Chapter 6 - Vatos

Atlanta City

Rick and Daryl took the lead. Daryl appeared to be tracking his brother's trail and Tess was impressed by his ability to do so. She had fallen into the middle of the group and was walking alone. Glenn and the other man whose name she hasn't learnt yet were tagging along behind her. She didn't really think she was going to be of much help, given she had no idea what this man they were looking for looked like. Tess just made sure to keep an eye out for any walkers or unwanted company.

"Hey. Hi." Glenn said softly as he came up beside her.

"Hi." Tess politely replied, "I'm Tess." She offered her hand to him to shake. He looked a bit surprised by her gesture but took it anyway.

"Glenn."

"Nice to meet you Glenn. Thanks for helping out my friend." It was the first time she referred to Rick as her friend and it felt good.

"Oh, don't mention it." Glenn shrugged it off as if it were nothing. The pair walked together in silence for a bit.

"So, uh- Daryl's brother-"

"Merle."

"Merle. What's the situation there?"

"It's complicated…" Glenn trailed off, looking uneasy.

"It ain't complicated." Grumbled the man behind them.

"It ain't your fault T-Dog." Glenn responded, gently.

"It is, though. I locked him up and lost the damn key. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't've had to cut his fuckin' hand off." Hand?

"I'm sorry, what?" Tess had not been expecting that. Glenn looked very uneasy at the thought and mumbled,

"It- it's in my bag." He looked green in the gills and like he wanted to be sick at the thought. Tess glanced at the bag Glenn was carrying and grimaced at the thought of what was inside.

Up ahead, Rick and Daryl were consulting a lit blowtorch that sat next to an iron steak weight, crusted with skin.

"Bastard cauterized his own stump." Daryl concluded and it was clear to them all that he was right. "Tough son of a bitch."

"That amount of blood loss, he can't have gone too far. Not on foot anyway." Tess said, approaching slowly.

"Well, then we go find him." Daryl replied, shortly.

"The streets are crawling with walkers and you wanna go out there with just your arrows and one gun?" stated Tess incredulously.

"You're packin' ain't ya? So what's the problem?" Daryl approached her hostilely now but Tess stood her ground.

"And I'll use it but I ain't babysitting those that aren't." She glanced over to Glenn and T-Dog, "No offense." The pair just shrugged. She turned her sights on Rick now, knowing she'd probably have better luck talking to a wall than trying to sway Daryl, who clearly didn't trust or care for her very much.

"Rick, the bag of guns is still there by the tank. I say we get that first, then go look for Merle."

"Tess is right." Agreed Rick, "We don't know how many walkers are out there. The more armed we are, the better."

"I didn't realize she was in charge now." Daryl griped, clearly not enjoying being left out of the power-play.

"I'm not in charge. But this is the best move. We'll still look for your brother but not at the cost of losing anybody else. You got a problem with that?" Tess felt herself reassuming the position of unit leader and while she didn't want to go treading on Rick's toes, who had clearly assumed the role of leader, she felt it necessary to say her piece. Daryl glowered at her but begrudgingly agreed and the five of them began planning out how to reclaim the gun bag.

To everybody's surprise, Glenn took the lead when it came to planning their next moves. Tess was impressed with his plan and it was clear everyone else was too. Glenn would go for the bag, Daryl would watch his back from the alley and Rick and T-Dog would cover a second alleyway two blocks over. Tess would take position in the fire escape where she could have a bird's eye-view of the situation.

"Hey, Glenn. What did you do before this?"

"Delivered pizzas. Why?"

—

As great as Glenn's plan had seemed, it all fell apart very quickly when a group of men arrived with the same idea to do the same thing at the same time.

Tess sat in the fire escape above Daryl with her rifle trained on Glenn, her eyes locked on his surroundings, prepared to take down any walkers that got too close. Glenn had left his backpack in the alleyway and was quick and light on his feet and darted across the street towards the tank. Without much trouble, Glenn grabbed the gun bag and Rick's hat that had fallen into the street and started to make his way back to the alley. That's when the yelling started.

Below, Daryl began to shout, capturing Tess' attention. Pulling away from the rifle scope, she looked down to get a better look and saw him squaring off with a young boy, who was probably still a teenager. Daryl had his crossbow raised, ready to fire and was interrogating the young boy, asking him if he'd seen his brother but also telling him to keep his mouth shut at the same time. Before Tess could call out to Daryl, the boy began to scream for help. Tess cursed to herself and took one last look at Glenn before making her way down the stairwell as quickly as she could. Daryl was trying to grab the kid who was still yelling to whoever else was out there when two older, burlier guys with baseball bats appeared at the entrance of the alleyway.

