𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐌𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐀𝐋𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘
and all of my devotion turns violent

NADIA SITS ON a wooden stump, chewing anxiously at her lip as she watches Glenn offer peaches to the group. He keeps glancing over his shoulder at her and then at Maggie who is watching them from the porch.

Last night, when they had found the barn of walkers, Maggie happened to be wanting to check up on said barn and found them standing there. Maggie was speechless and tried to come up with a reason, but Nadia wasn't hearing it so she grabbed Glenn's arm and dragged him away.

This morning, Maggie went up to them to beg for their silence, assure them that the barn was secured, and then gave them a huge basket of peaches and some jerky to silence them.

And because Glenn is under pressure to keep his mouth shut by more than one person now, he blabbed to Nadia about Lori being pregnant.

The Slayer looks over her shoulder at Lori before glancing over at Rick and the others around the car. Mostly Shane she stares at, knowing that timeline-wise, the baby is more than likely his.

Nadia sighs heavily and stands up, moving over to the pregnant woman who has her son sitting in front of her. She smiles as she nears, reaching out to ruffle his hair before she squats to his height. "Hiya, buddy. You doing alright?"

He's been fully awake for a few hours now, Hershel having declared that he healed miraculously well and was more than okay to finally get out of bed. He called it a miracle that Carl was able to get up and walk around so early in the healing stage.

"Good." Carl smiles up at her as he fiddles with some sticks.

Nadia smiles back at him before looking up at his mother. "What about you, Lori? Are you well?"

She may never fully get along with the older Grimes woman, but she isn't about to be a bitch to a woman with a major decision to make.

Lori smiles lightly, glances down at Carl, over to Glenn, and then back down to Nadia. "I'm good, sweetie. What about you?"

"Fine." Nadia nods once, blinks, and stands up. "If you need anything..." She throws Lori a meaningful look, not finishing her sentence before walking away.

Lori watches her walk away with both confusion and fear washing over her. She swallows and glances at Glenn again who quickly looks away from her.

Once Nadia nears Glenn, he grabs her arm and drags her behind a tree—which doesn't look suspicious at all!

"What are we supposed to do?!" He whisper-shouts, leaning his face close to hers, breath tickling her.

Nadia pulls back, eyes narrowing at the barn in the distance, its presence looming over them as they now know what's being held inside.

"I don't know, Glenn." She heaves a sigh and runs a hand through her hair. It's out in its full length, dark hair cascading down past her shoulders and blowing in the wind. "I could easily get in there, take them all out, and get out like nothing happened. And we can go on as if nothing was ever in there."

Glenn looks aghast. "But the Greenes would know!"

Nadia breathes harshly through her nose. "Well, it's that or we tell the group! I'm not about to rest knowing danger is nearby. Those locks could break if they add any more walkers to the queue!"

Glenn lets out a panicked breath and starts to pace before Nadia grabs his forearms and stops him in front of her.

"This is all crazy," he breathes out, shutting his eyes tightly and shaking his head. "I don't know what to do about this," he whines.

Nadia clenches her jaw, tilting her side to side. "Okay, okay." She groans. "Let's give the Greenes some time to come forth, if not, we're telling the group in the morning. Okay?"

Glenn nods shakily. "Okay, that's fair."

Nadia breathes in deeply, clicks her tongue, glances at the barn, then at Glenn, before swiftly turning away. She pauses upon seeing Andrea leaving Daryl's tent. She narrows her eyes as she passes the blonde before bending and entering the redneck's tent.

"Dixon," Nadia greets gruffly, taking in his sweaty form, and noting the blood on his forehead.

Daryl looks up at her, surprise passing over his face before he conceals it and grunts in greeting. "Hm." He doesn't know her last name—actually, no one does. He eyes her. "What's ya last name?"

Her brow quivers at the random question. "What does it matter?"

He shrugs, grunting. He's like a rabid animal—constantly making weird noises. "Doesn't, I guess."

She eyes him, curious. "It's Helsing."

Daryl's brows draw in together as practically slumps in on himself. Nadia's eyes search his face, wondering why he seems almost... disappointed.

He opens and closes his mouth multiple times before grunting once more. "Huh." Nadia raises a questioning brow and he sighs, shifting in his cot. "Did ya... parents name ya 'fore they gave ya up?"

