---

---

The town was a god damn danger zone. Lorna was covering Gilbert and Lagrange from the corner, keeping an eye out for any of the possible intruders while everyone else was dealing with the Walkers. She was glad when Leann had told her that the Beast was a friend. She didn’t much like the idea of trying to take that Goliath down. She then heard Leann asking something about an Alicia.

Her thoughts were disrupted at this point when she heard a deep engine roar and saw a small fireball of energy blast through the Walkers that were in her path with dual wielded machetes. Lorna couldn’t help but grin as she watched the woman decimate anything that came into her path. They were in the clear to get to the infirmary now. Leanna took off first with the captive, Lorna kept her guard position while Ash made his way towards the large Beast car that the fireball had jumped off of.

Lorna watched as Ash made his way towards the truck and his change in demeanour had Lorna questioning what news he had heard. He must have been close to whomever it was that the Beast man had lost. Ash took a rifle and a clip from the driver of the truck and she watched as he approached Beast, who in turn looked as if he would happily kill Ash in a heartbeat. It was in the moment where the rifle passed from Ash to Beast that Lorna put the pieces together. She wasn’t going to get to meet Cap’s other half after all. That must have been Alicia. Her brow furrowed as she felt the familiar knot in her stomach and the aching lump in her throat that she now attributed to the loss of a loved one.

Gathering her thoughts again, Lorna steeled herself when Leann yelled out that their doctor was down and that they needed another medical. She grabbed her katana after shouldering Ash’s M4, her eyes focused as she determined the best way to get everyone safely to the courthouse building. That is when the fireball blasted back, heading straight to the truck again.

---

Victor was huddled in the back as the pounding of dead flesh began hitting the truck from the outside. He gripped the handle of his machete and waited for Zoie. She had told him to sit tight, and sit tight he would. Richard had been given Zoie’s shotgun and was currently admiring it as he sat beside Victor. The other two men in the cab had barely said anything at this point but when the pounding didn’t cease, the young Spanish man began to freak out.
Both Victor and Dick watched as Jaime clambered into the front seat of the truck and made his way out of the side door. The thud of his body hitting the ground was clear and Richard lunged forward and watched as Jaime struggled against whatever had made him fall. After Dexter was done clambering over Victor and Richard respectively, Richard made his move.

Richard climbed into the front seat of the truck, Zoie’s shotgun was passed off to Victor for a minute while Richard got himself seated. He grabbed the gun back from Victor and held it in his hands as soon as he was settled. He aimed it towards Jaime but didn’t fire. His face split into a grin that soon developed into a shoulder shaking snicker. James was sitting right behind Richard at this point, but he honestly didn’t give a flying fuck. He couldn’t hold this in.

Richard pulled the door shut on the passenger side and began to chortle loudly, hell he wouldn’t be fucking surprised if he had wet himself a little he had been laughing so damn hard. He perched the shotgun on the edging of the truck window, the barrel pointing out of it and watched Jaime’s face contorting in pain and horror. When the straitjacket Deadbrain buried its teeth into Jaime’s shoulder, Richard stopped laughing. Without a word, Richard blasted the shotgun right at Jaime’s face. The splatter spread along with the pellets that fired out. Richard had taken out both Jaime and the straitjacket Deadbrain with one shot and fired a third Walker backwards that had been munching on Jaime.

Victor watched with a dumbfounded look on his face. He didn’t understand why Richard had laughed so heartily, nor did he understand why he had stopped. He had shot his companion in the face and Victor could understand this even if the laughter made no sense. Perhaps he was in some kind of shock? Victor would deal with Richard later, right now he had Zoie telling him to head to the infirmary. He wasn’t going to keep his Southern Belle waiting for him any longer than he needed to. He leaned towards Richard first. His ears were ringing but he had to say something before he left, just in case. “You did a good thing, monsieur. Your friend would have thanked you, I’m sure.” Victor gave Richard’s shoulder a squeeze before he moved out of the truck, following down the path that Zoie had cleared.

Richard barely even registered Victor’s words but the squeeze brought him back into his senses. He glanced over as Victor left the cab and he noticed that Banjo Lips was still in the truck. “We best move, BJ.” Richard clambered back into the back seat of the cab and followed Victor out onto the street. A Deadbrain grabbed Richard’s arm as he exited the vehicle and caused him to lose balance. Richard fell on top of the Deadbrain like a guy falls on his Prom date once they’re back at their cheap motel for the night. The stench was disgusting, teeth snapped as Richard held the prick down with his right hand.

Victor heard Richard falling, he stopped his progress and turned. What exactly could he do? He had his machete in hand but Richard was literally on top of things. He could do nothing. There didn’t seem to be any Walkers nearby to Richard right now so he would be okay. He had weapons, he could take care of himself. Just as Victor turned to continue down the path, he was grabbed by a Walker that had shambled over due to the noise from the shotgun blast.

Two fingers and a thumb clasped onto Victor’s left shoulder while a right hand clawed at his shirt. Victor brought his machete down fast, slicing the hand from the wrist joint. Had he been two seconds later he would have been gutted like a fish. Snarls sounded by his ear as putrid stink flooded from the side of his face. The Walker was mere millimetres away from giving Victor an unwanted ear piercing. Victor stumbled backwards into the driver side of the truck against the front wheel bed. He was pressed against the truck, his back was almost solidly against the hood. He held his left arm up, under the Walker’s chin to keep it from getting any closer but he could do little else. He had dropped his machete in the struggle with the creature. He needed help. Dexter was standing right beside Victor as he struggled, he seemed to be completely out of his element here.

---

Lorna had been watching the events unfold, she could only see the front of the Buster from her position but when a man flew out of the passenger side of the truck she could only watch in horror as he quickly became a meal for the Walkers in the area. As one Walker in a straitjacket moved forward, Lorna began to make her way forward. She couldn’t save this man but she could put him out of his misery.

That’s when she stopped in her tracks. A man had shut the passenger side door of the Buster shut and he had looked familiar, but how? This was not a world of frequent encounters with familiar faces. She was soon snapped out of her thoughts when a shotgun blasted out from the passenger side, saving the poor guy from becoming a Walker himself and taking out the bloated Walker in the straitjacket as well.

She had to get her head back in the game. This was no fucking time to be fannying about! She gripped the hilt of her sword and made her way down the path that Zoie had taken. She had to keep it clear for those in the Buster to get out. Walkers had begun wandering into the street again. That shotgun was not a smart move but she’d deal with the gunman once they were all safe.

She swung her sword in a circle at her side before running forward to the nearest Walker that was on her left, it was coming in towards Beast at his 5 o’clock. She swept its skull cap off in a fluid motion, the blood spraying over the ground and towards Beast and Cap’s position. She then spun downwards, her right leg kicking out at a Walker that was coming in at the side of the two men. It landed on the ground with a thud and a small splat as its face had caved in but it wasn’t enough, the Walker was still alive but it was on the ground. She jumped back up and kept moving onwards. Her blade sliced along its ankles as she ran, it wouldn’t be getting back up anytime soon at least.

Her blade found the eye socket of a Walker that was directly behind Ash now, the eye remained on the end of her sword as she yanked the blade back out of the creature’s skull. As Lorna moved forward she saw a tall man running from the Buster, a machete in his hand. He didn’t have a gun as far as she could see, so he wasn’t the culprit of the shotgun blast. The blood dripped from her blade onto the ground as she gained more momentum running forward. The man stopped in his tracks and turned away from his prior intended route. Why? She could hear a struggle at the other side of the Buster but couldn’t see it yet.

Her feet carried her ever forward. Her blade sliced clean through the neck of a water bloated Walker and then through the cheekbones of another leaving nothing but the lower half of its head attached to its former body. Lorna saw a Walker coming towards the distracted man but he seemed to be handling it, right until he dropped his machete. Lorna grunted as she heaved her katana above her head, the blade sliced downwards into the skull of the Walker that was trying to get a bite into the man on the hood of the car.

The blood sprayed over Victor’s face and he flinched as it contacted his skin. The eye landed right beside his face as it slipped off of the blade. “Let’s get you guys the fuck outta here! Go, go, go!” Lorna ushered Victor forward with a wave of her hand. Victor wiped his face off as best he could with his sleeve and nodded, making his way forward. He stumbled as his foot squished into the face of a snapping Walker head that Lorna had detached moments earlier. He kicked it roughly away and it rolled under the body of the Buster.

She noticed a guy with a hammer right beside the Buster who was standing there as if there was nothing happening around him. What the fuck was his problem!? She grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him hard, her blood spattered face looking angry as her eyes pierced into his. “Move your fucking ass and get the fuck to the courthouse! Get your head in the fucking game, asshole!” She shoved Dexter forward, making him follow Victor down the path that she had cleared for them.

Victor ran as fast as his legs could carry him and Lorna glanced around the side of the Buster, watching a man in a leather vest fighting with a Walker. He seemed on top of things (LOL) so she left him to it, giving him a quick word of warning. “Stop playing with the dead. Shitbrick! Kill it and MOVE! The road is clear enough to get to the Courthouse, lets go!” She didn’t wait around, her hand slapped the side of the Buster to signal to anyone still in the truck to get the fuck out. She quickly caught up with Victor and Dexter and took the front of the charge to the Courthouse. Victor spotted Zoie and gave her a worried smile, he knew she would be fine. Lorna gave a nod towards her as well as she ushered her charges forward with her.

Lorna growled as she saw another Walker that had wandered into her newly cleared pathway. Her feet carried her forward and she leapt on the Walker. Her blade plunging into its mouth. Her right hand gripped the hilt of her katana and her left hand grabbed her machete from her side. The blade of her katana was now stuck until this bastard was dead. Her machete hilt slammed into its right temple as it snapped at her katana blade. The movement stopped and Lorna got up, stomping on its head for good measure. Her boots were really going to need some TLC after this was all over. She yanked her katana out and sheathed it, this was now machete territory.

Another Walker crossed her path and she smacked her machete blade deep into the top of its cranium before she sliced the blade back out, pulling it towards her and kicking the Walker body away from her and the two men that were following her.

Victor had stopped as he watched Lorna fight like a woman possessed, she reminded him of Zoie with her style of fighting but not quite as graceful as she was. He followed Lorna as she beckoned them forward again. Lorna gave a yell to Ash and Beast as she passed them, pointing to the Walker that was now crawling towards their feet that she had floored earlier. No one liked an ankle biter.

There was just one more Walker between them and the Courthouse building and the dying doctor. Lorna knew basic first aid but that was about it, even then, that was dwindling knowledge beyond what she’d had to treat for herself and Kris the last few months.

Lorna ran forward and grabbed the last Walker by the throat, her machete moving fluidly twice at either side, slicing through the wrists of each arm (or as damn near as she could at this point). Her machete came back up and she pierced the Walker’s right eye with the large blade. Blood seeped out and dripped down the face of the now immobilised Walker. Lorna saw Maria, Kris and what she assumed was a friend of Maria’s. She yelled to them as she shoved the Walker body away from herself, letting it crumple backwards onto the ground. She saw Leann had moved over to Cap and Beast.

At the mention of medical knowledge, Victor piped up. “I am a doctor. Take me to her.” Lorna could have kissed the man right then and there. “Am I fucking glad I got to you when I did! Let’s go!” Lorna led Victor inside of the Courthouse building, the rest were free to follow. She really hoped that the Hammer guy was still following them. At least the path was clear enough for him to come forward with them, so there was no reason why he shouldn’t have.

They ran into the building, Lorna leading Victor further inside to where she could hear someone muttering and babbling incoherently. Victor instantly seemed to shift in demeanour as he saw the woman that was bleeding out on the gurney. “Go into my pack and get me the antibiotics that are inside.” He handed his bag to Lorna who quickly went digging into his pack, finding the packs of medication labelled as antibiotics.

