Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the characters in Twilight and Walking Dead. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and Robert Kirkman. I do own the original characters created for the storyline. Please support the official release.
Writer's Notes: Hope everyone enjoys!
The storm broke when day broke and Bella woke to the bed empty. She sat up, a little foggy at first. Memories of the previous day came back to her and she got out of bed. She needed to check on Jasper… on everyone. She grabbed her crossbow from the kitchen area and noticed they Daryl was gone and so was his stuff. She opened the door and stepped out of the SUV. She found everyone rebuilding their camp, the tents had been mangled some, but everyone was working together. She spotted Jasper, Paul and Jake digging holes with Daryl and Rick's help. She started that way but was intercepted by Shane.
"Daryl told me what happened yesterday with your friends. I wanted to-"
"It's okay. That's how this world works now." Bella said. "Um. We thought the Rvs would be useful. We passed the lot going to Atlanta."
Shane nodded looking at the RVs. "Yeah. It was part of my goal. They make better shelters than the tents. Last night's storm was brutal."
"Yeah, a tornado spun down." Bella said and looked around the camp. She didn't like the idea of staying here any longer than she had to. She just met these people. The sane thing to do is to just leave.
Shane watched the gears turn in her head. She seemed to be thinking hard about something. "You sure you're, okay?"
Bella looked back at Shane. "Yeah. I'm fine. I don't think I've slept that long in a while. "
"You needed it." Shane said and then he reached up and brushed a lock of hair out of her face. T dawg called for Shane so he just dropped his hand and walked away.
Lori watched from the old camper that belonged to Dale. She felt a spike of jealousy in her gut seeing Shane treat Bella intimately.
Bella shook it off and walked towards Jasper and the others.
Rick had glanced a couple times in Bella's direction when she came out of the RV and Shane intercepted her. But now Bella was walking over. He was sorry for her friend's loss. She has a close call in the Highlander and then the storm was nerve-wracking. "Hey… you get rest?"
Bella nodded and then she looked at Jasper. "Jasper."
Jasper stopped digging and looked at Bella. "I'll be okay. Don't worry about me. I just… I don't understand what happened. Char wasn't bit." He said and then started digging again.
Bella wasn't sure what happened either. "I don't know. She was sick but…."
Jake looked at Paul and then looked at Bella. "Bells. We were talking. We think it's better if we leave the Quarry. We need better shelter. Last night that tornado was too close. Tents were ripped apart. We need-"
"I know Jake." Bella said. "I'm working on it."
Rick frowned. "What's holding you back?"
Bella sighed. "I can't leave you here Rick. And the kids. This world is fucked but it's not the kids fault. I can't walk away now they kids are involved."
Rick shook his head. "We would go with you. Bella, I agree with Jake and Paul. This place isn't safe. I want what's best for my family and that means moving."
Bella looked at Daryl and then sighed. "I just… need time to convince the others it's the right move."
"They'll move. I don't think anyone is wanting to stay after last night's storm. Morales was already talking about leaving with his family to head south to Birmingham, Alabama to go back to family." Rick said.
"She's talking about Shane." Daryl said looking over at Bella. She nodded at him and he glanced around. "It's got to be his idea man."
Rick frowned. "Shane would understand."
Bella raised a brow. "Let's test it." She said. "Keep digging the holes but just know if he gets violent, I'll knock him out." If everything Daryl said was true, Shane would react defensively about leaving the Quarry. She knew men like Shane before. Afraid of change. That wasn't a way to lead. She walked away from the group and found Lori running a clothes line to hang the clothes on that were wet from the storm. "Hey, where's Shane?"
Lori's dark eyes glanced at Bella but she went back to focusing on what she was doing. "Hes with T Dawg down at the water." She didn't like Bella. She felt jealous of her.
Bella nodded. "Thanks." she said and walked down the path towards the water. She saw Shane and T Dawg dealing with a few biters that had slid off and got stuck in the marsh on the banks. "The storm must have washed them down here." She said as she approached.
Shane looked back at Bella when she approached. "Yeah, it happens from time to time. Give us a hand?"
"Sure." Bella said and she shifted her crossbow and she rapidly fired three arrows, ending each one of the dead swiftly.
Shane nodded, impressed and then walked towards her. "You know you're impressive right?"
"This stuff is normal to me." Bella said, smiling a little. She turned and walked back up towards the camp and Shane followed. She knew he would. He was trying to woo her so he could have sex again with her. They got to camp before Bella stopped and looked around. She let the worry blanket her face. Usually she tried to hide her emotion but she was showing every bit of it right now.
Shane stood behind her, setting his hands on her shoulders, another alpha male move. "Hey, we'll get it all fixed. Camps can be rebuilt." He reassured her.
