Another thanks to SilverSun09 and me wee handful of followers Hope you like it.

Chapter 12:

Scattered

"And you let her go with him?!" Shane yelled a bit too loudly for Lori's comfort; she stared at him in disbelief.

"Yes! Fred can protect her, he sure as hell protected me." Lori replied and she saw Shane stress, it had only been 20 minutes since Paula and Fred had gone to find Cindy but Shane had come back shortly after their departure. Shane was pacing in the living room as Lori stood in front of him. Carol was with Carl and Sophia in the other room

"Lori we can't just let out people wander off willy-nilly. We are down to 6 people and Paula doesn't have what it takes to survive. What happened? She kills one walker and she thinks she's Rambo or something?"

"She wanted to help. Hell if Carl wasn't in the house I would have gone with him, Shane you have to understand we can't just sit here whilst you go and fetch food and gas." She said angrily and Shane stopped pacing and looked at her.

"I'm sorry Lor… I'm just worried. I care for all of you and if something was to happen under my watch…" he sounded worried and Lori gave him a reassuring hug. She had known Shane for years and he was practically her best friend next to Paula.

"Don't worry. She'll be fine. She'll be back once they find Cindy." She broke the hug and saw Shane looking at her that way again.

"It's not her I'm worried about…" he said lightly and Lori felt her heart flutter, she could feel his body tense against hers, feel his muscles beneath his shirt, feel the man holding onto her…

Lori pushed away from him abruptly before her body took control; she looked at him and spoke in a faltering voice.

"Shane not now… Not now…" she said her voice quivering; Shane looked down at his feet frustrated.

"So what now then? We just sit on our asses waiting for them to come back?" he asked angrily and Lori knew he was pissed off by her rejection, Lori didn't blame him but she knew he had to accept the fact that she was still her husband's wife.

"Yes. If they aren't back by 7 then you go to Fred's house, you know where it is. Just off Salem…" Lori began but the cop waved her off.

"I know, I know… It's my job; I know this town like the back of my hand. She has one hour then I am going after her." He threatened before walking into the guest bedroom; Lori sighed and sat down on the bed holding her head in her hands.

Shane was stressed, hell they all were. She didn't know what they would do… She was relying on Shane to find somewhere else to go. The house couldn't hold 6 people let alone more and walker presence was increasing by the day.

They needed a plan and fast.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Morgan ducked behind the wall as the walker lumbered by; he was waiting for the magic moment and was rewarded when the walker turned away from where they were. He jumped from behind the wall and struck the walker down with one blow of the machete, the former man slumped forward dead as Morgan looked around; there were no other walkers around.

"Clear." He said as Paula and Cindy emerged from the shadows, the both had their guns ready as Morgan took the lead, they had had to kill 5 walkers on their way here so far and there were still two streets to go.

"How is Lori?" Morgan heard Cindy ask Paula, the red-headed woman had been quiet since they left and Morgan knew she was scared, Morgan had worn that face for the first week of the apocalypse before becoming accustomed to beating in the heads of walkers.

"She is okay, she and Carl made it out with me and Shane." She said simply as she looked over her shoulder, they walked quickly but cautiously, it only took one to see you then they would all be on top of you.

"Oh good, Rick?" she asked and he assumed that was Lori's husband.

"Didn't make it apparently, Shane said he was dead." Paula replied in a low voice, Morgan felt the familiar bubble of sadness inside at hearing about another life lost. A feeling he was becoming all too well accustomed with.

"Oh dear… What about you? Are Tom and Freya okay?" Cindy asked, for a few seconds Paula didn't answer and Morgan knew why… She was doing exactly what Morgan would do when someone asks him what happened to Jenny, trying to swallow the pain and answer the question.

"No… Just no…" her voice sound choked and Morgan knew she was losing the battle against the tears. He didn't have time for this…

"Let's save the chitchat for later. We gotta get to this Lori and her group before the sun goes down." He said looking at his watch, 5:43. Not much light left at this time of year.

"I agree." Paula said behind him as she walked in front of Morgan, he heard sniffing and knew she was brushing away tears. Morgan felt sorry for her, she was clearly in a lot of pain, but that was the new world… That was the pain everyone was feeling.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fred and Hannah had been looking at the map with the kids for 20 minutes and still nothing looked good.

"The high school?" Fred suggested but Hannah shook her head.

"Went there when I was younger, place had worse security then an open gate." She said and he went back to the map. She had only known him for the 25 minutes he had been there and she didn't know a lot about him, however by studying him she could work out that he was at least a good survivor.

