Chapter 21 - Relapse

Greene Farm

Over by the fence line, Tess threw her guts up. The sight of Sophia lying in the dirt with a hole in the back of her head was enough to bring up last night's dinner. She'd seen plenty of dead people in her lifetime but it was always different when it was someone you knew and a child at that. She wretched even when she had nothing left and her throat burned from the bile. When her stomach finally settled, she shuffled away and sat under the shade of one of the tall elm trees.

Her heart pounded in her chest almost painfully and at a rate that she knew couldn't be normal. She could feel her hands start to tremble and she crossed her arms, stuffing her hands into her armpits so no one could see. She felt weak enough as it was after having thrown up.

My name is Theresa Murphy. I'm 29 years old. I'm from Durham, North Carolina. I'm at the Greene's farm. Tess quietly chanted to herself, her eyes squeezing tightly shut. My name is Theresa Murphy. I'm 29 years old. My home is gone. I'm spiraling out of control.

The Greene family were slowly making their way back to the farmhouse but Shane was still hounding Hershel; as if he hadn't been through enough already. He was convinced that Hershel knew that Sophia had been in the barn this whole time but the old man emphatically denied the accusation, speculating that it had likely been Otis instead. Maggie did her best to defend her father but Shane was relentless. It was the final straw for Hershel and he ordered that they all leave his land immediately.

Tess felt empty. She warned Shane, had done her best to stop this from happening but yet it seemed destined to play out. We're cursed, she thought to herself, we're actually cursed. She lay her head back against the tree, eyes closed, and wished her head would stop throbbing but her recent bout of vomiting hadn't helped.

She heard feet scrape along the dirt towards her and she blinked as her eyes readjusted. Dale stood in front of her, his brow furrowed in concern and Tess jumped up onto shaky feet, using the tree to support herself. Her earlier concerns came rushing back to her and she wrapped him in a tight hug which he was quick to reciprocate.

"Oh, thank God you're okay." She breathed, feeling a huge wave of relief. She'd forgotten all about him in the chaos but she was so thankful to see him in that moment. "I thought Shane had…"

"I think he would have liked to. He's really lost it. Are you okay?" He held her out at arms length and looked her over, concerned by her uncharacteristically vulnerable behavior.

"I'm fine." She told him and rubbed her head, wishing the headache away.

"You don't look fine." He replied, his frown drawing lower.

"If I said that I wasn't, would that change anything?"

—

Carol cradled her daughter in her arms and silently wept for her. It was real now. She'd never get her shining, little summer girl back. Never see her smile, hear her laugh or feel her tight embrace ever again. She was now a widow and a mother without a child; a vilomah. Carol struggled to believe she would ever feel whole again. A part of her would be lost forever. No parent should ever have to bury their own child.

She tried to stroke Sophia's hair, like she had many times before when her daughter was asleep, but blood and brain tissue stuck to her hand and she recoiled in disgust. This wasn't her daughter. Her Sophia was gone. She had been gone from the moment she had lost sight of her on the highway and she refused to remember her as this thing in front of her now. With shaky hands, she pushed her tiny frame off of her lap and walked away.

—

Dale retreated back to camp after unsuccessfully expressing his concern for Tess, who really didn't want to get into it right now. This wasn't about her and she'd just have to suck it up, no matter how devastated she felt. That wasn't her daughter lying in the dirt and if anyone needed Dale's sympathy, it was Carol.

They decided to bury Sophia along with Hershel's family. They'd lay them all to rest alongside Otis, under the willow tree. Their graveyard would grow. The rest of the bodies they would burn, just like they had done so back at the quarry. It seemed like a cycle doomed to repeat itself, again and again people would die and those left behind would dig them their final resting place.

T-Dog came back to the barn with shovels and Tess stepped in to grab one, needing to keep herself active. Stopping wasn't an option for her right now and so she would blindly work. Beside T and Daryl, she dug into the dirt, throwing clumps of earth behind her. Her hands were clenched so tightly around the handle that her knuckles turned white but she didn't let up or slow down even when the muscles in her arms began to ache.

She kept her eyes on the ground and the way her spade penetrated the earth like it was nothing. She watched the dirt crumble beneath her, not noticing the way she was beginning to shovel the soil over her shoulder as the hole grew deeper and deeper. She remembered everyone they'd all lost. Nate, Jim, Amy, Merle, Jacqui, Otis and now Sophia. She didn't dare think about what had come of Morgan and Duane. Each stab into the dirt was an expression of her anger and sadness and she seethed, unable to feel anything else but the pain of loss. It was all becoming too much.

