James left.
Of course Jessica did not survive the night. He didn't need to be a doctor to figure out why after seeing her body. The bite had ravaged the young woman's back, Rick and the other's had downright destroyed her. He felt his stomach turn and could not look at the former sheriff the same ever again. It would have been kinder to put her down. It was one thing to amputate a limb, quite another to flay another person.
The burly ginger who led the group didn't blame anyone but himself, just stared at his sister's reanimated face for hours before viciously stabbing it in the temple. Many had tried to talk to him but it was as if he wasn't even there. The next morning he was gone with nothing but the clothes on his back, none of the supplies had been touched.
It did not take long before Rick was leading, just like he always wanted to. The man had two missions, to always be on the move and look for Carl. Even the man's marriage dissolved into barely passing eye contact once a week. It was just lucky Lori had a number of pregnant women to lean on. She threw herself into chores, from cooking and cleaning to sewing with the older women, anything to ignore the fact her husband avoided her like the plague.
The former sheriff was still reluctant to get close to the group though he led them. Even T was not to be trusted and he couldn't help but think it had something to do with Shane. Rick had been a bit vague on the details, the only reason he knew most of them was because of the first weeks of overhearing the married couple's fights. However, he had seen Shane go from the pompous peacock to the hot head he was at the farm. He never imagined the man would fall so far as to try and kill his best friend. In only a few weeks their numbers dwindled from thirty five down to twenty four, some of them fled in the night while others never returned on runs. What happened to them was never mentioned.
T felt adrift, with a group of thirty five people that had been together since the beginning and trauma bonded to each other, he couldn't find his place. Mostly, he gravitated towards the few elderly who were traveling with them. They didn't have serious mobility issues but they could not run if they needed to. So, he took to driving the luxury RV and kept them all together. It was nice, familiar, however he missed having friends. Sometimes, he thought back to the quarry when he could always drop by Dale's for a new book or get a long lecture from Glenn about how DC was obviously superior to Marvel. He missed the arguments over dinner about plans for the group, there was none of that anymore. Hell, he even missed Merle Dixon's rants and made up stories.
"Shit." Melvin, a middle aged man cursed and pointed towards the main camp.
Soldiers in uniform were pouring in from the treeline, converging on the group with weapons raised. They weren't close enough to hear what they were saying but his people were quickly being forced to their knees. Cries and laughter echoed in his ears while some of the women were dragged into RVs. Melvin and the others had already turned and ran into the trees, saving themselves.
"We can talk about this!" Rick shouted, standing protectively in front of his wife with Allen doing the same with his own family at his side. "James is gone as well as most of his people! We have no grudges for things th-"
"This one is mine!" T moved closer, crouching down to keep hidden while he watched a soldier holding onto a woman whose pregnancy was just starting to show. He thought her name might have been Bev but those women kept away from the men and he never placed himself where he wasn't wanted. "Me and my brother kept her happy and stuffed till you motherfuckers killed him and took off! Ain't that right, girl? You giving me a son or a nephew?"
"We just missed you so much!" Another man was shouting, ignoring the danger of drawing in the dead.
T felt his stomach roll, hearing the cries coming from the RV he was leaning against. It was one thing at the farm when he heard Wendy bragging about the men from her former camp but this was the other side of it. What she had been saying she was trying to prevent happening to Sofia, claiming that it wasn't so bad if she just accepted it. No, there was no justification for what was happening to the women in camp.
He only had a handgun with little ammo and the tac knife he had gotten from the last Atlanta run which felt like a lifetime ago. That didn't stop him from cutting the screen from the window and hoisting himself in the RV. A man had one of the women bent over the dinette table, he looked like he was enjoying terrorizing her so much he didn't even hear him fall to the bedroom floor. T clumsily slipped up behind the soldier, smacking a hand around his mouth before using his knife to slit his throat.
"Shh.." The body slid from his grasp and the blood covered woman started to scream hysterically. "I'm not going to hurt you."
