Civilian Chapter 7:
Colony
The sharp roar of cicadas isn't the only thing waking Shane from his slumber. He tries to move his neck, but finds he can't move it. Instead, he feels rope dig into his flesh, warning him if he made any sudden movements he could strangle himself. Opening his eyes, he sees a barrel of a gun pointed right at him.
"He's awake! The man's awake!"
Shane groans; his throat is begging for water.
He tries to piece together what had happened the night before; he does remember hiding, he does remember the sharp crackle of firewood, and a burst of pain in the back of his head.
He looks down to the best of his ability.
His feet are standing on a makeshift stool, his hands bound in front of him.
He looks up.
A rope hanging from a seemingly stable tree branch is most likely the one that's wrapped around his neck. Slipknot, if he remembers correctly.
The people that put him in this predicament rush to him, three men and one woman, who appears to be pregnant. They have their guns drawn on him, even though all of them knew a man that's life is literally one false step away from it ending doesn't need much more security.
"Water." He manages to get out.
"We don't give water to prisoners. Especially ones who pose a threat." The pregnant woman says, her gun drawn.
"Francine. Give the man some water. He's been unconscious for three days."
Shane's eyes widen.
Three days. He'd been out for three days…
Questions buzz through his mind but those questions went on the backburner when his mouth is flooded with water. He takes as much as they can give, cursing his greedy body for gulping and slurping up every drop he could from the water canteen.
"I hope Pete got a good reason for keeping you. You're a lot more trouble than you're worth." One of the men said. He's a scrawny man, 103 pounds soaking wet donned in military gear that hangs off his body to compensate.
Shane does a mental scan of everyone. He could take G.I. Scrawny, the pregnant woman he could snap her neck without breaking a sweat, but the other two, who are roughly the same stature and size as Shane, could be a bit of a challenge. It doesn't help that his body is weakened from the lack of food and water for the past few days.
A new man joins the group, arms full of crates that have 'FOOD' stamped on them. He's the same build as Shane, with a muscular body sculpted from the military no doubt. He's got dark brown eyes and hair that swoops to a curl that dangles in front of his face.
Shane can't take his eyes off the strange man. He's not like the other people he'd come across. He's not suspicious of him, he's not cold or dead inside. He's…trusting. Friendly, even, despite the circumstances. Hell, when the man looks up at him he smiles.
"Glad to see you've come to." He says.
"My name is Pete. I know you have plenty of questions, and I'm more than happy to answer them."
"How did I get here." Shane rasps.
"You were passed out. Exhaustion, I think. My team wanted to leave you behind, but…I couldn't do that. So, I took you in. I'd hope that you won't make me regret this decision."
"Am I being held hostage?"
"That's all up to you. You can't do much damage; you're weak, exhausted. Roughing it alone at the rate you're going and you could die."
Shane inhales. Not again.
"What do you want."
"You look like you could be an asset to our crew. We work better in numbers."
"I don't do alliances. I don't join groups. Not anymore."
"Everyone has their story. Tell me how you got here."
"The people that I was once with. They're gone. We split up running from Woodbury."
"What's that?"
"It's this…town, that pretends everything is milk and honey when it's not. It's like a…1984 nightmare."
"What is he talking about?" The pregnant woman looks to Pete for answers.
"He's referring to a Big Brother-esque type of deal. Whoever's in charge wants to keep everyone in line and got eyes everywhere." G.I. Scrawny interjects.
"The man in charge goes by the name The Governor. He's got foot soldiers all around this area. They're looking for me and my group and if they catch us…" Shane stops himself.
"When you meet him, don't trust him. Don't you ever trust him…"
"Why are you telling us this? You have no reason to help us. You're basically our prisoner." Francine cuts in.
"I'm bargaining. Information for information. I tell you who to avoid to save your skin, and you tell me who you are." Shane replies.
"I'm Pete, and this is my brother Mitch." He points to G.I. Scrawny, who glares.
"We are assembling a team of survivors. We're initially planning on heading to Washington. There's a rumor going around about a scientist who's working on a cure to the virus. We find him and, hopefully we could put an end to his hell."
That's the dumbest idea Shane had ever heard, and he's heard plenty of them. They are risking their lives, over something that will never exist?
"You're wasting your time." Shane says.
"How can you be sure?" Pete retorts.
"You're going off on hope and a dream. That shit will get you killed."
"Well what about you, stranger? What are you doing?"
"Surviving. Surviving for as long as I can."
"Don't you think that's a 'hope and a dream'?"
"That's being realistic. I'm not chasing some magic man that doesn't exist."
"Look, we can talk beliefs and motives for staying alive till the cows come home. But you're on borrowed time. Any second that exhaustion is going to set in and you're going to hang yourself once your body gives up the fight. So, either you tell us if we could trust you or we could leave you right where you stand." Mitch interrupts.
As if on cue, he feels his knees buckle.
"You're telling me to join you or die." Shane says.
The cicadas freeze their chirping.
"Don't think of it like that. Think of it as you being part of a group, but have to deal with the initiation process."
"I could kill you."
"That you could. But we outnumber you. We can protect you, help you survive."
"Why me?"
"Because," Pete walks to him cuts the rope from the branch, and catches Shane when he falls. Locking eyes, he says, "in the world of monsters, every civilian is worth saving. Including the ones who served." He eyes the military tattoo tucked underneath Shane's bicep, and it's then Shane knew.
Pete saw the soldier in him.
Pete holds out his hand for Shane to take. Eyeing him, Shane sees that trusting nature, that comradery.
Against his better judgment, he takes his hand.
Maybe they can help him track down Michonne and Jacob.
AN: I just want to say thank you for being so patient with this story! I didn't give up on it lol.
Fun Fact: If you thought the names Mitch and Pete sound familiar it's because they are! They're Mitch and Pete from The Governor's new army under his pseudo name Philip (Or was it Brian? I gotta watch the show again to recap). I felt sad with the way Pete died and I figured pairing him and Mitch up with Shane could work in his benefit. Especially Mitch.
Easter Egg! 1984 and Big Brother are references to George Orwell's novel 1984, about a dystopian world where everyone is watching. Mind you, I didn't actually read the novel (because novels like those get my conspiracy theory brain kicking in and shit gets ugly) but from what I heard of it it's pretty chilling with the message and it does apply to the way The Governor runs Woodbury.