Hollow Heroes [Open to all]

Deep down, Glenn knew that Carl's words were driven by his pain. He didn't want to take it personal, and maybe he wouldn't have, if not for the fact that he did feel guilty. It should have been him. Rick should have been alive right now. He was a leader... a father. And Glenn.... he knew he wasn't important in the thick of things. So the words cut like daggers. Still, he masked it as best he could,but he had never had a good poker face. The pain was obvious.



It was clear that Carl didn't need to see him right now, and Glenn... he needed to be someplace to deal with his feelings. And Judith, she needed to be elsewhere, too....



"I.. I can take her..." He told Maggie, offering to take the baby so she could re-wrap Carl's wrist...

.....He didn't mean it. And seeing the obvious hurt in Glenn's eyes only made him more upset. But... maybe it was a good thing. Maybe if everyone hated him, he could push them away. You couldn't grieve over people if they no longer meant anything to you...


But why did it hurt go bad?! A tear managed to streak down his face when Maggie spoke up. She was right... he knew she was, but he couldn't confess to it. Couldn't admit that he cared...

Once inside the bathroom, Daryl dropped the bag beside the toilet and helped easy Erica into a sit. Then he began searching for a way to lift her top just enough to expose and treat the wound, but there was no hem of her shirt... the suit was completely connected...


Then he realized that she was struggling with the zipper...



Oh man... it was a one piece...


Cheeks flushing with that realization, he still searched for an alternative. He heard Carl shouting at Glenn, and it angered him, but that would have to wait. Right now, he had to figure out how to treat Erica without fully exposing her...


"So... we gotta unzip it, huh...." And there was an awkwardness in his tone He could probably cut through the fabric, but it was skin tight and he didn't want to risk hurting her...


"I... I could see if there's a baggy shirt in this place somewhere... I ...I don't wanna... you know... may you feel.... weird..." His face was becoming redder by the minute...

Erica Martins wrote:

Thermo lightly armored ones for harsh winter and cold terrains the kinds athletes and endurance hikers, explorers would have. And lighter suits for more desert or hot, humid and or swimming. She did not care to find a change room, but used one because she had no underwear.

"no its okay - I..." her wave away of offered shirt became the beginnings of a small grin. " Are... Are you - you arrre... Blushing." amused and curious.

The men previously had no problems ripping her cloths before. Touching her skin with eyes and hands and... she lost her ability to blush over her own and their nudity with her virginity. "A man has never blushed doing this to me before." Indicating the undressing.

So this shy blushing really amused her. "come on help me with this zip... I promise you have probably seen prettier than mine before." maybe teasing a bit.

Mikko was happy to hear that Clark was better. She gave a shrug at his question. I'm ok I suppose. I mean, for being infected I'm doing pretty damn good. So there's that. And Bruce hasn't blown my head off yet so that's good too. She was trying to make light of it all was but was really worried that her sudden influx of hunger would ruin her relationship with Wade.

When he apologized to her she gave him a smile and shook her head.

You have nothing to be sorry for. You weren't you back there, and I should have been more careful and not have just bust in like that. Anyway, I think you gave me some serious street cred.

She reached out and gave Clark a hug. All is forgiven, so don't worry about anymore ok.

When she stepped away from the hug she figured now was a good time to ask about that explosive in her neck. I was wondering...Could you get a small bomb out of my neck?

Maggie handed Judith to Glenn and walked to the kitchen with him. She gently pulled him behind a counter to talk. You ok? You know Carl didn't mean any of that. You shouldn't take it to heart. She gave Glenn a hug, holding him close. Think of this as practice for when our own is a teen.

She pulled away and gave her stomach a light rub. If he or She is anywhere close to how I was as a teen, We'll have our hands full.

Lydia didn't hear Toad. She wasn't ignoring him per say, she just wasn't listening. She got up and walked towards Mel's bed and sat down beside her. She held up Shelby to Mel's face.

"Shelby is worried you won't wake up. But...you're OK. I know that you are. So Lydia is not worried. Although...you should get better and wake up soon... Shelby is pretty worried. When you wake up...can we...can we...go back to the toystore? And...and...can we play with the dollhouse? And...and play h...hide and seek? That's what...we were...supposed to do...today...cuz...cuz it was going to be the best day ever...and Shelby is...really really sad..."

