Two and a half months have passed since the hospital had become their home. The original hospital supplies had run out as expected, but the runs kept them ahead. However the surrounding had been picked clean for the most part causing them to go further and further out for supplies. The colds settled in and the snow would come and go, South Carolina's temperature seemed to fluctuate. Originally they'd spread their sleeping quarters throughout the first floor of the hospital but once the temperature started dropping they'd come together condensed in a single hallway, rooms were shared and blankets were hung at either end of the hallway in an attempt to keep the warmth inside.
In the time of being in the hospital everyone had become closer to one another more comfortable and trusting. Most everyone atleast, spending so much time with someone in the same building for a prolonged period of time either brought you closer or caused friction. The two months were mostly uneventful other than Wayne, Liam, and Klaire coming across another small group of three young female survivors on a run who reluctantly but inevitably joined them at the hospital. Klaire having known one of them, Bailey pre-apocalypse had made things much smoother in helping bridge trust between the groups. Bailey, the youngest melded into the group almost instantly. Alicia the oldest had a hard time trusting them, kept her weapon on her for the ride back and the first week of living at the hospital before finally allowing it to be taken, by then the group had felt a little trusting with her and let her keep it on her as most carried a sidearm around the hospital already. Cynthia was quiet, according to Alicia and Bailey they'd found her recently. She hadn't spoken much and kept to herself for the most part. Most everyone tried to speak and connect with her from time to time to break her out of whatever shell she'd wrapped herself in.
Falisha rounded a corner on the first floor of the hospital before suddenly getting grabbed and pulled to the side, she fought and almost screamed until she realized who it was. Ben held a finger to his lips with a grin. "What was that for you scared the hell out of me!?" She said in a hushed whisper, slapping his chest. He simply smiled before leaning in and kissing her, she let him momentarily before pulling back and looking around. "What if someone sees us?" Falisha said causing Ben to chuckle. "Are you serious? I'm sure almost everyone knows about us already. Shannon saw us kissing already and I'm sure she told everyone within ten minutes." Falisha sighed he was right. They'd been together for a while now but had simply stuck to the kissing and cuddling, it was more romantic than anything. She hadn't wanted to do either in front of the others and Ben had respected that but the constant sneaking off probably brought up plenty of red flags with the others anyhow. She leaned back in to continue the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his own strong arms around her around her waist before pulling her up and closer causing her to giggle almost like a schoolgirl.
Her eyes drifted beyond Ben for a moment down the dark hallway she could see someone at the other end peering down the hallway at them she couldn't make out who it was. It caused her to jump slightly, "Ben, someone's watching!" she said in a hushed tone. Ben wasn't too bothered by it but slowly moved himself and Falisha around the corner of the hallway and onto the next out of the line of sight without breaking free of each other.
--
Annie was walking down a hallway in a hurry. Klaire had sent her to find Ben so they could do some firearm training. Ben and Klaire had taught many members of the group how to use the weaponry they'd stocked up on. And over time they felt it was necessary to teach some of the younger members. Being both fourteen year olds Annie and Bailey, who was one of the newest members to the group. Klaire had known Bailey's older brother in police academy and had become a family friend. It was beyond shocking when Wayne, Shannon, and Ben had brought back three newcomers to find that Bailey was one of them. The two had practically been joined at the hip ever since.
"Sarge!" Annie called down the hallway becoming frustrated at this point. She couldn't fathom why he'd run off in the first place. Her voice echoed and Ben growled in annoyance as he ended his kiss with Falisha and instead put their foreheads together. "Why does she have to call me that?" he said with a sigh he didn't want to leave. Falisha smiled, "Oh I dunno I think it's kind of cute, Sarge." "Please don't." Ben pleaded. Falisha took a step back giving Ben room to round the corner. "You'd better go she'll be here any minute. You don't think it was her watching do you?" Ben stood for a second collecting himself before leaving he had to keep up his tough guy reputation to some extent after all. "Right here. Let's go." he called out waving to Annie. Falisha stood waiting for them to leave before walking down the hallway herself.
