MAD MAX, the walking dead

two: DEATH SQUAD

"THEY'RE GONNA FEEL PRETTY STUPID WHEN THEY FIND OUT."    

***

"No offense, but at the first look y'all look like the freakin' death squad."

Max was still leaning with her back against the side of the train car as she spoke to the group. Her voice cracked from lack of use and she did her best to appear more relaxed around the group. Her knee was still bent at an awkward angle and the woman – Maggie – leaned down on her knees to put pressure on the painful parts of it. The man beside her let out a small chuckle.

He and the youngest one – Glenn and Tara – were the only other two from the group that came near her. The others stood away, some of them oriented towards the door and some of them watching over Max. She'd be stupid to try anything with that many eyes on her, was their presumed logic. The logic was correct. Tara sent her several looks of sympathy which she returned with a small nod and an involuntary, not-so-subtle grimace.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Glenn said. He gulped and exchanged quick eye contact with Maggie. "It's been a rough couple of days." Maggie looked deliberately away from him, and Max felt the room around her tense. Everyone shook their heads subtly, as if trying to physically rid their brains of the horrors they'd witnessed.

Max nodded solemnly in understanding. She'd had a pretty shit couple of days herself.

"Alright," Maggie said from in front of her. In the low light Max could see her lips purse. She rocked back on her heels and looked Max in the eyes, debating whether to help the girl or not. Her eyes eventually settled on yes. "It's only dislocated, and I can move it back in." Max nodded, and Maggie moved to position herself near Max's side to correct her knee. But the redhead's gruff voice stopped her again.

"Wait a damn minute," He said, walking closer to the group. His bright red mustache was the most distinctive feature on his face. His footsteps were significantly heavier than the others, and the sound echoed loudly around the room. "We don't even know this girl, and we're helping her? For all we know she could be one of them!"

"Do you really think they would have chucked me in here like some piece of shit if I was one of them?" Max stared right back up at the redhead, annoyance apparent on her face as she grimaced at him.

"Abraham, she's right." Tara defended beside her. She gestured to Max's knee injury, which she assumed looked as bad as it felt. "I mean, look at her! She looks like she's been hit a couple times with a truck! No offense." Max winced at the implication.

"None taken." She said quietly, exchanging short but meaningful eye contact with the short-haired girl.

"She's right." Glenn spoke up, putting himself in between Abraham and Max in an attempt to diffuse the situation. He took a step closer to the tall man and put an open hand near his chest. "Besides, that's still who we are. Right? It has to be." He looked around the room in encouragement, and everyone around him nodded. Some of them reluctantly, but Glenn stared them down until every single one did. Even the man in the background, who Max could see looked scared shitless nodded along.

He was a leader. Max knew the type. The guys that didn't know they had it in them until all of a sudden, they did. The apocalypse seemed to churn men like that out like one-cent candy at a carnival. Looking satisfied, Glenn turned back around to face Max, Tara, and Maggie.

"So, let's fix her up," He gestured toward Maggie, an almost-smile ghosting his face. It was gone as quickly as it came and replaced with a look of determination. He wiped the sweat off of his upper lip with the back of his bruised hand. "And figure out a way to get the hell out of here."