Everyone stood out in the dark as Abraham burst open the front door to a library. It looked okay. No one seemed to think to raid a library. The man held up a hand, signaling for them to wait outside. The man then led them inside when he deemed it safe enough, giving them each a job to do.
Rio had to find water, along with Tara. Abraham said he'd given them the easy job. He handed him and Tara empty tins and the girl led the two of them up the stairs. Rio shone the flashlight around as Tara instructed him on where to go.
"Hey." She tapped his shoulder, pulling the notepad that was miraculously still in his pocket. She scribbled something down to him. 'Find a bathroom'
"We're drinking toilet water?" Rio hissed.
"Not if we're lucky." She walked over to the sinks, twisting the taps. Nothing came out, only two or three drops. Tara then walked over to the toilet and lifted the lid off of the back.
"Flashlight?" She asked, making a grabby-hand gesture. Rio shone the light over the back of the toilet. She sipped the tins into the water and filled them up. Rio held the flashlight in his mouth as she handed one to him. Tara carried three downstairs, making the boy go first as he still held the flashlight between his teeth.
Eugene was tearing pages from a book when they got back down, holding a lighter to a corner and starting a fire. Rosita was rummaging through drawers and Maggie was helping Abraham move a shelf. Rio placed the tin down on the floor beside the fire and watched as Eugene tried to make a stand.
"What're you doing?"
"Boiling the water will purify it, therefore making it safer for us all to drink. It'd be a hell of a shame if we made it this far to die by some dirty water."
"I'll second that." Abraham called out.
"Okay." Rio answered. "Where's Glenn?"
"Doing a perimeter check I think." Maggie answered, sitting down beside him as Abraham went out to make sure the man was still there. "How's your arm?"
"Broken." Rio shrugged.
"So now you'll admit it?" Rosita said as she walked past.
"The bus probably double broke it." The boy defended, looking away.
"How's the sling?" Maggie asked.
"Slinging?" Tara guessed. Rio rolled his eyes at her.
"My neck is hurting."
Maggie shuffled closer before leaning over and untying the shirt. She lowered it slowly, trying not to bump the boy's arm. Rio rested his arm against his legs.
"Oh." Was all Tara said as she took a look. "Well, that's not good."
Rio grimaced, the same thought going through his head. "Thanks."
"Okay, sorry." She apologized. "Pass me the notepad. I'm gonna take you up on that game of hangman."
"If I remember correctly you suggested it." The boy teased.
"Hold on." Maggie stopped them just as Rio was about to move away. She looked at Tara before pointing to the boy. "Gotta clean his head."
He turned back to her, watching as she poured some bottled water onto a cloth. Then he gave out a small sigh. "When's Glenn coming back? We have matching wounds."
Maggie failed to bite back a laugh. "I'm sure he's thrilled about that."
"Yes I am." Glenn announced as he walked in. Abraham was a few steps ahead and whisked Rosita away. Eugene watched them go.
Maggie grabbed Rio's face, placing a hand on each cheek and turning him to face her. He laughed at the face she was pulling, her concentrated face. The woman scrutinized his wound. It wasn't that bad. It was just a cut.
"You're lucky I'm not stitching you up again." Maggie smiled as she brought the wet cloth to his head, wiping away the blood to get a good look at the cut. "Just a surface level scratch, you're probably the same." She turned to Glenn, holding out a bottle of water and another cloth.
"What, I don't get the royal treatment?" He complained.
"That's only for my favorites." Maggie gave Rio a small wink and he turned back to Glenn with a laugh. The boy giggled before sitting down by Tara.
***
Rio placed a foot on the top of his notebook and tore the piece of paper covered in hangman matches. He scrunched it up in his hand and looked over to Glenn, checking that he was awake definitely before throwing it at him. The man shot up, turning to him straight away.
He held his hands out making a 'what?' gesture. Rio quietly crawled over to where he was lying.
"Are you okay?" The man whispered it but in the otherwise silent night he wasn't too hard to understand.
Rio shook his head with a frown. Glenn noticed, waiting for him to go on. "Do you feel guilty?" The boy asked finally.
Glenn let out a sigh, knowing what he meant but asking anyway. "About leaving?"
"Yeah." The boy nodded shyly.
"I don't know. Why?"
"I do. I feel bad. We were kinda having fun earlier—."
"Don't feel bad about having fun." Glenn interjected. "It's good for you. I'm happy you're having fun."