Victor marched forward and went hunting for the equipment needed to stitch up the wound that the young man was currently dealing with. “Hold pressure until I come over.” He had to get the bleeding stopped. He noticed the transfusion bag and the colour of his patient, this was not looking good. “Move.” He shoved Sidd out of the way and took over with the exit wound. He worked as quickly and efficiently as he could, his hands moving in a flurry as he used the skin stapler on the dying doctor. He knew there would be internal damage but right now he just had to stop her from bleeding out. He checked her breathing and found her breaths to be shallow, the placement of the wound and her breathing showed that her lung had been hit.

“Get me an oxygen regulator and a vitals monitor. NOW!” He barked his orders at Sidd and awaited his return with the equipment. With the wound now closed, he could focus on ensuring there would be no infections setting in until he could deal with the internal injuries. Grabbing a mortar and pestle, Victor took the antibiotics that Lorna had handed him. He realised they were penicillin based and had no idea if this woman was allergic to penicillin or not. He called to Lorna. “Take over here for me, clean as much of the blood from her as gently and quickly as you can.” Lorna took his place and cleared the poor woman as best she could.

Victor took off like a lightning bolt and came back soon after with some non-penicillin based antibiotic that he had found. There was not a lot but it would be enough for now. He set about grinding it up and making the dosage, he took a fresh syringe from his pocket and took it in. He grabbed a separate saline bag and linked it into her free hand, opposite of the side taking the transfusion. He added the antibiotics and let them get started on their work inside. He had done all he could here for now so he made his way to find if they had any anaesthesia for the more difficult procedure that he was going to have to perform once Sidd returned with the required equipment. Victor relieved Lorna from her duty and Lorna headed out to the banister, to keep an eye on the intruder that Leann had brought in.

---

Richard heard a familiar voice and cocked an eyebrow. He reached to his side, grabbing at the dropped shotgun that Zoie had given Richard. As soon as his fingers curled around the barrel of the gun, Richard swung it down and smashed the teeth out of his “date”. He grimaced as the blood pooled inside its mouth and he grabbed the knife from his belt and sunk it into its temple. He turned his head around and saw a very fine ass running away from his position. Didn’t he know that ass? He felt like he knew that ass. Maybe he didn’t know that ass… but it was a damn fine one either way. Maybe he could get to know it better? If he lived, that is.

He had been a little busy when he heard the voice so maybe he was wrong and he was just hearing voices from his past. He stood up and dusted the front of himself down before he ran up towards the front of the Buster, Zoie’s shotgun in hand. He stopped when he spotted her and gave her a wink. “Alright sweet cheeks? Fancy escortin’ a handsome man to safety or would you rather be the one escorted?” Richard had no shame and clearly he had no sense of urgency. The street had been cleared, all they had to do was make their way to the big building where everyone else was headed. He held Zoie’s shotgun out to her with his left hand and grabbed his own sawn-off shotgun out of its holster with his right.

---

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As Maria and Kristina entered the infirmary Maria looked over towards Meg as she rushed towards the entrance Maria watched her friend drawing out her bow and fired it at an oncoming walker. Maria drew out her own arrow and fired at another on coming walker that was getting a little bit to interested in the building that they were all making their way towards them. Maria fired her bow the arrow landing straight into the right eye socket of her target. Both of the sisters turned their attention towards the Buster and noticed one of them panicking and then falling out as a walker grabbed him, Maria was so tempted to run back and save the man but it was way to late as a walker in a straight jacket grabbed hold of him and suncked its teeth into his shoulder. Kristina looked away as she could hear the man's screams of pain before finally a loud gunshot came from within the buster and both walker and the now dead Jamie fell to the ground. Seeing someone getting killed or eaten by a walker was still always very hard to see none of them would ever get used to it.

Kristina turned her attention back towards Meg, she smiled ever so slightly. "I believe you." Kristina said and then looked towards her sister for a moment. "I'm Kristina by the way, i'm guessing your friends with my sister its nice to meet you." Kristina said as Maria watched Ashton and Caesar still out there. She was still worried for them just as much as Meg was, but knew that they would get inside quickly. "C'mon lets head in." Maria said just as Lorna passed them both with yet another new comer, both sisters quickly followed Lorna inside.

The sisters looked watched Leann drag their new captive in and securing him to a banister near the stairs to the upper floor, they both nodded to one another as Leann barked orders for them to head up stairs to investigate what was up there, and secure it in case they needed to make a last stand up there. "You got it bosslady." Kristina said as she saluted Leann and turned to follow Maria up stairs. Already Kris and Maria could hear some growling and shuffling, Maria slowly opened the door and went in first she could feel a breeze and turned to see the shattered window where the two walkers had made their way into.

"Stay close Kris." Maria said to her sister as she headed down the hallway, looking down she could see a trail of blood heading down the hallway. Kristina closed the door behind them so that there wouldn't be any more to sneak their way downstairs to get the others, Kristina would suddenly let out a loud yell as she felt rotting fingers wrapping around both her shoulders. This cause Maria to turn around the walker was mere inches from Kristina's face, Maria quickly drew out her machete and stabbed it right in the head. Kristina quickly turned around stumbling back into Maria's arms a hand resting on her chest as she tried to catch her breath. "Thanks Mar." Kristina said softly as she looked over her sisters shoulder seeing a walker with large shards of glass imbedded into its skin.

Kris quickly turned around taking out her hunting knife and thrusted the knife straight into the base of its neck, causing the Walker to fall, both of them watched each others back very closely as they swept through each of the rooms on the upper floors. When there wasn't anymore walkers both sisters turned back towards the first floor. "The upper floor is secured only two somehow flew through the window." Maria reported and quickly went over towards Vivian seeing the gunshot wound to her chest and then looked towards the new face. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Kristina asked Maria went over towards Lorna eyeing the prisoner and glared at him.

---

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In the instant following Ashton handing over Alicia's sniper rifle to her father, all manner of Hell began breaking loose. Caesar snapped to attention, the mild amount of warms and fuzzies he felt at the moment supplanted by the sudden re-awareness of the urgency of their situation. He still neglected speech, but gave the Captain the slightest, almost imperceptible nod before snatching the rifle's strap around his torso and retrieving his machete.

A blur of motion caught Ash unprepared as Caesar brought his blades to bear, the first whipping toward his neck with speed he couldn't have hoped to match if he were braced to receive it. Cold steel slid across Ash's skin, just below his jawline before he realized Caesar's intent: his head was being pushed roughly to the side as the older man's second blade thrust past, impaling an undead eye socket with a sickening pop.

Simultaneously, Ash's recruit seemed to have caught whatever infected Caesar earlier. The Marine turned into a blur of urgency and polished steel, laying waste to many animated corpses and clearing the path before her. The engineer was duly impressed, even if his grief-wracked psyche wouldn't let him show it. If there was a moment to take, that moment was now.

His own sorrow at the loss of Alicia had to be put aside. This was a time for survival - his and his community's. Ash forced himself to say, if only in the brooding darkness of his own mind, that she was but one soldier. Soldiers fought, soldiers died. They did so for a greater purpose, if they were lucky. His novia did just that, if Black James was to be believed. To die now, to let these survivors die now, would make her loss pointless.

His tears ceased. Hell, his emotions ceased. Newnan didn't need them right now. Newnan needed the Captain. Ash put away his gun and replaced it with his large, knuckle duster fighting knife.

Take command, secure your people, get to the Infirmary.

Back at the Hordebuster, James was not having a good day. He'd be damned if he was going to let another one die, likewise he'd be damned if he was going to sit this one out. True, if he stayed in the 'Buster for a good long while, the area would eventually dissipate and allow him more freedom of movement. The inventor of this life-saving road beast used to live in it, for crap's sake. There were stashes of supplies somewhere in here, enough to keep one going for a while were they so inclined (though James was a little fuzzy on how he relieved himself in the truck, or what he was supposed to do with it after), but that really wasn't an option here. The resident Blackneck was going to get these people to safety. Or at least help.

"Ok, James," he said to himself, "You gonna get both these white niggas out the street and under a roof, and you gonna have fun doin' it." Minimal psyching up necessary, the generally optimistic James grabbed both his rifle and Alicia's pack, shouldering them both and tightening down the straps with a solid yank. He slung open the door, hit the power locks, and hopped down from the great vehicle.

The Ralls Rd. survivor who addressed James earlier, the one who wanted the cigarette, looked to him with with uncertainty. "Tell me what to do, where to go, who to talk to, whatever it is and I'll do it."

James grabbed a midsized woodsplitting axe from the floorboard and closed the door behind him. He straightened the brim of his almost jaunty cowboy hat on his head, and addressed the concern in a non-judgemental, straightforward tone. "Here's what you gonna do. Raise that hammer high and bring it down on anything gets too close, y'understand? See them folks down there?" he said, pointing at Ash and Caesar, "We meeting up with them, and pushing to that building over there. Stay close behind an' keep breathing. C'mon."

Ash looked back to James, noting he had a passenger in tow. A clear, cold voice he barely recognized as his own issued, "Hold the line here, Jefe. We're expecting company." A ragged gurgling prompted Ash to action - he held his machete out to keep the creature at bay, its point sinking into the thing's sternum. Its progress was halted, giving the monotone engineer the opportunity to insert knife into cranium at his leisure. The effect, while not remotely as flashy nor as skillful as his elder companion, was an excellent example of pragmatic execution.

Caesar grunted in affirmation, the most direct line of communication he'd made in a while, and gave his machetes a twirl to sling the putrid, blackened blood from them. The bladesman widened his stance and braced to defend his position.

From around the side of the Hordebuster came the standard redneck warcry of "YEEHAW!" as a jogging vision of dark skin and overalls obliterated a Walker skull with a one-handed sweep of a woodaxe; his other hand clutching his hat to his bandanna-swaddled head. He continued his afternoon calisthenics toward the other two Newnanites, (hopefully) with Dexter in tow. James looked dead at Ash, asking, "We gone?"

Ashton nodded grimly at James, repeating his question back to him verbatim, as a statement. "We gone."

"Offensive Wedge - Caesar takes point. James, you and I flank at weapon's length. New guy, bring up the rear. Make for the courthouse, meet Leann in the middle. And GO."

The venerable Mexican, surprising even himself, found his feet moving along to Ash's orders. Perhaps it was his state of grief; letting the man who was supposed to be in charge dictate to him actions which were, in fact, reasonable. Without a growl or comment, anyway. Two steps later, Ash and James began their own jog, weapons at the ready, flanking their pointman.

There was an appreciable amount of space and hostiles between themselves and their Commanding Officer. The removal of these obstacles from their path did demonstrate a marked difference in their styles of melee combat: Caesar led the way with fluid but brutal motions, the perfect example of calm and rage warring within a man of considerable skill and experience as he dealt death with both hands; a master of his craft punctuated with obvious emotive content. Ash demonstrated effective and straightforward technique, not too defensive and not overreaching; Economy of Motion, reserving what energy he might need if a huge push was required. James... James found an opening and planted an axe-head into it. He made a rotting skull resemble a canoe and moved onto the next one, existing merely in the moment. Truth being, he'd rather be shooting.

Steadily they cut their way to the Infirmary, meeting up with Leann on the way.

---

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Leann took all of two second to survey the area, more and more walkers were being dropped by the small number of folks out in the streets fighting and things were clearing up but there were more on the way that had been brought into the inner wall. They needed to get everyone into the infirmary and regroup before taking this head on. There were members of Newnan pinned down without weapons in various buildings and they needed weapons beyond the usual knives they kept on their sides at all time. Leann could only be thankful that the inner wall was not torn down by the tornado. Least once that was cleared there would be a safe haven of sorts once again, but until it was cleared and any infiltrators taken care of things were still in the shit fuck category.

