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Tomorrow Never Dies

The Second, and Then The First

Rick slowly lowered his gun, and the realisation of what he had just done began to take over. He turned to see Carol sobbing and gasping for air in Daryl’s arms as he tried to pick her up, wanting to turn her around and get her away from the carnage.

“Don’t look.” He said in her ear as he dragged her to her feet, feeling her weight buckle. “Don’t look!”

Carol then shoved him away, glaring at the people surrounding her, and fled toward the RV, tears pouring down her face. Parker felt her chest rack with sobs as she turned to take one last look at Daryl before following Carol. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked out of the gated area, hearing someone coming up behind her.

“Park? Parker are you-” She smacked Daryl’s hand away and furiously glared at him.

“How could you just let that happen?!” She cried, her voice hoarse after all her screaming and crying. Daryl blinked at her in shock.

“Parker-”

“Don’t ‘Parker’ me!” She spat, taking a step towards him. “You just stood there and let that asshole shoot Hershel’s wife, his step-son! How the hell could you do that to him?!”

“They aren’t his family anymore!” Daryl argued, returning her glare. “They’re dead, they have been for months! You know that!”

“That’s not the point!” Parker shouted, earning everyone’s attention. “Hershel didn’t think of them like that, he probably thinks Shane just murdered his entire family! He watched them die, AGAIN!”

“It ain’t like that and you know it.” Daryl said and Parker was seething at how calm he sounded. Why wasn’t he hurt? Why couldn’t he show some sort of emotion for once?

“Screw you.” She hissed under her breath. “Screw you!” She started beating on Daryl’s chest, her smaller hands balled into fists and punching him as hard as she could. But she felt more tears fall and her lungs started to burn, and eventually she felt her movements start to cease. She stood back for a moment and let her hands fall to her sides as she hung her head, sobbing loudly. She then felt arms wrap around her and a warm chest met her cheek. She couldn’t help but curl into Daryl and cry.

“M’sorry, Park.” He whispered, resting his cheek against the top of her head. “‘M’sorry.”

Parker didn’t seem to take in what happened next, the screams coming from Beth as she ran up to her dead mother, prying a walker from her body, before getting attacked. The others grabbed her just in time, stabbing Annette Greene right through the skull, but that only seemed to set Beth off even more. Hershel was devastated, and as Maggie led him back up to the farmhouse, Parker watched him grip her hand with his, trying to keep it together for just a little bit longer. They were going to be kicked out, she thought, as Daryl kept her close to his chest, they were going to be thrown out there again.

Glenn would lose Maggie, or even worse, leave Parker and stay with her instead. Shane would be isolated from the rest of them, or at least everyone except for Andrea seeing as she was always on his side nowadays. Carol wouldn’t talk to anybody, not even Daryl and Parker, and god forbid if she hurt herself…

Parker refused to let that happen. But for now, all she could do was grip onto Daryl’s shirt and let the tears that had been backed up for months fall from her eyes.

*** Carol didn’t go to Sophia’s funeral. When Parker had asked her why, saying that it was her little girl out there, Carol just gave her a blank stare and shook her head.

“That’s not my little girl.” She said sadly, staring out the window of the RV. “That’s some other...thing.”

“Carol-” Parker tried to say, but the words seem to disappear from her mouth.

“My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought…” Carol’s voice trailed off before she let out a breath. “She didn’t cry herself to sleep, she didn’t go hungry, she didn’t try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago.” Parker had left her alone after that, wanting to give her some space to think and time to mourn in her own way. She joined her brother by the small cluster of trees beside the barn, where they had buried Sophia, Annette and Shaun. She held Glenn’s hand, just like she had done during Otis’s funeral, and stared at the graves in front of her, her eyes mostly focusing on the smallest one closest to Daryl. He was staring at it too, and she wondered what he was thinking about. He had risked his life every day for weeks to save that girl, and even though she wasn’t his, he must have lost something too.

Eventually, everyone left one by one. Parker stayed, letting Maggie and Glenn walk back to the house together, knowing they probably had some things to discuss. Hershel had told Rick he wanted them all gone, meaning Glenn would leave without Maggie or stay without Parker. Either way, he’d lose someone he cared about. Parker tried not to let that thought get to her, and waited for everyone to leave before crouching at Sophia’s grave. She placed the Rose that had fallen from her ear, that she thankfully saved before it got trampled on by the others, onto the mound of earth and bit her lip.