Clark wasn't expecting her forgiveness. Humans had a way of holding grudges, and sometimes.. he couldn't blame them. He could do a world of damage when not in control of himself , or in heated battle. The fact that she was so willing to forgive earned a soft smile, and he carefully returned the hug, trying to keep in mind that he still wasn't a hundred percent and could easily hurt her..


"Thank you." He smiled, soon remembering that he was supposed to be listening to her thoughts. Focusing on that task, he registered her verbal words, too. And her request. What Bruce had done to her wasn't right, and he knew that helping her could put him at odds with his friend. But what if something happened and Bruce or someone else accidentally detonated the bomb?



"Yeah... I'm almost in control of my powers again. I can do that...when I'm sure I won't hurt you."

Clark was in for a world of unease being inside of her head. The first thought he would pick up on was the naughty things she was thinking of doing to him. Some of those things probably not legal even in the world they lived in. But once the hug let up and she stopped eyeing him things did get back to normal, for her anyway.

He would pick up on how hungry she was feeling, with that hunger was images of her attacking people, others laying in blood. Her mind was filled with the color red. Slaughtering and eating and sex seemed to be the only thing on her mind. But not in the way a human would think of such things. this was more animalistic. There was even a very brief moment where Clark was being feast on.

Looking at Mikko's face you would never think such thoughts were going through her head. She was doing well hiding it from others.

Cool. Thanks. Just let me know when you can. Bruce seems to think I have some cure. I don't know about that. She said with a shrug. And you can't do any worse then what this bomb can do.

Glenn carefully took Judith from Maggie and made his retreat into the kitchen, not wanting Maggie or Carl to see that the teen's words stung. He was unaware that Maggie had followed him into the kitchen until she pulled him behind a counter, asking if he was okay. Despite the hurt he felt, he forced a faint grin and melted into her embrace, carefully holding Judith in one arm and squeezing Maggie with the other, trying to be reassuring.


"Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry about me." And he pressed a soft kiss against her forehead. Though, as reassuring as he tried to sound, and even if Carl had not meant any of it... there were truth to his words. Rick should be here. And... Maggie was strong. If he had died, he knew she would make it...


He pushed down those thoughts when she joked about teenage years, and how they would have their hands full of their little one took after her. A soft smile crossed his lips and he nuzzled a kiss against her neck. "Oh, your dad told me some things...but I probably shouldn't have told you that... not that they were bad. I mean, not terrible, at least..."

...and if Erica was trying to defuse the situation or make him at ease, she certainly wasn't helping! Though, he did detect that she was getting some form of amusement out of all this. Gently gripping the zipper, he hesitated as she commented on how a man had never blushed at her while doing this before..



"Yer gettin' a kick outta this, ain't you..." Out of the fact, that he wasn't like those other men. And Daryl knew this world, what most men were capable of.. what she must have been referring to. "I know, redneck fella gettin' all flushed must be a rare thing these days...." And he slowly began unzipping her, feeling incredibly nervous. Even though he was simply trying to help her. She was female and... a teenager...


He inwardly coaxed himself to get it together, knowing she needed help. Swallowing down his reluctance, he tried to not make eye contact, but tried to focus on his task as he unzipped, slowly at first, then getting to the point....

Leo did as Don instructed and waited patiently for the blood to start flowing.  He really hoped this worked.  He knew he had to stay positive.  Raph would be fine.  He just kept repeating that mantra as the transfusion began.

With his eyes closed, he did a little meditation to calm himself down.  The events that took place earlier were still bothering him to a 'worried sick' status.  Or maybe that was light-headedness from the blood being taken.  Or was it Mikey's prattling on with still trying to come up with a name for Raph's...arm?

"Mikey...enough," Leo's stern voice broke through the almost-silence.  He took some deep breaths to tamp down his nausea.  "Please."  He really wasn't feeling that great all of a sudden.  Which was strange since he had grown pretty accustomed to gore thanks to the zombie invasion.  Maybe it was just the fact that he had to cut off his brother's arm - he still wasn't over that.