The Slayer crosses her arms and looks away. "Just my first. It was left on a note when I was abandoned," she explains, a lump forming in her throat as it always does when she thinks about her biological parents. "A nun... Sister Melody gave me my last name. Said I would need to have a strong name to make it in this life. She tried to raise me like her own, but she died when I was three."

Nadia believes that if Sister Melody had lived longer, maybe she would've been adopted by her and lived a normal, happy life.

"So..." Daryl clears his throat as he moves into a sitting position, wincing as pulls slightly at his stitches. "Ya have no clue who—"

"No," Nadia says roughly before rolling her eyes. "All I have is this necklace that was found with me when I was abandoned at the orphanage." She tugs said necklace out from beneath her shirt and flashes it to him before tucking it back into safety. "What about you... Dixon?" He raises his brows in a silent question. "What about your parents?"

Daryl shrugs, looking away, wincing as pain flares from his head wound and the stitches in his side.

Him saying nothing is equal to him actually saying something. Maybe she and Daryl aren't so different after all...

Nadia eyes the blood on the redneck's temple. "Do you need help with that?"

"Huh? What?" Daryl jerks when Nadia is suddenly at his side, reaching out to press her nimble fingers to the skin near his head wound. "Ow! What the hell, woman?!" He slaps her hand away on instinct.

She tsks and shakes her head. "Well, are you going to clean it or will I?" She rolls her eyes at his habit of being an absolute dickhead. All she gets is a shrug and a grunt for an answer. "Okay, so shut your mouth."

Nadia reaches for his water bottle and the cleanest rag she can find, pouring just enough water on it to start gently dabbing at his wound to rid him of the blood stain.

She snorts when he keeps wincing. "Aw, don't be such a big baby," she teases, chuckling when he glares up at her. After a few more dabs, most of the blood is gone, and she hums as she steps back, dropping the rag by his cot and screwing the water bottle closed. "All done." She claps her hands and stands up.

"Hey!"

Nadia turns back to Daryl, raising a brow as he stares up at her like he didn't mean to shout. "Yes?"

He inhales deeply through his nose and looks away for a second before looking back up at her, something swirling around in his blue eyes that Nadia can't quite describe at the moment. "Glad I'm not the only one out looking for that little girl."

She nods slowly. "It's not safe out there for a little girl. We will find her." They share a look and she nods again before exiting his tent.

Once Nadia exits, she sees the group getting ready to leave for gun training and makes eye contact with Rick who is helping Carl into the car.

She is surprised to see that his father and mother are allowing him to do such a thing not long after his recovery. But she's not his parents, so she has no say.

Rick gives her a small smile and she gives him a thumbs up in return before retreating off towards Glenn who is with Dale.

"Glenn, stop being dramatic." Dale stops Glenn from what Nadia assumes is ranting. "Spit it out."

Nadia realises very quickly that Glenn really does suck at keeping secrets. But she isn't too upset 'cause she doesn't want to keep the barn a secret, and she also likes Dale enough to know that he always has his head on straight.

"There's walkers in the barn and Lori's pregnant," Glenn blurts out.

Nadia reaches them and clears her throat loudly, crossing her arms.

They both startle and Glenn is quickly stuttering over his words, "Nad—I didn't—Dale was—" He squeezes his eyes closed and exhales deeply. "Sorry."

Nadia looks to Dale who is staring at her with wide eyes. "Well, for one, you suck at keeping your mouth shut, Rhee. And second, I didn't want to keep it from the group anyway."

"You knew?" Dale asks, almost sounding accusatory. But really, he's just curious.

"Glenn and I stumbled on it together last night," she says simply.

"She wanted to sneak in and take them out and never speak a word to anyone about it," Glenn admits in a rush, sweat building on his forehead.

"But the Greenes would sooner realise once they checked in on it," Dale says, shaking his head, pinching the bridge of his nose as he takes in all the information they were giving him.

Nadia clicks her tongue. "We would cross that bridge once we got to it. But, it's either we tell the group and watch them panic, and for one particular hot head to blow up, or I take the walkers out quietly and we go on like no danger was ever that close to us."

Dale stares at her, something like realisation shining in his eyes. They both know who she is referencing. It seems like Dale doesn't quite believe Shane's story about Otis almost as much as her.

Glenn sighs. "Maggie is trying to buy our silence, but..." He shrugs, not knowing what else to say.

"So Maggie knows you guys know?" The older man shakes his head, frowning deeply. "That means, Nadia, that your plan wouldn't work without them finding out and kicking us out of this safe haven."