T tried to calm her down but in her panic she did not even realize she had been rescued. Jen, he recognized her after she lifted both her feet to slam them into his chest, knocking the air out of him. She didn't run far, only to the bathroom where she slammed the door and continued to cry. He figured she would not be helping him in attempting to help the rest of the group while he coughed and tried to get breath into his lungs.
He left the side door to the RV ajar and silently slipped out, crouching down to try and walk silently. While he wasn't exactly the most stealthy man, given his size, the soldiers were paying little attention to anything not for their own enjoyment. A few of them were in the motorhomes, trashing everything in their paths but the rest were still harassing the group still on their knees.
"You know the world ain't the place for babies anymore." The soldier was still holding Bev, his knife held against her stomach. Her pants were soaked and she had gone still and silent against him. "Should probably do my son the favor-"
"Ben!" Allen shouted when the soldier fell dead to the ground with a bullet to the head. Bev laid on the ground, staring at nothing in particular. T took his chance, firing on the leader and they started to retreat but not before killing the man in front of the teenager.
"Run!" Rick shouted, grasping his wife's hand to drag her along to the woods.
The group were quick to rush into their motorhomes, many of them being gunned down in their attempt to flee but T grabbed Bev. Being none too gently, he dragged the catatonic woman behind him into the RV he left Jen. He stared in horror at the walker who fell onto the both of them, taking a bite out of the woman he tried to save.
"Move!" Jen's face was puffy from crying but her tone was cold after she stabbed the corpse in the head. They both worked to get the woman inside while she quickly bled out. "You drive, I've got this."
They barely moved twenty feet towards the exit when one of the soldiers tried to step in front of the motorhome. T did not feel any guilt when he slammed his foot onto the gas so hard it hit the floor. His screams were heard over engine and plates falling in the RV, T almost vomited on his shirt when he felt the bumps running him over made.
Looking into the rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of Rick and a few others racing through the trees. In a brief moment, it felt like their gazes met but he knew that was impossible. T only felt guilt because he didn't slow down. He couldn't, not with two pregnant women screaming at eachother behind him. It might have made him a coward but he had tried, he had killed the man who was forcing himself on Jen and made sure he could never do something like that to anyone else.
"She's having a miscarriage." Jen informed him, her voice devoid of any emotion. T glanced at her and recoiled from the sight. She had been bloody from the asshole he killed but after dealing with the asshole soldier, now she looked like Carrie on prom night. "I cut off her hand and she passed out on the bed. I don't know what to do."
"Amy smothered Mitch's arm in honey and cauterized it." T thought back to the night, thinking that the blonde leader looked terrifying in the firelight. "The doctor explained that cauterizing it could do more harm than good…I don't know, man!"
"What about your old group?" Jen asked, keeping a close eye on the woman in the back. T couldn't see her but he was filled with terror that she would turn before either of them noticed. "You knew where they were going, right?"
"North?" T pondered all the plans he had sat through, he vaguely remembered a school and an island had been mentioned. However, once he started to distance himself he was only told the immediate plans. Amy had kept the route between those close to her, too impatient to explain what he had missed. Or maybe he had just been happy to go along with whatever he was told, worried that if he inserted himself more he would butt heads with Merle. "I was on guard duty alot so I didn't really…"
"Useless." She scoffed, turning away from him to retreat into the back of the RV. He heard her rummaging around but he couldn't take his eyes off the road.
Since Merle had come back from the rooftop, T had taken a step back. He could clearly see that the leadership was shifting. Rick seemed like a good man, better than Shane who never did much but get water and walk around with his shotgun. The former partners were pitting themselves against each other and while that was going on Amy was making plans the entire time. It took him too long to realize how blind he had been to see the reality that a racist piece of shit was valued more than him.
"Hey!" He exclaimed when he noticed that Bev was moving, her movement jerky and unnatural.
Faster than he thought possible, Jen had smacked the walker in the head with a cast iron skillet. She didn't stop when it went down but let out a warcry as she raged, slamming the pan over and over until there was nothing but scattered bits of skull and brain matter. He had to pump on the brakes because he had not bothered to watch the road and almost ran right into the back of a random car. All four doors had been left open in the occupants rush to abandon the vehicle. Jen barely moved from her place, straddling Bev's chest.