Taking a breath she raised her rifle and took aim, a soft squeeze of the trigger and the bullet shattered through the skull of a walker closing in on the group that was working their way towards her. "Ash, Caesar, move your asses. Infirmary now," she said as she took aim and squeezed off another round. Two down, so many to go. Swinging the rifle around as she turned she quickly made her way towards the infirmary door; pulling it open and propping it that way with the heel of her boot as she took aim yet again. She had clear sight at what was coming up from the side of the buildings behind the V-formation group and from behind the Buster. This wasn't time to make a stand, she needed them inside and now. They had injured that needed tending to; among other things.

This was a shit storm and as soon as everyone was inside they needed to take inventory of what they had in the former courthouse as well as who actually was a good enough aim from the new comers to do what Alicia used to do for the group daily. From what she had seen in the street at least one or two of the new additions were decent enough aim; she just hoped that one of them would actually make for a marksman when properly trained. "Come on boys, forget what's coming up behind you. We'll deal with that later. Inside so I can drop the gate," she added. Not every place was as reinforced as the infirmary but outside of the weapons cache it was the safest place in Newnan. Steel drop gates had been installed in all the windows and entrances just in case something like this happened. It never had before but there was a first time for everything.

"Status update on Vivian!?" she yelled inside to whoever was listening.

Slowly Vivian opened her eyes and looked over towards the man standing over her. Who the hell was this guy? Oh fuck it, it didn't matter. Whoever he was, he had to be the one that actually make her feel like she wished she was dead with those staples she could feel into her back instead of actually like she was dead; like she had a few minutes before. She blinked a few times, taking a deep breath and coughing up some blood. Her breathing was still shallow, she needed oxygen and fast, her lips turning blue at this point and there was chill within her that went to the bone. Whether it was from the cold blood transfusion or not she didn't know. The man was gone as soon as she blink; off to do only god knew what in her mind. Hopefully he was more of a doctor than a first aide guy. She would need surgery, she could tell.

She could feel the heaviness in her chest, the blood pooling into her lung and chest cavity. It pressing against her heart, the blackness slowly fading in along the edge of her vision. She fought it but there was nothing she could do, her eyes slowly closing as the world spun in around her; breath going ragged as she seemed to choke on the blood, one lung collapsing in the process. She needed a chest tube, she needed to be intubated, she needed more blood, she needed the sake around her heart to be drained. She needed a chest surgeon. Her last thought was that she was fucked and that was the end. "Damn it..." she thought before everything went black.

Leann could barely see what was going on inside the building but she heard what she could only imagine was Vivian, the coughing couldn't be good and then everything went silent.

"Move it!" she yelled towards Ash, James and the rest.

Sometimes you hear the bullet...

That was the last thought that went through Leanns mind in the split second between the bullet touching her skin and entering her brain before she slumped to the group; her body still propping the door open.

"Job done boss," a voice spoke into a radio outside the outer wall. The sound of tires pealing off into the distance could barely be heard inside the wall.

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There was not a day that Meghna didn't think about her mother. She'd heard stories, seen the pictures and even watched a couple of home videos. She was beautiful, Meg knew. From birth till today, Meghna could never forget the face of Gauri Kumar - never.

There's one memory, well, not really a memory since Meg was too young to remember her - that she could remember clearly. It was a video, taken long before she and her husband - Meg's father - ever got married. It was of Gauri simply laughing. Nothing complicated, hell, Meg didn't even know why she was laughing, but she was sitting under a tree and laughing her heart out. The camera would shake, and the not-so-familiar rumble of laughter would come from off camera, stirring Gauri to laugh some more before clutching her stomach.

It was such a light-hearted moment - beautiful even- but on the day Meg found the video stored under her father's bed many years ago, she couldn't stop crying. This was the mother she and Siddharth would have had, the wife that Varun Kumar would've still had. That day was the first and last time Meg ever cried over her mother. There was no reason to dampen such memories with sadness, right? Sure, Meghna would give anything in the world to see her mother in reality, to touch her and hug her, to hear Gauri's boisterous laugh vibrate against her chest till Meg could forget the world.

But this was the world she was now living in. No mother, no father with just a twin brother who she still pretends to hate. It was wrong, in this shit hole of a world family is all that you have. Aloha means family, right? But Disney liked to forget that not everything was perfect. That the world was not all sunshine and beautiful and nor were the people that inhabited it.

So when Leann arrived with her ragtag group of equally fucked up strangers and their weird as fuck cars, it was like Meg found a saviour. Sidd was terrible at keeping company - even from childhood - so to find more people, those that didn't actually want to kill them and steal their shit from their still warm corpses.

Meg followed Leann around like a duckling does its mother for the first few months - or however long. It doesn't matter anyway, Meghna loved Leann. Whether as a strong leader character, or as a possible mother figure, Leann fit it all. She was strong, a brilliant leader with a great head on her shoulders and quite the loving figure.

And now?

Leann was lying in a pool of her own blood by the open door - the door that Meghna had just walked through a few moments before. There was nothing to say, nothing to look at. How could someone call a corpse serene in their final moments? That sort of talk is bullshit. Leann didn't look anything like that. There was no smile on her face, nothing that indicated serene.

Instead, there was a hole in her bloody forehead and she was down. Gone. Dead.

Just like her father.

Just like her mother.

There was no dramatic "nooooooooo!", not even a scream from Meg. Instead, she just watched. Dazed, horrified, furious. Meg wanted someone dead, to be held responsible for this. For stealing someone else away from her. It was not fair, despite this being a cruel, terrible place.

Despite having dealt with it before, Leann's death hurt just as much as Gauri Kumar's did.

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It was like Sidd's prayers had been answered. Someone did arrive, and even though there was no microwave with him, he knew how to save a life. Or at least he looked like he did. The stranger burst into the infirmary and suddenly go into "Doc mode" with a woman helping him out in the background.

Sidd nodded at the repeated order, and almost yelled in indignation as he was suddenly pushed aside by said stranger. Sidd winced as the Doc stapled Vivian's wounds together without the use of an anesthetic on the passed out Ice Queen. The Doc kept flitting about all around the room, at one moment by the patient, the next in god-knows where finding medication that even Sidd somehow didn't know about.

Sidd looked across the infirmary, checking for the oxygen regulator and vitals monitor - as the Doc commanded - until he found them on the other side of the room. Rushing around Viv, Sidd grabbed what he needed before returning back beside Vivian, watching from the corner of his eye as the Doc let the nurse-lady leave.

Fuck. He was the nurse.

There was a sudden gunshot nearby, the echo almost startling Siddharth out of his skin. There must've been a walker nearby for someone to have shot them so close to the infirmary. Sidd sighed. This day was super fucked up.

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Zoie pushed her hair out of her face, running the back of her hand along her cheek to wipe off the sweat when Richard spoke to her. She could have laughed or smirked but no; her eyes narrowed as her grip tightened around the hilt of her blade. Richard's left eyebrow rose in question to the look on Zoie's face. The hell was wrong with her? Oh maybe it was because he didn't compliment her... He did have a bit of an ego sometimes. Richard shook his head and took a half step back in surprise as just two quick steps later and Zoie had launched herself towards him as she rose it into the air; the blade dripping blood and shimmering slightly as the clouds broke, the sun starting to shine through.

Her body slammed against his, her knees pressing against his ribs as her ankles came around his waist. Richard hooked his arms to hold onto the weight of her body, his muscular arms tensing against her sides to make up for his lack of hand grip due to the shotguns he was holding. The blade came down and the crunch of bone could be heard behind Richard as it crushed through the Walkers skull. It became logged, her chest pressing against his as she tried to remove it. He swallowed hard and began to grin as he realised what she had done. "Screw it," she thought to herself as she let go, grabbing Richard's shoulder instead. The walker dropped dead to the ground, using her free hand to finally take the shotgun from him. Richard released her gun and used his now free hand to, very happily, cup her asscheeks as he held her body against his, his own gun in his other hand. Zoie's hips bucked slightly against his as his had grabbed her rear end, normally she would have decked him bit right then she wasn't exactly in a position for complain.

"Move your ass Honkey Tonk, we've got company," she nearly whispered against his ear; more Walkers starting to close in from the rear end of the Buster. Richard didn't need to be told twice, he gave a light chuckle and held onto her tighter. "Hold on tight, darlin', we're goin' for a ride." He launched himself forward, running ahead as he carried her towards the infirmary building. There were smatterings of Deadbrains still shuffling around, some were crawling along the asphalt looking for their next meal.

With a wide grin and a bellowing laugh that shook his core, Richard took two large strides and leapt forward. Zoie couldn't imagine what the man was laughing about, what she was seeing coming up behind them was nothing to get the chuckles about. He landed but where his right food landed steadily, his left foot landed on the skull of a Deadbrain. The force of his and Zoie's combined body weight caused it to completely shatter and a spleurch noise followed as Richard slid forward a step in the gore that had erupted from the shattered brain bowl. He managed to keep his balance by a sheer force of luck and continued his pace. "Don't worry, not all your rides with me will be this bumpy. Some you might even enjoy more than this one." A wicked smirk spread across his face as his pace picked back up again from their near tumble.

"Oh Honkey Tonk, I do love a good bull ride, ain't been tossed yet. Now, wonder if you'll last mor'en 8 seconds," she counted quickly with a smirk as her arms wrapped over his shoulders, pumping the shotgun roughly behind his head to load another cartridge into the chamber. This might not have been the most ideal situation but she'd had worse rides. A snort escaped him, his hot breath flooded over her neck. She was definitely a firecracker. "Baby, I can last all night if it means I get to ride with you." His hand gripped her ass tighter and he continued laughing a little heavier, his breath beginning to strain from the exertion of running, shooting, talking and holding Zoie.

Another Deadbrain was shambling across their path but Richard was ready for this one. He rose his gun and shifted his head to covere the left side of Zoie's head with his own, covering her ear as he rose his shotgun up with his right hand. Zoie pressing her free ear against his cheek as he did so. He fired a shot off that took the face clean off the Deadbrain that was now in front of them both. He shouldered the body as he ran by, causing it to fall onto its back to their side, clearing the path once more.

"Not bad shootin' hun," she said as she leaned back slightly, something dripped onto her forehead and within a moment her fingers gripped the back of his hair, her nails digging into neck as she twisted her body. She leaned back far as she pressed her back against the crook of his arm and took aim above them. Pulling the trigger it was suddenly raining blood, spit, and ass behind them. If she kept this up, Richard was going to keel over from laughter. Granted it probably wasn't the best time, but hey, she was definitely tickling his fancy.

Winking at him she righted herself back up against his chest; tightening her legs around his waist as she held on. His grip tightened along with hers and he raised his gun once more, shooting a Deadbrain point blank style on his right side, barrel to eye socket. The splatter spread across his sleeve but he didn't care. He continued running, his legs darting to the clear spaces between the fallen Deadbrains and their half bodied counterparts clawing their way over the road surface.

There was gunfire happening, but not as much as Richard expected. He spotted a group of men, Banjo Lips on the flank and with Dexter bringing up the rear of it. Well damn, someone else actually managed to get the kid to move his ass. He'd have to congratulate them and the kid later if they made it out of the shitstorm. A muffled shot rang out from a distance away as they reached the corner of the Gilbert. Richard's pace slowed when he saw a woman's body crumple to the ground right outside of their intended destination.

Zoie cocked her head around just in time to see Leann drop to the ground. She didn't know the woman but from the way she had been barking orders and the subsequent way people had been following them she could only assume that she had been in a leadership roll of some sort for the place; or maybe she was just one of those type of people that others followed. Some people were just like that but it wasn't a time to think about that.