Shannon, Tony, and Shiloh arrived at a large neighborhood on a run for supplies. The group had been slowly moving through the neighborhood emptying out what they could find over the last few days. Runs we're always three people or more, just in case. They were about halfway through the second house when Shiloh walked into the room Tony was sifting through. "Hey, Shannon and I are going to start on the houses across the street. We'll meet back up at the end of the street alright?" Tony turned to look at Shiloh. "We aren't supposed to split up. We should just do one side at a time." Shiloh rolled his neck some. "C'mon man." He whined. Tony cocked an eyebrow, it was obvious what Shannon and Shiloh's intentions we're and Tony was laughing internally. He sighed before continuing through the cabinets. "Fine. I'll meet you at the end of the street. Just..." Shiloh booked it back out of the room while Tony was mid-sentence. "..be safe." He finished, contemplating why he had decided to come with these two on a run of all people.
--
Around twenty minutes later Tony had moved through another house. He entered the third he held his gun in one hand and a knife in the other. He stepped into the house quietly looking for any signs of a walker, he started walking towards what he could only assume was the kitchen. Why was he doing this alone again? Oh that's right because dumb and dumber couldn't keep it in their pants for more than an hour, even on runs apparently. He was surprised as someone stepped out of the kitchen area the two almost walking smack into each other. The man Tony locked eyes with was only a little taller than himself one of his hands holding the strap to a bag over his shoulder, the mans eyes looked at Tony's gun that only happened to be pointing at him as he'd stepped in front of Tony. Before Tony could get a word out the other man threw himself forward against Tony.
Tony felt a dull ache in his abdomen, the pain causing him to clench, the gun went off as the two hit the ground. Tony kicked away from the other man but stopped when he realized the guy wasn't moving. Tony looked closer, the man had a bullet wound in his chest near his heart. Tony could feel his eyes watering, "I didn't mean to..." the words we're pouring out without him even knowing as he tried to stand, his back against the wall. He was suddenly aware of the dull pain again before looking down to see blood soaking into his shirt. He lifted the shirt with a wince, he'd been stabbed he realized before clutching against the wound. It wasn't bleeding terribly bad, he looked down to see a bloodied pocketknife on the ground. Voices called out from outside the house. Tony almost called out hoping it was Shannon and Shiloh. "Robbie!" Someone yelled as a door was kicked in. Tony panicked, even if it was an accident they'd surely kill him for killing their friend. He rushed for the nearest room, slamming the door and locking it.
He started moving anything he could find against the door, clutching his wound as he did. He heard a scream followed by more yelling on the other side, they'd found Robbie. Something fell from the shelf he was moving causing a crashing noise, the door handle jiggled. "He's in here!" called a muffled voice, Tony could hear them trying to push the door open. Tony looked around the room, there was no escape except the window. Furious shots flew through the door, Tony ducked to one side of the room out of the way before making a run at the window. He didn't have time to open it, he had no choice. He shielded his face with one arm as he threw himself sideways through the window, it shattering everywhere, he landed in the snow of the front yard slightly dazed.
---
"We should really get back to helping Tony." Shiloh said zipping up his pants, still shirtless. "I guess." She smiled playfully pulling her own shirt on. Shiloh smiled back, then a shot rang out from across the street. Shiloh rushed to the window of the second story house they we're in, Shannon following. "Which house did it come from?" Shiloh asked knowing Shannon didn't have the answer, his eyes moving from one house to the next looking for some sign. They watched as Tony came crashing through a window. Shiloh opened his mouth to yell something as he watched Tony crawl, then stand, and stumble trying to maneuver through the snow towards the street. He could make out the faintest red trail on the glossy white ground in Tony's wake. "He's hurt!" Shannon gasped before Shiloh grabbed his gun and ran past her down the stairs.
Shannon started to follow but noticed three people crawling through the already shattered window looking down at the trail of blood. Tony hadn't gone far he just made it to the street and settled down in the snow hiding behind a car, the same car one of the group was now pointing at. Shannon grabbed a lamp and bashed out the pane of glass in front of her before sticking her pistol through and firing a few shots at them. She had to buy Shiloh time.
