down. Not just to avoid waking the neighbours, but just in case Oberson was nearby.

"When you disgraced the badge he gave you," Tommy said bluntly. He had been vague, but Jerry knew exactly what he was talking about. Tommy noticed Jerry's reaction. He sighed out loud as he closed the door to his apartment. "We know you've been sticking it to that blonde girl from Block C."

"Who knows?" Jerry said, angered by Tommy's words. He felt threatened.

"Everybody, it's all around Crawford," Tommy told him. Jerry couldn't have been sure whether he had been bluffing or not. All that mattered was that Lillian never found out.

Jerry sighed again. This day was only getting worse. "What do you want, anyway?"

"Like I said, you're needed outside," Tommy told him again. Jerry noticed he had a grip on his pistol now, just in case Jerry was going to refuse to comply. That's the Crawford way, Jerry thought.

"Okay, just give me a minute," Jerry told him before he stepped back into his apartment to get dressed. He was about to put on some clothes when he saw that his wife still laid asleep beneath the blankets. He stood over her, watching her dream. Before he left, Jerry leaned over his wife and planted a soft kiss atop her head. He threw on his uniform, hat, boots and badge included, and left the room, locking the door on his way out.

Outside, despite the winter cold, a crowd had gathered, though Jerry couldn't quite make out what or who they had gathered around. When he heard the first couple of screams, he raced ahead of Tommy and hustled through the crowd, pushing and shoving his neighbours out of his way. The screams were coming from a woman - a young woman. He pushed past another couple of people who cursed under their breath at him for shoving past them. When he finally emerged from the seemingly endless wave of angry bystanders, Jerry saw Oberson stood tall holding a bright lantern high above the crowd. The lantern lit up Oberson's face, revealing an unkempt beard and those dark grey eyes that Jerry had come to know. His hair appeared to move like a flame as the lantern's light flickered in the wind. Jerry then saw the couple who knelt beside Oberson, as though they were bowing to their King. Their usurper King, Jerry had named Oberson. He recognized the older girl instantly. Molly, he thought with alarm. And the little girl she held tight in her arms could only have been her sister.

"How nice of you to join us… Sheriff," Oberson said mockingly earning several laughs from the crowd at the expense of the disgraced officer.

"What's going on here, Oberson?" Jerry asked calmly, not giving him the satisfaction of seeming at all fazed by the laughter.

Oberson presented Molly and her sister, whom she still cradled in her arms, to the gathering audience and Jerry with the sway of his hand as though he was trying to sell a new car model. Molly was looking back at Oberson with hateful eyes, who was too busy entertaining the crowd (which was growing lager by the second) to notice. "This fine young woman was caught stealing medical supplies from the office of our dearest Dr Walter Ashe. It appears her sister is diabetic and in need of insulin," he explained to Jerry and the crowd. "You know the rules about sick people, Jeremiah," he was speaking directly to Jerry now.

"She has diabetes, Oberson. Jesus, she's fine! With the right medicine, she'll be okay," Jerry tried to tell Oberson what he already knew as Molly looked at him with eyes that pleaded for his help.

"That medicine is for all of Crawford, and yet this bitch thinks she can steal it all for herself? A lot of things have changed, Sheriff, that much is true, but stealing is still a crime in Crawford!" Jerry watched as Oberson pulled a revolver from the inside of his dirty suit. "What am I to do?" He asked Jerry rhetorically.

"Not this. Please, Oberson," Jerry begged him. "This is unethical."

Now, the entire crowd was laughing, Oberson included. "Unethical?" He said, still sniggering. "That's rich coming from a saint like you, Jeremiah. Last time I checked, cheating on your wife was seen as "unethical" too."

Right now, Jerry wanted nothing more than to punch that bastard right between the eyes and wipe that cheap smirk right off his old, unshaven face. But he knew he couldn't.

"Please, Oberson," a voice said from nearby. It was Molly. "I'm sorry I stole those supplies, please just don't hurt my sister."

"Sorry, darling," Oberson said in that sadistic, creepy voice that still scared Jerry. "But you and your sister are thieves and need to be made a lesson of."

