THE GROUP HAD BEEN PLANNING A RUN, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME GLENN DECIDED on taking a big group to come back with more supplies. Stassy was one to quickly sign up, and Shane quickly shot her down.
"Look Shane, I can go. I'm quick, I know how to use a gun and knife. I have a medical background, I know what supplies to look for." She argues.
"I have a bad feeling Ana." He says, giving her the familiar look she would get from him as a teenager. After their dad left, Shane was the one raising Ash and her, their mother skipped town leaving them with their grandmother Jean. Shane stepped up, took care of them, raised them while raising himself, he was the only male figure in Anastasia and Ash's life.
"I'll be safe I promise." She whispers, "we all will. If anyone gets hurt, I can treat it. Mavis and Rosa will stay behind and take care of everything here." She adds.
"Okay, but you take your gun." He says, she nods her head. "And if anything goes south, you bring them back. The supplies won't matter if you're all dead." He says. She nods wrapping his arms around him.
THE NEXT FEW DAYS, SHE HELPED GLENN PLAN THE RUN, ALONG WITH JAQUI and Shane. The day of the run had finally arrived and Frank held tightly onto his mom, Val and Mel were mad at her for going, Maddy tried to not show her fear. She was playing peacemaker.
"Hey, baby, I'll be okay. Alright? Listen to Ash and Shane, okay?" She tells Frank, he nods. "I'll be back, I promise to bring something back, okay." She says leaning her forehead against his and he smiles nodding.
"Just be safe, okay?" He asks softly.
"Always, take care of the girls okay? You're the man of our family." She says, he wraps his arms wound her neck and hugs her nodding.
Maddy hugs her asking, "be safe?"
"Always Mads, always, take care of your siblings for me? Listen to Ash, and Shane. Don't give him a hard time." She says.
"I'll give em hell." She says laughing.
"Atta girl." Anastasia smiles.
Val wrapped her arms around her mom once Anastasia was about to leave. "I'll be okay. You need to safe, okay? I love you." Stassy told her.
Val nods, "I love you. I will."
"Sweetie." Anastasia says.
"Be safe." Mel says, wrapping her arms around her, "I love you mom."
"I love you too." Anastasia kisses the top go her head.
ANASTASIA HAD GOTTEN SOME OF THE THINGS SHE NEEDED, SHE HAD GOTTEN candies for the kids, and some supplies, she added to her bag. She spotted a necklace that she knew Mavis would adore, a watch for each of the kids.
"For Maddy?" Andrea asks, seeing a journal, brushes and paint. "I've seen some of her work, kids got talent." She adds, Anastasia nods smiling.
"You should get Amy that necklace, she would like it." Anastasia told her Andrea.
Once they get inside where three more survivors, Jacqui, Andrea and Anastasia are also taking cover. Rick immediately has a gun pointed in his face by Andrea. "You son of a bitch. We ought to kill you."
Morales says, "Just chill out, Andrea. Back off."
Anastasia notices its Rick. "Back off Andrea!" She speaks up placing herself between Andrea and Rick.
Jacqui tells the group, "Come on, ease up."
"I know him," Stassy says. Rick relaxes its Anastasia, Stassy, Shane and Ash's baby sister.
"Ease up? You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of this stupid asshole." Andrea says.
"Andrea, I said back the hell off. I know him!" Stassy says feeling her anger build up. Andrea backed off.
"Stassy?" Rick asks, Anastasia turns around and smiles.
"Rick." She smiles before hugging him, he returns the hug, he grew up with Anastasia. He basically grew up at her grandmother's home.
"We're dead--all of us--because of you." Andrea says breaking the moment between them.
Rick says, "I don't understand."
Morales explains, "Look, we came into the city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral."
T-Dog says, "Every geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds."
Andrea says, "You just rang the dinner bell." Anastasia remembers Shane's warning, I have a bad feeling Ana.
Morales asks, "Get the picture now?"
They see the zombies growling and trying to get into the store. A few Walkers are attempting to smash through the double set of doors to get to them. Stassy sighs knowing they were right.
"Oh god. What the hell were you doing out there anyway?" Andrea asks.
Rick says, "Trying to flag the helicopter"
T-Dog says, "Helicopter? Man,that's crap. Ain't no damn helicopter."
Jacqui says, "You were chasing a hallucination, imaging things it happens."
Rick says, "I saw it." His fall onto Stassy who observes him, "Stassy I know what I saw." He says truthfully and he nods. She nods, knowing Rick isn't one to lie.
Morales asks, "Hey, T-Dog, try that CB. Can you contact the others?"
Rick asks, "Others? The refugee center?"
Jacqui says sarcastically, "Yeah, the refugee center. They've got biscuits waiting at the oven for us."
"Rick, Lori, Carl they're safe, they're back at the camp with Shane and Ash. They'll be okay." Anastasia says, knowing her brother would keep her family safe.
T-Dog tries to get in contact with some other survivors but get no signal. "Got no signal. Maybe the roof."
Above, on the roof, they hear a gun firing.
Andrea asks, "Oh no. Is that Dixon?"
