Walking through the diner I cover my mouth and nose with my t-shirt gagging at the smell of rotting food. "Jesus" I walk to the back and open cabinet after cabinet looking for something this dog can eat. I see a big can of green beans and a small can of pineapples. "Welp this will have to work" I sigh grabbing the two cans, before I turn around I see a blue plastic bowl. I grab the bowl with my mouth and head out of the nasty building. Opening the door I see the dog sitting there. I get on my knees and bend down to put the bowl on the ground. I sit back up and put the cans on the ground along with my bat. I pull out my knife and stab a hole in both.
I push them towards him "Pick" I smile when he licks the green beans. But that smile is instantly gone when he licks the pineapple. "Why, I was hoping I could he eat that" I whine, he looks up at me with almost a smile. I roll my eyes and huff "Fine we'll share" I take my knife and start stabbing the cans grunting with each stab. I get half the green beans open and push back the metal so I pour it out. I do the same with the pineapples but by the time I'm done I'm huffing and the dogs just sitting there looking at me. I dump the beans in the bowl and he starts digging in, I sit back and smile as I start eating my pineapples. I look up and he's licking his mouth and staring at me. I sigh again and dump some pineapples out for him.
I continue eating trying to think of a name. I get full and dump the last few out for him which he eats gladly. Sitting back I pat my stomach "Now that was a good lunch now wasn't it." He looks at me then back at the can I turn the can over to show him it's empty and he whines. I pick up my water bottle and dump out the juice in the bowl so I can fill it up. I see a car pull up I grab my bat standing up. Hershel steps out of the car and somberly walks to the bar, I follow him in and sit next to him picking up a glass and sliding it over. "Your dad let you drink" I smile "He's my uncle and he lets me have one every now and then." He looks at me and I put my hands up "I'll only have one okay." I reassure with an innocent smile and he pours the drink.
I sip on mine as he downs two more "What happened I heard gunshots" he shakes his head and finishes off his glass. "You don't have to tell me I'll ask daryl" I take another sip of the of the warming liquid as we fall into a comfortable silence. I grab my bat when someone walks into the bar.
Sighing for the millionth time I giggle when I see the fuzzy face walk towards me. The dog jumps and runs away when rick and glenn walk through the door "Great you scared him off, meanies" I grumble turning around. "Hershel" rick calls out "Who's with you" he asks as he finishes the drink "Glenn" rick answers casually.
Hershel smiles "Maggie sent him" footsteps walk towards the bar "He volunteered he's good like that." I look back as rick puts his hand on my back "Are you okay" I nod my head and finish off the drink. "How many you had" rick turns to hershel "Not enough" he pours himself another and I turn my glass upside down. "Let's finish this up back at home Beth collapsed she's in some sort of state, must be in shock I think you are to." Rick tries to bargain with hershel to get him to leave. I stand up and walk to glenn hugging him "What happened I heard gun shots" I whisper. He sighs pulling me further away "The barn was full of walkers shane opened it and we did what we had to....Sophia she was in there to." I cover my mouth and put my hand on his shoulder walking back to the bar.
I'm behind rick hearing everything say "She needs her mother or rather to mourn...like she should of done weeks ago I robbed her of that I see that now" He scolds himself taking a drink. "You thought there was a cure, can't blame yourself for holding out for hope" It's silent for a second "Hope, when I first saw you running across my field with your boy in your arms, I had little hope he's survive."
"Then he did" rick responds trying to lift the man up "He did, even though we lost otis your man shane made it back and we saved your boy, that was the miracle that proves to me miracles do exist....only it was a sham a bait and switch...I was a fool rick and your people saw that.....my daughters deserve better than that." Hershel puts his glass down and fills it up again.
Rick walks over to glenn in the door way "So what do we do just wait for him to pass out." I hold back the giggle by biting my lip which catches ricks attention "Just go just go" I lean against the wall looking at the buzzed man. "I promised maggie that I'd bring you home safe." Hershel laughs at ricks words "Like you promised that little girl." I step away from the wall but I'm stopped by ricks hand in front of me. Turning back around I tune everyone out and draw in the dust. I look up from my horribly done smiley face when rick gets in hershels face. "And you take no responsibility, your supposed to be there leader." Hershel snaps "Well I'm here now aren't I" they stare at each other for a couple seconds.
