Deadland

Chapter 63- Shoulda', Woulda', Coulda' (Part 1)

I smirk and crouch down in front of him, "Well now you do." 

"I think I'm gettin' the idea." Lamson responds, looking at me. 

"You just had to stop." Rick sasses. 

"Take me back. Take me back to the hospital." 

As we hear walkers snarling and groaning, Rick and I look back before looking at each other, knowing we have to speed this up before we all die. 

"I did it for your friend." Lamson lies.

"Not after this, no. Can't go back, Bob." Rick grunts, rolling his eyes.

"I was gonna iron it over. She's under it. And you've been out here too long." 

Rick aims his revolver at Lamson's head and puts his finger on the trigger. 

"You'll die." Rick nods to my whip and I nod in response, grabbing my whip and cracking it. 

"You'll all-" Lamson's words are cut off with a crack of my whip on his head, his skull splitting open. The sound of the crack ricochets off the walls surrounding us and blood colors the tip of my whip red and shiny.

"Shut up." Rick groans.

I look around at the quickly approaching Walkers as I wrap my whip up, "Think they heard that?" 

Daryl approaches Rick and me as we walk into the room I found Sasha in, Lamson-less.

"He wouldn't stop." Rick notes. 

"This change things?" Daryl asks Rick. 

"It has to." Rick looks at the cops and then at Daryl. 

"Maybe not."

"Well she said the plan won't work. The guy who did is dead. Maybe we gotta rethink this." 

"They also said the cop in charge didn't have any love for him. Maybe you did her a favor."

Rick groans quietly, "I dunno if they'll play ball." 

"Let's find out." Daryl says, nodding to me and turning back to the group behind us. 

The two cops are tied to chairs and Alyssa is finishing cleaning Sasha's wound. 

All three of us approach the group as the woman says, "He was a good man. He was attacked by rotters. Saw it go down." 

"Huh." Rick scoffs. "You're a damn good liar."

"We're hangin' by a thread here. He was attacked by rotters. That's the story."

"You said a trade was a bad idea." Daryl speaks up. "What changed?" 

"Lamson was our shot. So it's this or you gun in guns blazing, right? You don't want that."

Daryl approaches the woman and points at her, "If this is some bullshit you're spinnin' and thin's go south-" 

"I know." She interrupts. "I know the good ones from the bad. Let us help you." 

Rick hesitates before turning to the man who headbutted 'Lyss and asks, "What 'bout you? You wan' live? How much?" 

The man pauses before saying, "Dawn's afraid she'll look weak in front of us. Thinks it'll tip things against her." The man looks at the woman and nods, "Hell, it will." 

He looks up and looks at me, not Rick who is standing right in front of him. "She'll see this trade as a rip-off," I approach him with my arms crossed as he speaks to me. "If she thinks you took out one of our guys. So it's a good thing Lamson got aced by rotters.: