The men roughly pull and shove me along, up stairs and through hallways. I hear muffled grunts coming ahead, most likely from the Asian boy. They duck taped our mouths before taking us out of the room. We're lead out a door and I can feel the wind on my arms. We must be out on the roof now. My head spins, thinking of why they would want us on the roof, not looking forward to what comes next.
I hear distant voices, arguing, but still calm. Obviously trying not to let the other side detect any weakness.
I make out a familiar voice, the voice of the man yelling from behind the fence when I was taken. "You got my brother in there?"
"Sorry, fresh out of white boys," G retorts. "But I got an Asian. You interested?"
The next voice that speaks is unrecognizable. The voice is steady but careful with a slight southern drawl. "I have one of your's. You have one of mine. Sounds like an even trade."
"I don't think you understand the situation. I got another one of yours too."
"What are you talking about?" The steady voice said, except this time, confused.
"I got your little girlfriend, too. And if you think I'm giving even one of them up without that bag of guns, you might as well just walk away now." G spoke the last part with a seriousness that scared me. If he didn't get those guns, I have no idea what will happen to me but it isn't looking good.
"We don't know anything about a girl, but-" he's interrupted by the man that was behind the fence.
"She tried helpin' Glenn. Got picked up by these assholes though."
"Regardless, she's not with us. Has nothing to do with this."
"Either way, you're not getting anyone back until I have my guns," G threatens, resuming the argument. Both sides claim it's theirs and neither side seems willing to hand them over. No matter the cost.
I catch the end of the conversation"—What's to stop my men from unloading on you right now?" Suddenly, I hear guns cocked and people shuffling.
"You could do that. Or not." The man with the steady voice says.
Unable to see, I start to lose track of what's happening. After a long pause, G shouts "Jose!" And suddenly I'm pushed forward while another man pulls on my arm. I hear the Asian boy grunt as well. Someone pulls the bag off my head and I go into panic mode. My feet are half over the ledge and I'm a good four stories up.
"I see two options. You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns. Or you come back locked and loaded and we see which side spills more blood."
DARYL
We make it back to the building we were hiding out in before and Officer Friendly starts opening up the bag of guns. This situation isn't lookin' too good. Those fucker's have got China Man and Red. But they're not giving either of 'em up without those guns. Guns that we need.
"Guns are worth more than gold," I say, pacing back and forth. "Gold won't protect your family, put food on the table. You willing to give that up for that kid?"
"If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree," T-Dog adds. "You think that vato across the way is just gonna hand him over?"
"You callin' G a liar?" The Mexican brat says.
"You part of this!?" I slap the bastard upside the head. "You wanna hold onto your teeth!?"
"The question is, you willing to bet on it?" asks T-Dog.
"No, the question is what are you willin' to bet on it? It could be more than those guns. It could be your life." Rick's not seeing how this works. He doesn't get how this shit goes down, what these kinda guys are like. "Glen worth that to you?"
"The life I have, I owe to him." Rick says, solemnly, holstering his gun. "I was nobody to Glen, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He could've walked away. But he didn't. And neither will I."
"So you're just gonna hand the guns over?"
"I didn't say that. There's nothing keeping you two here. You should get out. Head back to camp."
"And tell your family what?" T-Dog asks, already knowing there won't be an answer.
I stare at Rick. He's riskin' his life for this kid. He's got a family to go back to. And not some broken family like I got. It's not just that, though. He's got honor too.
Fuck it.
I nod at Rick and we start loading our guns, getting ready for the shit show about to go down.
ASHLYN
The men bring us downstairs, across a lawn, and into another building, not bothering putting the bags back over our heads. I don't know what I was expecting to see, but it wasn't this. We're in a hospital, filled with old people and people taking care of them. Although the hospital isn't in the organized state it probably once was, it seems relatively untouched by the chaos outside.
G walks over to us and instead of being scared this time, I can only manage to be utterly baffled and curious. "What is this? What's going on?" G ignores my questions but tells one of the men to bring us to the main room and leaves us.
The room has even more elderly, all being given medical treatment by various people, none of which look like professionals. I share a confused glance with the Asian as the man who brought us walks away to help an old man with his IV drip.
"This whole time? They were just nice people, trying to take care of their grandparents?" He asks me, trying to absorb this new information.
"I…Uh, I guess so?" We stare at each other in confusion for a long moment before smiles slip onto our faces and we both break out into laughter. This is just too ridiculous.
When our laughter dies down, he looks at me, suddenly serious. "Hey, what were you doing back there? In the city, when you came out from behind that car. Thank you , by the way, for that. I don't know if you were trying to save me, but.. thanks."
For a moment I had to think about what he was talking about. And when I did remember, all I could say was, "I.. I'm not really sure."
"Well, I'm glad you did it. Misery enjoys company," he says lightly. "Oh, and my name's Glenn. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Ashlyn," I say, shaking his hand. "And I'm not really sure 'nice to meet you' works that well with this situation."
He smiles a bit at that. "Yeah, guess not."