"Yes...yes yes you are" Hershel sits back down and rick walks over to him desperate to get him back. "Come on your girls need you now more than ever." I walk back over behind rick as he grabs hershel's arm "I didn't want to believe you, you told me there was no cure that these people were dead not sick I chose not to believe but, when shane shot lou in the chest and see just kept coming, that's when I knew what and ass I've been. That Annette had been dead long ago and I was feeding her rotting corpse." "That's when I knew there was no hope, and when that little girl came out of the barn the look on your face. I knew you knew it to right, there is no hope and you know it now like I do, don't you." Hershel says his voice cracking I look at the back of ricks head as he turns to glenn and back to hershel "There is no hope for any of us" He repeats turning back to his drink.
It starts getting dark and I start to get restless "You about done I'm not doing this anymore, cleaning up after you. You know what the truth is, nothing has changed death is death it's always been there. Whether it's from a heart attack cancer or a walker what's the difference. You didn't think it was hopeless before did you. And now people are back at home trying to hang on, they need us even if it's just to give them a reason to go on even if we don't believe it ourselves. You know what this isn't about what we believe anymore, it's about them." Rick rants and hershel has a look of realization before he finishes his drink and turns the glass upside down.
I brab my bat putting a hand on my gun as the door opens, turning around I see two sketchy men standing in the door. "Son of a bitch they're alive" the men come in and I keep my eyes on the fat man as he comes closer. He eyes me up and down before sitting next hershel, rick walks up to the smaller one sitting down. He pours him a drink "I'm Dave that skrawny looking douchebag over there is tony" The man now known at Dave says.
"Eat me Dave" tony jokes "Hey maybe someday I will, we met on 1-95 coming out of philly, a damn shit show that was" Dave explains. "I'm glenn it's nice to meet some new people" glen says with a smile on his face, rick comes back over handing us a shot "Rick grimes" I take the shot with a smile and a nod.
Dave points at hershel "How bout you pal have one" hershel sits up groggily "I just quit" "Got a unique sense of timing my friend." He chuckles smiling "His name's hershel we lost people today a lot of them." I move closer to rick as tony keeps looking at my boobs "Im truly sorry to hear that, to batter days and new friends, and to our dead may they be in a better place." I down my shot with a little headshake. "How 'bout you I do believe we didn't catch your name" I put my shot glass down sighing, "That's because I didn't throw it" I quip giving a fake smile. I feel a hand wrap around my arm, glancing down I watch his thumb trace my skin. "Not bad huh, I got it off a cop" I look back up pulling my arm out of his hand.
"I'm a cop" I rest my elbows on the bar "This one was already dead" I look over at tony and see him still starting at me "Stop staring at me" I snap. Rick looks between me and tony "You fellas are a long way from Philadelphia" he redirects taking another sip of his shot. "Feels like we're a long way from anywhere" Dave huffs out "What drove you south" rick asks "Well I'll tell you it wasn't the weather I must've dropped thirty pounds from sweat alone down here." Dave wipes the sweat from his eyes "Yea I wish" tony remarks. "No first it was DC thought there might be some kind of refugee camp but, roads are so jammed never even got close. Decided to get off the highways get into the sticks keep hauling ass, every group we came across had a new rumor on a way out of this thing."
"Some guy told us there was a coast guard sending ferries into the islands" Tony joins "The last was a rail yard in montgomery running trains In the middle of the country kansas, nebraska" Dave finishes. "Nebraska" glenn asks "Low population lots a guns" Tony explains "That makes sense" I mumble nodding my head.
"You ever been to nebraska kid" dave asks glenn "There's a reason why they call them fly over states." Dave and tony laugh and I catch the look they give each other. I know that look a friend and I used to use that look. I stand up and step away from rick "How bout you guys" dave probes "Fort benning eventually" Rick answers. "I hate to piss in your cornflakes officer but um, we ran across a grunt that was stationed at benning said the place was over run by lame brains" Dave confirms our fear.
