Emma's P.O.V
I didn't understand how there could be only one gunshot outside. Something bad had happened, and there was something I need to do about it. If I'm the only one that heard it, then I should get up and do something about it. If something happened to someone I care about, someone needed to pay. It also didn't sit well with me that Valerie was still out there, and I was in here, incapable of taking care of her if I needed to.
So, with all of the strength I could manage to build up, I swung my legs to the side, pulled out the ivy from my arm, seeing how the carrier it was on would make a lot of noise and if I needed to sneak up on someone I couldn't have that making a bunch of noise.
I knew it was probably dumb of me to be doing this, but I have enough strength to fire a gun, I don't hesitate anymore. If it's Valerie or Zane, I have no problem taking them out. I don't know Zane that well yet, and I don't trust him completely. I would like it a lot better if I could keep an eye on the both of them myself, but I was too stupid to not try and kill myself.
I heard even more bickering outside, along with crying. I knew this wasn't going to be good. I hurried myself along, checking the magazine for bullets, finding them, and cocking the gun.
I carefully opened the door. To my luck, it didn't creak whatsoever and it opened inside, not outside. Either way, the commotion seemed to be coming from the hallway over.
When I turned the hall corner, I noticed Glenn wrapped around a hunched over crying Maggie. Along with Beth laying lifeless on the floor. I seen Dad crying, and even Rick tearing up.
With Beth being on the floor, I learned that my suspicions were correct. Valerie hurt Beth, killed Beth, and Zane helped her.
I snapped myself back around the corner, determined to find who had done this. I let a single tear roll out of my eye.
I held the rest of my tears in, realizing I could cry later, if I need to. Which I probably will.
I took a deep breath and crept into the hallway once more.
Carol looked over to me, but I put my finger to my lips queuing her to not say anything about seeing me. She quickly shifted her eyes away from me.
I stayed hidden around the corner, waiting to see what happened.
I could hear weeps coming from Valerie as well.
Dad walked over to Beth's lifeless body, determined to pick her up and see it that she get a proper burial. I know in here they would've taken her lifeless body and thrown it down the elevator shaft.
Valerie raised her gun at my dad, I raised my gun to her real quick.
"Valerie, put that down." Rick said.
I crept closer to her. I wasn't going to let her off easy with a simple gunshot now. Now I wanted to see her suffer. I wanted her to pay for all of the things she has done to me.
"Why should I?" Valerie retorted. I was still getting closer.
"Because, we don't need anyone else to die." Rick said.
"First, this bitch thinks it's okay to just kill my mom after I had been separated from her in this mess, then he wants to give her a proper burial." Valerie paused. "Hell no. She's going to the walkers. I don't care if she's dead already. She doesn't kill my mom and get away with it."
My blood now boiling.
"What makes you think you have that authority?" Tara chimed in.
"My gun and I." Valerie said.
"Just wait till Emma hears about this. She's the one who threatened you. She told you how it was going to be, and she didn't need a gun for authority. You're going to regret doing that." Carol chimed in.
"I don't see her authority, I still ended up with a gun, didn't I? I don't see her here. She's not even stable enough to keep herself alive. She's nothing but a dead girl." She shifted her attention to my dad. "If you don't step away from the literal dead girl, I will go into the room right now and kill Emma too."
Now, I was right behind Valerie.
I scoffed. Putting my gun to her head.
I startled her and she turned around.
"Get on your knees." I spoke.
She raised her gun to me.
"Please, do it. I dare you. Either way, you'll end up dead. All of the people behind you care more about me than you, so please. Try it." I said.
"Really? They all care more about you than me? How do you think I got the knife? If they cared about you, I wouldn't have it. There was one person who went against you, one person who cared more about me than you." She said.
"Who was it?" I asked.
"That's for me to know and you to find out." She said.
"Trust me, I have an idea of who it was." I looked at Carl, once I got the name of the person I wanted him to get them, and I told him that all with my eyes. "Maybe if you tell me who it was I'll take it a little easier on you."
"See, that's tempting, but I want to see what you've got. You're the weak one now. I know where I can hit you and take you out instantly." She scoffed.
"If you can even get that close to me." I said.
"I don't need to. I'm sure the person who got me the gun will help me." She spoke.
"Who gave you the gun?" I asked.
"Carl." She said.
I forced a small, sarcastic laugh.
Zane just now forced himself into the crowd to see what was going on.
"What?" She asked.
"It wasn't Carl. I know who's gun that is because of who's gun it used to be." I explained.
She looked at me confused. I watched as Carl slowly inched closer to Zane. He caught on too. Carl faded behind everyone, so no one would notice him going after Zane.
Still, everyone stayed quite, letting me take care of this. I guess they finally realized the true monster Valerie was.
"What are you talking about?" She asked me.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure this out, but it would take a genius to pull this off successfully. Perhaps, two geniuses." I explained.