Nadia sucks in a breath, slowly nodding along to his wisdom. "Well... that only leaves one option because there is no way I'll be able to rest knowing that at any given moment, those barn doors could break open and pile on a herd of those things onto us." She crosses her arms over her chest, peering past them at the barn.

Dale inhales and exhales. "Let me talk to Hershel and see what he thinks or feels about this. And we can figure out a plan afterwards."

Glenn and Nadia share a look before nodding.

"I already made a deal with Glenn; no matter what happens, we tell the group in the morning. So figure it out quickly, old man, 'cause I have a bad feeling about all of this," the Slayer says before turning and walking away.

TWO HOURS LATER, a trio consisting of Glenn, Maggie, and Nadia, head out into town to gather a few more items, especially one item in particular requested by Lori to help with her current predicament.

Dale had done what he said he would; he talked to Hershel and came up with a lie that he had simply just been walking around and heard the growls inside.

But somehow Hershel connected it to Maggie and them, which means Maggie is pissed as hell at them for speaking up. Now she is giving them the silent treatment.

Nadia rolls her eyes as she throws her leg over the side of the horse she is on and jumps down, grinning up at Glenn who makes a face at how easily she does so before he jumps down less gracefully than her.

Maggie angrily gets down from her horse, glaring at them as she grabs her bags off the saddle.

Nadia raises a challenging brow. "You didn't have to come. You volunteered, remember?" She huffs when Maggie just storms past her. "Seriously, what is your problem? If anyone has the right to be mad, it would be us. My group."

Maggie scoffs, turning around to glare at Nadia, and briefly glancing at Glenn. Her brows pull together in anger. "I asked for your trust and you betrayed it. Now my dad's pissed at me."

"I don't understand how your dad connected it to you, but..." Nadia shrugs. "It's not our fault, really." She glances at Glenn who is watching them as if they are about to throw down their bags and go for each other's throats. She lets out a heavy sigh. "I'll tell you this, Maggie—I'm giving your family until morning to figure this shit out."

"Oh," Maggie scoffs. "So you're giving an ultimatum? After we allowed you guys safe haven? After we helped your—helped Carl." Just like the rest of her family, once Rick showed up with Carl in his arms and Nadia right beside them, Maggie figured Nadia was Rick's other child as well. "My dad will kick you guys out."

Nadia swallows. She's thought of that but doesn't want to think it's actually possible. She crosses her arms. "So... your dad thinks they're sick?"

Glenn's brows pull together. "You agree with that, even after what you saw at the well?"

Maggie narrows her eyes and moves past them once more. "I'm not sure what I saw at the well."

Nadia scoffs loudly. "Yes, you are." She clicks her tongue and grabs the brunette's arm. "Look, if you'd seen the rest of the world, you would not have a barn full of walkers."

"I wish you'd stop calling them that," Maggie says harshly, removing her arm from Nadia's grip.

Glenn takes over once he notices how emotional both girls are becoming. "What do you call them?"

"Mom," Maggie starts, shooting them both looks. "Shawn, Mr. and Mrs. Fischer, Lacey, Duncan." She opens up the store door and walks in quickly.

Nadia pauses for a second, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Okay, she's got to admit, if... if Atlas was turned, she wouldn't have had the heart to put him down. Maybe she would've been like the Greenes; keeping him nearby just to be in his presence.

"What does she want now?" Maggie asks, eyes narrowing in their direction.

Glenn swallows. "I can't say."

Maggie scoffs, shaking her head in disbelief. "So when one of them asks you to keep your mouth shut—"

He quickly hands the piece of paper with Lori's writing on it over to the angry Greene. "Crawl out of my butt and help me look, please."

Maggie takes one look at the paper, rolls her eyes and scoffs before storming to the back of the store where all the pill bottles are. "You've got to be kidding me."

Nadia raises a brow in question as she slowly turns to face the Korean boy. "What does Lori want?" All she gets in response to that is a pointed look and a frown. "Oh..."

Her heart sinks to her stomach. She now knows what Lori chose. She nods and moves to go to the back with Maggie to look. She also figures she might as well find any other pills that might be useful.

She begins to scan through them, lifting the tubs before placing them back down again. She can faintly hear Glenn dropping things into his basket.

Anything that can help with pain and treat wounds, Nadia throws into the bag that she brought with her. She eyes Maggie in the aisle ahead of her and watches as she angrily sorts through bottles. Nadia rolls her eyes and continues sorting through more bottles.