“I don’t know how long you were out there alone.” She said softly, kneeling in the dirt and resting her hands on her thighs. “But, I hope you know that we looked for you...all of us. Every day we went into those woods trying to find you...bring you back home.” Parker sighed and looked at the trees, trying to keep her breathing steady. “Daryl he...he did the most for you. Nearly got himself killed. But that’s because he didn’t give up. He believed in you, Sophia. He really did.” Parker wiped at her eyes before standing up straight. “I did too.”

Parker turned to walk back to the house when she noticed something in the camp. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look, when she realised Daryl was taking his tent down. She frowned and hurried as fast as she could to the camp, seeing his things all packed up and ready to be moved.

“What are you doing?” She asked as she approached him. Daryl glanced up then continued to roll his tent up into it’s bag.

“Need a change of scenery.” He said sarcastically and Parker shook her head.

“So what, you’re just gonna leave us now?” She asked bitterly, even though she felt more hurt than angry, and Daryl scoffed.

“Where else I gotta go, huh?” He bit back. “I ain’t leavin’, christ woman.”

“Then why are you packing up? What, you wanna go on vacation or something? Take a few days to clear your head?” Daryl threw the tent bag down and marched up to her, getting in her face, and Parker felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, just like when Shane spoke to her earlier on.

“Don’t piss me off, girl.” He growled and Parker tilted her chin up.

“Then don’t run away from your issues.” She said slowly. “We’ve all got them, and we just have to deal with them. But you just run away, right? Like a coward.” Daryl seemed slightly taken aback, and Parker knew she had struck a nerve somewhere deep down inside him. “Sophia’s dead, we’re all grieving. It’s not just you.”

“I don’t need your goddamn words of wisdom.” Daryl spat. “So get off my back!” He retreated, grabbing his belongings and hauling them over to his bike that he had brought round to the camp when everyone left the barn. Once everything was strapped on, Parker watched in defeat as Daryl threw a leg over the seat and revved the engine. He didn’t even look back at her as kicked the bike to life and sped off up the hill, far away from the camp, but still in her sight.

“Shit.” She breathed and put her hands on her hips just as she heard someone running up to her from the house. “Now what.” She grumbled as her brother ran towards her, panting and trying to keep his breathing steady.

“Parker! It’s Beth!” Her heart beat quickened as Glenn came to a stop in front of her, leaning on his knees and gasping for air.

“Beth? What happened?” She asked, pulling him upright.

“She’s collapsed, Lori thinks its from shock.”

“W-where’s Hershel? He would know-”

“We can’t find him,” Glenn blurted and Parker froze. “Did you see him leave the farm?” She wracked her brain but didn’t remember seeing him since Rick shot Sophia, so she shook her head.

“Shit, what are we gonna do?” She asked.

“We’re going to find him.” Rick walked up to them both, gun in hand. He shoved it in it’s holster before turning to Parker. “Maggie told us that there’s a bar in town, Atlands. Hershel was a heavy drinker once and I reckon that’s where we’ll find him.”

“How do you know he’s been drinking?” Parker asked with a frown. Rick then held up a bronze hip flask with the initials ‘HG’ carved on the back.

“This was in his room.” Rick told her.

“He quit drinking years ago,” Glenn explained. “He must have started after Shane-” He trailed off, looking over at the barn. Parker nodded, understanding what he was trying to say.

“Okay, okay well...we should hurry.”

“We? No, it’s just Rick and I going.” Glenn said and Parker’s mouth dropped open.

“I’m not letting you go out there, not just the two of you! Look what happened the last time you and Maggie went to that village by yourselves.”

“Parker.” Rick said and she turned to him, determination in her eyes. “Please, I know you’re worried. But I swear to you, just like I did with Maggie, I’ll bring him home safe.”

“No.” She said sternly. “I’m not arguing. I’m coming with you two. So get me a gun.”

“Park.” Glenn warned but she ignored him, keeping her eyes trained on Rick. He nodded his head and sniffed.

“Alright.” Rick gave in. “Alright, fine. But you stay close to me, okay?”