It had hit him then that they were alone.
For months, they waited.
Help would come at any time.
The ones who left would come back.
Their benefactors would not leave the legacy students to rot.
They never came and the headmaster was acting strange for weeks. She could not understand why he was selected anyway, he had two PhDs and was at one time one of the top names in psychology for reparative therapy. In the eighties and nineties, he had been on television and written books! Personally, she disagreed with the entire practice and evidence proved that his conversion therapy was completely useless. However, he was technically her boss and he didn't have control over the general population of students. It was only a select few legacies and wards of the school.
Chet, one of the legacies, killed Dr. Mershell. She had seen his body, the young man had brutalized her colleague before shooting him four times in the face. That was a lot of rage. The senior had relaxed after the buses left in August, the headmaster was too busy running the school to bother with his old appointments. She thought that he had been trying to contact the board or maybe the students' parents-
"Come with me." The redneck was flanked by Mitch and Wade, the trio looking especially menacing. Her colleagues were standing just a few feet away with more members of the group surrounding them.
Michelle didn't hesitate to follow the large escort, they still terrified her. It was insulting that since they had come back to school, she had been relegated to tour guide or cleaning crew. Even Brian, the school's custodian, spent most of his time leading people around the campus. She had gone to Columbia so she would never have to be the janitor! However, Michelle kept her thoughts to herself. Asking when she would be able to speak to the girl, Sofia, had been met with suspicious glares.
Why would Amy ask her for experience if she wasn't going to be utilized? The young teen was obviously very traumatized, the one legged girl was near catatonic since they arrived at the school. Sofia had been moved into a room with her mother on the first floor but rarely interacted with the rest of the children. The only time she ever socialized was when her mother got one of the men to carry her into the lounge. The blonde teen, Beth, would sing with them and it was the most animated Michelle had seen her. Still, Sofia didn't speak or acknowledge any of them, it was only her eyes that followed Beth as she danced with one of the toddlers while she sang.
"Would you explain this?" Amy asked harshly, the rest of the group were all seated around the library leaving a center table empty. Michelle was roughly guided into a seat with a file thrown down in front of her. She looked around in confusion at her colleagues who were opening the folders with trepidation.
"Chet?" Rosie stifled a sob at whatever was in front of her. The longer she read, the harder she cried. "Why?"
"That's why we're all here." Amy spoke softly but the blonde still stood above them with her lips pressed into a harsh line. "Edwin found a whole asylum under the school, only it was like something out of a horror movie. Padded rooms, electric shock therapy, there was even a goddamn cremator down there. That doesn't even touch the nursery and bunkers. What kind of school is this?"
"We are a private inst-" Brian started the rehearsed answer but Edwin slapped the table with a file, glaring murderously. The custodian had been with the school the longest so if anyone should be speaking it was him. Merle moved to stand beside the doctor but he didn't look like he was going to stop Jenner.
Michelle knew, deep in her gut, that there were some glaring problems with the school. However, the pay was nearly triple what she would make anywhere else. It included a very nice townhome, a vehicle, and an expense allowance. Within two years she was debt free and taking expensive international vacations. Who would ask questions? There weren't any signs of abuse from the staff. The legacies…well, they were off putting but they were mostly left to the headmaster and the doctors on staff. Did she enjoy peddling to entitled brats who got a monthly allowance that was worth more than her car? No, but it paid the bills. There was only one situation that left her feeling deeply conflicted.
Marsha Masters
Michelle shook her head and took a deep breath, trying to shake all thoughts of the girl from her head. It happened, dumb teenagers made mistakes. It was just unfortunate that the girl in question was so bright and had a promising future before she fell pregnant. Their first talks, Michelle went over her options and she tried to give the girl a safe place to speak her mind. Marsha was panicked, almost afraid, but they could not continue before the headmaster had taken her out of classes. The simple reason that sex was against the honor code. She didn't get to speak to the girl before she left the school in the middle of the night. Rumors ran rampant but Miss. Masters was soon forgotten.