"But they're not." Rio frowned.
"You don't know that." Glenn sat up now, propping himself onto his elbows. "They're probably right on our trail. Daryl and Carol too."
"I hope so."
"Missing them?"
"Yeah." Rio answered and before he could stop himself he spoke again. "Can I tell you something?"
"Sure."
He looked around, making sure no other eyes were open. Rosita Abraham and Eugene were gone anyway. The boy gave a small sigh. "I don't even really believe them."
"You don't?"
Rio shook his head.
"I don't think he's gonna be able to do it and that makes me feel even worse for leaving. I don't even believe in what I'm leaving for."
Glenn outstretched a hand to Rio, the boy took it and the older of the two gave it a small squeeze. "You gotta have some faith. I think we're all due some good."
Good. What had been good?
"You especially." Maggie mumbled. Rio didn't even know she had been awake. "You need some good."
"Thanks." Rio held back a laugh at her as she mumbled sleepily.
"I don't know about you two but I'm tired." Maggie announced, a yawn following her words.
"We can tell."
"I'm going back to sleep. You should too."
"Yes boss." Rio replied lying down on the floor.
"You staying here?"
"Sure." Rio smiled, lying down on his back beside Glenn before the man threw the blanket over his head. Rio threw his hand over Glenn's face about to retaliate when Maggie sighed and told them to wrap it up.
***
Maggie rolled her eyes as she listened to Rosita and Abraham arguing the next morning. She said she wasn't going to get involved but just as things were heating up she decided to step in. Everyone followed after her, wanting to know what she was saying.
"This town isn't in bad shape." Maggie said as she walked in, sitting down on a chair opposite the couple. "This store wasn't even touched. We could make a good base here. We could spend one last day doing a sweep for supplies."
"We'll sweep as we go." Rosita said in return, head down. "We've done it since Houston. We're not stopping now."
Abraham fiddled with his bandaged hand. "You heard the lady. We're taking it north."
They both looked awkward. Rio noticed that right away.
"We tapped out the toilet." Tara added. "Broad River is five miles west. At the very least, we stock up there before we find wheels."
"We got a vehicle." Abraham said, getting out of his chair. It was news to everyone. The man walked over to the window and pushed back the cardboard covering it. "And it just so happens... it's got 500 gallons of water on it."
"What?" Rio asked, nose scrunched up, not being able to see through the gap.
"A fire truck, kid." Abraham pulled the cardboard down completely. "We're taking a fire truck."
"We're taking a fire truck?" Rio repeated, a small smile playing on his lips. He tried hard not to seem too happy but at the end of the day he was a kid... and they were about to steal a fire truck.
They walked across the street to the vehicle, opening all the side doors and checking every feature was intact. Abraham and Eugene jumped into the front, the former behind the wheel.
Rio watched as Abraham started the truck and a roar escaped the engine. The boy let out a loud laugh as Abraham shouted. "About time things started going our way!"
He closed the doors and Rio stepped out of the way. The truck started forwards, opening way to an opening into the building that had been jammed shut.
The boy was about to look inside when the truck suddenly stopped, Abraham jumping out.
"One damn time." He muttered.
"We'll find another ride." Glenn smiled sadly.
"If there was a ride worth a shit in this town we'd have seen it!"
"It can't be the only working vehicle here." Rio joined in.
"This one ain't even working. This thing's done some crowd clearing. Right up into the intake. Which means we've got an air filter filled with dumb human remains."
The man let out another aggravated sigh. "There's no damned corner on this damned earth that has not been dicked hard beyond all damned recognition." Abraham swung his arm down and grabbed a plastic bag. He stuck his hand inside and began to pull the pieces of the walker out of the vent.
"Abraham." Rosita stopped him.
"What?" He huffed.
"That feeds the radiator. The intake for the engine is actually on the roof." The woman pointed out.
Abraham nodded his thanks and just turned away. Something bumped into the back of Rio's leg and the boy turned around to find a tire falling to the floor.
"What is that..." he pulled a face.
"A tire."
Rio rolled his eyes. "Well why is it here?"
There was a crash from the building and more tires fell to the floor. A walker stumbled out, not phased by the obstacles.
"Tara! Maggie!" Glenn yelled, alerting the pair of the danger. Abraham reached over to the passenger seat of the truck and grabbed his gun. He ran over, swinging it like a bat in the face of the first walker. He smashed the seconds head to pieces.
