Shout out time !
FanFicGirl10: You always seem to have nothing but great things to say in your reviews and I can tell you really like this story ! You are awesome and I always feel accomplished after reading one of your reviews ! Thank you so much !
kyuubecky: Oh wow, where do I begin ? Haha ! You always make me laugh when I read your reviews. You always seem so into the story, I mean you've been there since 'Tame My Heart' ! I always enjoy your reviews, they're so full of energy and excitement. You always make me feel like I am doing a great job as a writer, and that's something I appreciate dearly. Thank you a billion !
Dalonega Noquisi: You're always so positive, and I am very happy that you liked the chapter where I did the first ever supply run. I was nervous about how I was going to write it, but I wanted it to be simple and easy considering future town experiences weren't so great ! I love how you see the characters. I read your reviews and they make me feel like I am writing this the way it's meant to be written. Thank you !
crazywritinggirl96: I am happy to see you are enjoying the story ! Your reviews are enthusiastic and I am glad you made a suggestion ! To answer that suggestion, Daryl MIGHT grow to have a soft spot for Cheyenne, you'll just have to read and see ! Hehe ! But thank you for being such a great reviewer !
NewMexicoeWine: It's wonderful to see you are enjoying the story so far ! I am interested to see how Daryl and Spencer's relationship plays out, too ! I rarely ever prewrite any chapters, so usually they are off the top of my head. I just want this story to be different from others, I want Spencer and Daryl to be integrated slowly into the love stage ! Thank you so much for the review !
BlackRose851: Thank you so much for being interested in this story ! Your reviews are greatly appreciated, so thank you for being a continuing reviewer ! I am happy to see you are enjoying the story ! Thank you again !
InkedCupcake92: I am so happy that you are loving the story so far ! That means a lot to know you really like it. Hopefully you will keep loving it ! I am trying my best to keep it going good and keeping it interesting ! Thank you so very much for the review !
gaara's-baby-gurl17: Spencer is a country girl, and can be hot headed sometimes, with a short temper. So you will see her sticking up for herself very often ! I think that makes her a good character because she don't take no shit off nobody ! Haha I am happy that you were proud of her ! Thank you so much for the review !
Hope to see all of yours reviews for ch. 9 soon, and I will be doing more shout outs throughout the story ! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME, THANK YOU !
I walked closely behind Daryl and Rick, who had the kid in front of them. We came upon a brick building, and I could see red graffiti on the wall. Rick let the kid sit down as we prepared ourselves to enter the gate. I looked at T-Dog, who gave me a worried glance. As I looked down at the kid, Rick caught my eye and raised his eyebrow. I shook my head, and leaned against the bricks.
"You sure you're up for this?" Rick asked T.
"Yea." He replied.
"Okay." Rick said, loading his gun. T-Dog grabbed up the bag of guns and walked past us.
"Good luck." He whispered to me. I scoffed.
"Thanks." I whispered back with a sly grin creeping onto my face.
"One wrong move, you get an arrow in your ass. Jus' so you know." Daryl shot at the kid. I hid my smile quickly, and looked at the kid.
"G's gonna take that arrow outta my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know." The kid said calmly. I wanted to smack him a good one across the face. A nice back hand might do him some good.
"G?" Rick asked.
"Guillermo. He the man here." The kid replied.
"Okay then," Rick said pumping his shot gun, "let's go see Guillermo." Rick led us through a broken window pane. I stayed directly behind Daryl, watching his back. He had his crossbow on the kid, keeping him from doing anything foolish. My gun drawn, I crouched stepping through the window pane behind Daryl. I saw him glance back to see if I had gotten through. Once he saw I was okay, he kept his eyes glued to the kid.
I leveled my gun as Rick allowed the kid to go first. Stepping lightly, I walked beside Daryl, glancing around for any movement. I noticed that Daryl kept himself about a foot in front of me as we walked. What the hell was all of this?
I had noticed that since we came into Atlanta, ever since I pulled my gun on Rick, Daryl had been acting somewhat protective over me. I felt my face grow warm, and internally laughed at the idea. That was silly. He was just as upset about Glenn being taken as he was at that kid calling me a bitch. Brushing off the thoughts, I began to focus on one thing. Get Glenn back.
