S1E11: Part 2
Third Person POV
"Addy?" Warren called making her way over to her where she was sitting under the porch of one of the houses. "Hey. You all right?"
"Yeah." She said but it was hesitant, then Helen came over.
"Tessa said there are two sisters still out there. We could use your help to free them." she said looking directly at Addy.
"Of course."
"Addy, are you sure you're up to that?" she asked with motherly concern as she sat beside Addy and Helen crossed her arms.
"Warren, any one of us could be those sisters." She turned to Helen, "I'm in." she said standing.
"Wonderful." Helen said with a smile.
"Yeah, you got me too." Warren said standing as well and Helen's smile faltered.
"You don't have to."
"No, no, no. I always got my sisters back." Helen smiled again but it was the same fakeness she'd shown with Sam when he returned. Helen put an arm around Addy's shoulders and led her to the car. She spoke softly so Warren wouldn't overhear.
"I'd like to stop and pick up your friend outside the walls." She said sweetly.
"Bailey?" Addy asked.
"Yes, her. Maybe on the way to save the sisters you can convince her to come into the camp. I'd love to show her all we have to offer."
«»
When Doc and Bailey got back to the truck they found Mack and 10K in the back scarfing what was left of the blueberry pie.
"We got to burn this joint, boys. Time to motor." Doc said urgently.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Doc. Hold on, man. What is it? What'd you guys see?" Mack asked.
"Zombie, bear." Bailey replied.
"A Zombear." Doc said nodding and Bailey had to resist rolling her eyes at the dumb name. Both Mack and 10K turned to the camp in surprise like they were hoping to get a glimpse of it but instead they saw something else.
"Hey, someone's coming." 10K said as they turned and saw the red jeep from before heading their way.
"Bailey!" Addy cried from the jeep as it stopped not far from their SUV. "Hop in!" the red head cried. Bailey hesitated for a moment before jogging over and getting in the jeep before they took off.
"They wouldn't just leave us would they?" Doc asked.
"No, Addy doesn't go anywhere without me." Mack said confused.
"Sorry pal. She just did." Doc said before taking a spoon and digging into what was left of the pie.
Bailey POV
Addy explained to her how the girl the Sisters had brought back –Tessa – had been abused by a group of men. She told Bailey that there were two more girls with them and they were going to go save them. Bailey, of course, agreed to help, not just because it was women, she'd help anyone who was being forced against their will but she did have an ulterior motive. She wanted to keep an eye on Helen who was riding with them and had a sick smile on her face whenever she looked over her shoulder at Bailey. She might be younger but she wasn't naïve, she knew Helen had an ulterior motive too, she just had to figure it out in time to stop it.
They parked the red jeep near the underpass of a bridge and opened it to make the car look like it was broken down, Addy and another girl –Emmy – were going to wait by it as bait for the men. The rest of them were going to hide on the other side of the bridge and ambush the men when they showed up.
It didn't take long before they got there, their motorcycles rumbling down the road.
"You got a problem there, Darling?" one man Bailey assumed was the leader asked.
"What do you think?" she heard Emmy reply.
"Kinda dangerous ain't it? Two pretty little gals like you, traveling all alone? It's not safe out here. I'll tell you what. Why don't you tell me where you're headed, and Sidecar here can have a look at that engine?"
Then Helen shot at the three men, "Hands up gentlemen. Your little game is over."
The rest of them filed out from their hiding place weapons raised. But one of the men immediately cried, "Wait, wait, wait. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm not really with them. They just. . . I was stranded and they helped me out."
"Shut up." The lead man said.
"Drop your guns." Helen ordered.
"That ain't happening sweetheart." The leader said but the other man, the youngest among them did as Helen asked. One of the other women shot at the leader's feet and then the other two men put down their weapons.
"I'm sure we can come to some kind of an arrangement." He tried to negotiate, "Why don't you just tell me what you want."
"Let me ask you. These girls with you voluntarily?" Helen asked. "Didn't think so, ladies." Then the Sisters of Mercy took the men and tied them up in a line under the bridge.
"Hey, hey listen to me. That saddlebag, it's full of OxyContin." The leader tried to barter for his freedom, "You can take it."
"Not interested." Helen said with a straight face.
"What kind of a raging bitch doesn't want to make a deal?"
"This one." Then she turned to where Addy, Warren and Bailey were by the red jeep. "Hey Addy, we could use your help over here."
Addy looked confused but walked over, Bailey nodded to Warren as she followed behind her friend.