She thought she could hear someone calling out to her, telling her to stop but it was only a faint buzzing noise to the side of her head and the words she couldn't understand. Part of her regretted ever getting involved with so many people, it only meant more loss, more pain and distress. She hadn't felt so at ends with herself and hopeless since her return from Iraq and the crushing weight of what that meant only depressed her more. It was a dangerous line to be walking and she wanted more than anything just to step foot on another path.

Tess pierced the ground once more but was unable to bring the shovel back up again as another pair of hands gripped her own.

"Stop." A firm but gentle voice instructed her. "Stop." She wanted so badly to wrench the shovel away and continue digging but she let herself pause and slowly she registered the way her hands hurt and loosened her grip.

She looked up at Daryl who had jumped into the grave with her and was looking down at her searchingly, his eyes urging her to let go of the shovel. She did so reluctantly and looked around herself at the hole she had dug, which was now far deeper than it needed to be. Ashamed, heat crawled up her chest and neck and she averted her gaze from Daryl's, stepping away from him.

"I- I…" She choked out, unable to come up with any words to explain what she had been doing. Daryl seemed to realize she was struggling and didn't wait for her to explain herself.

"T-Dog's gone to get Carol. You go get the Greene's. I'll finish here." He told her and she nodded, climbing out of the hole and not looking back.

Daryl watched her leave, concerned and surprised by the way she was acting. He too was angry but she seemed as though she were in shock. He had seen her be sick by the fence and collapse underneath the trees but he had nothing to say to make her feel better and so stayed away.

He was upset. With himself, with the universe, with everyone and everything. He had tried so goddamn hard to bring that little girl back, risked his life to do so and it was all a waste of time. He could hear Merle taunting him in the back of his mind, Told ya so, didn't I? Pathetic.

It made him so angry. And to add insult to injury, Carol didn't even want to say goodbye to her own daughter that he just buried. T-Dog couldn't, or wouldn't, tell him why, which of the two he didn't know. But regardless of her reasons, Daryl found himself growing more and more angry.

—

Tess didn't much feel like talking to anyone right now but life still had to go on and there were things that needed to be done. Right now, they needed to give their loved ones the send off they deserved. She tentatively walked into the farm house, hoping to not be immediately run off by the family patriarch. It was quiet, except for the sound of running water in the kitchen. Tess sucked in a deep breath and readied herself for the conversation ahead.

In the kitchen, Beth stood overlooking the sink. She held an empty glass in her hand as it rested on the bench and she watched as the water ran down the drain. She didn't hear Tess approach.

"Beth?" She began quietly, trying not to spook her. "I'm so, so sorry for what happened today. Things never should have gone down that way. I know that probably doesn't mean much…" Tess trailed off awkwardly, knowing she was starting to ramble and cut to the chase,

"We've buried them. With Otis. We'll have a funeral and give them the farewell they deserve." Her words did not elicit any type of response from the young girl however and she frowned in concern.

"Beth?" Nothing. "Beth? Are you alright…?"

Suddenly, Beth's hand on the glass slipped and she started to topple backwards. Tess darted towards her and barely caught her head before she smacked it on the ground. Her eyes were glassy and her complexion pale.

"Beth?!" Tess shouted in distress. She tapped at her cheeks but Beth didn't do so much as to even blink. Tess was in a full blown panic now. Beth's catatonia was unexpected to say the least and it felt like the bitter cherry on the very awful cake that was today.

"Maggie!" Tess screamed into the hollows of the house. "Hershel!"

Tess continued to check Beth's vitals as she waited on edge for someone to arrive. She could hear footsteps running around the house as she felt Beth's pulse. It was fainter than she would have liked it and her forehead was hot and clammy, indicative of a fever. Maggie and Glenn finally skidded into the kitchen and their faces both dropped in fear at the sight of Tess cradling Beth on the floor.

"What happened?!" Maggie cried, looking close to tears as she dropped beside them.

"I came to get her for the funeral and she just collapsed. You need to get your dad, she's gone into shock." Tess explained and Maggie nodded without hesitation, scrambling to her feet and rushing upstairs to find her father.

"Glenn, go get Rick." She instructed him and he sprinted out of the house. It didn't take long for him to return with the sheriff and Rick's tired face fell when he saw them both.