We walked on, through an opening. The kid seemed so comfortable, while us three were tensed up. I kept glancing around, watching for God knows what. If it wasn't a person jumping out, it'd be a walker. I was really getting sick of being on my toes all of the time. Oh, well. That's what happens when the world goes to shit. I thought to myself as we reached the big wooden doors. They opened.
The first man that appeared, I could tell he was the leader. Guillermo. He asked the kid if he was okay, then proceeded to talk until a man came out of the shadows babbling about how Daryl shot him in the ass. He had his gun raised, so instinctively I aimed my own gun at his forehead.
"Chill." I heard the last word Guillermo said as he pushed the guys arm down. He then spoke to Rick.
"We were hopin' more for a calm discussion." Rick replied. There was a lot of bullshit talk, until Daryl asked if they had his brother.
"Sorry, fresh out of white boys. But I got an Asian. Interested?" Guillermo asked. My head snapped up, and I felt my face growing dark with anger.
"I have one of yours, you have one of mine. Sounds like an even trade." Rick offered.
"Don't sound even to me." Guillermo shot back and I scoffed when the kid began pleading with the man.
"My people got attacked, where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?" The leader asked, not backing down.
"Guns?" Rick asked. The two kept on at each other, until Guillermo threatened to unload on us. Rick let it be known we had another person, T-Dog was stationed in a sniper position. Guillermo realized we weren't as dumb as he thought. I began feeling good about him giving in, when he yelled. Rick looked up, and I followed his gaze to see two men bring a man with a sack over his head to the edge of the building. One of the men snatched the sack off. Glenn.
I began to panic. I could feel it rising in my chest. Stop it Spencer! Not here, not now. Ya gotta keep a steady hand, just breathe. Just breathe. In, out. In your nose, out your mouth... I could feel my breathing leveling, as I stared up at Glenn. I barely heard a thing that Guillermo said, except to come back with the guns or come back ready for war. I watched as Glenn disappeared, and the Mexicans went back into the building.
The walk back to the office area was silent. I was racking my brain trying to think of something to get these guys off of our backs and give us Glenn. We couldn't just give up the guns... But we couldn't just leave Glenn either. I heard Rick and T-Dog talking, but I just kept quiet. We walked into the building and went upstairs. I watched as Rick began getting the bag of guns ready.
"Them guns are worth more an' gold. But gold won't protect ya family, put food on the table. You willin' to give that up for that kid?" Daryl asked, and I looked at him shocked.
"If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree." T-Dog spoke up, and I whipped my head over at him, glaring. "You think that Vato across the way's jus' gonna hand him over?"
"Callin' G a liar?" The kid asked.
"You part of this?" Daryl snapped on the kid. "You wanna hold onto ya teeth?" And with that, Daryl slapped him in the head.
"Question is, do you trust that man's word?" T-Dog asked Rick.
"No, question is, what ya willin' to bet on it? Could be more an' them guns. Could be your life. Glenn worth that to you?" Daryl asked.
"Well he damn sure should be." I jumped in, angry. "He saved your ass when you were stuck in that stupid tank. The rest of us was ready to just forget about it. Andrea was wantin' to kill you. Glenn saved you. I'm goin' back there. With or without y'all."
"Spencer, calm down, you're right. The life I have I owe to him. I was nobody to Glenn, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He coulda walked away, but he didn't. Neither will I." Rick said firmly.
"So ya gonna hand the guns over?" Daryl asked.
"I didn't say that." Rick replied. "There's nothin' keeping you two here. You should get out, head back to camp. I know I can't convince you to go, Spencer." Rick looked at me.
"Damn right." I nodded.
"And tell ya family what?" T-Dog asked, rubbing his head. Rick looked at Daryl, and so did I. He nodded an 'okay, fine', and began grabbing for the guns. I smiled to myself, happy to know that he was staying with us. I felt...safer.