Bella turned to look at him. "They can. But what about the children? Sleeping in tents by the Quarry with little defenses. The storm last night could have been so much worse. "
"It could have, but it wasn't." Shane said and reached a hand up to cup her face. "I'll protect you." He said, his tone so endearing.
Bella didn't doubt that he thought he could protect her, but she really didn't need him to protect her, but she played the damsel in distress still. "That's… good." She said with a slight nod and then looked towards Rick and the others. Rick had been watching and so has the other guys. She looked back at Shane. "Listen… I don't doubt you couldn't protect me. You're strong… in many ways, but I'm not the camping in the woods type of girl." She said and then combed a strand of her hair back behind her ear and looked away. "I'm not staying." She said and her blue green eyes shifted back up to his.
Shane frowned. "What? You want to leave?"
Bella nodded. "I met you yesterday for the first time. I don't form attachments easy. I want to help you guys, I do, but I won't die here at the Quarry because it's too dangerous. The area isn't secure. It's a time bomb waiting to happen." Her tone shifted. "I don't trust this place and neither do a lot of people."
Shane's brows furrowed. Bella flipped a switch on him. "This is our home. I made something here."
"You made a death trap." Bella said matter of fact. "Look around Shane. Do your people look safe and happy?"
"We had a bad night, who are you to waltz in here and tell us that this place isn't good enough?"
Bella raised a brow when he raised his voice. "Its not good enough. Which is why I'm leaving." She said and turned her back on him and looked at Rick and the others.
"You're a bitch." Shane swore at her.
Bella turned and looked at Shane, her temper flared a little but she remained calm. "I'm many things Shane, but that is not one of them."
"You'd leave camp and take valuable resources with you. I won't let you." Shane growled out. His hand went to his sidearm but Bella was faster than him and anticipated his movement. She had him on his back her crossbow aimed in his face and his hand was in a lot of pain and his weapon was thrown from his body. "How dare you!"
Bella scoffed. "What did you think was going to happen Shane? That I would stand there and let you shoot me? Do you think my guys would allow that? Look around."
Shane saw Jake, Jasper, Daryl and Paul behind her in an instant and so was Rick and he had his weapon out. "Rick?"
Rick's jaw clenched. "I don't know what you think you're doing Shane. But it isn't right."
"She can't leave with all the stuff. We have to survive." Shane said and started to raise up but Bella put her booted foot on his chest and forced him back down.
Lori interrupted. "Just leave. We were doing fine without you. You came to start trouble." She said, her eyes cutting to Shane. "We were just fine."
Bella arched a brow and looked over at Rick who seemed a little shocked. She looked back at Lori. "That is what I was doing. I'm not going to let someone try to kill me." She said and looked back down at Shane. Shane moved quick then, pushing up against her foot and knocked her bow away and managed to get to his feet and land a hit to her body. It was a small tussle, but Bella lost her footing and she went down and Shane towered over her briefly before she flipped him to his back and landed her fists in his face a few times before she felt the sharp pain in her shoulder and the sound of a gunshot.
Lori shot Bella. Her aim wasn't great, so she only shot her in the shoulder but she didn't get another chance to fire another shot because Daryl knocked the gun out of her hand.
Jake moved forward to help Bella but Shane drove a knife up into her side. He got it loose from his own belt and it forced Bella to fall back.
Jasper went forward and pulled Bella away, getting her flat on the ground to assess the damage and Paul took his own hunting knife from his belt and went towards Shane with murderous intent.
People of the camp watched in shock what was happening and Glenn made it back from the woods gathering logs with Merle and Andrea. They heard the gunshot and started rushing and appeared when Shane stabbed Bella.
Glenn moved forward, putting a hand on Paul's arm. "What happened?"
Shane started to get to his feet to charge Paul and then Rick fired, hitting his friend in the chest. Lori let out an agonizing sound and tried to go forward but Daryl pushed her back. Shane brought a hand up to his chest and stared at Rick in disbelief before he dropped to the ground, bleeding out.
Bella groaned in pain and she heard the second shot and Lori's reaction. "Jasper, nothing vital is hurt." She said through clenched teeth. "Apply pressure to my side. It was shallow."
Jasper nodded. "Not my first rodeo Bells. I was an army medic too." He said and ripped open her tank top and looked at her side. "Lahote, shirt now."
Paul mechanically pulled his shirt off and handed it to Jasper and Jake was doing the same thing. Paul looked back at Rick, shocked at Rick's protection.
Rick went towards Lori, her reaction to Shane was concerning. "Lori, honey l I-"
"Why did you do it! You killed him!"