"Daryl!" She shouted at him, "Behind you!" As the men advanced on Daryl and started to go at him with the bats, Tess jumped the last railing of the fire escape and landed on her feet. Ignoring the sharp pain that shot through her feet from the height of the fall, she took aim at the ground beside the men and fired a warning shot. The pair fell back in surprise and Daryl tried to pull himself back onto his feet.

"Back the fuck up." Tess growled, firmly. And the men looked at her warily for a moment but didn't seem convinced that she was much of a threat. "Now!" Taking aim at their heads and moving to stand in front of Daryl, the pair slowly backed away. The teen stood off to the side, too afraid to move.

It seemed for a moment that they would just leave but Glenn suddenly appeared, short of breath and breathing heavily, drawing the attention of everyone in the alley. Before Glenn could take off again, one of the men turned on him and fought to rip the gun bag out of his hands. The other man swung at Tess and she reflexively let go of the rifle, letting it swing down to her chest, trying to grab the incoming bat with her hands. Stopping it just inches from her face, she grappled with him.

He was bigger than her and the bat slipped out of her grasp when he reeled back and swung again. Tess ducked this time and pulled her knife from its sheath, slashing at the man's thigh, deep enough to hurt him but not deep enough to fatally injure. The man cried out in pain and a fist went soaring into Tess' face, laying her out flat on her back. He got up with a hiss and grabbed the gun bag that had fallen to the ground as the other man continued to lay into Glenn.

Daryl was on his feet by now and had regained his grip on his crossbow. Before the men could run off with the guns, Daryl shot the man holding the bag in the rear, causing him to drop the bag once more. Tess was still seeing stars but pulled herself up, watching as the pair took off with Glenn in a getaway car. Walkers had started to notice the raucous and were making their way towards them now. The oncoming threat was enough to make her come to her senses and Tess raced to shut the gate before any could get in.

Behind her, Rick and T-Dog were racing in from the other end of the alley towards Daryl who was starting to go in on the boy who had been left behind.

"Daryl! Stop!" Rick shouted at him, "Stop!" T-Dog ripped him off the kid and Daryl aggressively shrugged off his hands, flinging his arms in the air.

"Those assholes took Glenn!" Shouted Daryl, his thick southern accent strongly pronounced.

"They were here for the bag, Rick." Tess said, trying to remain calm despite the anger brewing inside her. She passed him over his hat and pushed the bag towards him with her foot.

"Shit, you okay?" Rick asked with concern, seeing the blood gushing from her nose.

"Yeah, I don't think it's broken, I'm fine." She shrugged and pulled up the hem of her shirt, hunching over to clean up her face with the fabric. The Sheriff quickly averted his eyes and Tess would have laughed were it not for the dire situation they were in. Rick had caught a glimpse of a large tattoo on Tess' waist that appeared to wrap around her hip and continued onto her upper back. He didn't want her to think he was leering and so turned his attention to the task at hand instead.

—

The four remaining members of their group and their new plus one reconvened in the room they had been earlier. Daryl was pacing, still seething from Glenn's kidnapping and getting jumped by the two men. The kid, whose name they learned was Miguel, was sitting stiffly in a chair, terrified. T-Dog sat quietly off to the side, contemplating their situation, and Tess and Rick stood side by side trying to come up with a plan. Tess and Rick were confident that they should be able to trade Miguel for Glenn but there was concern that the other group may not be so willing to trade that easily, given how willing they were to leave Miguel behind.

Daryl was furious that he'd let Miguel's men get the jump on him and angrier still that he hadn't been able to stop them from taking Glenn. On top of all that, they now had to worry about getting Glenn back instead of looking for Merle. They did have the guns now though, which, given the other men had been there looking to take them too, meant that they didn't have any. Or very little at the least. Storming over to Glenn's bag and pulling out Merle's hand, Daryl shoved it into Miguel's face,

"This is from the last guy that crossed me! Now where's Glenn!" Miguel paled instantly and looked about ready to cry.

"Daryl, that's enough." Rick chastised him and moved him out of the way. "Look, Miguel. We just want our friend back so you can go home. Where can we find him?"

—

Miguel led them to the outskirts of the city, towards an abandoned factory. The red brick was graffitied and worn down and Tess guessed it had probably been abandoned well before the outbreak. Stopping just short of the factory's outer wall, Daryl pulled Miguel aside.

"Don't try nothin'." With a quick shove, Daryl pushed him back in front again and Miguel stumbled into the compound.

