COLLAPSED ᵀᵂᴰ¹ ✔

96. the satellite station

It wasn't like she didn't understand Milo's worries, it was that they seemed insignificant when she could save her family from danger. She knew Milo would lay down his life if need be but she couldn't do that. She had been fighting since the day she was born, it was against her nature not to. Her brother would die to protect their family, but she would kill to protect them.

And that was exactly what she had come here to do. When darkness came their group had quietly made their way towards the satellite station and hidden themselves in the surrounding greenery. They were waiting for Andy to show up with the walker-Gregory-head. Once he had the guards distracted they would attack. It sounded so simple and yet there were a thousand things that could go wrong. She tried her hardest to ban all those thoughts from her mind though. They were going to be fine, they were all going to be just fine.

Far in the distance she could hear a car approaching and her heartbeat sped up. Her eyes searched in the darkness for her brother who was seated just a little bit up ahead. Even from this distance she could see he was trembling but whether it was from the cold or the nerves she could not tell, for his face was covered in shadows. She could make a pretty good guess though. Taking a deep breath she tried to clear her mind, put all her focus on the task ahead. She could deal with her regrets later.

The car pulled up on the small sidewalk that surrounded the satellite station and before the engine had even shut off, three big red spotlights turned on and bathed the dark night road in bright light. Quinn made herself even smaller, fear pumping through her veins like a drug. She knew there was no way the guards could see them but some irrational voice in the back of her mind kept shouting out in panic for her to run away and hide somewhere safe.

'Stop right there!' A voice shouted. 'Announce yourself, asshole!'

Andy rolled his window down and held out the bag that contained the walker head. 'It's Andy from Hilltop!' He shouted a reply. 'It's done!'

'Step out!' The guard commanded.

The car engine died down and the sudden silence made a shiver crawl down her spine. She watched between the branches surrounding her as Andy got out of the car and stepped into the spotlight.

'Is that it?' The guard demanded.

'Yeah,' Andy replied, his voice shaking slightly.

'Bring it here, shit brain!'

Quinn felt her face wrinkle with disgust. The stories Jesus had told them about these people seemed pretty accurate so far. They didn't even try to hide the fact they were bullies. From their horrible actions, to the petty name calling, they seemed to exist only to put others down. She had been surrounded with people like that all her life and if she could spare her family the same fate, she would, without a doubt.

As Andy walked forward, the door of the building opened and two guards stepped outside, just like the Hilltop resident had told them. They both had their guns up and pointed at the approaching man. For a moment the three of them stood still, as if trying to read the other and then, slowly, Andy held out the bag.

The guard with a beanie scoffed. 'I don't want the bag, needle dick.'

Realisation slowly dawned on Andy and slowly he started opening the bag. He pulled out the head and held it up for them to see. Quinn held her breath as the guards stared at the grey skin and deformed nose. She had seen it before Rick put it in the bag and knew it barely looked like Gregory, but hopefully in the dark and with the story of having broken his nose, they'd buy it.

'Will you look at this shit,' the beanie guard spoke up, sounding way too gleeful for the situation. 'Will you look at this shit!'

The second guard put the strap of his gun over his shoulder and took a step closer to inspect the head. When his eyes lingered on the nose Andy held up his bandaged hand. 'He broke my hand, I broke his nose. That's why he looks that way.'