"It's time for some justice." Helen said passing Addy her gun, "Shoot one. A mortal wound anywhere but the head. The rest will take care of themselves." Addy turned the gun on the leader which Bailey would have done the same but then Helen stopped her, "Oh not this one. The other one." She said nodding to the youngest.
"Addy wait." Warren said coming over too.
"I swear, I. . . it wasn't me. I. . . please. Please. I wasn't. . . "
"Is this really necessary?" Warren asked Helen. "Addy don't do this."
"You don't want to get in my way, sister." Helen warned her and two women with guns moved closer to Warren.
"Please, I swear. I swear. I wasn't gonna do anything." The man continued to plead.
"He's lying." Helen said.
"Well it takes one to know one." Bailey accused Helen before turning to her friend, "Addy don't." Bailey said stepping forward and pushing the gun down so it pointed at the ground. "This isn't how we do things."
"Addy remember the cannibals." Helen said in her ear. "Remember what he did to you."
"Addy don't let this man hating old goat make you do something you're going to regret." Bailey said from Addy's other side.
"Remember what those men did to you."
"Those men, not this guy." Bailey reminded her, "Haven't we done enough killing? Between the Z's and the real bad people left out there. You really want to add an innocent life to your list?"
"And how do you know he's not lying?" Helen asked loud enough for the others to hear now.
"And how do you know he's not telling the truth?" Bailey rebuked with a hand on her knife that was strapped to her left hip, her knuckles were white as she fought off the urge to stab the woman. But then Addy pulled the trigger and shot the guy straight in the heart making Bailey flinch.
"Good girl." Helen said, "It's time to go."
«»
When the jeep of women pulled back to camp Warren and Bailey got off beside the SUV where the others were loading the car.
"We've got to get out of here." Warren said as the red jeep pulled away.
"I know, I saw the bear." Doc said.
"That's not the problem." Warren said.
"If a zombie bear isn't the problem, what is?"
"Addy." Warren replied.
"That's not Addy." Bailey said from where she stood leaning against the SUV digging the toe of her boot into the dirt. "Not anymore." She said crossing her arms.
"I need to see her." Mack said.
"She's in a weird place. I've been there. It's not gonna be easy to get her back." Warren told him.
"Well, it's fine, but I'm not leaving here without her." Mack said adamantly.
"You guys just get ready. I'll do my best to get her out. But you may have a choice to make." Warren warned Mack before she headed off in the direction of the camp again.
"10K." Bailey called making him turn, when he did she handed him her gun which made him look up at her confused.
"You're going to need it more than I will." He said.
"If I take it in there with me I'm not going to be able to stop myself from killing that raging bitch. Just. . . hold onto it for me until we're far away from here."
"Okay." He said tucking it in his belt, "No problem."
«»
Bailey found Addy talking to Helen under a beautiful gazebo at the end of a wooden bridge.
"Addy." Bailey said taking the red heads attention away from Helen, "We're packing up, its time to go." She said softly then saw Addy's hesitation, "Come on, California's waiting." She urged hinting at the mission they had to complete. Addy looked down at her hands then to Helen then up at Bailey.
"I'm staying." She said and Bailey had had enough.
"Addy she's manipulating you!" Bailey said outraged at what Helen had done to her best friend. "She used your worst memories to get you to shoot that innocent guy. She's playing you like a puppet, making you the person she wants you to be. She doesn't care about you or your best interests!"
"She's been poisoned by that boy." Helen said shaking her head as she looked at Bailey like she was some great tragedy. "The one with the rifle and the dark hair." Then she turned to Addy, "I told you testosterone is the most toxic chemical on earth."
"You leave 10K out of it!" she shouted and without thinking drew her knife in her right hand and stomped over to Helen. Addy jumped up and moved to stand in her way, Helen didn't even flinch.
"Bailey look at yourself, just calm down." Addy said bringing her hands to rest on Bailey's shoulders.
Bailey tried to ignore the man hating bitch and turned to Addy trying to talk some sense into her. "Addy I know you're going through something and I know it's not easy but you'll get through it I know it because you're strong, and you have us; the group, Mack, me and we'll get through this like we always have – together. Like in the beginning you and me. But not here, not with them."
Addy looked right into her eyes for a long moment with this dopey smile on her face, "Bay, I'm staying here –"
"Addy it's a mistake."