Morales asks, "What is that maniac doing?"
"We should of ask Daryl to come instead." Anastasia grits out.
Glenn says, "Come on, let's go." The group runs up to the roof.
Merle Dixon is shooting at several of the Walkers on the street below with a sniper rifle, killing some of them.
Morales asks, "Hey, Dixon, are you crazy?!"
Dixon laughs and continues shooting.
Andrea says, "Oh jeez."
Merle says, "Hey! Y'all be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh? Ah! Only common sense." Anastasia gets the chills and flashbacks from the attack on the hospital not so long ago.
T-Dog says, "Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got!"
Merle continues laughing.
T-Dog says, "And you're bringing even more of them down on our ass! Man, just chill."
Merle says, "Hey! Bad enough I've got this taco-bender on my ass all day. Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day"
T-Dog asks, "That'll be the day"? You got something you want to tell me?"
Morales tries to keep the scene from escalating, "Hey, T-Dog man, just leave it."
T-Dog argues, "No"
Morales says, "All right? It ain't worth it. Now Merle, just relax, okay? We've got enough trouble"
Merle asks, "You want to know the day?"
T-Dog says, "Yeah."
Merle says, "I'll tell you the day, Mr. "Yo." It's the day I take orders from a nigger."
T-Dog says, "Mother--" Merle and T-Dog start to fight.
Morales says trying to stop it, "Hey, come on, Merle. That's enough."
Andrea says, "Come on. Dixon!"
Morales says, "Whoa, cut it out, man!"
Andrea says, "Stop it! Dixon, get off him! Dixon, you're gonna hurt him."
Morales says, "Merle, cut it out!" Anastasia observes the situation, waiting for the opportunity to take him down, she's small to take him down, so she had to wait for an opening, just like Luke taught her.
Merle is beating T-Dog to a pulp and then holds a pistol on him.
Andrea says, "No no no, please. Please."
Everybody waits to see what Dixon is gonna do.
Merle asks, "Yeah! All right! We're gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who's in charge. I vote me. Anybody else? Huh? Democracy time, y'all. Show of hands, huh?"
Anastasia grabbed his bicep putting pressure of his bicep pressure point standing him up putting pressure on the brachial plexus, "I can break your collarbone, you racist misogynistic asshole." She says angrily, Rick handcuffs him to pipe.
Merle asks,"Who the hell are you, man?!"
Rick says, "Officer friendly. Look here, Merle. Things are different now. There are no niggers anymore. No dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart."
Merle says, "Screw you, man."
Rick says, "I can see you make a habit of missing the point."
Merle asks, "Yeah? Well, screw you twice."
"Ought to be polite to a with a gun." Rick cocks his gun. "Only common sense."
Merle says, "You wouldn't. You're a cop."
Rick says, "All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son. Anybody that gets in the way of that is gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that. Got some on your nose there."
"What are you gonna do? Arrest me?" Merle laughs. "Hey! What are you doing? Man, that was my stuff! Hey! If I get loose, you'd better pray... Yeah, you hear me, you pig?! Doctor? You hear me?!"
Rick says, "Yeah, your voice carries."
Merle asks, "Do you hear me, you filthy pig?!"
Morales asks, "You're not Atlanta P.D. Where you from?"
Rick says, "Up the road a ways."
Morales says, "Well, officer friendly from up the road a ways, welcome to the big city."
LATER, THEY ARE STILL WATCHING THE WALKERS IN THE STREET.
Andrea says, "God, it's like times square down there."
Morales asks, "How's that signal?"
T-Dog says, "Like Dixon's brain--weak."
Anastasia laughs and they give her a look and she shrug it off.
Morales says, "Keep trying."
Andrea says, "Why? There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing."
Morales says, "Got some people outside the city is all. There's no refugee center. That's a pipe dream."
Rick says, "Then she's right. We're on our own. It's up to us to find a way out."
Merle says, "Good luck with that. These streets ain't safe in this part of town from what I hear. Ain't that right, sugar tits? Hey, honeybunch, what say you get me out of these cuffs, we go off somewhere and bump some uglies? Gonna die anyway."
Andrea says, "I'd rather."
Merle says, "Rug muncher. I figured as much. How about you doctor?"
"I'm totally married." She says not sparing him a glance. The group comes up with a plan, and Jacqui and Anastasia keep watch for Morales and Glenn.
AFTER MAKING A PLAN AND PUTTING IT INTO MOTION. THE SURVIVAL GROUP enters and looks down at the Walkers, Glenn and Rick.
Merle asks, "Hey, what's happening, man?"
Morales says, "Hey, T-Dog, try that CB"
Merle says, "Hey come on talk to me, y'all"
T-Dog asks, "Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me? Can anybody out there hear me?"
Morales notices Glenn and Rick. "There"
As thunder rumbles.
Merle asks, "That asshole is out on the street with the handcuff keys?" T-Dog shows him the key he has.
_________
Word 1893
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I enjoyed writing it. Don't forget to vote, comment, and share, check out my other stories if you can, it would be greatly appreciated.
Updated January 07, 2021