"The shopping mall?" Jamie asked but this time Fred shook his head.

"Me and Cindy were there for a week. Walkers got a hold of the place; we barely made it out as it is."

"Maybe the motel just outside of King County. You know the one off the highway…" Fred asked but Hannah had to once more reject him.

"No a motel won't be enough security. We need somewhere secure, somewhere solid, somewhere which will be able to hold us all and keep the walkers out." She said looking at the map again but it was all just starting to look the same.

"I know what you mean but there is nothing here in King County which can do that." Fred said and Duane leant over the map further, Hannah sighed and sat back in her seat, she hadn't slept well the last few nights and she was beginning to feel it on her body, every muscle felt like it had been set in concrete and her eyes were becoming heavier each time she even though about the map.

"The university campus?" Duane asked.

"Nah that was where the refugees went, it's a graveyard now." Fred rebutted.

"The hospital?" Jamie asked but Fred shot her down again.

"Nah, me and Cindy saw it, half of it is blown to smithereens, something crashed into it at some point." Silence followed but Hannah already had an idea, an idea Fred or anyone else wouldn't like.

"The Police Station." She announced and Fred turned to face her.

"What? Are you crazy?" he asked as the children recoiled at the sharpness of his voice. He looked at Hannah as though she was crazy but she knew she wasn't.

"No. Think about it Fred. They have food for the officers there, it is close to the shopping district so there are supplies nearby and if I am not wrong there should be a cache of weapons there. Plus think of all the cells there, they would be able to hold but if we bought the right bedding." She reasoned, she saw Fred think it over in his head.

"Hannah I don't know…" he said unsurely but Hannah needed to drive the point home.

"Come on Fred! When Morgan and Cindy come back we can at least look at it. Even if we can't stay there we can scavenge the place for weapons and ammo which is something we are lacking in." she continued and she saw Fred begin to cave in.

"Let's just wait for Cindy and Morgan to get back, we need everyone here to make the decision." He said firmly and Hannah conceded defeat on the matter happy with the results. The police station wasn't the best idea but it was the best she had. King County wasn't a big place so beyond the shopping mall or the hospital there weren't many places where they could hold out.

Fred rolled up the map as the kids walked back through into the living room, ever since meeting the kids had grown closer even though they didn't speak that much. Hannah supposed it helped since she needed a break from the kids sometimes…

"Are you sure about the police station?" Fred asked her and she nodded.

"I dated a police officer there a while ago, you know Leon Bassett? Guy was a klutz if I ever saw one… Well I visited him there once or twice and that place is secure. I remember he told me that place could hold 30 drunkards and was the place to go when the world ended." She said and she could see the unsure look in Fred's face.

"I dunno Hannah… That place would have been where people went after the hospital. It could be overrun for all we know." He argued and Hannah sighed in a frustrated manner.

"Then we clear it out. Fred I need you to stop stepping over all of our ideas. Just because something could go wrong doesn't mean it will." She said in a frustrated voice, she saw the man grimace which with his features looked like he had a tick under his eye.

"I'm being realistic Hannah."

"You're being counter-productive; I need everyone to be thinking positive." Hannah stood up as she argued; she looked through the hall and saw her kids looking at them through the hall.

"I am trying but you…" Fred began to argue but she cut him off.

"Shut up the kids are watching. Go upstairs and get your goddamn rifle, if this place is as overrun as you say then you go upstairs and keep watch out of the second story window, don't get yourself spotted." Hannah said spitefully, even though he seemed to be able-bodied and a good survivor Hannah was beginning to dislike his pessimistic attitude.

"One question. Why did you send Cindy out with Morgan and that Paula woman instead of me?" he asked and Hannah grinned.

"I wanted someone around who could protect the children with me. No offence but your wife looks like she is more nail polish than firearms." She said slyly she was rewarded with a dirty look as Fred stomped off throwing a scowl her way, as he did so Hannah put her gun in her waistband; she unfolded the map again and checked over their current location again. Paula's group's house was only 4 streets away.

What the hell was keeping them?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Walkers were what were keeping them.

"They're everywhere, we can't take them all on at once." Cindy stated the obvious as Morgan hid with her and Paula behind the hedge across the street from the house, the light was beginning fade and in-between them and the house were three walkers.

"We could shoot them?" Paula suggested but Morgan shook his head.

"And attract more of them? May I remind you we have to make our way back soon?" Morgan scolded and he saw Paula roll her reddened eyes.