"Shit. Another dead. Lets move." His joking was done with for now. He didn't feel any kind of loss at the woman's death, he hadn't known her, but the idea of himself possibly dying crossed his mind for the second time since they'd arrived here. Today was not his day and he'd be fucking damned if Zoie kicked it before he got a chance to get to know her better. (Wink wink, nudge nudge. Hubba hubba.)

This was the first death of an actual breathing person she had seen today but it was one too many as a walker closed in on the crumpled former leader of Newnan Zoie finally decided the ride needed a change of perception. An arm under Richards shoulder and she swung around to his other side; piggy backing him as she took aim and dropped the fucker looking for a meal before it had a chance to turn Leann into lunch. The shift in Zoie's weight made Richard a minor mis-step, his foot sliding slightly on some gore, as he darted from place to place; but when he heard and felt her gun he braced himself for the coming noise and kick. She was a really fucking good shot.

Releasing her legs she went into a sprint over to the woman and grabbed her by an arm, dragging her into the building; she didn't know who Leann was but if they could at least bury her without a bite mark that was something in her mind. The loss of weight and warmth from Zoie's body was not a welcome feeling but when Richard saw what she was up to he sprinted forward to help her. As Richard came over Zoie let slip an approving small smile and nod, patting his shoulder as she kissed his cheek before stepping back to give him room. He really hadn't expected that kiss but right now his body was wracked with shock. He didn't even understand why he felt this way, but he did. It was a new sensation for him. The most he could do was give a faint smile in return before he scooped up Leann's body into his wide arms and carried her into the infirmary. "I got her, keep an eye on my back." He wasn't smiling now.

"I got your six hun," she said as she kept the door open for him and took point.

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The trio of Newnanites, plus one newcomer, hacked and fought their way to the Courthouse door. As they neared their intended destination, the herd of the Dead thinned, courtesy of the efforts of those who had already made it in. They were home free. They had this. Pace quickened as the ground opened to them, permitting greater effort to be put toward pumping knees and working elbows. Leann stayed behind to keep the main door open. They could see details inside the building; windows and pre-existing artwork, interior doors. They had this.

Shock almost stopped their advance, very nearly overriding survival instinct. Nearly. From an unknown source, a spot appeared on her forehead. It was about the size of a nickel on the one side, red and weeping, but judging by the splash on the door behind her, the exit wound was about the size of a coffee cup. Eyes glazed and fixed as the power to stand left her body. Leann, sorry, Lieutenant Colonel Leann McCormick, Commanding Officer of the Newnan Safe Zone, left this earth due to hostilities by an unknown power. Leann was down, and there was no helping her.

This would not go unanswered.

A strange shape zoomed past the four of them. From a momentary glance, it looked like the world's most active session of firearm-inclusive coitus. Still, not the strangest thing they had seen that day. The ridiculousness of the situation snapped them out of their momentary shock, (well, Ash and James, anyway, Caesar had been numb to most carnage since the eighties) and they pushed forward at a full run, now that the way was clear.

The lady with the kukri knives from earlier, Ash noticed with momentary annoyance that she was using firearms. As it turned out, others were, as well - One of James's finds and Leann, to provide cover. It was necessary; couldn't really fault her (or anyone else) for it. He just wished it wasn't necessary to make that kind of noise this close to their inner sanctum. It would draw more of The Dead to them soon. Still, the same lady stopped to take Leann's position, holding the door open for the last of them. Moreover, the new guy took the time to get Leann's body into the courthouse, a thing for which he was pleased. They were getting in, and they could secure the building. The rest of the citizenry would have to hole up until the Leads could come up with a plan of action.

Ash stopped right before the door, ushering in Caesar, James, and their new addition, Dexter. He then snatched up Leann's dropped High Point 995 Carbine and sped inside, securing the door and lowering the security gate behind him. "James!" he called, a little loud now that they were indoors, "Take that cannon you've got up to the Nest, perforate some warm bodies if you can. You're our sniper, now."

James looked confused, if but for a second, before he unslung his Barrett and ran for the stairs. "Oh, yessah, Massa Ash, sir." he mumbled to himself, not out of disrespect but attempting to break his own tension with humor, "Ol' Black James'll be happy, shoot him some bitches fo ya, Massa..."

The overalled country man of Middle-African descent, slinging a .50 sniper system, muttering something about the tribulations of Kunta Kinte, quickly made his way up, up, up, to the clocktower atop the municipal building that served as their main, central structure. He set up in a shady spot, and looked about to see what he could see.

Meanwhile, Caesar strode briskly into the Infirmary, proper. He took one look at what was going on with Leann. He looked to the new Doctor. Then he looked to the uncertain Sidd. Still without speech, he hurriedly scrubbed his hands and forearms with raw alcohol and stared at the younger man again, his desire for Sidd's absence growing. Not just for his sake, mind you. It was fairly common knowledge that Caesar and Vivian had a relationship (of sorts), and he spent a bit of time in here. Plus, the old man was trained in some form of medical care. He wouldn't be quite as out-of-place.

And though he wasn't going to say anything, the kid looked like he could use a break.

Still, his thoughts remained unvocalized as Caesar walked to the table opposite the new French doctor. He nudged Sidd with his elbow, and nodded to the nearest point of egress. Still without speech, he glared at the doctor, waiting for what he'd require next.

Back near the main entrance, Ashton checked Leann's rifle, shouldered it, and turned his attention to the building's defenses. "We need to bar and curtain these windows. Now." His voice was cold and hoarse. It was necessary, but it was also obvious that something was wrong. Ash glanced to Leann, and the trail of blood leading to her body. His face softened for just a second before the Soldier re-asserted itself. He looked to their prisoner, his face growing absolutely grim.

Much to do before he could afford the luxury of grief.

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Lorna was busy watching over the prisoner that Leann had attached to the balustrade. Her hands were holding Ash's M4 and she gave a nod to Maria and Kris as they went upstairs to clear the level. When they returned she gave Maria a casual smile and a silly wink to Kris. She was glad that they were safe. She heard Leann yelling orders and turned her back from the door for a second as she glared down at the prisoner along with Maria. Kris had wandered into the back where the Newnan doctor was currently being worked on.

A gunshot later and Lorna turned in time to see Leann's body falling to the ground. That soldier didn't deserve to die that way. She was strong and capable, she was a leader and her death was not fitting of someone like her. Lorna turned away from the second death she had witnessed in the same hour and her jaw clenched. Her face was set in a snarl as she glowered at their prisoner. Her foot came up and she kicked him in the ribs. A growl sounded deep in her throat and she stormed off to the back of the room, avoiding the sight of Leann's body.

Maria looked towards Lorna and returned the smile, she was truly happy to see her friend again and gratful to see her sister was safe in Lorna's care for the last three months. She leaned herself up against the wall, while guarding the prisoner with Lorna. Maria instantly froze when she heard a gunshot, and seeing Leann's body falling down to the ground her friend Meg scream. One of the strongest people Maria knew in this new world was now dead, killed by their prisoner's friends she could then hear the screeching of tires going down the road. Maria clenched her fist she wasnt there to help her.

Kristina was in the back standing over Vivian seeing if Victor actually did need any help, she turned to look at Caesar as he entered the room and then over towards Sid. She didnt know either of these people and knew that she was out of her element, she didnt have any real medical skills. "I'll just leave you guys be." Kris said as she turned around and headed out of the room, she looked towards her sister and Lorna, seeing both of them with tense look in their eyes. Kris looked over seeing the body of Leann on the ground, she didnt know her at all like her sister did, but she had a feeling that she was a good leader to these people.

Richard carried Leann into the building at the back of the rest of the group that Dexter was with. He nodded to Zoie as he slipped past her, finding a clear area away from the doorway further into the room. He figured the further away from the stairs that the body rested, the better. He gently placed her down and ran his fingers through his hair, his fingers scratching the back of his neck where Zoie's nails had dug in not two minutes earlier. He let out the breath that he'd been holding in and kicked the ground in frustration. The fuck was wrong with him? He wasn't the one that had died, so what was the problem?

He gave one last glance at the still warm body of Leann and glowered to himself. He turned around and began walking into the group of people that were now gathering inside the building. He heard one of the soldiers talking, ordering them around but he was done helping right now. He needed to hit something. As the group dispersed to do their intended jobs and responsibilities, Dick heard an angry and familiar voice before he saw two familiar faces coming right for him. Well fucking shit.

As Maria stood there, seeing Zoie and Dexter walking into the room the two new faces that she hasnt seen before until now. Then the last person came in, seeing that face again instantly made her blood boil he was carrying Leann's body Maria clenched her fists tightly until her knuckles started to turn white. The rage she felt towards the very man who had tried to kill her and left her to be walker chow was here now. "YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" Maria suddenly yelled after Richard had laid Leann's body down on the ground.

Maria quickly made her way across the room bringing her fist back her fist making contact to the left side of Richard's face giving the man a black eye hurting her own hand in the process. Kristina was looking down on the ground. Then she heard her sister suddenly yell Kristina saw her sister making her way towards Richard the man who lied to both herself and Lorna about her sister being killed by walkers. Feeling the similar feeling of rage and Kristina quickly made her way and instantly kicked the man between the legs.

Richard held his hands up as a sign of surrender but it didn't stop the force of rage that was Maria. He knew he deserved this and right now, with how he was feeling, he took the hits. His head shifted as he felt the warm, solid fist that Maria connected with his left eye. That was going to leave one hell of a shiner. He winced as he stumbled backwards, his hands dropping to his sides before he rose them back up, surrendering once more, hoping that she'd stop. However, Maria's younger sister Kris was coming right up Maria's rear and gave a swift kick to his gentleman's area.

"Whoa whoa whoa, come o---" His words cut off at the sharp pain that travelled from his little head to his big head, his breath cut off momentarily. A deep huff left his lips as the air was kicked out of his body. He doubled over, his hands grabbing his now throbbing crotch as he fell to his knees in pain. His eyes were watering, his left eye stinging as the salted tears slipped into the split skin that was now below his eyeline thanks to Maria's wicked right hook. He blinked rapidly, trying to remove the tears that were making his vision blurry.

Maria winced slightly from her punch and held her right hand for a moment. "You fucking shot me and left me to die!" Maria said as she took a step back and brought her right leg back her boot meeting Richard's brow. Kristina looked towards her sister, she didnt like Richard sure he deserved to be punched, but her sister was aiming to kill the man. "Maria stop!" Kristina yelled as she tried to get her sister off of him as Maria wrapped her fingers around Richard's neck to choke him out. Only to be elbowed by her own sister causing Kristina to stumble backwards looking at her sister.

Lorna heard the commotion, she recognised Maria and Kris shouting and ran over from the back side of the room. She saw Maria laying right into a guy on the ground, the one she'd seen earlier with the leather vest. It was when Maria's elbow collided with Kris that Lorna ran forward. She grabbed Maria's arms and pinned them to her sides before wrapping her own arms around Maria's torso, keeping her immobilised from behind. She dragged her backwards and turned her around to face her sister. "Look Maria! You fucking hit Kris! Calm your fucking titties down woman!"

Maria was still seeing red, then she felt arms wrapping around her waist as she was slowly pryed off of Richard by Lorna. Now Maria was still kicking trying to get Lorna to let go of her so she could get back at him. When Lorna turned her over to face her sister seeing Kristina's hand resting on her side where she had apparently hurt her sister. Which Maria instantly felt bad during her rage fit she had hurt her.

Lorna shoved her forward and released her from her grip, making sure that she couldn't get past her towards the man that she had been beating into. "Why the fuck are you attacking this guy?!" She frowned at Maria, her hands resting on her hips as she waited for her response. Richard had fallen backwards and had been laying on the ground, blood falling down the left side of his face, matting into his hair as he caught his breath. So it was Lorna's voice that had yelled at him outside after all. This shit was just getting stinkier and stinkier. He got up onto his feet, his hands resting on his knees as he bent over, trying to steady his breathing. Blood dripped onto the floor from the cut that now resided on his left brow thanks to Maria's kick.

