"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl said.
Although I hate to actually admit it, I agree with Daryl on this. They're both gonna turn and become a liability. Removing the weakest link is the only way to move forward.
If that means getting our hands dirty, then that's a price worth paying. It keeps everyone else alive.
"Is that what you'd want? If it were you?" Shane asked.
"Yeah and I'd thank you while you did it." Daryl replied.
"I hate to say it. I never thought I would but maybe Daryl's right." Dale suggested.
I hummed in agreement with him. Shit was about to go down. You could see it on Ranger Rick's face. He did agree with Daryl at all. All of his self-righteous crap will come back to bite him in the ass one day.
"Jim's not a monster, Dale, or a rabid dog. He's sick man. We go that road, where do we draw the line?" Rick exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes at all this talk of morals and being the good guys. All of that ended when the dead started walking and eating people. If we keep acting like nothing's changed in the world, then we'll die in denial.
"The line is pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers or the to be." Daryl said.
"By delaying the inevitable, we're only putting the rest of us in danger." I pointed out.
Daryl looked at me before nodding. Both of us seemed uncomfortable by the prospect of us agreeing on anything.
We worked best when each of us insulted the other. It helped get rid of any suppressed anger that we might have. If we didn't argue, I feel like we'd kill each other.
"What if we can get him help? I heard the CDC was working on a cure." Rick stated.
"I heard that too. I heard a lot of things before the world went to hell." Shane replied.
If we believed everything the radios told us, we would think everything was under control. They said that the military would take care of the undead and that we should stay inside our homes. Every member of this group was smart enough to realize that help wasn't coming.
"What if the CDC is still up and running?" Rick asked.
"That's a long shot, Ranger Rick. Even if they were still there, there's no way Jim would survive that trip." I explained.
The bite takes a person's life within the day, two at best. Jim already looks like one of the dead so he's definitely not holding out for two days.
Getting to the CDC will be difficult enough without an infected man. As for Amy, there's nothing to do. She is already dead, just waiting to turn.
"If there's any government left, any structure at all, they would protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection..." Rick said.
"We all want these things, alright? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base at Fort Benning." Shane suggested.
One wants to go find medicine, the other one to find an army. Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. Am I the only one who didn't agree to have Shane and Ranger Rick as our supposed leaders? So they used to be cops, I don't see how that makes them better than anyone else.
"That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction." Lori complained.
Oh look who's complaining, the woman who talks the talk but does not walk the walk. Abby told me that she overheard Lori telling Carl to avoid me.
Apparently I'm too reckless and a bad influence. Yet I'd be more capable of protecting him than she would.
"That's right but it's away from the hot zone. If that station is operational, then it's heavily armed. We'd be safe there." Shane stated.
"The military were on the front lines, they got overrun. We've all seen that. The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance." Rick explained.
They both good arguments, I'll give them that. The military is nonexistent at this point, otherwise they would have saved us already.
Yet Shane is correct in saying that it's away from the hot zone. Less people around, less walkers around.
"You go lookin for aspirin, do what you need to do, someone's gotta have the balls to do what has to be done." Daryl exclaimed.
He lunged at Jim with a pickaxe. I stepped back to avoid being near him when he has a weapon. My annoying personality tends to make people want to murder me. Rick pointed a gun at Daryl's head and he stopped moving.
"Hey, we don't kill the living." Rick protested.
Well, he doesn't. Most of the group probably agrees with him. It's what will get them killed one day. Having the courage to take out the enemy is what keeps someone alive. They'll see that soon enough.
"That's funny comin from a man who just put a gun to my head." Daryl stated.
"We may disagree on some things, not on this. Put it down, go on." Shane ordered.
Daryl dropped the axe and stormed off. I sighed and rubbed my eyes growing tired of these debates. It's going to be a long day if we keep up like this.
-------
Abby looked at the, now truly dead, body of Amy and Ryan sitting next to Andrea. He seemed to be trying to talk to her.
It was pointless because she clearly couldn't grieve properly. I went to Abby and made her look away from Amy's body.
"Don't look, Abby. People find it weird when others stare at corpses." I commented.
"But that's Amy. She used to hang out with me and Ryan." Abby said.
I bit the inside of my cheek as I pondered how to tell her that they were doing more than hanging out. Abby's eyes wandered to her body again and I worried that this'll scar her. This world will change her, but maybe it doesn't have to happen this quickly.
"Not anymore. I know it's not pretty to see so much death. But you have to get used to it and learn to live with it." I stated.
There was no point in trying to be gentle about it. Our family survives by staying strong together. Abby is still young. She needs her family's strength until she learns to have her own.
"Are we going to end up like her? And like Jim?" Abby asked.
Her eyes were filled with such innocence when looking up at me. I don't think she understood the weight of her question.
There's no guarantee that we'll make it but I remain optimistic. We've gone through difficult times before and we survived.
"No, I won't let that happen. Our family will survive this." I promised.
She bit her lip before nodding. I ruffled her hair and she let a smile form on her face. As she went to Sophia, I decided to make my way to the Rick, Shane and Daryl. They were a trio that no one saw coming.
"Chinaman gets all emotional, says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along? These people need to know who the hell is in charge here. What the rules are." Daryl retorted.