---
Shiloh sped down the stairs almost losing his footing twice, when he reached the bottom he heard Shannon's shots, she wouldn't fire unless she needed to and this only fueled him to go faster. He hadn't had time to grab his jacket, he stepped outside just in time to hear the return fire from across the street, he raised his assault rifle as he waved for Tony to make a run for it then crouched down in the doorway. Tony nodded before swallowing hard, he stood up counted to three and started sprinting for the house they were in. He trusted Shiloh and didn't second guess that Shiloh would keep him covered.
The instant Tony started running Shiloh squeezed the trigger letting loose a small burst of bullets fly, it was meant more of a warning than anything as the people were keeping their heads down for now. The moment a head popped up and took aim at Tony, Shiloh already had him lined up and dropped him before he could even aim. He heard Shannon coming down the stairs behind him just as Tony made it to the door. "Out the back before they box us in!" she called. Shiloh looked at Tony "How bad is it?" he asked nodding towards the wound still clutched in Tony's hand. "It's nothing." With the confirmation the three ran out the back door making a run for the car.
Anthony sat on a chair in front of a large glass pane of the third floor on watch. Normally someone would take watch on the rooftop but with the cold the 'viper nest' as it had been named, had been moved inside. He'd been at it for a few hours now, the though occurred causing him to yawn, even though it was the middle of the day. "Hey, no yawning on watch duty!" came Kate's voice from behind him. Anthony smiled, "Ah, my replacement arrives!" he stood up with a stretch. He moved out of the way to allow Kate the seat. "Your throne madam." Kate rolled her eyes before sitting. "Quiet as usual?" she asked looking up at him. "Quiet as usual." He said back before glancing out the window once more and shoving his cold hands in his pockets. "Stay warm!" he called before walking away. "Hah!" she called out. There was no such thing as warm up there.
Kate spotted the vehicle pulling in. "They're back." She called out over her shoulder, she watched them exit in a hurry and could tell that Tony was injured by the way he walked and by the fact that the other two crowded him. "Anthony, get Izzie and Luke I think someone's hurt!" she yelled down the hallway hoping he could still hear her as he made his way down the stairs.
Austin came rushing down the hallway that held everyone's rooms out of breath and in a slight panic. He spotted Shiloh sitting down against the wall outside of the room that he shared with both Tony and Shiloh. "Is he alright!?" Austin said as he peeked into the room through the doors window. Tony sat resting on his bed, his feet hanging over the side. Izzie was inside cleaning up the medical supplies she'd used and Luke and Patrick we're standing nearby. Shiloh stayed quiet and Austin turned his head to look at him. "Shiloh, what the hell happened out there?" he stood in front of the sitting Shiloh before crouching down to Shiloh's eye level. This only seemed to annoy Shiloh and he moved to stand up and step away from Austin. "I fucked up." he said before explaining everything that had happened.
"Of all the senseless stupid things...you almost got Tony killed because you couldn't keep it in your pants!?" Austin's fists tightened in anger. Shiloh couldn't even face him, he felt ashamed as it was. Austin could see that Shiloh was torn up about it, Austin felt Shiloh should be beating himself up. "I was just across the street I thought...I thought he'd be fine. We hadn't had any trouble in the neighborhood so far." Shiloh said finally facing Austin. "We never split up on runs and you thought it'd be a good idea to leave Tony of all people alone!? I can't believe you right now." Austin paced back and forth. "You know I would never let anything happen to him on purpose or anyone for that matter!" Austin growled, "The pact we made long ago Shiloh, that the three of us would always watch out for each other, always have each others backs no matter what, remember! What happened to that? You just decide to put it on the back-burner for a few minutes? You we're being selfish. I thought you'd changed." Shiloh took a breath, he'd fully expected this verbal abuse from Austin but the words we're cutting deeper than he thought, he noticed Austin's fist too late.