When Lorna finally let go of her Maria quickly turned around to glare at her friend and then instantly pointed a finger right at Richard. "You dont fucking remember what he did look at his fucking ugly face and tell me you dont recongize it!" Maria yelled back to her. She wanted to beat the hell out of him some more then she forced herself to try and calm down, and turned to face her sister. "Kristina are you alright i'm really sorry.." Kristina was leaning herself up against a table and looked over at her sister. "I'm fine." Kristina said softly.

Confusion spread across Lorna's face as Maria yelled at her. She turned around to look at the victim of Maria's rage. Richard stood upright then, his chest pushing out as the blood continued to run down his face. "What's happenin' Lorna? Long time no see." He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and stared her down. Lorna's fists clenched, her eyes narrowed and she began to suck her teeth as she tried to calm herself down. "What the fuck are you doing here?!" She snapped her words at him, her jaw clenching just as tightly as her fists. Her feet took two very slow and deliberate steps towards him.

"Well, we got picked up from BJ and were brought down here on the beast of a truck out there. Glad to see Maria's alrigh'. Thought you were dead, darlin'." He cast his words over to Maria and wiggled his eyebrows at her. He was still in shock from everything; the shit that went down this morning, outside and the deaths he had witnessed. Lorna launched at him then, as he wiggled his eyebrows at Maria and slapped him across his face, her hand slipping off his skin from the blood.

"Don't you fucking dare talk to those girls. Not after what you did. Not after what you put us all fucking through." If her voice could cut, Richard would be headless. He raised his hands up, surrending yet again before letting them drop to his sides. He walked towards Lorna, who had her fists ready to hit him if she had to, and leaned in to mutter something that only she could hear.

Whatever he said, it flipped a switch in Lorna. Her right fist collided with his ribcage, knocking the wind right out of him. Richard huffed, all the air leaving his body from the punch, he staggered backwards a step before Lorna roundhouse kicked him on the left side of his face. He fell to the ground and before he knew it, Lorna was on top of him, straddling his body as she began pummeling her fists into his face fast and hard. She grabbed the front of his shirt and headbutted him right on his nose. The blood sprayed everywhere, he began to choke on it as he lay there getting the absolute shit beaten out of him.

Lorna was covered in his blood, her face was red from rage and blood alike. She shifted her body down and jumped back up onto her feet, she kicked him in the gut before grabbing him from the ground and yanking him back onto his feet too. Richard took this opportunity and landed a solid fist on her jaw, uppercutting her with what little strength that he had left. She stumbled backwards and Richard took the opportunity to catch his breath.

She wasn't out of the game for long before she launched at him again, her fists pounding into his ribs, one after the other. He fell to the ground again and she didn't stop. She kicked, jumped and slammed her boots into his body. Richard felt his ribs cracking, he was sure a few were broken as the heat and pain wracked his body. His head began to swim and he could feel all the burst areas of skin stinging as she continued to turn him into mincemeat.

He did deserve this, he knew it, she knew it, the sisters knew it. Soon, everyone else would know it too. He always knew his shitty past would catch up with him, and serve him right. Who was he to think he deserved anything more than this fate? Lorna huffed and puffed as she beat into him, her energy leaving her but her rage and adrenaline keeping her going. She was doing this for Kris and Maria and for herself.

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Zoie let out a sigh of relief as she was ushered into the building and the man she hadn't yet met told people to start baring up the place. Looking over to Richard as she lay down Leann she smiled a bit. She owed him one. He had not only gotten both of them out of there but helped her get the fallen woman inside before she could be eaten. He had points in her book. He seemed rough around the edges but who wasn't these day; he seemed okay but only time would tell. Ruffling her hair she rolled her shoulders back a bit and then it happened.

The women, one after another, started laying into Richard. Seemed they knew him and they were not happy to see him. Fucking hell this was not what anyone needed right now. As Zoie stood there mouth agape she laid eyes on the man that was tied up and narrowed them. Now that was a real threat but there was no way anyone was going to listen to her while they were tearing into Honkey Tonk. Time to end this. Cracking her knuckles she looked over towards Lorna and then she moved.

Three long strides and she ducked low, her arms wrapping around the Marines waist as her head collided with her gut, sending both of them flying back and pinning the woman against the wall with the force. Her arms quickly unlocking from behind her waist and righting herself as she took as a defensive stance. She doubted the woman was going to take the body check well but at least she was off Richard for the time being. "Yer madder than drop kicked hornets nest woman, calm yer own titties!"

Lorna looked utterly demented at this point. Blood, sweat and spit dribbled down her chin and face as she beared her teeth at Zoie. No one was stopping her right now. She had payback to distribute. She swung her right fist at Zoie's left cheek and jabbed her left fist at her ribs. Zoie quickly raised her arm and swung it back, blocking the swing at her cheek, her arm wrapping around to keep it back but the jab connected with her ribs. She grunted slightly as her body arched with the fist connection; woman hit like a hammer and the wind was nearly knocked out of her. Zoie was glad she hadn't taken a fresh hit and that the woman was worn down some from beating on Richard plus everything else. They weren't going to get anywhere with this.

Zoie took a breath and grabbed Lorna by the shoulder, taking a half turn and planting her foot behind the woman. She chucked her back just slightly before she jumped up and and spun around. The hell off her boot connecting with her sternum and driving the woman back, ass to the floor and sliding back until she stopped at the feet of the sisters. Last thing she wanted was to kick the woman the way she did but this shit had to stop. "Keep her back or' next time I really drive into her ass," she quickly barked at the two other women.

Looking over to Richard she quickly grabbed a towel and dropped to a knee next to him, placing it against his face. What the hell had just happened. She shot the women a look and then in turn shot him one. "I dun know what you did to rile up that firecracker but I gotta think it was something bad. You stay down for now, understand? Good," she quickly said before standing up and turning around. She wasn't about to get blind sided once the Marine caught her breath.

Zoie couldn't believe what was going on; granted she wouldn't hold it against any of them. Bless their hearts. Things had hit the fan and it seemed like everyone was on edge; hell even she was. Was to be expected and from what she could gather so far things were going about as rotten as they could be for the city of Newnan. She'd seen this type of fall out before, several times. Each one had their own start but they all ended the same way; shit went to hell from the inside out. Right now they didn't need that. So was time to do do what her mama had taught her to do when times got tough. You dug deep and summoned your country spirit to get shit back in order.

Sure she was new there and probably had no right to go barking orders about or making demands or really saying anything at that point to any of them because, well she didn't know any of them but Froggy. But it was better to ask forgiveness than permission. They were good people weren't they? They'd forgive her right? That or hang her out to dry but she'd risk it because well, she wasn't one to be quiet. Placing her fingers to her lips she let out an ear piercing whistle to get everyone's attention. Froggy would know what whistle meant, meant she was about to start a preachin'; soapbox or no soap box.

"Now, everyone put on yer' breaks and take a deep breath. Shit been hittin' the fan and going as wonky as a cat jumping out of a bath but hey, we gots us some bigger problems than the personal type. Right now there be a bunch of deadies that would like to turn us into an all ya could eat buffet and well damn it I didn't bring no catfish and hush puppies for this fry," she called out in that thick country twang of hers and well hers got thicker the longer she was talking. Like the Holy Spirit of Hillbilly Hell had invaded her and she was speaking tongues. She stood there between Richard and the rest of the group, holding her hands out. "Just calm it down."

"Now, ya'll been through the wringer, bless yer hearts I can see that; plain as day it is but let me tell ya something. What you been through ain't nothing compared to the storm that's a comin'. See that guy there," she said pointing over to the captive that was shackled to the banister. "That boy there be from Eden. Now, Eden a nasty place, run by a man named Adamm. Real shit fucker the likes I doubt you ever done seen. I pray you haven't cause well he makes them old internet porn searches for double dutchin' midgets in chains looks like a church social. They be the ones you need to be worried about, hell them Eaters outside be a nicer death. And if that was y'all's first dealing with them, that just means a'nother be coming soon. So stuff it like a turkey on Thanksgiving."

The man sat there with a grin on his face a mile wide and Zoie just couldn't take the looks of the man right then. "Pardon me," she said as she stepped over to him and spun hooked the man so hard that when her heel hit the side of his head it bounced off the banister before his body went limp. "He'll wake up in a few hours, none of ya worry but anyways. Where was I?" she said ruffling her hair.

"Oh ye, now I see you all got problems. Especially you girls with Honkey Tonk. Now I am damn sure they be some things you all gotta work out because well devil ya know is better than the devil ya don't know. Now, you don't worry about him. I'm sure he be right sorry for what he done and if he ain't well.. Ain't nothin' to be done about it right now. So y'all just steer clear of him and he be steering clear of you. We got people picking off people with long range sniper rifles, Froggy having to do surgery on another, Walkers up and down the streets and no telling how many more of them Eden folks within the walls right now. So, we're gonna work together fer now and deal with the rest of the shit when we have time for because right now ain't no body got time for the personal shit," she said as she looked between the women and Richard.

Stepping back over to Richard she looked the man in the eye and tilted her head to the side slightly as she knelt down in front of him. "When things be done calmed down you and me gonna have a talk Honkey Tonk. I owes you a solid for carrying my ass back there and helping me get that woman inside before any of them Biters took a chunk out of me or her. What you were or whatever probably won't fly in these parts but honey, I'm gonna help yer butt. You go, I go. No body need be alone in this world but yousa gonna have to make things right when them ladies. See I own that one there as well," she said pointing towards Lorna.

"She got Froggy to safety and well that is as good as becoming my sister. So I got both hers and yer backs now. Don't make me have to chose. You know how much Froggy means to me, we already had that talk Honkey Tonk. I'd like to get to know ya better if ya catch me drift, so play nice. Them be good folks, now time to prove you can be too. I know ya can. Bad men don't carry corpses and put their own lives in danger to do so. So, we got an understanding there? Good," she said with a quick nod before turning back to the rest of the group.

"And I do mean that Chick that hits like a hammer," she said rubbing her ribs of bit. "You done right good in my book to save ol' Froggy fer me. Last thing I wanted to do was check you like sum WWE "Rastlin' Mania but right now we gotta focus on the real threat, not something that happened before. Now is what matter." It was odd. She had all the fire that Alicia had, she told it like it was and didn't care whose toes she was stepping on. Yet in the same breath she had the leadership of Leann, she knew how to take charge and make a point to get the job done. Might be the country way; you know duct tape and WD40 but it worked and it was time to get things to work. Least before the sun dropped, streets needed to be cleared if anyone could get some sleep tonight. Sleep would come hard enough for most of them she suspected.

"Now, we need teams. Two secure the building, make sure all windows and doors are shut and secure. Make sure nothing is gettin' in we don't want here. We another up in the tower with Mr. James," she quickly started before looking up the stairwell. "Ya hear that Mr. James? Gonna be sending up another to keep ya company and help you pick off the danger spots for us," she yelled quickly.

"Rest of us, gather what ammo we got, sharp instruments and we are gonna have to plow the fields like they ain't seen a plantin' season in sometime. If ya can't handle it, stay inside with Froggy and keep him safe. Doctors is hard to come by, surgeons even more so," she said turning her attention to Ash. He seemed to be the one in charge even though for a moment there he looked like he was going to fall apart before the look slipped away.

"Now listen, I know I shouldn't be barkin' order like a dog but just my nature when things get out of hand. You want to take me out to the woodshed later and tan my hide so be it but shit need to be done and you look like you had a bad day. So take a switch to my backside later al'right?" she quickly added.

"Now git y'all, time to be jumpin'. Can't like it or hate it, don't matter long as wel come out alive. Honkey Tonk, you're with me."