Valerie looked at me like I had no idea what was going on. Trying to cover it all up, but I know what happened.
"Well, you see, this gun used to belong to my good friend Bob. Sadly, Bob didn't survive, as you know being at the church--" I said, but Valerie cut me off.
"My mom didn't survive either, thanks to this little bitch." Valerie butted in.
"One, don't interrupt me. Two, choose your words more wisely. I wouldn't sit there and call her a bitch being the person that you are. If anything, she's the furthest you can get from being a bitch." I explained.
"Now, getting back to how I know what's going on. I assume, Bob wouldn't be buried with a gun. Now, Sasha can chime in on this if she wants, being the person to distribute guns, I assume she probably explained to the recipient of the gun that it was owned by a very good man, who was gone way too soon. Right Sasha?" She nodded, glaring at Zane. Sasha now knew exactly what happened, but she stood in her place and let me handle this. Her and I were pretty close, but not too close, and I think she realizes that I want to handle this one myself.
I looked over to Zane who looked as if he were trembling.
I continued, "See, just that alone told me who you got the gun from. The newest member of our group, the newest person to be in need of a gun. Zane."
Carl grabbed Zane's knife off of him, and grabbed his arms.
"How'd you know that? That doesn't make any sense? How do you know? Sasha could've kept the gun for herself and given it to me." Valerie claimed.
"She didn't though. I heard the whole thing happen. Truth is, I hadn't even woken up yet. I recall Carl and Dad leaving, then commotion starting in the hall. It was clear to me that it was your's, Beth's, and Zane's voices. It all stopped with a gun shot though. Then you told him to get out of there, that people would be showing up soon, and you had a valid reason to be there as he didn't." I explained.
Zane was squirming around in Carl's arms.
Valerie was speechless.
"Get on your knees." I spoke once more.
She looked around at everyone, she knew what was coming to her now.
"None of them will help you." I explained.
She got on her knees and handed over her gun without me asking. She must've accepted what was coming to her, or she was trying to make it better on herself. Which wasn't going to happen.
"Alright perfect, now I have a gun for the each of you." I giggled, which sounded insane, but it's what I wanted to give off. I wanted them to realize, I have no problem doing any of this, and I might as well just be called insane.
"Both of us?" She questioned.
Carl brought Zane up by Valerie, and Zane kneeled without even having to be asked. He accepted his fate as well.
I pointed the guns at each of their heads.
"If you two try anything, hell, if y'all even breath wrong. I will not hesitate to shoot you right here." I explained.
I chose my words carefully, because I could shoot them anywhere. I could shoot them in the hand, it didn't have to be somewhere that could kill them. I wasn't going to kill either of them quickly. Now I'm just pissed.
"Beth is getting a proper burial." I said, as Dad picked her up.
Dad eyes, still watering, he walked to the stairs to take her down to the bottom level. Almost everyone followed after him, Carol and Carl stayed back with me.
"I'm gonna go find the place they choose to burry her, and come back and lead you there." Carol said.
I nodded.
"You can go, too, Carl." I said.
Instead he took the gun I had pointed at Zane.
"Nope, I'm staying right here to help you." Carl said.
I nodded.
"Both of you get up." I said.
Both of them stood up and Carl and I each took the same action in grabbing around their throats and putting the gun to their head as if in an actual hostage situation.
"We're going to the elevator room." I said. I knew Carl didn't know where that was. I liked the elevator shaft because it was on the other side of the hospital, and I could easily hurt them and no one would know.
I took lead, Valerie in front of me.
I knew that meant Zane was behind me.
I didn't know if Zane would try anything or not. I was sure to listen closely to him.
I heard his footsteps stop, growing curious, I stopped myself.
Zane came right up to me, and grabbed my hair in his fist.
I did the same to Valerie and grabbed her ponytail in my hands.
I wanted to take care of all of this myself. I told Valerie I would make her suffer. Zane heard the threat, he decided to help her anyways, so now he's going to suffer as well.
I heard Carl come back to him.
"Carl, don't." I said.
I'm sure he was confused.
"Zane, you just keep getting stupider and stupider." I explained.
"How so? I could kill you right now. I could rip your wound right back open." He said.
I took my gun, and aimed right where I imagined his hands to be. I fired, I felt blood splatter onto my arm and suddenly Zane was screaming in pain, removing his hand from my hair to comfort his other hand in some form of way.
I shot three of his fingers off.
"Well, I guess you're not ripping my wound right back open now." I said, chuckling again as if I were insane.
"Valerie, if you try anything. I won't hesitate to do the same to you." I said, she still didn't know what happened. She just knew that he was screaming, but still alive.
Carl grabbed Zane once more, and started following me.
When we got to the elevator room, I took my gun and hit Valerie over the head with it, knocking her out.