I leaned forward as Rick handed me a shot gun. Grabbing it, I almost stumbled forward. I had gotten so used to my little .22, that the shotgun seemed heavy. But I had shot a shotgun before. Several times. Checking to see if it was loaded, I heard something interrupt my thoughts.
"Ah, come on! This is nuts!" The kid stood, staring at us. Daryl's hand shot out, poking the kid in the chest, directing him to sit back down. The kid sat, looking panicked. "Just do like G said." Ignoring him, we kept loading weapons.
"Spencer, you're sure you're comfortable with this?" Rick asked, eyeing me wearily.
"Sure. Gotta do what we gotta do." I mumbled, not looking up. Truth be told, I was scared. I didn't know what was going to happen. We were about to waltz up into unknown territory, guns drawn, ready for a showdown. I knew for a fact that we had to be out numbered, but I didn't care. The only thing on my mind was getting Glenn out safe and getting back to camp. Getting back to Cheyenne.
We left the office after tying the kid up. Daryl walked behind him, gun poking into the kid's back. I walked quietly in between Rick and Daryl. Rick was half a step behind me, Daryl a half a step in front of me. T-Dog was to my right. I felt very well covered as we trudged back into the structure where Guillermo and his people were.
We reached the doors, and they opened. Daryl shoved the kid inside first, then walked in, followed by the rest of us. Once inside with the doors shut, we were all face to face. Definitely out numbered, but we seemed to have the upper hand on weapons. I looked around, keeping my facial features calm.
"I see my guns, but they're not all in the bag." Guillermo finally spoke.
"That's because they're not yours. I thought I mentioned that." Rick said calmly. When Guillermo's little sidekick began to get aggressive, I aimed my gun at his face. I felt threatened. Rick and Guillermo kept discussing, Rick being clear that he wanted a clean trade.
"I'm gonna chop up your boy. I'm gonna feed him to my dogs the evilest, nastiest, man eating bitches you ever saw. I picked 'em up from Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be, are you woefully deaf?" Guillermo growled.
"My hearin's fine, you said come locked and loaded," Rick pumped his shotgun, I clicked the hammer on my handgun, and I could hear clicking all around the room. Rick's shotgun was aimed directly at Guillermo's face. "Okay then, we're here." I was fearing the worst, my gun aimed, ready to shoot the first person that so much as stepped toward us. Then I heard it... A voice calling out.
A little old lady came shuffling forward, calling out toward the man that Daryl had shot in the ass. I heard Felipe call her grandmother in Spanish, as he tried to talk her into going back where she had come from. I watched in horror as she just stood there, looking so fragile.
"Get that ol' lady outta the line of fire!" Daryl growled. Guillermo began trying to get her to leave, but she kept crying out about someone in their group not being able to breathe. I saw Rick lowering his gun, so I followed his lead. I had a feeling that things weren't as they seemed. Guillermo instructed Felipe to take his grandmother and take care of the situation. But the little old lady wasn't having any of it.
"Who are those men?" She asked, and when her eyes met mine, her face softened. "And the girl?" She moved forward, standing directly in front of Rick. "Don't you take him!"
"Ma'am?" Rick looked at her strangely.
"Felipe is a good boy! He had his trouble, but he pull himself together. We need him here." The little old lady seemed to be pleading.
"Ma'am, I'm not here to arrest your grandson." Rick assured her.
"Then what do you want him for?" She asked curiously.
"He's...helpin' us find a missing person." Rick lied. "Fellow named Glenn."
"The Asian boy?" The little old lady began explaining she would take us to him. Rick began to follow her, when I heard Guillermo's voice.
"Let 'em pass." He said quietly. I followed behind Rick, feeling eyes on me. The men were staring at us, particularly me. I felt something on my lower back, gently pushing me forward. Daryl was behind me. I relaxed, knowing that we were going to be okay. No war. As soon as we were to the outer part of the building, I felt Daryl's hand leave my back. We followed the elderly lady up some stairs. Once inside the building, my heart dropped into my stomach.