"Is she okay? Where's Hershel?" He asked frantically and Tess looked over at the stairs where Maggie had yet to return from.

"She's in shock, has a fever. Maggie's trying to find him now." She told him while trying to regain some sense of calm.

Rick and Glenn paced anxiously and Tess did her best to keep Beth comfortable as they waited for Maggie and Hershel.

"He's not here…" Maggie told them when she finally returned.

"What?" Tess gasped.

"What? What do you mean he's not here?" Rick echoed her concern.

"I looked everywhere upstairs. He's gone."

"He can't be gone, where would he have gone?" Tess exclaimed in disbelief.

"I think I might know…" Maggie raised an empty metal flask and Tess' heart dropped. From what she understood, Hershel had been sober for many years. And now, they had driven him to relapse in a matter of mere minutes. "Hatlin's Bar in town."

"I didn't take Hershel for a drinker?" Rick queried, unaware of his alcoholism.

"He gave it up the day I was born. Didn't even allow liquor in the house. But he practically lived in that bar in his drinking days."

"Then we go get him." Rick declared and turned to Glenn. "You with me?" He asked and Glenn nodded with urgency.

"I'm coming with you too." Tess announced while she scooped Beth up in her arms and got to her feet.

"Are you sure you shouldn't stay?" Rick hesitated, looking between her and Beth. She was the only one left with any decent medical training and from his perspective, it didn't seem right for her to leave the farm.

"There's nothing I can do for her." Tess told him solemnly, "All we can do is make her comfortable and help her fight off this fever. I know what Hershel is going through, I can help." Rick considered it for a moment and then nodded, convinced by her imploring look.

"Ten minutes and we go?"

Maggie directed Tess toward one of the bedrooms where she lay Beth down on the bed. Her eyes were still open but she wasn't present. Tess advised Maggie on how to best look after her and monitor her vital signs. She recommended that she do her best to keep talking to her and hopefully she'd eventually be able to get through. Tess had never dealt with a catatonic patient before and didn't know what to expect but if it worked for coma patients, it would work for Beth. Once Maggie was settled and Patricia had joined her, Tess left the house to find Rick and Glenn.

As she bounded down the porch steps, she ran into Daryl, who was skulking by the house with a foul look in his face. She wanted to stop and ask him what was wrong but she didn't have the time.

"What's goin' on?" He asked her gruffly, noticing her change in demeanor.

"Beth's gone into shock. Hershel's missing. Rick, Glenn and I, we're going to bring him back." She told him and tried to continue past but he gripped her upper arm, bringing her to a halt. "Daryl-"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"What do you mean? We're not leaving him out there?"

"I mean, did you see yourself back there?" He replied, nodding toward the barn and Tess paused. Was he concerned for her well-being? If their situation weren't so dire, she thought she would have blushed but she still felt touched nonetheless. She placed a soft hand on the front of his shoulder in an act of reassurance.

"I've compartmentalized it." She told him, only somewhat joking. "Right now, this is my focus and I need to go." Daryl's hand still wavered on her arm and she dropped her hand down to his. "We'll be fine. I'll be fine. Let me go." She gently told him and slowly lowered his hand down and off her arm.

He didn't protest any further or say anything more at all, he just looked down at their hands which were still joined and Tess quickly pulled away, feeling embarrassed. She wasn't sure if she should apologize or try to explain herself but settled on doing neither and hurried off to the car where Glenn and Rick were waiting.

—

The car ride into town was uneasy at best. Tess sat in the back seat, looking out the window and wishing Rick would put his foot down some more. She tried to focus on the task at hand but her mind kept drifting back to the way Daryl's hand had felt in hers. His rough, calloused fingers against her own that felt uncharacteristically gentle. She hadn't thought about it at the time but now, she found herself closing her eyes and recalling the way his shoulder and chest had felt under the palm of her hand. Contoured and strong.

"Maggie said she loves me." Glenn announced, breaking the silence and Tess jumped in her seat. Her cheeks felt red hot and her heart thudded in her throat. It took her a moment to register what he had said but she quickly found herself smiling.

"What? Glenn, that's great!" She told him excitedly but he shook his head.

"She doesn't mean it. I mean, she can't. She's upset or confused. She's probably feeling like…"

"I think she's smart enough to know what she's feeling." Rick assured him but Glenn still seemed skeptical.