"Chet was a good boy." Rosie threw the file away from her, her red face twisted in disgust. "It was that headmaster! I knew something was wrong but Chet wouldn't tell me!"
"You knew Chet, right?" Amy asked, placing her hands on the table to lean forward. "You were in the boarding house, not the staff housing in the school."
"I've been working for the Larsons since Chet was ten." She sniffled, clutching a photo to her chest. "When Mr.s Kate found out about Chet's boyfriend they sent him here. They didn't want their associates to find out he was gay."
"Dr. Mershell was world renowned for his research into corrective therapy." Michelle offered, feeling very surprised since she assumed Chet was straight since he always had a girlfriend.
"So, this school as a place for the rich to hide their gay kids away?" Michonne asked sarcastically, sharing an incredulous glance with Amy.
"No." Brian said softly, clutching a file in his hands with a miserable expression. "The legacy children were sent so that they could graduate without a record. The administration doctored grades and reports so they could all get into the best schools and the staff cleaned up after them. I've been here fifteen years and I've seen a lot of troubled kids in the halls, a lot of psychos too. Chet wasn' one of them."
"So, not just an exclusive boarding school." Amy hummed, pulling out a chair to sit with them now that Brian decided to be truthful.
He couldn't run. With a sprained knee, cracked ribs, and a broken arm there was no way he could fight off the officers who ran the hospital. They had a doctor, a smug and insufferable man, who talked at length about how long it would take him to recover. It was obvious Dr. Edwards had some serious perks with his job as the only man of medicine in the entire hospital. His boss, Captain Hanson was a no nonsense kind of man who only raised a brow when Hector started rambling in spanish.
"You can quit fakin', man." Jefferies said impatiently when he stepped into the room with an eye roll. "Spanish obviously ain't your first language. We helped you, so now you're going to answer our questions. The quicker we get this over with, the faster you get to leave."
"I can leave?" Hector questioned doubtfully, the doctor and female officer made a big production about the first floor being completely overrun and how it kept them safe and trapped if they didn't know the way out.
"As I was trying to explain before you started your bullshit." The captain sat in a rolling chair as if he didn't have a care in the world. "O'Donnell and Gorman explained that they found you pretty beat up and raving on the side of the road near the city. If there is a threat that is close to the hospital, we need to know about it. It would delay rescue and interrupt our attempts to help the civilians of Atlanta."
"Your officers ran me over." Hector scowled, looking between the two police officers suspiciously. He didn't know what their game was but he wouldn't be playing it. While if it came down to a fight, he would likely lose, there was no way he wasn't taking at least one of them with him. "My car broke down and I was so dehydrated I really thought they were a hallucination until they backed up over my arm."
"I think I would believe my officers over some-" The captain looked deeply offended until he glanced at Jefferies who averted his gaze. "If you will excuse us."
Hector was left alone for hours, not even the smug doctor came to see him for his scheduled check up. They had limited power so after the initial x-ray, Edwards was left with little options other than frequent visits to make sure his ailments were healing. The man grumbled the entire time, complaining mostly to himself that he was a doctor not some hippie holistic healer who relied on faith and hope. Hector didn't bother responding most of the time, he just missed dead eye Jenner.
"I believe I owe you an apology on behalf of my officers." Captain Hanson looked like he was chewing glass during his statement. Hector just watched him suspiciously, the man looked like he was about to keel over from stress but he didn't voice his thoughts. "We're never encountered someone who wanted to leave. It's a dangerous world out there right now, so I'm a bit lost on how to proceed. We've been using our very limited and finite supplies on you, assuming that you would become a valuable member of our team."
"I'm grateful that you've healed me after your officers ran me over." Hector was not feeling generous enough to actually humor the man after his nonapology. "I would not be here, wasting your precious resources if they had not dragged my unconscious body into the hospital."