“I’ve been on runs before in Atlanta when it was overrun. I can handle a little town.” Parker said with a small, yet confident, smile. Rick nodded again and led the two of them back to the farmhouse, grabbing a shotgun and an assault rifle before letting the twins choose their weapon of choice. Parker paused before grabbing the rifle, making Glenn groan in protest.

“You’re better with that one.” She shrugged. “Besides, this is no time for sibling rivalry.”

“Shut up.” Glenn muttered whilst hauling the shotgun over his shoulder. Parker joined Rick by the car and clambered into the backseat, setting her gun down and resting her cheek on her palm. She watched her brother say goodbye to Maggie, who had come out of the farmhouse to see them off. She felt a smile tug at her lips as Rick awkwardly turned away when the couple kissed, Maggie gripping onto Glenn’s shirt and saying something into his ear. Glenn nodded, then turned to walk back to the car, an unreadable expression on his face. Rick then hopped into the driver's seat and slammed the door, waiting for Glenn to put his seat belt on before backing out of the farmhouse driveway and onto the dirt track that led up to the village.

The ride into town inside the car was uncomfortable for the first 5 minutes, before Parker finally got tired of staring at the vacant look on her twin brother's face and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the passenger and drivers seats. “Okay, spill.” She said, tapping his shoulder. Rick glanced at the two of them, wanting to know what was up with Glenn too. Glenn ran his tongue over his bottom lip and awkwardly looked out the window. “You know you can’t try and ignore me forever, I’ll just pester you even more.”

“Maggie said she loves me.” Glenn said suddenly and Parker blinked at him, not knowing what to say. Both Parker and Rick stared at him before he nervously chuckled. “She doesn’t mean it.” He said, tapping the handle of the shot gun. “I mean, she can’t. She’s...she’s upset. Confused. I mean she’s probably feeling-”

“I think she’s smart enough to know what she’s feelin’,” Rick said with a calm voice. Glenn hastily shook his head.

“No, no.” He said and Rick chuckled at his naivety. “She, she wants to be in love, so she needs something to...to like, hold onto-”

“Glenn, it’s pretty obvious Maggie loves you.” Parker laughed, and Rick smirked at her through the rear view mirror in agreement. “And it's not because you’re one of the last men standing, so what’s the problem?”

Glenn paused. “I didn’t say it back.” He replied sheepishly. Parker sat back slightly and looked down.

“Oh.” She said quietly and her brother sighed.

“I’ve never had a woman say that to me before. You know, except mom of course...and the girls.” Parker flinched at the mention of their family but kept a brave face. “But with Maggie it’s different, I mean we barely know each other! What does she really know about me? Nothing! We’re practically strangers.” Glenn shook his head, ashamed of himself. “I didn’t know what to do, I just stood there like a jerk!”

“Hey.” Rick said gently, turning to him. “This is a good thing. Something we don’t get enough of these days, enjoy it. And when we get back, return the favour. It’s not like she’s goin’ anywhere.” He turned his eyes back to the road. Parker patted her brother’s shoulder comfortingly.

“He’s right. Just tell her when we get back. Don’t let that chance slip away.” Glenn smiled at them both and nodded.

“Okay.” He said. Parker sat back in her seat and stared out of the window. Her mind started to wander as Rick drove them through the deserted village, passing the Pharmacy and a few clothing stores as well as an abandoned market, all of the stores left in tattered pieces. She thought about how Glenn and Maggie had managed to find something in this new world, something beautiful, yet something strong. Glenn had more to fight for now, and she was proud of him. He needed more love in his life other than his sister, and Maggie was someone she knew she could trust to take care of her brother, especially after their talk and hearing her defend Glenn to Hershel. That’s all she needed to know; that she had Glenn’s back no matter what.

Parker wished she had someone else to fight for, not like her brother or her friends, but something different. Something more...intimate. She shook her head. There wasn’t exactly many suitors lining up to win her hand, she thought, but her mind flashed to the feeling she felt when Daryl stayed with her in Hershel’s room. How he held her hand when she woke up, how he kept her close to his chest when he picked her up after being shot, even kissing him on the temple made her heart beat faster and her palms feel sweaty. She had tried to ignore it, this weird feeling in her stomach whenever he was around. But the more time they spent together, the stronger that feeling became. And hearing that Glenn was finally going to admit his true feelings to Maggie when they got home made her think of something else. It’s time to take your own advice.