"Wait fort benning is gone, are you for real" glenn echos, I turn around and give him a sad smile. "Unfortunately I am, ugly truth is there is no way out of this mess just keep going to one pipe dream to the next praying one of these mindless freaks don't grab a hold of you when to sleep"dave adds "If you sleep" he looks around "Yea it doesn't look like you guys are hanging your hats here, you holed up somewhere else" Dave inquires with a little to much interest. I answer before rick does "Not really no" he points to the door "Are those your cars out front. "Yea, why" I look over at rick me and him look at each other for a second. "We're living out of ours those look kinda empty and clean, where's all your gear." He continues to probe "Were with a larger group out scouting thought we could use a drink" Hershel says in trying to help the situation.
"A drink hershel I thought you quit" there's an uncomfortable silence after."Well we're thinking of settin up around here is it safe" He questions "It can be, well uh you could kill a couple walkers round here" Glenn says happily. "Walkers that what you call them" I nod my head "That's good I like that, I like that better than lame brains." Dave scratches his neck as tony says something I can't understand. "Okay tony went to college" dave points to his buddy "Two years." Tony looks back over to me and rick maintain eye contact with Dave "So what so you guys set up around the outskirts or something, that new development" He queried "Trailer park or somethin" tony get up and walks in front of us brushing his arm across my boobs. I ball my fist up walk forward but stop when I feel a hand around my wrist. Looking back at rick he shakes his head and I huff out and fall back against the bar.
"A farm, old mcdonald had a farm" I move closer to rick my anger still rising he squeezes my wrist in a comforting way. "You on a farm" rick looks at dave before we look over to tony peeing on the floor. "Fuckin pig" I mumble under my breath and rick looks back at Dave. "Is it safe gotta be got food water" Dave interrogates
"Obviously you got coos I hadn't had a piece of ass in weeks" he smirks at me it takes everything in my body not to respond. "Ah pardon my friend city kids they got no tack no disrespect....so listen glenn." Dave points at glenn "We've said enough" rick cuts him off "Well hang on a second this farm sounds pretty sweet don't it sound sweet tony." He asks his friend
He answers while looking at my boobs "yea real sweet" rick pulls me towards him "How about a little southern hospitality we got some bodies back at camp they're having a real hard time. I don't see why you can't make room for a few more we could pull our resources our man power" Dave begs.
"Look I'm sorry that's not an option" tony looks at rick then back at Dave "Doesn't sound like there would be a problem" I step forward a little bit "Like rick said it's not an option." I feel his hand leave my wrist "We can't take in anymore" Rick says stepping beside me.
Dave laughs "You guys are somethin else and here I thought we we're friends, we got people we gotta look out for to." Dave says getting defensive "We don't know anything about you" rick justifies his answer. Dave nods his head "That's true you don't know anything about us. You don't know what we had to go through out there, things we've had to do. I bet you had to do some of those same things yourself am I right. Ain't nobodys hands clean in what's left of this world we're all the same. So come on let's let's take a nice friendly hay ride to this farm, and we'll get to know each other" Dave says before a moments of silence
"That's not gonna happen" "This is bullshit" tony starts getting upset "Calm down" rick tells him raising his voice slightly. "Don't tell me to calm down don't ever tell me to calm down I'll shoot you three assholes in the head and take your damn bitch and farm" He squeals out and rick pushes me back. "Woah woah woah easy calm down Relax nobody's killing anybody, nobody's shooting anybody right rick." Dave climbs over the counter and I stand behind rick looking at tony in the mirror. My hands on my gun the second he touches his, dave lays his gun on the bar. "Just friends having a drink that's all, now where's the good stuff hah good stuff good stuff let's see." He bends down and rick puts his hand on his python. Dave pulls a bottle out "Hey look at that that'll work" he takes the cap off and starts to pour the liquor.
"You gotta understand we can't stay out there you know what it's like" rick nods "Yea I do but the farm is to crowded as is I'm sorry you'll have to keep lookin." I pivot my foot so it'll be easier to spin around "Keep looking where do you suppose we do that." Rick shrugs his shoulders "I don't know, I hear nebraskas nice" Dave laughs before reaching for his gun I spin around before tony can get his gun up and shoot him in the crotch before the head "Asshole." Rick walks over to me looking me in the eyes "You good." I nod my head putting my gun away.