"It's them!" Lori yelled from her seat in the station wagon. It took the group multiple trips but she grabbed her son along with Sofia after the first. Others may have been annoyed with her for not helping but their accusing stares just rolled off her back.
Andrea and Dale were running towards them, the older man was ecstatic but his companion was the complete opposite. Locking herself in the back room of the old man's RV, Andrea sobbed into the bed. Her sister abandoned her and Dale denied her an easy death, she never felt so alone in this hell.
"Any idea where we're going?" T-Dog asked after they loaded all the bags, they still had fifteen minutes on the count down but no destination.
"Fort Benning." Shane said decisively.
"Convoy's too big, not enough gas." Rick disagreed immediately.
"Can we just get out of the city?" Amy asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead. Her kids had been transferred to her RV but everyone was giving Carol and Lori the stink eye for lounging in the cars while the others carried heavy bags for a half hour. They needed to get out soon because the grenade had drawn a lot of walkers. She didn't even want to think of how many the blast would attract.
"I know a place." Rick nodded, walking away and leaving everyone in confusion. He walked determinedly despite voices calling after him. What the fuck, Rick?
"So, coma-man is leading this convoy now?" Michonne grumbled in irritation, stalking back to her bus with the nervous doctor making himself at home.
They were only a few blocks away when the blast rocked the buildings, leaving the air hot and oppressive. Billy was riding shotgun with Braden and Emma strapped into their car seats buckled in the back. Only Jamie was left to lean over the center console, trying to plug in her ipod.
"Y'know, Rick." Shane's voice drifted from the CB radio. "The whole point in Amy destroying this truck was so that it could be first."
"Don't worry, I know where I'm going."
Amy's skin crawled as they bantered, like this was a fucking road trip. Like the end of the world wasn't happening all around them. T-dog cut in a few times, trying to make them see sense but when they started singing Daryl had enough.
"You goin' to that ol' folks home?" The hunter demanded.
"Man, you think those guys will take us in?" T-Dog butt in skeptically.
"Are we talking about the guys who kidnapped Glenn and threatened to feed him to dogs?" Amy spat harshly.
"Isn't that farther into the very infested city?" Michonne called out.
"Don't worry they'll take us in." Rick spoke reassuringly.
"Better fo' all the guns we gave' em." Daryl got the last words in as Rick parked his car into a large brick lot.
"I do not like this." Michonne announced before Amy even put her bus into park, Andre squealing quietly from his place on his mother's back.
"Jamie, throw some dehydrated food into a bag, enough to feed everyone tonight and some water." Amy sighed when she looked around. Daryl, Merle, and Jenner were heading her way, looking none too pleased. The young blonde just quickly wrapped braden to her chest with his little earmuffs on. He didn't like them but gunshots were too loud for his little baby ears.
"Mommy!" Emma raised her hands with a pout. Daryl hefted the bag that Jamie was holding out to the blonde with a smirk. Now Amy had no choice but to hoist the little girl onto her hip, keeping her free hand on her ax. Merle made a put upon sigh as he grabbed another heavy bag from the preteen.
"Officer Friendly's two bricks short o' a load if he thanks this place is on ta up n' up." Merle grumbled, looking around suspiciously.
"Can't he hear the dead?" Amy whispered, pressing Emma's head to rest on her shoulder. Billy ran around the side of the bus, hooking his fingers into the blonde's belt loops. Jamie leaned heavily into her free side, worriedly glancing around. Max didn't make a sound other than sniffing at Daryl's boots.
"Knew it was a waste." Daryl grumbled, watching with narrowed eyes as the Morales' made their way towards them.
"Where's the lookouts?" Hector asked quietly when they reached the group, Rick was waving them over starting for the main courtyard.
"I do not like this!" Michonne hissed, keeping her katana at the ready. The rest fell in line, keeping Miranda, Michonne, and Amy covered since they were keeping hold of the children.
"Keep your voices down!" Shane hissed when the rest of the group reached them, pointing at the dead feeding on what was once an old man in a wheelchair.
Corpses littered the courtyard, making it obvious that this was not the destination they hoped for. A few walkers were feeding on the executed seniors. Sofia was sobbing into her mother's shirt and Carl was breathing heavy panicked breaths. Amy tried to turn the children away but there was nowhere else to look. Miranda just shoved her children's faces inward, faces pressed into her breasts, dragging them along.
"The hell with the noise." Rick announced, and immediately started shooting as the dead stumbled towards them. The men crowded the women into the wall with all the children. They moved slowly, killing anything in their path into the building, Merle covered the back, for once not laughing as he shot with precision.
"Don't look." Amy whispered wishing she had more arms to pull them in. Jamie took a determined step forward with her slingshot ready. Billy immediately took her spot, turning his face into her side with a quiet whimper.
"Quiet!" Daryl hissed anxiously when Sofia's sobs steadily got louder.
"No!" Lori whispered harshly. "You don't talk to her."
"Don't look sweetie." Carol cried out when the walker sat up, a line of intestine dangling from his mouth. Glenn shot it down before it could get up with a single buck shot.
"Are we staying or going?" Lori asked softly, touching Rick's back for comfort.
"We don't have the gas." Rick sighed as he opened the door.
"We'll hunker down for the night." Shane nodded, motioning for the group to go into the first room without a body in. "You and me Rick, we'll sweep the first floor, make sure we're clear."
"Y'all." Rick paused before moving forward, motioning to the door. "Barricade the door."
"I should have stayed." Jim hissed, holding his side in pain. His eye focused on Amy comforting her children with Andrea standing close by, staring blankly.