Atlands was a small bar, smaller than Parker had expected, and as she stepped out of the car and stared up at it, taking in the rustic aesthetic and rotting wooden walls, she realised that Hershel really must be going down hill if he wound up in a place like this. She didn’t blame him, she’d probably turn to alcohol too if Glenn had died right in front of her. She shivered at the thought and held her gun close as the men walked up to the front doors, checking the coast was clear before hesitantly going inside. The bar was almost pitch black, the only light source being the light coming in through the windows. Parker stepped inside, gun raised, before she noticed the back of Hershel’s head. No one else was here. He was sat at the far end of the bar with his back to them, nursing a glass of whiskey in his hand with a large bottle of Jack to his right. His head lifted at the sound of them entering the building and he sighed.

“Hershel?” Rick called out softly.

“Who’s with you?” His mono tonal reply spoke volumes to Parker, and she knew he was mentally on his last legs. Seeing Annette and Shaun being gunned down wrecked him, and drinking seemed to be the only thing he thought he had left.

“Glenn.” Rick said. “And Parker.” Hershel let out the tiniest of laughs before taking a sip from the glass.

“Maggie send them?” Rick took a step forward, holstering his gun, and Glenn and Parker followed suit, keeping their weapons low.

“They volunteered. They’re good like that.” Hershel nodded, still not turning around to face them. Rick took the silence as an opportunity to approach him, and went as far as to stand right beside Hershel, leaning his hand on the bar and looking directly at him. “How many have you had?” He asked.

“Not enough.” Hershel said with a shake of his head. Rick glanced over his shoulder at the Rhee’s, neither knowing what to do, before turning back to Hershel.

“Let’s finish this back at home.” He said, leaning closer to the older man. Hershel didn’t respond, so Rick took the initiative. “Beth collapsed. She’s in some sort of...state.” Hershel looked up at him, fear in his eyes, and Rick felt like he was getting somewhere. “She must be in shock, and I think you are too.”

“Maggie’s with her?”

“Yeah. But Beth needs you.” Rick said desperately.

“What could I do?” Hershel asked, his voice drained.

“Save her.” Parker spoke up, fed up of the pity party the old man was throwing for himself. “You’re her father, you’re supposed to protect her. Instead you ran off to drown your sorrows, and now she’s in trouble!” Glenn grabbed her arm.

“Careful.” He whispered, she realised the anger was taking over too much and she nodded, stepping back.

“You’re right. But she needs her mother, not me.” Hershel said in reply. “Or, at least she needs to mourn. Like she should have done weeks ago.” They all stared at him, not realising what he was saying. Then it dawned on them. He regretted it, keeping the walkers in the barn, keeping Annette and Shaun with them instead of sending them off like they should have. They should have killed and buried their loved ones like everyone else, but Hershel didn’t let them. And now he was paying the price. “I robbed her of that.” He carried on, looking at the ceiling of the bar. “I see that now.” He took a long swig of his drink and Rick shuffled about next to him.

“You thought there was a cure.” He said. “Can’t blame yourself for holding out for hope.”

“Hope?” Hershel said, and turned to face Rick properly. “When I first saw you running across my field with your boy in your arms, I had little hope he’d survive.”

“But he did.” Rick pointed out.

Hershel nodded. “He did. Even though we lost Otis. Your man Shane made it back, and we saved your boy. That was the miracle that proved to me miracles do exist. Only it was a sham.” Parker frowned from behind him. “A bait and switch. I was a fool, Rick. And your people saw that. My daughters deserve better than that.”

“You’re not a fool, Hershel.” Parker said gently, reaching over and placing a hand on his shoulder tenderly. “You wanted the world to be right again, how it used to be. I want that too but...it just can’t happen. Even if there is some sort of cure out there, the world will never really go back to how it was. Not after all this.” He looked up at her, his eyes wide and full of desperation.

“I had hoped you would wake up.” He said quietly and Parker let out a shaky breath. “You had a lot of people counting on you. Your brother, Carl, the country boy, Daryl.” Parker’s cheeks heated up and she broke eye contact with Hershel, making him smile ever so slightly. “You’re strong. Stronger than I ever could be.”

“No, we’re both strong.” Parker said. “But in different ways.” Hershel paused before he reached forward to grab the bottle of Jack and twisted the cap off. Parker sighed and walked away, shrugging at her brother. There wasn’t anything else she could really say to him. Rick followed her and leaned against the door.