"We could distract them, have one person lead them off whilst the other two go through and alert the others." Cindy suggested.

"What about the third person?" Paula asked.

"They can circle back, the things can't run losing them isn't too hard." She responded with a scared look at Morgan which Paula joined in on.

"No we can't split up more, I have an idea but you won't like it." He continued to explain his plan and the responses where as he expected.

"Morgan we can't do that!" Cindy whispered but Paula nodded.

"It's the only thing I can think off. What are we using?" she asked as Morgan revised the plan.

"Paula you can have the machete, Cindy can distract hers whilst you prepare to attack it and I will use that shovel." Morgan gestured over to the shovel on the other side of the yard; it looked sturdy enough to do the job.

"No… No way…" Cindy was shaking her head with a scared look in her thin and dainty eyes. Morgan placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We have to, all you need to do is stay out of arms reach okay?" he explained as Paula followed suit, Cindy looked frozen for a minute before nodding tentatively. Morgan felt his heart clench as he grabbed the shovel by the handle and gestured to the two women.

"Now!" he said loudly and he saw the two women lunge as he set his sights on the tall walker closest to him, it looked vaguely like the man who serviced his car last summer but Morgan blanked his memory as he swung the shovel into the man's face, he collapsed as Morgan aimed the sharp end of the shovel down and plunged it into the man head. He looked to his left to see Paula putting her foot on her walkers head to withdraw the stuck machete as Cindy ran towards the house, her frail looking walker following close on her heels.

"Help!" she screamed as Morgan lunged in front of Paula knocking it to the ground with the flat side of the shovel before repeating the manoeuvre he used on the man before, the woman's head cracking clean open.

Paula grabbed Morgan's arm and dragged him up the front porch as the front door swung open and a bulky frame stood by the door.

"Move!" he boomed as Cindy ran past him, Paula and Morgan made it past and the door swung shut beside them.

"You took your sweet time." A voice rang out as she saw another woman hug Paula, Morgan froze for a moment as the woman known as Lori hugged Cindy as Paula hugged Shane, he felt slightly awkward as another woman walked out of the kitchen, she looked frail and delicate as she stood close to two kids, the boy hugged Paula as the young girl stood by Lori.

"Were there anymore following you?" the tall man asked as Morgan shook his head.

"No that was it, we took the long way to make sure we didn't get spotted." Morgan explained as the man placed the shotgun in his arms on the couch, Morgan sighed as he looked around him. Paula was now talking to the frail woman as Lori and Cindy were still talking amongst themselves, even the two kids were chatting away.

"Quiet!" the man said loudly and everyone was silenced, it seemed this man was the leader of the mismatched pack.

"Let's start with introductions. I'm Shane, there is Lori and her kid Carl. Up back are Carol and her daughter Sophia, now I know you're Cindy but who are you?" he asked turning to Morgan, Morgan did feel like the odd one out as it seemed everyone was friends here.

"I'm Morgan, I don't wanna rush you but I want to get back to my boy before sundown." He rushed his speech but Shane seemed unfazed.

"Where is this boy?" he asked.

"Back at Cindy's house we have been hiding out there." Morgan replied feeling agitated.

"How many are there?"

"There was me and my son Duane, a woman called Hannah and her kids Jamie and Billy." Morgan rushed.

"Fred is there to." Cindy chipped in finally letting go of Lori and standing next to her as she ruffled Carl's hair, seemed they were family friends.

"We gotta move if we wanna get back to them." Morgan said but Shane cleared his throat.

"Probably not a good idea man, there are walkers all over and they kick up at night."

"I can't leave my son alone!" Morgan said loudly but this time Paula stepped forward.

"Don't worry Morgan he is with Fred and Hannah." she tried to reason but Morgan still didn't like the idea. His son wasn't safe unless he was with him.

"We can't just stay here the night! What if one of them try and come after us?" Morgan asked but again Cindy spoke up.

"Fred's not stupid, he won't risk going out into the night to save us, he knows that he can really help by keeping him and the kids safe." She reasoned as Morgan breathed deeply, he didn't want to leave his son alone out there but daylight was fading and the dark on any level wasn't the place to meet walkers.

"I can't leave him…" he said somewhat feebly but Paula sat next to him.

"It's okay Morgan it is just one night, and Duane has Fred and Hannah protecting them and they are both armed." She reasoned as Morgan sat back frustrated, all he could think of was Duane waiting by the window for his father to come back, waiting for something that may never happen…

Thinking his father could be dead…

Remember to review. Reviews are my fuel and I need some feedback