---

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The once beautiful greens were nothing but brown straw at this point and all that remained of the once high society paradise was the Clubhouse; itself nothing of its former glory. On the outside it did indeed still look as if time had just stopped but inside it had been reworked into a den of horrors. There was a front room, a greeting location that was still held to be what it once was. That is where they went to begin. To begin to be brought into the fold. Each stage they went further and further and further. There were different routes each could take, like a fun house. Those easiest to break went through the most wonderful of experiences but if you were strong you were taken through the nine circles of hell.

• First Circle (Limbo)
• Second Circle (Lust)
• Third Circle (Gluttony)
• Fourth Circle (Greed)
• Fifth Circle (Anger)
• Sixth Circle (Heresy)
• Seventh Circle (Violence)
• Eighth Circle (Fraud)
• Ninth Circle (Treachery)

There was a punishment for each circle, the sooner you broke the better because if you got through all nine levels there was a special level, one reserved for child molesters and people who talk in the theater. The man at the heart of this hell looked at this place as his paradise and he was referred to as Adamm. Not much was known of the man before he erected his Garden but what is known is that he is ruthless and knows how to gather followers. Before the outbreak there were always people that wished to use religion as a reason or an excuse for what they did and what others did. He still did. Those type of people still existed even now and he knew how to bring them to the light.

"Father, it is done," a wiry man who seemed to thin even for this world with bristle like hair and scruff on his chin said as he laid his case down next to the one that called Father. "She crumpled and they will as well."

Thick tendrils of smoke curled up from the cherry at the end of the cigar, wafting their way around his blonde white hair but even with the news he did not look pleased.

"And where are the others?" he asked in a deep gruff voice that sounded like feet being drug over gravel.

"Gone sir, for now. Either dead or captured I would think at this point."

"You don't know? So they could still be alive and within the walls? Giving them information?" he asked calmly as he rolled the cigar around between his thick sausage like fingers. The man he was speaking to swallowed hard at the thought.

"Sir, they would never betray you," he said as he looked down at the floor nervously; seeing the fresh blood stained on the boots of the Father, bits of bone sticking to them. Adamm knew he spoke the truth, his followers would never betray him; fates worse than death awaited if they did. Then the man closed his eyes when something in the back of his mind clicked and the thought was clear as day came flashing across his features.

"Speak it."

"She was there..."

Adamms bushy brow arced over his deep set eyes as he looked at the man, a snear forming on his lips as he leaned forward; one hand clasping over the other after he placed the cigar between his weathered lips. "Are you sure?"

"Yes Father..."

"And you left her there?"

The question barely left the mans lips before a black velvet bag went over his head and he was drug off kicking and screaming and pleading for mercy but mercy did not exist in Eden.

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It seemed that the second Ash ordered the windows barred and curtained, a melee broke out in front of him. This was the opposite of good. More noise was a horrible idea, though from the looks of it, someone deserved a beating.

Trying to determine intangible concepts of the brouhaha, such as who was "right" ad who was "wrong" were pointless. In his mind, the best option was to go with whomever he trusted, and be damned the point of the fight so long as it stopped. In this instance, the people he trusted were Maria, Lorna, and Kristina. They looked pissed.

The lady with the kukri knives jumped up to engage Lorna, who was presently engaged in monkey-stomping another of the new recruits. Ash had to admire the Marine's efficiency with the very unsubtle art of Boots & Knuckles, despite the counterproductive effect it had on their situation. Still, he wasn't about to let a squabble get them all killed. Especially after he had just issued an order for the defense of their position. With this in mind, the turned with half-raised carbine, giving serious consideration to ending the conflict with two well placed finger squeezes.

Unfortunately, that too would have been counterproductive.

The Kukri Lady didn't go after his new friend with full hands, which was a supplementary reason not to fire, either. And she was kind enough to hold the door for them. Ok, maybe it was a misunderstanding, but there was obviously bad history here. Ash didn't know enough about it to act - yet. There was so much to do before dealing with this new wrinkle.

Rather than continually mentally referring to this woman as The Kukri Lady, Ashton decided to give her a name, on the temporary, until the opportunity presented itself to learn her actual name. To him, she seemed like a... Zoie. Definitely a Zoie. Ok, until he got the skinny, he would internally call her Zoie. Seemed to fit. Armed with this new level of intellectual preparedness, he slowly lowered his weapon and listened to the lady speak, now that the immediate emergency was done.

Zoie certainly spoke in a manner often attributed to the Great Southern Writers of American history; something of a Twain-y twang rung out as her various Y'alls and Heart Blessings intertwined with colorful metaphors, birthed of agricultural or local culinary pursuits. Said manner of speech spilled from this ...Zoie... with the speed and grace of someone birthed in a region known for boiled peanuts and a'muddin'. Nonetheless, the lull in the violence and information dump about this new adversary was welcome. Eden. Sounds lovely. Ash wondered how it would look on fire, sparks from the massive blaze rising into the night sky like so many fireflies traveling heavenward. The screams of those inside would be music to make love to.

Ok, that was a little dark, even for Ash. Focus on work, get your head in the right place, your people need you.

What perked Ash's bother, and boy did it, was Zoie repeating his order from moments earlier, and assuming authority. Ash's eyes focused on the newcomer, as he spoke deliberately, in a low, even tone. "I'm glad you agree, ma'am. We have protocol for this." he kept his eyes on Zoie, but addressed the women behind her, "Maria, if you would, please take your sister to secure bottom floor. Bars, curtains, doors; like I said earlier. You know the drill. I shouldn't have to repeat myself, nor should someone have to repeat it for me."

Ash refocused his speech to Zoie, with cold voice but diplomatic choice of phrasing. "I admire you taking the initiative to solve the problem at hand. You obviously know what you're doing. But, I don't know you well enough to feel comfortable with you ordering my people. That being said, we are getting back on the clock."

"Plan is this: Everyone that's able makes a push to the motor pool. We get vehicles, we lead the Dead back out. Kill as many as we need to along the way. Caesar's with Doc, the sisters can hold the courthouse with James. Lorna, Ma'am, you're with me. Meg! You up for a drive?"

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"Hey, I'm getting help? Thanks! Is she pretty?"

---

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They had very little time left before the internal bleeding that was sure to be occurring inside this poor woman caused irreversible damage. Victor took the oxygen regulator and affixed it to the unconscious woman’s face. He had seen the operating room area and had to make sure she didn’t die as they moved the gurney inside. He had at least stopped the blood loss but a quick touch to the transfusion pack told Victor that it wasn’t warm enough. That would not do. He had to get her into the OR now or she was certainly going to die. There was a gunshot that was barely audible from where he was in the back room but Victor hardly registered it. One patient at a time. He was no good being spread thin.

Victor glanced up as he saw a small brunette girl and a large and imposing Mexican man walk into the infirmary back room. The man’s silence and look of concern made Victor rather uneasy but he powered through and continued his work. The young brunette girl asked if he required aide but Victor was too busy making sure Vivian was no longer bleeding out that he left her question unanswered. As the young girl realised that she wasn’t going to be answered, she made her way back to the front room, leaving the door open in her wake. Voices carried into the back room. Ash’s orders sounded clearly as James was sent up to the tower to snipe some Walkers.

The young man Victor had originally kept back to aide him was being growled at and motioned to leave with a subtle nod of the head from Caesar. As Caesar heard the orders from Ash, he slipped Alicia’s rifle from his shoulder and held the spare clip in his other hand. He held them out to Sidd, making him take them and pointed towards James with another grunt in Sidd’s direction. Caesar looked back to the doctor and stared, watching him work as he waited.

Victor looked to the new man and gave him a steady stare in return, even if Victor did gulp a little as he did so. “I need a chest tube, intubator and more blood…” He glanced at the transfusion bag that was currently working its way into the injured doctor. “…A+ blood. Be sure to heat the blood under the crook of your arm or down your trousers. This bag is cold, I do not want another cold bag.”

Caesar did as he was bade, placing the transfusion bags under his armpits as requested by the French doctor in order to warm the blood. As Victor grabbed hold of the oxygen regulator and readied to wheel the gurney into the operating room. Caesar only followed these “orders” so as to help save Vivian. There was a commotion happening outside the infirmary but there was nothing that they could do about that right now. Not long after a shrill whistle sounded and Victor looked up for a moment, knowing all too well what it meant. He buckled down and got back on with his work after the minor interruption.

Victor knew the anaesthesia machine was in the OR and he’d need to find a suction machine to remove the excess moisture from her airways, he hoped that was also in the OR but he couldn’t recall seeing it on his quick scan of the room. There were so many things that he needed but he’d gather them once he had her inside the OR if they weren’t already there. He motioned to Caesar to open the doors to the OR and Caesar obliged without a sound.

Once they were inside, Victor dashed around gathering the OR supplies that he needed that were not already set out. They were limited in supply but he would work with what he had. He seemed to have all of the basics for this operation at least. He looked to Caesar, who showed no emotion on his face. Victor decided he liked this man, even if he did make him want to wet himself. “I only need you to hand me what I ask for. Are you familiar with all of the equipment ‘ere?” Caesar grunted and gave a single nod.

Satisfied with Caesar’s response, Victor closed the doors to the OR and began his work. Caesar stood by the French doctor’s side and looked at Vivian’s pale face. For a fleeting moment proper concern showed on his face before Victor asked Caesar to hand him a scalpel.

---

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Richard lay on the ground, the blood pooling in his hair. He ached absolutely everywhere and was pretty sure he had a concussion because all he wanted to do right now was to sleep. He saw a woman’s face and felt a pressure against his own, it was soft and scratchy all at the same time. Reminded him of breaking into the fancy country clubs with his brother back in the day. Jumping in the pool and drying themselves off with those big number thread count towels. He heard an unfamiliar voice speaking to him, he knew he should listen carefully but his ears felt like they were jammed right up with cotton wool. Did his ears always ring like that? He couldn’t remember. It was hard to remember anything more recent right about now.

A shrill whistle made him wince, his hands rose up to cover his ears, and his hands quickly became sticky with congealing blood. What was that noise? It made his ears ring and pound all at once. He could feel the swelling in his face and tried to remember what had happened. He could still hear the voice from earlier talking, he tried to focus on it but it was too hard. He decided to stare at the ceiling instead. He could feel his eyes swelling closed a little more and he tried to just clear his head as best he could with all the throbbing it was giving him.

As the voice kept going, his head began to clear little by little. Zoie. That’s who was talking, that’s who had gave him the towel. He rolled his eyes, moving them to make sure there wasn’t any more serious damage to them other than taking a few hits. Hits! Fuck. Lorna. He tried to sit up as it all came flooding back and he let out a hard groan as the pain fired through his body and he fell back down. Zoie was talking to him now, he could hear her words and all he could do was nod in silence. He licked his lips and all he could taste was blood. She’d bust his lip as well, go figure.

He just lay there and listened. He gave another nod as Zoie said he was going with her and then he grunted as he tried to sit up. “Sorry babycakes, might need to sit this one out. I can hardly breathe from the pain.” His breath was ragged as he spoke, his face crumpled in agony as he held his ribs with his right arm. He lowered himself back onto the ground and felt the relief flooding over him. Yup, he definitely had a few cracked ribs but it didn’t seem like any were fully broken since he had managed to sit up even a little without screaming in sheer agony.

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She had saw nothing but red then black. She didn’t remember what she had done. One minute she was yelling at Richard and the next she was on her ass with a boot print on her shirt and agony in her chest, hands, arms and legs. She saw the cuts and blood on her knuckles and hands. She saw the blood on her boots but that was from the Walkers earlier, right? It didn’t seem too old though. She saw Richard lying on the floor. She heard Zoie talking. She didn’t feel anything but the shaking tight muscles that wracked her body right then as she sat on the floor at the feet of Maria and Kris.