"Just send them away," Jerry pleaded with Oberson again. "Just kick them out of Crawford and tell them never to return. Please, Oberson. Just don't hurt them."

"I won't," Oberson told him, smiling manically. "You will," he explained as he placed the revolver in Jerry's hand.

The snub-nosed pistol felt heavy in Jerry's hand. He held it high in one hand as he looked down the barrel at Molly's sister. The sound of Molly's screams and cries as she tried frantically to kick her way out of the grasp of two of Oberson's men who held her back began to fade as Jerry focused solely on his own thoughts. He could do it right now. He could turn just a few degrees and shoot Oberson. Once in the chest, and again in the head – that's how he would do it, in that order too. He would want Oberson to know that he did it before he died. But Jerry still held the gun in the direction of Molly's sister, who knelt helplessly before him, tears rolling down her red cheeks. Her eyes could scarcely be seen through her dirt blonde hair that hung so low, but just by getting a quick glance at her eyes of hazel brown, he could see that she was undoubtedly Molly's sister. "Do it," he heard Oberson whisper in his ear, he hadn't heard him approach him from behind. "Do it, or they'll never respect you again." Jerry wanted so much to turn around and put an end to Oberson's reign of terror, but he couldn't. He caught the eye of Tommy, who watched him from the front of the crowd. As he continued to chew away at his gum, Tommy nodded at Jerry. Tommy was but one of Oberson's many followers and supporters all of whom would be out for the head of anyone who would do him harm. Avenging Oberson would be their first step in taking his place as leader of Crawford. Crawford had been named after Oberson's forename, causing Jerry to wonder what Tommy would start calling the town if he were to ever take Oberson's place. "Do. It." Oberson said again from behind Jerry, causing him to stop daydreaming finally. The hostility in Oberson's voice caused Jerry to tighten his grip on the trigger. Killing Oberson would only get him killed too. Either that or he would rot in a jail cell for the rest of his day – and that would be if he was extremely lucky. As for his wife, Jerry knew she would be raped and tortured until Oberson got bored of hearing her screams and killed her too. Their son would never have a future inside Crawford's walls, which was why they had to leave. It all seemed easier if Oberson was dead, but Jerry knew he could not kill him. He knew that, for now, he had to follow the mad man's orders. He pulled the trigger. The shot forced his eyes shut and rang through the night air for a few long seconds. The silence that followed lasted only a couple of seconds before it was broken by Molly's high-pitched screams as she held her sister's corpse in her arms, cursing Oberson, the Sheriff and all of Crawford as the crowd began to thin out. Oberson patted Jerry on the shoulder as the two left together. "You did good, son," Oberson told him. He hadn't noticed that Jerry had never returned his snub-nosed pistol.

Sleep eluded Jerry Winters for the rest of that night. He hadn't been able to get a second of shut-eye even after his wife finally stopped asking him about what happened outside. He wandered across the halls of Crawford aimlessly for the rest of that night. On his way out of his apartment, he spotted Tommy stood at the end of his hallway smoking a cigarette. He gave Jerry a dutiful nod as he disappeared back into the shadows. Jerry was wandering the streets of Crawford now, wondering what kind of a future the town had in store for him, his wife and his unborn child. He was deep in thought about all three of them when he spotted a hooded figure scaling one of the fences surrounding the perimeter. This fence was meant to keep walkers out, and humans in. The figure had almost climbed over the fence when Jerry called out to them. "HEY!" he cried loudly enough for them to hear, but hopefully not any walkers lurking nearby. The figure seemed startled. At first, they climbed even quicker. Then, they jumped down from the fence, landing swiftly on their feet like a cat, and approached Jerry, their identity still hidden by the darkness. The figure drew a tool from their backpack as they marched towards Jerry with large steps. Moonlight bounced off the ice tool's razor sharp edge as they raised their weapon high. "STOP!" Jerry cried, pulling both his pistols from their holsters quickly enough to stop the assailant in their tracks.

"Two guns?" Jerry heard them say as they began to chuckle slightly. He recognised the girl's voice immediately. "Probably a wise move, especially after all the people you've pissed off lately."