“So what do we do, wait for him to pass out?” Glenn asked.

“Just go.” Hershel called out, making them jump. “Just go!”

“I promised Maggie I’d bring you home safe.” Rick said with authority.

“Like you promised that little girl?” Parker snapped her head up in shock and turned to look at Rick. The colour had drained from his face and a grimace now remained on his lips. Rick then walked right back over to him.

“So what’s your plan?” He asked. “Finish that bottle? Drink yourself to death and leave your girls alone?” That seemed to do it. Hershel pushed the bar stool back and stood up, spinning round to face Rick.

“Stop telling me how to care for my family! My farm!” He hissed. “You people are like a plague! I do the Christian thing and give you shelter, and you’re destroying it all!”

“The world was already in bad shape when we met.” Rick said, his voice deep and threatening and making Parker shudder. The twins shared concerned glances as Hershel and Rick stood practically toe to toe, both seething with rage.

“And you take no responsibility!” Hershel spat. “You’re supposed to be their leader!”

“Well I’m here now aren’t I!” Rick shouted and Parker stepped up to them both.

“Guys, stop it!” She warned, glancing at the bar door, Glenn doing the same. “If you keep yelling at each other we’re gonna have a pretty big problem. Walkers could be here at any moment if you keep making too much noise!” Hershel waved his hand in dismissal before turning back to the bar and returning to his stool, gulping down the rest of his drink. Rick marched over to him and held onto his arm.

“Come on, your girls need you-”

“I didn’t want to believe you!” Hershel cried, ripping his arm from Rick’s grasp. “You told me there was no cure, that these people were dead, not sick! I chose not to believe that!” The room went silent and Parker hoisted her gun higher against her chest, feeling some comfort in holding it close to her. “But when Shane shot Lou in the chest, and she just kept coming...that’s when I knew what an ass I’d been!”

Parker hesitated before gulping down her nerves. “Lou?” She asked, referring to the walker Hershel had been holding onto when Shane went crazy at the barn. Parker remembered in that moment a tiny name tag on her dress, and felt guilty for what Shane had done. That thing was once a person, sometimes she forgot about that. Hershel glanced in her direction. “That was her name?” He paused before nodding sadly.

“Yes. She was always kind to me, since before all of this. So I saw fit to take her in. I owed her that much.” He then turned back to Rick. “It took him shooting Lou, my friend, to realise all of that. That Annette had died a long time ago, and I was feeding her rotten corpse!” Hershel felt tears spring in his eyes and he wiped at them furiously. “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 too. Right? There is no hope. And you know that now, don’t you? There’s no hope for any of us.” Parker blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to stop them from welling up, and looked at her brother. He looked tired, clearly wanting to get Hershel back to his daughters, but this was going nowhere.

“There’s always hope.” Parker spoke up, earning all of their gazes on her. “Even when everything turns to shit, and we lose everything. There’s always a reason to go on.” She bit her lip as her eyes watered. “There’s got to be. If not...there’s nothing. So we have to believe in something. I believe that Rick will take care of us, because he can. He’s a good leader.”

“Parker-” Rick started to say but she held her hand up to silence him.

“I believe that you will get off your sorry ass and go home to your family.” She said, directing her attention to Hershel. “And I believe that one day things won’t be so bad. We’ll have crap days or weeks or months but we can get through that!” She shrugged and let out a humourless laugh. “We always will. Because, let's face it. It can’t get any worse than this.”

Everyone jumped at the sound of the bar doors swinging open and Parker and Glenn both turned to see two men standing in the light of the doorway. One was shorter than the other, wearing a navy wife beater and some jeans, whilst the other, a lot bigger and a lot wider, strolled in with a checked shirt and some sweat pants. The shorter one smirked at the sight of the four strangers staring at them and turned to his friend.

“Son of a bitch.” He said, sounding impressed. “They’re alive.” No one said anything as the two men walked in, slowly, raising their hands in surrender. “Don’t worry,” The shorter guy said with a reassuring smile. “We ain’t here to start shit, just wanted a drink.”

“And to see if you guys were actually real.” The bigger guy said, his voice a lot deeper and a lot more menacing, and Parker really didn’t like the way he was looking her up and down.