Jenner stepped forward, motioning for the man to the wall, out of the way of the group. Daryl followed after Shane and Rick with Hector but all the other men worked quickly, dragging anything heavy against the back door. Until a walker stumbled towards them, forcing the group to hide. Michonne crouched forward and stepped lightly, forcing her katana through the grate to stab it in the head.
"Hold on, don't stress your wound." Jenner mumbled, digging through the black leather case he threw together in the back of the med bus. "Whoever stitched you did a good job for a novice. Who was it? I didn't think to ask before. "
"Amy said I was her first patient." Jim gritted his teeth while the doctor cleaned and bandaged his stitches.
After a few minutes for Jim to rest, the others got back up to follow the first group. Leading them to an auditorium with few bodies but the smell was still awful. Amy and Miranda were quick to sit the children down on the stage with Daryl standing behind them with his crossbow. Carl was busy trying to quiet Sofia while the ladies threw open windows.
"Here's is our best bet." Rick explained in a low voice. "We cleared a few rooms, we can barricade the doors if we have to. We'll be alright for the night."
"You mean it this time or are you lying like you did all those other times?" Carol whispered heatedly, sweeping a weeping Sofia onto her lap.
"That's unfair. "Lori countered. "And no help at all."
"What the hell happened?" Glenn looked around sadly, Merle and Shane were dragging the last body out of the room.
"What do you think?" Andrea murmured to her knees. "They got overrun."
There were a few very derisive snorts but Andrea directed all her scorn on Daryl with a sneer. "Something to say?"
"Ya. How about observant?"
"Observant." Andrea couldn't help but mock him, ignoring her sister's warning glare. In fact she smoothly turned her back to the stage with a sneer. "Big word from a guy like you, three whole syllables!"
"Walkers didn' do this." He stated matter of factly, like her tone didn't bother him at all. "Geeks didn' show up 'till all this went down. Somebody attacked this place. Killed all these people, took whateva they wanted."
"See here." Merle pointed at the body just in sight of the door with a sickly grin. "All these poor saps shot in the head."
"Execution style." Daryl sneered, turning and glancing at Amy before focusing his glare back on her sister. "Ya'll worried about walkers. I'd be more worried 'bout th' people who came 'nd did all this."
"Observant." Merle drawled, moving to stand beside his brother with a smug grin. "Git a dictionary, look it up."
Amy couldn't help but shake her head at her sister, a little sadly. She hoped they could talk privately soon. Her suicide attempt made no sense at all. Andrea didn't lose anything at camp. Not like the show. Honestly, she was a little pissed off. Okay, very pissed of. What the fuck Andrea?
Most of the men left the room to explore while leaving Jim, Edwin, and Dale behind. Amy was held in place by her children who were talking quietly to Eliza and Louis. Jamie decided to take up guard by the door, her slingshot ready. Lori was talking with Carol, her eyes shifting to the other group of women worriedly. Michonne carried an armful of handmade quilts from behind the stage. Quickly setting up a baby proof area for Braden and Andre to sit.
"All we found in the kitchen was this one can." Shane announced with a large can of beans in his hands. Rick followed right behind him, rubbing his head anxiously.
"Took off the door to the dispensary too." Rick said sadly as he handed a pack of cough drops to Dr. Jenner.
Daryl and Merle walked in with a large pot, a few bowels, and a camp stove. "Left b'hind cough drops an' garbanzo beans." The younger Dixon scoffed, placing the items in front of Amy.
The young blonde immediately started to unpack the dehydrated food and large bottles of water, ignored by most of the group. They were looking at Rick with pleading eyes, the smell was better but they didn't feel safe in the building. Amy wondered if she had just taken a different turn if maybe they could have found somewhere else? She worried about the group that did this, was it someone she knew from her previous life? The governor or Grady? A shiver ran up her spine at just the thought of the hospital. They needed a plan.
"Is there any water?" Sofia asked hopefully, still sitting beside Carl clutching Elliza's old doll. Miranda cut her eyes to Amy, waving her arms at the food with a frustrated expression but when she opened her mouth Shane was shaking a bottle.
"Just the one bottle I brought." Shane sighed, handing over the bottle with a little less than half. "You're going to have to share, so just a few sips."
"Mommy, I'm hungry now." Emma sighed, dragging everyone's attention to the stage where Amy and Miranda were heating up a big pot of water. The table beside it was laden down with bottles of water and dehydrated food along with a large gallon size bag of goldfish.
"Sit down right over there." Amy handed the little girl a bowl of goldfish, pointing to the spot where Andre and Braden were sitting together. Billy, Eliza, and Louis were quick to follow Emma. "Remember to share, it's just a snack until I finish cooking dinner."
"Were you going to say anything?" Shane sounded agitated, seeing as the rest of the group gravitated towards the stage.
"We have plenty of food in the cars." Miranda just looked at the former cops curiously. "Why wouldn't we bring our own food when you knew they were struggling?"
"We have food?" Jaqi gasped, nearly in tears as she rushed to the stage.
"Why haven't you been eating?" Amy demanded, looking between the older women and her sister worriedly. "I didn't say anything at the CDC but there was plenty of food at camp. Dale's RV and the storage tent were loaded with supplies."
"We brought everyone in my RV food." Michonne looked at Andrea pointedly when the woman refused to do so much as glance at her sister.
"I didn't know…" Carol gnawed her lip, looking down at her daughter with sad eyes.
"I planned the meals everyday." Andrea muttered despondently. "I would set out the food for them to make. I guess they didn't know they could do it themselves."
"You guys can share with the other kids." Miranda nodded to Carl and Sofia who wasted no time in rushing the stage.
"You speak english?" Lori exclaimed loudly.