I'm not sure what's happening to me. I've avoided every survivor that's come within a 30 yard radius of me and here I am, making light conversation with a guy right after being kidnapped. It must just be the strangeness of the whole situation. I just need to get out of here, find some food, and head off into the woods.
DARYL
We make it back to where we talked to the bastards before, but instead of standing outside, we're lead into the building. They probably didn't want to chance us havin' a sniper on them again. We're in a large room, looks like it used to be a warehouse. Also looks like we're out numbered. 1 to 3, maybe 1 to 4.
"I see my guns, but they're not all in the bag." G points out, as Rick aims a shotgun at his face.
"That's because they're not yours," Rick replies, coolly. "I thought I mentioned that."
"Let's just shoot these fools right now. Unload on their asses," Some fat bastard snarls.
"I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation," G says, ignoring the other guy.
"No I'm pretty clear. You have your man," Rick pushes the brat to G, "now I want mine."
"I'm gonna chop up your boy up, and your whore, feed em' to my dogs. They're the evilest, nastiest, man-eatin' bitches you ever saw." Rick just stares him down, so he continues, more urgent than before, "I told you how it has to be, are you willfully deaf?"
"My hearing's fine. You said come locked and loaded." Rick says, cocking his gun, T-Dog and I doin' the same. "Well then, we here."
The room is tense, as men on both sides move around nervously, waiting to see who makes the first move.
"Filipe!" A soft voice, the voice of a frail old lady, calls out. "Filipe!" A tiny old lady walks out from behind the men.
"Abuela! Get back with the others! Now!" The fat guy from before calls back.
"Get that old lady out of the line of fire!" I shout. Pointing my gun at the fat guy. We don't need any grandmas getting involved in this. The fuck is going on?
G tries to get the old lady to leave but she just talks over him. Something about a man needing his meds.
"Filipe, go take care of it! And take your grandmother with you!"
The fat guy says some stuff to the lady in spanish but she's not listening to him. She walks out in front of G and starts talking to Rick. "Filipe is a good boy, he has his troubles, but he helps us. We need him here."
Rick, realizing what this looks like since he's in his uniform, replies "Ma'am. I'm not here to arrest your grandson."
"Then, what do you want him for."
"He's… helping us find a missing person. A fella named Glenn. And, uh, a girl with red hair."
"The Asian boy? And the nice girl? They're both here!" The lady says, a big smile on her face. She begins leading us through the crowd of men.
Completely defeated, G reluctantly says "Let them pass."
ASHLYN
Some time has passed since we were lead into the main room. Glen and I have started talking to some of the older people, helping them with small things like getting them water. The old lady I talked to the most didn't realize what had happened, didn't know the world went to shit. It seems like she's going through the early stages of Alzheimer's but I wouldn't know for sure. Talking to her is strange, as if everything is alright. When she asks me about myself, I don't answer honestly; I answer the way I would've two months ago.
"Oh, you're such a pretty little thing. You must have the men clawing after you! Are you married, dear? Maybe a boyfriend?"
I'm used to the flattery old people always seem eager to give, but this time, I think she must be either especially generous with her compliments or partially blind. I can't remember the last time I took a shower and I definitely haven't brushed my hair in several days. Partially blind seems like the more probable explanation.
Still, I reply nicely, thinking back to before the outbreak. "Haha you're too nice. But no, not married. I have been seeing someone lately though."
"Oh, how nice. What's he like? Is he a good man?"
"He's very nice. A complete gentleman." It wasn't a lie, besides the two month time jump. The man I had been seeing, James, was a great guy. A lot like the few other men I had dated in my life. Charming, a stable career, neatly pressed shirts, great smile. My relationships just never seemed to go very far.
She was about to reply when a we here a commotion on the other side of the room. "Excuse me," I say quickly as I get up and run to the source of the noise. An old man in a wheelchair is wheezing loudly, surrounded by people. I see Glen running over, with something in his hand. An inhaler. He holds it to the old man's mouth and presses the bottom, helping him breath. The old man takes the inhaler and Glen steps back as one of the younger guys, Matias, helps the old man.
"What the hell is this?" A man's voice asks from behind me.
I spin around and see a tall man in a sheriff uniform. I recognize his voice as one of Glen's friends that came to save him. He looks fairly well groomed for the apocalypse and probably just a bit older than myself. There's a slightly shorter, but larger black man next to him, roughly the same age. Then I see the man from behind the fence. He stands further back, behind the others. He's about the same height as the sheriff, but more muscular. He wears a dirty army green shirt with the sleeves ripped off, showing his biceps. I suddenly notice his narrow eyes on me and quickly look away, my hair falling in my face. My cheeks probably the same color as my hair. He no doubt just recognized me as the crazy chick that jumped out from behind a car, yelling and waving a gun around. And now I look awkward as fuck. Perfect.
"An asthma attack," Glenn replies, "He couldn't get his breath all of a sudden."
"We thought you were being eatin' by dogs, man!" The black guy says, both relieved and frustrated by the situation.