She knew why she would have snapped, but she didn’t remember the actual trigger. Her adrenaline was still high, she could feel it. She had to calm herself the fuck down. She respected Zoie for what she’d clearly done and what she was doing now. It took guts to break up a fight of relative strangers and she hadn’t beaten the shit out of Lorna in return. Granted her kick had hit like a god damn truck but she deserved it. She saw the pain Richard was in and felt the horror of what she had just done flood over her.

She heard Ash speaking after Zoie was done. Her face was blank, her eyes felt empty. She heard her name and gave a single nod. She didn’t know what she’d agreed to just yet. She got up off her ass and dusted herself down. She wiped her hands on her pants. She felt the hot, sticky wetness on her face and wiped it as best she could with her jacket sleeve. That was a lot of blood. She kept her eyes to the ground, away from Richard and tried not to focus on the shame she felt for losing her temper the way she had done. She had to get back into survivor mode. She didn’t feel like she was really here right now.

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Meg kept flitting in and out of the conversation. During her contemplative state, it seemed that two strangers picked Leann up from her fallen position and taken her inside, shutting the door in the process. If Meg was in her right state, she would've been happy to see Ash and James back, Caesar too but the prior two were more her friends than Caesar.

Though, after the road trip from hell today? Meg's respecct for him doubled - tripled even. And it was already high up in the first place. Meg stumbled back, moving for the first time in what felt like hours, back towards the snappy newbie with the drive and fire so achingly similar to Leann's. It was Ash that finally snapped her out of her reviere with a question. "Meg! You up for a drive?"

Whether it was a good or bad idea, Meg didn't know and for a moment, she didn't fucking care. Someone deserved to die, and if she couldn't kill the bastards that took the Newnanian Leader's life, then the undead were sure to pay. Maybe that time spent with Caesar was enough for her to go Caesar-mode, which was probably the reason she responded with "I'm coming with you."

She was going to make sure that Newnan was going to be safe again. For Leann's memory.

Even if it killed her in the process.

---

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And now, there was another helper - in the freaky, testosterone filled form of Caesar. Now, Sidd was a reasonable guy. If Caesar wanted to take over as Doc's nurse, he was free to do so. It was known in Newnan that Doc Handsy and El Jefe had something going on between the two of them. It worked; the war machine and the cold doc just seemed to work perfectly. In theory anyway.

It was then that said War Machine had handed him a rifle, complete with spare ammo over in his direction. The researcher took hold of the weapon, clumsily keeping grip on both the weapon and the clip as he turned to look over at the direction he pointed at - James' direction.

Well, seems like he was upgraded from nurse to delivery boy. Sidd took one last look at Vivian, still on the OT before stepping out to give the two --professionals?-- privacy.

Heading up the clocktower over towards James, he noticed a lot more people he didn't recognise on his way there. A hillybilly, along with a badly beaten up dude. This was shaping out to be quite the party. Meg was there too, along with Ash and Maria -- so at east some that he knew were safe. "Your weapon delivery boy's here." He said, stepping beside James with the weapon still held awkwardly in his grasp.

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Zoie looked over towards Richard, it was clear by his words and the way he was moving he would be no good outside except as fodder for walkers but leaving him alone in here with even one of the women that jumped him didn't sit right with her. Least not yet. She didn't know why they hated him but it was obvious he wasn't on their Christmas card list. Turning back she looked at Ash and shook her head slightly.

"The name's Zoie, Sir. And I do understand where ya be comin' from but I tell you this, you follow the plan you got laid out you're people are gonna be skinned faster than a rattler during boot season. You got protocols yes, but you ain't got nothin' in place for Eden I dun suspect," she said in the same calm and respectful voice she had used since she arrived in Newnan.

"Right now them Eaters got Eden folk pinned down. That's a good thang. Drawin' all them away fully b'for Eden been dealt with, well if you got an armory they'll be tryin' for dat. If not other stuff. They gotta be bringin' something back to Adamm to make up for being caught up like this. They attack they been watching a while. Yous gotta flush them out," she explained as she stood there.

Zoie knew Eden, knew it horrors, what it did and how it did it. Walkers were the least of her concern now. And with Froggy being in a city with Eden didn't sit so well with the country girl.

"You say you don't trust me with your people, understandable. You don't know me from Eve. But you're already trustin' yer folk with mine," she said pointing to the OR. "Froggy be hopping like he in a hot skillet to save one of yers. If anything, the way yer people jumped Ol Honkey Tonk, well we should be runnin' like the Dayton 500 just waved its checkered flag. But I'm trustin' ya for now cause no matter where we stand we both got common enemy right now," she added before heading over to Richard.

"I'll be right back, he needs attention," she said gently to Ash before turning her attention over to Richard. "Come on buttercup," she grunted as she slipped his arm over her shoulder gingerly. Helping him into the OR she set him down in a chair and sighed.

"Froggy, yer next patient. Honkey Tonk, you stay put ya hear?" she said as she went through some items in the OR shelves before giving the trio of men a nod and heading out. As she stepped out she pulled a water bottle out of her bag and soaked it before heading over to Leann. Resting the cool cloth over the woman's knuckles she gave her a friendly smile. Might have seemed odd but she wasn't one to hold onto thing anymore. She had enough baggage from her past, she didn't need new.

"There you go hun, should help," she said as if they were neighbors for years. Pulling out her remaining kukri, knowing she still needed to retrieve the other when they got outside. "Ready when you are Sir."

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Maria looked over towards Richard seeing Lorna literally beating the complete and utter shit out of him, she was tempted to go over there and break it up, but that's when Zoie decided to intervene. Kristina watched as Zoie managed to pry Lorna off of the bloodied Richard and then eventually kicked Lorna over towards the two of them. She was grateful actually that Zoie managed to break them up and didn't hold any of it against her she hated Richard but even the dick didn't deserve to be beaten up so badly though it felt so go just to punch him for after what he had done to the three of them and leaving her sister to die like that she was happy her sister was still alive.

Maria looked down at her hand seeing that it was bleeding slightly and bruised from her punching Richard as hard as she could and it was sore, but it wasn't anything serious. "Just keep that fucker away from me and my sister, and we wont have any fucking problems. If he comes anywhere near us I swear I will shoot him in the fucking head." It was going to be Maria's only warning she didn't want to have anything at all to do with him. Kristina turned her attention towards Lorna and gently reached over to hold her friend's hand seeing all the blood on Lorna's face she wasn't sure whos it belonged to and she was worried.

"Are you okay Lorna?" Kristina asked she watched for a moment as Zoie walked Richard off towards the infirmary it would be better he stayed in there for now. Maria proceeded to go towards all of the windows and quickly pulled down the metal gates over them and locked them down for further protection for the building. Once all of the windows were effectively closed off and locked down Maria looked towards the body of Leann, and then over towards Meghna her closest friend in the group she knew that Leann and her were close and pulled her into a quick hug and looked at her knowing that she would be going outside again with the others. "We will get back at those who did this." Maria said with a soft smile as she looked towards Ash.

"We will hold the fort down for ya Ash." Maria said as she headed over towards her sister and held out her hand and looked at her she was still regretting what she had done to her sister. "I'm sorry for hurting Kris, I didn't mean to I was so angry at him." Kristina looked up at her sister and smiled slightly at Maria and gave her a quick hug. "It's okay I might have done the same, but he got what was coming to him." Maria looked at Lorna and pulled her into a quick hug. [color=lightgreen]"Be safe out there." Maria told her as she went towards the upper floors and made sure that the windows were all locked down and the gates pulled down.

Kristina stood there and looked over towards Zoie as she brought up the group that had attacked Newnan she never heard of them while spending the last three months out in the real world and she wasn't sure what this group was actually capable of doing.

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Ash's native Virginian accent was somewhat more pronounced; it tended to flare to greater intensity when he was stressed, tired, or a little bit tipsy. Today's events definitely qualified as stressful. In comparison, Zoie's south Georgian accent seemed to engulf the very air in front of her. Perhaps today, Ash wouldn't be so self-conscious about his rural background.

His momentary annoyance at the presumptuous behavior of the new lady was sidelined by the new information she brought to the fore. The invaders from "Eden" had pulled away, leaving a few stranded. Ordinarily, a skillful commander would allow for a point of escape; an opposing force with no means of egress would become desperate, dig in, fight as people expecting to die. According to Zoie, however, these men would be desperate anyway, filled with a need to return to their home but fearful to do so emptyhanded. Unwilling to leave, afraid to return. Yay, fanatics. That was just the cherry on top.

Thinking back on it, Ash was honestly surprised they hadn't run into an Apocalypse Cult before.

"Never heard of Eden. Sounds fun." he remarked in a hollow voice, as if his mind were partially elsewhere. "Gimmie a minute, before we're out."

Ashton got a distant look as he stepped toward the body of his former commander. Leann died in defense of her home, even if it was unawares. At least she was granted a quick death, and would not rise. For many, that was as good as one could hope for. She deserved better. At least it was clean. He knelt beside her and bowed his head, silently saying his goodbyes.

Sentiment over, Ash gathered the formidable woman's armaments; her 9mm, clip and knife, then paused. Reaching out gingerly, he removed her rank insignia - the silver oak leaves that marked her as a Lieutenant Colonel in life, and a lifetime ago besides. He put them into a cargo pocket, rose, and saluted the fallen soldier. Ash found it almost humorous, really, that this was almost exactly how he got his last promotion. It dawned on him suddenly, that Leann's death put him fully in charge. This was his show now, so long as he could keep it together.

When he agreed to follow the Lt. Colonel's lead and put his own people under her, it was under the proviso that if the Newnan situation did not work out, they would continue with his original plan to trek it farther south and find a nice island somewhere. Maybe that would happen still, but by all that was holy (and a few things that weren't), it was going to be their decision to make. Some random asshats and a downed wall weren't going to chase them out of their home. No matter what happened after this day, they were going to take their town back.

Sorrow, loss, fear, fury; all of the emotions of the day swirled within him. His psyche was divided between the Man and the Soldier, the Soldier being what he thought Newnan needed. Maybe Ash was wrong. He needed these feelings, needed to care about the people around him. Cold, distant, yeah. That was just him. Time to put away the bullshit defense mechanisms and start pushing back, with every tool at his disposal.

"It is with heavy heart that I relieve Lt. Colonel McCormick of her duties." he said, turning back to meet the faces of those present. "The moment Vivian is awake, please tell her she is now the acting Second. When Caesar is done with that other Doc, let him know that he takes MY place on the event of my death. If I go down, I want a warrior leading the charge."

"Zoie, thank you. I will defer to your experience. You want to flush them out while the Dead still roam the streets? Hell of an undertaking. Give me your thoughts on how." Before she could begin, Ash raised his index finger, emphasizing a last-second thought, "So long as that plan has us stopping by the Armory first. If that's their primary, I want in there ASAP. The toys in there will help make these Eden-people's lives very short and interesting."

"James can give us cover from up high, during. Maria, I want your bow up there, too. And Maria, please," he handed Leann's walkie out, and tapped one on his belt, "Let's keep in touch."

Ashton set Leann's handgun and knife on a nearby table. "Anybody needs a weapon, better take 'em. Leann wouldn't want people in danger out of sentiment."

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James took the weapon from Sidd with a small amount of awe. Yes, this was a fine rifle, wielded expertly by the lady who, until earlier today, was the best long-range shot they had. Now, James was good. The best he knew personally, until he met Alicia. James hoped that he would do his fallen friend proud.

He set his Barrett aside for the meantime and checked his new acquisition. This would be a better choice for the work he had to do. The Barrett, to be frank, was WAY too much gun for a simple point & click. This weapon was designed to be anti-personnel. His own was made to silently explode engines from two miles away. Too much gun can sometimes be as bad as not enough. Sometimes. This was the better tool.