"Guillermo?" Miguel called out hesitantly, "Guillermo? Man, it's Miguel." The front door to the factory creaked open and five armed men walked out. Two stayed by the entrance and the other three came forward, the shorter of the trio stood in the middle and Miguel walked towards him. The men flanking him had their handguns raised at them and in response, Tess raised her rifle, Rick aimed his pump-action shotgun and Daryl lifted his crossbow. T-Dog had taken up position on the edge of a rooftop behind them.

"Guillermo, hey man." The man in charge ignored Miguel and looked past him to Rick, who spoke up,

"You have one of our men. We're here to trade."

"You have our bag of guns." Guillermo replied, appearing unbothered at the prospect of having Miguel returned to them. "You give us our guns and you can have your friend."

"They're not yours." Rick replied, firmly. Tess eyed the men in front of her cautiously, ready to defend their group if necessary. She couldn't see Glenn but guessed they'd be keeping him somewhere nearby. She didn't know Glenn all that well, if at all really, but she knew he didn't deserve to be caught up in this shit.

"You give us our guns or we kill your friend." Threatened Guillermo and he didn't look like he was bluffing. As if on cue, two more men appeared on the roof of the factory. Between them, they dragged Glenn to the edge. His mouth was covered in tape and his hands were tied behind his back. It was difficult to see what kind of condition he was in but anybody in that position would be distressed.

Tess' blood ran cold at the thought of Glenn being pushed off the top of the building and she turned to the Sheriff, eyes shifting from him to the leader of the gang in front,

"Rick?" She was trying to gauge his reaction but he was stoic and appeared to be calculating their next move. He didn't respond to her and instead kept his eyes locked on Guillermo. The tension in the air was so palpable that Tess began shifting on her feet in uneasiness. Beside her, Daryl was becoming more and more tense and his knuckles were beginning to turn white as he gripped his crossbow tightly.

"You need a minute?" Guillermo asked suddenly, breaking the silence. "You got ten. Then your friend dies." Glenn was yanked back from the edge of the roof and taken out of view and the rest of the gang retreated back into the factory.

—

In a foreman's office nearby, the group tried to come up with a plan. Daryl was pacing and Tess and the rest of them sat, trying to think of what their move should be.

"We ain't giving them those guns." Daryl griped, clearly agitated.

"We need them, I know, but I'm not giving up Glenn's life for them. I owe him more than that." Replied Rick, unwilling to even consider the notion of sacrificing Glenn. "I'll go back and get Glenn, the rest of you should go back to the camp." It would have seemed heroic if it hadn't been so stupid and Tess scoffed,

"Like hell. You have a family and you just found them. I'll go, I've dealt with worse." Daryl whirled round on them both,

"Would y'all both stop trying to play hero? No ones going in alone."

"Daryl's right." Agreed T-Dog, "We do this together." Tess smiled briefly, it felt nice to be involved in a group of people that clearly cared about one another. Pulling the bag of weapons towards her, she started pulling of ammo,

"Well, then, let's get this show on the road." Reloading a fresh mag into her rifle, she watched as everyone else did the same; with the exception of Daryl who kept his crossbow.

—

Guillermo and his gang were waiting for them by the time they got back to the factory. Everyone was on edge, prepared for an all out war if it came to it.

"My guns?" Guillermo demanded, arrogantly. Rick released Miguel from his bonds and pushed him towards Guillermo.

"Give us Glenn." Rick demanded, standing his ground. Guillermo's face turned down in frustration and anger, and he advanced on the group,

"I'm gonna chop your friend up into tiny little pieces and feed him to my three vicious man-eating dogs-"

Before the situation could escalate any further, an old woman wearing a nightgown shuffled into the middle of the standoff towards one of the men from the gang.

"Felipe, we need your help with Mr Gilbert." She spoke softly and didn't appear scared by these men at all. Tess slowly lowered her rifle, unsure what was going on but no longer seeing these men as much of a threat if they were kind enough to be sheltering the elderly. The old woman's hands trembled as they reached up to grasp Felipe's arm and as she turned to face the group, she spotted Rick in his Sheriff's uniform.

"Please Sir, don't take Felipe away. He's a good boy and has turned his life around. We need him here." Tess was really confused now and it was obvious that Rick was too but he played along,

"Felipe's helping me find a missing person." A look of realization came over the woman and she took Rick by the hand, guiding them all into the factory. Guillermo looked none too pleased but allowed them all inside, not wanting to cause a scene.

Inside the factory was a large auditorium that had been turned into a makeshift nursing home. Several elderly people were laid up in beds and few others were grouped around an asthmatic man, clearly having trouble breathing. Glenn was beside him, consoling him and trying to help him remain calm. Felipe went over to help the man with his inhaler.