"No, no. No. She wants to be in love, so she needs something to hold onto…"

"Glenn, telling someone you love that you love them like that is no easy feat. And it's pretty obvious to everyone that Maggie loves you and not just because of your youthful skin." She teased him, hoping it would make him lighten up a bit. Rick sent her a curious look in the rearview mirror and Tess smiled back. Glenn still looked nervous though.

"So what's the problem?" Rick asked.

"I didn't say it back… I've never had a woman say that to me before except for my mom, of course and my sisters. But with Maggie, it's different. We barely know each other. What does she really know about me? Nothing. We're practically strangers. But I didn't know what to do with it. I just stood there like a jerk. I still don't know what to do with it." Tess smiled at him sadly from the back of the car and tried to think of how to help Glenn recognize his feelings.

"Hey, Glenn?" She said and he turned in his seat to face her. "You're probably one of the best friends I've ever had, y'know that? Both of you." She told them, looking between the two men in the front seats. Rick smiled back but Glenn frowned, confused as to why she was saying this now. "I love you, Glenn." Glenn's jaw dropped awkwardly and Tess nearly snorted. "How did that make you feel?"

"Uncomfortable."

"Oh, screw you." She laughed and shook her head. Rick laughed too from the driver's seat and rolled his eyes at the two of them. However, Glenn looked a lot more reassured in himself and confident now and he smiled with a newfound sense of hope.

"Thank you, Tess. I love you too." They smiled at one another and Glenn settled back into his seat.

"I love you too, Rick." Tess told the sheriff teasingly but with no hint of a lie. These people meant a lot to her and with everything that was going on, it felt like the right time to let them know how important they were to her. Rick smiled and chuckled, feeling a million times lighter than when they'd set off.

"I love you both."

—

Daryl sat under one of the trees by his tent whittling bolts for his crossbow. He had so many thoughts running rampant in his mind that he didn't know where to begin. He was still upset about Sophia and the impossible task of finding her that he'd been so dead set on completing. Disappointed by the lack of care people seemed to have for the bodies they just buried, as barely anyone bothered to show for the funeral. Angry with Carol for not wanting to say goodbye to her daughter. And confused by Tess, who he seemed unable to get his mind off of. Every interaction, every touch between the two of them, he never planned. But he found himself less and less inclined to stop. Which unsettled him a lot.

He just wanted to be left alone for the rest of the day. He didn't have the energy for anyone right now and doing what he did best, he compounded all his confusing thoughts and feelings into anger. But life never gave him what he wanted and within moments, Rick's wisp of a wife was charging towards him. Daryl immediately scowled at her.

"We need Hershel." Lori stated and Daryl shrugged.

"Yeah. So what?" He growled back at her. Didn't she know they already had people out looking for him? Lori gawked at him, like she couldn't believe his attitude.

"So, I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and Rick back." She demanded, practically stamping her foot. "Daryl?"

"You want him? Fetch him yourself. I got better things to do." He snapped back.

"What's the matter with you? Why would you be so selfish?" Lori cried in outrage and Daryl saw red.

"Selfish?! Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I was out there looking for that little girl every single day. I took a bullet and an arrow in the process. Don't you tell me about getting my hands dirty! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. I'm done looking for people."

—

Hatlin's Bar was an old, western style building with doors painted to look like saloon batwing doors. The windows were boarded up shoddily, allowing for light to stream in. The lock on the doors was broken and Tess, Rick and Glenn stood for a brief moment out the front, each of them trying to think of how to persuade Hershel to leave. They'd all like to give him the dignity of not dragging him out by force. Rick eventually pushed the doors open and stepped inside and they all trickled in.

"Hershel." Rick called out to the old man sitting at the bar, nursing a half empty bottle of scotch.

"Who's with you?" Hershel asked emotionlessly.

"Tess and Glenn."

"Maggie sent him?"

"He volunteered. He's good like that." Answered Rick and they all approached him. "How many have you had?"

"Not enough." Hershel poured himself another full glass.

"Let's finish this back at home." Rick said gently and attempted to grab the bottle but Hershel moved it out of reach. Tess looked over at Rick warily and moved around to the other side of the bar to face Hershel.

"Beth has collapsed, Hershel. She's in shock. I think you are too." She told him evenly but the old man didn't even bother to look up from his glass.

"Maggie's with her?"

"Yes, but Beth needs you." She pleaded with him, seeing the pain on his face.