Maggie had run over and was now standing beside the boy as she stabbed a walker.
Abraham headed forward, weaving his way between walkers and killing them. Rosita shouted at him to wait, saying that they all help now.
"There's more coming from the back!" Glenn shouted. They must've heard them. Rio followed him, grabbing his knife from his pocket and stabbing it into the head of a walker.
Cold water hit his back and he turned around to see Eugene using the hose atop the fire engine. He was aiming it towards the walkers, the pressure destroying their heads. The man killed every one of them.
The bodies littered the floor soaked and destroyed from the pressure.
Abraham let out a laugh. "I've been to eight county fairs and one goat rodeo, I never seen anything like that."
"There's a Goodwill over there by the bookstore. It's pretty blown up but there might be some supplies." Glenn suggested. "Some dry clothes maybe?" He said louder. Rio laughed as Eugene muttered what he assumed was an apology.
"Not necessary." Abraham announced, hauling himself onto the roof of the truck. "I can clear that intake in two shakes. Then the engine will get some wind and so will we. You'll air dry. We roll on."
The man turned to face them and then let out a long chuckle. He almost doubled over from his laughter. Rio looked behind him, to what the man was laughing at.
On the floor scribbled in red was 'sick inside. Let them die'
"What?" He asked with a laugh. "This shit is screwed up!"
Rio watched as the man slung a bunch of guts from the intake onto the floor.
"Ew." Rio grimaced as one last a few steps away.
"You can say that again." Rosita agreed before walking over to Eugene.
***
After driving for about an hour Eugene decided that it was only a matter of time before the truck broke down and he was right. Rio sat on the side of the road, watching as Abraham desperately tried to fix the truck. The boy was even sure what was wrong with it now. He didn't think Abraham did either. After a while Glenn knelt down beside him.
"You bored yet?" Rio whispered.
"Oh no, I'm... I'm totally enjoying this." Glenn replied. "Woah. What the hell was that?" He suddenly exclaimed at the same time Rio scrunched up his nose.
"What?" Maggie called back.
"The winds picking up you're about to smell it."
She let out a groan not long after. "What is that?"
"We don't know." Rio replied.
"Whatever's making that stench, it ain't nothing nice." Abraham admitted. "But we're not stopping."
"We're stopped." Tara said. Abraham ignored her and walked up another road.
They'd barely walked a few meters when another wave of the stench hit them. Tara turned away, hiding her face in her shirt.
There were farms laid out in front of them. That's what made the smell. Dead animals, dead humans and animal shit most likely. The horde of walkers roaming around didn't help either.
As he looked closer, Rio realized just how many walkers there were. Hundreds. Maybe even thousands.
"Let's go." Glenn muttered, turning around.
Rosita nodded along.
"We gotta go."
"Abraham." Rosita called, noticing he wasn't following them. "Abraham, let's get out of here."
"Hold up."
"We gotta go." Maggie repeated.
"No. No, we don't. They can't hear us and they can't see us. Not from here. We're fine."
"Yeah this is the definition of fine." Tara remarked.
"We need the map. There's gotta be a detour." Glenn tried to reason.
"I'm not doing it." Abraham stood his ground. "We detoured and detoured and detoured from Houston to Georgia. I'm not playing that game anymore."
"We are not going through this, okay?" Glenn tried to reason with him but it was no use. "It isn't gonna happen."
"You got a shitstorm behind door A and a storm of shit behind door B. If you're lucky, it's walkers or a shot-up truck. But sooner or later you get cornered. You wind up staying and you wind up killing. We don't go back, we can't go back."
"I'm not talking about going back. Just south a few miles."
"No."
"We already hit a full stop 'cause of an air filter compromised by innards. That will happen again." Eugene added.
"Then we'll hit 'em with the hose."
"The tank is empty Abraham." Rosita pointed out.
"If we floor it..."
"We still hit them, they still slow us down, and then they stop us." Glenn cut him off.
"I'm not saying we just go straight." Abraham argued with the man.
"That's the way the road goes." Maggie said plainly. Rio almost laughed.
"Abraham!"
"We can get through!" He yelled. "I know it. And that means we are not going south, going around or going back!"
"I'll be damned if the walkers haven't heard him yet." Rio muttered under his breath. Rosita shot him a stern look before trying to calm the man.
