Make it Till You Don't

Confrontation

I slowly fluttered my eyes open, rolling my head to the side. First thing I noticed was that I was surrounded by cars and propped up against an RV.

"Looks like you're still with us."

I glanced over to my left, looking up to see an older man with a bucket hat, staring down at me. "What?"

"We thought you were a walker, but all of a sudden you collapsed." He explained, gesturing to me. "I mean, you were covered in blood and limping, you're lucky we didn't shoot you on the spot." I let out a chuckle, letting out a wince of pain.

I heard the sound of footsteps, looking to see another man walking up to me. "Here, it looks like you could use it. Found it in one of the cars."

I was handed a bottle of water and what looked to be a granola bar. I took it, giving him a small smile. "Thank you..." I rasped out before opening the water bottle and downing its contents.

"No problem. I'm Glenn and this is Dale." Glenn introduced himself and the older man with him, pointing to him.

"(Y/N)." I replied, opening the granola bar.

"How long have you been out-"

"Now that you've had some food and water, you should be good to go, am I right?" Glenn was cut off by another voice chiming in. I glanced over to see another man looking in our direction, standing with his hands on his hips.

"Are you serious? She can barely stand, let alone go off on her own." Dale spoke up, looking at the man in disbelief as he gestured to the woods. "She'll die out there."

"Look, that ain't my concern, we're short on supplies as is. Besides, there's plenty of cars here. Bound to be food, water, and weapons." He replied, looking over to the car pile.

"Shane, let's just wait till Rick gets back." A woman spoke up, looking him in the eye.

"Lori, we don't even know this woman, she could be a threat. A threat to you, to Carl... can't risk that. Can't risk the group like that." Shane explained to the woman, Lori, bowing his head slightly as he glanced at her.

"Let's just wait for Rick like Lori says. Besides, it's not like she's going-"

"Where's my gun?" Glenn was interrupted as I saw a blonde woman approach, turning to look at Dale. "You have no right to take it."

"You don't need that just now, do you?" Dale asked, glancing at her.

"My father gave it to me. It's mine." She clarified, matter-of-factly.

"I can hold onto it for you." Dale brushed her off, going back to whatever he was doing with the RV previously.

"Or, you can give it back to me." She stated, staring at him and I could feel the tension rising.

"Everything cool?" Shane asked, walking closer.

"No, I want my gun back." She told him, crossing her arms.

"I don't think that's a good idea right now." Dale replied, turning back to face her, seeming reluctant to give her the gun.

"Why not?" Shane asked Dale.

I saw the hesitation in Dale before he turned to Shane. "I'm not comfortable with it."

Shane nodded his head, looking over to the woman. "Truth is, less guns we have floating around camp, the better."

She let out a scoff at his reply. "You turning over your weapon?" She asked accusingly.

"No." Shane chuckled. "But I'm trained in its use. That's what the rest of y'all need, is proper training. But until that time, I think it's best if Dale keeps them all accounted for."

Having heard enough, the woman walked away to stand with the other at the railing facing the woods, making me wonder what they're waiting for.

"Oh god, they're back." Glenn sighed out, placing down the crate in his hands.

I glanced over to where everyone was looking, seeing two men walking out of the woods. I watched as everyone gathered around them, the short haired woman looking distressed. I looked down to my lap, overhearing that someone hadn't been found yet, and frowned assuming it was someone she knew.

After a few minutes, I heard footsteps approaching. When I looked up, I saw the group dispersed, and one of the men from the woods was walking up to me. "It's been brought to my attention that you were her." He spoke up, crouching down in front of me. "That you came from the woods and passed out."

I let out a sigh nodding my head. "That about sums it up."

He nodded his head, looking to the side before glancing back at me. When he did, I saw his eyes narrow as he saw the blood on my shirt, before he stood up, backing away. "Were you bit?"

I widened my eyes, sensing the hostility. I noticed everyone looking over in our direction, causing me to hold my hands out in defense. "N-No, I wasn't bit, I was shot!"

"And we supposed to believe that?" I heard Shane accuse me, chuckling.

"You calling me a liar?" I asked him. "You don't know anything about me."

"Exactly, we don't know who you are. You come out of the woods, all dirtied up and limping, for all we know you were bit!" He retorted, marching over, pointing a gun at me.

"Shane, let's calm down." The man I was just speaking to told him, holding a hand out as I slowly stood up with the help of the RV.

"Why? You really wanna risk the chance of her turning and attacking us?" Shane questioned, not breaking his gaze from me. "C'mon man, you know what needs to be done."

"That's not the way to do this. We don't have proof, you'd be killing an innocent woman." He replied, trying to calm Shane.

"Proof? That what you want?" Shane exclaimed, dropping his hands to his sides, stalking over to me. Before I had time to react, Shane grabbed hold of my wrists, pinning them behind my back and lifting the hem of my shirt. I tried to hide my face as Shane let out an annoyed grunt, shoving me away, causing me to fall to my knees. "Guess it's your lucky day."

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Published: 02/14/2024