"What's that building back over there?" Abraham is a no bullshit kinda guy, I'm learnin' that now. If somethin' catches his eye, he calls it out. I can respect that. Travis came to get us to go down to the mess hall an' eat. There's a buildin' just to the side of it, if you ain't lookin' for it, you'd miss it. It's beaten to hell, looks like some kinda barn. I see Travis ain't all that thrilled that it's been noticed.
"That? It's where we keep our sick, like an infirmary. It's quarantined off, so it isn't something I can just parade you through." He seems to wanna brush off the subject, starts talkin' 'bout the chances of rain an' how good it'd be for their crops out back. If there's one thing Merle always told me, it's never trust a person who brings up the weather that ain't no weather man. Merle said it's the best way to spot a liar. Or a person tryin' to hide somethin'.
"Y'all got a lotta sick 'round here? That's a big ass buildin' to only hold your quarantined." He stops walkin' an' turns to face me. There's a cold look to his eyes, that off-feelin' I been gettin' comes back to me. I know this guy's hidin' somethin' from us. If it were only a quarantine, why not at least point out that it's there?
"Every now and then someone gets sick. It's practical to have a place of refuge for them. We use that building to store all of our medical equipment, as well. That's why it seems so big." It's obvious he's closin' the topic. I know we're gonna try to get a better look into that buildin'. Place of refuge, my ass.
We're sittin' 'round two tables, our plates piled with bread, cups fulla water. Travis has been explainin' the fence lines to us, sayin' we need permission to step outta those gates. I ain't the only one uncomfortable with that. Maggie's the first to speak up.
"Well, we have others to look for. We can't just sit 'round here hopin' they make it to this place on their own." Travis smiles at her, I don't like it.
"Tell us what they look like, sweetheart. We have a team that goes out frequently for drifters. We find them, we'll bring them back." Now Rick speaks.
"With all due respect, Travis, we fend for our own. We've already decided who goes on the search and who stays back. We know one of ours is still out there, we just have to set out to find her."
"Her?" I don't know why it bothers me that he cares that it's a man or woman we search for. For all I fuckin' know, he's concerned we're out lookin' for someone's fuckin' grandma. But I lock eyes with him an' I make it crystal clear that we ain't fuckin' playin' 'round.
"Yeah. A girl. Curly blonde hair, blue eyes, pale skin. She's 'bout 5'4, 110 lbs soakin' wet. She was last wearin' a yellow shirt, jeans an' boots. Hair up in a ponytail. Her name's Beth. You see her?" There's a slight flicker behind those dark eyes. Maybe nobody else sees it, but I do.
"Well, we can keep our eyes open for her on our trips. We'll let you know what we come up with." He's pretty fuckin' stupid to think I'm gonna trust him to find Beth.
"You deaf? We already said we're goin' to look for her. We don't need no permission from anybody, no chaperones either." Rick is quick to take my side.
"If it's all the same to you, Travis, we're going to look for her ourselves. She won't come to a stranger. We'll take our weapons and head out. If y'all don't want us back, we understand. But we do for our own." Rick's gaze is firm. Travis looks 'round our group, eyes nervously sweepin' from face to face.
"Look, we're getting off to a bad start here. You guys aren't our prisoners. You can leave whenever you want. But we have a certain way of doing things around here. It's kept us alive this far. I get that you guys have some honor code, some 'no man left behind' thing going on. I respect that. But our roost, our rules. We can't let you guys go out and risk it all for some little lost girl." I'm on my feet, muscles tensed. The insinuation that Beth is just some stupid girl that ain't worth the risk has my vision blurrin'. I'm fuckin' pissed. Dumb son of a bitch.
"Beth ain't just some little lost girl, jackass. She's our family." I'm right in his face, sizin' him up. I only barely feel Maggie's hand on my forearm. She speaks directly to Travis.
"You have to understand. That's my little sister out there. She's the only blood I've got left. Daryl says he's sure she's still alive. We have to at least try." When she said my name, I caught his features somewhat slide. His sight twitched in my direction. I can't make out if he's sizin' me up now. He's quiet for a moment, an' only addressin' Maggie when he talks.
"Look, sweetheart, I'll bring it up to Mark. I'll see what we can do for you guys. I'll leave you to your meal." An' then he's gone. Aside from the quiet little woman by the kitchen, we're all alone. Abraham breaks the silence.
"We have to leave this place. I'm almost positive we won't be handed back our damn weapons with a charming little take-home package." He's right. They have no intention of lettin' us go. I look over to Rick.
"I say we raid that armory. Get our shit back. We can't stay here. This place ain't what we thought it was." He nods, he knows deep down I'm right. Glenn makes a comment 'bout how we sneak in. I'm starin' out the window at that little infirmary. Abraham picks up on what I'm thinkin'.
"We don't really believe that's a place for the weak and downtrodden, do we?" He's startin' to grow on me. "We need to get in there and check it out. Maybe there's at least some supplies we can raid."
Sasha stands, Bob an' Tara at her side. "We're gonna head back to the apartment. Pack our things, so we can be ready when the time comes. C'mon, Carl. We can use the muscle." The four of them head out while the rest of us lean in closer.
"I think we should split in two teams. One gets our weapons, one scopes the infirmary. If we split the work between six of us, two in each group can go through the buildin's, one stands watch at each post." I've never been one to serve out orders, but I just followed my gut.
It's decided then who was doin' what. Rick, Glenn an' Maggie were on weapon duty. Me, Michonne an' Abraham were on infirmary duty. Rosita an' Eugene would go back to stay with Tara an' Carl. They'll be watchin' by the window to keep an eye on us from above. We'll have Bob an' Sasha patrol the areas, causin' a distraction if needed.
"We all have jobs to do, let's get 'em done an' go find Beth." Maggie is optimistic. I'm catchin' on to the fact that the sisters have an awful lot in common. An' the hope spreads like wildfire. We're gonna tear outta here an' find my girl.
Fuck. Of all the people we take, my brother grabs one that has a small army out searching for her. I'm pacing outside of her door, waiting for Vic to get his ass down here. His boots thud on the steps behind me.
"What's the matter, Trav? You've been acting weird all day." I don't know how to handle this problem, but I decide blunt honestly is the best method.
"That big group that's here now, twelve of them, they're looking for a girl." He laughs at me, cutting me off.
"So? Ain't we all?" His smile pisses me off. He doesn't understand the severity of the matter at hand, so I go on.
"They're looking for that girl." I point to the door leading to Beth. The smile is completely wiped from his face.
"How the fuck do you know that, Travis?"
"They were talking about it this morning. They want to go look for her. They haven't got a clue she's in that room. Don't even know the room exists." The smile returns to his face.
"Well, as far as they're concerned, she's as good as dead. I don't see the problem here, Trav."
"Her friend is with them. The one you took her from. The one who chased you for miles all the way to that crossroad. Daryl." Not only is his smile gone, but it took the color of his face with it.
"We'll send them on a cold trail. Take her shirt and toss it out in the woods somewhere. Rip it up so it looks like one of the biters got her." It's a good idea. They want to search for her anyways. May as well send them out on a false lead. Vic and I head back upstairs, leaving the discussion at the door.