"That's where we run into our problem." Hanson completely ignored his tone, barrelling on. "Everyone here works, the officers and civilians, to make sure we last until rescue can reach us. Even though the circumstances of you joining us weren't ideal, we can't have you lazing in this room. It might give the others ideas and I can't just release you to die before you leave the parking lot."
"So, what you're saying is I'll have to work for the supplies to heal the injuries your officers caused." Hector said slowly, his lips pressed into a firm line. For the first time, he almost regretted leaving behind the other group, especially Max. "And pretend that I haven't been essentially kidnapped? So, that your other hostages don't realize they are being kept here?"
"We aren't keeping anyone hostage!" Hanson snapped, glaring down his nose at him. "We are keeping these civilians safe, my officers are out on the streets everyday trying to bring in supplies to keep this place going! Is laundry, cooking, and cleaning really so much to ask for? These people are kept safe, away from the horrors out there!"
"Captain, maybe I could speak to him?" The female officer asked sweetly, however there was no warmth in her dead eyes. It was worse than Jenner when they met him at the CDC, at least the man had given them a choice. "You've had a long day, I'll explain the finer details. Give him some time to process."
"Thank you Officer Lerner." The captain stood from his chair as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. When they passed each other, their casual touch did not escape Hector but he merely raised a brow at the woman. "Come to my office after to debrief."
Once the door closed behind Hanson, she turned her dead eyes back to Hector. "You owe us."
"I thi-"
"No, I'm going to explain in small words." Lerner cut him off, standing tall with her hands on her hips. He idly wondered if Amy was right about the cop voice and stance, not another Rick. "If you had not run into my fellow officers, you would be dead. It doesn't matter how it happened. You had no supplies and were running down moving vehicles on an empty road. You will work in the laundry until you have repaid your debt. We saved your life."
"And if I don't want to listen to-"
"I don't think you're understanding me." The door opened behind her and an overweight middle aged officer stepped into the room with a sickly grin. "My friend, John Gorman, was one of the officers who escorted you to safety. For you to then accuse him of battery does not sit well with his fellow officers."
"Think you can just-" Hector did not hear anything else because the man had swiftly punched his injured knee.
He let out a scream before a rag was shoved into his mouth. Lerner looked on as Gorman deliberately hit him in all of the areas he was already injured. Never in his life had Hector experienced such pain but he threw his head forward, knocking his skull against the officer as hard as he could. They were both shocked that he even attempted to fight back.
"What are doing?" The doctor stepped into the room, looking shocked at the brutal way Lerner used her baton to hit Hector in the kidneys.
"You never saw anything." Gorman snapped, pushing Edwards into the wall harshly. "You're going to patch him up from his fall because you never saw us here, you understand?"
"It will take weeks for him to recover." Edward's voice was shaky and he flinched when Lerner joined her fellow officer in stepping into his space. "The Cap-"
"We're bringing in new people all the time." Lerner said, her voice completely devoid of any emotion. "Just think, we might get lucky and find another doctor out there. Wouldn't that relieve you of some of your workload?"
"Wouldn't it be nice to have a colleague?" Gorman's grin was downright savage while Hector struggled to breathe. "Someone who can do everything you can…man, you might not be so essential anymore."
"Might I have some time with my patient?" Edwards nodded in understanding, the last of his defiance faded from his eyes. "He's had a terrible fall, I told him not to try and move around without assistance."
Gorman threw a wink over his shoulder before swaggering out of the room, taking only a moment to use some spare linen to wipe the blood from his face. Lerner turned back to Hector, using her baton to push him flat on his back and ignored the pained groan that escaped his throat. She leaned close so her nose was practically touching his.
"You owe us."
"You.." Edwards cleared his throat, not meeting his agonized gaze once the door closed behind the officers. He just moved methodically to check over his injuries.
"Why?" Hector rasped, still struggling to get air into his bruised lungs.
"Welcome to Grady Memorial." Edwards said after a long moment of silence, taking his time to wrap his knee. "I hope you don't have anymore falls, medical supplies are scarce and more expensive than ever."