"What could I do? She needs her mother, or rather to mourn her, like she should've done weeks ago. I robbed her of that. I see that now."

"You thought there was a cure. Can't blame yourself for holding out hope." Rick told him.

"Hope?" Hershel scoffed. "What hope? I had little hope for your boy when I first saw you run across my field."

"But he survived, didn't he?" Urged Rick but Hershel was so deep down in a hole that that small flicker wasn't enough.

Tess sighed, they were getting nowhere fast and they didn't have the time to dwell on mistakes. She grabbed a glass from under the bar and placed it alongside Hershel's. She poured herself a drink from the bottle of amber scotch and clinked it against Hershel's in irony. She downed it all in one and leisurely poured another.

"So what's your plan then, Hershel? Drink yourself to death?" She asked him coolly and sipped her drink.

"Don't speak to me like that." Hershel reprimanded her but Tess was unphased.

"Why not? You've given up right? It looks like it."

"You have no right to judge me."

"Oh, I'm not judging you. If anything, I kind of agree with you. The world sucks right now. I mean, I've seen a lot of crazy shit in my time but people coming back from the dead? That takes the cake. Calling it a day would be easy. For you at least."

"What's your point?" Groused Hershel impatiently.

"My point is that what we're dealing with, what you become if you get bit… It's very real. And I wish things were different, believe me I do but we've gotta adapt to survive. This isn't just about us anymore. It's about everyone else we're trying to save. The people we care about. Maggie, Beth, Patricia, Jimmy. This is our world now and you have to fight if you want to stay in it. Your family is willing to fight. Are you?"

Hershel held her gaze for a long while as he deliberated her words carefully. He knew she was right. There was no going back but that didn't mean that there was no going forward. He would continue to fight. Not for himself but for his family. Resolutely, Hershel lifted his glass one last time and necked back his final drink of scotch whiskey, decisively calling it quits on the drink forever. He pushed the glass and bottle away from him, letting them know he was done.

"Mazel tov." Tess announced happily and quickly threw back her drink as well. "Let's go home."

The excitement and relief was short lived however as the front doors to the bar creaked open. Two men, mid to late thirties, waltzed in and all four of them were immediately set on edge.

"Son of a bitch… they're alive." The skinnier of the two gawked in surprise. He sauntered further into the bar, the other, heavier, man close behind. "Well, I'll be…" He continued to tut in disbelief, his eyes wandering over the four of them before settling on Tess and letting out a low whistle.

From behind the bar, Tess shivered in disgust before discreetly removing both her guns from around her waist and laying them on the bench. They were out of view from the newcomers and she kept her hands resting on them just in case.

"Names Dave." The man piped up again even though none of them asked. "That scrawny-looking douchebag over there is Tony." Dave nodded to his compadre, who was anything but as described.

"Eat me, Dave." Tony scoffed and wandered to the side of the bar.

"Hey, maybe someday I will." Dave argued back and Tess' nose wrinkled in distaste. Her eyes darted over to Rick, who looked tense. "We met on I-95 coming out of Philly. Damn shit show that was." Dave droned on as if they were all catching up like old pals from back in the day.

The room was silent for a long minute, none of them sure of what to say and all wanting them gone. Glenn was the first to speak up and he did his best to be friendly,

"I'm Glenn. It's nice to meet some new people." He told them, still sounding somewhat cagey.

"Rick Grimes."

"How about you pal?" Asked Dave, gesturing towards Hershel. His eyes then landed on the nearly empty bottle of alcohol. "Have one?"

"I just quit."

"You've got a unique sense of timing my friend." Dave laughed dryly and grabbed the bottle for himself.

"His name's Hershel. He lost people today, a lot of them." Rick informed him, wishing these men would leave.

"Ah, that's a shame… I'm real sorry about that." The slim man apologized softly and it was almost believably genuine. "What about you, sweetheart? You got a name?" His demeanor changed almost instantly and a sickly, smug smile replaced his frown.

Tess looked Dave dead in the eye and did her best not to scowl at him.

"Theresa." She told him flatly and he hummed in response.

"You don't look much like a Theresa. Does she Tony?" He called over his shoulder and his friend looked her up and down happily before shrugging.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Tess replied, disinterestedly. Dave made a flippant tsk sound and leaned into the bar.

"You're far from disappointing, baby." He complimented her, making her skin crawl. Tess glared at him and her fingers twitched against the metal of each handgun.