Glenn glances back to the corner of the room at the doggie bed with three little Chihuahuas, "I think I'll be ok." I let out a little giggle, but quickly cover my mouth when the three men turn to me, realizing my presence.
"Um.. hello" is all I can think to say. I was never the talkative type, especially when there so many people I don't know.
"Oh, guys, this is Ashlyn. Ashlyn, this is Rick, T-Dog, and that guy in the back is Daryl," he says pointing to the Sheriff, the black guy, and the scruffy guy, respectively. I give a little wave and the others nod back.
"Nice to meet you ma'am. Now, uh, how exactly is it that you ended up in this mess?" Rick asks politely. He seems so exhausted.
I was about to respond when the scruffy guy speaks up, "Nah, I already told you. She came out of nowhere and tried saving Glenn. Got snatched up from behind though."
"Is that true?" Rick asks.
"Well, uh, I'm not really sure what I was trying to do-" I manage to say. I don't remember being this terrible at talking to people. I suppose my people skills need some work after two months of isolation.
"Yeah, it's true. I think what she said was 'Let the kid go you fucking shits or I'll blow your heads off." The scruffy guy, Daryl, interrupts, clearly amused.
I blush even darker than before, and mumble, just under my breath, "Is that what I said?"
"That was very brave of you. You're a good person," Rick says, with so much conviction, I almost believe him.
A little shocked, I look right in his eyes and breath, "Thanks."
"Now then," he says, turning to G, who had shown up with them, "I've got some questions for you."
"I thought you would. C'mon," G says, leading us into a smaller room.
He explains everything to us. How when the apocalypse started, the staff bailed. How his friend Filipe, a nurse, and himself, a custodian, were the only ones that stayed to take care of the people there. Others came slowly to see the grandparents and some stayed to help. They constantly need more supplies and are always fighting off plunderers. In the end, Rick gives them a few guns from the bag.
I couldn't believe the story. I almost felt guilty. I had spent so much time assuming the worst of people, while there are such selfless people as them, just trying to help people. I push back the feeling though, remembering the pain I felt when I lost everything. If this experience teaches me anything, it's that it's impossible to tell good people from bad people.
At the end of his speech, G turns to me and says, "And you. I'm so sorry about the way I treated you. I hope you can understand I was only trying to protect these people." He sounded so genuine, I look at him for a second, then nod.
"It's ok, I understand." I say, louder than I spoke before. I've had some time to gather my wits, think through everything that's happened. I just need to get back to surviving. "..If I could just have my gun and crowbar back.."
"Of course. Why don't you take some supplies as well?"
I look out the room at the old people wandering around the halls, at the old lady I talked to, asking a nurse for some food. "Thanks but, just my gun will do."
G nods and tells one of the vatos to get it for me. I go to follow him out, not planning on sticking around, when Rick puts his hand on my shoulder. I stop and look at him. He obviously has something to say, but isn't quite sure of himself.
"Do you have somewhere to go? A group your with?"
"…I have a place to go," I respond, unsure. What's he getting at? He seems to have picked up that I don't have a group, though.
"If you're alone, why don't you come back with us. We've got a nice camp site, outside the city. Good people there." His voice is so sincere, so genuine, some part of me, deep down, wants to say, 'Yes! Please, I would love to!" I can't though. These people are strangers.
"No, no, no. I can't. I'm sorr-" I'm interrupted by the man returning with my things.
"Here it is, bullets and all." I slip out from under Rick's hand and take the gun and crowbar.
"Thanks, but I can't." I say to Rick, firmly. He looks disappointed, and so does Glen. T-Dog seems indifferent, which makes sense. Daryl just stares at me intently, arms crossed, leaning against the wall, so I look away.
G speaks up, "You guys can stay a little longer, but if you're ready to leave, I'll show you out."
We all nod and G takes us back the way we came, leading us out of the warehouse.
When the doors shut behind us, we stand around in the awkward silence for a moment before Rick speaks up, "Well, we've got our ride parked by the outside of town under the highway. If you're sure you don't want to head back with us, we'll be going. It was a pleasure meeting you."
"Yeah, you were a good person to be kidnapped with. Thanks for trying to save me," Glenn says, nicely.
"Stay safe," T-Dog adds. Daryl gives a silent nod and the four begin to walk away. Walk away in the direction of my truck. After Rick said where they were parked, I barely listened to their goodbyes. My mind racing, I try figuring out my next move. That's exactly where I'm parked. I shuffle around, unsure where to go or what to do. I don't want them knowing where I'm parked. All of my supplies are there. They just almost got themselves killed over a bag of guns. What if they want what I have? It isn't much but I can't trust them. What other choice do I have though? It's going to be dark soon. I need to get back to my truck if I want a safe place to sleep tonight.
Glenn must have looked back and noticed my strange behavior because he called out, "Uh, Ashlyn? Are you just staying there?" The others turn around and see that I'm still there. Playing nervously with my crowbar.
"Well, uh, actually.." Fuck, what do I do? I have to get back to my truck. And soon. "That's where I'm headed." Looks like I won't be alone for just a little bit longer.