She watched Daryl's face, the blushing, "It would be a flat out lie to say I am not finding some amusement in this..." She agrees it was in her voice. With a hiss of some pain as she shifts her shoulders as the suit opened further shrugging the material free of them exposing more skin. she lifts her good arm to undo her hair - the blond curls becoming free and hanging loose and long. These she pulled forward into two lots so when her breasts would be free the hair would at least somewhat shield them from view. This was for him, she was not blushing.


In fact he could stand her up and pull the whole thing off and she'd not be unfamiliar with such an approach. Or feel modesty. And in all honesty before his blushing she thought in the back of her mind for some moments he might have expected some form of repayment of that sort for his aid and she had mentally and emotionally already resigned to it. Maybe playing a part in why she had been so terse with Carl. Aside the fact he needed hearing more than his thirst for revenge was at stake.


"But mostly because it makes me curious. Why? Why the blush? and you seem shy to look... I've genuinely never had that before... you dont want to ..... have me the way the others did?.. for helping me..." There was some tease in her tone but mostly amusement and a whole lot of wonderment she looks down at the zipper opened as it was moving down her body. Her skin was relatively unblemished, free of scars.

Carl watched through angry and regretful tears as Maggie disappeared, no doubt checking on Glenn. He had hurt him, he knew it... that's why he had to walk away. It was for the best. If he pushed people away, they wouldn't care about him and in time, maybe he would forget them..


Wiping away the tears, he shifted painfully enough to determine the distance between the couch where he was currently sitting, and the door...

Daryl was trying hard not to look at her, instead, focusing exceptionally hard on tugging down the zipper. Still, it was obvious that she wasn't wearing a bra underneath, and he was extremely thankful that her hair was almost long enough to conceal them. Not that he would look. Nope. But just in case he accidentally glanced.


Finally exposing the wound, he grabbed his pack and dug out a bottle of alcohol and a couple of gauze. Pouring a little on the pads, he carefully began to clean it, trying to be as gentle as possible. Then came her question, which caught him off guard. She wanted to know why he felt awkward? Why he felt it wasn't okay to take care of a young woman?


"It ain't right..." He told her, dabbing gently as he tried to inspect for any debris in the injury. He felt bad for her, what she must have been subject to... what she had become used too...


"It was never right before... and it ain't right now. Monsters existed before this world came about... but now,...yeah. You gotta fear people..." People would murder the living, even as their numbers became critical. A lot of humans had turned savage. Men raping women and children... but Erica, she seemed to accept that...


Tossing aside the bloody gauze, he grabbed a fresh piece and got back to work. He knew that wasn't the answer she was looking for. She wanted to know why he blushed. Why he didn't expect anything in return...


"Because. I respect you."

But Wade's grip was unrelenting. It had been a long damn time since he had seen a unicorn, and he was NOT going to let this one get away! "I tell you what, Kangaroo Jack.... I'll let you take my hand in exchange for this!!" And he gave a tug, firm.. but careful not to rip the thing's pretty little leg off!

What was this guys problem? Other then the obvious. What kind of man tried to steal another man's unicorn? A man's unicorn was sacred! Special! Better idea. I take ya gal, and let you borrow Pinkie.

Digger turned his head a bit towards Mikko, but still kept his eyes on Wade, and a firm grip on his dear pony.

Ya her that, love!? He called out to her. Yer living scab just agreed to trade ya for a stuffed animal.

Clark was certainly uneasy with her thoughts. First, the deviant thoughts she had towards him, then the hunger.. the overwhelming burning hunger. and in that moment, he knew... eventually she would reach a point where it would be out of her control. She would go into a craze, and feed without thought. Just instinct. It made him concerned for the people here. The children. Lois. What if she attacked an innocent? Still, giving her a death sentence over a crime she had yet to commit was unfair.


There had to be a medium. A common ground where everyone could come out of this alive. Even with the risks she posed, she did not deserve a ticking time bomb in her neck. The hunger could be controlled somehow, he was sure of this...


Swallowing down his unease, he managed a small smile. "Give me a couple of hours.. the sun will speed my healing along...."

Mikko looked over at the other guys and raised a brow at the strangers words. She didn't believe for one second that what he said was true. Shrugging her shoulders she looked back at Clark.

Thanks. Now if your bat friend would give up on his dream of finding some cure. I'm pretty sure if there was one, someone in the world would have found it by now. Speaking of! I need to check on Raph. He was bit, but his brother removed his arm before he turned. I need to make sure he's ok, even though I don't think Raph's family is going to like me showing up very much.