Suddenly, Nadia hears a faint growling and she pauses, lowering her bag slowly to the floor and yanking her axe out of its sheathe. She moves into the aisle where Maggie is as the woman starts to scream and thrash against the shelf.

The Slayer reacts quickly—she rushes around the shelf, past the aisle Maggie is into the one the walker is in, and swings her axe into the walker's neck as its head is shoved between the shelves.

The head flops to the side as the body falls to the floor. The nineteen-year-old raises her foot before slamming it down into the walker's head with a loud squelch!

Maggie falls to the floor sobbing loudly as Glenn comes rushing around the corner, eyes wide as his gaze moves from between the girls to the dead walker and back to Nadia.

Nadia stands there, panting, before she sheathes her weapon and crouches by Maggie who is practically curled up in a ball crying. "Did it bite you?" She reaches out and grips the woman's face so they are staring into each other's eyes, wiping away the tears. "Maggie, did it bite you?"

Maggie hiccups. "N-no."

Nadia nods once, licking her lips and looking up at Glenn who stands there anxiously looking around. "We need to gather what we can and get back to the farm."

Glenn nods and quickly moves between the aisles, grabbing things that might be useful while Nadia comforts Maggie.

MAGGIE BEELINES STRAIGHT for Lori Grimes whose eyes widen at the sight of them.

"Hey! We got your stuff!" The eldest Greene sibling shouts.

Nadia's eyes widen as she goes to reach for the girl, but she jerks out of her hold. "Maggie—"

Lori stands up and gestures to her tent. "Come on in here."

"Why? Nothing to hide," Maggie spits. "We got your special delivery right here." She throws each item one by one at Lori. "We got your lotion, got your conditioner, your Soap Opera Digest." Lori swallows thickly, not knowing what to think or do. "Next time you want something, get it your damn self. We're not your errand boys."

"Honey, I..."

Maggie bends down and scoops up a packet of pills. "And here's your abortion pills!" She yells before running away from them.

Glenn, Nadia, and Lori stand there in shock, staring at one another with wide eyes.

Lori chokes and swallows, stuttering over her words, "I... the blood on her shirt—"

"She was attacked." Nadia nods, answering the unasked question.

Lori slumps down in the seat that is in her family's tent. "Are you guys alright? How bad was it?"

"I had it handled, but it still rattled Maggie," Nadia tells her, pursing her lips.

"I'm so sorry." Lori covers her mouth with one hand while the other fiddles with the small package of the morning-after pills. "I should never have asked you to go."

Glenn shrugs as he steps forward. "I offered."

"I thought the town was safe, but if you hadn't come back..." Lori shakes her head as she thinks about the 'what ifs'.

"But we did," says Glenn reassuringly. "I always do." He sighs, fiddling with his own small bag of something as he watches Lori. "The morning-after pills... will they even work?"

Lori swallows thickly as she looks down at the package. "I don't know..." Her brows quiver. "And I don't know if I want them to."

Glenn nods slowly and steps forward, handing the woman the bag he was fiddling with. "Then I got these too, just in case."

Lori slowly opens the bag and smiles lightly, pulling out a pretty decent-sized pill bottle. "Prenatal vitamins." She then frowns. "That's a hell of a choice."

Glenn gives her a small smile. "I'm glad it's not mine." He pauses. "Lori, we're friends, aren't we?"

Lori looks up at him incredulously. "With everything we've been through... Yeah."

"I can't tell you what to do," he says softly. "I could never tell you something like that. But your choice... Maybe you shouldn't make it alone." He gives the older woman a small smile, glancing at Nadia before walking away.

Nadia stays behind, staring down at Lori who has the abortion pills in one hand and the prenatal vitamins in the other. "Lori..." She trails off, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she tries to figure out how to say what she needs to. "It's your body, your choice... but I do think you should at least inform Rick of what could've been. Whether you choose to keep the baby or not," she says, glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one is nearby before finishing, "even if the baby isn't his."

Lori's eyes grow huge and her brows disappear behind her bangs. "Wha—"

The Slayer purses her lips. "You're not that great at hiding your feelings, and Shane is even worse." She gives Lori a forced smile. "I won't be surprised if Rick already knows about you and Shane..."

Lori swallows and looks down, nodding slowly.

"I just..." Nadia shrugs. "Whether or not the baby is Shane's... I don't think Rick will care. I think he'll be more upset that you didn't tell him." She reaches out and squeezes the woman's shoulder. "Good luck." And with that, she walks away.