These people weren't the hardcore gangsters that they put off to be. This was a nursing home. Or the remains of one, anyway. They were all fighting to keep these elderly people safe and alive. I sighed as we walked through and I saw people tending to the elderly. I suddenly felt very sorry for Guillermo. He had a hard job.
We walked down the hallway and my mind swarmed with thoughts. What if someone I knew was here? Any of my family? I doubted it, but I kept my eyes open, kept looking carefully at each room we passed. I walked along behind Rick, entering a huge recreation room, when I saw it. An elderly man was having a hard time breathing, and there was Glenn beside them.
"What the hell is this?" Rick glared.
"Asthma attack." Glenn said, looking up. "Can't get his breath all of a sudden."
"Thought you were bein' eaten by dogs, man!" T-Dog said angrily. Glenn looked over and we followed his gaze. There in the corner were three chihuahuas. One began to bark. Rick pulled Guillermo to the side.
"Glenn!" I called to him and walked quickly toward his direction. When I reached him, I grabbed him in a hug. He seemed a little stunned, but he hugged me back.
"Well nice to see you too, Spencer." He laughed. But the laughter was short lived when I pulled away and smacked him on the shoulder. Glenn's face scrunched up. "Ow! What was that for?"
"We almost took out an old folks home, thinkin' they were gonna kill you! Or worse! And here ya are safe and sound." I lowered my voice, glaring at him. When he started grinning, I couldn't help but crack a smile.
We all followed Rick and Guillermo to a more private area so he and Rick could talk. I was standing beside Daryl listening to them talk. I glanced over at Daryl, and he caught my eye. I felt my lips twitch upward momentarily in an "I'm okay" kind of smile. He didn't say anything, just looked away. I looked down at my boots, still listening to Rick talk. Suddenly, I looked up to see Rick giving Guillermo a few guns. I smiled.
After saying our goodbyes, we headed back to the moving van. Glenn got us through the crowded areas with ease, he seemed to know every shortcut and every alley. I was in between Rick and Daryl, once again, as we walked back in the direction we had parked the moving van. I knew we were getting closer.
"Admit it," Glenn's voice broke through my thoughts, "you only came back to Atlanta for the hat." Looking up, I grinned at Rick with his sheriff hat securely on his head.
"Don't tell anybody." Rick teased.
"You've given away half our guns and ammo." Daryl spoke up.
"Not nearly half." Rick argued.
"For what? A bunch'a ol' farts that are gonna die momentarily, anyhow. Seriously, how long ya think they got?" Daryl asked.
"How long do any of us?" Rick asked, but I was just looking ahead, confused. Where was the van? Glenn had parked it right there...
"Oh, my God.." Glenn mumbled.
"Where the hell's our van?" Daryl asked.
"We left it right there, who would take it?" Glenn asked.
"Merle." Rick said firmly, and I lifted my arm, resting my hand on the back of my head.
"He's gonna be takin' some vengeance back to camp." Daryl admitted quietly.
"Well, y'all, looks like we're walkin'." I mumbled, trudging toward the direction of our camp. We all walked quickly back in the direction of the camp.
"Be lucky if we make it there by dark." T-Dog shook his head.
"Doubt it." I mumbled as we walked on. After what seemed like forever, Rick suggested we jog, so the all began jogging toward camp. The sun was setting quickly, and I was beginning to feel nervous. We had no cover, and even though the mountain area had been safe so far, I was still worried about potential walkers. I pushed myself to jog faster up the dirt path. Suddenly, I heard screaming, followed by gunshots.
"Oh, my God!" Rick breathed, and we took off. I was running full blast, not caring about anything in that moment except getting to the camp. I could hear the gunshots and the screaming and all I could think was that Cheyenne was up there, I had left her all alone. Shay. Oh, God! I screamed in my head.
So that was ch. 9 ! Hope you all enjoyed, and hopefully ch. 10 will be up soon. I am working on it ! haha I gotta get some energy... Need coffee ! But thanks again for all the people reading and reviewing ! Reviews are greatly appreciated, they keep my inspired to know I am writing a good story. I can't wait to see how this story goes. Maybe it will be better than 'Tame My Heart' ? That's on you guys to decide !
~Kaila