He looked through the scope, adjusting for various factors. James even found a bit of flotsam blowing in the breeze to test for wind direction and speed. Then he set to scanning the area, taking a look for people that didn't belong. If he could deliver a quick and quiet lead lobotomy to one or two of the interlopers in the meantime, all the better. While making his scan, he spoke aloud to Sidd,

"Young sir," he began in a thick Georgian accent, "You ain't no mere Weapon Delivery Boy. You a solid Weapon Delivery MAN. An' I mean that."

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Well here it is, you have been waiting for this for a while now. You're sitting there biting your nails, wondering what hell you will have to deal with inside the inner wall once you trek back out there. What is going to happen inside and up in the bell tower and most of all you are wondering if LLA has finally rolled your number. Well, let's start out with the good news. NO ONE DIES THIS ROUND! So yeah, break out the confetti and have a little party but make it short, that was the only break that LLA has given you today so far. Now, let's get on to the bad news.

All the noise has created a decent sized wall of Walkers at the front door and that is the only way out, so those of you that will be breaking out to make a sweep for the armory need to be ready to fight and fight hard to get through. There are some close calls while you push through to the corner of LeGrange and Gilbert but no one gets dead or bit. So just go. There are around 15 Walkers between you and that corner. At that corner you will have a bit of a breather - Stop there, next WN will tell you what happens next.

Those of you inside, well things are completely calm. It is calm enough until those breaking out of the Main Building get out and then once they are out the door and unable to turn back you have a bit of a problem on your hands. While you sisters are closing that gate to make sure no Walkers file in after your buds have left, little Mr. Eden has managed to get loose. You turn around and see he is gone but there is a trail of mud headed up the stairs to the second floor but it quickly fades to nothing at the landing for the second floor. Where the fuck is that bastard?

Up in the tower, you can see a lot, you see the commotion at the door but you really can't risk firing into the crowd with the melee occurring down there. You might hit Ash or Zoie or Lorna or Meg. You really want to risk being the one that takes one of them down? What you can do is take out walkers further out towards the armory, clearing a bit of a path if you will. Fuck, you see something, running down and ducking between the alley ways but was it a Newnanite or a member of Eden? From this distance you can't tell but you can tell they are making their way towards the Armory; they aren't there yet you don't think but trash bins and debris are making it impossible to tell exactly where they are at.

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Zoie looked over towards Maria and let out a bit of a sigh. This was not how things needed to be dealt with right then. "Well don't ya worry yer pretty little head about Honkey Tonk, after the way you girls laid into him I doubt he's a threat to a gnat right now but you girls gonna need to explains yerselves once all this is done. Like to know why you jumped him like damn rodeo rider tryin' to take out a rabid bull. Could have saved that ass beatin' until after things were calm here ya know? Like him or not, man knows how to kill Eaters, could have used him out there but no, now we're down another Breather - Which means Froggy and that walking killin' machine are gonna be tied up even longer in that OR of yers. So that takes us down three for some spat. Think next time will ya? Ass beatin's wait till after we aren't surrounded by Eaters thinkin' we're an all you can eat buffet at a Buy Get One Free Meal Special at the Golden Coral," she said quickly. She did want to know why the three had gone after him but right now it wasn't exactly a big concern. The big concern was Eden and Walkers; everything else could wait.

Turning she looked at Ash and gave a slight nod of respect towards Leann. She didn't know the woman but if she was in command here and had helped to build this place, respect was due no matter what. "I know but Eaters are safer than Eden. I be explaining more when we gots time. Armory first for us, be on their hit list. Anywhere you keep children if there are any in the city will be second. Adamm prizes them young. Earlier you can start on them the better in his mind. They attack in groups of 6 usually, and there will be a minimal of 4 groups. By the sounds of things they probably took off with at least half of them but that leaves up to a dozen of them fuckers still out a wandering your area. How many of thems inside this zone, no tellin'. Once we reach the armory we should start sweeping buildings one at a time, working out from the armory and leave someone there in case they back track. Have Mr. James radio in anything he sees, that'll help tons," she explained as quickly as she could, granted she was long winded in any situation but she couldn't help that. Just the way she was raised.

Once all the information was done being exchanged she made her way to the door and narrowed her eyes, was a hell of crowd to break through. Looking around the girl got an idea. Grabbing the spare gurney she climbed on top of it and squatted down low as she gripped her weapon in one hand and eyed the gate. "One of ya'll lift the gate, rest of ya'll give me a hell of a shove. I get over the top of these fuckers I can draw them back some, or at least distract them enough for ya to get some of them brains on ya."

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It was risky, what the new Kukri Lady had planned. But, far be it for Ash to rain on the parade of a woman he'd just met who had proposed something unnecessarily dangerous, particularly when that danger was focused on herself, taking some of the heat off of his people. Ash's priority was the safety of the existing Newnanites, plus the two newcomers he believed he could trust; Lorna and Kris. If anyone else was willing to help, great. Today seemed to be all about earning one's place in Newnan.

The Captain laid his hands on the shiny railing of the stray gurney Zoie had mounted. He had gotten on to others about leaving them about, but it was a good day for exceptions, at least with the small rules. He glanced over their strike team, such as it was. Zoie: their resident stunt vaulter, Meg: their Wheel Man (lady), Lorna: the Occidental Samurai, Dexter: a Guy with a Hammer, and Himself: Man With Gurney.

Well, when Man With Gurney speaks, people react. And just now, Man With Gurney needed Lorna to brace the door open while he shoved a redneck gal through it, hopefully over the approaching Dead. Before they got to it, Ash gave a few quick directions to those involved.

"Kris, you've been great so far. We're almost done here. When we're out, lock up after us. Stick near Caesar or your sister, they'll keep you safe."

"Lorna! Keep our way open till Zoie's airborne, then join me up front. Got some stabbing to do."

"Dex, you help me with the gurney. When it's clear, rotate it sideways and keep knocking them back. Me and Lorna will be right beside you splitting heads."

"Meg, you stay behind Hammerguy. Get your keys ready."

Ashton looked around at all the faces assembled. Some were familiar, some weren't. But they all looked nervous. Hell, they'd be stupid not to. Or Caesar. He was asking a lot of the newer people, more than he was comfortable asking. They weren't his people to command unless they chose it for themselves, and really, no one chose any of this. The members of the community knew their duties and responsibilities, and the risks that came with being part of Newnan. These new people? They were just stuck in a bad situation. Ash really hoped he could do right by them in the meantime.

But, uncertainty be damned. Like it or not, they had a battle to fight.

"Here's the plan: Fight our way to the truck. It's a straight shot to the corner from that door. Hit the Armory. It's always manned, and the most secure building in town - the Bank, next block north. We suit up. If need be, hose each other down in guts and walk freely. Then we clean house. With me? Remember, we still have the prisoner in here somewhere. He's hurt and he ain't happy. Neutralize."

Lorna took position next to the front dropgate, already unlatching the locking mechanism. With varying degrees of anxiety, Dexter assisted Ash, each taking a side of Zoie's gurney, ready for her Radio Flyer spaceship ride through the courthouse vestibule and into the moaning throng of living dead outside. The makeshift portcullis was already beginning to raise as Ash took a deep breath.

"Get ready to pick off any that get inside, ok!" called Ash behind him, working himself up for the venture in front of him. He unsheathed his machete and lay it on the gurney, close at hand for the instant he transitioned from support to attacker."And.... GO!"

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James caught outside movement, hiding on and off as the blur of motion made its way toward the Armory. Unwilling to pick off one of their own, James peered through the new rifle's superior scope, ready to identify and potentially cover or destroy. "C'mon, you..." he whispered, "Gimmie somethin' to look at..."

From down below, he thought he heard Ash's voice mention something about the prisoner loose in the building. "Watching that six. Heardja, bossman." He risked a wary glance below, before returning to scan the outside. James would feel much better once he got someone to help hold his position. Then again, he'd feel much better with a hard beverage and safe walls, too. One thing at a time.

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It was truly commendable how Ash was taking all of this. The Newnan breach, the zombnado, Leann's demise. Even Maria, for that matter looked cool as a cucumber before she had to go close up the windows. It made Meghna feel like she was the weak one when instead she should've found it motivational that if others could be strong, she should too, but Meg was still hurting and there was no way she could push it away like the Soldier Ash beside her.

Seeing the weird cowgirl climb the gurney, it almost made Meg raise her eyebrow in complete disbelief. Really? CrowdGurney surfing, here? It was a stupid idea, to say the least, but it was the only one they had. If little miss crazy was willing to risk an arm or two for the Newnanians despite being new, then she would surely earn both Meg's and many others' respect.

Nodding at Ash's orders, Meg reached over to her pocket to feel for the pick-up truck's keys that she had barely shoved in before entering the building. She reached down, almost kneeling to pull down her boots and pull out the still covered hunting knife. Bows weren't a good tactic unless you either had a fuck ton of space, or you were Hawkeye, both of which Meg didn't have (or was). With the blade in one hand, and the keys in the other, she stood behind Ash, ready to fight.

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"You ain't no mere Weapon Delivery Boy. You a solid Weapon Delivery MAN. An' I mean that." How sweet. He looked out around him, looking at the damned town and the stumbling walkers creep around across every street he was so familiar with. The same streets that used to be safe and filled with walking humans with no interest in eating other walking humans.

Siddharth felt as useful as a twig standing beside James as the familiar sounds of Ash's orders about the loose prisoner came up to the two at the clocktower. He didn't even have any blades, unless the pencil in his pocket counted - but what good would it do from all the way up here? Unless he was willing to play darts with the walker's eyes, pencils weren't going to help Sidd out this time.

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Maria looked towards Ashton and gave him a quick nod as she reached over to take Leann's walkie from Ashton and made sure that it was on. "You got it, i'll be your eyes in the sky for you. And i'll give you the full story on why we beat his ass once you all get back here safely." Maria said as she hugged both Lorna and Meg one last time before making her way up towards the clock tower. Once she was on top she could see James and Sid and smiled at the two for a moment she wasn't sure if James heard what happened to Leann or not. She approached him and smacked James on the back as she got a good view of what was left of Newnan for now, there was quiet a number of walkers in the streets. "I'll be your lovely assistant today." Maria said and smiled at Sid and then looked down towards the streets below. "Sid, would you be okay being our spotter?" Maria asked him.

Kristina looked towards Ashton and then the others who were going out towards the armory and the motor pool, she quickly went over towards the door. "Good luck out there, i'll close it shut once you leave." Kris said to Ashton once everyone was ready Kris took out her knife and then pulled open the gate just as everyone rushed out Zoie being on the gurney. There was a walker that managed to sneak past, and Kristina quickly went forward and stabbed the knife into it's head kicking its now dead body back outside. Once she had closed and locked the gate Kris quickly turned around only to see their prisoner had somehow managed to break free and he was gone.

"Shit!" Kristina cursing to herself and quickly grabbed Leann's gun that was laid out on the table and followed the trail of mud up towards the second floor, drawing out her knife. She silently started looking around the second floor passing by the two bodies of walkers that she and Maria had killed just moments prior and the trail of mud had disappeared from sight.

As Maria drew out her bow she flicked over towards the bow sight she looked around the streets below, she could see movement in the alleyways but she wasn't sure who it was exactly but she could see the path that the person was heading and the person was slowly making their way towards the armory. Maria quickly took out the radio knowing that it would be something that Ashton would need to know and whether to fire or not. "Hey Ashton, its Maria I see someone in the alleyways making their way towards the armory. I don't know if its one of ours or one of our new hostile next door neighbors what do you think?" Maria wasn't sure if she should if it was one of their own then she would have killed someone who would have helped the town, and if it was someone from Eden then she would instantly take the shot.