"No, it isn't." Addy said dropping her hands and shaking her head with that same stupid grin. "And I'm sorry you feel that way. But this is goodbye." She stepped forward and tried to reach out to hug her but Bailey stepped back shaking her head.
"No, no." she said keeping out of Addy's reach as the red head dropped her arms and her smile fell, "The person who's staying here, that's not my best friend. This person's a stranger." Then she turned and headed over the wooden bridge.
"That boy you care for." Helen called making Bailey turn now with fire in her eyes, "He will die. Do you really want to be there when he does?"
"You'll die long before he does." Bailey said before she left the camp and headed for the gate.
10K POV
When Bailey got back to the car she looked. . . different. She had her arms crossed and was looking at the ground while she walked. 10K moved away from the car and headed toward her.
"Hey, Bailey." He said when he reached her and she stopped and looked up at him. He was surprised by the look in her eyes, it was a haunting gaze and he could tell something was bothering her, immediately he got worried that she'd gotten hurt while she'd been in the camp. "Hey." He brought a hand to her shoulder, "What happened in there?"
She shook her head, "I don't want to talk about it." She murmured avoiding looking him in the eye, he'd never heard her speak so softly before.
"Are you alright?"
"10K I don't want to ta-"
"Addy?" he said looking over her shoulder at the approaching red head. She looked, well . . . the exact opposite of Bailey. She was smiling ear to ear and walked like she was on cloud nine. 10K looked back at Bailey with a smile expecting her to cheer up with Addy back with the group again. Instead Bailey turned her head to the right as Addy passed her on the left. She looked at her friend as she passed them but Bailey made sure to not turn in Addy's direction. It made him worry more, knowing something was definitely wrong, and it had something to do with Addy.
"Hey." Mack said jogging over to her with a smile.
"Hey, can we go talk, somewhere real quick?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, of course." Mack said seeming concerned as Addy led him over to the fallen trees where 10K and Bailey had been shooting earlier. The three of them continued packing everything up getting the last of the supplies.
"Where's Murphy? We need the tent." Doc said.
"Uh, he's still in it, with that girl." 10K replied.
"She's still in there?" Doc asked and Bailey raised her eyebrows in shock as 10K nodded and bit his lip as Doc went over to kill Murphy's buzz. When she'd left and they'd gotten the tent packed up Doc drove the SUV to the camp gate to get Warren and Cassandra. Mack was already there staring at Addy who looked uneasy.
"Addy. Please?" he begged.
"I will always love you Mack." She said sounding just as torn up and Bailey hopped in the back of the car putting extra distance between them trying to block out the sound of their voices. 10K shifted his weight from where he stood through the sunroof again so he could look down at her with concern but she wouldn't look at him, she looked like she was going to break apart at any moment.
"We don't do this. We don't leave each other." Mack said.
"Goodbye Mack." Addy told him and turned to go into the camp.
"No." he said softly taking a step forward, then a gun went off and Mack fell to the ground.
"You shot him!" Warren said storming over and helping Mack off the ground.
"It's a warning, get him out of here now, before it gets worse." Helen warned.
"Addy!" Mack shouted as they closed the gate and Warren led him away, "Addy! Addy!"
10K leapt out of the sunroof and jumped off the car opening the back hatch where Bailey was and grabbed Cassandra helping her inside.
"What about Addy?" Doc asked.
"She's not coming!" Warren said pushing Mack into the backseat. "Let's go Doc! Now!" Warren said as he started the car and they took off. They didn't get far down the dirt road before Mack jumped out and rolled on the ground screaming in pain. Doc braked hard as Warren went out to get him.
"Mack, Mack, Mack." She tried but then he turned his gun on her and she let him go. He disappeared around a corner of rock and then they heard gunshots. 10K had been standing through the roof again and Bailey and Cassandra pulled him down so he wouldn't get shot too. Warren ran back to the car and jumped in as they took off again with the Sisters of Mercy shooting at them to make sure they wouldn't stop again.
Bailey was curled up to Cassandra's side in the back of the SUV with her head on the other girls shoulder while she cried. 10K was sitting on her other side with his hand on her back. He wasn't sure how to comfort her, even when they thought Doc had turned Bailey had held it together better than this. Maybe it was because Addy had chosen to leave them that made the hurt that much worse, and she'd lost Mack too and they'd been her friends since the beginning and now she'd lost the last connection she had to her life before the apocalypse. 10K remembered what that felt like, he remembered after he lost his Pa and left their home what it felt like to look back at the cabin and know even if he ever went back it would never be the same.