IT'S OFFICIALLY THE next morning—meaning it's time to tell the group about the barn. Glenn is still anxious and keeps glancing over at Maggie who is on the porch, shaking her head at them.

The rest of the group is seated around the little campfire they made, eating apples and scrambled eggs.

Nadia purses her lips and raises her eyebrows at Glenn who gulps and looks around at the whole group.

She rolls her eyes and sighs heavily, standing up abruptly and drawing some eyes to her. She claps her hands together to draw everyone else's attention before declaring, "There are walkers in the barn."

Everyone pauses, spoons halfway to their mouths.

Shane tilts his head with a murderous expression.

Suddenly everyone is up and moving, making their way towards the barn in quick, frantic movements.

They all keep their distance as Shane moves towards the double doors that have been locked up tightly with multiple chains and locks. He presses up against them and carefully peers into one of the slits.

"Anything?" Lori asks, clenching her hands in anticipation.

Shane nods his head before backing away and turning to the group who all stand with wide, disbelieving eyes. "There's dozens of them," he says and looks at Rick with anger-filled eyes. "You cannot tell me that you're alright with this."

"I'm not," Rick replies harshly. "But we're guests here. This isn't our land."

"But these are our lives!" Shane argues.         

"Lower your voice!" Nadia hisses at Shane when she hears growls from inside the barn which are getting louder due to the yelling.

She knew Shane would be the one to make a bigger deal about this than necessary, but she wasn't about to wait any longer to inform her group about the possible dangers that lay not far from their camp.

Hell, she could barely sleep last night, constantly tossing and turning as she thought about Lori's situation, about the barn, and how everyone would react to the news.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug," Andrea states firmly, placing her hands on her hips.

"It ain't right. Not even remotely," Shane continues to argue. "Okay, we've got to go in there. We've got to make things right or we've just got to go. We have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time."

"We can't go," Rick says sternly, shaking his head.

"Why, Rick? Why?" Shane asks, his voice growing louder by the second.

"Because my daughter is still out there," Carol says, stepping forward, her voice strong and her arms crossed.

"Okay," Shane starts with a dry laugh and covers his face with his hands, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibility—"

Nadia steps forward and spits, "You better watch what you're about to say."

"Shane, we're not leaving Sophia behind," Rick snaps angrily.

"I'm close to finding this girl!" Daryl shouts, his voice raspy. "I just found her damn doll a few days ago!" He throws his arms up in an attempt to exaggerate his statement.

"You found her doll, Daryl! That's what you did. You found a doll." Shane laughs humorlessly.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," Nadia growls, defending Daryl. He's been out there nonstop looking for that little girl, putting his own damn life at risk.

"I'm just saying what needs to be said," Shane starts, sighing. "You get a good lead, it's in the first forty-eight hours—"

"Shane," Rick tries, but Shane just speaks louder, "Shane!" He shouts, trying to calm his friend down, but to no avail.

"Let me tell you something else, man!" Shane snarls, eyes wide and full of heat. It looks like he's teetering off the edge of something. "If she was alive out there and saw you coming all methed out with your bucked ears and geek ears around your neck, she would run in the other direction!" He screams at Daryl, pointing behind him to drive home his words.

Daryl launches himself at Shane, yelling at him to shut up. Rick steps in between the two and pushes them away from each other.

Everyone else moves backwards in fear, making Nadia roll her eyes.

"Fucking idiots," Nadia mumbles before jumping into the mix, getting in the middle and shoving Daryl away with one hand. He growls and slaps her hand away from him. She narrows her eyes at him, lips pulling back in a snarl. "Back off!"

At her tone and the look on her face, Daryl steps back, breathing heavily and clenching his jaw in anger.

Nadia crosses her arms and turns to Rick who is still trying to calm Shane down who is pacing. "Now, just let me talk to Hershel. Let me figure it out," Rick says gently.

Shane whips around and charges Rick with wild eyes. "And what are you gonna figure out?!" He asks angrily.

Lori jumps in between them and shoves Shane hard in the chest. "Enough!" She yells, standing protectively in front of Rick.

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it," Rick explains in a harsh voice as he points back at the barn with his thumb. "This is his land."

Dale comes forward, raising his hands carefully, almost as if he has been caught red-handed. "Hershel sees those things in there as people. Sick people. His wife, his stepson, all of them in there. People."

"You knew?" Rick asks incredulously.

