Survivors- The walking Dead fanfic

Breaking point

It was a very hot summer day. I had gone down to the lake to catch some fish for the group while the others worked around the camp. After a few hours on watch, around noon, when the sun was at the highest and it's hottest, Dale noticed someone out up on the hilltops. He grabbed his binoculars to get a better look. It was Jim. He wasn't sure what the man was doing up there but is raised suspicion.

So Dale went to Shane and told him of what he saw. Shane and other's went up to the hilltops to see what Jim was doing. When the group saw what he was doing up there it only made things worse. Jim never stopped or hesitated as the group approached him. Instead he continued on digging. Shane stepped forward and cleared his throat loudly trying to draw Jim's attention. It didn't work.

"Hey, Jim. Why don't you hold up? Just give me a second here, please."

Jim suddenly stopped shoveling and looked up sharply at Shane. He was covered in dirt and his shirt was drenched in sweat as he leaned on the handle of the shovel and looked at the group.

"What do you want?" He asked with a huff.

"We're all just a little concerned is all." replied Shane.

Jim looked around at the group in confusion. Another man standing behind Dale in a blue shirt spoke up then.

"Dale says you've been out here for hours."

Jim looked from Shane to Dale. He gave a small careless shrug of his shoulders.

"So?"

"So why are you digging? Are you heading to China, Jim?" Shane questioned with a sarcastic laugh.

Jim was getting more agitated by Shane's persistence to know the reason he was digging.

"What does it matter? I'm not hurting anyone."

Dale looked from Shane to Jim worriedly.

"Yeah, except maybe yourself. It's a hundred degrees today. You can't keep this up."

"Sure I can. Watch me." Jim replied sharply, stabbing the spade of the shovel into the ground.

Jim went back to shoveling dirt as everyone stood around and watched him.

Lori became fed up with how people kept avoiding the main reason everyone was up on top of the hill and stepped forward.

"Jim, they're not going to say it so I will. You're scaring people. You're scaring my son and Carol's daughter."

Jim stopped digging again and looked up at her. He leaned on the handle of the shovel.

"They got nothing to be scared of. I mean,what the hell, people? I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone?"

Shane looked over to Lori uncertainly. It was vexing Shane the longer Jim refused to comply. He was becoming more agitated by Jim's noncompliance.

"We think that you need to take a break, okay? Why don't you go and get yourself in the shade? Some food maybe. I'll tell you what-maybe in a little bit I'll come out here and I'll help you myself."

Seeing as how his words of advice did not sway Jim to even bother to look up, Shane went on to try and persuade him.

"Jim, just tell me what it's about." Said Shane. But Jim didn't want to talk. So he went straight back to other tactic of resolving this. "Why don't you just go ahead and give me that shovel?"

"Or what?" Jim snapped.

"There is no 'or what'. I'm asking you. I'm coming to you and I'm asking you, please. I don't want to have to take it from you." Shane warned.