"Don't call me baby." She warned him with a sharp glare. Dave threw his hands up in self defense but didn't apologize.

"Girl power. Got it." He chuckled and walked back a few paces but not before grabbing the bottle of scotch to take with him. Dave raised the bottle up high and made a toast,

"Here's to better days and new friends, and to our dead, may they be in a better place than us." With his arm lifted up above his head, Dave's shirt rose, exposing an old revolver pistol tucked into the waistband of his jeans. All four of them took notice, which did not go amiss with Dave. "Not bad huh?' He smirked, watching them all eye the piece. "I got it off a cop."

"I'm a cop." Rick replied, deadpan. Rick had felt wary about these men from the get go but now he definitely didn't have a good feeling about them. The chatty one especially.

"This one was already dead." Dave assured them, albeit unconvincingly.

"You fellas are a long way from Philadelphia." Piped up Hershel in an effort to diffuse the ever mounting tension that was filling the bar.

"It feels like we're a long way from anywhere." Shrugged Dave who swung the now empty bottle around languidly.

"Well, what drove you South?" Hershel continued.

"Well, I can tell you it wasn't the weather. I must've dropped 30 pounds in sweat alone down here. No, first it was D.C. I heard there might be some kind of refugee camp, but the roads were so jammed, we never even got close." He told them and joined Tony in one of the booths. "We decided to get off the highways, into the sticks, keep hauling ass. Every group we came across had a new rumor about a way out of this thing. One guy told us there was the Coast Guard sitting in the gulf, sending ferries to the islands." For the first time since the men had arrived, the other one, Tony, spoke up,

"That guy looked like a tweaker." Dave ignored him and continued recounting their journey.

"The latest was a rail yard in Montgomery running trains to the middle of the country in Kansas, Nebraska."

"Nebraska?" Rick asked skeptically.

"Low population, lots of guns." Dave surmised.

"I guess that makes sense?" Glenn muttered and Dave looked over at him curiously.

"Ever been to Nebraska, kid?" He asked him smugly and Glenn balked. "There's a reason they call 'em flyover states." Much to their surprise, Tony suddenly made a whooshing sound and steered his hand through the air like a plane before fizzling out as he feigned a crash landing.

"We were thinking of heading to Fort Benning next. Big military outpost. Of all places, gotta be something there, right?" Dave announced hopefully and Tess felt her stern gaze soften just slightly.

"Fort Benning's gone. It fell." She told him and for the first time, Dave looked genuinely shocked.

"How do you know that?"

"I… knew people there." She told him, hedging around the question. She thought it preferable that Tony and Dave continued to not see her as a threat. And it wasn't entirely a lie, either. "Benning fell. Just like everything else."

Everyone in the bar was quiet for a moment, reflecting on the news. For Dave and Tony, it felt like the wind was gone from their sails and their last ditch effort was a waste of time. For the group, it was a somber reminder that no one was coming to save them and that nowhere was safe. Tess looked around at her friends and locked eyes with Rick. He appeared just as uncomfortable and on edge as she was and he sent her an apologetic look; as if any of this was his fault.

"Well, I guess the ugly truth is, there is no way out of this mess. Just keep going from one pipe dream to the next, praying one of these mindless freaks doesn't grab a hold of you when you sleep." A downcast Dave lamented.

"If you sleep." Tony interjected, to which Dave perked up. He looked around the room and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it doesn't look like you guys are hanging your hats here. You holed up somewhere else?" It was the question they were all dreading. Tess kept her mouth shut, deciding to let Rick handle this instead. There was no way in hell these men were coming back with them.

"Not really." Rick answered in an attempt to shrug him off.

"Those your cars out front?" Dave persisted.

"Yeah. Why?" Frowned Rick.

"We're livin' in ours. Those look kind of empty. Clean. Where's all your gear." Tess imagined all of the things she'd sooner do than tell these bastards where they had set up camp. Shoot herself in the head for example.

"We're with a larger group out scouting, thought we could use a drink." Hershel added, quickly coming up with any kind of excuse. He didn't trust these men one bit and he certainly wasn't about to trust them around his daughters. Especially after Dave's lecherous approach towards Tess, which had made him feel ill.

"A drink?" Dave, scoffed, unconvinced. "Hershel, I thought you quit." His tone was disapproving, like he was disappointed by the obviously poor lie.