"Yesterday," Dale admits, nodding, staring down at the ground like he's being scolded by his parents. "I talked to Hershel."

"And you waited the night?" Shane's gruff voice asks loudly.

"I thought we could survive one more night. We did." Dale looks at Shane with a sharp expression. "I was waiting 'till this morning to say something. But Glenn and Nadia wanted to be the ones."

"Glenn knew?" Rick asks and shakes his head, turning to Glenn who gazes down at the ground with a grim expression.

"The man is crazy, Rick," Shane starts yelling again, giving Nadia a headache. "If Hershel thinks those things are alive—"

"Just shut up, Shane!" Nadia bellows, getting tired of his piss-poor attitude, of his voice. "Arguing about this isn't going to help anyone!"

Suddenly, the barn doors start to shake, the moans from the undead growing louder. The rusting chains rattle against each other as the walkers desperately try to get to the group.

Grey fingers emerge from the cracks in the wooden doors, the growls loud and hungry, making the group jump back in shock and fear.

Nadia takes a small step back, almost bumping up against Glenn. She lets out a breath to steady herself.

Just by the sounds of the rattling and the growls, at least a dozen or more are inside the building, and if any more are added, it will end up breaking open.

One thing is clear—the farm isn't going to be a safe haven until this is taken care of.

NADIA IS SITTING on the top porch step beside Maggie and Glenn. Even though the former has been terrified since the store, it has somehow secured their tedious friendship.

T-Dog and Andrea make their way towards them, looking confused and a little irritated, the former asking, "Do you know what's going on?"

"Where is everyone?" Andrea asks, glancing over at the three of them.

The Slayer stands up, frowning. "The last time I saw Rick, he was with you, Andrea, looking at what area on the map to look for Sophia."

"He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago," Andrea informs the brunette with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, you were," Daryl announces as he approaches the group, Carol by his side. "What the hell?"

"Rick told us he was going out," says Carol, glancing at Daryl who is getting more annoyed by the second.

Daryl frowns. "Damn it, isn't anybody takin' this seriously?" He asks angrily, referring back to poor little Sophia. "We got us a damn trail." He starts pacing, flinging his arms about.

Suddenly, something off in the distance catches Daryl's attention and he rolls his eyes. "Oh, here we go."

Shane approaches them with the duffle bag full of guns slung over his shoulder, making Nadia huff and cross her arms.

"You with me, man?" Shane asks Daryl as he passes him a shotgun. Once Daryl takes it, he nods. "Time to grow up!" He announces, turning to Andrea. "You got yours?"

Nadia purses her lips at the blonde woman's answering smirk. "What the hell?"

Shane turns to her, eyes narrowed, full of hatred—which is honestly fair enough because Nadia feels the same way about him. "You in?"

"In with what?" She asks roughly. "Your craziness? No."

"Shut your damn mouth," Shane snarls as he moves onto the next person, tossing a gun into their hands.

Brows quivering in thought, Nadia's eyes follow him as something dawns on her. Dale was the one supposed to be guarding the weapons. "Where's Dale?"

Shane scoffs, not looking at her. "He's on his way," he replies as he continues passing guns out to each member of the group.

T-Dog frowns in confusion. "I thought we couldn't carry?"

"We can and we have to," Shane spits out, sweat dripping down his forehead. "Look, it was one thing sittin' around here pickin' daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe but now we know it ain't," Shane says before turning to Glenn and holding a gun out to him. "How about you, man? You gonna protect what's yours?"

Glenn hesitates, glancing over at Nadia who raises a brow at him. His lips pull into a frown but he grabs the gun slowly when Shane shoves it into his chest.

"Glenn," Nadia whispers harshly. He knows she doesn't trust Shane.

Maggie approaches Shane. "Can you stop?" She asks angrily. "If you do this, if you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight!"

Nadia rolls her eyes, moving closer to the two. "He can't hear you over his massive, ever-growing ego." She levels Shane with a glare. "He's just a pathetic man who thinks he's always right when it's actually the farthest from the truth."

Shane turns to her, getting up in her face. "You need to learn how to shut your fucking mouth."

Carl appears out of nowhere, walking towards Shane. "We have to stay, Shane," he says firmly. 

"What is this?" Lori asks, appearing in the farmhouse doorway.