I walked over to Zane and did the same to him.
Carl just let him fall to the ground.
I took Carl out of the room and to the janitors closet. I knew where it was from passing a sign the last time I was over in this direction.
I took some rope, some tape, and two metal chairs from the closet. I was honestly surprised that stuff was all there. It was lucky, but I wasn't mad about it.
Carl tried to help me.
"Carl, don't." I said once more.
He looked at me confused.
"Let me help. You don't want to pop a stitch and re-open your wound. You haven't even rested for twenty-four hours. You could hurt yourself. I'm honestly shocked you haven't yet." He explained.
I sighed, "Fine, but I'm doing the majority of it."
He looked at me questioningly, but nodded.
He took the two chairs from me, which I knew he would.
When we got back to the room, he set them up.
I went to lift Valerie into the chair, but Carl stopped me.
I did it anyways. I felt a pull on my stitches, but I still pushed through it. I didn't know what happened, but I could worry about that later.
I began tying up Valerie, and Carl had already taken it upon himself to put Zane in the chair.
After rope was around Valerie's wrist's, waist, and legs, I taped her mouth, and taped over the rope around her waist and legs.
I went over to Zane, and tied him up in the same style.
Just in time for Carol to start whisper shouting for us.
I don't know why or how, but the hospital was vacant aside from us. It didn't bother me much, now I could do what I needed to with both Valerie and Zane.
We exited the rooms and Carol gave me a questioning look.
"What'd you do with them?" She asked us.
"I shot them both in the head and threw them down the elevator shaft." I explained.
Carl didn't object to my story, but I knew he'd have questions.
"If you're mad about it, don't be mad at Carl, just me. I did it all, he didn't shoot them, he didn't throw them over. It was just me." I explained.
Carol nodded. I didn't know if she was worried about my sanity, but I wasn't. I would be fine enough. These people just needed to suffer.
We exited the hospital.
"Emma, I want you to rest when we get back. I think it's important we leave soon, we already know where we're headed next." Carol said, I nodded.
Carl and I soon trailed behind Carol. Truth is, I just couldn't walk long. My stomach was really beginning to hurt. I wasn't going to let anyone know that though.
"What are you going to do to them?" He asked me quietly.
"I warned Valerie I would make her suffer. Zane heard the threat, too. So, I guess I'm going to make them suffer." I explained.
"How?" Carl asked.
"That I don't know yet. I planned to go off on my own at some point and find something I could torture them with." I explained.
"Emma, you sound insane." Carl said.
I chuckled. "Oh, I am insane... but I don't like that term. I prefer the term twisted." I explained.
Carl looked at me, and I could tell he had actual worry for me, but that's just something he has to deal with now. I don't know what happened to me. Maybe I've always been like this, I've just forced it away. Maybe I've lost too many people, causing me to be unstable. Maybe it happened when I stabbed myself.
We were passing a ditch, and I seen a toilet tank in it.
"Why do you think that toilet tank is in the ditch?" I asked openly to both Carl and Carol.
They both shrugged.
I hopped down into the ditch and opened it.
Many bugs creeped out, but more importantly I found four boxes of ammo, and three silencers.
"Wow. That was lucky." I scoffed.
They looked at me questioningly.
"Anyone have a bag?" I asked.
They each shook their heads.
"Looks like I'm carrying around a toilet tank then." I giggled.
I creeped out of the ditch with the toilet tank.
Once more, I felt the pain in my stomach and I set down the toilet tank and leaned down, clutching my stomach.
Carol and Carl rushed down by my side.
I couldn't show them this was real.
I felt tears come to my eyes, the pain was intense.
"Emma." Carl said.
They waited a second, I was still hunched over in pain. Somehow, it was dulling slightly... luckily.
"Emma." Carol said.
I wasn't going to stand up until I could show it was fake.
Then it dawned on me.
I turned my whimpers into laughter, and I forced myself up.
"Gotcha guys." I said, laughing still, even though my stomach was still hurting.
"That wasn't funny." Carol said as she started walking again.
"I thought it was." I shrugged, bending down and bracing myself before picking the toilet tank up once more.
"Are you not even going to look at what I found?" I asked the both of them.
They both stopped and walked over to me.
I lowered it enough for them to be able to see inside of it.
"Dang. Good job, Em." Carol said.
I smiled.
Out of the corner of my eye, I seen something move.
A walker had came out of the woods.
It was carrying a black backpack with a baseball bat sticking out.
"Hey, can I use a knife real quick?" I asked.
"Let me get it." Carl said.
"C'mon. I just want the bag on it." I explained.
Carl walked over, killed the walker, took the bag off of it, and handed it to me.
"Thank you." I said.
I took everything out of the toilet tank and put it in the bag.
We continued shortly and arrived at the place they had decided to bury Beth.
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