“I’m Dave.” The short guy said, sitting at one of the tables and grabbing a bottle of vodka from the centre of it, taking a small shot glass and pouring some liquid into it. “And that scrawny looking douchebag over there is Tony.” He said, mocking the bigger guy.

“Eat me, Dave.” He scoffed and sat at the bar near Hershel, making his own drink.

“Yeah, maybe someday I will.” Dave said, a big grin on his face. Apparently this guy could joke about anything. Glenn and Parker both watched Rick walk over to Dave from behind the bar, retreating there to get some distance from the strangers. Just in case. “We met on the ninety-five coming out of Philly.” Dave explained to Rick and the others. “What a damn shit show that was.” Glenn smiled slightly and nodded at the two of them.

“I’m Glenn.” He said with a friendly tone. “It’s nice to meet some new people.”

“Rick Grimes.” Rick joined in, grabbing a glass. Dave then looked at Hershel.

“How about you pal, you have one?” He asked, referring to a drink.

“I just quit.” Hershel replied almost immediately, making Parker smile a little. Dave nodded with a chuckle.

“You got a unique sense of timing my friend.” He said then looked over at Parker behind the bar. “And you, sweetheart? I bet you’re a cocktail kind of girl. Want me to make you something?” Parker tilted her head. He wasn’t being condescending, which she greatly appreciated, but she still didn’t particularly want to accept a drink from a stranger, even during the end of the world.

“I’m good for now.” She said and Tony snorted, making her look over at him.

“Live a little. We might not get much time to have fun.” He said with a wink and Parker clenched her jaw.

“That’s Parker.” Rick said, nodding her way. “And Hershel. He lost people today, a lot of them.” Dave’s face morphed into a sad expression and he sighed.

“I’m truly sorry to hear that.” He said sincerely. He then raised his glass. “To better days, and new friends. And to our dead, may they be in a better place.” All the men, bar Hershel, raised their glasses and drank. Parker folded her arms, after placing her gun on the underside of the bar, and watched them all. At least they got to enjoy something nice like this every once in awhile, they deserved it. Dave leaned over the table to grab some more liquor, when he noticed Rick staring at the gun tucked into the back of jeans. He put the bottle down and grabbed it, flipping it over in his hands and showing it to the group. “Not bad, huh? I got it off a cop.” Rick raised an eyebrow.

“I’m a cop.” He said casually and Parker smirked.

“This one was already dead.” Dave explained.

“You fellas are a long way from Philadelphia.” Rick said after a pause.

“Feels like we’re a long way from anywhere.” Dave said loudly, leaning back into his chair and crossing one leg over the other.

“What drove you South?”

“I can tell you it wasn’t the weather. Must of dropped thirty pounds in sweat alone down here. Uh, first it was DC. Heard there might be some kind of refugee camp but...the roads were so jammed we never even got close. Decided to get off the highways into the sticks, keep hauling ass.” Dave rattled on. “Every group we came across had a new rumour about a way out of this thing.”

“A guy told us there was a coast guard down in the gulfs sending ferries to the islands.” Tony chimed in.

“Our latest was a rail yard in Montgomery running trains to the middle of the country, Kansas, Nebraska-”

“Nebraska?” Glenn asked in confusion.

“Low population, lots of guns.” Tony pointed out. Glenn shrugged.

“Kind of makes sense.” He said quietly.

“Ever been to Nebraska kid?” Dave spoke up, turning to the twins. “There’s a reason they don’t call them flower states.” The two men laughed, glancing at each other, and Rick took a large gulp of his drink. “How about you guys?” Dave asked.

“Fort Benning, eventually.” Rick said.

Dave raised his eyebrows. “I hate to piss in your cornflakes, Officer.” He said sadly. “But um, we ran across a group who was stationed at Benning. Said the place was overrun by Lame Brains.”

“Lame brains?” Parker asked with a frown. “That’s what you call them?”

“You got something else?” Dave asked curiously.

“Walkers.” She said and he laughed.

“I like that, walkers. That’s good.” Glenn stood up straight, staring at Dave and Tony in distress.

“Wait so...Fort Benning is gone?” He asked. “Are you for real?” Both men glanced at each other again, as if having a conversation in their heads with one another.