"The rest of us wanted to get pissed. Sue us." Tess argued in an attempt to support the lie. Dave still didn't seem persuaded but he didn't bait them any further.

"Well, we're thinking of setting up around here. Is it safe?"

"It can be, although I have killed a couple of walkers around here." Glenn informed him and Tess fought back a sigh. The last thing they needed was for them, and God knows how many others, to settle down in town.

"Walkers? That's what you call them?"

"Yeah."

"That's good. I like that. I like that better than lamebrains."

"More succinct." Tony stated and Tess raised an eyebrow at him in shock. Dave snorted at their surprised faces.

"Okay, Tony went to college."

"Two years."

"So what, you guys set up on the outskirts or something? That new development? Trailer park or something? A farm?" The shifty look Glenn sent them all gave them away almost instantly.

"Old McDonald had a farm." Sing-songed Dave, a sly smirk stretching over his face. Tony laughed and suddenly seemed a lot more interested in the conversation.

"You got a farm? Is it safe? It's gotta be. You got food, water?" Dave prattled on but none of them replied, each of them in a silent agreement to keep their mouths shut.

"You got cooze? Ain't had a piece of ass in weeks." Groaned Tony as he adjusted his pants and looked Tess up and down for a second time, an appreciative look on his face. Tess glared daggers at him and it took all her willpower not to shoot him in the dick.

"Listen, pardon my friend. City kids, they got no tact. No disrespect." Dave half heartedly apologized.

"Course not." Tess sneered. She wanted them gone. She wanted to be back at the farm and to never have to deal with these assholes ever again.

"So, listen, Glenn-" Dave started up again but Rick had had enough.

"We've said enough."

"Well, hang on a second. This farm… It sounds pretty sweet. Don't it sound sweet, Tony?"

"Yeah. Real sweet."

"How about a little Southern hospitality? We got some buddies back at camp, been havin' a real hard time. I don't see why you can't make room for a few more. We can pool our resources. Our manpower."

"Look, I'm sorry. That's not an option." Rick denied him.

"Doesn't sound like a problem." Dave argued.

"I'm sorry. We can't. We can't take in any more." Rick was emphatic and honestly, it wasn't far from the truth either. Dave just laughed mockingly.

"You guys are something else. I thought we were friends. We got people we gotta look out for, too." Dave and Tony didn't exactly look hard done by and Tess found it difficult to believe that they were struggling to get by.

"We don't know anything about you." Said Rick.

"No, that's true. You don't know anything about us. You don't know what we've had to go through out there, the things we've had to do. I bet you've had to do some of those same things yourself. Am I right? 'Cause ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world." Dave's words sounded less like a plea and more like a threat. A warning that they were dangerous people and they had done terrible things in order to survive. Tess knew the terrible things people were capable of and she dreaded imagining what these men would be willing to do when there were no repercussions.

"We're all the same. So come on, let's take a nice friendly hayride to this farm and we'll get to know each other."

"That's not gonna happen." Rick denied him once again but Dave was as persistent as ever.

"Look, I'm tired. We're all tired. We could settle up nicely 'round the fire and we'll laugh about this."

"No." Rick told him with force and Dave sighed,

"Rick…"

"I'm sick of this shit." Tony growled and leapt to his feet, "I'll shoot you assholes in the head and take your damn farm!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Dave ushered his friend back into his seat and Rick hesitantly lowered his gun, while Tess held both of hers at the ready in each hand. "Relax. Take it easy. Nobody's killing anybody. Nobody's shooting anybody. Right, Rick? We're just friends having a drink. That's all."

Tony slowly sat back down in his seat and Dave wandered back up to the bar. He reeked of ash and sweat and Tess' nose curled up in disgust.

"Now where's the good stuff, huh?" He asked and she watched him like a hawk as he approached. "What's good?" He crooned at her and Tess briefly wondered if any woman had ever found him even remotely attractive at all. She doubted it.

"I hear Nebraska's nice this time of year." She bit back at him and Dave barked out a laugh.

"Get a load of this one! Come on, baby, what'll it take-"

Dave didn't have the time to finish his sentence as Tess raised her right hand and shot him between the eyes at point blank range. Hershel jumped out of his seat in shock, stumbling as he did so. The force of the bullet caused Dave to teeter backwards and collapse on the floor, dead. Rick made quick business of putting down Tony before the man could even get out of the booth and the room fell dead silent.