Shiloh stumbled backwards almost tipping over but regained his balance, he balled his fist for retaliation but when he saw Austin's face, he could see the hurt and he stopped himself. The door opened and Izzie and Patrick stepped out. Patrick stepped between them seeing the hostility and Izzie shut the door. "You guys need to stop being morons!" She said in a hushed tone. "He can hear you two out here, how do you think that makes him feel?" Austin took a step towards the door before Izzie intervened. "No, not until you take a moment." Austin opened his mouth argue but Izzie gave him a stern look, Austin decided to step back momentarily.
"He only needed a few stitches, the knife didn't do much other than cause bleeding. But he's not himself, probably still in shock." Izzie said glancing back into the room at Luke trying to talk to Tony. "He killed someone." Shiloh said leaning his shoulder against the wall. "He said it was an accident." Austin glanced at him with a snort. "Of course it was. He hasn't had to yet, and the one time he needed to he couldn't."
The door opened once again, Tony stepped out. He looked at Shiloh then Austin before turning to walk down the hallway. Austin started to walk after him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Tony--" Was all he could say before Tony shrugged away from Austin's hand and turning to face him. "Don't! Just stop talking about me and treating me like a fucking child, both of you!" he glanced past Austin at Shiloh. " 'You shouldn't have left Tony alone. Tony killed someone is he okay? He tried to off himself once we wouldn't want him to try again. Poor Tony can't do anything on his own.'" Tony said mockingly.
"Tony you know that we don't split up on runs, it's not just about that it was you who--" Tony chuckled cutting Austin off. "You can fool yourself Austin but not me. To you it is because it was me whether you realize it or not. I know that the two of you have been protecting me for a long time and at first I liked it, I couldn't deal with what was happening in this world and I let you it was the easy thing to do, you kept me safe and through that time and I'm grateful. But I'm sick of it, I'm not Dylan. I want you to see me as an equal, I want you to see me as--" He stopped himself before turning around and continuing quickly down the hallway his emotions running high.
Hearing Tony mention his brother and how Tony had felt had hit Austin hard, he didn't even react as Tony left. Just standing still watching him walk away. Luke and Izzie stood in the doorway, Patrick off to the side of the hallway. The three looking uncomfortable. Izzie sighed, "Well whatever the case its effecting him. You two are closest to him so straighten up and put that shit away for now, for him. He needs you." She turned walking in the opposite direction. Luke didn't know how to help the situation he decided to follow suit and leave as well.
Austin had never seen Tony like this, sure they'd only known each other since the dead started walking but he thought he knew him well enough. He couldn't decide if this was Tony lashing out after what he'd been through, or if this was how Tony truly felt, or could it be that this new world was changing Tony.
Shiloh stood staring at Austin's back, sure Tony's words had hurt Shiloh in some way but he was used to it. He'd always been known as the asshole, douche bag, stuck up jerk to people who never got close to him and with that came some sort of hardness to words to an extent, he'd been fine with it his whole life. But he knew Tony's words we're hurting Austin much more. Not only because Austin and Tony we're closer than he was to either of them but because Austin was a nice guy, a man who hadn't needed to be hardened.
Shiloh would have said something to Austin but he wasn't stupid, he knew it would do more harm than good right now because Austin was pissed at him, and he'd likely blame Shiloh for how Tony was acting now. Shiloh was prepared for this. He was suddenly aware of movement, somehow he'd completely forgotten Patrick was still there. He'd been so quiet and still while Shiloh had been so concentrated.
Patrick stepped up beside Austin with his arms crossed, looking down the hallway, "He'll be fine you know. He said what he needed to, now he just needs to calm down and come to terms with everything that happened." He placed a reassuring hand on Austin's shoulder. He also glanced over his shoulder at Shiloh with a nod. Shiloh nodded back, he knew Austin was in good hands, he turned on his heel before heading down the hallway. "You okay?" Patrick asked. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'm just worried about him."
--
Shiloh was angry, he was mad that his carelessness caused this happen to Tony who was both physically and emotionally hurting. He was mad that he'd broken the trust of the two people he cared about most in this world now. He sat down in some chairs in what was once a waiting room. He'd thought he was alone as he sat staring at the floor. Light footsteps we're headed towards him, when he finally looked up he found Ellis in a chair across from him. The boy was on his knees in the chair, his elbows on the back neck rest area and his face cradled into the hands. "There was alot of shouting and talking, I still don't really know what happened. But nobody died right?"
