Make it Till You Don't

Shit Happens

"Maybe we'll just be going now." The blonde guy said.

The guy with the gun glared at Daryl. "Hey, we ain't leaving."

"You ain't coming in either." T-Dog came out, pointing his gun at them.

The guy glanced at T-Dog before the rest of us. "Hey, this is my house, my rules. I'll go where I damn well please." The guy barked back. "I say you guys go back to where you came from... chica here can stay with us. Been a while since we've had-"

"That ain't gonna happen." Daryl cut him off, stalking forward a few steps.

"Not in your life." I glared at the man. "Not even if you were the last man on earth in this world."

The guy looked at me and smirked. "Feisty. I like that."

"There ain't nothing for you here. Why don't you go back to your own sandbox?" Daryl told them, tightening his grip on his crossbow.

I noticed Rick come back into the room, holding a hand up. "Hey, everyone relax. There's no need for this."

"How many of you are in there?" The guy asked.

Rick tilted his head. "Too many for you to handle."

"You guys rob a bank or something? Why don't you take him to a hospital?" When he asked that, I couldn't help but laugh. "Something funny, chica?"

"How long you been locked in that cafeteria?" Rick asked, motioning in that direction.

He waved a hand, looking to the others. "Going on like ten months."

"A riot broke out. Never seen anything like it." The big guy explained.

"Attica on speed, man." The blonde guy added.

One of the other guys spoke up. "Ever heard about dudes going cannibal, dying, coming back to life? Crazy." If only they knew.

"One guard looked out for us, locked us up in the cafeteria. Told us to sit tight, threw me this piece, said he'd be right back." The guy explained.

"Yeah, and that was two hundred and two days ago." Another added.

"Ninety four, according to my calcula-"

"Shut up!" The guy cut the blonde off.

One of the others shrugged his shoulders. "We were thinking that the Army or the National Guard should be showing up any day now."

"There is no Army." Rick revealed.

"What do you mean?"

I looked at them. "Exactly as he said."

Rick began explaining. "There's no government, no hospitals, no police. It's all gone."

"For real?" The blonde man asked.

Rick nodded slightly. "Serious."

"What about my moms?"

"My kids?"

"My old lady? Yo, you got a cell phone or something that we can call our families?" One of them walked forward.

"You don't get it, do you?" Daryl asked rhetorically.

"No phones, no computers." Rick spoke up. "As far as we can see, at least half the population has been wiped out. Probably more."

The man lowered his gun. "Ain't no way." He said, not believing what Rick told him.

"See for yourself." Rick motioned to the outside.

———

After much debate and seeing the food supply, Rick made a deal to clear a cell block in exchange for half of the food. Rick went over the formation, trying to get through their heads how it needs to be handled.