“Sadly I am.” Dave said, the frown returning to his face. “The truth is, there is no way out of this mess. Just going from one pipe dream to the next, praying one of these mindless freaks doesn’t grab a hold of you when you sleep.”

“If you sleep.” Tony said quietly.

“It doesn’t look like you guys are hanging your hats here.” Dave suddenly said, his entire demeanour changing and his voice was riddled with curiosity. “You holding up somewhere else?” Parker stiffened. Something was off. She subtly glanced at Rick and he seemed to have the same idea, but looked less cautious about it.

“Not really.” Rick said, sounding distant. Dave didn’t look too convinced.

“Those your car's out front?” He asked, pointing over his shoulder.

“Yeah.” Glenn nodded awkwardly.

“Why?” Parker asked, her arms still folded over her chest. Her face was twisted into a small scowl and she wished she could keep her anger in check for more than a minute. These guys hadn't done anything yet, so why did she suddenly feel so threatened?

“Well, we’re living in ours.” Dace said. “And yours look, uh, kinda empty. Clean. Where’s all your gear?”

“We’re with a larger group.” Parker stared at Hershel with semi wide eyes, not wanting to look too surprised that he was admitting that piece of information about them. “Out scouting, thought we could use a drink.”

“A drink?” Dave smirked. “Hershel, I thought you quit?” Parker held her breath. “Well, we were thinking of setting up around here. Is it safe?”

“It can be.” Glenn said. “Uh well I’ve...killed a couple walkers around here.”

“Walkers.” Dave shook his head, still not over their little nickname for the dead. “I like that a lot better than lame brains. So what, you guys set up on the outskirts or a development lot?”

“Trailer park or something?” Tony asked, getting up and walking to the corner of the room.

“Farm?” Dave asked, and Hershel sat up in his bar stool. “Old MacDonald had a farm…” Dave began to sing, but trailed off as Tony leaned against the wall beside him and unzipped his pants. “You got a farm?” He asked. Parker turned away in disgust as Tony started to piss against the wall, not caring that he was surrounded by strangers.”Is it safe?” Dave continued, ignoring what his friend was doing. “You got food, water?”

“You got more coos?” Tony spoke up. “Haven’t had a piece of ass in weeks.” Parker scoffed to herself and that caught Dave’s attention.

“Ah, listen. Pardon my friend, Doll.” He apologised to Parker, rubbing his face. “Some kids they got...they got no tact. No disrespect meant.” He said with a nod. She shrugged.

“I’ve heard worse.” She muttered and her brother shuffled his feet, clearly uncomfortable. Dave then turned to him.

“So listen, Glenn-”

“We’ve said enough.” Rick said firmly and Dave stared at him.

“Hang on a second, this farm sounds pretty sweet.” Dave said, looking over at his friend who finally stopped making a giant puddle on the floor. “Doesn’t it sound sweet, Tony?”

“Yeah, real sweet.” He zipped his pants up and looked directly at Parker, grinning a foul grin and making her stomach knot up in disgust.

“How about a little Southern hospitality?” Dave asked. “We got some bodies back at camp, having a real hard time, I don’t see why you can’t make room for a few more. We can pull our weight in resources, man power-”

“Look, I’m sorry.” Rick said. “But that’s not an option.” Tony looked at his friend, who was starting to show signs of annoyance.

“Doesn’t sound like it would be a problem.” He said slowly.

“I’m sorry, we can’t.” Hershel said with a much softer tone than Rick.

“We can’t take in any more.” Rick concluded. There was a pause before Dave laughed to himself, scratching his eyebrow.

“Wow, you guys are something else. I thought, you know, I thought we were friends. We got people we gotta look out for too.”

“We don’t know anything about you.” Parker spoke up. “There’s no harm in being cautious.”

“That’s true.” Dave said. “You don’t know anything about us. You don’t know what we’ve had to go through out there. Things we’ve had to do. I bet you’ve had to do some of those things yourself, am I right?”

“Yeah. I’m sure you are.” Parker said, not breaking eye contact with him. Dave bit his lip.

“There’s nobody who’s hands are clean left in this world.” He said, his face starting to look distressed. “We’re all the same. So come on let’s...let’s take a nice friendly hayride to this farm and we’ll get to know each other.”

“That’s not gonna happen.” Rick said and Dave shook his head.