The sun uh? So you're like...solar powered? That's very environmentally friendly of you.

She reached up and ruffled his hair playfully. Aren't you suppose to have a little curl in the middle of your forehead? Or is that just for pictures?

Oh? And what did he tell you? Maggie asked, because now she had to know! Plus talking about her she hoped would get his mind off of Carl for a moment.

She started to pull out cans of soup as they talked. She wanted the kids to have a hot meal before they laid down to rest. Of course Erica was going to be invited to stay, and Carl was going to be closely watched. Though she had no idea the boy was planing out his escape already.

If he left, she would personally go after him, rolling pin in hand.

It was certainly a great distraction from Carl's harshness. Glenn hesitated for a moment, but a small smile slowly stretched across his lips. He had never been good at keeping secrets, and he was a bit of a blabber mouth. It amazed even him that he hadn't told Maggie about this before...


"Back when we first arrived at the farm, Hershel didn't want me to get close to you. He wanted us gone..." And he knew Maggie remembered those days all too well. They had to sneak away to have sex.



"He caught me watching you..." He told her as he began helping pull out the cans, still holding the now sleepy Judith in one arm. "I mean, I wasn't being a creeper or anything. Just watching you ride your horse. When he saw me watching you, he gestured towards the biggest damn tractor I've ever seen, then asked 'You see that over there? I had to go down and get it out of impound after Maggie broke up with her boyfriend'..." He laughed, the heaviness of Carl's outburst forgotten. "He told me that you drove that thing to school, and ran over your ex boyfriend's new camaro, and chased him down on it.... I think he was trying to scare me away from you..... it didn't work."

Maggie did remember those days. It didn't feel like that long ago to her, how they first came to the farm and she didn't give Glenn a second thought. How times changed. Now she was thankful everyday that his group ended up at her family's farm.

She poured some cans of chicken soup in a pot and started to warm it up, licking the broth from a finger she turned to Glenn with a toothy grin.

That was all he told you? I was worried he said something bad about me.

She gave Glenn a few pecks on his lips before speaking again.

You think maybe, he wasn't trying to scare you away from me. But warning you what would happen if you broke my fragile heart? His warped way of telling you good luck.

Love had made to Negan's little village. It was quite nice actually! Everyone seemed happy enough, maybe this Negan guy wasn't that bad. Maybe Carl's group just pissed him off, probably killed his puppy or something.

Getting in touch with Carl's thoughts, she quit rudely pushed his thoughts aside and invaded his thoughts. She wondered how long she would be able to do that before he figured out how to block her from his mind.

Once she had a connection, she told Carl that she found Negan's town. Then started to go on about how nice the place was. That they had farm animals, horses, cows, goats, chickens. They had planted fresh food. Lots of veggies and fruit. The fruit trees had obviously been there long before Negan and his crew moved in.

She told Carl that there was quite a lot of people that lived there and everyone seemed happy enough. There was even kids playing around.

She then went on to inform Carl that she had over heard that Negan himself, though injured, was already planing his next attack.

Carl knew what had to be done. Negan had to be dealt with, and the sooner... the better. Though, Erica's words echoed in his mind. If he left, those that loved him would come after him. They would be placed in danger. They needed a plan. Needed to fight... and the injured would have to stay behind. Glenn. Maggie... neither were in any condition to go up against the man and his group....



Before he could form a solid plan as to his next move... stay... or go and put people at risk, Love invaded his mind...


He tried desperately to block her, but that was an impossible feat. Her words made it through and it seemed that Negan was already planning his next attack. Not it was crystal clear what needed to be done. There was no time to come up with a plan. Negan had to be dealt with. Maybe it would put loved ones in danger coming after him, but here.. waiting for the attack... everyone was sitting ducks. At least if he made a move first, there was a chance that he could take Negan out and everyone could live. Because despite what Love said about Negan's community appearing happy, surely that was a front. A man that cruel could NOT have happy followers, especially when he had noticed a few had suffered burns. Maybe, just maybe if he could take Negan out, his community would call a truce for a chance to live in peace...


Painfully pushing himself up from the couch, he checked the ammo in his clip, then the one of his newly acquired pistol. He would need more weapons....



'How soon is he planning his attack?'