Tess was shocked; this was the last thing she had been expecting when they first came across these men. Down to her right, three tea-cup sized chihuahua's yapped up at them and Tess raised an eyebrow at Guillermo, who gave her a withering look. Rick pulled him aside to talk and Tess moved towards Glenn.

"Hey, it's good to see you're okay!" She said, genuinely relieved that Glenn was unharmed. He smiled at her broadly and pulled her into a hug, which she was surprised by at first but returned.

"I've just been hanging out here." Glenn laughed and gestured to the old folks. "Got a bit scary when they shoved me up onto the roof though." Tess laughed with him,

"I bet!" The old lady from earlier moved towards the pair of the and Tess turned to face her, smiling softly.

"Hi, Abuela." Glenn greeted her as though he'd known her forever. Tess was quickly beginning to realize that Glenn was one of those people everyone got along with. She'd always been secretly jealous of people like that. Abuela smiled at him genially and patted him on the arm before grasping Tess' hands. Tess jumped a little at the contact but tried her best not to show her surprise.

"Thank you for your service." Abuela squeezed her hands gently, evidently having noticed her uniform.

"Oh- uh, you're welcome?" Tess responded awkwardly. She had never gotten used to random people approaching her with their thanks. It made her think that she'd enlisted for all the wrong reasons. Abuela tottered away again and Glenn looked at Tess, mystified.

"You went to war?"

"Yes." Tess replied abruptly and Glenn was quick to realize it wasn't a favored topic of conversation for her and left it alone. The air between them was stale for a moment but Rick came over soon after to let them know that he'd divided up the weapons between the Vatos gang and themselves and it was time to leave.

—

Once they had finally made it back into the city, towards where the men had left their vehicle this morning, the sun had started to set. The afternoon sun glowed an ominous red color and when the group came to an abrupt halt in an empty parking lot, Tess began to feel uneasy.

"Where's the van?" Glenn stammered and Daryl angrily kicked the chain link fence.

"Merle." T-Dog said coldly and Tess turned to look at Daryl, unsure how vengeful this Merle could be,

"You don't think he would..?" The look on Daryl's face told them all they needed to know and the five of them took off running towards the camp.

By the time the group reached the bottom of the hill leading towards the camp, night had fallen and the moon above cast eerie shadows amongst the trees as they ran up the hill as quickly as they could. Tess was no stranger to this sort of thing but it was apparent to hear that Glenn and T-Dog were starting to tire. As they got closer, Tess began to hear women and children screaming and by the second-wind Glenn and T instantly developed, they had too.

Emerging from the tree line at the top of the quarry, the sight in front of them was that of a blood bath. Dead bodies scattered the ground and those remaining on their feet were sheltering behind one man with a shotgun. At least a dozen walkers were still invading the camp and Tess automatically fell into active combat mode, lining up each walker in her sight with the aid of the rail cover flashlight and putting down as many as she could with a bullet to the head, as the others did the same.

Bone-chilling screams echoed across the campsite as walkers tore into the flesh of unwitting campers and as those that were spared that fate, watched on in terror. It was a haunting image; one that would stay with them all forever. The weight of the rifle and the way it kicked back into Tess' shoulder was familiar to her and she welcomed it like the soldier she was. Bullets and bolts were sailing through the air, making quick work of the remaining walkers. Once they were all down, the camp was deathly silent. The chilling loss of those that were once alive, a harsh reminder of their new reality.

"Dad!" Shrieked a young boy with dark brown hair.

"Carl!" The boy tore away from his mother who was still cowering behind the man with the shotgun and raced towards Rick, who was already on his knees, tears in his eyes. As they embraced, Tess' heart warmed, briefly forgetting the carnage before her.

The moment didn't last very long however, as an anguished scream cut through the air like a hot blade. Reflexively, turning to face the scream with her rifle at the ready, she stopped short, seeing an older, blonde woman cradling a dead girl in her arms. Her neck had been torn open and scarlet red blood covered her face and blonde hair. Tess' jaw locked and her teeth ground together as she took in the sight. Nausea rose up from her stomach and she looked away to give her privacy. She knew what it felt like to lose someone in this new world but not like that. Not holding them in your arms while they drew their last breath.

She didn't know what to do now, she couldn't console anyone, she didn't know anyone. But by the looks of things, nobody else knew what to do either. The woman, who she guessed was Lori, had moved over to join Rick and Carl now and they were all locked in a hug of relief. Everybody else was simply standing around, waiting for someone else to say something. A tall, thin man that stood off to the side was the first to speak up,

"I remember why I was digging now…" He trailed off and Tess shuddered, unsettled by his words.