"We ain't goin' anywhere, lil' man, okay?" Shane assures Carl. "Now look, Hershel's just gotta understand. He's gonna have to. Now, we need to find Sophia, am I right?" He squats down in front of Carl, pulling out a gun. "Now, I want you to take this, Carl. You take it and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun and do it."

Nadia reaches down and grips Shane's shoulder harshly, watching in satisfaction as the man winces. "Leave the kid alone." She moves around the man to gently shove Carl in his mother's direction.

Lori glares down at Shane. "Rick said no guns," she says angrily. "This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

"Oh, shit," T-Dog gasps suddenly.

They all turn around to look at something in the distance, near the barn. Hershel and Rick have walkers on snare poles, and Jimmy is guiding them towards the barn.

Acting in pure anger, Shane takes off towards them, and the others quickly follow.

Nadia closes her eyes and inhales deeply. "Here we go..." She picks up speed and runs with the group, passing them easily and effortlessly, stopping just in time to get between Shane and Rick.

"What is this?! What the hell are you doing?" Shane yells, getting spit all over Nadia, who shoves him away from Rick.

"Shane, just back off!" Rick shouts, struggling to keep his hold on the snare pole as the walker jerks, reaching towards the group with hungry eyes.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asks in confusion. 

Nadia turns her body just enough to stare at Hershel with wide eyes. "That's so not important right now! Why are you leading walkers like rabid dogs?! They're not!"

She likes Rick, and she respects him, but this is insane. Allowing Hershel to keep filling up the barn when it could crumble under the force of a herd of walkers? It's stupid and reckless.

"Are you kidding me?" Shane asks angrily before turning to the group. "You see? You see what they're holdin' onto?"

"I see who I'm holding onto!" Hershel corrects. 

"No, man, you don't," Shane replies bitterly, shaking his head.

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk!" Rick yells, his face covered in sweat, his eyes wide, and biting his lip as he tries to keep the walker still.

"What you wanna talk about, Rick?" Shane asks rhetorically, huffing. "These things ain't sick! They're not people! They're dead! Ain't gonna feel nothin' for them 'cause all they do is kill! They kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They're gonna kill us all!"

"Shane!" Nadia yells, trying to defuse the situation before it gets out of hand. "Stop!"

Shane ignores her, like usual. "Hey, Hershel, man, let me ask you something," he starts as he pulls his gun from his waistband and aims it at the walker trapped in Hershel's snare pole. "Could a livin', breathin' person walk away from this?" He fires three bullets into the walker's chest. "That's three rounds in the chest! Could someone who's alive just take that?! Why's it still coming?" He fires again. "That's its heart! It's lungs! Why is it still coming?" He demands, continuing to shoot into the walker's chest.

"Shane, enough!" Rick shouts angrily, desperately.

Shane marches towards the walker in Hershel's snare pole. "Yeah, man, you're right, this is enough," he spits out before firing a final bullet into the walker's head, causing it to drop to the ground—dead.

"You're insane!" Nadia screams, watching as Hershel drops to the ground by the walker's dead body, his face emotionless—like the life just drained from him.

"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone!" Shane snarls, rounding around on everyone, waving around the gun in his hand. "Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us! Enough! Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now." Shane rushes to the barn doors, his body tense.

"Take the snag pole! Hershel, take it!" Rick calls desperately to the older man as Shane grabs an axe.

Nadia runs towards Shane, trying to stop him, but as she grasps his arm, he swivels around, going to punch her in the face. She dodges it, grabbing his wrist and quickly twisting his arm, moving her body to pop up behind him and shove him to the ground with ease.

"Nadia!" Someone shouts, but she can't quite tell over everyone else shouting along with the walkers banging on the doors and growling.

Shane spits and twists his legs around, kicking at her knee which makes a faint cracking noise, and she stumbles, narrowly avoiding getting hit by Shane's axe as he swings it at her.

She yanks the weapon out of his hand in one quick movement, flinging it off into the distance before punching Shane harshly in the nose. He stumbles back and grabs ahold of his nose with one hand, quickly moving his head to spit out blood.

Everyone is screaming at them to stop while Rick is also screaming for someone to take over his snare pole that holds the walker.

Suddenly, Nadia is grabbed from behind, hands gripping her waist tightly. She thrashes around in their hold, and even while turned around, she punches them in the gut.

"Fuck," the person growls and Nadia stops, realizing that it's Daryl. "Damn, woman. Last time I ever stop you."

Hearing banging noises, Nadia turns quickly to find Shane cutting off the bottom bolts with the axe she threw to the side.