"Molly? Is that you?" He asked, tucking the guns back in their holsters.

"Yeah," Molly admitted. "It's me." He could see her face now, her eyes read from weeping endlessly. She had been mourning her sister.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked her as she slid her backpack off her shoulder and tucked the sharp ice tool away.

"What do you think?" Molly asked him rhetorically. He should have known. There was no reason for her to stay here after all.

"You're leaving? How did Oberson allow this?" Jerry had thought Oberson would have had Molly locked away for months for stealing that medicine, even though Dr Ashe had actually given it to her as part of their deal. But here she was.

"Oberson's the one who told me to leave," she explained, but Jerry was still confused.

"Weren't you supposed to be punished in some way?" He asked her.

"Yeah, I was. I guess he decided that watching my sister be gunned down in front of me and having to bury her corpse was punishment enough," she told him as she struggled to fight back her tears.

"Jesus, I'm sorry-" He tried to say.

"Don't. Just don't," she cut him off as she started to climb again. For a moment, Jerry was tempted to fetch his wife and join Molly as she fled Crawford, but then he realised how inappropriate that would be. He heard the ground meet her feet as she jumped and landed with a loud THUD. Before she fled, she turned to face Jerry through the fence. For a moment, Jerry thought that maybe she was going to say goodbye. Instead, she spit in his face. "For both our sakes, I hope we never meet again," she said before she turned to leave. Jerry watched Molly until the moment she vanished into the mist of darkness that surrounded the town. He wondered if they would ever meet again, and so did she.

When he climbed the steps back to his apartment, Jerry's heart began to race at the sight of their front door being wide open. When he approached the apartment, he saw that the apartment had been broken into. The door had been kicked open, explaining the broken pieces of wood and metal that littered the floor, and worst of all: Lillian was gone. He turned over the bed sheets and threw them aside, but it was no good. She wasn't here. The apartment was a mess. Their drawers and cabinets had been ransacked leaving empty bottles, cans and tins lying everywhere. Clothes, blankets and books and magazines also littered the floor. Jerry was panicking now, he breathed heavily and muttered threats to Oberson and his people as he searched every nook and cranny of the apartment. If they had so much as touched her, Jerry couldn't be sure what he would do. Lillian was not here, that was all Jerry could be sure of. When he turned to leave the apartment, he saw a suited figure standing in his doorway. It was Oberson. He smiled that same manic smile he always did whenever he was pleased with himself as Jerry charged towards him. Unaware of his own speed and strength, Jerry suddenly found himself with both his hand wrung around Oberson's neck. He had wrestled him against the wall and was almost choking him. Oberson tried to spit something out, but now was Jerry's time to talk. "Where is she?" He demanded from Oberson as he tried to kick and punch his way out of Jerry's grasp. He loosened his grip on Oberson, giving him a chance to catch his breath and eventually start answering questions.

"I assume you're talking about your beloved wife?" Oberson asked mockingly as he rubbed his sore neck. Jerry could see the joy he was getting out of this very well on his face.

"Of course I'm talking about my wife. Where is she?" He asked, clutching Oberson's neck again.

"Ahem," he heard someone clear their throat from behind him in a desperate attempt to get this attention. When he turned around, Jerry saw Tommy stood with two other familiar-looking men. The two men had been the same men that had held Molly when Jerry killed her sister. All three of them were followers of Oberon's, and all three of them were armed with either a baseball bat, an axe or an assault rifle, causing Jerry to release his grip on Oberson, allowing him to catch his breath once again.

Oberson tidied his suit as he fell in beside his men. Stood next to him, Oberson made Tommy look like a giant, and that wasn't easily done, but Oberson was not a tall gentleman. In fact, he wasn't much of a gentleman at all. After neatening his tie, Oberson spoke up.

"You should have told us sooner, Jerry," Oberson said with honest regret. "Much sooner. Now, you and your wife will be forced to suffer the consequences."

Oberson began to lead the three men and Jerry down the hallway when Jerry grabbed his arm and pulled him back. This alerted Tommy and the others, but Oberson reassured them with a hand gesture that suggested everything was fine. "Wait, Crawford," Jerry said calmly. "What are you going to do?" He asked, unsure of whether or not he really wanted to know the answer.