Rick shook his head. "He was going to kill someone else. How-"
"You killed him!" Lori slapped Rick and then stormed away.
Rick was in shock. He didn't know why Lori would just react that way. He looked at Daryl. "What?"
"Dude. They were fucking the whole time. When you got back yesterday, was the first time I realized that Shane wasn't her husband and Carl wasn't his kid." Daryl said lowly.
Rick looked back at Bella and saw that Jasper was fixing her, saving her. "Bella I am so sorry." He apologized.
Bella gave a thumbs up, saving her energy while Jasper packed her shoulder. Her side was tied off, but the bullet was lodged in her shoulder still.
Jasper looked at Jake. "Med pack?"
Jake nodded. "Yeah some stuff is left." He said and then jogged to the Highlander to the trunk and opened it, finding the red case and brought it back and handed it off to Jasper.
Glenn ran a hand through his hair and looked around and then at Shane's body. He saw the twitch and he immediately took his knife from his hip and drove it into Shane's skull right as his eyes flew open. There were some gasps of shock around the camp. The realization that you didn't need to be bit to come back as a biter was heavy.
Rick looked around too and then heard the snarling of the dead. "Oh shit." He said and then took his hunting knife out and started slashing. There were some screams from Amy, Andrea's sister as her flesh was torn from her body since the camp was under attack. Andrea yelled for her and soon it was chaos as a herd filtered into camp.
"Fuck." Jasper cursed and then he stood, pulling Bella up onto his shoulder and carried her towards the RV, rushing up the few stairs. Glenn was right behind him He snagged the medkit on his way and was shutting the door. Jasper lay her on the bed in the back and then turned and grabbed the kit from Glenn.
"Leave me here. Go help them." Bella said, sitting up, fighting the pain.
"No." Jasper said and found his suturing kit again. "I got the bullet out but I have to sew this close and your side needs attention too."
"I'm packed. This can wait. Go help them, Jasper."
Jasper growled a little. "You're impossible sometimes." He muttered and then looked at Glenn. "Stay here with her. Make sure she doesn't bleed out. Keep pressure on her shoulder. Her side is fine." He said and then he brushed past Glenn and rushed towards the front of the RV. He loosened his knife from his side and then ducked out of the RV and slashed into a biter immediately.
The camp wasn't safe. That much was true. The shot Lori took at Bella is what grabbed the attention of three dozen of the dead. The kids were safe. Dale had kept them inside his camper when everything with Shane and Bella started and didn't want to chance any of them getting hurt.
There were some casualties. Ed, Carol's husband was bit and killed during the attack. Amy, Andrea's sister. Lori. She was one of the first to be bitten. Rick found her barely hanging on. Stress clear in her voice and face. But she didn't cry for Rick. She cried out for Shane. Rick felt his heart shatter. To know that Lori cared more about Shane than him. It made him question everything.
Bella worked on stitching her own shoulder while the chaos wrapped around them. She was worried about her comrades. She was worried about Rick and the children. She was worried for Daryl. Glenn tried to talk her out of sewing up her shoulder but she snapped at him and he backed off. The bleeding was controlled for now and she needed to go outside and see how much damage there was. She stumbled off the RV and looked around at the camp.
"Jake!" she called for him when she didn't see him but he came towards her from behind the other RV and relied flooded her.
"You need to be resting. You're hurt." Jake scolded her. Jasper and Paul went to her too but it was Jasper that pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
"Jasper I'm fine." Bella said and pulled away from him. "The kids. Are-"
"All are safe." Daryl said, reaching down and grabbing his arrow from the skull of a biter. "We lost Amy, Ed and Lori."
"Lori? Oh no. Where's Rick?" Bella looked around.
"With Carl." Paul said. He was grimacing. "We need to be gone before the next wave barrels through here."
Morales approached. He looked solemn; his face tired. "Bella, I'm sorry you were hurt. I wanted to let you know we're leaving. We have family south. We're heading that way."
Bella nodded. "Of course. Be careful."
Morales nodded to her and disappeared back to his wife and two kids.
Bella shook her head. "This should have been avoided."
"Stop." Jasper said it sternly. "I see what you're doing. You aren't to blame for this. Shane wanted your stuff. He was willing to fight you for it."
"I would have left an RV here. Some supplies. I'm not a monster. I'm not a- "
"We know." Daryl said, cutting her off. She swayed a little and he steadied her. "Go back inside. Lay down."
Jasper was worried about Bella, but then again, he always worried about her "I'll handle this. Go lay down. That's an order Captain."
Bella sighed and she looked around one more time before she went back towards the RV, Daryl's hands still on her arm to keep her steady. She was weak right now and that killed her inside. She wanted to be strong, especially right now.