“Rick-”

“This is bullshit,” Tony snapped and Parker let her arms move from her chest to the bar, resting her fingers on the handle of her assault rifle.

“Calm down.” Rick ordered gruffly and Tony turned on him.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! Don’t you ever tell me to calm down!”

“Woah-” Dave said, raising his hands up.

“I’ll shoot all four of you assholes in the head and take your damn farm!” Rick got up and Parker pulled her gun up as Dave jumped from his seat and pushed his friend back, patting his shoulders and giving him a look to make him stop.

“Woah! Relax, take it easy! No one’s killing anybody.” Dave grinned, and if Parker didn’t think of him as a threat she might have thought that smile was attractive. But she still kept her weapon close. Dave then moved back and hopped over the bar. “Nobody’s shooting anybody, right Rick?” He asked. He turned to face him and Tony took out his gun from behind Rick, making them all flinch. Dave grabbed his own gun and slowly rested it on the top of the bar, smiling at them all. “We’re just friends having a drink.” He said. “That’s all. Now, where’s the good stuff?”

He slapped his hands together and searched the back of the bar, all whilst Parker, Glenn and Hershel stared at Tony who was still holding his gun by his side. Rick didn’t move from his position in the centre of the room, and it seemed like everyone apart from Dave was on edge.
Dave reached down and grabbed something from beneath the bar and Rick instantly brought his hand to his pistol, making him stop and look at him. Dave grinned.

“Hey, look at that.” He pulled out some tequila and waved it in front of them all. “That’ll work.” He looked at Parker. “What’ll it be, huh? I’ll make anything you want darling, just say the word.”

Parker shook her head slowly. “I’m good. Thank you.”

“Suit yourself, pretty lady. Nice to see someone with manners.” Dave chuckled before pouring a shot. “You guys gotta understand something. We can’t stay out there. You know what it’s like.” Rick nodded at him.

“Yeah. I do. But the farm is too crowded as it is, I’m sorry. You’ll have to keep looking.”

“Keep looking?” Dave said with a curt nod. “Where do you suggest we do that?”

Rick shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “I don’t know. I hear Nebraska’s nice.” Dave laughed again, taking the shot glass.

“Nebraska. This guy.” There was a brief pause before Dave reached for his gun, but Rick had been trained well enough to shoot first, hitting him right in the head. He heard Tony cock his own gun and was about to turn around to take him out too, but another shot rang through the air and the bigger man was on the ground with a bullet between his eyes in a second. Rick spun around to see Parker holding her gun to eye, her finger still on the trigger, and her breathing erratic. Glenn had ducked behind the bar and was slowly easing his way back up, staring at Tony’s lifeless body near his feet. He had collapsed into the pool of his own piss and his blood started to drip out onto the floor and mix with it, making Glenn gag.

Parker thought her heart was going to beat out of her chest as her hands shook, the air from her lungs coming out in quick pants at the realisation of what she had just done. She had killed a man, a person, not a walker. She had never killed a human being before, she never needed too. But Rick almost got shot...she had to do it, right? She felt someone take the gun from her and she jumped at seeing Rick right in front of her, setting the gun down on the bar and bending down to look into her eyes. He seemed so calm, why was he so calm about killing somebody? Then she realised he must have done this a hundred times before during the police force. He was a Sheriff for god sake, no wonder he could handle it. She was just a girl, however. A normal person. And she had just killed her first man.

“Parker?” Rick said gently, resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Look at me.” She let her eyes wander to his and she felt them well up.

“I-I shot him.” She whispered.

“I know. I’m sorry you had to do that.”

“Had to?” She repeated and Rick nodded.

“Thank you. You saved my life.” He said gently and she looked away.”

“I had to.” She said, trying to convince herself more than anyone else. “I had to.”

Notes

Comments

Still here! Yes excited for season 8! July 21st first sneak peak of it!! Love this story!!

Loul461 Loul461
7/7/17

Wow!! Other than Herschel getting hurt, that was great!! Thank you for the updated chapter and hope you keep doing it!! You are a great writer!!

JetCmoon JetCmoon
4/10/17

Yay youre back ! Cant wait to see where it goes now!

Loul461 Loul461
4/10/17

yayy you're back

milouuu milouuu
3/20/17

I'm so glad you're back, I've missed this story! :)

daniellarose daniellarose
3/19/17