"What I have to," Oberson told him. He stared intently into Jerry's eyes as he continued to talk. "I want you to know, Jeremiah, that every action that I take, no matter how violent, is purely for the greater good of my people. For Crawford." Oberson then saluted Jerry before leading the three men down the hallway. Reluctantly, Jerry eventually followed.

Outside, another crowd had gathered, and Jerry had a sudden feeling of déjà vu. This day was never going to end. He followed Oberson, Tommy and his other two henchman as they bustled and pushed their way past the temperament members of the crowd, each of them shouting questions and demanding answers. When he emerged from the crowd, Jerry's heart stopped. His wife was knelt beside one of Oberson's henchman, the barrel of the shotgun in his hands pressed firmly against her temple. Jerry barked commands at the man immediately, ordering him to stand down and put his weapon away, but Jerry wasn't in charge anymore. Oberson stood beside him, admiring his work. "Go ahead," he told Jerry, who seemed confused. "Pull out your gun and do it," he told him. Then Jerry understood, and his heart beat faster than it had all day.

Jerry pulled out his gun in a flash of movement, but it wasn't Lillian he aimed at. He held the gun to Oberson's temple, alarming Tommy, his men and the crowd that had gathered around them. Jerry heard several guns click around him.

"Drop the fucking gun, Jerry!" He heard Tommy cry, but his eyes never left Oberson.

"Don't be stupid now," Oberson said calmly without making any sudden movements that might have startled Jerry. He barely even moved his pursed lips.

"Not killing you when I had the chance was stupid," he told Oberson as he began to sweat frantically. His hand began to shake and his 9 mil rattled in his hand. "I won't make that mistake again."

"Jerry…" He heard his wife say. He turned to meet her gaze. Even now, with tears dripping down her cheeks that messed up her makeup and made it run across her face, Lillian looked as beautiful as ever. "Just do it. Save yourself at least."

Jerry understood what his wife was saying. There was no need for them to all die. But Jerry simply couldn't picture life in Crawford without his wife. Silently, Jerry cursed himself to hell for all the lies he had told Lillian, for all the times he had been disloyal, and for ever taking her for granted. "Just let us go, Oberson. Please," he begged the man that had once been his friend. He hoped there was still a part of the friend he'd known left behind those cold, evil eyes Oberson now wore. But what happened next diminished those believes completely.

He waited for Oberson's response, but he was silent. Instead, all Oberson did was simply nod. He turned to see who Oberson had nodded to. It was the henchman who stood beside Lillian, his shotgun still held to her temple. He gave Oberson a nod back. Before the explosion of the shotgun had even registered with Jerry's ears, he saw the face of his wife disappear in a sudden burst of red. Blood spewed across the front row of the crowd as Lillian's head was torn apart in an explosion of smoke, blood and flesh. The next sound he heard was the sound of his wife's body hitting the ground as she fell limp and lifeless to the cobbled street. Her hand, still wearing her treasured wedding ring, reached out to Jerry. He wanted to run to Lillian and kiss her soft hands as he told her that everything would be okay, as he lied to her a final time. He wanted to hold her tight and apologise to her for everything. But instead, all Jerry could do was fall to his knees and scream. His scream shook the crowd, and Oberson even seemed afraid. He approached Jerry, and put a hand on his shoulder. He then knelt in front of Jerry, and snatched the Sheriff's badge that he had pinned to his shirt in Crawford's early days. As the sun began to rise and the residents returned to their homes, the worst day of Jeremiah Winters' life finally came to an end.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Hope you all enjoyed! Be sure to let me know in a review what you thought of Part I of Tales of Crawford whether you want to write just a sentence or an entire essay! Depending on how much feedback you guys leave, Chapter One of Episode Two should be up next week. From then, chapters should be getting published twice a week. Part I of Tales of Crawford will be going up once Episode Two has been fully published (hopefully by the end of July), and we'll carry on from there. Just remember, the more feedback I get, the sooner new chapters go up, so let me know if you enjoyed, and why of course!

Thanks

-George :)