Shiloh smirked, he was almost jealous of how oblivious the boy was. "No, everybody is fine. Things just got...out of control." Shiloh said leaning back into the chair sinking down some. As he spoke his mind went straight to Shannon and thoughts of the times they'd sneak away. "..Out of control." he mumbled over again. It dawned on him that what they we're doing almost cost him his friends life, and that the other times something could have happened as well. It was then that he decided to put a stop to it, he couldn't do it anymore not if it jeopardized the group. "Well that's all that matters. We're all still here, we're still together." Shiloh nodded, "Your right. It's all that matters." Ellis grinned sheepishly, Klaire came walking from the same direction as Ellis had. "Ellis your sister's looking for you." Ellis craned his head to look at her before hopping down from the chair and leaving past her. She glanced at Shiloh who was looking at her, it was clear to him that she was angry at him as well. She turned and left without saying a word, thought it wasn't needed as Shiloh got the message.
Loud pops echoed through the halls of the hospital as Shiloh realized the shots came from the front of the hospital followed by shots from above, likely from the vipers nest.
Ben came racing into the lobby carrying several assault rifles. Anthony was standing by the door peeking out at the car barricade, Kate had said she'd spotted three people out by the car from the recent run from the Viper Nest. Ben tossed a gun to Shannon who stood by a window, another to Wayne and Alicia who were behind the front desk. Before taking his spot against the other side of the door to Anthony.
"I can't believe you drove straight here! You we're easy to track with this snow!" he snapped at Shannon behind him. "We didn't know how bad Tony was injured, how was I supposed to know they'd come after us!?" Ben growled, "You use your brain that's how. You killed one of them why wouldn't they follow you?" Ben peeked out before ducking back as a few shots flew by. Ben and Anthony both drew up and fired back before ducking back inside. They'd never expected their own barricade to be used against them like this. "Fuuuuck!" came a scream from outside.
Ben and Anthony looked at each other for a moment before continuing their assault, this time the others joined in. Car doors slammed as the car peeled out. They stayed in positions for a few minutes just in case before Kate came rushing down the stairs out of breath. "They're gone, they headed east until they were out of sight." They walked to join each other in a small circle. "Think they'll be back?" She said looking from one face to the next. Wayne shouldered his weapon, "Depends. They we're probably out on a run like our group was which means they were just a small part of the group. They could come back in numbers." Ben paced around as more members of the group showed up from various directions in the hospital. "They'll either leave us alone now or they'll be back. Either way we've got to be prepared. They know where we are."
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Coming Up: "Bullshit, you and I both know it was you!"
Tension runs high as the survivors brace for the possibility of an attack. A dangerous game is being played inside the hospital, accusations are thrown, will the culprit be caught or will mayhem reign.
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It's funny, whenever I'm writing I listen to a specific playlist/station on Pandora. It helps me get into the zone and drown out any distractions haha.
Remember when I said I wasn't going to post this episode til I finished the whole season? I lied, I felt bad for making you guys wait so here ya go. :v
Leave a comment! I enjoy them.
Thanks for reading, and being apart of this journey.
To continue on my terrible random vids/intro here ya go. Only a few additions and subtractions really. I'm no good with movie editors, I had an idea of how I wanted to change it to something much different but I couldn't get it to work so this is the 'fuck it' version. lol
Comments
OMG This was AMAZING!!! So excited to be back in hell LOL.
Omg. I read this on my phone but holy crap, IM SO HAPPY ITS BACK!! I really like the whole trio of Austin, Shiloh and Tony. Shannon is awesome too. But I also like the focus on some of the others like Kate and Anthony. And Ellis. Very great episode! I swear you're so talented. And I can't wait for the new characters too!
Oh forgot to add, I really really like Tony. kinda feel sorry for him in a way like how Austin sort of treated him like a child, that part was really good btw.... XD This freaking series has got me hooked, like no joke
The Walking Dead Season 1 Episode 8 - Pact