Fear and protectiveness flow through the Slayer as she rushes towards Shane, throwing him up against the door just as it's moving open slowly, pushed on by walkers.

He grunts and thrashes, trying to get away from the walkers who are pushing their grey, bloody fingers through the cracks in the barn door.

"Oh, you are so fucking dead, asshole!" Nadia snarls, pressing her palm flat against Shane's head, shoving his head hard against the doors as she uses all her strength to keep it shut. "You're so messed up in the head!"

"Let me go!" He growls and reaches up, gripping her arm and digging his nails into her wrist.

Nadia hisses and roughly shoves him harder against the door before running backwards and grabbing a gun that falls out of the bag on the ground.

The creaky doors are finally pushed open by the walkers and Shane scrambles away. The walkers make their way out of the barn, craving flesh, and snarling in hunger. Although the doors are mostly cracked, they push the rest of the way through easily.

Nadia raises her gun and starts shooting the walkers, in sync with the rest of the group. One by one, all the walkers are tumbling to the ground, rounds of gunfire ringing in everyone's ears.

And once the last one falls, the sobs from the Greene family are the only sounds left on the farm.

Nadia breathes heavily, bowing her head in sadness. No family should have to watch their family and friends slaughtered right in front of them. It's too much to handle, even if they're already dead.

A low growling fills her ears, and her head whips back up and towards the barn. There's shuffling, and then dirty shoes and legs come into view.

Once it shuffles out of the barn—looks to be a girl— Nadia sees the distinct bite mark on its shoulders, dry blood around it. It looks like she died just a few days ago. The shirt she's wearing is blue with a rainbow in the middle, and her pants are sandy-coloured baggy jeans.

Dread fills Nadia at the sight. She doesn't need to see the face to know who the walker used to be. Still, when the light hits the girl's face, Nadia steps back in shock. Her whole body shuts down, making her drop her gun in the process.

"No..." She mumbles, shaking her head.

This is the little girl every one of them had risked their lives for—a little girl Daryl almost died looking for just a few short days ago. A little girl who had not been that far from them this whole time.

"Sophia!" Carol cries out as she runs for her daughter, tears spilling down her cheeks, only to be stopped by Daryl wrapping an arm around her waist. "Sophia..." She sobs loudly, not taking her eyes off her now-deceased daughter.

As the little girl shuffles towards them, growling, dead eyes staring straight into her soul, Nadia gets flashes of what her little brother would've looked like if he had turned instead of being eaten.

The Slayer stumbles backwards, her legs feeling like jelly as the little walker girl keeps beelining for her. Her heart pounds loudly in her ears, her mouth opens and closes as she gasps loudly, and she falls back into someone. Arms wrap around her, keeping her steady, but she doesn't look to see who it is.

All she has eyes for is the walker making its way towards her, the face flashing between Sophia's and Atlas'. It's like it's trying to torture her.

Just then, Rick marches forward, his gun raised, and with slight hesitance, the gun goes off and Sophia's body falls with a thump. Carol's loud sobs fill the air.

"Don't look. Don't look," Daryl repeats, lifting the whimpering Peletier woman off the ground, only to earn a shove from her as she pushes herself out of his grip.

Nadia swallows thickly as she watches the woman run off, still crying. She slowly pulls away from whoever is holding her, turning around to see that it has been Glenn. He looks at her in worry.

More crying fills the silent air. It's Beth. Her small head rests against Jimmy's chest and his arms are tightly wrapped around her. She pulls out of his hold and storms over to the pile of walkers on the ground while crying loudly.

Rick raises his arm and tells her to stop in a whisper, but Beth swats him away and kneels in front of a certain walker.

Beth lifts another walker's arm and pushes it off the corpse below it. She crouches down and lightly presses her hand against the walker's shoulder. "Mom," she whimpers.

Nadia's heart breaks for the younger girl.

Unexpectedly, the blonde's mother lets out a growl and reaches for her daughter, making her scream.

Nadia acts quickly—she straddles the walker and yanks its hands off the teenager before using its own nails to dig into its eyeballs, the squelching noises and blood splatter be damned. Slowly, the walker stops moving, and Beth is successfully pulled away and safe.

The second Beth is free, Hershel pulls her into a tight hug, and Maggie wraps her arms around both of them as she sobs.

Everyone else can't take their eyes off Nadia who slowly stands up from the dead walker. Their faces are full of despair and shock.

It seems like this group has finally lost all of their hope.