"No." She protested. "They're right."
Abraham turned away and just nodded. He then hung his head in defeat, still not turning to face them. When he did, he charged straight over to Eugene, grabbing him by the arm.
"What are you doing?" Rosita asked as Glenn tried to break it up. "Stop it."
"I'm not gonna let you do this." She hissed at him.
"Yes you are." Abraham replied.
Tara tried to stop him but he pushed her to the side.
"What the hell?" Rio shouted as she almost stumbled into him.
"Get out." Abraham said.
"Hey." Glenn lunged over again, trying to rip the man's arms off Eugene. "You are done. You're done!"
"Do not! Do not!"
"Stop!" Rosita yelled.
"I told you, you do not touch me! You do not touch me!" Abraham yelled. It was more of a scream. Rio was starting to think that maybe Abraham wasn't that different to David.
The man pushed Glenn away and he stumbled back into Rosita who fell to the ground. Maggie helped her up as the men and Tara continued to scrap. Eugene screamed something but no one could hear him over the fight.
Just as Abraham let go of Eugene, about to properly lay hands on Glenn the man screamed again.
"I'm not a scientist!" The man cried. "I lied. I'm not a scientist. I don't know how to stop it. I'm not a scientist."
There was a moment where no one said anything, simply staring at the man in deisbelief.
Rio let out an angry breath. "I knew you were a liar. I knew it."
"You didn't know, okay?" Glenn stopped him from walking away, grabbing his arm and pulling him closer. He leant down to him. "It's gonna be fine."
Rio shook his head angrily.
Eugene grew even weaker with everyone's eyes on him. He looked around skittishly but not truly looking at anyone.
"You are a scientist. I've seen the things that you can do." Rosita protested against him.
"I just know things."
"You just... know things?" Glenn asked, voice raising.
"I know I'm smarter than most people. I know I'm a very good liar and I know I needed to get to DC."
"Why?"
"Because I do believe that the locale holds the strongest possibility for survival. And I wanted to survive. If I could cheat some people into taking me there, well, I just reasoned that I'd be doing them a solid, too considering the perilous state of the city of Houston, the state of everything."
"There's nothing left in DC. We survived longer than anyone there."
"How do you know that?"
"Met a guy fleeing from DC. His daughter got caught up in one of the bombing and she ended up dead."
Eugene suddenly looked sick.
"They could've been lying." Abraham shouted. Rio thought about it. They could've lied. They nearly left him to die, surely they were capable of lying. But no. Who would lie about their dead daughter?
"People died trying to get you here." Rosita spoke up, voice breaking.
"I'm aware of that... Stephanie, Warren, Pam, Rex, Roger, Josiah, Dirk and Josephine. And Bob."
Rio was growing mad for these people he didn't even know. You think he'd give up the act after the first person died. Or at least the second. But after nine?
"You see I lost my nerves as we grew closer, for I am a coward... and the reality of getting to our destination and disclosing the truth of the matter became some truly frightening shit. I took it upon myself to slow our roll. Find time to finesse things so then when we got there... But at this moment I fully realize there are no longer any agreeable options."
Eugene let out a shaky sigh. "I was screwed either way. I also lied about T. Brooks Ellis liking my hair. I do not know T. Brooks Ellis but I did read one of his books and he seemed like the type of guy that wouldn't blink twice at a Tennessee top hat. Again... I am smarter than you. Now, you may want to leave me here..."
Abraham got up from where he was crouched. Stepping forward and punching the man across the face. Eugene stopped talking and stumbled backwards. Abraham pushed him back against the truck and punched him again. Rosita Glenn and Tara tried to calm the situation. Rio didn't see why they should. He lied to them all.
With one last swing, Abraham knocked Eugene out, the man falling face first on the floor.
"Oh my god..." Maggie muttered.
"No. No." Glenn stopped Abraham as he tried to approach Eugene.
Rosita stepped over the man's body, making sure Abraham couldn't get any closer. She held her hand over her gun threateningly.
Maggie knelt down and tried to shake the man awake. "Get up. Look at me."
Abraham walked away, storming off to the other end of the fire truck.
Rio only felt a bit sorry for Eugene when he got a glimpse of the man's face. His nose and cheeks were red and blood was running from a cut on his forehead, his nose and his mouth.
"Eugene. Eugene, are you there?" Rosita asked, taping his shoulders.
The man didn't wake up.