I narrowed my eyes. The dick that he is, he might want the position for himself. If he's anything like his brother, we'd all be dead within days. Either by walkers or 'accidentally' by him.
"There are no rules." Rick said.
"Well that's a problem. We haven't had one minute to hold on to anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do." Lori explained.
I rolled my eyes. Okay, we get it. Life is tough, a lot of tears, blah, blah, blah. For fuck's sake, you can mourn without a funeral.
It's not like we'll die if we don't have a special ceremony for the dead. Yet they're treating it that way.
"In case you didn't notice, the world changed. If we want to live, we can't always do what people used to do." I pointed out.
My voice held bitterness as I couldn't pretend to be friendly with her. Her mouth set in a hard line and she didn't comment any further. The others didn't seem upset by my words. They probably saw that I had a point.
Dakota, Ryan and Abby came to this supposed funeral that we all need. I stood beside them watching Andrea drag Amy's body. Ryan frowned and went to help her. In the end, she allowed Ryan and Dale to help her lower Amy down.
The tears and sniffles of the group irritated me very much, but I didn't hold it against them. To remain sane, you sometimes need to step back and recover. Not for too long though or you'll die too.
----
"Tell me you don't agree with Rick." Shane demanded.
I narrowed my eyes at his sudden appearance. My conversations with Shane were usually very short and almost nonexistent. He put in the effort but I simply didn't care.
"What's it to you?" I asked.
He released a shaky breath. I studied his behavior as he took a few moments to gather his thoughts. It's obvious he was pleased that he found someone to rant to about Rick. Everyone used to listen to him and now they listen to Ranger Rick.
"Going to the CDC will cost us time and fuel, not to mention the dead inside the city. Think about Abby, Dakota, and Ryan. Do you want them in that kind of environment?" Shane questioned.
I glared at him as he mentioned my siblings. They were my weak spot and he knew it. Perhaps he thought getting me on his side would help change Rick's mind.
Though beside being obnoxious about it, there was nothing I could do that would influence Rick's decision.
"Don't bring my siblings into this." I warned.
"You know I'm right." He persisted.
A sigh left my lips as I grew more irritated by the minute. There was a reason that I usually ignored Shane's presence.
I didn't want to argue with him the way that I did with Daryl. There was something even more unappealing about Shane.
"Look, Ranger Rick might be wrong about the CDC but so are you about Fort Benning. The military went down first, if they hadn't then we would know. Same goes for the CDC. If there was a cure, there'd be proof of it." I explained.
"So what do you suggest?" He asked.
I shrugged feeling out of place when talking about this. My opinion isn't usually appreciated by other members. Lori is the prime example of that.
"We need walls to hide behind, source of water and food, a good bed would be nice. We could find a gated neighbourhood and clear the area of walkers. It's better than going in blind." I suggested.
"Rick would never leave a sick man behind." Shane retorted.
I pursed my lips. Ranger Rick is usually the problem, yes. His morals will get him killed one day. I will continue saying it until it's true. He's too... good for the world that he's in.
"I guess that's your problem, not mine. I go wherever my siblings go." I said.
"So you're just gonna let Rick lead us into a possible death?" Shane asked.
I smirked feeling the irony in this conversation. Out of everyone he could complain to, he went to the one person who could call him out on his shit. That's pretty damn stupid.
"Isn't he your best friend? You should be able to convince him to do whatever you want. Like I said, your problem. Not mine." I stated.
He let out a dry chuckle as I walked away. If he and Rick are so close then I don't see what's the problem. I mean, I do know the problem.
I caught Shane sleeping with Lori without them even noticing. It's only a matter of time before that blows up in his face.
"Nice talking to you." He said.
"Feeling's not mutual." I snapped.
His laugh followed me from behind as I rolled my eyes. The point wasn't to make him laugh. God, I hate him.
If I have to stand him for any longer, I might just crack and kill him. It's not like I wouldn't be doing all of us a favor.
"Dickface." I mumbled.
I noticed Carol looking into the distance nearby. Her husband Ed had died during the attack on the camp. In the past few days, we got rid of a few assholes in this group. I feel like it'd be too much to ask for even more cleansing.
"You okay? And don't tell anyone that I asked you that. They might assume that I care." I commented.
She snapped out of her daze and gave me a sad smile. I did care for Carol although I hated to admit it. She knew though. I know she knows. Maybe it's her story that I relate to in a way.
"Yeah. Just thinking about Ed." She mumbled.
"Why? All that the son of a bitch did was hurt you." I pointed out.
Abuse was a sore subject for me. I don't understand how she can feel bad for him. I hate my mother's guts. After everything she did to me, I couldn't feel sorry for her.
Hell, I'd kill her myself if I had the chance. She's probably dead already and has robbed me of that chance.
"He wasn't always like that. I'm mourning the man that he was." Carol said.
I scoffed at her justifications. My mother wasn't always like that either. It doesn't make her any less of a shitty person. What she did to me changed me. Before and after the abuse.
"People don't become abusers over night. He is and always has been an asshole. You just don't want to see it." I retorted.
A tear fell down her cheek. A part of me felt bad at being so harsh to her about a sensitive topic. But I don't have the same abilities as therapists to soothe their patients.
I try to help but it never seems to be what the person wants to hear. Perhaps it's not even worth trying.