The Walking Dead: Season 5: Episode 4: Survival

Scene 4: Bitter Survival

"Carol? Carol!" says Rick, rushing towards her, he grins. "Carol, I'm glad to see you." said Rick, patting her on the shoulder. "Listen, Carol kicking you out of the prison, that wasn't right I-" Rick began, but Carol cut him off. "There's no time for that Rick, good to see you alive by the way. But Gareth has them." "Has who?" "Morgan, Rosita, Eugene, Tara, Sasha, all of them." "What about Sasha?" said Tyreese, intruding in upon the three. "Get everyone else, and we'll discuss this." said Rick. Tyreese wonders off for about thirty seconds, and returns with everyone including Maggie and Glenn. Once everyone is gathered around, Rick speaks.

"Okay, apparently, Gareth and his little Terminus buddies have captured Morgan, Rosita, Eugene, Sasha, and Tara. They-" "Wait, they have Sasha?" Tyreese interrupted. Carol nods grimly. "We're going." said Tyreese, in a basically "We're not going to argue about this." tone. "Whoa, whoa, we don't even know where they are." said Rick, grasping Tyreese's shoulder. "I don't care, we need to find her." said Tyreese, shaking off Rick's hand. "Tyreese-" "Don't Tyreese me, Sasha in in trouble, and we need to help her!" Rick all of a sudden grows bitter. "You know what happened last time I tried to keep people safe? Hershel was decapitated, and we lost our home! You have to do horrible things to stay alive! You know I was in a stronghold forced to watch my son attempted to be raped. So you know what I did? I tore out the man's jugular with my Teeth, and brutally stabbed the man who did that to Carl to death. Now you are suggesting right at Gareth and his people, storm right in, guns blazing, and just rescue them and expect no one to get hurt? We would lose a lot of people! Maybe the whole group! No, we need a plan. Ambush them, grab Sasha, then get out of there."

"Well wait, what about the others?" Glenn asked."Tara is a good person." "Isn't Tara the one with the ponytails I saw with the Governor?" Everyone looks at Glenn questioningly. He sighs. "Yeah." Everyone looks at him shocked, even Maggie. Maggie steps away from his embrace with a disgusted look on her face. "And you spent time with her? Introduced her to me, and then you lied to me?" "I didn't lie, I just didn't tell you the truth. I-" "Oh save it Glenn!" Rick spat, "You've been hiding things from Maggie for a while now, we've all realized it. Like that one time, back at the prison, how you were getting knocked up on drugs." "Hey, that was a one time thing, and I did that because I felt horrible, you know that Rick!" "You got high?!?" Maggie asked. "No, it wasn't like that, I-" "Then what was it like? Huh? Tell me Glenn!" "Shut the hell up Maggie, you tried to kill yourself, you're not anyone to criticize!" yelled Glenn. "Oh yeah?!? Just blame all of this on me? Real man of you Glenn!" "Yo, why don't ya all shut the hell up and let Rick talk you bunch of loudmouths!" Daryl yelled.

Maggie rounds on Daryl, clearly upset. "Oh like you're totally innocent Daryl, loving on my sister like she's some sort of toy? You're sick, do you realize how much younger she is then you?" Beth blushes, and Daryl chuckles nervously. "What are you talking about?" he asks. "Oh don't play stupid with me, I saw the way you were grabbing her, keeping away from me, I could tell how much you enjoyed it Beth..." "You don't know what you're talking about." said Beth in a low voice. "Oh, I don't? How about-" "Shut the hell up Maggie!" said Rick, cutting her off. "Tara attacked us along with the Governor, bottom line. She doesn't deserve to live." "No, she put down her weapon, she didn't attack us-" Glenn began. "I don't Care! She was still armed and ready to attack, that makes her an enemy!" Maggie, Glenn, and Tyreese begin to look at Rick with concern.

""As for Rosita and Eugene SCREW them. Look at what they did to us with their stupid 'save the world' mission! They held all of you at gunpoint, Abraham attacked Carl, you guys lost Daryl, Abraham tried to kill Maggie. Morgan, if he wants to associate with those pieces of shit, then I'll kill him myself." Carl then looks at his father with concern. "dad, Morgan saved you." said Carl "yeah well I tried to save him, and he repays us like this? You had to shoot Carl, remember that? He's unstable, he can't live." "What's happened to you?" Glenn asked. "What's happened to me?!? Oh I'll tell you. Gee I just got shot and ended up in a coma, woke up to find that the world had gone to shit, my family was missing, my best friend tried to question every decision I made, had an affair with my wife,  she got pregnant, I had to kill my best friend, my wife's death was my fault, I pleaded to someone to let go of the past and we lost our home, I thought I lost my daughter, and I had to watch my son attempted to be raped. So that is what has 'happened' to me, and excuse me after all that I'd rather be cautious then reckless. You have to do anything to survive, and if that means leaving people to die then so be it. They aren't my problem, they aren't part of our family, Sasha is, and for Tara she was ready to attack us, I consider her enemy." said Rick. 

"Rick-" Daryl began. "No, Rick is right, we can't leave any stones unturned, we can't take any risks."said Carol. "I agree." said Michonne, "They're dangerous, shouldn't be left alive."  "Well I don't agree."said Daryl, and everyone looks at him shocked. "People are stronger with more people, we become stronger by working together not against each other." "You don't get it do you?!?"  Rick spat, "This world doesn't allow any luxuries, it doesn't allow any friends, you remember Dale, Glenn? What he said about this world being survival of the fittest? He was right, every single day we have to fight to survive." "Dale also said that it's important to keep our humanity and part of our old selves." said Glenn, "Leaving people to die like this, it isn't human, you're acting like a wild animal. Shoot first, don't think at all." Glenn scoffs. "You think keeping our humanity matters anymore?!?" said Rick, "Do you know what I've been through?!? What I've had to do to survive?!? You don't get to be the 'good guy' anymore! You kill or you die! You feel guilt and you move on from it, you don't dwell on it! You just survive, the only thing important is survival."

"You've become like Shane." Glenn hissed. Rick rounds on him. "What did you just say to me?!? Shane?!? Shane made smart decisions, granted he always put us in danger, but he had the right idea of survival even though he lost it! Unlike Shane, I have always made decisions that were for the good of this group! I'VE ALWAYS KEPT YOU PEOPLE SAFE, I'V E SACRIFICED EVERYTHING FOR YOU PEOPLE! EVERYTHING I'VE DONE HAS BEEN TO PROTECT YOU PEOPLE!" "You couldn't protect Lori." said Glenn harshly. Rick looks at him shocked, he process it then becomes furious. He lunges forward at Glenn. "HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME?!? I TRIED TO KEEP HER SAVE, I TRY WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE! YOU ASSHOLE!" Rick tries to attack Glenn, but Tyreese and Bob restrain him. He wriggles in their arms angrily."LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LET ME-" Michonne punches Rick in the face, silencing him. Rick initially looks shocked then understanding dawns on his face. "I'm I-I-I'm sorry, I-" Rick burst into tears and walks away from the group, Carl attempts to follow him but Michonne holds him back. "Wait, let him be alone for a while." she said.  Rick walks away from the group, leaving them in silence.